Takes place following the events of TO 1x15. Klaus is seeking revenge on Rebekah in the cemetery. But Caroline will not give up on up trying to save him from himself. An honest conversation between enemies turned friends turned lovers.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. That goes to Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec and the CW.

Hey, readers. So, I had this idea after watching Tuesday's episode of The Originals that if Caroline came to town during next week's episode of TO in search of Klaus that she would end up in the cemetery. And this is how I thought it would go…

Don't Give Up on Me

Rebekah could not outrun him. They were trapped in this bloody cemetery until the lunar cycle ended. If she thought that Elijah would be enough to stop him, she was a fool. No one had ever wounded him this deeply. This betrayal would not go unpunished. After he had his way with his sister he would be giving Elijah his just deserts: a dagger through his traitorous heart.

Prowling through the cemetery, he thought he heard his prey. Smiling, he began to walk toward the sound. When he walked around the corner, he saw what had caused the noise. A vase had upturned a set of freshly cut flowers for the newly dead. Klaus wondered momentarily if death would come to him soon after he killed his sister. It might be a blessing if he no longer had to worry about who would lie to his face and run around behind his back this time. Paranoia had its limits.

The sound of leaves crunching alerted him to the presence of someone right behind him. Pretending to not notice the sound, Klaus stood completely still until the entity that made the sound came closer. "Oh, Bekah, did you never learn how sneak up on a man?" Shaking his head his expression turned mocking.

Klaus whirled around and grabbed the iron rod probably from the gate that she had intended on using as a weapon. She couldn't kill him but she could have bought herself a few more precious moments on this planet. Grinning at his sister as she tried to keep ahold of the rod, he saw by the look of terror on her face that she knew that she was no match for him. Yanking the rod free, Klaus threw it across the cemetery.

Pulling out the white oak stake, he was about to be done with Rebekah when something blurred in front of his sister, "Elijah, I told you. You cannot protect her. She is mine," Klaus growled. Then he stopped talking when the person was no long a blur.

"Not Elijah. And I cannot believe that you would mistake me for him. In what universe do I look like a guy?" Caroline asked, folding her arms over her chest with her eyes narrowed.

Ordinarily Klaus would have laughed. Under any other circumstances he would have taken pleasure in having the blonde beauty standing in front of him. He would have swept her into his arms and celebrated her presence. However, this was not one of those times. Right now, his lovely Caroline was in between him and what he wanted at that moment. He could see nothing but someone standing between him and his revenge.

Therefore the obstacle would need to be removed. Placing his hands down on Caroline's shoulders gently, Klaus smiled, "Caroline, I am thrilled that you are here, love. But as you can see I am in the middle of something. Now, if you will kindly get out of the way then we might have a chance to talk afterwards. I do have another sibling waiting in the wings, so we might have to make it quick."

"Yeah, I know," Carline snapped. "I already talked to Marcel. He told me everything."

Klaus glowered down at Caroline. "It must have been wonderful growing up and being an only child, sweetheart. So, you have no idea of the horrors that can be accompanied by those who should be your greatest allies turning their backs on you time and time again."

"Rebekah," Caroline called over her shoulder.

"Yes," Rebekah hissed, staring at Klaus ready to fight back if he made a move toward her.

"RUN," Caroline shouted and then shoved Klaus with as much strength as she muster. He hadn't really been paying too much attention to where he was positioned. Falling through the open door of a mausoleum was not something that Klaus had been expecting. Grabbing Caroline by the jacket, he felt some sense of satisfaction when she landed on top of him with a look of dismay.

Moving to get up, Klaus felt a searing pain in his knee. Staring down in shock, he saw Caroline had grabbed a piece of the broken door and had hit him with it. Glaring down at his little baby vampire, he reached for her neck to grasp empty air. She was now on the other side of the tomb. Racing after her, he found empty air once again.

"Caroline, I am stronger than you are," Klaus bellowed. He knew that she was trying to distract him from his task at hand but he would not allow it. After he snapped her neck, he would find Rebekah and finish her. Caroline would forgive him in time.

"You may be stronger, but I'm angrier," Caroline whispered into Klaus' ear. Whirling around, he only had a second to take in the stone vase that she hit him with breaking his nose and cheekbone.

Placing his hand to his nose, Klaus stared at the blood in shock. He and Caroline had never really fought each other. He had obviously underestimated her, a mistake he had been making with a lot of people lately. She then lashed out with a kick that sent him falling to his knees. "Why are you taking her side?" Klaus moaned, staring at Caroline whose face was twisted in rage.

"Are you really that dense?" Caroline bellowed, glaring down at Klaus as he stared back up at her, his own rage reaching its peak. "I'm not doing this for Rebekah. I'm doing this for you."

"Me?" Klaus began to laugh derisively as he forced himself to his feet, keeping a close eye on Caroline in case she decided to hit him with another unseen weapon. "That's rich, love. Any other ridiculous notions running through that pretty little head of yours."

"Klaus, she's your sister," Caroline whispered. "You can't kill her. You'll destroy your family. Yes, what Rebekah did was wrong. But look at all the times that you daggered her. You kept her in a box, Klaus. That wasn't right. She deserved to be able to make her own mistakes."

"I was trying to protect her," Klaus growled.

"I know," Caroline began to take tentative steps toward Klaus. Coming to stand in front of him, she cupped his face. "I know that you didn't mean to hurt her. I know that you care and she hurt you. But you can't kill her."

Resting his forehead against hers, Klaus sighed deeply. "Caroline, one day you will understand." He heard her gasp of shock when he sped out of the tomb.

"Klaus," he could hear Caroline screaming after him. She was trying to follow him. The worst part for him was that she was making this so much harder. If only he had just snapped her neck. Then he would not have to hear her screaming his name through the damn cemetery. Caroline could be heard throughout the place. Thanks to her screams it was making it difficult for Klaus to be able hear Rebekah. She would certainly be able to hear Caroline and pinpoint where he was.

Cursing under his breath, Klaus continued to stalk through the cemetery. "Klaus… damn it…" Caroline yelled and Klaus smiled in spite of his anger. "Klaus, you love Rebekah. She's part of your human life. If you destroy her, you will destroy part of that version of yourself that I want to be with… So, don't give up on him."

"He's already dead. And buried," Klaus muttered under his breath. He did not expect her to hear him even with her vampire hearing.

"No, he's not," Caroline argued and he was surprised at how close her voice was. Whirling around, he found no one there. "I know this because I met him. Not once but several times. Klaus, you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do. For the sake of my sanity," Klaus muttered. Now he was beginning to think that Marcel had brought Davina back and she was giving him a bloody hallucination. He hated being toyed with. Turing around in a slow circle, he was determined to stop listening to the fake Caroline. She had her life in Mystic Falls. She had no reason to come to him.

"Klaus…" Caroline called into the silence of the night. "Klaus, please," she begged him and he heard her footsteps coming closer.

"Leave me alone," Klaus shouted, placing his hands to his temples. "You're not really here."

"Yes, I am," Caroline called to him. She appeared from around a corner and walked toward him. He took a step back. "I'm here, Klaus." Stepping in front of him, Caroline's hands found his face once more. Her hands pressed themselves gently against his skin and he closed his eyes. "Anyone capable of love…"

"Is capable of being saved…" Klaus finished her line and then he stared into Caroline's eyes.

Nodding, Caroline smiled, "Yes, you love me. Remember? So, please, don't destroy your sister. Don't destroy yourself. Don't destroy us."

Klaus stood very still, staring down at Caroline, "Give me a reason."

"What?" Caroline replied, staring up at him, her eyes searching his.

"Give me a reason," Klaus told her, staring into her eyes.

"I…" Caroline could only stare at him. Klaus shook his head and pulled away from her. Withdrawing his stake, he began to look for his sister again.

"Because I love you, Klaus," Caroline exclaimed. Klaus could hear the layers of wariness and exasperation with a hint of fear mixed in with these words. However, they made him hesitate and turn ever so slowly to face her.

"You what?" Klaus could only stare at Caroline in awe of the fact that she could actually utter the words. 'Did she mean them? Or was she simply trying to distract him from the task at hand?' He wondered, searching her face for the answer.

"I," Caroline took a step towards him and he could only stand frozen to the spot. "Love," she took another decisive step forward. "You," she finished standing right in front of him so that their bodies were touching.

Klaus stared back at her n shock. He did not think that anything could surprise him anymore but this took him off guard. Then he thought of something. "But you're not in love with me, are you?" Feeling better now that he was gaining the upper hand once more in this little game, Klaus watched Caroline's mouth purse and her eyes become distant. "Yes, that is what I thought," he said, turning and beginning to walk away from her.

"No, I'm not in love with you," Caroline called after him as he strode away from her. "But I am falling in love with you. Doesn't that mean anything to you? If you kill your sister then you are closing the door on one of the only relationships you have had for over a thousand years. You can't come back from that. When she's gone, she's gone for good. And that will be something you have to live with, Klaus. Is that what you want? Do you want to be the man who killed his sister? Wait, I forgot, you like to be right. This is all about proving that no one cares about you and that you are going to be alone forever."

Spinning around, Klaus strode back to face Caroline. "You are a mere child. You know nothing of the world. My sister brought our father back to kill me. In the name of love. Now, Caroline, why would I want that? Why would I want to be part of something that would make me turn my back on my family? She ruined us, Caroline. She broke my heart," Klaus yelled, feeling tears pool in his eyes.

"Klaus, what Rebekah did was wrong but you can forgive her. In time. It's okay to be angry. It's okay to be hurt. It's okay to yell at her and not speak to her. But you don't have to kill her because you'll only be hurting yourself. Revenge is not the answer," Caroline whispered.

Klaus's eyes moved to the ground beneath his feet. "It's all I have," he whispered back.

"That's not true," Caroline protested. "You have me," she told him, taking his hand and he allowed her to take the white oak stake out of it.

"I can't let her get away with it," Klaus murmured, forcing his feelings for Caroline out of his mind. 'Love is a vampire's great weakness,' he reminded himself and then looked Caroline in the eye. "I will be needing that back, love," he held out his hand for his weapon and watched as Caroline took a step backward. He took another step toward her. He was done with this game. It ended now. "Don't try to run. This will not end well in spite of my feelings for you."

Caroline's eyes darkened and she stopped walking. Klaus frowned when she took the stake and positioned it under her ribs, mere inches from her heart. "You want to hurt someone, Klaus," Caroline murmured, her voice so low that if it were not for his vampire hearing he would not hear her. "Then hurt me. It wouldn't be the first time." Staring up at him stubbornly, Caroline pushed the stake closer to her chest and gasped slightly as the end pierced her skin. "Or I'll do it myself. I told you once that I didn't want to die but I think I could right now. Yeah, I could take this stake and drive it through my own chest."

Klaus narrowed his eyes and smirked at her. "You wouldn't. You have college and your little friends in Mystic Falls."

"Are you kidding me?" Caroline scoffed. "I said that because I was afraid and confused. I rarely even go to classes and Tyler dumped me, you left me, and my friends... Let's not even go there. So, you tell me what I have to live for?" Caroline shook her head, pushing the stake father in and groaning.

"Caroline, you are being very foolish right now. I am not in the mood for games. Now, give my stake," Klaus held out his hand and waited for her to back down.

"No," Caroline snapped. "When I'm done I want you to go ahead and track down Rebekah, Marcel and Elijah and kill them all. Then you will be alone. Utterly and completely alone. Just like you always thought you would be," she said, shoving the stake farther inside almost touching her heart, Caroline moaned as blood began to pool on the outside of her shirt.

Moving forward, Klaus yanked the stake out and threw it aside. He heard the sound of footsteps scrambling forward and he did not have to look up to see Rebekah who had been standing there for some time with Elijah. He knew his sister had the stake and might very well use it on him but his sole focus was on the crazy, baby vampire in his arms. "Caroline," he whispered.

"Uh huh," Caroline answered, looking slightly pale.

"What in God's name were you thinking?" Klaus whispered into her ear, stroking her hair gently. She had scared the hell out of him to be honest.

"You once said we were the same. You like to give ultimatums. So, I did what I thought you would do in my position," Caroline told him with a weak grin.

"I love you, Caroline," Klaus whispered. "But if you ever do something that stupid again…"

"You'll kill me yourself," Caroline replied and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now, I was wondering if you might have some blood to spare?"

Klaus began to laugh in spite himself. She had played the little blonde distraction yet again but for some reason he could give a damn less because he had something he had known so little of in his thousand years: hope. "I suppose that I could be persuaded to offer a contribution. Which one of your chums got bit this time?"

"Well," Caroline began and Klaus could tell this was going to take some time but he had plenty until the lunar cycle. He could think of worse things than to be stuck with his babbling, baby vampire and the siblings who he had wanted to kill him. They had been through worse. They would survive this, too.

Okay. So, I hope you enjoyed that one-shot because I have a lot more one-shots to come until Caroline officially becomes a part of the cast of The Originals. Hopefully, we'll get some crossovers before then. Fingers are crossed.

I also have a mini-series, "The Cost of a Little Vial of Blood" in which I envision how Caroline might come to see Klaus in search of his blood. Slightly different premise than this story. I hope you enjoy it if you check it out.

Thank you to anyone who reads, favs, follows and reviews this story.

Peace,

LL