A/N: You guys don't know how happy and grateful I am for the votes, comments, reviews, follows - all of it. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

I slept all the way to our destination and I woke up to see Klaus had pulled the car into the drive next to my Mom's squad car. There were some lights on and just seeing my home made me feel a little better. It was a place of comfort. The clock in his rental car said it was just after eleven o'clock.

"Hello, there," he said when I sat up in the seat and glanced at him. "We're here."

He was opening the car door for me a moment later and looked like he had every intention of picking me up again. I held up a hand, stopping that.

"I can walk," I told him.

And then I stumbled the minute I was on my feet. Klaus smirked at me.

"Shut up, Klaus."

He held up both hands in front of him. "I didn't say anything."

My tote bag swung from his right hand as he followed me up the walk to the front door. Given that I wasn't walking that steady, I didn't fight him when he wrapped his left arm around my waist and hauled me against his hip, helping me along to the door.

Unceremoniously, he opened the door and eased me into the house. His invitation still stood so no supernatural barrier prevented him from entering.

My mother walked into the living room, dressed in her uniform, and we surprised her. She knew about Bonnie, I could see it in her face. I don't think she was that surprised that I was there.

Klaus? That was an entirely different story. Mom was afraid of him, with good reason.

She recovered quickly and her motherly instinct had her scanning me in a panic. "Caroline? Are you okay? Has something –"

"Hello, Liz," Klaus greeted her as if this were an ordinary social call.

Mom nodded to him as she decided I wasn't physically hurt and hugged me tight.

"Caroline?" Mom wanted to hear from me that everything was okay. Aside from losing Bonnie.

"Klaus drove me here." It was the truth. "I guess I'm not doing so well."

"Sweetheart, I know. I'm so sorry about Bonnie." Pulling back, she brushed a stray lock of hair away from my face. "Damon called me earlier. I tried to call you but you didn't answer."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. You're home." Turning to Klaus, she said, "Thank you for bringing Caroline here. I'll call in and have someone replace me on the shift tonight and I'll be here with her."

"Since when do you work the midnight shift?" I had to ask.

"Well, there have been some strange things happening so we've been working around the clock the last couple of weeks. It's only fair that I pitch in," she explained.

"What things?" I asked.

"I'll tell you later." Her deep sigh filled the room. "Right now, you've got enough to deal with."

Her arm went around me and she was steering me towards my room.

"Thank you," she said to Klaus, letting him know politely that he could leave now.

"Caroline?" he asked in the way of seeing if that was what I wanted too.

Strangely, it wasn't. My mother was a great comfort, there was no question about that. But I knew my being a vampire made her life infinitely more complicated. And there was so much she didn't know. Damon had used her for information on the council's plans since before I was turned. Even after that, we limited what we told her, limited her involvement. For my part, it was to keep her safe. And the less she knew about the real goings on in Mystic Falls' paranormal circles, the less she'd worry about me.

Klaus, on the other hand, knew most everything that had happened in my life as a vampire and he knew that Bonnie's loss went way beyond the loss of a dear friend. He knew how it changed the dynamic of our small group here in Mystic Falls, made us weaker. He probably couldn't care less about that. It probably never dawned on him that it left me feeling a little scared on top of the devastation.

But he was there for me.

The thought made up my mind.

"Mom, it's okay. Go to work. I'll be fine," I told her.

Klaus' blond brows raised slightly at that.

"Honey, no. I don't want to leave you alone like this," Mom said.

I peered around her to Klaus. "I won't be alone."

Oh, Klaus tried to appear somber and helpful, he did. But I could tell that damn smug grin of his was fighting to emerge.

Mom's jaw dropped again. "Are you sure?"

She couldn't keep the disbelief from her face, even when I nodded to confirm that's what I wanted.

I could almost hear the crazy jumble of thoughts in her head at that. I understood completely. Part of me couldn't believe I'd just told her to go to work so Klaus, of all people, could stay with me.

Mom finally nodded in resignation, turning back to Klaus. "At least I know she'll be safe with you."

While he seemed pleased at her words, he asked. "Safe from what exactly?"

"I'm not sure yet," she admitted.

Not intending to elaborate further, Mom hugged me and walked back to her room to finish getting ready for work. Klaus knew exactly where my room was and gently shepherded me in that direction.

I sat on my bed, taking off my shoes while Klaus sat in the chair by the window, seemingly intent on something he was reading on his phone.

Mom stopped in the doorway, ready to leave. "Honey, I'll be back as soon as I can. Okay?"

I nodded. "Be safe." I always told her that.

"Where's Tyler?" she mouthed to me.

Klaus didn't even look up from his phone. "Not here it seems."

Mom wasn't touching that.

"I love you," she said before she left.

I shook my head as I slid back on the bed to lie down.

"What?" he asked, knowing good and damn well what.

"Tyler has a very good reason for not being here tonight," I told him.

"Does he?" he asked.

I caught myself before I tried justifying it to him. If I told Klaus that Stefan was back and had a plan that Tyler was helping him with, I could possibly jeopardize their mission. Especially if what they were doing was of any possible interest to Klaus. Or if it threatened him or his plans in any way.

"Yes, apparently," was all I said.

"You ask me to stay in your house, in your bedroom, with you and yet, you still don't trust me." Tucking away his phone, he leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees and studied me.

I didn't deny it. He kept staring at me, expecting an answer, and I was just so tired…

"I'm sorry. You're right. But honestly, how am I supposed to feel, Klaus? We've lost people because of you. Elena's aunt, Jenna, Tyler's friend Jules." I stopped at that. "Okay, I wasn't a huge fan of Jules."

Klaus' wounded expression softened a little.

"You turned Tyler into a hybrid, used Elena to make your hybrids. You tried to kill Elena and Bonnie a couple of times. You know? How am I supposed to feel?"

"It's all been one-sided has it?" His expression darkened. "You all worked with my brother Elijah to kill me. Stefan stole my family from me for a time. Your lot resurrected my father, killed my brother Kol. And your Tyler spent quite a bit of time to turning my hybrids against me."

"You're right," I conceded.

Klaus didn't expect that. He was all wired for confrontation, the tension coming off him in waves. I watched his entire being ease a little. I surprised myself because I wanted to put him at ease.

"And it's not a complete lack of trust on my part. There've been good moments too. I guess."

"You guess? How many times have I saved you exactly, Caroline?"

"How many of those times I needed saving were you responsible for, Klaus?" I had to smile when he had no answer to that. "There have been good times. When you're not being all scary."

"You're afraid of me, Caroline?" His voice softened.

"If I were, my Mom would be here right now and not you."

The pain in his face seemed to fade at that.

"The truth is, I don't know exactly what the plan is this time," I explained. "He told me to trust him and that he'd call me soon."

I felt okay about telling him that. I was able to be honest without telling him everything. Just in case.

I stretched out on my side, facing him. I could remember the last time I'd been so exhausted.

I felt the bed dip under his weight and at first I was startled to realize that he lying on his back next to me, his hands tucked beneath his head.

"Still, I didn't allow him to come back so he could abandon you at a time like this," Klaus reasoned. "I left for New Orleans thinking, for the moment, you were well looked after."

I yawned, fighting off sleep. "He said it was important, that maybe…"

"Maybe?"

"They could bring Bonnie back somehow." My heart sank anew just thinking about her again. "I'm not getting my hopes up."

I expected questions, some interest, when I said that. For a long moment, he said nothing.

"Come here." I felt his arm wrap around me, pulling my upper body onto his chest. His hand traced gentle, soothing circles on my back. "Don't think about that now. Rest."

"Klaus?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing in New Orleans?" I had to ask. "Somehow I don't think you decided to move for a change of pace."

He chuckled at that. "That was a very kind way to put it, Caroline. That's a bit of a long story. I doubt you'd make it through that tonight. But I'll tell you sometime," he promised.

"Tell me about your favorite place in the world then," I asked him, yawning again. "In New Orleans. The one you talked about in your message."

"You listened to that?" He sounded please.

"Yes." My eyes slid closed.

Maybe he started telling me about it. If he did, I missed it because I fell into a deep sleep.