Chapter Text
Caroline is wearing a designer sundress and a big floppy sunhat that Rebekah had picked out for her. She's sitting on a bench, watching the evening light fade over the coliseum.
Klaus is nearby, true to his word he hasn't let her out of his sight since he healed her in Mystic Falls, more than a year ago. She's starting to chafe, and this is the closest they've come to compromise.
They're going to see a witch, tomorrow, who thinks she can make Caroline truly immortal.
She knows Klaus is planning to kill Katerina the second he knows it won't kill Caroline. Has a sneaking suspicion that Kat has planned ahead and the spell connecting them might confer her the immortality Klaus is intent on giving Caroline.
She's not bothered, not like she would have been a year ago. Kat's grown on her in the past few months, has taught her a lot about survival. She finds it kind of hard to blame her for everything, thinks she's surprisingly well adjusted after being hunted for five hundred years because she didn't die how Klaus had wanted.
She still calls Liz, regularly, tells her where she's been and what she's seen. Hasn't spoken to Bill since Rebekah healed him at Liz's request. Knows being force-fed vampire blood was part of his punishment. She has a tiny, secret hope that he'll call her to apologize, some day. It's going to be a long time before she can forgive him, but she just wants to hear that her daddy still loves her.
She's called Maggie, once. Things are awkward, different. She hopes they'll get better with time.
She facetimes with Bonnie every week. Apparently, Bonnie has been trying to wrangle the vampire Klaus released when he destroyed the Augustine lab.
"I'd have managed it by now," Bonnie had grumbled, "except for Kol. He's sticking around because of some weird cult that worships an immortal warlock called Silas." Bonnie had rubbed her hand down her face at that. "I think he has a witch fetish," she admits. "I kind of see how you could end up with Klaus, Kol's relentless. He's always turning up, and he's like a walking grimoire."
Caroline had laughed at that.
"The Augustine vampire, Enzo, is batshit crazy. Every time I almost get him under control, Kol turns up to, and I quote, thwart me. He claims to live for the chaos."
Caroline had smiled, "If you want to run away somewhere exotic, let me know, Klaus would love to have an uber powerful Bennett witch around keeping me safe." She'd offered, only half joking.
Klaus won't let her near anything remotely dangerous, and she's okay with that right now. She's had enough murder and torture for at least a few years.
"Ready for dinner, love?" Klaus asks, appearing beside her, "I've reserved our table."
Caroline smiles, takes his arm. They'd started in Rome, last year, after she had stopped flinching at her own shadow. Klaus had whisked her away to a small tropical island to recover after she'd said goodbye to Liz.
Liz had been sitting by her knees when she'd woken. "Hey, honey," she'd said, gently.
"Hi mommy," Caroline had whispered, "you came for me."
"Bonnie called me when you were taken." Liz had brushed some hair off Caroline's forehead. "You were dead, Caroline." Her voice had turned rough, she had taken a deep breath. "I can't tell you what it was like to live in a world where you were gone. Then, I found out you were a vampire, and I wasn't taking it well." Her expression had turned fierce, "The second I realized John Gilbert was in town, I came for you." There was a moment of silence as both women remember the echo of Liz's gun.
"You're not scared of me?" Caroline had asked eventually.
"I've wasted so much of your life already, honey, I'm not going to throw away any chances I get."
Klaus pulls out her chair for her, always the old fashioned gentleman. He reserved the table they sat at on her birthday, last year.
A bottle of champagne arrives and Klaus pours her a glass, "Happy Birthday, Caroline." He smiles.
Caroline smiles back, a little sadly, "Seventeen forever."
Klaus places a long, slender velvet box on the table in front of her. "I love birthdays." He gestures for her to open it.
Caroline laughs, "I don't know what you could possibly think I need at this point."
"Open it."
Caroline lifts the lid, looks up at Klaus, confused. "A dagger?"
"Rebekah's dagger, to be precise." Klaus confirms. "You keep pulling it out, I thought, why not skip the middle man."
He had daggered Rebekah, once they left Liz's house, punishment for letting Caroline out of her sight. It hadn't mattered that Rebekah had come to find her as soon as Katherine had collapsed and started writhing and screaming, burns appearing on her back and shoulders. Or that Rebekah had broken the door off its hinges to get Liz to her. Had called him as soon as Caroline was safe.
Since she wasn't allowed out of his sight, she had known where Rebekah was hidden. Klaus had been on the phone, arranging their flights, and Caroline had flashed into Rebekah's room and yanked out the dagger. Klaus had caught her, but not before Rebekah was awake, dagger in hand. He had expected Caroline to try for the front door.
After that, she would just yank it out every time he left Elijah in charge of her. Elijah never commented. She suspects Klaus had started leaving her with Elijah on purpose, he had never been as angry as the first time, and it had given her a sense of agency.
Now, Rebekah has been undaggered for six months straight, had stolen Caroline yesterday and taken her shopping. "The bastard can dagger me all he wants, Caro," she had said, grinning, "it'll be worth it."
Caroline looks at Klaus, sees both amusement and resignation in his face. "You know I'm just going to give it to Rebekah, right?"
Klaus sighs, "I have accepted that, yes."
Caroline grins. He's still paranoid, controlling, short-tempered and a little insane, but there are little softenings, here and there. And for now, that's enough.