Klaus paced impatiently outside of Bonnie's hospital room, mind reeling from the unfortunate halt in his plans. How was he supposed to continue searching out the swords when his primary witch was dead? And if what Damon said was true, the know-it-all Professor Shane had claimed that only the Bennett witch could complete the ritual when the time came. So what now? Wait? Klaus Mikaelson, arguably the most powerful creature to walk the earth, did not handle waiting well.

He inwardly cursed Stefan for abandoning him in such a dire time. Sure, Klaus had his share of misgivings toward the younger Salvatore, but he somehow managed to keep things together. Most of the time. Nevermind that Bonnie's condition was entirely his own fault – if the witch were more practiced, as she should be, she should've been able to handle a bloody simple locator spell.

Inside the room, Elena and Damon sat with their unconscious friend. The machines beeped, dials reading numbers and displays that Elena could never understand; it was difficult to look at Bonnie, so frail and covered in various tubes, when she was usually so strong. It made the outlook seem so bleak.

Merideth had already administered a dose of vampire blood, though it didn't seem to take well to Bonnie's system. Maybe that was the work of natural magic in her veins. She'd suffered from severe hemorrhaging in her brain, a symptom that Elena herself knew all too well. What nobody had been able to tell her, however, was why Bonnie's brain had spontaneously begun to bleed out. There had to be a reason, these things didn't just happen randomly.

Jeremy was a room away, getting a checkup from Merideth. He'd resisted the idea at first, but after Damon mentioned his episodes (not mentioning how they were triggered) Elena demanded that he receive a thorough examination. Jeremy didn't expect to find any natural reasoning to his body's response to being awakened, but he guessed it was worth a shot.

Klaus growled. He didn't know how, or why exactly, but his life had taken a turn for the worse since Caroline made her silly little decision. And he hadn't expected that – he couldn't imagine that his plans and desires could grow any more muddled. And yet they had. Surely, this was rock bottom.

His ears pricked at the sound of her name – Damon and Elena were talking about her. Klaus stopped to listen.

"Stefan gave her the message about Bonnie," Damon said, clicking his phone off. "He sounded kinda weird though… Angry, I guess."

"And Elijah's letting her go?" Elena asked.

Damon scratched his head awkwardly. He'd forgotten that he withheld information before.

"Right. Yeah, Caroline decided to stay…" he said slowly, as though Elena would be mad at him instead of her friend, as she should. "She actually turned down Klaus's offer to take her home last night. Sounds like she's had a real trip."

"Wait, you mean she didn't want to come back?" Elena asked, incredulous. "I guess I wouldn't want to take a five-hour drive with Klaus either… But Elijah took her. Why wouldn't she come home?"

Klaus watched them through the window in to Bonnie's room, barely noticeable past the mostly-shut blinds. But Damon's eyes flickered up to his, and the two held a brief standoff. Klaus challenged him to say something, sure that whatever the Salvatore's answer would be, it would also be an intended insult.

"You know, Klaus never actually told me why," he answered her, feigning thoughtfulness. "But Stefan seems pretty sure about something."

At the suggestive hint, Klaus narrowed his eyes. He didn't know what Stefan suddenly had to do with it.

Damon smirked.

"He wouldn't tell me though," he said to Elena.

Elena groaned, frustrated, and ran her fingers through her hair. What was going on with the world? With Stefan gone, Caroline who knows where, Bonnie on the verge of death, and Jeremy in such poor health… she was beginning to feel very alone.

Damon took her hand, back to being serious. He did truly hate to see her this way; his metaphorical heart went out to her.

"Hey," he said softly, and she looked up to him with those big, brown doe-eyes. "Stefan might've not sounded so sure, but I am. Caroline wouldn't hang out in New York for no reason, not with everything going on down here. You know Blondie – she'll be here as soon as she can."

Klaus turned away from the window and returned to his steady pacing. This time it was slower, more deliberate than before. Damon was right, he agreed. Caroline would be there soon enough, and maybe then Klaus could set one thing right in his life.

Inside the room, Elena leaned her head pathetically on Damon's shoulder.

"But what if it's not soon enough?" she asked quietly.

Klaus didn't hear her. If there was one thing he was good at, it was revenge – and he'd be damned if he didn't have Elijah properly daggered and stowed away the very second he set foot in Mystic Falls.

He smiled at the thought.

…

Caroline and Elijah didn't speak throughout the drive back home.

Dreary gray landscapes flew past the window, and Caroline watched but didn't truly see. By now her mind was a little blank, numbed with worry.

She should have known that what happened yesterday would stay in yesterday – she couldn't possibly experience something so explosive and otherworldly, without having some kind of equal and opposite tragedy strike her already-complicated life. Of course not. Life just didn't work that way.

Occasionally she glanced over to Elijah, always so composed and mature, and flashes of the night before resurfaced. It seemed so far away now, and very unreal. But she knew it wasn't completely gone. Three days ago, she wouldn't have come anywhere near the infamous Original vampire, but now… Now she trusted that she could reach out, touch his face or his hand, and the touch would be welcome. But how long would the effect last?

Elijah had lived a thousand years. No doubt he'd had many lovers (his experience had shown) and she was just another young, naïve thing to him. How could she expect anything else?

What had she expected to happen?

Caroline chewed on her lip thoughtfully. She supposed she didn't know. Somehow, she couldn't picture roses and Friday-night dates. She actually couldn't picture anything at all. There wasn't exactly a guide to this thing.

She sighed. To her, last night's memory would stand out among all other experiences in her life. She would continue to love and make love, but somehow she doubted that anyone could live up to her newly-heightened standards. And Elijah? He would probably return to business as usual, and add another notch to a well-scored bedpost.

But did that make it a mistake?

Oh, hell no, she answered herself immediately. Even if that was the only time in her entire existence that she got to feel so unbelievably alive, she would take it. The difficult part would just be in coping with the idea of not having it again.

"We're close," Elijah said, snapping her out of it. They'd been on the road for a few hours now, so Caroline had really hoped so. "Are you sure you don't want to call?"

She shook her head, smiling sadly. "I don't think anyone's going to want to talk to me right now. Bonnie's the one we're all concerned about, not me."

Elijah nodded. He understood.

"And what happened…" he said, "Will they know?"

"Which part?" She asked.

"Any."

Caroline sighed, running a hand through her hair. She needed a shower, needed to clean herself up. It felt strange to wear such expensive clothes (though subtly so) to cover her current lack of hygiene, but she'd had little choice.

"No one can know, about the morning," she said slowly, more thinking aloud than anything. Elijah assumed she meant the incident with Lorcan Slater. "And the rest, with you… assuming that Stefan didn't spill already… I don't know." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I guess Elena will know eventually, but for right now, Klaus can't know. So I guess we keep it to ourselves."

Elijah nodded again, clenching his jaw at the thought of his brother. Caroline was right, Niklaus would create quite the uproar if he found out.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Stefan Salvatore's number, Caroline watching inquisitively.

No answer.

"Looks like that'll be my priority when we return," he said. "I'll find Stefan Salvatore, you go see Bonnie. I'll take care of it."

Assuming he hasn't told anyone yet, Caroline thought, remembering how pissy he'd gotten. But to Elijah she simply smiled. It was sweet of him to try.

She reached out and touched his hand, which was resting on the gearshift of the car. He looked over to her, not expecting it. They each felt the electricity lingering there.

"Thank you," Caroline said softly. And she turned away, leaning her forehead against the clammy window, her soft breaths fogging the glass. She looked tired, not unlike yesterday, after she'd been retrieved from the Ace of Clubs.

He watched her for a moment, eyebrows drawing together in the very slightest way. This all concerned him; being so quickly captivated by another vampire (and a young one at that) in the midst of a series of chaotic events. When would the chaos end? Elijah himself was practically invincible, but Caroline was not. And he needed to consider that. He easily could have lost her yesterday, and at that point she hadn't meant nearly as much to him. But she did now. He didn't know how much, just that she did.

His eyes returned to the road ahead, but his thoughts remained with her. Mystic Falls wasn't too far away, and he was sure it would bring some conflicts of its own.

…

Klaus sat in the living room of his home, a half-finished glass of whisky in his hand, and waited. He'd made sure to send Kol off on some errand or another, so that the house would be empty for Elijah's arrival. Klaus had been waiting and brooding for hours. It had only intensified his anger.

He knew that Elijah and Caroline were at the hospital an hour ago, and that his brother was avoiding him so far. Stefan, thank his lucky stars, had returned to his senses and come back home (and had apparently been the one to alert Caroline of her friend's poor health, which shed light on the comment that Damon made) and had sent him a very risky text: Back in town. Meeting Elijah.

Now, why would Stefan Salvatore be so eager to meet up with Klaus's brother? It probably had something to do with the Caroline situation. After all, wasn't that why he'd returned?

He took a sip of the whisky. That Caroline, she sure had an effect on people. And Klaus himself should really know.

Just then, he heard the front door open, and Elijah stepped through the threshold.

Speak of the devil, Klaus thought, and downed the remainder of his drink.

"Elijah," he greeted curtly. It was difficult to remember that, while Caroline had chosen to stay overnight, it had been Klaus who won her completely – she'd fed from him after her ordeal yesterday morning, not Elijah. She'd practically retched at the thought of drinking from him. And it was Klaus that she would soon begin feeling that familiar sense of comfort and connection to because of it.

Not Elijah.

"Klaus," he responded, with a practically nonexistent nod. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, squaring his jaw nonchalantly toward his brother. "Stefan told me you wanted to see me, though I can't imagine why."

Klaus laughed at the comment.

"Oh, dear brother," he said, suddenly turning quite serious. "I think you know exactly why."

The pleasantries drained from Elijah's face, and though Klaus didn't know it, he was feverishly questioning whether it had been smart to trust Stefan Salvatore. Had the news travelled so fast?

But he held out, not giving any hint of the internal struggle.

"Why don't you tell me, Niklaus?" He challenged.

"Well, for starters, you held hostage a perfectly innocent young woman," Klaus began. "Which, by the way, isn't that a little below you, Elijah? I used to think you were so noble."

But Elijah merely shrugged.

"Do go on, I'm sure you have more."

Klaus glared at him. "But more than just kidnapping, you took something of mine. Someone of mine. And even after Tatia, and Katerina, I would have thought you'd learned by now. This game doesn't end well for you." He paused, but when his brother appeared entirely unfazed, a sudden rage bubbled inside him. "And what did you do with her? You led her directly into a bloody torture chamber. What were you off doing that morning, anyway, dear brother? Would you care to share?"

Elijah's eyes cast to the floor. Klaus now had him in more than one sticky situation. He would no doubt continue ranting, and it would go one of two ways: Klaus would rip him apart for sleeping with Caroline, or he would rip him apart for attempting to stow away a sword of the Five. God forbid that Klaus knew both.

But Elijah practically had no choice. He had to continue bluffing.

"I had business with Leon Castillo," Elijah conceded. Then he cocked his head slightly, somewhat mocking his brother. "But he was the one who tipped you off, now wasn't he?"

In a flash Klaus stood just before him, chest puffed up in indignation.

"What were you doing with Leon Castillo?" he seethed, practically spitting in anger.

"You know, if you had undaggered our sister as I'd asked, I wouldn't have needed an excuse to skip town!" Elijah shot back, now towering over Klaus.

The deflection seemed to work, but Klaus wouldn't back down now. No, not now that he was riled up.

"You took Caroline, just to get my attention? Is that it? That's pathetic leverage, brother."

"Yes, but apparently it worked." Elijah watched the muscles in Klaus's jaw twitch as he ground his teeth together. His eyes had grown undeniably yellow, just short of having that wolfish temper.

The two most powerful vampires on earth stood, each fuming, and glared into the other's eyes with an unparalleled ferocity. If Elijah had a pulse, it would be pounding – apparently Klaus didn't know about the sword, though he'd been suspicious of something. And he was nearly certain that Klaus was still in the dark about the sex, which was good. But he couldn't let his guard down just yet.

"Why did she stay?" Klaus asked, less furious now and more genuinely confused.

His question floored Elijah. What was he supposed to say? But before he could stop himself, he dug in to his half-brother's deepest insecurity.

"Well the alternative was being with you for any great length of time," he spat. "So don't pretend to be so surprised." Knowing the delicacy of the situation, Elijah attempted to add a twinge of jealousy to his voice – Klaus, already in the mindset to believe it, lapped it up.

His expression changed.

"I see, brother," he said smugly, visibly relaxing. "Caroline Forbes is a lovely girl – bright, beautiful, smart… More than you've had in a long time." Klaus stepped closer to his brother, whose face remained stoic against the insults. "Lord knows, I see it. And I do. And you do. And yesterday, after you pulled her from that vervaine-hole of a pub, you wanted to be the hero. But it wasn't you she chose," Klaus's voice had grown almost imperceptibly soft. He was now truly hitting at a sore point in Elijah's memory; while she'd more than made up for it last night, he couldn't forget the raw rejection he'd felt when she choked on his blood in the Ace of Clubs. "She chose me, Elijah. And you got to stand back and watch it happen. So tell me, brother. How does rejection taste?"

It was clear that Klaus was hoping to instigate a fight. Elijah clenched his jaw, but otherwise said nothing.

Klaus grinned, feeling as though he'd won.

"There, there. It happens to the best of us, mate."

"She may have fed from you," Elijah said suddenly, "But at the end of the night, Niklaus, it was me that Caroline chose." He leaned in over his brother, who watched him with violent eyes. "And I think you had better remember that."

He turned and walked away, allowing those to be his final words on the matter. Granted, they hadn't been smart ones, but Niklaus wasn't always so easy to communicate with.

As Elijah grasped the handle to the door, Klaus grabbed the silver dagger from an end table nearby. Before Elijah could turn around, Klaus slammed the blade into his brother's back, his vision momentarily flashing red in a swift and piercing rage. Elijah's body went rigid, seizing from the impact, and he collapsed on the ground. As the color slowly drained from his handsome face, Elijah's eyes landed accusingly on his brother, who merely looked away.

Elijah wouldn't be getting in his way again, and he was now sure of it.

…

A few minutes later, after safely stashing Elijah's body in one of the coffins in the basement, Stefan arrived. Klaus seemed uncharacteristically chipper.

"Stefan!" he cried out in greeting. He stood in the front room, flames blazing in the fireplace, and poured a fresh glass of liquor. He raised it to the visitor. "Join me, mate, for a celebratory drink."

"'Celebratory?'" Stefan repeated, confused. "What's there to celebrate?" This wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting to get from Klaus, though apparently he was still uninformed about Caroline and Elijah's indiscretions. Or just had a really twisted way of dealing with it.

But Klaus only continued smiling merrily, and approached Stefan with a glass in hand. He handed one off and pointedly clinked his against Stefan's in an unvoiced "cheers."

"Oh, there's just one less obstacle in our way to the cure," he explained nonchalantly, though was clearly proud of himself. "And one less Mikaelson in the world, which I'm sure you appreciate. Drink up."

"Wait, what?" Stefan asked, stunned. "Did you – did you dagger Elijah?"

Klaus only grinned happily in response.

"Klaus, I was talking to him twenty minutes ago!" Stefan exclaimed, somewhat bewildered at the Original's methods in dealing with conflict. He set his alcohol down and crossed his arms. "So what now? You eliminate anyone who pisses you off? How many of us do you expect to stick around and find out?"

"That's the glory of it, Stefan," Klaus said, "From here on out, it's just you and me. The others, they don't know – they can't know everything. You and I are the only ones who can keep everything together." His smiled fell. "And we can't risk losing the cure, now can we?"

Stefan's mind was reeling. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk any of this over with Caroline, but he could imagine she'd go on a rampage when she found out what Klaus had done. If what Elijah had said was true, then the pair had been very intimate the night before. Stefan didn't think that Caroline would forget about it anytime soon.

"What are you going to do, when Caroline comes after you for this?" he asked.

"And why should she?" Klaus asked confidently. "I've simply incapacitated her kidnapper. No harm done."

"Klaus, you know that's not how she'll see it." Stefan pressed his palms to his face. It was truly incredible, the lengths that Klaus would go to for petty revenge, especially since he didn't actually view Elijah as a threat. "Look, if what Elijah told me is true, then he was the one who helped her cope with the kidnapping. Well, the other kidnapping, I mean. And as much as that sucks to hear, it just means that Caroline's going to be pretty damn pissed when she finds out you took that shoulder away."

For once, Klaus seemed to genuinely take in Stefan's advice. He nodded slowly, really chewing over his words.

"So we'll say he left town…" Klaus announced, lost in thought. "Yes, that should do it."

He walked away from the younger Salvatore, who stood, utterly baffled, and watched him go. When Klaus exited, Stefan huffed indignantly. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He couldn't believe anything that had happened in the last two days – except one small thing, one thing Klaus had said that still rang true.

There was no way that they would reach the cure if they separated. If Stefan wanted to return Elena to her proper state as the girl he fell in love with, then he'd have to just go along with the plan.

So as far as Stefan knew, Elijah had once again skipped town.

…

Whew! This was the longest chapter by far, and at this point the plot should start moving along quite nicely. But anyway, please leave me feedback – and a special thanks to Doggi-chan, who has been helping me revise the overall plot.

Thank you for reading!

Moony240