live2write123: hey everyone! i'm just warning you ahead of time that this chapter isn't very Klaroline friendly because Klaus does A LOT of current bad things that he confessed to Caroline and, of course, Caroline reacted for the worse :(. but this is the last chapter of season two. i'll be starting chapter twenty five soon (which is going to be based off of the first episode of season three). i'm also just warning you that probably none of you are going to like how i ended this chapter/season BUT HOWEVER this story is far from the end :). i promise.
ps. this chapter is loosely based off of As I Lay Dying, the season finale of season two. i mixed around a lot of the dialogue and changed the plot for it to make sense in the end.
pss. thanks for everyone who has supported the story so far :). i can't thank each and every one of you enough. it overwhelms and surprises me to the fullest that people actually enjoy this story and truly keep up with every update. i'd like to give a special shout out to everyone who has given me 97 reviews :). i'm not a greedy person, i'll take what i can get. but it's truly the people who review and give me feedback on every or at least one of the previous chapters. and thanks for everyone who favourite, follow and support this story! :) but review, alert, favourite, comment, and most of all, enjoy the season finale chapter of season two! :DChapter Twenty-Four: Never Going Back Again
Present Day (Mystic Falls, Virginia)
The rumble of gentle snoring awakened Caroline from one of the best slumbers she had ever encountered. It didn't take her long to remember what had happened the night before. Rescuing Alison and Tyler Lockwood from Klaus's imprisonment, saving Damon from a werewolf bite, the sacrifice, everything. It also didn't take her long to realize that she wasn't in Alaric's bed alone, let alone the fact that she didn't wake up sleeping against the mattress.
"Morning, love." A very familiar voice groggily cooed as if it was directly above her.
Her blurry eyes finally focused and she looked up, realizing that her body was curled up, halfway on top of his, her legs were tangled with his and her head was comfortably against his chest. Her eyes widened and she quickly recoiled, unfastening her legs from his and rolling her body until she fell off the bed with a loud clunk.
Klaus laughed at her reaction. "I didn't think my devilish good looks were enough to startle you to fall off the bed so quickly."
She sat up from the hard ground and looked at him with an unimpressed look on her face. "What on earth are you doing here? Why are we sleeping in the same bed?"
"I thought you should be the first to know. Feast your eyes on the one and only Hybrid."
That meant they were both still alive and operation 'Kill-Klaus' was an absolute failure. He broke the curse and there was no other way to kill him now. He was here to stay. And somehow, deep inside of her to the feelings she once felt, to that side of her who refuses to let anything that happened between them go, it gave her reassurance that he was still alive.
But this version of Caroline, the stubborn and unrelenting version, would never give in to what she felt centuries ago. She stood up from the ground and sat cross-legged on top of the mattress. "Congratulations. Forgive me if I'm not jumping for joy that my greatest enemy is impossible to kill now." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest
"Exactly, that means your stuck with me. Forever."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Lovely."
"Is that any way to thank you? You're welcome for healing you in your sleep. Again."
"Please, Niklaus. If it were up to me, I wouldn't be here right now."
"That isn't fair, love. I know you want to live. There are plenty of ways to die for a vampire. If you sincerely had a death wish, you would have been dead a long time ago. And as long as I am alive, you will never die. I refuse to let it happen."
"You can't baby-sit me. Not every second of every day."
Klaus propped his body up on one elbow. "Don't try me, Caroline. If it was my choice and I didn't have a care for your freewill, I would compel you to stay by my side with force and compulsion."
Her heart stopped as her head spun in his direction, worry filling her widened eyes. "But you wouldn't do that, right? I mean, I know we have our differences and all, but you wouldn't really strip me of my freewill?"
He shook his head. "No. There would be no point to have you by my side if I knew at the back of my mind that I forced you to be there. I want you to be by my side on your own terms, no matter how long it takes."
Caroline turned away from him, her cheeks reddening at his determination. "I hope you enjoy the disappointment, Niklaus. Because I will never join your side willingly."
Suddenly, she felt his breath gently huffing in her ear. "I'm a patient man, love. I hope you, my dear, enjoy my relentlessness and persistence." He bent his head down and kissed her shoulder. "Now, do we have to get up and start a new day right this moment? Can we not sleep for a little longer?" Klaus tempted.
If anything, her cheeks reddened even more. Not just her cheeks, her entire face must be a tomato by now. She looked over her shoulder where his face was, the stubble on his chin prickling her delicate skin. His eyes blazed into her hers as her breathing hitched irregularly. His hand was rubbing up and down her upper arm, tempting her and persuading her to agree. She tore her eyes away from his, gulping the lump further down her throat, squeezing her eyes shut and then finally, she slowly nodded.
Caroline could feel him smile into her skin and he gently pushed her onto the mattress until she was lying on her side and facing away from him. Klaus looked down at her before leaving a trail of a soft kisses up from her elbow to her exposed shoulder. "You're skin is so soft, my dear, it puts velvet and silk to shame." He murmured, pulling up the blankets before he laid down behind her and snaked his arm around her waist and pulling her into him.
By the time she fell back asleep, she had a smile on her face. A smile that he couldn't see and that no one else knew of except her. No one could know what she felt beneath the surface. It just wasn't an option. It never will be one. But every time she was this close to him, close enough to feel his warmth and his even breathing, she felt the barriers she built around her diminishing little by little.
When Caroline woke up, they shifted positions so that Klaus was laying on his back with his head facing away from her and towards the window on the other side of the bed while she was laying on her stomach with her head positioned at him. But throughout their sleep, he kept a firm but comfortable grip around her hand, as if his conscious feared that she would escape during his slumber. Caroline secretly examined his upper body. He even looked different. He slept with a smile on his face, and he appeared slightly further muscular than before. His chest was broader, so were his shoulders and his arms. The muscles in his stomach were more dominant than before. Despite all of the pain and havoc he caused, he was completely innocent in moments like these. Sleeping like a baby. She stared down at his chest, the light through the window reflecting off his skin so that the fine hairs on his chest were visible. Caroline felt tempted run her fingers down his chest, but that would wake him up and give him false hope.
however she didn't need to touch him to wake him. His eyes shot open and he turned his head towards her, looking into her embarrassed eyes with a sarcastic smirk on his plump lips "You know, if you continue to bore holes in to my luscious chest, my dear, we will never leave this bed."
She effectively flipped her head position, facing and looking the opposite way. "D-Don't get the wrong idea, Niklaus. It's not my fault that you're the first sight I see right now at this moment."
On the other hand, her attempts to put space between them didn't work. Klaus simply flipped his body so that his bare chest was touching her back and his body was against hers. "What? Not even a good morning kiss?" He asked.
"Never." She grumbled into her pillow.
His fingertips gently traced across her neck until her hair was out of the way and the back of her neck was exposed for him to kiss it, tenderly. "Unfortunately, I'm a greedy man." He forcefully cupped her shoulder so that he could flip her body onto her back. He pinned her wrists to the mattress above her head with one hand and cupped her chin so that she couldn't turn away before he dove into a hungry and desperate kiss. But unlike before, she squirmed underneath the weight of his body and tried to wiggle her hands out of his death grip. After five minutes of his unrelenting lips moving against hers, he backed away, unfazed while Caroline was gasping for air, and released her hands.
"You have forgotten to mention last night that Elijah and the Salvatores were planning on killing me during my transition."
When she caught her breath, she spoke. "As if you didn't see this coming, Niklaus. None of us wanted you to become what you truly are."
"Yes, of course. But you failed to inform me before I left. You knew that I had to come back to heal you. If I died, that meant you would have as well."
"It was a sacrifice of my own I was willing to make. I failed my friends. I should have been there last night. What of Elijah? Where was he?"
"He had his hand in my chest, ready to rip my heart from my body. But he didn't, evidently. So in exchange for my life, I gave him my word that I would reunite him with our family. And that I shall."
"Elijah would never do such a thing."
"But he did. Of course he did. I am his brother, no matter how many times with disagree and quarrel over petty trivial little things."
"So I'm a 'petty trivial thing'? Because if I remember correctly, I was under Elijah's care for thirty years."
"Yes. But look who your under now, my dear."
Caroline avoided his eyes, looking the other way to ignore her reddening cheeks. "Who did you use for vampire and werewolf in your little sacrifice? I want to know."
"Well, as you know, Tyler Lockwood has recently returned to Mystic Falls, but he brought a werewolf with him. Jules? I'm certain that's her name."
This time she looked at him with eyes of appreciation. "That's the greatest news you ever gave me. She was the one who bit and killed Rose. I always wanted to avenge her death. It's a good thing I took Tyler away from your imprisonment last night. Otherwise, Jules would have lived to see another day and I would have never forgiven myself if I ever let her go again."
He smiled. "I'm glad you are satisfied, Caroline. See? I'm not such a bad guy after all." Klaus leans forward to kiss her again, but she outstretches her hand to stop him by pushing on his bare chest.
She slightly blushes at the contact, but ignores it. "You're not off the hook yet. Who did you use for the vampire in the sacrifice?"
"If I tell you the truth, Caroline, you will never forgive me."
"This is intriguing. I thought you didn't have a care for another's approval."
"You're right, I don't. But your approval is very important to me."
"Who was it?"
He looked at her, torn to give her the truth or lie. "It was the doppelganger's aunt. Jenna."
Caroline's jaw dropped, shoving his body off of hers so that she could stand up and pace the floor, raking a hand through her hair repeatedly. "How could you?"
Klaus sat up to reveal he was only wearing black sweatpants. "I needed a vampire, Caroline."
"You could have turned any human in this town if you wanted to, but you chose her aunt?! What the hell did the doppelganger ever do to you? She didn't run. She didn't hide. She didn't turn. She obeyed everything you wanted, and yet you turn her aunt into a vampire long enough to be killed for your stupid, petty curse."
"This is exactly why I never tell the truth, Caroline. You forget to grasp the fact that last night, I would have done anything and everything to get what I want."
"Including innocents?"
"Especially."
"Tell me. What if the werewolf bite I had received last night effected faster than normal? You still would have gone to break your curse and you have returned here, with your curse broken, but I would have been dead."
Klaus shook his head in disbelief before he stood up in front of her. "Caroline..."
"Look, I understand that back then, in France, when you healed me, it wasn't the great hybrid blood that did. It was your original vampire blood that did because you still had a werewolf gene buried inside of you. Elijah couldn't be able to heal a werewolf bite because, despite the fact that he's an original, he doesn't have a werewolf gene anywhere in him. And I find it entirely unfortunate because the most greedy, deceitful, untrustworthy beast is the only one who can have the power to determine which vampires get to live with the cure and who supposedly deserve to die. That was your decision to make, whether they live or not."
He looked at her, shocked, as he tried to reach out to her and take step towards her. "Caroline..." Klaus murmured, but his sentence trailed off again.
"No, you disgust me, Niklaus. Don't you understand that by now? So congratulations, you've become the world's most deadliest monster. But you cannot have it both ways. You have lost any chance of my approval or allegiance with you in the process. Find yourself a new, young and obedient girlfriend to chase, because I've grown weary of your games."
When she turned around and walked to the door, she turns the doorknob to open it only by a few inches for Klaus to slam one of his hands on the door until it closed and the other was overlapping Caroline's hand on the doorknob. "Do not leave me, Caroline."
"Is that an order?" She whispered.
"No. I could never order you to do something against your will. Don't you understand? I know I am violent, malicious, deceitful, and greedy to those around me and have the need to kill me. But I would not treat you the same as them, Caroline. No matter how many times you attempt to kill me, my feelings for you had not withered or changed. I can never find another you, do you not believe that I have not tried that yet? When you fled from France, I felt betrayed and abandoned, but I still tried to find you for years until I gave it a chance to look for someone other than you. Someone who looked like you, with golden blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, but who didn't know what I was and what I have done. I thought it was an opportunity to start over, but it was ineffective regardless of the attempts to erase you from my memory. I could not. You were burned into my memory the first moment I laid eyes on you. You were proving to a bunch of young warriors that girls can fight as great as men can. And I admired that about you, Caroline. Not only did your beauty utterly captivated me, but as well as your persistent determination to prove your point."
"Enough, Niklaus. Nothing you say of the past can erase what you have done last night. I sincerely do not want or need to be treated differently with your special treatment. If you wish to harm and ruin innocent humans in the process of getting what you want, then leave me out of it. I don't want any participation in it just to be on your good side. I refuse to be loyal follower of yours who will sit back and watch the carnage you destroy. That is where we have always been different, Niklaus. You wish to destroy the world, I want to save it from selfish brutes like you. Now, release me. Because nothing you can say right now will change my mind."
Klaus knew what she wanted to hear. Three little words that had so much meaning to them. The truth is, he had never heard of or been told of these words from his parents or his siblings before and after he was turned into a vampire. Nobody loved him, but he always knew he has loved Caroline since the first day he saw her. But she has never been the one to say it first. Maybe that was merely one of the reasons why he could never truly let her go. He wanted to hear those three little words from her, so he continuously chases after her and confess his feelings to her in hopes she would utter those three little words. But she never has, not even when she was human.
Flashback (Viking Age - 1058)
One beautiful afternoon, Caroline was patiently waiting for Niklaus in their usual spot for his arrival. He was running late due to the physical labour and chores the tribe leader has insisted him to complete on a daily basis for him and his siblings to prove their loyalty and allegiance to the village. She was distractedly creating a crown of flowers, weaving beautiful wildflowers in and out of the crown made out of intertwining long and skinny sticks. Ever since their tribe leader agreed to let Niklaus and his siblings to stay, Caroline knew she was determined to give the new neighbours space. At first, she went out of her way to avoid Niklaus, but he continued to find ways to interfere with her daily routine. She surrendered to his advances, allowing Niklaus to have lunch with her during his break from his work and after Caroline was finished teaching the young children in the village how to write. Truth of the matter is that she truly and secretly enjoyed his company more than anyone ever before. His presence makes her feel safe and warm as if he wants to be there, despite his strenuous and demanding chores to complete.
"Good afternoon, Caroline." Niklaus's voice interrupted the perfect silence around.
She gazed up at him and smiled, amiably. "Hello, Niklaus."
"What is on the menu for lunch today?"
Caroline looks down at the woven basket. She removed the handkerchief from the top of the basket to reveal two sandwiches, a glass canteen of water, and fruit. "Well, your brother and the night hunting group were fortunate enough to catch wild turkeys in their traps last night before everyone went to bed. I made sandwiches this morning out of someof the meat and fresh bread that was out of the baker's oven this morning. And then the elders of the village gave me some washed fruit from their garden."
"That sounds delicious. I have been looking forward to lunch with you all day. It is the only motivation that kept me progressing this very humid day."
"What task were you given today?"
"To rebuild the blacksmith shop after it was burnt down."
"Yes, I remember the day it happened." She shrugs. "Oh well, it was accident. And everyone makes mistakes."
"Have you ever made a mistake?"
She looked at him. "You really want to know?"
Niklaus smiled. "I would not have asked if I didn't."
"My greatest mistake I ever made was agreeing into an arranged marriage. My mother has been pushing me towards that for as long as I could remember. I agreed to her so that she could stop talking about it. She says I will grow to love my husband, as she had grown to love my father when they were my age. But I want to experience love on my own time, not to be rushed into something I cannot get out of."
"Do you know what love is?"
"I do not have the slightest idea. But when I do, I want to feel it for myself and for someone I love, not for someone of high status and riches who has been chosen for me to 'grow to love'."
He nods. "I understand. When are you to be engaged?"
"My mother hopes to ship me off by the end of the summer. In two months, I will be wedded to a stranger that I know nothing about. It scares me that I will have to marry someone who can easily abuse me or he may find a mistress or two if he has no use of me or gets bored of me."
"That will never happen. I will make sure of it. If this man ever harms you in any way, Caroline, I will make it my personal business to make sure he never hurts you."
"How can you be so sure? I have to leave my village to live in his village and live the restof my planned life with him. I will never get to see anyone in my village ever again, including you."
Niklaus leans in towards her. "And this saddens you? To never see me again?"
"Of course it does. You have been the closest person I have to a friend. All the young woman my age utter nothing more than pretty dresses and handsome men they have to marry. And the young men my age are too sexist and pigheaded to be my friend. I will miss your friendship when I am gone."
"I will miss you too, Caroline." More than you know.
"What about you? Have you ever been in love?"
"Once. My brother and I use to be in love with the same girl back in my old village years ago when we were kids. But I was so very young and naive categorize it as love. I've never felt or been in love before."
"That is hard to believe, Niklaus."
He turns to her with a quizzical brow lifted. "Why is it that?"
"I believe any young woman would be lucky to have your love and to love you in return. Do not take yourself for granted. You will find your love soon enough."
At first, Niklaus was shocked to hear her words. But then he smiled at her determination that not all hope was lost for him. That he still had a chance to fall in love with someone.
"You know, you do not have to do what your mother wants."
"Of course I have to."
"Everyone is given the choice, Caroline. It's your life to live. Embrace it. Live it. Because you never know, one day you may never have the chance to live again."
Caroline nods, understandingly. "I will take that into consideration, Niklaus. Thank you."
"You are most welcome, love."
Present Day (Mystic Falls, Virginia)
After Klaus had backed away, sliding his hold off of her hand on the doorknob and she twisted the doorknob again without any interruptions. She left the door wide open, walking across the apartment, past Katerina laying down on the couch and out the door, stealing a glance of Klaus's physical struggle to keep himself from running after her. But she didn't. She ran and never looked back. She continued to run until she ran into the Salvatore's house. Damon was sitting in the room, as if he was waiting for someone to return.
Damon was the first to see Caroline and stood up with a shocked expression his face. "Caroline? You really did survive that werewolf bite."
"I'm sorry that I never told you the truth about a cure to a werewolf bite. I really did try to get into contact with him, risking everything so that Rose could live, but he turned me away."
He nodded, walking towards her. "It's okay."
But she continued to apologize. "And I'm so sorry about Elijah. I thought I could trust him but his family matters more than anything else. If I had known he would betray us, I would not have involved him into our plans."
Damon placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her from rambling. "Care, listen to me. You sacrificed everything to keep me alive. I owe you my life. We're not mad at you and we understand why you never told us. As if that jackass would ever give something over to us out of kindness."
Caroline smiles, reassured just as two people enter the room. "Caroline. You're back." The doppelganger's voice said from the corner of the room.
She spun her head towards the voice to see Elena and Stefan there. "Elena? How are you alive?" Caroline asked, baffled.
"Bonnie cast a spell on John to give his human life to Elena. He died in the process." Stefan explained.
She looked down at their outfits. They all were wearing black, but then she remembered why. Jenna. Caroline walked towards Elena and gave her a hug. "I am so sorry for your loss, Elena. No one, especially her, deserved to be killed for someone else's gain."
"Thank you." Elena whispered back.
Caroline wrapped her arms around Stefan after she released Elena from her embrace. At first, Stefan didn't return her gesture. He just stood there with his arms at his side before he slowly and loosely wrapped his arms around her. She backed away out their embrace a minute or two later. "Are you okay?" She asked, due to his pokerfaced expression.
"Yeah, I'm just furious that this is happened. We were prepared to kill him, and now there's absolutely no way we can kill him."
"We'll find a way. There's always another way. You found a way to keep Elena human and alive when there wasn't another way to. Don't give up hope, Stef. We can do this." She looked determined in his eyes, in hopes that he would feel determined to find another way to end the all-mighty beast.
As the day went on, Caroline got into contact with Alison to see if she and her friends were alive and well after last night. She confirmed that everything was perfectly normal, except that her mom knows that she's a vampire, Matt broke up with her and Tyler has been comforting her since last night. She also said that Tyler was sorry he bit her, but Caroline dismissed the need for an apology. It was only a debate on who would have gotten bitten. Caroline just happened to get the short end of the stick. When she hung up, she returned to the living room to see that both Salvatore brothers were gone and that Jeremy and Bonnie were sitting with Elena, drinking tea and eating what was left of the.
"Where's Stefan and Damon?" Caroline asked.
"They both had to go check on Alaric at the Grill. He's taking Jenna's death the worse out of us all."
"Okay, where are you all off too?"
"Elena's dragging us to go see the screening of Gone With The Wind in the town square's to 'take our minds off everything'." Jeremy explained, rolling his eyes.
Bonnie nodded. "Yes, a distraction from reality."
Jeremy turned towards his girlfriend. "Is that what we're doing? Pretending like our lives aren't screwed up?"
"We need this, Jer. Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again until one day, it's just not as hard anymore." Elena explained.
"All right." The young Gilbert said with a sigh.
She grabbed her car keys. "I might head over there after I find out what trouble our boys are getting into." Caroline took her departure, but she didn't drive to the Grill like they 'supposedly' were. She called Damon and Stefan's phones, but the calls were both forwarded to their voicemails. Caroline knew Stefan wasn't convinced by her determining words to believe in that there was another way. Maybe it was because he could sense that she wasn't one hundred percent sure herself when she said it. Or maybe that he was determined to put an end to Klaus for once and for all before it was too late.
Caroline arrived in the doorway of Alaric's apartment, listening into the conversation through the door.
"You need to get the hell out of this town." Damon's voice threatened.
"Now, I don't believe that you are in any position to be telling me what to do. It's amazing how brave young vampires are nowadays. But I'm sorry, I'll leave when I want to leave." Klaus explained.
"We're here to you go. You got what you wanted. Now leave." Stefan demanded.
She took it this time to go inside. Caroline turned the doorknob, pushing the door and letting swing open. There was a lot going on that her ears could not pick up. Klaus was standing across the room facing the doors while the Salvatores stood with their backs turned to Caroline. Katherine was standing behind Klaus in the corner, but what shocked her the most was the sight of Elijah, laying on the floor on his back with a dagger in his chest and his skin ashen grey.
"Caroline. It was only a matter of time for you to return." Klaus announced, but her eyes were glued to the sleeping body of Elijah. She fell to her knees just as her tears fell from her eyes, crawling towards him and she held his hand. She knew that if she even tried to remove the dagger from his chest, she wouldn't drive Klaus's patience to it's limits and she would never live to see a free day again. "Don't do anything foolish, Caroline." Klaus warned.
But Caroline ignored him. She raised Elijah's hand to her lips to kiss it before she leaned over his face, brushing back the hairs out of his eyes before she kissed his cold, lifeless lips. "I will save you, Elijah. I have before, I can do it again." She whispered to him before she looked up at Klaus, who's eyes were widened and his mouth slightly agape jut as she got to her feet, walked over Elijah's body and stood in between the Salvatore brothers.
"I believe Damon and Stefan ordered you to get the hell out of this town. You got your sacrifice, your hybrid now, good for you. Now go. There's nothing left here for you." Caroline stated.
"That is where you are very mistaken, Caroline. You see, I need a companion to accompany me on my travels who is willing to give up everything they have here to leave with me."
Damon snorted. "As if any of us would willingly go with you. But dare I ask who you had in mind precisely?"
"Not you, that's for sure. You do not have a willing and obedient and loyal bone in your body. It's either the love of my life," Klaus said, looking at Caroline to Stefan. "Or the famous ripper I've heard so much about."
Caroline glances over at Stefan and he meets her eye. "Fine. One of us will go with you on two conditions." Stefan said.
"I'm all ears."
"You relieve Katerina of your compulsion." Caroline stated, her eyes flickering to Katherine before returning her gaze at Klaus. "And you can never return to Mystic Falls again."
Klaus smiled, offering his hand to the side. "Katerina? Come."
Katherine slowly and cautiously walked towards him, giving him her hand. He looked into her eyes, removing the compulsion from her eyes and dropping her hand. Katherine made her way to the door, only to be stopped by Caroline. "Caroline. I can't thank you-"
She raised her hand, cutting off her appreciation speech. "There's no need. I'm always saving you. Don't ever mention it. Now, get out of here. Before he changes his mind, or I finish the job myself." Caroline warned, and just like that, Katherine disappeared from sight.
"Damon, you should leave. This has nothing to do with you anymore." Caroline said.
Damon looks over at her in disbelief. "No, I'm staying until the very end."
She closed her eyes. "Please. Just go."
He shakes his head again. "I won't leave. If he chooses you, I'm going to make sure he takes me instead for your freedom. You saved my life, Caroline. Like I said, I owe you."
"Now, who to choose, who to choose. All options are easily valuable. But I need a partner in crime. That's a category where Caroline and the elder Salvatore do not fall under." Klaus explained. He wanted Stefan. "So, that leaves you, ripper."
"But I haven't been like that in a very long time."
"Well, that's the only way I'm leaving this town. I know you will not be any of use to me the way you are now. You see, you are just shy of pathetic and useless."
"I'm not like that anymore."
"Well, that's too bad. You would have made a hell of a wingman." Suddenly, Klaus used his fast-speed to race around Stefan and Caroline to bite into Damon's exposed wrist. "Now, are you willing to agree to my proposition? Leave with me and everything you hold dear to this down, and I will save your brother's life and I will never return to this town."
"Fine, I'll do whatever you want. Just heal him." Stefan said.
Klaus smiled, "now that's more like it." He pushed Damon aside, but Caroline caught him before he fell to the ground. Klaus walked over to the kitchen and found an empty water bottle in the recycling bin. He grips a stake knife in his hand, cutting his hand opened and pouring his blood into the bottle until it was less than half and one-quarter full. "You want the cure? First you need complete a little task for me to prove your allegiance." Klaus takes a blood bag from the fridge, tossing it to him. "I want you to join me for a drink."
Stefan slowly takes a sip, but that doesn't satisfies Klaus. "Finish it. All of it. You do everything I say, and I save your brother. That's the deal. Like I said, I won't make a deal with useless. I have big plans for you when we leave this town." Stefan drinks all of the blood bag and tosses the empty bag aside. But Klaus throws him another blood bag from the fridge. "Again."
Ten minutes later, Klaus's hybrid has taken its effect on Damon faster and more painful than a normal werewolf bite. Caroline continued to cradle his head while Stefan drank and finished one blood bag after another until he was on the floor, with blood dripping down his chin and he was growling in defiance. "You are very cooperative. It's almost as if you're enjoying it." Klaus mused with satisfaction, giving Stefan his eighth blood bag.
But this time, Stefan growled, shaking his head. "No more. Not until you give him the cure."
"Not until you finish this task. It's your choice, Stefan." Klaus knelt towards him. "You can either remain here living your life in Mystic Falls, or you can embrace what you truly are, leave town with me, and save your brother's life." He offered the blood bag to Stefan, which he stares at absentmindedly until he snatches it out of his hand and drains it while glaring at a smiling, amused Klaus.
"That's the spirit." Klaus said before he stood up and took the water bottle to Caroline. "Here you go, love."
She grits her teeth, unscrewing the cap from the bottle. "I hope you rot in hell."
"You're welcome, my dear."
Caroline puts the spout of the water bottle at Damon's lips and tips it up as the blood dribbles into his mouth until the last drop. Damon opens his eyes and his hybrid wound begins to heal. Caroline stands up from the ground, letting Damon wrap his arm across his shoulder for balance as he tries to regain his strength. Before she can leave, Klaus grabs her chin and kisses her lips lingeringly before he lets her go. "For old times sake. I will be looking forward to seeing you in the future, Caroline."
"As long as you keep your end of the deal up, I won't have to have another reason to hunt you down and kill you."
"I'm still waiting for you to kill me for the reasons you already have."
"All in good time, you will get what you deserve."
"Trust me, my dear, I acknowledged that fact long before you."
Caroline turned away, supporting Damon to walk, stealing one last glance of Elijah, and then Stefan, and lastly Klaus before she disappeared and ended up at the Salvatore's house. She placed a sleeping Damon in his bed, writing him a quick note on his bedside table and a blood bag for him to drink when he wakes up. Caroline took all of her bags to the front door just as Elena walked through it.
"Hey Caroline, where's Stefan and Damon? Alaric said that they never showed up at the Grill this afternoon."
"Damon is upstairs sleeping. And Stefan... he gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon."
"What do you mean, 'he gave himself over'?"
"Klaus wouldn't leave town unless Stefan went with him. But he didn't want the good natured Stefan, he wanted the ripper Stefan. So to up the stakes, Klaus bit Damon. Stefan just sacrificed everything to save his brother, including you. If Klaus stayed any longer in this town, he would know that you survived the sacrifice. In the end, Damon's fatal hybrid bite has been healed, but with the cost of Stefan's sanity and freedom. I'm sorry."
Elena looked down at Caroline's bags. "Where are you going?"
"I have to leave town too. But make sure you call me if Klaus ever returns. If he keeps his end of the deal in tact by leaving town and never returning, I'll make sure I'm as far as away from this town as possible. And take care of Damon, make sure he doesn't do anything thoughtless and reckless."
She nodded. "I will."
"Now live your life, Elena, because you have every right to live it to its fullest."
Caroline picked up her bags, walked out of the Salvatore's house, the place she called home for weeks, stealing a glance at it after she had placed her bags in the back of her car and was about to get into the driver's seat. She drove out of Mystic Falls, and throughout what was rest of the night, she didn't know how long she had been driving, but it was for hours until Caroline ended up at someone's doorstep at six in the morning.
She knocked on the door and waited patiently. It was only a minute or two for the door to open and Caroline looked up from the ground to the person's face. "Caroline? What in the world are you doing here?"
"Do you mind if I stay here for a bit? I'm currently homeless and I don't know where else to go." Caroline explained.
The owner opened the door wider. "Of course. Come on in. And you can stay as long as you want."
She felt the barrier in the doorway diminish as he said the words and she stepped over the threshold, carrying her bags inside. "Thanks."
The familiar, bedhead, weary face of Felix Dawson smiled at her, helping her carrying her bags inside. "Anytime. I owed you one." He closed the door behind her.
live2write123: i'm sorry i had to end it on an anti-Klaroline note :(. i already know all of you were looking forward for her to leave with Klaus and with or instead of Stefan. in my opinion and in view of this story, it just wouldn't be realistic if she left with him and throw her revenge away that easily after nine-hundred-years of betrayal and hatred. my point is to empower and expand Caroline as a main character in this story. she surrenders to Klaus from time to time, but she can't just willing let her revenge for her family's fight to be erased without a fight. their relationship has always been a bumpy roller coaster, but rest assured: THIS ISN'T THE END! it's only the first part of the story. Klaus is patient and relentless. he's willing to do anything and everything to get Caroline to change her view of him and on his side :). but please tell me what you think and i'll try to post the next chapter of the season premier of season three by Tuesday or Wednesday. thanks again for all the support! i love you all and i was so excited to start writing for the next chapter, i already have the first Klaroline scene played out! until next time, good night/morning/afternoon! :D