Chapter 26

2012

He wanted to run. He knew what it meant for Kol to come looking for him. He had been gone too long. To be honest, he knew he was ready to go back, he just didn't want to face Caroline after leaving her like that with Klara and Carina.

"What's going on with you, Nik?" Kol asked after the silence with which his brother was greeting him. "I needed to think. If I hadn't left, the memories would've crushed me. We would've been worse off," he responded, knowing that his answer wouldn't satisfy Kol.

"Look, I don't fully understand how the 1,000 years of memories must feel, but you waited so long for Caroline and the girls to return. How could you leave her for this long with no idea if or when you'll come home? She's drowning," he said quietly.

Klaus' shoulders slumped as he took in what his brother was saying. He had hoped that running away from his family would have helped him sort out his problems, but the more miles he put between himself and his girls, everything hurt worse. As much as he wanted to put it off, he knew it was time to go home.

Caroline had just finished tucking the girls back in after they had awoken in the middle of the night crying. She had a feeling that it had something to do with the emotional turmoil that had been heavy in the house since Nik had left, but no matter what, they needed her. She had insisted that Bonnie stay with her, since Kol still hadn't returned, and also because she felt horrible about the way she treated her earlier that night when she had caught Bonnie and Kol in a passionate embrace on her couch while babysitting.

"You sure you're alright to sleep alone?" Bonnie asked, not knowing if she should leave Caroline alone in this vulnerable time.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Talking with my mom really helped. I just need to get a full night's sleep, and everything will be great," she said with a yawn. She didn't know if she actually believed herself, but she had to at least try to sleep.

She helped Bonnie get settled into Kol's bedroom in the mansion and was just about to head back to her own room when the front door opened.

"Kol, is that you? Bonnie's in your room, I'm going to bed," she shouted down the stairs, not even bothering to make sure that it was indeed Kol.

"Caroline? Can you come down here?" Kol yelled, earning a mumbled 'Seriously?!" from his sister-in-law as she jogged down the stairs.

As she reached the bottom, Kol slipped past her and started up the stairs as quickly as he could manage without whooshing. Her eyes followed him, confused.

"I thought you needed to talk to me?" she said in frustration as she turned to shut the door that Kol had forgotten to close.

She walked towards the door and was about to push it shut when she noticed a figure that was halfway in the doorway. Ready for a fight, Caroline turned the corner to find an ashamed-looking Nik. Her hand flew to her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes.

She could tell that Nik didn't know how to proceed. Normally when she cried he would gather her in his arms and promise to never let her go. But now, when he was the reason that she was crying in the first place, he wasn't sure if touching her was the best course of action.

Luckily Caroline knew her husband well enough to sense his inner torment, so she flung herself at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and burying her face in his shoulder. As soon as she had done so, she felt his shoulders start to shake, so she dropped her legs, but made sure to keep everything else connected.

Once she was securely on the ground and he was sufficiently calmed down, she pulled away from him to look into his eyes. What she saw in those blue orbs was shocking. She saw the usual emotions like love and pride, but it was the fear and shame that crippled her.

She understood that he would feel bad about leaving for so long, but to go so far as to feel afraid that she wouldn't take him back made her feel sick.

She thought about telling him that it was okay, but because of the sticky situation they were in, she decided to forgo the talking, at least for awhile.

Once she had gotten him to lock blue eyes with hers, her hands moved to his cheek and neck, and she softly pressed a kiss to his lips. He pulled away quickly, clearly surprised that they weren't going to talk, but one look into her lust-filled eyes and he knew what she wanted. His eyes darkened and he crushed his lips to hers, more fervently than she had before, and he whooshed them up the stairs to the door of their bedroom.

As they entered the room, they both recognized that this was the last place that they had seen each other before Klaus had taken off, but there was a silent agreement to ignore it, at least for the moment, and reignite the passion that they had both been missing so much.

They stood there, pressed against their bedroom door, neither one wanting to make the next move. Feeling too far away from him, Caroline jumped suddenly and wrapped her legs around his waist once again. Nik's hands moved to her thighs and she felt him against her jeans.

Klaus knew that they would eventually have to work out what was going on, but he was completely content to indulge this pause and make sweet love to his beautiful wife for the first time in far too long.

Barely breaking their connection, Klaus pulled off Caroline's sweater, shirt, and bra simultaneously, leaving her chest completely bare. He took a moment to admire her, before walking towards the bed and laying her down. He unbuttoned her pants and pulled them off, and Klaus smirked when he found that she wasn't wearing any underwear. He took off his shirt and pants, leaving only his briefs before climbing next to her on the bed. He sat up against the headboard, waiting for her to make a move, and luckily for the both of them, he didn't have to wait long.

She kissed his lips once before turning his attention to his no longer needed remaining clothing. She pulled them down swiftly, tossing them onto the floor with the rest of their clothes, and straddled him, bringing her hands to his chest and her lips found his once again. Their tongues dances passionately as they fought to make up for lost time.

Nik grabbed Caroline's hips and lifted her up just long enough to look into her eyes as she slid onto him, and with a respective hiss and moan, they were both ready. Caroline's head fell back as she rode him, screaming softly when he shifted his hips to plunge deeper.

Klaus brought his mouth to her chest, trying to hold himself off long enough to watch her come. As his mouth closed around the first breast, her head shot up as her eyes darkened and her fangs elongated. Knowing what she needed, Klaus tilted his head to the side, inviting her. Once she was sucking at a steady pace, he allowed his own fangs to come down, and after placing a kiss on her soft neck, he bit her, eliciting a muffled moan from his feasting wife.

A few more thrusts and he could feel her tighten as she let go, retracting her fangs and licking the excess blood from his neck. A few seconds later he was doing the same, he ground out her name as he pulled out of her and closed his eyes.

Caroline wasn't sure how long it had been since they had finished, but it seemed that neither one of them was willing to open their eyes and start what could be one of the biggest fights of their relationship. Caroline rolled towards him with a sigh to find his eyes already fixed on her.

They both opened their mouths to speak at once, but Caroline put a finger to his lips.

"No. I need to say this. I knew that you would need time to deal with all of this. And I'm sorry that we didn't talk about how we would handle it before it happened. But the fact of the matter is that you left in the middle of the night and never even sent me a text letting me know that you were eventually coming home. I had to look into those girls' beautiful faced every day and wonder how I was going to tell them where you were. Deep down I knew you would come back, but a small part of me was scared to death that you would just keep on running," she said, tears streaming down her face.

Nik brought a hand up to softly stroke her hair.

"I know, love, and I am terribly sorry. About everything. The truth is that I had thought that running would help, but the farther away I was from you and the girls, the more pain and anguish I felt. I would've come back on my own if I hadn't been so worried about how angry you would be with me for leaving you like that. I screwed up, I know that, but I lost you for one thousand years, and as long as you will have me, I promise that I will never leave you ever again," he said softly, brushing stray tears from her cheeks.

"I know that I should keep fighting with you, but these are such strange circumstances, and honestly, I just want to fall asleep in my husband's arms, and move on," she said expectantly, hoping that he was content to end the conversation there.

Klaus smiled coyly.

"Your husband is one lucky man," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Ain't that the truth," she said with a yawn, closing her eyes and snuggling into Nik's chest.

Yay! Klaus is home! (Sorry this is so short, I will be publishing again this month, cross my heart) First of all, I want to thank everyone who has stayed with me all this time. It's been more than a year, which is just amazing, and frustrating, I'm sure. Secondly, I AM NOT FINISHED WITH THIS YET! So please continue to follow. I would anticipate 4 to 5 more chapters, with a probable epilogue or two. Sorry this update took a million years even though I promised it would only be a week. I'm a terrible person like that. Thanks to everyone who has continued leaving reviews and feedback for me. In all honesty, that feedback is the motivation that makes me want to write another chapter. (So now you know that if you spam Caroline's inbox, you will get things faster). I hope you enjoyed! Until next time~