ACT TWO; TARGET IN SIGHT
SCENE FOURTEEN; THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE
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tw: talks of miscarriage

"MS. KENNER, MY NAME IS DR. TARA MATTHEWS."

Salem furrowed her brows, looking up from her lap at the dark haired woman as she fumbled with the monitor clamped around her finger. "Uh, hi? What happened to Dr. Fell?"

The woman's eyes filled with pity and Salem stiffened as the doctor took the empty seat beside her bed that Rebekah had forcibly removed Klaus from hours ago. "Dr. Fell felt that the extense of your damage was best told by someone with more experience in these situations. There was extensive damage done to your organs in your attack, and unfortunately, not everything could be repaired." 

"What are you talking about? I thought that I was fine, the nurses said I was going to be fine,"

The woman nodded, giving her a smile that did nothing to calm the growing fear building in Salem's chest.

"I was called into your surgery due to unforeseen circumstances," She takes a moment's pause and Salem shifts uncomfortably at the silence. "Ms. Kenner, were you aware that you were nine weeks pregnant?"

The air rushed out of Salem's lungs at the woman's words and she huffs a laugh, shaking her head. "No, no, I wasn't– I can't even get pregnant."

A worried twitch quirked the woman's face, but she pushed on. "Tissue damage showed that you were in fact pregnant, Salem. And due to the severity of your wounds, you suffered from a miscarriage."

Salem's heart stutters audibly on the monitor but it's a faint noise in her ears as the woman's words process. "No, no, I wasn't. I wasn't pregnant. I couldn't be."

"Ms. Kenner,"

"You don't understand, I can't get pregnant,"

"You were a perfectly healthy 24 year old, Ms. Kenner. There were no signs of infertility in any previous doctor appointments that would've led to you being unable to conceive."

"My husband," Salem spits the lie out, her anger rising as she pushes away her fear. "He's– He's a– oh, god, he doesn't know, does he?"

"We haven't informed him yet, no,"

"Don't," She brings a trembling hand up to her mouth, attempting to stop the quiver in her lips. "Don't tell him, please."

The doctor nods, a misplaced look of sympathy in her eyes. "Unfortunately there were more complications once we became aware of your pregnancy."

Salem shook her head, her brows furrowed as her pulse stuttered wildly. She dropped her hand from her mouth, looking at the doctor with a lost expression. "What– What do you mean? What happened?"

"The damage done in the process of the attack affected your reproductive organs as well as your vital organs, too. Further exploration done during your operation showed the extent of your injuries."

"So what– what's the issue? What's wrong with me?"

"Ms. Kenner," The woman sighed, the sound full of pity that made Salem's eyes burn with tears she bit back. "It will be highly, highly improbable for you to conceive again. The damage was almost completely irreparable, and chances of any future pregnancies are practically zero."

"You're saying I'll never be able to have kids?"

"It will be a true miracle if you do,"

Salem inhaled sharply and looked away from the doctor, her vision blurring with the tears that threatened to spill. "Leave."

"Miss–"

"Please leave. And send Dr. Fell in here."

The woman sighed, but obliged, quickly departing from the private room. Salem's breath picked up quickly at her departure and her eyes darted frantically around the room as she tried to take a deep breath. She shot her watery gaze to the door as it opened, belatedly registering Meredith's arrival as the woman rushed to her side.

"Salem? Salem, are you alright?"

She clutched the woman's arm, using the leverage to swing her legs off the bed. "I need to leave," She carelessly yanked her IV out of her arm and the pulse monitor on her finger, dropping them onto the bed behind her.

"What?"

"Leave– I need to leave. I need to get out of here right now, Meredith, please," She looked up at the woman pleadingly, feeling her tears grow cold on her cheeks. "I need to go home. Help me get dressed, please,"

"Salem, I don't think–"

Clenching her jaw, she raised her hand, feeling the thrum of her magic swarm beneath her skin. "Either you help me leave, or I kill everyone in this hospital." 

Meredith bit out a sigh at the ultimatum but nodded, gesturing to a pile of clothes sitting folded on the table. "Your old clothes were thrown away during surgery, but Klaus brought these."

Salem reached for them, the pull of her stitches going unnoticed in her panic as she ripped the starchy hospital gown off and dressed.

"Salem, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I can't be here anymore, I'm too vulnerable. I don't know if the person that did this will come back, and I need to get home so I can better protect myself."

Salem slid on her shoes, wincing at the pain ebbing through her body. She headed for the door, giving Meredith a look over her shoulder. "Did you know that I was pregnant?"

"I was informed by Dr. Matthews, yes." Meredith nodded, her dark eyes full of sympathy.

Salem sighed, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Don't tell anyone."

"I won't,"

"I'm serious, Meredith. You and I are the only people that need to know about this. I know you mean a lot to Ric, but I will kill you if I find out you said something,"

The woman nodded, swallowing roughly at the threat. "I won't tell anyone."

Salem steadied her breathing forcibly and gave the woman a departing nod as she left the room, the sound of her pounding heartbeat still echoing in her ears. 

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"Oh, welcome home! How was your near-death experience?"

Salem raised a brow as Kol greeted her, his tone jovial despite his words. "Is Klaus here?"

"Unfortunately not, he's off doing whatever it is he does when he's not glued to your side."

Salem gave him an odd look but stepped past him, wincing when her stomach ached in warning.

"You know, I really don't get it,"

Salem stopped at the base of the stairs when Kol's voice echoed through the house again and she turned to face him, her face furrowed confusedly. "Don't get what?"

He shakes his head, sighing in a way she can only interpret as irritated.

"What is it about you that has my brother so utterly fascinated?" Kol moves to the staircase, tilting his head back slightly so he can look at her where she stands a few steps above him. "I had to kill an entire village just to get him to listen to me, and it landed me in a box for centuries, but you bat your eyes and the great Klaus Mikaelson is at your beck and call. It just doesn't make sense." 

Salem's fingers twitched at her side and she scoffed at him. "It's not like I knew any of this would happen when I first met him,"

"Of course not," He hums like he knows something she doesn't, or assumes he knows something she doesn't, and the thought irritates her. "His precious Salem would never hurt him, not on purpose."

"What do you want, Kol?" Her words are sharp and she watches an odd gleam of amusement light up the Original's eyes. "I've been in the hospital for a week and I'd like to shower and lay in my own damn bed for a few hours."

"I don't want anything, Salem," His tone suggests otherwise, but Salem keeps her comments to herself for the time being. "I just wish to get a glimpse inside my brother's diabolical brain every once in a while, and you seem to have an open-ended connection to it."

The words are said with a borderline sneer, and she clenches her hand around the railing of the grand staircase.

"Are you just some trophy that he keeps on his arm, showing you off like he's won you, as if you're some prize? Is that it?"

"I'm not–"

"I'm genuinely curious," He leans forward, sick amusement glimmering in his eyes. "A witch and a werewolf, you're truly one of a kind. His little hybrid, his pet."

She tears her eyes away from him, inhaling sharply at his words as she looks over his head in an attempt to contain herself. She doesn't want to give him any sort of reaction, but she knows he's already caught on. "Stop, Kol,"

"That's what you are, isn't it? A little pet, meant to stay inside, locked away. You're just something to be used when it's convenient for him– a distraction."

"Stop,"

"He will never love you," The words are said simply, as if talking about the weather, and it makes her eyes snap back down to his, alight with fire. "Klaus is incapable of loving another person, trust me, pet. You're only here because you have something he wants, and once he's taken all he can from you and left you broken, you'll be just like the rest of us. Rotting somewhere in a box, where Nik will never have to think about you again. With any luck, it'll be at his hand instead of Finn's."

Salem surges forward and wraps her hand around his throat, the heat of her magic stinging at his skin as he chuckles through his wince. "If you're so sure that Klaus is wrapped around my pretty little finger, then you'd be smart to watch what you say to me. All it'll take for you to end up back in that damn box is a few tears from me." 

He laughs again and she tightens her grip on his neck, cutting the sound off as it begins to echo in the large house. 

"You know what I think your problem is with me, Kol? I think you're just a jealous, pissed off little boy who has to do things like go on killing sprees or cause a scene in public just to get attention from your brother and you know I don't even have to try."

She smirks satisfactorily when she sees her words hit their mark, familiar anger sparking in his eyes as she shoves him away from her with a grunt. "I promise, Kol, whatever you think of me? It doesn't matter. If you think I care what you think of me, or what your family thinks of me, then you clearly haven't been paying attention."

She gives him a once over and shakes her head, spinning on her heel to go back up the stairs like she'd wanted to in the first place. "Thank you for the warm welcome home, but it would do you some good to remember that you're in my home. The one your brother built for me. That means what I say goes, and right now, I don't have anything to say that ends well for you."

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Salem yanks her shirt off over her head as soon as she shuts the bedroom door behind her and she lets her tears well up in her eyes finally, the pain of her still-healing injuries hitting her all at once. Her rash actions with Kol had torn some of her stitches open and she'd just barely made it to her room when the blood started to seep into her shirt.

Laying a trembling hand over her stomach, she pressed down, whimpering at the pain as she stumbled to the bathroom, leaning her weight against the counter.

"Shit," Her curse echoes in the bathroom and she throws her head back, a few tears slipping into her hairline at the action. She looks back down at the wound that stretches from right beside her belly button to just beneath her sternum. Seeing it in all of its glory under the harsh light of the bathroom, she questioned her mortality and just how far her healing factor could be pushed if she'd survived something this brutal.

Blindly reaching for the sink, she turned the faucet on and tore her now blood-stained hand away from her wound, haphazardly rinsing the liquid down the drain as she braced herself against the sink again.

"Okay," She let out a shaky breath, hovering a hand over her stomach. "Just do it. Just–"

The heat of her magic burned against her skin and she gasped wetly, a wave of nausea hitting her at the onslaught of pain. She hovered above the wound for a second longer, watching the skin weave itself back together before she stopped, her knees weak beneath her weight.

"God– fuck!" Her curse echoed in the bathroom and she silently prayed Kol wasn't somewhere listening, thinking she'd let him get to her in any way. Panting out a few more unsteady breaths, she raised her hand to her stomach again, not giving herself any time to overthink the pain.

She groaned through clenched teeth and quickly brought her hand down the rest of the length of the wound, watching as the stitches dissolved into her skin as it pulled together again. Finally finished, she tore her hand away and leaned back, dropping her head down as she caught her breath. Her stomach heaved, nausea still rolling dangerously as she shifted on unsteady feet to face the large mirror on the wall.

Her eyes drop to the newly-healed wound and she grimaces at the red, irritated scar, silently reprimanding herself for the sloppy work. She knew how to do better, she was taught better, but it was always different when you did it to yourself.

Lightly tracing her fingers across the scar, she turned to the side, looking at the small bump in her stomach. Her breath hitched and she flattened her palm against her stomach, the doctor's words suddenly loud in her mind as she imagined the nonexistent belly she would've had.

Were you aware that you were nine weeks pregnant?

Nine weeks. Florida. It had to have been. She hadn't slept with anyone but Klaus in the past four months, and the last time was in Florida, up until the night of the ball.

To think she'd been pregnant that whole time and not known it makes her feel unwarranted guilt. If she hadn't been so caught up in everything else, she would've noticed. Whether it be from missing her period, or the slight weight gain, or the stomach aches she'd been having as of recent. If she hadn't been so distracted by everything, she would've known.

It's odd, she thinks, to suddenly miss something you weren't even aware you had. She feels lonely, then, as she stares in the mirror. She thinks of the possibility. Of what could've been.

Are you saying I'll never have kids?

It will be a true miracle if you do.

She feels the words like a hole in her heart and she can't stop the sob that tears from her lips as her knees give out from beneath her. She drops her head to the ground and her tears spill on the tile, her hands cupping hopelessly at her stomach.

It could've been something. But now, it was nothing.

The mirror shatters when she screams, and she lets the mess surround her as she mourns the loss of a future she'll never get the chance to have. 

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The sound of the bedroom door opening makes her pry her sore eyes open and she meets Klaus's gaze from where she laid in the middle of the bed, her hand resting on her stomach.

"I should take you back to the hospital,"

"Please don't," She breathes, her voice hoarse. Klaus's eyes flood with uncharacteristic concern as he sits on the edge of the bed, his hand coming to rest on her leg. "I'm fine."

"Salem," She shakes her head against the pillow, and he must see her desperation, her silent pleas, because he drops the subject with a heavy sigh. "What did they say?"

She took in a shaky breath, fumbling with the hem of her shirt as she looks away from him. "She said,"

Nine weeks.

It's highly, highly improbable that you'll be able to conceive again.

Once he's taken all he can from you, and you're broken, you'll be just like the rest of us.

"Salem?"

Snapping from her thoughts, she shakes her head, giving him a slight shrug. "She said I'll be fine as long as I can finish healing on my own. Which, I did,"

She lifts her shirt slightly to show him the scar, and tries to hide her flinch when his stare hits her stomach. She can't help but feel like he knows, and the thought makes her quickly pull her shirt back down to hide whatever could possibly give her away.

Clearing her throat, she changes the subject. "Rebekah told me about the white oak stakes earlier,"

Klaus sighs, taking the easy bait of his own possible demise, and she breathes a mental sigh of relief. "There's still a few in the possession of the Salvatores, but it's being taken care of."

Biting the inside of her cheek, she recalls Meredith's reluctant voice telling her that the Gilbert ring had practically driven Alaric insane. "And Ric?"

"He's locked up in the cellar of the boarding house. Apparently his evil alter ego hid one of the stakes, and I have to try and get the location out of him."

"I want to see him,"

"Absolutely not,"

"I wasn't asking," Salem sits up, ignoring his brief look of concern at her harsh movements. "He's my best friend, Klaus, and he saved my life. If it hadn't been for him, I would've bled out in the middle of town. The least I can do in return is help him through all of this,"

Klaus gives her an incredulous look. "He could kill you, Salem, you're not going anywhere near him. I won't allow it,"

Her eyes widen and she scoffs at him, an odd sense of relief hitting her at the familiarity of their bickering. "You won't allow me? Really? Since when have you ever let me do anything? I'm telling you that I'll either go with you to see Ric and let you do whatever it is you need to do, or I'll go by myself and make it harder on everyone."

Klaus begins to snark back, but she gives him a daring look and he bites it back with a sigh. Eyes fluttering shut exasperatedly, he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Fine, Salem. But you won't be out of my sight for a second, understand?"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night,"

He rolls his eyes at her and rests his hand atop hers as he stands, gently nudging her back against the pillows. "Don't wait up."

"What? Why?"

"Kol is in Denver, doing a little of my bidding for me. I need to wait until I hear from him to do anything."

"Kol's in Denver? Why?" 

Klaus shrugged, unperturbed by her sudden questioning. "He's getting a message across to Elena."

Salem's eyebrows raise for a moment before his words settle in with her. "When did he leave?"

"Just this evening," He furrowed his brows, looking at her somewhat worriedly. "Why?"

Salem swallows around the concrete lump in her throat and gives him a small smile. "No reason. I saw him when I got home and he didn't say anything about leaving." 

He seems to contemplate her words for a moment before whatever it is he sees in her eyes convinces him she's telling the truth and he leans forward, giving her a brief peck on the cheek before he dismisses himself from the bedroom entirely.

Salem lets out an unsteady breath once the door shuts behind him and she puts her hands back on her stomach, a sudden laugh leaving her lips that bounced emptily off the tall ceiling above her.

Kol had been leaving and yet he'd still wasted his time to corner her. To try and intimidate her. He'd gone out of his way to try and poison her mind with his words, and as much as she wished it wasn't true– it worked.

She slides her hands up under the fabric of her shirt and trails her finger along the scar that spans her torso.

You'll be just like the rest of us. Rotting somewhere in a box where Nik will never have to think about you again.

With any luck, it'll be at his hand.

Yes, she thinks. With any luck.

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author's note; ... before anyone asks if he's gonna sleep with hayley... NO! JUST WAITTTTT

edited and published; 7.6.23.

- liz