Hello again, dearies - here we go, the final chapter is up. I decided to leave it at its full length after all, I hope you don't mind! ;)

I think I said it once in an author's note for one of my other stories: Receiving a new review notification is a little bit like getting a text from someone you have a crush on. It's hard to explain just how much your reviews mean to me, and I'll go back to reading each and every one of them over the next months when I'm buried in the work on my book. There are so many moments of doubt - sometimes I SO hate what I've written - but it's your lovely comments that keep me going. Should that book ever see the light of day, you guys aren't the least of reasons for it!

Once again, all the bear hugs in the world go to Angelikah, Anoni Mos666, landofthegolden, Submissives-R-Us, MsCindz, chuck101, Lynnevampire, MissTranquility, Venus88, Salsmy, lilycody, Ellavm18, chillwithJyl, Jewelz1642, ahslytorres24, aj, justine, Marina, Klarolineblossom, Jenn, eveli, SweetyK, Abby, Bonhoor, tate4eva, Hazel21, Rosesareflowers13, rebbecca1, Justanotherfiveminutes, Dillan, FatimaH1995, goldenhummingbird, PinkTrinityRose and the guest reviewers, new favs and follows and readers. (On a sidenote - people, how do you come up with some of those awesome names?! :))

Shoutout of the day goes to CKhybrid. Lady, you cracked me up - with those same words ("you KNOW you want to") I was once talked into buying an iPad. ;) And yes, I do want to... but the revolution story will have to wait for a while, I fear. ;)

Thanks to everyone who tagged along for the ride. Please enjoy, and remember - you're just amazing. I. LOVE. YOU. GUYS!

Much love

Sybille

Mystic Falls seemed different.

Caroline walked the streets at human speed, taking in every detail of the town that had been the center of her existence for so many years. Houses, the park, her school, the people... they all seemed alien to her, although not a single pebble or flower looked out of place. Which made her lingering suspicion grow more pronounced with every step and every yard she advanced - Mystic Falls hadn't changed at all. She had, and more thoroughly than anyone including herself would have predicted. Anyone... except perhaps Klaus. Her thoughts wandered to a night a lifetime ago, a night that had seen the Original make a frighteningly accurate prediction.

Small town boy, small town life. It won't be enough for you.

She nearly had to smile at the memories of her outraged old self, head filled with Tyler and all the big and small commotion plaguing her hometown at the time. Klaus had known her even then, far better than she had known herself, but it had taken her until this day to fully concede that he had been right about her and Mystic Falls all along.

Shaking her head at herself, she felt her heart pick up speed as she opened the little gate that led to the cemetery. Sleep had evaded her ever since Klaus' text two days ago had informed her that it was now safe for her to return to the States, and to Mystic Falls if she wished to. That had been all. Not a single word about New Orleans, or about joining him elsewhere. For some reason, the brief, impersonal text had tugged at her, especially in light of the fact that it had been their only communication apart from the one message she had sent him three days after they had parted ways.

I won't turn it off again. I'm not doing this for you, but I want you to know that I wouldn't have made this decision without you.

His lack of response had hurt, but she had also been a little relieved. Whatever his answer, it would have occupied her mind, and there had been little space for anything besides herself in the first few weeks after Paris. Other than his concerns for her safety, she didn't have a clue as to why he had never tried to contact her during those six months; the further her healing process advanced, the more prominent the question had grown. Bit by bit, she had found herself less preoccupied with herself and more with Klaus and everything he had done for her. With his safety. With the wish... to see him again. The discovery that she missed him more with each passing day had haunted her, so much so that she had almost reached the point of calling him in blatant disregard of his instructions - but his text had beat her to it. She had dropped everything, left everything behind and jumped on the next plane. She needed to face him, to see if those feelings that had constantly grown over the course of her exile were as real and solid as she believed them to be.

But prior to meeting her fate, there was someone else she had to visit.

Liz Forbes' final resting place lay tucked away in a lovely, remote corner of the cemetery, framed by a couple of birches. Fresh flowers of various shapes and colors adorned the grave, giving it an almost cheerful look that brought a smile to her face and tears to her eyes. Someone had been looking after Liz all this time, and it touched her to the same extent that it humbled her. Very gradually, she lifted her gaze from the lovely little flowers to the simple, tasteful tombstone.

In Memory of

Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes

Loving Mother

Loyal Friend

Devoted Citizen

"Mom," Caroline whispered as she sank to her knees, "Can you forgive me?"

She had been so sure that the past months had left her with no further tears to cry. Hours, days had she spent mourning her mother, her grief reinforced by the preceding year of suppression; her first tear-free day had dawned a full six weeks after her departure from Paris. Things had gone uphill from there, a steady development that rendered her thick tears and breaking heart all the more powerful as she faced Liz now. Not bothering to cover her face, she stared at her Mom's name on the stone while she wept and wept, remembering, feeling, wishing, loving. But throughout it all, she sensed none of the black despair and near-madness of the day Liz had died, and it could not merely be attributed to the obvious fact that time had passed. Her pain was real and solid, yet she knew she would bear it. The fabled strength her mother had been so certain she possessed - she had found it in herself over the course of her involuntary exile, and she had no words for what it meant to her that Liz had believed in her so strongly. Liz... and someone else.

The sun wandered over the clear blue skies until her sobs finally faded into quiet sniffles. Rummaging through her purse, Caroline produced a tissue and dabbed at her eyes while settling on the ground cross-legged and giving the tombstone a faint smile.

"Hi, Mom," she muttered with a sheepish expression, "sorry about that. I didn't mean to blubber all the time. How are you up there? Ugh, stupid question - it's probably all fun and games and booze in heaven. At least I hope it is." She inhaled shakily. "Look, let me get the heavy stuff off my chest right now, okay?" Another crying jag threatened its way to the surface, but this time she mastered it. "What I did is unforgivable. I abandoned you the second you closed your eyes, I wasn't there to arrange your funeral, I wasn't there for your funeral, and I didn't give a single thought to what would happen with your grave, let alone the house and our belongings. I ran away to turn into a monster. And... the irony is that of all the monsters out there, it was the greatest that brought me back."

She began to talk to Liz of her year without humanity, of her encounter with Klaus, of their fateful day in Paris. Of how she had left for Singapore, of her first few days there.

"You know, Mom, there were times that I wanted to turn it back off. On my second evening, I was at this amazing rooftop bar overlooking Marina Bay. I had the best cocktail of my life, the atmosphere was incredible, people were laughing and chatting all around me... and I just sat there wondering how I could ever become a part of all that again. I... I tried, that night. I tried to turn it back off, but I couldn't. I thought Klaus had lied to me when said it wouldn't work for some time, but it was true. A few days later, I tried again. I could've done it that time; I felt the switch, I knew the mechanics, and still I was incapable of doing it. I gave the reasons a lot of thought, and I think I know now what stopped me. The first thing was something you said, Mom. You told me to find my life. With my humanity off, I could never find the life that is meant to be mine. Lives, I should say, because I think there will be more than one. The other thing that stopped me from turning it off again was... Klaus. Yeah, I know how that sounds." For a moment, she couldn't shake the weird vision of her Mom rolling her eyes and chuckling up in heaven. Or wherever else. "Let me explain. We often forget just how old Klaus is and how much he has seen. He asked me a question that day in Paris, a question that really got to me. He asked me if I wanted to spend my life with easy. And in that crazy moment when I tried to turn it off, I kept thinking about his words and what they meant. And here's the thing - Klaus is a thousand years old and still not tired of life. He doesn't run away, and he isn't weary of all the challenges and problems. Then how can I be tired of it all after no more than a couple of years? And how can I want to run away?"

For almost an hour, she spoke without pause, explaining how that night had shaped her decision to opt for life instead of a mere existence. She told her Mom about the trips she had made from Singapore to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Saigon and a dozen other places in Asia, about the people she had met, the new friends she had cautiously begun to make after some time. About the job at Singapore Expo she had taken on to give herself something to do, and the events and fairs she had attended.

And about the twist in her stomach when she had received Klaus' message.

Caroline plucked a pink pansy and studied it for a little while. "So many things have happened, and even more things have changed, but I think I what changed most of all is me. Do you remember how I used to think everything was either good or bad, with nothing in between? Today, I find it hard to believe I was ever that naive." She gave a low chuckle as her gaze returned to the gravestone. "There are so many layers, aren't there? And that's why the longer I know him, the more layers I see behind his darkness."

She rose to her feet and rounded the grave to kneel next to the stone, placing both hands flat against the smooth surface and resting her forehead against it.

"I love you so much, Mom. I miss you every day, and if I had only one wish, it would be more time with you. If I live to be a hundred thousand, I'll never stop loving you, and that's why I guess I kind of want to ask for your blessing." Her voice lowered to a strangled whisper. "I know who he is, and what he is. But I... I can't get him out of my head, and I still find it hard to believe that he of all people saw me as I am before anyone else ever even thought of getting to know me. That he came for me in the midst of the biggest threat and did just the right thing to bring me back." She closed her eyes and ran a hand along the top of the stone. "I need to find out if he was right about what he said at my graduation, Mom. I have to go see him."

"You're not going anywhere without buying me a drink first," a gentle, familiar voice sounded from the pathway.

"Stefan!"

Caroline jumped to her feet and, without thinking, stormed towards her friend, only to stop dead a couple of inches away, gripped by the remembrance of their last encounter a year and half ago. Had she lost the right to call him a friend? Before she could say anything, Stefan grimaced. With two steps, he bridged the distance and pulled her into a bear hug.

"Don't be an idiot. Again."

The tension inside her evaporated as she returned his hug wholeheartedly, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry, Stefan. That day, I just didn't..."

"No apologies necessary. You're back, you're Caroline, and that's all that matters. Although the next time you choose to run off to God knows where, leave a hint at the continent."

She giggled, Stefan grinned - and eighteen months of estrangement disappeared without a trace. One of the characteristics of true friendship, she mused while leaving his embrace to take a good look at him. "When did you get back from New Orleans?"

"About three weeks ago, although we returned there a number of times since then. Seems Klaus trusts us over his own people, although I can't imagine why."

"You're loyal, both of you. That's why," she nodded, deciding to leave it at that for the moment. Then she turned to examine Liz's grave again, gesturing at the flowers. "I guess I have you to thank for this? It's lovely, Stefan. So vivid. She would have liked it."

To her surprise, he shook his head. "Nope. Not my doing."

"Elena?"

"Try again."

Had she been drinking, she would have spewed the contents of her glass all over the place as she gaped at the younger Salvatore with incredulous eyes. "Damon? You're saying Damon has been looking after my Mom's grave?"

"He planted the flowers himself."

"Excuse me, I think I need to sit down," Caroline quipped, trying to picture Damon Salvatore seeding little pink flowers. She didn't seem to possess enough of an imagination. "Why would he do that?"

"He liked your Mom a lot, in his own funny way. And believe it or not, he likes you, too. There are not many people Damon likes, you know." Stefan let his eyes wander over the flower bed and to the tombstone. "You won't be staying long, I gather?"

She followed his gaze. "How is he, Stefan?"

"Why don't we head over to The Grill and have a drink and some dinner? What do you think?"

Minutes later, they were seated at one of the more secluded tables. After placing their order, Stefan leaned back in his chair. "He defeated his parents, although they're not dead. But where they are now, they can't cause any harm, nor can they contact anyone on this side or the other. Many witches died that day, and many more have been locked up in this Garden of his together with a number of vampires who tried to help them."

A burst of something she couldn't name coursed through her entire system. It felt like relief, only tenfold as strong. "So he won."

"In a sense, yes." Stefan grabbed the glass the waiter had only just placed on the table and took a large swig. Caroline didn't pay any attention to her own drink as her eyes remained fixed on her friend.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

With a heavy sigh, he said, "He beat them..." He paused, his eyes filled with an indefinable emotion. "But before he did, they beat him. Esther managed to detach Klaus from his line. None of us will die if he does."

Impossible. He's Klaus! He's invincible! How did they...

"He didn't take it too well," Stefan went on. "After he went ballistic on everyone and everything, we ended up at some sordid bar and got inordinately drunk. Damon had returned to Mystic Falls that same day to talk to Elena, so it was just me and Klaus. The more he drank, the quieter he got, which is a bit unusual for him. So I finally asked him why he didn't turn the whole of New Orleans to rubble over the news as he normally would. He stared into his drink for about five minutes, and I started to think he had gone into a stupor when he said something that... well, that probably shouldn't have surprised me but still made me almost fall off my chair."

Caroline gripped the armrests of her own chair, not noticing how they began to crumble under her fingers. "What was it?"

"He said, One less worry." Her jaw dropped while Stefan lifted his glass to his lips. "When I asked him what that worry was he merely looked at me and told me not to play dumb."

The armrest cracked; its remains clattered to the floor with a loud clang. Caroline ignored them and the suspicious glances from the other tables as she snatched her glass and downed her drink in one go. "He was drunk," she muttered, pressing her fingers to her temples, "he didn't know what he was saying. And shock. Yeah, he was in shock over what happened."

"Who's playing dumb now?" Stefan demanded, his voice filled with kindness. "Caroline, I know Klaus, and I know him well, but this is unprecedented. I've seen him obsessed and infatuated. I've seen his love for his siblings that he usually hides from everyone including himself. But I've never seen him like this. Eighteen months ago he was about to kill me and Damon for not immediately informing him of your switching it off and disappearing. He was out of the door before we could even finish our drinks."

"He still would have compelled me had I not agreed to his deal," she whispered absently. Her mind was reeling, jumping back and forth without pausing long enough for her to grasp a coherent thought. Klaus accepted the separation from his line so she would live if he died? The thought was outlandish. Scandalous. Incredible.

Beautiful.

She jolted out of her daze when Stefan cleared his throat. And what he related next turned her mind into an even greater chaos. Klaus had refused to so much as consider Stefan's suggestion of compelling her into turning it back on, berating him for bringing it up in the first place.

"So he was bluffing. He was bluffing all the way." Her soft murmur was meant more for herself than for Stefan. "And I fell for it." All of a sudden, she had to grin. She recalled him alleging that she hadn't wanted to distract him, not really, and perhaps he had been right about that, too. Maybe the last gleam of her humanity, concealed and locked up in the deepest abyss of her being, had wanted to be tricked. To be rescued from lifelessness.

What took you so long?

"Yeah, he can be pretty convincing," Stefan agreed. "By the way, he never really told us what went down in Paris, other than you had agreed to turn it back on and that Amaury is now a persona non grata to basically everybody."

"We should order a bottle. This might take a while."

It felt good to tell Stefan everything, although she did leave out some of the more explicit details. There was no need for her friend to know how infinitely right Klaus' every touch had felt, and how she had nearly assaulted him a mere second after being staked. Dinner came and went, the scotch seemed to magically evaporate from the bottle, and Caroline was pleasantly tired after she had finished her story. The younger Salvatore remained silent for a while, playing with his glass. When his gaze returned to her, he pursed his lips.

"What are your plans now?"

Exhaling, she ran a hand through her tresses. They had grown long, nearly reaching her waist, and she hadn't quite made up her mind whether or not to cut them. "I want to return to college, but I'll change my major to Linguistics. I've come across so many different languages by now, it's totally fascinating. I want to learn more about them."

"Am I correct in assuming that you're not going to return to Whitmore?"

Her answer was slow and hesitant. "I was thinking I'd give Tulane a shot." She looked him straight in the eye, hands balled to fists under the table. Stefan's approval had meant the world to her from the very beginning, as would that of any older brother. Nothing would dissuade her from her plans, yet her heart would be all the much lighter for his blessing. So she waited.

"Can I ask you something?" he said after a while. When she assented, he leaned forward, his stare gluing her to the spot. "What happened when you first saw him, back in Paris?"

"I told you. He dragged me off to clean up..."

She didn't get any further. "That's not what I meant. What did you feel at the sight of him?"

"Nothing," Caroline shrugged, "my emotions were turned off, after all. He took me by surprise, so there was a second of discomfort and annoyance, but that was it."

A crooked smile appeared on Stefan's face. "Caroline, when your emotions are turned off, there are no surprises. There is no true annoyance, not at other people, anyway. That second of discomfort, as you describe it, was that like a twinge in your stomach?"

Her eyes grew big and round as she gaped at him. "Yes. How do you know?"

"I turned it off more times than I care to remember." A shadow crossed his features at the reminiscence. "For decades, I felt nothing whatsoever. No fear, no sadness, no happiness, no anger. I had literally died inside, and... well, you know what it's like. But from time to time, I sensed this barely noticeable twist in my gut. I had no idea what to make of it, so other than noting it down in my journals, I ignored it. Then, after the last time I finally turned it back on, I had some time on my hands and went through the entries. I found a pattern." Caroline sat motionless, not daring to breathe or make a sound as she waited for him to continue. "I only ever felt those pinches in the presence of two persons. One was Damon. The other was Elena." He paused again, drawing a deep breath. "The two people I love most in this world."

In a lightning-fast move, she snatched the bottle and emptied its remaining contents into her glass, downing them with her eyes closed. It did nothing to calm her fluttering nerves. "What exactly are you saying, Stefan?"

He looked at her for a long moment before he chuckled. "Climate in Singapore made you a little slow, huh?"

She had been nervous before. She couldn't count all the times she had been nervous in her life. But nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the way everything inside her jumped and swiveled and swirled as she lifted her hand to touch the battered iron knocker. Her heart was beating in her throat, her fingers trembled against the cold metal, and something in her stomach seemed to have turned into a torrid pitchfork. She let her hand sink and stared at the knocker. It depicted the horned head of a man with a wild, stormy face, carrying the thick iron knocking ring between his teeth. An old depiction of the devil, she reckoned, and most probably something Klaus had chosen. The master of the house playing gatekeeper.

I can't do this. He's Klaus, for crying out loud! What am I thinking?

Her subconscious seemed to have the answer, for before she knew it, her hand was on the ring. The sharp knocks echoed through her system like thunderbolts reverberating from a steep mountain face.

Stefan had given her directions to the house that represented something of an interim solution after the Mikaelsons' mansion on the outskirts of the city had been burned down almost two years ago. Busy with Mommy, Daddy and their usual global dominance drama, Klaus and Elijah had not yet found the time to choose a new residence and used their smaller downtown house in the very center of the French Quarter. To her surprise, Damon had offered to accompany her there - be her wingman, as he had put it with his habitual crooked smirk - but she had refused. Stefan had later explained how his brother and Klaus had developed the cautious beginnings of a friendship over these past months they had fought side by side, a friendship fueled by many factors, not the least of which being Damon's and Elena's decision to spend some time apart for the duration of her college education. They both wanted to catch their breaths and start over with a clean slate in a couple of years. Out of the many things Caroline had never quite understood about her friends' tempestuous relationship, this was the most puzzling by far. Elena loved Damon, Damon loved Elena, and still they seemed dead set on this break. Her hopelessly romantic heart didn't want to believe that true love needed a holiday, but perhaps she just had to start growing up. Nevertheless, the pause in his relationship had caused Damon to consider leaving Mystic Falls for a while to avoid running into Elena at every corner, and to Caroline's astonishment, he had had some initial conversations with Klaus about settling in New Orleans - and the Original hadn't been opposed to the idea. All through her raging nerves, she had to grin at the remembrance of Stefan's face when he had told her the news. "Yeah," he had muttered, rolling his eyes, "I know. Don't say it. Those two together are the dynamic duo from hell." But he had stifled a smile. Stefan's stance towards Klaus had changed considerably over the past couple of years, and while he wasn't yet ready to fully resume their friendship where they had left it off in the twenties, he had confided to Caroline that he saw it on the remote fringes of his horizon. Someday.

'Someday' could be here sooner than we think.

Footsteps from inside the house sent her pulse racing and her heart into violent stutters. He was here. Only a few more seconds until the door opened to reveal his face. Until she would see the spark that never failed to light up his eyes when they came to rest on her. Until his voice would send ever new shivers from her head to her toes. Until...

"Miss Forbes. What a perfectly charming surprise."

Caroline struggled not to let her disappointment get the better of her. It was only now that she realized just how badly she longed to see Klaus' beautiful face. She had imagined their reunion a hundred times, the expression on his features when he opened the door to find her there; for some reason, she had never even considered that he might not be the one to answer the stupid door.

"Hi, Elijah. Long time no see."

Oh God, I sound like a total idiot.

"Indeed. But please, do come in." Notwithstanding his earlier statement he didn't seem the least bit surprised at her unannounced visit, but then there was probably not much that still caught an Original off-guard. As she stepped into the hallway, she took the opportunity to give him an inconspicuous once-over. Apart from his shorter hair, Elijah Mikaelson hadn't changed much. Dressed in an impeccable suit that made one's eyes water, he looked every inch the nobleman he had been for a thousand years. And the brother Klaus trusted - as far as he was capable of trust. The thought made something tighten in her chest.

"I do assume it is Niklaus you came to visit?" When she pressed her lips together and nodded, he pointed at what looked like a spacious living room. "Let us have a seat. Can I interest you in a drink?"

"Is something wrong? Is he...?"

"He is fine. He left for Paris this morning. And before you think of following him there, as your eyes say you will, I would like to speak with you."

A quick flash of apprehension shot through her while they made their way to the room he had pointed out. Was Elijah going to reprimand her for taking Klaus' focus off his parental worries half a year ago? Forbid her from seeing his brother? Much as she liked the oldest Original, his aloofness had always made her a bit uneasy, and it was no different today. He sat down opposite her after handing her a glass; Caroline had no idea what it contained, nor did she care. Her eyes never left Elijah as her jitters mounted with every silent second that passed. After what felt like a week, the Original leaned back into the couch and crossed his legs.

"I won't keep you long, Miss Forbes, you have my word. First and foremost, though, may I ask how you are doing?"

That made her find her voice again. "Do I still want to turn it off, is that your question?"

"Yes." A small smile crossed his features. "Straight to the point. I like that."

Her own smile was cautious when she opted for the truth. "I made my choice half a year ago. I would be lying if I said there weren't moments of temptation, but right now I can't think of any reason that would make me consider turning it back off."

"We all have those instances. That little voice whispering just how much easier it all is when emotions do not stand in the way. The temptation never fully disappears over the course of a vampire's life. Then again, I do have to confess to some difficulty in imagining you without your humanity, Miss Forbes."

"Thank you... I guess?"

Elijah's smile broadened. "It was indeed meant as a compliment. I know what my brother sees in you, and I understand him. Which brings me to my next question - you are aware of the fact that Niklaus has fallen in love with you?"

She felt her face flush vermilion. It was one thing to know that everyone suspected Klaus to have feelings for her, but hearing it from the one person who knew him best in the world, from the levelheaded Elijah, was something else entirely. "Yes," she murmured, fumbling with the glass in her hands, "I know."

"I am glad to hear it. Do you also understand what my brother's love for you implies, Miss Forbes?" Caroline frowned but remained silent, not sure where he was going. "Let me explain, then. Niklaus is a thousand years old. It is only natural that over the course of such a long time, he occasionally took a fancy to a woman. He even fell in love once or twice. What he never did was to allow his infatuations to influence his decisions or distract him from pursuing his quests." Elijah took a swig of his drink. "The women in his past have been passing fancies to Niklaus; some of those fancies were short-lived, others lasted for decades. When it all began, I still believed he would soon find the love he had always proclaimed to want, but circumstances and his own demons prevented him from doing so. After centuries of wars and bloodshed, he gave up on the idea for good. Until you crossed his path."

If only I could breathe.

"I admit that I did not take him seriously when he first spoke of you. Not even when Rebekah repeatedly pointed out his obvious interest. It was not before I learned that he had relinquished his desire for revenge against Katerina for your sake that I began to understand something extraordinary was happening."

"He told you about his trip to Mystic Falls?"

Elijah gave her a knowing glance. "Not to worry, Niklaus is not one to share intimate details of his love life." The corners of his mouth twitched. "When he returned to New Orleans, he did so in an ebullient mood that lasted for days. As this has not exactly been a regular occurrence over the past centuries, I asked him why he kept grinning like an imbecile over no apparent reason. He responded by saying that reality far surpasses imagination at times."

I agree.

"A few weeks later, following a slight scotch overindulgence, he revealed his encounter with you... and what it meant to him. Miss Forbes, I am not normally generous in my usage of superlatives, but do you have any idea how absolute your hold is over my brother?"

His voice held an edge Caroline couldn't quite identify, but one thing she did understand. Whatever Elijah was getting at, he was dead serious about it. "You say that as if it was something bad," she pointed out. Her eyes narrowed. "As if you suspect me to use whatever influence you think I have to hurt him."

"Haven't you done just that in the past, and repeatedly so?"

"Yes. But circumstances were different."

"How?"

The interrogation began to annoy her, Elijah or no Elijah. "I don't see how that's any of your business, and to be honest, I don't see the point to this entire conversation, either."

With a loud clang, the Original set down his glass; his gaze pierced her with an intensity she hadn't believed the levelheaded Elijah Mikaelson capable of. "Then let me enlighten you. My brother loves you. He loves you like I have never known him to love anyone, and when the most powerful creature on the planet develops feelings of such magnitude, there are consequences. To him, to those around him, to the woman he loves. Whether you like it or not, Miss Forbes, you have a responsibility, and the point of this conversation is to ascertain you will live up to said responsibility."

"Excuse me," Caroline retorted, "but whatever does or doesn't happen between me and Klaus is as much his responsibility as it is mine. Ever heard of gender equality?"

Your brother seems way ahead of you in that respect.

"You misunderstood." The Original rose and made his way to the liquor cabinet, returning with a sturdy crystal carafe. He refilled her glass, then his own, before he sat and brought the tips of his fingers together. "I am not speaking of your role within your relationship with my brother, and I am not insinuating that you are to change one iota of who you are or what you want. You always gave the impression of an honest, kind, and caring woman, which is why I am asking you to reconsider joining Niklaus in Paris - unless it is your express wish to be with him for the sake of his company. Not out of a sense of obligation, not out of curiosity, not out of any ulterior motives. Niklaus' heart has had much to endure over the centuries, and there is nothing he cannot overcome, but you have the power to break him beyond repair. Travel to Paris, Miss Forbes, but do it only if it is out of your genuine desire to see my brother."

Once more, her fingers were unsteady when she lifted her glass to her lips. "If you mistrust me this much, why do you keep pointing out my so-called power over him?"

"I do not mistrust you. All I want is to spare Niklaus unnecessary sorrow."

"So what you're saying is that if something develops between us, I can never leave him again because it would break his heart and he would start World War III as a consequence?" She eyed Elijah, disbelief all over her face. The guy was a gazillion years old, shouldn't he know that this was not how things worked?

His amused chuckle took her by surprise. "No, of course not. Should you decide to leave him at some point, he will probably have himself to thank for it." And the intense stare was back. "I am asking you not to go to Paris if you go for the wrong reasons. Once he sees you there, once he understands that you came to him... As consuming as his hatred and cruelty can be, his love has always been stronger. He suppressed it for longer than anyone cares to remember, and once he allows it to truly reach the surface, the realization that what he is given is not genuine will come with consequences I do not even want to consider. Consequences for him, not the rest of the world. That is what I mean when I speak of your responsibility."

Caroline examined his face for a long moment. Something shifted inside her heart, erasing all annoyance and creating space for recognition. "You love him. Even when you worked with us to put a stop to his schemes, you still loved him, didn't you?"

"With all my heart."

"Then what happens if he loses you?"

"I don't know," Elijah said truthfully. "We had our spats, we spent time apart, we even fought each other. But just as he never truly closed the door on me, I never closed it on him, and I believe his heart was not broken by any of our fallouts because he always knew that."

She rose, drink in hand, and walked to the glass doors that led out to a patio filled with chairs, tables, potted plants, and even a small fountain. It was funny, but she could picture Klaus in this house. It suited him. "I can't give you any guarantees, Elijah. I have no idea what's going to happen and how things will play out. But I can tell you this - I came here to see him. To find out if he can be as large in my life as he is in my head. Can you accept that?"

The proximity of Elijah's voice told her that he, too, had risen from the couch and stood right behind her. "If you give me your word that you will tell him at once should that not be the case, then yes."

"I give you my word."

"Caroline." She turned around at the unfamiliar address. He had only ever called her Miss Forbes before. "I do apologize if I upset you. It was not my intent at all. I am..."

"... just a little overprotective, I get that." She smiled, raising her glass. "Runs in the family, I guess."

"It does."

They drank, and Caroline wondered whether Klaus was at all aware of the eagle eye that watched over him. "What's he doing in Paris in the first place? Hunting down Amaury?"

Elijah grimaced. "That, and establishing order in the city. Mistrusting in the extreme, Amaury never named a deputy who could have taken over after he went to ground. For the past few months, Paris has been besieged by power struggles and the beginnings of full-fledged anarchy. Niklaus will not only need to smother all those attempts at rebellion, he also has to find and enthrone a new leader."

"What made you turn Amaury, Elijah? I mean, you must have seen him for who he was when you first met him."

"I did. But as ever so often with personalities like his, darkness is accompanied by fetching characteristics that may not outweigh, but balance it to an extent. Amaury possessed an innate grace and culture that was quite refreshing in a time of peacocks, would-be artists and insipid court flunkies. Even in his human days, he found himself at the epicenter of countless scandals. Intentionally or not, he was the center of attention wherever he went, a circumstance that, for once, allowed me and my siblings to go about our business with little disturbance. My decision to turn him, though, had nothing to do with any of that." His gaze rested on a bird that had landed on one of the potted plants, chirping away. "I was not in a good place at the time, Caroline. Tired of the continuous battles with my family and bored with life, I sought distraction. Amaury provided it in abundance. I viewed his reckless pursuit of trouble and public outrage, paired with his innocent features, as a permanent source of diversion. I turned him because I was bored out of my senses and wanted to see what would come of converting someone like him into an indestructible being. He surprised me, though - he initially became what I had imagined, yet a few decades later he outgrew his more libertine tendencies and morphed into a rather gifted ruler."

"That makes him no less odious."

"I suppose not." Elijah lifted his glass to her. "Which is why I shall accompany you to Paris. No worries," he added when she drew a breath to speak, "I will not stay. I will not even make my presence known to Niklaus. But I will find my brother more quickly than you could, and although Amaury has gone into hiding, I would prefer not to take risks where you are concerned. Once you are at Niklaus' side, you have all the protection you will ever require."

Her heart warmed at the thought, and whatever protest she had intended to voice was smothered in its crib. "Thanks, Elijah."

The oldest Mikaelson nodded. "He will not start World War III if you leave him," he said with a quiet smile, "but if Amaury puts another finger on you, I do not think the whole of Paris will stand a chance. And I am far too fond of the city to see my brother convert it into a thousand square miles of smoking ruins."

An audible crack accompanied the last of seven snapped necks. The young vampire's eyes were still open when he vacillated and finally dropped to the ground like a bag of wet cement.

This group of rebellious youngsters was the first and most vocal of those he had to rein in; subduing the biggest agitators served to send an unambiguous sign to the rest of the community and might spare him a few skirmishes. It was not that he shied away from battle, on the contrary, but he had no intention of staying in Paris for months until every last terror cell was under control.

His recent defeat still ate at him. Months of grueling fighting, scheming, and exposure to all varieties of witchcraft had resulted in Esther's and Mikael's incapacitation, yet his triumph had been bitter. He had rendered both of his parents hors de combat and locked them away where no-one but Elijah and himself would ever find them, but not only had he not yet unearthed a means to kill them in such a way that impeded them from ever returning, they had also succeeded in severing him from his line. The news had spread like wildfire throughout the supernatural community, causing an unparalleled stir. Klaus remained as near-invincible as he had always been; the disconnection from his line, however, was certain to spawn a newfound creativity in the perpetual attempts to send him to the happy hunting grounds. Whilst his worry for himself was barely worth mentioning, the defeat had dealt his ego a significant blow, and he certainly did not appreciate the unusual feeling of losing a major point in the ongoing war with his parents. Even less did he appreciate the knowledge that he had no-one but himself to blame.

Events had initially progressed according to plan. He and his siblings had been well-prepared, all pawns in place, the trap set. And then, just as he had Mikael cornered, his stepfather had pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Said rabbit's name had been Caroline. It mattered little that everyone, himself included, had seen the emptiness of Mikael's threats. What had mattered was that his stepfather took no more than one look at Klaus' face to understand the true magnitude of the pressure point Caroline represented. He had thus gone on to unleash the full force of his considerable manipulative tactics - and Klaus had lost his head. For no more than a moment, but the moment had sufficed. Esther's and Davina's joint spell had knocked him off his feet, rooted him to the ground... and nothing Elijah, Rebekah and the Salvatores had attempted could save him from the powerful, ancient spell. Whilst he had swiftly defeated both of his loving parents as soon as the magic dissipated, it had been too late. The damage had been done. Rage and humiliation had nearly got the better of him until, after hours of venting his wrath, something remotely resembling reason returned. What was done was done. Moping was a waste of time; he would handle the situation as he had taken on every challenge over the past thousand years. With determination and cunning.

His gaze shifted from the seven lifeless vampires in the cobbled backyard to the silhouettes of the old Quartier Latin, shadowy against the darkening sky. A ray of red light fought a hopeless battle against the insetting dusk just as the first stars began to sprinkle across the colorful firmament, bringing in their wake a rush of memories of his last sojourn in Paris. That day, too, had been filled with challenges, but unlike tonight, he had loved every minute of it. The remembrance of Caroline in his arms, filling his every sense with her overwhelming presence... She had needed him that day, truly needed him - as he had needed her ever since. What they had experienced together had forged their indisputable bond more strongly than their dalliance in Mystic Falls, and whilst he had been the one to help her return from the land of darkness, she had unwittingly helped him even more. While he had spent the day showing her Paris and explaining about its rich history, she had in fact shown him what he had believed himself incapable of - normal. Notwithstanding his ultimate goal of bringing her back, he had utterly enjoyed himself. The sights, the stroll down memory lane, the lighthearted banter, the more meaningful conversation, her scent permeating his system every step of the way - it had been sheer bliss. He had spoken to her of the reconciliation of her two natures, yet he had preached water while drinking wine. Few others embraced their non-human nature like he did, even more so since he had become a Hybrid, and he used his own fears and pain as an excuse to reduce his fight for his human side to a minimum. Unlike Caroline, he could not truly afford his humanity to prevail; nevertheless, the day with her had unveiled that even he could find ways to integrate it in his life - if he chose to. When around her, he wanted it with all his heart. He was not so certain about the rest of his time.

For one brief, sweet-and-spicy moment, he closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to find her. Not a day had gone by that had not seen her uber-present in his mind and soul; tonight, though, he felt her with almost frightening intensity. The tips of his fingers prickled with a sensation he had last felt six months ago, in this very city. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the mellow evening breeze that seemed to carry tiny clouds of her titillating fragrance; the backyard, the alley, the whole city of Paris around him seemed enriched with her sweet scent, growing stronger and stronger, making his heart ache and his mouth water...

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Annoyed at his own apprehension in the face of his haywire imagination, he had barely torn his eyes open when his heart stuttered... and died.

"Hello, Klaus."

Countless years of coming face to face with the unexpected kept his motions calm and his features steady as he turned around.

Caroline hovered on one of the tall pillars framing the entrance to the yard, her mouth quirking in a light smile. The fading pinkish light so typical for the Parisian dusk set her lovely face aglow in a way he had never seen before and that he longed to capture on canvas. Her eyes had turned into gleaming sapphires, and her hair... she had let it grow over the past months, allowing it to cascade all the way down to her waist in soft waves that shimmered like golden halos.

She did not have her light back. She was light.

By all the Gods, my love. You are the very essence of beauty.

The thought came like a gust of cold water and made him regain the composure that had faltered a little more with each second he drowned in her loveliness. He wanted her more than ever. Have her by his side each and every day, have her make him laugh, challenge him, annoy him. He wanted to wake up in the mornings to the sight of her radiant, relaxed face after spending his nights making love to her in every way he knew how. In every way she wanted him to.

What froze him inside was the sudden comprehension that he couldn't stand the thought of waiting hundreds of years until she finally recognized that she wanted him just as desperately. He couldn't bear to look at her and not call her his, have her give him a taste of what could be, only to take herself away again and leave him bleeding and aching for her. Watch her fall in and out of love with other men until she elected to come home to him. Once the moment arrived, he would be on his knees in a split second, but another day like the one they had shared six months ago, and he would no longer know how to let her go. Damn, he could not allow her more space inside his heart than she already occupied; he was able to more or less deal with her absence, but he could not bear more of her. All of her, he could handle for the remainder of eternity. Homeopathic doses of her, not so much.

"Caroline. If I remember correctly, my message said it was now safe for you to return to Mystic Falls. I do not recall any mention of Paris, especially with Amaury still at large."

The disappointment he read on her face at his unenthusiastic reception made him want to kick himself. But in addition to his need for self-preservation, seven vampires in various states of unconsciousness lay at his feet. He had cohorts more of them to deal with, he had Amaury to find...

And I missed you, Caroline. You have no idea how much.

Reining in her disappointment, she hopped down from the pillar and joined him in the yard, studying the scattered, lifeless bodies. "Conducting job interviews or just having a bad day?"

Klaus bit down an unbidden smile. "Vanquishing the workmen's revolution. Which I will need to continue doing in a few more moments, by which time I want you gone."

"Call me crazy, but I kind of imagined a warmer welcome," she deadpanned, her tone a tad strained which made him ball his hands into fists to keep the nuance of hurt from getting to him.

"I am somewhat tied up at present. Chocolate and flowers will have to wait, I'm afraid. What are you doing here?"

She lifted her chin. "The other option was to wait in your parlor in New Orleans for a couple of months. Patience isn't exactly my strong suit, so your brother agreed to accompany me here and... voilà."

"Voilà indeed." Out of the corner of his eye, he registered a motion. One of the vampires stirred, giving a disoriented groan as he tried to lift himself to his elbows. Without taking his gaze off Caroline, Klaus rushed to the man's side and unceremoniously re-broke his neck. "Where is that brother of mine?"

"He left about thirty seconds ago. He's headed back to New Orleans."

A word with Elijah was in order, it would seem. Whilst he could not deny his gratitude to his older sibling for delivering her safely, he would have appreciated a heads-up. But that, too, would have to wait.

"Love, I am thrilled to see you, but as you may have noticed, this is not a good time."

"You're not thrilled."

"I am merely busy.""

With a little scoff, she folded her arms over her chest. "Your parents went after you, you had drama after drama going on in New Orleans, and still you dropped everything to come here and find me. And now that you have it all under control, you're too busy to spare me a few minutes? I don't buy it, Klaus." She took a few steps towards him, her intensifying scent weakening his defenses. "You never lied to me before. What's going on? Is it because we were cut off from you?"

She had reached him now, standing right before him and looking up into his eyes with that expression of unpretentious openness she had given him no more than half a dozen times and that told him she truly wanted to understand him. All he had to do was reach out for her, pull her into his arms and let her heal him. Let her heal his longing for her, his wounded pride, his damaged soul, his loneliness. For since she had walked away from him at Charles de Gaulle, he had felt more lonely than ever.

"Caroline, I have work to do here. So unless you wish to help me snap a few more necks, I suggest you return home. Amaury is out there somewhere, and I believe we both know what will happen if he gets hold of you."

"Yes. But right now, I don't really give a damn. Right now, I want you to tell me the truth. I think I deserve it."

"And why is that?"

Her eyes were big and round when she swallowed. "Because you're still in love with me. And as long as you are, you'll always owe me the truth."

He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on suppressing the sweet, strong electric shock. When he reopened them, his face was no longer guarded, just as his voice had an audible crack to it.

"Very well. The truth, then." He reached into his jacket, produced his keys and tossed them to her. "Rue de l'Abreuvoir number three, top floor. Go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, and watch your back. Wait for me there."

Another two vampires stirred. Caroline did not. She studied him for a long moment, passing his keys from one hand to the other. When she finally spoke, a gentle smile graced her features; her voice was low and pearly.

"Yeah. I'm scared, too."

Before he could grope his heart, she was gone.

Stop whining, you ninny. Did you really think he'd drop to his knees and shed a tear at the sight of you?

Yeah. Kind of.

His whole reaction had been a far cry from what Caroline expected. But so was his place.

The apartment was located on the third floor of a whitewashed, slanted house covered in picturesque layers of ivy and vines. A minute bed and breakfast painted entirely in pink sat to its right, a half-timbered house to its left. All three buildings were hidden away in the very center of Montmartre, and she remembered having walked along this very alley shortly after first arriving in Paris. How different it looked with her emotions back in full swing!

Every step of the ancient staircase inside number three creaked and sighed as soon as her foot touched it. She heard human voices from the bed and breakfast behind the thin outer walls, but no sounds emerged from behind the numerous wooden doors whose petrol blue paint had begun to chip off at least fifty years ago. Her lips twitched when the fragile handrail swayed under her hand, making her wonder whether it would collapse as soon as she looked at it for one second too many.

When she turned the key in the rusty lock and opened the single door on the top floor, her eyes widened with surprise.

She stood in the middle of a living room crammed with stuff from all over the world. African masks adorned the walls in a strange but somehow perfect harmony with a half dozen paintings. They weren't his, that much she recognized, but other than that, she had seen none of them before. Her first guess was that these must be abstract landscapes, only there was no way she could be sure. The works were hypnotic in their own right, albeit not in a happy or peaceful way. On the one wall not covered in masks or artworks, a massive bookshelf held hundreds of tomes of all sizes and colors; what did not fit into the shelf had been piled up on coffee tables, empty vases and the thick rug next to a weathered leather club sofa. A narrow door framed by two iron-wrought lanterns led to something only a very kind soul would call a balcony, and a door to her right, left ajar, allowed a glimpse into a small bedroom. The bed was unmade, its matte grey satin covers rumpled and all over the place. For some reason, the sight of this disarrayed bed sent a series of shivers through her. Images of Klaus invaded her mind, the satin sheet low on his hips, his hair tousled, a sleepy smile on his face. Her heart clenched uncomfortably when she realized that right here, right now, her only wish was to see that. See Klaus cuddled up in his bed, carefree and relaxed. Yet his earlier reaction had made it crystal clear that things weren't going to be quite so easy, and something told her that having their upcoming discussion in this unexpected, intimate little apartment would not make it easier on either of them. Every square inch of the place seemed to transcend his presence, or rather, the presence of a side of him not many knew. The side she had long since fallen for, way before they had become cautious friends. Way before he had rocked her world with that passionate, tender and shattering lovemaking in the woods. And way before he had brought her back from a place she would never have left without his help.

It had taken her almost three years, a painful return from her excursion into the realm of darkness, and an involuntary exile to understand and, above all, accept her feelings. And now that she had, she had come to get what was hers.

She had come to claim the one man who always put her first. And claim him she would. However long it took.

Half an hour after Caroline had fallen in love with Klaus' secluded apartment, he climbed the stairs to his pad at human speed. His business had been concluded a mere ten minutes after her departure, but he had needed to clear his head before facing her. He had needed to muster up the courage and determination to send her away - even when all of his insides rebelled against the idea. Ever since first meeting her, his inexplicable tendency to put her ahead of everything else had baffled and secretly delighted him, yet this once, he needed to think of himself first.

His heart was beating in his throat like that of a human adolescent on his way to his first ever rendezvous. Only that this was not a lovers' tryst. It was a goodbye.

And still he couldn't wait to feast his eyes on her, drink in her light, her beauty, enjoy her sass... all those little things that made her who she was and that he would come to miss more than ever. After she had left for his Montmartre apartment, it had occurred to him that it was a mistake to meet her at his own, personal haven. Never again would he be able to set foot in there without seeing where she had stood, what she had touched - and if he was very unlucky, her scent would linger within the walls for weeks. Why hadn't he told her to wait for him at a less compromising location? The answer was simple. The irrevocably smitten part of him wanted her to see the one place that was completely his own, his little den of what was left of his human self. It was a nonsensical wish in light of how they would go their separate ways for the foreseeable future.

Klaus exhaled and pushed the door open. And once more, his mind went blank.

Caroline sat on his rickety metal bar stool which she had dragged to the balcony, her back leaning into the door frame, her head resting against the open door. The faint outside light illuminated her face and hair as her silvery voice pearled into the soft, scented air. His apartment had been sound-proofed by a witch decades ago, which was why he hadn't heard her before.

She was singing.

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.

No, I regret nothing.

He found himself leaning against the door as he listened to the old song by Édith Piaf, to the lyrics he had heard a hundred times. Eyes closed, lips parted, he didn't dare to breathe for fear of missing a tone. His heart skipped a beat when the last few words left her lips.

Non, rien de rien

Non, je ne regrette rien

Car ma vie, car mes joies

Aujourd'hui, ça commence avec toi.

No, nothing of nothing

No, I regret nothing

Because my life, because my joys

Today, they begin with you.

The last note lingered in the air, reverberating like tiny silver bells. Klaus felt the echo of her singing voice in his every cell, wishing she would just carry on until she could think of no more songs to perform, then start all over. He opened his eyes with great reluctance, knowing that she must have heard him come in. She had turned around and was looking at him, her face charmingly flushed.

"Hi."

Stepping into the room, he closed the door behind him. Whatever else was about to happen, this he had to say. "That was lovely, Caroline. Very lovely."

Her smile was a little shy. "I have to work on my accent."

"Yes," he agreed, unable not to return her smile, "you do. Nevertheless, I have heard this song a thousand times. It has... never touched me before today."

"Really?"

"You asked for the truth. It agrees with your voice to perfection. When did you learn the lyrics?"

"They play it basically everywhere. I guess I picked it up and the words just stuck with me." She rose from the stool and came across the room, giving him the first opportunity to appraise her. Clad in black high heels, a black pencil skirt and a burgundy silk blouse with a large ribbon, she looked almost French - but more importantly, she looked every inch the woman he loved and whose mere sight aroused the hell out of him. She moved naturally, as if she had lived in his little sanctum for years. It tugged at him in an unfamiliar way. "It's strange, you know? I would never have expected you to own a place like this. So tiny and cozy. So human. I was figuring something likely to appear in Home & Garden."

"I have another apartment over at Avenue Foch, about ten times the size of this one. Would you prefer to speak there?"

"That's not what I meant, Klaus. I just didn't expect this - and how well it suits you. Do you ever paint here?"

He pointed at a frail spiral staircase in the corner next to the main door. "I have an atelier upstairs on the roof terrace, but I have not been here in a while."

"Show me?"

Good grief, he was tempted. Take her to his studio, show her the works he had not touched in decades, sit on the terrace with a chilled bottle of champagne... make love to her under the stars. He couldn't recall the last time he had wanted something this badly.

Strength, Niklaus. You'll never do what you need to do if you take her upstairs now.

"Please do not take this personally, love, but I would much prefer to get this over with and have you return to Mystic Falls sooner rather than later."

"Get what over with?" she demanded, her tone considerably cooler.

Klaus gestured at the couch. "Let's sit down, shall we?"

"I'd rather stand, thank you."

"Very well." He focused his gaze on his print of Odd Nerdrum's Citadellet painting for a moment, using the calm sea depiction to steady himself. "Caroline, I am more than glad that you chose to make the right decision as regards your humanity. These past months were difficult for you to handle, and judging by what I see before me now, you did so beautifully. Not that I ever entertained any doubts in that respect. I also have to give you credit for staying away from Europe and the U.S. as I asked you to. Until today, that is." Her lips twitched, albeit only for a second. "So you want the truth?"

"Yes."

"Fine." He snatched a bottle of cognac from the sideboard and held it out her, shrugging when she shook her head. His entire system seemed to ache, hence every means that helped him take the edge off the searing agony was more than welcome. He uncorked the bottle and took a large swig straight from it. The lie he was about to tell made the vintage liquor taste beyond bitter. "The truth, love, is that I am too busy to occupy myself with your drama right now. Why don't you go home, return to college and take up your life where you left it off?" The pain-filled incredulity on her face made him grip the bottle tighter and chug down an even larger helping. "Do not look at me like that. You have a life to live, and with the exception of turning it back off, you are free to choose any life that pleases you. So why do you not do us both a favor and let me carry on with mine?"

Caroline opened her mouth, about to say something - about to shout, as it seemed - when the deeply hurt expression in her eyes faded into a calculating mien. She examined him with probing eyes before she pursed her lips.

"You're lying. Again. Tell me the truth, Klaus."

"I just did."

"Tell me the truth."

Emotions began to bubble up inside him like a string of geysers. "Playing games with me, are you? They won't work, love. I told you I am busy, and that's all there is to it."

Her mirthless chuckle resounded throughout his living room. "Oh, that's all? Coming to save me from myself, not being able to picture me if I'm not okay, setting everything else aside for me, planning on being my last love - all of that is nothing? Tell me the truth, Klaus!"

"The truth?" he exploded. "The fucking truth? You don't want to hear the truth, you never did! And you could not bear to hear it now, so let it go!"

"What happened to your eternal trust in my strength? What happened to everything you said to me?" Her eyes sparkled with temper, yet her voice was barely audible.

Klaus shook his head in acute despair as all dams broke inside him in a peculiar reflection of her breakdown at the bell tower. "Caroline, has it ever occurred to you that I can't do this anymore? That even the Big Bad Hybrid reaches his limits at some point? Love, your emotions were all over the place when I found you six months ago. You were all over the place. But I was not! That day meant more to me than you could ever dream of understanding. You slept in my arms, you entrusted me with your pain... and throughout all of that, you shed all falsehood. You showed me what I wanted more than anything. Where it took you months to recover from your grief and the loss of your humanity, I have still not recovered from you to this day. And the more I see of you, the more time I spend in the presence of my heart's desire, the more impossible it becomes to let go. Thus I send you away." She looked positively thunderstruck, but he did not offer her a chance to speak. "I will always be there should you have need of me. But unless that is the case, I wish not to see you."

"So that's what you meant by however long it takes?" she asked quietly, her voice quivering. "If there was one thing I never thought you were, it was fickle. Looks like I have to adjust my perception."

He closed his eyes. All of a sudden, he found himself beyond pride and pretense. "No, my love, I did not change my mind. I never will. But bloody hell, Caroline, do you think I can just walk away from you every time you decide to show up? That I can just return to business as usual after having you touch me like you do - and I'm not merely speaking of your hands on me?"

"Yes, damn it!" she exclaimed. "You keep telling me how I can always handle everything that is thrown my way, and now you're saying that Klaus Mikaelson of all people can't do what I can do? You're saying that you're so scared of your own feelings that you don't want to see me anymore unless my life is in danger? Well, what happens if I want to see you, like I do now?"

"I have always bowed to your wishes, Caroline, and in hindsight, most of the decisions I made with you in mind were good and right. I still believe there will be a time and place for us, but until that time comes, I choose not to go through dozens of ups and downs."

That earned him a scoff. "Then how are we ever supposed to know whether the time is right?"

He gave her a bittersweet smile. "Very easy. The right time is when you come to me on your own account and..."

"Hello? Have you seen anyone drag me here?"

"I wasn't finished," he retorted, more harshly than intended. With every second he spent in her company, he lost more of his focus, forgot more about all those reasons that made him want to send her away. "The right time will be when you come to me and know what you want beyond the shadow of a doubt."

Caroline tossed him a condescending glance. "And you claim to be a thousand years old? One would think that you know a thing or two about human nature. Klaus, there'll always be doubts. They will only go away with time - and by forgetting about one's fears and just jumping into the pool!"

"I do not have doubts where my feelings for you are concerned," he snapped. "How about that?"

"Oh, really? You're so confident that you want to kick me out and not see me again until I get down on one knee and ask for your hand in marriage!"

"All I want is to avoid these constant emotional typhoons!"

"Well, learn to live with them, because that's how it's going to be! Don't you think I had those, too? From day one?"

A burst of fires coursed through him, but he was too riled up to make sense of what she was truly saying. His voice lashed out like a whip. "From day one? You must still believe me to be the gullible fool who used to fall for your charades."

She took a hesitant step towards him, her face softening. "Klaus, we went past that a long time ago. I understand that you're frightened." Her hand moved, yet she didn't reach for him. "Do you want to know why I came?"

There was a little less heat in his tone when he said, "Can we please not make this more painful than absolutely necessary?"

Caroline bit her lip, her eyes wide and filled with something he couldn't quite identify. "You don't want to know? You want me to leave without asking me what I'm doing here?"

No, fuck it!

He had lied many times in his very long life, for countless reasons. No lie that had ever left his lips cost him what this one did. "Yes, Caroline. I want you to leave. I don't want to know why you came. I'm sorry, but this once, I need to think of myself."

They stood before each other, no more than a couple of feet apart, staring into one another's eyes, transfixed. Hypnotized with fear, apprehension, pain. When her eyes began to shimmer, Klaus truly did feel like the villain he had become such a long time ago. But before a tear fell, she straightened and broke the silent duel of gazes.

"Okay. Let me know when you find your guts."

With that, she stalked past him, brushing his arm in the process, and slammed the door shut behind her.

The silence was all-consuming. Everything had lost its sound. The night, his apartment, her steps, his own thoughts... he heard nothing. He was in a vacuum. For seconds, he remained stock-still, staring into the void. Until he realized what he had done.

He had sent Caroline away.

He had not even listened to her.

He had listened to his fears instead.

He had, for the first time, not put her ahead of everything else.

He was an idiot.

A fucking asshole.

Klaus was out of the door and down the stairs before he even knew he had begun running. Panic flashed through him when he looked left and right, scanning the alley. He would never find her if she had vamped off straight from his doorstep... no, there she was! A few dozen yards further down, he spotted the golden aureole of her hair. She was walking at human pace, head bent, not paying any attention to her surroundings. At full Original speed, Klaus raced ahead, coming to a halt in front of her.

"Caroline, I am sorry."

"Thanks." She walked on past him without giving him a single glance.

"You were right," he muttered, low enough so only she could hear.

"That's good to know." She marched on.

"I'm a coward." She halted mid-step, although she didn't turn around while she waited for him to go on. "Caroline," he said softly, remaining where he was, "I have never shied away from anything. Wars, witch attacks, family battles... none of it ever truly frightened me. My family caused me as much pain as I caused them, it has become second nature to all of us after so many centuries; what my parents do, what Finn does, no longer hurts me. Elijah, Rebekah and Kol still manage to cause me grief, but while unpleasant, I can move on from it, as can they. For a thousand years, I lived with pain and uncertainty I knew how to handle. Then you crossed my path, sending me into unknown degrees of turmoil. It was not the pain of rejection - well, on a side note, you did bruise my ego to an alarming extent. No, what sears me time and again is how you never stopped seeing something in me that no-one but my siblings knew was once there. And how I do not seem to stop discovering ever new facets to you, an adventure I will never tire of. You are yourself with me as I am more of myself with you than I have been in centuries. I want more of that, my love, more of you, and I want it now. Not in fifty years, not in a hundred. I told you I would give you all the time in the world, and I will stand true to my word, but... Gods, Caroline, I know who I am, I know who you are, and you would be a fool to grant me a chance. But I can't stop myself from hoping, and that hope soars whenever I am with you. I also can't stop myself from fearing just how much more indispensable you will become to me - and how that can expose you to risk." His voice lowered to a strangled whisper. "But hell, I don't want you to go."

In a motion so slow it seemed to take forever, she turned around. Her voice trembled ever so slightly.

"One minute you want me, only to push me away in the next. And you complain about roller coaster rides?"

He gave her a cautious smile. "With the remarkable exception of that day in the woods, you never came close to accepting my feelings for you. It was safe for me to pursue you, for the simple reason that I knew how you would respond. Not so today. Today, I quite simply do not know what to expect from you, and that makes me nervous." Exhaling, he crossed the distance, relieved that she did not back away. "Caroline, why have you come?"

She was struggling with the desire to tell him to go jump in the lake, it showed plain on her face. But she was also no longer the bundle of nerves and uproar she had been immediately after her humanity returned, just as she no longer was the charmingly overwrought teenager he had first met. He had always seen her immense potential behind the keyed-up facade, and he harbored not a second of a doubt that those past six months she had spent on her own had made her take one more step towards that potential; he had watched it unfold in bits and pieces during their encounters in Mystic Falls, yet he had always been certain that she needed time to herself, away from her home and friends, to truly begin to discover and develop herself. And the calm, level way in which she uttered her next words gave proof of how she had grown - perhaps more than he ever would.

"I think I understand what you're saying, about how it was safe for you to go after me as long as I kept rejecting you. You know, as long as you kept attacking my friends, as long as we fought you, it was safe for me to play bait - and to tell myself that all this flirting, all this... eye sex, for lack of a better word, was nothing but an act. When the fighting came to an end, when you became some sort of ally, I was suddenly more scared of you than ever before." She paused, taking a deep breath. "There's something I never told you."

With a frown, he tilted his head to one side. "What is it?"

"You remember how Silas used to appear to some as a person they had a deep connection to? As the one truly able to torment us?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "As if I could ever forget. I ended up with a pair of shears in my back because of that bastard."

"Well," she said haltingly, "he appeared to me, too. He appeared to me as... you."

His lips parted in surprise. "What happened? What did he say to you?"

She told him all about how Silas had posed as Klaus, claiming to say goodbye before moving to New Orleans. "He asked me to come with him."

"Not a clever move," Klaus chuckled without genuine joy, trying to process this new piece of information. "He should have anticipated your answer."

"I didn't really give him one."

A flash of heat raced through him, followed by another one. "Are you saying you... would have considered, had the real me seriously asked you that question?"

Shaking her head, she rubbed her hands together, a gesture that told him how nervous she truly was. "Not at the time. But Silas still saw through me. He knew I was afraid of my feelings, and of how hard I fought not to give in to my attraction to you. He didn't fail to tell me so."

His mind and heart were spinning; he wasn't sure whether to thank Silas or find a means to break his immortal bones until none were left. "So why have you come to see me, Caroline?"

She, too, seemed to shake off a daze. Her eyes cleared from the clouds of memories as she returned to the present, and her face was now as naked and vulnerable as he felt. "I came to tell you that I'll return to college in the fall."

"Good." He wrestled down the wave of disappointment. What had he expected? A love declaration? "Do me a favor, though. Tell me of any vampires, witches or werewolves you encounter in Whitmore, and take some of my blood with you as a precaution."

"No need."

"You know how greatly I appreciate that stubborn head of yours, but in this case, there will be no discussion. You will..."

"I'm not returning to Whitmore," she interrupted, and this time, he could almost feel her anxiety in his own system. "I've enrolled at Tulane."

The world stopped and listened. To his thundering pulse, his screaming thoughts, his faltering heartbeat. To this one moment of perfection. "Do you know what you're saying?" he breathed, incapable of raising his voice above a whisper. "Caroline, do you understand what you just said?"

A wide smile split her face, complemented by a sparkle in her eyes. "I do. But you seem a bit slow today." She sobered, poking a finger at his chest. "Just to make one thing clear, Klaus - I'm not moving in with you. I want my own place."

"I object," he said mechanically, as yet unable to grasp what was happening. "Strenuously."

"Good for you," she giggled - and it was that nervous giggle, that most Caroline of sounds that made him understand this was real. That she was serious. In a blur, he had her face cradled in his hands, staring down at her, feeling her pulse thrumming through her veins at the same neckbreaking speed as his own.

"Tell me why," he demanded. "I need to know why."

Her arms sneaked around his waist. She didn't pull him closer, she merely held him in a possessive, confident embrace. "You kick my ass when it needs kicking. You believe in me whenever I don't. You saw who I was before you got to know me. You take me as I am, neuroses and drama included." She returned his gaze with no less intensity. "And even when you don't put me first, you still do. I'm only a couple of decades old, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any better than that. Oh, and let's not forget that being the slut you are makes you the single most incredible lay of the decade."

It was all he could do to keep himself from laughing out loud. He had never felt like this - bursting from sheer, undiluted happiness, feeling at once silly and wise, strong and weak, humble and proud. And he was far too full of his heart to voice any of those gargantuan emotions. So he opted for the lighthearted. "I am afraid that you have not enjoyed enough of my talents to forge an educated opinion of them."

To his surprise, she didn't giggle. Instead, she did gather him close and let her hands sneak under the hem of his shirt, making them both close their eyes at the sensation of skin on heated skin. "Then why don't you correct that oversight?"

His eyes remained closed as he bent his head. When his lips touched hers, so soft, warm and eager for his kiss, he realized that he stood on the verge of true beginnings for the first time since his mother had turned him. A chance, not only for them, but for him. A chance to make a life of his messed-up eternity. But then there were no more thoughts. Caroline kissed him with searing passion, yet something about the touch of her lips and tongue had changed. Her kiss was true, pure, filled with every last piece of her soul, bringing his entire system to its knees. This was not the kiss of a woman in lust, although her growing arousal nearly drove him mad. No, this was something else.

It was the kiss of a woman whose heart had found its home.

They stood in the midst of the narrow alley, oblivious to everything but the wonder of each other, lips moving in wild abandon, tongues playing a timeless, loving game. Little by little, the heat between them rose to a fever pitch. Hands moved in frantic need, moans filled the sizzling air in wordless demands for more, for everything. Klaus had hardened to the point of explosion, spurred on by her sinuous movements and her ardent reaction to his every touch, but it was only when she hitched one leg around his hip, making her skirt slide up her thighs that he realized she would let him take her right here on the street - and that he wanted to. Her moaned plea almost made him.

"Touch me. I want your hands on me."

In a supersonic motion, he flashed them into a dark corner next to the door to his house. They were still in public, but passersby would need to look very closely to see what was going on. "Where, Caroline? Where do you want my hands?"

Her eyes fluttered open, and his breath caught at the naked desire in them. He would need to move this inside, but he wanted a little more of her helpless need before she made him lose his mind. "I don't care. Just touch me!"

Before she even noticed, he had undone the top three bottoms of her silk blouse, shoving the fabric off her shoulders and drinking in the sight of her soft, delicate breasts underneath the black lace bra she was wearing. He brought his index finger to her mouth, tracing her lower lip and suppressing a moan of his own when the tip of her tongue slithered around it in a quick, provoking lick. With a mischievous smile, he ran his moistened finger down her neck, her cleavage... until it grazed the line of her bra. "Is this where you want my hands, then?" She could only nod, her eyes locked with his. The tip of his finger slid underneath her bra, tenderly caressing the silken skin. "But we're in public, my love," he whispered with a low chuckle, "do you truly want me to touch you like this in public?"

"Don't... ah," she groaned when his finger playfully grazed her hardened nipple, "don't play cool. You want this as much as I do!"

"I am the furthest thing from cool... and believe me that I want to touch every inch of you more desperately than you could ever know." With that, he slipped the black strap from her shoulder. As soon as her breast was fully exposed, he cupped it with a deep, throaty moan, echoed by hers. His fingers played an intricate game on her skin, kneading and stroking and teasing; he nearly dissolved from pleasure when she shifted to push her breast more firmly into his hand.

"Touch me," she whispered, her voice a hoarse rasp, "touch me, Klaus!"

It was more than he could take. "If you don't stop that, I'll fuck you deaf, dumb and blind right here."

"Touch me," she repeated - right before her hand found his crotch.

They moaned in unison when she began to stroke him, her fingers bold and determined, her breathing as labored as his own as they moved in perfect harmony. Their hands followed the same rhythm, a rhythm that had been made for them alone, and their eyes had already succumbed to the wild, burning love their bodies ached to make.

All of a sudden, when Klaus was almost ready to give in to their crazed desire and fuck the hell out of her against the wall, Caroline's face was caught in a broad ray of moonlight.

She was pearls. She was silver and and splendor and lust, her skin shimmering, her eyes shining, her lips parted in ecstasy.

My Gods.

"Caroline," he whispered, slowing his motions, caressing her naked breast with no more than the tips of his fingers now, "you have always been unbearably lovely, but right now, your beauty all but breaks me."

Her face lit up with a smile that pierced his heart like an arrow. "Don't let it. It's yours."

"I don't think I heard you correctly."

"I said," she murmured with a long, soft kiss to his neck, "it is yours. As am I."

Klaus stood frozen, his incredulous eyes feasting on the work of art in front of him as his soul feasted on her words. Very slowly, he replaced her bra strap and blouse, took both of her hands in his and touched each of her fingers in soft, lingering kisses, briefly closing his eyes when he felt her tremble.

"Will you allow me to do something I have yearned to do ever since I first laid eyes on you?"

"Apart from killing Tyler, I can't imagine what that could be."

They both chuckled, but the passion did not leave their eyes. "Something strictly between you and me. Do you trust me?"

His heart inflated when she did not hesitate.

"Yes."

If Caroline thought her nervousness couldn't get any worse, she had been sadly mistaken.

She stood in the center of Klaus' atelier, surrounded by easels, canvases and dozens of paintings in various states of completion, taking in every detail of the room until he returned, a palette and a number of brushes in hand. Placing them on a small working table next to a large, empty canvas, he did a quick inventory of what he needed before coming to her. His eyes softened when he sensed her distress.

"Between you and me, my love. No eyes but mine will ever see this."

With a deep breath, she nodded. Her fingers found the top button of her blouse when he shook his head and gently removed her hands. "Let me." His movements were slow but nimble as he undid button by button, letting the tips of his fingers glide over her skin in the process, sending delicious sparks down her spine. The soft fabric gave a quiet whisper when he slid it off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Seconds later, his hands found her back in caresses as tender as the light, open-mouthed kisses he breathed onto each of her shoulders. Caroline's head dropped back, her lips parted. The brief moment of awkwardness at what was going to happen had entirely vanished, even more thoroughly so when she felt her bra disappear - and his mouth on the tip of her breast. She gave a soft moan at the incomparable sensation of his tongue swishing over her nipple... then over the other...

"More," she murmured when his mouth left her.

"All you want," he said with a kiss to her throat, "later."

His hands skimmed down her sides, pausing every now and then to explore more of her skin, until he finally reached the hem of her skirt. He traced a finger along the garment, scorching the skin of her waist, back and belly in the process. Before she knew it, her skirt was gone - and she heard him inhale sharply. With a little smug smile, she took in the fire in his eyes as they followed the outlines of her black garter, lace stockings, and thong.

"Didn't think I'd come here to seduce you and not haul out the big guns, did you?"

"Caroline, if you want to seduce me, all you need to do is show up." She giggled at that, making him give her a smug grin of his own. "Not that I don't appreciate the effort."

"I can't seem to seduce you right now," she complained playfully, "at least I don't see you tear off your clothes and assault me. Not that I'm not complaining," she added. If there was one thing she had always liked about the two of them together, it was that nothing ever seemed out of place. Seduction, banter, deep conversation, arguments - no matter how quickly the mood between them changed, they were on par. Something he proved a second later when he ran a hand down her thigh to the first clip of her garter, bringing her back from teasing to desire in less than the blink of an eye.

"You seduce me with your every look."

Click.

"With every time you shiver under my touch."

Click.

"With your every smile."

Click.

"With the way I make you moan."

Click.

"With the way the mere sound of your voice arouses me beyond reason."

Click.

"With your hands, your mouth, your warmth... with how unbelievably wet you are for me."

She hadn't seen him move - but oh, did she feel him! He was on his knees before her, and Caroline no longer noticed how he removed her garter and tossed it into a corner. She didn't feel his hands rolling her stockings down her legs and take off her shoes. All she felt were his lips tracing the outline of her thong, his tongue playing with the flimsy material, slipping underneath it every now and then... and without a warning, his hands slid over her ass, to her hips, and pulled up the thong. It stretched against her in a hard, exciting friction, almost distracting her from his wicked mouth. Almost. For when his tongue flicked once against the tight fabric right over her clit, she could do nothing but press her mouth into a thin line and bite down the outcry that threatened to escape.

"Do not hold back, my love. Never hold back." Before she had recuperated from the quick burst of ecstasy, he had rid her of her thong and rose to take a step back, his eyes roaming over every inch of her naked body. Reaching out, he took a thick strand of her long hair and draped it over her breast, running his hand through the tresses and caressing them with featherlight touches. "I love your hair."

"You're going to stop now to paint me? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

For one moment, she felt inclined to protest, but all of a sudden, an idea formed in her head, one that made her suppress a vicious grin at the prominent bulge in his pants. "Okay," she said pleasantly, casting a nonchalant glance around the glass-walled atelier. "Where do you want me?"

"I think it is more than obvious that I want you in the midst of the Yankee Stadium in broad daylight," he teased, flashing his dimples. "But for now, I would like you on that chaise underneath the mirror." Caroline obliged, reclining on the indicated chaise that was fully covered by a white sheet. After some consideration, Klaus positioned her on her back, her knees slightly bent forward and her torso backward so that her upper body faced away from him but was visible in the gold-framed mirror. Producing another white sheet, he draped it artfully low on her hips, revealing no more than a hint of her. One arm rested above her head, the other was hidden behind her back. Finally, he placed a black fan on the chaise before her naked body. Caroline had no idea what it looked like, but it felt erotic, even more so when Klaus pressed a lingering, deep, wet kiss on her exposed neck.

"Do not move."

"Aren't you going to turn on the lights?"

"No. You're far too lovely in the moonlight." Their eyes met in the mirror when he took his place behind the canvas. "Thank you for giving me this."

Her heart melted at the wonder in his voice, and for a little while, she even forgot about her plan, watching him work, hearing the brush on the canvas, delighting in seeing him bite his lips whenever his eyes rested on her. She had never expected this to be such an intimate experience, assuming she would be bored out of her senses just lying there and doing nothing, but she wasn't doing nothing. She was communicating with Klaus every step of the way. His eyes talked in the most vivid of languages, and her body responded. She felt his gaze on her skin like an actual touch, and whenever his brushes whispered over the canvas, it was as if his mouth traveled over her body. To her utter amazement, she sensed how her arousal heightened with every moment she lay at his mercy... which was when she finally recalled her earlier idea.

"That day in the woods," she said in a low voice, keeping her eyes fixed on his face, "what you did to me after that first round..."

His brow shot upwards; his lips twitched. "Yes?"

"Did you know that you made me come twice that time?"

Klaus bit his lip a little more roughly than before, making her stifle a snicker.

You're a genius, Caroline Forbes. He doesn't stand a chance.

"I do not wish to flatter myself," he muttered, "but yes, I did know."

"But what you probably didn't know is that..." Oh God, I can't say this, can I? "That every time I touched myself since then, I thought of that."

With a subdued clatter, the brush dropped to the floor. Before his eyes returned to hers, Caroline gave her reflection in the mirror a triumphant grin. "You did?" he demanded, staring at the canvas and avoiding her eyes in an attempt to retain his focus. Her tone lowered to barely more than a whisper, partly because she was a little embarrassed at having to put things into words, and partly because the memories were as vivid today as they had been two years ago.

"I thought of you... how you made me almost pass out with no more than your tongue... and I whenever I came, I came with your name on my lips." He exhaled, gripping the brush more firmly. "There were days when I was sitting in class at Whitmore, and all of a sudden, I felt you on me... in me... I saw visions of you taking me on my desk... in my bed... in the hall..."

A low moan escaped him. As he put the brush and palette aside, his piercing stare found her. "I know what you are doing, my love."

"Is it working?"

For a brief instant, the teasing spark was back in his eyes. "I am not sure. After all, this is going to become my masterpiece, and I need to set my priorities."

Caroline threw off the sheet and sat up, her feet dangling from the high chaise. "Then how about this to help you decide?" She swallowed. "I want you, Klaus. All of you. And I want you now."

She had no idea how he had managed to shed his clothes before reaching her, but he was as stark naked as she when he sank to his knees once more and pulled her forward until she sat precariously on the edge. The vicious little Klaus smile played around his lips when he straightened and cupped her breasts. The first swish of his tongue was strong and hard, followed by a tender, open-mouthed kiss. "Well, then, my love - this first time now, I will make you come fast and hard. And the time after that, you will beg me for release. And after that, I might, I just might, take mercy on you..." He gripped her neck and pulled her head towards him, his lips brushing her earlobe. "... and fuck you. So slowly that you will try to force me to take you harder and deeper. And who knows... maybe I'll let you. Sound like a deal?"

Before she could even think of a response, he parted her legs. "Lean back, but don't lie down." Caroline obeyed, supporting herself on her hands while never taking her eyes off him. "Spread them further. Yes, like that. Good Gods, my love, you're..." Without a warning, his tongue circled her clit. Once, twice, half a dozen times. He seemed to revel in her outcries almost as much as she did in the reckless play of his masterful tongue. Her arms were shaking badly, as were her thighs, and the pleasure spreading from her throbbing clit all throughout her body was almost excruciating.

"Yes!"

She hadn't heard herself groan the word when his tongue slid into her. Klaus' moans against her burning flesh were no less primal, melting with the sounds that seemed to come straight from the bottom of her soul. His mouth was all over her, devouring her, making love to her, fucking her. Caroline wanted to sob with sheer painful ecstasy, wishing she could spread her legs further, wanting him to go on for centuries and at the same time desperate for her release. Which was the precise moment his tongue finally found her clit.

"My God!"

She climaxed with a force that frightened her a little - but it was all forgotten when Klaus retreated from her and with the speed of sound, pressed her legs together, not allowing her to move. Caroline tore her eyes open, confused for a split second... and then she felt it. Her orgasm mounted with every moment it lasted, enforced by her tightly closed legs and her inability to move. In acute need, she slung her arms around Klaus' neck, holding on for dear life as her climax washed over her, leaving her breathless, disoriented, and exhausted.

"You're evil," she panted when she was sure she could breathe again. "Pure evil."

"Oh, you truly have no idea," he chuckled. Caroline found no time to reciprocate as she felt herself lifted from the chaise, only to find him underneath her... his head between her legs.

"I can't... ah... give me a minute... I... Klaus, please... oh, damn... stop! I said... Just. Don't. Stop!"

He took his time. His licks were languid, long, deep, avoiding her hypersensitive clit but taking thorough care of her. His hands moved over her thighs, her ass... and his little sounds of pleasure nearly drove her out of her head. It was absolute heaven. With something between a moan and a sob, she gave herself over to him, half-expecting her next climax to assault her, but Klaus was having none of that. Whenever she began to build up to it, he found a different way of pleasuring her, bringing her back from the edge and at the same time, never allowing her burning arousal to lessen.

The time after that, you will beg me for release.

His words echoed through some distant region of her mind. He wanted to play? Very well. Play she would. When another shudder shook her, she began to let her hands glide over his strong, wiry body, sending them south without ever losing contact with his heated skin. It was soft and lovely, and... ah... this cursed tongue... focus, Caroline... and then her hand tenderly ran along the length of his cock. She vaguely remembered being taken aback by its unexpected size when she had first laid eyes on it, but the moment had been short-lived. Right now, all she felt was the nagging desire to give what she was taking. Bending down, she suppressed another tremor and let her tongue circle the head of his glorious, rock-hard length. And was richly rewarded.

Klaus gave a deep, feral groan. The play of his tongue roughened in harmony with her own attack, just as his grip on her tightened, his fingers digging into her hips. Her tongue swiveled and flicked over every inch of him, savoring, tasting... loving. Klaus' hips twitched under her while he never ceased his sweet torture, sending her into ever new rounds of bliss and fire - until she slid him deep into her mouth.

He cried out against her soaked flesh, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her further down on his mouth - making her whimper in return.

They were all kisses and licks and shivers and moans, setting each other aflame and allowing one another to be at their most exposed and vulnerable. For the first time in her life, Caroline held nothing back. She gave, she took, she let him hear and see everything she felt... and she sensed it brought him to the brink of madness.

"Please," she begged when she could stand the fire no longer, "please, Klaus!"

His responding moan was long and throaty, vibrating against her as he went in for the kill. The swishes and licks grew more determined at the same time as Caroline took him in deeper, bringing her hand into play and mercilessly ignoring his half-crazed pleas to stop. His cock twitched, his thighs quivered, her arms could barely hold her upright... and they came together, hard and without an end in sight. Klaus pressed her against him while his tongue danced all over her, prolonging her orgasm in any way he could until they both had nothing left to give.

Lifting her limp, exhausted body as if she weighed no more than a feather, he switched positions and settled her next to him, her head on his chest, his arms safely around her. For a few minutes, no sounds were to be heard other than their labored breathing and accelerated heartbeats. Caroline snuggled against him, heaving a contented sigh when he gathered her closer and kissed the top of her head.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you are quite the cunning lady?" she heard him mutter while he wrapped one of her curls around his finger.

Caroline giggled. "Get over it, Big Bad. You're the godfather of cunning."

"You do not see me using cheap tricks to lure you into bed," he countered with a chuckle of his own.

"That's because I'm too smart to be seduced by you." The memory made her smile.

"No. It is because you are the seductress in this scenario. I am merely the poor devil too smitten to resist."

"Like you have never seduced anyone," she grinned and lifted herself onto her elbows. Her pulse staggered at the sheer, untainted happiness on his face. "For example - when was the last time you brought a woman here under the pretext of painting her and then ended up on this very sofa?"

"No-one has ever set foot in this apartment. Not even my brother."

A sweet little ache gripped her. "How come?"

Klaus gave a shrug and pulled her in for a long, soft kiss. "Because this place is mine, and mine alone. I do not wish to share it, I do not wish anyone to know of it."

"Then what am I? Chopped liver?"

He shifted to his side so he was facing her. His knuckles brushed over her cheek. "You, Caroline, are the woman I love. And whatever else I may be, I am not a man to keep secrets from that woman. You told me once that the first stage of friendship is trust. I would be lying if said I trusted you from the beginning. I did not. It took me long to get there. But I trust you now."

With a smile, she took his hand and brought it to her lips. "Why?"

"When you allow someone in, you are unwaveringly loyal. I would trust you with my life."

"Easy for you to say," she teased, leaning in for another kiss.

As she released his lips, he gazed at her for a long moment while entwining their fingers. "Very well. There are two white oak stakes left. One is in my possession, the other is being handed back and forth between a group of vampires allied with my stepfather. It is constantly being moved around, which is why I have not managed to get hold of it quite yet. My own stake is locked away in a subterranean strongroom underneath my former mansion that was put to the torch a couple of years ago. The combination for the strongroom is 24-81-62-77-19. Mikael and Esther have been incapacitated and, together with a powerful young witch named Davina, incarcerated in the bowels of a defunct mine near Yellowknife, northern Canada." He looked her straight in the eye, his gaze steady. "Now you know every possible way to endanger my life."

She stared at him in disbelief. A slow, glowing warmth spread inside her when the ultimate recognition hit home. This twisted man loved her above everyone and everything else. He knew her. He would always be there for her - and he did trust her with his life. "I never would."

"I know."

"I'll still get my own place."

"I most definitely do not think so," he countered, pulling her close and making her suck in a breath when she felt his erection against her. "Caroline, you're very mistaken if you think I'll let you leave my bed after making love to you. I want you to fall asleep in my arms. I want to wake you in the middle of the night and bury myself in you. I want you to wake me and make love to me." He paused. "And I want your face to be the first thing I see when I open my eyes in the morning."

"I didn't know you were such a romantic," she said with a tender smile and no ounce of teasing. "Klaus, it's not like I want this to be a permanent situation. I just need some time, and I need to know I have a place to retreat to if I want space. I'll probably end up sleeping in your bed anyway, or you in mine, but this is important to me. How about this - I'll cut you a deal. We give it six months, and you won't make a fuss whenever I want to be at my place. After that time, I'll move in with you permanently. Unless you screw things up, of course," she added with a wink.

"Another Parisian deal," he murmured, his face buried in her hair. "Fine. I agree. On one condition."

"Name it."

"When it comes to your safety, you will never fight me."

"Done."

Before she even realized he was moving, Klaus had her pinned underneath him. "That leaves only one question." When his lips covered hers, Caroline tried to remember why she was insisting on her own place when it was more than clear that she wanted nothing more than to have him every single night. Morning. Noon. Afternoon. Evening. Always. His lips felt perfect on hers, so strong and velvety at the same time, rousing needs she never thought she had in her. Need for him, for his passion. His love.

"What is the question?" she panted when his lips moved from her swollen mouth to her neck.

"Hm? Oh, right." He rose to gaze down at her, his beautiful face slightly flushed with pleasure, a sight she began to cherish more than any other. "Your semester starts in August. Did you have any pressing engagements before then?"

"Nope. Why?"

"I thought you might want to join me in my search for Amaury."

Caroline ran both of her hands through his thick, tousled curls, marveling at watching him close his eyes at her touch. "Just so you can save money for my bodyguards?" she joked before bringing her face to his and kissing him with all the heat she felt slowly rise inside her again. Klaus was a little out of breath when they broke the passionate kiss.

"My idea was more about you kicking his sorry ass straight to hell." He chuckled. "Unless you want me to do the dirty work."

"Wasn't it you who said I can never beat this guy?"

"I will teach you how. It will help you understand more of your other nature, and you will not do it alone."

She considered for a moment. "On one condition."

His lips twitched. "Name it."

"Neither of us will stoop to his level. It'll be quick and painless. No revenge drama."

"Done." He traced a series of soft kisses all over her temples, her brows, her eyes, making them both sigh with delight. "Caroline."

"Yes?"

Klaus swallowed as he took her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. "I love you."

In one fluid, powerful motion, she reversed their positions and straddled him. Never taking her eyes off his, she let her face turn and her fangs descend, bringing a finger to her lips when he began to speak. He fell silent, his gaze only a little apprehensive. It wasn't mistrust, she realized with relief following a quick pang of disappointment. It was his innate discomfort with any situation he could not predict or calculate. She bit her wrist, deep and hard, and before he could react, she let a drop of her blood trickle onto his lips. Then another. And another. Her own mouth opened at the unexpectedly erotic sight of Klaus licking her blood off his lips, giving subdued sighs whenever a droplet touched his tongue. She wasn't quite sure whether she should be embarrassed about her ardent desire for his fangs to plunge into her neck, but as it was not an option, she contented herself with enjoying his tiny motions underneath her and his undeniable delectation at what he was being given. She was just about to bite her wrist anew when Klaus shook his head. A split second later, she found herself on her back. He had gently taken hold of her wrist and held it out to her.

"Again."

Puzzled, Caroline bit her wrist. He guided it away from her lips and right over her neck. No sooner had the first drop of blood fallen onto her delicate skin than his mouth found it there. His tongue spread the tiny puddle, following its trace back to where it had first touched her neck, licking up every last bit. It was not long before he had entirely succumbed to the lure of her blood - as Caroline had to the magic of his lips and tongue on her. Over and over did she bite her wrist and let more blood trickle onto herself, feeling her mounting lust hot and wet between her legs as Klaus moaned into her neck, demanding ever more and drinking with a greed that was as inescapable as it was exciting. Hot. Arousing.

Your darkest desires... deep down, you long to have your perfect feathers ruffled.

Silas' very accurate words had not quite faded inside her head when she lifted her wrist to bite it once more - and found her fangs buried in Klaus' neck.

Once more, he had been too fast for her to realize her was moving. In acute shock, she wanted to pull back, only to have her head gently nudged back down. "Don't think," his dark, mesmerizing voice sounded close to her ear. "Don't think, Caroline."

It wasn't different from what she had done in Belleville Parc - and yet it was something else entirely. This time, she didn't crave his blood for blood's sake, she craved it as a part of him, a natural element of this most erotic of nights... a part of their bond. Summoning all her strength, Caroline trapped his magnificent, naked body against hers; her fangs, lips and tongue conquered him like a devastating storm while his rich, opulent blood flooded her mouth. She lost herself in Klaus, in his taste, in the way their bodies followed each other's moves. Somewhere on the fringes of her consciousness, she felt his hands on her thighs, parting them with irresistible determination... and then she had to let go of his neck, rearing up with a desperate, feral moan as he slipped two fingers inside her, finding a slow, measured rhythm that brought her to convulse under his expert hands.

"How can you want me this much?" he whispered, his voice choked with wonder and lust. "How?"

"Because you... ah... because... Klaus, please, just... can't... wait any longer!"

In less than a heartbeat, his fingers were gone. Caroline writhed on the bed, unable to keep still at the sweet ecstasy that ran through her whole body - and in breathless anticipation of finally, finally, feeling him inside her again.

"Look at me."

She tore her eyes open with some effort. Klaus knelt before her, thick and hard and beyond ready. He grasped her hips and pulled her half onto his lap, brushing the tip of his beautiful cock over the length of her, caressing her clit. Caroline shuddered, biting down a loud mewl. Her eyes begged him as his begged hers... and then he slid into her.

They stared at each other as he sheathed himself fully, unable to breathe or speak.

Oh God. I'm going to die. This is... he is...

"I need you to move," she whispered, "or I'll go crazy. Make love to me."

"Always." Something remotely resembling pain crossed his features, but it was gone before she could be sure. He withdrew almost completely, only to glide back into her even more slowly. Every time he was buried in her, he remained still and closed his eyes for no more than a second; his tender, intense rhythm never wavered, not when Caroline's arms no longer supported her weight through the bone-deep shivers, not when goose bumps covered every inch of her skin as she was loved like she had never been in her life. Not in her wildest dreams had she imagined sex could be this intense, reaching so far beyond mere pleasure and gratification. Back in the woods, he had been her perfect lover - tonight, he was becoming her other half. Regardless of what the future brought, she would never be alone again. Not after this.

Klaus filled her with each gentle thrust, reaching depths she had not known existed. There was no hurry in their all-consuming mating, no frenzy, although his hips began to roll against hers with slightly more force. When he sunk into her the next time, he bent down and circled her nipple with his tongue before biting it with his blunt teeth. Caroline's back arched from the chaise, only to be caught in his arms. He dropped against the backrest with her on his lap, brushing back her long curls as his eyes sought hers. A fierce hunger shone in them.

"I have always craved control, Caroline. With you, I long to lose it. Make me."

She found no words as her hips began to dance a slow waltz on his lap. Turning and swaying, she felt him graze her walls, his rigid cock sliding in and out of her soaked depths while she rose and sank back onto him, her hands lost in his disheveled, dark golden curls. Klaus' eyes devoured every new rush of passion on her face; his lust-filled moans grew heavier and more wanton with each little twist of her hips. He was kneading her ass, hard and determined, his fingers digging into her flesh and sending endless bouts of desire through her... desire for his irresistible power - and his complete surrender. Her hands flew to the backrest of the chaise, blindly seeking support; for one split second, she stopped moving and stared into his stormy eyes. And then she began to truly ride him.

There was no more delicacy in her motions, nor in his response. Flesh smacked against damp flesh, hips moved in perfect, wild rhythm, hands were no longer gentle. Klaus' mouth crushed hers, kissing the hell out of her as she fucked the hell out of him. He attacked her breasts with his skilled fingers, teasing and stroking and pleasuring her on the fine line between boundless lust and exquisite pain, all the while she took him with the abandon of a lunatic. She no longer cared if anyone heard or saw. She no longer even tried to suppress the primeval, almost animal sounds she heard herself make whenever she slammed down onto him. It was hard and rough and fast and oh-so-deep. It was not from this world.

And just as she thought she could take it no longer, when her orgasm was a mere thrust away, Klaus gave a dark, guttural moan.

Caroline had no idea how she suddenly found herself pressed against the atelier's cool glass wall, his hands next to her head, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist - and Klaus still deep inside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she registered a motion in a lit window across the interior courtyard.

"Watching," she managed to pant, "people watching."

The wicked gleam returned into his eyes. "Bother you?"

A rush of reckless thrill tingled all over her spine. "Shut up and..." she brought his face to hers and ran her tongue over his lower lip, "fuck me."

She didn't have to ask twice. As if the ephemeral interruption had never happened, they took each other... and now it was his turn. Every thrust was wilder than the previous, making her mewl and cry and scream and beg for release as he continued to slam into her with his magnificent cock and his hard, lean body. Caroline sensed all strength leave her and at the same time, she had never felt more powerful. Klaus was hurling her straight into sweet oblivion, but the power was hers as much as it was his. And she wanted to lose that power now. With him.

"Klaus," she whispered. All thoughts vanished. The world became a giant ball of fire and lightning and thunder. "Klaus."

The explosion inside her incinerated everything.

Had she screamed his name? Caroline no longer knew. Or cared. All she cared about was how he followed her into the mayhem of ecstasy - crying out her name to all the stars in the universe.

She was his as thoroughly as he was hers.

And by all that was unholy - that slutty man of hers wasn't the lay of the decade. He was the lay of the millennium.

The late afternoon sky was overcast, heavy with thick grey clouds.

Caroline awoke to a feeling of rapture, euphoria and placidity she hadn't experienced in a long time.

Try 'never'.

And one lingering look to her left brought back the memories... and caused her pulse to stutter.

Klaus was wrapped up in the sheets as if defending them against impeding theft - leaving her entirely uncovered, which brought a silly giggle to her lips. He had tossed the pillow off the bed and slept with his head right on the mattress, one arm stretched out, hand dangling over the edge. His other hand rested on her waist. Like she had imagined, his hair was all tousled... and his face... not once since she had first met him had it borne this expression. No hint of tension tainted it, giving his features a peace she assumed he wasn't even aware he had in him. The corners of his mouth were curled upward only the slightest bit, showing beginning dimples.

"Beautiful," she whispered to herself while she reached out to trace a strand of his hair with her finger, careful not to wake him, simply enjoying the lasting, happy ache in her heart.

She had no words for the night that lay behind her. After their venture into exhibitionism, Klaus had scooped her up into his arms and rushed her downstairs, right into his bed where he had gathered her close, kissing and stroking her from head to toe until she was so desperately turned on that she wordlessly jumped his bones. They had made love all night, hour after hour, without tiring or pausing - unless it was to exchange long, deep kisses, talk in quiet whispers... or laugh with each other. Klaus' happiness had ostensibly grown with every minute, and he had made no attempt to hide it from her. But he had also waited for something - something she knew he wanted, needed to hear.

Something she felt in every part of her soul but could not yet say.

Very gently, she took his hand and replaced it on the mattress. He stirred for a moment, then sighed, but he did not wake. Caroline rose from the bed; her eyes fell on one of his shirts, carelessly tossed over a chair. She considered putting it on before she shrugged. Nothing the neighbors hadn't seen, right? And for some reason it felt... natural, right, to be naked around Klaus. As she was, she traipsed out of the bedroom and up the spiral staircase, flinching with every creak of the ancient steps. It was her hope that he wouldn't wake up just yet so she might have a few moments to herself, to try and wrap her head around her feelings.

The atelier seemed flooded with light in spite of the sunless skies. Caroline felt a faint blush warm her cheeks when her gaze fell on the chaise that had witnessed their wild encounter - or parts thereof - and she stopped in front of it, before the large, slightly tilted mirror. As she looked at her reflection, she tried to see herself with his eyes. Yet whilst no longer the insecure, unsteady teenager of earlier years, she could still not entirely fathom how she, Caroline Forbes of small-town Mystic Falls, Virginia, had become the one woman to conquer a thousand-year-old Original vampire who had seen everything and entertained countless affairs over the centuries. Their beginnings had seen her treat him with derision, ridicule his attraction to her and try to belittle it, brushing it off as a fleeting obsession. But if she was honest, the question as to what he saw in her had plagued her even then. His interest had flattered her - not that she would ever have admitted it to her friends - and to her dismay, she had found herself responding to him from day one. With a little grimace at herself, she remembered the day humanity-less Elena had called her out on what she had believed her best-kept secret; the mortification had nearly choked Caroline.

You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light.

Even if she lived to be a million years, she would never forget those words she had initially dismissed as nothing but a pick-up line. No-one had ever uttered something so lovely to her before that day. More often than not, she had whispered the words when she was alone, trying to make herself believe them. She hadn't entirely succeeded to this day, although she had long since understood that he had meant every letter. He really saw her as this exquisite creature, and despite liking her reflection after this sublime night of lovemaking, Caroline also knew she would never be able to fully share his point of view.

A small sigh escaped her as she turned her back on the mirror and let her gaze wander all over the messy studio, in passing admiring his finished and half-finished works. The canvas on the easel in front of the chaise caught her eye. The painting he had begun to craft of her last night before she had distracted him. Her curiosity piqued, she tiptoed across the room, briefly gripped by a bout of guilt. Didn't artists hate for anyone to look at their unfinished works? Then she grinned.

"Should have covered it, then," she breathed as she walked around the easel to peek at the work. Only to feel her jaw drop to the paint-spotted floor.

That's not me. That can't be me!

Caroline rubbed her eyes and shook her head like a puppy leaving the water, certain that the illusion had disappeared and been replaced with staunch reality. The first thing she registered was that the painting was actually finished; Klaus must have continued to work on it while she had been sound asleep. Her second discovery was that it did indeed depict her... or rather, an extraordinary, otherworldly version of her. The ridiculous comparison to a grey dove photoshopped into a vibrant, shimmering bird of paradise came to mind. Every shade he had used was a variation of gold, silver, yellow, and white, and yet the painting seemed to comprise all colors of the spectrum. Her hair, falling over her back in gentle curls, glimmered in a nuance of gold so intense that she had to step closer to the canvas to make sure he hadn't used actual gold foil. Her skin was of an iridescent alabaster tone, resplendent in the silvery moonlight illuminating her. The swell of her breasts looked enticing even to her, just as the way he had captured her reclined, barely covered pose had something so sinfully erotic she felt herself flush once again. Her gaze fell on the depiction of her face in the shiny mirror. It seemed to cast its own light onto the reflective glass, like another ray of moonlight coming from a different angle. Through the mirror, her image was staring at the invisible artist with an expression somewhere between soft, warm tenderness and the blazing fires of lust.

Everything about the painting was light, warmth, sensuality... love. What her lips had not been able to speak as yet, her eyes were more than loudly conveying through this mirror. What was more, his love for her shimmered in each and every brushstroke of his incredible, ethereal creation. Caroline felt tears pool in her eyes but didn't wipe them off, allowing them to fall freely instead.

"Mom," she breathed very quietly, "talking to you buck naked while looking at a nude painting of myself seems like an idea that'll result in years of expensive therapy, but I have to, okay?" Suppressing a chuckle at her own silliness, she inhaled deeply. "I want to believe that you're up there watching over me; if you are, I hope you've been averting your eyes last night. Anyway, Mom, I wanted to say something to you. Being without you still hurts. Every day. And I think it'll hurt for many more years. But I need to come back to what you said about my life waiting for me, and that I should go and find it. I... I think I have, Mom. Or at least, I've found its beginnings. And here, today, I promise to try and make you proud of the paths I'll be taking. I might not always succeed, but I'll never stop trying and fighting." She lowered her voice further, closing her eyes. "I know he's everything you despise in a vampire. But then so have I been for more than a year, and even, at times, before that. So has Stefan. Elena. Damon. Alaric. Tyler. One of the good things about eternity is that you can tumble, fall, and get back up on your feet to try again. None of us is a saint, but none of us is a devil, either. Klaus isn't the devil, Mom. He never was, I saw that a long time ago - okay, granted, he can be a major jerk at times, but he's not an essentially evil man. Much rather, he's the man who knows me best of all. The real me. He's the man who loves that real me unconditionally and who for some reason understands me better than anyone ever has."

When she opened her eyes again, a tiny stream of sunlight broke through the clouds, falling on the array of well-used brushes on the working table. It was gone as quickly as it had come, but it gave her a sudden, inexplicable courage.

"I'm in love with him, Mom. So much. And I have no idea why I'm too scared to tell him."

"Too late."

Her face flushed hot, then cold, then hot again as she whirled around to find him standing at the landing of the stairwell with an almost unbearably overjoyed smile. He, too, was naked, distractingly so, but for the moment, Caroline's embarrassment superseded any dirty thoughts.

"How long have you been standing there?" she demanded, a tad sharper than necessary, but her tone didn't seem to bother him at all.

"For about three seconds." His euphoric smile didn't waver, making her think how she had never seen anyone look so completely and utterly happy.

"Didn't your mother teach you that it's impolite to listen in on other people's soul-baring monologues?"

"My mother taught me many things. None of them beneficial. Right now, though, I could not be more grateful to her for failing to teach me manners."

Caroline shook her head, but it was impossible to be mad at a face so exuberant. And a smile so enticing. "You finished the painting," was all she could think of.

"I seem to have experienced a rather powerful rush of inspiration." He paused, his eyes shifting from her to the canvas and back. "Do you like it?"

"It's incredible, but... Klaus, you know me well, and this is not who I am. This pure, otherworldly woman you painted isn't me. I'm not pure, I'm not untainted."

He came towards her, his eyes on the painting. "No, of course not, and I am glad of it. Have another look, my love. Step closer."

Her brows creased, Caroline approached the canvas and examined it more thoroughly, fighting not to let his proximity and his intoxicating scent numb her senses. At first she didn't understand what he was talking about. There she was, ethereal, beautiful, glowing. There was the mirror, her face, and...

Hang on! How have I not seen this before?

An inch removed from the reflection of her face, the ghost of another face was hidden. It was so well-crafted that one could walk by the painting a hundred times without noticing. The exact duplicate of her features was a hazy silver shadow within the mirror, pale, white... deadly. Minute black lines crisscrossed the skin under ice-cold eyes, and Caroline thought she was seeing the hint of a fang. It was a masterpiece. And so accurate it hurt for a second.

"I see you as you are, Caroline. And this is you. All of this is you." Without further ado, he took her in his arms and brushed his lips over hers. "Why were you too frightened to tell me?"

She slung her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "You heard me. I have no idea."

"Then let this have been the last time you were." Klaus lifted her up and flashed them both back downstairs and into his bed, lowering her onto the mattress. Hovering over her, he bent down and kissed her eyes with a tenderness so intense it made her snuggle into him in a quiet demand for more. "Don't let these past few hours fool you into seeing something in me that I'm not," he murmured against her skin. "I believed to be incandescently happy last night. I was wrong. Nothing has ever made me happier than hearing you utter those little words a few minutes ago. But I also wish you had not said them. Not today."

Tearing her eyes open, Caroline went very still. After a moment in complete shock, she saw his anxiety. His fear. And she understood. "You can be remarkably obtuse for a wise, old man."

"I resent the old man."

"Toughen up." They chuckled, and this time it was Caroline who took his face in her hands and gently kissed his eyes. "Do you seriously think I didn't know what I was saying? That last night was so out of this world that I no longer know what's what?"

"I should hope so," he teased, then sobered. "But yes, something like that."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but while the sex was... I'm not sure the proper word has been invented for how unbelievable it was... it didn't suddenly make me think of you as Saint Niklaus. Should it have escaped your attention, I've known who you are for years - the good and the bad. What I said, I said coherently and in full knowledge."

Klaus let his forehead sink against hers in a gesture of complete surrender. She encircled him securely with her arms, holding him as close as she could, and listened to his thundering heartbeat. For a long while, neither of them spoke. It was as if they both wanted to savor this moment, this first step into a whole new stage of their stormy relationship. Caroline didn't fool herself - putting her love for him into words had been the last true little barrier between them. There was no backing down now. She recalled Elijah's demand that she go to Paris only out of the right reasons; it had entailed endless hours of deliberation during the flight, listing pros and cons in her mind. But she had always come back to her starting point - Klaus felt right. In almost every sense of the word. Right for her. As she was right for him. And something else became clear to her in this harmonious, deeply intimate moment they were sharing. She hadn't been scared of telling him, not truly. Her love would never be safer with anyone, as she herself would never be safer than at his side, and had she actually been frightened of revealing her feelings, she wouldn't have spoken them out loud within reach of his Original hearing. All this had been no more than the last remnants of years of hiding her heart from him and everyone else.

She was Caroline Forbes. She didn't have to hide. Not anymore.

"I love you, Klaus. In spite of what you've done, and for so many reasons I can't list them all right now. And if you can't deal with that, you'll have to learn to," she added, smiling against his cheek.

His breathing stuttered when he rose onto his elbows, framing her face with his hands and touching the tips of his fingers to her temples. "I cannot think of anything to say that would not sound embarrassingly needy and romantic, so I'll limit myself to this: I cannot guarantee I will always be able to live up to your expectations, Caroline. But what I can promise you is that nothing, nothing on this Earth will ever be more important to me than you are. Nothing. And on this I swear, right here and right now. Always and forever."

The lump in her throat seemed to grow into the size of a pomegranate. "Sold." She closed her eyes, savoring the miracle that had begun to happen a while ago and that was developing into something so exciting and unpredictable it took her breath away. "On one condition."

"Name it," Klaus smiled.

"I want something needy and romantic. Now."

"Very well. But do recall that you asked for it." His smile widened, and the tiny malicious gleam she loved so much glimmered in his eyes. His lips, silken and determined, found her neck in a lingering kiss that made her sigh with delight. "We have been faring quite well with deals closed in Paris, have we not?" His tongue followed the trail of his lips, burning her skin to ash. "How about another one?"

Her pulse faltered when he bit her neck with his human teeth. "Let's hear it."

"Whilst I do not like the idea of you having your own place in New Orleans for the first few months, I shall live with it. But you will spend the nights in my arms. Every night. I do not care where and how. When I woke up a little while ago and found you gone..." Klaus shook his head. "Do not leave me without a word again. No matter how short your absence."

Caroline felt the echo of a familiar ache in her heart. She had gone through this same kind of fear countless times herself. When her father had abandoned her, more than once. Whenever her Mom had left for work - or learned that her daughter had been turned into a vampire. When Tyler had made his choice. That debilitating fear of loss, of being left behind, and of not understanding why. And with frightening clarity, she saw that the idea of Klaus doing the same to her was... the very worst of nightmares.

"I will never go without a word. I promise," she whispered with a long, lingering kiss to his temple.

"As for needy and romantic - do you see any chance of my convincing you never to leave me at all?"

A warm glow replaced the twinge in her heart. "So you want to sit next to me through my college classes, come with me when I get my hair done, be there when I shave my legs..."

"Well, my love, I do want to come with you several times a day, but I will gladly leave out the aforementioned," he snickered before he covered her lips with his. Electricity flowed through her when their tongues met; they were pulled deeper and deeper into each other's spell, moaning quietly with freshly stoked arousal... and all those newly admitted feelings that reached far beyond lust. When they broke the fiery kiss to catch their breaths, Klaus said, "You know what I mean, Caroline."

"I do. And yes, you have a fair chance of convincing me. One thing, though."

"Yes?"

"Is there any chance of my convincing you to tone down your... ahm... somewhat despotic rule? Let me finish," she added when he was about to interrupt. "What I'm talking about is stuff like Amaury's jail, or yours, for that matter. I understand there have to be rules, and that those rules need to be enforced for the sake of all of us, but I also think there are several ways to do that."

Klaus leaned back, settling comfortably on his side and pulling her snug against him before resting his head in his hand. "Would you prefer every trespasser to be court-martialed and executed at once, regardless of his offense?"

"No, of course not. But having people rot away for centuries can't be the solution, either."

"Bear in mind our rather long lifespan. A vampire of three hundred years will not be overly impressed by a gaol sentence of a few months."

"Then develop a penalty scale. Criminal law, so to speak. A fixed system of set punishment for all sorts of crimes. You want to rule, don't you? You thrive on being king." He nodded wordlessly. "Then rule, but don't do it by the seat of your pants. You said you already have established rules in New Orleans - well, make those into actual supernatural laws. Write them down and let everyone know. The vampires, the witches, the wolves. And that's what I mean when I ask you to tone down your megalomania. Be a real king, not just the rogue Hybrid who sends everyone running for cover."

He rose at that, approaching the window. Dusk was gradually beginning to descend, and one by one, the street lanterns flared up in their distinct shade. Caroline watched, transfixed, how the lights bathed his incredible body in ever-changing shimmers. He was beautiful, her man, and she hoped to have more of him as he was now. Relaxed, open, and without the dozens of burdens he was carrying on his strong shoulders. Although one had to be fair - many of those burdens were self-imposed. Perhaps she could find a way to alleviate some of them, over time. He stood very straight, giving no indication as to what was going on in his head, nor did he move. Hadn't she seen his chest rising and falling at a steady pace, she might have started to worry whether the biblical story of Lot's wife and the pillar of salt hadn't been so far-fetched after all. His tone was wary when he finally spoke.

"I prefer not to be too predictable. And I am not used to justifying my decisions, Caroline."

"So you want fear over respect?"

"That is not what I said."

"But it's the logical consequence," she countered. "People won't respect their king if one day, he merely snaps someone's neck for killing a mortal in plain daylight, and a day later sends another one to burn in the sun for the exact same crime just because he happens to have his Hybrid fangs in a twist. Or..."

"I get the picture. Why don't you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Put down vampire laws."

Caroline stared at him as he turned to face her, leaning against the windowsill and folding his arms across his chest. She cleared her throat, nonplussed. "You want to be king. Isn't that your job?"

"And you're the queen consort, so to speak. Why should it not be yours?"

"You wouldn't accept a single one of my suggestions!"

"That is very possible. But I thoroughly enjoy arguing with you, my love, and who knows - we might even find a compromise here and there. Eventually."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but she couldn't find any hints at his not taking her seriously. "Why are you giving in so quickly?" she demanded, her suspicions not entirely erased. With the speed of a bullet, Klaus was back on the bed - and she in his arms.

"I feel far too blissful today to discuss violence. What is more, your idea holds some interesting aspects I want to have a closer look at, but not now. Are we agreed, then? You will take up the task?"

"Fine," she murmured, once again surprised at his utter confidence in her - and his willingness to fight his own stubbornness where she was concerned. "Lots of deals that we closed today... quite something to digest."

"Indeed. But let us forget about it all for now. For just one more night. Are you hungry?"

She wrapped her leg around his hips, her hand sliding down his chiseled chest and abs, moving more determinedly when she heard him suck in a breath. "Starving." Her fingers found his hardening cock and softly began to stroke him. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Caroline," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion, "let me hear it again. Just once."

"No." The immediate surge of agony in his eyes taught her how fragile his belief in their newfound relationship still was. What had Elijah said? There is nothing he cannot overcome, but you have the power to break him beyond repair. "No, Klaus, not once. Often. Very often. And I want you to believe me when I speak the words. And when I don't say them out loud." Her fingers never ceased their caresses as she brought his face to hers. "I love you," she whispered against his lips, and again, "I love you."

"I was wrong." He bit his lip at her incessant touch, his hand finding the delicate skin of her breast. They stared at each other when he said, "You are not a queen consort. You are a queen in your own right. My queen."

As you're my king. Not that I'll tell you yet.

"So you're at my orders, then?" she purred, stroking him more firmly and delighting in his helpless little moan.

"Right now, my love, there is nothing you cannot ask of me," he managed to mutter.

With one swift motion, she took his hot, hard cock into her depths, unable to stop a small sob from escaping her at the sensation of utter completeness. "I want you to fuck me. Then make love to me. Then fuck me again. And then buy me a Chanel and take me to the most ridiculously expensive restaurant of all. Because tonight, I am in the mood for all the glitz and glamor in the world!"

Klaus gave a quick thrust that made her mewl. "Problem is, once I am done fucking you and making love to you and fucking you again, everything will be closed."

"Then I suggest you hurry," she giggled, interrupted by a new moan when he moved again.

"New deal: I will fuck you, then take you out, fuck you again on the way home... and make love to you until the sun rises."

"I... a...accept," she stuttered as she arched under his powerful, knowing hands.

Much later, long after Klaus had exhaustively made good on each of his promises, he was slumbering peacefully in her arms, a smile playing around his still swollen lips. Caroline found herself unable to sleep, breathe, or take her eyes off his face. Her feelings seemed to strengthen with every new second of intimacy between them, not only in bed, but in everything else they shared. But that wasn't all. Together with her growing love for Klaus, a new fear had opened inside her heart like a budding rose. She had spoken of it in theory at Héloïse and Abélard's grave when she had explained to him how looking open-eyed at all the tragedy that could happen to one's love would prevent said tragedy from happening. What if she had been wrong? What if something happened anyway? Amaury, whom they would endeavor to find starting tomorrow, Mikael, Esther, all those other enemies… What if they ended up like the famous but unfortunate lovers? What if...

"What worries you, my love?"

She started a little at the sudden sound of his voice, and even more so at his uncanny instinct.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep. Everything's fine."

"Caroline."

Klaus shifted so he could take a better look at her, lifting a brow as she sighed. "Seriously, it's not important."

"I disagree. Tell me."

"You're a pest," she murmured, smiling when he traced a finger along her brow. "I was just thinking of the dangerous world we live in."

"Dangerous in general... or dangerous for you and me?"

"The latter."

"What is it you fear?" He gathered her closer, and his arms came around her in the most protective embrace she had ever known.

This is what I fear, Klaus. Losing this in any way.

Aloud, she said, "Nothing in particular. I just don't want to end up like..."

"Héloïse and Abélard."

"Have I been talking in my sleep again?"

He chuckled. "As a matter of fact, you have, last night. But what you spoke of then was rather X-rated." Running a hand through his hair, he went on. "Yes, Caroline, our place is a dangerous one, even within the supernatural world. We are both strong, we are both powerful, yet we are not invincible. And we are only at the very beginning of our journey together. Whilst our bond will grow stronger by the day, we must never let down our guard. I will look out for you as you will look out for me. Times may come when we will need to fight for what we have. I am more than willing to do so, every day of my life. The question you will need to ask yourself is, are you?"

"What if we fight... and lose?" Caroline was sure he had heard the tremor in her words.

"We won't."

She creased her brows. "How can you be so sure?"

His smile was filled with the same wonder she had seen in his eyes ever since she had shown up the previous day. "Very simple. I have fought for a great many causes in my life. Some good and justified, others less so, a few outright stupid. My fight for you, for us, means more to me than all others put together. H.G. Chesterton once said, The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. That is why I will never lose this fight, Caroline. Never. And I know you can fight even harder than I do, but it will remain your decision if you wish to commit to this particular battle."

Sitting up, she pulled him with her, slipping onto his lap and wrapping her legs around his hips. This was the strange thing she had sensed about Klaus from the very beginning - he was the one who could dissolve her doubts and fears without ever sugarcoating reality. Albeit overprotective at times, he always called upon her strength - and her strength grew for it. Funny, she mused fleetingly, how for so long she had believed true love to be the fairytale prince shielding the princess from the world, catering to her every whim while being a nice and wholesome pillar of the community. She had been dead wrong. True love wasn't nice and easy and cute and pure. It was the man who challenged his woman, who trusted her fortitude and encouraged her to grow it on her own. Who accepted being challenged by her and at the same time never lost faith in who she was - and who they were together.

True love was what she was looking at.

"Let's fight, then," she said firmly, taking both of his hands in hers. "We'll take on the world. One day at a time."

Klaus lifted her hands to his lips. His eyes were shining with dark blue fires. "Spoken like the queen you are. May I humbly beg for permission to make love to Your Majesty?"

With a very un-regal giggle, Caroline gave a dismissive wave, trying in vain to accurately imitate his English accent. "Granted. Do proceed." Her lighthearted laughter floated through the room when Klaus rolled his eyes.

Their miracle would be hard work. It would be fun. Exhilarating. Sexy. Dangerous.

And they would fight for it. Every day.

Always and forever.

THE END