A/N: It's that time again! Enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews! This chapter is for you guys! You rock!
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Caroline had taken over Elijah's office, converting the space into what she termed as an 'organised mess' as she worked on building up a case in Klaus' defence. It was easier said than done, Klaus' list of convictions were extensive and in the end the jury would see him as nothing more than a dangerous criminal. Caroline's best hope at getting them to see Klaus differently was the show them how much worse things could get. She was focusing on Marcel's part in all this, emphasising on Marcel's manipulation was the best way to get the focus off Klaus' history. It was a risky move, instead of justifying Klaus' actions she was highlighting them but Caroline knew it was the best chance she had at winning over a jury.
She heard the door creak open and looked up to see Elijah watching her with sad eyes, "Have you been up all night?" he asked softly, his brow furrowing.
"Since about 2." Caroline replied, "I need to work on this, its Klaus. He deserves my best work, Elijah. I don't know how much time I have before he is called to trial and I need to make sure I am ready."
"You need to take a break, Caroline, this isn't good for you." He said coming into the room, careful of all the piles stacked up around the floor.
She stopped then, giving Elijah her full attention, "I'm fine. I'm not going to break down. I got up and worked then I made breakfast and took Liam to school and now I'm back to work." She insisted, "I can do this, Elijah. I can make my family whole again."
"It's my family too, and you aren't doing this alone." Elijah said with a smile.
Caroline frowned in response, "What do you mean?"
"I called in a friend of mine." He replied and Caroline looked over Elijah's shoulder to see Katherine standing in the doorway. "I figured the best way to know what we might be up against is to see how the prosecution is going to play this."
"You don't have to do this, you know?" Caroline said softly, her question aimed at Katherine.
The brunette smirked, "It sounds like fun to me."
They got to work instantly, Katherine filling Caroline in on things the prosecutor was bound to draw attention to and answers she would need to have ready. Elijah watched from the side-lines, chipping in helpful advice every now and again but fully content to let Caroline and Katherine work through things together. They seemed to get on well which pleased him, perhaps it was time to introduce Katherine to his siblings as well.
"You should run with the Marcel angle, the prosecution won't expect it so they will have to immediately change their tacks." Katherine mused, "If you can get the jury on side, believing that it was Marcel that caused all this and Klaus was simply a man protecting his family you may have found a way to get them to plead not guilty."
Caroline sighed, "The only way that will work is if I can find evidence on Marcel's activities. If its Klaus' word against Marcel's the jury won't believe it." She ran a hand through her hair, "That and the fact Marcel isn't in town anymore."
"Elijah told me he had left town just before Klaus got arrested, you can use that, suggest he ran away rather than deal with the fall out of his plan. He set Klaus up."
Elijah piped up then, "Does Marcel have a girlfriend? Someone personal to him would be the best to stand in court. Juries identify with women more than men."
Caroline frowned for a moment, "I think there used to be a girl. Klaus said Marcel was with her while he was with Rebekah."
"I think you found your first witness. She would be a character witness to back up your statement on Marcel, she must have known about his work and his actions. You just need to ask the right questions." Katherine said, her lips curving into a smile.
"Don't worry about that, I'm very good at what I do."
Katherine nodded, "I know. I saw you in court once, I was helping a junior with her first case and you were the defence attorney. You could have given Damon a run for his money."
Elijah smiled, "I only employ the best, Caroline, I told you that."
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She had spent most the day with Katherine and Elijah going over their case, it was coming together and Damon was currently tracking down the address and name of Marcel's old girlfriend. It wouldn't be enough to win over the jury but it was certainly a step in the right direction. After everything that had happened lately, Caroline would definitely take it.
"Did dad leave us again?" Liam asked in a small voice from where he sat at the kitchen table. He had been pushing around his food for a while now and Caroline knew he had wanted to say something.
She spun around to face her son, Klaus' blue orbs staring back at her as Caroline crouched down next to Liam, "Hey where did that come from?"
Her son shrugged, "He isn't here and when I asked Uncle 'Lijah he didn't answer."
"Listen to me, Liam." Caroline said softly, "Your dad loves you. He would never leave you again, I promise."
"Then where is he?"
Caroline gave him a brave smile, forcing down the tears, "He needed to help someone, a friend of his but he is going to be home really soon."
Liam nodded thoughtfully, "I'm going to make him a picture for when he gets home. Dad likes my pictures."
"Yeah, he does." Caroline smiled.
"Dad loves you too, mom." Liam smiled at her, "He told me so."
Caroline didn't say anything, wrapping her arms around Liam tightly as she ran a hand through his hair, "I love you, little man."
Liam muffled his response into her shoulder but Caroline still felt the same amount of overwhelming love and happiness. She was blessed with Liam and with Klaus and she was going to fight to keep her family. Always and Forever.
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Caroline quickly finished securing her hair into a ponytail as she rushed to answer the door, she was dressed in her navy business suit making her look like the lawyer she was. Caroline had dropped Liam off with Rebekah, the little boy eager to spend time with his Aunt after not seeing her in a while. Caroline was planning to use her free time to see Klaus, he was still being held and would remain that way until the trial, and she knew she shouldn't see him but Caroline had too. She needed to know he was okay, to reassure him and herself that they would find a way through this mess.
She opened the front door to reveal Damon, his face grim as he stood on her porch in his own designer suit. Caroline gave him a weary smile as she motioned him inside and Damon brushed past her into the hallway. "Caroline." He greeted, his voice tired.
"What's wrong?" She knew, Damon's poker face was normally legendary but today he simply looked sad. It was an expression she wasn't used to seeing on Damon, he was the cold-hearted lawyer after all.
He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, "Mikael's appeal for an immediate trial was granted. The court date is for two weeks' time."
"That's impossible, we barely have a case."
"That's the point," Damon replied, "Mikael knows you don't have a case and he wants to make sure Klaus is locked away for a long time. The only way a judge would even allow an immediate trial for this case is if Mikael had something on him."
Caroline nodded, following Damon's train of thought, "You think he is blackmailing the judge?"
"Blackmailing, paying off, who knows? Mikael is corrupt, I think he is willing to do whatever he has to do to in order to destroy Klaus' life." Damon said, his arms folded across his chest as he leant against the door frame to the living room.
"We can't let that happen, Damon." Caroline insisted, "We can't let Mikael win."
Damon paused for a moment, "Tell me you have a case, Blondie. One that will stand up in court."
"It's only been a week. You know how long cases take to organise. I have an angle, shifting the focus off Klaus and onto Marcel."
"You want to trick the jury." Damon summarised, "Nice idea, risky but I always say to live dangerously."
Caroline shook her head, "There is no guarantee it will work but if we can get the jury to see Klaus as more than a ruthless criminal will stand a fair chance."
"What if we threw Mikael into the mix?" Damon asked, more to himself than to Caroline, "He will be at the trial to gloat. What if you used your defence as a way to undercover his behaviour?"
"It's risky, we have no proof and he is a very powerful man. I will most likely be thrown out of court for the accusation against a police officer." Caroline replied, "No, we focus on the Marcel angle. Did you find the girlfriend?"
Damon smirked then, pulling a folded slip of paper from his pocket, "Sophie Deveraux. 22. Lives here in Chicago, I got Jesse to pick her up this morning. He said she seems pretty loyal to Marcel but she is clearly hiding something."
Caroline nodded, "She knows about his activities and thinks he is in trouble."
"You can use that in court, channel my attitude in court, get Sophie on the defence and she will end up cracking." Damon smiled, "They always crack in the end."
"You enjoy pulling people's lives apart too much." She mused.
"It's not my fault, Blondie. They are the ones lying, if they think they can lie to me that's their problem."
Caroline smiled at that even though it didn't reach her eyes, "Thank you for this."
"Anytime." Damon replied, "I need to get back to the office. I left Jesse with Sophie and you know Elijah will hate that."
Damon turned to leave, heading for the door when Caroline called out to him, "What about Stefan?" she asked causing Damon to freeze.
He turned round slowly, his blue eyes piercing, "What about Stefan?"
"He needs a lawyer, Damon. You can't walk away from him now." Caroline said softly, her eyes meeting his.
"I was there for him, Caroline. I saved his ass from jail before and look at the thanks I got. He doesn't want me, I am always going to be the brother that slept with his girl and ruined his life." Damon said and Caroline got sense the bitterness in his tone.
She shook her head, "He had every right to be angry and so do you but you're family. You fought so hard to get Stefan to forgive you, are you really going to give up on him now?"
"I tried, I wanted to." Damon said quietly, "But I can't. I was going to ask Elijah to represent him."
"Stefan needs you, he needs his brother by his side." She argued, "Elijah is a brilliant lawyer, the best in my opinion but he doesn't know Stefan like you do."
Damon sighed, "What if he doesn't accept my representation?"
"Then at least you know you tried, Damon. You make the first move, its Stefan's choice if he accepts it or not." Caroline replied, "All I know is if Klaus gave up trying to win me back, I don't know what I would have done. He showed me that he was always going to be there for me and that only made me love him more."
"You think I should make sure Stefan knows I am here for him." Damon nodded, seeing where she was going with her speech.
Caroline nodded, "I think that's what you do for family." She said, "I also thinking you would hate yourself if you didn't."
Damon didn't reply but the small nod that followed was enough to convince Caroline he would do the right thing by his brother. Damon had to be the one to push because Stefan needed to know he had changed and he wanted them to be brothers again. He had to take that first step. She could only hope Stefan would take the next one.
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Next time we see some Kalijah an introduction to the prosecutor of Klaus' case and the start of the trial!