Fallen

Chapter 13

A.N. You guys are so great for sticking around in between udpates. I know they've been forever. But with only a few more chapters to go, I'm hoping they'll start coming more consistently now!

This chapter kind of puts us on the fast track to all kinds of adventure, so I hope you enjoy!

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The smell of coffee was what roused Caroline from her dreamless sleep, her eyes squinting as they slowly slid open.

Klaus' arm was stretched across her, his fingers uncurling from the handle of the steaming mug as he placed it on the bedside table. His breath was warm against her cheek as his lips gently kissed the side of her face, her lips pulling up into a contented smile.

She sighed, turning and pressing her face against his, their noses grazing as she moved. "What time is it?"

"Not yet ten," he replied quietly, settling his arm around her waist and burying his face in the halo of blonde hair that pooled on the pillow beneath her head. "Katherine came and picked Declan up for dayschool an hour ago. It was quite the feat getting him out of this bed," he added with a smile. "A fact I can very well agree with, but for entirely different reasons."

Caroline giggled, curling her fingers around his wrist.

"I'm surprised you didn't feel his eyes on you, love. His face was barely a millimeter away from yours. I kindly informed him that not all women take voyeurism very kindly, cuteness factor aside."

She smiled. "Well, clearly he shares some of your more creepy traits then," she teased, laughing when he pulled his head away to playfully glare down at her with a raised brow.

"Creepy?"

"Well...staring at someone while they're asleep. Drawing someone while they're asleep. Somehow knowing their exact measurements after barely even knowing them...yeah, I'd call those creepy."

Klaus laughed. "You know, some might refer to those traits as adoring."

Caroline wrinkled her nose, shaking her head with a smile. "Mmmm, nope. Still creepy." She let out a playful shriek when his grip around her waist tightened and she found herself pulled again him, his lips capturing hers with a quiet growl. She settled against him, parting her lips as she slid her hands up his Henley covered chest, toying with the necklaces that dangled from his neck.

His hands were trailing along the curve of her sides, gentle caresses, barely touching. His kisses were an echo of them, his lips barely brushing hers, and though she felt the passion in them, they still had her frowning. She pressed herself tighter against him, sliding her hands up to the sides of his neck, his unshaven jaw, until they cupped the back of his head. She pulled him closer, trying to deepen the kiss, moving her lips more frenziedly against his.

His lips moved in sync with hers, but there was still a hesitancy in his kiss, and she pulled away with a sigh, frowning as she looked into his blinking eyes.

"It's all you think about, isn't it? Tyler," she clarified when she saw the question in his eyes, and there was a flash of something dark in his gaze at the mention of the man she was running from. She disentangled herself from his embrace, pulling herself up until she rested against the headboard, running a hand through her disheveled locks with a frustrated sigh. "I told you it was too much. I knew it was going to change everything."

Klaus pulled himself up next to her, pushing her hair off her shoulder as he tried to pull her face towards his. "Nothing's changed."

She flinched away from him. "You can't even kiss me like you used to two days ago, Klaus," she snapped, putting a few more inches between them on the bed. "God, I knew it. I knew telling you about Tyler was just going to...ruin everything."

Klaus sighed. "Caroline."

She snapped her gaze to him. "He's there, between us, now. You can't deny that."

"No, I can't, because he is," he relented, watching the defeat cross her face at his words. He slid closer to her, letting his fingers trail from her shoulder to her hand that rested on the mattress. "But not in the way you're thinking, love."

She looked at him, and he sighed.

"I don't want to remind you of him," he confessed. Her lips parted as she gaze softened, and he sighed again, running a hand down his face. "I think back on every one of our moments together. Every kiss, every touch, and I find myself wondering if I was ever too rough. I think of every time you closed your eyes or turned your head, and I wonder now if you were being reminded of him."

Caroline stared at him. "Klaus…"

"I'm not the most vanilla when it comes to intimacy, sweetheart," he laughed sardonically.

"That doesn't mean you're like Tyler," she defended, turning towards him. "Nothing about you is like Tyler, okay? Nothing." She could still see the hesitancy in his eyes, and she sighed. "With Tyler...it was like...like he owned me. I wasn't anything more than an object to him. But with you it's like you...possess me." She laughed, shaking her head. "And I know that it doesn't sound like there's a difference between the two, but there is." She glanced down to where their hands rested next to each other on the mattress, slowly sliding hers until she laced their fingers together. "Every time Tyler would touch me, my skin would crawl. But every time you touch me...it sets my skin on fire." She lifted their joined hands, biting her lower lip as she slipped them beneath the hem of her shirt, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes.

His gaze was heated, fixated on the way their hands moved beneath her shirt. She slipped her hand from his, pressing his palm flat against her stomach, and she watched his eyes darken as his fingers slid across her skin.

"My heart would race in fear with him, wondering if every touch would be the last one I'd ever feel. But with you my heart races in an entirely different way," she whispered, leaning towards him until her lips brushed his with every word. "It races in wonder and excitement...and I pray that every touch won't be the last one, because I want you to touch me every day for the rest of my life."

His breath was warm against her face as she pressed a kiss to his lips. "You're nothing like Tyler. You possess me, and you cherish me...and you love me, and you would never, ever hurt me."

She gasped when he pulled her against him, capturing her lips in a bruising kiss that stole her breath. Curling her fingers into his hair, she pulled him closer, heart racing as his hands caressed the expanse of her back. They slid down the curve of her spine, cupping her waist, and then slid up, taking the hem of her shirt with them.

Their lips tore apart so he could pull the shirt over her head, her hands settling on his shoulders when she was free of the fabric, watching as his hungry eyes feasted on her satin covered chest before his head darted forward, his lips nipping at her collarbone.

Caroline's head slid back, fingers digging into his shoulders as Klaus pulled them to their knees, his lips dragging up the side of her neck and brushing her jaw. She closed her eyes when they grazed the shell of her ear. "Turn around," he whispered harshly, meeting her gaze before moving away from her and pulling his own shirt over his head.

She did as he said, turning until she faced the headboard, her fingers falling to the button of her jeans, but before she could undo them, his hands were closing around hers, pulling her back against his bare chest, and his lips were attacking the curve of her neck.

Caroline sighed, leaning against him as he lead her hands across her torso, her chest heaving with her labored breaths. Their joined hands slid to the front clasp of her bra, easily unhooking it and letting the straps slide down her arms.

Klaus tossed the bra to the side before lacing their fingers again, bringing their hands up to her chest, relishing in the gasp that slipped past her lips when they cupped her breasts. Her head lolled against his shoulder as he slid her hands across the sensitive flesh, lifting his lips until they brushed against her ear. "Every instinct in me longs to hunt him down," he whispered, squeezing her hands slightly to indicate she continue to caress herself, before sliding his own down her ribs, teasing the skin above the hem of her jeans with his fingertips. "To make him feel the fear he instilled in you." Her breath was shallow as he slowly undid the button to her jeans, sliding the zipper down painstakingly slow. "He wasn't worthy of you...Then again, I'm not worthy of you." She was shaking her head at his words then, and he pressed a kiss to her temple as he pushed the denim down her hips, taking her panties with it. "But I'll spend every moment of the rest of my life trying to be."

Caroline shifted on her knees until he could pull the jeans off and away, the faint sound of drawer opening and the crinkle of foil reaching her ears, and once the material was tossed over the side of the bed, pressed her back against his chest once more, hands reaching behind her, struggling with the buttons of his wrinkled dress slacks. Together they unfastened and tugged, both gasping when they were nothing but flesh touching flesh, and she craned her neck to capture his lips with her own, his mouth swallowing her gasp when he entered her suddenly.

She fell back against him, clinging to his hands as they gripped her waist tightly, whimpering pleasurably as his hips moved steadily behind her. His breath crashed against her ear, growing shallower with every thrust and twist of his hips, his fingers digging into her skin, leaving a dull ache that was just as intense as the heat she felt welling deep inside of her.

She cried out when one of his hands slipped between her thighs, his thumb brushing against her aching clit in time with his quickening thrusts, and she clenched her eyes shut as she felt the tremors begin, her sweat soaked skin tingling as the sparks ignited. Stars burst behind her eyes as she bucked her hips against his hand, his groan echoing in her ears as the movements caused him to sink further into her, and his grip around her waist tightened as he thrust deeply-once, twice, and then he was moaning into her ear, their bodies falling forwards until they crashed into the mattress beneath them.

Caroline's arms spread eagled beneath her, turning her face as she hit the pillows, her breath coming in quick pants as she fought to calm her racing heart.

Klaus' arms were on either side of her, his chest crashing against her back as he held his weight above her. His lips brushed against the nape of her neck as regained his breathing, his hands dancing across her sides as he finally shifted away from her, moving them to their sides and pulling her back against him.

Caroline smiled contently as his lips peppered kisses against her neck, his arms wrapping themselves around her torso and she covered his hands with her own, pulling him close.

And as he whispered that he loved her quietly in her ear, he shifted, his lips beginning a fiery trail over every inch of flesh they'd missed during their interlude. And as Caroline sighed, turning onto her back and arching her body towards his wandering path, she let him worship and adore her.

Because there was a vast difference between possessing and owning.

And her heart thundered with her new reality.

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Tyler tried to drown out the loud voices and thundering footsteps as he crossed the bullpen towards his desk, his fingers rubbing at his eyes as he tried to wipe away the last remnants of the previous night.

His head was pounding, every flash of sunlight through the windows and every scrape of a chair against the linoleum causing the pressure to escalate. He squinted with every step he took, hoping that the eye drops he'd used to mask the hungover redness and the Advil he'd downed with a splash of Jack Daniels that morning would soon kick in.

And with every second that passed that they didn't, his anger at Caroline only seemed to grow. He was only in this state because of her, after all.

The thought of his wife made him grit his teeth as he tossed his jacket over his desk chair, shifting the holster at his side as his eyes fell to the picture of them that rested on the corner of his desk.

Her ungratefulness was appalling to him. Didn't he give her everything she wanted? A big house, nice clothes, sparkling jewelry that was the envy of every old spinster in town? And she thanked him by running out? By jamming a knife into his gut and disappearing in the middle of the night?

His submissive, dutiful wife…

His hands nearly stung with the reality of what he would do when he finally found her. She hadn't left him much of a choice, after all. Caroline had to learn that there were consequences-that she belonged to him, and that there was no getting away. Til death did they part, a promise she'd made to him years ago, and it was a promise that he would hold her to.

She would learn to never leave him again.

"Lockwood."

Tyler lifted his gaze when the voice thundered from across the room, landing on the towering figure of commanding officer, Captain Alaric Saltzman, as the the man stood in the doorway to his office. He raised his brows in question as he met the older man's stare, frowning when Alaric motioned for him to come over. He thought back over his recent cases, not remembering anything particular that would raise a flag with the senior officer.

He left his jacket draped over his chair, fighting to hold back the grimace when a uniformed officer dropped a stack of files just off to his side. "What's up, Captain?"

Alaric only shook his head, his face stern and angry, and motioned for him to enter his office. "Sit down," he snapped, waiting until Tyler was over the threshold before slamming the door behind him.

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"You're not even going to give me a hint?"

Bonnie sighed with a smile as she glanced over at her fiancee-ignoring the way her heart seemed to skip at the mere thought of the word-as he leaned against the counter next to her. She shook her head as she turned her attention back to her task at hand, pouring an oversized bag of Doritos into a plastic bowl.

"You do realize that in a few short months, what's yours is mine, and that does include secrets, darling," Kol crooned, snaking his hand out and snagging a chip before she could smack him away. He popped it into his mouth with a devilish quirk of his eyebrow, grinning when she glared at him. "Come on, I'm dying of curiosity."

"I'm not telling you anything," Bonnie reiterated.

"Just a hint! Come on, what's her secret? Was she a porn star?"

"Kol," Bonnie sighed.

"Naw, that's not scandalous enough. Cult leader?"

Bonnie shook her head.

"Belieber?"

"Kol," she laughed.

"Pop star in Canada?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, crumbling the plastic bag in her hands and tossing it into the trash can at the end of the counter. "You need to stop watching How I Met Your Mother reruns."

"But if I keep watching the reruns, it's like it never ended! I can just keep pretending that the monstrosity of a so called series finale never happened." He watched as the brunette smirked softly, though he noticed the conflict in her dark eyes, and he sighed. Shifting closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his chest to her back and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Bonnie lass, you know I'm just joking. I'd never make you tell me."

"I know," Bonnie sighed, leaning back into his strong embrace and covering his hands with her own. "She's just...she's so hurt, Kol. She always was, and I just keep kicking myself for not doing something about it. She's my friend…"

Kol slipped his arms from around her, grasping her upper arms and turning her towards him. He tilted down his chin, catching her gaze, and lifted his brows. "You are doing something, Bonnie. You're being there. And from what I've gathered, that's not something Caroline has had a lot of. Whatever it is she's running from...she's not so broken with you around."

A slow smile spread across Bonnie's face, and she lifted herself onto her tip toes to brush her lips against his, slipping her arms around his shoulders. "And you're just...totally fine with not knowing the whole story?"

Kol shrugged, pursing his lips. "Caroline will let the rest of us know when she's ready. Me before Rebekah, certainly. Caroline prefers me far too much to leave me in the dark for long."

Bonnie laughed, brushing her nose against his, but before she could kiss him again, the quiet pitter patter of socked feet reached their ears, and they both turned to see Declan sliding into the kitchen. Caroline was on his heels, an empty plate in her hands and a faint smile on her face. "We're running from Auntie Bekah before she smothers us with color swaths," Declan announced as he pulled out a kitchen stool and climbed onto it, smiling as Caroline ran a hand over his hair as she passed him on her way to the sink.

"Yeah, you know, it's your wedding that's being planned out there. You two should be taking the brunt of it all," Caroline teased with playfully narrowed eyes.

Bonnie returned her smile as Kol spun around to face her, leaning back against the counter on his elbows as he crossed his ankles in front of him. "Well, my sweet Caroline, perhaps I'd be able to focus more on the task at hand if we played a little game called 'Tell Kol Your Deep Dark Secret,' hmm?" he asked with a smirk, glancing over at his nephew to see him engrossed in a storybook they'd left out on the counter.

Bonnie sighed, a reprimand on her tongue-hadn't they just talked about this-but the teasing smile that spread across Caroline's face stopped the words from forming, and she watched as her blonde friend crossed her arms over her chest and shifting on her feet.

"Well, Kol, we did have a deal that if you could manage to not stare at Bonnie's chest then you could be in the secret club, but sadly, you have failed. So, no secrets for you."

Bonnie frowned, glancing down before she smirked. Suddenly the new shirt Caroline had given her that morning made sense. Especially given the deep cut of the neckline and the way it curved to her torso.

"Well, how do you expect me to not stare at Samantha and Sabrina when you wrap them up in such pretty wrapping?" Kol demanded, wrapping an arm around Bonnie's waist and pulling him to her, ignoring the hand that she shoved against his chest.

"Kol, seriously, we do NOT mention that in public."

Caroline rolled her eyes with a smile.

"I mean, really. It's like asking a fish not to swim. A bird not to fly…"

"A creep not to name his girlfriend's boobs after old time TV characters?" Caroline drawled.

Kol grinned impishly, dropping his gaze to Bonnie's floral print covered chest with a wiggle of his eye brows. "What can I say? They're bewitching."

He laughed when Bonnie's hand swatted him across the chest, catching her wrist swiftly when she aimed to do so again, and pulled her into his arms, capturing her protesting lips with his until her mumblings turned to giggles.

Caroline shook her head as she turned on her heel, laughing when she saw Declan sitting on his knees on the stool, his fingers laced atop the book and his little nose scrunched up in disgust as he watched his uncle and soon-to-be-aunt. He looked up at her, brown eyes blinking. "They're gross."

She nodded, resting her hands on his shoulders and leaning down to press a kiss to the crown of his head. "Super gross," she echoed, helping him off the stool and ushering him towards the living room, biting her lip with a smile as he latched onto her hand and pulled her after him.

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"What's up, Captain?" Tyler asked, resting an elbow on the arm of his chair as his eyes tracked his superior officer as he made his way to his desk.

Alaric Saltzman had been his police captain since he's worked his way to detective. An high school buddy of his father's, the older man had gone out of his way to take Tyler under his wing and guide him through the hoops of police training. He'd been there the day he graduated the academy and stood proud and tall next to him when he'd earned his shield.

But there was nothing proud about the way the man was staring at him now. The hard steel of his gaze made Tyler want to squirm in his seat.

Alaric rounded his desk and sank into his chair quietly, his eyes never leaving Tyler's face until he reached out, shuffling a few paper around on the surface of his desk. His face was hard as he finally pulled one sheet from the pile, staring at it for a long moment before looking back at Tyler, flinging it towards him with a flick of his wrist.

Tyler could feel the color drain from his face as his eyes landed on the paper, Caroline's face smiling up at him with a different haircut and color. His heart stopped in his chest, his throat tight as he struggled to swallow around the lump that had formed, and he slowly raised his gaze.

Alaric glared at him, his fingers tapping against the desk top. "Want to explain that, Tyler?"

Tyler's hands gripped the arms of this seat, his knuckles nearly white as he pursed his lips, shaking his head slowly. "I don't...uh…"

Alaric's brows rose as he continued to stare. "You don't….what? You're telling me you don't recall forging this?" he asked, jabbing the offending paper with his finger. "You're telling me that you didn't frame your wife for murder?"

Tyler shook his head, wiping at the sweat he could feel forming on his forehead. "It's not like that," he murmured.

"Then what's it like, Tyler?" Alaric shouted, causing the younger man to jump suddenly. "I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, what were you thinking? She's your wife! She's your God damn wife, and you do this to her?"

"No, she did worse to me," Tyler snapped, sliding forward in his chair and glaring defiantly at Alaric. He saw the warning in the older man's eyes, and he gritted his teeth, pressing a closed fist to his mouth. "I have to find her, Ric."

"Not like this," the older man said quietly. "Do you have any idea the kind of deep shit you're in right now? This went over my head, Tyler. The department that reported this went straight to IAB, and now they're out to dig up God knows what against you."

Tyler's ears pricked up at his words, and he snapped his gaze back to his captain. "Department?" he questioned quietly. "What department? Where?" Whatever department this report came from, odds are it was from someone Caroline had befriended in the months she'd been gone. Which means she knew he was looking for her.

She could have high tailed it by now…

Alaric sneered at him. "You know I can't tell you that," he scolded, throwing himself back into his chair with a sigh. "This is an official investigation at this point, Tyler. As of right now, you're suspended." He shook his head. "I need your shield and your gun. Your on suspension-unpaid-until the investigation is completed."

"Come on. Are you kidding?" Tyler asked incredulously.

"Your gun. And your shield, Lockwood. I won't ask again."

Angry tears were burning his eyes as Tyler stared at him, his hands slowly falling to the belt at his waist. His fingers worked slowly to pull the silver shield from the leather, his thumbs tracing the points and outline before he tossed it onto the desk. His gun was next, the holster unfastening with a snap, and he laid it quietly next to the shield, his hand shaking.

He watched as Alaric reached over and slid both the items back towards him, lifting them up and placing them into the open drawer at his side.

Tyler's chair scraped across the floor as he stood angrily, scrubbing at his face and striding towards the door.

"I hope to God these accusations are fake, Tyler," Alaric said behind him as his hand settled on the doorknob. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the older man staring back at him with a tormented expression. "Because if what they're saying is true...if IAB finds even a hint of evidence of what they're accusing you of…"

He was done.

Alaric Saltzman didn't have the finish his sentence for Tyler to know what it meant. And it only added to his outrage. His disappointment in the wife he'd so carefully chosen and crafted.

Caroline knew better.

Tyler clenched his jaw as he pulled open the door, throwing himself through across the threshold and letting it slam shut behind him. He ignored the eyes were peering at him curiously as he ran his hands furiously through his hair, rubbing them down his face before letting them fall to his side, fists clenched.

Alaric knew where Caroline was. He knew where to find her, and if he could just talk to her...if he could just make her see…

"Detective Lockwood?"

The quiet voice made him snap his gaze up, and he gritted his teeth when he spotted the doe eyed figure of April Young making her way towards him. The young woman had been hired as Alaric Saltzman's secretary nearly three years ago, and her bright blue eyes and overly bright smile had followed him around since then.

She was overachieving and tried too hard, always trying to please or offer her assistance, even when it wasn't wanted. Such as now…

He forced a smile onto his face, turning towards her. "Hey, April."

April shuffled towards him, a stack of files pressed against her chest. He tried not to roll his eyes at her appearance of professionalism-hair perfectly tied back into a bun, a pressed pencil skirt and sweater hugging her curves, sensible heels that weren't the least bit flattering on her feet. Her smile was timid as she approached, eyes darting towards Alaric's office. "I just, um...I just wanted to say that I was sorry. About...everything that's happening with Caroline."

He steeled his reaction, forcing his face not to twitch or his fingers not to clench, though he knew his eyes flashed at the mention of his wife.

He was no stranger to people approaching him about his wife-Caroline had been an expert at fooling everyone-even himself. She'd appeared as the doting wife and devoted companion. She'd appeared to stand by his side and support him through everything-when in harsh reality she was nothing more than a backstabbing traitor. Or, front stabbing traitor, he thought as his hand touched the still tender skin of his abdomen. He forced a laugh, shrugging his shoulders. "Look, April…"

April shook her head. "I just mean...I feel really bad, you know with you guys being separated and all. Her running off and...whatever." She tilted her head with a sad smile. "You guys are perfect together."

"It's just a rough patch," Tyler said, trying to keep the exasperation from his voice. "We'll work through it." He took a step back, smiling at her as he made to move away, but her next words stopped him cold.

"When I took that call from the police chief and he said he need to talk to Ric about Caroline...I wanted to just forward the call to you, you know? I mean, you are her husband."

He froze, heart stopping in his chest as he slowly turned his gaze back to her.

She took the call. She knew where the police chief called from.

He smiled, shrugging as he tucked his hands into the front pocket of his dress slacks. He angled his body towards April, leaning against the wall next to them. "Well, you know, Care...she tends to overreact." He laughed when she smiled, nodding as she glanced shyly towards the ground. "I just...I can't get her to talk to me, you know? I mean, she runs off to her uncle's place. A guy I've never even met. I mean...I don't even know where he lives." He watched her eyes flick back to his, and he tilted his chin down, catching her gaze. "I miss my wife, April...I just want to talk to her. To...try to get back to who we used to be."

April's lips parted, uncertainty clouding her features.

"Can you help me, April?"

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Tyler threw himself into the driver's seat of his car, slamming the door and tightening his hands around the steering wheel. He drew in a deep breath, flicking his gaze to the rear view mirror.

New Orleans. Louisiana.

Caroline hated big cities.

He used to think she loved him...but if he knew anything at this point, it was that Caroline was nothing but a liar. Her wedding vows, every promised she'd whispered to him over the years. He didn't even know who she was-going by a different name in a different city, doing God knows what with God knows who.

His teeth clenched at the thought that some other man could be lying with his wife right at that moment.

She might have betrayed him, but she was still his. She still belonged to him.

He turned the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life.

He was going to get back what belonged him.

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Well...I shall leave you all to your thoughts.

Thanks to my wonderful beta team, Katie, Becky, and Miranda for their always helpful help.

We're coming down to the wire here, folks...and it's going to get pretty messy from here on out!

Sound off in the review and let me know what you think!

Follow me on Tumblr at klarolineepiclove for all kinds of nonsensical nonsense!