A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! They really make my insanely busy days right now much much MUCH happier :]:]:]

Beta: arabian (aka arabean) – Thank you so much! *hugs*

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith & CW.

Chapter 11

Having an emergency meeting called in the middle of the night was disturbing enough. But what was even more disturbing was the fact that Klaus had somehow managed to drink all the bourbon in the house within the span of a few hours.

"You've got to be kidding me," Damon muttered incredulously, shaking his head at the stash of empty bottles he had come across in the kitchen while fetching a blood bag for Caroline, because she insisted she had to try one more time.

"What do you mean she's not a vampire anymore?" Elena asked, shifting her eyes between Caroline and Klaus, wrapping her long, purple sweater tighter around her.

Stefan couldn't help noticing her wet hair, the scent of rain and her skin combined almost unbearable when he concentrated on it. Elena glanced at Stefan, feeling his piercing gaze at her, but he looked away as soon as she looked at him.

"What is she?" Jeremy asked matter-of-factly, his eyes subconsciously drifting to Shane, as if expecting him to know the answer. Caroline shot Jeremy a mildly offended look.

"I don't think she's human," Shane said. "If Silas had the ability to make someone human, he would've made himself human and there would've been no point to the cure."

"Here you go," Damon said, handing Caroline the blood bag.

"Stop scaring me!" Caroline said slightly pursing her lips and leaning into Elena's embrace when she wrapped her arm around her. "If I'm not a vampire or a human or a werewolf or a hybrid then what the hell am I?!"

"A control freak not on crack," Stefan said on an impulse and although everyone else seemed confused Caroline apparently understood the joke because she laughed, her face brightening for a couple of seconds.

Klaus shot Stefan a side-way glance.

Caroline opened the blood bag and cautiously put it to her mouth... but the smell barely reached her nostrils when she was already desperate to get rid of it.

"I can't."

Elena looked at her worriedly, taking the blood bag out of her hands and giving it back to Damon. Stefan's eyes absently drifted to their hands when they briefly touched and his eyebrows furrowed at the sight of matching golden bands on their fourth fingers.

"It's disgusting!" Caroline exclaimed dramatically, overcome with helpless anger and frustration.

Then suddenly the entire room brightened up and it took everyone a moment to realize what had just happened. The fireplace burst into flames with renewed fervor and several candelabras scattered around the room spontaneously lit up.

Everyone fell silent, including Caroline who felt cold shivers run up her spine.

Shane was the first to speak with an actual note of excitement in his voice: "I think we have our answer."

Caroline's eyes darted to him.

"You're a witch," Shane clarified to everyone's bewilderment. Klaus straightened up, his mouth twitching. "Silas must have turned you into a witch."

Damon and Elena exchanged a look.

"That is a very speedy diagnosis," Damon said, his tone skeptical.

"But isn't it the same thing like with being human?" Elena asked cautiously. "Witches are mortal. If Silas wanted to die-"

"Maybe she's an immortal witch," Shane said calmly, his seemingly impersonal scientific fascination with the entire idea freaking Caroline out even more.

"But why am I witch?!"

"Maybe Silas needs a witch for the ritual," Jeremy said, shifting his eyes to Damon. "You said he wants to bring someone from the dead. Maybe he needs a witch for that and he doesn't have one."

"I can't be a witch!" Caroline said, feeling completely ridiculous, vaguely recalling Bonnie saying the same thing once. "I'm not a witch! Doesn't one need to be born as a witch to be a witch? What does nature have to say about that? I'm a fake witch at best," she said in one breath, trailing off with a sigh.

"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Shane said with a small smile.

Out of the corner of her eye Elena noticed Damon and Jeremy simultaneously become very still, their eyes meeting across the room.

"I'll go get one of the grimoires. I remember reading about something like that once," Shane said heading for the stairs.

As soon as he was gone out of sight, Jeremy took a hasty step forward, but Damon silently widened his eyes at him and made a barely perceptible shake of his head. Jeremy stopped in his tracks, not really arguing, but with a disconcerting look on his face. Elena shifted her eyes between them as surreptitiously as possible while Klaus and Stefan's attention was focused on Caroline.

"I'll make you tea," Elena said with a reassuring smile, squeezing Caroline's hand lightly as she rose to her feet.

Caroline looked at her, trying to smile back, but not really succeeding. "Thanks."

Klaus stood up and when Elena walked off toward the kitchen, he took her place next to Caroline on the couch.

Stefan glanced briefly at Elena grabbing Damon's hand on her way out and pulling him with her out of the room. He didn't know why he kept noticing all of these gestures. It was almost as if his subconscious was deliberately making him see things that guaranteed a pang of pain every time.

Then he noticed Jeremy spare a glance around the room before following Damon and Elena.

"If this is true, I don't think it's good in any way," Caroline said, trying to make sense of this bizarre turn of events. "I'm going to end up dead," she said, for the first time considering the possibility with some kind of dread. "Dead dead." She thought she didn't realize how much she had gotten used to the idea of eternity until it threatened to be taken away from her.

"Caroline, you won't," Klaus said firmly.

Her eyes flew to him. "How do you know?"

"I won't let that happen," he said and she smiled weakly, finding the sentiment endearing even if she doubted he would like her reading of his words. Strangely, she had no doubt he had meant what he was saying, but at the same time she didn't believe he could actually manage that in all circumstances.

Not really enjoying the exchange, but simultaneously finding it a good opportunity to leave for a few moments, Stefan excused himself and went to the kitchen.

Out of the corner of his eye Klaus watched him go, straining his hearing to catch snippets of the conversation taking place nearby.

"Are you sure you're not being paranoid?" Elena was saying barely above a whisper, glancing between Damon and Jeremy, making as much noise with the tea cups as possible. "Quoting Shakespeare can hardly be a proof-"

"We believed what we wanted to believe, Elena. Because we needed his help. But the truth is, there is no logical explanation for him to be alive in the first place." Damon turned on the water and started filling the kettle with it.

Elena bit her lip, glancing at Jeremy who shrugged in agreement.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked with a frown, walking into the kitchen and causing everyone to jump a little.

"We can't all be in the kitchen!" Damon whispered through his teeth. "That's more than a little conspicuous."

"We can't just... not do anything," Jeremy whispered, grabbing a handful of spoons from a drawer.

"We're not going to talk about it right now," Damon said with unenthusiastic decisiveness, placing the cups on the tray and handing it to Stefan. "Water is ready," he said, glancing at Jeremy and gesturing to the kettle.

Almost subconsciously, Damon's hand closed around Elena's, their fingers intertwining as they headed out of the kitchen.

Shane was already back in the parlor sitting across from Caroline and Klaus with a grimoire in his lap.

"Maybe he needs to sacrifice a witch, that's why he turned, or whatever the term for that is, me into a witch," Caroline said dejectedly.

"Caroline," Elena slid down on the couch next to her. "Everything will be OK," she whispered reassuringly, not really knowing what was safe to say in Shane's presence anymore.

If he was Silas, they should keep everything secret for him, but he would notice that right away. It was terrifying to think what his plan might entail, considering the already complicated entanglement they were in.

They had to bring Bonnie back before the Silas' ritual, but if Silas was Shane, he knew about their plan to bring Bonnie back and he obviously wanted to thwart it. He had convinced them that they didn't need a witch for the ritual, which was most likely not true. Of course they were already prepared for that possibility anyway and Klaus promised that in two days a witch from New Orleans would arrive. Still, with Silas knowing all about that it didn't even make sense to try, unless they would set up the ritual and keep it a secret from Shane. That, however, was impossible, because of the full moon requirement. Although now that she thought about it... It was Shane who had insisted the full moon was indispensable and so that very well could not be true.

"I think we should get back to discussing this in the morning and now you should get some rest, Caroline," Klaus suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "The witch from New Orleans should arrive in two days," he said observing Shane out of the corner of his eye. "Maybe she'll be able to help with this. Come on," he continued before anyone had the time to voice any objections. "I'll drive you home," he said, pulling Caroline to her feet with him.

She was going to argue that he was drunk and could cause an accident and yes, she knew he was immortal, but not all other drivers and pedestrians were, so he should perhaps take that into consideration if he was seriously trying to-

But then she stopped herself short in her inner banter rehearsal, because there was something urgent in his eyes and something unusual in the way his fingers closed around hers.

"Caroline can just stay here for the night," Elena said, but Caroline shook her head.

"I know, but... I think it's better if I go back. My mom will be worried. I know I can call her, but... with everything that's going on I don't really want to leave her alone for too long."

They said their good-byes and when Caroline left with Klaus, everyone headed to their rooms, except for Shane who decided to stay in the parlor, engrossed in the grimoire.

"I'd stay too, but I'm really tired," Jeremy said drowsily.

Shane gave him a small smile. "I'll tell you in the morning whatever I manage to find," he said, glancing at everyone.

Damon's mouth twitched into a humorless smile as he gladly left Shane downstairs and headed with Elena to their room.

"I really-" she started as soon as they closed the door, but stopped in mid-sentence when Damon grasped her shoulders, pinning her against the wall.

Elena arched an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with faint amusement that turned into intent concentration when the look on his face remained serious.

Damon brushed her hair off the way, leaned closer and pressed his lips to her ear:

"I have to go somewhere with Jeremy. We'll be back as fast as possible, but until then it'd be best if no one knew we were gone," he whispered and then drew back a little to look at her.

She looked at him, her forehead wrinkled in anxiety, but she nodded firmly and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Where are you going?" She more breathed than whispered into his ear.

He cupped one side of her face in his hand, his mouth near the other side. "Elena, you need to be very careful. If Shane is-"

"I know."

He slid his fingers into her hair, kissed her on the mouth as thoroughly as it was possible in a hurry and then said in a rushed whisper with his lips once again pressed against her ear:

"We're going to get Bonnie."

xxxdelenaxxx

Caroline felt fairly ridiculous throughout the ride, but she felt most ridiculous when Klaus stopped the car in front of her house and turned off the engine.

Not only had he not kidnapped her but hadn't even teased to do so. In fact, he hadn't said anything since they had got into the car.

"You drove me home," she said unnecessarily and looked at him.

He looked back at her. "I did."

A prolonged moment of silence followed, but then Caroline shook herself out of the reverie and was about to open the car door when his hand landed over hers stopping her movement.

Her eyes darted back to him. "What are you doing?" She asked, too quietly, not sure if this was the most relevant question, but at least it seemed like the most justified one.

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards for just a second. "Trying to be slightly less terrible."

Shifting in her seat, she slowly turned toward him, his hand still lying on top of hers. "What does that mean?" She asked seriously.

He averted his eyes from her with a conflicted look on his face and after another moment removed his hand. "Silas paid me a visit yesterday."

Caroline's eyes flew wide open. "Why? What did he want?"

"He doesn't want Bonnie to come back," Klaus answered and Caroline's face drained of all color.

"He knows about Bonnie?" She whispered in numb dismay, her lips barely moving.

"Well, that I suppose is not really surprising. I believe your friends already suspect Silas is taking intermittent breaks from parading around Mystic Falls wearing Stefan's face." Caroline looked confused. "He's probably controlling that witch-expert professor."

Caroline felt her heart sink as suddenly everything seemed even bleaker than a few minutes ago. "Oh my God," she gasped, tossing her head against the headrest. "But why did Silas come to you?" Caroline asked, abruptly turning toward Klaus again.

"He wants me to make sure that Bonnie stays dead," Klaus answered almost noncommittally and added, answering the 'how' question Caroline was about to ask, "If necessary, I can kill Jeremy or Damon or... everyone. Except for Elena, I'm graciously free to pick," he gave an absolutely horrified looking Caroline a brief smirk.

"You're not serious," she said automatically.

"Oh, I'm dead serious, Caroline," Klaus said with a hint of annoyance in his voice, his expression turning grim. "And if I fail, he's going to kill my brother and sister and I suppose me as soon as he has no further use for Elena, so the bloodline is no longer an issue. In other words, to cut a long story short, he's going to exterminate the entire vampire race and live happily ever after as the only immortal creature along with his bonnie lass that he wants to bring back from the dead."

For a moment Caroline couldn't even form a coherent sentence. "Why are you telling me all this?" She suddenly asked, returning her frantic gaze to him.

He looked straight ahead into the dark night, the trees glistening with the remnants of rain that had stopped a couple of hours ago.

"It's been a thousand years and I believed I have tried everything this world has to offer, but I realized there was one thing I haven't tried yet," he said under his breath. He looked up at her with a humorless smile flashing in his eyes. "Doing the right thing. Of course," he continued before Caroline had a chance to react, "that's not exactly something that can be objectively assessed, but I decided that it would be safe to assume that whatever I knew you would consider right is the right thing to do."

With another brief smile, he got out of the car and walked around it to open the door for her. Caroline was sitting motionlessly, rendered rather speechless by the entire conversation and not really feeling like going anywhere right now, her mind spinning. The door opened and she forced herself to step outside, her eyes fixed on him when he closed the car door after her and just stood there looking at her.

"Do you know why he turned me into a witch?" Caroline asked, unable to comment on his latest statement and grasping at a safer subject matter.

Klaus shook his head. "No, I don't. But I'm guessing it might have something to do with you..." he trailed off and she wasn't sure why he hesitated before he finished his sentence, "killing twelve witches."

Caroline squeezed her eyes shut at the memory that was up there with the top three things she wanted to forget.

"You're right," she muttered gloomily. "That's probably it."

Klaus regarded her for a few moments in silence, as if considering something and then spoke again. "Technically, I can still do it," he said, immediately reclaiming her attention. "Prevent you from bringing Bonnie back, whatever it takes. Telling you about it doesn't really change anything."

Caroline looked at him, not quite sure why she wasn't more angry or terrified listening to him, but there was just something in his eyes that was telling her he wasn't being entirely serious.

"So what is needed to change that?" She asked, arching an eyebrow, scolding herself inwardly for playing along.

His lips twisted into a smirk as he slowly brought his face closer to hers.

She didn't flinch or step back. "You do know that's technically blackmailing?" She asked in the steadiest and sharpest voice she could muster under the circumstances.

"I'm sorry, Caroline, but considering my track of sins blackmailing doesn't even rank," he whispered, the smile fading off his lips when they stopped a mere inch from hers.

Caroline searched her mind for an excuse, but came out blank. There was no excuse.

No excuse for her to just close her eyes and kiss the second greatest evil on earth on the mouth.

xxxdelenaxxx

The observatory was looming in the distance and they could see it long before they actually drove all the way to the top of the hill.

"Are you still feeling all confident about your feelings?" Damon mused, the ratio of humor to this being an actual question hard to discern from his tone.

"Of course," Jeremy answered seriously, too anxious about what was going to happen to focus on forming snappy retorts.

"Good."

They got out of the car and headed for the back entrance.

xxxdelenaxxx

Elena was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, staring at the clock and wondering how much time it would take for Damon and Jeremy... and hopefully Bonnie to come back. If everything would went according to plan, by morning Bonnie would be back and Silas would be a calcified statue again thanks to the restoration of the spell.

But she couldn't help worrying. Their successfully executed schemes record wasn't exactly reassuring and she also had a nagging feeling that Silas just might be one step ahead of them anyway.

She drew a shaky breath and looked at her phone again as if looking at it could make the text message she expected come faster.

Or at all.

It was quite likely he wouldn't write back and even if he did, why would he give it to her? Yes, he had offered it to her before, but the current situation was different. It didn't really concern him. While Silas was a threat to everyone, expecting Elijah to give something that valuable to her just so she could keep a person she loved safe was rather presumptuous.

With a sigh, Elena was about to put her phone away when it buzzed in her hand, startling her.

She held her breath and allowed herself to smile only when she read the message:

Where would you like to meet?