So here is another drabble, inspired by two songs. Caroline might again be OOC, but this is my world. Read and review my lovelies, xoxo.

I've never known the loving of a man

But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand

There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever

Who would have thought forever could be severed by

The sharp knife of a short life

Well, I've had just enough time

She could feel the venom burning through her veins with every shallow breath she took. The pain was exponentially worse than last time, but she knew she deserved it after betraying him again. The look on his face when she finally broke down and told him continued to haunt her. His eyes burned with such rage and disappointment that it took her breath away. She couldn't ask for his forgiveness but she wanted it so badly. But she got her just desserts when Hayley took her revenge and delivered the bite of death after she and Tyler confronted her about ruining their plans to take down Klaus. She was only glad that she was able to make it home to die in her own bed.

She felt Elena stroking her hand as she lay bringing her out of her muddled thoughts. The brunette was crying and begging her to let her call him, but Caroline screamed at her to swear not to. She had no right to ask for the cure as she had brought this on herself. Besides it was no good anyway as he had fled Mystic Falls after that night, most likely to roam the cities of Europe with his still sired hybrids. She just tried to keep breathing even as even breath caused more excruciating pain. She knew soon she would be begging Elena to just stake her and stop all of it, but she wasn't there yet. Soon the brunette fled, claiming she needed a glass of water.

Downstairs Elena was hunched over the sink in Caroline's kitchen, trying to keep from completely breaking down. She didn't care that she swore not to call Klaus, but she couldn't sit idly by while her friend was dying when he had the cure. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number she had stolen out of Damon's phone. She was greeted by an automated voice telling her the number was no longer in service. She swore loudly. She was running out of time. Caroline was running out of time. It had been a few hours since she had been bitten, and Elena could see that she didn't have very much longer.

"Elena."

She moved back to Caroline's room. She was sitting up, but hunched over due to the pain. She was holding two envelopes in her hand.

"I need to make sure my mom and Klaus get these. Please, Elena." Tears falling freely, Elena nodded and took the letters.

"Why won't you let me call your mom at least? She could be back home from that conference within an hour."

"No. I could hurt her."

"What about Bonnie, or Stefan?"

Caroline shook her head. She knew both of them would be trying whatever dark arts to try and save her or at least extend it enough before Stefan would most likely call Klaus on her behalf.

"Please Elena, I just want to die in peace."

"NO! I can't sit here and watch you give up on your life. Please Caroline!"

The blonde started to cry as well. She knew that her time was slowly coming to an end; she could feel her body start to give up.

"I can't." She whispered.

She moved to lower herself into a more comfortable position in her bed as she tried to drown out the pain, by thinking of happier times, the time she had spent with him. She remembered the first time she ever saw him, heard him call her "love", and their first dance. She hated herself for not giving him a chance when he was the only one who ever put her first and made her special and wanted. She felt her body start to go cold, then numb, and then she embraced the darkness that clouded her vision.

I see signs now all the time

That you're not dead, you're sleeping

I believe in anything

That brings you back home to me

Elijah's phone beeped as he entered his office, breaking the silence through his English manor. Niklaus had taken refuge with him after his abrupt departure from Mystic Falls the previous day, the reasons for which he had yet to divulge. Ever since he appeared on his doorstep, he sequestered himself in his wing of the house, painting, brooding, and drinking heavily. Elijah put down his cup of tea and picked up the phone to listen to the voicemail. As he heard the voice of Elena Gilbert flow through the device, he felt his undead heart lurch. He still carried the guilt of putting her in the path of Rebekah's rage all those months ago. Her sobbing request of his presence brooked no opposition to him and he immediately left to pack his bags. Though he didn't know Miss Forbes very well, he knew he had to be there for Elena in whatever capacity she would allow him.

As he moved his bags out to the waiting car, he returned to the house to inform Niklaus of his departure. He knocked on the door of his study, to find his brother sitting in an armchair in front of the fire, a bottle of whiskey nearly empty at his side.

"I'm going back to Mystical Falls for the funeral," he began before retreating back out of the room.

"Hmmm?" Klaus slurred slightly.

"Elena called me and wanted me to be there."

"Who died?" He inquired, not really caring, especially if it was the insipid human Matt that Rebekah was pining over.

"I thought you already knew." Elijah was confused. Why else would he have holed himself up if not because of her? Perhaps he overestimated his brother's affections for the baby vampire.

"Caroline Forbes passed away tonight."

Klaus dropped the bottle in his hand at his brother's words.

"WHAT?" He roared, blurring to his sibling and pinning him against the wall, his hand around Elijah's throat.

"I thought you already knew," Elijah repeated. "Isn't that why you came here?"

"HOW?" He thundered. He felt his hands shake and his mind going numb. This couldn't be true.

"Werewolf bite."

Klaus let his brother go and sank unsteadily to the floor. He could've saved her if he had never run away like a coward. Why didn't she call him? She had to know that he would've come to save her, no matter how mad he was at her. He never wished her harm.

"Elena said this was her choice, she didn't want to be saved."

"That wasn't her choice to make." He gritted through his teeth. "I'm going back with you."

Throughout the flight back to Virginia, Klaus couldn't help but replay every moment he had ever shared with the sassy blonde. He was further tormented by Elijah's words that she didn't want to be saved. Either she didn't see herself as being worthy of saving, or she just didn't want him to be the one to save her and he didn't know which hurt him more. The hours couldn't have gone by any slower and he had never felt more tormented.

They were driving through the familiar streets of Mystic Falls just after daybreak and Klaus had demanded that they go to Caroline's first. Part of him still didn't believe his brother and wouldn't until he saw her body himself. They pulled up to the small house, and Klaus got out before the car had stopped moving. He banged on the front door, Elijah right beside him. A distraught Elena who nearly collapsed into Elijah's arms in grief greeted them. Klaus moved past them to go to her room when Elena called out to him. He turned to her, noticing the letter in her hand.

"She left this for you, if you ever came back." He took it with trembling hands and continued to move towards her room. He opened the door and his breath failed him as he took in her unmoving figure on the bed. She looked like she was sleeping, like a princess from a fairytale but Klaus couldn't hear her faint heartbeat or see any evidence of her breathing. He sat beside her on the bed, like he did so many months ago and took in her angelic features. She hadn't turned grey at all, in fact. Klaus could feel the tears streaming down his face as he gently stroked her hair. A radical thought entered his mind and with desperation he drew his sleeve back and bit into his wrist. Bringing her body closer to him he held her mouth to his wound, forcing his blood into her system.

After he had given as much of his own blood, without weakening him too much he laid her back on the bed, and wiped the excess blood from her full lips. He grabbed her hand and held against him, pleading and murmuring prayers to any deity, begging them to bring her back. She remained still, and what seemed the hours later he was finally broken out of his trance by a knock on the door.

Elijah came into the room, and tried to get him to leave, but he refused. Elijah tried to explain that they needed to prepare her body for burial, but still Klaus wouldn't move and Elijah wasn't stupid enough to try to physically remove him. Only when Liz came home the next day was she able to get him to go and even that was a struggle.

When he returned back to his mansion after a brief drinking stint at the Mystic Grill, he finally started to accept his plan had failed. Her had failed her. Her letter was still unopened in his jacket pocket, and he still couldn't bear to read her final words to him. He hadn't spoken much to Elijah, favoring isolation and drinking in his study. He was nearly done with another bottle of Jack Daniels when a knock at his door pulled him out of his stupor.

"Go away 'Lijah," he slurred. The knocking continued persistently and angrily he moved towards the door, ready to beat the caring out of his brother. He opened it violently and was taken back by the person before him.

"Caroline." He must have been dreaming, or hallucinating. This couldn't be real, but it was torture.

"You're supposed to be dead." He sputtered. She was wearing a bright sundress, hair perfectly curled, a shy smile on her face.

"Is that how you great all your guests," she quipped back, moving past him to get inside the room.

"I saw you dead." He said, turning out to face her. She was holding his empty liquor bottle and giving it a look of distaste.

"Yes, but you didn't see me come back to life. The look on my mother's and Elena's faces was priceless when I woke up." She was moving around the room, looking at the art he had on the walls, and never directly looking at him.

"How?" He was beyond confused. If this was some hallucination torture from the dead witches, he was going to go on a rampage. This was the sweetest pain he had ever felt.

"You," she whispered, finally looking at him.

"Me?"

"You saved me. I died, but I didn't cross over." She looked so fragile, and he still wasn't sure if this was real or perhaps she was a ghost.

"I don't understand."

"I think a part of me was still hoping that you would save me, even though I didn't deserve it."

"How can you say that you don't deserve to live?" His mind was reeling that she had heard the things he had said. He was rather sentimental in his pleadings.

"I betrayed you again. Used your feelings for me against you. I couldn't ask you," she had tears in her eyes and it broke him. He blurred across the room to her, pulling her into his arms tightly.

"In the dark, I heard your voice. What did you say?" She murmured against his chest.

"I said, "Hey you on the other side. Let her go." His voice faltered as he continued. "Because for her I'll cross over, and then you'll be sorry."

She cried harder, and allowed him to carry her to his bed. He held her as she cried out her apologies and he reassured her of his forgiveness. As the hour grew later, they fell asleep together, limbs entangled.

The bright sunlight that filtered through his window awoke Klaus the next morning to discover the other side of the bed cold and empty. He slumped back down into his pillow distraught that it was just a dream. She was just a vivid fantasy. He rubbed his hands over his face trying to school in his emotions. Forcing himself out of bed in favor of taking a shower, he was stopped by the faint sounds of singing filtering into the room.

Darting down the stairs he could hear the music and singing get louder as he approached the kitchen. He pushed the door open to reveal a sleep disheveled Caroline flitting about the kitchen gathering and mixing ingredients in a large silver bowl. She was real. Not a dream, or a hallucination. He sighed with audible relief, but she had yet to notice his presence, caught up in singing along to the music.

"I'm going out tonight-I'm feelin' alright. Gonna let it all hang out

Wanna make some noise-really raise my voice. Yeah, I wanna scream and shout."

Her accompanying dance moves made her little show all the more enticing to him as she was wearing one of his long sleeved Henley shirts. When she had turned around to face the stove, he took it as his opportunity to sneak up on her. He moved silently towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face into her neck. She turned around in his embrace and smiled.

"French toast?" He smiled and nodded.

"I'm not letting you go after this." He whispered softly into her ear as turned back to cook the pieces of bread.

"Good, because I'm not going anywhere." He kissed her gently on her forehead and moved to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of champagne. After setting out the rest of the breakfast meal, he handed her a glass and clinked it with his.

"What are we toasting to?"

"Eternity together."

She smiled and together they ate breakfast, chatted, and flirted as if they had been doing it for years.

AN: Bonus points if any can guess the movie, I stole some dialogue from! Until next time...