A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews on the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. I apologize for any glaring errors in this chapter. I tried to read over it again before posting, but the turkey coma is kicking in and I can't promise my brain cells are firing at full capacity.
Chapter 6:
"Hey guys." Matt greeted as he walked into the Mikaelson's kitchen. Stefan and Rebekah were sitting at the kitchen table watching Caroline work around the center island.
"Hey Matt." Stefan returned.
He looked towards Caroline. "What's on the menu for tonight?"
"Shrimp Beignets with Dehydrated Garlic Butter, Marinated Grouper Cheeks w/Saffron Cream, Cilantro Pesto and Tapioca "Caviar", Gran Marinier Cured Salmon w/ Smoked Tomato Jam and Candied Pistachios, Cold Smoked Duck Confit w/Grilled Portabella, Wilted Spinach, Red Onion, Crème Fraiche and Demi Glace, Dressed Heirloom Tomato Vertical Salad w/ House Made Mozzarella, Shitake Mushrooms and Golden Raisins and Espresso w/ Chocolate Cobbler." Caroline answered.
In an effort to keep Caroline from thinking too much they had encouraged her to take up different hobbies. Since she wasn't comfortable leaving the house, Rebekah suggested cooking. She found Rebekah was right. It suited her mind frame right now. It involved lots of lists and attention to detail and she was able to lose herself for hours in the kitchen. At first her offerings were barely palatable, but since she had more than enough free time on her hands and lots of thoughts to keep quiet in her head, she worked and worked at it. It helped that Klaus bought her enough books on cooking to fill a library.
Matt just gaped at her. "I have no idea what any of those words mean. I think I got 'shrimp', 'onion' and 'chocolate'.
"Well, hopefully the words won't matter but it will taste delicious." Caroline commented before going back to her recipes.
Matt sat down at the table with Rebekah and Stefan. "Is her mom coming tonight?" Knowing that when Caroline was in her 'zone', it wasn't good to distract her.
"She has to work. Stefan told her we'd run a plate over to her later." Rebekah told him.
Liz had moved home a week or two ago. Caroline was stable enough that she felt comfortable leaving her. It was close to Christmas and while Caroline still wouldn't talk about what happened, her episodes had diminished to only one or two a week and by now they learned how to recognize the signs. When she was by herself, Caroline would come to the kitchen in the middle of the night or seek out one of them for company to try and stave off the panic. More often than not, it was Klaus' company she sought.
Caroline finished her task she was working on and came and sat by them in the kitchen. "Prep work is all done. All I have to do is execute when its time." She said. "How was a day serving the drunks?" Rebekah asked.
"Pretty good. There's a lot of people in town for Christmas break." Matt studied her. She had dyed her hair red not long after redoing her bedroom. It took a bit to get used to, but it did suit her. She looked tired and she no longer had the shine to her eyes that basically beamed happiness and a willingness to take on the world, but if you didn't know her before, you wouldn't know what she had been through. All you would see was a slightly melancholy girl. "Jeremy and Elena came in to the Grill today. He's home from college." Caroline didn't say anything. "Elena misses you. She'd like to come see you and hang out."
Rebekah and Stefan froze. They had no idea how much Caroline remembered from when she wasn't in her right mind. She hadn't really mentioned Elena in the past few months since she came back to herself.
Caroline looked a bit hesitant. "It's not really my house to be inviting people over." She commented.
Just then Klaus walked into the kitchen. "You can invite over anyone you would like." He paused. "Who are we inviting over?"
"Elena." Matt answered. Klaus froze mid step towards the refrigerator.
"Oh."
Caroline looked at him with uncertainty. "Is it still ok?" She asked.
"Of course." He said lightly.
"Elena isn't good at handling things." Caroline said. "I really don't think they knew what else to do." Her voice wavered for a moment. Klaus walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, but didn't say anything.
"How much do you remember?" Stefan asked her lightly.
Caroline took a deep breath. "Just brief moments and they are mostly through a haze. I know she was scared. She cried a lot." Caroline looked out the window and there were tears in her eyes. "She didn't think I was going to make it." She whispered.
"She was wrong. She underestimated you." Klaus said, and he tried to keep the growl out of his voice when he remembered how he found her. Caroline reached up and lightly squeezed his hand, whether it was to take comfort or to calm him was unclear.
Caroline looked up at him. "You told her to stay away?" She questioned.
"I was worried you would pick up on her doubts about your recovery." He answered calmly.
Caroline nodded. They all sat there for a few minutes. Stefan and Rebekah began talking to Matt about Christmas plans. The Originals really weren't much for celebrating the holidays, but in an attempt to make Caroline and the humans feel more comfortable, they were trying. Caroline got up and went back into the kitchen to cook. Klaus sat down in her empty chair and kept one eye on her, to make sure she was ok.
After a while, Caroline looked up. "It would be good to see Elena. I miss her too." She said, although she still sounded a bit reluctant.
"We can have a girl's night." Rebekah offered. "Watch movies, look through fashion magazines, things like that."
Caroline looked relieved. "That sounds good." She looked to Matt. "Should I call her?"
"If you want. Or just pick a night and I'll let her know."
Caroline looked to Rebekah, who shrugged. "Tomorrow night works for me."
Caroline nodded. "Tomorrow night then." She went back to her recipes and cooking, turning all of her attention to the task at hand.
Klaus shot Rebekah a look and she nodded. No words needed to be exchanged. If at any point Elena upset Caroline, she would be out the door.
~.~
The next evening right about 6pm, the doorbell rang and Rebekah went to open it. Elena stood on the other side of the door looking very hesitant.
"Well, don't just stand there. Come in." Rebekah said. "We're not leading you to your death."
Elena glared at the girl as she came in. "Nice to see you too, Rebekah." She said dryly. "Where's Caroline?"
"She's in the kitchen. A few things before you see her, she still isn't talking about what happened, so don't push her to talk about it. She's different from how she was before, we try not to point it out too much, it makes her self-conscious and uncomfortable." Elena nodded.
"How is she though?" She asked in a whisper, uncertain how much sound carried.
"She's coping, but she's better." Rebekah shot her a look. "You'd be amazed what NOT being chained up will do for a person."
Elena sighed. "I hated that, but we didn't…"
"Know what else to do." Rebekah finished for her. "Yes, so I've heard." Rebekah led her to the kitchen.
"Caroline, Elena is here."
Caroline looked up from the food processor that was running to see her oldest friend.
"Care!" Elena yelled and ran across the kitchen and grabbed her in a tight hug. Caroline looked startled and slightly uncomfortable at the loud voice and abrupt action, but she hugged her back weakly.
"Oh wow!" Elena exclaimed. "Your hair."
Caroline reached up and touched it. "I needed a change." She said quietly.
Elena finally seemed to pick up on how uncomfortable Caroline was and stepped back. Caroline relaxed slightly.
"I made sun dried tomato hummus for a snack." Caroline offered.
Elena nodded. "That sounds good."
Caroline nodded and then an awkward silence fell over the kitchen as they struggled for something to say.
"Caroline, I'm so sorry for how we handled things." Elena spoke quickly and earnestly. "We just didn't know what else to do and you were in such bad shape and we couldn't get through to you."
Rebekah rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth. The girl just wouldn't listen.
Caroline got a look of alarm on her face and turned away quickly, grabbing things from the cupboards. "I was thinking about making cookies." She said.
"Caroline?" Elena questioned.
"Elena." Rebekah cut in. "Are you still going to University?" She asked giving Elena a look to let it drop. Elena's shoulders sagged a bit, but she caught on to what Rebekah was trying to say.
"Yeah. I had a pretty good semester. Jeremy is doing amazing, though. He made the Dean's List. Who would have thought he would be the brains in the family." She joked.
Caroline turned back around, feeling more comfortable with the light conversation. "Does he have a major yet?"
"Engineering. Can you believe it? I still haven't decided on anything. Damon keeps telling me I don't have to, or I can pick something and if I don't like it, I have centuries to study something else."
Caroline nodded her agreement. "Another perk of being a vampire."
Elena hesitated. "Do you think you may try to come back to school next year?"
"I really don't know yet." Caroline said. She shrugged. "I've gotten really good at cooking though." She offered. She removed the hummus from the food processor and put it in a serving bowl surrounded by crackers. She carried the platter over to the table. Elena followed her and the girls sat down. Once again, awkward silence reigned.
Finally Caroline spoke. "How is Damon?" She asked, although her voice sounded strained.
"He's good. Stefan is over there now hanging out while I'm here." She didn't mention that Klaus had sent him to say that while Elena was welcome to visit, Damon was not. "I'm still working on domesticating him, but he hasn't killed anyone in a while." Rebekah snorted. "So, what brought on the interest in cooking?" Elena asked desperately looking for another topic.
"Um, it helps me." Caroline offered. Elena didn't say anything and she continued. "Most of it is pretty precise until you get the basics and then it allows you to get creative, but there are still rules that you need to use. What spices will work together, how different foods cook. Things like that."
Elena looked at her blankly and then took a cracker and dipped it in the hummus. "Oh my god, this is really good." She said. "You may have the start of a new career."
"Thank you."
"I saw your mom the other day. She said you made her the best dinner the other night."
"Yeah, I really went all out with that one." Caroline's eyes warmed. "It helps that Klaus can get almost any ingredient I need to play mad scientist."
At the mention of Klaus' name Elena looked to Rebekah, considering. She seemed to make up her mind. "How is that working?"
At Caroline's questioning look, Elena explained. "I mean, we all knew he had feelings for you, but we never expected he would be someone who could help with this sort of thing."
Rebekah watched Caroline, but the she didn't seem upset by the question or the reference to what had happened.
"Klaus has been great." Caroline said. "He's helped me a lot." She looked across the table. "So has Rebekah and Stefan and everyone." She looked down. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them."
Elena looked embarrassed. "It's just hard to imagine. I mean we are talking about the guy who killed Jenna and Tyler's mom."
Caroline raised her head sharply. "And you are sleeping with the guy who compelled me to be his blood bank and whore for weeks." She snapped.
"What?" Rebekah exclaimed.
Elena looked at her alarmed. "It was a long time ago, when he first came to town." She said. "He's changed."
Rebekah ignored her and looked at Caroline. "That's why you got upset whenever he came near you."
Caroline nodded. "He makes me remember what its like to be helpless. Even when I didn't know where I was hearing his voice….it…." She stuttered and took several deep breaths to calm herself.
"Klaus thought he might be behind what happened." Rebekah said wonderingly.
"Damon wouldn't do that." Elena exclaimed.
"Yeah, apparently he'd do it himself instead of hiring out." Rebekah snapped, giving her a disgusted look. "If Klaus finds out, he'll kill him." Elena looked scared now.
"That's why I never told him." Caroline said. She sighed and looked at Elena. "I may not like that you are with him, but I don't want him dead." She looked towards Rebekah. "Besides, I think you and Stefan make a great couple." She told her warmly. Rebekah blushed and looked down at the table.
"You and Stefan are back together?" Elena all but accused.
"Yes, Elena." Rebekah said. "Are you upset you couldn't keep both brothers in love with you?" She asked meanly.
Caroline sighed. This was a really hard. She felt pressure to be 'ok' for Elena, she felt like she had to play referee between her and Rebekah and she was having a hard time staving off the panic. "How about we watch a movie?" She asked to change the subject, hoping for a distraction.
Elena jumped at the idea. "I actually brought The Notebook with me. We can swoon together." She said with a giggle.
"Sounds good." Caroline said, but Rebekah could tell she was less than enthused. The girls grabbed the food and headed into the living room to put the movie in.
~.~
"Niklaus." Elijah greeted his brother as he entered the study. Klaus was sitting at his desk working on a sketch. "I see Elena Gilbert is out there."
"Yes, she is here to visit Caroline."
"That's a big step." Elijah commented.
"We'll see how it goes. I'll probably have to kill her before the night is over for some reason or another." Klaus didn't even look up from the sketch he was working on.
Elijah sighed at him. "I received a call from the witches in New Orleans. They want to know when you are returning to finish what you've started.
Klaus finally looked at his brother. "I'm not." He said simply.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm giving up New Orleans. Marcel can have it."
"But…" Elijah was stunned. "You're giving up? I thought you wanted to reclaim your home? What about Hayley and Henry? Do you know what the witches will do when the find out?"
"Calm down Elijah. I'm not putting your family at risk. I've taken steps to ensure that they will both be protected from the witches."
"They are your family too. Even if Henry was biologically my child he would still be your family." He waited for a response from Klaus, but he just looked at him. "I don't understand." Elijah tried again. "You never give up."
"I'm not about to leave Caroline and I can't very well take her to New Orleans with me. I don't think a war zone would be the best place for her right now."
"You made a promise to those witches, brother. Do you really think they'll be ok with you just abandoning them now?"
"They are going to have to be, because Caroline is my first priority." Klaus paused and gave his brother a look. "I don't know why I have to keep telling you that."
"I understand that you are protective of Caroline, but she is getting better and you can't seriously believe that the witches won't go after Hayley."
"Caroline is better, but she hasn't left this house since she arrived. She still needs people around her to keep her distracted and she still won't talk about what happened. She is a long way from healed and as you told me, she was going to need constants. I'm not about to leave her right now and go wage war. As for Hayley and Henry, I have other witches in my employ, witches who are much stronger than some beat down coven in New Orleans. I've had wards up around the property and protection spells over both of them."
Elijah shook his head. "I can't believe you would risk the safety of your family for this."
"I'm not risking anything. Hayley and Henry are safe." Klaus considered his brother. "I would think this would make you happy. For centuries now, haven't you wanted me to put someone else before myself? Haven't you wanted me to care about someone more than my own desires for power?"
"Your obsession with Caroline, leading you to play the part of guardian angel hardly exhibits that." Elijah snapped. He waited for the explosion from Klaus knowing he had hit a nerve, but his brother surprised him, he just smiled at him.
"I'm sorry you believe that. I understand you are worried about Hayley, so go if you need to reassure yourself they are safe. Move them if you wish and put your own protections in place. However, I have no intentions of returning to New Orleans and continuing this war." Elijah just gaped at him. "Is there anything else?" Klaus asked him.
"No. I'll be leaving." Elijah said stiffly. He was unsure how to proceed. He knew his brother better than anyone, but none of this was what he expected from him. His brother was very impatient and reactive, prone to outbreaks of temper. Dealing with him just calmly staring at him was…disconcerting.
"I understand." Klaus said simply and went back to reading at his desk.
~.~
While it was a good distraction from the awkward conversation, Caroline became more and more quiet throughout the film. Elena made comments throughout; about how romantic it was and how sweet it was. Caroline would answer back in agreement, but her heart wasn't in it.
Finally the movie was over and Elena was getting ready to leave.
"It is so good to see you Care. You look good and I do like the hair." She told her enthusiastically, at this point it was obvious she was trying too hard to sound positive and cheery.
"Thank you." Caroline said. Elena hugged her tight again; Caroline gave her a weak hug in return, but again looked relieved when she released her.
"We'll have to get together again soon, ok?" Elena asked.
"Ok." Caroline agreed.
"Good night Rebekah." Elena said.
Rebekah gave her a completely fake smile. "Good night Elena. Lovely to see you." She said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Elena shot her a glare before leaving.
Once the door shut behind her Caroline let out a loud sigh. "I'm going to go clean up the kitchen." She said tiredly.
"Do you want some help?" Rebekah offered.
"No, I just wanna be alone." Caroline said.
"Are you ok?" Rebekah asked her.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She stopped. "It was just…a lot."
"Stefan should be home soon. I'm going to go grab a shower."
"Ok. Thanks for being here tonight."
Rebekah smiled at her. "No problem."
"Are you going to tell Klaus?" Caroline asked her. "About Damon, I mean."
Rebekah considered. "I think you should, but I understand why you won't. He will kill him." She looked at Caroline closely, studying her. "How can you stand it? Your best friend is in a relationship with the guy who took advantage of you like that."
Caroline shrugged and stared off into space. "For a long time, there was always so much else going on. Some other drama that took the attention away from that issue. Then, things calmed down and everyone seemed to think it was no big deal. Even Stefan never brought it up, so I guess I just figured it was no big deal. Something I just needed to get over."
"Caroline." Rebekah grabbed her arm and made the girl look at her. "This is not something you should just be expected to 'get over' and what happened to you last summer is not something you should just 'get over' either. You will never be able to heal unless you face what happened and you can talk about it." A look of panic entered Caroline's eyes. "I'm not saying tonight." Rebekah soothed her, "But eventually you will have to face what happened if you ever want to be able to let it go."
Tears brimmed in Caroline's eyes. "I'm so afraid." She whispered and then so soft Rebekah wasn't sure she heard her correctly she said "I'm afraid he's going to hate me."
"What?" Rebekah said loudly. "Who would hate you? Caroline, none of this was your fault."
"I'm going to go clean up the kitchen." Caroline said, sounding resolute. Rebekah watched her walk away with a worried expression on her face and then went off to find her brother.
~.~
Several hours later, Caroline sat alone, in the dark of the living room. The TV was on, but she obviously wasn't paying it any attention.
"I take it girl's night was a rousing success." Klaus' voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see him leaning against the door frame, his arms were crossed over his chest and he had one eyebrow raised.
Caroline sighed. "I noticed you didn't come out while she was here." She commented.
"Didn't want to interrupt 'girly' time." He joked.
Caroline let out a humorless huff.
He came in and sat down next to her on the couch. "What happened?"
"Nothing really." They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit. Klaus looked to see how she was really doing. At first he hadn't like her hair color, but now it seemed to suit her. She was looking healthy, but she still looked exhausted. She wouldn't admit it, but he was certain she wasn't sleeping well.
"It was just exhausting." Caroline finally said. Her words almost echoed his thoughts. "I just didn't know how to relate to her and she was so…" She fumbled for the words. "She was just trying so hard. I mean I know she feels bad for how they treated me, but…" She trailed off again.
Rebekah had filled him in on how the visit went. She had said it was rather painful to watch. She told him that Elena did seem to be trying, but the stupid girl had no idea 'how' to try. Klaus had spent about twenty minutes thinking about all the ways he'd love to torture the girl. Besides her blood, when she had been alive, Klaus really had no use for the girl. However, she was Caroline's friend, so he resisted the urge to handle things as he usually did, and just remove her. Instead he came to talk to Caroline.
"She means well." He forced himself to say.
Caroline looked at him. Her face wasn't nearly as expressive anymore; you couldn't see every thought that crossed her mind reflected in her features. Now, you had to watch closely to see her reaction, however, he spent a great deal of time studying her, so it was easy for him to she looked almost amused.
"That hurt to say, didn't it?" She asked, there was a slight tinge of amusement in her voice to.
He smiled. "Horribly." He looked up at the TV. "What are you watching?" He asked, as a loud voice from the TV caught his attention.
"I think it's a Jersey Shore marathon." She answered.
"Caroline, I will do anything to help you, but I'm afraid that I have to draw the line at watching this garbage."
"I wasn't watching it." She told him. "It was just on." She looked down. "It's better than The Notebook."
"Take you weren't in the mood for a romantic drama." He commented lightly.
"You think?" Caroline sighed. "She means well." She said. She exhaled lightly, (a sound that he knew was her way of laughing), when she realized she just echoed his words.
"How about a different type of movie?" He asked.
Caroline looked doubtful and shrugged. He smiled brightly and encouraging at her, then held up a DVD.
"Joe Versus the Vocano?!" It was the closest he'd heard to excitement in her voice since she'd arrived.
"I remembered you talking about it. You said it was one of your father's favorites and you always loved watching it with him when you went to visit." They had spent many hours together talking about things like her childhood, favorite books, favorite movies. Light things that didn't have any consequences or hidden land mines. Klaus hated how much he treasured those conversations when he thought about the reason they were necessary, but he treasured them all the same.
Caroline sat up straighter on the couch. "I don't know that you'll like it. Its pretty cheesy." She admitted.
"Well, let's see." He encouraged her and he could see a glint of eagerness in her gaze. Klaus got up and put in the movie before settling on the couch next to her.
As the movie played, he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She had curled up on her end of the couch, but she looked comfortable and relaxed. He could see her mouth twitch at the funnier parts and knew for how she was now, that was the same as a full bodied laugh. The movie was cheesy, but watching Caroline enjoy it made it worth it.
"I like that idea." Caroline commented, sleepily. "I like the idea of sailing away from the things of man." Referring to a line in the movie.
"We can do that, if you want." Klaus offered immediately.
"Hmmmm, not today." She answered; she was starting to nod off.
Her breathing began to even out and her eyes fluttered closed more than they were open. He tried not dwell on her muttered words. 'Not today.' That wasn't a 'no'. That meant there was a possibility in the future. This meant, subconsciously she was thinking that she had a future. Or he could be reading too much into it.
She was only asleep for about 15 minutes, when she began to whimper. Klaus sat up and took notice. She began to struggle a bit, in her sleep. Klaus wanted to slip into her dream and try to help her, but remembering the conversation about the compelling he waited to see how she would do. He didn't want to go where he wasn't welcome. If she got to distressed, he'd wake her.
He didn't event he get the chance, for no sooner did he think that than she bolted upright. Sheer panic was in her eyes and he could tell she couldn't see her surroundings.
"Caroline." He whispered with urgency in his voice. By now he knew the exact volume and tone to get his voice to cut through her panic. Sometimes it took a few tries, but it worked. "Caroline." He said again and he saw her eyes focus on him, but the panic was still there and her breath was coming out in little gasps and she was shaking. He gently reached out an arm to her and he was shocked when she fell against him, her arms went tight around him. He sat there stroking her hair and talking to her quietly. "It's ok. You're safe." He told her. He closed his eyes and wished for the millionth time he could take all of her pain away. Elena and Damon were so wrong when they thought he would enjoy this. Yes, he enjoyed spending time talking to her and getting to know her, but he would rather never speak to her again if it meant she didn't have to go through these panic attacks.
Her breathing slowed and she eventually looked up at the screen, where the movie still played. A huge moon was rising above the ocean. The main character was sitting on some sort of trunks tied together staring up at it and seemed to be praying. "If we do sail away, we need luggage like that." She muttered. "It last through everything."
"I'll make sure of it." He told her. They watched Tom Hanks on the screen.
"Does that happen a lot?" He asked, referring to her nightmare.
"It happens more than it doesn't." She admitted. "I don't get a lot of sleep."
"I could go in your dreams." Klaus offered. Caroline ducked her head against his chest. And once again he was surprised that while she was still hiding from him, she was taking comfort in him at the same time.
"I don't know that I want anyone to see." She said quietly. "I'm not ready."
"Well, I could stay with you and if you look like you are having a nightmare, I could just take you out of it. Take you somewhere, like the South Pacific."
"We could float around in the ocean on trunks?" She asked.
"Probably a lot more comfortable than doing it for real." He said.
"If its no trouble."
"Its no trouble." He assured her.
She turned her attention back to the screen. Her grip on him loosened, but she didn't sit up or move away from him. He continued stroking her hair as he followed her example and looked up at the TV.
~.~
The next morning the sound of footsteps woke Klaus up. He came awake and realized he was very stiff. He glanced around and saw he was still on the couch, leaning against one end with Caroline asleep on top of him. The footsteps came closer and Stefan came into view. He looked down at them and gave Klaus a small smile before walking away and closing the door behind him.
"Guess it's time to get up." Caroline's voice mumbled sleepily.
"You don't have to." Klaus said softly. He had almost expected her to wake up in a panic, either because of the nightmares or when she realized she was sleeping on him.
"No, that was more slept than I've had in forever." She sat up and wiped at her eyes. "Guess you scare away the bad dreams."
"Another perk of being the most powerful creature in the world." He told her modestly.
She rolled her eyes and stretched. He followed suit and his shoulder popped loud when he raised his hands over his head. Caroline looked embarrassed. "Sorry." She said.
"Its nothing. Just needed a stretch." He told her.
She looked at him. "Thank you." She said.
"You don't have to keep thanking me." He told her.
"I'm not telling you that because its polite. I'm telling you that because I appreciate everything you have done and are doing for me." She looked at him considering. "I know in the past when you did nice things for me, I never thanked you."
Now it was Klaus who looked embarrassed. "Well, to be fair I also did a lot of things that weren't so nice, so I probably didn't deserve the thanks for the little things I did."
Caroline shook her head 'no'. "That's why I should have thanked you. You were going against your nature, and I never really appreciated it." She thought back to the night before to her conversation with Rebekah after Elena left and to some of the comments Elena made. "You have done horrible things." She stated. "You killed and hurt a lot of people I cared about." Klaus swallowed thickly, he wished he could defend himself, but knew he had no defense. Caroline looked at him until he met her eyes, she seemed to be looking inside of him. Finally she spoke again. "However, you make me feel safe. I know what you are capable of, but I don't think that you would ever do what has been done to me."
"No." He whispered. "I haven't and I wouldn't."
She nodded. "I trust you." She told him. She reached out and took his hand.
"Friends, then?" He asked repeating a question from so long ago.
"Friends." She agreed and he felt his heart swell.
"Would you mind occasionally to help me sleep if I start having trouble?" She asked. "I forgot how good it felt to sleep and not wake up afraid."
"Anytime."
