Hi everyone ! I'm back with a new Klaroline story, I really hope you're gonna like it!

So the plot is: Klaus saves Caroline from Alaric (my own version of the saving, not the show version). She is grateful to him but a little bit emotional after the whole torture thing. Klaus is worried about her and tries to help her get through this. How things could evolve between them from here?

I want to make a special thanks to Ojazz, who helped me with the grammar because English is not my first language.

I don't owe anything in TVD.

In one last desperate move, Klaus managed to snap Alaric's neck.

He immediately turned towards Caroline who was struggling to not cry. Klaus lost no time in undoing her gag, not even paying attention to the burn from the vervain. He knew that Alaric wouldn't be down for a long time. He threw an apologetic look at Caroline before removing the pencil she had in her right hand. Caroline moaned in pain and Klaus felt his heart clench.

"Sorry, love, I have to remove them" he whispered.

Caroline nodded weakly and Klaus did the same thing with the pencil on her other hand. The tears rolling all along her cheeks were making him sick. Klaus gently lifted Caroline up from the chair she was sitting in. He slid an arm behind her shoulders and the other one behind her knees. He then flashed outside the high school and used his hybrid speed to take Caroline as far as possible from there. Without even thinking about it, he took her to the mansion. Alaric didn't have a daylight ring so he was stuck in high school and they should be safe here. At least for now. Caroline was sobbing softly in his chest and the sound was unbearable. Caroline was so strong. So full of light. So full of life. The only sounds escaping her lips should be laughs.

Klaus gently lay Caroline down on the couch. He sat on the edge and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"You are safe here, sweetheart. I promise. Ok?"

Caroline nodded softly, unable to stop the tears rolling along her cheeks. Klaus kept stroking her hair, hating seeing her like this. He gently took one of her hand in his. The wounds were still wide open. Alaric had done a really good job with his wooden pencils soaked in vervain. Klaus' jaw tensed dangerously. Alaric will pay for this. No matter what. Nobody was allowed to hurt Caroline with impunity.

Klaus tenderly wiped her tears with his thumbs. The way Caroline was looking at him was heartbreaking and he stroked her cheeks.

"You need blood Caroline" he said quietly. "You will feel better after." Caroline nodded again, still not trusting herself to talk without bursting into tears.

Klaus hesitated and finally offered her his wrist.

"You should take mine, love. The effect will be faster than from a blood bag."

Caroline looked at him, eyes wide open. He was offering her his blood? He had already done it once but she was dying and it was his only option to save her. But now, he could have given her a blood bag, even if the healing effects will be longer. Why did he care so much about her?

Caroline didn't want to think about it right now. She was way too weak and too sad. It had been horrible to see Ric like this. The torture was even worse when it came from someone you used to know and to trust. Without giving it a second thought, she just accepted Klaus' wrist and sank her fangs into it. The feeling of relief was immediate. She felt his blood course through her veins and her hands stop hurting her instantaneously. Caroline sighed in relief and leant her head back on the couch, suddenly exhausted. Klaus checked her hands again and squeezed them softly when he saw they were completely healed.

"I guess you want to go home now love? I'm going to drive you" Klaus offered.

But Caroline shook her head.

"My mum is working" she whispered weakly. "I don't want to be alone."

Klaus pursued his lips. He could see where the conversation was going and he hated it. But she couldn't be alone tonight so he couldn't be selfish.

"So do you want me to drop you at Tyler's?" he forced himself to ask.

Caroline opened her eyes, genuinely surprised.

"You would do it?" she asked incredulously.

Klaus shrugged.

"I will do it. I don't want you to be alone tonight."

Klaus' voice was steady and confident but he failed to hide the hint of sadness in his eyes and Caroline didn't miss it.

To Klaus' greatest surprise, Caroline shook her head again.

"Can I just stay here for a while?" she whispered very softly.

Klaus couldn't help but show his astonishment. She really wanted to stay here? With him? But Klaus being Klaus, he didn't let his face betray him for too long.

"Of course love, you can stay as much as you want."

"I need to tell my friends I'm okay" Caroline murmured.

"I can do it for you if you want" Klaus offered.

Caroline nodded, and taking her phone out from her pocket, she handed it to him.

"Do you want me to tell that you need some time alone?"

Caroline nodded again and closed her eyes, trying to settle down comfortably on the couch. Klaus hit the "send" button on her phone and suddenly noticed that she was freezing.

"You are not comfortable here Caroline. Please allow me to take you upstairs. You will be better in a bed with some covers."

Caroline didn't hesitate before nodding in approval. She felt so tired and so sad that her mind wasn't really able to process what was happening. Everything seemed so surreal, her whole mind was blurry. Klaus lifted her up from the couch and took her upstairs. He briefly hesitated before heading to his bedroom. He gently lay Caroline down on his bed and removed her shoes and her jacket before wrapping her up in the duvet.

"Try to get some sleep love. You will feel better tomorrow. I'll be in the room across the hall. If you need anything, just call me ok?"

Caroline fluttered her eyes open to look at him. He looked so…concerned. It was odd. Klaus didn't do concern. Without thinking about it, Caroline extended her hand out of the duvet and grabbed his.

"Will you stay with me?" she whispered. "Please?"

Klaus swallowed hard. She looked so vulnerable. He didn't want her to be mad at him in the morning for having taking advantage. But Caroline didn't let go of his hand so he nodded.

"Of course."

He removed his own shoes and jacket and lay down next to her, careful of leaving some space between them. Caroline didn't try to close the gap between them, but she rolled on her side to look at him.

"Why did you do that?" she asked softly.

Klaus frowned.

"Why did I do what?"

"Why did you come to high school to save me, knowing that Ric was way stronger than you and that he could have killed you?" Caroline clarified.

Klaus sighed deeply. He put his arms behind his neck and stared at the ceiling.

"You know why Caroline." he answered with a smile.

But Caroline shook her head.

"No I don't Klaus. What I know is that you spent one thousand years running from Mikael because he had the power to kill you. And tonight you just throw yourself into a trap with someone who is much more powerful than Mikael. And I want to know why."

Klaus turned his head to look at her.

"When are you going to believe that I genuinely care about you Caroline? I came for you tonight, because I couldn't stand the idea of him hurting you."

Caroline didn't answer. She had never thought that his feelings for her could be real. She had always thought that it was a part of some plan. But he did risk his life for her tonight. It should mean something , shouldn't it? But Caroline wasn't able to think about it right then. She was an emotional wreck and the only think she could focus on was sleep. Klaus noticed her exhaustion.

"You need to sleep Caroline."

Caroline nodded.

"Yes I need to sleep, but believe me Klaus, this conversation is not over", she said firmly before closing her eyes.

Klaus couldn't help but smile. It was his Caroline. Strong and combative. She would never give up before she got the answer she wanted.

Klaus didn't sleep that night. He couldn't help but look at her while she was asleep. What was in that girl who affected him so much? She had been right. He had spent one thousand years running from Mikael, fearing for his life. And yet, when he had known that Ric had Caroline he hadn't hesitated one second before running to her rescue. Because the idea of her being hurt was unbearable. How just one girl could have so much power over him? Him, the Original Hybrid, feared and dreaded in the whole world was ready to put his life in danger for an eighteen year old baby vampire? It was nonsense. And sill, it was exactly what he had done. And worse, it was exactly what he would do again if she needed to.

Klaus was astonished to see how much Caroline was waking up his protective instinct. He had reacted on impulse tonight. It was totally out of character for him when it came to his own safety. He was extremely well known to always being a step ahead from anyone. It was precisely because he always thought about all the possibilities and all the options before doing anything. But today was the first time in literally forever that he put his own life in jeopardy to save someone else. Something he wouldn't have done even for his family. When the Salvatore had told him that Ric was torturing Caroline, Klaus had just run to the high school not even thinking about what he would do once he got there. His whole body was just screaming to save Caroline and his brain couldn't do anything against it. He had never felt such a fury when he had seen Caroline with the pencils planted on her hands. Her pain was unbearable and Klaus had wished being in her place to spare her the ache. It was only at this very moment, that he had clearly understood how much Caroline had gotten under his skin, and that there was nothing he could do about it.

A whimper from Caroline snapped Klaus from his thoughts. She started shaking on the bed while a cry escaped her mouth. Klaus immediately gathered that she was having a nightmare. Gently shaking her, he tried to wake her up but Caroline struggled against him crying for good now. Klaus took her shoulders in an authoritarian manner and raised his voice.

"Caroline, wake up now" he said firmly.

Caroline opened her eyes with a gasp and the terror he saw in her gaze killed him. Without thinking about it, Caroline threw herself in Klaus 'arms and cried against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her very tightly whispering soothing words in her ear.

"It's ok love, it was just a nightmare, you are safe. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Klaus slowly rocked Caroline against him until she calmed down. She vaguely wondered how she could feel so safe in his arms but she was too tired to focus on the thought. Klaus lay down again, pulling Caroline with him. He half expected her to push him away but she snuggled into him. He tightened his grip around her body and stroked her hair gently.

"Go back to sleep now. I'm here and I won't let anybody hurt you, ok?"

Caroline sniffed against his chest and nodded.

"Ok" she whispered.

She finally drifted off into sleep again and the nightmare didn't come back.

Caroline woke up the next morning totally disorientated. Her eyes scanned the unknown room wondering how she had got there. Then she noticed she was wrapped in a pair of very strong arms and she lifted her gaze. Klaus was looking at her, a concerned expression in his eyes. Truth to be told, he was scared that she would yell at him as soon as she realized that she had spent the night in his arms. He was expecting her to jump as soon as she saw him but Caroline didn't move. She rested her cheek against his chest and she sighed heavily.

"So it wasn't a nightmare? She whispered. "Ric had really turned into vampire hunter mode?"

Klaus briefly squeezed her waist.

"No sweetheart, it wasn't a nightmare" he admitted.

Caroline nodded.

"What are we gonna do? He's going to kill us all" she stated.

Klaus took her face in his hand and forced her to look at him.

"You seem to forget that I'm the Original Hybrid, sweetheart. I'm one thousand years old and I have a few tricks in my bag. Alaric may be stronger than me but as a vampire he is very new. I'm sure I can take him down and believe me, I will."

"So you are going to go after him all alone?" Caroline asked incredulously.

"Well, not all alone" he admitted. "I have received a text from Stefan while you were asleep. He wants to do a big meeting at the boarding house today, so we can discuss how to team up against Alaric."

"You are going to team up with Stefan and Damon?" Caroline asked even more incredulously.

Klaus shrugged.

"I think we're going to need to be as prepared as possible against Alaric if we want to take him down" he admitted.

Caroline couldn't help but smile. "Oh my god, I can't wait to see you team up with the Salvatore brothers" she said a hint of tease in her voice.

Klaus smiled too. He was happy to see that she seemed to be herself again. That was one of the thing he admired the most about her. How strong she was. How quickly she could recover. She was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for.

"Yeah, it should be interesting to see" he chuckled softly.

He then gently stroked her cheek.

"How do you feel?"

Caroline looked at her hands. They were back to normal.

"Well, your blood did the trick" she answered but Klaus shook his head.

"I didn't mean physically" he clarified.

Caroline sighed. "I'll survive" she said confidently.

Klaus smiled. "I know you will sweetheart."

"I should go home now" Caroline said softly. "My mom is going to finish her shift and she going to freak out if I'm not there. And I need to update her with the latest events."

"Sure Love, I'll drive you."

Caroline extricated herself from Klaus 'arms and she immediately missed the contact of his body against hers. She suddenly felt cold and vulnerable and she shivered in discomfort. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Caroline quickly pulled on her shoes and her jacket and followed Klaus who was waiting for her. During the drive home, Caroline seemed lost in her thoughts and Klaus didn't try to break the silence. She was not hostile, she was just pensive and he respected it. He stopped the car in front of her house and looked at her.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at the big meeting at the boarding house this afternoon?" he asked.

Caroline nodded.

"Yes, sure, I'll be there."

She got out of the car and headed to the front door. She seemed hesitant and she suddenly turned around.

Klaus looked at her trough the window of his car, his eyebrows raised interrogatively.

"Love?"

"I didn't even thank you for yesterday" Caroline said with an apologetic look. "So, thank you for saving me "she added a little awkwardly.

Klaus smiled.

"My pleasure love. I love saving your life" he answered with a hint of humor in his voice.

Caroline pulled a face.

"Well, let's not make a habit out of it" she muttered and Klaus couldn't help but grin as he drove away.

Thank you very much for reading. I would love to know what you think so please let a review, it always makes me very happy :-)

I'm fully aware that maybe Caroline is a little bit OOC because she is not that emotional in the show but I needed it in my story to show a protective Klaus. I wanted to do something sweet with this story and something different from what I have already done. I didn't want to start with Caroline hating Klaus and do all the build up from here because it would be too similar with my other stories. I wanted that Caroline already felt a little something for Klaus after the saving. I hope I succeeded in show that in my writing.

Please give a chance to the next chapters and let me know what you think.