Chapter7

A/N New chapter. I'm glad you all are liking this story. Let's see what befalls our hero this time.

"Hands"

When Klaus woke, the room was dark except for the clock on his bedside table. He could see that he had only been asleep an hour. He could tell that Della had left a short time before he woke. Her scent lingered on the sheets and pillow and so did a trace of her warmth. He supposed her leaving had woken him. He pressed his face to the area and inhaled, wishing it was the scent of Caroline.

He reached over and turned on the lamp. Restless, he decided to get up. He threw off the sheet, uncovering his body that was naked since Della's visit, and was about to put his legs over the edge of the bed when he remembered that they were not working well. Just how well were they working now, he wondered. Cautiously, he tried moving them. His left leg swung over to the side of the bed, but the right one just quivered with his effort. So, his right would not support him and his left was questionable.

He carefully used his hands to move the right leg over until it was off the bed and he could sit on the edge and contemplate his next move. He gasped with surprise when two hand came from behind and covered his eyes, pressing down with enough contact to keep his eyes closed.

"What? Who is it? Della? Elijah?" Klaus demanded, not happy about this foolishness and unable to catch a scent. He reached up to pull one of the hands away. His heart skipped a beat when he found there was no arm or hand there. He could feel the hands over his eyes, but he couldn't feel them with his own hands. Anger washed over him. Silas! Already playing tricks on him so early! It was the middle of the night.

He swore and tried for a long moment to pull the hands away. He couldn't and he couldn't see. Although he was supposedly not in any danger, alarm suddenly took over as he realized Silas could keep him blind. He was a man who relied heavily on his keen sight. Trying to dislodge the hands, he lost his balance on the bed edge and fell to the floor. On the way down, his head hit the bedside table hard, making him see stars, even

though he couldn't see. He had cut his forehead and he could feel the blood running down his face.

He roared in rage and reacted by moving to one side in a blur, away from the night stand. It was a mistake and he crashed into something that fell over and he heard something smash. He knew he had broken a rib or two and he moved again. He suddenly felt totally disoriented. His rage was joined by terror. Out of control, he blindly zipped from place to place in his bedroom, like a ball in a pinball machine, caroming off the walls and furniture, the floor and ceiling. He couldn't tell up from down and he was getting injured. He had broken a few bones and his bent nose was bleeding heavily.

Suddenly he was grabbed from behind, arms wrapping around him, pinning his upper arms to his body. He violently tried to wrench free, but the hold was very strong. Was it Silas? Were the arms really there? Yes, he could touch them.

"Stop! Klaus, stop. It's me, Elijah. Stop moving!" the older brother said, wondering what had caused this mayhem and why Klaus' eyes were closed.

Klaus wasn't sure it was Elijah. He still imagined that it was really Silas. He tried to jerk away, dragging the person with him and they crashed into something. Even though he could feel the arms with his own hands, he wasn't convinced it was his brother.

"Niklaus, stop! Hold still. You're safe," Elijah said as he ended up sitting on the floor, his arms around his brother who was sitting in front of him between his legs. He would feel the tension in Klaus' naked body, muscles hard as a bronze statue, rigid and cold with anger and fear. A statue vibrating like a taut violin string. "It's all right now. You panicked, but what ever it was, it's gone now."

"No! It's not gone," Klaus roared, still trying to break the hold on him. "I can't see! Someone has their hands over my eyes! Silas? Is it you?"

"A trick, brother. Try to relax. Your panic and rage isn't helping," Elijah said calmly. He could smell Klaus' fear over the lingering scent of Della. Vampires tended to have no strong scent like a human, but in his fear and now bleeding from various small wounds, Klaus smelled. "Relax. Relax." He couldn't compel his brother, but his voice was soothing.

Klaus stopped struggling. The hands were still over his eyes, but acknowledging that Elijah was there suddenly made a difference. A wave of relief swept over him. With a sobbed sigh, Klaus relaxed, sagging back against his brother's chest. He put his head back where it rested on Elijah's shoulder. He felt the older brother press against him, cheek to cheek, for a moment.

"It's all right now," the older brother said into Klaus' ear. "It's just a trick and I'm sure it will be gone shortly." He was relieved to have Klaus give up the panic and put his trust in him. It was very disconcerting to see the one and only Klaus so terrified and out of control.

They sat there for a minute while Klaus' breathing and heart rate returned to normal. Elijah saw Della come to the open bedroom door. She looked in, alarmed, and he shook his head, indication that she leave for now.

"Did I wreck the room?" Klaus finally asked.

"Yes. Rather a lot of damage. Do you have any broken bones?"

"Yes. Help me align them," Klaus said and he made an attempt to sit up straight. He felt Elijah release him from the embrace. Now that the panic was gone, he could feel the pain of his injuries, especially the broken bones trying to realign themselves. He and Elijah spent a couple of minutes, still on the floor, making sure the bones healed properly and with minimal stress to Klaus' already taut nerves. The older brother even pinched Klaus' nose to make it straight again.

When that work was done, Elijah lifted his bruised and bloodied brother and carried him to the bathroom, careful going through the doorway not to bang Klaus' head on the door frame.

"Bath or wipedown?" he asked as he sat Klaus once again on the edge of the tub.

"Hell, I don't care. Bath, I guess," Klaus said, emotionally exhausted and discouraged from the experience just past. The mystery hands remained over his eyes.

Elijah leaned forward and turned on the water. He also pulled free the bandage

that was barely attached to Klaus' back. He saw that the hole was still there. "I'll put a clean dressing on this after you bathe."

He took a wash cloth, wet it and wiped down Klaus' back. There were bruises there, although any open wounds had healed. Klaus had some blood in his hair and Elijah used the cloth to get most of it out.

"I abhor this," Klaus muttered. "Being treated like a baby. Having to have you wash me. I can't even see to know where the blood is."

"I know," Elijah said sympathetically. He wondered for a moment if Klaus would do this for him if it were he in this situation. He had to believe so. He rinsed the wash cloth under the faucet and handed it to his brother. "Wash your face. You have blood on most of your face."

Klaus took the cloth and began scrubbing his forehead, which was sore. Then he carefully rubbed over his eyes, wishing he could rub away the blinding hands. And suddenly they were gone! He opened his eyes a little. Yes, he could see! He let out a whoop of relief.

Elijah didn't know why Klaus made that sound until he saw that his brother's eyes were open and there was a grin on Klaus' face.

"Well, hello. May I assume you can see again?"

"You may. That is a relief," Klaus grinned. He looked at his brother's bloody bare chest and arms and the no-longer-clean pajama pants and said, "I hope you brought sufficient clothing. I seem to being ruining them as fast as you can change them."

"I have enough. What Della can't launder I'll get to the cleaners today," Elijah assured him.

When Klaus was scrubbed clean of blood, Elijah got him out of the tub and dried off once again, put a new bandage on his back and carried him to his bed, sitting him on the edge. Della was in the room in her skimpy nightwear, picking up things and righting furniture that had been knocked over. She headed for the door, telling them she would return when Klaus wanted her to. Klaus felt embarrassed to have her see him being carried by his brother. He felt discouragingly helpless.

Elijah then helped his brother move back to sit against the head board, his back supported by pillows and the sheet over his lower body. Obviously, if the leg weakness continued for a period of time, Klaus would have to learn how to deal with it and do things for himself.

Klaus sat on his bed and contemplated what had happened. He didn't like the way he had lost control. He despised what was being done to him physically and the psychological effect it was having on him. He needed to keep himself under control and not let Silas have the upper hand. Well, Silas did have the upper hand, but Klaus didn't want him to know how seriously it was mentally effecting him. In fact, how did Silas know anything? Was he monitoring Klaus' mind? Could he somehow see what Klaus was doing? The idea was disturbing.

He looked around the room and saw the damaged items. Della had been quick to put some order back into the room while he had bathed, but there were broken things here and there, some of it expensive. Over the centuries, he had acquired and often lost many things of monetary value and some of sentimental value. In truth, he had very few of the latter. He tended to suppress his sentimental side.

"Elijah, please go back to bed now. I apologize for waking you up and dragging you into my nightmare again," he told his brother, who was moving the heavy desk back into its original position. It had been knocked askew. "I'll be all right now."

"Are you sure? I can rest in this chair."

"I'm sure. I will try not to become panicked if that damned Silas does something else to me." He wiggled himself down into a flat position on the bed so that he could sleep.

After another moment of discussion, Elijah did leave the room. He met Della in the hall and told her to return to her room and that Klaus' room could be restored in the morning. She nodded and headed toward her room.

Klaus turned out his light and lay thinking for a short while. Then he decided not to let Silas keep him awake and stewing for the rest of the night. He forced himself to shut down and sleep.

A/N I hope you liked this little episode of tormenting Klaus. Please comment on it. I really get inspired by the comments.