Disclaimer: If I owned the Vampire Diaries, no Klaroliners would have to worry about 4x16.
"Stay" by Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko - Funny, you're the broken one; but I'm the only one that needed saving
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The birthday memorabilia lay scattered across the room, decorating the tables and the cabinets. He smiled, eyeing the bright lettering, all loudly wishing her a fantastic day. He felt a twinge of regret that her eighteenth birthday would be forever marred with Hybrid venom.
It was necessary.
That was the mantra he had repeated in his head all day. The sight of Mindy's blood splattered across his floor, her severed head a few feet away had snapped something in him. Something that had kept his rage at bay. Not now.
It was pitiful that Stefan thought he could compete with him, that he could even attempt to outwit the Original. Klaus had known Stefan when he was at the height of his Ripper days; he knew his strengths, his weaknesses, his style. Stefan could not even begin to grasp Klaus. He labored under the illusion that his family made him weak - but they were his greatest strength. They kept him fighting.
Stefan could only be 'the bad guy' for so long. The easiest way to snap him out of his mission was to completely destroy the life he had created in Mystic Falls. Damon was off limits, and Elena had life-giving blood running through her veins. In truth, the idea had only occurred to him when Tyler had asked about the bloody mess.
Caroline.
He had witnessed their friendship in action, that night with the werewolves, and understood the Ripper cared for her. The Sheriff was in Damon's pocket, so if he could enlist her support in exchange for her daughter's life, it would make his time in the Falls easier. He could achieve so much from this one bite.
If Tyler bit her, he could save her.
Indeed, if it was anyone's life who he was willing to bargain for, it was Caroline. Ever since that night at Homecoming, when she had come to him, angry and demanding Tyler's freedom, he'd wished to see her spirit again, her fire. She was the only one he could even contemplate rescuing.
He wanted to laugh when Tyler ran to him, his breath smelling of her blood, frantically begging him to save her. After the pup's earlier denial of Klaus' dominance, he felt it necessary to make him sweat, make him panic that she would die. No need to let Tyler know he planned to save her the whole time.
And so, he ended up standing on her porch, waiting to save her. A small smile graced his lips as he recalled the last time he had been outside this door, when for a moment she seemed to want him to stay. Matt answered the door, his eyes grey and failing to hide his rage. His eyes narrowed at the slight smirk Klaus threw him as he was officially invited into the Forbes household.
Her room looked exactly the same. Except, huddled in the covers, Caroline lay with sweat covering her brow, shaking from the hallucinations and delusions that no doubt plagued her mind. Her nostrils flared, and her eyes slowly opened as she stared at him. It took her a moment, before her chest constricted in fear, "Are you going to kill me?"
"On your birthday? Do you really think that low of me?"
Caroline narrowed her eyes, "You snapped my neck. Yes"
Klaus paused. He had yet to admit to himself he had snapped her neck to prevent a situation similar to this. He would never, could never admit it to the baby vampire. Stalking slowly towards her, he gently reached out to examine the wound. She burrowed into the pillows as the covers were dragged away to reveal Tyler's bite. It was an angry shade of red, the skin surrounding it festering and dying. She hid her face, ashamed to look weak in front of him.
The sight of her, so helpless and nothing like the fiery Caroline he had witnessed at their last meeting drew a small gasp from him, "That looks bad. My apologies, you're what's known as collateral damage. It's nothing personal"
Caroline had been resolutely staring at her comforter, but when he muttered those last words, she raised her eyes angrily. He pulled back, feeling the disbelief radiating from her tear covered lashes. He paused again, finding the regret that was slowly washing over him incredibly disconcerting. He eyed the charm bracelet that encased her wrist, gently touching the cool metal, "I love birthdays"
Caroline snorted. He sounded like a little boy with his confession. He was nothing of the sort. He had come here to watch her die, "Yeah... aren't you like a billion or something?"
"You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline" Klaus smiled affectionately, "Celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by human trivial conventions. You're free"
"No" she objected, her eyes challenging him again, "I'm dying"
He paused; the promises he had made to her the first night they met immediately springing to mind. He moved towards her slowly, gaging her reaction. She flinched but didn't cower away, so he perched on the bed, "And I could let you. Die. If that's what you want. If you really believe your existence has no meaning. I thought about it myself, once or twice over the centuries, truth be told"
Klaus leant forward, invading her personal space. He felt he had to; he had to invade her mind, clear all the thoughts of dying. She had to want to live. He needed her to want to live.
"But I'll let you in on a little secret. There's a whole world out there, waiting for you. Great cities, and art, and music" Klaus extended his hand to gently touch the bracelet that had caught his attention. The rough pad of his index finger fleetingly massaging the pale, soft skin of Caroline's wrist. She felt the heat from his caress along her arm, stinging at her already burning bite.
"Genuine beauty. And you can have all of it. You can have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask"
She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came. His words...it felt as though they were haunting her. She'd heard them before, they were too familiar. She'd felt inspired by them before, but she couldn't understand how or why. She just felt their warmth, as though the sun had just broken from behind a cloud, "I don't wanna die"
She found the way he stared at her achingly beautiful. It was as though he was staring into her soul, and was astounded by all he saw. His eyes were studying her in a way that she had hoped Matt's would. As a human, she'd craved this look from Damon, for a time. It was a look she believed Tyler would give her, but she had never felt this fiery intensity. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her up so that her back was resting against his chest. She knew she shouldn't be so close to him, but it somehow felt that she was meant to be there, moulding to his body. It was then that she noticed his extended wrist, "There you go, sweetheart"
Caroline peered to his eyes, unsure if it was a hallucination. It couldn't be possible that Klaus was offering his blood. Offering a chance at this new life his hushed tones promised.
"Have at it"
She paused, before biting his extended arm. His silky blood tasted of whiskey, earth and forest. She didn't know how, but it was everything she needed. She could feel the heat from wound decrease, the pain slowly ebbing away.
The moment she bit down, he couldn't hold back his gasp. He hadn't anticipated feeling the way he did as she slowly drank from him. He had always been reluctant to share his blood with anyone, but the feeling of her lips on his wrist as she drank from him was euphoric. If she needed, he would let her drain him dry. Slowly coming to terms with that frightening realization, he rested his chin on her head as she continued, "Happy Birthday, Caroline"
All too soon, the glorious contact was lost. With a sigh, Caroline pulled away from his wrist, licking away the bead of crimson liquid that had escaped her lips. Klaus watched her, fascinated. She was still exhausted, he could tell, as she rested her head on his shoulder. He watched as the skin lost it's angry red, reverting back to it's normal, calm shade. An unexpected relief overtook him, and instinct pulled him to lean forward, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
She hummed in response, unconsciously leaning into his kiss and the spell was broken. Coming to his senses, he gently returned her to her pillows, checking one last time that her wound was healing. He paused in her doorway, watching her sleep, her golden curls fanning over the pillow. It struck him, clawed at his black heart. She had endured tonight because of him.
The Angel had been tormented because of the Devil.
He had caused it.
"Thank you"
His face betrayed his surprise as he turned to Liz, who was surveying him with narrowed eyes, "I don't know what you're up to, but you saved her. So thank you"
Klaus tilted his head, "I'll be in touch"
As he swaggered past her, Liz called after him, "Don't ever use my daughter again. And don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out"
Klaus smirked, enjoying the similarities between mother and daughter. Turning around with exaggerated cautiousness, he pulled the front door shut.
The events of the night were still pulling at him, filling his mind. He wanted her to live. He needed her to be alive. She needed to see the world, all it had to offer; just as he promised on the night they met, and again, tonight. He was determined she would see it all, that she would have a thousand more birthdays.
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When she woke in the morning, it took a moment for it all to come flooding back - the break up with Tyler, the ruined birthday, Tyler's bite, Klaus...
To say she was shocked when the saw the box was an understatement, but it doubled when she slowly opened the lid. It was as though every word he had whispered about genuine beauty had been crafted into diamonds and precious metal. She didn't know which disturbed her most - the fact that Klaus had accessed her room whilst she slept, or that her heart was inexplicably warmed by the little box.
The bracelet, and the sentiment were genuinely beautiful.
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Hi!
Guys. I'm not gonna lie. I am terrified of this chapter. 3x11 is THE Klaus/Caroline scene, and I'm soooo worried about messing it up. I know it's super canon (I've barely altered the dialogue, but it's so flawless, and it fits to their relationship at the moment.)
It has been brought to my attention that Tyler's actions in the last chapter were a bit weird, and I completely agree. I was debating different plots for him, and I ended up over editing him! I've tweaked it a bit, but it's not a massive change.
A gigantic thank you to every one of the alerters, favouriters, and most especially the reviewers!
And now for a shameless plug. I said in my last note that I'd be posting Chapter 1 of a new story. I didn't have it ready then, but now I'm posting it today. My statement from the last chapter still stands, however. I'll love you for an eternity if you would have a little look. It's AU, but heavily influenced/features canon - Give Me Love, Like Her.
Okay, now I need to prepare myself. I can't see 4x16 until tomorrow night. *Sobs*
I've said it once, but I'll say it again! Reviews are like Christmas for me,
LoveYouBye!x