Hey guys!

Thank you so much for all of feedback on the last chapter! It really does mean a lot, as I just like to know that you're interested. Honestly, whatever you have to say, even if it's criticism, it's fine! Just as long as it's respectful and polite, obviously.

I'm really excited for all of you to read this chapter, as it's something I'm particularly proud of. It took a few attempts to write this, because I wanted it to be perfect, but I'm proud of it now. It was an idea that I came up with very early on, and I've been waiting all this time to write it, because I know that you'll love it. Or, at least, I hope you will!

Also, this story has now reached OVER 100 REVIEWS and also OVER 100 FOLLOWERS! Thank you so much! I honestly didn't think this story would do that well, as I didn't really have a lot of faith in it in the beginning. But after getting this amazing response from you guys, I have a lot more faith in this story, and can't wait for you guys to see the next few chapters!

Thanks to;

LadyKlaus, Jwakeel, Grace5231973, hallie, 1998baby, WeasleysGroupie, EtherealDemon, Keela, Pinkgem22, arielmermaid, Girl96xoxo, Kaylabeth21, Purpleme523, and IrishBeauty294.

Sorry this Author's Note has been so long, but I just wanted to say thank you, and how much I appreciate each and every one of you!

Enjoy!

Megan :)

oxox

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Caroline rang Bonnie's doorbell, trying desperately to be quiet. It was the middle of the night, and she didn't want to wake up any of her neighbours. She'd rather not be waking up Bonnie either, but she didn't really have a choice. She couldn't stay at the motel, because she'd left most of her money at the flat, as she wasn't even sure she ever wanted to go near that particular motel again, knowing what Tyler had been doing there. She couldn't sleep in her car because there wasn't enough room, and she couldn't go to Elena, because she lived with Damon as well, and she didn't want to intrude. She hadn't even been able to drive anywhere, because she'd had a few drinks after work. Bonnie was pretty much her only option.

She breathed a sigh of relief, as the door flew open to reveal her best friend. The look on Bonnie's face told her what she already knew; she looked a mess.

She hadn't really had much time to sort herself out on the way over, and had only just caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass of Bonnie's door. Her mascara was running down her face, mixing with her tears, her hair was a mess from constantly running her fingers through it, and the straps of her top were falling down. Not only that, but one of the heels of her shoe was almost falling off from the walk over there.

Bonnie took one look at her, and pulled her into a hug, which Caroline gladly accepted. Bonnie took her into the house, closing the door quietly behind her. This was what Caroline loved about Bonnie, was that she always cared. No matter who it was, what it was about, or what time it was, she was always there. And she was sure that she'd be grateful for that in the long run.

She sat Caroline down on the sofa, and put a blanket around her shoulders, sitting on a chair across from her. Ironically, it felt much like one of Caroline's sessions with her patients, and she had to resist the urge to laugh. Because now she was the one that needed to talk, she was the one with the problem, the one that needed fixing. She was the one that was broken.

Maybe that was why she'd chosen the job in the first place? Broken people need other broken people.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, handing Caroline a mug of hot cocoa. She accepted it with a smile and a nod, and took the mug into her hands. And she felt warm, and safe. She drank the cocoa, and the smell made her think of home. She didn't get that feeling with Tyler, or back at her apartment. It wasn't home, and it didn't feel safe, or warm. It just felt cold, in every sense of the word. She felt cold.

"Tyler, he . . . he's been cheating on me," Caroline muttered, taking another sip of her cocoa, and not looking at Bonnie. She felt ashamed. Like she should have known. Because she should have. It was obvious right from the first day they got back to Mystic Falls that something was going on. She'd been told countless times by people that she should have left him. But she never had, just out of habit. Out of a need that she couldn't explain. Until tonight.

When Bonnie didn't reply, Caroline looked up from her mug, to see that she didn't look at all shocked or surprised. Instead, she almost looked . . . guilty. She sighed, refusing to look Caroline in the eye, and she instantly knew that something wasn't quite right. She put her mug down on the table in front of her, and shrugged the blanket off her shoulders, leaning forwards.

"You knew, didn't you?" she asked, not sounding angry or annoyed. More defeated. Bonnie nodded slowly, and turned to look at Caroline, her eyes full of regret. "How long? . . . How long did you know for?"

"We only found out a few days ago, I swear! We saw them going into a motel together, but we were just waiting for the right time to-" Bonnie began, but Caroline interrupted her, cutting her off.

"We?" she questioned, and now she was getting angry. Because the idea of more than one person knowing before her and not saying anything, was almost unbearable. She knew that if it had happened to one of her friends, she would've told them right away. It was something that people deserved to know. "Who else knew? Damon? Stefan? Elena? Matt? Who else, Bonnie?"

"Just Elena. The two of us saw them going into the motel together." Bonnie explained, looking Caroline right in the eye. The blonde calmed, after seeing the sincere look in her friend's eyes. "We were going to tell you eventually, I promise. We just knew how much it would hurt you, so we were waiting for the right time. Not that there every really would be a right time, but . . . we weren't thinking. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Caroline whispered, reaching over to Bonnie, and taking her hand. She squeezed it reassuringly, and they both smiled. "Besides, you have nothing to be sorry for. You were just trying to protect me, and I understand completely. Now I've got work in the morning, so is there anywhere I can sleep?"


The next day, Caroline went on as normal. She woke up, got dressed, had breakfast. She went to work, and acted just as she had the day before. And the day before that, and the day before that. As if nothing had happened, nothing at all. No one seemed to notice the absence of her engagement ring, the fact that she'd walked to work that morning, or the sadness behind her eyes that she tried so desperately to hide. Or it they did, they didn't say anything. But then again, she gave them no reason to suspect that anything was wrong. She plastered a smile on her face, and got on with it, just as she should. As if nothing had changed.

This was wrong, of course. Everything had changed.

She hadn't gone back to the apartment yet, she was giving Tyler the rest of the day to get his things together. If he was still there when she got back, if he tried to apologize, then she'd just tell him to leave. This was the last straw, and she wasn't going to be taking him back this time. But then, it was unlikely he'd still be there at all. He wasn't that stupid. He knew it was over.

Caroline sat in her office, Klaus on the chair in front of her. He was curled up in his usual position, his knees tucked under his chin. He was looking up out of the window again, and it was raining as usual. And, as expected, he hadn't said a word since he entered the room. She'd gotten used to it now, the silence was quite relaxing. But she had begun to wonder if he was ever going to speak to her at all. Alaric was relying on her to find out the reason he'd come to the institute, but she couldn't do that if he refused to speak to her.

Not only that, but she was also running out of things to write about him. He wasn't making any progress, and soon enough, she'd run out of things to write about him completely. And that was when things would get complicated. There would be no point in their sessions if he didn't start making progress soon, and Caroline wasn't sure what would happen after that, as this had never happened to her before.

In all senses, Klaus was quite unlike any patient she'd ever had before.

Caroline scribbled away in her notebook, writing about anything she could. Today, she'd decided to take notes on his clothes. Whenever he came into her office, on bad days, he never wore shoelaces. She assumed this was because they were taken off him. This was standard procedure when a patient was having a bad day, so that they couldn't hang themselves. He was wearing shoelaces today, so that was a good sign. He was dressed in all black, and was constantly pulling his sleeves over his knuckles, a sign of nerves or insecurity.

As she continued to write, Caroline reached across the table, picking up the coffee Bonnie had given her this morning. She raised it to her lips, and took a small sip, feeling a small surge of energy flood her. Coffee always did that to her first thing in the morning.

"Where's your ring?"

Her pen fell back onto the notebook, and Caroline had to try very hard not to spit out the coffee she'd been drinking. She put the cup down quickly, and began coughing, the coffee having gotten stuck in her throat. She hit her chest lightly, and coughed again, clearing her throat. Her eyes widened, and she looked up . . . to see Klaus staring right back at her.

It wasn't the intense stare that he gave her on occasion. This was different. His head was cocked to the side curiously, and his eyes were searching and encouraging. Almost kind.

Caroline looked down at her hands. She'd almost forgotten all about Tyler and her ring. She'd kept herself distracted all day from thinking about it. It was too painful, and she didn't want to feel like that in work, and for that feeling to rub off on the patients. It could trigger things for them, things that Caroline didn't want to risk. But somehow, Klaus mentioning it felt . . . okay.

"I . . . my, um . . . my fiancé and I, we, um . . . we broke up." she stuttered, unsure as to quite what was going on. She'd waited weeks for this to happen, for Klaus to finally speak to her. To say anything. And now that it was happening, she didn't really know what to say. She knew she shouldn't be answering his questions. They were too personal, and her sessions with him were supposed to be about his problems, not hers.

"Why?"

When he spoke, he seemed much less menacing than before. His English accent was soft, and kind, so far removed from the man Caroline had seen a few days ago, having to be strapped down to the bed. His voice was warm, and welcoming, and Caroline felt like she could tell him anything. It was supposed to be the other way round, but it seemed that wasn't working. She couldn't get him to tell her anything, and if this was the only way she was going to get him to talk to her, then so be it.

"I, um . . . I found out he was cheating on me," she muttered, looking down at the desk. She could pretend all she wanted that it didn't matter, that nothing had happened, or that she'd be better off without him, but it did matter. And she still cared, no matter how much she liked to think that she didn't. And it hurt. It hurt that after everything he'd done to her, everything she'd heard, everything he'd said . . . that he could still get to her like this.

"I'm sorry." he replied, and Caroline tell that he meant it. Really meant it. And that meant something to her. She didn't know why, as she was sure she'd hear countless people telling her how sorry they were over the next few weeks. But this was different. None of those people would actually feel sorry for what happened. It was nothing to do with them, they didn't really care. But Caroline somehow felt that he did.

"I . . . thank you,"

It was strange, how comfortable she felt with him. She wasn't supposed to feel that way, he was a patient. She was supposed to care about him, sure. She was supposed to be interested in his wellbeing but nothing more. She was supposed to be completely indifferent towards him otherwise. But she found she just couldn't be that way with him. She also knew that she shouldn't be sharing these things with him. She wasn't stupid, she knew that it wouldn't end well. But for some reason, she didn't care. She was willing to take the risk.

Because she needed him to talk to her, to trust her. So that she could find out what it was that he was hiding.

She told herself that's all it was. She just wanted to help him, to discover what it was that was causing him so much trauma. She told herself that there was nothing else behind it. And maybe there wasn't. But it certainly didn't feel that way. She was telling him these things because she wanted to, because it felt like she could trust him. Like he understood, like he cared.

And for a moment, she forgot that he was her patient. And that was a dangerous thing.

She should've stopped herself before it got to that point. She shouldn't have answered him, she should've just left it. Because now it was too late to go back. And maybe a part of her should have known he moment she met him that this would happen. That she wouldn't be able to stop the situation from getting out of control, as it inevitably would. Because it was too late now. She was too wrapped up in the mystery of him.

"I wouldn't."

"What?" Caroline looked up, to see Klaus still watching her. Often, when he looked at her, she saw the same expression in his eyes that she often wore when looking at him. A look of confusion, and curiosity, and intrigue. It wasn't uncommon that she would catch him studying her, or she'd catch him doing the same. Each of them didn't quite understand the other, but they were willing to try.

He wasn't studying her now though. In fact, the look he was giving her was one that Caroline wasn't sure she'd seen before. It was a look of complete honesty, so stripped back, so vulnerable, and so raw, that Caroline felt unable to look away. There was a small, sad smile playing on his lips, and Caroline was praying that he chose his next words very carefully.

"If I were him, I wouldn't."


Well? Review, please? :D