I apologize for the long wait, but so many stories keep piling up for me, and I'm trying my best to give them the attention they deserve, and also, I'm taking a summer class so...

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! IT MEANS ALOT TO ME!

Please remember to review at the end! :)

Pain ripped through his body as he sat up, and panted, clutching at his chest. He turned his head and sighed as he saw her sleeping soundly beside him.

"Klaus?"

He sighed, and covered his mouth with his hand. He felt a hand on his bare back, but he didn't move to look at her.

Caroline sighed, and rubbed her hand over his shoulder. "What's troubling you?" She asked, softly.

Klaus sighed, and closed his eyes. "It's nothing. Go back to sleep, Caroline." He replied, firmly.

She shook her head. "Don't lie to me, Niklaus." She replied, grasping his face with her right hand, and turning it towards her.

He sighed, and closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them to hold hers. "It was a dream." He replied, finally.

She nodded, and caressed his face, gently. "What happened?" She asked, knowing it wouldn't be good.

Klaus sighed, and scooted back in the bed, to lean against the headboard. "Fire. I saw fire engulf everything." He whispered, running his right hand over his face.

Caroline closed her eyes. She knew what that meant, even though she wasn't as old as the other gods, she still knew. "Klaus," She whispered, opening her eyes to gaze at him.

Klaus sighed, and turned his face to look at her. Her blonde hair was perfectly curled, and draped down her shoulders where her satin nightgown began, and dipped down to the top of her breasts. She was a vision in the night, but now was not the time. He searched her blue-green eyes, and reached to grasp her right hand resting on his leg. "He's getting stronger, Caroline." He whispered, shaking his head.

She sighed, and moved closer to him. "Is there anything we can do?" She asked, shaking her head.

He slowly shook his head, and searched her eyes. "This is Stefan's destiny, love." He answered, lowly.

"Do you think we should tell him?" She asked, lowering her eyes for a fraction.

He sighed, and closed his eyes. "He won't listen." He answered, stiffly.

Caroline leaned forward, and placed her right hand on his bare chest. "He'll listen to you." She replied, with confidence.

He smiled faintly, and caressed her face with his left hand. "You never did." He replied, lightly.

She smiled, and stroked his chest with her nails. "I'm different." She returned, shrugging her shoulders.

He lifted a brow, and smirked at her response. "Yes, you are, love, and that's why I love you." He whispered, leaning forward.

She giggled as she returned his kiss fervently, and slowly pulled back. "You will tell him." She replied, pushing him away slightly.

He sighed, and nodded. "Tomorrow." He responded, smiling at her, as he pushed her blonde hair behind her ear, and pulled her towards him.

Caroline smiled against his lips, and felt her body being pushed down into the mattress of their bed, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt her nightgown slowly leave her body as Klaus untied the straps of the gown, and pushed it down her body.

She smiled when he pulled back, and gazed down at her with a look of pure love on his face. He dipped his head and kissed her breasts with such tenderness, she felt tears burn her eyes. She knew after the dream, he needed this, and she would give it to him. She would love him, as she always did, and always will.

As she pushed his pant down, she smiled as he lifted his head, and caressed her between her legs with his fingers, and dipped inside.

She moaned, and arched her hips towards his fingers, and smiled.

"I love hearing you scream my name, love." He whispered, huskily.

She smirked, and grasped his length with her left hand, and began to stroke it, smiling devilishly when he moaned and arched into her hand. "And I love hearing you scream mine." She whispered, catching his eyes.

He smirked, and bent down to kiss her lips. "You little devil." He teased, parting her lips and gently sucking on them.

She giggled briefly before he pushed forward, and entered her with one swift movement. She moaned at the feel, and arched her back, as her legs moved up to wrap around his waist. "Love me." She moaned, as they began to rock against each other.

Klaus groaned, and focused on her face with each thrust he made. "Always, until the end of time." He panted, thrusted harder and faster inside her.

He felt her walls clench around him, and he couldn't hold out much longer as he thrust hard and deep.

She screamed his name, her nails bit into his shoulders as she held on while wave after wave of pleasure hit her. He returned the scream as the same waves hit him, until he almost blacked out from the pleasure she had given him.

He collapsed on top of her, and finally came down from the love they had shared, and lifted his head. "I'll tell Stefan that we'll stand with him if he needs us." He replied, after a moment.

She smiled brightly, and caressed his face with her right hand. "I know you will." She replied, pulling him down to kiss his lips. "You might also mention that love is not weakness, but strength." She whispered, as he rain kisses on her face.

He paused in mid-kiss, and lifted his head to look into her eyes. He remembered when he used to think like that, and he remembered when he stopped thinking that. With tenderness in his eyes, he nodded, and bent down to kiss his beloved wife.

The reason he believed that love was strength.

~XXX~

Stefan limped down the hall towards his bedroom, and slowly opened the door. He hated that he had kissed her, and gave into weakness, but she had been so tempting. So beautiful. So…

He sighed, and moved to sit down on the bed. He closed his eyes, and envisioned her. He envisioned the feel of her lips against his, and what that made him feel.

He shook his head, and leaned back onto the bed to look up at the ceiling with metal beams and rock holding the roof up. When he had built this place, he had her in mind, so he had made it as beautiful as he could in the caves of Mystic Falls, but who was he kidding.

He closed his eyes, and swallowed. She would never come down here, and she would never love this place. She deserved so much better than what he had to offer, no matter what his brother said or even the Oracle.

He couldn't hold back the pain he felt when she had read the prophesy. His prophesy. It killed him that it said he had to love.

Love. Ha! It was a laugh that someone would love him. Rebekah cared about him that he knew. Damon loved him, but that kind of love was expected from a brother. He let his mind drift to a peaceful sleep for a brief time until he heard crash in the forge.

He sat straight up, and stood up, and quickly limped towards the shop. He stopped when he saw her bending over to pick up a stack of armor, he had created for Elijah. He sighed, and shook his head.

"Rebekah, what are you doing here?" He asked, moving to help her.

Rebekah sighed, and straightened the chest plate of the armor, and glared at him. "I told you I wasn't going to let you go that easily, Stefan." She stated, straightening her back.

Stefan shook his head, and moved away from her. "You should leave." He replied, pointing to the door.

She shook her head, and followed him. "I'm not leaving until I get the answer I came for." She stated, strongly.

He paused at the doorway to the hall, and his shoulders sagged with defeat before he turned to face her. "What's the question?" He asked, shaking his head slightly.

She sighed, and approached him. "Did it mean nothing to you?" She asked, searching his eyes.

He knew what she was asking. He wanted to tell her no, it didn't mean anything, but he couldn't lie. Not to her. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't hurt her like that.

Rebekah waited silently, hoping he would give her the answer she wanted to hear. After Bonnie told her she had so much hope fill her soul. She wanted the Oracle to be right, but she wanted to hear it from his lips.

Stefan felt drawn to her, but he resisted, even though he knew he shouldn't. He wanted to bring her into his arms, and kiss her until they were breathless, and confess his love for her, but no words would come. She deserved an answer, and so did he.

Did the kiss mean something to him? Yes, God yes, it did. It meant the world, but he couldn't let it anchor in his soul. He couldn't risk what that would mean.

She had enough of the silence. She read his conflict, and she understood it. With Bonnie's words ringing in her ears, she knew the reason behind Stefan's distance: Silas.

Just thinking of his name made her shiver with disgust and fear, but she concealed it. She couldn't let him know that she knew. She wanted him to tell her. She wanted him to trust her.

"You know the way out." He whispered, finally, turning away from her, and headed down the hall.

She shook her head, and followed him. "No, you don't get to do this, Stefan!" She shouted as he entered his bedroom, and closed the door, keeping her from entering. She sagged outside, and knew she had lost him.

Turning around, she wiped away the tears falling down her face, and slowly made her way down the hall, but missed the turn to the forge, and opened a door to her left. As she entered, fire made its way around the room, and what she saw in the center stunned her, and gave her hope.

~XXX~

Stefan sagged against the door, and leaned his head against the door. What he had set out to do, he had done the opposite. He had hurt her. He had broken her heart. It was written on her face when he didn't answer her. She had cared for him, and had come to see if he would tell her, and he had thrown it back in her face.

He felt a disturbance in his sculpture room, and his eyes widened. No, she wouldn't. She couldn't be.

He opened the door and headed down the hallway, and stopped just outside the door to the sculpture room, and leaned against the doorframe on his right side.

"This was supposed to be locked." He stated, causing her to whirl around from the sculpture she was staring at.

Rebekah pointed to the head bust made of what appeared to be gold, and approached him. "That's me." She replied, softly, not in an accusatory tone, but in a loving one.

He pushed away from frame, and picked up a cloth from the floor, and draped it over the sculpture. "No one is allowed in here." He stated, turning to face her.

Rebekah glanced at the sculpture, and moved her eyes back to him. "Why did you sculpt me?" She asked, wanting him to answer.

He shook his head, and moved to walk around her, but she refused to let him leave without answering, this time.

"Why?" She pressured, causing him to look into her eyes. "Why, Stefan?" She asked, softly.

He closed his eyes. "Even an ugly god can dream." He whispered, moving away from her. "Now, please leave me alone." He added, in a defeated tone.

Rebekah opened her mouth in shock, but once again refused to let him leave. "No," She stated, reaching for his right arm, and turned him to face her. Grasping his face in her hands, she pulled his face towards her, and kissed him.

She wasn't going to let him get away this time.

~XXX~

The Bennetts sighed as they felt the house shake with slight force.

"He's getting stronger." They replied in unison with dread in their voices.

"We're running out of time." Sheila replied, glancing at the other two.

Ayanna sighed, and bowed her head. "They are close." She replied, lowly. "If they confess their feelings to each other before the fire reaches out of the mountain, then we may have a chance." She added, glancing towards the mountain, which was beginning to smoke.

Emily walked towards the window, and glanced up at the sky. "Where is he gaining his strength?" She asked, turning towards the others.

Ayanna moved to stand next to her, and narrowed her eyes. "From the center of the earth, like Mikael had gained his strength from the darkness, Silas gains his from the fire of the earth. If Stefan can gain the power he needs, he will be able to defeat Silas." She answered, with little emotion in her tone.

Sheila moved to stand next to them, and sighed. "How can he gain it if he rejects that which will give him the strength?" She asked, shaking her head.

Emily sighed. "I have a feeling with a little help from his friend, he will." She replied, smiling slightly.

Ayanna smiled, and nodded. "Niklaus."

The other two nodded in agreement. "Niklaus." They whispered, together.

~XXX~

Stefan felt his mouth open as her lips began to push his open and her tongue dived into his mouth. He wrapped his right arm around her waist, and held her close to him as their lips fought for dominance, and the passion began to build between them.

He moved his lips away from hers, but did not move from her skin. He trailed his lips down her cheek to her ear, and placed light kisses on the underside of her ear, and smiled when he felt her shiver.

"Stefan," She whispered, breathlessly. Her hands clung to him as she felt her knees give in to the jelly feel from his kisses.

"Oh, God, Rebekah," He whispered, kissing her neck, and making his way to the other side of her neck up to her cheek and finally back to her lips.

He never wanted this to end. He wanted to take her into his bedroom, and make passionate love to her, and never let her go.

He wanted to make her his, forever. He wanted to ruin her for any other man. He wanted to be the one she cried out to in the dark from the pleasure.

In a pleasure haze, Rebekah wove her fingers through his hair, and in that instant, she wanted to belong to him as she had never belong to any other. She wanted him, and only him, no one else. She wanted to be the one who showed him that he was handsome, strong, and perfect.

He was her love, and she was his, but neither voiced it as they slowly separated their lips, and gazed into each other eyes, each showing the other the feelings they felt at that moment.

"Don't push me away, Stefan." She whispered, stroking the scar on his left cheek. "Let me love you." She added, softly.

Stefan closed his eyes, and leaned into her hand. "It's dangerous, Rebekah." He whispered, pain reflecting on his face.

She sighed, and stroked his scar with her pointer finger, all the way down his neck to his chest, where his vest was opened to show the scar on his chest. "Love is always dangerous, Stefan." She whispered, lifting her eyes to his, as they opened. "That's what makes it special. What's love without risk?" She asked, searching his eyes.

He sighed, and lifted his right hand to push a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I won't risk you, Rebekah." He whispered, painfully.

She leaned into his hand, and turned her face to kiss his palm. "What happens when everything is said and done, and I'm lost anyway?" She asked, looking at him, pain reflected in her eyes. "We would have lost the chance to be together, to give it a try." She whispered, her heart twinging in her chest.

Stefan searched her eyes, and felt the truth of her words. He knew she was right. If he didn't take the chance, and love her, then he would regret it, especially if anything would happen to her in the long run.

Leaning forward, he gently placed his lips on hers before pulling back, and sent her a small smile. "Good night, Rebekah." He whispered, stroking her face, and backed away. "I'll see you tomorrow." He whispered, before he disappeared down the hall, leaving Rebekah smiling, brighter than she ever had before.

~Next Day~

Klaus lifted his daughter from her crib, and gently kissed her cheek before turning to see his wife standing next to him.

"She has your eyes." Caroline whispered, touching her daughter's cheek.

Klaus smiled, and kissed his wife's lips. "And your light." He whispered, watching her smile.

"Stefan's here." She replied, her eyes holding a mischievous light.

He nodded, and kissed his daughter's forehead, causing her to laugh, and hold her hand out for him to place his finger in her palm. Smiling down at her, he handed her gently to her mother, and kissed them both once more before he walked out of the nursery.

He entered the throne room, and smiled at his guest, and approached him with his right hand outstretched. "Stefan, wonderful to see you, my friend." He replied, clasping Stefan's right arm with his.

Stefan smiled, and nodded. "And you, Klaus." He returned, looking around them. "How are Caroline and Lucinda?" He asked, watching Klaus beam with pride and love. His heart wrenched in envy.

"They are wonderful and well, thank you." Klaus answered, motioned for Stefan to follow him. "I called you here because there is something I wished to discuss with you." He replied, clasping his hands behind his back.

Stefan nodded, and followed him out into the garden where light touched every plant and tree. Caroline's doing, he realized with a smile.

"Last night, I had a dream." Klaus began, stiffly. "I dreamed of fire." He added, turning to Stefan, who had stilled, but wasn't looking at him.

"Fire." Stefan replied, in a low tone.

Klaus nodded, and bowed his head. "Fire from a mountain that brought death and fear." He continued, and watched as Stefan clenched his jaw, and swallowed roughly. "You know what that means." He replied, lifting his brow.

Stefan nodded, and bowed his head. "Silas is coming." He replied, sighing.

Klaus nodded, and looked towards the palace, where he saw Caroline and his daughter in the window of Lucinda's room.

"You should know that Caroline and I will stand by you, and so will the rest of the family if you need us, Stefan." He replied, firmly.

Stefan sighed, but shook his head. "It's my fight, Klaus." He began, lifting his head to look at Klaus. "I won't risk anybody's lives for something that is my fight." He stated, shaking his head.

Klaus sighed, and stepped closer to his friend. "I thought the same thing when Mikael returned, but I was wrong." He replied, glancing up to the window where his wife and child were still standing. "I would not have been able to defeat him without her, Stefan." He added, strongly. "She gave me the strength to defeat him for good, and she fought with me." He finished, looking to find Stefan looking at the window.

Stefan sighed. "That's because she's your wife." He whispered, looking at him.

Klaus smiled, and bowed his head. "She wasn't always my wife, Stefan, and she could have chosen not to fight with me, even after we said our vows, but she didn't. She stood by me after Mikael had taken her from me." He stated, pain flashing in his eyes at the memory.

Stefan sighed, and closed his eyes. "You do realize that you are talking about your sister, Klaus." He replied, after a moment.

Klaus nodded. "Which is why I'm telling you that you will have help, Rebekah is stronger than you think, Stefan." He replied, nodding. "Love is what gives you strength, remember that." He stated, moving to walk away. "If you don't believe me, then remember Caroline. Without her, I would have failed, same as you will if you don't let love guide you." He finished, walking away from Stefan, leaving him there with so much running through his mind.

He closed his eyes at the pain, and opened them to lift them to the window, where Caroline was still standing.

He watched as she smiled down at him, and nodded in agreement. He stood for a moment longer until he saw Klaus approach his wife and child, and pulled them to his side, and he saw what Klaus had been telling him.

With one movement, he saw the small family of the Underworld grow stronger with love, and he felt his heart tug in his chest.

Klaus was right. It was time to let her in, and he was going to do that.

He was going to love Rebekah until his last breathe, but one thought kept coming at him, and began to fill him with doubts.

What about Silas? Was what Klaus said true? Will love truly give him the strength to fight against the man who killed his mother?

He sighed, as he walked towards the portal, and shook his head. He still didn't truly believe that it would, but he was willing to give it a try.

Even if he failed, he would have plenty of memories to last him of the love he had for the Goddess of Love until he took his last breath.

Please be kind!

I hope you enjoyed the Klaroline moments! I thought the scene with Klaus and Stefan was needed.

I may not update this story anymore this week, but you can't never tell. I'm trying to wrap up a few other stories, so please bear with me!

Until Next Time...