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"God has given you one face,

And you make yourself another."

Klaus sat across from his daughter at the dining room table as she explained. "How long has this been going on?" he asked as calmly as he could manage. "Who is he?"

"I don't know who he is! She wouldn't tell me," Lizzie said, on the verge of tears. She hadn't changed out of her dress, but her tiara had been taken off, the tears already shed had streaked her makeup down her face and if Klaus hadn't been so worried about where Josie was he would have had a talk with Rebekah about how much of that stuff she was wearing. "But it started when we were sixteen."

"Sixteen?" he shouted, guilt immediately taking hold as Lizzie's lower lip began to quiver. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, his voice once again calm.

"Because I promised I wouldn't," she explained tearfully.

"Why would you—" he stopped, taking a deep breath before he continued. "Why don't we start from the beginning?" They would get nowhere if she started sobbing again.

She nodded, sighting up straighter. "It started like a normal dream, then he showed up. I thought it was just a part of the dream at first, but then I felt how powerful he was and I realized he was real."

"Powerful?" Klaus cut in with a frown, leaning forward. "Was he a witch?" If this was the ancestors the situation could go from bad to catastrophic.

"No, it wasn't that, he was... something else," Lizzie said, and there was something sinister about the words.

"Go on," he kept his voice steady despite the panic that clawed at him.

"I tried to ask who he was, he looked at me and said 'this is a private conversation' and then he—" her brow pinched in confusion, "he forced me out."

"Forced you out?"

She nodded, her eyes distant. "It was like he shut down our link. I couldn't feel anything, when I woke up the next morning she was already awake, acting as if nothing had happened. I wanted to tell you," she focused on him again, "I really did, but she begged me not to, insisted he hadn't hurt her. I didn't know what to do, so, I agreed."

He closed his eyes for a moment, getting control of his emotions. A part of him wanted to yell, to demand what on earth she had been thinking, and maybe he would have if it had been one of his other children, Josie would have yelled back, and Hope would have simply listened with indifference, occasionally throwing out a sarcastic comment.

But his anger was doused by Lizzie's remorsefulness and his ever growing concern for Josie's safety. He would start with the coven, he decided, they always had a hand in any plot made against his family. Then the wolves, his daughter had a few close friends in the pack. Marcel could be of some use—

"Please, don't be angry with me," her whispered plea stopped his thoughts, his eyes opened to see her large eyes brimming with tears.

His features softened as he stood to gather her in his arms, kissing the top of her head. "I'm not angry, sweetheart, I'm just worried." Terrified, actually, but it would do no good to tell her that.

"Stay with Kol," he told her, waiting to walk away until she nodded her agreement. "I'll be back soon," hopefully with Josie, and the heart of whoever had dared to go after her.

Josie woke slowly in a bed that she was not her own. Her thoughts were fuzzy, and she wondered where she was for an instant, then the memories from the night before came crashing back.

She sat up quickly, the panic that seeing an empty room had caused her eased when she heard the shower running. She laid back down, thinking over all that had happened. There was still that small bit of fear that he had only needed her for the spell, and now that it had been done he would be done with her. It wasn't long before the bathroom door opened and Lucien walked out, buttoning up his white shirt.

His gaze fell on her, he smiled, and that was all it took to silence her doubts. "Good morning, my darling saviour."

She sat up, smiling shyly. It was strange to know he was truly there, to know being awake didn't mean he was out of her reach. "Good morning."

"Things are different now," Josie felt her heart plummet, but he continued. "It's like I'm in a completely different city."

Oh, she thought with relief, he meant things had changed since his death. "They tore down the Sheraton," she nodded seriously. "A true travesty."

He shook his head at her but his smile didn't fade in the slightest. "Now you're just making fun of me."

"Maybe," her mouth curved into a teasing smirk. "Just a little."

"I suppose bringing me back from the dead gives you a free pass?" he walked past her to grab something off the dresser. She gave him a questioning look as he came back holding a small box. "Open it," he prompted.

She took the burgundy box tentatively, a black ribbon was tied neatly around it, and after a brief hesitation she undid the bow and opened the lid. Inside laid an array of moonstones and obsidian on a thin silver chain. Josie smiled softly at the gift, appreciating the deviation from the "girls love diamonds" stereotype.

Her fingertips ghosted over the necklace, but when her finger brushed one of the moonstones she inhaled sharply, almost dropping the box in surprise at the amount of magic she had felt in the small gem. "It's magic?"

Lucien smiled, motioning for her to stand. She slid off the bed, standing in front of the mirror that rested atop the dresser. Josie took in her reflection with displeasure, her skirt had torn down the side, mud spattered across her new dress. Her perfect French braid had lost most of its pins, stray pieces of tangled hair fallen every which way, her silver circlet sat crooked across her forehead. Blood was crusted around her ear.

She was a mess.

He stood behind her, hand held out. "May I?"

She nodded, handing him the box. Her breath caught as his fingers brushed against her neck as he pushed her hair over her shoulder. "It belonged to a queen once, a long time ago. Of course she had no idea the kind of power she wore around her neck," he clasped the necklace, his hands fell to rest on her arms. "I think you'll appreciate it a bit more."

"Thank you," she said softly. As much as she admired the gift her attention was on the man standing inches from her. "It's lovely."

Lucien hummed in agreement, a shiver of pleasure going through her at the sound.

The smooth stones glimmered beautifully in the early morning light that spilled through the window. For awhile she just stood there, basking in the moment, until something occurred to her that spoiled it. She felt guilty for not thinking of it sooner. "Lucien, are you—? Did you—?" she struggled to phrase the question.

"What is it, love?" he said, meeting her gaze in the mirror, eyes full of concern.

"Have you... fed since last night?"

Lucien got the look he always got when she asked a question he would rather not answer.

"Lucien," she pressed, fixing him with a serious look.

After a moment of silence he admitted reluctantly, "I've yet to get around to it."

She considered that, how hungry he had to be after all that time. She pulled her ruined sleeve up, turning around to face him. Josie held up her wrist in a silent offering, he took her hand gently, her eyes fell shut. She felt his warm breath over her pulse and waited for the sharp sting of fangs sinking into her flesh. His lips brushed against her skin in a soft kiss, her eyes opened slowly as he lowered her hand back to her side, his thumb rubbing comforting circles against the inside of her wrist.

"I'll stop by the hospital," he smiled suddenly. "Why don't we get breakfast? You performed quite the feat last night, you must be famished."

She was, hunger twisted her stomach, but she shook her head, matching his smile. "I've got to get home."

Lucien raised his brows. "Overprotective father?"

Family was one of the few things Josie had avoided talking about with him. He knew she had no mother, and obviously that she and Lizzie were linked, but other than that she had been as vague as possible. "Insanely," she agreed, "So I should go before he blows a gasket."

"Will I be meeting him?" he questioned, obviously joking.

"Absolutely not," she sing-songed.

He put his hand to his chest in mock offence. "I can be quite charming, you know."

"Trust me, my father would not be amused," she moved past him to grab her heels that were set by the bed. They were covered in muck from her midnight trudge through the bayou, she might as well pitch them.

Lucien followed. "Oh, come on, how bad could he be?"

She almost laughed at the question. How bad could he be? that was a big question. Lucien was powerful, any witch worth a damn could tell that immediately, but even the most powerful supernaturals paled in comparison to the Originals.

Almost two years they had known each other, that was long enough for him to know the truth, wasn't it? "You've never told me your last name," she said casually.

"No, I suppose I haven't," he said, waiting for her to continue, obviously confused as to where she was going with the statement.

"How about I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours?"

Lucien seemed amused by her proposal. "Castle. Lucien Castle."

A nervous flutter started in her chest but she managed a smile as she owned up to her side of the deal. "Mikaelson." she saw his amusement fade, an expression she couldn't read flickered across his face. "You can vanish and never contact me again if you want," Josie joked weakly.

Lucien's smile came back as bright as ever. "I don't scare that easy, love."

Josie hoped her relief wasn't too obvious. "Well, I'm glad."

He walked past her, she turned to see him grab a jacket from one of the over stuffed chairs in the large hotel room. She hadn't left him a jacket, she touched the necklace absently, how long had she been out? He pulled it on as he came to stand near her again, he touched her chin, gently tilting back her head so she met his eyes.

"Now this is going to make me sound very suspicious and untrustworthy, but I would be very grateful if you didn't tell anyone about my return."

She bit back her sarcasm, answering seriously, hoping he understood he could count on her, "Of course."

He leaned forward and kissed her. It only lasted a moment, just the lightest press of his lips against hers. He pulled away with a smile. "Can I really not convince you to stay?"

She didn't understand at first, too deliriously happy over their first real kiss to process his words. Then she shook her head slightly. "I have to go."

His hand dropped back to his side and she found herself already missing the contact. "Then I suppose I should get some work done, see how much the company has deteriorated in my absence."

"Company?"

"What?" he said, humor bright in his hazel eyes. "Just because I'm a vampire I can't have a legitimate career?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why do I feel like 'legitimate' isn't a good description for whatever it is this company does?"

"Because you know me too well," he said.

Josie glanced at the door, knowing she should leave but not at all wanting to. "I'll talk to you later," she finally sighed.

"Absolutely," he agreed.

The cabins hadn't changed much, most of the pack moved into the city years before but the place was still used during the full moon. Klaus could hear the wolves milling around in the small buildings. He knocked on the door of the main cabin, hearing some confused muttering as to who would bother to knock.

After a pause the door opened, Rio stood there in cutoffs and a faded tank top. Her confused look turned to a hesitant smile when she saw him, she pushed her dark hair behind her ear. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Have you seen Josie?" he demanded, not bothering to answer the girl's question or her smile.

"No," she answered after an annoyingly long pause. "Why, is she missing?"

The deck creaked loudly as someone stepped on it. "Who's missing?"

Klaus turned to see the boy he had come to speak with. Eli certainly wasn't his favorite person, but Josie spent most of her days with him, and if Klaus didn't know where she was there was a good chance she was with him. "Do you have any idea as to where Josie could be?"

Thankful he didn't respond with his usual sarcasm. "No. I mean, she might have been around early, but I don't remember her being here," he pushed his fingers through his dark blond hair nervously. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, as long as I can find her," he turned away from the two wolves, intent on searching the woods before he went to Marcel. The witches hadn't seemed to know anything, and despite the power they had regained over the years they were useless to find Josie, Freya had made the twins immune to tracking spells years ago.

He didn't appreciate the footsteps that followed. Not that he didn't appreciate Eli's loyalty to his daughter, it was just the boy's general personality that bothered him.

Klaus turned on him, Eli took half a step back when he saw the murderous look on his face. As much as he tried to conceal it Klaus saw the spark of fear in the boy's eyes. Good, he should be afraid, he was only alive because Josie wished it, and if she weren't around to stop it he would die. They all would— the whole bloody city.

"Might I ask what you think you're doing?" he said with a calmness that was anything but genuine.

To his credit Eli stood his ground. "If Josie's in trouble I want to help," he said determinedly.

"I don't have time for your ridiculous notion of playing hero." The boy wouldn't be of any real help, in fact he would probably get in the way.

"She's my best friend," he growled, gold shimmered in his eyes as his voice rose along with his temper. "I want to protect her as much as you—"

In a flash Klaus's hand was around the boy's neck, cutting off his air and thankfully his voice. "Do not compare your shallow connection to the love I have for my child."

Eli gaped, trying to get oxygen though it was a useless effort. Klaus snarled in disgust as he shoved him away, the young wolf stumbled but managed to keep his feet under him. He didn't have the time to kill him.

Klaus disappeared from the clearing in a blur.

Josie stopped outside the gate, wondering if anyone would notice her new magic battery, and finally decided to play it safe and undid the necklace, hiding it in one of her shoes. She was barely in the courtyard when Lizzie came flying down the stairs, the link flared back to life as her sister crashed into her. Josie returned her hug, knowing the panic she must have been in.

"Where were you?" she asked, her blue eyes full of concern.

Josie didn't get the chance to answer before her father stormed into the courtyard, murder in his eyes. He paused when he saw her, then he strode forward, crushing her against his chest. "Where have you been?" he demanded, not letting go of her.

Once again she didn't have time to reply, Marcel walked in. "I looked everywhere. She's not—" he stopped when he saw her. "What the hell, kid?"

"Hi to you too," she said over her dad's shoulder.

He finally released her from the hug, taking in her wrecked dress. "What happened?" his voice tight with barely controlled rage. "Who did this?"

"No, dad, nobody hurt me," she assured.

"Then what in hell happened to you?"

She sighed, beginning the lie she had practiced on the walk home. "I just... got a little overwhelmed, you know with the whole remembering thing. I freaked and wanted to talk to Eli so I went over to the cabins—"

His expression shifted, and there was a look in his eyes that almost frightened her. "You went to the pack on a full moon?"

"I thought I could get there before he shifted—"

"You could have been killed!" he roared.

Josie blinked in surprise at his outburst, he rarely yelled at her, and she continued with less sureness. "I made a protection circle," it would be a reasonable explanation if anyone stumbled upon the ritual site.

"A protection circle," he laughed though there was no humor in his voice.

"I'm sorry, okay?" she snapped in a rather unapologetic way. "I just wanted to think, I fell asleep there."

He wasn't convinced. "Who is he?"

Josie's stomach turned at the question. He knew, how could he...? She turned to Lizzie, the guilty look confirmation enough. "I don't—"

"Josie," he said quietly, his piercing gaze set on her. "Don't lie to me."

"It didn't have anything to do with him," she said adamantly.

"Lizzie says the link is gone," he challenged.

"It's back," Lizzie chimed in meekly.

"I've been learning to shut it off," she explained, though she could really only block it out when Lucien helped her.

"I want a name." Could he tell she was lying or was he guessing?

"It had nothing to do with him—" she broke off, letting a bit of embarrassment into her voice as she finished quietly, "he stopped coming to see me."

That made him falter, caught between anger and concern, finally his face softened. "If the spell us causing you this much stress we won't do it."

Disappointment flashed in Lizzie's eyes before she concealed it, she wouldn't speak up about what she wanted, and even if Josie was indifferent she wanted her sister to be happy. "No," Josie said, "I think we should."

Her father looked doubtful but nodded slightly.

She wondered what they would remember, then pushed the thought from her mind, none of the memories would matter anyway.

Caroline sat on the couch, folding laundry and listening to the radio. She set a sweater nearly on its pile on the coffee table, looking around the living room of her small apartment, the shelves could be dusted, and she should probably sweep. Sundays usually ended up being housekeeping days, it was one of the few days were she didn't work, in the Armory or the café.

She hadn't really needed the second job, the Armory had paid their members well, and now that they were all gone that money was left with Caroline, ric, and Bonnie, but she had needed the distraction. Something— anything— to stay busy, too much time to think was never a good thing.

The phone rang and she smiled as she saw the name on the screen. She answered, balancing the phone between her shoulder and ear as she continued folding clothes. "Hey, Seline."

"Hey, Care," she could hear the smile in Seline's voice. After years of Caroline and Bonnie telling Ric it wasn't a betrayal for him to be happy he had finally started dating again, after a string of failed attempts at finding someone he had met Seline. She was sweet, and surprisingly supportive of his search for Josie and Lizzie. They had tried to hide the supernatural from her for a few months, but, inevitably, she found out, and instead of freaking out had simply rolled with the new version of reality. They had gotten engaged only a few months before, Caroline was glad that Ric was happy, one of them should be. "Would you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

Her mind went to the frozen food in her own kitchen, then to Seline's cooking, it wasn't a difficult choice between the two. "I'd love to."

"Great," she said, "How about... let's say, six?"

"Sounds perfect," she agreed. They talked for a minutes longer about trivial stuff, Caroline's new coworker at the café, what color Seline should paint the kitchen, eventually the call ended and she went back to her work.

A shirt fell from the wicker basket, she picked up the old peplum-style top, a purple stain on one of the yellow ruffles sparked a memory of when Josie had insisted on making her own lunch, getting peanut butter and jelly everywhere. Tears threatened to fall as she thought of that day. Her baby girls were eighteen now, wherever they were Caroline hoped their childhood had been good, even if she wasn't a part of it.

Then she folded the shirt and did the only thing she could, went on with her day.

Lucien couldn't believe his luck, the girl was a bloody Mikaelson. At first there was nothing but darkness after his death, then one day he had felt it, another presence, and before long found himself in a witch's dream. She had a strong connection to the dead, though she obviously had no idea. Another witch had been there, but her magic was much lighter than the other's, he had shut her out, a fairly easy task if a vampire was strong enough.

Josie had been guarded in the beginning, but the more she allowed him to enter her mind the more aware he had become, even able to contact the Ancestors, though their connection to the living had been shattered. Her trust had been a difficult thing to obtain, but two years was nothing compared to the millennia he had spent plotting his revenge.

She would be more useful than he had expected. Family was the most important thing to Klaus, that's why it was the first thing he would take from him. Starting with Josie, it might take a while but he would turn her against them, then perhaps she could convince her sister to join. But Hope, well, she would just have to die, betrayal was in the Mikaelson blood, he couldn't risk that.

Of course since Josie was so close to her older sister he would need her to trust him. He needed her to love him more than the others, completely, blindly, obsessively; he needed her to love him the way he had loved Aurora.

He dialed a number, the phone was almost ten models newer than the one he had owned before dying but he didn't see much difference. It rang only twice before a familiar voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hello, Aadesh."

Silence. "Lucien?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten your sire already." Aadesh had been one of his favorite creations, loyal and ambitious. Not to mention all the work he had done for Kingmaker, whenever Lucien didn't have time for something he could trust Aadesh to get it done.

"How?" he didn't sound surprise, if anyone could cheat death it would Lucien.

"Witches can be quite useful when they aren't being a pain in the ass," he said, offering no further explanation. Josie was a card he was playing close to his chest. "How many labs are still operating?"

He answered without pause, "Twenty-three."

It wasn't shocking how many they had lost but it still pissed him off. "Send me progress reports." Lucien disconnected the call, knowing Aadesh would do as he asked.

Josie sat with Lizzie on the stairs, the spell set up on the floor in front of them. She reached over and took her sister's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Freya walked into the room, followed by their father and Kol. "You guys ready?"

Lizzie took a steadying breath. "Let's do this."

Freya nodded solemnly, as unexcited as their father about restoring the memories. "Lay in the circles."

Two ovals of salt were on the floor, ringed with lotuses and unlit candles, Josie and Lizzie each laid down in one of them. The ingredients of the spell filled her nose with a sickly sweet scent, she could almost taste it. Her aunt began the spell, the candles flickered to life, and Josie's stomach twisted with dread. She wasn't sure if it was intuition or nerves, and before she could figure it out memories filled her mind.

Everything was bathed in a buttery gold light, six years of moments faded in and out, blending together into a collage of faces and names long forgotten. A man reading them a bedtime story about dragons and princesses; a woman with long blonde hair and a stunning smile; someone they had once called their aunt teaching them to levitate feathers; a pretty white house in a small town...

Josie's eyes opened as she quickly sat up. "Ric," she gasped.

"Rick?" Freya said, crouching next to her and set a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Like Richard?"

She shook her head, unable to speak as she pulled air into her hungry lungs. Lizzie opened her eyes but stayed on her back, staring at the dark ceiling. "Beautiful," she murmured, sounding just as breathless. "She was beautiful."

Her father kneeled next to Lizzie. "Do you remember a name?"

She nodded slowly without looking at him. "Caroline, our mother's name was Caroline."

A dark look shadowed his eyes. "You're sure?"

"What is it?" Josie managed to speak, the expression on her father's face made her uneasy. Something was wrong.

He left in a blur, returning seconds later with a sketch in hand. He gave it to Lizzie. "Is this who you saw?"

She nodded and Josie took the piece of paper, the blonde. "Why do you have this?"

"Ric as in Alaric?" he asked instead of answering.

She nodded. "You know who they are." It wasn't a question, she could see it in his eyes. The horrible dread returned, the fear that they had started something they couldn't stop.

"Yes, I believe I do," he turned and walked from the room, looking like he had seen a ghost. Who knew, maybe he had.

Klaus sat in his office, turning the cell phone carefully in his hand, as if the thin, black device might explode. It was still in there, her number, he had never had the heart to delete it, and though it might have changed over the years he always added it to his contacts when he got a new phone.

Lizzie had seemed so happy to remember her—his Caroline who had never really been his at all. What was he supposed to tell her now? Sorry, you can't meet your real parents because your father hates me and I was obsessed with your mother?

It wouldn't be fair, to allow them to remember then not allow them to meet their blood. Cruel, even.

His thumb hovered over the call symbol on the screen. The strange mix of dread and anticipation in his chest made him want to forget the whole thing, pretend it had never happened. He touched the screen, calling the woman he had loved and now wished he didn't have to see again.

Caroline laughed as Seline recounted her and Ric's ill-fated trip to Home Depot. They sat at the kitchen island, eating the lasagna Seline had made, it was, as any meal she made, perfect.

"How late is he working tonight?"

"Who knows," she shrugged, not at all bothered her fiancé's ridiculous work schedule. She held up her fork, pointing at nothing in particular. "Though he did say something about a totem and if I would still love him if he lost some fingers, so it might be a late night."

Caroline shook her head at that, no matter how old he got Ric's contempt for his own mortality would never fade. Her phone began to ring, Caroline glanced at the unknown number on her screen, "Do you mind?"

"Go ahead," Seline said.

She grabbed her phone and walked into the foyer to answer the call. "Hello?"

When the person on the other end of the line spoke she stopped breathing, her heart skipped a beat. Two words was all it took to make the world stop spinning. "Hello, love."

Soundtrack:

Scenes seven, eight & nine:

Can't Go Back — Rosi Golan

A\N: I know I said like weekly updates but this chapter took a while. The next chapter Klaus and Caroline will finally see each other again. Thanks for reading. The quote is William Shakespeare