NOTE: I DO NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR THE CHARACTERS OR THE CONCEPTS IN THIS STORY. I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES OR ANY CHARACTERS OR PLOT WITHIN IT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO L.J. SMITH AND JULIE PLEC. THIS IS STRICTLY FANFICTION.

THE ONLY ORIGINAL PARTS WILL BE WHAT DIVERT FROM

THE MAIN PLOT OF THE SHOW. THIS CHAPTER IS BASED OFF THE STILLS FROM

4X18.

He didn't know how long he had been gone, but Klaus had been drifting in and out for what felt like hours. All he could remember was long periods of blackness broken by short spouts of conciousness, which brought such excruciating pain in his back, only inches from his heart, that he almost couldn't bear it.

But Klaus was not one to hide from his demons, not for a long while. So he refused to lose conciousness the next time he came to.

The burning just got greater the longer he sat on the cool, stone floor, despite his attempts to get used to the pain. Placing his hand on his forehead, Klaus realised his temple was hot from fever, and he could feel the sweat dripping down his torso, from the pain or the fire, he wasn't sure. He didn't like the feeling of helplessness it was giving him, and decided he had enough. Stretching his arms around to his back, he searched for the cause of the scorching that felt as if it was eating him from the inside out. The encounter of something hard, and the spreading of the flames further into his body as he lightly pressed it, brought back the events that had resulted in this.

The woods. Silas. The white oak stake.

Silas had broken a piece of the stake off and left it inside of him, to torture him. Klaus closed his eyes as his anger built, forcing it to grow by thinking of everything that had gone wrong - letting himself be taken by Silas, showimg fear towards the stake, the expression triangle being completed by the deaths of the witches, Caroline...

"Klaus."

He didn't have to look up to recognise her voice. It was as if she had come right out of his mind, the thought of her name making her materialise right in front of his eyes. He slowly looked up, trying to keep his eyes as hard and cold as possible despite the worsening pain in his spine, which only got worse at the sight of her.

He was once again struck by her beauty - her pale, porcelain skin, her crystal eyes, her slim figure, her golden hair falling in waves just past her shoulders, and most of all her indignant expression. She was studying him, almost as if she was expecting him to grow a third eye, her arms crossed as she stared down at him.

"Caroline," he breathed, cursing the desperation and aching that was clear in his voice.

At the sound of her name spoken aloud, she curled her lips into tight smile of the likes he had never seen before. Even when she was telling him that she hated him, or faking an affection for him, she didn't sport this smile, and it both confused and slightly frightened him. It was an unpleasant smile, even on her beautiful features, and held a slyness and wickedness even Klaus didn't have himself. He knew Caroline wasn't that twisted, yet here she was, telling him that she was.

She noticed Klaus' change in expression, from slight relief to uncertainty, and her smile only curled further, "I will bring you nothing but misery."

Her words sent a chill through him, and he felt genuine fear for the first time since he had become immortal. She had him in a physically vulnerable state, and regardless of his feelings towards her, could easily manipulate him purely on that basis. To add to that, the burning of his skin was also burning his soul, weakening his mental state. He knew he had no protection, no advantage. Klaus was no longer in control, a situation he had tried to prevent for a thousand years.

Caroline slowly walked towards him, crouching down in front of him where he knelt on the floor. He was staring straight at her, determined to hold as much strength as he could from his position, but she crushed it as soon as she made her next move.

"In a little pain, are we?" she asked, brushing her fingerstips along his shoulder blades.

Rather than the warmth he imagined her touch would bring, it brought only sharp, jabbing pains to his stomach. She continued her trail down the back of his arm, before suddenly moving jer fingers to the place above where the white oak was buried. She softly moved her hand back and forth across it, almost as if she was caressing him, but he knew better. Even though he was expecting it, the feeling of her applying pressure was blinding, and it took all he had not to cry out as he squeezed his eyes shut against it.

His face may have given something away to her, or she might have just known the effect she was having on him, but when he re opened his eyes, he saw exactly what he was dealing with. Her face was twisted in a cruel expression, and all he saw was emptiness when he looked into her eyes, rather than the vibrant soul that usually shone so brightly. He didn't know how she had transformed to someone so void of anything remotely human, and someone so full of hatred and dripping with evil, but what Klaus did know was that the Caroline he cared for was gone.

And with that thought, he once again allowed unconciousness take him.

As Klaus drifted in and out, he recalled Caroline disappearing at re appearing, each time wearing that same dark expression and talking to herself about what she could do to him next. He didn't even know what she was torturing him for - for not comforting her? for getting rid of Tyler?

Regardless of the reason, she was determined to hurt him as much as possible.

When he finally could maintain conciousness again, he found the room he was in once again empty. The walls were brick, and completely empty. There was a large table in the center of the room that resembled a dining table, but it was completely empty, and there were no chairs around it. He also noted an empty fireplace from the corner of his eye, but didn't dare turn around in fear of being blind to a potential attack.

Staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the stake in his back, he jolted upright when he heard footsteps. They hesitated at the door, before Caroline walked in once again.

Klaus involuntarily shrunk away from her, moving as close to the wall as possible without actually allowing his bare back to make contact with it. Caroline moved towards him, her face full of shock and concern. He didn't buy it for a second, knowing he wanted her to let his guard down even further. She froze as she took in the look of complete horror and fear on his face, and Klaus was sure she could see how frightened he was of the girl she had just shown him she now was, no matter how much he tried to conceal it.

Caroline was surprised to find Klaus in the state he was, and when she saw the fear in his eyes, it shook her to her core. Klaus wasn't afraid of anything -so why did he seem so frightened of her?

She rushed toward him, forgetting that she was meant to be upset with him, and fell down by his side. He flinched away from her, unable to move fast enough to evade her completely, which confused her further.

"K-klaus," she stuttered, "what happened?"

He looked at her blankly as she waited for a response, and when he gave her none, she reached out to help him to his feet. He flinched away from her once again, and she felt a pang in her heart at his response. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew something was wrong, and they had to get out. If only Klaus would let her help him.

"You don't fool me," he said, growing taller as he sat up on his knees, "I know what you are trying to-"

He stopped suddenly as he got a good look at the girl in front of him, and he was struck by the comforting and familiar feelings she brought, even though those feelings had at first seemed so foreign to him. Looking into her eyes, he once again saw that vibrantness he was searching for previously, and relief washed over him.

"Caroline?"

He hesitantly stretched his hand out and placed it on her cheek, pulling her closer and looking deeper into her eyes. It was most definitely her, and the smile she gave him when she realised he recognised her proved it. It was full of the warmth and and goodness he had come to associate with her, and he knew this couldn't be the same girl that was so twisted only hours before.

"What is going on?" she asked, and when Klaus saw the genuine lack of knowledge she held, it all clicked.

"Silas."