You're Back and You're Trouble

12. Decisions, Decisions

Before everyone knew it, the day had once again come to an end. Caroline and Kol had said their good nights and the blonde found her way to her own room, with her own bed. But as usual, Klaus would want to pay a visit to Caroline before the night was over. He didn't believe for one second that her mind was made up entirely. Sure she was with Kol, so what? That didn't mean anything to him. She was with Tyler before, too, and that changed pretty quickly once she'd spent a little time with his brother. And if Kol could somehow make Caroline forget all about Tyler, then surely he'd be able to make Caroline forget all about Kol.

The blonde sat on the edge of her bed, brushing her long hair before getting ready for bed. Klaus stood out in the hall, admiring her from the door panel. She hadn't yet noticed him there, but he wasn't exactly waiting for her to see him anyway. Swiftly, he raised his arm and knocked gently on the door.

"May I come in, Caroline?" His voice was disconsolate and urgent.

"Of course," she smiled at him gently. "It's your house."

Klaus grinned child-like and sat down at the end of Caroline's bed. She turned to face him with a certain wonderment to her eyes. In the back of her mind she had a good idea of what he was in here to do, and she was okay with that because after spending the day thinking about it, this was the best way she knew to make him happy while being with Kol.

"First of all, I just want to tell you that I respect your decision to choose Kol. I understand why it'll never be me."

Caroline's jaw dropped a little. "Klaus, I never said that it wouldn't be you."

"Well am I wrong then, love? Do you have feelings for me?" His voice was firm and assertive now. Caroline had been giving him mixed signals for the longest time and he wasn't going to give it up until he knew the truth.

"Klaus, I-"

"Tell me the truth."

Caroline's eyes averted from his and they stared blankly down at the floor. "Why don't you just compel me to tell you the truth?"

The tension between them grew stronger as the seconds went on. Klaus never wanted to have to compel Caroline. He didn't feel it was right. She deserved more than that. He wanted to give her the free will of her mind. However, having Kol compel her to stay here was necessary. It would have hurt Caroline more if she had have tried to stop Klaus, and he would have done something he would have regretted. Maybe even something permanent. . .

But he didn't want to think of that.

After a minute or so, Klaus finally decided to speak again. "Is that what you want? For me to compel you?"

A sigh escaped deep from within the blonde. It was that of defeat. "No," she muttered silently, not wishing to have her mind probed.

"Look, love... I want you to be honest with me. I want you to tell me willingly. You've always been honest with me in the past, and I admire that. It's something you don't normally find in anyone anymore. What's stopping you now?"

Caroline finally met his gaze again, and she felt slightly more confident now. "Maybe because I do have feelings for you and it scares me," she paused for a deep breath, finally letting out what she'd been keeping from him all day. "I don't know what to do."

"Can I just ask you one question?" Klaus inched slightly closer, having dozens of thoughts running through his mind.

"Yeah, I-I guess."

"Why Kol? Why didn't you wait for me?"

"Kol was there when I needed him, and he showed me things I've never seen before. Beautiful things that only my mind could imagine. He somehow helped me suppress everything I've felt for anyone and I started to feel for him," she took a slight pause and sighed deeply again. "But when you came back, everything I'd ever felt or the feelings I tried to ignore... they all came rushing back. This morning when you walked in on me and Kol in his bed... it suddenly felt wrong, but I pushed the feeling away. Everything with Kol felt right until you came back."

Instantly, Klaus realized the situation Caroline was in. He didn't understand any of it until now. As much as he didn't want to use compulsion, he felt he had to. He wanted to help her. "Caroline, if I may," he met her gaze again. "I think I have something that will help."

She nodded gently, unsure of what exactly he was going to do, but she was accepting his help regardless. "I want you to be happy, to live without regrets," Klaus began, his pupils dilating as he worked his compulsion on her. "I want you to do what's best for you, to do what you want to do. Do whatever you need to do to sort out this mess between yourself, Kol and me. Make the decision that you know deep down is the one you want."

For a second, the room was silent and Caroline sat there, staring blankly back at Klaus. She placed her hand over Klaus' and he brought her close to him, letting her lean against his chest, her head overhanging his shoulder.

"Thanks for that, Klaus. My head feels a lot more clear now. It just hurts me knowing that I have to decide what I want."

"Don't worry about us, love. Just focus on what's in your best interest. Things have a way of working themselves out."

Caroline pulled away from Klaus and smiled wearily at him, then gently kissed his cheek. "I'm going to head to sleep, Klaus. Good night."

"Good night, Caroline. Sleep well, love." He rose from the bed and made for his exit, leaving Caroline sitting there, staring down at the floor. Hopefully his compulsion to let her true feelings out would do more good than harm for her.

Klaus and Kol stood out in the front foyer of the estate as Caroline was dragging a suitcase of clothing down the long, spiral staircase. The confusion on the two brothers' faces was overly evident, and Caroline felt no need to explain what was going on in detail. She'd prefer they said nothing and let her tend to her business. She didn't need input from anyone to change the decision she'd made.

"Caroline, darling... what are you doing?" Kol finally spoke up. He'd had a pretty good idea what was going on, but he didn't want to believe it. He wanted her to say something else.

"I'm sorry, both of you. I just... need time to think. I don't know what to do, and I don't know what I want. It's better this way if I leave for a while."

Both Kol's and Klaus' faces fell low. Neither of them wanted to see the woman they love leave them. They both feared what would come next. When Caroline came back, they knew it would be judgement day, and she'll choose between the two, leaving the other out in the gutter. But if she didn't return... well, then she'd chose her third option. The two brothers secretly wished it was the third choice rather than choosing between the two of them in the odd chance that her decision was to be with the other. It would be more bearable.

"How long will you be gone?" Klaus spoke clearly, the room silent from suspense.

"I... I don't know. I don't know when I'm coming back, Klaus."

"Caroline, you can't leave! I won't let you!" Kol raised his voice in distraught from what he'd heard. He wasn't letting her leave without a fight. After everything he'd done for her to try and prove himself worthy, it wasn't going to be for nothing.

"Kol, I have to. It's best for all of us. I can't keep doing this, whatever this is. It's not right. It's not fair to any of us. Just tell me I can leave."

Klaus pinned Kol down as he tried to stop Caroline from leaving. He knew what Caroline had said was right and if Kol loved her the way he loved her, he would know that too. "Caroline, you're free to leave."

Caroline thanked the hybrid with a glance and made for the door again.

"Why did you do that?! Why would you let her leave?!" Kol was hysterical. The hybrid didn't know what to do for him. Kol was stubborn and emotionally damaged. He couldn't control himself.

"If you love something..." Klaus began in a calm, soothing voice, trailing his sentence as Caroline walked out the door, leaving the two brothers behind; the elder still pinning his brother baby brother to the floor to stop him from going after her. "set them free."