A/N: I know...trust me I know. There are no words really to emphasise the apology here, but I'm so sorry for not updating this fic in so long. I hope this extra long chapter makes up for it! I love you guys so much, and thank you for your reviews! You are legendsssssss! Thanks also to my lovely beta Caryn (tumblr: carolinemykhaleesi/fanfiction: mytraitorousheart)!

Year 26 – The Fanatic

"I guess what scares me the most now is the thought that I won't be able to protect you"
- Julia Hopin

Caroline figured out he was following her after she noticed him for a third time in just under two days.

The first was in the lingerie section of a clothing store, as she browsed through an array of lacy bras. Caroline had lifted a set up to inspect it more thoroughly when she spotted a pair of eyes peering at her through the racks.

He was young - definitely in his early 20s - and not overly tall. He also held a boyish quality about him in regards to the Dracula t-shirt and lanky figure.

Upon making the realisation that she'd noticed a stranger watching her, his eyes widening to saucers, before he promptly turned and scurried away.

Overall, she'd found the whole thing awfully amusing.

The second time was when she'd stopped for coffee about two hours later. It was only a block away from where she had seen him previously, but none-the-less she had wondered even then about the authenticity of his presence in the cafe at the same time as her. Klaus' training had taught Caroline to always be on her guard, no matter whom the target was; however when he left five minutes after they'd made awkward eye contact once again, she chalked the incident up to merely being a coincidence.

It was only when she spotted him out of the corner of her eye in a diner far across town the next morning that she surmised that he'd actually been not-so-subtly following her the entire time. Caroline might've felt more worried had he not been human in nature, but still she remained on high alert as she raised the last fork-full of scrambled eggs to her mouth before placing the utensil on her plate. Pushing it away determinedly and throwing a hefty tip onto the table, she shuffled out of the booth.

With the heels of her boots clacking along the linoleum floor, she walked over to his table and took the seat across from him.

"Why are you following me?" She asked, matter-of-factly.

She watched with a stoic expression as his mouth opened and closed several times before he stuttered out –

"I- I don't know what you're-"

"Let's skip the part where you don't know what I'm talking about. I've seen you thrice in the last two days and I'd like to know why you've been following me." She spoke more sharply now.

Caroline could admit that she'd never been a person known for her patience. Usually when she asked for something, she got it – otherwise all those who refused her caught themselves in an icy glare and received the end of her wrath.

When she once against watched his mouth gape like a fish, she sighed in frustration and decided on a different tactic.

"What's your name?" She said suddenly, with a sweet lilt to her voice and a smile on her face.

He frowned at her sudden change in demeanour, before replying.

"My name is Tobias."

"Alright Tobias, this is how it works. I ask the questions, you answer them truthfully. If not, I call the police and have you reported for stalking or harassment – or whatever. Clear?"

He seemed taken aback by this, and she saw both offense and a small sliver of fear flash across his face. It was a bluff on her part of course, but he didn't need to know that.

"I'm not a pervert, if that's what you're implying, thank you very much. Plus, if you were so desperate for the information, why can't you just try compelling it from me? Vampires are beyond the reaches of the authorities."

This time it was her turn to be shocked, and she couldn't help the small sinking feeling that filled her chest. He may be human, but a human that's aware of vampires is an entirely different thing. They were dangerous – being locked in a cell her father and tortured by means of sunlight made her positive of that.

She shook her head to clear it, and focused on him once again. What could he possibly do in a crowded diner?

"So you know I'm a vampire." She watched bemused as a flicker of excitement filled his eyes and he straightened up.

"So you're not going to deny it then, you're actually a vampire?" He said, almost jumping out of his seat with enthusiasm. "Oh my god, this is so cool."

She raised her eyebrows at him, what?

"Excuse me?"

"Like, I knew they were real and all, but this is proof! Hard proof. Like, oh my god, I can't right now. Can you show me your fangs? Are you going to try and drink my blood?"

What. The. Hell.

"Right now, all I'm thinking about doing is compelling you to shut up and tell me what the hell you're on about."

"Oh you can't" he winked at her, "I've been taking vervain every day since I became an official Fang Rangler."

Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts because we have officially entered The Twilight Zone.

"A what now?"

"A Fang Rangler. I thought all of you vampires would have heard of us – we're a pretty big deal in the supernatural community y'know!" he said to her, looking slightly hurt that the look on her face wasn't one of recognition. " is our site. You should visit it some time; at the moment we're the number two most popular site for vampire enthusiasts! Fangbangers are number one." She watched as he scrunched his nose up in disgust, "but they're not true believers like us; they think you sparkle or something as equally ridiculous."

Even through the whole weirdness of it all, Caroline shared his look of disgust upon the expression of this fact. He nodded at the sight. "I know, right? Let it go – it's been 28 years since that stuff came out and still!"

He sighed before continuing – mostly because she was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to fit a word in edge-wise, plus she was too stunned to really say much.

"Anyway, back to the Ranglers. Our page , it hit 10000 follows just last week – we gave away a Dracula box set. From the vintage 1930s film, right up until the 2032 adaptation!"

Caroline started to think she'd rather go through a witchy aneurysm than suffer any more of Tobias' incessant talking. Holding up a hand, she finally spoke.

"Stop, please – I'm begging you."

He smiled at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away, didn't I? It's just I've never met a real vampire before, so I'm a little nervous. My parents told me my obsession was unhealthy, but I knew I wasn't crazy."

That is up for debate she thought to herself, while wondering on Earth she'd even got herself into this situation.

"How did you know I was a vampire, anyway? I mean, I walk in the sun, I make sure I'm in mostly deserted areas before I feed on someone, and I avoid having to compel people when I can. My behaviour doesn't exactly scream 'I'm a bloodsucking fiend!'"

He laughed.

"No, it doesn't. That's why I was following you actually – I was waiting for you to slip up so I had some proof. But, I have to admit that I'm not the best at the whole stealth thing."

She smirked at this, but nodded for him to continue.

"It was Mystic Falls actually. Every supernatural enthusiast knows the fame of that place – the deaths are always so fishy, and the mortality rate is off the charts. Anyway, I had some money and spare time, so I flew up there myself and did some research on the founding families. There were some very sceptical details – say the Salvatore brothers for instance; Stefan and Damon. I'm totally convinced that those guys are vampires."

He looked at her as if he wished her to confirm or elaborate on this assumption, but she merely raised her eyebrows at him, unimpressed, and gestured for him to continue his story. Sighing in disappointment, Tobias continued on.

"I saw that some members of the Forbes family had interacted with them in 1864, so under the belief that they'd probably passed down their knowledge through the line, I checked all their ancestors until I came to you – in a group of the first founding members to interact with the Salvatore Brothers when they returned in the 21st century. I know all about you, Caroline Forbes. Captain of the cheer squad, Miss Mystic Falls, and involved in all the main events to occur in that little town."

She had to admit, although impressive, Caroline was a little bit more freaked out by the fanaticism of the man who sat in front of her. He spoke as if he knew her whole life story, and he probably did. She'd think about maybe covering her tracks in the future – couldn't have people snooping around her life and realising that she wasn't exactly 'normal'.

"And you...followed this trail here to me? Thinking that you could either see if I was a vampire, or get the scoop about what happened back then?"

"Oh, no. It gets better – just wait."

Every time he spoke, she became more and more unsettled, and considered that maybe getting up and walking out of the diner was the best decision. She could go to the airport, look at the destination board and pick the first plane there to see where it took her.

Her muscles didn't seem to agree with her brain, and she stayed rooted to the spot, waiting for Tobias' next words.

"I was looking at your files about three years ago-"

"Wait a second, you've been researching me for three years."

"I've known all this about you for over four years now, but it's only been since all the information disappeared that I really set my sights on finding you." He smiled at her. "You did very well, you know; hiding everything."

She frowned at him.

"What do you mean?" she questioned him, not understanding what he meant by her doing 'very well'. She'd simply moved cities – not exactly a cover-up job.

It was his turn to reflect the expression she gave him.

"I mean, you really went all out in erasing yourself from history and creating a false life..." he pushed, but when she didn't bite a look of realisation came across his face. "It wasn't you."

She shook her head in bewilderment, and gestured for him to elaborate.

"Well, as I was going to say before, about 3 years ago – after I already knew almost everything about you – the information disappeared. Every credit card transaction, every photo you were in or document you signed after the year 2010. It was all gone. But while the information vanished, you didn't.

"A whole other life was created in its place. You left Mystic Falls and went to college in North Carolina, and studied to be a kindergarten teacher. Then you married your college sweetheart, moved to Rio and settled down there with three kids."

Tobias studied her for a moment, and although she tried to keep her emotions slightly in control, he saw a flicker of fear at the idea that someone was meddling with her life. Although it appeared harmless, she didn't really know their intentions.

"You really know nothing about this, do you? Wow. That's creepy – any idea who could have done it?"

Instinctually, in the back of her mind an idea began to form, but it was as if the brain refused to accept the thought and even transmit it to Caroline because she shook her head.

"I travel alone."

She watched absentmindedly as he spun a bulky ring round and around his finger, before she glanced to his left and noticed a satchel sitting on the bench.

"By any chance...I mean to ask, do you carry all this on you? The false information that you found, that is."

He nodded enthusiastically at her, and reached towards his bag, unpacking thick manila folders as he spoke.

"Yeah of course I do – I carry most of my stuff with me seeming as how I'm on the move all the time. I thought it might provide me some psychological insight to predict your movements, but now I know that wouldn't have been possible because you didn't even write it. Really, I was ready to give up until I saw you on the news live feed about a month back."

That made her snap to attention as he practically slammed the giant pile of papers on the table, hastily pushing aside his plate so as not to dirty them.

"You mean after all the research and digging, you ended up finding me purely by chance?"

He shrugged at her, looking slightly offended.

"Hey now, I knew what you looked like; you were my favourite project and I spent hours on you." He watched her grimace at his blunt words, and he smiled apologetically; she hated the way he made her sound like an object. "I spotted your face in some of the footage reporting on that fire, and I ran at the new lead."

She sighed, and reluctantly nodded her assent at his efforts; she didn't want to appear as if she approved of his looking into her, but she was never-the-less glad that she could take advantage of the situation now that she needed what he collected.

Reaching out, she turned the papers around and started flipping through them, soon finding that Tobias had been right with how in-depth this person's cover-up was. There were transactions for a movie theatre close to the college she supposedly went to. There was her degree, records of the schools she'd worked in, birth certificates for each of her children and...a marriage certificate.

She stiffened when she read the name of her spouse.

"Signed: Nicholas Michaelson." She read out loud, half shocked and half horrified. "Seriously?! You have got to be kidding me."

"What, you know him?" Tobias asked, and she looked up with a frown as if she had forgotten he was sitting there the whole time.

She growled under her breath and said through her teeth, "You could say that." Before she stood up and pulled out her phone. "Wait right here, I have a call to make."

Before he could even answer, she'd turned on her heel and headed to the front door of the diner.

Nicholas Michaelson.

Niklaus Mikaelson.

That bastard.

"Pick up your phone, Klaus!"

"Are you that old and crusty now that you don't have the energy to pick up a phone? Call me back damn it."

"Why is it that whenever I need you, you're suddenly indisposed?"

"Seriously? I swear to God if I hear your stupid voicemail message one more time..."

Caroline hit the end call button so hard that it cracked slightly under her finger.

She had been pacing back and forward in an alley just next to the diner for over 20 minutes; as if confident that the longer she rang him the more likely he was to pick up. Contrary to such a belief however, his inaction on answering her calls continued.

Stopping before she wore a hole in the ground out of frustration, and facing towards the entrance of the secluded lane, Caroline made the decision to head back inside and tell Tobias that he could go home. There was really no reason for him to stay any longer, and on some level she was worried about what Klaus would do to him if he found out the level of research he'd done in order to find her. The Original Hybrid could be ridiculously overprotective of her sometimes, and in the end Tobias had been harmless. The fact that he had found her disconcerted her on many levels though, and she vowed that after yelling at Klaus for interfering in her affairs, she'd ask him for some advice in keeping a low profile.

"Time to go." She said as she walked back in, throwing money on the table for the coffee he had ordered while waiting for her. Tobias looked quizzically at her, tilting his head in confusion before responding.

"Where are we going? Did you find our mysterious fairy godmother? Are we going to meet them?" he asked excitedly, scooting out of the booth and collecting his files.

Caroline almost snorted at the use of the term 'fairy godmother' in reference to Klaus, but focused on the task at hand.

"We aren't going anywhere. You are going to go and crawl back into whatever hole you came out of and forget this ever happened, and I am going to get back to my life."... after I kick some Hybrid ass, she added silently to herself.

She had been ready for Tobias to protest her decision, and she wasn't disappointed – his level of vehemence in the matter however was surprising. His face began to change colour from pink to a violent red and he began sputtering in protest.

"I finally discover that vampires are real-" he started, speaking loudly before being interrupted.

"Keep. Your voice. Down." She hissed, articulating herself to calm her own building ire. She looked around the diner and saw that a few patrons nearby were glancing over, and making the decision she grabbed his arm and pulled him outside, back into the alley she'd previously been.

"Are you crazy?" she rounded on him once they reached their destination.

"I was starting to think so before today, but now I've gone and proven to myself that vampires do really exist. I'm not about to let you go and disappear on me so I can go back to being the laughing stock of my family."

She looked at him with an expression of disbelief and let out a sigh of exasperation.

"What do you expect me to do? Come to your house for a dinner party so you can tell all your friends that you were right? That you've now discovered vampires are real and decided to keep one as a pet? News flash buddy, that won't be happening on my watch."

"Nor mine, mate." Said a voice from inside the alley, and Caroline whirled around – slamming her body into the person and pushing them against the wall before she even had time to process. She knew who it was – who else would it be? – but had reacted before her mind really registered the voice, and so she found she'd put them into a rather intimate position before she could really stop herself.

Caroline's forearm was pressed against his throat and her fangs were out on full display. The anger had already been bubbling at the surface from her confrontation with Tobias, so the hiss of warning left her mouth before she could shove it back down her throat, and she watched as a smirk slowly spread across Klaus' face.

"Hello, sweetheart."

He spun them around so that in the next moment she was the one pressed against the wall, and the position was far more provocative this time, with one of his legs slipping between hers and his chest pressed tightly to her own.

"Miss me?"

Her momentary shock at his appearance and their current position was washed away by the smirk that spread across his feature. Her face hardened and she pushed against his chest until he took a voluntary step back.

"As a matter of fact, I was quite enjoying our time apart. We should do it more often – what do you say we make it more than a month next time? How about we try for forever?" she snapped at him. Unfortunately for her, her retort only caused the grin to widen.

"Now love, I'm not the one calling the other..." he looked down at his phone for confirmation, "thirteen times in one day."

She groaned at his words – you walked right into that one, Caroline – and rubbed a hand down her face. When she pulled it away, she saw that instead of having his gaze fixed upon her now, he was shooting a dark look in Tobias' direction.

"Now," he said in a tone that promised death, "what is it exactly that our friend here is trying to thrust upon you, love?"

Klaus had started to take a few menacing steps towards Tobias, who was backing away on instinct, but Caroline stepped into his path and placed her hand on his chest.

"Tobias is harmless – it's nothing I can't handle myself."

He stopped his advancing and looked down at the hand before glancing up and locking eyes with hers. She refused to look away from his challenging gaze until he finally conceded and bowed his head in acknowledgement at her.

"I never doubted you could; I was the one who made it so after all." He said in a huskier voice and raised his hand to rest it over hers on his chest. Used to his antics, Caroline simply rolled her eyes and ripped her hand out from under his, but she couldn't quite stop the small catch of her breath at his forward action.

"Uhm..." came a hesitant voice which snapped them both from their interactions, and each turned to look at him with similar gazes – though Klaus' was significantly more lethal.

"Tobias, go home." Caroline spoke in a tired voice.

"But, I-" she growled under her breath at his persistence, and Klaus cut him off.

"I suggest you do as the lady says mate; walk away, or you won't have the legs to do so because I'll have ripped them from your body."

Even with the threat hanging over his head, and the fear clearly shining in his eyes, Tobias shifted his gaze to Caroline's one last time.

"Is he the one?" he questioned, and without having to ask she knew what he meant. Was Klaus the one to change all those documents; the marriage certificate, her history, everything.

The hybrid shifted his attention to her with a quizzical look, but she kept her eyes on Tobias. Without saying a word, she nodded. Her would-be stalker nodded back once before sighing.

"I'll be sure to take my leave then. He's gone to enough length to try and protect you, and I'd hate for him to make good on that threat." Taking a hesitant step towards her and sure to keep one eye on Klaus at all times, he went over to Caroline before riffling through his bag and getting out the manila folder full of all the forged documentation of her life.

"Take this." he said, holding it out to her and waiting until she had a firm grasp on it. He then held out one hand for her to shake, still casting secondary glances Klaus' way although the hybrid had yet to move from his original position, and after hesitating she took it. "It was an honour to meet you, Caroline. Truly."

She smiled faintly at him and squeezed his hand.

"You too...minus the overzealousness."

He chuckled, embarrassed, and finally stepped back to take his leave.

Once he'd disappeared around the corner, Klaus turned her way and raised his eyebrows.

"Care to explain all that?" he asked curiously, and she turned a glare his way.

"Actually yes, I do. It has to do with the fact that a certain hybrid has been meddling in my affairs?" she hissed at him, and her anger flared once again.

He frowned, really having no clue of what she was referring to. He had little to do with Caroline the last 18 months, bar that one incident a month back with the fire.

"Caroline, I've barely seen you this last year – I hardly believe my actions can be described as meddling." He spoke up after a long moment, and he felt his own irritation at her accusations.

While their fighting was ever-present over the years, in the last decade or so it had changed from casual annoyance into a mild flirtation. That was not the case now though, and he couldn't fathom what had made her so hostile toward him.

"This has got nothing to do with the last year actually; it has to do with what you did four years ago."

Angrily, she had walked up to him so that they were standing toe-to-toe with one another and looked him square in the eye before slamming folder Tobias handed to her into his chest.

"Why don't you take a look, Nicholas. After all, a husband and wife shouldn't keep secrets from one another."

She spoke the words as he opened the file and the recognisable pages filled his vision. A light of understanding finally lit behind his eyes, and once Caroline glimpsed it she turned and began to walk away from him.

Pausing at the entrance, she glanced back over her shoulder and was surprised to see that he hadn't moved to stop her from leaving.

"Stop meddling in my life, Klaus. I don't need or want you to be a part of it; I don't know how much clearer I can make it after twenty six years of the same old game. Move on."

Caroline was hardly someone to sit around and eat ice-cream while watching romantic movies, but for some reason that's what she found herself doing in the apartment she owned that night.

She was moping.

For a 44 year old woman it was really quite pathetic, she thought to herself, that she was having a typical break-up reaction; it's not like he was her real husband! They could hardly be in the same space together before a fight of some kind broke out among them, mostly prompted by her, but damn it that wasn't the point. Why was she sitting here fretting over a man who she couldn't care less about? Maybe it was because he just wouldn't leave her alone, or maybe it was the fact that he had reminded her why he couldn't be trusted.

But she knew she was only fooling herself. The man was a constant in her life that, however annoying, she'd grown to care for. To have him meddle in her past felt like a violation of her privacy, not that he'd had any qualms about invading her space before, but this was different. For some unknown reason it had hurt her that he hadn't told her what he'd done – a gesture she knew he saw as a means of protecting her, but felt on some level to be quite...disconcerting.

A knock at the front door interrupted her musings, and she glanced at it from her position under the blanket on the couch. Sighing, she said in a responded to it in a soft voice.

"It's open."

Klaus required no further prompting and was soon situated in the jam of her bright blue doorway. A small smirk covered his face when he saw the position she was in and the ice-cream tub that sat in her lap. Glancing towards the tv, he couldn't withhold the scoff.

"The Notebook? Don't you think that it's a little old now? As you stated earlier, it has been 26 years since you were a teenager and that movie was still an acceptable means for young girls to cry their hearts out."

Now it was her turn to scoff, and she pointed her spoon accusingly at him.

"I'll have you know that because of its age, this film can finally be categorised as a classic and is therefore all the more desirable for moments of heartache."

He raised his hands in surrender at her, and though the smirk did drop a little, it didn't entirely disappear.

On one arm, she noticed, he carried a bag of what appeared to be groceries – how strangely domestic it made him look - but before she could ask what it was he responded to her previous words.

"Is that what this is then? A moment of heartache? I'd have to wonder what would be the cause of such things, because we both know it certainly couldn't be me. I'm hardly one to elicit any emotions in you other than rage and contempt." He spoke softly now, and Caroline could actually sense a degree of hurt attached to his words.

"Klaus, I-" she protested, but he shook his head and interrupted; lifting the bag and indicating to it.

"I brought sushi...and chocolate éclairs from the French bakery across town. I know how much you enjoy both." He paused for a moment and shuffled his feet as Caroline started at him in bafflement. "Consider it a peace offering."

She had to resist the urge to laugh at the sheepish look which appeared on his face. Never before did she believe that he'd ever displayed such a modest character, and she could see that his own reaction to the situation was frustrating him.

Shaking his head and swearing under his breath, he strode over to where she was and dumped the bag on the coffee table, before flopping down in quite a ceremonious manner right next to her on the couch.

"I feel ridiculous."

"It's cute."

He looked at her with such a level of offense that she actually did burst into laughter this time.

"I am not cute. I am the Original Hybrid." He protested loudly.

"Yes, yes. You're the big bad wolf ready to come and gobble us all up if we ever even look at you the wrong way. Why don't you take a break, buddy? Y'know, take off the self-adorned crown for a second and just relax." Leaning forward she took the container and some chopsticks from the bag and handed them to him. "Have some sushi."

"You can't just offer me my own meal." He said to her in indignation, but he took the container regardless.

"I just did."

For some time they merely sat in silence as they ate, both pretending to watch the softly playing movie when really their thoughts were far away and on each other. Ten minutes grew to thirty which then grew to almost a full hour – at which point the film had ended. She had slowly crept closer towards him throughout the time, and was now sat comfortably low on the back of the couch, with her feet resting on the table and her side pressed firmly against his.

When the credits began scrolling along the screen, he glanced over to find that her eyes were closed, and without him realising her breathing had actually deepened in the telltale sign of sleep. He felt a certain twinge in his chest that she was comfortable enough, safe enough, to even contemplate the thought of sleep while he was there, and he couldn't help but think that her actions were in such contrast to the harsh words Caroline threw at him earlier that day.

Reaching forward slowly, as not to disturb her, he grabbed the remote and switched the system off. He then stood and turned to watch her for a moment, before leaning forward and gently lifting her into his arms.

When her own came up to wrap around his neck and she buried her head in his throat he nearly lost all of his hard-earned control.

Though he had never been inside this particular apartment before, he knew the layout due to the fact that he looked at the plans upon her arrival here just over 3 weeks. After everything that occurred in the fire, he made the decision to always watch over her as she moved around and made sure he knew the details of her living arrangements.

It was not that he didn't trust her to look after herself, but rather it was for his benefit entirely. The fact that Stefan had dropped by to see the blonde had been entirely a fluke, and furthermore if the Salvatore had not already been on the phone to him at the time then everything could have turned out very differently.

He knew that at the end of the day the attack had been his own fault – his attachment to her was his own downfall, and some of his enemies were bound to discover this. Klaus' protectiveness over her made him want to steal her away and lock her in a gilded cage so that she could never be harmed. But it would not do for his Caroline and deep down he was acutely aware of that. The light he spoke of was a direct result of her freedom to explore herself and the world at her leisure. To take that away would be a sin.

Instead, he decided to compromise and reduce the risk by always knowing where she was – in the general sense. It wasn't as if he stalked her or had his hybrids interfering in her life, and yet even before the situation a month back he found that he was never very far away; one state at the most.

When he reached the bedroom, she stirred in his arms some more, and he nearly jumped when her hot breath grazed his ear as she spoke to him.

"You're not fooling anyone, Mister." She said groggily, and he shivered at the sensations she caused in him. None-the-less he chuckled and shook his head as he lowered her down onto the mattress.

"As much as I'd love to do what you suggest, generally as a rule I like my partners to be more conscious." He said softly when he pulled away and sat on the edge beside her. "But thanks for the offer."

It was her time to laugh now, and she opened her eyes fully; feeling more awake. He gave her a small smile, and before he could stop himself, Klaus reached out and tucked a blonde curl behind her ear.

The laughter died away at his action and both parties were left staring at one another before Caroline eventually broke the tension.

"Why did you do it?" she asked, cautiously approaching the subject they'd avoided up until this point. Klaus didn't pretend not to know what she was talking about, but instead answered with the honest truth.

"I did it to protect you, of course."

She huffed and rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't need your protection Klaus – you need to understand this. I've made a life for myself out here on my own, and you taught me many years ago how to look after myself. I've been careful since then in everything I do, and trying to make sure that every move and impression I make isn't a lasting one."

Caroline's voice rose at her words, but they were spoken more in frustration that anger. The look that he sent her was one that made her hostility rise more though, as it spoke volumes on how naive he believed her to be. When he saw her begin to open her mouth in further protest to the gaze he levelled at her, his hand came up.

"I've given you the time to speak, Caroline; earlier today and just now. However, I believe it is my turn now and I need you to listen well."

He raised his brows in challenge, but she remained sitting there passively, eyes burning with the indignant words she held back.

"You are right in the fact that you are now a 44 year old woman, and thus very capable of protecting yourself. " He emphasised the last word for effect. "But alas, you seem to forget that what I taught you was only physical and, in later years, mental safeguards."

As he spoke, he absent-mindedly drew circles onto one of her palms, and Caroline had trouble trying to focus on his words. She didn't think he was really aware of the action, caught up in his own thoughts as he was, but it was driving her crazy.

"We live in a world where our every move can be documented, and we leave a paper trail simply paying for a taxi fare. If anyone had had the mind to, they would be able to track you down easily with the one you were leaving Caroline. While it may not have been something that crossed your thoughts as a problem, it most certainly crossed mine. You might believe that you're safe to live within your own human lifetime undetected, but slowly people will begin to wonder why documentation doesn't match up, especially photographs, and you'll get harassed for things which are impossible to explain."

He sighed then and sat back, running a hand lazily through his now unkempt hair.

"Like you said earlier, it's been 44 years and you still look like a girl of only 17 – what do you think would happen when they found you? Compulsion can only go so far and can't be done easily en masse or from a distance. I simply...made the problem go away."

There was a long silence within which Klaus watched as she contemplated his words. Then she nodded slowly.

"Alright, I see logic in the move that you made, but that doesn't explain why you didn't just tell me about all this; in the training...or when you made the alterations."

Caroline raised her brow pointedly at the end of her last sentence, pointedly stating with a look that she wasn't impressed by the false life he'd created on her behalf.

He chuckled then, but expanded on her inquiry.

"The truth of the matter is that I might have, had it not been a spur of the moment decision," he paused and then grinned, "plus I knew how irate you would be and thought I'd spare myself the tongue-lashing for another time."

She gave him a look that clearly wasn't amused, so he put his hands up in mock surrender.

"The day came where my identity at the time had run its course, and I needed to create another for myself. It was at that moment I realised I had yet to relay to you how to deal with this side of our lifestyle, also." Klaus shrugged and adjusted himself more comfortably on the covers, releasing her hand and leaning back on his own. "Not thinking that much would need to be altered on your part, I nonetheless did the appropriate recon and found our little friend from earlier doing an even deeper search. I won't lie and say that it wasn't a concern, so I immediately went to work rectifying the situation while simultaneously covering my own tracks; two birds, one stone. Really, he is lucky I did not hunt him down...if I'd known he kept hard copies of the material, I certainly would have."

Caroline wanted to protest the idea, but having seen him let Tobias walk away practically unharmed earlier, she kept her mouth shut. She wasn't sure that there was anything to say that would express the surprising bout of emotion that filled her, however. What she had seen as an annoyance before now appeared to be one of the kindest things he'd done on her behalf – albeit without her permission. But nonetheless he was trying to help.

Klaus' eyes bore into her own as if willing her to understand the depth of his actions, and she responded with a slow, forgiving smile.

Leaning forward, she pressed the softest of kisses against his cheek.

"Thank you, Klaus." She whispered as she pulled away, and saw the surprise in his eyes at the gesture.

He coughed awkwardly and nodded, and Caroline couldn't help but let out a laugh at the uncommon reaction. Klaus was always someone who prided himself on being 10 steps ahead, so it was hilarious to her to see him caught off guard.

Recovering, he sighed and stood from the bed, brushing invisible lint off his jeans and throwing her a smirk.

"Always happy to be of service," he mockingly exaggerated a bow, before glancing towards the door, "and now I will take my leave. It is late, and from what I witnessed before you seem to be in need of sleep. Until next time, love," he said with a nod.

She knew he intended to flash away without another word, but him mentioning sleep made her anxious, and so quickly sat up with a hand out to stop him.

"Wait!" she said in a raised voice, and saw him do as she commanded; watching her curiously and obviously waiting for her to go on. She struggled against her words and what to say to him. What did she even want here? She suddenly felt stupid for stopping him.

When she didn't say anything more, and Klaus saw her internal battle being lost, he gave a very small shake of his head and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Goodbye, Caroline." He exaggerated, with obvious frustration hinted in his tone. They both knew what she was asking without the verbalisation, but he would not act without it. Klaus wanted, no needed her to make the first move – no matter how small.

"Will you stay?" she asked in a soft voice when he'd started to walk out. He'd done so at a human pace, and she knew it to be a purposeful gesture to give her time if she were to suddenly pluck up the courage.

His steps halted as suddenly as they began and glanced over his shoulder at her. She was watching hesitantly, as if there were a chance he would reject the offer. He smiled softly however, and nodded his head at the small token of trust she'd handed him in allowing him to stay in her home.

"If you wish it." He looked at her contemplatively for a moment. "I'll be on the couch, if you need me."

"No." She said abruptly and he frowned. Hesitating she shifted her hand over to the other side of the bed and patted it softly. "With me, I meant."

There was a long hiatus, at which time a pin drop could have been heard in the room. Blue looked into blue, then slowly he turned away from the door and shut it with some finality. Without another word he toed off his shoes, pulled his Henley over his head and walked the few stride to the edge of the mattress.

"Just...just to sleep, I mean, not..."

He could see that she was nervous about him thinking she'd invited him in for other reasons, but he'd not misunderstood the offer when it came the first time. A grin crossed his face and he chuckled.

"I know what you meant." He wiggled his eyebrows for a moment as he stretched out to crawl in next to her, "but if you change your mind during the night, just let me know."

She snorted and let out a "not likely" under her breath, but he hushed her as he settled himself under the thin sheet and pulled her towards him. She didn't resist the movement and ended up with her head lying in the crook of his neck and a hand resting on his muscled torso.

The two just enjoyed each other's company in the silent night for a long while, until it was finally broken by Caroline, whose hand fisted on his chest as she spoke.

"I get nightmares." She whispered so softly that if it weren't so deathly silent he was sure he would have missed it. He didn't have to ask what from, because he already knew well enough; the fire.

He raised his hand up and up her fist. Lifting it to his mouth he pressed the softest of kisses to it, before shifting and placing one on the top of her head also.

"Not tonight you won't. I won't let them come."

The finality in his voice made her relax into the void she generally distracted herself from during the night, and even as he laced his fingers with hers and laid them back against his abdomen, she was welcoming oblivion.

A/N: So there you have it :) Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter and/or come hit me up on tumblr at ghostofbucky :)