Hello again! I am so sorry for the slow update you guys, a lot has been happening lately and I haven't found a lot of time to write, but now I'm back and so is the story! This chapter is a long one and there isn't really any Klaroline interaction here, but I promise things will get there in the next chapter :) Hope you like it!

"Marcel, no!" Caroline woke up gasping and crying, her nightshirt was soaked through of sweat and if her heart had still been beating it would have beat right out of her chest. She put both hands over her face and fought hard to calm herself down when the door to her room opened and Haley looked inside with a worried expression.
"Caroline, are you okay?" she swallowed down and wiped her tear-stricken face on the blanket before she looked up at Haley.
"I'm fine, it was only a bad dream. Did I wake you?" Haley stepped into the room and closed the door behind her before she walked over to the bed and took a seat at the edge, one hand firmly placed over her growing belly at all times.
"No, she moves around so much it's hard to sleep." Caroline pulled her knees up to her chest and her wrapped her arms around them, a small smile gracing her lips.
"A fighter then, like her mom." Haley smiled and looked down at her stomach with so much love that Caroline almost felt like she was intruding on a highly personal moment.
"She's strong at least, but to be honest I'm terrified of bringing her into this world. You know the mess we live in Caroline, I mean we were almost killed last night." Caroline sighed and nodded her head somberly.
"The Quarter might not be the best place to raise a kid, but you know she'll be the most protected kid in the history of time though." Haley laughed and gave her agrement.
"That's something to be grateful for I suppose." After that neither of them said anything for a long time, Haley kept rubbing her belly and Caroline rested her head on her knees, her mind going back to her painful dream. Both of them knew they needed to discuss what had happened earlier and how none of them had said anything about Tyler being Haley's attacker, even though it was clear to both that they shared a history with him.

"How do you know Tyler?" Haley was the first to speak up and Caroline untangled her legs and slipped out of bed to walk over by the window and look outside at the quiet compound. She could hear Klaus and Elijah's hushed voices in Klaus' studio and Rebekah was rummaging around in her own room, doing god knows what.
"We grew up together. My parents know his parents, we went to the same kindergarden, same elementary school, same everything really. We were never close but he was a good friend of another good friend of mine. I'd heard rumors of everything happening in Mystic Falls, but I guess I didn't really believe them until last night." She turned around to look at Haley and the pregnant werewolf nodded her head in understanding.
"I first met Tyler when he was trying to break his sire bond to Klaus. I was living with a pack in the Appalachians and he came to us for help. I helped him get his freedom back so to speak." Caroline folded her arms across her chest and glanced outside the window at the rising moon.
"You know, I watched him grow up, we grew up together and never once did I ever consider the possibility of something like this happening. Why would I? I was a kid who had no idea vampires, witches and werewolves existed outside of stories and nightmares, let alone hybrids. But the truth is, that sweet kid I grew up with is gone and right now he's got a vendetta against Klaus and by extention your daughter and in my eyes that makes him dangerous." Haley didn't say anything but it was clear from the look in her eyes that she agreed, and while none of them said it, they both knew they had to tell Klaus and Elijah in the morning.

"What were you dreaming about, if you don't mind me asking?" Caroline pushed open the window and took a deep breath of the cool night air. She'd used to live in this room before when she stayed with Marcel, but after the night he took someone she loved from her, she'd moved out and it had taken her a long time to forgive him for what he did.
"It was more of a bad memory really. I fell in love with someone a few years back and I kept it hidden from Marcel because he was a witch and I knew he wouldn't approve. You know, Marcel thinks he's so different from Klaus, but after hearing Rebekah talk about all the loves Klaus took away from her, I'm starting to think they're more alike then they'd like to think." Caroline walked over to the bed and sat down next to Haley, she didn't look at her but she figured that maybe if she shared this part of her story with someone she might be able to sleep at night.

New Orleans three years ago

Caroline was walking the roofs in the cauldron, she had a couple of friends who were witches and she was going there to see one of them, but relations between vampires and witches were still very much frowned upon and she didn't want to cause anyone trouble.
She leaped of the roof and landed in front of her friend Janine's door, three rapid knocks was all it took and the door opened, Caroline stepped inside before anyone could see her.
Janine was a beautiful african-american twenty year old with voluptous curves and mile long legs and Caroline knew that every guy in the Quarter; witch, vampire and human alike had at one point or another imagined her doing the dirty with them. Her hair fell in a long braid over her left shoulder and brushed her jean-clad waist, a navy blue tank showcased her impressive cleavage and Caroline envied her friend more by every passing second.
"I almost thought you weren't coming" Caroline smiled and shrugged of her jacket.
"I had to ditch my protection detail first, Marcel won't be happy when I get back." Janine laughed and shook her head.
"I could help you with that if you want, throw a little spell to easen his mood." Caroline shook her head amused and followed Janine into the kitchen.
"If all the worlds problems could be solved by magic, then why hasn't it already?" Janine took out two wineglasses from her cabinet and pulled out a bottle of chardonnay from the fridge.
"Us witches have a duty to keep the balance sweetness, not save the world from all the evil people in it." Caroline accepted her glass and carried the bottle into the spacious living room, taking a seat on the couch and curling her legs up beneath her.
"Well, there are quite a few of those." Janine nodded her head in agreement as she took seat next to Caroline and opened the winebottle, pouring into both glasses until they were half-full.
"How have you been Caroline? Anything new to share" Caroline shook her head and sighed.
"Life is dull in the Quarter Janie, especially when you're always being watched. Sometimes I feel like a freaking prisoner." Janine lifted her glass to her lips and Caroline watched as the muscles in her throat worked while the wine slid down her throat, catching herself in looking at Janine's beating vain she quickly turned away. Janine had caught her movement though and she'd been around vampires long enough to know when they hadn't fed in a while. She reached for something behind her that Caroline couldn't see and retrieved a small but very sharp dagger.
"Here," the witch slit a gash in her palm and held it out over Caroline's glass, a dozen drops of her blood or so blended with the wine. Caroline smiled gratefully and took a sip, savoring the sweet taste as it flowed down her throat.
"Do you want some of mine to heal you?" she offered but Janine shook her head and placed the dagger on the table, the bleeding stopped almost right away and Caroline realized Janine was using magic to speed up the healing process.
"I was wanting to talk to you about something" Caroline settled in deeper into the couch and signaled that she was all ears.
"My cousin is coming from Atlanta tonight, he's lived his whole life there, but he knows everything about the supernatural in New Orleans. I mean he should, after all he is a witch." Caroline nodded her head as Janine kept talking, but she couldn't quite figure out where she was heading with this.
"His name is Jesse," Caroline sighed and put her glass down, the less people that knew about their friendship the better.
"I should go before he comes," Janines eyes widen for a second before she shook her head and reached out to hold Caroline in place.
"No,no you got me all wrong Care. I don't want you to leave, he's going to need a tour guide while he's here, someone to show him the city, and I'm swamped with witch business for the entire week. Could you please show him around, take him on a tour of the city?" Caroline gaped at her friend and shook her head in disbelief.
"You want me to play tour guide for your cousin? Aren't you worried someone might make the connection," Janine just shrugged and refilled her empty wine glass.
"There's no law against witches and vampires being friends, it's just a little frowned upon, so what?" Caroline laughed and once again shook her head.
"You're unbelievable Janie, but I'll do it. On one condition" Janie swallowed down the wine in her mouth and opened her arms.
"Anything"
"You owe me"

Caroline took a break from her story and smiled when Haley yawned beside her, it was late and Caroline's story was too long to be told in one night.
"You should get some sleep wolfgirl, you had a rough day," Haley shook her head and waved Caroline's concern away.
"No, no I'm fine, go on. Just let me see if I got this right; your best friend was a this witch Janine and your friendship was for the most part secret, now her cousin was coming down from Atlanta and she basically asked you to babysit him for a week? And her cousin was your Jesse, right?" Caroline smiled and hummed a confirmation.
"Okay, continue" Haley made herself comfortable by moving further up into Caroline's bed and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders before leaning back agains the headboard.

After three emptied winebottles and food to fill up their stomachs, Caroline realized it was getting late and she should get home before Marcel decided to send out a searchparty, if he hadn't already.
"I should get going," Caroline grabbed her glass and the empty bottles and carried them into the kitchen where she grabbed her jacket who was hanging of a chair.
"We need to do this more often sweetness, I miss these nights of ours." Caroline laughed heartily because she couldn't agree more. Problem was that if she kept sneaking away on a regular basis then Marcel would get suspicious and Caroline had no intention of causing the witches any problems.
"I'll try, but you know it's not easy. I don't know why he feels the need to protect me so strongly but for some reason he does." Janine sighed and leaned back against the kitchen counter with her arms folded and a thoughtful expression.
"Who knows? Maybe he's got a thing for you," Caroline snorted and looked amusedly at her friend.
"I can assure you that's not it. No, I think he might consider himself my guardian or something." Janine sighed and pushed away from the counter to walk Caroline out.
She hugged Janine by the door and promised she'd come back soon, and besides she'd promised to be tour guide as Janine was kind enough to remember her.
"Thanks for tonight, I really needed it." Caroline reached back to open the door with her back to it and when she turned to walk out she slammed right into someone's chest, a male chest she figured right away. She took a few steps back and looked up at the stranger; he was quite a bit taller than her and he was really handsome, but then again if he was related to Janine then of course he would be. The guy standing in front of her had to be Jesse, he was too much like Janie not to be and Caroline felt her cheeks heating up when he wouldn't stop looking at her.
"Jesse!" Janine stepped in front of Caroline and threw her arms around her cousins neck who took a second to register he was being hugged at all before he wrapped his arm around her and reciprocated, laughing as he twirled Janine around. His laugh was one of warmest she'd ever heard and he had a stunning smile, well everything about him was stunning actually.
"Jesse, this is my friend Caroline, Care meet my cousin Jesse" Caroline smiled and offered up her hand, his was much larger then hers when he enveloped hers in his.
"Nice to meet you Caroline," he had a firm grip and Caroline smiled when she retrieved her hand, as much as she'd like to stay around and get to know him, she had to get home.
"You too, welcome to New Orleans Jesse. I wish I could stay but I've got to get going, but your cousin roped me into being your tour guide for the week so I suspect I'll see you soon."
"I'm looking forward to it," Caroline was smiling all the way back to the compound and even when Marcel ripped her a new one about having him worried, being irressponsible, putting herself at risk etcetera, etcetera, etcetera her mood didn't change much.

"Your telling me it was love at first sight?" Caroline threw her head back and laughed at Haleys more then sceptical tone and walked over to close the window.
"God no, more like "like" at first sight, maybe throw in a bit of lust in that equation." Haley grinned and Caroline rolled her eyes.
"You really should get some sleep Haley, I think we might be the only ones still up actually." Haley sighed and nodded her head.
"Your right, but promise me you'll finish the story, this was just getting interesting." Caroline laughed and promised on her undead life.
"I'll tell you more tomorrow, but we both need to get some sleep if we're going to cope with your baby-daddy and Elijah tomorrow." Haleys disgusted face at her words made it really hard not to laugh, but somehow she managed to keep her mouth shut and the only thing showing her amusement was a slight twitch in the corner of her lip.
"Please don't call him that. Klaus is fine," Yes he is. Caroline thought internally and walked Haley back to her room to make sure she was okay to be by herself.
"If you need anything, my room is always open." Haley placed her hand on Caroline's arm and gave her a grateful look before she disappeared into her own room and closed the door behind her.

Rebekah was going through her conversation with Caroline from the night before when she made her way into the study, the only sure place she would find Elijah if he was still on the premises, she knew she had promised Caroline not to mention anything about Marcels involvement to Klaus, but she'd never said anything about Elijah. She'd heard Nik leave earlier after he received an urgent phonecall, from who she had no idea and she didn't really care either. Unlike Elijah, Rebekah had given up hope for her brothers redemption quite some time ago, but the way he was handling himself regarding his unborn daughter and Caroline was possibly the little shred of light to him she needed to restore her hope.
"Your looking unusually thoughtful this morning," Elijah was sitting in one of the loungers with a book poised on his knee and his all-knowing gaze trained on her.
Rebekah sighed and slumped down next to him, she didn't know how to formulate her worries in such a way that Elijah wouldn't immediately enlighten Nik to Marcel's involvement.
"I believe I have a confession to make, regarding Haley's abduction and the following events," Elijah put away his book and straightened up, a look very similiar to Nik's disappointed one only it was that much worse coming from Elijah.
"The reason I didn't notice Haley getting taken is because I was with Marcel at the time, I let myself get distracted and she was taken because of it." Elijah straightened his tie and looked away from Rebekah.
"I see," Rebekah stood up and started pacing the room, she wasn't saying this correctly, she just had to say it all right out.
"No Elijah you don't, you don't see! I didn't see it either until I had a conversation with Caroline last night. You think she was so upset because she was nearly killed, you think that's why she pulled me aside last night? Caroline knew what I didn't want to face and what would sure be the cause of war between our brother and Marcel and his vampires." Elijah stayed silent and listened intently, he believed he understood where Rebekah was going with this but he had to let her finish until he took matters into his own hands.
"After Caroline and I finished talking last night she went to see Marcel and when she came back she was heartbroken. Our brother came here to reclaim a city that once belonged to us Elijah, but for the past three hundred years give or take, Marcel has been the one calling the shots. Like Nik he's not just going to give it up without a fight, so he used me to get to Haley, he was in cohorts with that wretched werewolf all along." She stopped pacing and took a deep breath to calm herself. She ran her fingers through her hair and felt the pain of betrayal and shame heavily on her shoulders.
"I made a promise to Caroline last night that I wouldn't tell Nik about Marcels involvement, she may not have known Niklaus for long but she knew he would kill Marcel if he found out the truth. For years Marcel have been the only family Caroline has, she distanced herself from his last night and sided with us, she saved Haley and nearly got herself killed in the process. Now she swore to me that if he ever tried anything like the stunt he pulled last night she would kill him herself, and I feel we owe her to at least trust her." Elijah was astounded by the very convincing case his sister was presenting for the young vampire and he had to agree she had a good point.
"While all of this is good and well sister, am I to believe this all comes from your profound guilt or is there something else behind your sudden fondness for Miss Forbes?" Rebekah sighed and took a seat next to her brother again.
"She reminds me of myself 'Lijah, I feel a kindred spirit in her." After everything Niklaus had put their sister through in the thousand years they had been together, Elijah could understand her concern for the young vampire who seemed so much like her.
"Promise me you won't tell Nik," it was more of a demand than a question but Elijah receded simply because he trusted Rebekah's judgement and he was curious about Caroline Forbes.
"I won't tell him, but Rebekah," she held up a hand to silence him and slumped back against the couch.
"I know," Elijah stood up and poured them both a much needed drink, but besides Rebekah's recent information it was the knowledge of Caroline's immunity to magic that still plagued his mind, he'd have to ask her about that once he got her in private.
"Where is everyone anyway?" Rebekah questioned and Elijah grabbed his book and placed it back in the bookshelf.
"Our brother were called away on business early this morning and it seemed Caroline and Haley bonded over last nights trauma, the two of them went off on a field trip this morning. I believe I overheard them saying something about the cemetary and the bayou." Rebekah frowned at the little tinge of jealousy she felt at Haley and Caroline going away together without inviting her, but she held no claim to either one of the girls and given that they were in fact much more similiar in age she could understand how they would connect more easily.
"Well, then. Cheers!" Rebekah raised her glass before she swallowed it all down in one gulp.

One of the perks of being a vampire was the ability to wear heels all day without her feet even remotely stinging. Caroline and Haley had shared breakfast this morning and decided to go on a little trip together, Haley wanted to introduce Caroline to her family out in the bayou and Caroline in return offered to show Haley where Jesse was buried. They'd been walking for an hour before they found his grave and Caroline was on constant alert knowing that Tyler was still out there and the witches still seemed to think Haley's daughter was some kind of hell spawn.
"This is it," they stopped outside the Marquies family tomb and Caroline ran her fingers over Jesse's name. Haley stayed quiet and allowed Caroline a moment of privacy before she stepped closer to inspect the tomb. Haley had opted for boots, jeans and loosefitting blouse good for hiking in the bayou, Caroline however had opted for a floral dress and five inch boots, Haley couldn't wait to see how that would turn out.
"I'm sorry," Caroline glanced at Haley and tried to shake it off with a shrug, but it was clear that Jesse's death still had an impact on her.
"It's in the past now, I moved on."
"You don't have to pretend with me Caroline, I've never even known my parents and the loss of them still sits with me. You fell in love with someone and he was taken away from you, it's alright to be upset about that." When Caroline had first learned about Haley she'd thought the wolfgirl was a total bitch, but she wasn't from what Caroline could tell. Then again, Caroline was sweet to her friends and a bitch to just about everyone else, maybe Haley was the same.
"Thank you for that, but I am actually okay. I mean I wasn't for a long time after he died, but at one point I realized that when you have the rest of eternity to live, I can't spend it morning someone who I loved yes, but barely really knew." Haley contemplated the blondes' words and she got where she was coming from, but she had frankly no idea how long Caroline had even known Jesse before he was killed.
"Four months," Caroline answered Haley's unanswered question and stepped away from the tomb with a heavy sigh.
"We'd known each other four months when he was killed."
"Can I ask what happened?" Caroline turned to Haley and winked at her.
"We haven't reached that part of the story yes," Haley laughed and shook her head, she found it fascinating how Caroline could go from being sad and down in one second and happy and playful in the other.
"C'mon, didn't you have a pack of wolves you wanted to introduce me to or something?" Haley nodded and bit her lip, she might not have been completely honest with Caroline this morning.
"Yeah, about that. I know where they are but I haven't actually been there yet, so I don't really know what to expect when we get there." Caroline closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.
"And I suppose Elijah and Klaus are aware of this, or do they think that you have established contact with your family?" The guilty look was all Caroline needed for answer and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her current predicament.
"You know, if I'm smart I would take you home and forget you ever said anything about your family. But... maybe I'm not so smart, let's go." She knew the moment they walked back towards the car that if anything were to happen out in the bayou and the originals found out about it, then both she and Haley were in a shitload of trouble.