Caroline woke on Klaus' couch. The fire had died and her head felt fuzzy, the lingering damage from Bonnie's mental attack. Thoughts surged to the surface of her mind that she didn't want to think about, the hate-filled words that had passed between the once best friends. The way that Bonnie had looked at her made her shudder. Bonnie looked at her as though Caroline Forbes, the girl she knew and loved, was gone and the only thing left in her place was a monster.

Caroline wanted to huddle in a dark corner and cry. But Caroline Forbes didn't fall apart when things got tough. She'd endured torture at the hands of a pack of werewolves as well as her own father. She'd survived a countless impossible situation. She was the former Miss Mystic Falls for god's sake. She could kick ass and look great doing it. She wasn't going to let one little thing send her in a downward spiral. She was stronger than that. She was going to pick herself up, paint on a smile, and pretend that nothing in the world could tear her down.

"Good morning."

Caroline tensed, the accent was right, but the voice was wrong. It wasn't Klaus. Carolinr looked back and saw Elijah standing in the middle of the room, smoothing the sleeve of his impeccably pressed suit.

"Elijah," She breathed, her head swimming with a sudden burst of animalistic fear. Her eyes darted around the room, like a scared bunny looking for an exit, but she knew perfectly well she wouldn't make it five steps. While she knew that Klaus was by far the most dangerous of the Originals and perfectly capable of killing her, should she cross him, most of the time she wasn't afraid of him. She was smart enough to be wary, but she rarely felt as though she was in any danger of suffering his wrath. The only time she ever felt truly feared him was when he was very calm. In those moments she could see the family resemblance between him and Elijah.

Elijah scared her. Elijah was always thinking, always calm. He wasn't plagued by the same bursts of passions and powerful feelings that prevented Klaus from wanting to kill her unless absolutely necessary. Not to mention, she had the distinct impression that the brothers were at odds with one another and neither would be opposed to taking an action that would make the other one suffer.

There weren't very many opportunities to make Klaus suffer. Not now that his full hybrid potential was unlocked. He had been desperate to cure Elena for a while, but since the discovery that the sire bond could be broken the hybrids had lost their appeal. That left Klaus with one weak spot in his otherwise impenetrable armor. Caroline was quite sure that being the chink in Klaus's armor was a very precarious place to be.

Caroline swallowed her fears and put on her most composed and haughty expression. She might be afraid of the eldest Original, but she wasn't about to let him know that.

"Miss Forbes," Elijah said, "How very nice to see you again."

His gaze scanned her in a slow, studious manner. She could tell he was sizing her up, trying to determine how much Klaus cared for her and the degree to which he could use that affection to his benefit.

Caroline didn't see the point in lying with pleasant platitudes, so instead she got to the point and asked, "Where's Klaus?"

"Niklaus has gone to fetch the hunter's sword." Elijah said, "We will be leaving shortly."

"I'd better get ready, then." Caroline said as she scrambled to her feet.

Before she could take a single step toward the door, Elijah stood in front of her, his hand resting on her shoulder. It seemed like a friendly enough gestured, but Caroline got the feeling that he was showing her just how easy it would be for him to snap her neck… or rip her heart clean out of her chest, should he choose to do so.

"Actually," Ezra said, "I think we ought to have a chat."

The silent threat was perfectly clear despite the pleasing manners that conveyed it.

Caroline swallowed hard. She knew, of the Originals, Elijah was the one her friends considered the most trustworthy, but she didn't think any of them were the slightest bit trustworthy. They all had their own agendas and they would hurt anyone, including each other, in order to get what they wanted. Elijah was the worse, in her opinion, because unlike Rebekah and Kol and sometimes even Klaus, Elijah was playing a long game. The others were ruled by emotions and fits of passions that flared and then tempered. Elijah masked his plans with friendly smiles and carefully planned deals. There was no guarantee that you would even know what the eldest brother was after until his intended goal came to fruition.

"Klaus will be back soon." Caroline said, unsure whether Elijah cared about his brothers attachment to her, or if she would be any safer in his company because of the knowledge, judging by his serene smile, she very much doubted that Klaus's partiality toward her made her in any way safer with Elijah.

"Then we had best speak quickly," Elijah replied.

Caroline nodded to show that she was ready to listen, though she was still trying to determine the best way in which she could put a significant amount of distance between herself and Klaus's terrifying brother.

"Niklaus wants the cure," Elijah surmised, "he wants to use it on Elena and then destroy it so that no one can ever use it on him."

"I know," Caroline said, she didn't see any reason to play coy or dumb. She thought that would only serve to aggravate the ancient vampire.

"Personally, I don't care about the cure, or what he does with it, but it is rare for Niklaus to want something this much." His eyes flickered, and Caroline couldn't help but wonder if he was talking about the cure… or her. "To want something enough to make a deal in order to ensure he gets it."

"What does this have to do with me?" Caroline asked, she was painfully aware of his hand still resting on her shoulder. Even though it rested there as light as a butterfly, his touch felt more like a viper waiting to strike.

"You know how it feels to have my brother rip the person you love away from you." Elijah said, emphasizing the word rip in a way that made Caroline have to suppress a shudder. "I know he forced your hybrid boyfriend to leave town."

"Well, Tyler came back." Caroline says, "And he's not my boyfriend anymore."

Elijah's face twisted with what looked like satisfaction for a brief moment, before it smoothed into his usually collected expression. Caroline felt a feeling of dread, she wasn't sure what Elijah gleaned from her comment, but it appeared to be something he thought he could use.

"Regardless," Elijah said, "my brother has no consideration for the hearts of others. But I think maybe you do."

"Go on," Caroline said, pursing her lips. She didn't feel safe refusing Elijah, but she also wasn't sure what Klaus would think of her making a deal with his brother. Would he see it as a betrayal? If he did, it was his own fault, leaving her in a position to have to figure out how best to be protected from his family.

"Because of my brother, the woman I love has been on the run for over five hundred years." Elijah said, "If I reach the cure first, if you help me, I can barter for Katarina's freedom."

"Katarina, you mean Katherine?" Caroline asked, "You want me to help Katherine Pearce?"

Elijah nodded, solemnly,

"She killed me!" Caroline couldn't suppress her outburst.

"Yes, I know," Elijah said with a sympathetic nod, "but are you not better off because of it?"

"No thanks to Katherine." Caroline spat.

Elijah fell silent and pensive, obviously evaluating his next course of action.

"She has done terrible things," he admitted, "but can you say your hands are clean?"

Caroline paled at the memory of the man she killed when she first turned. The memory of the look of disgust on Bonnies face that very evening, the sting of condemnation from a person who was supposed to always be on your side, made Caroline want to cry.

"We've all done things to survive, things we are not proud of," Elijah pressed on, sensing her waver, "All I ask is that you don't condemn her to this endless torment for actions taken out of desperation."

"I don't know," Caroline said.

"Please," Elijah said, "at least think about it."

Caroline studied the eldest Original, for the first time she wondered if he wasn't quite so different from his siblings as she'd imagined. He concealed his emotions well, but she suspected that he was not as removed from them as she'd initially expected. Oddly, that soothed her fear of him. Perhaps he was calculating and dangerous, but all of the Originals were dangerous. It was just a matter of determining each of their weaknesses. Rebekah's was her insecurities. Caroline was Klaus's. And Elijah's was hope.

"Okay, I'll think about it." Caroline said, offering him just enough hope to go on.


Klaus waited patiently in the tunnels beneath the Lockwood Estate. He had found the tunnels that ran beneath Mystic Falls to be quite useful in the months since he first came to town. The system was so expansive that a person was unlikely to stumble upon something accidently. The only way to find something down there was if you already knew where to look. That, along with the protection spells he'd convinced a witch to place on several of the larger caverns, made it the ideal location for storing his more valuable possession.

Klaus drummed his fingers against the hunters' sword, which rested across his lap, with growing impatience. He had removed the dagger from his sister's chest nearly half an hour earlier. There never seemed to be a standard for how long it took his siblings to rouse after their forced slumber, but Rebekah always seemed to take the longest. Klaus couldn't help but wonder if she had some control over it. It would be very like her to prolong the wait for dramatic effect.

With a sharp intake of breath, Rebekah launched up, clutching the sides of the coffin. She looked nearly wild with rage.

"Hello Rebekah," Klaus said pleasantly.

"You bastard." She growled.

Klaus's skin prickled at the insult. He'd been called far worse, even by his family, but his parentage was a sore spot. The others never pointed out that he was only their half sibling, but they were all aware of the fact, and the knowledge barbed like a thorn in his mind.

Most of the time he didn't mind the difference, often it pleased him. His mother's adultery had made him the most unique creature on the planet. He was the one true hybrid, the werewolves he'd sired were just bastardizations of his true potential, he saw that now. He would have wiped them out, every last one, but there was one thing he valued more than his wounded pride and that was Caroline.

Caroline was honest, often to a fault, since she'd made a deal with him, he was sure she would keep her side unless he gave her an out. He had no intention of doing so. He'd meant it when he said that he'd wait for her, as long as it took, but he also realized that her friends would try to pry her from his grip at every turn. But that made the next few days crucial.

Not only did he have to get his hands on the cure, allow Stefan to use it on his precious doppelgänger so that troublesome crush he was developing on Caroline would evaporate, but Klaus needed to sway Caroline before they ever even reached Silas's tomb. By the time he had his hands on the cure he wanted to be sure that whatever came next Caroline would stay. He wanted her, not because she considered it her duty to keep her word and protect her friends, he wanted her to want him back. He wanted her and his only hope to keep her was to make her believe she was in love with him.

"Sister," Klaus said pleasantly, "There's something I need you to do for me."

Rebekah pulled herself out of the coffin and glowered at Klaus.

"Why would I ever help you?" She snarled.

"Because, if you do," He says, "I'll let you use the cure."


Please Review!