Part 7
The chilling strains of music rose in the air. Caroline watched mesmerized as Elijah closed his eyes, his lips curved slightly in the simple ecstasy of the art that permeated the air. His breathing grew deeper, as if caught up in the sweeping, majestic rise and fall of the notes, almost like a mad artist with a paintbrush. As the crescendo built, Caroline swore that the arm under her hand stiffened as if his muscles were straining to catch up to the composition.
History's oldest and most calculated vampires, and they were slaves to their art.
Oddly beautiful, she thought, remembering that life-changing night when she was tempted with a world of great cities, art and music, and not riches beyond compare.
When the music died down, Elijah looked down at her, his gaze softer, as if coming down from a wondrous high.
"That is the Holtkamp pipe organ. You, Caroline, have just had the privilege of listening to the Holtkamp pipe organ. For a period of time, the world was deprived of the experience we have just had. Hurricane Katrina destroyed the cathedral roof and soaked that priceless instrument and during its rehabilitation it was replaced with an electronic organ." There was a slight shudder in his voice, as if the electronic organ was some canine excrement thinly marking his expensive shoes.
There could only one reason that he was so involved and particular. Caroline said, "You play." Elijah nodded slightly. She pushed further. "I would love to hear you sometime."
At that, he allowed a small smile. "Then we must ensure that Rebekah equips the compound with a piano."
She had been witness to the half-abashed way that Klaus presented his sketches to her early on in their relationship, and the pride with which he stood her in front of his most magnificent, framed pieces. Powerful men that they were, Klaus and Elijah were artists with the same vulnerabilities, no matter how well hidden. "If she hasn't yet, I'll get it in the list right away."
Elijah laid a light hand over hers as she held onto his arm. Caroline could feel the gentle guiding hand as he propelled her in the direction that he was familiar with, leading her through the busy streets. She had barely seen all the activity that surrounded them now when she first arrived searching for Klaus. And despite the time she had spent in Louisiana, only today did Caroline appreciate why Klaus loved the city so. The charm was so unique, so distinctly its own. She regretted the time spent cooped up in the farmhouse, but exhilarated to know that she would spend time indefinitely.
So much to see, and so much time in front of her.
"I think you played the Holtkamp yourself. Am I right?" she bubbled excitedly.
His eyebrow arched. "Now why would you think that?"
She shrugged. If she was right, she could chalk up body language as one of her talents. "I don't know. I just—I felt some change in you—your muscles tensed just so, and your breathing shifted—like you were playing in your mind, and it was in the exact same rhythm as the music."
"You have a keen eye, Caroline," Elijah allowed. "I have been blessed with a chance to tinker with it once due to my special relationship with the governor at the time. It was the most ecstatic I had ever been."
She was right! Caroline beamed at the discovery. When she made Miss Mystic Falls, the look on her mother's face was one that she would not soon forget. Even now that she was gone, Caroline liked to remember that expression. It soothed her to know she had been loved so much.
"Your siblings must have been so proud."
He did not miss a stride. "My brothers and sister had many important things to do in their lives. Issues of immortality are far too critical to set aside. I never expected them to sit out a song, let alone a set."
"Wait." Caroline stopped walking and pulled at his arm. He turned to her, and they just happened to be right in the middle of the street, surrounded by buskers setting up and getting ready for the lunch crowd. "What do you mean?"
"None of them were there."
She pursed her lips. The nerve of the Mikaelsons. Elijah seemed so passionate about his music, and they could not show up to his concert. Unless they were daggered, there was no reason to leave their brother hanging. And since Klaus was the one that did the daggering, he definitely did not have an excuse of his own.
If he missed his own daughter's milestones, like kindergarten graduation, the argument would be a hundred times longer than if he just made time to begin with.
And what about when she gave birth? Almost immediately the doubt was dispelled. Caroline thought it was even more concerning that she was a thousand percent certain that there was no possibility that he would miss it.
I will stand in front of you, beside you, behind you, he had sworn to her. With you every step of the way, for every discomfort, and every pain, and every sickness.
Her throat closed at the sheer magnitude of the emotions that choked her. He had never made a secret of it, and he slid so easily into the role that she needed him to that the transition became so smooth she did not know when their connection shifted from one degree to another.
Klaus just became. Her own brain could not even distinguish when her regard for him changed. All she knew was that she needed him. And he was. When she wanted him, he was.
Elijah told her that Klaus was ruled by his heart while she let her mind guide her. Caroline realized how much of life she missed when she overthought and overanalyzed, when she did a doubletake before jumping.
She turned to Elijah to tell him just that. She scanned the crowd that had begun to gather. Elijah was standing before a street busker seated before a dilapidated junior piano that was the actual reality of the phrase 'salvaged from the dump.' The man was young, barely older than Caroline at the time that she turned. The way that he played, with the frown furrowing his brow and the grim thinness of his lips, belied more hardship than his age deserved.
How could a song be so sad when there were not even words to them? She found herself breathless and applauding by the end. Caroline tapped Elijah's arm repeatedly until he turned to her with an arched brow of inquiry. Caroline eyed the hat on top of the piano. Elijah drew out a crisp hundred and dropped it in the hat. The busker gave a profuse thanks to both of them.
And then Elijah eyed Caroline, then turned to the busker. "May I?"
The man vacated his seat. Elijah unbuttoned his jacket, then meticulously arranged himself on the chair. His hands fisted then opened, stretching his fingers. Gingerly he rested his fingers on the keys, feeling his space. He jerked his head, asking her silently to move by the piano where he could see her. Idly, Caroline thought how utterly responsible and very Elijah of him to still be playing the role that Klaus had asked him to fill as her protector, even in this instance.
Klaus. Klaus. Klaus.
Every thought now, his face came unbidden. Elijah Mikaelson was about to busk in the street, pristine and perfect, among the crowds and seated on a torn and wobbly wooden chair.
Elijah started, his fingers weaving magic that logic told her he did not have. Caroline was enraptured at the way that his fingers glided. Her vision swam as tears gathered in her eyes. The harmony was light, flowing simply, but she was being taken on a quiet journey. By the third movement, she was carried away by a feeling of completion in all its possible facets, in equal parts accomplished and sad as the sheer power behind the escalating notes picked up.
These hormones were embarrassing, she sniffled. When she closed her eyes, the piano piece wrapped around her, cradling her like a warm blanket in front of an open fire, challenging her throat like shiraz.
And then the crowd around her broke in applause. Caroline opened her eyes to see Elijah looking down at her. "I would give the lady my handkerchief, but it's been completely ruined because of our visitors outside the cathedral."
"What the hell was that?" she demanded, the unladylike words spilling from her gut.
"That was Clair de Lune. Debussy," he told her patiently, as if it should have meant something to her. Mystic Falls High had not exactly been known for its classical music program. "Use your words," he said, repeating the exact instruction she had given to Klaus once or twice or several times. His tone softened, prodding, as if he was prompting her to give an answer he already expected. "What did it sound like to you, Caroline?"
How do you describe music and notes and harmony and rhythm? There was a reason it was music. Everyone just talked about music based on what it evoked.
It sounded like bloody Klaus Mikaelson leading her in a waltz across an empty dance floor. It sounded like the sound that escaped her throat when his lips pressed behind her ear. Sounded like the guttural exclamation he made when he spilled deep inside her.
It sounded like falling asleep in his arms, secure in the knowledge that she would wake up and still be as loved as she was.
Caroline brushed the thought aside.
Whatever was awakened in her today, it was not a conversation to first have with Elijah.
"I can promise you that when you finally schedule that concert, I am going to have your brother seated in the front row, along with the rest of your siblings."
A slight tinge of disappointment crossed his face. He offered his arm. "Come. It's almost time for lunch drop off."
She placed her hand on his elbow. "Don't doubt it, Elijah. I will make that happen."
"I believe you."
Elijah looked left and right before crossing the street with her. Caroline stifled her grin. They were both immortal vampires, but she was grateful nonetheless. Getting hit by a car could pose a threat to the twins. They were human witches, after all, even with their early onset siphoning.
The crowd in front of them cleared. She saw him first, seated at an outdoor waiting table set up in front of a series of wide French windows. Klaus looked quite at home there. He had always been attractive and dangerously enticing, playing on her childish fascination for bad boys. But today, whatever cleared in her mind, did not equip her fully with the right words.
He looked—like everything.
He looked up from the menu at the same time, meeting her gaze. She broke into a relieved smile at the same time that he did. It filled her with a ridiculous wave of self-satisfaction. He worried about her just as much as she did him. Here was this powerful creature, this man, who thought of her and worried for her and was happy to see her.
And he was freaking everything.
Caroline rushed forward, and this time Elijah's guiding hand released her. He stood when she reached him. Caroline looked him over quickly.
"I'm fine, love."
Caroline saw Hayley turn the corner of Royal Street with a stroller. Hope gave a toothy grin at the sight of her father. Klaus beamed down at his daughter. She watched, warmed by the affection he easily showed Hope. Her heart skipped a beat when he lifted the toddler into his arms, and Hope placed her hands on both of her father's cheeks, effectively covering the dimples that peeked with his joy.
"Thank you for meeting me here," Elijah said, addressing Hayley, as he closed the gap between them.
The brunette turned to Caroline. "Elijah did not like the idea that he was being dumped outside the café once he dropped you off with his brother, so we're making a day out of it."
"That sounds lovely," Caroline agreed. "He is a good tour guide, apparently." She turned to Elijah while Klaus was still busy with Hope. "Thank you for today, Elijah. It was good getting to know you better."
"Always at your service," he replied. Elijah inserted his hand into his pants pocket, then drew out two more daylight rings to place in her hand. Caroline's jaw dropped, thinking back to the time between now and when they left the churchyard, and could think of no instance when she noticed Elijah gone for even a moment.
Was it that moment of applause, that stretch of a minute since the last strains of Clair de Lune and when she opened her eyes to find him looking down at her? Impossible, but also the only time she could think of.
Had she been so lulled into carelessness because of just how well Klaus had delivered on his promise to protect her? She had not exactly been cautious as she enjoyed the day, even going as far as closing her eyes without minding whatever went on around her as she listened to Elijah. Her mind had been preoccupied with the sinking realization.
Klaus. Klaus. Klaus.
Elijah's talent magnified the reality to her, so clear and so stark. He gave her that gift today. Caroline threw her arms around Elijah. "I meant what I said," she told him quietly. "He's not just your responsibility now. I have skin in the game, you know." The reluctant way his arms rose to wrap around her and return her embrace spoke volumes. "You should figure out what makes you happy, Elijah, and just do it. Not because you think you need to, or that it's what's best for your brother."
"Caroline—"
She swallowed the lump in her throat. She allowed her arms to fall off, stepping back from him. "Elijah is going to have a concert, and everyone is attending," she told Klaus.
Klaus placed Hope back in her stroller, and Hayley patiently locked in the textile shade to protect Hope from the sun.
Klaus wrapped his arm around Caroline's back. "Did you play Clair de Lune at my pregnant girlfriend, brother?" he asked quietly. Klaus turned to Caroline. "I hope you've not gotten swayed by Elijah's piano, love. He knows that piece turns girls to mush. It's bloody hell 'love' translated into sheet music and he knows it," Klaus grumbled.
"Is it?" she said softly.
"I did not play the piece at Caroline, Klaus. I played it for her." And he did so beautifully. Until now, Caroline could hear the faint, steady harmony in the back of her brain, seeing in her mind Klaus looking down at her as if he were perpetually discovering her as they whirled around in that dizzying dance. Elijah Mikaelson was an Original vampire, but Caroline could only venture a guess that there was magic in his music. Elijah shrugged his shoulders, then placed a chaste kiss on Hayley's cheek. He ruffled Hope's hair. "She seemed to need it."
Before Caroline asked what Elijah meant—the piece was hauntingly beautiful in its simplicity, but no one needed music. It was enjoyable, certainly.
Elijah nodded at Klaus, in that way one did to dismiss and exit. "She has the rings," he told his brother, then led Hayley and Hope off for their own family day.
The hostess led them inside the café to a small private room that he had reserved. She was pleasantly surprised. The outside table was already lovely. Anything was lovely after being cooped up so long in the farmhouse. Really, anywhere with Klaus was far nicer than the fancy restaurants that Tyler or Stefan had booked when they played at being romantic. In the small private dining room, the music from the jazz band still wafted clearly through, but there were none of the prying eyes of the main hall. She looked down at the menu and scanned through the items, but found herself distracted every time she glanced up at him looking at her. Her gaze swept his face, looking at his clothes for any sign of blood spatter. But of course he would have washed up before he met her for lunch, just like he did when he arrived back at the farmhouse before going to their bedroom.
Caroline dropped the menu on the table. "You decide," she declared.
His dimple taunted her, and almost the split second she said it, the server arrived to place between them her a delectably smelling chicken and sausage gumbo, red beans and rice. Then there was a lovely dish of carved ribeye with creamed spinach and what seemed to be pasta primavera with its fresh cut spring vegetables bringing color to the table.
"I ordered ahead," he said unnecessarily. "I thought you might be too tired from Elijah's tour and would want to just eat when you arrived."
Okay, music was enjoyable. But that—what he just did—that was necessary for survival. She reached a hand across the table and instinctively he met it with his and their fingers intertwined.
Caroline's eyes grew wide when what looked like a Bloody Mary with grilled shrimp was placed in front of her. "Really?" she whispered.
"It's virgin, love."
She smirked. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Caroline released his hand took the cold drink with both, raising it aloft. She admired the pretty mocktail and downed it in one go, parched from the morning sun and their walk. She took a grilled shrimp and munched on it. She watched him motion to one of the servers, noting the gesture for another drink.
Caroline pushed the food towards the center of the table, then took a clean plate from the side. She portioned each of the dishes so that there was a myriad of choices on the plate. She leaned forward and placed the perfectly laid out dish in front of Klaus. "Thank you, Caroline."
They were in a private room anyway, and Klaus must have paid a fortune or compelled well to get them the space in the heart of the French Quarter. She wanted to make sure she showed him her gratitude. She stood up and leaned forward, dropping a kiss on his lips before the sausage in the gumbo and other concoctions all mixed up and inadvertently trigger her morning sickness. It had been a while since she had it. Her magical babies were now on the second trimester and she was probably well past it. Caroline took another plate and fixed one up for herself.
"How many rings?"
They were having such a pleasant meal. Caroline slid her hand into her pocket, then clutched the handful and placed four lapis lazuli rings in a row.
"Were you building up a collection too?"
He shook his head. "No, I met with Marcel. He swore that his vampires would not be attempting anything against the family." He looked in disdain towards the daylight rings. "I am loathe to think he lied to my face after Rebekah's efforts at a peace treaty."
Caroline speared a piece of ribeye and brought it to her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. She found red meat was an amazing way to manage when she was feeling particularly violent. "I despise him, you know."
"I know that, love." His gaze fell for a brief moment. Unlike his indecipherable older brother, Caroline could sense that something shifted. Klaus wore his feelings in his face, his sheer physical powers always greater than most creatures around him that he had never honed the craft of hiding them. She must be confused, because for a moment she thought she saw the look of hurt there. "And Marcel will get his due. But for now, we need him on our side." Caroline's lips thinned in silent objection. "At least until we are sure that the last of the covens that are threatening your babies have been wiped out."
That was more acceptable. Politics was the last thing that she ever thought Klaus would play, but he seemed to have a cooler head in New Orleans. At least from what she had seen and heard. She would need to ask Hayley one of these days if this was Klaus' default New Orleans setting, or if something had changed.
"The first two were from the churchyard. I didn't even notice them. Your brother and I were just speaking, then suddenly they were piles of ash."
Klaus smirked with his pride. "My brother is a true silent killer."
His admiration for Elijah's cold, calculated murders warmed her heart. "I didn't even notice when Elijah saw or killed the other two." Caroline brought a forkful of creamed spinach to her mouth and moaned in delight. She saw the heat in Klaus' eyes. She recognized it. Behave, she told herself. She would not want to cut short their escapade before its planned conclusion.
When desert was brought up, Caroline gaped at the unique concoction in front of her. Her lips parted at the sinful sight of bananas and walnuts swimming in what smelled like butter and rum sauce. Another server placed vanilla ice cream in front of them, then poured the syrup-drenched bananas and walnuts mix over the ice cream.
"I remember your craving for vanilla milkshake. This is much better by a mile."
Caroline cut into one banana slice and drenched it with melted ice cream and rum sauce. She moaned low in her throat. He picked up her hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. "Sinfully better," she agreed. When he released her hand, Caroline cupped his cheek, brushing her thumb on his cheekbone.
At her touch, there was a surprise in his expression that saddened her. Had she missed the chances to return gestures of affection? Over the last couple of months since finding out about the twins, she had been terrified. In such panic when the first signs of the twins' burgeoning powers began. She had been in over her head, and the one person in Mystic Falls who professed to love her disappeared after she told him. Everyone had something more important, a problem worse, a situation more critical.
Caroline was not a hero—not unselfish like Bonnie was, not lovable in the way Elena had been. She was never going to have the same dedication that heroes professed to better women.
One thing had been unquestionable to her though. Somewhere out there, someone who was the farthest from a hero, closer to a villain but never a villain to her, would move heaven and earth to give her what she needed. And so she had run to him and let him deliver on the promises he had made. But she had been too inside her brain, wrapped up in her worries, that she let him take care of her and didn't give the same in return.
The strings from Elijah's piano still floated in her mind.
"Do you know how much I love you?" she asked him softly.
And he said she was full of light.
She was nothing compared to this.
Deep in his eyes, Caroline swore she could see remnants of billion-year-old supernova light up and blind her. It was beautiful. And he was everything. He turned his face to the side so that he could kiss the pulse point of the hand that traced his cheek. When his nose pressed against her skin, he breathed in her scent. He looked back at her, his eyes heated. "Finally." His lips curved playfully. "It took you long enough to say it, love."
~ o ~ o ~ o ~
It was a tentative peace that he had found with Marcel. Tearing himself away during his excursion with Caroline had been torture, but the time to move back into the French Quarter fast approached. Despite having none of the advanced physical scans for Caroline—the babies having been magically implanted would throw off any scientific calculation on the progress of the pregnancy—Klaus had lived long enough, and both Freya and Rebekah had once or twice in their long lives assisted with women up through their labor, to know that while Caroline carried small, she was somewhere in her second trimester and soon would show.
As soon as her fifth or sixth month dawned, she would no longer be able to walk around the French Quarter without a visible protrusion.
He remembered the delight that bubbled in her in their quick tour, wanted to extend and repeat that for her as he showed her more of the city he adored. Marcel and his minions would not be the cause to keep her away from the beauty of his city.
He could not place whether the meeting was success. The commitment that Marcel had provided to allow Klaus free rein in his city was suspect. He would leave Klaus and his siblings be, as long as his cohorts were also left to their devices to oversee that the rules with which Marcel ran the Quarter were respected. Guests of the Mikaelsons were hands off, even, Marcel had told him, Rebekah's cheerleader friend.
The man was inscrutable, and Klaus could not celebrate small victories. Not now. Now when he had everything to lose.
It was difficult when she stopped pretending.
Caroline entered the kitchen that night, on a night just like many nights before, when she stayed in bed allowing him the pretense that she was fast asleep so he could run his strategy with his siblings. This time, she did not bother to pretend she knew nothing about what they were doing. He was leaning back against the wall—God, he could not wait to move out of the farmhouse—looking askance at her across the small space.
"Did you need something, love?"
Her chin rose in silent challenge.
Elijah, ever his courteous brother, stood from his seat and offered to prepare her a meal. Caroline shook her head. "Please don't let me interrupt." She said please, but Klaus heard the shameless dare. "I thought it's time to participate."
At the far end of the table, Hayley leaned back and grinned. She glanced back at Klaus and arched an eyebrow.
"You have all been amazing," Caroline said to the table. All eyes were turned to her. Heat climbed in her face as she felt her way among the many curious faces. Flustered, she looked towards Elijah and avoided Klaus' piercing gaze. It should have been a warning that he was going to oppose the rest of what she was there to say. "I haven't been carrying my weight around here. It isn't fair that I've just burdened all of you with what I needed, and have everyone chasing around to keep me safe while I sleep without a care in the world."
He should have known with her declaration of love, something like this would follow. Luck always ran out.
"Has anyone made you feel unwelcome, Caroline?" was Klaus' cool retort. He did not think any of his siblings would have dared. He had not been subtle. And she saved his life, not to mention her siphoning had saved Rebekah. To the Mikaelsons, that act alone earned her their loyalty for eternity. She shook her head. "Have we made you think you're a burden?" he pushed.
Finally, she turned to him, her eyes brimming with determination.
"I want to learn what it takes to keep us safe," she told him. "I can be valuable. I'm not a shabby vampire, I'll have you know."
"That was rhetorical, wasn't it, love? Out of everyone in this room, you know that I know your value."
She had the shame to blush. The constant doubt could be insulting, but he allowed her some grace, having been surrounded by stupidity for far too long.
"Mothers need to know how to protect their children. I don't have to be an Original to know that."
"Be grateful you had limited exposure to our mother then, Caroline. We wouldn't want to spoil your ideals."
Again, she turned to her unlikely friend. His daughter's mother leaned forward, engaged, exuding such support at Caroline's ridiculous assertions that Klaus did not know if he needed to yell at Hayley or thank her.
"Look at Hayley," Caroline said. "She managed to keep you all together for more than a year, found what she needed to wake you all up. She protects her daughter so fiercely." She found you, Klaus thought. And she would not mention her role at all. "Do you know how much I want to be that strong for my own babies?"
"Hayley is a hybrid," Kol pointed out, not content to be a silent observer. It was not often that Klaus applauded his brother's common sense. This was one of Kol's rare moments of clarity. "She can rip apart a half dozen vampires by once."
And she did. Elijah told him tales of their awakening. Hayley had been stellar, Elijah told him. If Hope grew to be half as courageous, Klaus would have a little warrior in his hands.
"Being physically weaker doesn't make me less of a mother," Caroline snapped at Kol. Her tone left no doubt that she would not be moved in her stance. And then she said it—a challenge, a dare, an ultimatum. Klaus abhorred ultimatums. It was such a weak negotiation tactic, one that he himself tended to slide into when he knew he was fighting a losing battle. "So you need to help me find a way I play my part in protecting my babies," she told Klaus directly, "or I will find my own way."
She took the chair that Elijah vacated and offered to her. Caroline held his gaze. He could send her back to the bedroom, like the child she still was in comparison to the years that he and siblings had, the power that Hayley received. He could crush the spirit she displayed now, and he had every right to do it so he could keep her safe as he promised.
Or he could listen, now that she was loud and clear.
Despite the bravado, he could hear her heart thundering in her chest.
He could do the logical thing, or he could let his heart rule his head.
"Then get comfortable," he said, his voice gruff. That damn flash of victory in her expression was endearing and irritating at once. Klaus glowered back at her, showing his displeasure at being cornered. Even so, he found himself straightening from where he slouched by the wall. He made his way to stand behind her chair and rested a hand on her shoulder, unable to see her and not touch her. She closed a hand over his.
Klaus nodded sharply towards his brother. "Kol."
Over the weeks, Caroline had pieced together information from overheard snippets of conversations or surreptitious changing of the guards. She had counted the nights that Klaus returned home still faintly smelling of blood and soot and violence. She listened to Kol, stitching what she knew so far with what he rattled off.
Kol categorized the covens that were looking for the twins into two. "One that wants to kill the line completely so there will be no more aberration of nature. Siphoners, after all, are unnatural even to witches. Darling, these covens have studied Gemini history and the myth that surrounds such an ancient coven. Looking at the odds alone, they know one or two of those are siphon witches."
She stiffened and laid one hand on her belly protectively. Klaus' hand tightened on her shoulder. She scoffed. "They're just afraid of how much more powerful these twins will be."
"By all accounts, every one of the coven members that died in the wedding bound their powers with those creatures inside you, Caroline," Kol told her. Klaus had told her as much. "That brings us to the second group of covens—the ones that know about the coven binding their powers into those babies was a possibility. And they want to harvest those powers for themselves."
"How many?"
"Seven known covens. Elijah and Klaus already took care of five."
He felt her body recoil at that, knew her enough that even as she ran for protection, taking lives was never going to sit easy with her. It was why he had worked hard to keep her away from this reality, wanted to give her the gift of ignorance in this case.
"Yesterday, Elijah and Klaus dispatched thirty seven—"
"Enough, Kol," she said softly. "Thank you."
"We won't let anyone touch you," Rebekah assured Caroline.
None of his siblings knew Caroline well enough to know that her unrest right then was not about her security. Even without seeing her face, Klaus knew the math running around in her head. Thirty seven for the last coven that the brothers arrested on their way, and five of seven threats down. This was what she did not want to learn, but figured she needed to know. Tonight, when they were alone, and she was resting in his arms, she would ask him about all the numbers that she would not want to hear.
Ages. Genders.
Everything that did not matter as long as he kept her alive. But he could not tell her that, even if it was the truth he clung to. Sometimes they liked to convince people that one could hold on to their own beliefs. Even Elijah who sought to save his soul but would not acknowledge that his body count was one or two higher than Klaus' these last weeks.
"Elijah, apart from the four outliers from the vampire faction in the Quarter, have you sensed any other creases in the truce that we have called with Marcel?"
"I would never assume smooth waters from here on out, but it looks to be that way," Elijah answered after some consideration. "We will keep our ears on the ground. Marcel and Vincent seem to be preoccupied with another matter entirely, and have given up on this vendetta against our family."
"Good. We need our attention on finishing up these last two covens."
"Are you two mental?" Rebekah exclaimed. "Marcel wouldn't suddenly give up. There is bigger threat to Marcel then, and we need to find out before it comes after us."
"What is a bigger threat to Marcel Gerard than Niklaus—than the Mikaelsons?"
His session would not devolve into another family fight. Rebekah and Kol stared each other down.
None of these had to do with Caroline, who even in her insistence to participate and be involved, looked worn out from the long day. He was mindful that even as a vampire, carrying two babies was still a demand put upon the body—not to mention the twins she carried were growing siphoners at that. It was time to end this, to get her in bed.
He leaned forward and bent low. "Sweetheart, you need to get some rest. Can you do me a favor and take Rebekah before she and Kol get into it?" Rebekah pursed her lips at the ask, hearing his quiet voice across the table. "I'll be right with you."
She was exhausted, a slight pallor on her skin apparent. The insistent determination that she held when she crashed his meeting already gone. When Caroline did not object to the suggestion and simply stood, Rebekah met his eyes in silent communication. "Come on, Caroline," she huffed instead. Rebekah glided to the fridge and grabbed a couple of blood bags.
"Freya," his voice cut into the thick atmosphere. His eldest sister looked up at him. "Are you finally done, or is it another day to tell us you need more day?" Freya did not deserve that, but his tension pulled tighter every minute of delay. He sighed. "My apologies."
Freya gave him a small smile in appreciation of the unexpected apology. When she smiled, she looked ten years younger than him. "Kol did take his time finding us the piece of gem we required. It was not all my delay."
Kol threw his hands up at Klaus. "I had only so much time to dig through walls at the compound when I was running around for information on your covens, Nik. That is a precious gem—countless vampires and witches have died trying to possess something so rare."
Klaus walked over to where Freya sat. "Show me." Freya drew out the ring from her pocket and held it up. The large cut of the paragon diamond captured and reflected brilliant, dizzying light. It was almost scandalous, but Freya and Kol assured him that the amount of power that it could channel was relative to the size, so he opted for function. "The twins will not keep feeding off her anymore?"
"The gem will store excess siphon magic when it's available, and will be a source for the twins to draw from before taking from her. The babies will not siphon from Caroline unless absolutely necessary and there is no other source," Freya clarified. "Remember, it is not natural for them to take from her. It is antithetical to their survival."
"Good."
"Nik, that gem can store a massive amount of magic," Kol cautioned. "With how strong the siphon power is of those babies, which we all saw when they tapped you out, those twins are more than capable of filling that."
"I fail to see the downside of Caroline basically wearing an accessory that ensures that the twins will not inadvertently hurt her again."
"The caution seems to be that the ring itself will be a huge mark for any supernatural looking for a power source." Elijah offered his understanding.
"It's a moot point, when Caroline is never going to be without one of us."
Klaus took the ring, staring down at the brilliant paragon diamond set at the center surrounded by a dozen twinkling diamonds.
It was in the morning the next day when Klaus stood at center of the courtyard of the Abattoir, right there where he had been judged, humiliated and destroyed. The venue was forever tainted, but this was his home. Before meeting her, his happiest memories were at the compound. And now that he rebuilt the place, Klaus swore that every memory here would be ones that would replace the nightmares.
To him, there was only one key to unlock that.
He heard them before he even saw her. Her heartbeat and the fast tiny ones that beat in rhythm with hers. Freya had said it was impossible, because none of his siblings could since they discovered that the babies had generated some sort of cloaking, a talent honed in the Gemini coven that the babies had no business being able to cast. Freya chalked it out to Klaus' werewolf side that none of the rest of them possessed. It was the only difference, she thought. Caroline had known better, and filled his head with her unfounded conclusions. He liked Caroline's version better, when they laid down at night and she made a point to rest his hand on her growing belly.
Why would they hide from him?
They knew him, were not afraid of him, liked him.
Loved him like Caroline did, because they were a part of her and she of them, she whispered to him, when his lips parted in wonder as he felt them kick under his palm.
Caroline had only been to the compound once, in its state of disrepair and condemnation when she came for him, He refused to let her see it in the weeks of rebuilding. The second time she saw it would be when she called it home, ready to receive her. He was oddly nervous standing there, even as he looked around at the place that now looked as warm and inviting, with the small, special touches of her interspersed everywhere.
Elijah walked her through the iron gates and the foyer. At the entrance of the courtyard was the handoff. Klaus extended a hand. She gave a small smile, then placed her hand in his. And then they were alone.
"I was wondering why I woke up alone."
"I wanted you to be the first to see it."
"Close your eyes."
She did. His heart skipped a beat. Who would have thought, a couple of years ago, that Caroline Forbes would be so willing to trust him just like that. Klaus drew her deeper into the courtyard until they were right at the center. When they stopped moving, the words spilled from her, "Can I open them now?"
He turned her around so she would face the high walls. Standing behind her, he agreed. "You can open them now."
Her gasp was sharp. Caroline looked around at the crawling ivy and moss spilling out of cracks on the old brick. Wildflowers bloomed uncontrolled, like splattered colors on a canvas. "You kept them," she said softly. "I was afraid they would have cleaned it all up. It would have been a pity to weed out life that survived all that devastation."
His arms reached to wrap around her from behind. "I love wildflowers," he said. His lips grazed the shell of her ear. She shivered in his embrace. "They bloom where their seeds land. I love beauty that survives despite the harshest conditions. That's one of things that drew me to you. Poisoned and near death, you fought to survive. Chased down by ancient covens, you found your way to me. It doesn't matter where life takes you. I know you will always thrive." He turned her around in his arms. "My own wildflower."
Klaus reached into his back pocket for the box that he had found for this purpose. He popped open the box and slowly lowered himself on one knee.
"Caroline, I know this wasn't part of the future that you planned. If you agree to grow with me here, I swear you're not going to regret it."
She looked down at him, her eyes brilliant with tears that rivaled even the diamond he held up. His brows furrowed at her silence.
"Caroline," he breathed out.
"Ask me the question, Klaus. I swear to God, if you don't ask me now—"
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes, I'm going to marry you." She fell to her knees in front of him too, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him towards her, her body melting into his to seal their agreement with a kiss. When they parted, Klaus took the ring and slid it onto her finger. "I'm Klaus Mikaelson's fiancé," she said later, after admiring the ring for a couple of minutes. "This ring definitely screams I'm Klaus Mikaelson's fiancé. It's not subtle at all, is it?"
He chuckled. "Klaus Mikaelson's fiancé shouldn't be kneeling to anyone."
She made a face at that. "Well, you are going to need to pull your fiancé up, Klaus Mikaelson." She rose to her feet with his help. Her mirth faded. Her gaze fell to the cushion of his lips. "You do know that the room you designed for me with that bathtub is going to be wasted, don't you? I am never going to sleep anywhere but with you."
Klaus rested his forehead on hers. "I assume you want to have final approval on the mattress choice first, don't you, Mrs Mikaelson?"
He did not expect the flare of heat that rushed through her at the name. She grasped the front of his shirt and pulled him to her, crushing his lips with hers.
tbc