Authors Note: Oh hey guys... So it's been a while and I'm sorry about that. I'm still super excited about this story and have some great ideas for it but I am a rather busy individual. Crappy excuse I know but look! A new chapter! Huzzah! Enjoy and let me know know what you think in that niffty review section. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Yeah not sure if I'm actually going to post one of these every chapter. By now I think you folks get the gist of it.

Road Rash chapter 3: Face Value

Caroline Forbes took a long pull from her victory beer as she eyed the man on the other side of the pool table and smiled against the lip of the bottle. Three games in with losers buying the next round of drinks and her and Kat had yet to pay. She couldn't help but stare at Klaus as he bent over the table and lined up the cue ball with the remaining eight ball and took his shot. He smiled happily as he watched the eight ball sail across the green felt into the corner left pocket but immediately began to scowl when the cue ball quickly followed it. Katerina pumped her fist into the air and let out a loud whoop that caused the other bar patrons to stare.

"I hope you boys handle club business better than you handle a pool cue or you might as well ride back home," Katerina said victoriously to the two men standing on the opposite side of the table from her. She shot back the rest of her Whiskey she won from the previous game and ended with an exaggerated sigh of appreciation.

Klaus turned his scowl from the pool table to the snarky brunette before him and said in his defense, "that one was pretty damn close."

"Close but not a win; I think I'll have a martini now," Caroline said to the man in front of her with a mischievous smile. Klaus sent her a dimpled smile in return that she couldn't help but appreciate along with his blue eyes that were constantly checking her out. His flirting style was anything but subtle, always calling her love and sweetheart; brushing his fingers gently against hers whenever he handed her a drink. Caroline would be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to this man, but she learned long ago to never mix club business with pleasure and she wasn't about to pay that price again.

"Finally moving on from beer to join the party love? For once in my life I'm glad my brother managed to muck up a simple job if only so I could spend more time with you." Klaus had received a text from Stefan during their first game of pool informing him that his brother Elijah was stuck an hour outside of Mystic Falls due to engine troubles and he had to go back for him. Elijah was going to need a tow and thankfully the local MC had a tow truck for these kinds of situations.

"fantastic." Kol said with a voice oozing sarcasm. "Let's waste more time here then instead of getting our business done with so we can settle in. It's not as if I wanted a shower or anything.

"You're just being pissy because you haven't successfully hit on a woman yet," Klaus retorted to his annoying little brother.

"No I'm pissy because I have to keep buying drinks for women who aren't going to shag me." He sent Katerina a pointed glare as he said that, still annoyed that she refused his flirtations. She only smiled smugly in return.

"Speaking of drinks, be a dear and go fetch me another whiskey and Caroline her martini." She replied to Kol with an air of self-importance as she shooed him off with a wave of her hand. Kol turned his head in Klaus' direction and shot him a Can-You-Believe-This-Shit-Look that silently conveyed his distaste for their so called ally. Klaus only shrugged his shoulders while lifting his hands in the air. "A bet is a bet mate, now you heard the woman, go buy the drinks." Kol stalked off in the direction of the bar and straight towards Matt who was managing it and giving him a knowing smile. Kol was bitterly muttering something about buying the cheapest whiskey available as they watched him weave between the tables and fold his arms in front of his chest like a frustrated child.

"Your brother is a terrible loser," Caroline told Klaus as she took a seat on a stool that was set against the wall closest to the pool table.

"Only because he isn't accustomed to losing when he's on my team; how in the bloody hell are you two so good at this game?" Klaus asked as he put his cue away on the rack located next to Caroline's seat.

"When you own a bar and grill you get a lot of chances to practice," Katerina replied with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders as she busied herself with cleaning up the pool table equipment.

"You own this place?" Klaus asked surprised as he threw his hand into the air and gestured to their surroundings. "You two barely look a day over 21!"

"Kat here is 26, same as you if I remember correctly and I'm 24 thank you very much," Caroline replied icily. She was used to this kind of surprise from outsiders at their success but it really pissed her off coming from Klaus. She didn't want help from their supposed allies and had firmly voted against it when her father foolishly brought the idea before the club. It passed, although just barely and because of that she had to be on her best behavior towards the two ambassadors from New Orleans. There is nothing Caroline Forbes hates more than being forced against her will, so if they were going to show her disrespect then she would take that opportunity to show her displeasure at their presence in her town.

"Easy love," Klaus replied as he noticed her change in demeanor. "I didn't mean anything by it; I'm just surprised that someone as beautiful as you has the time to run a place like this and handle club business at the same time." He tried hard to sound as passive as possible with the hopes he could turn this conversation around and win back her favor but as soon as he saw her scowl he realized he only dug his grave a little deeper.

It wasn't the first time Caroline felt as if she was being thrown into the category of ditzy blonde and it certainly wasn't going to be the last but she would be damned if this British snob dared underestimate her. "The club helps by running protection and providing emergency funds every once in a very great while," she explained defensively, "but we run the day to day operations and plan the community events. Besides this place practically is club business; we've found that the bar is a very good cover for some of our more shady practices." She said the last bit with a smirk as she remembered the success they had right before things started going downhill for the club.

Klaus quickly looked about to make sure no one was listening and was satisfied to find that the tables had scarcely any people left and were a good distance away. "Yes, I can see how a bar would be a great cover for gun running. Lots of deliveries being made, a steady stream of all sorts of interesting customers and of course the late hours." Klaus looked very impressed with Caroline and sent her a crooked smile that would have made most women weak in the knees. Caroline Forbes is not like most women.

"Thank you so much for that summary Klaus, the years of success have taught me nothing about gun running and I suspect with the knowledge you just shared I will finally handle it correctly." Caroline replied in a voice laced with sarcasm.

"Well clearly it doesn't work quite as well as you think considering my club's gun supply has been less than magnificent recently!" Klaus was beginning to lose his temper with Caroline and her bad attitude. He had meant his original statement about her youthful appearance as a compliment but of course she didn't take it that way. Leave it to me to find the only woman who doesn't like to be told she looks young, Klaus thought.

In that moment Caroline's eyes widened angrily and she wore a grimace so angry that Klaus actually felt a slight twinge of something akin to fear. "Oh and there it is the real fucking reason why you're here in my Club's territory! Oh poor me, I don't have enough guns to protect all of my cheap whores." Caroline said to Klaus in a voice that seemed on the verge of yelling as she jumped down from her stool and walked right up to him. "Our cup hasn't exactly runeth over since Giuseppe Salvatore went to prison and the ATF started crawling up our asses! Please forgive me if I don't exactly give a fuck about protecting your little operation."

"Our whores are not cheap and our operation is anything but little! Everyday your club doesn't deliver, our club risks some fucking wanker coming in with drug addicted sex slaves and taking away our clientele!" Klaus couldn't believe how easily she brushed off his club and their ring of high class call girls since they were easily the Mystics' highest paying clients; with all the wealthy gentlemen and politicians paying out for a night with their girls they could afford it.

"Why the fuck is everyone yelling over here? Why don't you raise your voices a few more decibels? I don't think the police have heard your confessions yet," Kol said as he stormed towards the group still gathered around the pool table and slammed a tray full of drinks on the stool Caroline had previously occupied. Caroline turned her glare away from Klaus and on to Kol who just glared back.

"Took you long enough," Katerina said to Kol as she sauntered towards him and picked up her drink, looking completely unfazed by the argument that had broken out around her. "You almost completely missed the show. Give it a few minutes and I bet they'll hate fuck on the table."

"Oh please Kat, I'm not stupid enough to get involved with this pussy pushing asshole." Caroline said in the most antagonistic voice she could muster. At her words Klaus grabbed her by her by her bare upper arms and pulled her close to him so they were mere inches apart. Katerina slammed her drink back down on the tray getting ready to step in if necessary and glared at Kol when he stepped in between the two club sisters, clearly getting ready to intervene as well.

"You better start showing me some goddamn respect love," Klaus growled as he attempted to stare her down but only met blue eyes iced over in fury. "I am not someone to be trifled with and don't forget for one second who called who here." The area where their skin touched felt as if it was burning from the force of their combined anger and Caroline couldn't help but let out a gasp at his audacity to actually touch her.

"Let go of me," she growled back as she angrily shrugged his hands off her arms and stomped over to the drinks on the stool. She grabbed her martini and shot back half of it in one go. She set her drink back down with forced gentleness and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. With her back still turned to the dangerous man, Caroline turned her head to the side so that the next words she uttered could be heard quite clearly, "touch me again and I will rip your hands off," she warned him in an extremely calm and deadly sounding voice.

Klaus looked incredibly surprised at her actions and was rendered speechless. The last time someone other than a family member had dared speak to him like that was when he was a child and he was not eager to relive those days. He was a well-respected member of the Originals Motorcycle Club and was therefore a well feared man to everyone outside of it, well almost everyone it would seem. He couldn't even imagine the power and strength this woman must possess if she felt safe talking to him like that.

"You could do worse than my brother you know," Kol unnecessarily interjected completely ignoring the tense atmosphere in typical Kol style. "He's better than any of the other wankers you ladies let lick those pussies," Kol told them crassly.

"You seem awfully concerned about what goes on between my legs," Katerina spat out at him angrily and still very much annoyed that he blocked her from helping her friend. "You offering Mikaelson? Cause with the all the shit that's been spewing out of your mouth I'm not interested in that trip to the clinic."

"Believe me sweetheart, I don't have anything that you haven't seen between your legs at least a hundred times already," Replied Kol with a vicious sneer.

For a moment Katerina looked completely shocked at his words. This guy sells whores for a living, probably fucks them to and he's trying to call me a slut? Hell no, Katerina thought as she stomped her way over to him and dealt him a strong punch straight to the cheek with a fist that bore a large ring. Kol, who was expecting nothing more than a good verbal lashing, was caught so off guard that he fell backwards and landed on his ass. The few patrons still occupying the restaurant immediately quieted down and began to stare at him while he struggled for a second to stand up. "What the fuck you barmy bitch?" Kol shouted at the offending woman while she shot him a vicious smile and flicked aside the brown curls that had fallen on to her face. He then noticed all the stares he was getting from around the room and let out an animalistic sounding growl like he was some kind of rabid dog. The patrons, a little scared of this threatening looking newcomer and surprised by his crazy reaction to their attention, immediately looked away.

Klaus was furious as he watched blood pour from the gash on his brother's cheek that Kol had yet to notice. He wanted nothing more than to go and punch that little Petrova cunt and ruin her pretty face but he knew he had to let his brother handle everything on his own. If he tried to help or defend him it would only make Kol look weak and that was not an option. With all the enemies their family made over the years, a weak Mikaelson may as well be a dead one.

"Kat! How many times do I have to tell you? No fighting in the bar!" Caroline shouted at her friend as she whirled around to face the offending woman, angry at her lack of forethought. "It always gets so fucking messy and just look at all the blood he's getting everywhere."

"Blood?" Kol asked as he finally touched his face and brought his hand back down and stared at the blood smeared all over it. "You are so fucking lucky I don't hit girls!" He yelled at Kat who just rolled her eyes and ignored him while inspecting her hand for injuries.

"Oh shit Care! There are rubies missing from my Petrova ring!" Katerina outstretched the fingers on her right hand and lifted them in front of her face to inspect her favorite ring and most prized possession. It was a chunky gold ring displaying a large P in a fancy script and set with several rubies, some of which were missing. The ring had been in her family for over a hundred years and was given to her by her father, Konstantin, when she got patched into the club. He left his vice president in charge of their Mystics charter in Sofia, Bulgaria for an entire weeklong visit just to give it to her.

"Calm down Kat! How many are missing?"

"Three! Definitely three!" Katerina replied as she got down on her hands and knees to look for them. Knowing how much the ring meant to her friend Caroline quickly did the same despite her embarrassment at being in such a weak position in front of the two Originals.

Kol wandered over to a mirror on one of the walls to inspect the damage done to his face and smirked at the reflection of the two girls crawling around on the floor. Serves the bitches right, he thought to himself. He pressed his hand hard against his face to staunch the flow of blood and yelped loudly as he felt three little objects imbed further into his cheek. "You have got to be fucking kidding me," Kol groaned. "I think I've found your god damn rubies." Kol turned around to face the two women and was immediately set upon by Katerina.

"Where?" She demanded angrily as if it was his fault they were missing in the first place.

"Oh I found them on a cushion tucked away in a safety deposit box," he replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Where do you think I found them you wanker?" He said seriously as he gestured to his cheek that was still dripping blood on to his hands.

Caroline lifted herself off the ground and strode up beside him to inspect his cheek. "We better take him to the hospital so we can have them removed," she mentioned in a level headed voice.

"Absolutely no hospitals- we don't need any public records of our presence," Klaus said sternly.

"Relax Klausy; we have a friend of the club who'll take care of it without a problem and more importantly without any paperwork." Katerina told him in a condescending manner.

"My face is fine by the way, so don't worry about me at all," Kol said, annoyed that everyone's attention was no longer focused on his well-being.

"Calm down pretty boy, with those rubies stuck in your face it might actually be worth something," was Kat's biting reply.

"Oh and what would you know about worth? Ever since you let some small town hick stick his cock in you, you haven't-"

"Seriously?" Caroline interrupted hoping to spare the idiot some more pain and her bar floor more blood. "You already got one cheek fucked up, do you want the other one to match?"

"I'm not afraid of Katerina goddamn Petrova or you for that matter," Kol said aggressively, already sick and tired of this town's inhabitants despite only meeting 3 of them.

Caroline let out a quiet laugh and gave him a wry smile. "You're not the first one to say that to us Mikaelson, but right now you're the only one still alive." Though she was smiling and the sentence was uttered with a hint of mirth, there was seriousness to her eyes that would have made a regular man's blood freeze in fear. In that moment she looked every bit the dangerous woman she is and it was a true testament of the famed Mikaelson brutality that Kol met her gaze unflinchingly.

For his part Klaus was immediately intrigued by her words, and was now looking at the woman as if she was a puzzle piece that he had no idea which puzzle she belonged to. The mood was broken however, when Stefan Salvatore walked into the bar and headed towards the group with a smile that immediately turned into a frown when he saw Kol's face. Klaus and Kol turned to face their club brother while Caroline and Katerina headed towards the drinks still located on the stool.

"Someone want to tell me what happened?" Stefan asked as he strode up to the boys and surveyed the mess around him. Kol left a trail of blood droplets all along the floor that one of them stepped in and smeared.

"What are you talking about mate?" Klaus asked in a voice attempting innocence but failing miserably. There was no need to tell anyone about this as it would only make the relationship between the two clubs more tense.

"I'm talking about the fact that Kol looks like he just got into a schoolyard scuffle."

"In my defense they caught me completely off guard and sucker punched me," Kol said defensively.

"Nark" Katerina called Kol childishly while glaring at him. He met her gaze and glared back.

"You mean Kat sucker punched you?" Stefan said knowingly as he shot his old friend a smile.

"What makes you think it was me Salvatore?" Katerina asked him aggressively and intentionally not returning his smile.

"Because I know you and Caroline always goes for the nose, just like I taught her," he told her. "Plus there's blood on your ring still and I'm pretty sure the rubies it's missing are in Kol's cheek."

"Nice call Sherlock Holmes. Should I give you a gold star for your deduction skills?" Kat asked with a sneer.

Stefan stared at her in total surprise as she stood there staring at him angrily. He expected some resentment directed at him from some of the Mystic club members given his perceived abandonment but she was one of the few that he expected to by understanding. She was there during his fallout with his family to comfort and support him; in fact the only person he thought would understand more was Caroline. His eyes darted over to his blonde best friend who made eye contact for a second before looking away in discomfort and anger. That hurt more than anything. Out of everyone Caroline was the one he expected to forgive him since they both dealt with betrayal from the same people. They were both cast aside with barely an afterthought and managed to find solace in each other's company. Without her support Stefan couldn't help the wave of despair that overcame him.

"Nice to see you too Kat," he said a little bitterly. "Hey Care," he mumbled out and then cringed internally as he realized how feeble his voice sounded.

Caroline gave a little wave in his direction and then folded her arms in front of her, her head still turned to the side away from him. This is going to be a lot harder than I could have guessed, Stefan thought to himself.

"Sorry to interrupt this lovely Reunion but my brother will probably be needing stitches, so if you don't mind I'd like to get riding." Klaus was still pissed off about this disastrous first meeting and wanted to get away before he lost his temper again. He also couldn't help but be frustrated at the lack of enthusiasm Caroline and Katerina displayed towards Stefan as it would make their difficult mission even worse if his own bloody friends no longer cared about him.

"We aren't driving." Caroline stated firmly while holding up her martini glass as if it was evidence in a trial. "We've drank way too much to be out on the road and I don't want to be held accountable for your safety."

"Nice to know you care so much Forbes but my brother and I can handle ourselves," Klaus replied to the headstrong woman.

"The only thing I care about is the bar. If you get in an accident for any reason the Mystic Grill will be held legally accountable for serving you and allowing you to drive while drunk off your ass."

"Well I'm not leaving my Harley here!"

"Guys calm down!" Stefan intervened. "I knew you and Kol were going to have a few so I borrowed my brother's truck and trailer to haul the bikes to the clubhouse. The meeting is about to start anyways so just have Elijah take Kol to the hospital in a cab," Stefan told Klaus, exasperated with his friend's irresponsibility.

"I'm going! You'll need me to get in to see Meredith and as long as he has Petrova rubies in his face I'm not letting him out of my sight." At this point the suspicion Katerina cultivated for the Originals before their arrival had grown into full blown distrust. Clearly their intentions were less than honorable and completely self-serving as evidenced by Klaus' earlier statements about his worries for his own club, so she was going to make sure that wherever they go they have a Mystics member in the same building. Besides, getting the right cut and size of replacement rubies would be a pain in the ass if they lost them at the hospital.

"Fine," Klaus growled "but if he comes back in worse condition than he is now I'm going to destroy you."

"Whoa let's dial down the rage here, we're all friends after all," Stefan said obviously trying to calm everyone down before the situation escalated again. The lie in his statement hung heavily in the air as the Mystics and Originals stared at each other in distrust. Caroline, who could never stomach awkward silences, couldn't stand it any longer and decided to be the first one to break it.

"He's right," Caroline agreed lamely mostly to ward off the silence but partially in an attempt to keep the peace between the two Motorcycle clubs. "Come on Kol, I'll get you a rag and some ice to cover your battle scar." Caroline began to lead him to the double doors that opened into the kitchen so she could get him over a sink and clean him up. Kol grabbed his cheek hoping he wouldn't drip anymore blood and followed after her.

"I'll go get Matt to help clean this up," Kat mentioned as she started walking towards the bar, leaving Klaus and Stefan together.

Stefan settled against the pool table with his arms crossed in front of him and observed his obviously tense friend as he stood glaring after Katerina. "I bet that didn't go as planned."

"No it did not. Kol got in the way as usual but no matter, I always have a plan b," Klaus told Stefan without looking at him.

15 minutes later all evidence of Kat's violent outburst towards Kol was cleaned up. The floor was mopped by Matt who had shaken his head while thinking of Katerina's temper and how often it resulted in him cleaning up her messes. A bandage, or bitch sticker as Kol called it, was finally covering the gash on his cheek and prevented more blood from being spilled. After everyone pitched in to load the Harleys onto the trailer that was hitched to Stefan's borrowed truck, they stood silently as they waited for the taxi meant to take Kol to the hospital. That group included a very confused Elijah Mikaelson, who had waited somewhat impatiently in the truck for Stefan to retrieve his two brothers for half an hour before being forced to help load dirty bikes onto a trailer.

"So is anyone going to tell me what went on in there?" Elijah asked the group while staring towards his right at Kol's bandaged cheek. He had yet to be introduced to the two women who were clearly part of the club he and his brothers came to help and was very curious as to why his younger brothers seemed so tense around them.

"Just shut up Elijah," Kol told his older brother in a very grumpy voice. He did not want to relive his humiliation by telling his older brother the story of his failure against the fist of a woman.

"Good afternoon, my name is Elijah Mikealson and I'm afraid I'm the older brother to these two men with unfortunate manners," Elijah affably told the two women before him. Kol just huffed and rolled his eyes at his older brother's insolence while Klaus did what he always does when Elijah gets all stuffy and self-righteous, he ignored him.

"My name is Caroline Forbes and this is Katerina Petrova." Caroline was amazed at the contrast between Elijah and his younger brothers. Everything from his expensive clothes, gentle accent and traditional manners seemed far more like the British stereotype she developed from pop culture, unlike his brothers who seemed more like wild animals in comparison.

"Lovely to meet you." he replied with a smile that reached his handsome dark brown eyes. "Now who had the pleasure of teaching my petulant, younger brother Kol some manners?"

"Shut the fuck up Elijah!" Kol huffed angrily. You, me and Petrova here are taking a cab to the hospital," Kol said, pointing his finger at Katerina in an accusatory manner as he said her name. "Stefan, Caroline and Klaus are taking the truck to the clubhouse. Now. Stop. Talking," Kol was very aggravated at the prospect of having to sit around in an overly sterile and brightly lit hospital. That was of course nothing compared to the worry of having stitches in his cheek and possibly having a scar on his face.

"Very well," Elijah replied to him in a pacifying voice as he straightened the tie of his signature suit and brushed some dirt off his jacket that had collected on it while he helped load the Harleys. He noticed a small smile of triumph on the face of the lovely Katerina that she was poorly attempting to stifle and could instantly tell that she was the one to thank for Kol's current state. Despite the woman's tough appearance, what with the MC cut that she wore and the smirk that said she wasn't afraid of anything the world threw her way, he couldn't help but be stricken with a sudden attraction towards her. She was incredibly beautiful after all in a wild sort of way and although Elijah considered himself to be a very mild mannered man, he found the self confidence that she exuded to be incredibly exciting. She noticed his staring and sent him a questioning look. Elijah just averted his eyes in response and pretended he hadn't been blatantly checking her out.

An old yellow cab finally stopped before the group, bearing the name the Mystical Cab Co. and Klaus couldn't help but roll his eyes. Must everything in this town have some variation of the word mystic in its title? Klaus considered pessimistically.

"Good luck at the hospital and for fucks sake, just stay out of trouble," Caroline said to Kat while giving her an indulgent smile.

"Thanks mom, I'll be careful," Kat replied with affection.

Kol began to walk towards the cab but was stopped by the arm that Elijah thrust out in front of him. Kol shot him a glare when he noticed Elijah stepping up and opening the cab door so Katerina could slide in first.

"Thank you," Kat told Elijah with a smile and as an afterthought said, "by the way I love the suit." She got into the cab, leaving a grinning Elijah holding the door open for a sour faced Kol.

"Don't worry brother," Klaus told Kol while clapping him on the back. "There's no way the meeting with the club can be worse than this catastrophe."

Kol turned to face his brother and quirked his eyebrow up at him with a frown. "You shut up as well Nik." Kol stalked off into the cab while Klaus just chuckled at his little brother's annoyance and overall bad mood.

Caroline, Klaus and Stefan felt yet another silence settle in among them as they watched the cab drive off towards the hospital. Caroline was completely unexcited at the prospect of sitting in a truck with the two men next to her and was unable to conceal the tension she felt from them. It wasn't as if she was afraid of them she just felt outside of her element for the first time in years. The playful and mysterious first impression she had given off to Klaus Mikaelson had given her the upper hand but was unfortunately ruined thanks to Kat's impulsive actions and her own stubborn pride. On top of that Caroline realized with a start that she had no idea how to act around her former best friend Stefan anymore; she was 19 years old the last time she saw him and aside from the Christmas and birthday cards they exchanged she had barely talked to him.

"The truck's this way," Stefan punctuated the silence and started walking towards the left side of the expansive parking lot with Klaus and Caroline trailing behind. She had a sinking feeling that the 15 minute drive would feel more like an eternity.