A/N: I'm sorry. I suck. Writer's block and school starting have been murdering my motivation. I'm glad that I finally got this out, and I hope you guys like it. Thank you to Sophie for looking it over.
Enjoy!
-Angie
Chicago, Illinois - Present
Caroline tried not to grumble to herself as she walked through the streets searching for a suitable candidate. To be perfectly honest, she was stalling for time. She was inexplicably (but totally justifiably, in her opinion) nervous about meeting her aunt, especially without her father present. Rebekah, from what she knew, was very volatile. She had an unpredictable temper and a mean streak a mile wide, but would go to the ends of the earth to protect the ones she loved.
Caroline sighed, thankful she'd managed to keep her phone on her, and decided to take the opportunity to finally check the messages that she knew she must have accumulated.
She turned on her phone, wincing at the onslaught of notifications streaming onto her home screen.
Oh, god, Lara…
She winced as she heard her friend's voice come over the speaker.
"Hey, Care. It's Lara. Just checking in to make sure everything went okay with your mission. Looking forward to hearing from you soon."
"Hey, Care, it's Lara. You haven't texted or emailed me back for a few days, so I just wanted to make sure that everything was going okay. If you could give me a call back, that would be great. I hope you're having fun in the U.S."
Caroline bit her lip as she listened to her friend's messages before skipping to the next one, which was from Elena, and Caroline had to resist the urge to snort derisively as she listened to it. "Caroline, I'm worried about Stefan. If you can, please tell me where you are so I can come. He needs to come home."
Stefan was lost, and the sooner the other girl realized it, the better.
The next message was from Katherine, who was speaking in rapid-fire Bulgarian. Caroline had been semi-forced by Elijah to learn the language in order to interact with Katherine more effectively, something she still wholly resented.
She sounded like she was in a crowded area, and Caroline was willing to bet that the other woman was banking on no one else around her speaking the language. Caroline rewound the message and listened to it again, mentally translating it.
"Elena and Damon are trying to find you. We're going to distract Elena and Bonnie to prevent that. Damon's an idiot, but he could cause problems for us. Their powers could come in handy. Any way you could help with that would be appreciated. Because Elijah hasn't been undaggered, I'm assuming that you haven't been successful in creating the werewolf pack. I'm going to attempt to recruit Mason Lockwood's to buy my freedom. I'm showing a lot of trust in you by telling you this, Caroline. Don't betray it. We're on the same side. Keep me updated."
The click of Katherine hanging up seemed to echo in her ears.
She sighed, considering her options. It would be good to have Elena distracted, it was true, and she was completely on board with the plan to buy Katherine's freedom, if only because it meant the woman would be out of her damn hair.
She knew what she had to do, and though she was reluctant to bring Lara into it, they'd been friends for...well, what felt like forever (witches had excellent means of staying young, and Lara was exceptionally powerful), and if there was any time to call in a ginormous favor, now would be it.
Before she lost her nerve, she pressed Lara's contact number and held the phone to her hear.
"Oh my god, Caroline! Are you okay? What's going on?"
All the air left her lungs, and she felt like she might start crying, the reality of the situation seeming to crash around her all at once, and she found the story spilling from her lips in a rush.
Lara waited patiently as Caroline told her friend everything, taking a deep shuddering breath at the end, and Lara was silent for a moment before she spoke.
"And so I assume that you want me to train the girls to keep them out of your hair?"
"You read my mind," Caroline said, letting the intense relief she felt permeate her voice.
"Well, I can probably get a flight by tomorrow."
"Thank you so much, Lar! You're the best. Just get them to trust you and keep them from doing anything stupid, please."
"No problem."
"And if you could keep an eye on Katherine… I mean, I'd love to say that I trust her, but–"
"Don't worry, if you trust Katherine Pierce, you're an idiot," Lara said bluntly, and Caroline laughed.
"Exactly. I'll talk to you soon?"
"Of course. Good luck, and don't let Klaus get too obsessed with you," Lara said, clearly only half-joking.
"I'll try."
They said their goodbyes and Caroline hung up, pausing as she had a wave of deja vu from the surrounding area, and sighed. She'd never been back to Chicago, simply because she hadn't wanted to be tempted to learn about her past.
There was no point, after all. Her parents weren't nice people, and they were human, and Elijah was the one who'd taken care of her and raised her. He wouldn't want her to snoop, and she knew it.
However, she found herself less inclined to listen to the niggling voice in her head that spoke with Elijah's formal tone. Perhaps it was because he was daggered, but she felt less inclined to respond to his urgings for her not to give into her impulses. He'd never have to know, after all.
However, now was not the time to explore her heritage. She had to find someone for Rebekah to feed from so that she could wake up.
Caroline sighed, still walking and observing the people passing by, trying to spot someone that looked around her aunt's size, simply because she'd seen the flapper dress, and that wasn't exactly twenty-first century appropriate.
She finally spied a young woman around their size and had a brief inner struggle about the ethics of taking someone off the street, knowing it was quite likely the girl would end up dead.
In the end, she wasn't willing to compromise her word and her loyalty to her father for the life of a girl she barely knew.
She ignored the guilt chewing through her gut as she greeted the other girl and compelled her to follow her back to the warehouse.
XXX
Klaus leaned against the wall, his face twisted into a smirk, ignoring Stefan's attempts to question him about what he'd said about Rebekah. He was mostly tuning the other man out, instead running through all the possible plans and back-up plans that he could construct to accomplish his goals.
Stefan was a peace offering to his sister, and he hoped it would be enough to convince her to help him contact their mother. If he wasn't, however, he'd need to find other motivation, and he was honestly unsure of whether Caroline's presence would hinder or help his goals.
Despite that, he had a feeling she could come in useful later, and if he was honest with himself, a skill that he had perfected over his thousand years of life, he preferred to keep the girl, regardless of whether she would be useful or not.
He looked up when he heard the click of heels against concrete, and Caroline walked in, a clearly compelled woman obediently trailing behind her. She stopped with her arms crossed, glaring at Klaus.
"Thank you, love. I very much appreciate your assistance."
She scoffed, letting her fangs emerge and sinking them into the woman's wrist before ordering him to hold it to Rebekah's mouth. He watched as the color slowly returned to Rebekah's cheeks, and she moved to clutch the woman's wrist to her lips before her eyes opened and she pulled her forward by the front of her shirt. Rebekah's fangs sunk into the woman's neck, feeding until she drained her dry, letting the corpse fall to the floor with a light thump.
She was up in an instant, and he prepared himself for the pain of the dagger in his chest. Best to let her take out her anger initially so that she'd be better-behaved later.
"Go to hell, Nik!"
Wincing, he pulled the dagger out, letting it clatter to the floor. "Don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me," he said, giving her a smug smirk.
"No, but I was hoping it would hurt more," his sister said petulantly, stalking off toward the door and stopping short when she saw Stefan and Caroline.
"I understand that you're upset with me, Rebekah," Klaus started, laying a hand confidently on her shoulder. "So I'm going to let the petty display of violence go, just this once. As you can see, I've brought you a peace offering."
Rebekah didn't appear to be listening, instead staring at Stefan. "Stefan," she breathed, a smile blooming on her face.
Stefan shifted awkwardly, clearly confused, and Klaus walked over, laying a hand on his shoulder and catching his eye. "You remember."
He smirked as Stefan swayed a bit on his feet, apparently dazed, before blinking rapidly. "Rebekah."
They stared at each other for a moment before Rebekah seemed to gather herself and abruptly turned to Caroline. "And who's this, Nik? A new little witch friend? And why is she dressed like a prostitute?"
"I am not dressed like a prostitute," Caroline growled, and Klaus ducked his head, trying not to grin. "Everyone dresses like this. And I'm not a witch, or his friend."
"How long, Nik?" Rebekah demanded, ignoring Caroline's words and whirling around to glare at him.
"Ninety years or so," he said calmly, twirling the dagger he'd picked up between his fingers, a pointed threat.
"A bloody century, Nik? Really?"
"Really," he confirmed, dimpled smile in full force.
"You're a bloody prick."
He simply shrugged, clasping his hands behind his back and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Perhaps. Now, wouldn't you like me to introduce you to sweet Caroline?"
He did enjoy the fury in Caroline's eyes when she looked at him, grinding her teeth. "I can introduce myself, thank you."
"Well, get to it, then."
Caroline huffed and turned to Rebekah. "I'm Caroline. Elijah's daughter."
"And I'm the Queen," Rebekah said disdainfully. "Vampires can't have children."
"They can adopt," Caroline pointed out, her voice almost haughty.
Rebekah pressed her lips together, eyes narrowed, before scoffing. "Of course he did. He was trying to replace me with you. Where is he, Nik?"
"Someone decided to dagger him," Caroline said shortly, throwing a rather unnecessary glare in his direction.
"Well, Nik will just have to undagger him, then."
"That's not really a feasible option at the moment, Bekah."
"And why not?"
"Because he tried to kill me."
"Why would Elijah try to kill you, Nik?"
"Because he thought you were dead," Caroline said quietly.
"It matters not, however, as I am now invincible."
"You broke the curse?" Rebekah asked immediately, and he smirked.
His sister was many things, but stupid was not one of them.
"Yes."
"Well I would offer my congratulations if you weren't being such a prat," Rebekah said haughtily before turning back to Stefan. "So, Stefan. How have you been?"
Stefan, still clearly coming to terms with what had really happened in the 1920s, didn't answer, and Rebekah seemed to deflate slightly. Klaus suppressed an eyeroll at his sister's sentimentality, instead, clasping his hands together in front of him.
"So, Sister, I regret to say that I have not undaggered you out of the goodness of my heart."
Rebekah snorted. "I already figured that out Nik, thank you. I'm not an idiot. What do you need?"
"I broke the curse, which means that I should be able to make hybrids," Klaus said slowly. "However, when I attempted to guide a pack through their transition, they all died rather painful deaths. Therefore, I'd like to contact the Original Witch."
Rebekah huffed. "I see. Of course. This is about your replacement family."
"Not replacement, Bekah. Additional. So may I ask where the necklace is?"
"What do you mean, Nik," Rebekah said haughtily, her hand flying to her neck, before her eyes widened rather comically. "Where's my necklace?"
"I don't know, that's why I was asking you."
"I never take it off," Rebekah snapped, starting to pat herself down, despite the fact that her dress had no pockets. "Where is it, Nik?"
"Are you telling me that you lost the necklace?"
"I don't know how," she said, almost absently, speeding over to the coffin and running her hands over the velvet lining before gritting her teeth and throwing it with a roar, the wood shattering against the wall.
Klaus sighed. "Now, Rebekah, let's not get violent. We'll have to buy you a new one," he said long-sufferingly.
"Nik, now is not the time for thinly veiled dagger threats," she growled before turning to Caroline. "You, girl, do you know anything? Did Elijah take my necklace?"
"No, I don't, and don't call me 'girl'. My name is Caroline."
Rebekah gave an elegant shrug, and tossed her hair, strutting to the other side of the room and inspecting the woman Caroline had brought, curling her lip. "In the unlikely case that it was purposeful that you brought me a human close to my size, I congratulate you. I assume that it won't do to walk out in this?"
He subtly shot a look at Caroline, who was clearly trying not to look too happy at the praise.
The poor thing needed to stop displaying her feelings so obviously, no matter how enticing she looked with her plump lower lip worried between her teeth.
He could tell that she felt his gaze locked on her, because she stiffened and looked up. He made sure to pointedly lick his lips, making her fidget, her eyes darkening in embarrassment and anger as she flipped her hair, looking away.
She really was stunning.
Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present
She observed her prey from across the bar, not bothering to take more than a few seconds to consider the irony of dubbing a werewolf prey.
Katherine knew who Jules was from Mason Lockwood, as well as by reputation. She was strictly anti-vampire, and the alpha of one of the biggest packs in the United States.
And it went without saying that every supernatural creature knew the story of Katherine Pierce.
The other woman kept glancing over, and Katherine sipped her whiskey casually, sparing Jules a pointed glance every minute or so.
It was clear that Jules had become frustrated, because she stood up abruptly, stalking over to Katherine and leaning against the counter. "What do you want?"
"The same thing as you do."
"Well, that's a riddle if I ever heard one," Jules muttered. "I want a lot of things. You could compel us both a jetski. That would be super helpful."
Jules signaled to the bartender for another shot and threw it back quickly, slamming the glass down.
"No, I was thinking more...killing Klaus."
"Not to rain on your parade or anything, but Mason is dead, and he was the one who cared about Tyler, not me. Sure, I'm sad the kid is dead, but revenge isn't worth it."
"You seem to not fully understand the situation."
"Oh?"
Katherine nodded, throwing back her own shot and motioning for Matt to pour another. "Now that Klaus is a hybrid, he can make other hybrids. I'll bet you anything that he's scouring the earth for every werewolf pack in existence, and guess who has a werewolf pack? Oh. Right. You."
Jules froze.
"Do you want your entire pack to be turned into blood-sucking monsters?" Katherine asked, keeping her voice deceptively innocent.
"I'm listening," Jules said through gritted teeth.
"So, as I said, we want the same thing. I want Klaus dead, you want Klaus dead...It's perfect."
"Why do you want Klaus dead?" Jules asked.
"That's none of your business. The important thing is that I want what you want."
"I'm going to need a bit more to go on."
"Well, that's unfortunate for you," Katherine said dryly. "I'll help you kill him, or I'll turn you and your pack over to him to get what I want. Your choice sweetcheeks."
Jules scoffed, but looked contemplative before nodding slowly. "Fine. What's your plan?"
Katherine smirked and began to talk.
It had been a lot easier than she'd expected to get Jules to go along with her plan. Katherine's plan was simple. She was going to have Jules and her pack help her rescue Elijah, and then turn them over to Klaus as a gesture of good faith in exchange for her and Caroline's freedom, which would make Elijah happy. It pretty much killed an entire flock of birds with one stone.
The woman was astronomically stupid, really. Jules should know better than to trust Katherine Pierce.
Chicago, Illinois - Present
Rebekah turned from side to side, inspecting her silhouette in the mirror.
The dress was so short. The feeling of abrupt change and culture shock was quite familiar (she'd been daggered before), but that didn't make it comfortable.
"There has to be more to this dress," she announced, stepping out of the dressing room, hands on her hips.
"No, Rebekah, there isn't."
"So, women of the 21st century dress like prostitutes, then? I got dirty looks for wearing trousers."
"You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing," Klaus said, sipping his champagne, though Rebekah noticed his eyes float to the girl-Caroline-who was sitting uncomfortably, her skirt riding up enough to show miles of leg, top snug around her breasts.
She had a feeling that her brother was quite thankful for the apparent change in fashion since the 1920s.
He seemed a bit fond of the girl (though purely in the thinking-with-his-prick way), and Rebekah considered whether that was a weakness she could exploit. Of course, the girl was apparently Elijah's daughter, a laughable concept if she'd ever heard one, and yet it was one that was completely plausible.
Elijah clung to preserving family relationships and unity, and if he'd thought that she was gone and Klaus had killed them all, it would have made sense for him to gain a companion to comfort himself. The fact that the girl was so similar in looks to Rebekah did not escape her notice.
Yes, Elijah had most definitely used Caroline as a replacement for her, and just for that, Rebekah had half a mind to kill her.
However, if Elijah did indeed see the girl as a daughter, there would be consequences to harming her, and Rebekah wasn't exactly keen on invoking Elijah's wrath.
"What do you think, Caroline?" she asked, her voice sharp, and the girl swallowed, tilting her head to the side.
"I think," Caroline said slowly, trailing off, making Rebekah raise her eyebrows. "I think that the dress might be a bit small in the hip. It's not the most flattering cut."
Rebekah turned to the mirror hanging on the wall outside of the dressing room, turning to the side again, completely prepared to rip the girl's throat out (regardless of Elijah's affections for her), but paused as she saw the wrinkles in the back of the dress.
She turned to Caroline again, her arms crossed. "You passed. I suppose you're not completely useless after all."
Caroline bristled, but Rebekah simply tossed her hair and plucked another dress off of the rack, going back behind the curtain.
"Well, you're quite useless, sister," she heard Klaus mutter.
"I beg your pardon?" she asked from the fitting room.
"I undaggered you for the necklace, and yet you've somehow lost it."
"I didn't lose it, it's just been missing for ninety years."
"See? Useless," Klaus spat, though from his tone she could tell that it was more teasing than disgusted.
"I'm going to go take a walk," she heard Stefan say.
Rebekah walked back out just as Stefan walked out of the shop, and she raised an eyebrow at her brother, who shrugged. "He's loyal. I'm sure it's all just a bit much right now."
"If you say so," she mumbled, turning to the mirror again.
"Caroline. Opinion," she ordered, snapping her fingers, and she saw Caroline's eyebrows fly up, clearly insulted, though the other girl obligingly eyed the outfit critically.
"Cute dress, but the shoes don't go."
"I agree," Rebekah said, shooting the other girl a calculating look. "You say that you're Elijah's daughter?"
"Yes."
"Nik? Leave us a moment."
"And why should I, Bekah?"
"Because you left me in a coffin for 90 years and owe me at least this tiny favor. Go tail Stefan or something."
Klaus snorted but stood up, setting his wine on the table and nodded. "Fine. I'll give you forty minutes. Don't run."
Rebekah snorted. "Only because I have no wish to."
Rebekah watched him leave before turning to Caroline. "Tell me more."
"About?" Caroline said slowly.
"Elijah. How did he get daggered? Where is he?"
Rebekah struggled to keep her expression blank as Caroline spoke, keeping the story restricted to the important points (something Rebekah greatly appreciated), and she found herself reluctantly acknowledging that Elijah might have seen some reasonably good qualities in the girl.
She nodded along, asking questions when she needed clarification, and when Caroline finally seemed to run out of things to say, Rebekah pinned her with a look that made most people intensely uncomfortable, though Caroline didn't seem to mind.
Then again, she'd grown up with Elijah, the King of Disapproving and Judgy Glances.
"Just so we're clear, your presence is Elijah's fault, not mine," Rebekah said coldly, and to her credit, Caroline's face didn't fall in the slightest.
"You don't choose your family," the other girl said.
"You're not my family. You're Elijah's, though I suppose that once we undagger him, he'll insist that you're mine by extension."
She knew that Caroline didn't miss her casual placement of them both on the same side, and inwardly congratulated Elijah on at least not picking an idiot.
"Probably. He's a bit sappy like that."
Rebekah resisted the urge to snort derisively. The girl, after all, spoke the truth. "Just don't call me Aunt Rebekah. It makes me feel old."
"You are old," Caroline pointed out, clearly not thinking through her answer, and Rebekah smiled slowly.
The girl had nerve. Perhaps the trip to find the necklace wouldn't be so boring after all.
Chicago, Illinois - 1929
"You killed her," Elijah said hollowly.
"I did," Klaus confirmed. "A coffin was too good for her."
"Are you insane, Niklaus? Mikael is after us with the goal of killing us all, and you do his work for him by killing our sister?"
"She tried to leave me!"
"She was in love!" Elijah shouted.
"No, brother. She thought she was in love. Rebekah gives her heart too freely and welcomes the pain from it. She was just a silly girl with bad judgment."
He saw Elijah draw himself up to his full height, his brother's teeth gritted, posture stiff. "I must go before I kill you myself."
"You could try, but you would not succeed."
Elijah sped off, and Klaus followed, speeding to a stop in front of his brother, making them slam into each other, burying his hand in his brother's chest. Elijah broke his wrist and threw him across the street before kicking Klaus in the kneecaps, making him wince, and grabbing his head.
"I will find you if you run, brother," Klaus growled. He had never seen Elijah with such rage in his eyes as his world went black.
When Klaus woke, the street was only slightly darker, and he sat up slowly, checking his watch quickly to see that only half an hour had passed. He pulled himself up gingerly, twisting his body slightly to check his range of movement, before closing his eyes and speeding off in the direction of the scent he identified as Elijah's, straining his ears for the sound of his voice. The scent was particularly strong in an alleyway, where Klaus saw the body of a woman lying on the concrete. Sparing the woman no further thought, other than noting that Elijah must have fed, Klaus continued on, losing the scent of his brother in the crowd once he reached a populated park.
Klaus had never expected Elijah to believe that he'd actually killed Rebekah, but then again, his brother wasn't exactly known for his fabulous grasp of sarcasm.
Though Elijah was able to be sarcastic himself, he often had difficulty recognizing it from others.
Either way, it was most likely safer this way for both of them. Klaus had no doubt that he would be Mikael's first priority.
He couldn't help but wonder how Mikael had found them. They'd been very, very careful after the disaster in New Orleans. There had to have been someone on the inside, someone who had been observing them without his knowledge.
The second option made his skin crawl, but there was nothing to be done about it now, really. He'd simply have to run, just as they had been doing for a thousand years, though this time he would be alone.
He had a strange feeling that would make it a lot easier.
Chicago, Illinois - Present
Klaus suspected that the woman he had noticed in the alley all those years ago had been Caroline's mother, and that gave him a starting point. He set off for the building where the public records were kept, compelling his way in, and set to work, looking through them for any possible information on Caroline.
He started with birth certificates, and found multiple Carolines born in 1924 and 1925 in Chicago. He took photos of all the certificates on his phone before moving on to look up the families.
He'd gone through five of the thirty-two families by the time his phone alarm went off, indicating that it was time to head back to the boutique where Rebekah and Caroline were talking.
There was something about Caroline that piqued his interest, and he couldn't help but want to know as much as possible about her, as well as gain any possible leverage. He'd made up his mind to have the girl, but he'd sensed that it might be more difficult than he'd originally believed to convince her to comply with his wishes.
He'd earn her trust, bit by bit, tempt her with information about her past, and charm her with stories of the world. He'd got the impression that Elijah had failed to allow her much freedom, and he could take advantage of that.
He saw the way she shifted when he looked at her, the way her skin flushed when he caressed her name as he spoke it. She was obviously attracted to him, whether she wanted to be or not, and was also clearly embarrassed by it. Sweet little Caroline was such a pretty piece of prey for him, and he had every intention of sampling every sweet succulent inch of her.
He was thankful, really, that Elijah had seen the need for a companion. Revenge on his brother would otherwise most certainly not have been so pleasurable.
XXX
Caroline was curled on the hotel bed, reading a book. After Klaus had returned from wherever he'd been, he'd sketched a picture of the necklace and shown it to both Caroline and Stefan, asking if they'd ever seen it. Caroline hadn't remembered, but she felt like Stefan might have been lying, and she had no doubt that Klaus, and most likely Rebekah, had sensed it too, though neither had said anything.
Caroline looked up when Klaus entered the room without knocking, scowling at his complete disregard for her privacy.
"Knock, much?"
"I'm paying for the room, therefore it is mine, therefore there is no need," he said airily, sinking down on the edge of the bed, his body less than a foot from her hip, propping his feet on the wooden side table.
"What do you want?" she asked, paying no mind to her rudeness, trying to subtly edge away (though she knew that he could tell).
"Am I not allowed to simply come to seek the pleasure of your company?"
"What do you want, Klaus?"
"Many things, love," he said, his smile wide and lecherous.
She bristled. "Don't call me love," she spat for what felt like the millionth time.
As usual, though, he just shrugged and edged even closer to her, invading her personal space so that his scent filled her lungs. "I'm going to need you to do me a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"I need you to tail Stefan for me. Can you do that?"
"Why?" she asked, glaring up at him, trying not to flinch.
"I suspect he may be...fraternizing with some people who wish to do me harm. Please take care of it, sweetheart."
"Stop with the pet names. It's creepy."
He shrugged. "If you say so, Caroline."
Her name fell from his mouth in such a way that she'd almost rather he called her sweetheart, not that she'd ever admit it. He seemed to pick up on her line of thought, however, as he winked at her almost playfully, standing up and patting her on the thigh, dangerously close to her hip.
"Don't touch me."
"My apologies. I suppose it was uncouth of me to let my hand rest upon a lady without her permission," he acknowledged with a tip of his head, and she bared her teeth at him, feeling the veins creep up under her cheeks as the rage bubbled within her. "I expect you to begin immediately."
He cocked his head to the side, listening, and she followed his example, scowling as she heard Stefan's hotel room door open and close. "You'd better get on that sweethe-excuse me, Caroline."
She curled her lip and pushed off of the hotel bed, grabbing her purse and stalking out of the room, resisting the urge to grumble to herself.
Stefan was walking quickly, and she tailed him to a nearby alley next to the hotel. Pressing herself against the wall of the building, she crept towards the conversation happening, pausing to listen to it.
"You shouldn't be here, Elena."
Caroline resisted the urge to facepalm. Honestly, did that girl have no sense of self-preservation?
"We're here to rescue you."
"I don't need rescuing. I need to do this."
"No you don't, Stefan. Come home."
Caroline rolled her eyes.
"I can't, Elena. It's complicated, and–"
"Are you saying it's too complicated for me to understand?"
"No. It's just...it's dangerous, okay? You shouldn't be here."
"Of course I should. I'm in love with you, Stefan. We're in love."
"No, you're seventeen and you're an idiot," Caroline snapped, not caring that she probably wasn't supposed to let Stefan know that she was tailing him, but simply frustrated with the situation. "He's right, Elena. You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous, and you're going to get yourself killed."
"Caroline," Stefan said, and she frowned as she heard the genuine fear bleeding into it.
"What's your problem?" she snapped. "I'm right, and you know it, because you agreed with me."
"Right. Yeah. I do," he said uncomfortably, and Caroline wondered how Stefan had gotten through life being this terrible of a liar.
She turned to Elena, frowning. "Look, Elena. You should go home. Once we finish our...mission...Stefan will be back, good as new, and you'll be fine. Okay?"
Elena was shrouded in the shadow of the alleyway, but when the girl shifted, Caroline caught a glimpse of a glint of metal around her neck, and her eyes widened.
Elena had the necklace.
That explained Stefan's terror, and Caroline tried to cover her expression up as best she could, hoping Stefan hadn't seen. "You need to go home, Elena," she repeated.
"But, I can't–"
"Go home," Caroline ordered. "Stefan can call you with updates or something, but you can't be here."
Elena's chin jutted out in stubbornness, and Caroline wondered, not for the first time, if she'd been that obnoxious as a seventeen year old. "I came all the way out here to see Stefan–"
"And now you've seen him. Go home, Elena."
Caroline turned on her heel and took a few steps back towards the hotel. "He knows you're out, Stefan. He sent me to get you."
A lie, but he'd never know.
"You're not safe here, Elena," she heard Stefan say softly, and rolled her eyes as she heard the sound of him giving her a soft kiss, Elena's breath whooshing out of her lungs as he pulled away. "Go home. I love you."
"I love you too, Stefan," Elena said tearfully.
Caroline waited only another moment before snappishly asking if they were done and pulling Stefan towards the hotel by the upper arm.
He didn't mention the necklace, most likely hoping that Caroline hadn't seen it, or if she had, she liked Elenaganger enough to keep quiet about it (which, frankly, she didn't). However, she wasn't sure she wanted the necklace to be in Klaus's hands either.
Her father would have given her a lecture on the importance of human life, and how Klaus was most likely perfectly capable of finding an alternate way to contact Esther. There was no need to put Elenaganger's life in danger again. However, Caroline was on a very tight schedule, thank you, and she wanted her father back sooner rather than later.
The question was, was potentially sacrificing Elenaganger worth getting her father back just a bit earlier? What was another year or so when one was immortal?
Especially when she'd receive her father's 'I'm judging you very harshly and am also quite disappointed in you, young lady' face.
Once again, she'd found herself drifting further and further away from listening to Elijah's disapproving voice inside her head, and it was really quite a foreign feeling. She'd gone through her life being an obedient, perfect daughter, and she had never had an interest in deviating from that habit until her father had been daggered.
Just because Elijah wouldn't approve didn't mean the idea of turning in Elena to Klaus was automatically bad, she decided. Sure, it wasn't exactly the most ethical thing to do, but they were vampires anyway. Plus, her father had forever to forgive her.
Still though, she felt uneasy, and she decided to sleep on it.
A/N: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm interested to hear what you guys think about how I'm changing canon around a little bit. Excited for Rebekah and Caroline's friendship to grow? Any guesses for how the plot will continue to diverge from the show, especially since Tyler and Jeremy are both dead? I'd like to remind you all that, unlike most of my stories, this will be a slow, slow burn.
As always, you can catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie, and I usually answer guest reviews and post news about my update schedule (which will be a bit all over the place for awhile) there.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Hugs!
-Angie