Previously in "I'll Still Be Here", Elijah tells Hayley about how he met her past selves.

Chapter Eighteen

Caroline hummed softly as she stepped into the shower at dawn the next day. She let the water pour down her body and hair. A few minutes later, the blonde vampire sensed that she wasn't alone anymore and looked behind her to see that Klaus had joined her. "Good morning, Nik."

Klaus chuckled at her reply. "I can't fool you for an instant, can I, love?"

"No, you can't," Caroline said. "So, I guess this means you're feeling better? You had me worried."

"I apologize for that," Klaus said. "I should never have lost my temper like that." He kissed her shoulder. "I didn't mean to make you feel useless, Caroline."

Caroline turned around in his arms and vamp sped them to the wall. "Let's not think about it anymore, okay?"

Not giving him a chance to speak, she kissed him passionately, hearing him moan against her lips as he returned it, running his hands over her as it deepened. Slippery hands – hers – guided his hard shaft between her legs and Klaus used his to hoist her thighs up until they were locked tightly around his waist before he thrust into her waiting core.

Caroline pulled away from his lips and let out a scream of pleasure, while rocking her hips against his thrusts, feeling the overwhelming heat between them. "Caroline…" he said in a hoarse voice as he thrust in and out of her.

Caroline threw her head back and screamed out in pleasure, feeling her fangs pop out and drove them into Klaus' neck, tasting his warm, sweet blood as it made contact with her tongue.

Klaus did the same and bit into her shoulder, groaning when his tongue made contact with her sweet, sweet blood. Caroline heard his groans and pulled out of his shoulder, letting out another pleasurable scream, rocking her hips against his. Klaus pulled out of her shoulder as well, thrusting in time with her rocking. There was nothing he wouldn't do for the blonde vampire in his arms, nothing. Hell, he even stopped being the monster he was before he met her. It was safe to say that Caroline helped him embrace the light that he thought was extinguished centuries ago, and he was right to choose her as his Queen.

A Few Hours Later
"That was amazing," Caroline said as she kissed Klaus' chest, ignoring the sweat that had built up on his skin.

Klaus smiled. "It was, wasn't it?" He kissed her forehead. "You were amazing as well, love."

Caroline giggled. "I don't want to take all the credit, Nik. You were just as amazing. Though, I think amazing isn't enough to describe you. I think you were…fantastic."

"Fantastic I can handle," he said with a smirk, kissing her forehead one more time.

Caroline was about to respond when they heard Elijah downstairs. "Niklaus, Caroline, something is wrong with Hayley!" he yelled.

Upon hearing that, Klaus looked at Caroline before quickly getting out of bed and dressing, Caroline following suit soon after. Once they were dressed, the couple went downstairs to find Elijah holding Hayley to him.

A worried look on her face, Caroline said, "What's the matter with her, Elijah?"

"I don't know," he replied. "One minute we were talking, the next, she starts seizing, and just before you came down here, she passed out."

Sophie came into the room just then. "Perhaps we should get her into the pool to figure out what's wrong," she said, her hands full of bowls filled with herbs.

Caroline nodded. "That's a good idea. The sooner we find out why Hayley is like this, the better.

Elijah looked at Hayley as he said, "I don't want to lose her. I've already lost so much over the centuries, and if I ever lost Hayley…"

"You won't, brother, I promise," Klaus said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We'll find out what's going on."

Elijah nodded and followed Sophie out to the pool, Klaus and Caroline following them. Once they were outside, Elijah carried the unconscious Hayley into the pool with him, Caroline and Klaus standing nearby and holding each other's hands. Sophie then closed her eyes and began to chant, reaching out to those who had gone before to seek an answer. While she wasn't sure what kind of answer she would get, she hoped it would be a positive one.

Hayley gasped when the spell was complete, clinging tightly to Elijah. "W-what happened?" she asked in a hoarse tone, her throat a bit scratched.

"Do you remember what happened, my love?" Elijah asked, holding her closer to him.

Hayley nodded. "Well, I do remember us talking on the couch, but the rest of it is a blur. I…I really don't know why it happened."

Sophie nodded as well. "Has this happened before?"

"No," Hayley said. "I'd remember if it did. I just…didn't expect it to happen while Elijah and I were discussing his interactions with my past selves." Her eyes widened. "Do you think that could've caused it?"

"It's definitely a possibility, but let's not rule that as the single reason," Sophie said.

Both Elijah and Hayley nodded before the pregnant werewolf asked, "But it could be something else, right?"

Sophie had a serious look on her face as she said, "It's the other witches. They know about the child, and that she will bring destruction. Hayley was a victim of a spell, which was why she convulsed and passed out."

Klaus growled when he heard that. "Those blasted hags! They'd stop at nothing to save their own hides, even destroy the life of an innocent child!" He clenched his free hand into a fist. "Mark my words, I'll hunt them down and kill them myself!"

"Believe me, brother; I want the same thing that you do," Elijah said. "But we can't strike just yet."

Caroline nodded, having heard what Elijah said. "He's right, Nik. We can't strike just yet. There's no telling what the witches will do if we attack. Think about it, if they could do what they did to Hayley, they might do the same to someone else, like me or even Rebekah."

"She raises a valid point," Sophie said. "The witches who did this to Hayley will go after another victim, and I doubt you want that to happen."

Back in Mystic Falls…
Adelaide Talbot knocked on the door to the Gilbert house. "You won't find anyone living there," a voice said from behind her and she whirled around to see a young man with sandy blonde hair, a young woman with dark, curly hair sporting a baby bump next to him.

Adelaide calmed herself down a bit as she looked at the young couple. "I'm sorry I jumped like that. I didn't know anyone was behind me. I was looking for a friend of mine."

The young man nodded. "And who would that be?"

"Alaric Saltzman. My name is Adelaide Talbot. We go way back." She ran a hand through her hair. "Who might you be, as long as we're making introductions?"

"I'm Matt Donovan," the young man said. "The girl with me is my girlfriend, April Young."

Adelaide nodded. "It's nice to meet you both." She looked at April's belly, smiling. "Congratulations on your blessed event."

"Thank you," April said with a smile.

Adelaide returned the younger girl's smile. "You're welcome. I hope you have a healthy baby." She sighed. "I'm just sorry that I had such horrible timing. It's a curse that I've lived with since I was in high school."

"If you want, I can take you to one of the two that he was guardian of," Matt suggested.

"Would you mind doing that?" Adelaide asked.

"Not at all," Matt replied. "Come on."

She followed him to the truck and got into the back part of the cab so that April could sit up front. April watched Adelaide get in the back. She seemed to be a nice woman, even though she hadn't known her for very long. "So, how are you enjoying Mystic Falls so far, Adelaide?"

"It's a quaint little town," Adelaide said. "Much nicer than most towns I've been to."

"What do you do for a living?" Matt asked as they drove toward the boardinghouse.

"I'm a historian," Adelaide replied. "That's actually how I met Alaric. We were working on an important project together when he left without notice, heading to Mystic Falls." She paused, glancing out the window. "I've been looking for him since, but gave up and decided to just come here to find him."

Matt nodded. "Wow, a historian; that sounds cool."

"It does, doesn't it?" Adelaide said. "I've visited lots of places and I've learned lots of things about them. Granted, many of the things aren't exactly pretty, but then again, what city or town DOESN'T have a few skeletons in their closet?"

April giggled. "That sounds even more fascinating than becoming a writer. Where all have you been?"

"I've been everywhere. Prague, Italy, Greece, Russia, all over the U.S., Japan, China, Vietnam," Adelaide replied. "That's just to name a few," she added.

Matt nodded. "Wow, that's quite a few places. I wish I could take a trip around the world. Unfortunately, I think that I'm doomed to stay here in this small town for the rest of my life."

"You're not doomed," April reminded him. "You'll see the world one day."

He smiled over at her, taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles. "I love you."

"And I love you," she replied, beaming.

Adelaide watched the couple from where she sat, smiling at them. "It's nice that you two are so close. Not many couples have that closeness."

"Yeah, we are, aren't we?" April said. "I support Matt in everything he does, and no matter how hard things get, he knows that he can count on me to be there for him."

Before Adelaide count respond, Matt came to a stop in front of the boardinghouse. "Here we are," he announced, turning the ignition off and getting out then went to help his girlfriend out.

Adelaide got out with them, walking to the front door behind the couple. When they got to the front door, Matt knocked and after a few minutes, they were greeted by Jeremy, who smiled at his friends. "Matt, April, this is a surprise. What brings you here?"

"I know, I know, we should have called first," April said. "Matt and I met someone at the Grill and we brought her to meet you. She's a friend of Alaric's." She turned around so that Jeremy could see Adelaide. "Jeremy, this is Adelaide Talbot, a historian."

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Talbot. I'm Jeremy Gilbert," Jeremy said, holding out his hand.

Adelaide smiled at Jeremy and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jeremy."

"Likewise," the boy replied. "Any friend of Ric's is a friend of ours. Have you been in town long?"

"No, I just got into town a few days ago."

"Where are you staying?" Jeremy asked.

"I was planning on staying at a hotel," she replied.

Jeremy shook his head. "Nonsense," he said. "You can stay at the Donovan house or here at the boardinghouse."

Adelaide blinked at his suggestion. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"You wouldn't be imposing," Jeremy said. "Besides, there's plenty of room. It's better than staying at some hotel."

"Well…alright," Adelaide relented.

"Good. You can go upstairs and take the loft room. It has its own bathroom," Jeremy told her.

Adelaide nodded. "Thank you, Jeremy."

"No problem," Jeremy said. "Come on, I'll take your luggage."

Adelaide smiled and followed him upstairs to the top floor, where the loft was located. She was amazed by the size of it. Although it looked plain compared to the rest of the house, she began to brainstorm ways that she could remedy that problem.

Author's Note: And here is a long awaited update for you!