BLIND LOVE
From: Lovely Vero
Fan Fiction – Alternate Universe TVD & the Originals
Main pairings:
Caroline Forbes & Klaus Mikaelson
Katherine Pierce & Elijah Mikaelson
Also starring:
Bonnie Bennett and Kol
CHAPTER 3
Songs inspiration:
Zayn:Dust till Dawn
Cause I wanna touch you, baby
And I wanna feel you, too
I wanna see the sunrise and your sins
Just me and you
Light it up, on the run
Let's make love, tonight
Make it up, fall in love, try
But you'll never be alone
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
Baby, I'm right here
I'll hold you when things go wrong
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
Baby, I'm right here
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
Baby, I'm right here
It is always so surprising to see what a couple of days of various events can change in the life of someone…
Friday, the hospital parking lots, 5:03 a.m.
Katherine Piece got out of her car, closed her driver's door before pushing the red button on her command device to lock it. It was barely five in the morning and the sunrise was slowly setting its orange and red colors at the Far East horizon, pushing the darkness of the night at bay. She hurried her steps toward the entrance of the hospital, only to come to a halt at the buzz alert of her cellphone.
She was scheduled to operate on two patients today and maybe one had been rescheduled before her early arrival? She retrieved her electronic device from her leather tote bag to rapidly take a look at the screen, only to roll her eyes at the text message she had just received.
EM La Bella Signora. It's a new Italian restaurant that just opened on San José Boulevard – I would pick you up at the hospital around 8:00 p.m.? Or if you prefer at your home at a later hour?
"You got to be kidding me?" Katherine exclaimed, out loud, with a shake of her head. "Does that man ever sleep?" She questioned herself, before hurrying her fingers to text him back.
KP I would have thought that a good eight hours of sleep was a requirement to become a "good" lawyer? My bad, I presumed wrong! Good day, Mister Mikealson.
"I hope my answer will keep him away from texting me for at least a few hours!" She expressed herself through clenched teeth; before throwing her cellphone back in her tote bag and reprising her walk in the exterior parking lots, toward the entrance.
Elijah Mikaelson chuckled at the answer he saw on his cellphone screen, before slowly raising his feet on his desktop.
"Game on woman!" He smirked, touching his chin to think of his response.
EM I'm already a famous lawyer, I don't need to become one. Plus, I rarely function on more than a few hours of sleep by night. I'm already at the office as I am texting you. What about you? You're up as early as me as I can see?
"Oh you got to be kidding me!" She rose her head to the dark sky closing her eyes and sighing loudly; before (once more) retrieving her cellphone from her bag to read his answer.
She wasn't one to admit it to herself anytime soon, but that man could rapidly become a bad (but also delightful) addiction to her! It was like the time she had started "smoking" when she was a teenager. At seventeen she knew it was not healthy for her, but that did not prevented her to start!
KP I work for a living, Mister Mikaelson! I need to operate on two patients today; which requires me to have an early arrival at the hospital to study their medical files. So if you would be so KIND to excuse me and stop harassing me with your text messages! I've agreed for you to have my personal cellphone number for emergency in regards of Caroline Forbes' case, and mostly for you to stop harassing the staff at the reception desk!
EM I "could" excuse you, if you "would" accept my invitation to dinner, Katherine. And as for working; I've consulted two court files since I arrived at the office at 4:00 a.m.! And, if you had so kindly accepted to give me your cellphone number to start with, I wouldn't have been forced to "harass" the staff as you so politely put it.
"Show off! Pretentious pig!" Katherine exclaimed, to herself; while barely avoiding to hit a light post in her way to the entrance.
That man was dangerous for her sanity, and this with a capital "D"!
KP And if I don't accept?
EM Like you haven't already realized that I can be very persistent when I want something …. Or should I say someone?
"Oh my God, that man is a freaking nightmare!" Katherine stomped the grass furiously, before letting a few profanity out of her mouth.
Granted she was lucky that it was so early in the morning, and that the parking was practically empty, so no one of the staff or visitors, could hear her swear out loud.
EM I would give a lot of money to see and hear you swear out loud right now. Where are you? Parking? Entrance of the hospital (doubtful you wouldn't swear out loud)? Your own office?
KP I'm SO glad that my continuous DISGUST of YOU seems to amuse you!
EM That is what a "sexual attraction" between a man and a woman is called these day?
KP IS THERE A POINT TO THIS, MISTER MIKAELSON? IF SO PLEASE GET TO IT SO I CAN START MY DAY?
EM Capital letters, Dr. Pierce? Tsk … Tsk … Tsk … So not "à propos"…
KP You're lucky! If I was standing in front of you, it's not French words that I would throw in your face!
"Oh I love this, baby!" Elijah said out loud, before tilting his head backward only to burst into loud laughter. A discreet knock at his office door made him raise his head at the early intruder.
EM Give me a moment, would you?
KP Please take the eternity that would suit me better!
"Yes?" Elijah invited the early bird to step inside his office; while promptly lowering his legs on the ceramic floor.
"Good morning, Mister Mikaelson!" The grayish hair, sixty-something years old woman stepped inside her boss office, a large smile spreading on her lips.
"Louisa it's barely five thirty in the morning. What are you doing here?" Elijah scolded his receptionist, in a gently manner, while taking a rapid glance at his watch.
"Well, I know the Williamson trial is coming next week; and with that trial will come its share of extra hours for you, Mister Mikaelson." Louisa started explaining her point of view, taking a few steps to reach the desk, only to drop a cup of warm coffee on its desktop. "I thought I could grant you a few hours of my time to reorganize the files. With Caroline's departure from the firm, you certainly need an extra hand around here."
"Louisa, you're an angel you know that?" Elijah commented, pointing in her direction; before grabbing the cup to take a sip.
"And you're a good, understanding boss, Mister Mikaelson." Louise replied, smiling. "You granted me several weeks of pay last year when Fred got his heart attack."
"That's in the past; do not think or talk about it anymore, Fred is in perfect health now." Elijah waved his right hand to close the subject. "And talking about Fred, next time if you feel the need to give me extra hours, Louisa, do it after five, would you? Or your husband will get my head on a stick!"
"Will do." Louisa nodded, smiling; before turning on herself to retrace her steps toward the office exit. "Mr. Mikaelson?"
"Yes, Louisa?" He asked.
"Any new news on Caroline?" She inquired; her hands placed in a prayer gesture.
"She's still at the center under good care, Louisa; continuing her therapy treatments as we speak." He replied, cordially.
"Well, that is a good thing I suppose." She nodded. "Maybe, the female physician who is taking such good care of her could tell you more about her rehabilitation when the time will come?"
"I'm with her on my cellphone as we speak." Elijah his blackberry in his right hand.
"Oh! She's an early bird like you, Mister Mikaelson." Louisa commented, enthusiastically.
"She's a surgeon that explains it way more than being like me." He gave a rapid explanation.
"Well maybe one day, you two early birds could share a cup of coffee at a nearby coffee shop?" Louisa suggested, winking; before leaving the office.
"Doubtful my dear Louisa, but not per say impossible." Elijah replied to himself, before reprising his texting.
EM Sorry, my receptionist was exchanging a few words with me.
He lowered the device on his desktop, awaiting her answer, with his chin tugged in his right hand and his sight lost in the sunset setting its colors at the far horizon.
KP YOU'RE FORCING YOUR RECEPTIONIST TO BE AT THE OFFICE AT 4:00 A.M. IN THE MORNING!
EM We're back into cap locks, Dr. Pierce, as I can see? Usually, it is at 3:00 a.m. but I let her have one extra hour of sleep the past night. No, Katherine! Louisa's regular hours are 9:00 to 5:00. She's been working for the firm for the past fifteen years. She's here by her own choice to give an extra hand for a difficult case that I'm working on.
No response…
EM Are you still there?
KP My brain can't barely understand why she would do that? Is she not immune to your "killer" charm by now?
Elijah busted into laughter, once more; before typing his response.
EM She's an adorable sixty-two years old woman, who for some reasons, finds me kind, good, and treats me like a son. Jealous?
KP Not even a little bit!
EM Good! You have no reasons to be. So dinner tonight?
"Good morning, Dr. Piece. How was your night?" Cheryl greeted the female surgeon who was passing by the reception area.
"Mm… Yes, good morning, Cheryl." She evasively replied, while texting at the same time.
KP The answer is still "no"… but… Thank you for the invitation! Let's keep this professional between us, shall we, Mister Mikaelson? I have an appointment with Caroline Forbes today, and will have a consult with her regular physician prior to that appointment. She have asked to see me.
EM Something wrong with Caroline, Katherine?
"Please do not tell me, Dr. Piece, this is "who should not be named" texting you at 5:00 in the morning!" Cheryl asked, while dropping a pile of files on the reception counter. "Because, if you want me to give him a piece of my mind, I will!"
"Then I won't tell you that it is in fact "who should not be named"." Katherine shrugged while replying to the head nurse. "And "no", I don't want you to give him a piece of your mind. Be grateful that I've saved you all from his repetitive phone calls at the reception desk."
"Mm… I'll be grateful, alright!" Cheryl sighed loudly; while rolling his eyes.
"We should all be grateful of that." Katherine commented herself, before continuing her rapid strides toward the elevators at the far end of the corridor "A".
"Good morning, Dr. Piece; early call?" Bonnie greeted, enthusiastically, while passing by the surgeon in the corridor.
EM Katherine? Answer me, damn it!
"Good morning, nurse Bennett." Katherine greeted the nurse herself, while smirking at her cellphone screen at the same time. "I have two scheduled operations today, therefore I wanted to study their medical files beforehand."
"Well, I wish you good luck and a good day." Bonnie replied with a courteous nod, before reprising her walk.
"Nurse Bennett!" Katherine stopped the brunette on her walking track. "I was wondering if you would be interested in scrub-in to one of the two with me."
"What? Are you serious?" Bonnie rose her right hand in front of her chest, suddenly speechless and out of breath.
"The position is to be filled in the operation room to assist me, if you want it?" Katherine added.
"Of course I want it." Bonnie exclaimed, still in shock. "Thank you; thank you so much!"
"You don't need to thank me, I think that your hard work payed off and you deserve it." Katherine replied, while calling the elevator by pushing on the red button. "Have a nice day nurse Bennett; I'll page you in due time."
"I'll be waiting!" Bonnie replied, enthusiastically, before reprising her walk toward the reception desk.
EM KATHERINE?
KP Using cap locks, Mister Mikaelson? That is not very "à propos" would you say?
EM Tit for tat, Dr. Pierce?
KP As you can see! Now you'll have to excuse me the elevator is coming, my day is calling! As for Caroline Forbes… I don't think there is any additional problems with her medical conditions, but "as I always do", I'll keep you updated in the following days. Good day Mister Mikaelson.
EM You do realize that you'll grow to like our texts exchange, Katherine
KP As much as I'll grow to like you? Very unlikely!
Elijah Mikaelson dropped his cellphone on his desktop, a large grin spreading on his full lips.
"Believe me woman… You will." He said out loud, before grabbing a bunch of legal papers that needed his signature.
Friday, the hospital reception/nurses counter, 9:59 a.m.
"It's barely ten o'clock in the morning and I'm already drained of all my energy." Bonnie shared her thoughts with Cheryl, while handing to the head nurse, one of the coffee cups she had purchased at the cafeteria.
"Bless your soul, sweet girl!" Cheryl grabbed the warm beverage, before taking a few sips. "That's the downside of the most hated shift in the hospital, the monstrous 5:00 to 5:00 – just after the double-shifts that goes without saying."
"I don't understand why though? I thought this would be the easiest shift to do for sure. It's in the day…" Bonnie started enumerating on her fingers. "You finish early too…" She pulled another finger. "It gives you more money than your regular 8 to 10 hours shift."
"You need to wake up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning to be here on time." Cheryl counted on her own fingers. "You see not "one" but three nurses' teams finish at 6:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.; which gives you the impression that you were at the hospital for at least two days." She added, wincing. "And bottom line, nurse Bennett, it is still a 12 hours shift if you're not counting your pauses and the single one half hour break when most of the times you'll eat a sandwich on the corner of the reception desk because you're too busy to even find the time to sit at the cafeteria."
"I can vouch for what our nice head nurse Cheryl, here, is saying." A male voice cut them in the middle of their exchange.
Kol lower his upper body on the counter, winking at Bonnie.
"Hey!" He greeted, amicably; his dark eyes locked with hers. "How have you been doing?"
"Hi!" Bonnie returned his salute; a light shade of pink filling her cheeks. "I'm good, thank you."
She had put behind her the little drama scene that had occurred at the pub, but as for the staged kiss she had shared with Kol …. Well, it had lingered in her mind a little bit longer she had hoped that it would.
"Oh it's you, Kol!" Cheryl replied, with a roll of her eyes, arms firmly crossed in front of her chest.
"Cheryl is covering her deep loving feelings for me underneath a well-practiced blasé attitude." Kol shared with Bonnie, while gesturing with his right hand. "Deep down I'm her favorite male orderly in the entire hospital."
"Really? She seems pretty genuine to me." Bonnie replied, grinning.
"Weren't you supposed to give me a day off today, young man?" She scolded, while pointing a finger at him.
"You are not having a day off if you're working, darling." Kol shrugged, apologetically.
"I beg your pardon! I'm having a day off each and every time you're not working, because I don't have to keep an eye on you!" Cheryl rose her voice, her eyes darted on her victim.
"See! That …" Kol pointed a finger toward Cheryl. "That is pure love, Bonnie!"
"If you say so." Bonnie replied; laughter escaping her throat.
"I'll go bring those files to Dr. Benjamin so I won't have to watch my day being ruined by you!" Cheryl commented, before turning on her heels with the pile in her hands.
"Isn't she a ray of sunshine?" Kol commented, chuckling.
"She's one of the kind that is for sure." Bonnie added, before grabbing a file to keep her countenance in front of him.
"I've meant to text you since the … You know the…" Kol tried to share his thoughts with the brunette, before being cut in the middle of his sentence.
"The kiss, I know … About that…" Bonnie waved her right hand nervously.
"I was going to say: Since our night at the pub, but … It's nice to see that my "savoir faire" with my lips kept the kiss alive in your mind." Kol teased, touching her right temple with the tip of his finger. "I bet there is a lot in there that you're not sharing about that kiss, and maybe a little bit about me?"
"Your "savoir faire", really?" Bonnie repeated, chin rose, and both arms crossed in front of her chest. "I did not think about your "savoir faire" or lack of it, about your lips or the kiss for a second since that night occurred." She lied through her teeth. "But, knowing you, I knew that you would think about playing the "kiss" card at every chance that you get."
"How peculiar, Bonnie Bennett, because you just mentioned it before I could; really." He titled his head, winking.
"I'm busy today, so … Let's forget about "it" and that night too; shall we?" Bonnie suggested; while looking at a patient chart.
"We both know that you won't be able to forget about "what should not be mention again". I would even say that you'll think about it day and night and … What can I say, when a man is as good as me: he is that good!" He continued throwing flowers at himself, with a teasing undertone; before adding: "But, believe it or not that is not why I came here on my day off from the hospital or approached you and Cheryl at the reception desk."
"You don't say!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "And why did you then?"
"I'm working at the center today and there is a certain someone who had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Piece, so I was mandated to be her chauffeur and I thought that perhaps, you would be happy to see her?" Kol explained himself, while nodding toward the lounge area.
"Oh my God, Caroline!" Bonnie dropped the file she was holding to rush toward her new friend.
"Thank you Kol – Oh, You were so kind Kol to think of me – I truly appreciate the gesture Kol." He imitated Bonnie's voice, while following closely on her steps.
"Caroline?" Bonnie called, closing her ears to his whining; while hurrying her steps to reach the lounge area and the young woman that was sitting quietly in her wheelchair.
"Bonnie?" The blonde woman rose her head at the call of her name, all her remaining senses in alert.
"Yes, it's me." Bonnie knelled in front of the female patient; slowly grabbing one of her hand.
"Oh…. It's really you!" Caroline exclaimed; a large smile spreading over her face.
"I'm so sorry; I've been swamped the past few weeks with night and double shifts and I couldn't find the time to visit you at the center." Bonnie presented her humble apologies. "But I've started the day shift today, so I should be able to visit you very soon."
"It's ok you called me several times." Caroline squeezed her friend' hands. "I'd loved hearing your voice, Bonnie." She shared. "And now that they have given me this modern cellphone for the blind at the center, I'm able to call you to."
"Not as much as she loves hearing my voice though, but …" Kol shrugged, smirking.
"Yeah, I'm stuck with "him" as my chauffeur slash caretaker unfortunately." Caroline winced, half serious – half mocking the guy. "Is he always like that with everyone; or is it my new blind personality who is triggering that special attitude from him?"
"Unfortunately, he's always like that with everyone." Bonnie replied, with a small laughter escaping her throat. "And no, it's not you, Caroline."
"Do you know that lover boy here has this major crush on you?" Caroline shared the well-known secret with her new friend.
"Are you kidding me? I'm standing right here by both of your sides, Caroline!" Kol exclaimed, falsely outraged. "I thought we were friends?"
"Well you thought wrong! Bonnie is my friend." Caroline mocked, gently.
"And so you know, yes she knows I find her of my taste. And I'm also not her type of guy, so I… I mean "we" …We have decided to remain friends; didn't we, Bonnie?" Kol admitted, his sight locked with Bonnie's.
"Eh …Yes, su…sure… What he's saying." Bonnie stammered, lowering her head; while redness filled both of her cheeks.
"I'll go pick a cup of coffee for myself at the cafeteria, you want one, big mouth?" Kol teased Caroline, while bending his upper body near her head to wait for her answer.
"No thank you." Caroline declined his offer, politely.
"I'll leave you girls to talk about "me" in peace." Kol winked at Bonnie, before strolling toward the corridor that would lead him to the cafeteria.
"Bonnie likes Kol." Caroline commented, a smile spreading on her lips.
"What?" Bonnie exclaimed. "No, no… I don't like him that way! Why … Why would you think or say that?" She questioned, blushing; while taking a sitting position on an armchair near Caroline's wheelchair.
"I'm maybe in a wheelchair, and blind as a new born, but I can feel what others can't feel, Bonnie." Caroline replied, honestly. "And when he told us that you were just "friends", you politely agreed, but you had lowered your tone of voice and I perceived sadness in it. Plus, you stammered all over your reply."
"What? Phew … What are you talking about?" Bonnie waved both of her hands, nervously.
"Did you guys kissed?" Caroline questioned; teasingly.
"No, yes… I mean, it's not what you think at all." The young nurse tried to explain. "It was staged."
"Of course it was staged! Seriously? I'm blind but not stupid! Did you like it?" Caroline asked some more.
"What? I don't know… I mean … Caroline! You're here, at the hospital, I have a fifteen minutes break to grant you and … Can we not talk about Kol?" Bonnie begged for the mercy of her friend. "What about you? How's everything at the center?"
"I feel like a rat in a laboratory." Caroline expressed her deepest thoughts and feelings. "They are watching my every move, studying my every word – hoping, praying that I won't try to kill myself once more. Poor girl, it is so sad what had happened to her!"
"Did you start some courses? And what about your physiotherapy?" Bonnie insisted.
"There is this woman, Rhonda is her name. She gives the braille classes." Caroline explained with a nod. "She's very good at what she does."
"Well, that is good, no?" The brunette tried to up-lift her friend' mood.
"Nothing is good when you are constantly in the dark, Bonnie." Caroline commented, sadly.
"You know that you have a good chance to walk again, right? For what I could hear of your case – Your legs are ready to learn again." Bonnie encouraged her.
"I hate that Richard guy who's giving me the physical therapy course! He's arrogant and doesn't understand anything about me!" Caroline snapped, angrily. "I filled a complaint about him."
"Do you mean that he doesn't understand you like Klaus, your guru, does?" Bonnie teased, openly.
Caroline shrugged, redness filling both of her cheeks. "I don't know what you mean by that."
"Sure, you don't!" Bonnie grinned. "How is he anyway?"
"I don't know." She shrugged, once more; before crossing her arms in front of her chest. "He took a day off. We exchanged a few words this morning."
"How dare he take a day off away from you? You should report him A.S.A.P.!" Bonnie teased, some more. "I would filled a complaint if I was you."
"Could you leave my damn baskets alone, Bonnie?" Caroline asked, dryly.
"OK, I'm just teasing. But, I can see that you like him better than all the others." Bonnie commented.
"He just … He treats me like the old Caroline, not the invisible blind woman I've become and who is sitting in a wheelchair." Caroline commented; tears filling her eyes.
Bonnie closed her eyes, a lump forming in her throat… Damn it! What was she supposed to answer to that?
"You are temporarily sitting in a wheelchair, don't you forget that, Caroline." The brunette finally found the right words. "And, you don't know what your future holds for you."
"Well, I know my future doesn't hold kissing a man like you did, that's for sure!" Caroline replied, with a shrug; while nervously rubbing her hands together. "Staged or not staged."
"You don't know that either. Maybe your physical therapist?" Bonnie teased, to uplift her spirit.
"Whew… Gross!" Caroline winced, disdainfully.
"I see that Kol is heading our way, and it's time for me to go back to work, so… I promise that I'll visit you at the centers in the next days." Bonnie squeezed her friend's hands.
"Thanks Bonnie." Caroline replied, with a squeeze of her own, before letting her friend go back to her shift.
She waited a few seconds for Bonnie to get away from the lounge area, before inhaling air inside her lungs to calm herself down. She was too proud to admit to anybody how much her visit to the hospital as a blind person, in a wheelchair, was making her feel like she was so little, and a burden to society, as opposed to another humans being among others.
She closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her right cheek. She needed to escape. She needed a happy place … Somewhere where she could escape for a short moment instead of losing it!
It is then that the memory of a jelly doughnut and Klaus's early visit in her room this morning came vividly back to her …
Previously – the same day, at the Center, around 8:15 a.m…
Caroline pushed her tray away, grimacing at the plain porridge they had served the patients this morning. She suddenly rose her head at the distinctive sound of shoes heels hitting the ceramic floor in rhythmic sound: toc, toc, hold … toc, toc, hold…
"Klaus?" She called through the ajar door of her private bedroom.
She lowered her head, sighing loudly, while nervously rubbing her hands together; obviously her male therapist hadn't heard her call and had passed his way.
"What gave me away, Caroline?" She started in surprise when she heard the whisper near her left ear.
"Being blind and stuck in a wheelchair is obviously not enough of a challenge for you, you want me to have a heart attack also?" She rose her right hand over her chest, just above her heart to calm herself down. "I must be very special to you to try so hard!"
"You? A heart attack, love? You're as strong as a horse and as bright as a bulb!" He teased, grinning; while pulling a nearby chair near the bed. "Do you think you are?"
"Do I think that I am what?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Special to me?" He asked.
"I don't know… Does it matter?" She shrugged; redness filling her cheeks. "What? Don't sit there and say nothing! Tell me if I'm special to you or leave me clueless!"
"Well, the true pleasure would be for you to find out all by yourself if you're special to me; would you say Caroline?" Klaus responded, smirking; while opening a box he had dropped on his thighs before biting into a chocolate doughnut.
"Whatever." She responded, a loud sigh escaping her parted lips.
"So…" He started his question, before taking another bite. "You did not tell me yet why you were able to recognize me among others in the corridor?"
"After two beats, you drag your left foot on the floor, before reprising another set of two beats." She gave the explanation; while shrugging once more.
"Really? Mm…How interesting!" He chewed his food some more. "And … That is why you could become very special to me, Caroline Forbes." He added to piss her off a little bit more.
"What the hell are you eating?" She asked, salivating at the mere idea to eat something else than the same old porridge that was presumably very good for her health and recovery.
"Mm… What? Oh this? Donuts." Klaus responded, taking a second one between his lips.
"Donuts? That sounds delicious!" She commented, dryly. "As you can see, I had plain boring porridge this morning."
"You're right they are very good." Klaus nodded. "I buy a full box of 12 donuts on my day off and do my run before leaving, to give some to the nicest patients that I have, and a few to the nurses."
"Nicest? Well, isn't that nice indeed!" She replied, infuriated.
Klaus lowered his head backwards before busting into laughter.
"You're so transparent love." He shook his head, swallowing the last piece of food. "Why aren't you asking for one?"
"If that amuses you; I did my good deed of the day, I presume?" She replied, slyly.
"I'm going to make a deal with you, Caroline." He suggested to her. "Even if you have been a pain in the ass to the majority of all teachers this week."
"I don't want to retain you more than necessary on your day off." She replied, tit for tat. "I wasn't a pain, I was simply myself."
"I'll give you a donut, only if I am able to guess which kind of doughnut is your favorite." He proposed the simple guessing game. "Do we have a deal?"
"Like I could see with my own two eyes which one you will chose!" She snapped back.
"Like I would be so stupid to think that you could see the doughnut I'll choose." He counterattacked. "No, instead … I'll make you taste it." He explained the game furthermore, before grabbing one in the box to pull a piece of jelly and white powder sugar donut.
"What if the one I like is not in the stupid box?" She questioned.
"Oh it's there, Love; believe me it's there." He replied, smirking. "Open wide."
There was absolutely nothing remotely sensual, romantic or even sexual in the stupid donut game he had proposed to her, but since he had entered her bedroom (and if she was honest with herself) she had noticed that her heartbeats have risen inside her chest. And now he was suggesting to feed her? Which was bringing more heat to her cheeks …
She opened her lips, closing her eyes to help her taste the food with more impact, before feeling the powder white sugar and the strawberry jelly filing her mouth.
"Oh, this is so good!" She moaned with pleasure; before grabbing his hand to help her lick the remaining jelly from his fingers.
Klaus grinned as victory was his to take; before realizing that the simple touch of her lips on his skin had waken something that he wasn't incline to name out loud, but would recognize silently as: raw desire.
"I'm sorry." She released his hand, wiping her mouth with the back of her right hand. "Usually I can behave myself properly while eating."
"I don't remember that my fingers were ever licked with such ardor." He teased; with a chuckle.
"Do you have to tell me that?" She asked, dumbfounded. "It makes me uncomfortable."
"Of course, I need to tell you "sweet nothing", Caroline; it keeps you on your toes." Klaus responded, amusement perceive in his tone of voice. "And secretly, you love it when you realize that you're my special one."
"Well, do I get the full doughnut?" Caroline asked; borderline begging him for her Jelly doughnut.
"Did I won?" Klaus asked, mockingly.
"Fine! Yes, you won!" She accepted defeat.
"Right in front of you, Caroline; on the little plate." He informed, his voice reaching from farther than the chair placed beside her bed.
"Klaus? You're leaving." She asked, sadness perceive in her voice.
"You promise to be good on my day off?" He questioned, smiling.
"If you bring me a jelly donut every morning, we could – perhaps - reach a deal." She suggested, biting full teeth in her food.
She only heard his burst of laughter from the corridor, but … It made her smile … Klaus Mikaelson always manage to make her smile.
Friday, Hospital lounge area, 10:25 a.m.
"I need to bring you to the fifth floor for your appointment Calamity Jane!" Kol teased, while grabbing the handles of Caroline's wheelchair.
His patient remained completely still, her eyes closed, her breathing even and relaxed.
"Caroline?" Kol called, alerted by her silence; while letting go of the wheelchair; before kneeling in front of the young woman. "Are you ok?" He questioned, concerned.
"Mm…" She moaned, before slowly reopening her eyes.
"Hey? Where did you just go right now, beautiful?" Kol asked; the back of his right hand brushing her left cheek to get rid of a single tear.
"To a happy place in my head." She confessed; swallowing a lump in her throat.
"Wow! I wish I had a happy place where I could be right now, just like you." He confessed, humbly. "But, instead I'm stuck with Cheryl, the head-nurse from hell." He whispered near her left ear.
"I wonder if she is thinking the same thing of you." Caroline commented, small laughter escaping her throat.
"Probably, but who cares." Kol shrugged, laughing. "Hey? I know you're friend with Bonnie now, but …. Well, just know that I can be a good friend too if you ever need one at the center."
"In my book, you're still in probation, Kol." Caroline replied, while raising her head and chin. "It depends how you will treat my friend in your first date."
"Hey, hey, hey! I just told you that Bonnie and I, we were just friends." Kol protested, teasingly; while pushing the wheelchair in direction of the elevators.
"You mean you told her what she did not wanted to hear as a game plan to win her back at the end, right?" Caroline replied, sarcastically.
"Caroline Forbes!" Kol called her name, while pushing the elevator call button. "I need to keep both of my eyes on you because you're too damn intelligent for your own good – especially since you're blind and can see what others can't."
"I'm blind, not stupid!" She shrugged, smiling. "And Kol?"
"Yes, Caroline?" He replied, grinning at the young woman.
"Thank you… I mean for doing more than your job with me." She shared with him; nervously rubbing her hands.
"You're welcome, darling." He responded, before pushing the wheelchair inside the cabin.
"Well, I'll be damn! He's actually good for her." Cheryl commented, arms crossed over her chest; just after Kol had pushed Caroline toward the elevators and out of their sights.
"He's surprising me too." Bonnie added, smiling. "I'm glad though, I think she needs people who will take good care of her." She added, while glancing at the chart she was holding in her hands. "Caroline needs TLC more than ever."
"Professionally, yes; I'm with you on that. Personally… Well, I saw you with her and it's a choice you are making, I guess, to become her friend. Just be careful because you could easily get hurt, nurse Bennett." Cheryl shared her concerns and opinion with the young nurse. "A patient like Caroline Forbes as lost everything and especially all her connections with reality. She's between bad days and tolerable ones. She could easily lash out at you one day, and you'll feel like dirt afterward." She explained furthermore. "And let me tell you something, it is one thing to be lashed out when you're getting paid for it, but when it's someone you got close to and that you only wanted to help … Tsk … Tsk… Tsk…"
"What am I supposed to do, Cheryl? Caroline is about my age, I was her assigned nurse the entire time she was here. It's natural that we bounded at some point, and now … Well… Now, I just want to be there for her." Bonnie explained her decision to the head nurse. "Were you hurt by a patient in the past or something?"
"Young ones, they think they have seen and know everything!" Cheryl commented, while shaking her head. "Yes, I was hurt by a patient in the past. I'm not as heartless as people think I am. Like you I cared too much, I wanted to help, but sometimes nurse Bennett, sometimes… It gets hard, you know?"
"I guess." Bonnie shrugged, apologetically. "I'm sorry that you were hurt, Cheryl; but …. I truly don't think Caroline will ever hurt me intentionally."
"Time will tell." Cheryl replied, with a nod. "Nevertheless, Caroline Forbes' medical case is already so complex and complicated; and having two brothers who are lying through their teeth about their connection to her is adding too much drama if you're asking me."
"I'm sorry… I don't quite follow?" Bonnie turned her head, arching her eyebrows in interrogation. "What do you mean by that?"
"Don't tell me you haven't been warned by the Board of Directors?" Cheryl questioned with big brown eyes narrowed on the petite brunette.
"Warned about what, Cheryl?" Bonnie questioned, before facing the head nurse.
"Mister Mikaelson…" Cheryl started, before being cut.
"Well, yes! I know he's Caroline Forbes' boss and a pain in the ass … But mostly to Dr. Piece; right?" Bonnie replied.
"You were Caroline Forbes' assigned nurse for the duration of her stay in this hospital, how could have they forgot about warning you to keep your mouth shut?" Cheryl questioned, dumbfounded.
"OK now you're scaring me! What were they supposed to warn me about?" Bonnie asked to know.
"You need to keep your mouth shut, nurse Bennet." The black woman waved a finger at the young nurse. "Or you'll be in deep shit of trouble if you don't."
"Fine! What is it?" Bonnie begged more.
"Mister Mikaelson and Klaus are brothers." Cheryl finally shared the big secret, with a single shrug.
"What? Do you mean…You mean Klaus, Caroline's therapist and her boss are brothers?" Bonnie repeated the news, in shock.
"It appears so. And if you're asking me, this poor girl don't need their family drama mixed with the ordeal she had to go through." Cheryl gave Bonnie her opinion.
"Why would they keep the fact they are brothers from her?" Bonnie wondered out loud.
"I don't care, and you shouldn't care also!" Cheryl warned her, once more. "Keep your mouth closed and you should be, ok."
"Right." Bonnie reluctantly replied, biting her bottom lip, before turning on herself to put her attention back on the chart.
But this was wrong; so wrong… And this on so many levels.
And to this point, she wasn't sure she could keep her mouth closed!
"Katherine?" A female physician called the tall brunette from the opposite side of the corridor.
"Diana. How have you been?" Katherine greeted her with a smile.
"Oh you know, same as you I suppose." She replied, with a shrug; closing the distance between them. "Running as fast as I can from one wing of this hospital to the opposite one in less than five minute."
"Wow! I'm impressed. I seriously need to raise my game." Katherine winked, playfully.
"You don't want to; it's quite exhausting." Diana commented.
"I'm ready as you are for our appointment with Caroline Forbes." Katherine informed her, cordially.
"Unfortunately that is why I'm here. I just got an emergency call and I won't be able to be part of this appointment." Diana replied, with much regrets perceived in her voice. "This is her file with all my notes in it. You can also find more additional information on your electronic pad under my name."
"Well, I'll do my best to inform her of your tests results." Katherine nodded, while taking the file in hands.
"You'll be the bearer of bad news, I'm afraid." The Asian physician commented, wincing.
"Please tell me you're joking?" Katherine replied, before opening the file to take a rapid look at the charts. "That girl had suffered enough."
"I'm afraid not." Diana shook her head.
Katherine closed her eyes when she caught a glimpse on the paper of what that news would be.
"I'll take care of it." She finally nodded, before closing the file.
"I'm sorry, if it wasn't for the emergency call I would be the one telling her." Diana presented her apologies.
"It's not your fault; it's not anybody's fault." Katherine concluded; a loud sigh escaping her parted lips.
Friday, at the Firm, 11:14 a.m.
"Louisa?" Elijah called the sixty two years old receptionist on his speaker phone.
"Yes, Mister Mikaelson?" She responded, politely.
"Did my associate arrived from the airport yet?" He asked, politely. "Not that I'm particularly looking forward to see his face around here, but I thought his plane was landing at 8:30 a.m. this morning?"
"He's passing the threshold of the entrance glass doors as we speak, mister Mikaelson." Louisa informed him.
"Thanks." Elijah pushed the red button to end the exchange, before swirling his leather chair to face the panoramic view of his office; both hands placed at the back and base of his neck.
This would be a meeting that he wasn't particularly looking forward to have.
Tyler Lockwood was one prominent and well reputed lawyer and of course Elijah's associate, but he was also the biggest asshole he had known in his entire life.
"Good morning Louisa." Tyler Lockwood saluted, politely; but with a colder tone of voice than her other boss.
"Mister Lockwood. Happy to have you back with us." Louisa greeted, with a nod. "How was your extended stay in London?"
"Long and excruciating." Tyler Lockwood commented, evasively; while going through a pile of mail that had been left for him on the reception desk.
"I've heard the temperature is very humid at this time of the year." Louisa commented, politely. "Spring brings its load of rain."
"And the food is tasteless." Tyler added, with a sour expression plastered over his face. "Is he in?" He questioned, nodding toward the door at the end of the carpeted corridor.
"Mister Mikaelson arrived quite early this morning." She confirmed his presence. "Welcome back home once again, Mister Lockwood."
"Thank you Louisa." He responded before taking a few long strides to reach the far end of the corridor, only to barge inside the large office a few seconds later. "You couldn't find the decency within yourself to keep me inform, could you?" Tyler snapped, before slamming the door behind his back.
"Good morning to you too, Tyler. How was your flight?" Elijah questioned, before turning the chair to face his associate.
"Boring, as usual." Tyler shrugged. "Now… About Caroline Forbes, you couldn't keep me inform about the terrible ordeal she had to go through?" He rose his voice, gesturing nervously with his hands.
"First, Caroline Forbes is my assistant, not yours." Elijah responded, dryly; while slowly raising back on his legs. "Secondly, I informed you of her car accident. The subject is closed."
"You informed me of the car accident, her inability to walk, her blindness and her mother's dead yesterday!" He shouted, angrily; his right fist hitting his partner desktop. "The same damn car accident that had happened weeks ago!"
"Lower you damn voice Tyler, or I'll make you!" Elijah warned him, under clenched teeth; while rolling the sleeves of his shirt over his forearms. "Your concerns for my assistant is touching but I also know it is hiding a sexual attraction (not to say obsession) for her that I have highly disagreed over the past year."
"She did not borrow my car. It's not because of "me" she is now paraplegic and blind. Therefore, you should probably stepped down your pedestal, Elijah; and don't try to make me feel bad for wanting to help her." Tyler attacked, perniciously.
"You're such a low life dick, Tyler; therefore I won't dignify your insults with an answer." Elijah responded, under clenched teeth. "But, I could gladly ask you to leave the firm if I am pushed to my limits."
"It seems you have forgotten that I owe a large part of assets of this firm too." Tyler threaten.
"30% - I could easily buy you out as of now, Tyler; don't push me!" Elijah counterattacked.
"Will you tell me which medical center is taking care of her?" Tyler asked; lowering his tone as a tactic.
"No, I won't." Elijah replied, dryly; while turning his back to his associate to face the city.
"I find it myself!" Tyler replied, before turning on his heels to promptly leave the office.
Friday, showers and lockers room, 5:15 p.m.
"Fuck you Isabella, fuck you!" Bonnie let her rage out by swearing out loud in the empty showers and lockers room; while undressing herself of her nurse uniform. "You want a fucking war with me? Well I won't give you that satisfaction woman!"
It all had started around noon, when she had taken her lunch break at the cafeteria. Several men (all medical male staff of the hospital), had managed to either drop pieces of papers with their phone numbers into her tray, or said implicit allusions about her openness to casual hookups while she was waiting in line to grab a sandwich.
It is only when she had seen Isabella waving at her from her sitting position at a nearby table that she had put two and two together. That female nurse was spreading gossips on her back; while implying that she was an easy target, and a woman of little virtue since she was (fake) hooking-up with Kol!
Bonnie tiptoed her way on the white ceramic tiles in her cotton underwear to grab her backpack left on a nearby bench, only to withdraw a bottle of shampoo and a soap bar; before heading toward one of the shower to open the cold and hot faucets. She dropped her soap and bottle of shampoo in the alcove before stepping out one last time to undress of her bra and sliding her panties down on her legs.
"Bonnie? Bonnie … Are you here? Eric texted me what Isabella did to you." She could only hear the call of her name for a split of a few seconds before realizing that Kol was standing in the flesh in front of her.
"Oh fuck! You're freaking naked!" He froze, mouth opened and suddenly (for what must be the first time of his life) speechless. He swallowed, his sight slowly sliding on the length of her naked flesh.
"Oh my God, Kol, turn around for God sake!" She yelled, before wrapping her right arm in front of her breasts, while her right hand positioned itself in front of her pubic area. "Are you crazy barging inside here without even a warning?"
"I called your name – several times! And … I…. I didn't know you would be naked as the day you were born, Bonnie." Kol presented his humble apology with a single shrug, while promptly turning on himself to face the opposite wall. He nervously passed his right hand through his tangled hair, before adding: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't think for a second. I never do to be truthful!" He added. "I received Eric's text and I was so damn mad for what Isabella did to you."
"It's ok … I don't give a damn about the lies she is spreading around about me." Bonnie replied; not entirely honest with him and herself.
"Well, I do!" Kol added; hands placed on each side of his waist.
"As for you barging in here, you didn't think that I "could" be naked in the showers and lockers room?" She replied; still covering her private parts while standing on the cold tiles. "Hand me a towel, would you? And have the human decency to erase all of my body parts from your memory!"
"What? Oh … right …" Kol nodded, before reaching the shelves in front of his sight where a few white towels had been fold. "Here?" He backed up of a few steps to hand her the towel without taking a single glimpse at her.
"Thanks!" She took the towel from his hand before promptly wrapping the tick fabric around her body. "You can turn around now."
"As for erasing what I just saw from my memory." He turned on himself; wincing at the idea. "I don't think it'll be possible, darling."
"Well, make a fucking effort at it!" She responded, slyly; waving her right hand at him.
"Can't do." He shook his head. "I have a photographic memory."
"A photographic memory?" She repeated, under clenched teeth; arms firmly crossed over her chest. "Really? Is there anything else that you want to pass by me?"
"Swear to God! I'm not giving you crap, Bonnie." He swore, looking sincere; before trying to explain. "Since I was in elementary school, I was able to look at an encyclopedia page for five minutes and literally describe everything that was on it from the text to the pictures and descriptions."
"Well, that is really, really a talent you're having there!" She snapped back.
"I can see that obviously you are not believing a word that I'm saying." He rolled his eyes, a loud sigh escaping his parted lips. "Ok… Down your right calf you have a scar of an inch long; you probably fell from a bike when you were a little girl. You also have a birth mark that looks like a heart underneath your right breast. You have an eczema rash near your left arm pit because you're probably allergic to your deodorant…"
"Oh my God! You're like a robot or something?" Bonnie commented, in shock; while tightening the towel.
"It's a gift. Please, don't be mad at me. God gave it to me." Kol opened his arms, in an apologetically
"Well, you could choose to not think of those images of me naked?" She suggested, hopeful.
"Yah…Mm…" He winced, once more. "Not going to happen either."
"Unbelievable!" She rolled her eyes to the white ceiling. "Well, are you going to let me have my shower now?"
"Ok, listen … I know this crap Isabella is spreading around must affect you in some ways." He tried a new approach. "What if, and this is entirely up to you now, we would fake dating each other until if fades away?"
Bonnie stared at him for a few seconds, blinking her eyes a few times; before lowering her head down her chest to burst into laughter.
"Well, that is new … I'm offering my help and you're bursting into laughter." Kol lashed out; sliding the tip of his tongue on the length of his bottom lip.
"Is there a scarlet letter "S" for "stupid" on my forehead that only you and Isabella can see?" Bonnie asked, crossing both arms in front of her chest.
"I see what you mean by that, but you don't know how bitchy that girl can truly be, Bonnie." Kol tried to warn her. "And, call me stupid: I thought we were friends?"
"Oh believe me, I know how bitchy she can truly be." Bonnie replied, before turning on herself to enter the shower before closing the shower curtain behind her. "But, I'm a grown woman, whose working full time as a nurse in this hospital, and I refuse to play her childish game!"
"And she is a rich brat who just found a new enemy." Kol counterattacked; pacing back and forth in front of the showers. "Believe me when I say that she'll find something else to poke you with."
"If that amuses her, then let her poke me all she wants!" Bonnie replied; hanging her towel on a hook, before placing herself underneath the warm water.
"OK fine! We'll let her treat you this way, if it suits you! But I don't like it one bit, Bonnie." Kol growled, unhappy; before promptly turning his head toward the voice that he could only recognize being Isabella's.
He reacted in a split second, sliding the curtain open before entering the shower where Bonnie was washing her hair, only to close it behind his back.
"What the hell?" Bonnie exclaimed with wide opened eyes; before being shut off in the middle of her sentence by his right hand placed over her mouth.
"Shush!" He shushed her, before adding: "Isabella is coming." He mouthed the words for the brunette to understand; his clothes starting to soak underneath the waterfall, while his body pressed over her naked one.
"I'm telling you, Isabella; you're the Queen with a capital "Q" when it comes to playing dirty!" Suzanne, her redhead female friend, commented with a dry laughter escaping her throat. "Spreading this lie about Bonnie being a whore was the perfect revenge."
"I won't let that wannabee bi-racial nurse step all over me; Suzanne!" The Queen replied, before opening the doors of all available lockers. "I was almost certain that I had left my bottle of shampoo here."
"Maybe, you left it in one of the showers?" Suzanne suggested, while pulling on the piece of her chewing gum.
"Yes, probably!" Suzanne replied, while starting to look inside the available showers.
"Shit!" Kol growled, in a low murmur.
"Her shampoo is here!" Bonnie located the bottle in one of the alcove; nodding in that direction. "What are we going to do?" She whispered, more; grabbing the fabric of his soaked t-shirt with both hands.
"Shush!" Kol begged for her to remain silent. "I'll think of something."
"That what worries me the most, Kol!" Bonnie mouthed.
"Really?" Kol replied. "Have faith in me, darling!"
"Hey? Hello… Mm… I'm one of the nurses and I think that I left my bottle of shampoo in this shower an hour ago, would you be so kind to pass the bottle to me?" Isabella rose her voice through the shower curtain.
"Mm… Mm…" Kol replied, in an acute feminine voice. "Before grabbing the bottle to pass it through the curtain "Here you go!"
"No, no, no … What did you just do?" Bonnie mouthed, horrified.
"Oh thanks!" Isabella grabbed the bottle, before adding: "Hey…By the way, Neutrogena has a great depilatory cream for the hair on your arm."
"Well, thank you!" Kol replied, his voice an octave higher.
"Did you see her arm?" Isabella whispered to Suzanne.
"Horrifying!" Her friend replied, while following the tall blonde out of the showers room.
"Oh my God this was so close." Bonnie exclaimed, lowering her forehead on his chest.
"Remind me to never come here again!" Kol added, while taking a deep breath inside his lungs.
"Yes, please never come here again, Kol!" Bonnie repeated, humorously; while raising her head to stare at his brown eyes; before they could both burst into laughter for a few seconds.
"And please, Bonnie; don't ask me to erase this from my memory." Kol shook his head, lowering both of his hands on each side of her bare hips.
"Isabella "or" the fact that you're seeing me naked for the second time in matter of minutes?" Bonnie asked; biting into her bottom lip.
"I think we have settle the matter of your naked body parts as "inerasable" in my mind." He whispered, lowering his forehead over hers.
"Ok" Bonnie nodded; agreeable.
"OK, what?" He questioned.
"Let's do this." Bonnie added; gently pushing him at arm length, before grabbing the nearby towel to place it in front of her naked self.
"Eh … I'm just highly confused now? Let's do what?" Kol questioned, wiping water from his forehead.
"Text me your address. I'm off next Wednesday." Bonnie shrugged, falsely nonchalant.
"Ok, why… why would I do that?" He stammered, nervously.
"Now, leave I want to take a shower!" She ordered, pointing toward the other side of the curtain.
"Ok; I'll see you next week then?" Kol commented, before stepping out of the shower; only to close the curtain behind him.
Whatever she or next Wednesday meant?
Saturday morning, the Center, 10:45 a.m.
"Klaus, do you have a minute to grant me?" Rhonda inquired; while standing underneath the arch of his office door.
"Rhonda? What brings you to my humble office?" Klaus mocked, teasingly.
"Slash bedroom / slash kitchen." Rhonda commented, smiling; while taking a few steps inside.
"How do you know that? You're half-blind." He teased a little bit more.
"I've known that since years, Klaus." She replied, while walking toward a nearby chair; while he assisted her to sit. "You are passing more time at the center than your own home!"
"A woman who knows all my secrets is in the run to get my heart." Klaus replied, half-serious.
"I'm too old for you… Stop that!" She waved a hand to dismiss this crazy idea.
"What do you want to talk about?" Klaus asked, while half-sitting on his desktop.
"What else but…" Rhonda started, before taking a pause.
"Caroline Forbes." He finished her sentence, a shy smile blessing his five O'clock shadow face.
"Caroline Forbes, indeed." She nodded. "But, before I start on her case. How was your day off?"
"Good." Klaus nodded. "Jenna is back from Africa, I picked her up at the airport. She should be back at the center in a couple of days."
"Well, that is very nice. I'm happy your girlfriend will be back with us to give a helpful hand." Rhonda commented.
"Rhonda! Tsk … Tsk … Tsk … You perfectly know that Jenna and I don't give a "name" to our relationship, or lack there is." Klaus gently scolded the elderly woman.
"In my time, when a man and a woman were …" She started expressing her point of view.
"No, no, no … Love! Don't throw bad words in my virgin ears." He teased, wincing. "Me and Jenna, we are adults… Who sometimes are lonely; let leave it at that, shall we?"
"If we have to." She sighed her disapproval loudly. "But so you know, Klaus, I firmly believe that you are worthy of receiving the love of a woman, and to put a name on it"
"Duly noted, woman." Klaus replied, "Now, Caroline Forbes."
"Your favorite subject, as I can see?" Rhonda rose her eyebrows, her hands holding her cane firmly.
"She's my patient, I'm entitled to be interested in her case." Klaus replied, arms crossed over his bulged chest.
"I presume you have heard about her demand to get a new physical therapist?" She asked. "She filled a complaint form against Richard, saying and I quote: He is rude and unprofessional."
"Well, to be truthful, Rhonda; Richard is a boorish man with no manners." Klaus replied, with a shake of his head. "Caroline Forbes lost everything in her life, if she is not challenged mentally she will ditch you with a kick in your butt!" He added. "She has nothing to lose anymore; she won't subject herself to more pain or radical behavior."
"It's funny because she certainly did not kick you in the butt, and you're certainly a pain in her ass!" Rhonda commented, chin rose. "You must be very special."
"I thought you knew that already?" Klaus teased some more.
"This said, Richard is the only physical therapist available as of right now. The new one is scheduled to arrive only in a month; that will push her learning to walk again of at least five weeks!"
"I'll take care of it." Klaus replied, calmly; while throwing a file he was holding in his hand on the desktop.
"And that is exactly what is worrying me the most, Klaus." Rhonda commented. "You're becoming her knight in shining armor!"
"Don't go there, Rhonda; because there is nothing to find there." Klaus replied, patiently. "I'll take care of it, simply because my brother contacted me seven years after our last encounter, requesting me to take care of Caroline. That explains why I'm a little bit more invested in her."
"And as you so casually talk about your brother, that tells me you don't know what have happened and triggered what she did after filling a complaint against Richard!" Rhonda sighed, loudly.
"Please, enlighten me! This is becoming the Sunday ice cream of my day." Klaus teased, grinning.
"I don't know the "how", I don't know the "when", or the "why", but … Caroline Forbes has learned that you are her boss' brother?" Rhonda informed.
"What? How?" Klaus asked, in shock, but mostly dumbfounded.
"You must have missed the "I don't know the how" of my previous sentence!" Rhonda scolded.
"Fuck!" Klaus swore out loud, while passing his right hand over his curled hair and the tensed muscles of his face. "Well, there is not much I can do now that the cat is out of the bag, is there?"
"Caroline Forbes would say otherwise! She did plenty last night. Probably out of anger, she tricked the nurse to transfer her from her bed to her wheelchair; pretesting she couldn't sleep. The nurse had to leave to check on another patient, and at that moment she tried to leave the center by taking the elevator - All by herself! If it wasn't for George, the night guard, only God knows where she would have ended form her midnight strolling!" Rhonda explained in details.
"Would you be mad if I was telling you that she is without a doubt in my mind, the brightest and more passionate female patient I had to take charge of?" Klaus commented, with a sudden burst of laughter.
"I don't know what you could find amusing in this?" Rhonda winced, disdainfully.
"Oh come on, Rhonda! Think about it: Caroline has been with us for a short period of time, right?" Klaus tried to make his friend-colleague see the light. "Regardless the fact that she is blind, that she doesn't have the use of her legs (as of now); she has managed to memorize the corridors, the time it would take her from point A to B, plus where the elevator was located."
"Well, if you put it that way…" Rhonda replied, a smile spreading on her lips. "It's quite brilliant."
"And that is "why" I won't give up on her; Rhonda." Klaus shook his head, once more. "It's that passion, that strength that I want to bring back from her dark soul."
"Well, if one can achieve that; it's you." Rhonda had to comply, with a nod; while slowly getting back on her feet. "I'll leave you to that then, but … Just know that she must be extremely pissed at you and your brother."
"I'll take care of that too." Klaus reassured her.
Saturday night, at the Center, 8:45 p.m. …
"Mister Mikaelson!" George, the night shift guard, greeted, jovially. "You're heading for a night swim as I can see?" He added, while lowering his sight on Klaus's outfit, which basically consisted of a pair of trunk (black and white) swimsuit, a black t-shirt, and a pair of grey flip flop.
"What gave my intention away?" Klaus replied, teasingly; before shaking the sixty-something years old man's hand.
"Your naked legs." George responded, mocker. "Don't tell my wife Ella, but I've always been a legs man."
"You secret is safe with me, George." Klaus winked, before lowering on the reception counter a box of warm barbecue chicken wings.
"Are these what I think they are?" George hummed the barbecue smell coming out of the box.
"Twelve delicious chicken wild wings from Buffalo." Klaus confirmed it with a nod.
"You're too good to me, Mister Mikaelson." George commented, while rubbing his hands together at the idea of tasting this night feast.
"Well, you know that I have you in high regards, George." Klaus acknowledged, with a tilt of his head and a smile that meant way more than a casual appreciation.
"I see." George rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "What will you ask of me this time, Mr. Mikaelson?"
"Well, you see …" Klaus started explaining, leaning his upper body on the counter, where several screens were positioned to keep a look at the corridors of the center at all time. "I'm about to do something truly unethical that wouldn't be approved by the directors of this establishment."
"And you need me to cover for your ass, again?" George realized, with a loud sigh; before pushing the box of wings back on Klaus's side of the counter. "This is basically bribery, if I may say!"
"Well, not exactly, George; I wouldn't ask for you to cover for my ass. That goes without saying." Klaus pushed the box back in George's side of the counter. "But….I need you to not look into one of the screens when I'll go pick a certain female patient for a swim."
"Are we talking about Caroline Forbes, Mister Mikaelson?" George eyes opened widely; while he whispered the question. "Because that young woman is breaking my heart."
"You DO realize that I CAN'T give you that particular information, right?" Klaus tilted his head once more; amusement perceived in the tone of his voice. "But let say "it was her", would it trigger the need for you to eat those chicken wings, and forget to look at the screens, at the exact moment I would pick her up in her bedroom?" He questioned, a devil smile spreading all over his full lips.
"These chicken wings do smell delicious to be truthful." George grabbed the box, before rapidly glancing at Klaus. "I guess it should take me a good half-hour to eat them all."
"Thank you, George!" Klaus thanked the man with a smirk and a wink; before turning on his heels to reach the corridor that would lead his rapid strides to the elevators.
"I don't know why you're thanking me, Mister Mikaelson." George shrugged, grinning. "It's me who should thank you."
"I don't either to be truthful." Klaus replied, with a wave of his right hand.
Caroline Forbes' bedroom door creaked, making her start in her semi-conscious state.
"Who's there?" She questioned, in a low tone of voice; while straightening her upper body in a sitting position before palpating her sheet to find the cord with the alarm buzzer at its end. "Stella? Is it you?" She called the name of the night nurse.
"It's me Caroline." She heard the hoarsely male voice respond.
"Leave my bedroom now, or I'll press the button and alert the entire center." She warned him, dryly; while promptly grabbing the buzzer in her hand, her thumb placed on top of the red button.
"Well, good evening to you too, love." Klaus teased, whispering the greeting near her left ear. "Now be a nice girl and give me this." He suggested, while pulling on the cord. But, unfortunately for him, she was rapider and she managed to place the cord and buzzer underneath her right arm.
"Should I say: good evening to you too Mister Klaus Mikaelson?" She responded, slyly; under clenched teeth.
"OK, the lady is mad." He rolled his eyes, a large grin spreading over his face. "Just know that it wasn't my idea to keep my identity secret to you."
"Leave." She ordered, for the second time around, with her chin rose and both of her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"No, she's not mad. She is obviously pissed at me." Klaus commented, before sitting on the bed.
"Get off my bed, Klaus!" She lashed out to his face.
"I betrayed your trust, I know, Caroline." Klaus admitted; while raising his left hand to caress her cheek.
"Don't touch me!" She slapped his hand away; tears filling her eyes.
"I don't like to see you, or to see "us" like this." Klaus commented, with a shake of his head, and a lump forming in his throat.
Damn! If he was honest with himself he had to admit that Rhonda' analysis of his relation with Caroline Forbes was right. She was getting to him in a way that he wasn't able to put in words or sure to recognize.
"There is no "us"." Caroline shook her head, stubbornly.
"My brother wanted our family connection to remain untold, Caroline." Klaus tried to explain to her. "We are in dispute and have stayed apart for a very long time. But when you had your accident, and also knew my professional expertise. He had to step on his pride to contact me. If he ever confided our family connection with you, you must have heard about it, at some point. If not? I swear, I'm telling the truth. And believe me it has nothing to do with you."
Caroline remained silent, biting into her bottom lip to forbid herself to comment.
"I know you're dying to say something right now." He teased, grinning. "It must be hard to stay quiet when you are Caroline Forbes?"
"Believe me, if I could, if I wasn't stuck in this bed or in a wheelchair, it's not saying something to your face that I would do, but more kick your ass!" Caroline bite back.
Klaus lowered his head backwards before bursting into laughter.
"Well, if it isn't the tigress who is making a comeback!" He commented, before lowering her guard and unexpectedly pulling the cord away from her hand.
"Give me that!" She tried to reach for it, before hitting his chest with her closed fists.
Klaus rapidly grabbed her wrists before pushing them behind her back to keep her upper body immobile.
"Are you done?" He questioned; while she felt his warm breath near her face; while his arms imprisoned her body into a forced embrace.
"Stop… Stop being the boss of me and I'll… I'll be done!" She replied, stammering through her sentence; while trying to squirm herself away from him.
This personal body against body contact was triggering an awakening of her remaining senses that Caroline wasn't ready to deal with...Not by a long shot! But that doesn't mean it wasn't happening against her while either.
She wasn't ready to deal with his manly spicy scent, with the warm of his body, his muscular chest, or the fact that the slight touch of his fingers on her skin was setting her entire body on fire.
"Oh love; you're so full of life and fire. The truth is that you're longing to find the perfect match to bring the anger out of you and give you hope." He replied, his breathing picking up when he felt her breasts pressing over his chest.
He lowered his forehead on hers; releasing her wrists while both of their breathings and heartbeats slowed down to a regular rhythm.
"I longed for people to be honest with me and you weren't, Klaus!" She confessed, dryly.
"You weren't either, love; so you're not entitle to dispute that subject with me." He rose his head back, before striking the tip of her nose. "
"Don't touch me and get off my bed!" She slapped his hand away, triggering a chuckle from his part, before she could push him to rise back into a standing position.
"Perhaps you are fooling everybody with your damsel in distress act…" He told her, lowering his head to whisper the threat near her left ear. "…But you are not fooling me, Caroline."
"How am I not fooling you? I'm blind, and I am stuck in a wheelchair!" She started enumerating on her fingers. "How could I even fool someone?"
"Remember a certain disappearing act you played on Friday night?" Klaus questioned, grinning; arms crossed in front of his chest. "When you proved me that your mind was probably the sexiest thing about you by memorizing each passage of this establishment to reach the elevator."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She responded, indifferent; her cheeks burning red under the allusion.
Damn him! He certainly was too prompt for his and her own good!
"It's your blind and stuck in a wheelchair ass that has managed to alert: the entire staff of this center, the poor night guard George, the policemen who were on call that night, and finally the fire department." He started enumerating the chaos she had created. "Did I miss someone? Because I think you wanted to send a message to someone; am I wrong?"
Caroline turned her head to the right, while shrugging in an uninterested manner.
"And to think you did all of "that" just-so-you-could-get-my-attention." Klaus lowered his upper body once more, both arms placed on each side of her now trembling body.
"You're wrong! I did not try to run away from the center so I could get your attention, but way more to grant myself the chance to put a mile of distance between us!" She spat to his face; closed fists placed on each side of her waist.
"Is this our first patient/therapist dispute, Caroline?" Klaus teased her, smiling. "Are you threatening to divorce me again?"
"Leave-me-the-fuck-alone!" She replied, stubbornly; before crossing her arms back in front of her chest. "I'm tired now and stressed because of you; I just want to sleep."
"You're neither tired nor stress." He commented, before pushing the sheet and blanket at the foot of her bed. "You do one stunt like the one you just pulled last night, once again, and I swear that you'll have to answer to me Caroline Forbes! Am I clear?"
"Oh I'm shaking in my pajama short right now!" She replied, sighing loudly.
"Stop acting like a little girl and act like the strong woman that I know you are." He ordered, lethally.
"What would you do if I would leave again, mm? You know what you would do? Nothing! Do you know why? Because I'm blind and handicap." She played the martyr card.
Caroline let a cry escape her parted lips, when she felt both of his hands firmly grab both of her upper arm.
"If you think that I wouldn't throw you on my thighs and gave you a spanking that you would not soon forget, simply to give you a lesson and prove to you that your legs are ready to walk again, because the pain on your ass would be so unbearable; then you are sadly mistaking who Klaus Mikaelson truly is." He lashed out, angrily; his lips almost mouthing the words on top of her parted ones. "Am I clear, Caroline?"
"Yes." She managed to let the single world escape her lips, while her heart drummed rapidly inside her chest, and her eyes filled with tears.
"Yes what?" He demanded more from her.
"Yes…. Yes, Klaus." She stammered, nervously; making him burst into laughter at her response.
"You're so adorable, Caroline Forbes! I could easily eat you up." He commented, before promptly sliding his left arm and hand underneath her legs to gently raise her in his arms. "I was waiting for a: Yes, I won't do that again, Klaus."
"Oh my God!" She cried, in horror. "What are you doing? Put me down!" She added, while rapidly crossing her arms around his neck, to help her keep her equilibrium.
"Why? Are you uncomfortable in my arms, love?" He questioned, turning on his heels to reach the door.
"I … No, but … It's dangerous… I could fall, and…I'm scared." She tried to articulate her thoughts with several pauses, and intake of air, while her entire body shook like a leaf.
"I would die before endangering your life, Caroline." He confessed, softly pressing his lips on her forehead. "Trust me, ok?"
"Where are we going?" She questioned, with apprehension. "Someone will see us? There are cameras everywhere."
"How in hell do you know that information, smart pant?" Klaus questioned, grinning.
"I simply asked one day." Caroline replied, lowering her head on his chest.
"And I bribed George with a box of Buffalo chicken wings." Klaus informed in a whisper, and a mocking undertone. "He won't tell that I'm carrying you "bridal style" through the corridors of this center."
"Your methods are way worse than me, Klaus Mikaelson!" Caroline objected, vehemently.
"We are the same, Caroline – We think malicious plans with our bright minds." He whispered some more, triggering a small laughter from her throat.
"We are we going Klaus?" She asked, once more, in more relax frame of mind.
"Somewhere I could prove to you that you are ready to walk again." He gave her a hint. "Furthermore, I've learn that you're not a fan of our friend Richard."
"No, please Klaus … I'm scared!" She shook her head, terror felt in her voice. "I've made peace with myself and I've accepted that I would stay paralyzed all my life."
"Bullshit! Would it calm you down if I was telling you that it's a good thing that you're wearing a short and a t-shirt?" He teased some more.
"What do you mean by that?" Caroline questioned, out of breath; her heartbeat raising once more inside her chest.
"You'll see, love." He responded, smiling; before pushing the call button of the elevator.
"Where are we?" Caroline asked, haggardly; all her remaining senses in alert.
"I don't know?" Klaus lied through his teeth, smirking. "Why aren't you figuring it out all by yourself?" He added, gently lowering her down on what she seem to recognize as being a wheelchair.
"I smell chlorine." She responded, her knuckles blanching on the wheelchair arms. "Klaus, where are you?"
"You're quite brilliant, Caroline." Klaus responded, pride over her achievement perceived in his tone. "I'm at a feet of distance from you."
"What are you doing?" She inquired, nervously. "We are at the pool; are we?"
"I'm undressing of my t-shirt and getting ready to go on a swim with you, love." Klaus responded, honestly.
"No, no…" She shook her head, repeatedly and vigorously. "I won't set a foot in that pool!"
"You're right! You'll set both of them." He teased, some more; while slowly detaching her fingers and blenched knuckles from the arm to start dressing her of a life best.
"No, I don't want to!" You can't force me to enter this pool!" She protested, vehemently, while losing her temper; suddenly set in a panic attack, her arms and hands thrown in all directions.
"Caroline, calm the fuck down!" Klaus grabbed both of her wrists. "Breathe…. Breathe, love – in and out – slowly."
Caroline nodded, breathing air inside her lungs, before letting it all go.
"Better? Good!" Klaus nodded, before releasing his grip on her wrists, only to kneel in front of her wheelchair. "If you're refusing to get physiotherapy at the center, the board of directors won't keep you indefinitely inside these walls, even if my brother is paying all your expenses or not. I'm simply here to help, Caroline." He added as explanation. "When you're in the water your body will relax and your brain and legs will more easily regain memory and strength to walk again."
"Are you sure you're not trying to drown me?" She asked, half-jokingly. "It would be a good way to get rid of me when you think about it."
"Well, now that you're suggesting it." He replied, grinning at her allusion. "You're a pain in my ass after all."
"You can talk!" She sighed, loudly. "Being in your company is not a walk in the park either, mister!"
"I'll take that as a compliment." Klaus smirked; before carefully dressing her of the life vest. "Are you ready, Caroline?"
"How will this work?" Caroline asked, nervously biting into her bottom lip.
"I'll place you in a robotic seat that will slowly lower you down into the water and we'll do some physical therapy." Is this ok with you?" Klaus explained and asked at the same time.
"Do I have a choice?" She asked, holding her breath.
"You always have a choice, Caroline. You choose to have physical therapy with me or with Richard." Klaus responded, a small laughter escaping his parted lips.
"You're such an ass!" Caroline snapped back.
"And you're still a pain in my ass!" Klaus commented, before raising her back in his arms.
"How do you feel? Klaus inquired, gently extending her right leg underneath the water.
"Fine… I guess." Caroline replied, both of her hands grabbing the long stem placed on the length of the pool for physiotherapy purpose, and as of snow, to steady her body.
"You need to relax your body and mind, Caroline; you're too tensed." He informed, releasing her right leg only to bend the left one.
"I …. I can't relax. When… When I think for one second that I'm blind and in this pool, I… I get petrified and scared." She stammered, nervously.
"You're wearing a life best, your hands are firmly placed on the stem, and I'm right beside you in the water." Klaus reassured her. "There's no need for you to get scared, love."
"I know but I can't help myself." She shook her head.
"I will slowly place your body into a plank position." Klaus warned her; while raising both of her legs upward. "You're OK?"
"Yes." She nodded, a shy smile blessing her lips.
"You're brave and courageous, Caroline." Klaus commented, smiling himself; his hands massaging her calves.
"I'm not brave nor courageous, I'm petrified like I've told you." She demented his say, vehemently. "Klaus please, stop tickling me, or I might freak the hell out!"
Only the silence and the darkness filled her head for a few seconds.
"Klaus, where are you?" She called, suddenly realizing that he wasn't touching her anymore.
She started flapping her arms in the water in panic, before feeling his arms wrap around her tensed body.
"I'm here… I'm here, Caroline." He reassured her, cupping her face with both hands. "Did you even realize what you just said?"
"I … What do you mean?" She questioned.
"I was massaging your lower legs when you told me to stop tickling you." He explained, enthusiastically. "Do you know what that means, Caroline?"
"What?" She opened her lips, in shock. "Oh my God – I felt your hands on my legs, Klaus. I felt you tickling me!"
"You did. That means you will walk again, love. Do you realizing it now?" Klaus congratulated her; chuckling nervously. "You will have to work your pretty ass off in the next few weeks, both with me and Richard – and don't argue over this - but you-will-walk-again."
"I will walk again." She repeated, between sobbing sounds and a nervous burst of laughter; tears starting to roll down her cheeks.
"Hey, tell me this is happy tears? I will take you in my arms and get you out of the water now, ok love?" Klaus informed his female patient, slowly pulling her toward the opposite side of the pool, before finally raising her in his arms to walk out of the pool by the steps. "I got you now."
"Thank you." She whispered, sobbing quietly; her head buried in his chest.
"It's normal to feel that this is too much to take in." Klaus told her.
"You think?" Caroline questioned, sniffling.
"Yes. And while you're letting go by crying, at least you're not pissed at me anymore." He teased, grinning. "Could you be pissed at my brother as for tomorrow?"
"It always been my intention to be pissed with your brother as well. Because he's an ass too." She responded; triggering a burst of laughter from her therapist.
"Well, I won't argue with that assessment too much." He replied, grinning. "I'll get you out of your life vest, and I will wrap you in a warm body towel." He informed her, proceeding by firstly lowering her down in a wheelchair; before wrapping a tick blue navy towel around her shivering body. "There; you're all tucked in!"
"Could you keep me in your arms please?" She begged of him.
"Sure." He nodded, raising her back in his arms before sitting down on nearby bench. "What is it, love? Do you want to tell me what is bothering you so much?"
"I saw Dr. Piece on Friday." She confessed, tears still filling her eyes.
"And? What did she told you?" Klaus asked, worryingly.
"It's stupid; because I should be so happy right now simply for the fact that for the first time in weeks I felt my legs." She shared her deepest feelings.
"Stop saying this is stupid. You're entitled to your feelings." He scolded her, gently. "What is it Caroline?"
"She told me that because of my accident I wouldn't mostly be able to have children. And … At first I couldn't care less because obviously I'm blind and I'm stuck in a wheelchair; who would want to have children with me? And I wouldn't be able to be a good mother in with these conditions." She continued sharing, tears now rolling fluently down her face and neck. "But now… I've always wanted children down the road, and knowing that I can't is hard, you know?"
"Damn it!" Klaus growled; furious at the fatality of life. "As for who would want to have children with me? Any man would, love."
"Doubtful! I've told you that it was stupid of me to feel this way." She shook her head.
"No it's not stupid, Caroline, stop saying that." He contradicted her, before closing his eyes and tightening his arms around her frail figure, only to gently rock her in his arms. "It's going to be OK, you hear me?" He whispered, softly; blessing her forehead of a chaste kiss. "Give yourself time to digest and heal from all of this, and it'll be OK. The mind and the body need to be in sync."
"I know; I need to be strong." She nodded, raising her head.
"Don't you realize how strong you are already? And how beautiful inside – out, love." He commented, mouthing the words on top of her now parted lips.
"Please, don't pity me." She begged of him, raising her left hand to push a finger over his full lips. "I can't take pity."
"If you think this is me pitying you, Caroline; then it's obvious that you don't know the difference between a man pitying you and one desiring you against his better judgement." He shook his head, before striking his eyelids.
"You don't have to say that just to make me feel better." She shrugged. "I'm not pissed at you anymore."
"Aren't you a forgiving soul?" Klaus commented, under another burst of laughter. "I don't say that to make you feel better, Caroline…" He added, grabbing her chin. "And I doubt what I'm about to do will make you feel better, but … it will make me feel better."
And then it happened… Without warning (or was it one he had tried to tell?), his lips brushing Caroline's in a butterfly kiss that lasted barely a few seconds.
"Why … Why did you kiss me?" Caroline asked, in shock.
"No… Not: why did I kiss you? Way more … Why will I do it again?" He whispered, before lowering his head to softly nipping on her bottom one, before deepening his kiss by sliding his tongue between her lips and sucking air out of her lungs.
It was too much … Way too much for her to handle! She pushed her hands on his chest to gently push him and help her break the kiss.
"Could… Could you bring me back to my… to my room, please?" She asked, stammering. "I'm cold."
"Yes." He nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I'll bring you back to your room, Caroline; and Stella will get you out of these wet clothes."
Sunday morning, Katherine's house, 8:35 a.m…
The perpetual and repetitive noise in her head brought Katherine Pierce back from a deep sleep during her sacred Sunday morning in bed to a semi-sense of consciousness when and where she slowly opened one eye before stretching her right arm to reach her alarm clock. She pushed the snooze button, a large smile spreading on her lips, while snuggling to her comfortable pillow before losing it a second later while realizing that it wasn't her alarm clock that had brought her back to reality – but more so a continuous banging on her front door!
Whomever that person was …. He or She would meet His or Her death!
"Open the damn door Katherine!" Elijah Mikaelson yelled through the panel; his right fist hitting the wood repeatedly, before pushing the doorbell several times. "I know you're in there woman and I'm not about to leave anytime soon!" He added, before starting to pace back and forth in front of her porch. "I swear to you, if you're not opening this damn door in the next five seconds; I'll find my way inside!"
The door finally creaked with the apparition of the tall brunette closing the belt of her silk robe over her black satin pajama.
"Mister Mikaelson?" Katherine said the man's name, in shock, before adding: "Are-you-out-of-your-freaking-damn-mind?!" She finally lashed out; both hands grabbing her head and indiscipline morning curls. "You have probably awaken the entire neighborhood! Do you even realize that?"
"Finally! You are truly a heavy sleeper let me tell you." He barged inside without being invited.
"What? No, no, no… Where do you think you're going?" Katherine swirled on herself to firmly grab his right upper arm. "Who invited you in? I certainly did not. So, I'm politely asking you to leave!"
"Are you getting physical with me, Katherine?" He arched an eyebrow, twisting his lips in a smirk; before sliding his sight where she was holding his arm. "Because I won't be the one to protest too much about it."
Katherine realized that she was grabbing and touching him, in a way that could be perceived as more intimate than what she was intending this gesture to be. She suddenly pulled her hand away like the warm of his body had suddenly burned her hand.
"I can only wish that one of my neighbors will have called the police on you; and that they are on their way." She replied, chin rose; arms now firmly crossed over her chest. "If not it would sincerely be my utmost pleasure to do it myself." She added, under clenched teeth.
"It's not like I can pledge that you perfectly know who I am, so stop bubbling nonsense and close the door, Katherine." He nodded toward the said entrance door that was still ajar.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Katherine burst, angrily. "You do realize, Mister Mikaelson, that this is my home, right?"
"Fine. I'll close it myself." He rolled his eyes, before closing the said door with one firm push of his hand. "There, case closed now!"
"But seriously… Who do you think you are, Mister Mikaelson?" Katherine stood mouth opened, in front of her interlocutor, while pointing toward her front door. "I guess you think that because you're mister big shot attorney, you are allowed to do whatever you want in this world? Well, think again: not-in-my-house - I'm calling the police right now!" She passed by him, to reach the console table where her cellphone had been dropped.
"No, you're not!" He firmly grab her left forearm to effortlessly pull her close to him. "You're going to calm your beautiful ass and listen to what I have to say."
"Are you threatening me, Mister Mikaelson?" She questioned, lowering her sight on his full lips; her breathing picking up a range.
"Depends what you want me to threaten you with, Katherine - a kiss perhaps?" He smirked, lowering his forehead on hers. "Did you forget about calling me "Elijah" already?"
"Did you forget about erasing my home address from your memory, Mister Mikaelson?" She pulled her arm away from his grip, before taking a few steps back. "I guess we both have a very selective memory."
"OK, seriously, Katherine? I know you are wasting all of your damn energy into believing that what is happening between us, isn't happening– but don't tell me that you would believe for a second that I would easily forget where you live and never come back here to see you?" He shook his head, both hands placed on his pelvic bones. "Because, if this is the case you really don't know who I am, woman."
Damn, he was sexy … so damn sexy! He wasn't wearing his usual work three pieces suits; instead he wore a fitted pair of dark grey jeans, with Kojak dark yellow boots, and a plaid shirt rolled over his forearms. His beard had been completely trimmed, which looked more like a five o'clock shadow as of now.
"I'm not interested in knowing who you are, Mister Mikaleson – and that is the part you don't seem to understand. I'm interested in you leaving my home now!" She repeated, toneless. "So if you could so kindly leave, please?"
"You're lying through your teeth about not wanting to know me. But winning you over to have you in my bed one day is not the reason why I am here, Katherine." He commented; dryly.
"Oh… Pardon me! That is such a relief." She expressed herself dramatically, both hands placed at the base of her neck. "You want me to thank you on my knees or something; Mister Mikaelson, for sparing me the agony to have you pursue me day and night with your unwanted advances?"
"Oh for God sake, you do want my advances, Katherine; you're just too coward to admit it!" He commented, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "Do you have a coffee machine that would grant me a strong black cup to wake me up of my sleepless night?" He asked, taking a few steps forward to cross the living room area.
"Oh no you're not!" She blocked his way, both of her hands placed over his bulged chest. "I accepted the fact that you won't leave my house until you'll tell me what this is all about, but you won't cross the entrance area!"
"I'm starting to think that touching me is becoming a habit of yours, woman?" He teased, his sight fixated on her hands, with a large grin raising the right side of his full lips.
"Far from it!" She replied; rapidly pulling her hands away. "But …" She added, before sliding a large door of the entrance closet to grab a broom to place it in front of his feet. "You don't cross this broom or I swear I'll call the police!" She threaten once more, chin rose.
"Aren't you hot with your robe on and slippers? It's spring now… You never wear nightgown? Always pajamas I presume? And, you have an impressive collection of sneakers and tennis shoes? High heels is not your cup of tea; I've never seen you wear some, Katherine?" He questioned, arching his eyebrows; while rapidly glancing inside the entrance closet.
"You're unbelievable, you know that?!" She lashed out; sliding the entrance closet door close. "What I wear or not wear is not of your damn concern, mister Mikaelson!"
"Cup of coffee and I'll be out of your hair." He suggested, once more; his sight locked with her brown eyes.
"Black?" She sighed, out of argument and strength to fight him.
"Please." He nodded.
"Stay there!" She pointed toward the broom. "You're not entering my house furthermore than the entrance area. And you can't trespass the broom, you hear me?"
"Crystal clear, Dr. Pierce." He replied, agreeable.
"Good." She nodded, herself; tightening the belt of her robe around her waist before hurrying her steps toward the kitchen.
"You have a beautiful home, Katherine." He commented, sweeping his sight on the living room area that was decorated in a mix of contemporary furniture, white leather and wood.
"Thank you." She replied, before hurrying her steps to hand him his cup of black coffee.
"Did you wiggle your nose or something? It took you five seconds to prepare that cup." He teased, grabbing the cup from her hand. "Thank you!"
"No, I did not wiggle my nose! I have my coffee machine programmed each morning at the same hour." She gave the short explanation; before crossing her arms back in front of her chest as a protection mechanism. "So, what this is all about, Mister Mikaelson? What brought you to my home on a Sunday morning?"
Elijah took a large gulp of the dark hot beverage, before lowering his cup on the console table.
"I've asked one thing of you and the hospital Board of Directors, Katherine, one damn thing. And I believe that I gave a large enough donation to grant me that wish." Elijah complained, before pacing back and forth over the Persian rug placed in the entrance.
"And that is one of the major problems with you, Mister Mikaelson, you always think that money will grant you everything!" She responded, tit for tat; while gesturing with her arms and hands.
"Money grants you everything in life, Katherine, and you know it!" He replied. "What are the other problems I seem to have - Please enlighten me?" He hold his pacing to stare at her.
"I would need my entire Sunday to tell you the long-endless list." She replied, slyly. "And because you have already taken one half-hour of my morning, let me feel generous and tell you a few: your impatience to start with!"
"I'm impatient because people are usually bad at what they are doing or simply lying through their teeth when they truly want something." He replied, tit for tat; while triggering redness on both of her cheeks.
"You don't respect others boundaries." She added, while counting on her fingers; while avoiding to reply at his direct imply.
"I'm allergic to broom." He winked, playfully.
"Oh you're so insufferable!" She growled, loudly, her eyes closed; both fists tightly closed on each side of her tensed body.
"I know that most of the times I'm an "ass", Katherine. You have to understand that it's the way I'm protecting myself." He admitted, humbly; while reprising his pacing. "Don't ever ask me to be something else than what kept me alive all these past years."
"I…" She started, before holding her say by biting into her bottom lip.
It was the first time this strong – larger than life - stubborn man was sharing a bit of himself, and it was disturbing to her in a weird, incomprehensible way.
"Do you know how much I do feel responsible for Caroline' accident." He admitted, out loud – though his actions were speaking his feelings loud and clear. "I can't forget the last day I spoke to my assistant before … You know... I can't forget how cheerful she was about passing a few days at the cabin with her mother." He added, his voice breaking under the emotion.
"Elijah…" She whispered his name through her parted lips, making him hold his pacing once more while glancing at her. "You are not in any way or form responsible for Caroline Forbes' accident. You're beating yourself up for something that is not your fault."
"Last night; Caroline tried to leave the center on her own." He announced, unceremoniously.
"Oh my God…What? But, it's impossible!" Katherine exclaimed, in shock. "The girl is blind and she couldn't walk to save her life! I've seen her in my office yesterday prior to what you're telling me – how could that have happened?"
"She's stubborn and resourceful when she wants to be. I should know, she was my assistant." He replied; pointing a finger at the brunette. "She asked one of the night shift nurse to sit her in her wheelchair, then she took the elevator and reached the ground floor – Of course she was stopped by the night guard." He added, before stroking his closed eyelids. "I don't want to think what could have happen."
"Oh…" Katherine sighed, loudly. "I must have been the one who triggered such reaction."
"So you're admitting that you were the one who told her that Klaus is my brother?" Elijah snapped; while taking a step forward to reach her standing position.
"Wait…What? No, of course not!" Katherine denied, strongly. "Why would you even mention that? You specifically asked the Board that all the staff at the hospital remain quiet about your relation with her therapist."
"Well, she learned by God knows who that we are related!" Elijah mumbled, under clenched teeth.
"Well, it wasn't me!" Katherine insisted, shaking her head. "Though, I'm not sure that alone was essentially what triggered her need to make such a bold move as leaving the center."
"What happened? Did you learn something new about her health?" Elijah inquired in a worried tone.
"On Friday, like I've told you by text, we had a scheduled appointment. I had to tell her that she – most likely - wouldn't be able to have children in the future." Katherine told, while closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around her chest.
"Damn it!" Elijah growled, frustrated. "When will this sufferance end for her?"
"When she was stuck for hours in the car, her lower body was compressed by both the dashboard and the roof, and that strong pressure damaged part of her uterus and ovaries. Now she has about 20% of chance to be pregnant one day." She explained furthermore. "I'm so sorry that I have to tell you this. Please believe me when I'm telling you that I've just learned it myself, Elijah. I was waiting to find the right way to tell you on Monday."
"I believe you." Elijah nodded, a long and loud desperate sigh escaping his lips.
He turned on himself to reach the front glass door, only to stare at the street for a few seconds; before turning his head at the sobbing sound.
"Katherine?" He questioned, frowning; while promptly cutting the distance short between them.
"I'm sorry…" She shook her head, both hands wiping the tears rolling down her cheeks. "This is not professional of me. Usually, I'm behaving in a proper manner when discussing the case of a patient."
"Fuck professional, Katherine! Talk to me, sweetheart?" He asked, gently sliding one of her loose curls behind her left ear.
"I don't know what got into me?" She shook her head, apologetically. "This will never happen again."
"Don't ever apologize for being your wonderful self with me, ok?" He told her, brushing her tears away with both of his thumbs.
He lowered his forehead on hers, his sight locked with her dark brown eyes.
"You're so beautiful woman." He whispered, closing his eyes to be in the moment with her.
"Elijah, please? It's not my place to ask you to act or be a certain way. But, it is my place to tell you to stop pursuing me. I'm not looking for a relationship." She admitted what she hoped sounded like the truth…. But being close to him this way, she wasn't so sure anymore?
"You're not looking for a relationship with anybody. I know that." Elijah replied; his left thumb sliding over the length of her parted lips. "The thing is, Katherine, I'm not "anybody", I'm the "somebody" you've been hoping to find all your life."
"Don't say that; just because you believe it is true." She begged him, out of breath; her hands sliding upward on his bulged chest. "You don't know a thing about me."
"I know more than you know, and …I'm going to kiss you now." He warned her, in a whisper; cupping her face with his hands. "Because I can't deny myself the pleasure to feel your lips on mine."
"You don't want to do that!" She shook her head, before wrapping her hands around his wrists in a vain and missed attempt to push him at arm length.
"Oh believe me, woman, I do want to kiss you..." He replied, tugging her bottom lip between his teeth, before gently nibbling on it. "I need it like I need air." He mouthed the words on top of her parted lips.
"You…You trimmed your beard." She stammered the obvious; while trying to divert his attention.
He crooked his full lips into a grin; the tips of his fingers slowly sliding on the length of her arms while triggering goosebumps all over Katherine's body; before grabbing her hips with both hands to slowly make her back up a few steps to push her toward the wall.
"Oh!" She let the cry of surprise out from her parted lips when her back hit the entrance wall; both hands grabbing his forearms to not fall at his feet. "What are you doing?"
She was now left in an intersection with four giant red lights flashing in front of her eyes as a warning to make him stop! She needed to stop this before …. Before what? An exchange kiss between her and this man wouldn't be the end of the world, would it? But she knew better … She knew that he would take way more than a kiss from her … He would take her soul!
"Relax, Katherine…You're so tensed." He mouthed the words; brushing her lips of an almost unperceivable kiss. Making her want the real dead even more. "Let just say I want to show you the benefits …" He added, smirking; his hands playing with the belt of her robe before sliding the fabric down her arms to fall into a puddle of sating fabric at their feet. "…of having a trimmed beard on my face."
Elijah lowered his head down the left side of her neck, a moan escaping her parted lips the minute his lips made contact with her skin.
"Elijah…" She called his name, leaning her head backwards to grant him more access to her skin; while raising both of her hands at the base of his neck.
She had known… She had known too well that the minute his lips would touch her in an intimate way that she would be a lost cause. Only God knew what she would become the minute he would finally take her mouth.
"What are you doing to me woman?" He asked of her, breathing heavily and while tracing a line of kisses and bite marks on her skin from the base of her neck to her earlobe. He started nipping on the line of her chin, both of his hands tasking to open the range of pearl boutons from her pajama; before slowly pushing apart both panels of the silk fabric to free her perky breasts.
"Fuck you're beautiful!" He exclaimed, his sight and mind grasping the true extend of his saying.
His hands rose from her tame belly to the soft curb of her breasts, cupping them both, before his lips could finally close around the dark aureole to gently strike her erected nipple.
At this point she wasn't Katherine Pierce, prominent surgeon, anymore. Instead, she was pure lava in his hands.
She cried his name several times, between loud moans of sweet pain and deliverance. It had been so long for her since a man had put his hands all over her body. She had worked her best at burying herself behind a tick wall that she had built for herself over the years to protect her heart and soul. And Elijah Mikaelson was slowly but surely doing his damn best to destroy it.
His hands were all over her now: grabbing her bottom, to caressing her hips, before going back to her breasts. All of his ministrations while the top of her pajama joined her robe on the floor. His lips rose back to her neck before she finally felt them crashing over her parted ones, their teeth clashing before their tongue could entwine in an erotic dance.
She grabbed a hand full of his tick hair, feeling his right knee part her legs, while she would, without restrain nor shame, dry humping his muscular thighs to help her release an orgasm. It had been so long for her, so, so long …
"Tell me where your bedroom is?" Elijah mouthed the question on top of her lips. "I can't take you this way or make you come in the entrance of your home."
"I … No…We can't do this." She answered him, shaking her head. "It's a mistake."
"I believe we already are, Katherine." He softly kissed her forehead, his hands caressing her hair, before reaching for the ribbon keeping her pajama bottom firmly tugged on her hips.
"No!" She cried, in desperation; while finally regaining all her senses. She gathered all the strength left in her body to place him at a few feet of distance from her; her hands pushing firmly on his bulged chest.
"I thought…" He said out loud, dumbfounded by her sudden refusal; before passing his right hand through his hair and face. "I thought you wanted this? No! I'm sure you wanted this."
"Well, you thought wrong." She responded, before grabbing her pajama top left on the floor to place the fabric in front of her bare chest. "Leave, now, Elijah." She asked of him, slowly raising her sight to meet his dark glance. "Please? I beg of you."
"You're lying to yourself, Katherine." He responded; his chest raising rapidly under his rapid intake of air. "I'll leave, but I won't give you up anytime soon, woman. Take that as a warning." He added, before turning on himself to open the entrance door, only to slam it behind his back.
Katherine closed her eyes, her body leaning on the entrance wall; tears falling from her closed eyelids.
The truth was … She didn't knew at this point if she truly wanted this man to give up on her or not?
This time around I want to take time to thank all the readers who are showing in my statistics as such, the ones who are following this story or who chose to put it in their favorites. Your voices are heard!
Bless you all!
