Chapter 4 – If I Never See Your Face Again

A loud bang from the other room woke Caroline up from her sleep.

She felt like she had been in bed for days. The pain in her head was gone, but there was some ache still left in her joints. She stretched up, raising her arms above her head. She must have been really exhausted.

She was still in the clothes she wore yesterday and only then did she remember everything that went down. She rolled up the sleeve of her bloodstained shirt, to find not even a scratch or mark. Klaus Mikaelson had once again saved her life.

She leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes. Please don't be real. Please don't be real, she chanted to herself, but as she opened them once again, she still found herself in her bedroom and in the same set of clothes.

Klaus had saved her life again. Caroline couldn't understand why. She seemed to be more confused these days than ever before. It was that original hybrid, she knew, that turned her world upside down. One minute she'd be fine, the next minute, she'd be running. In such a short amount of time so much has happened that it's been quite difficult for her to wrap her head around everything. Klaus Mikaelson has made a big mess, that's for sure.

And Tyler—

Oh my—the thought of the other hybrid, still shackled to their living room floor made Caroline quickly kick back the covers and get out of bed. Her mother must be home. She didn't know that both Caroline and Tyler were there—especially Tyler, who was supposed to be missing.

She ran to the living room to find the shackles open and no sign of Tyler, nor her mother. "Tyler?" she screamed, but no one answered.

Caroline was never a panicky person but now she was starting to get really worried. She checked most of the rooms in her house – the kitchen, the living room, even her mother's master bedroom– but found nothing. There was no sign of Tyler or the sheriff.

It must have been her nerves that distracted her though, because she didn't hear the sounds coming from the shower as she opened her bathroom door. Tyler was standing right in front of her, in all his glory, fresh from a quick shower and just about to get dressed.

"Hi" He managed to say, laughing.

She smiled weakly, barely getting her words out. She went to him almost immediately, without any care in the world that he was completely naked, and gave him a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist holding her close, and as she laid her head on his shoulder, the familiar scent of his cologne and wolf and man all mixed together reminded her of how much she had missed him "You're alive."

Tears were streaming down Caroline's face now. She was glad to be alive and glad that he was alive. Everything should be falling back into place. Forget Klaus. Forget his mess. This was where she had to be – where she should be.

Tyler tightened his hold on her. He kissed the back of her head before letting go. He then raised his hands, slowly and deliberately wiping the tears away with his thumbs, and cradled her face in the process. As Caroline looked into his hazel eyes she could see not only that he was full of pain, but also equally full of longing. "God I missed seeing this face. Did you miss me?"

She felt her heart flutter.

"What do you think?"

There was more longing than pain, more love than loss at that very moment. He kissed her forehead, her cheek, to the corner of her mouth, before meeting her lips with his. Tyler growled low in his throat. It had been much too long. The feel of her, the softness of her lips, the curl of her hair, the way she fit perfectly in every way-it made his heart hammer in its chest and stole his breath. Her arms automatically slipped around the back of his neck, and she melted against him, making him want even more. He instinctively lifted Caroline off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He positioned them with Caroline's back against the bathroom wall, lost in a passionate haze.

Tyler wanted to take her then, claim her, possess her- remind her of how much he loved her and how much he always will. A part of him knew that Caroline was still in doubt of how she felt about him, but if he could only show her, cradle her, kiss her – she would change her mind and he knew it.

But Caroline couldn't shake off Klaus from her mind even if she tried. Here she was, pinned against the wall, about to make love to a man she thought was dead, a man she promised to run away with, a man she knew she loved but she was thinking about Klaus – the man who tried to kill them both.

Tyler kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheek, the special place in her ear that tickled and made her want him even more, before nuzzling her neck. He knew everything about her, everything she loved and didn't. Caroline knew he would protect her with his life, what more could she ask for in a man? He was safe and she was safe with him.

She realized just how much he wanted her, feeling him against her so intimately, and knew she didn't want to do this here—and not when she was so unsure. They were kissing and she broke away first, drawing them apart. She pushed him back a little, and understanding her intention, he let her go. She backed away from him blushing.

Caroline smacked him.

Tyler was taken aback, although he still seemed to be drunk from their kisses. The desire died just as quickly as it came "Ow, Caroline, what was that for?" he asked, rubbing his arm where a purplish bruise was starting to form

Caroline was a lot stronger then she realized. He expected to see her angry or hurt, but instead, Caroline was smiling. "That was for making me worry—and for a lot of other things. Who gave you permission to leave me?"

He smiled, forgetting that she even hit him and that she had broken their passionate haze. "I'm guessing you did miss me. So why don't we get back to – hmmm 'a lot of other things'?" He moved towards her but she backed away, grabbing a towel and covering the sight of him.

"You're so full of yourself Mr. Lockwood—" she began, blushing at the comment. "There will be a lot of time for that—don't tell me that's the only thing you missed. Get dressed. You've got some explaining to do." She shut the bathroom door in his face and then leaned against it, her face all red with embarrassment.

She could hear him swear under his breath, and step into the shower once again. Caroline couldn't help but laugh. She was definitely glad that Tyler was alive, but just as much as she cared about him, there was that nagging part of her that wanted to know about the other hybrid and if he was still in town.

Minutes later Tyler emerged from the bathroom while Caroline was busy fixing them both some breakfast. He strode into the kitchen, dressed in a plain shirt and a pair of jeans. He looked hot, just like he normally would to Caroline. "Mmmmm smells good in here. I've always loved having breakfast for dinner."

Caroline was too distracted by her thoughts to realize that it was actually night time. How could she have missed that?

"How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"The truth?" he asked, taking a seat on one of the kitchen counter stools. "Two days. I didn't know if I should wake you up, but then you seemed to be really tired, and in spite of the fact that vampires don't really need any sleep, I didn't want to wake Sleeping Beauty."

"But you did wake me up – you made so much noise in the shower."

Tyler couldn't contain himself. He laughed. "Hmmmm but you enjoyed it didn't you? Finding me?" he asked.

She made her way to him; put a plate of eggs, bacon and pancakes on the table before smacking him once more.

"Hey what was that for?"

She shook her head. Boys, boys boys—sometimes they didn't always say the right things. "That was for you being you. Besides, you should have woken me up—if anything happened, you know I wouldn't want to miss it."

Tyler took a forkful of pancakes and held it up to Caroline. "Eat baby, you must be starving. I'll go grab you a blood packet, and then I'll tell you everything."

Caroline didn't realize how hungry she was until he said it. He stood, grabbed a fresh packet of blood from the fridge and handed it to Caroline before taking a bite from his plate of food. She finished off the packet in a matter of seconds, and disposed of it immediately.

"Better?" he asked, taking another forkful of bacon and pancakes.

"Yes – you know me all too well, it's kind of creepy. Do you enjoy my breakfast making skills?"

He smiled. "Definitely. I could get used to this – domestication and all. You in your silk pajamas making me breakfast. You could be my wife."

She didn't know if he was serious about what he said, but she couldn't seem to move. To be with Tyler forever—she had never thought about that. He stood and made his way towards her, enveloping her in his arms. "I'm not asking you today Caroline, don't worry about it. I know we have forever, but after what happened, I just wanted you to know about how serious I am, and how important you are to me. That's all. No pressure."

He let go of her, and she forced a smile. "Okay."

"Did something happen while I was out?" she asked, changing the topic.

"That's the thing Caroline," he began, tucking her hair behind her ear "Nothing happened. I don't hear Klaus' thoughts anymore. Even though I broke our sire bond long ago, I used to be able to hear him, and what he wanted me to do, but now—there's nothing—it's quiet. Plus, no one has seen him – it's like he's dropped from the face of the earth."

She went silent. Klaus, gone forever? She didn't know what to feel about this.

"Hmmm. You seem to love hitting me, even when I've been gone for so long. Can I have another kiss instead?"

She couldn't deny an almost dead man's request. She stared up to him and for a quick second she saw Klaus. It didn't scare her. She closed her eyes as she leaned towards him. Her lips finally meeting his, and when she opened her eyes once again, it was Tyler.

It couldn't be the blood in her system. Why was she once again thinking of Klaus when she was with Tyler? This was really messed up.

"Is something wrong Caroline?" Tyler asked; a concerned expression plastered on his face.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I just—I'm glad that you're all alive and safe. You know I missed you-You and Bonnie both." She traced her thumb across his cheek and cradled his face.

Tyler smiled. He let go of her and she sat down on the kitchen counter in front of him. "And speaking of Bonnie. You've got some serious explaining to do."

He returned to where he was seated earlier, finished off his plate of breakfast before looking Caroline in the eye, concentrating on what he had to say next. "Oh yeah—about that- I can only remember bits and pieces of what happened. I'll try my best to explain it to you but you should ask Bonnie for the details. Basically when I woke up after turning that night, Klaus had possessed me. He didn't die the night Alaric burned him. Bonnie cast a spell on both of us to keep Klaus alive."

"But why would she?" Caroline interrupted.

Tyler took her hand in his to silence her. "Let me finish. She wanted to keep all of us alive. Bonnie saved everyone when she saved Klaus, Caroline. It's funny because he was actually the one who asked her to do it – like he knew he was going to die, and he needed a safety net. When he dies, all of us die, and as much as he hates us, he loves his life more."

Caroline sighed. "So Bonnie and her witch powers saved the original hybrid, saved us, and now he has returned to his body, which is not burnt to ashes, mind you – and he could kill us once again? Is that it?"

Tyler squeezed her hand. "You're so impatient baby. You still didn't let me finish. About Klaus body, another spell was put on it to make it look like it burned, but it didn't. As soon as Damon left the building that night and Klaus had already possessed me, he took his remains. After a few days, Bonnie was able to find a way to put him back in his body. She didn't want to at first, but Klaus had somehow gotten a hold of Abby and Bonnie couldn't risk it."

Caroline cringed at the thought of Klaus' blackmail, but Tyler didn't seem to notice and continued his story.

"That's when we ended up at the Salvatore Mansion. As soon as he was back to being Klaus Mickaelson in every way, he took out Bonnie with a single punch and since I was really weak, he took me out as well. It was a full moon that night. I remember him saying he wanted to get even for all that we have done. And then I blacked out."

Caroline remembered this- seeing both Tyler and Bonnie passed out on the mansion floor. She was now angry with Klaus once again.

"The next thing I knew, I was waking up shackled to your living room floor, in my human form, with Stefan Salvatore handing me a pair of jeans. He explained what had happened and how you managed to get me out. He was swearing mostly, saying that it was the most dangerous and careless thing you've ever done, but at the same time, he said it's because you care so much that you wouldn't have it any other way. He couldn't have done anything about it even if he tried."

"Well Stefan's right about that. He couldn't have stopped me. I needed to get you safe, just like Stefan needs to keep Elena safe and Damon to Stefan-just how we all need to keep each other alive. You would have done the same thing for me or for anyone you cared about." she explained confidently.

That almost brought him to tears. "I didn't know when or how I turned, but if I had hurt you Caroline, I swear I wouldn't know how to forgive myself. It was a good thing you didn't have a single scratch on you. Stefan said you hurt your leg, but it healed instantly. You just looked dead beat and so we let you sleep"

Caroline bit her lip. Tyler and Stefan didn't know about Klaus' bite. It was better this way. She didn't need to give them another reason to fight and risk their lives, to hunt him down and leave Bonnie, Elena and herself unarmed. She would keep her mouth shut—that was the best plan. It had to end today – all her thoughts on the hybrid, her confusion – it was just because he had saved her life, nothing more. She would stop this madness.

Tyler pulled her down to him and she ended up sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her close as she leaned her head against his shoulder. This was where she was meant to be—where she would be safe.

"So what did I miss?" he asked softly.

"Nothing, " Caroline began, forcing her thoughts on Klaus and anything about that night out of her mind, "I just helped with Elena and made sure that the Salvatore Brothers wouldn't kill each other over her."

Tyler ran his free hand across her shoulder, warming her. "Well I'm pretty sure we can't stop Damon and Stefan fighting each other, but they only do so because they want to keep her safe. If and when she chooses, I think or at least I hope the two will respect it. If not, they'll have you and me to answer to!"

She couldn't help but smile to herself. Things were going to get back to normal if she would let it.

"Well at least this time around, Klaus is gone – for good. Rebekah told us just as much before she skipped town. He's mad at her for what she had done to Elena and he decided to look for some other way to create his hybrids. I'm the only one in Mystic Falls."

Caroline smirked, sitting up, looking at him straight-faced. "And a proud one you are."

"Caroline, you don't seem all too excited that Klaus is gone. Every time I mention him, you seem on the edge. Is there something you want to tell me? He's lied to us, tried to kill us a number of times—do I need to make you a list? He may have a thing for you but it's a sham—you of all people should know what he's capable of – and it's not trust." Tyler said; his tone angrier than usual.

She wrapped his arms around his neck instinctively, trying to comfort him and also settle down her nerves. He was right. Klaus might have saved her, but he's killed her more times. She said she'd stop thinking about him and she would. "It's just hard for me to believe, that's all. He wasn't really gone the first time after all—and well—we tried to kill him—"

Tyler cut her off. "He's GONE. What don't you understand? Believe me." Tyler said firmly.

She decided that she'd have to address this topic from a different angle. "Okay, I get it. You don't have to be all mad at me—I'm just telling you how I feel and what I've been through. It's not that easy for me especially since I almost lost you and Bonnie the first time. I'm just scared."

Her words definitely calmed his nerves. Tyler relaxed and pulled her close to him until their foreheads were touching. He gave her a soft gentle kiss on the lips. "I'm here now Caroline. I will protect you. There's nothing to be afraid of. Forget Klaus. I promise you he's gone. He's never setting foot in Mystic Falls again. You will never have to see his face."

Caroline pulled him in for a hug, tears springing in her eyes. She didn't want him to see her face – tearstained and confused. Only one thing she knew was for sure – his last words made her heart drop.