A/N: Another day, another chapter! Enjoy!
/
"Don't do this." Caroline said softly as Klaus slipped from the bed, her eyes opening to stare at his bare back. She watched the muscles flex as he moved, lifting himself from the bed to start his day.
Klaus sighed, "You know I have to, love."
"I know." She said as she gave him a sad smile, "I just hoped if I asked you to stay you would."
He spun round to face her then, his hands cupping her face gently as his eyes bore into Caroline's, "I want more than anything to stay with you, sweetheart. That's why I'm doing this; to make sure I can stay with you for the rest of our lives."
Caroline reached a hand up to cover one of Klaus', "What if Marcel doesn't let you go?" her voice was quiet and Klaus could sense the fear and uncertainty there. It made his stomach clench.
"You don't have to worry about Marcel. I've dealt with it." Klaus said, the dangerous edge creeping its way into his tone.
She frowned slightly, pulling out of his embrace, "What do you mean?"
"I mean Marcel isn't going to be a problem anymore."
Caroline understood instantly, "You killed him."
"I was protecting you and Liam, Caroline. I did what I had to do."
Caroline shuffled away from him, moving towards the opposite end of the bed as best she could while she was tangled up in the covers. "You killed Marcel." She repeated, her eyes wide.
"He was a bad person." Klaus pointed out, reaching for her.
She shuffled out of bed, keeping the distance between them as she stood up, "He was still a person."
"A person who was happy to threaten you and a little boy in his plan for revenge." Klaus said, his anger rising.
"Don't you dare say you killed him for me or for Liam. You killed Marcel for you, Klaus, you needed to win, to prove you are better than he is." Caroline spat out, one hand going to her hair.
Klaus stopped short, "Caroline I…"
"You can't keep doing this, Klaus. You can't kill someone and think it's okay." Caroline said, "It's not okay."
Klaus' stare harden then and Caroline could practically see him putting his walls up, turning into the cold man she use to know, "I don't have time for this."
"Don't do that. Stop shutting me out." Caroline demanded as she took a step towards him, "All I'm saying is what you're doing right now won't mean a damn thing if you get locked up again." She pointed out, "I don't think I could survive losing you for a second time."
"You're not going to lose me, Caroline, and I'm not going to lose you either. I'll be back tonight and we will have dinner together like a family." Klaus said, closing the distance between them.
He let Caroline made the last move, her hand searching for his, "But if Marcel is dead why do you have to go ahead with today?"
"Marcel's men have been given their orders, love. If I don't do this job then they have to go after you and Liam. Once I finish this job, deliver the weapons to Silas they have to let me go." Klaus explained, his eyes never leaving hers.
Caroline nodded once, a sign she understood before wrapping her arms around him, "Just come home." She said with emotion, her voice quivering.
Klaus returned her hug fiercely, "Always and forever."
"I love you." It was a simple statement but Klaus still felt himself grinning as he pressed his forehead against Caroline's.
"As I love you, sweetheart."
The job he had to do was looming over his head, never before had Klaus felt nervous about a job. He was the Hybrid, cool, calm and collected. He knew the game and had perfected it over the years but this time was different. The stakes were higher and the loss this time was greater.
Klaus didn't focus on that though, instead he squeezed Caroline tighter, content to just hold her in that moment and let everything else fall away. He never doubted that he belonged right there with her and their son, not since the moment he confessed his love for her and nothing had changed.
He would get back to them, whatever it took.
/
Caroline knew going to work would be a mistake, she wouldn't get anything done but she had to pretend it was a normal day for the sake of her sanity. She didn't want to think about what Klaus was doing or what was to come. All she wanted was to get through the day as quickly as possible then rush into his arms the moment Klaus walked through the front door.
The best way to achieve that was to keep busy.
She knew if she had done as Elijah suggested and stayed at home after dropping Liam off to school, Caroline would have busied herself with extreme cleaning the house from top to bottom. Anything to keep her mind off Klaus and her brain from thinking too much, hence why she decided to go to work. There were more distractions and that was exactly what she needed.
Caroline had managed to keep herself occupied until lunch, the time still moving torturously slowly whenever she dared a peep at the clock in her office. She was debating a new filing system for her old case files when Damon knocked on her door.
"I can't take this, Blonde, I actually think I need a drink. A strong one." Damon rambled as he barged into her office, not waiting for Caroline to invite him in.
He looked stressed and more anxious then she had ever seen Damon before, if it was any other day Caroline would have found it amusing, "I told you Damon, your assistant doesn't fancy you." She quipped teasingly.
"Cute." Damon said narrowing his eyes, "I'm talking about the reunion my brother and Klaus are having right now."
Caroline sighed, the problem she was trying to avoid now at the forefront of her mind again, "I'm trying not to think about it."
"It's all I can think about." Damon replied, "Stefan is my brother and I know we aren't exactly close right now but I still want to protect him, you know. He is the only family I have."
She smiled slightly at that, this side of Damon was rare and Caroline had to admire how much he really did care for his little brother, "Stefan and Klaus will be fine, Damon. They have to be."
"How do you stand it?"
It was a simple question yet Caroline couldn't find a simple answer.
"I don't know." She settled on finally, "When Klaus is doing what he does there is a part of me that is always terrified he won't come back. It's irrational and illogical but I only see the bad stuff, I guess that's what makes it better when he does get home."
Damon sighed, "Stefan and I are barely talking. I keep thinking about how much I will regret all these years being angry with each other if I don't get to see him again."
"You will see him again." Caroline insisted, "Klaus and Stefan know what they are doing, they have done it a hundred times before." It was funny how she had gone from the one who was silently freaking out to the one who was reassuring Damon everything would be okay, Caroline could see the irony in that.
"Then what? Stefan isn't going to stick around, he can't wait to get on the first train out of here. I always thought I would be the flight-risk brother. When we were growing up I was always the one in trouble and screwing things up." Damon confessed, his eyes drifting to the cream carpet beneath his feet.
Caroline smiled at the thought, "Talk to him. Don't put on a front or an act, just talk to him."
"What about Klaus?"
"Klaus?" Caroline questioned.
Damon nodded, "You're clearly back together so once this job is out of the way then what? Happily ever after and all that crap?"
"You're so cynical." Caroline laughed, "Honestly, I don't know. I haven't figured that part out yet. I guess we just try and fit back into each other's life while raising Liam."
Damon smirked, "Sounds like a good fairy-tale ending to me, Blondie."
/
"Klaus, are you sure about this?" Stefan asked as they stood on the edge of the docks. They were standing side by side, looking dangerous in their dark attire against the cloudy day. Both their eyes were trained on the small boat coming into shore which was carrying their shipment from Russia. Four cases of guns, ranging in size, power and value. A couple of millions pounds to the right buyer and Silas seemed like the right buyer.
Klaus glanced over at his partner, "We've been over the plan, Ripper. A simple collect and deliver operation." He pointed out, "Sorry it's not quite as grim as you are use too."
"I get the aim of the mission, Klaus. But it's Marcel's mission, he planned this deal from the start and we've never even meet Silas…"
Klaus turned to him sharply then as the boat's engine cut out, the driver lifting out the cases to a few of Marcel's men, "What did you say?"
Stefan frowned, "What?"
"Marcel's mission. Marcel's plan." Klaus repeated, his eyes moving as his mind worked rapidly, Stefan was left frowning in confusion next to him.
"Klaus, what's going on?" Stefan asked as another case load of weapons was piled onto the docks beside them.
"It's too easy." Klaus said before turning to Stefan, "Marcel made the deal, he is the only one to have contact with Silas. He blackmailed me to make sure I would be here right now to oversee the deal. He spend so much time in the office planning every detail so it would go off without a hitch."
Stefan frowned, "Any time you feel like saying something that actually makes sense." He prompted.
"He has worked with him before, it's only to be expected he would approach Marcel again. It's simple and convient and Marcel is easy to manipulate given the right leverage." Klaus continued.
"Klaus!"
Klaus' eyes snapped up to meet Stefan's then, "This deal is clean and nice because that's how Marcel wanted it. That's how Mikael wanted it."
"Mikael? Klaus what the hell is happening?"
"This isn't about the deal. It's about me. The minute I get out of prison Marcel gets in contact and I refuse to help him. Then he kicks things up a notch, like he is desperate for my help when really his pride should have stopped him from coming to me in the first place." Klaus said rapidly, "Police should be all over this place, monitoring it. It's a crime hotspot not to mention the fire. The place should be crawling with cops but it isn't."
Stefan nodded but he was still frowning, "Because…" he trailed off.
"Because Mikael knew about the deal, he knows I still need to finish it." Klaus explained, "It's a setup. A trap for me."
"Mikael wants you back inside." Stefan said, catching on to Klaus' train of thought, "The best way to get a conviction is to get you re-offending."
Klaus nodded, "And I fell for it. I let him manipulate me like a pawn in his game of chess."
Stefan looked round, his eyes darting to the shipment that had been stacked up on the shore to the boat that was driving off, "We need to get out of here."
"It's too late." Klaus said grimly as three police cars swerved round the corner, blocking the exits. Klaus wasn't surprised when his own father got out of one, a proud smirk on his face.
Two officers, clearly detectives by the plain clothes, approached them with handcuffs and Klaus had no choice but to let the blonde man cuff him while a brunette with a darker skin tone did the same to Stefan.
It was Mikael who spoke first, wanting the opportunity to gloat, "Niklaus." He smirked, "It's been a long time."
Klaus scowled, "Clearly not long enough."
"You're a hard man to track down but I always knew I would catch you." Mikael replied, "What a disappointment you have been. Can't even make it as a decent criminal? What good are you?"
Klaus said nothing as one of the detectives read out his and Stefan's right about leading him and Stefan towards one of the cars. It was only as he past Mikael that he replied, "I'll make you pay for this. Trust me, I'll enjoy every moment."
/
So what do you think? Thoughts/feelings?
Please review! They mean the world to me!
Thank you!