AN: Chapter 14 people. Hope you guys enjoy. Just to ease the minds of everyone, Caroline will NOT go back to her insecure human self. Yes, she will struggle with being human because she loves being a vampire but that's it. She's developed into a great character and she'll still (for the most part) be herself. On that note happy reading :)

Chapter 14: Babies, ball gowns and bright lights

Caroline walked into the courtyard to see everyone standing around. She tried to hear what they were saying but she could not. A wave of anger washed over her as she remembered that she no longer had her heightened senses.

Caroline tried to push down the emotions she was feeling so that she could focus on the problems in front of her. Rayna and the sire lines. That's what she needed to focus on. She may be human now but the one thing that will never change is that she is a control freak which meant planning was like second nature to her.

She walked closer to the group and she saw an unfamiliar blonde walk passed her. The blonde gave her a small smile but her posture screamed unease. Caroline saw that the blonde was walking toward Klaus, who had just started walking a few steps behind her, taking the same route to the courtyard she did.

As much as Caroline wanted to know who the new blonde was, there were more pressing things to deal with. So she turned back to face her friends. Bonnie's face went from serious to happy in a matter of seconds as she was the first to spot her newly human best friend. "Care" Bonnie gushed out as she made her way to Caroline, bringing her into a tight hug. "Oh, I was so worried about you" Bonnie started while still hugging her. "I'm so sorry. I'm gonna fix this, I promise" she added quickly and Caroline saw there was a hint of guilt in Bonnie's eyes. "This was not your fault" Caroline tried to reassure Bonnie. Caroline knew the witch would blame herself for not being there to protect her, but Caroline also knew it was never Bonnie's job to protect everyone. "It's great to see you to Bon" Caroline said with a smile on her face.

Stefan was next to come up to her and they embraced each other. "Thank god you're okay" Caroline breathes out, her hands still around her vampire best friend. "Me" Stefan says and pulls back to look at her, "what about you. I was worried sick" Stefan looks at her again to make sure she is in fact okay. "I'm fine Stefan. It's going to take some getting used to, but physically I feel fine" Caroline says and it's the truth. Physically she's perfect.

Caroline does not let her thoughts wonder into the emotional aspect of her 'transition'. She had made the decision to make the best of it. Although there was a tiny part of her that hoped Bonnie would fix this.

She shakes herself out of her thoughts as she looks to Damon. He looks like he's on edge. Caroline knew that Damon was just trying to protect her but without a doubt Damon was feeling guilty. Out of everyone in their little group, Damon was most likely the one to understand what she was going through right now.

Before he met Elena, Damon loved his vampirism. He loved being strong and fearless. He loved being feared. Caroline, however was different. She loved being a vampire because of the excitement and adventure it brought. Not because of the blood and mayhem that everyone else seemed to like it for.

"Caroline-" Damon began but was cut off by Caroline. "I don't blame you" Caroline states. As much as she wanted to blame him or anyone for that matter, it wasn't Damon's fault either. This was the cards that was dealt to her and there is no use blaming someone else for her crappy hand.

Damon looked like he was ready to protest but she cut him off again. "We need to figure out a way to kill Rayna and eliminate the threat to the sire lines. We should focus on that" Caroline says hoping to get everyone back on topic. The sooner they got this done, the sooner she could leave.

Everyone could sense that she no longer wanted to talk about her human status any longer so they decided to move on. "Alright but care, there are things you need to know about this whole pregnancy thing" Bonnie starts speaking.

"When Kai stabbed Jo..." Alaric began but stopped, closing his eyes in an attempt to regain his composure. Caroline could not even imagine what he was going through right now. To lose someone in the way he did... it had to haunt him everyday. "The Gemini coven did a spell to save the babies" he continues. "By putting them in me" Caroline ends for him and he nods.

"It was a long shot. One that they thought wouldn't work because you were a vampire at the time, but they had to try. Everyone there was a part of the coven and Elena was..."Bonnie explains further and she to needs to stop to try to contain her emotions and once again Caroline found it unimaginable to be in another of her friends position. Although now that she was human she could relate. She to would never see Elena again. Well, never see her walking and talking that is.

Caroline clears her throat and shakes of her emotion. Now was not the time. She could deal with her emotions when this was finished. She'll keep it together for this. She has to. "I was their only option" Caroline concluded. "Yeah. Once the spell was complete. They had to figure out why it worked" Bonnie says but Caroline cuts her off. "It's because of my werewolf side" Caroline states plainly. "How'd you know?" Bonnie asks with wide eyes. "My mom left me a journal. My werewolf side is bound. I can't turn but some aspects, like procreation and...emotion are still there apparently" Caroline explains.

"Look Caroline. I know that this must be difficult. God, I can't even begin to imagine what your going through" Alaric says, "and if you don't want to do this then...then I understand. Bonnie knows the transfer spell. We can find someone else-" Alaric continued. "No I...I want to help you. When I became a vampire I finally felt like myself. I cared more I stopped being the insecure human and then I realized that is who I truly am. And it's something I don't ever want to lose" Caroline gives him a small smile. "You'll never lose that part of you Caroline. Like you said, it's who you truly are" Alaric gives a smile and nods back at her and Caroline notices Klaus and the unnamed blonde, along with the other originals walk up to them.

Klaus stands a few feet behind the group listening to what they were saying. They could no longer run around without knowing everything. It seems as though their enemies had plans of their own and now they needed one for themselves, to protect themselves.

"It seems as though another attempt of an attack has come" Klaus says while holding up the envelope for everyone to see. He looks to Caroline briefly to see her looking at him. They lock eyes for a minute and he can hear her heart pounding in her chest. With a smirk he forces himself to look away. They'll talk later, he thought to himself. For now they had to plan.

They were about to go on but they were interrupted by an unknown voice. "Klaus Mikealson" the voice says and they turn to see a young man, no more than twenty five looking at them. He was was human, Klaus concluded. He could smell the blood rush through the man. "Who are you?" Klaus questions. "I was supposed to give this to Klaus Mikealson" the man states. "He's compelled" Elijah says from behind him.

Rebekah, being the closest to the man takes the envelope he was holding and compelled him to leave and forget ever being in the compound. She tore open the envelope in one quick motion, uncaring if it was in fact for Klaus.

She reads it for a second before she turns it for the others to inspect. No one moves as she reads what was written on the card. "Please join the deMartel siblings for dinner, drinks and celebration" Rebekah says and goes on to read the back of the card. "Nik, do be sure to bring along the lovely Caroline Forbes and her friends from Mystic Falls, Aroura" Rebekah finished reading the card. "Well, it seem as though ball gowns are in order" Rebekah smirks to the rest of the group. Caroline felt fear as her name was mentioned. They knew who she was and it made her feel uneasy.

KC*;*KC

The group continued to try to get a plan into action. The ball was in a week and they needed to find a way to destroy the stone and kill Rayna so they, along with the sire lines would be safe. Kol was the one who suggested that they get in touch with the witch ancestors.

Rayna was born in New Orleans and it was New Orleans magic that made her what she is. Although the the ancestors had no reason to help the vampires, it was worth a shot.

So with that Bonnie, Freya, Davina and after a lengthy argument, Kol decided that they would make a trip to the ancestral plain. In the mean time Alaric and Stefan would try to find out more about the stone which left Elijah, Klaus and Marcel to handle the strix and Lucian. They had to get them to lower their guard enough to get information.

Which left Rebekah and Caroline without any tasks. Well Rebekah's task was to hold down the fort, which she was not to happy about. As much as Caroline wanted to protest as well she knew that there was nothing she could do at this point. Especially considering she now had two more lives attached to hers. Hayley was in the same boat as her in this case. She had argued with them, trying to get them to see that she could be helpful but in the end they knew it was either her or Klaus who had to sit it out. Klaus, being the original hybrid had been the obvious option to not be the one to sit out of the fight.

"Well that seems to be a wonderful plan" Kol starts sarcastically, "however there is one very big flaw... we have no idea where the bloody stone is" Kol looks to the Mystic Falls gang. "It's safe" Caroline says, deciding to come clean. They were all on the same side anways so the least she could do was tell them it's not in enemy hands.

Klaus looks to Caroline with a mix of anger and intrigue. "Where is it love?" Klaus questions. His voice stern and unrelenting. "Like I said, it's safe and the less people know about it the better. I don't want it falling in the wrong hands" she argues. "You mean my hands" Klaus yells out angrily. "No! I mean Rayna or the vampires who are trying to kill you and your family" Caroline yells back at him and Marcel, Elijah and Davina seem to be shocked.

They were shocked to see this baby vampire go toe to toe with Klaus and not get her heart ripped out. To say that they were intrigued was an understatement. "Fine, have it your way love" Klaus grits out and moves closer to her. She can feel his breath on her cheek and she tries to control her rapidly beating heart.

His proximity made her feel more on edge. Not because she was afraid of him. It was long established that she was not. She was on edge because of their kiss. Yes, she was being a coward when she ran away after their encounter, but she had no idea how she felt. She needed time to figure it out. And now things were just getting more and more dangerous. "But that stone better be secured because make no mistake, my enemies are your enemies and it will mean the death of every vampire existence if they get a hold of it.

Klaus gives her one last look and stormed off. She takes a moment to let out the breath she did not know she was holding.

Everyone inside the compound decided to go on with their tasks after the little spat they had witnessed. Tensions were high and they needed a solution before they tore themselves apart. The vampires inside the compound were completely unaware that just outside, in the shadows of the sunlight, someone had heard everything.

KC*;*KC

AN: So I decided to stop there. Don't hate me. Next chapter will have klaroline and the ball and a little unexpected twist for our characters. Please review. I wanna know what everyone thinks. :)