The Revenge Con

32. Houseguests

Klaus stood on Caroline's doorstep, heart racing. He was about to meet his daughter. Technically he had met her before but now he actually knew she was his daughter. Everything felt different. He was a father. 

"Hi." Caroline opened the door and welcomed him in. "So, you got the results." 

"I'd be sorry for doubting you but given the circumstances..." He took off his coat and hung it up on a hook near the door. He took off his shoes and followed Caroline into the apartment. 

"I know, I get it." She sighed. "She's taking a nap right now," Caroline informed him. 

"Okay." There was a lull in conversation as they both struggled to find words for each other.

"How long are you staying?" Caroline asked, wondering if she sounded too harsh. 

"As long as you'll let me." She was surprised by his answer. 

"Klaus I-" 

"The only relationship I'm looking for is the one with my daughter." He insisted though Camille's words weighed on him. 

"I'm okay with that. I'm just happy that my mistakes haven't cost my daughter a wonderful father." Klaus met her gaze for the first time since he walked in and noticed the smile she wore. He wished that smile didn't make him want to kiss her. He hated the way he still ached for her.

"Can I see her?" 

"Sure but if you wake her up you get to put her back down," Caroline warned. Caroline led Klaus to Hope's crib. He looked at his daughter sleeping and for the first time, he studied her features.

"She's beautiful." He breathed out, awestruck by his little girl. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. 

"If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen." Caroline stepped out of the room leaving Klaus with Hope. 

"I will never let anything happen to you." He whispered to her. Hope made a gurgling sound in her sleep. He stayed beside her for a few more minutes before returning to the main room where Caroline was quietly discussing something with Stefan. 

"He's staying? For how long?" 

"As long as he wants to. I want Hope to know her father." 

"Is he just staying on the couch?" 

"We haven't had a chance to talk about it. I figured he'd stay in a hotel or something."

"If he wants to be close to his daughter, he'll probably want to stay here. Oooh, I'll stay in his fancy hotel room while you two play house." 

"We're not playing house." 

"I bet you'd rather play doctor..." Stefan teased, elbowing her playfully. Caroline's cheeks turned bright red. 

"What does that even mean?" 

"You know exactly what I mean." 

"Am I interrupting something?" Klaus asked, alerting the pair to his presence. 

"Not at all," Stefan smirked at Caroline who glared at him. "We were just wondering what your plan was for while you are here."

"I hadn't exactly thought it through," Klaus confessed. "I just knew I didn't want to miss any more time with my daughter." 

"Well, we don't exactly have a guest room but you are welcome to sleep on the couch if you'd like." Caroline offered. 

"He could stay in your room," Stefan suggested earning another dirty look from Caroline. 

"The couch will be fine for tonight," Klaus assured them both.

"So what does your girlfriend think about all this?" Stefan questioned partly out of a need to protect Caroline but also partly out of sheer curiosity. 

"My ex-girlfriend is happy for me." Both Caroline and Stefan tried to hide their shock at his answer. 

"How about pizza for supper?"

Camille was stuffing her clothes into a bag when Kol found her.

"Going somewhere?" He wondered. 

"You haven't heard? My stay at Casa Mikaelson has come to an end." 

"What?" 

"Klaus has a kid. He went to Dallas to be with Caroline." Camille explained. 

"I can't believe Bekah's plan actually worked," Kol mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You know you don't have to move out right away." 

"I think I should. Josh and Aiden have a spare bedroom. They're letting me crash until I find a place." 

"I'm gonna miss you around here." 

"Honestly, I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm going to miss you too." Camille smiled. They were about to hug when they heard yelling from down the hall. Kol was surprised to hear Antoinette's voice. She had always been so regal and collected. They peeked into the hallway just to see the door to Elijah's room swing open. Antoinette was crying with a bag slung over her shoulder. She left without a word. 

"Looks like this place is going to be a lot emptier..." Kol still couldn't believe Bekah's insanity had worked in the slightest. "I should uh..."

"Go check on your brother. I'll see you around."

Kol slipped out of the room and walked over to his brothers. He knocked slightly on Elijah's door before entering. He was expecting his brother to be a total wreck but instead, he was standing in front of the mirror fixing his tie. 

"So Antoinette..." Kol caught a glimpse of the ring on the floor. 

"Antoinette is heading back to France." 

"What happened?" It was then that Kol noticed red creeping up on his face. Elijah was embarrassed. 

"It doesn't matter."

"You couldn't get it up? It's nothing to be ashamed of for a man of your age." Elijah glared at him, clearly not interested in making light of his situation. 

"I can assure you that was not the issue," Elijah muttered.

"Okay... You tried to tie her up and she wasn't feeling it? She caught you watching porn? Just not satisfying her anymore?"

"Kol," Elijah warned. 

" Did you put it in the wrong-"

"Kol!" He snapped causing Kol to stop guessing. "Let's just say seeing Elena again brought up some old habits." He answered cryptically. Kol tried to piece things together in his mind when suddenly it all clicked.

"You didn't!" 

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to the office. It seems I'm already running late." Elijah tried to push past Kol but the younger brother stood firm in his place. 

"I can't believe you called her E-"

"I was there. I have no trouble believing it. So I'll be leaving now." Elijah left the room, ignoring Kol's teasing. 

"Rebekah really did it," Kol mumbled to himself. Maybe she wasn't as crazy as he thought.