Chicago 1922

Klaus P.O.V.

I watched as Rebekah and Stefan Salvatore danced. It brought a small smile to my face, watching my sister dancing with a man that was finally worthy of her. Stefan was the first man that I have ever approved of for Rebekah, and the fact that he was a vampire didn't hurt either. Neither did the fact that he was the infamous Ripper that I have been hearing all about. This night was turning out better than I would have thought. First Rebekah meets this Ripper, and then he and I become friends. It has been a long while since I had a friend, or as he called us, brothers. The fact that all of my siblings, besides Rebekah, was daggered in boxes had left me with a much needed companion.

As I watched them dance the night away I caught the most arousing scent. It was a mixture of sweet vanilla and something else, something I couldn't quite put my finger on yet. I looked towards the door immediately to find the source of this beautiful scent. I saw wavy blonde curls, as gold as the sun, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in all of my centuries on this earth. She had the biggest and brightest blue eyes, I was convinced that if I looked into them that they'd be deeper than the ocean. She walked as if she owned the room. I could also tell that she was a vampire, the lack of a heartbeat was dead giveaway. She headed to the bar after some man grabbed her coat. I swiftly got up, meeting her there.

She gracefully sat down on the bar stool. "I will have a Champagne Cocktail please." she said, her voice smooth like silk. Once her drink was made she went to pay, but I beat her to it. I stared straight into the bartender's eyes, "You don't need any payment. Matter of fact, you will be paying for this drink yourself. And any other that the lovely lady orders." I said. He repeated my words back to me, giving me a blank expression before walking away. "I can pay for my own drink you know. But thank you for the gesture." She said, smiling sweetly at me. I took her hand, "My pleasure love." and kissed it. She smiled. "And your name is?"

"My name is Niklaus Mikaelson, but you can call me Klaus or Nik." I said, releasing her hand. She smiled, downed her drink and looked back towards me. "I'm Caroline, Caroline Forbes." She then got up from her stool and walked towards the dance floor. When she realized I wasn't following her, she turned around, "Aren't you coming? Or was you buying me a drink a friendly gesture?" She asked smiling. I grabbed her held out hand and she lead me to the dance floor. Gloria sang a very slow song in the background, but I barely heard it. All my attention was on Caroline. We danced and talked.

"So I've heard of you, the scary original vampire that is nothing but blood thirsty. Who shows no mercy and could slaughter a whole village without even batting an eyelash. So tell me, how much of that is true?" Her curiosity was refreshing. "Well sweetheart, every single bit of that is true. But I believe something was left out." I said. She grinned, "And what exactly is that Mr. Big Bad?" she laughed. "They left out the fact that I am an extreme gentleman." She laughed again, her laugh was so beautiful. It was as if angels were singing. "Your laugh is beautiful." I told her. "And your accent is to die for." By now the song had ended. I lead her to my table and we sat down. We talked a little more, she told me about her family and just her life in general. I didn't interrupt once, I wanted to know about her.

She looked at me, "Come on Nik, there's gotta be something else that you want to talk about instead of sitting here and listening to me." I shook my head, smiling at her, "I want to talk about you." She blushed and in that moment I decided that I had to kiss her. And that's exactly what I did. When our lips touched she put her hands in my hair while I wrapped my hands around her waist. I pulled her even closer to me, having the need to feel her. She didn't resist, she just leaned farther into me.

"Ahem." We pulled away upon hearing it. "Bekah, Stefan." I said, a hint of irritation in my voice. "Ahh, so you are the infamous Ripper that has been leaving bodies up and down the coast. Just so you know, I do not agree with your methods." Caroline said. Stefan gave her an amused expression, "And why is that?" Caroline sat up straighter and looked him dead in the eyes, "Humans do not exist for our entertainment. Yes, we need blood to survive but we do not need to be monsters. And who says that it has to be human blood that we survive on? I have lasted on animal blood for years, but maybe that's because there is still some humanity left in me."

I chuckled, "Stefan, Bekah, this is Caroline." Stefan looked intrigued while Rebekah looked shocked, "Why don't you feed on humans? You don't have to kill all of them, you can just compel them. You don't have to starve yourself like this." Rebekah stated.

Caroline laughed again, God I loved her laugh. "Animal blood may not taste as good, but it does satisfy my cravings." She put up her finger to keep them from interrupting, "I do this because I know what it's like to be used and abused by a vampire, so I would rather not be the reason someone else felt that way." I squeezed her hand in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. They both nodded in understanding. "So Caroline, why don't we go grab a drink and leave the boys to be boys?" Rebekah asked, I could see that she was making an effort to get to know Caroline, and I was grateful for it. Caroline nodded and they both walked towards the bar, leaving Stefan and I alone. Stefan looked over at me, "I like her." I chuckled, nodding at him, "Me too."

One Year Later

Stefan, Caroline, Rebekah and I were at Gloria's, having a last night out before the move. We were leaving. The plan was to travel around, see new places. If it were up to me I would have left as soon as possible, but Caroline wanted one last night of fun. She loves this place. A few months into our relationship I soon realized she loved it so much because it was the place where we had met.

I saw Caroline walking toward me and pulled her into my lap, "I thought you had run off on me love." I said playfully. She laughed and brought her hand up to caress my face, "Never Nik." she said, leaning down to kiss me. I wrapped my arms tighter around her waist as her hands immediately went to my hair. When we broke apart for air she smiled at me, "I think I may be falling in love with you Niklaus Mikaelson." Her deceleration made me smile, a real smile. She was the only one who could make me smile like that nowadays.

I wiped my finger over her bottom lip, "I think I have already fallen in love with you Caroline." I think the moment I knew I loved her was when I told her about my family. She wasn't disgusted by me when I told her about Mikael and me being a bastard. She didn't run away when I told her about what I do to my siblings, I found her reactions highly surprising. She told me that she understood why I did it, but she didn't by far approve of it. She even said how one day she would love to meet them. I know she had more to say on the subject, but she knew not to push too soon. Another thing I loved about her.

She gave me the biggest smile, and I was sure that it would light up the darkest of rooms. Just as it had done for me. We, Rebekah and Stefan included, got up for a dance. After two songs I decided to sit down. Caroline stayed on the dance floor and danced with Rebekah, while Stefan went to the bathroom. The smile I could feel coming to my face almost hurt, it was that big. I had finally found someone to love and trust who loved me back. As Stefan walked back towards the dance floor I felt something. I wasn't sure what it was until gunshots were heard, and seen, flying into the building. Stefan had pulled Rebekah and Caroline behind the bar.

"They're using wooden bullets. They know." I heard him say. "That means he's here." Rebekah said. "Who's here? Who are you talking about?" Caroline asked. I could hear the anxiety and fear in her voice. It pained me to know that I was the cause of it. I put the woman I love in danger. I knew that we had to get out of here but I also knew that they couldn't come with us. I couldn't do that to her, or Stefan. I couldn't make them live a life on the run, they deserved better than that. She deserved better. As I walked over to them, that's when I made my decision. "Rebekah! We've got to go sweetheart!" I screamed out. They all came out from behind the bar. I pushed Rebekah towards the door and turned around to see Stefan bending down for something. I grabbed him and he gave me a perplexed look.

"Stefan, I'm sorry but the fun has to end here." He looked at me, confused. "What are you talking about?" I put my hand on his shoulder, making sure he was looking into my eyes. "You must forget Rebekah and me. Until I say otherwise you never knew us Stefan. And thank you, I had forgotten what it was like to have a brother."

He then walked away. Caroline gave me a horrified expression, "What was that Nik? What did you do to Stefan? And what's going on?" I could hear the fear in her voice again, getting stronger. I walked towards her and pulled her into a loving yet passionate kiss. She hesitated at first, but quickly recovered herself and gave back everything I was giving her. When we pulled away I looked into her eyes, "You will forget all of the time we have spent together. You never met Rebekah, Stefan, or me. You've never even heard of Gloria's." A few tears started to fall as I said the next part. "You will live a happy life. You will laugh and smile and dance like there's no tomorrow. You will not remember anything until I say otherwise."

I kissed her forehead and then flashed away, wiping away the few tears that had fallen. When I walked outside Rebekah was waiting for Stefan and Caroline. I opened the car door, "Let's go." I told her. "They'll be here any second." she said. "Do you wanna die? We've been found, we need to move." I could here the determination in her voice. "Not without them."

"We have to disappear, they will draw too much attention. You have to let him go, I already did with her." She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "What did you do?" she asked. I grabbed her arm, "Come on, we have to move. We don't have time for one of your tantrums." She yanked her arm away from me, "I don't want to run anymore Nik! All we ever do is run! I want to be with Stefan. You could be with Caroline. We could be happy."

"Fine. Then choose, him or me?" She looked down, and I knew that she had made her choice. So I turned around and started walking towards the truck, "That's what I thought. Come on." I could hear her sniffle. "Goodbye Nik." I heard from behind me. As she turned to walk away I flashed in front of her, stabbing her with a dagger. This was the only way to keep her safe, to keep them safe.