Author's note: Your reviews mean so much to me! Thank you for all of the great guesses you've sent me about your predictions for this story! This chapter will give us some more flashbacks and insights into our characters' relationships. Enjoy!
"What the fuck?! That's my sister, you bastard," Stefan yelled, running over to Klaus, clearly intent on tackling him, but stopping short when he realized Klaus was still naked.
Letting out a snort, Kol told him, "Go ahead, mate, let's see if you wrestle any better than you box, eh?" He whipped a desk chair around, straddling it nonchalantly as he grinned at Stefan.
Caroline rolled her eyes as she pulled back on her fatigues, yanking her bloody, ragged t-shirt back over her head as she asked Stefan, "So, what'd you do that Kol decided to black your other eye? Did you get judgy about his choices too?"
Looking somewhat abashed, her brother muttered, "Klaus isn't good enough for you, Caroline. I was just looking out for you."
"Not your job, Stefan," Klaus retorted, standing up to finish stepping into his jeans. "Your sister is more than capable of taking care of herself plus saving the lot of us." He glanced over at Caroline, allowing that familiar, toe-curling heat to color his gaze as he added, "She's a fierce, stunning warrior and I'm proud to fight at her side."
Caroline felt her cheeks coloring, but before she could answer, Kol sighed dramatically, "Honestly, brother, after listening to your material, I can't figure out how you managed to make this little rendezvous happen." Winking at her, he asked, "Did you hit your head, Caroline? Quick, how many fingers am I holding up?"
"How many am I," she retorted sweetly, flipping off her cheeky officer as she threw Klaus his blood-speckled button-down. Noticing Kol open his mouth to make a pervy joke that likely would piss off both Klaus and Stefan, she cut him off to ask sharply, "What are you guys doing here? I gave you a direct order to stay on the first floor and use the schematics to map out an exit strategy."
Out of the corner of her eye, she registered Klaus stand up a bit straighter at her 'commander' tone, flushing slightly as he seemed to fight the urge to adjust himself. Interesting. I'd like to explore that little reaction further once we're not neck-deep in Stefan's movie monster nightmare.
Stefan pulled Caroline out of her ill-timed dirty thoughts, telling her, "I was worried about you! You're my sister, damn it, and I needed to make sure you were ok." He quickly crossed the room and wrapped her up in a fierce hug, breathing her in as though he was afraid she'd disappear at any moment. She bit back a small sob that wanted to escape when she thought of all the close calls they both had faced and wondered how many more they'd get before someone's luck ran out. With a final affectionate pat for Stefan, she stepped away to look at Kol pointedly for an explanation.
Kol explained, "This bloody git was hysterical after we heard the two werewolves attacking when you met up with Katherine's team and he ran screaming down the halls trying to get to you." Shrugging, he added, "We came to an agreement after I blacked his other eye and then we tracked you down. Katherine's group has reached the remaining three civilians on the first floor and will be in contact soon."
Nodding in approval at her officer, she inwardly admonished herself for even thinking for a moment that Kol would ever allow a mission to fail while he was being...Kol. "You know," she told him with a sly grin, "If you take away the werewolves, this is kind of like that job we pulled in Bangladesh...although the uniformed guards were almost as hairy."
Rolling his chair over to her, Kol gleefully gave her a high-five as he giggled, "And don't forget — you can't eat a fried fish by flipping it." It was their favorite local saying they'd learned in the remote village that had served as their team's hideout and it instantly evoked the hilarious memory of Kol catching the thatched roof of their tiny clay house on fire while he and Enzo held an impromptu Iron Chef contest.
Caroline was watching the horizon for Katherine and Bonnie to return from their initial recon of the illegally appointed cabinet members' rural retreat. "That fire isn't big enough to cook a lizard, mate, much less the boar we flushed out of the bush earlier," Kol teased Enzo, eyeing the smaller flames critically as he threw another armload of dried palm fronds onto his own roaring blaze.
Caroline coughed as black smoke soured the air of their confined house, the open windows not wide enough to properly ventilate the meager cooking space. She spied Enzo threading thin strips of boar meat onto sharpened bamboo sticks, positioning them over the flames to begin cooking, which caused Kol to panic at the thought of losing their contest and he began encouraging the flames of his cooking fire with two enormous hand fans.
Rolling her eyes, she told him wryly, "Pretty sure your fire is ready, Emeril."
"Just need the perfect temperature for perfectly seared meat," Kol told her, reaching for more palm fronds before sniffing the air comically, asking, "Smells like someone's about to lose our bet, mate. No one wants shriveled-up, burnt boar meat."
Feeling the temperature in the tiny clay home rise, Caroline happened to glance up, shrieking as she realized Kol had caught their roof on fire. The fire raced across the dried-out vegetation, dropping embers onto the dirt floor as the trio cursed and grabbed as many supplies as they could carry before the entire house went up in flames.
Gasping for air, they sat on a mossy log near the edge of the jungle, watching Kol's fire devour their temporary shelter. Brow furrowed, Kol suddenly lifted his charred boar meat on his cooking pole, telling Enzo, "So...best two out of three?"
Caroline bit her lip to keep from giggling at the fond memory, while Kol wiggled his eyebrows comically at her. A disgruntled harrumph from Klaus made Caroline roll her eyes, realizing that on some level, he was jealous of the bond she had with his brother. "Ok, so despite what you two barged in on, Klaus and I are here so he can access his research and figure out a way to kill these things." Nodding at her brother, she added, "Stefan, go help him while Kol and I try to get the security system back online to try to track the creatures."
Following Kol into a side office with a control panel, Caroline closed the door, leaning against it as she warily asked her officer, "Was that a bad idea?"
Examining a tangle of wires underneath the curved console, Kol snorted. "Jumping down this godforsaken hole to battle werewolves was a bad idea. Making our brothers work together is a bloody catastrophe." Muffled curses from the other room seemed to illustrate his point, but they decided against intervening unless the noise level increased to the point that it could attract the monsters.
She helped Kol isolate what appeared to be a series of cables connected to the mainframe and quietly asked, "Do we need to talk about it?"
His lips quirked, and seemed on the brink of making one of his usual pervy jokes, but something in her expression stopped him. "I saw how Klaus looked at you. If you're having second thoughts, keep them to yourself until this mess is done." His tone turned brittle as he continued, "He won't get hurt on my watch. Not when I can stop it."
Touched by Kol's obvious loyalty to his brother, she reassured him, "We haven't exactly had a chance to talk over things, but you have my word I'll do my best not to screw it up."
Katherine's voice in their earpieces interrupted them: "Tomb Dodger online. We've determined an exit strategy to lead the four civilians with us to safety. Using a series of air ducts connecting the north quadrant to the cafeteria, we can get everyone to the rendezvous point we set up with the plasma cutter."
Closing her eyes to calm herself before thinking through the exit strategy, she quickly reached a decision. "Understood. Tomb Dodger, you and Lab Rat will lead your civilians out of this compound using the exit strategy. Take them to our transport and remain there with them. Spell Slinger, maintain your current position in the northeast office. Once we have a plan of attack, we'll need you to help draw the werewolves out."
As everyone signed off in agreement, Kol banged his head against the wall behind the console as their brothers' arguing had gotten louder. "Bloody gits! They'll draw the werewolves right to us," he muttered darkly, splicing a frayed cable with his knife as he continued working on the security system.
Standing up, Caroline reassured him, "I'll go deal with it." Marching into the main lab, she hissed, "That's enough! While you've been wasting time out here, my team has secured an exit strategy for your coworkers Elena, Anna, Rose and Alaric. Now, what's going on out here?"
Glaring at Stefan, Klaus accused, "All of his research files are locked! We're in the middle of a bloody crisis and this blithering idiot has the balls the prattle on about security protocols!"
"Damn it, Stefan — give Klaus access to what he needs to do his job. We don't have time to play politics," she seethed at her baby brother.
Scrunching up his nose in distaste, Stefan muttered, "Fine, side with your stupid research monkey, Caroline." With a dramatic flourish, he entered several codes into the system, and then stomped into the supply room.
Groaning at the ridiculousness of the situation, she stormed after him, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her as she faced her stubborn baby brother. "Are we seriously doing this right now? Whatever is going on with me and Klaus is our business, and your commentary isn't needed. Got it?"
He squinted, grimacing slightly as the bruised skin around his eyes pulled uncomfortably. Opening his mouth to protest, she cut him off with a low snarl, "Unless you want me to wax poetic about how you're working through your mommy issues with that simpering little lab assistant?"
"Fine," Stefan grumbled, pointedly staring at the metal shelves full of test tubes, plastic funnels, scales, and other lab equipment.
Rubbing her forehead tiredly, Caroline told him, "I don't want to fight with you, Stefan. Not now, not when for the first time in our lives I might not be able to keep you safe."
Frowning at the small quaver in her voice near the end, he reached for her hand, squeezing it affectionately as he told her gently, "It hasn't been your job to protect me for a long time. We look after each other, remember?"
She quickly blinked away tears that his comment caused, reminding them both of their promise to each other at his graduation.
It had been a warm May afternoon and Caroline had screamed herself hoarse shouting Stefan's name as he gave his valedictorian speech. She was bursting with pride as she watched her baby brother stand triumphantly before his classmates and talk about the importance of ambition. She knew in her heart that he was destined to do great things.
Later on, she waded through the crowds of happy families and friends, all celebrating the momentous occasion. She felt the familiar pang in her heart that she was the only one there for Stefan — their mother had passed away years ago, their father long gone and Damon carelessly flitting in and out of their lives. She threw herself at Stefan, enveloping him in a gigantic hug.
When they broke apart, his exuberance suddenly faded into anger and as his eyes darted to the sides, she immediately understood. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I miss them too."
Scoffing, Stefan told her, "There's no reason to miss them, Caroline. Our father and Damon obviously aren't missing us."
She hated to see so much bitterness in her little brother and swore to him, "It's you and me, Stefan. We look after each other."
With a sigh, Caroline swiped at a stray tear and confessed, "When this is over, when we get out of this mess, I've been thinking I want to reach out to our father."
Eyes wide in surprise, Stefan nearly dropped the stack of petri dishes he'd been gathering. "Why bother," he asked, shaking his head, "He abandoned us. He wasn't there for us when we needed him; he doesn't deserve to be in our lives now."
She impatiently shoved up the ragged sleeve of her t-shirt, exposing her wounds one of the werewolves left behind. She watched Stefan's face transform from bitter to concerned as he examined her torn, bloodied flesh. She was pissed that one of its claws had gouged out part of her Hunters' mark, a tattoo that everyone on her team shared. She'd always found the symmetry of the five swords fanning out in a perfect circle comforting, and now the werewolf had ripped through that symbol of team solidarity. The beast would die bloody by her hand, she vowed.
"Stefan, this whole crazy situation has made me question everything I thought I knew and I find myself thinking that life is more than just a few random moments stitched together. I need more. I want to talk to our father and ask him 'why'. For fuck's sake, look at my shoulder! We know nothing about these monsters and now I've been bitten and scratched and for all we know, I could be turning into a goddamn werewolf!"
The corners of his lips twitched as though he was fighting back a smile. "You're not turning into a werewolf, Caroline. That's one thing we can be sure of, trust me."
"Really? How can you be so sure," she asked hopefully.
Taking on his familiar cocky attitude, he reassured her, "Graduate degrees in biochemistry, molecular biophysics and cellular physiology, for one thing. For another, that was one of the first focuses of our research since our military contract expected us to send them an entire army of superior soldiers. It would certainly be easier if we could recreate werewolves as a virus rather than sending out safari expeditions. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the werewolves can transmit their condition in that manner."
Feeling a flood of relief course through her body, Caroline let out a small giggle, hugging her brother enthusiastically. She allowed herself to feel the first stirrings of hope that everything would turn out alright in the end. That, of course, was her first mistake.