A/N: Hey! Hope those of you here in the states had a good Thanksgiving! Thank you so much for everything wonderful you say! I love you guys. . , lateVMlover, An Amber Pen, S0U1 3AT3R16, DevilJolie, Le26199, Ash003, flipped, VampireDiariesLuver, KlausLover567, SarahCullen4, Teamvampirebarbie22, Micky-D12, and Ellavm18 - thank you for the reviews! Thanks to the followers and favorites too. =)

When I came downstairs the next morning, I found that I was the last to arrive. Elena, Damon, Jeremy and Ric were all milling around in the kitchen. Someone had gone to the store because every breakfast item known to man was being prepared in there and it smelled wonderful. Better yet was seeing the four of them all together, happy. The sound of laughter? I loved it. Seeing them all together was worth the trip to Mystic Falls.

Bonnie and Clarice were eating breakfast at the dining table, obviously having a very serious discussion on all things witchy. The girls were eating breakfast too, apparently long bored with the adults' discussion. The older one, Anya, kept sneaking peeks into the kitchen. I couldn't tell if she was crushing on Damon or Jeremy.

I headed for the food items on the sideboard and made myself a plate. I sat down with Bonnie and the witches. I'd just taken a bite of toast when I heard my phone. I scrambled for my bag that someone had placed on a table by the door. I'd been so tired the night before, I'd forgotten my stuff. I fished my phone out as it stopped ringing. I had seven missed calls. All of them were from Klaus.

Walking outside, away from prying and supernatural ears, I called him back.

"Caroline," he answered. I didn't think the phone even had a chance to ring.

"Good morning," I said. "You called?"

"Where are you, love?" His tone implied impatience.

"The Salvatore boarding house," I told him. "Clarice insisted on staying the night so her girls could get some rest. We're going to be hitting the road as soon as Rebekah and – " crap! "Rebekah gets here."

I'd almost said Kol. I knew it was too much to hope he wouldn't notice my slip up.

"So tired that you're seeing my sister in duplicate?" he asked.

Damn. He never missed anything.

"Well, that would be scary wouldn't it?" I teased. "Yeah, I guess I am tired from this whirlwind trip."

"Were you successful in resurrecting your friend, Bonnie?" he asked.

"She was back already," I explained. "It's a long story but the good news is that Silas is gone now. I'll tell you everything later."

"Been an exciting trip, has it?" There was a hint of suspicion.

"It has." It was as close to the truth as I could come.

"What are you not telling me, Caroline?"

This wasn't good. I was terrible at keeping secrets and I didn't want to ruin Kol's surprise. But I knew that the only conclusion Klaus would reach is that I was here, with my friends, planning to deceive him. And it wasn't like in the past when I'd been the blonde distraction, playing a game of cat and mouse with him. There were feelings involved now, including mine. I had to make him believe me. Because the moment he didn't, he would be hurt. And he could go from hurt Klaus to dangerous Klaus in the blink of an eye.

"There is something I'm not telling you," I said carefully. "Because it's a surprise. I don't want to ruin it. I want to see the look on your face when you see… it."

There was a pause. "Is it a good surprise?"

"I hope so?" Kol had been on the bad side of Klaus at the time he died. He'd been trying to stop all of us from resurrecting Silas. He'd gone so far as to compel Damon to kill Jeremy so his hunter's mark couldn't be completed and the map to Silas found.

"The witches are coming with you?" he asked, making sure of that.

"Yes, they are. They're finishing breakfast."

Another pause.

"Klaus, seriously, I'm coming back to you. Today. Well, tonight. But I will be there," I told him.

"Mmmm, now that's what I was waiting to hear," he practically purred.

"What? You wanted me to tell you again that I was coming back?" I asked, encouraged by the change in his voice.

"You just said you were coming back to me."

I grinned. "So I did. And so far, no one has thrown me into the dungeon cell to stop me so…"

"Whatever did you tell your friends, love, when you told them you were coming back to New Orleans?"

"The truth?" I sighed. "They wanted to know if I was with you now and…"

"You told them you were with me?"

Oh, I could hear the smile in his voice now. He sounded positively triumphant.

"Aren't I?" I teased.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yes, I told them I was with you." Knowing how important it would be to him for me to say the words.

"You're mine, love," Klaus told me, the seductive tone sent chills through my body. "And once you come home, I'm going to spend every day reminding you of that."

"Every day, huh?"

"Every day. Every night."

Okay, I was getting hot and bothered just talking to him on the phone now. My breath came out harshly.

"Okay, I need to call my mom," I told him, "and get everyone together."

He chuckled on the other end.

"I'll see you tonight love," he promised. "Call me if anything should happen."

I was still grinning as I headed back for the boarding house. I must have been so absorbed in talking to Klaus, I didn't notice his siblings arrive. Rebekah approached me, dressed in jeans, a beaded, strappy blouse and her signature heels. Kol was right behind her, dressed in jeans, a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Maybe it was all he found to wear. He had been dead for a while.

"Caroline, I hope you've talked to Klaus," Rebekah warned me with a scowl. "Because if he calls me one more time to ask why you aren't answering your phone –"

"I just talked to him," I assured her. "That should keep him happy for at least an hour, right?"

"We'll see," Rebekah grinned at me. "So are we ready to go?"

"Almost."

I said goodbye to each of my friends. Elena remained supportive of my decision even though worry clouded her eyes when she gave me a hug. Ric, Jeremy and Damon made nice too, if nothing else for Elena. Either way, it made things easier and I was grateful.

Bonnie and my mother? Different story. Bonnie let me know she wasn't happy about my going back but asked me to call her, Skype her. Keep in touch. And I would if it kept her from worrying. Saying goodbye to her was bittersweet.

I'd talked to my mother on the phone and she'd been right there with Bonnie. She couldn't understand now that the Silas situation was resolved why I wasn't coming home, going back to college. My lame explanation of how Tyler had shown up and the threat he now posed had done more harm than good. Like Bonnie, she was afraid I'd get hurt. She'd even had some information that Bonnie hadn't.

My mother believed that Tyler had killed two people in Mystic falls before I'd left with Klaus to New Orleans. Like my friends, she wanted to believe that Silas had gotten into his head and caused him to do terrible things. Having talked to him that night, I wanted to try to believe that too. But I just didn't. Had Tyler fallen so far in his quest for revenge?

Mom was disappointed in my decision, made me promise to keep in touch with her too, but in the end she accepted me going back to New Orleans. Or accepted the fact that she couldn't stop me.

I was disappointed that I didn't get to see Stefan but Elena told me he was struggling to deal with everything that had happened to him over the summer. I felt as badly about him as I had Bonnie. He'd been slowly tortured all summer while we assumed he'd left town because Elena had chosen Damon over him. Stefan had been a good friend to me and I wanted to be there for him. I decided I'd try to call him once I got back to New Orleans.

New Orleans.

With two cars, all that was left to be decided was who was riding where. Clarice and her girls were told they were riding with one of us and they chose me. Rebekah scoffed, Kol grinned. I knew Rebekah wasn't happy about spending a dozen hours in a car with this particular brother. But I was hoping the time together would be good for them, now that Kol was back.

It was somewhere around ten before we left that morning and it was nearly midnight when we finally arrived in New Orleans between detours caused by road construction on the way and the fact that Clarice and her kids had to stop. A lot. To go the bathroom. To get snacks. To stretch. On the last stop, I'd been really worried that Rebekah was going to lose it. Kol offered to drive the rest of the way and I told her we'd try not to stop anymore and somehow we got through the tension to finish the trip.

We pulled into the drive at the mansion behind Kol and Rebekah. I shut the engine off, thinking solely about getting everyone into the house. I didn't notice what was going on immediately.

"Mom, look!" Anya yelled from the back seat.

Rebekah and Kol were fighting two guys next to their car. Kol was circling one of them, looking ready to attack. Rebekah looked as if she were about to rip the heart out of the one she had when he lunged at her, pinning her in against the car and snapping at her with his teeth. I caught the yellow flash of his eyes.

"Hybrids," I said, scared now.

"I thought there was just one hybrid," Christine said, watching the fight in fascination over my shoulder.

Then she screamed when a third man ran up to the car, yanking open the driver side door I'd just unlocked and pulling me out by my hair.

"Stay in the car," I heard Clarice say as my scalp went up in flames.

The hybrid who'd grabbed me grinned. Of course, he was the largest of the three. He was a foot taller than me with a chest like a brick wall. Planting my hands on his chest, I pushed with every ounce of strength I had but he was pulling me ever closer, his grin was chilling. His poison-coated teeth were waiting.

I heard chanting a second before the hybrid's grip loosened and his grin gave way to a grimace of pain. I screamed when he was shoved against me with great force, glued to the spot by fear as he dropped like a bag of stones to the ground, a huge hole in his chest. Klaus was there in the next instant, throwing the heart on the ground and grabbing me by the shoulder as he looked me over.

"I'm okay," I told him as Clarice, still chanting, walked around us in the direction of Rebekah and Kol. Klaus stepped in front of me, shielding me, as we watched the scene before us.

The hybrids they fought screamed as the witch worked her spell. Kol used the advantage to pull the heart out of his attacker. Elijah ripped the head off of the one who'd attacked his sister, then stared at her with wide eyes to see her covering a bleeding gash to her neck with her hand.

"Niklaus, Rebekah's been bitten," Elijah called to him.

"Everyone inside, now!" Klaus yelled.

"It's okay," Kol told him, walking back to the car I'd driven. "Nik can heal her."

The look of astonishment on Elijah's face was priceless. "Brother?"

"Did you miss me?" Kol grinned at him.

My hands were clutching the back of Klaus' jacket. He stared in astonishment at Kol before glancing at me over his shoulder, his expression one of shock.

"Surprise," I said.

I turned around and looked into the car. The girls had climbed into the front seat, watching everything with eyes wide as saucers.

Clarice pretty much shoved Klaus and I out of the way to get the driver side door for her kids. Kol had already pulled Christine out, carrying her himself into the house with vamp speed. Clarice grabbed Anya and Klaus motioned for them to walk ahead of us as we followed them into the house. Elijah helped Rebekah right behind us.

Kol had placed Christine down on the sofa, smoothing her hair as she looked up at him with fear in her eyes. Considering what had just happened, it was understandable why she was so traumatized.

"It's okay, darling," Kol told her in a soothing voice. "No one can get you now."

She nodded, appearing to trust him. Clarice and Anya sat next to him on the couch, both looking scared and exhausted.

Rebekah was shaking, blood seeping from between her fingers as Elijah stayed by her side. I nudged Klaus in her direction, knowing how badly a hybrid bite hurt and wanting him to help her as soon as he could. Elijah helped her into one of the chairs, Klaus yanked up the sleeve of his jacket and shirt, offering his wrist which she took with gratitude shining in her eyes.

I could feel the rage escalating in Klaus from three feet away even as I was mentally trying to catch up.

Satisfied that Rebekah was well looked after, Elijah motioned two maids I didn't notice until now forward.

"There is much to discuss," Elijah told us. "But you all must be tired from your long journey so we'll get your belongings inside, get you to your rooms. We'll talk about everything in the morning."

"We'll talk about everything tonight," Klaus fumed.

Ignoring that, Elijah smiled at Clarice. "How rude of me. Introductions are in order, I believe. I am Elijah Miklaeson."

Clarice accepted the hand he offered. "I'm Clarice Michaels and these are my daughters, Anya and Christine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, meeting the gaze of each of them. With a sweep of his hand, he motioned to Klaus who still knelt by Rebekah's chair, feeding him her blood.

"This is our brother, Niklaus," Elijah told them.

Christine stared. "Eww. Why is she biting him?"

Clarice's expression told me she was wondering the same thing.

"The creatures that attacked us were hybrids," he explained. "A hybrid bite is lethal to most vampires. While it can't kill an original, it can be agonizingly painful. My brother's blood is the cure as he's the original hybrid."

Christine's expression was still comical as she watched.

Elijah directed the maids to see the witches to rooms. "Our servants will see you to your rooms. Let them know of anything you need."

I walked over to Rebekah's chair. "Do you feel better?" I asked. Kol watched from the sofa.

Looking up at me, she nodded. To my great relief, I could see her neck was already healing.

"That was incredibly painful." she told me, as Klaus pulled his wrist away.

I nodded. I knew all too well how bad a hybrid bite hurt. I'd been bitten twice.

"Thank you, Nik," she said to him as if struggling to believe he'd helped her at all.

Klaus nodded to acknowledge her but his mind wasn't on it. The set of his features, the steel in his eyes. He was furious.

"They're creating hybrids already?" Rebekah asked.

"Apparently so," Elijah answered. When his gaze fell on the brother who'd been returned to them, he approached him. Kol stood and they hugged. "How are you restored to us, brother?"

"I really have this blonde beauty," Kol motioned to me with his hand, "to thank for everything. It was her idea to have the Gilbert boy talk to me so you could find my witches. It was her idea to go back to Mystic Falls to try and resurrect her delectable witch friend who just happened to be back. If not for Caroline, I wouldn't be here."

"And what are your intentions this time, brother?" Klaus demanded. "After the trouble you caused when you were here last, I'm warning you – "

"No warning needed, Nik," Kol told him, hands up. To anyone who'd never encountered Kol before, his face was set with boyish honesty. His dark eyes alone spoke of the true nature of this Mikaelson. At best, he was charming and mischievous. At his worst, he had a mean streak that the siblings seemed to share. "After having spent some quality time on the other side, I just wanted to be back and here I am."

"Do you intend to stay here?" Elijah asked him, seeming happy to see his brother.

"I would like to, yes, to help if I can," Kol said. "To watch over my witches."

Klaus glared at him in warning. "If you remain, brother, you –"

"I will do as I'm told, not create a problem, and be loyal to the family or it's the dagger for me. Right? You have my word brother. And I'll very much look forward to catching up with New Orleans tomorrow but right now I'm going to go get some rest."

Moving around Elijah, Kol went to Rebekah who'd risen from her chair, looking completely exhausted. He gave her a hug.

"I'll go up with you," she told him. "Goodnight."

"Good night," I told her.

Having drawn his attention, Kol turned and made a beeline for me, pulling me in for a tight hug before pulling back to kiss me full on the mouth.

"Good night, darling," he said, winking at me while Klaus made a growling sound behind him.

"Yes, I know, my liver," Kol told him with a smile as he left the room with a chuckling Rebekah.

"I am going to kill that little bastard," Klaus hissed before they could even make it out of the room.

"Niklaus, our brother just returned," Elijah pointed out, ready to defend Kol.

Klaus' fists clenched at his side. "The Lockwood boy. How dare he create hybrids, my kind, and use them against me?"

Elijah shot me a concerned glance. "Niklaus, perhaps…"

"Using my child," Klaus growled. "When I find him, his suffering will be unimaginable."

"Caroline, perhaps you should retire," Elijah told me, realizing it was painful for me to hear Klaus' plans for my ex-boyfriend. I had revenge thoughts too but none involved doing any real damage to Tyler. But considering his actions lately, that could change.

Looking at the expression on Klaus' face, I could understand how he felt. My heart sank as I thought of them using an innocent life to create hybrids to use for their revenge. It was sick.

And I was tired. I'd hoped for a different type of reunion with Klaus tonight. I hadn't counted on us being attacked by hybrids when we arrived. With everything that had happened, Elijah was right. It was best that I just go to bed.

"I'll head up to my room," I told them. Deliberately walking up to Klaus, I kissed his cheek. "Good night."

Something in his expression softened just a little.

Elijah looked very apologetic. "Good night, Caroline."

Leaving Elijah to deal with Klaus, I headed up to my room. It wasn't just as I left it. It was made up perfectly – but all of my things were gone. What the hell?

"Can I help you?" one of the maids peered into the room.

"Yeah, where are my things?" I asked her.

"Mr. Mikaelson had your things moved to his room," she explained.

Of course he did. "Thank you."

Sure enough, all of the things I hadn't taken with me to Virginia were there. My clothes taking up only a small portion of his huge, walk-in closet. The few toiletries I left were situated in the immense bathroom. The rest was left in boxes near the far wall for me to sort. I had to smile. Even my mini-fridge was there.

He'd been pretty confident.

I heard their voices arguing on downstairs while I got ready for bed, putting on some boy shorts and a t-shirt. I thought about getting in bed and going to sleep. Eventually, in the time it took to check my texts and emails, things had gotten quiet in the house.

Knowing Klaus, he was somewhere brooding, drinking alone. And I understood everything he was dealing with now. Tyler was using his child to create hybrids to attack him. His brother Kol had been brought back from the dead, and I wasn't entirely sure he was happy about that. He had three witches who'd just arrived to stay under his roof, two of them kids.

And he had me to deal with on top of all that. I'd come back to him as I'd promised – with certain expectations.

Hmmm…

I made my way back to the room I'd been using, going back to that armoire where I'd found the beautiful lingerie and pulled out a peach-colored gown that I hoped would fit me. I ran back to his room to try it on and not only did it fit, it showed off a good deal of décolletage. I pulled my hair down from the messy bun I'd put it in and worked it through my fingers to make it look sexy. I put on some lip gloss.

When I'd decided I looked just right, I headed downstairs to find him, excitement running all through me. If Mr. Big Bad Hybrid thought he was going to build me up like that the entire time I was gone only to sit and brood once I got back, he had another think coming.