Author's Note: Wow, this chapter's kind of short. Weird. I feel like the most happened in this one. Maybe I'm just deluding myself. So, hi guys! Enjoy the chapter! Hopefully, there are less typos than the last one. Haha.


Caroline's hand was intertwined with Tyler's as they made their way to the Lockwood mansion to find their mothers, and she had the distinct feeling that if she wasn't a vampire, the bones in her hand would be cracking right now.

"Tyler?" She prodded.

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" His jaw was clenched and he looked straight ahead, there was an unfamiliar calculating look on his face.

"I mean you've got a death grip on my hand," she explained calmly, "and you look really nervous."

They stopped walking, and he turned to face her.

"Why are we going to see them?"

Caroline's face scrunched up, "Um, well, we have to tell them that we're safe, that we're okay."

"Why? They think we're leaving anyway. Why don't we just go like we planned? We can go anywhere we want!" His eyes were alight with excitement, "Why don't we go to Paris? We can visit the Louvre and stay in a luxury hotel and eat pastries every morning…"

"Tyler…"

"Or how about Costa Rica? We can spend a summer on a pineapple farm, getting drunk on piña coladas," Caroline giggled with teary eyes as she watched the wheels turning in his head.

"Tyler…"she repeated.

"Or to Kenya on Safari! Or we could go to Russia and see the ballet. Oh! We could go scuba diving with the stingrays in Australia," he smiled down at her, "We wouldn't even need air tanks. I can hold my breath for a very long time." His smile turned seductive and his arms pulled her towards him and he brought her in for a kiss that he hoped was convincing,

"Come on," he whispered when they pulled apart, "I want to experience the world with you."

His words made Caroline tingle. She looked up into his eyes, he was looking at her in a way she had never seen before. It was so hopeful, but so serious. He clearly meant every word he said, and it made her want to give him anything he wanted. However, her heart was split in two. She couldn't leave. Not now. Not when Elena needed her more than ever, not when her mother's life was in danger.

She reached up to touch his face, taking a deep breath to ready herself to reject his offer.

Before she spoke, they were interrupted by a buzzing in her pocket.

"Don't get it," he pleaded.

She pulled it out of her pocket, "I have too," she explained, looking at him pointedly, and his hands dropped from her waist.

She turned around to answer it, "Bonnie?"

"Caroline!" Bonnie's mechanical voice replied.

"Bonnie! Guess what! Everything's alright!" Caroline squealed into the receiver.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Tyler's alive," Caroline giggled, "He survived Klaus' death. He's here and he's fine."

"Caroline…" Bonnie's did not sound happy like Caroline expected, instead it was full of caution, "Get away from him. That's not Tyler. That's Klaus. I had to put him in Tyler's body to save his life."

"What?" Caroline turned around to find that Tyler, or Klaus, or whoever he was, had vanished. A cold gust of wind ripped by, but she couldn't feel it.


Damon and Elena were still in his bathroom. She was perched on the counter and he had moved from cleaning her thighs to her arms when Stefan walked in.

"She's gone," he reported.

"For now," Elena corrected.

"Are you okay?"

"Wounds are all healed up," Damon answered for her, "But she's lost some blood." He looked at Elena, "I'll go grab you a blood bag." Damon left the room, anticipating the confrontation that was about to go down.

Stefan and Elena looked at each other from across the bathroom for a few tense moments before Stefan spoke. "So, I guess you heard all of that."

Elena nodded, but she could still hear Katherine's warning, "I'm not giving up."

"It looks like Katherine's going to be here for a while," Elena said with faux enthusiasm.

Stefan shrugged, "It looks that way."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest, "So, what does this mean? Are we going to break up again to appease her? Maybe lock her in a room with you so you can either kill her or sleep with her?"

"Elena…" he started.

"No, Stefan, I'm serious," She jumped off the counter and walked towards him, "What are we going to do about this? She's in love with you and she's not going to stop until she gets what she wants."

"I know," he nodded.

"So many things can go wrong," Elena's voice started rising, "She's gotten better, Stefan. She can pretend to be me whenever she wants! There's nothing left to distinguish between us now."

"Well, that's just not true," Damon walked in, and handed Elena a blood bag, "You are eyes are significantly less dead than hers. I, for one, can spot her easily by the cold gusts of wind and flying monkeys that follow her around," he looked at his brother with a challenge in his eyes.

Stefan took the bait, "Yeah, I can tell you two apart, no problem," he moved close to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "You are nothing like her."

Damon rolled his eyes at his brother's half-assed attempt at comforting.

"Thanks..." she said, looking first at Stefan, then at Damon, "But I still need to do something." She was resolved and walked out of the room toward her own.

She couldn't scar herself, she thought, the wound would heal immediately. Even if she pumped vervain to it, the healing process would only be prolonged.

She went to her dresser and started pulling out fresh clothes. Her night-out outfit went into the hamper and she exchanged it for a t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans. She had to think.

Damon listened as she rifled through her clothes, paced around her room, and finally raced out of the Boarding House, the door slamming behind her.


Small houses and tall trees whipped by as Caroline sped towards Matt's house. Her eyes were stinging with tears and her heart was full of betrayal.

She had kissed Klaus. His lips had touched hers. His hands had palmed her breasts. She slept in his arms.

She knew he was capable of despicable things, but she thought there was a line, at least when it came to her. Well, apparently not.

She didn't bother knocking, and she sped into the house, a world of fury behind her.

She stopped in the foyer and called, "Matt! Bonnie!"

"In here!"

Caroline walked into Matt's room and saw them lying back on the bed. She plopped down on the other side of Matt.

"I made out with Klaus," she whined.

"I conspired with Klaus!" Bonnie replied.

"I have absolutely nothing to do with any of it," Matt added.

Bonnie and Caroline giggled.

When their laughter subsided, Caroline sat up, "What now?"

Bonnie shrugged, "I don't know. Where's Klaus now?"

"He disappeared while I was on the phone with you."

"Then we have to find him," Bonnie resolved, "and make him give Tyler's body back."

A few seconds of silence passed before Caroline inquired, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Bonnie thought about it, "He threatened that he wouldn't give Tyler's body back if I told anyone."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"Matt told me to," Bonnie answered, gesturing towards their bedmate.

"Yeah, I figured either way we didn't have Tyler, so we might as well keep you safe," said Matt.

"Awww!" Caroline smiled and ducked down to hug him, giving him a smack on the cheek.

"Ew! I do not need Lips-of-Klaus residue on my cheek, Caroline!"

"Oh, shut up!" She groaned and smacked him across the chest, "They were technically Tyler's, you know!"

"How is that any better?"


Two and a half hours later, Elena walked back into the Boarding House. The two brothers were sitting in the parlor and turned in their seats to look at her when she walked in. Two sets of eyes widened at the sight of her.

"So, what do you think?" She asked.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Damon said.

Elena had dyed her hair completely bleach blond from root to tip, which brought out her olive skin drastically. Fortunately, the effect was much more rocker chick than beach bimbo, which was only assisted by the heavy black eye makeup she donned for the big reveal. Not only that, but she also got her hair cut. It no longer trailed for miles down her back, and instead, was styled in choppy layers, but it was still long.

She stood at the top of the stairs, awaiting their review.

Stefan was the first to speak, "I like it," he allowed, standing up.

Damon nodded in agreement and rose from the couch and walked towards her, smirking, "Very Cherie Currie."

Elena frowned, "I don't know who that is."

"The blonde from The Runaways," Stefan explained.

"Oh," Elena pictured Dakota Fanning, "I was going more for Taylor Momsen."

"Either way," Damon wiggled his eyebrows, "I like it."

Elena relaxed and smiled, "Okay."

Damon's phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Hey, Barbie, guess what? You're not the only blonde bombshell in town anymore!"

"What? Damon, focus," Caroline replied, "We've got a problem."

"Let me guess, she' tall, brunette, and her name rhymes with…" he thought for a second before going with, "…Math bin."

"Huh? What? Damon, has Tyler come by the Boarding House?"

"The last time I saw Scooby-Doo, he was glued to your face."

"Ugh, don't remind me," she groaned, "Well, anyway, as it turns out, Klaus isn't really dead. He's in Tyler's body."

"Of course he is!" Damon exclaimed, "If you see Elena, it's not Elena, it's Katherine, she's back."

"Of course she is!" Caroline groaned in reply.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

"I have to go check on my mom. Tell her and Carol what's going on."

"Watch your back," he advised.

Damon hung up the phone and turned to Stefan and Elena who looked a couple of different shades of perturbed.


Klaus arrived at the mansion after escaping from Caroline.

At first, he thought about staying to try and explain himself to her, but in the end, realized that it would not work out in his favor. So he left.

"Rebekah!" He called into the house.

She appeared at the top of the stairs, "Tyler?"

"No, it's me, Niklaus."

"Nik?" She started rushed down the stairs and approached him with suspicion, "How is that possible? I saw Niklaus killed."

"No, Rebekah," he condescended, "You saw my body stabbed while I was safely tucked away in the body of my former progeny." His accent had returned, and Rebekah softened.

"Oh, Nik!" She threw her arms around him and began to sob, "We thought you were dead!"

"We?"

"Elijah and I," she answered with a tear-streaked face, "He came to collect your body from Elena and her paramours," she sneered when she referred to the Salvatores, "But then…but then…"

"But then our mother's monster got to me with the stake," Klaus finished for her.

Rebekah nodded.

"And what, pray tell, was our dear brother planning on doing with my body once he obtained it?" He inquired.

"I was going to keep you locked away for the next half century," Elijah looked down at his siblings from above.

"Yes, well, there goes that idea," Klaus dropped his hands and stepped away from his sister. "Come on. 'Bekah, it's time we left."

"What about your body?" Rebekah asked, still a bit unsettled by Klaus' current shelling.

"We'll pick it up on the way."

"You know where it is?" Elijah interjected, still standing on the landing.

Klaus shrugged, "The storage facility in Richmond, I expect."

"I doubt it," Rebekah added.


"So, where's Klaus' body now?" Elena asked Damon. They was still standing around the parlor, but had recovered from the shock of the Tyler/Klaus body swap mix-up.

"Right now?" Damon responded, "Well, it's in my trunk."

"In your trunk? So, then it's still in tact?" Stefan looked worried.

"Well, yeah."

"So why did we think the stake killed him?" Stefan accused.

"I don't know!" Damon defended, "I figured those were the rules. Original gets staked. Original dies."

"But Klaus isn't just any Original," Elena reasoned, "He's the Hybrid. The only way you can kill him is if you cut off his head, or pull out his heart."

Damon chided himself for his oversight, "Damn it, you're right."

"And Klaus is going to want his body back," Stefan mused, his eyes conveyed that his focus was somewhere far away.

"So we should put it where he can't get to it," Elena resolved.

Damon nodded, "The cave."

"Let's go, then," Stefan started toward the door, but stopped when Elena spoke.

"Damon," she said, "Where's Ric's body?"

Damon bent his head, "Also in the trunk."

She nodded, "We should bury him," she said, "have a chance to say good-bye."

A mourning silence fell over the trio before Damon spoke, "Today, then. After we secure Klaus' body." He started to follow Stefan out the door.

"Damon," he turned to face her, "We should put him on the Gilbert plot."

He nodded again, "Stay with Jeremy," he said, before the brothers disappeared through the door.


The group of Matt, Caroline, Bonnie, Liz, Carol, Damon, Stefan, Jeremy, Elena, and Meredith gathered at the Salvatore Boarding House before departing for the cemetery.

Elena had done away with the dramatic makeup and pulled her hair back into a tight braid, so the reactions to her transformation were far less shocked than the Salvatore brothers.

This funeral was far less formal than the other, since half of their group had found themselves between living situations. So a lot of clothes were borrowed, but nobody really cared about that.

Damon watched Elena as she slid into Stefan's passenger seat. This time, she held her head erect and looked straight ahead as she walked. He could see her fight to keep the grief at bay.

He, himself, was struggling as he drove his passengers to the cemetery where he had compelled Alaric a plot and a couple of grave diggers.

The humans in the group were bundled tightly in winter clothes to guard against the harsh cold. This funeral was much gloomier than the last. The sky was grey and cloudy, and a loud wind blew through the empty trees.

Damon was numb as he stood in front of his friend's grave. He didn't have any poetic last words or final goodbyes. Everything he ever needed to say to Ric was had been said, and even if the words were never spoken, they were understood.

A dull pain was festering in his chest as he watched Elena place a bouquet of flowers on the pile of dirt, the only indicator that a body laid there. He watched as the tears she had been holding back for weeks suddenly spilled over and her body trembled with sobs. He watched as Jeremy swept her up into his arms, and he was once again overcome with the feeling of unwavering helplessness as he watched the world collapse around the woman he loved. He again promised himself that he would protect her at all costs.

One day, he told himself, Elena Gilbert would be happy, even if he had to die to make it happen.

After a few minutes, the group dispersed to different parts of the cemetery. Meredith walked off to visit Brian Walters, Caroline and Liz walked towards Bill's grave on the Forbes plot, Stefan escorted Carol to the old mayor, Matt went to go see Vicki, and Bonnie visited her Grams.

Elena and Jeremy placed roses on the surrounding graves surrounding Ric's. She knew where they were, even if they lacked the traditional markings.

Elena, Jeremy and Damon stayed in front of Ric's fresh grave even after the rest of the group left for the Boarding House. Elena was back in Jeremy's arms and her head rested on his chest. After a while, she reached behind her in search of Damon's hand.

They stayed that way even after the skies opened and released a frigid rain.

"It doesn't really feel like it's almost Christmas, does it?" Elena finally spoke.

Jeremy held her tighter and Damon squeezed her hand.


Author's Note: All the Alaric feels! Wahhhhh! This chapter was ridiculous and probably way off from what's going to actually happen in the show. Those writer's are ridiculous.

Anyway, leave me a review and tell me what you think! Chapter 10 is not far off.