PFWW/N

A bit of mother/daughter angst in the first scene, if you don't like such things.

There is a tiny blip where I mention the sikh riots that happened in 1984. I do not mean to make light of such a horrific time and I struggled with even mentioning a historical event, but i totally believe vampires would take advantage of violence when they could.

You know, I didn't even know these things happened until i started on this story and began learning about the history and culture of India, Delhi specifically. I feel like I am so sheltered learning-wise in America from the history of other countries, as it didn't really come up in my education. So I welcome the opportunity to learn, even horrific pieces of the past like the riots or the violence of partition. We can't begin to try to understand that which we are ignorant of.

This chapter is SO not as dark as the above notes make it out to be lol.

Hope you enjoy the chapter, and thank you for reading!

"Mom?"

Liz looked up from her seat at the kitchen table, finishing a looping signature across a check. Her eyes betrayed her exhaustion, dark circles like bruises showing through skin stretched thin from her illness.

"Hey honey. How's the search going?" Liz had been supportive of Caroline's efforts, if a bit distant. Caroline supposed it was hard for her mom to admit that she needed help.

"Good - It seems like everything I need is in Delhi, even if I still don't know what Klaus has to do with any of it. I had him, right there, but he just... grr he TOTALLY distracted me." Caroline ignored her mom's knowing look and circled behind her, bending down to give her a hug from behind and kissing her cheek. The skin felt papery beneath her lips and fear stabbed at Caroline. She pulled back, schooling her features and sliding into a chair at the table.

"There's a witch there, her name is Bonnie, and she's amazing. We hung out for forever last night, talking about the cure, about you, about her life in New Orleans and working for Klaus. I think she's going to try to bind me to their world so that I don't lose time flashing back and forth between them." Caroline looked up, catching her mom's eye. "I wanted to make sure it was ok with you. There's a chance, however tiny from what I understand, that I could be caught there."

Liz's face softened. "You don't even need to ask, Caroline. In many ways it seems like you have more in that world than you do here. If there's a place to get caught in, it's there - with Abhi, with your new friend...with Klaus." Caroline scowled and Liz continued with a smile in her voice. "I'm so proud of you, of what you've become, of where you're headed, of who you are - so full of drive and compassion." Liz reached out her hand and Caroline placed her own in her mother's palm, callused from years of police field work. Liz closed her fingers and Caroline let the warmth of her mom's hand seep into her bones, a half-choked sob working its way up from her throat.

"Shh, honey it's ok," her mom got up, still holding her hand, and mirrored Caroline's gesture from earlier, snaking her free arm around and squeezing her daughter in a tight embrace. "It'll be ok," she murmured into her hair and Caroline blew out a shaky breath, inhaled again.

"You're right, it will be ok. Because I'm going to find the cure and bring it back to you. And I'm not going to accept any other outcome."

Caroline could feel her mom smile into her hair before she responded. "That's my girl."

It was close to two p.m. by the time Bonnie woke up; between the locator spell, meeting Caroline, and the still-present jet lag, she had been pretty exhausted, falling into a dead sleep quickly upon her return from the rooftops.

Swiping a hand down her face tiredly as she walked into the living room, Bonnie passed Rebekah perched in a wingback chair, dispiritedly poking at her phone. Bonnie plopped down on a chaise lounge with the idle thought that the furniture in the house had clearly been chosen by someone with European tastes.

"Where is everyone this morning?" Bonnie yawned out the end of the sentence, unfurling her arms in a stretch.

Rebekah didn't look up as she responded. "Nik is around somewhere and his lackey is out buying a new rug."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "He has a name you know."

Rebekah ignored her, tapping the phone with an index finger. A tinny voice pronounced a new high score. Rebekah's eyes flickered up at Bonnie, then back down to the screen.

"So when do I get to meet this... Caroline?"

"She's gonna call me when she gets back to this world. She wanted to talk to her mom before I cast the binding spell."

Rebekah's sigh was long-suffering. "Doesn't she know we're waiting on her? For reasons I still don't understand, mind you. The hostage was completely worthless in that regard." Rebekah set her phone down and tilted her head, looking through the doorway into the room where they had tortured the man. "I'm certainly not sad to see that hideous rug go. Elijah's taste in decor has always been a bit stuffy."

"Agreed, sister. Although I admit to being a touch concerned that Josh will bring back something even worse. I suppose we shall see." Klaus breezed into the room, a lightness in his step. "Perhaps our young witch friend can fill you in on the situation with Caroline."

Bonnie stared at the dimpled grin on Klaus' face like it was proof he was an alien. He was almost... jovial and it was unsettling.

"So...Caroline has just as many questions as you do about why we're here, honestly. The only thing we could think of is that you're somehow needed to either get to the cure, or to find it." Bonnie stood up a moment to pull her phone out of her back pocket, tapping the screen a few times as Klaus' jaw clenched with impatience. "She knows the cure is here, in this ancient well thing, but there are demons guarding it." Bonnie had turned her phone to face Klaus and Rebekah, the screen zoomed in on the Google map of Agrasen ki baoli.

Rebekah arched a brow at the mention of demons, a small smile gracing her features. "It's been ages since we've fought demons, Nik. What are they? Rakshashas? Oooh maybe kalis?"

"O-kaaaaaaay," Bonnie drawled out. "Who are you two, and where are the real Mikaelsons? You guys are creeping me the hell out with this happy thing."

Rebekah sniffed and turned her head to Klaus, blocking out Bonnie entirely from her gaze. "This one's far too mouthy for my tastes. Are you sure I can't bleed her out a bit, make her more tractable?"

Bonnie smiled sweetly. "You can certainly try!"

"Enough! You were saying?" Klaus' clipped voice cut through the tension. He motioned deferentially at Bonnie, his appetite for news of Caroline clearly outweighing his irritation.

"So yes, demons. They're-" Bonnie squinted, trying to remember the name Caroline had said -"pishachas. I had never heard of them. She said Abhi told her -"

"Who is Abhi?" Klaus' interrupted, his gaze ruinous and his mouth tilted down petulantly.

Rebekah snorted, jumping up off the chair in excitement. "Oh my god I wish Kol was here to see this."

"What?" Klaus bit off, glaring at Rebekah.

"No-thing," Rebekah sing-songed, tapping quickly at her phone. Bonnie's eyes were too slow to catch the blur of Klaus' movement, only seeing the end result as the phone gave a quivering thud from its new home lodged deep in the stucco of the wall.

"Fine, you know I'll just tell Kol later." Rebekah said, turning towards Bonnie and letting her vowels drip with honey. "Please do tell us more about this Caroline that has my brother sniffing at her skirts like an overexcited wolf pup."

Bonnie spoke before Klaus could fire off another retort. "Abhi is Caroline's friend here in Delhi. He helped her find the step-well, and his aunt was a witch so he knows some things about the supernatural. I don't think Caroline will do anything here without him, so I'm sure you'll meet. And he's old enough to be her dad." Bonnie was surprised she added that last part. Somehow seeing this little blip of humanity in Klaus made her view him, just a tiny bit, as a man more than a monster.

"Anyways, Caroline said the pishachas were kinda slow when she fought them, but super strong. I don't know - you guys ever fought one?"

"Never encountered one, much less heard of the breed, which is rather odd." Rebekah tapped her lips with a finger. "We've spent enough time in India that it seems strange to have never come across one." Rebekah turned towards Klaus, a shy smile softening her appearance. "Do you remember the 80s when Kol demanded that we paint the town red during the riots?"

Klaus tipped his head back, blowing air through his nose in silent laughter. "He was so affronted to learn the original phrase had nothing to do with blood that he insisted on correcting 'such a missed opportunity,'" Klaus finished.

Bonnie pinched the bridge of her nose, getting up and walking into the kitchen without another word. She wasn't ready to handle any more of the Mikaelsons without some caffeine.

The kettle had whistled its alarm by the time Klaus joined Bonnie in the kitchen, adopting a casual pose against the dark wood of the cabinets. Bonnie raised a tired brow while she dunked her tea bag.

"How long has Josh been gone?" She asked.

"He went out first thing this morning. He should have been back by now," Klaus admitted. "He's not answering his phone or texts, either. I'm growing a bit irritated, truth be told."

"I'm not going to find him!" Rebekah yelled from the living room. Klaus' brow knit in annoyance.

"I didn't ask you to, Rebekah."

"I'm preemptively saying it, like calling shotgun for the passenger seat. I'm not missing out on meeting Caroline because I'm out looking for Justin."

Bonnie shook her head incredulously. "His name is Josh... Well, someone needs to find him, and I stand out even more here as a black chick than you guys do, so I vote Klaus."

"I was already planning on it." Klaus bit off, trying to regain control. "If he's been waylaid, I admit curiosity as to who would have the bollocks to assault one of my henchmen."

"God, could he sound any more evil mastermind? Maybe he can throw in a maniacal laugh at the end?" Bonnie asked herself in the now empty kitchen, the rattle of the front door slamming against the frame echoing through the house. Rebekah gave a small huff from the other room as she pulled her phone from the wall, a tinny voice announcing 'Game over'.

"Caroline, is it? So you think that saving your mom is important enough to interrupt my family's life?" Rebekah let the disdain roll off of her in palpable waves she was sure the younger blonde could feel.

"I didn't ask for the spell to bring you into this, and from what I can tell I only need Klaus, so your choice to be here is not my problem." If Rebekah thought Caroline would cower in fear at a little high-school grade bitchiness, she had another thing coming.

She had come straight here from her latest flash to meet up with Bonnie for the binding spell, Rebekah greeting her with a sniff at the door. Now they were having their bitchy standoff as Bonnie sighed from the doorway. Rebekah's fingers drummed on the arm of a plush wingback chair as the two blondes stared each other down.

Tap taptaptap

Tap taptaptap

Tap taptaptap

It was Bonnie that broke first. "OK guys, seriously, can we get the alpha female part out of the way already, please?"

Caroline and Rebekah pretended not to catch each other's grins in response to Bonnie's frustration. Perhaps a silent truce would be acceptable. For now.

Picking up something in the vamp hearing range, their heads turned as one toward the front door. Bonnie strained her ears but couldn't hear a thing, muttering a "wh-what?" in confusion. Caroline stood and vamped over to the door, opening it to Klaus who was supporting the dead weight of a curly-haired guy over his shoulder. Klaus' looked like hell, his skin pale and stretched thin across his face, dark veins spread.

"The pishachas. Seal the house." Klaus muttered as he collapsed just inside the door, Caroline kicking the door closed and turning the lock before kneeling next to them both. She rolled the other guy over, noting his youthful appearance marred by the same black veins snaking across his skin as Klaus. Bonnie and Rebekah joined her at the door, Bonnie muttering lowly in what sounded like - was that Japanese? - snapping her fingers and summoning a flame while a hand rooted around in her purse.

Rebekah turned Klaus over, checking his body for injury and finding none. Both Klaus and Josh were completely intact, the only sign of something wrong being the dark tracery of veins and the fact that Josh was unconscious. Klaus' eyes were still open, and he blinked slowly at Rebekah before uttering a plea. "Blood."

"Of course, Nik." Rebekah raced to the second floor and brought down a compelled servant, helping Klaus sit up with his back to the door as Bonnie's spell chant grew in volume and the acrid scent of burning herbs filled the air. Rebekah's face betrayed her concern as she shoved the servant down and held her head so that her neck was bared to Klaus. He latched on with fangs sunk deep, the color beginning to return to his face after a few long pulls even as the black veins remained. Rebekah listened to the girl's heartbeat slow and falter until Caroline glanced up with a concerned expression, Rebekah heaving a sigh and pulling the servant away from Klaus' grasp. Some people were so touchy about human life.

Bonnie's spell reached its apex, a low hum filling the air and the cracks of the door flashing brightly before dulling to an unearthly glow. The hum persisted at a low level, power roiling like a current that traced the edges and corners of the house. Rebekah raised a brow, impressed.

Klaus began speaking, his voice weak but clear. "The demons - they can drain energy. I believe they tracked the hostage to Josh, because he still had the man's scent on him. The pishachas -"Klaus paused as a shudder ran through him in his weakened state. "They have no hearts. I wasted time trying to pull them out and let one of them touch me. "

"Woah. I thought you said the demon guys were no big deal?" Bonnie shot a confused glance at Caroline, who was struggling to angle Josh into an upright position against the foyer wall.

"They weren't when I fought them. It just freaking hurt when they hit. There wasn't any weird - there was nothing like this." Caroline let go, watching the curly-headed boy's neck slump forward against his chest. "By the way, who am I manhandling here, and is he gonna be ok?"

Bonnie gave a huff of laughter. "Oh, sorry, that's Josh. It's so weird, I know it's only been a day, but I keep thinking I've known you forever and you already know all this stuff." Caroline smiled, suddenly shy, and nodded her head for Bonnie to continue.

"But yeah, I think he'll be fine. And to go back a bit...maybe the energy thing has something to do with you not being from this world. Maybe...you're here, but, you're...not, so there's nothing for them to drain." Bonnie gestured idly, clearly trying to find the right words.

Klaus nodded his head, acknowledging Bonnie's theory, before slowly turning to face Rebekah. "They can't kill us, but they certainly can make us weaker than either of us are used to." He inched his head back towards Bonnie. "We need to learn more about these creatures. Call your grandmother and get the witch network in on this until we can talk to...Abhi. " His glance darted to Caroline before he pushed himself up, using the door as a brace.

Rebekah composed her features and gave a short nod as if coming to a decision, waiting for Klaus to clear the entryway before opening the door and flashing away to grab blood donors. It clearly wasn't safe outside, but Klaus and - Jason, was it? needed to regain their strength.

Klaus seemed to have made a full recovery, Caroline thought as she studied him. He was pacing back and forth in concentration, less of a frantic movement than one would expect from the description- more of a slow, calculated expression of grace. She could picture him in a different situation, using this pacing as a threat, the drawn-out movement heightening the tension. He glanced up and caught her cocked head staring, and for a moment she saw him as a boy, uncertainty flashing across his gaze, yet swiftly, so swiftly, it was replaced with a smug grin and she dropped her eyes, embarrassed. Jerk.

Josh was awake as well, but still recovering and doing some top-notch theatrical groaning as he stomped through the kitchen, taking Bonnie's offered mug without comment and walking into the living room. Rubbing his eyes blearily, he unknowingly crossed Klaus' path, somehow timing it perfectly to avoid crashing into him. Caroline almost burst into applause.

"This is like the worst hangover ever times 9000." Josh said to the floor before looking up and seeing the room for the first time. He did a double-take at Caroline and rushed to sit next to her on the chaise, placing his mug down on a low glass-topped table next to the lounge. "Are you...real?"

Caroline giggled in response and Klaus' face seemed to relax for a moment.

"I'm here, for now at least. I'm Caroline. Nice to meet you, Josh, you had us worried for a bit there."

"I'm not surprised," Josh groaned into his hands. "I never, ever want to go through that again."

"Well, perhaps if you stop your whingeing and tell us what you know, we may be able to fulfill your dream," Klaus' voice dripped with irritation and he stopped pacing, turning to pour a drink from the globe-shaped bar nestled in the corner of the room. Caroline rolled her eyes at his back, making sure Josh could see. They shared a secret smile before wiping their faces blank as Klaus turned. He peered suspiciously at them, sensing something, before sitting down in the wingback chair Rebekah favored.

"I was out buying the rug - which I'm pissed about because I found an AWESOME one and now it's gone - and two big, burly dudes approached me on the street." Josh closed his eyes hard and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I got a crazy bad vibe off them so I tried to vamp out of their way, but some skinny white demon guy had flanked me and grabbed at my hand. And let me just say that I don't think I can read any Harry Potter scenes with Dementors in them anymore, because oh. my. god it felt like all of my life was being sucked out of me." Josh shuddered and looked up at Klaus, leveling his gaze, a moment of rare solemnity gracing his features. "I would have been a goner if you hadn't come around. Thanks."

Klaus' blink was the only hint of his reaction. "How long did he grab you for?"

"30 seconds? Six years? A lifetime? I don't know dude, it was hard to judge when it felt like my entire life was draining out of my hand."

Caroline interrupted before Klaus could offer a retort. "So we need some way of fighting the energy drain." Standing up, Caroline began pacing as she thought. Klaus grinned at her behavior, so close to his own a few moments ago. He jumped up to settle in her vacated seat so that he could see her, placing his hands behind his head with artful casualness.

"Ok so first off, it sounds like there are more than two pishachas, which is bad news. Wait - did they touch both of you with skin contact, or was it through clothes?"

Klaus answered, catching on to her line of thinking. "They touched my face, and his ungloved hand. So some sort of barrier between skin and their touch could stop the energy drain."

"Could?" Josh asked.

"We can't really say for sure from a sample of two," Caroline muttered. "But it's certainly worth an attempt. You should have some kind of backup though, if you can."

"Done." Klaus grinned smugly, placing his phone back in his pocket. "Elijah will email the relevant page from my mother's grimoire to Bonnie tonight."

Caroline nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, OK. But if that's the case we need a couple of days. I don't really know much about witches but I know spells are draining, and she's casting a lot.

"Thanks, Care. But I can do it sooner. Your mom needs help." Bonnie followed her voice into the room, shoving Josh over and picking up his neglected coffee from the table, taking a deep sip.

Caroline's brows knit together, confused. "My mom's ok for a few extra days, Bonnie. I'm not going to risk your life to speed it up. It's fine."

Bonnie stared at Caroline over her the lip of the mug. She was so used to being pushed, to having to do things in less time than she honestly needed, that she had learned to just make promises without thinking about them, and Caroline had totally called her on that without even really knowing her. She felt her shoulders relax, a bit of the tension she always carried there draining away. Maybe this is what having a good friend felt like.

She nodded her head at Caroline with a smile, acquiescing. "Fair enough. So what's the plan?"

"Abhi has my planner, but if you have a whiteboard, some duct tape, pushpins, yarn, a map of Delhi, and some magnets, I can try to duplicate it here. It's pretty simple."

Caroline stared at three faces in various stages of amusement and narrowed her eyes. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" came three replies all at once. "Let's... just wait for Abhi to get here," Bonnie offered.

"Not much of a wait, he's here." Klaus commented. Caroline brightened and breezed out of the room, heading to the front door and pulling it open. Klaus stood and walked into the foyer to glance through the doorway, curious about Caroline's Delhi mentor. A stocky older man stood at the door, the mandarin collar of his kurta folded under as if he had dressed in a hurry.

"Abhi! We were just talking about you!" Caroline gave the man a hug and pulled him into the living room by a hand, staggering when he came to a dead stop upon spotting Klaus. The man's eyes were furious and Klaus watched as one of his hands tightened in a fist, the other drifting towards his waist. Klaus noted the threat and considered his options - killing the man was out of the question if he wanted to pursue Caroline - she was too attached to this man and her humanity, it seemed. He decided to play it off until he learned more, giving a knowing nod to Abhi just to acknowledge. Abhi clenched his jaw in response and let Caroline pull him onto the chaise lounge, opening up a leather satchel he had brought and starting to pull out some books.

"Abhi - Klaus, Josh, Bonnie." Caroline nodded at each of them in turn as introduction. "You'll meet Rebekah later, she's out getting more…" Caroline coughed, " um...food." Bonnie raised a brow in unspoken question - she's out again? - and Caroline nodded. Rebekah was honestly the safest choice to send for blood and food while Klaus wasn't 100%.

"I am honored," Abhi stood, giving a short bow to Bonnie and nodding at Josh before retaking his seat. "This is for you, Bonnie. I do ask that you take care, it is a very special book." He held the tome out reverently, the gold leaf glinting in the early afternoon sun as Bonnie reached over and took the book from his hands. She slumped almost comically at the weight, recovering and placing it on the coffee table, kneeling down to open the book to where a worn satin ribbon held place.

"This is amazing, Abhi." Bonnie's kept her hands from touching the page as she skimmed. This book was old. "Caroline said you thought this all related to some prophecy?"

Abhi pulled his gaze away from staring at Klaus to nod at Bonnie. "Yes. I am glad I don't need to fill you in on much. I believe that the reason he is here," his finger stabbed in Klaus' direction," is because he is part of the family that is the counterpart to Lamashtu. The first vampires, the Originals, to Lamashtu, the first vampire in Caroline's world. The cure, or obtaining it, must relate somehow to the origins of vampires."

Klaus' tone was smug as he stared at Caroline. "To refine, I believe the spell focused on me not as the first vampire, but as the first and only original hybrid."

"OK, is that what you call being a werewolf and a vampire at the same time? Anyways, that explanation makes sense, even if we don't know all the details yet. So let's talk strategy. Here's a map of the area and where I think the best approach is from." Caroline pushed a topographical map littered with hand-drawn markings onto the glass of the table.

"You draw an awesome stick person," Josh leaned in closer before grabbing his side at Bonnie's pinch. "What, I mean it!"

Klaus lowered to his haunches on the other side of the table, studying the map. "This is rather comprehensive, but I don't see an exit strategy."

"That's represented by the stick figure in the corner," Caroline huffed defensively.

"There's no way that would work if this map is correct. The fence would slow you down too much."

Bonnie, Josh and Abhi sat silently, heads ping-ponging back and forth as Klaus and Caroline continued to argue. Josh made a "can you believe this?" face at Bonnie and she shrugged her shoulders in response, catching Abhi's eye and motioning with her head towards the doorway.

The three got up, leaving the room to Caroline's color-coded plans and Klaus' thousand years of strategy, none of them quite sure who would emerge the victor.