No excuses, I have put off writing and publishing this chapter, as when I was writing it, I realised it was the last one, and felt really sad about it. I really loved this story, and it reminds me of the feeling of promise and excitement at what direction Klaroline might go in the show. Sadly... it has taken a very different path... like it or not, and we just have to get on with it.
I am looking forward to the Originals though, and excited to have Klaus as a main character, with more screen time))
Klaus stood up and went to the kitchen, picking up the wine glasses and bottle, he paused, steadying himself at the counter. How to tell her what happened, he wondered... how to explain, without her hating him. He took a deep breath, and turned, returning to the sitting room, where Caroline now stood, in front of the fire.
She was staring at it's fiery depths, and he set down the drinks, and took the opportunity to come up behind her and gently rest his hands on her shoulders. She hesitated a moment, and then leaned into him. He felt his breath catch a moment, and let his face wander to her hair, as it clouded softly around her neck, breathing it in gently, he marvelled over the fact of her, that she was here, that she was allowing him to touch her, to give her comfort.
Taking a deep breath, he began his explanation.
"You uncle had travelled a lot, during his marine days. I don't know what he did, during these trips, but let's just say... he probably wasn't sending out many nice postcards to his loved ones at home. His magic... he got from these trips, somewhere forgotten, dark...lost to the world. He communed with the darkest spirits in nature, and somehow, they bestowed power on him."
"What kind of power?"
"The power to control animals..."
"Wolves" Caroline said, her voice certain, and he smiled against her hair, her quick connections making him proud.
"Yes... wolves, werewolves... that was the chief power, amongst other things."
"The fire"
"A trick, a clever one..."
"It felt real" she murmured and he took a steadying breath at the memory of Caroline ablaze, and his inability to help.
"What about the council?"
"Gone... he killed most of them" Klaus said, and felt her flinch under his hands. Her mother, a member of the council, he cursed himself for saying it so casually.
"How did you break the barrier? You couldn't touch him..." she said, her voice hailing from the memories flashing in front of her eyes.
"No... not as a man." he said, and she turned around to look at him, her brow scrunched as she tried to imagine another way. He looked at her steadily, and saw as the understanding dawned in her eyes.
"But... as a wolf?"
"As a wolf, there was no barrier between us."
"But- his ability to control wolves..."
"I am no mere wolf sweetheart, I should not exist in nature... a hybrid... he might be able to control the animal... but I am also a vampire" he said. Caroline looked in the distance, processing the information. She suddenly let out a small sigh.
"I never thought that would be something I'd be glad about..." she muttered, and he grimaced.
"I thought we got past you wanting to see me dead." he teased.
"Yeah, well... old habits die hard" she said, and walked to the table, picking up her glass of wine. He saw her fingers tremble for a moment on it's crystal stem.
"What happened next?"
"I... wounded him, and with the help of your friend Bonnie, we stripped him of his powers." Caroline nodded, sitting down on the edge of the settee, her face turning to the large empty space by the fire. Her mind was whirling, and she longed to change the subject, for a break... a distraction. She gestured to the space with her head, and looked to him.
"Something is missing?"
"Yes, I thought it might be something you'd enjoy doing... a christmas tree... maybe... if you want" he said, coming toward her and sitting down, draping his arms along the back of the couch, watching her face closely to see if she was coping with everything. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Seriously?"
"What can I say, sweetheart? I am a traditionalist. The christmas tree dates back a fair way, and I haven't really felt inclined to decorate one in quite a while."
"Because?"
"Nothing worth celebrating, I suppose. But now..." he trailed off, and lowered his face, his eyes warm on hers, so warm she had to look away.
"I remember the first christmas decoration I ever made. It was a card circle, with glitter on it. It was the ugliest thing I have ever seen... but my mom kept it, and put it up every year." she said, her eyes shining again as she thought about it.
"What happened to him?" she asked abruptly, bringing the subject suddenly around to Simon again, not able to resist knowing. Klaus dropped his head, sighing, wishing he could put off what he was about to say, knowing that he couldn't.
"I... I know I promised you I wouldn't kill him..." he began, seeing understanding already lighting her eyes. He trailed off and she looked at him expectantly.
"But... you did?" she asked, her tone unreadable, and he waited in silence, for her judgement and condemnation.
Suddenly, without warning, he stepped back, surprised as she threw herself into his arms, her arms going around his neck, her face buried in his chest. He froze, taken aback, before finally putting his arms around her and pulling her closer.
"Thank you." she whispered, as light as a feather. He tightened his grip on her, feeling relief flow through him at her words. She did not hate him. It was far more than he had expected.
"You're welcome, sweetheart." he murmured back. After a while, she leaned away and looked up at him. Her face was more peaceful than he had seen it in a long time, since before the whole mess began.
"I thought you'd be disappointed in me" he said, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I could never have condemned him to death... but he deserved to die... so thank you. Thank you for making the choice for me." she said and she meant it. To her, the weight of the judgement would have been more than she could bear, but to Klaus, in all his protective, vindictive glory – it was only fitting for Simon's actions.
"I will always do whatever I must... to protect you Caroline" he said softly. His words made her squirm a little, and he longed to know what was running through her mind. She seemed to debate speaking, then changed her mind, and the subject.
"But, do not think that this means you can go against me in the future... without consequences" she suddenly said, with a smile.
She felt more carefree and light than she could remember. She knew it was wrong, to feel so relieved and so grateful that someone had died, especially someone in her family, but after the loss of her mother... she was different... changed. The aching hole her mother's death had ripped open in her, was still there, but it was soothed, knowing that a man like Simon no longer walked the earth. Sheriff Forbes, the protector until the end... would have been glad too, Caroline liked to think.
"The future?" Klaus asked, his face carefully casual, and watched Caroline closely as she coloured a little and pulled away from him, going back to her glass. She was quiet as she sipped her wine, and then turned to him.
"Shall we finish that dinner?"
They spoke and ate, and Caroline's cheeks hurt, so unused to smiling lately. Klaus was on his best behaviour, she could see, and she wondered how long he would keep it up. He was being polite, respectful and quite the gentleman. After they ate, they sat in front of the fire again, and listened to Klaus's record, as he told her stories of the songs, and the memories they conjured for him. She felt relaxed and safe, a feeling that had become foreign. She drank more red, and soon, before she quite realised it, the fire, the wine and the music conspired to make her drift off to sleep. The last thing she saw was Klaus sitting in an armchair, sipping his whiskey, and watching her, reaching for his sketchpad as she finally gave into the heavy pull of sleep.
The next day, they cooked together again, and then set off for snowy walk. The country here was beautiful and untamed. It made her feel clean and fresh, inside and out, and she finally began to feel like herself once more.
They walked to the pine forrest and Klaus let Caroline pick out a tree, only protesting mildly when she chose one that would almost reach the roof of the grand high ceilinged room. They walked on, into the forrest and Klaus became quiet. Caroline walked by his side, and in a sudden moment of courage, reached her hand out and captured his, linking her arm through his as they pushed through the snow. If he was surprised, he concealed in, merely tucking her hand more tightly into his, and walking closer.
They walked on through the trees, and Caroline thought what a pleasant, peaceful place it was, even now, in the dead of winter. They came to a small path, which had been brushed, and she saw it led to a small graveyard, surrounded by trees, with small frozen fountain in the middle.
"Caroline. There is a last thing I need to talk to you about." his voice startled her, so loud, in that tranquil place.
"Alright, what is it?"
"I don't want to upset you, love..."
"Klaus, I'm not going to break, been there, done that... just tell me" she said, stopping with him as he halted, turning to face her.
"Well, when we went to your house, and discovered you were missing, I decided to... lay your mother to rest...somewhere else." he finished, seeing a flash of pain cross her face as she listened. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and Klaus frowned, unable to explain what he had done. He started forward again, and Caroline followed, swallowing her grief. As they followed the path, she realised that it had only been cleared to one grave. She swallowed hard, as they approached it. It was beautiful, white marble, with pale gold lettering. There were red and green christmas flowers around it, cheering the whole area. She could see a place for candles, and a couple of weather proof boxes, fitted around the base.
Elizabeth Forbes.
Loving, fearless and eternal.
Mother and friend.
Caroline knelt down in the snow before it, tears filling her eyes once again. She traced her fingers over the lettering.
"Who wrote this?"
"Damon, actually... surprisingly." he murmured dropping to his haunches beside her. She touched the candles, and flowers.
"Rebekah" Klaus supplied, and Caroline thought of what she had missed, as they had laid her mother to rest, and she had been lost. She reached for one of the boxes and creaked it open. Inside was a parchment, and she didn't need to ask who was responsible for it. It was a pencil sketch of her mother, and herself. In it, Caroline was smiling at the artist, and Liz was looking at her, with such love and pride.
"When I think of your mother... this is what I remember... how much she loved you. That look was never far from her face, when you were in the room." Klaus said. Caroline smiled at him through her tears,
"Thank you" she whispered, and he saw how the tears shook her body. Standing, he touched the top of her head, and murmured.
"I'll go and take care of the tree. I'll come back in a little while. Take your time sweetheart." he said, and turned away, though it was difficult to leave her there, crying. But she needed it, and he needed to give it to her. He trudged through the snow, hearing her crying intensify in his absence. He stopped a couple of times, fighting himself not to turn back. But this was between her mother and her, and he had no business there.
Hours later Caroline lay in a steaming hot bath, letting herself relax, and wash away her sadness. Klaus had done something remarkable for her. It almost shocked her, more than his rescue of her. His consideration... his kindness... it was unsettling. She washed slowly, dragging the hot sponge up her arms and legs, her thoughts going to his comment about the future. What did the future hold for her now? She had dropped out of high school, she had no home to go to anymore, as she didn't want to live in her childhood home without her mom. She couldn't even apply for universities now, she was so behind everyone else. Though the last months had given her a new perspective. There was not really a hurry to get to university... she had time. All she had was time.
The hot water and soft bubbles felt good sliding over her body, and before she had realised it thoughts of Klaus, and where he would be sleeping popped into her head. They had only kissed once, since they had been here at the house. He was still walking on eggshells around her, and she almost missed the charming devil, who looked at her so knowingly.
She stood out of the water and wrapped a towel around her, going to the steamed up mirror, and wiping it. She looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe he saw her as a little sister now, or something else awful, yet, she didn't think so. He was pretty clear that he wanted her by his side, and not as a sister. But he held back. Perhaps it was time to show him that she was alright, and she wanted him too. She did want him, the memories of his lips on hers was enough to stir her blood, and the thought of sleeping together in the same bed, made her a little weak at the knees.
Well, if he found her so easy to resist, maybe she would just have to kick it up a notch, she decided, excitement gathering in her stomach at the prospect.
Klaus swept the pine needles that had fallen off the tree already away with a sigh, remembering what a pain human traditions could be. He had heard Caroline leaving the shower upstairs, and moving around, and now she was coming down the stairs. She arrived in the doorway, looking over the tree critically, before smiling at him.
"I told you it'd be perfect" she said and strolled into the room. He took in her outfit for a long moment, and when he realised he was staring, cleared his throat, looking away. She was wearing extremely short pyjama bottoms, and a very small vest, with nothing under it, if he had to hazard a guess. Over the top, she had thrown the long cardigan, but it was doing nothing to distract from the glorious sight of her long lean legs, and bare neck.
She looked completely at ease as she came to stand beside him, near the tree, and leant forward to smell the branches. She made a low noise of appreciation, deep in her throat, and turned to find him watching her, with narrowed eyes. She smiled at him, and moved past him, padding into the kitchen. She pulled a bottle of red wine out of the rack, wrinkling her nose at the expensive label, or course he would casually stock a hundred dollar bottle of wine in his holiday house. She uncorked it, and poured the lot into a saucepan. Klaus watched from the doorway, leaning on the wall. Next, she hunted for spices. Humming a christmas song to herself she glanced up at him.
"Do you have any christmas music?" she asked. He looked at her blankly and she rolled her eyes. She slipped her phone out her pocket and threw it to him. He looked at it, then scrolled through a little, smiling as he read her music choices.
"You have a christmas playlist?"he asked.
"Of course I do!" Caroline said, congratulating herself when she found the spices at last, and began to select some to add to her mulled wine.
"This has Mariah Carey on it." he said sceptically.
"Just put it on" she insisted, smiling at his pained expression.
In the other room, she heard cheerful music come on, too loud and heard Klaus swear as it was immediately turned down.
"Such as old man" she grumbled and jumped as she felt his hands on her waist, his mouth against her ear.
"What was that?" he asked, and she laughed and stepped away, rushing to stir her wine as it threatened to boil. He stood watching her, his head to the side, and she fought to keep a blush from enveloping her face at his slow survey of her, from her feet to her head, and his inscrutable expression. Finally growing impatient of his silence, she turned to him, throwing him an arched look.
"Do you want something?"
"Would you care to elaborate on what's on offer, love" he murmured and laughed as she rolled her eyes at him, and turned back to her pot. It seemed as if her plan was going a little too well, how was she supposed to know all it would take was a change of clothes.
"Glasses" she said bossily and he moved to comply with a cheeky salute. She carefully poured the hot, fruity liquid into the glasses, and breathed in the comforting smell.
"It's called mulled wine."
"Or Gluehwein, in Germany, where it originates from." he said matter of factly as he took a sip. She ignored his comment, and sailed through to the living room, where the smell of pine had suffused the air.
"Well, I hope you have decorations..." he pointed to a box by the floor. She set down her glass and dug into it. The decorations were tastefully and suited the style of the house. She pulled them out, and they decided to start with the lights.
A little while later, when the last ornament had gone up, she stared at the tree a little sadly.
"What's wrong?" he asked, coming to sit beside her on the floor, near the fire.
"Nothing... just... memories, you know" she murmured, and turned her attention away from it. The day outside had grown dark and the fire and the tree were now the only things providing light.
"When was the last time you celebrated Christmas?" she asked suddenly, sitting crossed legged and turning to him.
"I honestly can't remember. I suppose it was not memorable... now, this one, I can guarantee I will not forget in a hurry."
"It's weird... everything feels so different... but... not bad" she murmured and returned his soft smile.
"What?" she asked suddenly self conscious as his eyes lingered on her. He se this glass to the side, and moved closer, leaning toward her. He caught her chin in his hand, and then slid along her jaw, and over her cheek, tucking her hair back at the last.
"You know... I used to think about that..." she gestured to the movement he had made.
"When I was all alone, lost... I thought how good it would feel, to suddenly see you, and know that someone had found me... that you had found me. It feels crazy to think I could have mistaken Tyler for you, for even a moment, now." she said with a laugh as she leant her face against his palm.
"I was a fool to try and trick you, for even a moment" he said, closer than ever, his eyes running over her face.
"Caroline, you once asked me to... try... try and be... something other than the monster you first met." she went to protest, but he continued.
"No, there is no denying it. I was so used to being alone, touchable... I forgot what everything started for... family, love... eternity together. You sparked the remnants of the man I used to be, and because of you... I have tried to let him in...for you. It was all for you, Caroline. It is all for you..." he continued and she sat, spellbound by his confessions, so unexpected and startling. He trailed off, his eyes fixed on hers, steady and open, she could not look away.
"I might never be the man you deserve... but I will try to be better... everyday, that I can promise" he finished, and she felt her heart melt. It was the only promise he could make her, and it was everything she needed. Neither of them were perfect, and neither of them would ever be... but the will to try, for someone you love, it was enough.
"I love you" she suddenly said, unable to hold the words in one moment longer.
"I love you too" he murmured, looking a little shocked himself, by the words.
"Well... that's a good place to start" she said as she leaned forward to kiss him, a kiss full of hope and promise, a kiss born out of the darkness, come into the light of a future together and a world that lay at their feet.
There will be a short epilogue to follow, but basically this is it.
Thank you all so much for the support. I started out completely against posting my own writing, despite my desire to improve etc, but you guys made it so worthwhile, and I thank you so much for you support, and I am sorry to have kept you waiting, as you can probably tell from the timing in this chapter - I had originally planned to finish this over Christmas, alas, it was not to be.
Let me know what you think of the end... did you enjoy the journey? Favourite bits?
Thank you again, you guys kept me going when I felt like the worst writer in the world, and made me smile with every follower, alert and review.
I have another story - The Devil In Me - if you fancy reading it, and post previews/news about updates etc on tumblr (brand new to it, and still rubbish at it) link on my profile.