It had been a long time since any sort of illness had befallen Klaus for once he was at a loss as to what to do. He had tried calling Stefan but as always his communication skills were lacking.
His hair was matted to his forehead by sweat. He was pale even by vampire standards and he couldn't keep down any blood. His vision was blurring and he was unsteady on his feet. He grabbed onto the fireplace mantel for support. The fire did nothing to warm his chills. He slowly turned resting his shoulder against the wall when a blurry figure appeared in his peripheral vision. He focused hard on the apparition. He could make out a female with long blonde hair. When his vision finally sharpened he starred shocked by seeing her there.
"What are you doing here?"
The girl glared at him hard. "What's the matter Love. No one here to help you."
Klaus swallowed hard in disbelief.
"Here you are, alone, in pain. And there's no one here that would mourn your death."
His eyes were watery and his body was visibly shaking as his knees buckled and he fell to the floor.
Caroline was reluctant to come over but Stefan was in NY helping Damon wrangle in Elena and needed her to see what Klaus may have for information. She rang the doorbell outside the Mikaelson mansion but waiting impatiently she didn't hear anyone coming so she walked right in. She listened for any sign Klaus was home and heard him in the back of the house. It sounded like he was talking to someone but all she could make out was his own presence.
She turned the corner to see Klaus kneeling on the floor, shirtless, looking up at something not visible to her. He didn't look well. He was paler than any vamp should be and his body looked clammy. She stared in disbelief not knowing what had happened since she left him last.
"Please." He pleaded as if talking to someone but he wasn't looking at her, he hadn't seem to realize she was even there.
"Won't you please help me. You'd just stand there and watch me suffer than?"
Caroline had never seen Klaus as helpless as she was witnessing now."Klaus what's going on." She asked him but he gave no inclination that he heard her.
"I will never help you. I will only bring you misery. I will destroy you. Love is a vampire's greatest weakness, remember Niklaus." His own words rang in his head. His lips drew into a line, his face hard turned to look up at her. "I don't know anything of LOVE." He stressed. "I am not a man that has been loved. Only feared and given loyalty out of that fear." He rose to his feet still unsteady. "And if I did know the feeling, I would have surely soiled it somehow."
Caroline looked on with confusion and worry.
"All that can be fixed, if you help Silas. He can bring back the people that loved you, before you were this monster." This Caroline stepped in front of Klaus and laid her hand against the side of his face cradling it. He leaned into the touch. "I don't know that anyone ever has." Klaus's eyes closed tightly.
Caroline had been watching Klaus as he talked to himself and got up from the floor, noting that he was having a hard time keeping himself steady. He seemed comforted by the look on his face. And then she saw it, a single tear had emerged from his closed eyes and slid down his cheek falling on the floor. Her heart sank. What could make an immortal vampire so vulnerable. What could cause him to be this sick, let alone cry! She shook herself out of her thoughts and went over to Klaus grabbing both sides of his arms.
"Klaus! Klaus what's happening? WHO ARE YOU TALKING TOO?"
Something was shaking him now. He opened his eyes and looked up to find Caroline staring back at him. Except her face had changed, the last one was devoid of emotion. This one's eyes were question him fiercely. At first he couldn't hear her, her face came into focus, and then her voice. His eyes darted back and forth trying to process it all.
"HEY!" She yelled at him and shook him violently until his eyes stopped to look at her. She breathed out a sigh of relief. "What's going on?" She asked hurriedly.
"Silas." He breathed out. It seemed to take all his energy because he started falling again and Caroline quickly grabbed onto his arms and put one his arms around her leading him to a chair by his table. His head bounced around for a moment before glancing over at Caroline who stood over him making sure he was sturdy enough leaning against the table. She caught the faint smell of blood but saw nothing around the room that looked to be the cause. "What happened." She asked him.
He stared at her for a moment and then twisted around just enough to show her the wound in his back, blood smeared around a harsh opening. She gasped bringing her hand to her mouth. Klaus's head turned back to face Caroline and he saw her reaction. His face softened and his eyes fell to the table.
"There's a piece of white oak stake in there." he said as he grabbed a pair of pliers from his work table holding them out for Caroline to take.
The shock was slowly leaving her face when she instinctually reached for the pliers he was holding out.
"Would you mind helping me with that?" he weakly teased.
She looked over at him. Holding onto his gaze for a moment. He stayed locked on her, puzzled. Wondering what she was thinking. She seemed to be contemplating it for a moment. And then her thoughts focused.
"If I do this, there can't be anymore killing sprees. No more massacring people and their families because they hurt your feelings."
Klaus shook his head away and then back again clearly annoyed with her posing and quid pro quo for her services.
"I can't have those people's lives on my conscious too. If I help you their deaths would be on me." Klaus looked up at Caroline. His eyes wide, his mouth slightly open as if trying to find the words before he spoke.
"I promise I won't harm anyone who doesn't rightfully deserve it." Caroline's face grew hard and she backed away, unsatisfied with his answer. Klaus grabbed onto the chair rising to stand in front of her.
"By your standards of course." Klaus grinned at her like they had a private joke. Her face fell, eyes wandering with her thoughts. She remembered the 12 people she had killed for Bonnie's sake. Her eyes focused and her mouth tightened as her hand grabbed onto Klaus's shoulder and spun him around. He stood with his back to her as she gripped the broken off piece of stake inside the wound. Klaus started writhing from the pain.
"Stay still I need to get it first." she barked at him. His face drew into a hard line at her barking an order at him. He gripped onto the table harder, it started to splinter underneath his fingers. Caroline finally had the piece clamped.
"Okay, ready." She glanced over his shoulder.
"Just get on with it." He barked himself. She glared at him for a moment before placing one hand on his left shoulder grasping it tightly before yanking the pliers back and the white oak stake dislodging from his back. Klaus cried out the most horrific scream Caroline had ever heard and he fell to the ground passing out from the pain.
"Klaus!" Caroline scrabbled to the ground to pick him up and set his back against her chest, his head resting in the nape of her neck. She held onto him around his waist. Her left hand started brushing his hair back from his forehead and caressing it. She looked around worriedly not knowing what she should do.
"It's out, you're going to be fine okay. Just rest now. You'll be okay." she kept telling him even though he wasn't moving.
"You'll be okay." She said again, more this time to reassure herself than him.
