Hi *Waves* sorry I'm late but I took the entire day to finish this chapter.

Responses:

Hellzz-on-Earth: No Katherine is not turning into a hybrid.

.Risk: We're glad you liked it.

AvalonTheLadyKiller: Always a joy and loved the review, you always make me smile :)

Now for the chapter.

Chapter 17: Double Cure

Elijah's eyes fluttered open sluggishly as his eyes adjust to the brightness of the room and his surroundings. He did a tiny happy dance in his mind, realizing that he had slept through the entire night.

No one was breaking anything and no more yelling was taking place and for that he let out a sigh of relief. He loved his family unconditionally but sometimes he would like to live in peace, as far away from anyone remotely blood related as possible. Maybe after all the chaos he can whisk away Katerina to Peru and they can spend a year or two in his villa.

Speaking of…

He turned to the side of the bed where Katerina usually lies but to his disappointment and slight worry because—Niklaus still lives here and he still loathes Katherine, she isn't there.

He slowly raises his tired body into a sitting position and his head slowly darted sideways to check the time. It was 5:30am in the morning. A tad early but he could at least relax a little. No one really was up at this hour and if they were, they wouldn't usually leave their respective rooms until 8am at the latest.

This means that there was a 60% chance of Katherine being alone. He moved to get up from his sitting position on the bed and looked around. He was butt naked, in all his glory and he had not a clue where his trousers were. Katherine had taken them off and flung them somewhere; his eyes were glued on her attire so it was of no fault of his that they were missing…

Ah, he spots a leg of his trousers on the floor towards the door. She didn't even bother to pick it up.

In almost no time, he makes it towards his pants and slips them on and he's closing the door to his room ever so easily before making his way downstairs.

However, when he reaches the stairs and descends, he spots thousands of curls lying gracefully on the stairs and before he can question her antics, he finds her lying on the staircase, unconscious…he doesn't see her chest rising and falling so right then he knew that was a bad sign.

He flashes towards her and she's in his arms instantly, he's cradling her like she's broken glass, calling her gently. She makes no move, no flinch, and no signs of even being alive so he raises his voice louder to call her but still she doesn't respond.

He then takes a deep breath, attempting to calm him-self down and burying the animalistic parts of him that wants to break everything in the house until he can no longer feel the way he does.

"Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah, Bonnie!" he bellows throughout the mansion.

He stands with an unconscious Katherine in his heavy arms, heart bleeding at the sight before him. Legs that weighed nothing to him were suddenly heavy and his stomach was twisting in ways even he did not know could twist…he realized that silently, he was panicking, he was terrified and so very scared…

Kol groaned and opened his eyes, begging the voice currently bellowing to the top of its lungs to shut the hell up and allow him some more sleep but alas, whoever it was that demanded him to be awake wanted to die a slow and painful death so he opened his eyes.

He came to the sight of his ceiling, and as his vision cleared, so did his hearing and what he made out to be Elijah bellowing to the top of his lungs for everyone to come downstairs. He seemed urgent from the tone of his voice…

He smirked and closed his eyes, determined to get back to sleep just to annoy Elijah even more.

"Kol, I know you're awake, get downstairs or else I will come up there and throw you downstairs by your ankles" he heard the faint but strong voice of Elijah and his smirk fell slightly and turned into a scowl; he got off the bed and went in search for appropriate clothing immediately, promising him-self that he would throw Elijah out a window if his reasons for waking him far too early was not life threatening in any way,

Meanwhile, Caroline was grateful for the fact that Elijah made no move to call her, but his efforts were futile. She had woken up to the sound of Rebekah yelling to Elijah that she's coming and he should shut up. That girl had a very loud voice because Caroline was that deep in sleep.

Her mind on her mother, Silas, Elena, Klaus, everything

She did find Elijah's tone of voice and the fact that he was yelling to be odd though. He seemed like the kind of person that would come at your door and wake you. For some reason, the change made her think that whatever it was he was calling them for was in fact important. Anything Elijah deemed important, was actually important, she always tries to remember that.

With that she rises from her bed to dress herself appropriately to head down and meet the new danger awaiting downstairs.

Klaus had a lot of things on his mind; some had to do with Caroline—most had to do with Caroline really, his children, his siblings, the current people that can possibly harm Caroline and his children if they find out about her. He's currently making Marcel to believe that she's just a pregnant woman that's a friend of Rebekah and in need of protection but Marcel was raised by him and he taught Marcel to never believe what's right in front of him.

However when he heard the sound of his brother's voice calling them all, apart from Caroline to come downstairs. It sounded oddly trembling with fear and shaken with worry and so unlike him to be shouting. He sounded so frantic and terrified and if you knew Elijah well, he was always cool, calm and collected. You could have beheaded a sorority group in front of him and he wouldn't even blink, maybe shake his head in disappointment and say a few choice words but overall, calm and collected. He does not sound calm and collected. This meant that whatever it was, it was very urgent and life threatening.

He smirked at the threat Elijah sent to Kol. It would be so like Kol to find some way to irritate Elijah by returning to sleep but we've all spent a thousand years learning each other's traits and Kol loved chaos and mischief, he revels in the annoyance of others, especially his siblings and he specializes in tricks.

Of course Kol would go back to sleep just to annoy the almighty Elijah.

Bonnie on the other hand was already up before everyone else did. Her grams woke her up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise and they both marveled at its beauty. She had never been so glad to have died and been brought back to life. It allowed her the ability to see her grandmother whenever she wished. Grams had no physical place in the land of the living anymore but if Bonnie was able to see her and talk to her as she usually do…she was perfect with it. There were not a lot of people that had this luxury but she did and she planned on cherishing every moment of it.

When she heard Elijah's calls, she too found it odd. Elijah was never one to yell.

Never

He spoke above others, firmly and with an air of authority but he never yelled. He was yelling from the top of his lungs and calling everyone, except for Caroline of course and for that she was grateful. She didn't want Caroline to stress about whatever dangers await them downstairs. Caroline has seemed frustrated sometimes, maybe it's the pregnancy, or maybe it's Klaus. He's never been…emotionally attached to Caroline since she got here and she always wondered why.

Maybe it was Caroline's decision because she can't see Klaus just giving up on her after all that time and energy and personal growth—however little it was just for some sex and twins. She knew it wasn't like that. She saw in his eyes when he didn't think anyone was watching him. He had so much longing in his eyes that you could drown in them. Like he wanted to be with her but he didn't know how.

She told her grams that hopefully she'll see her downstairs and she hurries out of her room immediately, ready to take on anything.

When they were all downstairs, Caroline was surprised to find the body of the girl gone. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that someone moved it but whom?

Maybe it was Klaus?

Elijah?

Klaus would have moved it but she wasn't stupid to believe that everyone slept through their argument last night; obviously they heard it all but chose to say nothing and just listen. Whoever moved the body she was grateful. She didn't want the reminder of what happened to stare at her. There was no blood on the carpets which was a relief but the glass that had her blood in it was empty, odd.

Klaus saw his surroundings and did not seem shocked that the body was gone, he looked intrigued that the blood from the glass was gone but she thinks that he was really looking for Elijah and the danger they all believed to exist.

"In here" they all heard his soft but tired voice call to them and they all followed it into the living room and they were all shocked to what they found.

Firstly, the most shocking part of the scene in front of them was Elijah. He looked like he was slowly dying. Physically, he looked even healthier than a horse but his facial expression spoke volumes. He looked defeated and tired. If you focused, you could see his lips trembling and his hands shaking but you could tell that nothing on this planet could pull what was in his arms from him if they tried.

Speaking of…there lay Katherine, unconscious, in a very revealing nightgown, tucked neatly in Elijah's arms. Honestly, the sight was so sad that she would have cried if it wasn't for Kol.

"You mean to tell me that I got out of bed because your plaything has a flair for the dramatics" was Kol incredulous tone of voice. Stating what he, Klaus, Rebekah and Bonnie were all more or less thinking.

Elijah didn't move but she could see his lips beginning to part "Do I need to remind you that I can place Katerina's body aside and remove myself from this seating position to remove your spinal cord?"

Then Elijah looked up and everyone almost gasped at the sight.

He looked so cold. Warmth and a sense of welcome were always in Elijah's eyes. If his words didn't win someone over then his eyes would but they were so cold and so dead that it scared them all a little bit.

"Would anyone like to explain to me what happened to Katerina?"

Rebekah grimaced "Please tell me that this was not why you called us down here" she whined.

They all knew he was looking for an explanation to what happened to her, it would be so upsetting to have to say that they don't know and it's true. They know nothing but they were not answering just because they didn't know the answer but because they were in actual fear of Elijah's wrath. It was like walking on egg shells around him.

Klaus usually gives them a warning that there will be bloodshed but not Elijah. He might as well pass them as if nothing had happen and end up missing for a couple of days. When he returns, he's fresh and new. That was scary, not knowing.

Klaus answers first because he's not really afraid of Elijah, he just didn't want to answer but the silence makes the atmosphere very uncomfortable, like in a calm silence that usually comes before the chaos and destruction. He actually cares less about the doppelganger, if she had died he would have been smiling at the moment but unfortunately and as everyone can see…she's pretty much that fate is not so kind.

"Unfortunately she's not dead Elijah, so ask her when she wakes"

Elijah merely chuckles darkly, and surprisingly, the sound of it makes everyone flinch back for a minute.

"Ah" he exhaled loudly "I know this to be true, Niklaus; but I fear something far worst has befallen her"

Kol snorts "What could be worse than the bitch version of the Petrova bloodline?"

"I can hear her heartbeat" was his reply into the dead silence of the room "She's human" he added after a pregnant pause.

To say everyone was in silence would be a total lie because they were, truly. They were all told in Mystic Falls, if not by Vaughn, the vampire hunter and one of the five then by the markings of the sword that there was only one dose of the cure and Caroline had taken that dose. It was forced upon her, that was true but it flowed in her blood seamlessly. She was the only vampire in existence to ever have the chance to becoming human after being turned against her will and now, Katherine was human, how was the question they were all asking themselves in their minds.

To Kol, he just simply didn't believe it. He was once a warlock, he was raised by his mother basically to be as open minded as possible but this, this was just impossible. Caroline had taken the one cure to vampirism and yet Katherine has a heartbeat after almost five hundred years? If it was someone Caroline had turned just suddenly becomes human he could have been open to that but this? He just believes that someone did something to her.

Klaus was conflicted. For one, he could actually care less what happened to the doppelganger truth be told but she was human now. There was a human doppelganger which meant that he could possibly try again with the hybrids. If Tyler wasn't alive, there would be no conflict, it would just simply be a matter of taking her blood and storing them, but if Tyler catches word of more hybrids, the mutt might attempt to un-sire them and only further anger him to a point of blind rage and there can be no coming back from that in regards to Caroline. She is the reason the boy and the wolf girl still lives. She is the reason he gave up on his revenge against Kol and Finn, she is the reason why Katherine is here to begin with instead of running for her life. He had reached to the conclusion that he'd do almost anything for her. He would not do anything to harm his chance, however small it is with Caroline, especially out of anger.

To Elijah however, he was horrified and a little happy for her. Yes she was human now, she might finally get the life she deserves before ever meeting his family but she's human. Her blood can now be used to turn werewolves into hybrids by his brother. He had no idea how Niklaus felt about the hybrids since he had to slaughter them all for betraying him but he will not take the chance into believing that he was done with that. The uncertainty is what terrified him. Not knowing what was going to happen to her now terrified him. Would he have to hide her? Bring his brother down, especially now that he's about to be a father? He has always stuck with his family, always and forever and he always will but he feared that it would destroy the relationship he finally has with Katerina. He chose his brother over her not once but twice and the thought of having to choose again was terrifying.

Kol was the one who spoke first but it wasn't words of comfort at all "She can't just be human out of the blue Elijah…"

He rolled his eyes slightly because yes he understood that. There was one cure and Caroline had it forced down her throat in an act to save her friend but if he listened closely again, he could hear her heartbeat as clear as day. He's learned how to mask out different heartbeats from many crowds so he knows that it's hers.

"Unless she takes the cure…" Kol added in a sarcastic tone which made Elijah want to throw his brother across the room and them run him over with a truck just for his tone of voice…this wasn't a joke.

But Kol didn't trail off for the dramatic effect. He was much smarter than that. He paused because there standing behind Elijah, staring down lovingly at Elijah was Esther, the woman who gave birth to him. He knew then and there that he had to try to stop thinking about her, that's how it works, he pushes and she pulls or else there would be no connection.

"He really loves her…" she whispered softly with a smile on her face, one that once took well to her features but now seem uncomfortable to look at "This doppelganger…she's different. She's not as innocent as Elena but not as corrupted as Tatia…she's perfect for him" he would have scoffed at how right she was with the comparisons of the doppelgangers if he didn't have a reminder in the back of his head telling him that while he can see the dead, others can't "She has stolen his heart and he has stolen hers…true love is such a sight".

He chose not to comment on that, being one who has never actually looked at them before nor has he ever experienced true love before so he had no comment on that.

"The simple facts are that she cannot take the cure if it has been forced into Caroline months ago" Elijah argued with a hint of controlled irritation before his eyes darted towards Caroline apologetically but she shrugged it off.

"I've made my peace with it" she shrugged.

No one among the living spoke after that but Esther did and she kept her eyes and that look of pride on Elijah as she did "The cure cannot be copied by magic but magic itself has loopholes" he was confused and it showed on his face which prompt Esther to explain "Caroline's pregnancy is proof of those loopholes, your ability to be both vampire and warlock is proof as well. Niklaus is a living, breathing loophole of magic. The cure cannot be copied my magic, but my blood"

He must have forgotten there were others in the room that does not see dead people but he did "What are you saying…?"

Rebekah, who had not spoken at all since her earlier comment about the reasons for her being awaken so violently was confused by Kol "Kol, who are you…" she trailed off, eyes flashed towards Bonnie for an explanation who was reluctant but spoke anyways.

"When you're brought back from the dead by magic, there are consequences to it; you tend to see dead supernatural people who have not moved on and has unfinished business with the living. My best bet would be Esther"

At the sound of the name, Elijah's face darted up at Kol to confirm and he nodded. Elijah did not trust the woman one bit but any help was welcomed and far more helpful than none at all. He kept in mind that he has to take everything she says with a grain of salt because she has lied to him once and he will not allow it again. His family is on the line and he will not take that chance.

"What is she saying?" he asked Kol who looked up behind him. He realized that Esther was standing, if she was really here, standing right behind him, and the thought of her being so close to him made him feel uncomfortable.

"Some crap about the cure being copied by blood" he replied with a scoff and Esther frowned at him in disapproval.

Everyone takes on a facial expression, clearly stating that they were all confused by those words but not surprised. Witches tend to be very vague without meaning but it was not wanted here, he didn't want to hear a vague witch that has the answers but won't say. He just needed answers.

Thankfully, Esther decides to explain "The cure was never lost when Caroline Forbes ingested it, it simply multiplied and now her blood is the cure to immortality and so is Katherine"

Then everything suddenly clicks in Kol's mind and his eyes darted to Caroline immediately, giving her the once over. He had thought that the cure couldn't copy and only one can take it but as Esther pointed out, magic has its loopholes. This is just another loophole.

"The cure still exists and if another vampire consumes it, no matter the amount, they too will be turned human" Esther continued to explain.

Immediately, Kol's eyes darted down to Katherine and his eyes flicked up at Elijah who looked as though he was about to explode if he doesn't get an answer soon.

"It seems somehow, the cure got into her system I'm afraid" Kol said softly, causing Elijah's eyes to widened only slightly and his brows crinkled together in confusion.

None of them had the chance to go into the details when suddenly Katherine sat up from her lying position with a loud and sharp intake of air as she looked around her frantically and she coughs. Her heartbeat accelerates with her breathing as she's confused as hell because the last thing she remembers if drinking some blood and heading up the stairs, then a pain in her stomach and then…she collapsed. Yet she's awake now which means that she's alive so that's a good thing.

"What's going on, why are you all looking at me like I've grown a second head?" she asked in a snide tone, eyeing everyone around her before her eyes landed to the owner of the arms wrapped securely around her.

Elijah had to smirk at her words, so did Kol and Klaus.

Kol then noticed that Esther had disappeared from his sight which was a relief to him. He didn't like relying on her for anything. She knows a lot and she as a witch for so long has experience compared to him. He has been around a lot of witches but half the times they don't want him around witch business, just to feel secure and he can somewhat understand that because witches are like one big family sometimes and they love to share among family.

He turned towards Caroline with a smirk plastered on his face because he gets to break the news to her and shock everyone…"Spill any blood lately darling?"

Caroline was confused for a moment, wondering why he would want to know that because he was having a conversation with his dead mother and wasn't letting any of them in on what she was saying, if she was really there but then again, Jeremy can see dead people so maybe Kol really can.

"Yes…but…" she was cut off by Kol, which was rude.

"She drank the blood in the glass did she?" Klaus asked with a defeated sigh and glanced at the glass currently sitting on the table in front of the chair where Elijah and Katherine were currently sitting on.

"What was wrong with the blood in the glass?" Katherine actually sounded like she was worried then.

"Well, for one you drank Caroline's blood"

Katherine's eyes darted to Caroline "Sweet" she smirked, causing Caroline to roll her eyes in response.

"Then Esther just revealed that nature's a bitch because when sweet Caroline took the cure, it wasn't gone for good" Kol added which caused Caroline to narrow her eyes at him, wanting him to go on "You are now the walking, living, breathing cure to vampirism, congrats" he even did a little clap to her.

Everyone else turned to her in shock while Katherine gaped at her in shock before finally concentrating long enough to feel her own heartbeat, thundering through her chest.

"Can anyone explain to me why I can feel my heartbeat?" she asked, even though she knew exactly why based on everyone's words around her. She wasn't stupid. They were basically telling her that because she was hungry and couldn't wait till morning, she was something she does not want to say aloud because then that would make it real and she doesn't want it to be real.

Everyone then turned to Katherine at the sound of her voice.

"Katerina…" Elijah said, causing Katherine to turn to him for answers but she could tell that she was about to have a panic attack because her heart was pounding like crazy against her chest "You're human"

She sat up in shock, more than ready to deny it when suddenly her legs failed her and she felt herself drifting into unconsciousness and before she knew it, she fell down into a sitting position in Elijah's lap unconscious.

"Katerina…Katerina" Elijah called.

"I think she just passed out" Bonnie murmured quietly but Elijah caught her words easily and nodded to him-self. He had to remind himself that humans do that when they're in shock.

"So she consumed Caroline's blood and now she's as human as Caroline is?" Elijah asked cautiously, eyeing Kol as he did who nodded.

"I guess she got hungry last night and drank from the glass rather than t he dead girl" Klaus shrugged and Caroline glared at him from her standing position behind Kol.

"Where'd the body go anyways?" Caroline inquired, genuinely curious to its whereabouts. It's not like a dead body can just get up and walk away, unless Klaus fed her his blood but even then she would not have made it out of the house. Something she learnt very early since living in this mansion, the Mikaelson's is very light sleepers.

"I disposed of the body" Elijah replied absentmindedly and dismissing the subject.

"So basically she's cured because of my blood but I'm cured as well?" she didn't mean to sound confused but magic is a bit confusing really and she thanked whatever gods that exists that she had Bonnie.

Kol was making a move to explain but Bonnie cut him off "Esther said that the cure can only be copied by blood. This is what she meant. By Katherine drinking Caroline's blood, also known as the cure, she also has the cure running in her veins" she made a pregnant pause before continuing "The cure has been copied"

Damn, he'd never been so turned on before.

Eventually Elijah took Katherine to their room and laid her down, awaiting her to regain consciousness so everyone knew that Elijah would be unavailable for a while.

Bonnie dragged Kol with her to help her find Silas, or find a way to find Silas so she can finally be done with him Kol was far too busy staring shamelessly at Bonnie's ass and in response because Caroline was not quiet about it, he gained a migraine but he still stared at it and the look on his face told her that he was very pleased.

Rebekah left, something about wanting some sort of normality to her life since this Katherine fiasco and Caroline couldn't blame her, if she wasn't pregnant she'd join Rebekah for that drink as well.

Klaus had gotten a phone call and he was the first to leave the group, it was from Marcel. She got that from Rebekah's grumbles and she smirked. It was so obvious that Rebekah liked him and judging by their history, she liked him for almost two centuries. Caroline would like to think that she's just playing hard to get but she personally thinks that Rebekah was just scared that Klaus might mess it up like the last time, or so she was told but in all fairness, if Klaus can give Elijah the chance to love then he should allow Rebekah some sort of happiness.

Caroline, on the other hand was on the phone with Elena. She usually text her occasionally and makes sure that no one else is around to raise suspicion to Elena so she was in the kitchen and knowing that Kol was occupied and Katherine was unconscious, everyone else basically understood the get out signal she usually throws at them when they enter. She called this time just to reassure Elena that it was in fact her speaking to her and she's fine and not to worry about her because she knows just as much as anyone that a worried Elena, is a dangerous Elena. She does not want Elena to come and hunt her down, find out that she's pregnant and the father is the one man she hates.

"Stefan left a couple of weeks ago for the road trip he originally planned, just me and Damon here" she heard Elena sigh into the phone and Caroline's alarm senses picked up a danger signal at the sound of Stefan' s name. She immediately reminded herself that Stefan might be locked up somewhere and it was obviously Silas.

"Oh my goodness Elena, that's not Stefan, that's Silas!" she shrieked into the phone and Elena chuckled lightly.

"Calm down Care, it's really Stefan. Silas attacked Damon looking for you for some reason and the Originals but for some reason Damon wasn't giving him anything which was weird, but anyways Silas tortured Damon until eventually he made a deal with Silas to give him Stefan in exchange for the location of Klaus and his siblings and we got Stefan back" Elena explained.

"Wait a minute, how long did you get Stefan back?" she had to ask because firstly she wanted to know how long Silas had been in New Orleans this whole time and then she wanted to know how long had Elena been lying to her. Caroline never actually asked for Stefan but if you don't tell your best friend something she needs to know then that's lying…right?

"About two or three months. Why?"

"Oh my god Elena and you didn't tell me? Where was he?" she asked or more or less screamed into the phone.

"He was trapped in a safe down in the bottom of the quarry for the entire summer Care, I feel really bad for having the summer of my life and knowing that something was wrong but ignoring it anyways"

Caroline sighed heavily and shook her head "It's not your fault Elena; you have every right to be happy. Especially after the crap you've been through in your life; you deserve some happiness and no one can blame you for that" she assured her because it's true. She had every right to be happy.

While she should have looked more into that 'bad feeling' she still had every right. They all were having the summer of their lives so Elena wouldn't be the only one at fault. While everyone was living, Bonnie had died and Stefan was trapped in a safe under water the entire time but they were all blissfully ignorant to it all so she understood what Elena felt because at times she felt it too.

"But for some reason, I feel kind of down that he left without even saying goodbye to me"

She pushed aside the fact that Silas could have been in The French Quarter this entire time without t heir knowledge "Why are you upset? I mean, sure he could have said goodbye but it's not that big of a deal. He's free to go anywhere he wishes now. He's single and nothing is tying him to Mystic Falls anymore"

It seemed that Elena was ignoring that last part and she was glad because honestly, it just slipped out of her mouth and she would have totally taken it back if she didn't ignore it.

"I know but I can miss my friend, can I?"

Of course you can miss your friend but while she's missing her friend, Stefan just probably wants to get as far away from them as possible and it was completely understandable to Caroline. She wouldn't want to be around to watch the man she loved, love someone else but Elena can miss her friend, she just doesn't believe her words. She doesn't believe that her reason for being upset was because he didn't say goodbye.

That night, after some pep talk with herself and a deep breath because just to have a conversation with him, you needed that pep talk and deep breath…sue her if she just can't control her hormones sometimes when she's around him; she opens the door, absolutely forgetting that it is not her room and she has to do the polite thing and knock before entering, she almost walked right back out but froze at the sight before her.

He was butt naked. She can see the butt and everything and she meant everything and he had a towel in his hands. She realized that he must have just finished showering and she had come at a really bad time. She turns to face the door in embarrassment and mentally coaches herself to not be aroused but it's been so long and all these pregnancy cravings are getting worst before getting better and UGH!

She can hear him chuckling from behind her, further heating up her cheeks in embarrassment "It's nothing you haven't seen before love"

Oh, how right he was.

"Um…" she stuttered "Could you like…I don't know…maybe put some clothes on?"

He chuckles again "Okay" there was a paused for a while, like a couple of seconds at most before she heard "I'm done" and she turned, only to be met with his shirtless state with the necklaces and he was smirking at her and oh, it was so devious.

"Is a shirt too much to ask?" she actually rolled her eyes at his chuckles but a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips despite trying to be serious with him because it was serious. She was hormonally unbalanced and she does not need to see a shirtless Original right now, it's bad for her hormones.

"She decides to forget about the shirt as a challenge to be able to focus on him and not the fact that he was one piece of clothing remaining from naked, again…that's if he was going commando…

Bad place Caroline, bad place!

Take a deep breath, nice; you're back.

"Listen, I had a chat with Elena today…" he cut her off.

"I know sweetheart, you all but kicked me out of the kitchen with your feet" he smirked.

She smiled and shook her head "I'm serious Klaus, I had a chat with Elena today and it turns out that Silas thought that Damon knew where you guys were so he tortured Damon for the info but he wouldn't cave which led to Silas making a deal"

Everything seemed to click for Klaus then as his playful mood turned into his serious mood and he nodded "He gave them Stefan for my location"

She nodded.

"That was months ago Klaus"

Klaus's eyes narrowed in response "Silas could have been in New Orleans, the French Quarter this whole time and we didn't know. He could have been watching us this whole time and just be waiting for the right time…"

"Not to dangle another potential treat in your face and put you in a mood for the remainder of the night but the reason the witches held Hayley hostage was because Marcel was in power and they wanted you to take him down. Marcel is still technically in power which means that not only might we have Silas and Marcel to deal with but the witches as well, right?" she honestly didn't mean to upset him but it had been a thought of hers ever since she finished showering.

She kept wondering why the witches would really let Hayley go. She was not necessary complaining but it seemed a bit odd of them to do. She didn't want to overlook them, she wants to keep her children safe and sound and overlooking dangerous witches hell bent on taking back control of a city Klaus wants to claim back as his own is not a good thing at all.

"I'll look into it but you shouldn't be worrying about these things Caroline, you should be resting and eating and staying healthy…" she cut him off.

"I am staying healthy but staying healthy is boring and I think too much"

He smirked at that, knowing just how right she was "That you do"

They stand there for a while, in total silence. It wasn't the comfortable silence; it was the silence that made you want to flee the room ASAP. Like the room itself was trying to choke you to death and if you don't leave then you'll die from the lost of oxygen so she turned around to leave the room when suddenly, Klaus was in front of her. She took a step back immediately, a little startled by his quick movement.

"Caroline, I'm sorry about that night…" she cut him off right there because honestly, she was tired of hearing him apologize as if he had dreamt the dream, purposely jumped in the dream and did all those things…however good they felt…it was wrong and it was not his fault alone but both of their faults and they should both take the blame, not just he.

"Klaus it was not completely your fault, I was an accomplice in that as well. We're both at fault. We should just forget about it" she then tries to move past him but he puts his hand out to stop her and she looks up at him in confusion. He merely raises said hand to her cheek to graze it in response and although she relished in the tingly feeling she received from his touch, something in her wasn't allowing her to accept it.

"I can't" she whispers harshly.

Klaus seemed confused about her words so she also saw it fit to explain.

"Klaus, I can't even look at you like that without seeing you and Hayley together" she lied, his earlier show of skin confirmed it; she can think about him and not add that were-slut in the picture.

He's so visibly taken aback by her words that it gives him a couple of seconds to allow the words to soak in.

"Hayley and Tyler are gone" was his weak attempt to counter her words but apparently it wasn't enough.

"It doesn't matter; if it was any girl on the planet, honestly, I wouldn't have cared. You have lived for a thousand years, I don't expect you to wait till I grow up or something and I most certainly did not expect you to stay celibate but this is Hayley. The girl that tricked Tyler into being her friend, the girl that tricked us into claiming that she wanted to free the hybrids only so that she can have you slaughter them, that girl also snapped my neck and that did hurt like hell. Then you kept it from me like it was suppose to be some big secret. I thought these things didn't bother me since she left but it still does"

He tries to get some words in but she cut him off.

"To top it all off, she plotted with Sophie or Jane Anne or whatever against all of you and I know you've made it very clear that you hate Hayley just as much if not more than I do and I know I sound like Elena right now but I just need to get over it and I need time" she was more shocked at herself for her ability to lie as good as she did. She always thought she was a bad liar but now she proved to be as persuasive as she can be if determined.

NO she didn't tell him that she believes that he's just keeping her here out of obligation for the children growing inside of her. She'd rather not know the answer to that right now. She knows it will truly crush her if her doubts were proven to be true.

She watched as his eyes stared right at her with a hard look. She saw him nod at her and moved his hand, almost in defeat and she rushed out of there as quickly as she could.

After that speech she just gave him in regards to their relationship, he had never hated someone as much as he hated Hayley right at this moment.

So, whatcha think?

Reviews?