Epilogue

It had been six months since Stefan and Klaus found Caroline half-dead in Chicago. After taking a couple of days to heal and get her strength back she packed up what little belongings she had and left with Stefan. He promised to help her regain control, to get a hold of her humanity. Klaus begrudgingly agreed and promised to stay away while she rehabbed with Stefan.

They headed back to Mystic Falls on a morning flight. Stefan offered her any of the guest bedrooms at the Boarding House but she often found herself in his bed late at night; too scared to be left alone with nightmares that were all too real. They went hunting in the woods and Stefan taught her the art of self-control all over again. Much like the first time, Caroline was a fast learner and was catching on quickly. Granted, the animal blood tasted horrible, worse than she ever remembered, but Stefan didn't trust her with human blood yet, even if it did come from a plastic bag. The insomnia was the worst. Even when she lay with Stefan she often found it difficult to fall asleep. It left her drained and moody and Stefan often found himself worrying for his friend.

It was one of those sleepless nights that Caroline found herself standing in the woods barefoot in a gray cotton nightgown, staring up at the moon as she silently pleaded for her restless mind to go quiet so she could finally get some rest. Blame it on the lack of sleep, but she failed to hear heavy footsteps slowly approach her, stopping only a couple of feet behind her.

Klaus could feel his heart rise up to his throat at the vision before him; Caroline standing barefoot in nothing but a cotton nightgown, her hair down, the moon lighting up her golden tresses and porcelain skin almost making her appear to glow. He was surprised when she didn't turn at the sound of his approach, even more surprised that she didn't seem to notice his presence at all. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat.

"Having trouble sleeping Love?" Caroline squealed and almost jumped out of her skin. Turning quickly, she saw the face that habitually haunted her when she was granted a few hours of sleep.

"Klaus…" Caroline breathed his name as she struggled to come to grip with the fact that he was actually here, standing in front of her, looking pompous as ever.

"You look beautiful tonight Caroline," Klaus said smoothly as he uncrossed his arms and took a couple steps closer to where she stood. Caroline instinctively, defensively, wrapped her arms around herself as the distance closed between them.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline whispered, swallowing thickly as she fought the urge to take a step back, away from the man that seemed to know her all too well.

"I wanted to check on you. Make sure you were alright." Klaus halted his advancing steps, noticing the edge in Caroline's stance, afraid that she would flee into the night.

"Well, I'm fine," Caroline said with as much conviction as she could muster, which really wasn't much at all, and she was sure Klaus wasn't fooled. Klaus shrugged and tilted his head to the side slightly as he let his eyes rake over her slowly.

"I've surmised as much from the reports that I've been getting from Stefan, but I wanted to see for myself." Caroline's eyes widened at the realization that Klaus had been checking on her the whole time that they'd been apart and she didn't even know it.

"You've been checking up on me?" Caroline asked as she eyed Klaus curiously. Klaus smiled warmly causing Caroline to let out a huff of air that she wasn't even aware she had been holding.

"Of course Love," Klaus said softly as he once again took a step closer to where she stood. Caroline felt her body start to relax as the distance between them shrunk and she couldn't help but wonder if he was all that she needed to get the peace that she desired. Caroline let her arms fall to her sides as Klaus closed the gap between them and carefully, gingerly, tucked a blonde curl behind her ear. Caroline couldn't help but lean into his gentle touch and take in a shaky breath as a tear escaped down her cheek. Klaus frowned and lightly rubbed the tear off her cheek with his thumb. "Why are you crying Caroline?"

"I-I don't know," she said lamely, still feeling his gentle touch against her cheek as he slowly inched his face closer to hers. "I-I'm just tired." Klaus' brow creased as he searched her eyes, for what he wasn't sure. He hated seeing her look like this; tired and broken and lost. He knew it was partly his fault and he wanted nothing more to spend the rest of his days fixing it, fixing her.

"I appreciate what Stefan is doing for you here, but I don't think he gives you enough credit. You're strong Caroline, even stronger than me I believe. And I fear that what is plaguing you is a matter of your heart, not your bloodlust." Caroline chewed on her bottom lip as she looked up at Klaus. She couldn't help but feel that what he said was true. She'd been with Stefan for six months and this was the first time that she felt any semblance of peace.

Klaus ran his thumb over her jawline and up to her mouth, gently tugging on her bottom lip until it was free from her teeth. Caroline felt her heart pounding against her ribcage as Klaus slowly lowered his mouth until it was on hers and he was kissing her lightly. Instinctively Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck tightly as she opened her mouth against his, deepening the kiss. Klaus couldn't help but groan deep in his throat as Caroline pressed her body against his and kissed him frantically. She could no longer pretend that Klaus had no effect on her. Her mind, body, heart, and soul needed this, needed him. Klaus groaned again as he forced himself to regain control of the situation and as gently as he could, pried Caroline off of him and held her at arms' length.

"Easy, Love. This is really not the best place to be doing this," Klaus said with a lopsided grin as he eyed her flushed cheeks and wanton eyes. Caroline huffed as she pulled her arms out of his hands and turned so that her back was to him.

"I'm sorry…I just don't know, anymore, anything really." Caroline stumbled over her words as she ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated, because what she really wanted to say 'I love you and I need you and please forgive me for leaving you' was just not an option for her. Not at this moment anyway. She could hear Klaus take a step closer to her causing her to turn once again so that she was facing him.

"You're overthinking it Caroline. What does your heart tell you?" Caroline flailed her arms as she looked at Klaus helplessly. Klaus merely raised his brow as he awaited her answer. Finally with a huff and a sigh Caroline let her heart speak for the first time in a very very long time.

"My heart tells me that I love you; that I need you. That I am never going to be OK unless you're with me. And it's so pathetic, because really? I should hate you! You never listen to me; you're always trying to control me. You've killed people that I cared for, that I loved, and for whatever crazy stupid reason, it doesn't matter. None of it." Caroline took in a deep breath as Klaus eyed her curiously, then quickly closed the distance between them once again, pulling her into a deep and passionate kiss. Caroline wiggled against him as she struggled to break free, finally managing to pull her mouth away. "I'm not done," Caroline breathed; her mouth only centimeters from his.

"I don't want to hear another word if it's only going to erase everything that you just said," Klaus said lowly. Caroline smiled sweetly and rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you're here."

The End.

A/N – OK so that's it! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you guys for sticking with this story and showing me so much support for it. This was my first fan-fic ever, so it definitely holds a special place in my heart, and even though you can pretty much ship Caroline with anyone and everyone, I do believe that Klaroline is my OTP even if it is a ship that is destined to sink into the abyss, but hey you never know. Anywho, I hope this met your expectations, and I'm sorry if it didn't. Please review, cause you know, I love your reviews. Laters, T-