Klaus sat in a chair by Elena's side as she slept. He and Elijah were staying with her in shifts. They didn't want her alone, and not just because of the threat that she posed to herself. They wanted to keep the elder Salvatore away from her as well. Damon posed a threat to Elena's mental health. He'd spoken to Caroline. She told him of Damon's behavior since Elena tried to hurt herself. He'd screamed at her and shook her. Klaus wanted to murder him when he heard that, but as Elijah pointed out to him, that would only cause Elena more stress.

Klaus had to admit he was out of his depth with this situation. This was not what he was expecting when Caroline called him. Of course, it wasn't. How could it be. He never imagined that one of his siblings could conceive a child as he had, let alone that it had happened in such a cruel and unexpected way. It had shocked him to the core, but what was more shocking and horrifying was the state that they'd found Elena in. When Elena begged Elijah to kill her, it shook him more than he could say. He wasn't prepared for it, even though he already knew from the others that Elena was suicidal.

Klaus hated that he didn't know how to help, Elena. He didn't know what to do to return the Petrova fire to her eyes. This was just not a demon he knew how to fight. Give him a physical enemy, and he could tear it apart. He was the Original Hybrid. He was stronger than anyone. But none of that helped him in this situation. He couldn't fight Elena's depression. He couldn't take her pain or her guilt away. Perhaps that was why he wanted so badly to go after the Augustine Society. They were an enemy he could fight.

Klaus' thoughts were interrupted by Elena whimpering in her sleep. He went to her and sat on the edge of the bed. "Shh, love. It's okay."

"Stop! Please, just leave me alone," Elena cried.

Klaus put a hand on her arm and gently shook her to try to wake her. He was hoping he could soothe her back to a restful sleep, but it didn't appear that would be happening. "Wake up, sweetheart."

Elena's eyes popped open, and she found herself in her room with Klaus by her side, much to her relief. She never thought the day would come when she'd be relieved to see Klaus at her side, but he was no longer the monster in her nightmares. In fact, there were two monsters now. One was herself; the other was Grayson. "Klaus?"

"It's alright, love. You're awake now. The nightmare's over," Klaus told her.

"That one anyway. It's a never-ending nightmare. Whether I'm awake or asleep, I'm living in a nightmare," Elena said.

"Was it Kol you were asking to leave you alone while you were sleeping?" Klaus asked.

"No. I wasn't dreaming about him this time. I was strapped to that bench again, being experimented on, only instead of Maxfield, it was my father doing the experiments," Elena said.

"Kol is your father, Elena," Klaus said. It came out more forceful than he'd meant it to. It was just that hearing that bastard mentioned increased his fury. "My apologies, love."

"No, you're right. I hate calling him that. Sometimes it just comes out, and every time it does, I want to throw up," Elena said.

"I called Mikael 'Father' up until the very end. I didn't know how not to. He was the only father I'd ever known, even if he was a terrible one," Klaus said.

"Was there ever a time when you thought your father loved you?" Elena wondered.

"If there was, I can't recall it," Klaus said sadly.

"It was the opposite for me. I never knew Grayson didn't love me. I always felt loved by him, but it was nothing more than a lie. It was just a way to further his experiment. After I learned the truth, I looked back on my memories. There were signs that something wasn't right, but I never thought anything of it at the time. He never wanted me left alone with Jeremy. He made sure we were never left alone in the house together. I used to think he was just being overprotective of both of us, but the truth was that he didn't trust me with Jeremy. To him, I was monster that would either corrupt or hurt his son," Elena said with a shudder.

"He was the monster, not you," Klaus said firmly.

"I am a monster though. I killed my father. You shouldn't want anything to do with me, neither should Elijah," Elena said.

Klaus sighed. He had been so angry about Kol's death before. Even just this morning, he'd been angry with Elena still, but listening to the utter despair in her voice made it all dissipate. He didn't want to punish her for it anymore. He just wanted her to forgive herself. "Well, I killed my father, my mother too."

"That's different. They abused you. You just couldn't take it anymore," Elena said. She never considered Klaus a monster for killing his parents. After meeting both of them, she couldn't blame him for the actions he took.

"Well, it turns out I killed my niece too. Unlike you, my actions weren't to protect anyone. I did it for myself, and until recently, I never regretted it. You're not a monster, Elena. You're the best of all of us," Klaus told her.

"You regret it?" Elena asked in surprise. She never thought she'd hear Klaus say that he regretted the night of the sacrifice.

"More than anything I've ever done, and it's a long list," Klaus said.

"I still hate you for that night."

"I know. You have every right to," Klaus said.

"But now I hate myself more than I ever hated you," Elena said before looking away and shutting her eyes.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Damon headed up the stairs to see Elena. He didn't care what the Originals thought. He was seeing her, and he was getting through to her. It was time to shake her out of this.

Just as Damon made it to the hallway where Elena's room was, Stefan appeared in front of him. "You're not going in there, Damon."

"Get the hell out of my way, Stefan," Damon demanded.

"No. Leave her alone. She's got enough going on right now," Stefan said.

"I am not leaving her alone to deal with this crap!"

"She's not alone. Either Klaus or Elijah are always with her. They're helping her," Stefan said.

"That's worse than her being alone! Come on, we're talking about the Originals, Stefan. It wasn't that long ago that we had to protect Elena from them," Damon fumed.

"Things are different now," Stefan said.

"Why? Because they happen to share blood with her?" Damon asked as though it were ridiculous.

"Yes. No matter what else, we have seen what Klaus and Elijah will do for family. Elena is their family. They will do whatever it takes to help her," Stefan said. He didn't like relying on the Originals either. He didn't like Klaus or Elijah, but it wasn't about him or what he wanted. It was about what Elena needed. So far, Elijah and Klaus had been able to do more to help her than any of them had. They got her to feed. They were looking after her in away the rest them couldn't.

"What the hell is the matter with you? Are you still pissed that Elena chose me? Is that why you're willing to let them take her away? What, if you can't have her, neither of us can?" Damon asked with a sneer.

Stefan shook his head in disbelief. "Do you even hear yourself? Do you hear how selfish and pathetic you sound? This is not about you! It's about doing what's right for Elena, and you're really making it clear that you're not it. Neither am I for that matter. What Elena needs is to get the hell out of here."

"Not going to happen," Damon said before pushing past his brother towards Elena's room.

Stefan lunged at his brother and put an arm around his throat. He grabbed his head with his other hand and twisted until he heard a familiar snap. Then he let Damon fall to the ground.

Just then, Jeremy came out of his room to see what was going on. He arrived in time to see Damon on the ground with a broken neck. "Now, this a good look for Damon."

"I'm going to lock him in the basement until you guys leave. If not, he's either going make things worse for Elena or get himself killed, probably both," Stefan said.

"You know, you've been really decent about all of this. I half expected you to react the same way Damon has about Klaus and Elijah," Jeremy said.

"I want what's best for Elena. I want the girl I met two years ago to come back to herself. I know she can't do that here. You know, Klaus once said that my brother and I were the worst thing to happen to her. I think he might've been right," Stefan said sadly. Elena probably would've been so much happier if she hadn't met them. She never would've found out about all of this supernatural crap. She would've remained blissfully unaware of everything that had been done to her.

"No. The worst thing to ever happen to her was my father. Come on. I'll help you get Damon down to the basement," Jeremy said before grabbing Damon's legs.

Stefan nodded. He didn't need Jeremy's help, but he decided to take it anyway. He grabbed Damon's arms and they both carried him downstairs.