Response to ScarletRose: I always wonder how long it takes for you to type up these reviews because they're always absolutely epic, I just smile so much reading them!
I'm really glad you enjoyed the chapter! I normally have fun writing what I writer (otherwise I definitely wouldn't still be doing it) but there are times when I struggle with getting through certain things, however I didn't struggle with this at all. I don't really know why because you'd think writing about such a dark subject would be difficult. I think it's just natural for me to write about depressing things, which is why this story has changed so, so much since the beginning.
I can't really help myself.
I've always found the Parkers to be a really weird family. My memory's not really up to date but didn't Jo move away and change her identity? Liv and Luke seemed to not like their dad either, although that was obviously because they didn't want to merge, which I think is a pretty decent reason. Kai said his parents called him an "abomination", and I kind of feel like there must've been some kind of abuse there (whether outright like what I wrote of, or just neglect, I don't know) because you don't just casually call your child an abomination and then treat them normally. Something doesn't really give. I really liked Kai as a villain, especially after season 5 where I almost stopped watching. I am portraying him to be more sympathetic but it's, of course, up to the reader as to how they seem him. In my story he was horribly abused throughout his whole childhood, and that truly messed with his mind. Yet, people who struggle the most can also turn out to be the most compassionate and empathetic, and this is clearly not how Kai has turned out. Instead, he's seemingly lost his ability to empathize with others and rationalize things beyond what he wants them to be, and he is violent. Listen, I could go on about this forever, and how there is a big correlation between some of the worst people to ever live (eg. Charles Manson, Joseph Stalin) and childhood abuse and whatnot, but my basic idea is that childhood abuse isn't enough of an excuse to hurt others, however it is a very complicated issue.
I likely am a lot younger than you! I was lured into starting to watch the show after my friend was over at my house one time and she forced me to watch random episodes from (I think) season two where Klaus was doing that ceremony so he could be a hybrid or whatever, and I was honestly so fucking confused and just wanted to do to sleep but she wouldn't let me. It was late and I was tired, and I had no idea what the hell was going on or what the fuck my friend was excitedly muttering to me about. My curiosity had been peaked, though, so I started season one the next day. But anyway, I think I definitely had my (so to say) "shipper goggles" on while watching Stefan and Caroline play out on screen. I was (still am) completely committed to the idea of Klaus and Caroline together and simply couldn't imagine either of them with anyone else, but I do agree with a lot of what you've said. Steroline just failed to grab me in the way Klaroline did, which (among everything you've said, which is definitely right) could be due to the fact that I always found Stefan to be a bit... lackluster. I don't know why. I like him, but I just find he can be dull.
Anyways, I'm lacking time right now because I've got to churn out an assignment on Death of a Salesman (now that is a depressing play) but I always love reading your reviews and everything you think so much! I say it every time but I mean it every time. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the last! X

Response to SusieB: Hi! Thank you so much for your review! I'm happy to hear your thoughts and am glad you like the way I'm writing it.
You could be right about Steroline building up since season two. As I said, I was young when I was watching the earlier seasons and wasn't the most perceptive watcher (not like I am now) and so it could've easily gone straight through me. That was a time when Tyler and Caroline were together, and I remember I liked their relationship a lot before Klaus came along and stuffed it all up and Tyler went a bit insane (they did him so dirty, I'm still offended by the way he was just killed off). But, as I said above, once Klaus and Caroline started doing their thing I was pretty done for. I think it was the first time in my young life that I had properly started actively rooting for a couple in a non-cartoon TV show, and as a result it became completely impossible for me to see either of them with anyone else, and it still is now. However, despite that, I totally get why people like it, even if I didn't! They're both attractive and are a pretty cute couple!
Anyhoo, I hope that you enjoy this chapter! X

Is Blood Thicker?

Four thirty. The crowd in the recreation room was thinning out. Like with most patients' family members, Grams had just left. It had been nice to see her again, despite being distracted from her presence. Yet the visit was difficult to get through, there was just so much Bonnie had wanted to tell her, but couldn't. Bonnie would trust her Grams with her own life, but not with this. No, she needed to deal with it herself.

She found him on the couch, surprisingly enough, watching a movie, though his eyes seemed glazed over. And Bonnie, so suddenly she almost got whiplash, decided she wasn't scared of him anymore.

"She's pretty."

His eyes cracked and flickered to her for a split second, barely that, and then back to the blaring, technicolor screen.

A smirk twisted at his lips.

"I don't dispute, but it's a bit vain to talk of yourself that way, don't you think, Bon?"

She rolled her eyes, seeing his cockiness at her actually seeking him out. Feeling distaste swirl at the pit of her stomach, she licked her lips, hardened her stance, squared her jaw. He either had absolutely no idea why she was there and so felt arrogant enough the make sarcastic comments and ignore her watching him, or he knew exactly why she was there and just didn't care.

Bonnie stepped forward, feeling a nasty smile make its way onto her face.

"I meant the woman you were talking to today."

With a sick kind of glee that almost scared her, Bonnie watched as his face darkened. He didn't say anything, this time, but he still didn't look at her, trying for indifference.

"Who was she, Kai? I know you've never had any visitors before."

Bonnie continued, and his silence was simmering, and she knew she was getting to him.

"A friend?"

She stepped forward idly, her eyes burning into the side of his face.

"Hm? Cousin?"

She stepped into his line of sight, forcing his stare up into her own. Kai licked his lips, ground his teeth, "my sister." he said, now fully glowering, not even trying to hide his utter contempt for her in the moment.

Bonnie rose her brows, nodded her head as though she was considering the response when in reality she had already been pretty sure who the dark haired woman was. And she didn't sit, didn't move, she enjoyed standing tall over him, feeling a rush of power through her veins. "That was a pretty bad scar on her cheek," Bonnie responded, casually enough, not taking her eyes away from Kai. "Where did she happen to get that from?"

A bitter, mean grin twisted at his lips as he leaned back in his seat more, crossed his arms, and stared up at her. "I'll tell you if you tell me where you got yours from."

Dread dropped itself at the pit of her stomach and she felt the room around her sway. Bonnie looked at him with wide eyes, words piled up in her throat that she could hardly seem to get out, the only one managing to get past being a strained "what?"

"Oh I'm sorry," he said, his eyes guiltless and voice innocent, as his hand covered his mouth. "Was that supposed to be a secret?"

Bonnie steeled herself, reminded herself that he was a vacuous angry shell of a person, reminded herself that he meant nothing, reminded herself that she was better than him. He took her silence as approval to continue on talking (it wasn't).

"Well, anyways, it's not like you do a very good job at hiding it. I mean, you've obviously done as much as you could since the first day to avoid me but that doesn't mean I haven't been around, Bon Bon. I notice things, I'm an perceptive person, I've had to be," he continued, licking his lips as his arms stretched out across the back of the sofa. "You know, some people have tics. Matt clears his throat all the time, Stefan runs his hand through his hair, Caroline is constantly straightening up her clothes. You…" he let out a laugh and lifts his right hand to his chest, fingering the shirt right above his heart. "You always touch right here, often under your shirt."

His eyes flickered right to her chest, then back to her eyes, and she noticed something weird in the way he looked at her.

"Now, a normal person might just think it's ah you clutching your heart because you've been moved by whatever is happening or some sentimental garbage like that, but that's just bullshit. Maybe if it was Elena I'd believe it, but you're better than that. You almost always feel that bare skin there, so something tells me it's not your heartbeat you're seeking out to feel, no. I think it's as simple as you have a scar there."

If Bonnie wasn't so creeped out and repulsed by him she probably would've been impressed by his observation skills, but she wasn't.

"Where that scar came from? I don't know. Perhaps you've had open-heart surgery or something? But considering you've got PTSD I'd wager it has something to do with your traumatic event. Were you stabbed? Were you shot?"

He squared his jaw and grinned even wider, looking pleased with himself.

And he stared at her, and Bonnie at him, for a few very long moments. It was during those very long moments that something just clicked in Bonnie, from darkness to light, and, well, she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. And the minute he heard that laugh, Kai's face visibly dropped.

"You know, it's funny, Kai," she mused, slowly shaking her head down at him. "During our first 'encounter', you really triggered me. Because you reminded me of the the guy who murdered my father and shot me."

Kai stared up at her, his face completely unguarded and completely showing his shock at what she was saying, less because of the content of what she was speaking of, and more because of the fact that she was actually saying it. Bonnie herself didn't really know why. Maybe it was because she was determined not to let him dangle her past over her head, or maybe because she just wanted to shock him.

"I didn't really know what it was, whether it was the way you looked or the way spoke or the coldness to your eyes or just your disposition, but it reminded me of him. It reminded me of the guy who did this-"

And she pulled down her shirt to show him the scar that he had so raved on about, the hideous, raised patch of skin surrounded by the sprawling tattoo that streamed out from around it. His eyes flickered down to it for just a moment, and then back to her eyes. Kai still held himself in that lazily cocky position on the couch, but his body held none of the confidence, none of the bravado he had previously possessed.

"The guy who shot me left that small mark behind, which was nothing compared to what he did to my brain," she let go of the material, a sourly rueful smirk on her lips, "just like you did to your sister."

Kai blinked, his lips tightened, and he adjusted himself in his seat, now crossing his arms. Bonnie was surprised that someone as narcissistic as him hadn't yet interrupted her with some drivel. Perhaps Kai was, for the first time, speechless.

"But you're nothing like the guy who shot me. You failed."

Kai visibly flinched.

"And you're here, now, wrecking havoc, or at least, trying." Bonnie raised her brows, her upper lip curling up as she looked over him. "You failed at that too. Well, you did with Elena. I don't doubt you probably intend to try something like that again."

Kai was absolutely still, and Bonnie wondered why he was taking it, why he hadn't gotten up and stormed off already, or why he hadn't tried attacking her like he had tried the first day, because he could've easily overpowered her and there was no one else there. But he didn't leave, he didn't touch her, he just sat there, staring at her, and listening. It unnerved her more than anything else. She didn't let it stop her, though.

"I know your kind, Kai. You had a shitty childhood and so you think it gives you an excuse to hurt other people. Growing up in a cult must've been hard, I do concede, maybe your dad was harsh and overbearing. My dad was harsh and distant. It's hard, but I don't try and use that as an excuse to be a piece of shit." she took a breath, reined in the images of raining plaster and splattered blood and dead weight. "Let me give you a piece of advice, Kai. Don't try whatever it is you have planned, because it will fail, I'll make sure of that. "

And she quirked a brow, shrugged her shoulders, regarded him casually.

"Maybe you'll want to try, oh, I don't know, actually figuring out whatever is wrong in your head because-"

Kai shot up to his feet faster than she could even comprehend, his jaw clenched and his nostrils flaring and his hands in fists and his eyes angry and… something else, something that Bonnie couldn't quite pick out, but it was enough to make the next words catch in her throat as she stared up at him.

His chest slowly heaved and he was standing so close that she could feel his breath on her face and she felt something thrash yet tighten at the pit of her stomach. Any normal person would've ran like hell, knowing his violent history, but she didn't, maybe because she was stupid. But she didn't want to back down, didn't want to look like a coward, didn't want to hide like a scared little girl because she wasn't one anymore. It was fight or flight and for the first time in forever, she chose the former.

"You don't know a thing about me."

And he twisted around and stormed off after spitting those seven words, leaving her completely stunned.

Bonnie stood there for some moments that could've been seconds or could've been hours, trying to understand what had just happened. Because she expected him to snap at her with an insult and a snarled threat, or she expected him to laugh and act as if he had no idea what she was talking about, or she expected him to grab her by the throat and slam her against a wall because she knew people like him, she knew who Kai was.

But she didn't expect that.

It was a simple statement, "you don't know a thing about me", yet there was just something in those words, much like the something in his eyes, that didn't sit well with her for whatever reason.

And even as Valerie came in and asked her where the hell Enzo was, even as she ate her food and took her medicine, even as she shrugged off those who asked her if she was okay, even as she got into bed and stared at the ceiling, it was still there, whatever it was, sitting perfectly unwell.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"He's been very good to me."

Matt practically gawped at her. "Damon?"

She couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips. "Yeah," she nodded, looking wistfully at the little bonsai tree on his desk. "He visited me as much as he could when I was in the medical wing to keep me company, and now I've been back a couple of days he's always making sure I'm okay and have what I need, it- it's really sweet, although he can be slightly overbearing, but it's nice to know he really cares about me."

Matt didn't seem to think so, however, as although he nodded at her and shot her a grin, it fell off his face as fast as it appeared and he quickly scribbled something down on the notepad in front of him. Elena knew better than to ask what it was.

"Caroline and Bonnie of course were there a lot as well," she added, feeling a warmth in her chest as she thought of all the times they sat at her side and read her books or painted her nails or just talked to her like she was a normal human being and not some fragile thing. "Another doctor visited me a few times as well, uh… the blonde one. Doctor Malfoy? Mayfield? My-"

"-Maxfield," Matt supplied, inwardly cringing at the thought of his superior thinking it was necessary to visit his own patient.

Elena snapped her fingers and nodded. "Yes, Doctor Maxfield. He seemed friendly enough, I guess, although he asked a lot of questions about where I've been institutionalized in the past." she paused, her mind flashing back to his almost tight smile and bright wide eyes. "I know he's a psychiatrist so that's his job, but it still seemed like a lot."

Matt nodded, not writing anything down. "Was there anyone else who came to see you?"

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "Uh, yeah, Alaric did. Only a couple of times, but he's very busy with his job and everything so…" her words trailed off into nothing, thinking of the man who was like a second father to her. Half the time she didn't even know why he stuck around; Jenna had died years ago, he'd only come into her life a year or two after her parent's deaths when she was a teenager, she and Jeremy were both fully grown, and they weren't blood. And yet, he was always there, unwavering. "He came as often as he could, I know."

And Matt hummed as he noted unknown words down, then looking back up at her, lips together and eyes gentle. She stared back, knowing what his trick was, knowing he'd stay silent and watch her and wait for her to continue on. But knowing the trick didn't mean much, because she fell for it every time.

"And Jeremy only visited that one time."

Matt was quiet.

"Well, he did call, uh, once, to see how I was. Which was nice. He… he goes to college a state over so I- even though it's only an hours drive, I get that it's hard for him to come here… Even if he wanted to."

Looking at her sympathetically, Matt leaned forward. "What do you mean by, 'even if he wanted to'?"

She inhaled a thick breath. "Well, I told you what he said to me during the first visit and, well, I guess he doesn't really forgive me for… for a lot of what's happened. So he probably doesn't want to see me. But even if he did, it'd still be hard for him to come all the way out here." There was a wobble in her voice and tears stung her eyes.

Guilt piled up at the pit of her stomach every time she thought of his face. Even though so many people, Alaric and Damon and Bonnie and Caroline and Matt, had told her that it wasn't her fault, even though deep down even she knew it, nothing anyone said could stop the guilt she felt from festering inside. She had corrupted her little brother, the brother she was supposed to protect and keep safe from harm, when in reality she was the harm.

"I'm just worried that he's never going to forgive me."

"It takes time," Matt responded, his voice gentle but firm. "Healing takes time. There's nothing that you can do but continue on improving and give him time."

She reached forward and tore a tissue out from the box on his desk to wipe away the tears that spilt across her cheeks. "But," her voice was hoarse and her heart aching, "what if that's not enough? What if he never forgives me? I want a relationship with him; I want to be a sister to him, but what if we can never have that? What can I do?"

Tilting his head slightly to the side, Matt regarded her, and let out a small sigh. "It's impossible to control all things in life, especially something as delicate as other people's feelings. You've made mistakes, like all people, but you're getting better, that you can control. However, you can't force your brother to come around and want a relationship with you. If time isn't enough to let him heal and want a relationship with you, then you can't let it hold you back. You would just have to push forward."

Her earliest memory of Jeremy was when he was a baby and she only three years old. Elena had snuck into his room after her parents had laid him down for a nap. She remembered sticking her face through the bars of the crib and marveling at how small he was, how his soft lips hung open as he slept and the little gentle snores that left his mouth. She remembered the brown fuzz of his hair on his head and the blue-checkered pattern of his onesie. She remembered stretching her hand out and poking her finger through one of his fists and how tight he held onto her. She remembered staying like that until her parents came in.

The memory made her heart ache. All she wanted was to go back and take that baby and hold him and tell him how much she loved him and how she wanted to do better. But she couldn't. He wasn't that baby anymore, and going back was impossible.

"I love him so much and I don't want to just- just cut him off." The idea of not trying whatever she could to keep her hold on Jeremy was awful. "I need him in my life, he's my brother, my blood, and- and blood is thicker than water."

But Matt gave her a simple smile at this. "You know, some people argue that that proverb is a shortened version of another phrase."

But Elena's thoughts and memories were racing in her head and she could only manage a distracted "what?" at Matt's weirdly ambiguous statement.

"The original version of that phrase was supposedly 'the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'."

Elena's mind halted. She furrowed her brows, sniffed. "What does that even mean?"

"Basically, that the bonds we make with others during our struggles are stronger than simple family ties."

She didn't respond, instead, knotted her fingers together and stared at the lamp, mulling over his words, or at least, trying to, as they were largely at conflict with other values she steadfastly held.

"Elena," Matt sighed, scratching his head and shifting slightly, wincing at the loud creak his chair made, "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, that is your choice and your complete control. But family is not always absolute, and it doesn't have to just be those who have the same blood as you. Alaric seems to consider you family, even though, as you said, you don't share blood. It's great that you want to work at your relationship with your- with Jeremy, but you can't let it devastate you either. Sometimes it's okay to give up."

And it was true. It really was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hayley clutched the phone to her ear, twisting the short chord around her fingers, leaning close to the wall, her heart leaping up into her throat as she listened to him speak on the other end of the line.

"I'm doing so much better than before, Hayley. I…" his voice trailed off and she could hear him let out a thick, heavy breath. "I only wish I could help you."

She shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "I've only got a little more than three months left. I'll manage." her voice was disinterested but really the thought of spending another second in that place caused her stomach to thrash and bile to rise up her throat. He was silent on the other end. "There's nothing you can or could do, Tyler, so don't bother worrying yourself about it."

"I can't help it. Even though most of the people there were pieces of shit, they all need help and that place isn't doing anything, no matter how well intentioned Matt is. There's other stuff going on there, there's…"

Hayley rolled her eyes as Tyler went off into a tirade about how evil the Augustine Center was, but she didn't say anything. As much as she didn't like the place, and as much as she thought it was unethical and unregulated, and as much as she didn't trust anyone there, she didn't believe there was an underground network of human experimentation and trafficking being conducted there, but maybe that was because she wasn't being shoveled full of medication like Tyler was to calm down his anger. His head obviously wasn't in the right place just yet, maybe he was even bored and entertaining himself with conspiracy theories about a random psychiatric institution in Virginia was what he did for fun. She didn't really care what he thought or felt, she only hated the place because she didn't belong there, because she couldn't trust anyone there because they wouldn't trust her, because she didn't think the people working there were fully qualified for what was being done, and because there were people like Kai and Katherine getting up to insidious stuff. It made her uneasy, yet all she could do was just keep her head down and push forwards.

"I only wish that everyone could be transferred here."

"Well we can't all be trust fund babies with parents that actually care about us like you, Tyler." she retorted tartly, meaner than she had intended but she couldn't help it. There was an awkward quiet for a long moment, and then she said, "whatever. I already said don't worry about us here. Just focus on getting better."

"I wish I could do something to get the place shut down," he said, voice dismayed, and Hayley had to stop herself from slamming the phone shut in the face of another one of his rants about the center. "But my hands are tied."

She rubbed at her nose. "Yep", she said quickly, suddenly wanting out of the conversation.

Hayley could feel the hesitation on the other side of the phone, and just as she was about to bite out a "what?", he spoke; "is there anything I can do? That I… I feel guilty about managing to get out while you can't. Is there anything I can get done for you?"

Running a hand through her hair Hayley couldn't help but let out a humorless laugh as she began to respond with a "N-", however she found herself choking on the word because although Tyler could do nothing for her, there was someone else she had in mind who would need help. And at that trigger thought the words tumbled out of her lips. "My daughter Hope, she- she's only a baby, barely even a year old and she's out there," her voice cracked and tears stung her eyes. "She's out there in the foster system by herself and her father is dead and- and I can't help her. Tyler," he was dead silent on the other end, and his name was a plea. "Please find her so we can be together again once I'm finally out of here, please Tyler, there's nothing you can do for me but please, find my baby, please find her. Her name is Hope. I- I don't know if her last name will be Marshall or Kenner or both or even Webber, the name of my foster family when I gave birth to her in- in Philadelphia, or maybe it's completely different, I don't know, but please, please find her."

When she was done talking, she found a few tears had escaped and fallen down her cheeks. Hayley waited in anticipation for what seemed forever but was probably only a few seconds until Tyler said, "I will do everything I can to find her, Hayley, I promise, okay."

"Okay," her voice sounded more hoarse than she would've liked.

"Okay. I'm sorry, I have to go now, but I'll call as soon as I know anything." she nodded even though he couldn't see. "Take care Hayley, and don't do anything that may catch the attention of any higher ups or get you into Ward D, otherwise you'll never get out."

She swallowed. "Thank you," it sounded foreign in her mouth, not uncomfortable but just strange, mainly because she'd never really had anything to be thankful for before in her life.

"No, I'm sorry you're there, Hayley. I really have to go, but good luck."

The phone went dead before she would murmur out a "bye".

Slowly, Hayley hooked the phone back and let out a long breath, wiping away the tears. Although she tried to suppress it, tried to convince herself there was no point in it and that she'd only ever be disappointed in the end, some sick sort of hope blossomed in the pit of her stomach and she could feel her heart flutter in her chest at the idea of having her baby back.

"Please I just want to speak to her!"

The cry caught Hayley's attention and she glanced to the side, finding it came from Rebekah, a few phones away, who had Kol standing closely behind her, an intent look on his face while his sister looked completely bedraggled.

"Finn you have no right to-" Hayley was rooted to her spot as she stared in some sort of voyeuristic fascination at Rebekah who openly sobbed into the receiver. "Stop saying that! They must- mum must at least wonder how I- we are! She must!"

After an extended moment, Rebekah jerked the phone away from her face, stared at it for a second, and slammed it down. Oddly, Hayley felt bad for eavesdropping on the scene, but she found she could hardly move. Shrinking back against the wall, she licked the dried tears from her lips, and watched the scene, peering out from behind the partition.

Rebekah turned to Kol, who looked down at her gravely. Hayley heard her let out a shuddering breath, and straining her ears, listened as Rebekah spoke, "I miss it. Kol, I miss home. I miss my room and the food and the beach I- even though they never let me go out anywhere it was a better prison than here." Kol wrapped an arm around his sister and brought her to his chest, and Hayley could only feel her discomfort grow as she watched the strangely tender moment between the two siblings who never seemed to do anything but argue. "I miss them, mum and dad," Rebekah's voice was muffled. "Even though I hate them I miss them."

"I know, Rebekah, I know," Kol's voice was soft but heavy, and Hayley felt something knot in her stomach at the mere concept of having parents that you hate. Hayley never knew her mom and dad, but she'd painted an image of them in her head, of her mother as a maternal, gentle brunette with shoulder length hair and the kind of voice that could lull anyone to sleep, and of her father, a green-eyed approachable joker with the kind of smile that could light up a room. It was more probable that her mom had been a sixteen year old who couldn't handle the responsibility of a child, it was more probable that her dad was some frat boy who ran the minute he heard of the pregnancy, it was more probable that her parents were both heroin junkies who dropped her off in a trashcan, or maybe they were even dead.

Hayley didn't know, and she probably never would, and it was bliss and hell at the same time. Not knowing meant that they could be anyone she liked, but it also meant she missed two people she never even knew. But as Hayley watched Kol hug Rebekah as she cried over parents who had done whatever the hell they had done to her to make her hate them, she was thankful she didn't know who her parents were, or what they were, or why they gave her away, or where they were, or if they were even still alive.

Hayley wondered what Hope would think of her and her father if she never got her back. She wondered if Hope would create images of her and Jackson in her mind like Hayley did with her parents. Thinking of it made Hayley feel sick.

Kol closed his eyes and Hayley saw tears plod down his cheek, but he was silent. Feeling guiltier by the second at what she was witnessing, Hayley took the opportunity to leave the room before they could catch her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Since Caroline's relapse was only a one-time thing, she had decided that there was no point in telling anyone about it. There was no point causing unnecessary worry for a problem that she was fixing. Instead, she spent most of her time trying to forget it, because if she could do that, then it didn't really matter that it happened at all, did it?

Normally when Caroline was trying to keep her mind off something, she'd do a make over and paint her nails. However the nurses had confiscated her nail varnish because they thought she might've tried sniffing the fumes to get high, yet in the same sentence they told her she could keep the remover. Caroline often wondered where the hell they got their medical degree, but assented.

Instead, reading was helping her. Normally Caroline only interested herself in reading magazines and make-up catalogues (she may not have been able to buy anything in them but she could dream), however Bonnie recently let her borrow one of her favorite novels, 'Catch-22'. It was really fucking weird and kind of confusing and some of it went way over her head, but she was enjoying it any way. Her favorite character had to be Major Major Major Major purely because of how brilliant his name was.

She liked to read in the garden, feel the grass tickle her skin and sun kiss her face and fresh air in her lungs, all of that crap. Outside was a nice change from the subtle oppression of the institution, all the sick, sad people in there and the stuffy space and clinical everything. They had been doing renovations, on a lower floor, but she could still smell the drying paint that crashed up her nostrils and hear the hammering that thrashed at her head.

Caroline was often alone when she read. Not that she minded, of course, because being around others just distracted her, and the whole point of reading was the escapism it offered her. Or at least, that was what Matt had said when she told him she'd started reading a book.

"Insanity is contagious."

Looking up into the glare of the sun, Caroline found Klaus standing nearby. "What?" she asked him.

He sat down beside her on the grass, the crooks of his elbows rested on his knees, and nodded towards to book in her hands. "'Catch-22', it's a quote."

"Oh," she drawled, glancing down at the pages, and then back to him, her eyes squinted and a chuckle escaping her throat. "You're so pretentious, Klaus."

But Klaus didn't take any offense, and instead, while regarding her with his head titled slightly, he grinned. He paused like this for a moment, and then spoke. "You're probably right. I will only admit this to you, but I didn't have many friends in high school, I didn't… Well, I used to read a lot during that time, and I actually went through a phase where I would only speak in quotes from books. While most people were having their emo or rebel stage, I was… doing that."

And Caroline laughed loudly at this along with Klaus, knocking him with her shoulder lightly.

"Although it was only a short lived phase, because-" he cut himself off, suddenly straightening, suddenly clearing his throat, "well, that doesn't matter." And his instant change in composure took Caroline off foot, causing her to lean back and take a better look, noticing the tension in his muscles, the distance in his stare. Something heavy weighed down in her stomach because of it, but she didn't quite know why, just that she didn't feel right.

Before she could stop herself, her hand was on his shoulder and her face near his and her eyes studying him intently. "You can talk to me, if you want, Klaus, you know…"

There was a tick in his jaw, and he met her stare, half hesitant half wanting. He opened his mouth, was tentative and still uncertain, and then a moment later, just as sudden as before, he closed him mouth, looked away, and shut down. "I know," and there was a beat and he looked at her again, "you can too, Caroline."

She hummed in response, just as open to the idea as he seemingly was. Then a sudden thought struck her mind and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips, quickly slapping her hand over her mouth. But Klaus had heard it, and he gave her a look that was both inquisitive and accusing. She just shook her head. "Sorry it's just… It's a bit ridiculous, isn't it? Us telling each other we can talk to each other when we're in a place that is literally full of mental health professionals who are there for that exact purpose?"

Klaus, however, frowned and looked away, hunching his shoulders slightly as he picked at the grass. "I don't like Matt and his stupid clipboard and his bloody open-ended questions and long pauses," he muttered sullenly and Caroline let out another bark of laughter.

"Yes!" he gave her a startled glance as she slapped down on her knees. "You have no idea what he's writing down there! And his office always smells like mint, it gives me headaches!"

Throwing his hands up in the air, his expression became exasperated. "That damn humidifier! God do I detest it. I leave his office every time smelling like toothpaste."

"And the mood lighting in there makes me feel like I'm in a really, really shitty nightclub!"

"Those hideous green paintings on the wall are offensive to art! I could paint something better than those in five minutes!"

"Why are the walls so orange? It's like they were colored in with a highlighter!"

"Sitting in that chair is giving me worse back problems than when my father used to-"

Klaus' voice caught in his throat, just as abrupt as before, and he suddenly turned away from Caroline, whose face had inched dangerously close to his while they were bonding over their hate. Caroline felt as though the wind was knocked out of her chest, and felt bile burn the back of her throat. She looked at Klaus, who stared straight ahead as his fingers picked at a loose thread at the end of his sleeve, and wondered what he would've said next, although it didn't take much for her to guess the implications. And she turned away and stared ahead like him.

They sat like that for a bit, and Caroline watched as nurses walked by and other patients sat down on the grass and as birds flew across the sky. He stayed still, and she felt a certain tension between them grow, and while it wasn't like it was uncomfortable, Caroline didn't like it. Klaus could've left, he didn't, and that told her more than it didn't.

"I was fifteen when I first became bulimic."

He didn't look at her, and Caroline found it easier to not look at him, either.

"I was so stupid but I was so sick. I thought I was-" she broke off, twisted her head to the side and clicked her tongue. "I thought I was so fat and hideous, and I wanted to lose weight because I thought it… it would make me better. I wanted to lose weight quickly, and- and the binging and the purging was just… so easy."

She let out a heavy breath, watching a brown flicker launch itself into the sky.

"Of course I lost the weight but I couldn't stop. I couldn't, I couldn't, I… every time I ate, I ate as much as I could because I was so hungry, but then afterwards I felt so guilty I felt physically ill and… I'd just puke it all up." she blinked and found that her vision was becoming blurry, and she looked down at her hands and found that they were shaking. "I was so- so stupid. I wish I'd never done it but even if I could do it all over I know I'd start again because I was sick, and I still am, I still-"

His hand found hers, and he laced his fingers through hers, and he held on tight. Klaus still didn't look at her, and she appreciated it more than he probably could've known.

"I was in and out of institutions for a while but I just kept on relapsing and it- it just broke my mom every time... I couldn't- can't help it but she doesn't deserve what I put her through, she doesn't-" he squeezed her hand, and though no words left hos mouth she knew what he was trying to say. "I try to be okay, for her and- and myself, I try to be happy, because, you know, 'fake it till you make it'," she let out a humorless laugh. "What a joke… But I try, I'm trying."

Caroline said no more, she couldn't push any more words past her lips and she didn't even know if it would've been healthy for her to do so. She could only say so much at once, it was so exhausting.

Again, they sat like that for a bit, this time, though, holding hands, and Caroline wiped the tears from her face and sniffled, and normally she would've been embarrassed for crying in front of someone, but she found she wasn't, not this time.

"Mikael- my father, always said I was too soft. He had his criticisms for all my siblings, of course, Elijah was too undisciplined, Finn too morally good, Rebekah too vain, Kol too arrogant, and I was too soft and weak. He would… try what he could to get rid of these 'deficiencies' in our personalities." he clenched his jaw and his lips took a bitter turn. "Most of the time it was psychological, such as making me sleep on the floor instead of my bed to 'thicken my skin'. But there would be occasions when he'd… he'd get physical. And…I'd cry and tell him to stop, naturally, because I was a child. I- I used to be scared he'd kill me at some point."

His voice was dull Caroline clamped down on her lip to stop more tears from falling on her cheeks; it wasn't her story to cry about, and she instead resorted to to tightening her grip on his hand.

"Sometimes Rebekah would try to intervene or would get my mother and tell her that Mikael would kill me but… But Mikael would just say 'Stopp Rebekah, alt lyt øydast som er etla til det'." he let out a breath and she could see him swallow a couple of times. "Which means 'everything must be destroyed which is meant to be'… so if he killed me, it was meant to be."

That was when she saw a tear fall from his eye, but Klaus didn't even seem to realize.

"Mikael rarely laid a hand on my other siblings, never on my mother. I was the main one. I did find thankful sanctuary in boarding school in England for many years, like Finn and Kol and Rebekah, but eventually came back for high school… Soon enough I discovered that- that I'm not even his son and he killed my real father in Norway before he and my mother immigrated here, and… things made a bit more sense."

If hearing about the abuse hadn't already done it, Caroline was immensely disturbed. His voice was so cold, so numb, so devoid of emotion, and yet she could see how much it hurt him.

"Mikael's… he's not my real father but he's my only father. I think he… cares about me in his own way."

And he looked at her, his eyes showing a mix of shame and embarrassment and tentativeness, his hair glinting gold in the sunlight. Caroline nodded, filled the space between them as she shuffled close to him. She let out a breath, he still watched her, and she started, "Klaus… I'm sorr-"

"-Don't." he cut through quickly, sharply, but not unkindly. "I don't need your sorrys or your pity, Caroline, just like you don't need mine. Okay?"

And Caroline nodded again, feeling a watery smile pull at her lips. "Okay."

He must've been tense before, because she could see him visibly relax at her confirmation. They looked at each other for a moment longer, both deciding that they were okay with what they'd said, that it was enough for now, and maybe had it lasted a moment or two longer, their stares would have fallen to each others lips, and maybe something more would have happened, but it was enough for now. Caroline turned to stare ahead, the book in her lap, with its tales of insanity and war and death, completely forgotten.

In the next second, barely thinking, she rested her head on Klaus' shoulder, but he didn't tense, didn't stiffen, didn't run, and instead, he just rested his head upon hers, and it was enough.

Man, that Caroline section went through half a dozen re-writes... I just couldn't get it right. So I moved on, wrote the Hayley bit in a day and a half, then went back to the Caroline section and got it just the way I wanted in a day. Writing really can be a pain in the ass when you know what you want but just can't seem to get it that way.

Also, to any people who know Norwegian I'm terribly sorry if I butchered it or the translation for that phrase was a bit off. I did as much research as I could and stayed as far away from the heinous service that is Google translate as possible.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment if you have the time! And because the next chapter probably won't be out before the New Year, happy holidays to everyone! Thank you for reading! X

Next Chapter (so far) - You see Katherine's point of view during a group therapy session, and Stefan has an interesting time in the shower.