"Your turn," Caroline said, offering her wrist to Rebekah.
It had been a whirlwind day. They had undaggered Kol before they left the island, but they left him to find his own way back. Klaus had been furious that Kol's mischief with the witches had almost gotten Caroline killed, but she managed to convince him to let him go his own way. Caroline didn't like Kol much, but she figured that it didn't hurt to show him some mercy. Maybe in the future he'd do something to deserve it.
They could not afford to waste time on the way back to Mystic Falls. Haley' needed doppelganger blood to complete the transition or else she would die. Caroline wasn't sure if the cure would work before the werewolf was fully transitioned, and she didn't want to risk it. Besides, she'd seen the agony Tyler went through when he had to transition every month. She figured she'd give Haley the choice of whether or not she wanted the cure.
She figured that was a good rule of thumb. She'd cure anyone, but only if they wanted to be cure. Elena was the first taker, even though killing Silas had cured Jeremy of his hunter urges. With Elena cured and still in love with him, Damon opted to become human as well. He tried to take the cure from Elena, but they found that the cure could only be passed on directly from Caroline. After their history, she wasn't eager to let Damon feed on her, but she allowed it and he gave her a begrudging, "Thanks, Blondie."
Elena generously allowed Haley to drink her blood and become a hybrid. After serious contemplation, Haley opted to remain a hybrid. Caroline was surprised to find that her dislike of Haley had not only dissipated, but left in its place something oddly close to friendship.
She offered Stefan the cure next, sure that he would accept it eagerly, but he glanced at Damon and Elena and waved her off.
"I'm good," He said.
She felt a swell of pity for him. He had been going on the hope that when the sire bond broke Elena would come back to him, but now that hope was gone. She knew being a vampire was miserable for him, that he couldn't even drink bagged blood without turning into a homicidal maniac.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"I'm sure," He said, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "thanks, Care."
Caroline offered the hybrids the cure, but with the sire bond broken, none of them wanted to go back to suffering through monthly agony.
Then she went home, well to her new home, the Mikaelson manor. She was really starting to notice her human frailties, the exhaustion of hours of travel and blood loss catching up with her, but she had one more promise to keep.
Rebekah took Caroline's offered hand and looked up at Klaus as though expecting him to go back on his deal and refuse to let her be human again, but he said nothing.
"Thank you," She said, and then she bit into Caroline's wrist.
Once Rebekah left, Caroline went to Klaus and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead.
"That was good of you," she said.
"It's about time us Mikaelson's got some lasting happiness." He said, "If she truly believes that humanity is the means to her happiness, then I wish her well."
"In that case," She said, remembering another promise, "You won't mind pardoning Katherine Pierce. For Elijah's sake?"
Klaus looked stunned, she could tell he was going to say no.
"For me?" She asked.
He let out a low grow, "for you."
Caroline sank down into his lap, tracing his features with her fingertips. She found herself wishing she could draw, that she could capture the way he looked to her. He was unchanged, but somehow he looked completely different in the wake of her changed feeling for him. It was an uncertain world they lived in, even for someone who was immortal, but there was one thing which she was completely sure. She loved Klaus Mikaelson, and she always would.
It was the first time since that passionate, instinctual moment in the woods where something almost happened that they'd been alone together. Except this time there was no one to stop them, no important mission to keep their passions in check.
Caroline met Klaus's eye, dark with desire, and she slid off his lap, took his hand and led him from his study, but the stairs and into his bedroom. She could hardly believe how little time had passed since they were both there before. So little time, yet so much had changed.
Klaus picked her up and carried her to the bed, crawling on after her, dragging kisses across her throat.
Caroline was sure about one other thing.
This time, they wouldn't just talk.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to give me encouraging and supportive review!
This story is for you!
