Dream a Little Dream
Angst for mylittleniklausobsession :) Alternate to the end of 4x21
Klaus was back in Mystic Falls. It was only for the night; he had some loose ends to tie up, some sketchbooks to collect from his house, and he wanted to see her again. He didn't have to speak to her, he just... he needed to see her.
He had a feeling though; something wasn't right. He didn't know what it was, gut instinct, intuition, something that even he couldn't name. So it was with a sense of strong apprehension that he pushed the door to Caroline's home open. The smell of blood, Caroline's that he recognized, and the smell of human blood, hung heavy in the air. And it was her voice, the voice that had haunted him for days, the voice he had longed to hear, that broke the still silence, broken and in clear agony, and he found himself rushing toward the sound.
"Mom? Wake up! You have to wake up! You have to see me graduate. Mommy?"
Was it possible that for the first time in a thousand years he felt real sympathy and empathy watching someone mourn over the body of a loved one? Oh, it was completely possible, he knew that. The break in her voice, he could have sworn he felt his heart break a little in return. The tears that fell down her face, he wanted to wipe away and soothe her. Liz Forbes dead body on the ground, Caroline's hands fluttering over her, and all he wanted to do was fix it. Bring her back so that Caroline didn't have to lose her mother.
It was too late though. Her heartbeat was gone, nonexistent. And even he, for all his strength, could not bring her back. But he could, he would, he had to comfort Caroline. His girl, so broken and fragile looking; he knew though, nothing he did, there was nothing he could do, that would make this alright. "Caroline?"
She looked up quickly, spotting him in the doorway. She rose immediately, assuming a protective stance in front of her mother. "Get out." She spat, and he fought down his confusion and hurt, knowing that she was hurt. "Haven't you done enough? You killed my mother! You have Bonnie, now get the hell out!" Tears were moving steadily down her cheeks at this point, and she wiped them away angrily.
He moved forward slightly, hands held up in an uncharacteristic gesture of reassurance, or at least what he hoped would pass for reassurance. "Caroline, it's me. It's Klaus, I didn't kill your mother and I want nothing with your friend." He watched as her face crumpled, the anger leaving her eyes, and she stumbled forward hesitantly.
"Is it really you?" Her words, his words repeated back to him, was what it took for it to dawn on him. Silas. Silas had done this. Silas had killed her mother, caused her pain. He forgot his anger though when she moved the last few feet forward, collapsing into his arms. Her hands, bunched up in his shirt and he held her, rocking her softly as she cried. "She's really gone isn't she?"
Klaus could offer no word to the contrary, though he wanted to, a part of him, just to make her feel better. He couldn't lie to her though. So he held her closer to him, breathing in her scent. "I'm so sorry Caroline."