Summary: Klaus was not the only one affected by the hybrid curse, denying him his werewolf side. The curse had a second victim, his wife Caroline, who for a 1000 years he thought was dead. Only days before he is meant to break his hybrid curse, he learns she is alive and closer than he ever imagined. Klaroline!Time travel story.

Chapter Seventeen

The days blurred together, but they were blissful and magical and wonderful for Caroline. Lexi turned out to be the older sister Caroline had only ever dreamed of having. Her time with Niklaus was filled with laughs and sweet moments, their early mornings watching the sunrise together or their late night runs to the hidden tree as they watched the stars twinkle overhead.

Caroline's time had been spread out amongst the family, she helped Esther in the kitchen, Rebekah with their chores, Kol helped her in magic along with Lexi, Elijah on errands, Henrik on playing jokes and even Finn she spent time with. It was as if she had been part of the family for years instead of a few short months that had passed. It was nice, it was free.

Lexi being here had been a great addition, she got along well with everyone besides Mikael and Finn. That entire discussion of Lexi revealing herself a witch to Esther and Kol had been an interesting one to say the least, but a good turn out. Caroline learned in that conversation what a brilliant liar Lexi really was, which Caroline later learned was a quick magic trick they could do, called it Silvertongue. Apparently she had already been doing it at times without realizing it which didn't sit that well with Caroline.

If there was one thing Caroline couldn't stand, it was not being in control. When she had first become a vampire, she had pushed herself to have control over her vampire instincts. She knew if she didn't, then people could be hurt and there was a chance that she would hurt others with her magic. It happened yesertday when she had been practicing with Kol. As Caroline was washing the dishes, she couldn't stop thinking about the incident.

"I promise you, this trick is real simple," Kol told her as he held his hands in front of him, as he did so the fallen and dead leaves floated up and around him with a light breeze.

Caroline and Lexi were standing off to the side watching him with amused looks on their faces. Even though Lexi had become Caroline's primary teacher, Kol still enjoyed showing the newest witch tricks as often as possible. Esther would join the lessons as well from time to time, but not as much as before due to some reasons she hadn't quite disclosed. It put Lexi on edge, though Caroline wasn't sure why.

Caroline liked to think she was good at reading people and she knew that Lexi was hiding a lot of things from her. It wouldn't have bothered Caroline if not for the fact that Lexi knew what was going on back home in the memories that Caroline still couldn't access. Whatever crazy supernatural event had occurred before she left to come a thousand years in the past, Lexi knew all about it and refused to say anything.

This had lead to a brief argument the previous night and while Caroline had mostly cooled down, her anger had come back when she remembered this trick from the first time she had ever seen it in her time. What Kol was doing was similar to what Bonnie had done with some leaves back home, using the wind to make them dance instead of just her magic.

"My friend could do this trick," Caroline said, her smile gone as she glanced at Lexi.

There were more words Caroline wanted to say, but she knew she had to keep her mouth shut. As far as Kol knew, her friend who could do magic is dead. But the reminder of her lost friend and Lexi's refusal to tell her what was happening in her time had set Caroline aflame. Of course before Lexi had arrived she had been driving herself crazy with worrying and not knowing, but at that point, there was nothing she could do about it. Lexi was a different story.

The previous night Caroline had begged with everything she had for Lexi to give her some kind of update on her friends and family, to tell her what was going on and if they were doing okay. All Lexi cared to share was that they were alive and fighting, which could mean plethora of good or bad things. It would have been so easy for Lexi to just tell her, it wasn't like Caroline could do anything if she knew, but knowing could have eased her.

Lexi's jaw clenched for a moment, but she only said, "It's a common trick witches learn. I don't think you should learn it now."

While you're so upset.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at the thought that came from Lexi. Their bloodline could send thoughts to each other, it was similar to telepathy, but it was hardly a continuous conversation or thought reading. A message was sent, the other heard it and sent something back. Telepathy was the ability to read thoughts, neither Caroline nor Lexi could read the others mind. Only what was sent to them.

That was a fun thing that Caroline enjoyed playing around with the ability. Her, Lexi and Rebekah had been up for hours talking with their minds. Rebekah had magic in her veins and with a little amplifying spell from Lexi, she was able to partake in the secret conversation that no one else could hear or know about. Caroline would have much rathered return to that moment then deal with the frustration and internal agony she was in right now.

"I can handle it," Caroline said shortly, she looked at Kol, "What do I need to do?"

Caroline was strongest when it came to two forms of magic, elemental and spirit. The spirit one was obvious due to how her magic bloodline worked, but the elemental had been a surprise to Esther and Lexi, though Kol was more intrigued than shocked. While all witches were connected to nature, it meant they had a strong connection to the elements. However witches needed some kind of spell in order to use the elements, it wasn't just a feeling. A single flame and a breeze were the exceptions to such a rule. Witches couldn't command the elements exactly, they drew from them.

When it came to Caroline's earlier display of magic when she lit up the fire pit and torches and every candle in the house had been impressive for a number of reasons. Because she called the fire to act without any aid of a silent spell, she simply called it or really commanded it to do as she wanted. Usually the only witches that could do that were pyrowitches and Caroline wasn't one of them. Her ability to cool or heat up water had been another trick she could do that neither Kol nor Lexi could replicate.

And so as she called to the wind with her rising anger, something went wrong and there had been fire coming from her. At first it wasn't hard to control, but the wind had picked up causing the flames to swirl and spread until they hit Kol-

"If you scrub that any harder, you'll break it love."

Caroline jerked in her spot, dropping the bowl she had been holding. The young woman spun around to see Niklaus, his tone had been teasing, but now that she saw his face, she could tell he was worried. Niklaus wasn't certain to the extent of what happened the other day. Magic was a fickle thing, that much he knew and was part of the reason he never messed with it. Learning his would be wife had magic wasn't upsetting in the least, he only worried about her over doing it as Caroline had a habit of trying to do too much. Yesterday was likely the occurence of such a thing, she had pushed too hard. Kol's arm had been burned from the flames, but it would heal in no time.

"Is Kol alright," Caroline said softly.

Niklaus answered, "Sweetheart, Kol is fine. It was an accident."

Caroline looked away from him, "Lexi told me I wasn't ready and I should have listened. If I had listened, Kol wouldn't have been hurt."

"None of that," Niklaus said pulling Caroline into his arms, "I know you are worried for Kol, but he is strong and you never meant to harm him. If he had accidentally hurt you, would you have been angry?"

"No," Caroline mumbled weakly.

Niklaus kissed the top of her head, "You see? He holds no ill will. Why don't we visit him?"

Caroline looked up at her… boyfriend, finance with a guilty look. On the one hand she knew she shouldn't beat herself up over it that much, it was an accident and she would never want to hurt Kol. Yet she had because she was impatient and angry, she shouldn't have lost control like that. Caroline didn't have a favorite brother of Niklaus, she enjoyed each of their company, even Finn's at times. Kol was someone she wasn't sure she'd get along with, but the two had developed a nice friendship and she hated to hurt her friends.

A weak sigh escaped her as she looked away from Niklaus, her eyes burning as she began to pull away from him. However he just held her tighter. The sad expression on her face, one that quite honestly was enough to break Niklaus' heart a little. The more he had gotten to know Caroline, the more he learned that she had an incredibly beautiful heart that wanted to give. It was one of the many reasons why he knew she was the one, why he could not wait to marry her. He intended to propose to her soon, but given the recent events he decided he should wait a little longer before asking her to be his wife forever.

"Come on love," Niklaus said pulling her with him, "Let's see the miscreant."

Caroline offered a weak laugh as she squeezed his hand. The couple walked over to where Kol was staying. When they entered the room, they found Kol lying on his back as he stared at the ceiling with a bored expression. It was safe to say he was tired of having to lie down and rest, but his mother's orders until the burns were gone. The spell and salve she used were experimental at best, couldn't risk doing something and causing the magic to shift. At the sound of footsteps, Kol turned his head to the side to see his older brother and his fiancée, or soon to be fiancee anyway.

"Well if it isn't the love birds," Kol teased with a smile, "Come to keep me company so I don't die of boredom?"

Niklaus walked in first with a grin, "There are worse ways to go. Perhaps Rebekah would stab you with her dagger while you sleep?"

"It's certainly possible," Kol said with a happy laugh.

The younger Mikealson looked to Caroline to see she was still standing in the doorway, guilt written across her face. As soon as he had been burned, Kol had looked to Caroline to check on her. He understood the feeling of losing control over your magic, of hurting someone you cared about. Despite the pain he had been, he had tried his best to assure Caroline that it was alright. Lexi hadn't been helpful. Apparently the cousins were having a bit of a spat, so instead of calming the distraught witch down, Lexi only seemed to rile her up more. It had irked Kol more than he cared to admit. If there was one thing you were never supposed to do, it was to push an already unstable witch too far.

However he really didn't like how upset and on edge Caroline seemed during the lesson, it was clear it had nothing to do with the magic she was performing and everything to do with whatever familial issue was going on. He would have liked to known what exactly had happened, but felt it wasn't his place to ask and decided he wouldn't for now.

"Hey Kol," Caroline said after she noticed him staring.

"Carolena how many times do I have to tell you it's alright, I promise I am not the least bit upset by this," Kol told her honestly, "Besides, you got me out of doing my chores for at least three days, a true blessing if I ever saw one."

Caroline chuckled lightly, she folded her arms over her chest, "That is something to celebrate about. I, I am still so sorry Kol."

Kol grinned at her, "I promise you, I am more than alright. No sense in stressing over it, what's done is done. Best thing you can do is learn from it next time you practice elemental magic."

"Now that that is settled, what do you say we tell Kol some stories," Niklaus said with a grin of his own.

"Oh please do tell, I am in desperate need of entertainment," Kol said with light in his eyes.

And so they did.

Mikael insisted that they get an early start to the caves since the full moon would be out soon. The packing had been quick and the journey wouldn't take long, but during the walk Lexi and Caroline hung a little further back. While they weren't the last ones in the group as Finn had taken up the rear, they were for the most part out of earshot. However to play it safe, Lexi had sent Caroline a message.

Look, I'm sorry about earlier and not telling you about what's going on back in your time.

Caroline glanced at Lexi, she said nothing in response.

Even if you knew what was happening, there's nothing you could do and it would only upset you more and add to the helplessness you mention before and I don't want to add to that. Sometimes ignorance is bliss Caroline.

Caroline inhaled deeply. She sent a message of her own in reply, hoping her anger seeped into Lexi's mind.

This ignorance isn't blissful! I may not be able to do anything, but whatever is happening cannot be worse than the countless of bad scenarios my mind and my nightmares have dreamed up. You said you were here to help me.

Lexi didn't send anything for a few moments, until finally she had something she could say.

I am here to help you, but telling you won't help you. All I can tell you is that they are alive, looking for you and fighting.

"That's not good enough," Caroline hissed quietly, her eyes burning, "Why can't you tell me more?"

Lexi released a heavy sigh, "Our ancestors do not want you distracted or getting caught up. Please Caroline, do not push this further. Focus on your training, focus on the life you have here. The one you left is one you will return to in a matter of months."

Caroline scoffed. She wanted to understand where Lexi was coming from, she wanted this all to make sense and to get why she couldn't know, but she really didn't. All she wanted was to know that they were alright and this continual push back could only mean that things were not going alright, that something bad had happened and she couldn't know.

In all honesty Lexi did hate not being able to tell Caroline what was happening. There certainly wasn't much to tell, but she knew Caroline wouldn't benefit from knowing the events that had transpired so she was resigned to stay silent. Perhaps when she spoke to their ancestors tonight, she would be able to convince them to speak to Caroline and assure her. Give her some form of encouragement or something.

The journey up to the cave hadn't been an issue and setting up went on without a hitch. It wasn't until that night, as Caroline listened to the howling wolves, she found that sleep wouldn't find her. Lying on the solid rock ground was hardly comfortable, even with the new blanket Esther had gifted her days before. The wolves made her uncomfortable, she wondered how they were doing and her thoughts drifted to Tyler. Him being a werewolf had changed up a lot of things for him and it was so painful for him, she hated that. After letting her mind rile herself up, she reached out to the side hoping to find Niklaus next to her, only to feel the cold ground. Caroline opened her eyes, it took a moment, but once they adjusted to the darkness, she found Niklaus wasn't there.

"Niklaus," she whispered as quietly as she could.

There was no answer. Slowly, Caroline rose to her feet with one hand on the wall, curious and confused. It was so dark that it took several moments before her eyes could adjust to the mask of light. When they did she decided to walk along the wall as quietly as she could. An idea struck her. With her palm open upwards, she called into her magic to make some light.

A tiny flame appeared in her hand, she gave it a little more power and was able to see in front of her. Careful not to wake the others, she slowly walked over to the place where they came in. It was then she heard whispers, but she couldn't make out who it was at first. Two figures were standing at the opening, a dimly lit torch in a third figures hands. The opening was blocked by a giant stone that Mikael and Finn had moved in place at sunset.

"Come on, it can't be that hard to move," Kol said with an annoyed look.

Niklaus bit back, "You're more than welcome to help brother."

"What are you three doing," Caroline asked walking forward.

The three boys jumped in surprise at the sound of her voice. Henrik and Niklaus stopped messing with the boulder while Kol turned to face her in shock. None of them had expected for anyone to be awake at this time, let alone to come see what they were up to.

"Caroline," Niklaus said walking over to her. "What are you doing up? Is everything alright?"

Caroline glanced from him to the others, "I'm not sure. Why are you trying to leave?"

"We were just making sure it was secure," Henrik said with a nod.

Kol added, "Yeah. Don't want to let the wolves in due to this rock not being sturdy."

Caroline narrowed her eyes, "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because they're both pitiful liars," Niklaus said glaring at his brothers, he looked at Caroline with a frown, "I apologize love. We were trying to leave... to see the wolves."

"What," Caroline whisper yelled, her small flame grew suddenly then went out, "See the wolves? Niklaus are you crazy? You have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"I know it is dangerous, but I need to see them," Niklaus told her earnestly.

Caroline shook her head, "Seriously? You need to see them. See them for what? So they can kill you. You want to watch them kill you and anything in their sight."

Niklaus put his hands on her shoulders, "It would be a quick look, they wouldn't know we were out there and no one would know we were gone. I assure you love, we'd be safe."

"No," Caroline said, her expression horrified, "No, please. Please the three of you can't do this. Please, I, I can't- no, no. You can't."

Niklaus squeezes he shoulders gently, "Caroline please listen-"

Caroline stepped back, her eyes burning, "You have a death wish. What if, what if you didn't return? I've lost so much already, I can't lose you, any of you. Not like this, not, not. Don't go."

Niklaus stood uncertain as he felt torn. The wolves, they called to him. He could never explain it, but he had a fascination with men and women who turned into wolves. And for years he just wanted to see them in their true from, this would be his chance. However as he looked at his wife to be, how horrified and frightened she appeared, he wasn't sure if the call was worth answering. He never wanted to hurt her, it was the last thing he wanted to do. One day he would see the wolves, but tonight would not be the night. For now, he would just have to wait a little longer.

"Okay," Niklaus said closing the distance between them, "Okay, I won't. I'm sorry."

Caroline visibly swallowed. Her hands gripped his shirt tightly, she needed to stop shaking. With a far off look, Caroline stepped away from him and walked back in the direction she came. Niklaus and his brothers followed close behind, their own thoughts spiraling in their minds.