A/N: Thank you for the reviews - EyesLikeLiquidFire, Hopelessromanticatheart26, Deviljolie, crazybookworm1998, sambam17, lateVMlover, Pinkgem22 and my guest reviewers. You guys just about made me cry - in a good way. Thank you for the favorites and the follows. It means the world to me.

I was able to get in a nap after my talk with Elijah. When I awoke, I couldn't say I felt better. I enjoyed a hot shower, brushed out my hair. It made my body feel better but did nothing to calm my mind.

Mom. Tyler. Bonnie. Damon and Elena. Stefan. All of them were on my mind and now, thanks to Silas, my phone was gone and I didn't have a way to find out what how they were doing. Silas? Well, he weighed heavily on my mind too. I still had the occasional nightmare about my run in with him when he was looking for Bonnie. He'd come to me as Matt, but mostly as Klaus. The pain of the stake in my chest? I could almost still feel it and it hadn't been real. I was so afraid of what he could do to my friends, my Mom. I probably wasn't a lot safer from him here. He had to know where I was – Tyler had seen me being taken off by Klaus and Elijah and the Mikaelsons had made no secret of their move to New Orleans.

But the originals were the strongest of our kind. While they weren't immune to Silas' particular skill set, I'd seen him get into Klaus' head myself, they were stronger than my friends. I knew Silas would go after Elena first. And it was killing me that I wasn't there with them. Worse, I had no way to make sure they were okay.

I threw off the covers and sat up, frustrated. What would I do if I were home?

Well, if I were home, I wouldn't be sitting there worried about my friends and family. I'd be in the fray with them. But if I couldn't do that… Well, then I'd need a distraction from the worry so I wouldn't I wouldn't drive myself crazy as I was doing right now. I'd be on my phone texting everyone. I'd be on the internet looking up ways to help or maybe watching dumb Youtube videos. I'd go through my magazines. And once all of those resources were exhausted, there was the tried and true ice cream and movie marathon.

But my phone was gone. I didn't have my laptop. I had no t.v. in here. No magazines. Hell, I didn't even have clothes aside from what I was wearing. Oh, and I wasn't allowed to leave the house.

Things sucked.

I flipped on the light, deciding that I needed to do something. I scanned the beautiful room I'd selected for myself. There was a closet, an old-fashioned armoire, a gorgeous dresser with eight drawers.

Okay, time to rummage. I started with the closet. I honestly didn't expect to find much except some extra blankets or bedding. I was surprised to find it literally filled with bright, colorful, shiny clothing. Really shiny with sequins and satins. After pulling a couple of things out for closer inspection, I realized that the closet was full of costumes. I had to laugh at that. Costumes for men and women. Lots of red, gold, green, and purple. Many of them had masks and they were just beautiful. I found a saloon girl dress in blue that looked like it would fit me. It had black lace trim, a corseted bodice, a fancy feathered headpiece. There was even a bag with black fishnet stockings – thigh highs no less – and little high heeled ankle boots.

I giggled as I tried to picture my hosts' faces if I emerged from my room in that get up. But then it just might give Klaus the idea that I wanted to play kinky dress-up with him. That wouldn't do.

The dresser drawers had clean sheets, extra towels. No clothing items. I blew out an exhale at my dwindling options. I almost didn't check the armoire but after considering it a moment, I decided to go ahead and look.

I had to really yank on the door but I finally got it open. In there I found what looked like fancy sleepwear. Long, expensive looking nightgowns with matching peignoirs, I believed that's what they were called, in white, cream and a handful of pastel colors. They had to be many years old judging by the style of them though they looked well cared for. One light blue set caught my eye and when I pulled it out, I had to admit that it looked like it would fit me. It would be much more comfortable trying to sleep in those garments as opposed to the jeans and shirt I'd been wearing the last two days.

Oh, the silk felt wonderful and cold sliding along my skin. And I had to admit, I really liked how it looked on me. The nightgown itself was modest and not see-through. The peignoir was sheer and flowing. I felt like an old-fashion movie star as I twirled around to watch how it all flowed around me in the full length mirror.

I felt immediately better for having on something clean, fresh.

One need met. Now the distraction part. And maybe some blood.

If I were lucky, maybe I'd run into Elijah and ask if they had a library – and I'll bet they did. I didn't expect the thousand year-old family to have widescreens and high-speed internet. But books? Yeah. I wasn't about to go wandering around the mansion alone though. I was famous for getting lost, Elena had often called me "directionally challenged," and I wasn't sure I was ready to run into Klaus just yet.

I'd heard Haley and Elijah around the house earlier but they must have gone to their rooms because it was quiet now. I didn't hear Klaus return though it was possible he had while I was sleeping. Rebekah? I had no idea.

Deciding to go to the kitchen, I made my way to the stairs. At the top, the hilarity of my situation hit me. Here I was dressed up like a romance novel heroine and it wasn't lost on me that I was walking down a staircase that put the one in Gone With the Wind to shame. So I grabbed the hem of my gown, struck a pose and flitted my way down the staircase like I was arriving at a ball in my honor. I was giggling by the time I reached the bottom.

Still not hearing anything, I made my way into the kitchen and discovered I wasn't alone. Rebekah sat at the dining table, at the end where I'd sat earlier, eating a generous bowl of ice cream. Ice cream. I felt like she knew I was there, even though she didn't look up or acknowledge me, and I wasn't going to wait. I went directly to the enormous stainless steel refrigerator and opened the freezer side.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rebekah asked.

Damn.

I peeked around the freezer door to meet her gaze. "I came down to see if I could get some blood, snacks."

"In the freezer?" she asked, taunting me.

I shut the door and folded my arms across my chest. "Your ice cream looks really good," I admitted.

"What on earth are you wearing?" Her blonde brows lifted.

"Yeah." I snorted. "I know. I'm waiting for someone to shout Heathcliff across the moors any time now."

Rebekah smirked at that.

"I found them in my room. I'd been wearing the same clothes for two days and until I can figure out where the laundry room is in this place, I needed at least one option."

Rebekah shook her head. "Elijah told me that Nik brought you back here to protect you from Silas. Guess he didn't let you pack, did he?"

"No."

"That sounds like Nik," she mumbled, working on her ice cream.

"Is it okay if I get a blood bag?" I pointed to the refrigerator, thinking it might go better for me if I asked this time.

Rebekah nodded. "There's plenty of ice cream in the freezer too," she said. "Normally, I'm the only one who eats it."

Yes! In no time, I had a blood bag warmed and joined Rebekah at the table with a nice bowl of double chocolate chunk ice cream. Sitting with Rebekah over ice cream wasn't something I ever thought I'd be doing but I could say that about a lot of things this week.

"So there's nothing going on between you and my brother?"

The direct approach.

"Not unless his attempts to annoy me to death count," I explained. I tried a spoonful of the ice cream, closing my eyes at the wonderful taste.

"Good isn't it?" Rebekah asked with a grin.

"Yes! It's fabulous!"

She was almost finished with her ice cream and she seemed a little lost in thought. At least she was being civil to me. But something seemed to be bothering her.

"So is this ice cream celebrating or ice cream life sucks?" I had to ask.

Rebekah looked up at me, her expression blank at first. I watched whatever was bothering her and anger battle on her face. Then her eyes narrowed.

"Why so you'll have some juicy gossip to take back to your doppelganger bitch friend?"

"No," I said, rising from the chair and ready to take my blood and ice cream back to my room. "I just thought maybe you needed someone to talk to. My bad."

She startled me when she put a hand on my arm.

"Sorry. It's just been a long day," she said as I reluctantly slid back into the seat. "I didn't expect for you to be here this morning and it just got worse from there."

"You weren't happy to see me, that's for sure." I returned to my ice cream. "Why?"

"Honestly?"

I nodded.

"Because things around here are already in enough of a snarl without you," she admitted. "My brothers, that includes Elijah, are plotting to take over the supernatural underworld of New Orleans and you can't believe what a headache that is on a daily basis. Then I find out my brother knocked up a smart-mouthed werewolf girl who is now living with us. I'm aware that the situation with Silas is still unresolved but I thought, for my family's part, that we left that behind when we left Mystic Falls. Guess not."

I picked up the blood bag and had a sip, finding I was anxious to learn anything about what had been going with the Mikaelsons since they came to New Orleans.

"And for all that's going on, with a child on the way and his family here, Klaus seems to care about nothing more than his quest for power."

"Ah. My being here creates more that you and Elijah have to deal with, right? While he's off doing what Klaus does?" Great. Now to add to the list of things I was unhappy about, I was a nuisance.

"Not exactly." She sipped from her own blood bag. "You show up unexpectedly in the kitchen this morning, in Klaus' shirt no less. I just assumed that you two had finally hooked up and that nothing good could come from that. You have a history of stringing Nik along and he always falls for it, even though he knows better. Afterwards, he's a tyrant for days."

I nodded. She was right and I knew that.

"I was waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. The part where you pull the rug out from under him again. I wanted to make sure you knew about Haley and the baby, thinking, hoping that if you didn't already know, it would just speed things up until you fled back to your friends in Virginia."

If Rebekah was trying to inspire guilt in me, she wasn't doing a terrible job. I thought of all the times I'd retreated to my house, my room, rejected by someone I'd wanted to be with or hurt because of their actions. I tried to push the images of Klaus making his way home after each time I'd used or berated him out of my head…

"Well, for once, I'm not here to string your brother along," I admitted, finishing my bag. "And we didn't hook up. I really did put the shirt on so I didn't have to wear the same clothes again. I didn't want to come here. But since I'm here and not allowed to leave the house, I'll try not to be a problem for you guys."

"You sound sincere," she told me, eying me curiously.

"Is that so hard to believe?" I asked.

"Maybe your being here will make things interesting. Nik has been gone all day today, no doubt making arrangements to free up some time so he can be here with you while you're here."

"I hope not," I said, even as I was wondering what it would be like to have someone put everything aside to spend time with me. Normally, I was put aside so people could do other things. "I probably won't be here long."

Rebekah cast me a knowing grin.

"I know why you're here," Rebekah continued. "Elijah told me what happened. The thing I'm wondering is why Nik was already there in Mystic Falls. He never even told us he was leaving."

"He came up there for me," I admitted. "I just found out that Bonnie had died the day before graduation and… he just showed up to see how I was doing. I wasn't in a good place. He took me back to my Mom's house and stayed with me until the next day. Just as a friend."

"I imagine Tyler loved that," she said, pulling the straw from her blood bag to twist it with her fingers.

"I don't know that he was ever aware of it. He stopped by the dorm to see me the day I found out and said Stefan had some big idea about how they could bring Bonnie back. He took off with Stefan before Klaus ever got there. It was the first time I'd seen Tyler since Klaus allowed him to return to Mystic Falls."

"Stefan's back?" Her blue eyes lit up at the mention of that name. "I'd heard he left town when Elena chose Damon over him."

"You heard right. I didn't see Stefan myself."

"Wait a minute, Nik allowed Tyler to come back to Mystic Falls?" Rebekah asked, surprised.

I nodded. "It was his graduation present to me."

She mouthed the word "wow. "But you haven't seen Tyler since before graduation?"

"No. We've talked, texted. That's it."

"Did you also keep in touch with Nik over the summer?"

"Yeah, we texted. A couple of times," I told her.

"I'm sorry about Bonnie," Rebekah said. "How could you not have known she was dead all summer?"

"Apparently she asked Jeremy not to tell anyone. She used too much of that expression magic Shane taught her to put the veil back up and to bring Jeremy back from the dead. It killed her. But Jeremy can see the dead and he's been talking to her all summer. He told everyone she was off traveling for the summer and sent postcards and emails from her."

Rebekah's face lit up. "She brought Jeremy back from the dead?"

I nodded.

"He'd been dead for how long?"

"A while."

I could practically hear the wheels spinning in her head as she took that in.

"I'm hoping there's some way we can bring Bonnie back. Considering how things go most of the time, I'm trying not to get my hopes up."

Rebekah nodded but didn't say anything else.

"Was Haley okay after this morning?" I thought to ask.

Rebekah nodded. "And I should warn you, Elijah is very protective of her and the baby. He already considers them part of the family, under our protection." She rolled her eyes.

That didn't surprise me. "Haley and I aren't exactly friends," I explained. "But she has nothing to worry about from me. She looked miserable enough this morning as it was."

"It would be worth it to be a mother," she said so quietly I almost missed it.

Rising from the table, I grabbed the bowl and empty blood bag, cleaning up after myself.

"Thanks for the ice cream and the company," I told her. "And let me know if I can do anything here to help you guys. Earn my keep."

Rebekah actually smiled at me. "Good night."

I rinsed my bowl, tossed the bag and headed for the staircase, feeling sleepy now. It was way past midnight.

Just as my foot hit the first step, I heard his footsteps.

"So how does Miss Mystic Falls ascend the staircase?" I could hear the smirk in his voice as he came up behind me. Of course he'd seen my goofy moment coming down the stairs.

"Former Miss Mystic Falls," I corrected him. "And I'm going to ascend the stairs as such."

I was too sleepy to care and not in the mood to deal with Klaus. That's what I kept telling myself anyway.

His breath ghosted across the skin of my neck before I could move, making me shiver.

"You look more like a princess in that gown," he whispered into my hair, his lips nearly touching my ear. "I actually thought I'd see if you were tired of your temporary room yet. I'd rather like to keep our sleeping arrangement."

"I like my new room just fine, thank you." It came out way less confident than I intended for it to.

I took the next step only to have his arm pull me back tightly against him. It was like being secured by a band of steel. His body was hard and unyielding as it pressed into mine.

His other hand brushed my hair back from my face.

"You've trusted me the last two nights," again his voice was a hot whisper in my ear. "What's changed, love?"

It was hard to breathe. "Oh, I don't know. Something about you accepting my absolute surrender to you in the very near future."

His chuckle sent crazy tingles shooting all over my body. "I can be patient when I want something badly enough."

"You think my being here in your house gives you an advantage now?" I asked him, hoping he didn't notice my breath was coming faster.

"I've never played fair, sweetheart," he assured me. I felt his nose and lips glide down my neck, across to my shoulder and back. I shivered again and his grip tightened ever so slightly. "I'll miss you in my bed tonight."

Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't say anything.

A second later he released his hold on me. "Goodnight, love. If you change your mind, you know where I am."

I took the next step and turned to face him, almost on his eye level. The heat in his blue eyes was unmistakable.

A corner of his mouth curved up while I stood there staring at him, a trembling mess.

"Good night," I said, turning to climb the steps with all the false bravado I could muster.