The Heaviest Burden

Never in all her life, human or vampiric, could Caroline have predicted the events that had unfolded in the past few weeks. She knew of the hatred that Rebekah harbored for her older brother, they all did. But she had no idea it was so strong - had no idea that she'd do this to him. Something even Caroline wouldn't wish onto her worst enemy. Carefully she watched him as they walked through the woods. He stood strong, oozing the pride she once found nauseating.

As she thought about it now, the confident air around him, she was truly grateful for it. If that pride wasn't there then she'd be able to sense the fear of what was to come. She wouldn't be able to hate him and she just couldn't have that. Even so, she wished that she could say something to make the situation better. But Rebekah forced it on him. There was literally nothing Caroline could say that would make the next twelve hours any less excruciating.

Rebekah forced the cure down his throat, just as she promised. Klaus was a werewolf. A slave to the full moon. No longer allowed the freedom, the safety, that his Hybrid status provided him.

As she thought that her chest grew tight in sadness. Unconsciously she brought her hand to her breast bone and tried to cough through it. She needed something to distract her, and fast. Klaus had killed too many innocent people for her to start caring about his wellbeing. She would do what she had promised. She'd lock him away in the slave quarters of the old Lockwood estate for the duration of his transformation and then return the following morning to free him. She dug her nails into her palms and bit at her bottom lip. It kept her mind off of her sympathies for a brief moment before they could come rushing back.

Being in the woods near the property under the light of the full moon reminded her of the times she accompanied Tyler before his transformation. Except this time she wouldn't allow any romantic feelings to manifest. She couldn't.

"You're being uncharacteristically quiet, Caroline." Klaus stated in his usual arrogance.

"And you seem unusually calm considering the circumstances." She returned in a snide tone, practically sticking her tongue out at him.

"I think I can quite handle the complications of being a werewolf. I am the oldest in existence." He said, giving Caroline one of his more playful expressions.

She looked away before he could see the blush crawl across her cheeks.

"You're older than dirt too, right?" She deflected with a thick layer of sarcasm.

Klaus laughed before saying quietly, "That's the girl I love."

The blush that dusted across her face deepened at his words. She always appreciated the little things that Klaus would say. The compliments, the witty retorts, even the cheesy pick-up lines. Not that she'd ever admit it out loud. She was perfectly content with maintaining their current relationship. Plenty of distance between them, him being a murderer and she being Miss Mystic Falls. Perfect. After all, she still had Tyler.

"After you." Klaus said having reached the stairwell down into his room for the night.

With a brave face, Caroline descended down into the darkness, with only the light of the full moon guiding their way.

Oh how freaking appropriate! She thought, almost angrily. She pushed the cast iron door open and waited for Klaus to walk past the threshold, a sassy hand on her hip.

He gave his guardian an incredulous look. "Afraid I'm going to lock you in?"

She didn't look amused and didn't respond beyond tapping her foot.

"Fine, fine, I'm going." He lamented with a chuckle and his hands up in defeat, trudging past her into the dank, dark, cell.

Caroline followed behind him, retrieving the long since used chains from the wall. "Shirt off."

"Caroline, how rash." He teased, but he obliged her.

He grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled it over his head, throwing it into the far corner, narrowly missing a puddle of water. It took some effort on Caroline's part not to steal a glance at his body. A great effort, and she still failed.

"Those chains aren't necessary." He noted, moving to sit against the iron bars of his cage.

She rolled her eyes. "I've done this more than a few times. Trust me, they're necessary."

She didn't allow him to object, she simply approached with the chains, gingerly wrapping one around his neck and attached it to the wall.

"Don't start coddling me now, love." He continued to tease, as if he wasn't going to be in the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced. "Where's that fire I so adore?"

"Still blazing." She countered, yanking at the chain around his throat ever-so slightly.

Klaus gagged then chuckled, "That's my girl."

"I am not your girl. I am simply making sure that you don't go biting any of my friends or attacking anyone in the dark of the night." She clarified, moving onto his hips.

Still, he chuckled. "Feel free to let your hands wander, love."

"Really?" She exasperated, wrapping the chain around his abdomen a little harsher than necessary. "You are absolutely infuriating! I am so glad that you're not going to be able to say anything in a few minutes."

Klaus continued to chuckle, a chuckle that was starting to really piss the blond off. "Few minutes? Love, the moon doesn't reach its apex for several hours."

Caroline looked at him, her jaw slack, "Excuse me? You are… UGH!" She groaned, resisting throwing the heavy metal to the ground and storming away from the werewolf. But, she remained, attaching the chain that was around his hips to the wall. Every attempt on his part to speak after that was quickly silenced by either her hand or glare as she cuffed Klaus's ankles and wrists and chained those to the wall as well.

Eventually he would be completely secured. There was no chance that he'd be able to get out in his human form. Her work being near done, she sat near the entrance, never ceasing her glare she insisted on maintaining. As they sat in silence, Caroline tossed a bottle of clear yellow liquid at him.

"What's this?" He asked.

"It's water that's been infused with wolfsbane." She explained. "It diminishes your strength and decreases the likelihood that you'll escape." At her explanation he tossed the bottle up in the air whilst looking at it skeptically.

"Oh just drink it. Or are you afraid it's going to hurt?" She teased.

Klaus gave her one of his typically devilish smiles. "Well that's a challenge if I've ever heard one." He said, uncapping the bottle and throwing it back. As Caroline watched his Adam's apple bob up and down she could see the pain flash across his face. It wasn't as evident as Tyler's during his first transformation, but she could still see it in his azure eyes.

"You okay?" She asked once he'd finished it.

He looked at her with a slightly forced smile. "If I can become immune to vervaine then I think I can deal with a bit of the werewolf equivalent. Though, would you happen to have any plain water in that bag of yours? It's a little hot in here." He asked, fanning himself slightly.

Pain flashed across Caroline's face. It was starting. The uncontrollable heat and the feeling of your skin trying to peel off your bones was the first step.

"Yeah… sure…" She said quietly, fishing around in her pack of supplies until she found the other bottle. She tossed it to the former hybrid. His reflexes weren't as sharp as they used to be; he missed it.

"Thank you." He said, reaching for the bottle, opening it, and practically chugging the contents. Upon finishing he wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Now that's the ticket." He smiled a brilliant set of pearls at the lovely Caroline but that smile quickly turned to a frown at the expression on her face. "What's wrong, love?"

She looked up at him, quickly wiping away any sign of worry, "Nothing, I'm fine."

Klaus gave her a skeptical look. "Now, do you honestly expect me to believe that?"

She opened her mouth to respond with a witty retort but was distracted by the gleam of sweat starting to cover Klaus' face. She had to admit, he was hiding the pain well. That took a true iron will.

"Really, Klaus, it's nothing."

He shook his head as he stood and made his way over to her. He wasn't able to sit beside her, due to the chains, so he settled for sitting in front of her, "I've been weaving intricate webs of lies for centuries. You're going to have to do better than your charming stubbornness to throw me off."

God he's infuriating! She thought while she let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine, you want to know what my problem is? You're going to start screaming from the pain in a few seconds and I don't really want to feel sorry for you in any way shape or form but I don't think I'm going to be able to stop myself."

A sad smile crossed Klaus' usually smug face as he lifted a sweaty hand towards the iron door behind her. "No one's asking you to stay, Caroline. You've already been through this once. I'm a big lad; I can take care of myself."

Caroline was about to say something snippy when Klaus arched back and a scream reverberated through him.

"Klaus?" She questioned, standing and tears beginning to wet the corners of her eyes. "Klaus…?"

Another scream, then laughter. "Well, this is going to be quite an adventure!"

He gasped suddenly through clenched teeth before his shoulders practically ripped themselves from their sockets. Caroline covered her mouth with her hands, silencing a gasp, or maybe it was a sob. She really couldn't tell. She was too distracted by the man she couldn't bring herself to hate writhing on the ground in front of her. In his struggles, Klaus managed to crawl back over to the bars. He grasped at his prison, his knuckles blanching around the cool metal. He started to stand, thinking that the worst was over. But Caroline knew better.

It was just the calm before the storm.

"Klaus, I wouldn't -" She started to warn before his knees practically reserved themselves. It was absolutely disgusting, watching a joint move 90 degrees in a direction it wasn't supposed to be able to move in. The sound that bubbled past Klaus's lips only made the whole ordeal worse.

"Caroline," He gasped, "you - you should leave…"

She couldn't help it, her head shook of its own accord, her blonde curls danced across her shoulders. "I can't just leave you like this."

Klaus brought himself to look back at her. "You've already done more than I could've asked for."

A vertebra relocated itself in his spine causing him to gasp for air. After panting for a moment, he started again.

"Don't put yourself at risk for little old me. I can quite well handle myself." He said with a smile that near well melted Caroline's heart.

She just kept shaking her head. "I can't just leave you here…"

She started to approach him when his knees returned to their original position. Never, in all Caroline's life, had she heard a more excruciating sound. Her legs moved of their own accord. She quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into her lap as she kneeled on the ground.

"I'm not going to let you go through this alone." She promised.

A chuckle resonated through him, through Caroline. "I almost miss the spunky spitfire I've become so accustomed to."

Caroline choked out a laugh. "Don't worry, she'll be back when this is all over."

And that's how they stayed for minutes on end. Every now and then, Klaus would convulse and Caroline would lull him back to a state of ease. It was a rarity, them being together and not a word being spoken. They both enjoyed it and secretly wished their previous encounters were somewhat similar. Being together was really all either of them wanted, without their abilities or anything else that kept them at each others throats. And they both resented that such horrible circumstances had to be brought to light for them to realize it.

After an hour or so of moderate ease, Klaus felt the wolf thrashing around in his cage.

He took Caroline's hand from across his chest and placed a light kiss upon it. "Thank you, Caroline. For everything. But, now, it's time for you to leave. The last thing I want is to hurt you."

Caroline's grip on him slackened only to have him seizing again. She backed away, allowing her to see his eyes turn yellow and his fangs protrude from his mouth. Quickly she ran for the door, slamming it shut behind her and barricading it. She looked through the "peephole" of sorts to watch Klaus barrel full force towards her. He snarled, he slammed, and he scratched at the iron, desperate to either free himself or to get at her. And in that moment she didn't know which was worse.

She didn't want to admit it, but seeing this undeniable weakness in the man caused her undead heart to nearly weep for him. She pressed her back against the cool metal separating them and sank to the ground. Finally out of the wave of fire, she let the tears fall freely from her eyes. If she was truly honest with herself she'd know that she never wanted any sort of pain to come to the former Original vampire.

He'd seen so much betrayal and heartbreak in his life that she couldn't imagine any more befalling him. Funny that it'd take him being in the most pain for her to realize it. But, that's not the life of Niklaus Mikaelson. He doesn't get "easy", he doesn't get "nice", he gets pain, and sorrow, and hopelessness. How Caroline desperately wanted that never-ending cycle to cease. As she listened to his wolf form frantically throw itself at the door, the tears fell all the heavier. She didn't want to feel this way.

Constantly she reminded herself how he drowned Tyler's mother, killed Aunt Jenna, and how he nearly killed her out of spite. But then she had to remind herself how other people's betrayal had always led him to such desperation. Shane and the Hybrids, his mother with the curse, and Tyler for instigating the Hybrid rebellion.

For hours she sat there, wallowing in her sadness, until she could no longer hear the snarling. She looked through the peephole to see a stark naked Klaus curled up in a quivering ball with his back to her. She practically ripped the door off its hinges in her attempts to reach him. She dove into her pack for a blanket and then proceeded to tent it over him. Only when she was on the ground beside him did he stir.

"Caroline…" He breathed, pain still evident in his voice.

She rubbed her hand over his exposed upper arm. "Shhhh. It's over, you're okay."

He brought up a shaky hand to rest on top of hers. "Thank you…" He wheezed, a tired, cheeky, smile breaking across his pain stricken face.

She wiped the tears from her face as she pulled him into her lap, again. "I don't know why I'm such a mess. I mean, you're Klaus, I shouldn't feel sorry for you!"

"A heart's a heavy burden, love." He reassured her.

He reached up to graze his fingers across her smooth skin, causing Caroline to let out a small laugh, then she locked her gaze with his. "Now, sleep."

"That's not fair…" He objected with a playful smile on his face and lethargy clear in his voice as he started to drift off.

"Don't fight it. You need your rest." She continued, wiping Klaus' wet curls from his forehead.

His eyelids desperately fought off the inevitable. Klaus was persistent. That much would never change.

"Thank you, Caroline. Truly." He breathed, his bright blue eyes connecting with her fierce green ones. "You've done me a kindness I couldn't have expected… especially from you."

"You deserve it." She whispered as his eyes finally fluttered shut, not knowing whether he heard her or not. Without really thinking about what she was doing, she cupped the back of his neck and brought his plush lips to hers. Upon their lips meeting, she was shocked by residual static. Startled by it she brought her hand to lightly touch her lips. She laughed it off and dipped down to kiss him again. This time, savouring the feeling just slightly.

After remaining as such for a few seconds, Caroline carefully removed herself from underneath Klaus and gently lowered his head to the ground. She walked backwards towards the entrance, her eyes never leaving Klaus' sleeping form. She smiled at him before leaving him alone to sleep off his transformation. She'd be back in the morning.

From his spot on the floor, Klaus chuckled. "That's my girl."

A Heart, the Heaviest Burden

A Klaroline One-Shot