Just a little one shot that popped into my head and couldn't stay unwritten.

Disclaimer: Don't own TVD.

Don't Turn Away

Ever since he had become a monster, humans no longer interested him in any way. They were food to him, playthings, and nothing more. Just a means to an end, really… But, then again, Klaus had never met a human worth any notice, at least, until her. She had been so different than the rest, so inherently good it had seemed rather impossible; she wasn't like the rest of the walking blood bags.

The first time he met her, Caroline, she had just barely been a woman, still in school. He'd been injured badly at that time, a few of his older witch enemies having tracked him and done their utmost to be rid of him. Of course, he hadn't taken it lying down and had soon disposed of them. Regardless, the magic they'd used to try to get him down had been powerful, and even he hadn't been able to heal right away.

But, this had been perhaps the only time that he really hadn't minded being injured… In fact, he had been rather grateful for it.

Otherwise, he would never have met her.

Klaus groaned as his legs gave out under him, the energy he had expended fighting off the coven leaving him completely empty. He crashed heavily to the floor, breathing harshly, the wounds on his abdomen slowly dripping blood; there wasn't much left in his body, and he knew he might begin to desiccate soon if did not find some. Oh, he wouldn't die or anything, he was an Original after all, but it was also take twice as long to heal if he remained in this state.

Just a few minutes rest until I can get back on my feet. Klaus hated having to give into his weakness like this, but unfortunately it was necessary. Still, he could not keep his own scathing thoughts at bay.

You are weak, worthless. You could not even keep a couple of baby witches at bay with injuring yourself. What would father say now?

Klaus clenched his fist, his nails digging into the palm of his hand, the smaller, sharper pain momentarily distracting him from the dull ache that ran rampant through the rest of his body, the throbbing in his chest.

If you had only thought to have allies, you would not be in this position. Your siblings are nearly as powerful as you; they could've assisted you in eliminating this threat… But no, instead you keep them in boxes… Rare was the day when Klaus truly regretted decisions made in his life, but when they did come, they came heavily and without mercy. So Klaus lay by the side of the road whilst his body recuperated and hid mind ran through all the memories he didn't want to see.

He wasn't quite sure how long he had stayed there, trying to heal his physical pain but getting distracted by his emotional one; there were many perks to being a vampire, including the heightened senses and abilities… but this was also, in its own way, a curse. A curse that, for him, had lasted for millennia.

It was the sudden screech of tires that brought Klaus back to present day. Perfect, he found himself thinking, already anticipating the sweet flow of blood that whatever poor fool decided to stop would provide for him. He heard footsteps closing in and made to look like he was in even more pain than he was. Play the part.

Someone crouched down beside him, hands fluttered about his clearly injured form. "Oh my god, are you ok?" A light voice asked. Klaus finally turned his eyes to his little helper, finding them immediately widening in surprise. Kneeling beside was probably one of the most beautiful beings he had ever seen. Pale skinned, blonde, blue eyed… young, barely old enough to qualify as a woman. He watched her in complete silence, examining her instead of drinking every single last drop of blood out of her slender body as he was supposed to; but then Klaus always did appreciate things of great beauty and he found he didn't want to injure this one, not yet. The girl, unaware at that she was in very close proximity to a dangerous and powerful predator, leaned even closer to him, continuing with her panicked questions. "Who did this to you?" She asked, her hand going to gently rest against his bicep, trying to catch his attention. Not that she's having any trouble with that. "Hold on, I'll call 911." She made to take out her phone when Klaus' hand suddenly shot to her forearm, causing her to startle as he gripped it tightly. She looked down at him with wide eyes.

The vampire took a breath, keeping his gaze firmly on hers, his pupils dilating as he pushed into her mind. "No, no 911. No hospitals." He whispered, the compulsion taking hold in her immediately.

"O-Ok. No 911. Ok…" She replied, her face going somewhat slack as her mind went under his control; for some reason, this brought out a spark of sadness in Klaus, it was just so… strange seeing her expressive face go so incredibly deadpan. Regardless, he didn't have much time to ponder it when his grip on her arm loosened, and he fell back, exhausted; the compulsion took the very last of his energy, and he wasn't quite sure if would be able to do it again. And yet still, he did not take her blood as he should.

The girl, for her part, was watching him with concern, her hand now rubbing soothing circles into his arm. This confused Klaus; she clearly realized something strange was going on, but here she still was. This was her chance to run away from him, save herself as any other would. So why wasn't she?

She's different.

Her kind blue eyes zeroed in on his own tired ones. "What do you need? How can I help?" She asked, that edge of panic still in her voice. But, amazingly, that panic was not for her own safety and wellbeing but rather for his.

"Help? I don't scare you?" The vampire found himself asking incredulously. The blonde by his side looked shocked at this, as if it hadn't even occurred to her to that she should be frightened of him. Stupid girl, Klaus thought viciously, hating that he was unable to read her and figure out her intentions with this whole thing.

"You're hurt." She gestured to the various cuts on his body. "You need help… But you need to tell me what I can do." She added on firmly, obviously trying to get through to him, as if he needed encouragement.

Foolish child. Regardless of his thoughts, Klaus begrudgingly gave her an answer, knowing being stuck out here in the open, injured and unable to fight, would be a very bad thing. You could never know when an enemy might pop up; this would be an opportune moment for anyone who held a grudge against the infamous Klaus Mikaelson, and this was something of which he was very aware… so he gave his 'savior' a command.

"Shelter… Need shelter." He said, words jumbling as he tried to get them out, much to his annoyance. He almost growled aloud, that's how frustrated he was becoming with this entire situation. Why am I not just taking her blood? It would be so much easier.

Klaus himself didn't have the answer to that.

The girl simply nodded, getting quickly to her feet before helping the vampire to his. Luckily, he had managed to heal enough that he hadn't immediately buckled back to his knees (that would have been embarrassing and Klaus certainly did not do embarrassing). He still needed her help with walking, however, which the blonde had quickly realized. She gently took his arm and put it around her shoulders, before wrapping her own arms around his waist, supporting some of his weight. "Ok, ok. Come on." She said, breathing heavily from the effort.

As she helped him walk to her car, it suddenly occurred to Klaus again just how young she was, how small she was compared to his taller frame. It wasn't that she was short, per se, it was more that she seemed to utterly innocent… naïve. So focused was he on his train of though that he did not the rock in front of him until he stumbled over it, causing his entire body to light up in pain; he let out a groan, his head dropping.

Immediately the girl tightened her arms around his waist, whispering reassuringly to him. "It's ok, you're ok." She told him softly, breath coming out in small puffs.

Klaus found himself nodding in reply to her words.

He wouldn't register the fact that he actually took comfort in her words until much later.

When the blonde had finally managed to get him settled in her car, she driven very quickly to the small wood paneled house they stood in front of now. Though she'd been rather calm and quiet in the car, the minute she was out, she was back the task she had set for herself; him. The human assisted him in getting out of his seat, once again wrapping herself around him in order to hold him up, her body warm against his.

"Here we are." She mumbled as they reached the front porch. She positioned him to lean against one of the pillars before grabbing the keys from her pocket and opening the door. Before Klaus could react, she once again held onto him and tried to get him over the threshold and into her house, completely shocked when she found out that he simply couldn't get in, the invisible barrier between him an her living home stopping him. "Huh, that's weird." She muttered, more curious than losing it as she should be.

Klaus looked down into her kind blue eyes. "Invite me in… You must invite me in." He told her, his dead, and currently very dry lungs struggling to get the air he needed to speak.

She looked at him, a bit disbelievingly, but did what he said anyways. "Come in." Immediately they both fell through the doorway, her pushing almost making them crash to the floor. At another time, he might have found his human companion's clumsiness amusing. But, as it was, he was simply in too much pain to care. He found himself being dragged into another room before he was dumped, rather unceremoniously, into one of the sofas. He glared up at the blonde, but she didn't notice as she was carefully laying him horizontally in the couch, trying her utmost to be gentle.

When she was done, she crouched by his head so they were face to face. Klaus examined her features closely, once again noticing that oddly endearing innocence in her. "I'll be right back ok?" She whispered to him. Klaus nodded tightly, forcibly pulling himself out of his frustrating trance and closing his eyes heavily.

He felt more than heard her pull away, her feet making light steps as she disappeared within the recesses of the house. It seemed an eternity, a silent eternity, before she returned again, though he knew it must have only been a few minutes. He opened his eyes again when he heard her kneel next to him, moving his gaze to her. She gestured to the glass bowl of water she had by her side, the damp towel in her hand, before pointing the dried blood on his forehead.

"May I?" She asked quietly, hesitantly. She seemed to bristle slightly under his heavy gaze as he examined her, suspicious. How can one be so kind? To an utter stranger? And not just a stranger but a clearly dangerous one.

Klaus could find no answers in her fathomless blues eyes; he only found compassion there, a gentle sort of humanity that the vampire never realized he missed.

So he nodded, allowing her to take care of him as she seemed willing to do… Even though there was a part within himself that wanted nothing more than to rip into that creamy throat of hers and take life and humanity away from her. He managed to force these thoughts down however as she gently dabbed the towel against his forehead, wiping all traces of blood away from his marble skin. She hummed quietly to herself as she did so, her voice soft but strong as she lost herself in her task. Only when she was finished did she seem to pull herself out of her daze. She gasped, dropping the towel to the floor, her hand flying to his forehead, fingers tracing over the visibly healing wound until his skin knitted completely together again.

"What- There are no- I mean-" She stuttered out, shocked. Though her shock didn't seem to be from a place of terror, but rather from a place awe.

He looked at her wonderingly. "You are still no frightened…" He said, his hand moving of it's own volition to her cheek. How can this little human take me so completely by surprise? I compelled her, I have healed in front of her and yet she takes it in stride, only concerned for my wellbeing.

How can anyone be so good?

The girl shook her head, giving him a small, shaky smile. "No, I guess not."

Klaus shook his head in disbelief at this, still unsure of whether this was real; it seemed so much more likely that she was a decoy of some sort sent by his enemies than a simple stranger, wiling to help out a man (a monster, his thoughts reminded him) in pain.

"What is your name?" The vampire asked her now, trying to get some distraction from his perilous mind.

"Caroline… Caroline Forbes…" She whispered, her gaze still firmly on his own, as if she could not take her eyes from him even if she wanted to. Caroline… it certainly suits her. "You?"

"Klaus."

She smiled wryly. "Klaus… Never heard that before."

"And I doubt you will again." He replied smartly, the first reminisces of a smile building up on his face, his fingers dropping from her cheek.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You're an arrogant one, aren't you?" She retorted, much to his pleasure. She's sharp. Finally ripping her blue eyes away from him, she turned to put the towel back into the bowl of water on the coffee table, only succeeding in knocking it off completely and shattering the bowl. "Crap!" She cursed loudly when she noticed that one of the shards cut into the palm of her hand.

The sight of Caroline's very red blood suddenly reminded Klaus of his hunger. Immediately, his eyes zeroed into the red drops slowly falling to the floor, the scent of it thick and heady in the air. Before he could stop himself, the vampire found himself sitting up, taking her hand and holding it tightly between his. Caroline didn't protest, only watched him curiously. Unable to keep his control in his weakened state, his eyes began to darken, the veins around them throbbing, and his teeth lengthening into sharp, deadly points.

This time, Caroline did react, gasping in surprise at the changes taking over Klaus' face. But again, she wasn't afraid, her innate and extremely unwise trust in him allowing him to take the palm of her hand, pulling it to his mouth. Klaus took a shuddering breath, attempting to regain some control. It shocked even himself that he didn't want to hurt her, not really.

But he couldn't deny the pull of her blood either. Though he had managed to heal some, he was still nowhere near full health and it was starting to take its toll even on his mind now. He peered back up to Caroline's eyes with his own red ones. She was still watching him carefully, not pulling away but not moving closer either. Her cheeks were flushed as she examined him carefully, curiously. There was uncertainty in her gaze, yes, discomfort, even intimidation.

But no fear, never fear.

For some reason this made Klaus angry. Couldn't she see? Couldn't she that he was a predator and her mere prey? He was a hunter, a killer, a murderer and yet this girl, this fragile human girl, sat before him, unafraid. His lips curled into a menacing snarl, his canines lengthening impossibly more. Caroline froze, her eyes focusing solely on his teeth. Finally, a normal reaction. Though it is what he had thought he wanted, this saddened Klaus; he didn't like this look on her at all. It wasn't terror, exactly, but much more wary than before. Why do I crave her trust?

"Are-" She paused, seeming to gather her courage. "Are you going to hurt me?"

Klaus was surprised at this (she seemed to have a habit for surprising him); she didn't beg him for her life, or cry or anything of the like. She simply asked him if she would be harmed, if he would harm her, and she still allowed him to keep her bleeding hand between his, his fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist, feeling her pulse.

As he catalogued all of this, he realized he really would not hurt her, not if he could help her. So he shook his head. No I won't.

Caroline's blue eyes brightened slightly, the trusting gleam returning to him and then gently, ever so gently, she raised her other hand to the side of his face, letting her fingertips graze his cheek as he had done with her mere moments before. Klaus froze in place, holding his breath as curious fingers explored his skin. The little human had a look of wonder on her face, and it managed to distract the vampire enough that some of the blood faded from his vision, his features become less unforgiving, softening slowly into some semblance of humanity. This caused Caroline to give him a small, tender smile, almost as if she realized what it took him to regain control. He glanced back to her delicate hand, still marred by the cut. He was just about to force himself to let go of it when she pushed a bit closer to him.

Klaus looked to Caroline questioningly; she merely gave him that soft smile again, shaking her head slightly. "You need it, don't you?" She asked, referring to her blood. Smart girl, the vampire thought, but also so, so stupid. I could so easily kill her and yet she offers me her blood?

Regardless, he nodded minutely. "Yes, I do."

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Caroline pressed her hand to him more family, simultaneously letting her other hand fall from his face and to his forearm. Klaus nearly growled as he refuted her offer, trying with all his might not to give into the tantalizing scent of her blood that was calling to him, mocking him. It would so sweet… I could make it quick, painless…

No. No, I will not harm her.

It was now the little blonde human, who he was trying to keep alive but who was also making that extremely hard, that looked confused. "Why? You need it." Her eyes flicked anxiously over to his remaining wounds.

"I would be taking your blood, Caroline." Klaus hissed out, attempting to hold his breath as much as he could to keep the scent away.

Caroline sighed, her anxious look giving way to determination. "It's not taking if I'm willing to give it." She told him pointedly.

For a moment, Klaus contemplated responding with anger as he usually would. She dares to question me? But the same thing that was keeping him from killing her, kept him from doing so. There was just something so good about her; it physically hurt him to think that that good might be wiped away by his temper.

So, instead of talking to her like he would other humans, he treated her like an equal, and asked her the question that had been rolling around his head ever since she'd made her offer. "Why would you be willing to give it?" Klaus spoke quietly, with sincerity.

Even Caroline seemed confounded as to why she was doing this all. Her confusion made sense, Klaus supposed, she seemed like a relatively clever specimen of her species; he was sure she hadn't expected these extremely incautious actions of herself… and yet here they were.

Eventually, Caroline shrugged, dropping her eyes from his, her cheeks reddening. "There's just something about you… something in your eyes…" She muttered softly.

This made Klaus chuckle slightly, though he winced when it jarred his injured chest. "You are singularly unique, love." He informed her, allowing the grip he had on her bleeding hand to tighten lightly, finally giving in. "It has been a long time since a mortal has surprised me so. I thank you for your generosity." He said this with honesty, wanting to make sure that she knew he really did appreciate everything she was doing for him.

"You're welc-" Caroline's statement was cut off when suddenly Klaus, unable to deny himself any longer, bit deep into her wrist and she let out a gasp of pain. The pain faded within a few seconds though, Klaus having perfected his 'technique' over the thousand years of his life. As much as he could cause immense agony with his bite, he could also cause pleasure… and in this case, the vampire found that the first wasn't an option, not with Caroline.

So he allowed her blood to flow down his throat, easing his burning desire for it, but without using his normal savagery. His thirst was from quenched, however, and the next thing he knew he tugged the human girl forward until she fell into his lap, her legs lying sideways over his, his arm tight around her waist, his other hand holding her wrist close to his mouth. Klaus felt Caroline's surprised and wondering eyes looking up at him, their faces mere inches apart. She was shivering delicately in his hold, trying to hold perfectly still as Klaus' thumb trailed a burning path across the skin of her hand. But even she couldn't resist him too long and soon enough she was relaxing into his hold, her head coming to rest at the junction of his shoulder, eyes getting heavy.

Klaus could feel the soft puff of her breath against his neck, constantly reminding him of the delicate life he now held in his hands. Normally he would revel in snatching it away from her but now… now he couldn't help but treasure the trust she was putting in him, a complete stranger. So he simply tightened his arm around her, his fingers enclosing over hers as he drank some more of her blood from her wrist. He knew he would have to stop soon lest he wanted Caroline to suffer the consequences; Klaus' thirst was still far from satiated but at least now he could really begin to regain his strength. I will have to find some more blood later. So, when he felt his little human's breath begin to labor, he knew he had to withdraw. It took a substantial amount of effort (her blood was utterly intoxicating) but he managed it.

As soon as he noticed that Caroline's heartbeat had become a bit too erratic, weak, he found himself ripping open his own wrist and forcing her to take a few precious droplets of his own blood down. He didn't give her much, mostly because he didn't have much to give, but enough so that the wound on her wrist healed and her heartbeat strengthened.

Giving her his blood was an entirely unprecedented action on his part. Yes, he had given blood to humans before, but never without an ulterior motive. He wasn't even planning on turning her! Not to mention she would very likely have survived without it.

What is it about you, Caroline? Klaus found himself wondering, staring down at her young face. So innocent…

For a while the vampire just sat there, looking down at her, content to simply hold her against him. For her part, she seemed about to doze off at any moment, the blood loss clearly still affecting her. She has given me so much. Finally, when he heard the telltale sound of a car approaching the house, Klaus knew he had to go.

"Caroline." He said calmly, calling her attention to him again.

"Hmm?" She hummed into his torso, moving even closer to him, nuzzling into him. Klaus ignored the pang in his chest that this action caused.

"I must leave now, sweetheart." Her eyes flew immediately at that and she sat up abruptly, nearly bumping their heads, twisting in his lap so she was facing him completely, faces nearly touches. She looked about to protest but Klaus intervened swiftly, knowing he hadn't much time. "I am sorry; I wish I had the time to thank you properly for all you have done for me." He lifted his hand to gently trail his fingers down her soft cheek, smiling slightly at her. He connected their gazes and before she could even attempt to pull hers away, Klaus' pupil dilated unnaturally and he entered her mind.

"You will forget about ever meeting me, about helping me. You went straight home and decided to take a much needed nap in the couch." Even as he whispered the words, the pain of regret was settling deep into the vampire's dead heart. He would blame his compromised emotions and body for what he did next. "You will only remember everything that happened today when next you see me." A loophole. It only occurred to Klaus later that he expected to see her again; he tried not to think about the implications that he wanted nothing more than that.

The car he'd heard before had by now reached the driveway and Klaus knew he could linger no longer. "Go to sleep, Caroline." He commanded the blonde, whose eyes immediately drifted shut as his thought took hold in her brain. Swiftly, he pulled himself from under her, placing her horizontally on the sofa, grabbing a blanket from over the back of it to put over her body. Blurring around the house, he made sure to get rid of any evidence that he had ever been here in the first place.

Before he left, however, he couldn't help placing a kiss to the human's brow.

He tried to ignore the tingling that it left in his lips as he walked away.

Though he at first resisted, Klaus could not helping going to see his intriguing human again. He visited Caroline as often as he could after their first encounter, thoroughly using his strategic 'loophole'. Though the meetings were usually quite short, and often had a few weeks in between them, the two grew closer, until eventually Klaus could say with confidence that no one probably knew him better than his little blonde human... He would even go so far as to say she was his friend. At least, she was his friend when she saw him, because, just as with the first time, after every meeting, he compelled her to forget him until the next time. Though he did this mostly for her own safety, it deeply saddened Klaus that he had to do it... Because, where Caroline was in his thoughts, he knew that he would not be in hers.

Unfortunately, as the year rolled into the next, Klaus heard disturbing rumors of his enemies plotting against him; they were after him again and he couldn't linger close to Caroline for much longer. He needed to hunt down those who opposed him and be rid of them once and for all. Only then would he be safe… only then would Caroline be safe. If his enemies found out about her… Well, it was better left unsaid.

So, he left. He spent nearly six months without her, without hearing her happy laughter when he told her of some of the shenanigans he and his siblings had gotten up when they were young… without seeing her stunning blue eyes gazing up at him in adoration.

Six months filled with loneliness.

However, he eventually had to return to Mystic Falls thanks to one Katerina Petrova… but though he wanted nothing more than to visit his beautiful little human, he knew he could not. She needed to stay safe, and to do so, she needed to stay away from him.

Of course, nothing seemed to go according to his plans anymore.

Because it seemed his little human was human no longer. And, with her transformation into a vampire, she remembered everything. She remembered him.

And when he went to look in on her, from a distance of course, as he often had during this last extended in Mystic Falls, she had immediately realized he was there and blurred to him. He had been shocked, of course, worried and angry at the whole situation. After all, no one should have been able to harm Caroline, no one… and yet someone had managed to kill her and turn her into this undead thing.

What he had been most afraid of, however, was that someone might have been able to destroy who she was, that someone might've extinguished her light.

But when she greeted with a wide, beautiful smile, blue shining with the same adoration-no love-he knew he couldn't have been farther from the truth. If anything, her death had made her shine even brighter.

So Klaus had done the only thing he could do, he had smiled back and pulled her into his eager embrace, immediately covering her lips with his.

And, he had never looked back.

FIN

As you can probably tell, the Caroline of this fic is much more trusting than in the show. I like to think because the majority of this would have happened before the first season, which includes before she and Damon had their… thing; she's probably around 16 or so in the beginning. She's a bit more naïve at this point, hence the fact that she is willing to trust Klaus… well, that and their inexplicable connection.

This story is actually rather unlike others I've written – I tend to write darker or sadder fics than this; my oneshots rarely end on a happy note so this was quite a nice change :)

Anyways, I really hope you all enjoyed it – please let me know what you think!

RW