Chapter 2

Klaus was angry. One might think this anger was directed at Stefan for his latest escapade-the abduction of his family and almost murder of his valuable blood source- and rightly placed this anger would have been if it had been so. But no, Klaus was currently angry with himself. He had let his emotions get the better of him, something Klaus never let happen, when he went to save the blonde haired vampire his first hybrid seemed to favour so much. He had exposed a more vulnerable side of himself, a part of his remaining humanity, to Caroline that night.

Of course he didn't simply go out of the good of his heart to save her, he had an ulterior motive. Klaus always did. So when he looked down at this girl, so frail and prepared to face death on her birthday, he found himself more than shocked when he was encouraging her to live simply because he wanted her to. His feelings at the time had been genuine.

But Klaus took lives, he didn't save them.

Even if she reminded him of all of his birthdays he spent alone.

Even if, when he saw her blonde curls and defiant nature shine through her bubbly personality, she reminded him of Rebekah.

She hated what she was; he spent a thousand years feeling the same.

So, he reasoned, a little…kindness on his part to her was understandable.

"Klaus!" Tyler was on to him as soon as he arrived back, "How is Caroline? Did you give her the cure?"

"Relax Tyler, have a little faith in me." Klaus strolled past the worried hybrid, "I never go back on my word, you'll do well to remember that." Klaus smirked as he realised how alike this conversation was to the one he had with Elijah.

Tyler had no choice but to follow and keep up with Klaus as he began fixing himself a blood drink and seating himself in one of the available chairs in the still being constructed 'fortress'. Seeing that Tyler wouldn't leave him in peace until he got his desired answer, Klaus indicated to the nearest chair for Tyler to sit.

"No need to worry mate. Your pretty little girlfriend, or should I say ex-girlfriend, is fast on her way to full recovery." He paused, remembering the way she had fallen asleep in his arms. "…I made sure of that."

Tyler however was not satisfied and got up to leave. "I have to see her. To…apologise... explain myself. It's the least I could do."

"Sit back down Tyler, I wasn't quite finished talking yet." Klaus demanded. Tyler looked torn, prepared to remind Klaus about their free will discussion they had earlier but thought better of it seeing the serious look Klaus was currently wearing, and so obeyed.

"Now I think I've been rather generous, with saving dear Caroline and not actually killing any of your group just yet, so I think I'm entitled to something in return, don't you?" Klaus asked, all the while swirling his drink leisurely.

No. Tyler immediately thought but instead gritted out, "What do you want? I've told you how I feel about hurting any of my friends." Anymore then I already have, his guilty conscience added.

"Well that's fine. Brilliant, in fact, as what I'm doing is for the…. safety of one of your friends." Seeing Tyler squirm from the anxiousness he must be feeling Klaus decided to get to the point, grinning at the reaction he knew Tyler would give.

"You are to stay away from Caroline."

When Caroline opened her eyes to the dawn of a new day, she had momentarily forgotten about the events of yesterday, her brief escape from death, and most importantly her encounter with Klaus. This bliss of ignorance only lasted a few seconds before she found herself checking every corner of the room for the mentioned Hybrid expecting him to be sitting across from her, champagne in hand and cocky smile in place with a line like, "Have a good sleep, love?"

After she confirmed that she was the only one in the room she allowed herself to calm down and think through just what the hell had actually happened last night.

Disastrous birthday surprise turned into an alcoholic funeral for herself – check.

Tyler showing up and then making out with Tyler – check.

Being bitten by Tyler and turning into a physical and emotional wreck (with good reason) – sadly, check.

Klaus showing up, giving her a moving speech and then saving her life – surely that couldn't have happened!

Her hand went to touch when the agonizing bite had been, only to feel her own smooth skin unwounded with no signs of what had occurred only hours before. So it was true then. A fatal wound like that can only be cured by one thing. The Hybrid's blood. Klaus's blood.

Realizing that sitting here dwelling on the odd situation she had been in last night wouldn't really solve anything Caroline began to move only to be stopped when she caught sight of a small black box, wrapped with a white ribbon, sitting on her bedside table as if it belonged there.

The only person who had been in her room was Klaus. The present therefore had to be from him. She stared at it for a moment before curiosity got the best of her and she carefully inspected the small note attached;

"From Klaus."

First he saved her life, now he was giving her birthday gifts? Damn him. Damn him and his perfect, elegant handwriting to hell. Before she could come to regret not making a smarter decision, like simply throwing it away, she unwrapped the box and was amazed.

The bracelet was stunning, to say the least. It looked far too expensive to belong in this town, let alone on her wrist! The way the diamonds sparkled at every angle reminded her of how Klaus's eyes had shone as he leaned close…

She snapped the box shut. Caroline shouldn't be thinking of him like this, or in any way for that matter. She opened the nearest drawer and threw the offending jewellery inside, closing it with a frustrated bang and with it, any thoughts of Klaus were locked away too.