Come Home

by ruca518

22 years ago Caroline and the Mystic Falls gang ran for their lives. Separating for their own safety they have not seen each other since that day. How does being hunted by an enemy change you, and what happens when that evil finds you. And what happens when you keep dreaming of a man you haven't seen in 21 years, who keeps telling you to come home.

6. Chapter 6

"Listen to me Nik, Matt has no idea where Caroline is. Never has and probably never will.".

We're the first word Bethany heard as she came rushing down the steps, taking in the scene that was her family's courtyard. Her Aunt Rebekah's hysterical pleas were falling on deaf ears. Bethany knew by the way her father held her Uncle Matt in the air that unless she did something fast Matt was one quick movement away from losing his heart.

"Dad, What are you doing?" Bethany screamed at her father.

Mustering everything she had, Bethany shook the compound. It was a shaking so violent that walls cracked, antiques shattered and even her father lost his balance for a moment forcing him to put her Uncle Matt down.

Klaus turned to his beloved daughter, concern filling every ounce of his words "Little love, you need to control your emotions.".

For every ounce of his concern Bethany answered back with resolve "I am in control Dad now step away from Uncle Matt." After a short pause she added "Please" to the end of her demand.

It was a battle of wills, between father and daughter and for several tense moments Bethany thought she would lose. She could never actually hurt her father, but finally Klaus took a slow and tiny step back from Matt. Bethany breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted. Well at least momentarily.

She looked away from her father and at all the other adults in the room "What the hell happened in the whole 5 minutes I was out of the room?" Bethany asked.

"Nothing, your father forgot his manners and his promise to be on his best behavior is all." Elijah said all too quickly.

"Ya because that's what I walked in on...Uncle, you suck at lying so why don't you try that again but with the truth this time." snarkiness filling Bethany's tone.

"Bethany." The sound of her name coming from her father was a warning that she was pushing her boundaries.

"Sorry Uncle." Bethany bit out.

Silence filled the room as still no one answered her question. Bethany crossed her arms over her chest, staring down everyone in the room. She was not letting this go.

"Um hello, Klaus's daughter here I have both the stubbornness and the time to figure out what you're not telling me.".

With a reluctant sigh Klaus finally broke the wall of silence "Matt has some information I want and I was delicately reminding him why he should share it with me.".

"And I was telling your father that I don't have the information he thinks I do." Matt said, finally regaining his voice after being released from Klaus's crushing choke hold.

"Lies." Klaus hissed.

Here go again, thought Bethany as she saw her father's hand reaching for Matt's throat.

"Does this have anything to do with Caroline?" Bethany asked, bringing everyone in the room to a complete stand still, in fact she didn't think anyone even took a breath. Finally he father fully turned away from her Uncle Matt and focused his attention on her, as everyone else focused their attention on Klaus.

"Why would you think that little love?" Klaus asked with a deflecting smile on his lips.

Bethany huffed, they were treating her like a child and her frustration level was beginning to rise. "Oh come on guys vampire hearing. Remember, I have that now too. And dad you can stop threatening Uncle Matt and stop making Aunt Rebekah hyperventilate because I did it I found Caroline.".

"WHAT?" both Matt and Rebekah practically yelled at the same time.

Bethany jumped back a little, shocked by their response. Klaus held up a hand to silence both of them.

"What do you mean you found Caroline?" Klaus said in a slow and methodical tone.

Shit, well time to face the music Bethany thought. God, her dad was going to blow a freaking gasket when she told him what she had been doing, and it would a very long time before she saw her grandmother's book again, if ever. But he would get over it, because now they could go get Caroline and bring her home, her father's happily ever could start. Or at least that's the way Bethany thought her fantasy would play out.

"Well see um." a sudden bout of nervousness hit Bethany. She began shifting from one foot to the other and looked down at her hands, a feeling that she had done something very wrong overtook her. "Ah I couldn't do a locator spell because I didn't have anything of Caroline's but I found this spell that lets you send a message to lost love. So I tried it. I wasn't sure if it worked so I tried it a few more times.".

"How many is a few, exactly?" Klaus's stern voice interrupted her.

"Ummm including tonight 6." saying the words slowly as though somehow that would make it better.

"6 times, Bethany!" Klaus shouted, forcing Bethany to look up from her hands.

At some point Uncle Elijah had began to pace back and forth across the room, Aunt Rebekah had moved across the room to take a hold of Uncle Matt's hand, there was an look of identical terror in their eyes, however it was the fury in her father's eyes that made the rest of Bethany's word come out in a rushed panic. "Yes on every full moon since my birthday.".

"Oh God." Rebekah gasped "What if she thinks?"

Matt slowly shook his head bringing Rebekah's words to a stop. For a moment he stood there a silent and stoic figure, disappointment filling his tone when he finally spoke "What exactly did the spell do?".

"Nothing at first, I swear I wasn't even sure I made a connection until the 3rd try but tonight I did something different. I added a little of my own blood."

"YOU DID WHAT!" Klaus screamed, in a flash of anger a chair found itself colliding with a wall across the room.

The rest of Bethany's words came out like an avalanche rushing towards its powerless victims. "Tonight I saw her, I talked to her. Okay, I actually yelled at her. I only saw her for like a minute or so, but I got my message across. And because I added my own blood I was able to locate where my spell had taken me." Pleadingly, she looked into her father's eyes "Daddy, I did it I found her. Caroline is not missing anymore, she is in."

"No." Rebekah screamed, stopping Bethany mid sentence.

Bethany was so confused "But Aunt Rebekah."

"What exactly did your message say?" Uncle Elijah asked, ever the presence of calm in a storm.

"All I said was I knew it was her and that she needed to come home, needed to come to New Orleans, that my dad needed her."

"Did you say Klaus or your dad?" Uncle Elijah prompted.

"My dad." Bethany answered.

Rebekah turned to Matt "She won't believe that, she will think."

"I know." said Matt, keeping his voice calm as Rebekah's became more panicked.

"You need to contact."

"I know."

"We have to figure out when."

"I know, breathe R, it's going to be okay. I am going to go try and make contact. I am going to go grab the burn phone from our bags." Matt answered, stepping out of the room.

"I'll go check with the witches." Elijah said. Following after Matt.

"I don't understand." Bethany said barely above a whisper, confusion filling her entire body.

Slowly her Aunt turned to look at her, the fear in her eyes turning to pity "Oh sweetheart, Caroline was never missing. She and your Uncle Matt have been in hiding for the last 22 years."

Bethany felt her knees go weak as devastation rippled through her, collapsing on the step she put her head in her hands and fought back tears. What had she done?

The world was coming down around her, she had made a horrible mistake, and she never made a mistake this big before. No, she carefully planned things out, but she had never suspected Caroline was in hiding or that her and Uncle Matt were in danger. This was not how the fantasy in her head had played out, nowhere close. Bethany could hear Aunt's screaming and her Father roaring in fury but she had stopped listening, overwhelmed by her own thoughts.

On the other side

Unbeknownst to them, as Klaus and Rebekah started what was sure to be another epic Mikaleson sibling throw down, two figures watched the match shaping up, one with a keen eye and one with merry mischief gleaming in his eyes.

"Do you have any idea what you have done Nik, how much danger you have put Matt, Caroline, even Bethany in, but you couldn't let it go."

"Watch yourself Rebekah you're on dangerous ground, my temper is already running thin."

Is it always like this?" Adam asked

"Nope this calm compared to the usual Mikaelson family throw down, Klaus hasn't even mentioned the dagger yet, but he will. Bugger, I wish I had some popcorn this is about to get truly entertaining." Kol laughed, as he bobbed and weaved between his screaming siblings.

"Look, Look, Beks is about to say something incredibly stupid that's going to push Klaus right over the edge."

Adam simply shook his head at his uncle's childish behavior.

"No, this is all your fault, you never could let go of the fact that Caroline chose to disappear rather than come to you. At least she understood what was at stake if she was caught, but no not you. You couldn't get over your stupid pride."

"I know damn well what's at stake, don't ever accuse me of not doing what's best for Bethany sister."

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you had a date tonight with the pretty redhead?" Kol continued to pretend to referee his siblings as they screamed.

"Ya I do, I just wanted to check in here first, see how the big reveal was going." Adam shrugged.

"How is it going?" Bonnie questioned appearing next to Adam.

"They haven't quite gotten to it yet, Matt went to try and make contact, Bethany just figured out that my mom isn't missing, Klaus and Rebekah are screaming at each other, and Elijah went to check with witches to make the cities still in the clear. Speaking of witches how did your meeting with them go?" Adam replied.

"They are certain that with the right spell your sister has the power to defeat Markos but it won't be easy. The witches are continuing to track him. Right now he is in Hawaii tracking Elena and Damon. He is following a lead that's almost three months old." Bonnie sighed "What is Kol doing?"

"He's pretending to throw popcorn at them."

Bonnie watched Kol as he conuinted to pretend to throw handfuls of something at this sibling whenever he disliked something someone said, and then pretended to award points whenever they said something he agreed with.

"Really what's best, you're treating her like a child Nik, filling her head with fairy tales. She has a right to know what happened and what's happening now. If you had been more honest with her, she wouldn't have thought Caroline was simply missing."

"She is a child, my child. And I will decide what information we tell her and when. No one else, keep that in mind unless you would like a dagger in your chest or your quarterback to be missing his heart."

"BOOO minus 2 points for personal foul, roughing the quarterback...Hey Benett, care to wager in on this? 10 bucks says he daggers her instead of biting her." Kol laughed.

"I swear Kol." Bonnie rolled her eyes.

Adam walked across the room leaving his Aunt to scold his Uncle, and he took a seat on the step beside Bethany. She had her head in her hands, poor big sister everything she thought she understood was about to come crashing down around her.

"Hey B, Dad's just trying to protect you, and my mom isn't the kind of person you want in your life. I know you think you know who she is, but trust me she isn't that person, at least not anymore. I wish you could hear me."

Bethany's head popped out of her hands and for a moment Adam thought she might have actually heard him.

As she sat there, Bethany had the most overwhelming sense of soothing calmness overtake her. It was a feeling she had many times before, she usually felt it whenever her, Riley, and Andrea were all together. She had always associated the feeling with the sibling bond. The comfort the feeling provided pulled Bethany from her inner battle and back to the reality of what was happening around her.

"Adam William Mikaelson, What did you just say?" Bonnie gasped, walking over to confront her nephew.

"Oh come on Aunt Bonnie."

"I have told you." Bonnie started to try and explain.

Adam cut her off "I know, I know, Aunt Bonnie you have told me the same thing my whole life. My mom is this great caring person, everything she is doing is to protect the people she loves, that she would never hurt people if she had a choice."

"Yes and." Bonnie trying again.

And again Adam cut her off "But actions speak a lot louder than words, and in case you haven't been paying attention for the last almost 21 years my mom is a Monster."

Bonnie stood there in stunned silence for a moment. The resolve in Adam's eye shook her to her foundation. He truly believed this.

How could Caroline's son possibly think that about her? Where had they gone wrong in raising him that he would think his mother was a monster? She had told him story after story of who Caroline was. Yes, over the years Caroline had had to do many things that went against everything Bonnie had portrayed her to be, but everything Caroline had done was in the name of protecting whose she loved, in the name of protecting Bonnie. The hard look in Adam's eyes said that no matter what words came out of her mouth next he wasn't going to hear them, and for a moment Bonnie could no longer see her best friend in the boy's face, all she could see was Klaus staring back at her. Time to call in the big guns.

"Kol" Bonnie yelled.

"You can't kill Matt and you know it!".

"Well it looks like the dagger it is then!".

"BOOM! dagger threat, Bennett you owe me money!" Kol laughed oblivious to Bonnie's distress.

"Kol, stop being a child and get over here. Your nephew needs you." Bonnie said through clenched teeth.

An instantly later Kol stood with them, his sibling's fighting forgotten from his mind as he asked "What's wrong mate?".

If someone had told Bonnie 21 years ago that she would raise a child with Kol Mikaelson, and be grateful for him, she would have laughed in their face. However, she would have been dead wrong. Kol might still be the same childish, self-centered trickster, but he loved Adam more than he loved anyone else in the world, including himself. He understood Adam in a way Bonnie never could, whether it was a guy thing or a blood thing Bonnie didn't know, but the moment she couldn't get through to Adam, Kol always could.

Adam shook his head, "Nothing I."

"He thinks Caroline is a monter!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Oh that's funny" Kol laughed.

"Not funny" Bonnie slapped Kol on the arm.

"Ouch Bennett, Okay not funny. I'm just pointing it out because usually that's what we call Klaus."

"My Dad's protecting the people he loves. I know everything you have told me, but I am sorry I am not sure I believe it. In my entire life, I haven't seen my mother love anything. All I have seen her do is her kill and destroy. My sister doesn't need that in her life! How do I know it's even possible for her to love my Dad or B, or even me?" Adam declared.

Reaching out his hand to clasp Adam on the shoulder Kol looked deep into his nephew's eyes seeing resolve, hurt and a little bit of shame "Look mate, not everything is as it seems, and trust me your father betrayed the people in this room more times then your mother has killed a person, the decisions she has made are for the people she loves."

"You have said that before and I am not sure she is capable of love." Adam waved his uncle's next words away. "I have a date, I'll come back and check on B later."and then Adam was gone.

"Kol, Where did we go wrong?" a single tear slid down Bonnie's check as devastation overtook her.

Lifting Bonnie's chin, and wiping away the tear, Kol sighed "You have to let him feel how he feels Bennett, it will all work out. We just need to get him where he belongs."

"You left her unprepared for all of this. You left her unable to protect herself. You let her walk right into this. All so you could have control, she's an adult Nik let her start acting like one."

"She doesn't need to protect herself, I will protect her, she doesn't need to be prepared for anything. She doesn't need magic."

"Don't need magic." Bethany gasped, drawing both her father's and aunt's attention. A shadow of shock crossed both their faces. As though, while caught up in the distraction of screaming at each other, they had forgotten she was there.

Kol was momentarily distracted by the events on the other side, as the new developments occurred he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Oooww... isn't this interesting looks like little B is about to enter the arena. Double or Nothing says she puts Klaus in his place!"

Bonnie rolled her eyes and laughed, as Bethany stood up from her seat on the stairs in a fury.

As Rebekah opened her mouth Klaus cut her off "Shut it sister." Turning to his daughter Klaus smiled "Little love, maybe you should go back upstairs and let me and your aunt discuss some things.".

Bethany shook her head in defiance "Don't little love me dad, I want to know what's going on here. Why don't you want me to do magic? I understand, I made a mistake trying to find Caroline, but Aunt Rebekah is right if you had told me the truth I wouldn't have done something that could have put her and Uncle Matt in danger. You owe me an explanation. I know you don't like me doing magic because of your issues with grandma but I am not her!"

Bethany paused for a moment as realization dawned on her "Oh my God, you not wanting me to do magic has nothing to do with grandma! Does it? What's happening here? What do I need to be prepared for? What do I need protection from?".

"Nothing, your Aunt was being over dramatic." Klaus justified.

"Why don't I believe you?" Bethany retorted.

Elijah chose that moment to walk back in the room "Davina said the city is still all clear."

"Oh good, reason and logic just walked back in the room. Uncle will you please tell my father I have a right to know what's happening!"

"Niklaus." Elijah started.

"Not you too, I am her father I will decide when she is ready!" Klaus stated matter of factly.

"Ready to know what?" Bethany shouted. This time she put her hands on her hips, and as every man knows once a woman goes into that position you have now met the world's most immovable object.

Using his most reserved tone Elijah took a large breath before continuing "Clearly the girl already knows parts of the story and it would be advantageous of us to set the record straight before another mishap like tonight happens, the consequences could have been dire.".

"HELLO, the girl is standing right here! So can we not talk about me like I am not in the room, I mean how many have you guys had this argument that everyone keeps forgetting I am right here!" Dawning realization hit Bethany "OH MY GOD...you guys have had this argument a lot. I want answers, I get it...trying to find Caroline, bad. Using magic is somehow a bad thing too. I deserve an explanation, no bargaining this time." Bethany sethed in anger, her eyes turning a bright yellow.

Bethany locked eyes with her father, neither one moved an inch. Klaus's eyes flashing a brilliant yellow that matched his daughter's. Rebekah and Elijah both took a step back.

"Manners young lady." Klaus let out a growl.

"Please" Bethany said through gritted teeth attempting to keep the sarcasm out of her tone. Both father and daughter stool there dead locked staring at each other. Each willing themselves to take deep calming breaths. Ever so slowly the yellow faded from both their eyes.

Klaus gave a slight almost unnoticeable nod, and that was all it took for Rebekah to dive into action.

"Matt really needs to be the one to tell this tale. After all, we were already in New Orleans by the time it started. We weren't aware of the details until after he came to me, almost four year into their hiding."

Matt came back into the room several tense moments later. "Last known contact with Caroline was over a year ago, but they are reaching out to see if the others might know more." Matt paused for a moment in the doorway, looking at everyone in the room. It was oblivious something had changed while he had been gone.

"I know where she is Uncle Matt all you have to do is ask, we don't need anyone else." Bethany offered.

Matt simply shook his head "Trust me it's for the best." moving fully into the room and coming to stand at Rebekah's side in front of the love seat.

"Matt, Bethany needs to know what happened 22 years ago." Elijah interjected.

Matt looked to Klaus. Again Klaus simply nodded. The tension in the room was so thick, it reminded Bethany of a New Orleans's summer. She finally stepped full into the courtyard from her spot on the stairs, and took a seat in a chair across from her Aunt and Uncle.

Matt took in a deep breath steadying his calm as he and Rebekah took their seats. "Honey." Matt looked at Bethany. "You know there are very bad people in the world right." He started as though he was telling the story to a child, he almost would have been better off starting with Once Upon aTime.

"No really I thought the whole world was made up of lollipops and unicorn stickers." Bethany snarled.

"Bethany!" Rebekah scolded.

"Sorry that was rude and uncalled for. I am just frustrated please continue." Bethany sighed.

"Right let's cut to the chase then. How much do you know about a guy named Silas?" Matt asked with a forgiving smile.

"Ow ow Aunt Divina told me about him, super powerful 2000 year old immortal, BIG time scary powers, like the ability to control minds, he could even make vampires believe things that weren't real. In an attempt to put him down, the last Bennett witch died but found a way to become the Anchor to the other side." Bethany let out in a ramble, excited that she finally knew something.

"The last Bennett witch was named Bonnie, and yes she did become the Anchor but more importantly she was one of my best friends." sadness filling Matt's voice.

"You knew the last Bennett witch?" shock and awe drifting through every part of Bethany.

"What have you heard about someone named Markos?"

Bethany shook her head drawing a complete blank.

"Markos is the leader to a group of people called travelers."

"Wait wait those I have heard of, gypsies right?" Bethany jumped in "Curse by witches so they can't settle in one place together cutting off any ties to ancestral magic."

"Very good you have the basics then, what you're missing is the fact that Bonnie, Caroline, myself and a few other close friends are the ones who helped kill Silas, and that Markos is Silas' big brother, well half brother. Markos' s mother was the leader of the coven that would become the travelers, while Silas' mother was a witch from a different coven. Being a rather jealous woman when Silas's mother found out her husband had a second older son, she sacrificed Markos, and bound his magic to an amulet. She then punished the whole coven by creating the traveler's curse. She used Silas blood to seal the spell, locking away Markos's magic inside the amulet. When Silas became trapped, it became impossible to break the curse, but once he was freed the traveler's set in motion a plan to break their curse and bring Markos back. Are you following me so far?"

Bethany nodded entranced by the story.

"Alright this is where it starts to involve myself and Caroline. As you already know the last Bennett witch, Bonnie took the place of the Anchor. Well the traveler's figured out that if they sacrificed a large number of themselves they could overwhelm the Anchor allowing for Markos to slip back through from the otherside. Because Markos' witch magic had been bound he wasn't quite as powerful as his little brother in certain aspects. Like Silas, Markos could force others to see him as different people, could force hallucinations, control minds. However unlike Silas, Markos can only do this to one person at a time, not a whole group of people. For example, if he appeared to you as your father or both your parents, we would still see him not the illusion you're seeing. However, he differs from his brother in one major and terrifying way, he can siphon the magic or energy from others, essentially being a parasite. From humans he can take their remaining years of life, from vampires he can take their immorality, making him a huge pain in the ass to kill. Trust me, tried several times. In order to truly put him down he would have to die once for every human and vampire he has drained. In the case of werewolves, he takes on their ability to shift for a short time, also their heightened senses. With witches it becomes complicated, he can't hold on to magic because of the traveler's curse, however it gives him the ability to sense and track magic. If he were to have sensed your spell tonight he could have inserted himself into and learned everything you did."

"OH SHIT, OH SHIT." Bethany shouted. Jumping up from the seat she had taken "Oh God Daddy." her entire body started to shake with panic. She did the only thing she could think of, to calm and comfort herself, she ran across the room and threw herself into her father's already outstretched arms.

"It's okay little love." Klaus' s soothing voice calming Bethany instantly as he rubbed large circles into her back.

"He has to be within a certain range and your Aunt Divina has every witch in the 9 covens watching for Markos, it was part of the preparations we made for your Aunt's visit."

Bethany took a deep calming breath, nodding for Matt to continue, even though her face was still buried in her father's shoulder.

"Your dad's right, Markos would have to be inside the city to hijack your spell, but you now know something that I haven't known in 22 years. Since the last time I saw the people I consider to be family, I can't begin to explain how important it is that no one else ever learns what you know, Honey B. But I am going to try. As I was saying the travelers found a way to bring Markos back, and they succeeded. One night they overwhelmed Bonnie, and Markos slipped back from the other side. Since the moment of his return his goal has been to break the traveler's curse and regain his witch magic locked inside the amulet. And for that."

"He would need his brother Silas's blood." Bethany broke in.

Matt nodded "Correct, the problem was Silas was still on the other side. Markos needed to bring his little brother back, we fought, we tried, we lost people we loved."

Matt took a deep breath calming his emotions. It wasn't Bethany's fault, she needed this information and had simply been trying to do something for someone she loved. Just as he had done all those years ago, when he had taken part of Bonnie into himself. Bethany, like him, had had no idea what that love could cost. It was a cost he would willingly pay over and over again, but that didn't mean that the pain of it didn't still hurt, or the reliving of it, as he was doing now.

"Have you ever heard of passengering B?" Matt quietly asked.

Bethany shook her head.

"It's a traveler's practice, since they can't all be together due to the curse, they leave their own bodies insert themselves into others. I spent some time with a traveler passangered inside me, I never would have known he was there if I hadn't started to notice missing chunks of time. The easiest way to rid yourself of a passenger is to be stabbed with something called a traveler's knife, it immediately forces the traveler from your body. When we realized what Markos wanted and that it would mean the return of Silas, who was honestly scary enough without adding on his brother, who if returned to his full strength would be able to do everything Silas could do, but also siphon way the life force of those around him, making him practically invincible. We came up with a way to protect Bonnie."

"This is the stupidest plan we have ever had and that saying something I mean absolutely without a doubt the stupidest."

Here they were again...just when everything had finally calmed down and it looked like their lives might actually start to resemble something close to normal. Here they were gathered at the Salvatore house to discuss another big bad evil. Their group had managed to grow though, it now included Enzo, and the twin witches Luke and Liv. The plan was a good one. Damon simply protested because it had not been his idea, and because he knew Elena would be the first to volunteer herself.

"If you have any other suggestions Damon, we are all ears?" Stefan threw back at his brother.

"Why don't we send Blondie to go distract him, worked on Big Bad Klausy Bear right?"

Damon nodded his head towards Caroline.

"Hey!" Caroline said, offended.

"Shut up Damon!" Tyler jumped in.

"You're not helping." Elena placed her hand on Damon's shoulder. "And it's a good plan."

"No it's not." All the eyes in the room turned to Bonnie.

"You're not just talking about hiding me, you're talking about one of you passengering me inside you, Markos will kill you to get me out."

"See Bon-Bon agrees stupid idea."

Elena took a deep breath. "How many times have you protected us? How many times have you sacrificed for us? Let us do this, let me do this."

"No I won't let you."

Caroline drew Bonnie' s attention to her. "I know you don't want to let us do this but now that Markos has the amulet, hiding you like this is our best chance, even if it's only a stall, it will buy us time to come up with something better."

Stefan straightened from his spot leaning against the wall "Markos could be out there right now setting up a sacrifice to overwhelm you again, preparing to bring Silas through from the other side."

A shutter went through the room, at the mention of Silas' s name.

"I am not really looking forward to taking on that set of brothers, they make Klaus and Elijah look like..." Stefan paused trying to find the right comparison.

"Like cute little furry kittens with little bells on them." Damon threw in helpfully.

Enzo laughed "Sorry mental image mates...cute little kittens batting at each other and all that. But on a more serious note." Coming to stand beside Damon, Enzo continued.

"Let me see if I am understanding this correctly, you lot plan to put this girl inside one of you to cut off the doorway to the other side, stopping the bloody scary bastard on the other side from coming through, if she's inside you why couldn't he just come through you?"

"Excellent point." Damon nodded.

"The spell we created Isn't quite that simple, it won't just be one of you. It will be four of you. In order to make sure the spell won't break in case something happens to me or Luke, we needed to bind it to something in nature. In this case the four elements, we will link 4 knives to the passenger knife, when Bonnie is stabbed with the passenger knife, the other knives will act as a conduit long enough for her essence to settle into the four hosts. Now Bonnie you will be intact but stuck on the other side, when the souls who need to pass over from this side go through they will be temporarily be split into four before arriving intact on the other side with you, however if Silas were to attempt to come through you from the other side he would be split into four as he passes through and since there is no intact doorway for him to pass through on this side, he would be immediately push back to the other side."

Liv looked at everyone in the room to make sure understanding was taking hold.

"Since the souls are split into four while passing through, that should minimize the pain that Bonnie usually feels on their crossing, it might be no more than a mild discomfort for the hosts, in case that's a concern for anyone?"

"Trust me" Matt said "that's not really a factor for us, we will do what we need to protect Bonnie."

"Luke and I will begin prepping the spell and leave you guys to figure out who the four will be." Liv rose from her chair to exit the room.

"Wait," Luke spoke up, "Can I make a suggestion, an ultimate fail safe if you will. Only choose 3 and leave the fourth as a complete unknown, we can separate everyone during the spell, put out 8 identical knives only 4 of which will be linked to Bonnie' s. That way even if Markos invades your minds and catches the 3 of you, he won't know which of the remaining 5 of you hold the last piece of Bonnie."

An hour later when Liv and Luke returned with the knives and announced the spell was ready, the group had just barely made a decision.

The first two had been easy Elena and Caroline would not be swayed from their position they would house their best friend and that was all there was to it.

The debate had centered around Matt or Jeremy. The group had finally decided Jeremy was too obvious a choice and Matt being human and having already had a passenger inside him before made him the choice most easily overlooked by Markos.

As they all separated into different rooms for the spell, they all knew that this moment, this choice would forever change the course of their lives.

"And that was how Elena, Caroline and I all ended up carrying a piece of Bonnie inside of us. To this day I still don't know which of the Salvatore brothers carries the final piece of her. Of the 10 us who were there in the Salvatore house that night only 5 of us now survive. When Markos realized what we had done, he came after us, with everything he had. We tried to fight him, but every time we thought we were defeating him a traveler would sacrifice themselves, giving him their remaining years of life." Matt paused again, taking a moment to push through the pain of the final part of their story.

"Four of us never made it out of Mystic Falls, Enzo, Damon's best friend, Jeremy, Elena' s brother and Bonnie' s on and off again boyfriend, Liv and Luke, our friend's and the Gemini twins all died on the night we fled. Elizabeth Forbes, one of greatest people I have ever known, and Caroline's mom also gave her life that night, so that we stood a chance at getting out."

A silent tear slid down Bethany' s cheek, at the image of a ferocious mother protecting her daughter up until her very last breath, and although she was comforted in the arms of her father, all she wanted in that moment was her mother.

"There we were, the 6 of us, we had the amulet but no idea how to stop Markos, emotionally destroyed after the losses we had suffered and utterly defeated, so we did the only thing we could do. We ran. We drove through the night until we found a witch to do the spell that made each one of us a location keeper for another, decided how to keep the amulet safe, and then we seperated. Elena and Damon headed South, Caroline and Stefan headed West, Tyler and I headed North. That was the last time we were all together. We don't make contact unless absolutely necessary, and except for the person who's location I keep I have no clue where the others are. Two years in Markos found me and Tyler, I barely escaped and Tyler sacrificed himself to make sure I got out."

As Matt paused for a moment to reign in the pain of thinking of his best friend's last moments caused, Rebekah grasped his hand as a sign of love and support.

"That was the moment I knew Tyler didn't carry a piece of Bonnie too." Matt continued "but that is a story for another time." Matt let out a long breath.

"And now you know everything, the last time I spoke of this to anyone was when I told your Aunt 18 years ago." Matt finished.

"Not quite everything." Everyone brought their eyes to focus on Rebekah "By the time Matt reached out to me the threat of Markos had already riled the witches here in New Orleans, and with the extent of your powers unknown and your link to ancestral magic they decided to take preventative measures. Using my blood the witch cloaked your powers, it's part of the reason I chose to stay in hiding with your Uncle Matt. And although I never told you I would come home every few years to renew the spell when your powers would grow. But now that your tribrid nature has fully been unlocked not even my blood is enough to hide it anymore. It's why both of us are here this time, whether your father liked it or not it was time you understood the threat against you."

"You never felt the need to mention this to anyone." Klaus glared at his sister.

"No Nik, I didn't. You had your ways of protecting Bethany and I had mine. It needed to be a female relative and we certainly couldn't ask Hayley to be separated from her daughter now could we." Rebekah said.

Klaus simply nodded.

"Markos craves power and you are a one of a kind source of power with a link to a long line of ancestral magic, if he were to ever unlock that amulet, he would come for you. Either to try and absorb your power or because there are some who believe that you pose the biggest threat to him."

Bethany's knees felt weak. Threat against her. Up until a few hours ago the biggest threat to her had been...well there had never been a threat against her. Now...now some traveler/witch guy was out there, who would make coming after her his priority one if he ever unlocked his powers...great. Really fan-freaking-tastic. She left the comfort of her father's arms to take a seat before her knees gave out on her for the second time tonight.

"No one thought to tell me?" Bethany let out in no more than a whisper, as though the dawning realization of exactly what had been kept from her whole life, was crushing her. The weight was almost unbearable, the people she loved most hadn't even trusted her with her own safety.

"No one trusted me" her voice now gaining strength as a fiery light of injustice lit within her. Her whole life her father had pushed her away from magic, made it seem as though he feared her ability to control it.

"You made me think I couldn't control it."

Klaus moved to kneel before his daughter, taking both of her hands in his "It wasn't that we didn't trust you or thought you weren't strong enough to control it. Of course you could control it, you're my daughter after all, there is nothing you can't do. I simply didn't want it to be a big part of your life, didn't want you reliant on it, attracting attention to yourself."

"So you tried to suppress my magic kinda like how Grandma suppressed your werewolf side?"

With the dead pan silence of the room you would have thought she physically slapped her father across the face, and maybe with her words emotionally she had. The look of shock and hurt across his face

quickly turned to rage.

"I am nothing like that woman!" Klaus growled "She bound half of who I was, I simply."

"Tried to diminish part of who I am."

"I was protecting you from things exactly like this. Your magic is a beacon, the stronger it is."

"The better chance I have at protecting myself."

"You don't need to protect yourself, THAT'S WHAT I AM HERE FOR!" Klaus all but yelled, as he stood, the agitation in him now causing him to begin to pace the courtyard, as though he was a caged animal.

It wasn't that Bethany didn't understand, she did. She knew deep within herself that her father's love for her was at the center of every decision he made. But the part of her that wished to find itself outside of the shadow of his love and affection, needed to be heard.

Smiling, she stood and walked to her father, now she took his hands in return and looked into his eyes hoping her own conveyed her love for him and her hope that he would understand. "I get it Dad, I do. But if I am ever going to be anything more than Klaus and Hayley's daughter, or the miracle Mikaelson baby, or a Crescent wolf, or a French Quarter witch, then I need to know all of myself, because I am all of those things. But most importantly, I am Bethany Rebekah Caroline Mikaelson, and I need you to let me figure out who that is, not who you believe I should be."

And there it stood between them. The moment when a child declares themselves to the world. When they begin to step out of the shadows of their parents, and begin to define themselves. The moment when they

tell the world this is me.

Bethany could see her words play across her father's face. The staunch resolve on Klaus's face said although she might be ready, he was not. He was not ready for her to leave the protection of his shadow,

was not ready for the world to know her. Ready to let the world hurt her as it all too often does.

After several tense unspoken moments the resolve on Klaus's lessened a fraction of an inch, as he simply nodded. Was he ready? No. Did he hear and understand her words, her plea? Yes. Could he give her what she asked for? He could try. Would he be successful? Well that was anyone's guess now wasn't it. His mouth turned up with a half smirk, as that thought crossed his mind.

The silent war between them for her independence was broken by the sound of a phone ringing in her Uncle Matt's pocket.

All eyes turned to Matt, Bethany watched as he pulled the phone from the front pocket of his shirt with a hand that seemed to tremble. Why the tremble? Bethany didn't know. Was it fear, longing, anxiousness, or maybe it was all three.

"It must be them." Matt announced.

The world seemed to stop for a single moment. Bethany took in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, it could be Caroline.

"Well bloody answer it." Klaus growled.

Matt locked eyes with Rebekah, she slowly nodded giving a tight lipped but supportive smile.

Finally releasing the breath he had been holding Matt answered the phone putting it on a speaker so everyone could hear "Hello."

"Matt?" Out of the phone came a female voice, the one word she had spoken filled with love and longing.

Bethany grimaced internally, she had always imagined Caroline's differently, smoother, not that there was anything wrong with the voice on the phone, it was fine she assured herself. It was a perfectly nice voice. It just wasn't what she had expected.

"Elena." The name came out gruff and choked with emotions.

Bethany almost let out a sigh of relief, that voice wasn't Caroline's.

For a moment neither Elena nor Matt spoke, as though they were having a moment of silence in honor of everything they hadn't been able to say to each other over the years.

Finally Matt cleared his throat pushing past the unspoken words "We have a situation, I am here with Mikaelson."

"Is it safe?" Elena's voice became serious with a slightly deadly undertone.

The question and tone put Bethany on the defensive. Of course her Uncle was safe with his family! She could see that same hackles rise on her Aunt that she felt rise in herself. Instinctively she let go of her father's hands and she felt herself move closer to the person on the phone. The wolf in her positioning itself in case her Uncle was attacked.

"Yes Purple Banana." codeword Matt silently mouthed to the eyebrow raised looks of confusion spreading across the room.

A shuddering breath left Elena as though she was afraid to speak her next words "Did we lose her?".

"No no it's not that." Matt reassured Elena.

Even through the phone, it was easy to tell that Elena' s next breath had been the one holding back tears. "Good I can handle anything besides that."

"We need to know where she is?" Klaus growled, his patience long past lost.

"Is that Klaus? Well you can tell him, NO he doesn't! Is this why you called Matt?" An air of irritation rising in her voice. "Did you really call Stefan who then had to call me, scaring me half to death, because Klaus finally badgered you into it? You know I can't tell you, and even if I could, you can tell Klaus I would never in a million years tell him anything!"

"No." the strength in Matt's voice stopping Elena mid rant.

"Dad." Bethany turned to her father, a look of questioning on her face. It was obvious this woman didn't like him but why?

"Is that?"

Matt smiled looking up at her and said "Ya that's the baby.".

Bethany let out an annoyed huff, great any other person who saw her as a sippy cup toting toddler. Did no one understand she was a 21 year old tribrid for crying out loud?

"Elena look."

"Why Matt? Why would you let her anywhere near this? Why would Klaus? Don't you realize the danger you put her in?"

"What I allow my daughter to be exposed to is none of your concern doppelganger, I don't need nor care for your concern, now give us Caroline's location." Klaus yelled.

Yup another person who thought of her as a toddler, Bethany thought. She had half a mind to start stomping her feet and throw a temper tantrum about where her favorite teddy bear was.

"Nik" Rebakah gasped "We already told you we can't.".

"Well she can." Klaus growled.

"Well she won't." Elena yelled back through the phone.

This was getting them nowhere Bethany though, just as her Uncle Elijah stepped in.

"Ms. Gilbert."

"Mrs. Salvatore." Elena corrected

"Mrs. Salvatore, I think what my brother is unsuccessfully trying to say is we need your help."

The room filled with silence, broken by Rebehak' s exhausted voice. Shaking her head.

"Nik, if you had listened to me at any point in the last 18 years Matt has been with me, you would know Elena can't tell you where Caroline is, as in she physically can't say the words, it was part of the spell they used when they went into hiding.".

"Once again I wouldn't even if I could and Matt I am disappointed in you." Elena chimed in.

"Excuse me do not speak to Matt like that." Rebekah jumped in.

That only succeeded in setting off her Aunt and Elena into a round of insults and barbs that had Bethany caught like a wide eyed deer in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.

She looked to her Uncles and father, was it always like this? What was the point of contacting this person? Was no one going step in?

As if suddenly all three men realized exactly how long the bickering could continue all three yelled "Stop" at the same time.

Abruptly the bickering was cut off, however both women let out a huff at the same time as though the sound somehow meant each was having the last word.

"Mrs Salvatore trading insults is getting us nowhere, we don't want you to give us Ms. Forbes location, we simply need confirmation." ever the voice of reason Elijah brought the conversation back on track.

"Confirmation?"

Matt took over from there "What I was trying to say earlier was that, we have a situation. The baby...".

Bethany couldn't take it anymore "Can you stop calling me that I have a name and it's.".

Before she could utter another word Bethany found her mouth being covered by her Aunt's hand.

"Shhh" Rebekah whispered into her ear. "They don't mean it as an insult, they all agreed a long time ago to always refer to you as the baby, as a way to protect you. That way if their minds were ever broken into the only information they have on you is from when you were an infant. Matt is the only one of them that actually knows your name.".

The reality of that shocked Bethany, these people, people had never met had agreed long ago to protect her. Caroline had wanted to protect her. Her heart swelled, she knew it, she knew had made the right decision trying to bring Caroline into their lives. Okay, so maybe she had gone about it the wrong way sure. And okay, maybe she had potentially put herself and some other people...scratch that herself and potentially the rest of the world in danger. Talk about a huge hit to her ego but it would be worth it. Right? Bethany left her internal musings behind in just enough time to hear her uncle say.

"And that's why we need your help. Is there a way to reach her, explain things? I honestly don't think anyone wants another Paris."

Bethany could have sworn Matt shuttered as he said the location. But why?

"Oh Matt." This time there was no mistaking the tears in Elena' s voice. "Even if we could reach her she won't believe us. God how do I say this?" breathe shuttered from Elena. "After she and Stefan split up, she used to call and we would spend hours on the phone, now all I get is a one word location. Each time she switches locations it's like she loses more and more of herself. I don't know how much of our Caroline is left. She is paranoid, and hypersensitive. If she thinks he is closing in on her or takes it as a threat to the baby there is no telling what kind of damage she will do. She will leave a bloody trail behind her, and it won't take long for him to truly pick up on that, she will put a target on her back, and won't ever see him coming. And even if he somehow doesn't pick up on it and finds out she hurt people for no reason..."

Elena paused her voice cracking with the next words "We will lose her Matt.".

"Elena" Matt took a moment to look at everyone in the room, the devastation of Elena's words to settle in among them.

"If the baby tells us her location will you confirm it?"

The long sigh that came from Elena was all the Matt needed. He looked to Bethany expectantly.

The word left Bethany in no more than a hushed whisper as the devastation of her action settled in like a weight on her heart "Amsterdam.".

After a moment that felt like a lifetime Elena finally said "Bring her home Matt."

Before the click of the ended phone call could be heard, Klaus was already chartering their private jet.

Caroline looked over the scene knowing it's every detail, as her single greatest regret she had long ago committed it to memory. The blood stained walls and carpet. The couch once white, that Pierre laid upon now a disgusting rusted red color from the dying blood. She wanted to look away but she made herself look at him, after all she owed it to him after what she had done to the innocent man. Pierre laid there his eyes open in death, his heart ripped from his body, his right arm removed at the shoulder, his throat sliced open, his left leg hanging on by a single tendon just below the knee. It was horrifying and grotesque, but then again she had meant for it to be.

Pierre had been a French movie star, an A list celeb, with all the limelight that went with it. She had chosen him for that reason alone.

Markos had been closing in on Elena and Stefan as they handed off the amulet. He was so close, she had needed to act fast, something that would catch his attention. So she had compelled Pierre into taking her as his date to his newest movie premier, and had him propose right there on the red carpet, knowing every media source would run the story, and they had.

Later that night, she had cleared out his bank accounts, which lead to her current comfortable lifestyle, and created the scene she was currently stuck in, she had even let herself be arrested for the crime to insure Markos found her. It had worked too, she had barely escaped.

After she accidentally killed that man yesterday, she knew her guilt would force her to dream of this. As she fought back tears over the guilt she felt, Pierre's body morphed into Klaus.

"How could you do this to him? To me?".

Caroline's breath caught for a moment, of course Markos would choose this moment to invade her dreams, a moment where she was at her weakest. As she looked at the figment that was Klaus she remembered a moment very similar to this one, only she had been the one dying then and Klaus the cause.

It felt like a lifetime ago, but she put on her bravest face and answered just as he had.

"Maybe it's because I'm pure evil, and I can't help myself."

"I don't believe you." Klaus replied shaking his head "It's because you were protecting the ones you love. Which means that there is a part of you that is human."

"How could you possibly think that?" Caroline's breath caught. The reply was now not just Klaus's long ago words, but a real question from within herself, how could he possibly think that? How could anyone think that after the things she had done in the name of protecting them, in the name of surviving. At some point over the years she had started to lose touch with her humanity, not even she was sure what she was capable of anymore. If he were here, if any of them were here, would they even be able to recognize her let alone forgive her for what she had done. Could she ever forgive herself?

"Because I've seen it. Because...I've caught myself wishing that I could forget all the horrible things that you've done." Klaus said repeating the same words she had once spoken to him.

"But you can't. Can you?" a shiver went through Caroline, as she shook her head.

"I know that you're in love with me. And anybody capable of love is capable of being saved. I guess I'll never know, unless you come home." Klaus faded away, as Caroline shot up from her bed, panting.

Why that dream? Why that memory? Dammit Markos, first the dreams and then vision of the girl she was certain had to be Klaus' daughter, the baby, she was just as Caroline pictured she would be, with Hayley's dark hair and Klaus's eyes and dimples.

Markos had to be close just waiting for her to show herself, she had already out smarted him once, when she had slip out of his grasp, after she let herself be arrested for Pierre's murder. Oh it had been damn close but she had done it, she simply had to do it again and again, so he was too busy chasing her to think about that innocent girl. She could and would do it, leave a damn bloody trail across the world if she had to, he would never have time to set his sights on that beautiful girl. Why else the message to come home if it wasn't a direct threat to the girl?

Caroline hopped out of bed and began ripping through her closet. Tonight she would go out on a hunt for the perfect victim, after that well let the games begin. She made sure that her go bag was ready, she didn't bother to prepare a new ID this time, no she wanted him to be able to track her.

Klaus stood outside the once industrial warehouse, someone had turned into the hottest club Amsterdam had to offer, the air stunk of sweat, alcohol, and other vile things, the ground shook from the bass of the excessively loud music going on inside, this kind of place was a vampire's hunting paradise. All the humans inside too wrapped up in having a good time, to notice if a friend went missing, and then returned looking a bit peckish, or didn't return at all.

If Bethany was correct this is where they would find Caroline, and of course she would be correct, she was his daughter after all. His perfect, beautiful, amazing, in more trouble than he could fathom daughter.

Why was it that all the women in his life could not see reason? See that he was their best source of protection. Bethany running off and doing spells behind his back, letting God only knows what kind of evil into her life. Caroline, his breath caught for a moment thinking of the woman he had not seen in 22 years, the one who was now only moments away. Would she run from him? She should have run to him. 22 years ago, trusted him to protect her and the amulet from Markos. He might have softened a bit over the years, but he was still the greatest evil this world had ever known, Dammit. He alone could protect her as no other could, love her as no other could, yet she had chosen to run, to disappear into the night.

But that would all end now, after 22 years of searching he would finally bring Caroline home. From there he would shore up his defenses, using every vampire, witch and werewolf at his disposal to make New Orleans a fortress Markos could never possibly get into. He would protect his child and Caroline, and as far as he was concerned neither of them had a choice in that. Even his sister had doubted him, choosing to run off and live in hiding with the quarterback.

Speaking of the quarterback, Klaus looked to his left. Of all the people he could have gotten stuck with. Why the White Knight Quarterback? He would probably insist they try to reasonably talk, explain things, and give Caroline choice about getting on the plane with them. Instead of just snapping her neck and being done with. Which was pretty much the base of his plan.

Step 1 Find her

Step 2 Snap her neck

Step 3 Put her on the plane.

Simple as 1, 2, 3. And heaven help the quarterback if he interfered with that plan.

"I am going inside, you will wait here." Klaus announced. As he approached the rear entrance of the club, compelling the bouncer on duty beside the door to let him inside and then to go take a walk, leaving him free to carry an unconscious Caroline back outside without interference.

"Ya" Matt agreed.

Klaus looked at him from the corner of his eye, he had expected more of a fight on that.

Matt shrugged his shoulders, understanding the meaning of Klaus's sideway glance. "What it's the most logical action, she has spent the last 20 plus years knowing she needed to run if she saw one of us, if she spots me before I spot her, she is gone, or she thinks I am Markos. Either way she bolts and we lose her, and B has to do another spell which I don't think either of us wants to risk."

Klaus nodded his head in agreeance, maybe the quarterback was smarter then he looked.

"You have the best chance of getting close to her without her bolting. Plus... if you mess it up I'll be out here waiting to fix it." Matt added the last part with a smile.

Klaus snarled back at the quarterback, just when he thought he could be of some use, the imbecilic had to go and muck it all up.

As the door to the club opened it was an assault on all his hybrid sense, the smell, the noise, the flashing lights. All he wanted to do was rip the club apart and demand Caroline show herself, but a show of force had never been the way to get something he wanted out of Caroline. No she had always required a certain finesse. So he chose to take a seat at the bar and order a drink, she would show herself eventually, and when she did. 1,2,3 and back home to New Orleans.

Caroline swayed and grinded against the humans on the dance floor. It was too early for anyone of significance to have arrived at the club. So she might as well enjoy herself one last time, before her game began.

She had yet to choose her victim, there were so many possibilities, celebrity, heiress, hell this was Europe there was actual royalty to choose from if she got lucky.

She felt it then the moment she went from being predator to being prey, someone was watching her. Her mind instantly jumped to Markos, he had found her. She gave the room a glance. Nothing. Still the presence watching her continued. A second sweep of the balcony and VIP section revealed nothing, but Markos could look like anyone be anyone. It wasn't the way she had planned to start this game, but if he had found her first then so be it. Maybe she could get this party started without leaving a gruesome murder as a calling card.

A third sweep of the bar left her unable to breathe, to think, there sitting in a corner seat was a face she had known so long ago, the face that now haunted her dreams.

Klaus.

It couldn't be. Part of her wanted to run to him, the small part of herself that was still Caroline, but she wouldn't let herself. No that wasn't Klaus she told herself it was Markos wearing Klaus's face, clever but not quite clever enough.

Their eyes caught for just a moment, and a look of recognition slid across Klaus's face, a half smile spread across his lips.

Yup definitely Markos and not Klaus, Caroline thought to herself. Because there was absolutely no way Klaus would be calmly sitting there, waiting for her to find him. Not his style. While she was intermonolguing, he would have already swooshed in, thrown her over his shoulder and had her halfway to the airport by now.

It's not like she didn't know he had been looking for her. So No. There was ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKING WAY, that the man staring at her wasn't Markos.

What to do, what to do her mind spun for a moment, as her body spun to the music, she hadn't expected Markos to find her, that wasn't in her game plan. Sure she could bolt and probably even disappear again, but that wasn't the point. No, the point was to protect Klaus's daughter, if the dreams weren't a clear enough threat, then sitting there as the man himself said it all. And that only made Caroline angrier.

Klaus watched the women he was sure was Caroline come stomping across the dance floor, yes her hair was jet black, her eyes were brown, she had far too much makeup on and she was dressed like a high end fashion victim. A look he didn't think flattered her in the least but he was sure it was her. He would know that look of anger anywhere. As she made her up to him, he thought Step 1. Check. Next Step 2. He prepared himself to snap her neck before she could even speak.

"You know your brother did the same exact thing to lure me out into the woods once. Not very original of you." Caroline sneered. "Pun intended, he was trying to get to Bonnie then too, didn't work for him won't work for you."

Klaus's eyebrows raised in surprise and shock stilled his arm for a moment, Silas had impersonated him to lure Caroline into the woods. How had he never heard that story?

"Well then love..."

"Bop." Caroline said as her finger tapped Klaus on the nose.

He sat there in stunned silence, blinking his eyes several times in confusion. Had she just. She had. Caroline had just bopped him on the nose like he was a dog, or an infant she was trying to make giggle.

Well it certainly was not funny. And he was posed to tell her so, when she leaned in their mouths a hair breadth away from touching. Klaus inhaled deeply, ahh there it was. The scent that was uniquely Caroline, she could change everything about herself, but she could never change that. Klaus' s mouth watered for a taste of her. For a moment the vile club seemed to fall away and all that was left in the world was him and Caroline, a confession and the woods.

Caroline's voice came out as breathless as he felt "Tag your it, catch me if you can." and then she was gone.

Shock flooded Klaus. Bloody Hell. She had distracted him, there went Step 2 and Step 3 of his plan, and now she was gone.

He looked around searching the crowd. Looking up he searched the second story balcony, he found her. She waved, blew him a kiss and proceeded to push the man standing next to her right over the railing. His head, making a bone crunching splat as it made contact with the floor below.

Klaus was up and following her out of the club before the first person started screaming.

Klaus caught up to her mere feet outside the back door entrance of the club. Caroline stood there trapped, between himself and Matt.

"Well well Markos, Great job. Truly. You really did your homework with the hallucinations this time. You're getting better at this game."

Caroline starred into the face of one of her dearest friends. Matt stood his ground, blocking Caroline's access to the crowd of people now stampeding out the front entrance of the club.

Caroline extended one hand towards Matt "I mean really though the one I am most likely to trust without question."

She turned to extend her other hand towards the image of Klaus raking him with an up and down sneer "And the one I am most likely to blindly follow."

She brought her hands together in a methodical slow clap "Bravo.".

In the next instant a tall slender vampire appeared next to Caroline.

"Hey babe, what the hell happened in there?" indicating the club with a nod of her head. "Owww looks like you already caught dinner tho, mind if we share you know I can't resist a blonde."

Caroline looked to her friend, shock and realization dawning in her. "You can see them?"

"You mean pretty boy blonde #1 and pretty boy blonde #2. How much did you drink in there?"

"Oh." Caroline paused allowing the realization that since Markos could only present a hallucination to one person at a time, if Claire could see the two men with her then that meant that for the first time in 22 years the real Matt and real Klaus stood before her. Okay they stood before her and behind her if technicalities mattered.

Caroline turned her gaze away from Matt and Klaus and looked into the face of her friend. Her own features became emotionless as she spoke. "Then I am really sorry about this.".

Caroline slammed her hand into the front of her friend's chest. As she ripped her friend's heart free, and her body fell to the ground. She looked down at Claire's desiccating body.

"It's nothing personal love, you're just collateral damage."

The sound of Claire's heart was sickening wet thud on the cobblestone as Caroline dropped it from her hand.

Love Reviews...so leave them guys!

Cora