A/N Hey everyone! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and for sticking with this story. There will be two more chapters after this one. I'm sad that it's almost over, but I feel like this story is wrapping up. Anyway, keep an eye out for the first chapter of a new Klaus/Caroline story from me later tonight, and I'll be updating Things Are Not What They Seem this weekend.

"Yo, ho ho and a bottle of rum..."

Caroline squinted at the sunset, which was casting an orange glow around the dock.

Damon and Alaric stumbled into her view, passing forth a bottle of rum, taking swigs from it.

"Our captain's drunk." She said to Elena.

"Don't worry, Meredith's driving the boat." Elena assured her.

"Babe! Ric's hooking us up! You should see the rooms below deck!" Damon called.

"How big is this boat?" Caroline asked. There were ten of them on board but she kept getting lost trying to find Nik, and a bunch of the others were out of sight too."

"Don't call my baby a boat!" Ric slurred out. "This monster is a fucking yacht."

"Right. Has anyone seen Nik?"

"Oh, did you not want me to throw him overboard?" Damon joked.

"Cute, Damon." Caroline replied.

"He's off with Stefan again." Damon replied.

"Is that jealousy I'm detecting in your voice?" Elena teased him.

"I'm not jealous! Stefan can have friends, although I think it's a little weird they're doing that stupid joke where they refer to themselves as brothers." Damon huffed.

"Oh, come on, don't you see what they're doing?" Ric protested.

"Enlighten me, teach." Damon said.

"They're doing it because of their girls. Nik wants to get in good with someone Care considers family, and he wants to get more make sure his sister is with someone he can trust. Stefan wants one of Becca's brothers to like him, and he wants to make sure Caroline is in good hands."

"So..." Damon started.

"They're protective." Ric suggested. "They want to keep an eye on the people who are with the girls they care about. It's why Meredith's brothers are always checking in on me. They act like they're calling to chat, but they're really making sure I'm treating her ok and she taken care of. If I had a sister, I'd be the same way."

"I can be protective. Why isn't Nik trying to kiss my ass?" Damon suggested.

"Oh please. The only person you're protective with is Elena." Ric snorted. "You let everyone else make their own mistakes and learn their own lessons."

Damon looked to Elena for some defense.

"It's true." She shrugged.

"Traitor!" He gasped, pretending to be shocked.

"Let me make it up to you." She smiled, grabbing his hand. The two of them took off below deck.

Caroline and Ric both rolled their eyes as the two of them hurried down the steps to the cabins.

"They do that a lot." Ric mused.

"Yeah." She agreed.

"Well, I'm going to check on the lady driving the boat." He said. "Bullet wound is over there with his real brother and his fake one, if you're looking for him." He pointed to the other side of the boat. "Just up that set of stairs."

Caroline walked over to the other side of the deck and climbed up the tiny spiral staircase. There was a room with a full bar set up and a bunch of cozy arm chairs. Glass panels surrounded the walls so they could look out at the vast expanses of the ocean that surrounded them. Elijah, Stefan and Nik were sitting in armchairs that circled a low table, each of their drinks resting on it.

She watched Stefan cut the ends off a few cigars and hand one to each of them, searching his pockets for a lighter. They were toasting to getting off the island alive, and to their general good fortune at the moment. As Stefan passed the lighter around and clouds of smoke furled around the three of them, she considered slipping back out, and letting them enjoy whatever male bonding thing they were doing.

Elijah said something quietly that made the other two laugh, and Stefan slapped Nik on the back, turning to say something to him. They were all smiling, their posture relaxed. It was nice to see the type of relationship Nik had with his older brother, and it made Caroline strangely happy to see him get along so well with Stefan.

Nik caught sight of her in the doorway and stood up, setting his cigar on a plate on the table.

"Hello, Love. Join us." He said as he walked over to her, offering his hand.

"I can go do something else, I didn't mean to interrupt you guys." she offered.

"Nonsense" Nik insisted, pulling her into the room.

He settled back in his chair, and she perched on one of the arms, letting her feet dangle off the side. He frowned a bit, regarding her sitting so close and yet just out of his reach, so he scooped her up and pulled her onto his lap instead, wrapping an arm securely around her waist.

She leaned forward to take a sip of his drink, then passed it to him. He took a sip and offered her another before setting it back on the table.

Elijah continued the story he had been telling, and the others listened quietly.

Nik reached forward to take another puff of the cigar sitting on the table in front of him, but hesitated before bringing it to his lips.

He looked at Caroline and started to put it back down. Elijah noticed and cleared his throat, shooting a look at Stefan, who was chewing on his own cigar absently.

"Perhaps we should put these out while a lady is present." Elijah said pointedly.

Stefan laughed, which caused the other two men to look at him sharply.

"It's fine, really." Caroline said. She motioned for Nik to hand her the cigar in his hand, which he did hesitantly. She took a few puffs and handed it back to him. "See. Not that much of a lady after all." She joked.

"Care and I spent a lot of time in cigar bars when we were in Puerto Rico last year." Stefan explained. "I know most girls hate these things, but I got her hooked."

"Guilty." Caroline shrugged.

Nik smiled, watching the smoke furl from her mouth, enjoying the intimate way she passed it back and forth with him, the little cloud that snaked around their bodies. He watched Elijah hesitantly begin talking again, double checking to make sure she wasn't bothered by the smoke. His brother was incredibly old fashioned, and he wanted to make sure they weren't being rude.

Nik barely glanced at his brother as he continued the story. He wasn't listening anyway. He was watching Caroline greedily reach for his cigar, his drink, sharing in all his vices. He would trace his fingers along her skin, lean closer to kiss her shoulder or whisper in her ear.

He kept playing with a lock of her hair, listening to Caroline and Stefan swap stories about all their adventures, trade dirty jokes to get a rise out of Elijah. Caroline was always the one to get him to cough into his drink or sputter a bit. There was something shocking about the things that could come out of her angelic looking mouth.

He wrapped his arms around her tighter, watching Caroline put the finishing touches on a truly filthy joke, cigar in one hand, drink in the other. Elijah looked mortified.

"I can't believe it, but you have truly met your match Niklaus." Elijah said. "She's as wicked as you are, and as funny as you are not."

"Nonsense. Caroline isn't wicked. She's an angel. And far too good to be mine."

"There are no angels on this boat." Elijah smiled.

"Then here's to all us devils." Stefan toasted, raising his glass.

"Do you hear that?" Caroline said, looking around the empty room where she and Nik were curled up. Elijah and Stefan had both left and now they were all alone in the little bar room, curled against each other on a cozy chair.

Nik straightened up. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly." She smiled, bringing her lips to his.

He pulled her closer, watching the remaining clouds of smoke sift around her like a halo. The glasses on the table were empty, they were all alone.

After a few moments he pulled away and took a moment to trace the side of her face, looking at her as if he was trying to memorize every detail.

"Stefan was right, you know." He said.

"What, that we're all devils here? This boat full of outlaws?"

"No, something he said about you."

"You guys talk about me?" She said, smiling.

"Quite a bit. I'm learning a lot of interesting things about you. Today it's that you like cigars, yesterday Stefan told me about your high school beauty pageant days."

"Oh god, that's embarrassing, I should never have told him about it."

"Still have the crown and sash?"

"Somewhere at my mom's house. Why is Stefan telling you all my dirty secrets?"

"We're just talking about you. I didn't understand it at first, how you and him could be friends without having ever been more, but I think I get it now."

"Oh yeah?"

"I don't really have friends, but I suppose if I did, Bonnie would be a close one. She and I have never been involved like that, but I do value her opinion. I've had several conversations with her and Emily, my boss and a relative of hers, about you over these past few months."

"Who's Bonnie?"

"She's the driver, pick up person, runs some errands for the group. I've been meaning to introduce her to you, maybe ask her to stay with you to keep you company if I ever get a last minute job and there's not time to send you to stay with Stefan and Elena and all them.

"And she knows all about me already?"

"Just a few things, I needed help! I'm not good at this dating stuff."

"I beg to differ."

"Well I have no idea what I'm doing, so I sometimes have to ask for help from more experienced people. Like Bonnie. Who I think you might like."

"Bonnie, Jimmy, Robbie, Emily, you're talking about me with everyone? So much for privacy!"

"Nothing private, just getting their advice. You didn't make it easy for me."

"I'm sorry." She said. "I don't know why I fought it as long as I did. Letting myself be happy with you is the scariest thing I've ever done."

"Don't ever be sorry. I might never have learned to appreciate you so much if I hadn't had to fight for it. But don't be scared either."

"I'm not... usually. But I am sometimes. You kill people. It's what you do. And being with you, it made me realize I'm not that different. I can't pretend to be a normal person when I've always wanted the adventure and the danger. What you do doesn't make me love you less, it makes me love you more. That scares me."

"I've been waiting for you to tell me you want me to stop, that my job isn't ok with you."

"I sometimes do wish you could stop. Only because I'm terrified you'll get hurt or get caught or worse. But I know it's who you are. So I'll never tell you to stop doing your job. All I ask is you be careful, and be quick so you can come back to me."

He nodded. "I think I can manage that."

She snuggled closer to him. "I want a life with you. I know it won't be ordinary or safe or stable, but that's what makes it us."

He felt like his heart might explode. He had never even hoped to find someone who could feel this way about him, about the darker parts of who he was.

"The thing Stefan said about you." He said "Was that there are no people like you, Caroline. No one. There's just you."

She smiled at him.

"And I agree." He continued. "There's no one who could ever be anything like you. You have no idea how precious you are to me. I didn't think someone as amazing as you could possibly exist. Even now, I find it hard to believe I get to wake up next to you. Why did you choose me?"

She shook her head. "You talk about me like I'm..."

"Transcendent? Angelic? Far too good for me?" He offered.

"See, that's what I'm talking about! You have this crazy notion that I'm better. I'm not. Why don't you see how much you have to give? You've literally saved my life, you took a bullet for my friend, You spend time taking care of a kid you care about just because you want him to have a happy childhood. You're protective of your family and for some reason you decided I was worth protecting too. How do you not see it?"

"I'm just trying to be as close to the person you deserve as I can be."

"Nik, you've always been more than that. I'm the lucky one here. I can't believe I have you."

"I still think I'm the one who got lucky. you must have a very warped sense of what you deserve if you don't think you can do any better than me."

"Can we just agree that we're equally lucky?" She offered. "And just be sublimely happy?"

"I think I can agree to that."

Elijah went back to his bedroom below deck, contemplating the book in his suitcase and the possibility of reading it uninterrupted. Of course, with all the loud and demanding personalities on board, it was probably wishful thinking.

One look at the figure waiting in his room was all it took for him to forget everything that had been on his mind on the walk over there.

Katherine was sprawled out on his bed in her smallest black bathing suit, reading his book. He was mildly annoyed that she was already past where the bookmark was. It was her little game, sneaking away whatever he was reading and trying to finish it before him. Sometimes they would compromise and lay next to each other, silently reading each page together.

"I'm 40 pages ahead of you, Eli." She smirked, putting her own bookmark ahead of his. "Want to know what happens next?"

"What are you doing in here?" He asked, still trying to hold on to the scraps of the pretense he once had, pretending to despise her.

"My bed wasn't so comfy, and I don't have any good books with me. I looked in here. Comfy bed. Good book. Maybe we should switch rooms?"

"So you can interrupt me again by pretending to leave something in the old room?"

"Only because you're making me find excuses to keep seeing you."

"Excuse me for not jumping for joy at the chance of being robbed blind again."

"You know I'm smarter than to cross you again, Eli."

"Are you?" He asked.

She pulled herself up and moved closer to him.

He stayed very still, trying not to stare as she sauntered over to him.

"You smell awful, Eli." She joked. "Cigars with the boys?"

"You caught me." He smiled.

She just scrunched up her nose.

"I, um. Excuse me for a moment." He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth and washed his hands. He paused for a moment, wondering why he was scrambling to meet her ever whim again. He had held the upper hand for a moment when he had first walked through the door back on the island, but Kat always send his best laid plans crashing down.

He walked back out.

"Better?" he asked.

Katherine moved closer to him and leaned against him. He hesitantly moved an arm around her as she snuggled into his side.

"Nope, You still stink." She joked.

"I beg your pardon?" he sputtered, paralyzed by her sharp words combined with the soft touches of her hand sliding across the back of his neck, her mouth only an inch away from his skin.

"Yup. It's all over you." She smiled. "Your clothes are all cigar scented. Gross."

He considered telling her she was welcome to leave if she wanted, but the words would never make it out of his mouth. As much as he liked to pretend he was fed up with her, he really just wanted to extend this moment as much as possible. He wanted to stay close to her as long as she would allow it.

"This will have to go." Katherine said, pulling at his shirt.

He hesitated a bit, but let her remove it.

"And this." She reached for his pants.

He felt stuck to the ground, immobilized by the dual emotions. She was the devil incarnate, the temptress that nearly destroyed his life, she had taken everything. At the same time, even knowing how it would end, he would do it all over. He would go through it all again just to be with her.

He felt his pants fall to the ground and stepped out of them.

She pulled herself closer, skin against skin, her breath trailing heat across his neck.

"Nope." she muttered. "Still smell all cigar like. What are we going to do about that?"

"Kat." He warned.

She was darting across the room, and he felt empty at the loss of her warm body next to his. The shower turned on. Her hand was on his, leading him towards the bathroom.

"These will have to come off." She said, pulling on the waistband of his underwear.

He jumped a bit as her hand grazed across him as she pulled the last of his clothing away. Her hand moved lazily across his member.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Kat." He growled.

"Oh, I have no intention of stopping." She whispered in his ear, at the same time wrapping a hand firmly around him. She smirked a bit as she pumped up and down, feeling him grow harder against her touch.

How much could one man take? He had reached his breaking point. Before he could reason with himself and remember why she was the worst thing that ever happened to him, Elijah found himself picking Katherine up and placing her in the steamy shower, stepping in after her.

Her eyes glowed back at him. Her Eli was finally back.

Elijah pushed her against the slick wall and kissed her. He could feel her holding on tightly as she kissed back. She switched back and forth between aggressive hard kisses and soft ones, scratching at his back and tracing her fingers lightly around it. She moved her hands through his hair and sighed into his kisses, every touch begging him for more.

Her hands found their way back to his hard length and she stroked him again, this time sliding her hands along wet skin under the steamy heat of the shower. He groaned, unable to think straight when she made him feel this good. He moved his hands all over her, feeling every inch. The bathing suit she was wearing had to go. He pulled one of the strings, and the top was off. His hands explored every inch before he finally reached down her stomach, along her hip, and found the string at the side of the bathing suit bottom.

He flung it away and slid his hand down to cup the area it had covered. She was taking in sharp breaths and pulling on him harder. He let one finger brush against her core and she let out a whimper. He slid it into her and she whined out his name.

She loved being able to manipulate people, to get them to do whatever she wanted, but once Elijah started to slide a finger in and out of her, she was done for. She would do anything he asked at that moment, anything to keep him from stopping.

Her back arched and she push her hips greedily at him, begging for more, more.

He moved slow, making her shudder and plead with him. He wanted to savor every moment of this.

She couldn't take it anymore so she took matters into her own hands. She begrudgingly moved his hand away and wrapped one leg around his waist. She took him in her hands and guided him into her. Elijah's eyes fluttered closed at the sensation of it, letting her control the movement only for a moment before he took over, pushing harder and deeper, kissing her again and again.

Katherine pushed back with every movement, shifting along the shower wall until she was sliding down, pulling him with her so she had him pinned underneath her on the floor.

He flipped them over, carefully guarding her head from getting bumped against the floor. Katherine let out a squeak of excitement as he took control. She loved calling the shots, but she liked it even better when he took control.

Suddenly he stopped, and he was pulling her up.

"Eli?" she asked.

"Bed." He replied, and pulled her towards the bedroom, not bothering to turn off the shower.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, as he scooped her up and dropped her back down on the mattress.

He was over her instantly, pickup up right where they left off. She felt a shiver as the air hit her wet skin, and the contrast between that and the warmth of his body against hers made everything seem all the more heightened.

She felt herself getting closer, and Elijah pulled her tighter against him, knowing exactly what she liked. She went over the edge in a wave of pleasure and felt him follow soon after.

Elijah walked back from turning the shower off and saw she was already asleep. He carefully wrapped a blanket around her and slid into the bed next to her. Katherine was wild, even in her sleep. She was a tangle of limbs, messy wild hair, a streak of purple here, a tattoo there, an innocent smile that helped her get away with not so innocent things.

They made quite a pair, the wild girl and the straight laced scientist. She made him relax, enjoy life, have fun. In exchange, he hoped he offered her something as well. He closed his eyes and moved an arm around her waist, hoping that she would still be there when he woke up. He still wasn't sure if she really liked him or if it was all part of her game, her trying to one up him by proving she could get him to fall for her traps again, that even he wasn't smarter than her. For the moment, it didn't matter. For the moment, he just wanted to fall asleep next to her.

Goodbyes are always difficult, but they weren't forever goodbyes. Caroline knew she'd see her friends again in a month, Nik was sending her ahead to New Orleans to visit them while he went on a job. They had been a wild group, the ten of them all on the boat together, but they had fun. They had all agreed to find a way to spend Christmas and New Year's together, The Mikaelsons, The Salvatores, The Fell-Saltzmans, and all the rest. They didn't know it at the time, but it would be a tradition they would end up keeping year after year.

Caroline hugged Elena one last time before getting in the car. Nik was whispering something to Rebecca, and he gave her a final hug before nodding to Elijah and starting the car. She watched the others fade away in the distance. They were on their way to the airport, to catch their flight to Rome.

The next day she woke up in Rome. Nik had woken up early, chatting excitedly about everything he wanted to show her. There was art, history, food, the amazing views, the shopping. He needed her to get a little of all of it on that first day. They spent all day running around the city, taking in the sights. Once the sun went down he took her to his favorite cafe, where they could eat at outdoor tables under strings of lights.

Every day he found something new in the city to show her. They spent weeks exploring the city. Eventually he had to leave, he had the job to do. She went to New Orleans and got to spend time with Elena and Stefan and Damon. It was as if no time had passed as all. They were as close as ever. She was a bit wary of Becca at first, but Stefan had insisted she was worth getting to know, and she was Nik's sister after all. By the time he came to join her, she and Becca had their own inside jokes and stories. He pretended not to care, but she could tell it meant a lot to him that she had bonded with his family.

They had a few weeks in that city as well, then Elena and the Salvatores had a new trip to go on, Becca had to go back to school, and Nik and Caroline were off to Paris.