Caught off Guard

Chapter 3

Klaus breathed in the steam which wafted onto his face from the mug of hot chocolate, looking anywhere but his siblings. He had finally mucked up to the point where they didn't even reach the area they were investigating before they had to leave, and yet his family were only looking at him with warmth.

What in the actual hell is going on?

'Klaus', Five snapped him out of his thoughts, promoting him to speak, ' are you gonna tell your family or just leave them hanging?'

Right, they wanted an explanation. Inhaling sharply he put his mug on the coffee table and leant forwards onto his hands, catching a glimpse of something ghostly in the corner of his eye. Looking up he gave a small smile. Ben was here, and thank God for it too, Klaus wasn't sure he could do it without him.

Looking at his brother chilling on the arm of the sofa he steeled himself and began the story.

'When you found out that I had...time travelled Five, I specifically didn't tell you where to. Because I didn't want to remember.
I'm assuming you've figured it out by now though?'

A small nod was his only response.

'For those of you that don't know, when Hazel and Cha-cha's briefcase went missing it was because I took it when I escaped from them. They, um, took me hostage when they couldn't find Five in the house...'

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Diego clenched the leather armrest of the chair he was sitting in, sharply manicured nails sinking into the fabric.

It all made far to much sense now, why Klaus suddenly felt the need to be clean and why he looked like something a cat would puke up. Why the hell had nobody questioned when Klaus went missing? Oh yeah, because they chalked it up to his drug addiction.

Klaus had gone upstairs after describing what happened to him. No one protested; he looked exhausted, emotionally and physically. Unfortunately, though, that left the rest of them downstairs to stew over their mistakes.

'We aren't gonna get anywhere if we keep just sitting here', Luther was the first to speak, 'We need to figure out a way to make it up to him'

There was a moment of silence before Allison began to think.

'Well, what does he really want, more than anything.'

'For us to treat him better? Maybe?'

'What about getting clean'

'Nah, I'm not convinced on that one, besides, putting someone through withdrawal isn't the best way to make up for a mistake, is it?'

'He asked me to tie him up so he could get off drugs a while back now', Diego's voice cut through everybody else's voices like butter, ' but he did have a bit of a tantrum after he changed his mind and I refused to let him go' , a wince passed over his face, 'He said he would summon Patch if I untied him, I told him he couldn't summon shit whilst he was high'.

Everybody let out a sigh, yet another thing to feel guilty about.

The only reason Klaus wanted to get clean in the first place was to see Dave, and yet Diego had made him-

'-Dave', the word slipped it way past Diego's lips.

The only this Klaus had wanted was to see Dave.

'I know what we have to do'

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They were in Missouri, Klaus knew that, but why was completely unclear to him. All of his siblings were being especially secretive, saying it was a surprise, that he just had to wait.

'...We're on Kinswood Lane right now so the entrance should be just up here an around the corner. We'll have to do a bit of walking to get to the right bit once we're through though, and we can't pass through the main section or Klaus will get overwhelmed...'

Even eavesdropping on their conversations did nothing to help him, it only gave him more questions. Overwhelmed by what? They had insisted he was sober for this so he knew it required his power but where in Missouri could possibly be filled with so many ghosts he couldn't handle it?

'...Klaus, Klaus!, we're here!'

A voice brought him out of his daydream and a hand directed his eyes toward a large sign.

The Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

A war cemetery.

Behind the placard he could see the thousands of gravestones, their ghosts walking around, all talking with each other. Some had lost limbs, others had bullet wounds but they were all together, as a unit. He assumed many of them knew each other before death and were buried next to their wartime friends. It was a strangely euphoric sight, to see ghosts who aren't lonely .

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and leant back into it.

'We're gonna take you round the side so you don't have to walk through it. There is one memorial, in particular, we want you to see'

Klaus sucked in his breath suddenly, it all made sense.

As they walked to plaque he felt delirious; finally, he understood why they brought him here.

He was going to see Dave again.

Rounding a corner they reached a headstone with gold words embossed onto the surface.

Remember all who served and sacrificed
1961      Khe Sanh     1971
We are eternally bonded
Semper Fidelis
Khe Sanh Veterans

Taking a few steps forward he stretched his arm towards the memorial. Klaus' fingers traced the stone, following the curve of the letters and the cold of the metal.

'I will always remember' he murmured, 'always'

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a transparent figure.

Dave was standing beside him, his hand placed on his back.

'I didn't doubt you for a second', he was as beautiful as Klaus remembered; soft eyes, a sweet smile and perfect soul.

Reaching out he put his hand onto Dave chest and let go. Just for a second, purple embraced the ghost's figure. Just for a second the world could see his silhouette . Just for a second, Dave was alive.

Then violet dissipated and his love vanished from view. Klaus shakily exhaled before turning around. Rubbing his eyes he wiped his tears away and slowly walked back to the group. Looking them in the eye he allowed himself to be wrapped up into a hug.

'Thank you' Klaus whispered.

For he had felt his love one last time.