This child of mine
Chapter 5: Burn baby burn
Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners
"Keep trying." Stefan said, panting as he leaned against a tree. "They're bound to…answer…eventually."
"I bloody know that!" Rebekah said her hands shaking as she dialed again. "But as strong as I am, I can't very well carry Elijah and Matt, who are both still unconscious. The fools in Mystic Falls are not picking up any of their phones and they need to know that a damned traitor is heading their way. And let's not forget—you're dying Stefan. Do you see why I'm having a bit of a hard time keeping my cool?"
"Then we hope our messenger gets there in time." Stefan said sliding to the ground.
Rebekah dropped the phone and rushed to his side, "Do not die on me Stefan. No one in my family is particularly designed to be a hero, that's your part. Just hold on please."
Stefan nodded and waved her off. "Find a car."
"Do you honestly think that didn't cross my mind about a hundred times over?" Rebekah said testily as she picked up her phone and tried her brother's number again.
"Been…here…before." Stefan said sitting down, eyes closed. "About three miles from here, there's a village…find a car. Come back."
"And leave you defenseless?" Rebekah said shaking her head. "No."
"Yes." Stefan said opening his eyes a fraction to look at her. "The threat is no longer here, remember? Go. I'm not going anywhere."
"That's not what I'm worried about, Stefan." Rebekah said as she crouched down to place a hand on his cheek. "I may not be in love with you anymore but…I still care. Watch Elijah and Matt. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"They're all gone." Jeremy said, turning to Elena. "There's no one."
Klaus crossed the room in the blink of an eye and had Jeremy pinned up against the wall.
"You might want to rethink that answer." Klaus said in a low voice, his arm pushing on Jeremy's neck.
"Klaus!" Caroline said moving to stand beside Klaus, trying to pull him away. "What makes you think crushing his windpipe will help him see dead people?"
"I don't know." Klaus said not budging from where he was. "Maybe the lack of oxygen or the pain will help in concentrate."
"I'm…trying…" Jeremy rasped out.
"Try. Harder." Klaus said through gritted teeth.
"Stop it. You're hurting him!" Elena said joining Caroline but Klaus was unrelenting.
Damon merely watched and poured himself a drink. "Girls, Klaus might actually be on to something here. Maybe Jeremy can find the dead people better if he's less alive. Just saying."
Elena glared at Damon as she kept pulling on Klaus. Caroline frowned and signaled for Elena to step away. She took a few steps back and with a running start she tackled Klaus to the ground.
"I'd give that a ten for originality and execution. Fantastic work, Barbie." Damon said as Jeremy fell to the floor with Elena by his side, checking on his injuries.
Klaus and Caroline stood up quickly at almost exactly the same time, circling each other.
"You need to learn how to back off, Klaus." Caroline said angrily.
"It's not my fault that the only lead we have is a complete dead end." Klaus countered. "I'm just giving him an incentive to do better at the one thing he's good for."
"See, this is your problem!" Caroline said throwing her hands up. "You don't see people, you see whatever use they have for you getting what you want. Have you learned nothing?"
"You want to know what I learned?" Klaus said closing the gap between them. "I learned that you people never actually get anything done. You wait around acting all self-righteous until by some lucky coincidence you stumble upon a solution. Well, I can't wait around. Either tell me now if my son is dead or point me to where he is because I need to do something."
Caroline matched his intense gaze and counted to ten before speaking. "Sit down—that's what you're going to do."
"And who's going to make me?" Klaus said leaning closer to Caroline. They stared at each other, locked in their own world, neither breaking the silence that wrapped around them. Caroline's head instinctively tilted a fraction to the side her eyes gliding over to his lips before focusing on his eyes again. Klaus's hand twitched at his side, fighting the urge to run it through her hair. He sensed her gaze shift and so did his, moving to the curve of her lips then lifting it up again to her eyes. He saw fear, anger, frustration, concern and hope.
"Caroline…" Klaus started in a hoarse voice.
"Caroline!"
The new voice shattered the moment. Klaus and Caroline split apart as if someone had actually come between them.
Caroline turned to see if her ears were deceiving her. But he was really there.
"Tyler." Caroline whispered, her face softening as she looked at him. She watched as Tyler's arms opened as if waiting for her to go running to him but she stood still, suspended in disbelief.
Tyler stepped forward, taking in the scene—Jeremy leaning on Elena, Damon sitting on the couch with a drink, feet propped up on the table in front of him, Klaus looking murderous as ever. Then there was Caroline who seemed completely unsure about how she felt with seeing him.
"I'm back…but you're not happy to see me." Tyler said in a hard voice, his face set in a blank expression. "Has Klaus already poisoned your mind against me?"
"He wasn't exactly around to do that…like you." Caroline said standing a little straighter. She felt Klaus move closer to her, coiled and ready to strike, itching for a reason to pick a fight.
"Right. He was busy changing diapers and being a bad father." Tyler said rounding on Klaus. "Isn't that why we're all here?"
Caroline wasn't fast enough. Klaus was on the other side of the room before she could react. He hit Tyler so hard that he flew clear across the room. But he wasn't done. This time Caroline anticipated his move and she practically flew to him, locking him in a tight embrace.
"Stop it." Caroline said forcefully as Klaus struggled in her arms. "Focus on my voice. He didn't mean that and even if he did, it doesn't matter. It's not true. We both know that and it's what counts. Stop it."
Klaus stopped fighting her and went still. "In this entire thing, you have been my sanity. But don't expect you will be able to stop me a second time. One false move and I will rip his heart out of his chest right in front of you."
Tyler wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. He looked at Caroline accusingly, "This is who you've replaced me with? I knew you were ambitious but never desperate."
"First of all, it's none of your business whoever I choose to 'replace' you with." Caroline said rounding on Tyler. "I wasn't the one who left and never came back. Don't even bother using Klaus as an excuse because you've been free to come back for years now and I haven't seen even your shadow in Mystic Falls. Second, I am not with Klaus. But FYI, if I were, I hardly think that's a sign of desperation. At least he's clear that he sees a future with me. And lastly, why are you suddenly back in town, just when everything is falling apart?"
"Because even if I'm not sired to that bastard, my life is still tied to his." Tyler said scathingly. "And in the interest of self-preservation…here I am."
Klaus laughed, slaphappy all of a sudden as he looked at Caroline and Tyler. "He's not back for you, love. He's actually back for me. Now, isn't that a twist?"
Caroline didn't respond, setting her lips in a thin straight line. She looked at Elena who took the cue and stepped forward.
"We haven't told anyone about what's happening so how exactly did you know that you needed to show up?" Elena asked, crossing her arms in front of her as she walked to stand next to Caroline in support.
Damon also stood up and dragged Jeremy along as he walked over to stand next to Elena, completing the line up that faced Tyler. "I don't believe in coincidences so don't even bother trying to sell me a story about how you overheard about the crazy that's been brewing and you had a light bulb moment that maybe we needed another supernatural hand."
"When I was trying to break the sire bond, there was a witch that helped us figure it out." Tyler said. "She's been helping me ever since and she passed along the message from Bonnie—I needed to get down here because you're all seriously outgunned. From the lack of a child in this room, I'd say Esther finally got her weapon is only a step away from wiping us out."
"Isn't it just lucky for you that Jeremy's party line to the other side isn't working so we can't actually confirm if you're lying to us?" Klaus said with his jaw clenched tight.
"I guess you just have to trust me." Tyler said to Klaus. Turning to Caroline he took on a gentler tone. "Look, Caroline, this isn't exactly how I imagined we'd meet again. I'd give anything to be able to explain to you why I never came back but this is how it is. You can hate me and think I'm a horrible person but deep down you know it's still me. You can trust me."
"People who say that are usually the ones who can't be trusted." Damon said pointedly. "True story."
"It's rare but Damon does have his moments." Katherine said sauntering in, pausing at the entryway, hips jutted out to one side.
"I have seriously got to get a better lock on that front door." Damon said shaking his head.
"Like that's going to stand in my way." Katherine said as she walked towards them. "But it might just do the trick with traitors like this one. What? Did you really think BonBon told him about all the stuff that's been happening? Dear sweet, gullible fools you are. He's got it straight from the source—Esther."
Tyler frowned and shook his head. "Really? She hates hybrids. She thinks we're an abomination. You're not even making any sense."
"Correction," Katherine said wagging a finger at Tyler. "She hates all vampires and hybrids but she's been known to work with them to get to her endgame. Remember Klaus' self-sacrificing brother? Who's to tell us you're not suicidal yourself, Tyler?"
"I wouldn't have left Mystic Falls if I wanted that because Klaus would have done that ages ago." Tyler countered. "You're so insistent I'm the traitor, waltzing in here and pushing your agenda. Maybe it's you. You're the one always showing up to ruin the day and you always have a hidden agenda."
"Honey, I'm the queen of self-preservation." Katherine purred. "I would never work with Esther. Besides, I'd like to see how things would turn out with Elijah but that's not going to happen if he's forced out of existence."
"Enough!' Klaus thundered moving between Katherine and Tyler, then lifting both of them up by the neck. "I have no interest in your intentions. In fact, I actually want to get rid of both of you permanently, regardless of your role in all of this. So it's just a matter of deciding who goes first."
There was silence followed by the shrill ring of Katherine's phone.
"Answer…it." Katherine choked out. "Left back pocket. It's…Rebekah."
"Caroline…would you be so kind as to oblige Katerina's request." Klaus said nodding to Katherine without loosening his grip on either her or Tyler.
Caroline picked out the phone and answered it. "Rebekah?"
"Caroline, thank God. Finally. Where is Nik?" Rebekah said frantically.
"I can hear you, sister." Klaus said.
"Nik, whatever you do…do not let Tyler near Sam. He's been working with our mother. He was the one who figured out that you'd leave Sam with Caroline, to get her to follow Bonnie to get to Sam. Nik, Tyler told her that draining Sam of his blood and using it in that spell will kill you. Tyler is the tra—"
Rebekah never got to finish because Klaus flung Katherine to the side, toppling Caroline along with her. He kept his hand on his other captive and plunged his free hand into Tyler's chest, gripping his heart.
"Hurting Caroline the way you did, not returning when I set you free—that I can forgive. She doesn't deserve that but it was her choice to love you and if she chose it, it would have been her call to exact revenge on you. But she never asked, so I let you roam the earth as you pleased, no matter how much I wanted you dead." Klaus said as he squeezed tighter.
"Klaus, no!" Caroline said in horror. "Please don't do this. He made a mistake…that doesn't mean he can't change. Please don't…"
Klaus ignored her and continued, "But my son…the one innocent thing in my life…that was your mistake."
"He was never meant to exist." Tyler said, blood dribbling out of his mouth. "I'm just setting things right."
"Wrong answer." Klaus said clenching his fist around his heart. Caroline ran to them, trying to pull Klaus away.
"Please. If you care about me like you said, do not do this." Caroline pleaded, "I'm begging you. I'll do anything."
"Klaus." Elena said in a soothing voice as she approached them carefully. "We'll get Sam back. Just put Tyler down, okay?"
Klaus paid them no attention and closed his eyes briefly, one second of silence, long enough to make them believe they got through. And then he yanked out Tyler's heart and threw it into the fire.
Caroline gasped as Tyler fell limply into her arms and they tumbled to the floor. Elena's hand flew to her mouth and she turned to Damon who pulled her into a one-armed embrace.
"Not cool, man." Damon said his eyes wide with surprise. "Not. Cool. You crossed a line…make that a hundred."
"How could you?" Caroline said sobbing as she looked up at Klaus. "How could you do this to me?"
Klaus' face was like stone as he wiped the blood off his hand on a blanket that was lying around. "I told you…you should have let me go."
"I should have." Caroline said shaking as she held Tyler, pressing her hand over the hole in his chest, as if it would help. "I thought you changed."
"I thought I did too." Klaus said as he calmly moved to walk away. "What did you say again…about how people who do terrible things are just terrible people? Sweetheart, that's exactly who I am."
"Go ahead, walk out." Caroline spat out, tears flowing down her face. "I hate you. Good luck finding your son...and for his sake, I hope you find someone willing to help you because I am done. I'm done with you and trying to save you."
"I never asked you to." Klaus said pausing at the door. "I survived a thousand years without you, Caroline. Contrary to what you must believe, I don't actually need you. I love you. I just don't deserve you."
With that he walked out into the night and did not look back.
Esther waved her hand and the scene dissolved into mist. She looked at the boy huddled in the corner, hugging his knees to his chest as he rocked back and forth.
"Shhh." Esther said running to him and scooping him in her arms. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you had to see that. You needed the truth, no matter how young you are and how cruel it may seem. You need to understand…your father is a monster."
"No! NO! NO!" Sam wailed, flailing in her arms. But Esther was patient. She had an endless supply of patience and she couldn't lose control not when she was this close.
"You're lying!" Sam screamed. "That wasn't my daddy! You're lying!"
"I wish I were, Sam." Esther said, an unexpected wave of sadness washing over her. "But my son is what he is. Will you help me make sure he doesn't hurt anyone ever again?"
Sam didn't respond. He kept crying. Esther let him, waiting until the tears dried out and he was left hiccupping from the crying.
"I love my daddy." Sam said after a while.
"Of course you do, sweetheart." Esther said soothingly. "I love him too. That's why we need to help him become a good man…someone who can't hurt anyone. Is that something you can help me with?"
"He won't be hurt?" Sam asked.
"He won't feel a thing." Esther assured him.
Sam nodded, "Okay."
Esther smiled, embracing the child in her arms, letting him rest his head on her shoulder.
"Thank you, Sam. Thank you."