"There's the weapon you hold; There's the thing that you hold it to; And the thing you hold dear," - For the Pier (And Dead Shimmering), Sunset Rubdown

16

Persephone Rising

Klaus had spent another restless night in search of her. But, after that, the drinking finally stopped, at long last. With her gone for two nights now, he couldn't be at all distracted, not even to numb his ever-increasing anxiety. Right now he was fast-forwarding through and speed-watching surveillance at the nearest airports — the one right here outside of NOLA as well as Houston, Austin, and Atlanta. He even had vampires making their way to Miami right now.

He hadn't found anything, yet. Not even close. He wasn't sure where Salvatore was quite yet either and, to be frank, he didn't truly have the time or energy to think about the latest addition to his search team. He wasn't truly worried about Salvatore, even if he was in love with Caroline; he'd never had a difficult time managing him before, after all.

Klaus was getting fed up with watching video feed and finding, yet again, nothing. He was tempted to take his best guess of where she might go next and simply begin searching. Would she chance Paris? He thought her too smart for something as easy as that. Maybe Eastern Europe, near the war zones? Hiding near war had always been one of Katherine's very favorite tactics.

And then, as he was just becoming caught up in attempting to second guess Caroline, Klaus's cell phone rang. Klaus grabbed it from his pocket, more annoyed by the interruption than anything but a nervous lump lodged itself into his throat when he read the caller ID. Time seemed to stall.

Caroline was calling him.

After all this… and she was just calling him.

"Caroline, where the hell are you?" Klaus demanded as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Uh hello, is this someone named Klaus?" a nasally male voice inquired at the other end.

"Who the fuck are you and where is Caroline!?" Klaus bellowed into the phone, screaming more than asking.

Footsteps were approaching his study down the hall now. Unsurprisingly, just a second later Elijah appeared around the corner to investigate the source of Klaus's ire. Lately, Klaus bursting into a rage meant that someone was in danger of being decapitated for not following his orders carefully enough. One young vampire had even been ruthlessly torn apart for simply having the gall to return to Klaus with no new leads.

"Um Sir, now calm down, please. Now, your friend here or, gosh I don't know, maybe she's your sister? Caroline, is here at my dinner off of I-10. You see, I think she's having a pretty severe anxiety attack and I think you're gonna need to come out here and pick her up. She's not in any condition to drive herself right now, I'm afraid, and she doesn't want us to call an ambulance. She's refusing help from anyone but you. Are you anywhere close to Vinton? We can call a doctor out here, if you need us to."

Klaus cursed under his breath. Vinton, that wasn't far. She hadn't even left the state; she was closer than the time she'd run off to Atlanta.

"No, keep her there, I'm close. What's the name of your establishment?" he asked.

"Ma's Choice Diner," the manager replied with what sounded like just a hint of challenging pride in his voice, even under these circumstances.

"Get her whatever she needs, I'll settle the bill when I arrive. I'm on my way," he said. "And make sure she doesn't leave. Trust me when I say her anxiety attacks leave her a danger to herself."

He hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket and car keys. He didn't have a clue what she was playing at this time.

"Klaus, what's going on?" Elijah asked, close on his heels. "Have you found her?"

"Well, we can never say anything for sure with Caroline, can we?" was all Klaus said in reply.

Klaus was speeding out to Vinton with Elijah and a handful of other vampires just in case Caroline was still plotting something and had anything nasty planned for him. As much as he wanted her back, he was still wary of Caroline. He'd seen what she was capable of without her humanity and he wouldn't put it past her to do whatever it took to secure her freedom from him once and for all. It was still true that, if she hadn't turned her emotions back on, all he wanted was to tell her that she could always come back… as long as she'd truly flipped her switch.

They'd taken two cars, with Elijah driving up with him. With any luck, it would be just himself and Caroline in a car on the way back but, honestly, Klaus wasn't even daring to let himself think of that possibility quite yet. It seemed almost far-fetched that she would have turned her emotions back on.

Yet the man on the phone had reported that Caroline was in the midst of an anxiety attack. He'd said she refused help and only asked for him. All the same, a human could easily be compelled to tell any story Caroline wished.

The trip to Vinton from New Orleans was typically over three hours but they were driving at a speed to make it in half the time. The car following them had been specifically tasked with dealing with the police. Klaus was expertly weaving in and out of traffic, ten years hunting for Katherine in Germany and using the Autobahn had given him solid driving skills — well, that and compelling his way onto some famous race courses every now and then.

But the reminder of Katherine was a painful launch into another series of cascading thoughts about Caroline. Above them all was the paramount fear that he'd simply never see her again.

"Klaus, must we truly endanger every innocent human we pass on the road on our way there?" Elijah asked as Klaus's car narrowly accelerated illegally between two lanes of thick traffic. He caught the first break in traffic he saw to weave, his tires screeching as he did, out onto the shoulder of the road and drive there instead.

"Not to mention, I have no desire to break a leg today myself..." Elijah continued, to his unflappable and deadly silent brother in the driver's seat. "Or my neck, or anything else for that matter."

"Not now, Elijah," Klaus growled, finally.

Elijah had been trying to engage him the entire drive and he'd done his best to studiously disengage and solely focus on driving. He could not have cared less if they crashed. They'd just heal and get out of the car and compel another one if they did.

Elijah looked over to his brother who was at his most intimidating. Klaus was all but holding the famous "Kubrick Stare," not looking unlike the main character from A Clockwork Orange as he pushed his car to the same dangerous speeds portrayed in the film. He then vaguely remembered that Caroline was a Kubrick fan and he wondered what she'd make of Klaus looking like one of his most famous characters right now. He assumed she'd have something quick but biting to say about it.

"You still haven't even entirely explained to me what's going on," he pressed to Klaus. "Something about some man calling you from her phone? Is everything okay?"

"I must admit, Elijah, I'm surprised you're even here," Klaus snapped, not answering his queries right away. "What do you care? You made it perfectly clear that you're far more invested in our dear sister Freya."

"Well, I am here. I've chosen to be by your side, have I not?" Elijah said. "So are you going to brief me on what the hell is going on or not?"

Klaus offered him a rare genuine, but short, smile. Truly, he was glad that his brother had remained on his side despite their arguments.

"I got a call from some restaurant manager in Vinton," Klaus explained. "He says that Caroline is having a severe panic attack and has requested my assistance."

"You think her humanity may be back," Elijah surmised.

Klaus didn't respond or look over after that. His jaw merely clenched but it was the only answer Elijah needed. That indeed was what Klaus was hoping; he just wasn't ready to let himself believe it was true. He likely wouldn't believe it until he saw her.

They'd taken Caroline to the manager's office in the back of the restaurant. In the back of her hysterical mind, she realized it was a big back-room. There was actually a futon at the far end of the room.

"Some of our chefs work twelve hour shifts and need to rest back here," the waitress explained as she led the sobbing girl over to the futon. "You can rest here."

Caroline nodded, gratefully, but still fully unable to slow her crying. The woman made a motion to leave but Caroline grabbed her wrist. As long as someone was talking to her, she was able to focus on what they were saying. The moment she was left alone with her own thoughts, Caroline was completely unable to stop or even slow the onslaught of terrible memories or the waves of guilt flooding over her.

"Sure, I can stay," the waitress said when Caroline tugged her back. "My name's Amy. Steve said that your friend Klaus said your name is Caroline?"

Caroline nodded, amidst her tears.

"Is Klaus your brother, Caroline?" she asked.

Caroline vehemently shook her head no. My brother? she thought to herself. The idea was almost enough to make her laugh and she did.

But it quickly turned into a kind of disturbing, hysterical laughter, mixed with her tears. Amy put a hand to her back in an awkward there-there sort-of motion.

"Oh, so I guess he's your boyfriend?" Amy asked.

That made Caroline's hysterical laughter slow and she was just back to crying again. She gave Amy a confused and noncommittal shrug. The waitress nodded in understanding.

"Well, whoever he is, Steve could tell he cared about you a lot," Amy said. "And he's on his way now. You'll be headed home soon."

Home. Yes, she wanted to go home.

"Why has she dragged herself here of all places?" Elijah questioned in disgust when they pulled up to the tiny diner. It looked like it hadn't updated its signage or decor — and likely its menu — since the 1970s.

Klaus was ignoring him, though, already storming into the establishment. The rest of the NOLA vampires he'd assigned to come with him would be arriving soon after and they'd already received orders to patrol the area once they did.

As soon as Klaus was inside, the door slammed behind him. Elijah followed at a more respectable pace. Patrons inside were looking up from their meals curiously at the two imposing men, one dressed to the nines in a clearly pricey suit and the other the portrait of rage.

Klaus approached a young man at the front of the restaurant.

"I'm looking for Steve," Klaus hissed in a tone even he hadn't expected from himself.

The statement was benign enough but, the way the young waiter was shaking in front of Klaus, he might as well have just been told he was about to be executed. Luckily an older gentleman — the actual Steve — rushed forward when he recognized Klaus's accented voice from over the phone.

"Hello, sir, right this way," he said, leading the terrifying men out of his dining room and away from his customers. "Your friend is fine. She's resting in our break room."

Immediately Klaus began to size up the situation as they headed towards the back of the restaurant. He could usually spot human compulsion in under a second and he didn't detect a sign of it here, not from the staff or the patrons. At scattered tables around the restaurant, customers were sitting with their food but completely ignoring their meals. Every eye was on him as he breezed past them. Filtering in behind him were the other vampires. Between himself, Elijah, and the other dark-looking vampire mercenaries, they made a startling impression. Compelled humans wouldn't have had such a genuinely shocked response.

Steve led him through a closed door marked Employees Only behind the restaurant's small bar. Beyond the door was a small white hallway that led to a break room and the manager's office. Steve knocked on the door to the break room in three quick raps before swinging the door open and stepping aside to let Klaus go in first.

When Klaus entered, Caroline stood without thinking. Amy stepped back, immediately sensing the energy between the two as soon as they saw each other. It was palpable and almost mesmerizing. Nevertheless, she quickly excused herself upon realizing she wasn't needed anymore.

He knew as soon as he laid eyes on her that she was back. Really back. Even with tears streaming down her face, even though she looked like she was in terrible pain, her light had returned. It was like he was really seeing her again for the first time — the first time he'd met he since he last visited Mystic Falls. She'd asked for him first.

"He said you were fine," Klaus said to her softly.

"What?" she breathed out in quiet confusion. Who said she was fine?

"That little man that called me over the phone," he said, taking a step towards her, mostly to test her reaction. "He said you were fine but you clearly are not."

She didn't step back or away from him. She didn't recoil or even look apprehensive at all. Caroline was steadily holding his eye contact and the air was like a magnet between them.

He didn't hold himself back after that. He crossed the small room in just two quick strides and had her in his arms where she promptly dissolved. Her surprise at seeing him arrive so quickly — she was surprised that he'd come at all, really — had briefly distracted her enough to stall the unending grief she was suffering. But now, with him holding her, she had full permission to get it out of her system so she did.

It felt like she was expelling some toxic, vile poison from her as she allowed her humanity to reach back into her fully. It hurt like hell but being so close to Klaus now also felt different. It felt good, right. And through her misery, she might have even detected the smallest amount of happiness. That final realization, of course, came with its own new waves of guilt, as well.

"I'm sorry," she let out as she cried into him, thankful that his strong hold around her shaking frame was holding her together. She was pressing her face into his chest, not caring if she was giving in too easily or acting ridiculous or unattractive. Right now, the scent and feel of him was the only thing grounding her as she weathered these feelings.

"No," he replied in an immediate and fierce growl, "You're back, that's all that matters. I'm sorry, Caroline. I'm sorry I ever tried to keep you. You don't know what it was like. You don't know what you were like when you had your humanity off. I couldn't trust you. I should have just let you go."

The worst part was that Caroline knew very well what it was like when she'd had it off. She could remember every awful detail of how ruthless she'd been and had worried that he still wouldn't trust her from the moment she'd had the manager call him at the diner. Luckily he knew her and had no doubts from the second he'd seen her and could see that her light had returned.

He hadn't honestly been sure what he'd do if she finally turned her emotions back on. He knew he'd be happy but, he'd been so worried that she wouldn't want to come back to him that he hadn't dared to think much beyond that. Knowing that the very first thing she'd done after her humanity had returned was to call what he now considered her home made him want to kiss her on the spot but she seemed far too distressed for such a display at the moment. Instead he chose to wipe away the tears at her face, pressing her into him in another embrace when she avoided his eyes, embarrassed.

She was always so easily embarrassed when she had her humanity, he'd forgotten about that. Caroline always made such a vehement show of seeming together and confident… but he'd watched her closely enough over time to get a sense of how she was really feeling despite the brave face she always wore for her friends in Virginia. Though it was endearing, to see her feel vulnerable with him, it was completely unnecessary. Didn't she know he thought her the most wonderful woman in the world? He hoped one day she would again be as confident as her humanity-less self but because she felt completely comfortable and safe with him and his family… not because she didn't care about anything.

In his arms she was shaking so fiercely he thought she might be in pain, so he held onto her tighter, hoping to help her regain some control. Most vampires reacted with extreme guilt after they turned their switch back on but, Klaus could have easily guessed it would affect Caroline the worst. She so genuinely cared about doing the right thing and respecting all life that this would be a huge obstacle for her to recover from. And as pained as he was for her at the prospect, now he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the feeling of simple hope; he'd not had that since his daughter was returned to him.

Finally, Caroline's shaking was beginning to slow and he felt her shift in his arms. How long had he been holding her? A few minutes or over half an hour? He wasn't sure; he'd been so focused on making sure she wouldn't shatter under the weight of her own grief.

"Klaus?" Caroline asked, looking up at him again. "Could you… could you compel me?"

He immediately frowned, not knowing what on Earth she was suggesting. He didn't like the idea of needing to compel her. Especially not after everything they'd been through recently.

"Not for long," she assured him, another blush rising on her cheeks as she explained the request, "Just… I'm in so much pain and, I know I have to deal with it and work through it but I just need to sleep. Just until we get home. Could you do that?"

He nodded, "Of course, love. Anything you need," he said, kissing her temple before pulling back to let his eyes darken in compulsion, "Sleep, Caroline. I'll wake you when we've arrived home."

Anything she needed… wanted. Caroline had no clue how true the promise was.

She was out in his arms instantly after that, so he picked her to walk her back to the car. Exiting the back room to go out through the front again, he was subjected to more bewildered looks. Steve, the manager, looked even more perturbed than when Klaus had first arrived and that was saying something. From the moment Klaus had arrived in a rage, he'd mistaken the situation for Caroline returning to a bad situation. Since then, although he'd kept her from getting any worse, he hadn't successfully calmed Caroline down. Now, here she was looking completely passed out in Klaus's arms.

"Take care of this, would you?" Klaus said to Elijah and a few of the vampires that had joined them in the restaurant. He nodded his head in the direction of the bewildered staff. That Steve fellow was doing a very poor job of concealing the fact that he had one hand on a phone beneath the hostess counter at the front of the restaurant. "I'll meet you back at the compound," he finished.

Elijah nodded and they set up compelling all of the staff and patrons at the establishment. Klaus carried Caroline back to the car where he buckled her into the passenger's seat to sleep for a few hours on their trip home.

"You said she told you that she planned to keep in touch," Stefan reiterated for maybe the thousandth time as they parked in a rest stop maybe half an hour north of NOLA. "Why on Earth would she just drop communication when she seemed so desperate for a cloaking spell?"

"Stefan, we've been over this about three dozen times now," Damon said, stepping out of the car with Elena. "And no one has an answer for you. Still."

Though Bonnie had come to Stefan first after she'd received the call from Caroline, they both ultimately decided they had to alert Elena as well. They both wanted to get on the road as quickly as possible to find her before Klaus did but, luckily, it was quick work to persuade Elena… mostly because it didn't require any persuasion. With a ton of apologies tossed to Jo for having to step out of the state so close to her wedding, Elena had immediately joined them as soon as she discovered that her best friend had finally reached out for help.

Damon had bitched and moaned, as was to be expected. But, of course, he'd joined them soon after. Partly it was just because he'd follow Elena to the ends of the Earth but, partly it was out of respect to his recently passed friend Sheriff Forbes. He knew she would never be able to stand the thought of her daughter running from Klaus Mikaelson without her humanity on.

Because Bonnie had never heard back from Caroline again, she never put the cloaking spell up. Though, honestly, she'd never intended to follow up with that promise. Instead she was now performing a locator spell. Stefan had been trying to do a fake check-in with Klaus all morning, for the sake of their purported truce but, had no luck getting in touch with him either.

"Stefan, just say what you're thinking," Elena pressed.

He sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he looked at a road sign directing them back to New Orleans.

"You know I haven't been able to get in touch with Klaus all day either," he responded. "Between the two of them being off our radar… I'm worried he has her."

"Finally he says it!" Damon crowed. "Does that mean we can stop playing the game where Stefan repeats the same rhetorical questions three times an hour?"

"That's what we're all worried about," Bonnie said firmly, ignoring Damon completely. She was bent over her map in heavy concentration. "And it looks like we're right to be…"

Bonnie had brought a multitude of items with them to attempt to locate Caroline, not truly expecting them to work. As she'd explained over the phone about cloaking spells, locator spells also needed at least an object of significance to Caroline for the spell to work. Since Caroline had her humanity off, none of these would have any meaning to her. She'd started with a locket first, one she was pretty sure was a gift from Caroline's mother.

Then, to her surprise, after just a few moments of steady and concentrated chanting, the locket had begun to center over a slowly moving location, guiding Bonnie's hand over the map with a delicate and mystical pull.

"I've located her," Bonnie explained to them softly, "And it looks like she's heading back to New Orleans."

Klaus didn't wake her when they returned to the Abattoir as he said he would but, compulsion was a powerful thing. He'd only intended for it to last until they arrived and so she began to wake without prompting as he carried her up the stairs. The first thing she noticed was that he was taking her to her old room.

"No," she said, without hesitation, "Can we stay in your room?"

"We?" Klaus asked, already feeling his heart swell with emotion at the idea that she wanted to stay in his room at all, much less with him.

"I mean, you don't have to, of course," Caroline began covering up the slip. "It's the middle of the day, I understand if you need to be..." she let that dangle.

She realized she'd been purposefully leading Klaus around so frequently these days that she had no idea where he would actually be or what he'd be doing if left to his own devices in New Orleans. She hadn't bothered to learn much about his personal life here in New Orleans at all, actually — and she was well aware that he made every effort to know and understand her as well as possible.

Caroline added it on to the ever growing checklist of things she needed to repent and repair. Klaus could sense her growing discomfort as more pain began to bombard her.

"Of course I'm staying with you, love," he assured her as he laid her down on his bed and then climbed in over top of her, pulling her into his side. "How could you think I'd ever leave now that I have you back?"

She pressed herself more securely into him. If she hadn't still been so drained and physically exhausted from this whole ordeal, she thought she might have had the guts to actually turn and kiss him right then. Losing herself in him didn't seem like the worst idea at the moment… but it also felt unfair — like she wouldn't be paying her due after all the horrible actions she'd committed.

Her body was still wracked with guilt, grief, and pain but, being back with Klaus was making her feel far more secure than she'd anticipated. Ultimately, she gave in to the security at least somewhat. Not daring to turn back around to him, she did surrender to his embrace and allowed sleep to overcome her again, this time more naturally.

Unfortunately, she was only met by fitful and agonizing dreams.

I am so sorry for making you guys wait on this. I've had nothing but late closing shifts at work these past several days and I've just been too beat to write. This upcoming week my schedule is better though, so I plan to pick up the updating schedule.

If you don't know what the Kubrick Stare is, I would google it. Just imagine how creepy and intimidating but also really hot it would be if Klaus ever did that stare on the show. He's come close but not ever with that crazy intensity, IMO anyway.

Hope this satisfied any fluff cravings you might have been having. I aim for my stories to having everything from lemons to dark moments to fluff, so I hope I came through. There will definitely be more to come. Very excited to hear what you all think!

Inferno, the new Klaroline fic,will be updated soon, probably today. Caroline will make her first appearance in the second chapter so if anyone is looking for something new to start while they wait for my next chapter here, I'd love for you to check out and give me your thoughts!