Thank to my awesome reviewers: Elliichen, EtherealDemon, wanderlust-bitethedust, FANFICTIONFREAKStoptakingthis1, kcinara, red ink23 and two guests.

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"Usually," said Caroline, her inhuman eyes trained on Elijah, "my victims don't come back from the dead. I'd planned on going to get the rest of your body tonight and eat it like I ate your arm. It's a shame you didn't stay crippled when you came back; it would've made things easier for me."

The man had impeccable self-control, and hadn't shown the slightest disgust at her casual comment on cannibalism. Then again, he was a vampire.

"I do not die," said Elijah. "If dismemberment was effective, then my enemies would've dealt with me long ago by tearing all my limbs off and leaving me helpless somewhere for the rest of eternity."

Wow, depressing much? thought Caroline.

"But that is not why I have come," continued Elijah, readjusting his cuffs.

Caroline's eyes followed the movement, and she was struck by how... well-dressed he was. When thinking 'ancient vamp overlord', she'd expected him to wear something of another century to give a better Dracula-vibe, something with frills, coattails and fineries. Instead, he wore a suit, perfectly modern and acceptable, and still managed to appear ancient and dangerous.

"Elena is of import to me. I would recommend you to allow me to proceed without further resistance, or I will have no choice but to retaliate."

Caroline scoffed. "If I let you take her, you'll kill her or do something horrible. I'm not that stupid."

"Once I have found the moonstone, I will use her in the ceremony, yes. But she will come out of it alive and unharmed, and will then be brought back home. I assure you, she will be fine."

The moonstone comment was enough to derail Caroline. She snatched up her purse and brought out the stone Tyler had given her.

"A moonstone is like this, right?" she asked. She wasn't entirely sure.

Elijah's eyes flickered down to it, and it looked like he was physically restraining himself from taking it straight out of her hands.

"Yes, that's the exact stone I'm looking for."

That one? How could she possibly have the stone a dangerous foe was looking for? Caroline's eyes narrowed as she realized that Tyler had just given it to her for no reason, which was highly suspicious. Hell, had Tyler given it to her as a trap, knowing Elijah would want it and be ready for violence to get it? Because Tyler setting up a trap so he wouldn't be attacked for the moonstone seemed more likely than him giving it to someone out of the goodness of his heart. Caroline very well knew that he was a jock and a big jerk most of the time.

It was obvious now. Tyler had planned to have her killed. By giving her the moonstone, he'd known Elijah or someone important would be after it. Did he know what she was? Did he know about her pseudo-vampire identity, or did her know the truth?

"So," said Caroline, placing the stone back in her purse. She felt unnerved by the fact that Elijah's eyes had followed the movement, not even bothering to be subtle. "You want my friend, you want my shiny rock, and you say everything will be fine. How about I say this: Liar!"

It was said loudly enough for Caroline to worry about the possibility of her mother having heard. She would just have to deal with it if her mother decided to barge in and demand an explanation for the shouting.

Elijah didn't sigh or show annoyance at her stubbornness. Instead, he said:

"It is in your best interests to loosen your protective... grip over Elena Gilbert."

"Or what?" said Caroline, taking an intimidating step forward.

Elijah didn't take a step back. He looked at her, his expression bland and polite.

"If you refuse, I shall kill everyone in this town. I'll send ten heads to your home every day until you either change your mind, or I run out of people."

Caroline was scared. The monster in her head was not.

"Really?" she purred, smiling like he'd just said something amusing. There was a hint of her numerous fangs. "You must be truly desperate to utter such a pathetic threat. Do not presume I would care."

Caroline was starting to struggle, wrestling against Ophelia's consciousness in an effort to regain control over her own body. Things weren't going like she wanted them to.

She was panicked, trapped within her own head, nothing but a silent spectator forced to watch events instead of participate. She wasn't sure who was saying what anymore. Seconds ago she'd been convinced she had been the one talking, and yet the response to that threat had been so un-Caroline that she'd realized she'd lost all control over her body. She hadn't even been aware that her hold over her own body had been slipping.

She needed to say something, anything. Her other self only took over when Caroline was scared and lost, when she didn't know what to do. To regain control over her body, she needed to make Ophelia feel like a helping hand that had overstayed its welcome. To do that, she had to say something useful enough to prove she was capable of dealing with the situation. It was the only thing that would make her other self back off. The monster inside her was like a guard dog that only stopped when the threat was neutralized. So, what Caroline said was:

"Tell me why you need her."

Elijah seemed puzzled. He had probably not factored the sudden personality change into his plans.

"You're old, aren't you? You must have learnt how to do speeches and convince people and stuff. I'm asking you to convince me with your words and not with your threats. Tell me why you want her and if you're lucky, I'll think about it."

And that was how Caroline got to play therapist as Elijah spilled out his whole life story. She even managed to look appropriately concerned when Elijah related his brother Klaus' bad deeds and Elijah's plans for revenge.

Heh. Like she cared about the family problems of the guy who'd kidnapped her best friend. But if what he was saying was true, then she was willing to go along with it to save her best friend from Klaus.

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Elena face palmed.

"Really, Caroline?!"

"What?" said Caroline. "Elijah's plan seems good."

Elena's raised her eyes to the ceiling, as if praying to God. "And you trust him? He kidnapped me!"

"Duh. Of course I don't trust him," said Caroline, looking like it was the most evident thing in the world. "That's why I have a backup plan."

"You mean I have a back-up plan," said Bonnie, glaring at Caroline.

"Yeah, yeah, but I'm an important part of it," said Caroline, waving the issue away like she hadn't just attempted to steal the credit.

"Well," continued Bonnie, her tone showing irritation, "I've found a very useful spell that I wanted to try."

"A spell?" Elena sat up, curious.

They were in Elena's room, having decided it was best to speak of such things somewhere private. After talking to Elijah, the first person Caroline had gone to had been Bonnie. After a lot of research, Bonnie had found a spell that could keep Elena safe if Elijah had been lying.

"Yes," said Bonnie. "I looked through the grimoire and found something that could be useful. It's a spell that links two people together, as long as they share a strong bond. The bond can be family or close friendship. Basically, I want to link you and Caroline together. Since Caroline heals very fast, it will mean that the spell will make you heal, too, if someone does anything. If one of you is killed, then as long as the other one is alive, you both stay alive. I've also found a second spell to make sure that nothing bad happens, like Caroline's more dangerous habits using the spell to enter you, too."

Elena looked fearful. "So if I agree to this, there's a chance I could end up like Caroline? Because I don't want-"

"You won't," answered Bonnie, while Caroline felt strangely hurt by how scared her friend was of her. "It's perfectly safe. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Well, the spell will link you together. That means that more than Caroline's healing power will be shared. What you feel physically might be shared too. If one of you gets hurt, the other one will feel it like a phantom pain. It won't do anything, but it'll be uncomfortable. Any strong physical feelings will be felt by both."

Elena didn't seem comfortable by the idea. "Why can't it just be Stefan?"

Caroline pursed her lips, and pointedly turned her back to Elena.

"Come on, care, you know I didn't mean it like that..."

"I'm not vulnerable to vervain," said Caroline, ignoring her friend's words. "It's harder to hurt me, so it's better if I'm the one protecting you with the spell. Stefan will just protect you by fighting enemies, while I'll be the one sharing the spell with you. Can't you just be happy?"

"I can! It's just... I'm not very comfortable with such an invasion of privacy..."

Unable to take it anymore, Caroline turned back to face her friend. "So Stefan is better?! Thank you very much. It's nice to know that boyfriends come before best friends."

It felt like a betrayal. Caroline had come to terms with the fact that she was always second best long ago. Elena's favourite friend was Bonnie, her favourite knight in shining armour was Stefan, and Caroline was just there to fill up any holes left behind. But Caroline hadn't cared, because this spell would've made her important, would've raised her worth in Elena's eyes. And even if she'd felt like she was being used, she hadn't cared because she would finally be able to prove herself.

And yet, Elena had rejected her help!

Elena rose and wrapped her arms around Caroline, and that was enough for all the rage to leave. Caroline loved Elena, and knew that her jealousy was petty. She shouldn't have reacted like that.

"I'm sorry Caroline, it's not that I'm not grateful, but I'm just a bit uncomfortable. Don't worry, I'll do it."

Caroline put her hands around Elena, tightening her hold. "You will? Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

Bonnie brought out a thick piece of cardboard and placed it on the floor. Elena and Caroline stopped hugging and took a few steps back, making space for Bonnie as she began placing candles around the cardboard. Once she'd made a nice circle, she furrowed her brows and within seconds all the candles were lit.

"Elena?"

"Yeah, Bonnie?"

"Before I start this, I'm going to cast a spell on you that I use on myself. It hides the sound of your heartbeat and the smell of your blood. Can you give me your hands?"

Elena kneeled next to Bonnie and held her hands out. They were grasped, and Bonnie started chanting something in Latin. Caroline tried to follow, but her knowledge of Latin mostly came from Harry Potter, so what Bonnie was saying was complete Gibberish to her.

And then, Bonnie stopped chanting and said, "There, it's done."

Leaving Elena on the floor, Bonnie went over to the bed and grasped a small bag she'd brought with her, the bag that had contained the cardboard and candles. Out came a large, silver-coloured knife. Bonnie handed it to Caroline.

"I need each of you to spill a drop of blood on the cardboard, please."

The idea was utterly repulsive to Caroline and even though she knew it had to be done, she contemplated asking one of her friends to cut her while she closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see. She wasn't that masochistic.

The next second, she had cut into her finger and let a drop fall down, and she realized with an increasing sense of horror that her other self had taken control again without her giving permission. Her heat beat faster, but she forced herself to calm down.

Think about Elena. You're doing this for Elena. It's more important than freaking out right now. You can be scared later.

Unlike Caroline, Elena didn't seem scared to cut her palm open and let some blood drip down. She hissed in pain as she did it, yes, but other than that she showed no fear whatsoever.

The spell happened quickly. Bonnie talked in Latin, the candles seemed to glow brighter than ever, and the two drops of blood dribbled across the cardboard until they joined and formed one minuscule puddle of blood. And then it was done.

"I did it," said Bonnie calmly.