A/N: Time for the answers to a very important question!

I was trapped in my own head, seeing things that weren't really there and hearing voices. I felt like I was floating, somewhere between earth and a burning pit of fire. My skin felt tight, trapping me. I wanted to claw myself free. At times I thought I felt hands on my skin but I wasn't sure if they were real, if they were mine or someone else's.

It seemed to fade and I opened my eyes. I was in the house in Mystic Falls, in my bed. It looked just like I'd remembered but something seemed… off kilter. The light filtering in through the window was a little too bright. A vase of flowers sat on the window ledge, the petals a deep reddish purple, almost black in the right light. I sat up. I was dressed in a white nightdress and my stomach was flat. I ran my hands over my body, frowning. I'd grown accustomed to the gentle swell of it, that seeing myself without it felt unnatural. I got out of the bed and crept down the stairs. I wasn't sure why I was moving quietly but the house felt strange to me, unwelcoming. I felt like an intruder.

I came into the living room. Klaus was sitting by the fire, sketching. He looked up as I entered and smiled.

"Hello love. Did you sleep well?"

"I…" I felt confused. Our voices seemed to echo slightly around the space as though it was larger than it actually was.

"Are you okay love? You seem a little out of it?"

"I feel weird…" He frowned, concerned, and patted the space beside him. I sat down, looking around. "Where is everyone?"

"Who do you mean?"

"Kol… Elijah…"

"They're gone love, remember? They've been gone for a long time." I bit my lip.

"The twins…?" My hands automatically caressed my stomach.

"They're in the garden." He smiled. "Wreaking havoc I'm sure."

I frowned, my confusion growing. Klaus put down his sketchpad and helped me to my feet. He guided me out to the garden and we stood on the patio. He wrapped an arm around me and pointed across the grass. Two children were running around. As we watched, they turned to look at us. One was a little girl, with dark hair and dark eyes. The other was a young boy, who looked like a small version of Klaus.

"Mama!" They ran over to us. The little boy threw out his arms and wrapped them around me. I picked him up, still feeling that strange sense of something being wrong. The little boy nuzzled against me.

"Our perfect little family," said Klaus. He kissed my cheek. I looked at the little girl on the ground and felt the weight of the boy in my arms.

"No… this isn't right." Klaus' arms around me felt too tight, the air too warm and the light seemed even brighter. I felt a sharp pain in my throat and I looked down. The little boy looked up at me, my blood staining his lips. He smiled, revealing sharp hybrid fangs, his eyes turning yellow.

I screamed.

I woke up screaming. I was in a bed in an unfamiliar room. A chain was fastened around my ankle, attaching me to the bed. My hands immediately flew to my stomach and I let out a sigh of relief as I felt the comforting presence of my pregnant form.

"Hello? Anyone there?" I called out. The door opened and Klaus came in.

"Oh good, you're awake."

"Klaus. Why am I not surprised? You really need to get a new hobbie."

"Only I could be this diabolic love,"

"True. Would you care to explain why I am chained up in a bed that I really hope isn't yours?"

"It's not. And you're chained up because you were thrashing around and screaming and I was worried you'd hurt yourself"

"Oh, so now you're concerned about my wellbeing but when you were chasing me through the woods, knocking me to the floor multiple times and taking chunks out of my arm, that was all fine."

"In my defence, you stuck your arm in my mouth. It's hard not to bite something when it is forced into your mouth."

"No excuse for the other stuff though."

"I maintain that it was justified. If you hadn't run, I wouldn't have needed to hunt you."

"I was fleeing from a wild animal who killed my friend and who was eating a hole in a door to get to me. That's a perfectly natural response."

"Maybe I wouldn't have had to do those things if you'd just come with me when I asked you to. Or if you'd told me you were pregnant."

"I. Was. In. A. COMA. When I woke up, I had no idea what was going on and I couldn't reach any of you guys! I didn't know where you were, what you were doing. I didn't even know if you were alive or if Mikael had killed you!" I glared at him. "And to be honest, I was a little preoccupied with trying to regain my life and working out what the hell I was supposed to do upon waking up after months and suddenly being pregnant. Hunting down your immortal ass after you clearly couldn't be bothered to spend five minutes looking for me wasn't really a priority!" I slumped back on my pillows. "Why do you do this to me Klaus? Do you get off on me being miserable?"

"Of course not."

"Then why? Every time I'm even starting to feel remotely happy, every time things start to feel… good again, you swoop in like a dementor and suck away all the joy."

"I know I'm not a good man Elena. I'm jealous and angry. I embrace that. I won't lose you to my brothers, I won't give up what is rightfully mine."

"People aren't toys you can play with Klaus. And I will die before I let you use me or MY children." He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock at the door. It opened and a girl came in carrying a tray of food. It took me a minute to recognize her. She'd be working at the store, with the dark haired witch. The one who had been helping Marcel. I frowned.

"I heard shouting so I assumed she was awake?" the girl said softly. "I brought some food."

"Thank you," Klaus said stiffly.

"I was also instructed to examine her and ensure that there are no lasting side effects from the wolf venom in her system." She looked at Klaus pointedly. He raised an eyebrow. "Klaus, would you mind?"

"Why do I have to leave?"

"Because no woman wants a man, particularly one she clearly doesn't like, around when she's in a position of vulnerability. Please wait outside." Klaus scowled but reluctantly got to his feet and exited the room. The girl turned back to me and gave me a small, friendly smile.

"Thank you."

"It's alright." She perched on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?"

"Shitty. But that's less to do with the werewolf bite and more to do with being chained to a guy's bed." I rattled my chain. She made a face.

"I asked him not to do that. I'll look into getting that taken off."

"Thanks…" I hesitated. "Surely if I reacted this badly to the wolf venom, it proves that the children can't be Klaus'? His kids wouldn't react to it would they?"

"That's true. However, it appears that only one of your children reacted to the venom."

"So… one of them is Klaus'? How is that possible?"

"It's rare but it happens. It's all a matter of timing. But actually, we performed a spell to determine the paternity and it appears that…" She bit her lip as if trying to work out how to tell me something difficult. "Your children don't match up to one father."

"You said."

"Or two. They match up with three fathers."

"What."

"Have you ever heard of a Chimera?"

"No… is that some other mythical creature that wants to kill me?"

"No. Well, yes it is a mythical creature but not in this respect. A chimera is when a single organism is formed of multiple zygotes. It usually happens with twins, two are conceived but they merge in utero. With yours it appears that you separately conceived three children by three different fathers and two merged into one."

"This sounds like science fiction mumbo jumbo."

"Unfortunately not. It's really rare but it does exist."

"So I'm pregnant with two children by three fathers? Am I getting this right?"

"Yes. It's called Heteropaternal Superfecundation."

"Bloody hell." I stared into space, coming to terms with what she'd said. "This is crazy." I paused. "Does Klaus know? That potentially he's only father to… half a child?"

"I tried to explain it to him but he still believes that he has a claim to the children."

"Jeeze, if every guy I've slept with decides they have a claim to my children I'm screwed."

The girl smiled slightly and got up.

"I should get back to work." She paused. "Elena?"

"Yes?"

"I know that you're probably very distressed but… please don't be too angry at Klaus. Not all of this is his fault." I frowned. Why did she care? Was she sleeping with him? Probably… not that I cared.

She reached over and took my hand. I felt something cool and round in her palm.

"Not every decision is easy. Some are hard and painful… but that doesn't make them bad decisions." She locked her eyes with me and I got the feeling she was trying to warn me of something without saying it. She let go of my hand, leaving the object behind. I slipped it under the bed covers. "We all have to do things we don't want to in order to spare the ones we love."

She left the room. I didn't have time to investigate the object before Klaus returned. He sat on the bed and reached over, unfastening the chain around my ankle.

"I appreciate that this isn't the best situation. But this is only temporary. Soon we'll be able to move away, settle down somewhere else."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you Klaus. I was happy with your brothers!"

"I'm offering you an olive branch here love. You'd be wise to accept it." I glared at him, summoning all my disgust and spat at him. He wiped his face and got to his feet, regarding me with a face of stone. I could sense his anger bubbling up but for once it seemed he was keeping it in check. His hand darted out fast as a striking snake and slapped me hard across the cheek. Before I had time to react, his hand had wrapped around my throat and lifted me from the bed, holding me up so my feet barely touched the floor.

"You will treat me with respect Elena. I have tried to be nice and you refused to accept it. I do not want to hurt you but do not mistake that reluctance for tolerance of your attitude." He hurled me to the floor. I curled up in a ball, pain radiating through my body.

"We're leaving the city as soon as they're born."

He left the room. I stayed on the floor, arms wrapped around myself. Everything hurt.

I crawled across the floor and slumped against the edge of the bed. I reached up, searching under the covers. My hand ran over the object that the girl had given me. I carefully pulled it out from under the covers and held it up. It was a small bottle, sealed with a cork, tinted green glass making it impossible to see the contents clearly. I examined it, wondering what it did. Maybe… would she…

I unstopped the bottle and sniffed. I wrinkled my nose at the bitter acrid smell that greeted me. I tipped the bottle slightly, letting a drop fall onto my finger. It hissed and singed the skin. Okay… so this was something that wasn't meant to be consumed. The smell was making me dizzy so I replaced the stopper and closed my eyes.

I sat on the floor, leaning against the bed and turned the vial over in my fingers. It was only a small dose. I didn't know if it was intended to kill me or just the children. Either way, this was a big decision. If it had just been my life on the line it wouldn't even be something to consider, I'd sacrifice myself to save the people I loved without a second thought. But could I actively murder my children?

If I didn't, I was condemning them to a life of being used by Klaus, turned into weapons… but I didn't know that for certain… for all I knew Klaus would be a great father…

The thought died in my head. Klaus might be a great father but he'd never change. He was selfish and jealous and possessive. He didn't want kids, he just wanted them because he felt like he was owed them. Like a spoilt child who saw a fancy toy. He wanted it so he had to have it.

I didn't know if I could do this. My own hatred of Klaus wasn't enough to condemn my children. But… I thought of the look on the young witch's face. She'd been warning me of something, something I didn't fully understand yet. She must have thought it was necessary or she wouldn't have risked Klaus' ire to give me this. Then again, she was a stranger. I had no reason to trust her.

"What do you think?" I asked, stroking my stomach. "I don't know what to do anymore."

As if in response, I felt another wave of pain crash through me. My cheek burned from where he'd slapped me. I felt like my body was answering my question. How could I risk letting my children be trapped with a man who clearly didn't give a damn about anything other than himself? If he cared about them, he wouldn't have attacked me. His actions only confirmed my suspicions. He didn't care about their well-being, just about possessing me, possessing them.

I got to my feet, wincing slightly, and went to the tiny window. It was dark outside, the full moon high in the sky. I'd been under for days it seemed… I was high up, looking down on what once must have been an ornamental garden but was now an overgrown wreck. I held the bottle up to the moonlight, as if toasting it.

"I'm sorry for this." I pulled out the cork and raised the bottle to my lips. I hesitated. Could I do this? I had to… I took a deep breath and downed the liquid. It burned my throat and I choked a little, coughing, but I forced myself to swallow it. I stared out of the window, waiting.

At first nothing happened. Then slowly, I felt it. A strange numbness began to radiate through my body. I had expected it to hurt but it felt like my body was fading away. The bottle slipped from my grasp, my fingers no longer responding. My legs gave way and I tumbled to the ground.

Now came the pain, a slow churning sensation in the pit of my guts. I coughed and felt something wet on my lips, salty on my tongue. I didn't need to look to know that it was blood. I closed my eyes and prayed that it would end quickly. I whispered my apology to the empty room, longing for the embrace of peaceful oblivion. I continued to cough, harsh, choking coughs, liquid bubbling up and spewing across my lips, the smell of blood filling the room. My lips twisted into a parody of a smile. Finally I would be free.

A/N: THE END.