A Persistent Lover

One Year later

One year later

They get a lot accomplished in simply one year.

Caroline ached to see Chloe again, so they headed back to London. Chloe nearly cried with joy upon learning Klaus and Caroline were a couple. Even with Chloe's generous hospitality, Klaus insisted they stay only a week and soon they flew to Spain. He took her to Barcelona, then onto Zaragoza. From there, they traveled down south to Madrid and Toledo, where they stayed for a while because Caroline adored the culture and the people. Finally he took her to Seville and they somehow landed right on the coast in Gibraltar. And only half a year had gone by.

One morning she woke up to see the beautiful view of the sun rising over the water from their hotel window. Klaus' body is pressed to her back, his arm wrapped possessively around her. She swore there was no better thing in the world then to wake up in Klaus' arms.

As silent as a mouse, she wiggled her way out from his arms, secretly adoring the way his arm hugged tighter around her. She made it out from underneath him, giggling at how he mumbled something under his breath and grasped helplessly at the empty sheets where she just a moment ago lay.

Her lips met his, his mouth resting in a reassured smile.

"I'll be back soon," she whispered. It was early and she knew that the beach wouldn't be empty for so long. And it didn't hurt that her lover was a deep sleeper.

Pulling on Klaus' tee and a pair of shorts, she crossed over the room to the balcony and hopped down, landing lightly on the sandy beach below. Running her fingers through the floury sand, she smiled gleefully, before racing down to the water. She adored the beach. It was one of the few places where she felt absolutely free and peaceful. Seeing a far off lighthouse, she resolved to walk to it and began to slowly walk, kicking her feet in the waves that rolled onto the sand. It was then, that Caroline finally allowed herself to ponder about life back home.

Even though the life her and Klaus lived was paradise, her friends back at home were facing their own horrors.

Elena was a vampire. What made it worse was that she had died drowning in her car at Wickery Bridge, the same place where her parent drowned. From what she had heard, Matt was also in the car and when Stefan was trying to pull Elena out, she had forced Stefan to save Matt, thus Elena had drowned. Damon's blood had somehow been in Elena's system, something Caroline hadn't quite heard directly as she was crying over the phone too loudly. Elena had decided to transition. Klaus hadn't said a word, but held her as she cried on the phone and talked to Stefan, who had said that it would safer to not come and make Elena more anxious. Damon and Stefan were having enough trouble as it was teaching her the ropes.

When Stefan hung up the phone, Caroline threw her cell at the wall, letting it crash as she sobbed even harder.

"Caroline, shhh! Sweetheart..." Klaus turned her over and hugged her tightly to his body, letting her tears soak his shirt.

"Sh..She never wanted this..." Caroline finally said after a while, her body hanging limply in his arms and her face glistening with tears. "She wanted to get married one day and have a few kids. She even...even told what their names were going to be," she said with a watery laugh. Klaus lifted her up and laid her on the bed, allowing her to cuddle up and lay her head on his chest.

"I guess I feel like I should be happy...you know because she and I will have eternity to be friends...but she's never going to be the same," a few more tears fell and Klaus held her tighter.

"Aren't you going to say something?" she asked after a few moments of more silence. His silence scared her. "Are you upset because you won't have her to make hybrids?"