"Stefan. So glad you can join us mate."

His eyes never left Caroline's and Klaus had his hand wrapped firmly around her throat, the tips of her boots barely touching the ground. This little vampire was really trying to rile him up. She knew exactly who he and his family was, yet all she could do was smiled her fake plastic smile and lean up against the alley wall as if she was sipping tea on a porch. As if she wasn't in the presence of two of the the most lethal creatures on earth. Where were the days when as soon as Mikealson was even muttered, people would cower in fear or bow at his feet and beg for mercy even before the crime had been committed. This Caroline had guts, or stupidity depending on how you saw it, but he had enough of people trying to push him, enough of the Mystic Falls vampires.

"Don't do this Klaus. She has nothing to do with what has been going on in Mystic Falls. Caroline had nothing to do with us trying to kill you or get rid of you these past months. She hasn't been here for years." Stefan held a stern yet pleading look on his face, his eyes silently begging Klaus to drop her. Stefan carried enough guilt around with him from his Ripper days, he didn't need the added of Caroline's death because of their actions. Stefan and Damon still had this misguided notion that they could truly take down a thousand year old hybrid that easy. The gang got lucky when they killed Finn and even luckier that the remaining siblings didn't retaliate by ripping all their hearts out. Thank goodness for small miracles that Finn spent the past nine hundred years in a box, put there by Klaus. Stefan felt his brother's presence behind him as Damon crept a few feet, dressed in his usually black on black attire. He made sure to keep his distance until needed.

"Well, Barbie, long time no see. Looks like you still know how to make friends." Damon wielded his trademark smirk and his vibrant blue eyes lit up from behind his brother's shoulder. He wasn't even trying to hide the glee of finally seeing someone else other than him being tormented by the hybrid's rage. The only reason Damon even came along was to make sure Stefan didn't try to sacrifice himself for Caroline or bargain another ridiculous deal with the devil.

"Shut it, Damon. " Caroline's eye burned with anger as soon as she heard the oldest Salvatore's voice. "Your not needed here, as always, so you should leave before I take your head off. Both of you leave, I have this under control." her eyes darting over to Stefan. Stefan wasn't apart of her life anymore but that didn't mean she wanted him dead. No, she just didn't want to see him, maybe in a few centuries they could start over.

"Well, aren't you a saucy little thing." Kol spoke up from the opposite wall were he had been enjoying the show, his arms crossed over his chest. "Most vampires that find themselves with my brothers hand around their throat would be begging for their lives right now, but not you. Your tossing about death threats like it's a Sunday afternoon." The little vampire didn't cower or cry like most people did under his families stare. She stood their and took what was coming to her.

"It's not exactly the first time death has knocked at my doorstep. " Caroline's voice strained against Klaus's hand and her eyes fixating once again on him, " You think you could drop me down please? I am not here to kill you and I don't care anything about your family."

If only they knew what Caroline was truly capable of. Under normal circumstances she could drop them long enough to flash away, but she hadn't feed for days and the Original brother's interrupted her meal on the local. Plus Klaus had four legs and she is fairly certain he could catch up to her easily. Caroline was only a few years old and still training herself with the use of her ability. Maybe in a decade she could take them on but right now, with the evil hybrid so close to her heart, was not the time to provoke. She needed to keep the number of people that were aware of her ability to as few as possible. One can only imagine what the Original's would want from Caroline once they found out and one person she knew wanting to use her as a weapon was enough.

"Why are you really here?" Klaus's his hand never moving from Caroline's throat, his face mere inches away from hers. He was still fuming from the lack of response and the unneeded interruption of the Salvatore's. Suddenly as if asking for more interruptions, the backdoor to The Grill swung open and out walked Rebekah with Matt trailing behind. Matt's eye's widen immediately and Rebekah rolled her eyes,

"I had it under control, Nik. No need to go strangling anyone tonight. Caroline and Matt both has assured me that she wants no part of the never ending feud you have with the Doppelganger and her two boyfriends." Rebekah smiled as she played her favorite game of torment the Salvatore brother's and it always worked too. Damon and Stefan both were shooting daggers at her. It was too easy sometimes.

"Yes, Bekah, we are well aware of when a fresh young boy bats his eyes at you, you fall at his feet and believe whatever it is he says to you." Kol mocked from across the alleyway. Klaus breathed deeply and took every inch of his restraint to not drop Caroline and snap his own siblings necks.

"Why are you here?" Klaus elevated his voice and stressing each word to be heard perfectly. Now was not the time for Rebekah's silly games with the Salvatore's and Kol's juvenile behavior.

"My father's trying to kill me." Caroline blurted out, her head was starting to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen her brain thought it needed to survive. No time like the present to rip the band aid off, Caroline thought to herself. The Originals were going to find out sooner or later, either by her former friends or by the hunter's that were surely on their way to Mystic Falls. Caroline did see one thing she wasn't expecting from the hybrid. His face falter ever so slightly, his eyebrows twitched together and his gaze search over her face quickly before returning to it's former self. If Caroline didn't know who was standing in front of her, she would almost say it was pity she saw from the Original Hybrid, Mr Asshole himself. She didn't need pity or any of the looks the others were shooting her right now. She didn't have time to dwell on the thought when she was suddenly dropped back to her feet, dropping his hand from her throat and take a few steps back. She bent over to cough and quickly got back up to keep the hybrid in her eyesight encase he was just giving his arm a rest and went back for more. She breathed in and out deeply to compose herself before speaking again.

"So you see, the death threats you all have been tossing around really aren't my top priority right now. " Caroline glanced at the three Originals that stood before her, their faces now stoic and blank, her eye locking back with Klaus's own stare. From the corner of her eye she could see just a hint of understanding from Rebekah. The Originals after all did run from their father for a thousand years. Caroline continued on,

" I already have a few threats to take care of so I want no part of whatever idiotic plans these two want to conjure up." she waved a hand toward the Salvatore's "I'm here to make sure my mother doesn't get murdered on her way home from work one night by my father's hunter friends and to take care of them once they show up. In a few days time, Mystic Falls will have more visitors but you guys shouldn't concern yourselves with my business. I will take care of it, I always do. "

"Were you not going to even tell anyone you were back Care? We can help you with your father and help protect your mother. Elena and Bonnie would love to see you again?" Stefan spoke softly, moving along side her, as if not to spook her. The three girls were not exactly close anymore but they had grown up together since they were toddlers. That had to count for something and what little he could gather, Caroline had been alone since she left Mystic Falls. When she came back before she was alone and never mentioned any friends she had been travelling with. Stefan had been a lonely traveler himself, although most of which was done emotionless, but he wanted better for Caroline. Maybe the next time she left, he could travel with her a bit. Heaven only knows Stefan could use a break from Mystic Falls and his brother. Things were going south with Elena and things were not getting any better. The "break" they seemed to be on was only bringing her and Damon closer together.

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest as she stepped towards Stefan, her eyebrows twitching as she spoke,

"Seriously? You are going to play the hurt best friend card, after two years of radio silence? After not so much as a text message to see if I was still alive after my father ran me out of town and sent his hunter buddies after me? " Caroline was fuming mad at Stefan. He really had the nerve to be upset after leaving her to fend for herself after her father's torment.

"Blondie, you didn't even tell us you were leaving. You just up and disappeared without even a note where you were going. Liz told us over a week later what happened. So don't throw this back on us and expect us to come crawling back to you. It's about time you get over yourself and the importance you think you have to this group. " Damon darted forward, Stefan now sandwiched between the two vampires.

"Oh yea, Damon. Next time the flesh is being burnt from my bones and I'm fleeing for my life, I'll be sure to give you a call. Wouldn't want you to stress a brain cell worrying over me." Caroline lashed out at Damon. This was exactly why she didn't want anyone to know she was back here. She didn't want to have to defend herself against people like Damon. They had no idea what she had to endure those days locked away watching her father torment here her, having to watch disgust on her own father's face over and over again. To see the shock and horror on Bill Forbes's face once he realized Caroline could not be killed. For the second time tonight Caroline was flung against a wall but this time by a different Original,

"Enough of this petty bickering. You hate each other, we get it. Move on." Rebekah barked out, her hand pressed firmly to Caroline's chest. " I have better things to do than to listen to you people bicker back and forth. Caroline wants nothing to do with our family and clearly she wants nothing to do with any of you lot. No one is getting murdered tonight, now all of you can leave." Rebekah looked at all parties, including her brother's when she mentioned the "no murder" rule.

"Fine." Stefan stated. He had enough of the fighting between Caroline and Damon. " Care, just come back with us, I'll keep Damon out of your hair so you can stay at the Boarding House." Rebekah released her hold on her and Caroline couldn't hold back her laugh,

" Unless you are giving me a free pass to murder your brother while he sleeps, I don't see that happening." Caroline smiled her Miss Mystic smile as she glanced over at a not too amused Damon. She saw a flash of silver being tossed her direction and caught a set of keys Matt threw at her.

" Take Vicki's old room and leave the door unlocked for me when I get home." Matt said as he didn't wait for an answer and went back inside to finish his shift. She looked down at the keys and had a small thankful smile upon her face as she glanced over at the Salvatore's and Mikealson's. It was either Matt Donovan's dead little sister's room or the Mystic hotel at the edge of town. Caroline was sick of hotel's. Caroline's eye fell upon Klaus who had a almost a hint of confusion in his eyes as she stepped forward.

" I'm not going to kill you or your family. I don't care what trouble you caused once you showed up in Mystic Falls, that's your business not mine. Just leave me be and hopefully you won't have to see me again after this week." She didn't wait for a response as she stepped away and the last thing she heard was Stefan yelling for her to come to the Salvatore Boarding House tomorrow to talk as she flashed over to the Donovan household.


Klaus sat on his large sofa in his study, staring at the canvas from earlier he painted. He drank from the bourbon that sat on the table in front of him, his mind filled with a mysterious blonde from earlier. Caroline. She stood up to him and stared him down even with his grip around her throat. He could have killed her in an instant but she didn't even blink an eye. The only fear he saw was for a flash of a second when she let her disguise drop. And that was what she wore, a disguise to keep people from seeing her true form. Under the fake plastic smiles and the cold attitude towards her Mystic Falls friends, was the real Caroline begging to break free. You could see a glimpse of it in the tiny smile she gave the human quarterback at the simple gesture of a place to stay. It almost seems as if she had not had this type of generosity or companionship in years.

Caroline's words from earlier rattled around in his head and he wasn't even sure why. Perhaps it gave Klaus unwanted flashbacks to when he was just a boy and being publicly beaten by his father in front of the village they lived in as human's. A flashback to when he was hunted down for a thousand years by his father for no apparent reason other than he just despised what he was. A bastard.

Klaus slammed his glass down in anger. He didn't know this girl and had no reason to. He should not be sympathizing with someone that for all Klaus knew deserved the torment she had receive. But Klaus saw the look on Caroline's face as she talked of her father and the torment she had endured. Her betrayed look when she spoke to the Salvatore's who to her, didn't even care enough to help her at the time. She didn't deserve it, he wasn't sure why but he knew she didn't. But this Caroline could still be a threat, she was too connected with the Mystic Falls gang to just let wonder around Mystic Falls as if she owned the place. No, he would be keeping close watch on Caroline while she was in town to ensure the safety of his family. At least that's what he would be telling himself.