Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter! I'm so happy you guys are still into this! The beginning of this chapter is a bit more fluffy than the rest of the story, but I tried to make it fit the tone of the rest of the fic. Thank you to Kelly for beta work and Shauna for the beautiful cover.
Los Angeles, 2017
He caught her scent before the first click of her shoe sounded on the foyer's wooden floor. It was covered by unfamiliar shampoo and the spice of new perfume, but was distinctly Caroline all the same. He listened as she took a few tentative steps, could imagine the hesitance in how she held herself, the way her teeth sunk into her lower lip as she scanned the empty hall, and he walked to the foyer to meet her.
There was a spark of apprehension in her eyes that almost looked like dread, and he took a step closer, frowning when she leaned back on her feet. She swallowed. "You're here."
"I am," he agreed, clasping his hands behind his back and observing her, trying to figure out what was making her so on edge.
"You're a hard person to find," she said with a weak smile, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"You were looking, then?"
She nodded.
"Why?"
"I need to talk to you," she said, readjusting her purse on her shoulder and shifting from foot to foot. He'd never seen her look so uncomfortable, and he felt a sense of foreboding fill him, his lips pressing into a thin line.
"What about, Caroline?"
"Um...nothing."
"Nothing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, and she huffed, giving him a glimpse of the Caroline he remembered.
"Can I sit down?" she asked, her fingers fiddling with the clasp of her purse.
"Of course. Where are my manners? Would you like refreshments? I have a butler I could call if you'd like a little snack."
"You're gross," she muttered, walking to the room he motioned towards and sitting primly on the loveseat, staring out the window.
"I'll take that as a no, then?"
She crossed and recrossed her legs, her knuckles white from the pressure she was putting on the latch of her purse, and he watched as she twitched, clearly itching to reach out and touch him. "Why are you here, Caroline?"
She met his eyes briefly before looking away, swallowing again, her fingers flexing. "I...I need your help."
"What sort of help?"
She sunk her teeth so far in her lower lip that she drew blood, the thick, sweet scent filling the air. What was she so afraid of? Was she on the run from something? Someone? It would make sense considering how jittery she looked. But no, that wouldn't make sense. He was the most powerful being in the world. She knew that she was safe with him. Perhaps she was there on the order of her friends to play the distraction again, to lead him away as they conspired against him. To betray him.
"I can't help if you don't tell me what the problem is, sweetheart," he said slowly, deciding to get a better sense of what was happening before jumping to conclusions.
His connection with Caroline was tenuous at best, and he had no desire to lose the little ground he'd gained by making assumptions.
"You can't help," she said shortly, her voice somehow walking the line between strained and hollow.
"Then why are you here?"
She twitched again, her limbs jerking suddenly before she curled into herself, her arms wrapped protectively around her torso. Klaus was up before he realized it, speeding towards her, unsure whether it was to comfort or restrain, but she scrambled away from him, tears blooming in her eyes. "Don't touch me."
He hated feeling unsure of anything, and though Caroline was the only person who could consistently make him feel off-kilter, he'd never been so confused about her reaction to something. He was instantly suspicious, torn between the possibility of her actually coming to him for some sort of help versus the distinct chance that she was feeling anticipatory guilt for the betrayal she could be about to commit. It was difficult to look at the situation objectively, the deeply rooted paranoia doing nothing to soothe his need to alleviate her clear distress. She still had her arms wrapped around herself, if anything more tightly than before, and her fingers were still clutching her...
"What's in the bag, love?"
She took a sharp breath, her eyes widening, and she shook her head. "I...it's..."
"Give it to me."
She gritted her teeth, dropping the bag to the floor and backing up, every movement clearly taking an immense amount of effort, and he scooped up the purse, flipping it open to see a very familiar-looking stake. "This is the White Oak Stake," he said unnecessarily, looking at her, anger and betrayal filling every inch of him as he fought not to destroy anything within reach, to lash out at her for going along with some half-cooked plan to derail his non-existent plans to hurt the doppelganger. It was better to fake calm, he knew. If she was truly out to hurt him, it was better for her to think he would let it slide just for her, as he always had. "May I ask why you have this? Is it your friends? Have they sent you to distract me and kill me? I admit that I'm surprised you agreed-"
"No," she said, her voice hitching as she shook, and the tone of it made him pause as he tried to figure out what she was fighting, what impulse she was controlling. "No. I don't want to, Klaus. I promise. I just...I have to..."
"Why? Why do you have to?" he snapped, hissing as he clutched the stake too harshly and a splinter bit into his hand.
"I can't tell you," she said, clearly as frustrated as him by the situation, her body shaking.
Her body lurched as though she was going to speed towards him, but instead she dropped to the floor. It was as though she was fighting against a force that was pulling her towards him, wrenching her hand back through thin air like she'd touched a hot oven. If she hadn't been a vampire, he almost would think...
"You're compelled," he said quietly.
She nodded, and he dropped the stake to speed behind her, putting an arm around her waist to crush her back against his chest and closing his other hand around her wrist to keep her in place. "I'm sorry," she breathed as she struggled in his arms. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," he said absently, trying to put the pieces together. He couldn't undo whatever compulsion she was under if it was one of his siblings, and he had a sneaking suspicion as to which one. If he was correct, he could certainly understood the reasoning behind his brother's actions, though it did nothing to calm the fury building in his gut. Still, best to double check. "Which of my siblings did this to you?"
"Kol."
He was right, then. "And you're compelled to kill me?"
It would make sense. Kol had a flair for 'poetic justice', and Caroline would be forced to try to kill Klaus until either she succeeded or he killed her to make her stop, and forcing him to murder the only woman he'd loved in centuries was what he'd consider a fitting punishment.
His siblings did get ever so testy about being daggered, though Kol had never acted out quite to this degree.
She nodded, struggling even more in his arms, most likely to get to the stake on the floor. "Do you trust me, Caroline?" he asked, and she hissed out a yes, her voice catching around the word.
He snapped her neck.
The feeling of her body going limp in his arms was an unwelcome one, uncomfortably reminiscent of the moment after he'd stabbed her in the doppelganger's living room, but he set her on the couch before throwing the stake in the fireplace, lighting it and watching it burn to cinders. He'd have to investigate the White Oak's rebirth later, but for now he had to take care of Caroline. He contemplated the best way to end the compulsion as he secured ropes around her wrists and ankles just in case she woke. Kol was most likely halfway across the world right now, too smart to leave any breadcrumbs, and Klaus had no desire to keep her desiccated or locked up until he could find his brother and somehow force him to reverse it.
No, this would take a bit more creative thinking.
Perhaps a witch? There were ways to resist a compulsion, though he wasn't sure he'd ever heard of a spell to break one already in place, but that wasn't surprising. Witches couldn't be compelled and tended to shy away from casting spells on humans, too scared of being found out.
Perhaps the wording of the compulsion would help. That sort of magic was open to the interpretation of the compelled, and over the years Klaus had learned to keep his instructions specific and free of loopholes. It was entirely possible that Kol hadn't bothered, as his brother had never been all that detail-oriented, and there was quite a difference between "Stab Klaus with a White Oak Stake" and "Kill Klaus".
The former would require him to somehow track down a way to break the compulsion, but the latter... all that would require was a little trust.
Trust he wasn't quite sure he was willing to hand over.
He'd confessed to her years before that he loved her, and that was certainly true, but that didn't change his doubt of her feelings for him. Could he give her that sort of power when she'd abused it so many times in the past? Yes, because with the white oak stake gone, it wouldn't be the end of the world if she ripped out his heart or tried to keep him incapacitated. His heart would re-grow and he'd still be stronger than her when he woke up, even if it happened more than once. He could easily incapacitate her if it went wrong.
Then again, what if she had some sort of spell up her sleeve? What if Kol had known that he'd likely find the stake before she could use it and it was some sort of diversion for the real plan?
He looked through her purse for any sort of suspicious-looking herb or vial, but there wasn't anything of note. He cast it aside, his mind still spinning with options, and when she finally stirred, her eyes opening slowly, she began to fight the bonds, trying to remove them.
"Caroline?"
She relaxed for a second before stiffening again, clearly still trying to fight off the compulsion. He wondered how she was doing it, but decided to save that question for after he'd dealt with the threat.
"I need to know the exact wording of the compulsion, sweetheart. Can you tell me?"
She took a few sharp breaths, her eyes screwed shut before she spoke. "Kill my brother. Don't stop trying until he's dead," she recited. "And then he gave me the stake. Where's the stake?"
"Gone," he said simply, eyeing her with some trepidation before making his decision. "Now, Caroline. I'm going to untie you-"
"Seriously, Klaus? I'm trying to kill you."
"That's the idea, love," he said, bending to look at her. "He said not to stop until I'm dead. Snap my neck, I'm dead. The compulsion will be gone."
"Oh," she breathed, her body relaxing as he reached for the ropes, as though the compulsion had stopped fighting with her now that she was going to fulfill the instructions.
He untied her easily, and her hands twitched as their eyes locked. He felt frozen in that moment as they looked at each other, the flecks of green in her eyes no less mesmerizing than they'd been the night of the ball when they crackled with loathing. They were softer now.
Her shaking hands reached up to cup his cheeks, and she gave him another nervous glance before his world went black.
The next thing he knew he was on the couch and she was standing over him, eyes wide. She had reached for him as soon as he opened his eyes, and he was half-convinced she was going to snap his neck again when she curled her hand in his henley and the other in his hair, pulling him up to capture his lips with hers.
He'd missed her taste, the way her hair tickled his cheeks when she shifted, the lovely weight of her body on top of his, and it took a moment for him to pull himself out of the haze of his need for her and push her away gently. "I'm so sorry," she said quickly.
"For?"
"Trying to kill you...?" she half-asked.
"It wasn't your fault," he said quietly. "You're safe, sweetheart."
She nodded slowly, her body relaxing against his, and he rubbed her back, attempting to soothe her. He waited until she seemed calm before asking the question that had been burning in his mind since he'd figured out what was wrong with her. "How did you fight the compulsion?"
"I remembered Stefan," she said hesitantly, and he growled, ready to push her away. She snorted, pressing a light kiss to his jaw. "No, not like that. you ass. I meant the way he resisted compulsion for Elena."
He frowned, even more confused. He understood what she was saying in theory, but she couldn't possibly...
She pulled away, her palm on his cheek as she watched him with large blue eyes, somehow both hesitant and sure as she let her thumb stroke over his cheekbone. "I...that day in the woods, I didn't want you to go. I mean, I wanted you to go, but it was because I was scared. Like, I still felt guilty for wanting you, to be with you, and I needed you to leave so that I could just forget you and move on, you know? But then I couldn't. God, I sound like a horrible rom-com, but like, I really care about you, Klaus."
He stared at her, both amused by her rambling and not quite processing the words. Her eyes were wide and nervous and genuine, and he still hadn't gotten his thoughts straight when she spoke again, her brow furrowing. "Hello? Earth to Klaus? Kind of leaving me hanging here."
He kissed her.
London, 2052
"Was that what you needed? To know that we're happy? That we have a relationship that you and my other self could never achieve?"
"Now it is your turn to hold your silence," she said with a curl of her lip, a cutting anger in her eyes so unlike the Caroline he knew. "He is angry, as am I, but at least I know that in the end he will be loyal to me, and I to him. Can you say the same for your baby vampire, Niklaus? Are you secure in her devotion to you? Is she sure of yours?"
Klaus snorted in spite of himself. "Devotion is a weakness which I cannot abide."
"Ah. But it is your weakness nonetheless. Perhaps my other self feels uncertain of your loyalties. Her wish may have been for a deeper connection with you, for a shared history to which you would cling in the face of difficulty."
He swallowed, fear clenching in his stomach. "She knows," he whispered, despite instinctively knowing that she was correct, that his Caroline must have been unsure of his commitment. "I know she knows. If she does not, I'll convince her when she returns."
"Because you're afraid she'll leave you if you don't? Perhaps it is inevitable, as I know that Niklaus would do anything for me, and yet I still ran."
Klaus shot her a disgusted glance and tried to fight down his fury when he saw the curve of her lips.
"I find myself wishing that my husband was as thoughtful as you seem to be," Caroline said quietly, walking to a picture frame that held one of Klaus's sketches and running a fingertip down the wood. "He believes that he can do whatever he wishes. He knows that I will always be his, no matter how badly he behaves, just as he is mine. I loathe his arrogance, though I stopped hoping he would change long ago."
"If you hate him so much why would you return?"
"I love him," she said simply. "Yes, he's possessive and jealous. Obsessive. Violent. Brutal. Quite certainly less sane than you seem to be. But he is mine, and I would never have him any other way," she said quietly, giving Klaus a rueful smile. "I suppose that I too should be careful of what I wish for. I do not mean to offend you of course, but my Niklaus is...different."
He didn't answer, simply observing this...other Caroline as she turned to look at the framed photograph that Caroline had insisted they take at the top of the Empire State Building. It had been the first real stop after he'd whisked her away from Los Angeles just after her confession. She looked radiant.
"She looks happy," Other Caroline said quietly, as if repeating Klaus's own thoughts.
"Caroline is..." he paused, searching for the words he needed, and Other Caroline smiled as though she understood.
"You love her."
"Yes," he bit out, knowing it was unreasonable to feel uncomfortable displaying his weakness in this situation, but nonetheless feeling a bit too vulnerable for his tastes.
Other Caroline glanced at the picture again before turning to fully face him. "I believe this is the closure the necklace required. Perhaps Niklaus and I have our differences and our times of strife, and we're not the happiest couple in the world much of the time, but I know he will always be mine, and I his," she shot him a small smile. "I will speak to him, I suppose. If we are happy in another life, it may not be impossible for us to mend our fractures."
Klaus gave her a grim smile, unsure of how he was supposed to respond, and a few moments of awkward silence passed.
"I'd like some time to myself now, I think," she said quietly.
"There's a free room across the hall," he said, waving his hand in the direction of his bedroom door. "There's a television if you'd like to use it."
She smiled, taking a step towards him. "When your Caroline wakes, I hope she is with you," she said, and he froze when she stood on her toes and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"You're quite welcome," he muttered, waiting until Caroline swept out the door to sink onto the bed.
Closing his eyes, he slumped against the mattress. He knew he would not sleep, too distrustful of this other Caroline to leave himself open to some sort of attack, but he hoped that his Caroline would be back by morning.
Madrid, 2052
"We've been together for over a thousand years," Klaus growled. "That's a significant amount of time, and she obviously wasn't happy, seeing as she ran."
"Why?"
He glanced at her, his eyes filled with anger. "We had a spat. I've gotten over it, of course. Fifty bloody years. I never thought she'd stay away this long. Stubborn little thing, my Caroline. Manipulative. When I undaggered her she pretended not to be angry. She convinced me that I was forgiven, distracted me with her body and snapped my neck to run, my seed still sticking to her thighs."
"Rude," Caroline said dryly, trying to figure out how to get off the subject of her other self's sex life.
"Indeed. I found her within hours, of course. Told her that I'd give her a week-long head start, that when I finally took her back she'd beg for forgiveness. I do so love the hunt..."
Caroline was growing more and more uncomfortable with this Klaus's behavior by the second. She'd been afraid of Klaus in Mystic Falls; it would have been stupid not to be. In the years since then, however, she'd never feared him purposefully hurting her. She knew that at some point he'd say something he didn't mean (or, even worse, something he did), or that he'd leave her, but Klaus had never made her feel small like this. Insignificant. Objectified.
"Her punishment for leaving me will be decidedly non-violent," he continued. "Though I assure you that she'll beg for mercy as I remind her whom she belongs to."
"Belongs to?" Caroline asked, wrinkling her nose and trying to summon some sort of bravado. "This is the 21st century, you know."
"It's what gets her off," he said, shrugging before a wolfish grin spread across his face. "And I must say I don't mind it either. It's been difficult restraining myself from making contact."
Caroline felt like she should be disgusted by him talking so frankly about the most private aspects of her other self's life, but strangely she was intrigued, and that made shame build in her gut. It was just wrong, his attitude about owning and taking, as though her other self was a pet that was fooled into thinking it could escape...
"You knew where she was?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Caroline's resourceful and she can take care of herself, but I do worry."
"So you stalk your wife when she's pretending to try to run away from you?" Caroline asked.
"She's not pretending at all. I have no doubt that she genuinely thinks that I have no idea where she is," he said, waving off her questions as he began to pace. "Back to the subject at hand."
"Yes, back to the whole reversing the spell thing, which is super important."
Klaus let out a bitter laugh, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Right. Of course. What do you need to know for your closure? How miserable she was? How much she loathed me?"
"You've been together for most of your lives though, right? She must have liked you. Maybe she just...needed a break."
"She couldn't have one. I kept her too close. As a result, we fought often. Clashed horribly. Had periods where we slept in the same bed but barely spoke, where we fucked every day but I didn't taste her lips for a decade. She still never left. Hung on until she couldn't take it any longer."
"Weren't you ever happy together?" Caroline asked, suddenly feeling sorry for him and her other self. Had they been trapped in a millennium-long bad relationship? Both too invested to let go, but totally miserable? "Weren't you in love?"
"If I wasn't in love with her I wouldn't want her back, would I?" he said, so softly that she almost didn't hear it.
Her other self seemed to have his unconditional loyalty, and she'd thought that was what she wanted. Now though, she couldn't help but think that if this was complete security in Klaus's feelings, she wasn't sure that she did after all.
Thank you so much for reading! Did you like it? Did you think the first scene fit in with the rest of the story?
Next chapter we'll get them back to their original universes. Any guesses to how that'll work out?
I'd love to hear your thoughts! :D
