Title: A Cry in the Light
Author: Kathea
Rating: K
Pairing: Carolina/Klaus
Summary: Post 4X17. Where I hope it goes or ends or starts, depending on how you look at it.
Vampire speed negated the satisfying stomp of an angry woman through the woods, so Caroline let herself move with human speed through the quiet forest. The tears still streamed down her face as her mind kept the death of the coven on constant repeat behind her eyes. This was what drove vampires crazy. The eternal memories. She would never forget, could never forget that she had killed 12 people. She'd watched each body slacken and fall around the circle until there was a ring of dead around her. How do you process this? How on earth could she ever get past this? Stefan would help, she knew, but even his vast experience as the Ripper was different than this. She had to do it. Didn't she? If she hadn't Bonnie would be dead. And Bonnie was her best friend, she couldn't die. So many people had died already.
When the scream ripped through the woods, her enhanced hearing made her shudder with the sound and stop walking. She knew that scream, somehow, she knew exactly who was in such pain. Klaus. Something horrible must have happened. Something she couldn't imagine that brought the original big bad to vocalize pain. When the second roar ripped through the silence of the forest, Carolina turned and sped back to where she'd left him standing.
Only he wasn't standing now. Hunched over on hands and knees, the monster that was Niklaus Michaelson keened in pain. Caroline knew he noticed her presence. For one second their eyes had met before another shudder racked his body. Hurrying closer, she could see and smell the bloody mess of his back. The dark of his jacket even darker with blood and ripped flesh. She knelt down, carefully laying a hand on his shoulder, hoping that the man would recognize her as a non-enemy before the vampire recognized her as a threat. With careful fingers she pulled away the edge of the jagged coat to see the wound. Recoiling instantly, from the all too familiar wood and metal, she watched as his skin tried again to repair itself around the death that was the white oak stake.
"Get it out." Caroline heard rumble through Klaus' clenched teeth.
"Klaus, I…I don't know." She stuttered.
"Get it out!" He shouted and ended on a scream, his body convulsing again. Taking a deep breath, Caroline tried to find some of the composure that she was known for, some of the clear headedness that marked her as a vampire instead of the neurotic human she had been. As carefully as possible, she pulled the edge of the jacket apart to see the stake.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, unknowing if Klaus heard, as she plunged her hand into the gaping wound on his back and pulled the hunk of white oak stake out. She hurled it as far from them as possible as Klaus collapsed onto her lap.
His breathing was labored and skin ashy with pain but Caroline watched as the hole began to close up. Healing happening at a rate miraculous even to her. It was surreal, she noticed. The forest was quiet around them, the only sound was Klaus' labored breathing as his body struggled to heal. The bright afternoon sun, diffused by the canopy, spread golden light around them. In any other setting, it would've been picturesque, romantic even. Shaking herself out of the haze, Caroline let her hand run softly over the newly healed skin. It was soft and pink and…exactly like hers. Her heart stumbled at the thought.
They weren't so different. Equally monstrous, equally dark; the only difference was that Klaus let his darkness show through and she packed hers away inside. He'd been right all along. Klaus rolled himself off of her lap, grunting as he finally took a pain free breath. Caroline watched him with haunted eyes, her new realizations circling madly in her brain. She eyed him as he pushed up to sitting slowly. As the color returned to his face, Caroline saw the mask of disdain that he so often wore slip back over his features. For one moment, she saw the surprise and hurt that her actions caused.
Something, instinct or desire maybe, had her reaching a hand up to cup his cheek. The stubble was rough on her palm and his jaw was clenched and tense. Those clear eyes measured her with each second and she felt lacking. Caroline wanted him to understand, he had to understand how sorry she was. How very wrong she had been.
Rising to her knees and leaning closer, Caroline cradled his face in her hands. The high color from their earlier fight and the actions needed to pull the stake out had left her cheeks pale. Her blue eyes still held pain from the consequences of her actions. She'd done so much wrong and it all hung there. Moving closer until the only thing that filled her vision were eyes that knew her better than she did.
"I'm sorry." The words were hushed and her voice trembled. Klaus' eyes widened ever so slightly the only register of the impact of her words. "I'm so sorry." She said again and carefully pressed her lips to his. His lips didn't move under hers but they were warm, warmer than she expected. She didn't expect his hand to slide up and into her hair, tangling in the blonde strands. His large hand cradling her scalp as she pulled away sent shivers of sensation down her spine. When she could see his whole face, the artfully worn mask was gone; in its place was a face she'd rarely seen. The true face of Niklaus Mikaelson. There was still hurt tainting the edges but curiosity and surprise dominated his distinct features. And there, behind his eyes, was a dark desire that thrilled as it terrified. The intensity of his stare caused a blush to creep up her neck to stain her cheeks. Embarrassed by her reaction, she tried to pull away but the hand in her hair was firm. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes when Klaus finally spoke.
"Caroline, sweetheart, you started this and now we must see where it ends." The touch of his lips on hers was just as gentle and chaste as before but anticipation sizzled in the air. Klaus pulled away first, his gaze triumphant and Caroline watched as the darkness she'd always associated with Klaus fade, if only a little. His presence seemed so familiar now. Familiar because it was so like the one she saw in herself. That strange combination of darkness and light was the same in both of them.
AN: So, my first foray into TVD. I love Klaus and Caroline and I hated where that episode ended. At least TVD knows how to drag out a romance.