"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
― Friedrich Nietzsche

The sun seemed to rise and fall at the whims of the Mikaelson family on the days that followed the demise of Mikael. Caroline let the siblings deal with his body, as that was more their expertise than her own, although she had heard Elijah mumbling something about a tomb in Charlotte. She never asked specifically. Still, every time the blonde went to visit the manor, Rebekah was either planning the ball, or they were feeding casually on some humans. The young woman was getting more used to the sight—which disturbed her, yet made her life simpler all at once.

Reality seemed to strike the blonde randomly two days after the fight, when she was lounging in the living room and Rebekah called for a maid to serve them fruit. The human was accustomed to Morgan bringing them the dishes (Elijah had long ago admitted that he found her easy on the eyes, and thus she worked more hours than the plain looking girls) but instead it was the plainest of plain maids serving their food.

Perhaps Caroline wouldn't have found that odd had she not lived with them for months prior; however, the only times that the redhead didn't serve the food was when she was out running errands, and something told the blonde that it wasn't that simple, as the woman hadn't been around the day prior, either. "Is Morgan running an errand?" The high-strung woman tried to keep her tone casual, but it failed miserably. Instead, her sentence wobbled in the most pathetic of natures.

Rebekah tilted her head to the side, as if she was considering the question. Her friend wasn't naive enough to buy that approach; she guessed the vampire wasn't sure how to break the news. Whatever it may be. "The spell to desiccate Mikael needed a human life and the maid offered herself for the cause."

She couldn't control herself from standing quickly from the couch, outraged at the manner in which the vampire ended up breaking the news. "Somehow I doubt that, Rebekah!" She spit out, venom clear in her voice.

Sure, Caroline had hardly known Morgan at all. In truth, the young woman was rather rude to the blonde teen. She had rarely broken a smile in the others direction, if Car was going to be honest with herself; but all that was beyond the point.

Morgan had been a prisoner to the generous pay that the vampires gave her for serving them, just as Caroline had been a prisoner within their house. They were both attractive humans who had caught the interest of at least one of the Mikaelson boys. (Granted, Elijah's infatuation with the redhead was nowhere near Klaus' with the blonde.) They were alike, in a sense.

Rebekah stood from the couch as well, looking more disinterested with this conversation by the second. "Morgan had seen too much as it was, it's better she be gone now than to recognize you as an abomination to the townspeople after you turn."

"IF I turn, you mean to say." The human corrected fiercely, her face transforming to an amazing shade of red.

The vampire waved her hand lazily, "If you say so."

Shaking her head, Caroline found herself reaching for her cloak and throwing it over her shoulders. "I adore you on most days, Rebekah, but after what I've just learned, I couldn't force myself to look at you." As if he was eavesdropping this whole time, a stair on the staircase creaked. She didn't need to look to know who it had been. "I can't stand to look at any of you." The human corrected sharply, her head clouded with thoughts of death.

When she stormed past the frozen hybrid, the blonde couldn't force herself to meet his eyes. It wasn't until she was on the front porch that he followed, a gentle hand on her shoulder blade to pause the departure. "Please allow me to walk you home, love."

The cold air rustled past the two, making the only human one shiver. She met his eyes at last, angry at them for being so warm for such a cold-hearted person. "Because I know too much and you have to kill me?"

The handsome man took two steps closer to her, making the young woman shiver for a completely different reason this time. "How could I kill someone so magnificent?"

The blonde tilted her head slightly, looking deep within his eyes. She doubted that the man even saw her qualms over killing Morgan; this was, of course, the fundamental problem that clouded their love affair. "Why don't you ask Morgan?" She replied easily, pausing for dramatic effect. "Oh wait, you can't; you killed her!"

Niklaus' face was in a prominent frown, one that almost had the blonde teenager convinced that he sympathized with the girl. But then he spoke, and reminded her of the original problems. "Her life was a sacrifice for our own."

Caroline found herself pitying the hybrid for being able to think thoughts like that and believe them. "She didn't deserve to die." Were her final words as she walked away from the older man once more.

Always the persistent one, her hybrid followed obediently. "That's easy for you to say, after moving out you rarely had to live through her culinary work."

The human hated herself for the bubbles of laughter that spread throughout her chest; and because of this, the sobs that came along with them. Morgan had been a truly awful cook, and it'd become something of a joke within the family. It had been one of the things that made Caroline enjoy their company; they'd treated the girl almost as if she was a member of their own.

Suddenly, she thought of Kol. Maybe she had been delusional about what it meant to be a part of the Mikaelson family; maybe this was the wake up call that she had needed for quite some time.

Because of this realization, Caroline found herself shaking off the hand that found it's way to her own. The young woman was too confused to work through her feelings when Klaus was there to breathe down her neck, and before she even realized it had happened; words slipped from her pink lips. "I'm afraid that I need time to figure out what I'm doing with my life."

"I beg of you to allow me the walk home; let me plead my case, even if you've already reached a verdict." His accent cut through the wind and reached her ears seamlessly. She had always had a soft spot for this particular vampire, and it seemed that it would never harden up.

"I suppose." She allowed, although her voice indicated just how happy she actually was about it. Not at all. "Why her? It could have been any person, could it not?"

As she gazed over to Niklaus, the girl found herself amazed once again at his handsome features. The man stunned her every time she glanced at him, and it was growing more irritating as her willpower grew weaker. "Indeed." He agreed easily, always able to carry himself as if he hadn't a care in the world. "There are other factors to consider, however."

"Such as...?" She prompted, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.

Nik shrugged simply when he felt her eyes upon his form, "Morgan wasn't the person that you thought she was." The man seemed to pause, wondering if he should continue on his train of thought, "People rarely are."

Her gaze was purposeful as she met his eyes, "I'm learning that more as each day passes."

"It was Elijah's idea that she be the one to sacrifice." He started, obviously hoping that Ellijah's kind nature would persuade the human to see their side of the story. "Morgan had learned our weaknesses over time; dosing herself vervain in practically every beverage or food that she consumed. She also had a knack for eavesdropping, often being caught lurking around a doorway or two."

With a roll of the eyes, the blonde clarified, "So being cautionary warrants getting murdered?"

The hybrid tsk'd the woman in return, shaking his head rather fondly. "No, but stealing a dagger that can incapacitate an Original does."

The surprise reveal actually had Caroline pause on their brisk journey to her home. "The one that I used?" She had to ask, curious when all of these events went down without her knowledge.

The human cautiously allowed her companion to link arms with her this time, walking faster than was customary for her but slower than customary for him. "The very one. When Bekah went to fetch it to give to you, " the tone that was used to accompany that sentence gave her an idea of his disapproval, "she found it missing. Morgan tried to stake her later that night, not long before the Bennett witch was to start the spell."

Easily able to follow her close friends thought processes, Caroline finished the story for him. "So Elijah suggested killing her instead of an innocent." Niklaus didn't have to reply after that, the silence confirming her suspicions easily enough.

The Mikaelson's had a way of sending her mind reeling; if it wasn't one thing happening, it was another. The human thought that she should be tired of it, but most of the time she reveled in the excitement.

Her house seemed to approach quickly enough, and it wasn't until they reached her doorway that she realized how exhausted she was. Instead of breaking the comfortable silence that had enveloped over them, the teenager wrapped her arms around her beacon of warmth. The same man who had stabbed her and saved her, the man who continues to intrigue and infuriate her. The only thing that had been certain since he entered her life was the uncertainty that he brought, and suddenly she felt as if the drama wasn't as exciting as it was a hassle.

"I need time." She whispered into his ear nearing the end of their two minute long hug. She was as reluctant to let him go as ever, despite herself. "Time and space."

As he pulled away from her, she couldn't help but to notice the sorrow painted on his face. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was replaying their differences in his mind, just as she was with his. They were in limbo, so to speak. They clearly had feelings for each other, but neither knew how to move on to the next phase of their relationship- or if they should, for that matter.

Most of all, the two continued to dance around the subject of her humanity. Niklaus would never ask her to turn without some encouragement, and she'd never ask to turn without the same thing from him. They had somehow gotten frozen trusting each other and not knowing where to go from there.

Caroline guessed that they would never figure out where to go if she didn't figure out where she wanted them to go. And she couldn't do that with him intoxicating her with his presence at every turn. It was impossible.

The blonde took to her cottage after that night. Three days had passed only, and yet it felt as if it was a lifetime. She knew that she should feel happiness over their victory with Mikael—and she did. She also felt hollow, and it had taken her only a day and a half to realize why: Elizabeth seemed to have left again. Despite the fact that she was angry at the woman, she was still her mother. Caroline had a tiny spark of hope in her chest that the woman would prove herself for once, only to be let down again. She knew that she shouldn't feel surprise, but it still crept up on her like a burglar in the night.

With the surprise came a whole lot of sadness as well; the teenager decided to allow herself a few days to wallow in it before she moved on once and for all. To pass the days, she continued her pretty constant soap-making endeavors. She had a fair stock of the vervain soap now, and the woman was debating on the idea of selling the soap to a market in town. Hopefully, she could still make money on the bars without having to make a daily commute to downtown; an hour walk from her hidden little hut in the chilly weather every single day was anything but ideal.

An idea for a tag line flashed in her mind: "It Saved My Life, Let It Save Yours!" And the girl chuckled at the silly thought as she lay awake in bed one particular morning. It hadn't been the vervain soap that saved her, it was her vampire family.

She stared at her misshapen ceiling, thinking about the people who have grown in her heart fondly. Perhaps she was melancholy for more reasons than Elizabeth's abandonment; perhaps it was because she had gotten the idea in her mind prior to Mikael's arrival that she wouldn't make it from that forest alive. No one would ever want to admit their grand desire for becoming undead, but Caroline had gotten adjusted to the idea. She had… welcomed it, in a sense.

She knew she was being silly. Her humanity was a gift, and keeping it longer was something to be grateful for; not the opposite. That didn't stop her thoughts from drifting occasionally as she thought about the world, and how it could be her oyster should she live forever. Niklaus could see that side of her, her adventurous spirit; she knew at the twinkle in his eyes as he watched her looking at his paintings, or Rebekah's souvenirs.

A knock sounded on her wooden door, much to the blonde woman's expectations. She'd made plans to have a girl's day with Rebekah, whatever that may entail to the vampire. "Come in." She called as she sat up in her small bed, leaning against the wall casually and smiling sleepily at the other woman. "I forgot about our plans." She admitted reluctantly, standing and walking toward her dresser.

"I expected as much," Rebekah replied, taking a seat at the dining room table and continuing the conversation, even as Caroline went into the closet to change. "Which is why I arrived twenty minutes later than we had planned to leave." The vampire mumbled to herself, pressing her chin into her palm sourly.

Caroline came out of the closet a minute later, looking flustered with red cheeks and rustled hair; a plum floor-length dress graced upon her elegant figure. She smiled with exaggeration, "Alright sister, I'm ready for your torture."

The blonde vampire stood from her spot, moving towards the front door with a roll of her eyes. "I'd hardly call shopping torture, you drama queen." The blonde teenager followed after her older counterpart, slipping on shoes and taking hold of her coin purse and key. The Mikaelson had taken her car to the younger woman's house, but her house had no road leading to it. The two made their way in the direction of the road, a small smile on each of their faces.

"You say that because you have yet to see my coin purse." The human reminded softly, completely aware that the vampire had planned on buying her anything she pleased. That was the last thing that the blonde teenager wanted; she didn't need to be babied, she was only a few months away from turning eighteen and becoming a legal adult. The woman swore to herself that she'd begin to act like an adult starting her release from the Mikaelson family, and that's just what she planned to do.

It was a beautiful day out, without a cloud in the sky to tarnish it. The cold October air brought in a chilly breeze, but Caroline didn't find it uncomfortable yet; moreover, the trees were looking gorgeous with dark brown and red leaves hanging upon the branches for dear life. It's inevitable that those poor little red beauties drift to the natural ground, only to be crushed beneath the women's feet as they walked past.

The ladies made it into town in no time, stopping at the first dress shop that they walked past. Caroline hadn't ever been to a ball or anything close if she was going to be honest and while the idea was luxurious; finding a dress was a tedious chore. There were many beautiful gowns, but she couldn't afford any of them. She still had a few days before the big party, so the woman had planned to stop by the grocery store in town and pitch her soap. Hopefully, she'd be able to afford it by the weeks end.

Rebekah was having the time of her life trying on dresses, and the younger teen humored her by doing the same. The human had always suspected that none enjoyed shopping more than her vampire sister, and her suspicions were confirmed the first time that the girl had seen her companion's closet. It was bigger than Caroline's entire house.

The vampire settled upon a baby blue dress that complimented her slightly curvy figure perfectly, clenching at her chest and widening as it progressed downwards. It only went to her knees, which was pretty scandalous, but it looked classy on the woman. Bekah could wear anything and look classy, much to the humans envy.

As the woman was paying for her clothing (if paying equaled compelling the employee to think that she did) the vampire shook her head in disbelief. "I still think you should buy that navy dress, sister. We'd look like visions in blue, together." She beamed, and the teenage girl couldn't help but to chuckle at the humanity in the almost-thousand year old woman.

"I'll come back another day and find something just as lovely, I'm afraid I'm distracted today." The teen replied softly, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts. She was distracted; over the thoughts of selling her soap, as well as a certain hybrid. Not that Niklaus was ever very far from her mind.

The man somehow found a way to consume her every thought, seemingly with very little effort. Like a snake, he infuriatingly slithered through her ear canals and into her soft brain tissue; she couldn't even sit inside the comfort of her cabin without looking at something that reminded her of him.

Niklaus hadn't shown his face to the human after she parted ways from him days ago, and Caroline hated herself for asking the man for space. She also hated to admit it, but she desperately longed to see him. While the girl knew that she was worth more than some ruthless killer, that didn't stop her desire for the hybrid from swelling at the thought of him. It was an inner debate that never seemed to let up, and she was growing tired of it.

The blonde knew she had to decide about Klaus soon; either give into his advances or let him loose forever. Still, the struggle wore on, and his absence did nothing for him. As if the hybrid could read her mind, the young woman glanced outside through the window and spotted him standing across the street casually. The man looked handsome in a button up shirt and black tie, his white sleeves pushed up to his elbows. For a vampire, he was quite tan. He was talking to the flower merchant and holding a tulip, her favorite flower.

As if the vampire felt her eyes on him, he turned and met her gaze quickly. After days apart, the intensity in the air between the two was electric. Feeling her stomach turn violently, Caroline knew at once what her decision would be in the end. Perhaps she always knew, but her stubbornness blinded her from seeing it; now that the dust was settled, her feelings for the man seemed quite obvious. But that didn't mean that the woman had to be happy about them, or even fully succumb to them yet.

Niklaus was going to have to work for it, after all. The blonde turned to Rebekah with an apologetic smile, about to mumble something about talking to her brother—but the vampire beat her to it. With the roll of her eyes, the blonde woman waved her hand easily. "Go on then, you lovesick puppies…"

Normally, it would be in the blonde teenager's nature to deny the accusation, but because it was the truth she found herself only shrugging as a reply. "Sorry, Bekah." She apologized as she hugged the woman goodbye, quickly pulling the door of the clothing store open and passing through the threshold. The sun was shining brightly on the busy town square and it seemed as if every person beside Caroline was in a hurry; it should go without saying that the woman bumped into a handful of people.

She made it through the sidewalk quickly enough, and crossed the street with ease. There wasn't nearly as many people driving as there were walkers or horseback riders, and the roads were easily less hectic. Niklaus had a familiar smirk on his face as the woman approached him, "Hello there."

The blonde suddenly felt shy as she stood before the vampire, and she found herself pushing hair behind her ear simply to keep herself busy. "Hi." She murmured, biting down on her lower lip as she considered what to say next. "I haven't seen you in quite a while."

Caroline felt vulnerable as Klaus' eyes trailed over her, as if he was looking straight through her. "Yes, well. You asked for space, so who am I to do anything but oblige?" It's true that those words had passed through her lips after he walked her home on the night of the fight, but the woman didn't suspect that he'd take them to heart. "Was I wrong?" His words were almost sharp, but not quite. The human could tell that he wasn't wrong often, and the idea seemed like a foreign concept to him.

The girl shook her blonde waves easily, sighing into the wind. "I'm afraid that I was being unclear concerning my intentions." The market moved around them noisily, but neither seemed to take much of a notice.

The tall man took a few steps closer to the blonde woman, drawn to her. "What are your intentions, love?" His question was more of a plea; a plea to be let in on her train of thought, to be accepted. Not for the first time, the human wondered how he developed such feelings for her… his usual food.

Her blonde hair was being tussled in the blowing breeze as the woman glanced around the two, "I'm afraid I haven't eaten, and I'm quite famished. Will you join me for lunch?" She flashed the man a grin that she hoped was charming, but probably made her look crazy. Caroline's fatal flaw has always been her earnestness, something she's only just begun to accept as a gift. Partially because of her vampire family, she supposed.

"It would be a pleasure." He purred back, his eyes bearing into hers in a way that almost felt intimate. The girl just short of shivered when he extended the pink tulip for her to grasp. "A flower almost as lovely as you are." The man complimented, forcing the human to roll her eyes in return.

Caroline was never good at accepting compliments, and Klaus had the habit of giving them quite frequently. She supposed she should start learning. "Thank you." Her shyness reappeared just as quickly as it had vanished, and she took the flower from him gently. "I'll never get used to a best friend who squeals to the guy." The woman spoke, referring to his sister. Now that she thought about it, the girl could easily remember Rebekah asking what her favorite flower was; just yesterday, at that!

Klaus smiled easily at the human, linking her fingers with his before she could notice or object. The two worked their way through the busy sidewalks quickly, eventually approaching a small diner that didn't appear to be as hectic as the tour square was. The blonde couldn't help but to notice that the man didn't let go of her hand, even as he led her to a secluded booth in the corner of the restaurant.

The lighting in this building was dim, and Caroline couldn't tell if the owners did it to create a romantic feel or if that was simply all the light that they had. Either way, the atmosphere was relaxed and the woman felt at ease at once. Gently taking control of her hand once more and placing it on her lap, she smiled at her hybrid hesitantly.

"Tell me now." Klaus demanded, his head tilting down at an angle; something Caroline noticed the man does when he gets serious.

"I'm unsure of my intentions with you, Klaus…" She spoke hesitantly, not wanting to hurt his feelings by continuing. "I'm torn." She admitted reluctantly.

The hybrid scratched at the stubble on his face, a frown set deeply into his handsome features. "Explain the conflict to me, Caroline, because I see nothing wrong with how we feel about each other." He spoke with a surprising earnestness in his voice; a similar tone to the one that she often uses.

Her stomach turned at his open feelings for the woman; even Tyler had been shyer about his affections than Klaus was being. She supposed that he was old enough to know that he had nothing to lose. "I don't want to harm your feelings..." She warned truthfully, still quite hesitant at the thought of candidly telling the object of her affections how she feels.

The gaze that she was met with told the woman that all he yearned for was honestly; the man wanted to know if his feelings were reciprocated at all, and he wanted to know what was driving her away most of all. "You can tell me anything." The vampire promised simply, his eyes never once parting from her own.

The blonde was unsure how she wanted to approach her conflict, but she decided upon a fairly simple tactic. "Myself not included, what are humans for? Their purpose in life?"

Klaus looked genuinely puzzled at the question, tilting his head to the side as he pondered the correct reply. They were interrupted by the waiter, who quickly took their order and made himself scarce just as quickly. "I suppose they don't have a purpose; they're a means to an end." He admitted at last, knowing better than to lie to the blonde vixen. She would surely be able to sense his deception right away.

"That's the conflict, Niklaus." She spoke with a tone that stated that it should be obvious, "What makes me so different? You've proven that you think that I am, but what I want to know is what made you look at me in a different light; like I'm not a meal with an expiration date."

The silence lasted for several minutes, as it always did when the hybrid had to collect his thoughts. He wasn't good at sharing pieces of himself with others, and Caroline could always sense that it was difficult for him to indulge her. "I've been wondering the same thing ever since we met for the first time. Eventually I gave up, because it was exhausting and irrelevant. You're the best thing to happen to me in my entire life, can we not simply leave it at that?"

The blonde found herself blushing at the statements, shaking her head in return as she thought about the romantic in him that he tried desperately to hide. "You've been alive for nearly a thousand years; forgive me for having a difficult time believing your endless flattery."

When her vampire opened his mouth to reply, the woman felt disappointment swell within her when another voice beat him to the punch. "Caroline!" An oddly familiar voice called, forcing her attention over her companions shoulder and onto the man working his way towards her.

After all of the ridiculous time she had just wasted by pushing Niklaus away, the girl couldn't help but to want to spend hours and hours alone with him to make up for it. After all, the man had been alive a thousand years before he found her- and she planned to catch up on that lost time.

But of course, an old boyfriend had to enter the picture to make the whole scenario annoying. Painting on a smile, the blonde stood to hug her old best friend and confidant. It had only been a couple month's since she last saw him, but she felt as if it were a lifetime ago. The teenager had grown more in her time with the Mikaelson's than she ever did at church or school, although she still wasn't sure if the growth that she's made was for the better or not.

"You must be Tyler," Niklaus spoke as he stood from his own chair. Although the two had never discussed the past relationship between herself and Tyler; Caroline suddenly suspected that Rebekah was sharing more than her favorite flower choice with her brother. The man looked positively hostile. "The one who pressured her for things she wasn't ready for."

"Klaus!" Caroline hissed through a clenched jaw, hitting her hybrid at super-speed (for a human, that is) and blushing bright red. Leave it to Niklaus to make everything more awkward than it has to be.

Tyler's jaw set in a defining manner as he clenched it and frowned at her companion. "You must be Klaus, the one I've heard nothing about."

"Perhaps you haven't realized that you prefer it that way, hm?" The blonde couldn't help but to shake her head at Klaus' threatening nature, knowing that he'd gladly show Tyler why the man would want to forget him.

"You're speaking to a friend of mine, Nik, and if you don't be polite …. I'll be very put out." She had started the sentence with intentions of threatening the apple of her eye, when it hit her: she had no leverage. The young woman had just proven to herself and him that she couldn't spend three days without him, so how could any other threat hold any menace? They were too smitten and it was pathetic.

Niklaus seemed to have caught on to her dilemma as well, as he sat down looking very smug.

"I heard about your father." Tyler spoke at last, looking within the depths of her blue eyes. He was such a handsome man, and she could see pretty clearly why she'd been infatuated with him only a year before. His heart was as big as he was- and dang was he! The dark skinned man seemed to have shot up during the months they'd spent apart, as he was hovering almost a foot above her now. "I would've stopped by earlier- I did, actually, but the house was abandoned and I thought you split town."

A formal smile worked its way to her face, the kind that you reserve for family that you barely tolerate and ex lovers. "Thank you. My life has been nothing short of chaotic lately."

Tyler seemed lost for words, unsure how to continue the conversation that he had initiated in the first place. Granted, she wasn't making it easy for him. "Well, I've been thinking about you a lot lately. I'd really like to start hanging out again, maybe we could gallivant around town looking for trouble, like we used to?"

For a brief second, the teenager was transformed back to when she would leave the house late at night and spend it with Tyler. She had felt free back then, but only from the time that the sun went down until it rose again. She had been a metaphorical vampire, trapped in the darkness that had been her life.

The only ones who could cleanse her from the darkness were the same people who relished in their own dark lives. It was ironic but beautiful and she suddenly found herself appreciating that fact in a way that she never had previously. Shaking her head, Caroline let Tyler in on her moment of wisdom: "Once something is lost, it can't be found again. Especially old relationships. People change too much in the time apart."

A somewhat forlorn Tyler bid her adieu after that, and as the blonde watched his retreating figure, she couldn't help but to think that she was finally closing the book on her regular life. It was gone forever, something she'd been having trouble accepting before that encounter.

When she tuned back into the dinner with Niklaus, the man had on a smirk that held the worlds secrets within it. "What?" She questioned simply, self conscious with all this attention being thrown her way.

Niklaus only took a bite of the food he had ordered, his smirk failing to waver even once. "I was simply thinkinkg about how lovely you'll look when you accompany me to my sisters ball."

The blonde rolled her eyes in return, "I'm going to need a better proposal than that." Her smile gave her away, though, and they both knew it.

"Do you?"

With a sigh, the human shook her head. "Of course not. It'll be lovely."

Crappy ending for a crappy chapter! You guys, I just want to apologize for the wait on this chapter. The climax of the story brought upon a writers block for me, but I'm still soooo excited about everything I have planned. I hope you stay with me, even if my updates are a little more infrequent lately.

I feel as if I'm the worst at writing romance, it's a constant struggle for me. While I'm excited about the Klaroline lovin', I'm dreading writing it. Damn catch 22s.

This chapter is dedicated to Sara, who wanted this update more than any other reader by far! Sara, you're the reason I finally forced myself to work through this filler chapter and the reason I'll finish this entire trilogy. Lovely. It's also dedicated to TopazDragon, for leaving one of the loveliest reviews I've gotten on this story yet.

I hope everyone holds out faith that this will continue to rock, because I have huge plans.

OH AND THIS SEASON OF TVD y'ALLL! I had the Jeremy storyline predicted like a boss, and I love it a lot. The whole sire-thing has got me up in cahoots, like most Delena shippers, but I think they'll work past it.

There isn't nearly enough Klaroline lovin' yet but 4x07 was almost good enough for me to look past that. I just watched them with a huge shit-eating grin on my face. Guhhhhhh