Chapter 17: A life you will soon forget

"Hiya, toots."

The voice made Caroline groan inwardly as she had expected Ric to answer the phone, not Damon. "I didn't call you."

"Sure, you did. My buddy Ric here is spent and needs his beauty sleep. And so, enter; his trusting secretary Salvatore."

"Well, wake him up. Cause I'm not talking to you."

"Come on, Care-Bear! Ric has forgiven me, why can't you?"

"Oh, I highly doubt that." she sneered, resenting the easy tone of his voice. "I need to know if your witch gave you anything new. Now that we can't access Leila Gardiner's grave, I was hoping you had another lead to go on."

"I do."

"And?"

"You already know the answer, Caroline."

Gritting her teeth at that, she took a deep breath and pushed the anger back down. "Aside from asking Klaus."

"Become a witch and find Bonnie all on your own?" he replied cheekily.

"Ugh, why do I even bother?"

"Alright, fine. She did give us something. Apparently, there's someone else in New Orleans who happens to be skilled in contacting deceased witches. And… she also knew Leila before she died."

"Good, send me the address and we'll check it out right away." she said before noticing Marcel's form across the street and hurriedly hung up the phone.

He waved, that charming and charismatic smile ready as ever as he made his way towards her. "Caroline, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Actually... You." she chimed, watching the flicker in his eyes at her words.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I believe I was promised coffee?"

Grinning widely at her then, he nodded and gestured for her to follow him. "How fortunate then that I happen to know of a cute little coffeeshop just around the corner."

"Lead the way." she said with a smile before following the man down the street, reaching a café named Amelia's. And Caroline was convinced that it was a gift sent from heaven.

The quaint little café was covered in a frame with flowers and ivy over the façade. Charmingly old signs and metal bistro chairs in pastel colors stood outside and was matched with an equally cozy interior. Soft music played through the speakers as they entered the little shop, delicate tilework covered the floors and dozens, and dozens, of lightbulbs hung from the ceiling.

"Bonjour!" the tiny little dark-haired woman in a white apron called out to them and smiled warmly at Marcel. "Mr. Gerard, welcome back!"

"Odétte, I'm glad to see that business is going well." he crooned as he cast an eye over the crowded tables around them.

"What will it be, mon amie?" she asked then, drying her hands off and quickly moving to the display near the counter to await their order.

"The regular for me, s'il vous plaît. And for Caroline here…" he looked over at her pointedly then as he passed the question along.

"Just a latte, please." she told her with a smile, still slightly taken aback by the incredible ambience of the locale.

"Of course, I will prepare it right away. Perhaps you would like to sit in the garden?"

Garden? The word echoed in Caroline's mind as she studied Marcel closely.

"Go ahead and sit wherever you'd like." he murmured to her, a hand on her lower-back shortly before he nodded towards a pair of glass doors. She smiled towards the woman again and followed the directions, opening the doors and nearly gasping at the sight.

Garden was an understatement… it was more like a greenhouse. A wide space opened up and was absolutely filled with light. Plants and flowers of all kinds covering the brick walls and some round tables spread out with tiny chairs. The ceiling was what had surprised her, it was open except for the framework. Further plants in hangers of different sizes and materials reached down from the steel beams along with rustic lights in long strings.

It was like stepping into a new world. The café had looked so tiny and cute from the outside, and even prettier inside – but this was just incredible. Like an oasis in the middle of the busy neighborhood, still and peaceful and full of beauty.

The awe-stricken smile on her face was still on when she felt Marcel's presence beside her. "I never took you for the romantic-flowery-coffeeshop type." she teased lightly, glancing over at him as he smirked in response.

"I have my moments." he quipped before walking over to one of the tables and pulling out a chair for her.

They sat down in silence as the woman from before, Odétte, appeared with a tray in her hands. She placed their order on the table and smiled at them both, a little 'bon appétit' before she scurried away. Caroline recognized Marcel's order as an americano, which she found ironic, along with a croissant which he placed in-between them. Inviting her to share it with him.

"You know, I've never been to France. But if I ever had to guess what it was like… This would be it." she confessed, earning a smile from the vampire then.

"I hope you get to see it for real someday." he mused, causing a flash of memory to rush through her at that.

"I'll take you. Wherever you want to go. Rome, Paris… Tokyo?"

Occupying herself with her coffee, she tried to hide the longing feeling that crept over her at the memory and decided to focus on the present. "I was hoping we could finally clear the air."

He raised an eyebrow at that but nodded for her to go on. "Me and my friend, Enzo. We're not just here to gather information about Lucien." she began, slowly placing the cup down on the table as she took a deep breath and continued. "A close friend of mine, ours really, was taken by someone who we think has connections with him."

"Who would that be?"

"A vampire named Julian."

"Is that like Cher or Beyoncé?" he joked, making her chuckle lightly.

"I have no idea, really." she confessed and sighed again. "Anyway. A few years ago, someone I know came to New Orleans with Julian. While they were here, he talked about some old friend with powerful connections. At first, we thought it might have been the Mikaelson's, but that turned out to be wrong."

"And this person who was with him –"

"Damon."

"He doesn't know who Julian was talking about?"

"No, they went separate ways before he could find out." she explained, wincing slightly as she glossed over the details in her mind. "Damon later thought that, whoever had committed all those murders in the quarter back then, was the person in question. And since Lucien seems to be related to the case – I think it's him."

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he studied her for a moment, a strange and loaded silence growing between them as she waited for him to speak. To say anything really, before she started rambling…

"And here I was beginning to think you were just using Castle as an excuse to spend time with me." he finally said, causing her to blink a few times in confusion.

"What?"

Shrugging his shoulders shortly, he sighed before speaking again. "Why else would you make a trade for information about him, when you clearly have much simpler ways of getting the answers you're looking for?"

And then the ghost haunting her mind reared its Hybrid head once more. "Klaus." she breathed out as she realized what Marcel meant.

"You weren't aware that they knew each other?"

She let out a short, nervous laugh and looked away from him then. "No, but I'm starting to see just how big of a mistake it was to think otherwise." she scoffed. "Clearly everybody in town has some sort of history with Klaus."

He studied her for a moment before commenting. "What is yours?"

"That's a story for another time..." she grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers as she felt a headache coming on. "Wow, I really have been walking around in circles ever since I got here, haven't I?"

"I don't get it, why wouldn't you just go to Klaus from the start? Seems like he wouldn't mind helping you…"

The question made a frustration blossom up in her chest as she scolded herself. "Believe it or not, I wanted to do this without him."

"Great plan." he chuckled, making her groan inwardly.

"Yeah."

His eyes stayed on her for a moment longer before he suddenly stood up and reached for her hand. "Come on, let's go."

"Go?" she stuttered as she took his hand and stood up slowly. "Go where?"

"To see your boyfriend, where else?" he teased on.

She turned mute suddenly as he quickly sped them out of the café before she could blink. He's not my boyfriend… running through her mind as she followed.


Four years ago
Dallas, Texas

"Pack whatever's necessary, leave the rest." Caroline instructed Alaric as they returned to their apartment.

"Wait, Caroline..." he began, feeling confused to her sudden eagerness to leave town.

"There's no time, Ric." she said and began raiding closets and shelves.

"Why? What is happening?"

"Stefan is here, ok!?" she then yelled out, making him flinch and turn white.

"What?" he whispered.

"He's here. With Valerie. And Tyler apparently. And since my previous werewolf bite is now completely healed: so are the Originals." she explained before continuing packing things into the biggest bags she could fin.

"What, why? What are they doing here? How did they find us?"

"I don't know. It's all kind of blurry right now. I can't quite put it all together. But what I do know is that the longer we stay here, the sooner more of them will come."

A phone began ringing, making Caroline jump. "Easy." Ric said as he pulled it out of his pocket. "Oh... It's Ginnie."

"Who?" Caroline called out from her bedroom as she continued ransacking their belongings.

"This lady from AA. She was the nurse that helped me get you out of the hospital."

"Well, we're kind of on the run here so I wouldn't suggest picking it up!"

"I can't ignore it, Care. She agreed to be my sponsor, I have to answer."

"Your what?" she froze and stared back at him. "When... How...?"

"That's a long story… Just, keep packing. I'll get her off our backs. There's probably people looking for you, you know."

"Right… Yeah. Ok, but hurry!" she said before flashing through the apartment to finish the rest.

"Hey, Ginnie. Sorry to run out like that..." Alaric began, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to figure out how to explain himself.

"What happened, Ric? I came to check on you and then both you and your friend were just gone."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. The thing is... I don't really know how to explain this to you."

"Well, you'll better come up with something. I'm outside your apartment right now."

That, Caroline heard. She stared at him with wide eyes. "Do not let her in." she whispered.

There was knocking on the door, it was too late. "What do you want me to do?" Ric whispered, making her groan.

"Fine. But I'm opening it. Not you." she hissed and quickly went to the door with her hearing alerted. "Who is it?" she asked, not necessarily waiting for an answer but rather trying to hear how many heartbeats were standing on the other side of the door.

"Uhm, Ginnifer. From the hospital."

Caroline opened then. "Hi, Ginnie. Sorry, we're kind of busy right now. Come back later, maybe?"

"Wait... What's going on?" she said and stepped past Caroline. "Ric, are you in trouble?"

"What makes you say that?" he asked, earning a groan from Caroline at the same time as Ginnifer gestured to the trashed apartment around them. "Right..." he muttered.

"If you need help, I can call a friend on the force. He'll put a deputy outside your building day and night."

"That's really not necessary." Caroline said, trying to sound easy and light but feeling rather stressed at the moment.

"I find that hard to believe."

"Listen, Ginnie." Ric said, reaching for her shoulder. "I really appreciate you coming to check on us, but something's happened and we have to leave town… And there really isn't a good way to explain why."

"Ok."

They stared at the woman for a moment before echoing in unison. "Ok?"

"Yeah." she said with a shrug. "I came to help, so tell me how I can."

"We need a car." Caroline announced, hurrying to gather the bags.

"And a place to go, I'm guessing." Ginnie mused, surprising the both of them again. "I have a family house up north, I inherited it from my folks when they passed last year. It's not in great shape but it could help you for the night until you guys know where to go next."

She began writing down the information and handed it to Ric. "Here, that's the address. And my personal number, I don't usually give that out to anyone but I'm thinking you'll still need a sponsor wherever it is ya'll decide to go. So, call me when you've settled and I'll hear around if I know any good ones, yeah?"

"Wait, really?" Ric said, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Yes, of course." she chimed, nodding for emphasis. "Like I said, I want to help."

"This is... more than enough. Thank you." he muttered and quickly embraced her in a tight hug.

"I don't want to interrupt..." Caroline began awkwardly, entering the room again with several bags in hand. "But we really should go."

"Right." Ginnie murmured as Ric released her, she then held out her keys before speaking up again. "Here. Take my car. It's the gray sedan around the corner. It's not very luxurious but it'll take you to the house. Leave it there when you move on and I'll pick it up tomorrow night after my shift."

"You're clearly a guardian angel and I really want to thank you properly, but we need to leave now." Caroline chuckled nervously and pulled at Ric's arm.

"Right. Thank you, Ginnifer." Ric chimed, glancing over at her one last time before hurrying to leave Dallas behind.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

It had been eight years. Eight years. She had been so sure that whatever had existed between them would have mellowed or died down by now… It was ridiculous, that's what it was. She couldn't possibly have feelings of any sorts for a man she hadn't seen in forever… Right?

But as Marcel stopped outside a construction site, where Klaus apparently would be, she was worried to consider the thought any further.

"Well, this is a surprise." Turning around slowly, her heart nearly came to a halt as she saw him. Standing with his arms crossed and a little smirk while he studied his visitors.

"I must admit, I don't quite enjoy the fact that you brought Marcel with you. Although, I still consider this little visit a victory on my part."

Caroline stood frozen as she felt Marcel analyzing her reaction to the Hybrid's words. Unsure of what she was worried about, she still felt weird about the three of them standing there together.

"Go on, love. Don't leave me hanging." Klaus crooned then.

"I'm coming clean." she finally managed to say.

"I figured as much." he chuckled and nodded towards Marcel. "Does this mean that you have decided to include Marcel in this business of yours before me?"

"I guess I was just the better listener." Marcel mocked with a grin that turned Klaus' eyes dark. "Hey, give me some credit! I was the one who convinced her to turn to you."

"Eventually." Klaus pointed out.

"Klaus..." Caroline sighed as guilt filled her stomach when his eyes met hers. "I know you're mad at me for not reaching out once I got into town. And for keeping you in the dark ever since. But you should know I had my reasons for all of it... and very good ones too, actually..." she rambled nervously, nodding her head in a frantic state.

She couldn't tell what he was thinking as he studied her silently, and it worried her. Desperate to fill the silence, she spoke up again. "I realize this is really hypocritical of me and that you have no reason for helping me and that I really shouldn't even ask-"

"Caroline." he interrupted her with a palm raised in the air. "There really is no need for all of this." The words felt a little cold, making her wonder if Marcel being there was not such a good idea after all.

The younger vampire met her eyes with a nod. "I guess that's my cue." he muttered and disappeared. Leaving her to turn to the hybrid with an apologetic smile.

"I really hope you're not making a habit of only meeting with me while bringing Marcel with you, Caroline."

"I'm sorry." she whined with a grimace.

"For what, sweetheart?" he asked, a genuine look coloring his eyes.

"I understand if you're mad at me..." she begun, making him chuckle again.

"That is certainly not the case, love. Aside from feeling warily flattered that you are finally turning to me, I am mostly… confused by your actions." he stated and walked up to her slowly. "First you hide from me, then you push me away, and now you need my help."

"Well, for someone who isn't mad at me you sure sound mad." she quipped.

"Caroline..." he sighed and looked away for a moment before meeting her eyes again. "Could we please be honest with each other? Have I not earned as much by now?"

The hurt that flashed across his face pulled at her heart strings. "I'm not going to hide anything else from now on. I promise."

She felt her stomach flip as she suddenly realized that she had closed the small distance between them and grabbed onto his shoulders for reassurance. As if having been burned by his touch, she drew her hands back and looked away from him to hide her flushed cheeks.

"Sorry." she mumbled and looked up at him with a shy smile. "Anyways…" she began then, clearing her throat as she wondered, where was I again? "Like I said, I'm coming clean."

He studied her closely for a minute before he spoke up. "Then let's make a date of it." he announced cheerly, his mood suddenly completely changed.

"What?" she asked, trying to resist his contagious smile as one of her own tried to tug at her lips.

"Tonight, I will pick you up at your hotel at say, eight? We will lay our cards on the table and find out what it is that I could do to aid you in your mission here. What do you say, love?"

"A date?" she echoed, finding it so trivial and odd for the two of them. "Like, a date-date?"

"Well, only if you wish it to be." he crooned with a smirk that made her fight back the urge of rolling her eyes at him.

"No, not a date. Just dinner. Between old friends." she insisted. "And not tonight, I have plans. Tomorrow."

He grinned at her words and nodded. "Very well, dinner tomorrow night then… Friend."

Caroline had to bite her lip to keep a wide smile at bay. "I'll see you then, friend." she beamed and turned away in a rush to try and hide the butterflies that had suddenly surfaced in her stomach.


Four years ago
Dallas, Texas

Tyler and Mila had taken Stefan and Valerie to a small rental home just outside of town. Valerie and Mila had begun trying to reconstruct what was left of the potion as the guys sat in deep discussion in the other room.

"But why bite her?" Stefan pressed on, still not following the werewolf's reasoning with hurting Caroline in such a nearly fatal way.

"Well... Because we needed that." Tyler confessed, pointing at the grimoire that Elijah had given them to complete their protection spell.

"Does that justify it?" Stefan retorted; his tone as grim as he felt.

"You're one to talk." Tyler muttered. "Are we pretending you didn't get the Mikaelson's to slaughter the very last doppelganger just so you could hide from Julian?"

Stefan sighed turning towards him with a frown. "You're right." he admitted. "I guess, sometimes we think that the end justifies the means... But when the dust settles, we're all left to suffer through the guilt of what we did to survive."

"Well, at least you guys may still be able to get your potion to work. I'm kind of screwed." Tyler whispered, staring down at his hands with a fallen face.

"Why did it have to be Alaric's blood?" Stefan asked, making Tyler shrug.

"I guess it didn't have to be, but it was kind of my best shot. You know, get the blood from Ric and the grimoire from Klaus – all in one bite." he flinched at his own words. "Hell, Stefan. What have we become?"

Stefan sighed in agreement. "I ask myself the same all the time..." he gulped. "Take mine."

"What?"

"Take my blood."

"I don't really know if that will work, Stefan..."

"I have over a hundred years of grievances to offer, Tyler. That has to amount to something."

"It could work." Mila said, the women having entered the room again. "But unfortunately, the potion won't."

"We tried." Valerie sighed and shook her head. "But it's completely ruined."

"So, what now?" Stefan asked, shaking off the disappointment with a shrug.

"If you are truly ready to offer your blood to help Tyler, then I may have something to give in return." Mila responded, flipping through a few pages of the book in her hands. "I can't keep Julian from finding you forever, but I could blind him to you both. Keep him from directly tracking you."

"How would that work?" Tyler asked.

"We'd still have to be careful, use aliases and keep out of sight. But if we are, there is no reason for him to find us." Valerie explained, nodding as she read the same page over Mila's shoulder. "You would do that for us?"

"Yes, but as I said... We still need blood from someone in pain, consider this the exchange."

Valerie nodded and glanced over at Stefan then. "Then you will have mine."

"You don't have to, Val." Stefan interjected but she shook her head.

"I have remained in mourning of my own lost child for centuries within the Phoenix Stone. If anybody's pain could even begin to equate the horror I witnessed when Tyler turned... It is mine."

Tyler smiled sadly. "Thank you." he said, earning an equally sad smile from her in return.

"Let's begin." Mila announced then and immediately got to work.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

"1255… 1253…" Caroline read aloud as she and Enzo walked down Leonida Street, passing small, run-down houses and young kids riding skateboards back and forth.

"You know, gorgeous, I think we really could use Marcel after all."

"1249… Oh, so now you listen to me?" she scoffed at Enzo. "I thought he was 'too much of a liability' and 'couldn't be trusted'."

"Well, that was when I thought he only wanted to bed you." he shrugged, making Caroline hit him over his arm before she continued reading the street numbers.

He chuckled then. "Sorry, dear. What I mean to say is, maybe he could assist us with reaching Leila Gardiner."

"Isn't this Hannah-May supposed to do that?" Caroline asked then, her face a grimace at the mention of using Marcel.

"Well, there is no guarantee that she will agree to help us."

"I thought that was your job, what with the accent and charms and that whole… thing." she retorted, accentuating the last word by waving her hand around his face.

He grabbed her by the elbow and stopped her in her steps. "Believe me, Caroline. I would pretty much do anything to get to Bonnie at this point. But if it came down to it… Leila Gardiner will not stand in my way."

She gulped loudly as she took in his dark, serious eyes and nodded. "Let's hope we don't need you going on a killing-spree then."

"Well, I would prefer that as well. But if you keep derailing our mission here, gorgeous, I may as well have to cut you loose."

She flinched at that, staring at him for a moment. "I want to find her just as much as you do, why else would I be here in the freaking New Orleans slums!?" she gritted out through clenched teeth. "What happened to us being in this together?"

"That ended the moment you chose to hinder our progress due to some childish love drama." he quipped. "Or have I missed the moment when you finally gave in and reached out to Klaus?"

"Actually, yes. I talked to him earlier today."

Holding her back by her arm, he gaped at her with a disbelieving chuckle. "What?"

"Yeah." she sneered, shrugging out of his grip before continuing. "I'm meeting him for dinner tomorrow night."

"Ah, I see." he muttered darkly as he followed by her side. "You're somehow making time for a date and yet cannot be bothered to do what's necessary to help Bonnie…"

"Hey!" she protested angrily, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Just because I won't trust Damon when he says that something he possibly needs is to be found somewhere in Baton Rouge – doesn't mean that I'm not doing everything I can to find Bonnie."

He opened his mouth to respond but she quickly cut him off. "Also – if you really thought that hell of a vague lead was anything to go on; then why don't you just run off to follow it yourself!?"

"Then who would be here to babysit you, gorgeous?" he mocked, causing her blood to nearly boil in her veins as she wanted to hit him in his face. His voice cut off her violent thoughts as he nodded to the side. "1233."

She scowled silently for a moment before admitting defeat with a nod. "Let's go." she muttered and headed towards the house with Enzo in tow.

Ignoring the doorbell, Enzo gave the door a determined knock and called out. "Hannah-May Denver?"

Caroline tried to listen for noises inside the house but felt a cloud fill her head, some magic seeming to work hard at keeping strangers from overhearing anything. "Well, it's definitely the right house." she noted quietly to Enzo, who nodded in agreement.

"Please, Ms. Denver. We don't wish you any harm, we only want to talk." Enzo pleaded as he knocked again.

There was still no response, making Caroline restless. "Ms. Denver, please. We need your help contacting someone. We were told you're the only one who can do that."

Finally, a presence neared the door. "Who sent you?" a hoarse voice croaked out from inside.

"Damon Salvatore." Enzo responded.

They both held their breaths as they waited for the woman's reaction. The sound of several locks clicking open drew their attention back to the door again. As it opened, a small old lady looked at them with tired eyes.

"Who you lookin' to contact?" she asked silently, looking straight down on her feet. Perhaps in fear of being compelled.

"A witch named Leila Gardiner." Caroline answered, a soft smile on her face.

"What for?" she asked.

"We believe she can lead us to someone." Enzo replied. "Really, Ms. Denver. Any help you could offer us would be greatly appreciated."

"Come in." she then said, opening the door for them to enter.

They stepped inside cautiously, nodding towards her as she quickly locked the door behind them and gestured them to sit on a dark leather couch. "My name is Caroline Forbes. This is Enzo St. John."

Hannah-May nodded in response. "I'm sorry to say I have nothing to offer you to drink." she said as she took a seat on an old armchair opposite them.

"That's quite alright, Ms. Denver. We don't want to impose." Enzo said with a polite smile.

"Well, go on then. To whom will Leila Gardiner lead y'all?"

"A friend was kidnapped by a dangerous vampire, one who seems heavily cloaked and pretty much impossible to locate. We were told that Ms. Gardiner could assist us because she managed to get into the vampire's head before."

Hannah-May gave them a short nod. "I may be able to help, but it will cost you."

"Anything." Enzo quickly promised, his eyes wide and filled with hope.

She studied them for a moment before turning back, looking at something over her shoulder. "I feel the need to warn you, even for a couple of vampires – this is dangerous business you've gotten yourselves caught up in."

"What do you mean?" Caroline pressed on carefully.

"Leila wasn't a regular witch. She got mixed up with some bad people, dealing with very dark magic…" she explained, caution evident in her tone. "I was there when she was finally freed, it wasn't an easy sight to behold."

"Freed?" Caroline echoed.

Hannah-May cursed to herself at that, seeming to regret her words immediately. "Killed." she said then, correcting herself. "Anyway, I can help you contact Leila."

Enzo nodded aggressively. "Please, that would be highly appreciated."

"But as I mentioned, it will cost you."

"What could we offer you, Ms. Denver?" Caroline asked politely.

After a moment of thought, Hannah-May replied with a sad smile. "There is a necklace that is believed to have healing powers. Witches such as me aren't welcome into the parts of New Orleans where the necklace can be found… Get that for me and I will help you however I can."

Enzo and Caroline shared a look before Enzo turned to her again. "What do you mean by 'healing powers'?"

Hannah-May seemed to understand their confusion and simply let out a light chuckle. "It is the kind of power which vampire blood cannot provide." she explained and reached for a framed photograph on the coffee table, showing it to them. "My daughter, she has cancer."

Caroline froze as she stared at the woman then. "Cancer?" she breathed out in an echo, earning a nod from the woman. The mere word caused her to feel dizzy. Her hands started shaking, her heart drummed within her chest.

Oh no, not now… Not here… she thought to herself as she felt the anxiety attack creep into her skin. "It won't cure her." Caroline spat out, interrupting Hannah-May as she gave directions to a small antique shop in the Garden district.

The lady turned to her then. "I know."

"You do?"

"Of course, hun." she quipped, seeming insulted by the implication. "But it will help her through chemotherapy. It will ease her pain. That is all I can do for her now."

Caroline's breathing began slowing down as the explanation calmed her slightly. "Okay. We'll have it to you tomorrow." Caroline promised then and stood up, pulling Enzo to his feet by his arm. "Thank you for your help."

"Thank me tomorrow." Hannah-May said as she followed them out. "And before you get any ideas, this house is magically sealed; one invitation will not be enough for you to enter again."

"Understood." Enzo chided with a nod. "We will see you tomorrow. Thank you, again."

He had to hurry to catch up with Caroline as she was speeding down the street in a daze. "Caroline, stop." he called out as he grabbed her arms and held her in place. "What happened in there, gorgeous?"

"I just…" she murmured, feeling out-of-breath as she tried to calm her head. "I had a moment. Sorry."

"Thirsty?" he asked as he scanned her thoroughly.

"No. I just… I need to get my heart-rate down."

"By running?"

She clenched her jaw and buried her nails into her palms. Suddenly, she noticed a broken wooden fence near a house and rushed over to it. Grabbing one of the wooden poles, she held a pointy end close to her leg and plunged it into her thigh.

"Woah, Caroline, stop!" Enzo yelled out as he tried to stop her. She pushed him away, managing somehow to knock him out in the process.

As she stabbed her leg once more, she felt her pulse slow down by letting her body focus on the physical wound instead of the mental ones. Throwing the pole away with a huff as she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

It helped, she thought to herself as she exhaled in relief. For now.

When she felt stable enough, she turned to Enzo as he remained unconscious on the ground. Pulling at one of his arms, she wrapped it over her shoulders and then sped them away from the open neighborhood. Not stopping until she reached her hotel.


Four years ago
Ardmore, Oklahoma

When Caroline and Ric arrived at the address later that night, a beautiful 1920s Tudor house welcomed them. They quickly moved their bags inside and heated some fast food they'd bought on the road. Ric was serving it up when Caroline entered with a stack of magazines, newspapers and letters in hand.

"I thought the least we could do for Ginnifer is to bring her parent's mail in while we're here." she explained as she dropped them next to the food.

"What's the plan, Care?" Ric asked, making her sigh.

"I don't know." she admitted. "We could always join a carnival. Or rent an RV and take a road trip coast-to-coast?"

"Right." he muttered as he unwrapped his burger and dug in.

She studied him silently, trying to figure out something comforting to say to him. "I'm sorry." she murmured once she came up short.

"For what?"

"For making you drop everything and move, again."

"Caroline, you're the only family I have. Whether you made me or not, I'm not letting you go anywhere on your own."

She smiled softly at that and rested her head on his shoulder. "Sounds good to me."

"So, Oklahoma?" he asked between bites.

"Hmm... Maybe New York? Or California?"

"Or Louisiana?"

She sat up straight and gave him a strange look.

"He healed you, Care." he chided, making her shrug and look away. Avoiding his eyes as she began flipping through a newspaper.

"You mean you're not even the least bit tempted to head east?"

"Why would I be?"

"I don't know, to thank him, maybe? Stop by for a beignet?" he said and shrugged. "It may even be safer for you. He'd protect you."

"And what about what you just said? What about you and me?"

"I could learn to like beignets." he replied with a thoughtful pout, earning a chuckle from her.

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea."

He furrowed his brows as he studied her closely. "Why not?"

"Because I don't know what's waiting for me there." she sighed and dipped some fries in ketchup. " They have problems of their own, and we're supposed to be out… Let's just stay out, instead of going looking for trouble in yet another vampire-filled city..."

Silence fell over them as he mulled her words over, she kept flipping through the mail with a small frown as she finally spoke again. "I called him."

"Klaus?"

"Yeah, right before I threw my phone out the window by the Texas state line."

"What did you say?"

"He didn't pick up."

"Did you leave a message?" he pressed on, studying her intently as she sighed.

"No, I didn't know what to say!" she gritted out in frustration then. "Anyways, it probably doesn't matter. I mean, if he came into town to heal me and then run off immediately afterwards before continuing to never speak to me again – then maybe I should just leave Klaus Mikaelson alone."

"You sure that's what he wants? What you want?"

No, she thought to herself but refused to utter it. Hurrying to change the topic instead. "So, I'm thinking we should go by aliases for now on."

He gave her a short frown before nodding, seemingly accepting the change for now. "Right. So, Bonnie and Clyde?"

She grinned at him and shook her head. "I was thinking something more similar to our real names, it would be easier to remember."

"Well, I guess I could be Richard instead of Alaric."

"Mm, you don't look like a Richard." she said, pouting as she looked over at the magazine in her hand. "How about Tom? Like Tomas."

"Tom?" he repeated, grimacing at the name. "What do you think of Joshua?"

"No, that won't work... Maybe, Zachary?"

"Zachary..." he tried it out, nodding slowly. "Zach Richards."

She smiled at him. "I like that."

"And you?"

"I was thinking something similar enough to still keep 'Care'." she mused and hummed lightly. "And maybe Richards too? We could be cousins?"

He frowned. "And have people think I'm your dad? I know I'm old and all but there's no need to rub it in."

"Ok, ok! Not cousins!" she laughed, making him chime in. "Then Williams, after my dad."

He gave her a warm smile and nodded. "Just Williams then?" he teased, making her chuckle lightly.

"I don't know… Clara? Cassidy?"

"Cara." he suggested then, earning a slow smile from her as she took it in.

"Cara Williams." she concluded then. "So, now that that's settled… What do you think about..." she leaned closer to him then, pointing to a picture in the magazine in her hands with the name 'Second City' in large letters. "Chicago?"

"Chicago." he stated in agreement, smirking as he glanced over at her then. Both feeling pleased with the choice.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

When Enzo finally started to wake up, Caroline had already finished sending some emails to her colleagues back in Chicago and checked in with them in order to approve her prolonged impromptu vacation. "You are starting to really get on my nerves, Forbes." he grunted as he stroked his neck with narrowed eyes.

She stored her laptop away and looked back over at him as he sat up on the bed. "Let's call us even then." she chimed, earning a dark but amused look from the vampire. They fell into an easy chuckle before she took a deep breath and voiced her thoughts. "I'm sorry."

"For snapping my neck?"

"No…" she drawled as she bit her lower-lip and took a steeling breath. "You were right. I was making things more difficult than they needed to be… With coming here, with Klaus… But if you could believe it, I thought I was doing the right thing."

"I'm not sure I follow." he said with a cautious glance before she sighed and explained herself further.

"I thought that I could keep things separate. Klaus would be there, and Bonnie would be there, far away from each other." she held her hands up in demonstration before continuing. "I didn't want my past with Klaus to get in the way of finding Bonnie. Because truth is, things are way too complicated between him and me and opening that pandora's box up would just be… Messy."

Enzo turned his palm in gesture, urging her to continue. "Well, without going into too many details… I kind of omitted some things from our backstory. Truth is… The last time I saw Klaus, we left things unresolved. And I may have led him to believe that if I ever came looking for him, we would try to make things … more resolved."

"So, you left him waiting for you?"

"I mean, not literally. It's not like I ever thought he would take it to heart. I mean, it was just the kind of thing he always said, you know? Doesn't mean that he actually meant it…" she rambled on, sighing as she tried to find the end of her thought. "But I guess I was kind of worried about running into him before… Before –"

"Before you were ready." Enzo finished, bringing a slight blush to her cheeks.

Silence hung over them for a moment as Enzo took it all in. He studied her slowly as she waited for him to say anything, anything at all. When he finally spoke up, it was so quiet she thought she imagined it first. "What?" she asked.

"I said I get it." he murmured softly. "It's fine. Water under the bridge."

"Just like that?" she said incredulously.

He shrugged before speaking again. "Well, you said you've spoken with him now. That was true, yes?"

She nodded in response. "And I assume this was difficult for you? To finally decide to deal with your history, even though you may not have felt ready yet." he pressed on, earning a nod from her again.

"Well…" he said with a deep sigh as he gave her a sympathetic smile. "Then I think you've suffered enough for now. I won't lay any more weight on your shoulders." he said, allowing a silence to hang over them shortly before speaking again. "However, I do hope he has something to bring to the table here. Since I am beginning to find myself at a loss for a working plan."

"Which is where Klaus comes in, I hope. Me and Klaus, we've dealt with things like this before and I truly believe he can help us out."

"Then why did you ever doubt this before?" Enzo pointed out.

Caroline closed her eyes with a deep exhale at that. "Honestly?" she breathed out as she looked over at him before continuing. "I thought Klaus would take matters into his own hands, and I was worried that it would endanger Bonnie's life."

"Because he would prioritize your safety first?"

She nodded with a guilty look on her face. "Like I said, a complicated mess."

"You've certainly earned a good night's sleep, gorgeous." he chuckled at that, making her join with a light laugh.

"Yeah." she whispered. "I thought I could take care of Hannah-May's errand tomorrow morning, but not before letting myself sleep in for once."

He smiled at her in agreement. "You sure you don't want my company?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll just get the necklace for her and meet you at her house afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan." he smirked, earning a smile from her in return. "And about the Baton Rouge subject… I know you don't believe there is anything to find there, but I still think it wouldn't hurt to check it out."

"So, you want to go?"

He grunted as he turned and got off the bed, stretching his arms in a sigh. "I don't think it's any rush. We could see where this lead with the Denver witch leads us, and maybe bring it up again further down the line."

"Sounds good." she agreed with a nod of her head.

"I should head over to my room and get some sleep." he announced as he moved over to the door of her suite then. She followed him with her arms crossed over her chest as he suddenly looked over at her. His eyes lighting up in mischief.

"What?" she chuckled at him, making him shake his head.

"I just realized that I got further with you in a few days than that Marcel fellow has in nearly a week." he mocked, glancing back at her unmade bed as she gaped at him in response.

"Okay, that's it. Get out!" she pushed him through the door and closed it firmly between them, drowning out the deep chuckle as it slowly faded away through the hall. She quickly shook off the irritation at his words and headed to finally get an early night's sleep for once.


Four years ago
Dallas, Texas

Valerie held her breath as they left the temporary home behind. The potion concealing them from Julian should work, but it still worried her to see Stefan so nervous beside her. "We will get another chance." she told him, stroking his shoulder softly. "Julian may be hidden from us now, but that doesn't mean we cannot still get to him."

"With what, Val?" he scoffed, causing her to sigh in defeat.

"I don't know."

They walked together slowly to the street where they had left their car, both carrying heavy doubts and fears in their hearts as they entered the vehicle in silence.

They had failed, and the reality of it was dangerously close to crushing Valerie's soul. For months now, they had one goal in mind: finding a way to be safe from Julian. And after tonight, hope was difficult to hold onto. They needed a new plan, a new goal… Especially in order to keep Stefan from losing his senses, because she knew how easy it would be for him to shut everything off and turn into his Ripper self instead. She had to help him, however she could. And if what he needed was a new goal to work towards – then she would find him one.

He had already driven through the city as she sat deep in thought, the high buildings vaned and were slowly turning into an open road. His face was set in a hard expression, his eyes fully focused ahead. She recognized the look; he was beating himself up again. Blaming himself for everything that had gone wrong. He always carried so much pain and guilt, the fact that it hadn't already flattened him by now surprised her. Ever since they left Mystic Falls, he had done nothing else but repeat his mistakes over and over. And she imagined that it just might pain her more to see it than for him to do so.

"I think it might be time for us to leave North America." she told him softly after another long silence between them. "I have contacts in India, some of whom may have ways of helping us."

He cast a glance over at her before focusing on the road again. His lack of response made her fidget with her hands slightly as she tried to wrack her brain for something – anything – to help bring him out of his dark thoughts. "Mila gave me her number, so I will be able to ask her for some assistance as well." she added. "But I believe she and Tyler will be rather preoccupied with their own safety for now."

When he still didn't show any signs of him actually hearing her, she let out a deep sigh. "Stefan, what's wrong?"

"Everything." he scoffed.

"Well, what is bothering you right now then?"

"We killed someone for a spell that Julian used against us."

She nodded slowly. "Yes, that was a horrible and disastrous outcome… But still, we couldn't have known how tonight would end."

"Maybe not." he shrugged slightly then, glancing over at her shortly. "But Julian is still out there. And we are still running. Why do I feel like we are in the exact same spot as we were yesterday? It is like we aren't even moving forward anymore, Val. All we do is run and hide."

"So, let's not anymore." she chimed, a thought suddenly making her smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's not run anymore." she explained. "Let's fight."

He watched her then with a bewildered face. "What, just turn around and go after him instead of getting as far away as possible?"

"Exactly."

"It's too dangerous."

"Not necessarily." she pointed out. "This is the first time in over a year that we've known exactly where he is and what he is up to. Let us use it to our advantage."

"How?"

She looked over at the road then, thinking it over for a short moment before speaking up again. The plan already forming in her mind as she put it all together. "We follow him. We bide our time, study his patterns, and learn what we can of his plans. And when the moment is right – we kill him."