Taking Care of the Other One XLVIII

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Klaus walked into Rebekah's store for one of her cocktail parties. He was not in a good mood. Usually heads would roll, but his anger was directed at one particular person, the person he loved most in the world.

He immediately picked up her laughter in the crowd which enraged him even further. Within seconds he knew she noticed him as well. It was something he particularly loved and was going to use to his advantage.

"Who's the hot guy in the corner who isn't checking me out?" he heard Caroline ask Genevieve.

He did subtly check to be sure he was the person she was talking about. That's all he needed, for some male model to be behind him. Once he confirmed it, he made sure not to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. He knew he looked good. She loved when he wore black and he used that too.

"Do you think he'll come over here and flirt with me? Maybe make out with me?" Caroline asked Genevieve, trying to get him to smile. "I want a guy like that to marry me."

Crossing the crowded room to Rebekah's side, he greeted his sister with a kiss on the cheek.

"Rebekah, congratulations." Her shop was full of people laughing and drinking. It was a very successful party.

"Why aren't you making a scene with Caroline?"

"Oh, is she here?" he asked with his hands clasped behind his back, fooling no one with his affected nonchalance.

Oh, boy. Caroline and Rebekah had the same thought. He was pissed.

If there was something they didn't do when they weren't making out and being all lovey-dovey-grossly-happy, it was fight. Rebekah even preferred the making out, but it did make her feel better about her relationship with Stefan. If the two most in love people on earth fought every once in a while, then her and Stefan were doing just fine. Living together had been great. He was across the room meeting and greeting her guests like a good sport.

"What caused trouble in sex paradise? Chafing?" She tried to tease him out of his bad mood. If the death glare he gave her was any sign, he was not in the mood to be teased.

"We made plans for dinner and then to come here together. As you can see, that did not happen."

They both heard Caroline say, "Shoot!"

They didn't see she also face-palmed.

Genevieve asked what happened and Caroline told her to give her a minute. She wanted to listen in to see how much she'd have to make up to him. She bit her lip with worry. This was not good at all.

"I'm sure it was an honest mistake. She's busy and probably mixed up her plans."

"Yes, she's very busy and yet somehow still made it here. Goodnight, sister."

Hanging around with people who weren't paying him much attention was not his idea of a good time to begin with, so he was more than happy to go home. He knew Caroline was ok and that's all that mattered. He'd go home and scheme, find someone to threaten.

Caroline watched him leave and her heart hurt. He'd been encouraging her to ease off all of her commitments and the one time she messed up it was with him.

She said a short goodbye to Genevieve and was on her way out the door when Rebekah stopped her.

"You can't leave yet. The party isn't over. He's going to brood. He's like Stefan that way."

"Rebekah, he's not like Stefan at all. I hurt his feelings and the less time he has to mull over his anger the better. I wouldn't want him to ignore me if he stood me up." She felt sick and had to get out of there.

Caroline gave her a quick hug, whispered a goodbye to Stefan who heard her and replied the same thing, and left.

On the way over she thought what she could do. She'd accidentally left her phone in Genevieve's car earlier since they went out for drinks in the afternoon and went to Rebekah's party together afterwards. Once she retrieved it, she saw all the messages from him. There was no time to read them. She wanted to see him.

As she opened the front door, gnawing on her lower lip, she heard him.

"Rippah? Let's set a time when we can work out when I'm a wolf."

She flashed to him in his bedroom.

"Don't you dare!" she yelled. She narrowed her eyes at him. He waited until she could hear and hit her where it would drive her crazy. She'd been asking to do that for years and they still hadn't done it.

She pulled the phone away from him and threw it on the bed.

"Oh, Caroline, you're here," he said with narrowed eyes back at her, sliding his hands behind his back. "Don't you have a party to attend?"

"If you're going to fight with someone as a wolf, it's going to be me," she said, poking him in the chest.

"You seem to be too busy. I thought I'd find someone who could schedule me in." He laughed without mirth and began peeling his clothes off.

She stayed in his personal space, stalling his hands, but he shrugged them off and continued. She took a breath to regain her calm. She knew he was going to go running as a wolf which was why he was taking his clothes off. The anger left her. She was sorry about what she'd done. It was an accident.

"I imagined something terrible happened to you and panicked until I called Stefan to see if he knew where you were. He casually mentioned you were at the party," he bit out as he undressed down to his pants. "While you were having a good time, I was imaging all sorts of things, mostly involving you being hurt and started to tear the city apart. I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

He walked past her before she could say anything and walked slowly down the stairs. Running in the dark would help rid him of the dark thoughts he was having.

"Klaus," she said mournfully as he opened the door. He paused, but then slammed the door on his way before she could get her apology out. She wanted to talk to him, but she knew she could get through to him once he calmed down. He didn't even yell at her. She just yelled at him and she felt worse. She noticed the way his eyes double checked to be sure she was ok before he left and felt anxious and sad.

Caroline sank into the leather couch and pulled out her phone to see his messages. They started out asking if she was just running late, then they were worried, upset, and then worried again. Watching his fears spelled out in letters made her cry. She knew she'd react the same way if he did the same to her. She got out a bottle of water, changed into her pajamas, and waited for him.

A few hours later he was ready to talk to her. He'd gotten his aggression out by knocking around some trees, chasing some wild animals, and feeling the adrenaline course through his veins.

He found her asleep on the couch. It was the middle of the night and she'd clearly tried to stay up to meet him. She often encouraged him to leave and go run when he was this upset, but she was always waiting for him when he got back so they could talk.

Picking her up, she stirred. "Klaus, I tried to stay awake. I'm sorry," she mumbled, not quite awake, but knowing she had something she'd been wanting to say.

"Go back to sleep, love." He kissed her on the forehead.

She nodded into his chest and he laid her down on their bed before he climbed in with her. She automatically followed his body, resting her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around him, making sure he couldn't leave again without her knowing. He loved her so much, but he wanted some acknowledgement of his hurt feelings. He also needed her reassurance that it was a mistake and that she couldn't just live her life without him as if he didn't matter. It was an irrational fear that was usually kept at bay, but occasionally crept back in.

When he woke up the next morning, she was peering at him. She'd been staring, hoping to wake him up without actually waking him up. She'd tried subtly moving around a lot on the bed to see if that would get him up. She even tried to gently ruffle the hair under his arms, but that didn't work either. It was as if he picked that day to actually become a deep sleeper. Just her luck.

He cracked open one eye to see her propped up on her elbow looking at him.

"Finally! I've been waiting for hours for you to wake up."

Turning his head to look at the clock, he smirked. It was not even 7am. She was never up this early on a Saturday morning.

"I brought you some blood and coffee. See?" she said, pointing to both on his bedside table which were now cold since she'd gotten them hours ago. He didn't even like bagged blood, but was slightly mollified by the offer. She was sure the smell would wake him up, but not that morning. "I can heat them up," she offered eagerly.

He jumped up and she watched with anxiety as he went to the bathroom. She could hear him making noise and eventually he came to the bed and climbed in.

Scooting up so he was sitting, she did the same and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry, Klaus. It was completely my fault for accidentally standing you up and going to the party without you. I knew you'd eventually come, but I forgot the plans we made. That must have been very hurtful. I know you were worried about me too." Her heart was in her throat.

"I thought of the worst things happening to you. I thought you would miss me not being there with you as well. Didn't you notice I wasn't there?"

Awwwww. She took his hands into her own, even pulling hard when he initially resisted.

"Of course I missed you. I'd been waiting for you to show up. I love you. You know I do. There's no one I want to hurt, especially you. When you're hurt, I'm hurt. It was a mistake that I will make every effort to avoid from happening again."

"Feeling invisible is one of my worst fears," he admitted, not looking her in the eye.

"I know. I know it is," she said, laying a hand on his cheek when he looked up. "You could never be invisible or unimportant to me. You're my other half."

She knew he would get fearful that she could cope in ways he couldn't. It wasn't very often that he was insecure like in the early days, but her standing him up would definitely be a trigger for him.

"I assume you left your phone someplace?" he asked with a quirked brow, wanting to bask in her confidence of their love.

"Yup. It was in Gen's car."

He nodded and then his lower lip jutted out.

"Please don't leave it behind, so I don't go insane with fear." He wanted to ask her to not leave him behind either.

Immediately she agreed.

"I didn't even want to go to the party. I do everything you ask me of," he said with puppy eyes.

She had to laugh and since she saw the softening in his gaze she knew he was feeling better.

"That's completely not true. Will you accept my apology?" she asked, squeezing his hands and pulling them behind her back so she could climb on top of him. Her fingers curled behind his head and played with his curls. She pressed kisses to his face, whispering "I'm sorry" with each as he tried to get playfully get away from her. Eventually it turned into wrestling.

"Yes. I accept your apology," he said with bemused exasperation when he was looming over her with her legs wrapped around his hips and his hands keeping hers above her head.

"Now tell me you love me." When he didn't comply fast enough for her, despite him starting to open his mouth, she tried to wriggle free and start wrestling him again to get him to admit what he freely said all the time. "Don't make me wrestle it out of you," she said, laughing between twisting movements. In retaliation, taking one of her moves, he pressed kisses all over her face, whispering "I love you" as she giggled.

"I love you, sweetheart," he said sincerely when he paused and she melted, stilling her efforts, circling her arms around his neck when he pulled her close.

"I love you so much," she agreed, sniffing to keep the tears at bay, squeezing him for a needed hug.

After a long embrace, he backed up to see her face clearly. "What haven't I done?"

She tried to think of the most painful things she asked of him that he wouldn't agree to, knowing exactly what he was talking about. They were things she knew he'd never go along with, but asking and seeing the faces he made were totally worth it.

"Off the top of my head? Share a piece of pasta with me. Share a drink with two straws. Ride a bicycle built for two. Wear a matching shirt with me." She cocked her head to the side as she continued to think.

"Don't try to make me laugh. I don't laugh. I'm evil and bad guys do not laugh."

She grinned. Making him laugh was one of the joys of her life.

"What was your next move after threatening to fight with Stefan as your wolf?" she asked, curious.

"Did you see I didn't actually call?" he admitted. He just pretended to make the offer to Stefan.

"You didn't?" she asked, all excited. She even wiggled in her excitement and he groaned with his eyes closed at the feeling so she did it again.

"No and no, I'm not telling you. Do you think I'm crazy?" he said as he lowered his head to nibble at the cleavage revealed by her pajamas.

She knew he was crazy, but he'd never give an advantage away he didn't want to. She loved her crazy wolf man sex fiend. She kissed him again, breathless.

"I feel so much better," she said when they broke apart. "Don't you? Like a dark cloud has been swept away."

He nodded. He felt the same way, as if a dark spot had been erased.

"I love you, sweetheart. You brought me out of the cold and gave me life. My heart is in no better hands than yours." His fingers caressed her face as her eyes mesmerized him.

"I love you with everything I have and your love is the greatest gift I've ever received."

After they kissed passionately and with overwhelming love, he remembered something.

"Do you remember you also agreed to go to the party tonight with the mayor?"

She groaned, not wanting to go at all, knowing there was no way to get out of it now and he knew it too.

"I'd really like you to come, Caroline. You'll make it bearable for me," he implored, striking while he could, this time nuzzling her neck and blowing softly into her ear so she shivered.

She stayed quiet, trying not to pant, just making a face to express her disinterest. Parties with the mayor were ok once in a while. She made good connections for her program, but too often they were dull.

"What if they start to pick on me?" he asked with a pout.

"Who are you and where did my Alpha Male fiancé go?" she asked with a quirked brow.

He changed his tactics, moving to the other ear and smiling when she eagerly moved her head to give him more room to work with. She was his perfect match in every way.

"What if the women start to flirt with me?"

It was true that the mayor's wife did seem to like to lay her hands on Klaus, but Caroline wasn't worried at all. Klaus never looked at other women the way he looked at her and had come up with creative ways to resist their touches. He basked in their attention though as they stroked his ego, marveling over his dimples and accent, and it never got further than that.

"You'll love it like you always do. As if any of them could keep up with me," she retorted. He bit his cheek to keep from laughing, but it was true and he couldn't resist nibbling her neck. She'd never admit it, but if he was a sex fiend then so was she. "Fine, I'll go to keep you protected," she sighed. "I could always tell them you have bad breath and you're a selfish lover if that will make you feel better."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Would you please?"

"For you? Anything," she agreed with a smug smile and then he proved to her how generous a lover he was all over again.