Despite that her mind was hazy, her eyes were closed, and fiery pain was radiating from the wound in her neck, she was aware of the precise moment that he arrived. His scent filled the entire room, invaded her senses, until she was transported to the last time she'd smelled him, that day in the woods. She'd tried so hard to memorialize it, the way he smelled, the way his lips felt on hers, the way her name sounded in his accent. She'd thought about nothing else for the last six weeks but she now knew her memory couldn't do him justice.
"Someone's not very good at keeping promises," she teased with a smile, but she kept her eyes closed; she was so exhausted.
"Caroline…," he sighed sadly. The pity she heard in his voice had her snapping her eyes open. When she saw him standing next to her bed, so much like the night of her birthday, with sadness in his eyes, she forgot about everything else. She forgot how much it hurt that he'd left her. She forgot that Tyler had bit her because she cried when he told her about Hayley. She forgot that she was supposed to hate him and never want to see him again. All she could think was that she couldn't wait for him to touch her again.
"Klaus," she breathed. Her eyes followed his every move as he came to sit on her bed. She couldn't understand why his expression was one of such sympathy. Sure, she was dying, but he could save her. She reached her hand up weakly to rest on his cheek.
"Would you believe me if I said I've missed you?" she whispered with a small smile. Her voice was thick with emotion and the poison that was coursing through her veins.
He simply continued to look at her sadly and brought his hand up to cover hers. Suddenly, she understood.
It wasn't Klaus sitting in front of her, but Stefan. Caroline dropped her hand and let out a shaky breath.
"I was hallucinating," she croaked. Stefan nodded somberly in confirmation. Caroline's eyes filled with tears as the realization came crashing down.
"He's not coming, is he?" she asked, though it sounded like more of a statement.
"We don't know that, Care," Stefan soothed. "I'll call-
"It's already been a day, Stefan" Caroline interrupted. "I'm not going to make it much longer. He's not coming," This time she wasn't able to stop the tears that streamed down her cheeks.
"I'm going to call him again. He won't let you die, Caroline," Stefan demanded. With that he walked out of the room.
Caroline heard Stefan on the phone again and Bonnie crying in the living room as she faded in and out of consciousness. Sometimes she thought she heard her mom's voice in the mix so she knew she was hallucinating; her mother was dead. It began to be difficult for her to discern the difference between her dreams and reality as everything was so hazy when she was awake.
A knock at the door startled her from her dense dreams and a hesitant hope began to fill her chest. She heard Stefan rush to open it and then the voice that she'd longed to hear so long filled the house.
"Where is she?" His voice was tortured and angry but beautiful to her ears. She let out a sob of relief. He came for her.
Suddenly, Bonnie and Stefan ran in her room, both of them looking alarmed.
"What is it, what's wrong?" Bonnie exclaimed, her eyes wide with fear. Caroline's teary smile started to fade as she realized how empty the house sounded behind them.
"Nothing, I was just hallucinating again," she breathed through the lump in her throat. Both Bonnie and Stefan's eyes filled with sympathy as Bonnie came to sit on Caroline's bed. Caroline sobbed herself to sleep again; she doubted she would wake up.
Her dreams were filled with trees and leaves and making love on the forest floor. Her reality was filled with hallucinated conversations, bubbles of hope, and whispered "you came,". Every time she realized she was wrong again, the hope burned a little less bright.
"I love you guys," she whispered to Bonnie and Stefan. It was her way of saying goodbye as she fell asleep again.
The heavy sound of boots on the wooden floor jolted her awake again. She kept her eyes closed and breathed forcefully, trying to stop the tears that were already leaking from beneath her lashes again.
"Just let me die in peace," she begged. His smell, his presence, it was all too much when she knew it wasn't real.
"Now, love. That is not the welcome I was expecting," he teased. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain that came with hearing his voice. She wanted to get this one over with as soon as possible so she could go back to sleep.
Caroline braced herself before she opened her eyes but she still couldn't help the sharp intake of breath that came with seeing him just as she'd remembered. His hard muscles beneath his gray Henley. His curls that she'd run her fingers through as he'd kissed her from head to toe. The trademark smirk he always reserved for her. He seemed so real; the hallucinations were getting worse.
Maybe that means it's almost over, she thought hopefully.
She closed her eyes again against the image. It was breaking her heart.
"I know you're not real. So Go. Away.," she demanded as forcefully as she could manage. Her voice sounded a lot weaker than she wanted it to. She opened her eyes again in annoyance as he came to sit on her bed. His eyes watched her with sadness.
"What makes you think I'm not real?" he questioned quietly.
Caroline scoffed. What had she done to deserve this?
"You haven't been real the last ten times, and you never will be. I'm hallucinating" she snapped. Then softly, "Klaus isn't coming,"
"How can you be so sure?"
She turned towards him with hardened eyes. "Why are you doing this? If you think you're going to get my hopes up again, you're wrong. I know he's not coming, I know you're not real so just let me go back to sleep," her breath quickened as she finished her rant. Her body was too weak to be getting this worked up. Her energy was draining by the minute.
"I just want to know why you believe he's not coming," the hallucination begged quietly. Caroline shook her head and rolled her eyes back toward him. He was looking at her the way Klaus always did, his blue eyes somber yet loving. It was the look he reserved especially for her. For a moment her anger subsided and she was awed by her subconscious' ability to capture and recreate that look so perfectly. Then she remembered the tortuous question and her fury resurged.
"If I tell you, will you go away?" she demanded. The false Klaus simply nodded. Caroline shook her head and sighed. She tore her eyes away as they filled with tears. Looking at him hurt her almost as much as the words she was about to say.
"I know he's not coming because he doesn't love me anymore," she started, the tears spilling out over her cheeks. She heard the man's sharp intake of breath and she drew a shaky one to continue. "I don't know if he ever did. He left me to go have a baby with Hayley and when he came back it was only to get one thing. Now that he got it, he doesn't care what happens to me anymore," she finished. Her voice wasn't bitter but defeated. The realization had taken the fight out of her and she wanted nothing more than to simply fall asleep again. She kept her eyes closed and waited for his presence to disappear.
When it didn't she sighed exasperatedly and looked at him. "Well? I told you. Now leave me alone," she stated sourly.
She was surprised by the guilt and and pain that was so obviously displayed on the hallucination's face. Without responding, he pulled her into his lap and cradled her against his chest. She was too weak to resist him and after a moment she realized she didn't want to. The warmth of his arms and the familiarity of his smell were heavenly. It was everything she had craved since she'd last been with him. He bit into his wrist and pushed it against her mouth and suddenly his delicious blood was spilling over her tongue and down her throat.
It was then that Caroline decided maybe her brain didn't hate her; maybe it was simply trying to comfort her before she died. If there was any way to go, this was it. She was happy with that.
Suddenly, the world around her started to become clear and defined. The haze and sluggish fog that had tainted everything dissipated and realization came crashing down around her.
This is real.
Caroline sobbed against his wrist with relief and happiness. She felt him caress her hair and whisper "You were wrong, Caroline. I love you. I'm so sorry,"
She tore herself away from his arm and looked up at him, finally taking him in.
"You've never said that to me before," she breathed. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Said what?"
"That you love me," she smiled.
Klaus chuckled. "But you already knew that,"
"Yeah, but you've never actually said it," she grinned through her tears. Then she closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. She inhaled the scent of him that she had missed so much.
"Say it again," she pleaded quietly.
Klaus wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head beneath his chin. "I love you, Caroline,"
She smiled brightly and brought his hand to intertwine with hers. Then she looked up to meet his eyes again.
"I love you, Klaus," she whispered before she gently pulled him down to meet her lips to his. More than those words, more than him saving her or holding her, she had craved his kiss.
They had a lot to work through, they had a lot to talk about. Their love story would always be anything but easy. But they loved each other, and Caroline finally realized that was all that mattered.