A/N: First, I'd like to say THANK YOU to everyone who has favorited or followed this story. This idea has been with me since Liz passed in season 6. I had so hoped that Caroline would reach out to Klaus, but alas I did not get my wish. Much of canon from TVD and TO will be in play throughout this story and a lot of it will not. I will always try to explain any changes I've made within the content of the story, but if there are questions please don't hesitate to PM me.
I own nothing except any mistakes. Those are mine. Enjoy :)
Chapter 2: Stay With Me
She can't remember the last time she felt this warm. Maybe she never has. Her brain is still hiding in the fuzzy edges of sleep and she can't bring herself to fight it. Just as she starts to drift back off reality clamps down like a vise. Her mom. Her mom is dead. Like a stake to the heart, pain pierces through her. Fresh and all consuming. She curls into herself, arms going to her middle trying to hold herself together, but there is already an arm wrapped firmly around her stomach. Another arm resting underneath her neck comes up to press against her chest, the hand gripping her shoulder. Her hands clench onto them, digging in. Breathe. She just has to keep breathing.
It's a while before she hears his voice...barely a whisper, words ghosting against her neck just below her ear. It's even longer before she realizes he's not speaking English. He keeps repeating the same sounds over and over and somehow it has soothed the raw edges of her. Pulled the tide of agony back just enough that she can get her head above water.
"Klaus?" her voice cracks from all her tears and non-use.
"I'm here sweetheart," his hold on her tightens for a moment.
At his words, she opens her eyes for the first time. She's not terribly familiar with the room, but recognizes it. They're still at the boarding house. Foggy memories of Klaus holding her out on the porch resurface and even foggier him lifting and carrying her through the house to the room they were currently in. She can't remember at all him depositing her in this bed and has no clue how long they've been here. Eyes searching she finds the clock on the beside table, 3:00 am.
As if reading her mind Klaus says, "It was close to ten when you fell asleep."
Five hours. Five hours of peace. Her breath stutters in her chest as she thinks of all she'll have to do today. She is supposed to meet with the funeral home at 9:00 am. Then flowers, her mother's lawyer, getting the house ready for guests...the list goes on seemingly forever. The hand on her shoulder starts drifting down her arm and back up again drawing her from her thoughts. She squeezes his arms where her hands still rest and moves to roll over so she can see his face. She knows she should be embarrassed. Sure, they had texted and emailed a few times over the months since that day in the woods. Even with his promise never to return and her insistence that she didn't have room for him in her life, they had somehow managed to become tentative friends. It had started during a late night study session when she'd needed help with her World History homework, and before she'd thought about it her sleep deprived brain had texted him some random question about the French Revolution. However, asking him to drop everything and come rushing back to her side through what was proving to be the most painful thing she'd ever experienced was a far cry from texting to ask if Napoleon was really as short as they say he was. She opens her mouth to apologize, and is quickly silenced with a finger to her lips.
"Don't even think of it. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be, and I will be here, Caroline, for as long as you would like me to be." His hand moves from her waist to brush her hair back over her shoulder then lifts her chin to make her meet his eyes, "Whatever you need."
She knows he means it. The support and strength he's offering is plain on his face, but it's the softness in his eyes that hitches her breath. She knows that she is probably the only person on the planet whose ever seen it. "Thank you," she whispers and manages a sad smile. "I am sorry that I've basically been a sniveling mess since you got here."
"Hush, love. I meant what I said, I'm here because I want to be and you have nothing to apologize for. You've suffered a great loss. It will take some time for you to regain your bearings." He takes in every detail the soft moonlight is giving him of her face. The sleep has helped her some, but the dark circles under her eyes still persist as well as a hollowness in her cheeks. "Can I get you anything, sweetheart? Maybe a bloodbag before you go back to sleep?"
"Oh my god," she groaned covering her face with her hands, "I must look terrible."
Klaus gives her hip a squeeze, "Caroline." When he doesn't get a response he squeezes again and lowers his already soft voice, "Look at me sweetheart." She lowers her fingers enough to meet his eyes. "You are beautiful." He lifts his head and places a kiss on her forehead. "I only meant that you will need your strength tomorrow and I know for a fact you did not eat anything last night."
She sighs, "I know...I just haven't had much of an appetite lately, but maybe you're right."
At that Klaus gives her a small nod and pulls away to roll out of the bed. She pulls herself to sit against the headboard and watches him as he makes his way around the bed. She suddenly realizes that other than his jacket and shoes he's still in the exact clothes he'd been in when he found her on the porch. He must have carried her up here and not even taken the time to make himself comfortable. She immediately lowers her gaze, overtaken by the emotions bubbling up in her throat. "Be right back, love," he says as he reaches to open the door.
"Klaus?"
Pausing with his hand on the door knob he turns his face back to her. "Um...did you bring a bag or something with you?" He furrows his brows obviously confused. "It's just...I mean you can't be comfortable sleeping in jeans." She gestures towards his jean clad legs.
He looks down at himself then, "Oh right...I did bring some things with me. I'll grab my bag while I'm downstairs." With that he pulled open the door and disappeared down the hall.
As soon as the door closes behind him, Caroline gets up and walks to the connecting bathroom. She squints as she flicks the overhead light on and searches through the drawers for a hair tie. Finding one she pulls her tousled hair up into a messy bun and sets about washing her face. After all the soap has rinsed away, she just stands there looking at her reflection. Just get through the next few days, she thinks. She feels completely out of control and if there's one thing Caroline Forbes hates more than anything it's feeling out of control. She takes a deep breath to combat the sob rising in her throat. She's got to stuff this down. If she can just get through the next few days then she can fall apart. Then she can lock herself away in the house her mother will never step foot in again and...oh god, her house. She grips the counter in front of her. How is she ever going to be able to live in that house? Push is down Forbes, she chastises herself. Grabbing a towel off the rack she dries the water still dripping from her chin. She takes another calming breath and turns to head back to the bed.
Just as she gets herself re-settled against the headboard, Klaus is back with a glass of blood in each hand and a duffle bag over his shoulder. She takes a tentative sip from the glass he hands her and marvels that not only is it the B positive that's her favorite, but he also took the time to warm it for her. She lowers her face to conceal her smile.
"What?" Klaus asks with a smile of his own as he settles beside her against the headboard. When she shakes her head, he nudges her with his shoulder, "Come now love, what's put that smile on your face?"
Looking over to meet his eyes her smile fades, "You. I've never understood why you're so good to me." He opens his mouth immediately to retort, but she stops him with a hand on his arm. "Just, thank you. Thank you for everything."
"I have barely done anything, sweetheart." Klaus interjects. All he'd done since his arrival yesterday was hold her and there wasn't a part of him that would ever deny her his embrace.
She looked back down. Sliding her hand down his arm to his hand, she wove her fingers through his. "You've done more than you know and the fact that you came all this way to be with me through this...I just...I can't tell you what that means to me. I hope I didn't take you away from anything important." She took another sip of blood then. In all their correspondence since she'd last seen him she had never once asked him what he was up to down in New Orleans, but couldn't deny that she was curious. He wasn't one to overshare even with her, but he tended to be honest when asked a direct question. At least when she was the one doing the asking.
It was Klaus's turn to look down. He lifted their joined hands to place a kiss on the back of hers. "Nothing is more important than being here for you, sweetheart." He took a deep breath then and seemed to be deliberating about voicing his next question. "If I may, how did-"
"Cancer." she whispered. "She knew for weeks before she told me. It was so far along by the time she was diagnosed there was nothing they could do." Speaking about it now, Caroline felt a numbness spread out from her chest and into her limbs. "Thankfully, she didn't suffer much." She took another large gulp of blood and released Klaus's hand to go rinse the glass in the bathroom sink. Walking back to the bed she settled herself under the covers again, suddenly very tired.
Klaus sensing the tension in her walked to the bathroom draining his glass and grabbing his duffle along the way. After a few minutes the door re-opened and he killed the light before coming to stand beside the bed. "Should I move to another room?" he asked lightly. He didn't want to overstep his bounds and she seemed to have regained more of her composure since waking up in his arms.
She just looked at him. He'd removed his shirt and changed from jeans to charcoal gray sleep pants. Did he want to move to another bedroom? She really had done nothing but cry all over him since he got there. Maybe he needed a break. Call her selfish, but the thought of him walking out of this room right now sent a spike of panic through her. Honest. She should be honest. She swallowed back her fear, "I would rather you stay here if you don't mind."
That was all he needed. He quickly slipped under the covers and settled on his back. She hesitantly scooted toward him and their eyes met. A thousand things flashed between them, and while neither really knew just exactly where they stood with the other an understanding seemed to pass between them. She needed him right now, needed his strength, and he needed to be here for her. They would figure the rest out later. Without a word, he lifted his arm from where it lay at his side and she immediately molded herself to him nuzzling her face into the curve of his shoulder. She pressed her nose to his neck and let his scent wash through her. He placed one arm on her back securing her to his side while his other hand came to rest on the arm she'd wrapped securely around his waist. He pressed his lips into her hair and pulled her closer to him.
"Good night, Klaus," she sighed against his chest as sleep came to claim her.
He smiled into her hair, "Good night, Caroline."
