Agony was everywhere. In her lungs, her limbs, her brain. The insides of her stomach felt as if they were constantly being rearranged. Breathing was out of the question. Anytime she had tried to suck in a lungful of air, her lungs felt as if they were on the verge of collapsing, and maybe they were. If there was ever a time to be thankful she was dead, that would be it. The only problem was she had to breathe, she felt like she was starved of oxygen when she didn't inhale. Caroline's head was awash in a haze of agony, her body parts seeming to weigh more than the Earth itself. Even her legs hurt, as if she had been flexing them to the point of the muscles snapping. It was all too intense, too terrible. Caroline couldn't even bear to open her eyes, to move any part of her body, let alone stare at whatever was near her. Even her ears hurt. The pain was the most excruciating thing she had ever endured and it left her no room to focus on anything going on around her, only the constant sea of torment that was slowly becoming her body.

Was she alone in her suffering? Were others there to comfort her? Where exactly was she? Was Klaus nearby? Stefan? Hell, she would even take Rebekah.

Caroline attempted to think, but the pain was nearly unbearable. She couldn't understand why she was in such pain. Had she been attacked by someone? She couldn't remember, couldn't think properly. No, she didn't think she had been attacked. Hadn't she been on the phone with Bonnie? Yes. Yes, she had been. They had been talking about Klaus and Jeremy and a variety of other things, she was nearly certain of it. Then she hung up because... Why had she hung up? Klaus had been there, she remembered seeing him before everything went black. Why was everything hurting?

Another wave of discomfort started in the pit of her stomach. Or she assumed it was her stomach, to be honest Caroline was having a difficult time discerning any part of her body, she only knew that everything was afflicted. It began to worsen, the pain spreading like a wildfire throughout her body, consuming her entire being until she was afraid nothing was left but her anguish. She was floating in a sea of pain.

Of its own accord, Caroline's back bent upward, her head and feet digging into whatever she was laying on. Her spine bent at such an odd angle, her back eventually snapped from the pain with a loud 'crack', causing her to collapse. A scream escaped her lips even as her back spasmed, attempting to heal itself. Caroline couldn't remember ever breaking her back, but the pain was ridiculous. At least with a snapped neck it was a flash of pain and then nothing until she woke up a few minutes later. Another wave had her back arching painfully, her hands breaking and bending at an awkward angle even as she tried to clutch a type of blanket she was apparently lying on top of. She felt her nails ripping the blanket apart as her agony reached a crescendo.

When Caroline's back broke a second time, her eyes snapped open as she wailed in torment. Immediately she knew she was in Klaus's bedroom, but no one was with her. As she arched completely, she rolled from the bed, landing roughly on her stomach and onto the hardwood floor. Caroline lay there, panting in misery of the acutest kind until it ebbed slowly to a manageable level. Caroline took a few minutes to catch her breath and then she used her good hand to right herself, pulling her frail body up and into a standing position. She leaned against a nearby wall, hoping to make it into the bathroom nearby. Standing made Caroline feel nauseous, almost as if all the food she had eaten earlier was ready to come back up. When was the last time Caroline had actually vomited? She knew it was back when she was human. Vampires didn't actually puke. Just another perk of being dead. The room spun dramatically as she looked around. Caroline squeezed her eyes shut and back open as the long wave of pain finally subsided. When she had the strength to look down, she could only stare at herself in utter horror.

There was blood everywhere. Covering her shirt, drenching her jeggings, all over a pair of socks that had once been white. Thank God she hadn't had on her suede boots. Her hands were bruised and bloodied, almost as if she'd been slamming them into something for hours, since they didn't seem to heal quite completely. There were holes in her jeans, which she could only assume had been from the bones in her leg breaking, causing the bone to rip through her jeggings. Caroline shuddered just thinking about it, eternally grateful that she had been unconscious for that. It would explain the blood and the ever present throbbing in her lower body. Caroline imagined her body was feeling what it would be like to be steam rolled repeatedly.

Still clinging to the wall, Caroline moved forward slowly, gasping in pain when she moved. She wanted to scream and cry, but she barely had enough energy to move and gasping was the only thing afforded to her. Short bursts of breath hurt less than actually breathing in, so she made sure to do that to spare herself even a tiny bit of anguish. She felt terrible, which made Caroline assume this had been going on for hours. Days even.

Now that she was up and slightly more capable of focusing, Caroline remembered hanging up on Bonnie because of some sort of pain in her side. Caroline would have reached down to where the new linking mark was on her body, but even her arms protested the slight movement, so she kept her forward pace towards the bathroom, determined to clean herself up before someone came in and saw her. She couldn't imagine what Klaus had to be thinking if he had seen her like this.

Speaking of which, where on Earth was Klaus? Caroline couldn't imagine him leaving her alone while she was hurting, so something must have happened to pull him away from her. That seemed to be the only explanation... The only explanation she was willing to think about. Caroline remembered thinking he was the one hurt, which was why she had tried to rush towards him in the courtyard. Caroline recalled tears running down her face, even something leaking from her nose as she had hobbled towards him. She remembered the instant relief as she called his name, the fear on his face when he looked at her. Caroline couldn't recall much else, only the sensation of falling and being caught before she hit the pavement. She knew he had caught her, which was why she hadn't been worried as she'd fallen.

Caroline finally made it to the entrance of the bathroom, wanting to sigh in relief when she spotted the shower. She could make it, she knew she could. Granted, she wasn't quite sure how long it would take her to move there, but as long as she got there that was quite alright with her. A hot shower was just what she needed. Then she could figure out what the hell had been happening to her. She wasn't an idiot, so she knew it had something to do with that linking spell Esther had placed on her, she just wasn't quite sure what it was yet.

A few more steps into the bathroom and Caroline caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror above the large sink. A wobbling hand was brought up slowly to her face as she stared at herself in shock. Caroline Forbes couldn't remember one day of her entire life when she looked so retched.

Her skin was mostly covered in dried blood, her usually platinum blond hair wasn't fairing any better. Caroline's complexion was gray, almost as lifeless as her usually peppy hair. Even her lips were cracked. Miss Mystic Falls had never been so disheveled in her life, and she had had sex up against a tree.

"Oh, this isn't happening," Caroline croaked as she limped forward, barely making it to the marble countertop before she fell forward, her legs giving out from under her. Caroline leaned against the sink top, glad her arms were at least strong enough to hold her up for the moment.

The jarring movement caused her head to spin even more, a dull ache throbbing behind her temples as the nausea crept up menacingly. "Oh God." Caroline used what little vampire charisma she had left to speed to the toilet, becoming violently ill. Once she was done, she fell back and collided with the shower, allowing the tile to prop her up when her own body failed her. Caroline was only allowed a moment's peace from the chaos of her body before she hunched in on herself, a strong cramping in her stomach spreading throughout her entire torso until she was lying face down on the cold tile, crying silently to herself. Her hands began to ache as well, causing Caroline to look at them in curiosity.

Why should her hands hurt? Had she fallen on them and broken a finger? Staring down, her eyes widened in terror as sharp claws began protruding from her fingertips, the original french tips disappearing before her eyes only to be replaced by something far more dangerous. Caroline couldn't look away, couldn't stop watching as her hand started to contort, to shift into something she had only seen one other time. It was the same thing that happened to Tyler whenever he started to shift into a werewolf. Or a hybrid.

Caroline shrieked as her back contorted much in the same manner as her hands, sharply and without warning. Most of her body was lifted off the ground and thrust back onto the cold, now bloody tile. She knocked into a towel rack on her way down, causing the metal to clatter angrily against the tile. Once the pain subsided, Caroline stood, making her way to the mirror above the sink. She stared at herself in the mirror, willing her eyes to change into that familiar black she was now becoming fond of. "Please, please, please, please, please." She whispered repeatedly, waiting for the pain to resume. As her torment started yet again, Caroline kept ahold of the counter long enough to watch the veins creep out along her eyes. Enough to watch her eyes change color.

They were black with gold irises.


"I promise, Davina is on to something Klaus. You just have to give her an opportunity to talk with you." Marcel walked briskly with Klaus down the abandoned sectioned of the quarter. Klaus wanted to kill anyone and anything that got into his way, which was unfortunately no one. This section of the city was well and truly abandoned, much to his chagrin.

"I have left Caroline alone for the past two hours only to follow you around this godforsaken city, and for what? Not a fucking thing. Either your witch is playing hide and go seek with one pissed off hybrid, or something ill has befallen our dear witch. Either way, I am taking no more time to wander aimlessly through the city streets. Caroline needs me."

Or he needed Caroline. He wasn't sure which it was. Klaus had been watching her for two hours already before Marcel had taken him to find Davina. Klaus hadn't wanted to leave Caroline, what with her condition. He had spent most of his time attempting to clean up the never-ending flow of blood making its way through her eyes, ears and nose. She had remained unconscious through all of it, only whimpering ever so often as her body had been prepping for the transformation. Klaus had thought about discarding her ruined clothing, the only thing stopping him was the possibility of the Salvatore making an appearance at some point to check on his friend. A few minutes of debating later and Marcel had walked in, informing Klaus that Davina had vital information.

Klaus had gone to find Stefan, knowing the younger vampire would have no problem watching over Caroline until Klaus returned, but the Salvatore had been no where in the compound to be found. It would have been peculiar at the time, but Klaus had been too preoccupied with other things. Just one thing, actually.

"Come to think of it, Marcel. I couldn't find Stefan either. It does seem rather odd that your witch and my vampire have been mysteriously disappeared when they could have been necessary to aid us this evening, don't you think?" Klaus turned back around, speeding back towards his home. He couldn't bare to be apart from Caroline any longer than necessary, no matter if the Salvatore or Davina were in harm's way. Why should it have mattered to Klaus?

Klaus was stopped in his hasty retreat by Marcel, who had a hand on his shoulder.

"You think some of the remaining witches have taken Davina?" Klaus nodded. A sudden sensation along his spine left chills running up and down his body. Klaus immediately knew that Caroline was awake and in pain. He needed to leave at once. Nothing Davina could say was more important to him than seeing to Caroline's health and eventual wellbeing. It would be hard to take care of if he wasn't there, wouldn't it?

"Most likely whoever stole the bits and pieces of my mother, no doubt. I'm sure the girl isn't being harmed. Besides, it was merely a guess. Just because we haven't seen either of them in the past few hours doesn't mean anything dreadful has happened. Only that we haven't come across them. I didn't try my best to find Stefan, and perhaps young Davina decided she had plans to spend time with actual human beings." Klaus picked up his pace, barely paying attention to his increasingly irritating companion. When did Marcellus become such a chatterbox? It was growing quite obnoxious. Klaus found he wasn't in the mood to deal with it much longer, then again, he was rarely in the mood for Marcellus all together lately. How funny it was when the children finally grew up and away from their makers.

Marcel scoffed in anger. "Like they weren't harming Caroline?" Klaus's eyes flashed gold for an instant before returning to their normal color.

"Big difference there, mate. Caroline is practically immortal. Davina isn't. Besides, she's a witch. They generally tend to look after their own."

"But Davina betrayed them to save me, you know that." And Klaus did. It was the only way Marcellus had even survived the vampire/witch war that had been brewing up a shit storm for the past year. She had been meant to lead the witches in the final crusade, to rid the Quarter of vampires once and for all. Klaus had been sure she would have done it as well. Davina hadn't been a particular friend of his. Fortunately for him, Davina loved Marcel, loved him enough to destroy the fellow witches in the coven that had started the uprising. It had cost Davina almost all of her power to do so, but she had. For Marcel. It was quite touching.

"I don't have time for this, Marcel. I need to get back." With that, Klaus knocked Marcel to the ground before he sped off into the night, desperate to make it back to Caroline.

He hoped she wouldn't notice he'd been gone.


"Caroline!"

She heard his voice before she saw him and two things happened at once. She was grateful Klaus had come back and also terrified that he would notice how terrible she looked. Not that it hadn't been noticeable before. It wasn't like he wasn't used to blood, he was a stone cold killing machine. Granted, he had never seen her looking so awful. Caroline cringed at the thought.

Way to be so vain, idiot. Caroline scolded herself even as she lifted her head from the ground, eyes softening ever so slightly as Klaus knelt down beside her on the tile. His hand reached out to rest on her back, but Caroline spoke up first.

"Don't!" He jerked his hand back at her startled voice. More softly, she said, "I'm sorry. Everything just really hurts. I don't know what's happening to me." She stopped for a moment. "That's not entirely true." Their eyes locked as she spoke next. "I think your mother turned me into a hybrid. Which would explain my sudden love for food." She gasped, her throat hurting from speaking too much. "I just want it to stop." Blood red tears fell from her eyes as she leaned into Klaus, crying softly. "Why won't it stop?"

"I'm not sure, love. Perhaps when the full moon completely disappears it will end. I'll be with you all the way, I promise you Caroline." His tone implied he was well aware of her predicament. His arms reached down and plucked her up, his intention no doubt to take her back into the bedroom.

"Wait. Please. Can I get out of these clothes and shower? I can't stand knowing I look like this." Klaus snorted before turning back around and into the bathroom, easily stepping over the fallen towel rack.

"Now, now, sweetheart. If you wanted to look pretty for me, all you had to do was say so." She snorted, smiling slightly through the constant pain that seemed to never leave her. Klaus set her down by her feet gently, quickly tearing through the remainder of her clothing so she wouldn't have to worry about bending or moving anything.

"You haven't torn off my clothes like this since the first time we had sex. Maybe I should get bloody more often." Klaus smirked at her, leaning in to place a light kiss to her forehead.

"I hardly believe that NOW is the appropriate time to be discussing such things, but if you prefer, I can ravage you and your clothing on our next sexual encounter. You won't have a stitch left to put on when I'm done with you. Does that sound better?"

Caroline tried to grin, but a sudden panic set in as he turned the shower on, the hot spray beginning to fog up the room.

"I'm not going to die, am I?" She gripped his arm through his henley, desperate for any kind of contact.

"Do you really think I would let you die so you could leave me here all alone?" He scoffed at her, checking the temperature in the shower before gently lifting her and placing her inside.

"You wouldn't be alone though. You have your sister and Elijah, even baby Marissa. You wouldn't be alone. You know that, right?" Caroline had to make sure he knew that. He would be fine if she died from some crazy hybrid flu that completely desiccated her.

"The only person I would want to spend an eternity with is you. The thought of you not there, Caroline, leaves little meaning left for me." Her eyes widened slightly. He couldn't be serious. They hadn't even known each other for that long, for him to speak to her like he couldn't bear a world without her in it. "It's true. You may think whatever you wish, sweetheart, but you're the best thing to come into my life since I took my first breath all those centuries ago. I'm just happy I was able to realize it before I actually killed you a few years ago."

"Wouldn't that have sucked for you?" She tried to joke off the strong emotions coursing through her, nearly as strong as her pain. It was a heady thought, everything he was telling her. She would have to think about it long and hard later. When she wasn't so gross and her body wasn't about to completely break apart.

Klaus turned from the shower before Caroline grabbed his shirt, pulling at it loosely.

"Will you get in here with me? I don't want to fall or anything." She said to him shyly, barely managing to gaze into his eyes before she blushed and moved further into the spray of the water. She didn't look up again, intent on the letting the hot spray clean out all of the blood from her hair. The clear water turned a dull pink as it fell from her body and onto the ceramic floor and down the drain.

Strong arms wrapped snuggly around her waist as the hot water dripped lovingly down her skin. Caroline leaned back, taking most of the weight from her legs, letting Klaus and his body hold her up protectively. "I'm so tired."

"It'll be over soon. You'll see." With one arm still around her waist, he reached up with his other, grabbing a loofa and handing it to her before grabbing some of her body wash. Caroline held the loofa out, allowing him to drench the loofa in body wash. Generally she would have protested the wasteful amount of her favorite Bath and Body Works wash, but she was too tired to care. Klaus could always get more for her later. He set down the bottle and plucked the loofah from her clumsy hands, gently scrubbing the front parts of her body with the loofah. Any part her could reach, he scrubbed, making sure to remove any and every last drop of blood. He loosened his arm around her waist, turning her to face him.

Caroline stared up at him, enjoying the way the water dripped leisurely down his skin. His muscles moved smoothly as he cleaned her body. Klaus bent down to one knee as he cleaned her lower legs and toes, the sight extraordinary to see. She couldn't remember a time at all he'd bent down for anyone, yet there he was, completely vulnerable before her and cleaning her to help ease her woes.

"You're kind of amazing when you want to be, do you know that?"

"If by that you mean all the time, then yes, darling, I'm aware. He grinned cheekily up at her, gently placing one of her feet back onto the ground and gently lifting the other so he could clean the soles of her feet with the loofah.

"I'm serious. I can't believe there was ever a time I thought you were incapable of being compassionate. I'm really glad you proved me wrong." She placed her hands along his shoulders, sighing in contentment when he leaned his body in, his lips pressing sweetly against her stomach.

"To be fair, Caroline, I wasn't exactly the most pleasant of visitors when I moved to Mystic Falls. I can't exactly blame you for your inability to see how charming I am." She laughed at that. Klaus had been a complete psycho when he came to town, only ever showing his human nature when he was around her. It was kind of what she loved about him. Klaus, the unstoppable killing machine, the most feared creature in the history of creation, bending to her will time and time again merely because he was drawn to her.

Klaus stood up, placing shampoo in his hands before he rubbed his palms together and began to lather her hair for her. A few minutes later he helped he wash the suds from her hair, and Caroline eyeing the suds in appreciation as they cascaded down her freshly cleaned body. She had to admit, she liked watching him watch her. If she wasn't aching in every place on her body, she probably would have jumped him in the shower. Unfortunately, Caroline didn't think she could even jump an inch, let along on top of another human body for a steamy sex session.

Klaus turned off the shower, exiting the shower and grabbing one of the towels that had fallen to the floor. Noticing it was the only one without blood on it, he helped Caroline from the shower, drying her off slowly and softly to avoid disturbing her sore body. For that she knew she would be eternally grateful.

"How are you feeling, Caroline?" He wrapped the towel around her body protectively before he reached down and plucked up his own, toweling off quickly. He swept Caroline up into his arms, carrying her gently into the bedroom. She winced when she noticed all the blood drenched into his usually silk sheets.

"I think we need new sheets." It didn't even occur to her that she referred to his sheets as theirs, but Caroline did notice the slightly peppier step in Klaus as he easily passed the bed and entered into the hall of the house. "Klaus, you don't have any clothes on!" Caroline was mortified as he quickly made his way from their bedroom and into the one located next door. It was slightly smaller, but the bed was just as large, just as wide and looked equally as inviting. Large fluffy pillows were strewn at the front of the bed and the comforter was thick and fluffy as well. Caroline could practically imagine the silk sheets lurking under that comforter. It made her mouth water at the thought.

"Into bed you go, love." Klaus placed Caroline back onto the ground in order to move the sheets back to allow her to climb up and into the nice warm bed. It was lovely. Once Caroline was settled, Klaus moved to the other side, sliding in easily next to her. "You never answered the question." She stared at him in confusion. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh." Caroline thought for a minute. "You know, almost as soon as you came back for me, I feel sore, but I haven't had any body spasms and no claws have emerged from my fingertips, so I think that's pretty good, right?"

"I should hope so." He placed an arm around her as Caroline leaned in to him, snuggling as close to him as possible for the comfort more than the warmth.

Caroline sat up abruptly, staring at him. "Actually, that's kind of weird. I was in excruciating pain the entire time you were gone, then you come back and suddenly I feel fine. That doesn't seem right to you, does it?" He just stared at her. "I mean, from the way my body was acting, I thought I was going to completely shift into some freaky hybrid creature and then you walk through the door and it all just goes away?" She stared at him skeptically, willing him to understand what she was saying.

"That is odd." He leaned back further into the pillows, urging his lover to join him. As soon as she lay next to him, she yawned loudly and stretched her sore muscles as best as she could manage. "Let's just sleep on it, love. I'm sure we can understand everything a bit better after we get some rest. Shall we?"

Caroline barely heard anything else as she closed her eyes to sleep.