Of Muffins and Men
He comes in on a stretcher.
She has a clipboard in one hand and a blueberry muffin in the other, and she presses herself close to the wall as her coworkers and the stretcher fly by. Her coworkers are on either side of him, moving quickly down the hallway, talking quickly and quietly between each other. She can't see the man's face, but she can smell the blood. Elena looks up from the stretcher as they pass her, "Dr. Forbes! Come on, we need your help."
Caroline tosses her muffin to a nurse and drops her clipboard onto a passing meal cart before running after Elena and the stretcher. She catches up the quickly, and Elena is now on top of the stretcher, doing chest compressions on the man. "What happened?" Caroline asks, pulling her flashlight out of her pocket. She opens one of the man's eyes, shines the light. No response. She notes that his eyes are a beautiful shade of blue. The deep kind of blue a girl could get lost in.
"Car accident." Elena grunts out, pushing down on the man's chest once more. "His legs were crushed. He went into shock in the ambulance and his heart stopped. We're going to lose him. We've got to get to the OR now." She looks up at Matt, who's pushing the cart, as she says this. He grimly nods and breaks into a run. Caroline runs ahead, shoving the doors to the OR open wide. They get the stretcher inside, and into place as nurses flood in. Caroline and Elena work quickly, pulling their hair back and sliding on gloves.
"Ready?" Caroline asks grimly. This man might not survive, and that's her least favorite part of her job.
"As I'll ever be." Elena mumbles.
She stops by his room three days after his surgery. He was a lucky guy. They'd completely reconstructed both legs, and his heart had stopped twice on the operating table due to shock and loss of blood from a gushing wound on his chest where the stick shift from his car had punctured him. But he had pulled through. However, they had to put him into a medically induced coma with all the trauma his body had gone through, but he would wake soon.
She knows Elena checks on him daily and leaves him flowers. His curtains are wide with sunlight filtering in when she comes into the room. There's a fresh bouquet of daises on his bedside table. His heart monitor is steady. She picks up the chart hanging on the side of the bed and flips it open.
Niklaus Mikaelson
Aged 34
Blue eyes, blonde hair
She looks up from the chart to the man on the bed. Niklaus? What an unusual name. He hasn't had any visitors yet. She had checked with the nurses everyday. What kind of a man suffers a terrible car accident and then undergoes life threatening surgery and gets no visitors? She drops the chart and sits at the chair beside his bed.
He certainly is handsome, with his blonde hair and the light speckle of stubble across his jaw and cheeks. She'll admit that she's curious about him. She sits beside him for a few more minutes, just watching.
And then, ever so slightly, his fingers twitch. She almost falls off the chair. She smiles then, "Are you ready to wake up, Mr. Mikaelson?" She asks. His fingers stop moving, and her smile falls. "Maybe not." She murmurs to herself. "Well, suit yourself then. I hope you're having pleasant dreams. I'll see you again tomorrow." She stands just as her pager beeps, and she runs out to meet the ambulance coming in.
She doesn't stay long enough to see the monitor tracking his heartbeat spike up at the sound of her voice.
Each day she visits, and each day she ends her visits with, "I'll see you again tomorrow." His fingers don't twitch again, but somehow and for some reason, she thinks he hears. Loud and clear.
A week passes, and Niklaus Mikaelson wakes up.
It's her day off, and Elena calls her while she's catching up on Breaking Bad. She pauses the episode and answers her phone. "If there's an emergency surgery I'm not doing it." She teases.
Elena ignores her, and says, "He's awake."
Caroline knows immediately who she's talking about. She sits up straight, "Oh. Oh my gosh. How is he feeling?" She's suddenly very excited. She's doesn't know why, but she's gotten very close to him, even though she's never spoken to him (well, she's never spoken to him and had him respond). She's seen him at his most vulnerable, and now she wants to see him awake and vibrant.
"I'm not sure. He won't speak to anyone. He keeps asking for a certain doctor. One who was talking to him when he was asleep. He keeps asking for you." Elena says.
Caroline sucks in a breath, "He's asking for me?"
"Yes. And his wife is here as well." Elena drops a subtle warning.
Her heart drops. She doesn't know why, but the thought upsets her. "Oh. Okay. I, um, I'll be right there. Just let me get dressed." She ends the call and turns off the TV.
He's asking for me, she thinks. He's married, she thinks. She shouldn't have been so excited to hear that he was awake. It wasn't appropriate.
She sighs, rubbing her forehead tiredly. She might as well get this over with. He had probably heard her while he was asleep, and was comforted by the sound of her voice. It happened sometimes.
She dresses quickly and hops into her car. On the way to the hospital, she chews on her nails, nervous. She waves at Elena as she comes in and Matt smiles at her from the nurse's station.
She knows the route to Niklaus' room by heart and gets there quickly. He is sitting up on his bed, and a brunette woman is pacing the room, speaking at him rather than to him in a harsh tone. He looks tired and bored and angry all at the same time. She realizes that this woman is berating him, and that's definitely not good for his health, having just woken up from a coma and all. She knocks on the doorjamb, and he looks up at her. His eyes instantly light up, and he smiles.
His smile is contagious, because she finds herself grinning too. A moment passes, and the brunette woman interrupts, "Who are you?" She snaps, tapping her foot.
Caroline takes her eyes away from Niklaus. "I'm Dr. Forbes, Niklaus' doctor. I operated on him in the OR. It's a pleasure to meet you. And your husband is very lucky." She extends her hand.
The woman scoffs and turns away. Niklaus instead speaks, and the beautiful English accent that pours out of him makes her want to pass out right then, "Dr. Forbes, ignore my wife. Hayley is grumpy today." Caroline crosses the room towards him and still, he is smiling at her. He holds his hand out for her to take, and she shakes it, "Thank you so much. I don't know how I can ever repay you for saving my legs. And I can never ever even hope to thank you enough for being here every day, for talking to me. It kept me going inside." He says this with such sincerity that she blushes. She drops his hand and instantly misses the contact.
"It was nothing, Mr. Mikaelson. I was just doing my job." She says warmly.
Hayley interrupts, "Can we skip all of this and get to the discharging part?" She asks rudely. She waves her phone at Klaus, "I've got a hair appointment to get to."
Caroline feels awkward between the two of them. This is the most hostile marriage she's ever seen, and that was saying something since her father had left her mom for another man. She decides to say something because Niklaus looks like he wants to bite his wife's head off, "Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson, I'm afraid that a discharge won't be happening anytime soon. We had to reconstruct your legs and because of that, you'll have to learn how to walk all over again. It will be at least another month before you'll be allowed to leave. Now, if money for treatment is–"
Niklaus cuts her off, waving a hand, "Money isn't an issue, Dr. Forbes. I would just like to get started as soon as possible so I can walk out of here."
Caroline smiles, "Of course, Mr. Mikaelson. I'll file the paperwork and get you a physical therapist right away."
Hayley butts in again, "So he can't walk? I thought you guys were doctors. I thought you were supposed to fix him."
Caroline sighs inwardly, "We did, Mrs. Mikaelson. Your husband died twice on the operating table." She turns to Hayley and ignores the rush of air Niklaus sucks in at hearing that. "Thanks to my team and myself, we were able to revive your husband both times and give him new legs. But now he's going to have to learn how to use them all over again. It's a little bit more important than a hair appointment." The brunette woman glares and Caroline almost rolls her eyes. She turns back to her patient, "Mr. Mikaelson, I'll be back later to get your signature on those papers I was telling you about. But for now I recommend that you get some rest." She looks pointedly at Hayley, "No more visitors for today." He looks somewhat grateful as Hayley gathers her jacket and purse. "It's nice to see you up and moving, Mr. Mikaelson." She says to him. She waves as she exits.
She walks away from the room, heels clicking on the floor and Elena waves at her from the other end of the hallway. "How'd it go?" She asks.
"He was very sweet." Caroline says, remembering how he'd thanked her.
"And very handsome." Elena grins.
"And very handsome." She agrees, "Except his wife..." She searches for the right words.
"Seems like an evil bitch?" Elena supplies.
Caroline laughs, "Exactly." She looks down at Niklaus' chart in her hand, "I've got to get him a physical therapist. He wants to get started right away."
"Why don't you do it?" Elena asks, "You were a licensed physical therapist before you were a doctor. And I'm sure he'd love to have you." She winks.
Caroline blushes, "That would be highly inappropriate, Elena." She chastises.
Elena rolls her eyes, "Fine. Get Stefan to do it, but you're totally going to regret it." Just then, Elena's pager beeps. "I'll see you later, Caroline." She hugs Caroline quickly before she takes off down the hall.
Caroline continues walking towards the other end of the hospital. She stops in front Stefan's RN station. He looks up from his computer and grins at her, his coppery hair shining in the light. "Hey, Care. What's up?"
"I need you to take on a new patient." Caroline shoves the chart in her hands at him. He flips through the chart, pursing his lips.
"You know I would if I could, but I'm already booked out for the month. And this guy is going to need a lot of work." Stefan frowns.
"Please, Stefan. He's important to me." She almost begs. The words surprise her as they pop out. But they aren't untrue.
Stefan frowns a little bit more, and then his face relaxes. "Well, I suppose I can stop seeing Mrs. Lockwood. I think she's faking her sprained ankle, actually."
Caroline rolls her eyes, "You know she's a cougar, Stefan. And she's had that weird crush on you since high school. Of course she's faking it." She snorts.
Stefan laughs and signs the chart, "Alright. Tell your man I'll see him bright and early tomorrow morning."
She surges forward, kissing Stefan's cheek over the counter, "Oh, thank you so much, Stefan! I owe you big for this."
Stefan grins and hands back the the papers, "Yeah, you totally owe me a date with Elena."
Caroline checks her hair in the bathroom before she goes back to Niklaus' room. She's makeup less and her hair is in a messy bun. She glares at herself. Of course she would look like crap the day he wakes up. She shrugs, decides it's as good as it's going to get and leaves the bathroom.
She knocks on his doorjamb before she enters. He's flipping through channels on the TV, sitting in the same position she had left him in. His eyes light up when he sees her, and her heart jumps in her chest. "Hello, Dr. Forbes." He says warmly.
"Hello, Mr. Mikaelson. I have good news. My friend Stefan is going to be taking on your case." She hands him the paperwork, "He's the best, and you'll be good as new when he's done with you." He signs the papers and hands them back to her.
"Thank you, Dr. Forbes. For everything."
She smiles, "Just doing my job, Mr. Mikaelson."
"Please, call me Klaus."
The next day, she pops in on Klaus' first session. The padded gym is empty save for Stefan and a wheelchair bound Klaus. She can tell he hates the chair by the way he taps on the wheel impatiently as he watches Stefan walk.
Stefan is talking animatedly when she walks in. "Hey, guys." She chirps, "How's it going?"
Stefan smiles at her immediately, but Klaus stays quiet. "Hey, Care. We just got Klaus in his chair, but I've got to run for a second. Matt is bringing Vicki in. You know how she gets when she's off her meds. Will you take him to lunch or something for a bit? I promise I'll be back within the hour."
Caroline nods, and Stefan thanks her before jogging away. "Hey, Klaus. How do you feel today?" She asks, finally turning to him.
He shrugs, glaring down at his chair, "I feel useless." He mutters, "And short."
Caroline shakes her head and laughs a little. "That's completely normal. It's just going to take some getting used to." She assures him.
She leads him out of the gym and to the outside of the hospital, and what a pair they make. Her strolling along while he wheels beside her. They move along the sidewalk, passing other patients and doctors.
"Did you and Stefan once...date?" Klaus asks, breaking the cool silence they've had for the past five minutes, rolling along beside her. He frowns as he asks.
Caroline laughs in surprise. "No, but I was totally obsessed with him in high school. I thought we were going to get married and have five kids." She laughs again, "He's my best friend."
"Ah." Is Klaus' response, but he's not frowning anymore. "Are you seeing anybody else then?"
She frowns, "No. I'm afraid I've never had much luck in that department."
Klaus smiles up at her, hands on his wheels, "Maybe you just haven't met the right guy yet." He says.
She smiles back. "Maybe." She agrees. But truthfully, she's given up on ever finding someone. She had tried and tried and tried but she'd never had more than a two month relationship. "But what about you?" She asks, "How's married life?"
Klaus sighs now, and they stop in front of the snack cart. She buys a muffin and hands him a water bottle. "It'd be great if we were happily married, but we haven't been for some time. And this," he points to his immobile legs, "isn't going to make things any better."
Caroline frowns. As his wife, Hayley should support him. But all she seems to care about is herself. "I'm sure things will work themselves out." She says, though she's doubtful.
Klaus shrugs, "I'm not sure if I want them to, honestly. I died twice, Caroline. That kind of puts things into perspective. Why would I want to be miserable today when I could die tomorrow?"
Caroline holds the door open for him, and he rolls inside. They travel the rest of the way back to the gym in silence. "Enjoy the rest of your session, Klaus. I know you'll be better in no time." She says warmly, just outside of the gym. Stefan is already inside.
Klaus grins, "I'll see you tomorrow?" He asks, and she's sure she imagines the hope in his voice.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss a lunch date with my favorite patient." She says, smiling.
"Caroline's in loveeee." Katherine teases, taking the beer Jeremy hands her from across the bar. Caroline and the twins are at the Grille, seated at the bar. It's their usual Thursday night hangout.
Caroline rolls her eyes but her cheeks flush, "I am not."
"Then you haven't been going on cute little lunchtime strolls with Klaus?" Elena says, lifting her eyebrows.
"Yeah, and then walking around like you've got wings on your feet afterwards." Katherine adds, smirking. "Face it. You've got it bad."
"I hate both of you." Caroline says, glaring.
But maybe it's true.
He laughs at her jokes and thinks she's smart. He lets her talk and actually listens. They like the same movies and the same food and the same music.
She wakes up each day with a smile, and she knows it's because of Klaus. She has never felt this way about another person. She was going to tell him. She had to.
"Stefan told me you were a licensed physical therapist. Why did you decide to have Stefan held me instead of yourself?" He asks one day, stealing a blueberry off of the top of her muffin as they sit at a lunch table outside under a tree. Well, she sits and he pushes his chair as close to the table as it could be.
"I thought it might be a conflict of interest." She answers, pulling her muffin in closer, glaring at him playfully.
He grins, tossing her blueberry into his mouth, "Why? Because you're attracted to me, love?" He teases.
She swoons at the pet name, but she can't let him know that he makes her weak. "No. Because I can hardly stand you for a lunch hour, let alone a four hour therapy session."
Klaus lifts his eyebrows and she realizes how mean she had sounded and rushes to apologize. He laughs loudly, "You were a mean cheerleader in high school, weren't you?"
Caroline blushes, "I was a cheerleader all four years." She admits. She smacks his arm, "But I was not mean."
They spend the next hour talking about high school, and she's disappointed when she has to return him to Stefan.
Tomorrow, she decides as he wheels himself into the gym. I'll tell him tomorrow.
She drives to work the next day, going over what she's going to say in her head. She'll meet him for lunch like always, and while they're eating, she'll just tell him. She's always been a feelings blurter.
The day passes slowly and she's a bundle of nerves by the time lunch rolls around.
Klaus is now on crutches, Stefan tells her as she meets him at the gym door, he's a great patient. He never gives up. She finds herself admiring him even more.
She comes into the gym to find Klaus arguing with Hayley. She shrinks back. Stefan hadn't told her Hayley was here.
Klaus leans against his crutches looking miserable as she berates him. "I don't want you seeing that blonde doctor anymore. I don't like the way she looks at you."
Klaus catches site of Caroline over Hayley's shoulder and the color drains from his cheeks. Hayley looks back and sneers at her. The brunette shoulders past her, and growls, "Get your own husband." in Caroline's ear. Heat flushes down her neck and she turns her gaze to the ground. Hayley slams the door behind her.
"Hey, Caroline." He greets quietly.
"Hey." She greets back. She steps towards him, "Klaus, why do you put up with that? You're a great guy. You're sweet and kind and any other woman would be lucky to have you. So why did you marry the one woman who treats you like garbage?" She grows angry. "I mean come on, you nearly died and lost your legs. Has she come to any of your physical therapy? No!"
"Leave it alone, Caroline." He sighs.
She stands directly in front of him. "I won't. You deserve better." She leans towards him, and takes a crutch. He falls against her lightly, balancing on his newly put together legs. Their eyes lock, and she so badly wants to kiss him.
"Like you?" He laughs humorlessly, bitterly. It hurts her. The thought makes him laugh? "I heard you, you know. When I was sleeping. I heard you tell me you were going to see me tomorrow. You said it every single day. Sometimes I think I want to see you for every tomorrow I have left." Her breath catches in her throat. He leans in close to her, and she can feel the heat from his mouth.
Just then, Stefan comes in. "Hey–oh! Oh. I'm so sorry! I'll come back later."
"Damn it." Klaus growls under his breath, and Caroline bites her lip. They were about to kiss! He leans partially against her, balancing with one crutch. Something in his eyes changes, and dread fills her. "That can't happen again. I can't see you anymore, Caroline. I'm a married man. If I wasn't I–I don't know, but I do know that I said some things when we first met that maybe led you to believe I wanted to leave Hayley–"
"Do not make me seem crazy, Klaus." She holds up a hand and gives him his other crutch. He'd never even really given her a chance. How wrong she had been about him. "You know just as well as I do that you have feelings for me, too. But you're absolutely right. It's inappropriate. I'll get Stefan back in here." Tears well up in her eyes. "Just know that you're throwing your life away. I meant what I said. You deserve happiness." She had been so stupid. She steps away from him, and he looks like he wants to say something.
She leaves before he can.
"I'm sorry, Caroline." Elena says sympathetically, sliding a shot across the counter.
Caroline catches the small glass and knocks it back. She shrugs. "I should have known better." She rubs her temples tiredly. How could she have been so stupid? Falling in love with a married man? No matter how nasty his wife was.
"Look, I say you go for it anyway." Katherine says, waving her beer. "He obviously has feelings for you, and his wife is a mean bitch. Make your move and get the guy."
Elena glares at her sister, "Katherine, don't set her up for heartbreak."
Caroline rolls her eyes. "Guys, Klaus made it very clear that we can't see each other anymore. I'm going to respect his wishes."
"He's a guy!" Katherine protests, "He's stupid! He doesn't know that the best thing that could ever happen to him is right in front of him."
Caroline shakes her head, "He's married." She says, defeated. "It just wasn't meant to be. Look, I'm gonna head home. I'll see you guys on Monday." She stands and throws some money on the counter, ignoring the twins' looks.
It just wasn't meant to be, she tells herself again as she drives home.
(But no, she doesn't really believe that.)
Two weeks pass, and she doesn't see Klaus once. She avoids the gym and Stefan and his room altogether. Her heart aches, but she knows it's for the best.
Today was the day Klaus was to be discharged. He had passed his therapy with flying colors. He walked with a slight limp, she heard from Elena, but he walked. It was enough.
She slips by his room after her lunch break. She'd spent it inside, and had gone through the lunch line. She hadn't really felt like stopping by the snack cart for her usual muffin.
The room is empty and dark. The flowers and get well soon cards were gone. She sits on the bed, puts her head in her hands. She sucks in a ragged breath, willing the tears away. She tries to tell herself that he was nothing more than a patient who's recovery she had taken an interest in after she and Elena had worked so hard on his legs. He must have just discharged recently because his chart is still in the room. She picks it up.
"Caroline?" A hesitant voice from the door breaks the silence that's been following her all day. She looks up, and Klaus is standing in the door.
She jumps up, because he's standing. She smiles, and her vision clouds over with unshed tears. "So it's true. You're walking again." She smiles and she's sincere when she says, "I'm so happy for you, Klaus."
Klaus steps into the room, hand rubbing his neck. "Thank you." And he sounds shy.
But he sounds miserable at the same time.
She looks down at her hands, "How are you?" She asks quietly.
"I'm well, as you can see."
Caroline wishes her pager would beep. "I mean, how's your wife?"
Klaus shrugs, and she tilts her head, "I wouldn't know." He begins in that accent she loves so much. "I'm a divorced man. And I have been since," he checks the watch on his arm, "ten this morning. I just got back from the courthouse."
Caroline is still caught on the divorce, and she hardly knows what to say, but she manages to get one question out, "Why did you come back here?"
Klaus steps into the middle of the room, takes the chart she's still holding from her. He flips through it, "Isn't it obvious?" He chuckles. "I came back for you. I think I'll always come back for you. I was stupid. I haven't loved Hayley in a long time. She's not what got me through this. She's not the person I wanted to walk for." He comes closer to her, and she's surprised at how tall he stands without his chair.
Caroline swallows nervously. "I walked for you." He continues. "Because I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to make you proud. I wanted to be a whole man for you." He spreads his arms out, "And here I am." He comes closer to her, taking both of her hands in his. He holds them to his chest, "I'm alive today because of you. Because you're smart and strong and brave. Your light shines brighter than any I've ever seen. Please say you'll give me another chance." His eyes bore into hers.
She smiles a little, and she only has one thing to say, "I knew there was something about you when you came in on that stretcher." She murmurs before she leans up, closing the distance between them. His arms fold around her, and he picks her up, holding her at his exact height as they kiss.
Klaus stands strong on his feet.