Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your support! I just love hearing from all of you! It really encourages me to push on. I am having so much fun with this story. I just love lovey-dovey Klaus and Caroline. I can't wait to expand more into the story! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

There is visible confusion all across the board. It seems like none of them were ready for those words to slip past Caroline's lips. And honestly, she wasn't either, and she's sure there was probably a better way for going about saying that, but at the moment, she was so hurt and upset that her own mother wouldn't recognize her that she felt the verbal slap in the face was warranted. It probably wasn't but she's never really had the best control over herself when it came to her parents.

She just gets weird about it.

Liz blinks a few times rapidly, her jaw dropping to her chest. "Caroline? Is that..? What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Where is Cassie?"

Now was as good a time as any to come out with the truth. "All great questions. You wouldn't have happened to of heard from Cassie recently, have you?"

Liz blinks a few times, "No, not recently. Why? Where is she?"

Caroline shakes her head slowly. "Another great question. I have no idea." She crosses her arms over her chest, feeling like she was using the action more to shield herself rather than to look assertive. "I haven't seen her in two years. I was hoping that you've heard from her."

Liz looks distressed. "Oh my gosh, Caroline! You haven't seen Cassie in two years? What have you been up to? Why didn't you call me?"

"I've been looking for her," Caroline says. Something had to of scared her away. Caroline still believes this with all her heart. Her aunt would just leave for no apparent reason. "And I was hoping that she would just find her way back like she always did, but then days turned into weeks and before I knew it almost two months passed. By then, I knew I had to go look for her myself."

"She's left you alone before?" Liz asks, eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. "Christ, what is she doing?" She runs her hand through her hair. "Okay, I'm going to run to the station get into contact with some friends and file a missing person's report, then, you are coming home with me." She waves her hand. "Come with me, Caroline."

"No, thank you," Caroline says easily, shaking her head. "I'm already staying with a friend. If you hear anything about Cassie, text me."

Liz's jaw drops. "Caroline, what has gotten into you? Where are you staying?"

Caroline holds up her hands to keep some physical distance between them. She's not sure what she would do otherwise. She wouldn't hurt her mother, of course, but honestly, this woman is a stranger to her. She may have helped bring Caroline into this world and somewhat supported her financially these last few years, but there isn't any connection. There isn't a mother-daughter relationship between the two of them. There hasn't been a connection between them since Caroline was nine years old.

"I'm staying with friends," Caroline says, stepping closer to Klaus, relieved when he places a hand on her waist, protectively. "And listen, don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine. I've been fine for two years. I'm going to stay as I am, alright?"

Liz shakes her head. "No, I'm not going to do that, Caroline. I'm your mother."

Caroline smells that sweet scent coming from Klaus again and she casts him a sideways look once more to see that his anger has dissipated, but he watches the group curiously. When her eyes land on his face, he looks back at her slowly. His pretty eyes stare into her own and the pain in her heart lessens a bit. She has to accept this reality; this parentless, auntless, runaway, homeless, cursed werewolf, lone-wolf existence.

But Klaus doesn't see her like that. He's always been there for her when she needed him. He's always been more than she dared to ask for. And she knows there is a feeling that is building up inside of her when it comes to him and while she doesn't want to put it into words, she knows that she feels it. And like she said before, she liked the realness between them. She liked the way that he looked at her.

"We haven't had a mother-daughter connection in a long time," Caroline says softly, finding the strength to pull her eyes away from Klaus. "I'm okay now. I don't need it. What I do need is to know if Cassie is okay. So if you figure something out, please let me know."

Liz looks shocked and Caroline feels bad. She wished that there was a better way to go about this. In some sick way, she wished that her mom was some evil bitch that didn't look hurt at her words. At least that would have made all of this easier, but she looks sad and hurt. And Caroline understands that. She doesn't think any of it was intentional, it is just a natural course of action for all their time apart.

"I'm not going to just pretend we are strangers, Caroline," Liz says, her eyebrows pulling together tightly. "If I had known that something was wrong, I would have come to help you immediately."

Caroline feels pain and pity in her chest. She had imagined this moment quite a few times, fearing that it may be inevitable, but she hadn't imagined it would hurt like this. Caroline believes that Liz wants to be a good mom, and maybe if given a chance, she still could be. But Caroline isn't looking for a mom. She hasn't in a long time. She's looking for her aunt. The woman who raised her.

"I've stopped staying up at night begging for a mom," Caroline says softly, hoping that it came out more tender and less patronizing. She didn't want to dig at old wounds or put something out into the ether that isn't true. It's all just facts now. "I'm okay now, mom. I've moved on with my life. And it's okay. I'm not here to make you feel like a bad person, okay? I just came into town looking for Cassie, is all."

Liz's eyes water and she looks heartbroken and Caroline feels bad. "Caroline, let's talk somewhere else, okay? We should talk."

Caroline stares at her for a long second, then shakes her head. "No. I'm sorry. I can't right now."

"Hey," Damon says, "she's your mom, man. Talk to her."

"Maybe you should talk to her..." the girl, Elena says softly, staring at her with wide brown eyes. "She's your mom."

"I don't think this is any of your business, mate," Klaus says, glaring at Damon.

"I don't think this is any of your business either, friend," Damon says, narrowing pretty blue eyes. "This is between a mother and her kid."

"I think you should listen to your own advice," Caroline says, glaring at Damon too. "This is between us and I decided not to deal with it right at this moment because I'm busy. So shove your nose into something that isn't my business." She's not sure if she was defending herself, Klaus, or both, but she felt she had to say something. "Butt out, alright?"

"She's your mom," Damon snaps. "Show her some respect."

"Damon," Liz says, rubbing her tears away. "Don't worry about this. I've got it."

"No, Liz, you don't deserve to be treated like that."

Caroline shakes her head, hating that somehow he was making her feel like an asshole for not wanting to deal with this right now, turning to look at Klaus, hoping that she didn't look as broken as she felt. She hated it when others had that much emotional control over her. To be honest, the angry little voice in her head reminds her that there was someone else that had a lot of emotional control over her, but at least he's never used it on her.

"I'm ready to go," Caroline says, staring into Klaus's eyes. "Please, take me anywhere that isn't here."

Klaus nods, taking her hand in his own, lacing their fingers together. "Let's go, love."

"Wait, what? With him? Who is this?" Liz asks, moving to step in front of Caroline again. She looks at Klaus. "Who are you? How do you know my daughter?"

"Klaus Mikaelson, Sheriff," Klaus says, offering a pursed lipped smile. "And it's been my pleasure to help look after your daughter this last year."

Liz stares at him, her eyebrows pulled together tightly. "What does that mean?"

"Mom," Caroline says, not liking the way Liz was looking at Klaus. "Klaus is my friend, and as he said, he's been looking after me this last year. He helps me on the night of the full moon. He helps me when I need a place to stay. He loans me money when I'm struggling. He helps me. Don't worry about Klaus and me, okay? We're alright."

"I..." Liz looks like she wants to say something, but doesn't have the words for it.

And Caroline feels bad again. She hates feeling like this, so she caves, wondering if she was being unfair. "We can talk. Later. Not now. Not today. I'm sorry, but I'm not able to do this today. I'm more interested in finding my missing aunt than trying to figure out where the heck to go from here with you. I'm sorry."

Liz presses her lips together tightly, nodding slowly. Damon opens his mouth, about to say something but Liz gives him a sharp look, with a hard, "I've got this, Damon. Thanks." Then she turns to Caroline, nodding again. "Okay, Caroline. But please, your seventeen. Let me take care of you."

Caroline stares back at her, feeling weak and tired. She shakes her head slowly. "I've been taking care of myself just fine for the last two years. I'm about to be eighteen, I've made it this long, for better or for worse. Thank you for the concern but I'm fine. If you can trust anything about me or what I say, trust that I'm going to be okay." She starts to walk away when she stops, smelling that wonderful smell from Klaus again and knowing that what she said next, was the truth, "And a big part of that has to do with Klaus."

Caroline and Klaus, along with Elijah, who stood by quietly during the airing of the Forbes family laundry start to walk away again when a voice calls out to them. "Wait!" Caroline presses her forehead into Klaus's shoulder before twisting around to look at the group standing behind them. It was the girl who spoke. When Caroline made eye contact with her, she asks, softly, "Do you remember me?"

Liz presses her lips tightly, looking over at the girl at the same time as the two vampires.

Caroline looks into her pretty brown eyes, studying her face closely. She only vaguely remembers her life here in Mystic Falls. And to be honest, she doesn't remember a lot of the people here, but this girl, she could only be one person. Caroline faintly remembers her childhood friend with the same dark eyes, always so sweet, so kind. A girl named Elena. Just like this girl.

"I do remember you, Elena," Caroline admits. "But it was a very long time ago. And my last memory of us was when Elliott died. We got into a fight and you and Bonnie went to play alone."

"Caroline..." Elena says softly. "What happened all those years ago... it was just an accident. It wasn't your fault."

Caroline shakes her head slowly. "I know it wasn't my fault, Elena. I didn't intend to kill him. I was nine. He came up behind me and pulled my hair and when I flailed around, I knocked him backward. He broke his neck and died. But the curse doesn't care if it was intentional or an accident."

Elena's eyebrows pull together. "What do you mean by that?"

Caroline stares back at the girl who had long ago been a friend, and had things somehow been different, probably would still be, but things were different now. Maybe there was a chance for them to get to know each other and become friends, but she wasn't sure this moment was the right one to explore it. Or to air out any more dirty laundry.

"Never mind. Maybe I'll see you around." Caroline offers a little smile before nodding at Klaus. "I'm sorry about that. Let's go."

Caroline forced it all away, spending the rest of the day wandering around Mystic Falls with the brothers. At some point, during late lunch, early dinner, Caroline finally owned up to her mother, explaining that she hadn't realized that she was now back in her hometown and even explained her strange relationship with her parents. Thankfully they didn't offer any unsolicited advice and Klaus was even candid, in part, about his own mother. Most of the time they talked, Caroline wasn't sure if they loved, or resented their mother.

But there was a common enemy amongst them. Mikael. Their father.

Klaus and Elijah could talk about Mikael all day. They warned her about him, about how dangerous he was.

"He's especially dangerous for you, Caroline," Elijah says, interlacing his fingers on the table. Caroline pushes her half-eaten plate away from her and leans back into the curve of Klaus's shoulder in the booth next to her.

"How so?" Caroline asks.

"Our father has always hated the werewolves," Elijah says. "But after the death of our youngest brother, Henrik, enraged him even more. And when the truth came out about our mother's infidelity. I think that was the final straw that tipped him over the edge."

"I guess I can understand that." Caroline nods slowly, looking over at Klaus. "He wasn't very nice to you, was he? You said that you had a bad relationship with your dad."

"My father hated me long before he knew I wasn't his son. I don't know what it was, but there was always something about me that I guess he didn't like," Klaus says evenly, yet Caroline can hear the pain in his voice. Caroline turns a bit in his shoulder to look into his sad eyes, noting how he's just staring at his coffee for a long moment before finally dragging his eyes over to hers.

"Klaus," Caroline says softly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that even now, a thousand years later, that man can still hurt you. Just know, that asshole and his view on you does not define who you are. Mind over matter, handsome." She presses her hands against his cheeks so that he has no choice but to look at her. "I'm not scared of some old racist, child abuser. I'll look after you, old man."

Klaus smiles faintly, but he doesn't look convinced but at least he looks a little bit better. Caroline pats his cheeks a bit before laying back into the curve of his shoulder to look at Elijah. Klaus rests his arm around her shoulders. She grabs his wrist to keep him from pulling his arm away. She feels like he needs this closeness more than even she does.

"Our father's hatred of Niklaus will also be directed at you, Caroline, not just because of your werewolf nature but because of Niklaus's fancy with you," Elijah explains. He turns dark eyes toward Klaus as if to make the point to both of them.

The younger brother frowns at that as Caroline asks, "Wait, so he would kill me just because Klaus showed even an inkling of care for me whether I was a werewolf or not?" Her eyes are blown wide, unable to believe that a father could hate his child - even if they aren't linked by blood, he did raise Klaus and that has to mean something, right? - would not only hate the child so much to try to kill him but to also kill those that he cares for. That level of spite is unfathomable.

Caroline has heard enough stories about her own father's hatred for the supernatural to fear that he would simply never speak to her again, but to actively go out of his way to hunt her down and kill her? Kill those she dare just to love, nevermind their own feelings on the matter? That is the type of irredeemable evil that can only be in storybooks.

Yet this is their reality.

Caroline couldn't imagine living her life with the fear of one day her father finding her and killing her. And all those she loved.

"No offense, but your dad is a real jerk," Caroline says, shaking her head in complete disbelief.

Elijah's smile is thin with only a touch of mirth. "That's a very mild way of putting it, but yes. Just be cautious of your surroundings, Caroline, that's all." He laces his fingers on the table.

"Okay," Caroline says, nodding. She reaches up, lacing her own fingers with the hand around her shoulders. She looks at his hand, admiring the little scars that told the story of his life before he became a vampire. Everything else healed up afterward. But he was telling her about the little knicks on the pads of his fingers from widdling - wood carving? - along with knife and sword practice as a young man growing up. The callouses built up there is a full sign of his life. He hasn't lived on of luxury, despite all his money and power.

Staring at his hand made her think of something. "Wait," she tilts her head back to look into Klaus's pretty blue eyes, "If you've been living in this house for a little while, does that mean you have some of your art here?"

"Pardon?" Klaus asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, off-topic, but I was just thinking, I haven't been to a house that you've actually lived in for a little while. You tell me that you do a bit of painting and stuff but I haven't seen any." Klaus presses his lips together and she immediately knows the answer. "No!" She cries out, drawing the attention of the restaurant. She lowers her voice, flushing a bit in embarrassment, waiting for the patrons to return to their meals before saying, softer, "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"I'm sorry," Klaus says, trying to fight the smile working its way across his face. "If I had known a gallerist was coming to inspect my work I would have been better prepared."

Caroline purses her lips a bit. "Good. I'm happy to hear it."

Klaus smiles, then presses his lips onto her hairline and letting out a sigh. They sit in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Caroline unlaces her fingers from Klaus's to just admire his fingers. The rough pads of his fingers marked with thousand-year-old scars. No doubt he's ended so many lives with this hand, yet he's also created life too - in the form of art. She's walked around art galleries listening to him talk on and on about this artist and that, the art faze that this piece was made in or the one that one was made it. None of it made any sense to her, but he seemed to genuinely enjoy it. And admiring art put him at ease, so she didn't mind when the bug came over him while they were together when he wanted to go and admire the nearest gallery.

She thought it was all pretty to look at.

She's not sure when or what point in the silence she started to drift off, but her back was pressed against his chest, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, that wonderful, delicious scent turning her brain into fireworks. At some point, she could hear the brother's talking again while she was drifting somewhere between conscious and unconscious. She could hear their low voices but not really registering what they were saying.

The notification ping of her phone made her jump. She leans up a bit, digging around in her pocket to wiggle out her phone. She rubs at her bleary eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. Caroline sees that it's a text message that reads, "I'm going to call you."

Caroline purses her lips in thought, wondering why she didn't save the number. She has a couple of numbers in her phone from people she's met along the way that she wanted to stay in contact with but was surprised to see that someone had her number, which she didn't usually give out. She would take their number, offer to text them later and if she didn't like them, she would just delete the number and hope that it never came back to bite her.

Her phone lights up with a phone call and she answers. "Hello?"

"Caroline? It's Rodney."

Caroline perks up, shooting into a sitting position with her back ramrod straight. "Rodney, hey! Sorry, I didn't have your number saved."

"Oh, I'm not surprised little lady like you would forget me," the older man laughs. "I mean it's been what? Six months?"

"It has been a while," Caroline admits, running a hand through her hair, being careful of her curls. "So what's going on?"

"I've been hearing some crazy things around here, kid," Rodney says. "I know you got a knack for snooping but I wanted to warn you to stay out of Virginia. A little town called Mystic Falls. The werewolves are doing a lot of talking."

Caroline perks up. "What do you mean? What are they talking about?"

"Apparently there is something bad is coming that way. I'm hearing something old is making its way to Mystic Falls, little lady," Rodney says, taking a moment to cough a few times. He clears his throat and says, concern lacing his voice, "I'm talking old, little girl. Very, very old. Like... Original Vampire old."

Caroline presses her lips closely together, turning to cast a sideways look at Klaus and Elijah, the former of which is smiling charmingly at her, finding humor in this. Caroline casts him a sideways look, rolling her eyes. "Are you talking like, the old vampires? Those vamps that were here during the original seven days of creation?"

Klaus grins, blue eyes sparkling with mirth and even Elijah has a little smile of his own. She didn't have the heart to tell him that it was way too late to avoid running into Original Vampires. By at least a year in Klaus's case and since yesterday in Elijah's. But he was a nice old man that was the closest thing Cassie had to a friend.

"I don't think they are that old," Rodney says thoughtfully. "I think vampires have only been around for... what? A thousand years, I think?"

Caroline smothers her laugh. "I'm kidding, Rodney. But I hear you, no gallivanting with Original Vampires." She grins over at Klaus, giggling when he wiggles his eyebrows back at her. "Thanks, Rodney," Caroline says. Then, quietly, she asks, "Any news on Aunt Cassie?"

A long, drawn-out sigh. "No, baby girl. I'm sorry. But I've been keeping my ears to the ground and I'll let you know if anything pops up."

"Thanks, Rodney, really. I appreciate it."

"Anything for you, little girl. Remember, stay away from Original Vampires and don't go to Mystic Falls. I hear this Original is a bad guy. He's been gone for some time, but there are always whispers about him. A real monster, I heard. Bad business."

"Oh, I bet he's a real jerk," Caroline jests, her grin matching Klaus's.

"I don't know about any of that, but I know that playing around with vampires and witches is bad business, that's for sure." He clicks a few times. "Just keep yourself safe, okay?"

"I will," Caroline promises. "Thanks."

"Bye, little girl."

"Bye, Rodney." Caroline hangs up her phone and goes to save his number. She must have lost in when she moved on to a new phone. At least she kept the same number. She stares down at her phone for a moment before placing it onto the table.

"So," Klaus says amicably, "Who is this Rodney fellow?"

Caroline casts him another sideways look. "When my aunt first activated her curse, he was the one that took her under his wing. He's probably the closest thing she has to a real friend. At least, he's the only one that she kept in contact with regularly. He owns a place in Iowa, a bar, and it's a place where he can keep his ear to the ground. I asked him to help me keep an ear out for my aunt. But she hasn't yet reached out to him. But he's how I know that something had to of happened. All I know is that someone had been looking for her using private channels, which is code for something bad. It had to be the reason she ran."

"Any idea why they were searching for her and who exactly they are?" Elijah asks.

Caroline shakes her head. "No, and Rodney didn't know either. All he knew was that they went by a very weird name he didn't recognize. I mean, there are so weird names out there but this guy's name was apparently kinda unusual. Then again it is rural Iowa."

"Perhaps we've heard of him," Klaus offers loosely, leaning an elbow on the table and his cheek resting against his cheek against his fist. He raises his eyebrows expectantly. "Why don't you tell us?"

"I don't remember it now," Caroline says. "It was a weird name. Let me text Rodney, I'm sure he remembers." She sends him a quick text again before placing her phone back on the table. "So, tell me about this gentlemen's agreement the two of you made?" She looks between the brothers. "Come on, I told you about my dirty laundry. Own up."

"Our siblings," Elijah says, casting a look at Klaus. "My brother has spirited them away somewhere and I want to find them."

Caroline turns wide, bewildered eyes toward the hybrid. "What? You're holding your siblings hostage? Really, Klaus?"

Klaus smiles not so innocently, shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes my siblings need to be punished. So I put them somewhere safe so I would know that they are behaving and I can watch out for them."

Caroline and Elijah both share looks, neither buying the innocent act for a moment. "Dude," Caroline says, shaking her head. "That is honestly twisted. I'm not going to lie."

"Yes," Elijah says slowly. "My brother truly is one for the theatrics of it all."

Caroline can't begin to imagine what could hold down a gaggle of Original Vampires, but if someone found a way to do it, it's no surprise that person was Klaus. She's going about just well not knowing the hows, behind it all.

"Okay, but seriously, Klaus. If you want an outsider's perspective, first off, it's kind of twisted to keep siblings separated like that. But you also made a promise, yes?" She looks over at Elijah, who nods in affirmation. "So I think it's only right that you keep your word and let Elijah see his other siblings. I mean, it's only fair. I'm sure whatever trouble they got in to..." she hesitates, looking down at the table in front of her, wondering if she really had any ground to stand on with this. She doesn't know the siblings, she doesn't know what they did or why they were kept hidden away, to begin with, but Elijah just wants to see them. Caroline doesn't have any siblings, but she knows what it feels like to be separated from someone she loves thought no fault of her own.

Caroline looks over at Klaus again. "All I'm saying is you should let them all be together. You made a deal, so you should honor it. Besides, he's your brother, Klaus. What would we be without family?"

"Eloquently put, Caroline," Elijah says, giving Klaus a pointed look. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"You're only saying that because she's on your side," Klaus pouts, giving a level look back to his older brother. "And besides, those words sound very familiar, yet it is your tone of voice I can hear them."

"Ah, then perhaps I have said it before," Elijah says, a touch of patronizing tone to his voice. He quirks an eyebrow a bit. "Maybe I am the voice of reason, brother."

"Maybe that's why I drone you out," Klaus grumbles, downing the rest of his bourbon.

Caroline rolls her eyes as her phone goes off as a message from Rodney. "Oh, hey, Rodney messaged back."

"About time," Klaus says, still pouting about being teamed up against. "Don't leave me in suspense all day. Who is the dead man after your aunt?"

Caroline shakes her head, not wanting to think too hard Klaus and her teaming up against the people who were hunting her aunt. People tend to not survive when Klaus is involved. Caroline knows. She's heard the stories on the street. People whispering the name of the ghost. Klaus. Luckily, she didn't hear of Klaus until after she met him for the first time or she would have had a heart attack when she saw him for the first time. Then again, he didn't tell her his name, so maybe everything would have been the same as it is now. Maybe not. Who knows?

"Okay, he says the guy's name... was Strix." She looks up at the two brothers, as their expressions level out into deadpanned blankness. Caroline arches an eyebrow. "Do you know him?"

"If it's who I think it is..." Elijah says slowly. "Then it isn't a 'him'. But a 'them'." He turns his dark eyes toward Klaus's. "But the question is; why?"

"Yes..." Klaus growls, narrowing his eyes. "What could they want from dearly beloved werewolf Cassandra Claire?"