A/N: This could be triggering because rape is mentioned if that bothers you, you probably shouldn't read this. Also, this isn't really for Damon fans.
Caroline sat back against the tree, her hands peeling at the label of the bottle she held.
She was happy for Klaus and Rebekah. That they had gotten their brother back but that didn't mean she had to like it. It was conflicting to be happy for them but also not liking it. When Elijah was around she felt like she had to have her guard up every second, not wanting him to mess with her head again.
She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps to see Klaus. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.
"Wanted some fresh air," she said in answer.
Klaus didn't think she needed to come all the way out here for fresh air. He took the last few steps forward taking a seat beside her against the tree, his arm brushing against hers. "What's wrong?"
Caroline turned her head to look at him and found his intense blue gaze on her expectantly. She looked away, avoiding, his eyes. "Nothing." she dismissed.
"I don't believe that." Klaus shook his head, he turned his body toward hers, reaching out to cup her cheek and direct her eyes back to him. "Tell me what's wrong? What's bothering you?"
Caroline stared back at his searching gaze and felt compelled to tell him the truth. Not because he was trying to compel her because he wasn't and she knew he wouldn't. But because the concern in his gaze, left her with the feeling of being pulled toward him in the best way. "Your brother? Elijah. I don't like being around him. I don't trust him not to try and mess with my head like before."
"You mean when the witches had you and he searched through your memories?" Klaus frowned. "It really bothers you, doesn't it? Having someone mess with your head?" He recalled how she reacted when she learned he was compelling Cami, a woman, she didn't even know. Her dislike for the way he controlled his hybirds. How determined she was to not let Silas into her head again.
"No one likes having their head mess with." She avoided looking into his eyes by looking over his shoulder.
Klaus felt anger boiling at the surface, a quiet rage feeling his chest but it wasn't for him or his family or his plans. No, this anger had far more importance. There was only one reason why Caroline could possibly feel so passionately about this. Someone had messed with her head and since vampires couldn't compel other vampires it had to have happened when she was still human. "Who?" his voice was low with anger, taking on a darker tone than he usually used with her.
"What?" Caroline brow furrowed in confusion.
"Who messed with your head when you were still human?" He demanded, his hand gripped her arm. "Who compelled you?!"
Caroline glanced down at his hand, his grip tight before dragging her eyes back to his. Klaus realizing he might be hurting her and lessen his grip and brushed his hand down her arm until he could grasp her smaller hand in between his larger one. "Tell me?"
Caroline was sure if she told him the truth he would kill Damon and she couldn't allow that. Not because he didn't deserve it because there was a part of her that would always believe he deserved whatever he got for what he did to her. But because of how much Stefan loved his brother and she wouldn't wish that loss on her best friend regardless of her anti-Damon feelings.
"Caroline.." His thumb brushed against her wrist, making goosebumps rise on her flesh. "Tell me."
Still, she hesitated even though he was looking at her so imploring sounding completely, earnest and genuine.
"Please, Caroline." his other hand reached out to cup her cheek. "I need to know." He had to know so he could make the person pay in the worst way imaginable.
Caroline opened and closed her mouth, her hand reaching up to grip the one he had on her cheek, seeing the concern, his need to know who hurt her, Caroline felt herself giving in. "You can't kill him."
"Kill who?" he just needed a name and they would pay for their mistreatment of her.
"You have to promise me you won't kill him." If she was going to tell him she had to know she wasn't signing Damon's death warrant.
Klaus clenched his jaw, reluctant to make a promise he was certain he would break.
"Promise me." Caroline insisted, her hand tightening around his.
Klaus breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling with the movement. "I promise."
Caroline watched him closely for any sign that he was lying before nodding more to herself than him. "Damon," she admitted slowly. "It was Damon."
Klaus' eyes thinned, jaw clenching, he had to keep his hands from tensing not wanting to hurt her as he slowly removed his hand from hers, not certain his anger wouldn't get the better of him in a moment of impulsive rage. "What he did he do? What manner did he compel you?"
Caroline frowned as she looked away, her eyes closing as she forced the memories of those few weeks with Damon to the back of her mind as they started to surface.
"Caroline." Klaus's hand squeezed around her own, bringing her eyes back to him slowly.
"When I met Damon I was still human. Honestly, I was an insecure mess. I felt like everything I did back then was in competition with Elena. So when Damon showed up showing an interest in me it felt like a win." She murmured quietly. "But it wasn't. That first night I slept with him on my own but he fed on me and when I woke up I was terrified, I remembered what he had done."
Klaus felt rage coursing through him that Damon would dare feed on Caroline, prey on her insecurities. But he forced himself not to react physically, feeling there was more to the story and he wanted to know all of it. He didn't want Caroline shutting down on him now that he convinced her to tell him something so personal. "What happened after?"
"I fought him but he attacked me again and later he compelled me to be okay with the fact that he was a vampire. He fed on me, treated me like a human blood-bag all the while enjoying my body for weeks." She shook her head in disgust. "He had me run stupid errands for him, he was cruel, I was nothing but a warm body to warm his bed that he could feed from any time he wanted." Her fist clenched, muscles tightening, her stomach churned like acid. "I slept with him for weeks under his compulsion." she muttered in utter disgust.
"Damon raped you." The words were said through clenched teeth, his voice lethal.
"What?" CAroline's eyes snapped to him. "No, he compelled me." she shook her head. It wasn't rape, it wasn't . It's what she had told herself from the moment she woke up as a vampire and started remembering his compulsion.
"It was," Klaus growled but his eyes softened with compassion as they fell on her. "You couldn't say no because he compelled you but just because you couldn't say it doesn't mean you didn't feel it in the deepest parts of you."
Caroline's eyes grew wet but still, she shook her head. She wasn't raped. She wasn't. "It wasn't rape." Her voice cracked on the vile word, pain spreading across her chest as the memories hit her like a flood. And even she knew it was a lie. A lie she told herself to keep going. One she had been telling herself since she remembered the compulsion because she had to see him almost every damn day. It was easier not to think of it as rape then accept that she'd basically been forced to accommodate the man who raped her into her circle of friends, into her life.
"Tell me if he wasn't compelling you to be there, would you have still been there? Would you have said no?" He asked, his hand rubbed her arm, hating the look of pain that came into her eyes.
"No. I wouldn't have been there." she admitted her eyes filling with tears, her lip trembling, stark emotion of true pain written in her expression. "I would have said no." her voice cracked, a tear escaping her eye.
Klaus reached up brushing the tear away. "You deserved so much better than what Damon Salvatore did to you. No one should have hurt you like that." he paused, his hand tightening around her as he felt it tremble in his grip. "Does your mom know?"
"No." Caroline gave her head a shake. "I never told her."
"What about Stefan? Elena? Do they know what he did to you?"
Caroline admitted in a whisper. "They knew what was going on. at the time."
"And they did nothing!" Klaus responded heatedly unable to keep his opinion to himself, how they acted like they were on such a higher moral ground than everyone else. "Because of your friends, Elena, you had to pretend like nothing was wrong!"
"These friends of yours that you're so determined to stay loyal to they don't deserve you. None of them. You're worth so much more, Caroline," he cupped her face with both his hands. "You deserve people in your life who will always put you first. You deserve someone who would show you even a fraction of the loyalty you have shown your worthless friends."
Caroline bit her trembling lip to keep from crying. "And that someone's supposed to be you?" she asked her voice wavering.
"I'll be whoever you want me to be," Klaus told her. "But more importantly I will never let anyone treat you the way you've been treated, I will never let anyone hurt you like that again."
His words hit her in the chest like a balm, causing the pain she felt to lessen. She knew he meant every word and she felt a gratitude that what she'd been through hadn't just been swept under the rug because it was convenient. She couldn't stop herself as she reached out, gripping fistfuls of his shirt and tugging him forward, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Klaus's hands fell away stunned by her embrace but seconds later he wrapped one around her and stroked a hand through her hair as she buried her face in the crook of his shoulder. "I promise, you'll never go through something like that again."
And when the time came and he saw Damon again he would make him pay, he wouldn't kill him. No, death would be too good for him.
He would make him suffer in ways he never imagined and only then would he consider ending his pointless existence. He would give a whole new meaning to the word torture.
His eyes blackened taking on the look of his hybrid eyes, hugging her more tightly to his body as he continued to stroke a hand through her blonde strands.
Caroline's arms tightened around, feeling a wave of comfort as his hand's stroke through her hair. His strong arms around her making her feel like there was not a single thing on this earth that could hurt her in this moment.
It could have been seconds or minutes or longer but footsteps sounded before they were being interrupted. "Niklaus, come inside, I have information to share."
Caroline pulled away at the sound of Elijah's voice and tried to compose herself, putting more distance between her and Klaus.
"Not now, Elijah." Klaus snapped, annoyed with the intrusion.
"This is important Niklaus." Elijah insisted, looking between the two.
Klaus snapped his head around to glare at his brother. "I said not now, Elijah!"
"No, it's fine." Caroline stood up, brushing grass from her pants. "It could be important."
Klaus stood, taking her hand in his and catching her eye. " You're important, Caroline."
Caroline shot him a warm smile, appreciating his words. "So is this." She looked at Elijah her warm smile fading. "We're coming."
Elijah observed the two, his eyes zeroing on his brother's grasp on Caroline's hand with a thoughtful look before he nodded, walking back toward the house.
"Thank you." Caroline told Klaus, taking a step closer to him when Elijah was gone and brushed a lingering kiss to his cheek, her free hand, gripping his shoulder.
Klaus nodded in surprise, squeezing her hand, his eyes taking her in, feeling more connected to her than he had before.
Caroline gently removed her hand from his and nodded to the house with a small smile. "We should join the others."
Klaus nodded reluctantly, grabbing up the last bit of the bottle finishing it off in one go and tossing it aside, before placing a hand on her lower back as they started the walk back to the house. A comfortable silence between them.
Leave a review if you like.