A/N: Not mine
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"You're not trying hard enough," Damon shouted, black veins lining his eyes. "Do you even care that Elena is dying?!"
"No particularly," Rebecca shrugged. "I could really care less about either of the doppelgangers; they're nothing but a waste of space."
"Hey, don't group me in with that goody-two-shoes," Katherine Pierce aka Katrina Petrova said, paying more attention to her nails than to her dying descendent.
"Why is she here?" Stefan gestured at Katherine.
"She is my guest, in fact, you are all guests in my home and I would…" Elijah started.
"It's Nik's home, not yours," Kol cut in. "So, technically, she's Nik's guest and we all know how much he would enjoy knowing she was here."
"As I was saying," Elijah continued, blatantly ignoring the younger Mikelsons. "You are all guests in our home. I am trying to find Niklaus, as I have been trying to find him for the last two years. My brother is quite apt at disappearing without a trace when he so chooses."
Damn started to argue, only to be cut off by the doorbell ringing. Rebekah flashed out of the room and returned a few seconds later with Sheriff Forbes following her at a more human pace. "Liz?"
"I'm sorry, I can't find anything," Liz shook her head.
"Were you able to trace the accounts?" Elijah asked.
"I traced them to the account that makes a monthly ten thousand dollar deposit into your family accounts but it's in the in Bahamas," Liz replied. "There's nothing more I can do."
"Try harder," Damon demanded.
"It's not that simple, Damon," Liz said. "You're talking about multiple International Banking Laws, I can't do anything about them. I wouldn't even know where to begin."
"As Niklaus would be well aware," Elijah said. "Even if we flew down to the Bahamas to compel someone to give us the information…."
"It would be too late," Elena coughed as she stumbled into the living room of the Mikelson mansion. "I'd be dead." Damon ran to her side, helping her to move onto one of the leather couches.
"Yes," Elijah agreed. "I'm sorry."
"No, I refuse to let that happen," Damon growled. "Someone has to know where he is, his hybrids."
"I tried, they won't talk to me," Tyler said. "They won't even answer the goddamn phone when I call."
"Damon, I've been trying to find them since they left," Liz said. "I've tried tracking Caroline's phone, Klaus's phone, credit cards, driver licenses, social security numbers…..I can't find a trace of either one of them. It's like they disappeared."
"Nik spent a thousand years running from our father," Rebekah glanced over at Stefan and then at his nails. "He won't be found unless he wants you to find him."
"Rebekah is correct," Elijah agreed. "The only times our father came close to finding Niklaus wasn't because of something Niklaus did. It was because of something one of us did. He has the intelligence, money, and resources to hide for a millennia if he so choices too."
"There has to be something else," Damon said desperately. "Bonnie, you can do something."
"The only cure is Klaus's blood," Bonnie brushed tears off her face. "I've looked everywhere I could possibly think of before, magic can't do anything."
"What about tracking him or Caroline?" Tyler asked.
"Seriously?" Katherine laughed. "Do you really think I would have survived for more than a minute if a witch could have tracked me? You can't track something that's dead."
"Katerina is correct," Elijah said. "Magic cannot track the dead. Niklaus and Caroline are both technically dead, it won't work."
Damon threw the glass in his hand at the wall, his fangs dropping in rage. "There has to be something we can do."
The front door opened and slammed shut, Matt Donavan sliding into the room. He looked around in a panic and then ran across the room to the bookshelf along the far wall. "Somebody help me move this."
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Kol growled.
"I can't tell you, just help me move this bookcase," Matt's face was red from the exertion of trying to move it on his own.
Stefan frowned but moved to the human's side, easily pushing the shelf out of the way. Matt stepped back once it was gone, counting quietly to himself.
"I'm not sure what the hell you're doing quarterback, but in case you didn't notice, you're friend here is dying," Damon growled.
"Punch a hole there," Matt said, pointing to a spot on the wall.
"Why?" Stefan asked.
"I can't tell you," Matt repeated. "Just do it."
"He's been compelled," Elijah flashed over to them and with a few punches, put a 3x3 foot hole in the wall where Matt indicated. Behind the wall was a small safe with a keypad combination. Matt pushed past the two vampires, quickly pressing in a combination and swinging the door open. Inside was a small box, which Matt grabbed and ran over to Elena.
"Here," Matt pulled a small vial out and cracked it, blood dripping down the sides. He tilted it into her mouth before she could say anything, the congealed slowly slipping down the glass and into her mouth.
"That's Klaus's blood?" Damon asked, his tone desperate.
"Yes," Matt nodded. "Before he left, he told me where some of his blood was hidden, and then compelled me to forget about the blood until it was needed and not to actually tell anyone where the blood is, I had to get it myself."
"Why would he do that?" Elena muttered, the wound on her neck slowly healing.
"Because of her," Matt said. "Caroline."
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"Love."
"Hmm," Caroline murmured, her head leaning on Klaus's shoulder, her arm wrapped around his waist. Klaus's arm was around her shoulder, hugging her close to his side while walked.
"When are you going to clue me into what it is we're doing?" Klaus asked.
"We're taking stroll, you know, in the semi moonlight," Caroline chirped, smiling brightly up at him. "It's very romantic."
"Love, we've been 'strolling' around the same five blocks for the past week," Klaus said.
"Fine, but you're not going to like it," Caroline huffed.
Klaus let out a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever it might be. The last time she attempted to 'sweet-talk' him into something, he ended up donating quite a bit of money and a few of his paintings to some children orphanage fund or something along those lines. And the time before that she somehow talked him into not killing some little prick that attempted to pick her up. "Well?"
"We're kinda…we….I signed….we're part of the neighborhood watch," Caroline said sheepishly. "This is our territory."
Klaus paused, not exactly sure what was going on. "What is the neighborhood watch?"
"Pretty much what it sounds like," Caroline said. "We walk around the neighborhood to make sure no crimes are being committed and if we see something, we call the police."
"Love, I am quite capable of taking care of any type of criminal we might come across," Klaus said. "There is no reason to call the police."
"Nik, you can't kill the criminals," Caroline sighed, half frustrated, half amused.
"Why not?"
"Cuz, you just can't kill people for breaking and entering or vandalism or something like that," Caroline explained.
"What about assault?"
"Nope."
"Littering?"
"Nope."
"Drunk and Disorderly?"
"Nope."
"Jaywalking?"
"Nope."
"Arson?"
"Nope."
"Rape?"
"Caroline?" Klaus said hesitantly when she didn't roll her eyes and respond with her normal lip popping 'nope'. He looked down at her, inhaling deeply at the whiteness of her face. He knew something was wrong, he could tell from her face, but he also knew she would tell him when she was ready, like she always did. "Love?"
"Can we go home?" Caroline asked quietly.
"Of course," Klaus tucked her closer and steered her towards home, which was a two story home on one of the more luxurious beaches in Miami. They left New York about 6 months ago when Caroline mentioned she missed the beach (and he could agree that he missed seeing Caroline lounge in the sun wearing one of her miniscule bikinis). The house they purchased was one that Caroline picked out, that she said she loved at first sight. The house was rather modern, having been built only a few years ago. Caroline's favorite feature was the infinity pool, which thanks to the privacy fence he had installed, she spent many hours sunbathing nude near.
Klaus started to steer Caroline towards the house when she protested, pulling him towards the backyard. He knew instantly where she wanted to go and he swung her up into his arm, carrying her over to the hammock she insisted they needed.
"What is wrong, my love?"
"There are things I never told you….that I've never told anyone because I don't like to think about it," Caroline snuggled into his chest, her words warm against his neck. "Things that happened to me when I was human, when I could be compelled."
"Damon," Klaus bit the name out, his hands digging into her hips.
"How…"
"Stefan would never compel sex and Katerina does not like girls," Klaus cut in gently. "What did he do to you?"
"I was stupid and immature and I just wanted everyone to like me," Caroline tangled her fingers in his necklaces. "Stefan was of course in love with Elena and Damon paid attention to me. He complemented me, made me feel like he cared. At least until we were…you know. He fed from me, I remember how much it hurt, how much I screamed but he didn't stop. I eventually passed out and when I woke up the next morning, I tried to sneak out but he caught me. He didn't….he didn't try to sweet-talk me anymore, he just compelled me not to fight him and to not tell anyone about what he did and what he was. For weeks, he did whatever he wanted to me, whatever…I used to take an hour shower after he left in an attempt to feel clean. I was scared, all the time. I used to wake up screaming so much that my mom eventually took me to a doctor. He put me on anxiety meds and an anti-depressant. It didn't really work, even after I was compelled to forget. I was scared, all the time. I didn't like to be alone, I would hide in my mom's closet half the time I was home alone."
If it weren't for Caroline lying completely on top of him, Klaus would have been in his car, headed towards the nearest airport. He wanted to rip Damon Salvatore limb from limb, heal him, and do it again, over and over again until the unrelenting rage he was feeling started to subside. He never wanted to kill anyone as bad as he wanted to kill Damon save Michael.
"I am assuming you do not want me to kill Damon," Klaus said.
"No…yes…it used to take every bit of control I had not to slam a stake through his heart. I used to want to more than I ever wanted to do anything," Caroline said. "And as much as I don't like Damon, I could never do that to Stefan."
"So you just forgive him?"
"No," Caroline shook her head. "He's never apologized, I don't even think he's sorry. Sometimes I think he doesn't think what he did was wrong or he won't admit to himself that it was. I don't know, I stopped trying to understand Damon a long time ago. I'm stronger because of him, because of what he put me through. I'm a better person, a stronger person."
"Who you are is because of you, don't give Damon that kind of credit," Klaus kissed her on the lips.
"If we caught someone being raped, I would walk away and let you do whatever you wanted to the rapist," Caroline said. "And I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty about it. Does that make me a monster?"
"No, sweetheart, it doesn't," Klaus assured her. "And the second you no longer care if Damon lives or dies, you know I will kill him, painfully."
"I know," Caroline kissed his chin. "Love you."
"Love you too, sweetheart," Klaus kissed her forehead.
"Nik," Caroline murmured.
"Yes, love?"
"Can we throw a dinner party this weekend for the other neighborhood watch people?"
Klaus sighed heavily. "Of course, love."