Everyone had stayed the night in Charlotte's house, for safety reasons. It had not been equipped to house 11 people though and space had been scarce. Rebekah, Caroline, Elena and Charlotte had ended up sharing Charlotte's bed. The boys had spread out from that point to various couches and soft spots on the floor. Rachel had taken the guest bedroom to pour over the spell and figure out what they would need in the morning.

They had risen one by one and got ready for the day ahead of them. By the time it was 11:00am, Charlotte was the only one still abed. The group began to grow tense waiting for her.

Caroline made a move to go and wake Charlotte. Kol laughed. "I wouldn't suggest waking her. She can be downright beastly if disturbed. Learned that the hard way. Earned myself a nice scar in the process. It's best to just wait for her to wake up."

"Seriously?" Jeremy asked. "Isn't the fate of all our lives resting on this? Seems like something important enough to wake her up for."

"She's so tired because she spent last night breaking into Gloria's stores of supplies in order to make it easier for Rachel to start. Seems to me like she's earned her extra sleep," Charlotte said from the doorway with rumpled hair. She smiled winningly. "At least you have the grace to blush." She winked at the beat red Jeremy. "So," she said clapping her hands together. "What's on the agenda today?"

"Probably getting my body back," Klaus offered. "Rachel is working on the spell and you were so kind as to get her all the ingredients. Not much else we can do for now."

"Damon and I left it in Mystic Falls. I couldn't bear to look at it. It should still be in the storage center there," Rebekah said.

"Perfect," Charlotte smiled. "Damon and I will go get it then."

"Is she always this bossy?" Damon asked.

"Always," Klaus smiled.

"So, I guess it's settled," Stefan offered.

"Any chance that we're deciding this because Elijah isn't currently here?" Damon asked.

Rebekah smiled. "Figured out how it works already?

"Honestly, it is probably the best plan. Damon and Rebekah know where it is. Of the two of you, Damon makes more sense to leave. No offense, but she is much stronger than you are. He needs a good protector though. Can't trust him to get it back here on his own. One pack of pissed off 500 year old vampires attack him and no more Klaus's body for us," Elijah said from the doorway. "And for all of us to go to Mystic Falls would be inviting an attack. So we need the body as quickly and quietly as possible."

Charlotte smiled gratefully for him. "Let's go then," she said smiling at Damon with infectious excitement.

Charlotte sat in the passenger seat as Damon drove. She was painting her nails and humming.

"You sure are chipper now that you are away from everyone else. Have you just been dying to get me alone?" He wiggled his eyebrows for effect after saying that.

Charlotte smiled. "Not quite. The Originals just bring up a lot of the past that I don't like to think about. You, however," she said while poking him in the arm, "are a stranger. I enjoy meeting new people. Particularly when they aren't ghosts demanding I do something for them. I also love road trips. America has always been a beautiful country, but I love to see how it's changed." A huge smile broke out across her face and Damon could not help responding with one that was genuine like hers, rather than his usual sardonic one.

"Tell me about yourself," Damon said softly.

Charlotte smiled. She liked Damon. When she saw him, she saw the sweet Southern gentleman that Emily Bennett had told her of. All that cynicism and bitterness that he hid behind melted away. Charlotte was not that naïve though. She knew who he really was. "You first," she said with a jaunty smile. "We both know my information is more valuable so I will need to see if I can trust you first."

"And telling you about myself will do that?"

Charlotte nodded. "I value honesty. I know certain things about you from my dealings with the dead. I want to see how honest you can be with me," she leaned toward him conspiratorially. "It dictates how honest I will be with you."

Few people put their trust immediately in Damon, especially those who knew anything about him like Charlotte was claiming. It endeared her to him almost immediately. He decided to take a chance and disclose his history fully to her. He started with his birth in Mystic Falls, his brother's birth and mother's death, going to war, deserting, Katherine (he spent so much time on Katherine), from 1864 to his return in Mystic Falls in 2009 and finished with the events that had transpired since that arrival. His grand conclusion was the conversation with Klaus that lead them to Chicago in search of Charlotte.

After finishing his story, he and Charlotte had been driving for 5 hours. Damon felt relieved to be so honest with someone. The closest he had come to that was his friendship with Alaric. Esther, that witch, had taken his best friend from him. Damon realized how alone he was in the world. "So," he asked Charlotte with a cock of his eyebrow, "have I passed your test?"

She smiled shyly. Charlotte meant what she said, but she hadn't expected Damon to be so honest with her. She was flattered and knew that she had to do the same. "More than you know. Let's stop for a bite to eat, and I will be just as honest with you. Although, I might have to tell you a more abbreviated version."

"Don't tell me you are one of those bleeding hearts who won't feed from humans." Charlotte shook her head. "Blood banks?" Another shake of her head.

"I drink from the source, but I am particular about it."

"Why is that?"

"I have never killed an innocent human being. Never drank them dry. I only take enough to satisfy my thirst. It means I have to feed more often, but I am stronger than another vampire who must hide do to their sloppy eating."

"You have never killed?" Damon asked incredulous.

"I have killed before. Just not while feeding from an innocent. I am a ruthless and brutal fighter, Damon. I had to be when first turned. But don't make me get ahead of my story."

Damon had followed Charlotte's example and while it wasn't his favorite, it was vastly preferable to Stefan's bunny rabbit diet. They returned to the car and he waited for her to begin her story.

"The only thing I ask of you is that you keep this to yourself. Otherwise, I cannot be as honest with you. I am willing to tell you everything. I mean everything. However, that means you will know things I have kept to myself for my whole life. You will know more than any of the Originals. I want to trust you, Damon. You were incredibly honest with me. Please," she said her voice cracking. "Can I trust you?" she asked.

All he could do was nod.

"I was born Charlotte Petrova. When I was 2, my parents gave me a younger sister, Tatia." A look of shock spread across Damon's face. Charlotte smiled. "I see you've heard of her. Well, you have no idea. We grew up closer than you could imagine. My sister was selfish and I was proud, but we saw through each other's flaws. I could always rely on her. We met the Mikaelsons when we came to the new world. At this point, Tatia was 16 and I was 18. She had already had her daughter, which was why we had moved. Our parents had thought to disown Tat, but when I would not leave her, they decided to leave as a family and start a new life. It was in the new world that we met the Mikaelsons," she paused here.

After a moment of calming herself, she started again. "I fell head over heels in love with Elijah. He was so gentlemanly, which was attractive, but he had fire in his soul. Once alone, he would show his true self. We had the most amazing conversations under the moonlight about duty, responsibility, and what we wanted from the world. He was my perfect man," a wistful smile crossed her face and Damon knew what was coming next. Elijah and Klaus had mentioned that Tatia had come between them. "We were married before I turned 19, an old maid at that time. We had 3 happy months together." Tears began to run down her face at this point.

Damon couldn't believe it. No wonder she was so upset with Elijah. If Damon was in her place, he would have murdered them all. He didn't take betrayal lightly. How much worse could this story get? What else had they done to her?

"I was pregnant with our first child when I noticed something changing in his behavior." Damon clenched the steering wheel tightly. "It wasn't until I was 7 months along that I found out what he and my sister had been up to behind my back," a sound of pure grief escaped her. "I ran. I hid until my daughter's birth. Then I gave her up. I would not have the Mikaelsons ruining her life like they did mine. Once I knew my daughter was safe, I returned to face them all. I told them I had lost the babe. They believed it readily enough. I moved in with my parents rather than returning to my marital home.

"I'm sure you know all about the changing of the Mikaelsons. I know that you all disposed of Mikael finally." Damon nodded in assent. "Never liked that man. He took a shining to me. His last act was to visit me. He had nothing left for his children. Of course not," she rolled her eyes. "Well, I am the first vampire turned, not made like the Mikaelsons were."

Here Damon interrupted her. "Elijah didn't dare to turn you, did he?"

Charlotte laughed heartily. "No, no. The first to figure out the process was Rebekah. She turned me. She was so loyal to me that she remained separate from her brothers for 40 years while we adjusted, in spite of her promise to remain with them always and forever. I couldn't do that to her though, so I went on my own-"

Here, Charlotte was interrupted in her story by a group of people standing in the road. She recognized the head of the group as a vampire Klaus had turned back in 1740. He had more than a 100 years on Damon. The rest of his group could not boast the same.

She turned to Damon with a bloodthirsty grin on her face. "I'm about to show you how great a fighter I am. Ready?"