A/N: Continuation on a scene from episode 4x18. The dialogue in the italicized bit is taken directly from the episode as I felt changing any of it would diminish the quality of the scene. I did add movements and feelings in between however. Enjoy! (I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries and have reproduced the following excerpt for story context only).
"I can feel the splinters moving towards my heart," Klaus moaned through gritted teeth, his fingers clawing at the open wound on his back. "Help me!"
"Your word first," Caroline replied calmly, reminding him of her offer to help in return for Tyler's life.
"What makes you think I won't simply break my word?"
"You wanna be friends," she finally deigned to look his way, "friendship, stage one: show me that I can trust you."
"I saved your life…twice!"
"Because you put it in danger…twice. Why can't you just do something decent for once?"
"Because Tyler Lockwood tried to kill me!"
"We've all tried to kill you and you've tried to kill most of us. How do you think that you deserve my friendship when you've done nothing to earn it?"
He shot up out of his seat. "I will not have my hand forced by you or anyone else!" His usually melodic voice was rough and gritty in his pain and anger.
"What is wrong with you? I am reaching out to you despite everything that you have done and you still can't get out of your own way. God! I feel sorry for you," she ground out, turning away.
"Don't turn your back on me!" His tone was dangerous.
"I should have turned my back on you ages ago!"
The silence was dense between them after Caroline's declaration. She was fierce and confident during their argument, but fear shone in her eyes at the thought that she might have gone too far. Fear turned to confusion when the dark look in Klaus's eyes softened dramatically.
"It's gone," he muttered.
"What?"
"The pain," he stumbled upon a revelation. "The pain is gone. It was…it was never there," he said with a grimace, instantly blaming himself for that miscalculation.
"He got in my head. Silas…got inside my head."
He was still in disbelief.
"You took my mind off it," he said, desperately grabbing her hand. "You brought me back Caroline."
She turned away, attempting to reign in her jumbled emotions; fear of Silas, elation that Klaus was okay, and disbelief that she was able to break through the spell. Looking back at Klaus, she spoke the loudest thought in her mind.
"If Silas can make you, of all people, believe that you're dying…what can he do to the rest of us?" Her voice shook a little at the end, betraying to Klaus how truly terrified she was.
He was quiet. Honestly, he didn't even want to fathom all that Silas was capable of doing, but staring at Caroline, the vulnerable look in her eyes, had him working towards believing he could defeat Silas.
Klaus took her by the shoulders forcing her eyes to meet his. "I promise you Caroline that I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety. I'll even attempt to extend the same courtesy to your friends, but I won't make any promises for that lot. Elena Gilbert is quite the danger magnet," he attempted to lighten the mood.
It worked; she smiled a little before seating herself on the couch, utterly exhausted.
"She's not the only one," Caroline said with a dark laugh.
Klaus sat down next to her, his expression puzzled.
"What do you mean love?"
She sighed and leaned her head back.
"I mean, Elena's targeted a lot, sure, but she's never been kidnapped and tortured by werewolves or had her own father try to 'condition' the vampirism out of her. And let's not forget the many times my friends have used me as bait for the all powerful original hybrid," she finished tilting her gaze in his direction.
He grinned at that.
"To be fair love, only two of those situations were truly dangerous to you. Despite our history, I could never bring myself to really harm you."
There was silence between them both for a moment before he spoke again.
"When exactly were you kidnapped by werewolves?"
She closed her eyes, casting her mind back to one of her most painful memories.
"It was before we met, before you'd even made it back to Mystic Falls. Tyler was a newly turned werewolf who apparently needed guidance from someone who wasn't me and so this werewolf chick from Florida showed up saying she wanted to help him. He was reluctant and they kidnapped me to force him into it. And because they weren't really big fans of vampires, they enjoyed locking me in a vervain soaked cage and shooting me with wooden bullets. Of course they had Tyler thinking in six different directions about which side to choose; I really didn't think he was gonna let me out," she ended softly.
She could feel the anger rolling off of Klaus in waves. Even after all the yelling they'd done at each other, he still wanted to protect her. She placed a gentle hand on his arm, forcing him to look at her.
"You can't go out and kill them. They're already dead. Your brother actually killed most of them, but you're the one who killed my kidnapper, the Florida wolf-chick, in your freaky hybrid ritual."
"Ah yes, I remember her. I suppose there was no love lost between the two of you then."
Caroline scoffed. "Uh, no. Not really."
"Did you know that I was almost the vampire sacrifice for your little ritual?"
He was stunned for a moment. Could he have gone through with it if it meant sacrificing her? He was ashamed to think that yes, he would have. She hadn't meant anything to him at that point.
"I did not. Though I'm certainly glad that it wasn't you. The world would be a much bleaker place without you in it Caroline. Not to mention a sight more disorganized."
She laughed and shoved his arm, not entirely disagreeing with him. He smiled and dared to hope for something that he thought he'd lost long ago.
"I must tell you Caroline, that if I see Tyler again, I will not hesitate to kill him," at her sharp intake of breath, he hurried to continue so as to stave off what was sure to be a harsh reprimand. "But, I have not been actively searching for him. And what I don't know won't kill Tyler," he gave her a meaningful look that he hoped she understood.
She apparently did, as a slow radiant grin lit up her face.
"So, friends then?" She asked.
"Friends." He could wait a bit longer for what he truly wanted. She was worth the wait, he was sure. He just needed her to realize that he was worth the risk.
Hours later, when the bloodstains were all cleaned up and Klaus had finally decided to put on a shirt, Caroline couldn't help but to laugh a bit at the day's events. Could have been the sheer terror of it all or it could have been exhaustion induced hysteria, but either way, Caroline started laughing and simply couldn't make herself stop.
"What's so funny love?"
Caroline worked to calm down, finally able to talk through small bubbling giggles.
"It's just…I saved you from Silas's spell…by arguing with you. I am never letting you forget that." She erupted into more laughter, tears building in her eyes. Perhaps it was exhaustion and terror.
Klaus couldn't have looked more bewildered if Caroline had grown a second head. He cracked a smile at her antics, wondering if he'd ever witness her delirious laughter again. Evidence from the day pointed towards the possible and his smile reached his dimples at the thought.