KLAUS

It's just the tip of the iceberg, and Klaus is the only one who knows the reality of what's out of sight for Caroline. The colossal truth about her mother has yet to surface and come into the light. Klaus is frenzied by the realization. He must calm the maelstrom in his mind and fast, because new anguish is in pursuit of her present heartache. He can't remember ever feeling so powerless. On his knees now, Klaus tugs Caroline to the floor with him. He keeps a leg bent, providing support for her back and the other extended before him, so her legs curl over it. Gradually, the shock decelerates, and Caroline parks her devastation against Klaus' chest, her sobs becoming soft shudders of cries and snivels.

He liked Miss Elma very much. In fact, one of the things he thought about during his hours on guard at the town's border was returning to her with Caroline, perhaps helping out around Elma's home. He and Caroline could sojourn to an inn that evening, spending the following day with Marquisse and Iris at Duchess Stables again. This time, Klaus would be prepared with champagne.

He's lucky she's on vervain, he thinks, because Klaus is liable to use compulsion, coercing and wiping out her grief entirely. Caroline clings to him, more so than she had in the rocking chair on Elma's back porch. He clasps the back of her neck, pressing placid, soothing touches to calm her down, kneading her clenched muscles. His fingers journey through her hair, drawing it away from her wet, sullied face. He catches Bonnie gaping. She's rapt, an absorbed witch who looks spellbound herself. What a sight this must be for her—Caroline coiled against him like this; a beast caressing and palming a beauty's head, back, and arms. How he longs to rush her through this, guiding Caroline out from this misery.

"My love," he tries.

"It's my fault," she says, her new mantra. "They tracked me there and attacked her."

"How could you have known, Caroline? You could have gone anywhere, but your beautiful heart sought to give a lonely woman the pleasure of friendship and company. They knew you weren't there anymore. They could have embarked on coming here instead, but they stuck around to play a horrific game, and I will hunt them down for you. I will, Caroline."

"She knows now. I can feel it, Klaus. She knows what I did to Carter. She knows what I am. It erases how much I cared because she despises me now."

"Stop it. You stop this, Caroline."

"It's true."

"No, because I believe they see the truth of the matter faster than we on earth can imagine. I believe they're filled with understanding straightaway, and work on making sense of it all, mastering forgiveness."

"How can you think that? How can she forgive me?"

Caroline pulls away, rising. Klaus progresses to do the same.

"That's wishful thinking, Klaus. By befriending her, I corrupted her life. I infected the truth with my guilt and self-reproach, and now, Miss Elma knows everything, and I'll be in perpetual hell as I should be."

"You and I have never spoken about my brother, Henrick," Klaus says, clasping her shoulders. "You heard that he died as a boy, due to my intrigue with watching the wolves in a neighbouring village shift. He had no business being there. I had no business being there, and yet, not to miss the event I let him stay. I should have dragged him back, but I put my interest before his safety. That killed him, Caroline, and he's alone now. He's not on the other side with a single member of my family because the rest of us turned out to be super naturals. He's on Elma's side, Caroline.

"I can feel him watching me, shaking his head desolately at me but somehow, I sense Henrick's encouragement, too, prodding me to be less of a monster, and everyday there's something giving me hope that I can do that for him, and that began when I met you. From now on, when I call upon him, reaching out while I lose myself in memories of him, I'll plead that he meets Elma and shows her the truth about you. He'll help, Caroline, because I'm sure he must like you—I know he does, my love."

Caroline faces Klaus properly now, meeting his gaze after swallowing some of the remorse down. He hopes he came off calm and steely, sagacious in one way or another, but he's aware his voice ran dangerously close to cracking.

He hears Bonnie shift, remembering her presence.

"Caroline?" she bids softly. "Please, who is Elma?"

He watches Caroline refocus, faring to move slightly closer towards her friend. He's in awe, marvelling at her strength while fearing she'll fall, like a toddler learning to walk.

She pauses, likely redeploying lucid thoughts or finding a semblance of logic and clarity.

"Hey," he says, taking her hand. "Let me," Klaus tells Caroline, now in between the two young women.

She nods, a brave hint of a smile rising at the corner of her mouth as she looks on appreciatively. His heart soars at the sight of her consent, authorizing Klaus the right to carry some of the weight for her. It's a big deal, he knows, one he has no intention to fuck up and one he knows is a sucker punch to Bonnie—a shot of overdue reality on the gist of what he and Caroline mean to one another.

He reaches for his glass, proffering the blood to Caroline.

"Sweetheart, you need your strength. Take this upstairs. I'll be up soon, love."

Caroline accepts it as Klaus' palm presses against her cheek, and she sinks the side of her face into it. Without a word for her friend, she leaves the room. Klaus and Bonnie watch her mount the staircase.

Klaus rakes a hand through his hair.

"Miss Elma is Caroline's friend. They met through the senior program at your school, and Caroline's been her companion for a while now. You see, Bonnie…" he says, the tone indicative of something scornful to come. "Your friend could have escaped to a wild city like New York as Elena did, or she could have run off to a spa as her mother suggested. Instead, Caroline went to spend time with Miss Elma, helping her around the garden, playing Rummy with the woman, helping her prepare for church. That's where she went to think. That's where I found her."

"So," Bonnie starts, "the wolves followed her scent to this poor lady's house and found Elma instead of Caroline."

"All the lot of you had to do was notice your so-called friend was away from school without good reason. All you had to do was notice she was starting to stray—that her morale was plunging—that Caroline was beating herself up! No…" he continues, ominously. "Instead, the lot of you think that someone as independent as Caroline is waiting around for a boy's call, the same boy who can't run into a single place with electricity to plug in his bloody phone to make a call to his girlfriend.

"Miss Elma was the guardian for the boy Caroline killed when she turned. Caroline's been repenting ever since, and none of you noticed her light flickering—a light I was blinded by when I turned up to save her life on her eighteenth birthday."

Bonnie's about to spit something out, but Klaus cuts in before she has the chance.

"I know what I did to put her in peril that day. Trust me, the joke's on me," he says. "And now, here we are, witch. Do not get in my way of doing whatever I can to help her. We're expecting the sheriff soon," he says, his voice whispering harshly. "She's not well, and Caroline is about to find out. She will have your support. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

"What's going on with Sheriff Forbes?"

Klaus stirs, hearing someone approach the house. The sound of feminine footwear immediately puts a face to the clank. The front door swings violently open.

"Where is she?" Rebekah asks, spotting Bonnie. "Oh, good. You're here. Put the spell down. Caroline has to leave the house."

"Lower your voice. Where's the sheriff?" Klaus asks, his patience running thin.

Rebekah ignores him.

"I said put the spell down or I'll wring your neck and the death of you can drop it."

"Bekah!" he snarls.

"The sheriff's been admitted," she hisses. Klaus watches tears fill his sister's eyes. "The doctor can't send her home today. She needs to see Caroline."

Klaus's hands land on either side of his head, turmoil and anxiety seething.

"Bloody hell!" he bellows. "I'll bring her. You," he says, pointedly to Bonnie. "Update my sister and call Caroline's friends. I don't know why, but she seems to appreciate Elena and Matt's presence. Alert them to meet us at the hospital. Rebekah, once you're up to speed, call Steven. We need to kill some wolves today."

At first, all Klaus could secretly bemoan was why Elizabeth Forbes waited this long to tell her daughter. He tries to understand. The doctor gave her 3 to 12 months to live, and her incredulity deserved another opinion. Prior to that second judgement, the sheriff chose not to worry Caroline.

Today, it's clear. The tumour is inoperable, wrapped and converging with too many important functions. A biopsy could prove approximately how long it's been buried there, but surgery would cut into the days she has left. Oral chemo was offered but that just extended hope for mere weeks with possibly dehumanising effects, again stealing her of the days she has left with Caroline. Her medication has kept seizures and pain at bay, but now, she's experiencing random loss of sight in an eye which she didn't share with her new housemate, Rebekah.

His sister said she had difficulty waking the sheriff this morning, but they managed to make her appointment. Liz is suddenly less able to speak, demonstrating pain around the neck, refusing to eat. It appears that swallowing has become a complex act, and the tumour is wide awake as it crushes her with drowsiness.

As much as Klaus wants to be in the hospital room with Caroline, her mother and the doctor, he also can't entirely cope with watching her so engulfed in pain, be it the younger or elder Forbes woman. Rebekah hasn't strayed from the door, her head against its rectangular window, devastated.

"He's telling them what they can expect," she says.

Klaus can hear the doctor, but understands Rebekah needs to communicate with someone. He decides to let her carry on.

"He doesn't expect much pain," she continues. "He says Liz will feel too heavy to move, probably be confused as she drifts in and out of sleep. She's having trouble swallowing, so they'll help her out with a syringe because she needs medication. He suspects there will be lots of nausea and dry heaving, but her body can't endure such consequences. The medication will make her more comfortable, Nik. He believes that in her last hours, Liz will be able to hear people, maybe respond with facial gestures like a smile, so she'll be somewhat alert."

"And what's Caroline saying," he asks, enticing his sister to converse.

"She's crying quietly in a strong, Caroline Forbes kind of way. She's not mad, not in front of Liz."

He smiles. "I reckon I'll get that end of the stick," he says. "No matter. I rather she lash out in front of me."

"What a horrible day."

"The worst," agrees Klaus.

"Will Steven contact that Remi fellow?" Rebekah asks. "We need to get our hands on his friend Shawn. In fact, we should let Caroline have a go at him."

"No," he responds, fiercely. "I'll do the dirty work."

Rebekah looks at him dotingly for a fleeting moment.

"I might go in there," she says, jutting her chin towards the sheriff's hospital room door. "They're overwhelmed. Maybe there's something I can think to ask that may have slipped their mind."

"It's a private matter. Perhaps we should continue to just let them be."

"Liz spoke to me a little over these last few days. I'm to keep an eye on Caroline. With all the stories she's heard, the poor woman is afraid she'll turn it off."

Klaus winces. "Don't be absurd."

"Perhaps, but you and I are on duty to make sure it stays that way."

"She'll always want her mother's respect, here or from the after wold. Caroline would never disappoint her."

"You know," Rebekah says, tears threatening again. "She doesn't have a single sibling like the rest of us. Even the witch has her father and step-siblings, but both Matt and Caroline are utterly alone. Liz reminded me of that. She worries about things like that. She's left notes for Caroline, telling her how much their home is evaluated, advising her to sell the house before it's time for her to leave town, and how to manage the money for her future. With everything that is literally going on in her head, she's a part of Caroline's future, whether she's physically here or not. I want to remind your baby vampire of that."

Rebekah turns away, entering the room. Klaus waits to hear their feelings on it, but his sister is immediately welcomed. He decides to touch base with Steven, pulling out his phone. Klaus wants to meet Remi.

Author's Message: Unfortunately, I have an uncle who passed from brain cancer, and a colleague who was diagnosed in March with Glioblastoma. Therefore, the information I have for Liz's condition is not based on internet research, but watching two dear people slip away. It's important for me to give the sheriff time she deserves with Caroline. My daughter tells me that the writers brought Care back to her old ways, caring more about what a boy like Stefan thinks of her than spending time at her mother's side. I hear this was so during the funeral, too. Honestly, it's so vexing. Instead, they had the likes of Damon tuck her in, reassuring Liz. That disgusts me. In fact, I believe the writers were so pro-Originals that they sacrificed a veteran character like Caroline to boost Camille and Hayley's development. I gave up almost entirely on TVD after season five, and only watched half of the first season of TO. The consistency of the characters took a bad detour for me. Therefore, I'm just writing according to one of the many plots I thought could happen, always with high regard for Caroline, Klaus, and Rebekah as individuals. I hope you're entertained. Thanks again for sharing this fanfic within the Klaroline community.