Anonymous asked: Please do a part 2 of the genie drabble, I have so many questions! (ANGSTY sequel to Chapter 172, I'M SORRY)
With her frantically crying on the floor, Klaus was quick to dress in soft sweats and a worn Henley. Just to try and coax her into some comfort, he grabbed another shirt for Caroline, though she hadn't seemed to notice her own nudity. "Sweetheart," he pleaded, at a complete loss for what might be wrong. "Please, let me help you."
Her breathing stuttered with an ugly sound in her throat, and fear clawed at his spine. So as not to startle her, he gently lifted the shirt over her head and guided her arms to where they belonged. When he met her eyes, she seemed to stare at him in a confusing mix of horror and longing. Unable to help himself, he brushed the hair out of her face. "What's wrong?"
Biting her lip, Caroline slowly crawled into his lap and let her hands settle on his shoulders. It was like she was grounding herself, scared to look away. "You're dead," she whispered. "B-but you're here."
Klaus banded his arms around her back. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The story came out in tearful bits and pieces, about a school and children - their children but not theirs. Years of almosts and wishes and-
"Wishes!" she gasped, a hand pressing to her mouth. "Oh my god, oh god."
In all his years, he'd never met a genie, yet Caroline seemed convinced that one such creature had cast strange magic over her to allow this moment. A moment he thought was real, felt as real as the bed where he had woken up next to her for the last- "I don't," he broke off, a deep sadness sinking within him. "I don't remember yesterday, or the day before that. I always wake up with you, I feel that in my bones, but I can't remember it."
Tears fell down her cheeks in rivulets, and she refused to blink them away in favor of looking at him. "Because it's just a dream, or something like it, that won't last forever."
His own eyes burning, Klaus sought comfort in holding her closer. "What," he swallowed, "what did you wish for?"
"I just wanted-" Her hands clenched on him, nails digging into his skin. "-I wanted things to be how they were supposed to be," she trailed off, crying harder as the realization hit them both. "Hi."
With a mournful smile, he gathered her into his arms and moved them to the bed, where he held a warm hand to her cheek. "Hello, love."
