(A/N: What's this? ANOTHER update? Oh yeah, and it's a juicy one. There are two songs for this chapter. They are "Hear Me" by Kelly Clarkson and "Kiss Me" by Ed Sheeran. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)
Klaus's POV:
A huge rainstorm has taken over Mystic Falls. It's days like these where I'm grateful to have a job that's indoors, warm, and dry.
Today, Stefan and I have hunkered down in the stock room, taking inventory of the hospital's medical supplies. It's a boring task, but at least having Stefan to converse with makes it a little more interesting. I didn't realize how having him here would be such a support, especially since we were both hired to work full time this semester.
"So, I'm trying to finish out this semester with straight A's," Stefan explains, taking a seat in a fold-up chair and checking our inventory list, "But unfortunately, having this job does not make college professors any more lenient, or willing to give out extra credit assignments."
I finish re-stacking a few boxes of rubber gloves, and take an empty seat next to him
"That's rubbish," I say, grabbing my water bottle from the floor and taking a sip, "Of all instructors, they should know."
Stefan sets down the list and rubs his palms over his face, "Dude, I'm so tired. They just say I have to learn to balance if I'm actually going to be committed to working in this field."
"And you've got Meredith," I tease, referring to his latest romance.
"Yeah, I don't know," he says, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms, "I thought I could handle it all, but taking on a girlfriend on top of all this was just not the best timing."
"That, I know all too well," I commiserate.
Suddenly, the room goes pitch black.
"Uh, that's different," Stefan notes.
Immediately following the darkness are several shrilling screams echoing throughout the entire hospital. Stefan and I jump out of our seats and blindly stumble our way out to the hallway, which is also pitch black. As alarms sound, a few lights slowly come back on to reveal the pandemonium around us. Hospital staff, volunteers, and security are moving quickly to get to their various destinations as patients either run away from them, or bawl on the floor screaming.
In emergency situations such as this, when the intercom doesn't seem to be working, the inpatient staff are to immediately report to the staff room for directives from Elijah. Without saying anything, Stefan and I bolt through the dim lit hallways and make our way there.
We get there in a short amount of time, meeting a cluster of doctors and nurses who have already surrounded themselves around Elijah. I push my way through to get to him.
"What happened?" I ask, watching him distribute walkie-talkies to each person.
"Blackout- storm must have cut our power," he states quickly, handing me a walkie, "Here, channel two, locate and rally up all the patients you can and bring them back to their rooms. Contact Meredith after you've secured anyone inside."
"Copy," I say, and head back to Stefan to repeat the information.
Once he's filled in, I don't wait up for him and instead, head outside to the rec room in search for Caroline. I must ensure her safety first.
On my way there, I notice a few technicians busy at work in the control room. They're fumbling around with black monitor screens, which means all the live camera feeds have also been cut. The backup generators must only be powering the hospital's essential equipment right now.
Like the rest of the hospital, lighting is sparse in the rec room, but I'm able to locate Caroline right away. She's balled up on the floor near one of the couches, eyes shut tight and rocking herself back and forth.
"Care, I'm here," I say, getting on my knees and crouching down beside her.
"No, No, No, No, No," she tells herself, repeatedly.
"No- what? What is it? Caroline, Talk to me."
"It's going to happen again; I can feel it."
She's about to have another episode. The loud wailing from the rest of the patients are, clearly, setting her more unease, and she begins to hyperventilate. I try to muffle the sound by covering her ears for her. I quickly look around, trying to spot out Lexi for assistance, but she's nowhere to be seen.
Just then, Elijah enters the room with a flashlight, and glances over at us on the floor.
"Where is Lexi?" I ask with a little more spat than intended.
"I don't know, Klaus," he says, rushing by, "I have a million other things on my plate right now."
Caroline whimpers, holding herself together tightly.
I place my focus back on her and lean down close to her face, "Come on, sweetheart. Meet me halfway."
She opens her eyes, meeting mine for a moment, and then looks at the room around us. Her breathing becomes more uneven and her eyes grow wide in fear. She gives a deafening scream, and then pushes herself off the floor, running out the door that leads to the fenced off grass area.
Before I knew it, I was already outside, chasing after her.
Caroline's POV:
Arms. That's all I could see.
Unclean, distorted hands stretched out and reaching for me.
My heart races as I try to escape them, pushing past their clutches and further out into the rain. Scared and frantic, I search all around me for some place that's safe.
I spot an opening off the right side of the hospital building, an empty, long walkway, and run through there. This seems to work, and I appear to be no longer surrounded. Slowing down to catch my breath, I wipe loose strands of wet hair out of my face. Just when I believe I've found a safe hiding place; a pair of strong arms grab me from behind and entrap me.
I manage to get out a scream before I'm flipped around to see who my captor is.
"Relax, it's just me," Klaus says, letting me out of his embrace and placing his hands on my shoulders.
I stare at him for a moment, bewildered that he even chased after me and allowed himself to get drenched from the downpour. For a moment, I forget why I was so afraid of in the first place.
Then all at once, it hits me. I'm overwhelmed, but not with the same emotion I was feeling before.
Instead, a distinct rage rises inside me.
"Leave me alone," I declare with such force, even I was surprised, "I'm not your responsibility anymore."
He's stunned. I don't think either of us were expecting those words to come out of me just now.
I take advantage of his moment's hesitation and push him away from me, but he quickly rebounds and takes me in his arms again. Thanks to the weather, I'm able to easily slip from his grasp. However, I lose balance and fall to the ground, bringing him down with me.
I try kicking my legs at him, which are now covered in mud, but one of his arms locks them together tightly, making it impossible for me to escape. I continue to fight him with all my strength. I flip myself around, clawing at the wet grass to try and get away, but it's useless. I can't break free.
Tired, frustrated, and wet, I sit myself up and slap him. This phases him for a moment but does not make him lose his grip. I do this repeatedly until he grabs my wrist with his free hand and pulls me into him.
"Stop it, Caroline!" He shouts into my face, angrily.
I do as he says and defeatedly fall back onto the wet, muddy ground, crying. It's the only thing I can do.
"Why do you care, Klaus?" I yell out through my sobs.
I look up at him, and right then, he gives me the most astonished look. Something along the lines of confusion and hurt.
"Caroline, I-," He pauses for a moment, and then quickly looks all around him, like he's watching out for something. He scoops me up in his arms and takes me to a crevice in the wall of the building, lightly pushing me into it, and sets me back on my feet. We are completely hidden away from anyone who might round the corner.
"Alright, I'm probably only going to have one chance to say this, so listen carefully," he says, delicately holding my face close to his, "I broke up with Tatia four months ago because all I could think about was you. It has alwaysbeen about you. The only reason why I was with her was to try and take my mind off wanting you, which was pointless because you were still in my every waking thought, haunting me. It was foolish, and all I did was hurt the both of us in the process, and I'm sorry."
He pauses for a moment, resting his eyes on mine.
"I'm so sorry," he repeats, "I can't pretend anymore. I feel like my chest is just going to burst if I don't-"
He stops himself. He has no words.
I have no words.
We stare at each other blankly, the rain still beating down on both of our faces.
"What?" I manage to choke out, suddenly focusing in on the rain droplets streaming down his lips, "If you don't- what?" I repeat.
He looks around once more, still, gently holding my face in his hands.
Finally, he directs his gaze back at me, "Okay, please don't freak out, I'm going to kiss you now."
His hands carefully pull my face into his, and he closes the space between us. He presses his lips against mine urgently.
My breath is gone.
Unlike our first kiss, this one is deep, and passionate. There's not a hint of uncertainty as he purposefully moves my lips apart with his. He knows exactly what he's doing.
He pulls away for a moment and leans his forehead against mine. Then, softly, he breathes out the words, "I love you."
He says it again, "I love you so much, it hurts."
Klaus's POV:
I continue to kiss her, hoisting her up in my arms. Her legs securely fasten themselves around my torso as her arms fiercely pull me in closer. She's strong. I move down to her neck, leaving light kisses on the areas that were once bruised, and trail them back up to her face. Her breathing starts to get heavier and, I notice, so does mine.
Just as I meet her mouth again with mine, the walkie-talkie clipped on the back of my pants goes off.
"Elijah to Klaus: Where are you?"
"Please don't stop," she moans between kisses.
This woman is ruining me. Does she have any idea how sexy she is?
I give a soft moan with her, "Oh trust me, love. I don't want to."
"Klaus, do you copy?" Elijah repeats.
"Just five more minutes," she pleads.
I happily oblige, keeping her lips pressed to mine, and holding her there for as long I can before my walkie goes off one final time.
"Klaus, come in. Were you able to locate Caroline outside? I'm sending help."
I force myself to break away and answer the call.
"Klaus to Elijah," I say, letting her down softly, "Yes, we had a bit of a struggle. Taking her to her room now."
"Good, hurry, we need your help in here."
"Copy," I say, and give Caroline one last quick kiss before taking her by the hand and leading her back inside. She's quick to keep up with me and doesn't say a word.
Once we're in, I reluctantly let go of her hand and make myself fall back into the 'distant' façade. Chaos still ensues as everyone is going about their business and trying to take control of the situation in their own various ways. The rooms and hallways are still dark, which means the power has yet to come back on.
"Are you going to be okay?" I ask her seriously.
"Yes," she says confidently, "I'm fine, no more hallucinations."
I nod my head hopefully, "Good."
We walk together to her room, leaving muddy footprint tracks all the way there.
"You need to get changed," she advises once we've arrived.
"You need to get changed," I taunt back.
She flashes me a devilish grin and continues into her bathroom.
I smirk back and am about to close the door to her room when she turns around to face me again.
"Klaus," she says, bringing her voice down low, "Just to be clear, you're an ass for waiting this long to tell me…"
"I know," I say shamefully. If there's one thing I regret from all of this, it's not telling her sooner.
Her smile turns gentle as her face becomes merciful, "…and I love you too."
I breathe out a soft sigh of relief, giving myself a moment to fully take in her words, and then shut the door, safely locking her inside.
Raising the walkie to my mouth, I give my report, "Klaus to Meredith: Caroline Forbes, secure."
(A/N: I know, not super long. But after all these years, dang that was satisfying to write. Don't forget to review. Message/follow me on Tumblr with any questions or to just see what I'm up to. My username on there is the same as here.)