This is sort of a filler chapter and quite dialogue-heavy (I got a bit carried away sorry) but may or may not answer a lot of questions.

VI.

The sun has risen

to my window, my world

of my home sweet prison

Trees and Flowers - Strawberry Switchblade

She missed work, Caroline muses as she sits on the porch in silence. It's dawn and the sky is starless and blue with the tangerine morning light creeping gradually on its hem. Despite the sleeplessness, she feels comfort in the beginning of a new day because yesterday has been nothing short of taxing.

Immediately after Stefan came, they took Klaus to a nearby clinic and stayed there for the rest of the day. Exhaustion, the doctor told them, was what struck her dimpled housemate, and advised him of a good long rest. Yet, of course, nothing would deter Klaus and his stubbornness as he simply shrugged off all of this the moment he wakes up and insisted that he goes home. He loathes hospitals, he said much to Stefan's chagrin.

Still, Caroline cannot help but to feel that gaping hole forming in her chest, the fear crawling insidiously on her skin. Seeing Klaus' ashen skin, his piercing blue eyes slammed shut... She had never felt so powerless in her life.

Her parents' divorce taught her early on to stand on her own feet. Little Caroline had to grew up fast but despite that, she never really had siblings to rely on or even pets to play with so she grew up learning to care only for herself and herself alone.

But here she is now, having a baby for God's sake yet she doesn't even know how to act when faced with such a situation. How much more can she care for her little one?

"Hey."

Caroline looks up and sees Stefan coming out of the door. She gives him a weary smile as he sits next to her on the porch, studying her with his green eyes.

"Stop panicking. It's not good for you." He says after beat.

"Sorry."

"Not sleepy?"

"No, not yet." She mumbles. "How's Klaus?"

"He's well. It's just... He's not eating properly." He murmurs with evident frustration. "Really, I think that guy hardly feels hungry at all unless he's already starving to death."

She winces mentally at this. "I never pegged him to have very little self-preservation."

"Must be an artist thing." shrugs Stefan as he leans back to the chair and, in an almost lyrical tone, he adds. "To have death as a beguiling mistress."

Taken aback, Caroline blinks at him for a second before uttering a laugh.

"And I never pegged you to be so poetic, Dr. Salvatore."

He chuckles. "I minored in literature, Ms. Forbes."

"I told you I'm fine, Bekah." Klaus' voice suddenly booms from inside the house. Stefan only rolls his eyes while Caroline peeks through the windows to see him on the couch, having a lively conversation on the phone with his positively freaked out sister.

Yet somehow, in her head, she ponders on Stefan's words. Indeed, Klaus always had this tortured artist thing going on but his mischievous blue eyes and dimpled smirk never fail to speak volumes of his carefree, almost devil-may-care attitude. But maybe yesterday she saw a crack, a sliver of vulnerability underneath this tough exterior.

"Tatia," She says without thinking and at once Stefan's eyes are on hers.

"It's just..." She tries to explain. "Klaus called a name when he was..."

"He called Tatia?"

"After all this time..." He mumbles then with a thoughtfulness she doesn't miss. Silence envelops between them and Caroline take this as a cue not to press further but he speaks again.

"She was Katherine's twin but... She was like a sister to all of us." He begins to explain cautiously, as if weighing his every word. Recalling the painting as well as her conversation with Katherine in her office, she lets out a small gasp but Stefan shakes his head at her in assurance.

"It's in the past but... Tatia was really close to Klaus, to the Mikaelsons actually. After the accident, nothing's been the same."

There is a certain melancholy in his eyes that vaguely mirrored what she saw earlier from Elijah's brown ones. This girl, Tatia, must have been really special to them and, in her head, she cannot help but to connect the dots. Perhaps somewhere in the apparent rift that stretches between the brothers, this girl's demise has been a very significant point.

Curiosity got the best of her and, biting her lip, she makes a decision to tell Stefan of the older Mikaleson's visit.

"... Although he told me not to say anything." She finishes in a quiet voice as she watches the infinitesimal changes in the Salvatore's expression.

Eyebrows scrunched, he leans toward her the instant she name-dropped, resting his elbow on his knees. He then throws a tentative glance at Klaus, who is still talking to his sister inside the house, before he sighs.

"Yeah, I think it's probably best that you don't tell him."

"Are they not on good terms?" She cannot help but to ask.

"From what I've known, they haven't spoken since Klaus left London but, you know... Their family is a lot more complicated than you can imagine." He replies with humor yet with a sort of finality as well so she quickly dismissed the idea of questioning him further.

Rebekah doesn't really share a lot about her family and Caroline has always considered her as a very happy-go-lucky kind of girl so she cannot help to feel a little guilty of brooding too much about her own problems when she clearly has no idea of what other people have on their plates.

"Well, everyone has their fair share of complications in life, alright." She muses quietly.

She meant to say that in a lighthearted manner but from the concern crossing Stefan's features, she knew it didn't come out as that.

"You're already in your second trimester." He says then, switching to his doctor-voice. "And in a matter of weeks, you'll really start to show."

"I know."

"And you should know too that you shouldn't be avoiding me."

Hastily, she avoids his eyes. Yes she's guilty of that. She doesn't know why she's avoiding him but after their encounter at the bar, she guessed he wouldn't want to do anything with her anymore.

"As your doctor, I understand that you don't want to share your personal life with me but... You know you can trust me as a friend."

His words catch her off guard... and then she is crying. Stefan stares at her for a moment, surprised at her sudden waterworks.

"Why are you crying?" He asks, concern in his voice. "Did I make you cry?"

"You're my friend?"

Pausing, he blinks at her in bewilderment before chuckling heartily.

"If you allow me to."

"Why?"

"What why?"

"Why are you being so kind, Dr. Salvatore?" She questions as she meets his gaze. "I am no one. I have no money, no connections. I am no special case."

And with that, the smile on his face only grows wider.

"You remind me of someone, Caroline." He says with a hint of fondness, the sincerity in his emerald eyes warming her heart. He doesn't offer any more answer than that and she simply finds herself nodding in response, not really knowing what to say.

"Tell me you'll come or I'm going to shave your hair off."

"Your threats don't scare me, little sister."

"Yeah, tell that to Kol."

"Wait. You've finally did it? You shaved his hair off?"

His question is met with nothing but odd silence. Odd because his sister is not one to run out of biting retorts.

"No, I didn't." She then speaks in a slightly infuriated tone. "But you didn't know that which means you haven't seen Kol."

Klaus rolls his eyes, already knowing where this is going.

"And if you haven't seen Kol then you haven't seen Elijah either. God, Nik, they've been here for two weeks. Would it hurt to just have one dinner with them?"

"As a matter of fact, it will hurt sister."

"Nik." She drawls.

"I will see them at your party, Bekah. I don't understand the need to meet them for any other day than that."

In the silence that follows, he imagines his sister rolling her eyes at his reasoning.

"What about my wedding? You'll come right?"

He doesn't respond.

"Are you worried about father?"

"What about him?" He growls.

"He will be there, Nik, and I want him to... He's still our father."

Rage courses through him just by the thought of standing in the same room with that man but Rebekah's muffled whimper from the other end of the line steers him away from his anger. Really, his sister really has the shallowest reservoir of tears.

"But I want you to be there too, Nik."

"I know, sweetheart." He tells her.

In that moment, Stefan steps in through the door, carrying his blonde housemate in his arms. He opens his mouth to inquire but the Salvatore only shushes him by shaking his head and proceeds to tread upstairs.

Klaus sighs. "I'm going to have to call you later, Bekah."

"Alright. Take care of yourself."

Upstairs, Caroline is curled up under the covers, slumbering like a child. She looks exhausted with her alabaster skin seeming paler in the darkness and her golden curls splayed all over the place. Somehow Klaus feels responsible. He had caused too much trouble for the day.

"She's just asleep." Sitting at the foot of her bed, Stefan assures him with a chuckle. Klaus frowns. Obviously he missed the joke.

"I thought she was just reaching for something when she leaned down on the side of her chair..." He then explains, slightly bending his hips sideways as if to demonstrate. "But then she never came back up. The next thing I knew she was mewling in her sleep and she wouldn't stir no matter how I nudged her."

Klaus grins at this, finding himself amused not only of his friend's mirth but of Caroline's endearing quirk as well. That sounds like something she would do.

Outside, the sun continues rising to its peak and both men sense the subtle shift of lighting in the room—a greeting of another day when they haven't even bid farewell to this day.

"You should get some sleep too." Stefan finally suggests as he then stands from the bed. Klaus doesn't miss how he runs the gentlest of hands to smooth the girl's blanket. That almost protective look in his green of his eyes.

He can already feel the question he's always been meaning to ask creeping at the tip of his tongue and... Well, might as well be done with it.

"How do you two know each other exactly?" Klaus questions and Stefan visibly pauses. In his mind, he facepalms. He should have known Caroline's little lie will come back to bite him in the rear.

"Through Rebekah." He decides to answer although he regrets it immediately seeing Klaus' lips curving to a smirk.

"Ah yes, you and Rebekah... Lots of memories in this room, am I right?"

"Shut up." hisses Stefan as he walks away. Klaus follows, closing the door lightly behind him, all the while wearing the smuggest expression. Yeah, he knows he struck a nerve.

Downstairs, Stefan relentlessly glares daggers at him until they reach the door where he turns to face Klaus, a concerned look on his face.

"What?" Klaus asks in confusion.

"You called her name again."

Instantly, the smile on Klaus' face drops.

"You know you have forgive—"

"Don't." Klaus cuts him off in a serious voice. Stefan opens his mouth to respond but stops, seeing the intensity in his eyes. With a bow of his head, he lets go of the subject and turns to open the door. No matter what he say, he knows his friend wouldn't be opening up to him anytime soon.

"Look after her." Stefan decides to say as an afterthought. "She might look tough but she's… different."

Klaus stares at him wordlessly for a second, his anger fading, until he realizes he is talking about Caroline. He only frowns some more remembering his sister describing the girl in another vague term. Special.

"You know you can't just say something like that without an explanation." He demands but Stefan only shrugs.

"Then don't figure it out. She's not a puzzle you have to solve." The Salvatore says in a solemn voice before walking away and Klaus is left to watch his retreating back.

Up in the sky, the sun is already high on it's apex, rendering his tired eyes blind when he gazes upon it.

A horde of thoughts and questions still plague him but he lets his mind drift to the girl sleeping peacefully upstairs. Clearly, she's a whole other riddle on her own but... Well, he doesn't even know what got him so intrigued in the first place.

Closing his eyes, he feels all the weariness of yesterday consume him and with a heavy sigh, he closes the door behind him for, at last, he surrenders to the beckon of his bed and of the ever elusive sleep.

A/N: Unbeta'd.

1. I was hoping for a double update but ugh, the words... They are forever slipping out of my grasp.

2. Leave a review if you can, guys. I know this fic is not everyone's cup of tea but like I said I'm pretty much attached to this. I don't know why but I love writing this fic. Thank you for those who are sticking up with me!

3. Thank you for everyone who have reviewed, favorite-d and followed so far. I love you all and you keep me alive. Special shoutout to chapter 5 reviewers MarsterRoo, Lily94, Pnkgem22, Sadsunflowers, xForgottenxFlamex, WhySoCuriousGeorge, mink, Mystery Girl3, ray, angellus08, HelloCutePanda and of course LDR and shedreamsincolour!

4. I want to give unlimited hugs as well for those who reviewed and favorite-d my Klefaroline oneshot, Almost. :)

5. Also, this is unbeta'd. Sorry for mistakes.