I hope this update will keep you sated for now while I dive into studying for my finals - it's going to be rough, guys. Wish me luck! xx.

Chapter 5: Take a chance on me

Present day
New York City, New York

For the past handful of years, Klaus Mikaelson had been forced to adhere to the messy construct of societal laws and bureaucracy that was the politics of the States' vampire population. Ever since his return to New Orleans – or rather since it became evident to him that he would be staying in the city for an unforeseeable amount of time – he had to jump through quite a few hoops and hurdles to keep from getting dragged into unnecessary bloodshed and preventable wars. Firstly, he had struggled with the loss of control that followed upon his retreating in the battle for the throne which Marcel now occupied once more. Then, after he had made sure that no conflicts were silently brewing regarding his old protegee; he had to deal with the many dangers that threatened the lives of his family, and most importantly his daughter.

He had fought witches, prophecies and even his own blood to keep Hope safe; he made an effort to keep the peace towards the factions of the Quarter, he made a point of not collecting any additional enemies – considering the list's already excessive length – and he even tried to remain somewhat levelheaded when dealing with the people surrounding him. Sure, it was a challenge, but Klaus had always been able to see things from a wider point of view and he was trying to have all of his bases covered.

For Hope.

However, he had never imagined the young Caroline Forbes to become one of those potential threats towards his child which he would need to keep a close eye on. Yet, the Original hybrid found himself just short of groveling with the most recent regent of New York City in just that purpose.

Bree Walsh was her name, and he had decisively tried to keep out of her sights for the last century… Since she hadn't taken too lightly to his killing her lover and turning her husband in an attempt to gain a foothold in Ireland so long ago. He had heard of her move to the US a while back but had frankly not given it much thought. Things were different now however. He was different. And he needed to avoid getting on her bad side…

Especially if he was going to get Caroline out of the city with the least amount of fuss possible, as well as smooth things over regarding his impromptu kidnapping and torturing of that lad – what was his name again? Ah, yes… Nico.

The thought left a sour taste to his tongue as his twisted mind kept playing unfavorable images over and over again, of Caroline engrossed in the inept fool that had managed to put the blonde vampire in this whole mess in the first place.

What bothered him the most was the thought that he certainly would have – and had – done the same in the past. Not cared about "rules" or "etiquettes", thinking of himself as above it and all else, never concerned with whose toes or so-called territories he would stamp across – because he knew that he had not much to worry about in the first place. For nearly a thousand years, his only woe was his father's hunting him to the ends of the earth… as well as breaking his hybrid curse so that he could finally be rid of the crippling fear that filled him as he remained merely a step or two ahead of Mikael for the longest time.

Now, both of those issues had been dissolved, and the only thing that brought such similar dread to once more wrap its cold hands around his throat and stop his heart, was the constant torment of caring. Of loving.

Klaus was not sure when he had stopped worrying only about himself and his own goals, nor when he had first gained so many new reasons to worry for others. Hope, Elijah, Rebekah, Caroline, even Hayley… Weaknesses, all of them. Walking around out of his reach and getting themselves into all kinds of trouble left and right.

What was the point to it in the end? Had he not seen the tearful goodbyes and desperate pleadings of mercy when he took the lives of other's loved ones? The misery that washed over their faces when they were forced to deal with such loss. The fury that filled them as they vowed to avenge their mother, child, husband, sibling… He had always been vexed as to how they could allow for such a fault to exist – out in the open and ripe for the picking for anyone who wished them harm. It was far better to eliminate such vulnerabilities before they were used against him.

Or so he had rationalized his actions and impulses for several centuries. Knowing that his siblings could not leave him if he kept them daggered and hidden from the world. Certain that no weapon could dare harm him if he burned every last piece of White Oak in existence. Convinced that he would be safe, as long as no one could get close enough to touch him. For long he wasn't much more than a myth, a legend told by witches with apprehensive warnings as they made sure to never forget the story of Klaus Mikaelson. Of the monster that could not be stopped, that did not feel nor care for anything on this earth, that would not let anyone stand in his way…

Somehow, he had gone from being that fabled demon to what he was now; what he could only describe as the closest he had been to feeling human ever since he was first turned into vampire. It had become a delicate dance, keeping his family from turning their backs on him with nothing else but his – albeit, at times wavering – faith in their loyalty. To only hope that caring would be enough. That loving others and to have them return that love to you was the only way to make sure that it prospered.

Even now, as he paced the halls of the lush penthouse with his hands clasped behind his back, he could only pray that his weaknesses would not be exploited. His eyes kept darting towards the double doors by his side, behind which the lady Walsh was considering his appeal to not take his presence as a sign of hostility.

When the doors finally opened, the Queen was nowhere to be seen, and from his memory of Bree he imagined this as a jab at his pride from her end. To not even allow a meeting face-to-face, to deliberate only through messengers, to deny him the dignity of a conversation while he asked her to hold back from retaliating in some display of anger.

A young man stepped out to meet the hybrid with a short nod, his face an emotionless mask that Klaus couldn't help but envy right then and there.

Ah, to be able to deal with such a sensitive request without the weight of feeling bringing him down…

"Well?" Klaus pressed impatiently as he eyed the man with a cold smile. "Has the Queen decided to grace me with her presence before she sends me to the barracks to be shot in the back, or shall I merely expect my punishment to be ordered under some further guise of estrangement?"

"She was…" the man began with a drawl, grimacing shortly with an apologetic flash of his bright eyes. "Not very happy to hear about you being here… nor about your treatment of her friend."

"How was I to know that the boy was following her orders?" Klaus scoffed bitterly, he'd made sure to compel Nico and fabricated a cover for his being in the city. However, he wasn't sure just how much Nico knew, nor did he have time to fully investigate it, so he chose a rather simple solution; ordering Nico to protect Caroline. Clear and all-covering, or so he hoped.

He simply prayed that it wouldn't come back to haunt him later… "He was being a nuisance, I assumed no one would miss him if he simply… disappeared." he added with a shrug. "It was rather fortunate for your Queen that I noticed the Guerrera crest on his ring in time, or she would've had yet another reason to be chafed with me."

"Yes, well…" the man snickered, looking somewhat amused for a second before he seemed to remember just who he was talking to. "Uhm, she was mostly displeased with you breaking her rules so openly – and after you came here unannounced."

"What you call unannounced, I call… spontaneous." the hybrid teased. "Had I planned on being harangued by some chum up-and-to the point of wanting to tear his head off, well then I might've considered making a call beforehand."

"Yeah, see, that's what's weird…" the man drawled as he eyed Klaus closely then. "The person Bree instructed Nico to survey was female." he noted with a shrug. "It seems she now has reason to believe that you're hiding something from her. Or rather someone."

Klaus' vow of attempting some level of equilibrium was quickly forgotten as he flashed forward and ripped the man's heart out of his chest. He sighed to himself as he realized that he'd just made an even bigger mess of the already complicated situation at hand. Dropping the bloody heart and pushing the stiff body to fall the floor, his senses made him turn in time to face Bree herself standing in the other end of the hall with Nico by her side.

She was still quite a vision, a strong red-head with dark eyes and freckles covering her fair skin. Her arms crossed over her chest as she took slow steps towards him. "I was wondering how long you would keep up this whole act…" she taunted, the thick accent he remembered much more diluted now. "I didn't care for your pretending to worry about matters like regional politics or rules which restrict you and your desires."

A smirk played on his lip as he nodded his head in a silent snicker, his eyes meeting hers again as she stopped a few feet away from him with an expectant look on her face. "This was a test, then?" he guessed, chuckling to himself as he continued. "You really have grown up, Lady Walsh."

"It's 'Queen' now." she corrected with a snide scoff. "And I suppose that is to be expected after one's family is ripped from you and your entire town is slaughtered by shadows in the night."

"Yes, the years have clearly steeled your heart up quite neatly." he teased with a leisure shrug, the blood-stained hand gesturing to the corpse behind him pointedly. "I suppose I will take that 'thank you' at your earliest convenience." he added with a dark smile as he turned to her again. "Since I appear to be the reason for these successes and riches surrounding you now."

She rushed forward and closed the distance between them as her eyes glowered at him with sharp irises and dark veins. "Everything that I have as well as the person that I am is all in spite of you." she hissed through clenched teeth. "Now, you'd do well not to upset me further, seeing as you are already on such thin ice and all."

"Let's not kid ourselves, Bree." he smirked back. "We both know that if you were ever going to act on your resentment towards me you would not be standing here - making small-talk." he countered with a pointed nod. "I imagine you want something in return for my proposition of a continued ceasefire."

"I want to know where she is." she interjected harshly, surprising the hybrid then as he raised an eyebrow in question. Clearly frustrating the woman as she gritted her teeth before glaring at him again. "Where is Rebekah?"

"What is that of any concern to you?" he retorted with a nonchalant sigh. "Don't tell me you were hoping to reconcile whatever slivers remain of your long-since ended kinship?"

"I know she's here, Klaus." she pressed. "Where are you hiding her?"

"What makes you so sure she is here at all?" he scoffed in amusement.

"Because she's the only person you'd ever risk coming here for!" she spat back at that, prompting a grim look to cover Klaus' face in reply. "When I was first informed of a strange vampire possibly stirring up trouble downtown, I thought nothing of it. But then Nico here…" she drawled and nodded to the man watching them from the other side of the room. "… began describing her to me…" she recalled with a cold chuckle as she slowly turned to Klaus once more. "Blonde, tall, gorgeous and with a nasty temper… Tell me, who does that sound like to you?"

He studied her shortly as a smirk framed his features at the implications, noting that his compulsion had worked quite nicely in redirecting Nico's allegiances. He simply regretted not having thought of instructing the man to answer to him instead. "If you were so sure that she was here, sweetheart, then why would you send some subordinate nitwit to confront her?" he asked, receiving an irritated sigh from her then.

"Because I wasn't!" she replied sharply. "But when Nico disappeared… And then Elijah Mikaelson calls, as if we were age-old friends setting up a time for afternoon tea, and asks me to meet with you?" she shook her head in disbelief before continuing. "Clearly, you two are at odds for some childish reason yet again or you wouldn't be caught blindsided by her coming here in the first place. So, whatever you did to send her underground, undo it."

"What makes you think I did anything at all?" he pushed on with feigned outrage as he held a hand over his heart, prompting a scornful spark to flicker in her eyes. He let out a sigh at that as he dropped his shoulders in retreat. "Fine, I will have her contact you – if you tell me why you wish to find her." he argued with a determined nod.

"As if I owe you any explanation whatsoever…" Bree muttered with a shaking head. "Did you miss the part where you're the one at a disadvantage here?"

That made him grin widely as he leaned in closer, noting her staggering heartbeat and shortened breaths as she struggled to keep her fear from showing on her face. His eyes narrowed as he cocked his head to the side and studied her suddenly frozen stance. "Are you sure about that, love?" he asked softly, feeling very pleased with her reaction to his proximity then.

He moved closer and pressed a peck on her cheek, whispering swiftly in her ear as he turned to walk past her. "I'll be in touch." he concluded with a flat tone before continuing down the hall. Giving Nico a short glance of approval and receiving a subtle nod in respond before he left.

His malicious mask dropped quickly and turned into a tense one as he felt an urgent need to get out of New York right then and there. Before people learned a little too much about the strange vampire that had showed up out of nowhere and unintentionally caught the attention of some very dangerous people. Himself included.

He wasn't surprised by Caroline's incredulous face when he came to pick her up right before sunrise the following morning. As he had offered Caroline the apartment for the night, which she'd accepted, it left him with the whole night to make arrangements for their travels. He'd booked a flight for his sister and rented a car for himself, and now that he had tended to the fire that could have been by meeting with Bree – it all seemed to go by rather smoothly.

But as he still felt some unwariness bothering him, he feared he didn't have time to satisfy the blonde's obvious curiosity if they were to get out of the city as soon as possible. "No bags?" he asked as he stepped out of the car and scanned her quickly.

"Kind of got rid of everything when I was running from you." she shrugged as she walked up to the parked vehicle.

"Look how far you got." he teased with a wink, his nerves hinting that he wasn't quite as calm as he wanted to come off. He cleared his throat then and gave her a pointed nod. "So, ready to go?" he asked her, the impatience seeping through his defenses as he ushered her towards the passenger seat. Only for her to dig her heels in and stare at him with narrowed eyes.

"Okay, I know I'm not from around here, but did we really have to get up at the crack of dawn just to avoid the traffic?" she scoffed, the drawl in her voice revealing her suspicions. "It can't be that hard getting to the airport on time."

"Actually, love…" he smirked as he tugged at her arm and pulled her with him. "We are driving to New Orleans." he added with a shrug, prompting her to stop once more as she made him turn and face her mistrustful expression.

"We?" she echoed. "As in; you and me, locked inside a vehicle for days together, with nowhere to run when one of us evidentially pisses the other one off?"

"I suppose that is one way of looking at it." he scoffed under his breath as he walked over and opened the passenger door for her. Expecting her to finally follow his lead and get in the car but finding her now more stubbornly keeping still in her spot. Her arms folded over her chest as she shook her head slowly.

"How exactly am I supposed to look at it?" she countered. "Aren't you like rich? Why can't we just charter a jet or get a couple of business class tickets on the first American Airlines departure of the day or something?"

He drummed his fingers against the car anxiously as he glanced over his shoulder in a subtle turn of his head. "I'm not particularly a fan of the TSA, Caroline." he noted, hoping it would work as a sufficient excuse. "Driving is far smoother an option, that's all."

"And what about Rebekah?" she added, drawing a chuckle out of him that was partly humored and partly panicked.

Pushing off the rental, he walked over with a breath and hoped to be more convincing this time around. "Did you want her to join us?" he pressed with a raised eyebrow. "You and her, trapped in a vehicle for days on end with nowhere to go when one of you inevitably tries to kill the other?"

There was a glimpse of something in her eyes before she pursed her lips and nodded in response. "I see your point." she snickered, shrugging shortly at that.

As she finally walked over to the car and got in her seat, he nearly let out a 'thank god' in relief while he looked up in the sky for a grateful second. Hurrying then to get in the driver's seat before she changed her mind.

"Just so you know…" she drawled as he started the engine, a smirk tugging at his lips as he noted her immediately getting comfortable. Putting on her seatbelt and lowering the sunshade and fixing her hair in the tiny mirror on the inside of it. "I'm not staying at some sleezy motels." she told him firmly before closing the shade up again. "You can go fulfill that fantasy with someone else." she added, bringing a light chuckle to fall out of him as he shook his head at that.

"Interesting…" he teased as he pulled the car from the streetside-parking. "I'm not sure I'm familiar with this motel-centered-fantasy to which you are referring, would you mind enlightening me?" he crooned, earning a bemused scoff from somewhat amused lips as she shook her head at him.

"Just drive." she ordered, the voice a little warmer than before and almost convincing him that he was talking to the real Caroline right then and there. As she seemed to have noticed the shift herself, she cleared her throat and straightened her back. Her focus turning to outside her window as she seemed intent on avoiding his gaze until the strange moment had firmly passed.

Brushing off the bitter feeling of rejection, he decided to concentrate on the road as he maneuvered his way through the early-morning traffic of New York. Fortunately, it wasn't nearly as busy as during the day and it allowed for some time to go by as silence hung over them. The radio must have been on, but he hadn't paid much attention it until she suddenly reached for the volume dial and turned it up. Causing some rap song he'd never heard to blast through the speakers as she hummed along to the lyrics in her seat.

He began to feel more and more relaxed the further they got from the city center, and a weight of anxiety physically left his shoulders as they started passing signs informing them that they had officially left New York. The landscape around them transitioning from dark high-rises and busy streets to not much more than trees and road as the sun slowly lit up the sky. He had even gotten to enjoy some of Caroline's absentminded singing as she seemed to know the lyrics to every song that came on.

Then, when a song he actually knew started playing, he felt a smile cover his face as he leaned back in his chair. Surprised when Caroline straightened up abruptly and turned the radio off all the way.

"Hey, you've had your fun. It's my turn now." he scolded half-heartedly as he turned the stereo on again, her suddenly pale face alarming him as she didn't respond to his teasing.

"Turn it off." she muttered as she reached for the radio. He swatted her hand away and earned a pair of wide eyes and a dark scowl as she glared at him then. "I said turn it off." she bit out as she roughly pulled out of his hold and punched her fist into the dashboard.

Horrid sounds echoed through the speakers shortly while she pulled the stereo from its socket and crushed it in her palm. She rolled her window down and tossed the remains out on the side of the road while he sat gaping at her outburst with a loss for words.

"I didn't realize you had such issues with The Beatles." he noted in a cautious drawl, waiting for her to explain her display as he glanced between her and the road.

"I don't." she finally told him while closing her window again. Another long moment passed before she relayed further. "They were my mom's favorite." she added, the leveled tone not matching the intimate reveal as she cleared her throat before continuing. "She once told me this story about how my dad camped out for two whole days while waiting in line for tickets to one of their concerts. He took her as an anniversary gift right before they got engaged."

He kept silent as he waited for her to continue, his eyes focused on the road as she seemed to close up every time he looked over at her. As another silence filled the space between them, he concluded that she was done talking and was just about to contribute with a story of when he met the infamous band himself once at a pub in Wales, but she cut him off before he got a sound out.

"Let's get something to eat." she said with such absurd nonchalance to her voice as she merely shrugged at his disoriented glance her way. "I'm starving." she added, as if that explained everything.

Nodding in reply, he reached for his phone and checked the time. "It shouldn't be too difficult finding a restaurant soon enough." he mused.

"Except I'm not talking about food." she sighed out, making him snicker lightly.

"Well, I'm sure whatever greasy spoon we do end up at will offer more than one option for sating your hunger, love." he shrugged in reply, making one last effort to lighten the mood as she kept fidgeting a little by his side.

She held his gaze for a second as she analyzed his face, likely trying to gauge whether he would push the previous subject any further. But when no follow-up questions came, she only nodded and turned to study the horizon. "Sounds good." she deadpanned before going back to not talking again.

Present day
Somewhere outside of Wilmington, Delaware

The young blonde had stared down mean girls, noncontributing group-project members and even some scary-ass monsters in her days, but it seemed that Klaus Mikaelson was keeping his cards very close to his chest. A fact that irked the vampire because he had never really been one to keep his thoughts or emotions to himself. He would scream them, express them in violent temper tantrums or bite out sharp words perfectly curated to stab at ones deepest darkest insecurities.

But then again, perhaps Caroline never really knew him to begin with. Maybe there was a version of the hybrid where he actually kept his anger in check, where he chose not to prod and poke at ones innermost thoughts, when he actually didn't have something to say…

Either that or he was some deranged psychopath, she thought to herself as she glanced at the time on the dashboard through the corner of her eye. He hadn't said a single word in over an hour, which convinced her that he was planning on torturing her with silence until she finally turned her humanity on. Because Caroline Forbes had never been one to stay mute, ever.

As a Sheriff's daughter, Miss Mystic Falls and her school's highest GPA-holding alumna upon her class' graduation - Caroline learned the art of conversing very early. She considered herself able of being pleasant to pretty much everyone. No matter which boring councilmember was placed by her table at some fancy dinner or what self-absorbed investor she could possibly need to kiss up to in order to get a big fat check for the school's new auditorium during a fundraiser - or whatever else. So, the hybrid staying mute for a whole hour made no sense to her whatsoever and was actually making her question his sanity.

What kind of deep-seated issues did a person have to have to be able to not speak for so goddamn long?

"Could you stop it already!?" she spat out as she finally reached her limit, startling the hybrid as he snapped his head to watch her in surprise.

"Stop what?" he asked with a disbelieving snicker.

"Giving me the silent treatment." she filled in with a sigh. "Come on, don't tell me you haven't physically felt every single passing minute since we left New York?" His face twisted into a smug grin as he seemed about to give some witty retort but she beat him to it. "You can't actually enjoy sitting in silence for hours, Klaus. It's not human."

"Is this the part where I remind you that neither of us are?" he chimed, smirking at her shortly before concentrating on the road again.

He really had to stop doing that, she thought to herself as she clenched her teeth in frustration. That whole dreamy gaze when he looked over at her or got her to smile despite her best effort or when he caught her actually enjoying his company…

It was getting very annoying very fast.

But not nearly as annoying as the not-talking part.

"There's something terribly wrong and twisted with you." she muttered under her breath as she folded her arms before her and slumped back in her seat. Her lips pursed into a slight pout as she refused to respond to his sudden deep and warm laughter.

"I suppose you are right about that." he countered after he'd settled down, sighing as he shook his head. "But no car ride, regardless of its lengthy silences, would ever be enough for us to unpack such a topic." he quipped.

She turned to watch him with a scowl but something in his smile threatened to thaw her icy exterior. "Whatever." she whispered then, quickly shaking off the suddenly acute realization of how he had become a hundred times more relaxed now.

That was so not her intention.

"Where's this diner already?" she pressed. "I thought you said it would be close by."

"I was clearly mistaken." he shrugged, prompting her to scoff in response.

"Then just stop at the next gas station or something." she whined with a dramatic sigh. "I have gone way too long without blood, and I can literally feel my muscles wither and grey as we speak." she added while holding her arms up for emphasis. "I'm over here, just gradually losing strength and facing a slow and miserable death, while you sit in silence."

"Caroline…" he snickered, but she ignored it.

"See for yourself!" she ordered, grabbing the hand closest to her as she gestured for him to feel her arm. "I thought you said you would keep me safe, not idly watch while I die of starvation."

"Alright, alright." he chuckled as he pulled away from her. "I suppose that oughta do." he told her and nodded towards a tiny shack finally appearing before them.

He had barely finished parking the car before she jumped out of her seat, freezing up as he grabbed her by the elbow and held her back. "Not so fast." he schooled her with a steady pair of eyes. "Remember our agreement; you are not to draw attention to yourself."

"I know how to keep under the radar, Klaus." she muttered back.

"Do you?" he challenged, letting go of her then and studying her closely. "You're going to have to blend in with a lot of friendly locals, fun-loving tourists as well as a rather established supernatural population when we get to New Orleans. Let's think of this as a test."

"A test of what?" she drawled with narrowed eyes.

"Of how well you can handle your humanity-less self around a group of vulnerable humans." he relayed with a shrug, seeming awfully nonchalant about his likely putting the lives of everyone in the diner at risk for the sake of proving some point.

As he walked on and held the door open for her, she quickly scanned the crowd and found that there were quite a few more patrons than expected at such an early hour.

"I'll be with you in a minute!" a lady called out in response to the bell above the doorway which signaled their entrance. "Take a seat wherever you'd like." she told them as she nodded in their direction before returning to taking a couple's order.

Caroline must have looked a little lost when the hybrid's hand pressed to her back, bringing her attention to him as he started steering her to a booth nearby. They sat down in silence while the waitress dropped a couple of menus between them and took out a notepad and pen from her apron.

"Now, what'll you have?" she asked, not really looking too excited about bringing them anything at all. Her curly dark hair tucked into a loose bun and the corners of her eyes crinkling lightly when she put on her stiff service-oriented smile. A nametag pinned to her yellow uniform suggested that her name was Suzanne, a fact that Klaus himself seemed to note as he nodded at the lady politely.

"Suzanne, how about some coffees while we get ourselves acquainted with the selection?" he crooned to her, bringing a light to fill the woman's face as she suddenly seemed mesmerized by his voice.

"Of course." she smiled widely at him and tucked the notepad away. "I'll give you a minute then."

He gave her another dazzling smile before she left, although not before throwing the hybrid multiple glances over her shoulder - nearly causing her to walk right into a wall. Meredith giggled to herself as she stopped just before the collision and spun around, disappearing into the kitchen then.

"What was that?" the blonde asked while she quickly turned her incredulous eyes at the man across from her.

"Hm?" he said absentmindedly as he finally tore his eyes away from the lady and turned to the menu in his hands instead. "Oh, nothing." he shrugged. "Just making sure to keep my promise to you."

"And what promise would that be?" she drawled, moving forward to lean against her folded arms over the table and catching the slow smile tugging at his lips.

He put the menu down then, his eyes scrutinizing as he studied her for a moment. "You said you wanted to have more than just a dry meal and some coffee, yes?" he reminded her with something else entirely flickering in his blue irises.

"So, your answer is to flirt with some lady who looks old enough to be your mother?" she pressed skeptically.

"Oh, she's far closer to your age than mine, love." he quipped, prompting her to roll her eyes before he spoke again. "I am simply laying the groundwork." he said with another smirk.

"You do realize she's just trolling for tips, right?" she countered, earning another taunting look from the man as he shrugged before leaning back in his seat. His arms spread out to the sides as he rested them on the back of the couch.

"What is it to you whom I do or do not give my tip to?" he retorted, making her nearly choke on her own breath as she shook her head at that.

"Fine." she scoffed, pretending not to notice the smug triumph coloring his features at having caught her so off-guard. "Whatever. Carry on." she shrugged and picked up the menu to focus on something else. He surprised her then as he suddenly stood up from the booth and walked across the diner to where Meredith was pouring their coffees by the bar.

What the hell was he doing? the blonde thought to herself as she felt her eyebrows knit together and her lips part at the sight.

She concentrated her hearing as he called for the waitress with another sugar-sweet smile. "Hello again, sweetheart. Would you mind terribly if I asked you for a favor?" he purred.

"Not at all." Meredith insisted, stumbling a little over her words as she grinned at him anxiously.

How was that working!?

The waitress emptied her hands and leaned over the bar as she batted her eyelashes. "What can I do for you, honey?" she asked eagerly as he moved closer to her.

"You see, my traveling companion over there-" he drawled, glancing back at the vampire and making her flinch as she tried to pretend that she wasn't already watching the scene play out. "-she's had quite the long day, and I think she could use a little pick-me-up of sorts." he crooned on.

"Right." Meredith chimed back. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"Oh, nothing too tedious." he purred, prompting Caroline to study them again as the hybrid locked eyes with the lady. "Just a little of your blood." he shrugged. "That should do the trick."

"My blood?" the waitress echoed in confusion.

"Yes, love." he confirmed before nodding to something behind her. "Why don't you grab a glass and that knife over there?"

Meredith followed his instructions immediately and turned to him again with an expectant look on her face. "Now what?" she asked him.

"Now…" he drawled softly while taking her hand and moving it with his. Turning her wrist as he held it above the glass and taking the knife from her other hand. "Relax." he told her with a pointed nod while he positioned his body in the perfect spot to keep the other patrons from seeing what he was doing. "I'll take good care of you."

The lady watched him as if in a trance while he slid the knife across her palm and started filling the glass up with her blood. Her face showed the conflict happening in her mind as she seemed comfortable despite clearly feeling some pain from the cut.

"Good girl." he murmured in encouragement, putting the knife down and cupping her elbow to keep her steady as he watched the blood drip from her wound.

"You said-" Meredith whispered, her eyes turning glassy as she seemed to have trouble focusing on what she had to say. "You called her your travel companion." she noted.

"Indeed I did." Klaus replied leisurely as he kept his eyes on her hand.

"Does that mean that you're not… together?" the lady pressed on, nearly causing a loud and sputtering laugh to escape Caroline in disbelief.

He was bleeding her dry and she was too busy flirting with him to even notice.

The vampire honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't used any compulsion whatsoever.

"No, dear." the hybrid finally said in response to her question just as he closed her hand and met her eyes again. "Get that cleaned up, would you?" he asked her with another smile as he swiftly grabbed the glass while throwing her one last look. "You cut yourself while working. You don't remember anything about this exchange." he compelled her, prompting her to turn away as she followed the command.

Caroline leaned back in her seat as she listened to his nearing footsteps when he returned to the booth. "There you go, sweetheart." he murmured into her ear while placing the glass of blood in front of her. Smoothly sliding to other side of the table and holding the menu up to shield the glass from the public.

"That was quite the performance." the vampire snickered as she tilted the glass a little while analyzing the contents. "Don't think it'll grant you a Tony just yet though." she quipped with a shrug before raising the glass to her lips.

"Well, as long as you enjoyed the show." he chimed back, making her falter shortly as her eyes snapped up to meet his.

"What makes you think I did?" she muttered before gulping down the blood swiftly. Her eyes closed as she felt the veins crawl under her cheeks in response to the taste. The feeling was still as surreal to her as ever, bringing a question to her mind just then as she wondered how the hell Stefan ever managed to switch to animal blood.

A bunny or two here and a deer there – instead of freshly pumped, warm, incredible blood? There was just no comparison.

"Feeling better?" Klaus' voice pulled her out of her own head as she looked up at him in time to spy something flashing before his eyes right before it left his face.

"Yeah." she breathed out as she barely resisted the act of drying off the remains in the glass with her finger. "But it's a lot of fuss for such a small batch." she noted while putting the glass away. "You don't seriously expect me to go through the same song and dance with every victim I find down in New Orleans?"

"Not at all." he smiled shortly. "But I'm betting it will be enough until we can have a proper meal together."

She licked her lips at the thought, not at all minding that plan. Especially if she got the subtext right and what the hybrid really meant was that they would be sharing a victim next. The monster inside of her turned and crooned in expectation, making her fidget a little in her seat.

"Just so you know…" she said, clearing her throat as she caught her voice a little too gravelly. And as he glanced up at her from his menu, it was clear that so had he. "I'm not going to sleep with you." she stated, watching as he snickered in reply to that.

"Noted." he muttered with a nod. "Are you ready to order or would you like to further discuss how I apparently am propositioning myself to you by the mere act of reading a menu?" he added smugly.

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest in return. "You think you're so smart, don't you?" she scoffed.

"Guilty as charged." he shrugged.

"And still, I think you know very well that…" she drawled, leaning back in her seat and stretching her leg out under the table. "… if I told you I wouldn't mind a solid half-hour or two before we hit the road again-" she purred as her foot started sliding up his leg slowly. "-you wouldn't exactly have any protests about it." she quipped as he promptly backed away from her touch, his knee hitting the table with a thud in result.

She barely held back her giggle as she straightened up again, grinning at the way his face tensed up in reaction to her teasing. "Yes well…" he muttered before focusing on the menu again. "I know you too well to take such a request to heart." he chimed, giving her a pointed look as he continued. "And I think you're worried that I just might pursue it after all."

The words made her bite back a response as she started to grow tired of this game which she'd chosen already. He must've sensed her mindset because he aptly chose that moment to speak again. "Are we done with this topic now or do you have anything else to add?" he smirked, pushing the menu closer to her and gesturing for her to make a decision on what to order.

Except she was too busy trying to figure him out to read the endless list of bacon-wrapped appetizers and carb-loaded sides. She thought that she'd actually hit the bull's eye on her assessment of him, but it seemed that she was possibly projecting some of her own unresolved issues on the hybrid before her.

If her senses were so far off, and her hormones were the only ones threatening to confuse her at the moment, then there had to be some other reason for his apprehension. For how deliberate and cautious he was acting in her presence… For the silence and the half-answers and the whole last-minute decision to force her to spend days with him while driving all the way to Louisiana from New York…

But what?

Since she didn't really have the ability to feel ashamed anymore, she decided to simply ask. "What are you hiding?" she pushed, causing his hand to freeze mid-air as he was in the process of calling over the waitress to their table.

He met her analyzing eyes with a short smile and a shrug. "I'm not hiding anything, sweetheart."

"You are." she countered. "Why won't you tell me?"

That made him let out a scoff-like chuckle as he shook his head in amusement before gesturing with his palms to her. "Let's assume that you are right; would you care to take a gander as to why I'd rather not divulge my deepest darkest secrets to you at the moment?" he quipped.

"Fine, then just give me her name." she tried, earning another chuckle from him in reply. "You know, to confirm my suspicions. Ease my curiosity."

"I'm not sure I know to whom you are referring, Caroline." he drawled.

"Yes, you do." she insisted, leaning forward then to eye him with a grim face. "I saw it. You're protecting someone." she recalled with a cocked head as she tried to read it off his mere expressions. "And if I got into your head once, who's to say I won't be able to do it again?"

He shrugged once more and scratched at his stubble as he averted his eyes. "Thank you for the warning, I'll keep it in mind." he muttered with a bitter sarcasm as he drummed his fingers against the table anxiously.

It was only making her more antsy.

"Why don't you just drop it, already?" she asked in disbelief. "Do you think I can't see what you're doing here?" she pressed, giving a pointed glance between them as she shook her head. "It's not going to work."

"Your mind is extraordinary, love." he smiled coldly in response. "You are currently the one attempting to manipulate me, yet you somehow still manage to make me out be some malevolent being trying to trick you."

"Well, we all have our talents." she retorted with a smirk, earning a sad expression from the hybrid as he got up from the table abruptly.

"Order whatever you want, I need to make a call." he bit through clenched teeth before disappearing outside, clearly in a hurry to escape her scrutiny.

Well, she wasn't going to let him off that easily.

Present day
Mystic Falls, Virginia

"How does this work exactly?" Elena pressed as she assisted Bonnie in gathering the necessary ingredients for her spell. She'd remembered a kind of binding ritual that witches would do to their belongings whenever they misplaced them. And sure, it was a long shot, but the young brunette felt the need to busy herself with something. So why not try and get her missing best-friend back?

"Imagine losing your keys or something, your best way of finding them would probably be to try and retrace your steps leading up to when you lost them - right?" Bonnie explained as she set up a few candles on the table between them. "That's what I'm hoping this will do."

She glanced over at the other end of the room where Stefan stood with his arms folded over his chest, wearing a defeated look on his face as he watched the girls solemnly. He had been a little reluctant to participate in the experiment at first, but Bonnie wasn't entirely sure if her magic would be enough for the link to work or not. And if it wasn't, she might need his help - which convinced him in the end.

Damon however had been all in right away, but the witch suspected it had more to do with being near Elena than anything else since they still hadn't quite cleared things up between them yet. He had taken a seat on one of their beds and his eyes kept darting to his former girlfriend every now and then, making it increasingly more awkward every time she noticed it.

Bonnie felt a pang of sadness fill her chest in sympathy whenever he averted his gaze with rejection in his features and tried to make himself look busy by tugging at some loose seam on his jeans. "So…" she said as she gathered their attention once more. "If I'm remembering it right, then this spell will give me some glimpses of what Caroline is doing, feeling… And, hopefully, where she is." she shared, nodding at the younger Salvatore as she continued. "It's a good thing that she still wears the daylight ring we made for her. I should be able to connect to it through my magic."

"And then you'll use that to see her?" Stefan guessed, earning a nod in reply from Bonnie before she took a seat and examined everything on the table before her. Making sure the ingredients were all in the right place before putting a photograph of Caroline next to a centered crystal.

"I think it's time for me to ask you all, again, if this really is the best idea?" Damon chimed in, getting a sour scowl from his brother right away. "Hey, I'm thinking about you here, Stef. What do you think Bonnie's going to see when she starts digging into Barbie's mind? Cause let me tell you right now, it won't be pretty."

"He's not wrong." Elena added, causing Damon to look over at her in surprise as she shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, we don't want to risk Caroline finding out that we broke the deal and checked in on her. What if she decides to retaliate and go after one of us next?"

Bonnie stilled at that as she noticed all three vampires glancing at her, clearly worried that she would be the target of Caroline's next possible outburst. And even though she hated to think of herself as weak or less able of defending herself than the others; she was still mortal. And she wasn't entirely certain that she would be able to hurt Caroline in attempt to protect herself either.

"Well, if this works… It should just be some images. I'll be able to find out if she's okay, and that's all we really need." she shrugged, looking over at Stefan pointedly before speaking again. "Right?" she asked him.

He looked a little offended at the implication as he squared his shoulders and nodded to her sternly. "Right." he agreed.

"Okay then…" she concluded as she raised her hands above the photograph. "Let's see what you've been up to, Care." she murmured to herself before she began. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she whispered the incantation, murmuring the words to herself over and over as she slowly started to feel it working.

There was a taste of something foreign on her tongue that she didn't recognize, a tingling in her fingertips that seemed distant and a thought in her head that wasn't her own.

And a voice that she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Just how many magazines do you need, love?"

The question wasn't directed at the witch, but she could still see his face clearly before her as someone answered him.

"I need entertainment, alright? It's a long drive." Caroline scoffed back, bringing images of a car in Bonnie's head then.

"Okay, Klaus clearly kept his promise." she informed the others, sensing that they were watching her intently as she kept her eyes closed. "He's with her."

"Right now?" Stefan asked, his voice strained and tired as it paired with his tortured conscious.

"I'm not sure…" Bonnie replied in a cautious drawl. "I guess it could've been a memory, maybe even an old one, but I doubt Caroline used to go on long drives with the Mikaelson's before turning her humanity off."

"So, she's with them?" Elena interjected, sounding appalled by the thought. "Why?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Damon quipped half-teasingly. "Let's just hope you won't be forced to get a front-row seat to what they've been doing, Bon."

"Hey, I'm not the one responsible for us so violently parting ways with the car stereo."

Klaus' voice filled her ears again as a flash of his friendly smile covered her eyes - throwing the witch slightly off-guard since she wasn't sure she'd ever seen such an image before.

"You do realize that it will diminish my chances of getting my deposit back to next to none, yes?"

"You can afford it." Caroline teased back, almost sounding like herself in the moment.

"This is so weird…" Bonnie muttered under her breath.

"What? What are you seeing?" Stefan pushed then, his body radiating with something unsettled as he came to stand next to her.

"They're talking about a car." the witch explained, the vision changing abruptly at that. "Wait." she said as she waited for it all to settle before her. The short thoughts and flickers passing her by a little too fast for her to follow. But a sign caught her sight and snapped her out of the trance forcefully.

Exhaling sharply, she opened her eyes wide and stared between her hands and the photo on the table. Trying to make sense of what she'd seen as she was sure it had to have been a mistake. "That can't be right…" she muttered.

"What is it?" Stefan pressed, his hand touching her shoulder then and prompting her to meet his anxious gaze. "What's wrong? Did something happen to her?"

"No, not at all…" she insisted with a shaking head. "But it just… It kind of looked like-" she cut herself off with a scoff as looked over at the photograph once more. Studying the blonde's happy smile as she looked into the camera with her arms spread out wide. The image taken a while back when they were preparing for graduation. "Caroline's in Virginia." she shared incredulously.

"What does that mean?" Elena sputtered in surprise. "Has she been here this whole time? Or did Klaus force her to come back?"

"I honestly don't know." Bonnie sighed out. "The connection was so strange, and I couldn't really pinpoint the timeline of all the different visions. It was too messy..."

"Did you get anything else indicating where she could be right now?" Stefan asked, making her sigh out in reply.

"No, that's all I got." she said, receiving a cold expression from him then as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Do we need more?" Damon scoffed. "If Klaus has her then it's just a matter of time until he gets bored with the humanity-less shell that she is now and forces her to turn it on. Problem solved."

The younger Salvatore scoffed bitterly in result as he turned away and leaned against a window. Causing the others to share a few glances as Elena took a step closer to him.

"Stefan?" she tried softly. "Hey, we got our answer. She's safe. She's not spiraling out of control… She's okay. And Klaus is with her." the vampire tried to assure him with a soft tone. "Maybe she just needs some more time-"

"With the evilest family to ever exist..." Damon finished with a snicker.

Elena turned a stern look at him before reaching for Stefan's shoulder. "Well, at least that means she won't get hurt. Right?" she suggested. "Eventually, she'll come to her senses and come home."

"Try again." he bit out, leaving the brunette with her lips parted as she blinked in confusion at that. He turned to meet them again and nodded to Bonnie with determination coloring his eyes. "Maybe if I tap into your mind, we can get a clearer picture together."

"Of what?" the witch countered, her eyebrows knitting together as she didn't care much for the wild despair that framed the Salvatore's features.

"Oh, come on, little-brother." Damon sighed as he stood up and turned Stefan around to face him. "You don't want to do that, okay?" he drawled softly. "Bonnie will just end up seeing things that'll scar her for life and then we will be left to take care of a drooling Bennett witch for the next century… No good can come out of it."

The younger man shoved his brother off and scowled before turning to Bonnie again. "We should find out where she is, at least." he tried, his eyes pleading as he watched her closely. "Just one more try, Bonnie."

She let out a sigh as she considered it silently, meeting Damon's shaking head from behind his brother and Elena's supportive smile as she seemed unsure of what to do herself. About to give in, her friend moved forward and stopped her before she could speak. "I'll do it." Elena offered, meeting the Salvatore's mixed expressions as she nodded at the witch. "I should be able to do it, right? Go into someone's mind?" she asked with a shrug. "And I guess it's safe to say that I wouldn't be as… sensitive to what I find in there."

"Have you done that before?" Bonnie pressed.

"No." she replied before turning her eyes to Stefan. "But you could teach me?"

"Elena…" he sighed to her. "That could take days."

"Or…" Damon drawled, sounding displeased with himself as he spoke. A sarcastic grin on his face as he shrugged. "I help you." he said, his eyes softening as Elena watched him in question. "We'll do it together."

Bonnie had to fight off the smile tugging at her lips as she watched her friend stepping up in attempt to win his girl back.

"Could that work?" Elena pressed cautiously.

"Worst-case scenario; you learn a highly useful vampire trait and nothing else." Damon crooned with a light smirk. "And even-worse-case; we get to tune into the Barbie-and-Klausey show." he added tauntingly. "Either way, it's a lose-lose. So, the odds are very much on our side."

Elena snickered a little at that and shook her head in disbelief. "Okay." she said before turning to Bonnie. "You ready to try again?"

The witch scoffed but gave her a nod in reply. "Sure." she quipped. "We've never done things the easy way before so why start now, right?"

Present day
Somewhere outside of Richmond, Virginia

The hours had passed much less strenuously after their meal. Caroline had even engaged in some conversation - in-between forcing the hybrid to take various quizzes on 'What you should be looking for in your relationship' and 'Why your boss will never promote you' and so on. Klaus hadn't really understood the purpose of any of them, nor how the approximate time of someone's birth was relevant in deciding which sexual position one would enjoy the most… But it kept the young vampire entertained, and it made it easier for him to relax.

She'd been much less goading since their part-conversation part-investigation and it seemed that she'd decided to put her suspicions aside for now. Although Klaus knew better than to think that she wouldn't bring it up again at some point. They did have many hours left to go before they reached New Orleans after all, and he dreaded having to answer to her prodding again.

It had become clear to him that he wouldn't have as much time left for his plan as he'd hoped, especially if she kept up with her triggering questions and distracting behavior… not to mention the occasional enticing look and provoking touch.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to sleep with you."

Oh, if only that was his concern. The truth being that she could do far worse to him than mere leading him on with her taunts before ruthlessly turning him down. It was all a game to her, he had noticed. To test his limits, in every sense of the word. To push and thrill and challenge him until he wasn't sure whether he'd rather kiss or kill her.

His body froze as her head landed on his shoulder, her soft breathing indicating that she was still asleep after dozing off barely an hour ago. He sighed out deeply as he scolded himself for not having gone through with it already. For not ripping off the band-aid, telling her before it all got too complicated…

I have a daughter, Caroline. And I will protect her from everything on this earth - if need be; including you.

Yeah, he wasn't expecting her to take too lightly to that. Which was rather the point of this whole wretched and endless road-trip idea; to assess her as a potential danger. To figure out how to handle her whenever she swung between her human and monster self. To make sure that she would keep his secret, even when she was so absolutely frustrated with him that she was ready to do anything to hurt him.

He had planned on easing her into it. On learning more about who this Caroline was. What her boundaries were. What she was capable of doing. Instead, he had caught himself enjoying her company a little too much. He lived for the moments when her real self blurred into her current one, when he could let his guard down a little and just be with her. To talk, laugh and spend time together without any hidden motives or skewed intentions. He was finding a lot more joy in it than he had expected to, because even if the logical side to him knew that this was more an illusion of her than anything else - it was still her.

She still smiled the same way, even if her eyes didn't quite sparkle like they used to when she did. Her voice was unchanged, even if she used it to curse at him or spit out harsh words in attempts to break his soul. Her hair smelled just like he'd remembered, even if she didn't run her hands through it as much anymore. Her skin was as soft, her touch as warm and her presence as enthralling as ever, even though she acted far more manipulative and calculating that he'd seen before.

And as ridiculous and childish and insane as it was; he still felt the same way about her as he always had. Even when she was threatening to learn his secrets, abuse his trust and crush his spirits; his affections for her remained untouched. If anything, they threatened to grow stronger as he got to experience such a new side to her.

Yet another part of Caroline Forbes.

Could there ever be one he wouldn't enjoy?

The screen on his phone suddenly changed from the GPS to an incoming call, prompting him to reach forward and send Stefan Salvatore to voicemail for the second time that day. The move made Caroline stir in her sleep as she turned away from him and nestled into her seat instead. Creating an entirely new reason for the hybrid to resent his old friend…

He took the phone out of its holder on the dashboard and scrolled through the missing messages with a sigh. Growing rapidly tired of the constant questions on his whereabouts and requests for some type of status rapport - it was pissing him off. Who was he to demand that Klaus Mikaelson regularly checked in with him like some obedient lackey?

Quickly crafting together a short message about how he had things handled and didn't need to be bothered every few hours, he answered Stefan's many texts before deleting the conversation history. Placing his phone back on the dashboard in time for Caroline to stir again as she stretched her arms above her head. She seemed startled when her hands hit the roof of the car, bringing her eyes to open as she looked around in confusion.

"Good morning." he crooned with a smirk as recognition slowly dawned on her face. "Or should I say 'good night'?" he added with a shrug as he considered the late hour and the dark scenery outside.

"How long was I out?" she murmured, her voice low as she straightened up in her seat.

"Not long." he shrugged. "You'll get some more rest soon, though."

"Hm?" she pressed, turning her head to examine the road before them then. "Where are we?"

"Virginia." he replied, not having expected her to stiffen and gape in reply as if he'd slapped her across the face. "What?" he asked as he studied her closely.

"Why are we in Virginia?" she drawled, the words filled with resentment and disbelief.

"Well, I don't know when you last brushed off those geography skills of yours, love…" he snickered lightly. "But Virginia is on the way to New Orleans."

"Not necessarily." she noted with an accusing scoff. "You're not-" she stuttered. "Did you-? I… What-"

"Take a breath, Caroline." he chuckled. "And before your mind runs rampant with whatever allegations you have building against me; no, I am not driving you to Mystic Falls."

"You're not?" she pushed incredulously.

"No." he said leisurely. "As a matter of fact, I have something else in mind for tonight's stay."

She visibly relaxed a fraction at his words but her eyes still narrowed as she seized him up closely. "What did I say about motels?"

"Luckily, we aren't going to a motel." he countered before gesturing to the side of the road. "The sign should be coming up right about… now."

Her head turned swiftly to examine the signpost with nearing destinations outside, reading it and looking over at him again. "Williamsburg?" she guessed.

"Close." he smirked before correcting her. "Norfolk."

"Norfolk?" she echoed in disbelief.

"Or, more precisely; the beaches near Norfolk."

He watched her through the corner of his eye as she leaned back in her seat with a soft snicker. "Something wrong?" he asked, realizing then that perhaps she would absolutely detest the idea and scold him for assuming-

"I just realized that I've never actually been to the ocean before." she drawled, interrupting his spiraling thoughts and making him sigh out in relief.

"Happy to be accommodating." he snickered somewhat bitterly. "Anyway, we're only staying the night." he explained with a shrug. "We'll be on the road again first thing in the morning."

"Oh…" she said meekly, the sound surprising him as he had expected her to want to get this trip over with as soon as possible…

But as he looked over at his silent passenger now, he could swear that she actually seemed disappointed. And it brought a secretive little smile to his lips as he decided to take note of it.

Maybe it wouldn't be such a lost cause after all, he thought to himself. To succeed in making her feel something - something real enough to tap into her humanity once more.

Maybe the Caroline he'd missed, the Caroline he kept scouting for, was much more present than first suspected.

Really, really hope you liked it! Let me know if you did - and stay tuned for the rest of the roadtrip hehe! Also, no I didn't just close the book on the whole 'vampire politics' prompt with this chapter - more is coming...