UPDATE 02/19/18: In the process of going back through the chapters and editing a bit. This is my first real multi-chapter fanfiction and I want it to be as good as I can possibly make it.
Weak
Summary: In which Klaus has an epiphany and eats his own words.
A/N: I wanted to stay as close to canon as possible, but the season 4 finale of TO kinda throws a wrench in anything canon.
So this takes off after TO season 4ep3 & TVD S8ep16 + 20 years in the future. None of the nonsense with The Hollow, Hope grew up to be a lovely teenager with all her aunts and uncles.
I'm weak!
What's wrong with that?
"Where are you going, Niklaus?"
Elijah stepped around the corner; catching his younger brother sneaking out the door at an ungodly hour.
Klaus stiffened and turned to his brother. "Elijah." He greeted.
Elijah crossed his arms over his tailored suit, "Are you going to make me ask again?"
"You're not my keeper." Klaus grated. "I'll be back tomorrow night."
"What should I tell Hope?" Elijah asked. In the past 17 years since Hope's birth, Klaus had tried to change his behavior. Still prone to temper tantrums and the occasional murder from some ignorant being who dared threaten his family, but no more power hungry plots and mass murder. Hope was an amazing influence on her father. The seventeen year old was the spitting image of her father. Klaus couldn't be more proud of his trifling -werewolf, witch, and vampire. She was an overachiever; had to be the best at everything, which is why she was graduating high school a year early three days from now. "She'll never forgive you if you miss her graduation."
"I'll be back in plenty of time. I'm just going to retrieve something that should've been mine years ago."
Elijah frowned, afraid Klaus was going to do something rash and ruin all his hard work towards being a better father and brother. "Niklaus, you can't possibly leave on that note. What am I supposed to make of it?"
"Make whatever you want of it." Growled the hybrid, "You're supposed to believe the best of me, or was this past twenty years a rouse?"
"I apologize, brother." Replied Elijah, "It's habit after a thousand years."
Klaus nodded. It was for him too; everyday was a battle. Being one way for a thousand years didn't just change overnight. He felt guilty for snapping at his brother, a feat in its own. "I understand, Elijah. I'm ashamed to admit I've had an epiphany only just now."
"Oh?"
Klaus sighed, leaning against the door frame. "You're going to just love this."
Elijah smirked. "I can't if you won't explain yourself. Hope may be able to read minds, but I don't possess that ability."
Klaus grimaced, remembering his recent conversation with his daughter over her invasion of privacy.
Two months ago...
"Dad, who is Caroline Forbes?" Asked Hope, smiling sweetly at her father.
Klaus was at a loss of words at the sudden question. Should he lie? He knew none of his family would've dare to reveal her identity, and even if Caroline had been mentioned, Rebekah was the only one who had an idea about his feelings. He didn't talk about her either -it was easier for him that way-, so how did his clever daughter find out?
"No one told me," Hope continued, "You called out for her in your sleep last night."
Klaus' eyes narrowed. "Reading minds in an invasion of privacy, love."
"Sorry." She said sheepishly. "But you did call out for her. I asked Aunt Bekah about it, but she said I should ask you."
He muttered, "That's unbelievable."
"What?"
"Nothing, love." Answered Klaus. "She's an old friend."
Hope grinned, "So you were dreaming about an old friend?"
"Not that kind of dream." Growled Klaus. "I'm going to kill Kol for corrupting you."
"Please." Hope rolled her eyes. "Rebekah had already corrupted me when I was 12." At her father's murderous look, Hope backtracked, "Kidding! Mom gave me the 'birds and bee's' talk when I got my period." She wasn't above embarrassing her father with her growing body to change the subject.
And right on queue, Klaus immediately looked uncomfortable.
The teen giggled. "So this Caroline Forbes, is she in the running to be my step mother?" Her dad was the only one in her immediate family without a special someone. As she'd grown older, she had begun to realize that her father was...unhappy. Though he'd never admit it, Hope caught him watching her mom and Elijah sometimes with a hopeless expression.
"I've went one thousand, one hundred and three years without getting a ball and chain, I think I can go a thousand more."
Hope rolled her eyes. "I don't believe that anymore that you do." She grew serious. "I want you to be happy, Dad. If this Caroline Forbes can make you happy, then you've got my approval."
Present
"Do you remember what I said about love being a vampire's greatest weakness?" Klaus asked.
Elijah nodded, "If I remember correctly, you said, 'Love is a vampire's greatest weakness and we are not weak. We do not care and we do not feel."
Klaus glared at Elijah. "A simple paraphrase would've been sufficient." His brother arched his brow and Klaus continued, "I've worked hard being my definition of strong for a thousand years. I grow exceedingly tired of it. Hope is almost ready to go off to college and where does that leave me? You, Bekah, and Kol are happily off with your better halves."
"You're lonely." Concluded Elijah. "What's any of this have to do with you taking off in the middle of the night?"
Klaus avoided his brother's searching gaze, not denying his accusation. "I long for a companion." He finally admitted.
"Niklaus, who could you possibly be 'retrieving'?"
Klaus grabbed his cellphone and slipped into his back pocket. "I don't have time for this. My flight leaves in twenty-five minutes." He wanted to tell Elijah everything, but old habits died hard and his paranoia sealed his mouth shut.
The suit-loving Original followed him onto the porch. "Brother, wait. Think calmly about this. At least tell me where you're going."
"Mystic Falls."
"Why would you go back to that dreadful little town? Who could be..? Hm."
The hybrid paused at the door to his vehicle, wondering if he had figured it out yet. Elijah peered at him, considering his brother as if for the first time. "The blonde you danced with repeatedly. What was her name? Caroline Forbes? Yes, that's it. Your heartrate increased when I said her name."
"Congratulations, brother." Klaus sneered. "You've won a new car."
"Didn't she marry Stefan Salvatore?"
The black plastic door handle cracked under the hybrid's white-knuckled grip. "She was widowed soon after the nuptials." he replied causally, no emotion in his voice.
Elijah was surprised, Klaus had hidden it well. "I was under the impression she disliked you exponentially." He'd always thought Camille had reminded him of someone and now that he could put it all together, it looked like his brother had found an weak imitation to stifle the loneliness. Though it started out as a lovely distraction for an aching heart, Klaus had come to care for Camille and mourned her death as a lover would. It all made sense now.
Klaus smirked, "Let's just say she's the queen of playing hard to get. On our excursion to gloat on Katerina's deathbed, I may have run into her and obtained her reluctant confession."
Elijah checked his watch, "You should get going then. I imagine she'll take a little convincing."
"Right." Klaus picked his keys up. "Oh, Elijah? If you so much as whisper the phrase 'I told you so', I will gut you with a dagger and leave you to rot for a minimum of fifty years."
Elijah smiled at his brother, "I wouldn't dream out if, Niklaus. Hurry home."
Caroline ignored the indignant screeches of her girls fighting over clothes and straightened her button up blouse. "No Magic!" She called, hoping to avoid another extreme cat fight between the two 15 year old sisters. Caroline never had any siblings and was still surprised about some of the things her girls would fight over. It started with pacifiers and had now escalated to clothes and the occasional boyfriend.
The blonde vampire checked her watch. "Ugh." She grumbled. "Late." Personally, Caroline hated wearing watches, what was the point when her iPhone was always close by? But since her girls were almost her age physically, she tried to dress as an older woman would. Josie and Lizzie had been aware of her undead status for many years now, but the outside world was another matter. It grated her nerves when strangers assumed they were sisters.
Since opening the Salvatore Boarding House for the Young & Gifted ten years ago, Caroline had 58 full time students at the moment, but the applications kept pilling in. They'd have to expand soon. She hired a capable staff and a few close friends to help run the school. They all were aware of the supernatural if not supernatural themselves. Being the owner/administrator, Caroline oversaw everything going on. She kept very busy, busy enough to not remind herself how lonely she was.
Her girls were growing up and becoming independent adults; mom was no longer a cool person to hang out with. She often found herself in her master bedroom in front of a cozy fire with a steamy romance novel and a glass of white wine. Alaric always offered to cook dinner for her, but honestly evening meals mostly were a wine glass of warmed AB+ followed by a glass of actual wine.
Alaric lived off campus, within 10 minute distance to S.B.H., Josie and Lizzie spent most weekends with him. He was an awesome father to the girls and a great teacher. What started as a tentative friendship all those years ago had evolved into a unbreakable bond. Alaric was her rock, plain and simple. But that's where the relationship ended. As a young, healthy vampire, Caroline had certain needs, even more so than the horny teens currently enrolled in her school. A fling here or there seemed to quell her needs for the time being, but she never felt completely satisfied; like a gaping hole in her life she just couldn't fill.
"Girls!" Caroline shouted, "I'm late for a faculty meeting, you both have class in 30 minutes!" She shouldered her purse and pocketed her cell. She heard a muffled, "Okay!" replied with a little too much attitude for Caroline's liking. She opened the door to her room, the bustle of the other students getting ready for classes overloaded her supernatural hearing for a second. "Mrs. Gilbert will tell me if you're late!"
"We get it, Mom!" Called Lizzie, a.k.a. Caroline's mini me.
Caroline rolled her eyes. "See you at lunch, love you both!"
"'Bye!"
"It's not cool to tell your mom you love her." quipped Caroline, she closed her door and took the stairs down to the first level, where most of the classrooms were located.
"Care!"
Caroline turned toward the voice of one of her best friends, Bonnie Gilbert. With the help of magic and great genes, the Bennett witch had aged little -if any at all. She had grown her hair back out and let the chocolate locks curl down her back. She was dressed in a flattering gray dress suit with a white button up. Bonnie and Jeremy had been married for 6 years and had an adorable little warlock named Grayson Rudy Gilbert, whom had a little sister on the way.
"Just who I was looking for!" Exclaimed the blonde, "Wanna grab some coffee on the way to the meeting?"
Bonnie stroked her protruding stomach, "Ugh, no. It gives me awful heartburn."
Caroline pouted, "Then I have nothing to say to you." Bonnie chuckled and Caroline grinned in return. "Will you tell them I'll be there as soon as I get a cup? You can start without me."
Bonnie nodded, "Sure."
Caroline watched her friend waddle away with a depressed sigh. She wanted to be happily married with 2.5 kids...well, she had the two kids, anyway. Her girls were everything to her, but Caroline was lonely. She wanted a meaningful relationship where she didn't have hide herself; vampirism side and all. Not many options popping up there. Any vampires she encountered were semi-evil or taken and she couldn't bring herself to date a human. Why set herself up for heartache? She'd had enough of it in her lifetime.
Her cell rang in her pocket as she made her way into the kitchen and began making a cup of delicious bean water. A glance at the screen revealed 'Elena Salvatore' was calling. "Hello?"
"Caroline!" Came the frantic voice of her other best friend, Elena, "Have you seen John? He didn't come home last night."
Caroline peered through the kitchen two-way mirror into the dining room. There sat the smirking little shit that looked like a love child between Jeremy and Damon. John Renly Salvatore was going to be the reason Elena had a cardiac infarction. Caroline knew he'd be trouble since she saw that toothless lopsided smile when he was 4 months old, and that was after he kept trying to breastfeed her anytime she held him.
Little Shit.
"I'm looking at him, right now." Answered Caroline. "He's chatting up Amelia, probably stayed in her room last night -which is not allowed." She ground out. They both were dog food.
Elena let out a relived sigh, "Thank god."
"I'll send him home." Said Caroline. "Crying or not, I haven't decided."
Elena laughed, her eldest and Caroline had never gotten along well. John was too much like his father, Damon. "Be easy on him, Care. You were sixteen once."
"Actually, I'll be seventeen until I die." Caroline reminded her, "Whenever that is."
"I know, I know. Listen, I'll see you tonight, at the Grill, right?" Elena replied, "If we miss another G.N.O., I might die."
"Yes, Bonnie already cancelled though. Just me and you." Caroline chit chatted for a few more minutes and said her goodbyes.
With narrowed eyes, Caroline entered the dining room; most of her students were talking happily and eating breakfast.
John immediately stopped flirting with Amelia when he caught site of Caroline stalking towards him. He tried to seem unafraid, but Caroline could hear his heart thumping quickly. Good.
"Caroline!" He called as she approached and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're looking quite lovely this morning." He had the same crooked smile and cocky attitude as his father, but Elena's doe eyes looked back at her with mirth.
The werewolf Amelia shot her a dirty look. Caroline fought the urge to roll her eyes. "It's Mrs. Salvatore during school hours to you, John." Little shit! "You both are well aware of the rules; no one who isn't enrolled here is allowed to stay the night, and definitely not two underage teenagers. This is the last straw." She addressed the teenage boy, "Go home, you're not allowed back on school grounds during classes. Your mother is waiting."
"Seriously?" Snapped Amelia, jumping from her seat. The young lady was always on the edge of a rage; the common traits of a teenage werewolf. Amelia was sent here by her rich parents from New York after she'd accidentally triggered her curse, they thought the county side would help calm her down. No progress on that in the six months since she'd been enrolled. She was a firecracker ginger with short strawberry blonde hair cropped at her shoulders and large hazel eyes that remained narrowed with irritation. Her heart shaped face was covered in freckles, probably what attracted John to her in the first place; she was beautiful. "When will I get to see him?!" She demanded.
Caroline rounded on her, "And for you, Amelia. I will be calling your father."
Amelia's eyes flashed gold the second before she struck. Caroline had been caught off guard when she felt the burn on the werewolf's teeth sink into her wrist.
The remaining students screamed and fled.
Caroline gasped and ripped the girl from herself, her face transforming with her vampiric features before she could control it. She grabbed Amelia by the shoulders and forced her to meet her red tinted gaze. The girl didn't look a bit regretful, but she was just a child and her heart was beating quickly -scared of Caroline's morphed features. "Go to you room, young lady!"
John had remained nearby and urged his girlfriend to go. He turned toward Caroline. "Are you okay?" He asked tentatively.
Caroline let out a bark of laughter, swaying on her feet. "Apparently werewolf venom with a pedigree works quickly." And the world went black.
So there's no confusion, I went back and combined Chapters 1 & 2. I had always meant to do this. Chapters will vary in length, just depends on how I feel about my stopping points.
Let me know your thoughts!
Tiffywa~