Chapter 4: Professor Hybrid Asshat

Author's note: Wow, everyone really liked the reveal that Klaus has stepped up his game and has joined the faculty at Caroline's university. Frankly, it likely did wonders for my GPA in college that none of my professors looked like him though... Thanks for all of the attention you've given my work; your reviews keep me motivated! I'm twisting canon (and historical accounts) to suit my plot; hopefully you like the changes I've made! (There might be a few breadcrumbs in this chapter...)


This is not happening. Klaus is not standing here next to my department head. Clearly I'm still daydreaming about those troublesome dimples and any moment now this is all going to turn into a perfume-worthy commercial in overdone black and white complete with a beach, pounding waves, and billowing white clothes with the wind artfully tossing around our hair but it somehow does not get stuck in our eyes or mouths. Hybrid The Fragrance of Seduction.

Caroline's ivory cheeks bloomed with color as she thought back to her earlier desire to spend more time with the cocky hybrid. Her secret shame is that ever since that first combative meeting, she had started that list of possible topics related to the Sun and Moon curse that she wanted to explore further with him. Explore. Selflessly for the sake of academic scholarship. Right. His dimples seemed to be deepening and she realized she had been caught staring slack-jawed at him for far too long. Gritting her teeth, she thrust out her hand for him to shake and said, "How nice to meet you. So a visiting professorship. Where are you visiting from, Professor Mikaelson?"

With a sexy curl of his lips, Klaus replied, "It's delightful to meet you again, Professor Forbes. You must not recall, but I attended your lecture regarding the Sun and Moon Curse the other evening. I must admit, you left quite the impression and I seized the opportunity to interact with your dedicated scholarship on a more intimate level." He had the audacity to bend down and place a gentle kiss upon her knuckles, before flashing her a cheeky grin. "And I hail mostly from Cambridge and Oxford. I'm not one to brag; my credentials speak for themselves."

Alaric, completely clueless to the palpable tension in the room, smiled broadly and said in agreement, "Yes! Caroline, you will be most impressed by Klaus' experience. He is exactly the kind of 'new blood' we need in our department. I anticipate your collaborations will be the highlight of our semester."

She bit back a grin at her department head's associating 'new blood' and ancient asshat hybrid, but then a thought stopped her cold — he said he was looking forward to their collaborations. No. Way. "Um, our collaborations, Alaric? I was under the impression that the department's visiting professorship grant was designed to assist with the Greek and Roman archival collections."

"Originally, yes, but as you know, the applicants we received were lackluster to say the least, and I can stall the board until next semester. Besides, Klaus convinced me that his knowledge of the 13th century combined with his background in Aztec, Roman and African studies are ideal for aiding you in your lecture series on the Sun and Moon Curse hoax," Alaric explained.

Caroline flashed a fake smile at Klaus, her tone poorly masking her sarcasm as she bit out, "What a coincidence that Professor Mikaelson's background so perfectly matches the experience needed to assist me with my work."

Klaus' gray eyes twinkled as he nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Almost as though it was meant to be, love."

Alaric clapped his hands together excitedly. "Excellent! I had a feeling the two of you would get along. Klaus' timing is fortuitous given that Caroline also is embarking on another major research project which will soon take up much of her time. My broad vision for your collaboration will include continuing Caroline's research, co-authoring multiple journal articles, and co-presenting a lecture series. Later this week, I'll expect a more detailed proposal from you both outlining your anticipated deadlines with progress updates built into your schedule." He exited the meeting room, unknowingly leaving behind a smug hybrid asshat and an irritated, overachieving vampire.

Klaus leaned in closer, dropping a whisper of seductive words into the shell of her ear. "I must admit, sweetheart, hearing you call me 'professor' may be the highlight of my day."

Caroline stepped away from him, wrinkling her nose. "Seriously? Who the hell do you think you are, barging into my work like this, you hybrid asshat?!"

"Professor," he prompted her with a smirk.

"Fine. Professor hybrid asshat," she amended, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest.

He chuckled, clasping his hands behind his back casually. "Love, you are a delight. I do enjoy our verbal sparring matches. I anticipate our collaborations will be equally stimulating."

"There will be no stimulating of any sort! This is my career you're toying with and I will not have your woeful incompetence and academic inadequacies ruining my research! Do you have any training handling and cataloguing priceless, delicate artifacts? Are you even familiar with properly sifting through online library databases or do you think JSTOR was the war chief from one of your Viking raiding parties?"

"Nonsense — the clan elders never would have allowed someone of such a simplistic moniker hold such an honored position within a raiding party. We would have tacked on 'Ironside' or 'Bloodaxe' to save face," Klaus informed her with a teasing smile.

His delicious accent had no effect on her. She was not affected in the slightest. She was certainly not going to comment on it. At all. "What's with the accent," she blurted out, closing her blue eyes in embarrassment when she realized how breathless her voice sounded.

"My accent?"

She huffed, tucking a messy curl behind her ear. "It's British. Possibly Welsh dialect."

He cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "And? What of it?"

"And you're not," Caroline gestured toward him, rolling her eyes. "Your native tongue is Old Norse. North Germanic pronunciation is too dissimilar from British despite the inherently shared Anglo-Saxon roots."

Klaus leaned forward once more, invading her space ever so slightly in a clear bid to keep her off-balance. "Then what, pray tell, should I sound like, hmm, sweetheart?"

"Alexander Skarsgård," she answered flatly. "He's a trusted authority on ancient Viking vampires," she added with a grin.

"Ancient Viking hybrid," Klaus ground out, somewhat irritated. "And you haven't taken into consideration that I lived for centuries in British lands. Languages and accents are malleable."

With a mischievous sparkle in her blue eyes, she teased, "Except studies have shown that accents are more or less fixed at approximately age 20. It takes considerable time and effort to alter something so intrinsic."

A slight scowl graced his handsome face as he awkwardly brushed off her comments. "Yes, well, as I've already explained, my extensive time spent in Great Britain has obviously influenced my accent."

She held up her hands in a mocking surrender. "Fair enough. To my knowledge, linguistic research hasn't been performed on immortal creatures' speech patterns, so we'll table the issue for now." Narrowing her eyes, she felt her initial indignation return. "Getting back to my original point, my work is a huge part of my world and this is my reputation that you're so callously placing in jeopardy for reasons that escape me." She could feel her face heating once more at the shrill, desperate tone her voice revealed as she thought of all the ways Klaus' mind games could singlehandedly dismantle her credibility in the academic world.

At his peevish expression, Caroline laughed, surprising herself when she realized that the few minutes she'd spent trading smartass comments with Klaus had been the most connected she'd felt in a long time. Something to ponder for later.

"Caroline," he started in a more serious tone that immediately captured her attention, "I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't normally pursue women like this. I attended your lecture on a lark, but it was your strength of spirit, your fierce intelligence and your beautiful light that enthralled me." His crestfallen tone was enough to make her heart plummet. "However, I see now that I've gone about this infatuation of mine in the wrong manner. I've made you uncomfortable and for that, I sincerely apologize."

She guiltily recalled Stefan's advice to start letting people in. Could she really start with Klaus? Her instincts told her to proceed with caution, but she could at least admit to herself that she was lonely. For all of her friendships and the full life she led, she knew that much of her obsession with her scholastic pursuits was to prevent herself from dwelling on how utterly alone she felt in this vast world. Reaching a decision, she gave him a soft smile. "Apology accepted. Professor Mikaelson. And I'm sorry for being so combative." She lowered her gaze, suddenly finding her shoes fascinating. "I — I have a lot of trust issues...and a friend of mine wants me to work on it...but um..." she finished awkwardly.

The smile he flashed her was genuine, obviously charmed by her awkward revelation. "Then perhaps you would allow me to start over, love? I'd be delighted to get to know you over dinner tonight." His dimples cut into his cheekbones as he hastily amended, "As colleagues, of course. We can even keep the conversation focused on our research proposal if you prefer."

Caroline felt her cheeks grow rosy when she noticed the heat in his steel gaze. With a twinge of regret, she realized she would have to decline his offer. "Unfortunately, I have plans tonight, but maybe—" she faltered when she saw his genuine disappointment, and impulsively said, "Maybe you'd be interested in joining me? We could grab something late after we're done."

He nodded enthusiastically as though relieved she wanted to include him. "Of course, love, I'd be pleased to join you in your plans. Where are we going?"

"A sort of second home for me. You said you wanted to get to know me, so this is a good place to start," she said with an adorable wink.

Intrigued, Klaus readily agreed, almost bashfully wishing her a good day as he exited the room. Caroline couldn't help but watch him leave, her appreciative study of his graceful form leaving her breathless. I am in so much trouble.

Shaking her head at her foolish antics — seriously, what possessed her to wink at him — she went upstairs to her office to try to get some work done. Once she unlocked her door, she exhaled, feeling the sexual tension from their charged encounter start to leave her body as she smelled the familiar scents of lavender and mint from the plants she kept on her window ledge. She felt an absurd giddiness at the prospect of her date — non-date, that is — with the infuriatingly charming hybrid.

Her phone suddenly rang, and her blue eyes lit up in delight when she recognized the number. She quickly answered the phone, her voice full of warmth as she greeted, "Matty! How are you?"

Matt Donovan, or "Matty" as Caroline had dubbed him his freshman year when he adorably argued with her so earnestly in her classroom regarding the themes of the Epic of Gilgamesh. With his bright blonde hair and faded blue eyes, he had the look of an all-American boy, and at first glance, Caroline had assumed he fit into the typical jock stereotype, but she soon discovered that he was as dedicated to his academic pursuits as she and he immediately gravitated toward her as his mentor, soaking up knowledge like an eager little sponge. She thought of him as a little brother, and delighted in teaching him everything she knew about their chosen field.

Now, he was one of her most brilliant Ph.D. candidates, and when Alaric had stubbornly refused to grant her any further time in the field this semester, she sent Matt in her place, confident in his abilities as a scholar to continue her important research. "Tell me you have some good news," she said eagerly.

"Yup, you were right; the Phoenix Stone did end up in the estate sale. I'm leaving the auction now and will drop it off at the local Fed Ex. You'll have it first thing tomorrow," he said excitedly.

Caroline beamed, her sunshine voice pouring forth. "Well, done, Matty! Now I know Alaric said funds were tight and we needed you on the first plane back here as soon as you retrieved the stone, but I think you've earned a bit of a vacation, so I've paid your hotel room through the rest of next week and the exchange fee on your ticket to fly back then." At his stunned gasp, she laughed. "It's my way of saying thank you for all the hard work you've been doing on this project with me."

Matt stumbled over his words as he tried to thank her. "This is just — I mean, wow, thank you!" He shyly added, "I actually checked with the guy at the front desk about where the best fishing spots were, and it turns out less than a mile away is some of Montana's best fly fishing."

"Then this works out perfectly; You enjoy a relaxing fishing trip and when you get back, I'm sure I'll have some better understanding of the direction the research should take. Be sure to email pictures of the stone, your field notes and interview of the old magician's family; we definitely want to include their take on the stone's rich history." Matt agreed eagerly and then hung up, no doubt anxious to start fishing, leaving Caroline to her thoughts.

The Phoenix Stone project had been a legend of the ancient world she had chased off and on over the years, much like Klaus' Sun and Moon Curse hoax, before finally convincing her latest department head to fund her research efforts. Carved from red beryl, it was supposedly used by the ancient Anasazi shamans to trap the souls of their enemies. It was lost for centuries in the American Southwest until 1773 when two women were accused of using witchcraft to murder another woman in New Mexico. The Phoenix Stone was confiscated by the authorities and it mysteriously disappeared after the women's execution.

It resurfaced in France in 1800, when Robert Emmet of Dublin attempted to use the stone to secure foreign help for the rebellion he hoped to raise in Ireland. It is unknown what, if any value, was offered as written accounts indicate that the stone is marred by inclusions, likely from the brittleness of the mineral under the weight of the native carvings.

A German family bartered the stone for passage to America in the late 1800s, and the ship's captain, Thomas Gaddy, passed the stone down to his son in North Carolina, who then passed it on to his son, and so on and so forth, with several owners trying and often failing to pass off the gemstone as a ruby in the hopes of making a quick profit. The stone exchanged hands along the south, ironically finding a home in an antique shop in Mystic Falls around World War I, when Caroline was turned. It frustrated her to no end when she thought of how close she came to easily obtaining a piece of ancient history, had she known at the time how important her research would become to her.

The trail grew cold and didn't pick up again until she found a tin sign for sale online that advertised a magic show that featured a "remarkable ancient ruby of mystical properties". With a bit more digging, she determined that the magician used the stone as a prop in his act in the 1980s, and after his death, his relatives were obviously scavenging his estate for monetary gain.

The insistent ding of her email caught her attention, pulling her from her thoughts. She excitedly clicked on the email from Matt, barely paging through his field notes before moving onto the images he sent. At first glance, it was an unremarkable stone, a dull-red, about the size of an egg, and full of scratches and cracks. She wouldn't be able to determine if its origin reached back to the Anasazi civilization until she could perform proper radiocarbon dating and examine the stone's layers for telltale native etchings through an MRI scan.

The myth about the stone possessing mystical properties did give her pause, but once she heard the legend, her curious mind couldn't wait to prove its falsehood as anything more than a significant artifact from a lost civilization.

Of course, it was exactly this type of stubborn single-mindedness that led to her disproving ancient curse artifacts and gaining an insistent, sexy hybrid shadow.

"But it's not like there could be any bigger surprises than that," she uttered to herself confidently as she started looking through Matt's research files in earnest.