A/n: So sorry for the horrible wait, but both of decided to write our own versions of these scenes, because they're so vital to us, then edited them together. Enjoy. And Thanks again Boeey (Kaitlin)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Where the lyrics came from for this chapter: watch?v=1_qNutVyb30

"You only know what I want you to.

I know everything you don't want me to.

You think your dreams are the same as mine.

Oh, I don't love you, but I always will."

Caroline sighed. She was lying on their bed, waiting for him to get home. She'd already done the laundry, watched several episodes of 'Dance Moms' that she had missed because of the drama with Nik, and she'd even tried to cook dinner for them. She gave up on that last venture halfway through because even when she wasn't emotionally distressed, lord knew she was a terrible cook.

So there she was, her head in her hands, trying to distract herself from the image of little Niklaus being so hurt and alone. She expected Nik to be back at any moment, and as much as it scared her, she knew what she had to do. She had to confront him about it; she knew Nik better than anyone outside his family and she knew that if she kept letting him avoid the issue, the problem would never get solved, it would only get worse. She understood him well enough to realize that the only way he'd listen to her and come out from behind the walls he'd built is if they get everything out in the open. She didn't want to do this, but she knew it was the only way; she had to scare and shock him in order to break his defenses. But she'd be lying if she said the whole situation didn't scare her as well.

She held her breath as she heard the creak of the front door and the familiar clinking of his keys as he threw them on the counter. Here it was…she took a deep breath as she listened to his footsteps climb the stairs, expecting him to open the door to their room in 3…2…Slam.

What? She thought incredulously as she heard another door close down the hall. She sighed as she realized he was in his studio. I should've known him better than to think he'd come straight to me. Klaus was many things, but open with his feelings he was not.

She heaved another sigh and got up off the bed. She would have to do this the hard way…not that there would ever be an easy way in a situation like this. Before her conversation with Elijah, she would've rolled her eyes at his behavior but she knew better now.

She prepared for the worst as she walked down the hallway to his studio, telling herself no matter how much he may yell at her, it wasn't her whom he was mad at.

She took a deep, determined breath as she opened the door. He knew she was there, it was obvious by his rigid stance; he had great hearing, he would've heard the door no matter how quietly she opened it. Besides, he once said he could recognize her perfume in a 50-foot crowd. However, the strokes of his brush on the canvas never stopped. She got distracted for a moment, tilting her head as she stared at the picture vividly coming into creation. Dark blues streaks and splashes of white, she didn't know what it was yet, but he probably didn't either. He paints that way a lot; he doesn't determine what it is he's actually painting until halfway through.

She had to break the silence though, it was getting painful, "Nik," her voice cut through the room like a chime to his ears; beautiful, but too loud in his head. He winced and opted to not turn around.

Her jaw set when she picked up on his stubbornness. Why does he have to make everything even harder? But she knew yelling at him would be the opposite of helpful for her case, so she stayed silent as she walked up behind him. She placed her hand on his back carefully, in the way one who was trying not to spook a wild animal would. "Niklaus," she tried again.

He whipped his head around, "Do not call me that," there was fire in his eyes, the clear blue becoming electric.

She swallowed nervously and nodded a little, "Sorry."

His brow puckered as he stared at her, he frowned, seeming confused for a second before his eyes lit up with horrified realization, "You never call me that," he mused, narrowing his eyes. "Someone told you."

Caroline blinked, "Told me what?"

He held back a growl, "Don't play dumb, sweetheart. We both know it doesn't suit you despite the blonde stereotype. Yesterday, if I'd snapped at you, you would've snapped back, but you apologized…meaning you didn't want to upset me…someone told you about Mikael."

She forgot sometimes just how perceptive he was, and that the 'being able to read each other' thing went both ways. She cleared her throat, she was strong; she could do this. He loved her, so what was she afraid of?

She nodded once, looking him straight in the eye, "I talked to Elijah."

"Shit!" he cursed, throwing his paint tray across the room, dark colors splattering along the far wall, "He promised me, the damned liar. Why in hell would he tell you?"

Niklaus Mikaelson was an intimidating man when he wanted to be; many people he'd met in passing were probably still scared of him. But not Caroline. Caroline had never been, and would never be, afraid of him. He showed her the side that no one else ever got to see; the human, passionate, funny, sweet-to her at least- side. But even she had to take a step back at the ire in his eyes at that moment.

Despite her shock at seeing him like this, she still knew him; she could always see through his masks and, for that reason, she recognized that what she was watching right now was one of his infamous masks breaking to pieces before her. This was not restrained or forced or projected; this was all him, the anger he had been hiding. Not the fake anger he directed towards her yesterday, but real emotions and she knew she had struck home.

She kept her head held high as she answered him, "He told me because I needed to know, Nik. Please, if we're ever going to make this work, you need to listen to what I'm about to say."

He looked like he had loads more to say, but the rare dead-serious tone of her voice made him unable to say anything else, he just watched her with blazing eyes.

"And try as you might to push your family away, they can still see you better than anyone else. Elijah knows you, Nik. He knows you better than anyone. And, because of that, he knew how you would react to this baby. And, I've told you once and I'll tell you a thousand more times, Mikaelson, I will not 'get rid' of this baby and I don't want to lose you because of that. Don't be mad at him, he was just afraid for you; he thought that if I didn't know why you were reacting the way you were, that I would get fed up with you and leave," she couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. "But, regardless, I'm glad he told me."

Klaus ground his teeth together as he forced himself to hear her words, "He had no right, Caroline. You think you understand this, but you have no idea!I made him swear to keep that secret for a reason. The only way I've stayed sane this long is because I pretend that part of my life never existed! It's my life, alright? I don't care if he thought he was 'protecting' me, he doesn't get to chose to open that black whole again!"

Caroline stared at him, trying to get her message across to him at the same time she tried to understand his. She could see his logic and she understood where it was coming from, but she wished she knew how to make him see things the way she did right now. It was almost impossible.

"I get that, Nik," she pleaded, "I really do. You think he took away your choice in the matter, right? And I agree, it wasn't his place to do that. But I needed to know. How do you expect us to have a life together if I don't know half of who you are? I'm begging you not to shut me out! I love you and I will do anything I can to help you, to make you see that-"

"God, Caroline," he half laughed, half shouted, sounding incredulous and frustrated at the same time, "Stop deluding yourself! You can't FIX me! I know you think you understand me, but you're still not getting it! The reason I shut you out from parts of myself is because I don't like them. I don't WANT you to see those parts!Stop 'helping'! I was broken a long time ago and there is nothing either of us can do but ignore it!"

Caroline tried to register all the warring emotions on his face as he stormed out of the room: irritation, frustration, anger, fear, hurt, regret.

Oh, my poor man, she thought. She could no longer be mad at him, just heart-broken for him. Frustrated at his stubbornness and crest-fallen that this shit life was given to him of all people.

He is a good man, the fact that this has him so terrified proves that, she thought. I just need to make him see it.

She thought hard about it and she finally had an idea. The only way to make him accept this, and to get him to see, would be to make him remember what happened, from a detached point of view, to make him look at himself; who he really is. Then show him what a miracle a baby really is.

She found him again, hours later, sprawled out on the same couch she'd had infamous talk with Elijah on earlier, absentmindedly watching some show on World War I. His eyes were closed as he leaned his head back on the couch. For once, he didn't seem to notice she had entered. Either that or he was trying to pretend he hadn't noticed her appearance.

"Think back," was all she said as she knelt by the armrest he was resting his head against and ran her fingers through his curls.

His eyes flew open and he looked up, finding her eyes. "What?" He didn't sound angry anymore, just tired and confused.

She smiled gently and her expression was so mystifyingly serene that he-not for the first time- wondered if his girlfriend was an angel, "Think back, Nik. To when you were little, when Mikael was..mistreating you."

He stared at her dubiously, trying to judge if she'd lost her mind.

She shook her head, not laughing but the sad little smile stayed in place, "No, I'm not crazy. I'm not doing this to upset you. I don't mean remember it the way you do in your nightmares," at his shocked face, she went on softly, "Don't think I haven't noticed. I've seen you wake up sweating and after I talked with Elijah I put two and two together. But I don't mean to suggest you relive them like that. Actually, I don't mean for you to relive them at all. Just…just try to see it from someone else in the room, like a third party or something...just so you can see Elijah, Rebekah, Kol or Finn…whoever's easiest."

He still only stared up at her, so she explained, "I want you to see, Nik, that I'm not trying to change you; I'm trying to make you realize that this isn't your fault."

As his lids closed, he thought he must be crazy for even trying this, but he did as she said for the sole reason that he loved her.

"Now, remember what happened, but not in your own body, look the Rebekah's scared eyes or Elijah's worried ones. Do you see yourself?"

He nodded, wincing as his eyes closed tighter, the events playing out; he could no longer feel the pain but he saw himself being beaten. It was strange, surreal, to live it through someone else. He couldn't help but flinch. He should be feeling Mikael's hits but all he felt was anger and fear; Elijah and Rebekah's emotions.

"Now tell me how anything happening there is your fault?" she spoke so fiercely that he was broken out of his daydream-day-nightmare more like- and stared into her face.

"Why did you do that?" he cursed himself for sounding so lost as he sat up.

She looked at him with warm eyes, trying to pour love out onto him, "Because I want you to see what I see; a strong, passionate, caring man that would do anything for his family. A man who was given a terrible hand in life, a man that should stop blaming himself for something that his evil father is responsible for."

He shook his head as she moved to sit beside him, taking his hands in hers. "Caroline, I can't- I-You can see it however you please, but that's not-"

She a her finger to his lips and gave him a pointed look that clearly read 'shut up and listen, you idiot'.

The anger crept back in his eyes at that gesture, threatening her to stop. What is she doing?

"I'm going to share one of my assumptions with you and all you have to do is nod if it's true. I'm begging you, please, just be honest with me."

It sounded easy enough. He could do this…couldn't he?

"Don't be angry, but Elijah mentioned to me that you never fought back. It made me start to wonder why, until I finally figured it out. You took all those beatings because you knew that Mikael had to have an outlet, that if it wasn't you…it might've been someone else. You blamed yourself for putting your family in danger because you thought that your family wouldn't have had any problems if you weren't born. You took the abuse so no one you loved would have to, but you also took it because a small part of you thought you deserved it. Am I right?" she spoke incredibly gently, slowly, trying not to set him off again. She was tip toeing the line of the sorest subject in the world.

His jaw dropped and he tried to nod but he couldn't bring himself to make the small movement. As he blinked in utter shock, feeling more vulnerable and open then he had in years, he suddenly realized how deep her love for him went. He felt warmed by it, a glow emanated from her almost, but he also felt…wrong, like he didn't deserve it, deserve her. His birth had caused so much pain for his family, why should he deserve all this love? A woman that wants to have a family with him…he didn't know how to deal with it. Most of all, he was terrified. What if the baby hated him? What if he himself wasn't capable of loving it? What if he turned in to everything he despised?

No. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't make her or the child suffer from that horror.

"Nik?" Caroline asked tentatively, watching as his face became, once more, devoid of all emotion.

He couldn't handle this. He had to get out…Elijah started all of this. Elijah. He didn't want to upset Caroline anymore- that much he was sure of- so his unconscious mind decided to take it all out on his older brother. He looked at Caroline sadly before getting up and rushing out of the room.