Chapter 3: A Promise
"Sweetheart, open your eyes. Caroline, can you hear me? Caroline?"
She woke up to find Klaus standing in her doorway, fighting with himself to go in or not. You could tell by the strain in his voice and the crease in his forehead that he was genuinely worried about her. He must have been really strong though, because the full moon was only starting its descent and yet he was already in his human form. Barely dressed—a ripped t-shirt and some jeans hugging his hips in the right places, Caroline was already distracted. This couldn't be real.
Caroline found him beautiful.
"Niklaus?" she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"Let me in love. Please. Your hallucinations are getting worse and that can't be good-for either of us."
"Says the hallucination himself. Oh wait, first you took my boyfriend away from me. Then suddenly you come back from the dead. You're seriously not speaking to me right now, are you?" She retorted, her expression dazed and angry.
Caroline struggles to get to her feet but when she does, instead of walking towards him, she walks away. "You know you can come in if you want, you've been here before. And yeah, don't ghosts or hallucinations or whatever you call it appear wherever they want?"
She even managed to laugh.
"And oh, I just remembered- since you're a ghost – I can tell you this to your face. You can no longer kill me. Well, not that it mattered anymore. Because guess what, I'm dying and it's your fault. Klaus Mikaelson finally gets the happily ever after he's always wanted," she explained, turning to face him so they were finally eye to eye.
She was rambling and for good reason – his presence made her upset.
Klaus growled. "Caroline, come here. Now," he demanded, thinking that it would at least get her attention.
She shook her head in response. "I don't like being told what to do."
Caroline couldn't believe she was actually having a conversation with a ghost—and Klaus of all people! He had infiltrated her dreams countless times that a part of her wondered why she even cared about him this much given the current situation of things. She understood why her father appeared, and Alaric and Tyler – but Klaus- why couldn't he just leave her alone?
She needed him out – out of her doorway, out of her dreams, and out of her life. She didn't want him to be the last person she'd ever see. Caroline walked over with the intention of hitting him, sending him out the doorway with a single punch but instead, when she got there, she collapsed into his arms. All the anger, the sadness, the loss, the burning sensation in her body – it was all too much. She had collapsed moments ago, and here she was doing it all over again. Her condition must be far worse than she thought. The hallucinations were getting more intense. They seemed more real than ever.
Caroline expected to fall to the ground and end up sprawled on the floor, but instead, she was wrapped in the arms of someone strong – someone powerful. He cradled her in his arms like lovers do, close enough for her to see the faint stubble along his jaw and to smell the scent of him, wolf-smell, and blood, and dirt—and man.
He wasn't just a dream. Klaus really was standing in front of her, more alive than ever in his human form. Twice today she didn't believe he existed. How naïve could she get?
"Klaus, I" she began, but couldn't seem to find the right words.
"Shhhh. Caroline let me in."
It must have been the way he said it, the tone of his voice or how he was holding her in his arms. She could feel her heart beat faster than it ever had—and it confused her. At the same time, in spite of the odds, she found herself trusting him. Deep down she knew in her heart that this man—the man who was holding her, he wasn't the same Klaus who tried to kill her.
She nodded, barely.
He carried her in his arms, into her bedroom and lay her down on the bed.
"Klaus, is it really you?" she asked, wondering once more if this was all just a dream.
He sat down on the edge of her bed, facing her. He brushed back the hair that fell in her eyes, cradled her face and couldn't help but smile. "Who else would it be?"
"But, you –" she began, and her voice felt like it was scraping out of her throat. Didn't Alaric kill Klaus? How was he still here? How did he come back to you life?
"Shhhhhhhh." He brought a finger to her lips, silencing her. "Caroline, first of all, you have no idea what happened between Bonnie, Tyler and I. Second, I had no intention of biting you. It was a mistake, and I'm here to make amends."
He stood up, walking over to her dresser while she sat up.
"But you wanted to kill Tyler, and Damon, and Stefan and Elena, people I care about—people I love. I bet you kidnapped Tyler and Bonnie just so you could stay alive. Selfish bastard, I don't care how you explain it – you're evil and you care about no one. Killing my friends is just as good as killing me and you know it"
He turned to face her. "I wouldn't have let it go that far."
Caroline put her hands together and looked to the heavens. This man was a complete liar and she was actually buying it. What had gotten into her?
"Who are you trying to kid Klaus? I can see right through—"
Before she could finish her sentence he was right in front of her, his forehead touching hers, the proximity of which making her blush. "Me? Are you sure about that?"
She couldn't speak.
He once again ran his palm through her hair, cradled her face, and she didn't know why, but she wanted him to kiss her. She could feel the anticipation in her bones, the warmth bubbling up inside – was it the poison or her heart – she couldn't quite figure it out anymore. She was going to die anyway.
"Niklaus," she whispered, wondering why she was using his complete name yet again. It sounded more like a plea then a question.
She didn't expect what happened next. Klaus didn't seem to feel the same way. He drew back and let go of her abruptly, saying firmly – "You don't know me."
She froze. She closed her eyes as if the words hurt. What was she thinking? He was the enemy.
Klaus grabbed her arm, snapping Caroline out of her thoughts, and rolled up her sleeve to survey the damage. He then bit his own wrist, and lifted it to her lips. "Remember this? Now drink Caroline."
Her lips parted and her face began to transform into its vampire form. But she pushed his hand away. "No."
She didn't know why she was angry at him but she refused to let him do this to her again. Save her, taunt her—this was not the life she wanted for any of them. It had to end now. "You wanted to kill us so let me make it easier for you. I let you in, so you let me die. Leave – Now." Her voice was shakier then she wanted it to be, but at least she made her point.
She was not afraid of him.
Klaus growled. He put his wrist to her lips once again, this time more forcefully. "Drink" he demanded, his voice low, throaty. He then tried to compel her, looking her straight in the eye, but she knew better. Before he could say anything else, she pushed him away, and he almost fell off the bed.
He was angry now. Wasn't he trying to save her? Why would she refuse such a generous offer? But he should have figured it out sooner. This was Caroline – and she would do whatever she wanted as long as she thought it would be the best thing for everyone. "Don't be stupid Caroline."
She still fought back. He grabbed her arms, held them above her head and before he could even think twice about it—he came on top of her, pinning her to the bed. She stiffened, and seemed to lose all resistance. Their faces were mere inches away from each other and she could already feel his breath against her lips. Their position was so intimate but for some reason, both of them didn't want to move. It was crazy – too wrong on all levels, but neither of them seemed to care.
He held his weight up with his arm while the other let go of her hands. He didn't want to crush her. She did not push him away. Klaus then made the mistake of looking into her eyes. He saw all the anger, the pain, the hurt and her innocence, which shook him to the core. This wasn't how things were supposed to be.
But how were they supposed to be? He thought. He was the one who brought on the fight. He was the one who started all of this. Without him, Caroline wouldn't be hurt. A part of him felt a tinge of guilt, but he was mostly confused—why did he even care at all? This was a different Klaus, not the person he's been half his life. These were foreign feelings, feelings he had shut out centuries ago—and should be shut out again.
Klaus wouldn't be weak.
He turned away, lifting himself off of her. When he finally composed himself into an upright position, he reached out his bleeding wrist to her and softly whispered. "Please Caroline, drink. I won't bother you, or Tyler, Bonnie, Matt or Elena, or even the damned Salvatore brothers if that's what you want me to do. I'll leave town and you will never hear from me again. You let me in today and you won't have to anymore for the rest of your life—"
He paused before finishing his sentence. "Not unless you want to," he said, looking straight into her eyes.
Caroline took his wrist with her hand, drew circles in his palm and without even thinking, kissed it. He shuddered. She didn't know why she did it. She was drawn to his heat, his own light; although he'd probably argue otherwise—Klaus would insist he had no light at all. Besides, his response to her was so strange—so foreign. It reached into the very depths of his blackened soul.
"Caroline."
"I trust you. Niklaus Mikaelson is a man of his word." She finally gave in.
Caroline took his wrist to her lips and sucked. He wrapped his arm around her, and in a matter of seconds, she was lying against his chest. He was sitting with his back against the headboard, and her proximity to him was the closest anyone has ever been in a long time. He sighed.
The burning sensation was slowly disappearing, but the throbbing in her head worsened. Caroline's eyes felt heavy, but before she lost herself to the darkness, she whispered, "Thank you. Again." She then closed her eyes and the last thing she heard was his heart, hammering in his chest.
"No love, thank you," he whispered.
As Caroline drifted off to sleep, Klaus stood, making sure she was left in a comfortable position. He walked over to her dresser, grabbing a pen and looking for a piece of paper to write on. He wanted to leave her a letter.
He opened one of her drawers but instead of finding some paper, he found the picture of Caroline and the horse, one he drew months ago after his mother's ball, tucked under some magazines. It humbled him. All this time, after all that he had done, she still kept his sketch.
He couldn't contain his smile, although at the same time, he was really angry with himself.
How confusing. Caroline had admittedly played him for a fool – but now he questioned how much of it was actually pretend and how much of it (and he couldn't believe he was even thinking about this) was real.
No, he wouldn't do this to himself. That part of him died a long time ago, and he wasn't going to be weak—not now, not ever. He slowly tucked the picture back in its place, returned her pen and thought better of it—he wouldn't leave her a letter when she deserved so much more than that. He made a promise he intended to see kept.
He took one last look at Caroline, and saw that she was smiling in her sleep. She was beautiful and Klaus couldn't help but be drawn into her light. He walked over to her, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Goodbye Caroline"
And just like that, Klaus was gone.