Grace // Klaus Mikaelson

29

25 August 2010

"You've proven nothing, but even I have to admit you've shown you can take care of her."

"Of course I can look after her." Stefan replied defensively.

"Rebekah and I need to go and take care of some business, I need you to take care of Grace." He said giving him a stern glare. Not a hair on her head you understand?"

"Not a hair."

"Wow." Grace chuckled as Klaus got into the car with Rebekah and drove off. "The masculinity is choking me."

"Well I my not have proven my trustworthiness" - his eyes danced with the same mirth as Grace - "But you certainly have proven you can't take care of yourself."

"That was uncalled for."

"Have you seen the size of that scar Grace?" His tone had change, quite and hurt his brow creased as he met her gaze.

"You know what I have seen it and you know what - it is none of you damn business."

"I care a lot about you Grace, you should know that. I also care about what happened."

"Fine you want to know what happened?"

"Yes! Of course I do."

"A lot happened, okay, a lot."

"Dammit Grace just tell me who hurt you!"

"Alaric, Elena and Damon were in the park with us when we were tracking the werewolves." She snapped, as though his pressing had finally taken effect, Stefan turned away slightly and suddenly she realised her mistake. "But you already knew that." She whispered tilting her head to the side in realisation.

"As soon as I found out they were following us I tried to get them off the mountain but one of the wolves had bitten me so it was a little hard."

"Oh you didn't tell me that."  Grace whispered.

"And you didn't tell me you got hurt either." Stefan replied.

"I know but I couldn't risk you guys finding out."

"Why not?"

"Because it was them that hurt me." Stefan was stunned to silence but that was what Grace needed, the space to tell him her truth. "They were stopped at a creek and I was walking past them on my way down. I must have snapped a branch or something to alert them to my presence because I woke up on the ground with a wooden stake imbedded in me." Grace could feel her face get red and puffy as her eyes welled up. As she spoke her voice began to crack. "Part of me thought I was going to die the other part of me didn't even register what was happening."

"They shot you?" Stefan snapped, his voice angry and hurt.

"They even come to see if they had hit anything."

"My brother, my friends shot you." Stefan said as though speaking the words would some how make sense of them. "Elena shot you?"

"I think it was the history teacher, he was the last on holding the cross bow but I don't really know."

"They shot you." He sounded like a broken record but hearing him like this hurt almost as much as any injury. His brain couldn't seem to understand what it was being told, as though their actions were in direct violation of his sensibilities. As though hurting her had hurt him.

"I cleaned and patched it up and then when we got here Gloria fixed it."

"How could I not have noticed?" His voice was hardly there.