Neither of them spoke a word as he carefully lifted her from the ground. Not a word was uttered when he took her out of the basement and out into the summer night. She wouldn't look him in the eye and kept her own wide eyes steadily fixed on the stars in the sky. Even through the days of pain and suffering, his beautiful light was still trying to stay bright and strong.
His eyes raked over her worn body. Her torturers hadn't held back on her in any way, that much was easy to see by the raw scars and deep bites over her body. Those scoundrels were lucky they were merely killed through his blind rage. If he had been smarter, he would have kept them alive for his own torture session. At the moment, his mind and soul was only intent on finding and saving her. His blood was rushing through her system now, but the amount of hybrid bites over her body would make the healing process longer.
He held her against his chest as he carried her home, not giving a damn about the stains her blood left on him. The elder Salvatore had already left the scene, off to tell everyone that the mission was successful. This one of the few times he had been able to stand the arrogant bastard. He would tolerate anyone in reality if they were necessary to rescue her. Minutes later he climbed through the open window to her room effortlessly. The young woman didn't even notice where they were until he was settling himself on the bed, her still in his arms.
He slowly lifted her from his chest and laid her petite body next to him. Her gaze shifted from the ceiling to the flowery patterns on her comforter. Stay strong, Caroline her mind whispered feebly as the reality of what had just happened to her crashed into her temporary numbness.
Klaus watched the unsteady rise and fall of her body with every breath, cherishing the evidence of her survival. He was lucky he found her before the fiends had grown bored of torture. The recent memory of finding her replayed in his mind.
Klaus? Her voice was weak and filled with disbelief. She lifted her head, her face bloodied and tear stained.
His heart was quite literally breaking and raging at that moment. She was chained to a wall, still donning the clothes he saw her in last except now they were torn to shreds and covered in her blood.
It's me, love. He began tearing off the chains as painlessly as he could. She winced and inhaled quickly. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he continued his work. She whispered something. He almost missed it, but his ears managed to catch it.
Thank you.
He didn't want to leave her alone now, but in his core, he knew that he was the last person she wanted to be with after everything. It was because of his interest in her that the rogues had taken her. If he couldn't stay then he would at least order the doppelganger to come and stay with her. He moved to get up, but was stopped by a pull on him. He looked down and saw one of her hands grasping his cotton shirt. She tugged him downwards and he complied immediately. She buried her face into his chest as tears fell from her eyes onto his shirt, silent sobs shaking her body. She couldn't pretend anymore. She couldn't be strong right now.
The heartache from seeing her like this overcame his surprise and his arms wrapped around her. A hand ran up and down her back while he tried to soothe her. "Shh, love. It's alright. It's over now. I'm here. I'll protect you. No one will hurt you again."
The hybrid held the baby vampire as she let her wall fall down. He didn't pause to think about taking advantage or how this would affect their relationship. All he cared about was comforting the broken girl, even for just a night.