Never Too Late

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Description: Takes place after 4x09 scene when Klaus drowns Carol Lockwood. Stefan and Caroline are having their little talk about trust and decide to do what is right, apologize to Klaus...Of course they are unaware of his actions at this point and once Caroline finds out she is not at all happy. She tries to continue supporting Tyler, however he just keeps pushing her away and doing reckless actions. Klaus is in no mood to deal with Caroline either, but she always finds a way to just weasel herself into his life. Will Caroline find it in her heart to forgive Klaus? He's going to have to continuously make an effort to prove himself now; just how far is Klaus willing to compromise? Of course nothing can be simple in Mystic Falls, with Hayley and Professor Shane now trying to revive Silas. They even try to convince Tyler of a way to bring back his late mom; after all she was all he had left. The things they ask of him though are far more catastrophic than any one would think of; putting his remaining friends, even Caroline, in harms way.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters.

Pairing: Klaus/Caroline

Note: My OTP, I will go down with this ship like the Titanic. Even after 4x09, Klaus just needs a little love (from Caroline) and all will be well!

This is my fourth 'Klaroline' fan-fic. Like my last story, "All That You Are" I will be naming the titles after songs that I think represent Klaroline and the lyrics at the bottom. This will be a multi-chaptered fiction.

Review: Reviews are always appreciated, for I do want to improve my fictional writing. Constructive reviews recommended!

ENJOI!

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Stefan flipped the table over, letting the pieces fly everywhere. Caroline sat in silence and felt sorry for poor Stefan. "Why don't we go back to Klaus's and look for the sword, it has to be there somewhere." She suggested, Stefan stared at the fire and agreed. What else did they have to do for that night? The two walked there (well vamp walked) just to get some fresh air after the drama. They entered his house and started the search. Stefan went back to the chest of letters Klaus had felt extremely guilty for so harshly judging him. Caroline went into his art studio and gazed over all the drawing he did of her, feeling guilty that when he tried to build up trust she would just deceive him. She remembered his first drawing 'thank you for your honest', that's all he ever wanted. Just as the two were about to actually look for the sword, they heard the front door open and close. Stefan sped over to Caroline and they both exchanged confused looks.

"Well what are you two doing here?" His British accent was rough and angry. Klaus set his empty bottle of champagne down on a table and threw the sword right between the pair. "Take it and leave." Caroline stood shocked; she covered her mouth as she knew he went on a killing spree.

Stefan picked up the sword, "Look," He looked Klaus right in the eyes, "I'm sorry, I hate to admit it, but you were right. I killed those people because I was lonely and guilty, I had nothing, the only person I trusted was Damon and I didn't have him. The only thing that makes us different now is that I've stopped." Stefan started to walk out, he finished what he had to say and that was it; Caroline went to follow.

As she passed him, she turned to him, "I'm sorry." She whispered quietly.

"I don't believe a word you say." Klaus scoffed back. Caroline looked over at Stefan to give him the ok to leave. "You should be going too, I'm not in the mood." He turned his back to Caroline and grabbed his empty bottle.

"I'm sorry for lying and deceiving you, it was wrong." Caroline yelled out at him. "I had too," Her pitch lowered, "I feel really guilty-"

"Caroline just stop." Klaus turned around to her; he was still covered in blood, "You didn't have to do anything sweetheart, you chose to because you're a loyal girlfriend and friend. If I didn't admire that so much about you, you'd be dead just like my hybrids," Klaus paused, "and Mrs. Lockwood." His tone changed to a more sinister pitch, Caroline's jaw dropped. She just apologized to a man who murdered her boyfriend's mom.

"What?" She said stunned.

"Tyler challenged me-"

"So you killed his mom!" Caroline yelled, "How could you?"

"How could I?" Klaus yelled back, they were arguing like a married couple. "He took away my hybrids and he used you like a tool!"

"So?" Caroline crossed her arms.

"I trusted you Caroline and I trusted Stefan; I hardly trust people and this is the exact reason why," Klaus moved like a ghost and got in Caroline's face, "Because they stab you in the back when you least expect it." Caroline felt really guilty right then and there, however she was still unforgiving of that fact he killed Mrs. Lockwood. Maybe she could have prevented this if she was just real or if people just gave him a break. Klaus backed away and removed his blood stained coat.

"Klaus-"

"Caroline, I swear, if you don't stop talking I will kill you." His voice was threatening, but Caroline didn't believe it for a second. He would have done it by now.

"No!" Caroline yelled back, tears were starting to fill her eyes. She felt sorry for the Original vamp, but she also felt hatred and sadness for Tyler. Klaus sped and grabbed her neck, Caroline quickly grabbed onto his hand trying to break free. His grip was tight, but he let go almost instantaneously and had a look of shame encumber his face. "I'm just as stubborn as you are, but I'm not going to go on a massacre when someone betrays me."

"You have no idea about betrayal love." Klaus started to head up the stairs, trying to get rid of Caroline. Caroline pouted and took of her heels; she hurled them at Klaus making him turn around and snarl. She was running on adrenaline, she was angry at Klaus, angry at Hayley and angry at Tyler.

"I know plenty of betrayal. I might not be a billion years old, but I know that it feels awful. It hurts." Caroline was starting to calm down, "Stefan and I tried to prolong Tyler's revolution, but we ended up getting locked in a dungeon. He said I was supposed to be on his side, but my friends needed that cure. So we tried to save you, and I came up with a new plan, but that werewolf slut, who was supposed to be on our side, snapped my neck and played us all."

"That's very touching sweetheart, but that doesn't come close to the betrayals I have had." Klaus continued to head up the stairs. He was starting to calm down, but Caroline kept pestering him. He already had enough for one day and for once wanted her out of his presence.

"That may be true, but that's not the principal of the situation," Caroline sped up the stairs and blocked Klaus. He glared at her, even though he was on a rage he would never have the heart to kill or harm her. "I am sorry that I was a decoy for this plan." She paused and took a deep breath, "But it made me realize that you're really not that horrible. We've all done some pretty awful things, you just happen to keep killing people that are important to us." Caroline raised her brows, "Honesty and trust is important, so I'm sorry, I really am." Klaus averted her eyes; he never noticed how soothing her voice was to him until now.

"I don't understand what you and Stefan want from me." Klaus led Caroline upstairs to his room. "I was his friend in his Ripper days; I compelled him to forget us for my family's safety and his. Now, I never lied to him, I told him about the cure, the sword, the mark," Klaus opened his drawer, "but yet he still couldn't get past the whole, I killed Elena and then stripped him of his humanity. I'm not going to lie, that was a pretty low thing to do to a friend, but I do have a temper you know."

"Yea," Caroline was observing his room. It was so simple and elegant. The windows would let so much sunlight in if it was day; the moonlight was making the room look simply stunning. She noticed letters above his bed, love letters, and she became overwhelmed with sad and aloneness.

"Even you, you told me I don't connect with people because I don't try," Caroline turned around at this; she noticed his shirt was unbuttoned and untucked. For some reason this wild look appealed to Caroline, but also repulsed her at the same time. "Sweetheart, I don't know how much I have to try to connect with you. I offered you a drink you kill my brother. I help rescue you from Alaric and your friends desiccate me. I save you from being captured by the council and you yell at me." Caroline looked down, she didn't realize how many times he really did try to make an effort and each time she played him, it must of hurt like a bitch. "The list goes on, but the worst was that you fake broke up with Tyler, so you could continuously backstab me. Humanity is a vampire's greatest weakness and you played with mine like it was a toy." Klaus looked at Caroline who was getting teary eyed, "And I was blinded enough to be a fool."

Caroline was now averting his eyes, she felt awful. She never really thought about how she could be hurting him or how what she was doing was immoral until now. He trusted her and she deceived him until the very end. "I know I deceived you a lot, but you have been really gentleman like to me and I appreciate that." She tried to change the subject because she didn't want to admit her guilt, "I thought our thing was I say something witty, you say something charming, we drink champagne," Caroline sweetly smiled, but Klaus wasn't having any of it.

"It's more like I try to do what you ask and you backstab me." Klaus walked over to his door and paved the exit for her, "That was our thing love." Caroline looked down and started walking towards the door.

"I don't forgive you for killing Mrs. Lockwood or Aunt Jenna or Elena, but I can try to look past it. I'm sorry for being a conniving piece of work; all you've been is nice to me. The few times we've hung out, you always knew the right thing to say to me when I needed to hear it. I didn't realize it 'cause I was blinded by hate, but I think you understand me better than others. And that was hard to admit, but it's true." Carline started tearing, "You probably don't believe a word I said, I mean if I was you I wouldn't trust me, but I have to reason to lie, it gets us nowhere." Caroline laughed to herself and as she crossed Klaus felt a tight grip on her wrist.

"I don't say this much either, but I'm sorry Caroline, for hurting you. I once said I wouldn't let Tyler hurt you, but I have managed to indirectly do so." It was like Klaus was looking deep past her bright blue eyes, she could feel his sincerity. Caroline turned to him and followed her gut; she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a comforting hug. Surprisingly, Klaus returned the gesture. It was so quiet and calm now, compared to an hour ago when everyone was heated. Something was so blissful when they were together, yet neither could figure out why.

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The next morning was a cold day, the sun was shining, but the air was dull. Caroline stayed awake in her bed for the rest of the night. She tried reaching Tyler many times, she wondered if he knew about his mother. She looked over at her nightstand and noticed a little blue box; she already knew it was from Klaus from his prior gifts. She removed the ribbon, and opened the box to find it was the same diamond bracelet he gave her before. There was a little not card on the inside that read, "Thank you for your honesty." She removed the card and placed it on her nightstand where she kept his other drawing. Just as she was about to open the box she heard a knock on the door.

"Caroline!" It was Tyler, Caroline sped over still in her pajama sweats; she opened the door and gave him a hug. Tyler was crying, "I'm going to kill that bastard," Caroline's eyes widened.

"Tyler-"

"He killed all my friends, my mom! She was the only family I had left!" Tyler's rage was building.

"Hayley, she is the one that killed all the hybrids." Caroline stated, "And I'm so sorry about your mom, most of us know what it feels like to lose a family member because Klaus. Elena lost Jenna and Alaric, I lost my dad, Bonnie lost her mom," Caroline paused and they got out of their hug. Tyler had a look of disgust, like why is she defending him?

"Do you know how he killed her?" Tyler said angrily. Caroline shook her head 'no', "He drowned her in town square; she was protecting me! I was supposed to pick her up!" Tyler again started tearing, he looked at his phone that said 'one saved voicemail', "She finally told me she was proud of me, that even my d-bag dad would be proud, and now she's gone." Caroline felt awful for Tyler, drowning was an awful way to go. Elena has told her about what it feels like to drown; it's scary because you're still aware of what is going on, but the water just keeps flowing in and you're completely helpless. Caroline could only imagine how scared Mrs. Lockwood was being forced underwater. "I'm going to kill him."

"You can't do that; it'll kill all of us!" She reminded him.

"Honestly, I don't care. I have nothing left, my pack is gone, my dad, my mom, I have no one!" He started to turn his back.

"Tyler! You have me! You have us." Caroline was pleading; how could he be so careless, he would sign all their death sentences for pure vengeance. Tyler sped off and Caroline trailed him, yelling at him to stop. Klaus was painting in his room some more lonely paintings. He heard Caroline's yelling from miles away. He listened as a kick carelessly knocked open his front down. He smirked; he was ready to end this hybrid.

"Klaus!" Tyler yelled out his name and within a second he appeared at the top of his stairs. Caroline finally caught up and looked up at Klaus who was ready to rip Tyler's head off. Caroline tried to pull Tyler back, but he wouldn't budge. "Get out of here Caroline," Tyler pushed her off.

"You are an ungrateful little hybrid," Klaus started to walk towards Tyler, but Tyler lunged at him. Klaus could easily kill him, but he wanted to make him suffer. He dodged and knocked Tyler across the face, making him fall back down the stairs.

"Stop it!" Caroline was yelling at both of the hybrids. She sped over to help Tyler, who again pushed her back. Before Tyler could even get up, Klaus kicked him in the stomach to send him flying across the room. Caroline couldn't deal with watching Tyler sign his death sentence, "Stop it! Please just stop!" It was like slow motion in her eyes, she knew Klaus was going to go for his heart with this blow. She dashed like never before between the two to feel a piercing blow go through her body. She could feel the grip around her heart, compressing it. She looked up to see Klaus standing there with astonishment, but noticed that both his hands were gently on her sides not through her body. She glanced over her shoulder to see Tyler have a look of panic on, "Tyler," she cried. He continued to grip her heart do to shock, his grip was really strong and he was scared that if he moved the slightest it would kill her. Tyler let up his shaken grip and pulled his hand out making Caroline let out a scream of pain. Klaus quickly grabbed her and moved her away from Tyler. Caroline fell to her knees and starting coughing and clutching at her heart. Klaus knelt down and kept a hand on Caroline's back to make sure she was okay. Tyler went to approach but Klaus growled for him to back off. Tyler sped over, but Klaus got up and stepped in front of Caroline knocking Tyler far back. Caroline was traumatized, seeing her life flash before her at the hands of her lover had that effect. She looked up to see Klaus defending her; even in all his hatred for Tyler he didn't attack her.

"Caroline," Klaus rolled her name of his tongue, "You should go home," Klaus started to break the bones in his arm. He didn't even flinch from the pain of breaking his bones.

"You're going to kill him!" Caroline yelled after regaining her strength. "I can't let you do that." She got up, but fell down to one knee. Klaus stopped cracking his bones and looked over his shoulder. He admired her loyalty and secretly wanted that more than anything. His face went from hard to soft when looking at her. Even in her weak state she was bold enough to stand up to him. The two stared at each other trying to read their next moves, but was interrupted by a snarl. Klaus snapped his head around to see the grey wolf drooling with hunger.

"Go now Caroline," Klaus snapped at her as he got in position to block Tyler's attack. Caroline didn't listen for she was shocked how Tyler just kept going at it.

"Tyler stop! Please just stop!" She continued to plead. Tyler howled and then darted towards them, Klaus jumped at him and the two spun in the air; allowing for Klaus to perform the fastest transformation ever. It was like all his bones cracked at once and by the time his feet landed on the ground they were four paws. Caroline watched in amazement and fear, she watched as the two werewolves kept biting each other. There was blood getting splattered everywhere for the wounds would keep healing. "Guys please stop!" She shrieked; the grey wolf didn't acknowledge her, but the golden one's ears perked. Tyler was completely drowned in vengeance, he continuously attacked Klaus who was being passive aggressive for once. Klaus knocked Tyler across the room landing near Caroline, "Tyler" she whispered calmly, and he looked at her and snarled. "Just let it go," Caroline wanted Tyler to stop, by the end of this he would be dead, but this only made Tyler angry, he took it as she was defending her and in this werewolf state had less control of himself. Tyler fixed his next move at Caroline; she screamed and blocked his bite with her arm. His teeth sank deep into her arm breaking the bone and completely forcing her to the floor. Tyler let up and went to bite again, but was tossed off by Klaus. Caroline rolled onto her side grasping her arm and crying from the pain.

She felt warmth near her body and realized the golden-coated wolf was standing over her in a defensive state. Even in wolf mode Klaus had complete control over his body. His fur was spiked up and his head was held low, ready to strike at any second. Tyler was aching all over, but he didn't want to surrender to Klaus. Klaus snarled at Tyler to submit, putting Tyler back in his beta place. Tyler averted this action and jumped through the glass window, running into the woods. Caroline was relieved that he left, but was also shocked and hurt that he would literality toss her to the sides without a second thought. Klaus remained in his wolf form and helped Caroline up to a sitting position against a wall. She looked at the wolf's eyes and it was the same lonely blue that Klaus always had. She flinched from the pain in her arm, it wasn't just a smile bite, it mark took up most of her arm. Within a second Klaus was gone and back, fully clothed and human formed. "I'm sorry sweetheart," He lifted his sleeve and wrapped his other arm around Caroline to get into a more comfortable blood sharing position. She gently pierced his skin with her fangs and drank away. His blood tasted just as euphoric as it did last time, but this time she felt closer. Probably because her boyfriend almost tried to kill her twice and the mass murder didn't even attempt to.

He could feel the tears falling onto his wrist as she drank; he watched as the bite wound started to close. She let up on his wrist, "Thank you," she quietly said. Klaus rested his head on hers and sighed.

"Please drink a little more love, your wound is quiet large," Klaus looked down at her.

She brushed her lips against his wrist and spoke against it, "Yeah, it is," alluding to her heartache and mental pain. Klaus caught on to this and felt sorry for her, she didn't deserve this. The wolf bite healed quickly, but the two remained cuddled on the ground. Klaus was first to stand up; he lent his hand out to help her up. She gladly accepted it, "You know I'm still mad at you."

"Well the feeling is mutual," Klaus retorted stubbornly, "But I'm willing to look past your vindictiveness." He smiled at her and she just smiled to the floor. She was kind of woozy and felt really tired. "You're welcome to stay in the guest room love." He showed her the room and she nodded; she was too tired to do anything else.

"I hope you don't mind asking, but do you have a change of clothes," She looked down at herself; her plain long sleeved shirt was covered in blood and had claw marks ripped through it.

"I'm sure Rebekah's room has something that will suit you. Down the hall, first door on the left, I'll be in my studio if you need anything," Klaus smiled and bowed formally as he left her alone. Caroline looked at the plain guest room; it was so impersonal. She walked out into the hallway and made her way to the original sister's room. She opened the door and was mesmerized how elegant and girly it was. She opened the huge closet and took some pajamas and clothes for tomorrow. Each room had a shower, so she took a quick cold one to try and wash away her feelings. She ended up sitting in the shower for an hour sobbing about Tyler. Klaus sat downstairs and painted a landscape while listening to her the whole time. Caroline finally stopped crying and changed into the pajamas; they were simple, pink pants with a white long sleeved shirt. She walked out of Rebekah's room and continued to explore the upstairs. She passed many empty bedrooms, each with different designs. She passed many studies and living rooms; but stopped at his door. It was closed, but she went on to invade his personal space anyways. Caroline silently opened his door and closed it; she looked through all his drawers and admired the paintings on the wall. She walked over to his bedside and again analyzed the love letters on the wall. They were very personal, but she realized they weren't addressed to him. Caroline got a sense of lonely from them. She tore her eyes away from the wall to his nightstand where he kept a small sketchbook. She picked it up and looked at the first page; it was her of course. She lifted up his covers and got herself comfortable situated and continued to flip through that pages. Ninety percent of the pages were her; she was flattered, each drawing was different and made her feel special. She continued to flip through the drawings until she fell asleep.

Klaus continued painting until 2am. He basically used every easel in the room and drank four bottles of wine alone. He headed up the stairs and first checked the guest room, he noticed Caroline wasn't there, so he shrugged it off and thought nothing of it. He strolled into his room, unaware of her silent presence. He went on to change his clothes and made his way over to his bed, with his last glass of wine in hand. He stopped when he noticed her perfectly still body snuggled up in his sheets. He put the wine glass on the nightstand and reached over her to grab his sketchbook. The last page that was open was from the Miss Mystic pageant, it was Caroline in her gold dress smiling with the words 'when I am chosen' in the top left corner and 'confident' in the bottom right. Klaus looked over at Caroline, "Goodnight love, sweet dreams." He had a lounge chair in his room that he happily made himself comfortable on. He started drawing another picture of Caroline, until he simply dozed off just by the thought of her. He questioned why he felt so strongly for Caroline; he should be mad at her, he should have killed her the first time she betrayed him, but he knew he would never bring himself to do so. She was too pure, too full of light, she was something different and worth fawning over, worth protecting. She was everything he wasn't and he needed that to balance himself. Klaus knew he was tired of being alone, a thousand plus years was long enough, he wanted company; he wanted Caroline's company.

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Note: Thanks for reading! Now that TVD isn't coming back until January, I can let my imagination deviate more. I'm trying to make the chapters longer too, since last time they were so short!

BTWs sorry if there are grammatical errors.

Even if I say it'll be alright
Still I hear you say you want to end your life
Now and again we try to just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late
It's never too late

-Never Too Late ~ Three Days Grace-

This song reminds me of 3x11 when Klaus goes to heal Caroline and he says "You're free" and she's all like "No, I'm dying." Aww, and then he tells her theres so much more to life and happy ending, "I don't want to die"; the power of Klaroline!