Chapter nine – Waking up to a new reality

When the sun crept through the cracked window and hit her eyelids, Caroline blinked them slowly open, arching her limbs to wake them up and bumped her hand into the warmth of a body next to her. Turning her head slowly, she took in the sleeping form of Klaus wrapped in her blankets. Her eyes grew big as she remembered the night before. The body still dead on the floor, how had she forgotten? The damage strewn through her room evidence that last night has been real and not a bad dream she was just waking up from.

Klaus had not moved. The exhaustion from his transformation had settled his body into a stillness where he couldn't move his weary limbs. He was curled and vulnerable, positioned where he had finally succumbed to sleep and she itched to touch the corner of his lips where they turned down. But instead she lifted up the blankets, letting her feet touch the carpet and tried to stand up as quietly as possible.

"I'd rather you stayed here with me sweetheart" she heard behind her and felt a hand on the small of her back before it fell back to the bed. Klaus was awake but still fighting off the aches from the night before, his arms feeling like they had huge weights attached to them. But seeing Caroline sitting so close to him, her hair touseled from sleep, he didn't want her to move away from him. His hand would only stay up for a moment but he had to touch her.

She turned and caught his hand in hers causing a warmth to course through them both and his lips curl up briefly where she had longed to touch him earlier. She smiled back and then drew her brow together, forehead creasing. "Are you ok? I mean, I know you're not but, are you...ok?"

"I'm exhausted. I feel like I've run a marathon or spent a really, really fabulous night in bed with a lucky lady" he replied with a grin before he grimaced again causing her to run her hand along his arm in comfort.

He lay back, slowly letting her touch seep under his skin as he woke from his dreams into what was really his living nightmare. He had transformed into a monster last night. The room was torn to pieces from his anger, he had smelt her, wanted to rip her to pieces. Now looking at her, hair glowing in the early morning light, her face worried but beautiful he shivered at the thought he may have suceeded. He could have ripped her face apart, leaving it raggered and torn and lifeless. And she said it would happen again.

He took in a huge gasp of air and hissed it out through his teeth as he attempted to pull himself up higher in the bed. "I'm... bloody hell. I'm not sure what to say or do or think. This isn't real, it can't be."

She looked down, sadness streaking her eyes before looking back at him, blinking back tears as they welled at the corners. "I'm so sorry Klaus, I wish it wasn't true."

He shook his head as she rested her hand gently on his chest, covering hers with his. "Well, I guess that I can completely believe you about the supernatural world now. I mean, when you showed me your vampire self I had an inkling you might be telling the truth but I'm fully convinced."

"It is a lot to wrap your head around. But your body should feel normal again pretty quickly, it's already healed, I'm sure it's feeling sore though" Carolyn replied running her fingers lightly across his chest and causing him to breathe in quickly, but not from pain. "Oh, I'm sorry" she said before he tightened his grip as she tried to withdraw her touch.

"That hand is staying where it is love, I might be sore but I know a good thing when it slaps me in the face."

"I think this was a little more than a slap though Klaus, I mean, meeting me, triggering the Werewolf curse, it's all my fault."

"Correct me if I'm wrong sweetheart but you weren't the one hiding in the closet. And if I hadn't been there, you might have been injured."

Caroline smirked slightly. "I think you forget Klaus that I'm stronger than just about everyone on the planet, I'd have been fine. Unless he was a werewolf that is and then he could've bitten me I suppose. Like you could" she finished with a frown.

"So what does this all mean? You said it would happen once a month, so that's a full moon thing like in the movies?" When she nodded he continued. "And a werewolf bite to a vampire is fatal?" She nodded again. "But it wouldn't be fatal for you to bite me?"

Caroline looked down, blushing slightly before looking up and meeting his eyes. "Ummm, no not fatal as long as I didn't take all of your blood" she finished, clearing her throat and blushing more.

"Ok, what is up? There's something I'm missing. Why are you blushing over blood?"

"It's not the blood exactly" she replied, avoiding looking at him.

Gingerly sitting himself up so he was leaning on her headboard, he made himself comfortable. "Right, love. Spill. You're my only source of all things mythical so if there's something I need to know then spill."

Caroline closed her eyes for a moment before mumbling quietly. "Drinking blood can be kind of intimate for a vampire, especially if it's consenual."

"Sorry sweetheart, I missed that?"

"If I drank your blood it would be almost like having sex, ok?!"

He raised an eyebrow on one side, the corner of his mouth twitching with amusement. "Was that embarassing to say love?"

Her eyes sparked with some of the amusement he was feeling. "A little I guess."

"If I remember rightly, we were making our way to your bedroom last night before all of this happened and it wasn't to check out the wallpaper pattern."

"Well, yes, but blood sharing isn't something I've done before so if I drank from someone while making out, it would be my first time."

"A blood sharing virgin!" he replied, grin breaking out across his face causing Caroline to smack him hard across the chest.

"Ooww" Klaus said with a laugh. "I'm sorry sweetheart, you have to know I'm a blood virgin too. We could share our first time together" he said leaning his face closer to hers with a smirk.

Caroline gulped and pulled back. "Ah Klaus, I think we need to worry about a few things before we talk about what's happening with us."

He leaned even closer, less than an inch from her lips and her eyes grew wide. "What could be more important right now than talking about us?" he asked, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and running a long finger down her jawline, leaving fire coursing through her veins.

Swallowing at the effect he was having on her she reluctantly brought them back to reality with a thump. "Maybe the dead body on the floor over there."

Pulling away, Klaus turned to look at what was left of the man on the ground, blinking and turning pale as he took in the scene. The person was barely recognizable as a human, pieces torn off and littlered around the room, blood smeared into the carpet and across the wall. He turned back to Caroline with worried eyes.

"What do we do?" he whispered as she squeezed his hand gently.

"It's going to be ok. Unfortunately I have plenty of experience with body disposal. I'll take care of it."

"I can't let you do that on your own love" replied Klaus, flicking back the covers and slinging his legs over the edge.

Caroline broke out in a huge smile, covering her hands over her mouth and then her eyes although she peeked through her fingers as she said "ah Klaus, one of the things that happens when you transform is your clothes are shreded to pieces so you ah, have no clothes on."

"That's ok sweetheart, I'm quite comfortable in my skin. Feel free to pull those hands away fully though so you can have a proper look" and he strode towards the bedroom door, giving her a great view of his departing, extremely attractive arse. Giggling as her cheeks grew warm, she fanned herself. "My goodness Care, wow" she thought "how long can you stay away from that man or rather that body?" she asked herself before following him out of the room, closing the door on a scene she would try to ignore, for now.