Elena refused to look up as the heavy wooden double doors to her new guest room at the Mikaelson mansion cracked open, already knowing who was on the other side.

"You can come in," she said hoarsely, leaning back against the headboard of her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest.

Caroline poked her head of riotous blonde curls through the door, opening it slowly and stepping inside before closing it with a soft click behind her. She hauled a suitcase up onto the king-sized bed next to Elena and tossed the new vampire a blood bag.

"Hi," her friend said softly. "I thought I'd bring you some stuff…from home."

Elena sniffed, blinking tears away. "Thanks, Care. I'm sorry I pushed you away this morning."

Caroline smiled popped the cap off her blood bag, sipping on it as she would a juice box. "It's okay, Elena. You've been a vampire for less than twelve hours. You have every right to be emotionally unstable. I'd be worried if you weren't."

Elena tore into her own blood bag, sucking down the crimson liquid that was so delicious and yet had her stomach roiling. She supposed she would get used to it. "How is everyone taking it?"

"Well, I miss you already, of course. Damon is throwing a fit, naturally. Matt is taking it all in stride and, as is his style, his love for you is constant no matter what; he and I are the only ones that have remained even remotely levelheaded throughout all this, trying our best to manage the others before shit hits the fan. Jeremy is devastated, but you know how he's developed this freaky ability to recover quickly – he and Alaric have already contacted Elijah to meet with him 'concerning your future and the best course of action.'" She giggled and rolled her eyes. "He misses you a lot, and I know he feels really terrible about what happened, but he's determined to make this right and wants to be a support for you in any way he can."

"And Bonnie?" Elena asked worriedly as she drank, too distracted by her thoughts to be concerned with the fangs that had sprouted from her gums and the veins that made a brief appearance under her eyes before fading away.

Caroline looked away, biting her lower lip between her teeth. "Bonnie is…struggling."

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to stop the tears from welling in her eyes; the space behind her eyelids burned with the effort. "She hates me, doesn't she? She hates what I am."

Her blonde friend caught her hand in a fierce grip. "Of course she doesn't. She'll never hate you. She just has a lot of mixed feelings right now; and you know how she likes doling out blame. It gives her something to focus on, and it comforts her," she snorted amusedly. "But she and I are still friends, right? She has compromised a lot for me since I turned. She'll come around, Elena. She loves you." She smiled reassuringly. "We all do." She paused, her brow furrowing. "And you were right…maybe we're not the best thing for you right now," she admitted quietly, her expression glum. "Though I'm not convinced you should be here, either."

Elena met her best friends eyes. "I just…I'm afraid to be around Jeremy right now. I don't seem to have developed any ripper tendencies – I think they would have definitely manifested by now – and I'm not crawling out of my skin with hunger, but…" She glanced down, wringing her hands. "Sometimes these images pop up into my head: blood, sex, violence. In the kitchen this morning, I really wanted to watch Elijah and Kol torture Klaus. I was so angry. And it just felt natural. And…and I'm afraid of myself, Caroline. I don't want to hurt anybody – you know me almost better than anyone, and you know I wouldn't be able to handle it. I would fall apart. So until I'm sure I have complete control..." She swallowed, nervously thinking about the eldest Mikaelson brother. "Elijah has made it clear that he would be more than willing to teach me. Who better to learn control from than the master of control himself?"

Caroline looked grim. "I know. I just don't trust them, Elena. I know Elijah cares for you in…some capacity," she said awkwardly, "and Rebekah hasn't thrown a fit and tried to kill you yet; and it's apparent that Kol is extremely protective of you, though I'm not so sure it's for the right reasons." She squeezed Elena's hand. "Despite all of this, they are dangerous, Elena. Don't let the facts that Elijah gave you a hug and Rebekah drew you a bath lull you into a false sense of security. Kol is notoriously unpredictable, and Klaus is just downright hateful. We know how petty and vengeful Original Bitch can be when it suits her. And Elijah…" She shuddered. "Elijah is the most moral of them all, but he's also unflinchingly ruthless and manipulative when he needs to be. He's a creature of practicality and has shown himself to be unfailingly loyal to those he cares about; but don't make the mistake of thinking he cares more about you than he does about his family. He won't hesitate to kill you if he thinks you've become a threat. Just tread carefully, Elena. You saw him today: he's scary. They all are; but the fact that Klaus defers to him is indicative of how much control he has over his family."

"They fear him," Elena murmured in agreement. "He's the head of the family, despite Klaus's hybrid status. I don't think I'll have anything to worry about from Rebekah – she adores Elijah, and respects him unconditionally. Klaus is a hothead, but I think his fear of his brothers' retribution is too great for him to do anything – you saw him today. Kol…" She trailed off, the thought of the youngest male Original chilling her and yet filling her with a sense of wonder. "Like you said, he's unpredictable. He's extremely manipulative and I'm afraid of his end game. He can charm the pants off just about anyone," she finished.

"Or the ball gown," Caroline muttered under her breath, her eyes shooting into her hairline.

"Regardless of how dysfunctional the Original family dynamic is," she said sharply, smacking the blonde on the arm and choosing to ignore the snarky comment in reference to her tryst with the sadistic vampire last night, "they are my best option right now. You heard what they said earlier, saw what happened in the kitchen: Klaus said I'm strong. Stronger than usual; and I think they are the only ones that can teach me how to live with it."

Caroline perked up at this, clapping her hands together. "Oh! I almost forgot about that," she said excitedly. "Stefan thinks he knows why that is. He has a theory, anyway."

She stiffened. "Stefan?"

Caroline gave her a half smile. "He's not himself right now, Elena; but he does care. He's been broodier than ever these past few hours. Wallowing in guilt and self-blame, I'm sure."

This caused Elena to smile a bit. "That sounds about right. I wasn't sure…" She cleared her throat. "I wasn't sure he'd care. So what's his theory?"

Caroline shifted on the bed, crossing her legs Indian style. "Well, remember Katherine?"

She snorted, glaring and rolling her eyes. "No, Caroline, who is that?" The blonde looked sheepish. "Yes, of course I remember Katherine. Vividly," she said bitterly.

"Yes, well, apparently she is stronger than your average vampire. Both he and Damon remember asking her about it at some point, and apparently she brushed it off and said it was just 'one of the perks of being a doppelganger.'"

Elena's eyes widened in understanding. "That makes sense, actually."

"It does?"

She nodded. "Hybrid species are stronger than other vampires. Any vampire that was already a supernatural creature before they were turned – i.e. a witch, a doppelganger, or a werewolf like Klaus – are perceptibly more powerful than those who were human. Klaus, as an Original and a hybrid species, is the most powerful of all, of course. I remember Elijah mentioning it briefly when we discussed it all those months ago; I didn't take note of it then, but technically a doppelganger is a supernatural being. Even if we don't have any cool abilities," she mumbled resentfully.

Caroline appeared to be processing, her eyes narrowed and her thin coral lips pursed. "Alright – then that explains that part. However, you have another advantage."

"Oh?"

"Well, duh," her friend replied, her curls bouncing. "You were turned with Original blood. That in itself makes all the difference in the world."

Elena tilted her head, considering. "So it's like a double whammy."

"A triple whammy," Caroline corrected, a smirk on her face. "Don't ask how we found this out – it's complicated – but Kol was a warlock before he was turned. By blood only – he was untrained in the practice of magic – but the genes were there. It might not affect you at all – but it could contribute to the anomaly of your extra bad-ass-ness."

Elena grinned and poked her best friend, who giggled. "I really don't know anything yet, Care. All I know is that I threw Klaus through a wall – a wall – and have broken two doorknobs, a shampoo bottle, a glass shower door, and a sink – like, the whole sink. Just cracked. Bam. But I don't know about any super strength."

"I guess we'll see," Caroline said, climbing off the bed. "I promised Damon I would meet him at the grill to ease his fears. I think he's on the verge of a mental breakdown…or he's developed epilepsy, I don't know. Anyway, I'll come back soon, okay? You're bound to need some better company than a bunch of sociopathic thousand-year-old vampires," she teased.

"Thanks, Care," she responded warmly, less likely to burst into tears now that her friend had visited. "Oh, and Caroline?"

"Yep?"

"When you were first turned, did you ever get sick?" she inquired. "Like, nausea, dizziness, splitting headache, ringing ears…"

Caroline frowned. "Not that I remember. The first couple of times I drank blood I wanted to throw it back up – just because the taste and texture of it were unfamiliar to me. It was gross. But I was just fine." She stared at the doppelganger suspiciously. "Why, are you having trouble keeping the blood down?"

"No!" Elena denied hurriedly. "No, no, everything's fine. Just curious, that's all. Bye Caroline. I love you."

The blonde hesitated, a question on the tip of her tongue, but she let it go. "I love you, too."

When she left Elena went to the bathroom to pee, and then stood at the sink – the unbroken one – as she washed her hands and stared at herself in the mirror. She wiped a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth.

"Everything's fine," she whispered to her reflection. "Just fine."

Her stomach rolled.

00000000

"Punch me."

"Sorry?"

"Are you deaf? I said punch me."

She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms defensively. "You'll kill me if I do. I won't give you an excuse."

The hybrid, who only hours ago had been trying to kill the doppelganger vampire, sighed in frustration, rocking back on his feet. "Come on now, love. I don't fancy having my entrails ripped out. Or weren't you in the kitchen this morning when my two favorite brothers so lovingly threatened me with horrible unending torture?" he said snidely. "You can trust me."

Elena let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Yes, of course. You're like Yoda and Dumbledore and a fluffy golden retriever puppy all rolled into one. I feel so safe and secure with you – what on earth was I thinking?" she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Elijah snorted from his position on the couch, having trouble focusing on the ancient book in front of him – he was reading a section on doppelgangers – while so deeply entertained by the feisty baby vampire. Rebekah hid a smile in her mug of tea, struggling to contain her amusement. Klaus grew more infuriated by the second, looking like he wanted nothing more than to rip the doppelganger's pretty little head from her shoulders.

"Fine!" he huffed, flopping down onto the couch opposite from his elder brother. "I give up."

"Elena," Elijah drawled casually, flipping a page, "we will be unable to figure out exactly how strong you are until one of us is on the receiving end of said strength. We agreed on Niklaus, because he seems to be the member of our family that you are…least charmed by," he said diplomatically, giving his brother a tight-lipped smile. He received a sullen, murderous glare in return. He retained his laughter.

Elena sighed. "As much as I would sometimes like to rearrange your brother's face, I just can't bring myself to punch someone out of the blue like that. Not only does it go against my nature, it just feels…awkward," she said, flexing her hand.

"You're lucky, then, that I've come up with the perfect solution."

Elijah stiffened as his youngest brother entered the room, stalking like a cat. His voice was a predatory purr.

Elena was instantly on edge, staring at the vampire whose blood had turned her. Elijah watched her watch Kol, curious about her reactions to her maker.

"And what would that be, brother?" Elijah asked lazily, his eyes drifting over to the mischievous brunette.

Kol cocked his head, considering something. "All she needs is a little proper motivation. Self-preservation usually does the trick, wouldn't you agree?"

Elena cried out in surprise when Kol rushed at her in a blur, tackling her to the ground. Elijah stood abruptly, intent on intervening, when he watched Kol get flipped forcibly to the ground. That gave him pause; maybe a surprise attack wasn't such a bad idea after all. Though it made his chest constrict painfully and his stomach fall through his feet to see her on the ground like this, he stood back for the sake of progress. And if Kol really hurt her, he'd be on him like a flash.

He apparently had no cause to worry, though, because the instant after Kol had her pressed against the wall she had him pressed against the wall. Elijah, Rebekah and Klaus watched in amazement as she struggled to grip his head; then she snapped his neck.

Kol slid down against the wall and dropped to the ground, temporarily lifeless. Elena stepped back from his body like it was a snake, wiping blood from her nose with a shaky hand.

Elijah wasn't sure exactly what reaction he was expecting from her, but it certainly wasn't what happened next.

"Kol!"

The doppelganger dropped to her knees next to her maker's lax form, her hands running frantically up and down his chest. She sobbed.

"No, no, no…what have I done?" Her cries were distraught, her eyes full of panicked tears. She framed his slack face in her hands, smoothing her thumbs over his temples. "I didn't mean it, Kol. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

Rebekah was the first to react, breaking out of her shocked stupor to lean down next to Elena, trying to pry her away from her brother's body. Elena refused to budge, wailing in despair. His sister, sighing in frustration, used all of her strength to easily lift the upset vampire up off the ground, depositing her like a child on the arm of a recliner. At least, Elijah thought, they were still stronger than Elena – Kol had merely underestimated her as a potential opponent and she had caught him by surprise, much like she had with Klaus. She was still exceptionally strong though – more than any of them had anticipated.

"Don't be a twit, Elena," Rebekah said sharply. She nudged at Kol's bare foot with the toe of her slipper. "He's not dead. He'll be awake to tuck you into bed," she snipped sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the doppelganger's antics.

Elena continued to stare intently at Kol's body, her sobs ebbing into sniffles. "I killed him."

"Elena," Elijah prodded gently, pushing a stray hair behind her ear. The contact shocked his fingertips, sending a jolt of electricity throughout his entire body.

The touch seemed to have a similar effect on her, because she quivered. Her hand snatched his, her thumb running over the scar on the back of his hand. He watched in fascination as her eyes seemed to clear and snapped up to meet his, free of tears. He saw the pupils in her big russet orbs dilate, turning the irises black. The air grew thick and heavy between them, and he found himself unable to look away or move back. He hummed low in his chest.

Then she blinked, and the spell was broken.

But she did not let go of his hand.

"What…" she said thickly, running her free hand over her ponytail. "I…I killed him." She frowned, staring at Kol.

Klaus caught Elijah's eye from where he sat on the couch; he was leaning forward, his shoulders tense. As they exchanged concerned glances, they seemed to come to the same conclusion.

When Rebekah noticed their twin expressions, realization dawned. Her blue eyes were wide and her jaw slack with horror.

"She's sired," his sister said breathily. "She's sired…to Kol."

00000000

Elijah stared into his glass of scotch, exhausted. Once he had managed to calm Elena down enough to put her to bed – which seemed to go infinitely better when he was touching her in some capacity, oddly enough; something to muse on another time – the three siblings had convened in Klaus's quarters, sitting around the fireplace in his private den. The hybrid swirled scotch around in his glass, admiring the way it caught the light.

"This is rich," his brother said sardonically. "Of all the damned sire bonds…" He trailed off thoughtfully, taking a sip of the amber liquid.

Elijah's head hurt. His whole body hurt, actually. Perhaps the years and stress were finally weighing on him.

Rebekah sighed heavily, looking troubled. "No one can find out about this."

"No," Klaus agreed. "That would be most…catastrophic."

Elijah looked at him strangely. "Not that I am in any way doubting your character, Niklaus," he said dryly, "but you seem awfully concerned with this situation. I'm baffled that you aren't in the least bit interested in revealing this little…tidbit…of information to Kol."

Klaus raised his glass in a mocking salute, his smirk showing no offense. "Don't worry, brother, I don't have any honorable intentions towards your lovely doppelganger. I'm not in any danger of becoming noble." He took a sip of his scotch, his face turning serious. "As much as something like this would typically amuse me, a sire bond to Kol would be abominably miserable. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Especially someone who doesn't in the least bit deserve such a fate."

Elijah believed him, strangely enough. "Kol isn't stupid. He'll find out sooner rather than later."

"It'll be tricky keeping it under wraps until we can find a way to break it," Rebekah mused, looking pensive. "Why don't we compel it out of her?"

"Simple enough," Klaus agreed.

Elijah shook his head, grimacing. "We tried that a few minutes ago, before she was able to calm down enough to settle in. Conveniently enough, it seems as though that little trick doesn't work on our doppelganger-turned-vampire-by-warlock-turned-Original. Just another complication," he sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"You seem stressed, brother," Klaus said teasingly, flashing his dimples. Elijah glared. "How's our baby vampire handling the knowledge that she's sired to the vampire that is the last person in the world anyone would want to be sired to?"

"As well as can be expected," he replied. He took a large gulp of his drink – the unpleasant buzzing in his head abated a little. "Better than most, I think. But it's hard to tell; I'm sure she's extremely upset, but she doesn't let on to that sort of thing. She'll try to brave it out."

"Though you obviously know her far better than we do, Elijah," Klaus said, a hint of slyness in his voice just short of teasing, "I think we all know that it will eventually break her. Her personality seems to have remained largely the same since she turned – except for the fuck-me eyes she trains on you at every turn – and a sire bond to someone like Kol will eat her alive."

Rebekah grinned at Klaus's observation, raising her eyebrows. Elijah clenched his jaw – he refused to discuss Elena's "fuck-me eyes" with his obnoxious younger siblings. At least he hadn't been imagining the tension between them, the looks they gave each other when they thought no one was watching.

Elijah rubbed at his head, the headache suddenly back full force, like a steel drum buried deep within his brain. He sighed heavily. "I know this, Niklaus. He will rob her of her sanity in a month's time. The bottom line is: we need to break it. Or find an alternative that prevents her from being so strongly affected by it. None of us noticed it before tonight's incident, so it isn't apparent unless triggered by something traumatic; we'll just have to avoid those interactions at all costs."

Rebekah leaned forward, peering at him curiously. "Elijah…are you ill?" she asked with concern.

"We don't get ill, Rebekah," he denied. "I just need sleep. It's been quite a while since I've had any."

"By all means, then, brother," Klaus said, standing. His siblings followed suit. "We can talk about this later. And Elijah," he warned, his tone no longer teasing, as his older brother opened the door, "try to keep a lid on your feelings for the doppelganger; Kol already knows you have a weakness for her, and he will use that against the both of you.

"But I don't think I need to tell you to tread carefully. Just proceed with caution; because while we all love our impetuous brother, he's as much of a decent person as I am a…a fluffy golden retriever puppy."

00000000

She awoke in the dark, his name on her lips.

Elijah.

She swallowed and sat up, her mind jumping to where Kol was lying on the living room floor; unless he was awake by now, and back in his room.

Would he be angry with her, she wondered? She closed her eyes, willing the thoughts of him from her mind. Her head pounded, a miserable hammer beating against the inside of her skull.

Groaning, she climbed out of bed, wrapping her silk bathrobe tight and padding down the hallway, her feet moving of their own accord. She knew where she was going, but it was not a conscious decision on her part. With each step her headache grew less severe.

It was only a dull throb when she reached his door. Pushing it open, she froze.

She should have knocked. Why hadn't she knocked?

Thank God there were at least boxer briefs adorning his lower half, though they did little to cover the tantalizing shape of his body. The rest of him was on display, and her hungry eyes wasted no time in perusing his body, her mouth parted in awe.

Hot damn.

He looked shocked to see her. His hair was still damp from his shower, and steam poured through the open door of his bathroom. His smell hit her full on, and she inhaled greedily.

"Elena?"

"Elijah! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" She trailed off awkwardly, her mouth suddenly dry as his pectoral muscles flexed briefly.

Oh God, she was being a creeper! Meeting his eyes in horror, she abruptly turned and fled.

Go back. Go back. GO BACK.

Everything in her body protested. She stopped at the top of the stairs, dropping to her knees as a wave of nausea tore through her body. The pain in her head was intense. Groaning in pain, she used the handrail to drag herself to her feet, and ran back down the hallway from whence she came before she could think twice.

She couldn't deal with the pain. He made it better.

He met her at the door, his eyes full of understanding. She swallowed.

"I can't sleep," she said breathily.

"Neither can I," he replied hoarsely.

"I feel better when I'm with you," she blurted out, unable to be in such close proximity without touching him. She put a hand on his chest.

The relief was instant. They both sighed in satisfaction; his eyes closed.

It was like she was no longer in control of her own body, and her mind was clouded. Her other hand joined the first of its own accord, and she ran them down his toned chest, her fingernails scraping lightly across the skin of his taut abs. She leaned forward unconsciously, and pressed her mouth to his collarbone, laving it with her tongue. Her hands dipped swiftly into the waistband of his navy boxer briefs and grasped a hold of his pulsing erection, already standing at full attention. He hissed, and she squeezed.

"Elijah."

And then she was being tugged swiftly into the dimly lit room, and the door was closed and locked behind her.