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Klaus rushed out.

Except it wasn't Klaus. Well, it was. It looked just like him. Except his hair hung down to his shoulders (which, yeah – Damon totally would've been interested in) and he looked so… human. Not to mention the weirdness of seeing him in anything other than a Henley and jeans or a suit.

And then there were his eyes.

There was something so different behind them. She didn't understand it fully; she couldn't even describe it to herself, but if she had to pick a word it would be… innocence.

It was those eyes that were wide now as he looked at himself, a smile pulling at his lips.

"I very nearly thought it mere jest, only… Elijah does not make jests," he teased.

Kol burst into hearty laughter as Elijah shot them both disapproving looks, and Klaus stepped forward to observe his double.

To her Klaus' credit, he remained still; completely calm as he let the other study him.

After a thorough visual investigation he stuck out his hand.

"Niklaus."

Klaus nodded. "William."

After a half second of awkwardness stemming from Klaus' reluctance, the two men shook hands.

"I have waited a long time to meet you," Klaus lied.

The other him smiled, and it came so much lighter than she was used to seeing on that face.

"I wish I could say the same but, frankly, I had no idea you existed."

"We were separated at birth, as I was thought to be dead," Klaus explained, and she wondered how long he'd been making this story up for. "My mother found me and raised me as her own. We live a very long way away and I always promised myself that I would one day make the voyage to come meet my true family."

There were varying reactions from the group – she was watching them when she noticed Esther and who she assumed to be Mikael finally step out and join the group, looking slightly different shades of troubled.

She studied Mikael for a second, observing the loose curly dirty blond hair that went down to his sharp jawbone; the light stubble and moustache. There was something dark and unsatisfied about his eyes; disappointment creased into his forehead.

"Welcome!" Elijah greeted, and the human Klaus grinned.

Almost accidentally, his gaze finally slid to Caroline for the first time and she swore she heard his breath catch. A low resulting rumbled emanated from Klaus' throat as he stood beside her.

"And who is this?"

"My bride to be," Klaus all but growled whilst still somehow managing to keep a smile pasted on his face.

It occurred to her then that she had no idea if women were allowed to shake hands with men in this time so she froze entirely, before managing to say her name when she realised that Klaus had neglected to.

"Caroline."

He stared straight into her eyes and for a moment she thought, she was wrong – they were the same behind their eyes after all.

Then he dragged his gaze back to Klaus.

"Meet the rest of my family." Turning, he pointed to each relevant family member. "You've met Elijah… Kol, Rebekah, Finn, my father and mother, Mikael and Esther, and Henrik."

Looking at him quickly, she noticed Klaus' gaze linger on Henrik for a little longer but he seemed to shake himself out of it quickly.

She looked at the youngest sibling too, noting the way he looked a lot like Kol, minus the mischief embedded in his features. Henrik was fresh-faced and innocent, eyes adorably wide as he stared eagerly at the events unfolding before him.

"Thank you, Niklaus. It is lovely to meet you all. However, for the moment, I would very much like to speak with my mother, alone."

The human Klaus opened his mouth but Esther spoke authoritatively from behind him.

"Very well. The girl stays."

God, the woman was so not making a good second first impression with Caroline. She huffed but Klaus squeezed her hand a little before pulling her along in the direction Ester had gone.

She didn't make eye contact with the rest of the family as they left and soon they were in some kind of dark room and Esther stood in a corner lighting something. Remembering the story Elena had told after the Mikaelson Ball, she realised it was sage.

Esther turned and her eyes lit with anger when she saw Caroline there.

"I believe I said she was to stay behind."

"You did," Klaus recognised. "I simply don't take orders from you, and besides, what we have to say is pertinent to her."

Esther's jaw slackened a little and Caroline practically saw the light go off in her head as she realised she couldn't treat this man the way she did his doppelganger.

Still, she rose to her full height, clearly unaccustomed, due to her powers, to anyone treating her with such disrespect.

"And what is it you want to say to me?"

He smirked meanly. "Not too much."

Their hands broke from each other's as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the medallion. Caroline stuck both her hands into her jean's pockets as Klaus held the medallion up in front of Esther.

"I want to know what this is."

"My medallion!"

Eyes wide, she reached to grab it but Klaus quickly held it out of her reach.

"Tell me what it is."

Caroline was holding her breath. Not only did they really really need to go back home but she also needed to know how this thing worked so that she could help Bonnie in some way when they did get back.

Esther glared but after a minute of Klaus not letting up, she conceded.

"It was made by witches in the Old World who crafted it for me. It was meant to allow powers of time travel; however, I never…"

She drifted off as her eyes widened further than Caroline had ever seen anyone's eyes go.

Klaus' smile was cruel. "Figured it out, have you, Esther?"

"You're f-from the… future."

"That's correct. But that's not all we are."

Somehow she'd allowed herself to forget, but Klaus' statement reminded her – they were vampires.

For the first time ever she was stronger than the entire Original family.

She was so drunk on this realisation that she almost missed the rest of the conversation.

"What does that mean?"

"That means, Esther, that if you cross me I am able to and will kill you – painfully."

For a moment Esther looked intimidated, fear behind her eyes. Then she drew a long breath and stepped closer, somehow managing to look down her nose at Klaus.

"Considering we have established that you are in fact my son, you are to treat me as such – are we understood, boy?"

Damn. Caroline wasn't even related to the woman, and she got goosebumps.

Still she was kind of surprised when before her eyes she actually watched Klaus become humbled, his gaze immediately lowering respectfully.

From his heavy breathing and clenched jaw she could tell he hated it, though. Somehow his parents still had a hold on him he just couldn't seem to shake.

His voice was muted when he spoke.

"We need to return to our own time."

"Yes, you do."

Surprised, his eyes rose to hers again.

She bristled. "Your appearance here has caused questions I have no desire to answer, especially when they cast unjust aspersions on me."

Klaus gritted his teeth, clearly biting back a comment.

"Can you get us back home… mother?"

She shot him a glance before stepping back with a sigh. She leaned her palms onto a table as she thought.

"If the medallion does indeed work, as it seems it does, I will need a large amount of energy to charge it in order to cause it to work again." Breaking from her thoughts, she looked at them. "How did you get here?"

Finally Caroline had found her chance to say something.

"My friend, Bonnie, had it. I took it from her when she disappeared and when Klaus touched it it brought us both here."

Esther frowned. "Is your friend a witch?"

She almost laughed.

"A Bennett."

Esther shook her head in confusion, her eyes blank, and Caroline realised in annoyance that that didn't mean anything to Esther just yet.

"A really strong witch, from the strongest bloodline."

Nodding slowly, Esther looked at the wall again as she thought.

"She must have charged it herself then, unknowingly. It sent her to a poignant moment in her life and the trip itself must somehow have further imbibed it with a very strong, very large amount of magic, causing it to be expelled from her possession. Whereupon you took it and handed it to a witch's son."

Caroline looked at Klaus questioningly to find him already looking back at her.

"So you're saying it only works for witches or someone related to them?"

"I cannot know anything for sure. You have to understand that this type of magic is entirely unprecedented. The medallion was given to me in a spirit of jest."

"How will we get back?" Klaus spoke again.

"We will need a power source…" Esther thought then sighed, seeming relieved. "Three nights from now there will be a full moon. It should be more than sufficient if a single witch was able to charge the medallion."

Klaus nodded and Caroline felt panic rise in her stomach.

"Wait a minute, if we're using the medallion to get back home, how is Bonnie going to?"

"If she is as powerful a witch as you say she is then I am sure she will establish a method. Now follow me before the family becomes suspicious of our lengthy talk."

With that she swept out of the room and Caroline huffed, folding her arms as she looked at Klaus.

"No offence, but your mom is a bitch."

He chuckled and outside she could hear Esther telling Rebekah to give Caroline some decent clothing.

Yip, definitely a bitch.