Chapter 31
The next morning Caroline woke up with her head buried in Klaus' bare chest. She gently trailed her fingers across his arm muscles to his shoulders and back again. Looking up at his face, she smiled as she thought of their late night activities.
"You know, Love, it's very Twilight of you to stare at me while I'm sleeping." Klaus spoke without opening his eyes.
Caroline jumped slightly in surprise before she scoffed. "You can't just steal my jokes, you know."
He quickly rolled on top of her. "And what are you going to do to stop me?" His eyes flashed with mischief.
"Please, you don't scare me." Caroline smirked back up at him.
He crashed his lips to hers and went to lift her hands above her head. However, she wiggled underneath him, gently pulling her lips away.
"Nope!" She said sliding out from under him and getting out of bed. "It's already, like, 11:30; we've been in here all morning."
Klaus flopped to his back, sighing. "And that's a problem because…?"
"It's a problem because we need to be real people and go make a plan with your family." Caroline replied as she hunted for her clothes that she had planned to wear after the dance.
"Well, I suppose it's a good thing that you're a vampire and I'm a hybrid, love." He smirked at her as he continued laying in bed. "No real people to be found."
She sent him a glare as she continued to look for her overnight bag.
"Looking for something, Sweetheart?" His voice called to her, causing her to freeze.
She turned to face him suspiciously. "My overnight bag…"
He arranged his face into a puzzled expression, "Hmm… red and black duffle bag, about yea big, with an over the shoulder strap?" He held up his hands to demonstrate the dimensions of a bag.
"Yes, that would be the one." She answered with her hands on her hips.
"Haven't seen it." He sent her a dazzling smile. "I suppose if you don't have any clothes to change into, we'll just have to stay here."
"Uh huh," Caroline continued to eye him skeptically.
"Now, I could be persuaded to help you look for it…" He hinted, his eyes sparkling.
"And what might that entail?"
"You should probably come closer to the bed so I can tell you, Love."
Two hours later, Caroline and a grumbling Klaus left his bedroom. He had magically found her bag shoved in the back of his closet. They went to the kitchen and each got a blood bag before moving into the living room to look for his siblings.
Elijah and Rebekah were sitting on one sofa; Elijah was reading a book, while Rebekah was typing away on her phone. On the opposite couch sat Bonnie and Kol looking through old grimoires.
Kol looked up with a smirk when he saw the pair enter the room, "Hail, hail, the gang's all here… finally."
Klaus was about to retort to his younger brother, but Caroline beat him to it. "Okay, not to bring up a sore subject, but how do you know all of these pop culture references since you were in a box for the last century?"
Kol's smirk just grew. "I'm just that fantastic, Soon-To-Be-Sister-In-Law"
Klaus smacked Kol on the back of the head as he went to the drink cart. He poured himself a whiskey before mixing in his blood bag with it. Making another one for Caroline, he moved back to hand it to her.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "It's like 2 in the afternoon."
"You're point being?" He asked, pushing the drink into her hand.
Caroline rolled her eyes before plopping down next to Bonnie and taking a sip. "Find anything?"
Bonnie shook her head. "Ester had 5 different grimoires from her lifetime; two of them were hers and the other three belonged to her teacher, Ayanna. So far, I've looked completely through her two and haven't found anything. Kol is looking through Ayanna's first one now."
"So these books are, like, a thousand years old?" Caroline asked. "Not to live up to my hair color or anything, but how are they not falling apart?"
Kol let out a chuckle. "They're magic books, STBSIL."
Everyone, including Elijah, looked up at Kol, puzzled at the abbreviation.
Kol rolled his eyes at all of them. "Really? Come on, people. Soon-To-Be-Sister-In-Law. You can't expect me to say the whole thing every time I address Caroline."
"Shut up, Kol." Klaus rolled his eyes.
"What?" Kol shrugged. "It's your fault her title is so long, Nik. The sooner you propose to her, the sooner you two tie the knot and her name can just be 'Sister-In-Law' or possibly just 'Sister' to save myself some time."
Klaus flashed at Kol, but Kol had already vamped away and was crouching on the arm of the couch behind Caroline.
Caroline shook her head, smiling at their antics. "You know he's just trying to get a rise out of you, right?" She looked over at Klaus, who was currently trying to figure out how to get to his brother.
"Shh," Kol fake whispered to her. "You'll spoil my victory."
Caroline laughed and stood up, causing Kol to lose his balance and topple onto the couch in the spot she was just in. She went and sat in his previous spot, which was next to Klaus' armchair.
"Can we at least try to be productive here?" She looked between the two brothers.
"Yes," Elijah said, looking at his siblings sternly. "You two shouldn't need a guest to tell you what proper behavior is."
Kol righted himself in his new spot and pulled his grimoire back into his lap. "He started it." He muttered under his breath, knowing full well that everyone in the room would still be able to hear him.
Caroline sent Klaus a pleading look. Klaus simply nodded to her before rolling his eyes at Kol. They both sipped from their glasses and enjoyed a few minutes of peaceful silence.
Rebekah finally put her phone down and looked around at all of them. "I just got done texting Finn all of the updates from last night. He understands that we had to kill Ester, and wanted me to let you all know that he is available to help us with anything that we need in order to find and possibly bring back Henrik. He said that he and Sage can get back here within 24 hours when or if we need them."
Elijah nodded. "Thank you, Rebekah, for contacting him. It's good to know he is willing to help us if we need it."
"So," Rebekah continued hesitantly, her eyes on Bonnie. "Do you think you're going to be ready to contact your Grams on the Other Side soon?"
Bonnie looked to Kol, who nodded to her. "Um, yeah, actually. Kol explained to me last night how the process works, and I've actually done it before. I contacted my ancestor, Emily Bennett, pretty quickly after I learned that I was a witch. At the time, it was her reaching out to me, so I didn't think I was able to do it. Kol explained that it's actually like a phone; someone from the Other Side can reach out to me, but I can also reach out to them as well."
Caroline gasped. "You mean that creepy seance we did last year was actually getting into touch with the Other Side?" She shuddered. "That was so creepy. Don't tell me we need to do that again…"
Bonnie gave her a grim smile. "Yeah, we kinda do." At Caroline's groan, she continued. "It shouldn't be like that this time though. Emily was the one in control of the contact then; this time, I'll be the one reaching out to Grams. Also, there's the fact that Emily wanted me to do her bidding, whereas Grams would never take me over like that."
"Well, I guess there's a silver lining in that." Caroline smiled over to her friend.
Bonnie looked around to all of the Originals. "If you guys want, I could try to do it tonight?"
Rebekah nodded eagerly. "Yes! If you're up to it, the sooner the better."
"Is it alright if I do it here? My dad's home tonight, and he's not really super supportive of my witch side…" Bonnie asked, looking nervous.
Caroline put her hand on Bonnie's arm comfortingly.
"Of course, Bonnie." Klaus told her sincerely, causing everyone, except Caroline, to look to him in slight surprise. Caroline beamed at him. "After everything you have done for this family, it's the least we can do to open our home to you whenever you are in need."
Elijah was, once again, looking between Klaus and Caroline as if trying to fit together the pieces of a puzzle.
"Thank you, Klaus." Bonnie said, offering him a small smile, which made Caroline turn her smile to her friend.
"So, what all do we need for this seance?" Rebekah asked.
"Candles and something that belonged to the deceased." Kol answered automatically.
Bonnie nodded. "I'll have to run back home to grab something of Grams'."
"Do you want me to come with you, Bon?" Caroline asked, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy for her friend.
Bonnie smiled at her gratefully. "Yeah, that would be nice."
They missed the way Klaus and Kol exchanged a look. "We'll accompany you, ladies." Kol spoke up, gesturing to himself and Klaus.
"Why?" Bonnie and Caroline asked together, both of them raising an eyebrow at the brothers.
"There happens to be a psycho doctor vampire on the loose." Kol said as if it was obvious.
"Yeah, but it's not like she has a daylight ring." Bonnie retorted.
Caroline saw Klaus shoot her a look, and she remembered their discussion from the night before. "What if they just wait in the car, Bonnie?" She turned to her friend.
"Downstairs." Kol and Klaus both countered at the same time before glaring at each other.
"Fine." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "But don't break anything." She turned to Kol specifically before adding. "Or steal anything."
Kol held his hands up placatingly with a look of forced innocence on his face. "Bonnie Bennett, I am no common thief. I very much resent the implication that I would ever do any wrongdoing whatsoever."
"Hmm, not even a little theft?" Bonnie asked, tilting her head.
"Never, Darling." Kol responded, looking aghast.
"Too bad," Bonnie shrugged. "Aladdin was my favorite Disney prince." She stood up and made her way to the entry hall with Caroline trailing behind her, laughing at the confused look on Kol's face.
Klaus, Caroline, Bonnie and Kol pulled up to the curb outside of Bonnie's house and all got out of the car. Bonnie unlocked the door and went inside with Kol right behind her. He shot a smug look over his shoulder in Klaus' direction, making the hybrid roll his eyes. Caroline looked at Klaus in confusion before it dawned on her.
Bonnie seemed to come to the same realization because she appeared back in the doorway looking hesitant.
Klaus spoke first. "It's alright, Bonnie. I can just wait out here. It's not a problem."
Bonnie considered him for a few seconds before darting her eyes to Caroline. "No." Bonnie said firmly. "Please, Klaus, come in."
Both Caroline and Klaus looked at her in surprise before Klaus spoke again, still not moving forward. "It's really fine, Bonnie. You didn't need to do that."
"Well, I did." Bonnie grinned at him. "I think you're going to be around for a while." Her eyes moved to Caroline. "You welcomed me into your home earlier, and now I'm doing the same."
"Thank you, Bonnie." Klaus looked at her seriously. "I give you my word that you will not regret this."
Bonnie nodded and stepped aside to let both him and Caroline in. On her way past, Caroline pulled Bonnie to the side. "You really didn't have to do that. We both would have understood if you didn't want to."
"I know," Bonnie said. "That's why I wanted to. I meant what I said, Care. I really don't think he's going anywhere any time soon. If you love him, I know there's something to him that I can trust."
Caroline pulled Bonnie to her in a fierce hug. "Thank you. I know how you feel about him and everything he's done, but thank you for being willing to try to look past all of that and see him for who he is becoming. You really are my best friend."
"You're worth it, Caroline." Bonnie whispered back.
"Do you think they're going to kiss? That would be kind of hot..." They heard Kol's hushed voice from the doorway to the family room. The girls looked in his direction just in time to see Klaus' hand reach out of the family room and jerk him backwards by the collar. "Oi! I wanted to keep watching that!"
"No matter how old they are, boys are always weird." Bonnie laughed as Caroline rolled her eyes.
The girls made their way upstairs, and Bonnie led the way to her Grams' old bedroom. Her hand shook as she reached for the doorknob, so Caroline put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You okay? Do you need a minute?" She asked her friend.
Bonnie breathed out slowly. "No, I'm alright. It's just been a while since I've been in here." She squared her shoulders and opened the door.
Caroline was greeted by a smell that instantly brought back memories of Sheila Bennett: dinners with her and Bonnie, her telling the girls scary stories at sleepovers, her wisely telling a 13 year old Caroline not to worry what boys thought of her. She smiled sadly at all of the happy times that Sheila had played a part in before looking over to Bonnie.
Bonnie's eyes took on a glassy sheen as she looked around her grandmother's room. It didn't look like anything had been moved or disturbed since the elder Bennett passed away. Bonnie wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before moving to a jewelry box that sat on the dresser. She opened it and took out a silver wristwatch.
She held it up and gave Caroline a small smile. "Grams got this when she got her tenure at the university. She loved teaching those classes about the occult. Everyone thought she was some kooky old lady telling ghost stories, but she knew more than any of them ever did."
"She knew some good ghost stories too." Caroline smiled, nudging Bonnie's shoulder. "I remember not being able to sleep for a week one time after one of our sleepovers."
Bonnie laughed at the memory as she took another look around the room.
Caroline moved over towards the doorway, "I'm going to give you a minute. Come downstairs whenever you're ready."
Bonnie sent her a grateful smile as she closed the door behind her.
Caroline made her way back downstairs, hoping that the brothers hadn't gotten into any trouble in the ten minutes they were left alone. She overheard Kol trying to engage his brother in conversation.
"So… who do you think that Aladdin fellow that Bonnie mentioned earlier is?"
"I have no idea." Klaus' voice sounded bored.
"Well what about 'Disney?' What does that mean?"
"Disney is a company that makes children's movies, books and amusement parks."
"Can we go to one so I can find out who Aladdin is?"
"I am not taking you to Disney World, Kol."
"You owe me. I lost my 20th century life because of you."
"Ask Elijah to take you."
Kol let out a giant sigh before changing the topic. "Who do you think would win in a fight: you or Godzilla?"
"Godzilla isn't even real, Kol."
"Yeah, but if he was…"
"This is a pointless conversation."
"You just don't want to admit that you'd lose…"
"I've faced and beaten Mikael, the world's oldest and vilest villain. You really think a giant lizard would beat me?"
She heard silence for a few seconds before Kol spoke again.
"What about King Kong?"
Caroline decided that would be a good time to intervene, just in case Klaus' patience was wearing thin. By the look on his face when she walked in the room, it seemed like she made the right choice.
"Sooo," She drew out the word, hoping to divert Kol's attention away from his choice of topic. "Bonnie found her Grams' old watch that she thinks should work. She'll be down in a minute or two."
Kol sent her a salute. "Thank you for the update, STBSIL. I'm glad you joined us; who do you think would win in a fight: Nik or King Kong?"
Caroline took on a thoughtful expression before answering him in a serious tone. "Well, Nik took down and killed Mikael, who is, like, the evilest villain on the planet. I highly doubt a giant monkey could one up him…"
Kol shook his head at her in disappointment. "One, STBSIL, King Kong is a gorilla, not a monkey." He then looked between her and Klaus in disgust. "Two, you two really are made for each other. Sickening." He stood up and made his way to the kitchen to get away from them.
Caroline sent Klaus a smile, which he returned. He pointed to her and then to his ear, trying to silently ask her if she had heard their conversation. Caroline nodded, trying not to laugh.
Klaus let out a low chuckle before walking towards her and giving her a kiss. He swept his tongue across her lips in an effort to deepen the kiss, yet they were interrupted by Kol's voice.
"I can hear the sound of your lips smacking against hers, Brother! If you don't stop I'm going to be sick."
Klaus pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers in frustration. "Do you think Bonnie would mind if I snapped his neck for the trip home?"
Caroline giggled. "I think she might actually need his help when we get there to contact Grams."
Klaus made a show of looking out the window. "Nonsense, Love. She can't perform the seance until it's dark out. That's at least an hour and a half away. He'll have recovered before then."
With that he headed into the kitchen after his brother.
