A/N: Wow! Thank you guys so much for the follows, the favorites and reviews. Today I'm sending a shout out to SONY, karmen238, firstgreenisgold, foreverdream7, lateVMlover, Klaroline66, sambam17, Trich, MelodiousVengeance, Deviljolie, Pinkgem22 and my guest reviewers.

The room I found hadn't been refreshed for a while. It was all neat with clean bedding and bathroom but a little dusty. I locked the door, threw my bag onto the floor and turned my shirt around.

Then I began to pace, wondering why I ever thought being friends, being anything to Klaus was a good idea. He was too unpredictable, too volatile, too… Klaus. Gad! He'd dragged me down here to New Orleans where I had to deal with not only him, but his siblings, Haley and whatever situation he was facing here in "taking back the city". Whatever he meant by that. A whole new set of challenges – like I needed that right now.

I shook my head. The original hybrid's ego knew no limits. He was going take back the city and what was his? Then he was going to magnanimously accept my surrender to him? Yeah. Like that was ever going to happen. He was forgetting who he was dealing with. I'd seen him in action many times. I knew how ruthless he could be in getting what he wanted. If he thought he was just going to push his way into my heart and bed, he could think again.

After a while of berating an imaginary Klaus, I walked over the window and sank down onto what turned out be a really comfortable window seat. The view was lovely. I'd always wanted to see New Orleans, truth be told. And I was here when I didn't want to be and not allowed to leave the house without him.

I had no idea how long I sat there, taking in the view without really seeing it. My mind was so occupied with my worries, aggravations – everything – that I was startled when I heard my phone buzz. Jumping up, I snatched it out of my bag. The name Elena popped up on the screen. I groaned remembering the texts and missed calls already waiting for me. I answered quickly.

"Elena?"

"Caroline? Thank God! Where have you been? Are you okay?" my friend's voice was little more than a whisper. If not for my vampire senses, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell what she had said.

"I'm fine. Dealing with the original family but so far they've only managed to greatly annoy me. What's going on with you guys? Is Mom okay? Have you had any trouble with Silas?" I asked.

"Your mom's fine, Care," she said quickly.

"Is Tyler with you?"

"No. Look Care, I can't talk long."

"Are you guys okay?" I didn't like the way this was sounding.

"So far. Look, I need your help," she said, still whispering. "We need to find someone."

"Tell me what you need," I said.

"Do remember the masquerade ball? Katherine had forced you into helping her and she had a witch there also. Do you remember?"

"Of course. She did that spell where if she got hurt, you got hurt. She was going to kill everyone until she got the moonstone."

There was a soft knock at my door. I ignored it.

"Yes! Caroline, I need to know who that witch was. I need her name," Elena explained.

Another knock.

"Can she help us against Silas?" I hoped so.

"Definitely. I just need to know anything you can tell me about her. Her name, what she looked like, where she was from."

I put the heel of my hand to my forehead as I scrambled to come up with any details. And it was hard to do as I turned and saw the doorknob twist as someone on the other side tried to open it.

"Well, let me think…"

"Care, please try. Hurry!" Elena sounded urgent now.

"I can't remember the name. I remember…"

I remembered meeting the witch that night when Katherine had given me instructions and threatened to stake me if anything went wrong. I remembered Bonnie filling us in on the entire story, how that witch had actually been her cousin, when we got Elena back from Rose and Elijah. Elena had been there.

Elena already knew all the details of that evening. Just as I did. She'd been there with me when Bonnie had told the story.

"Care? Are you there?"

Freaking out, I went to the door and opened it, finding Elijah standing just outside. He regarded me curiously, but trying to be polite until I finished my call.

I immediately ended the call. Scrambling to look at my call log to see what it said about the caller.

It said "unknown caller" now. I knew immediately how that was possible and it scared me. Silas. He was powerful indeed if he could get into head long distance.

"Okay." I blew out an exhale, my hands were shaking.

"Caroline, are you all right?" Elijah asked me, taking a step closer.

"I don't know." I yanked the sim card out of the phone furiously, throwing it on the floor. I tightened my hand around the rest of my phone until it crumbled into pieces.

He tilted his head as he stared at me intently. He and Klaus had that trait in common.

"What happened?" he ask with authority.

"I got a call. The screen said Elena when I answered it," I explained. "It sounded like Elena."

"And?" he prompted me, following me into the room.

"And she said she needed to know who the witch was that night at the masquerade ball back home. She wanted to know who she was, what she looked like, where she was from – anything I could tell her. The problem is, Elena knows everything I know because she was there with me when Bonnie told us that story."

Elijah looked slightly taken aback, as if he didn't expect me to just tell him so openly what happened. But it wasn't like I had a lot of choices at the moment. The originals were my only help under the circumstances against Silas and whatever situation Klaus was talking about.

"That's what Elena and I knew that Silas wanted, isn't it? He's looking for the witch?"

Elijah nodded. "Let's get you something to eat and we'll talk about it."

I vigorously shook my head. "Uh-huh. I don't even want to see your brother right now."

Elijah tried unsuccessfully not to smile at that. "I understand. But he's out at the moment, as is Rebekah. Haley is sleeping. Does that meet with your approval?"

I was starving. "Okay."

I dropped what was left of my phone into the wastebasket in the room. Elijah walked by my side as we made our way to the stairs. I tried to follow him but each time I did, he'd wait to let me catch up so we could walk together. Something old-fashioned that he did, I was guessing.

Remembering the crash sounds earlier, I scanned the house to see what had happened. Nothing seemed out of place in the house.

"What are you looking for?" Elijah asked.

"I heard some crashing sounds earlier, after I left the kitchen. I guess I expected to find some damage from the sound of that."

Elijah smirked, shook his head. "Rebekah. She's in a bit of trouble with me right now. She completely destroyed a table I was very fond of in her argument with Klaus. They are very similar in temperament."

Like I didn't know that.

When we reached the dining room, there was a steaming plate of soup garnished so elegantly that I almost didn't want to eat it. There was a lovely salad, a petite sandwich, a tall glass of ice water, and a mug of warm blood. I could smell that most of all and my mouth watered. I sat down at the end of the table and he took the chair to my right.

"Looks like you weren't planning on my saying no to lunch," I said out loud.

Elijah chuckled. "I can be persuasive when I wish."

"And subtle," I added sarcastically, remembering his warning in the kitchen earlier.

"I do apologize if that made you uncomfortable, Caroline. And I hope you realize why it was necessary. Klaus may an indestructible hybrid but I'm the eldest in the family which means I'll do whatever it takes to protect it."

"Can you protect me from your brother?" I asked, only half-joking.

I took a generous sip of the blood, I really needed it. Elijah watched me thoughtfully.

"There's something else I should apologize for," he told me. "Please, eat."

I unfolded the napkin and put it on my lap, wanting to display good table etiquette. Elijah was hard for me to be casual around just yet.

"Thank you. This looks great." I started with the salad while he went on.

"I wondered why my brother was so drawn to you."

"I remember." After the scene upstairs, I was curious to see what he thought now.

"I misjudged you," he admitted. "At first glance, you're a baby vampire. Lovely, of course, but nothing uncommon."

Didn't he have a way with words?

"But there's a lot more to you, isn't there?"

I couldn't answer that because I had just taken a bite of the sandwich.

"You have to realize, Caroline, we're the original family. To most vampires across the world, our names inspire fear. It's widely believed that we can't be killed. Since Klaus broke the curse and became a hybrid, many even went underground. Or so I've heard."

"Well yeah," I said with a nod. "I remember when we heard that Klaus was coming for Elena. I know I was terrified of him before I ever met him."

"But you're not now." It was a statement. Elijah's mouth curved up into a smile. "I can't remember the last time someone, not of his family, took my brother to task as you did this morning and lived to tell the tale."

"Thanks, but I can't say I won that round."

"I thought you did rather well." Elijah took a sip of blood from a fancy glass.

"Is this the part where you give me an atta-girl and then tell me to tread lightly with your brother?" I wanted to know.

He was taken aback with the question at first, I could tell. Then his smile widened. "Absolutely not. No. But in saying that, I have my brother's interests at heart."

I laughed, folding my arms across my chest in fake upset. "Is that your nicey-nice way of telling me you're in his corner and not mine?"

"I'm absolutely on your side," he assured me. His laughter was a rich, warm sound. "But in encouraging you to give my brother a difficult time, I'm playing to what he wants. He enjoys you very much. I hope you realize that. You seem to bring out all of his good qualities, his protective instincts. He shows you a side of himself that normally only we see. When he's not unhappy with us."

Lowering my arms, I noticed the more serious tone he introduced to our talk.

"Is he unhappy with you guys a lot?" I asked.

"It depends on your concept of time," he explained. "I would say often but what does that really mean in an existence that spans a thousand years?"

"True."

"But there's something I must say, Caroline." He leaned a little closer, locking his gaze with mine. For a moment I wondered if he meant to compel me again. "When he's unhappy with us, his family, he can and does dagger us and stores us away in boxes until his pride is worth less than his loneliness. We, Rebekah and I now, can be fully restored by removing the dagger. We've lost time, we've lost our freedom. But we return essentially the same as we were before. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"Caroline, you're not like us. You're less durable. If you know my brother half as well as I think you do, then you already know that while he can be charming and unfailingly kind, he has a dark side. He's jealous, controlling, emotionally volatile when provoked. If he was angry enough at you, he could easily kill you, Caroline."

"I know," my voice sounded small.

"It's not enough for you to be aware of that fact. You need to think seriously about the situation you're in. Yes, I'm aware you have a boyfriend. But you've also captured my brother's heart and you've apparently given him every reason to think he can lay claim to yours. You know how ruthlessly NIklaus pursues what he wants. When he's certain that he'll attain it, he's doubly so."

I swallowed hard.

"You need to think hard right now what your intentions are, Caroline. If you know in your heart that you can't or won't give my brother a chance, then you need to make that known to him now. I'll be there with you and I'll do my best to see you safely home or elsewhere if Mystic Falls isn't safe for you. In that scenario, it would be very unwise for you to remain here."

His gaze searched mine intensely.

"If your intention is to give Niklaus a chance, and I'm finding at the moment that I hope you will, I want to assure you that I'm here for you, as a friend, maybe as a brother one day, if you ever need me."

Something squeezed in my chest at his kindness. He was letting me know that either way he'd look after me. Having someone look out for me wasn't something I was used to.

"Thank you," I told him and meant it. "And I'll remember you said that. If I do end up with Klaus, I have a feeling I'll need your help with Rebekah more than him."

His smile was back so fast that it startled me. "Clever girl. You've already unearthed one of our family's darkest secrets."

"What?"

"Rebekah is actually the scariest of us all," he told me, only half-joking.

"Oh, I believe that," I told him, laughing.

We enjoyed an easy moment, I returned to my lunch.

Slowly, his normal mask of calm slipped back into place.

"You trusted me with the truth about the phone call," he pointed out. "You believe it was Silas?"

"I do. It's not the first time he's gotten to me." Then worry set in. "I hope that doesn't mean he's done something to my mother and my friends."

"Tell me exactly what was said."

And I told him. He considered my words for a moment, staring at the table for a long time before returning his attention to me.

"If he was calling to deceive you into giving him the information he wanted, then you can be certain he doesn't have your friends and your mother. Elena also knows what he wants."

"Yes, she does."

"Who is the witch?" he asked.

"Her name is Lucy. I don't know her last name but Bonnie told me she was related to her. A cousin, I think."

"A Bennett witch?"

"Yes. Apparently Katherine had saved her life at some point and then called in the favor because she wanted the moonstone. We were at a masquerade ball and she performed a spell that bound Elena to Katherine. We didn't know about the spell. So when we trapped Katherine in a room with both Salvatores who decided to torture her, Elena experienced each injury until we figured it out."

Was it just me or did the mention of Katherine really engage his interest?

"How did the night end?" he asked.

"Bonnie found Lucy who immediately knew she was a Bennett too. Katherine hadn't told Lucy another witch would be there, much less one from her own bloodline. So she reversed the spell so the Salvatores could capture Katherine and trap her in the tomb so she couldn't hurt anyone, most especially Elena. That was the night that Rose and that other guy grabbed Elena somehow and brought her to you."

"Ah, that all makes sense now."

"What do you think Silas is up to?"

"He's after the cure. Since Katerina took it, most likely he's scouring the earth for her."

Something in his eyes led me to believe that bothered him.

"He's also still seeking to drop the veil. Bonnie is now dead, he needs another powerful witch who can either bring her back or bring the veil down in her stead. He's intent on being reunited with his human lover. For two thousand years, he's waited. What purpose must he have gathered in all that time."

Another reference to bringing Bonnie back. If only…

"Love is the strongest magic we have." I believed that anyway. "So what's our plan?"

"That's what we must decide. All together. So when you feel you can talk with my brother again, reasonably, we'll have a chat."

"Meaning sooner would be better than later?" I teased him.

"I would never be one to tell an angry woman what to do, but…"

I laughed at his attempt to be somber.

"I can put up with Klaus to form a plan, especially if there's anything we can do to help my friends."

"We'll talk," he assured me, rising from the table. "You handled this situation incredibly well, Caroline. I appreciate your confiding in me. I don't trust easily as you just might be aware. However, if this is how you usually conduct yourself, I think we'll deal well together."

Somewhere in there was high praise from the eldest Mikaelson. I smiled at him.

"Enjoy your lunch. Do think on what I said."

"About a plan?"

"About Niklaus," he said meaningfully.

I nodded. "I will, Elijah. Thank you for… everything."

Flashing me a charming smile, he nodded and left the room without making a sound.

He left me quite a bit to think about.