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Chapter 16

Family, Friends, Foes

Mystic Falls, 2010

Caroline sat next to Klaus in his bed, a look of satisfaction and contentment on her face. After a night of… daring escapades, they both ended up in his bed, but she was too wired to get any rest. Instead, she sat curled next to him, wearing nothing but his shirt, playing with his fingers and talking to him.

Caroline hadn't felt this happy in a very long time. She was sure she was glowing.

Of course, she knew they wouldn't be able to stay like this for long. They still had things to do, first and foremost of which was getting the last of the coffins. After this was done, Caroline was unsure of what would happen next. She knew he wanted to awaken his family, but is Caroline knew Klaus, which she did, she realized that he would be hesitant and it would take some convincing from her (and Elijah she gathered) to do so.

She also knew that she shouldn't just focus on Klaus' problems; she had quite a few of her own. Her friends, for one. She didn't want to stay like this indefinitely. Cut off from them. That's the last thing she wanted.

Well, she would just have to find a way to convince them that she was genuine and that Klaus was not pure evil as they thought he was.

Thinking on this dampened Caroline's spirits and, in a moment of silence between her and the Original, she tried to get up from the bed. Klaus, of course, would have none of it and immediately pulled her back to him protest, causing her to sit in between his legs, with his strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Klaus." She sighed. "I really have to get up, you know we have a lot to do." Though outwardly she looked to be annoyed, she was smiling widely on the inside, thinking of all the times he used to do the same thing back in the 1550s.

She's missed this. Him.

"No." Klaus practically growled, his lips moving against her ear, causing a shiver to run down Caroline's spine. She struggled half-heartedly for a moment, but knew she wouldn't be able to escape the cage of his arms. Not that she really wanted to.

But, Caroline had a few tricks of her own. She twisted her head so she was looking up at Klaus and the minute his eyes met hers, she leant up and kissed him. She pushed all of her passion and love into that kiss, deepening it quickly. Her hands came up to tangle in his curls, and she pulled his head closer to her. Eventually his arms around her waist loosened and Caroline realized foggily through her pleasure that this was her chance. She was almost tempted to stay where she was, however.

Almost.

The next thing Klaus knew, Caroline was standing across the room, free from his embrace and a wide, triumphant smirk playing at her lips.

"Vixen." Klaus stated, still reclining in the bed, realizing that she'd tricked him.

Caroline laughed, before smiling sunnily at him "At your service, m'lord." She replied mockingly, throwing in a small, playful curtsy. Klaus stood and approached her, almost predatorily. She laughed a little as she backed up, feigning escape. When Klaus was close, she blurred so she was behind him. She almost made it away before he grabbed her forearm, using his superior speed against her. He pulled her close against him, until she was flush against his chest. His head was swooping down, his lips only a few centimeters from hers. Caroline knew that they really didn't have time for any more... distractions. "So what's going to happen now?" She interrupted quickly, stopping Klaus in his path. He let a small, disappointed groan in response before giving her a knowing smile, to which she only shrugged. "What have you and Elijah been scheming about?"

She looked at him expectantly, until finally he sighed and backed away, leaving a safe amount of space between them. He took her hand in his, though, not willing to part from her any more than he had to, not after so many years without each other.

"He has convinced me to take council with the Salvatore brothers, like civilized men." Klaus smirked with irony. "They are coming to dinner."

Caroline swallowed her shock.

"Well, that'll go well." She replied sarcastically. The Original just looked at her pointedly, to which she sighed and nodded, knowing she would just have to deal with it. She couldn't avoid her friends any longer, even if they were at odds right now. They were her friends, after all. So, instead of commenting further, she tightened her hand around Klaus' and pulled it so it was in between both of hers. "Listen, Klaus, I know you're happy to have your big brother back but… don't think it's strange how fast he returned to your side?"

"Caroline." She could already see the anger already mounting in his eyes and was quick to bring a hand to the side of his face, forcing him to look down at her.

"No, hear me out, okay?" Her eyes looked deeply into hers. "I'm not saying to leave him behind or dagger him or whatever. Just be… cautious." For a moment, Caroline was afraid that she only made him more angry, but soon enough it faded, leaving a shadow of fragile vulnerability.

"I know." He said lowly.

Caroline gave him a small, sweet smile. "Good." She whispered, squeezing his hand once before stepping back from him and letting him go. "I'm going to get ready, okay?" She turned to walk to his bathroom, wanting nothing more than to take a nice, hot shower.

"You know, sweetheart, you need not join us. Elijah and I can take care of the bloody Salvatores." Klaus called out after her, growling the last part.

She turned to look at him, a knowing smile on her face. "True. But I have a point to make. Besides, I might just be able to keep the testosterone levels down to a minimum, tonight."

Caroline shifted nervously from foot to foot, smoothing the fabric of her rather short dressing. She hadn't exactly had much choice when she went to her house to look for something appropriate to wear to this dinner. She'd decided that this would have to do. The dress was white lace, coming to just above her knees, with elbow-length sleeves. It was a bit impractical but Klaus' face when he saw her in it was well worth it.

For some reason this dinner was making Caroline anxious. She just felt that something was sure to go wrong. And, her friends and her weren't exactly on the best of terms right now. She didn't have anymore to think about it though when she heard Elijah open the door and then the familiar voices of the Salvatore brothers.

Caroline stood by Klaus' side as he greeted said brothers. "Damon. Stefan. Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilised men, shall we?" He gestured to the table he had laid out for them.

"It's better to indulge him." Caroline put in after seeing the look Damon and Stefan shared. This caused the Salvatores to finally look to her.

"Blondie. I guess we should have expected to find you here." Damon said after a moment, his body tense, whilst Stefan simply glowered; she didn't allow herself to flinch under their combined gazes.

"Boys." She greeted in return, nodding slightly.

Immediately after the friends' stiff hellos, Stefan began to protest against Klaus' 'dinner plans'. Of course, Klaus was quick to put him down.

Caroline sighed, knowing that this would be a long, long night.

"Isn't this nice? Five of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?" Klaus directed this question to Damon. The dinner had been progressing slowly, and Caroline could easily see that it was frustrating the Salvatores, especially Stefan. But, she knew that this was part of Klaus' scheme; much as she sometimes wanted to deny, Klaus was a master at playing people. It was a part of who he was. He's never played me, though, not really.

She was seated in between the Original hybrid and Damon, almost like a barrier between the two. For the most part, she had been silent, which was at odds with her character, but needed in this situation. Caroline may be bubbly and talkative by nature but she was also old, and intelligent. She knew when she should take a step back and simply observe, but be ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

This was most definitely one of those times.

"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier." Damon replied with bright smile.

"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through." The younger Original looked over to his brother with a smirk.

"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan said sardonically, causing Klaus to look over to him. "Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her." Caroline could see the anger building up in Klaus, and quietly put her hand on his knee, reminding him to keep calm. She could immediately see some tension leaving his shoulders. All of this was unnoticeable to anyone who didn't know him.

"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah." He replied as if nothing had happened, once again looking to his brother. His hand moved for a moment to squeeze hers, before moving swiftly away. Caroline allowed herself a small smile and then pulled away as well.

"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgment until dessert." Damon intoned sarcastically.

"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses." The younger Salvatore replied ferociously. Stef, careful, you can't win here.

"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself."

For once Caroline couldn't agree more with Damon. Like she'd thought earlier; it was definitely going to be a long night.

Caroline tried not to let her annoyance show when the topic of doppelgängers was brought up. She loved Elena like a sister, but her two predecessors? Not so much. Katherine, for obvious reasons, just one of them being the fact that she slaughtered her family. And, Tatia… well she, of course, had never met Tatia, but from little Klaus had mentioned of her, Caroline had the distinct she would not have liked the girl.

And, loathe as she was to admit, her name often brought up a spark of dark jealousy in her.

"But in the end we realized the sacred bond of family." Caroline heard Klaus say, her thought snapping away from her rather dark feelings. She smiled at the Original brothers, a sparkling of pride in her.

"Family above all." The elder Original said.

Both Elijah and Klaus raised their glasses to each other.

"Family above all." Klaus repeated.

"And, Caroline? Do you value your family above her, as well?" Stefan pointed out after a moment, looking at the blonde vampire in their midst, as if trying to tell her that what the Mikaelson brothers had just said meant that she was not important to them. She was about to open her mouth and come back with a snarky reply when Elijah, who came to her defense, surprised her.

"Well, Stefan," He addressed the younger Salvatore, his voice conveying calmness but his eyes conveying something completely different. "I think I can speak for my brother when I say this. Caroline is family. You would be wise to remember that."

This cause both Salvatore brothers to looked shocked, if only for a moment. Caroline smiled, maybe they'll finally get it now.

"Besides, Tatia paled in comparison to, mate." Klaus added, his voice holding a conspiratorial tone as he leaned closer so he was looking straight at Stefan. Caroline could see the anger in his eyes, and, though she hated to see either Mikaelson angry in any way, she was secretly quite pleased about their reactions. They really do care about me, she thought in wonder.

This only cemented her decision to make sure they all stayed safe.

Caroline's good feelings drained somewhat as talk shifted to deal that could be made between the two parties. She listened as Klaus bargained for Elena, frowning. Even now, I still live under her shadow, the perfect Petrova doppelgänger. Immediately after the thought popped into her head, Caroline felt guilty. She shouldn't think about Elena like that, it wasn't her fault; she was born into this.

But she couldn't help but feel some of her jealousy from earlier return. Klaus still wanted to create hybrids, he was still focused on his stupid mission. Maybe I should have insisted to be there when he and Elijah made all of these plans, I could have told him what an idiot he's being. Of course, Caroline wouldn't be able to say a thing now, not with the Salvatores there. Much as she loved her friends, she knew they would use any weakness to get to Klaus, and if they started fighting amongst themselves… well, it was a recipe for disaster.

"So, what do you say Stefan, do we have a deal?" Klaus said, referring to the offer he made about protecting Elena while she lived a long, human life. (Though not for Elena's personal happiness.)

She watched, surprised as Stefan made his way over to Klaus.

"What are you doing?" Caroline agreed silently with Damon. What was he doing? Even Caroline, who wanted a deal to be struck, knew that the brothers would get the short end of the stick if they agreed to this.

Klaus held his hand out to Stefan, and the younger Salvatore grabbed it resolutely. She realized that things would not be going how Klaus thought they would when Stefan kept his hold on the Original a little too long to be genuine.

"Nice try, Klaus." Stefan said. "But no deal." This is not going to end well.

No one could stop what happened next as Klaus reacted faster than any of them anticipated. He angrily broke Stefan's arm, before kicking his leg broken as well. In the next moment, the Original held Stefan's hand in the fireplace, causing the younger vampire to cry out in pain. Caroline watched helplessly as Elijah stopped Damon from rushing over to his brother, holding him to a wall.

Caroline could hardly bear to see this violence between her friends and her… family. She was torn between helping and staying where she was, her heart panicking for the younger vampires.

She forced herself to remember Klaus' earlier words to her.

"You have to trust me, sweetheart, no matter what it might seem that I do, I will not harm your friends… permanently, that is." Klaus said, holding on to the top of shoulders and looking her in the eye.

"Klaus, you—" Caroline began before she was interrupted.

"You have my word, Caroline. I swear this to you."

It was this promise that stopped Caroline from going to Stefan's aid as Klaus continued to hold his arm over the fire. He wouldn't break it, not now, after everything they had been through.

That didn't mean she didn't flinch at Stefan's groans of pain.

"Stop!" Damon yelled.

"Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive." The hybrid replied. He won't really do it. He won't. He knows how much Stefan means to you.

"I'll get it." The other vampire said, frustration clear in his voice.

"Go with him, brother, you keep him honest. And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family."

"I'll go too, Klaus." Caroline stated; she couldn't bear to see this anymore.

She followed Elijah and Damon with a heavy heart.

Caroline was surprised when they entered the coffin room, and even more so when she saw that one of them was left suspiciously open. She turned around to look at Elijah questioningly, only to find him looking back with an apologetic expression.

"I am so very sorry for this, Caroline, my dear. Would that there was another way." He said, sincerity in his voice. Oh no..

"Elijah, what are you-?" Caroline started before turning back around with realization. She blurred to the open coffin in the blink of an eye. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw what was in it. Or rather what wasn't in it. It was empty. She glanced up to Elijah with panic in her eyes. "What have you done?" She demanded, lowly.

"I hope you forgive me for this, dear girl." She was about spit back a comment that hell no, he did not get to get away with this, when she felt hands on the back of her neck and realized that Damon was no longer in her eyeline.

Snap!

Her head was pounding, the lights that shone behind her closed eyes burning into her skull. The black that Caroline had been floating in began to recede and with it came all of the pains of living. She groaned as a sharp stab of pain ripped its way through her head. She thought that she could vaguely hear a voice through all of the agony.

With all of what little energy she had left, Caroline tried to push it all away and focused instead on the familiar voice.

"Caroline, love? That's it." The world around was shaped in blurs as she blinked, once, twice. "Open your eyes for me." Eventually she found the strength to keep her eyes open and found the person she loved most in the world standing over her, a worried and angry expression covering his features.

"Klaus?" She asked, her voice croaking.

His face softened immediately and he brought an achingly gentle to the side of her face, stroking her cheek softly with his thumb. "It's me, sweetheart."

"What happened?" She found herself asking, until all of the memories suddenly passed through her mind. She suddenly sat up despite her obvious weakness, her mind a flurry of panic. "Wait, Elijah he-"

"I know." Klaus silenced her, pressing her calmly back down into the pillows. He wore an odd look of happiness and sadness on his face;

"You mean, your family's-?"

"Yes." He confirmed with a brisk nod.

…

Oh. Wow. Just… okay. Wow.

The Originals, all of the Mikaelson siblings, were awake. The last time this had happened was more than nine centuries ago; Caroline wondered what this meant for Mystic Falls, for her home. She scanned Klaus' face, noticing he still had that peculiar look, clearly far away in his thoughts. She decided it was perhaps best to leave him to it, after all, this had to come as more of a shock to him than anyone else.

But she was just so damn curious.

"Well, come on! Tell me what happened." She finally burst, unable to take the unknowing silence any longer.

Klaus' turmoil-filled eyes met hers, and, for a moment, Caroline was sure he would say nothing, that he would lock himself and his feelings in a tiny little box in the corner of his mind like he usually did.

"They were going to leave me but something happened, Caroline, you won't believe it-" Klaus was barely beginning his tale when they were interrupted by his bedroom door banging open unexpectedly. With a whoosh, someone she had not seen a long time stood over them.

"Is that the young Ms. Forbes I hear? Have you joined us in the land of the living, darling?" He looked down at her with a smirk, so much like his brother's.

"L…" Caroline caught herself, not wanting to fall onto her old days as a servant, shaking her head as she tried to make sense in her foggy mind. "Kol?" She exclaimed instead, her voice incredulous.

The youngest Mikaelson brother's smirk widened at her obvious surprise.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Caroline." He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss to the back of it, before letting go and winking at her conspiratorially, to which Caroline had no idea how to react. "Nik here was more grumpy than usual during your absence. And, might I add, you do look stunning for your age."

"Kol." Klaus growled menacingly, annoyed.

"Relax, brother." Kol held up both hands in a placating gesture. "Only having a bit of fun."

"Um, Klaus, what is going on?" Caroline asked, by now utterly confused. She'd thought there would be feuding between the siblings, not… this.

Just as the hybrid was about to reply, they were once again interrupted by someone entering the room.

"Niklaus. I hear your lady friend has awoken." A distinctly female voice said. Caroline looked up to see a beautiful, regal-looking blonde woman standing in the doorway, her clothing of a time long passed. Caroline was sure she didn't know the woman and yet there was something eerily familiar about her…

"Yes, she has, this is Caroline." Klaus said, looking at the woman like he knew her, gesturing to the blond vampire where she lay in her bed as he introduced them. "Caroline, this is my mother." He looked down at her with a half-smile as she adopted an appropriately shocked expression. "Esther."

Well.

I didn't see that coming. When he said his family was awake, I didn't think he meant all of them.

In that moment, Caroline knew that things were definitely going to change in Mystic Falls.

It was not every day that the most powerful family in the entire world arrived at your doorstep, after all.

Ok guys, I hope you enjoyed it! We are nearing the end of this story, just four more chapters to go and then the epilogue!

Is it just me, or does Caroline always seem to get knocked out in my stories? I should really sort all of that out.

Next chapter: More Originals, Klaus' thoughts, and some long-awaited confrontations.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

RW