Fair warning. You will probably cry during this chapter. I know I did. So get tissues or whatever you need.

This is the point where it starts to become very dark; I hope you enjoy, whoever still reads this. And please leave a review, they make me feel good.

Caroline opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling; a familiar ache in her chest settling in for the morning. The ache seemed to be intensified, she supposed it had something to do with the betrayal from last night…or the fact that she was away from Nick.

She contemplated what she would do next and realized she just wanted to sleep some more rather than go face the load of bullshit and drama waiting for her. When the hell was she transported to a daytime soap opera? There were way too many questionable relationships and betrayals for one normal living person to deal with. All that was left out of this crazy tv show wannabe life of hers was paternity drama.

Slowly sitting up, she mulled over that one thought of hers then quickly shook her head, as if that would rid her of that stomach churning thought. Why would there be any question who the father of her baby was? She knows she never cheated so why even worry?

Laughing at herself, she climbed out of bed and started to make her bed, preparing for another day of this hell she called her life.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Elijah asked as he stared at Nick who was standing in the threshold.

"Don't tell me you're condemning me for defending our sister as well." Nick said in exasperation.

Elijah shook his head slowly, frowning slightly, "No. I'm condemning you, as you so eloquently put it, for justifying Rebecca's actions. She could've gotten you, Caroline and the baby killed." He said through gritted teeth, angered at the thought of Rebecca's betrayal and Nick's indifference to it all.

The younger brother rolled his eyes and pushed his way into the house, "It wasn't Rebecca's intention to hurt me and Caroline and it sure as hell wasn't Mason's intention to hurt Caroline. Speaking of her, is she here?"

Slamming the front door shut, Elijah turned to glare at Nick, "Oh, forgive me for my mistake, of course it wasn't Rebecca's intention to lead you into harm's way. Yet there is one tiny flaw in your logic. If Rebecca hadn't meant to hurt you nor Caroline, why didn't she warn you and Caroline? Why did she allow you two to walk right into an ambush?"

Nick scoffed, "I would hardly call it an ambush. And Rebecca didn't warn us because she was too busy worrying over the fact that Stefan's life was being threatened. Now, I'll ask again, it'd be wonderful if you answered me this time. Is Caroline here? She didn't come home last night and I'm worried."

"Ha." Elijah let out a bark of a laugh, "Now you choose to worry for her safety."

Nick's anger seemed to flare, "What is that supposed to mean?!" He yelled, alerting a certain blonde of his presence.

Caroline had decided to relax and take a hot shower; as she let the water massage her achy back, she kept thinking over what Mason had said to her the night before

about the baby being theirs. What was his logic behind that? He couldn't have been that crazy…

What really made him think that? He had to have some reason behind it. He had never shown any signs of delusions before, not that she had noticed at least. He'd always had a reason behind everything he had to her and her family so what the hell was his reason now?

She shivered a bit as she washed the place where the bruise he had left on her used to be.

Shutting the water off, she climbed out of the shower and flashbacked to the night before her wedding and to when she woke up in a different change of clothes and finding that sickly, hand shaped bruise.

As she wrapped herself in a towel, she felt bile rise in her throat; the pieces started to piece themselves together in her head. When they finished forming, the puzzle they completed made her knees buckle underneath her. Quicker than she had thought possible, she fell to her knees, the towel still wrapped around her, water droplets covering her. She began to shiver; from the realization rather than the temperature. Her head began to spin, the thoughts, possibilities and scenarios intensifying in her mind, as if they were taunting her.

Now it all made sense. It all fit. As much as she wished she wasn't, she knew she was right. As sobs began to escape her mouth, she whispered the three words that no girl should ever have to utter, "He raped me."

It explained everything; why he thinks this baby was his; why his hand had left a bruise on her waist; why she couldn't remember a thing. Had she been unconscious or was the trauma too much for her and she blocked it out? She remembers fainting, but had she awoken before morning?

So many questions and thoughts were spinning in her head, she had no idea how long she had been sitting on the ground, crying, but she was snapped out of her moment of anguish by the sound of her husband's yelling.

As quick as she could, she stood on shaky legs and dried off her body. As she dressed, she attempted to calm herself. She glanced at her reflection and cursed the fact that her nose was slightly red and her eyes were puffy. As quietly as was possible, she stepped out of the bathroom to hear what the yelling was all about.

"It means that last night, you didn't care that my daughter and my unborn grandchild were in the arms of an armed man!" Elijah yelled right back at him; no longer was he the neutral brother to Nick and the father to Caroline. His loyalty lied with Caroline and his protectiveness of her foreshadowed everything else.

Nick, hurt and angry, retaliated, "Don't you dare say I don't care! I love her and our child more than you'll ever know!"

"Well you have a hell of a way of showing it! Why push aside the fact that Rebecca betrayed you?! Why forgive her when she is the reason Mason pointed a gun at Caroline?!"

"I forgive her because she's our sister."

"And Caroline is your wife; your wife who happens to be carrying your unborn child. They need to take priority in your life."

"And they do. Caroline wasn't hurt last night and Rebecca won't do it again."

Elijah let out a breath in exasperation, "And what if she was, Nick? What if he had hurt her last night? Or what if, god forbid, he had killed her last night? Would you still forgive Rebecca? I swear, for a man so smart, you can be such an idiot. You don't even realize what could've happened, how quick it could've happened."

Nick didn't say anything, he had realized how lucky they had been but he wasn't going to treat Rebecca poorly for something that didn't happen.

Elijah, mistaking his silence for confusion, continued, "You have no idea how quick you could have lost her; last night, he could've pulled the trigger and shot Caroline right in front of you. He could've killed her right there and in one swift moment, she would've been gone. God, I wish you would realize how fragile everything is; especially her! That's why she's angry and hurt by you. You are supposed to protect her above all else; I entrusted you with that task on your wedding day. Yet, when her life was in mortal danger, you were indifferent to it and far too quick to forgive the very person who put her in harm's way. Think about it."

Nick had no idea what to say to all of that, of course he had realized how quickly he could lose her; he still had nightmares like the one he had when they were running from Michael. But he couldn't deny that Elijah was right, he had been wrong to forgive Rebecca and not blame her in the slightest.

"Now, to answer your question, she stayed here. She doesn't want to see you."

Caroline, who had overheard everything that had just transpired, walked downstairs. She glanced at Nick for the briefest moments and he noticed her eyes were slightly puffy from crying, which caused guilt to settle into his heart.

Ignoring him, she looked at Elijah, "Dad…I need to talk to you." She said, planning to tell him what she had concluded, but unwilling to say it in front of Nick.

"Caroline?" Nick said, trying to get her attention, "Sweetheart, I'm sorry…"

It took everything she had to ignore him, "I'll meet you outside in five minutes." She said to Elijah before walking out the front door.

Elijah shrugged at Nick, who had a sullen look upon his face, "You brought it on yourself." He said before following her out the door, shutting it behind him.

Nick groaned in exasperation, he knew when he wasn't wanted around so, in an effort to not disturb her anymore, he quickly left the house out the back door. He had no idea that he was the one person that she needed comfort from in this instance.

"What's the matter?" Elijah asked her, "Why were you crying? Honey, I'm sorry you heard our fight."

She sighed and shook her head, "I heard everything but that's not why I'm crying…Dad…I…I think I know what Mason meant about this baby being ours." She said, barely above a whisper.

"Okay…Care to share?" He asked cautiously.

Looking down, she felt a lump rise in her throat and sighed deeply, "You know everything right? About how he found me the night before the wedding and I passed out. You know that I woke up in bed with different clothes on and a bruise…But…" She stopped to take a breath, the tears beginning to spill down her cheeks, "How and why did I get the bruise? I mean think about it. I missed or blocked out a whole night. I woke up with a hand-shaped bruise. He thinks this baby is his…Dad…" She stopped again to catch her breath, small sobs escaping her as they both sat on the porch steps, "Daddy what if…what if he raped me? I'm praying so hard that I'm wrong and just jumping to conclusions. But…What if he did?"

Elijah felt his own heart break, seeing the pain in her eyes as she stared up at him, she was just a little girl again, scared and broken. "Dad…Am I right?"

For the first time in her life, Elijah didn't know how to react to the situation at hand. He slowly shook his head and wrapped his arms around her tenderly, he didn't say a word. She buried her head in his chest and allowed the sobs to take her over and wrack her body, his silence was deafening in her ears.

"Dad, please, please don't tell Nick. He can't know. Please." She sobbed, "Daddy, you can't tell him. No one can."

He refused to say a word, he couldn't promise a thing to her. If she had looked up to him, she would've seen the tears clouding his own eyes.

Playlist

Hey Brother – Avicii

Porcelain Heart – Barlow Girl