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Guest: You're a good guesser :), and I'm glad you like my Elena! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
PerfectlyGoodHeart: Maybe she gained an important one, you'll have to read to find out :-P! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Ok guys, here is the continuation of the previous chapter, early as mentioned! This chapter is pretty long, and it's filled with a lot of information. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know how you felt about it in the reviews! Thank you again, and happy reading…
Disclaimer: I do not own TVD, The Originals, or any of their characters…
The two stood looking at each other as if they were surprised, neither making a move nor trying to speak. Caroline could tell that Klaus hadn't been sleeping. She remembered how he said that he would stay at the mansion attempting to sleep while she was staying at her mother's after the accident. She felt guilty, realizing that she had basically done the same thing to him all over again. She continued to turn his life upside down.
"Caroline?" Klaus finally broke the silence. He didn't walk towards her, afraid that she might run again if he did.
His voice freed her from her thoughts, but when she looked at him, she felt the anger building again. "I'm not here to apologize," she warned.
"I'm not asking for an apology." He stepped closer to her. "I just want to explain my decision to you." He was still angry himself. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why she would keep her pregnancy from him. However, he knew that if he lost his temper, so would she, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. "Please sit down so we can talk." He motioned towards the sofa in the living room.
Caroline hesitated, but Elena's words were playing in her mind. She nodded, and made her way to the couch, Klaus right behind her. "Let's hear it," she snapped when he didn't start speaking.
Klaus' gaze shifted from his hands in his lap to her eyes. He could see the pain. If he didn't know Caroline so well, he would think she was just angry, but he knew that more than anything, she was hurt. "Where do you want me to start?"
"I guess from the time you found out about the accident." Caroline's voice shook. She knew she was making him relive one of the worst days of his life.
Klaus nodded, took a deep breath, then began to tell what happened on that terrible day.
Flashback~ Day of the accident
Klaus was stressed out about his upcoming art show. He felt like none of his artwork was good enough, but it was too late to change anything. He was going to have to finish the piece he was working on, and then move the collection to the gallery, confident or not.
He looked at his watch and groaned. It was already after 8 PM and he still wasn't anywhere close to being finished. He knew that there was no way he would make it home to have dinner with Caroline. He also knew that she wasn't going to be pleased since it was the third time this week. He took out his phone and called home. He didn't expect her to be there, but he was going to leave a message for when she got in.
"Hello, sweetheart, I'm going to be at my studio late tonight. I'm still not ready for this art show tomorrow. Don't wait up for me. I love you." He hung up the phone and continued working on his unfinished piece.
He became lost in his work, not realizing how much time had passed. If he had, he would have noticed that Caroline hadn't called him yet, which was unlike her. He was critiquing his work for the umpteenth time when his phone rang.
"Hello?" He answered on the second ring, figuring it was Caroline.
"Is this Mr. Niklaus Mikaelson?" The unfamiliar voice on the other line asked.
Klaus' brow furrowed. Who would possibly be calling for him this late? "Yes it is."
"Mr. Mikaelson, this is Dr. Henley from Mystic Falls Medical. Your wife has been in an accident. You need to come here as soon as possible."
Klaus nearly dropped the phone as his heart sank. It took him a moment before he could speak. "Is she alright?"
"I would like to speak with you in person. Have the nurses tell me when you arrive." The doctor didn't say anymore before the phone disconnected.
Klaus knew that it wasn't good when a doctor wouldn't give you information over the phone. His eyes filled with tears as he grabbed his keys and ran to his vehicle. He sped all the way to the hospital, his vision blurred by the tears that he fought to control.
When he was finally sitting with the doctor, Klaus wanted nothing more than to see his wife.
"She's alive," the doctor promised. "But it's not all good news. She was in a bad car accident. According to some people that saw it happen, she was going through a green light when an oncoming car ran into her side. Unfortunately, it was on the driver's side."
Klaus felt like he was going to be sick. He sat in shock as the doctor continued to explain what had happened.
"She appears to have a little bit of swelling in her brain, but surprisingly, not much damage to the rest of her body other than some cuts and bruises. If I had to guess, I would say that her head probably slammed into the window. Because of the trauma, she is in a coma right now." The doctor stopped to give Klaus a minute to soak in what he was saying.
"How long will she be in a coma?" Klaus asked, his eyes now glued to the floor unable to look at the man in front of him.
"I'm not sure. That part is up to her. The swelling should start to go down now that she's on medication, but there's still a chance that she won't wake up." When the doctor saw Klaus' whole body tense, he almost hated his job. These were the situations that would cause him to second guess his career choice, but he always had to remind himself that the good outweighed the bad. "Based on what I'm seeing, I think the odds are in her favor though. However, you have to remember that this is a head injury. If she does wake up, there could be major side effects, such as memory loss."
Klaus nodded. He felt like things couldn't get any worse, but he was proven wrong.
"There's one more thing, Mr. Mikaelson." The doctor put his hand on Klaus' shoulder and squeezed, his face full of pity. "The impact of the crash and the air bag caused your wife to miscarry."
Klaus' head shot up. His eyes were wide. "Miscarry? She was pregnant?"
"Yes, she was about a month along. I'm sorry." Klaus couldn't control the tears anymore. They began to fall. "Is there anyone I can call?" The doctor asked as he stood, about to leave so Klaus could have some time alone.
Klaus nodded. "Her mother. Liz Forbes," he choked out, figuring someone in the hospital knew how to get in contact with Caroline's mom. It was a small town, after all.
The doctor nodded back and assured Klaus he would let him know the minute he could see his wife.
When the doctor left, Klaus felt himself completely crumble. He was glad he was alone in the waiting room. Not only did he not know if his wife would ever wake up, he found out he lost a child he never knew existed. He was angry because he didn't know about the child. He was worried about his wife. He was overcome with guilt. He knew it was way too late for her to have been driving home from work, so she had to have gotten his message. If he had just went home, she wouldn't have been on the road, she wouldn't have lost their child, and she definitely wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed. He felt like it was his fault. He was growing more and more upset when Liz ran into the waiting room.
"Klaus! How is she? What happened?" The blonde was beyond panicked.
Klaus filled her in on all of the details as she sat with her hand over her mouth in shock. Tears were falling from her face as well as the reality of the situation set in. Her little girl was in a coma and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Did you know she was pregnant?" Klaus asked, his voice still shaky.
Liz shook her head. "She didn't say anything to me."
Present day
"So when you woke up and you didn't remember anything past 2009, your mom and I decided it would be best to not tell you about the pregnancy. I didn't even know if you ever knew you were pregnant." He thought back to the day she woke up. "You were so upset that you had lost some of your memory, we figured that telling you that you lost a child would only make it that much worse. We didn't do it to hurt you or to lie to you, love. I planned on telling you one day, but you remembered it before I felt like it was time. You didn't even remember being married to me. Imagine if I would have told you that we lost our child. In your mind at the time, you were still a teenager."
Caroline had tears streaming down her cheeks at his explanation. She could see the pain in his face, hear it in his words. She could tell that he was being sincere, not just trying to tell her something that would make her forgive him. "Why wasn't it the right time for me to know yet? We were back together, in our home."
Klaus shook his head. "You were getting memories back, and you seemed to be happy for the first time since the accident. We were getting closer. I wanted you to trust in me enough to be able to lean on me when I told you. I didn't want you to feel alone, or like you didn't have someone you could turn to."
"But I do trust you, Nik. I don't think you realize how much you mean to me. I may have lost my memory, but you're in here." She pointed to her heart. "And even if my brain isn't working right at the moment, my heart is. My heart knows you."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," he whispered, surprised at her confession. "I love you so much, Caroline. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. You have to know that."
Caroline thought back to the hurtful words she had said to him before walking out. "I'm sorry too. I know you love me." She placed her hand on his cheek, causing him to lean into it, hungry for her touch. Her eyes met his. "I love you too, Nik."
Those words were exactly what he needed to hear in that moment. He leaned forward slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wanted, but she didn't move. His lips landed on hers. Being so close to her made him realize how much he missed her when she was gone.
He pulled away. He still had questions that he wanted to ask her, and he wanted to do it now so they could move on. "You said that you remembered taking a pregnancy test."
Caroline nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"Why wouldn't you tell me you were pregnant, Caroline? Did I do something wrong? Were you upset? Do you remember any of the thoughts you were having when you found out?" These were the questions that had been on repeat in his mind for days.
"That night I didn't remember anything other than taking the test and it being positive, but while I was at Elena's I had another dream. It was more of that same day. I had checked my calendar to see when my next appointment was, and I noticed the date. I had been so busy that I hadn't even realized I was late. During my lunch break, I went to buy a pregnancy test. After taking the test, I had mixed emotions. I knew that we hadn't planned on having kids yet, so I didn't know how you were going to take it, but I was excited. The last thing I remember, I was going home and I couldn't wait to tell you." Caroline summed up the memory.
"What was the date?" Klaus' brow furrowed.
"January 17th."
"The day of your accident." Klaus whispered more to himself than her. "So you were going to tell me. You just didn't have a chance."
Caroline nodded. "I'm sure I was going to tell you that night, but I never got the chance. I don't think I would have kept it a secret. I was too excited."
"I'm sorry that you lost the baby, sweetheart." Klaus pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head.
"I'm sorry too. It was as much your child as it was mine." She snuggled into him. "I was just so upset when I remembered being pregnant that I took it out on you."
"It's alright."
"Can I ask you something though?" She looked up at him.
"Sure, what is it?" He met her gaze.
"When I remembered that day, or part of that day, I remembered thinking about how that was my chance to prove to you how great of a father you were going to be. To prove to you once and for all you were nothing like your father. I know that I've asked you about him before, but please tell me what he did. What did he do to you to make you doubt yourself so much?" Caroline's eyes were pleading with him to bring up his past, and he couldn't seem to tell her no.
Klaus took a deep breath. He didn't know why he felt so nervous about explaining his childhood to her. It wasn't like it was the first time. He could only guess that it was because he always felt uneasy when talking about his past. Before he began, he felt Caroline's hand wrap around his and squeeze.
"Take your time, Nik." She gave him a small smile. She wished that she remembered so he wouldn't have to relive it again. It would be easy to ignore the past and try to move on, but she knew that this was important. Caroline needed to know what happened that made Klaus as angry as he had once been.
Klaus squeezed her hand back before speaking. "Everything was wonderful when I was a young child. My mother stayed at home with us kids, and Mikael was a lawyer. We had family meals every night, we spent time together on the weekends, and we always had the biggest celebrations on holidays. We were all happy, or at least I thought my parents were happy. It was about five years after Kol was born that the fighting started." Klaus paused, as if he was recalling some of the most memorable fights from his childhood. "It was so unusual for us to hear my parents fight. The strangest part was that two weeks went by, and they were still angry at one another. Then, a month went by, and the fighting was still going on. At first, they only seemed to fight at night. I guess they figured we were sleeping. But as time passed, they didn't care anymore. They fought anytime they were around each other, and we had no idea what was going on."
Klaus took another deep breath, and Caroline figured that he was about to get to the hardest part of the story. She moved closer, making sure he knew she was there to support him if he needed her to be. He flashed her a sad smile before continuing.
"Things grew to be too much for Mikael so he turned to drinking. My mother didn't seem to care what was going on around her. She started staying in her room all the time. We wouldn't see her in the mornings before we left for school, and she wouldn't come out when we arrived back home. We could only figure that she came out while we were gone to get food. Rebekah and Kol would go to her room, they were the youngest and they needed her most, but she would ask them to go away. It was like my mother was an entirely different person." A tear began to roll down his cheek, but he wiped it away before it could fall. "I talked to Elijah, but neither of us could figure out what had happened with our parents. Until one day Mikael came home drunk and angry. Kol was in the living room, his toys were scattered across the floor, and Mikael tripped over one. I was walking into the living room just as it happened. Mikael grabbed Kol by the arm and yanked him up. He started yelling at Kol that he needed to clean up his mess. Kol was too afraid to answer him, so he just stood there with wide eyes. Mikael was growing angrier and angrier, and I could tell he was about to hit Kol, so I ran into the living room and stood between them." Caroline squeezed his hand tighter. She didn't know if she wanted to hear the rest of the story. Her heart was already breaking.
"He immediately let go of Kol, but the anger in his eyes didn't go away. If anything, it only got worse. When I asked him to stop, he replied with 'And who do you think you are telling me how to discipline my children?' I told him that as his son, I was asking him to please stop. I will never forget the smirk that appeared on his face before he told me that I wasn't his son, and that I was lucky that he was allowing me to live with his family." The tears were flowing freely now between both Caroline and Klaus. "We soon found out that my mother had cheated on Mikael, which was the reason for all the fighting. My mother couldn't look at me because I only reminded her of the mistake she made. Mikael didn't want to look at me because I reminded him of her betrayal. It finally got to the point where Mikael came home drunk every night, and he ended up losing his job. He became mentally abusive, mainly just to me, but my siblings had to hear it as well even if it wasn't directed towards them. My mother disappeared one day while we were at school and we never heard from her after that."
"Nik, I'm so sorry," Caroline wiped the tears from his face. "I had no idea it was so bad."
"I just got angry at everyone around me for no reason, which I'm sure is how you remembered me when you woke up after your accident. I didn't trust people. In my mind, the two people who I should have trusted the most, turned their backs on me, so what was keeping others from doing the same. I was filled with so much anger that any little thing would set me off." He tried to explain to her the reasons behind his actions when they were younger.
"But now we're here, and we trust each other completely." She kissed his cheek gently. "I will never turn my back on you, I promise. I may get angry, but I will always come back."
Klaus nodded. "I know, love. You've slowly taught me how to trust, no matter how hard I pushed you away at first. For that, I'm eternally grateful."
She smiled at the handsome man sitting beside her before turning the subject back to their previous conversation. "What happened to Mikael?"
"When my mother left, we had to live with him. We didn't have anywhere else to go. However, he never let me forget that I wasn't his child, and that he was doing me a favor by letting me stay. He never really pulled himself away from the alcohol, so when Elijah turned 16, he basically became the man of the house. He got a job and started saving his money. Thankfully, Mikael came from a wealthy family, so he didn't have to work to keep food on the table or the heat on. When I turned 16, I got a job as well, and with mine and Elijah's money, we were able to get our own apartment. At the time, it was hard because we felt like we couldn't leave Rebekah and Kol with Mikael, so we took them with us. We were two young boys having to raise our siblings. We had only been out of the house a couple of years when we received news that Mikael had passed away from alcohol poisoning. Of course, his children received all of his possessions, meaning they became extremely wealthy. Lucky for me, my siblings never saw me as less than a brother, and they made sure that I had a share." Klaus smiled at the thought of his brothers and sister.
"And your mother?" Caroline prodded.
Klaus shrugged. "We never heard anything after she disappeared. We don't know if she's even still alive."
Caroline nodded. "Thank you for telling me. I feel like things make more sense to me now."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the first time you asked, sweetheart. It's just hard to talk about sometimes."
"I know," she wrapped her arms around his torso, leaning into his chest. "I want you to know something, though."
"Alright," he ran his fingers through her curls.
She pulled away so she could look him in the eyes. "I may not remember every detail of our life together, but I feel like I've known you my whole life. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now. You are an amazing person. You have been nothing but loving, patient, and kind."
"That's only with you, love." He smirked.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Maybe so, but when we have children one day, you will be the same way with them. They will be a part of me and a part of you, and I know with every fiber of my being that you will love each child unconditionally. So, I don't want you to have any doubt in your mind about what kind of father you will be, because you're going to be the best father to our children."
Klaus was looking down at his hands in his lap, trying to force himself to believe her words. Then, he looked up at her and smirked. "Children, eh? More than one?"
Caroline slapped him playfully. "Way to ruin the moment. But yes, I'm sure you knew that I wanted more than one."
His smirk turned into a chuckle, and he nodded. "Yes, I did."
"Okay, I'm exhausted. I say that we put away all the serious conversations for now and just watch a movie together." Caroline stated, changing the subject.
Klaus nodded. "Sounds like a great idea to me."
"I'm going to change into my pajamas. You pick a movie and make some popcorn," she called over her shoulder as she made her way to their bedroom.
Klaus just smiled and shook his head. He had to admit, he was exhausted too. After the many nights of not being able to sleep because she was gone and the stressful events of today, he couldn't think of anything better to do than relax with Caroline. So, he placed a popcorn bag in the microwave and made his way to the DVD stash, not sure how long he would last before sleep overtook him.