Timeless

Chapter 31

After he was sure Caroline was fast asleep, Klaus pulled himself from the bed and got dressed. His bedroom was the only room of the house that was completely remodeled. But the entire mansion was still without electricity. It was inconvenient to say the least. He pulled a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket from his wardrobe and put them on.

Once he was dressed, he walked over to Caroline, still asleep on his bed, her skin pink and glowing from their night together. She smiled in her sleep and he hoped fleetingly that maybe she was dreaming of him. That he was the one making her smile.

I love you.

He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before making his exit. He needed to take care of a couple of things before she awoke.

"What the hell do you want?" Damon sneered at Klaus as he opened the front door.

"I believe we have some things to discuss," Klaus drawled.

"There is nothing to discuss. I tried to kill you last night, I failed. Back to the drawing board."

Klaus smirked. "How about you stash the drawing board for now? We both know there's nothing keeping me from crossing the threshold right now and tearing out your throat so it might be in your best interest to hear me out."

"Let him in," Stefan called from down the hallway. Klaus glanced over Damon's shoulder and saw the ripper standing there, watching their exchange. Damon stepped back and held the door open, glaring daggers at Klaus as he breezed into the boarding house.

"Where is my doppelganger?"

Stefan chuckled sardonically. "Somewhere you can't touch her."

"Easy now, I come in peace. I only ask because I'm sure she'll want to hear this too."

Stefan squared his jaw, considering Klaus's words for a moment. "Elena," he called over his shoulder. The doppelganger appeared then, from the hallway, and joined them in the sitting room.

The differences between Elena and Katerina were obvious to him now. The hair, the demeanor, the simple look in the current doppelganger's eyes was enough to tell them apart. He felt foolish for having been so easily deceived the night before.

"What did you do to Caroline?" Elena demanded as she walked in.

"I haven't done anything to her love," Klaus replied, "in fact I'm the one who is currently protecting her from your over zealous suitors."

Klaus threw a pointed look at Damon, who scoffed in response.

"I knew there was something up with her after she came back from her little trip to medieval times. I just didn't think she was this stupid," Damon interjected.

"Make any assumption you'd like," Klaus said, "but the truth of the matter is your friend Caroline is the only thing that is keeping me from killing both you and your brother and taking my doppelganger away to make my very own colony of hybrids."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"I mean that we have a truce," Klaus announced. His voice rung with a note of finality. A heavy pause settled over the room as the three of them exchanged glances.

"You mean an exchange," Stefan interjected, "Caroline's life for Elena's? Like you tried to trade me for Damon."

"Not exactly," Klaus replied, "I'll let Caroline reveal the specifics of our history in her own time, but sufficient to say that while she's alive, I have no need for the doppelganger or hybrids."

"So that's it?" Damon said, "you get Barbie and we're all off the hook. I don't buy it."

Klaus stepped toward Damon, coming very close. Close enough so that Damon would understand just how serious he was.