Wow… Just wow. Thank you. I didn't expect quite the reaction this received, but I'm truly grateful. And yes, another chapter in one day. Needless to say, I was inspired. But I hate to do this, because I don't think I'll be able to keep up with your expectations for posts. I'll do my very best to keep you up to date as best I can. This chapter is a little shorter, but I had to end it where I do. You'll see Anyways, again thank you, please review and enjoy!

Chapter 2

Bourbon Street was alive. And not just in the sense that hundreds of people were milling about in the most famous of New Orleans' attractions, but in a way that everything about the street was bursting with a different flavor of life. Klaus's message finally begins to make sense as Caroline walked down the crowded avenue. There was color and life in almost every corner and she wasn't able to absorb it all at once. In Mystic Falls, every sight, sound, scent, and movement was familiar to Caroline. In New Orleans the bustling activity was an overload for her heightened vampire senses, but Caroline was thrilled by the novelty of it. She doesn't know where to look first, so decides to focus on the architecture the French Quarter is famous for. Old ironwork trellises and porches frame houses painted brilliant pinks, blues and yellows, while ivy clings to the framework and sets the tone for a time long past. Caroline begins to understand why Klaus was drawn to this city and to feel more comfortable about her decision to come here.

As she walks along the street, distracted by everything around her, Caroline doesn't notice as she collides with another body. "Watch where you're going, miss," a smooth voice says, "Don't want to bowl anyone over now, do we?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I was distracted and not paying attention!" Caroline responded breathlessly.

She looked up into deep brown eyes and involuntarily shivered at the calculating gleam within. This is definitely not someone I want to mess around with, she thought to herself.

"Not to worry. Enjoy your day, miss." The man tipped his head toward her and walked away, followed closely by two more people.

Caroline shrugs off the sense of dread that had settled over her while looking into the stranger's eyes and mentally checks herself to pay more attention to where she's going. After all, this isn't Mystic Falls. Caroline walks further into the Quarter and realizes with each step that she has no idea where to even begin to look for Klaus when a sign suddenly catches her eye. Deveraux's. She vaguely recalls a conversation with Stefan in which he mentioned Klaus was involved with a witch by the name of Sophie Deveraux. Caroline hopes this is the restaurant owned by the witch and formerly her sister, rumored to have died at the hand of Marcel five years ago. As she comes up to the doorway, she notices a small sign in the window, Help Wanted - Room and Board Included. Caroline grins to herself at her luck and pushes her way into the dimly lit restaurant. "We're closed for the afternoon while we prep for dinner! Can't you read?" a voice calls out from the back.

"Umm... I saw your sign in the window and I wanted to know if I could apply. I'm new to the city and I don't have a place to stay."

A young woman walks out of the back room, presumably the kitchen, drying her hands off on a kitchen towel. Caroline gasps as she sees the woman in full light. She's very pretty with dark brown hair, olive skin tone, and serious eyes. "Well, you definitely don't look like you're from around here. Where are you from?"

"Virginia." Caroline decides to answer simply and not make known her relationship to Klaus just yet. She wants to test the waters of the city for herself first.

The woman looks Caroline over thoroughly first before speaking. "You don't look like anyone who's had experience with waitressing before, but I need someone quick so you'll do for now. I have three more hands on staff, one for the bar, the kitchen and the dining room. You'll take over the dining room tonight. If you're a quick learner and do good work, I'll take you on. You got yourself a week to prove yourself. The room's yours for the time being and if I decide to take you on you can stay there. Deal?"

"Yes. You won't be sorry, I promise."

"Don't promise me anything. Just do your job. I'll show you upstairs, let you get settled and I want you back down in thirty minutes so I can introduce you to the rest of the staff and go over the intricacies of this shop. What's your name?"

"Caroline."

A flash of recognition flashes in the woman's eyes before it's quickly masked, and Caroline waits with baited breath that she won't say anything about Klaus. Mercifully, she just nods and turns toward the back of the building. Caroline picks up her bag and follows her up the narrow staircase to the second floor where she leads her to a bedroom overlooking the alley in the back. The room is small, but clean, and has enough room for a full sized bed, small dresser and nightstand. The sheets are white and pristine and there's enough light coming through the white lace curtains to brighten the room. "Remember, thirty minutes."

"I'll be there... Wait! What's your name?" Caroline manages to call out before the woman disappears back down the stairs.

"Sophie. Sophie Deveraux."

Later that night, Caroline is up to her elbows in orders, plates, and hungry patrons. And she thanks her lucky stars for all the high stress activities she involved herself in during high school and college. Nothing compares to the task of waitressing, but she's able to keep a cool head throughout the night and doesn't skip a beat even when a customer rudely states that her ice water didn't have enough lemon in it. For the fourth time. The rest of the patrons seem to like her and Caroline gets along well with the bartender, Camille, and the other waitress, Therese, and the night passes smoothly. During clean up, Sophie walks over to Caroline and says, "I don't need a week. You'll stay."

Caroline looks up from the table she'd been cleaning and smiles genuinely at Sophie, "Thank you! You won't be disappointed."

Sophie casts a small smile at Caroline and turns back into the kitchen. Caroline briefly wonders why Sophie gave her the benefit of the doubt before returning to the tables she's wiping down. At the end of the night, she crawls into bed, exhausted, but pleased with herself for finding a job and a place to board. Even though she doesn't need the money, she wants be responsible and earn her keep. She figures it'll help her blend in more with the natives of the city. Just as she's about to fall asleep, a light knock comes at her door. "Come in?"

Sophie pokes her head around the door frame and sees that Caroline's awake before letting herself into the room and sitting on the edge of Caroline's bed. "I know what you are. And I know who you are. Klaus has mentioned you in passing a few times in the years since he's been here, but I'm surprised to see you here. If I see him I won't say anything to him. I have a sense you'd like to seek him out on your own."

"Yes, I'd be grateful for that." The look of recognition in Sophie's eyes from earlier is explained and Caroline feels she can put some trust in this young woman. "Klaus asked me to come with him a few years back when he first came here. But I was too stubborn and proud then. I needed time to really understand myself before I sought him out again. I'm still not sure why I'm here, but I know I need to be here."

"Good," Sophie replies, "Because I think you need to be here too. I'm assuming you know about the child?"

"Yes. But I don't much else other than he was born about four and a half years ago."

"His name is Kol, after Klaus's deceased brother, and he's not a normal child. He's three parts werewolf and one part we're not entirely sure about. But he's a gift and he's all we have right now. We've been able to keep the knowledge of them quiet for the past five years and we need to keep it that way. Hayley and the child are outside of New Orleans, the city's too dangerous for them to live within the city proper, so we've had them in Baton Rouge since the child's birth. Not too far away, but far away enough.

"I've had a strange feeling that something's not right within Marcel's control. He's tightened measures a little in the past few months, but I think there's something bigger coming. That's why I'm glad you're here. I think you'll be of more use to us than we know at this point. That's why I took you on so quickly. I wanted you to know you could trust me."

Caroline processes the information she's just heard from Sophie for a moment before answering, "Thank you. And I understand the importance of everything. You can trust me too."

"I know I can. Get some sleep. You've got another long day ahead and I have a feeling Klaus is going to find out you're here sooner rather than later."

Sophie gets up off the bed and turns to the door. She hesitates and turns back around just before leaving, "Don't mention to anyone else you're from Virginia. I don't imagine Klaus has spoken of you to Marcel, but it can't hurt to keep that quiet. Not even to Cami and Therese. Cami knows some of this, but Therese is blissfully unaware and I'd like to keep both of them as far away as possible."

"Absolutely." Caroline's thankful there wasn't time to go into her background before starting her shift that night. There'll be more time for that later and more time for her to come up with a plausible story.

"Also, I should mention that Cami's a little into Klaus. She'll likely be all over you once she finds out the two of you know one another."

"Got it." Caroline's not particularly worried about the blonde human bartender, but she's also been traveling for a good part of the day as well as having been on her feet since early afternoon, and her brain is starting to shut itself down for want of sleep.

"Good night, Caroline."

Sophie shuts the door and Caroline burrows herself under the covers, grateful to fall asleep at last.

The week flies by and soon Caroline's been assimilated into the daily grind of Deveraux's. It's not like anything else she's ever done in her life, but she relishes the work and enjoys the passing patrons. She begins to recognize those who are human and those who aren't. Mainly recognizing the latter by seeing several faces only once the sun has set or by the lapis lazuli stone she sees on a select few vampires. These vampires, Sophie informs her, are a part of Marcel's inner circle and thus have the privilege of knowing the secret to being a day walker.

At the end of the week, Sophie had left Caroline alone to prep the dining room for dinner that evening when two day walkers strolled in, clearly in the mood to start the night time activities early. "Hey sugar, won't you get us some glasses and help a friend out?"

"I'm sorry, we're closed until dinner. Come back in an hour and we can help you out then."

"Ah, but we're not looking for later, we're looking for right now. Caroline, sugar, what do you say?"

At this one of the boys had decided to grab Caroline by waist and bring her closer to him. Reacting on instinct, Caroline vamped out and threw him down to the floor. "I said no!"

"You're a vampire?!"

Crap, Caroline thought to herself, This is where compulsion would come in handy. She was about ready to try and talk her way out of the situation when a cool, British voice, with a smirk in every word, floated into the dining room.

"Well, love, you haven't lost your propensity for rejection. I will say though, I'm certainly pleased to see you here."