From her vantage point, at the very top of the slide, Caroline gazed forlornly down at her step-brothers, as they laughed and shouted inside jokes at one and other.

She wished she could join in.

It was Stefan who first suggested the three of them walk the 500 yards or so to the playground at the end of the street, she had jumped at the chance. Anything to get involved with her new brothers' antics. Liz had encouraged them, as she stroked her new husband's leg, saying that fresh air and time out of the house was always good. When they had reached the place, however, Damon had immediately initiated a game of pirates, which Caroline was not allowed to be a part of.

"There has never been a girl pirate, Caroline," he spat, nastily, while Stefan watched on, helplessly. "And even if there was, she wouldn't be as annoying as you!"

She tried not to cry, she really did, but a few stubborn tears managed to work their way down her cheeks as the two boys scampered off to begin playing. She'd always imagined having brothers and sisters would be wondrous, but now she wasn't so sure.

She climbed the playground soon after, and sat at the top of the slide ever since, watching Damon and Stefan cycle through many exclusive games, but not wanting to walk back to the house by herself.

As she watched, their game moved from the sandpit, to the swing set and each boy yelled their joys as they pushed themselves as high as the sky. There was a third swing, a seat that Caroline longed to fill, but she knew Damon would just laugh – it wasn't as though she could push herself anyway.

She had tried learning, but it was something her mom or dad were always there to help her with. They would smile the special smile they reserved only for her, and would push her high, all the while indulging Caroline in all of her make believe fantasies. Though, those special family times seemed few and far between now.

She slid down the slide, her bare feet landing in the sand, and pattered over to the empty swing, sitting on it, if only to create the illusion of belonging.

"Uh," cried Damon, as Caroline sat down. "Here comes boring-barbie, to ruin all the fun."

As he said it, the boy gracefully jumped from the swing, at its peak, and landed squarely on the ground, smirking at his own brilliance.

"Don't bother getting comfortable, Stefan and I were just leaving."

Damon shot his younger brother a pointed look, and jerked his head, which Stefan obeyed, scampering after his brother who had began to walk towards a crowd of people other children, who had just started a game of soccer.

Caroline felt a hollowness begin to engulf her, and another couple of tears began to trickle down her face.

"Do you need some help?"

Her head whipped around, and levelled her eyes to meet the stormy grey ones of the boy she met a few days earlier at the party.

"Hi," she said, shyly.

"Your brother is mean," he said, taking the swing next to her, and beginning to rock himself back and forward. "You shouldn't listen to him. My mum always says 'water off a duck's back'."

Caroline smiled softly at the boy, not quite understanding what he meant, but being comforted by his words nonetheless.

"Do you want me to teach you how to push yourself?"

She nodded profusely, and watched as he slowed himself to get off his swing. The boy grabbed the sides of her swing and began to push her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "You're supposed to be teaching me!"

"It's always easier to learn something new when you have someone to help push you in the right direction," the boy smiled, although Caroline couldn't see. "Now you're going, just keep going by pushing your legs back, and body forward, then swapping."

He clambered onto his own swing, and demonstrated the movement. It took a few clumsy tries, but soon enough, Caroline too was soaring as high as ever. And she was doing it. All by herself.

The two new friends laughed and chatted away, Caroline learned that Nik – or Klaus – had four brothers, and one sister, and that he always felt a little out of place in his family. Caroline confided in him that she felt similarly, even though her big family was new. She found out that he lived on a big estate a couple of hours from London, and his family went on a family holiday through the summer every year. Caroline beamed telling him that her family did a similar thing, and lived in a big house a few hours from New York.

They stayed on the swings for nearly an hour, sharing their hopes, dreams, and everything they wanted in life. Nik wanted to be a painter and live in a tiny French village - as he said 'France is my absolute favourite! My grandmother lives in Paris!' - while Caroline shared that she would love to be a kindergarten teacher, or a princess, but she wasn't sure which yet.

The sun had almost completely set, when –

"Caroline!"

"Niklaus!"

The two blondes froze, all their momentum and comfort evaporating as the distant shouts of their mothers' could be heard.

Klaus jumped from the swing, Caroline dismounting carefully.

"Do you want to swing again tomorrow?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, same time. See you then!"

As each child scurried in opposite directions to their family, they both had unwipeable smiles on their faces, and a warm fiery feeling in their chests.

xxx

And that's how it went for the rest of the holiday.

Each of them would partake in their obligatory family events, but would spend every other moment they could together. They explored every nook and cranny of the place they were staying. They were in and out of each others' houses – Caroline adored his siblings Bekah, Henrik and Kol, but wasn't crash hot on Elijah or Finn. They swum in the ocean. They even registered in the same children-only activities.

It wasn't until the last few days did one of Nik and Caroline's meanderings brought their parents in contact with each other.

"Caroline Forbes, I swear to god!"

"Niklaus Mikaelson, where on earth have you got to!"

The two children looked up guiltily from the hole they'd been digging in the sand, into the eyes of their respective parents.

"Didn't you hear us calling you, Caroline?" her mother reprimanded.

"Niklaus, you should pay more attention to your surroundings," Esther, Klaus' mother, scolded.

"And get your head out of the clouds," his father muttered.

Only then, did the adults register the other set of parents.

Liz and Bill.

Esther and Mikael.

The recognition was instant. Each family being as prolific as the other.

There were few families in the business world whose reputation rivalled that of the Forbes'. But if anyone's did, it was the Mikaelson's. The Mikaelsons had a stronghold over Europe and most of Asia, while the Forbes dominated both North and South America. They operated in different sectors, but still knew many details about each others' companies.

Both families wanted to break into the market that the other held the monopoly of, and neither family had ever quite managed to get around the red tape of it all.

Tension seemed to crackle in the air, Caroline and Klaus both oblivious, happily playing again due to their parents' distraction.

"I should have known Niklaus would end up playing with the riffraff," Mikael said, coolly, making Bill scowl, and Liz raise her eyebrow coldly.

"Come now, Mikael," Esther said. "Esther Mikaelson."

The woman held out her hand, which Bill, extending his own, shook, while Liz and Mikael locked in a Mexican-style staring competition.

"It's nice to see Niklaus playing happily, and not purposely pestering his siblings," the Mikaelson matriarch offered.

"Mm," Bill agreed, smiling. "Agreed. I haven't seen Caroline this happy in months."

"Well, they certainly are a pair aren't they," Mikael added, mockingly, still not tearing his death glare from Liz's eyes.

"They certainly are," Liz added, a little absent mindedly, an indescribable glint in her eyes, that no one in the vicinity seemed to catch. "They certainly are."

xxx

As the sun began to set on their last day of vacation, Caroline felt her face fall, her heart clench and she couldn't quite bring herself to enjoy the final activity of the summer.

Since she had met Nik properly, the two of them had become best friends, and she could hardly bear the prospect of never seeing him again.

"We can be pen pals!" he suggested, in an effort to cheer her up. "We can send letters, and emails and… presents for birthdays!"

Caroline smiled, and was about to respond when she was cut off by Mikael's snide voice.

"At it again with the blonde riffraff are you, Niklaus," he slurred, meanly, narrowing his eyes at Klaus. "I don't know why I expect more from a bastard than that."

"Mikael!" Esther scolded, as she looked quickly around, to see if any of the parents milling about had heard.

"I'm off to find a drink," he spat, and stalked away, but not before curious eyes followed his path, and looked questioningly back at Esther.

"He had a rough night," she tittered, lacing her voice with the undeniable Mikaelson charm. "We're supposed to be on holiday, but apparently we didn't choose a good enough manager."

As everything seemed to move on from the incident, Caroline and Klaus remained, both burned by the words Mikael had said about them.

"I'm sorry your dad is so mean to you," Caroline whispered.

Klaus tried to smile, tried to reassure his friend that he was okay, but he couldn't quite manage it.

"I'm sorry he called you riffraff again."

"It's okay."

"Let's not waste our last night together. Shall we go pull that prank on Damon now?"

Caroline's eye lit up with mischief.

"Oh yes," she smirked. "Now where did that tray of prawns go?"

xxx

"Ahh, Mr Mikaelson, I thought I'd find you here," Liz said blithely, as she slid into the booth across from the head of the Mikaelson family. She had seen the rest of the clan down at the picnic, but there had been no sign of Mikael. It hadn't taken much for Liz to figure out he'd either be in his cabin, or in the only bar within walking distance, as a way of getting out of the domestic festivities.

"And what do you want?" he sneered. "Come to tell me I am too hard on that boy? Or that I should have been kinder to your daughter?"

"Nothing like that," Liz smirked, keeping her cool in face of such adversity. "As a matter of fact, I have a proposition for you. An opportunity, if you will."

The man at the table narrowed his eyes. He knew Elizabeth Forbes by reputation, he knew that she was the sharp, savvy brains behind her company, even if Bill was the charismatic face that sealed the deals.

"I'm listening."

xxx

"You did what, Liz?" Bill cried, as his former wife sat across from him in his office.

It was their first day back in The States after their trip away, and Bill couldn't quite believe what Liz had just told him.

"Think about it clearly for a second! We can finally expand into Europe, finally find a foothold in the market over there. With so much less paperwork, and it's a win for them as well! It's not like they operate in the same sectors as us. We won't even lose any money! If anything, we can create it! Streamline our legal and marketing teams, and share those costs with the Mikaelson Corp."

"Liz, you just went ahead and made this arrangement without consulting me, without even considering the effects it will have on…"

"Bill, if we had to do our duty for the company," she snapped, putting up an irritated hand. "Then she sure as hell will do hers."

"I don't want this life for her, Liz. I don't want her to live how we lived. I want better for her."

"Well, Bill," she replied, with a finality in her voice left him with a severe sense of foreboding. "You can either be with me, or against me on this. I won't have you standing in my way. It's the way forward for the company."

Bill put down his glass, and stared into the hard face of his ex-wife.

He loved this woman, more than anyone could possibly understand, given their circumstances. But he couldn't stand idly by while he watched her ruin their daughter's life. They'd already selfishly turned it upside down by getting divorced.

"Don't do this," he breathed. "Please."

Liz gave him a tight lipped smile, left a wad of paper on his desk, before turning on her heel and exiting.

He stared, unseeing, at the papers, knowing they would show the facts and figures of why this merger would be a great idea for the company, but absolutely no reference to why it would be a terrible idea for Caroline.

He knew he could take a stand, leave the company in a show of his utter opposition to this decision, but he also knew, if Caroline were to have a fighting chance, he would need to be there, as someone to be in her corner.

Hello my beautiful people. YES, I an THE terrible. It's been AGES. I am SORRY :( :( I thought things would slow down when uni finished for the semester, but I was wrong (what's new). I started a new job, and all my friends decided LET'S HAVE BIRTHDAYS and so I've been just busy. I hope you understand.

I'm sorry that this chapter was, once again, quite slow and a bit Liz-and-co heavy, rather than being Klaroline-centric, BUT it's necessary. I am also going to go through and make a few slight adjustments to details in earlier chapters, just because, if I don't, there will be a few continuity errors later on down the track. But I will let you know of the changes I make at the end of the next chapter.

NEXT CHAPTER: A time jump, from 13 years ago, to only 8 or 9 years ago (remembering that 'present day' is when Caroline's 21ish and Klaus is 23ish).

THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FOR READING! I hope you liked this! And, as always, bye for now not forever.