Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or any of its characters.

A/N: Thanks again for all of the reviews! Thank you to Alixx4 and FicklePen for pointing out to me that there aren't any Sephoras in London, and I apologize for any inaccuracies as I've never been to England! I changed it, and please feel free to tell me if there's anything else that needs to be changed.

P.S. This chapter will have some canon moments that you'll probably recognize :)

-xxx-

Klaus barely had time to react before he saw the hybrid leap forward and attack Caroline. He heard her scream—her bloodcurdling, terrified scream—and he rushed to her rescue. He ripped the hybrid off of her, wrestling him to the ground. He pinned the thrashing man down, glaring at him furiously.

"I should kill you for that," he growled. The man kept writhing underneath his grip. "Stop," he commanded. The man froze.

Caroline, who was shaking on the ground from pain, watched in wonder as Klaus stood, barking orders at the rest of the pack. Why did that man obey him just now without a second thought?

"I need you all to get to Mystic Falls, Virginia as soon as possible. Don't hurt anybody unless I tell you to. I'll be in touch." And just like that, the hybrids were gone.

Caroline was sobbing, and she reached up to touch the spot on her neck where the man bit her. Another sob racked her chest as she pulled her hand away, which was now covered in blood. Klaus bent down beside her, pushing her hair back and examining the damage.

So this is it, then, she thought. I'm going to die, and Klaus is the last person I'll see. She was hyperventilating now.

Klaus swooped his arm under her knees and let the other arm rest on her back as he picked her up effortlessly, carrying her through the woods. They went the way they came, avoiding crowds and public places. It took longer than if they had used the sidewalk, but it was much less conspicuous.
Neither of them said anything on the way back to the hotel. The only sound was of Caroline's cries of pain. There was no doubt she was having hallucinations as well. She probably didn't even realize she was in the arms of Klaus. Or, if she did, she was in far too much pain to care.

When they were close to the hotel and had no choice but to use the sidewalk, he ran at vampire speed so they were just a blur. They were back in the penthouse in record time. Klaus set Caroline down on one of the leather couches, being as gentle as he could. He sat on the coffee table across from her, pushing her hair back again.

"My apologies," he said quietly.

"You promised me—" Caroline began through shallow breaths.

Klaus cut her off. "I'm sorry, Caroline," he told her without a trace of falseness. Why was he apologizing? He didn't even know. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

She calmed down the tiniest bit, but tears were still streaming down her face. "Nothing that happens is ever supposed to happen, but that doesn't stop it from happening." She was choking on her own words, her breath catching every so often from the crying. "I was never meant to be a vampire, but that didn't stop Katherine from killing me." She didn't mean to share this personal fact with Klaus, but she was so delirious at this point, she just let her mouth run. "I never wanted this." She used her hand to weakly gesture to herself.

Klaus watched her thoughtfully. "Being a vampire isn't all that bad. You should celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial human conventions." He had to make her see the benefits. "You're free."

"No," she snapped. "I'm dying."

"And I could let you," Klaus whispered. "Die. If that's what you want. If you really believe your existence has no meaning. I've thought about it myself once or twice over the centuries, truth be told. But I'll let you in on a little secret. There's a whole world out there waiting for you. Great cities, art, music...genuine beauty. And you can have all of it. All you have to do is ask."

Caroline stared at him intently, wondering if this was a hallucination or not. "I don't want to die," she said finally, her voice cracking.

Klaus breathed a sigh of relief. He placed his arm under her and helped her sit up, resting his chin on her head as he raised his other arm to her lips. "There you go, sweetheart," he breathed. "Have at it."

She sunk her teeth into his wrist, feeling less and less weak the more she drank. It was weirdly intimate and made Caroline slightly uncomfortable, but the pain disappeared the more she drank. Once she was finished, Klaus set her back down gently and watched as her eyes fluttered shut.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," he said again, but she was already asleep. He picked her up carefully, trying not to disturb her, and carried her to her room. He placed her on the bed and pulled off her shoes, pulling the covers over her sleeping form. Then, without really thinking through what he was doing, he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to her clammy forehead.

-xxx-

Caroline woke up early, and without the alarm clock this time. She glanced around, wondering how she got in the bedroom. The last thing she remembered was Klaus giving her his blood after her horrific encounter with the hybrid.

She reached her hand up to her neck when she remembered the hybrid bite. She half expected it to still be there, but it wasn't. Her skin was perfectly patched up and bite-free. She knit her eyebrows in confusion. She knew Klaus would've saved her anyway because she was his leverage, but he spoke to her so...compassionately when he gave her that speech last night.

She quickly put on some clothes and brushed her teeth before wandering down into the living area. Klaus sat on one of the couches, doing something—drawing?—in a sketchpad. He didn't look up at her when she entered the room.
"Morning, love," he said casually.

Caroline sunk into the other couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Morning..." she said hesitantly. When he didn't respond, she spoke again. "What's on the agenda today? More werewolf hunting?"

Klaus frowned, remembering last night's incident. "Not today. I can't put you at risk again."

This only made Caroline more confused. Why should he care whether or not she's at risk? Her life should mean nothing to him. She's just a bargaining chip. She should be expendable.

"I thought I would make it up to you," Klaus continued, "by showing you around the city." He glanced up at her to gauge her reaction. "If you'd like," he added.

Caroline shot forward in excitement, her elbows resting on her knees. "Really?"

Klaus smirked. "We could go to the Westminster, Greenwich, St. Paul's Cathedral..."

"Have you already been to all those places?" Caroline asked curiously.

"On several occasions, yes. I've been alive a long time, I've made my way around."

Caroline smiled. "Okay. Deal. Let's go." She stood suddenly, striding over to the door. Klaus followed her, leaving the sketchpad on the coffee table. He couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm.

After leaving Caroline's room last night, Klaus had decided that he enjoyed having Caroline around. He liked how she didn't pretend to be loyal to him out of fear. He also liked her fiery attitude and her smart comments. But there was something else. He saw some of himself in her. Like him, she had a complicated relationship with her parents. She struggled with who she was, like he had when he first transitioned.

He wanted to spend time with her and know more about her. She was beautiful and interesting and hard to understand, but he wanted to understand her, and he wanted her to understand him.

Klaus couldn't remember feeling this way about someone since his human days, so the fact that this one girl could have this effect on him after a thousand years was really something. He vowed to himself last night that he would make her his, no matter how long it took. He had time.

Klaus offered Caroline his arm again, and this time she took it. She looped her arm through his and let him lead her along, the movement no longer forced. She went with him willingly, which made him smile.

"What has you in such a good mood today?" Caroline asked him when they were on the elevator.

"My hybrids made it to Mystic Falls this morning." It wasn't a lie—Rebekah had called him this morning and confirmed it—but it wasn't the whole truth. Mostly, he was just happy to be spending the day with her.

Caroline was quiet for a few moments. "How did you do that yesterday?"

"Do what, sweetheart?"

"Make them listen to you. You said jump, they said how high."

Klaus chuckled as the elevator doors opened and they strode out, arm-in-arm, into the lobby. "That was the sire bond."

Caroline stared at him blankly. "The what?"

"The sire bond," Klaus repeated. "They feel loyal to me because my blood created them. It's much more prominent in hybrids than in vampires." He said it so quietly, Caroline wouldn't have heard him were it not for her heightened senses.

They remained in a thoughtful silence while they exited the building and began walking along the sidewalk with the crowd of people.

"Thank you for saving me," Caroline said finally.

"You're welcome," Klaus replied. "Thank you for helping me with the hybrids."

Caroline cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Well, I didn't really have a choice."

Another beat of silence.

"So where exactly are we headed?" Caroline asked.

"I was thinking you might like the London National Gallery. It houses some legendary pieces," he explained enthusiastically.

Caroline smiled. "You're an art fan?"

"Yeah, um...one of my pieces is hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice." He stared at the ground as they walked, and Caroline was rather surprised at his humble attitude.

"Is that what you were doing this morning? Sketching?"

"It's a great way to pass the time," he admitted.

Caroline's grin widened. "You're going to have to show me your work sometime."

Klaus's lips stretched into a wide smile. "You really want to see it?"

Caroline nodded. She really did. The fact that Klaus had hobbies outside of murdering innocent people made him seem more...human. Of course, she would never say this out loud.

They were in Trafalgar Square, making their way up the stairs of the gallery and into the building. The place was absolutely amazing. Caroline could feel the smile creep onto her features as she took it all in. When she was a human, roaming around some rooms and observing some really old paintings wouldn't have been the least bit interesting to her. With her heightened vampire senses, however, she was able to really appreciate the beauty of the artwork.

Klaus found himself watching Caroline more than the paintings themselves. She let go of his arm once they were inside, but she never once left his side. He would explain the history of the art to her, and she listened intently, asking questions here and there.

"I think this one is my favorite," Caroline announced as they stared at a vase of sunflowers painted by Vincent Van Gogh.

"Do you want it?" Klaus offered.

Caroline scoffed. "Ha ha," she teased humorlessly. "Sunflowers are my favorite kind of flower. They're bright and they remind me of summer." She eyed the painting for a second longer before turning to face Klaus. "Why can't you be like this all the time?"

"Like what, sweetheart?"
"Usually you're this murderous, scary, hybrid maniac, but right now you're being sweet and funny and normal. Why?"

"I fancy you," Klaus explained. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Caroline's eyebrows raised in shock. "Yes."

"Why?" Klaus continued. "You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light... I enjoy you."

Caroline wrung her hands uncomfortably. "Well I'm spoken for. By Tyler."

The corner of Klaus's mouth twitched up into one of his trademark smirks. "For now," was all he said.

At the thought of Tyler, Caroline felt a pang of homesickness. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other for a second before clearing her throat and shoving past him. "I think we've seen everything."
Klaus caught up to her and grabbed her elbow. "What's wrong?"
She was looking anywhere but his eyes. "Nothing."

"You're lying."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Let's not do this here. I want to go back to the hotel."

Klaus agreed, dropping her arm and letting her lead the way back, trying to figure out what could be bothering her. Once they were back in the room, she threw her hands up in the air and began to raise her voice at him, taking him by surprise.
"Why is it so freaking important for you to have me here?"

"I already told you." He remained calm despite her sudden lashing-out at him.

"But why me? Why is it always me? Every time someone needs something to bargain with, it's always me! It's not fair! Katherine turned me to get to Elena and Stefan, Jules used me to enlist Tyler in her stupid wolf pack, and now you're kidnapping me to make sure you have the upper hand in your power struggle with the Salvatores! It's like I'm useless unless I'm getting tortured or taken hostage. And you know what's worse? All of it is usually centered around Elena! I love her to death, but everything is always about her! Everyone in Mystic Falls could die and everything would be fine so long as she was alive because she's so much more freaking special than the rest of us, and I'm sick of it!" Caroline caught herself in the middle of her rant and slapped a hand over her mouth. "I didn't mean that," she whispered, mostly to herself.

Klaus inched toward her slowly. "Caroline—" he started, but she cut him off.

"No," she warned him before taking off to her room and slamming the door shut. What in the world was wrong with her? Of course she had to go blabbing her mouth off and spilling her guts to Klaus of all people. This week could not get any worse.

-xxx-

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the canon moments in this chapter! Also, I feel like I might've made Klaus accept his feelings a little too fast, but that's how he does it in the show and he doesn't really strike me as an indecisive guy. He definitely will have trouble accepting it when he loves her, but right now it's just an infatuation :) Anyway, review to your heart's content! I love hearing your feedback!

P.S. I'll be on vacation for the next few days, so I probably won't get a chance to update until Wednesday or Thursday unless there's WiFi at the place I'm staying!