A/N: Recovered now from the flu. Thank you guys so much for your patience and all of your support!

We were hauling ass up the road. My phone hummed, tucked away in the pocket of my jacket. Klaus snatched it out faster than I could blink, answering it for me.

"Hello, Damon," he drawled.

"Klaus, what the hell are you doing?" Damon demanded on the other end.

"Heading home" Klaus said, smiling.

"What?" I asked loudly. I was already freaking out about what had just happened. Tyler had threatened me. Damon, Elena and Jeremy had come for me and my mom because things were going to hell. I didn't even know why Elijah was there.

"New Orleans? I know you really like Caroline but I didn't think you'd resort to kidnapping," Damon countered.

"I'm not going to New Orleans, Klaus," I told him, trying to grab my phone away. I wasn't having a lot of luck. Klaus was a lot stronger than I was.

"That's a bit melodramatic, isn't it?" Klaus tossed back at him.

"Taking someone against their will?" Damon asked.

"For safe keeping," he told Damon, his gaze turning on me. I stopped struggling with him. "See I'm in the way of knowing that Silas is back and it seems your girl and mine know a little something that he might find useful."

My mouth dropped open. Silas was back. How? Elena and I knew something Silas wanted to know? Like what?

Did he just refer to me as his girl?

"We all have a common goal, Damon. To keep Silas from dropping the veil and letting all our dearly departed friends return." Klaus paused, grinning. "And you already have a lot on your plate. Silas coming for your girl. Knowing he has your brother. My taking Caroline with me is one less thing you'll have to deal with. You know we can protect her better than you can."

"Yeah? And Caroline doesn't get a say about being dragged down to the Big Easy?" Damon pressed.

"What was it you called it? Ah, I remember. Bad with a purpose."

"You were just waiting to throw that back at me, weren't you?" Damon sighed.

"You take care now, Damon."

Klaus ended the call, innocently handing me back my phone.

"Klaus," I said in warning. It made me even madder how pleased he looked with himself. "I'm not going with you to New Orleans. I'm going to call Damon back and you're going to drop me off and –"

He retrieved the phone the minute I started the call.

"Klaus! Give me the phone!" I demanded.

Elijah's gaze met mine in the rear view mirror. He seemed amused but didn't say anything.

"Caroline, going with us to New Orleans is precisely what's going to happen," Klaus told me.

"Tyler is obviously in trouble and you just… staked him to the ground back there," I started.

"Silas is in his head right now. If he came with us or went with Damon, Silas would have be one step closer to meeting his objective," he said coldly.

"He's hurt." I couldn't decide if tears were coming on because of fear or because I was so angry at the moment. "And then there's my mother."

"If you were with her, Caroline, she could be used against you. Damon and Elena will hide her well. If you're not in the same place, if Silas has no access to you, threatening her would do him little good."

I slumped in the seat. "I was supposed to start class on Monday."

Klaus chuckled next to me at that. "Of all things, you're worried about that."

"It's not funny, Klaus," I growled, blinking back tears. "Now I've got to figure out how I'm going to work that. My parents worked hard to help put back money for me to even go to college. I don't want to jeopardize it."

Putting a hand on mine, he gave me his best sincere look. For Klaus. "I'll take care of it, whatever happens."

"No," I shot back, jerking my hand away. "You won't. I don't want anything from you. I don't want to go with you. I want to be with my mother and my friends. And Tyler."

Crossing my arms across my chest, I glared out the window, looking away from him.

He startled me by grabbing my chin and turning my head back roughly so I faced him.

"I could have let Tyler rip out the rest of your shiny blonde hair," his voice was a low warning. "Don't make me regret saving you."

I shoved him away and he released me. I knew I'd pissed him off now but I didn't care. Regrets? Yeah, I had one. I was really regretting even thinking, for a moment, that he could be my friend. That he could be…

I blew out an exhale and shook my head as we approached the airport, the sun setting behind it make it look, at first, like it was going up in flames. I wished it were. It was going to be a long night.

It was after midnight when we reached New Orleans. I had to admit, I'd always wanted to see the city. But not like this, not under the circumstances. This sucked. My entire world had been upended. One of my best friends was dead. Tyler and Stefan thought they could bring her back but I was left out of that. I didn't know it that were possible. I hoped it was. But Klaus and Damon believed that Silas was back and he had control of my boyfriend. And really, it was the only explanation I could come up with for Tyler attacking me. That's not something he would ever do normally because he loved me. And if things were that bad for Tyler, I was really worried about Stefan. What had Silas done to him? I was worried about my mom, my friends wherever Damon had them.

And here I was in New Orleans. With Klaus and Elijah.

I was exhausted. The expression "dead on my feet" came to mind and I'd laughed about it to myself on the plane which had earned me a look from Klaus. Otherwise, he left me alone most of the flight. I knew he was angry with me. But what the hell else was new. He was always angry. And just now I wasn't happy with him either.

Damon and Elena knew I was in danger and they'd come to get me and my mother. But no. Klaus grabbed me and took me to New Orleans. No consideration for how I felt. Maybe I'd be safer with him and his original family. Maybe not. I wondered because it wasn't like Silas hadn't gotten into Klaus' head before. He had and I'd seen it. So if I weren't that much safer with him and Elijah, why couldn't I have gone with my mother and Elena?

I followed them through the airport to the baggage claim. Trudged along in a tired stupor was probably more accurate. They collected their bags. Klaus leveling me with angry look when he found I was still there, still behind him. I glared back at him. I watched him head for the exit and thought for just a moment about trying to slip away from them.

Elijah walked up to me, his face set with a polite smile. He held his hand out as if to say "after you." That's when I decided it was in my best interest to start walking, clutching my tote bag closer to my side. While I felt I could handle Klaus because of certain feelings he had for me, Elijah scared me a little.

Klaus rode in the front of the car with Elijah this time, leaving me to fume in the back seat. It wasn't a long drive until we reached our destination. Iron gates opened to allow us in. A winding drive led us up to an enormous antebellum mansion, shrouded in the shadows of night. I'm sure it was a magnificent sight in the day. I shook my head. Klaus. I expected no less than the grandeur before me.

Feeling his gaze on me, I glanced at Klaus. He didn't try to look away. Why? Did he want to see that I was impressed? Did he expect me to marvel over his home like some slack-jawed idiot? I kept my gaze in my lap until we came to a stop in a massive garage.

They climbed out of the car. Elijah walked to the back of the car to open the trunk. My door opened and Klaus held it, waiting for me to join him. I sighed, tired. At this point, I just wanted to crash. It was the only thing I could do, after all. I didn't meet his gaze as he closed the door.

I followed them into the house, unable to ignore the fact that it was beautiful, elegant. I might have loved it under different circumstances. But right now…

"Good night," Elijah said simply, not glancing back as he made his way up the staircase with his suitcase.

Slinging his bag onto what looked like a delicate antique of a sofa, Klaus wheeled around to face me.

I sighed. Here we go, I thought. It was his house and I wasn't familiar with any of it. I literally had nowhere to go.

"Welcome to New Orleans," he said, all sarcasm as he held out his arms in a mock gesture.

"I'm here. You've won," I threw back at him.

His expression darkened. "You know why I brought you here."

I nodded. "Because you could?"

His lips pressed into a thin line. "I brought you here to keep you safe, Caroline. Not to spite you as you seem determined to believe."

"My friends could have kept me safe," I told him.

"Really?" Klaus tilted his head to the side and took a step closer to me. "Then perhaps there is something I know that you don't."

"I know Silas can get to you, just like the rest of us," I said in challenge. "So that means, wouldn't it, that my friends could protect me as well as you can."

He growled, startling me.

"Could they?" he asked, taking another step in my direction.

I instinctively took a step back, a little worried now.

"I trust them," I told him, sounding a lot less confident.

"But you can't trust me, can you, love?"

"No."

There it was. How did he manage to look hurt when he was glaring at me in full, evil Klaus mode? His blue eyes were shiny even as he glared at me. The hurt mixed there with his fury.

I shook my head. "Not when you just take away my choices," I added.

"There wasn't a lot of time for discussion." His voice was low, dangerous.

I knew he was right but still.

"You and Elena have a bit of information that Silas needs to continue his plan," Klaus explained. "If you're conveniently in the same place, he stands a better chance of obtaining it, doesn't he?"

"Maybe." I'd give him that. "But I didn't know that. I have no idea what I know that Silas wants to know. I just knew I was being taken away from everyone I had left."

"Everyone you trust?" His voice was tight. I could feel the anger building in him. Don't I count? He all but spoke those words.

I was so tired, the argument only adding to it, and my head didn't feel like it was attached to my body. Normally, I enjoyed nothing better than trying to get under Klaus' skin when he provoked me like this. But at the moment, I was exhausted, in a strange city, in a strange house and faced with the original hybrid who wasn't happy with me at the moment.

And maybe it was just that I was so tired but I didn't want him angry with me. I realized that he was just trying to look out for me. He had been ever since he showed up at my dorm. He came from a place where he cared even if he didn't understand where I was coming from.

"Klaus, I didn't say I didn't trust you," I said gently. "What if the situation were reversed? I took you away to keep you safe but I took you away from your family. Elijah, Rebekah…"

His gaze dropped to the floor, the tension in his face easing just slightly. Family mattered so much to Klaus. I knew he'd understand that.

I wobbled a little where I stood. Looking around, I spotted a beautiful embroidered chair that looked like it was worth more than my car. As gently as I could, I sat down.

"It wasn't my intention to separate you from your family and friends, Caroline," he explained, still sounding impatient. "Perhaps it was. But I knew you were in danger. I knew you were safest with me."

"What am I and Elena supposed to know that Silas needs?" I asked.

I could tell he knew the answer but he shook his head.

"We'll talk about this in the morning. With Elijah."

"Can you give me a hint?" I tried.

"Why, will curiosity keep you up all night?" Klaus blew out an exhale. "You can be infuriatingly stubborn, Caroline."

I shook my head. "I just have no idea what I could possibly know…"

"Enough for tonight. We'll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow," he told me.

"And how badly does he need that information?" Worry began to gnaw at me.

Klaus shook his head. "You're safe here, Caroline," he assured me.

I nodded. "But Elena…"

"Is not our problem," he said coldly.

"She's no longer useful to you now, so she doesn't matter? Is that it?"

"Elena has had no value to me since she became a vampire, Caroline. But that's not exactly what I meant. I meant to communicate that my only concern is you and your safety."

"Elena matters to me," I told him. "She's my friend. As a vampire, as a human. Even if she'd taken the cure."

His eyes lit up in interest. "Whatever happened to the cure? I'm sure Silas is still searching for it."

I snorted. "A lot of good that will do him."

"Why? Did someone use it?"

Crap. Should I tell him?

"You don't know?"

"If I did I wouldn't be asking you, now would I?" Klaus asked.

"Katherine," I mumbled.

I could tell from his expression that he hadn't expect me to say that name.

"Excuse me?"

"Katherine," I said loudly. The bitch had taken away my human life, killed Jeremy, tried to kill Elena. Why not?

"Katerina is now… human?"

I could practically see the diabolic plans forming in his head.

"She is. Doesn't that mean her blood could make your hybrids?" As if he needed me to point out how he could best use her.

He smirked then. "Indeed it does. Well, I'll have to think on that. But at the moment, there's you to deal with."

"Klaus?"

"Yes?" His patience was wearing thinner by the minute.

"Are you vowing to keep me safe because I matter to you? Or is there some benefit to you in keeping me here, alive?"

He grinned broadly, flashing his dimples at me. He didn't deny it. "Perhaps a little of both."

My eyes felt heavy. "Or maybe…"

"Maybe?"

Okay, I was nodding. Not good.

Oh yeah, I remember what I wanted to say.

"Maybe you just couldn't bear to let me out of your sight." I said that in a weird sleepy, flirty sort of way.

It worked because all the fight seemed to fade from his face, his posture.

"Caroline?" he whispered.

I was startled to open my eyes to find him right in front of my face, his fingers brushing my cheek. Apparently, I was really nodding off.

"I'm sorry," I told him, struggling to sit up.

With no effort, he scooped me up out of the chair and slowly made his way towards the massive staircase I'd been admiring earlier. His arms were hard, so strong around me. He smelled really nice. I let my head rest against his chest, inhaling that scent that was probably some super expensive cologne. Maybe some of it was just him.

"Where are we going?" I whispered, half aware of reality, half dreaming.

"I'm taking you to bed," he informed me, his tone pleasant.

"See? I knew that's what you were up to," I said, chuckling at my lame, sleepy attempt to tease him.

"To sleep, love."

The next thing I was aware of was being lowered onto a very comfortable bed. I jerked when I felt him grab at my feet until I realized he was just taking off my shoes. He gently pulled my bag away before covering me with a silky blanket. It was nice, I snuggled deeper into the luxurious pillow my head way lying on.

I felt him moving away from the bed, I assumed he was leaving.

"Klaus?"

"Yes, love."

"Will you stay?"

"It's my room. Don't see why not." I heard rustling sounds, the room grew darker as he turned down lights. "I didn't plan on this so I'm afraid I don't have any of the guest rooms prepared."

I felt the bed dip under his weight. He gently draped an arm around me and pulled me back to him. He spooned behind me, nuzzling his face in my hair. He felt warm, solid. Parts of him pressed against my thighs were very solid.

I was drifting off to sleep when I heard his voice, a low whisper.

"Sleep now, love. As much as I'd love to have you here in my bed for more pleasurable reasons, I'm willing to wait until you're wide awake and willing. And one night love, you will come to me."