A/N: There were some people who guessed right on substance, so good for you (and thank you to Wifey for helping me brainstorm it in the first place). I posted the song Kol sings from Little Shop on my tumblr (which is called "Dentist"), but listening to it is not necessary to enjoy this fic (still hilarious, though). My url is "thetourguidebarbie"
I really hope you like this chapter :)
Thank you to Sophie, D, and Wifey for beta things.
-Angie

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing has changed in the last two minutes. I told you that I would inform you if anything did. The more you bother me, the less energy I have to investigate," Priscilla said patiently.

"Fine," he said, sinking down on the armchair next to the bed.

"Klaus, just breathe. It'll be okay," Caroline said quietly, hissing in pain as she moved.

"Well, whatever it was wasn't a spell."

"Of course it wasn't, it was injected," Klaus snapped.

"By a witch. It could have been a spell. Why did this happen, anyway?"

"I visited her shop to research the link," Caroline said slowly, her voice raspy and pained. "She said she doesn't help vampires."

"Oh, she's one of those self-righteous cows," Priscilla muttered scornfully. "Well, I have a theory. Have you tasted Caroline's blood?"

"No. Why?"

"Caroline, I'm going to need some blood from you."

"No," Klaus said immediately. "She's too weak."

"Feed her first then. It'll only be a little."

Klaus scowled but pulled Caroline to him, obligingly letting her sink her fangs into his wrist until she looked slightly normal, and then Caroline held out her hand. Priscilla sliced it and collected some blood in a cup, handing it to Klaus. "Don't drink it. Just touch it."

He raised an eyebrow but pushed his finger in before feeling a stab of pain in his finger. He withdrew it quickly, sending Priscilla a filthy look.

Kol entered the hotel room, Bonnie and Katherine on his heels, and seemed to recognize Priscilla as a witch. "What's going on?"

"I think she was injected with some sort of long-acting vervain."

"No. Vervain would have made her weak, but our blood would have helped heal her. It's potent," Kol said distractedly, his eyes fixed on Caroline, whose eyes were becoming glassy again. "She's probably had a body's worth of Original blood between Nik and me."

"We brought more blood bags, by the way," Bonnie said, dropping the cooler next to the bed.

"Come here, sweetheart. Drink."

Caroline nodded sluggishly and attached her lips back to Klaus's wrist. They'd tried blood bags, but she hadn't been able to keep it down, so Klaus chugged two as soon as Caroline let go so that he could heal.

"My guess is that it had white oak ash in it," Priscilla said.

"That would make sense," Kol said.

Klaus froze before crumpling the blood bag and throwing it across the room with enough force to crack the wall slightly. "Fix it," he ordered.

"I'm not sure what we can do besides bleeding her out completely and then letting her drink."

"Bleeding her out completely is not an option."

"Do it," Caroline interrupted, her voice slightly cracked.

"What?"

"Do it," she repeated. "I need to get better. I have the last tech rehearsal in three hours."

"You're joking, right?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he could feel her anger thrum through his body. "No. I'm not joking. I have spent two months perfecting this Brooklyn accent and if I spent that time doing it for nothing I am going to be very, very angry."

"All right, sweetheart," he mumbled, trying to ignore Priscilla's obvious amusement, and Kol's sarcastic mutter of 'Yes, dear'.

Klaus fidgeted for the next ten minutes as Caroline's skin grew gradually more grey, and the closer she got to desiccating the more he could feel the fear building within him. She stopped blinking at all after eleven minutes and twenty-three seconds, and he could hear her already slow heartbeat stop completely after thirteen minutes and two seconds.

Priscilla had backed up, knowing that Caroline would try to attack her if she could smell her, and told Klaus to check for a pulse.

He felt ice grip his heart when he couldn't find one.

"You can feed her now," Priscilla said.

Klaus already had his wrist to his mate's mouth before the witch had finished talking.

Slowly Caroline returned to consciousness, and when she opened her eyes, there was a collective sigh of relief that echoed around the room.

Priscilla bid them goodbye, muttering to herself about how they could have figured it out on their own, and had it really been necessary to fly her out at two in the morning for only seven hours, and Klaus ordered Katherine to drive the witch to the airport.

"I'm not one of your hybrids," she spat, her nose wrinkled.

"If you were, you'd be a lot more pleasant."

"Whatever."

"We're just going to stay for a few minutes to make sure you're safe, sweetheart," Klaus said as the door slammed behind Katherine, trying to not make it sound like a demand.

"I'm always safe with you," she said, slurring her words slightly, making Klaus smile softly.

"She'll need some sleep, I think," Kol said as Caroline's eyes shut.

Caroline had already drifted off, and Klaus moved to pick her up.

"Is it safe for her to fly?" Bonnie asked.

"Should be," Kol said. "Let's get her to the airport. Rehearsal starts in two hours and forty-five minutes, and she'll make us all wish we'd been staked if she misses even a moment."

"I don't understand why; she's practically memorized the entire production, even the parts she's not in."

"You're the one that mated yourself to her. And made me join the theatre department," Kol reminded him, a bit more anger in his voice than was usual for him.

He'd ask Caroline for advice for repairing his rift with Kol later. After she was healthy.

He brushed a finger across her cheek, and expected to hear a snigger from his brother, but when he looked up he saw Kol with Bonnie in his arms. "It's all right, darling. She's going to be fine."

"I know," Bonnie whispered. "Thank you for helping her."

"She's my friend too," Kol reminded her gently.

"I know. But still, she's all I have left."

"You have me."

XXX

"So, we figured out how to body jump you," Caroline said quietly, sinking down on the couch next to Katherine, still tired, especially after rehearsal that day. "Well, Bonnie did. We're thinking we'll do it right after finals."

Caroline and Katherine had grown incredibly close in the last three months, probably having more to do with the shared agony of living with Kol than anything else, and Caroline had spent quite a lot of it trying to figure out why she didn't feel even one bit guilty.

She'd like to say that it was because she always knew that they'd get Elena back, but she wasn't quite sure she could make herself believe it.

Katherine looked ready to bolt any second, and Caroline, quite honestly, didn't blame her. Bee, apparently completely oblivious to the tension in the room, wriggled in between the girls, and Caroline scratched her affectionately behind the ears.

"Whose body are you putting me in?" Katherine asked, her voice smooth and unwavering.

"We're not body jumping you," Caroline said, and Katherine turned and stared Caroline down.

"What do you mean?"

"Elena never wanted to be a vampire," Caroline said quietly.

"Oh, I see how it is," Katherine said, smirking, all of a sudden looking much more comfortable. "Well, aren't you and Bon-bon quite the planners? So, tell me Caroline, what poor human soul are you expelling from their body to give Elena Gilbert a second chance at a perfect human life?"

XXX

"So, remember; no death."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Yes, love, I heard you the first ten times."

"No killing Steve, no killing Kol, no killing. None."

"That makes eleven."

"Klaus!"

"I promise I won't kill your fellow actors, all right?"

"Or the director."

"Or the director," he agreed, turning into a parking spot.

"Speaking of, said director is convinced that you're not...very nice, so please don't be a dick to small children or trip little old ladies or anything."

He raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching. "Beg pardon?"

"Just don't give people, you know, the serial killer look."

"The what, sweetheart?"

"The look you do when you're super angry where your eyes flash and you bare your teeth like a crazy person?"

"I will attempt to restrain myself from scaring the general populace."

"Great!" Caroline said cheerfully, getting out of the car and kissing him on the cheek. "So, reminder, my mom's here, and I need you to behave."

She nearly laughed at the look on Klaus's face. She never would have described him as awkward, and he usually had a way of looking comfortable almost everywhere he went, no matter what the situation, but he was certainly awkward and uncomfortable right now.

"That's not a reminder. I don't recall you telling me."

"I'm sorry, Klaus, I thought you knew. 'Cause, you know, I'm in a musical, and my mom only lives forty-five minutes away. Of course she's coming."

"Does she know?" he asked slowly.

"That I'm in a musical? Yes," she said teasingly.

He gave her an exasperated look. "No, about you being my mate."

It was Caroline's turn to be awkward, and she crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "She knows that we're seeing each other, but nothing else. Baby steps, Klaus."

He didn't appear to agree with her from the way his lip curled, but he nodded.

"It starts in two hours, so you can hang out in the lobby or go get coffee or whatever," she said, ignoring the way his face twisted into a scowl at the mention of coffee.

"All right then, love. Break a leg."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek again. "Thanks. See you soon."

XXX

He was sitting at the end of the row, the Bennett witch and Caroline's mother in the seats next to him, talking about the Mystic Falls gossip that Bonnie had missed. Liz had given him a cool look when she'd seen him, simply nodding and walking past him to sit, and he hadn't pressed for an interaction, knowing that Caroline would most likely orchestrate some sort of mandatory social activity afterwards.

He idly flipped through the program, tracing Caroline's name where it was listed next to her part. He saw the other two guests that had been invited edge in right before the lights dimmed, the whispers overtaking the theatre going quiet, and he was soon focused on the play. Musical. Whatever.

Caroline was as perfect as he'd expected, but what really surprised him was Kol.

Admittedly Kol's part, a sadistic dentist who beats his girlfriend, could more or less be considered typecasting, but his brother was...good.

He'd always known that Kol could sing, and his brother, like him, had always had a penchant for dramatics and putting on a show wherever he went. However, Kol seemed to genuinely be having fun and seemed committed to the part.

He couldn't take his eyes off his brother whenever he was on-stage, and Caroline for the rest of it, finding himself bored whenever one of them wasn't on stage (though he did appreciate the irony of the blood-drinking talking plant). When the show was over, he clapped and stood up with everyone else as the cast took their bows.

Kol gave the audience one of his trademark smirks and a wink as he bowed before Caroline came on. She was beaming, a radiant smile stretched across her face as she bowed with the boy who played her love interest that he wasn't allowed to kill (Steve?). There were some shouts as the cast bowed together before there was a general exodus to the lobby of the theatre.

A few minutes later, the cast came out, still in costume, and Klaus immediately walked to Caroline, giving her a quick kiss and complimenting her before turning to Kol as Caroline left to greet her mother.

"You were good."

"Thank you, Nik," Kol said stiffly.

"I'm serious," Klaus said.

"Is this your version of trying, Nik? Complimenting me on my performance in a silly play that you made me perform in?"

"No, it's not," Klaus said coldly. "I'm telling you that you were good because you were, Kol, not out of some misplaced assumption that you'll forgive me because of it."

"Bullshit," Kol muttered, turning away slightly and nodding to a girl who wished him a good job as she passed.

Klaus struggled to keep his temper, and he knew that Caroline must have felt it because she looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Kol, you don't have to believe me, but as I said, I think you did quite well."

"He really did," Rebekah said from behind him, pushing past and pulling Kol into a hug.

Kol looked slightly taken aback (they weren't really a hugging sort-of family), but hesitantly patted her twice on the back before pushing her away. "Thanks Bekah."

"Though I could have done without the gyration of your hips during the song. Was that necessary?"

"Director said to, so yes," Kol said, giving Rebekah a cheeky grin.

"You were amusing," Elijah said stiffly, nodding to Kol.

"'Course I was, 'Lijah. I'm the fun brother."

Klaus tuned out the rest of his siblings' conversation as he felt Caroline's tug of annoyance, and he turned to see her frowning as Liz spoke.

He closed his eyes to tune into the conversation.

"Why can't you be happy for me?" Caroline asked exasperatedly.

"Klaus isn't a good person."

"Seriously, Mom? No one in Mystic Falls is a good person. I'm not a good person."

"He tried to kill you."

"Damon tried to kill me and you like him. Bonnie tried to kill me."

Liz fell silent and pressed her lips together before speaking again. "Klaus has killed lots of people."

"Again, have you met Damon?"

"We're not talking about Damon, we're talking about Klaus."

He was about to intervene, but when he saw the set of Caroline's jaw, he realized that it might be better to let her handle it. He doubted anything he said would be very helpful.

Instead, he turned back to his siblings, registering that Rebekah was speaking enthusiastically to Elijah about some architectural aspects of the old theatre, and he was nodding politely, a small, indulgent smile on his face at Rebekah's excitement, and Kol was talking to a girl.

"You were really good," she was saying. "I really liked your song, especially."

"Thank you," Kol said, grinning at her.

Klaus rolled his eyes. His brother had always been an insatiable flirt, and everyone (including Kol) had unanimously agreed that it would get him into trouble at some point, which admittedly it had a few times.

"My name is Anne," the girl said, still with the same sweet smile.

"Kol."

"That's an interesting name."

"Thank you. It's from Old Norse, actually. Family tradition."

"That's so cool," she said, leaning towards him slightly.

Klaus rolled his eyes, and then suppressed a smile as the Bennett witch strode past him towards Kol. "Hey," she said affectionately, standing on her toes to press a soft kiss against Kol's lips. "You were great."

Anne gave Kol an irritated look and excused herself, rolling her eyes as she walked away.

"Thank you, darling," Kol said, giving her a smug smile. "Is that what I have to do to make you acknowledge me in public? Have a pretty girl say nice things?"

"I was going to already," Bonnie said easily, shrugging. "Just had to point Katherine in Elijah's direction. She didn't know he was coming."

"Neither did I, to be honest."

"I know. Klaus invited them. He thought you'd want them here."

Klaus looked away, pretending not to notice Kol's incredulous look in his direction. "So, you mean that Caroline reminded him?"

"No. Are you kidding me? I think Caroline would rather down a shot of vervain water than voluntarily invite Rebekah anywhere near her for fun."

Kol snorted. "Our sister tends to have that effect on people, I suppose."

Klaus couldn't help but agree.

He kept an eye on Caroline as she talked to her mother, and went over when it seemed the conversation was slowing down, and Caroline's hand naturally gravitated towards his, linking their fingers together. Liz nodded stiffly to him and left before he or Caroline could speak.

"Sorry. She'll get used to it," Caroline mumbled long-sufferingly, squeezing his hand.

"I know. It's fine, love. Don't apologize. I haven't exactly done much to endear myself to her."

"Not really, no," Caroline admitted, before sighing. "We should head home. I told Kol to keep out for the night, and from the way Katherine looked at Elijah, I'm pretty sure that they'll be out, but I don't want to know what they'll be doing. And Rebekah–"

"Will stay as far away as possible for fear of ruining my virgin ears."

"That is the biggest lie I've ever heard, Bekah," Kol said, coming up behind her.

"Rude."

"It's nice to see you, Rebekah," Caroline said, and Rebekah returned her saccharine smile with one of her own.

"Thank you, Caroline. You as well. Your production was quite good considering the inexperienced cast, and I love the theatre. Very quaint."

"Good to see you didn't forget your bitch pill this morning."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Rebekah asked, pursing her lips.

Klaus restrained a sigh, wondering what on earth he'd done to deserve this fate for eternity. Caroline seemed to sense his train of thought, because she moved just slightly closer to him, letting him drape an arm around her waist. He subtly inhaled her scent and felt the warmth and light radiating from her, and it reminded him why this fate for eternity was really quite a lovely thing.

XXX

"Klaus?"

Caroline stuck her head into their bedroom from the bathroom, her hair half-curled. They'd received the last of the ritual materials the week before, which had been safely stored in their closet. It was the night of the ritual, and Caroline was getting cold feet.

"Yes, love?"

"Are you sure that this'll work?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

"But what if it doesn't? What if I die?"

"You won't."

"But what if I do?"

"Caroline, love, stop working yourself up. It will be fine, I promise."

"How do you know? Have you done it before?" she asked, her tone pointed and a bit sarcastic.

"No," he said slowly, his voice reassuring. "But the magic seems theoretically sound, and I have a back-up plan."

"Of course you do," Caroline muttered, winding another lock of hair around the barrel of the curler.

Klaus sighed and walked to her, gently prying the curler out of her hand and turning it off, setting it on the counter.

"Hey, I was using that."

"I know, love. However, you'll be lying on a forest floor in about an hour, and you'll most likely want to shower afterwards anyway."

"I know," she said, letting him pull her to him, stroking her hair. "It just...I don't know. I always feel more confident and in control if do my hair and make-up. Girl thing, I guess."

"Perhaps," he said, letting go of her and leaning against the doorway. "By all means, do what makes you feel comfortable, sweetheart. I'll have Priscilla double-check the ritual site. Will fifteen minutes be enough time?"

Caroline bit her lip and nodded.

He kissed her on the forehead, and she was struck by how domestic the action was, how intimate, and she moved to press her lips against his when he pulled away. "I trust you," she said, turning back to pick up her curler again, and she felt her chest warm with affection as she caught his brilliant smile in the mirror.

When they left exactly fifteen minutes later to drive to the ritual site, Klaus had started to get nervous as well. Caroline could feel his anxiety building on hers, and she tried to calm her breathing. "Klaus, you're making me nervous."

"Sorry, love," he said, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

"Klaus, stop."

His fingers froze. "Sorry."

They arrived about fifteen minutes before the eclipse was supposed to happen, and Priscilla guided Caroline to the center of the pentagram, giving her what she assumed was the blood elixir, cautioning her not to drink it yet.

Bonnie stood off to the side, looking on interestedly, as Kol narrated what was going on. Caroline smiled when she noticed their hands were interlocked, and Bonnie noticed her smirk and gave her an exasperated look. Kol just winked.

Klaus hovered by Priscilla, watching everything with hawk-like eyes and double checking everything Priscilla did, to her clear annoyance. Caroline was about to tell him to pull back and let the poor woman do her job when all the torches came to life around her, and she heard Priscilla chanting.

"Drink," she heard Kol yell, and Caroline downed the contents of the goblet before it fell to the ground. She barely registered that she was screaming as the acidic liquid burned through her veins, faintly seeing Klaus yelling as Kol held him back with seemingly great difficulty, shouting that whatever was going on was supposed to happen.

Spots danced in Caroline's vision, and felt her breathing stutter before her vision went black.

What felt like a split second later, her eyes flew open and she took a sharp breath as she sat up against the sheets, Klaus immediately pressing a cup of blood into her hands, which she drank.

She was overwhelmed by sound and sight, just as she was when she first turned, except it was somehow more. She felt the stronger sense of power thrum within her, and she closed her eyes again, savoring it.

"Sweetheart?"

"This feels...incredible."

She opened her eyes slowly to look at him, and became intensely aware of how blue his eyes were, the pink of his lips, the shine of his tongue as he licked them, looking at her. "Does it?"

She nodded.

"Try touching this. It's the plant we replaced vervain with in the spell."

She hesitantly reached out and brushed the pad of her finger across the stem of the plant he was holding; hissing and pulling it back when the burn coursed across her skin.

It worked.

She was an Original.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter :) What do you think about the plan for Katherine's body jump (or lack thereof)? Did you like the Kennett development? The play? Klaus's (very brief) meeting with Liz? Anything you especially want to see in the epilogue? Let me know!
Hugs!
-Angie