Wow, it's been months since I have updated this fic. But I'm back writing it, though there's going to be some delay since I've 3 ongoing stories. Fear not, i won't take so long to update it. Thanks for your patience.

Kisses.

Aftermath

Five

Hello? Klaus? Can you hear me?

What's wrong?

I'm sorry, I had no choice. I had to do it.

What do you mean you had to do it?

Marcel filed a missing report on Camille. Apparently, she called him crying and begging for help. She told him she was coming after her, and that he should help her before it was too late. He never got a name out of Camille before the call ended. You'd never believe who's on the top list of suspect.

Who? Who is it, Stefan?

Caroline. He's saying Caroline had something to do with the disappearance of Camille, because she broke her marriage up. And Klaus, it doesn't look pretty. Caroline could be in serious trouble. She has every right reason to hurt Camille, but I know her, and I know she wouldn't do something like that. But I don't think anyone would believe me or her.

I'm coming.

"Mrs. Mikaelson, is it? Or should I say Miss? I don't know which you go by now." Detective Griffith met Caroline's eyes that had darkened beyond compare. He was the detective that was in charge of the case, this ridiculous case she had no part in, and he had been the one to cuff her in front of her son, which by the way wasn't right at all. If she had had any strength in her, she would have punched him in the face, rules be damned. She could say that she felt at ease for not having the cuffs in her wrists anymore, but it didn't mean she liked this interrogation room. "Do you know why you're here?"

"No, but I can't wait to hear what you think I did, detective." She watched as he pushed a tape recorder towards her.

He smiled, as if he thought she was going to say that. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Do you know any woman by the name Camille O'connell?" He paused, as he waited for a reaction out of her, one that would instantly make her look guilty but she gave him none.

"Yes, I believe so."

Detective Griffith uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, watching her every move and actions carefully. That's what a good detective would do. "How do you know her, Mrs. Mikaelson? She a friend? A co worker?"

Caroline pressed her lips together before looked away for a second. "She's not my coworker and she's definitely not my friend either," she said.

"How about your husband's mistress, then?" His mouth widened into a grin and she almost gave him a reaction but she quickly masked her face. "Your husband, Klaus Mikaelson, was having an affair with Miss O'connell. Is that true, Mrs. Mikaelson?" he added. "Were you aware of it?"

"Yes, I'm aware that Klaus had an affair with Camille." It pained her to think about it and it also pained her to say it out loud. Saying it out loud would mean that it was really true, and it had happened. "I still don't know why i'm here, detective."

"You see, Mrs. Mikaelson, Miss O'connell has been missing for a while."

"And you think I have something to do with this?" Caroline quickly asked, outraged to think he was accusing her of such thing.

"You have every reason to want her gone. She had an affair with your husband, stole him from you, broke your family, so of course you'd be angry and then you would want revenge. Tell me where she is!" He raised his voice in anger, trying to intimidate her so that she would confess to her crime.

"Excuse me?!"

"Where are you hiding her?!" He shouted, slamming his fists on the table. The veins in his forehead popped. "Tell me what you have done to her. Have you hurt her, Mrs. Mikaelson? Tell me and I'd see that you don't spend the rest of your life in prison."

"I assure you that I have nothing to do with her disappearance. If I had wanted revenge, I would have included my husband as well."

"So you're admitting that you had something to do with her disappearance!"

Caroline scowled. "I didn't say that!"

"We could avoid a lot of things if you'd tell me where she is."

"I don't know!" Caroline seethed. "I was at home the night of her disappearance. I came home very upset because I found out what had happened between her and Klaus."

"How did you know she disappeared that night, Mrs. Mikaelson? Unless you had something to do with it. You came home upset about your husband's affair, and then you left your home to seek Miss O'connell out. You found her and you kidnapped her!"

Her eyes widened as her hands flailed by her sides in utter disbelief. "Stop twisting my words!"

Detective Griffith smirked, setting his hands in front of himself as he looked over at her. "Why don't you do us a favour and confess?" he smiled vindictively. "Maybe you didn't mean it. Maybe you were too angry and upset to realise what you had done. I get it, people do a lot of things when they are angry about something without realising it. Maybe that was what had happened to you, Mrs. Mikaelson. I promise you, nothing will happen to you. Just tell me the truth."

Caroline leaned forward without any hint of fear in her eyes, announcing that she wasn't going to be punished for something she had no clue about. "Not guilty. You're just wasting your time sitting her and interrogating me, when you should be out there looking for Camille."

With a tight lip expression, he nodded his head. But before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Detective Griffith gathered the tape recorder and got up from the chair, giving one last look at Caroline, he opened the door and walked out. And then it was at that moment she managed to let the tears fall. She gasped and clutched her blouse, the accusations and the wound that wasn't nearly healed was opened. She didn't think anything could get any worse, but it did. Caroline hated them all, she especially hated Klaus who was the source of her problems. She hated Camille, but she didn't think she could ever wish ill on her, or anyone for that matter.

Noah, he had to see. He had to see his own mother being taken away from him. She didn't know how this was going to affect his life. Caroline had tried so hard to make everything better, she didn't want to give her soon a bad childhood, memories that would haunt him as he grew up, but the more she tried, the more worse things got for them. Everyone thought she had something to do with Camille's disappearance, could see it in their eyes. How dare Marcel thought she could do something like that, as if he hadn't known her. But she couldn't blame him for acting out like this. His friend was missing, so she had to be the suspect. The wife was always the suspect when her husband's mistress goes missing.

Detective Griffith came back sooner than she had expected, and she knew then things were not going to get better. She stole one look at the cuffs in his hands, and she closed her eyes, trying so hard not to have a panic attack. That wouldn't look good for her. She managed to put on a brave face, even as he cuffed her hands and grabbed her shoulder, carefully lifting her up from the chair. Her eyes were blurry from the tears that wouldn't go away, she moved forward, stepped out of the interrogating room. She knew where he would take her, and she put a protective hand over her stomach, as if shielding her unborn baby from harm.

He came running in, almost tripping with his own feet, his eyes gazing around the station to spot her, but what he saw made his breath hitched and his head hurt. He saw the blonde woman standing behind bars, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him with so much disappointment, hurt, anger and broken heart. Klaus' gazed went to Stefan, who was approaching him.

"What the bloody hell is going on, Stefan?" He couldn't help but spat the words out, taking his eyes off his wife—ex wife, trying so hard to stay in control and not create any scene. "Why is she in there?!"

"Klaus, calm down."

He took in a deep breath. "Don't tell me to calm down. She's pregnant for god's sake. Where are the keys? I want her out, Stefan." He moved to go over to Stefan's office, but the man quickly stood in front of him, stopping him. "Stefan..."

"Mr. Mikaelson," A voice stopped the words he was about to utter, his gaze drifting past his brother-in-law to the man who had just spoken. "I was just about to call you in. Thanks for saving me the trouble. I'm Detective Griffith, and I'm in charge of Camille O'connell's case. I'm sure you must be devastated about her disappearance, and hearing that your wife is behind it..." He trailed off, taking a quick glance at the blonde woman behind bars before moving his gaze back to her husband.

Klaus shook his head, not even wanting that thought in his mind. "Caroline didn't- she wouldn't do something like that. She's a good woman, and you can't jump into conclusions."

Detective Griffith smiled, as if he had expected that as much. "Let me tell you something, Mr Mikaelson. The good ones are those you'd least expect them to do something bad. I have handled cases like this, and the wives are always the guilty ones," he said, crossing his arms. "Now you might say your wife is different, but I assure you, she's no more different than the rest."

If looks could kill, the detective would have fallen to the ground in seconds. Klaus wanted nothing more than to punch the sickening smile on his face. "You have no proof that she did it, Detective, so I'd advise you to release her to me right this minute, and when you do have the proof, you can feel free to do whatever you want. But for now..." He moved closer to the man, staring up at him with the deadliest glare he could muster, and continued, "let her go."

"The last time anyone saw Camille O'Connell was around 12am, and after that no one saw her again. I have an eye witness that puts your wife in the same area around the same time. She had every right reason to want her gone. She broke her marriage and tore her family apart. I'm going to get the confession out of her if I have to, and you will see what you wife is really capable of."

Stefan met Klaus' eyes, seeing the struggle his brother-in-law was going through, he couldn't blame him. If Rebekah was accused and sent to jail, his reaction would have been ten times worse. But he knew Klaus was only restraining himself, not wanting things to get bad.

"Caroline."

Stefan heard the panic in Klaus' voice, and he glanced toward his sister-in-law, seeing how pale she looked as she turned away from the bars and gripped them for support. Klaus was moving toward her before he could say it was a bad idea.

"Mr. Mikaelson, you can't do that."

"I can't do—can't you see what she's going through?!" Klaus shouted at Detective Griffith before looking at Caroline, who was trying to keep the nausea down. "Get out of my way, Detective."

"She will be fine. A lot of pregnant women have been in jail and they turn out fine. Please, and Mr Mikaelson, if you don't want me to throw you out of the station, you'd stay away from her."

"I'm going to let him see her, Griffith," Stefan finally spoke up, glaring at his co worker. "This is ridiculous. You're holding someone without evidence, and I'd be damned if something happens to her at the station. I'm going to let him see his wife." Klaus sent a grateful look to him. Stefan swiped the keys from his desk and rushed to unlock the cell that bound Caroline. He swung back the metal bars and Klaus rushed to her when he saw her covering her mouth. Stefan pointed to the nearest bathroom, and Klaus was right behind her, guiding her to it.

Caroline continued to throw up, and Klaus gathered her hair in his hands and moved it out of the way, the woman who he claimed wasn't his wife anymore. Maybe that was what he kept telling himself, but his actions for the last five minutes spoke otherwise. His stomach twisted at the state she was in, her knuckles had paled a ghastly white, and she was making sounds that made him close his eyes every now and then.

"Caroline," was his breathless response, his gaze never taking off her. She turned her head away, not having the courage to look him in the eye. No, she wouldn't look at him. He didn't have to be here. She didn't need him to help her. Before she could deny his help and throw his act of caring on his face, he was already beside her, rubbing soothing circles in her back and another tucking a strand that had fallen behind her ear.

"It's alright, you'll be fine. It will pass." She felt really horrible, and his presence wasn't helping her. She just wanted to lay down and close her eyes, she wanted everything to be over. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes from the pressure in her heart, feeling as though her heart being ripped out pieces by pieces, felt like a fire was roaring inside them.

"Thank you," she silently said, feeling a tightness in her throat. The weakness of her tone was torture for him to hear, but he wasn't used to her being weak or the lack of the strength. He accepted it by touching her waist as he moved from beside her to behind her. Caroline's head leaned against his shoulder. When she looked up, their eyes met in the mirror that was in front of them. She didn't think there was something she would say to him anymore. They both gazed at the reflection of each other, a reflection of what they used to be. And it continued to hurt, because there was so much hesitation between them, so much unresolved tension but they put aside their differences then, as she supported her body against his and he welcomed her with open arms.

But she wasn't about to bring him into her life once more again. This was just a one time thing. She was the one who walked away but he was the one who started the fire, and she had always caught herself before she fell without needing him. She didn't trust him enough to lean on him or support her, because the future was unclear. He could very well hurt her again. If she fall into his trap again, she wouldn't be strong enough to get back up. It was easier to learn to do things herself than to depend on someone who wouldn't be there.

It took a couple of minutes before she pulled herself away from him and shook her head at him. Klaus nodded silently, allowing her to gather herself. He knew when his support wasn't needed anymore. He gave her another glance before he left her alone, despite feeling the urge to bring her back into his protective arms again. The moment he was out of sight, Caroline felt to her knees and tears rolled down her eyes. How could she have let herself fall into his embrace again? She wished a moment like this didn't happen. But even though they didn't like each other, there was still a spark when they touched each other, time stopped when they were in each other's arms, there was an intense love when they stare at each other, and their hearts beats for one another. It was still there; that undying love.

With one final breath, she started walking slowly, her hand on the wall to support her as she turned on the knob and opened it. She was still weak, and the contents of her stomach she had just emptied wasn't helpful. Caroline was tired, hadn't gotten much sleep last night and the uneasiness she kept feeling every now on then. Her legs almost gave out when she poked her head outside, closing her eyes and leaned her body against the wall. Walking tired her out.

"What are you doing?" She heard his panicked voice, and she had almost wanted to snap at him for it. He didn't have the right to care about her well being. Not anymore. "You should have called me. I would have helped you, Caroline."

Yeah, that was exactly why she didn't. She didn't want to owe him anything, and she didn't want him to think she couldn't do anything without his help, or give him a chance to think that it was just okay to barge into her life once more. She never moved, only turned her head to give him a menacing look. She had stripped him of all the privileges, shattered any hope that she would get back with him, to support her, to hold her up, to be family again.

Klaus could no longer apologise. He no longer knew if she loved him despite what he did, loved him with all his mistakes. Her eyes were more honest to him than her words, and he knew what they meant. Even if everything turned out not to be his fault, she still wouldn't look at him the way she used to. She would no longer need him to console her. His hands shook when he offered it to her. He knew Caroline was bound to reject his help now that she was able to stand on her feet. "Please, I need to do this."

Caroline looked at his hand before lifting her head to stare at him with a questioning look. He needed to do this? What about her needs? Her wants? Did he think she didn't have them? She had only needed her husband for so long, needed to be assured that he still loved her and that she hadn't completely lost him, despite telling herself that she did. Ignoring him, she made effort to move her legs and walked to the opposite direction of him. Stefan rushed to help her, wrapping her arms around his shoulder as he shot Klaus a confused look. He sat her down on his chair, and when she turned her head around and clasped a hand over her mouth, he quickly realised what brought this on. Stefan grabbed the donuts on his desk and dumped it in the garbage. The smell was what was bothering her.

Klaus was right behind her, ever the dutiful husband, ready to hold her waist and make sure she was alright but she placed a hand between them, stopping him. He wasn't there when she needed him, when she needed him to be. She was tired of him acting like he cared about her well being, if he had, she wouldn't be here in the first place. Dizziness was trying to take over her, and she almost fall sideways but she stumbled into Klaus' arms. His hold on her was warm, so loving, so intimate that it almost made her push him away, if only she had been strong enough.

"Just take deep breaths," he whispered softly into her ear. "I've got you, Caroline. Just take a deep breath and relax. I'm here, it will be fine."

But no, it would not be fine. He was asking her to be comfortable being pressed against him, with his soft voice whispering in her ear. He was asking her to be comfortable with the feeling of being safe with him, her head on his shoulder and their fingers entwined with one another. How could she still care about the husband who cheated on her? How could she still care about the husband who didn't think twice before ruining his family? The husband that she supported, loved and the husband she no longer called her own. She had fallen in love with Klaus Mikaelson, sweet and loving Klaus, who at that time would give the world to her, whom she thought had loved her more than he loved anyone.

Her eyes finally looked up into his, to see the man that he had became. Klaus noticed how tired and worn out she looked but there was a glow on her face. She was still so beautiful and he wanted her. He missed her so much, and he wanted to tell her what was on his mind, what invaded his thoughts but he didn't want to frighten her more. He desired to be forgiven.

"Do you think she will have my eyes?" Klaus asked, his eyes lowering to her bump with a large grin. "Or your nose?" He tapped her nose with his finger. "I think she will have your beautiful smile." She eyed him, without saying anything. "And your gorgeous curls." He ran his fingers through her hair.

Someone cleared their throat and Caroline was thankful for it. Detective Griffith stood tall in front of them, his eyes annoyed at the display of affection and the attention Caroline Mikaelson was receiving, when in fact she should be behind bars like any other criminal.

"Excuse me, Mr Mikaelson, a word please?"

Klaus didn't want to let go of Caroline just yet, but he knew he had to. "Fine," he spit the word out. He straightened up and followed Detective Griffith to his office. "Yes, what is it, Detective?" Klaus asked, watching the man walked behind his desk to sit on his chair. He followed suit.

"Mr, Mikaelson, I hope you will not be a problem in my investigation," The detective started. "Your wife is a suspect in a kidnapping. You don't look like you care about the disappearance of Camille, which comes back to my original question: did you and your wife planned this?"

"What?!"

Griffith entwined his hands and leaned forward. "It's a yes or no question, Mr Mikaelson."

"No! I didn't kidnap Camille."

His lips twitched. "You said I, not we. Which means you think it's your wife." Klaus opened his mouth to protest but he cut him off with another question. "Tell me, are you protecting her? I know it's your duty to, but it's also my duty to find Camille. Have you forgotten that she's missing? We don't know if she's hurt, or if she's alive. I'm the only one who can help Mrs Mikaelson, and if you get her to talk, her punishment will be less."

"Caroline wouldn't kill or hurt Camille," his voice wavered with a fraction of doubt. "She wouldn't...no. Absolutely not."

"I understand how you're feeling. You've been with this woman for years and you think she's incapable of doing this, but ask yourself this: why would Camille O'Connell disappear? Why has she gone missing the moment your wife knew of your affair with her?"

"She wouldn't do it."

"She wouldn't? Then explain to me why we found Camille's phone in your house? In your wife's belongings? And here's the shocking part. Why were the clothes she had worn the other night found with it? There were traces of blood on them. Do you still think your wife has nothing to do with it?"

TBC