The next day, Klaus, Josie and Stefan made their way to Chicago. It was late afternoon when they arrived. By the time they had checked into the three bedroom suite and washed the airport off, Klaus decided they were going to see Gloria tomorrow as tonight her place would be busy and the chance of being overheard was too great.
In the meantime, Josie insisted they go out for dinner. Which then turned into a quick tour of the city's top sights. Despite Stefan's ever-grumpy mood and Klaus' seen-it-all attitude, Josie enjoyed strolling through Millennium Park and doing a bit of shopping along Michigan Avenue.
The next morning, after a room service breakfast, they headed to Gloria's. She had a vision on the way. Damon, Elena and Tyler, all coming to Chicago to rescue her and Stefan.
Tyler was coming! That hadn't happened in the original storyline. Why was he coming? Did he still care, as Mason had said? Josie wasn't sure how she felt. She'd been devastated when she'd had that vision of Tyler and Caroline in Italy. Now, the wound was less fresh and she was still hurt, but wasn't sure Tyler and her should get back together. What would he say if he knew how many werewolves had died this summer because of her?
If she was being honest with herself, besides her family and friends, the person she missed the most, thought about the most over the summer, was Elijah.
She lied to Klaus about the vision, saying it was of 1920s Chicago. Klaus cut her off, not wanting Stefan to know yet how they knew each other.
Finally, they got to Gloria's and Josie, Klaus and Stefan walked in.
"Look familiar?" asked Klaus.
Josie smiled, wondering if he was asking just Stefan or both of them.
"I can't believe this place is still here," Stefan said.
"I can't believe she didn't change the name," said Josie, rolling her eyes. "Like people wouldn't notice."
"You got to be kidding me," came a voice from behind them.
Klaus smiled. "So, a hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender…"
"Stop," said Gloria. "You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny."
She walked up to Stefan, Klaus and Josie.
"I remember you," she said to Stefan.
"You're Gloria," said Stefan, tilting his head. "Shouldn't you be…"
"Old and dead?" asked Gloria. "Now if I die who's gonna run this place?"
"Gloria's a very powerful witch," explained Klaus, smiling.
"I can slow the aging down some. Herbs and spells. But don't worry, it'll catch up to me one day," she said, eyeing Josie with curiosity.
"This is Josie," said Klaus, not offering any more explanation.
"Nice to meet you," Josie returned, holding out her hand.
Gloria took it and looked at her with interest. "And what's a human doing hanging around with two vampires?"
It was Klaus who answered. "Josie's my favorite pet," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I like to keep a steady supply of fresh blood with me. I'm sure you understand."
Josie blushed at this humiliating description of herself, but forced down the biting retort that bubbled up. Klaus clearly didn't want Gloria to know what she was. After being captured by the coven in Italy, Josie tended to agree.
Klaus suggested Stefan go fix them drinks, but gestured for Josie to sit down with him and Gloria. He assured Gloria that Josie had been compelled to keep his secrets, but Josie knew Klaus wanted her there in case Gloria was being deceitful.
Josie remembered that Gloria had her own agenda, but couldn't remember what it was. All she remembered was that Gloria's help turned out to be useless. It was only when Klaus returned to Mystic Falls and discovered Elena was alive, that he was able to make more hybrids. Of course, Klaus was aware Elena was alive here. He'd been assured by his witches that as long as Elena died, even if she was later resurrected, it wouldn't affect the curse breaking.
Josie could barely contain her excitement when Gloria insisted that Klaus revive Rebekah in order to talk to the Original Witch. She'd forgotten about that. In order to revive Rebekah of course, he'd need to gather the coffins. Including Elijah's! She forced herself to breathe evenly, though she was sure Klaus could her the uptick in her heart if he was listening.
They were about to leave, after Stefan's revelation that he knew Klaus once upon a time, when another vision hit her. It was of Caroline. Now that Tyler was coming to Chicago, he hadn't been in Mystic Falls to interfere with Bill Forbes' sadistic plans to 'fix' his vampire daughter through torture. She watched, horrified, as Caroline's tormented screams seemed to be never-ending.
Josie was shouting when she came back to reality and she realized she was in Klaus' arms, flailing and crying.
Gloria was looking at her curiously.
"She gets the fits I'm afraid," said Klaus, looking at Gloria.
"And she's your favorite pet?" asked Gloria, raising her eyebrows.
"Sweetest blood you've ever tasted," said Klaus, darkly. "It's a vampire thing."
Josie had to resist rolling her eyes as Klaus led her out of the bar and into the car.
Once they'd pulled away, she told Klaus what she'd seen. She called Alaric and explained the situation, figuring he was the best person in Mystic Falls to help Caroline.
"And I'm a pet?" asked Josie when she hung up with Alaric. "Can't you think of an explanation that isn't so humiliating?"
"Why else would I keep a human around?" Klaus asked, frowning.
"I don't know, maybe I'm just good company," said Josie, crossing her arms. She sighed. "Do you think she believed you?"
"At first," Klaus replied. "After your little episode, I'm not sure."
He asked her if she knew if Gloria was being honest or not. She said she hadn't had any visions besides the original one from Gloria. Then Klaus pulled into the warehouse where he was keeping his family. Stefan stopped him as they were walking, demanding an explanation of how he knew Klaus.
"So I knew another Original Vampire?" asked Stefan, after Klaus told him about Rebekah. "Did you know about this?" he asked Josie.
"Oh no, I'm not getting in the middle of this," she said, following Klaus.
Klaus removed the dagger from Rebekah and then they started to wait. And wait. Josie used the time to memorize the location of the other coffins in the warehouse, wondering which one contained Elijah.
She just rolled her eyes as Stefan tried to get more information out of Klaus. Then her. She crossed her arms and refused to answer him.
"Suddenly so chatty after all those weeks of brooding silence?" she asked.
"She does have a point, mate," said Klaus.
Finally, Stefan wouldn't quit, so Klaus instructed the guard to tell Rebekah to meet them at Gloria's and then took them to Stefan's old apartment. Josie was nervous, wondering if Elena was there, possibly with Damon and Tyler. Elena hadn't been discovered in the show, so Josie had to hope she wouldn't be discovered here.
When they got there, the door handle had been ripped off and Klaus was suspicious.
"Do you feel that?" he asked. "Is anybody here?"
Stefan suggested that people must break in all the time since it'd been vacant. Klaus explained how Stefan had collected the names of all the people he killed. Stefan looked horrified, especially as Josie was there to hear all of it. Then Klaus showed Stefan his secret compartment.
Stefan went in the compartment and his face remain stoic. Didn't betray whether or not anyone was in there. Josie didn't dare to follow, in case her face gave her away. She just watched as Stefan grabbed a bottle from the shelf.
"Single Malt," said Stefan.
"My favorite," replied Klaus. "Let's go and find someone to pair it with."
"Gross," said Josie, rolling her eyes. "Mind if I use your bathroom, Stefan?"
Stefan nodded and Josie knew he was wondering if she knew they weren't alone in the apartment.
When she came out of the bathroom, thankfully Stefan and Klaus were in the hallway. She crept to the secret compartment and opened it to find Tyler and Elena standing there.
Josie held her finger up to her mouth to indicate they were not to make a sound, as Elena enveloped her in a giant hug. They stood there like that for a few seconds before Elena pulled away. Then Tyler swooped in and, to Josie's surprise, kissed her. It was brief, but definitely more than a just-friends kiss.
Not being able to speak was frustrating and Josie pulled away from both of them before too long, not wanting Klaus to come looking for her.
'I have to go,' mouthed Josie.
Surprisingly, Tyler and Elena nodded. Clearly, whatever plan they had, it didn't start in a secret compartment at Stefan's old apartment.
She was just closing the door to the secret compartment behind her when Klaus walked back into the apartment.
"You coming, love?" he asked. "What were you doing in there?"
"I just wanted to see the list," she answered, honestly.
She had looked at Stefan's list while in the pantry with Tyler and Elena. It was disturbingly long. She wondered how long her own list was at this point. How many people had lost their lives because she was here instead of back in her own world? She had been so sure she was doing the right thing when she had left Mystic Falls. Where had it all gone wrong? She pushed that thought away and focused on getting Klaus out of the apartment quickly.
"He truly is a magnificent creature," Klaus commented.
Josie rolled her eyes. "Nobody wants to hear you wax poetically about Stefan's bloodlust. It's almost dinnertime."
"What do you fancy, then?" he asked.
"We're finally in a decent-sized city," she grinned.
Klaus smiled as he walked into the hallway.
"Sushi it is," he said, closing the door to the apartment behind them.
When they were back at Gloria's, Josie left Stefan and Klaus at the bar and went to sit at a table, alone with her sushi take-out. She knew Stefan was needling Klaus about their past friendship, blah, blah, blah. Josie wanted to keep a look-out for the trio from Mystic Falls.
She had just finished her meal and was sipping her drink when a guy, Will, came by and started talking to her. Thankful for the company that wasn't Klaus or Stefan, they talked for a while, though Josie could see Klaus shooting glances over at them.
"Is that your boyfriend?" Will asked, after Josie and Klaus exchanged another look.
"No. He's my boss." she answered, which is what she standardly told anyone who asked.
Will smiled. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
"No. I broke up with somebody a few months ago. What about you?" she asked, returning his smile.
Will shook his head. "Broke up with my girlfriend when I left for college. I just finished my sophomore year and I'm interning at a law firm downtown."
"Really, which firm?"
"Barnes and Rookwood. It's really nice. They lease a few floors near the top of the Willis building. The view is beautiful."
Josie did like a nice view. "Yeah?"
"Yeah, I could show you," he said, smiling. "My keypass lets me in anytime, day or night. The nighttime view is spectacular…"
Then Klaus came. He pulled Will up roughly and compelled him to leave.
"What the hell, Klaus?" Josie asked. "He was perfectly harmless."
"He was trying to get you to leave, love," said Klaus, taking Will's seat.
Josie rolled her eyes.
"He wanted to show me the skyline, not steal my visions. How am I ever supposed to meet anyone with you hovering like a jealous boyfriend?" she asked, exasperated.
Klaus narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but was distracted by someone behind her.
"Damon!" Josie exclaimed, turning her head to see the older Salvatore brother.
Probably here to distract Klaus so Stefan and Josie could talk to Elena and Tyler.
"I see they've opened the door to the riff-raff now," said Klaus, getting up to face Damon.
"Oh honey," said Damon, pulling up a chair to sit down at Josie and Klaus' table. "I've been called worse."
Klaus sat back down, while Josie got up.
"I'm going to the bathroom before I get choked by testosterone," she said, heading to the back of the bar.
"You don't give up, do you?" she heard Klaus say to Damon as she quietly slipped out the back door to the alley.
She had barely stepped out the door when Tyler wrapped his arms around her. Elena and Stefan stood several feet away, having an intense conversation.
"Are you okay?" Tyler asked. "I'm sorry Mason had to leave you the other day. We were still putting our plan together."
Josie frowned and pushed Tyler away.
"What plan? Klaus is in there right now. Damon won't be able to distract him for long. He tends to keep a close eye on me."
Tyler looked hurt when she pushed him away. Then angry when she mentioned Klaus' watchful eye.
"Mason said that monster was a little too protective of you."
His voice was laced with suggestion.
Josie rolled her eyes. "Really, Tyler? He dragged me along on his werewolf hunt all summer and you're annoyed that Klaus is keeping me safe?"
"Don't be so naïve, Josie. He's a dude. Of course he wants to fuck you. Why do you think he makes you stay in the same hotel room?"
His words hit a nerve, given his recent dalliance with Caroline.
"Klaus hasn't touched me, Tyler. He hasn't even tried! After you screwed Caroline, you have the nerve to be throwing stones? I don't how it's possible, but Klaus is not the jerk in this scenario."
Tyler looked shocked. "What? How did you…? Caroline and I are just friends. She's been helping me every full moon when I turn. We were drinking at Elena's birthday and it just happened."
"I saw you!" exclaimed Josie. "In a vision. She's not just a friend, Tyler."
She remembered how they'd fallen in love in the original storyline.
"I still care about you, Josie," said Tyler.
Josie smiled sadly. "I know. And I care about you. But I don't think we should be together. I'm not sure I'm the same person I was when I left."
No sooner had the words left her mouth and she realized how true they were. After everything she'd seen and done this summer, how could she be with Tyler? Just a few days ago, she'd stood on the edge of a battlefield with at least 150 dead werewolves. And while part of her had felt awful, the other part had thought 'what did they expect when they tried to take on Klaus'?
"We just have to get you out of here," said Tyler, shaking his head. "It'll be different once you're home."
Josie wondered if he was right. She watched as Stefan did his own rejection of Elena.
"I don't want to see you, I don't want to be with you. Just take Josie and go," said Stefan, before turning back towards the bar.
"Josie!" Elena exclaimed, coming over to her and Tyler as Stefan went back inside. "What did Klaus do to Stefan?"
"I…" Josie didn't know what to say.
Tyler shook his head. "We'll figure everything out later. We have a plan to keep you hidden from Klaus until we can get rid of him. Mason found a way to kill him and figured out how to hide you."
"Just sit tight a little longer," said Elena, squeezing Josie's hand.
Josie frowned. "And what's to stop Klaus from killing all of you in the meantime?"
"You let us worry about that," answered Tyler.
"What?" hissed Josie. "Are you kidding me? I'm here to keep you all safe."
"Just trust us," said Elena, pushing Josie toward the bar.
Josie rolled her eyes in annoyance, but went back into Gloria's, knowing Klaus would soon be wondering why she was taking so long in the bathroom.
When she returned, Klaus announced they were going back to the warehouse to find Rebekah, who hadn't shown up at Gloria's.
They got to the warehouse and Klaus instructed her and Stefan to wait outside until he told them to come in. They waited for a few minutes in silence. Josie desperately wanted to ask Stefan what, if anything, he knew about this rescue plan, but didn't dare, in case Klaus was listening. Finally, Stefan indicated Klaus said they could come in.
She let Stefan lead the way. Josie didn't want Rebekah to mistake her for a snack. Josie was just rounding the corner when she heard Rebekah say, "Stefan?"
Rebekah's eyes flickered to Josie.
"I'll explain about the girl later," said Klaus to Rebekah, before striding over to Stefan and removing his memory compulsion.
Josie found a box to sit on while Klaus, Stefan and Rebekah had their little reunion. She was pleased to see all the coffins were still there.
She witnessed the world's most epic hissy fit when Klaus asked Rebekah about the Original Witch and Rebekah discovered her necklace was missing.
Neither Stefan nor Josie saw fit to tell them it was hanging around Elena's neck.
"Josie, darling," said Klaus. "We're leaving."
Josie hopped off the box and went to stand next to him.
"Rebekah, this is Josie," said Klaus. "Josie, Rebekah."
"She's human," said Rebekah in confusion.
"She is also standing right here," said Josie, frowning.
"She's not compelled?" asked Rebekah, still confused.
Josie opened her mouth, but Klaus interrupted her.
"Now, now," said Klaus. "Rebekah has an awful temper, love."
"Worse than yours?" asked Josie, raising an eyebrow.
Rebekah looked surprised at her candor.
"Much," Klaus said, smiling.
"You make me sound awful, Nik," said Rebekah.
"Well, Josie has probably seen it for herself," said Klaus. Rebekah looked confused. "She's an Oracle."
"An Oracle?" Rebekah repeated. "I thought…"
"Oracle's aren't real?" finished Klaus. "I thought so too. But this one has a direct connection to the Sight. She's proved quite useful."
Josie rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's me. Just another asset in the burgeoning empire de Klaus." Josie smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Rebekah."
Rebekah looked at Klaus with a curious expression. Klaus just shook his head at Josie's sarcastic comment.
"So…" said Josie. "We have so much to catch you up on. We have to get you some new clothes too. I think you're about my size, so you can wear my things until we get you some of your own. Wait until you see what fashion is like nowadays. They didn't even have leggings when you were last awake."
She led Rebekah to the car. Rebekah shot a look back at Klaus, who just laughed.
Maybe she and Rebekah could be friends. It would be a welcome relief to have a girl to talk to in the midst of this sausage fest.
Rebekah climbed into the back of the car with Josie. She asked all sorts of questions about the modern world and Josie answered them as best as she could. Klaus explained how he'd broken the curse, but was having trouble creating hybrids.
At that point, they arrived at the hotel and Josie showed Rebekah around the suite. There were three bedrooms and Josie showed Rebekah the one they would be sharing.
"I hope you don't mind being my roommate," said Josie, smiling.
"You don't share with my brother?" asked Rebekah.
Josie's eyes widened. "What? No! Why would you think that?"
Rebekah tilted her head. "No reason, I suppose."
She was obviously lying, but Josie definitely wasn't going to call her on it.
"So you probably want a shower and a change of clothes," said Josie, changing the subject.
Rebekah nodded eagerly as she followed Josie into the en-suite bathroom.
Josie explained how the shower worked, the various toiletries, etc. Josie gave Rebekah a set of pajamas to wear and told her that she'd be in the living room if Rebekah needed anything.
Josie went out and headed to the bar area to fix herself a drink. Klaus was sitting on the couch, sipping a drink of his own. Stefan was in his room as usual.
"How's she getting on, then?" asked Klaus.
"Okay," said Josie. "She has almost a hundred years of catching up to do."
Klaus nodded. "Thank you for helping her, love."
Josie was surprised. Klaus almost never said thank you. Like he thought being grateful was a weakness of some kind. Josie knew that Klaus had a special affection for Rebekah.
"You're welcome," she said, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch. "So, Chicago in the 1920s. Spill. What was it like?"
Klaus smiled and regaled her with tales of the Roaring 20s in Chicago. It was something of a habit they'd formed when all talk of werewolf hunting and plots and schemes had been exhausted. With a thousand years of living, Klaus had racked up a host of interesting life experiences and didn't mind sharing with Josie. He had a thing about seeking out some of the most influential people of the day, so his tales often involved famous figures as well.
"Al Capone had you executed?" asked Josie, confused.
"Several times," smirked Klaus. "He couldn't figure out how I kept escaping his enforcers."
Josie shook her head. "Why not just compel him to forget you or something?"
"And miss all the fun?" said Klaus, smiling.
Josie laughed. Of course he would think toying with the most feared mobster alive was funny.
"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves," said Rebekah from the doorway to her and Josie's room.
"Join us for a drink, dear sister," said Klaus, gesturing to the bar. "I was just telling Josie of Al Capone's disastrous attempts to have me killed."
"If you really want to impress your little girlfriend, maybe you should tell her of the time you bedded all four of King Ferdinand's daughters in the… 15th century, was it?" mused Rebekah, still leaning against the doorway of the bedroom.
Josie rolled her eyes. What was Rebekah's deal?
"Don't tell me it was all four in one night?" Josie asked, pointedly ignoring Rebekah's 'girlfriend' comment.
Rebekah smirked. "Of course not. He may be a vampire, but he's no Casanova."
"I've talked many a reluctant girl out of her clothes," said Klaus defensively.
"I think Kol would probably win in that department," said Rebekah. "Nik and I left him once near the border of the Ottoman Empire. Just for a few days, mind you. When we returned, he'd convinced the entire village to appointment him king and had already set up a harem."
Josie giggled. She didn't know what was funnier- the mental image she was enjoying, or the sour look on Klaus' face.
"He'd compelled…" Klaus began.
"He did not," Rebekah cut in. "You know as well as I do that Kol would no more compel a woman into bed with him than you would."
"Are you going to join us for a drink or just stand there spilling all our family secrets?" asked Klaus, looking annoyed.
"I don't fancy being third wheel. I just came to tell you I'm going to bed," said Rebekah. "Be quiet when you come in," she told Josie. "If you come in."
Rebekah smirked at Klaus before closing the door behind her.
"You'll have to forgive Rebekah," said Klaus, looking at Josie. "She lacks some of the social graces."
Josie laughed uncomfortably. "There isn't any way you could get her to stop, could you?"
"I suppose I could redagger her."
Josie frowned. "Or you could just ask her to go easy on the human."
Klaus looked at her with an odd expression.
"Rest assured, my dear, her comments aren't directed at you."
Josie was confused and raised her eyebrows, indicating for Klaus to continue.
Klaus downed his glass. "Think I'll head to bed myself. Good night, Josie."
He headed into his bedroom, leaving Josie to finish her drink in the living room alone.
A/N: I debated whether or not to have Tyler come to Chicago and how Rebekah would react to Josie's presence, so let me know what you thought!