The sound of beeping from the machines, hurried footsteps and the pounding in his chest were the only things Klaus could hear.
Klaus felt cold. Cold and numb. This wasn't supposed to happen. Why was this happening? Why was an angel currently fighting for her life on a surgery table? The doctor hadn't said anything about her condition, only that she was in theatre, and he had separated himself from his family and friends, not wanting to hear their cries.
He didn't want to think about the possibility of something bad happening to her. Again. He didn't want to be told that she'd lost her fight, that she'd gave up. Caroline was.. is a warrior, she'll be awake soon, smiling and laughing at him for thinking such stupid things.
Images of her body lying on the floor, angled in a weird position and drenched in blood wouldn't leave his head. It had happened so fast that he didn't even realize it was her at first.
She pushed him out of the way.
'It should be me in here. Not her. I shouldn't have led her outside, I could have spoken to her in the club. I should have been facing the direction of the car, I should have protected her!'
He thought to himself bitterly.
Feeling a tear on his cheek, Klaus shot up. Torn between not wanting to leave her but not wanting to stay in the hospital, he quickly went to the disabled toilets to calm himself down. He should not be crying right now. He needs to stay strong for Caroline and his family.
Once Klaus and the Doctor had left, Stefan broke down. Hard. He knew he needed to call his older brother Damon and tell him about Caroline, but didn't think he had it in him to do it. Opting to do it now, he rose from his seat and muttered "I'm going to go call Damon." He suddenly felt someones hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Elijah.
"I'll do it. You're in no position to talk about this right now, let alone explain it." he said, pity and sadness in his calm tone. Stefan gave him a small grateful smile and Elijah patted his back before walking off down the hall pulling his phone out his pocket.
Stefan went back in Rebekah's arms muffling his sobs in the crook of her neck, while she too was crying silently.
Within the hour, they all fell asleep on each other.
Elena on Elijah. Bonnie on Kol. Stefan on Rebekah.
When Klaus walked by, he smiled a sad smile at his siblings. He hated hospitals, as did Caroline. Taking his siblings lead, he sat down in a chair next to them, getting as comfy as he could and drifted off to sleep. Images of Caroline happy and smiling filled his mind.
It was one o'clock in the morning when Stefan was gently tapped on the shoulder. He opened his eyes to come face to face with a Doctor. After rounding the corner to talk more openly, the doctor started with..
".. The first surgery went well, but one of the stitches came undone, so she's just getting that done up. She had internal bleeding but we managed to stop it. Two of her ribs on her right side are broken but will heel on its own. Her right wrist had twisted and her left leg was broken too. That's about it really. God bless you sir." And with that the Doctor left, not waiting for Stefan to ask any questions, which he found quite rude.
When he got back, everyone seemed to have awoken but Klaus. He retold them what the Doctor had said and they all shared a hug. They all wanted to talk to Klaus and comfort him, but knowing it wouldn't help him, they thought it would be best to let him sleep.
Bonnie and Kol offered to go down the road to get some decent coffee but everyone declined so they went to get some fresh air instead and Elena and Elijah decided to stretch their legs. Stefan and Rebekah just sat back down in each others arms, awaiting Damon's arrival.
Klaus having heard their conversation, decided to stay still, pretending to be sleeping, not wanting to talk to anyone.
"I hope to God that she'll be okay." Elena said fiddling with her fingers nervously.
Taking her hand in his Elijah replied "Don't worry Elena, Caroline would never leave this world with us still here. She'll fight."
Elena sighed, giving his hand a little squeeze. "I keep thinking about when we were younger. All the promises we made, and secrets we shared. All of our break-ups and make-ups. All the laughs and cries. Everything." Her voice cracked a little towards the end of her sentence, but she took a deep breath, and fought back her tears.
"You're going to hear them soon. So stop fretting sweetheart, she'll be up in a little while." He reassured her, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead. "I remember my first encounter with Caroline. She was five and bright, and I just turned eight and was, well.. me. We just moved to the states and there was this boy who was the same age as me, and he knocked me down. She came over to us and started shouting at him for being a bully, then pushed him down and said, 'if you want to mess with him then you have to go through me. See how you like it, you cheese ball'." Both him and Elena laughed a little a that. "It was funny as she was younger than me, but we became friends, good friends. She got on with the family great as well, and introduced us to her brothers. Damon, Stefan and Caroline all became a part of the family. We love them all deeply." Elijah hadn't noticed that a tear or two had slipped from his eye, until Elena gently wiped it away with her thumb.
"Hey. What did you say about her not leaving this world yet? She'll tell you off for crying you-know." She smiled, making him smile with her.
"I'm sorry, I just... I didn't expect this to happen, kind-of swayed me a bit." He joked.
"Oh wow. Is Elijah Mikaelson losing his cool? Have you hit your head?" They shared a chuckle. "It's okay though, nobody expected it to happen. But like you said, we'll hear her voice soon. She will wake up."
"Right. It's almost two o'clock in the morning, would you like to go home or back to those uncomfortable chairs?" He asked with a smile.
"Chairs."
"Very well. Let go get comfortable."
And with that they both headed back the Stefan, Rebekah and Klaus.
Stefan and Rebekah had stayed in each others arms, with Stefan still crying, for half an hour.
"Shh, baby. Everything will be alright. Caroline will be alright." Rebekah cooed as she held him tighter.
"I wish I could trade places with her, she must be in so much pain. I just want to take her pain away." Stefan whispered. Rebekah's heart clenched at his words.
"Stefan, stop it. She is probably peaceful, maybe even a bit numb. Care wouldn't want you feeling like this Stef. She'll be awake before you know it, smiling that infectious smile of hers, being optimistic and comforting you and the rest of us." She tried to reassure him.
"What do you expect me to do Bekah? Sit here waiting, doing nothing, not even shed a tear?" Stefan pulled out of her grasp then, obviously taking her words the wrong way.
"No Stef. I expect you to cry, then gather your strength, because she is going to need you. She's going to need calmness, stability and love." She replied.
Stefan sighed, dragging a hand across his face. "I get what you mean Bek's but she shouldn't be in there. She should be at home, laughing and getting mad over silly things, then getting over them because she got given her favorite chocolate." He tried to smile but it came out as a grimace.
"And that'll happen, it's just a little delayed."
"She's being operated on! Why are you talking about her like she's stuck in traffic!" Stefan raised his voice a little, but not enough to draw any attention to them.
"Stefan I didn't mea-" He cut her off before she could finish, as he seen the hurt in her eyes.
"Just.. I need to be alone right now Bekah. I have no idea if my twin sister is going to be alive within the next hour, and my older brother is rushing to get here from his honeymoon, most likely scared and a bit angry. I don't mean to take this out on you, but I feel like I'm going to explode." He explained.
"It's okay Stefan. I understand. If you need me I'll be down the hall. I love you." She hugged him.
"I love you too Beks." He hugged her back.
Just as Rebekah was about to leave the doctor came back to tell them that Caroline was now out of surgery and even though she wasn't awake yet, could be visited, but only one at a time. The doctor said that Caroline was in a coma-like state, and could wake up at anytime. Although it wasn't visiting hours, the doctors had of course been bribed with money.
Damon and his wife Rose had chosen that moment to come rushing down the hallway. Damon and Stefan shared a hug, then he filled them in with what happened, while Rebekah woke up Klaus who had decided to go stretch his legs after greeting both Damon and Rose with a hug.
Stefan was the first one to go to Caroline, and Rebekah had said she was going to go find the rest of them. Thankfully Elijah and Elena came before she had left, asking Damon to fill them in while she went to get Bonnie and Kol.
"Why is this happening to Care? She's the nicest and most caring person I have ever met. So why her? What did she do to deserve this?" Bonnie wondered out loud.
"Bad things happen to good people Bonnie, but no matter what, Caroline will be okay. She would never leave us, not without saying goodbye to us anyway, and maybe even how to behave while she's gone." He tried to joke, though he was terrified that she wouldn't survive.
"I wish she could tell us how to behave now. She'll probably shout at us for crying." Bonnie giggled making Kol chuckle along with her.
"Then we'll have to shout at her for scaring us." He teased.
Bonnie sighed, "I remember when she promised that she would die after me, as I don't do well with pain."
"Woahhh... Who's talking about death? Nobody is going to die Bonnie. Care is not going to die." His voice cracked, as tears fell down from his eyes, he turned his head so she couldn't see them, and whispered, "She can't. I won't let her."
"Oh God, I'm so sorry Kol, I didn't mean to upset you, I'm just scared of losing her. Caroline is the strong one, and I don't think I can be as strong." Bonnie pulled him in for a hug, feeling bad about upsetting him.
Kol wiped his tears away, cursing himself for getting weak in front of her. He carefully pulled away from the hug and took her face in his hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. " Bonnie you are strong. This is a bad time for everybody. It's okay to break down and feel weak, it's natural. But just remember darling, that we'll pull through, that we'll all be laughing soon, together. And if she does leave us, well you know the saying right? Only the good die young." They smiled at each other before he let go of her face and placed his hand on his hips. "Oh for crying out loud, why does this keep happening to me? When did I go soft and deep? First Caroline then, Klaus, now you ? Damn."
Bonnie giggled at him, "I like this side of you." She blushed. "Actually I like all sides of you. Do you remember when we were younger and we used to tease one another, like all the time. Man how things change."
"Yeah. I got attracted to you, but was too young and too stupid to do anything about it." He admitted. "This is really weird. I don't talk about feelings. Especially mine. Yet here I am doing just that, sitting outside a hospital no less."
"Well I got attracted to you too." She laughed. "Caroline tried to give me a confidence boost, so I could talk to you, but you were always with some other girl."
"To forget about you, and love, and all the mess that comes with it. When you moved on to that Jamie guy, I moved on too. But she cheated and it was painful and it took a while to get over it. That's why I kept my distance from you darling." He told her, looking really vulnerable.
"You're right. This is weird." She took a deep breath. "Caroline always talked highly of you, saying how, like all the other Mikaelsons, you have different sides to you. It made me like you even more, but I never had the courage to face my feelings. To face you."
Both of them looked down, not sure how to continue. Both were happy that the other felt something, they just didn't know what to do next. They didn't have time to continue however, when Rebekah came running outside telling them that Caroline is out of surgery, then going back inside.
"We, ah, need to continue this conversation at a more appropriate time." Bonnie said, hoping he would agree.
"Agreed." He replied, making her blush. "Now lets go tease Caroline." Bonnie shot him a look. "Alright fine. We'll do it while she's asleep." Bonnie laughed before dragging him back inside.
Klaus wanted to go in. But he knew he couldn't. Not yet, he needed to let everyone else go in first. He couldn't break down yet. He couldn't be selfish. He kept himself to himself, and everyone knew to leave him alone. He felt like he was going to snap earlier. But Elijah and Kol surprisingly pulled him into a hug, and it calmed him down.
Her face looked peaceful. Just like she was sleeping. But her body looked cold, dead, broken. Tubes were sticking out from every angle. Her head, nose, chest, hands. She had a cast on her left leg and right arm. Stefan forced himself to just concentrate on her face. He slowly walked in and took a seat next to her.
"Hey Care. How you doing?" Stefan paused, as if awaiting for her response. "Yeah, me too. I don't think I've cried this much in my life. You would of laughed, my face was hideous." He gave a little laugh, but it turned into a cry. "I was so scared earlier. I didn't know if you were going to make it, or not." He took her hand and placed a kiss on it. "I snapped at Rebekah as well. I didn't mean to. My thoughts just wouldn't stop swaying to something bad, and she was trying to make light of the situation, like how you would, and I couldn't take it." He sighed, drying the tears that rested on his cheeks. "I'm lucky though, she didn't take offence to it."
"The doctor said that you would be able to hear us. He said that you're in a coma-like state. Like how a coma is but not a coma, if that makes any sense." He felt awkward not hearing a response from her, as she always has something to say. "Damon's here. He rushed to get here. I know you're going to shout at us for telling him, but it was important. We almost lost you. I almost lost you. It felt like losing mom all over again. I felt like you was pulling a part of me with you."
"Care, I need you to wake up. We all need you to wake up. Klaus needs you to wake up. He's trying not to break down, but I can tell he already is on the inside. He needs you more than us Care. So just come back. Open your eyes. Pull my hand. Do something to show you're still in there please." More tears spilled past his eyes, hoping she would at least move.
Nothing happened. He knew he shouldn't be selfish. There were others outside who wanted to see her.
"I should go now. Everyone else wants to see you. Ester and Henrik will be here in a couple of hours. I'll still be here when you wake up though, so don't worry. I love you sister." After placing a kiss to her forehead, Stefan reluctantly left the room.
Caroline couldn't open her eyes. She couldn't move. She started to panic. What was wrong with her? Why wasn't her body responding? She heard a beeping sound. The air smelled funny. Oh God. Was she in a hospital? What do you remember? Think Caroline Think!
Nik.
He loves her.
The Car.
She shoved him out the way.
Then nothing.
Oh my God!
I got hit by a car!
She heard the door open and close, but she still couldn't do anything. She felt pain everywhere, but she ignored it.
Stefan.
He was here. Her heart ached at him telling her how scared he was. She could feel his hand in hers. When he mentioned coma, it made sense. She tried so hard to move or make a noise, but nothing happened. He begged and she couldn't respond, no matter how hard she tried. She felt like crying, everyone was here, her brother Damon was here, for her. He left the room but said he'll be here when she wakes up. She wanted to smile and that, but couldn't.
I Love you too Stefan.
Damon was the next to come in. His heart nearly broke at the sight of his baby sister. He took her hand in both of his and cried. He has never seen her look so weak. He remained quiet for a while.
"I'm so sorry Care-bear. I know I wasn't there, so I couldn't do anything to prevent it, but that don't mean I don't feel bad about it. You're going to be okay though. That's something I know for sure. You're a survivor Caroline, so keep on fighting, don't give up. Please, don't give up." Damon sniffled.
"I know you can hear me, so please wake up, Stefan's breaking his heart outside, so is Rebekah, Elena and Bonnie. Kol and Elijah are trying to hold it together but they have tears in their eyes too. Klaus hasn't broke yet, but he will. There's guilt in his eyes Care, he believes this is his fault. As does Kol, as it was his idea to go out."
"Blondie, will you wake up already, I have a honeymoon to get back to." He laughed through his tears. "I also need someone to make fun of, and if your not here, I'll get bored of Stefan and end up in a mad house. Do you really want that to happen?" He inhaled deeply. "Rose will see you in the morning, as everyone else wants to see you and we can only come in here for so long."
"No movement for me girly? Do I have to make fun of you first? Okay then, lets see." He started to think about something that she always responded too. "You remember that time when you were 15 and you were so determined to prove your point, but you ended up with your face in a muddy puddle, because a 3-year-old accidentally pushed you over?" He chuckled, waiting to see if she would move.
Nothing.
"Come on Caroline! Just wake up! Please just wake up" He pleaded.
Nothing.
"Well Barbie, I guess this is just a waiting game." He sighed. "Just know that I love you sis, but right now, I hate you. I hate that fact that this is the most I have ever cried, but you can't even move. Now I'm going to be outside, but I'll be back soon. You can't get rid of me that easily."
He kissed her cheek and whispered 'I love you, hurry up and wake up' before leaving the room.
She kept fighting to speak, move, anything. But nothing was working. She wanted to cry along with him, talk and tease him back. But nothing. Her body was disobeying her, and she was getting more and more frustrated. She replied to him in her mind, wishing she could say it out loud.
She was losing hope. Losing it fast. She knew she had to keep fighting. Fighting for her brothers and her friends and her love.
Klaus.
He feels guilty. She doesn't want him to feel like that, nor did she want Kol too. She realize then that she hadn't said I love you back. That thought made her fight harder. She had to say it back. He needed to hear it from her.
She heard to door open and close again. This time is sounded more hurried.
Klaus wanted to let everyone else go in before he did, but he couldn't take it anymore. As soon as he seen Damon coming out the room, he quickly went in. The sight before him was the last straw.
He broke down.
He went over to the bed and leaned over her.
"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." He whispered over and over again. All the tears he kept back, came running down his face at lightening speed.
"I didn't do enough. I should have been listening more carefully to our surroundings. You shouldn't be in here love. You should be at home, with me, on the settee watching silly movies. Having a popcorn fight, and maybe having our first kiss. You shouldn't be in here with all these wires hanging out of you, looking dead, and pale. It isn't you. You can't even stay in bed when you have a cold, this isn't a picture that I ever wanted to see." Klaus sobbed.
"You need to wake up. I can't deal with not hearing your voice. Not seeing your bright smile. Your soothing words. The way you look at me. The way you look at the world. You haven't gotten to see it yet, but I promise you, when you wake up I'll show it you. We'll see it all together. Me and you. My love. You're mine. You can't give up yet. Not on me. Not on us. Not on everyone else outside that door."
"Please. Please please please. Just wake up. I need you to wake up. I love you Caroline. You can't leave me. You can't leave me." He cried quietly, smothering her hand in kisses.
He kept whispering 'I love you' over and over again.
He suddenly felt the hand in his give a very light squeeze.
His head shot up when he heard a very quiet and worn voice say...
"... I love you too Niklaus."
Thanks for reading!
