"…. What", Caroline barely whispered as her brain steamrolled over the information that had just been given to her. Klaus. Baby. "….what?"

"Hayley's pregnant with Klaus' baby." Tyler repeated.

They were all seated in the Salvatore's boarding house, sans Damon and Elena. The fire roared warming the vampires, humans and witches rounded up to celebrate the demise of Katerina Petrova. Tyler's presence, usually comforting to Caroline, was now unwanted as she tried and failed to zip her jacket higher up on her neck, attempting to cover marks, scents, any evidence of the days previous encounters.

"Tyler, we heard what you said, its just not possible" Caroline's brain began to process words again as Stefan tried to calm the room. "Vampires can't father children".

"Well Klaus isn't just a vampire. It gets worse too. His demon spawn's blood has the ability to create more hybrids. That asshole will be able to create another army."

At that stunning exclamation, Caroline pushed off of the couch an exited the room. She could not process this information with everyone adding on more insanity and the outbursts that followed each new bombshell. Tyler glared at her as she left. She didn't care; he could think anything he wanted. This was huge. She needed a minute.

How could this be possible? How could Klaus be a father? How could he sleep with her and not tell her about this? Well, she breathed out loud, a small laugh escaping her lips. Because it's Klaus. This is exactly what he does. He lies, and manipulates and kisses so rough and tender all at the same time. She put her hands on her hips so she could feel where his fingers dug into her skin. Where she would be yellowing with sweet bruises if she were still human…If she were still human she could be pregnant right now. She sat down on the bench in the hallway, brought hands to her chest massaging the flesh on her shoulders, trying to ignore the yelling from the other room. Tyler's trying to rally the troops, giving the Scooby gang their next monster to take down. And amongst all of this she feels exhaustion. Please, can it ever stop just for a second? Can't she just go to college and be normal? Is there any such thing as normal anymore?

In the other room, there is another commotion. And Caroline over hears Stefan disagreeing with Tyler's plan to… end the pregnancy. "Are you kidding me? We cannot allow him to sire any more hybrids!" Tyler's anger was radiating off of the ceiling. "And we" Stefan emphasized the group, "cannot kill a baby". Caroline rolled her eyes. Tyler was out of his mind angry. Wanting to kill a baby that is not even born yet is insanity, even if the baby could create hybrids…. Caroline burst out of her seat, then paused and took calm careful steps into the living room. Confusion covered her face as she stared at Tyler. "How do you know?"

He looked at her confused, pissed off, he shook his head, "She told me Care, I saw her"!

"No. How do you know that the baby's blood will create hybrids?"

Tyler didn't like that question. His lips pursed together, clenched his jaw, and he stared at Caroline.

"I mean, its not even born yet. How would you know? You're asking us to go kill a girl, or her baby or whatever based on a theory?" Tyler did not respond. "Why are you so certain? You seem to be so," she paused anger starting to drip from her own lips, "sure of yourself".

"Someone told me".

"So what? I could tell you that Klaus' blood creates unicorns and makes baby dwarfs fly through the air and it wouldn't mean anything!" She took a deep, not calming, but necessary breath. "How do you know that this unborn child you are so set on murdering can create hybrids?"

His eyes glared back. The room was waiting with pregnant anticipation. "Because I turned a wolf into a hybrid with the baby's blood." his shoulders sagged, eyes softened as he waited for the outburst from someone. There was silence.

Caroline started shaking. She brought her fists together, manicured nails digging into her palms and had to spit her words out between clenched teeth. "And how did you get the baby's blood before it was born?"

Tyler look down at his own hands, as if contemplating the blood on them, but the turned his head upwards defiantly, "I used a syringe and got the blood from Hailey".

Caroline let out a breath, "So you stuck a needle into a woman's womb in order to test the possibility of…. What," she raised her arms in a shrug and slammed them against her thighs.

"I checked the possibility that he could make more hybrids!"

"And that was worth the risk?" She exclaimed incredulous at this man who used to be her lover. The man she knew would not have been so careless with an infant. A baby. Or maybe he would. Did she ever really know him? He was always so distant. There one day, gone the next. They shared a transformation together, they were baby vamps and weres and hybrids together. It seems as though it was a lifetime ago. When she was that stupid young cheerleader and he was the douchebag jock. Now that they have finished becoming, these two former lovers stood miles apart. They stared at one another for what seemed an eternity.

They weren't together anymore, but it didn't sink in to Caroline until this moment that Tyler, her Tyler was gone. Someone who was power hungry, angry and desperate replaced him. Tyler had nothing to lose, he would attack Klaus, his child, his…. She didn't want to think about what Hayley was to Klaus, but Tyler would attack her too. He was empty now, a shell of himself, and that is not who she is. She is strong, and fearless, and above all smart. She knows that she sees the world with a little more perk than her friends, but that does not mean she is not smart. And she knows that attacking Klaus, attacking him for any reason is stupid. So, as she waited for Tyler's response to her ever-present question, she knew that his answer was going to determine a lot of things for her. If he was apologetic she could plead his case to Klaus. But no matter what, there is going to be a choice involved in this conversation.

"Yes. Absolutely. I would do it again. "

And that settles it. "Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I am not going have any type of hand in this. In fact, I am not going to be present for any more of this" she moves into the room completely and picks up her purse. Before she leaves, she turns her head towards the group. "I hope that I do not have to be the one to remind you that we killed two of Klaus' brothers, tricked him into murdering his hybrids after we broke their loyalty to him, we've locked him in rooms as we plot his demise, and we are all culpable in that. So he may be the devil, and he may have done terrible things, but we are not the only people with a score to settle. Let's remember that, before we plan to take something else from the most powerful man on the planet."

And she walked away.