Caroline swirled the straw in her drink and stared down at her blank phone screen. Where was that hybrid boyfriend of hers? It'd been his idea to meet at the Grill for lunch and now he was a no-show. Calling him was out of the question. She'd already left him three messages and he complained constantly that she all she did was nag when they were together. Every time they made plans lately, Tyler was either late or ended up canceling–after she'd already gotten to wherever it was they agreed to meet. On campus, off campus, he was never where he said he was going to be. Part of her was afraid it was another girl. Another part hoped it was. It would be so much simpler if she could explain away the growing distance between them on some slut. She would be a slut, too. Apart from herself, Tyler had the worst taste in women.

"I'm so tired of him doing this. He was the one who wanted to come home this weekend." Caroline rubbed at her temples as she felt a headache coming on. Across from her, Elena shrugged and took an exaggerated sip from her own drink.

"He'll be here. Call him again if you're so worried."

"And hear again how I'm the most nagging girlfriend ever? No thanks." Caroline crossed her arms and scanned the Grill's inhabitants for the hundredth time but she still didn't see Tyler anywhere. The Grill was unusually crowded for the middle of a Saturday. They'd been lucky to even find a table and Tyler was almost an hour late. Elena didn't mind fielding the glares sent their way for hogging the table; she never turned down any excuse to use her vamp powers in public. There was always going to be a part of the shut-off Elena in the emotions-on Elena. Caroline had given up being upset by it.

"I'm going outside to look for him. If he calls, tell him he's going to wish he had to turn at every full moon again after I get through with him."

"Harsh, Caroline. The last thing I want to do is field your calls from Tyler," Elena said, holding out her hand for Caroline's phone.

"You owe me for talking to Damon while you were on a blood run."

"Don't remind me."

"Thanks." Caroline slammed the phone down onto Elena's hand with a bit more force than was necessary. A perverse part of her enjoyed seeing her wince slightly with the impact. Weaving her way through the tables, Caroline left the Grill in search of Tyler. Elena took another sip from her drink and set Caroline's phone off to the side. She wasn't sure who was more tired of Caroline and Tyler's drama, herself or Caroline. The first few months Tyler had been back from his Klaus-imposed exile everything had been disgustingly wonderful between them but now...no one wanted to be around them when they were together.

Caroline's phone emitted a noise Elena didn't recognize–it wasn't her ring tone or her usual text notification–and she picked it up, resting her chin in one hand as she stared down at the screen. It was a picture. She squinted down at the screen. A picture of a tiny table, covered by a dingy tablecloth, in an even dingier poorly lit room with tarot cards spread across it. The phone emitted the noise again and another picture appeared and Elena almost dropped it.

The same tiny table, the same dingy tablecloth, the same dark room but Klaus sat in the chair that had been empty before. Klaus.

"Caroline, you are so busted." Elena smiled to herself as the phone emitted its "Klaus" notification four more times as he sent her pictures of each of his tarot cards. There was one last picture of a grumpy looking fortune teller sitting next to Klaus, but Elena only gave it a glance. How many pictures did Caroline have on here? Was she having some kind of...picture sharing relationship with Klaus? Was that even a thing?

Elena scrolled through the pictures and stopped counting once she passed ten. They were just pictures and most of them didn't make sense to her. Restaurants, café tables. Their dorm room?! Really, Caroline? And those shoes she'd bought and talked herself into returning. Tyler in a dress. Elena giggled. No matter how many times she saw it, it was still funny. God, he was an ugly woman. Elijah? With a drawn on moustache? She hadn't thought any of the Originals had a sense of humor. Klaus' house in Mystic Falls with a For Sale sign that hadn't been there today when they drove by on the way to the Grill. Caroline had told her some story about there being a tenant there now, supposedly that she'd heard about from her mom, but it didn't look like Klaus had told her. Only a handful of pictures had any words attached to them.

Why had she kept them? Why had she sent pictures back to him? Tyler would kill her if he knew about it. Elena's smile deepened and she clutched the phone in her hand and gestured for their waitress to bring her another drink. Klaus' continued fixation with Caroline had just become a weapon she could wield. Someday she would really have to thank him.

Outside the Grill, Caroline didn't see any sign of Tyler. She knew she wouldn't, she just couldn't stand being inside any longer with Elena and her judgy-pity filled eyes. Everyone was tired of her drama with Tyler. She was tired of it, but there wasn't any other way to act around him right now. She didn't even want to think about breaking up with him. That was a mess she didn't want to deal with and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. Caroline was used to having a boyfriend. Even when Klaus had banished him, she had still had one. Klaus was another problem she didn't want to think about. It had been awhile since she'd gotten a picture from him. He never had a regular pattern to it, but when more than a few days went by without one...she started worrying he'd gone off the deep end or worse. Klaus always lived in the deep end but when he plunged...she had to stop caring about what he was doing.

Caroline walked down the street, away from the Grill. Elena would come looking for her eventually, or maybe, by some miracle, she would actually find Tyler. She turned the corner and stopped at the sight of an all too familiar figure. Tyler. Talking to the wereslut Hayley? Rage boiled in her stomach and Caroline took one step forward before careening to a halt. The wereslut was...pregnant? Even though she knew it couldn't possibly be Tyler's, she still felt it like a blow. Who would have been moronic enough to get Hayley pregnant? Thank God there was no way it was her boyfriend. Caroline actually smiled as she resumed walking toward them. Tyler might annoy the crap out of her right now, but he was still her boyfriend and pregnant or not, it bothered Hayley.

"Please tell me you're here on a quest to find out who's responsible for that, because I know it isn't my boyfriend," Caroline said, tossing her head and linking her arm through Tyler's. Hayley's eyes narrowed and she retreated a step from Tyler.

"Rude much, Care?" Tyler said, disengaging her arm from his. Caroline's smile remained in place as she looked at Hayley. Hayley obviously wasn't one of those women who "glowed" with pregnancy. The wereslut looked nothing short of miserable, even though she was wearing a disgustingly cute maternity shirt. Caroline guessed she was maybe five or six months along, possibly longer. Her stomach had the distinctive baby curve to it, but it wasn't so large she looked like she was going to burst. It must have happened right around the last time anyone saw her in Mystic Falls. Doubt about Tyler's involvement trickled through her despite its being a total impossibility.

"It's all right, Ty. I have to get back before they start searching for me. You'll think about it?"

"I will." Relief flickered across Hayley's wan features, restoring some of her former prettiness and Caroline crossed her arms as Tyler embraced her, colliding awkwardly with the bump of her belly.

"Nice to see you again, Caroline," Hayley said as she drew away from Tyler. Caroline nodded. Something altered in Hayley's expression and her gaze flickered to Tyler, her mouth curving up at one corner before she turned away. Her gait was awkward as she got into a nearby car and drove off.

"You're not the father, are you?" Caroline rounded on Tyler.

"No. Even if I had slept with her, you know I can't."

"Just checking. Did she tell you who the father is?" Tyler stared at her for several moments and then a slow, cocky smile spread across his lips.

"Tell me!" Caroline punched him in the shoulder and for one crazy moment, things felt right between them again. As if Klaus had never separated them.

"I'm parched. Did you leave Elena inside?" Tyler side-stepped her and headed toward the Grill.

Caroline stood for a moment, her mouth hanging open, and then she chased after him.

"You're not getting away with not telling me. Or didn't she tell you?"

"Oh I know. Trust me, Care, you're going to want to be sitting down for this." Tyler looked back at her over his shoulder, the same cocky smile on his face before he sauntered into the Grill. Caroline knew Hayley's misfortune shouldn't make her happy, but this was the best piece of gossip she had heard in a long while. Some small part of her did feel sorry for the wereslut. Pregnancy was something she no longer had to worry about for herself, but she wasn't so removed from her humanity that she didn't remember the fear. Especially if the father was a loser. She didn't doubt he was. He'd slept with Hayley after all. Hurrying after Tyler into the Grill, Caroline wove her way through the crowded restaurant and slid into the booth next to him. He was already downing what was left of her drink.

"Phone," Elena said, plopping her phone back into her outstretched hand. She caught Caroline's gaze and held it, a strange look in her eyes and Caroline's brows drew together.

"Did he tell you?"

"Hayley's pregnant. His lips are sealed about the father. I don't know why we're supposed to care." Elena gestured with her straw while Tyler smiled that same cocky smile that Caroline no longer found intriguing or cute.

"You care. We all care." He mimicked her gesture with his own straw while Caroline snorted.

"We won't know until you tell us. Come on, Tyler, who is it?" Tyler played with the straw in his fingers, clearly savoring the moment. Caroline was about to shove him when he said,

"Klaus."

"What? You're joking." Droplets flew from Elena's straw as she gestured with it again and Tyler nodded. Caroline went utterly still. Her vision had gone completely hazy. She wasn't aware of anything, not Tyler's arm brushing against hers, not Elena and her droplets, not the constant murmur of conversation from the Grill's patrons. Tyler shook his head.

"Hayley swears he's the father."

"But vampires can't procreate."

"Werewolves can. I guess hybrids can too. Hayley said something about nature restoring the balance. There can't just be one of him. So now we get to have a miniature Klaus running around torturing us."

"You're serious." Part of Caroline was infinitely grateful to Elena for carrying the entire conversation. She was reacting with all the delighted horror she should have been expressing herself. And she would have. If it had been anyone else. He hadn't told her. He swooped back into town at the last possible moment, decapitated dead witches with a graduation cap of all things, made some ridiculously romantic promise and not once did he mention anything about a baby. Unless he hadn't known then...but he knew now. If Hayley knew, Klaus knew, and he hadn't told her. He hadn't told her.

"Care? You don't have anything to say?" Tyler turned to her, his smile completely obnoxious and Caroline blinked, forcing herself to return to the situation.

"Klaus is the father of Hayley's baby. Shocker," she managed, rolling her eyes and reaching for what had been her drink before Tyler confiscated it. Something flickered in Elena's eyes and she covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders jerking as she suppressed a laugh. Caroline was still trying to process. When had he even had time to sleep with Hayley? She supposed it was good that he'd finally gotten some action–realistically he couldn't pine for Caroline forever–but with her, of all people? He knew how she felt about Hayley and he slept with her? Rage swirled in her stomach and she felt her eyes starting to vamp out before she suppressed it. It really wasn't her business who Klaus slept with, he was free to sleep with whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted, but did it have to be Hayley?

"You are awfully quiet, Caroline," Elena said. "I would have thought you of all people would have an opinion about this." Caroline reluctantly looked over at her so-called best friend, the gleam in her brown eyes too mischievous to be ignored. Elena's gaze slid to the phone still in Caroline's hand and back to hers and she arched her brows. Oh my God. Damn him. He'd sent something while Elena was babysitting her phone. Damn him.

"Why should I have an opinion about this?" Caroline narrowed her eyes at Elena and shook her head slightly. Elena smothered another giggle and slurped noisily from her drink.

"Weren't you buying into his whole undying love act?" Elena played with her straw and gave her the most innocent of glances. It took every ounce of Caroline's willpower not to reach across the table and strangle her. Beside her, Tyler was still practically bouncing with glee. She could feel it radiating off of him through his t-shirt and she contemplated strangling him too. If only the Grill wasn't so crowded...

"I wasn't buying into it exactly...he was...very convincing. It doesn't mean he's not in love with me."

Those words did not come out of her mouth. Tyler shifted so his arm was no longer brushing against hers. Elena paused in mid-drink, her gaze sliding between the two of them.

"What?" Tyler said.

"Well..." Caroline blinked and stared down at the table, the words leaving her all in one mad rush, "Did Hayley say that she was dating Klaus? I doubt it. The only way this could have happened is from a stupid one night stand that both of them probably regretted afterwards. It doesn't mean he doesn't love me." Her grip loosened on her phone and she smiled down at the table without her full awareness of it.

"And why is it so important to you that he still loves you, Care?" Tyler asked, his hands gripping the edge of their table so tightly his knuckles were a blazing white. Elena remained blessedly silent.

"His blood is the only cure for a werewolf bite. Damon's been bitten twice. So have I. Do you really want me to tell him he hasn't a chance in hell with me and lose our access to the cure forever?"

"Yes, I would actually." Tyler released his stranglehold on the edge of the table. "Only it isn't true. He has more than a chance with you."

"You've got to be kidding me." Caroline swirled her drink and stared down at the table.

"I know about the pictures, Care." Tyler leaned in closer to her and for the second time, Caroline went very still. Across from her, Elena looked like a child who had lost her favorite toy and she scowled down at her drink.

"You looked at my phone?!"

"Not the point, Caroline."

"When did you look at my phone?" Caroline waved the offending object in her hand while her mind raced to come up with any explanation for her cache of pictures from Klaus.

"Last week. You forgot it at my place, remember?"

"And you snooped through it?! God, Tyler!"

"Really, Care, if you're going to have a secret relationship, you should be more careful with your phone," Elena said.

"So not helping. Isn't there somewhere else you could be?" Elena smiled, flipped her hair and sauntered off to the other end of the Grill. Relief trickled through Caroline. She didn't think Tyler was going to listen to her any more than he would have if Elena was still sitting here, but not having her sarcastic eye rolls and straw swirling commentary would be less annoying, if not helpful.

"Why are you communicating with him, Caroline? And don't give me that crap about staying on his good side."

"What was I supposed to do, delete them? Not answer the phone even when he called at two in the morning and something was obviously wrong? He didn't have to let you come back to Mystic Falls, you know. He could have just let you wander around the world forever in constant fear of him like he did to Katherine, but he didn't."

"You don't owe him for that. I don't owe him for that."

"I know we don't owe him anything, it's just...I don't have feelings for him." Tyler scoffed and Caroline touched his arm. It was rigid beneath her hand.

"I'm not in love with Klaus," she said. Tyler refused to look at her. "Maybe I don't hate him as much as I used to, but I love you, not him."

Tyler still wasn't looking at her and Caroline sighed.

"But...if I'm being honest...I like that he likes me."

"You what?'" He looked at her finally and Caroline counted that a small victory.

"Don't act so surprised, everyone likes it when someone has a crush on them. As long at that person isn't hideous or intellectually stunted. Don't tell me you don't like it that Hayley has a thing for you."

"Hayley isn't Klaus."

"Point taken. But Klaus is powerful. He's crazy but powerful. And sometimes...sometimes he listens to me when he doesn't listen to anybody else, not even his siblings. That's hard to walk away from."

Tyler carefully and deliberately removed her hands from his arm and shook his head.

"Not buying it, Care. You like that he likes you, but not because it gives you power."

"I swear I don't have feelings for him."

"Then why did you look like someone had vervained you when I told you he was the father of Hayley's baby?"

"I don't care that he slept with Hayley. He can sleep with whoever he wants. I don't have a claim on him."

"You care. You're just afraid to admit it to yourself. Talk to me when you're ready to admit it."

"Tyler..."

He shook his head, avoiding her gaze as he gestured for her to let him out of the booth. Biting her lip, Caroline slid out so he could leave, her gaze never leaving the rigid line of his shoulders underneath his t-shirt. From the other end of the Grill, Elena watched Tyler's departure with eyes that widened with every passing second. Great. Just great. Tyler was convinced she had feelings for Klaus.

Whether or not she did was another point entirely, but it was something she didn't want to deal with right now and her stupid boyfriend was forcing her to. She sat back down in the booth and pushed her hair back from her forehead, covering her face with her hands.

She could deal with Tyler later. All he needed was some time to cool off. He'd been hanging onto her picture relationship with Klaus for a week now–confronting her about it was probably enough to satisfy him for awhile. There was probably at least one more screaming match in their future but she would deal with that when it happened. Right now she could only deal with one thing at a time. And that one thing was a certain hybrid who hadn't told her his biggest secret.

Caroline's hands fell from her face and she slid out of the booth a second time, her car keys appearing in her hand without her awareness of it. At the bar, Elena abruptly stopped charming the unfortunate male who had sat down next to her and darted after her.

"Caroline?! Caroline, where are you going?"

"Where do you think, Elena?" Elena's brows drew together and then she darted forward with vamp speed and seized Caroline by the arm and yanked her backwards.

"Don't go there, Caroline. I know you think it's a good idea but if he'd wanted you to know, he would have told you."

"I don't think it's a good idea and I am going just so he can explain why he conveniently neglected to mention his impending fatherhood and then I fully intend on never speaking to him again."

"Oh my God. You really do care that he slept with her." Elena's hold on her arm lessened slightly but Caroline didn't attempt to draw away.

"I don't care. Why is everyone insisting that I care?! I just want to know why he didn't tell me."

"Maybe because you'd react like this."

"I'm reacting like this because he didn't tell me not because...I'm going, Elena. Don't try to stop me. And don't tell anyone where I am. Just don't." Caroline yanked her arm free, glared at Elena for at least five seconds and left the Grill. Unlocking her car, she got in and started driving before she changed her mind or someone showed up to vervain her and save her from herself.

This would go down in history as one of the stupidest things she had ever done but she couldn't stop herself. She was going to New Orleans and Klaus was going to give her answers. Whether he wanted to or not.

A/N: I own nothing. If I did, there would be no new love interest cast for Caroline in season 5 and I would spend all my efforts trying to figure out a way to get her over the Originals where she belongs. I will *try* to update this regularly. Hopefully I can finish it before either the Originals or TVD starts up again. Happy reading. :)