One more to go after this (unless one of the scenes explodes on me). Thank you again to Morgan for being the best ever. Hope you enjoy!
Caroline deeply regretted letting Klaus look at her ribs. Not because she didn't like feeling coddled, though she didn't, but because now he was helping her at the bar. His t-shirts were a bit too tight, and his jeans fit him really well, and she kind of thought that the way they made him look should be illegal.
She watched the smooth movement of his arms as he cleaned the bartop, the way his forearms tensed when he was rubbing at a particularly stubborn stain. Every now and then he'd glance at her, a smirk on his face. "You're staring."
"I'm observing," she corrected. "I'm just making sure you know what you're doing so that you don't singlehandedly destroy the good reputation of my bar."
"Well, of course. We can't have that."
"Don't make fun of me," Caroline said, starting to stand up and sitting back down from the combination of the pain in her ribs and Klaus's chastising glance.
"I understand how important the bar is to you, love. It's your life's work."
"Well, to be fair, Matt owns half of it. It's a joint venture," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "I make the recipes and organize our shipments and business plan. He helps with restocking and bartending, and he does the accounting work. He also manages front of the house, usually."
"Because of your subpar customer service skills?" Klaus teased, tossing the rag under the bar and beginning to fold the napkins around the silverware.
"You're doing it wrong," Caroline said, shooting up and hissing in pain. Klaus dropped the silverware and came over immediately, guiding her to sit back down.
"I'll bring them over here and you can show me," he said, his hand warm on her shoulder through the thin fabric of her blouse. "Stop standing up. You'll be off your feet for longer."
"Yes, doctor," she said sarcastically.
"I do appreciate it when you respect my expertise and do as you're told," he said, his tone teasing, a contrast to the heated look he sent her that made her fairly certain she was turning the color of a tomato. He gave her a dimpled grin, bringing over the silverware and napkins and setting them down in front of her. "All right, love. Show me how you like it."
She rolled her eyes, grabbing the paper napkin from his hand and smoothing it out, ignoring the tingle she felt when their fingers brushed, hoping her blush wasn't noticeable with the lighting. "Okay, so you spread it out like this and put the silverware on. You put the knife first and then the fork and then the spoon. Then you wrap it up like this and tuck the ends in," she instructed, showing him slowly and grabbing a paper coil to wrap around it. "Then you bind it like this."
"All right," Klaus said, grabbing a napkin and three pieces of silverware and doing it exactly as she'd shown him. "Like this?"
His tone was low and raspy, a completely inappropriate cadence for the work they were doing in her personal opinion, and it made a shiver run down her spine. She swallowed, hoping it wasn't too audible.
"Yeah. Just like that. So do those until you run out of silverware and napkins. If you bring them over here, I can help you."
He brought over the bucket, and soon they were making the silverware bundles in companionable silence.
Caroline had never liked silence.
"So," she began, winding one of the paper strips around a finished napkin bundle. "How's the practice?"
"Going well," Klaus said. She tried not to get distracted by the way his long fingers elegantly constructed the napkin sets. "I have enough patients this month to make my quota, so that's quite the relief."
"Yeah, I'm sure. The deal is that you have to bring in at least 30% of the patients to hold onto your stake in the practice, right?"
"Yes. It's been difficult to build trust with the citizens of Mystic Falls, of course, but I'm hopeful my hard work will pay off."
Caroline snorted. "Hard work at flirting with the women who need check-ups you mean?"
"Now, you can hardly chalk it up to that, love. You should only have to get a physical once a year, and there aren't nearly enough people for that to meet my quota. They also fake illnesses."
That surprised a laugh out of her. "At least you admit that your bedside manner is terrible."
"You didn't seem to mind it," he teased. "The part you objected to was the advice, if I remember correctly."
Caroline tried not to blush at the memory of the heat of his fingers brushing gently against her skin. "Yeah, well, it would be nice if I could work at my own bar."
He nodded. "I understand. Just another few weeks and you'll be back to your dream job."
She grimaced before she could stop herself, feeling a bit trapped by Klaus's raised eyebrow. "Not a dream job, then?"
She shrugged. "I mean, it's a job and it's successful. I can't complain."
"You can," he said easily. "If it's not what you wanted."
She sighed, setting down her current silverware bundle and drumming her fingers on the table. "It's not that it's not what I wanted. I just...I wanted more, you know?"
"Like what?" he asked, looking at her intently, listening in a way that made her feel like he really wanted to know about her silly small-town dreams.
She was surprised that she was inclined to be honest with him, but no one had ever really wanted to know before. Everyone just sort of assumed that she was doing what she wanted. "I wanted to be a pastry chef," she admitted. "I studied for culinary school and everything. I decided to go to Whitmore and get an economics degree as a fallback, but I was hoping to leave after I got my degree. And then...'
"And then?" he asked when she trailed off.
"And then I was scared," she admitted. "I didn't know anyone in any of the places where the reputable culinary schools were, and I felt like it was too much of a risk. I didn't have any money or connections. When Matt offered up fifty percent of the bar, I felt like that was as good as it was going to get for me."
"That makes sense, I suppose."
Caroline snorted. "Says the person who literally picked up and moved five hundred miles to take over their dead father's medical practice where they knew no one."
"That's different," Klaus said, placing another silverware bundle on the pile in front of them. "I needed to get experience as a general practitioner to get to apply for the fellowship I want in New York. This was the easiest way for me to do that."
"Yeah, I guess."
"For what it's worth though, love, I think you'd like the big city."
"You don't even know me," Caroline said with a roll of her eyes, carefully arranging another set of silverware before rolling them up in a napkin.
"I'd like to," Klaus admitted softly. She looked up to see him giving her a dimpled grin. "But I have a feeling I'm right, regardless. I don't mean to criticize your small-town life-"
"Just the way you phrased that says otherwise," she interrupted, her tone dry.
"Fair enough," he said, raising his hands in surrender. "But I think you'd thrive. All the people and the sights... You'd like it, I think. If you ever decided to pursue your culinary dreams."
She shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe I'd fail and end up barely making ends meet with five roommates in a studio apartment. At least here I have my own place and a business."
"What's life without a little bit of risk?" Klaus asked, his eyebrows raised. "Perhaps you should take a chance, Caroline."
Caroline swallowed, setting another napkin bundle on the pile of silverware and clearing her throat. "Maybe. Anyway, one of these should go at each chair on a plate. Why don't you do that while I finish these up. Okay?"
Klaus gave her a look that indicated full well that he knew what she was doing, but he nodded, moving the pile of silverware to a bucket and beginning to walk around the room, arranging them at tables. Caroline continued to make the little bundles, staring down at her hands as she worked, determined to not meet Klaus's eyes.
Why had she been so honest with him? Ugh, these pain meds must really be getting to her head. Ibuprofen could totally make you say dumb things, right? Painkillers were painkillers.
Maybe she should avoid him until she was herself again.
XXX
[Caroline][9:06am]: Okay so like
[Caroline][9:06am]: just as a thought experiment
[Bonnie][9:07am]: you can stop saying thought experiment we both know youre talking about klaus this is not hypothetical
[Caroline][9:08am]: UM ITS VERY HYPOTHETICAL
[Bonnie][9:10am]: okay fine whats your """thought experiment"""
[Caroline][9:14am]: what if it was more than the arms
[Bonnie][9:16am]: i think you are the only one who didn't know it was more than the arms
[Caroline][9:17am]: don't make fun of me!
[Bonnie][9:18am]: Look Caroline
[Bonnie][9:18am]: I don't like him and I don't get why you like him
[Bonnie][9:18am]: But I support your choices. Even if they're bad ones
[Caroline][9:19am]: Thanks?
[Caroline][9:19am]: I think?
[Bonnie][9:20am]: You're welcome
[Bonnie][9:24am]: Also what are you up to today?
[Caroline][9:27am]: I'm going to drive to whitmore. I need the good butter from whole foods.
[Bonnie][9:28am]: You sure? I saw on the news that it's going to rain.
[Caroline][9:29am]: Nana Forbes' biscuits won't make themselves!
[Bonnie][9:29am]: Be careful.
[Caroline][9:30am]: Will do!
XXX
Caroline turned the stereo up in her car, partly to sing along and partly because the rain was coming down so hard that she had to slow down to a snail's pace to make sure she didn't crash and was getting incredibly bored. She always took the back roads to and from Whitmore because they had less traffic, but they were much more dangerous in bad weather conditions. She'd been hoping that she'd beat the storm, but apparently the weather gods were not on her side.
But hey, free car wash, right?
She was belting out the latest pop chart #1 when she saw movement to the side of her and slammed on her brakes, hoping that she wouldn't hit the deer (bear?). She stayed put for a few seconds and turned down the stereo, turning on her brights. Of all the things she expected to see, Klaus bent over the hood of his car clearly swearing colorfully as rain dripped down his face had not been one of them.
She drove closer to him so that she could open her window to talk to him, frowning when he looked up and immediately began to shake his head, holding up his hands and yelling something. "Yeah, I see you. I'm not going to hit you," she yelled even though she knew he couldn't hear her. His concerns became clear, however, when she felt her car stall.
Fuck.
She opened her window, and Klaus walked up to it, entirely soaked. "It's mud," he yelled over the howling wind. "My car got stuck."
"I can see that," she yelled back, feeling frustration begin to mount. "I think mine's stopped too."
She heard thunder clap overhead and winced, Klaus looking up as well. "We need to find shelter."
"What are you talking about? Get in the car."
"We can't go anywhere," he argued, frowning.
"Yeah, I know, but lightning doesn't strike cars," she yelled back. "It's science!"
"Are you certain?"
"Oh my god, Klaus. Don't you trust someone who's lived here forever?"
He gave her a wary look but did as he was told, opening the door of her hatchback and climbing in. Caroline rolled up the window the second she could, reaching to turn the overhead light on and assess the situation.
Klaus's henley was sticking to him completely, and she had to stop herself from admiring the way it clung to him, redirecting herself to the clearly dire situation he'd found himself in, and now pulled her into as well.
Focus, Caroline.
"How did you end up here?"
"I drove," he said dryly.
"No, seriously. Where were you trying to go?"
"I was hoping to catch you before you left Whitmore. You've been avoiding me, and I was hoping that being away from everyone you've known since birth would make it easier to have a conversation."
Caroline ran a hand through her hair, speaking loudly over the pelt of the rain against her car's roof. "I cannot believe that you thought that trapping us together during a rainstorm would be conducive to me wanting to have anything to do with you."
"I didn't mean to trap us," Klaus pointed out. "How was I supposed to know that the weather would be this bad?"
"I don't know, maybe you could have listened to literally all the locals who told you it was going to be this bad? Since we, you know, live here."
"I suppose so," he drawled, clearly not apologetic in the least, which only made her even more annoyed. "I thought I'd just meet you and get to the bottom of whatever strop you're in."
Her jaw dropped. "Strop? Seriously?"
"I don't know what I've done to make you cross with me. I thought we were finally getting on rather well."
She put turned off the ignition of her car, knowing that leaving it on for too long would bite them in the ass later, her hands shaking slightly as soon as the heat cut, the chilly air biting at her skin. "Why are you here, Klaus?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, love. We're stuck in the rain."
She gave him a piercing look, one that she leveled at the most annoying of people. He didn't even flinch. "I mean like, here. In Mystic Falls."
"My father left me his medical practice-"
"You didn't even know he was your father until six months ago," Caroline pointed out. "After you came. No normal city person runs away to the middle of nowhere to take over a dead person's medical practice. Why did you come?"
Klaus took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I didn't get the fellowship I wanted. One of the surgeons suggested that I get some experience as a general practitioner before I applied again next year. I suppose I felt like doing something different might give me a better idea of what field I wanted to pursue."
"Again, I know that. Try again."
"That's honestly it, love. It was just the right opportunity at the right time. I came here to get experience, as was advised."
Caroline snorted, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. "Yeah, and that's going real well."
"I rather thought it was," he said, looking vaguely amused. "The town's warmed up to me enough that I'm getting the patients I need to get the fellowship."
"Only the girls who want to simper all over you."
He gave her a dimpled grin. "As we've discussed, they do count as patients."
"It's revolting."
"I suppose that it's good to know you've noticed despite your complete determination to avoid me."
She stiffened, pursing her lips when he raised an eyebrow, clearly realizing he'd hit the mark. "I'm not avoiding you," she deflected, not wanting to get into the whole can of jealousy worms.
"You are. And I've been wondering why."
She huffed, looking out the window at the pounding rain with a toss of her hair. "Because you annoy me."
He cocked his head to the side, giving her a look that indicated that he knew exactly how big of a box of lies that was, but she wasn't about to admit the reason why to his face. The fact that he'd started creeping into her dreams every now and then with his wicked smirk and attractive accent was a fact that only she knew, and she wanted it to stay that way. Klaus wasn't going to stay in Mystic Falls forever. He'd said it himself: it was the right opportunity at the right time. He had a bigtown New York life he was going to run back to the second he could, and no matter how curious she was about what things might be like outside the borders of her tiny hometown, she wasn't about to date someone who would end up being just another person who didn't think she was enough to stay for. It just wasn't worth it.
"Now, love. We both know that's not entirely the case," he said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked grumpily, glad that her clothes were dry, at least. Klaus was clearly freezing even if he was trying not to show it.
"All of the evidence seems to show I've been growing on you."
She snorted. "Evidence? Like this is some science experiment?"
She flinched when the crack of thunder hit unexpectedly, the flash of lightning following a few moments later making her grimace. Klaus flinched, his lips thinning when he saw that she'd noticed. "The big storms usually last for a few hours here," she said quietly, answering his unasked question. "I think it'll be over within the next hour or two. Then we can call a tow truck."
He nodded to show that he'd heard, still frowning. She wondered what he was thinking about. They sat in silence for a few excrutiating minutes, and she gave a deep sigh, leaning back in her seat.
"All right, love?"
"Yeah. Just annoyed I'll be stuck here with you for another hour at least."
"Would it be so bad?" he asked, his tone containing none of the teasing lilt she'd expected.
"Um..." Caroline started. "Well, you've behaved okay so far, I guess."
His lips twitched. "Good to hear, I suppose."
She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, trying to pass off the sudden need to put distance between them as a chill, and his expression softened when he looked at her. "I have a jacket in my car if you'd like. I can pop out and get it."
"Wouldn't it be all wet?"
"I have plastic bags in the glove compartment. My siblings like nothing more than leaving a mess when we're not near to a bin."
She was definitely tempted. "Are you sure? It's freezing."
"Not a problem, love," he said, out before she could respond. She watched him in the low light trudging to his car through the mud and wincing when she realized she was definitely going to have to get the carpets cleaned later.
So much for a free car wash.
She pulled the hoodie on the second he handed it to her and pulled it on, zipping it up to the top. It was infuriating that he was being such a gentleman. His stupid New York lack of manners had been one of the only reasons she'd been able to hold out, convinced that anyone who was so rude even on their best behavior would be even worse once she got to know them, but if he chose anytime to be chivalrous she was glad it was now.
"Thanks," she said, pulling the cords on the hood tight and sticking her hands in the pockets to try and warm up. It smelled like him, and she found she didn't mind. "Won't you be cold?"
"I'll be all right," he said with a tight lipped smile.
From the soaked, thin henley he was wearing she highly doubted it, but she wouldn't question her good fortune if it ended up with her being warm and toasty. Unfortunately, all of the safety information that the camping her father had made her do as a kid had wormed its way into her head, and she talked before she could filter. "You should take your shirt off," she said, flushing as she spoke and pressing on, lest he get the absolute wrong idea that she totally didn't want him to have. "Wet clothes make you get hypothermia faster."
"I'm aware," he said, his lips twitching. "I'm a doctor, love."
"Then why haven't you-"
"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
She snorted. "That's never stopped you before."
He gave her a chiding look. "Swimming isn't the same thing as being in close quarters."
"Well, luckily I have zero problems holding back from ogling you. Since, you know, you're a jerk."
"Do you honestly think I've been that horrible to you?" he asked, pulling off his shirt in one smooth movement and putting it in the bag he'd brought his hoodie over in. "I thought I'd been nice enough. Nicer than I usually am, truth be told."
God, he was hot. Ugh. "Yeah, I've noticed. Being the only person you're not a jerk to is not a compliment, by the way. Just saying."
"Fair enough," he murmured. "I'll endeavor to be more pleasant to the townsfolk in the future, then."
"Just like that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Just like that. For you."
She rolled her eyes. "Laying it on a little thick, don't you think?"
"Is it working?" he asked, stretching in what she considered to be a completely unnecessarily sexual way.
"Do you want it to?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"I fancy you, Caroline. I thought I'd made that abundantly clear."
The earnestness of his words struck her, made her feel warmth build in her chest. No one had ever been so blunt before. Everyone else had made her work to hear it. That she was enough.
That they wanted her.
"I guess you sort of did," she admitted, going for a casual shrug and probably failing.
"And you?" he asked.
Well, it probably wasn't fair to leave him hanging like that. Not when she appreciated that he'd been so forthright with her. "I guess I fancy you too," she said with a small smile. "But like, only when you're not being a jerk."
"Duly noted," he said, grinning.
They were interrupted by Caroline's phone blaring, Bonnie's name coming up on the screen.
"Hey, Bon."
"Hey, are you back yet? I just knocked on the door and you're not here."
"No," Caroline said awkwardly, catching Klaus's gaze and wincing. "I'm kind of stuck in the forest."
"Stuck in the forest?" Bonnie repeated, her tone brisk. "Caroline, I told you you shouldn't go out. You knew it was a big storm."
"Well, my car is stuck in the mud, as is Klaus's."
"Klaus? Why is Klaus there? Oh my god, Caroline! Did you finally-"
"His car was stuck, Bonnie," Caroline practically yelled, interrupting her friend before she could get anything embarrassing out. Klaus was definitely close enough to hear, and despite their confessions, Bonnie's confirmation would be mortifying. "I stopped to help and my car got stuck, too."
Bonnie let out a sharp breath. "Okay. The storm is letting up here, so it should be past you in about a half hour or so. You should call the tow truck now so they can get on their way."
"Okay, mom," Caroline teased.
"Yeah, yeah. Just stay safe, okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye!"
"Bye."
"I guess we should call the tow, then."
"I guess we should," Caroline agreed, her voice slightly breathless at the way he was looking at her, drinking her in with dark eyes and a dimpled smile. She cleared her throat. "We can get them towed to my place. Does that work for you?"
"Of course, love. It's a short enough drive home from yours."
She grinned. "Who says you're driving home?"
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Any predictions? Favorite parts or lines? How are we feeling about the KC build? The Baroline friendship? Please let me know your thoughts!
