The room was quiet except for the steady breathing of Caroline Forbes and the occasional sound of a page being turned. Not that Klaus was actually reading the book in his hands as he was far more occupied by watching the sleeping Caroline and his own thoughts.
Despite the calm expression on his face, his inner emotions were in turmoil and he was slowly growing restless from being cooped up within the borders of his own bedroom. He was angry, beyond reasoning, but at the same time worried and relieved. And for the first time in a long while he felt regret.
It was his words that had caused the blonde on his bed to go out and almost get herself killed. It was their combined stubbornness that had sent Caroline behind enemy lines, leading her to almost drown in her own blood, in his blood. None of them knew what had happened to Caroline exactly or how she had discovered Colin's betrayal. As always, Caroline Forbes was a puzzle that Klaus couldn't solve.
Klaus' jaw clenched at the thought of his former minion – as Caroline liked to call them – and he found it hard to resist the urge to destroy something. Or someone. The only thing that kept him from getting up and maim, kill or bleed someone dry was Caroline. And that pesky spell that held him and the blonde beauty captured in his room.
He almost laughed at thought of how his own idea had backfired on him and he found himself contemplating which one of his siblings he should dagger first. Davina, the witch behind the spell, was too valuable to kill, but someone needed to be punished for locking up the King of New Orleans like some common vampire in Marcel's garden.
The situation reminded him all too much of the time he had been caged inside the Gilbert living room after the owners of the same house had killed his brother before his eyes. The night that he realized that he had fallen too deep. That he never could live in a world without Caroline Forbes in it and he couldn't fathom how he had managed to for so long.
He had let her walk out of the door just hours earlier but never again. He was tired of waiting. Tired of being in such near proximity to what he desired most, only to have it ripped away. He had convinced himself and the others that it was for her own good to lock her inside his room for now. She needed to heal properly this time and he needed time. Time to make her understand, to talk to her; time to convince her to stay.
Klaus should have been suspicious about how quickly they all had agreed to his suggestion, which really was an order, but his emotions had clouded his judgment and he hadn't noticed the conspiring glances between his siblings and Stefan. Needless to say that he was furious when he tried to leave his room, meeting a barrier at the door, which he couldn't pass through.
According to Elijah it was for everyone's best – Klaus included – that the hybrid was stopped from going out into his city and kill everyone he suspected of treason, which was his initial plan. 'They needed to be strategic about this' Elijah had said 'and assess the situation before doing anything rash'. Klaus couldn't care less for his brother's 'strategic planning'. They had gone after his son and no begging for mercy could stop Klaus from tearing everyone apart.
Rebekah had seemed a little more opposed to the plan of locking up their brother given the small display of affection that Klaus had earlier showed her, but she had busied herself with 'entertaining' Colin and hadn't protested further. Stefan had shrugged and then given him the big brother speech about his treatment of Caroline, making Klaus fume with irritation. Kol had called it karma and Klaus had threatened to pull out his liver and feed it to him.
The only solitude Klaus found in the situation was Henrik's safety, the fact that Caroline was within his reach at all times and Colin's pained screams from the basement, which was music to Klaus' ears. He didn't notice the sadistic grin that spread on his lips as the sound of Kol's bat breaking multiple ribs reached his ears. He knew his siblings would give him the satisfaction of killing the vampire later, but his fingers still itched to inflict pain now.
When the sound of small feet running down the hall interrupted the sound of Colin's scream, Klaus smile turned loving and he looked at the doorway expectantly, waiting for his son to appear. He felt how some of his anger disappeared as he looked into a pair of bright blue eyes that were so like his own and he chuckled as he noticed the boy's tousled curls, which meant that the boy had probably just awoken.
"Good morning." Henrik said cheerfully, smiling at his father even though his eyes were on Caroline. Klaus let his eyes rest on Caroline's sleeping form for a moment as well before he stood up and put down the book in his hands.
"Good morning, love." Klaus replied as he moved towards Henrik, who was standing just inside the room and as he looked back at his father, Klaus noticed a secretive gleam in his eyes that made him raise an inquisitive eyebrow. It wasn't until Klaus crouched in front of his son that he noticed that Henrik was hiding something behind his back.
"What have you got for me?" Klaus asked with a nod towards Henrik's hidden hands and a teasing smile spread on the boy's lips. Of course, Klaus already knew what Henrik was carrying with him; he could smell it.
"Guess." Henrik told him with a giggle and Klaus scratched the stubble on his chin speculatively.
"A puppy?" Klaus guessed with raised eyebrows and smile. He watched as Henrik's eye grew wide and he swallowed a sigh, knowing what the boy was going to say before he even opened his mouth.
"No, but could we-" Henrik said enthusiastically and he was already jumping from one foot to another in excitement.
"No." Klaus interrupted with a stern look in his eyes and Henrik's head fell in disappointment, forgetting all about the game he was playing with his father. They had already had the discussion about getting a dog one too many times and it didn't make it easier that Rebekah once had promised him one after falling prey for Henrik's own puppy dog eyes.
"We already have enough dogs running around as it is." Klaus murmured, talking mostly to himself but Henrik's brows furrowed in confusion.
Of course, he didn't know about all the werewolves running around in the bayou and especially not about the struggle they had been ever since Hayley's death. They had discovered Hayley's connection to the pack before Henrik's birth and the loss of their 'queen' had only strained Klaus' alliance with them.
"How many guesses do I have left?" Klaus then asked in an attempt to diverge his son's attention and the teasing gleam returned to Henrik's eyes.
"One!" Henrik exclaimed and bared his teeth in a wide grin, showing the missing tooth in the back of his mouth. Klaus studied his son intently as if he was trying to read the answer on the boy's face and Henrik shifted under his gaze as he looked away, trying to hide any clues his eyes might give away.
"A dinosaur? And no, we cannot have one." Klaus said and sent Henrik another look, warning him not to get any good ideas. The boy shook his head and rolled his eyes at his father's guess. Dinosaurs had been extinct for years. Stefan had told him so when he had tried the same trick he used against his aunt to get a triceratops.
"Then I really have no idea, love." Klaus admitted with a defeated shake of his head and Henrik proudly produced two blood bags from behind him. "And who gave you those?"
"Uncle Kol said that I should give them to Caroline." Henrik told as his father took the bags and rose to his full height. Klaus hid his irritation behind a smile as he placed the blood bags on a table beside his bed, reminding himself to have a serious talk with his youngest brother.
It was clear that Kol was doing his best not to place himself in Klaus' line of sight and given his earlier thoughts, Klaus understood his brother's cowardly ways. But using his son was a new low for the former Original. Especially since Klaus had made it perfectly clear that Henrik was to stay out of any vampire business until he was older. Which also included not carrying around blood bags, even with the best intentions.
"Is she sleeping?" Henrik asked in a low voice, calling Klaus out of his murderous thoughts. The hybrid couldn't help but smile at the boy, who was looking past him towards Caroline's sleeping form.
Klaus turned his head to look at the blonde beauty, whose hair was sprawled out on the pillow and he felt how his fingers almost itched to immortalize the image on paper. Instead he looked back to his son and gave the boy a nod, which Henrik didn't see as he elegantly landed on the bed at Caroline's feet, proving that the werewolf gene indeed was hidden inside of him.
Klaus watched as Henrik slowly crawled towards Caroline's head, carefully not to tip the bed and wake her up. As he reached the headboard of the bed, Henrik sat down and crossed his legs in front of him. The boy was staring intensely at Caroline and Klaus was almost mesmerized as he watched his son reach out for a blonde curl, gently lifting it into his hand.
When Klaus moved back towards the chair he had been lounging in before Henrik's entry, one of the floor boards creaked and Henrik's eyes shot to his father. Klaus raised his hands apologetically when his son looked at him alarmingly and chuckled lightly when Henrik's wary eyes returned to Caroline.
Except for Henrik's low humming, the room was quiet and Klaus watched his son gently play with Caroline's curls with what could almost be described as envy. It had been tempting to just reach out and brush his fingertips over the pale skin of her cheek or at least move closer to her still body, but he doubted she would appreciate his closeness very much.
"When is she waking up?" Henrik whispered as he slowly untangled his fingers from Caroline's hair and looked at his father. Klaus was surprised by how Henrik seemed to care about the blonde since they had only met a few times, but a bond already seemed to be tied between them. It was strange how Henrik seemed just as enchanted with Caroline as Klaus himself.
"I don't know, but she needs to sleep." Klaus replied and received a nod from Henrik, who moved a little away from Caroline.
"Uncle Kol said she was sick." Henrik continued with a downcast voice and Klaus frowned at the almost guilty look in the boys eyes.
"She was, but she is getting better now." Klaus reassured and Henrik nodded once more. Klaus didn't notice how Henrik absentmindedly scratched a mosquito bite on his arm as his eyes were fixed on the boy's trembling lower lip.
"Was it my fault?" Henrik then asked with a small voice and Klaus watched with worry how tears filled his son's blue eyes.
"No." Klaus replied with a firm voice as he slowly moved from his chair to the bed and pulled Henrik onto his lap. His thumb brushed over the boy's cheek as a single tear fell and Henrik nodded timidly in understanding. "Why would you think that, love?"
Henrik shrugged with his head bowed down, absentmindedly scratching his arm and Klaus swallowed an impatient sigh. Sometimes his son was too damn clever. Henrik knew that his blue eyes gave away everything – something he got from his father – and was smart enough to always look away if there was something he didn't want to reveal or talk about.
"Henrik, look at me." Klaus demanded calmly as his son kept quiet while he continued to scratch his arm. With a small sigh, Henrik finally looked up and his father's hand ran over his hair in a soothing motion as Klaus saw the guilt present in the boy's eyes.
As always Klaus tried not to think about how strange all of this was. How the faiths had conspired against him and given him the best and worst gift of his immortal life. Not only would he kill for the boy in front of him; he would willingly give up his own life with a moment's thought. Right now, he was ready to kill anyone who made Henrik believe that he was any way to blame for Caroline's condition.
"It thought she was mad at me for getting into trouble so she had to come and get me." Henrik sniffled and blinked away the tears in his eyes, making Klaus clench his jaw in frustration over himself. All of this mess was his (and Caroline's) fault, yet the five-year old was blaming himself. "And then she left and didn't come back."
"That had nothing to do with you." Klaus told him with a reassuring voice and met his son's wavering gaze. "Caroline was mad at me and that is why she left."
"What did you do?" Henrik asked slowly as he looked at his father with wide eyes and Klaus lifted an eyebrow at his son almost accusing tone. The boy had witnessed enough fights in this household to know that it was usually his father that caused trouble. Or at least his siblings blamed him for all of it.
"I was angry with Caroline because I thought she would hurt you." Klaus explained carefully and he almost chuckled when Henrik's mouth opened in surprise.
"But she won't." Henrik then replied with a firm voice and met his father's gaze. A smile appeared on Klaus' lips as he looked into Henrik's resolute eyes before they simultaneously turned to look at Caroline.
"No." Klaus agreed with a small sigh and tore his eyes away from the blonde. He frowned slightly when he noticed how vigorously Henrik was scratching his arm, but his attention was diverted when the boy spoke again.
"She said we would go to Disney World." he informed his father without looking away from Caroline and Klaus couldn't help but smile at the promise the blonde had given his son. It also made his regret over his accusations dig a little deeper.
"Did she now?" Klaus mused as he looked at Caroline once more, surprised by how she could continue to sleep despite their talking.
"She also said we could go to Neverland, but I guess she forgot adults can't come there. Or the North Pole." Henrik continued and then looked at his father with a secretive look in his eyes. Inconspicuously, Henrik waved his father closer and Klaus leaned down until he could feel his son's breath against his ear.
"I don't think she knows that Santa isn't real." Henrik whispered loudly and Klaus had to bite the inside of his cheek to not laugh out loud. Klaus feigned seriousness as he pulled way slightly to look at Henrik.
"Should we tell her?" the hybrid whispered back and Henrik's eyes immediately left his face to look at Caroline. Klaus watched in amazement how the boy seemed to weigh the cons and pros of telling the blonde as he stared intently as Caroline and at last Henrik answered with a small shake of his head.
The smile on Klaus' lips fell as soon as the smell hit him and his eyes zoned in on the spot on Henrik's arm that the boy kept scratching. His large hand closed around Henrik's wrist as he stopped the boy's movements and Klaus watched how a small pebble of blood appeared on his son's arm.
Henrik had scratched the mosquito bite on his arm open and Klaus was acutely aware of how the otherwise still body beside him now was moving. The veins were already appearing under Caroline's eyes and not even a pair of supernatural eyes could have kept up as Henrik suddenly stood outside the room and Klaus had Caroline pinned against the wall opposite the door.
"Henrik, find Stefan now!" Klaus yelled without looking back at his son as he fought the feral Caroline, counting himself lucky that she didn't have her full strength. He could sense Henrik's hesitation and looked over his shoulder to see the boy watch them with frightful eyes.
Caroline used Klaus' divided attention to charge forward and growled at him when he slammed her back against the wall. Her eyes had taking on an almost pitch black color and her fangs were bared at him as she tried to push him off of her.
"Caroline." Klaus called as he tried to get her attention away from Henrik, who was still frozen in the hallway. Caroline barely even spared him a second glance and Klaus tightened his grip around her neck.
"Caroline, look at me." Klaus roared this time and he sensed a brief moment of hesitation before she started pushing against him again, albeit less violently.
"Control yourself, Caroline. Breathe." he ordered and felt how the blonde seemed to regain the slightest amount of control.
"I can't." Caroline hissed at him, her voice hoarse from everything she had been through the last hours, but most of all from hunger. "I'm so hungry."
"You have to. It's my son that you're trying to drain." Klaus growled back at her, taking a deep breath to control his anger. Once again he felt a little more energy drain from Caroline's struggles and her eyes were slowly turning back to the cornflower blue color that he knew so well.
"Do you want to hurt Henrik?" he asked her, realizing that the thought of hurting a child, his child, was the only thing that could bring her back.
"No." Caroline whimpered as a tear traveled down her cheek. Her body was growing slack against the wall and Klaus slowly loosened his grip as the veins on her face completely disappeared. He removed his hand from her neck and grabbed her wrists instead, stilling pinning her to the wall.
"What's happe-" Stefan's voice suddenly called as he appeared out in the hall, but interrupted himself when he saw the scene in front of him. He didn't get time to think about what had happened before Klaus yelled at him to get Henrik away from there.
"I'm so sorry." Caroline whispered tearfully as her head fell forward and met Klaus' chest. Her breathing was heavy as she forced back her self-control and Klaus let go of her wrists, half expecting her to shy away from him as soon as she could.
Instead her arms just slumped down her sides and a heavy sigh escaped her, followed by her sniffling noise. Carefully, he glided his hands up along her arms and rested them on her shoulders, close to her neck. She didn't seem to react to the touch and Klaus had a feeling that she was off into her own world.
"Caroline." Klaus called silently, urging her to look up and meet his eyes, but she just shook her head slowly with her head still resting on his chest. "Caroline, it's okay. Look at me."
"No." Caroline replied with a choked voice and Klaus could once again hear the tears in her voice. "I can't believe I… I wanted to ki- Why didn't you snap my neck? Or kill me?"
"Caroline." Klaus repeated, hearing his own voice waver as the thought of killing her hit him. He knew she meant it. She would rather die than hurt Henrik and he felt himself smile bitterly because of his own idiocy.
When Caroline didn't react, Klaus moved his hands to rest on each side of her neck and gently placed his thumbs under her jaw. She didn't fight him as he slowly lifted her head upwards and she automatically straightened her back, rising to her full height. He tried sending her a soothing smile as her eyes finally met his, but her thoughts were so clouded with guilt that she didn't even seem to notice.
"Because I didn't have to." Klaus replied softly, answering her question that would probably haunt him for at least a couple of years. Despite already haven proven Klaus right, she didn't seem as convinced and Caroline suddenly seemed to notice how close they were standing.
His hands left her skin as she took a small step back and her eyes glided over the room, unable to look Klaus in the eyes. When the veins under her eyes suddenly started to appear again and she inhaled sharply, he knew that she had noticed the blood bags Henrik had brought with him earlier. To Klaus' surprise she slowly began backing away from them and her eyes closed resolutely.
"You need to feed, love." Klaus told her as he grabbed the blood and walked back to her, only to have her move further away.
"No, I'm fine." Caroline told him with a croaked voice and turned her back on him to regain control.
"You're hungry, Caroline." he told her as if she didn't already know, but the blonde just shook her head without turning around.
"I'm fine, Klaus." Caroline repeated as she turned around to face him again with a determined look in her eyes. He watched her with equal curiosity and irritation, making her take another step back as he stepped forward.
"You just tried to eat my son, Caroline." he couldn't help but growl at her and her eyes immediately filled with tears again. Klaus knew that he was supposed to regret his words or something like it, but at the moment he was too angry to care. He could forgive her for losing control the first time, but by not feeding she brought Henrik in danger once more.
"I know." Caroline said with a surprisingly strong voice and met Klaus' frustrated stare. "Which is why I don't deserve that blood. You should just let me starve to death."
Once again Caroline's words shocked him and his eyes softened as he watched her intently. She was too controlled, too calm, despite being in such near proximity of what she craved most. She was still a baby vampire – new powers be damned – but if he didn't know better he would think she had been one of the undead for centuries.
"How many times have you done this?" he finally asked, breaking the tense silence between them as he realized the meaning of it all.
"Done what?" Caroline asked with an almost uninterested voice and it suddenly became very clear to him how hard she was indeed fighting her urges.
"Punished yourself with starvation." Klaus replied calmly and Caroline immediately looked to the floor while she crossed her arm beneath her chest. It wasn't the typical Caroline posture, though, and it seemed more as if she was hugging herself.
"What do you care?" she finally said, her voice cold and her eyes hostile. Klaus couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips and it only widened when Caroline blinked in confusion. She was trying to throw him off, make him forget what he had just learned, but it only made it more obvious that he was right. Which for once didn't satisfy him as it usually did.
"Believe me, Caroline. I do care." he told her with an intense look in his eyes that made her stand still as he took a step closer. "You need to feed. You can do it yourself or I will make sure that you swallow every last drop of it myself."
A smirk spread on his lips as she scoffed at his words, biting her lower lip to hide a smile of her own as she raised a questioning brow. She continued to stand still as he moved closer and had to take another deep breath as the smell of the blood intensified.
"I could tie you to the bed for example." Klaus suggested nonchalantly and both of Caroline's eyebrows lifted in feigned indignation. "Of course, I had imagined some more pleasurable activities involving that scenario, but I am not one to complain."
The smile on her lips broke through before she could stop it and she rolled her eyes as the smirk on his face grew, showing of those annoying dimples that she absolutely hated. Why did he of all people have dimples? He was evil, the devil himself, but apparently that didn't stop him from looking like an angel. With freaking dimples.
"You decide, love." Klaus told her, bringing Caroline out of her thoughts as he waved one of the blood bags in front of her. She scowled at him for a short moment as she felt the veins under her eyes and ripped it from his hand, tearing into the bag without hesitation.
Her eyes closed in pure bliss as the sweet crimson liquid landed on her tongue, making her unconsciously moan in satisfaction. The bag was emptied in a few seconds and she didn't even notice Klaus' intense stare as she grabbed the second one, savoring it for just a moment longer than the first one.
"Better?" Klaus asked with an almost amused tone in his voice as Caroline's tongue darted out to lick away the last drop of blood on her lower lip.
"Better." Caroline sighed with a content smile on her lips. She was still hungry, but the immense guilt she felt for losing control in front of Henrik made her lose her appetite.
She could already feel how the blood was cursing through her, slowly reviving her senses and giving her skin a less grey color. Which also made her notice how the shirt she was wearing was too big and had an all too familiar masculine scent.
"Klaus? Why am I wearing one of your shirts? And who the hell put this on me?"