Holy Cow and update!

Previously on Cowboys and Indians.

Klaus and Caroline are in wedded bliss all throughout the winter time. The snow has melted and the men are getting ready to leave the hidden valley and go on a hunt.

Damon and Lexi come to the camp. Lexi goes to the rest of the gang to plea for Damon, letting them know that they went to see Mikael in hopes of swindling him to get back in the good graces of the Demon Dogs.

There's a train coming and they're hoping to rob it.

(***)

Caroline stormed out of the tepee with Klaus close behind. She couldn't stand being in there for another minute. Although it was a brisk morning, and the crisp air cooled her face she was boiling over with anger.

"No," she said, shaking her head, as she crossed the camp, not sure where she was going but just needing to get away. "No no no no no."

"Caroline?" Klaus hollered behind her. "Stop." He reached for her arm but she pulled it away and spun around.

"How can you even think about doing this?" Caroline screamed, her southern drawl getting thicker as she got louder. "I mean...we just got a life here, Klaus."

"And it will always be here, Caroline," he tried to tell her and reached for her, but she pulled away again.

"Then why are you taking the first opportunity to run away from it?" Her hands folded across her chest and she gave him a glare that could blind a man.

"I ain't runnin' away from it," he told her with an air of exasperation. As if he had any right to be angry with her. She's not the one leaving him to run some wild hare mission for vengeance.

"Coulda fooled me. Lexi comes in here with some cockamamie plan, talkin' about my father and your father and how Damon was just trying to get on our good side. It's hog wash is what it is."

"I'm not so sure," he said. "We've tracked Mikael for a long time now, and everything she said lines up with what we already know about him."

"Can you hear yourself?" she gestured toward him. "I can't believe after everything we've been through together, how far we've come that you're just going to throw it all away-"

"It's what I've been waitin' for, Caroline! It's what my entire family has been waitin' for!" Klaus finally let his temper get the best of him. His voice was loud and thunderous and Caroline took a step back. "You can't stand there and judge me and my kin. We have been workin' and fightin' for an opportunity like this since long before Caroline Forbes came back into our lives."

There was a mixture of grief and anger on his face that she hadn't seen in so long. It was a flash of the man she met at the cabin - his fists bloody from torture, his sneer dark and twisted as he came out from the shadows. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Is vengeance still all you can think about?"

Klaus ran a hand down his face, as he tried to compose himself. "Caroline please try and understand why we have to do this."

"You don't have to do anything! You can just let Mikael die and your past right along with it. You don't have to go after him." She took a step toward him and reached out for his hands, grabbing them and forcing him to look at her. "Klaus, please don't do this."

Klaus took a deep breath and peered up at the sky. All it took was one mention of his father's name and Caroline's world began to crumble around her. She knew, before he even said anything, that he'd already made up his mind. She let go of his hands and took a step back.

"Fine," she told him. "But just know that if you do this, I might not be here when you get back."

This got his attention and his eyes grew wide. She wasn't sure if it was more shock or pain that washed across his features but her heart ached at the site of him.

"Are you giving me an ultimatum?" he quietly asked her.

"I'm asking you to choose me over your vendetta," she said calmly in return. "It's dangerous, and risky, and the thought of losing you, the thought of losing any of you, it's just more than I can handle, Klaus."

She could feel the tears welling, those little droplets sure to make her look weak if she lets him see them fall. She turned around just as one rolled down her cheek.

"You're not going to lose me," he told her.

"We'll see," she told him over her shoulder, knowing there were no further words she could say to change his mind.

She walked briskly away without looking back and he didn't stop her from going. He didn't call out to her as she made her way across the campsite. He didn't race to her side and pull her back into an embrace. She felt a cool breeze creep up her back as the warmth and safety of her lover's arms became more distant with each step.

(***)

Klaus watched her leave, and gritted his teeth. He was angry that she didn't understand, but also terrified that he'd made the wrong decision. Part of him hoped that she'd come around, that her threat of leaving him was just that - a threat. But he also knew Caroline, and he knew that she was a woman of her word.

"Brother?" he heard Elijah say behind him. "Have you made a decision?"

With one final glance before his bride disappeared, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

"Find Stefan and get the horses ready," he told him. "We leave within the hour."

A native cry sounded behind him, one of victory and excitement. He turned around to see his brother Kol, completely beside himself. "Yee haw!" he shouted, his fist thrust into the air. "We're comin' for you Mikael!"

(***)

Caroline stormed across the plain on her way back to their home. Tears streamed down her face as she let the pain of Klaus' decision settle in.

Does she leave him if he goes? Does she stay behind and wait and hope for his return? Was she being irrational with her request?

As she moved further away from the camp and deeper into the forest where her home was, she suddenly felt the cold reality of being alone. He won't be there when she walks through the front entrance. He's not going to come racing through the door, deciding to stay with her instead of going on this fool's errand.

Snap.

Caroline's head shot up at the sound. A twig breaking under the foot or paw of something big.

"Who's there?" she asked, and looked around her. All she saw was trees and dirt, nothing moving or lurking but she picked up her pace just in case. Whatever did break that twig was large and hungry and possibly looking for their first kill of the spring.

She reached their home and opened the flap to her tepee, glancing around the room that once gave her so much comfort and peace. The bed hadn't been made and she ached to go back to when they first woke up, his arms wrapped around her tightly and his kisses leaving her breathless.

She loved him, so very much that the idea of never seeing him again had her crumbling to the ground. She heaved and sobbed as though he had died, as though she had lost the love of her life and he was never coming back.

She was angry and confused on why she wasn't enough for him to stay. She'd known him briefly as a child, hurt and in pain from Mikael's fists. And she knew him as the man he was now. Still hurt, but on the mend. It wasn't until this thought that she understood why he needed to do it. Why he needed to kill this ghost from his past. He would never be free of Mikael, the pain he caused his family, for as long as he lived.

Caroline rose from the ground, and wiped the tears from her face. She dusted herself off and turned to go back to camp. She may not agree with his actions, but she didn't want him leaving without knowing that she'll be here when he returned.

She flew out of the tent, ready to make the long run back, hoping that she didn't miss his departure. But a few steps was all she made it when she felt an arm wrap around her, a thump on her head, and then the world went black.

(***)

Klaus stood by the fire, lost in thought. He had made his decision and the boys were counting on him, but Caroline's disappointment was all he could think about. Maybe he had changed. Maybe this was something that he had wanted before but it's not any longer?

"Are you happy with your decision?" he heard a soft voice say to him.

He turned around to find Elena, heavy with child but as beautiful as ever.

"What's that now?"

"Your decision," she said again. "To go find Mikael instead of stay with Caroline."

"Are you okay with Elijah going?" he rebutted.

Elena's smile was sad but comforting as she moved beside him to share the warmth from the fire. "Elijah is a good man, who is very loyal to his family." She looked down and rubbed her stomach, smiling at the life inside of her. "We are his family too, but I understand demons from the past. If we do not vanquish them, they will live forever in our memories. I understand that Elijah must find peace, even if I do not understand how he must achieve this peace."

"I wish Caroline had seen it that way."

"Caroline does not deserve to feel abandoned. You have your family, your blood. I have my tribe...my blood. Caroline does not have these things here. You are her family now."

Elena's words were sharp and to the point, and he felt an uncomfortable amount of guilt begin to wash over him. He closed his eyes and felt Elena's soft touch on his shoulder before her presence was gone.

"Frustrating woman," Klaus said under his breath, not sure if he was talking about Elena or Caroline. He shook his head and started across camp.

"Hey! Where you going?" he heard Kol holler at him.

"To find my wife! Don't leave without me!"

(***)

Klaus rushed through the tepee, hoping to find his wife. Hoping it wasn't too late and that she hadn't already left. What he found was a cold room, no sign of life and no sign of Caroline.

She'd gone.

His heart sunk in that moment. He hadn't realized how desperately he needed her until she was nowhere to be found. There's a chance that she was back at camp and that she had gone somewhere other than home, but there was a nagging part of him that knew the truth. She had gone back to Mystic Haven.

The same protective wall that he had before meeting Caroline crept back up into place, and his features morphed to stone. He could chase her. She probably hadn't gone far and it would be easy to track her down, but what was the point? He had a responsibility to his family now, with no ties holding him back.

He needed to deliver justice to Mikael. His family needed this. And even though Caroline can't see it now, she needed this too. If she were to ever hope that they could be a family, living in peace for the rest of their days, then she'd understand one day why he needed to do this.

(***)

Caroline's eyes blinked open and she reached for her head. She felt the lump immediately and winced when she touched it. When her vision cleared she was surprised at the familiar surroundings.

She was in her bedroom. In Mystic Haven.

It was dark in her room, just a small candle lit on her bedside. The room hadn't changed since she'd been there last. The book she'd been reading was still in its place, open to where she left off.

There was a creak outside her door and she saw another light peeking from under the door. When it opened a familiar face peered in.

"You're awake."

"Daddy?"

(***)

Sorry it's so short guys! But I had all this written and I wanted to get it out to you guys to let you know that I haven't stopped writing!

Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!

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