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That last episode was just sooo friggin' emotional, I can't even… Then we have to wait three weeks! I suppose my only consolation is that the next episode is airing on my birthday :) What can I say? Best. Birthday. Present. Ever.

Hopefully… If Klaus is in it…. And the writers give me some klaroline…. :D

This chapter is kind of a prep. chapter for the next one, so there is a LOT of conversation in it. (Originally I was going to put the two chapters together but it was getting too long so I decided to split it)

Disclaimer: I still do not own TVD.

Chapter Thirteen

Tick Tock

Mystic Falls, Virginia 2010

"What-What do you mean?" She asked, already dreading what she knew the answer was going to be.

"Mikael's already free. And he is headed straight here."

Caroline knew there was a key point that Stefan left out of that statement.

Mikael was headed to Mystic Falls for Klaus.

Well, Caroline thought even as she panicked inside, I will just have to make sure to keep him away from Mystic Falls. For his sake and mine.

"Please tell me this is a really cruel joke." Caroline stated, though she knew that it wasn't.

"Nope." Damon confirmed, shrugging slightly.

"Damn it." She whispered to herself, her mind flashing back to her one and only meeting with Mikael. Everything she had said about him was true; he was not to be trifled with and he would stop at nothing to kill his 'son'. "Why the Hell didn't you tell me before?"

"Well, gee, Blondie, maybe it has something to do with the big bombshell you just dropped on us…" Damon muttered sarcastically. Immediately, the blonde vampire felt guilt rise up in her; it wasn't their fault, not really, she shouldn't have snapped like.

"I'm sorry." She sighed, leaning her head in her hands.

"Look, Care, I really don't know what to think about all of this." Elena put in, her voice and eyes conveying sincerity. "I am definitely not a Klaus fan, not after all he's done… But I get the feeling there's more to the story."

Oh, you have no idea.

For a moment Caroline thought about just leaving, getting the heck away from Mystic Falls before Mikael got there, her fear of him overpowering. But she was not some scared kid, and she wouldn't abandon her… friends, so she shoved the thought out of her mind. Instead she tried to calm herself by focusing on Elena's question. Though Caroline wanted nothing more than begin planning for Mikael's arrival, she knew that her friends deserved to know the rest of her story first.

"Soon after I turned…" She said, beginning from where she ended. "…the family decided to move away from the London estate. They sold it and we moved south. The siblings decided it was best to split up for a while, with Mikael having come so close to killing them. I mean, it was only luck that got Klaus out of there alive." Klaus had told her the full story once, in their fifth year living in their own house. She still remembered the far off look he had had, the way his arm had tightened around her, pulling her even closer to him as if to reassure himself that he was really there. She smiled slightly at the memory.

"Mikael was outnumbered. Apparently Klaus' screams when he saw me die were pretty loud." Here voice was monotonous, like she was talking about everyday things, not about one of the worst things that had ever happened to her. "Rebekah, 'Lijah and Kol had been there at the time, and for once they weren't all arguing so much, so they came in and helped their brother."

"I don't know what else happened while I was… dead, like some of you probably know…" She turned her eyes to the Salvatores, who were both watching her warily. She knew they wouldn't like the news, she just hoped they would remember that she wasn't the enemy; she had been their friend for longer than anyone else, she at least deserved the benefit of the doubt. "…but waking up was a bitch. Like I said, at first I didn't want to turn; I mean I almost attacked my brother and I didn't have fangs yet! I didn't want to become a monster."

"Why'd you change your mind?" Elena asked, contemplative.

"I couldn't leave everyone I loved." She replied with a shrug and she could see the understanding that lit in Elena's eyes. There was much that could be said about the Gilbert girl but she was loyal to a fault. Though Caroline knew she was still having trouble with everything she was being told, she also knew that maybe, just maybe, she would understand.

Caroline noticed that Bonnie was being suspiciously quiet and glanced to the witch. When she saw the look on the girl's face she felt immediately disheartened. There was distrust there. It hurt her to know that what she was telling them might drive her friends away. They were her family now; she didn't want to lose them, not like she lost her parents and siblings, her uncle.

"Anyways, we moved, I had to say goodbye to my family, at least for a while, for their safety and my own. In the end it was just Klaus and I, living on our own. We were happy. It was peaceful. He taught me how to survive as a vampire and in return I taught him how to remain in touch with his humanity, to not let himself completely out of control. Eventually, Rebekah came back, living in an estate near to ours. She and Nik never could be far apart…

But, with our luck, it didn't last. We had nine years together before everything went to crap."

Here she paused, her heart already aching as she thought about what happened.

"A month after what would have been the say my ten-year ended, I was going to visit my brother, Robb. He had just his first child, a little girl, and he insisted that I come and visit right away. Only when I got there…" She stopped, her breath hitching. "When I got there, there was only blood. The first thing I saw was my mother's body and my baby sister's." Tears rolled down Caroline's cheeks, and she had to fight to control her breathing. "I immediately went looking for the others, for my brother, but when I went upstairs, there were two more bodies. Robb and his wife, a woman I never even had the chance to meet."

She quieted for a moment, her breathing hitching slightly. She tried to put her grief to the side, her eyes already drying. It was hard to believe they were all dead. All gone.

She brushed roughly at her wet cheeks, getting rid of any stray tears.

"The only one that survived the slaughter was my newborn niece." Caroline admitted, her face turning into an emotionless mask as she stared at the wall behind her friends, not meeting any of their eyes. "I'm not sure what happened to her… after… I would guess that they gave her away to a surviving family member, if there were any… Maybe Uncle Richard…" She mumbled the last part.

"What? You didn't stick around to find out?" Bonnie exclaimed incredulously, judgment ringing clearly in voice. Caroline ignored it, barely even hearing the question.

"Bonnie." Elena admonished, though the blonde vampire could feel her eyes on her curiously, also wondering why she hadn't helped the newest member of her family.

Damon and Stefan stayed silent.

"I would have… after…" Caroline started, sighing slightly. "But losing someone is hard, and that is something you all know." She shifted her eyes pointedly to Bonnie, before glancing at each one of her friends. "I couldn't think, couldn't move, it was just too much for me. I think I sat by Robb's side for hours, more than a day, I don't know. It was Klaus who eventually managed to get me away from him. He held me, tried to comfort me."

She noticed the odd looks on her friends faces; they couldn't believe that the big evil monster they thought Klaus was might actually do something… well, good.

"But I was in more pain than I had ever been before… and I think Klaus blamed himself for it." That fool, it was never his fault. "So he did the only he thought he could – he wiped my memory and tried to give me a chance at a 'new life' or something." She said, shrugging slightly and sighing again. She still hadn't really forgiven him for that, for taking away her own free will, her choices.

"And now here I am, more than four hundred years later."

She finally really looked at her friends, really saw their expressions. What she saw wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't exactly promising either. She saw they were all stunned, even if they tried to hide it in the case of the Salvatores. Elena had sympathy in her eyes but also wariness; Caroline had expected this, after all, if there was one person who had lost a lot to Klaus, it was Elena. That doesn't mean I will let him die though. When she shifted her eyes to Bonnie, she saw anger bubbling under the surface. The blonde vampire tried not to wince at this. It was simply how Bonnie reacted to things that didn't agree with her; plus there was the fact that she had put so much work, blood, sweat, and tears into trying to kill Klaus. Now finding out one of her best friends was in with him?

Even Caroline knew that must sting. She immediately knew that Bonnie would be hard to crack. When Bonnie got angry, she got righteous, and righteous Bonnie was not to be messed with.

She then glanced to Stefan, trying to decipher her oldest friend's expression. It was unfamiliar, however. He was the ripper now, not her Stefan, not the best friend she grown to love and care for as a brother. Sure, she had seen ripper Stefan before, but never long enough to know that side of him like she knew his good-intentioned side.

It made her sad to think that this was another thing that Klaus had caused. He had caused so much pain to the younger Salvatore.

She met his eyes, seeing a flash of dark anger that lingered there.

Caroline was aware the ripper Stefan held a vendetta against Klaus and was probably the least likely in this room to help her.

Lastly, she looked to Damon.

Surprisingly enough, he was the only one with any measure of understanding in his eyes. For a moment, she wondered why. Why would Damon understand her plight at all? He had a grudge against Klaus as well, for almost killing him, taking his brother away, and almost murdering the girl he loved.

But then it clicked for her. Damon not only knew what it was like to be the bad guy, but he also knew what it was like to hopelessly love someone almost unattainable. He had loved Katherine after all.

Caroline's hopes rose, but just for the slightest second, because despite his understanding she also saw resolve.

Klaus was a threat to Elena. To the ones he cared about. And it was as simple as that for them.

None of them would help her.

"Wow." Elena said, breaking through her reverie. "I mean just… wow…" She seemed speechless, but Caroline found herself not caring for it. Her heart was breaking at the thought that her friends would not help her.

She ignored Elena and instead kept her eyes on Damon.

"So, that's it then?" She asked lowly, causing silence to reign in the room again, as everyone stared at her and Damon. "You won't help?" He didn't look particularly surprised at her question; after having known her for so long, he knew Caroline would be able to read his decision as soon as he made it. She had always been rather intuitive, even for a vampire.

"Blondie, I get that you guys have history, but he isn't exactly the most stand up guy." He leaned forward onto his elbows, blue eyes burning fiercely into her own. "I mean the man has tried to kill us all, multiple times."

"So, what, you're just going to let Mikael run rampant? Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?" She asked. Not that she knew they would not help Klaus, she hoped that maybe they would see reason when it came to Papa Original.

"Yes." Stefan said, his voice dangerously close to a growl. Caroline turned her eyes to his, shocked by the bluntness of his statement. "And you want to know why? Because he is the only way we can get rid of Klaus once and for all. He had to die, Caroline, after all he's done to us."

Though she couldn't fault him for his reasons, Caroline felt her anger rise at the both of them. Were they really so idiotic as to think that Mikael would let them live? He was the vampire who hunted vampires.

"So you're just going to stick your heads in the sand and ignore what I am telling you? Mikael is dangerous, he has to be stopped." She insisted, wishing she could show them what she had seen, show them what she had gone through.

"And he will be, after we put down Klaus." Stefan stated, crossing his arms.

"Besides, Blondie, how should we knew any of this is true? In case you've forgotten, the Originals can compel other vampires. Don't you think it's just a little bit suspicious that, after spending so long without your memory, you miraculously recover it right just in time to stop us?" Damon raised a brow, distaste in his expression.

"And where have you been these last two days?" Bonnie asked, eyes narrowing.

"Klaus wasn't the one gave me back my memory back! It was Robb." In her frustration, Caroline stated the first protestation that came to mind; the fact that Klaus couldn't have compelled because he was not the one who had given her memories back.

Of course, the rest did not see it that way.

"Robb. As in your dead brother Robb? Yeah, Blondie, now you have us convinced." The elder Salvatore brother replied sarcastically.

"The ghosts were here ,remember? The Other side witches managed to send Robb to me. They said I had a role to play and they told him to give me back my memory." When she saw their disbelieving expressions, she turned to the witch in the room. "Bonnie! You saw him. Tell them!"

"Well, I did see some ghost with Caroline right before she disappeared…" The brunette admitted.

"See?" Caroline gestured to Bonnie, her voice turning hopeful again.

"Have you maybe thought that he was just a ploy to get you to Klaus so that he could compel into making this story?" Damon shot her down again.

"God! Why won't you just believe me?" She exclaimed in return. This was frustrating and it hurt more than she would tell that her friends didn't seem to touch their judgment. That hurt translated to anger, anger at her friends, and at Klaus for putting her in this position in the first place. She clenched her fists together, trying to keep control of her temper.

"We want to Caroline, we really do… But how is it that there is no proof whatsoever? We spent months researching the Originals, and we never saw anything about any Forbes servants…." Elena finally said something, her voice laced with guilt.

Why won't they give me the benefit of the doubt? Haven't I done enough for them?

I know they hate Klaus. I know that. I am not asking them to put aside their grudges, at least not yet. I just want them to help me take down Mikael.

Can't they see that?

"They have lived for more than a thousand years, Elena, I'm pretty sure they have learnt to cover their tracks by now…" Caroline sighed, trailing off. It was no use. She knew that now. Shaking her head, she stood up, grabbing the jacket she had put to the side earlier and shrugging it on roughly.

"Look. Whatever. You don't want to help me. I get it." The blonde vampire tried her best to keep the annoyance and betrayal out of her voice.

It didn't work.

"You wanted to know where I was the last two days?" She looked pointedly at Bonnie. "I was with him, with Klaus. Robb brought me too him, using the last of the power the witches on the Other side had given him." She looked around at them all. "He warned me that bad things would happen if Klaus died. I have the feeling that this, all of this, is going to get much bigger and much badder than Klaus. Than me."

She began walking to the doorway of the parlor, head held high, until she stopped abruptly and looked back, her hand on the frame of the door.

"You guys are my friends, so I am going to have to warn you. I won't let you kill Klaus. Not today. Not until I figure everything out." Her voice dropped an octave, and the menace that came with age entered it. She may have been a peace seeking sort of vampire, but she was still a vampire, damn it, and older than anyone in the room. "That you can count on." She smirked the smirk that she learnt from spending so much time with Klaus. "Good luck."

She walked out.

No one followed.

Caroline tried to ignore the pang in her heart.

When Caroline arrived back at her home, there was someone sitting on her porch. The last person she would have expected to visit her.

Rebekah Mikaelson.

Only this was not the Rebekah she recognized. The witty, take no crap, strong-willed girl she had gotten to know all those years seemed far-gone, leaving only a shell of her former self. Still, there was some of her that, in the way she sat, prim and proper, and in her eyes, the age shining clearly.

"I heard everything you said to them." Caroline looked vaguely surprised, and Rebekah explained. "I was upstairs."

"Oh." Caroline could have smacked herself for that answer. You couldn't have thought of anything else to say?

"So I see my brother has regained his staunchest supporter." Rebekah let out a bitter laugh. "I don't know why I am surprised, you always did fall at his feet." Caroline ignored the sting of that jab, knowing that Rebekah was only lashing out.

Something was clearly upsetting her.

Though she and Rebekah were never very close, they still had had a friendship, at least for a while. Contrary to what certain people seemed to believe, Caroline always did her best to help her friends.

She sat down next to Rebekah as the Original stared at her with quiet curiosity. This was also strange. Rebekah was many things and quiet was not one of them.

"I need to ask you something." Caroline decided to break the awkward silence that had encased them. The Original sister simply raised a brow, as if asking her about what this question was. "About then." For a moment the other girl's blue eyes clouded and she frowned. It didn't stay long, however, and her eyes soon returned to their usual sharpness.

"Well?" Rebekah said, annoyed. "Go on then."

"What happened to my niece?" After Bonnie had mentioned the fact that Caroline didn't know what happened to her remaining family members, she had felt guilty. She really didn't know what had happened, and now she was curious.

"She was placed in Richard's care, like you suspected." Rebekah replied, sadness lacing her voice. It made her think of her uncle. He had been so in love with the girl in front of her, but Caroline was never sure if Rebekah had returned the sentiment.

From her reaction, though, she would guess that Rebekah felt more than she had let on.

"He named her Caroline." Rebekah's almost whispered statement hit Caroline hard, brought her back to herself, brought the pain and grief back. Uncle Richard… He'd been so kind to her, more like a brother really, and Caroline was sure he had been a wonderful father to her namesake.

"Why are you here, Rebekah?" Caroline asked, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

"I am here as a favor to you." Caroline was sure she had a shocked expression on her face. "Oh, don't look so surprised, we were once to be sisters and, unlike my dear brother, family actually means something to me. Besides, you have the right to know before you go making any decisions about saving my brother."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know the story of our family? Of how we came to be vampires?" Rebekah didn't answer, instead asking questions of her own.

"Yes. You're parents turned you after you lost your younger brother. But when you all awoke, and Nik made his first kill, he unlocked his werewolf side. He wasn't Mikael's son, which made him angry and… Mikael killed your mother." The other blonde replied, curious as to why the Original would bring up her history now of all times.

"I thought so too. For so long. I was such a fool for believing him." Rebekah suddenly faced Caroline, and took a deep breath, as if preparing herself for the next words she was going to say. "Nik lied to you, Caroline. He lied to use both. It was not my father that killed my mother. It was Nik."

"W-What?" The younger vampire's eyes widened, shocked.

"It's true. When my mother bound Nik's wolf side, he got so angry that he killed her… He killed her and then he lied to everyone about it, to me, so that he wouldn't lose the remainder of his family. That's why Mikael has been hunting him down this entire time. That's why Mikael killed you."

"I-I don't know what to say…" Caroline swallowed, her beliefs shaken. She turned to Rebekah and spontaneously reached out and clutched her hand. Rebekah tensed and looked to her questioningly. "I'm sorry. About your mother."

Tears filled the other girl's eyes and she nodded stiffly. Caroline knew that Rebekah did not like to look weak, she was far too prideful for that, so she soon let go.

Her mind was whirring, confused, at this new information. Part of her was upset, angry, but another part of her was understanding. Klaus had always been more violent and easy to anger than the rest of them; it came as a part of his werewolf heritage. When he first turned it must have been awful, almost impossible to control that temper; everything was heightened as a vampire.

But she had been his mother.

And that wasn't the worst part. It was the fact that he'd lied about it for so long.

Rebekah suddenly stood, pulling her out of her hazy and concerned thoughts.

"Now you know everything. It's up to you whether or not you think he is worth saving. I have had my heart broken too many times by the likes of him, I cannot simply forgive him this time." She began walking away slowly, before she turned again. "He changed the last time you were in his life, Caroline, and he changed again when you left. If anyone can help him, it's you."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Despite all that Nik has done, he is still my big brother, and I will always love him, even when I hate him."

This time when Rebekah walked away, it was Caroline who stopped her.

"Rebekah!" She called, causing the Original to turn again. "What you said… about the fact that we were going to be sisters once… I would have liked that."

Rebekah looked at her suspiciously for a moment, as if suspecting deception. When she found nothing, the only Mikaelson girl sent her the smallest of smiles. It was small but it was genuine.

"Me too."

And then the Original disappeared.

And Caroline was left alone with troubling thoughts.

Does Klaus really deserve to be saved?

So, I was thinking, because this is going to be the last installment to the TLTLB 'verse that maybe I would just do another one-shot series like The Stories of Old for it. It would again be on a character basis and basically just be moments, first meetings and the like, that I just didn't have space for in this story. What do you think?

Sorry for the long-ish waits for updates lately, I have a couple of one-shots and other stories in the works, which have been eating away at my time. Plus, the further this story gets along, the harder it is for me to write the chapters the way I want them, soooo….

Next chapter: The explanation took a little long so we will be covering 3x09 next chap… with a certain twist ;)

Anyways, thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

RW