Disclaimer: Not mine, etc. Title is from the wonderful and fabulous band Explosions in the Sky. Go on, have a listen.
A/N: So AU/AH it's not even funny. Also just to reiterate: in this fic, Sam is not Lucifer's vessel (and I haven't forgotten Dean/Michael, so just hold on to that thought).
A/N 2: For everyone who put this on Story Alert and/or reviewed: thank you! Encouragement is second only to the muse when it comes to writing (and muses are known to be finicky, making encouragement all the more important).
This took me several rewrites (it started out much lighter, but it didn't flow well at all and several scenes multiple pages long were deleted in frustration) so I hope you enjoy. Happy Reading!
the birth and death of the day
2.
"You'd think that after a thousand years, his game would be better," Dean comments dryly through a mouthful of macaroni and cheese. At Caroline's questioning look, he motions to the drawing sitting on the kitchen counter. She rolls her eyes at him and takes a dainty bite of her own pasta.
"Game?" Castiel echoes, looking from Dean to Caroline curiously.
"Yeah, game. You know, like…" Dean waves his hands and says, "Like dating." Castiel's face remains blank. Dean tries again, "You know, relationships? Going out? Wooing?"
Castiel blinks, and then offers thoughtfully, "Seduction?" Dean chokes on the food he'd been swallowing.
"Better not be any freaking seduction going on," he mutters threateningly after clearing his throat. He shoots a stern look at Caroline, who straightens and says primly, "As if."
"I dunno, I kind of like it," Sam says, picking the drawing up as he goes for his second round of mac and cheese. He studies it for a second, then tacks it on the fridge with Liz's Jefferson Memorial magnet. "It's like old-school romance, or something."
"You would like it, Sammy," Dean grumbles, his tone a blend of affection and irritation. "It's totally up your ally."
Caroline snorts as she stands up, grabbing Castiel's empty bowl along with her own and spooning more food into both of them. "It's creepy, is what it is." She hands Castiel his bowl back as she returns to her seat across from Dean. "He left it on my bed. Kind of disturbing."
"Hella weird," Dean confirms, and he points at her with his fork. "Think he orchestrated that whole hybrid bite thing as part of some Superman, swoop in and save the day, hero fantasy?"
Caroline freezes mid-chew and gapes at him, eyes wide. "Well, now I do!" she cries. "God, now it's even creepier! Thanks a lot!"
"You seem upset," Castiel remarks, eyes focused on her. "These aren't appropriate seduction methods?"
"Again with the seduction thing—don't you have a garrison to be ordering around or something? You know, in Heaven?" Dean demands, head dropping into his hands exasperatedly.
Castiel looks down. When Caroline sees the expression on his face, she forgets her fear and instinctively puts her hand on his arm, patting gently. She looks over for help at Sam, who seems slightly alarmed.
"Cas?" he begins concernedly. "Is everything…you know, okay between you and the angels?"
Dean's head snaps up and when Castiel is silent, he says in disbelief, "Say what? Did they kick you out?" If Castiel didn't look so tragic, Caroline would have giggled at the offended outrage in Dean's voice.
"My…association with the two of you—and now you, Caroline," Castiel adds and she blushes a little, "has been determined to be a liability. I was removed from my post."
The three of them exchange glances and Caroline's pretty sure the same realization that's dawning on Sam and Dean's faces is crossing over hers as well. None of them had given much thought as to why Castiel has stuck around for so long—Caroline had even been warming up to him (or at least not cringing every time she met his eyes in fear that her soul was about to go up in flames). She had just figured their constant bickering and sibling in-fighting amused him, like an Animal Planet TV show for angels. Poor guy, she thinks sympathetically, her chin dropping into the palm of her hand.
"Screw 'em, buddy," Dean says, clapping Castiel on the shoulder. "Welcome to Team Human." Caroline makes a noise of affronted protest and holds her arms out, gesturing to herself. "Fine," Dean groans, hands going up in defeat. "Team Earth. That PC enough for you, Care?"
"Better," she allows.
"The Host won't like that," Castiel states gravely and Dean grimaces. "Yeah, well. Those douchebags stopped getting a say when they kicked you to the damn curb."
…..
"Do you think this means we can, like, really talk to him about everything?" Caroline whispers to Dean as she hands him a clean bowl to towel dry. Sam is explaining the finer points of The Bachelor to Castiel in the living room and Dean leans back to make sure he's adequately distracted.
"Probably," he replies, voice low as he puts the bowl in the cupboard above the sink. "But I still say we should hedge our bets a few more days. Safer than sorry, and all that crap."
"Maybe we should, like, ease into asking about how to have a fighting shot," she suggests. "You know, start off slow and if he gets weird or something…then we'll know he's like a super secret double agent." Dean snorts a little, but bumps her lightly with his shoulder.
"But I don't understand," they hear Castiel say to Sam as Caroline hands Dean the last bowl to dry. She wipes her hands on her jeans and goes into the living room, sitting down next to Sam. "Why do those women want him?"
"Because he's The Bachelor," Sam says patiently. "That's kind of the whole point."
Castiel frowns at the TV screen. "But—"
Dean enters and holds up a hand. "Don't even try to understand it, Cas. You'll pull a muscle trying to wrap your brain around it." He reaches for the remote and hits the power button.
"Why was he giving that woman a rose?" Castiel wants to know as the screen goes black.
"Caroline'll explain later," Dean promises, and Caroline sends him an oh will I? look. "I don't even watch The Bachelor," she points out crossly. "Sexist."
"Okay, fine, whatever," Dean says impatiently. "Cas, we need to talk."
Sam sits up alertly as Castiel tilts his head expectantly. "What do we need to talk about?"
Meeting Dean's eyes, Sam turns so that he's facing Castiel and says slowly, "It's about the Apocalypse."
No one says anything for a few long seconds until Caroline bursts out, "Why is it happening in Mystic Falls?"
Castiel looks over at her, surprised. "You don't know how full of darkness your town is?" he asks grimly.
She bristles a little and says, "I mean, I know it's got weirder problems than other places, but it's not so bad."
"This town attracts the unnatural," Castiel says, eyes intense on hers. "Vampires, werewolves, demons—they are all drawn here."
Okay, Caroline can definitely buy that—Katherine and the tomb vampires in 1864; Stefan, Damon, and that horrible Sage woman in 1912; Stefan again in the 1960s and then now; Elena; the Bennett witches; and the Lockwood family. The puzzle pieces fall easily into place. "But why though?"
He turns his gaze back to the blank television screen. "A thousand years ago, there was a spell cast here; a spell so dark that it cursed the very ground," he says, deep voice quiet and eyes slightly unfocused; we really are on a Hellmouth, Caroline thinks, awestruck. "It still reverberates to this day, drawing supernatural creatures like a magnet."
A thousand years—"Hang on a second," she breathes. "You're talking about—"
He looks at her sharply. "The spell that created the vampire race, yes."
It's so quiet that Caroline can hear her next-door neighbors discussing the intricacies of stock trading with perfect clarity, until Sam says hoarsely, "What?"
"Vampirism was created by a spell," Castiel tells him. "A spell that called not only for human sacrifice, but also the death of those turning. It created a race of beings that feeds on the blood of others to survive. Magic that great and terrible marks the place as it does the witch. It is very dark and very powerful."
Elena had told her the bare details of the Originals' background—like how their mother had used the blood of the girl Klaus and Elijah both loved to bind the spell together and how it's her face that Elena and Katherine share. But Caroline's pretty sure Rebekah failed to mention this.
"So the Host of Heaven's plan is to come here and pick a fight?" Sam asks incredulously, eyebrows furrowed.
"Kill enough supernatural beings and all their buddies come running for revenge," Dean says slowly. "But then what? Move on to the next place and watch every human get caught in the crossfire until there's nowhere left to go?"
"Of course not," Castiel says, head tilting at them as though they are all children (which, Caroline supposes, they probably are—Klaus is a child when compared to him). "That would take far too long. Once the battle of Mystic Falls is won, they will release Lucifer."
….
The giant illustrated Bible Caroline's grandmother had given to her when she was little (the same one that had shown angels as soft protectors with affectionate smiles) had portrayed the devil in the most concrete and obvious of ways—red all over, horns, pointy tail, pitchfork, with great black eyes and surrounded by fire.
When she still went to Sunday school, one of her teachers had collected the class's coloring assignment of the scene where Jesus is tempted by the (red, horned, pointy tailed) devil and had studied it before she said, That wouldn't work very well for temptation, now would it? The class had blinked up at her and she had explained in a kind voice, Only beautiful things are tempting.
Caroline can see Sam's mouth moving but she can't hear the words over the roaring in her ears. How are we supposed to even survive this, she wonders desperately. First angels, now Lucifer? Her heart is beating so fast that if she were still alive, she would worry she was having a heart attack.
She focuses on Sam's voice asking Castiel, "But that doesn't make any sense, Cas. The Host plans to kill a bunch of demons to set Lucifer free on earth…where he'll make more demons?"
Castiel blinks at him and says calmly, "The purpose of the battle of Mystic Falls will be to eliminate non-demonic creatures: werewolves, witches, vampires—there are of course many others, but those seem to be the main species that concern you. If demons get in the way, they will be killed, but they are not the target."
Caroline's head is spinning, Sam's face has lost all color, and Dean is gripping the sides of his chair so hard his knuckles are turning bone white.
"How're we even supposed to fight this thing?" she whispers scratchily; she's thinking back to her birthday, when she had been so bitter about Elena, Bonnie, Jeremy and Matt getting to lead normal lives together—her insides knot together tightly. She'd give anything now to ensure that their lives aren't snatched from them as hers was.
She's so lost in desperate, terrified imaginings of a horrible and bleak future that she almost misses what Castiel says next.
"I'm going to help you."
…...
She drives straight to Bonnie's, ordering Elena to drop whatever she's doing and meet her there, now. She is taking zero chances that any unwanted vampires walk in on this conversation and tells Bonnie to light up some sage for a silencing spell just in case anyone's lurking around.
"You're really scaring me," Bonnie says worriedly as Elena enters her bedroom, gently fanning the smoke from the burning sage. "What's happened?"
"Something really bad," Caroline blurts out tearfully, her words coming out in short bursts as she tries unsuccessfully to hold the hysterics at bay. "The spell that turned the Originals—it cursed Mystic Falls—and the angels—they want to slaughter as many supernatural beings as possible—and then they're—they're gonna release Lucifer to—to finish everyone else off—" She cuts herself off, hands going to her mouth, as if by stopping the torrent of words, they will cease to be true.
Elena and Bonnie gape at her, until Bonnie says unsteadily, "I think I might be sick."
"Oh my God," Elena moans, head dropping into her hands. "What—what are we supposed to do? We can't fight this!"
Caroline swallows hard and says through erratic breaths, "Castiel—the angel that pulled Dean out of Hell—the other angels kicked him out and he says he's going to help—"
"We need to get everyone out of Mystic Falls," Bonnie breaks in forcefully, grabbing Emily Bennett's grimoire out from one of her dresser drawers, where it had been resting underneath a pile of t-shirts. "Everyone normal, we have to find a way to make them leave town." She starts flipping through yellowing pages with almost terrifying ferocity.
"We have to get Klaus's hybrids back," Elena adds in a whisper as she stands and starts to pace. "We have to get them back and that means we have to tell the Originals about all of this."
Silence falls as the air around them crackles with fear and adrenaline. Bonnie stops rifling through the grimoire and Elena looks up at the ceiling in desperation. Caroline is staring blankly at Bonnie's headboard.
"This does qualify as a worst case scenario," Bonnie says softly.
"I'll do it," Caroline volunteers quietly, her mind drifting back to the sketch Sam had hung on their fridge. Thank you for your honesty.
"No," Elena says immediately and Bonnie agrees fervently, "No one is walking into that lion's den alone. Get your stuff."
…..
Caroline's fingers are tapping the wheel in a jittery rhythm as her car makes its way down the long and winding Mikaelson driveway; Elena reaches over and puts her hand over Caroline's. "It's gonna be fine," she says, voice soothing.
"Right. Fine," Caroline echoes, trying to convince herself of just that. She doesn't even want to think about what Sam and Dean's reactions to this will be. "Are we sure this is a good idea?"
"Strength in numbers," Elena says, staring out the window as the Mikaelson mansion looms in front of them ominously. "The more help we have on our side, the better our odds get."
"But this seems like we're playing right into the angels' plans," Caroline protests worriedly, parking the car next to that ridiculous fountain (because seriously, who needs a giant fountain in their front yard?). "The whole point of starting the Apocalypse in Mystic Falls is because it like naturally lures supernatural stuff here—and the angels want to kill them." Us, she amends silently.
"It's a risk we have to take," Bonnie says firmly as they get out of Caroline's car. "If we're going to have any kind of fighting chance, we need more than just us, Stefan and Damon, Dean and Sam and one wayward angel." Caroline notices the distinct lack of Jeremy and Alaric in her statement; and she has to agree with that, especially where Jeremy is concerned. She bites her lip and when she catches Bonnie's eye, she tilts her head subtly in Elena's direction. Bonnie's mouth hardens into a straight line and she nods once. Elena is far too breakable to stick around for this.
"Everyone ready?" Elena asks, turning to them before reaching for the doorbell. She hesitates briefly, and then presses it. It chimes loudly behind the door and Caroline holds her breath until it opens.
It's Elijah and he masks his surprise like a pro. "Ladies," he says genially, stepping aside and holding his hand out. "What a pleasant surprise."
"This isn't a social call," Bonnie informs him coldly, swishing by him in dislike. Elena manages to smile at him faintly and Caroline just sort of bobs her head in lieu of a greeting as he closes the door behind them.
"Is it just you?" Elena asks, glancing around the ornate front hall.
"Niklaus is here somewhere," Elijah tells her courteously, "but Rebekah and Kol are out for the night and Finn is on a trip out of town. Please, make yourselves comfortable in the living room." He pauses as he leads them into the richly decorated living room, which looks way too expensive to Caroline for it to be really livable. She feels Elijah's gaze pass over her face before he says inquiringly, "Shall I get Niklaus, then?"
All three of them stiffen simultaneously in their already rigidly postured seats and exchange looks. "Yes," Elena confirms, turning her face back to Elijah. "You should probably get him too."
Elijah vanishes into the depths of the house; as soon as he is gone, Bonnie lets out a giant whoosh of air. "I hate this," she mutters, wrapping her arms around herself and shuddering.
"Lesser of two evils," Elena reminds her.
"Oh come now, Elena darling," Klaus says pleasantly, appearing out of nowhere, glass in hand and Elijah next to him. "Surely we aren't all that terrible."
"Actually," Elena snaps back, crossing her arms, voice matching Bonnie's for chilliness, "You are. But we have a bigger problem right now."
"And what might that be?" he asks easily, swirling what Caroline has no doubt is blood around in his crystal glass. Elena glances at Caroline who swallows hard before she takes over, saying simply, eyes downcast, "The Apocalypse." She winces as her voice trembles slightly and Elena wraps her hand around Caroline's.
"I can assure you, the Apocalypse is nothing more than a myth," Elijah tells her dismissively, and she bristles at the condescension in his voice.
"Tell that to the angel who's been sleeping on my couch for the past week," she snaps at him irritably, briefly forgetting that this is Elijah—an ancient vampire who can turn pennies into missiles with a flick of his wrist.
"And the witches confirmed it," Bonnie adds sharply. "This isn't a joke. It's the Apocalypse."
Klaus's face has gone entirely serious and Elijah is considering them intently.
"I think," he says slowly, "You had better start from the beginning."
Caroline so does not want to spill her life's story to arguably the two scariest Originals, but four pairs of eyes are focused on her so she searches for the most succinct summary possible.
"My stepbrother Dean d-died a few months ago," she begins, tripping slightly over the word died. Klaus's eyebrows slash together. "An angel pulled him out of Hell and Castiel—the angel who saved him—told him about the Apocalypse. The Host of Heaven wants to set Lucifer on the world."
"Why are you telling us this?" Klaus demands, eyes focused intently on hers; but it's Elena who responds.
"We want you to bring your hybrids back," she informs him. "But just until this is over," she adds fiercely. "Afterwards, they're gone."
Klaus sends a smirk Elena's way—making Caroline flinch inwardly because she really wishes he had never shown her at the ball that he could be a halfway normal person; she's pretty sure now he'll always disappoint her—and says silkily, "I'd be more than happy to oblige, sweetheart, but that's something you'll have to take up with your boyfriend."
Elena seethes at him and says bitingly, "I'll take care of Stefan. Just bring them back."
Klaus raises his glass slightly in her direction. "Your wish is my command."
Elijah's hands are in his pockets as he asks contemplatively, "Is there anything specific you'd like for us to do?"
Caroline blinks at him in surprise. "Um," she says intelligently, looking at Bonnie for help. "Research? You've got to have tons of contacts that might be able to help, right?"
"I'll make some calls," he says, inclining his head at them as he slips away silently.
"Who else knows about this?" Klaus wants to know, setting his glass on the elaborate mantle above the fireplace.
Caroline ticks the names off on her fingers, "The three of us, Dean and Sam, Castiel, my mom, Damon—and I guess Damon told Stefan?" She shoots Elena a questioning look for confirmation; when Elena nods back, she finishes, "And now the two of you."
"Good," he approves shortly. "Let's try and keep this under wraps then, shall we, girls?"
Bonnie and Elena send him matching scowls and Caroline just shakes her head.
….
"You did what?" Dean nearly bellows and Castiel looks at him, alarmed.
"Look," Caroline says, flipping the stove on and settling Liz's electric blue teakettle onto a burner. "It was inevitable, okay? And Bonnie had a point—we need help. It can't just be us five, plus Damon and Stefan. That wouldn't be a war, it'd be a slaughter." She leaves Liz out of the equation because her mother will not be participating, even if Caroline has to compel her herself.
Dean opens his mouth, presumably for more yelling, when Sam says tiredly, "She's probably right, Dean. We can't do this by ourselves."
"We're not by ourselves," he retorts, gesturing at Castiel. "We've got our own set of wings!"
"It is probably for the best," Castiel says nonchalantly and the betrayed look Dean shoots at him is almost comical.
Seeing his support dwindle, he switches tactics. "I can't believe you went there by yourself," he gripes at her.
"I wasn't by myself," she informs him. "Elena and Bonnie went too."
"Because that's so much better."
"Dean," she says exasperatedly as the kettle starts to hum lowly. "They've got a thousand years worth of experience and contacts. They can help us. No one's asking you to hold their hands and invite them to a sleepover. Besides," she pulls out a box of teabags and picks out four, "Elijah's way too honorable to let Klaus hold me hostage in their house."
Dean's jaw works. "I'm telling Liz about this," he threatens, and she knows he's out of arguments.
"Go ahead," she tells him as she pulls mugs out of the cabinet. The humming of the teakettle increases in pitch. "She's the one who invited Klaus in to begin with."
…..
"Few things can kill an angel," Castiel tells them gravely as they stand in the backyard, a variety of weapons scattered around their feet. Caroline is sitting cross-legged with a legal pad resting on one knee; she's taking it upon herself to scribble down anything Elijah and Klaus might be able to help get a hold of. Castiel shows them a long dagger and says, "This called an Angel Killing Sword." Caroline writes neatly on the first line: angel-killing sword.
Dean snorts. "Kind of literal, don't you think?"
Castiel looks at him bemusedly. "Of course it's literal." Caroline giggles a little and writes in parentheses: (actual name). Dean rolls his eyes and waves his hand for Castiel to continue.
"Most angels carry one," he says, handing it to Sam. "But humans may use them as well, if they can find them."
"Wouldn't an angel have to had lost a fight with someone in order for a human to get their hands on one of these?" Sam asks logically, passing the sword on to Dean.
"Yes," Castiel confirms. "That is why they are so rare among your kind." He picks up a jar with handles on either side and examines it before giving it to Sam.
"This is Holy Oil," he says (Caroline writes Holy oil on the second line of her piece of paper). "It is exceptionally rare, even more so than the Angel Killing Sword." Caroline grimaces and adds: hard to find. "It can only be obtained in Jerusalem." (Only in Jerusalem). "When poured in a circle and set ablaze, it will act as the binding agent in angelic imprisonment."
"Like a Devil's Trap," Dean offers as, frowning at the jar as he handles it. "Is this all there is of it?"
"No," Castiel answers easily. "It's just difficult to acquire. May I?" He holds his hand out to Caroline, eyes on her paper. She silently rips him off a sheet and hands him her pen.
He starts to draw something, saying, "This is a Banishing Sigil. It must be drawn with human blood, and when a hand is placed in the middle, angels are briefly banished from the area." He gives Caroline her pen back and shows the drawing to Sam and Dean.
As Sam and Dean inspect the sigil, Castiel squints up at the sky. "Angels also have the ability to locate people—yes," he adds when Caroline starts to speak, "Even vampires. This makes you all particularly vulnerable."
The three of them exchange uneasy glances. "Is there like a spell or something to fix that?" Caroline ventures hopefully.
"Not a spell, but there is a sigil," he says, eyes fixed upwards. Dean thrusts the paper back to him. "So draw it! We'll put it on the walls—"
"No," Castiel cuts him off. "In order to work, it must be carved into the person who wishes to be hidden."
Dean starts rolling up his sleeve as Sam and Caroline watch interestedly. When Dean offers him his forearm Castiel frowns and touches his shoulder.
Instantly, Dean's hands fly to his torso and he doubles over, yelping in pain. "Dude! What the hell?"
"The sigil is etched on your ribs," Castiel informs him calmly. "Not even I could locate you without assistance." Sam only briefly hesitates before waving Castiel over.
When Castiel turns to where Caroline is sitting, a questioning expression on his face, she says unhappily, "It'll just heal, so what's the point?"
He shakes his head. "This won't," he assures her and gently touches her shoulder.
White hot pain shoots through her ribcage so sharply that tears fill her eyes; then it's gone and she stares down at herself. Well, at least now running is a feasible option.
"Can you do this to Bonnie and Elena too?" she asks him hopefully.
He furrows his brow at her. "Of course," he says agreeably.
…..
Even though Bonnie had vehemently sworn that none of them would go to the Mikaelson mansion alone, Caroline finds herself sitting in her car, parked in the Originals' circular driveway.
"Woman up, Forbes," she orders herself, squaring her shoulders and grabbing her bag. She wrenches herself out of her car and marches up to the front door, ringing the bell before she can talk herself out of it.
The youngest brother, a total Diet Elijah (his name escapes her and he's seriously just a more compact, more unhinged version of Elijah, so whatever), answers the door.
"I remember you from the ball," he drawls, grinning at her before she can say anything. "You're the pretty little thing that had my brother in a fury for hours after you left. Few people can work Nik into such a glorious tizzy. I quite like you."
She blinks at him and he gestures grandly for her to come inside. "I'm Kol," he announces, thrusting his hand at her.
"Caroline," she says back, cautiously shaking it.
His grin widens and he says, "Pleasure, Car-o-line," sounding out her name like it's some exotic word he's never encountered. "What brings you to our humble abode?"
She rolls her eyes and says, "Is Elijah here?" She'd so much rather deal with Elijah's aloofness than with Klaus's mood swings.
His face turns impishly mischievous and he reminds her a little of Puck from when she read A Midsummer Night's Dream last year in English. "Already forsaken dear Nik, darling?"
Caroline grits her teeth and says, "Or Klaus?"
"I'm afraid, sweetheart, that neither one is here at the moment. But you're more than welcome to stay until they return."
"Do you know when that'll be, exactly?" she asks, checking the time on her phone and frowning. If she's gone too long, Sam and Dean will notice and Dean will definitely throw a fit when she gets back.
"Not the foggiest, darling," Kol says airily. "Fancy a snack?" He disappears before she can answer.
Her eyes narrow in suspicion until he returns, holding two glasses of blood and offering one to her. She takes it but doesn't drink.
"Oh, say it isn't so," he groans sadly. "You're one of those vampires?"
She bristles. "What does that even mean?"
"Tell me, lovely Caroline. Do you only eat small, defenseless forest animals?" His eyes are wide and beguiling.
She scowls at him. "No, but I'd rather eat defenseless forest animals than defenseless people."
He brightens immediately. "Magnificent. Rest assured, this," he gestures to the two glasses, "is courtesy of the recent Mystic Falls Hospital blood drive." When her eyebrows shoot up, he says sensibly, "Can't have bodies dropping everywhere, now can we? Might look a wee bit suspicious."
Despite herself, she's smiling a little until she hears Klaus say indignantly from behind her, "What are you doing, Kol?"
Kol tips his glass at Klaus and says brightly, "Having a drink with my new friend Caroline, dear brother. How were your oh-so-urgent errands?"
"Fine," Klaus spits out. "Leave, Kol."
Kol gives him a look of mock hurt before turning to Caroline and taking her free hand in his. "Lovely to meet you, darling. Do come by and visit me again." With that, he vanishes.
Before she can stop herself, Caroline snorts. At Klaus's questioning look, she shrugs and pulls her list out of her bag, handing it to him.
As he scans it, Caroline tilts her head up, staring at the impossibly high vaulted ceiling. She traces the thin edges of her glass absently, jumping a little when Klaus says, "Is there anything else you need, Caroline?"
She bites her lip and dives in before she can think better of it. "Yeah, actually. There's this thing that keeps angels from finding people." Her hand subconsciously goes to her ribcage; when she sees his eyes following it, she immediately drops her arm back to her side. "It's carved on your ribs."
His eyebrows go up as she continues, "I think you—and Elijah—should have it. It hurts but I think it'll be worth it because, you know…" she trails off and then, feeling a little dumb, finishes, "Hiding, and all that."
Klaus looks amused at her fumbling. "I appreciate your concern, sweetheart."
She hesitates before going on, "If you could…not tell anyone I was here—that'd be great," she says; and when his face darkens, she hastily explains, "It's just—my stepbrothers—you know how it is. It's not—well, it's not all you." She pauses and then says, "Dean thought your drawing was creepy and Sam put it on the fridge." God, she has so not rehearsed this part.
He laughs out loud at that and the corners of her mouth tick up at the sound. "And what did you think of it?" he wants to know, his arms crossing over his chest.
Caroline's finger goes back to circling the top of her glass. "I don't know what to think about it," she tells him honestly, voice thoughtful. "But I do know you make it really hard to like you when you threaten the people I care about." There is no bite to her voice.
She wavers slightly before saying, "And I have no idea why you like me—we're so different. You…you've destroyed lives and ruined families, and when I—I killed someone I hated myself."
"But that's exactly why I like you," he tells her quietly. "You're good, Caroline, and beautiful and strong and full of light."
Warmth hums along her veins and she wishes she weren't so flattered, because this is Klaus, who killed Jenna, who killed Tyler and Elena. She grabs hold of that thought.
"I have to go," she says reservedly and she holds the glass full of untouched blood out to him. As he takes it, his fingers brush hers and she pretends not to notice (even though she knows that he knows she did). As she leaves, she pushes down on that infuriating pull in the bottom of her stomach that always seems to occur when she talks to him.
Caroline definitely won't be telling anyone she stopped by.
…..
The next night as Dean is grousing about how Sam bought chick beer and Castiel wants to know how chickens could possibly relate to alcohol, Stefan Salvatore knocks on the Forbes-Winchester door.
Sam answers it, rolling his eyes as Dean yells from the living room, "I hope that's Chuck Norris, here to take away your Man Card!" When he sees Stefan with his hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders hunched, Sam's jaw sets.
From her spot curled up on the couch, Caroline hears Stefan say, "Uh—hey, Sam," and this has to be about Klaus's stupid hybrids, but Caroline has a massive bone to pick with him before they can even pretend to be friends again. "Is—is Caroline home, by any chance?"
There's no answer for a beat and Caroline thinks Sam must be remembering how hard she had taken it when Stefan had decided to revert back to being a mass murder, not to mention the things she had said he did to people. "You need to leave," she hears Sam say, and he's about to slam the door unceremoniously in Stefan's face when Caroline flashes beside him. "What do you want?" she demands, voice icy. She swears to God if he says those freaking hybrids, she'll bash his skull in.
Stefan shifts from side to side. "Just—can we talk for a second?" His eyes slide over to where Sam is leaning against the door frame, arms crossed and expression threatening. "Go ahead," Sam invites coolly, giving no indication that he's moving.
Caroline doesn't even bother trying to shoo him away. "What do you want to talk about, Stefan? You want to talk about how you nearly drove my best friend, your girlfriend, off the bridge where her parents died? Or do you wanna talk about the people whose limbs you ripped off? Or what about—"
Stefan is wincing painfully as he holds up his hands in surrender. "Believe me, Care, I know—"
"Oh, you know?" she echoes, voice going low and quiet, eyes flashing. "You know? No, Stefan, I don't think you know." She advances on him; he looks almost relieved, like he's been waiting for this. "Yeah, it was incredibly, unbelievably selfless of you to sacrifice yourself for Damon. Trust me, I get that and I admire you for it. But you've been back to you—the old you, for what, a month now? And you can't muster up the balls to even apologize to Elena? And believe me, Stefan, that's the absolute least of what you should do. Do you even have the slightest clue how hard Damon and I had to work to keep her from falling apart?" She takes in a ragged breath and when he opens his mouth to respond, she snaps, "I'm not done."
It takes Caroline a few moments to swallow the lump that's threatening to take over her throat and force her words out. "You didn't just hurt Elena, Stefan," she says flatly. "You promised to take care of me, to help me. So where've you been? Where were you when Tyler bit me and I was dying? Where were you after?"
She stops when she realizes that tears are streaming down her face; Sam pulls her back into the house and repeats to Stefan, "You need to leave." The door swings shut as she unsuccessfully tries to wipe away tear tracks with her sleeves. When the lock clicks, she finds herself straight up sobbing into Sam's shirt.
"Who the hell was that?" Dean demands from somewhere behind her.
"That," Sam sighs, arms tightening slightly around her, one hand stroking her hair comfortingly, "was Stefan Salvatore."
"Damn," Dean says slowly. "That whole family's just full of dicks, huh?"
…..
Caroline crawls into bed not long after that, exhausted and emotionally spent. She curls herself into the smallest ball she can manage and tucks her chin into her neck.
She's trying to force her mind to stop reliving the scene from the front porch when there is a light knock on the door.
"Caroline, honey?" Liz Forbes calls softly, cracking the door open slightly. "Are you still awake?"
Caroline lifts her head a little and when Liz sees the movement, she slips into the room, door shutting quietly behind her.
Her mother sits down on the side of the bed and brings her hand to Caroline's forehead. "Sam told me what happened tonight," she says gently, brushing loose strands of hair out of Caroline's eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Caroline shakes her head, but does look up at her. "Can I ask you something, Mom?" Liz nods, fingers still ghosting over her hair.
"Do you ever wish this wasn't our lives?"
Liz's fingers pause and she gives a small laugh. "Oh, honey. About twenty times a day—on a good day." She considers Caroline for a minute before saying, "Part of why I fell for John was because I thought he could protect us—could protect you, especially seeing how hard he tried with Dean and Sam." She sighs. "I didn't want this to be your life, sweetie."
Caroline sniffles a little. "Why didn't we just move?"
"Well," Liz says, her eyes taking on a far-away quality. "We're a Founding Family, Care. And, selfish though it may be, I always knew that I wanted to do everything I could to defend this town." She looks down at Caroline's floor. "It was incredibly naïve of me to think that I could shield you from all of it, especially after John died and we couldn't keep everything from you anymore." Guilt starts to seep into her face and she continues, "I should have seen that something was off with you last year, when you were with Damon Salvatore. I'm so sorry, honey."
Caroline blinks back more tears. "He was really good at covering his tracks," she tells Liz quietly, taking her mother's hand in both of her own.
"When you were in the hospital after the car accident, the doctors—" Liz looks away and takes in a shaky breath. "They weren't very optimistic. And then, not twenty-four hours after getting out of surgery, you were miraculously fine. I should have put it together, should've realized—" They're both crying a little now. "But I was just so relieved that you were going to be okay, it never even crossed my mind—"
"Mom," Caroline says fiercely. "It—this wasn't your fault, okay? It was a…" she searches for the right words because accident doesn't really work since she was basically murdered, "a series of unfortunate events," she finishes weakly.
Liz looks down at her and then sighs before kissing her forehead. "Get some sleep, Care," she advises, her voice tender, before leaving quietly.
Caroline lets her eyes drift shut and the words beautiful, strong, full of light drift across her mind before she gives in to sleep.
….
tbc.
A/N: Please, please, please review! It really does speed up the writing process.