I knocked softly on Klaus' bedroom door, though there was really no reason to. He and I were the only ones in the house, and he would've heard me come upstairs. Nonetheless, I stood and waited until he came to the door and opened it.

"Dani? Since when have you politely waited at my door?"

"I need to tell you something." He waited silently. "I've invited the human, Matt, here to tell him about the cure."

There was a moment's hesitation before he asked "Why?"

"Matt doesn't agree with what Stefan and the others have been saying about me, and he's more trustworthy then them, and it might help to have a regular human work with us..." I sighed; this was the part I knew Klaus probably wouldn't like. "...And I really need someone to talk to every now and again."

"And I don't have ears or a mouth?" I looked up at his unshaven face and saw his turquoise eyes burning. I'd made him angry. "You've come to me with your troubles before, when Ayana appeared to you."

"Yeah, I know...But I need someone human to talk to. I lived the first 20 years of my life thinking I was a normal human, and I still have normal human problems...Plus you being an evil immortal creature with a limited amount of feelings kind-of makes it hard for you to understand some things..." His eyes darkened and I swallowed audibly; I had a terrible fear that I was going to regret telling Klaus anything.

"So you'd rather go to this human than me, who's been taking care of you more than anyone else in this town...I see."

"Wait, I didn't..!" Before I could finish, the door slammed and the gust of air blew my hair back from my face. "...mean it like that...Dâmmît!" I knew it was likely to happen, but it still hurt to have him slam his door in my face like that. It was like a

complete rejection, which I'd had enough of in the last week to last me for a lifetime. Perhaps even two.

I made my way downstairs and could hear gravel crunching in the driveway, not surprised to see Matt's truck already pulling up. When I called, he was eager to learn the secret I was holding. I didn't know if he'd be so eager once he learned what it actually was, though.

I went outside and pulled the front door shut behind me as Matt jumped out of his truck. "We have to talk out here...It's safer for you."

"Okay...So about that secret..."

I leaned heavily against one of the porch columns. "I know you're not gonna like what I'm gonna say...And there's a few rules."

"Like..?"

"Well, there's really only one. You can't tell anybody. Not Stefan, Elena, Jeremy, Bonnie, Damon, anybody. Got it?" He nodded. "Good, because if you do, they might just try to kill me." He raised an eyebrow.

"Kill you? I know you've been sleeping with the enemy, but that doesn't sound like them..." I grumbled at his phrasing, but kept myself from retorting harshly.

"You know me, Klaus, and Stefan went to see my mother in Lexington...and Stefan told you we didn't find anything out." He nodded. "That wasn't true. I had Klaus compel Stefan to forget what my mother told us."

"What?! Why?" I held up a finger, listening to see if Klaus was coming downstairs. When I didn't hear anything, I continued.

"My mother told me a story about when she had me...There was a vampire there that tried to steal my blood, but something happened when he drank it...and he turned into a human again."

"What..?" I sighed.

"My blood turned a vampire back into a human. It's a cure for vampirism...and lycanthropy." At Matt's confused look I said "I can cure werewolves too. And hybrids."

"You can...cure people? Anybody?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah..." He suddenly looked much more excited.

"That's great! Stefan and Damon have been having a bunch of problems because Elena is a vampire, and there's Tyler, he's been having a lot of problems too...Can't you cure Klaus and his siblings too? So they can't be problems to us anymore?" I suddenly felt grim, knowing I was going to have to quash his gush of joy.

I shook my head and slowly said "I can't do any of those things..." He looked confused. "This has to stay a secret, remember? If Stefan and them find out, they'll try to use me against Klaus. If anyone else finds out...It'll be an all-out war. Do you know how many vampires and werewolves there are out there? They'll all start swarming Mystic Falls to find me and use me against their enemies. I'm not going to be responsible for that."

"But...they might really need your help. At least Elena..." I shook my head and Matt's face fell. "What's the point of telling me if we can't even help anyone?"

"Later maybe, but I can't do anything right now...Especially when I don't even know everything about how my blood turns someone human. What if I try to cure someone and I end up killing them?"

"Yeah, but..." I sighed and moved back towards the door.

"Is it so bad that I wanted to talk to you? I haven't been able to talk to anyone since I had Klaus compel Stefan, and you've still been a friend to me since then...If this is too much for us to be friends, oh well. If you still wanna be friends...I'll still be here." I quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind me.

I peeked through the window curtain and watched as Matt stood stunned for several moments before finally getting back in his truck and leaving. I was unsurprised to hear footsteps behind me and Klaus' voice ask "So, was that little venture worth it?"

"No, not even close...But it was worth a try. At least I got to talk to someone..." I turned to go but his hand closed around my wrist. I looked up and his face was surprisingly close and I was almost frozen in his turquoise gaze.

"I told you love, you can always talk to me."

"You don't listen...You can't. Unless it's something about you or something you want..." I slowly lost my focus as I stared into his swimming eyes and forgot what I was going to say.

"You're someone I have, so of course I'll listen to whatever you have to say." I didn't miss that he said someone instead of something like he usually did, but I was still too unfocused to from words. "I keep telling you that you can trust me, but you never listen."

I closed my eyes for a moment so I could say "You seem to forget you kidnapped me...Twice." I inhaled heavily and kept my eyes closed as best as I could. "You haven't given me any reasons to really trust you..."

"Haven't I?" I felt his hand caressing my face and my eyes snapped open again. "I've taken care of you and given you everything that you need, as I have since you arrived here. You may not have been able to see it, but me taking you was the best thing that could have happened. Would you rather it was Damon that discovered the secret of your blood?"

I couldn't stop myself from shuddering and Klaus chuckled. "Even so...how can I trust you to protect me when everything comes crashing down? Because you know it will."

Klaus nodded. "As everything does. I will be standing by you then as I have these last months, I assure you. What can I do to make you believe it?"

I wanted with all my heart to believe that Klaus was being sincere, that he wasn't just trying to make me stay so he could use me. He hadn't asked to use my blood against someone yet, and that had surprised me, but it still wasn't enough to make me fully trust him. But now he was giving me a choice.

But what kind of choice? He was asking what he could do, but what would he do? What was the extent that he would go to prove his loyalty to me?

"I want you to..." I stopped myself before the words could escape from my mouth. I almost said I want you to be human again, but I knew he would never agree to that. No matter how strong our bond, no matter -and I hated to admit it- how much I loved him, he would never turn into a human for me.

"What it is, love?"

I could feel tears forming at the corners of my eyes as I forced out "I want you to...love me." The tears spilled and a sob escaped my chest. "I don't know when, I don't know why...I just..."

"Fell in love?" I nodded, but couldn't bring myself to raise my head and look him in the face. I was too ashamed by my admission, and about the one I hadn't spoken aloud. "Dani...who says I haven't already?"

Klaus lifted my face with just the tips of his fingers and pressed his lips softly to mine. It was different than our other kissed; I could feel something more than just his lust and desire behind it. I didn't want to say it was love...

But that's what it felt like.

I pulled back and hurriedly asked "Really? You're not just doing this so you can use me?"

"I never thought I'd live to see the day, but..."

I didn't give him time to answer; I jumped up into Klaus' arms and kissed him full on the mouth, wrapping my arms around his neck and throwing everything I had into it. His arms twisted around my waist and he got down onto the floor without breaking the kiss and started to tear off my clothes, and this time I didn't mind.

I summoned my strength and pushed him down onto the floor and he froze, and I started tearing his clothes off too.

We wrestled back and forth like that until he held me down and took me right there on the living room floor, not caring who or what walked through the front door and saw us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Klaus' PointOfView)

I couldn't tell anyone why I said it, not even Dani. As soon as she admitted she was in love with me, the words came spilling from my mouth and I admitted that I loved her as well.

I hadn't intended to say it, hadn't even wanted to say it. But the way she made me feel...

I pulled Dani closer to me in the darkness of the parlor and fixed my jacket that was draped over our bodies. We lay together on the floor, as we had since our mutual admissions of love several hours earlier.

I'd had the feeling that Dani had wanted to tell me something else, something besides loving her; I was far too in love with her already, I realized. I didn't ask her what that other thing was though. I knew she was afraid to tell me, and it would be best to let her tell me on her own.

I groaned. When did I ever become so considerate of others? I was losing it!

Dani murmured and shifted at my side and I worriedly whispered "Did I wake you?"

"No...I never went to sleep." She looked up at me with the most beautiful blue eyes and I had the urge to take her again right then. "I thought you were asleep, that's why I didn't get up..."

"I was watching you fake sleep...And I just thought that with the way the moonlight shines on your skin and hair, you look so beautiful...yet ethereal, almost like a ghost."

"Ghosts...I think I've had enough of them to last me a lifetime." Dani suddenly looked up towards the wall and said "But it seems they haven't had enough of me..."

"What is it?" She continued looking up at that spot on the wall and I realized she was probably seeing a ghost right now. "Who is it?"

"Alaric...How long have you been there?" There was a moment before she said "I know you might not agree with my choice, but I've already made it...Really?"

Dani looked at me once again before saying "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

I sat up and pulled her with me and asked "What is he saying?"

"He wants to speak with you." I looked at her questioningly, then at the empty space where her eyes kept straying to.

"I'll do it." Dani looked surprised. "If it's something you want, I'll do it...I said I would do anything to earn your trust, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Okay..."

Dani put her hand on either side of my face and my vision of the dark parlor of my mansion disappeared; now it was daylight and Dani had disappeared, and Alaric was standing across the room from me. I was still nude, but I made no move to cover myself. I stood and faced the deceased man who had tried to kill me on a number of occasions.

"I'm not even going to ask how Dani sent me here..."

"She's just making you see what she sees; she's making you see me."

"And I'm in this parallel world why?"

"You've been bothering Dani ever since she came to Mystic Falls..."

"If you had listened correctly Ric, you would know that I've been protecting Dani. Her recent confession of love can allude to that." He seemed stunned. "So it seems you weren't hovering around for that part of our conversation, then."

"If Dani told you she loves you, then you dâmn well better be taking good care of her. If I find you caused her even the littlest amount of pain..." I didn't bother stopping the laughter that came next.

After taking joy in the way Alaric's face twisted, I said "What will you do? You're dead and you haven't got a shred of power you can use against me. My mother may have made you stronger than me while you were alive, but that's all gone now."

"You'd be surprised at who is willing to help me now." Beside Alaric, the air shimmered and a dark-skinned woman materialized that I recognized immediately.

"You don't show your face for 1,100 years and now you can't stop? It isn't like you Ayana." She made no show of emotion. "What is this about? I assume it isn't to scold me for loving Dani."

Ayana spoke. "You must take care of her. She may seem strong, but she is still a child in many ways. She depends on you for more than you know, Niklaus."

"I'm not an idiot, Ayana. I was once human, and I know how to take care of one. You should remember, right?" She grimaced.

"This is not a joking matter, Niklaus. She has more power than either of you know, and if she were to lose control, it could mean the end of you, and not as a vampire. Dani may unintentionally transform you back into a human if you are not careful."

"How? We aren't even sure how she turned a vampire back when she was born."

"You told Dani her blood would kill a vampire, and that was not a lie." I grumbled; I had hoped that wasn't actually the truth. That meant I was more vulnerable to truly dying. "Only Dani can unlock her ability to cure supernatural creatures, but it is you who holds the key. You must coach her and allow her to grow out of her childish mindset if you ever wish to become human on your own terms."

"What? I don't intend to become human! Why would I ever choose to become a weak creature that can barely defend itself..."

"Dani wished you to become human. She may even wish the she herself would become human, so she no longer has to suffer the curse of being a half-breed. Think about that when you consider what the effects of her power will have on your life from now on."

"What do you mean? Nobody knows of Dani's power..." That wasn't true. "The human, Matt. He spoke of Dani's secret to someone, didn't he?"

Alaric stepped in as Ayana dissolved away. "That's why I came here. I was watching the Salvatore house when Matt showed up, and Damon compelled him to say everything that Dani told him. They know you compelled Stefan and they know what Dani's blood can do."

"No! They aren't going to take her from me!"

I shouted and was suddenly pushed out of the bright parlor back to reality, and found myself face-to-face with Dani in the darkness once again. I wasted no time in pulling her to her feet and taking her upstairs.

"Klaus..!" I set her down and went to the closet. "What the hêll?! What did he say to you?"

"You couldn't hear?" Dani shook her head. "He and Ayana were both there, and felt it necessary to deliver quite disturbing news." As I spoke I pulled out clothes for both Dani and I. "It seems that your friend Matt went to the Salvatore house some time after he left here, and Damon compelled him to reveal everything you two had talked about." Dani gasped.

"What?! That...I can't believe he did that!"

"It's Damon, love, you should've expected it. Come, get dressed."

"Where are we going?" I tossed her clothes and retrieved a bag to put more in. "Klaus!"

"The Salvatores have undoubtedly told their friends about your gifts, and they will soon be coming to steal you away from me. I won't let that happen now or ever." I quickly dressed and filled our bags with as much as they could hold before speeding downstairs and loading them into my car. When I went back, Dani was sitting on the bed looking stunned. "Dani! Get whatever you want to bring along that will fit in the car and take it downstairs. We're leaving right now."

Dani stood and simply grabbed her phone before slowly making her way outside.

I knew it would be hard for her to leave Mystic Falls again, and not just because I was here. She had made a friend with the human Matt and against my wishes, with my elder brother. She was finally learning to live in our supernatural world and now I was uprooting her again...

Dâmmît! This was exactly what I wasn't supposed to do; upset Dani. Now she was more upset than ever.

She said nothing when I joined her in my car, and I tried to console her. "We don't have to stay away forever...We just have to go somewhere they will not find you, so I have time to make sure Stefan and Damon will not hunt you if you return. Is there anywhere you wish to go? With your mother?" I knew it would be dangerous to have Dani go there, but I didn't want to upset her further by forcing her anywhere.

"I just want to get away from here...And I don't mean to some place where I'll have to stay inside 23 hours a day. I want somewhere I can walk around and have freedom..."

"I have just the place...Ever been to Florida?" Dani shook her head. "Fantastic. I have a house on the beach there you will absolutely love. It's protected by magic, so you can walk around all you wish without fear. Does that sound good?"

"Yes..." I went to start the car but she stopped me. "You promise not to tell Rebekah where we're going?"

"Love, I know what I'm doing. I remained hidden from the time I was turned until I killed Mikael, and it is no trouble to do it again."

"Whatever you say..." Dani put her hands in her lap and looked out the window, and didn't speak another word.