AN: I love you guys! The reviews I'm getting are really giving me butterflies and they always cheer me up. Thanks. I've been having a bad week, so I'm sorry if these next chapters are a bit crappy. Hope you like it!
Caroline bolts upright in bed, screaming. She throws the covers from her body and runs to the cot. Panic sets in, the cot empty and Henry nowhere in the room. "Nik!" She screams, flashing over to the door and throwing it open. She flashes over to the stairs, screaming for Nik and Henry. She smashes in to something at the top of the stairs, and her eyes wildly search Nik's face. "Where is he?" She panics, panting as he holds her arms. "Where's Henry? I can't find him!" She panics, shaking her head so her blonde curls bounce around her shoulders. Klaus holds her, terrified at Caroline's panic. "He's in the lounge with-" Before he can finish she's flashed down the stairs. He turns and watches her skid in her socks, her skirt flowing out around her, on the laminate flooring. He would've laughed, if she weren't so shaken and scared. He flashes after her and stops as she kneels in front of Henry. He happily giggles on the sofa, playing with his bear as she stares at him as if he weren't real. Rebekah and Kol look between them and Klaus motions for them to leave. They take one last look at Caroline before disappearing.
He walks over cautiously as her eyes flash over Henry, making sure he is actually real, before her hands cup the small face to look at her. "You're alive," she whispers with relief, "You're real." Klaus kneels down next to her and rests his hand on the small of her back. "Caroline," he whispers, worry overwhelming him to the point where he can't hide it. "What happened, love?" He pleads. She doesn't take her eyes from Henry as she talks, but she tells him the horror of her dream as tears pour down her face. "I think you need to talk to Bonnie," he whispers, pulling her in to his chest as she brings Henry to hers. "She might help you," he says, not hiding any emotion from her anymore. If he truly did have Caroline, and she showed him all her emotion and the fear and love for Henry, he wouldn't hide his.
She's something else entirely, the light in her shines through him an reaches him like nobody else can. Not even his siblings would know how much he cares about them. But Caroline? No, he needs to show her everything, tell her everything, but how do you do that when you've been alone for a thousand years, running from everything and daggering the people you care about to save them from the monster chasing them? How do you show the one person you want to shield all the things that make you as dark as you are? How can he show her who he is without scaring her away?
"I want to leave Mystic Falls," she whispers, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Okay," he whispers back, kissing her temple through her hair. "We'll go wherever you want," he tells her. "There's a whole world for us,Caroline, and I want you and Henry to see it with me," he smiles, his lips brushing against her cheek. She smiles lightly, and he feels the movement against his lips, but he knows it's not enough. He needs to help her and get rid of the nightmares before they can leave.
Tyler throws a vase at the wall and growls, sick of his emotions taking over and the pain bringing the wolf out of him. "Ty?" A worried voice says behind him. He turns, his body tense and his eyes fierce. Hayley walks towards him cautiously, stopping right in front of his panting rage-filled body. Her hand slowly reaches up, holding his face softly in her warm hand. He relaxes in to her touch for a moment before turning sharply. "Tyler," Hayley sighs, "She's moved on. It's time you did, too. You're only hurting yourself." He lets her words sink in and slowly looks over his shoulder. Her arms wrap around him from behind and he releases his heavy breath, switching off the pain as he turns in her arms. His hands slip around her thin neck, his thumbs stroking over her cheeks, and he smiles down at her menacingly. "I think your wrong," he whispers. Hayley smiles up at him as the yellow in his eyes flashes through.
Caroline curls up under the blanket with Rebekah, Henry sat in between them as they watch Christmas films. "It's only November," Klaus sighs, entering the room with a warm bottle of animal blood. "Took you long enough," Caroline snarkily says back. "You've been spending too much time with my sister, love," he says, his forearms resting on the back of the sofa as he bends down to give her the bottle. She takes it from him, pulling her tongue out. "It's not my fault you took ages to hunt," Rebekah chips in, clipping the back of his head with her hand. He glares at her, but she just smiles back at him in a stupid little sisterly way.
Kol raises an eyebrow, eyes watching them over his book. Klaus' eyes meet his and he pulls a look of false shock. "Since when can you read something that isn't a Playboy?" Klaus jokes, getting a laugh out of the two girls as Caroline pulls Henry on to her knee. He greedily grabs the bottle, wrapping his mouth around it and guzzling the contents. Caroline tips it down, watching him with a close eye to make sure he doesn't drink too quickly.
Klaus walks around the sofa, smirking as Kol glares at him. "Wow, Nik," he says emotionless, "I didn't know you were a joker. Caroline's really changing you, isn't she?" Klaus looks down at Caroline and smiles as she blushes. He kisses the top of Henry's head, smiling at his liquidy giggle, the blood dribbling down his chin. He looks at Caroline, the blood's smell entering his nose must be effecting her? Her eyes remain their perfect blue, her skin pale and flawless without any veins. He smiles wider at her control.
He rises and walks over to the door, turning to Caroline before he leaves. "I'll be in my study," he says. She looks up at him and smiles, "get me when he needs putting to bed." Before she can answer he flashes up the stairs, leaving Rebekah and Kol looking at each other in wonder. Caroline notices their looks and pulls the almost empty bottle from Henry. He pouts slightly, his fangs pushing his lips out as his small eyes fade from black to green again.
"What?" Caroline asks, feeling left out of the loop. Rebekah shrugs and Kol puts down his book, looking seriously at Caroline for a moment before his trademark smirk slides across his mouth, not quite reaching his eyes. "I've never seen my brother so domesticated, Caroline," Kol admits, "I always assumed he'd be a rogue hybrid forever. Alone in the dark of the world." Caroline's eyes turn sad at his confession, and they turn to Rebekah as she continues, "We just don't know how you managed to do this in a few days when we've been trying for centuries. It's like you suddenly opened him up and found the caring Nik that we loved as humans." They both stay silent for a while until Henry begins to squirm in her lap. She looks down and rises, pulling him up with her so he rests over her shoulder. She bounces him up and down, patting his back to let the wind out. A loud burp erupts from him and he laughs, his small high voice echoing in the room. Caroline rolls her eyes at him and looks between the Original vampires. "I'm not sure what I did other than fall for him," she admits, "I think Henry just brought us together." Rebekah smiles lightly and Kol rolls his eyes. "This sappy girl stuff is becoming too much for me," he grumbles as he rises from his seat. "Since it is the early evening I'm going for a drink," he says, dropping A Christmas Carol on the table before adding, "I mean alcohol." He flashes away and Rebekah sighs dramatically. "I'll put him to bed," she offers, "If you want to go to Nik?" Caroline smiles and hands Henry over, his head lolling during the transfer.