I came to with a jolt. It was darker than it was what felt like only moments ago and as my eyes adjusted, I became aware of Klaus hovering over me, moonlight pooling in his eyes.

I scowled.

"Does that satisfy you?" I asked him, ignoring the thickness of my voice. "Does it prove that this isn't working yet?"

If discouraged, Klaus didn't show it. In fact, he seemed maddeningly at ease. "I didn't expect it to. Not this quickly. Besides, if your switch really is that weak and your tolerance that poor, I'm surprised you didn't turn it off sooner."

I narrowed my eyes at him, particularly at the implication in his words. "Does this mean we aren't finished?"

"Far from it. I swore I would do everything in my power to help you, Caroline. And I meant every word."

"And who did you make that little oath to?"

"Myself."

I bit my bottom lip. If I could get out of these chains, I would attack him. I had no doubt. Push him into the river, though he was just as soaked as me. Maybe it would be easier . . .

"Well then, break it," I deadpanned, looking away from him. Or as much as I could, given his proximity. "You're not helping.This certainly isn't helping. You seem to continuously disregard the clear fact that I have no desire to feel, Klaus. And then I wonder why you are so anxious for me to. Is it because you think I'll have some great epiphany and realize I love you? Is that the pitiful wish of Niklaus Mikaelson?"

He cocked his head to the side in that patronizing way of his, leaning back to study me. Or to silently gloat. "Your petty slander does not faze me, Love. I've given my reason. There's little need to keep revisiting it. Now, how long do you want to be this time?"

I thought about the water flooding in. The gasping that came after the first breath. The knowledge of realizing which one was my last before the world disintegrated.

I had been afraid. And that feeling, just that small fragment of want, was enough to overpower me. I needed to be stronger than that.

"I'll let you decide," I said sweetly. "Because you will anyway. You probably already have."

"That's true," Klaus replied. "Ten minutes, twenty minutes. An hour. Two. Perhaps a day. Right now, you know I'll save you after a small amount of time has passed. But what would your reaction be if you knew that wasn't coming?"

I stared at him, feeling the surprise register on my face. Of course, I knew this was a possibility, but I didn't exactly take much pleasure in being right this time. "You'd seriously do that?"

"Do I look amused to you?"

My scowl deepened. "You know, you should really look up the definition of love in the dictionary. Because I'm pretty sure you're doing it wrong."

"I'm trying," I stilled at the sudden vehemence in his voice. His hands materialized at the sides of my head, pressing into the pavement as his face loomed overhead, blocking out the moon. His expression was completely unmasked and I saw what could only be described as pain replace it. For a second I caught that same glimmer of fear register in his eyes.

"I'm trying to save you from yourself. The girl who used to have a heart becoming this stranger she will call nothing less than a monster. This girl that, if not stopped, will continue down a path of destruction until it's consumed her entirety. And when that day finally comes, when she is forced to turn her humanity back on, she will not survive the pain and the guilt and will do whatever it takes to rid herself of it."

He was so close, he might as well have been shouting the words.

"So yes, Caroline, this may not be ones' ideal way to display affection, but don't delude yourself into believing I'm enjoying it. I'm doing only what I think is best, hoping you'll reclaim your humanity with each and every time I allow you to fall into that water, and force myself to turn away. But I've had centuries of pain so don't be naive enough to underestimate my tolerance of it."

I paused, feeling something blossom somewhere inside me, but then I slammed it into a corner, and waited for it to shrivel and disappear from existence.

When it did, I gave him a neutral look. "Then you're weaker than I thought."

Klaus retreated, pulling away from me. The moon reappeared again, but its glow seemed dimmer, as if the silver light were shying away from Klaus's outburst. "Would you care to test that theory? This time, I won't reveal to you the duration. Maybe it'll be only minutes. Perhaps hours."

He slipped his hands around the chains and lifted me into the air.

I was able to manage two breaths before the ground disappeared, and was once again replaced with water.

*******

He couldn't keep doing this. It was like running him through with a dagger, slowly, penetrating ever fiber of himself that wasn't completely unsalvageable. There had to be another way and though he knew Caroline still felt something, was feeling it now even, an ember simply wasn't enough to spark the whole of the world.

So what would be?

Klaus considered including Stefan in this arrangement of his, but he feared it would be counterproductive to his intentions. In addition, Klaus didn't need more enemies at the moment. No. He just knew he was running out of options and that Caroline had been correct about one thing.

This was indeed pitiful for a man of a thousand years' worth of experience.

He scolded the water, then remembered Caroline and his eyes skirted away., resting on the shoreline instead. Maybe the answer wasn't as complicated as he was making it out to be. Maybe it was simple reasoning of what defined Caroline and using that weakness, that very human part, against her.

He slung his arms over the rail and contemplated, reminiscing over the past and the Caroline he knew, a girl generous with her smiles and rich in opinion.

Klaus knew she hated injustice. Anything that went against what felt right, such as the death of a loved one. The ruination of a family. A simple broken heart. Perhaps that's the very reason she flipped the switch, because after experiencing first hand, a life plentiful of injustice,mshe no longer saw a purpose in fighting what she couldn't control.

And who was Caroline without her control?

Klaus growled internally, warring with himself as he tried to piece together exactly what was making this so . . .difficult.

But no matter how much he thought of it, he didn't know.

He leaned back and grasped the railing tightly, channeling all his frustration into his grip until the metal rod twisted and buckled. He felt the impressions of his fingers there, permanently marring the rail.

Klaus looked back into the water then and, with little resolve to his predicament, dove in.

She didn't lose consciousness this time. When he pulled her out, she spewed water and coughed, and for a second, he caught a flash of uncertainty cross her features. Something that resembled very human hesitation.

"I thought you said you'd be hours," she hissed, beads of water rolling down her face and dripping from her nose. "Do you have a conscience after all?"

He didn't rise to the bait. "Actually if you recall, I said it could be anywhere between minutes to hours," he corrected her, as he grabbed one of the chains and dragged her forward until he could manage to thread one hand beneath her legs and the other behind her back. He stared into her eyes, feeling somewhat relaxed that at least she was there.

His voice turned serious. "Did you feel that spark of hope when you hit the surface? When you drew in that first beautiful breath? That's a little thing called relief."

"If that's what you think I feel, put me back."

"Do not tempt me."

"That's kind of the point."

He hefted her higher and began walking back to the bridge. This process was slowly taking its toll on him rather than its intended objective. Making an effort not to lose his patience, he tried again. "I want you to focus on what it felt like when you realized you were headed to the surface. That weight being lifted, if just for a moment."

"I really can't focus when your face is this close."

He smiled. "Distracting to you, is it, Love?"

"No, more like intrusive when it comes to my personal bubble."

Klaus's smile fell into a grimace. "Pardon my close proximity then," he said. "It'll be rectified in a moment."

She didn't respond as they returned to the bridge and he set her down, readying to drop her in once more.

Klaus sighed somewhat dejectedly. "This is becoming rather dull," he said, as he stared down into the river, the waters growing restless with the growing wind. "Best to not waste what little reserve of interest I still maintain in this."

And he dropped her in again.

More time elapsed. It was the longest he had kept her there and he didn't follow his own advice, counting the minutes as they went by. The tactic always made it feel like hours rather than minutes. Maybe it had been hours, but he didn't dive in until he felt a sufficient amount of time had passed.

If it didn't work now though, he doubted it ever would. And that was about as much resolve as he scoured when he went in after her.

But when Klaus swam to the bottom of the murky inlet, he didn't resurface with Caroline.

He found no traces of her except a large lock and the long chain, coiled at the bottom of the river.