Chapter 23: Unchanged

AN: Can I just say how AMAZING your reviews were for the last chapter. Really a big ass thank you to all who took out the time to leave a review. I apologize in advance if I've gotten some of my facts wrong. My only source was the internet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

One day,

I will tire of waiting for you

To love me.

You will lean back

And fall

Finding I am not there to support you

You will turn around

And see the nothingness I have become

Having given my all to you

Forgive me.

_ Unknown

"You look like shit," Stefan said as he handed Klaus a large cup of coffee. The substance had become more important than whiskey or bourbon ever had been to Klaus.

"Hmm and you're doing wonders to my self esteem mate." Klaus retorted as he stabbed the button for the elevator.

Waiting for the desired floor he gulped down the burning liquid, letting the caffeine alleviate the heaviness from his tired body.. Only it seemed that nothing could lighten his soul. The guilt and sadness was permanently etched on it from all the pain and suffering that occurred because of him.

"This place is killing you. Three straight days without leaving this hospital Klaus? What good are you to anyone if you drop and end up in this hospital as well? Don't make me take drastic actions." Klaus ignored his friend's lecture and threats escaping into the elevator as the doors slid open. Stefan, seeming to be undeterred, followed him inside.

It had been a three days.

Three of the longest and most draining days he ever had and Caroline had yet to wake up.

Medically she was fine and shown no signs of any permanent damage but physically she was drained and still healing.

Time and again he would bombard Enzo and Stefan with questions on why it was taking so long for her to come to and each time they would respond with the same answer.

"The body takes as long as it needs to heal Klaus. Give hers some time."

Stefan kept up a constant barrage of words of how he needed to sleep in a real bed, needed a real meal that consisted of something other than hospital food.

They were things he had heard already. Elijah, Rebekah and Kol had all given him the same lecture. He knew they meant well but he didn't need or want their concern.

What they didn't understand was that the reason they were all sitting vigil was because of him. His past, his actions, his foolish notions of being unworthy led them to this point.

"I'm fine." Klaus stated "Has there been any change since I left to see Caroline?" He added

"With the kids, no. You don't need to be here all day everyday Klaus.. The minute there are any changes I will call you." Stefan sighed "How is Caroline?"

"Still not woken up yet. I'm going back after I've seen the kids for a bit." Klaus replied earning a frown from Stefan

"Klaus.."

"I'm their father Stefan. It's my job to take care of them. Now I need to go see my children." Klaus pushed off the wall of the elevator into the stark hallway leaving Stefan behind as well as any remnants of their previous conversation. He felt bad about being a jerk to Stefan but Caroline was counting on him to be a good parent and he couldn't let her down.

Striding into the NICU, Klaus was met by smiles and greetings from the nursing staff whom he had grown rather accustomed to in the past days he'd spent here. The twins had been born two weeks premature and would most likely be in the hospital for a few more weeks to come.

It had been a long few days of tests, anxiety and discussions with doctors.

"Good morning Mr Mikealson." Claire, the morning nurse assigned to the twins, greeted Klaus.

"Good morning" Klaus responded as he reached into the incubators to stroke the hands of each of the twins as if he were an expert at it already.

It was as if he knew every part, every contour, every dip and curve of their small little hands.

He couldn't help but smile thinking back to the very first time he came in here...

(Three days ago...)

"Would you like to come meet your son and daughter?"

He followed the nurse into the NICU facility and soon had to make sure he was sanitized followed and gloved. The nurse explained that because these babies were preemies their immune systems were extremely vulnerable to easily pick up an infection. It was thus with great urgency that Klaus was made aware of the rules he needed to follow whenever he entered this room.

After a short walk he was led to two incubators alongside one another. In it, were his children.

Talking a long calculated look at them he made sure to embed every wrinkle, every expression and every part of their beautiful little faces into his brain. He wasn't sure what the future might hold for him regarding the twins and had to consider the possibility that Caroline would keep them away, so he planned to spend as much time with them now as he possibly could

His babies were small, their diapers looked two sizes too big on their bodies that it came all the way up to their chests. His son and daughter were fast asleep looking completely at ease despite the tubes down their throats that were helping them breathe and a number of other monitors and IV's running in an out of them.

It pained him to see them like this.

And yet the vulnerable environment could not shadow how beautiful they were. From afar he was so sure they had gotten Caroline's everything, but now taking a closer look he was sure he saw a dimple in his daughter's cheek and a hint of a smirk in his son's mouth and that.. was all him.

Somewhere in the NICU an alarm went off and Klaus's heart nearly shot out of his chest as he frantically looked over his babies. Coming to terms that they seemed fine and were still asleep all tubes intact, he looked in the direction that the sound was coming from..

He saw several people in scrubs rushing towards an incubator

"What happened?" He asked the nurse

"Oh, that's Oliver.. He's always pulling his leads off.. It kinda happens a lot." She shrugged

Klaus nodded turning his gaze back to his babies. It was astounding how uniquely therapeutic it was just to watch them sleep.

He had the sudden urge to sketch them.

Not strange given it was the same them he use to do to their mother, only she would wake up scowling at him threatening to take away sex privileges that would make him chuckle

"Whenever you're ready, go ahead and take one of your gloves off and reach in." The nurse smiled breaking him out of his haze

"Wouldn't i hurt him?" Klaus swallowed hard.

"Just be gentle Mr Mikealson.. He looks small but he has a really strong grip, you're daughter too." She stated reaching through the opening to touch their little hands and almost immediately his son latched on to her finger. "See? His responding."

Klaus couldn't help the idiotically huge grin that appeared on his face as he watched in awe.

"A child's first emotional bonds are through touch. It lays the foundation for future emotional and intellectual development." She smiled pulling her hand out slowly "I'll give you a moment alone"

Klaus could hear his heart beating in his ears as he removed a glove and threaded both hands in each incubator's opening respectively. He placed his pinkies in their little hands and almost right away his son grasped it, just as the nurse said; his son's grip was strong. His daughter took a while but she eventually latched on as well.

He couldn't be more proud.

It was contradictory.. that something so frail in appearance could be so strong.

"You both look so much like her.. You're mother." He said almost choking as the suppressed emotions came swirling to the top. "She loves you both very much. We both do."

"I'm glad you're both okay." He spoke loud as if he was so sure they could both hear him. "I'm sorry I reacted so ridiculously.." He sighed

Klaus stared at them once more almost as if awaiting an answer, but of course there would be none. His children couldn't think yet but he wanted them to hear his apology regardless.

"This is really difficult.." He remarked lightly holding onto their little hands. "We weren't ready for you.. More me than your mother."

"But I just want you both to know that I'm going to try my best to be a good father to you both." He whispered rubbing their little hands ever so lightly.

"I'll try not to have too many rules for you and I'll always keep you safe. You'll have everything you need, I promise."

(End of Flashback)

"You know the drill" Claire the nurse, said with a sly grin.

Klaus just rolled his eyes as he noticed most of the nurses stopping what they were doing and not so subtly checking him out as he unbuttoned his shirt. On the very first day he came to NICU, Claire suggested kangaroo care, skin-on-skin contact which helped with bonding with the babies.

At first he was skeptical since it was usually a motherly role and felt it was something that Caroline should experience. But Claire insisted that Caroline could do it as soon as she was better and that it didn't matter who it was as long as it was done in order for the babies to develop that much needed bond.

Klaus thought this was especially important since they weren't able to bond with their mother. Haven't bonded yet, Klaus reminded himself.

"So happy to be able to provide the days entertainment" He quipped with a smirk.

Sitting down in the rocking chair next to the twin's incubators he put a pink and blue checked blanket on his lap, one of the many things Rebekah had brought for the babies.

Claire handed over his daughter first and Klaus settled her against him expertly before opening his arm to accept his son.

"Hello my little wolves. What kind of havoc we are causing today?" Klaus maneuvered the blanket over both babies as they nuzzled against his chest remaining in the blissful state of sleep only infants seem to be able to enjoy.

Looking down with pride he relished being able to hold them both.

His son had been fairing well and was considered a feeder and grower. He was pulled off the ventilator and feeding tube after the first day due to his rapid development and Klaus couldn't be more proud. At this point, he just needed to stay healthy and gain weight. Klaus was there for every feeding so far to give him the bottles he was now taking.

His daughter however seemed to be struggling more than her brother. The doctors had warned him that this would most likely be the case since she had respiratory complications at birth. She spent the first day on the ventilator and came off it only to develop an infection that required her to go right back on the ventilator.

This was the second attempt to be ventilator free and Klaus hoped this time it stuck. Unfortunately, the feeding tube was still necessary.

"Okay, little love. Time to ditch this feeding tube. Your mum's going to think I'm doing a bad job if your still the bionic baby attached all the tubes and wires. How about it sweetheart, lets move to bottles?" Klaus kissed each baby on the head as the nurses swooned at his gentle teasing of the babies.

"How's Caroline?" Claire asked as she made notes in the medical chart in her hand.

"The same."

Caroline slipped in and out of consciousness after the surgery and had yet to fully wake up. The high blood pressure and seizures had been hard on her body and he hoped the 'little sleep' was just to help her body heal.

The nurses would always urge him to name the twins which he had yet to do. But he would simply refuse until Caroline woke up. Caroline being Caroline most probably had names picked out already and he was sure it was something they should do together. It had been three days and a very long three days at that going by 'little Miss Mikealson and Mr Mikealson Jr' in the NICU. But the nurses understood his reasons and left him be.

After rocking the babies for a while he noticed a group of men and women in lab coats gathering at the entrance to the NICU. The gathering mob meant rounds. Claire helped him get the babies settled back into their incubators. He then exited the NICU to sit out in the waiting area where the doctor usually updated Klaus on the twins condition when rounds were over.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the ring box that never left his possession since the whole thing with Caroline... He opened the box and stared at the ring sending out prayers hoping the universe would listen and let the future unfold the way he hoped and dreamed.

A little selfish coming from a man who probably deserved all the karma coming his way, but nevertheless one could still have a little faith.

"Emily sat up for the first time today.. well, it was merely for a minute but it was long enough for Katherine to scream the house down in sheer excitement." Rebekah snickered

"The twins are getting big.. Little angels in the NICU, Claire says they never cry." Rebekah's smile slowly turned into a frown and eventually a despondent sigh as she clutched onto Caroline's hand tighter.

"Please wake up Caroline.." She sulked "I have absolutely no strength to handle Katerina without you.."

Looking up at Caroline who remained as still as she was when Rebekah had first come and seen her, she just sighed knowing that a response was unlikely.

Rebekah had took some time to study Caroline's features for the past 3 days now.

Sometimes her eyes would flutter a little and even her hand would flinch whenever people spoke to her especially about the twins. She was much more better than before and even her complexion had flushed out the pale and bony structure of her face.

"They need you Caroline.. even Nik-" Footsteps echoed down the hall drawing her attention to an approaching figure.

"Conspiring against me?" Nik's tired voice teased as he entered the room

"How're the children?" Rebekah asks as Klaus takes a seat next to her besides Caroline's bed

"Getting better everyday. They took her off the ventilator today.. I just hope it'll stay that way."

"That's good."

Nothing but silence and the constant beep beep of the machines attached to Caroline sounding throughout the room. Usually it was the most familiar sound to him during their visits to Caroline.

"You look like hell Nik," Rebekah stated

"Yes well, you're not the first person to tell me that today actually." Klaus rolled his eyes

"Well its true.. You should go home and rest for the night at least. You haven't been home yet. You eat sleep and shower here at the hospital and its just not healthy for you right now." Rebekah ranted going into mother mode

"I will not leave until they're all better. Especially Caroline." He stated firmly grabbing hold of her hand. He noticed that her hand was not as cold as it used to feel before.. or he wondered if it was due to the fact that Rebekah had been holding Caroline's hand the whole time.

"She's in here because of me. They all are." He suddenly admitted for the very first time in a voice much less stern and much more broken.

"No Nik-"

"Caroline came over to the house to see me and... I triggered her labor. I am reason they are here and I am the reason Henrik died. This was what I was afraid of Bekah.., Hurting the people around me that I love because that's what I'm inclined to do."

"Oh Nik.." Rebekah grabbed him into her arms as he started crying.. literally sobbing. It was something she had never done since they were children.

"Don't you dare say that again. Caroline's early labor was an accident, and they're all okay Nik. Look at how well your kids are doing. And Caroline..." She trailed off "Caroline will wake up when she's ready."

"Shh.." Rebekah cooed as she continued to comfort him in her arms. His staggered sobs becoming softer and softer until it eventually died down

"I'm going to grab you some coffee-" She announced after allowing a long halt of silence to stretch between them

"No Bekah. Stay." The words are out of his mouth before he realizes and as Rebekah slowly pulls away he sees her smile.

It was rare to have him be so vulnerable in front of her. Elijah yes, many a times but never Rebekah. Not since they were children. She appreciated his need to cling to her in this difficult time instead of shutting her out like he always does.

"I've no idea how to be a father.." He mutters after a long halt of silence stretches between them

"I don't think there was ever a specific way to raise a child Nik. No body is handed instructions on the first day, I guess it just kinda comes naturally. You're getting there and learning each day." She responds with ease and assurance. "You'll be the best father they could ever have Niklaus"

"You sound so sure" Klaus replies "I'm a doubled edged sword Rebekah There are two incredibly different sides to me."

"Why-" Rebekah hesitates

Releasing a heavy breath as she braces herself. "Why did you walk out on her all those months ago? Was it because of Mikeal and.. Henrik?"

After a long halt of absolute silence he sighs "The pain.." He trails off "The pain of uncertainty and no control had gripped me even tighter. I- I needed to get away. I thought that I wasn't able to be a father to them, the one that they needed, the one that Caroline thought I could be." He sighed

"Part of me had thought that running away would have made it less real, taken it away even. The reality had still been there though, The truth was terribly evident.. I had a pregnant girlfriend waiting for me at home. And from then on all my decisions were contended.. Solely driven by the influence of booze, paranoia and Mikeal."

"But then it all changed.." Rebekah added

She was trying to make sense of it all. It became clear why her brother did what he did.

Did that justify his actions?

No, but it did make things much more easier to understand.

"Yes. I love her and my children and I want to be a part of their lives." He muttered getting one of those rare smiles from Rebekah "but whether I'll be able to is entirely on Caroline."

"You know Caroline would never prevent you from being a part of their loves Nik. That's all she's wanted for the past eight months" Rebekah sighed

"But will she let me be a part of her life?"

Rebekah remained silent.

She couldn't be optimistic because she herself had a front row seat to Caroline's pain. Giving her brother false hope would only worsen the pain for both him and Caroline not to mention the children that should also now be considered.

"No matter what happens Nik, she'll always be the mother of your children and surely that must count for something." She squeezed his hand

"You know, that coffee does sound like a good idea now.." He smiled

"I've got it covered" She kissed his head before leaving him alone in the room with Caroline.

Reaching out for her hand again he relished in the warmth that oozed from her.

Despite the constant beeping and tubes sticking out of her arms she looked peaceful and beautiful. Her blonde curls sprawled out on the cushion giving her pale face a warm glow. Her blonde hair had that effect, always accentuating her face.. It was what caught his eye the first time he'd seen her at Kat and Elijah's wedding.

The first time he met Caroline they were poles apart from two very different worlds. He envisioned her as a Icarus flying too close to close to the sun.. his sun. Then crashing and burning as a result.

Because that's what he did to her.

And he would have to live with that for the rest of his life.

Swallowing he pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her.

"Our children need you Caroline.. I need you." He sighed

"How's my day looking April?" Bonnie called out as she frowned at a message she received from Rebekah.

Still no change..

-R

"You have a ton of clients coming in between 12 and 4 today.." She replied as she entered Bonnie's office. She took place at her usual seat across Bonnie's desk so that they could go over her schedule as they did everyday.

"Hmm." Bonnie murmured sipping on her mocha latte. Her mind clearly not at her workplace at all today.

"And Kol called, he wanted to confirm picking you up at 6" April smirked before adding "Another hot date tonight?"

"Actually we're going to see Caroline at the hospital." Bonnie replied monotonically

"Oh.." April's face fell. She completely forgot that Bonnie mentioned something about Caroline being in the hospital, but she didn't think it was anything serious

"How is she?"

"The same it seems.

"Oh.." April didn't want to dwell any longer on the subject since it had obviously been upsetting towards her boss. Only it also kinda sucked at the same time due to the fact that it was the reason said boss could not concentrate on her work today

"Why don't you take the day off to clear your head?" She offered knowing it was unlikely for a workaholic like Bonnie

"Can't. The Smiths finally sent over the much awaited budget for the new cottage and we cannot afford any delays." Bonnie sighed

"Right. Well, can I at least get you anything? Another latte maybe?" April asked causing Bonnie to frown.

Bonnie scrunched her eyebrows together on the skinny latte in front of her that was empty. Had she finished it already?

Geez where was her head at today..

With Caroline it seemed.

xxxxxxxx

Elijah looked at all the solemn faces gathered around the dinner table. The uncertainty of Caroline's condition each taking it's toll on them individually

It had been almost an hour since they've arrived home from the hospital, Gretta had the night off so Katerina could not leave Emily and stayed behind.

Katerina staying behind however meant that Elijah would have to be the bearer of news and in this case it was difficult given the delicacy of the situation. She was his wife and he was the one to tell her the news or rather unchanged news.

"Her condition remains unchanged."

Those words had been the mantra the doctors have been reciting for the past three days now only it had been very difficult accepting that given how stubborn the Mikealsons were

Elijah wished he could lift their spirits with some sort of promising news but all he could offer was what they had all came to hear since going to the hospital

Unchanged.

"The twins are getting so big and our little niece came off the ventilator today.." Rebekah offered as she tried to seize the tension and silence from stretching any further.

Despite the gloomy atmosphere lulling them to and from the hospital for Caroline and the babies there was something positive that most if not all of them had noticed.

Klaus

Or the fact that Klaus had this natural way with the twins. They all thought he would honestly fuck it up halfway through or decided this wasn't for him anymore and left but he surprised them..

He refused to leave Caroline and the babies side even though many a times each sibling would take a hit at trying to get him home.

"Let's hope it stays that way." Kol muttered before taking a swig from his bourbon earning a worried glance from Bonnie.

Bonnie watched in dread as Kol downed his drink in one go and was already on to the next.

"What are their names going to be? Has Klaus said anything to you guys?" Elena asked rather absentmindedly as swirled her spaghetti through her fork

Rebekah smiled thinking back to when she and Caroline did lunch a few weeks ago..

Flashback to about a few weeks ago...

"I can't believe how much I ate.."

"I'm proud of you." Caroline giggled before adding "The whole left side of the menu? And I thought I was the pregnant one here .." she joked rubbing her belly

Rebekah chuckled before picking up the dessert menu to have a little looksy..

"Hey.. Beks?"

Rebekah looked up at a rather nervous looking Caroline and frowned at the sight

"What happened?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course Caroline." Rebekah rolled her eyes as if that was the most silly thing she ever heard

After a few moments of silence passed with nothing but awkward silence Rebekah sighed "Good lord what is it Caroline? Spit it out already.."

"It's kind of personal.. And I guess I just don't know if i'm crossing any boundaries or anything like that. And I mean I don't want to be forward or anything I was kinda just playing around with the idea for a while now but I know that it could also come off as somewhat insensitive so I guess that's why we're here at this restaurant having this conversation and-"

"Caroline! What the bloody hell?" Rebekah asked mouth agape

"I'm sorry.." She blushed "I tend to blab when I'm nervous.." Caroline admitted biting her lip

"Why are you nervous?" Rebekah frowned "We're friends for Pete's sake."

Caroline nodded swallowing hard and braced herself for impact

"I'm nearly due.. so I've been thinking about baby names"

"Oh.." Rebekah grinned already clinging onto the possibility that Caroline wanted to name one of her babies after their sexy Aunty Bex

"I know this is a lot to ask of you.. And not only you but the rest of your siblings-"

"Of course I wouldn't mind if you named one after me Care, in fact i'd be thrilled!" Rebekah jumped in before Caroline could even finish

"What? No that's not what I was about to say." Caroline slumped her shoulders back onto the chair

Typical Rebekah.. Caroline tried to suppress her smile

"I still don't know if it will be two girls or boys or one of each so this name thing was really starting to get overwhelming. But I wanted to ask.." She trailed off

"What?"

"Not all bad things came out of this you know.. Despite Klaus's rejection I still got to meet all of you and I love that my babies are going to have such loving and caring aunts and uncles in their lives and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get through this without you're support. With that being said, I wanted to ask if it would be okay in choosing the name Henry for a boy.." Caroline bit down onto her lip hard as Rebekah paled

"After your late brother.. who I never got to meet but I can only imagine how much you all loved. Especially Klaus.." And after a long muted stretch between the two blondes Caroline jumped in feeling like she had definitely overstepped a personal boundary

"If you think It'd be too insensitive then forget I asked. I'm sorry-" Caroline added too quickly as she noticed Rebekah's eyes getting watery as if on the verge of crying

"No. No.." Rebekah smiled as a few tears left her eyes looking at Caroline with a heavy heart

How funny that in a little over a few months, Rebekah had grown to love Caroline so much as if she were her sister by blood. She was skeptical at first with Nik's choice but now she couldn't be more assured that her nieces or nephews were going to have the greatest mother in the world.

"I think that it would be perfect. And I have no doubt the family would agree." Rebekah reached over to grasp Caroline's hand

Even Klaus? Caroline wondered

End of Flashback...

"Nik said they'll name them when Caroline wakes up." Rebekah replied her eyes becoming slightly teary at the thought of baby names.

When..

When Caroline wakes up..

Katherine sighed

"You okay?" Elijah murmured over to his left where she sat picking at her food

Katherine always had a vast appetite and the fact that she barely touched a thing on her plate was a rather disheartening sight. In this particular case Elijah completely understood her reasons, but that had not meant he was going to stand idly by while she malnourished herself. Katherine was also breastfeeding since both Kat along with Estelle decided that breast milk was the best milk and Elijah was not surprised due to her rather incessant desire to have a home birth. So she needed to eat.

"You need to eat Katerina," Elijah sighed

Had he mentioned that she had not eaten a single thing besides a chocolate croissant at breakfast?

"I'm not hungry.."

"Katerina."

"I've been reading up on Eclampsia.." Katherine suddenly announced drawing everyone's attention towards her.

Had this been any other day, they would have no freaking idea what they hell she was talking about. But because Caroline was still in hospital and they had been particularly close with Stefan who constantly monitored her, they knew that Eclampsia was Caroline's diagnosis.

It was rather surprising that neither one of them had researched the condition to have a more in depth understanding but given all the chaos over the past three days it was abnormal that none of them were in a rational state of mind.

"The longer they're out after the seizure the higher the risk of organ damage." Katherine stated monotonically

"It's only been three days Kat-"

"Three days too long Elena!" Katherine pushed her plate forward and shot out of her chair

"Look, we're all on edge here okay? She's a part of everyone's lives here around this table in some way. Stefan assured me that her vitals were looking good. So if anything were wrong they'd have known by now." Elena sighed

"But that's just the thing.. How could they know to be sure unless she wakes up?" Katherine stated in a rather broken voice that made her husband wince

No one said anything.

Katherine politely removed herself from the room before she became a wreck and broke down in front of her family.

Klaus's body was exhausted. When he wasn't with the twins he was sitting with Caroline talking to her or just holding her hand. Stefan shoved him in the elevator and stood with his arms crossed until the doors closed leaving Klaus traveling down alone. Even in his exhausted state he couldn't leave. He hit the floor for Caroline's room and decided to take a nap on the cot the nurses were nice enough to have brought into her room.

Klaus paused outside Caroline's room drawing in a large breath. He always had to prepare himself before he entered. What Caroline needed from him was to be strong not lose it when seeing her. Putting on a brave face he pushed through the door. As was his routine he moved to the bed, kissed Caroline on the forehead and told her he loved her before sitting next to her bed.

"You do realize that you can't sleep through all of the middle of the night feedings, right?" Klaus joked.

Taking another deep breath to fight off the sadness and guilt he reached out squeezing Caroline's hand. "Caroline, I need you to wake up. I'm making a mess of this parenting thing. I can change a diaper, but there are so many decisions and I never know if I am making the right ones. The twins don't need me, they need their mom. They need a parent that actually knows what they are doing." Klaus sat back sighing at Caroline's unmoving form.

Fighting his weary body he pulled out one of her favorite books he had Bonnie bring to the hospital. He decided to forgo sleep, propped his feet up on the bed and started to read aloud to her.

He had been told on occasion that it was found to be quite therapeutic to the patient and also that they could hear you even though it looked as if they could not.

A steady staccato sound entered Klaus's consciousness, the pace of the sound seemed to be rapidly increasing.

Klaus ignored the sound and let the heaviness of sleep pull at him again. Pain erupted on his hand jolting him awake causing the book he had been reading to fall to the floor with a loud thud, almost knocking him out of his chair.

Disorientation had him wildly looking around the room and he froze at the sight he had been praying to see for three days.

Caroline's eyes were open and locked with his.

"Klaus.."

AN: Okay so I'm sorted on the boys name but I still need a girl. Any suggestions?