New AN: Okay, so updates on this chapter are basically just Caroline's conversation with Liv at the end. Liv's explanation got changed up a bit, and Caroline's dialogue went through a few pronoun changes. That's basically the extent of it, though. Thanks again for your patience and cooperation!

When Caroline woke up mid-morning the next day, she was in even more pain than before. Her head felt like it was splitting open, and her stomach felt like someone was stabbing her. There was no one in the room with her, but there were four bags of blood on her nightstand. Evidently gifts from Stefan before he left.

Caroline's mouth sealed around the first blood bag, and she sucked the contents down as if her life depended on it. For all she knew, it did.

Then went the second. Then the third. And the fourth. Normally, one or two bags was enough to last her for at least a while, but for whatever reason, she was still starving after the fourth. She wasn't in pain anymore, but there was still that annoying twitch of hunger in her stomach, and she hated it.

Her body felt almost back to normal again, so she tried and successfully managed to sit up on the edge of her bed. She stood up without much of a hassle, then plodded out into the hallway and down the stairs.

"Mom?"

Caroline was met with silence, as she had expected. She didn't think that her mom would be home mid-morning, even if something was wrong with Caroline.

Entering the kitchen, Caroline made an immediate beeline for the cereal cabinet and poured herself a heaping bowl of instant oatmeal. She added milk and shoved it in the microwave, staring out the back door. The microwave went off, and Caroline plodded back towards the front of the house, sitting down in the living room. She stared out of the window as she ate her oatmeal.

"Caroline?"

Bonnie's voice jolted Caroline from her thoughts, and she rose to open the front door. The second Bonnie saw her, she threw her arms around Caroline, nearly making her drop her cereal bowl.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Um, yeah. I downed four bags this morning, and I'm still hungry, but I'm not as weak and my pain is almost gone."

Bonnie pulled away to look Caroline in the eyes, holding her face and tilting it this way and that.

"Really? Isn't one or two bags usually enough? Have you been drinking enough recently?"

"Yeah, the normal amount. I didn't change anything, Bonnie. I just... dropped out of nowhere."

Frowning, Bonnie stopped moving Caroline's head. Her eyes suddenly went wide, and she turned around towards the front door. It was then that Caroline noticed the woman standing awkwardly in the doorway, shifting her weight from side to side.

"Sorry! Caroline, this is Olivia. She's a witch, but she's newer, so I'm trying to help her out. Olivia, this is Caroline, one of my best friends."

Caroline nodded in greeting at the other witch, then dragged Bonnie into the living room.

"Just please find out what's wrong with me. I don't have the foggiest, and neither do Stefan or Rebekah."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at the latter's name, but Caroline waved her off.

"Don't even ask. It's better that you don't know."

"Right. Okay, let's take a look at you."

Caroline sat completely still while Bonnie examined her in any way she could possibly think of. After what felt like hours, Bonnie finally sighed and stood, staring at Caroline with a frown.

"I can't find anything. Nothing supernatural, and your vampirism would've healed any human ailments already. There's nothing else I can think of. Maybe it was just stress?"

Standing up, Caroline ran a hand through her hair, then started pacing.

"But that doesn't explain why I'm still so hungry. Like, ridiculously so."

Bonnie shrugged, standing herself.

"Not sure. Maybe a little fun will help, though. You're coming tonight, right?"

Caroline looked at Bonnie like she'd grown a third head, and the young witch sighed.

"To Tyler's, Care. His welcome home party? Matt's throwing it? Everyone will be there?"

Cringing, Caroline brought her now empty cereal bowl into the kitchen, setting it in the sink. Stefan had told her about the party, but she didn't want to go. It would've been awkward enough with just her and Tyler, but adding what had happened with Klaus? No, she never wanted to confront that skeleton in her closet. Ever.

...But she supposed that she would have to talk to Tyler eventually. It wasn't like their friends weren't still friends. And she was guessing that he came back to town to get back together with her. Sure, maybe her thinking was selfish, but some deep, dark part of her soul really didn't want to get back together. Because that same part wanted to be with Klaus, no matter what that meant for her or her loved ones.

...She'd never realized until now just how selfish love could make someone.

Caroline realized Bonnie was still staring at her, waiting for an answer. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Um, yeah, I'll be there. Maybe Elena will show up and we won't have to worry about her anymore."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, and Caroline laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Come on, Bon. Do you really think I wasn't still getting updates from Stefan, even when I was staying inside? I'm not completely in the dark. I know no one's seen Elena for a bit, and we're all worried. Damon most of all, which is hilarious considering he's probably the one she's hiding from."

Bonnie leaned against the doorway into the kitchen, frowning.

"They broke up. It's not like he killed Jeremy again or something. She doesn't really have much of a reason to be angry with him, much less angry enough to leave town entirely and not tell anyone where she was going."

"Who knows? I hardly know who she is anymore, so it's anyone's guess."

The spiteful comment left Caroline's lips before she could bite it back. The two girls fell into an awkward silence.

"...Sorry, Bon. I'm just stressed, and Elena's disappearing act isn't really helping. Maybe tonight will help, though."

As long as Caroline can avoid Tyler at his own party, that is...

Bonnie nodded silently, then clapped her hands together.

"Well, on that note, I should go and pick out an outfit for tonight, and I should give you time to do the same. Show up in something so breathtaking Tyler won't know what hit him."

Bonnie winked at Caroline, who forced a smile. Then the witch turned and walked back out of the kitchen, Olivia falling into step behind her. The latter paused for a moment, looking back at Caroline.

"Sorry if I'm overstepping, considering I just met you, but you might try consuming more of both human food and blood. Keep a regular human and vampire diet, maybe even more human food than you normally would. You could be experiencing malnutrition or some other form of dietary strain. Or maybe the stress is just causing an enlarged diet. Either way, I would try eating more and see how that goes. You might be surprised."

Olivia smiled softly at Caroline, then finally followed Bonnie into the entryway. Caroline heard the front door shut, and let out a sigh of relief.

"God, how am I supposed to get through this party...?"

Now alone in the house, Caroline couldn't help but mumble to herself. Her hands were aching to do something-her usual form of coping was stress cleaning-so she supposed that getting ready for the party would have to suffice. Even if it didn't start for another, oh, six hours.

...Maybe stress cleaning was the better option.

Caroline could hear the thumping of the music from all the way down the street. After all, as massive as Tyler's house was, his parties were always legendary. Whether that's in a good or bad way.

The closer she got to the house, the more her stomach twisted. Trying to avoid the main reason for the party would only work for so long, especially if he actively tried to seek her out. Maybe she could just hide out in one of the rooms upstairs until the party was over. The study probably wouldn't be used...

Caroline's teal dress brushed against her legs as she walked, her heels clacking against the pavement. The quiet sound felt like knives stabbing her head. She had done what Olivia had suggested and downed another blood bag with a rather sizeable lunch, and it really did seem to help. Her hunger died down somewhat, and her headache all but disappeared. But that didn't help her stress.

As she approached the front door, she took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. Sure, she felt guilty about the fact that she'd slept with Klaus, but that wasn't what was eating her alive. No, that was the reason why she'd slept with him in the first place and the reason she felt like she did afterward: happy and... whole. No one else had ever made her feel like that. Ever.

A group of giggling girls pushed past Caroline, jarring her from her thoughts. She had stopped on the front step, just shy of going inside. Shaking her head, Caroline walked inside, glancing around. Tyler was nowhere in sight, thank God.

But a certain someone that she actually wanted to see was.

"Elena!"

The brunette turned around, raising her drink to Caroline in greeting. Caroline approached her, throwing her arms around her best friend.

"God, we were all so worried! Never disappear like that again, okay? If you need to get away from Damon or anyone else, just let me know; we'll be gone before they can blink."

Caroline felt Elena smile into her shoulder, then nod.

"Will do, Care. But whatever. I'm back now, and I'm ready to party!"

Elena pushed Caroline away, tossing back her drink in one gulp. Caroline grinned, then pointed to the cup.

"Where'd you get that?"

"The cup is from the table on the back patio by the beer keg, but I snatched the good stuff from the cabinets."

Elena raised her other hand to show off a 3-liter bottle of Jack Daniels that Caroline hadn't noticed her holding before. Caroline tried to snatch the bottle from her, but Elena held it just out of reach.

"Nope. Not sharing. You can find your own."

Huffing, Caroline tried to keep a straight face and failed, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smile.

"Fine. I have something important to tell you, anyway, and I need to do it now. Right now."

Elena's eyebrows went up, but before she could say anything, Caroline dragged her over to a less populated part of the room.

"I did a bad thing."

Elena's mouth quirked up in mock sympathy.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

Frustration started to bubble up in Caroline, and her voice started getting louder.

"You don't even know what it is."

Elena let out a breath, clearly not interested in the conversation. Now, Caroline was just straight up pissed.

"Elena, listen! This is really important!"

The brunette's lips pressed together as she composed herself, then sighed.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Tell me; what happened?"

Caroline took a breath, readying herself for the conversation. It was now or never.

"What would you say if I told you that when a certain awful person was in town, I ran into him in the woods, and sort of... kissed him?"

Elena closed her eyes, readjusting her stance. Her mind was obviously elsewhere, but Caroline had to get this out. So Elena could pretend to care for just a few more seconds.

"He was there, and he obviously wanted to kiss me, so I thought, 'Oh, we'll just make out!'"

Caroline took a breath, hearing how loud and frantic she was becoming. A few people standing around them glanced in their direction, but Caroline quieted her voice again, ignoring them.

"But then, it felt... really... good to kiss him, so then I kind of... totally... had sex with him."

Elena's eyebrows shot up, and Caroline knew that she finally had her best friend's attention. Her inner mind cheered for her.

"But I swear I didn't plan to do it, and now I feel... terrible."

Caroline dropped her hands back to her sides, having been making all sorts of gesticulations. Elena shuffled again, attention still clearly enraptured.

"And the person we're talking about is...?"

There it was. The bombshell question. Caroline tensed up, then took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"...Klaus?"

It came out more like a question than a statement, but it would have to do. Elena's expression of interest turned to one of complete and total shock, and Caroline couldn't blame her.

"Oh, wow! That's, uh, that-that-

Caroline sighed, pushing a lock of hair back from her face. At least Elena knew now.

"Wow, really?"

Frustration threatened to overtake Caroline again. She was becoming frantic, careless. She hadn't seen Tyler yet, or anyone else she knew, for that matter, but she couldn't help but feel that any one of them was lurking just around the corner. And this was not something she wanted anyone to overhear.

"Would I make something like this up? And that is why I need you to tell me what an... awful person I am."

Caroline jerked her hand at her side, curling it into a fist. Elena took a deep breath, her eyebrows going even closer to her hairline.

"Actually, you're one of the least... awful people I know."

Frowning, Caroline tilted her head, giving Elena a look that said, 'that wasn't the answer I was going for'. The blonde looked down at her feet, inhaling through her nose and blowing the breath out through her mouth.

"...So tell me. How was it?"

Elena finally smiled for the first time since they started this conversation, and Caroline relaxed. She wasn't angry.

"You know, compared to Tyler."

Now that the worst of it was out of the way, Caroline could finally relax and laugh with her best friend. So she did just that. Caroline shook her head, laughing.

"Elena Gilbert!"

"Caroline Forbes! Come on, spill the beans!"

"I am-"

Caroline didn't even know how she was going to finish that sentence, so she didn't. Elena's grin widened, and she punched Caroline teasingly.

"Now that you've slept with Klaus, I mean... How was it?"

Caroline's mouth dropped open, and she shook her head for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

"I am so not answering that."

"Oh, you so are!"

Elena's eyes focused on something over Caroline's shoulder, and the smile dropped off of her face.

"Oh my God."

Caroline turned around, suddenly concerned. The moment that she did, her eyes locked with Tyler's, and even from across the room, she could tell that he had heard everything. And that he was fuming. She couldn't move, and their gaze stayed locked together even as Tyler walked down the stairs. It was like she couldn't breathe.

Then, he turned and rushed away. Caroline gulped, her mouth still hanging open in shock. Had Elena seen him there? No, she wouldn't have done something like that.

...Would she have?

Caroline already knew where Tyler went, so she set out after him, determined to make him hear her side of the story. Really, it wasn't any better than what he had just heard, but she might as well tell him herself instead of subjecting him to only hearing it second hand.

She entered the study to find his back to her, but she knew that he had heard her walk into the room. Her suspicions were confirmed when he spoke.

"Get out."

Caroline relaxed her muscles, trying to stay calm. Someone had to be in this situation, and she knew that it wasn't going to be Tyler.

"Just let me explain."

"No, let me."

Tyler's head bobbed up, and he shook it slightly. She could only picture what his expression his face must hold. Disappointment. Anger. Angst. Loss.

"Klaus killed thousands of people: Elena's aunt, an entire pack of hybrids, myfriends."

His hoarse, rage-filled voice buried itself like a knife in Caroline's heart. She could hear his pain, but as selfish as it was, she didn't feel guilty anymore. They were broken up. Sure, she could've chosen someone better to sleep with, but that was all it was.

Maybe she wanted more, but she knew where she stood. And she knew better than to test those boundaries, because breaking them would cause even more people pain. And she didn't want that.

Tyler turning around broke Caroline from her thoughts. She stayed perfectly still, her eyes flitting to the glass of whiskey in his hand. Was he already drunk? She wasn't sure. It had been less than five minutes since he took off away from her. Could he really drink that quickly?

In his current state, maybe.

"Caroline."

Tyler placed his hands on the table, supporting himself. His face held an emotion she coudn't even describe.

"He killed my mom!"

The glass shattered in Tyler's grip, and Caroline flinched. Right, so angry. Very, very angry.

Tyler's breathing was ragged, and he stared daggers at her, chest heaving. The hand that held the glass was still tense and unclenched, with glass embedded into his flesh.

"I know, I know."

Caroline kept her voice quiet, slowly walking towards him. He was a ticking time bomb, and she didn't want to know what could happen when he exploded.

"I'm so sorry."

"Just stop."

The force behind Tyler's tone was enough to halt Caroline in her tracks. He held his hand up, as if his words weren't enough to stop her from coming closer. She sighed, her chin held high. Whatever words he wanted to throw at her, she would take them. She deserved them.

"I walked out last time. Now it's your turn. Go."

Caroline shook her head, but Tyler nodded towards the door, unrelenting. She was determined to stand her ground, though, so she just shook her head again.

"No."

She tried to approach him again, quicker this time, but he backed away from her, holding his hand up as if to shield himself from her mere presence.

"Don't take another step, Caroline!"

"If you would just-"

"I said leave!"

Finally, Tyler snapped, his last word coming out as a growl and his eyes flashing gold. Caroline backed away, her hands held to her head. It always terrified her when he wolfed out, but he knew that. And that was why he did it.

Before Caroline could react any more, a new presence appeared between her and Tyler: a head of wavy blonde hair and a scarlet party dress.

"...Olivia?"

The figure didn't turn around, but Caroline knew it was the witch that Bonnie had just introduced her to that morning. Tyler's expression morphed into confusion, and his face went back to normal.

"Who the hell are you? This isn't your business."

"Except it is. You will not harm Caroline Forbes, not on my watch. My coven sent me to protect her, and that is exactly what I am going to do. So back. away."

"What coven? Why Caroline?"

Olivia raised her arm, holding her palm out towards Tyler. Caroline didn't dare to move from behind her. Obviously, she knew what she was doing.

"I see no reason to answer the questions of someone who is soon to be a spot on the wall if they don't do what I told them to. Now get out!"

Olivia snarled the last word, and Tyler actually flinched back. He gave Caroline one last spiteful glance before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. The second that he left, Caroline sank to her knees, her whole body shaking. Olivia turned around, kneeling beside Caroline.

"Are you okay, Caroline? He didn't do anything to you before I got here, did he? I'm so sorry; I had to get away from Bonnie to get here. She was chatting with Elena the last time I saw her, down in the dining room. She wouldn't detach from my side. She wanted to introduce me to everyone."

Olivia rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her face. Obviously, whoever this witch was, she honestly did like being friends with Bonnie.

"Who are you, really?"

Sighing, Olivia offered Caroline a hand up, and the two girls stood up.

"That... is a long story. And one that involves a lot of other stories. Including the story of your mysterious illness."

Caroline went still, her eyes wide.

"You know what's causing it?"

"Yes. But this might take a while, and any vampire walking by could overhear. Are you okay with that?"

Caroline nodded distractedly. Olivia knew what it was, but Bonnie didn't? How? The witch guided Caroline over to the couch, and the two of them sat down. Olivia leaned in close, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible.

"My name is Olivia Parker, but you can call me Liv, like almost everyone else. I'm a witch of the Gemini Coven. We are a powerful coven of witches comprised entirely of twins. I'm just the one they send on small missions they think are easy enough for me not to mess up. I'm actually really surprised that they trusted me with something this important."

Caroline's brow furrowed, and she held up a hand for Liv to stop.

"Why am I so important to the Gemini Coven?"

Liv pressed her lips together, seemingly trying to organize her thoughts.

"...That's the part where you learn what's causing your illness. You know that Hayley Marshall is dead, and that she was pregnant?"

Caroline nodded, and Liv continued.

"Well, tribrids like she was pregnant with are of exceptional rarity. So when we learned of Hayley's pregnancy, we knew that we had to protect her until she gave birth. Then Hayley was attacked. We made it in time, thank God, and Elijah begged us to save her. The thing was, we didn't really give a damn about her, and I really don't think that anyone besides Elijah did, either. We just cared about what was inside of her. And as such a powerful coven, we have powerful spells. Forbidden spells that were very useful in that moment. See, one such spell was created specifically to protect witches still in utero. If the mother is inflicted with deadly wounds, but is still alive when we get there, that spell allows us to move the fetuses into someone else. A surrogate, someone heavily connected to either the mother or father. My fellow coven members chose you."

Caroline's hand flew to her mouth. It was like time had stopped.

"...I'm pregnant with Klaus and Hayley's twins? I'm the surrogate for two powerful supernatural creatures?"

"Yes. Two of the most powerful in history, in fact. Tribrids are practically unheard of. As far as I know, these twins are the only ones created to be so at birth."

Caroline's head was spinning. So many thoughts were spiraling through it, and it couldn't just focus on one. Klaus. Tyler. The baby. Her. Liv. The Gemini Coven. Hayley. Klaus's family. Her family. Her friends.

"Caroline?"

Caroline looked up to find Liv looking at her with concern, a hand on her knee. Shaking her head, Caroline looked up at Liv with a confused expression.

"Why me? Out of all the people connected to Hayley and Klaus, why me? There must've been so many people who would've been better."

Liv frowned.

"Actually, no. The first time that Klaus found out about the child from the New Orleans witches, he didn't want it. He told them to kill her if they wanted because she wasn't his problem. We think he's grown more attached to the idea of being a parent since then, but thinking he lost that child... my fellow coven members thought it would be best to move the twins into someone he wouldn't want to be killed. Someone that he loves, that he would protect no matter what the odds. You can imagine that list is rather small, outside of his family."

Caroline gave a dry laugh, nodding. Klaus didn't tend to open his heart easily. Not for anyone besides her, anyway. And even that took some work on her part, just to get to the state of hesitant friendship that they were at now.

"So we chose you. Because out of the last 1,000 years, Niklaus Mikaelson has only ever loved two people: you and another vampire named Aurora de Martel. The problem with using Aurora would've been that we have no idea how Klaus feels about her now, after almost 1,000 years of moving on. He obviously still loves you, though."

Liv quirked an eyebrow up, smirking at Caroline. The vampire looked away, face hot. How did she even know about that? How much had she been listening in on since Caroline arrived at the party?

"Okay, so I was the best option. And you all just decided that uprooting me from my life and not telling me would be the best option? How's that fair?"

Caroline couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. She winced at Liv's indignant expression. She honestly wasn't sure why she was taking her frustration out on her when she was the one who chose to tell Caroline in the first place. The coven probably hadn't wanted her to until they thought she should know.

"Sorry. I'm just a little... on edge. I'm still processing everything."

Liv's expression melted back to calm, and she nodded in understanding, stroking Caroline's knee lightly with her thumb.

"I get it, sweetie. I'd be a little freaked, too. Take your time. We have all night."

Something about that word, 'night', pulled at Caroline's memory. Then, she gasped.

"What?"

"Rebekah. Oh my God, she's stopping by before she goes back to New Orleans. She should know. I should go back with her."

Liv raised her eyebrows, pulling her hand off of Caroline's knee.

"Are you sure that's the best idea? Hayley was just murdered in New Orleans. As much as Klaus didn't care about what happened to her, that's bound to have caused a reason for him to tear the city apart to find her killer. It could be a little bit... intense in the city."

Caroline cringed, wrapping her arms around herself, then shaking her head.

"I'm not sure. But she thinks that her only chance at a new member of her family is dead, and I know how much she wanted that. She loves too much, gets too attached, but so do I. So I guess, on some level, I understand her. So I have to at least tell her, even if I don't go with."

Liv sighed, then stood up.

"Then I suppose we should leave before she does. This party isn't very exciting anymore, anyway. Not that it was to begin with."

Liv walked towards the door, but stopped halfway there, turning back to Caroline.

"Oh, I'm guessing you don't want me to take down the cloaking spell until you're on your way out? Because when I do, it'll only take a few hours for your body to catch up to looking four months pregnant. And since your friends don't know..."

"God, yes. Please wait until then."

Liv laughed, then nodded and kept walking towards the door. Caroline followed right behind her, still trying to process everything.

She was carrying Klaus and Hayley's daughteer. But Hayley was dead, and this child had no mother. Sure, she craved to go back to college and keep on with the life she had planned, the life she had preached to Klaus only a few days ago. But she... she wasn't sure about much of anything anymore. For the next almost five months, there would be a living being growing inside of her. Sure, the child wasn't hers, but she had an inkling she would be fairly attached to her by the time she gave birth to her. And that possibility of an attachment growing was already stuck in her brain.

Maybe she wanted to get attached. Maybe that would make things easier. Certainly not in terms of her friends and family, or even her life as she knew it, but in terms of Klaus.

...Could she be that selfish, just this once?

AN: Okay, so... I think this chapter will be the last with canon dialogue. Hopefully. Fingers crossed. Sorry, I would've posted this earlier today, but I just got back to college after spring break a couple of hours ago, and I had to unpack my stuff. Then I had to double check my grammar and mechanics and do a few quick rewrites, just for taste. But I did still get it published on schedule! Yay me! (This is why I always need at least one chapter on reserve... I knocked out four chapters in the first two days of writing this, but now I need to go back and rewrite some things and finish the fourth chapter.)

Also, I did actually start watching The Originals earlier today. I'm hoping to catch up to the start of this story by the time I post the next chapter (because I want to get all of my ducks in a row before Klaus and the others come into play), so fingers crossed I can get those 12 episodes watched in the next two weeks and still have enough time for both those rewrites and my college classwork. Hopefully...

Anyway, thanks for reading! See you again in two weeks!