Disclaimer: I own nothing. But the plot is mine. So don't copy it.

AN: Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the follows and favorites! And I love every single one of your reviews, you are the best!

Sorry for the delay with this chapter, but I hope you will enjoy it!

P.S. If anyone would be so awesome and would want to make a banner for this story, I would be eternally grateful. I have zero skill with photoshop, so if someone would be willing to do it, PM me, please!

Chapter Five - You are the night time fear

Caroline woke up well rested. The bed was so comfortable that she didn't want to get up, but the bright sunlight begged her to open her eyes. She was in a large room that was decorated beautifully with antique furniture. The place was spectacular and it took a long time for her to realize where she was.

"Oh my god!" Caroline shrieked and jumped out of the bed with record speed. She remembered going to the Inn, drinking way too much whiskey and finally, agreeing to Nik's suggestion of her staying at his place. She couldn't remember anything after entering the cab. She must've fallen asleep.

She had been drunk. Too drunk. What else would explain her being here? Caroline had just witnessed him murdering someone. She was in the house of a stranger, who was very capable of killing people.

What the hell had she been thinking?

What the hell had he been thinking? Taking Caroline to his place had been the worst idea, Klaus thought to himself as he watched Stefan enter the apartment. This was not good. Humans and Stefan did not go well together. Well, not if you didn't want them to be dead within the next hour or so. Klaus watched as Stefan's smirk turned into a frown.

"Why do you have a human in here?" he asked as he neared Klaus.

"None of your business, Stefan." Stefan laughed at his defensive tone and poured himself a drink. The man was never sober, but at least he was a funny drunk.

"Are you already hoarding your dinner?" he joked, turning his gaze to the direction of Caroline's room. No, not Caroline's room. The room she was residing in, he reminded himself.

"No, she's not dinner." Klaus growled. Stefan merely laughed again.

"Stefan, you do not touch her. She is my guest. Understood?" Stefan lost the smirk and looked a bit puzzled.

"Are you telling me, that you have a human here, and that she is not meant to be food?"

To be honest, Klaus was as surprised by his own actions as Stefan was. This just wasn't something he did. He didn't save humans from their miserable lives. This wasn't him. But somehow, he saw himself in her. He had taken the beatings for a long time. And thinking that there was no one to take the beatings for her like he had taken them for Rebekah made him want to track down Caroline's father and kill the bastard. Very painfully.

"So, are you the good guy now?" Stefan was back to smirking.

"Don't be stupid, Stefan, it doesn't suit you."

"Well, then it's good that I brought some snacks. Ladies!" He yelled the last part, making the sudden loud noise hurt Klaus' ears. Two pairs of heels clicked in the hallway and finally entered the room. The women were beautiful, like always. Stefan liked them pretty, and brunette. It had probably something to do with Stefan's fixation to his maker, Katherine. But frankly, Klaus wasn't really that interested.

The girls were more suitably dressed for a night out, and considering it was ten in the morning, Klaus assumed Stefan had stayed up all night.

"Take your pick, Nik," Stefan urged. Klaus looked at the two brunettes. Neither of them looked very appealing to him right now. His mind was filled with images of a certain blonde, and he just couldn't seem to shake them.

"The one in red," he finally decided.

"A fine choice. Girls, please take a seat." Stefan instructed them and they gladly obeyed. They were compelled to obey, but as Klaus sank his fangs into the girl's soft flesh, he learned that they were not compelled to be quiet. But Klaus could barely hear her. The sweet blood entered his mouth and that was all he needed. The images of Caroline were gone, only the blood remained.

Caroline paced around the room, thinking what to do next. Nik had been right last night. She couldn't go back home, his father would come looking for her from Elena's, and well, Bonnie lived in a tiny apartment and didn't really have room to house Caroline.

But still, there had to be a better option, Caroline thought and sat down by the vanity table. Her make-up had smeared. She tried to rub it off, but it only made it worse. She would have to find a place to freshen up.

She stared at herself in the mirror, and suddenly, noticed that the bruise in her throat was gone. So were the ones in her arms, and frankly every bruise in her body was nowhere to be found. And now that she thought of it, she had woken up without the slightest of headaches, and boy had she been drinking.

How odd, she thought, but then suddenly, she heard a scream. Then another. She didn't know what to do. For a moment she was paralyzed by the fear. He was a killer, after all. But her curiosity won, like it always did. She left her shoes lying by the bed, and tiptoed her way out of the room, her feet silent on the hardwood floors.

The apartment seemed huge. She had no idea where she was going or where she was coming from. She knew the apartment was high up from the ground, and judging by the size, she assumed that the apartment covered a whole floor in the building.

Caroline finally came to a room that looked like a parlor, only to be faced with her host drinking the blood of a woman. She noticed another man, doing the same. Caroline stumbled a couple of steps back in horror. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to yell them to stop, but doing that might prove to be dangerous, deadly dangerous.

She backed down, still pondering what to do, when a sharp pain made her yelp. She had backed against the door frame, and now two pairs of red eyes were staring at her.

"Caroline –, "Nik started, but before he could say anything, she ran. Again.

But this time she didn't get far. His hand grabbed her shoulder. Caroline tried to struggle away from his grip, but he would not budge. He turned her around without effort, forcing her to face him.

"Where are you going, sweetheart?" he asked, his eyes back to normal now. But Caroline could still see traces of blood on his lips. It made Caroline sick.

"Away from you," she hissed. He shook his head and finally wiped the blood from his mouth. Caroline looked behind Nik's back and saw the other man, vampire, staring at them. His face was full of blood, and his eyes still gleamed red. A shiver ran down her spine as she looked at him. And suddenly Nik's hand on her shoulder did not feel like the thing she should fear, but like something that would keep her safe.

She knew it was ridiculous. She had just witnessed both of them doing the exact thing. They had both been sucking the life out of those innocent girls. But now, Nik's hand on her made her feel safe. He was going to keep her safe.

Nik glanced over his shoulder.

"Go," he said and looked at the man. He looked wild, but got up from the sofa, taking the girl with him.

"I'll just come back later," the man muttered, taking the girls hand on his and lifting her wrist to his lips. His fangs sank to her flesh, making her whimper from the pain. Caroline let out a cry. The girl was going to die and she couldn't do anything. She was so helpless.

The man left with the girl, but the other girl was left on the sofa, bleeding.

"Now, where are you going, love?" he asked, making her tear her eyes away from the girl.

"Anywhere. I would be better off with my father," she said with venom in her voice. She felt tears prickle in her eyes. She turned her gaze away from his grey eyes, but his hand came to her jaw, tilting it so she was looking at him. The look on his face was furious.

"Don't ever, ever, say that again. You will never go back to that man, you understand me, Caroline?" he said with such urgency.

"Yes," she whispered, tears rolling down her face.

"You'll be safe here. No one is going to hurt you. No one," he said quietly, and brushed her tears away with his thumbs. The moment seemed to last forever.

"Okay," she said, not capable of taking the intensity of the moment any longer. She believed him. For some absurd reason, she knew that she would be safe. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her. His hands left her face and Caroline was hit by the sudden feeling of longing. His hands hadn't felt disgusting on her skin like they should have. They were the hands of a killer. Instead, they had felt right. Like they belonged there.

He cleared his throat and took a step back. "Dinner is at eight. Don't be late." Caroline was just about to tell him that she did not want to have dinner with him, and she didn't even have any clothes here, but before she could even open her mouth, he was gone. She hadn't even seen him move. The girl from the sofa was gone too. A bulge formed in her throat. How could she trust a killer to keep her safe?

"Nik, what the hell were you thinking?" Rebekah raged on in his study. Klaus groaned and pressed his hands to his face.

"I don't know!"

"What is it about her that makes you do this? We don't mingle with humans. You don't mingle with humans. You loath them. They are weak and nothing but food."

Rebekah had come barging in a few hours after Stefan left and alerted her about the human situation going on.

"I don't know, Bekah. I just couldn't let her go back there."

"This isn't you, Nik!"

"I know! But there is just something about her…" He sighed and grabbed his paint brushes and paint. When something bothered him, he painted. His sister kept pacing back and forth.

"Are you going to turn her?"

"You think she would still be willing to be turned? I killed someone in front of her and she ran screaming." She laughed, making Klaus even more annoyed at her. He hadn't wanted or needed her presence. This whole situation was eating him up anyway. The last thing he needed was his sister to tell him how ridiculous and unlike him this was. He knew, oh he knew. And it bothered him. But every time he laid eyes on the girl, he just couldn't turn away from her. He couldn't even imagine just leaving her and never seeing her again. There was something about her…

"You would be surprised what a desperate woman is willing to do to survive," Rebekah said and paused behind his back. The painting he had started the previous night was starting to take shape.

"That's her," Rebekah muttered. Klaus nodded and took a step back to examine his work. It was Caroline. The scared Caroline he had seen behind the Inn when he had made her watch him killing the girl.

"Oh my god," Rebekah murmured. Klaus turned around to look at her. "You are going to fall in love with this girl."

Caroline took advantage of the hours she had until she would have to dine with Nik. She walked around the apartment. And it was huge. It had several bedrooms and multiple bathrooms. Her room actually had its own bathroom, and as soon she was done searching the place, she sank into a relaxing bath.

She hadn't seen anyone around the apartment. She could be alone, but then again, Nik did have heightened senses, and could easily avoid Caroline in this enormous place.

She didn't know what to think of all this. He was a murder, who made her feel safe. It sounded absurd even in her own head. She knew she should be planning her escape right at this very moment, but she found herself unwilling to do that. Perhaps he had compelled her? But somehow, Caroline didn't believe that was the case. That's exactly what he would have you compelled to think, she reminded herself.

The bath had been relaxing, and only then she realized that she had nothing else to wear; only the clothes she had worn yesterday. She wrapped a towel around herself and went for the cabinets in the bedroom, only to find all her own clothes in neat piles on the shelves.

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder, she thought to herself.

Eight o'clock came too soon for Caroline's liking. She was dressed in a floor length gown that she loved. Her hair was in perfect curls and her skin was flawless. It was stupid to make so much effort to look good, but Caroline couldn't help herself. She liked looking as good as she could at any given time.

A soft knock on her door startled her. She looked at her wrist watch. It was five to eight. A young girl was behind her door, probably a maid.

"Mr. Mikaelson is waiting for you, miss," she said and motioned Caroline to follow her.

She led her to the dining room. She had seen it earlier today on her walk around the apartment, but it looked different now. All the candles in the chandelier had been lit, and there were peonies on the table. Her favorites. She stepped closer to the dining table. The china and silverware were exquisite. She had to give it to Nik, he had impeccable taste. She leaned in to take a sniff of the flowers.

"I take it you like them?" his voice asked from behind her. She turned around to see him in a very handsome suit. His smile looked genuine, but his posture told her that he was agitated.

"My favorites," Caroline murmured as Nik walked closer to her. His closeness made her heart beat faster, and after she realized that he could probably hear it, she blushed. His smile grew wider, but he did not comment. Instead he drew her a chair. Caroline reluctantly sat down. A murderer shouldn't have good manners. That was just preposterous.

"I hope you like lamb," he said as he took his own seat. Caroline merely nodded. Surely she wasn't expected to make small talk with him? The first and main course passed in uncomfortable silence. Nik looked to be at ease, but keeping quite was very out of character for Caroline. But she persevered. Yes, he had offered her a place to stay, but he was also a vampire who killed innocent people. That was reason enough to stay silent.

The dessert arrived. Chocolate cake. Another favorite of Caroline's. That made her very suspicious.

"Have you been spying on me?" Nik's dessert fork stopped mid-air.

"And why would you think that?"

"Well, first the peonies, then the cake. Also, why are all my clothes here? How did you get them?" Caroline babbled nervously. She had wanted to ask about certain things that had come to her mind during the day and now it was all coming to the surface.

Nik chuckled. "No, love. I haven't been spying on you. The flowers were just a lucky guess, and I have never met a woman in my life who didn't love chocolate cake. Well I have not met a 20th century woman who didn't like chocolate. It is a fairly recent invention."

Fairly recent? She was pretty sure chocolate had been around for a hundred years. Just how old was he exactly?

"And I picked up your clothes while you were sleeping in the car," Nik said, pushing the cake away.

"Would you like to dance?" he said as he rose from his seat, making his way to Caroline.

"Fine," she said and took the hand he was holding out for her. Someone put music on as he led her to the parlor. Caroline didn't really want to spend any more time with him, but somehow she thought he wouldn't let her refuse his offer.

He positioned them in the center of the room, and slid his hand to the small of her back. His touch, even through the thick fabric of her dress, made her shiver. His dancing was perfect, as always.

"All my bruises are gone," she said as she gazed down at her arms, unable to look him straight in the eyes. The bruises should have been there, but they had vanished, like last night had never happened. But it had.

"I gave you some of my blood," Nik said as he spun her around the floor.

"Your blood?!"

"Don't worry, love. You won't turn into a vampire," he chuckled. "Well, unless someone kills you in the next few hours. And I won't let that happen." Caroline just stared at him with horror.

"Vampire blood has healing properties. Those bruises looked bad. And I am quite certain you had a few fractured ribs. But now you are all better." Something in his gaze made Caroline think that he was looking at her fondly. Certainly that wasn't true. Was it?

"What, are you a doctor now?" she laughed.

"Among other things, yes."

"You are a doctor?" She hadn't seen this one coming.

"When you live as long as I have, you get bored. I'm also an engineer, a physicist and an architect." Caroline stared at him with awe. He had done so much. So many things she had wanted. She envied him, suddenly.

"I wanted to be an engineer, when I was little," Caroline murmured. The song changed. The pace was slower now, more intimate. Caroline had thought they would stop dancing, but he didn't let go of her. For a moment they were silent.

"Why did you want to become a vampire? Because of your father?" he finally asked. Caroline really didn't feel like talking about it. She was ashamed of even considering it. But for some reason, she felt like she could talk to him. Perhaps because he was a vampire himself. All she knew was that this was her only change to ever speak of it. Bonnie and Elena would never understand.

"Partly. He is not a good man, and I do want to get away from him. But it's more than that. Yes, he abuses me, and in a few years I will be married to a man he deems fit for me. Perhaps a doctor, or a business man. But even if I got away from my father, it wouldn't mean I would get away from abuse. And if he turned out to be abusive as well, what then? I would be tied to him my entire life. No escape." Caroline said and took a deep breath before continuing.

"I could never be what I wanted. Perhaps I would get to go to university, but after that, I would be married and my sole purpose would be to be a good wife and reproduce. I don't even like children. My life is determined for me. I have no options. I will never become an engineer. I feel like my life has already been lived. I can see my whole life ahead of me, and I don't like it. I feel like I'm an animal in a cage. There is no way out. You're a man. You always have options. You wouldn't understand, "she said, finally braving to look into his eyes. She saw something deep behind them. Compassion, perhaps.

"I understand better than you think, Caroline. I was born in the 10th century. If you wanted to survive, you had no choice. You would stay with your family, hunt, provide for them. I didn't have many years to live. Life was harsh and if you wanted someone to take care of you when you were older, you would have children. I know exactly what it feels like to see your future clearly and not liking what you are seeing. I do understand, love."

Caroline stared at him. He was so old. And he did understand, like she had wished.

"Is that why you wanted to become a vampire?" she echoed his earlier question back at him.

"No, I didn't have a choice. The choice was made for me, for all my siblings. But if you would ask had I ever wished I hadn't become a vampire, the answer is no. I am more now. More than just a man."

The song ended. So did the record. To Caroline's ear everything was silent. All she could hear was her own breathing. They stared into each other's eyes. For the first time in weeks, Caroline could see something more than a vampire, more than a murderer. She could see the man that was Niklaus Mikaelson. And she did not want to look away.

He leaned closer to her. She couldn't move. She didn't even know if she wanted to. And suddenly it was too late to decide. His lips met hers.

AN: I know, a cliffhanger, I am cruel. What do you think, will she kiss him back? Let me know, leave a review!