Hello all! Thank you again for the reviews. It's so wonderful to see this story through your eyes! I'm finally working into the climax of this story, which has taken far longer than I had anticipated. My characters are very opinionated about what happens to them and I have had several edits to this chapter and the previous chapters of this story because of it. Onward and upward we go!
Stefan drummed his fingers on the table in front of him after having tried to call Caroline for the third time that afternoon. It wasn't like her not to answer, or at least text back an apology and an explanation. He tried to tell himself that he was being overbearing, but he couldn't ignore the growing knot that had taken up residence in his gut. Grabbing his phone, Stefan shot a quick text to Elena.
'Hey. I don't want to seem weird, but I've been trying to get in touch with Caroline and I haven't had any luck. Have you heard from her recently?' He typed out, staring at the screen for a minute before tapping send. His phone dinged quickly with her reply.
'No I haven't heard from her either. I was just thinking that she would probably want to talk after that meeting with Klaus. Damon told me it was an uncomfortable one.' Came the reply. He waited for her to finish, watching in agony as the thought bubble danced in his hand. 'I'm almost home so Bonnie and I will check on her. Maybe she decided to take a nap?'
Stefan let out a long held breath. He was overreacting. Maybe Elena was right, and she had forgotten about their date, and was taking a nap. Damon had mentioned that Caroline had stayed for a drink after the altercation with Klaus. Knowing Caroline, she'd probably tried to keep up with Damon to save face and ended up having slightly more than she'd planned.
He ran his fingers through his hair, slowly trying to relax his mind. The waitress stopped by the table and he ordered another drink. He heard his phone ding again and glanced down to see an explanation that shook him to his core.
'Caroline isn't here, but her purse is. This is weird. I think you need to come over.'
Stefan breathed deep before dialing a number he knew by heart.
"Damon, it's Stefan. Caroline is missing and on a scale of one to this is all your fault, I'm going with you have some serious explaining to do."
...X...
Damon paced the floor of his living room, a glass of Bourbon sloshing in his left hand. Stefan sat on the couch, watching him with tired, worried eyes.
They had raced over to the Farmhouse after Elena had alerted them to Caroline's disappearance. Stefan blamed Damon, Damon blamed Klaus, Bonnie threatened both of them within an inch of their lives, and Elena had tried to play peacemaker while holding back tears.
The facts were plain. Caroline's phone, keys and purse sat on the table in the kitchen. Her car was in the driveway. It would have seemed that she had gone out for a walk, if not for the discarded, clear, plastic, syringe cap that Stefan had identified. It had rolled under one of the chairs in the sitting room, and was almost unnoticeable except for the small speck of afternoon sun that bounced off the smooth plastic.
"This is all your fault." Bonnie shouted, her finger shaking in anger as she pointed it in Damon's face. "If you hadn't gotten Caroline mixed up in your drama in the first place, she would be fine."
"Ok first of all put that finger away Witchie. I don't need you turning me into a Toad. Second of all, Elena and Blondie have been a part of this from the second they walked into town. Klaus told me himself that he had plans for this place, and he doesn't like having people take away his play toys."
"So you're just going to pretend like you had nothing to do with any of this. That you weren't the one that had the brilliant idea to drag Caroline into the business to get Klaus out of our way?" Stefan added, glowering. Damon threw his hands up in the air, disgusted.
"Well if it floats, it must be a witch right?" He growled.
"This isn't Salem, so no." Bonnie remarked. "And I take serious offense to that analogy."
"Can we all just take a breath?" Elena interrupted, putting her hands up for a time out. "We are all emotionally charged and it's making all of us testy."
Damon gave Elena a withering smile but complied to her request.
"Let me see what I can find out. I do have some pull around this town." Damon finally offered. "I want answers just like the rest of you."
"Thank you Damon." Elena replied, putting her hand in his and squeezing in acknowledgement. He nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket, disappearing into the other room to figure out who he was going to call.
After everyone had stopped yelling at each other, Damon finally had enough time to try and think of a solution. The problem was, the solution came with strings he didn't want to pull. It was a terrible idea really. A terrible, horrible, incredibly stupid idea. But he had decided that this idea was the best out of all the ones he could come up with so it was the idea he had laid all his cards on.
He heard a harsh knock on the door, and then the sound of heels click clacking across the tile entryway. Damon knocked back the rest of his drink in one swallow, readying himself for this confrontation.
"Well this is quite the surprise." Katherine purred, her dark curls bouncing across her shoulders. Damon frowned. Katherine had been the last person he had wanted to talk to, but if anyone was going to have information the might possibly be shared, it was her.
"Don't go getting yourself too excited." He retorted, "You're still a villain in this story."
"Harsh." Katherine shot back, faking hurt. Maybe it was real, Damon didn't know. He was too used to her pretending like she had feelings to know if she truly had any at all. "I don't even know why I came." Katherine pouted, looking at both men. Damon snorted.
"Because you love being the center of any drama that you can. That's why you came." He answered, crossing his arms over his chest. Had she always been this irritating? She smiled sweetly at him, making his blood boil hotter.
"Is this about the lovely little Elena? I've already told you everything that I know about my relationship to her."
"This is about Caroline." Stefan interjected, standing. "She's missing."
"As awful as that is, why do you think I have any knowledge about anything that could be of use to you?" Katherine snapped, frowning. She knew something that she didn't want to talk about, Damon realized.
"You need to tell us what you know, Katherine. Now!" Stefan demanded, interjecting. Damon was going to have to have a conversation with his brother after this was done. The puppy eyes were not helping him achieve the level of authority he was searching for. It gave off more of a sad, crazed, boyfriend vibe. Not that wasn't what Stefan was feeling. He just didn't need to be projecting it.
"I..." She started.
"Any day now Katherine." Damon explained, tapping his toe for extra measure. Katherine frowned at him, biting her lower lip.
"You don't understand. Klaus would ruin me if he even knew I was having this conversation with you."
"What do you mean ruin?" Damon asked, curious.
"Damon, did you really think I left because I didn't care?" She asked, her voice uncharacteristically shaky "I left because I couldn't handle what was happening."
"English, Katherine." He replied. "What does that have to do with what we just asked you?"
"I was pregnant, Damon." She hissed out, ignoring his rebuttal. "I was pregnant with our child. I couldn't handle it, and I knew you couldn't either. So I left. And I took care of it."
Damon stopped in his tracks, his heart jumped into his throat. He hadn't realized that the sudden choking noise he heard was coming from his own mouth until he caught sight of the reproachful stare his brother had fixed on him. Breathing deeply, he tried hard to clear his head and work through the buzzing noise that seemed to be growing exponentially louder in his mind.
"We had a child and you never even told me? You didn't even give me a choice." Damon replied, deflating. Were the lights in the living room suddenly glaringly brighter?
"It's my life. I don't need to explain myself to you." Katherine remarked.
"But it was also my child. I would have raised it myself. You wouldn't have had to be a part of it Katherine." He fumed. "I understand why you did what you did, but it doesn't hurt any less that you didn't even give me an option. "
"Do you really think that would have been your reaction back then? Damon you could barely take care of yourself, let alone your teenage brother who desperately needed you. Do you really think you could have handled a baby?" Her shoulders sank, the weight of what she was saying taking its tole on her. "I did what I had to do. Like I always do."
"Everything that is coming out of your mouth right now is talk that I want no part in."
"It doesn't matter anyway. It turns out that I can't actually carry a child to term." Katherine finally confessed.
"Katherine..." Damon choked out, shocked. She put up a hand to stop him.
"I don't want to talk about it. But it's also something I don't want getting out. Elijah knows about it but with my political goals, I can't let any of this hit the gossip circles." She answered softly, examining the polished brown leather boots she was wearing. "I'm sorry Damon."
"You're really going to put your career above being a decent person Kat?" Damon demanded, his voice rising in anger.
Katherine paused at his use of her old nickname, obviously warring with herself about wither or not to divulge what she knew. Damon realized that Klaus had most likely used all of this against her in order to manipulate her into creating all of the drama she had. Squeezing her eyes shut and letting out a breath, she finally spoke.
"None of this is coming from me understand?" She stared at Damon, who nodded desperate for any information. "If I were to give you any advice, I would tell you to find out how Kol is involved. If you look for Kol you'll find her."
"Thank you Katherine." Damon replied, reaching out and squeezing her hand, surprising both of them. She froze in stunned silence. Slowly, she nodded and withdrew from his grasp.
"Good Luck Damon. I mean that." She replied, before grabbing her purse. "I hope you realize that this doesn't make us friends."
"I never expected it would." He assured her, shaking his head. She nodded and turned, fleeing from the room and the ghosts of memories that had been summoned between them.
Damon stood in the entryway. A huge weight seemed to have settled on his chest. The life that he had never known about and could never have burning a hole in his conscious mind. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face his brother.
"Are you OK?" He asked, softly. Damon took in a shaky breath and nodded, brushing aside his brother's hand.
"Am I OK after finding out about an alternate life that I never knew I'd missed out on? Am I OK with knowing that the sister of the woman I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with, could have possibly have been the mother of my child if fate had made other plans for us? Surprisingly yes, but that can wait." Damon frowned. "Right now we need to focus on Caroline. And that means that my personal life needs to wait."
...X...
Caroline groaned and tried to stretch her limbs but was surprised to find that she couldn't seem to lift her hands. She opened her eyes, taking in the dim room she was currently being held in. Images flashed through her head, reminding her of what had lead up to her strange new surroundings. Caroline could feel her pulse pounding in her temples. Sitting up made her nauseous, and she slumped backward in the chair she was in.
If someone had told her that she would be ending the day, tied up in a dark, creepy basement, she would have accused you of watching too many James Bond films. She would have laughed so hard, tears would have slid down her face and splattered the floor. She would have thought many things; told you to return any lottery tickets you may have bought. No matter what you tried to say she never would have listened.
"Oh Good, you're awake." A male voice intoned. She looked up to see a face staring back at her, his eyes framed with dark hair.
"I know you." She squeezed out weakly. The man smiled back at her, though it didn't reach his gaze, creating a menacing air. "You were at the Gala with Klaus."
"Yes, my brother does have a taste for the finer things in life. My name is Kol." He drawled in a familiar English accent. "And we have a great deal to talk about."