DISCLAIMER: none of these characters are mine. I start out with some dialogue that completely belongs to the CW and the writers of the Vampire diaries but then venture into my own.
This first chapter focuses on Klaroline in 4x09
"You're going to do WHAT?!" Caroline was trying to keep her voice down.
"Haylee found a witch strong enough to do the body jump spell, ya know, the Klaus specialty." Tyler explained, fake snow falling all around them in the town square.
"So you're going to put him into someone else's body and then what?"
We'll encase the body in concrete, then bury it."
"Why not just desiccate him like Bonnie did?" She asked.
"Because to do that spell you have to stop a human heart and I was a little short of volunteers." Tyler said the obvious.
"Well, who was dumb enough to volunteer their body to be a Klaus sub-let?"
Tyler paused and she got the point. Her eyes widened.
"Okay, don't freak out." He started.
"Freak out! Freak out?! I'm about to hemorrhage you. You volunteered?!" Again, Caroline was trying to keep her voice down.
"It's not forever. Just long enough for the hybrids to be able to completely disappear."
"Well I can think of better ways to spend our Senior year than with you buried in concrete, Tyler."
He put his hands on her shoulders.
"This started with me. This has to end with me. I need your support."
Caroline nodded.
Later that day...
There was a piece of the puzzle that seemed to be eluding her but she couldn't see what it was. It was that feeling that everything happening around her were just the small bits but not the larger picture. As if they were all puppets and the string master was being very clever. Tyler trying to put Klaus "on ice", Stefan wanting the sword to decipher Jeremy's growing mark, Jeremy working with Bonnie and "Professor Creepy" to help him not kill the vampires that were actually on their team... And why did the Professor want to help? Why was he teaching Bonnie new magic? Why was it better than what she'd been doing before dabbling in black magic? What was the connection? It was all going on at once.
The softly painted snowflake in front of her was being dedicated to charity by none other than Klaus of course. He always was good at art. She still had his drawing of her with the horse tucked in her bedside table. Why she hadn't been able to throw it away, she had no idea. She should have.
And suddenly, she felt a tingle on her spine. All the little hairs standing on end. A reaction her body had when Klaus was drawing near. This, Caroline couldn't explain either. Recently developed and something that scared the crap out of her.
Looking over her right shoulder confirmed it. There he was, standing with a genuine smile. She had seen that smile a few times before. He let his emotions ease around her. Klaus' smile at that moment was carefree, humbled and completely focused on her.
Caroline gave him a once over. "Here to steal Tiny Tim's crutches?" was her opening insult.
"Dickens was a dark man, you would've like him," Klaus answered with a glimmer in his eye, very much referring to someone else she begrudgingly already liked.
Caroline skirted around a table as he walked to close the distance between them. As soon as she did, she regretted it. How obvious could she be? Doing so showed her fear, fear of being near him, near temptation. Both of them knew it was there.
"Nice snowflake by the way."
"Is my work really that literal?"
"I'm serious," her voice turned delicate, "there's something... lonely about it."
"I'm going to take that as a complement." For a moment Klaus' features were harsh as if she'd hurt him. But then he swiftly recovered. "Can I offer you some Champagne?"
"Can't," Caroline turned, "Too many adult prying eyes. Don't want to be a High School cautionary tale at the next town meeting." She turned around again to see he was following her.
"Well then, it's a good thing the High School part's nearly over."
"If we're going to be nice to each other then I will need that glass of Champagne."
He smiled. "Is that our thing?" he asked as he stepped closer, eyes seductive.
"We don't have a 'thing'," she lied through her teeth.
"Allow me." he said.
As he was about to leave, Caroline grabbed his wrist and stopped him. She took a ragged breath. She and Stefan didn't just need the sword. Something told her that they would need Klaus as well. He had become a sort of ally to them. If there was something that Caroline was indeed missing, she would need his help. He hadn't been around for thousands of years and gained all the knowledge that naturally followed to not know strategy and how to discern when something more was going on.
His face showed confusion, curiosity and a hint of down right mischief.
"What is it, Love?"
"I- you... you need to come with me." She got out.
Some weariness seeped into his expression but he smiled that devilish smile and nodded, signaling her to lead the way.
Caroline walked for what seemed a like a long time, but then not using vamp-speed, it would. She had to just to make sure that they were out of everyone's earshot. And over the distance they covered, Klaus had intertwined their fingers. As much as this bugged her, it also heated her as well. She wanted what she shouldn't.
At what she knew was a safe distance, Caroline stopped and turned to face him as he waited patiently for what she would do or say next.
"What I'm about to tell you... will pretty much betray all my friends in one way or another; everyone that I care about." Her far off gaze was directed at the ground without really seeing it at all.
Klaus' grip on her hand tightened slightly but in a gentle way. She could feel him looking at her, willing her to look up at him. And she did. Yet, he didn't say a word. Only waited for her to continue.
"Stefan's at your house now, searching for the sword so we can decode the mark on Jeremy ourselves. We had to move up the time table without you because of what Tyler plans to do." She was shaky.
Klaus grazed her jawline and tilted her chin to look directly into her eyes. He knew she was on vervain but he wasn't trying to compel her anyway.
"And what is our Tyler planning on doing?" He asked.
Caroline took a deep breath. "He's unsired all of your hybrids and they plan on putting you into Tyler's body, encasing you in concrete just long enough for the Hybrids to get away and hide."
Without giving away anything, the Original Hybrid kept his eyes trained on hers as she began to speak again.
"They were planning to do it today so we either needed to find the sword or we had to protect you from the hybrids. From Tyler."
"So, you just wanted to warn me so I could help you and Stefan find Elen's cure then?" He asked sounding on the verge of disappointment.
"No... I- it's just that there's so much going on right now, even things I don't know about, things I can't piece together. There's something on the edge of it all that I can't quite grasp. Tyler will take his pack's side no matter if it's against his closest friends. So, you're... I actually trust you more. I think," she said slowly, still looking into his eyes, "that you're the only one on our side. The only one on my side. I-" she blinked a few times. "I trust you."
Klaus looked down into Caroline's eyes with such softness and pleasant surprise. It had a touch of the look he gave her when he was telling her of the beautiful world she could see if she wanted him to save her after being bitten by Tyler. A misted look of pure, unguarded emotion.
"I already knew about my hybrids, Caroline."
Her eyes widened in shock.
"You did?!" Her brow scrunched in confusion.
He gave a short laugh. "You didn't really think that a man like me could be around for as long as I have and not picked up on a few things did you?"
Just as she thought. He was looking at it all from a bird's eye view. Seeing more than just from his perspective. She was about to answer but he went on.
"But the fact that you didn't think I had an inkling and wanted to warn me..." He rested his forehead on hers with a hand and the back of her neck. "Tell me the truth, Love, with no quips or comebacks; you're starting to care for me aren't you? And not just for the sake of Elena or Stefan or anyone else." His voice was just above a whisper.
Caroline took in a few breaths and then put a hand to his chest. "Yes." was her simple reply. And then, he kissed her.
This kiss was unlike the passion crazed one they shared when he was in Tyler's body. This one meant more because she knew exactly who she was with; knew exactly how much she was bearing herself and her feelings.
Her eyes fluttered shut as he guided her against his body and her arms naturally wrapped around his neck. She hadn't let herself even imagine this moment but was now feeling every bit of it so intensely. His soft lips and the stubble all along his face was a heady combination. Tyler has never felt like this to her. A feverish teenage boy dream, sure, but not like this. Not like a man could feel. He smelled masculine and not of that stupid Abercrombie cologne that Tyler used too much of. At times it was almost nauseating.
She pushed back at that moment.
"Wait, if you knew about the hybrids, what were you planning on doing about it?" she asked.
"What would you do, Caroline?"
She thought about it for a moment. And just that, a moment, because it really didn't take any longer to come up with her answer.
"I would kill them." She was astonished at her own words and how firmly they came out. But, in his place, what else would she do? There were people she cared about that the hybrids could go after, they were a risk, a liability. If the choice were between her loved ones and a pack that she cared nothing about then, yes, she would slaughter them all. The thought surprised her but it was one she couldn't argue with.
Klaus gave her an are-you-getting-the-picture-now? look.
She nodded. Her hands were still on his chest as he lightly gripped her upper arms. "Could you leave Tyler out of it?"
"Yes, I assumed your break up was an act. However, seeing as stressed as things are with the two of you, I'm guessing that now it's more of a reality." He paused. "But I can forgive Tyler for now and chalk it up to a misguided decision... Caroline, I'll do it this time but if he comes after me again I won't be so generous. And he'll probably want to after what I must do to the rest of them."
Again, she nodded.
"Go to my manor tonight, Love. Tyler nor I will come to any harm and by the time I return to you, it will all be over."
"But-"
He stopped her rebuttal with another kiss. "Trust me, Darling. In your heart, you know you can." His eyes collided with hers in a way that only held the truth.
At that he sped away and she did what she almost never would. She did what she was told. Because she did, trust him that is...
***The next chapter will address Elena and Damon from the same episode and Chapters beyond that will continue with both relationships.