Empath ‣ Klaus Mikaelson [1]

Forty-One

Talia Sullivan was glad she could be out and about again without worrying about accidentally killing the entire Original family and, apparently, the entirety of the vampire race. When Finn died, so did Sage and everyone she ever turned, according to Caroline and Jonas. Talia was worried that the Mystic Falls kids were going to find out who turned the Salvatore line. If it was Klaus, they'd kill his family. If it was one of them, they'd kill Klaus.

Klaus confided in her that the Salvatores were a part of his sire line, so he would be safe no matter what they tried. His siblings, however, were another story.

Talia was lying in bed with Klaus curled up beside her, still asleep. She figured he needed it after the night he had. Even in his sleep, she could still feel how guilty he was for what he did to Finn and how cruel it was that he had only a moment to be happy again before he was killed. He needed his rest.

She had woken up a little while ago and grabbed the book on her nightstand to read while she waited for Klaus to wake up. He had his head on her chest and an arm loosely wrapped over her, so any big movement would probably wake him and she didn't want to disturb him. He looked so peaceful.

She lightly brushed some of his hair out of his face with her fingers and felt his breathing change.

"What time is it?" Klaus mumbled tiredly, now half-awake.

"Something o'clock," Talia responded. "Too early for evil scheming."

"I am not scheming," he replied.

"Meticulously planning your malevolent endeavors?" she asked.

"We get it. You went to college."

She chuckled in response. "What, and you didn't? How many art degrees do you have?"

"None."

"Liar."

"I lost count when I hit double digits. Sometimes the years become a blur."

"Double digits, Nik. You can't make fun of me now."

"I suppose."

She kissed his cheek. "Do you want any coffee?"

He smiled tiredly. "No thank you, love."

"Good dreams?"

"I wish."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but I can still feel sorry." She cupped his face and pressed a light kiss to the tip of his nose. "I'm gonna make myself some coffee. If you need to rest a little more, go ahead. We have all the time in the world."

"Ah, how badly I wish that sentiment were true."

"Well, in about five months, we're gonna get married, I'll be a vampire, and it will be true."

"Five months feels so far away."

"I thought time went by so fast for someone who's immortal."

"In hindsight, it does. However, I'm here with you now and want nothing more than to marry you and begin our lives together."

She smiled. "I feel the same way. Maybe I could push the date to sooner, but you know Caroline needs enough time to plan every detail as she wants. She'd probably be upset that she only has five months."

"But isn't it supposed to be our day?"

"Yes, but you do know my sister would actually kill us both if she didn't get to plan the wedding, right? She loves me, tolerates you, and Jonas is your sire. She wants to be involved."