Hello, my lovely readers. Klaroline, Klaroline, and did I mention Klaroline? On with show…
Chapter 9: If You'd Just Listen…
Of all of the crazy things that had happened since Caroline Forbes returned to the land on the sort-of living, sitting in the back of her date's truck with her murderous ex seemed like a pretty high note in her new life's theme song. However, Caroline, like her ears, were sore from the pitch. She found herself frowning every time she thought she saw Klaus make the tiniest of movements. If she didn't catch him in, he might cause a wreck. Her date could get killed. Some other innocent humans could get killed. It left her highly irritable.
"Come on, Matt!" Caroline called through the dividing window between the cab and (the other part of the truck).
"I'm going as fast as I can here, Caroline!" Matt called back.
"Yeah. If your grandma was driving," Caroline retorted under her breath. She thought she saw a twitch of an eyelid from Klaus. Leaning over her dead-for-the-next thirty-seconds-ex. "Klaus?" she whispered. Again, she saw the slightest flicker of an eyelid. Yes. He was coming to.
With a sigh, Caroline placed her hands on either side of Klaus' neck and twisted it to the side. Her heart stilled for a moment and she felt her lower lip wobble. Nope. Not giving into guilt. What should she feel guilty about? He's the one who'd lost his shit and tried to kill her, again. Could he have at least waited until after her date?
Forcing herself to look up, she saw the outline of the house. They would be there in the next ten minutes. Could it take longer? Rolling her eyes, Caroline leaned back and waited to arrive.
Finally reaching the house, Caroline waited for Matt to pull into the driveway before she took hold of Klaus' upper body and hoisted him to the side of the truck. "Need help with him?" Matt called.
"Nope. I'm good," Caroline replied. Taking hold of Klaus' upper body, she lifted him before tossing him over the side of the truck. Placing her hands on her hips, she smirked. That felt so satisfying after what he'd done earlier. "Thanks for the offer," she added before hopping out and landing in a crouch beside Klaus' prone form.
Straightening up, Caroline took hold of Klaus by the arm and hauled him toward the grass and then marched to the front door. She left him two feet away. "Scream if he makes a fraction of a movement," she ordered Matt whose blue eyes were on Klaus and he did not look like he wanted to be on Klaus-duty.
Moving to the front door, Caroline pushed the doorbell and waited. After a longer period than she felt comfortable with, Damon came to the door. His black shirt was unbuttoned and he smelled like at least one bottle of bourbon. "Caroline, whatcha doin' here?" Damon inquired, lazily beginning to button his shirt.
"I need some place to bring him. Your place is the only one I could think of." Caroline made her way over to Klaus, leaned down, and began to haul him with her.
"Hey! No! No way!" Damon cried, stepping outside and waving his hands. "You're not bringing that into my home!" he cried as Caroline proceeded to drag Klaus past the protesting vampire. "Caroline!"
"Sorry," Matt muttered, walking past Damon and following Caroline into the house.
Caroline heard Damon close the door as she moved Klaus onto a rug in front of the fire. "Lena and I were just about to play Spin the Bottle of what Sexual Position You Want to Be in Tonight!" Damon complained, folding his arms over his chest as he came to stand in the doorway.
"Hey! That's my ex, man!" Matt cried, his look of disgust made Damon shrug.
"Drink?" Damon asked. He walked to the drink stand and picked up a tumbler, shaking it at Matt who shook his head. "Seems like this is going to be a long night."
"Ya think?" Caroline groaned when Klaus' head began to lift. Grabbing a fire poker, she shoved it through his heart and he dropped, again. "Make that a very, very long night." Her eyes went up when someone whooshed into the room.
Elena stopped and looked around the room. Her hair was a bit of a mess and her dress was wrinkled. "What is going on in here?" she demanded, her eyes falling on Klaus and a look of fear appeared in her eyes. It hadn't been that long since Klaus sacrificed her to lift his curse. Her hands curled into fists. "What is he doing here?" she hissed out, looking at Damon.
Damon poured himself a drink. "Seems Caroline doesn't know what to do with her baggage, so she thought she'd bring it here!" he offered his girlfriend a mock smile before downing another drink. "Cheers to that."
"I'm not staying here if he's here," Elena's flicked to Klaus' body.
"You're perfectly safe, Elena," Caroline said shortly. "It's me he wants to kill."
"Oh, yeah? And you think he won't go right through all of your friends in the process?" Elena shook her head. "Damon, can you give me a ride back to my place?"
"Sure," Damon nodded. He pointed a finger at Klaus. "That better not be here by the end of the week. I am not an on-call babysitter-for-your-crazed-hybrid-needs." With that, he left with Elena.
Left alone with Klaus and Matt; Caroline turned to look at Matt. "I am really sorry about how tonight went –" Caroline began when Matt jumped in.
"Hey! None of this is your fault. You didn't know that Klaus was going to pick tonight to start a fight with you. I'm just glad I was there to help," Matt said.
Caroline nodded. Her eyes went down to Klaus. "Can you do me a favor? I need some chains."
"Okay," Matt nodded. "Not a problem." Then he paused and held up a hand. "I don't know where they would keep those."
"There should be some in the basement. If not, there might be some in Stefan's room," Caroline said, still watching Klaus.
"Right… This is why I don't hang out with those guys much…" Matt muttered to himself as he left the room.
Caroline crouched down beside Klaus. "You and I are going to be spending the night together, again. I'm sure you're just as excited as I am about that." This time, she did not see Klaus make a move. Shaking her head, Caroline walked over to the drink stand. She poured herself a drink and downed it. This would be a long night.
~0~
Watching Klaus sit in the high-backed chair across from her, Caroline felt restless. He hadn't woken up yet. It had been hours. She knew he should be awake by now. Not just awake, furious. "Matt, you should go home," Caroline said quietly. She could tell the human was becoming tired. "Stefan's coming home soon. He'll be able to help me with Klaus-sitting."
"I'm good," Matt said, tapping his foot on the floor. He had a crossbow lying over his knees. His eyes did not move from Klaus' prone frame.
"Matt. I'm not asking. I'm telling you: Go home," Caroline said quietly. She watched Matt shift on the couch to look at her. His expression told her that he was wondering about why she wanted to be alone with Klaus. "I'll be fine. Promise." Caroline added with a smile.
Matt nodded. "I guess you pumped enough vervain into him to knock out twenty vamps."
Caroline nodded. Perhaps that was why Klaus had not awoken. But Caroline felt like she could pour ten kegs worth of vervain into Klaus and he would still have woken by now. "Probably."
With a yawn, Matt got to his feet and stretched. He made his way over to Caroline and held out the crossbow. "Just in case."
"Thanks." Caroline took the crossbow. "Thanks for taking me out tonight. I was having a great time." She made her gaze soften to show Matt she meant it. "We should try to do it again sometime."
Matt perked up. "Yeah?" He cocked his head to the side. "I'd like that." Reaching out, he took her hand and squeezed it gently before letting go. "Be careful."
"Always. Get some sleep before sunrise," Caroline replied. She did not turn to watch Matt leave but she did hear the front door open and close. "He's gone now." She said, placing the crossbow against a leg of the chair. "You can stop faking."
After a moment of dramatic tension, a small smirk formed on Klaus' lips. His eyes opened. They were hooded and he looked groggy but the intensity of his murderous intentions were still there. "See you sent your new little boyfriend away, Caroline. Are you afraid I might harm him? Or is it you who he should fear?" Brows going up, Klaus chuckled at his own joke.
Rolling her eyes, Caroline folded her arms over her chest. "You know, a lot of girls have problems with their ex-s who just can't let go and allow you to move on. You're being such a cliché right now, Klaus. I thought better of you."
Now, Klaus' eyes narrowed. "You're just a shadow of what Caroline Forbes was," he hissed out. "But not for much longer."
"Threaten. Threaten. Threaten. Geez, Klaus. I think you're running out of material," Caroline got up and made her way to stand over him. With a little smile, she leaned forward so their noses were almost touching. "Or did you enjoy my hunting you down so much you thought you'd try it yourself? Is this role play? Am I the Big Bad? Oh, that would make you the hero." Moving so her mouth was next to his ear, Caroline finished. "Here's a clue: You're not suited to the role. You never were. You never will be."
Pulling back, Caroline watched Klaus begin to laugh. He shook his head before returning her look. "Ah, Caroline? Is it really you, love? Give us a kiss and maybe I'll be able to tell?" His eyes went to her lips. "Do you remember the first time I had you? Such an inexperienced thing you were. But a quick study." His smile turned into a leer and Caroline could feel her fingers curling into fists. "I think some part of you coveted the death you knew being with me would get you. Didn't you? Every taste. Every touch. Oh, Klaus!" he moaned, writhing to the extent the chains would allow him to.
Growling, Caroline could feel her fangs coming out. "You aren't going to bait me," she hissed out. But she could feel herself beginning to lose control. Every part of her wanted to hit him.
"I'm going to kill everyone Caroline cared for. And I'm going to make you watch as they scream and beg for mercy. And after the last one is gone, perhaps you can do me the favor of ending this charade. Stop trying to be what you are not," Klaus said quietly, his eyes searching hers. "Stop trying to be Caroline. Because as much as I am not a hero; you are not Caroline Forbes."
"You think?" Caroline snapped, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Well, maybe you're right. Maybe Caroline was murdered by your crazy-ass mother. Maybe it was by your hand that the Caroline you knew died. Maybe…" Caroline inhaled and exhaled. "Maybe I should hate you as much as you hate what I've become because it is all your fault!" Finally, Caroline felt rage pour through her body. All consuming rage. All she saw was red. All she wanted was to quench her thirst on a thousand innocents' blood. Inhaling, Caroline raised a clawed hand and swept it forward.
Klaus dropped to the side and the little smile on his face told Caroline she'd made a mistake. Again. She'd allowed him to make her angry enough to strike. Now, he shoved the chair against the fireplace and broke it, the chains dropped and he was free. "Thank you," he said.
Picking up a stake, he moved toward her. "Let's see what ends you, shall we?" he inquired. Caroline cried out in pain when Klaus swept the stake forward, slicing into her palm before he took hold of her by the neck and drove them to the floor.
"Get off!" Caroline shouted. She managed to get a knee between them and drove him back toward the fireplace. This just seemed to spur him on as he took hold of the fire poker, tossing it in the air and then aiming for Caroline's thigh. She screamed in pain as it went in and she fell to her knees. Reaching for the fire poker, Caroline tore it out and let out another howl of pain.
Klaus came speeding toward her. His hand dug into her curls and the stake went over her heart. His eyes bore into hers. "Klaus. Klaus, you have got to stop this," Caroline moaned as he began to push the stake into her heart. "I am Caroline. Klaus…"
Something whizzed by and Caroline found Klaus dropping over from a stake through the throat. "Not the heart. But it works," Stefan's voice made Caroline fall backwards. "Looks like I showed up just in time."
Falling onto her back, Caroline nodded. "Yes. Great timing." If he'd been seconds later, Caroline didn't know what would have happened.
~0~
Lifting his head, Klaus found himself inside a cell. "Ah. Is this how you plan on dealing with me?" He inquired, chuckling to himself as he looked at the heavy wooden door. He could feel a burning wave of a fresh dose of vervain and wolves bane.
Getting to his feet, Klaus tested the shackles that held him to the floor. His eyes went to the door. "You've underestimated me," he called out, jerking the shackles out from the floor with ease. He stalked over to the door. "Shall I huff and puff and blow this bloody door down or shall I…" With a grin, Klaus kicked the door. It only took one more kick before the solid door exploded in splinters and stakes that sailed inside the cell and outside of it. "Is that all you have?" he called out.
"No," Caroline appeared with a smile. "I have this." She pulled out a tranquilizer gun from her belt and shot Klaus in the neck. He groaned, glowering at her before reaching down and pulling the dart out. "Your little toys are making me lose my patience," he retorted, moving to step outside of the cell.
Bumping into something, Klaus let out a growl. His eyes shifted over the invisible barrier. "You've used a witch?" he demanded.
"Yup," Bonnie Bennett called from somewhere close by.
"Show yourself," Klaus demanded. His hands pressing to the barrier. The moment his sibling's little girlfriend stepped into sight, he would toss a stake through her heart and the spell would die with the witch who cast it.
"Not a chance. I was taught well. And I'm not stupid," Bonnie replied.
Snarling, Klaus moved away from the barrier. "And what does Kol think of your little trysts with my sister?" He inquired with a smirk.
"I'm not having trysts with anyone," Bonnie retorted.
"Don't let him goad you, Bonnie. It's what he does," Caroline said. Turning on his heels, Klaus moved to lean against the barrier, his eyes roving over the monster who wore his dead lover's face.
"Am I?" Klaus inquired. He softened his tone. "You do not know my brother, Bonnie. Kol's suffered from jealousy and feelings of unworthiness for most of his life. Poor lad. All he wishes for is to be loved." He peered to the very edge of the door. "Do you love him, Bonnie? Or will you break his heart? Because his fury is terrible. I would hate to see what he would do to Freya if he believed something happened between the two of you…"
Eyes ticking back to Caroline, Klaus grinned. "Perhaps I shall take a nap and Kol and I can have a little chat about Bonnie's after-school activities."
"What do you want, Klaus?" Caroline demanded. She kicked off the wall facing the cell and moved to stand just outside the barrier.
"You know what I want, Caroline," Klaus replied. He held out a hand to her.
"Caroline, don't!" Stefan shouted at the same time that Caroline placed a foot inside the barrier.
Feeling satisfied, Klaus sped across the space to jerk her all the way inside. "Alone. At last," Klaus muttered into Caroline's ear as she turned to stare at her friends.
Stefan came into view. "Caroline, what have you done?" he asked, moving just outside the barrier.
"What I had to." Caroline said as Klaus hands snaked over her. He placed a possessive hand on her stomach, enjoying the look of rage on Stefan's face. Slipping his hand into her hair, Klaus pressed his nose to her cheek. "Stefan. Bonnie. Go! I'll be fine. The barrier will come down tomorrow. Just go somewhere safe."
"Don't go too far," Klaus called, his mouth sliding down to Caroline's neck. He lifted his eyes to look at Stefan with a wicked grin before he sunk his fangs into Caroline's neck.
Caroline let out a quiet moan and when Klaus lifted his eyes, he did not see Stefan. It made him smile as he fed on the monster in his arms. Something about Caroline's blood tasted different. And not vampire different. He had never tasted anything like it. It made him…
Suddenly withdrawing his fangs, Klaus stumbled away from Caroline. "What have you done?" he demanded.
"What do you mean: What have I done?" Caroline demanded, placing a hand to her neck wound. "You're the one who got all grabby and then bit me." She shook her head at him.
Klaus struggled as he moved across the floor and sank to his knees. His head felt so full… "It's too much," he cried out. Tears filled his eyes. "It's too much. How…" Placing his head on his knees, he began to weep. "It's too, too much."
"Klaus… Are you okay?" Caroline's footsteps preceeded a hand on Klaus' shoulder and he fell sideways and onto his knees. His arms wrapped around her, tugging her downward. His hands worked to find her face and he searched her for signs of her understanding what her blood did to him. "Caroline?"
"Yes?" Caroline watched Klaus and he began to see what he'd been blind to since she'd suddenly appeared. "Klaus?"
"Your blood," Klaus stroked the hair away from her neck before his eyes returned to hers. He felt confused. He hadn't felt this confused since he'd become a vampire. "I feel… I feel pain. And sadness. Joy. Rage. Soooo much. I feel so much. And it's not mine. None of it," Klaus shook his head. "Your blood did this to me. He told me… He warned me that there was something different about you. You'd come back…changed. I thought…" Klaus shook his head.
"Klaus, focus for me. Please? I don't understand what you're trying to tell me." Caroline placed her hands on his knees. "Take long breaths for me." She inhaled and exhaled and Klaus would have lost his temper with anyone else in that moment. Thought they meant to make him look like a fool. In this exact moment, Klaus felt how genuine Caroline was being. Literally. He felt her emotions. And it terrified him.
"You're okay," Caroline lifted a hand and placed it on his wet cheek. "We're okay now."
Klaus took hold of her wrist and pressed his lips to it. "Oh, Caroline." Pushing closer, he crushed his lips to hers, driving her onto her back. His hands slid her zipper down and Caroline cried out as he ran his hand over her naked flesh. His knees pushed at the bottom of her skirt.
Caroline's fingers dug into Klaus' curls as he undid his pants. Their eyes met as he moved on top of her. He could feel her pleasure and he let out a growl, taking her hands and burying them into the dirt beneath them. He'd offer up his next thousand years to have a hundred nights like this with Caroline.
~0~
Klaus woke up to find Caroline laying in his arms. She had her nose pressed into the crook of his neck. They were quite naked. He expected to look up to find an audience but they seemed to be lucky for this moment. They were still blissfully alone.
Not wanting to wake her, but not being able to contain his curiosity, Klaus began to press kisses to the top of Caroline's head. His hands slid over her body until she let out a quiet cry of delight and her eyes opened before she mounted him. "Hello," she murmured. "Not feeling murder-y this morning?" she inquired, running her lips down the side of his neck.
"No. Actually, I'm feeling rather opposite of murder-y," Klaus muttered, sitting up. He ran his hands up and down her back. "However, there is something I need to talk to you about."
"After?" Caroline muttered, pushing him onto his back. Klaus could not begrudge her that.
~0~
Dressing, Klaus looked at Caroline. "Tell me, love, what is it, exactly, I experienced last night?"
"Make-up sex?" Caroline replied with a light laugh as she turned for him to zip her dress. When he did not reply, she turned to him with a serious look. "Do you promise not to try to kill me, again?" She watched him as he nodded. "Right. Okay. This is a weird thing to try to explain." Caroline inhaled before proceeding. "You see, I didn't know that my family is part demon. Empath demon, I feel what other people feel. I just didn't know that your drinking my blood would leave, well, you tripping on my emotions, and probably the emotions of every person I've been in contact with lately. Which is a lot. I've learned to block a lot of it. But some people, their emotions are like tidal waves. Like you. You feel, a lot."
"You could feel how I felt…" Klaus did not like the sound of that. He worked very hard to make himself unreadable to others. But with Caroline's new empath abilities, that seemed to be over. "Is that how you were able to turn?"
"That's my mother's theory. When I came home, she was in total shock and then I told her about vampires." Caroline paused and rolled her eyes. "Apparently she already knew about them. And she was hiding this whole empath thing from me. I mean, what the hell."
Klaus eased his arms around her and smiled down at her. "Usually empaths are a different color."
"Oh?" Caroline's brows shot up.
"And they have horns, darling," Klaus chuckled as Caroline placed her hands to her head as if by saying "horns;" they would magically sprout from her head. "I'm teasing you, love."
"Okay. Because I was thinking that I'm supposed to be just a teeny bit empath. So, maybe, that's why no horns," Caroline's hands moved toward her head when she forced them back down to her shoulders. "You're not still angry about my coming back then?"
"I was homicidal in my grief." Klaus told her, lifting a hand to cup her cheek.
"You mean psychotic. And not your usual state of psycho, but no-holds-barred-out-of-my-freakin'-mind-hide-the-sharp-objects-kind." Caroline searched Klaus eyes. "Do you still love me? Even if I am a vampire-Slayer-demon-thing?"
"I'd like to stay on the trial basis and see how things go from here," Klaus replied. Caroline's eyes widened before he kissed her. "I will love you for the rest of eternity, Caroline Forbes. What was driving me mad was the idea that I made you into something you were never meant to be—something you would not wish to be —"
Caroline reached up and placed a finger to his lips. "I'm okay," she whispered. "We're okay." Her lips found his, again, and they stayed that way until a cough startled them.
"See. Told you. Lock them up for a night. And they'll be back where they started out," Damon said. "Although I prefer to keep him in here for another decade."
Klaus turned to smirk at Damon. "I won't complain if Bonnie keeps the spell up for the next two days."
Caroline buried her head in his shoulder and said something no one caught. Her eyes lifted to meet Klaus and he felt happy. For now. Then his thoughts went to their next problem. What happened when The Hunter's Council arrived? "Caroline, there's something we need to speak of." Caroline's smile dipped and Klaus did not need her blood to know how she felt because he felt the same way.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
-J