Chapter Four:
Long minutes passed after she woke up, but Caroline stayed still with her eyes closed. At first because she was terrified that it had been just another hallucination, that she was still locked up in the coffin. It only took her moments to come to the conclusion that she was in a bed and that there was no more pain. Still she kept her eyes closed.
"Care?" Bonnie asked, followed by the sound of shifting. "I know you're awake. How do you feel? Are you hungry? Stefan brought some blood bags for you."
"No, I'm not hungry," Caroline answered, finally opening her eyes to look at her friend. She should have been starving, seeing as she hadn't eaten since the day in the woods with Klaus, but she wasn't. How much of his blood had he given her? She sat up groggily, pulling the blankets with her. They smelled like him, the whole room did, and she took silent pleasure in being surrounded by his scent. "And I'm fine, now."
Bonnie opened her mouth to say something else, but she was interupted by the sound of glass breaking downstairs, followed by loud voices. Caroline couldn't make out the words, but she didn't need to. She knew exactly what they were discussing.
"At this rate," Bonnie said, shaking her head, while looking at the closed bedroom door. "There won't be any glasses left in the whole house."
"Shouldn't you be down there too?" Caroline asked.
"I got thrown out," Bonnie informed her. "Apparently my humanity was getting in the way of their plans to murder someone I've known my whole life. I figured I'd sit with you until you woke up and then we'd both go down and settle this."
"There's nothing to settle, Bonnie," Caroline looked at her friend sadly.
"How can you say that?" Bonnie asked, her voice rising. "This is Tyler we're talking about."
"Oh, I know exactly who we're talking about," she told the girl. "We're talking about the guy who broke into my house, while I was sleeping. The one who stole me out of my bed, chained me up in a cellar and bit me, before locking me in a coffin and leaving me for dead. So don't tell me I don't know who we're talking about."
"I know, Caroline," Bonnie said softly, trying to placate the blonde, "but you also know he hasn't been the same since his mother, and then finding out that you slept with the monster that killed her, it must have pushed him over the edge."
"Don't you dare, Bonnie Bennett," Caroline screamed. "Don't try to put this on me. His mother would still be alive if he could have just been happy after breaking the sire bond, but he had to keep going, turning the other hybrids against Klaus. Did he really think that Klaus would let that go unpunished?"
"I'm sorry, Caroline," the other girl said. "I'm just having a hard time understanding how the same fun-loving guy that we grew up with could turn into the one that tried to kill you."
Caroline blew out a breathe, trying to calm herself down. "I don't know how he became so twisted, but I do know that we can not give him another chance to try again."
"You can't mean that," Bonnie said, shaking her head. She was looking at Caroline like she didn't know her. "You are talking about taking a life, Tyler's life."
"I can and I do," Caroline told her. "He won't give up trying to get revenge. He isn't the same person that we knew. Hell, he tried to kill a baby, an unborn child, Bonnie. Who does that?"
"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.
"Hayley is pregnant with Klaus' baby," Caroline informed her. "Tyler was going to kill them, but Klaus stopped him."
"How is that possible?" Bonnie asked, bewildered.
"I don't know," Caroline answered. She was still trying to process it herself. She was going to have to have a talk with Klaus on the when's and the why's of the she-bitch's offspring, but she had enough on her plate for the moment. "He said something about a loophole."
"I still don't know if I can get behind this," Bonnie said.
'Then maybe it is time that you left," Klaus said from the now open doorway. Both girls swung around, surprised, as they hadn't heard him come in.
Bonnie looked like she was going to argue, but decided against it. "I'm sorry, Care," she said looking at her friend. "I can't help you, but I won't try to stop you either."
Caroline watched her friend walk passed Klaus and out the door. Tears were threatening to escape her eyes as she thought of how screwed up their lives had become. Instead of letting herself dwell, she swiped at her eyes and turned her attention to the Original standing in front of her.
"You look like shit," she told him, smiling. He had dark circles under his eyes, he was paler than usual and his hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions. Of course, if she was more honest with herself, she'd admit that he was still drool-worthy.
"And you look like an angel," Klaus replied, smirking at her.
She let out a small huff of laughter in response, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. She gave into the moment, letting herself enjoy the effects that his words and his voice had on her, had always had on her. She wanted to thank him for saving her, but she was terrified that if she opened her mouth everything she was feeling would just come pouring out. Instead she closed the distance between them, and pressed her lips to his stubbled cheek, while throwing her arms around his neck.
Klaus marveled at the feeling, as he pulled her closer to his body and she buried her face in his neck. She was alive and in his arms, he couldn't ask for anything more than that. Except he could. He wanted her to be with him, to be close so that he never had to worry that he might not be able to get to her next time. He wanted to make sure there never was a next time. He wanted her to be his completely.
Their small amount of peace couldn't last forever. Caroline was the first one to pull away, her face now looking serious. She knew what was coming next and she began to mentally prepare to discuss killing her once friend before he killed her first. She made a move to step around Klaus, but his hand on her arm stopped her.
"About the baby, love," he began, but she cut him off before he could say anymore.
"Not right now, okay," she said, shaking her head and tightening her lips. She couldn't deal with that conversation right now. "Just not now."
He nodded his head, slightly relieved that they could put that topic on the back burner for the moment, as he watched her walk out of his bedroom. He followed her downstairs and into the study, where Rebekah and Stefan were waiting. Pouring himself a drink, he watched as Stefan made sure she was alright, before he hugged her. Klaus bristled at the contact, his animal side screaming out that another was touching what was his, but the hybrid did nothing except down his drink and pour himself another.
"Can we get this show on the road?" It was Rebekah, of course, who's impatience had worn out.
In the end, the plan was simple enough. The four of them set out in search of Tyler. Rebekah seperated from them, going off to ask if Matt had seen him. A phone call later and they knew that Matt hadn't seen Tyler since Stefan had left yesterday. As if to confirm the remaining three headed that way only to find the house dark and noiseless. They checked the old Lockwood property but the only scent they picked up was Damon's from his search for Caroline.
They had searched most of the town and they were all beginning to wonder if maybe he had run. Klaus was even about ready to call Elijah to have him and the rest of the New Orleans vamps on the look out. It was then that they picked up the familiar scent, and the three sped off into the woods after him.
Tyler never even saw it coming. One minute he was sitting on a fallen tree watching the flames of the campfire, the next he was pinned to a tree by his enemy. Klaus just stood there, holding him in place as he struggled against the Original's grip.
"It's really getting old, how we keep meeting like this," Klaus growled at him. "Not to worry though, boy. This will be the last time."
"Fuck you, Klaus," Tyler screamed, spitting in his face. "You're not going to kill me. If you were, you would have done it in the bayou."
"You're right, I should have," Klaus said, wiping his face with his sleeve, as he slammed him harder into the tree. "If I had known, I would have torn your heart out when I had it in my hand. You're also right that I'm not going to kill you. That honor goes to someone else. Sweetheart?"
A few feet away, Caroline and Stefan watched the scene unfold. Her heart was trying to tell her that this was Tyler, her first love, and that maybe she could save him, again. She knew better though, there was no saving the boy that she used to know. She took a step towards the pair.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Stefan's voice stopped her.
"No," she answered honestly, "But I have to."
"Okay," was all he said. The two entered the circle of light cast by the fire. She watched as Tyler's eyes widened, before his face adopted a cocky smirk.
"Care," he greeted. "I see you're feeling better. Tell me did you suck and fuck him this time?"
"Watch your mouth," Stefan growled, even as Klaus slammed him hard enough to crack the base of the tree.
"So what," Tyler coughed out blood, but he ignored the pain, focusing all his anger on Caroline. "You're going to kill me. Because of him. He killed my mother and stole you from me."
"He didn't steal me away from you," Caroline sadly shook her head. "You left me, remember? Three damn times you left me behind, and when you do come back you try to kill me. Do you know how painful a bite from you is?"
"Not as painful as breaking the sire bond," Tyler spat. "For you, Caroline! I broke every bone, hundreds of times for you, and you repay me by screwing him."
In the blink of an eye, Caroline was right in front of him. "You want to know something, Tyler?" She asked, as her punched her hand into his chest. "It was the best fucking sex I've ever had."
Klaus let Tyler go, when she ripped his heart out, dropping the body to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her, as she sobbed into his chest. He shared a look with Stefan, over her shoulder, and the other man nodded. Stefan would take care of the body, while Klaus took Caroline back to the mansion.
She was silent on the trip to his home. He carried her in and up the stairs to his bedroom. He wanted to lay her on the bed, but they were both filthy. He brought her instead to the adjoining bathroom and set her on her feet.
"Take a shower, sweetheart," he told her gently. "I'll find you something of Bekah's to wear and leave it on the bed."
She didn't say anything, but she grabbed his hand to stop him. She was lookign at him, silently pleading with him not to leave. She let his hand go and started to lift her shirt over her head. Klaus just watched her while she stripped out of the rest of her clothes and started the shower. When she turned to look back at him, he was still at a lose as to what to do. Well, he knew what he wanted to do, but there was no way that she was up for that. She was still looking at him expectantly.
When he started to strip himself down, she gave a small nod and got into the shower. He followed a minute later, keeping a bit of distance between them. She handed him the soap and turned her back to him. There was nothing sexual about their shower together, even though he almost killed himself fighting the urge to take her, as her little hands returned the favor by washing him.
He shut the water off, wrapping her in a fluffy towel, and sending her into the bedroom. He composed himself, getting his control back as he dried himself off and followed her. She was under the covers on his bed and the sight of her there was so right to him. He noticed that she was wearing one of his shirts and there were a pair of boxer briefs on the bed from him. He slipped them on and joined her under the blanket. She curled into his side and he wrapped her in his arms. They were both asleep within minutes.
A/N: Good news, I'm still not finished. The next chapter wll definitely be the last, mostly so I can play catch up with the two shows. Who knows what my insanity will see in all the episodes I missed so far. You all might be seeing me again real soon. Thanks again and I hope you all enjoyed.