3x11 Our Town...
Stefan. That sodding, good for nothing, family stealing twat. He hadn't even found out that Tyler had bitten Caroline before he'd off an almost driven Klaus' doppelganger into the bloody river! Sure, Elena would have survived, but as a vampire. And what good would she have been then? Only to cause him more grief. Seemed it was that lots' life goal. To cause him frustration beyond the limits of what most others could tolerate. To sully everything he'd worked so hard to achieve. Even with his short fuse, Klaus had succeeded in having patience and showing lenience; much more than they deserved.
Klaus shook his head at the whole thing, walking up to the Forbes house. He had never had any intention of actually letting Caroline die. That was one of the last things he wanted. No matter what happened with Stefan, he was planning on swooping in at the last moment and saving the young vampire and then making up some excuse as to his generosity. None of them had so much as an inkling that he'd been watching her. Watching all of them, really, but mainly her. She'd caught his attention and he'd done a fantastic job of hiding it thus far if he did say so himself. Klaus was glad that she hadn't ended up being the vampire sacrifice breaking his curse. That would have been such a pity.
A few quick knocks and he saw the blonde quarter back rounding the corner through the glass of the front door. Of course the lad looked none too happy to see who the caller was but he opened the door anyway.
"Tyler came to see me. Poor boy. He seemed quite distressed. He said Caroline'd had a terrible accident." Of course that wasn't completely true. Tyler had indeed come to see him but it was in a rage at what Klaus had made him do. He begged and pleaded for the Original Hybrid to do exactly what he had intended on doing anyway. But Klaus enjoyed letting Tyler think that he needed to be convinced. It was really the only pleasing thing that had happened today.
"You made him do this to her. He would have never done something like this," Matt accused right on target.
"I'm here to help, Matt." Klaus saw the Sheriff come into view behind the jock. "My blood will heal her. Please ask the Sheriff to invite me inside." That's all he needed. A few small words and he could eliminate a possible sanctuary for them. One more place they couldn't hide.
"I know how this game works. You want something in return." Ah, smart woman, Klaus thought. But the invitation itself was truly all he wanted. That was plenty reward for him giving his blood. He was wondering when one of them would pipe up and say that they would bring Caroline out to the porch instead but that moment never came.
"Just your support." It was vague but it seemed to do the trick. He could see her thinking and he knew he had her before the words ever came out of her mouth.
"Come in."
He tried to resist it, tried keeping his eyes down, but he couldn't stop himself from giving Matt the slightest momentary sideways look of smug satisfaction. He had won this round. And what a round to win. Liz gestured to a door off the main hall indicating Caroline's room where she lie in pain. As he walked towards it, he could hear Liz shut the front door and usher Matt towards the kitchen saying something about having some tea and giving them space. Matt was none too pleased. He had been ready to follow him in. Klaus had a new appreciation for Caroline's mother.
Coming into the room, he saw his beautiful blonde siren laying there with beads of sweat on her forehead. The fever and aches and done a number on her and for that he felt sorry. He didn't want to cause her discomfort but at least it wouldn't end in death. Not today. That's when she looked up to him and a short flutter of fear crossed her face. If she had been alive, he would have heard her heart racing.
"Are you going to kill me?" That was the first thought that had come into her gorgeous head. He was slightly taken aback.
"On your birthday? Do you really think that low of me?"
She didn't even hesitate. "Yes." It was more steady. Firm in her resolve as to how she viewed him.
He lowered his lids into a more stern expression and walked forward. There was nothing really to say to that. No come back was appropriate and there was no way he would convince her otherwise except in his actions on this night. Surely she would appreciate the gift of life. Maybe she would even forget that he was the one who caused it to nearly be taken from her in the first place.
Klaus reached for the blanket and slowly pulled it back, off of her wound. Even just that slight friction hurt her. "Ah, that looks bad. My appologies. You're what's known as 'collateral damage'. It's nothing personal." She looked up at him with daggers in her eyes. He had a pretty good guess what she was thinking. Klaus could also tell that she was trying to suss out what he was doing there. He would have thought that she'd heard what he said to Matt at the door but in her current condition, maybe she hadn't.
He had ended up saying things to her that he hadn't really planned. He meant every word, of course, but he let her see deeper than he'd intended. While describing the world that she could have, his eyes watered. Just thinking of her dancing in a Grecian fountain, laughing in a comedy club in Soho, skinny dipping in Australia, in a peaceful meditation in Tibet... He was in awe of what he knew she would become and experience and every word that came out of Klaus' mouth made her eyes show the kind of yearning that only existed in those who hadn't even known before that moment that they could want something like that. He had awakened a presence within her.
After drinking his blood, she was on the mend but still weak so she relaxed in his arms without thinking. He could tell it made her drowsy so he just held her for several minutes before gently laying her sleeping body back down on her pillows and slowly getting up so as not to disturb her.
Out in the kitchen, he found Matt and the Sheriff. They were sitting just as Liz had suggested, drinking tea and giving Caroline space.
"You done?" Matt asked.
"Yes, Caroline is on the way to recovery. She'll be fine." Klaus looked to the girl's mother.
"So why are you still here?"
"Matt!" Sheriff Forbes chided.
"No, Sheriff, it's quite alright. I can understand our boy's frustration." He looked at the teen. "I mean, for all our young Matthew knows, I could have the most nefarious of intentions. After all, I've been invited inside. I could return at any moment on a whim and steal Caroline away into the night and you would never see her again. Or far worse things that are too distasteful to imagine. She is such a pretty young thing, isn't she?" Klaus' eyes bore into Matt's widening ones.
He could hear Liz gulp but, ever the peace keeper, she decided to try and defuse the situation. "And we are so glad that you aren't going to do that. My daughter being on the mend makes me grateful as well. Let me walk you out?" She said in a voice dripping with as much honey as possible.
Klaus finally looked away from Matt. "I'll see myself out. You have a young man here with a morbid and active imagination to quell, I'm sure." One last dig at Caroline's ex to make sure that he knew just how little power he had to protect the girl or any of his other friends. He was an insignificant mortal and he needed to know his place. Maybe next time he would think better of giving Klaus dirty looks and bold words he couldn't back up.
He hadn't been kidding about being able to come inside the house any time he wanted though. Klaus intended to make full use of that new privilege. As a matter of fact, he did later that night.
Coming in through Caroline's window was the best option as to not disturb anyone. He wasn't trying to awaken the household residents. His mission was much more subtle. He lightly placed the velvet box wrapped in a white ribbon on Caroline's nightstand and slowly moved to go back out the way he came. He caught sight of a small display of stuffed animals adorning a decorative sitting chair. One in particular was an old bear that looked a little worn. Something she'd had for a long time, no doubt. A childhood toy perhaps? He plucked the furry creature out of it's place and walked back to Caroline's sleeping form.
Drinking his blood had set her on the course to restoration but it had also had a similar effect to human medicine in that it would keep her knocked out for a spell. Right now she was 'three sheets to the wind' as they would say. So, he knew that gently lifting her arm to place the bear in the nook of it wouldn't stir her. A smile crossed his face as he imagined how she would awaken the next morning. An old friend would be in her embrace and a new treasure would be awaiting at her side. Much better than that cheap trinket he'd spotted on her wrist from the Lockwood boy. With such a rich family, you'd think that little pup would go for higher quality than something that could have come out of a bubble gum machine. The thought made Klaus' jaw clench. Stupid sod didn't know what he had. Not really.
And it's not like the young hybrid would have her for long. He would make sure of that. He then reached over to her phone. Just one more thing to do and then he would leave...
