Hello again, how am I doing do far? So Caroline and Klaus are escaping, but will they succeed, or even get the chance to? Please Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

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Chapter 4

Caroline ran just behind Klaus as they escaped the cement room they were in and went through the room with the cells. She followed him up a flight of stairs onto the main floor leading into the long hallway she was in before. He stopped and smelled the air first to the right, down towards the parlor where the first fight happened, then to the left towards the kitchen. He headed left and she followed close behind.

He headed down the hall and peeked around the left corner into the living room to find it empty then the right corner into the kitchen, also empty. As he started through the kitchen he heard a loud pair of heals coming down the stairs in the living room. He froze, looked back at Caroline, then ran full out for the front door.

Caroline flung the door open and they ran forward only to slam into an invisible wall and be thrown onto their backs. Then Fin and Elijah appeared in front of them and held them down. Klaus snarled and snapped his teeth close to Elijah's face, but stopped when Fin slammed Caroline on the wood floor and he kept his eyes on her and Fin. Rebekah came into the room with Kol trailing behind holding his bloody and infected shoulder looking rather pissed.

Klaus made a huffing sound that sounded like laughing when he saw Kol, who scowled at him, and Caroline quirked an eyebrow at Klaus.

"It was a useless effort, trying to escape with all of us in the house, though I am not surprised that you got the jump on Kol," Elijah said, and Kol shot him a look.

"But what happened just then, what was that?" Caroline asked from on her back with Fin hovering over her and pinning her to the floor. Klaus snarled at Fin, not liking the compromising position he was putting her in; his legs on either side of her waist and his hands holding her wrists down.

"What are you talking about?" spat Rebekah.

Klaus whined and looked at the door. "The doorway, we couldn't get through. It was like hitting a wall and we got knocked back, why do you think we were on the floor!" Caroline replied sharply. Rebekah frowned and walked over to the open door. She stuck a hand out but couldn't get it past the door frame. Her eyes widened and she tried to push through with more force but got nowhere. She turned to look at her brothers and opened her mouth, "Elijah, how-"

"It's a barrier spell."

Everyone looked up at the doorway to see a middle aged woman in a dress from the viking era and long braided blonde hair. Caroline thought that she looked kind of like Rebekah, and bit like Klaus . . . then she realized who this must be, who was in the coffin Bonnie had been trying to open.

"Mother!?" Rebekah exclaims. All of the Mikaelsons are paralyzed by shock, and watch confounded as she steps confidently into the house and stands in the middle of the room and looks at all of them.

"Elijah, Fin, let them up." she orders mildly.

Elijah and Fin look at each other first then get up, allowing Caroline and Klaus, still in wolf form, to stand. Esther approaches Klaus, but Caroline steps in front of him. Esther smiles lightly, "It is alright, child; I am not here to harm him, or any of you for that matter."

Klaus whines and brushes against Caroline's leg as he steps forward and stares at his mother.

She looks down at him, "Hello Niklaus. Do you know why I'm here?" Klaus whined and ducked his head. "Niklaus, I am here to forgive you, all of you. I want us to be a family again."

She turned to Caroline, "And you must be the young lady my son fancies, may I ask your name?" She asked politely.

"Uhh-Caroline, my name is Caroline," she stumbles over her words. Klaus noses her hand and she looks down at him.

"Caroline, what a lovely name. Would you be so kind as to accompany Niklaus in getting his clothes and changing back?"

"Um, alright . . . come on, Klaus" she says hesitantly and heads towards the basement to get his clothes. As they reach the living room he nudges her and shakes his head and starts climbing the stairs. She follows him nervously upstairs and to a door. He heads in and it is revealed to be a master bedroom and bathroom connected.

"Holy crap," Caroline murmurs as she moves into the room ahead of him, he follows and flashes a wolfy grin at her. The room is tastefully decorated; dark wood furniture, a king sized bed, and large glass windows across the far wall.

She looks back at him and realizes he is beginning to change. Transfixed, she can't take her eyes off him, his fur melting away, his canines receding, and his bones rebreaking into human form as he groans in pain. He returned to human form slumped on the floor, his back to her, panting.

"Oh, shit! You're naked!" she exclaimed, quickly covering her face with her hands, blushing.

He groaned, "I don't exactly get to keep my pants," he muttered and shifted, trying to sit up and keep his back turned. He sighed tiredly, "Can you get me some boxers from the top drawer of my bureau?"

"Umm, okay," she replied and uncovered her eyes to see his bare muscular back with his head hanging wearily.

"Would you mind getting me my underwear, love, instead of staring?"

"Oh, umm, yeah . . . and I wasn't staring" she replied shortly. She moved towards the bureau in front of the bed. She opened the drawer and found pairs of boxers, briefs and socks; and plucked out a red plaid pair and threw them in his direction, "here."

After some rustling she turned around and saw him standing shakily, leaning against the bed post but still hot as hell . . . Um, what?

She snapped out of her wandering thoughts, and edged toward him. He was breathing deeply and seemed weak, although it wasn't like he wasn't trying to hide it. She stepped up behind him placing a hand on his bare shoulder, and looked up into his tired face.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked quietly. He smiled weakly and said, "Of course, love; it's just the vervaine and wolfsbane are still in my system, and the change takes a lot out of you, no matter how long you've been at it. It was just worse this time." She continued to look concerned as he wandered over to his dresser and slowly pulled on pajama pants and a black long sleeved Henley. He came back to his bed and slumped down on his back with his legs over the side and his arms above his head.

Caroline looked at him sweetly; maybe there was more to him after all, especially if his mother, who he had killed, was willing to give him another chance, maybe she should too.

She gently sat beside him on the bed and kicked her shoes off, his eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply; she would have thought he was asleep if it wasn't for his heartbeat giving him away.

"Are we supposed to go back downstairs or something . . . ?" She asked quietly as she slowly raked a hand through his hair. He rumbled contently and sighed, his eyes still closed, "No, not for a while, I'm sure they are discussing things, I can catch up later."

She laid next to him on her back with her hands clasped over her stomach. She turned to look at him the same time he did. Their blue eyes locked and they seemed to understand each other on another level, and that they were somehow closer now because of what happened.

Caroline felt a little weak from the vervaine and wounds and was starving; her control slipped and her eyes turned red and veins appeared under her eyes and her fangs slid down. She quickly sat up and attempted to compose herself. Klaus sat up also and grabbed her hands, making her look at him.

"Hey, look at me, it's alright, love. There's no reason to be ashamed of who you are," he encouraged. "Just breathe with me," he said calmly, she held onto his wrists and he did the same, "just breathe, in, out." She inhaled and exhaled a few times with him, and finally her face turned back to normal, and they both smiled.

"See? Not too bad; would you like some blood? I've got my own private stock in my mini fridge," he offered as he walked to the closet and pulled out two bags of refrigerated blood.

"Yes, thank you," she replied politely. He handed her a bag and kept one for himself, they sat against the head board as they sipped from their bags of blood, sighing in relief as it rejuvenated them.

"What do you think this means, your mother coming back?" Caroline asked. They lay shoulder to shoulder leaning against each other, Klaus was happy she wasn't afraid to be near him anymore or disgusted. He sighed, "I guess it's a good thing. She was the reason that I didn't want that coffin opened. She was in it. I had killed her a thousand years ago . . . " he whispered looking distraught. Caroline listened carefully, and she turned towards him, laying a hand on his cheek. She was glad he was finally opening up to her.

He sighed and leaned his face into her hand, "I didn't mean to. I had just triggered the werewolf gene and she had cast the spell to suppress it. I found out she had killed Tatia to use her blood for the vampire spell and my curse. I went into a rage, and being a new vampire, I couldn't control myself. I was afraid my siblings would turn on me if they knew, so I told them Mikael had killed her in his rage at finding out about the affair she had years ago, when she had me. I had her body preserved by Ayana and the other witches, and I kept her with me. But I was afraid she would kill me if she ever came back, that's why I didn't want your friends to open it."

Caroline stroked his cheek with her thumb, "She seems to have forgiven you, and your siblings, for everything you've done," she said quietly.

He smiled genuinely, "Yeah, I can't believe it. I never wanted to hurt her; she is accomplishing what I have wanted for centuries, to have my family together again. Granted, I wasn't doing it the way they wanted but ultimately we had the same goal. I see how my way was unconventional, they are more likely to listen to her anyway."

They finish their bags of blood and toss them in the trash basket beside the bedside table. They settle down next to each other, closing the distance between them. She rests her head against his shoulder and her hand on his chest, curling up against his side. He is surprised at first but doesn't protest and leans his head against the top of hers. She can't believe it herself but it just feels right.

They breathed deeply, "Aren't your friends worried about you? You've been gone for over a day," he murmurs. "Really? That long? Huh, I guess they must have blown up my phone with messages and calls, but I don't know where it is. They must be out of their minds worried about me, but I'm too tired to care right now, maybe later." He chuckles at this, "Alright, let's get some rest, we've had a bit of a rough day, you know."

She laughs lightly, closing her eyes and nuzzling her face into his neck. He puts his arm around her, pulling her close to his side and sighs contently as he too closes his eyes, and they drift into a deep sleep, completely at ease.

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Esther walks past Klaus' bedroom door and finds it partially open. She nudges it open the rest of the way, and takes a step in, and smiles at what she sees.

She heads downstairs and past the windows that have grown dark from the night, and gesture for her children to follow her, "Come, I want to show you something." They look at each other then get up from there various positions in the living room and follow her upstairs and to Niklaus' room.

They gather just inside the doorway, peeking in. "This is what I wanted to show you. This is one of the reasons I have forgiven him, all of you, for your sins. Look how peaceful he is with her." They all looked at a still Klaus breathing deeply with Caroline curled up against him. They seem to see what she means.

"He has changed, and she seems to be the source of this change," Elijah observes quietly.

"Yes, she is, she has helped him to realize his faults and she also challenges him in ways no one else can. I have been watching from the other side, and I can see she is good for him, is changing him for the better. I wish this for all of you; that you may find someone that makes you happy and changes you in ways you'll never know until you experience it for yourselves."

They contemplate thus in their minds as they watch Klaus and Caroline sleep momentarily, then split off to their own rooms, wondering what comes in the future.

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