Hello, my lovely readers. Sorry about the wait. This story is becoming more and more AU. On with the show…
Chapter 4: Not Again
Rubbing her temples, Caroline stood in the woods near the Salvatore Boarding house. She needed to concentrate but Klaus freakin' Mikaelson stood just two feet from her. Klaus. Why? Why did it have to be Klaus? Just when she thought her life was coming together again and she could start over, fresh slate, do over, happy times. No. He had to butt his head into her life. Again. When would she ever be rid of him?
Whirling on a heel, slowly, to face the man, no vampire, no hybrid, no The Hybrid, Original vampire thingy. Oh, God. Caroline gulped. And he had to be wearing her friend's face. She stared at Stefan's features. It was like looking at someone in a Halloween costume. But that might be funny, you know, if Klaus dressed up as Stefan, but, no, this, this was not funny. Nothing about this entire freakin' situation was funny. Maybe Damon would find it funny. But Damon was Damon and Caroline was Caroline and she was, officially, freaking the hell out.
"Caroline, calm down, love. This is only a small crisis compared to our previous crises." Klaus gave her one of those smirks that just looked so wrong on Stefan's face. Stefan did not smirk. Stefan brooded. Stefan frowned. Stefan occasionally smiled like a happy, well-adjusted person. But, Stefan freakin' Salvatore did not smirk. Nope. Not like that. And certainly not at her with that whole I've-seen-you-naked look. Oh, my God! Caroline felt her face flushing before she turned away.
"Just. Just don't do that thing with his face anymore," Caroline snapped, running her hands through her hair and scrunching her face in irritation. Her eyes moved over the trees, the leaves on the ground, the sky, anything but Klaus in his Stefan suit. No. No. No. It was Tyler, all over again. And she kissed him. She kissed Stefan's lips and felt Klaus' kiss. "Wrong body," his words echoed through the years. "What?' Caroline snapped, turning to Klaus who raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm sorry, Caroline, you must be hearing things. I did not breathe a word, lest I upset you," Klaus teased her, that smirk reappearing before he attempted to stifle it.
Breathing in deeply, Caroline tried to control her panic. She wanted to scream and to kick Klaus' ass. There was just no way that this happened on accident. And, no matter what he said, she just knew it was his fault it had happened at all. Klaus Mikaelson had a bijillion enemies and counting. Sighing, she replayed their earlier words and then she remembered there being something about a child. "What child?" she demanded.
"My child, Caroline. I have a daughter to think of now," Klaus told her evenly.
Caroline's mouth opened, closed, opened again. "What? How? When? With whom? What?" She felt her body shaking, just the tiniest bit. Vampires couldn't have babies. According to like everyone she ever met. But…
"I will explain everything to you later but someone is coming," Klaus pointed out.
Enzo came walking toward them with a smile. "Good chat?" he inquired with sarcasm dripping off his tongue. Enzo had never been a fan of Caroline's crush on Stefan, probably because of this one-sided crush on Caroline. "You are needed inside," he told Caroline who glanced back at Klaus who had managed to arrange his features into an approximation of a Stefan Salvatore look.
Shaking her head, Caroline trudged back to the house. Soon Damon would figure out who Klaus was and then all hell would break loose unless she could help Klaus fake being Stefan long enough for them to get the real Stefan back and to get Klaus back where he damned well belonged, which was far from her.
Damon stood in the middle of the Great Room with a dark look on his face. "It looks as though we have an eensy problem on our hands."
"Such as?" Caroline snapped, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at Damon. She did not have time for his problems with Klaus and Heretics on the loose.
Damon's head tilted to the side. Lily Salvatore came into the room with Bonnie, holding a glass of wine. "Damon, I really do want to thank you for allowing me into your home," Lily was saying when she turned and spotted Klaus. "Stefan," she said quietly. Her eyes widened and she moved forward.
Caroline's eyes widened as Klaus stood at the entrance to the room. She saw the briefest flicker of uncertainty on his, no Stefan's face, before it disappeared. Instead a blank expression could be seen as Lily came to stand in front of who she thought was her youngest child. "My baby," Lily said quietly, reaching up to touch his face.
Klaus moved backwards, nearly running into Enzo. Enzo let out a grunt of disgust, side-stepped and came to stand beside Caroline. "Not a happy family reunion, I take it. Should have let her wait outside, but she's Lily," Enzo muttered to Caroline. Caroline looked at Enzo seeing something she could not place in his eyes. If she weren't certain she was mistaken she would think that he had feelings for the older vampire.
"Mother," Stefan's voice said curtly. Klaus started to lace his fingers behind his back but when his eyes flickered to Caroline she shook her head in as discreet a manner as she could muster. Klaus settled on folding his arms across his chest, squaring his borrowed shoulders and frowning at Lily in a very Stefan-like manner.
Stopping herself from cheering, Caroline bit back a wide smile. Maybe Klaus could pretend to be Stefan and make it work after all. "Stefan, I know you have every right to be cross with me," Lily began when Klaus held up a hand to stop her. Her mouth closed, her eyes showing hurt. Even Caroline could see that and she stood ten feet away.
"Save it. I've heard everything you have to say," Klaus walked over to make himself a drink. Pouring out a glass of bourbon, he glanced at Caroline who looked back at Lily.
Lily's lips moved to speak and then she seemed to think better of it. Her eyes titled toward the floor. Some part of Caroline felt sorry for the woman. Yes, she left her children but she had been turned into a vampire, worse yet, a ripper vampire and Caroline could not imagine what that must have been like. She thought of her words to Klaus so long ago. "Did you ever try to talk to your father?" she had asked him during Esther's ball. Now they were dealing with another mother who had made so many mistakes with her children.
"Stefan, maybe you should hear her out," Caroline suggested, looking at Klaus, pleading with him to listen to her this time. It might help them be able to defeat the Heretics and it might give Lily an opportunity to be heard.
Of course Damon jumped in first. "Yeah, sure, go ahead, Stef. Let mommy tell you all about how it's all good. I'm just so sorry for choosing a group of monsters over my own blood. To hell with that. Whatever you're selling, we're not buying." Damon walked over and placed a hand on Klaus's shoulder, watching Lily through narrowed eyes.
Klaus looked back at Caroline. "Damon's was usually never right about anything. But this thing with the Heretics; that's something that has to stop before I can sit down and have a conversation with you…mother." Seeming satisfied with his words, Klaus took a long sip from his glass.
Damon smirked at Lily whose eyes filled with ice. Caroline could tell they were losing whatever opportunity they could have had to use her. Gritting her teeth, she watched Lily turn away and walk out of the room. "Great job, guys," she hissed at Klaus and Damon. Klaus shrugged and Damon smirked at her. Stomping out of the room, Caroline followed Lily out the door. "Mrs. Salvatore?" she called in her best Miss Mystic voice, all cheer and sunshine.
"Caroline?" Lily stopped, folding her arms and looking back at Caroline, her walls were up, big time. "How can I help you? Are you intent on reminding me of my flaws as a mother as well, or were the performances of my children not enough?"
"Look, Mrs. Salvatore –" Caroline began when Lily interrupted.
"When I died I let go of that mockery of a marriage. You may call me Lily," Lily said, her arms slipping down so that her hands met, clasping in front of her waist. The 19th century demeanor had begun to show.
"Okay. Lily," Caroline forced another sunshine on a day in early summer smile. "Here's the thing. Stefan is my friend. My really, really, really good friend. And the thing about Stefan is that he's not good with showing his emotions. He's really good at being there for other people when they're in pain, but when he's in pain, he just kind of shuts it out. And he shuts other people, people he cares about, out, too. You hurt him and he doesn't want you to see that. But if you could show that you did not intend on hurting him anymore, then maybe the two of you could, I don't know, begin to repair the damage. Baby steps." Caroline finished her speech with another smile, hoping it worked.
Lily's eyes glazed for a moment. Caroline could see that the other vampire was processing her words, debating over them and then smiled. "Thank you, Caroline, I always hoped that my son might one day find a friend who he could truly trust. It seems as if he chose well. Perhaps I shall take your advice." Lily started to turn to leave when Caroline called after her.
"Wait. Please!" Caroline moved forward so that she and Lily stood only a foot from each other. "There is this Miss Mystic Falls competition that will be hosted today. I was crowned years ago and always go. Afterward there will be party and you should come. Bring your other family members, too."
Lily's smile widened. "Yes, the girls need to get out more. They're devastated after the loss of two of our own were taken from us. I'm sure that whoever committed the heinous act might be there so that we might revenge ourselves upon them." Her smile took on an edge and Caroline had to stop herself from running or reacting at all.
"That's certainly a possibility." Caroline forced a laugh. "We will see you then."
Lily walked away and Caroline turned around. She nearly let out a scream when her body slammed into Stefan's. Klaus' smirk had made another appearance. "Klaus!" Caroline growled under her breath, punching him on the shoulder. "Do not sneak up on me. Stefan wouldn't do that and neither should you. Unless you want to expose yourself."
"For you, love, I would expose myself every day of the week," Klaus replied with a chuckle.
"Seriously!" Caroline hissed, smacking him again before moving to go inside.
Klaus moved to block her. "You know, Caroline, I understand that I do have the wrong equipment, seeing as I believe we both prefer my own body, but perhaps you might like to indulge me with another kiss." Klaus' new eyebrows rose and for a moment she saw him, not Stefan. Her body heat rose while her cheeks flushed. She felt her lips parting, her head tilting to the side as he leaned toward her and then Bonnie came out of the house.
"I cannot take one more second of Enzo. I'm going to set him on fire," Bonnie snapped, walking toward them with a dark look on her face.
"What did he do this time?" Caroline demanded, stepping away from Klaus, feeling relieved that nothing had happened. That would be totally weird and she knew that it would not be fair to Stefan for her and Klaus to use his body to…kiss with. Yes, kissing. Kiss is all that would have happened. Right. Right? She felt the heat still under her skin.
"Enzo is just. Ugh!" Bonnie's face scrunched up as she placed her hands on her hips. "What's up with you two? And I heard Lily came by. That must have been hard for you," Bonnie said, placing a hand on Klaus' arm and then her eyes narrowed. She took a visible step away from Klaus whose expression darkened.
Caroline felt herself beginning to panic, her entire boy tensing when Klaus grabbed Bonnie by the arms forcing them down by her sides. "Klaus," Caroline whispered, her tone a warning. She might not be able to kick his ass when he was his bad ass, Original self but she could kick her bunny blood drinking buddy's, any time of the week.
"Caroline," Klaus retorted, glancing at her with a very Klaus like I-am-a-serial-killer-do-not-fuck-with-me look. "Bonnie," he said, cocking his head to the side. "Sorry about keeping you out of the loop. I do understand that you and Caroline do so love to share secrets. Well, here is another-that if you repeat will be the last thing you do with that pretty, little tongue of yours-as you might have surmised, I am not Stefan. I do not, in fact, know how I found myself, here, back in this sorry state of a town, in my old friend's body. What I do know is that while I am here and Stefan is, presumably, in my body, everyone that either of us care for us is in a grave amount of danger. Are you following me so far, love?" Klaus continued, still holding Bonnie's arms down at her sides. "Good. Love it when people pay attention. Ah, yes, where was I? If you were to breathe a word of this, the latest in a million of life's happy, little accidents, many people you love might die, horribly. And you would not want to be the architect of all that misery, now would you?"
Bonnie shook her head, gritting her teeth. She looked at Caroline with a frown as Klaus let go of her. "You knew," Bonnie accused Caroline with a look of hurt and distrust. Caroline hated that Bonnie would ever think she would purposely keep something this big from her for long.
"No! No, Bonnie. I just found out myself. I don't think that it's, he's, been like this long," Caroline waved a hand at Klaus who sighed, rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest, still managing to look amused at the same time.
"No, love, I did not know," Klaus replied. "I woke this morning. And here I was. Well, I in the sense that my essence was here and not in New Orleans," he mused with a wry expression.
"Well I guess we're just going to have to remedy that problem, aren't we?" Bonnie replied with malicious look directed at Klaus.
Caroline really hoped that Bonnie did not murder Klaus in Stefan's body so that Stefan had nowhere to go once they got the two into their own bodies. "Hey, guys, can we focus for a second. I just changed the plan and invited Lily and the Heretics to the party tonight."
"You did what?" Damon demanded, exiting the house and throwing his hands in the air. "What in the hell were you thinking? Was it all the dye seeping into your little pea sized brain? Huh? It was supposed to be Enzo! He's the closest one to Lily in this group. What, you wanted to score points with mom for some reason?"
"Damon, shut up. We have bigger problems to deal with than your mother," Bonnie snapped at Damon who widened his eyes at her, his ice blues flashing with contempt and lack of understanding.
"What did I miss this time, other than Caroline's usual inability to follow very simple instructions?" Damon snarled, his lips curling back in a sneer directed at Caroline. She scoffed but her attention remained on Bonnie. Would she actually blurt out the truth to Damon, right here, right now? Yes, they had bonded over their whole Prison World nightmare but this did not seem like the place or the time.
"Bonnie," Caroline hissed.
Bonnie glared back at Caroline. "He has a right to know," the witch snapped.
"Know what?" Damon yelled, placing his hands on his hips, leaning forward, looking from Caroline and back to Bonnie. "This isn't the damned Girl Scouts; answer the damn question."
Bonnie looked at Klaus, glaring at him. "We thought that maybe we should host the party here. Keep it contained, lest death and mayhem fill the streets of Mystic Falls."
Damon's eyes got all squinty as he looked from Caroline to Bonnie. "Uh-huh. Nope, Bon Bon. Try again. Something else smells fishy. And we're nowhere near the sea."
"Damon, why don't we deal with the party planning? Then we can deal with whatever they're hiding," Klaus suggested with a smile, clapping his hands together and looking excited by the thought. "I look forward to the killing someone tonight part." Walking past Damon, Klaus re-entered the house. Bonnie looked wary but followed him inside.
Caroline moved to follow them but Damon caught her by the elbow. "You know, I think that maybe Stef's been sneaking more Type O, B, A and anything between into his bunny blood. Can you keep an eye on him tonight, make sure he doesn't do anything super stupid while I handle Mommy and her band of misfits."
Nodding, Caroline forced another smile. "Trust me, Damon, I will not take my eyes off Stefan for a second tonight." She meant what she said except for the keeping an eye of Stefan and not his unholy, psycho buddy taking a ride in his body. She intended on making Klaus stay on his best behavior, even if she had to lock him in the cellar to do it.
Thank you reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Answer to guest reviews:
Amy: Sorry about the wait.
Nee: Thank you. I really like writing for Freya and Stefan so I'm glad you enjoyed them. I would love to see Klaus and Enzo in some scenes in TVD or TO. Hope you enjoyed the update.
Peace,
Jessica