Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/The Vampire Diaries
They found another car rental agency after walking for a few hours. That was why it was night by the time they finally arrived back in Mystic Falls. Neither had exchanged many words during the long drive but Chloe had felt Klaus' gaze on her neck. He hadn't fed yesterday, and hadn't fed tonight either, he was bound to be getting famished by now. Despite the fact that he hadn't said anything Chloe knew that if they didn't get out of there soon she'd have to feed him.
"So?" Klaus strolled through the Salvatore Boarding House's front door, his hands shoved his his jacket's pockets, eyebrow raised. "Where are Captain Self-righteous and the Rabid Cousin?"
Ignoring Klaus, Chloe hurried deeper into the dark place. "Lois? Stefan?" There was no sign of life inside of the place. Confusion and worry twisted in her gut. "Guys!? Where are you?"
Klaus switched on the lights as he went.
Chloe didn't even bother as she hurried up the stairs, yelling up above her. "GUYS? STEFAN? LOIS?" She searched and called all around upstairs before hurrying back down and doing the same, only to find the house empty. Confusion swelled inside of the blonde like a hurricane as she stumbled into the living room, finding Klaus sitting by the fireplace in his seat. "I don't understand."
"There's no one here." Klaus leaned forwards, elbows on his knees as he glanced up at her.
"Where would they go?" Chloe asked softly as she collapsed on the sofa. "They knew we were coming, that we were close. Why would they just up and disappear like this?"
Klaus shrugged, his gaze going towards the fireplace. He stood in one languid movement and started making a fire. Not one word was spoken between them as he made it, his gaze on the flames as they sprung to life and caused shadows to dance all over his face. He stared into the flame.
"You need to feed." Chloe finally broke the silence, her voice a soft sigh.
He smiled an ugly smile. "I'm not in the mood to make it a pleasant experience."
"You'll be in less of a good mood the longer you starve yourself," she informed him as she yanked the neck of her shirt down to reveal the marks his fanged had left in her throat from repeated feeding. Even when they'd stayed in cities with large blood banks Klaus had continued to feed solely from her, and while she'd been curious as to why she hadn't questioned it, maybe she hadn't because then she'd have to question the fact that she'd been flattered by it. "I don't want to have to deal with you when you're feral with hunger."
"You don't want to 'have to deal with me' either way," he muttered as he stoked the fire. "It's amazing how quickly your attitude changed the second Stefan reappeared."
Fire and ice fought within her veins as anger bubbled deep in her stomach. "Do not try and turn this on me. This has nothing to do with Stefan and everything to do with you!"
"You seemed like me just fine yesterday," he declared as he stood, anger and defiance in his every fibre. "But it only took one conversation with Stefan to remind you that I'm the monster of the story, and make you ashamed, regretful and disgusted." He stalked towards her. "Admit it, you enjoyed your time with me here, and you hate yourself for it."
She stood her ground and tilted her head back to make sure her eyes never lost contact with his. "The only thing I regret is trusting you." Fists clenched, Chloe fought the tears she could feel springing up in her eyes. "I've grown up learning that I can't trust anyone around me, they'll let me down. My mother abandoned me. My father loved me but was never there when I needed him to be. The man who said he wanted to become my mentor wanted so much more from me. The deputy who was supposed to protect me buried me alive in a field." She took in a heavy breath, seeing a flash of something in Klaus' face before he forced it expressionless. "I grew up knowing I can't trust people, and yet for some stupid reason I thought I could trust you." She grit her teeth. "Thank you for reminding me otherwise."
"I'm not your mother, your father, your mentor or that deputy!" Klaus snarled as he moved closer. "I refuse to pay for their sins!"
"You're not! You're paying for your own! How do you not see that?" Chloe snapped at him. "YOU broke my trust! YOU!"
Klaus stared at her, displeasure deep in his face. "You've made up your mind about me."
She nodded. "You made it up for me."
Darkness filled Klaus' eyes. "Fine." Seconds later the veins in his face darkened, his fangs descended, and he snarled as he buried those fangs in the curve of her neck.
…
Her neck throbbed.
Chloe stared at her reflection in Stefan's room, which she'd claimed as hers despite having stayed in Elena's room during her last stay here with Klaus. Maybe a part of her had wanted to spite Klaus, or maybe she felt comforted here, or maybe it was both, she wasn't sure. All she knew as she stared at the red, puffy fang marks in her neck, was that Klaus had purposely fed in such a way that while it didn't tear her up, it would be painful and remind her of those fangs for days to come.
The asshole.
Shaking her head, Chloe moved towards Stefan's bed and collapsed on it. She stared at the ceiling and sighed, wondering where Stefan Salvatore was at this instance. He was going to get an ear-full from her for having left her, that was certain. And then, after she'd finished chewing Stefan out, she'd hug Lois and cry for a bit.
Tears filled her eyes and she pressed a pillow against her face to hide the sounds of her sobs.
…
Klaus must've been taking more blood out of her than usual, because after every feeding she felt weaker than ever. It seemed like something he'd do, especially out of spite, and Chloe fought against her resentment. Why the hell was he being such an asshole? He kept acting as if she'd done something against him, as if she was the one at fault, when she knew that that wasn't the case here! He was the one at fault!
Falling into bed, Chloe fought to keep her eyes open, but she could feel sleep descending on her. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was: I have to get out of here!
…
"Where could they be?" Chloe had finished searching the house and the front and back yard for what felt like the hundredth time. Both Klaus and herself had been back in Mystic Falls for a week now, and there'd been no sign of Stefan or Lois or Bonnie or anyone.
Why would they just leave? They'd known that Chloe and Klaus were on their way. Why not wait? Something felt wrong, but she couldn't figure out what exactly was going on.
Klaus didn't really seem to care, he merely gave her space and did things on his own, only seeking her out when he needed to feed. Chloe wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand she honestly wasn't emotionally ready or willing to deal with him. On the other hand she was confused, worried, and felt very much alone.
Her green gaze went to the living room where she knew Klaus was, but instead of joining him there she chose to exit the house once more. Maybe she'd missed something somewhere. Maybe she hadn't looked close enough, hard enough. It was with these thoughts that she stepped into the forest and pushed on harder, journeyed in further than she had before.
Lois wouldn't have just abandoned me here, not unless she'd had no other choice, and even in that sort of situation she'd have left me a note. I just need to find it. I need to look harder.
So concerned with studying the ground and trees for some sort of clue, Chloe didn't automatically understand why her surroundings were becoming harder to detail. She didn't know how much time passed, but the next time she looked up it was to find the sun set and the last rays of light disappearing from the sky.
Horror filled her. How could she have gotten so distracted as to not realize how late it was? She immediately started the return trip only to find herself completely lost as darkness descended. Chloe found herself walking around blindly, hardly able to see anything around her. Tears stung her eyes, further blinding her.
Less than an hour after pitch blackness had claimed the forest, Chloe admitted to herself that she wouldn't be finding the way home tonight.
Klaus' name was on her lips, but she bit it back, knowing that even with his enhanced hearing there was no way that the vampire would be able to hear her. And what if, by some miracle, he did hear her? There was no reason to believe he'd actually come out to help her. Sure, she was his blood supply, but they both already knew that there were blood banks close by where he could go if he was truly hungry. He didn't need her here, didn't need her alive, so how could she really trust him to actually want to keep her that way?
I sometimes wish I'd never made that call. We could still be New Orleans. Happy. At least I was happy.
And that was part of why Chloe was so conflicted about this whole matter. Klaus was right. She'd enjoyed her time with him, had been having a much better time than she'd had in years. For the first time in far too long her purpose in life hadn't been about helping someone else, helping the world, it'd just consisted of living, and for someone who was undead, Niklaus knew quite a lot about living. The vampire had become someone special to her, and it hurt to realize that she obviously hadn't meant a damned thing to him other than as company and a free meal.
Get over it, Sullivan. Lois will come back for you and you'll never see him ever again. You just have to wait for the day to reset and start your quest over again.
Resigned, Chloe was about to plunker down and wait for the day to reset when suddenly the ground beneath her gave way, and with a scream she fell through the earth. She felt as if she'd been falling forever before she finally landed, hard, and then everything went black.
…
"Chloe?"
…
"CHLOE?"
…
"CHLOE?!"
…
"Chloe!"
…
"CHLOE!"
…
That voice, distorted and demonic, made her force her eyes open to find a blinding light on her, shining from up above.
She tried to open her mouth, but the pain was too great, and everything went black once more.
…
Next time she was conscious must've only been a couple of minutes later, because Chloe found herself being eased up into strong arms.
"Don't close—!"
Her eyes closed and blackness returned.
…
Nearly choking, Chloe's eyes flew open as desperation filled her at the realization that she couldn't breathe. She tried to fight but she was forced still. Something happened, she swallowed, and suddenly she could breathe again. The sounds around her were distorted, her body in pain, and her gaze wasn't focusing, light and shadows mixing to further distort the blurred world around her.
She was conscious enough to know that someone was seated on the cold, wet ground, cradling her body in his lap, her head rested against his chest, her mouth forced open as it filled with strong metallic. Blood. Someone was feeding her blood. Someone was healing her.
"Shhhhhhh," that voice whispered in her ear. "Calm down, love. It's okay now. You're okay now. I'm here."
Klaus.
Chloe calmed down enough to stop fighting his hold on her, her eyes fluttering as she rested her cheek over his heart. Relaxing her throat, she took in as much of his blood as she could before she lost consciousness once more.
…
"You idiot!" Klaus snarled as he slammed his palm sideways into the wall when she woke up later the next day, wrapped up in bed. "What were you thinking? You could've died! You would've died if I hadn't—!" His eyes were wild, feral almost, the veins under them darkening. "If I hadn't gone looking for you, you would be dead right now. If I hadn't found you in time to feed you my blood—I nearly wasn't—I—!" Klaus slammed his fist harder into the wall, leaving a dent in it. "You had no right to put your life in danger like that! It was so stupid!"
Chloe opened her mouth.
"Shut up!" He hissed. "I know you want to get back to your life, but if I have to break your legs to keep you from getting out of bed and doing some stupid like that again I will." He shook his head, surprisingly enough a hint of panic in his expression before it was gone and replaced by fury once more. "Stay here. I think the soup is burning." With that he stormed away, slamming the door shut behind him.
Chloe stared at the door in shock. Just what the hell had that been about? She hadn't expected that sort of anger, of fury, from him, and didn't know how to feel about the fact that he'd obviously been extremely worried about her - didn't know how to feel about the fact that she wanted to smile. I'm angry at him. Don't forget that, Chloe. The blonde eased herself in Zach's bed (which Klaus had claimed as his own) and peered up at the ceiling. A second passed by and she realized she needed to go to the bathroom.
She'd only managed to slip out of bed and take two steps before the door was open, and Klaus was glaring at her.
"What did you think you're doing?" He wanted to know in a dangerous tone.
"Do you want me to pee in your bed?" Chloe finally managed to find her voice.
Understanding dawned on his face and in seconds she was being picked up and then lowered by the toilet. Klaus closed the door as he left.
Staring at the closed door, Chloe snickered. "You've got to be kidding me." And yet she used the toilet, flushed, washed her hands… only to suddenly find herself seated on the bed once more, with the bedroom door being slammed closed behind Klaus as he left. This is going a little overboard! I CAN walk! And yet she realized she had no other choice but to slip back under the covers and nestle in bed.
She must've fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, the room smelt of chicken soup, and she could feel Klaus' fingers on her throat. For a moment she thought he wanted to feed, and then she realized he was checking for a pulse.
A sleepy chuckle escaped her lips as she turned to face him. "Don't you think you're being a little over protective?"
Klaus' only answer was to motion for her to sit up, and once she did he placed the tray of food on her lap. He left the room without another word.
Chloe ate the food in silence, and it was only when she was finished that she remembered that there wasn't any chicken soup in the house, which meant that Klaus had gone shopping. The realization had her lips twitching in a surprised smile. Why exactly had he gone to that length? His blood was all that she'd needed to be healed, she was fine, just a little sleepy. He knew this better than her.
Putting the empty tray on the side table, Chloe snuggled back in the bed and fell asleep. She woke up hours later to find Klaus seated in the corner of the room, reading a book in absolute silence. The blonde stared at him before her eyes closed once more and the next time she awoke it was to find Klaus sleeping in that chair.
Sitting up, she hugged her knees to her chest and just looked at him. It couldn't have been comfortable at all, but he was dead to the world on his perch. He must've been hungry, he hadn't fed, but he hadn't made an advance despite the fact that they both knew she was basically 100 per cent again.
Slipping out of bed, Chloe moved towards Klaus and hesitated a second before placing her hand on his knee and rubbing it. "Klaus."
He groaned and opened an eye, clearly still half asleep.
Reaching for his hand, Chloe pulled the vampire out of the seat and led him to his side of the bed before scooting in over to hers. She then lay on her side, back to him. She hadn't forgiven him, and yet…
Kicking off his shoes and pulling off his jacket, Klaus got into bed, staying on his side for the first half hour before finally curling around her from behind, his thigh slipping between hers while his arm wrapped around her waist. They both knew that she was still awake, that Klaus was testing his boundaries, and that she was slowly but surely thawing towards him.
"Why won't you at least apologize?" Chloe whispered as she stared ahead of her in the darkness.
"Because I didn't do anything wrong," he whispered in her hair. There was clear hesitation, and then: "I did call. Maybe not every day like I said I would, but I did leave messages. I never told them where we were, but they had contact information." He groaned. "And I might've taken us to New Orleans when you gave out our location because… well, the witch wouldn't be able to track our exact location there, but I did leave a number where your cousin or my siblings could call us. I mightn't have been ready to go back, but I was not going to deny us the ability to go back should we want or need to, or contact with our family."
Eyes wide, Chloe pulled away so she could turn to face him, seeing the truth in his shadow-covered face. "Why didn't you tell me this when I confronted you?"
He snorted. "As if you'd believe me. By the time I got there you'd already made up your mind."
Chloe scanned his face, looking for some hint of a lie, and yet she couldn't find anything. "You should've told me."
"You wouldn't have believed me," he repeated darkly.
"Yes, I would've," she argued. "Especially after the car disappeared! That proves that something weird is going on here!"
Klaus frowned at her. "I've been thinking about that since it happened… How sure are we that there isn't anyone else in here with us?"
…
"So you're a hundred per cent sure that there's no one else here in Mystic Falls?" Chloe frowned as she eyed Klaus closely. She'd been stationed on guard at the house, which really meant Klaus had wanted her out of the way because he could do everything faster without her, but hadn't wanted to actually come out and say that to her face because he was smart enough to know the consequences.
He nodded. "There isn't anyone else in town. I've looked everywhere."
"What if it's a witch? They'd be able to hide themselves from you," she reminded him.
"There's no witch," Klaus informed her. "My mother was the Original Witch, my siblings and I have it in our blood. Even though we were turned and are unable to be witches as well, we know things, I know things." He shook his head. "There is no witch."
"So, no human, vampire or witch." She made a face. "A werewolf maybe?"
"No, our moon is always full," he reminded her. "It isn't a werewolf. And anyway, I would've been able to sniff him out easily. I checked in wolf form as well." At her look, he grinned. "I am the Original Hybrid."
She hadn't noticed the phase of the moon. "I should be glad you're not compelled by the moon to shift."
Klaus merely grinned. "I'd think you better than anyone else would know I don't need the moon to be a wolf in the sheets."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "No human, vampire, witch or werewolf. Nothing. Nada. Zip." She threw her hand in the air. "Then what else is there? What could be causing these glitches?"
"Tell me about the spell used to bring us here, the amulet." Klaus leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest. "Did it have any other purpose than transportation?"
Chloe licked her lips. "Yes, it did. It was supposed to latch onto Lois. One of its functions was to monitor her… stability I suppose. As long as she was still unstable she wouldn't be able to leave."
"What if, instead of latching onto your cousin, the spell latched onto me when I attacked you?" Klaus theorized. "Could that somehow explain what is going on here?"
"I thought of that, but you have control over your bloodlust, it would make that function moot," Chloe responded quickly with a shake of her head. "The spell was meant to latch onto the least stable person in the group - Lois - and would change things to better suit that individual's needs."
"That's hardcore magic," Klaus muttered under his breath.
"That's Bonnie Bennett," Chloe praised. "But remember, the spell wasn't complete yet. There were still things that had to be done before it, and we, were ready to make this trip."
He nodded, gaze on her neck.
Chloe fought the blush she could feel climbing her neck. "Are you hungrier than usual lately?"
Klaus' gaze rose to hers in question.
"You… you keep looking at my neck," she informed him with a slight stammer. "I used to think it meant you were hungry, but I don't know, I'm starting to wonder if it means something else." She laughed. "In the worse of it between us you were still looking at my neck, and I was worried you were thinking of snapping it." She shook her head. "But no matter whether we're fighting or working together… you're always looking at my neck. And I'm wondering what exactly is behind that? Is it a predator thing, or….?"
"It's not a 'predator thing' as you so eloquently put it," Klaus muttered, visibly uncomfortable. "It's a…..thing."
She leaned in closer, not having caught the muttered middle part. "A what thing?"
He glared at her. "It's a vampire thing, okay? It… I've drunk from you enough times, and regularly enough, for your neck to have scarred with my fang marks on you. They fit perfectly to my shape." He cleared his throat. "I've never actually fed from one person long enough for that to happen. I usually get bored and kill the person long before it can happen."
"Good thing for me I'm your main source of food, huh?" Chloe rubbed her neck subconsciously, feeling the scarred fang marks under her touch.
He glared darker at that. "It's not—you're impossible, you know that, right?"
"I'm curious, it's my nature." She cleared her throat. "I mean, Lois has bitten me a couple of times and never—."
Klaus frowned immediately. "She's bitten you?"
"Yeah, and it's a good thing my metahuman ability kicked in, otherwise—."
"Metahuman ability?" Klaus interrupted once more. "I remember you telling me about the metahumans in your town, but I do not remember you telling me that you were one as well."
"I only discovered it when Lois attached me the first time." Chloe let out a shaky smile. "I heal others. Not myself. So when she started drinking my blood it healed her enough to snap her out of whatever dark place her feral mind had taken her, and they were able to get me to a hospital in time to save my life."
"Why didn't she give you her blood?" Klaus wanted to know.
"We didn't know vampire blood would heal me, we were still kind of ignorant and out of our depths," she admitted.
"So… I heal you with my blood, and you heal me with your blood?" Klaus smiled at that. "It's a workable symbiotic relationship."
She rolled her eyes. "Romanticism thy name is Klaus Mikaelson."
Klaus' smile disappeared immediately and he looked away. "I need something to drink." And with that he left.
Frowning, Chloe wondered what exactly had happened to change his mood so quickly. "Was it something I said?"
…
"How long do you think we've been here?" Chloe wanted to know as she lay on the fluffy rug and stared into the fire.
"A couple of months," Klaus responded without hesitation as he served himself a drink. "I lost some time during our road trips, but we spent a little over two months in Hawaii, and then two more in New Orleans."
"There's no way that we could've been followed by anyone all that time without them messing up somehow and us figuring out," Chloe muttered to herself.
"Definitely not," Klaus huffed as he came towards her and lowered himself on the rug with her. "My family must be enjoying themselves greatly now that I'm not there to reign them in. At least your family came for you, mine hasn't showed any sort of interest." He looked a long gulp of his drink. "It seems that they have no intention of me leaving this place."
Chloe glanced over at him and watched him. For the first time ever she realized there was loneliness and hurt in his eyes.
Taking the glass from his hands, she threw it in the fire, and as the flames burned bright with it Chloe pushed Klaus down on his back and straddled his hips. They hadn't… not since New Orleans… and he had every right to tell her no after how she'd treated him, not even giving him the benefit of the doubt… and yet Klaus reached for her, their lips met, and Chloe whimpered as she found herself beneath the vampire.
…
"Go. Away. You. Monster." Chloe lay on her stomach on their bed, her face hidden in the pillow.
Klaus, the asshole, had been making up for time lost, and for the last two weeks he'd been nothing but a lecherous pervert. Even now he was leaning half over her, pressing languid kisses to her naked shoulder. "Don't want to."
She chuckled at his petulant little voice. But then Klaus did something that woke her up completely and had her back arching. His fingers threaded over hers as he completely covered her back with his body, his lips worshipping the side of her neck as his hips moved.
It was all Chloe could do but squeeze his hands tightly and cry out in pleasure.
…
"So, I see that everyone's worrying was for nothing."
The blonde sat up in shock from where she'd been sunning in the back yard. Her eyes opened widely and she turned to see the last person she would've expected. "Damon?"
Damon Salvatore raised an eyebrow, not even introducing the two people standing behind him. "So, my little Bonbon has been worried that the reason Stefan and Lois were expelled from this time pocket was because it had collapsed. Clearly that wasn't so, so it really makes me wonder what's going on in here."
"Stefan and Lois were expelled from this time pocket?" Chloe asked in shock as she hurried to her feet. "How?"
"They say it was like they were pushed out. Literally. Like the time pocket didn't want them." Damon looked Chloe over. "You're looking awfully good for someone who—." Damon's eyes widened. "Wait." And then he was yanked into the air by means unseen and disappeared rapidly.
Chloe stared up at the sky in shock. "What—?"
"I'm assuming that the time pocket expelled him too," the male declared from behind her, drawing her attention to him. "Apologies for my brother apparently getting you two stuck in here."
"Your brother?" Chloe's eyes widened.
"I am Elijah Mikaelson," he informed her with a small bow. "This is our sister, Rebekah."
So she was the one who'd had a fling with Stefan in the 20s! "You came for him." Chloe couldn't keep the smile from her face as she pulled them both into a tight hug, visibly shocking and confusing them. "I'm so happy you're both here!"
"Is he being that much of a nuisance?" Rebekah asked in an odd tone before snorting. "What am I saying? This is Nik, of course he is."
Laughing, Chloe pulled away. "He started to worry you didn't want him free."
"He would deserve that after all he's done," Rebekah informed her with a sigh. "But I suppose Elijah and I are somewhat masochistic."
"She just doesn't want to say she missed him," Elijah translated for Chloe.
Chloe's lips curled in a smile as she motioned them towards the house. "Come on in. Your brother's out restocking our alcohol supply. Somehow he manages to drink more than the house has in one day." She shook her head. "He should be back soon."
"I'm back, actually, love."
They turned to find Klaus emerging from the woods, a couple of bags of alcohol in hand. He looked at Elijah, Rebekah, and then raised an eyebrow. "You sure took your jolly ol' time."
Rebekah snorted and folded her arms over her chest. "It's not like you were making it easy on anyone. Really, Nik!"
"You look well, brother." Elijah, unlike Rebekah, did not seem at all bothered by Niklaus' attitude, in fact, he was smiling.
In seconds Klaus was standing before them and had passed two of the bags to Rebekah and the others to Elijah. He then turned to Chloe. "Let's go inside. Let them earn their meal."
"Klaus." Chloe scolded as she went to take some of the bags from his siblings.
Klaus' eyes darkened in displeasure as his grip on her tightened. "Come, love. You can't still be angry at me."
She looked up at him in confusion. "Of course not."
He opened his mouth, as if to say something else, before he glanced behind him and seemed to think better. "Let's go inside."
…
Klaus had taken Elijah out with him again to get things to make a large meal, and while things with Rebekah had been awkward Chloe tried to make it work. She wasn't sure exactly why they were still there and not leaving immediately but she figured Klaus wanted to fix things between him and his siblings before they left so she didn't push anything. Understanding just how important family was, and how hurt he'd actually felt at the fact that it'd seemed his siblings didn't want him out of this place, Chloe had no issue giving him as much time as he needed to get things right with his brother and sister.
"Your cousin is a spritely one," Rebekah informed Chloe as they sat in the living room, drinking wine. "She stormed over to our house and demanded we help. To be honest we weren't sure Nik wanted to come out."
Chloe looked up at that. "Why not?"
"Things were… rough… before he disappeared. And then we finally found out what had happened, but from what we were being told he was the reason why he wasn't free. We weren't sure whether to come or not." Rebekah took a long gulp of her glass of wine. "Your cousin seems to have wrapped Elijah around her finger though, because she convinced him that we needed to come and get you two out whether Nik wanted that or not, and Elijah, while usually always faithful to our brother's wishes, convinced me to do as your cousin wants." Rebekah made a face. "I believe he's in love with her."
Chloe's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
Rebekah nodded. "Ever since Stefan and Caroline came to ask his help Compelling Lois to control her bloodlust he's been… fascinated… to say the least." She gave a little shrug. "She'll drive Nik insane, which, of course, means I approve of her completely."
Chloe's lips twitched in amusement. "She would drive him up the wall."
"And what a sight it will be," Rebekah chuckled before she took in a deep breath. "You must be desperate to get out of here, especially given everything. How many months are you?"
"I think we've been here roughly five-six months by now." Chloe couldn't believe that now that she said it out loud. "Time's gone by so quickly. It's amazing."
Rebekah took a long sip. "I meant how far along are you in the pregnancy."
Chloe laughed. "I'm not pregnant."
Rebekah's expression slipped. "Yes, you are."
Chloe's laughter faded into a confused chuckle. "No. No. I'm not. That's impossible. I had my period right before I was sucked into this time pocket."
Rebekah leaned forwards, eyes wide. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying it's impossible, because I was not pregnant when I came here. I hadn't been with anyone for a very long time." Chloe tightened her grip on her glass of wine. "So if I were pregnant…" She went pale and dropped her glass. "It's impossible. Right? He's a vampire. There's no way that…"
Rebekah's eyes were impossibly wide, her lips parted. "Chloe. It's faint, but there's a heartbeat inside of you." She put down her glass of wine and came closer, placing her hand to Chloe's stomach. "I doubt Elijah or Nik have realized, I've always had the best hearing out of my siblings, and the heartbeat is very faint… but it is there." Rebekah looked, surprisingly enough, as if she were having problems breathing. "Are you telling me that the child you are carrying belongs to Nik?"
Something broke.
Both blondes turned to see Klaus and Elijah in the doorway, both holding bags of groceries, both staring at the girls in wide-eyed shock.
Chloe just stared at Klaus in slight terror. "It's impossible, right?"
Klaus just stared at her in wide-eyed shock. "I've been trying to figure out why you've seemed different since Hawaii…" He turned to Rebekah. "A heartbeat?"
"Faint yet steady." Rebekah nodded, her shock turning into visible glee. "Nik! Is this child yours?"
"How?" Elijah's mouth fell open. "How is this possible?"
Nik leaned hard against the arched doorway. "Your blood." His gaze went to Chloe immediately. "Could it heal my vampire half enough that my wolf half could conceive?"
Chloe's eyes widened and she brought her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god. The spell connected with our baby." She glanced down at her stomach. "That's why Stefan and Lois were thrown out!"
"I don't understand," Elijah admitted as he drew closer. "Why would your child not want them here?"
Chloe closed her eyes. "Because at the time my plan was to get to them and never see Klaus ever again." She groaned. "The car would've taken us to them, so the time pocket changed things to accommodate the needs of our child." She finally opened her eyes and turned to Klaus. "I don't know if we're going to be able to get out of here. Not if he or she doesn't want us to."
Klaus didn't seem to be listening to her. His gaze was on her stomach. The vampire hesitated a second before he drew in close and lowered to his knees. Ear pressed up against Chloe's stomach, Klaus' eyes closed, his expression scrunched in concentration. For a couple of minutes there was nothing of silence, Chloe was even scared to breathe.
Suddenly Klaus tensed, it was visible to all, and then he opened his eyes and tilted his head up at Chloe. "There's a heartbeat."
Chloe's heart skipped a beat as she gasped. Klaus' words were a confirmation which drove out any doubt from her mind.
It was around that time that she fainted.
…
"…I promise."
Groaning, Chloe woke up to find herself in their bed, Klaus lying with his head on her lap, his gaze on her stomach, which was was caressing softly. She was still extremely tired, but that was nothing new.
Klaus smiled when he noticed her eyes open. "So I finally get why feeding from you has been draining you so much more than usual. I wasn't the only one feeding."
She hadn't considered that. Her hand joined his on her stomach. "What are we going to do? What is our baby going to be? A vampire? A werewolf? A metahuman? A witch? All four? They're all in its bloodline!"
"Very good question," Klaus admitted as he squeezed her hand. "I think we'll find answers in New Orleans." At her expression he chuckled. "The real New Orleans." He cleared his throat. "I have a place there. We will be more than comfortable for as long as we need." He sighed. "There's even enough room for your rabid cousin if you desire her there… God knows I won't be able to keep Rebekah away."
"She's not rabid," Chloe whispered softly, a small smile on her face. "Rebekah says Elijah has a thing for my cousin."
"There'll definitely be no getting rid of her then," he sighed in defeat and then laugh when she slapped his shoulder.
Placing a hand over her flat stomach, Chloe still couldn't believe that she was carrying a child - Klaus' child - deep inside of her. In a few months she was start to show - in fact she was surprised she wasn't showing right now, even if just a little. "Are you sure we'll find answers in New Orleans?"
He nodded and placed his hand over hers on her stomach. "I promise."
"Our child is going to be the first of his or her kind," Chloe whispered in both awe of and fear for her baby. "When people find out—."
"I'll protect him or her," Klaus informed her gravely. "No one will touch our child, or you. I will tear them apart before they can even think of harming either of you."
"What about after the birth?" Chloe asked softly. "When we leave—."
"Why would you leave?" Klaus wanted to know immediately.
"I live in Smallville," she reminded him.
"Once you've tasted the flavor of New Orleans you'll never want to leave," he promised her.
"I have a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, I'm off on vacation now but—."
"You're going to be the mother of a child who will potentially be vampire, werewolf, witch and metahuman," Klaus interrupted immediately. "I think that is going to be your job for the next couple of years."
"I have bills to pay," she pressed on stubbornly.
"I have money to pay them," he informed her. "And you'll have less bills to worry about when you're living with me in New Orleans."
"But isn't that only until we find out what our child is and how to protect him or her?" Chloe asked in confusion.
"We can start with that," Klaus dodged the question as he traced a design on her stomach with his finger. "How about we just concentrate on our baby right now and let everything else fall into place later? For right now let us just focus on our child, and how to bring him or her into a safe environment where he or she can grow up happy and healthy. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"
She should probably fight more on the subject, but she really didn't want to. She wanted to say yes, wanted to give in, and so she did. "It does, Niklaus."
Klaus suddenly looked up at her and smiled brilliantly.
Not sure why she felt self-conscious, Chloe diverted her gaze to her stomach. "What if our baby doesn't let us out of this time pocket?"
"Don't worry," Klaus assured her as he caressed her stomach. "Our kid and I have talked it over, things are going to be fine."
"Is that so?" Chloe wanted to know in amusement.
"It is."
…
Four Years Later
"Gemma Mikaelson!" Chloe glared at her four year old daughter, who was smiling up at her innocently. "Put your Uncle Pete down!"
Gemma giggled, displaying fangs as she ceremoniously dropped her hold on Pete, who was thankfully caught by Clark, who lowered their friend carefully the rest of the way.
Pete turned his gaze towards his wife, Lana, who'd been snickering and offering no sort of help whatsoever. "Thanks for nothing."
"What?" Lana had gone through some ups and downs, but after meeting and turning Pete she'd finally gotten some help and had been able to control herself finally. She and Pete had married soon after and he'd helped her mend her burned bridges. "It was cute."
Gemma peered up at Chloe. "Mommy, Uncle Pete flew."
"Did he now?" Chloe picked up her daughter with a laugh. "All on his own? No little witchy-witch helped him?"
Gemma stared up innocently at Chloe. "You think Aunt Bonnie was involved?"
Laughing, Chloe rubbed noses with her daughter. "Oh, you're going to go that route, are you?"
Gemma just continued to smile up innocently at her mother.
Shaking her head, Chloe held her daughter close and moved to where Bonnie and Damon were leaning against each other, Damon's arm around the witch's shoulder as they conversed with Stefan and Caroline, and Alaric and Lucy Lane, who were the newest couple of the group. Over to the side, Lois was fixing Elijah's already perfect bowtie, and Rebekah was running her fingers through Clark's hair, the two incredibly gushy with each other. Kol and his girlfriend Davina were playing cards against Finn and his girlfriend Sage, the former couple totally cheating and getting away with it because Finn and Sage paid more attention to each other than they did the game they were playing.
"Daddy!" Gemma called excitedly seconds before Klaus' arms wrapped around Chloe's waist, bringing both against him.
"How are my favorite girls?" Klaus wanted to know.
"Your daughter levitated Pete in the air and then tried to blame the whole thing on Bonnie," Chloe informed him.
"Mom!" Gemma gasped in betrayal.
"That's my girl," Klaus praised as he reached over and rubbed Gemma's golden curls.
"Niklaus!" Chloe gasped in betrayal.
Gemma giggled happily. She then shimmied, letting her desire to be put down known, and then raced towards Elijah and Lois.
"She's such a handful," Chloe sighed as she leaned back against Klaus.
"I agree," he surprised her. "But my brother has always been quite the masochist." He laughed when Chloe slapped the hands wrapped around her waist. "Gemma will be better when she has a little brother to run around after."
"That's what you say," Chloe muttered as she rested her hand over his on her slightly protruded stomach. "I think we've gone and done it now."
A snicker escaped Klaus' lips as he nuzzled her hair. "Remember your promise. After this one you take the bite."
Sighing, Chloe watched her daughter climbing up Elijah as if he were a tree (much to Lois' amusement) and she smiled. While she'd always hesitated at the thought of taking the bite, of losing the little bit of humanity she had left, things had changed. When their son was born in a couple of months Chloe would have two immortal children. She didn't want to grow old and die and leave them motherless, not when she could avoid it. "I remember."
"Good." Niklaus held her closer and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "To eternity."
Brushing her thumb over his hand, Chloe turned her head and peered into his beloved, arrogant face. "To eternity."
They sealed the promise with a kiss.
Hope you enjoyed.
