"She's our brother's daughter, Nick, how is dating her acceptable at all?" Kol asked for what seemed like the billionth time.
Putting down his burger, he looked at his brother, "Shall I remind you; he is your brother not mine."
Bonnie, who seemed a bit lost, looked between the two, "I don't really think I follow…"
"Apparently, Nick was adopted. So my dad, Elijah, isn't his biological brother." Caroline said as she took a bite of her salad.
Bonnie nodded a little, "I had no idea he had any siblings."
"He doesn't like to brag." Nick said with a roll of his eyes.
Kol sighed, "I know you're angry with me, but I was only doing what Elijah told me to do. You want out of the family, you disappear and never speak of them again."
"Oh so you just go ahead and abandon me and Rebecca, job well done to you, Finn and Elijah." Nick said with a bitterness Caroline had never heard before.
"Michael never once harmed you or Rebecca, Nick!" Kol said in defense.
"Then please, explain the scars on my back, on my wrists or explain, dear brother, why our sister is lying in a hospital bed with stitches all along her stomach!" Nick was having a very hard time controlling the anger directed at his older brother.
For the first time today, Kol looked dumbfounded, "Rebecca's in the hospital?"
Nick began to laugh bitterly, "And of course you wouldn't know that."
Caroline touched his arm, silently telling him to cool it, "Michael stabbed her the other day…Do you know about Esther?"
Kol looked between his niece and brother, "What happened to Mom?"
Caroline looked at Nick, who responded with a sigh, "She's dead."
Bonnie, who had been silent, looked at Kol and held his hand, "I'm sorry…"
Kol shook his head a little, "How did she die?"
Nick stood and walked out of the little restaurant they were in, Caroline sighed and looked at Kol, "Michael killed her…He attacked her and Rebecca…Nick found Esther's body…Rebecca got away and found Elijah. When Nick saw that I wasn't harmed, we ran."
Silent, Kol put his face into his hands, "I had no idea…"
Bonnie began to comfort him and Caroline stood and went to look for Nick.
"You're not even looking for her!" Elijah shouted at Stefan as they were standing in the Stefan's kitchen.
"Yes we are! It's not our fault that her phone is shut off, Elijah!" Stefan shouted back.
"There's other ways for you trace her! Look at the damn surveillance footage! Find Michael!"
"It's easier said than done!"
Rebecca had been sitting in the bedroom of the apartment, listening to them yell back and forth for the past fifteen minutes and couldn't take it anymore.
Getting up slowly, she put a hand on her stitches, wincing at the painful tugging.
Both men went silent as they saw her walk into the room, "Will you both just shut up! Elijah, they are trying their hardest to find her! Stop putting him down for trying! Stefan, stop yelling at my brother!"
Elijah looked away, angry at them both while Stefan sighed and nodded a little.
"I'm sorry, Babe." Stefan said apologetically.
Rebecca shook her head and turned around, prepared to walk away from them in anger, but stopped when she felt a slicing pain in her stomach.
Wincing in pain and pressing a hand to her stomach, she felt that it was abnormally warm and wet.
"St-Stefan…" She said in a whispered panic as she saw the blood covering her hand and quickly soaking her blouse. "I…I think one of you needs to take me back to the hospital…"
Stefan saw the state she was in and quickly went to her, pressing a hand to her stomach, "Just stay calm and keep pressure on it." He instructed her as he lifted her into his arms, "Elijah, get the door and start the car."
Rebecca held her stomach, "It hurts…"
Elijah quickly went outside, Stefan following, and started the car.
"It's gonna be okay, Babe. Just hold on and stay calm. If your blood pressure gets too high, you'll bleed faster." Stefan said as he got into the backseat with her while Elijah drove.
"Oh thanks for not worrying me, Sweetheart." Rebecca retorted as she began to feel dizzy.
"Drive a little faster, Elijah." Stefan said urgently as he noticed that Rebecca was becoming pale.
Elijah swallowed and pressed the gas a little harder, he's already on the verge of losing his daughter and wife, if he loses his baby sister, he won't be able to function.
"How do we lead them out?" Mason asked as he tied up Katherine.
"You lead them out, Caroline trust you, right?" Michael asked as he sharpened his knife.
Mason nodded, "She trusts me. I can call her and tell her where we are. Lead them here…"
"You do just that. I'll be waiting here, having fun with Katherine." Michael said sadistically as he stalked toward the waking Katherine.
When she realized where she was and who she was with, she glared, hiding her fear, "Michael."
"Katherine…How lovely to see you again."
Her only response was a glare, inside she was quaking with fear.
Mason pulled out his cellphone and dialed Caroline's number, he rolled his eyes when he heard Katherine's scream of pain. "I'm leaving now."
"Sound convincing." Michael said as he wiped away the drops of blood that splattered on his face. "My part is done."
Mason nodded a little as he walked out, waiting for Caroline to answer.
"Nick…Are you okay?" Caroline asked as she walked up to him.
"No. I'm angry, Caroline." Nick said through gritted teeth.
"Well don't be. Just get over it. You're safe and I'm safe. Rebecca is alive. That's all that matters now."
"Is it? My mother is still dead…Your mother is in danger…So is your friend…" He said as he looked at her.
"And we will find my mom and Mason. Make sure that they are safe then avenge your mother. Trust me."
He smiled a little at her, "How can you be so perfect?"
She shrugged with a smile, "I come from an awesome gene pool."
He laughed, "Thankfully, I come from a different one."
She smiled and laughed with him as she sat on the bench beside him, "I'm really glad I have you…I kinda feel thankful to Michael…He inadvertently brought us together."
He smiled back at her, "He was good at one thing, that's for sure."
She nodded then felt her phone vibrate, "Oh hold on." She said before looking at the caller ID, "Mason…"
Quickly, she stood and answered it, "Mason?"
Nick stood and tried to listen, he felt uneasy, not understanding how Mason could've been able to call.
"Caroline? Oh thank God, you answered. I need help. Michael…He took me and your mom. I'm sorry, I tried to protect her." Mason sounded out of breath and Caroline frowned.
"Okay… I know. It's okay…Where are you?" Caroline asked, wanting to find them.
"The hotel, Care. In the basement."
"The hotel we work at?" She asked, just to be sure.
"Yes. Remember where we go to just get away from work? In there. I'm in there." He said, sounding urgent.
She sighed, "I remember that Liz said they'd close the hotel for a few weeks, starting yesterday I think…It must be abandoned now…I'll go find you both. Is my mom with you?"
The moment Caroline said where they were and that she'd go, he felt that uneasy feeling grow in his stomach.
"You're not going. We'll send the cops there. You are not going anywhere near Michael, Caroline." He said, making her miss what Mason was saying.
Caroline looked at him, a pleading look in her eyes, "I have to." She whispered to him before asking what Mason said.
"She's not with me. He took her somewhere else, but I heard her screaming earlier."
She looked down, "I'll be there soon. Just hold on." She said before hanging up on him. "He's hurting my mom…I have to go, Nick."
"No. Please see reason, this could very well be a trap." He said to her.
"How? You think Mason is leading me to my death? He's scared, Nick. Just like I was. I have to go help them."
"Then I'll go with you." He said to her as he held her face in his hands.
She shook her head, "No…He'll hurt you. He already killed your mom and nearly killed Rebecca…He won't hesitate to kill you…"
"And he won't hesitate to kill you." He said with a type of pain she had never heard before.
"Yes he will. He wants me to die in front of my dad. If you keep my dad away, then he won't touch me. Trust me. And besides, he's not even there right now. It's safe."
He sighed and was torn, he knew she had a point but was too scared to lose her. "How do you know?"
"I got this message from him when we ran into Kol. I didn't tell you." She said, giving him her phone, he saw that it was a text from him.
The text said: Meet me at your apartment. At 4 o'clock. I'll be waiting, Caroline. If you don't show up, your mother is dead.
"If I'm going to get my mom and Mason out, he has no chance of killing them. He'll be at my apartment." She smiled at him.
He shook his head slowly, not trusting it.
"Please." She looked at him with her beautiful oceanic eyes and he caved. She knew he would…He knew he would…And he hated it.
"Fine…I'll go to your dad…"
She smiled, "Good. And you can see Rebecca and Stefan. I'll be okay…Just wait for my call." She said before kissing him.
He kissed back but pulled away, "You're leaving now?"
"The sooner the better. I need to get to my mom."
He sighed and nodded, he didn't want her to feel the pain he now feels. The loss of a mother can cripple you, especially when you think that there was something you could have done to save them.
She looked at him and smiled, "I love you…I'll be back soon, I promise." She said before kissing him.
He smiled back at her, "I love you too…I'll hold you to that promise, Sweetheart."
"I know." She said with a smile before leaving him there.
"You love her?" Nick heard a voice behind him, Kol.
Nick turned and looked at him, "Of course. I fell for her the moment I saw her in our basement. The same basement I'd get locked into as a child."
"That damn basement…I hate it." Kol said as he looked at his brother.
"We all do."
"I'm sorry Nick…For leaving you and Becca…I shouldn't have. None of us should have." Kol said, feeling guilty.
Nick sighed, that was all he ever wanted. An apology from at least one of his brothers, so he nodded, "I forgive you."
Kol smiled and went to hug him, "How I've missed you brother."
Nick actually hugged him back, "We're going to go see Elijah and Rebecca. Caroline wants us to, so we can keep them safe. We're stronger together."
"That we are." Kol agreed.
"She just has some popped stitched. A few days in here to heal properly, without stress, is all she needs." Stefan said to Elijah as they sat in the waiting room, after talking to the doctor.
"Good…We upset her today."
"I know…We have to stop doing that…At least until she gets better." Stefan smiled a little.
Elijah nodded with a small smile, "I guess so."
Stefan pulled out his cellphone as he heard it go off.
Elijah noticed that it was just a text and watched as Stefan's face hardened into a dark, angry mask.
"Son of a bitch!" Stefan said through gritted teeth as he stood and started to pace. "It was him this whole damn time! Look!" He said, shoving the phone into Elijah's waiting hands.
Elijah looked and he felt his rage double as he saw Mason throwing Katherine into the trunk of a car.
Before he could say anything, he felt his phone vibrating, looking at the ID he saw it was Nick.
He quickly answered it, "Is Caroline alright?"
"She's fine…now. I'm on my way to the hospital to see you and our sister. Caroline went to where Michael is keeping Mason and Katherine."
"You let her go alone?!" He asked incredulous, his heart racing.
"She's safe. Michael is waiting for her at the apartment, she's going to the hotel instead. I made sure." It took all his will to not go and kill Michael. But he had to wait for the police to do their job, so he left a tip for them.
He prayed they'd get him before he escaped.
"Mason is working with Michael, Nick! It's a trap!"
With his older brother's words, Nick felt his heart practically stop.
"Mason? Mom?" She whispered as she walked through the empty basement hallways.
"In here, Caroline." She heard Mason call out to her.
She quickly ran to his voice but was startled to see him leaning against the wall.
"You're so easy to trick. It's kind of pathetic." Mason smirked as he pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket.
"What…What are you doing?" She asked, suddenly wishing Nick was with her.
"I'm helping an…old friend out." He smirked before pulling a tired Katherine from the room beside him.
"Mom!" Caroline gasped as she saw her mother.
"Caroline…Run." Katherine said, taking a step toward her daughter.
"No one is going anywhere. Not until Michael gets here." Mason chuckled.
Caroline went to her mother, shaking, and held her hand, she gave her a look and Katherine nodded once.
Both women began to run, trying to get away, Mason yelled in anger and shot toward them.
The bullets rang through the hallways, one gasp of pain and a scream of shock echoed through the hallways as Mason saw one of them fall to the ground.
A/N: Now this is the last update for awhile. I'm moving and internet won't be working, so I'm sorry. I know i left you on a cliffhanger. Forgive me?
R&R please!