Hey guys!
Thanks for all of your amazing reviews! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, as I was really excited to share it, and I know a lot of you were quite shocked by it. Still, you seemed to love it anyway, which is good!
And I'm happy to say that this is where the story really begins. One of you asked why I spent so much time on the Tyler storyline, and I honestly don't know. I felt I needed to include him in the story somehow, and that felt like the best way. Plus, I thought it would be a good way for them to talk for the first time.
Thanks to;
Jwakeel, Angel, DarknessQueen12, Girl96xoxo, cupcakesweetheart5, louann97, Aaaamber, WeasleysGroupie, IrishBeauty294, hallie, dendragon14, arielmermaid, 1998baby, Kaylabeth21, Grace5231973, shadowfaxangel, wendar, nabskyy, and Tanika.
Wow, I think that chapter got the most reviews out of all of them so far! Thanks guys!
Megan :)
oxox
Twitter: NamesNotDorris
Tumblr: MyName'sNotDorris (mynamesnotdorris)
YouTube: MyNamesNotDorris
Caroline sat in her office, waiting for Klaus to come in. Their appointment had been scheduled for five minutes ago, and she was getting worried. Klaus was hardly ever late, at least not anymore. Ever since they'd loosened his security again, he'd been showing up early to their sessions. He'd be there before she was, most of the time, as soon as she walked into her office. But today, he hadn't been there when she walked in, and now he was five minutes late.
In any other circumstances, this wouldn't have been something to worry about. But patients needed patterns in their lives, they needed timetables, and schedules. If they felt like they had some kind of order in their lives, it made them keep themselves in order, and calmed them down. This was an irregularity, and they were bad, especially for patients like Klaus.
Of course, it could just be nothing. Maybe he went to the bathroom, or he woke up late? Maybe there was nothing to worry about at all, and Caroline was just overreacting. Then she remembered, as she looked up at the clock for the millionth time. It was visiting hours right now. Perhaps someone had come to visit Klaus, and he'd just lost track of time? Visiting hours ended any minute now, so Caroline had no doubt that he'd be back soon.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and leaned back in her chair.
It was a few days since Klaus had spoken to her now, and she still couldn't quite believe that it'd happened. She'd waited for so long, that it hardly even felt real. But it must have been, because the sound of his voice was echoing around her head constantly. Ever since it'd happened, it was all she could think about, and she'd had enough trouble not thinking about him anyway, now it was a whole lot worse. She just couldn't stop thinking about what he'd said.
"If I were him, I wouldn't."
She knew what he'd meant, but the idea was ridiculous. It was against the law to start a relationship with a patient, and even if it wasn't . . . Caroline shook her head. Maybe that wasn't even what he meant? Maybe he was just trying to be nice? Just because he'd said a few nice words to her, it didn't mean that he was after anything, that he thought of her in that way . . .
But then she remembered the drawing. The drawing of her, that she found on his desk. It still didn't make any sense, how he could copy her features so perfectly when, as far as she was aware, he'd hardly even looked at her. Unless he had been looking at her, just when she looked away. Unless he had feelings for her.
He couldn't though . . . could he? He hardly even knew her, they'd had one conversation, and that was only a few days ago. He couldn't have feelings for someone he didn't even know, it was a ridiculous thought, of course. But then, what other explanation was there? Why else would he be drawing pictures of her? And saying all those things that he'd said? Why else, if he didn't have feelings for her?
As she heard footsteps coming towards her office, she resolved not to mention it. If he did have feelings for her, then he had feelings for her, it didn't change anything. As long as he didn't choose to act on those feelings, then it didn't matter. People often developed feelings for people that helped them, and listened to them, especially people with a need for human companionship, much like the rest of the patients. They were completely cut off from the rest of the world, it was only natural that they'd feel some sort of attachment to the only person that seemed to really care.
So she wouldn't mention it, as long as he didn't.
The door opened, and she looked at her computer, pretending to be typing something. As Klaus entered the room, she instantly knew something was wrong. He didn't say anything, slamming the door behind him. The sound echoed around the silent room, and the vibration even shook Caroline's desk a little. She looked up from her computer, and saw him standing by the door, breathing heavily.
He didn't sit down, and she didn't say anything. She just sat there, looking at him with wide eyes.
It was as if she wasn't even in the room. He paid her no attention whatsoever, just stood by the door, and began to run his fingers through his hair. He repeated this motion several times, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He then began clutching at strands of his hair, and pulling at them, balling his hands up into fists, and shaking his head. His facial features twisted and contorted into pain and anger, and Caroline's heartbeat began to race.
He walked into the centre of the room, and leaned on the table right in the middle. He put his head down, and tried in vain to slow his breathing. Caroline had no idea what was going on, but rose out of her chair, and stood back against the wall. She wasn't foolish enough to approach him, not yet. She thought that if she left him for a minute, he might be able to calm himself down, and they could talk.
He gripped the side of the table tightly, screwing his eyes tightly shut. His breathing slowed somewhat, but he wasn't looking anymore calm than he had been coming in. Whatever it was that'd happened, it had clearly gotten to him, and Caroline was beginning to think that he wasn't just angry.
A side-effect of his PTSD, would be flashbacks, visions, and memories. And she had a strong suspicion that that's what he was having right now. He was flashing back to whatever traumatic event had brought him here in the first place, and that could not be good. Already, Caroline could see he was beginning to lose control. She could tell he was trying as hard as he could to stay calm, to make it stop. But it wasn't working.
She should've called for help then, but she didn't.
Gripping the table, he flipped it over, causing everything to go crashing to the floor. The table hit the floor with a resounding thud, and Caroline backed even further up against the wall. Klaus looked down at the wrecked table, his fists clenched and his breathing heavy once more. Although his stance was threatening, his eyes had clouded over, full of confusion and pain.
He kicked the turned over table out of his way, and ran over to the filing cabinet, throwing it to the floor with a loud, echoing scream. It hit the floor with a clang of metal, but the drawers remained closed. Caroline was sure somebody must have heard all the noise by now, yet no one came to help. They probably just assumed someone was taking care of it. Or maybe there was a more pressing situation elsewhere in the hospital.
Eventually, Klaus had thrown all of the filing cabinets to the floor, but he still wasn't done. He looked around wildly, for something else to throw, something to hit, or break, just . . . something. He ran over to the wall, where there was a hung-up picture of some sunflowers. Caroline had never much cared for that picture, but she still flinched when Klaus hit it against the wall with all his strength.
The sound of the glass shattering reminded her of the bottle that Tyler had thrown.
"Klaus!" she screamed, barely even aware that she was doing it. But it was as if he couldn't even hear her.
The glass broke into tiny pieces, flying everywhere. Caroline was on the other side of the room, so none of it got to her. But Klaus wasn't so lucky. The glass cut through his skin like butter. He had several cuts on his hands already from all the other objects he'd been throwing around, but now his cheek was bleeding from an (admittedly shallow) cut that the glass had given him.
He smeared the blood from his hands on his shirt, before turning to Caroline. He ran towards her desk in a wild rage, and Caroline whimpered, curling herself up in a ball on the floor. She covered her head with her hands, trying to protect herself as Klaus looked around the room again. There was another picture, hanging on the wall next to her desk. She cared for this picture even less. Klaus ran over to it, and hurled it against the wall.
"Klaus, p-please . . . stop," she whimpered as the picture frame hit the wall.
It shattered just inches away from Caroline. The glass and broken frame fell to the floor, and Caroline was left completely unharmed, much to her relief. She still cowered next to the wall, not wanting to risk looking up. She heard Klaus walking around the room, and the sound of his breathing, which was slowing down somewhat now. He made his way back toward her desk, stopping just in front of it.
She lifted her head from her knees, and looked up at him. He picked up an item from her desk, about to hurl it against the wall just like the others, before realizing what it was.
Since Tyler had left her apartment, Caroline had thought it fitting to get rid of any and all pictures she had of him. She'd broken them all before throwing them away, and buying some new picture frames. Even the picture of him in her office had been replaced. Replaced with the one that Klaus now held in his hand.
Instead of the picture of her and Tyler together, it was now a picture of Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie on their graduation day. Caroline was in the middle, holding the camera with one of her hands. She was grinning widely, with Bonnie on her left and Elena on her right. They were all wearing their scarlet graduation robes, and Elena was pouting, striking a model pose. Bonnie did the same, and Caroline was just left in the middle laughing at the two of them.
Klaus lowered his hand holding the picture, and held the frame in his two hands. He traced Caroline's face with his thumb, and lifted a finger to run over her smile.
And then, it was as if someone had flipped a switch. He put the picture down on the table, and looked over at Caroline, who was still crouched on the floor. His eyes widened in shock, and he looked around the room, at the damage that he had done. He shook his head, and made a small, disbelieving sound. He turned back to Caroline, looking down at the floor in a daze. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he fell to his knees, landing in a pile of glass.
As he hit the floor, the tears began to roll down his cheeks, mixing with the blood from his cuts. The tears came slowly at first, and his hands fell limp at his sides.
Caroline began to uncurl herself, and tucked her hair behind her ear. She leaned forward tentatively, to look into his eyes. As soon as she saw the tears on his face, she sighed, crawling towards him. She waited until she was sat right in front of him, looking up at his face, and then spoke.
". . . Klaus?" she asked, and he looked down, tears still falling down his face. She sighed again, and kneeled in front of him, practically mirroring his actions. She tried to look him in the eye, but he was just looking at the floor, as if in a trance.
Suddenly, Caroline's instincts took over. She no longer cared about the rules, or about what she should and shouldn't do. This man was hurting, and needed some comfort, some reassuring. It would be inhuman just to leave him there, a crumpled heap on her floor. Only someone completely heartless could look at this broken man and not try to do something to try and fix him.
Carefully, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed her head on his shoulder, holding him in a tight embrace.
It took him a moment to respond, and Caroline wasn't sure if he even really knew what was going on. But after a few seconds, he wound his arms around her waist, and pulled her to him, burying his head in her shoulder. His weight was a little too much for her to take, as he was leaning on her completely, so she sat back down on the floor, her legs tucked underneath her. He did the same, sobbing into her shoulder.
As he cried, Caroline placed one of her hands in his hair, running her fingers through it reassuringly.
"Shhhhh," she soothed as he cried, his whole body shaking. "It's okay . . . it's okay . . . it's all over now. It's all over . . ."
Later that day, Caroline unlocked the door to her apartment, phone in hand. It had been a long day at work today, and she was glad to come back to a quiet flat for once. Usually, she'd be waiting up for Tyler, worrying about him, or she'd be greeted by a shout from him, the beginning of an argument. But not anymore, and she'd never have to come back to that ever again. And she'd be lying if she said that wasn't a little bit exciting.
Closing the door behind her, she took off her coat, hanging it up, and kicked off her shoes. The other bonus to now living alone: she didn't have to be neat and tidy again. It was like being a teenager all over again, and she kind of loved it. She could do whatever she wanted, even if it was just leaving her shoes in the hallway. But it meant so much more than that. She was free.
She made her way into the dining room, and sat down at the table. Despite being home, and about to relax, there was one phone call that she had to make. It had been bothering her all day, but she was too scared to discuss it at work, just in case. It wasn't exactly a conversation for the phone, but it would have to do.
She scrolled through her contacts, before finding the number she was looking for. She pressed the green button, and waited for Meredith to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Meredith. It's me, Caroline." she said, and she could hear rustling on the other side of the phone. She looked over to the clock on the wall. 10:30. It was kind of late, but Meredith probably left work after Caroline did. She tended to work quite late into the night, and she might even still be at work now. "Listen, there's something I wanted to ask you. I know it's late but, could you spare a few minutes?"
"Sure, what is it? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. It's . . . it's about Klaus," Caroline replied, and she heard Meredith sigh on the other side of the phone, stopping whatever she was doing previously. "There's nothing to worry about, well, not really, it's just . . . well . . ."
"What happened, Caroline?"
"He flipped out again. It was only for a few minutes, but it was just after lunch. We had a session scheduled, and he was a few minutes late. I didn't think anything of it at first, as I remembered it was just after visiting hours. But then when he came in . . . he was manic. I don't even think he knew what he was doing . . ."
"What did he do?"
"He trashed my office," she mumbled, and she heard Meredith gasp. "It's okay though, I managed to fix most of it. He only flipped the table and threw a few things. Nothing was really damaged, just a few picture frames, but they're easily replaced. He did have a few cuts though, on his hands and on his face. I cleaned them up for him though, don't worry. He's fine now."
"How did you get him to calm down?"
"I . . . I didn't do anything. He just . . . stopped."
"Caroline, that's not possible. No one's ever been able to calm him down, ever. The only thing that works is sedating him, and leaving him for a few hours. Are you sure you didn't do anything?"
"Not that I know of . . ." Caroline trailed off.
"Perhaps it was just a coincidence. What did you want to ask me, anyway?"
"I was just wondering if you might know why it happened?" she asked, drumming her fingers on the table top. "I think he was experiencing one of his flashbacks, and it just . . . got to him. I know this is common with PTSD, but isn't it usually triggered by something? I was just wondering if anything happened prior to our session that may have triggered it? Did anyone come to visit him, or . . . ?"
"Well Rebekah and Elijah did come to visit him during visiting hours . . . but I walked past them a few times, and they seemed fine . . ."
"Maybe it was just being with them that triggered it?"
"Maybe. Listen, Caroline I have to go . . ."
"Alright, we'll talk more tomorrow."
"Bye."
As soon as Caroline hung up the phone, she remembered. She remembered what it was that had stopped Klaus earlier. He'd picked up a picture from her desk. A picture of her. He'd taken one look at it, one look at her face, and he'd stopped. And the way that he'd looked at her when he realized what he'd done . . . so horrified, so scared, so apologetic. Not because he'd wrecked her office, not because he'd yelled. But because he almost hurt her.
No one's ever been able to calm him down, ever.
For some reason, she was different to the rest of them. She wasn't like the other doctors, and councillors that Klaus had had before. But then again, she should have known that from the off. The not talking to her. The picture she'd found in his room. The laugh when she spoke about his sister. And all those things he'd said when he'd noticed her ring had gone missing.
He was treating her differently. He felt differently about her.
This was bad, incredibly bad. A patient being attached to their councillor was something that could be dealt with, but Caroline was beginning to think it was more than that. Much more than that. Whether he had feelings for her or not, she couldn't exactly say, but she could no longer deny that he felt something for her. Even if all it was, was a curious fascination.
But she also couldn't deny that she felt drawn to him.
In what way, she didn't really know, but there was just something about him that interested her, something that she didn't understand. He wasn't like her, he wasn't like any of her other patients, he wasn't even like anyone that she'd ever met before. He was different. He was new. And that scared her beyond belief. But even scarier than that was the pull that was drawing her to him.
He clearly felt it too, that much was obvious from the past few days.
There was something going on between them, and it could not lead to anything good.
It was bad.
Very bad indeed.
Well? Let me know what you thought, review! :D
