Summary - She was his light in the darkness and neither wanted to walk away. Their friendship became stronger as they uncovered an evil that would destroy all they knew. An unlikely alliance is formed. Can they destroy it before it destroys them?

Well hello there! After having lived in a different fandom the past few years, I decided to try my hand at a Klaroline fic. I had some of the ideas from last season but the story just didn't really manifest until after 5x11.

I want to thank a couple people - livingdeadblondegirl for recommending a wonderful beta in CeceVolume. :D

Important notes for this story -

- Augustine storyline doesn't exist (That sort of includes the whole Megan roomie thing.)

- Travelers don't exist either

- Davina is still a mystery in New Orleans and is being kept safe by Marcel - Rebekah did see her but she was spelled to forget the exact location.

- Hayley is still linked to Sophie

In this story, Tyler kidnapped Hayley but didn't draw blood from her womb to create a hybrid.

- The whole idea of the Harvest ritual and the current storyline of both shows does not exist in my world.

Disclaimer - I don't own the characters to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. The title isn't mine either - it came from a quote from the late, great Bob Marley.

Caroline wanted to run. Just being at the boarding house with so many people was making her edgy. While everybody was sitting around waiting for Katherine to die, Caroline felt as though all eyes were on her. She knew she was being paranoid, but the last thing she wanted or needed was to have several sets of eyes judging her for her actions.

"I'm going to go," she announced as she stood up, crossing her arms over her jacket. Looking right at Bonnie, she motioned with her eyes towards Tyler. It was an obvious lie on her part, but she seized the opportunity to play the 'jilted girlfriend' card to avoid suspicion.

"Okay, breakfast at the Grille?" Bonnie asked, quickly understanding the silent signal.

"No, I'm going back to the dorm. You know, prepare study guides and all," Caroline said with a small smile. "Just tell Elena when she comes down."

She was out the door and in her car in a flash. Breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn't interrogated further, she started the engine and headed back to college.

During the drive, her mind wandered to her earlier escapade with Klaus. She had tried to convince herself that getting him out of her system would be easy. He did, after all, promise he would walk away and never come back.

The question was, as Caroline got on the highway, did she want him to walk away? Grateful that she was alone in her car, she turned down the volume of her stereo and began to think.

Sure, she had a life ahead of her - a life she planned ever since she was young. While she couldn't have her two kids as her dream had been, she still wanted to live this lifetime as humanly as possible. She knew her human friends would one day leave the world and she felt it was important to spend it with them.

But what then, Caroline? Do you want to put aside your new dreams and desires, whatever they may be to live your human life for several decades? What will happen when your friends or you mom die? What then?

As she drove on, she kept thinking about her human life and her new, vampire one. The thoughts played over and over in her brain. "Stop!" she cried out and quickly turned up the volume of her radio in an effort to drown out her thoughts. She wasn't going to find an answer tonight, on a drive back to her dorm. The whole concept of forever was still something she hadn't fully grasped, but she knew it wasn't worth wracking her brain over at the moment. There will be time for her to ponder her future, but now wasn't it.

As Caroline parked her car and headed into her dorm room, she thought about today and everything that happened out in the woods. It hadn't been planned – it was only supposed to be kiss but something sparked between them and she suddenly wanted more.

Caroline let out another sigh of relief when she walked in, thankful her friends decided to stay at Mystic Falls as they waited for Katherine's demise. She needed the time alone to reflect on what happened and, for once, selfishly enjoy what happened. She grabbed some clothes and made her way to the shower.

She couldn't help but look at herself in the mirror - to see if there were any visible changes after what happened. Other than her hair thoroughly tousled, there was nothing physically different - emotionally and mentally though, she knew something changed.

She stripped out of her jacket and shimmied off her jeans. Her bra was barely hanging on - one of the hooks had broken after he snapped it off her body. Her panties were destroyed out in the woods. She shook her head as she remembered the mischievous smile Klaus gave her as he took the piece of silky fabric and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

Caroline smiled as she let the water wash away the dirt, indulging in her memories. She ran her hands down her body still feeling his lips and mouth and hands on her. She let out a shudder as she brought her hand along her collarbone. The bite mark was already healed but she continued to feel his fangs in her as he tasted her blood. She wondered if he would feel her ghostly bite on his shoulder.

"Fuck, Caroline!" he growled as he slammed into her once more. She felt him bend over and arched her back as he dragged his tongue along her spine.

"Don't stop!" she moaned, trying to brace herself on the leaf covered ground.

"Never!"

"Klaus," she whispered into the water as she ran her hands down her hips, remembering his hands when they gripped her as he drove into her over and over. It was frenzied and feral the first couple times before they managed to take their time and savor each other.

With her eyes closed, she reached out and placed her hands on the shower wall, wishing she was touching his chest instead. She wanted to wrap her fingers around one of his necklaces, feeling the leather cord against her skin. She let out a whimper as she imagined his fangs as he grazed them along the column of her neck.

The emotions and memories took over as she stood under the shower, the dull ache between her legs throbbed. Lathering her hands with body wash, she tried to imagine her hands were his as she sought relief. It wasn't long before her orgasm overtook her. She stayed under the shower for a while, catching her breath, wishing it had been his fingers instead of hers. It wasn't until the water turned cold that she stopped her fantasy and got out.

Once she was dressed, she grabbed her phone. She knew from their brief conversation as Klaus walked her to the edge of the Salvatore property that he was leaving that evening with Rebekah. His need for revenge on Katherine was no longer an issue.

Knowing he was probably still in the air, she found his name on her contact list and dialed.

"Hey, it's me…" she began when she got his voicemail. She began to pace around the room at almost vampire speed. "I just wanted… you know, what you said in the woods…" she rambled. "I just… I just wanted…" She sighed and gathered her courage. "Idon'twantyoutowalkaway…" Caroline took a calming breath and continued. "I don't want you to walk away. I am just not ready for 'last love' yet…. Anyways, that was all I wanted to say." She ended the call, wanting to say so much more, but knew it was probably for the best to just hang up..

She set her phone down and began to wring her hands. What if what she said wasn't enough? Should she have said more? What if he decided she wasn't worth his time anymore? What if he just deleted her message and really left her forever?

Caroline's brain was starting to hurt and she was seriously second guessing and doubting herself. She was just about to grab a blood bag when she remembered something from earlier in the afternoon. She rushed back into the bathroom and grabbed her dirty clothes, fishing into the back pocket of her jeans. She pulled out a small vial - a gift Klaus gave her as they left. Even though he had promised to leave, he still cared enough to give her a small vial of his blood if she were ever in danger.

She was about to once again head to her fridge when she heard footsteps outside her dorm room. They stopped right in front of her door before moving away quickly. Caroline raced over and opened the door, looking left and right but seeing no one. Spotting something on the floor, she looked down and saw a small box, her name written in an all too familiar handwriting.

She grabbed the gift and shut the door, finally grabbing her blood bag before sitting on her bed once more. She forced herself to finish her blood before she opened her gift. Even after tasting Klaus' blood, she needed to replenish herself after the day's activity.

Caroline gasped when she removed the lid. Inside was a dainty silver chain with a pendant that appeared to be antique. Knowing Klaus as Caroline did, she was certain it was an antique. There was no note this time but she knew-somehow-the vial would fit inside the pendant. It didn't take long for her to figure out the hidden clasp where she stowed the precious blood. Unlike the diamond bracelet he had given her what seemed like ages ago, she didn't have any objections this time to his gift.

It was still early for her but she decided to get into bed and let the memories once again take over. Tomorrow, she'll face the music when her friends come back, but tonight was about her.

~Meanwhile in New Orleans~

"... I am just not ready for 'last love' yet… anyways, that was all I wanted to say." Klaus replayed the message once again.

After landing in New Orleans he left Rebekah on her own, claiming he needed to feed. After sating his thirst, he wandered down to the docks alone as he thought about what had transpired that morning.

It had started out normal - as normal as things could be these days - but then he received an incoherent, slurred message from Damon about Katerina dying. It was the moment he had been craving for the past centuries and he couldn't wait to dance on her corpse and perhaps enjoy a fine bottle of Scotch along with it. He quickly ordered a private jet to take him back to Virginia.

"Mystic Falls, Nik?" Rebekah asked as he finished with his call.

He explained to his sister and saw her face light up.

"I'll go with you!" she shouted as she ran up the stairs.

He smiled, seeing his sister happy - it seemed like a rarity these days when he seemed to be in a constant battle with his siblings.

"Why are you going to Mystic Falls, Niklaus?" Elijah inquired as soon as Klaus left his office.

"Katerina is dying," he simply replied, expecting a reaction from his brother. He was disappointed though; his brother simply shrugged and walked away, heading across the courtyard and over to that wolf girl's quarters.

He rolled his eyes and walked away, wondering why Elijah was so blasé upon hearing the news. Hadn't Katerina been an object of his brother's affections for centuries?

Once he was in the aircraft, he asked Rebekah the very thing about Elijah.

"Nothing?" Rebekah asked and he shook his head. "That Hayley seems to have put a spell on Elijah."

"Do you believe he's been bewitched by that girl?"

Rebekah shook her head. "There are moments when I'm not sure. I don't think she's bewitched him, though. We've both seen vampires under witches' spells. This seems different. I can't explain it but it is different."

Klaus nodded. "You're right, it is different and I had expected some sort of reaction when I mentioned Katerina. All those years of pining for her and he had no reaction. I think upon our return, we should look into this, little sister. In the meantime, we should continue with the charade and play along."

"I think you're right, we don't want to arouse any suspicion and we don't know who is or are involved. I'll put a call on some witches that aren't from New Orleans and see what they say."

Klaus sat on a wooden bench and stared out into the Mississippi. He didn't want to think about his brother and that Hayley anymore. He reached into his pocket and smiled when he felt that satiny fabric before grabbing his phone. If his siblings were to see him now, he would never hear the end of their taunting and would have no choice but to put daggers through them.

Of course, the main purpose of going back to Mystic Falls flew out the window when he spotted her in the woods. Klaus had hoped to see Caroline, but it was not what he expected. He never expected anything more than a confession from Caroline and when her lips met his, it was like heaven. But it didn't stop there; he got much more than he expected before the sun set. If he wasn't a selfish being, he could have died right there and been happy.

Luckily, Rebekah didn't seem too bothered by the fact that they didn't see Katerina on her deathbed.

"Did you get a chance to see the doppelganger?" she asked once they got on the plane.

He simply shrugged knowing that she would react to his indifference. After a few minutes without a response, he looked at her as she stared out the window. "Did you?"

"No, Matt and I talked after I rescued him," she said. "What about you? Did you see her?"

"Who?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, Nik. You know who I'm talking about." She paused as if to wait for him to respond. When he didn't, she continued. "Caroline. Did you see her?" She spoke to him as though he was a dullard and he had half the mind to dagger her right there, had he been carrying one.

"I might have caught a glimpse of her," he replied nonchalantly.

She raised her hands up in exasperation. "Alright, I get it, you don't want to be interrogated. Look, we have our share of differences and yes, we are probably the shining example of an estranged family…"

He chuckled at her words, nodding in agreement.

"...but we're family, Nik. Forever and always. In all the centuries, I've never seen you like this with anyone. I hope she's worth it."

Instead of acknowledging her, he turned the tables on her instead. "What about the quarterback? Is he your new beau?"

She looked over at him and gave him a small smile before picking at her overcoat. "No, he wishes to stay a human and remain in Mystic Falls. He is a good person and even though we were nothing more than a summer thing, I wish him the best."

Klaus nodded. While he didn't fully understand his sister's intentions, he did admire the way she respected the boy's wishes, not that Klaus would ever admit it to his sister. Had that been his intent earlier today – to respect her wishes and let her live her life? Would he be able to after what transpired out in the woods?

"And if he were to ever change his mind and come to New Orleans?" he asked. He wondered if she would ever appear at his doorstep as he so arrogantly predicted once.

"Well, I won't say no," she replied with a small smile. "He knows I'd give him the world if he wanted."

The remainder of the trip was silent as they both got lost in their thoughts. It wasn't until the plane landed that Klaus realized he had a missed call from Caroline along with a voicemail. He couldn't, for obvious reasons, listen right away so he waited until they headed their separate ways.

He wasn't sure what to expect when he hit the play button. Was she going to scream and yell at him or was she going to say she regretted the entire thing. In fact, that was exactly what he expected as he steeled his nerves and pressed play. He was shocked as he listened to her message, the way she rambled gave him hope. She didn't want him to walk away from her life. While she wasn't ready for the possibility of them, she hadn't dismissed the idea either. He could live with that.

Knowing it was getting late for the young vampire - he really didn't want to call her a baby anymore - he decided to leave her a text message.

If it isn't too forward, perhaps we can use the time to get to know each other.

A few minutes later, his phone indicated a new message.

I'd like that and thank you for the necklace. It's very pretty.

He was momentarily stunned by her acceptance of the necklace. He wondered if she was smiling right now or if she would always wear it. It warmed his blackened heart and the feeling was overwhelming. He smiled that she responded back so quickly and his token was well received this time.

I'm sure it looks beautiful on you, Caroline.

Klaus wanted to use one of his typical terms of endearments, but knew now there was time for that. For the first time in his long life, he felt genuine hope.

NOTES: Well? Did you like it? What do y'all think? I'll also have this up on AO3 as well as a backup. The link to Caroline's pendant is on my profile if you're interested. :)

Since I'm new to the TVD world, I will need some cover art/banner - PM me if you have any ideas or recommendations. :)

You can also find me on Tumblr as atxsushi. My icon is one of my kitty cats - Puck. :)

Thank you again! XO ~ sushi