Timeless

Chapter 10

She held out her hand to him, wiggling her fingers in encouragement. He grinned and took it. No one was around. Mystic Falls was entirely empty. They walked through the halls of the school and out the doors, straight into the town square. If she didn't already know that this was a dream, now she definitely did. The geography of her hometown was completely wrong.

"The future is a very strange looking place," Klaus said as they walked. Caroline realized that he was seeing lights and cars and buildings all for the very first time. It would be centuries until he was exposed to all of this.

"Well trust me, there is plenty of time from 1492 til now to adapt," Caroline said, "change happens slowly."

Caroline walked them under the white gazebo at the center of the town square, stopping in the middle, and turning to face him. Klaus looked down at her, smirking, brushing a stray piece of hair from her face. It felt like they were the last two people on Earth.

"I have to admit the clothes are quite interesting," he grinned wickedly.

Caroline glanced down at her blue tank top and white short shorts. She shrugged. "It's what we wear."

Klaus ran his hand over the bare skin of her shoulders, sending chills down her spine. "I like it."

Caroline felt her skin flush under his touch. "Why can't you be like this all the time?"

"Like what love?"

She slid her arms around his waist, not sure where this boldness was coming from. Or these senses of ease either. Maybe it was part of the dream.

"Normal. Nice. Not all murderous and manipulative."

"I am normal and nice, but only to those who deserve it," Klaus replied, "and being murderous and manipulative has allowed me to survive."

She saw a heavy wave of sorrow wash over him. The more she learned about this man standing in front of her, the more she found out how much his life was steeped in tragedy. It made no excuse for the things he had done and the things he had yet to do, especially to her, but her heart couldn't help but reach out to him. She stood there in his arms, as he ran his fingers across her shoulders, her face, and down the rest of her as if he were trying to commit every single part of her to memory. His lips hovered near hers and Caroline was tempted to close the gap between them.

"Klaus..."

"Yes love?"

"Why are we in Mystic Falls? In a dream?"

"You brought me here," he said emphatically, "I thought you would want to see something nice, before the end, and this is what your subconscious chose."

Caroline shook her head. "I don't understand."

Klaus's hand stopped moving on Caroline's arms, his face turning serious. "Because you are dying. The wolves, they bit you and I tried—but—" Caroline chuckled a bit at his stuttering, which Klaus mistook for hysteria. "Gretchen is coming. I swear I will make that witch find a way to save you."

"Klaus it's easy," she said with a smile, "I just need your blood."

Klaus's brow wrinkled in confusion. "My blood?"

She nodded. "Your blood is the one cure for werewolf bites. You saved my friend Damon once when he was bitten."

"I did?" He asked incredulously.

"Well not because you wanted to," she quipped. Caroline winced as a sharp sensation of pain sliced through her. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. Klaus reached out to catch her.