Chapter 21: Heal Her

4x13

The Gilbert House

Ophira wakes up next to Klaus looking at Kol's dead body. She curls up into a ball and Klaus sit next to Ophira. "Are you ok darling?" He asks.

"Not really."

"Come here." She lays her head on his shoulder while tears stream down her face. 

Later...

Klaus is standing in the living room, looking at Kol's burnt corpse. He looks upset. Ophira still sitting on the floor in a ball. Tyler walks in the front door.

"Morning, sunshine. You look pathetic.""Only until Bonnie's spell locking me in here wears off. Then I'll look different. Angrier, perhaps. Or I won't look like anything because I'll have gouged your eyeballs from their sockets."" My friends will be back with the cure by then. So, I could shove it down your throat and make you mortal.""I'm an Original. What makes you think my entire vampire bloodline won't be cured along with me? I.e., you."" You know what I think? I think that's impossible. I think the moment you stop being a vampire, our whole blood connection to you is broken, and your sire-line ceases to exist. So, whatever happens to you, happens only to you, which means I can kill your ass and no one else has to die. Although I am still debating just how to do it."

Klaus vamps towards Tyler, but can't get him due to the barrier.

"I recommend drowning. There's nothing quite like the feeling of someone fighting for something as basic as human breath. And let me tell you, your mother was a fighter.""Will you two shut it." Ophira says. Tyler glares at Klaus, who looks pleased with his taunting.

Caroline enters through the back door. She sees Tyler.

" You're still here? What are you doing?""Gloating." Tyler pours himself a drink. Klaus emerges from the living room and walks as far as he can within the confines of the spell."Hello, Caroline."

She glares at him for a moment before looking back at Tyler.

"Come home. Don't stoop to his level.""He destroyed my life. I plan on being present for every second of his misery until I can kill him myself.""Fine. You can gloat and multitask. This place is a disaster. Starting with a horrific burnt corpse." 

She finds a table cloth in a cabinet and she and Tyler use it to cover up Kol's body. Klaus watches them with a slightly tortured expression. More tears stream down Ophira's face. 

"Tyler's mother is dead. So is my brother. We're even." To Caroline] "Call Bonnie. Get her to let me out of here.""I will never, ever, help you." Caroline looks towards Ophira. "I'm sorry Ophira." She says genuinely. "How quickly you forget the part where I saved Tyler from the misery of being a werewolf. Or the night your mother invited me into her home to save the life of her precious daughter.""How delusional are you? You killed his mother. And let's not forget that we're standing in a house where Elena's aunt Jenna used to live. Or did you think that your charm would make us forget how you killed her, too? You know what? No. I am not going to engage in this. You are not even worth the calories I burn talking to you."

Suddenly Klaus vamp-speeds to pick up a nearby floor lamp, which he uses to impale Caroline.

"No!"

Klaus swings Caroline over to his side of the magical barrier and bites her neck. She falls to the floor.

"Now, that was definitely worth the calories."

Tyler carries Caroline into the living room and lays her down on the floor. Klaus turns around.

"You want to be in control, Klaus? Here. Now you get to be in control of her life. If you want her to die, fine. But then you can sit here and watch her die yourself."

Tyler leaves the house. Caroline looks up at Klaus, who approaches her.

"Nothing personal, love. If I cure you, that means victory for him. Don't worry. It won't be long now."

Caroline, breathing heavily, closes her eyes.

Caroline is lying on the sofa, breathing raspingly. Klaus stands across the room.

[weakly] "If you don't feed me your blood, I'll die."[not looking at her] "Then you'll die, and Tyler will have learned his lesson the hard way.""How could you do this to him? To his mom? To me?""I'm a thousand years old. Call it boredom.""I don't believe you.""Fine. Then maybe it's because I'm pure evil, and I can't help myself.""No, I see how you car for that little Ophira you it because you were hurt. Which means that there is a part of you that is human."

Klaus approaches her and sits on the table next to the sofa.

"How could you possibly think that?""Because I've seen it. Because...I've caught myself wishing that I could forget all the horrible things that you've done.""But you can't. Can you?""I know that you're in love with me and you love Ophira. And anybody capable of love is capable of being saved."

Klaus' eyes start glistening, and appears to have been moved by Caroline's words. He looks away.

"You're hallucinating.""I guess I'll never know." [Her breathing catches.]"Caroline?... Caroline?""Heal her Klaus," Ophira says to him.

Her breathing is labored then weak and fading. For a moment longer Klaus looks torn, but finally he lifts Caroline into a sitting position, sits behind her, bites open his wrist and puts it to her mouth and she starts drinking. Klaus smooths her hair as she regains strength and continues to drink.