A/N: Hellllllo! Thank you so much for the positive reviews, I'm glad you guys liked the chapter! This chapter is a bit of a filler chapter, introducing some story that's gonna be important/is going to happen later on in the story. I hope you guys enjoy it.

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CHAPTER SIX:

'Get along, on down the road

We've got a long long way to go

Scared to live, scared to die

We ain't perfect but we try.'

Get Along by Kenny Chesney.

KLAUS' P.O.V.

I was not prepared for what Davina had revealed to us. The whole drive back to the house I had stared out the windscreen in shock, with Katherine sitting quietly in the passenger seat beside me.

We had spoken briefly to Davina before we had said goodbye, having gotten as much information as she had for us, leaving the young girl behind in the church. Marcel had asked a series of questions on the short walk back to his club and luckily Katherine had been prepared to answer each of them while still avoiding direct details about who Caroline was to me, and what exactly 'luniamiti' was.

It was clear to tell that Nadia hadn't recognised the term either, but she had had the curtesy not to ask.

My brain was completely shell-shocked by what Davina had said. Of course, I had sensed something was different between Caroline and I. Things had started to noticeably change when I was on my way back to New Orleans after her graduation…after she had had the cure shoved down her throat. And that feeling had only intensified the moment I saw her in Katherine's car. But I had never even thought that this was a possibility.

"Are you okay?" Katherine said meekly, looking over at me. I closed my eyes and mentally growled at myself to focus.

"Yes."

She smiled softly, knowing that I was lying through my teeth. Even I wasn't convinced by my own words, which made me reconsider my want to keep this whole situation a secret. As the driveway drew closer, my chest grew tighter and tighter and I was glad that Katherine had decided to keep quiet once again.

Pulling the car to a stop I yanked the key from the ignition, but neither of us moved for a couple of minutes. Then she unbuckled her seat belt and faced me, opening her mouth and then shutting it again, reaching for the car door and opening it.

"I don't want Caroline to know about this just yet. I want to find the best way to tell her."

"All you need to remember is that this isn't a bad thing Klaus."

#

CAROLINE'S P.O.V.

Watching Elijah out of the corner of my eyes, Hayley and I rummaged through the sketches and plans that were spread across the table. He looked like he was uncomfortable in his three piece suit, sitting and reading in a chair that was positioned in the corner of the room. I had wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I knew that either way he was too much of a gentleman to claim that he was anything but comfortable. Especially since he was playing guard to Hayley and I.

Looking back down at the notes and plans that we had laid out, I tried to organise them all within my mind. As soon as Katherine and Klaus had pulled out of the driveway I had asked Hayley what she was doing for a baby shower, and she had told me that if Klaus didn't want her seeing doctor, then he sure as hell didn't want her to throw a party. I shrugged that off and opened the Google browser on my phone, not accepting the fact that Hayley was giving up on having a celebration just because Klaus was a tyrant.

So we spent an hour or so mapping out all kinds of details for a small, family oriented, baby shower. Just something really small, because I knew that Klaus would never go for anything big and grand.

It was fun to slip back into something that I was comfortable with doing. Having been the one to head all of the dance committees in Mystic Falls, it was comforting to sink back into the relaxing process of organising and researching products and decorations. It helped balance out the stress of not knowing what was happening with Katherine's witch.

My head shot up as I heard the approaching sound of heels on the hardwood floor, expecting to see Katherine walking back into the room, but instead seeing Rebekah. She smiled tightly at me and the both of us eyed each other up.

She was dressed the same way that she was usually dressed, in a pair of jeans and a nice blouse, her blonde hair hanging loose. She stopped in the doorway, looking at her brother, then Hayley, neither of which bothered to look up at her arrival.

"Hello Rebekah." I said, forcing myself to be civil as I sat up straighter. She returned my fake smile, arms crossed over her chest as she leant on the doorframe.

"Caroline." She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "What are you two doing?" She stepped further into the room, looking down at the papers littered around in front of us. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the designs and lists. Her attitude immediately perked up. "Ooh, a baby shower."

She sat down opposite us and picked up a random piece of paper, reading it over and then reaching for a pen to add something down.

"Yeah, Hayley told me that Klaus was being a spoil sport about the baby, so I thought that a little celebration would get everyone excited."

She picked up another sheet of notes and flipped through them, asking questions as she went. We fell into a quick routine of paper shuffling, note taking, and discussion. While Elijah ignored the three of us, still only interested in his book.

This routine wasn't broken for another half an hour when both Rebekah and Elijah's heads shot up and looked towards the front door. A moment later it swung open and Katherine strutted her way in. She raised her brow at the scene in front of her and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she came to a stop in front of the coffee table.

Looking down at us speculatively, she picked up one of the pieces of paper and looked it over before placing it back down and heading towards the window. She looked out into the driveway, and then turned to stare at me. The worry was evident on her face, and I felt my heart sink into my stomach. What was wrong? Were the effects of the cure worse that we thought?

Minutes later Klaus walked into the house, closing the door softly behind him. Elijah, who hadn't looked back down at his book, stood up and walked towards his brother. I watched as Klaus scanned the room and then focused on me. He looked just as troubled as Katherine, making my stomach sink even further.

"What is that on my coffee table?" He said, looking at the three of us surrounding by the mass of papers.

"Caroline is going to throw me a small baby shower." Hayley said, sitting her phone, and the list she had been writing, down on the table. "Just a little something so that we can all share a nice memory of the pregnancy."

Klaus blinked, staring at Hayley's smiling face. "Is she now?"

I smiled up at him innocently. "Well, every woman deserves to have a baby shower. And considering that you don't want everyone knowing that you're having a baby, I thought that this could be a cute idea." I placed my things down on the table as well, happy with my justifications. "It's nothing like the usual size of my parties, but it's been fun to get back into the swing of things. What happened with the witch?"

Klaus grew tense at my question, looking between Katherine and I. The expression on his face was unreadable, and that didn't make me feel any better.

"Well," Katherine started, stepping forward. "The bad news is that you're going to die."

Everyone's head turned to look at her as tears sprang to my eyes and fell down my cheeks. Die? The cure was going to kill me? How long did I have? Would I get the chance to say goodbye to everyone I loved?

"The good news," she continued, "is that it won't be for another seventy plus years."

Growling, I threw a cushion from the couch and flinging it towards her, luckily hitting her. She laughed at her own little twisted joke, probably hoping that it would lighten the mood, but Klaus still looked troubled.

Looking between, I stood up from the couch and crossing my arms. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It just came as a shock." He said, smiling what was clearly a forced smile.

I walked forward, past Rebekah and Hayley, stopping directly in front of him and looked into his eyes, feeling the shocking jolt run across my skin and into the pit of my stomach. "What came as a shock? Because Katherine just said that I'm fine."

"Yes, you are fine." Katherine said, rolling her eyes at Klaus. "The thing is, we found out that if anyone as old as us had taken the cure then we would have rapidly aged…and then died within a couple of weeks. With you, your body just has to catch up a short amount of time. But for someone like Rebekah, for instance, then she would already be halfway to grandma by now. It was kind of shocking to hear how close anyone could have been to death."

From Katherine's explanation, I didn't think that it had anything to do with Klaus, but I didn't push him any farther, noticing the darkness within his eyes. Something had definitely shocked him tonight, that was for sure, but it didn't have to do with the fact that the cure could have killed any of them.

"Fine." I gave Klaus one last look before turning around and falling onto the couch, crossing my legs on the chair and picking my phone back up, continuing through the list of shops nearby that stocked the supplied that we would need. Hayley's attention slowly turned back to her previous notes as well, realising that we weren't going to get anything else from them.

Klaus shifted in my peripheral, the tension in his shoulders slowly falling away when he realised he wouldn't be questioned more. Elijah stood up in the corner and excused himself, picking up his book and heading directly for the exit, probably glad to get away from the mess that Hayley, Rebekah and I had made. Klaus crossed the room and reached for an empty bourbon glass that sat on the top of a table on the other side of the room.

"The most shocking thing," he started, pouring himself a drink. "Was finding out that Katherine's daughter is alive. Quite an interesting little tidbit."

Everybody in the room stopped short, their eyes moving to Katherine, who was standing with her hands on her hips. She shrugged slightly, storming up to the bar and snatching Klaus' drink straight out of his hands.

"You all knew that the Petrova bloodline survived somehow, Elena is evidence of that. Why is it so shocking that I happened to have a daughter?"

Elijah, who had been mid-step when Klaus had blurted out Katherine's secret, stopped and was watching Katherine with an unreadable look on his face. His brows furrowed slightly and he shook his shoulders as if to straighten himself out.

"Katherine, a word." He said, turning back around and keeping on walking out of the room. Katherine shoved the glass back into Klaus' still-hovering hand and then rushed out after Elijah.

Returning back to my notes, focusing on a website that made custom banners for any occasion, not paying attention to the fact that everyone in the room had their eyes trained on me, waiting for some kind of explanation.

The sloshing sound of liquid filled the room as Klaus poured himself another drink and then his footsteps echoed as he moved across the floor.

"You knew that Katherine's daughter was alive." Klaus whispered, his voice directly in my ear, his breath spreading over the bare skin of my shoulder and neck, making the hairs stand up. I didn't react to his close proximity, but when he didn't move straight away I could feel myself growing more uncomfortable.

Looking up I slammed my notes down on the coffee table. "I found out when we arrived in New Orleans. Nadia had been kind enough to let us stay with her while we're here. All I know, apart from who she is, is that Katherine found out about her not that long ago and didn't react well to the news that Nadia was alive and breathing."

Klaus straightened up, smirking as he walked over to the window with his bourbon on hand. He leant back against the window and kept his eyes on me. I made sure to look anywhere but at him. Hayley was trying to make herself comfortable next to me, whereas Rebekah had an incredulous look on her face.

"What?"

"Nadia? Is her full name Nadia Dubois, by any chance?" She asked, strained as she found to gain control of her features.

"I don't know. She only introduced herself as Nadia Petrova. She could have another name, I suppose. Why?"

Rebekah seemed to grow even more uncomfortable, wiggling in her chair and looking back down at a random piece of paper on the edge of the table. "No reason. I just…when I was in Prague recently I met someone called Nadia and she looked a lot like Katherine. You'd think they were twins if it wasn't for her-"

"Green eyes." Klaus said, finishing her sentence as he looked down at his little sister.

"Oh yeah, that's definitely Katherine's daughter. I thought they were sisters when I met her. It was kind of unnerving. She had a thick accent too." I added.

Rebekah's face paled and she looked as though she was going to be sick. Klaus let out a deep chuckle and Hayley and I looked between the two of them. Rebekah's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she quickly stood up, excusing herself as she ran from the room.

"What's her problem?" Hayley asked, turning to Klaus who was still standing at the window laughing.

"It would seem that my sister is more than acquainted with Katherine's daughter." He said still, chuckling.

Hayley and I looked at each other and I bit my cheek to stop the giggle from rising up and escaping. Hayley didn't have much luck, letting out a sharp laugh. We all chuckled a bit more before Klaus stood up and came to sit across from us where Rebekah had been sitting. He leant forward and reached out for one of the lists on the table. Without hesitating I slapped his hand away, causing a small growl to rise up in his throat.

He looked at me sharply and I just glared back. "These aren't for you to look at. You can just wait and see what we plan."

"It's not that big, Klaus." Hayley muttered. "It's just something small. The only reason that there are so many notes is because Caroline likes to be thorough."

I could see the disappointment in Hayley's face as she waited for Klaus to forbid it, which I wouldn't let happen. I raised one eyebrow at him, challenging him to dare question me.

"Fine. As long as it's a small party, and Caroline doesn't invite the whole city. I've been to a couple of parties that you've planned, Sweetheart, and there was absolutely nothing small about them."

Rolling my eyes, I began to stack up the papers into relevant piles. "I understand that you want to keep the baby a secret, Klaus. I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were." He said, voice gentle.

There was silence in the room again as Klaus and I looked across at each other. The silence was broken by Hayley as she abruptly stood up from the couch, making both Klaus and I jump slightly.

"I'll leave you two to talk for a little bit. I'm tired anyway."

Sighing, I watched her run from the room. It was barely 8:30. Placing the papers into one big pile, ordering them by importance and level of difficulty, I attempted not to notice that Klaus didn't take his eyes off of me. He offered no comment as I reached into my bag and pulled out a small pencil case that I always kept in there. It had always been essential for me to keep the little pencil case there in the event that anything like this came up, because I was one of the people that had to be prepared for any scenario that could possibly occur.

"Thank you." He said, making me look up at him. He had a small smile on his face, but his eyes were sad.

"What for?"

"Giving this to her. I didn't ask for any of this, and I don't know how to handle her. But, I care about her wellbeing and the wellbeing of the baby. I know that she's miserable being stuck here with Elijah and myself, so it means a lot to me that you would put past your hatred of her in order to plan this party."

His honesty caused me to smile brightly. He looked more serious now than I think I had ever seen before, making my heart constrict at the thought of how much he truly cared about all of the people around him.

Warmth spread through my body as our eyes remained locked.

"It's okay. I didn't want to come here and fight about stuff that's in the past. I'm sick of all of the fighting. I just want some down time so that everything in my life can return to some semblance of normalcy."

He flinched at my words, his voice growing tense as he spoke. "Do you know what you're going to do now that you're human again?"

Joining all of the papers using paperclips, I closed my eyes and breathed out a sigh, running my hands over my face. "That's a hard question for me to answer. I'll probably take a bit of a break before I go back to school. Grow accustomed to being a human again. Then I'll get a degree in business, build a career. The same sort of thing I could be doing if I was still a vampire. It's just that this decision is going to a serious life-long career choice rather than something that's in the moment."

"Are you glad that you were the one who was cured?"

The pain in his eyes intensified with his question, and everything made sense. The way he had acted when they had arrived back here, and how worried he had been since I told him about being cured. He was afraid of me being human. Afraid of all of the time that he had lost with me. He was hurting just as much as I was.

"Honestly…no." I laughed, pushing a loose curl of hair behind my ear. "I was a horrible person before I was turned. I was a narcissistic bitch who only did things for herself. I had no sense of anything other than being the pretty blonde doormat who got to lead the cheerleading squad. But when I turned it was like I was given a chance to be more. It was like the universe was saying to me that I could be more than the small town girl I had assumed I would always be."

Pausing I took a deep ragged breath as I remembered life before vampires had entered it. The constant fear of not being good enough, the attempts to get my mum's attention, throwing myself at guys so that I could feel even a little bit wanted.

"I hated life before being turned. I was lonely and shallow. I'm afraid that I'll let all of that stuff happen to me again. Afraid that the people who hurt me before will sense some weakness in me and now, and hurt me again."

"You're anything but weak, Caroline." Klaus said, moving so fast I almost missed it, and came to sit next to me. Placing his hand on my knee. "And you'll never get treated like that again. Because even though you aren't a vampire anymore, and you don't have all the nice perks of being supernatural, you've grown stronger and more aware of the world around you. You won't let yourself become who you were again."

Neither of us moved as we gazed into each other eyes. A part of me wanted him to kiss me so bad, but I was glad when he didn't and the moment had past, with him rubbing soothing circles on my thigh.

The sweet moment between us was broken by the clicking of heels on the stairs and then the reappearance of a very clearly dishevelled Katherine entering the room. Klaus let his hand fall from my knee, standing up from the couch and heading to the window again. Katherine studied us carefully, straightening her hair and her clothes as she came to a stop.

"Are you ready to get going? It's getting late and you probably still haven't eaten, so we'll have to get food on the way back to Nadia's."