Sunlight came in through the windows, basking the glow of the apartment in morning light. The smell of eggs and toast met her nose, making her sniff to get a better whiff. Who was making food? What time was it? Caroline reached out to grab her alarm clock, but ended up reaching a little too far. Her face met the floor with an unceremonious thud.

"Ow," she mumbled against the carpet.

"That's an awfully painful way to wake up in the mornings," a distant voice informed her.

"Mmm," she managed to grunt out. Oh yea. Caroline had forgotten she went to sleep in an armchair, and one that wasn't in her apartment. She was in Klaus's apartment.

"Want food?"

"Ugh," she moaned, lifting her head slowly and gazing toward the kitchen through squinted eyes. Where in the hell was a clock? Caroline searched sleepily, but it was to no avail.

"You know it's eleven o'clock, right?"

"I do now," she grumbled, getting up and walking to where the smell of food was coming from.

"Grab what you can. I didn't make a lot."

"It's fine. I'm going to the shop."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged.

She nodded, giving him a sleepy wave before trudging out of the apartment, and back down to hers. Caroline would probably get a cup of coffee, and either a muffin or a bagel. It felt…odd…leaving Klaus's apartment. Like it was the most domestic thing in the world. She remembered that there hadn't been shouting after they had turned the lights off. It had actually been quiet, and she had ended her Christmas festivities by being with him. Huh.

Caroline quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and hoodie. She didn't feel like dressing up today. All she wanted was her breakfast as she heard her stomach growl. Elena would be pleasantly surprised that she was up before the crack of noon at least. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and headed downstairs. There was practically no one in the shop. Elena was the only one, wiping the tables down as Caroline took a seat in a nearby booth.

"Morning, Lena," Caroline greeted.

"You're up. How shocking," she deadpanned, a smile on her face as she went behind the counter and began making her a cup of coffee. Elena grabbed a chocolate chip muffin and brought it over to Caroline.

"Thanks. This is very needed."

"You know I'd be willing to make you more if you wanted."

"I'm fine with this."

"Okay. So how'd your night go?"

"Honestly…you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," she said, walking to the counter to get Caroline's coffee. After adding all the necessary sugary substances, Elena walked back to Caroline, and took a seat across from her.

"Well…I spent the night with Klaus," she said meekly. Elena's eyes about shot out of her head.

"You what? You mean you-"

"No! No, no, no, no, not that. I just slept in his living room with him." Elena's mouth opened and Caroline quickly shook her hands in front of her.

"He was on the couch! I was on an armchair!"

"Oh. Still though…what about the shouting?"

"That's what made me go over there in the first place, but-"

"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed.

"Look, I didn't think it all the way through! Okay? Anyway, I knocked on the door, and he answered. After I knocked, he never screamed for the rest of the night."

"So you're telling me his constant shouting is because he's just lonely?"

"No…it's definitely more than that. Whatever I happened to do last night though, it did help."

"Care, this isn't safe. You don't know what he could end up doing to you in a fit of rage."

"I'm a big girl, Elena. I can watch out for myself."

"That's not going to stop me from caring about you."

"I know, but just trust me. He really isn't that bad a guy once he starts talking. A little rough around the edges, but so is Damon, and we hang out with him."

"Damon doesn't have a shouting match with his walls either."

"How do you know?" Caroline challenged playfully, raising a suggestive eyebrow. Elena just narrowed her eyes.

"Stefan would have said something. Duh."

"Right. Where is he anyway?"

"He's still sick. It's going to take more than one night's worth of sleep to break whatever he has going apparently."

"Poor Stefan."

"I know. Damon says he has a pretty bad fever. Along with the dry cough and sneezing."

"God I hate getting colds."

"He says he's gonna take Stefan to the doctor if he doesn't get better within the week. There's a chance he got the flu instead of just a common cold. Never know with this chilly weather."

"No," Caroline whined, "that would be horrible! Is Damon treating him well?"

"He claims that he is. I'm going to go visit later today and see if he's keeping his word. The last thing Stefan needs is Damon being a jackass to him while he's stuck in bed."

"How are you and Damon anyway? You seem to be getting closer," Caroline suggested. Elena only shrugged.

"I don't know. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to shake him from my thoughts."

"Listen to your brain then. Damon isn't bad looking after all, despite the fact that he can be a dick," Caroline mused.

"I guess…you know, that's not what we were talking about," Elena said, quickly trying to change the subject. Caroline allowed it…for now.

"Yes, we were talking about how decent a person Klaus can be when you take the time to know him."

"I don't think that's exactly what we were talking about."

"Isn't it?" she asked innocently. Elena just gave her a look.

Caroline took a sip of her coffee. It was just how she liked it, warm and sweet. While she began to eat her muffin, she saw a figure coming down the stairs. It turned out to be Klaus, dressed in black sweatpants and a black hoodie. Was he seriously going to go for a run? There was snow outside! Elena turned to see what Caroline was looking at.

"I think I better get back to work," she said quietly, getting up from her seat, and going to stand behind the counter. Caroline continued eating her muffin, expecting Klaus to head outside, but he ended up making his way to her booth, after a quick glance in her direction. Caroline paused mid-bite as he walked up to stand by the table.

"Do you mind if I have a seat?" he asked softly. Klaus must've seen Elena get up, and decide to take advantage of the opportunity. Caroline nodded, since the muffin in her mouth prevented her from speaking. He slowly slid in across from her. After she finished chewing, she set what remained of the muffin to the side, and addressed him.

"Are you going for a run? It's freezing outside!"

"There's a gym just down the sidewalk I go to."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh," she said. Obviously, she didn't work out regularly.

"I was hoping I could talk to you for a bit?"

"Uh, sure. What were you wanting to talk about?" This was a first. For once, he was coming to her. Ha! Elena could suck it.

"I feel like I owe you an explanation."

"Why?"

"Well, I thought about it more once you left this morning, and I realized…you deserve to know a little about me. I'm sorry for the past few months, and this is my way of making it up to you."

"Klaus, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

"That's just it though. I want to."

Caroline nodded slowly, a smile growing on her lips. "Okay. I'll listen to whatever you want to tell me."

Klaus nodded hesitantly, taking a deep breath. He obviously wasn't looking forward to this. Which surprised Caroline, because he seemed dead set on explaining his situation to her.

"Caroline, I want you to ask the questions."

Her eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"No…but I asked the questions last night. Ask me something, and if I can answer it, I will."

"Alright," she began slowly, sitting upright more as she racked her brain for everything that had burdened her mind since he moved in, "how many places have you lived in?"

"Too many to keep track of. For the past two years, I've lived in places for about a month before my neighbors would call someone to evict me."

"Have you ever gotten any help? You said last night you had gone through therapy before."

"I've had every possible treatment tested on me. It's weird because they know the cause; they're just trying to figure out how to fix it. They've talked to me, given me medication, everything. Nothing works for me. In fact, on some visits when I was asked to retell everything I'd gone through, I couldn't handle it."

"Is that what happens at night? You revisit it?"

"Yes. The nighttime is when people have time to truly think about their lives. Like when you're in the shower, and suddenly you think of what your purpose on earth is, and similar things like that. It's the same for me. That's the time my mind…wanders."

"I understand. Does anything trigger them?"

"Just depends, I suppose. Sometimes I can talk about it with ease, other times, not so much."

"Okay, then I'll just ask you about what you can tell me." Klaus nodded slowly before beginning.

"I spent years in the marines, you understand. I wanted to be a better man. I wanted to be someone people could be proud of. When I first started, they were recruiting men for this secret company that had been operating for a while. You know, men die, have to get more eventually. So, I volunteered."

"Yea, I get it. And are you sure you're allowed to be telling me this stuff?"

"No, but how else am I going to explain what happened?"

"Did the therapists know about the secret company?"

"No."

"That might have been crucial information," Caroline mused.

"Not really. Killings happen all the time. Don't have to be in a secret company to carry out one."

"Yea, but maybe something happened in the secret company that was the whole reason behind your bad memories."

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"I do," she said.

"Then listen. When I first joined this company, I wasn't able to carry out my first assignment. My commanding officer, Walker, was pissed. He…put me through a lot," he said. Caroline leaned in closer, completely enthralled by Klaus's story.

"What do you mean by a lot?" she asked.

"I mean I want you to imagine the worst kind of torture you can dream of. The worst threats you've ever heard. For two years, I lived with that after I failed Walker. For it though, I became a better soldier. Which ended up being what he wanted. Walker wanted the ultimate soldier."

"I'm so sorry. What you went through couldn't be worth a promotion."

"Thanks, but after the two years, it did end. In fact, I began enjoying my work. I enjoyed killing people, Caroline," he whispered. She'd be lying if she said that statement didn't bother her a little…or a lot. Her expression must have showed this, because Klaus seemed to stiffen a little.

"Are you sure you still want to know about me?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, certainty in her voice. He nodded.

"I learned how to kill people with every weapon the military had to offer, and even some that weren't. I fought dirty. I killed quietly, and sometimes, not so quietly. But most importantly, I liked it. It was like a high, knowing you had the power to end a person's life in a matter of seconds. I always believed I was killing the enemy, but looking back, I'm not so sure all the people I killed deserved such a short life. In fact, I know some of them didn't deserve an end. I remember the first time I killed a whole village full of innocent people, just so I could kill one man who had been spotted there. At the time it had felt necessary, but it wasn't."

"Is that all you did during your service? Kill those who may or may not have deserved it?"

"No, I had my better moments. I killed twenty assassins about three years ago. They had infiltrated our camp, and I was the one to save everyone. I killed them without firing a single shot. I was honored, for the service I had provided the entire camp. I was the man all the other soldiers wanted to be."

"It sounds like you did a lot of heroic things then as well."

"I doubt I could be considered heroic, considering everything I had done before that. Once I got out about two years ago, I had a lot of time to think about what I had made of my life. I wasn't, and am not, proud of it. I went in to better myself, but ended up screwing everything up."

"You learned something from it all though. That has to mean something. Does Rebekah know about all of this?"

"Every last, painful detail. That's why you run into her so often. She checks on me most mornings to see how I'm doing."

"She wasn't there this morning."

"That's because I called her before you got up. Told her to spend time with Landon, and that I was fine."

"Oh, right. Well, that's sweet of her to check on you. She seems like a good person."

"She's the best. I don't know what I'd do without her."

"What about your parents?"

"That," he said slowly, "is a story for another time. I don't have the best relationship with either of them."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You don't have to tell me about it. I'm glad you told me what you have."

"It's the least I could do. You've done so much for me by just being so tolerant."

"Is that all to it? Is there anything else you think I should know?"

Klaus was quiet for a moment, as if he was contemplating whether to reveal something to her. Her leftover muffin and coffee had probably gotten cold at this point, after being long forgotten. She didn't see that many people around them, and Elena seemed to have disappeared. It was basically just Caroline and Klaus in the little shop. He seemed to finish whatever argument he had going on in his head, and stared her right in the eyes.

"There's more." Caroline put her cheek in her hand as she tried leaning closer.

"Tell me…if you want to that is."

"I do. It's actually really significant."

"What? Is this the reason for your episodes?"

"Yes."

"I thought Walker was the cause of them though?"

"Oh he's definitely a lot of it, but not the only, or main, reason."

"It's that important?"

"Yes. It's the reason the military let me go. It's what haunts me to this day, Caroline."

A/N: Aaaaand tiny cliffhanger.

I know the "morning after" wasn't as long as I'm sure you guys hoped for, but we have time for a legitimate one in the future ;) To anyone wondering why she might have just up and left without much of a word, I blame it on the fact she was tired, and it's still awkward between them. Hope that helps!

Next chapter is the final flashback I have planned, and some more klaroline.

Also decided to go back to the old cover art. I love graphics, but I can never make my mind up on which one to use!

*says in tv announcer voice* Stay tuned for the next episode of...Torment!