I know I should be updating my other stories but I just had a flash of inspiration for this and I needed to get this written since I've been having a bit of writer's block with my other stories and exams coming up. I needed some stress relief so here you go.
This is just a one-shot, ok maybe a two-shot depending on how I feel but I don't really have a plot to accompany this apart from what happens in this one-shot.
I hope you enjoy it and review to tell me what you think, should I continue, if I should then please give me some ideas for any further chapters. :D
"If I asked you to run, to leave this town, right now, would you?"
"Give me a reason."
"They have the cure, they're going to use it on you. They have it all planned out and this time they can't be stopped. So I'm asking you, would you leave if I told you to go?"
Her eyes emanated a sadness that he had never seen before yet continued to hold strength in an otherwise impossible situation. Her body was trembling with fear and impatience whilst she remained rooted to the spot, she hadn't moved since she had entered and he knew she wasn't going to leave without an answer.
Earlier….
Katherine smirked as she placed the red vile into Stefan's hand curling it around the object so that his hold on it remained tight.
"Why?" Stefan asked curiously knowing that the woman before him wasn't being selfless-it wasn't possible for her- so there must be something that she was going to gain from this act of false kindness.
"The only way to turn Elena back to a human, you have to give the cure to the originator of her bloodline." Stefan's eyes widened as they flickered between the vial within his hold and the brunette. "And seeing as Klaus is the originator, well, that's taking down two birds with one stone. I despise Elena and I hate Klaus."
"Wouldn't that turn every vampire in his bloodline?" Katherine smirked as she released her fingers from his and stepped back.
"Yes and even if a cured vampire wanted to become a vampire again, they can't. The cure is named aptly. It keeps you a human, if you die that's it. You remain dead."
"What about you, I know you, you would never want to be human." Katherine grinned at how well he knew her.
"You're right. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve to ensure that I won't." She looked at her watch and pursed her lips. "I would stick around to watch the outcome but I have a plane to catch and marguerites to drink. Ciao." With that, Katherine gave them one final smirk and walked out of the house letting her six inch heels echo on the wooden steps.
Stefan tightened his hold on the cure and turned to face the others who stood behind him, half in confusion whilst the others were relieved except one whose heart stuttered as she heard Katherine's words.
"We need to get Klaus to take the cure." Elena whispered, her words echoing in the room as the fire crackled behind them, all eyes turned on her as she spoke. "It's the only choice we have."
Bonnie bit her lip and for once thought she was doing the right thing, Elena could be human and the vampire population-enemies of witches- would decrease. This was perfect, this was what the spirits had wanted all along, a world where witches wouldn't be ruled by vampires.
"He won't take it on his own, we'll have to weaken him and put it down his throat." Bonnie said as she came up with a plan in her head, her thoughts rushing in her mind looking for the most full proof plan.
Caroline was frozen on the spot whilst everyone else began making plans, in her mind there was a battle going on, part of her wanted to help Elena and she knew that the only way to do that was to make sure that Klaus took the cure, but the other part knew that that meant she would become a human as well. Sure being a vampire meant you had to drink blood but she could control that –she knew she could control it. Blood bags were the meals for her, she wouldn't dare to hurt humans since she knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end. But overall she liked being a vampire, it made her into the woman she was today and she was proud of it.
Her human days had been filled with self-loathing and the feeling of not being enough, but when she had turned, thanks to a certain bitch with a pillow (who in the end she was grateful for), she became someone she liked. Loyal, compassionate, brave and strong. All the qualities she had always wanted.
But now her friends were trying to turn her back to the little girl who had been afraid of the world. And she didn't want it.
"So I'll fry his brain, weaken him whilst Stefan, Damon and Jeremy hold him down. Then Elena and Caroline, you're going to put the cure in his mouth and makes sure that he swallows it."
"But we have to get him alone, make sure his siblings aren't there." Jeremy inputs.
"They're not. Rebekah and Elijah are out of town looking for Katherine and the cure." Elena says as her lips curve up into a smile.
"Elena, are you sure you want to do this?" Damon asks as his dark eyes lock onto Elena's, she nods adamantly.
"I do, I can't be a vampire, Damon, I wasn't born for this." She says resolutely with confidence as she pins him down with her doe eyes. Caroline watches the interaction and realises that Damon hasn't spoken out as much as he would have done, he isn't at the helm of the ship like he would usually be.
Caroline watched how Elena's eyes lit up at the prospect of being human once again and in any other situation she would have done anything for her friend, but if it meant losing a part of herself then she had to speak out…
"What if I don't want to be human?" She murmured hoping that for once everyone would ignore her and continue to talk but quite the opposite –silence filled the room, everyone's eyes turned to her and she felt the weight of the heavy gazes.
"What?" Bonnie asked hoping she had misheard her friend.
Caroline filled her lungs with unnecessary air before answering. "What if I don't want to be human, what if I want to remain a vampire?" Bonnie blinked furiously comprehending the question.
"Why would you want that, Caroline? You were always meant to be human not…not…this…" she gestured to her. "You were never supposed to be a vampire, Care." Something in the blonde's heart broke which she couldn't fathom and Elena noticed the light in her eyes dim.
"Look, Care, this is good. We can all be human again, start over and we won't have to be afraid of Klaus anymore. He won't hunt us down or harm us. We can travel anywhere and start again. Don't you want that?" Caroline felt her lungs tighten and she couldn't help but paint a fake smile on her face.
"Of course I do, Elena, but I don't want to be human again." She took another breath, "I can't be a vampire." She said.
"And I can't be a vampire." Elena said, both realised they had reached an impasse that wouldn't-couldn't- be resolved. The doppleganger's eyes turned to the witch who stood at the side watching them both.
"I could find a loophole." She blurted out. "I could make sure that you wouldn't be turned back, Care." Somehow Caroline didn't quite believe that and she knew that it was a lie that Bonnie had made up.
"How?" Bonnie's eyes flickered to Elena who looked at her pleadingly.
"Katherine found a loophole, which means that so can I. Trust me, Care, I can do it." Caroline heard her heart stutter and it solidified her thoughts, Bonnie was lying, whatever Katherine was planning couldn't be replicated for her not in the time they had left. The plan was to be carried out during the night when Klaus would be unprepared and there were only 5 hours left until nightfall.
Caroline looked around seeing Elena's pleading look, Bonnie's judgemental eyes hidden beneath the false promise, Jeremy's eyes condescending look asking her 'why would you want to be a monster' whilst Stefan looked to be contemplating inside his head. Her eyes flickered to Damon's just as he looked at her and it occurred that he, again, hadn't spoken out.
"Are you sure you want to stay as a vampire?" Bonnie asked with a tense voice and Caroline noticed that her tone was strained as if she was forcing herself. "You've got to remember, the rest of us are going to be human, all of us. You'll be the only vampire left." She was trying to guilt trip her. It was a low move but it was the only thing Bonnie could think of knowing that she wouldn't be able to find a way to keep her blond friend a vampire.
"I..I…" Caroline stuttered under the opposing voice in her head. Be human, everyone else is….You know you don't want to be one of them again. You can't be weak. "It's fine." Caroline closed her eyes making up her mind. "You don't need to do a spell." Bonnie sighed a breath of relief feeling bad that she had lied to her.
"Great." Elena said with joy. "Now we just need to make sure everything goes to plan."
Caroline couldn't help but feel angry towards Elena in that moment, the looks they had all given her when she told them she didn't want to be human was crushing enough without having to be lied to to go along with the plan under false pretence.
"Well, I need to go find my mom, tell her the news." She smiled forcefully hoping none of them would notice.
"We'll see you later, Care." Bonnie said as the blond vampire turned and walked out of the house feeling the numbness crawl up her body as she left her friends behind, she glanced back and saw Damon staring at her intently with doubt set in his eyes before he looked back to Elena who was breathing with relief.
Caroline flashed to her house and headed in seeing that her mother was there. "Hey mom."
"Caroline, what's wrong?" Liz asked noticing her daughter's small voice. Caroline observed her mother as she walked towards her in her sheriff's uniform with her gun attached to her hip.
"Nothing…I…" Caroline couldn't help but wonder what her mother would think to the situation. "Mom, can I ask you something?" Liz tilted her head gazing at the blond inquisitively.
"Of course, come here." Liz led her to the living room where she sat pulling her daughter with her gently. "You know you can talk to me about anything."
"If…if there was a choice you had to make, like there's this…this thing that would change your entire life and could turn you into something that you didn't like but everyone else wanted, would you use the thing?" Caroline asked hoping that her mom would get the gist of the idea but seeing her expression she knew that she hadn't grasped it.
"Sweetie, you're going to have to narrow this down." Caroline took a steadying breath.
"Let's say there's a-a cake." Liz cocked up her eyebrow, "And you added sprinkles to the cake but there was this thing that you could use to get rid of the sprinkles as if they never existed would you choose to use it if most people wanted to remove the sprinkles but there was this one person who liked the sprinkles. Would you use the thing?" Liz tried to grasp the idea.
"Caroline, you're not making any sense, sweetie." Liz murmured seeing the tears that her daughter was blinking back. Caroline looked away trying to steady herself before looking back at her mom. "Care, I'm a little worried her, why don't you try telling me exactly what's on your mind?"
"We have the cure." Caroline said watching the emotion flash across Liz' face. "And Elena wants to become a human."
"So she wants to take the cure?" Liz asked wondering why this would lead the younger blond to cry.
"Sort of. The only way she can be human is if the originator of her bloodline takes it."
"And that person is…"
"Klaus." Caroline glanced back up and watched as Liz took in the information. "But it also means everyone from his bloodline becomes human." She said quietly causing Liz to nod in realisation.
"But you don't want to be human." Caroline shook her head slowly as she looked down at her fingers.
"Would you hate me if I didn't turn back?" She murmured and Liz looked startled at the question.
"Of course not, Care. It's your choice if you want to turn back or not. I love you either way. I loved you when you were a human and I love you as a vampire. You're still the same person, but you've grown a lot since you turned. I'm proud of you Caroline, I always have been, whether you're a vampire or human does not affect that."
Caroline felt the weight on her shoulders lighten and she couldn't help the tears spill out of her eyes as she pulled her mother into a hug.
"Care, still human." Liz gasped and Caroline pulled back giggling as she wiped away her tears. "But Elena still wants to be a vampire." She murmured to Caroline who nodded slowly comprehending the words.
"It's not fair." She whispered. "Me, Stefan and Damon never had a choice, and we're alright, apart from Damon, but, yeah, we turned out pretty ok, right?"
"You turned out more than ok, Caroline." Liz said resolutely drying the stray tears from her daughter's face.
"What do I do?" Liz sighed and cupped her daughter's cheek.
"You choose. What your friends want, or what you want. Because once you make that choice there isn't any going back. Do you want to spend the rest of your life hating who you are or disliking what you did?"
Caroline nodded as she set her heart and mind to a new plan and rose from her seat. "And Care, if you did go along with this, remember it's the entire bloodline. Not just you, Elena and the others, thousands of people would be forced back." Caroline's eyes widened and her decision was set in stone.
She wasn't going to be human, not again. She was going to remain a vampire.
But how? Well, that was another question.
Liz studied her daughter carefully as she was lost in her thoughts, their relationship hadn't been the strongest at first, in fact after Bill had left both Caroline and Liz pulled away from each other trying to get away from the other's reminder of what had previously been, but when Caroline had turned their bond grew, their relationship became stronger and she loved it.
"Where is the cure now?"
"At the Boarding House, Elena has it, they're planning on using it on Klaus when it gets dark." Liz glanced towards the clock.
"So in a couple of hours." She murmured, Liz watched her daughter's body sag as she backed into the sofa and pulled up her knees, she reminded her mother of when she was 7 when it had thundered outside and she remained sat like that in her bed with her eyes closed tightly as she rocked herself and tried to calm down, those nights were the few where both blondes had put their differences aside.
Caroline ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, "I don't know what to do," Caroline whispered glancing at her mother who tilted her head. "How do I stop it?"
"Warn him." Caroline let out a humourless chuckle.
"And then what? They're going to hate me, they're going to hate themselves and I'm going to have to live with that. If I do tell Klaus, he's either going to kill them and take the cure to use on Elena to get hybrids or he's just going to leave whilst I have to watch my friends despise themselves."
"Or you could leave as well." Liz murmured and Caroline's head snapped to the side to look at her mother.
"What…?" She whispered as Liz let out a deep breath.
"You could leave Mystic Falls, I love you Caroline, I do, and I love this town but it's full of danger. I'm sure every supernatural being will probably pass through this town, I mean remember Silas, he nearly killed you, he nearly killed me and nearly killed everyone on this planet. I want you safe, Caroline and if that means leaving Mystic Falls, then so be it." Caroline stared at her mother with wide eyes.
"But you-"
"I'm retiring." Liz whispered causing Caroline to sit up frantically and look at her mother in confusion.
"But you're only 35, I don't understand…"
"When Silas nearly killed me, I thought, this is it, I'm going to die at the hands of a 2000 year old immortal psychopath who I don't even know. But I didn't die, you brought me back and I swore to myself to never let anything like that happen again, I don't want to die Caroline, I'm scared." Liz's eyes glazed over with tears, Caroline watched shocked as her mother's vulnerability presented itself for the first time. "And last week, there was a shooting in downtown and a bullet grazed my shoulder-"
"What?!" Caroline shrieked grasping her mother's hands tightly whilst Liz sighed.
"A bullet, it grazed my shoulder," Liz pulled a hand free and tugged the edge of her collar to the side showing a patch of white bandage that covered her shoulder, Caroline shook her head in disbelief.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't have chance, I was working and you were with your friends, we barely saw each other. But it made me realise that in this line, being a Sheriff, I could die just like that," Liz snapped her fingers, "and I don't want that to happen. So I gave in my letter of resignation last weekend and today is my last day. I'm hanging up my sheriff's badge, I'm not risking my life anymore, I can't do that not to you."
Caroline couldn't help the loss of words that overcame her, instead she pulled her mom into a tight hug, "I don't want to lose you, mommy." She whispered feeling the woman engulf her in warmness as she patted Caroline's back.
"And you don't, just like I refuse to lose you or allow you to live hating yourself." Liz untangled herself from Caroline before getting up and pulling out a few letters from a draw. "You got your College letters back, they came this morning, sweetie." Caroline cleared her throat confused at the sudden change of conversation but she couldn't find it in herself to ask why. Taking the letters she opened each one to be stunned.
"I got in." She whispered as a grin spread across her lips. "All of them, I got in to all of them, Charleston, Tulane, Whitmore, Chicago, New York….all of them…." Liz ran her fingers through Caroline's hair as she smiled proudly.
"I knew you would, I'm so proud of you Carebear, where are you planning to go?" Caroline blinked before frowning.
"I was planning to go to Whitmore, since it would be the closest to you-"
"But you won' have to, I was planning on travelling around the states for a few months before settling somewhere new. I always planned to travel a bit, after I retired. I guess this the perfect opportunity." Caroline's mouth opened and closed.
"You want to leave?" Liz nodded slowly and Caroline mirrored the move. "Let's do it," Caroline glanced at the letters now lying on the table, "I was hoping to go to Tulane, and their biological evolution course is the best out of all of them." Liz smiled at her.
"I was thinking of visiting Steven for the Summer, I can come down and visit you when you get settled Caroline."
"Really?"
"Really. Now go, you need to warn Klaus before the others do something." Caroline nodded and stood slowly.
"What if he doesn't listen?" Liz tilted her head.
"My daughter doesn't give up until the whole world is listening, and Klaus Mikaelson is no exception." Caroline inhaled deeply and nodded.
"Ok, ok. I'll see you later, mom."
"I'm proud of you." Caroline's eyes watered but she held her tears back as she stepped away and out of the door sparing a glance back to see her mom smiling at her with a nod.
Caroline walked to the end of the drive before glancing to her side seeing no one in the street and flashed towards Klaus' mansion where she froze at the entrance.
"Ok, here we go…" Caroline straightened her back and held her head high as she walked determinedly towards the door and knocked on the door resolutely. She could hear the footsteps on the other side grow closer.
You can do this…the door opened suddenly…
"What the hell do you want?"
…or not…
"Rebekah." The blonde Original raised her perfectly curved eyebrow waiting for an answer. "Is Klaus here?" Rebekah's lips curved up into a smirk.
"Nik, your plaything is here!" Rebekah hollered but gained no response causing her to huff, "He's upstairs in his room," as Caroline stepped forward Rebekah slammed her hand into the doorframe blocking her way as she looked the younger blonde up and down, "if this is another one of your failed plans where you come and distract my brother whilst the rest of your pathetic friends try to kill us, I will gouge out your eyes and make you watch as I pull out your heart. Clear?" Rebekah's lips turned to a sweet, innocent smile as Caroline nodded once with the roll of her eyes. Rebekah stayed still for a moment before sighing and walking away leaving Caroline to close the door behind her. Her friends had been wrong, Rebekah was here but it seemed Elijah was absent like Elena had believed.
Her eyes wandered over the interior of the house, the building screamed elegance and royalty and she felt it overwhelm her so she evaded her gaze and walked up the stairs, using her vampire hearing she made her way to a room on the far side of the corridor and opened the door to see Klaus with his back turned to her as he faced a canvas which he seemed to have just started working on recently judging by the few brush strokes on the white surface.
Silence remained in the room, neither Klaus nor Caroline spoke, the bristle of the brush on the canvas was the only sound in the room. Hating the silence, Caroline cleared her throat as she closed the door behind her hoping Klaus would acknowledge her but he didn't.
"Klaus."
"Hello, love." If it weren't for his words Caroline would have thought that he hadn't even noticed her presence, she saw him tilt his head before placing his brush to the side and getting up from his stool as he turned to face her. His lips curved up into a smirk as he hid the confusion he felt at her presence in his house. Why on Earth would she be here?
"Pretty picture." She murmured glancing at the finished canvas of a pure white feather with red, bloodlike, tips that seemed to be floating in the air.
"Hmm, I suppose it is." He agreed not sparing a glance at his work. "So you've here to admire my work?" He asked with a hint of amusement causing Caroline to swallow as she tried to find a way to bring up her issue.
"No, though I do admire it, you're really good."
"Flattery will get you everywhere." He said with a smirk as he cocked his eyebrow waiting for her to continue. "Is this another plan form your friends, here to distract me as they try and fail miserably to kill me?" Caroline shook her head.
"No."
"Well, sweetheart, as much as I love you being here, do enlighten me as to why." Caroline let out a deep breath, Klaus noticed her shaky breath and her blue eyes which sustained a hint of fear, which he had never seen before. "Is something troubling you, love, you seem worried?" He asked genuinely curious, he moved closer to her eyeing her up and down noticing her dishelved hair, the apples of her cheeks which were stained with dried tears and the increase in her heart rate.
Caroline looked Klaus in the eyes and something crossed her mind, if her friends somehow gave him the cure, what would he be like as a human? Would he go mad with being weak, would he die of old age, would he be happy?
"You once said that we…we were the same," she licked her dry lips, "what made you think that?" Klaus blinked startled by the question but offered her an answer nonetheless.
"You are what I once was, what I wanted to be though I didn't have the capability to believe it. I was once kind and loyal, just like you, admittedly those were my days as a human, but I changed as time passed. Just like you are, maybe you're not travelling the same road as I once did but I see the similarities." He moved closer slowly taking care to not startle her. "You do terrible things to save your friends as I do the same to save my family. You've killed for the Bennett witch as I've killed for Rebekah, I won't hesitate to dagger my family if they are in danger as you won't hesitate to lie to your friends if they were in danger." He stilled a few feet from her taking in the quickened beat of her heart and the small shallow breaths she was taking in. "We may not be exactly the same but we are not as different as you believe. We share the same principles but carry out our actions in different ways, I plunder and kill whilst you negotiate and eradicate."
Caroline inhaled sharply, "What if I changed?" She whispered quietly, "What if I choose to be selfish, to put my friends aside and do what's best for me. We wouldn't be the same, would we?"
"I suppose not, but some choices force us to put ourselves first, we are selfish Caroline it's our nature, it's in every species' nature, even humans are selfish. Being selfish makes us who we are, if we weren't then we wouldn't be living our lives, would we?" He said softly noticing Caroline's shoulders tense before they sagged again.
Caroline eyes were frozen on Klaus' she felt the urge to cry out, to refuse to make a choice and just run away, but she couldn't, she had made a choice and she needed to carry it out before the others interrupted.
She exhaled slowly using all her reserves of courage and strength to continue, "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything, love." He murmured waiting patiently for her question.
"Would you leave…would you leave Mystic Falls if I asked you?" Klaus narrowed his eyes in curiosity.
"It depends." Caroline's interest heightened.
"On what?" Klaus didn't answer, "What does it depend on?" He offered no words and Caroline felt her throat begin constricting as she tried to hurry along the conversation hoping her friends wouldn't change the plan to act sooner, the sky had already begun to darken outside and she didn't want to waste any more time, "Klaus, what's keeping you here?" She asked forcefully trying to get him to answer quicker.
"You." Klaus murmured softly keeping his eyes locked on Caroline as the breath was knocked out of the young vampire.
"What?" She asked in disbelief blinking furiously as she tried to comprehend his answer.
"You're keeping me here." Caroline watched his eyes soften.
"Why?" His lisp curved up into a small smirk.
"You know why." Caroline couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Because you fancy me." She chuckled mirthlessly as Klaus caught her eyes again and looked at her expressionlessly.
"It's a bit more complicated than that, don't you think?" He said gently as Caroline's façade dropped and she looked at him helplessly.
"I suppose so." She murmured hating to admit that there was something more between them which she couldn't shake. "You didn't answer my question?" His tongue darted out wetting his dry rosy lips.
"And my anchor to this place, what would happen to her?" Caroline bit the inside of her cheek nearly drawing blood as she weighed up the pros and cons.
"If I asked you to run, to leave this town, with me, right now, would you?" His eyes widened.
"I've already offered you a way out, Rome, Paris, and Tokyo. But, sweetheart…" he stepped closer minimising the distance between them, he took her hand in his "are you asking?" Caroline looked down to their entwined hands and brushed her thumb across the back of his hand.
"Yes. I'm asking you." She looked up into his eyes and saw the blank expression on his face before it morphed into inquisitiveness.
"Ok." He whispered nodding as he kept his eyes on Caroline's whilst gently squeezing the hand he held, "Tell me everything." He demanded in a whisper.
"They have the cure, Elena wants it but the only way she can become human is if the originator of her line ingests it. You're the originator of her line, they planned to force it down your throat when it's dark. Your entire bloodline would become human…"
"Including you."
"Including me." She said in a finalising breath. "I can't be human, you were right, I like who I am now compared to who I was before." She said quietly running her fingers over his and drawing circles on his palm.
"Where to-"His words were cut off when he heard Rebekah's scream resonate through the mansion and Caroline's eyes widen.
"Rebekah." Klaus and Caroline focused their hearing to Rebekah and heard Latin words being murmured by Bonnie. Klaus tried to pull his hand away from but she refused to let go. "Don't go." She pleaded as she heard Tyler's voice.
"Klaus, we've got your sister, why don't you come out here and face us!" Klaus glanced between Caroline and the door debating his next actions but an ear-splitting scream hit both of the blonde vampires. His eyes connected with Caroline's, she didn't know what to do, let Klaus go to face them and be turned or force him out of the house with her leaving behind Rebekah. "Come on big bad, where are you?!" Damon joined in as their footsteps ascended the stairs.
Klaus made a split second decision, after Mikael had been killed, he refused to run anymore, and he certainly wasn't going to run now especially with so much at stake. His eyes showed Caroline his thoughts and she realised what he was about to do, before she could protest he flashed her to the side of the room where he pushed a bookcase aside and pulled open a latch in the wall leading into a dark stone corridor.
"Klaus?" She whispered as he grabbed her hand entwining their fingers for a few seconds pushing her into the corridor as he followed backing her into a stone wall and cradling her face with his other hand.
"I'll come back for you." He whispered as Caroline opened her mouth to protest but she was cut off as she felt Klaus place his lips against hers, his touch burning her in a euphoric way, he moved his lips against hers for a few seconds as Caroline took her free hand and fisted it into his shirt pulling him closer leaving no gap between them. Just as quick as his touch had been it disappeared completely as he pulled his lips away from hers and they both opened their eyes. "I'll come back, I promise." He murmured placing a butterfly kiss against her swollen lips and flashing out closing the wall and pushing the bookcase in front again leaving Caroline breathless against the wall as she tried to grasp what had just happened.
Before she could even try to make sense of anything, another scream made her focus, the sound had reverberated in the corridor but from the end of the tunnel, Caroline blinked furiously trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness, thank God she was a vampire, she kept her hand against the wall as she walked deeper into the darkness following the pathway, she stumbled down a set of steps as screams echoed through the dark corridor, sounding like Rebekah's.
"Rebekah!" Klaus bellowed with Caroline hearing his voice and a disgruntled groan.
"The Original Hybrid on his knees, well would you look at that." Caroline heard Damon's voice grow louder as she came closer, she set off into a run stumbling in the dark as she tried to find her way, she didn't notice the tears that spilled out of her eyes until one touched her lips and she tasted the saltiness of it, she kept running trying to find a way out to help Klaus. She stopped when she hit a dead end and slammed into a wall, she pounded her fists against it and turned frantically.
"Remember when you were human, no, well let me give you a reminder." Elena hissed.
"NIK!" Rebekah cried out, Caroline saw the slither of light that fell into the corridor, she rushed towards it realising it must be a way pout, she fumbled her hands along the wall when she miraculously found a latch and pulled it open slowly to peek out, it seemed that they were standing in a study, Rebekah was lying on the floor with her eyes closing every few seconds as if she was fighting to stay awake, Klaus was pinned to the floor by Tyler, Stefan and Damon who all had their backs to Caroline whilst Bonnie was stood over Rebekah with her eyes closed as Elena stood over Klaus with the cure in her hand.
"I will kill you."
"Good luck with that, a little birdie told us that is a vampire ingests the cure, they return to their original state depending on their age and seeing as your well over a thousand years old, well, I don't think you'll be doing much killing granddad." Damon said sarcastically. "Elena, do it."
Caroline's chest tightened as she saw Elena lower the cure towards Klaus whose mouth was being forced open by Tyler, her eyes made out Klaus' body writhing on the floor.
"Would you rather hate yourself or hate what you did."
"You're keeping me here."
"Rome, Paris, Tokyo…"
"It's a bit more complicated than that, don't you think?"
Not wasting another second, Caroline pulled open the door and proceeded to snap Damon, Tyler and Stefan's necks in under a few seconds before pushing Elena away from Klaus, the cure was still in the doppleganger's hand.
"Caroline?" Elena shrieked, "What are you doing?!" Caroline ignored her question as she tried to get the cure out of her hand but failed as a piercing ache shot through her head, she clutched her temples trying to get rid of it, Elena pushed the blonde to her back as Caroline saw Bonnie's hand outstretched over her body.
"Bonnie…" Caroline said hoarsely before she tilted her head.
"Do it, now!" Bonnie screamed at Elena who overcame her shock over Caroline's actions and scrambled towards Klaus who remained writhing on the floor as Bonnie used her magic to pin both Originals to the ground.
"Elena...please….don't…." Caroline's voice was small yet pleading but Elena shook her head ignoring her as she pulled open Klaus' mouth and was about to push the cure down his throat when she was pulled back by her ankle which Caroline had gripped tightly, the blonde threw the brunette against the wall causing her grip on the red vial to fall allowing the cure to slip out of her fingers and land next to the desk in between Klaus and Rebekah.
Caroline scrambled towards the vial only to be pulled back by Elena who had grasped onto her hair and yanked her back. Elena dived over Klaus and was just in reach of the cure, Caroline's vision became blurred as Bonnie began muttering more Latin words.
"Bonnie, stop, please!" Caroline yelled out but the witch wouldn't relent, the blonde could make out Elena's blurry outline and hoped that her coordination was on point, as she twisted her legs knocking Elena's knees out from her, unwittingly making her fall closer to Klaus. Caroline reached out fumbling for something to help her when her hand suddenly landed on a big, heavy book, Caroline grasped it and using all her strength hurled it towards Elena who was inches from putting the cure in Klaus' mouth.
The book slammed into Elena's jaw, the force pushing her away from Klaus and knocking her through the wooden desk as the vial fell and rolled towards Bonnie's feet, Caroline scrambled towards Klaus shielding him with her arms stretched out. Bonnie knelt and picked the cure up pinching it between her fingers, her brow furrowed and the siblings on the floor began groaning louder whilst Caroline began screaming as bone shattering pain coursed through her body.
"Move." Bonnie's voice was hard as she walked closer towards Caroline who shook her head as she kept one hand out in front of her whilst the other was on Klaus' chest making sure that he was still behind her.
"No…" Caroline said in a broken voice earning an increase in pain and another scream. "Please…don't make me do this…" She whispered as she raised her head to lock her eyes on Bonnie's whose were cold and hard.
"Move." Bonnie said again with eerie calmness. Caroline swallowed back the pain forcing her mind to overcome it, she heard Elena grunt behind her as she tried to get up from the wooden wreckage. Before Caroline could move she was flung across the room towards Elena who pushed her to her back and used a wooden piece form the desk to plunge it into her stomach, Caroline screamed out as she felt the pain radiate from her stomach, she turned to her side and her eyes found Klaus', she saw a tear trail down his cheek as he watched her helplessly. Taking a deep breath Caroline pulled the stake out and flung it towards Elena catching her in the middle of her back, she fell to her knees as Caroline crawled towards Klaus ignoring the splinters that embedded themselves into her hands, but Elena who now held the cure pushed herself to Klaus, the brunette's eyes found Caroline's and she saw pure hatred in Elena's orbs.
"Elena, do it. Now!" Bonnie yelled just as Rebekah screamed out feeling her body contort under Bonnie's magic.
"Nik…" Rebekah groaned out calling out to her brother as he kept his eyes on Caroline who tried to crawl towards him.
"NO!" Caroline screamed as Elena opened Klaus' limp jaw whilst he still face the blonde, Caroline reached out gripping Elena's wrist stopping her but she couldn't find any strength to push her back as Bonnie began hovering her hands over her. Elena placed her hand on Caroline's wrist and began crushing it breaking the bone, Caroline's eyes found Klaus' as he kept them locked on her, he didn't spare a glance to anyone else, not even the cure which was about to be shoved into his mouth.
Without warning, the door slammed open as a figure whooshed into the room and slammed Bonnie's head into the wall knocking her out permanently causing her magic to falter, the minute gap allowed Caroline to overcome the residual magic which had been stopping her and she snapped Elena's wrist allowing the cure to fall in Caroline's other hand, the blonde pushed Elena back against the wall before throwing the cure into the burning fire in the fireplace, the flames erupted into scarlet sparks as the cure melted and burned away.
Caroline grasped Klaus' cheeks shaking him slightly as his eyes closed, "Klaus, Klaus wake up!" Caroline yelled out trying to rouse him, "Klaus!" the blonde's voice cracked as tears spilled out of her eyes and landed on the Hybrid's skin glistening on his neck and cheeks. "Klaus, get up!" Caroline shook him harder, "You can't leave me, please, don't leave me." She cried out trying to plead with him to wake up, he gasped for air as his eyes slammed open and he looked up to see Caroline, he glanced around to the damage before pulling himself up to sit against the wall.
"Caroline…" he said in a hoarse voice, she shook her head and scrambled into his lap straddling him as she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck.
"I thought-I thought they were go-going to d-do it." She stuttered out into his skin holding him tightly afraid to release him.
Klaus eyes widened fractionally at the contact before he sighed and closed his eyes in content at the touch, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as he buried his face onto her hair and pressed soothing kisses against her neck. "I'm right here." He whispered.
"They were so-so close…" she said with her eyes closed trying to push the images of his body writhing in agony on the floor. "So close…"
"Shhh." He tightened his grip on her waist as she did the same around his neck. "I'm not leaving you." He whispered into her neck. Klaus looked up to see Elijah standing in the middle of the room with a cocked eyebrow as Caroline's mother stood behind him surveying the damage and the limp bodies on the floor.
"Niklaus."
"Elijah, I'd say that was perfect timing." He muttered as Elijah knelt to help Rebekah sit up slowly. His eyes locked onto Liz, "Sheriff Forbes." Caroline pulled away and glanced over her shoulder to see her mom.
"Mom?" Caroline whispered brokenly still sitting on Klaus with her arms hooked around his neck, Liz seeing the broken look on Caroline face swiftly moved closer and knelt beside her brushing her fingers over her daughter's hair pulling the strands away from her face, "Sweetie, you're bleeding." Liz murmured as she saw the red stain on Caroline's shirt.
"I'm fine." Caroline murmured before glancing at Damon who began coming round before Elijah flashed towards him and swiftly snapped his neck. "Why are you here?"
"I ran into Elijah and told him about the cure and you're plan to stop them, we came here as soon as possible hoping to help but well…" she glanced around the room,"…I suppose you had it all under control." Liz gave her a small smile which Caroline shook her head at as her eyes filled with tears. "It's ok, everything's ok." Caroline nodded slowly like a child before turning her head and pressing her face against Klaus' neck as he continued to hold her, Liz looked at Klaus sympathetically before she glanced at her daughter's previous friends sternly as they lay unconscious on the floor.
"I sincerely hope you'll allow me to punish them for the damage they caused." Klaus said in a low tone to the Sheriff, she pursed her lips with her eyebrows raised, she was hoping to have this resolved without violence but seeing as this went beyond human comprehension she sighed.
"Just don't kill them." Klaus' lips turned up into a devious smirk as he raised his hand and stroked Caroline's soft blonde hair calming her shaky breath. He felt the rage course through his veins, he needed to hurt them, he needed to kill them but the feel of Caroline's lips pressed against his neck and her body so close to his, the actions he had seen from Caroline when she tried to save him, the way she fought against them, the way she cared about him, all of it made him agree with Caroline's mother.
"Of course not, Sheriff. Death would be too kind." He murmured lowly as he watched Elijah drag the bodies out of the room whilst he pressed a kiss against Caroline's hair whilst she whimpered. "Shhh, love, you're safe, I'm here…" He felt Caroline's hold tighten even more around his neck.
"I know…." She whispered before pulling her head up and looking into his eyes, "I'm glad you're safe…" Klaus stroked her cheek with his thumb as she closed her eyes and laid her head back on his shoulder. Klaus shut his eyes slowly taking in her words as they went straight to his heart and engulfed him in warmth.
"Me too, love…" he swallowed thickly as he saw the wooden stake which was covered in Caroline's blood and the fireplace which burnt a bright scarlet with the remains of the cure, "…me too…"