A lot of you say my chapters are too short. I disagree. For me, a 1,000 word chapter is long.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. No matter how bad I want to, it just seems like it ain't happening. But I do own this plot so yay!
FINAL CHAPTER. I'm not proud of it. I suffered MAJOR writer's block and worked through. The result is not what it usually.
Thanks for sticking with me.
P.S. I'm a review addict. So please review or I won't write. REVIEW!
The One Mistake I Don't Regret
10: Choice
Caroline spent the week at the Mikaelson house with Liam. Caroline saw surprisingly little of Klaus. When she questioned him, he merely said he'd like her decision to leave or stay be unaffected by him.
But Liam saw the rest of his family. His uncles Kol and Elijah and his aunt Rebekah (boy it sounded weird calling Rebekah Aunt). It seemed having a baby around changed the attitude of the Mikaelson family…except Kol…who remained Kol.
After the first few days, it became obvious that Liam's favorite was his aunt Rebekah. The thought that someone spawned by her could like Rebekah made her shudder…then again, half of Liam was Klaus.
Caroline decided she needed some girl time with Elena and Bonnie. Caroline explored the manor, only finding Rebekah and Matt all snuggled up on the couch.
"Uh…hey you two." Caroline greeted awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt their romantic moment. They looked away from each other , shifting their focus to Caroline. "I'm going out for a bit, can you two watch Liam?" She asked.
The Mikaelson daughter nodded and stood. "Of course." She gave the smile….the one where you didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. "I'll get to spend some quality time with my nephew." She leaned down and cooed to Liam. Liam gave his aunt that wide opened mouth smile and bounced in his mother's arms.
Caroline looked up. "Matt has my number in case anything goes wrong." She handed Liam over to his aunt. Caroline couldn't help but smile at Rebekah's affection for her child. She kissed Liam goodbye and stepped out the door. She pulled out her phone and dialed Elena's and Bonnie's numbers.
(1 Hour Later)
Caroline met Elena and Bonnie at the Mystic Grill. They greeted each other and sat down.
"So what's up?" Caroline asked.
"Well Stefan and I are planning on leaving again." Elena smiled. "This time we're going to explore Asia."
"That's great." Caroline smiled to her friend. "What about you Bonnie?" She asked turning to the young witch.
"Me and Jeremy are really enjoying living at the lake house." She said. "The isolation is doing amazing things to our sex life."
"TIME OUT!" Elena explained. "Bonnie, as much as I love you, I don't really want to know what my brother is like in bed."
Bonnie blushed and nodded. Elena turned to her. "What about you Caroline? "
"Well…I assume you know about Tyler." She growled the name out. Both Bonnie and Elena nodded. "Damon filled me in." Elena explained. "It's weird. I just… never expected that from Tyler."
Bonnie nodded. "Let me just say," the witch began, "I take away every bad thing I ever said about close."
"Really?" Elena asked. "Everything?" She asked.
"Well…not the unforgiveable things." Bonnie admitted.
Caroline shrugged. "I think I could." Elena and Bonnie shot her a "wtf" look. Caroline continued. "Ever since I first met him, I couldn't help but feel this…" she tried forming the words "gravitational pull to Klaus. Like the roots of attraction were always there. I don't know what it was, but at times it was subtle and at others it was much stronger."
"Somebody is in love." Bonnie sang.
Caroline blushed. "Hush." She ordered Bonnie embarrassed. "So what if he's a pompous bad boy with deep pools of gray for eyes…and surprisingly soft pink lips…and that rugged stubble on his face…"
"Caroline?" Elena called to her. "Caroline." She snapped in front of her face. "CAROLINE!"
Said blonde jumped and looked to her friends. "Yeah?" She asked panting from shock.
"You were drifting on us." Elena explained. "You started daydreaming."
Caroline nodded. She knew what about too. Klaus. It was amazing. She was starting to realize the effect he had on her. It was also this week. Klaus wasn't around much and his absence was tough on her.
Caroline decided to tell Elena and Caroline what was going on. How Klaus gave her an offer of returning to Maine or staying there and starting a life with him. Both girls looked wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
"I never thought I'd say this." Bonnie said. "But Klaus does have a heart."
"Ditto." Elena agreed.
"And now," Caroline continued, "the week is almost up. I still can't decide what to do. And Klaus refuses to come anywhere near me wanting my decision to be unaffected by his presence." She quoted.
Silence passed between the three of them. Bonnie and Elena exchanged looks. Elena finally spoke.
"Caroline, maybe you should talk to someone who actually knows Klaus." Bonnie suggested.
"You mean like Elijah?" Caroline asked.
"Or Kol or Rebekah." Elena put in.
The blonde sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe." She stood up. "I'm gonna get home." She declared. "You two are right. I'm gonna talk to Rebekah."
(The Mikaelson House)
Caroline walked back in the house. It was quiet. Unsettlingly quiet. Caroline roamed the seemingly empty halls when she came to the kitchen. On the fridge, a pink pace of paper caught her eye. Upon closer inspection, Caroline saw Rebekah's cursive script addressed to her:
"Caroline,
Liam fell asleep playing. I put him in his crib for nap time. I'm upstairs if you need me, but please do me a favor: If Matt is here, don't need me.
R."
Caroline looked out the window and saw Matt's truck. She sighed. Looks like she was waiting. She went upstairs to check on Liam. Fast asleep in his crib. She smiled and cracked the door so she could listen from downstairs.
Thirty minutes later, Caroline watched Matt's truck pull away. She waited another 20 minutes for Rebekah to make herself decent (she could only assume what Matt and Rebekah were doing). Twenty minutes later, Caroline was in Rebekah's room.
"Can I talk to you?" Caroline asked the original daughter.
She shrugged. "Sure." She sat down on edge of the bed. "What's up?"
"It's about your brother." Caroline didn't hesitate.
"What exactly?" Rebekah looked up.
"I just…don't get him." Caroline concentrated on wording the sentence right. "I just want to talk to someone who really knows him."
"And you figured me or my brothers would be the best guess." Rebekah assumed.
"Exactly."
"What exactly do you want to know?" She asked. "Mind you, my knowledge of Nik is limited."
"How is that?"
"Over the centuries of existence, Nik has preferred to keep to himself."
Caroline nodded. "Sometimes, I just don't understand him. Any insight you have would be helpful."
"Well what do you find confusing?"
"Well, he made a deal with me. He gave me a week to decide if I wanted to go back to Maine or stay here and try to start a life with him."
"How is that confusing?" Rebkah asked raising one of her eyebrows.
"Well, he did something that was so…" a proper word didn't come to mind so she made one up, "un-Nik-like."
"What did he do?"
"He left. He said something like he didn't want to influence my choice."
Rebekah gasped. Caroline turned to her. "What?"
"Nik said that?" Rebekah asked.
"I'm paraphrasing, but yeah."
"You don't it." Rebekah said a hint of shock in her voice. "Nik always wants things to go his way. He's giving you complete freedom to make up your choice."
"What exactly does that mean?" Caroline asked, getting slightly impatient.
"He cares for you!"
Caroline gasped. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "There are so many ways he could have gotten his way by now. And he chose not to. He chose to leave it completely up to chance. That can only mean he cares strongly enough for you that he desires your happiness!"
Caroline didn't hear anything else. She slowly walked out of Rebekah's room in a trance. She couldn't believe it.
There was a possibility that Klaus cared about her. A possibility that Klaus felt something. At that moment everything came out. She always buried her feelings about Klaus. Pretended they weren't there. She was free to let them out, explore them, see what they are. It was Wednesday.
She still had a few days but she made her decision.
(Saturday evening)
The last day of Caroline's stay had arrived. Klaus hadn't shown up all week. She hoped he would show up tonight.
It was already five o'clock Caroline had Liam in bed by seven thirty. She hoped Klaus would show up to play with his son before he had to go down.
Speak of the devil, the door opened and Klaus stepped through
Liam looked up from his toys and squealed at his father. Caroline couldn't help but smile. Liam had only known Klaus a few days, he had no idea Klaus was his father, and yet he reacted like he'd known him all his life. It made her choice much much easier.
The two and a half hours seemed to pass by as if seconds as Klaus and Caroline played with their son. He was so spent by the time he went down. He was asleep the minute he hit his pillow. Caroline smiled and gently closed the door before she went downstairs to Klaus.
"Have you made your choice love?" He asked being ever blunt.
She bit her lip. Yes she expected him to be curious. Hell, she knew he was blunt. Yet that took her by surprise.
She inhaled and exhaled, somehow gaining the courage she needed.
"Yes." She said.
"And?" Klaus stood. He did the best to hide, but he was really nervous. He wanted Caroline around him. He wanted her to pick him. Yet, he wouldn't be heartbroken if she chose Maine.
Caroline exhaled and walked to him. "I chose you."
Klaus's eyes widened. He did his best to stifle the gasp, but a breath of it got past his lips. "What?" He asked.
"I can't deny Liam his father." She said. "But also," it was time for him to know, "for the longest time, I had been feeling this attraction to you. I thought I couldn't pursue it because of Tyler." She looked into his gray eyes. "But I'm ready now. Klaus, I know I have feelings for you, and I want to pursue them."
Klaus hugged her to him. He wanted to kiss her, but as she said, she was unsure of her feelings.
And he would spend eternity with her and his son helping her find out.
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