The next morning Caroline woke up in Klaus' arms. Her head was resting on his front and the first thing she noticed, before she even opened her eyes, was his scent. She was about to snuggle closer to him, when she realized that he was still fully clothed, just like the night before when he had found her tied up in her room. Her eyes darted up to him and she saw him staring absentmindedly to the wall in front. He was sitting up against the bedhead, still wearing his leather jacket and jeans, only his shoes were lying on the ground.
"Klaus?" Caroline asked concerned.
He snapped out of his revery, upon hearing her voice and looked down to her, giving her a smile, while stroking her hair.
"Good morning, love," he greeted her and his smile changed into a worried look on his face. "How are you feeling?"
Caroline actually took a moment to think about it seriously. She felt fine, nothing out of the ordinary. "My head still hurts a little, not sure if this is because of all the mind control from yesterday or if it's the vervain shot, or both of it, but apart from that I feel perfectly fine. Have you been up all night?"
She sat up as well to face him properly. He nodded and stared back to the wall in front of him. "I went through my memories, hoping I'd find an old tale or legend regarding Silas, in order to figure out why he fed you his blood."
"Found something?" Caroline asked, while she stood up and walked to her dresser, fishing out a nice top and her skinny jeans.
"No," he said sighing. "I should have gone after him, when I had the chance."
He gritted his teeth, restraining his anger from getting the better of him.
"He's gone now and I'm actually quite euphoric about it, so let's just forget about him," she replied nonchalantly and picked out some black lacy underwear at the same time.
"But why would he go through all the trouble, risk getting caught, only to feed you his blood? He had something in mind and I want to know what," Klaus said, still staring at nothing in particular.
Caroline sighed and stopped before she disappeared into the bathroom, turning around to Klaus.
"I really don't know, maybe it's some freaky way to always know where I am or how I feel, like you see it in those vampire TV shows all the time," she joked and went outside to change.
"Maybe," Klaus whispered to himself not convinced of her idea at all. "But I will find out."
He pulled his smart phone out of his pants and went through his contacts to find a certain someone. When he found the number, he pressed 'dial' and waited for the phone to connect.
"Klaus?" A male voice answered.
"I need you to find someone for me," he began, not bothering using formalities such as greetings. "His name is Silas."
He gave him further instructions and details about Silas while Caroline was in the bathroom.
"Got it," the person on the other end said, understanding.
"And make it quick, Tyler," Klaus said and hung up.
Around 12 pm Caroline and Klaus arrived at the boarding house again. Caroline was worried about Stefan and wanted to see him as soon as possible.
"Hi," Caroline greeted Elena, who opened the door for them.
"Come on in," she said and stepped to the side to let them in. "Stefan hasn't come down yet. He doesn't talk much. At least not with me."
She looked down on the ground, worried about her ex-boyfriend.
"Don't worry, Elena. He will open up once he's ready," Caroline tried to reassure her friend.
"I know, Car. It's just, he's been through so much and I feel so helpless, I don't know what to do," she replied, while walking with them to the living room, which was still a mess from the day before.
"Maybe you should refrain from sleeping with his brother," Klaus said bluntly, making his way to the remains of the Salvatore's liquor stock, trying to find something that was spared from yesterday's battle.
He found a bottle of brandy and a chipped glass and poured himself a drink. Caroline gave him her 'Are-you-serious?-look' for his last comment, but deep down she felt the same way. It was no secret that she was a huge Stefan/Elena fan and that she did not approve much of Elena's misguided change of heart, when she picked Damon over Stefan.
"Look, he will come around," Caroline started, facing Elena again. "Someday. For the moment, just be there for him and wait until he feels able to confide in you. You are right, he's been through a lot, and it's not only the break-up thing, and you and Damon, but also his encounter with Silas. Give him the time."
Elena nodded, understanding and then smiled at her friend, thankful for her encouragement.
"Think I can see him for a moment?" Caroline asked.
"You can try, maybe he'll talk to you," Elena said, hoping a visit from one of his more loyal friends would cheer him up a little, although she felt a pit form in her stomach, realizing that it was not her anymore that could reach through to him like she used to in the past, but someone else.
"When you go upstairs, take this to him, okay?" Damon entered the room and tossed Caroline a blood bag. She caught it and nodded once, turning around to make her way to Stefan.
"I will go take a shower," Elena said, wanting to be alone for a moment.
The atmosphere in the house was stifling and depressing. Even Damon was unnaturally disheartened. Elena left Damon and Klaus alone in the room and went to the next bathroom on the same floor.
Silence filled the living area and an awkward moment formed between the two men. Damon cleared his throat in an attempt to start a conversation.
"Although I'm not your biggest fan, I have to admit you helped out a lot yesterday," Damon started, typically not able to show his gratitude without a form of insult hiding in it. "Without you we wouldn't have managed to take on Silas. And we wouldn't have gotten Stefan back."
He awkwardly reached out his hand to Klaus. "Thank you."
Klaus did not particularly like the bonding moment with Damon, but he could see Damon was struggling with himself and that it took a lot of effort for him to admit being thankful to his enemy, so he took his hand and shook it, accepting the man's gratitude.
"Your brother was a friend of mine before. He didn't deserve what happened to him, so I helped out," Klaus replied, also not finding it in his nature to admit he helped someone like Damon.
Damon nodded and they released their handshake. "Still, I owe you."
"Yes and I'm intending to make sure you honor your debt to me," Klaus said seriously. "Yesterday after we found Stefan and brought him home, Silas paid Caroline a visit."
"What? I thought he was gone," Damon replied, alarmed.
"I thought so, too," Klaus answered. "As you saw, she's fine. He didn't kill her, although he had the chance to."
"Then what did he do? He has no power anymore. He can't get into our heads any longer," Damon pointed out.
"He just talked to her and before he disappeared he made her drink his blood," Klaus explained.
Damon looked at him quizzically. "Why?"
"That is what I'm trying to find out," Klaus said, pacing up and down now. "Caroline says she feels fine, that nothing changed since she drank it. But there is definitely something going on. Silas can't be underestimated."
"I agree," Damon nodded and pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call Bonnie. Maybe she can find something in her ancient magic books that would explain his odd behavior."
Klaus nodded once, before Damon exited the room to talk to Bonnie.
Upstairs Caroline hesitantly knocked on Stefan's already open door.
"Can I come in?" She asked, sticking her head in the door.
He was standing in front of his window and turned around upon hearing Caroline's voice. He gave her a weak smile and nodded. "Sure, Caroline."
She walked to him and when she was in front of him, she could not help herself. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I know we had the dramatic reunion yesterday already, but I missed you so much."
He hugged her back and felt happy seeing his best friend again. Tears welled up inside her eyes and she could not stop them from pouring down her face.
"I am so sorry. I thought you were gone, because you wanted to get out of here after all that happened. It didn't even cross my mind that something could have happened to you," she apologized, deeply sorry for what happened to her friend. "I tried to call you, but it wouldn't connect and nobody saw you and, and,..."
"It's okay, Caroline. Calm down," he stroked her back, soothing her.
"No, it's not," she cried even harder. "When I heard Silas had gotten to you, I was so worried. We couldn't find you anywhere. I'm so sorry we took so long, Stefan."
"I know, it's not your fault," Stefan replied, letting her hug him as hard as she needed and waited for her to calm down.
"Ugh, I'm such a bad friend. Here I am being comforted by you when it should be me caring for you."
She tried to calm down and straightened up. With the back of her hand, she wiped her tears roughly away and forced a smile on her face. "Tell me, is there anything you need? Anything at all? I promise you I'll fly to the ends of the world and bring it to you, as long as you want it."
He laughed for the first time in months, but shook his head. "There's nothing, really. But thank you, Caroline."
"Okay, but if something comes to your mind, tell me immediately," she said authoritatively.
He chuckled again and nodded. "I will."
She looked at him softly. He looked worn out and mentally utterly exhausted. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," he said honestly, letting out a deep breath.
"Do you want to, maybe, stay at my place, if it's too much-," Caroline started, but was cut off by Stefan right away.
"No, it's fine, Caroline. Really. I'm not intending to stay long anyway," he said carefully, knowing it would upset his friend, who was so worried about him. "You were right, I did want to get away from Elena and my brother. That hasn't changed. Now, I want to get away from Mystic Falls more than ever."
Caroline's eyes were watering again and she took a deep breath to suppress the tears from falling again. She nodded her head repeatedly, understanding, and hugged him once more. "I get it, but tell me before you go, okay?"
"I promise," he replied and squeezed her one last time before he let her go.
"I'll let you rest then," Caroline said and slowly went to the door. "I've brought you a blood bag."
She held it up for him to see and placed it on his bed.
"I heard a hot, extremely gorgeous blonde donated her blood only for you," she joked, making him smile appreciatively. "Call me."
She raised her hand and waved at him, before she left and walked back downstairs again.
"We can go home," she told Klaus, who was still standing in the living room.
"Before that, we have to pay your friend Bonnie a visit," Klaus replied, emptying his second glass of brandy.
"Why?" She looked at him questioningly.
"She's currently trying to find more information about Silas," he answered and put his hand on her small back, walking her to the door.
"Is this still about Silas?" She clicked her tongue. "I'm telling you, forget about it. Whatever he did, failed. Probably because we stripped him from his powers yesterday. So, let it go, please."
"Don't argue with me on this, love," he said, his voice firm and unyielding.
"Fine, let Bonnie tell you the same thing," she replied, rolling her eyes and stomped ahead of him.
She went to the car, where Klaus opened her the door, before she could do it herself. He drove to Bonnie within fifteen minutes, who was expecting them already.
"Come in," Bonnie said as she opened the door.
"Did you find something?" Klaus cut right to the chase of the matter.
Caroline gave her an apologizing look for the rude behavior of her boyfriend, but Bonnie had not been bothered by it in the first place and just smiled at her.
"No, I haven't. There are no records of him whatsoever," she answered frustrated.
They sat down on the couch in front of a coffee table buried in a pile of old books, journals, and documents.
"I can't find anything about the mechanics of a warlock's blood," she said, pointing at the mess of her research. She turned to look at her childhood friend concerned. "You didn't feel anything when you drank his blood?"
"No, nothing. It was just blood. Granted, it tasted a little bit funny than the usual blood I consume, but yours tastes different as well," she said, turning to Klaus. "I just assume that's how a 2000-year-old warlock tastes like. Plain and stale."
"That's not much to work with," Bonnie stated being at her wit's end.
"Sorry," Caroline said, hoping this topic will end for good now.
"Can't you ask that ancestor of yours, whom you had asked about Silas the first time?" Klaus tried a different approach.
"I can't. This spell I used has specific ground rules. One of it entails that I can bind the same ghost only once to me and only temporary," Bonnie explained.
"How does that work anyway?" Caroline asked curiously.
"There are two ways to bind a ghost to a living person. You can do it the way I did by calling a ghost you know the name of for a limited time. In this period you can talk to him or her. I called an ancestor, who lived at about the same time Silas did and asked her about him, before she vanished an hour later again. As I said, I can't call her again. It only works once. The other way is a little bit more tricky, because you bind the ghost to the living person as long as he lives," Bonnie described the spell.
"Oh my God, really?" Caroline was genuinely excited. "Can't you bind your gramps or Jeremy to you then?"
"Technically, yes," Bonnie said hesitantly. "But I would never do that."
"Why?" Caroline asked, regarding her friend quizzically.
"You bind the ghost to a certain object that belongs to the living person, it has to be marked by his or her blood, so that the spirit can recognize it. Like this the spirit finds the vessel that connects it to the medium, but it is also trapped in it. Supernatural beings are sent to the Other Side after they die, but when they're called with this spell they roam in a kind of limbo state isolated from the Other Side. They'll never be able to return, even after their medium died or their vessel is broken. They simply cease to exist entirely."
Caroline was taken aback, sad even, thinking about a lost soul, which completely vanishes.
"It's not healthy. For both of them. The medium will constantly be accompanied by a ghost. There are tales passed down in our family that say, mediums who are continually connected to one spirit are, thus, also continually confronted with the world of death. It can make them go crazy and destroy the vessel to rid themselves from the spirit. For example, a human is especially sensitive, he can't necessarily deal with it."
"I see," Caroline said, guessing that Bonnie must have thought of using this kind of spell to see Jeremy again if not for the consequences.
"So, you can't find another way to get in touch with your ancestor?" Klaus asked.
"No, the blood line goes back too far, otherwise I could have called her the normal way," Bonnie explained. "I'm sorry. For now, our best chances are to ask Silas himself."
Caroline snorted disdainful. "I really don't want to see him ever again."
"Yes, me neither. All Silas brought upon us is pain," Bonnie replied bitterly, thinking about Jeremy and Stefan.
Caroline reached for her hand and squeezed it once, comforting her. Bonnie answered her with a sad smile, before she got up. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
"It's fine, you've already done enough," Caroline replied and also stood up. "We're going then."
The three of them went to the front door and said their goodbyes.
"Bye, Caroline," Bonnie said, while hugging her. "Sorry again."
"Don't worry about it, Bon. Everything's fine," she replied, waving her goodbye until she closed the door.
"Now, that was utterly disappointing," Klaus concluded.
"I wouldn't say that," Caroline said. "She might not have found anything about the workings of a warlock's blood, but that can just as well mean that there is nothing to tell about it in the first place."
Klaus sighed and walked down the small staircase in front of Bonnie's house. "Maybe you're right. Let's get something to eat, shall we?"
He smiled and reached her his hand, waiting for her to follow him. She returned his smile and was actually happy about his proposal to go eat something, she felt quite hungry. She took a step forward, reaching for his outstretched hand, when she looked into the sun. It made her dizzy for a moment and let her lose her balance on her heels, almost falling down the stairs. Klaus caught her right away and helped her stand up properly again.
"What was that?" He tried to hide his amusement, but failed miserably. "Love, if you can't walk in heels, don't wear them."
He laughed at her and offered her his hand to help her walk safely to the car.
"I can walk in heels!" She said outraged, that he made fun of her.
Klaus kept laughing, even though he knew he picked on her womanly pride. "Yes, I could see that."
"You jerk!" She punched him playfully, but was unable to stop the corners of her mouth from lifting up into a smile.
He opened her the door to the passenger seat, like the gentleman he was, and walked around the car to sit next to her and took her to lunch.