Work Text:
never asked me once about the wrong I did
(Prompt: Overwhelmed with over flipping the switch and causing damage, Caroline leaves Mystic Falls and finds herself feeling lost and alone. She calls Klaus. How does it go down? What does she say? Title from "Work Song" by Hozier. Rated K.)
She's going to need gas soon.
Caroline's just been driving, putting miles of highway between her and home and all of the things that she's done. It'll be the third full tank she's compelled herself. She can't bring herself to feel guilty about stealing from big oil when it's her fault that people are dead.
When there are parents or children or spouses agonizing over floral arrangements and epitaphs right now, because of her.
They've had to push through the shock of loved ones takes suddenly and too soon. And they'll have to deal with their grief because Caroline couldn't handle hers. So much for being strong.
She shakes herself, tries to force her brain to quiet but it's too late. Full of light. Those words, spoken in his accent, flutter through her mind clear as a bell.
God, if only. She feels tainted and weak and so, so stupid.
Caroline takes the next exit, there's a Shell Station advertised a couple of miles out.
She gases up, and helps herself to all the junk food her heart desires. Peanut butter snickers won't help, but they can't really hurt at this point either. Caroline parks in the little rest station and sits on the hood of her car.
Calling him right now would be a dick move, since she's the one who told him to go. But she needs something, someone, who would be there for her, if only just for a minute, without judgement.
Her usual options are out. Elena's never been particularly good at nonjudgmental. Bonnie might try, but Caroline doesn't want to add to the burdens Bon's been carrying since she's returned to the real world. Damon's never really cared about her. Matt and Tyler won't want anything to do with her, not that she can blame them. Not after what she did.
And Stefan? That's not a can of worms she wants to deal with just yet. Not until she's sorted out her feelings. Were they real? Or did she just need something safe to latch on to when things were falling apart? Caroline won't contact him until she knows. It's not fair to him.
She stares at her phone, his name stark and all she can focus on, tapping every time the screen dims, for a long time. Her battery life drains 11 percent. Finally, with one last deep breath, she makes the call.
It rings and it rings and she's just about to hang up when the line clicks, "Caroline?" Klaus asks, his tone strained with disbelief.
"Hi, Klaus." Caroline answers than falters, unsure of what she wants to say. Of what she wants, period.
"How are you doing, love?" The question comes out formal, and unsure. Something she'd seen from Klaus a few times, though she suspects that's something of a privilege.
It makes her laugh, the question. Not in true amusement, but because if she doesn't she's pretty sure she'll burst into tears.
"My mom's dead. I turned it off. Everyone hates me. I killed people."
She hears a harsh intake of breath from across the line, "I'm sorry about your mother, Caroline."
Tears spring to her eyes, and her voice is shaky as she thanks him.
"What do you need?" Klaus asks next, and her grip tightens on her phone. This is why she called him. She doesn't want assurances, not right now. She's killed people, but she knows he won't care about that. She doesn't want him to rescue her, to tell her that everything will be okay. Because it won't be, and she needs to rescue herself.
"I need to be away from home. I need to be by myself, and I need to think."
"Where are you?"
"God, I'm not even sure. Missouri? Maybe Nebraska."
"I've a place in Wyoming I bought after I broke the curse. It's remote, bordered by forest. Would that suit you?"
Caroline lets out the breath she'd not been aware she's been holding. A tiny part of her had half expected him to tell her he was too busy, that he had no time for her petty problems. She's relieved and grateful that he's still willing to come through for her, "That sounds perfect, Klaus. Thank you."
"I'll text you the location. Your car won't get you there, not on the trails that lead in. I'll arrange for a rental vehicle suitable for off road conditions as well."
She's at a loss for what to say, for how to express what this means to her. Another thank you seems paltry but it's all that she has.
"You're welcome, Caroline."
There's silence on the line, Caroline listens to him breathe, reluctant to hang up, She thinks he's doing the same thing. "Maybe..." she starts to say, but trails off.
"Maybe what, love?"
Caroline musters her courage, "Maybe when things are better, when I'm better, we could catch up?" She wants to slap herself, a little. It's seems like such a feeble offer.
But Klaus has always been content to let her stumble towards him at her own pace. She can hear the smile in his voice when he replies, that pleased one, with an edge of wonder, that she'd coaxed from him a time or two, "Things are a bit out of control here, but I hope to wrap that up soon. Perhaps you'll swing down south before heading back to Virginia? I'd still love to show you my city."
Caroline finds herself smiling genuinely, "I think I'd like that."
"Good. You've got a bit of driving to do, so I'll let you go. But, Caroline?"
"Yes?"
"You are strong. Don't forget that. Don't doubt it."
Klaus hangs up before she can thank him again, around the lump in her throat. Caroline gets in her car, pulls up her GPS. The first thing she needs to do is figure out where the hell she is.
Then she'll figure out the rest.