A/N: Thank you all for the support, the PM's, and the comments! I've been super busy recently between school and work, however there's nothing more motivating than comments to get me writing and posting!

The next morning Caroline went shopping with Kol, Klaus apparently had some business to take care of and Stefan claimed to have found an interesting lead he wanted to follow up on. Caroline was determine to find some warm sweaters and maybe even some cute boots, and brought Kol along with every intention of getting some more of his story out of him.

"So" she asked flipping through some cashmere sweaters in a small boutique, "what happened after you met her? And you never told me what her name was y'know."

"Her name was Annabelle McKenna– she was quite the actress, and came from a very well off family. They were old money, and not all of them entirely approved of her profession. Her uncle was her manager, and her brother – well, he was pretty much her bodyguard and handler. That evening when I met her, we had barely had time to exchange our names when her uncle interrupted us. However I was quite taken with her beauty – and there was something else there, I didn't have a name for it yet but there was definitely something about Annabelle that made her different."

Caroline had chosen a few cute sweaters, and approached the cashier to pay, while Kol continued his story. But before Caroline could pay with her card, Kol's hand stopped her and smiling mischievously he handed over another card to the cashier.

"Klaus made you come on this trip, it's only fair he pay for it too" he winked, getting a special joy out of the shocked look on Caroline's face.

He took Caroline's bags in a gentlemanly fashion and led her out of the store, with her arm linked through his. "Also, it's only fair Klaus buys us lunch too" he commented, steering them towards a local restaurant. When they had been seated and ordered their food Kol continued.

"After the musical performance that evening, the guests headed back up to the hotel to dine. I however had been keeping an eye on Annabelle and had arranged via some harmless compulsion for her party to be detained. I was planning on getting her alone, and to be completely honest I hadn't yet determined what her uses would be in terms of whether or not she would be a midnight snack. I had followed her up past the hotel entrance to the stables, but as I rounded the corner she was nowhere to be found – just as I was about to use my special set of senses to sniff her out she appeared over the top of the only carriage that was still hitched up and beckoned to me. 'Hurry up and get in!' she yelled, and began to ride out of there like a bat out of hell." He chuckled in remembrance.

"Did you get in?" Caroline asked, enthralled with his tale.

"Of course! I'd be an idiot to ignore that command!" he replied with equal vigor.

"What did she look like?" Caroline twirled her fork around the pasta piled on her plate.

"She was breathtaking – long wavy mahogany brown hair, light brown eyes, straight white teeth and full pink lips – everything in the right place" he winked.

"She sounds pretty" Caroline smiled, "so what happened?"

"Well, she drove straight toward the marina park – it was a public park located along the harbor. We spoke there for some time – she was absolutely enchanting, intelligent, opinionated, witty, but there was something about her that was also serious and sad. I knew almost instantly that there was something different about her, that she carried some unspoken burden, and I was determined to satisfy my curiosity and find out what it was."

"Why didn't you just compel it out of her?" Caroline asked, her mind drifting unexpectedly towards Klaus, wondering if he would have compelled the beautiful actress.

"I thought about it, but as you get older Caroline, as a vampire you'll want to compel less. Having to earn things, or learn things, or hunt for things is part of what makes life fun – it's the difference between living and just existing. Mysteries make things a little more interesting; why else do you think us originals still hang out with Klaus? Or why Elijah decided to help him?"

"I thought you stayed because you all loved him"

Kol chuckled, "you can care for someone from afar you know, no, the reason we stay is because having power like we do can get incredibly dull. Klaus' issues offer a bit of mystery and adventure into the mix." Kol watched as Caroline gave him a look suggesting she wasn't totally convinced by blasé explanation for remaining with his brother. Kol rolled his eyes, "wait until you get daggered in the heart a few times, you'll see how old 'love' gets."

"I should hope not Kol! Unlike you I can't pop up and take a jog after getting daggered" she took a sip of her soda as Kol shot her a sympathetic glance.

"Sorry love, I forget you're just a vampire" he smiled, his eyes glittering mischievously.

"Yeah, yeah. So go ahead, what happened with Annabelle and you?"

"After that night we began to see each other. To be perfectly honest we ran around like two high schoolers – no offense- constantly dodging her uncle and brother who had already a distinct distaste for me. I normally wouldn't have bothered, but she was a pretty little thing and I quite enjoyed her company. I didn't even realize that I was falling for her before it was too late."

"Too late? You say it like falling in love is something terrible Kol," Caroline broke apart a breadstick and began munching on the end.

"Isn't it?" he asked darkly. His face cleared as fast as it had clouded and he continued, "Don't misunderstand me, Annabelle cared a great deal for her uncle and brother but she felt their judgment and their over-protectiveness quite keenly. They had wanted her to marry a family friend, and believed whole heartedly that it was the best thing for her to do. But Annabelle craved freedom, and was as sharp witted as she was beautiful. She had a tongue on her that would make a sailor blush. For the first time in my long existence as a vampire, I remember what it was like to feel. There was no one who could make me laugh like her, no one who could make feel alone and cold like she could, no one who could make me love and be loved in that unique intangible way, and no one who could hurt me as much as she could. We fought frequently, and many times I was sorely tempted to finish her. But everything about our relationship was passionate- the fighting and the loving."

"But what about her uncle? What did he have to say about your relationship?"

"Nothing good. He threatened me many times, but I never made anything of it. Who was he in the grand scheme of things really? He was of little consequence to me, and if I had my way he would be of little consequence to Annabelle as well. She pleaded with him to understand our relationship, but he refused and threatened her in all manner possible. The rift between her and her brother and uncle was a source of great heartache. But as I said, for me having a foe made our courtship even more exciting, and I neglected to compel either of them. Then one evening after she was detained for some time by the two she met me in my room, she was very put out but insisted that we two get married immediately. Being young and full of youthful arrogance I agreed, and we were wed privately. Later that night her brother caught us in a rather impolite position. Annabelle was horrified, but more than anything she feared for my safety. Her brother had not known about our union and would assume I had taken liberties with Annabelle, compromising her virtue – therefor securing him the right to revenge in one form or another. The next night both the brother and uncle confronted Annabelle and I in the stables. Both carried handguns, and were aiming at me. I placed Annabelle behind me, but before I could compel the two to leave the sound of gunshots filled the air. I quickly looked for an injury to myself, and then I realized what had happened."

"What happened?" Caroline was at the edge of her seat, her heart racing for poor Annabelle.

"Annabelle had shot both her brother and uncle in an attempt to save my life. You see I never disclosed to Annabelle that I was a vampire, so in her mind I, her one great love was in a very real danger. He brother and uncle lay on the floor- a bleeding mess. I'll never forget the look of pure horror on her face, she was in shock and her whole body shook violently as she began gasping repeatedly. I knelt on the ground and picked up her brothers pistol, opening it up to reveal perhaps one of the most shocking realizations I had had for years. The gun was loaded with wooden bullets."

Caroline gasped, but Kol continued to narrate his tale.

"As I turned towards her uncle, shock now coloring my own features, I watched as the wound in the older man's body began to heal and his eyes flash yellow. Not only did these two know that I was a vampire, but they were also a part of a werewolf bloodline. However, as I turned towards her brother I saw that Annabelle was draped over him and could hear her plead with him to live as her body was racked with sobs. I gently moved her aside, so we were both bent over his opposite sides. His wound, unlike the uncle's was not healing, so I did the one thing I could to alleviate Annabelle's pain. I allowed my face to change, revealing my true nature to her, and bit into my wrist. I fed her brother my blood, and watched as he healed. Annabelle watched too, her eyes growing wide- she suddenly whirled to look in the very alive face of her uncle – whose eyes were yellow and nails had grown to claws. Suffice it to say Annabelle was completely horrified." Kol stopped, and Caroline could tell for a brief moment he was back there in that moment.

"So, what happened?"

"She ran away. I don't even know how she did it, neither me nor her family were able to find her." Kol said simply.

"Wait, so you don't think that her brother and uncle helped her run away?"

"Ha!" Kol snorted bitterly, "Don't you think I exhausted every possibility of what could have happened to her? Of course I initially suspected her family, but it turns out they were as desperate as I was to find Annabelle – but she simply had disappeared. Have you ever wondered why Klaus staked me? I'll tell you why. After Annabelle disappeared I began to run around with a group of witches, they promised me that they would together create the most powerful spell made to find her. It would be a locator spell that would transcend even death."

"Then why did Klaus stake you?"

"The witches asked for only one thing in exchange for my spell." Kol narrowed his eyes at Caroline, watching as everything clicked into place.

"Klaus" she breathed wide-eyed.

"Yes, they asked for me to bring them my dear brother. And I was more than willing if that meant I would find Annabelle. Unfortunately I never got the chance, Klaus killed them and staked me the second he found out. You see Caroline, my brother was never one for betrayal –" Kol leaned over, firmly grasping one of Caroline's cold hands that were resting on the table "I just hope you never end up on the wrong side of one of his stakes."

"But he never bothered to find out why you were doing what you were doing! He never knew about Annabelle!"

"He knew a little of Annabelle, but we Michaelson men are never open with our feelings and discussing what it is that we want. Or need. You have to understand, Klaus is unlike us in that he comes from a tortured past. Sure we all had to put up with our parents, but Klaus always had it the worst. Our father abhorred him; he was a constant reminder of his wife's infidelity. And our mother hated him for the same reason; he was a reminder of her guilt. Klaus was everything our father needed to keep Ester subservient, Klaus was the ledger of debt that she would forever owe her husband and our mother wanted more than anything to be rid of that reminder. She would turn her back on Klaus. And then there were us, his brothers and sister. While we loved him we were still young, in our youth and ignorance we couldn't always avoid hurting Klaus or even taking advantage of the fact that he was the ugly duckling of our pack."

Caroline shook her head, Bill hadn't been the best father – in fact he hadn't been anywhere near being a good father – but at least she had her mother. Her mom always loved her and would always protect her, even if it meant risking everything she had known and loved.

"Do you hate Klaus?" Caroline asked.

"No and yes. He's not an excellent specimen of humanity. I hate him for being selfish, and I hate him for the time he stole from me. But he's my family, and I understand his struggles with trust. Besides my body count is as high if not higher than his, if he doesn't deserve another chance then neither do either of us, after all you can't really measure loss of life. But I think the real question here isn't whether I hate Klaus", Kol looked pointedly at Caroline. "It's whether you do."

A/N: Soooo now we know what happened to Kol! I don't know if they explained why Klaus had Kol staked in the show, but this is the explanation I came up with So whaddya think? ;)