Chapter 19 – Knocked for Six

Caroline stood in front of the Mickaelson mansion for about half an hour, debating with herself on the best course of action. Her mind told her to walk away and to think of a better plan then simply showing up unannounced and unarmed. But she couldn't hear herself think over the pounding in her chest and the tears that she desperately tried to hold back. Every bone in her entire body seemed ready to strike and the anticipation was killing her.

The answers were right in front of her. Once again she would be putting herself in danger, both physically and emotionally, but Caroline couldn't care less. Hell, she'd been so confused for a long time, found a sense of peace in Europe, and now that she was finally back home in Mystic Falls, the confusion was starting up again. She wouldn't allow that to happen.

Before she could think twice about her decision, she barged into the mansion and straight into the living room. Of all the scenarios that played in her head, she wasn't prepared for this one.

Klaus was standing in front of an easel, a paintbrush in one hand and a palette in the other. The only light in the room was coming from the fireplace, which he was standing directly next to. As far as Caroline could tell, the canvas he was working on was completely black, with the exception of a red mass in the dead center. Not to mention, the room didn't just smell like fresh paint, but also reeked of alcohol and smoke. Caroline spotted that in the corner of the room there were a number of empty whisky bottles, enough to put out a pair of burly men. As for the smoke, she didn't want to know where that came from.

Caroline made the mistake of looking at Klaus again. Instead of wanting to rip his throat out, as originally planned, all her anger seemed to dissipate. There was thick tension in the room, that much she could tell, but right now what she really wanted to do was brush back his curls, wipe the frown lines off his face and pull him into her arms.

Caroline shook her head in disbelief, biting her lip in utter frustration. What was she thinking? She came here to find answers, not make assumptions of her own. She knew she had feelings for the Original hybrid, but she couldn't act upon them stupidly – not again.

Suddenly, the smell of a different kind of smoke broke her thoughts. Her head quickly snapped up, just to find a small fire burning from a wastebasket that was placed next to his easel. If she didn't stop it now, it would eventually burn the wood and the house could go up in flames.

As if he were in a daze, Klaus simply dropped another piece of paper into the trash, picked up another whisky bottle and sat on one of the davenports that were facing the fireplace. He didn't bother acknowledging her presence.

Caroline moved like she had been struck by lightning. She quickly found a large enough container, filled it with water and rushed to douse the fire in the wastebasket. It tore at her heart when she saw that the last piece of paper he had thrown in was the silly portrait that she made of him. Maybe this truly was the end.

She shook away the thought. As soon as Caroline was convinced that it was no longer a threat, she boldly made her way in front of him, blocking his view of the fire. Even that didn't make a difference. It was as if he were looking straight through her. Klaus finished the whisky bottle he had in hand with one last swig and Caroline had to close her eyes when he suddenly stood up and threw it into the fire, missing her by barely an inch.

"Niklaus" she screamed.

That was when he finally took a good look at her. He smirked before his expression turned dark – almost angry and sad at the same time. Most of all it seemed as if he were appalled by her presence.

"You could have done that with the portraits, you know? Instead of almost burning down your house..." Caroline said through clenched teeth. She was just as frustrated and enraged as he was. Her fists were now tightly squeezed at both sides, as she attempted to channel her pain there instead of letting her tears fall.

Her next words seemed to tumble out of her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you. I could have let this house burn, but that wouldn't be any fun, would it? After all, this is between you and me. Now mister alpha male – give me your reason."

There was a chilling silence.

Caroline struggled to find her voice but managed to grate out, "Tell me this isn't real. Tell me that they are all lying to me and that this was not part of your plan all along. Tell me that what happened in Europe was not just another distraction."

She took a step towards him so that they were standing face-to-face. Klaus may have been surprised by her audacity, but he didn't show it. The expression on his face was still full of pure anger. Ironically, though, in those brief seconds she just stared at him, it became blatantly clear to Caroline that she had already fallen in love with him. No matter what he did in the past, she would stand by him and protect him. It would take some time to forgive him, but what are a few years when you have forever. Klaus made her feel strong and confident in her own skin, unafraid of anyone or anything. She wanted him to find the same strength and light in her as well.

Caroline took a deep breath and without any pretense whatsoever, she grabbed his stained shirt, pulling it—and him, close. "Tell me that I'm not the only one who feels something here… and I"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence. He rolled his eyes and managed to laugh, shoving Caroline out of his way and putting some distance between them. She was stunned silent. "And you'll what Caroline? Use this to your advantage yet again? I don't know what thrill you seem to be getting out of whatever this is you do time and time again, but I will not fall for it—not anymore."

He pointed at her and then back to himself. "Is this always how things are going to be between us?"

Caroline look him in the eye and for a quick second she thought she saw sadness and longing in his. He turned away and she must have been gravely mistaken. His next words were a death sentence. "Well it doesn't matter anymore. Even if I've said you're beautiful and you and your friends seem to have concluded that it can be some sort of distraction, let me be perfectly clear. You disgust me. You have no sense of self-preservation and you act too rashly that you constantly walk into your own trouble. I guess blondes really are…"

She had heard enough. Caroline should have listened to her friends. Klaus wouldn't change – not for her, not for anyone. He was still the selfish, cold, heartless original hybrid he's always been. She didn't bother letting him finish. She raised her fist and was about to attack, which made Klaus pause mid-sentence. But her hand was shaking. Even though she wanted to kill him so badly, her body didn't seem to cooperate. She couldn't bring herself to actually do it.

"This can't be happening" she muttered under her breath.

"But of course it is. Isn't this what you wanted all along? So have at it Caroline, save some of your pride and actually try this time. You dare insult me again by pretending that you aren't here as a distraction and that the whole trip we shared was all part of your plan. You can stop your act Miss Mystic Falls, stop all of the lies and do what you came here to do."

She shuddered, still glued to where she was standing.

"I turned Stefan into the ripper, almost drained Elena of every single drop of blood in her body, sired your boy Tyler, and even daggered my own family to their graves. You know what you want to do and so just do it" he bellowed, enunciating his last three words as if they were an order.

Caroline didn't budge.

"Oh bloody hell," Klaus growled. He pushed her against the wall and pinned her wrists to her sides with his hands. His body was crushed against hers, making it all the more difficult to breathe. Caroline could see that his teeth were bared and he was ready to sink them into her flesh, a bite that would eventually kill her. How dare he accuse her of lying? What game was he playing this time by turning the tables and provoking her?

She didn't care anymore.

She looked at him straight in the eye with no fear, and didn't resist or fight his advances. He must have been somewhat shocked by her actions. He cocked his head to one side as if questioning her, testing what she would do next. She still didn't fight back. Caroline believed he wouldn't hurt her in spite of everything that he said, and even if she were wrong, she'd be dead and wouldn't have to worry about the heaviness that was already building in her heart.

Klaus snarled in frustration. Caroline was surprised when she saw that a single tear fell from his eyes. She watched it slowly trail down his cheek and drop to the ground. Refusing to see anything else that will tug at her heartstrings and pain her heart, Caroline immediately shut her eyes. In the past few minutes alone, she had gone from anger to desperation to confusion to sadness and now to heartbreak. She truly was as weak as Klaus thought she was.

She couldn't say the same about him though. He then tightened his grip on her, this time bringing one of his hands to her neck, attempting to choke her.

So this is how it ends, Caroline thought to herself solemnly. She runs into the lion's den and willingly gets killed. She was tired of all this confusion, of his manipulation, of being disappointed and losing herself again and again. Maybe this was the best thing. If Katherine hadn't turned her into a vampire, she could be living a completely different life. She should have died that day, just like her father wanted her to – so maybe this was her fate. She deserved to die for almost getting her friends killed once more.

"You do it." She managed to choke out, mimicking his tone. She could feel his breathe against her skin, edging closer to her neck.

But then he did the unthinkable. He threw her across the room, and without even taking a second look at her or saying another word, he made his way out of the room.

Caroline didn't know what was going on, but this wasn't supposed to happen. She quickly opened her eyes and picked herself up. She tried to follow him out, but as soon as she attempted to step out of the room, there seemed to be an invisible wall holder her back. It was similar to the barrier that held Katherine in during the masquerade.

Klaus pointed a finger at her coldly and said "Death would be too kind. So much for your honesty Caroline; you tell me about how I don't let people in because I compel them and that I don't connect with people because I don't even try to understand them. But I did – I tried to understand you and where does that leave me? You are even worse than I am. You don't even need to use any of your vampire abilities to manipulate people. You just pretend to care even when you don't. You tell me to be honest but you know nothing about honesty or loyalty or even love"

Caroline didn't even realize that she was crying. She was so confused by what was going on, she didn't know how to explain herself. From the look on his face there was some sort of misunderstanding going on, but she couldn't put it together. It was as if Klaus thought that she was manipulating him instead of the other way around like how she thought it was. Caroline didn't know if she was once again falling into a trap, but what else did she have to lose? Her instincts were telling her that Klaus wasn't lying. There were greater forced involved, using them and that she wasn't the only one in danger. Now if she could only explain that to him.

She avowed convincingly, trying to break through the force field. "Klaus, listen. You don't know what you think you do. I'm not sure what is going on exactly, but it's not what you think. I…"

Her sentence was cut short when suddenly someone stabbed her in the back, knocking the wind out of her. She felt the vervain poison permeate her system and she knew she had barely seconds left, especially since she hadn't fed in days. She dropped to the ground and looked up at Klaus painstakingly.

He stared back at her sinisterly.

"Nik…" was all she could mutter, her voice coming out as barely a whisper now. There was too much that needed to be said, but couldn't find the words. Tears trickled down her face as she realized the inevitable. He wasn't going to believe her and that this was really the end. Whatever chance she thought she had with him was ruined now. Caroline's vision blurred but as she slinked away her tears she saw the person who stabbed her making her way to Klaus.

It was Rebekah.

"Now where were we brother? Oh yes, my apology. I'm sorry for killing Elena. You have to realize that I thought you were dead. Well at least now you know how sorry I am. Now we're even. Consider this as my apology, saving your life. I knew you wouldn't have it in you to do it yourself, even though your speech sounded pretty convincing. She was manipulating you, working with our mother behind your back even though she pretended not to. She must have made some sort of deal, a promise to spare their lives in return for your demise. Like I said earlier, you've known me your whole life and trust me when I say I really am sorry about your blood supply. At least you have your life."

Klaus took one last look at Caroline, which tore at his heart, before nodding at his sister. "You're the only one who has stood by me in spite of everything."

Caroline was losing consciousness now, but she clenched her fists until they bled in an attempt to force the poison back before it would completely take over her. It seemed to be working, well at least she thought it did. Everything seemed hazy, but she had to do something. Klaus was in danger. She was surprised Rebekah had something to do with this, but what was her motive? There was something really fishy going on. As she blinked back the dark corners slowly taking away her vision, she was taken aback by what she saw next.

Rebekah walked out of the room, made her way towards her brother and the latter was just about to embrace her, something he never did before and she quickly pulled out a dagger and stabbed him in the heart. Caroline couldn't believe her eyes. Now this wasn't right at all. Rebekah was the only other person in this entire universe that Caroline knew would fight for Klaus. This couldn't be happening right now.

As if she could sense Caroline's wavering alertness, Rebekah turned to the latter and smiled wickedly. "I love my family. But they are an abomination." If only she had the voice, Caroline would have screamed. She recognized who it was immediately. She didn't know how it happened or why. She was supposed to be long gone, unheard of for months especially after Alaric died. The recognition sent a chill down Caroline's spine.

Rebekah was not the enemy – no, this was far worse—she's back. The witch is back.

Before finally succumbing to the darkness, her voice came out as a faint whisper. "Esther is back."