((Hey all, Thank you for your kind reviews for last chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed Klaus' tribute to Stefan. The first time I heard "The Parting Glass" I was nine years old and my Dad sung it at my Uncle's funeral. It's an old folksong, dating back to the 16th century in the British Isles, so it's possible that Klaus would have come across it in his travels. If you have never heard it and want to listen to it, Ed Sheeran does a great version: watch?v=3kVVn80pFOc. Sorry, this chapter is short as well. I've been on a short chapter roll with this fanfiction. For some reason, I just get inspiration in small spurts lately. Please be patient with me. Hopefully it will pass, but I couldn't not post…I think that it's physically impossible for me to let you all down. Especially those of you who wait with baited breath for that email in their inbox. LOL! You know who you are and I love you all! ;)))

Kaspar's eyes flew open as he threw the covers aside and launched himself out of bed, but immediately became dizzy, holding his head in pain as he stumbled and fell hard onto the wooden floor, knocking over a floor lamp and a desk chair as he went.

As he fought the nausea in the back of his throat, he reached forward and took hold of the side of the desk, pulling himself up just far enough to grab a pen and pad of paper from the desktop, before the bedroom door flung open and Caroline appeared.

"You're awake…" Caroline said, her eye widening

"I know…it's a miracle!" Kaspar whimpered, looking quickly over his shoulder at her shocked expression before letting go of the desk and collapsing back onto the floor with the coveted items held tight against his chest.

"Oh, my God!" Caroline cried as she rushed through the threshold and around the end of the bed to the necromancer's side, "Are you okay?"

"More or less, but I need your help…" Kaspar groaned, rolling over, "It's…Caroline…am I right?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, confused as she knelt down next him

"Caroline…" Kaspar sighed, squinting in pain, as he struggled to prop himself on the back of his elbows and slowly held up the pad of paper and pen to her, "How are you at drawing maps?"

# # # # # #

Rebekah took a deep breath, nervously tossing the blood bag back and forth in her hands as she stood outside Damon's bedroom door.

Finally, she closed her eyes and knocked softly on the wood.

"Whoever it is…go away," Damon answered from the other side

"Damon, you can't survive on liquor alone… holed up in your room," Rebekah said, looking down to the blood in her hands, "you need to feed sometime. If you want—"

"What I want is to be left alone right now..." Damon insisted

"Damon—"

"Please, Rebekah," Damon said in quiet tone, his voice breaking

"Alright," Rebekah relented as she slowly lowered herself and set the bag near the threshold, "I'll just leave some blood by the door if you change your mind, okay?"

There was a long pause as Rebekah turned from the door.

"Thanks, Barbie," Damon finally said softly from the other side

Rebekah smiled sadly, glancing back over her shoulder at the door and imagining Damon behind it—the pain he must be going through…it was suddenly all too familiar to her.

"Bekah," a familiar voice suddenly sounded, causing Rebekah to turn forward again, and come face to face with her brother.

"Nik," she whispered as she moved toward him

"I thought I heard you out here," Klaus said softly, smirking sadly when she walked straight into his embrace and wrap her arms around his torso.

"When is it going end?" she whispered into his shirt, her voice breaking

Klaus, sensing her need for comfort, finally brought his arms tightly around his sister and cradled her against him.

"When is what going to end, Sweetheart?" he asked in a low voice, resting his chin on the crown of her head.

There was a moment's pause before Rebekah started crying and Klaus' heart melted at the sound, his own face crumbling as he held his sister tighter.

"When are we going to stop paying for our sins?" she sobbed

Klaus closed his eyes tightly, willing his own tears not to come.

"I don't know, Bekah…" he answered, stroking her hair softly, "Unfortunately, we are not the ones who decide when the debt is paid."

# # # # # # #

Outside the Salvatore Mansion, crouched on top of the carriage house in the stillness of the early morning, Dominic stood guard…

Watching…

Listening…

And waiting for his moment as he studied his older brother through the front windows…

# # # # # # #

Elena yawned as she walked slowly down the hallway and into the kitchen, still in her dress from the previous evening.

"Well, good morning!" Elijah smiled as he pulled a blender from underneath the island and set it on the counter, "I didn't expect to see you up and functioning at this hour—"

"Oh! Not so loud," Elena whimpered, closing her eyes as she put up her hands defensively

"Sorry," Elijah chuckled, studying her with pity

"I was just after some aspirin. My head is splitting," Elena said, squinting at the early morning sunlight pouring through the windows as she moved toward the counter.

"Well," Elijah said, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket and waving it in his hand, "I have something better. I was going to bring it up to you."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked groggily, rubbing her eye with one hand and smoothing her hair back behind her ear with the other, "And what's with the blender?"

"When Klaus and I lived in London near the turn of the century, we had a valet who made these miracle concoctions that would instantly make any hangover a distant memory," Elijah said, then smirked as he eyed the blender on the counter, "He didn't exactly use a blender, but I have the recipe and…well, I'm winging it."

Elena smiled as she leaned on the counter, "'Winging it'? I never thought I would hear those words come out of your mouth. When does Elijah Mikaelson ever 'wing it'?"

Elijah smirked playfully, then with vampire speed, moved behind her and whispered in her ear as she straightened in surprise, "More often than you think."

Elena smiled weakly as she turned around to face him, "You know, you could make a girl dizzy, doing that so early in the morning before I've even had my 'miracle concoction'."

"Then I'll get right on it," Elijah smirked, holding up the piece of paper in his hand and twirling it in his fingers as he turned to move back toward the island and the waiting blender.

However, he didn't get far before he felt Elena's hand on his arm, stopping him dead in his tracks and turning him back to face her.

Elijah's eyes narrowed in curiosity as she studied him for a moment, then moved slowly toward him, bringing herself up on her tip toes inches from his face, her nose brushing with his.

"My hero," she whispered as she brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

But, it wasn't long before Elijah realized what was happening…or wasn't happening.

The connection wasn't there…

The spark between their skin wasn't there…

The original's reaction was swift and his retribution quick as he moved with vampire speed and pinned the doppelganger hard against the wall on the far side of the kitchen, his hand at her throat as he watched the innocence in her face melt away to reveal the cunning actress.

"Katerina..." he whispered harshly, his eyes darkening as he held her at arms length

"Happy Birthday, Elijah," Katherine smirked