Chapter 53

Klaus had awakened more than once through the night. While he wasn't a stranger to sharing his bed with another body, the addition of her in particular seemed to rouse him a few times. Half the time he thought it was his sleep saturated brain taking its toll and mocking him, but she was always there regardless.

But then the nightmare came.

It was nothing at first, a dream consisting of his regular day despite a few added touches, but the voice in the background was familiar. It spoke unintelligible words for the majority of his dream, lingering out of sight and almost out of earshot, until it whispered from a spot right behind him.

"I can see you, boy."

Ice shot through his veins and while he woke in a sweat, Klaus couldn't shake the coldness from his body. He was breathing heavily, panting and swearing Mikael was in the room with him. The moment Klaus' brain calmed enough for rational thought; he saw he was indeed safe within his bedroom.

Klaus ran his hands down his face to wipe the sweat away. He'd hoped his jolt had remained unnoticed, but he was wrong. When his eyes traveled to the body beside him, he noticed K looking up through sleep heavy eyes from her spot a foot away. Her face was blank, but he could tell she was aware enough to see something was wrong with him.

"Bad dream?" she asked softly.

Klaus took a deep breath and shook his head, like lying to himself would make the nightmare fake. He gradually sank back onto the bed. He adjusted himself a little, but it was clear he was still frightened. K's brows furrowed slightly as she continued to stare at him. Klaus could feel her eyes and rolled his head to meet her gaze.

"It's nothing." He said.

"Don't lie to me."

Klaus sighed and returned his stare to the ceiling. He ran his fingers partially through his hair before slipping his arm beneath his head.

"Just a ghost." He said under his breath. "Nothing more."

K felt a shock of cold at the back of her neck. She pushed herself up and looked down at the hybrid almost refusing to look back.

"Mikael."

Klaus' eyes shot to hers. He could see concern on her features and tried to keep his as blank as possible. But it didn't help. She knew. She could see it as clearly as if he'd said it out loud. Only Mikael scared Klaus so much he'd wake in a cold sweat. She'd seen him like that before.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing." He muttered quietly, trying again to act as though everything was fine.

"Tell me what happened, Niklaus."

There was an undeniably stern edge to her words, a demanding tone that made him answer despite himself.

"Just further taunting from beyond the grave," he replied. "Nothing more."

She continued to stare at him as though he'd give something else away, but he never did. There was nothing else.

"Okay." She finally said.

K lingered beside him for a moment or two before throwing the blanket off her legs and standing. It caught Klaus's attention. He sat up in bed and watched her walk towards the door without a word. He didn't try to stop her because he knew he had nothing to say, but he regretted watching her go. There was a childish twinge of jealous hurt that stung his chest, like he'd never see her again despite knowing otherwise.

Eventually he was able to do the same. Klaus soon showered, did his best to shake the feeling of being watched, and readied himself for the day.

~~!~~

K spent her time trying to forget about everything that happened the day before. She tried to ignore the sadness she felt and to ignore the fact she could still smell something burning despite nothing around her being on fire.

Keeping busy only helped so much. There was little she could actually do before everything became fruitless, nonsense work and even then it did nothing to steady her mind.

By the time the sun began to set, K figured out something that might make her feel a bit better. If anything, it might make the wolves feel a little better. So, after loading up her car, K took a trip to the bayou.

Like every other visit, a few of the wolves gathered around the end of the road to greet whoever was coming to the campsite. But he wasn't there. K pushed down the pain in her gut at the thought of never seeing Adam smiling at her from the cabin again and threw the car into park.

Hayley and Jackson emerged through the group of werewolves who either couldn't or wouldn't wipe the hatred from their faces. She understood the sentiment. Despite her participation in the cleanup and 'rescue' after the explosions, most of the wolves seemed to still blame a vampire for it and she was the first undead face they saw. She didn't care.

"Hey." Hayley greeted in a lackluster voice.

"Hi." K replied in the same tone. Her eyes shifted briefly to her surroundings before meeting Hayley's again. "How is everyone?"

"We're healing." Jackson answered. He took a few steps forward so he stood just a bit closer to K than Hayley. K couldn't tell if it was to protect the pregnant wolf or because in the absence of a true villain, he still blamed her people. "What can we do for you?"

K didn't speak for a moment. Instead she walked around to the back of the car.

"Here." She said, opening the trunk to reveal the bodies within lying motionless and tied tightly with rope that burned their skin.

Hayley recognized them immediately as the vampires she'd helped Elijah and K tie up after the festival slaughter. She turned to the ebony-haired young woman staring remorselessly at the bodies.

"What is this?" she asked apprehensively.

"Hunting practice. Target practice." K suggested. She turned a heavy head to Hayley. Jackson shared the pregnant wolf's nervousness and noticed something about K didn't seem right. "Whatever. I don't care. Let the others use them for whatever they want."

"They want the people responsible." Jackson said.

"So do I." she replied simply. "But they'll due for now." She looked again to the four vampires in the trunk and leaned forward. Without a word she slipped off their respective day light rings and slammed the lid shut before the sun could burn them. She put the trophies in her pocket and looked to the wolves beside her. "They'll be out 'till sundown. Do what you want with them. I just don't care."

And she left. K walked back down the driveway before disappearing entirely, leaving the car behind with the treats in the trunk. Hayley sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She'd never seen K so despondent and it worried her.

"She okay?" Jackson asked. He wasn't curious because he cared, he was curious because he was afraid. As little as he knew K, even Jackson was aware she wasn't right in the head. He'd seen the way she reacted to Adam dying the day before so he had reason to be concerned.

"I don't know." Hayley answered honestly. She looked sadly to the wolf at her side. "If there's one thing I've noticed about Kali, it's that if she considers you worth a damn, its forever. I don't think she can just kind of care about people, ya know?"

Jackson nodded. His eyes traveled to the trunk again. He understood it. He didn't get it, but he understood it. Despite what people thought, they were completely different frames of mind. Just because he understood what Hayley said didn't mean he'd feel the same way if he were in K's shoes. He didn't know if he'd be able to give up four of his own to a rival faction in order to slate some desire for revenge.

~~~!~~~

The day moved on without K's notice, without her concern and when the sun was gone and the moon had once again risen over the waters, K found herself sitting in her room watching it without care. Her legs were again resting on the wrought iron railing, her eyes barely taking in a single thing they fell on and her mind coursing with memories and sights she'd rather forget.

The wind outside caused the loose fabrics in her room and the ferns hanging from the one foot deep balcony to dance. Her right arm rested against that of the chair limply, the only tension being in her fingertips as they lazily clasped the drink she'd never finished while her lips were buried in her left hand. And while the world around her seemed abnormally calm, the evening turning into a perfect one, K couldn't stop thinking about Adam.

K wasn't aware she wasn't alone, still too deep in her own thoughts. Klaus had gone looking for her when he hadn't seen her for the better part of the day. It worried him given the way she'd been acting since coming home from the bayou.

When he checked her room again, he noticed her sitting at the far end where she usually read. There was a sadness that saturated the air, a stale feeling that made him uncomfortable, but he pressed through it.

Klaus knocked on the threshold. K didn't bother saying anything, but turned her head enough to the side to show him she was aware he was near. Klaus walked into the room and to her bar. When he had a drink of his own and topped off K's, Klaus took a seat beside her in the spare chair. She didn't bother looking at him and he didn't expect her to. Together, they both stared out the French doors and into the world around them.

Minutes ticked by without conversation before K finally showed another sign of life.

"Is there a point?"

Klaus turned to look at her while K continued to stare out the doorway.

"To what?" he asked, keeping his voice calm and low like K.

"Any of this." She replied. "The fighting, the territorial war that's going on, is there a point to any of it?"

He heard her voice hitch and knew the primary reason she was asking was because of her recent loss. Klaus bit back the urge to remark on it and did his best to keep the conversation civil.

"There has always been contention amongst the supernatural. It's nothing new."

"This is different." She said. "This is worse, almost primal."

Klaus nodded his agreement. She was right. There was something incredibly animalistic about the way things were going in New Orleans.

"And for what?" she breathed. Klaus looked to her again and noticed K fighting the urge to cry again. Instead, alongside the tears, K was beginning to turn angry. "For the city? What the hell makes New Orleans so god damn special? Why the hell does-"

She abruptly stopped talking like she had been on the verge of saying something aloud she'd rather keep secret. Instead, still pulsing with a growing rage, K stood. She shoved her seat back so fiercely it fell and slammed into the ground before she launched her glass through the doors with a yell.

Klaus raised a brow at the display. He wisely didn't interfere with her tirade.

K ran the fingers of both hands through her hair in frustration before turning her anger towards Klaus.

"What is the point?" she asked again, demanding an answer more than before. He remained silent, but saw her nerves fraying. She was trembling and her eyes were glassing over with the promise of tears. "We've been given the gift of forever and what do we do with it? Huh? We waste it fighting each other, warring with other species and for what?! Nobody ever wins! The only thing that happens every time is people die! I've buried too many friends and-"

Klaus stood and wrapped his arms around her before she could blink. K clung to him, shaking and crying again. He finally understood. It wasn't just Adam K was mourning. His death reopened the wounds from Bonnie that she hadn't realized never healed. She'd lost another friend to nothing. There was no reason for either of them to die, but they were gone nonetheless.

He held her, trying to soothe the young woman crying in his arms, and struggled to keep from telling her the truth. He wanted to tell her Bonnie had come back, that she was indeed alive, but he told the witch he wouldn't. When he found out after his trip to Mystic Falls, she made him promise. When he asked why he should do anything she asked, her reply was simple and to the point. Bonnie told him what he already knew; that K would come back to Mystic Falls to make sure nothing happened to Bonnie again and leave New Orleans. It was the thought of K leaving that made Klaus keep his mouth shut, but Bonnie did promise she'd tell the vampire when the time was right.

"Shhh, sydämeni." He whispered into her hair as he stroked the back of her head and held her tightly. "I know."

"I don't want to lose anyone else." She mumbled into his shoulder. "I just… I don't want to do this anymore."

Klaus closed his eyes. He could feel the desperation seeping into his body and it was threatening to choke the life from him. But he couldn't give up on New Orleans. Not now, not when he was so close. After a moment of trying to think of something to say, Klaus realized he had no choice but to be honest. So he adjusted himself enough he could whisper into her ear.

"Stay with me." He said quietly. K stopped shaking almost immediately. "Just stay."

K slowly released the death grip she had on his shirt and pulled back enough to look Klaus in the eye. He could see her disbelief reflecting back at him.

"Why? What the hell makes this place so special?"

Klaus sighed. K was nearing another tirade and this time it seemed to be aimed at him. Reluctantly he released her when she stepped away.

"Is this just because of your pride?"

"No." he snapped back at her accusatory statement. K crossed her arms and cocked a brow. "Not entirely." He corrected. "This city was my home once."

"And so were a thousand other places."

"I was happy here." He replied sternly. "My family was happy here. This was the first place any of us felt any semblance of joy and the place where I'd finally…" Klaus paused. His voice lost power and he suddenly looked defeated. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet before reluctantly meeting her eyes again. "Where I'd finally forgotten you."

K's brows twitched together. She stared at Klaus with a mixture of shock and hurt. She couldn't believe he'd so openly admitted to loving New Orleans in part because it helped him forget about her. No matter what other bullshit had happened between them, it was a bit insulting to hear. K took a step back from Klaus and he knew immediately she'd taken it the wrong way. Then again, there wasn't a right way to phrase it either.

Knowing a new fight was likely on the horizon, Klaus gritted his teeth and said what he needed to before K exploded or left.

"It took me nearly six centuries to stop thinking about you." He admitted against his better judgment. Again, something about being around K forced him into a foreign sense of security and he blurted things he'd rather keep private. "Until we came here, I'd swear I could hear you screaming, crying in the darkness for help." She stared at him in confusion. "I thought I'd let you down, broken my oath to keep you safe. I thought you'd died in that fire and all I could hear for years afterwards was you screaming for me." Her eyes went wide in shock and Klaus relaxed. He stopped accusing her of something she had no control over and calmly spoke. His eyes tinted pink. "There were times I closed my eyes and I could see your face. This city helped give me back my sanity and now that it's on the brink of war, I can't simply walk away."

K felt her head shake without her knowledge, as though her body refused to listen to what he had to say. Walking away is exactly what he should do. He should run, in fact. Everyone in New Orleans wanted him dead, was plotting his downfall and hated him. Klaus had done more damage than good. He should just leave and return in fifty years when the immediate threats were all dead. But she knew better. She knew he wouldn't leave if he wanted so badly to have a home again.

"This place is gonna kill you." She told him bluntly. Klaus twitched. "And I don't know if I can stand around and watch someone else die here."

His brows came together.

"You're frightened."

K shifted. For some reason she didn't like the fact that she was indeed afraid, but she couldn't help it. She was. Nothing had gone right since she or the Mikaelsons had moved to New Orleans. It was simply one horrible thing after another. Hesitantly she met his gaze again.

"Nothing good is going to happen so long as any of us stay here."

Klaus could tell she whole heartedly believed her words and that worried him.

"I can protect you."

"I'm not scared for myself." She answered as though it were obvious. "I'm scared for everyone else."

His brows came together sadly. After a moment of having nothing else to say on the subject, Klaus nodded. He stepped forward, laced his hand around the small of K's back and dipped down.

"Goodnight." He said simply, placing a small peck on her forehead before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

K's brows came together as she stared at the door Klaus had disappeared through. Cold began to seep into her bones, sinking so deeply into her body that she knew she couldn't shake it. Something bad was coming…