Return to Mystic Falls

Eighteen months earlier…

Caroline stood frozen in the small cozy living room of her small town home. Her fingers felt icy and the chilling sensation slowly spread to the rest of her body until it reached her very core. Losing Tyler for the umpteenth time had been unbearable enough but this…this was somehow unspeakably worse than anything she'd ever felt.

She'd known that the first time Tyler had been on the run, he was looking for a way to break his sire bond to Klaus and in the process, he'd met and become close to other remnants of Klaus' hybrids—a small pack of powerful hybrids that helped Tyler who in turn helped them to break their sire bond. She'd been so happy and proud of Tyler when he'd finally won back his freedom—but she had mixed feelings for reasons that were perplexing and unclear to her—that was until she rolled in to town. The first blow came when she first encountered the sultry brunette at Tyler's. An awkward confrontation ensued—in which Klaus suddenly made an appearance—and she learned that not only had her beloved boyfriend concealed Klaus' presence in town but he'd also completely omitted his previous 'friendship' with Hayley—the alluring brunette who had a sassy grin that made Caroline want to revisit her less palatable diva high school days, and bitch slap the expression right off her face. If this wasn't bad enough, Klaus then cornered Tyler with an accusation of a previous lascivious love affair with Hayley during his run with her pack—Caroline waited for Tyler to deny it but the young man with wide astonished brown eyes and gaping lips, could only stand in stunned silence, not once meeting Caroline's eyes nor making any denials against the accusation. Caroline was shattered and she could almost hear the millions of pieces to her heart break, colliding with the hardwood floor. In her rational mind, she knew it was Klaus and his conniving cruelty that chose to take advantage of Tyler's vulnerability and divulge his dirty secret. He doubtlessly had his own motives which she would know better than anyone, centered on her and his ceaseless endeavors to steal her heart. It was not in any manner in consideration of her or her feelings because Klaus was a selfish man who only sought his own comforts and devices. But none of that mattered in that moment. She was too devastated by betrayal and broken promises and far too blinded by the flood of threatening tears that pooled in her crystal orbs, to see or even care what Klaus motives were. All she saw was Tyler standing there in front of her, his head hung in shame and his deep brown eyes darting between Klaus and Hayley—never once meeting her gaze. It was all the confirmation she'd needed; without a word she'd turned and brushed past Klaus and out the door—she never once looked back.

The second blow came when after a barrage of desperate phone calls from Tyler that spanned a week, begging for a chance to explain, his calls and texts suddenly became non-existent and three weeks later he'd shown up to the Miss Mystic Falls pageant with none other than Hayley on his arm. It would have been ten thousand times more unbearable if Klaus hadn't been there with her—the two of them had become friends through the strangest series of events and as Tyler walked up with Hayley's hand clasped in his, Klaus had turned a tentative, anxious glance Caroline's way, his blue eyes reflecting a hint of the deep concern he held for her as he watched, dreading each unsavory scenario of possible reactions. But to his surprise—and smug pride, Caroline held herself with the utmost dignity and decorum and only someone who was watching closely, would have detected the pain she felt as it flashed through her eyes, disappearing a split second later. Caroline would always be grateful that Klaus had been there that day—he not only saved her from an afternoon and evening of humiliation but from herself and her swirling thoughts that would have no doubt driven her mad.

All of this flashed through Caroline's mind as she stood gripping the door frame of her living room and the edge of the nearby armoire, for support. Stefan sat quietly on the edge of her couch, watching her closely, his brows knit together in intense worry and compassion.

"How…how do you know this?" Caroline's voice finally broke the silence, barely above a whisper but her eyes stayed transfixed to the opposite wall, behind Stefan's head.

"Elena…"

"When?"

Stefan hesitated. He'd been in Caroline's exact position once before and he knew the pain, hurt and uncontrolled rage that was ebbing its way through her veins…and he hated it. "Last week; it was after he told you to have Tyler leave town…again."

"I don't understand what…she was the one who caused him to lose Tyler in the first place! And if it hadn't been for her, Tyler never would've been able to show the other hybrids how to break his sire bond. And the plan to kill Klaus that was…that was all her. I mean sure, Tyler wanted Klaus dead, possibly more than anyone but he never would've…he never would've seriously gone through with it unless he had someone on his side! Someone that had been sired to Klaus for longer and who would know better how to break him…"

Stefan waited as Caroline took one slow step forward, her eyes still fixed on the wall and her hands frozen slightly away from her body as she mentally worked through the history of Klaus and Tyler's connection and how it coincided with what Stefan had just told her.

Suddenly, Caroline stopped and her eyes widened and shifted their gaze onto his. "Oh my god." She breathed. "Klaus…he knows Hayley was always against him, he knew she would eventually find some way to at least try to destroy him the first chance she got! He probably anticipated it I mean we both know Klaus isn't stupid, he wouldn't make an army of hybrids, sire bind them and naively think that they would never rise up against him, he would expect it! That's why the sire bond exists in the first place!"

Stefan knew as the moments ticked agonizingly by, that Caroline was coming closer and closer to what he himself had always known from the first moment Klaus laid his eyes on her.

"He…he did this because of me. Tyler leaving town to break the sire bond, returning with Hayley, the plan she and Tyler worked up to kill him, Klaus killing twelve of his hybrids, forcing Tyler to leave town again it…it was all because of me! He even told me, he…the last time I saw Tyler before he left, Klaus…after Bonnie's spell broke, he left the house and he said that he'd done it all for me…'it was all for you, Caroline.'"

Stefan's head lowered sadly before his green eyes rose once more and were met with her now watering blue ones. "Klaus has always wanted you, Caroline. I saw it. Elena saw it, hell even Damon saw it when Klaus first came here a year and a half ago. He didn't care who was in his way, he didn't care you were already spoken for, that you hated him. He was going to have you no matter what. But…then when you two became friends, you still rejected him even then and it's like he finally realized that he was going to lose. That no matter how hard he tried or how much he changed, you would never let Tyler go long enough to see him the way he desperately wanted you to."

"…And then he came to graduation…he told me that night he'd let Tyler come back…he'd already sent for him to come home." Caroline's eyes now spilled over with quiet tears as the weight of it all suddenly struck her like a sweeping tidal wave.

Stefan nodded his voice quiet. "That was Klaus' way of almost letting go; at least as close as someone like him can come to, to letting go."

"But he told me…he told me that Tyler was my first love…but that he intended to be my last no matter how long it took those were his exact words, Stefan!"

"I know he felt he meant it but I also know what it's like to watch the one you want, the one you love, love and want someone else and to fight with every fiber of your being to win them…only to realize in the end that they won't ever be yours no matter how bad you wish. And eventually you just bury yourself in resignation but eventually you can't stand it. You become angry, resentful and eventually you want them to hurt just as much as you hurt…and when you look for ways to hurt them long enough, eventually…you find them."

"He slept with her….in spite of everything she's done to try to ruin him, destroy him. He slept with her…all because of me. Because he wanted to hurt me as much as I've hurt him. Because he knows how much T-tyler and her, hurt me—he knows how angry I was and how much I just wanted to…rip her apart in front of Tyler and then rip him apart, he still…he knew that fucking her would be far worse than anything else he could…possibly do to me; worse than sending Tyler away again, worse than killing him or hurting my friends…" Caroline's voice shook and trembled and her hands began to steadily shake as she sank into the chair across from Stefan.

Stefan waited a few moments longer before he moved out of his seat and knelt down in front of Caroline, taking her trembling hands in his. "Caroline…Care, look at me."

Slowly, trembling, Caroline raised shaking eyes and a tear-stained face to meet Stefan's gentle gaze.

Stefan looked in her eyes for a long moment, watching the surge of emotions as they bubbled over in her tears. He wasn't sure what reaction he would receive at the question he was about to ask but he knew that he had to hear it from Caroline's own lips and Caroline needed to hear it from herself—out loud. "Do you love him, Caroline?"

Her crystal blue eyes darted to his in shock. "W-what?" she gasped.

"Klaus. Do you love him?" His voice was a bit more firm but it never lost its gentleness.

Suddenly a barrage of fresh tears, flooded her eyes and escaped down her porcelain cheeks as her lip began to tremble and her fingers suddenly found the collar of Stefan's shirt, holding on for dear life. Her blue eyes met his green ones once more and her answer was a breath of the smallest whisper.

# # # #

Present Day…

Klaus and Elijah exited the airport in Richmond and met Rebekah in the waiting Mercedes. "You drove my car, I see." Klaus gritted his teeth as his sister gave an exaggerated sweet smile. "I thought I'd keep the old girl running smoothly while you were away; she was terribly lonely and aching for someone to drive her around."

Elijah laughed at his younger siblings' banter. "You're lucky if he doesn't stake you when we get home."

"Oh why wait? I've always basked in the pleasure of living in the moment." Klaus eyed her menacingly, but kept his countenance schooled into a pleasant—if somewhat forced—smile.

Rebekah merely scoffed as she climbed in the passenger seat upon receiving a warning glance from Klaus, slamming the door behind her. "Oh please, a flare for the dramatic has never suited your character, Nik; you should leave those flamboyant antics to the expert." She shot him a smug grin followed by a snicker from Elijah in the backseat. "Don't say I never told you so, Brother."

# # # #

Two hours later, the trio pulled into sleepy little downtown, Mystic Falls and were greeted with surprisingly little inhabitants' activity. "Don't tell me you brought us all the way back here for this, Rebekah; I truly hope you haven't cost us two plane tickets and a long tedious two hour drive, under false pretexts." Klaus' voice was tense as he pulled to a stop at the intersection; the blinking red traffic light blared through the windshield, irritating his vision.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, side-glancing her brother. "You do realize the time, right Nik? It's late and considering the town's been plagued by disappearances, I doubt anyone has a fancy for late night outings at a time like this."

"You said it was only the founding families being targeted." They pulled through the gate of Mikaelson mannor before coming to a stop and exiting the car.

"Yes but only I and the Salvatores know that! The less people that know, the less uncontrollable panic there will be. No one's going to take any chances either."

Elijah heaved the three suitcases out of the trunk before closing it with a solid thud, leading the way into the house. "You know if you two could stop going at each other's throats for once, maybe we could actually work together and figure out a way to stop this?! Or at least find out exactly who is behind it? Not to mention we still have the dear sheriff and her daughter to worry about; Liz may be in a coma and safe for the moment but there's nothing keeping whomever this is, from coming back and finishing the job…and Caroline could be next." He spoke the last part gentler, catching his brother's blue eyes flash with a mix of fear and anger.

"Nothing will happen to Caroline…or her mother. Am I clear?" Klaus gritted out, his eyes flashed threateningly as he gave each of his siblings a pointed look. "That's why we're here. Doubtful the Salvatores and the rest of the Scooby gang can handle this little drama by themselves. This is something for the experts, the wise ones and let's be blunt; compared to one thousand year old originals, the Salvatore brothers are nothing more than adolescent children. They don't have the experience, the ruthlessness or the cunning skill that it takes for a fight like this. We do. As a family we have what it takes to stop this. Now make no mistake, if anything goes wrong…or anyone gets hurt on account of carelessness, I am holding both of you responsible and mark my words I will not hesitate to stake you myself. The only havoc we're wreaking is with the enemy, whoever it may be."

Elijah and Rebekah exchanged a knowing glance but both knew better than to take their brother's words lightly; they might be family but when it came to his enemies, Klaus was calculating, lethal and deadly…and you better not get in his way. And if there was another thing that both Elijah and Rebekah knew it was that no one woman in their brother's entire existence would ever be more important or precious to him than Caroline Forbes. Despite her repeated rejections and countless slanders towards him, it would never matter. Klaus would be devoted to her for the rest of his immortal life and his heart—no matter how wounded and scarred—would always be hers alone, whether she wanted it or not. "We should rest for the night. Rebekah has a meeting with the Slavatore brothers and the Bennett witch tomorrow morning; we should be there as well."

Klaus had his back to his brother and sister, staring out into the night. "No. Both of you should go. Keep me informed of everything that is said in that meeting, Elijah; I'll join the both of you later."

"Wait. Where will you be then?"

Klaus paused, looking over his shoulder at them, a grim smile spreading across his chiseled features. "I have a special house call to make."