Chapter 9:

He walked back into the house with purpose. Stefan and Elijah were right, he had to face this, face the consequences of his actions. As he shut the door he swallowed thickly several times, it felt like his heart was in his throat, choking him.

For a moment he felt the overpowering urge to run again, to flee. How could he face her knowing that he was the cause of her destruction? He destroyed the only thing in this world he ever loved. True, he loved his siblings, but his love for Caroline was so much more… and he destroyed her.

That knowledge pounded against his mind and threatened his sanity. The only thing that allowed him to begin moving again was the fact that he had to face her. He had to let her condemn him for what he did. He deserved her wrath and hatred.

He walked to his study and once there, reached behind a book to access a hidden safe. He pulled out a dagger coated in white oak ash that he had stored there. If it weren't for the fact that it would mean the destruction of his entire line, he would hand her the white oak stake to act out her revenge.

He walked into the living room, but found only Liz and Matt sitting there. Liz was still crying from hearing the details of Caroline's capture and Matt's eyes were red, as well. They looked up at his entrance and there were twin looks of accusation and disappointment on their faces. However, whatever they saw in his face seemed to change their minds as their looks turned to pity. It only increased his misery.

Maybe allowing her to dagger him was too kind. Maybe he should let Liz torture him for a while or turn himself over to Marcel and let him torture him. Marcel had obviously excelled and surpassed him in cruelty over the years. Although Klaus didn't think any torture could hurt worse than his awareness of causing Caroline's torment.

"Rebekah took her upstairs." Liz's voice interrupted his self flagellation. He saw her eyes flicker to the dagger in his hands, but he turned from her before she could ask him any questions.

Stefan and Elijah returned just as he reached the stairs. Elijah also saw the dagger in his hands and his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but Stefan stopped him with a hand on his arm.

Klaus didn't even acknowledge them, just continued upstairs. Stefan understood. He understood that Klaus deserved to be put down for this. Because of him a beautiful creature of light and laughter had died. He killed the angel he once hoped would bring him the peace and happiness he so desperately sought. The fact that she did indeed still live and was getting better, brought little comfort. No matter how much she improved, she would never be the creature she once was, because of him. While he could admire her strength and fortitude and see more majesty in her now, it didn't excuse the sin of tarnishing her innocent youth.

He ascended the stairs one at a time. With every step his dread increased to the point that if he slowed he was afraid his legs would give out. He was glad he didn't need to breathe because he felt like his throat had completely closed up.

He approached the door, he could hear Rebekah inside speaking softly, but he didn't attempt to try to hear the words she spoke. For a time, all he could do was stare at the swirling patterns of wood grain on the door. His thoughts swirled in the same patterns over and over again. He saw Caroline standing in front of him only a two years before, defiant, glorious, shining. Then he thought about the broken creature he found in the basement of the Salvatore's. He had seen the evidence of his destruction before, but never like this. Never in a way that affected him personally. He didn't know how to face Caroline, but he knew he had to. She deserved her revenge.

He stared at his hand, as it seemed to move on its own as it rose up to knock. It shook under the strain of his emotions.

He heard his sister call out "come in" and he stared blankly at the door knob as if he couldn't understand how it worked. He wasn't sure how long he stared at it, trying to force himself to move when the door opened from the other side. Rebekah stared at him, but he refused to look up and meet her eyes. He didn't want to see the same look he had seen on Matt and Liz's face. He heard her sigh, but she didn't say anything and then she slipped around him and he heard her footsteps head down stairs.

Using the last bit of courage and strength he possessed he forced himself to look up at Caroline. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Her eyes were glassy and he could see shudders run through her at the silent sobs she was trying to hold in. He drank in the sight of her, even like this she looked so regal sitting there. A tragic, broken queen who had been promised the world and instead was soaked in blood for sins she didn't commit.

He moved towards her, forcing his feet to continue on. He saw her wince slightly at the sound of his steps.

He made it to a few feet in front of her before all his strength left him and his emotions completely overwhelmed him. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees in front of her. The pain, guilt and despair came out of him in an inarticulate moan and all he could do was kneel at her feet, sobbing as he offered her up the dagger. She turned her head and looked at him; her eyes were wide with confusion and alarm.

"I'm sorry." He gasped out. "I'm so sorry." He pushed the dagger, lying across his open palms towards her. Her eyes widened with realization.

"No." She breathed out. She snatched the dagger out of his hands and tossed it carelessly behind her on the bed, before falling to her knees in front of him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "No Klaus."

This made him feel even worse and he lost what tiny bit of control he had left. He clung to her like a child, sobs racking his body until they both shook from the violence of them. "I caused this." He cried. "They hurt you because of me. It's all my fault."

He felt her stroke his hair and he could hear the tears in her own voice. "No, you didn't do this." She whispered.

"It's my fault." He insisted. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't…." He sobbed out. "They wouldn't…"He couldn't get the words out. "Caroline, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He heard her sob in response. He wrenched himself away from her, out of her arms. He couldn't seek comfort from her. He needed to face what he'd done, face her. Tears ran down her face and sadness radiated from her entire body, but there was no hatred, no disgust in her eyes. Instead she looked at him with empathy.

"Caroline, I don't want or deserve your forgiveness, but I do want you to know how sorry I am. There is nothing that can ever make up for the pain that you have suffered for me, but I give myself over to you. Dagger me, have me tortured, anything that may ease your pain to exact your revenge."

She reached out and cupped his face in her hands. "Klaus, no. You didn't do this. Yes, they did this to get to you, but it's not your fault. You didn't kill Tyler, you didn't torture me, and you didn't rape me." He shook and ducked his head at the word rape, shame and guilt boiling inside of him. "No, listen to me, please." She begged. "I don't blame you. I never blamed you, not even when it was happening. I was so afraid you'd think I was weak when I cracked. I did crack, if I had known anything more, I would have told them what they wanted, just to make it stop." She was crying harder now. "Then I lost myself and…and…" She couldn't continue.

"No, never." He swore. "I could never think you were weak, not after what you endured." He wiped stray hair out of her face. "I think you are the most amazing creature I have ever seen." He whispered and his face crumbled again as tears overtook him. Caroline leaned forward until their foreheads were touching as they knelt there on the ground, both of them crying out their pain.

~.~

In his agitation, Klaus had not closed the door behind him when he entered Caroline's room, because of this the vampires downstairs had no trouble hearing what was going on above them. Rebekah had started crying again in sympathy with both of their pain as she explained to Liz what was going on. Matt had moved across the room and was staring out the window. Elijah stood by the fireplace looking very disturbed and uncomfortable.

Stefan rubbed Rebekah's back lightly to let her know he was here for her and then crossed over to Elijah. "Are you all right?" He asked him.

"I had no idea." Elijah said. "I truly didn't think my brother was capable." He admitted. Stefan said nothing, just watched him closely for him to continue. After taking a moment, Elijah motioned for Stefan to follow him into the study.

They went in and Elijah closed the door and motioned for Stefan to have a seat. Elijah began speaking.

"When we were human, my brother suffered cruelly at the hands of my father. Mikael always knew Klaus wasn't his and made sure to punish him for that crime, severely. My sister is aware of this as a fact, but she never had to witness the abuse first hand and she never had to clean Niklaus up after Mikael's attacks on him." Elijah walked over to the desk and stared down at it for a moment. "I was the oldest, I should have stepped in, I should have done something, but I didn't, I allowed it to continue. We were all so different then. The world was different then." He was silent for a moment, lost in his memories. "After we were turned, I could see firsthand how Mikael's treatment affected Niklaus. It led to his feelings of isolation, his need for power and strength, and his determination to control everything to the point of cruelty himself. By then, even though it was too late and the damage had been done, I tried to be there for my brother. I tried to bring out his humanity, but never with any success. I watched for a thousand years as he grew colder and more ruthless. I would never admit it to him, but I was afraid of what he would eventually become, which is why I made the deal with Elena in the first place to help her kill him when he wanted to break the curse."

"A deal which you then broke." Stefan couldn't help but comment.

"A deal I broke for the rest of my family." Elijah rejoined smoothly. "The family, that thanks to Mikael's influence, Niklaus always viewed as objects not people. Even Rebekah, who he kept the closest and doted on, he treated more as if she were a prized pet than a sibling." Elijah shook his head. "I had heard the whispers from Rebekah and Kol about his fascination with Caroline, but I assumed it was in much the same regard as our sister. He found her to be entertaining, beguiling, but not that he had any true emotions for her. Even hearing that, at times, he showed her mercy where others would be slaughtered, I assumed that was for some game he would play with her at a later date when he would seek to possess her." Elijah turned and faced Stefan. "You know about Henry, his son with Hayley." It wasn't really a question.

Stefan nodded.

"I had hoped that this would cause him to feel some emotional attachment, but instead Niklaus could barely stand to be around the child. I found him on several occasions in the middle of the night standing in the baby's room staring down at it with a puzzled look as if he couldn't quite understand what it was he was supposed to feel. At that point I completely gave up any hope of ever seeing any humanity in my brother again." Elijah looked at Stefan with confusion and wonder. "I had resigned myself to knowledge that there would come a day where I would have to kill him for the safety of not just our family, but possibly for the entire world." Elijah shook his head and sat down, he studied his hands in his lap. "When Niklaus called us to come here and then explained the reason, I was stunned, but I still didn't believe there was anything more to it than his pride. I figured that something he had laid claim to had been damaged and he needed to repair it for his own ego. Even when he told us outright he loved her, I didn't think he knew what the words meant."

"But now you see." Stefan commented.

Elijah looked at him. "My brother is truly, deeply in love with her. He cares for her so much that the idea that he was the cause of her kidnapping made him throw himself at her mercy. For the first time ever in our entire lives, my brother broke down from emotions. It's unprecedented."

Stefan smiled at Elijah. "I think you were too close to the situation. Your expectations clouded what was there. I spent a good bit of time with Klaus in the 20's and again when he was trying to make his hybrids. I could always see there, the yearning to be loved, to belong. He wanted it so desperately, but didn't know how to express it."

"Yes, but did you really ever think he was capable of loving someone to the point that he would put them before himself? That he would sacrifice himself for them?" Elijah questioned.

"Capable, yes. However, I think he was afraid before. Maybe because of the treatment from your father, he feared rejection. But Klaus has always had the drive and determination to make just about anything happen, so it stands to reason that when he did fall in love and find someone to give his love to that he would do it with a whole heart."

"You know that before the revelation that Marcel was involved with this, he had given up his quest to rule over New Orleans? He said that he didn't think that the violence of that war would be a good atmosphere for Caroline's recovery and he wasn't going to leave her."

"It sounds to me as if you are finally getting everything you ever hoped for your brother, so I'm not seeing the problem here."

Elijah looked at him. "The problem is I feel terrible, both for not realizing that my brother was capable of this and for the fact that I'm…" Elijah paused searching for the words. "Do not mistake me, I would not wish what happened to Caroline on anyone…..but because that happened for the first time ever, my brother has seen what violence breeds. He has fully realized how it destroys people and I think he will be forever changed by this experience, for the better. And part of me is so grateful and relieved for that."

Stefan nodded. "I think it is ok to find some hope in this. I don't know that Caroline will ever fully heal to the point that they will be able to have a true relationship, but I do think that they will have an unbreakable bond that will continue to influence him for the better. I also think that you and Rebekah being here for him through this, even with your doubts will change your relationship with Klaus and make it stronger."

"Actually, going through this has given me a new found respect for all of you. The strength Liz and Matt have shown in these circumstances has been most admirable. Even my sister, who I know at her core was nurturer, seeing how much of herself she has put forth to Caroline's recovery has been amazing. I also see why both my siblings and Caroline hold you in such high regard. You are very observant and insightful."

"Well, thank you. I have to admit it's been nice having someone else who's level headed around." T he two men shared a smile.

"Thank you for listening to me." Elijah said. He stood up and poured them both a drink. He handed a glass to Stefan. "To finding some light and hope in a very dire situation." He held his glass up in a toast.

"To the beginning of healing for all of us." Stefan said.

The two touched glasses and drank in silence.

~.~

Liz and Rebekah didn't even notice Elijah and Stefan had left the room, they sat there quietly while Liz tried to come to grips with what had happened to her baby. Even though she had known and had seen the results, to hear first hand from Caroline how she suffered under her kidnappers, had been horrible for her. Liz had tried so hard to be strong in front of the others through this entire ordeal, but now she found that she couldn't hold it in any longer and had been crying since Caroline had told her tale. The one thing a parent never wants to do is see their child hurt and in pain and it seemed to Liz that she had failed miserably in that goal.

She looked at the seemingly young girl sitting next to her. The young girl who's eyes betrayed centuries of wisdom.

"Will she be all right?" She asked.

"This is actually a good sign." Rebekah told her. "Its like an infection, its finally been lanced and now the poison can start to seep out. We may begin to see more signs of recovery and her coming back to herself."

"But she'll never be who she once was." Liz commented.

Rebekah shook her head. "No, she's seen too much, experienced too much."

Matt came over and sat down. "Will he kill the bastards who did this?" Matt all but demanded.

Rebekah looked over at him. "I'm sure at some point my brother will exact revenge for what they have done, but at this point, I don't think he has any plans to leave her side."

"He really loves her doesn't he?" Liz whispered in awe.

When Caroline had finally come to the part of the tale that spoke of her kidnappers connection to Klaus, Liz had felt nothing but rage. She had managed to forget during this time exactly who he was. His kindness and his attentiveness to her daughter had made her forget that this was the man responsible for killing Carol Lockwood, the man responsible for killing Jenna, for slaughtering twelve hybrids for betraying him. Liz had felt sick that she had given the care for her daughter over to this monster.

When he had all but run out of the room, Liz assumed he was running to avoid facing the retribution, but she wasn't prepared for the way Caroline seemed to take this as a condemnation and folded up into herself. Liz had felt her rage and hate grow. She had hoped that Stefan and Elijah were going after him to kill him for what he had caused to happen to her daughter and she found herself hoping, in those moments, that they would allow her to help.

Rebekah had taken Caroline upstairs, explaining to her that it was going to be ok, but Liz wasn't so sure. She had seen how her daughter had come to depend on him and now she was going to have to face this without him. When Klaus had walked back it, Liz was surprised that Elijah and Stefan had let him return like that, until she looked up into his eyes. It hit Liz right then, how inhuman they all were. No human would be able to stand the pain and grief she saw in his eyes and remain sane. She could see clearly how awful he felt for what had happened and how much he blamed himself. At that moment, all her anger and rage faded away and she felt nothing but pity for him. He knew exactly what he had done and caused to happen and she knew that knowledge was going to haunt him for the rest of his eternal life. Liz had told him where to find her daughter and saw as his pain deepened. She noticed the dagger in his hand, but he had been gone before she had time to process what it meant.

"She is the most important thing in the world to him." Rebekah interrupted her musings. Liz closed her eyes. That fact brought her comfort and fear. From an early age, Caroline had taken in wounded animals and now she had caught the eye of the most dangerous being on the planet. That he would care for and protect her daughter, Liz had no doubt, but god help the world if anything ever happened to her.

She raised her eyes to Matt and knew that he understood how she felt. The two of them were the token humans in this situation and while they were crucial in Caroline's recovery, eventually, Caroline would recover, and the fact was, that as humans, they would be nothing more than a moment in their very long lives. Liz knew that she was going to have to let her daughter go. Already, she was so far removed from the daughter Liz had given birth to, but Liz had to believe that her strength and morals did come from her.

Stefan and Elijah came back into the room and Liz was surprised she hadn't even noticed they were gone.

"It's been quiet up there for a while." Rebekah said. "Should we go check on them?"

"I will." Stefan offered.

She nodded and gave him a smile of thanks. Rebekah looked to her brother. "This changes everything, you realize?"

"I do."

~.~

Upstairs Caroline and Klaus had calmed slightly to the point where neither was sobbing, but both were still crying. Caroline leaned back and released him, only to grab his hands. She stood slowly pulling him with her. He moved without protest, following her lead. She sat down on the bed and pulled him towards her, she released one hand and used it to brush across the bed, the dagger fell to the ground with a thunk. He winced but she didn't pay it any attention. She lay down and moved over to give him room before pulling him down next to her. He rested his head on her shoulder, still sniffling and grabbed her tightly around the waist. She stoked his hair lightly again and they lay there in silence just taking comfort in each other.

She squeezed him tight and then let out a shuddering breath. "Klaus?" She said quietly. He raised his eyes to look at her. At his glance her face crumbled a bit before she got control of herself. "I'm sorry that the girl you loved died, but I don't want to you to sacrifice your life out of some idea of obligation or duty or guilt." He opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly spoke over him. "I won't ever be her again and I don't want to disappoint you. I'm afraid I'll always be broken and damaged. I can't even remember how I used to be the way I was." Tears gathered in her voice and brimmed over again in her eyes. "I will be ok though. I will survive this. I think you should go back to your life. I'll be ok."

He let out something that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a sob.

"What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind"
He recited solemnly to her.

"What was that?" She breathed.

"That's Wordsworth from Intimations of Immortality." He told her. He looked deeply into her eyes. "Caroline, I thought I loved you before, but somehow after all of this I only love you more. I love you for your strength, your resilience. I have nowhere else to be but by your side for as long as you'll have me and it's not out of obligation, its because I love you that I want to be with you, in any capacity. I think you are wonderful and all I want is to make you as happy as I can."

"But I'll never be able to…" She stopped. "It will never be a normal relationship."

"All I want, all I need is to be with you." He told her.

She sniffled loudly and turned her head for a moment. "I can't believe I have any tears left." She said, she looked back towards him.

"I love you." He told her earnestly, tears ran down his own face. "The fact that you can even stand to be around me after what happened…."

"It wasn't your fault." She told him again. He let out a sigh and lay his head back down on her. Caroline had no idea how much time had passed before she felt another presence. She looked up and saw Stefan standing in the doorway. He gave her a smile and she could see the love and compassion in his eyes.

For the first time, since she had been taken, Caroline felt something similar to hope. She found that the overwhelming urge she had to die and leave this existence was gone. She realized that she quite possibly could overcome this, with the help of her family and friends. They loved her and supported her even after everything. She looked back down at the man in her arms. He loved her even though she wasn't the same person she used to be. He said he even admired her for her strength. She lightly kissed the top of his head; she knew he had fallen to sleep a few minutes ago, overwhelmed by an emotional breakdown he had no experience on how to deal with. Maybe, just maybe, it was all going to be ok.

She looked back up at Stefan and offered him a weak watery smile, the first she had in a very long time. Stefan's smile grew and he slowly and quietly shut the door and left them alone. She relaxed her muscles and let herself slowly drift off into sleep, feeling surrounded by safety and love.

A/N: So this was the first the chapter I wrote for this, way back in September and the rest of the story came up around it. I hope you like it.

So, this may be last the chapter and then a brief epilogue. I had one more chapter, but as of right now it isn't fitting well with the rest of the tone of this story. If I can't get it right, I'm just going to leave it out. I don't know.

Either way, that you so much for all the messages and reviews. I'm really happy people like this story and feel strongly enough about it to let me know what they think. Also thank you to everyone else who favorite and followed this. Have a great night!