Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.
Caroline didn't want to go to a bar, so Stefan agreed to take her back to his place. He had plenty of alcohol and it had the privacy she wanted. She was angry, sad, and wanted to vent to someone who was on her side.
"Talk to me, Forbes," he implored, sitting back on his leather couch.
Caroline wasn't sure what to tell Stefan and what she should keep to herself, so she decided to be vague. Klaus told her his secrets, but they weren't her secrets to share. She appreciated the irony.
"Klaus kept some secrets from me. Secrets that hurt when they came out."
"He's probably picked up a number of them over the years, Caroline. Remember he used to secretly carry his siblings around in their coffins?"
She laughed and took a swig of scotch. Not bourbon, bourbon meant New Orleans. "That is so terrible to laugh at, but that's the kind of guy he was."
"Was?"
"Is. Was. I don't know."
"You two have seemed pretty close these past few days."
She nodded, took another sip, stood up and started to pace.
"He's so frustrating. Some of the things I'm attracted to also repel me. I shouldn't think his unbearable confidence or alpha male attitude are attractive, but sometimes I do. I hate when tries to make decisions for me." She emphasized how much that bothered her.
"He's unbelievable powerful. That's attractive too, but not when he uses it to hurt people." She paused to look at Stefan. "Then he'll do something reasonable, careful, or charming and it makes it easy to forget everything else. Of course, reality comes along and slaps me in the face."
Stefan stayed quiet as she vented.
"These secrets are big Stefan. He lied right to my face about the one I found out about today. Right to my face!" She calmed after yelling. "It accidentally came out. I'm not sure he would have ever told me the truth. They're effecting every part of his life in New Orleans. They shouldn't hurt me. I'm here. I'm not part of that life."
"But he cares about you," he added. "He probably wants you in his life more than you are."
"Sometimes I think so and then he does something so incredibly stupid I don't think he knows what it means to care about someone."
"He doesn't have people to show him you know."
She stopped her pacing as something she'd been thinking about the past few days came to the surface.
"Could you ever be friends with him again? Not as a ripper, but as my best friend Stefan?"
He thought about it.
"Our friendship in the past was really screwed up. It came from our mutual self-loathing. He said once we are utterly alone. He feels that way. I've felt that way myself. If he stopped all the threatening and plans for world domination, yes, I do think I could be friends with him. He can be pretty funny." He smiled at some of the less psychotic memories of his time with Klaus.
"You know the best reason why I could see myself being friends with Klaus again? You. You've seen something with him, Caroline or you wouldn't spend time with him."
She rolled her eyes. She was upset at what Klaus had done. She wasn't endorsing any friendship with him at the moment, but Stefan hadn't lied.
"Before he left today, he was pretty good with Athena. He stayed in control and he did it without blood being spilled even when they started to challenge him. Of course, he relied on his cruel reputation and compelled one of them, but he can't change his past, can he?"
"We can only change the future. He won't ever be a pussycat, Caroline. Don't get that in your head. That wouldn't be Klaus."
Stefan knew Klaus probably saved Jeremy that day and the rest of them as well and Caroline's burgeoning friendship with him was interesting, but Klaus had shown he could turn on people quickly. He changed his own life and knew it was possible with a lot of hard work. Maybe Klaus could do it too. It was a very big "maybe." He wasn't sure he should encourage Caroline, but he knew she had to work through whatever was going on between them.
"I know, I do. If he could get rid of some of the rough edges, he…I don't know. I don't know what I'm saying," she admitted as she plopped back into the chair, feeling overwhelmed.
"Yes, you do." He smiled at her.
"There's good in Klaus, Stefan. It's buried so deep, but it's there and he says things to me that are so understanding and deep, even after I brush him off again and again. He always puts me first, even when I don't want him to, except that seems to have changed a little since he left. His lies today were hurtful and it really, really sucked. I looked like a fool." She wiped a tear away that escaped. "His new life scares me."
"Can we please talk about you for a while?" she asked with a watery smile.
"You want someone else's life to fix instead of Klaus'?" He smirked at her.
"My own too, but yes, please."
He smiled as he refilled his glass.
"Since you're already weepy, I will admit I've been thinking a lot about Damon this week."
She nodded encouragingly at him. About time.
"He made some terrible mistakes in his life too, even ones that involved you." They hadn't talked about what Damon had done to her and it was something Stefan had avoided for years. "I'm sorry, Caroline. I'm sorry I didn't say anything then and that it's been ignored."
"Thank you, Stefan." A small piece of her soul shifted. It was something that needed to be acknowledged by someone else for a long time.
"He killed Lexi, Caroline. I often felt like he was a weight around my neck, that our relationship dragged us both down because we couldn't get past old slights. He's done some pretty selfless things too, mostly involving Elena. He was my brother and I loved him even when I hated him."
He leaned forward on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Telling the tale that he was the one who killed Kol gave him some importance this week. It was…good. I'm moving on with my life, but thinking about him this week has helped. I miss him," he said with a sad smile. "He's probably making a wisecrack right now if he can see me."
Caroline rose from her seat and gave him a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder. He needed this. He needed to acknowledge Damon and his passing.
"At least we're messes together. Oh, and the wedding is off."
They clinked their glasses and spent the rest of the night getting completely and utterly wasted.
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After a long night with one stop to get some blood, Klaus was in New Orleans. He returned to his home in the city and crashed for a few hours to get some rest. He was utterly drained from the emotional fallout with Caroline to being back in the city where his other parent lay in wait to kill his daughter.
When he woke up, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders compared to how he awoke the day before, he let Elijah know he was in the city and would be visiting later. He had a stop to make first.
"How did I know I would find you here?"
He clapped Marcel on the shoulder. He was just where Klaus knew he would be. Rousseau's. Cami was behind the bar and she looked at him, giving nothing away in her expression.
He could feel Marcel tense under his hand.
"Cami, bring us two glasses of bourbon, would you, love?"
Klaus waited until she dropped it off and returned to her other customers, few as they were.
"Back so soon, Klaus?"
"Ah yes, Virginia is lovely this time of year, but I knew I'd be missed."
Marcel waited for Klaus to speak again.
"I've been thinking a lot of about fathers, Marcel. How they should look out for their children."
Marcel just stared, unsure where he was going with this and wondering where Davina was if Klaus were here. He'd been trying her phone non-stop, but he never heard back from her. He hoped she was following closely and that something horrible didn't happen.
"I want to start again, Marcellus."
"Are you serious?" Marcel smiled, not believing him at all.
"Yes, I'm serious. The werewolves are gone and vampires are free to return to the city. New wolves will one day take their place here as well. New Orleans could be like it used to be, a supernatural haven."
It had been good for Marcel, except for being under Klaus' thumb at all times. He wanted to be with Rebekah and Klaus stood in the way of that. Marcel's years of rule were good, even better than with Klaus. It could be that way again with Davina by his side.
"Let's go for a walk."
Marcel felt like he had no choice and wanted to get away from Cami in case things went badly.
Once they started down the street, Marcel realized they were heading towards the cemetery.
"Where's Davina?"
Klaus put his arm on Marcel's shoulder again as they entered the gates. He stopped once they turned a corner, privacy guaranteed.
"I'm sorry to tell you this Marcel, but Davina died."
"No," he cried, throwing his arms up in despair. He'd been fearing the worst and this was it. "She was just a child, Klaus."
"She was a child," he agreed. He didn't add she was an insane child caught up in things that were much bigger than her.
"Mikael?"
"Dead, too."
Marcel was deeply upset, but unsure how to react to the news of Davina's death yet. He'd lost her once and was devastated, but she wasn't right when she returned. He hoped to help her get back to the young girl he once knew and now her light was snuffed out as a mere teenager always on the outside.
"How did you kill her?"
"It wasn't me who did it," Klaus said simply.
When Marcel made the call telling Klaus Mikael and Davina were coming, this was his worst case scenario and certainly possible. He felt incredibly guilty for preparing Klaus for her arrival. He felt just as guilty as if he killed her himself.
"What happens now?"
"You mourn your friend. You continue building up a vampire population in New Orleans which I'm sure you're doing," he smirked. "I believe Elijah is working on finding some new witches to relocate to New Orleans. Representation by all who are not plotting to kill or overthrow me is what I want in my city. It will take a long time to get there, but I want you in that future, Marcel. Think about what I said."
As Klaus turned away from Marcel, he'd been keeping Caroline in mind when he spoke. She was the one who killed Davina. She was the one who asked him to find peace for the city. Getting Marcel on board versus alienating him like he did so many others, including Davina, was the start. He'd wait to see if Marcel betrayed him again before he banished him for good.
Marcel went to find comfort with Cami. She'd been hesitant to acknowledge their connection, afraid Klaus would be jealous of each of them. Ever since Cami heard about Caroline though and Klaus had distanced himself after Hope's death, Marcel and Cami had gotten closer.
"Can you get the rest of the day off?" he asked when he returned.
Seeing how upset he was and knowing this was something she needed to do, she asked another bartender to cover for her. Since the place was mostly empty and they didn't know who their boss even was with the Guerrera family dead, it wasn't an issue. They expected Rousseau's would be closed soon unless someone bought it.
"What's the matter?" she asked as she dropped the towel off, coming out from behind the bar.
Like Klaus, Marcel waited to deliver the news until they were outside.
"Davina is dead."
"Oh, no Marcel. What happened?"
"She tried to kill Klaus with his father and he was the only one of them who came back."
"That's terrible."
He opened his arms and after an awkward pause she hugged him. He knew it was new between them, but he liked it.
"Are you ok?"
"No. She was a child and got herself caught up in my war with Klaus. It's my fault."
She was quiet.
"Who killed Mikael?"
"I don't know. Klaus said he didn't kill Davina."
"Do you believe him?"
"Yes." He looked at her with his big brown eyes. "Can we go to your place?"
"Sure, Marcel."
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How is she?
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Hungover and upset, but she'll be fine, Klaus. She's off talking to Tyler right now.
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Thank you, Stefan.
Stefan smiled as he looked at his phone. He didn't understand everything that went on with those two and didn't know exactly how Klaus was good for Caroline, but knowing the impact she had on his own life, she might be able to work a miracle or two for someone like Klaus. He couldn't resist throwing in Tyler's name either. Caroline mentioned he had a completely new life in New Orleans. Maybe Klaus needed a reminder that Caroline had a life here too.
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"Thanks for meeting me, Tyler," Caroline said as he sat down across from her. She chose a coffee shop just off campus for the meeting. This was the last unfinished business still lingering from New Orleans that she wanted to get to the bottom of.
"No problem, Care. I'm sorry I couldn't help with those vampires, but I couldn't work with him," Tyler said.
"I know and that's ok." She believed that. If Tyler wanted a new chance at life by being returned to an untriggered werewolf, she bore him no ill will. It was dangerous what she asked them to do.
"Did they leave for good?"
"Yeah. The one Enzo was sort of seeing and the rest all left yesterday. I think they're sticking together, but moving on to New York. Mystic Falls isn't their scene any more."
He nodded and took a drink of soda. He noticed she had a latte and a pastry and he smiled. Classic Caroline. They had some really good times together. She was always so put together and organized. She looked great in her summer sundress, long hair down over her shoulders.
"I learned a lot of things while I was down in New Orleans."
He tensed and she saw it.
"I even ran into Hayley Marshall. Can you believe it? She had quite the story about Klaus…and you. Want to tell me about it?"
"Look, Care, whatever she told you, she got it wrong. I was trying to create hybrids to take him down. I needed to see if the blood would work. I don't want that any more, but I couldn't do nothing. He killed my mom." He couldn't understand why no one else felt as strongly as he did.
"Is that why you stuck a pregnant woman in the stomach?" Her own stomach turned over at the thought. "How could you, Tyler?"
He looked down and gripped the edge of the table.
"Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?"
"I should have, shouldn't I?" he said as he looked up. "I didn't think you needed to know more about Klaus to hate him other than killing my mother, but knocking up Hayley would have been the final straw, right?"
"It seems like kind of a big detail to leave out. She also told me how you two cheated on me. That was fun to get confronted with. I love looking like an idiot. Maybe that could have been your kid."
"What?" He had no idea what she was talking about now.
"Don't lie, Tyler. She told me how you two hooked up."
"She was lying, Caroline. Yeah, she got a little flirty with me, but I was always faithful to you. I'm not a cheater."
It was odd that would be the one detail Tyler would refute out of all of the others. Admitting to trying steal blood from Hayley was a lot worse than cheating on her and he did admit that.
"Do you swear?"
"Yes, Caroline." He was getting offended that she kept asking and he stood up. "I never had sex with Hayley. You just had sex with Klaus."
He walked away.
She was tempted to yell out that they were broken up at the time. Klaus was out of Tyler's life and she admitted it was best that way. That Klaus didn't kill Tyler for attempting an experiment on the baby was a miracle in itself. She was stricken when she realized maybe he did it for her. She did ask him in the woods that day about seeing Tyler and Klaus said he let him go.
Caroline wasn't sure if she felt better or worse after talking to Tyler. She dated a guy who did something terrible to a pregnant woman, but he wasn't a cheater? Lose-Lose.
She finished her coffee and went back to her dorm room. Cleaning felt good. It cleared her mind and needed to get done. She cleaned up the room where Stefan and Klaus crashed, returning the fans from where they had been taken. She also did a lot of laundry. Elena asked if she wanted to do her laundry too and she did have to consider it for a moment before she realized Elena was kidding. Jeremy joined her and gave Caroline a big hug for everything she'd done with the Jefferson vampires.
"It was for Bonnie, too."
Each smiled remembering their good friend and all of the enormous sacrifices she made.
They left and Caroline continued to clean. Scrubbing away all signs of the past week was what she wanted. She couldn't scrub away the memories of Klaus that intruded, especially drinking his blood, but she would try. She wouldn't look at her phone. She'd see what classes she would take next semester and try to get a copy of the syllabus to get a head start. Maybe Alaric could pull some strings. It was a plan.
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Klaus paced in his study.
Tyler. She was talking to Tyler. She wasn't in danger and she was talking to her ex-boyfriend again.
His gut churned with both ever-present jealousy when it came to Tyler and fear she would never speak to him again. The last words she said to him was that she tried and he hurt her every time.
The best gift he could offer his daughter was a place free from enemies.
Maybe the best gift he could offer Caroline was freedom from his flawed self. He wasn't good enough. He would never be good enough. He tried staying away. Before she came to New Orleans, he was intent on staying away at least for a while longer, but seeing her again? How could he wait?
Frustrated, he raised his fist to slam it down on the table, but he paused, reigning himself in. He would paint her instead and think about giving himself a chance to be in her life, honestly. It might take a century, but after Esther was killed, he'd have the time to devote to the task.
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While technically Esther was a widow…again, she was not prepared to sleep with him so she slipped something into his drink. He wouldn't know any better. She snooped through his phone, putting the numbers into her own cell.
Finn was keeping to the shadows, not coming around her new persona unless absolutely necessary. He was trying to look for her grimoire as subtly as he could. Esther knew Hayley wouldn't have ever been able to get it out of Elijah, he would never give it up voluntarily. They'd have to stumble on it. While Elijah was looking for him, he was watching Elijah.
The countdown clock was on.
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This one was basically a reset after all of the drama. These conversations had to happen and Esther is weaving her web around them all.
What do you guys think? Reviews keep me going.