This child of mine
Chapter 2: Start at the beginning
Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners
The light filtered through her closed eyelids but she didn't want to wake up. Caroline was still undecided about the events of the previous night and staying in bed meant that she could cling to the possibility that it was all just a very weird dream.
Caroline opened just one eye to peek beside her. It wasn't a dream. There was a little boy sitting on her bed, staring at her with what appeared to be an innocent look. Too innocent that she suspected the boy did something. Or maybe he was just his father's son and that look came with the genes.
"You can have five more minutes if you want." Sam said with a giggle, his hand covering his mouth to suppress the sound.
Caroline propped herself up on her elbows and looked at Sam. "I think I'll sleep five minutes earlier tonight, how about that?"
Sam giggled again. "That's not how it works."
Caroline smiled, amused at how smart the boy seemed. "Then tell me how it works. Does your Dad usually give you an extra five minutes?"
At the mention of his father, the boy's face fell and he turned away. "I miss my Daddy."
Caroline sat up and placed an arm around the boy. "I'm sure he misses you too. How about we get you some breakfast then we'll call him every ten minutes until your wonderful father picks up the phone? Would you like that?"
Sam nodded, his face bright with hope as he stood up on the bed and placed his arms around Caroline's neck in a hug. She squeezed back then leaned back so she could talk to him.
"What do you, uh, normally eat?" Caroline asked carefully, wondering what diet would be fit for the child of an Original Hybrid.
Sam's face split into a wide smile as he answered. "Chocolates!"
Caroline rolled her eyes and picked him up then set him down on the floor. "I may not have been around your dad for quite some time but I'm pretty sure he won't be okay with that. And between you and me, he's kinda scary when he's mad so let's not get in trouble with this chocolate business, okay Sam?"
"A lot of people are afraid of him." Sam nodded thoughtfully as he considered what Caroline said, "Okay, no chocolates then."
Caroline frowned as they sat down at the kitchen table. "What makes you say that? Does he hurt people to make them afraid?"
"No." Sam answered earnestly. "But his face turns really scary like those masks on Halloween and the other kids…they don't play with me."
Caroline's heart broke a little as she watched Sam draw circles on the table with his finger. She placed a hand over his and tugged a little to draw his attention to her. "Well, I'm not a kid but I'll play with you. But first, do you like pancakes?"
"Chocolate chip?" Sam said looking up hopefully.
Caroline laughed at his persistence, "Fine. But we're going to have fun with fruits and vegetables the rest of your stay."
She stood up to look for ingredients and felt the little boy watching her. "Would you like to help?"
Sam nodded and leapt up from his seat to follow her around the kitchen, helping her bring odds and ends to the counter in silence. Caroline picked him up to sit on the counter as she worked.
"Want to try mixing?" Caroline said, handing him the wooden spoon when he nodded vigorously.
Caroline watched him mix the batter in concentration, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth. "Okay, I think that's good. I'll put these in the pan and you can watch."
Sam waited until she flipped the first pancake before he spoke again.
"I don't have a mommy." Sam said suddenly, without any sadness or bitterness, merely stating a fact. "Is this what they do? Is this what it feels like to have one?"
Caroline frowned, unsure how to answer the question. "Well, I'm not a mother but I have one and we used to do things like this when I was young. Sammy how old are you anyway?"
Sam showed her three fingers proudly. Caroline focused on her cooking to keep from reacting as the pieces fell into place in her mind.
New Orleans. Klaus left for New Orleans probably around the time Sam was going to be born.
Unable to resist, she turned to her charge. "Do you miss your mommy?"
Sam shrugged and stared at them pan, "I never met her."
Caroline fought back tears as she continued her cooking in silence. "Hungry?" she said forcing a smile as she arranged a stack of pancakes for both of them. She helped him down the counter and sat him down on the table, helping him cut his food into little squares he could work with.
"How about you eat while I get started on those calls to your father?" Caroline said but Sam's attention was already on his food.
She stood up and leaned against the counter as she watched Sam while listening to the phone ring.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up." Caroline said in a singsong voice, a smile plastered on her face as her eyes met Sam's.
Klaus picked up on the fifth ring.
"Caroline."
"Klaus," Caroline said with mock sweetness in her tone, "I got your message."
"Hi, Sam. Are you being good?" Klaus said.
"What—" Caroline started but Sam was the one who replied.
"Yes. We made pancakes for breakfast." Sam said smiling.
"He can…" Caroline said dumbfounded.
"Yes," Klaus said. "He can hear just as well as we do."
"You could have included that in the note." Caroline hissed, but kept her face composed for Sam's benefit. "Anything else you care to mention?"
"He's strong." Klaus said. "And when I say strong, I mean he can bend a crowbar like a straw."
Caroline sighed, "I'm not going to be able to ask the things I really want to, am I?"
"Or yell profanities at me." Klaus said with a smirk.
"What's prof…profa…" Sam asked looking up quickly.
"Nothing. Your Dad's being a smarta—smarty pants I mean." Caroline said recovering quickly, annoyed to hear Klaus laughing softly on the other end. She couldn't help it but she began to laugh as well. Caroline shook her head and sighed, wondering how it was still so easy to be caught up in the moment with him even after all this time, and all that has happened she wasn't even aware of.
"When are you coming back?" Sam asked, voicing out what Caroline wanted to say.
"Soon. Remember Uncle Elijah and Aunt Rebekah's friend Matt? They went on vacation and they don't know how to get home so Daddy just needs to go them. Remember them, Caroline?" Klaus said meaningfully.
"I didn't know they were away." Caroline said matching his tone. "Exactly how lost are they?"
"Remember when Alaric had you and Elena in his classroom? Pencils, vervain and ropes?" Klaus said casually so as not to alarm Sam. "It's like that. I'll get them just like with you. Nothing I can't handle, love."
"If I recall correctly," Caroline started, "after you saved me, it didn't turn out so well for you. Weren't you trapped in a coffin or someone else's body for some time?"
"Tyler Lockwood." Klaus said. "How is the last of my hybrids nowadays? You would have thought news of his freedom would send him running back to Mystic Falls, straight into your arms and yet…no sign of even his shadow. Just say the word, love, and I'll—"
"Sammy." Caroline said pointedly, reminding Klaus of their audience. "Is there anything you'd like to tell your Dad?"
"Can we live here? When you get back? Can this be home?" Sam said. Caroline walked over and handed the phone to Sam, wiping the boy's chin with a napkin.
"Sam, our home is in New Orleans. Why would you want to stay there?" Klaus asked.
"I have a friend here." Sam said simply.
"Well, we should just ask your friend to come live with us in New Orleans." Klaus said with a teasing tone.
Caroline smiled and took back the phone from Sam, "Yeah, that's still not going to work, Klaus. Really?"
"Hey, he asked." Klaus said, the laughter evident in his voice, "It was worth a shot, love. You know that's always been my plan. And like I told you before, I'll wait…however long it takes. Might not be today, but one day you'll say yes."
"As cute as your son is, he's not going to charm me out of all the questions I have for you, Klaus." Caroline said with a deep sigh. "But for now, just come back. That's all I'm asking for."
"As you wish." Klaus said softly. "Bye, Sam. Be good. I'll call soon."
"Bye Dad!" Sam said.
"What?" Caroline said teasing. "No goodbyes for me?"
"Bye, love." Klaus said, his voice becoming serious. "Be safe. Both of you."
The line went silent and Caroline looked at Sam, who stared up at her with a smile. He pushed his plate towards her and she saw that he ate only exactly half the pancakes.
"I saved some for you." Sam said.
"That's really sweet of you." Caroline said giving the boy a one-armed hug as she dug into her food, making a show of it even if what she really wanted was blood. "I think we need to work off all this food. How about we go get you some clothes then we'll go to the park after?"
Sam's eyes lit up and he reached over and gave Caroline a quick hug. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Sammy." Caroline said, wondering how this boy could be the son of someone she once thought was beyond saving.
"Time for bed, Sammy!" Caroline called out, growling internally as she made a note to berate Klaus for not telling her that his son could also move very, very, very fast. She spent the day chasing Sam around the park and now throughout the house, getting him only to brush his teeth and put on pajamas before he decided he wanted to play hide and seek. But his version involved zipping from one hiding place to the next every time she got close. Caroline sighed accepting the fact that the child had better sense than she did.
"I give up." Caroline said loudly as she went to her room and sat on the bed, with her legs stretched out in front of her. She yawned loudly, "I'm going to sleep. I'm tired. Sorry but no bedtime story for little boys tonight."
In a second, Sam was standing by the doorway, feet crossed sheepishly. Caroline smiled and patted the space beside her. Sam crawled in, lifting her arm so that it went around his shoulders.
"I guess we have time for one quick story." Caroline said as she leaned her cheek against the top of his head. "Any requests?"
"Do you know about the prince and the princess? Daddy always told me about them." Sam said settling in under the covers.
"Can you tell me where you left off?" Caroline said slowly thinking if she could get away with making up the next part of the story Klaus started.
"It was where the prince came back to save the day!" Sammy said excitedly. "He went away to meet an old friend but the princess sent a note and told him about this party. So he went but there was something bad that happened and he saved the day. But he had to go away again…back to his own kingdom…but he promised the princess that it would be okay, that in the end they'll be together."
Caroline raised her eyebrows, catching herself before she asked if the princess had blonde hair, blue eyes and was named after her.
"Let's see," Caroline said absently running her fingers gently through the Sam's hair, "The prince and the princess didn't see each other for a long time. They went about their lives. The prince was busy rebuilding his kingdom because somewhere along the way there was an evil king that tried to destroy things. But the prince came back just in time.
"What about the princess?" Sam asked.
"Well, she stayed in her own kingdom. She was supposed to go away but she decided to stay home. See, she was waiting for an old friend to come back but…well, she didn't know why but she wanted to stay and see if maybe someday he'd come." Caroline said. "Then one day the prince had a very important mission and there was a special person that he needed to make sure was cared for while he was away. So he brought the person to the princess."
"Just like me," Sam said half-asleep already.
"Yes, sweetie," Caroline said quietly. "Just like you. So the princess took in the prince's special friend and they both waited for his return."
Caroline watched as Sam's breathing became steady. She watched him for an hour, wishing she could be as peaceful and innocent as the boy. She wished that when morning came, Klaus would be there with all the answers she craved.
But as she watched the rhythm of little boy's chest rising and falling, she found she cared less and less about the past and more about how her life would be if Sam had to go home to New Orleans.
Caroline's phone vibrated angrily on the nightstand, demanding her attention, tearing her away from whatever dream she was having.
She checked the clock and groaned internally. 2AM. Annoyed she picked it up, checking quickly if it woke up the boy beside her. Noting that Sam was still sound asleep, she checked the screen and answered the call.
"Klaus. For heaven's sake, why are you calling at this hour?"
There was silence on the other end. Cold shot through her spine as the quiet was broken on both ends of the line—a door broken down on Klaus' side and a window shattering downstairs in her home.
"Klaus?" Caroline said in a frantic whisper as she got up and walked towards the door, another window blown to pieces. She had one hand on the knob when she changed her mind and walked back to the bed to wake Sam. Caroline heard a loud crash on the phone and finally the voice she didn't know she was holding her breath for.
"Caroline." Klaus said in an urgent voice, fear and anger colliding in that one word, prompting Caroline to pick up the child. She knew what was coming and what she needed to do. She looked out the window and calculated the distance in her mind as she held Sam tight against her.
She jumped as Klaus spoke words that chilled her to the bone.
"Caroline. Run. Now"