AN - Just wanted to clarify one thing so there's no confusion later on; Psycho Meredith and Elena are not linked. I know that Ester linked Psycho Alaric and Elena in the show so that when one dies, the other does as well, but that isn't the case in my story. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate your support.

Chapter 30

The clearing was silent as they all stared at each other. Kol rushed over to Bonnie to make sure she was alright. Caroline put her hand on Klaus' shoulder, but felt him tense up under her touch. Rebekah had finally gotten Matt to swallow some of her blood, and he was regaining consciousness.

Rebekah looked up at Klaus, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "We're not burying her or carting her around with us in a coffin this time, Nik. I want her gone."

Klaus nodded, meeting the eyes of his brothers as well.

Kol turned to Bonnie, "Darling, do you think you have enough power to start a fire for us?"

Bonnie looked at him and nodded seriously. She moved forward towards Ester's body and began chanting. The corpse caught fire immediately, but Bonnie kept going with the spell. They all watched as the body burned quicker than they thought possible. Bonnie didn't stop chanting until there was nothing left of Ester Mikaelson but ash.

Klaus took a step towards Bonnie, "Thank you." He looked her earnestly in the eyes, and she nodded. "Let's get out of here." He addressed everyone in the clearing before turning to hold his hand out for Caroline, but not meeting her eyes.

"We can't just leave Stefan and Damon here!" Elena yelled out, looking outraged. "It's a full moon; who knows where his hybrids are." She crossed her arms, sending a glare at Klaus.

"They would do it to us." Kol tilted his head in the Doppelganger's direction with a smirk on his face. Bonnie softly nudged his arm, making him turn towards her. "What? They would…"

Elijah sighed. "Elena, I'll transport you to our house, and then Kol and I will come back for them." He saw Elena shoot Kol an unimpressed look. "I give you my word." He held his hand out for her to take. She reluctantly put her hand in his and was immediately whooshed away.

Rebekah helped Matt stand up and promptly left with him as well.

Kol shook his head, scoffing, "If Elijah wants to be noble, fine, but he shouldn't volunteer me to help him. Let's go, Bonnie Lass." The two of them disappeared a few seconds later.

"Nik," Caroline began, reaching out to him again. "Are you al -"

"I'm fine, Love." Klaus sighed, holding his hand out to her. "Let's go, yeah?"

Caroline frowned when he still wouldn't look at her properly, but placed her hand in his and immediately felt him lead her back to his house.

They walked back through the front door just in time to see Elijah leading a grumbling Kol back out. Elijah clasped Klaus on the shoulder. "We'll be right back, Brother."

Klaus nodded before pressing a hand to the small of Caroline's back to lead her into the sitting room. When they entered, Klaus went straight to the drink cart. Caroline saw Bonnie sitting next to Elena on one of the couches and Rebekah and Matt on the other. She moved to sit in the armchair that was closest to the drink cart, her eyes trained on Klaus.

She watched as he poured himself a glass of bourbon and immediately slung it back before pouring another one. He fixed one for Caroline and Bonnie as well. Both girls accepted the glasses without saying anything, as he made two more for Rebekah and Matt. Everyone was surprised when Klaus extended a sixth glass of bourbon to Elena, however the brunette wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Klaus set the glass down in front of the other armchair, probably for Elijah or Kol.

"Nik," Caroline spoke in the same questioning tone that she did back at the clearing in the cemetery. "We should probably -"

"Caroline," Elena cut her off sharply, drawing the blonde's attention. "What are you doing?"

Caroline looked to Elena in confusion as to why Elena was glaring at her. "What?" Caroline asked back.

"Oh please," Rebekah cut in before Elena could say anything. "She's been calling him 'Nik' since their first date. Get over it."

Caroline saw Elena's eyes harden as she took in the Original sister's words. After everything that had happened that night, Elena was really going to keep picking at her relationship with Klaus? She shook her head as she looked at her friend.

"I cannot believe you're still with him." Elena scoffed at her. "He's clearly only -"

She was interrupted by the sound of the front door swinging roughly open and a thud from the entryway.

They all heard Elijah's voice next, "Kol, was it really necessary to drop him the second you crossed the threshold?"

"Most definitely." Kol yelled over his shoulder as he entered the sitting room. He walked purposely towards the glass of bourbon in front of the armchair before moving to sit on Bonnie's other side. He looked across her to Elena. "Your boyfriends are here. Safe and sound, as promised."

Elena sent him a glare before hurrying into the foyer. Elijah came into the room just after she left and took a seat in the empty armchair.

Rebekah looked over to Klaus, "Nik, what did Ester mean when she said she'd tell our 'younger brother' about us? She obviously wasn't talking about Kol…"

"No, Rebekah," Klaus said shortly. "She couldn't have meant Henrik. We looked into any way possible to find him on the Other Side, and came up empty every time."

"What?" Kol's head shot up at the mention of the youngest Mikaelson.

Rebekah quickly explained to him and Elijah what Ester had said just before Klaus had killed her. Both brothers sat silently for a few seconds as they processed the new information.

"Niklaus is right," Elijah finally spoke. "We talked with countless witches over the centuries who had connections to the Other Side, and they all told us the same thing: he wasn't there."

"But he was a witch." Rebekah protested, a spark of hope in her eyes. "He was ten years old when he died, he had been practicing magic for nearly four years at that point. What if he did pass on to the Other Side?"

Everyone's eyes sought out Kol, who knew the most about magic. He shook his head. "No, our brother was pure when he died. He wouldn't have had any reason to be on the Other Side. Nik did the right thing; Ester was just trying to distract him or bait him into letting her live."

Bonnie and Caroline exchanged a worried glance. "Um, actually," Bonnie interjected. "She did say something about the Other Side before you all got there." All of the Mikaelsons' eyes flew to her, almost as if they forgot that others were there with them. Caroline moved one of her hands to grasp Klaus' on the back of her chair as Bonnie continued. "When she said that she was going to make Meredith into a new Original Vampire, I tried to tell her that the spirits wouldn't allow it. She told us that she didn't need the spirits' approval because she had 'a few acquaintances on the Other Side' who had lent her their powers. If she had friends there and they all worked together, it might be possible for her to pull someone to the Other Side that didn't belong there…"

All of the Originals tensed up at the news. Elijah recovered first. "Forgive us, Ms. Bennett, but there were several things that you just said that were news to us. Ester made Meredith Fell into an Original Vampire?"

Caroline nodded. "Yes, she said that she was going to tap into the same dark magic that she used to turn all of you. That was one of the reasons that she needed Elena. Meredith drank her blood and Ester did some spell thing before killing her. When she woke up, Meredith transitioned with Elena's blood as well. Ester said that she would train Meredith to become the vampire to end all other vampires; similar to Mikael but better."

Bonnie picked up where she had left off. "Meredith wanted it actually. She said that she'd become the world's best doctor because she could use her Original blood to cure people. She's the one that's been killing all of the Council members. She threatened to kill Caroline's mom too."

Klaus' grip on her hand tightened. "She said that she would've killed my mom if she knew that she was staying with Vanessa Lockwood that night." Her eyes met Klaus'. "Ester said that Meredith would be on a mission to kill you all first, then the rest of us."

"Bloody hell," Rebekah muttered. "As soon as one threat is vanquished, another pops up in its place. Are we truly doomed to live like this for all eternity?"

"Forget about the psycho doctor." Kol exclaimed. "We'll take care of her just like Mikael, but I'm done running." He turned towards Bonnie. "What about Henrik, Bonnie? Do you truly think it's possible for him to be on the other side somewhere?"

Bonnie hesitated before nodding slowly. "Ester was powerful tonight. She clearly was working with some major help from someone -"

"She could have been channeling the location's power." Elijah cut in. "That was where Niklaus killed her the first time. She was using the power of the location. Could it have just been that?"

"I don't think so." Bonnie replied immediately. "There was too much power to just be coming from that alone. She said there were people helping her on the Other Side; it's entirely possible that she's been using her power and help from others not only to pull your youngest brother there, but also to hide him from any living witch that tried to reach out to him."

"Can you find him, Bonnie?" Rebekah asked desperately.

"You are a Bennett, Darling." Kol squeezed her shoulder. "Your line traces back all the way to Ayanna, the witch who trained Ester when we were all human. Sheila is also on the Other Side… perhaps you could contact her to help?"

"I have no idea how to contact anyone on the Other Side…" Bonnie began.

"I'll help you," Kol said immediately, grabbing one of her hands in his. "We can work together to find Henrik, and if it's possible, maybe, we can even bring him back…"

"I'll do whatever I can to bring your brother back," Bonnie looked into Kol's eyes for a few seconds before meeting all of the Originals' gazes.

"Bonnie?" A voice called from the doorway. "What are you doing?"

Elena stood there, flanked on either side by a Salvatore, her eyes fixed on Bonnie's and Kol's joined hands.

"I'm helping my friends, Elena." Bonnie's eyes met the other girl's with determination.

"Let me get this straight, Judgey," Damon cut in. "You are going to help to resurrect one of them?" He gestured towards the Originals.

"He's their little brother, Elena." Bonnie scoffed, trying to ignore Damon.

Damon cut in again, "Doesn't matter. As if we don't have enough Mikaelson trash to take out as it is, and you want to bring another one around."

Klaus was holding Damon by the throat, pinned up against the wall before anyone else could even blink. "I believe that you and the Doppelganger have overstayed your welcome. Leave now because I won't repeat myself." He tossed Damon past Elena and Stefan into the foyer.

Elena immediately ran after him, but Stefan lingered in the doorway, his eyes flicking to Caroline before settling on Klaus. "I'll try to talk to them." He said before moving into the entrance hall.

No one spoke until they heard the three leave through the front door. Rebekah moved to look out the window to make sure they were gone.

"Right," Elijah cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Kol and Ms. Bennett will work on trying to contact Sheila Bennett on the Other Side to inquire about Henrik. The rest of us need to remain alert for any sign of Meredith Fell -"

Klaus scoffed and rolled his eyes as he moved back over to the drink cart and picked up his glass and the decanter of bourbon. "Because that worked out so well when that was our plan regarding Ester." With that he vamped out of the room and up the stairs. They all heard the echo of his door slamming shut.

Elijah moved as if to follow his brother before Caroline stood up. "No, Elijah, I need to have a word with him anyway. Let me."

Elijah nodded to her, and she flashed out of the room.

Caroline came to a halt right outside of Klaus' bedroom door, debating between knocking and just going in. Before she could decide, Klaus opened the door for her and walked back into his room to sit on the couch inside. Caroline followed him and gently closed the door behind her.

She moved over to the couch and sat on the other side of it, looking at him.

"What happened to talking to me when you were upset about something?" She finally asked him.

Klaus froze for a second in the middle of bringing his now full glass of bourbon to his lips. He quickly recovered and tossed back the drink. "I changed my mind."

"Well I didn't." Caroline shot back. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me!" Caroline exclaimed, her patience wearing thin. "One, I know you better than that by now. Two, you've barely looked at me since you got to that clearing. Did I - did I do something wrong?" She finished quietly, her voice turning vulnerable.

Klaus finally met her eyes. He set his drink down and shifted closer to her. "No, Love, you didn't do anything wrong." He paused for a few seconds. "I did."

Caroline scrunched her face in confusion. "No, you didn't. You've been great; everything has been great up until tonight."

"Exactly." He responded as he stood up and began to pace. "Everything was perfect. My family was finally happy for the first time in centuries; we were all together and united; I had you. I let myself get complacent. I wasn't constantly looking over my shoulder, and it came back to bite me. I let myself be lulled into a false sense of security. I let myself be happy. For the first time in centuries, I was actually truly happy… And then it all came crashing down around us."

"Nik," Caroline got to her feet and grabbed one of his hands, making him stop pacing. "Look at me." She moved both of her hands to cup the sides of his face. "None of this is your fault."

He stepped away from her touch. "But it is, Love." His eyes were blank and his face unreadable as he looked back at her. "I let my guard down and allowed myself to feel comfortable in the life I was trying to build. Can't you see? I'm not supposed to be happy. Nature won't allow it; I've done too many horrible things. Monsters never get a happy ending."

"No!" Caroline said forcefully, moving towards him again. She took both of his hands in hers before continuing. "You will listen to me, Niklaus Mikaelson!" She saw a spark return to his eyes when she said his full name. "Yes, you have done horrible things, but that doesn't make you a monster. You are trying to atone for the bad things you've done. Letting your guard down and building a life for yourself isn't a bad thing; in fact, it shows your humanity. You're becoming a better person because you want to be. You are a good man. Everyone deserves to be happy, Nik. Everyone."

Klaus' eyes were now blazing with emotion. He gripped her hands tighter before drawing her against him. "Thank you, Love."

She drew back slightly so she could look him in the eyes. "Do you believe me? The whole world isn't going to work against you just because you find peace, Nik. I mean it."

"It doesn't feel like it, Sweetheart." He murmured.

"Well, believe it." Caroline said sternly. "I'll tell you every single day that you're allowed to be happy if I need to."

"Alright, I get it, Love. I'm allowed to be happy." He sent her a small smile before pulling her back into his arms.

"I'll do it, Nik." Caroline relaxed into him. "I'll leave you little notes to find throughout the day and set my phone to send you messages every hour."

"I believe you," Klaus let out a little chuckle.

"You better," Caroline laughed. "And I'll kick anyone's ass that says different. I happen to be a super tough fighter now. I'll defend your honor against any of your enemies; Meredith Fell better watch out."

He stiffened at that, and pulled back slightly to look down at her. "Love, you cannot go after any of my enemies, especially not Meredith."

"What do you mean I can't go after her?" Caroline asked. "She threatened my mom, and her new life goal is to kill you. Of course I'm going to help take her down."

"Caroline, I cannot allow you to go against her." Klaus said seriously.

"You can't allow me?" Caroline stepped away from him, an edge to her voice. "Nik, I love you, but that doesn't mean you get to tell me what I can and can't do."

"I didn't mean it like that, Sweetheart." Klaus said, frustrated at the situation.

"Well then please, inform me." Caroline retorted, her hands on her hips.

Klaus huffed. "I'm not trying to fight with you, Caroline. I just can't see you in danger again."

"I don't want to fight either, but you're being unreasonable. I've seen you in danger before." Caroline said back

Klaus stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders. "Do you have any idea how terrified I was tonight? I was so afraid that I was going to lose you. When I saw Ester coming towards you with that tree branch… I couldn't think straight. All I saw was you in danger and something inside me snapped. I have never hated my mother more than in that moment. I cannot lose you, Caroline. I won't. So no, I will not allow you to be in danger ever again. I just found the woman that I love, and I'll be damned if I lose you."

Caroline blinked at him in surprise; she wasn't expecting that. "I'm sorry." She finally whispered. "I didn't think about your perspective. I understand that you don't want to lose me, but you also can't control me." He opened his mouth to respond before she gently cupped his cheek. "Let me finish. I've seen you in danger too. When Ester was breaking every bone in your body tonight, I went crazy. I knew that I needed to help you. I can't lose you either, Nik. I finally found real love, and I'm not about to lose you. How about this: any enemies that come up in the future, we face together?"

Klaus considered her for several long seconds. "Agreed. But not until you're fully trained. I can't risk it, Love."

"What if I'm not fully trained by the time we find Meredith?" Caroline looked up at him.

"We'll work harder to ensure you are, and once I deem you ready, you'll be unstoppable." Klaus offered her a small smile.

Caroline considered that. "Fine, but Rebekah is the one that gets to determine if I'm ready or not. I have a feeling that if that decision is left up to you, you'll never think I'm ready."

"That's hardly fair, Love." Klaus responded, arching an eyebrow at her and moving his hands down to her waist. "I've told you several times over the past two weeks how impressed I am with your progress."

"You have," she agreed, linking her arms around his neck. "But still, I'm going to stick with Rebekah's opinion. She'll be less biased."

"Elijah and I get to be there when she makes her decision." He agreed. "But if both of us do not agree with her, you're not fighting Meredith." Caroline scowled slightly. "Please, Caroline. I need you to give this to me." He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

"Alright." Caroline conceded. His eyes snapped open and met hers. "If you and Elijah don't think I'm ready even if Bekah does, I'll stand down."

"Thank you, Love." He breathed against her lips before gently brushing them with his. "I'm sorry for the way I acted before. I might have forgotten about our agreement to talk in the event that something was upsetting us. I will do my best to remember that in the future."

Caroline nodded. "Thank you. And I understand; it was a tough night for everyone. I'm sorry for overreacting to you telling me I couldn't fight."

"Forget it, Love. We're alright." He kissed her more deeply before pulling back slightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." She pulled him back to her and kissed him passionately.

He pushed her back against a wall and moved her hands above her head. He flashed her a wicked smirk before his eyes landed on her wrists. Pulling them back down so he could inspect them, he traced a finger across her still red and burned skin.

"Vervain ropes." Caroline said quietly.

Klaus' eyes snapped to hers. "I killed Ester far too quickly…"

"Hey," Caroline said, trying to draw his attention back to her. "I'm fine. You're fine. She needed to die and fast was better than trying to hold her captive only for her to escape. You did the right thing."

He nodded as he continued to rub her raw skin. "How long has it been since you last fed? You should have healed by now." He flicked his eyes back up to hers.

Caroline furrowed her brow as she tried to remember. "I had been having a blood bag with breakfast everyday before I left or when I was here I would have some of yours." She blushed slightly. "I forgot this morning. I was just so ready to get done with school that it just slipped my mind."

He was already tilting his head and drawing her closer. "Go on, Sweetheart, have at it."

Their eyes connected for a second at the familiar words before she bit into his neck.