This is not a long chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! IT MEANS ALOT!
Please remember to review at the end! :)
It took a couple of weeks before Caroline was back on her feet, and moving at a regular speed. She still was not able to fight or return back to work, but she was able to go about a normal, average, everyday life.
As it had turned out, her ribs were only bruised, with the exception of ribs three and six, as those two were fractured slightly, but on the mend.
While she was recovering, Klaus stopped by every day to see how she was, and in the process, they were slowly learning to trust each other again. Neither of them mentioned the betrayal, and they didn't really want to, but Caroline knew that someday they would have to discuss it, and that day was today, unfortunately.
"I'm not going to turn you in, Klaus." She replied, moving from the window, to sit in the chair in front of the table.
Klaus, who was standing next to the door, moved towards her, and reached for her to help her, but she lifted her left hand, and shook her head.
"As soon as I'm better, I'll ask for a reassignment." She began, bowing her head.
Klaus moved to kneel down in front of her. "Is that what you want, Caroline?" He asked, watching her turn her head away from him.
"It's what I have to do." She whispered, closing her eyes.
Klaus frowned, and cupped her chin with his right hand. "Is that what you want?" He asked, emphasizing on the word want, glaring at her face.
She tried to turn her head, as her eyes opened up, but he grasped her chin in his fingers.
"What do you want, Caroline?" He asked, softly as he gazed into her eyes.
Tears trickled down her face, but she didn't move her head. "I want…" She paused, swallowing, hating the feeling that she felt.
He waited patiently, hoping that the past few days of rebuilding trust had affected her as much as him.
"You," She whispered, finally, brokenly. "I want you." She stated, as the tears fell faster down her face.
He smiled, and stroked her face, tenderly. "And I want you." He whispered, searching her eyes.
She smiled faintly, and couldn't resist leaning into his touch. "This is wrong." She replied, her smile fading, as she pulled her head away from his touch. "I should hate you." She added, turning her head.
Klaus sighed. "And you don't?" He asked, dropping his hand to hers, resting on her lap.
She scoffed, and shook her head. "I should." She stated, vehemently.
"Caroline…" Klaus called, watching fresh tears fall down her cheeks.
"Why do I love you?" She whispered, forgetting he was there for a moment.
His eyes widened, and his mouth slowly opened. Did she just tell him she loved him?
Her eyes opened, and she moved them down. "Crap." She whispered, moving her hands to the arms of the chair, and moved to stand up before Klaus could say anything, and walked to the French doors in the room.
"Caroline, do you love me?" He asked, choking, slightly, but felt a surge of joy run through him.
Caroline closed her eyes, and whirled around, as fast as she could, and glared at him. "You are something else, Klaus." She began, pointing her right pointer finger at him. "You lied to me for four months, and you have the nerve to ask me if I love you when you know damn well that I do or else I would have called my superiors the day I found out about you." She ranted, feeling the pull on her ribs from it.
Klaus slowly approached her as a predator would a prey. "Well, how about me, Caroline?" He asked, stopping in front of her. "Your lie was much worse than mine, and yet I couldn't kill you, as I should have or would have, had you been any other person except the woman I love." He stated, stopping to let the words sink in.
Caroline froze. No, he couldn't. He just couldn't. "No, you can't." She whispered, shaking her head. "How dare you?!" She shouted, anger flashing in her eyes. "How dare you say that my lie was worse than yours?!" She shouted, anger flashing across her features. "You lied about who you were since the day I met you." She stated, pointing her finger at him.
"And you didn't?" He scoffed, lifting a brow. "You lied about everything, Caroline; I just lied about my true job, not my name, my past, or my feelings." He added, glaring at her.
She glared back. "I never lied about my past or my feelings."
He scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "And that's supposed to be alright."
"No, it's not, but neither is you, lying to me!" She shouted in his face.
"I thought we passed that!" He shouted back. He studied for a moment before a thought came to him. "You're scared." He whispered, slowly smirking.
She scoffed, and folded her arms over her chest. "What?"
He nodded, and searched her eyes. "You're scared." He repeated, watching her roll her eyes.
She shook her head, and headed towards the bed. "That's ridicules." She stated, though she knew it was true.
"Don't you turn your back on me, Caroline." Klaus stated, roughly, turning to look her.
She turned around, and glared at him. "Why not? You turned your back on me!" She shouted, shrugging her shoulders.
He clenched his jaw, and approached her. "I never turned my back on you." He stated, watching her laugh, humorlessly.
"Bull shit." She stated, glaring at him. "Who was the one who threw me out?!" She shouted, knowing that she was hitting him below the belt. "Who was the one who shot at me, and told me to leave, leading my own father to kidnap me?!" She added, watching his face turn to a hurt look.
She felt her heart tug in her chest, and she opened her mouth, and sighed while her eyes closed. "Klaus…" She began, but he held up his right hand.
"Don't, Caroline, I think you've said enough." He stated, moving towards the door. "You know, when you told me that you hated that you lied, and that you told me the truth about your past and feelings, I felt that we could truly start again, and I would be able to share everything with you." He added, looking at her as she bowed her head at his words. "You told me that you saw my face, and held onto the hope that I would find you. I felt like you could forgive me."
"I do forgive you." She whispered, letting the tears fall.
Klaus paused at the door, and slowly turned to face her. He felt his heart tug in his chest, but he couldn't move his feet.
Caroline sniffed, and quickly wiped her nose, and placed her hands beside her on the bed. "You're right. I'm scared. I'm scared that you'll hurt me, like he did." She whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm scared that I'll lose you, and Joey, and this family." She stated, shaking her head, but not looking at him. "I'm scared that I'll never recover, and be alone." She added, bowing her head.
Klaus closed his eyes, and folded his arms over his chest, and finally made his feet move forward.
"Klaus!"
He stopped, and turned his head to the door, and sighed.
Caroline sighed, and nodded. "It's okay. I'll be here when you return." She whispered, wiping her eyes.
Klaus sighed, and turned to the door, and quickly left the room.
Caroline bowed her head, and listened to the silence. "I love you."
~XX~
Klaus stormed down the stairs, his jaw set, and his eyes flashing with anger. "This better be damned important, or someone will be missing a liver." He stated, reaching the bottom of the stairs.
Marcel sneered at the bottom, close to the door, and folded his arms over his chest. "I hear you have a problem, and I've come to offer my assistance." He stated, lifting his eyes up to the top of the stairs.
Klaus glared at him, but put on his poker face. "I see, and what kind of problem are you referring to?" He asked, folding his arms over his chest.
Marcel inhaled deeply, and smiled. "Forbes." He answered, studying Klaus closely. "I hear he's back, and I can help." He added, watching Klaus' reaction.
Klaus pursed his lips together, and headed towards the den, hearing Marcel follow him. "How did you hear about Forbes?" He asked, reaching for the brandy.
Marcel smiled, and took the glass Klaus offered. "I have my sources, and my sources say that he's out for revenge against you and your family." He replied, sipping from the glass.
Klaus nodded, and appeared to seem indifferent. "And you trust these sources?" He asked, smirking.
Marcel nodded, and lowered the glass. "I do, and I also hear that his daughter is in town, and he's looking for her, and my men have a lead on where she could be staying." He replied, watching Klaus slightly tense up. He inwardly smiled, and bowed his head. "I could tell you, and you could turn her over to him, and the revenge he's talking about will be forgotten." He added, firmly.
Klaus turned to look at Marcel, causing Marcel to step back from the man. "I suggest you stay out of my affairs, Marcel, or there will be another body added to my resume." He threatened, his eyes turning cold. "And trust me when I say that Forbes is not a man to mess with." He added, coldly.
Marcel quirked his brow, and placed the glass on the bar. "What did you do to him?" He asked, studying Klaus carefully.
Klaus straightened his back, and smirked coldly. "You don't want to know." He stated, firmly.
Marcel nodded, and moved out of the room. "Let me know if you change your mind, Klaus." He shouted, leaving the house.
Klaus glared at the glass Marcel had drank out of, and grasped it tightly in his hands, and threw it across the room, as he shouted in anger.
"Damn you, Forbes." He growled, turned his head to the side, and closed his eyes. As long as he drew breathe, William Forbes was not getting his hands on Caroline ever again.
~XX~
Caroline turned her head, and smiled as a small body entered the room. "Hey, Joey." She replied, as the little boy ran towards her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, carefully.
"I'm so glad you're safe, mom." He whispered, as Caroline rubbed her fingers through his hair.
"So am I, Joey." She whispered, bowing her head and kissed the top of his head.
He sighed, and stepped back. "Are you and dad okay?" He asked, searching her eyes.
Caroline inhaled deeply, and looked up at the doorway, and saw Klaus move from the doorframe to the wall outside of the room. She smiled, as she looked down at Joey, and touched his face. "We're getting there." She answered, watching Joey smile. "Why don't you tell me everything that's been going on with you?" She asked, changing the subject.
Joey began to get excited, and began to tell her everything that he had been up to for the past few weeks.
Caroline listened to everything Joey told her, and smiled as he began to bounce around. Tears filled her eyes as she took in his words.
"Mom?" Joey asked, with worry. "Are you okay?" He asked, approaching her as she sat down on the bed.
She nodded, slowly, and smiled. "I'm fine, sweetie." She answered, giving him a watery smile. "I just missed you so much." She replied, touching his face.
Joey smiled, and nodded. "I missed you too, mom." He replied, wrapping his arms around her neck, and gave her a quick hug. "I have to go. Uncle Kol is taking me to the park with Aunt Bonnie." He replied, stepping back. "Are you going to be here when I get back?" He asked, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.
She smiled, and touched his face lightly. "Definitely, sweetie." She answered, softly.
Joey smiled, and jumped into her arms. "I love you, mom."
"I love you too, Joey." She whispered, as he skipped away to the door.
She sighed, and bowed her head.
"Caroline…"
She lifted her head, and turned to look at him, as tears fell from her eyes. "I could have lost him." She cried, and fell into his arms after Klaus quickly made it to her, and pulled her into his arms.
"It's okay, love." He whispered, holding her close.
She cried, and held onto him, forgetting for the moment the argument they had earlier that day. "Oh, God, what have I done?" She cried, into his chest.
Klaus pulled back, and lifted her face to look into her eyes. "It's not your fault, Caroline. It's mine." He replied, watching her close her eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered, wiping her tears away from her face.
She let out a cry, and bowed her head. "I'm sorry too." She whispered, letting the tears fall.
He sighed, and pulled her into his arms. "It'll be okay, love." He whispered, kissing the top of her head. "It'll be okay."
And deep within her heart, she believed him.
Please be kind in your reviews!
I know that Klaus is a little OOC in this, but this is how I see him, and frankly, I'm sorry if you don't approve. As much as I love dark Klaus, I can't truly see him hurting or staying mad at Caroline after everything that happened to her, nor can I see Caroline hate him too long, especially after he saved her. To me, she is a strong, independent woman, who knows that you can't hold onto grudges for too long because that is childish. Though, I'm trying to stay true to her character, I see her more grown up than how they have her portrayed in the show, and I'm sorry if you don't agree.
Sorry, if that was a little long. I just couldn't hold it in anymore.
Until Next Time...