A/N: Chapter 4 XD Sorry for the delay, had exams to contend with but now that I'm finished the updates should come on a more regular basis. Once again I apologize for any mistakes there may be and huge thanks to those of you who have left reviews, it's great to hear peoples opinions and I really appreciate them! Much love 3


A few weeks of hard training. Those were the words he had used to describe the agonizing trials he had put her through.

She had run through the forest surrounding the house at speeds no human could possibly sustain and practiced throwing knives until her knuckles cracked and bled but these tasks paled in comparison to the hand to hand combat with Klaus. She had lost count of the amount of times she had passed out and awoken to the taste of his blood in her mouth. To say she wanted nothing more than to outdo him and drive a stake through his chest was an understatement, although even if she did manage to it wouldn't be enough to put him down, she had witnessed that first hand. And so, she got better. She was left with little other choice, with Klaus it was either improve or die.

Four weeks had passed before Klaus finally decided she was ready to go after anyone. She entered the house on the beginning of the fifth week, anticipating finding out what was next on the agenda, now that training her to the point where she lost consciousness wasn't. When she found out she almost wished it was.

"A saloon?" She echoed, blinking in disbelief. "We're going to a salon? Why?"

She had just entered the house when he grabbed his jacket and led her towards the entrance again.

"Because we have a job tonight and you have to look the part. Come on, I expect this will take a while" he answered, flashing her his trademark smirk which never failed to infuriate her.

"You can't be serious!"

He was and true to his word several hours had passed before they returned to the house. She had already made her excuses to her mother so at least that was something, she told her she had gotten a job waitressing and wouldn't be back until evening but given the fact that she remained broke she would need to get more creative. Hunting vampires didn't pay well, or at all.

She stood in front of the mirror, staring in disbelief and a hint of revulsion at her reflection. She'd been washed, waxed, exfoliated, manicured, pedicured, snipped, curled and primped. Klaus had apparently gone shopping while she was occupied at the salon and she was now dressed in one of the so called dresses he had purchased. It was a skin tight emerald green number cut about four inches above the knee and way too low in front and that combined with her new leather boots and salon look made her somewhat self conscious.

"There's no way I'm going out in public like this and where the hell am I supposed to hide weapons?!"

Klaus grinned and tossed her the stake before gesturing to her boots, "You'll find there's a loop for it".

The stakes fit snugly inside each boot, concealed and easily accessible and she grudgingly admitted to herself that the loops had been a good idea before immediately reprimanding herself, he didn't need praise, this wasn't a friendship, it was a business deal.

"Your going after the big guys now luv, you'll need an edge and this should work, I'd bet my life on it" he continued eyeing her appraisingly.

"You don't have a life, you're dead" she reminded him while trying to remind herself of the same thing, spending the last few weeks around him had made that a difficult point to remember.

"Depends on your perspective I guess. Technically I'm as alive as any human, just an upgraded version."

"You're not human, you're a murderer" she responded, turning to face him and hardening her gaze.

He was leaning against the bathroom door again, wearing a charcoal grey sweater and black pants which seemed to be a regular for him, she wondered if he even owned any other color. The sweater hugged his body and skimmed his collarbone and the dark colors emphasised his light hair and pale skin. He was stunning. And dangerous, yet somewhere along the line she appeared to have lost her fear of him.

"Pot calling the kettle black luv and all that," he glanced at his watch "we have a few hours before we have to leave so plenty of time for a run".

"Fine," she sighed "but I have to go home for a bit before tonight, I told my mom I'd be back".

He nodded before moving back into the bedroom and shutting the door behind him, leaving her to change from the harlot dress into her jogging clothes. She scooped her hair back off her face and emerged from the bathroom to find Klaus standing next to window. That cocky twist had returned to his lips and he gave her a once over, "Now there's the Caroline I know and love, felt like you'd been away with how different you looked."

She rolled her eyes, "Let's get this over with".

The run wasn't as brutal as she had expected, probably didn't want to lose his bait on the first job but she was still exhausted when she climbed into her truck over an hour later.

The lights were off in the downstairs rooms when she pulled in and it had begun to drizzle. Once inside she took her shoes off and headed for the bathroom where she splashed water over her face and toweled it dry. When she entered her bedroom she found her mother sitting on her bed.

"Caroline we need to talk."

She couldn't have picked a worse time, Caroline was already tired and she only had an hour or two to finish getting ready and meet Klaus back at his, but she asked her what she wanted to talk about.

"Your future. I know you've put off college for the last two years while you were saving but sweetheart soon you'll be living alone and I'm worried about you."

"Mom don't worry, I'll be fine-"

"You can't let yourself forget that you have a monster inside of you," she interrupted " You have to remember you aren't like everyone else, they don't have evil inside them waiting to break out like you do."

Caroline's mouth tightened. She had certainly picked a good time to go into this. For the first time Caroline wanted to argue with her, to tell her maybe she was wrong and perhaps her father had been bad before becoming a vampire, that maybe her uniqueness made her different but not necessarily half evil. But she choked her words back and nodded instead, " I know mom, I won't forget, I swear it".

"In fact I'm going out tonight to hunt again, I have a good feeling I'll find one."

Her features softened, "your doing the right thing honey."

She smiled and Caroline nodded and forced herself to mirror it as she left, swallowing her guilt. If she ever found out about Klaus she'd never forgive her. The reason would be irrelevant, she'd never understand partnering with a vampire. Caroline finished getting ready, after routing out the bottle of gin she kept in her closet and proceeding to drown her sorrows. But being half vampire had heightened her tolerance and so she made it to Klaus' in one piece.

The place was in complete darkness when she arrived and upon entering she discovered the place was empty, glancing at the clock in the living room she realised she had arrived earlier than planned. She figured he couldn't have gone far though and decided to wait for him, perching herself on the leather sofa that dominated the room. The house was deathly quiet and so she had nothing to do but sit there and think, her mother's words echoing in her head.

You can't let yourself forget that you have a monster inside you.

She knew that her mother loved her but most of the time it felt as though she resented her for the circumstances and repercussions of her birth. A mother' love was supposed to surpass all others and really if she struggled to love her what chance had anyone else. She bit her lip and glanced around the room, attempting to distract herself from her thoughts, her eyes landing on the decanter Klaus used for his bourbon which resided on the coffee table. As she reached for it she realised her hands had become shaky but she grasped it and settling back on the sofa began to drink. That was how Klaus found her when he arrived, though how much time had passed she couldn't say.

"Sorry I'm late luv, had some business to- ...Caroline?," he queried, staring in astonishment at the empty decanter she still clutched in her hands.

She loved how he said her name. Why did he have to say it so.. nice. And despite the fact that he kept calling her love irritated her initially, she was beginning to enjoy it more than she thought she could, and probably more than she should. She clamered unteadily to her feet and then Klaus was there, reaching out to steady her. He was effectively the only thing keeping her upright and she would have protested but she couldn't seem to remember how.

" You drank the whole bloody thing? If you weren't already half dead what you just drank would kill you. It's of a higher concentration than regular alcohol, I use it to take the edge off," he began, continuing to gape at her "What the hell happened?"

"Forget it, it's fine," she clutched at his jacket, leaning heavily to avoid falling.

She lifted her eyes to his examine his face, with his jaw clenched he looked both fierce and .. Beautiful.

"You're pretty," she whispered, continuing to gaze at him "You're so pretty."

"You'll hate yourself in the morning for saying that," he responded shaking his head before picking her up "Come on luv, I'm going to take you home."

It had been a long time since Caroline had been in a man's arms and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't very aware of the hardness of his chest against her, or how good he smelled. As she inhaled against his chest she noticed he had a warm, earthy scent that wasn't cologne, it was unique to him.

"But what about the job?" She asked, the realization hitting her all of a sudden.

"It can wait, he'll still be around tomorrow luv and your in no fit condition to play bait tonight."

Her head lolled on his arm and she watched the stars struggle to be seen amidst the blackness of the night sky. There was silence for a few moments, Klaus' footsteps crunching on the gravel the only thing to be heard.

"Do you think I'm.. Evil?" She heard herself ask hesitantly.

Something she couldn't name flashed across his face, "No. I don't think your evil. You're strong, you're beautiful, you're full of light."

"Liar," she whispered "He wouldn't have done that if I was..wouldn't have left with her."

Klaus looked at her curiously but she ignored him, caught up in memories, "Maybe my moms right, maybe I do have a darkness inside my trying to get out, maybe deep down he knew I was evil."

The trees tilted as he placed her back on her feet next to the truck and then all she could see was his face as he leaned in close, "Your not evil, nowhere near it and screw anyone who can't see that for themselves."

"Don't you dare even think about biting me" she said, noticed his mouth was inches from her neck.

He smiled but it wasn't his usual arrogant smirk, it was softer somehow, more vulnerable, if that was a word that could even be used to describe Klaus, "Don't worry luv, it was the furthest thing from my mind."

Opening the door he deposited her in the passenger seat before climbing in the other side and turning the key in the ignition. She yawned and a few minutes later her eyelids had begun to drift shut, the mechanical motion of the truck lulling her to sleep.

"Wake me when we get to my house," she asked, not waiting for a response before she allowed her eyes to close fully.