A/N- Merry Christmas to all.
In regard to TO. I actually hope that Klebekah happens and Elijah takes Esther's offer and becomes human too, then when she's going on about how she's saved her children from being monsters someone speaks up and says
'Yeah...bout that, now that your kids are no longer related by blood they're crawling ALL over each other...seriously, it's like a HBO special going down in Bourbon St'
I also hope that it turns out that Dalia doesn't exist, she's just the darkness in Esther personified and Finn bought into her hallucinations.
This is my brain people.
Caroline blushed with embarrassment when Elijah opened the motel door, she was certain he could tell through sight or smell what she and Klaus had been up to.
Then again, for a guy who'd supposedly been having phone sex for the last hour, he was remarkably put together, his hair was slightly ruffled but the clothes he'd been wearing earlier had been washed of the blood and dirt and air dried. He was even clean shaven although Caroline has to wonder how because the Motel only provided mini shampoos and soap and every store within a mile radius was closed.
Then again, it is Elijah- maybe he simply willed himself clean.
"Ms Forbes" he greets her as politely as he always does, "Brother"
He steps aside immediately to let them into the room, identical in every aspect to the one Caroline is sharing with her mother.
Klaus strides the two paces to his bed and hands her his set of towels,
"Here love"
"Should I make myself scarce?" Elijah offers and Caroline blushes an even deeper shade of red,
"No!" she blurts out, "No…uh I'm just using your shower because mine is out of hot water…not that I need hot water" she adds hastily, so he doesn't think that she's a diva, "But if I have the option then I'd prefer it to cold you know"
"How's Katerina?" Klaus asks, deliberately changing the subject and Caroline feels a sense of relief, Elijah sighs,
"She is well, still absolutely furious with me and it is more than likely I'll return home tomorrow to find that she's soaked my favourite suits in bleach…impulsive minx that she is"
His voice is laced with the tenderness that Caroline always hears when he's speaking about Katherine and she admires the fact that he can see the good in her whilst struggling to remember that some people saw Elena's ancestor as a person capable of being good as opposed to someone capable of smothering innocent victims with pillows.
Caroline opens her mouth to tell them that she's taking a shower but then realises she's being stupid and just scurries into the bathroom, closing the door and dropping her shoulders.
The bathroom is clean and white, with a pretty decent shower considering they're in a cheap motel. Caroline strips off quickly and then tries to figure out what to do with her clothes.
They're dirty, torn, stained and well…her panties need a wash and the only thing she could possibly wear again is her bra. She gives them all a quick rinse and hangs them over the towel rail as she steps into the shower and turns the water on full blast.
She looks down at the water cascading off her body and into the drain and then quickly looks away when she sees how discoloured it is.
She hadn't realised how filthy she'd got during the day…how the hell Klaus werewolf nose hadn't kicked in and killed his boner was beyond her.
Then again, he was an immortal twenty-one year old guy, she could have been covered in fertiliser and he probably would have just suggested shower sex.
That image makes her laugh out loud and she's smiling as she runs her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp and untangling the strands from her daylight ring when it catches. But her thoughts go from momentary happiness to anxiety.
Oh God she was moving to New Orleans…
She had so much to organise…
Was she going to live with Klaus? Where was she going to study? Tulane obviously but she would have to organise the transfer and she would need a car to get to or from campus…unless there was public transport? Unless she moved onto campus?
But if she moved onto campus when would she see Klaus? And how could she afford to live on campus? Sure she could probably compel herself a scholarship or something and a meal card but she'd need groceries and with security cameras everywhere, very few vampires could get away with compelling themselves in and out of Walmart.
Of course Klaus would probably hand her his wallet or something or provide her with gourmet gift baskets once a week but what kind of relationship would that be if she was completely dependent on him?
Okay, so she'd need to find a job…easy enough, lots of college kids had jobs…unless she took out a loan?
No Klaus would probably just buy the loan company.
And then they would fight and she would storm out but that would be pointless because he had an entire city of supernatural creatures under his command and would find her in under an hour and he wouldn't give her space to deal with her thoughts and she'd get angry and they'd break up and then she wouldn't be able to handle being in the same town as him and…
Okay. She's thinking way too far ahead.
They still had to get to New Orleans first.
And not just her and Klaus...oh and Elijah, but her, Klaus, Elijah, Stefan, Damon, Elena, Jeremy, Matt and her mom.
Crap! She'd have to talk her mom into moving to New Orleans and she would not be happy about living in the same house as Klaus.
Then again, Elijah had told her that they had properties all over the city so maybe she could stay in one of those while she searched for a house?
But property would be a lot more expensive in New Orleans than it was in Mystic Falls.
And how would they get their stuff from their house?
Okay.
Caroline turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping one towel around her body and using the other to dry her hair as much as possible before she contemplated her still wet clothes.
"Caroline" Klaus calls her name and knocks on the door and she clutches the towel to her chest to make sure it's still there before remembering that he saw her naked not even an hour ago.
"I'll be out soon" she promised but he chuckled, "I'm not kicking a gorgeous woman out of my bathroom love, Elijah's gone to the airport to see if he can't find some clothes for your mother, Elena and yourself"
She opens the bathroom door and sticks her head out, "Seriously? He's going to that much effort?!"
Klaus shrugged, trying to downplay his brother's generosity, "I think it's less chivalry on his part and more determination not to be seen in public with a woman in a velour tracksuit love,"
"Hey!" she smirks, "I was proud of that disguise, after all, nobody would ever expect to see Miss Mystic Falls slumming it around town"
Klaus grinned, "You'll find no protest from me love, I personally am a fan of any clothing that's easy to get off you"
She rolls her eyes but pads across the room and sits on his bed, he follows her and crouches down before her knees, opening his mouth to speak before closing it again with a puzzled frown on his face.
She knows this look, this is his 'I have no idea how to navigate this chance for emotional expression and connection' face.
Elijah had quietly explained to Caroline one afternoon that Mikael had often beaten Niklaus when he was 'too happy' or being 'too emotional' with his siblings.
The end result was that nearly one thousand years later Klaus was still uncertain when it came to connecting with people, he either forged a strong and lasting bond with them where the other person learnt not to expect effusive displays of affection or a passing acquaintance and with her- well, she was pretty certain she was one of the few women he'd let in over the long years, if not the only one.
She settles her hands in her lap and waits, he stares at her knuckles and traces them with his finger momentarily distracted by the artist within him before strengthening his resolve,
"If you're having second thoughts about New Orleans love it's alright" he assures her, giving her a gentle smile,
"The wonders of aeroplanes and fast cars means we can see each other as often as we like"
She huffs in surprise and her mouth hangs open, "What makes you think I'm having second thoughts? I haven't said anything!"
"Your heartbeat" he answers simply, "It was so fast paced in the shower you were either anxious, having a heart attack or indulging in an affair"
She rolls her eyes, "Okay, first rule you can't eavesdrop on me when I'm in the shower because that's my thinking place or my singing place and…"
"You can sing?" he inquires curiously and she glares at him, "And I have the right to expect privacy when I'm in the shower alone!"
He accepts this with a shrug, "Alright then Caroline but my offer still stands"
"I'm going with you" she answers before she can think about it, knowing that she should have taken the minute or so he would have granted her to make sure she knew her own mind but she figures she would have changed her decision another two or three times in that period.
She had to stop over-thinking everything and just jump in dammit.
"I'm going with you" she promises again, unclasping her hands and resting them on his shoulders,
"Because I want to, because you'll protect me, because I already know the Tulane curriculum by heart- shut up" she adds when he smirks,
"Because it'll be easier for mom and I to start our lives over in New Orleans than any other city and because…I want to be with you"
His shoulders are firm under her hands, lean muscles and strength to shelter her, to protect her and her mother, to weather her emotions and anxieties and to love her always.
And he did love her, she saw it in his eyes- the way they lit up when he saw her and followed her around the room, in his touch- how when his hands grabbed her in the midst of passion they trembled as he consciously checked to make sure he wasn't hurting her, in his everyday actions- stocking her favourite almond milk and coffee in his home, checking the oil levels on her car when he thought she wasn't looking, spending his days playing tourist in his own city so that she could see everything New Orleans had to offer.
He had yet to say those three words to her but she could wait, his actions proclaimed his feelings loudly enough.
His eyelids flutter closed and he tilts forward kissing her knee and resting his hand on her thigh, she parts her legs and his kisses trail upward until he is almost…
The knock on the door has her jumping and Klaus hurriedly pulls his head back,
"Elijah?" he calls,
"And Elena Gilbert" his brother answers, "In search of Caroline"
She glances down at her towel clad body and panics before realising that Elena's seen her like this before and knows that she and Klaus have been…well.
"Come in" she calls, clearing her throat as Elijah unlocks the door and Elena steps over the threshold, takes in the image of Klaus kneeling in front of Caroline's legs and her eyes widen a fraction but she doesn't say a word. She gestures to the cheap black maxi dress she's now wearing,
"There's one for you in blue" she says, holding out the plastic bag that it comes in, Caroline takes it gratefully and sees that there's a pair of supermarket bra and panties in there too.
She really hopes that Elijah didn't buy lingerie for her mom as well.
She ducks into the bathroom and quickly throws on the clothes, the bra is her size and she's both impressed and slightly freaked that Elijah could guess her cup size but beggars can't be choosers.
When she's dressed and decent she follows Elena out into the warm night and along the balcony until they reach the room she's sharing with the Salvatore brothers.
Caroline walks in the door and sees that Jeremy and Matt are sitting on the two pushed together beds while Damon sits at the small table with a glass of bourbon in his hand and Stefan leans against the wall.
"So" Elena cleared her throat and clapped her hands "Now that we're all here, we've been thinking about tomorrow"
Caroline feels trapped and targeted, thinking that she's been brought into a confrontation before she notes Matt's curiosity and figures that Elena's 'we' meant her and her boyfriends.
"We wanted to know what options we have" her best friend explains further, "Where we can go, you know"
Oh right.
Caroline had been so busy planning her future she hadn't even considered her friends.
She was a terrible person…or maybe just exhausted.
"New Orleans" she blurts out quickly, reddening when she sees Damon's smirk,
"Shut up" she tells him firmly, "Seriously though, Klaus has plenty of room for us there, the city is full of vampires so it can sustain a few more and we'd be safe in case the hunters or Bon…" she stammers and tries to cover up where her thought was headed, "In case the hunters come looking for us"
"If anyone comes looking for us, New Orleans will be the first place they'll search" Stefan points out and shrugs apologetically when she glares at him,
"It's true Caroline…especially if we're in a big group"
And if they weren't? What if they split up?
But she doesn't want to consider that yet, so she perches on the tiny windowsill,
"Okay" she looks around the room, "I'm open to suggestions?"
Matt clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck, "Um…earlier today, when we were finally able to get a signal I got an email from the culinary school I applied to in New York…I've been accepted and I should be able to get a student loan so…I thought I'd head there"
Everyone is momentarily distracted congratulating Matt on this accomplishment, even Damon offers his version of praise,
"So you'll finally learn how to cook Quarterback"
"I have an apartment in New York" Stefan suggests, "It's in Greenwich village, you can live there rent free"
Matt grins, "Thanks, but aren't you coming with?"
"I am" Jeremy speaks up before anyone else, "I'll find work or get a GED or maybe do something with my sketching"
"There's art schools in New Orleans" Caroline points out, "And rent free accommodation"
"There's also homicidal psychopathic dictators"
"Jere!" Elena scolds but he's shaking his head, "No. You guys didn't see what Klaus did to those witches, he tore them apart and left their corpses out as a message, I can't be in the same town as a monster like that. Not when we'd have to live and move in the same circles as him"
"In fairness to the homicidal psychopathic dictator" Damon snarked, "He thought those same witches had killed his brother, hell I'd have probably done the same thing"
"Jere can come live with me" Matt suggests, "Hey, maybe some human living will be good for us"
Damon rolls his eyes, "There are vampires in New York idiot"
"Not as many as are in New Orleans" Caroline argues dully, "I asked Klaus last week" she continues as she once again explains away her intelligence,
"What about you three?" she asks with a hint of desperation, "Six of us is noticeable but five isn't much better"
Elena is still staring at Jeremy with her forlorn eyes so Stefan speaks for her, "We were thinking we'd head to the west coast, L.A maybe or road trip around the states for a while"
"We'll stay in NOLA for a week or so" Elena promises, "We all will, we'll need the time to organise…everything"
Everything.
Right.
All they have right now is the clothes on their backs and whatever was in their pockets and had survived the day.
Everything they owned was right where they left it, their shoes scattered across the floor wherever they'd kicked them off onto, clothes were in the drawers and wardrobes, their family jewellery and make-up in their bedrooms, laptops sitting on desks in the Boarding house waiting for owners who might never come back for them.
And suddenly she's crying because she'll never be able to go home again, to the house she grew up in where all her photo albums, scrap books, favourite teddy and everything is.
Even as Elena pulls her into her arms and cups her head soothingly their enemies could be breaking into their homes and destroying their treasured possessions and even if they had enough decency to leave them, how long before looters raided the Boarding House? There was centuries worth of artwork and literature there that would be damaged or destroyed without thought.
And usually she doesn't even care about this kind of stuff but if she'd had time, if she'd been told that she would have to flee, she would have ransacked all of their homes and packed up the things that couldn't be replaced.
Their memories of those they'd loved and lost. Their photos and souvenirs from their happier times, the pieces and possessions that was integral to their identity, part of what defined them.
And Damon's Camaro…
"I'm being an idiot" she apologises pulling back, laughing self-consciously "I'm fine really"
She ignores Elena's worried look and hurries from the room but Stefan catches her on the balcony and holds her by the shoulders, giving her a comforting smile,
"It's going to be okay" he assures her, "This is the third time I've been driven out of town Care, I'd be more worried if you weren't crying"
She laughs, "I have to go talk to my mom, try and explain to her that New Orleans is really a great place"
Her mom is in the bathroom getting dressed and using the toiletries Elijah had kindly purchased for her, Caroline sits on the edge of the bed with her back to the window and bounces once, using her eternal optimism to pull herself out of her grief.
When her mom finally emerges, Caroline has already prepared a spiel about how beautiful and amazing New Orleans was.
But she hadn't even begun her segment on the French Quarter before she saw the expression on her mother's face.
Dread.
"You don't want to go to NOLA do you?" Caroline sighed, swallowing around the lump in her throat. Elizabeth shook her head, "No honey I don't. I dealt with the supernatural in Mystic Falls because it was my hometown, our family has lived there since before it even had a name but…I don't think I could handle vampires, werewolves and witches on the scale that would exist in such a large town"
She closes her eyes and Caroline can see just how tired her mother is, how emotionally exhausted and not just because of that day but of the years that had seen her lose a daughter to vampirism and her ex-husband to death, her friends and the people she had sworn to protect cut down in their prime.
Caroline suddenly wants nothing more than for her mother to be able to rest, to start over in a small, supernatural free town, maybe near a beach where all she had to worry about was drunk drivers and petty thefts. Where she could work the day shift and go home at night to a nice house and maybe even go on dates with a guy.
She couldn't have that life with her daughter. Caroline wasn't one for a life in a small town and supernaturals attracted supernaturals…she would be putting her mom's life in danger if she stayed with her.
So she leans over and takes her mom's hand, "We'll find something for you" she promises,
"Just come to NOLA for a little while, so we can get everything sorted out and then we'll figure out where to go next"
Her mom smiles and struggles to hold back a yawn, "First, we need to sleep" she instructs her daughter, "Nothing can be done when we're only half-awake"
Caroline laughs and stands up to turn off the lights, plunging the room into semi-darkness as the two women climb into their beds.
Briefly she worries about nightmares but when she faces the window she sees the tell-tale shadow of Klaus once again pacing the balcony.
He would keep them safe.
Abigail kept an eye on her daughter as they arrived at the meeting point. Bonnie hadn't stopped crying since the moment they'd found her father's butchered corpse in the forest.
There was no question as to the culprit. Klaus Mikaelson had torn through any witch who'd had the misfortune to cross his path yesterday.
The rest were fleeing back to Salem, the only place left in the United States of America that was truly a haven for witches.
Good people and noble witches. Men and women who had died fighting for a cause they believed in.
Dead because one monster had wished to save his paramour but had been too cowardly to step in until after his brother had been taken down.
Abigail grips the steering wheel and glares out into the empty parking lot where they were waiting to meet Celeste, the witch was running late as usual, likely having misjudged the amount of time needed to get from New Orleans to Athens.
And right now, Abigail didn't want to be sitting still with nothing to do, the inactivity gave her time to think, time to realise how much she would miss her ex-husband.
Sighing she climbs from the car and walks around the hood to the passenger door, opening it and holding out a hand for her daughter,
"Let's go for a walk" she suggests gently, "Get some fresh air"
"This is your fault" Bonnie sobbed, tears running down her cheeks "Dad is dead because of you!"
Abigail sighed, "He's dead because he left the Town Hall, I told him that when this went down he should find somewhere safe to hide until the hunters were done…He approached me with this idea Bonnie, I just helped him source the witches"
"He's dead!" she shouted, "He's dead and everything is ruined. Caroline's going to go straight back to Klaus and spin everything so that Elena, Matt and Jeremy will hate me!"
"Well" a voice calls out from the night, "War requires sacrifices of us all"
Both Bennett women turn to face Celeste as she strides across the parking lot.
"You'll get your revenge" the witch promises as she comes to a stop, "It may take a while but we will see the Originals fall"
Abigail reaches into her handbag and draws out the white oak stake with the plastic bag wrapped around it,
"Here" she holds it out as offering, "We couldn't get to Klaus but we managed to wound Elijah"
Celeste snatches it from her hands and checks it over eagerly, beaming when she sees the blood stains on the wood.
"Perfect" she praises, "This is exactly what we need"
Bonnie glares at her, "You said we needed Klaus' blood!"
Celeste shrugs, "That was before I heard that he went mad with grief at the loss of his brother. Elijah is one of the true loves of the hybrid's life"
She raises her head and Abigail sees the spark of destiny in them,
"If we can't attack Klaus directly we'll take our time and destroy everything and everyone that he loves…until he is praying for death and then you'll have your revenge and if we play our cards right, you could even win your little friends back"
Bonnie exhales with longing and shifts in her seat, "I don't want them all back" she admits, "Stefan, Damon…even Caroline and Elena, I don't care what happens to them but Matt was led astray and Jeremy…he'll have to come back soon"
Her hand settles on her stomach, "Because I'm pregnant with his baby"
Morning came quickly for them. Caroline felt as though she'd barely laid her head down to rest before Stefan was knocking on their motel door telling them that it was time to leave.
They were grainy eyed with faces bloated from tiredness.
Staggering and yawning to the cars where they piled in and drove the short distance to the airport.
Elijah had already booked their seats on the first flight to New Orleans, due to depart at eight am, they had an hour to make their way through security with several acts of compulsion to hide the suspicious facts that they weren't carrying any luggage and were without identification.
Caroline had a moment of humour when Klaus decided to make things easier for himself by hiding his British accent and instead adopting a mid-western American drawl to get him past the TSA.
They end up at Vito's Market, pushing three tables together and making full use of the breakfast buffet, the humans grabbing two or three plates at a time and the vampires filling themselves up on food to try and ignore their hunger. Caribou coffee was next and Klaus ordered the frothiest, most sugar-filled drink he could find on the menu, added an extra couple of flavours to the mix and then dared Elijah to drink it. The eldest Original surrendered with noted reluctance, took one gulp and then struggled to swallow.
Through this moment of levity however, they kept looking over their shoulders, trying to locate anyone acting suspiciously in their surrounding area. Anyone who could be a vampire hunter.
Caroline wondered how long it would be until they felt safe again.
Katherine Pierce was waiting for them when they landed.
Not even in the arrival terminal or the luggage area- not that they had anything to declare- but at the actual gate, wearing a black lace bodycon dress and matching peep toe cut out heels.
As always she looked stunning, dangerous and sexual but Caroline could see how pale her face looked in the morning light and her eyes flew right over their heads to Elijah, her shoulders dropping with relief as she cut a path through the tourists, not even stepping around them but expecting them to get out of her way- and they did, the expression on her face warned them not to mess with her.
She caught them just as they stepped out into the hall and grabbed her fiancé, pulling him down for a fiercely passionate kiss that had the rest of them averting their gazes.
When they broke apart Katherine was staring at her lover with an intensity that made Caroline quiver,
"If you ever pull something like that again" she warns him in a low, firm tone,
"I'll kill you myself"
He gives her a tender smile and kisses her forehead, "I love you too"
She steps back and takes in the rest of them, giving Stefan and Damon a nod
"Welcome to New Orleans"
Caroline smiled and followed Klaus as he led the way out of the airport, clearly eager to get back to the French Quarter. Just over twenty-four hours ago she had rushed through the doors of this airport, determined to get home. Now she hesitates over the threshold, Klaus stopping on the pavement and turning back to her expectantly.
This was it. This was the first step into her new life.
She inhaled, squared her shoulders and moved forward.
END OF BOOK ONE
A/N- So I've decided to split this story into two, maybe three sections to make it easier for me and to distinguish between the different story lines and handle the characters as needed.
For those of you disappointed by lack of Klaroline smut- check out my two one-shots Bad Girls Don't and Bad Boy's Don't. For Kalijah fans check out my series Moving In. For Delena or Stelena fans- you're out of luck I'm afraid.