Completely forgot to use disclaimers… I doubt it's necessary; you got brains, use 'em. Have you read the sh*t I've written? Hardly anything worthy of a movie or TV show…

Hayley's hands twisted and then I felt nothing - nothing, but cool air where her fingers had been pressing into my skin just moments ago. Although an instant headache did explode in the back of my skull.

It gave me pause, I hadn't heard a snap. Then again I probably wouldn't have heard it above the thumping of my heart; it was loud enough to suggest someone had hocked my pulse points to an amplifier. I hadn't drowned in agony or darkness. I still felt…very much alive, just numb. It was slightly annoying considering the choice I just made on the subject. What was this? Perhaps I was dead and didn't know it yet.

My body moves of its own accord, I can't feel it, I can barely recall wanting to turn over. It's a little strange. I am moving though and moments later I'm on my back, not that it really matters, I can't feel the floor under my skin. I only know that my face is no longer smashed against the ground and that now light is burning against my retinas. Klaus' face comes into view, blocking the light, and I can't help but feel amused that his face looks slightly green.

A dream surely… Is that worry? I wonder absently and he presses a hand over his mouth, his eyes are unnaturally wide. My blood smudges over his chin, but he doesn't seem to notice. God, I must have a similar smudge of red across my face from when I bit his leg and slipped in his blood. For some reason it eases the lingering bitterness clawing at my mind.

That's my blood he's smeared with. Mine. I can hear my heartbeat speeding up; my ears are ringing with it. Mine! That annoying voice in the back of my head claims. I'm not too sure what I'm claiming though – Klaus or the blood, either is feasible.

"Klaus," I hear Hayley say and annoyance burns…nowhere, I just know that I am annoyed. My stomach doesn't churn and my chest doesn't puff up. The urge to slap her silly, doesn't make it further than past a thought. She comes into view, her eyes wide and face pale. "Klaus, I couldn't-"

"Stop," he says softly and my eyes skitter from one to the other. Damn, he is so beautiful, even coated in crimson.

They both look so serious. I feel like protesting this, after all I was the one who had given up on life for a minute. But then again, I was still alive and truthfully the sorrow that had made me stop fighting had vanished as soon as I'd seen Klaus again. Stupid vampire, with his stupidly-lovely, blue eyes. Made me want to scrub my retinas raw and watch a badly produced vampire movie.

I clear my throat and Klaus focuses his burning blue eyes on me, if only I could read the emotions in them. Hayley might have given me her attention as well, but I couldn't seem to remove my eyes from the Original. "I," my voice sounds breathy and I clear my throat again. "I can't feel anything," I blink once, twice. Well it was mostly true, I could feel my head, but it was like I was decapitated, my head floating in some metaphorical anti-gravity zone.

That's not good is it?

My eyes start to burn, I can't seriously be about to cry!

Klaus leans closer and for a moment it is too close, but that hardly matters when it finally sinks in that I can't move. Air rushes from my lungs, leaving my lips in a desperate sigh. I'm sure my eyes are pretty wide as well. I focus on Klaus, "I can't move," my voice cracks. "I-I, I can't f-feel…oh God, I c-can't feel any-anything." A hiccup parts my lips in a sudden jerk; it brings forth slow, hot tears.

The Original leans even closer, his cool fingers find my cheek, smearing our blood and my tears together. It's surprisingly intimate. "Clearwater," he pauses and his thumb gently wipes away tears, "You're neck is broken,"

I nod, or at least I try to, but nothing happens and the weeping intensifies when I can't do this simple action. I feel so useless, so helpless.

"What would you have me do?"

Klaus' question takes me off guard, for a moment it helps me swim through the fog of panic and distress. I know what he's asking and I don't feel the slightest bit of horror or dread from it. Do I want him to kill me? Must he leave me as I am? It's reasonable and the question has my mind churning to make sense of the situation. The tears slow and my gasps die down into raw hiccups. Klaus continues to hover close by and I focus my eyes behind him to where I see Hayley.

For a moment we all wait in silence for my answer. I have no doubt that if I ask Klaus to kill me he would. I realise that I trust him, or maybe I just feel like I know him well enough to make that deduction. I close my eyes for a minute, trying to decide what would be the best decision. The easiest would be asking Klaus to kill me, yet I wasn't sure that easiest was best.

My mind wanders and I find myself thinking about stupid Jacob, his body crushed from a sloppy encounter with a fledgling vampire. I recall his screaming as Dr Cullins re-broke his bones so they could set properly. Whether his condition contained any nerve damage, I didn't know. What were the chances that I could recover from this? Probably pretty low, considering. And if I bothered to dwell on it, I had been more than willing to die several minutes ago, what was different now?

Mine, the dark voice reminds and I wonder if I'm going insane or have some psychiatric problems to deal with. Either way, I know that the claim has quickly become a big part of my no longer wanting to die. I assume that the 'Mine' must be Klaus, although the why of it eludes me. Klaus has done nothing to encourage our bond, nothing to lead me into believing he would care for me, but it's there and now I can't deny that I don't want to leave him, even if it's going to be painful. I consider my options and finally open my eyes, focus my stare on Klaus and his beautiful eyes.

"It might," I scowl slightly, when had my hiccups subsided? "It may heal, but there's a chance it won't." My gaze quickly turns pleading, "If it doesn't heal, then…then I'd like you to make it stop."

Klaus blinks and inclines his head. I know he's dying to ask by what I mean with the healing, but maybe he trusts me too because he doesn't ask. "Hayley, go for a walk."

My eyes flicker to the hybrid, she remains standing awkwardly looking between Klaus and myself.

"Klaus, I'm not sure-"

"Go," he snaps and Hayley flinches, his voice softens, "Calm yourself and empty your head."

She nods hesitantly and her eyes land on me, "Leah," she says softly and leaves. I know she doesn't regret attacking me, I hardly blame her – I would have done the same if someone attacked Klaus. But she's sorry I'm stuck like this, not dead, but not completely living either.

I sigh, Klaus and I are alone now and I'm not too sure how to dig my way from conversational death. Sociality never came easy to me, being around Klaus had somewhat opened me up for some unforsaken reason. But in this moment I couldn't think of anything to say. What can you say in this situation?

For the longest several minutes we stare at each other in pregnant silence. Mostly I'm spending the time admiring his jaw and lovely blues, but what he could possibly be thinking…I wouldn't even dwell on it. After some contemplation, I decide to bring up a concern of mine, "You're covered in blood," I tell him, it isn't exactly a conversational topic, but I assumed I should point it out at some time.

To say I'm shocked when Klaus' mouth quivers into a smile is an understatement.

"You don't look much better," he says softly and his eyes roam my face curiously. After a moment he lowers to his knees - had he been crouching this whole time? I feel horrible. "I'm going to try and move you," he shakes his head, "I don't know if it can get any worse, it probably could, but I can't leave you lying here."

I choke slightly on my next words, "Yeah, probably…"

I'd like to say that having Klaus carry me to my room was an experience to remember, that his hands on my legs made my skin prick. But in honesty, it a simple dizzy blur of colour. A few twinges of pain had my cheeks moistening, yet thankfully for vampire speed the trip was over soon enough. Disappointing as it is for Klaus being my soulmate, I was glad when he put me down. I vaguely recall Sam cradling me in his arms, my blood rushing to colour my face red, my arms wrapped around his neck, my toes curling in excitement as we plunged into the sea, laughing delightedly. With Klaus, there was nothing – literally – and it seemed a little sad considering.

I wish it could have been different. I found Klaus attractive without a doubt, but he didn't make my blood boil or my mouth dry, it felt wrong. Possibly because he was a vampire, possibly because my heart was still set on Sam despite my soul's insistent yearning for Klaus. Or maybe it was neither and I would never like Klaus in such a manner.

"Here," Klaus mumbles and I can feel his warm breath ghost over my forehead as he sets me down on the bed.

I sigh in relief, thankful to be set down. I stash my thoughts for another time in which I can converse with Hayley – if there will be such a time – I have a feeling she could understand my sentimentality.

He straightens and gazes at his blood covered hands with slight disgust. I have the sudden urge to question him on his blood drinking habits but quickly dismiss the thought; I really don't want to know. It leaves a bad taste in the back of my mouth just thinking about it.

From my peripheral vision I see him lift a blanket and drape it over my body. Only then do I realise I must be completely naked. Heat suffuses my cheeks, not embarrassed, merely shocked that I didn't think of it before. Of course I'd be nude, I'd phased while streaking down the stairs, as soon as I changed back to human I'd be stark naked.

Klaus makes no comment of it so I don't either. If it was bothering him, he made no mention and there was little I could do anyway. At least he'd draped a blanket over me.

After an awkward moment Klaus turns away and I clear my throat.

"Klaus,"

"Clearwater?"

I have an inane urge to roll my eyes at him when he looks at me, who uses peoples surnames like that anyway? "Would you mind?"

He stares at me for a moment before nodding his head. I wonder if he interpreted my silent question correctly, or merely agreed to some other thought, but banish my worry when he turns to leave again.

Subsequently a moment later I close my eyes, focusing on the rush of breath through my nose to assure myself that I'm indeed breathing. It's disconcerting to not feel my chest rise and fall, to not feel the weight of my limbs. It's all I can do to retain sanity in the silence and a part of me quietly begs that Klaus would hurry back before I let myself believe that I actually was dead.

Thankfully mere moments later I hear Klaus return and open my eyes, allow them to track his movements. I can't see what he's carrying and almost lose sight of him again as he goes to the dresser on the other side of the bed. Damn, how much I wish I could just turn my head.

I hear the sub sequential slosh of water and the soft thud of a bowl being placed down. More watery noises and I strain my eyes trying to see what the vampire is up to. It doesn't work and I growl in annoyance.

Several seconds later Klaus is back in my line of sight, a wet, rung-out cloth in his now clean hands. He shuffles and leans over me, the cloth clutched steadily between his fingers.

My dark eyes lock onto his cobalt ones as he gently cleans his blood off my face. Despite the absurdity of this mess, the whole scene seems oddly…domestic, I guess. It would be funny under different circumstances, especially as I could never have depicted Klaus tenderly cleaning my helpless self. But he takes his task seriously, his fingers are firm but kind. Twice he moves away to rinse out the cloth before resuming his actions.

When he returns from rinsing the cloth, I blink up at him, the firm set of his mouth, his terse jaw. "How's your leg?" I ask eventually and his eyes flicker from my bloody neck, to my face before he resumes.

"It's well enough,"

I pause, feeling guilty, this was my fault. "Sorry,"

He shrugs, "There's nothing to apologize for, Clearwater, we both wanted to fight and so we did. Fighting comes with consequences. Yours are worse than mine,"

I blink owlishly and feel like laughing, but my throat must be blocked with emotion because it comes out sounding like a strangled cat. "Fancy that,"

Klaus' lips twitch with a disconcerting emotion, "You were ready to die back there,"

"I was," I agree honestly.

"No longer then?"

I try to shrug my shoulders, remember I can't and settle for a sigh instead, "I'm touch and go at present,"

We fall silent and I stare at his crystal gaze for some time, not thinking much really.

"Why so eager to die, Clearwater?"

His sudden question startles me and I blink myself into focus. For a moment I mull over his words. "Why be eager to live?" I retort softly, it was the best answer I could come up with.

Klaus looks at me then finishes whatever he had been doing and leans away from me, his gaze thoughtful. "I've been through much, I've never truly felt the need to stop fighting." His tone is wistful and I can only imagine the memories behind those cobalt orbs.

"It felt like a good time to give in."

He pierces me with a sudden glare; it's sharper than the mood called for. "Failure should never be one of your options."

I stare at him, blankly absorbing the hostile, hidden motivation. I don't have anything to reply with so remain still.

Slowly the tension eases from him and he goes to rinse the cloth. "Must I check your back?" He asks when he returns.

"They'll be healed already," I inform him, remembering his fingers digging into my flesh.

"The blood?"

I ponder his offer for a moment, I'm sure moving me around isn't a good idea if I'm going to heal, but I don't feel particularly cautious at the moment. "Go ahead," I grumble.

He carefully manoeuvres me onto my side, stuffing a pillow under my head to keep it level with my spine. I can't image the strange angle my neck would be at if I were lying on my stomach. Internally I praise Klaus for this genius. I could probably stay like this for the rest of the day.

"You're riddled with scars," he says and I wish I could see his face.

"They're all from before I first phased," I inform him, "Wounds heal too quickly now to leave anything permanent."

There's an extended silence before, "When the Voltouri vampire attacked you how long did it take you to recover?"

My mind whirrs, thoughts of darkness and pain and annoying disembodied voices, "I think…a month, but I could be wrong,"

"How is that quick?" he asks and if I didn't know better I would call his tone gruff.

"Usually our broken bones can heal within a day or two at the most, but they have to be broken again if they heal incorrectly. I was trapped between my wolf and human forms," I murmur, I think back on the one day I'd asked Nessy to show me how I looked at that very moment. I shudder at the memory, but my body lays still. "It was hard enough trying to save my life with all the warring body parts and organs. Things only started getting better once I-" I trail off, remembering my last day on the reservation with detached agony. Sam…

"Yes?"

I blink away the remembrances and stare hard at the wall across from me, "I fought with Sam," not entirely a lie, "And my body shifted, rearranging what was human and what was wolf. Only thing is, we had to start the healing process from the beginning again."

Klaus makes a low humming sound to confirm that he'd heard me. "What did he do?"

"Excuse me?" I splutter and frown.

"You said you fought with Sam."

My mouth opens and closes soundlessly. After a prolonged wait, I clear my throat. "He was going to send me away," it sounds so steady when I say it that I almost believe the undertone of sorrow is a figment of my imagination. Almost.

There's the distinct rustling of fabric and I wonder what Klaus is doing. Moments later I hear his footsteps and hear the slosh of water again. I bite my lip, annoyed at the quiet; it seems to have old resembling of how I lost my sight after Jane's attack.

"Where did you get that scar on your shoulder?"

"An accident,"

"Have you ever considered breaking the skin again to see if the scar would vanish?"

I pause, in truth I've never considered it; it had never crossed my mind. "I wouldn't try it."

"Why?"

Are you scared? Fills the air between us and I cringe inwardly, "It has memories,"

"Sentimentality is a weakness," Klaus states levelly and I want to fling something at his head and demand what the meaning of his sketches are then, but I hold my tongue. We are plunged into stillness again, so much so that I believe he's left me. "How did you get it?"

I have the insane urge to point out that he was being the chatty and annoying one now.

When I don't answer he sighs, "Lost your voice too, Clearwater?"

I scowl at the air before huffing in annoyance. "I went cliff diving, it was a stupid mistake."

"I don't see a reason for sentimentality in that respect." He grouses and I roll my eyes, rather amused – Klaus was fishing.

I let a moment pass before I begin. "There's this cliff close to our reservation, I would always see the boys daring each other to jump from the top. I'd never done it; personally I preferred the beach, easier access, less anxiety. And no one ever goaded me to try. They didn't need to, curiosity got the best of me when I noticed it was-" I stop abruptly and frown, lick my lips. "I noticed Sam was one of the guys that did the jumping, he was sixteen at the time, but he didn't seem scared at all. In fact, they seemed to be having fun – defying gravity and shrieking stupid dares at the top of their lungs."

"Sounds delightful," Klaus comments drily and my frown dissolves into chuckles.

"Like I said, 'curiosity'. So one day, I snuck up there when I was sure none of the boys would be around. I'm not stupid, I thought, I didn't want them to see me try this. There was a mounting possibility that I'd chicken out or screech in hysteria while jumping. It took me a good ten minutes to step onto the ledge, another five before I jumped." I close my eyes, feeling the rush of adrenalin once again, feeling the wind whipping at my hair. "I was terrified, and I had reason to be. Seems I forgot to take into consideration what the water was like below. It felt like I hit concrete, but that's only where it starts. The waves were rough and they slammed me up against the cliff face a few times before I could comprehend what was happening." I recall with trepidation how the salt water burned my throat and how my back cried at the agony of scraping against rocks.

"Clearly you were stupid," Klaus points out and a silly grin stretches my cheeks.

"I could have been in the water for only a minute or two." I start and my grin starts to slide off my face. "I was lucky, Sam and his buddies were going to jump that day too, it turned out." I blink at the surfacing memories: Sam's call and his arms around my body, his breath on my forehead, the warmth of his skin against mine. How he swam with me tucked to his side and then carried me from the water with a reassuring grin on his handsome face. "Sam saved me. He took me to the hospital, stayed with me until dad could get there and still after."

"Hey, don't cry!" Sam's fingers were hot on my cheeks, gosh, why was he so warm? "It's going to be okay, the doctor just said so himself. Here, let me do that," he sat on the edge of the hospital gurney and neatly rearranged the hospital gown over my bandaged shoulder. "It's going to heal up and then you can try again." I shook my head and he drapes his arm around my uninjured shoulder. "I'll be with you next time, I promise, I won't let you get hurt again."

My mouth feels dry and my eyes sting at the memory, damn, how original could our first date be?

"You know, I think I like you, Leah," Sam commented with a toothy grin, his cheeks flushed as he stares out to the ocean. The cliff stood looming to the side of us and I couldn't stop my heart from heating a little too fast. Sam lifts his hand and scratches at the back of his neck. "I'll understand if you don't want to hang out with me anymore, I just wanted to let you know."

"Sounds like a sob story in the making, Clearwater." Klaus comments and I gasp, having forgotten his presence and instantly feeling guilt. There's the rustle of clothing and the sound of Klaus' feather-light steps. "It's strange how you hold sentimentality for the man who trampled on your heart. You're a sucker for pain and it's pathetic."

A dull ache starts behind my eyes and I realise that his comment makes me want to weep. First, because he was right, I was holding something stupid close to my heart, and, second, he thought I was pitiful. Klaus, my soul mate..."I-"

"You are weak," he states and his voice seems softer, "It's no wonder he chose someone else,"

The door latch catches and I'm left staring at the wall in blank horror.

And you all thought she was going to turn into a vampire (LOL) (Never broken my neck and been paralysed before, so sorry if the description sucks)