Summary: Caroline was building a life for herself, her plans were set and continually derailed by the supernatural world. The next thing to take her off course is the discovery that she is married, to Klaus Mikaelson and a vampire/witch hybrid. With her memories of their life back, she finds herself in New Orleans, ruling beside the big bad himself. Sequel to Sun and Moon, An Immortal Dance.

Chapter Eleven

Caroline was a step under happy. While she wanted to be at the summit with Elijah and Klaus, she was meant to keep Hayley for the most part distracted. Caroline had tried on a multiple occasions to tell Hayley about the summit only for the wolf to be pulled away before she could knoew, much to Caroline's disappointment, but she wasn't that worried. Sooner or later, Hayley would know about the summit. For now she would remain unaware with her new family. The Crescent wolves were no longer trapped in their wolf forms and now could be human for the month, a wolf for a night. Everyone was celebrating, all kinds of foods had been prepared, games set up across the yard. It was a regular family barbeque it seemed, Caroline loved the sight. Especially watching Hayely come out her shell a bit more with them all.

Hayley was far from a shy or reserved person, but meeting her long lost family and seeing them all here had been a bit intimidating and Caroline couldn't blame her. Jackson was a big help though. Caroline had to admit, she liked Jackson and knew he would be a great help to Hayley. Hayley and Jackson made their way over to Caroline, who had decided to sit on the porch for awhile. It wasn't that late, but she was exhausted. Considering the paste Celeste made had some little surprise in it, Caroline had spent ages getting rid of whatever trick the now dead witch cast on it.

When it was removed, the wolves became human again and the party commenced. Many of the wolves had grown to like Caroline, even though she was half vampire, half witch and an outsider. This she figured was because of how much time she spent here helping with Hayley and getting to know them as wolves, even being able to tell them each apart despite them looking like the same wolf. Caroline was brought out of her thoughts when Hayley and Jackson stood before her, both dressed in flannel.

"Since when does Caroline Forbes sit on the sidelines at a party," Hayley commented, her grin was teasing, but Caroline saw the concern in her eyes.

Caroline grinned, "Since I removed some trick from a witchy wolf paste. I'm looking forward to sleeping."

Hayley wasn't convinced, "Are you sure you're alright? If not, I'm sure Eve won't mind you lying down in the back."

"Careful Hayley, people might think you care about me," Caroline teased. Hayley playfully pushed her over which resulted in a round of laughs. Caroline added, "You have nothing to worry about. I'm fine."

"Hope so, hate to lose you after we've only just gotten here," Jackson remarked.

"I'm sure, who else will play frisbee with you," Caroline asked, mock concern on her face.

Jackson and Hayley laughed at that. It surprised Hayley how much Caroline had been willing to help her with the wolves, even being here tonight still surprised her. While she couldn't call Caroline an enemy, she was still hesitant to call her a friend despite Caroline's declarations that they were now friends. Over the course of her life, Hayley hadn't had many friends. Sure she had been part of a pack of strays, but even then she kept her distance and then they were lost due to Klaus and the hybrid wars.

"Come join us, y'all have gotta try Tucker's ribs," Jackson told them, his grin kind.

Hayley chuckled, "Then, what? Then we're gonna go play horseshoes?"

Caroline rose to her feet, "No, we're going to play corn hole."

Jackson laughed as he lead them inside, "Hey! Don't mock country living, darlin'. It has it's perks."

"Sorry," Hayley said, looking a little sheepish, "This is just a lot more family fun than I'm used to."

Jackson understood that, he replied softly, "Well, maybe I can help you get used to it."

Caroline looked between the two, she could smell romance from a mile away and she knew for a fact that Hayley's betrothed had strong feelings for her. Not that Caroline would say anything, there was nothing for her to say. Especially when she knew, also for a fact, that Hayley and Elijah had storng feelings for each other. If a love triange broke out, Caroline wasn't sure what she was going to do. Part of her considered maybe now would be a good time to walk out, give them a moment, but then her mind flashed to the summit. Hayley had been perfectly distracted with all of this that she hadn't asked about anything thus far and it made Caroline feel guitly. Then Oliver came in.

"Then all we got to do is just forget that she spent half her life with humans, and the other half with vampires," Oliver remarked, picking up the end of their conversation.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, she felt her fangs itching to get out as her irritation rose. Learning that he had been the one who got Rebekah alone so that she could be easily taken down by the witches had annoyed Caroline to no end. She did her best to pleasant to him, but the vibes he gave off were never great.

Jackson sent him a dark look, "Ollie, back off."

Hayley shook her head, "It's okay. If the runt of the litter has got something to say, he should say it."

"You know, word from the Quarter is your boy Elijah's holding some kind of power summit," Oliver said, he glanced at Caroline, "Guess who wasn't invited?"

Hayley frowned, "Where did you hear this?"

"I'd like to know to, considering you literally became a boy not even three hours ago Pinnocohio," Caroline remarked, brow raised.

Oliver gave her a glare, "It doesn't matter. The point is is that we're stuck here living in the swamp, while your vampire boyfriend's deciding who gets what in the city. But, I guess that shows how much respect he's got for the werewolves. Ain't that right bloodsucker?"

Caroline felt her anger spike inside her, she had never been more tempted to attack someone, but that would only prove his point. She had to forced herself to remember what him and his family had been through recently, how they had been cast out and it was completely reasonable that he wouldn't be happy about it. However the bloodsucker remark still bothered her. Flashing her fangs wouldn't be the worst thing, but she settled for a small scowl.

With that, Oliver walked away in a huff. Caroline looked at Hayley to see the question and dare she say, some hurt in her expression. Yes, keeping it from her wasn't right, but Caroline hadn't been trying to hide it and had been torn up about it because her brother-in-law asked that she not say anything. Now it looked like she would deal the repercussions of that.

Hayley turned to Caroline, "Did you know about the summit? Was that what you kept trying to tell me about before?"

Caroline nodded, "Yes, but before you go in guns blazing listen to me."

"No, I need to get over there and show them that the wolves deserve to be there. They can't just cut us out," Hayley said, her tone angry.

"Hey, I agree with you," Caroline said, standing in the doorway so Hayley couldn't leave, "the werewolves do deserve a seat at this table and they will have one."

Hayley crossed her arms over her chest, "And why isn't a wolf there now? Why weren't we told?"

Caroline made an incredulous look, "Your pack's curse literally just broke and there was still the chance that if I couldn't get that stuff out of Celeste's paste that it wouldn't work. There is a wolf representative there, not a Crescent, but a wolf who lives in the city and is making sure that everyone knows your pack is back and ready to go."

"No other pack needs to represent us," Jackson said dryly, "We can do that just fine like we always have."

Caroline took a breath, "Yes, you've spent the past several years trapped in wolf forms. Having an outside rep isn't the worst thing. Look, okay it's not perfect and you have every right to be angry about it, but storming in and blowing the whole thing off will set everyone back. I have a plan, please trust me on this."

Hayley locked her jaw before she questioned, "Care to tell me what that plan is? Maybe then I'll be inclined to listen and not storm in there, like I should to get their attention."

"This summit is more of a formality to get the witches and vampires to calm down," Caroline explained, "In the next few days you and everyone here will get some invitations, which I have written in calligraphy okay and that took for freaking ever."

"Invitations to what, another summit," Jackson asked, a frown on his face.

Caroline shook her head, "No. A big party, for everyone to mingle and get to see some faces. Then after that the leaders of each faction will be brought into a different room to go over a new treaty, a new division of the Quarter. Jackson, since you are the resident Alpha that falls to you. My wolf rep will tell you everything that happened tonight."

Hayley was far from happy about this and was more than ready to protest all of it, to just leave and go down there to give Elijah a piece of her mind because how dare he cut out her people, cut out her. The wolf also couldn't deny that the twinge of hurt that Caroline had kept silent about it this whole time, considering the blonde was not one to shy around telling information. So she took a breath.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Hayley asked, "And how exactly is the party supposed to help anything?"

"Testing the waters. Vampires have issues with witches and wolves, wolves have issues with vampires and the witches, the witches have issues with vampires and wolves and just everyone has issues," Caroline said, it looked like she was fighting a headache, "This party is meant to be the first of a million steps to get everyone to understand that fighting and going to war gets us nowhere. This city can be a beacon for every supernatural community out there, that we all can get along."

Jackson didn't look convinced, "You're optimistic, I'll give you that. But this city has been in war or on the brink of one for decades with every side tryin' to get the upper hand. I don't see this bein' any different."

Caroline glanced away and Hayley noticed something, but before she could give it a name, it was gone. The blonde vampire put on her brightest smile as she said, "Hopefully the ball will prove to you otherwise."

Without saying anything, Caroline stepped past Jackson and Hayley to go deeper into the house, likely to get away from their watchful eyes. Hayley glanced at Jackson, debating whether or not she should follow Caroline. In the end, she decided not to.

By the time Caroline made it back to the compound, she was about ready to collapse and sleep for the next forty eight hours. Elijah had told her the summit had gone as well as expected, no one left happy, especially with the mention of the wolves getting part of the city. Not to mention, Caroline knew that Genevieve was beyond annoyed based on the million text messages and angry voice mails. Why was it so hard for people to share the city? Honestly, sharing was one the first things children are taught to do yet none of these groups wanted to share. Or if they did want to share, they wanted to be the only ones in charge and dividing it exactly the way they wanted to divide it.

Bonnie gave her some advice, but not much for her to go off of. Stefan told her that things would likely get better, to keep sticking it out. His vote of confidence was nice, but she still wasn't sure about it all and was beginning have a lot of doubts about the party she had planned. Even though she was no longer girly little Caroline, that didn't mean her love of planning parties had gone away and she really wanted it to work. Of course she wasn't naïve enough to believe that everyone would magically get along once they were drinking some spiked punch and cake, but she still wanted to believe that it could spark something in the groups. That maybe there was a way for it all to work.

Caroline climbed the stairs and made it to her room. Putting her stuff down she quickly showered and put on some pajamas before sitting down at her desk. There were only a handful of invitations left, which was a welcomed relief as handmaking everyone's invitations was a little more than a nightmare. All the witches, all the vampires and all the wolves and then a handful of humans. It was a lot of people who would be coming, for awhile Caroline was worried they wouldn't have enough room, but she also knew not everyone would join them. As she plugged in her headphones, she got to work to finish them. She barely made it through three songs before her head was resting on her desk, sleep tugging insistently at her. Warm hands rested on her bare shoulders, she could barely react.

"You must be exhausted love," came the smooth voice of Klaus.

Caroline glanced at him, "It's been an incredibly long day. I just want to sleep."

Klaus' brow quirked up, "That can be arranged you know, we can get plenty of sleeping done."

Caroline scoffed lightly, "You're unbelievable."

"I do my best," Klaus said as he kneeled next to her so their faces could be closer, "If you are so eager to get to sleep, why are you at your desk?"

Caroline forced herself to sit up as she sighed, "Because I am so close to finishing these invitations."

Klaus lazily picked up one addressed tp someone he didn't know, "I still cannot believe you managed to learn everyone's name and hand write them an invitation. It's both impressive and terrifying. Why ever did you do it?"

"Because it's nice. With all the changes and chaos they've all been through, personalized invitations were the least I could do," Caroline told him, she leaned on her elbows as she looked up at him, "What do you think I've spending most of my time doing?"

Klaus ran his fingers along her arm, "I couldn't tell you love. The only thing on my mind is having you next to me, but you continue to leave."

Caroline rested her hand on his own, "Yet I always come back. How did you feel the summit went today?"

"A waste of time," Klaus said dryly, "We're playing with pawns. They should be bowing to us and doing what we say because we are the strongest."

Caroline took a breath, "And has that ever worked?"

"Certainly. People fear my name for a reason sweetheart," Klaus told her, his gaze slightly pointed.

"This could be a really good chance for the city to stand on. You talk about having a kingdom here, being like royalty, but you hate the idea of working with the people in it," Caroline said, her tone bordering something Klaus couldn't place. "You have to see how that's a problem. If New Orleans is ever going to have peace, everyone has to be willing to play their part."

Klaus gave her a long look, "For how long? Until one faction decides they are tired of sharing with their neighbors? Then a new war breaks out over territory and we have seen how that works out."

Caroline said nothing to him then, but the look in her eyes was enough to make Klaus pause in his next words. During Caroline's stay he had been holding back on a number of things, mostly his usual schemes of killing those who got in his way or pitting others against each other in order to gain the upper hand, all for her sake. Because the two of them made a deal and he would honor anything, everything, she ever asked of him. He would play along with this until it proved that it could not last, like he knew for certain it wouldn't. Yet Caroline seemed so sure that it could work, he wondered why she had so much belief in it and if that belief was founded on anything more than her own desire for it to work.

Klaus as much as everyone here wanted this city back to the way it was when their family was in charge, for it be the best place for his daughter to grow, a place for him and his wife to call theirs, for his family to be safe. No enemy would dare stand against them, but that could be made through these little games of politics and he did not understand why his idealistic brother or his ever positive wife could not see that. The only true way to take back the city was through force, to show everyone they were the ones in charge and not to be trifled with.

The only way to get what they wanted was by shoving everyone else beneath them, make them so scared of their shadows. He was already ruthless and powerful, if Caroline could let go of this idea then she would be on his level in power and strength. Yes, she was already strong, but she was always holding back. Klaus could tell when she fought, when she her magic, she was holding it back out of fear. He knew that if she let that go, truly let her power through and fought for control, no one would stand in her way.

"It's either we try to get everyone to work together with us," Caroline said quietly, "Or we drive them to work together against us…" Caroline brought her hands to cup his cheeks as she stared into his eyes, "Niklaus. The way you want to play this game, it will ensure that every supernatural creature in this city will be against us. They will stand together to get rid of us."

Klaus put a hand on hers, her gave her a small smirk, "I know when you say us, you mean me."

Caroline didn't deny it. "If we all try to shove everyone in line, one day they will break out of that mold and take us down. You may not fear that, but I do, Elijah does. The Mikaelsons are not favored people. The last thing any of us need is for what little favor we do have to bite us."

"Then I bite back harder," Klaus told her.

"Til when? Until you can't bite anymore, that's when it ends. Is that really what you want? To spend all your life fighting, fights that could be avoided if you let go of your fear and paranoia for five minutes! Is this how you want it to really go," Caroline asked, her expression turned desperate. "Do you expect to spend all of your immortal life fighting? Do you expect your daughter will have to do the same? For this family to do that forever?"

They'd had this conversation so many times before, it was slowly driving Caroline insane. Tiredly she rested her forehead on Klaus', the warm air chilled for a minute before radiating more warm. With their foreheads pressing against each other, Klaus was able to pick up on the fear she had, the fear she had for him. One thing the two learned was that since Caroline's memories had returned, they were able to send feelings across to one another if it was really strong or if they concentrated enough.

Lexi had explained it was a side effect of Caroline's magic, but she had no idea how to get rid of the side effect and it didn't really bother either Klaus or Caroline. It was not as if they felt everything the other did, so it was not something they ever focused on. Klaus took a soft breath as he felt the fear Caroline had done so well to hide from him all this time. It was her fear that the city would turn on him, would do everything in their power to take him away from her, would use his daughter against him and so much more. He could admit he had imagined some of those things in his plans, wondering how he would stop them from happening.

"Is this what you've been carrying all this time," Klaus asked when he pulled away.

Caroline swallowed before replying, "I know that you are strong and that you would tear everything, everyone, down if it meant your family would be safe. But even with all your power as the Original Hybrid, you are not invincible and there are ways that you can be removed that don't involve you dying."

Klaus rose to his feet and pulled Caroline into a strong hug, "You know there is nothing that would stop me from being here."

"But there are things stronger, there will always be something," Caroline whispered so weakly, Klaus barely heard it, "I just got you back. We missed so much time together and right when I had you again, I had to forget you... I don't want to say goodbye anymore. I can't, I can't lose you Niklaus. Please, please just play along with this until there is no other option. Trust me with this, that we can sort this out without you having to be the big bad wolf all the time."

Klaus didn't say anything. He just held onto Caroline tighter, knowing that nothing would ever keep them from each other. Knowing that he would destroy anything and anyone if meant that Caroline remained by his side, that he would follow her game until the very end when he knew things would not last. For her sake, he would do anything.

"For you," Klaus said standing up, pulling her with him, "I would do anything."

Klaus saw the stray tears on her cheeks and kissed them away, making her laugh lightly with some embarrassment there. He knew there was a lot on her mind, even more on her shoulders, but he was determined to lighten that load. As much as he wanted to do things his way, he trusted Caroline and if she really believed this was the way, then he intended to let go of the reins as much as he could. For her sake.

"Thank you," Caroline said with a heavy breath, "Now, I have to finish these."

"Tomorrow. Even the great Caroline Forbes has to rest," Klaus whispered to her.

Her eyes shimmered as he stared into her own, his grip tightening on her a bit more. All he'd done was hurt her, cause her unnecessary pain, place a heavy burden that she didn't deserve to carry. It was wrong, he was wrong in so many cases. But he would prove that he was the best person to have at her side. One way or another, she would be Queen of the Quarter, together they would be unstoppable and they would make the best team. They would have a future here, they would be happy.

Not sharing anymore words, the two of them climbed into bed and just laid there in each other's arms. In a matter of seconds, Caroline had fallen asleep at his side and if Klaus shut his eyes, he could pretend they were back in the home he built a thousand years ago. When he was Niklaus, just Niklaus, an artist who loved his wife and couldn't wait to start a family together. A simple life, where he could offer her nothing, yet she wanted him the same. Now he could offer her the world and he would find a way to give it to her.

Klaus kissed her forehead before he tried to get some sleep as well.

Side note: Kind of explanation, kind of ramble, not really important so feel free to skip.

I'm sorry about the delay in updates. Life was getting kind of hard, harder than usual and I couldn't really bring myself to write, no matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn't do it. The thing I love to do most and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Even now, it's not quite writer's block, but it's a block. It's been awhile since I last felt this way and frankly I'm not sure how I got out of it last time. I'm in tears as I write this cause I miss writing, but every time I try, I can't seem to do it. But after some pushing, I edited some things and could get this up and I think two other stories. Bear with me, I'm working on it and with Nanowrimo days away, I'm hoping to get over this wall and get more stuff. I won't promise anything, but I'm hoping for the best.

In regards to this story, this is around the point it will veer further from the show's plotline and shift to some other things. I'll keep pushing to get another chapter or two up in November, again I make no promises, but maybe putting it out there in the universe will increase my chances of making it happen. Hope you guys are doing alright out there in the world!