A/N Welcome back to day five! Think we lost some people with the last chapter, but thank you to those of you still here! I've been loving your comments and I hope to hear from you after this! (No concrit please) It's time for Caroline to talk to Logan, so let's get to it!

Chapter Five – Mercy

"Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil." ― Friedrich Nietzsche

10:57 PM – One Hour, Three Minutes to Execution

Assistant Directors of the FBI were so nosy. Logan had been calling Carole for hours, but she'd eventually just shut off her android. When she got back to Terre Haute Penitentiary, she was almost out of time. Security quickly buzzed her through, checking her gun at the desk. Klaus was once again in the same room where she'd left him, chained to the table. A guard buzzed her in, but as soon as she crossed the threshold, another came jogging swiftly down the hall. "Agent Forbes?" he asked, a bit breathless as he clutched a bulky portable phone in his hand.

"That's me," she confirmed, eyeing him warily.

"Assistant Director Fell has been calling for hours." There was a desperation in the guard's eyes, as though he couldn't bear to hear the phone ring one more time as he frantically held it out to her. "He really wants to talk to you."

Taking the phone from him, Caroline nodded. "Thank you-" she eyed his nametag- "Donovan. You can close the door on your way out." She watched pityingly as he scurried out the door, idly wondering how long he'd last in corrections. Not long, probably. Inhaling deeply, she sat across from Klaus. The two made eye contact and she gulped; she'd been hoping to talk with him one last time. He watched with bated breath, teeth grinding together and shackled hands clenched into fists as his eyes pleaded with her to let him go. "Logan, hey. I was just about to call you," she answered in a forced casual tone, a smile in her voice that didn't meet her broken eyes still bloodshot from crying.

"I've been calling you for hours. Where the fuck have you been?" The Assistant Director's voice was so loud that Klaus could hear it from across the table, although just barely.

Carefully schooling her features into those of a seasoned agent, Caroline replied smoothly, "I was following up on that lead. You hit me with a hell of a lot to do in one day. It was a lot to go through."

"Well, I sure as hell hope you have some answers for me," he spat bitterly, clearly frustrated. "I've had Judge Lockwood on standby for hours. Do you know how much heat I'm taking for making a federal judge sit by the phone?!"

"He's on standby because we're talking about a man's life here, Logan," she reminded him sternly, the sound of Klaus' fingers drumming anxiously against the steel table pounding in her ears, the grinding of his teeth nearly audible. "You said it yourself; we can't afford to make a mistake. My investigation had to be thorough."

"And what were your findings?" he demanded with a huff. The room felt like it was closing in on her as she agonized over the decision she'd already made. It was one thing to know the right thing to do; it was another to carry that out. The way Klaus' eyes were boring into hers only intensified the tension already thick between them, every breath heavy down her throat. "Caroline? Did I lose you?"

Shaking her head as her heart beat wildly in her chest, the agent replied, "No, no I'm here."

"Well? He's guilty, right?"

Caroline's throat was sandpaper as she swallowed hard, unable to look away from Klaus' piercing gaze, his breathing shallow and strained. She inhaled a deep breath and spoke slowly and clear, trying to keep her voice from wavering. "He's guilty." His shoulders slumped in relief, but it was short lived as she continued, "Of transporting the body across state lines, desecration of a human corpse and improper disposal of human remains. But the alibi checked out. He was in Boston at the time of the murder."

Shock registered on his face as Klaus felt his heart sink in his chest, eyes closing as a single tear rolled down his cheek. She didn't think she'd ever seen a man so miserable to learn he wasn't going to die. Gazing off to the side, he slammed his fist down on the table as hard as he could with only a couple of inches of room to lift his hand. He had an alibi but Rebekah didn't and her DNA was all over the crime scene. All roads would lead to her and she would spend decades behind bars, if not the rest of her life. Or, she wouldn't live at all and would die in his place. Everything he'd ever done was for nothing and there was nothing he could do except stare down at his bound hands hatefully. He'd never felt so powerless in his life.

Caroline looked him over and could see the anguish in every inch of his person. It was almost midnight. It should have been the hour of his reckoning, but instead, it was hers. Phone still clutched tightly in her hand even as it began to shake, she inhaled a deep breath and kept her tone professional. "Looks like the sister was in the passenger's seat next to him." Klaus' head snapped up, eyes wide with shock as his mouth fell open in surprise, and for a brief moment, she could swear his heart stopped beating.

"Rebekah?" Logan asked dubiously. "If she could alibi her brother, why wouldn't she have come forward?"

The agent forced a scoff at that, doing her best to keep herself composed. "Klaus was definitely involved. He was caught with her boyfriend's-" the prisoner's eyes narrowed and jaw tightened at the word, "-dismembered corpse trying to dump what was left of him in the river. She probably either thought he did it or blamed him for it. She cut the rest of her family off years ago, probably because they all rallied behind him."

A tense moment of silence past before the other man stated tersely, "We need to get a statement from her immediately."

Klaus sucked in a deep breath, shoulders tensing; Caroline held up her palm and gave him a reassuring nod. "I'll be on the first flight to New York. I'll conduct the interview myself."

"Damn right you will." The prisoner seemed to settle at that, exhaling hard through his nostrils. Their eyes were locked on each other's as they waited long moments for Logan to speak again, each praying he would believe her story. "Fuck, just… fuck. Fifteen fucking years." As he muttered curses under his breath, her hands began to shake, a bead of sweat dripping down her temple as her stomach turned again, bile rising in the back of her throat. Finally, she heard a tired sigh.

"Agent Forbes," the Assistant Director began, tone as grave as she'd ever heard it and she knew that he was asking for the record, "do you realize what you're saying?"

Caroline gulped, her eyes stinging as she closed them and nodded her head, not that he could see it down the line. Yes, she knew what she was doing. And now she'd have to live with it. A weight settled heavily in her chest as she tried to keep her voice from cracking, the tear she'd tried to fight back finally rolling down her cheek. "I'm saying I have doubt."

Logan exhaled in a whoosh and she could just picture him yanking at his hair the way he always did when he was under stress. They'd worked together a long time; she knew he'd take her at her word. She just didn't know if that made it better or worse. "Alright. I'll call the judge."

Caroline heard the click of him disconnecting and closed her eyes, whispering to herself, "Kyrie, eléison."

It was done. She'd made her choice and there was no going back. The weight of her decision rested heavily on her shoulders as silence descended upon the room. Neither she nor Klaus said a word. When Logan called back just before midnight to tell her the prisoner had been granted a stay of execution, she thought she might throw up again. Instead, she shakily got to her feet and informed the guards they would soon be receiving a call and asked for a cup of water. Taking the cheap plastic in her hand, she sat back down and slowly sipped the lukewarm liquid, waiting for her stomach to stop turning.

It wasn't until the the flimsy plastic clock on the wall struck midnight that Klaus finally spoke. "The blonde in the front seat was Cami O'Connell," he said quietly, "not Rebekah."

Caroline nodded solemnly, shoulders slumping as she leaned tiredly back in the metal chair. "I know," she confessed with a sigh. "I remember her coming in to give a statement that you'd been together, but there was no evidence to back it up."

"And I denied it." His smile was sad as he looked over at her. "Now you know why."

"Yep," she replied dejectedly. There were no reasons left to hide anything from the man across from her. She was complicit now, so she may as well try and make some sense of it with the only person she would ever be able to share her darkest secret. "I just said that to buy me some time to figure out what to do about your sister. For now, she has an alibi, but the photograph from the toll booth is poor quality. Whoever is in the picture was wearing a floppy hat and sunglasses, and half her face is obscured by the roof of the car. Those cameras are designed to catch the driver's face, not the passenger's. Yours is undeniable, but they'll enhance it eventually and figure out it wasn't her."

Klaus leaned forward as much as he could, forearms resting against the edge of the cold metal table, industrial air conditioner cold against the back of his neck. He tilted his head to the side as he considered the woman who'd just saved his life. She looked so defeated that all he wanted to do was reach out and take her hand, but his shackles prevented that. "You lied to a federal agent and withheld information in a murder investigation," he stated contemplatively. She briefly looked over at him but said nothing. "Why did you do it?"

That was a very good question, and one she knew she would ask herself for the rest of her life. She sipped her water, the slightly metallic taste rolling over her tongue as thoughts swirled around her head. "Because you didn't kill him."

"But you know who did," he pointed out, his tone carrying none of his usual taunts or flirtation. He was just a man with questions of his own trying to make sense of something that really didn't.

Caroline released a humorless laugh, turning in her chair and crossing one leg over the other, arm draped across the back. "I know what the evidence tells me, and there is nothing that points to anyone but you. Any gaps the investigation turned up were overshadowed by your confession."

"Ah, my confession," he groaned, really wishing he wasn't still chained to the table. "I admit that was a bit of an accident." She quirked a brow at him and he shrugged like he just couldn't be bothered to lie anymore. "Well, I didn't exactly plan on being caught, did I? A few more minutes and I'd have gotten away with it." Huffing petulantly, he blew a stray curl away from his forehead. "But when the cops showed up, I thought of my sister and panicked a little bit. I didn't realize until years later it would be the one thing we could never convince a jury to ignore."

"That, and the fact that you were found with a chopped up body," she snorted. "Did you really think anyone was going to buy that you were a concerned citizen who stumbled across piles of garbage polluting the river on a late night nature walk?"

"That may have been a fit far-fetched." His admission came with a slight chuckle, a hint of dimples barely visible beneath his gruff stubble. "Although, I'm fairly certain at least some of the jurors might have believed I was about to call the police myself had it not been for the confession."

"Your DNA was all over the crime scene."

Klaus waved his hand dismissively. "People are stupid and don't trust science."

Huffing, she didn't bother to argue that one. "It didn't occur to you that if you got off we'd just reopen the investigation?" she asked, looking at him like he was very slow.

"Of course it did, love," he replied casually. "Why do you think I tampered with the jury twice?" He barked out a dry laugh at her look of outraged incredulity. "I admit that I was hoping they'd accept Elijah's bribe, but when that didn't happen the first time, we tried again. I figured that if I got off, it would look like I was absolutely guilty but managed to get away with it anyway. Then, the case would be closed, everyone would blame the system, and I could go back to my life. It's unfortunate that the second jury didn't go for it either. By the time the third came around, they'd heightened hotel security so much that another attempt became impossible."

Face suddenly losing all it's color, Caroline had to look away as guilt was wildfire flooding through her veins. Klaus tilted his head to the side, wondering what he'd said that suddenly had her so shaken. Reaching up to remove her butterfly clip, she let her hair down and ran her fingers through it. When she looked up, he was struck by just how beautiful she was with golden tendrils framing her face, his gaze softening at how broken she appeared. "Is that what you're going to do now?" She sounded sad as she worried her lower lip. "Just go back to being a gangster and killing people?"

"The only person I ever confessed to killing was Stefan Salvatore," he reminded her, raising his eyebrows. She looked over at him blankly, unamused. Shaking his head, he shrugged like it didn't matter. "You make it seem like a foregone conclusion that I'll actually be getting out of here." He looked around disdainfully at the light green cement walls, low watt institutional lighting reflecting off the plain metal surface of the table that was cold beneath his shackled hands, body covered in navy blue prison scrubs stiff against his skin. "With all I've been suspected of, I can't see myself walking out the front door tomorrow."

"Not tomorrow," she agreed tiredly, having already been awake for over 21 hours. "But there's a good chance you will someday. It'll be pretty obvious you were covering for somebody. The U.S. Attorney will come to you and offer a deal for information-"

"Which I will turn down."

"-and when that happens, they'll ask the judge for the max on every charge they can make stick and add on obstruction and accessory after the fact. With enough evidence to cast reasonable doubt on your murder conviction, they'll reopen the original investigation." Placing her elbow on the steel table, she rested her cheek on her palm. "Starting tomorrow when I talk with Rebekah." Bile once again burned the back of her throat, making her cover her mouth for a brief moment before inhaling a deep breath to keep from vomiting in front of him.

Klaus' posture straightened, shoulders stiffening at her words. He gazed over at her, trying to gauge how much he could really trust her. He knew she was in too deep to back out, but until an hour ago, he thought he had been, too. When he spoke, his tone was soft but hesitant and wary. "You will keep her out of it, won't you?"

Caroline looked up at him miserably, a few stray tendrils falling in her face. "What do you think?"

"I think you're a good person." She scoffed at that, shaking her head as she wondered if she had a clue what that even meant. "But so is she. She did one small bad thing one time-"

Sitting up straight, her jaw dropped as she stared at him incredulously. "She killed a man!"

"A man who did terrible things to her, sweetheart," he bit out with fire in his eyes, "and would have done more to who knows how many others. Monsters like that never change."

"And what about you?" Her tone was demanding as she raised a brow at him, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "Can you change? Do you actually have it in you to keep your promise? Or, are you going to go back to doing 'small bad things'?" she snapped sarcastically, making finger quotes. "Did I just throw away ever moral I've ever had so you can go back to your old life?"

As Klaus looked in her eyes and saw the fear and fury hiding behind blazing sapphire, he felt remorse for only the second time in his life. It was unsettling and made his shoulders deflate, guilt filling the bottom of his gut with lead. Truthfully, he hadn't thought about what he would do after prison because he'd long since stopped thinking he'd ever leave except in a body bag. He hung his head and stared down at his cuffed wrists, unable to meet her gaze. No one had ever sacrificed anything for him before. Rebekah was willing to let him go to his grave to keep her secret, but Caroline had compromised everything she held dear to keep him alive. And he had no idea why she felt he deserved that.

"If you really thought that, you'd have let me die." The prisoner's voice was soft as he stared down at his cuffs. "Why didn't you?"

"I already told you," she replied, rolling her eyes. "You don't deserve to die for a crime you didn't commit."

"I might believe that if we didn't both know how many others I did." He looked up at her from beneath long lashes, but she was staring off at the cement wall. "And I can believe you're willing to spare Rebekah because of what happened to her – the extenuating circumstances, as you so eloquently put what that monster did to her."

Caroline sat up straighter and held up her hand to cut him off. "I haven't made up my mind about what to do with her yet. All I did was buy myself more time to think." His eyes darkened and she was reminded again how violent he could be. "And don't even think about threatening me again or you'll make the decision for me."

Eyeing her shrewdly, Klaus gave an infinitesimal nod of his head, a feeling of defeat washing over him again. "I know I have no right to ask anything of you." His British accent was so low she barely heard him and had to strain her ears to listen. "But will you please just talk to her first?"

"Doing that tomorrow," she reminded him, rolling her eyes.

"No, I mean…" His voice trailed off as he searched for the right words. Finally looking up, his gaze was imploring. "Really talk to her. Find out her side of the story before deciding to lock her up and throw away the key. She's built a good life for herself, and she spends her time helping others. Can you… will you just… listen to what she has to say first? Please?" She bit her lip and looked away, knowing he was asking her to break the law in a much bigger way than buying herself some time. He tilted his head to the side and inhaled through his nostrils, considering her. "After all, that letter had to come from somewhere."

Caroline's eyes snapped up to meet his. With an emotional maelstrom raging inside of her, she'd almost forgotten the lack of a return address on the envelope containing an anonymous tip. "The rest of your family didn't know, did they?" she asked quietly, already sure of the answer.

"No." Klaus shook his head guiltily. "No, she hasn't spoken to any of them in many years. The thing you have to understand about our family…" He leaned forward on his elbows and she could see the anguish in his cerulean eyes; she didn't think she'd ever seen him look so utterly exhausted. "Our father… their father… He wasn't a good man, and it only got worse as we got older."

Caroline raised a brow at him curiously, wondering if he'd answer her next question honestly. "Is that why he had his car accident?"

The prisoner flicked his gaze up and down the agent sitting across from him, something akin to a smirk curling his upper lip even though he tried to keep his face impassive. "I distinctly remember getting a call about that accident. It was the night after I'd taken my younger brother, Kol, to the emergency room. It seems he'd been in a fight at school that day and had been suspended. Apparently, he'd gotten into our father's cigar collection once he got home and managed to burn himself quite thoroughly right in the center of his chest." His eyes darkened again. "At least, that was what Mikael made sure he told the doctors." She looked over at him sympathetically, but he averted his eyes, never one to be pitied. "So, as you can imagine, none of us lost too much sleep over it. But, for what it's worth…" He peered up at her from beneath long eyelashes, his tone sincere and low. "There were no more accidents after that."

The agent's eyebrows turned up dubiously at that. "You were investigated for at least two other murders. There was never enough for an arrest, but word on the street was that you were responsible."

Klaus shrugged casually, something almost proud about his posture. "And I was content to let people think that. Fear is a powerful motivator to keep others at bay. I'm a man of opportunity and when I saw some come my way, well…" He looked up at her sheepishly and flashed her his dimples. She hummed speculatively and shook her head, hoping she could believe him. "But as I was saying, the thing you have to understand, agent… Caroline." He smiled as he said her real name, remembering she'd said he could use it now. "My family's morals may be a bit different than most-" she snorted at that- "but we do love each other. When I found out what happened to Kol, I made sure it didn't happen again. And had I known what Stefan did to Rebekah, I would have been the one to pull the trigger. I wasn't there to protect her that day, but I have been everyday since. There is nothing I would not do for her." He sighed, again wishing he could take her hand. "Can you please just… take that into consideration?"

For a long time, Caroline sat in her chair mulling it over. He'd made a fair point about Stefan; she did believe he would not have stopped any other way. Part of her even felt like he probably deserved it. She hated herself for it and would for the rest of her life, but it's what she felt whether she liked it or not. Rebekah did real good in the world; sending her to prison now wasn't justice. Or, maybe it was and she just wished it wasn't. Klaus did belong in prison. He wasn't a good person, but he was a person who'd done a good thing. And maybe that was reason enough to keep him alive.

Minutes dragged by one by one as Klaus waited for an answer. Finally sighing, she looked over at him and decided to tell the truth. "I'll talk to her. I'll talk to her for the reason I decided not to let you die," she admitted quietly, capturing his gaze. "Anyone capable of love is capable of being saved." His eyes widened as his breath caught in his chest; he almost looked like he'd been slapped so evident was his shock that anyone could possibly think that of him. "You asked me if I've ever had anyone I would do anything to protect and I told you no… but you do. You were ready to die because you love your sister that much. I try to be a good person – although I am seriously questioning that right now – but even I can't say I'm capable of something that noble. I have to believe that if you can do that…" Voice trailing off, she shook her head and blinked away the burning moisture in her eyes. "I have to believe that your life was worth saving. I have to believe that you can change." He gulped as emotions he wasn't even sure he recognized flooded through his system, goosebumps racing across his skin. Reaching across the table, she put her hand over his. He jumped a little bit, unused to physical contact that wasn't rough and punishing. She gave it a squeeze and tugged, trying to get him to look up at her. When he finally did, she saw more vulnerability and raw emotion that she ever would have thought possible, an expression she knew she mirrored in her own eyes. "Don't prove me wrong, okay?"

Prison was a horrible place and Klaus knew it had changed him over the years. What he didn't know was that it might have been for the better, because as he sat across from Caroline and looked into her eyes, all he wanted to do was spend the rest of his life proving her right. "I won't," he promised in a voice a breath above a whisper, squeezing her hand back like it was his lifeline.

Maybe it was foolish, but in that moment, she believed him.

It had been a very long day and Caroline could feel exhaustion coming for her. Not even a triple latte could save her now. Her eyelids were so heavy that she could barely keep them open and knew it was time to leave. Unsure what else there was to say, she slowly got to her feet, but Klaus didn't let go of her hand. "Will I ever see you again?" he asked quietly, his tone somewhere between forlorn and hopeful with more longing than she thought she'd ever heard. She reflected again that she'd shown him more kindness in one night than he'd had in many, many years.

"You'll see me," she promised. Squeezing his hand one last time, she leaned down and for reasons she couldn't even begin to fathom, pressed her lips briefly to his cheek before walking out the door.

Klaus was still alive when the sun rose the next morning.

A/N He lived! I just want to give a shoutout to my friend Erica, here. The original concept for this story was a short (by my standards) drabble that ends with her watching from behind the glass as he receives a lethal injection. Well. The lovely BelleMorte180 did not approve of this plan. After hearing why, I sat back and really looked at the purpose of the story. I went back to the drawing board when I realized the grief of Klaus' death would overshadow the overall moral dilemma comprising the plot and I'm very happy with that decision. So, thanks for always be honest with me, petite murder vibes! See you tomorrow, and please let me know what you think Caroline should do about Rebekah! (No concrit please)