Author's Note: The attention this story is getting, honestly shocks me. Thank you so much to all the readers who love this story. I'll try to update soon!

As always, review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 7

There wasn't many things that could distract Klaus once he started working on a piece of art. An enemy walking into his home, his siblings incessantly bickering, even a phone call could bring him out of that trance he's in while sketching. But with Rebekah asleep, Kol and Elijah gone, his current enemies not daring to take a step in his direction, and his phone on silent, there shouldn't be a thing to distract him.

However, the thrashing around of a little girl was doing the trick. No matter how hard Klaus tried to ignore Adriana, he couldn't. She wouldn't stop moving. With his supernatural hearing, it almost sounded as if she was in the same room as him instead of having a wall separating them.

At first he was tempted to find out whatever the hell was making her squirm so much, but then he decided against it, hoping that whatever it was would stop soon. When it didn't he thought of waking Noah to deal with her, but he had to spend the day with Rebekah and no amount of sleep would be able to prepare anyone for that, so he let him be.

If he listened hard enough, he could hear Adriana mumbling incoherently in her sleep. He couldn't make out a majority of the words she was saying, but he could've sworn he heard her say 'no.' She was clearly having some sort of nightmare.

When Adriana started whimpering, Klaus had enough and threw his sketchpad away and jumped from his seat on his bed. His drawing landed face-up so the face of a woman was seen, showing exactly who he had been drawing. Caroline Forbes.

Klaus stood in front of her door with his hand resting on the doorknob, hearing her muffled cries. He wondered if she was actually asleep or not at this point.

Looking down the hall one last time and not seeing Noah rushing towards his sister's aide, Klaus took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, peeking inside the dark room. The further he opened the door, the more light that shined through. Her blankets were on the floor from her kicking and tears were streaming down her face. She was still asleep.

He knew he shouldn't wake her, but she was clearly witnessing something painful.

He unconsciously starting moving closer inside the room, entranced by the little blonde. With each sob that escaped her lips, something ached inside of his chest. An uncomfortable feeling that, dare he say, reminded him of when he was human.

Before he could contemplate whether to leave or wake her, Adriana's eyes shot open with a small gasp and Klaus was frozen in place in the middle of her room. Sweat caused her hair to stick to her forehead as she looked around the room until her tear-filled eyes landed on him. The relief etched across her face was unmistakable. It only lasted a few seconds until she seemed to remember where she was.

The usual sarcastic and bubbly girl was gone and was replaced by fear for whatever haunted her in her sleep.

Adriana sat up and looked at him, probably wondering what he was going to do, but he just stood there. He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know how to comfort her or take away whatever has her so scared, or if he even wanted to. But for some odd reason that he couldn't explain, he didn't want her to feel scared. Not of him or anything else.

When he realized he was staring, he adverted his eyes and cleared his throat, "Can I offer you some water?" He asked, not knowing what else to say.

"No." Her voice came out scratchy like it hurt to speak. She wiped at her cheeks, trying to erase any evidence of her crying with little success.

Klaus was the evil, merciless hybrid that feared no man. He lived a millennia, most of those years spent acting as if he was without his humanity, so why was he feeling something towards Adriana?

He watched as she stumbled out of bed and passed by him as she left her room.

Minutes after she left, Klaus still stood there.

Adriana wandered around the halls of the mansion for no more than a few minutes until she found the room her brother was staying in. She slowly opened his door and noticed he was still sleeping. As quiet as she could, she slipped into the room and curled into the side of the bed her brother wasn't on.

She didn't care if it was childish to need to seek comfort from her brother after she had a nightmare. She was seven after all. Normally, she would sneak into her parents' room and go straight for the spot in between her mom and her dad, but that was no longer an option and she knew her brother wouldn't be mad at her.

At first when she woke up and saw Klaus standing there, she thought he was her dad and she wasn't in some stupid alternate universe, but then reality sank in and she remembered. Her father would have wasted no time in sitting at the edge of her bed and comforting her. That was her first clue that that was Klaus.

Noah stirred in his sleep, turning to face her. His eyes fluttered opened and he saw her laying next to him. Despite how tired he probably was, he still asked, "Are you alright?" She nodded, "Did you have another nightmare?" She nodded again, not trusting her voice because her throat was sore.

On rare occasions that she couldn't go to her parents, she'd always go to Noah. Never to her several aunts and uncles, but to her brother. She trusted him more than anything.

Noah studied her face for a moment before shifting so he was laying on his back and he pulled her into his side. He didn't ask if she wanted to talk about it or tried to lie by telling her everything would be okay. He just rubbed her back, chasing away any nightmare that scared her.

Being so close to him, she could hear his uneven breaths. She remembers her Aunt Katherine telling her to listen for someone's breathing to know if they were awake or not. Noah was still awake even though he could have easily fallen back to sleep. He was staying up for her, she knew it.

Her brother...always the protector.

Feeling the nagging in the back of her mind to say what was on her mind, she asked, "Do you think Uncle Stefan is okay?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew he heard her.

Noah's breath hitched, automatically filling her with dread.

In her nightmare, she dreamed of Stefan being taken and her Aunt Rebekah's scream echoing over and over again. She didn't want to go home, knowing her uncle was hurt or even worse.

"I hope so." He answered truthfully. Her brother was never known to fill her with false hope, which she respected him for, but for once she just wanted him to tell her he would be fine and that Rebekah wouldn't let anyone harm him.

Despite the darkness of the room, she could still see her vision go blurry from the tears she was trying to hold back.

Noah felt the wetness soak through his t-shirt and he sighed, knowing Adriana was crying. Since they arrived here, his sister cried more than she has in a long time. She was such a happy kid that she didn't have much to cry over. Hell, she hardly ever cried when she got hurt. She hated it. But after everything that happened in the past few days, she has been very emotional around him. He wanted nothing more than to fix everything for her, but he couldn't. And he hated it.

"I'm scared Noah." She admitted, more tears falling from eyes, "I don't want to be, but I can't help it."

He felt his breath get caught in his throat at that.

Even though he could fall back to sleep without even giving it a second thought, Noah sat up with Adriana following suit. He turned around and reached for his phone, letting the light aluminate the room.

Adriana tear stricken face made him want to do everything in his power to prevent another tear from falling.

He lightly took ahold of her shoulders, meeting her eyes, "It's okay to be scared, Ree. I am too."

She looked a little shocked to hear him say that, like he was incapable of fear, "But you don't act like it. You're stronger than I am."

Noah shook his head, "I don't let my fear show. Instead I push down every doubt or what-ifs that I have and will myself to do what I have to. It's my job to protect you and that's exactly what I'm going to do. No fear will stop me from making sure you are safe and happy."

Adriana smiled softly, "What's my job?"

He pressed a finger to his chin with a goofy smile playing at his lips, "Your job can be...to smile." With that he grabbed her and started to tickle her relentlessly. She laughed and squealed in his arms, her nightmare forgotten. After a moment of her begging to be released, Noah finally gave in to her wish and she crawled into her previous spot to sit in front of him.

"Cheater." She accused him, because he knew she was extremely ticklish and forced her to smile and laugh.

Noah only tapped her nose, "Your job is to be happy, little sister. Let me deal with the rest."

Adriana nodded, knowing he'd deal with the rest whether she wanted him to or not.

"Now give me a hug before I tickle you again."

She rushed to throw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He smiled as he hugged her back with as much force. When she pulled away, she kissed him on the cheek before throwing herself down into the bed.

Noah chuckled before turning his phone back off and laying down to get some much needed sleep. He did have a busy day tomorrow after all, helping Rebekah search for possible remains of white oak. She didn't know that he had already knew about the white oak in the bridge and sign, and she wouldn't know unless that was the only white oak remaining.

As he felt his eyelids drooping, unable to stay awake much longer, he heard Adriana mumble, "I love you, Noah."

His heart warmed at her words and he smiled, "I love you too, Ree."

Meanwhile...

"She's fine, love, I assure you."

"I want to talk to her." Caroline insisted again.

Klaus had texted her that Adriana had a nightmare, not knowing that Caroline was awake and would call him within seconds. His mistake.

"Unfortunately for you, she's with her brother." He replied, having heard Adriana walk into Noah's room, if their talking wasn't any indication of her whereabouts.

Caroline huffed into the phone, bringing a smile to his face, "You never had respect for personal space before, what's stopping you now?"

"This might come as a surprise to you, Caroline, but I do not do well with upset children."

"I might have a heart attack from shock." She sarcastically but back.

It was true though. He had no idea how to handle Adriana crying so he was relieved that she sought out her brother instead. He never did well with children. Not since he was human at least.

"She probably misses her parents," Caroline's voice broke him from his thoughts, "I mean, to have her mom torn away from her then her dad left her without even saying goodbye..." She trailed off.

It was then that Klaus was reminded of the fact that Caroline's dad had died not even a few days ago. With all the drama, she's had a good distraction from the matter.

"Like your father did?"

Caroline sighed on other end of the call, "Yeah." She admitted instead of snapping at him like she did at the ball, "I'm okay," She insisted after a moment of silence, "I just understand where she's coming from. She has a lot to worry about for such a young age."

And she did. There was probably a lot more that he wasn't even aware of, but he was perfectly aware of the drama that came with being part of his family.

"The curse of being a Mikaelson, I suppose." He voiced his thoughts.

"No, it's the curse of being caught up in supernatural drama. Not all of us can avoid that as a kid."

Before Klaus could form a response, the sound of Adriana laughing filled his ears. It almost shocked him that it didn't bother him. He preferred her laughter over her tears any day.

Caroline let out a sigh of relief, being able to hear her giggles with her vampire hearing.

"She'll be fine." Klaus once again assured, except this time Caroline believed him.

"Maybe I should come back early to help out-"

He rushed to interrupt her, "As much as I would enjoy your presence, love, Bonnie needs you. Take as much time as you need there and I promise to take care of them until you return." His words sounded shocking even to his own ears. Normally he would applaud her for taking the responsibility off his hands, but the part of him that wanted Caroline to warm up to him disagreed. Besides, Noah and Adriana weren't that bad.

"Are you sure?" She asked, sounding very grateful and he knew he was making the right choice.

"I have everything under control here. And if anything happens, you will be the first to know." He promised.

She sighed, "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Caroline." With that, he hung up, knowing the conversation was over.

He allowed himself to smile, happy with the fact that Caroline was openly speaking with him now. Granted, he knew it was Adriana and Noah that had formed that connection between him and Caroline, but he would take what he could get.

Realizing that the house was now quiet, Klaus made his way for Noah's room, knowing that Adriana never returned to hers. He cracked open the door to see both siblings fast asleep. He let out a breath of relief before shutting the door.

Once again he caught himself asking, why did he care?

A few hours later when the sun had finally come up, Klaus walked downstairs after a very few hours of sleep. It wasn't normal for him to sleep much anyways, especially with the Mystic Falls scooby gang out to kill him and his family at every turn. He was always on guard, expecting whatever could hit him at any time.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The strenuous sound of metal against metal filled his ears as he picked up his pace to reach wherever it was coming from, curious as to who was making all the noise.

"Ouch." Somebody winced, and by the sound of it, he knew exactly who it was.

Barging into the kitchen, he saw the little blonde standing on top of a chair against the stove which was turned onto the highest setting. He watched as she carelessly threw two eggs into the pan like it was her first time making anything.

Klaus sighed in frustration, "And what do you think you're doing?"

Adriana turned to face him, not startled by his presence. She smiled at him, "Making eggs. Want some?"

"Tell me, sweetheart, have you ever made eggs before?" He asked, ignoring her offer.

She hesitated, her eyes flickering to the floor before meeting his again, "There's a first for everything."

"Right, well, most children ask before they decide to cook a meal in someone else's home."

"I got this!" She insisted.

Klaus peered over at the mess she's made, wondering why she needed flour to make eggs, "If your intention is to give yourself food poisoning, then I'd say you're doing a splendid job." He took some flour and dotted her nose with it.

Adriana only stuck her tongue out before returning to her mess of a meal.

Klaus chuckled to himself before walking back out of the kitchen. He found Noah and Rebekah both fully dressed in the living room talking amongst themselves. He noticed that Noah was wearing a different outfit then the one he wore yesterday, but he didn't question it. Instead he sat down in one of the armchairs, not caring if he was interrupting their conversation. They were once again discussing their day like they haven't done that enough last night.

He ignored them and instead checked his phone for any new messages. He had one from Caroline telling him that if he needed to stop by her house to grab some spare clothes for Noah and Adriana that he could. He didn't bother to reply to the message, not knowing what he'd say anyways. Instead he went to text Kol, 'Make yourself useful and track done our poor excuse of a brother and our traitorous mother.'

He got a reply within seconds, 'You have a little witch. I'm sure she's more than willing to help.'

He slipped the phone back into his pocket, not having thought of that. If he went with that plan, he would have to wait until Noah left. Even with that small glance yesterday at the Grill, he could see that Noah did not like Adriana using her magic unless it was absolutely necessary, like when she attacked him during their first meeting. Those encounters let him know exactly the power she held.

Upon hearing another crash and a 'sorry' from the kitchen, Klaus sighed, "Do either of you condone her cooking by herself in my new kitchen?" He asked, pointing in Adriana's direction.

Noah looked a bit apprehensive, but masked it so well Klaus almost didn't notice. Just like Elijah.

Rebekah shrugged, "I don't see the problem. She seems to know what she's doing."

"I remember you saying something similar as children right before you nearly broke your arm and mine." He chuckled at the memory and the look on Rebekah's face.

"Oh, shut up, Nik." She sneered as she threw a pillow at him which he caught effortlessly.

"AH!" Adriana yelped, preventing anyone from saying anything else.

In a second Klaus was standing in the doorway of the kitchen to see the stove engulfed in flames. Adriana waved her hand above the fire, efficiently putting it out with her magic while he rushed to turn off the stove.

Noah was right behind him, along with Rebekah.

Turning to glare at her, she had the decency to look sheepish but not entirely guilty, "...that wasn't supposed to happen."

"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked, feeling the need to ask after seeing how large the fire was.

She quickly shook her head. Almost too quick for the truth.

"Adriana." Noah's voice warned her to not lie.

"I'm fine, Noah." She insisted with an eye roll.

Klaus noticed her hiding her right arm behind her back and he reached for it but she shrugged away. He went for it again, this time using vamp speed before she could protest. She winced at the motion.

All along her forearm and hand were fresh burn marks from the fire, slowly healing before his eyes.

"Bloody hell." Rebekah muttered.

"Fine?" He questioned, "Does this look fine to you?"

"Yes." She yanked her away and moved to hop off the chair, but he stopped her before she could.

"Jesus Christ, Ree." Noah took her arm in his hands much to her annoyance, "No more cooking. Period."

"It doesn't even hurt." Adriana tried to pull her arm free, but Noah refused to let go.

"I agree with your brother, sweetheart. You will stay out of this kitchen with any intention of going near that stove." He grabbed her chin when she looked away, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." She growled, before successfully pushing past her brother and with that she left, Noah following shortly behind her.

Rebekah gave him a look and he sighed, "Oh, don't start."

"You care for her." She stated.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rebekah. I'm more concerned about the kitchen she nearly burnt down."

She looked at him with a look of annoyance and disbelief, "It's okay to care, Nik. She is your daughter, for god's sake."

"No," He interrupted her, moving to stand in front of her, "She is nothing more than some child. I do not care for her and I will never, ever be her father."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Klaus looked down, unsure how to answer that. He knew that in some magical way, she was his daughter, but that was just too complicated to even think about and he wouldn't sit here and talk about it with Rebekah.

"Why don't you keep your nose out of things that don't concern you, and instead find out where the last of the white oak is, while I track down our mother." He all but demanded before purposefully bumping into her shoulder as he left the kitchen.

He could easily hear Adriana and Noah arguing upstairs and he decided to head in that direction. They were in the bathroom with Adriana's arm under cold water to soothe her burns until they healed.

"Oh, sod off, Noah. It will heal!" Adriana grumbled, clearly annoyed with the conversation.

"I don't care, Ree. Might I remind you, this isn't our house. So don't go setting fires!" Noah chastised.

"I will do as I please." She muttered, barely above a whisper.

Klaus chose that moment to make his presence known, not even startling any of the two siblings, "I disagree, sweetheart. My house, my rules," She scowled at that and he ignored her, turning to face her brother, "Noah, mate, you will assist my sister in her research. Try to keep her from getting too distracted, would you?"

"You have such faith in her." He commented, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"Yes, well, Rebekah tends to ravish in any hint of affection she receives and at the moment she has one task at hand."

Adriana's head shot up to look at them in the mirror, "You're leaving?" She chose to ask upon looking at her brother.

"You'll be fine, Adriana." He assured her.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. You can't leave me with that!" She whirled around, forgetting about her injured arm as she did, "Noah!"

"It's just for the day." He moved to put her arm back under the water.

"Are we ignoring the fact that I'm starving and nobody seems to remember to feed me!" She yelled, her voice much too loud for his liking.

Noah didn't know what to say after that and he just stayed silent.

The silent was shortly interrupted when his phone started ringing. Klaus didn't bother to excuse himself as he left the bathroom.

The second Klaus had left the room, Adriana met Noah's eyes through the mirror.

He sighed and threw his hands up in frustration, "What?"

Adriana shook her head, "Oh, nothing,"

"No, you have the look on your face as if you're two seconds away from blurting it out. So what is it?"

She checked her arm to see her wounds were completely healed then rounded on Noah, "You know what! The first night we were here we burned down that stupid br-"

Noah rushed to cover her mouth before the rest of her sentence could slip. He quickly listened in downstairs and could hear Rebekah and Klaus talking, showing no attention in their conversation.

He pulled his hand away when Adriana tried to bite him, "Sh! Would you? They don't know that we knew about that bridge."

"So?" She asked, not seeing where he was going with this.

He thought if it would be safe to tell her his plan right here when two vampires could be listening to every word he was saying.

It wasn't like he was planning to harm anyone. Far from it actually. He just wanted to make sure all the white oak in the world was gone. Back home, it was a whole fiasco when everyone learned that their was another tree or at least that was what he was told. He wasn't born when his mom found and burned the last of the white oak. Luckily for her, it was all in one place. He only hoped that fact remained the same in this universe.

"So, let me handle this." He chose to say.

He never kept too much from Adriana, but then again they have never been sent to an alternate universe where the situation was completely different.

As he turned to leave, she spoke again, "You're going to leave me with Klaus?"

Noah had thought about that. So far in the short amount of time he has spent with Klaus, he seemed to trust that he wouldn't harm Adriana again. For one, Caroline would be furious if he did, but also because Adriana was on Klaus' side. She was willing to fight for him and had nothing to hide. Why would Klaus hurt one of his greatest allies that he has at the moment?

"It won't be that bad, Ree." He insisted.

"Easy for you to say! He hates me!" She blurted out much to her own surprise.

"Is that why you don't want me to leave? You assume Klaus hates you?" He repeated.

Adriana shifted uncomfortably on her feet, but answered with as much confidence and venom as she could muster, "Yes."

"Alright, sweet darlings," Rebekah's voice interrupted their conversation, "We have quite the day ahead of us. Shall we?" She held out a hand to Adriana which she wasted no time in taking. The girls left the bathroom with Noah following shortly behind them. While they turned into Rebekah's room, Noah went downstairs, not willing to witness another girl talk with weird words like 'zhuzh.'

He found Klaus sipping at a glass of what he assumed was either wine or blood or both, and Noah leaned against the railing of the staircase. He took a moment to just breath. So much has happened in the past few days that he wondered if anyone ever caught a break in this town. No wonder his family didn't like to visit much. Too much damn drama.

As he looked at the man in front of him, he couldn't blame his sister for assuming Klaus hated her. Their first meeting wasn't exactly ideal per se. Besides, who knew how much Klaus actually trusted them. If the night of the ball wasn't any indication, Klaus was paranoid and very protective over those he loved or cared for. When two children appear out of nowhere, turn out to be a tribrid and a hybrid, and are claiming to be his children from another universe, Klaus was bound to be suspicious. It was inevitable.

But would Noah go as far to say Klaus hated his sister?

After the not-so-hidden acts of caring he's witnessed, it's not that hard to say. Klaus wants to hate Adriana when he so clearly doesn't. If only Adriana could read people like Noah could, she'd see it for herself.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Klaus set his now empty glass down on one of the tables a little too hard and turned to him, "I hope you don't mind, mate, but I need to make a small trip outside of town. And since I've been unrightfully given the role of babysitter, Adriana would have to come with me."

Noah was partly shocked at Klaus' words. Not because of Adriana leaving town, but because Klaus was unofficially asking him if it was okay to take her with him.

"Why?" He chose to ask.

"I'm tracking down my mother and Finn. Kol agreed to meet us just on the edge of town for some assistance in the matter." He explained.

Noah was unsure on how he felt knowing Adriana would be so far away from him. If anything were to happen to her, he wouldn't even be there to stop it and he hated that feeling.

"Unless you rather take her with you. It'd be a relief on my part." Klaus admitted with a small smile.

If he did that, Adriana could risk running into Damon who she attacked and, knowing her, most likely threatened last night. He knew he could trust Rebekah and himself to protect her, but if she left with Klaus instead, there wouldn't be as much too risk. It was the unknowing that bothered him. Not knowing if she was okay or not would drive him insane. But he wanted her safe.

And she'd be with Kol, who is practically her new best friend. Noah knew without a doubt that Kol would protect his sister, even if it meant protecting her from Klaus.

As much as he wanted Adriana at his side, he knew that he needed her with Klaus today.

Trying to hide his distaste at the idea, Noah replied, "As long as she's safe, I have nothing against her going."

"Oh, good." Klaus mumbled sarcastically, not very prepared to spend the day with a seven year old.

Speaking of said seven year old, Adriana came skipping down the stairs in a new outfit and her hair done in two loose braids. Noah let out a sigh of annoyance when he spotted the red painting his sister's lips again. She wore an expensive looking red shirt with black jeans. She also refused to give up her leather jacket. Her outfit differed Noah's much more casual jeans and black shirt greatly. Neither of them had to worry too much about the weather, because it didn't affect them like it did normal people. Neither of them had been sick a day in their life, which Noah couldn't be more thankful for.

"Well aren't you precious." Klaus greeted Adriana as she came into view.

"Yep." She agreed as she stopped on the stairs so she could be just above Noah.

"I love her hair," Rebekah commented as she too came down the stairs, touching one of Adriana's braids as she did, "She's like a little doll."

"Yes, well, your doll and I need to leave if we aren't to waste the day away."

Adriana was about to protest when Rebekah spoke again, "Tell Kol that he is welcomed here. This house is too quiet for four."

"We're going to see Kol?" She asked, much more excited about leaving knowing she'd see him. When Klaus nodded, Adriana all but ran down the few remaining steps, "Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!"

Klaus smiled at her before turning to Rebekah and told her to keep him updated on the search while Noah walked over to Adriana who was waiting by the door.

"Be safe, little sister."

She smiled softly at his concern, "Always."

With that she followed Klaus out the door, leaving him there with Rebekah.

He didn't mind helping her, but he knew if he didn't distract himself with the search for white oak, he'd focus on his worry for Adriana.

"So what's first?" He asked.

She pulled out her phone and texted someone before grabbing her coat and heading towards the door as well, "Simple. We're having a little chat with the mayor."

Noah nodded as he held the door open for her.

"If you keep looking at your phone, I'll die." Adriana warned.

Klaus chuckled under his breath, "That's a little far fetched, don't you think, sweetheart?"

They've only been in the car for about ten minutes and Adriana has already asked to stop at a motorcycle shop, if he'd ever met Marilyn Monroe, and if she could drive, which all but one he answered no to.

"Nah," She shook her head, "You will check your phone, you'll crash, you are immortal and can't be killed while I will die almost instantly."

"What is the point of being part vampire if it does you no good?" He asked, still not understanding that bit.

Adriana shrugged, "I don't get any of the vampire perks unless I die. At least that's what is supposed to happen." She explained.

"Interesting. That must be why your brother is so protective." He noted.

It was no secret that Noah was protective of his sister, a trait Kol seemed to pick up just by meeting the girl.

"Could be," She looked as if she was just beginning to consider that as a possibility, "Or maybe it's just a brother thing."

At that Klaus rolled his eyes, daring to spare a glance at the blonde before facing the road again. She was too smart for her age.

"Do you love Caroline?" She suddenly asked, much to his surprise.

He played off his shock by laughing, "I'm one thousand years old, sweetheart. I do not love."

He remembered telling Elijah the same thing several times over the centuries. Love is a vampire's greatest weakness.

"You love family." She countered.

"My family made a vow. Always and forever. We stick by each other and fight for one another despite our quarrels."

Why was he even telling her this?

"So you trust them?"

"They've never given me a reason not to."

Adriana hummed a response. Klaus wasn't sure whether she believed him or not by the look on her face.

"Then why did you tell Caroline that you fancy her?" She asked with a smug smile, "And why did you let your guard down around her? Is that not trust?"

Klaus opened his mouth to reply but he quickly closed it when he realized he didn't know how to argue that.

Instead, he turned the wheel so fast that a few cars honked at him as he pulled into some diner. Adriana squealed as he did. Before he could fully park, she jumped out of the car and ran inside the old building.

He sighed, wondering what the hell he has gotten himself into. He took a minute to compose himself from having been questioned by her.

There was no doubt that he felt something for Caroline Forbes and he did fancy her, but he knew her heart belonged to his pathetic hybrid, Tyler. He regretted ever making him immortal in the first place. He all but handed him an eternity with Caroline. But that wouldn't stop him from pursuing her, attempting to gain her affections.

Momentarily having forgotten about Adriana, Klaus turned off the car and hurried into the fast food restaurant, wanting to get back on the road as soon as possible.

When he walked inside, he noticed the lack of people inside, most likely because it was a small town. He then spotted Adriana talking with a waitress off to the side, bouncing on her toes.

As he headed over, he heard a bit of their conversation.

"Is that your dad?" The dark haired woman asked.

Adriana turned to him with an evil glint in her eye, one that he was quite familiar with before she turned back to the woman with a look of pure fear.

"Oh no!" She whisper shouted, "That's the bad man who took me. I was with my brother and t-then he just grabbed me-"

Klaus rushed to grab Adriana, picking her up and placing a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Sweetheart, please," He turned to the now terrified woman, his pupils dilating as he did, "Forget any false accusation my daughter has told you and lead us to your finest table, would you, love." He finished with a smile.

She looked back at him with a blank stare before blushing, "Of course. Right this way."

Klaus released his hand from Adriana's mouth and set her down so not to gain more attention than he already has. The waitress lead them to their table and Klaus held onto Adriana's hand so she wouldn't run off or something. She tried to pull her hand free and drag her feet, but it wasn't much use against his strength, not that he was using much of it. Her boots slid across the floor, not much friction to prevent her from moving further.

When they took their seats, the waitress handed them menus, "My name is Tara, I'll be your waitress this morning. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Klaus pushed his menu back to her, "I won't be eating." His eyes fell down to the old bite marks on her wrists and wondered if any of his siblings have been here recently.

"Oh come on!" Adriana pouted, "I know I might be a pain in the ass, but you can at least eat breakfast with me."

Tara was taken back by her language, but nobody paid her any attention.

When Klaus was about to say no, Adriana clasped her hands together with a face that resembled one of a puppy begging for dinner scraps, "Please? For me?"

With a sigh, he retrieved his menu and turned to Tara, "A water will be fine."

She scribbled it down and waited for Adriana to say what she wanted. She jumped when Adriana dropped her menu on the table with an audible slap, "I'm ready to order." She smiled, dimples showing and all.

"Oh, okay." She stuttered.

"I will have this 'make-your-plate' thing, so be prepared to write this down. Pancakes, stack them high, if you could. And I want blueberries no- strawberries on top. Scratch that. I want both with a fruit bowl on the side. Extra bacon? Yes please. Eggs, scrambled. Sausage links and patties." The waitress hurried to write everything down as Adriana listed off everything she wanted, "Oh and that drink you spoke of, strawberry milkshake please. Thank you, darling."

Klaus gaped at the order and Adriana reached over the table and forcefully lifted his jaw then patted his cheek.

"You'll let flies in, Klausy."

Noah chose to sit at the bar while Rebekah talked with Mayor Lockwood. He didn't have much interest in listening to the whole conversation. He only wanted to hear the main details, including where the white oak was. Anything else bored him to no end.

Besides, the mayor would no doubt ask questions if she saw Rebekah with a sixteen year old. She apparently knew about the Mikaelsons so it was best that he wasn't seen with her.

Rebekah didn't mind that he kept his distance, but that didn't stop her from glancing in his direction every few seconds like he would disappear if she didn't. Even though he could easily take care of himself, he appreciated the concern.

His attention was at the door when an all too familiar pair of brothers walked in. Noah groaned, turning around in his seat to face the bar, hoping that neither of them would recognize him. If anyone, they'd remember Adriana after the incident last night. The Salvatore's sat down at the bar, leaving only a seat between him and Damon.

He didn't care about their conversation much, but when Stefan started tapping his daylight ring on the counter, Noah was all but tempted to take it and throw it through a window. As much as he loved his Uncle Stefan, he had to remind himself that this was not the same man. This man was fighting against his family which meant he was fighting Noah.

Swirling the soda around in his glass, Noah turned around again, careful not to let either Salvatore see his face.

He scanned over the room, looking at all the normal people with normal lives. He almost envied that as did his Aunt Rebekah. She'd always craved the prospect of having a normal, human family of her own. Although she'd never be human or maybe even have kids, she seemed content with Stefan and the large family in front of her.

Noah on the other hand didn't mind not being human. In fact, he loved being a hybrid. It was the drama that came with it that bothered him a bit. Humans, though they don't necessarily have it easier, they don't have the same worries as him. That's what he envied. Having normal, human problems.

He was brought back to reality when Rebekah approached the unsuspecting brothers. She put a finger to her mouth, telling him to remain silent. He lifted his drink in response. The last thing he wanted was Damon's attention.

"Which Salvatore would that be?" She asked them, causing both boys to face her. Noah had no idea what she was talking about, but when Stefan told her an old Salvatore name and Damon made a sex joke, he zoned out. No way in hell, was he going to listen to that conversation.

Noah was taken back when a girl about his age bumped into him, spilling some of his drink onto his shirt, "Ah!" He yelped at the coldness.

"Shit! I'm sorry. I'm such a klutz." She quickly apologized, reaching over to a nearby table to retrieve some napkins. She started to pat down the wet spot before she seemed to realize what she was doing and handed them to him with a sheepish look on her face.

Noah chuckled, taking the napkins from the embarrassed girl, "Thanks. And it's alright. Trust me, my sister has done worse on purpose."

She laughed lightly and Noah looked up at her. Her caramel blonde hair and eyes all too familiar to him. He could have sworn he'd seen her somewhere before, but where?

The girl adverted her eyes and Noah realized he had been staring, "Forgive me. You just look so familiar."

"Oh, well maybe you know my cousin. He works here actually. Uh, Matt Donovan?"

Donovan. He knew that name from back home, but he didn't know any Matt.

But was this the Matt that Caroline had spoke of? Was it possible that he was also the guy Caroline had danced with at the Mikaelson ball? He did resemble the girl in front of him. If so, he just might know him.

"I might have seen him about." He answered vaguely, "Are you looking for him?"

She pursed her lips together and took the empty seat next to him, fortunately not the one in between him and Damon, "Not exactly," Noah's eyebrows rose, showing his interest, "It's complicated."

"Complicated family? Well, love, you couldn't have found someone who understands that more. Noah Mikaelson." He offered his hand.

"Claire Donovan."

Noah took her hand and kissed her knuckles, making her blush.

"Can I buy you a drink? Nonalcoholic, of course." He offered, having Rebekah's credit card which was probably Klaus' now that he thought of it.

"Why not?" Claire answered with a smile.

After Klaus and Adriana left the diner, they drove the short distance to the park Kol agreed to meet them at. Or at least that's what Klaus told her. Adriana wasn't too focused on the what's and the when's. She just sat back and sipped at her second milkshake.

She kept eyeing the playground in front of them with a longing look. Klaus wouldn't let her get out of the car until Kol got here, which she thought was a stupid idea, but of course he didn't listen.

It wasn't for another seven minutes, that seemed to drag on forever, until Klaus' phone dinged.

"Is that him?" Adriana quickly asked, looking over his shoulder in attempt to read the message.

Klaus only put his hand on her forehead and pushed her back into her own seat while he read the text. He didn't bother to answer her question as he typed away with a smug smile.

"Klaus!" She yelled, using both hands to try and move past his hand.

He let go once he turned off his phone.

"He's here. Come on, but make sure to-" She was already opening her door before he could finish his sentence, "...stay by me." He mumbled to himself.

As they walked up the small hill that lead to the playground, a pair of strong arms grabbed Adriana from behind and spun her.

"Ah, my little witch!"

Adriana laughed as she was spun around, holding her drink tighter so she wouldn't drop it.

"Has my brother driven you insane yet?" He asked as he set her back down on her feet.

Adriana tapped a finger on her chin as she thought about.

So far Klaus has threatened her and pinned her to a wall by her throat, forced her and her brother to answer his stupid questions, taken her to meet his psychotic mother who was trying to kill her children, and nearly crashed the car a hundred times.

"Nope," She answered with a smile, "He'll have to try harder than that if he's to drive me mad."

"If anyone, it has been her driving me insane." Klaus accused, making her smile widen as she remembered the fire she started this morning.

Kol patted her head as if to praise her.

"Well, brother, we have lots to discuss. Adriana, sweetheart, go off and play until I come get you." Klaus told her.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she began walking off towards the very appealing playground, "Bye, Kol!"

With that she found herself climbing up the outside of the playground that they specifically ask that you don't climb up. As if any kids actually read those signs. The park was pretty big compared to what she'd expect from a small town, not that she was complaining. Once reaching the top of a flat enough surface, Adriana stood up and looked over the playground at the little kids who roamed it. She saw Klaus and Kol talking on a nearby bench, watching her.

"Paranoid brothers." She muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

"Wow," A voice broke her from her thoughts. Adriana looked down to see a boy below her, eyeing her like she was royalty, "How did you get up there?"

"I'm a werewolf princess which means I can climb super high." She answered truthfully. If he looked at her like she was royalty, she was going to act like she was royalty.

"Cool." He replied in awe.

Adriana smirked. She had a feeling she was going to like it here.

"What's your name, boy?" She asked with as much power as she could, having learned a lot from her family.

"Jaiden."

She crouched down to be closer, but still being feet above him, "Well, JJ," she nicknamed him, "how would you like to assist the princess?"

Klaus kept a close eye on Adriana while he spoke to his brother. There was no way he was going to let her out of sight after all the stunts she pulls.

He watched as she climbed up the side of the playground, towering above all the other kids. Yep, this was definitely his child.

"So, brother, did you find another witch?" He asked, only glancing at Kol for a second before looking back at Adriana.

"I know one who just so happens to owe a friend of mine a favor."

Klaus turned his head to his brother in disbelief, "You've been undaggered for not even a week and you expect me to believe you've found a friend?"

Kol rolled his eyes, "An old friend, yes. I met him in the eighteen hundreds. You know, before you daggered me. How is that little muppet you took in? What was his name? Marcellus?"

Klaus' eyes darkened at the name. Last time Kol saw him, he was nothing more than a child. But that was years ago and Klaus was not willing to talk about him nor has he all these years.

"Say his name again and I will break your spine."

Kol ignored his threat, but dropped the name nonetheless, "Is that what you're doing with Noah and Adriana? Taking them under your wing like they are your own?"

Klaus turned his body to face Kol, pointing a finger at him, "Make no mistake, little brother. I have no desire to become a father figure for them nor will I ever. They happen to be useful to me and the moment they cease to, I will toss them aside as easily as I stuck a dagger in your heart." He told him coldly.

Kol narrowed his eyes at his brother, choosing to focus on Adriana rather than the dark look on Klaus' face.

His scowl quickly faded as Kol noticed who was in Adriana's company.

"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind that boy befriending, sweet, adorable Adriana."

Klaus turned his attention back to her, where she was still standing on top of the playground, to see some boy drooling over her.

Leaning back against the bench, he shrugged, "I don't mind in the slightest."

Klaus doesn't recall telling a bigger lie in a long time. He glared at the boy, having the urge to throw him back into the hands of his mother and 'convincing' them to move far away from Virginia.

Adriana had gathered a small group of kids who believed she was a princess. There weren't many kids at the park, but the majority that left their parents' side and didn't speak gibberish, were with her. She's been here not ten minutes and she was already ruling the playground. There was one nine year old who she found that agreed to be her bodyguard if she gave him her bracelet. Not that she needed a bodyguard or the bracelet. She just had him around to keep the other kids from trying to climb up where she was. The only kid she allowed up there was Jaiden, having been the first one to confront her.

Jaiden was a year younger than her, not that that concerned her at all. He was just sitting by himself on the swings when he saw her, so Adriana took it upon herself to befriend him.

She stood tall with Jaiden behind her, sitting down and leaning against the cone shaped roof next to them.

"Are you a real werewolf?" Jaiden asked.

"Yep." She replied, popping the 'p'.

She didn't mind telling anyone that she was a werewolf or a witch for that matter. Being a kid, she knew anyone would believe her, claiming she had a wild imagination. However, if she showed them her yellow eyes, they'd have a very different reaction. She smirked, remembering a time where her mom had to compel a poor biker to forget he ever saw them.

"Does that make you a superhero?" Jaiden's question brought her out of the memory.

Adriana turned around to face him, "Hm. Maybe." She shrugged her shoulders, wondering what she'd look like as if she was one.

Jaiden smiled, "I think you'd be a pretty superhero."

Adriana stared at him with a blank expression at the compliment before she ruffled his brown hair, "Me too."

She turned back around and yelled at one of the kids, "Hey you! Get Maria to throw this away." She then tossed her empty cup at him and he rushed to catch it. She then pointed to another kid, "And you! You can sing, right? You look like a singer. Sing a song for us." She ordered.

As the girl began singing, Adriana let her gaze fall back to Klaus who was still watching her. She waved at him with a bright smile before turning back to the kids. She didn't want to see if he'd smile back or if he'd continue to glare. She didn't care who he was glaring at, even though it was probably her, but she couldn't help but want him to smile at her. Even if he hated her, she still considered him a friend. Granted, he was a wanker, or at least that's what she overheard Rebekah call him, but she still liked him.

Not that she'd ever tell him that. Ego and all.

"Miss," A girl, probably Maria, spoke from below her, "Brandon took your milkshake cup and made it into a hat."

Her gaze fell to Brandon who was by the swings and she sighed in frustration and faced Jaiden again, "You know, why my dad enjoys being king is beyond me. This job is tiring."