Nine Months

Chapter One: Back to Normal

Caroline Forbes

The sunlight flowed through my bedroom window as my alarm clock sprung to life waking me up from a peaceful sleep. I turned around on my bed and struggled over the pillows below my chest as I pulled myself over towards my nightstand. I clicked the switch off killing the horrible ringing sound. I had grown to hate that sound these past few days. I didn't want to wake up from my dreams because it was the only place I seemed to have real peace.

Three days ago Bonnie had come by my house. Bonnie had sat down with me in the sitting room and revealed something to me that was so awful I couldn't even look her in the eye after she told me.

Bonnie had performed a spell on both Tyler and Klaus before both of them were killed. She did some witch spell which switch their spirits and put them into each others bodies. So out there right now Klaus was running around inside Tyler's body and Tyler was trapped inside Klaus's body. When Bonnie told me she started to cry and apologise but I didn't care because she had allowed me to go three days thinking that Tyler had died.

I knew it wouldn't be a big issue to some people but my best friend had let me go three whole days thinking that I had abounded the love of my life and left him to die inside some stinking wet cave all by himself. I was never going to forgive myself for leaving Tyler like I had. But it turns out the man who had told me to run wasn't Tyler but in fact Klaus.

So I had spent the last three days locked away inside the house. Bonnie had been calling and had left several voicemails but I couldn't deal with her yet. Besides I had promised Elena that I would go over to the boarding house today and visit her. Until Stefan and Damon were sure Elena could handle being around people they were putting her under their roof and under house arrest.

I knew how Elena must have been feeling right now and I knew when it was me going through it I didn't want to be alone. Although she had Stefan and Damon I knew Elena needed some proper girl time as well. So I had packed up a bag of girl stuff for us to do. I had packed some chick flick films and pink nail polishes and some lavender face masks for during the movie.

I pulled myself up out of bed and stretched my arms up above my head as I pushed my feet into my slippers. I left my bedroom and went down the hallway and into the kitchen. My mum was on her cell phone holding a cup of coffee in her other hand when I entered. I walked over to her and kissed her cheek knowing she would be leaving for work soon and since it was Friday I probably wouldn't see her until tomorrow.

I pulled open the fridge door and took out a glass jug of orange juice and a pack of blueberries. I pulled up a stool at the counter top and began eating the blueberries. I had plenty of time before I went to see Elena so I planned to go to the grill first and see how Matt was doing. Elena had told me on the phone he was having a lot of guilt over the accident. I was going to go and reassure him that the person responsible for Elena being a vampire was Meredith Fell.

Elena didn't want any of us to do anything to Meredith Fell but that didn't stop me from wanting too. I hated Meredith Fell and I was happy that she was leaving town soon. She had no right to call herself a doctor. The only reason her patients survive is because she injects vampire blood through their I.V drips as they sleep in their beds.

I wondered if Meredith was having a busy night the night Elena was rushed into Mystic Falls General. Maybe she figured just because Elena knew about vampires she wouldn't mind vampire blood being used to heal her. Or maybe Meredith had just gotten so use to taking the cowards way out that she didn't even think about it when she put that blood in Elena's system. Meredith had to face facts and realize that if her patient was going to die then she had to let them die. She wasn't a doctor in my eyes anymore. She was just a coward and a monster for killing the dreams of my best friend.

I poured myself out a glass of orange juice and downed it all within a few long sips. I caught my mum looking over at me from the corner of my eye. I put the glass down and wiped my mouth making her smile with amusement. Being a vampire I didn't have to breathe nearly as much as human does.

I put the now empty pack of blueberries in the trash and rinsed my glass in the sink placing upon the draining rack before leaving the kitchen. I returned to my bedroom and picked out a pink wool sweater enjoying the gentleness of its material, a white strap top, dark blue skinny jeans and a pair of black boots to put on after my shower. I laid them out on the bed and grabbed my toilet bag off my dresser top before taking off to the bathroom.

I grabbed a hair clip off the bathroom counter next to my hairbrush and put my hair up behind my head so it wouldn't get wet in the shower. I stripped off my clothes from the previous night to the floor below and stepped into the shower. I turned the shower on full blast and then picked up a bottle of lavender body wash and lathered up my hands.

The hot water felt so good against my skin. I felt like it was washing away everything around me and giving me a fresh start for the day. I cleansed myself in the lavender lotion getting myself ready for the day ahead. This would be the first time I would be going into town since everything happened.

My mum had been working overtime trying to get vervain into the council members systems so that they could be compelled to forget about what Alaric had told them about my secret and also Tyler's.

Truth be told if my mum truly had her way I would be in Brazil right now and out of reach. But she knew I wasn't going to leave her behind to deal with this all alone. I had already lost one of my parents I wasn't going to lose another.

I stepped out of the shower and grabbed the pink towel hanging outside the shower door and draped it around my body. I walked over to the sink counter and brushed my teeth before adding my make up that I had brought in my toilet bag. I unclipped the hairclip and picked up my hairbrush and ran it through my hair before blow drying it to get it that little bit of volume it needed.

I returned back to my bedroom and dumped my clothes from last night into the laundry basket and got dressed into the clothes I had laid out on top of my bed. I checked my reflection in the mirror and dumped my towel into the basket too. I grabbed my black shoulder bag off the dresser counter and my phone right next to it. I walked across the room to an old pair of jeans and fished my car keys out of the front pocket of them.

"Caroline" my mum called.

"Are you heading out now?" I asked as I left my bedroom meeting her in the hallway next to the door.

"Yeah I am working a double shift so don't wait up tonight. And please remember to lock up before you go to sleep"

"Mum" I rested my hand on her shoulder "Please stop worrying about the council, it will work its self out"

She sighed "And how can you be so sure? Because I'm not Caroline, I'm really worried about you" she expressed.

"Because we've been through so much already that light at the end of the tunnel has to be coming our way" I joked making her smile.

"That is true there has been a lot of drama" she said as I dropped my hand from her shoulder.

"Oh mum you don't know the half of it. And seriously you don't want too either" I opened up the front door.

"No I probably don't" she agreed behind me as I stepped out onto the front porch.

"Well I'm going to swing by the grill and then go and see Elena"

"No Bonnie?" my mum asked as she locked the door behind us.

"Uh no not today she has plans already" I lied.

"She called the other night, did you call her back?"

I nodded.

"Good I would hate to think of you lot not talking to each other. You're like sisters" my mum commented as she made her way over to her cruiser.

"Yeah" I agreed as I unlocked my car door.

"Bye mum" I called as I slipped into the driver's seat.

There was no other way of going about this. I had to lie to protect my mother from the truth. If she knew that Klaus was in Tyler's body it would totally freak her out and she was already dealing with enough thanks to Alaric's mess. It wasn't like I could tell her the real reason I wasn't hanging out with Bonnie today was that she was at home working on a spell to get Klaus out of boyfriends body and back inside his own.

I dumped my shoulder bag onto the passenger seat next to me and started up the engine shooting down the street and towards the town centre. I couldn't wait to spend time with Elena, being away from her for three days felt like three weeks. I guess I should be grateful to Bonnie for providing Elena with a daylight ring. From what I had been told by Elena it was very similar to mine.

There was a little bit of traffic on the way in but I eventually got to the grill and I parked in the parking lot outside. I cut the engine grabbed my bag and headed inside. It was crowded inside and I remembered Friday morning was pancake morning it was the busiest morning of the week. I scanned the restaurant as I went in and looked for Matt. I clocked him cleaning up a table and putting used dishes into the basin in front of him.

I waved my hand up and Matt looked over at me and half smiled. I returned the smile and pointed to a table in front of me making Matt nod that he would come over. I took a seat and placed my bag down on one of the empty seats. As Matt bussed the tables left in his section I waited for him and began turning my napkin into confetti.

"I haven't got much time to talk Caroline" Matt noted as he sat down in front of me.

"I'm sure you could spare five minutes for a reality check"

Matt folded his arms and rolled his eyes in frustration.

"Matt look at me" I pleaded.

His eyes met mine and I smiled slightly.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Jeremy begged you to get Elena out of town and you did what any one of us would have done and you got her out of here"

"No I got her killed"

I sighed "Matt did you put vampire blood in Elena's I.V drip?" I asked.

"Caroline"

"Answer me" I told him.

Matt shook his head.

"Did you stand out in the middle of the road and jump out in front of a moving car Elena happened to be inside?"

Again Matt shook his head.

"You didn't kill Elena Matt, she's a vampire and she's dealing with it. If she could see you right now she would be kicking your butt for making yourself feel this way"

I reached out and took his hand in mine.

"She loves you Matt. She made Stefan save your life because she loves you. She doesn't hate you, you did what none of us were brave enough to do. And she needs you now, she needs you to be there for her now more than ever before"

"I wouldn't even know what to say to her Caroline" Matt confessed.

"Do you think Elena knew what to say to me after I turned?" I asked.

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze "None of us know how to handle this, we weren't taught how to deal with this in school. But we have to deal with it or we'll lose everything and everyone we care about" I told him.

"You're right" Matt agreed.

Our hands dropped and we gave each other a smile.

"You can go back to work now I'm all done lecturing"

Matt laughed "Well then if you are done then I guess its my turn" he said.

I leaded back "I don't have to be lectured about anything" I said.

"Bonnie"

I shook my head "I'm not ready to deal with that Matt" I confessed.

"And why not?"

I sighed "Because we were taught how to forgive in school, and I have no idea how I am supposed to forgive Bonnie for letting me think Tyler was dead" I explained.

Matt nodded.

"I should go I've promised Elena a girly day" I said picking up my bag from the chair.

"You worried you'll bump into him?"

"Bump into who?" I asked getting up to my feet.

"Klaus" Matt replied.

I tucked my hair behind my ear "I haven't even given it a thought" I admitted.

"Alright" Matt said getting up to his feet too.

"Enjoy Friday pancake morning" I said before turning on my heels.

As I left the grill I couldn't stop thinking about what Matt had asked me. The truth was the idea of Klaus running around Mystic Falls pretending to be Tyler hadn't crossed my mind even once. I was actually shocked by this considering the trouble he could have gotten Tyler into. I then began to wonder if the council had made any move to kill Klaus thinking he was Tyler.

The last thing I needed was for Klaus to know the council knew about my secret. Knowing Klaus whatever human that couldn't be trusted with information about vampires and hybrids were a threat to him and his family. And after the big bad Alaric vampire slayer Klaus wouldn't let the council stand much longer with information that be traced to his secret too.

Well I didn't care about Klaus or his family or what he did. All I knew was, Bonnie was working on a spell that was going to switch Klaus back into his real body and bring Tyler back to me. I needed Tyler in my life I didn't need Klaus. All Klaus brought was drama and pain. Sure there was the romantic drawings and the jewellery but that was in the past and I had to focus on my future.

I returned to my car and buckled my seat belt and started up the engine. I was going to forget about all the drama on my life for the next few hours and I was going to sit back with Elena and focus on her and everything going on in her life.

It was going to be a relief not dealing with my own drama for a change. Thankfully there wasn't the same amount of traffic there was in town. I got to the boarding house ten minutes later and pulled up behind Damon's car and parked. I grabbed my bag and stepped out onto the driveway.

"Hey" Elena called.

I looked over towards the front door and Elena sat there with Stefan. I smiled and ran up to her and brought my arms around her holding her close. I knew being close to me wouldn't bother Elena I was a vampire so I didn't smell nearly as good as a human would.

"You smell like lavender" she commented as I pulled away.

"Vampire senses are pretty great huh" I said.

"No you really smell a lot like lavender" Stefan said.

I pulled back my sweater and smelt my skin. Gosh it was really stronger I must have been thinking so much in the shower I didn't notice how much body wash I had used. Silly Caroline as always.

"How are you doing?" I asked Elena

"I'm ok, being under house arrest isn't exactly perfect but I'm getting there"

"It's for your own good" I assured her.

"Well I'm going to go and leave you girls to it" Stefan said and padded Elena's hand before leaving us.

I wiggled my eyebrows and Elena laughed as she got up to her feet.

"Don't over analyse it" Elena told me as we headed inside.

"He was all over you" I whispered loudly making Elena laugh.

The day was spent doing exactly what I had imagined, Elena and I watched The Notebook and painted each others toe nails giving each toe a new shade of pink, we did face masks had a glass of blood and eat our body weight in chocolates. That was one of the things I remembered about being a baby vampire, you could eat everything in sight.

A few hours later Elena was asleep next to me. I smiled seeing how peaceful she looked as she lay there. I pulled myself up off the bed carefully not to wake her and picked up everything I had brought over and placed it back into my bag. I didn't want her wakening up to a mess.

A shut the room door behind me and slipped my bag onto my shoulder before making my way downstairs. I peeked my head into the parlour room but it was empty. Stefan must have left when it became clear we weren't letting boys in the bedroom with us.

The front door opened and shut behind me and I turned around to find Damon.

"Barbie" he said as he shrugged off his black leather coat.

I pressed my finger to my lips "Elena's asleep upstairs" I told him.

"How was the girly day? Was there kissing?" he smirked

"Yeah shame you missed it" I teased.

Damon smirked as I made my way around him to the door.

"What's going on with you and the witch?"

"Nothing you need to worry about" I told him and pulled open the door.

"You should forgive your friends you know"

I laughed and spun back around "Seriously?" I asked.

Damon leaded against the door in front of me and titled his head to a side.

"What you think if Bonnie and I aren't on good terms that it will somehow affect you?" I asked puzzled.

Damon leaded in towards me "Let's just say I know now from personal experience how it feels to lose a….friend and not having the chance to say sorry" he whispered to me.

It was right then it hit me. Damon missed Alaric and I hadn't even given him a single thought through all of this. Elena had told me the story, Damon was with Alaric when he died.

Apparently he even died in Damon's arms.

"Do you miss him?" I asked.

Damon smirk dropped "Don't get all cute on me Barbie" he warned me and turned around walking down the hallway.

"Damon" I called.

Damon looked over his shoulder at me.

He huffed and looked over towards the staircase and then back at me. Our eyes locked and he nodded. Damon disappeared out of sight and I shut the front door behind me. It was then I realized how selfish I had been locking myself up these past three days. I hadn't thought about anyone but myself and how everything bad was happening to me. Damon had lost his best friend, Tyler's spirit was trapped inside Klaus, Elena was a vampire and Jeremy had lost someone so close to his heart that he couldn't even stay in Mystic Falls. He went back to his old school just so he didn't have to see Mystic Falls.

I got back into my car and drove straight home. I pulled up in front of my house and was surprised to find Bonnie sitting on the front porch step waiting. She looked over at me and got up to her feet. She was grasping her spell book in her hand. I hoped she hadn't come with more bad news.

I cut the engine and stepped out of the car. I walked up the pathway towards Bonnie and she gave me a smile.

"Sorry for showing up, you didn't return any of my telephone calls"

"I was hoping you would take the hint"

"Caroline please don't be angry with me. I am sick of everyone being angry with me and telling me what to do"

I sighed "People telling you what to do?" I scratched my forehead "Wow Bonnie that's really that's just pathetic" I replied.

Bonnie took a step back from me.

"People keep telling you what to do? Well did I want to talk to Klaus so Alaric could stake Klaus? No but I did it because Damon told me too. Did I want to plan the decade dance with Rebekah. No but I did because we all needed information. And did I want to leave Tyler to die alone? No but I did because he told me too" I told her.

"So no you don't get to play the push over card. Maybe around Elena but not with me"

"I came here to help you" Bonnie explained.

"No you came here so a month from now you can cry about how I made you feel so bad you had to do yet another big scary spell"

I shook my head "Well I'm sorry Bonnie but I'm not going to hug you and tell you I forgive you. I'm not going to take your guilt away, because the truth is the guilt is there because you deserve it" I told her.

I walked up the front steps and took my house keys from my shoulder bag.

"Caroline don't be like this please" Bonnie pleaded behind me.

I turned to her "What did you expect? What you did Bonnie was unforgivable" I stated and stepped inside my house locking the door behind me.

Klaus Mikaelson

I stared at the roaring fire in front of me as I sat alone in my study. It was the only room in the house my younger siblings had not taken over. Kol had returned home two days ago and he and Rebekah had been fighting over who got the bedroom with the view. I had built a nine bedroom house and they were fighting over one room? It was ridiculous and had given me a headache.

Well it hadn't given me a headache it had given this body a headache. This shell I was suppose to live in until that witch could switch me back into my real body. If she didn't have the answer by tomorrow then I was finally going to leave this house and hunt her down. I was tired of going around looking like Tyler. I didn't care for the boy at all so I certainly didn't want to spend any more time then I had too being him. I would have chosen any body but his, I felt tiny in this body. I never noticed until now just how pathetic this boy was compared to me.

Elijah had believed me the night I showed up back at the house as Tyler Lockwood. I had shared stories with him that only he and I knew and he had explained the story to our siblings. Kol found it hilarious but changed his mind when I put him through a wall. Where as my sister and I didn't share words because I still found it difficult being in the same room as her. Elijah had tracked down my real body from the last memory I have. He searched every storage space in the next towns over and finally got mine.

He found it inside a storage space right next to the body of Alaric Saltzman. I was glad that guy was dead he was a bad choice made by Esther. And of course I had my very own reasons for wanting him dead. Trying to kill me of course was one of them. But the other was a little bit more delicate. He hurt someone that he shouldn't have and that's why I am happy upon his death. Just wish I had pierced the stake into his heart myself. It was thanks to my sister that Elena Gilbert my doppelganger was now a vampire and completely useless to me.

And I couldn't even leave this silly town behind now because of this stupid body. So I was staying put where I was and by the looks of it my family were settling down here too. I was getting everything I wanted in life I was just in the wrong body. The doorbell rang and I sprung to my feet knowing Rebekah and Kol were yelling so loudly upstairs they hadn't heard a thing. I walked down the hall and over to the door.

The good thing about being immortal was you never had to check the peep hole. I pulled open the door and found Bonnie the witch on the other side carrying a dusty old book in her hand.

"You're not here selling cookies are you?" I asked.

"No"

"Good because I already ate a sales woman today trying to sell me a fountain"

"You are despicable"

"And you're something that rhymes with witch" I smirked at her. "Do you want your body back or not?"

"I have my body upstairs what I need is a spell. Do you have that?"

"Yes"