Caroline dressed for dinner, choosing the dress Tyler had given her. She felt nervous, though she was not sure why. Mikael had already left, though they would have a brief respite, as the Pierce's were to arrive in the morning, with other guests for the wedding.
She pulled on long gloves, and stroked the dress softly, thinking of Tyler buying it for her. She had been slightly taken aback by his reasonable and detailed layout of their future this afternoon, perhaps because she had no experience of that type of relationship, though she already knew it was what she needed. The reality would be more romantic than the proposition, she was sure, and what was romance anyway, other than the fine veil of deception people drew over them to hide the real state of affairs.
Making her way down to dinner, she entered the drawing room, surprised to see that she was among the first to appear. Tyler was there, talking with Elijah, Katherine and Kol were deep in conversation by the window, and she saw Klaus's broad back stiffen in response to her announcement, from his position by the fire. Turning slowly, her eyes met his, and his were cool, assessing as they swept her gown.
"Miss Forbes. You look stunning as always." Tyler said as he moved to her side, picking up her hand and kissing it. Caroline felt a blush sweep her cheeks, as she bobbed over the compliment, noticing out the corner of her eye Klaus turn back to the fire and his contemplation of it's fiery depths. She was brought a drink and gently sipped it, letting her attention wander as the men resumed talking of business and politics.
Spying Katherine alone by the window, she excused herself and joined her. Katherine looked beautiful tonight, if a little tense, by the way she gripped her glass tightly.
"Katherine, are you well? You seem..."
"I'm fine" she said with a brittle laugh, glancing around herself as she did. As her eyes roamed, she met Klaus's who had turned from his appreciation of the fire, and was now leaning against it, inspecting them a little. Katherine could not help a shiver running down her spine at his devilish expression, cast into harsh relief by the flames. Caroline followed her gaze, her eyes connecting with Klaus's, which she immediately dropped, and looked back to Katherine.
"That man. How can someone seem so frightening with just a look" she said quietly.
"He is not as frightening as he would have you believe." Caroline said, trying to comfort her friend, wondering why Klaus was acting particularly intimidating this evening.
" That, I am not sure I shall ever believe." Katherine muttered, turning back to Caroline wish a sad smile, and Caroline thought she must be worried about Elena still.
The dinner gong sounded, and Caroline looked around in surprise. Half the party had not yet appeared. Elijah excused himself frowning, and Tyler and Caroline exchanged amused glances. Kol returned to Katherine's side on the divan, and they shared an altogether more grim look, witnessed only by Klaus. Time played on, and the atmosphere in the room started to take on a strained air. Frequent glances were thrown to the door, and silences drew out. Klaus paced a little in front of the fire, before taking his leave and striding out the door. The remaining four looked at each other, in question.
"Perhaps they have taken ill?" Caroline suggested.
"I do hope not. My sister is the worst patient. She might yet make Niklaus look like a saint." Kol said with a small smile.
"I do believe that might be an impossible feat" Tyler said tightly, his foot starting to tap nervously.
Klaus strode down the hall, looking for his brother, or a sign of any of the missing guests. Reaching the study, he pushed open the door, finding Elijah sitting at his desk, a letter in front of him. His face was a white mask of shock. Feeling tension settle in his gut, Klaus advanced.
"Brother, what is it. What has happened? Where is our sister? Miss Pierce?" he asked impatiently. Elijah continued to stare at him, speechless, until Klaus slammed his hand on the table,
"Elijah!" he roared, waking his brother from his stupor.
"Gone. They are gone."
Caroline heard the shouts echo through the house from the drawing room. Standing in confusion, she followed Kol and Katherine to the door and out into the corridor. She saw a commotion coming from the study, and suddenly Klaus was striding down the hall toward them, his face was a blank mask. Pushing past them, he took the stairs, two at a time, and upstairs she could hear him ripping open the guest room doors.
"Ladies, Mr Lockwood, please excuse my brother, it seems something has happened. Please continue without us and proceed to dinner." Kol said politely, already ushering them back toward the dining room. Caroline swallowed a protest. What could she possibly say? Her and Klaus may be friends, but they weren't really supposed to be. It wasn't her place to worry about him. She tried to smile reassuringly, and ignore the tight feeling in her chest, that seeing Klaus's face filled with anger and humiliation, had caused.
Reaching Rebekah's room, he wrenched open the door, a cursory look confirming that she was not there. Disbelief overwhelmed him, and feeling his anger disappear he sat on the bed, what had she done? he asked himself. Glancing around, he saw a letter propped on the nightstand, baring his sister's lovely writing.
Nik,
As you are reading these words, I must assume that I have now departed successfully, with Miss Pierce and Stefan and Damon Salvatore.
I do not know how you will be feeling at this news, though I can surely guess. You hate to feel betrayed, but know this dear brother, everything I have done tonight has been for you, for my love for you.
You cannot marry Miss Pierce, and I can no longer stand idly by as the day approaches when our father will force you to do so. You have suffered enough, dear one, and I cannot fail to act when your entire future happiness is in jeopardy.
Do not come after us, we have several hours advantage, and shall not stop until we reach our goal. I shall not write it here, though I am sure you can guess it.
I am setting you free, dearest one. Free to follow your heart, where ever it takes you, though I know you shall not dally, as father's wrath is sure to be directed at us all.
Follow your heart Nik, as I am following mine.
Your most devoted sister,
R
He could barely take in the letter, so overwhelming were it's contents. His sister was helping Elena and Stefan Salvatore to elope. They must be headed for Gretna Green at this very moment. It was madness. Mikael would surely punish her, in the worst way he could imagine. These thoughts all collided into one, along with the delayed realisation – that he wouldn't have to marry Elena Pierce. His wedding was off. He was free once more. But at what cost, he though bitterly, thinking of his sister's sacrifice. He was supposed to be the one who looked after her.
And once Mikael found out, it may all be for nothing, he might force Klaus to challenge Stefan Salvatore... these thoughts whirled around in him, and his confusion threatened to overwhelm him. He would end up married to Elena, with blood on his hands.
He had to think, there had to be a way out of this mess... he looked up at as Kol suddenly appeared at the door.
"Brother, we must talk" Kol said as he came into the room, shutting the door behind him.
Dinner was subdued and bizarre, with the three remaining guests at the Mikaelson estate jumping every time a door slammed. They rushed through their food, and Caroline was glad to depart to her room when she was finished. She had the most awful feeling of foreboding, not helped by her continued ignorance of the situation, and the remaining Mikaelsons' refusal to tell them what was going on. Elijah kept telling them everything was fine, and that everyone should retire early tonight, and resolve all tomorrow.
She had not seen Klaus or Kol again. She asked Katherine to come to her room, so they would talk, but Katherine's eyes were glassy with wine and she begged off due to a headache. So, alone Caroline returned to her room, sitting at her dressing table, deciding not to wait for a maid, brushed out her hair, and changed into her sleeping clothes. It had been such a strange night, she knew she would never sleep, so arranged herself on the pillows and picked up her book. Elena and Stefan had done something rash, she felt it in her bones, however what part did Rebekah and Damon play? She wondered.
"What was she thinking? How could she do this?"
"She did it for you brother, can you not see that?" Kol said calmly, watching as Klaus's moods shifted.
"Rebekah aside, will the Pierce's even accept this union?" Klaus asked, watching Kol settle down at his sister's desk.
"We believe they will. Mr Pierce has a particular fondness for Miss Elena, and we believe that he wants to see her happy at all costs." Klaus sat also, shaking his head, the feeling of shock finally wearing off. He began to think more strategically,
"Father shall not accept it. He wants the Pierces' money. He will not stop until he gets it." Klaus said, watching his brother nod in agreement.
"You are right. He might try to force you to challenge Mr Salvatore for her honour. You have been engaged for months, it would be acceptable. Or - " Kol trailed off,
"Or-" Klaus prompted.
"Or – there is always Miss Katherine." he said, seeing the effect of his words rocket through his brother. Klaus dropped his head into his hands and squeezing hard.
"Mrs Pierce is as eager for a title as ever. It matters not which you marry, and society would accept it as a suitable arrangement, considering her sister's behaviour." Kol said.
"Rebekah has not ruined herself, for me to marry another Pierce" Klaus said roughly, standing up and starting to pace. The only sound in the silence was his footsteps and the gently ticking of the clock on the mantle. Kol finally found his voice, and with trepidation, spoke quietly,
"There is another way" Klaus came to stop in front of him, laughing humourlessly at the situation.
"Please, enlighten me brother, for there is none I see at present."
"Miss Caroline Forbes." Kol his brother's face close in as he said the name, and Klaus turned away to the window, bracing his hands on the sill.
"Why would you think her an option?" he asked, his voice emotionless.
"Because brother, I know how you feel about her." he stiffened as Klaus whirled toward him,
"What is it exactly that you think you know?"
"I know you made advances on her, and that she spurned you, the night she hurt her ankle. I know that you beat two men half to death for touching her, the same ones who later got their revenge on you. I know you offered to make her your mistress..." Kol trailed off, standing as Klaus closed the gap between them with a single step and hauled him up.
"How can you know such things?"
"Rebekah heard you talking, in her room in London. The rest I heard from Miss Bennet, Caroline's confidant." Klaus looked at him a second longer, then pushed him abruptly away. Turning he returned to the window.
"It matters not. She would not have me." Klaus said softly, and Kol could hear his brother's pain in every word.
"She cares for you" Kol stated, watching Klaus shake his head.
"No, she feels for me... sympathy, pity, perhaps compassion. Nothing more"
"It is not true. She cannot stop herself from the feelings she is developing for you. But she is afraid. Something happened to her parents when she was young, she is scared of loving too much, of being abandoned by the one she loves..." Klaus listened in silence, trying to take in his brother's words.
"There is something else, it is Elijah. He knows nothing of all of this. But, he has fallen himself of late, for Katherine." Klaus looked at him in surprise.
"Katherine Pierce and mild mannered Elijah, my, my." he said, turning again to the night, his mind racing.
"Why can he not admit to it and put an end to all of this?" he asked frustrated.
"You know Elijah, he will move at his usual pace, and do you really think father would let you out of this mess unscathed. You are going to end up married, the only choice you have to make tonight is to whom it will be..."
"Caroline Forbes will not marry me willingly, even if she feels something for me. I – scared her, when we first met, and many a time since then. She expects the worst from me I'm afraid."
"Well, not to put too delicate a point on it brother, but what do you want? Do you want a life married to someone else, or do you want her... because, this is your chance, your only chance. If you care about her... you must seize this opportunity, or lose her forever... Tyler Lockwood is set to propose." Kol said calmly, the news hitting Klaus and making his fist clench up and a snarl escape his throat.
"He barely knows her." he bit out, pacing again.
"Well, I had the opportunity to speak to him a little about his future plans today. He plans on his wife running his estate in Virginia, popping out children, which he will return three months of every year to produce." Klaus collapsed onto a chair, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
"That is unfathomable. How could he bear the separation? Caroline will think it is what she wants, but she will slowly diminish under such an arrangement..." he whispered, glancing up as his brother leaned forward, looking at him intently.
"Well, go and save her from it then."
The crackle of the fire was the only accompaniment to his tortured thoughts as he sat in his study, the shadows shrouding the walls, half way through his decanter of Scotch.
He fancied that he was deliberating with himself... deciding the best course of action... for her. But it was not true – the moment he had read Rebekah's note, he had known what he was going to do. Caroline Forbes was light and goodness, where he was only shadow and pain. He needed her. And he was a selfish man.
She would forgive him eventually, as she had all his past transgressions, because that was her nature.
He had to have her, there was no other option – marry another, a girl his elder brother loved?
To allow the single most captivating women he had ever met to marry another and ship off to live an affection-less life on the other side if the world? No, from the moment when he had first met her frank gaze, he had known that he would move mountains to have her.
She saw a different man when she looked at him, different from what anyone else had ever seen... different than the man his father saw when he looked at him. Perhaps his mother would have looked at him that way... if he could remember her. Caroline looked at him, and he believed she could really see him, not his sordid reputation or controversial parentage.
She looked at him, as though he were a man capable of good, someone she might be proud of. He desperately needed her, to see himself through her eyes, and in return, he would dedicate his life to making her happy.
Taking another deep drink he grimaced. However, that would not be enough to convince her, to give in to her desire for him. She desired him, he had seen it, her feelings for him scared her, and that could only be a positive thing.
But, she was strong willed, and brave, and she would not throw herself into a relationship she feared without a fight. He hoped he would be able to what he must, to make her forever his... and realised there is nothing he wouldn't do.
The first thing that alerted her to the presence in her room, was the slight stirring of the air. As though something terribly warm had come in to the cool space. Shifting, she felt the book she had been reading when she had fallen asleep fall to the floor. Coming awake at the sound, she sat upright slowly, stretching her arms above her head. She must have been more tired than she had realised. What an odd night, and where in god's name were Elena and Rebekah, she wondered as she stood, suddenly thirsty. Walking in the semi darkness over to her pitcher, she poured a generous glass and settled in the chair by the window to drink it. Casting her eyes up to Klaus's window, she felt a small flash of disappointment at it's emptiness, and a deepening of worry for her sister. What could be keeping him at this hour, it must be something serious. Without warning, she felt a prickling on the back of her neck.
Feeling her whole body tense, she slowly turned her head and searched the dimly lit room. She couldn't see anything, the shadows concealing most of the large space.
"Is someone there?" she asked in a whisper, and waited with bated breath. No one answered, and feeling slightly foolish she turned back to the window, gasped aloud to realise someone now stood in front of it.
"Klaus! You scared me! What has brought you here at this hour?" she asked, going from relieved to nervous very quickly as she took in his intense expression and his askew dinner attire. He smiled a little at her, and she realised he must be deeply upset about Elena, of course, why else would he risk coming into her room at this hour, alone.
"I missed you" he said quietly, making Caroline's heart rate shoot even further up.
"What are you talking about? Where is Elena?"
"Gone... gone, gone away." He said with a laugh.
"Gone where?" Caroline asked, as she slowly stood up, trying to wrap her arms around the extremely thin material of her sleeping gown. His eyes drifted over her,
"You really are an angel..." he breathed, taking in her sweet body's outline through the gauzy material, her hair, silver in the moonlight falling around her shoulders.
"Gone where?" she demanded again.
"Escaped... with my sister and the Salvatores." he elaborated, mirroring her movement by standing up.
"What! This is impossible! She shall be ruined." Caroline cried, stepping back and moving to the wardrobe, hunting for her dressing gown.
"No, she has already found a man to marry her in her compromised state" he said, smiling a little cynically.
"Stefan" Caroline whispered, all the pieces falling into place.
"But what of Rebekah?"
"My sister has decided to take my happiness into her own hands, it seems"
"So, she is helping them to elope?"
"She is" he confirmed as Caroline finally found the garment and wrapped it around herself.
"I cannot believe it... Mr Pierce... your father?! What shall they do when they find out?" she cried, her mind trying to grasp the consequences of her friend's actions.
"Mr Pierce shall accept it, he dotes on Elena, does he not?"
"What about you? You are released from marrying Elena?" she said stupidly, aware of the ridiculousness of the statement, even while she said it, but unsure of what else to say.
"Does it please you?" he asked, watching her reaction closely. Caroline opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, taken aback by the emotions rushing through her.
"It doesn't concern me" she finally said, then continued,
"Your father will release you from the obligation to the Pierces completely?"
"Perhaps, though not from marrying anyone else my father manages to find for me... unless..."
"Unless?"
"Unless I am already married." he said and he looked up fully at her then, his eyes pinning her with a look that made her heart stop beating. Feeling it clamour into her mouth she spoke as smoothly as possible.
"Klaus, why are you here?" she forced any sign of tremble from it, she stood her ground. He smiled a little sadly at her.
"I would think you'd figured it out by now..." he said, slowly standing from his leaning position, the light of the moon framing him through the open curtains.
"I will not marry you" she said bravely, once again standing her ground as he prowled toward her, his eyes dark, his features cast in shadow.
"I know. Not of your own volition." he murmured, and to her horror, reached up to his neck and started to undo his cravat. Her eyes widened as it fell to the floor. Now backing up, her eyes never leaving his, she held her hands out in front of her, trying to force a reasonable, light tone.
"Your father shall never accept me. I am an orphan, I am nothing" she said.
"You are everything" he said calmly, still advancing toward her.
"Klaus, please do not do something we shall both regret"
"I shan't regret it" he murmured, his jacket joined his cravat on the floor, her eyes widened again.
"What about me? What about what I want?" she cried, the back of her legs hitting against the bed, a feeling of terror racing through her.
"You want me, you are just afraid of it, I will make you happy, and you will love me back, in time" he said as he unbuttoned his waistcoat.
"I cannot love you!" she cried, edging to the right, hoping to get around him, then screaming as his arm shot out, pulling her roughly to him. Up close, holding her face near his, she saw his tormented eyes, bloodshot and pained.
"You can. I have to believe that you can, for if you can't... no one can" he whispered and lowered his mouth to hers. Her protest was swallowed by the kiss, the kiss that sent stars spinning behind her eyes, her knees felt as though she had just stepped into jelly, and she found herself folding down, like a puppet let off it's strings. His strong arms were there to catch her however, and she felt him lift her, and then the next thing she knew, the soft bed was under her back. His lips teased and pulled at hers, demanded acknowledgement. It was maddening, how he evaded any of her attempts at escape, and more maddening still the sense of loss she felt when he finally pulled away.
"Caroline – you are meant to be mine, as I am meant to be yours" he whispered, his hands cupping her face, and his eyes intent on hers. Coming back to her senses, she gathered her strength and slapped him as best she could from her prone position. His head turned and she went to roll off the bed. As her feet touched the floor, she made to flee, suddenly realising that he had a tight hold of the long material of her dressing gown, and was holding her in place, effectively imprisoning her in the garment. Ceasing her struggle, she turned to face him, feeling tears threaten.
"How can you do this to me? I was to have a choice... don't take it from me... it's all I have" she whispered.
"You have so much more, I want to give you the world, family, love... everything you dream of"
"I do not dream of that kind of love."
"Why? Why does it scare you?"
"Why do you care?" she shouted back, frustrated by her inability to move.
"Because I want to take care of you... I need you -" he said, suddenly quiet, his eyes so lost, looking so very like the little lost boy he was. Her heart moved, it was far from immune to him after all, and she hated to see him suffer.
Coming back toward him, she gathered her courage, and gently place a hand on his head, running her hands through his golden curls. His shoulders sagged and she pulled his head against her stomach, cradling it gently, smoothing down the springy curls.
As much as she wanted run from him now, his words held a lot of truth, but what she said was also true, she just had to make him understand that. His arms went around her, and she murmured,
"All will be well, do not fret. You are not so lost that you cannot be found." she said gently, feeling his arms go around her. After a while, she felt him calm, and she sat beside him on the bed, dropping her hand to his, intertwining her fingers in his. He look at their joined hands with such a look of hope, it broke her heart.
"Klaus. I cannot deny that I feel something for you. I am not a liar, and it is clear to both of us that there is something between us. Yet, we are not meant to be man and wife. We would destroy each other."
"You are wrong, man and wife is exactly what we are supposed to be. If only you'd stop denying it to yourself. I know it Caroline, even if you don't. You will understand it in time, and once my father has his way, it shall be too late. No, it must be now." he said, and she had barely a moment to look to his face before he drove her back to the bed once more.
She cried out as his strong hands came down on her shoulders, pinning her under him. All thoughts flew from her mind as she saw him kneeing over her, his face more set than she'd ever seen it.
"Klaus" she pleaded,
"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not even going to touch you. I just need for them to find us here together. " he murmured back and she saw the single minded determination in his eyes, and felt it in his hands. This was the man who hurt women because they asked him to, a man who enjoyed it. This was the man she had first met, the abusive, selfish monster, who took what he wanted, everyone else be damned. She had been a fool to think he was different toward her, that she could save him. Holding her hands with one hand, he ran his hand down the side of her cheek, and her heart beat shuddered in response.
Ignoring her traitorous body, she waited until his hand was level with her mouth, and turned her face to his palm, surprising him with a gently kiss pressed on to one of his fingers. Without warning, as his guard was dropped, she quickly latched onto his finger with her teeth and bit down as hard as she could.
He let out an almighty roar, and let go of her hands, seizing her opportunity, she kicked at him with all her might, finally freeing her legs. Standing she whirled back just as he jumped off the bed, bringing her knee up as hard as she could, she connected with his most sensitive place, as his hand grabbed onto her dressing gown. He sank to his knees, his eyes pleasing with her, again holding her in place with her clothes.
"Caroline – do not do this, do not throw us away" he bit out, and his eyes searing into hers, she deliberately slipped her arms out of her dressing gown, and ran to the door, leaving him holding the pile of fabric. She pulled open the door of her room and ran as fast as she could down the hall. She panicked about where to go. Of all the people here, there was only two she trusted. Gasping for breath she knocked urgently on Katherine's door. For an agonizing moment, she thought she wasn't going to answer, though finally the door creaked open and Caroline fell through the gap and into her friend's room.
"Caroline! What happened?" Katherine cried as Caroline pulled the door closed and locked it, and collapsed in her sister's arms.
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"Are you sure? I am afraid. What if you foresaw their futures wrong...? She was so scared..." Katherine's whisper was desperate and her eyes wild as she looked at Bonnie.
"Katherine, I promise, I am not wrong." she griped her friend's arm gently.
"Katherine, trust me. My brother shall not hurt her, I give you my word." Kol said, his eyes meeting Bonnie's as he swore it. Bonnie held his gaze for a moment, before turning back to her potions, resuming her mixing of clear liquids.
"After this night, the changes we make, cannot be allowed to be undone. It is the only way" she said calmly, moving with concentration.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Katherine asked, her voice rising hysterically toward the end.
"Because I love her, and sometimes, we must do difficult things for those we love." Bonnie said, a tone of steel. Kol looked between the two women, and shook his head.
Trust his brother to do things in the worst possible way. He could have romanticised her, seduced her, gained her trust... instead he had let his desperation shine through, resorting to the only type of behaviour he knew. Klaus had always been more familiar with force than kindness. Kol's heart went out to Caroline, he knew how scared she must be now, though he had seen with his own eyes the sparks between them. She cared for his brother, he was sure of it, so why did she deny her own heart so?
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A knock at the door sent Caroline scurrying up, griping a heavy candle stick, she stood behind it.
"Caroline, it is me" Katherine said, and Caroline sighed in relief. Putting down the candlestick, she opened the door, before quickly slamming it shut again, turning the lock.
"Did you see anyone outside?"
"No one, I think he must have given up on you" Katherine said with a lopsided smile, sitting beside Caroline on the bed, running her hand up and down her back.
"Here, some of Bonnie's tea. It shall help you relax" Katherine said, passing her the tea. Caroline murmured her thanks as she settled back a little on the pillows and raised the cup to her mouth, sipping the tea.
"Did you know of their plans? Elena and Stefan. I can't believe it, though at the same time, I can't imagine another resolution for her." Caroline said, watching as Katherine went to sit at her dressing table, picking up her brush and pulling it in long strokes through her mahogany hair.
"I knew that she cared deeply for him, and him her. I am not sorry, even if it means our family name is ruined. I made a promise... you see... a long time ago." Katherine said softly, her eyes lost in her reflection in the mirror, Caroline wondered if she was seeing herself or Elena.
"A promise?" Caroline asked, feeling the tea start to relax her.
"Yes, I promised Bonnie, on the night that Elena almost died. She asked me if I would do whatever it took to save her, to sacrifice anything to protect her... I didn't hesitate." Caroline suddenly felt such a deep feeling of relaxation, it passed over her in a wave, and she set her cup down to steady herself, seeing too late that her focus was off, and the cup spilt on the floor, rolling under the bed.
Suddenly Katherine was before her, sitting on the bed, gripping her hands in hers, her eyes urgent and earnest.
"I didn't know then, that I would end up having another sister, who I loved just as much... I didn't know" she trailed off, and Caroline felt her head fall back, unable to hold it up anymore, the exhaustion was overwhelming. Her limbs were so heavy, the softness crept through her,
"The tea" she murmured, her eyes struggling to make out Katherine's face, which was now streaked with tears. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she struggled to open them, seeing Katherine stand up and walk away from her.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry" Katherine sobbed, as she reached out for the key in the lock of the door.
"No-" Caroline tried to shout, but it came out a whisper. Katherine turned the key, and the door opened slowly. Caroline's eyes fluttered again, but she saw Klaus's tall figure fill the doorframe, he moved toward her, as if through a dream. She tried to protest as he scooped her up, holding her close to his chest, he carried from Katherine's room, Caroline's head rolled, her hand reaching out to her friend, with the last of her strength, her fingers trailing in the empty air.
The last thing she saw was his blonde stubble, and his full lips, as drained of colour as they were tonight. His blue eyes looked down at her, pained and tender, and she felt like she drifted away in them as her consciousness finally slipped into darkness.
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