A/N Thank you to everyone who commented! I truly appreciate the support. This was written for Klarowinter Bingo using the prompt, "North Pole dancing." The event is being hosted on tumblr at klarowinterbingo. There will be one more chapter after this. Please let me know what you think!


Some Ghosts Are Never Gone

"Yet if hope has flown away in a night, or in a day, in a vision, or in none, is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." - Edgar Allen Poe

The next few hours passed in a haze of blood and booze and bass as they picked off a hundred terrified dancers one by one, the air full of their cries. With each body, Caroline grew drunker and drunker with bloodlust until all she wanted was to sate her other desires. Wiping a dribble of blood from the corner of her lips, her eyes darkened as she confidently took his hand and led him to the stage, carefully stepping over bodies littering the ground to protect her stolen heels. Klaus followed along, seemingly oblivious to the carnage surrounding them, eyes fixed on her as he paid no attention to whom he crushed beneath his boots.

When they reached the center of the platform, the blonde grabbed the hybrid by the back of the neck and forcefully crashed her lips to his, tongue invading his mouth. He held her tightly, letting his hands wander up and down her sides. Far too soon for her, he pulled away with a gasp and lightly pushed against her chest until her back hit the candy-striped metal. "Dance for me, love."

"Really? You'd rather go with North Pole dancing than get the hell out of here?" Caroline teased, one arm snaking above her head as she clutched the steel.

Klaus shrugged lightly, blood spatters covering his Henley and jeans. "I'm a man of many interests."

"Are you interested in me?" the baby vampire asked, her voice a taunt as she effortlessly lifted herself off the ground and spun around the pole, dress riding high on her thighs.

"You have no idea," he replied evasively. She laughed at whatever emotion flickered behind his eyes, unsure what it was but not caring enough to ask. She was high on blood and wanted to get high on him. Nothing else mattered. Klaus watched in fascination as she spun around and around, saying nothing as he waited for her to tire herself out. Unfortunately, her seductive dance only seemed to reenergize her. Letting the top of her dress fall enough to reveal the curves of her bra, she rubbed her hands up and down her breasts as she slithered down the pole, one hand supporting her as she dropped and spread her legs to reveal her lacy panties. She heard him suck in a deep breath and smirked.

Rising to her feet, Caroline swayed her hips as she walked down the steps. With a wicked grin, she tossed over her shoulder, "Race you to the car." She was gone in a flash, the hybrid right behind her. When he got to the SUV, she was nowhere in sight. He allowed himself only a brief moment of panic before closing his eyes and inhaling deeply through his nostrils, calling upon his wolf to track her scent. It didn't take long to find her as he flashed through the streets of Richmond. She was in the lobby of the nearest hotel, a Marriott far below his standards, standing behind a couple he was sure she would kill if they didn't hurry up.

Slowly sneaking up behind her, the hybrid nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear, "I found you."

Their eyes met for a brief moment as she rubbed her ass against the bulge in his jeans, the couple heading for the stairs in his peripheral vision. He let his nails graze up and down her hips until they were out of sight. Oblivious to his divided attention, Caroline was ready to pounce him right then and there, but was interrupted by the desk clerk clearing his throat judgmentally. With a low growl, she flashed forward and grabbed him by the tie. "Shut up and give me the key to your best room, mark it occupied, then forget we were here," she compelled, eyes dilating. The man mindlessly obeyed, quickly tapping a few keys and swiping a key card through a slot attached to his monitor. He handed it over with a glassy expression, a stupid customer service smile plastered to his face.

"I could have paid for it, you know," Klaus commented, barely able to finish his sentence before she flashed off to the stairwell and disappeared from his sight. Shaking his head, he raced behind her. He found her on the top floor at the end of the hall, already unlocking the door with the key card. The hinges had barely swung shut before Caroline flashed them to the bed and straddled him. Ripping his shirt clean in half, she tore off the remnants of the fabric and attacked his mouth with tongue and teeth. "Sweetheart," he panted through their kiss, "perhaps we should slow down."

"You've kept me waiting long enough." The vampire quickly lifted the leather dress over her head to reveal her breasts and cast it aside before falling on top of him again, hands exploring the firm muscles of his chest. Speaking against his lips, she muttered in a sultry whisper laced with lust, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to be the good guy."

The hybrid quickly flipped them over and pinned her hands above her head, nipping her lower lip. This wasn't part of his plan, but he could make it work. "We just slaughtered a hundred people. How good could I be?"

Caroline smirked as she felt his reaction to her advances rubbing against her thigh. "No more talking," she commanded as she bit down hard on his lower lip and pulled his mouth to hers in a bruising kiss. She'd had enough of his games. "You may have been the king in New Orleans, but by now you should know." Quickly whipping off her dress, she smirked before biting down hard enough on his lower lip to draw blood. "Queens make all the rules."

Klaus felt his cock stiffen at her words. Eager to feel her skin on his, he deftly unsnapped her bra and ripped off her panties. She ground down over his erection, the friction from his jeans sending a delicious ripple down her spine. She roughly grabbed one of his hands and cupped it over her breast, guiding his other between her legs as she gyrated against him. "Oh, fuck, Klaus, yes," she gasped when his finger expertly circled her clit. With a low growl, the veins spread down from beneath her eyes as she snarled, "Make me come, Klaus."

The hybrid's upper lip quirked as he pushed two fingers inside her wet core. With a sharp tug, he pulled her to his chest by her nipple, making her moan. "Anything for you, your majesty," he hummed seductively in her ear before nipping it lightly. Caroline swirled her hips as she rode his hand, kissing him fiercely as teeth and tongue clashed together in a frenzy. He hooked his fingers as he felt her approach the edge and she was gone. Crying out into his mouth, stars swam in her vision as an explosive orgasm washed over her. Pumping in and out, he helped her ride out her high until she lay twitching on top of him.

Klaus barely gave her time to recover before he wound his fingers in her hair to bring her mouth back up to his. Flipping them over in a flash, he kissed her breath away as her hands fiddled with the button on his jeans for a moment before ripping it off with a snarl that made him chuckle. She eagerly reached into his boxers to free his aching cock, the tip already slick with precum. Sucking in a deep gulp of oxygen as he pulled away from their kiss, he pinned down her wrists and raised himself up until his shaft was pressing against her lips. "Suck," he commanded, eyes flashing hybrid gold.

"Yes, your majesty," she quipped, drawing from him an aroused growl as his cock twitched. Parting her lips, she took him easily to the back of her throat, grazing his sensitized skin with her teeth on the way up. He steadily pumped his hips as she swirled his tongue around and around, moaning at the taste of his precum. She lost herself in the rhythmic movements, focused solely on making the almighty hybrid king fall apart with only the power of her mouth. His eyes were transfixed on her erotic performance as he fucked her face harder and faster. His grip on her wrists tightened as he angled his cock further down her throat, choking her until he pulled out and allowed her to breathe. The smell of her arousal strengthened as her eyes bled black, and he knew she was lost in the ecstacy of the moment. The absolute power of controlling even her breath was a dizzying rush. With a final groan, he spilled his seed down her throat.

Caroline swallowed his come as his cock pulsed inside her mouth, gasping for air when he finally released her. He collapsed beside her, but she allowed him no time to rest as she crawled on top of his still heaving chest. "My turn," she teased playfully, biting hard enough on his neck to leave a rapidly fading bruise.

Smirking, Klaus slapped her sharply on the ass, making her yelp. "Get up here. Hands on the headboard." Lifting her effortlessly by the hips, he spread her thighs so she was straddling him, the scent of her juices overwhelming his wolf. Firmly grabbing the flesh of her ass, he pulled her down on top of him and delivered a long, flat lick directly to her aching core. Holding her still, he repeated the motion over and over, his slow pace tantalizing. He worked her up into a frenzy until she was whimpering pitifully on top of him. Slightly loosening his hands, he encouraged her to follow his tongue as he plunged it deep inside her tight, hot channel. Her hips bucked up and down as she flew higher and higher. "That's right, love," he mumbled against her pussy, "ride my face." With an eager growl, she furiously rocked back and forth, his tongue lapping at her inner walls.

Caroline's eyes slammed shut as she began to fall off the edge. The headboard drumbled under her grip, splinters flying everywhere as she hurled the offending wood across the room. Her palm connected hard against the wall as she passionately banged it over and over, crying out Klaus' name as she rode out wave after wave of euphoria. With a final grunt, she fell on top of him, idly noticing that he looked incredibly pleased with himself.

The Original left his baby vampire no time for idle thoughts. She'd barely caught her breath before he was kissing her again, his fingers tugging and twisting her nipples. His hard cock rubbed against her dripping pussy, ready to feel her again. As soon as he felt her hand slither between them, he pulled away from her lips. The last thing she saw before he flipped her over was the glowing gold rings of his irises. Klaus wound a fist in her hair as he pulled her to her knees, ass high in the air. He teased her with the tip of his cock, rubbing it against her clit as she rocked against him. He dragged the moisture up between her cheeks, coating her tight ring of muscle in thick juices.

The vampire moaned as she felt his finger enter her anus as his thick, throbbing cock pushed into her pussy. He set a slow and steady pace, expertly stretching her wide. Adding a second finger, he smirked as her nails dug so deeply into the comforter that she shredded it like tissue paper. Once he could easily slide in and out, he pulled his shaft from her core and gently pushed himself between her cheeks. "Fuck, you feel even better than I imagined," he croaked, eyes glued to the sight of his cock moving in and out as he rhytmically fucked her in the ass, his wolf enjoying having her on all fours.

"You… imagined… me?" Caroline panted as their hips moved in unison.

Klaus nodded vigorously as he leaned down so his rock hard abs were pressed against her back. "Constantly." She let her face fall to the mattress to help steady them, ass high in the air as he pumped in and out of her anus. "You have no idea how often I think of you," he whispered into her ear as he cupped her breasts, tweaking her nipples. His gruff stubble tickled her temple as he told her the filthiest things any man had ever said to her. "I fuck my hand in the shower and imagine it's your mouth, your pussy, your ass. I want you, Caroline. I want all of you."

The raw emotion in his voice made her shiver. It tugged at… something… something she didn't want to think about without her humanity. "Make me come," she barked sharply, pulling his hand from her breast and guiding it between her thighs.

Shaking his head to focus on the task at hand, Klaus vigorously pounded into her from behind as his fingers circled her clit. Their bodies molded together perfectly, her cries of pleasure echoing his. Their skin was dewy with sweat, muscles gliding against each other in unison. A few more deep, hard thrusts and she exploded, walls squeezing his shaft tighter and tighter. With a guttural moan, he came in her ass as his cock spasmed over and over. He fucked her through their highs, riding it out together until both collapsed on the bed.

Caroline rolled onto her side as her chest heaved, every muscle in her body aching in the most pleasurably painful way. Klaus pulled her to his chest as he spooned her from behind, gently kissing the back of her neck as he stroked her bicep up and down. She did her best to ignore how good it felt to be in his arms as he nuzzled her shoulder affectionately. When he began drawing lazy patterns on her bare hips with his fingers, she drew the line. "That's enough of that," she announced, pulling away from him to get to her feet. She languidly stretched her arms and legs as her eyes darted around the room, desperate for any kind of distraction. When her gaze fell on a fruit basket, she suddenly realized how little human food she'd been eating as her stomach rumbled.

"Hungry?" Flashing him a bright smile, she swayed her hips as she carried the basket over and set it between them.

Klaus gazed at her bare breasts hungrily, slowly licking his lower lip. "I could eat." The fire in his eyes nearly made her blush. Chuckling as she looked away, he helped himself to a crisp pear, the grainy sweetness rolling over his tongue.

"So, how long's it been for you?" Caroline asked conversationally as she peeled an orange, licking juice from her fingers to tease him.

Klaus' eyes followed her finger as it disappeared between her lips, eyes darkening with lust. "How long for what?"

"Since you turned it off."

"My humanity isn't turned off," he replied quickly, frowning as though the question offended him. "What made you think that?"

The baby vampire's jaw dropped and the orange fell from her hand and landed on the mattress, nectar sinking into the expensive hotel sheets. "You did all those things to your family with your emotions fully intact?"

"Of course." Shrugging one shoulder casually, he picked up the orange and fed her a slice so she'd close her mouth. Her shock unnerved him. "I've never turned it off."

"Never?"

"No, not once." The Original peeled off a slice and chewed it slowly. "I don't think it was my family who first discovered the humanity switch. We didn't exactly get a handbook when we became vampires. We didn't hear tell of it until the seventh crusade… Or, was it the eighth?" He paused to think about it for a moment. The world had ancient history - Klaus had memories."No, it was definitely the seventh. I remember because we were in Aquitaine when King Louis IX annexed it. Caused quite the stir with the peasants. He was an interesting fellow. Unusually just for a ruler; his citizens actually sought him out to resolve disputes. Probably why he's the only French king to ever be canonized." The baby vampire looked at him blankly, her eyes glassed over. "Turned into a saint. Saint Louis? You have heard of him, haven't you?"

"Huh?" Caroline shook her head to bring herself back to the present. "Oh, yeah, obviously." She tossed her golden curls over her bare shoulder to avoid the way his eyes were silently laughing at her. "I'm just still stuck on the humanity thing. How is it you've never turned it off? You're like the worst person I know."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It really isn't."

Flicking his gaze up and down her body, he hummed low in the back of his throat. "Well, be that as it may, I still find it flattering considering the company you keep. The Ripper of Monterey is hardly a candidate for canonization."

"That means being made into a saint," she sassed with a saccharine smile. "Something that's never happening to you, either."

"Now you're learning," he teased with a grin, taking another slice. "I've never turned it off because I didn't know I had the option available to me until hundreds of years after I became a vampire. By then, I'd done so many horrible things that I'd found a way to live with it."

"How?" Caroline asked emphatically."How do you find a way to live with setting your brother's girlfriend on fire or killing your parents? Twice."

"I was actually responsible for three of Esther's five deaths," he corrected her, lip twitching up in amusement at her shock. "Technically, the second time she wasn't in her own body and I only turned her into a vampire, so I'm not sure if we want to count that one." He tilted his head side to the side as he considered it. "We'll split the difference and call it two and a half. It was Mikael I killed twice. Although, I admit the second wasn't as satisfying." He frowned for a moment as he recalled how Freya had spoiled his fun by crying for the wretched man who raised him. Pushing the thought away, he continued conversationally, "However, I did enjoy turning him into a painting. More useful as ash than he ever was alive. And I didn't light Gia on fire. I compelled her to take off her daylight ring in the sun while I pinned Elijah to a cast iron balcony and made him watch as she burned."

"There. That." Caroline poked him firmly in the chest before sitting up and crossing her legs beneath her, the sheet falling to reveal her breasts. "How do you talk about the awful things you've done and just not feel anything?"

Klaus reached over to the fruit basket and grabbed a bright yellow apple. He took a crisp bite to allow him time to think, the sweet juices swirling around his tongue as he mulled it over. He knew he was getting to her. Vampires without emotions didn't ask questions about how to live with themselves. Caroline was on the verge of turning it on; all he had to do was give her one last push over the edge and she'd be the beautifully strong woman he knew she could be, the one who was full of light and cared deeply for the world around her.

"Well, I suppose it has to do with perception," the hybrid mused, taking another bite and letting his teeth sink deep into the flesh of the fruit. "I'm a vampire, which isn't my fault. I need human blood to survive. Therefore, it's not my fault that humans become food. The farmer doesn't cry for the cows at slaughter, so why should I? Human life fails to have meaning." The baby vampire's mouth was suddenly dry; she ate another slice of the orange to keep her tongue from sticking to the roof of her mouth. "I locked Rebekah in a coffin after she wouldn't leave Stefan in the 1920s. Her life was in danger, so I protected her by leaving her there until I'd broken my curse and was strong enough to stand against Mikael. It was for her own good. Kol tried to dagger me in 1903, so I locked him away, too. It was him or me and I was responsible for caring for Rebekah." Eyeing her sideways, he took another bite and could see his words affecting her by the contemplative way she gnawed on her lower lip. "And now I have Hope to protect. Turning Hayley and her pack, snacking on Cami and killing Elijah's girlfriend was to convince my Aunt Dahlia that I was on her side. I was being a good father."

"But you said you enjoyed those things," Caroline pointed out, a tinge of anxiety coloring her tone.

"I did," he nodded thoughtfully. "They had all betrayed me. I was angry, so I found a way to justify what I already wanted to do. That's how I do it. We do terrible things but find a way to make them acceptable." Klaus took a final bite and tossed the core into the trash can across the room. "At the end of the day, I think it all has to do with the lies we tell ourselves. Over time, your morals are stripped away bit by bit, and along with them pesky things like remorse. Do enough horrible things and it isn't a matter of turning off your humanity; you stop having any to begin with."

The emotionless vampire looked at him contemplatively. She knew she shouldn't care - and she told herself she didn't - but her curiosity was piqued. A nagging voice in the back of her head kept telling her to keep going, to keep asking questions. "Does it bother you… being how you are?"

"Not a bit," the hybrid replied conversationally, eyeing the way she fiddled with her hands nervously. "Why do you care anyway? I thought you didn't care about anything."

"I don't," Caroline shot back a little too quickly to be believable. The seeds of doubt he'd been planting all night were taking root. It was just a matter of time. "Call it intellectual curiosity."

Klaus' lip quirked up in thinly-veiled amusement, his tone a taunt. "Intellectual curiosity about emotions?"

"Yeah, you know, like the science of being a monster." The blonde released a nervous little laugh that he found oddly adorable. He wondered if she was lying to him or to herself. Probably both. "I think most people would care if they did terrible things."

Walking over to a large cabinet, he rifled through the mini-bar until he found a small bottle of bourbon and glasses. As he crawled back over her, he stopped to nuzzle her temple, the voice of the devil in her ear. "But not you."

Caroline's eyelids briefly shuttered at the light contact of his fingertips trailing over her belly as he settled back beside her. Regaining her focus, she cleared her throat before answering, "No, not me."

Klaus poured himself a shot and set the bottle beside him. "Because you wanted to be a monster."

"What?" The baby vampire frowned, shaking her head at his logic. "No, I never said that."

The Original looked down at the amber liquid swirling in his glass. Holding it to his lips, he commented before taking a sip, "But you turned off your humanity."

"Yeah, but not so I could become an evil supervillain or something. I just…" Her words trailed off as she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "…needed a break."

Licking the burning liquor from his lips, he tipped his glass in the air as he continued to goad her. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you know what happens to vampires when they turn it off. You saw it with Stefan and then with Elena."

"That wasn't their fault," Caroline spat immediately. Even without her humanity, her gut reaction was to defend her friends. "You compelled Stefan, and Damon used the sire bond on Elena. They didn't choose to be that way."

"But you did." The younger immortal bit her lower lip and looked away, nodding minutely. "So, you knew you would do evil things when you made the decision to turn it off. You just didn't care."

"I cared…" the blonde muttered, plopping the last slice of orange in her mouth. "I just thought…"

"You thought… what?" He raised a dubious brow when she didn't reply. "You thought you'd be the only vampire in history to turn it off and not do terrible things?"

"I don't… I-I didn't think…" Flushing at the way she stuttered, she swallowed hard and huffed defensively. Using far more strength than was necessary, she threw the orange peel at the trash can in the corner so hard that it fell over. "I've always had very good control."

"Nobody's that good." Klaus smirked as he climbed on top of her, pinning her arms over her head. "Admit it. You turned it off because you wanted to be like this." The hybrid let his eyes flash gold and veins bleed down his face as he leaned down to kiss her with just a hint of fang peeking from his gums. The baby vampire sucked in a deep breath and whipped her head to the side so his lips landed on her cheek. Undeterred, he nibbled his way down her jaw and suckled her throat, his voice a husky whisper as his words vibrated off her skin. "You wanted to be just like me."

The last thing Klaus heard before his head hit the wall was the sound of Caroline's screams.


A/N Please let me know what you think! I had a lot of fun with this one. I adore clever Klaus.