This child of mine
Chapter 3: In the stillness of the night
Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners
"Elena! Damon! Open this door!" Caroline said frantically as she pounded on the heavy wood. "You have until the count of five before I kick this down. One, two, three—"
"You better have a damn good excuse for all this noise, Barbie." Damon said exasperated as he opened the door.
Caroline ignored him and barged inside, Sam cradled in one arm. "Elena? Elena, get down here right now. Hello? Crisis mode. Where are you?"
"What's happening?" Elena said stumbling down the stairs with mismatched clothes on.
"Oh." Caroline said finally noticing that Damon wasn't wearing a shirt. "Seriously? How long has it been and you two are still acting like crazed honeymooners?"
"Focus." Damon said walking over to stand next to Elena, putting on the shirt he was offered. "You need something. What is it? And while I'm on a roll with stating the obvious, you are holding a child that I'm pretty sure isn't yours because no one in their right mind would let a vampire adopt an actual human child."
"He's not mine." Caroline said through gritted teeth. "But for right now he's my responsibility and I need to keep him safe, starting with getting him to bed."
"Of course," Elena said stepping closer to them but stopped when she saw the boy clutch Caroline more tightly with every slight movement.
Sam buried himself deeper against Caroline's neck as he whimpered. But Caroline gently coaxed him to look at her friends.
Caroline spoke to Sam in a soothing voice, shooting Damon a stern look as she did. "This is Elena, she's one of my best friends and this is her…this is Damon. We're going to stay here for a while because it's nice, warm and safe here. You want to say hi to them?"
"Hi." Sam said with a little wave to Elena and Damon.
Elena took a tentative step towards Caroline, silently asking if it would scare the kid. "Hi, what's your name?"
"Sam." Sam said fidgeting with his fingers as he replied. "I don't want to go to bed. I want to stay awake. I want my daddy."
"Well, Sam, "Elena said smiling at the boy. "What do you say we wait for your dad by that couch over there and read a story by the fire? And if you get sleepy, I promise to wake you the second your dad arrives. Do you like that?"
Sam nodded and let Caroline set him down on the floor to walk with Elena so they could pick out a book of old fairy tales from the Salvatore collection.
Caroline watched as Elena covered Sam's shoulders with a blanket and then sat next to him at a careful distance, letting him move closer on his own as the story progressed. Caroline waited until Sam finally fell asleep before placing a pillow underneath his head and letting him use the couch as a bed.
"Start talking, Caroline." Damon said loudly, toning it down after Caroline shushed him and slapped him on the shoulder. "You better have a good explanation for this before I revoke your permission to use our house as a sanctuary. Start with the boy."
"He's Klaus' son." Caroline said without preamble, slumping down on a chair, finally exhausted with all that's happened.
"I'm sorry," Damon said raising his eyebrows, "Did you say you brought an evil spawn into my humble abode? Have you lost your mind? How does he even have a kid? Is it even a kid and not some reptile covered in human skin?"
"Damon, calm down." Elena said stepping between him and Caroline, "Listen. Sam has a heartbeat."
"I wouldn't put it past Klaus to get a witch to fake that." Damon said waving it off. "Let's say I believe that boy is real, it doesn't discount the possibility that his head could start spinning all the way around as he projectile vomits. Nothing, and I mean nothing, good can come from Klaus."
"Damon!" Elena admonished, forcing him to look at Sam as he slept. "Look at him. He is harmless. He is a child. He is innocent, no matter who his father is."
"See this is why you two are friends," Damon said wagging his finger at Elena and Caroline, "How long have you known this kid? Five seconds? And already you're both on maternal instinct overload, smitten with him and decided that no woman will ever be good enough for him. I don't know what lies Klaus fed you or what charms this kid has up his sleeve but I am not on board with this. He has to go."
"What?" Elena countered. "You will put him out on the street and leave him to fend for himself? That's beyond heartless, even for you."
"Elena," Damon said, "When people come knocking at your door at an ungodly hour looking like they're busy running from whatever monsters are lurking out there, letting them in means you invite trouble with them. We are done with chasing full moons and counting on spells to sort out our lives. We are not running an orphanage or a shelter."
Elena leveled him with a look. "We don't turn our backs on friends, especially those who forgave us for trying to kill them and everything else in between. We are in this, Damon. Make all the snarky comments you want but we will help them."
"Still trying to save everyone." Damon said to Caroline with a sigh. "At your service, madam. What can we help you with, o babysitter of demon spawn."
"It's not his fault that Klaus is his father." Caroline replied testily. "Sam didn't ask for it and he's been nothing but sweet."
"That's how they reel you in so you never expect the fatal blow. Don't you watch movies?" Damon said as he poured himself some scotch, throwing up one hand when Elena glared at him.
"Where exactly is his father anyway?" Damon asked as he watched the kid.
"I don't know." Caroline started, holding up a hand when Damon looked like he was going to interrupt. "Elijah and Matt seem to be in some sort of trouble and he's trying to get them back. That's why he left Sam with me. Apparently, he's still incapable of making any friends so I became the only option he can trust Sammy with."
"Hook, line and sinker." Damon said shaking his head. "You actually bought that?"
Caroline grunted in frustration, "None of that matters. Matt is in danger. I trust Klaus can save him but it brings us back to the fact that Sam is here. He's fairly helpless save for supposed superhuman strength and hearing. He still wouldn't be able to save himself because, and I really cannot emphasize this enough, he is a kid. And he is scared." She ran her hand through her hair and shook her head, "Look, Klaus wouldn't never ask for help of this magnitude unless he were really desperate."
Caroline's phone suddenly rang and she answered it, quickly checking if it woke Sam. She sighed with relief when his breathing remained steady. Caroline opened her mouth to speak but the voice on the other end beat her to it.
"Caroline." Klaus said with a hard edge to his voice. "Let me talk to Sam."
Caroline stepped back from the living room but made sure she kept the sleeping child in view.
"No," Caroline whispered fiercely. "He's asleep and he's going to stay that way until the sun rises."
"I need…"Klaus said with forced calm, his anger bubbling up slowly. "I need to speak to my son. I need to tell him…"
"Klaus." Caroline said firmly. "What you need to do is tell me what the hell I'm up against so I can protect Sam. Are you listening? I can't fight every damned shadow that crosses my path and still keep your son calm and happy. I don't care what you want or need right now, Klaus. Suck it up and help me keep Sam safe."
"You have no right to—" Klaus started.
"I said I don't care about anything you have to say unless it's to explain what I have to deal with until you walk back into Mystic Falls." Caroline interrupted him. "I brought him into the home of my best friend so you better tell us exactly what we're risking our lives for."
"I am doing everything in my power to get to you in the next twenty-four hours. If I have to swim across the Atlantic, I will do it. And I swear to you, I will tell you everything but right now just please let me talk to my son." Klaus said with desperation.
"Matt? Elijah?" Caroline prompted when it seemed that he didn't exactly complete that mission yet.
"Rebekah can handle it…for now. Stefan…he's with her now. Katerina found him and persuaded him to help. They'll find a way. If not, they can hold things down until I figure this all out." Klaus said impatiently. "I'll explain when I get there. Let me talk to Sam. Please."
Caroline closed her eyes briefly and walked towards the boy. She sat down on beside him and shook him gently.
"Sweetie," Caroline whispered to him. "Your dad wants to talk to you. Just for a minute then you can go back to sleep after.
She handed the phone to the bleary eyed boy and listened to them talk.
"Sam?" Klaus said.
"Daddy…" Sam said with a yawn. "Are you coming to pick me up? I'm at this really big house with a giant fireplace. It's nice."
"That's good." Klaus said. "Sam, do you still remember that poem I taught you? The one you repeat three times?"
"Yes." Sam said blinking slowly, his head nodding forward.
"Good." Klaus said. "If anyone tries to take you away from Caroline before I see you, you have to promise me you'll say the poem just like I taught you, okay?"
"I promise." Sam said. "Can I go back to sleep now?"
"Yes, Sam. I'll see you soon. I love you." Klaus said.
Caroline's breath hitched when he heard Klaus' voice say those three words. Up until that second, she never thought he was capable of even saying that phrase and sound like he meant it.
Sam handed the phone back to Caroline and immediately placed his head on the pillow again.
"I have to go. Don't let him out of your sight." Klaus commanded Caroline the second she placed the phone to her ear.
"You got what you wanted. Now get your ass back here." Caroline demanded, unable to keep the helplessness out of her voice completely.
Klaus closed his eyes briefly and sighed, "For what it's worth, I apologize for whatever grief this has caused you. I never meant…I wish…I wish you didn't have to find out about Sam this way or that you had to be dragged into this mess. And…thank you. Just…thank you."
Caroline let out a deep breath and leaned against the wall. "Just come back, Klaus. Come home."
"Go out and walk it off, Barbie." Damon said. "You're going to scare the kid if you stay on edge and keep looking unhinged like that. Hell, you're scaring me."
"Fifteen hours." Caroline said checking the clock again. "He should be here by now. Oh God, what if he's lying in a ditch somewhere."
"What's a ditch?" Sam asked looking up from his drawing.
"It's this narrow sort of thing—no, why am I even explaining." Damon said waving off Caroline. "Go. I will watch the boy. Elena will be back soon with Jeremy and we can contact Bonnie the friendly ghost so we can get to the bottom of this."
"And knowing you will be alone with Sam will actually convince me to leave?" Caroline said incredulously. "How is that going to help calm me down?"
"Sam?" Damon said without turning around. "We're buddies right?"
"Nope!" Sam said. "I'm not a bad boy."
"Not the answer I was expecting but I admire the honesty." Damon said as he glared at Sam. "See, we'll get along just fine."
"What if someone comes again?" Caroline said
"One, no one has tried anything since you walked through that door. Maybe it was just some random burglar at your house." Damon said counting with his fingers. "Two, I'm more than a century old. I fight better than you, woman. And three, kid's got his own self-defense poetry thing going for him. I think we'll be good for at least an hour without your pacing back and forth. You're going to make a hole in the carpet."
Damon pushed her out the door and Caroline reluctantly let him. "Sammy, I'll be back okay? Yell really, really, really loud if anything bad happens okay?"
"Okay!" Sam said cheerfully as he went back to his drawing, which Caroline jus realized was of Damon as a clown, complete with a big red nose.
Caroline took a deep breath and began to walk, making sure she stayed just on the edge of the Salvatore property. Still within range of getting to Sam in two seconds flat in case anything happened.
She whipped around when she heard a faint rustle. She started to run but strong arms held her in place.
"You left my only son with Damon?" Klaus said accusingly. Caroline turned around to tell him off for taking too long but found that he was wearing that familiar smirk on his face.
"So why are you out here looking like…" Caroline stuttered as Klaus smiled innocently, his eyes locked on hers.
"Like what, love?" Klaus said.
"What I meant was," Caroline said through her teeth, "Why aren't you racing inside to see Sam?"
"Because as far as monsters with a heart go, Damon is one of the better ones." Klaus said with a shrug, "I may not trust him but at least for the next few minutes, I will have to.
"You took too long. You should get in there." Caroline said, waving her hand in the direction of the house.
"I'm nine hours earlier than promised." Klaus said unmoving. "You want to know why I'm here with you and not pulling Damon away from my son by the ear?"
Klaus paused and reached out to brush back a stray strand of hair from her face, "Because I owe you an explanation, Caroline. I need you to understand that I have someone in my life that matters more than anything ever has. And even if that means broken promises along the way, I will let people get hurt if it buys him one second of peace. I need you to know that if tomorrow or the next, I cause you any kind of pain, it is the last thing I want and it will only be because I love my son and I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe."
Caroline breathed deeply, "Is he the reason why you moved to New Orleans?"
"No," Klaus said thoughtfully, "But he's why I stayed. I saw my old life and the life I wanted being played out by someone who used to only be my lackey. I wanted to get rid of him and take New Orleans back. But then the witches there revealed something I never expected. I was to be a father. Nature's loophole, they said, werewolves can procreate so somehow I could as well."
"Who was it?" Caroline asked hoarsely, annoyed with herself that she seemed to be more affected that she wanted, that it wasn't just curiosity pushing her to ask.
"Hayley." Klaus said plainly, watching for a reaction.
"Seriously?" Caroline finally exploded. "Her? Of all the… What is with that girl? Why do hybrids have a thing for her?"
"She was there. It meant nothing. As I'm sure her other hybrid dalliance would tell you." Klaus said. "That said…I did not mean for her to die. As little as she meant to me, she was still Sam's mother."
"How did she die?" Caroline asked.
"Childbirth." Klaus answered. "It was an unusual pregnancy, to say the least. I'll spare you the details but she had to claw Sam out herself. I couldn't save her, turn her into a hybrid without my doppelganger and Katerina's human blood would not work. Hayley died."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Caroline said, still in shock as she tried to process the information. "You're the one who kept asking to be my friend, well mister, friends tell friends these things. I could have…"
"No," Klaus said stopping her, "You would have been appalled and shut me out. You would have not been as open if you had not talked to Sam yourself and seen him as a person, not just as the product of a regrettable one-night stand."
Klaus sighed, "But still… I wish you met Sam under better circumstances. This wasn't what I had in mind."
"And 'this' is?" Caroline prompted.
"A week ago, someone took Matt. At first I told my sister he's probably just decided he's had enough of her company but then Elijah was taken right in front of me. It was the usual blackmail, threat to Sam and ransom demand. But I should have known better, the old me would have known not to negotiate with anyone." Klaus closed his eyes and lifted his face to the heavens.
"It was a distraction." Caroline said, placing a hand on his arm, making him look at her again. "The target was always Sam, wasn't it?"
"He's not just a human boy. He's not even just a werewolf." Klaus said as they started walking again, letting Caroline link her arm through his as he unconsciously reminded himself it meant nothing more than a gesture of friendship. "I don't know what he is. No one does. But his blood is pure magic. And I have a multitude of enemies who find it poetic justice to gain so much power from killing Sam and at the same time cause me so much pain."
"What kind of power?" Caroline asked as they made it to the front door.
"I can make hybrids out of werewolves." Klaus said without looking at Caroline, "But draining Sam's blood can make hybrids out of vampires, as powerful as the Original and immortal."
He finally turned to Caroline and gave her an exhausted smile, "Did I mention my own son's blood is poison to me?"
The door opened followed by a loud squeal as Sam ran into his father's arms. "I missed you!"
Klaus squeezed Sam tight and smiled at his son, "I missed you too."
"Let's take this little reunion inside shall we?" Damon said, his eyes narrowed as he looked around, "Something is not—"
"Right." Caroline continued in a faint whisper as she stared at the arrow that shot through the narrow space between Klaus and Sam, a note stuck on the end, written in blood.
Silent tears rolled off Sam's eyes, his lower lip trembling as the silence stretched out in the night. Caroline snapped out of it first and gestured for Klaus to hand her the boy.
"Shh, it's going to be okay. You're okay, Sammy. See no cuts, no bruises." Caroline said soothingly. "Daddy's home and he's going to fix this. Right? Right?"
Klaus nodded and kissed his son on the forehead, "Of course. Why don't you two go and get something to drink? Maybe hot chocolate with marshmallows?"
"Third cabinet, top shelf." Damon said, his gaze never leaving the note stuck on the wall. He waited a few seconds before addressing Klaus. "Some unsolicited advice for you—stop making enemies. Or if you absolutely cannot avoid it, try to stay away from the crazy ones who think they have nothing to lose and everything to gain because those are the types who do things like this."
"And you would benefit from shutting up once in a while." Klaus said as he tore the note off the wall.
"Guess it's time to round up the Scooby gang." Damon said with a maniacal smile as Klaus threw the note into the fire, watching the message slowly burn before his eyes.
Say good night, say goodbye… say all you need to say.
Tomorrow he will bleed.
They all will.
The story will end.
And once again you will be alone.