AN: I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Mine was surprisingly relaxing and low key, hence another chapter! This one kind of got away from me, so the date will actually be next chapter. I didn't want to make this one too long, as it would then take me probably another week to post it. I thought my lovely readers deserved to have a chapter now. I hope you enjoy it! As always, thank you for your encouraging reviews and favorites and follows! You guys are the best! Disclaimer: I don't own the characters! And this is unbeta-ed, so I apologize for the mistakes!


Caroline grumbles, half asleep, as she hears the door to the bedroom she's sleeping in creak open. Suddenly a tiny body is bouncing on top of the bed, knocking into her. "Good morning, mommy!" Lizzie's sweet voice rings through the room.

"Ugh, Liz." Caroline groans. Lizzie smiles and hops off the bed. She watches her mom carefully, as Caroline drags her body out of the bed. "Let's see if there is any food here for you."

"And coffee and blood for you?" Lizzie asks, as they walk into the kitchen.

Caroline nods at her daughter. She is proud of how well Lizzie is taking all this supernatural stuff. It can't be easy to know your mom drinks blood bags every day. Though, she might have a harder time if she ever finds out how Klaus feeds. But Caroline doesn't want to think of that side of Klaus. The past few days have found Klaus to be the kind, sweet, attentive man that Caroline knows is buried beneath the Original Hybrid. But Caroline also knows well enough that the Hybrid is due for an appearance soon, and she just hopes Lizzie is not around when it happens. Once Lizzie is all set with her breakfast, Caroline decides to approach the topic of their plans. "So, Liz, what do you want to do this morning?"

Lizzie takes a bite of her cereal and tilts her head to the side. "Can I meet some real life witches?"

Caroline is taken aback by her daughter's request. She is torn between being delighted by how interested in all this Lizzie is and worried that this is the life Lizzie will choose. "I can talk to Klaus about that."

Lizzie hums her gratitude and continues eating.

Caroline watches her daughter for a few moments and decides to finally let Lizzie know of their plans for the evening. "How do you feel about spending some time with Hayley this evening?" Caroline asks.

Lizzie looks up to Caroline and shrugs her shoulders. "Do I really have a choice?"

Caroline hides her smirk at her daughter's question. "Kind of, but not really. Hayley really wants to spend some time with you. Just the two of you. You'll have dinner and I'm sure you will enjoy it." Caroline tries to hype it up, even though a small part of her wishes that Lizzie won't have fun.

"Where will you be?" Lizzie questions, nervously.

"I will be out. With Klaus." Caroline watches her daughter cautiously.

Lizzie looks concerned for a moment and then nods carefully. "You guys are friends, right?"

Caroline sighs. "It's a little more complicated than that, but yes."

"Wait, he's not like your boyfriend, is he?"

Caroline chokes on her coffee. After clearing her throat and staring at Lizzie for a minute, she recovers. "No, Klaus is not my boyfriend. But we do have quite a complicated past. That's all."

"Ok." Lizzie replies, nonchalantly.

Lizzie goes back to eating her breakfast and Caroline quickly texts Klaus to see if he can help Lizzie with her request for the morning. As Caroline waits to hear back from Klaus, she notices Stefan calling her. "Hey Stef!" Caroline chirps, happily.

"Hey Care." Stefan replies, with much less perk.

"What's wrong?" Caroline is immediately concerned.

Stefan sighs. "Ok, don't get mad."

Caroline groans in response. She knows he only starts off with that when he thinks that she will get mad. "You're not coming to New Orleans, are you?" Caroline assumes something went down with Elena that takes precedence over her and Lizzie.

Stefan recognizes the defeat in Caroline's voice. "No." He says quickly. "No, I'm still coming. I'm on my way now. I should be in by this evening."

"Ok, so what's wrong?"

"I'm not coming alone." Stefan says, cryptically. Caroline waits patiently for Stefan to elaborate. "Damon and Enzo have decided to tag along."

"Hm. Really?" Caroline is not sure how to react. She knows Damon is not a favorite among the Originals and she is sure that Enzo's flirty behavior will not go over well with Klaus. "Why?"

"Because it sounded like fun, Blondie!" Damon yells through the phone.

Caroline closes her eyes and tries not to think of all the ways that this could go wrong. "Wonderful. But I have a few ground rules." Caroline says, loud enough that Damon can hear her through the phone. "You have to watch yourselves around my daughter and know that I have no control over Klaus. Nor do I wish to exploit any feelings he may or may not have for me anymore." Caroline can hear Stefan sigh and Damon chuckle though the phone. Caroline can faintly hear Damon and Enzo converse, but she is distracted when Stefan chooses to speak up.

"I'm going to New Orleans to help you. They have their own reasons for coming, which they are choosing to keep secret. But I promise that I will stand by you if Damon tries to mess with the Originals. He knows that it never ends well. He's a big boy and will have to endure any trouble he gets himself into. Without my help or your manipulation of Klaus' feelings."

"Thanks Stef. Call me when you get in. I'll give Klaus a warning about Damon and Enzo."

"Thanks Caroline. See you soon!"

"Bye." Caroline ends the call and notices that Klaus had texted her back while she was talking to Stefan. "Hey Lizzie?"

Lizzie peeks out of the bedroom. She had left the table after she finished her breakfast and had begun getting dressed. "Yeah?"

"Klaus said he we can meet with Davina this morning. He's going to come get us in about an hour." Lizzie nods and returns to her room to finish getting dressed. Caroline vamps around the kitchen, cleaning it up so she will have enough time to shower and get dressed before Klaus shows up.


Klaus is pleasantly surprised to get Caroline's text this morning. He hadn't gotten much sleep, as there were some issues in his kingdom he needed to attend to. He needed to deal with some wayward vampires last night because he didn't want to have to shed blood while he was on a date with Caroline. There was a lot riding on this date and he had to be the charming, humane Klaus. Once Caroline and Lizzie agree to stay in New Orleans full time, then he can show her the reigning Hybrid King of New Orleans. Klaus has every intention of someday making Caroline his queen, with Lizzie as his little princess. He knows that Caroline will be the fair, honorable, kind and forgiving queen to his rough, fearsome and violent king. They will balance each other out, but first he needs to secure Caroline to his side. Klaus is smart enough to know that Caroline disapproves of his bloodshed and violence. Klaus makes his way around the Mikaelson Mansion, looking for both Davina and Hayley. Instead, he finds Kol and Rebekah arguing in the kitchen. Klaus clears his throat and waits for his younger siblings to acknowledge his presence. The fighting stops and both vampires turn to their older brother. "Have either of you seen Davina or Hayley this morning?"

"Interesting choice of female companions you seek out, brother." Kol comments. Klaus responds by rolling his eyes and turns to Bekah, hoping for a more helpful response.

"While I am inclined to agree with Kol, I can tell you that Hayley had a meeting with the wolves this morning. I don't know where Davina is hiding." Bekah looks at her brother thoughtfully. "Why are you looking for them?"

Kol, who had been ignoring Bekah up until she asked Klaus about the women he was searching for, was suddenly attentive to Klaus. "Yes, Nik. Shouldn't you be searching for your lovely Caroline?"

Klaus barks out a short laugh. "Oh, Kol. I know where Caroline is. And believe me, I wouldn't be searching for Hayley or Dvina if it didn't have something to do with Caroline and Lizzie." Klaus immediately texts Marcel, looking for Davina and then shoots Hayley a quick text letting her know that she will be in charge of Lizzie this evening. "If either of you see Davina, please send her my way. I have a date to plan." Klaus smirks as he walks out of the house. Klaus wonders around New Orleans, trying to make sure everything in his kingdom is perfect. He needs a peaceful day with his daughter and Caroline and a perfect date with Caroline tonight. Klaus is currently looking around a small local jewelry shop, when his phone rings. Looking at the caller id, Klaus sighs. "Hayley. Do you need something?"

"Hi to you too Klaus. So what time am I getting Lizzie? Or am I watching her at your apartment? What should I do with her? What do you think she likes?" Hayley nervously begins rattling off questions. She is a mix of overwhelming excitement and extreme nervousness.

Klaus groans loudly, causing the clerk of the shop to look up at him, concerned. "Hayley." He growls out. "I will talk to Caroline this morning and get everything set up and then I will text you the details."

"Ok." Hayley says a little calmer. "But what should I do with her? I mean, do you think she likes movies? Or maybe games?"

Klaus pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. "How should I know? Do I look like a seven year old girl to you?"

"No, I know." Hayley replies, her voice void of most of the anxiety it had previously had. "It's just, you have spent more time with her." Klaus nods in understanding, even though Hayley can't see him. "Can you please ask Caroline for some suggestions?" Hayley mumbles, frustrated that she has to ask Caroline Forbes for help with her own daughter.

Klaus tries to hide his amusement at Hayley's obvious discomfort. "I can do that for you. I will text you everything you need to know. Ok?"

"Thanks, Klaus." Hayley replies genuinely just before she hangs up.

Klaus just shakes his head at the mother of his daughter and bounds his way up the steps of his apartment building. He is excited to see his two favorite girls, though he would never admit it. Especially to Rebekah. Klaus knocks on the door and listens carefully to the sounds coming from inside his apartment.

"One minute!" Caroline's distant voice calls out.

Klaus is content waiting, but smiles when the door slowly opens, to partially reveal Lizzie. "Hi Klaus." The young girl smiles brightly.

"Hello, Lizzie. May I come in?"

"Sure." Lizzie opens the door wider and allows her biological father to step into the apartment.

"We may have to have a change of plans for today." Klaus admits.

Lizzie's eyes twinkle slightly. "You and mom are going to stay in, instead?"

"No, my dear. I'm afraid those plans are still on." Klaus watches, intrigued, as Lizzie's smile falters just a bit.

She recovers quickly, though. "So, what has changed?"

"I have not been able to locate Davina this morning." Klaus confesses.

"And you mean to tell us that she is the only witch you have at your beck and call?" Caroline comments as she walks into the living room.

Klaus takes a minute to appraise Caroline. She looks beautiful, wearing a simple dark blue sun dress and flat sandals. Klaus allows Caroline to catch him looking her up and down and smirks at her blushing cheeks. "I do know of some other witches, but Davina has proven herself to our family. I trust her with the knowledge of Lizzie's existence."

Caroline nods her head in acceptance of Klaus' explanation. "So, what else would you suggest we do?"

Lizzie pouts a little, disappointed. "I wanted to talk to a witch." She mumbles.

"Don't worry, sweetheart." Klaus bends down, so he can look Lizzie in the eyes. "I promise you we will have another opportunity to talk with Davina. I suppose we could talk to my brother Finn, instead."

"He's a witch?" Lizzie asks, excitedly. Caroline chuckles at how Lizzie's ability to change her moods mirrors Klaus'.

"He is. He does not possess the knowledge and power that Davina does. But he could do some simple spells for you." Klaus relents. He knows that if he lets Lizzie meet Finn, Kol will be demanding an audience with the young girl.

"Ok, let's go. Now." Lizzie grabs Caroline's hand and tries to pull her out the door.

"One small detail, Lizzie." Klaus pulls the child's attention back to himself. "Meeting Finn will have some, well, consequences."

Caroline narrows her eyes at Klaus and protectively wraps an arm around Lizzie. "What type of consequences?"

"Kol will be downright livid if he finds out Finn met Lizzie and we didn't let him meet her too."

"Who's Kol?" Lizzie looks up at her mom.

Caroline unwraps her arm from her daughter. "He's Klaus' other brother." Caroline reaches out for Lizzie's hand and leads her to the door. "Let's go meet Finn and Kol." Lizzie happily grasps Klaus' hand and skips out the door.


Lizzie timidly follows Klaus and Caroline into the Mikaelson Mansion. She looks around, admiring all the artwork and décor. She never really got a chance to look around the large house. A tall, black man with short dark hair greets them. "Hello Niklaus."

"Ah, Finn. I would like to formally introduce you to Lizzie and Caroline." Klaus presents his daughter and the beautiful blonde vampire to his eldest brother.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Finn gently shakes Lizzie's hand and places a soft kiss on the back of Caroline's. Lizzie giggles at the gesture, but Klaus glares at his brother.

"It's nice to finally meet you." Caroline replies, as she never really met Finn when he was a vampire and in Mystic Falls.

"Ah, yes. You were in Mystic Falls. Friends with those awful people who took my Sage away from me." Finn tries not to hate Caroline for being friends with the people who originally killed him. He sees the difference she brought out in Klaus and that is enough to redeem her in his eyes.

Caroline looks down at the ground in shame. "I'm very sorry about what they did to you."

"What do you mean?" Lizzie asks, confused. She looks between Finn and her mom and can sense the tension. "Who's Sage?"

Finn sighs and crouches down. "Sage was the love of my life. And when my original, vampire body was staked, she died along with me. My mother brought me back as a witch, years later."

Lizzie looks into Finn's eyes and sees his sadness and honesty. "I'm sorry." A silent minute passes, and Lizzie begins to get restless. "So, can you show me some tricks? I've never met a real witch before. At least not one that I knew was a witch. I didn't even know witches were real until a couple of days ago. My mom is a vampire, and I didn't even know that!" Lizzie grabs Finn's hand and rambles on.

Finn worriedly looks at Caroline and she just smiles and encourages him. "Elizabeth, take a breath." Caroline reprimands her daughter, softly. "Finn said he would show you some simple spells, but you can't be demanding."

"I'm sorry." Lizzie looks down, partially in shame, partially to hide her smile. She is so excited to see some spells, that even a little scolding can't hurt her mood.

"Let's go to my study." Klaus offers and he places his hand against the small of Caroline's back and leads her in the right direction. Finn follows behind, his large hand still being grasped by Lizzie's little one.

They settle into the study and Finn takes out a grimiore to show Lizzie. Caroline and Klaus watch from a couch as Finn shows Lizzie different spells and lets her choose one for him to perform. Lizzie picks out a simple spell that will allow Finn to move object with just his magic. Lizzie watches in awe as Finn floats books and pillows around the room. Her mouth drops open and her eyes widen as they focus on the objects hovering above the ground and moving about the room. Caroline loves seeing her daughter like this, but her joy fades quickly when she remembers that Lizzie's enjoyment of magic could cause her to want to stay in New Orleans. Klaus watches his daughter in amazement as she seems so taken by the magic that Finn is doing. The silence in the room is shattered when the door to the study flies open and a blur rushes into the room.

"Have you started without me?" Kol says, his eyes roaming around the room and taking in the two strangers. "Miss Caroline Forbes." Kol saunters over to Caroline and plucks her hand from her lap. He places a lingering kiss on the back of it. "How wonderful it is to finally meet you. Such a lovely sight, you are."

Klaus growls and Caroline can't help but giggle. Kol is laying the charm on thick, but she is not fooled by it. "Kol, it's nice to meet you too."

After winking at Caroline, Kol spins around and carefully approaches Lizzie. "And you must be the famous Lizzie. I have been just dying to meet you, darling." Kol gives Lizzie's hand a simple little kiss on the back.

The young girl blushes furiously. "Hi." Once Lizzie has recovered from her blushing spell, she looks up to Kol. "What do you mean famous?"

"You, darling, are all any one has talked about in this house for years." Kol sits down on a couch and pats the spot next to him. Lizzie cautiously takes a seat next to her uncle. "You have been informed enough to know that Klaus and Hayley are your birth parents, right?" Lizzie nods as Finn takes a seat in a chair nearby to hear what story Kol will tell. "Well, they hated to give you up and they were miserable without you." Klaus gives Kol a warning look, hoping to convey a threat for Kol to keep the story G-rated. "Once we finally made New Orleans safe for you, they tried everything to find you. All any one did was think of new ways to locate you, look for new spells to try to find you. We spent five years talking and thinking about you. Of course you are famous." Lizzie beams at the thought of these people who cared about her so much, they spent five years devoted to just trying to find her. She looks at Klaus and he returns her smile. But when her eyes move to her mom, her smile fades a bit. Her mom is sitting there with a small smile, but her eyes are worried. Lizzie has learned her mom's smiles and this one is not a happy one.

Lizzie hops off the couch and jumps onto her mom's lap, surprising Caroline. Lizzie wraps her little arms around Caroline's neck and smiles at her new found family. "I'm so glad our family is getting bigger. Aren't you, mom?"

Caroline kisses Lizzie's cheek and embraces her daughter. "I am. It's been you, me and Stefan for so long. It is nice having more people to call family." Caroline and Klaus lock eyes. The smile decorating Klaus' face is so sweet and genuine and Caroline doesn't think she has ever seen it before. She wonders if that is how he looks when he is sincerely happy. A part of Caroline wonders if she cares enough for Klaus to give up her own happiness, so he could be happy. Or is there a way that they both can be happy? Is there a way that they can both have Lizzie in their lives? Caroline knew there was one way and she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. That was the moment she began to dread their upcoming date.