Military campsite / 3 years ago

The village in Africa wasn't the last one full of innocents Klaus destroyed. If his instructions were to burn them down until the sky was colored red, and the air was filled with bloodcurdling screams, then that's just what he'd do. Hundreds more of "enemy hideouts" were demolished in those years. Elijah began to wonder how many of them were actually enemies, but he never questioned what he was told to do or go along with. He never actually carried out the acts though. Only Klaus did the killings. Elijah was his partner, and therefore went with him everywhere.

Klaus never seemed to question if what they were doing was wrong. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself. The man would positively light up at the mention of doing a mission. To say Elijah was worried about him would be an understatement. Sometimes it seemed like Klaus was beyond saving. However, Elijah refused to give up. There had to be a way to get through to him.

The two men walked through their camp, enjoying one of the few days they had where they weren't expected to travel or complete an assignment. The sun was out, and the air wasn't stifling, which provided nice conditions for a walk. Elijah had decided to take this time to try his luck.

"So Niklaus…have you ever thought about how long you wanted to stay here? In the military?"

"Not lately, no. I actually enjoy my job. I want to stay here as long as Walker will let me."

"Don't you miss home? Our family?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"I don't mean mother and Mikael. I mean Rebekah."

"Of course I miss her, she's my baby sister. But she knows I'm serving our country over here."

"I'm sure she worries about us more than we realize. I've been here a long time, brother. I want to go home soon, and I want you to come with me. We've served well over our time. All we have to do is ask. You've been here for at least seven years, and I've been here for longer than that. I wish to see our family."

"I want to see…well, Rebekah…but we're doing something worth while over here!" he said excitedly.

"Yes…but can't we leave that work to someone else now?"

"We could. Why would I want to leave the military with only the second best though?" he asked smugly. Elijah couldn't help rolling his eyes. Klaus smiled and jumped in front of him, placing his hands on Elijah's shoulders.

"I miss Rebekah as much as you do, but I can't leave this behind yet. For once, I've found something I'm good at. I'm not just some fuck up. To these officers…I'm a soldier they never had. They look at me with respect. I don't want to lose that," he admitted quietly. Elijah met his gaze directly and put his hands on Klaus's shoulders.

"You have my respect, Niklaus," he said sincerely. Klaus looked at him in awe. He was considering his brother's words when there was a lot of movement around them suddenly, and gunfire could be heard. The brothers looked around, trying to determine the cause of the commotion. Klaus grabbed a man running close to them by the arm and pulled him close.

"What's going on?" Klaus said, his tone demanding an answer.

"Camp's under attack. The enemy somehow infiltrated the place. Got about twenty assassins spreading out, picking off guys one by one. Keep an eye out for them. They're dressed in bright red garb." When he was finished, the other soldier pulled his arm free of Klaus's grasp and went sprinting off. Klaus turned to Elijah, a concerned expression apparent on his face.

"Find a safe place to stay and don't leave there."

"Why on earth would I do that? What are you going to do?"

"Give them a taste of their own medicine. I'm going to pick them off one by one."

"That's suicide!" Elijah stated, obviously horrified at what his brother was suggesting.

"Well if I took them on all at once it would be. Not one by one."

"They have guns."

"As do I. I have the ability to be stealthy, too. Now go! Stay safe." Klaus gave him one last, warning glare before running off into the shadows.

For any other soldier, this task might have been a difficult one. The enemies weren't trying to be inconspicuous, however, seeing as they couldn't hide very well with their clothing doubling as a large, bright red target. They might be attempting to use stealth on the camp, but honestly, they couldn't have expected this plan to be a good idea. Klaus came from behind silently, snapping their necks one at a time. It went that way for the first fifteen kills. Kills sixteen through nineteen involved him using more hand-to-hand combat, but the job was done swiftly.

Nineteen kills down. There were twenty assassins total. Where was the last one?

Klaus maneuvered through the eerily quiet campsite, searching for the last assassin. He rounded the corners of almost every tent in the site, stepping over the lifeless bodies of the killers who had tried to take out his comrades. He listened intently for the sound of footsteps on the sand. Nothing ever came.

It was when he turned one corner that a sense of overwhelming dread filled him. Elijah had knelt down behind a large crate, hiding himself from where the enemies would have most likely come from. Behind him…was a man in bright red attire. He was moving slowly toward where Elijah hid.

Klaus reacted instinctually at the threat to his brother. Stealth was no longer a course of action as he ran at full speed to where his brother remained unaware of the present danger.

"Move, Elijah!" Klaus yelled. He pulled out a knife he had hidden around his waist as he sprinted to where the crate sat. Elijah looked around in time to catch the man's arm, holding his attack off. Klaus managed to make it in time and tackle the killer to the ground before his other arm could find another weapon. In his rush to protect his brother, Klaus had made a rookie mistake, and hadn't made sure to cover his vulnerable spots. The assassin stuck him in the side with a knife of his own. The knife went in deep, but Klaus wasn't distracted for a second. He put his knife up to the red-garbed man, and promptly slit his throat.

Klaus fell to the side of the now dead killer, inhaling deeply. All twenty were dead. He had just killed a whole group of assassins with his bare hands…and a knife. His chest swelled with a little bit of pride when he realized just what he had accomplished.

He carefully got to his feet, and turned around to see where Elijah had gone. His brother was still nearby, a gun at the ready. Klaus staggered over to him, falling to his hands and knees as he reached his older brother. Elijah knelt down, trying to get Klaus's arm around his shoulders to help support him. Klaus didn't miss the panic in Elijah's tone as his vision began to blur.

"Help! Someone get me a medic! I need one NOW!"


Present Day

When Caroline had gotten back to the apartment, she had told Elena everything. She had left the boys out of it though. This was girl business. The fact that Klaus had finally talked to her was something for Elena's ears only. At least it was for now.

The crew went home around ten o'clock. Caroline had sent Stefan home with a thermos of chicken noodle soup, and told Damon to not be an ass to him while he recuperated. Tyler and Elena left along with them, after she gave each of them a hug.

Then, Caroline was left to herself. Caroline didn't bother changing out of her pajama pants and long-sleeved shirt. After putting her hair up in a ponytail, she sat down on her bed, and waited. It took about an hour, but she could hear the noises she had become accustomed to. The sound of glass shattering, banging, and incoherent yelling could be heard from above. She took a deep breath before standing up and walking to her door.

It wouldn't be a good idea to go to the fire escape. She honestly wasn't sure how to go about doing this, but she felt like that might scare him. Seeing someone at her window this late at night would scare her. Caroline opened the door and could hear the shouting still. It really was a good thing no one else lived in this building. She made her way up the stairs, stopping right in front of his door.

"How could you? This is your fault!" she could hear him yelling from the other side of the door, "Why did you do this to me? Your actions cost me everything! I'll kill you…I swear I will."

Her breath caught in her throat as she began rethinking this whole plan. Maybe it was still too soon. Yet, she knew it wasn't too soon. Since he moved into the building, this had been going on. Something had to be done. She was doing the right thing. This was the right move on her part. Yes, that was what she would keep telling herself.

With another deep breath, she knocked lightly on the door. All the noise ceased instantly. She tried with all her might to see through the door, but sadly she hadn't developed x-ray vision. Was Klaus having a heart attack? Had she killed him? Oh crap.

"Klaus?" she called timidly. Caroline was beginning to feel very unwell. Her heart was pounding and she was feeling a little lightheaded. A set of footsteps could be heard walking closer to the door, and the shadow of the feet stood right by it. She backed up a bit; afraid of what would happen when he opened the door.

"It's me…Caroline."

Soon, the door slowly creaked open, and in the entrance stood Klaus, with a bottle of whiskey. Caroline put her hands in front of her, so that Klaus would see she didn't have anything that could be considered threatening. His eyes looked dazed as he stared at her. He looked lost, probably disoriented from his episode. His brows furrowed in confusion before staggering back into the apartment, that same dazed look on his face. The door was still open, so she assumed that was his invitation to come in.

Caroline closed the door behind her. It wouldn't help leaving it open. No one would hear her if this meeting went bad. She watched Klaus carefully, unsure of where to go from here. It might have helped if she had thought this through more.

She slowly walked over to him, reaching out a hand to comfort him with. "Klaus, is-"

"DON'T…touch me," he snapped, his eyes glaring at her, his body mere inches from hers. She swallowed a large lump in her throat as she nodded in acknowledgment to his demand. His breath was hot against her face and those beautiful blue eyes were seething.

"Sorry," she squeaked out. Caroline swallowed hard again before managing to tear herself away from where she stood, frozen. As soon as she walked away and went to sit on one of his armchairs, he took a long swig from his bottle. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.

Silence filled the air for a while after that. It was the quietest Caroline had ever heard it considering what time it was. Klaus paced around his apartment. Apparently, he didn't enjoy television much. There wasn't actually one in there. She would try and talk to him later about getting one. Although, it would be hard to convince him to really watch it since infomercials spammed the channels at this time. Caroline would know.

After Klaus finished his bottle, he threw it against the wall, the broken glass flying everywhere. The incident wasn't near Caroline, so all it caused her to do was flinch. The glass shards finding their way to Caroline wouldn't be a concern. She watched as Klaus ran his fingers through his hair, going for another bottle. He gulped down a fourth of it in one chug, shakily putting it back down. He rubbed his hands, and then clasped them tightly together. So tightly, she could almost see his knuckles turning white.

"Nothing seems to numb it," he muttered after a long time, "They never stop appearing." Caroline remained silent, afraid that whatever she said would either anger him or bring upon another fit. A thought came to her as she remembered when Rebekah had been there, and she had first introduced herself to his sister. She had thought the music playing in the background had been to create an atmosphere for a supposed date. Rebekah had said it was Klaus's favorite though, and maybe the music had been for something else entirely.

She slowly got up from her seat, afraid to make any sudden movements, and went to his stereo. Caroline felt his gaze on her back as she tried to work the contraption. She checked to make sure Sinatra was in the player, and then she pressed play. Music flooded the apartment as Caroline positioned the volume to a comfortable level.

"How come you never play this at night?" she asked softly, trying to come off as curious, rather than sounding like she was making an accusation. He scoffed.

"Not usually the first thing on my mind."

"Right…" she trailed off, going back to her spot on the armchair.

"Why are you here?" he asked somewhat coldly.

"You didn't close the door," she quipped. His expression indicated that he didn't find that funny.

"I just thought you might want some company," she said truthfully.

"And what in the world made you think that?"

"Well…I thought if you were anything like me…you'd be lonely."

He scoffed. "Trust me…I'm nothing like you. And that's not why you're here."

"Hey! It's the truth. Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you."

"I don't believe it."

"Okay," she shrugged. It was quiet for a few more minutes before he decided to speak again.

"How'd you know? About Sinatra?" he asked softly.

"I heard it playing when I brought you cookies the first time."

"You like him?"

"He's good, but I've never really liked or listened to him before."

"Why did you sing one of his songs at the show then if you don't like him?"

"Because you do," she admitted quietly. He was quiet then, his expression showing that he had been caught off guard by her confession. Klaus ran his fingers through his hair again as he walked over to sit slowly on the couch. He intertwined his fingers, looking at the coffee table thoughtfully. Caroline continued looking at him, resting her cheek on top of her knee as she did.

"Why aren't you asking?"

"About what?"

"You know what," he scoffed. Strangely, his words weren't that unfriendly though.

"I figured you would say something if you wanted to. Do you want to?"

"Not really."

"Then we won't talk about it."

"Why are you so…understanding?"

"Well…" she began, "because a good friend of mine told me not to judge someone before I got to know him or her."

"So you came to see what the freak was like?"

"No! I don't think of you like that."

"What do you think of me as then?"

"You know you ask a lot of questions," Caroline observed. Honestly, she wanted it that way though. She wanted him to feel comfortable around her. If that meant he needed to ask the questions, she was fine with that.

"Just trying to know the neighbor who hasn't called the cops or the landlord."

"I didn't see a point in calling them."

"Why? Thought you'd be the special one to help me?"

"What?"

"Come on, you can't fool me. I've been in enough therapy sessions to know what you're thinking," he mumbled somberly. She furrowed her brows. He didn't seem mad, and that was a little strange to her.

"I'm not trying to change you."

"Sure," he said in disbelief.

"I'm serious."

"Fine," he said, getting up and going back to the kitchen, obviously giving up with his current line of questioning, "but you never answered my other question."

"Which was?"

"What do you think of me as?"

"Maybe I don't think of you as anything yet," she said. Klaus opened his fridge and bent down to get something.

"That just means you secretly think I'm a grumpy man with a nice ass."

"What!" she squeaked out. Her cheeks began to burn, and she knew they were bright red. Had he really just said that? Oh god, he knew! Klaus stood back up, holding two water bottles in his hand.

"Caroline," he sang a little, trying to pull her back from her thoughts as he tossed a water bottle to her. She caught it right before it smacked her in the head. Caroline looked back up to him.

"I'm joking?" he said, his face unsure of if he had actually made a joke or not. He sat back down on the couch, taking a long sip of his water. She nodded quickly.

"Oh yea," she chuckled, "that was funny." Caroline began drinking nervously. Had he just made a joke? And still not smiled? He was such a freaking puzzle.

Klaus stretched out on the couch, resting his head on a pillow at the end, the side farthest from her. He played with his bottle a little, looking as if he was searching for something to say. She had finished her water before he spoke again.

"Do you live with anyone downstairs?"

"Nope. It's just me."

"Does it ever get lonely?" he asked a bit distantly. She looked at him, resting her cheek back against her knees.

"Yes," she said quietly. It was something she hadn't even admitted to Tyler. Klaus looked at her then, his eyes studying her every move.

"Oh. So…I'm not keeping you from anyone?" Caroline looked at him through hooded lids; sleep beginning to find it's way to her.

"No," she said softly. Klaus seemed to notice how tired she looked.

"I see. Well…if you're too tired to go back downstairs…you should know I'm quite comfortable on this couch."

"You are, are you?" Caroline smiled a little. Klaus nodded slowly, focusing on his now empty water bottle.

"I am. Which leaves my bed open…you know, if you'd like something more comfortable," he offered quietly. Klaus almost sounded embarrassed for suggesting such a thing. She bit her lower lip to keep from smiling.

"Thanks, but," she paused, maneuvering her body so that she could curl up comfortably in the leather armchair. Once she was settled, with her head resting on the arm over top of her hands, she continued, "I like it here."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, his tone returning to it's usual, indifferent self. Klaus moved to switch the lamp off, and then turned to lie on his side so that he could face her. She grinned.

"So is this like a sleepover? Are we going to tell scary stories now?" she whispered.

"Just go to sleep, and don't make me regret letting you stay. I'm tired," he said, not bothering to keep his voice down like she had. Klaus sounded more exhausted than he had all night in Caroline's opinion. She couldn't stop smiling as she grabbed the blanket lying on top of the chair, and draped it around herself.

"Goodnight, Klaus," she whispered. It was silent, and for a while, she thought he wasn't going to say anything. But then, he whispered back to her. She grinned and closed her eyes. For once, Caroline didn't feel so alone. And for the first time in months, she didn't need her iPod as she fell asleep.

"Goodnight, Caroline."


A/N: You guys have been so great. Such kind and helpful reviews, as well as all the support in general. It makes me want to keep writing ^-^

Hope everyone enjoyed all the klaroline. I have more planned for next chapter, too.

Until next time!