Chapter 4
~ ⓛⓞⓥⓔ ~ POV Caroline ~ ⓛⓞⓥⓔ ~
Bonnie was in the living room, zipping up her backpack. She gasped when she realised that someone was standing behind her, but the tense lines on Bonnie's face relaxed when she turned to see Caroline. "Stop doing this," the witch said. "Hope's copying you, and she pulled this trick on Alaric and me a few times already." Then Bonne added in a low, concerned voice. "And boy does she love scaring people."
"I'm sure she's just playing with you," Caroline spoke. "Where are you going, Bon?"
"To Ric's, he wants an update," she headed to the front door, slinging the backpack over one shoulder. "I'll stay at his place tonight."
"You should use both straps," Caroline reacted automatically pointing at her backpack. "And Klaus is no danger to you, you're safe here!"
"I'm not one of your kids, Care," Bonnie smiled at the Momma Vamp. "And no, I'm not safe near Klaus. I can't really do magic anymore, so I'm no value to him. And needless to say, he doesn't like me very much."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Caroline exhaled. "It's your house too and Klaus won't hurt you!"
"Caroline, you just tend to see good in people, but I see Klaus for what he is. Someone who killed his mother, both fathers, thousands of people, and daggered his own siblings can't be redeemed!" Bonnie threw up her hands in frustration. "I'm sorry."
Caroline felt as if someone put her on stage in front of a crowd and ripped her clothes off. She felt ashamed and somehow violated even though Bonnie's argument was legitimate.
Bonnie left the house, and instead of going upstairs Caroline headed to the kitchen. She didn't need a washing machine that night. All the plates were hers to clean.
Caroline knew that Klaus was a bad guy, still, how was it fair that Bonnie judged him so harshly, but didn't have an issue with risking everyone's lives for someone like Damon?
Bonnie spent a few months in a prison world with him and ended up sending him back before herself, staying behind with a lunatic no less! Now how was that for "seeing good in people"? Damon, that bastard, raped Caroline when she was a seventeen-year-old girl and fed on her. Whenever he was hurt, he acted out and killed people. Even in his best days, Damon only cared about very few people closest to him.
Damon was every bit as bad as Klaus, but much younger and weaker than the Original hybrid, so his list of eternal sins was naturally shorter and number of victims significantly smaller.
Caroline clenched her teeth as she felt her rebellious emotions were getting out of hand. Damon killed Lexi and Tyler's uncle, right after Tyler lost his father. For God's sake, Damon killed his own "uncle" with his pregnant wife. He killed his father…
Caroline froze for a moment, when she realised her mistake. That kill was Stefan's. She didn't even want to think how many people Stefan murdered, especially during his ripper years. The Salvatores killed Vikki…
Caroline closed her eyes for a moment, remembering all those people they've lost. She killed so many, herself, and she's only been a vampire for a decade!
Who was a villain and who was a friend has always been a question of perspective. Klaus had done things for Caroline that no one else had. But he was a nightmare for Elena. The truth was, all vampires killed, tortured, and compelled when it fitted them. Klaus and Damon just didn't deny being what they were, while Stefan and Caroline have always tried to be good vampires when in fact there was no such thing. It was like being a good murderer!
Suddenly a hysterical laughter floated up from Caroline's throat, and she covered her mouth, afraid that someone would hear her. But her nerves got the better of her, and she threw her head back bursting into laughter. The tears welled within her eyes and, still giggling, she tried to dry them with her fingertips.
"You must really enjoy cleaning, love," she heard behind her and almost dropped a plate. Caroline turned around to see Klaus lounging casually against the doorframe.
"It's nothing," she waved, "something just clicked in my mind."
"As good a reason for laughter as any," Klaus nodded.
Caroline's laughter must have been infectious because the Original broke into a wide, open smile. "I'm glad you're smiling for whatever reason," he straighten up and pushed his hands into his jeans pockets. "I understand the Bennett Witch vacated a room for me?"
Caroline closed water and folded a towel, placing it on a table. "She doesn't trust you, and I don't blame her," Caroline said and they both walked out of the kitchen, turning lights off on their way. "We have a guest room, I think you'll be more comfortable there."
"You're the hostess, love, I obey," Klaus replied and then gave her a warm smile as if remembered something. "Thank you for making such a lovely room for Hope. She likes Pegasus, I see."
"Unicorns, Pegasus, all kind of horses," Caroline confirmed. "Even occasional zebras, but those have to be funny. Like Marty."
"Marty," Klaus glanced at her, baffled. He had no idea what books, cartoons, or food his kid liked, and from the look on his face he seemed lost and concerned.
"I'll make you a list, you'll catch up real quick, plus every few months they have new obsessions," Caroline put a hand on his forearm in reassuring gesture. She felt the muscles rippling under his black shirt while his profile stayed sharp and confident. Klaus never liked to look vulnerable, so Caroline decided to quickly change the subject.
"Ric helped me with Hope's room," Caroline told Klaus, "he's pro in making castles, sparkling ceilings, personalised furniture, etcetera. Twins don't go easy on him," she laughed thinking how hard Ric tried to keep them happy.
"Sounds like a pretty great dad," Klaus' smiled in approval. "Maybe I'll invite him for a drink."
"Well, his previous bourbon-buddy was Damon, so you should fit his mate-type."
Klaus grinned back briefly, but didn't say anything, and Caroline immediately felt the need to fill the silence.
"Your room," she opened the door and stepped back, inviting him in. "It's small, but cosy," Caroline rubbed her hands on her thighs. "I think," she added feeling a bit conscious. "A towel," she pointed on folded towel on the bed as if Klaus could have otherwise missed it. "The bathroom is down the hall, there is an extra blanket—"
"Everything is perfect, Caroline," he interrupted her mumbling by putting an arm on her back to calm her down. "Thank you for your hospitality. Tomorrow I'll get out of your hair, I promise."
"Tomorrow?" Caroline exclaimed clearly surprised.
"Yes, we have a family house in Chicago, we'll move there for now."
"Seems you have family houses everywhere," Caroline grumbled. "But it's probably all dusty and old and not fitted for a small girl."
"I'll get things sorted out tomorrow, love," Klaus smiled as her reaction seemed to amuse him. "But you're welcome to come and check that house is childproof."
Caroline was rubbing her hands in a nervous motion feeling anxious and felt the screams of frustration at the back of her throat. Just like that she became a visiting mommy to yet another kid. "You can't make her the same room in one day. And what's the rush?" she asked not looking at Klaus directly. "And I'm a teacher at the girls' school so it's very convenient for me to drive all three of them from here."
Klaus was momentarily speechless in his surprise. He clearly didn't expect her to react that way. "What do you teach?"
"Drama," Caroline blew out her cheeks remembering just how much drama she gets while teaching it. "Those who can't do, teach, right," she smiled. "With my lifestyle, I should've known better than to pursue that dream."
"You could've been an actress or something of that sort, hopefully not an A-list celebrity, but still," Klaus shrugged his shoulder. "Perhaps, you should choose a different lifestyle, the one that will fit your dreams and your children better."
Caroline felt like a wave crashed on top of her, and she barely kept herself standing instead of sinking to the floor. "It's not about missing on opportunity to be an actress, I have forever to do that. But I think Hope needs me now. You can't replace me with a nanny!" she exclaimed remembering that nasty woman who now pretty much ruled Ric's house and told Caroline not to come too late at night because girls wouldn't go to bed after. "Hope has a special diet, she would have to control all her supernatural powers not only at school, but even at home! And your enemies might come for—"
Klaus crossed the distance between them and put his hands on Caroline's shoulders. Looking down at her, the Original hybrid captured her eyes with his. "Caroline, we'll be a short drive away," he said in a quiet voice, almost a whisper. "I can't stay here because you're with Stefan, and you can't expect us to all live in the same house. And where I go, Hope goes. I've already missed five years of her childhood. You could've lived with us, but…"
"But I can't," Caroline's mouth spread into a twisted smile.
"Caroline, you know how much you mean to both of us, our home will always be open—"
"I know," Caroline interrupted him, threw his hands of her and turned to the door. "I've heard it all before."
"Caroline—"
"No, you're making perfect sense," she took a deep breath and adjusted her smile. "Sleep well and fast, Hope wakes up early. Paradoxically, she's not a morning person."
"That doesn't surprise me," Hope's father replied. "I hate mornings." Klaus looked at Caroline with mixed emotions on his face. "Thank you for everything," he simply said after a long silence, and at that, she left his room.
— * — * — * —
Caroline stared at the wall with her hands crossed on her chest. It was long past midnight, but she couldn't fall asleep, and the fact that Stefan still didn't come to bed, didn't help. Ever since Damon has been possessed by the Monster, Stefan was growing more and more quiet and distant, putting an invisible wall between him and everyone else. Caroline hated that she couldn't break through it.
What wouldn't she do to get that man to truly let her in… Caroline wasn't sure that Stefan would be able to go on if he lost Damon. Some things didn't change, Stefan needed his big brother when he just turned, and he needed him still. That kind of bond was rare, Caroline felt a tiny bit jealous she didn't have any siblings. But now she had her girls, who loved her utterly and unconditionally. It broke Caroline's heart that she couldn't be with them all the time, to tuck them in bed at night and to wake them up for a breakfast in the morning.
That night Caroline desperately needed to cry on someone's shoulder about being separated from yet another child. No one of her friends knew what it was like, so Caroline didn't bother to ask Stefan, Bonnie or Alaric to lend her a sympathetic ear.
"You're still awake," Stefan stated the fact, when he came in their bedroom, wrapping a thin leather stripe around his journal and putting it on his bedside table.
"Just thinking," Caroline said matter-of-factly.
"What about, Care?" Stefan's tone had a degree of warmth and concern.
Against her better judgement, Caroline decided to share what was on her mind. "Do you think Hope is okay? Klaus knows nothing about children her age. I feel like I should—"
"She's fine, Care," Stefan got in the bed and leaned on the headboard. "In fact she's safer with her dad than she would be with a specially trained supernatural army guarding her."
"I know she's safest with Klaus," Caroline admitted. "But safety isn't everything. New house, new room and no one to sing her a lullaby…"
"She's with her father, and, with him, she'll be fine even if he can't sing," Stefan smiled thinking of something. "You should've seen Damon putting me to bed when our mother died. God, did Giuseppe hate when I woke him up screaming in my dreams," suddenly his face changed, all emotions disappeared from it, and Stefan spoke again in a calm, even voice. "Hope got her dad back, she's the happiest person in the whole world right now. She is fine with Klaus, Care, just like the twins were fine with Alaric," Stefan put his hand on her shoulder and pressed her closer to him.
Her hands clenched stiffly at her side, and she pulled away. No, the twins were not fine, they were crying themselves to sleep, despite all Alaric's attempts to calm them down and to fill in the gap that was created when Caroline left home and moved in with Stefan. She found out about that later, from the nanny, and when Caroline confronted Alaric, he explained that after everything she'd done for him, he thought it was only fair to give her some space to try to work things out with someone she wanted.
"Eventually they adopted to not having me around all the time," Caroline's voice was quiet.
"You still visited them every day," Stefan tried to comfort her taking hold of her hand and pulling her to him.
"I'm from a broken home, Stefan," Caroline reminded him putting her arm around his torso. "Trust me, it's a huge difference. I've done to them what my dad did to me."
"And you blamed him for that? He stopped lying to himself and to his family, who could judge him?" Stefan asked. "Everyone deserves a chance to be happy."
"I was happy, Stefan," Caroline yanked away from him and straightened. "I didn't love Alaric like I loved you, but I was a vampire who got a chance to be a mother. And for the first time since my mom died I felt that I had family and home again. More than that, I had a career that I loved, and we were free to do whatever we wanted, because for the first time in ages we didn't need to worry about some evil that could destroy us."
Stefan was silent for a long time. So long that Caroline felt the urge to slap herself for possibly hurting his feelings.
"Please understand," she licked her lips nervously. "I just feel like I missed something important there. I could have stuck around till the girls were grown up and then we could still have forever with you."
Stefan rose in one fluid motion and for a while stood silent in the middle of the room. "It's done, Caroline," he said turning to face her. "Are you thinking about going back to live with Ric and the twins?"
Caroline hugged her knees to her, and shook her head woodenly. "No," she pushed the hair off her face. "There is no way back."
No one forced that choice on her. The twins and Ric became Caroline's family. Romance was the one thing missing in Caroline's life back then. When Stefan reappeared in her life and asked whom would she choose between him and Ric, the answer was easy. She never loved Ric that way. Soon Caroline left home to be with Stefan. But instead of feeling complete and happy, she realised that her life had become a mess, and she dragged her kids into that.
"Caroline," Stefan called her, his whisper so soothing and troubled, a flash of wild grief ripped through her. He didn't understand what was wrong with her, and even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to explain it to him.
It wasn't Stefan's fault that she felt so confused and lost. She couldn't go back to Ric, and she couldn't have Hope to herself forever. Caroline couldn't run away from danger when her friends were fighting the ancient evil. So what was that she wanted? She didn't know.
"You know, Lizzy looked so hurt when she thought that Hope was going to get to live with both me and her father," Caroline's shook her head regretfully. "And Lizzy never complains. I must have hurt her really bad, Stefan, and for what? To give myself one more chance with you. That was the most selfish thing I've done in my life."
"You deserve to be happy. It's okay to be selfish sometimes."
"To the point of hurting my kids?" she asked him thickly, remembering how hurt the twins were when she was packing her things to move out. How Hope was looking back till Klaus drove away, still hoping that Caroline can go with them to Daddy's scary castle. "We hurt people closest to us for our benefit, and, without any hesitation, we take advantage of those who have feelings for us. And still, we're miserable, happiness eludes us."
The animation left Stefan's face for a moment. "Take advantage? Klaus is helping us because we freed him, and we can also help to get his family back," Stefan said. "And Valerie is helping us because she's a friend."
"You can't be serious," Caroline's voice didn't hide her disbelief. "Valerie is helping you, not us," she came to an abrupt stop, her heart jumping in her chest. "And Klaus is actually free to do whatever he wants from the moment we got the blade out of him."
Caroline then realised that she basically implied that Klaus still had feelings for her. She was prepared to hear a snarky comment, but to her surprise Stefan didn't argue with anything Caroline said.
"I have to get Damon back," Stefan stiffened as though she had struck him. "If that makes me selfish, than that's what I am."
He turned away not waiting for a reply. Before Caroline realised Stefan was near the door. But before he left the room, Caroline jumped out of the bed and caught his hand.
"Stefan," his forest green eyes blazed down into hers. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's Damon, of course you'll do anything it takes to save him," she buried her hands in her blond hair. "I'll do everything in my power to help you, I love you."
Stefan flinched at the last words, and when Caroline was about to speak again, he stopped her with a raised hand. "It's okay, Care, I love you too," he kept his features composed, and Caroline once again couldn't read his face. "I want you to be happy, I want you to have everything you want, but…" the look on his face mingled desperation. "We've finally made some progress in getting Damon back. I don't know what's left of his humanity, and I can't focus on anything else right now. Please understa—"
Caroline covered his lips with her fingers and pressed her forehead against his chest. She felt disgust with herself for making Stefan plead for her understanding. Caroline should not have said anything to him.
"I'm sorry, Stefan," she pulled him close to her side. "I don't know what got into me. I love you, and I'm here for you."
"It's my fault," Stefan replied. "Sometimes I think the Salvatores are cursed to destroy lives of their loved ones."
"No," Caroline shook her head. "You're not destroying anything." She drew an invisible pattern on his shirt, thinking. "I don't mind danger, I even missed supernatural troubles a little bit in Dallas. I just… I feel like I'm constantly waiting for our happy ever after to start, but there is always something getting in the way."
Stefan stood over her, his hands wrapped around Caroline. "You and Tyler have been through a lot, but you seemed happy with him regardless."
"But it didn't work out anyway, because he chose his revenge fantasy over me," she quickly brought that love story to a conclusion.
Stefan leaned lightly into her and took hold of her hand. "We're together, Care," he spoke. "Things around us will always change, for better or for worse, but what we have between us is what it is."
His eyes searched her face, as if he was trying to reach into her thoughts. "But it's not enough," Stefan's voice drifted into a hushed whisper.
Caroline' stomach knotted as she was remembering how she got to that point in her life. Her biggest mistake was how much she idealised Stefan over their years of friendship. No one would have lived up to that perfect man. Not even Stefan himself.
Stefan was a real person, he could manipulate to get what he wanted. He could fail her, because of poor judgement. He couldn't bond with her children, because he was not a kid person. And he could be selfish like all other people. Caroline still loved that real version of Stefan, but she wasn't sure she was in love with him. And she didn't think he was in love with her either, even though she knew how deeply he cared about her.
~ ⓛⓞⓥⓔ ~ POV Klaus ~ ⓛⓞⓥⓔ ~
It took nearly two weeks, but they finally located the Mikaelsons. A few days were wasted on locating Hayley, but Hope's blood didn't help them to find her. From that increasingly upset Klaus had to conclude that Hayley was not running with the coffins anymore. He only hoped that she was alive and possibly cloaked by someone. Klaus would hate to break Hope's and Elijah's hearts.
Turned out that all four Originals were clocked on the Mikaelsons blood. The spell was the one from their grimore, which was in Hayley's possession before she passed it to Hope. Hence Klaus assumed Hayley was the one who hid the Mikaelsons, leaving the key to him and Hope only.
At one point Valerie pointed out that they only agreed to bring Freya back, but after the news about Hayley, Klaus was in no mood to be messed with. Stefan knew him well enough to encourage Valerie to find the rest of his family after she located Freya.
However, the downside of finding all the Originals was that the heretic was overworking herself. Klaus just hoped that if she was to be overwhelmed and die, it wouldn't happen before she cured his family.
"Are you happy?" Valerie's expression remained grim. "You got all four of them back."
Klaus smiled, forgiving her tone. His heart sang with delight, and a warm glow flowed through him when he opened the coffins and saw Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, and Freya again. Finally his family was in his possession like in the good old days, when Klaus carried them around in the coffins and was in complete control of his life because the safety of his loved ones was secured.
"I didn't got them back in the full sense yet," Klaus noted. Reviving them wasn't as easy as removing the daggers anymore. "But we'll work on that."
Valerie and Stefan exchanged looks, clearly not happy about "we", but oh well. They were in no position to argue.
"Thank you, Valerie," an easy smile played at the corners of Klaus' mouth. "Stefan lucky to have a friend like you."
A witch-friend was always handy, but a witch-sister was even better, and Klaus couldn't wait to get Freya back.
— * — * — * —
Elijah's coffin was the last one Klaus closed before he left the dark room and locked it with one of Kol's magical objects he got back from Camille a while ago. It felt like a hundred years passed since Camille was trying to trade a white oak in return for these objects. That was extremely dangerous in so many ways, but she hardly even realised that. Klaus should have spent more time with Camille in those first few weeks after she became a vampire, and her world turned upside down.
Niklaus was walking up the stairs when saw Hope standing at the top step. She stared into the darkness of the basement with her big eyes, clearly curious, but scared to walk down the stairs.
"It's a little spooky," she stated in a small voice looking past Klaus' shoulder. "How many rooms are down there?"
"Five, but we use them as storage," Klaus smiled at Hope and picked her up, heading to the living room.
"What can you store in five rooms?" Hope exclaimed.
Besides ourselves? Klaus thought to himself and then replied. "There can't be too many storage rooms for our fam—" he stopped at the large doorway between ballroom and dining room. "Caroline!"
If Klaus didn't know any better, he would think that the woman was possessed. She was constantly renovating his house, finding new and new sharp edges and loosely hung chandeliers. According to Caroline, furniture was so dusty, it was a wonder Hope hadn't developed asthma yet, and the stairs were so slippery, it might have been safer to ski down them. And when Caroline wasn't at their place, she would terrorise Alaric, who actually called Hope on one occasion, asking her to invite Caroline for dinner, which she was originally supposed to spend at Alaric's house.
"Now, love, what the curtains have to do with child safety?" Klaus wondered.
"Creepy people wouldn't be able to peek inside the house through the windows," Caroline said carefully pleating the curtains into a concertina form by pushing the fabric gently back in between the curtain hooks.
"Perfect, they were bugging me since the day I moved in."
Caroline shot him a stern look, but didn't even take her hands of the curtains, still fully focused on her job. The Originals hybrid was somewhat impressed by her energy and determination. "Curtains are important, Klaus," she explained patiently. "They make the house feel like home," she threw her hands up and waved around. "It's a beautiful Victorian house! But it's a bit too gothic and dark. Something that fitted your family of really old creatures, but now you have a kid and new energy in the family."
Hope nodded and jumped off of Klaus hands to get a better look at the curtains. "I like them, Mommy, they look so happy and bubbly like us!" she grinned at Caroline, praising her taste and choice. "You know what else would make the house feel more like home?" Hope's eyes shifted from one parent to another.
"No dog," Caroline replied smirking at the child. "But nice try, wolf pup. Anyway," she looked at Klaus. "I think we better throw a birthday party for Hope at our place, what do you think? It's closer to the school and we've had her classmates around before, so their parents would be more comfortable sending their kids to the house they've been to."
"And me and the twins can have a sleepover!" Hope clapped her hands. "Please, Daddy?"
Klaus found it impossible not to return her smile. "You can have anything you want, Hope," he commented as if the answer was obvious, and Hope's eyes filled with sparks.
"Now that's a great parenting," Caroline kept her features composed, but Klaus knew she was just teasing him.
Still he noticed that something was going on with Caroline. At the first glance, she looked as usual, but something wasn't right. Caroline's energy hinted at an obsession, her cheerful face looked like a mask, and despite a smile on her lips, Caroline's eyes were clouded with concern and uneasiness. Klaus realised that he was so preoccupied with finding his siblings that he didn't really had a proper conversation with Caroline since he and Hope left her place.
Leaving the ballroom at Caroline's mercy, Klaus headed to the library. He decided that before Hope's party was over, he would talk to Caroline and find out what was troubling her.
— * — * — * —
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