Caroline's hair was still a little wet as they hopped out of the Jeep and walked into the convenience store on their way back to the hotel. They had grabbed dinner in the park but Robbie was hungry again.
"Whatever you want." Nik motioned to Robbie, and the kid scurried around the aisles snatching up bags of chips and little pints of ice cream. He followed behind closely, carrying the various junk food items that Robbie handed him.
"His dad said not to feed him junk."
"He had a balanced dinner at the park." He insisted
"Fried chicken and mac and cheese is not a balanced dinner."
"Let me have a little fun." He pouted.
Caroline thought back to the story Nik had told her on their first date. He had a little brother who died very young. Henrik. She looked at how sweet and protective he was of this little boy. A boy who could have easily died almost as young as Henrik.
But this boy was alive and smiling and he was looking up at Nik with admiration as he picked out another bag of cookies and chatted about how he wanted to play MarioKart when they got back to the room.
"You're going to spoil him rotten." She smiled at Nik.
"I'd rather spoil you, but you won't let me." He whispered in her ear.
She ignored him and took Robbie's hand, leading him to the slushy machine.
"Red or Blue?" She asked him.
When they got back to the hotel room, she challenged Robbie to a few rounds of MarioKart while they ate their snacks so Nik could sneak off to take a shower and call Jimmy to let him know they were in for the night. The kid was beating her at every race. She let Robbie explain to her what all the buttons did and he high fived her when she finally beat him at one of the races.
Caroline didn't have much experience dealing with little kids. She wasn't one of those girls who was babysitting all the time in middle and high school and she didn't have any siblings or younger cousins. She just tried to talk to the kid like she would any other person, but looked for topics that might interest someone his age.
Nik stepped out of the shower and saw Caroline and Robbie having an intense discussion about super heros. They were arguing over which Avenger was best. She preferred Captain America, but Robbie liked Iron Man the best. He quietly leaned against the wall and stayed very still. Their backs were turned to him and they were too wrapped up in their conversation to notice him.
"Who's your favorite out of all of the superheros?" Robbie challenged.
"Hmm, Batman." Caroline responded.
"I like him too." Robbie smiled.
"Is he your favorite?"
"Nope." He shook his head.
"You like Iron Man better?"
"He's not my favorite either."
"The Flash?" She guessed.
"Nope."
"Spiderman?"
"Nope."
"Please don't say Superman."
"No way" he laughed.
"I give up. Who?" She asked.
"Nik, of course." He smiled, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"He's not a superhero!" She protested.
"He doesn't have powers like Spiderman, but he still saves people. Like Batman." Robbie explained.
"Nik saves people?" she asked, amused by the kid's skewed perspective of what Nik actually did.
"He protects my dad from bad guys all the time." Robbie said. "And he saved me." He looked down.
Caroline saw the smile drop away from the boy's face. He was remembering something painful.
"Nik saved you?" She asked gently.
"I was somewhere bad and I didn't think anyone would find me, but he did. He took me out of the bad place." he said.
It all clicked. Nik had told her that someone had found Robbie stuck in an apartment several days after his mother died of an overdose. That person had been him.
She hesitantly hugged Robbie, not sure if he would like it. He hugged back tightly.
"You're lucky to be friends with a superhero." He said to her.
"I think you're a superhero too, Robbie." She smiled.
They turned back to the game and he picked which track to race on and they began. Nik waited another minute, then sat down next to them.
"What did I miss?" He asked, reaching for the cookies.
"Just Robbie kicking my butt at MarioKart." Caroline smiled.
"He needs a more qualified opponent, I think." Nik smiled. "Robbie, I'm racing you next."
Caroline finished her race and handed over the controller. She watched the two of them joke around as they played the game, and then she went to go take a shower.
Once she closed the door she started to peel off her clothes, but before she turned on the water she couldn't help eavesdropping on their conversation.
"You're still playing as Princess Peach!" Robbie laughed.
"Oh, I should have guessed Caroline would have picked her."
"Is she your girlfriend?" Robbie asked Nik.
"Who? Princess Peach?" Nik joked.
Robbie laughed. "No! Caroline!"
"Oh, Caroline. No, she's not."
"But you were kissing! And I saw you holding hands today. That means you like her."
Nik laughed. "You're right. But Caroline doesn't want to be my girlfriend."
"Then why was she kissing you?"
"I don't know, mate. Girls are confusing."
"But you like her?"
"Yes."
"And she likes you?"
"Sometimes."
"How can she like you sometimes?"
"She's... complicated."
"I don't ever want to like girls. Yuck."
Nik laughed. "I have a feeling you're going to change your mind about that one in a few years."
Caroline smiled and turned on the water. She was trying so hard to not like him, but it kept getting more difficult to ignore that there was something between them.
When she stepped out, The TV was off and the kid had passed out in a pile of chips and cookies. Nik carefully scooped him up and placed him on one of the beds in the room, tucking the little boy under the covers.
She climbed into the other one and Nik joined her. One more night of having to share a bed. At least this one wasn't a tiny little twin, there would be plenty of room. Even though they were int he same bed, she could put a little space between them.
He wasn't interested in having space. As soon as they were both under the covers he pulled her in close to him. Tomorrow night she wouldn't have an excuse to sleep next to him, so for now she decided just to enjoy it. She put her hand over his arm, keeping him close, and drifted off to sleep.
A few hours later she stirred a bit, feeling his arm pull away from her body. There was a noise, high pitched and gut wrenching.
Robbie was crying. He must have had some kind of nightmare, and he wasn't calming down. She remembered having them all the time as a little kid. It was so hard to separate dreams from reality. Things always felt like they could still hurt you outside of the dreams.
She pulled herself up on her elbows and watched Nik take care of the kid. He was whispering gentle words and sitting next to him. Robbie reached out to hug Nik, still too afraid to go back to sleep.
After a few minutes, Robbie seemed calm, but he wouldn't go back to sleep. He was nervous or afraid of something. Nik was trying to find anything, turning on a light in the bathroom, a glass of water, telling a funny story, nothing was working.
She sat up in bed and watched the whole thing. There was't much she could do to help, she didn't really know Robbie and she wasn't sure if he wanted her to try and help him.
"Still not sleepy?" Nik asked Robbie.
He shook his head.
"You look tired. Just lie down."
"I don't want to."
Nik rubbed his eyes, he was exhausted.
Robbie looked at him hesitantly "Sometimes dad lets me sleep in his bed when I have bad dreams."
Nik looked at Caroline, asking permission. She smiled and waved for them to come over.
Nik collapsed back in his spot and Robbie climbed up and wiggled in between them. She didn't miss the way the little kid looked up at Nik. He really was a superhero to this little boy.
Within minutes both of them had fallen asleep, and Caroline was awake, laying there listening to the even sound of their breathing. She looked over at Nik, he looked so peaceful sleeping. He was changing her mind every day.
Nik woke up first. He looked over and saw Robbie curled up next to him and Caroline right on his other side. Robbie still believed Nik could keep him safe from the monsters of his nightmares or the world. Caroline might have felt the same way once, before she really knew who he was. He wondered if he could ever make her feel that way again.
She acted like she didn't trust him at all, but she must, at least a little. She was able to fall asleep next to him. She had spend a week locked up in a one room shelter with him. She had to know that if he was planning on hurting her, he would have done it by now. He tried to convince himself that she was starting to feel safe with him again. She picked little fights and stung him with her words, but she wouldn't do that if she was really afraid of him, right? She wouldn't rattle his cage if she really thought he would attack.
He was grasping at straws, but he needed something. There needed to be some reasonable hope that he wasn't just wasting his time on someone who was going to stomp all over his heart.
He pushed the thoughts of reality away and looked over at the two figures in bed with him. It was so easy to pretend they were a little family. He could imagine that this was his girl and his kid and they all were happy together. He thought back to the day before, of the three of them splashing around in the water park together. He and Caroline had their little spats, but for the most part they had a good day. He looked back on the three of them eating dinner the day before, sitting at the little outdoor table by the lazy river, watching people float by.
He had tried to convince Robbie to eat all his food, sure that if he didn't he'd end up hungry again in an hour. A father walking by with his two kids had given him a knowing nod as he walked by. It was that 'I've been there' look parents give each other. That woman by the play area had asked them about Robbie like he was their kid. Anyone who looked at the three of them right now would assume the same. He would never be able to have this, not really. It wouldn't be fair to any child to have someone like him for a parent. But for now, just having a day of being able to pretend was enough.
He'd send Robbie back with Jimmy later that morning. Caroline would probably tolerate him a few more days when they got back to her friends, but she would avoid being alone with him. No more falling asleep together or private little moments. His pretend family would be gone in an instant. These were some of his last moments to capture the memory of it so he tried to lie still and remember her, exactly how she was in that moment. Soon enough, the memory would be all he had.
Caroline stirred. She peeked over the sleeping boy and saw Nik smiling back at her. She padded across the room to brush her teeth and heard Robbie wake up and say something to Nik.
Nik was on the phone.
"Yes, the pancakes with the chocolate chips, waffles, ice cream, toast with jam, the omelet with the bacon in it. tea. Chocolate milk." He put his hand over the phone and called across the room "Caroline, breakfast?"
"Coffee" She shouted back "And toast."
He finished up the order and hung up.
A few minutes later Robbie was stuffing his face with the worlds most unhealthy breakfast.
"Really, Nik? Ice cream?"
"It compliments the chocolate chip pancakes and the chocolate milk." He shrugged.
"You've stuffed him with junk food the whole time we've been out here, his dad is going to be livid."
"You're going to be the strict parent, aren't you?"
"I'm just trying to follow his dad's rules. Robbie, can you eat a piece of fruit with that, maybe?"
Robbie scrunched up his nose, but she gave him a stern look and he begrudgingly picked up an apple and took a bite. Nik laughed.
"I can see it now. Controlling, neurotic Caroline. I bet you'll have charts and lists to make sure you do everything by the book."
"Who says I want to have kids at all?"
"Why wouldn't you? You'd be great at it. Look, you already got Robbie to eat his first healthy food since we left. Where would we be without you?"
"I'm 19! I'm nowhere near ready for that kind of thing. Maybe in like ten years or something."
There was a knock at the door and Nik walked up to get it.
Jimmy walked in and Robbie flung himself at his dad. Jimmy picked up the kid and hugged him.
"His face is covered in chocolate, Nik."
"Pancakes are a perfectly suitable breakfast food." Nik shrugged.
"I bet it's been junk the whole time." Jimmy retorted.
"Caroline made me eat an apple" Robbie pouted.
"At least there's one adult in the room." Jimmy laughed.
They said their goodbyes, Jimmy had to go back for his next deal and Nik and Caroline needed to go meet her friends, who were probably worried sick about her being an extra day late.
The two of them were alone again. Nik stacked the plates of half eaten food over on a table and she caught him looking wistfully at the remaining chocolate chip pancakes. Her every instinct was to be as distant and unfeeling with him as possible, but he wasn't all bad. A tiny part of her wanted to get closer and she was going to give in, but only a little.
He saw her looking and tried to shrug it off. He didn't want her pity.
"I'll see him again in a few months." He said.
He was trying to hide the sadness but she could see it in his eyes.
She hugged him and placed a soft kiss on his jaw.
He looked down at her, a little startled by the gesture. Every little thing that happened between them since she found out the real him had been his doing. He always started it. This was the first time she had come up to him, unprovoked, and shown any kind of affection.
He pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her forehead. He wanted to ask her why she did it, but he was concerned that it would only make her back away.
"You would be a good dad." She said.
"What?" He said, not sure he heard her right. It was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. Of course, it was completely false, he knew his line of work and his personal issues would make him a terrible parent. But hearing her say it was amazing.
"You would." She repeated. "You were so good with him."
"If this is your way of asking, the answer is yes. I will gladly make a baby with you. Let's get started, shall we?" He joked, trying to cover up any sign of the emotional impact her words had on him.
"Nik, I was being serious."
"I am too." He joked. "Come on, off with those clothes, no time like the present."
"I didn't mean it like that!"
He mocked offense. "You don't want to have babies with me? No house in the suburbs with the white picket fence and a golden retriever?" He was laughing as he said it. He knew that would never be the life that could make her happy.
She laughed. "Somehow, I don't think that's the life the either of us is going to end up with. Small town life, it wouldn't be enough."
"I guess we'll have a more unconventional family, then. Lots of traveling, big cities."
"Stop talking like it's going to be me and you. I hate when you say stuff like that, pretending like we're going to have some kind of future together."
"I wouldn't mind." He shrugged.
"I'm not going to spend my life running around with some serial killer."
"I'm not a serial killer!"
"What would you call it?"
"Contract killer? Execution specialist? Preemptive defense?" He offered.
"That doesn't make it sound any better!"
"And what exactly is your job title, sweetheart? What line of work are you in again, please remind me."
She laughed. "Damon always called me the 'little blonde distraction'."
"You must be good at your job, because I'm feeling very distracted at the moment."
Stefan and Damon were rolling around on the floor with their hands around each other's necks. They hadn't fought like this since they were children. Damon had lunged at Rebecca, slamming her against a wall. He was certain she had something to do with Elena's disappearance. Stefan pulled him away, punching him square in the jaw. Before he could stop to check on Rebecca, Damon had recovered from the hit and charged at Stefan.
"She doesn't have anything to do with this" Stefan shouted, slamming Damon against a wall.
"Her brother did this!" Damon shouted back, knocking Stefan's head against the floor.
"He wouldn't do that!"
"Why? Because he's such a good person?"
"Why would he take Elena knowing Rebecca was with us?"
"Why don't you ask your buddy Caroline?"
"You don't honestly believe Caroline would let him take Elena. She loves her!"
"I don't know what to believe. All I know is Elena is gone and Nik is the only person I can think of who would do something like this."
Rebecca was pulling them apart. She slapped Damon hard across the face.
"That's for shoving me into a wall." She slapped him again. "And that's for my brother. I hope you feel ashamed when you realize that he didn't do this. If Elena's still alive, he's probably the best chance you have at getting her back."
Damon glowered at her. "If I find out Nik has anything to do with this I'll kill your whole family."
"You couldn't possibly kill Nik. You'd be dead the second you made a move against him." She challenged.
"Then I'll kill you first." He spat.
"If you kill me, you'll spend the rest of your short life running from him."
"I don't care."
Stefan tried to step in and separate the two of them. "Cut it out. No one's killing anyone. Damon, I think we should call Caroline. She'll make sure Nik is on our side for this."
"I don't trust him."
"What other option do we have? We can't call the police."
Damon glared at both of them. "This is Elena. I'm not going to let her die or leave keeping her alive up to someone like Nik. I'm going to find out who did this and put them in the ground."
He stormed out of the suite and slammed the door behind him.
Stefan pulled Rebecca close. "You're not leaving my sight until we find out who did this. If they come after you too..."
"We need to call Nik." She said.
He nodded. "I'll call Caroline."
Nik looked around the room, making sure they had everything. He was stalling, prolonging the last few minutes he had alone with her in the room. After this they'd drive back to the resort, which was on the island about forty minutes away. After the car ride, he only have the date he cornered her into going on with him to be alone with her. She'd probably hide behind Stefan and Elena the whole time.
He was absently trying to think of what to do on that date. It would be his last ditch effort to find some possible way to get her to see who he really way. It was his last chance to try and convince her to give him a chance.
What Nik didn't know was that Caroline was stalling too. She had been spending the whole morning debating what to do in her head. One side of her wanted to get out of there and get away. She wanted to be able to put some space between them so she could stop thinking about him and move on. But a larger part of her knew she couldn't ever really move on. He had gotten under her skin and she couldn't do a thing about it. He made her blush, boil with rage, feel dizzy from lust. He made her smile and laugh and he was so dangerous, yet he made her feel safe.
Caroline was never very good at controlling her impulses. She always said the wrong thing at the wrong time. She wasn't good at waiting or being patient. Right now it was taking all her strength to hold back from throwing herself at him.
He looked over at her. She was sitting on the bed, deep in thought about something. He wanted to reach over and touch her, but he felt himself holding back. He was tiptoeing around her, testing the waters. She seemed to be ok with holding his hand or letting him pull her close when they were sleeping, but anything more was a gamble. He was still surprised that she had kissed the side of his face earlier that day. It was an unprecedented move on her part. It was the first time she had done something like that without being provoked by him, and he wondered if it would all stop once she was around her friends again. She probably wouldn't even let him hold her hand in front of the Salvatore brothers. Even that would be hoping too much.
He pulled the bag of their belongings up from the ground and held the keycard in his hand. He began to open the door to leave, but paused to ask her a question.
"What's the longest amount of time anyone's ever spent going on a single date?" He asked her.
"I think once it goes on for longer than a day, It's more than one date." Caroline responded, smiling a bit.
He had been dropping little reminders about the date she had agreed to. Once they got back to the resort she'd have to find some way of explaining it to Elena and the Salvatores so they wouldn't go crazy.
"So twenty four hours counts as a date, then? I'll pick you up at 8 and return you at 8 the following day?"
"Can't you just do dinner and a movie like a normal person?"
"I thought we agreed we weren't going to be normal people with normal lives." He responded. "Besides, you deserve something a bit more than ordinary after all you've put up with from me."
"You're right" She teased him. "This whole ordeal has been terrible and you're awful company." She laughed.
"If only you could go back in time and have a talk with yourself last week. You really hated me then."
"I reserve the right to change my mind whenever I feel like it." She smiled, gathering up her belongings.
"I'll check us out at the front desk on our way out." He said, motioning to her that it was time to go.
She nodded and got up from the bed. They were leaving. Now or never, Caroline. If you wait until he takes you on some fancy date he'll always think he won you over with fancy things and money. You have to do something now, so he knows exactly why you want to be with him. She gulped and felt nervous at the very thought. She did want to be with him. She was sure of how she felt, but she didn't want to admit it. It would change everything.
He was walking out of the room and she followed. The door clicked shut behind them, and he was walking towards the front lobby. Her stomach sank. Too late. You waited too long. Suddenly she was angry with herself. No, Caroline, it's not too late yet. Don't make excuses, just do something.
"Wait!" she said.
He turned around and looked confused.
She walked up to him and took the keycard out of his hand and walked back to the room.
"Did you forget something?" He asked.
She shook her head and marched back to the door, slid the key in, and walked back into the room.
He looked at her, confused, but he followed her in.
"Sit." She pointed at the bed they had slept in.
He hesitantly sat at the edge of the bed.
She took a deep breath. Now or never.
"I need to know a few things."
"Alright." He said, looking confused.
"I need to know that if I decide to leave, you'll let me leave. You have to promise you won't hunt me down and kill me if I ever decide to walk away from you."
He looked confused. "Leave? I'm taking you back to your friends?"
"No. I uh. I mean. um. Like if you and I were together."
"Are you saying that-"
"Just answer me."
"I would never hurt you. I'm not going to kill you."
"Promise it. What I said."
He shook his head. "If we were... in a relationship, I know you would leave eventually. I can't promise I won't chase after you. But it wouldn't be to attack you, it would be to try and get you to come back to me."
"By kidnapping me? Forcing my hand? Threatening me?"
He looked guilty. She could tell that he had considered it. It was who he was, it was how he got what he wanted.
"I won't treat you like a job. I won't do anything like that."
She nodded, pacing around.
"You have to be honest with me. About everything."
He nodded. "I would only keep from you details about a job that wouldn't be safe for you to know. I can tell you anything personal about me, anything you want to know."
"And if you have to keep something from me, because of work and only work, you'll just say you can't tell me something. You won't make up a big lie about it."
"Ok." he agreed.
She nodded and paced around some more. She glanced over and gave him a skeptical look.
She was fidgeting, trying to come up with the right words. It would all shift once she said them, once she admitted that she wanted to be with him too. She was afraid to lose the little leverage she had over him. Once she let him in, she would be powerless. She was trying to work up the courage to just say it, and let everything happen without worrying so much about where it would all lead.
"Ok. I need to say something." She began "I-"
ringring.
He glanced over at his phone, then turned to face her again.
ringring
"Aren't you going to get that?" She asked, relieved to have a way out of having to say what she felt strong enough to say only a few minutes ago but now she felt so afraid.
"No."
"Why?"
"I want to hear what you're about to say."
ringring.
"Please just pick up the phone."
"Not until you say what you were going to say."
"Klaus, please just answer the phone."
ringring.
"Caroline, what were you about to say to me?"
"Just pick up the goddamn phone, I'm not going to say it now."
"I'm not answering the phone until you say it."
ringring.
She walked over to his phone and looked at the screen.
"It's Rebecca" she said, shoving it in his face.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to control his rage. Of course it had to be the one person whose call he could never ignore.
"Don't you dare move. You're going to say whatever was so important as soon as I get off the phone." He commanded.
Caroline felt incredibly nervous as she sank down to sit on the floor. He knew exactly what she was about to say and he wasn't about to let her back out of it. He wouldn't drop it until she admitted what she was feeling, why she marched him back in here to ask a bunch of stupid questions.
He picked up the phone. "Rebe-" He froze.
Caroline could hear her shouting on the other end of the line. Her voice sounded frenzied.
His expression became cold and scary. Whatever Rebecca was telling him was not good.
"They think I did it?" He growled.
Caroline tried to hear the other end of the line, to get an idea of what was going on, but she couldn't make out the words.
"Fuck Damon." he spat "If he thinks he can accuse me than come running back to beg for my help... "
He looked at Caroline. "Why haven't you been answering your phone? Apparently Stefan's been calling you nonstop for the past two days."
She could see a little jealousy in his eyes, the way he said the name 'Stefan' sounded like he was talking about a disease.
"I don't have the charger with me. We left so fast.. It's been dead for a while."
He nodded and returned to the phone. "Tell him she's fine. The phone just isn't charged."
He paused while Rebecca relayed the information to Stefan.
"Becca, don't go anywhere alone. Do you understand me?"
Caroline's eyes widened. What was going on?
"We're on our way. I'll fix this. But not for Damon fucking Salvatore. He can still kiss my ass. You let him and your little boyfriend know that I'm doing this for her, not them."
He nodded as she said something.
"Be careful Becca. I'm on my way. ... I love you too... Bye."
He hung up the phone and looked at Caroline.
"We need to leave right now. Someone took your friend Elena."