Eternal Flame

by Erin Salvatore

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.

Note: Okay, this is something new for me and I hope I can do it justice. I'm going to do a series of one shots featuring Klaroline. Some are based on actual episodes, and some are just random, but our couple is front and center.

Don't ask, I just happened to get inspired.

3x11.

Klaus watched her carefully as she slept. Just a few short hours ago, he had come here to save Caroline with his blood. Granted, it was something that had been done on his orders, but he couldn't just let the little blonde vampire die. As he looked at her, Klaus couldn't help but be fascinated by her. No wonder that whelp, Tyler, held her in such high regard. She was beautiful, like an angel. An angel that had been turned into a vampire, yes, but an angel nonetheless. He had seen many beautiful things over the centuries, but none that could compare to Caroline Forbes. No, she was a rarity.

He carefully got up from the bed and looked all around the room. It seemed like the bedroom of a typical teenage girl, and yet, it didn't. No, there was a charm to it, as though it wasn't meant to be part of a house owned by a small town sheriff. It was while he was looking around that Klaus came across something that he didn't notice when he first walked in. Heading toward the closet, he carefully opened it and saw a sash hanging up. He looked closer and read the gold letters on it, which said, "MISS MYSTIC FALLS." Looking on the shelf above it, he saw tiara that went with the sash.

He remembered being in town the day of the pageant in question and had kept a good distance from those in attendance, especially the Salvatore brothers. It was while he was keeping his distance that he had spotted Caroline. She was human then, but she was just as beautiful then as she was right now, wearing a green gown. He had seen the human boy she was dancing with and wished that he could've been the one dancing with her.

Hearing a soft moan, Klaus looked over his shoulder, thinking that she was waking up, but to his relief, she was still sleeping, but just shifting around to get more comfortable. Poor thing, she was exhausted, and he couldn't really blame her, given what had gone down tonight. Stepping back, he closed the closet and returned to the bed, looking down at her.

"They made the right choice when they crowned you Miss Mystic Falls that day, Caroline," he whispered, more to himself than anyone in particular. "You may not have known it, but I was watching the whole thing from a distance. You were just as beautiful then as you are now, even if you weren't a vampire yet."

He carefully reached down and touched her cheek. "Just rest now, sweetheart. You had quite an ordeal tonight."

Smiling as he heard another moan, Klaus then reached into his pocket and took out a box, opening it to reveal a diamond bracelet, looking back at Caroline. She'd definitely look stunning with a bracelet like this on her wrist. In fact, it made the bracelet Tyler gave her look like a mere trinket. He carefully closed the box, put a ribbon on it and put it on her bedside table, along with a card.

After he had placed his gift on the table, Klaus touched her cheek with his finger one more time and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, whispering the words he had whispered earlier as she was feeding from him, "Happy Birthday, Caroline."

That being said, Klaus stepped back and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, even though part of him was screaming to go back to her. He didn't know what it was about her that was making her feel like this, but he suddenly felt more alive, more...human almost.

"How is she, Klaus?"

A new voice snapped him to attention and he looked over to see Liz Forbes standing there. "Who?"

"Caroline," she said. "I asked you how she was."

Klaus then remembered who she was talking about. "Oh, yes, well, she's going to be all right. She just fell asleep a few minutes ago. The bite should be fully healed by morning."

Liz nodded. "Thank you. Even though I still don't trust you, I'm glad that my daughter is going to be okay. Bad enough my ex-husband came close to killing her while trying to 'fix' her, but..."

"He what?" Klaus couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Bill didn't like the fact that Caroline is a vampire," said Liz. "So, he thought he could drive it out of her. I was able to stop him, thank God, but he was dead set on it."

Klaus fought the urge to hit something right then and there. How could anyone be that cruel? "Is...he still in town?"

"No, he left."

Klaus bit back a curse. If the bastard were still in town, he'd find him and personally punish him for hurting Caroline like that. Either that or he'd have one of his hybrids do it. Deciding that it was best to leave before he said or did anything he'd regret, Klaus walked toward the front door, opened it, and left, closing it behind him.