I'm back. I know it has been a long time. I am so sorry about that. A whole lot of mess has been going on. I won't bore you with the details, but it was not intentional to take such a big break from the story. I know this isn't very long, but I am starting the next chapter right after. I am hoping to get on a better schedule. That being said, let's just jump right in.

CalligraphersNib: thank you so much! I am glad to hear that. I really am feeling the sweeter side of Damon right now. He doesn't get to be sweet often enough on the show because he is all bogged down in drama.

MusicalLover17: glad you loved it! I hope you keep reading.

Thank you to OniAya, Selene101, Beckyy, and stjarna11 for favoriting the story.

Thank you to DevilInWhite, m0nalisaarOldai88, crazyluna456, babeelove, Reedy-Girl and newgirl5 for following the story.

Thank you to MusicalLover17 for following and favoriting the story.

And a big thank you to MiaSalvatore and Jillybean for the the big 4 of following and favoriting me AND following and favoriting the story.

-Lisolotte

Charlotte sat in the hotel room that she and Damon had destroyed. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea to her. She had enjoyed the hell out of it too. The problem was that her lost weekend was over now. She had to confront reality once again.

Damon had gotten a call that had woken them both up and he had gone off running to save the day or something. He didn't stop to tell her so it must have been important. Charlotte hoped that it was important.

She was dragging her legs when it came to actually leaving Las Vegas. That would mean actually ending her weekend.

Klaus strode in the door and end the thought. The real world had come to find her. How unfortunate.

"Get up and stop pouting, Charlotte. Really. I know that we have upset you, but I am not cleaning up your mess for you this time. Last time was more than enough for me."

Charlotte was shocked. She had no idea what Klaus was talking about. "What mess of mine have you ever had to clean up, Niklaus? There is certainly nothing to clean up this time," she snapped at him.

"Really, kitten? Is that really what you think ? You think that all of what went down on your wild little weekend won't cause major waves? The things that you did here are going to destroy my brother, not to mention the little pack that he runs with. Quite the incestuous bunch."

Charlotte rose to her full height and got close to Klaus's face. "Dear Niklaus, I do not care what your brother thinks of my actions. I might have married him 1000 years ago, but I gave up all obligation to him when he slept with my sister."

"So that made it okay for you to sleep with his brother?"

Charlotte hesitated. "What are you talking about?" she asked gently. "I have never slept with any of his brothers. Are you trying to say that I slept with you?"

Klaus raked a hand through his hair. He took Charlotte's hand and sat her down. "Maybe you don't remember because I compelled you, but I don't recall telling you to forget what happened," he started and tried to sooth her by rubbing the back of her hand. "That is why I daggered Kol back in the teens. You two had slept together and that was too much to bear, I daggered Kol and kept your secret."

Charlotte closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Nik, I never slept with your brother." He started to interrupt her, but she put up her hand to silence him. "Kol thought that the love of his life had been murdered. In fact, he only found out recently that she was not. I comforted him. He fell asleep crying in my arms. That is all. I never ever slept with your brother. You believe me, right?"

Klaus looked speechless. He looked deep into Charlotte's eyes as if to ascertain the truth of what she was saying to him. He paused for nearly a full minute before he made a decision about it. "I'm sorry, Lottie…I…I truly thought it had happened. I mean…I would understand if it had. I would understand why you would want to get revenge on Elijah."

Charlotte ruffled his hair. "It's fine, Nik. Did you tell anyone?"

"No, no," Klaus choked out. "But I did dagger my brother for almost 100 years. I feel a little bad about that."

Charlotte laughed. "Wait, can we take this moment to acknowledge this moment? Is Sir Niklaus Mikaelson feeling guilty for daggering his siblings? Is this a real life moment? Are you acknowledging that you should not in fact dagger your siblings at will and whim?"

"Don't push it, kitten."

"Come on, you are finally starting to grow up. I'm proud of you. A little personal growth can be good. At least, after 1000 years, I would hope for some. Is this because you want to be a better person for Caroline?"

Klaus only grunted.

"She is lovely, Nik. I would understand why. It's good. You two are so wrong that it is magically right. You haven't murdered anyone in ages. I mean, you are acting like an adult. That is something to celebrate."

Klaus blushed slightly and stood up. He put his hands out and helped Charlotte get up. "Pack your bags, kitten. We still have an unknown force that is trying to murder us and I would like to bring that to an end."

Charlotte laughed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, I handled your mother. Can you guys not do anything without me?"

"'Fraid not, Sweets," Kol said from the doorway. "I am utterly hopeless without you by my side. I need you back in my daily life."

Charlotte laughed and looked at Klaus with a quirked eyebrow. "You brought Kol with you?"

He blushed once more. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Charlotte lay on her stomach on the floor of the grand ballroom in the Mikaelson mansion. The place was a bit too much for her. There was something charming about it still. She had been taking notes and trying to map out what they knew and how everything was interconnected. The truth was, there was so much interconnectedness between the members of this group.

Looking at all the things she knew mapped out in front of her, Charlotte was amazed at how many secrets she still had from her "friends." It almost made her willing to consider forgiving the Mikaelsons. She understood secrets, but this secret was so big and so important. To keep her in the dark like this for 1000 years was unforgivable. They needed to recognize this before she even considered talking to them.

Caroline Forbes came and sat down next to Charlotte. She sat and looked sheepish. "What is up, buttercup?" Charlotte asked without looking up.

"Buttercup," Caroline asked nervously.

Charlotte nodded and moved a few pieces of paper around. "With your sunny disposition and lovely blonde hair, you remind me of a buttercup. But no prevaricating, Forbes. What do you need?"

"Well," she started. "I was elected by the group to ask you what exactly you are doing. The Mikaelsons are understandably keeping their distance and thinking of ways to atone. Damon has been weird ever since you guys came back and you aren't really close with any of us. Well, Meredith but she really does what she wants and only what she wants. But I like you and thought you might be willing to tell me. "

Charlotte turned to Caroline and gave her a small smile. "You remind me of someone I once knew. She was a lovely girl and always brought out the best in people." She paused to give Caroline a sly smile. "I know Klaus might seem rough around the edges, but he has the potential to be a really great guy. He just has a really rough history. It doesn't excuse the things that he has done in the past. I just think that he could atone. You know… in the future."

Caroline bit her lip and thought about what Charlotte was saying. "Well, yeah. That might be true. I don't even know. The thing is, I am much more worried about keeping us all…not dead."

Charlotte laughed. "I like being not dead myself." She tried to get her things back into a nice stack. And then spread them out again in frustration. "I am trying to find a clue. To find the one thing that can help us figure out who is behind all of this. There is just so much." She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "Honestly, I should have Becca helping me with this. She is brilliant. She is like Sherlock Holmes brilliant when it comes to figuring stuff out. I just cannot stand her face right now."

Caroline rubbed Charlotte's shoulder. "It's fine. It will work out. And I totally understand. Trusting people means that sometimes they screw you over. Even when they are trying to help you out." She leaned over and rested her head on Charlotte's shoulder. "Wait, you said I reminded you of someone earlier. You were not talking about Rebekah were you? If you are going to attack me in a fight of righteous but misplaced anger, could you give me a heads up?"

Charlotte smiled. "I wasn't talking about Rebekah. You are similar in some ways, but not the ones I was speaking of. I was talking about Alexia. She was my great-granddaughter of sorts. I turned her in the late 1600s. She was one of my few descendants to turn."

A thoughtful look crossed Caroline's face. "You don't mean Lexi, do you? Like Stefan's Lexi?"

Charlotte sat up quickly. "What do you mean Stefan's Lexi?"

Caroline looked flustered, "Lexi was Stefan's best friend…"

"What do you mean was?"

"Damon killed her," Caroline said softly.

"Damon. Damon Salvatore. He staked Alexia Branson? Tall, blonde, warm and loving? That Alexia Branson?"

Caroline looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. "You didn't know?" she asked gently.

Charlotte stormed into the Salvatore boarding house. "DAMON. STEFAN. We are going to have a meeting now."

The two brothers came in slowly, confused looks blossoming on both their faces.

"Alexia Branson," she stated when they both finally got in front of her.

Stefan looked confused. "How did you know Lexi?"

Tears started to well up in her eyes. "How did I knowLexi not how do I know Lexi?" she barely whispered.

Damon blanched. "I killed her, Charlotte. A while ago. I used her death to throw attention off us. And to punish Stefan."

The tears began to run freely down Charlotte's face and she collapsed onto the floor. Caroline knelt down next to her and tried to comfort her. "She was Charlotte's super great granddaughter. Like through her daughter with Elijah," Caroline attempted to explain to the Salvatore brothers.

Charlotte straightened up and wiped her face. She rubbed her eyes. "It was a shock is all."

"I'm sorry, Charlie. There is literally no excuse for what I did. I am truly sorry too. I…" Damon struggled to find the words to say to her next.

Caroline carefully put an arm around Charlotte and lead her out of the boarding house.

Caroline took Charlotte to her house instead of back to the Mikaelson's. "We are having an emergency sleepover. Just me and you and ice cream and romantic comedies. You are in need of some serious pampering."

Charlotte smiled a sad little smile. "Thank you, Caroline, you really don't have to do this."

"I am though," Caroline responded. "I happen to love ice cream and rom coms. You are also really cool and deserve better than you have been getting from these Mikaelsons and Salvatores. I have been on the receiving end of their buttheadedness myself and I wish there had been someone to help me through it."

Charlotte smiled a little more assuredly. "Okay, Bridget Jones's Diary first."

Caroline and Charlotte spent the night braiding each other's hair, eating way too much ice cream, prank calling strangers and giggling.