A/N: Once again, I have to apologize for taking a million years to update. I don't want to go into all the gory details, but my computer got a virus, and it took forever to get fixed. Sorry! On a happier note, thanks to all of you that reviewed and added me to their alert lists!

Back Again

The Plan

Caroline had more fun with the girls that night than she had in a really long time. The girls made Puppy Chow and watched The Notebook. She had forgotten how good it felt to relax and gossip with her old friends like they had in high school. The girls instantly re- clicked, and Caroline felt so welcome back in their little circle that she felt like those 5 years she had spent away were nothing but a blink in time.

Over the course of the night, Caroline heard about what the girls had been up to and was brought up to speed on all the town gossip. Marriage was treating Elena and Stefan well; Elena had been spending a lot of time working on the mansion and renovating it recently. Bonnie bought herself a shop on the outskirts of town where she sold products for homeopathic medicines and a few witchey items to the people who knew what to ask for. What surprised Caroline the most was that Bonnie and Damon had been dating! They were going on 1 year, and Bonnie hinted that she was hoping for a proposal soon.

When the morning came, Caroline felt refreshed and ready to face the current threat in the seemingly endless list of pearls that fell on Mystic Falls. The girls were all gathered in the kitchen, Elena making pancakes while Bonnie made juice and Caroline cut up some fruit, when all the boys began to trickle in.

"Good morning little witch," Damon greeted Bonnie with a kiss on the cheek as he grabbed himself a cup. "I can't believe that you spent the night here last night and you didn't spend it in my bed… You girls kept Stefan and me up all night with your constant giggling. What is it that you guys talk about at these slumber parties anyway?"

"You, my dear, will never find out." Bonnie laughed as she poured Damon some juice and then brought the pitcher to the table where everyone had sat down. Caroline looked at the two of them and sighed to herself. She couldn't believe that the two of them were so damn cute together. She expected such a move from Stefan and Elena since they always acted like that, but from Damon and Bonnie? If Damon could be in a relationship with someone as pure and sweet as Bonnie, then why couldn't she find someone?

Alaric followed in Stefan and Damon a few minutes later. He looked haggard, and went straight for the coffee. It was apparent that he had been up late the night before, probably researching Keilyn with the same dogged dedication that he always applied to his little projects.

Caroline was sitting at the table chatting idly with Bonnie, Damon, and Alaric while Elena and Stefan did the dishes when she heard the chime of the doorbell.

"That must be the Mikaleson's, I'll get it," Stefan called as tossed down the dishtowel and made his way toward the front door. He returned just a few seconds later with three vampires trailing in his wake. Along with Rebekah and Klaus, there was a new vampire that Caroline had never seen before, but she sure was impressed by what she saw. The new vampire was male, standing at about 6'5'', with dark, tanned skin and dark hair to match. It was apparent even under his loose, linin shirt and pants that he was well muscled and would be a formable opponent in any fight. His face, while complete with razor sharp cheek bones, was somehow soft and comforting. He was easily one of the most beautiful men that she had ever seen.

"Hi, I'm Daniel," The beautiful man said as he stepped forward to catch Caroline in a hug and kiss her on both of her cheeks.

Caroline was so overwhelmed by the beautiful man that all she could manage was a soft, "I'm Caroline," before going back to gazing at him as if he was a priceless piece of art.

Caroline was so wrapped up in her and Daniel's own little world, that she jumped a little when Klaus cleared his throat and said, "Well then, If you're done standing around like silly teenagers, we can go ahead and get to work." Caroline was instantly embarrassed as well as caught off guard by the tone she thought she heard in Klaus' voice. He almost sounded mad… As if he was not at all pleased by the idea of Caroline getting friendly with Daniel. Caroline shot Klaus a guilty look before following Bonnie into the living room.

When everyone had filed into the living room and taken their places on the assorted couches and chairs where they had sat the night before, with Klaus stood to command everyone's attention from his station in front of the fire place. He looked strong and had a determined yet grim look in his eye that made Caroline lean forward a little in her chair in anticipation of what he'd say.

"As we discussed last night, we have a very powerful new enemy in our town that needs to be dealt with…" He opened the discussion.

As the conversation wore on, Caroline processed everything they were saying with about half of her usual brainpower. She was too distracted by looking back and forth between Klaus and Daniel. She understood her tendency to let her eyes wonder over to Daniel; He was extremely attractive, new, and she had felt an instant connection to him when he walked into the kitchen. What she didn't understand was why she kept looking at Klaus too. Yea, he did kiss me She thought to herself, but that was just the back of my hand and some sort of formal goodbye, right? No matter how hard she tried to suppress any sort of positive- or admittedly romantic-feelings toward Klaus, she couldn't stop thinking about how nice the soft pressure of his lips on the back of her hand had felt, and how much more open he had been acting toward her than before.

Caroline was so lost in thought that she almost jumped out of her seat when she heard her name mentioned and all eyes turned to her. "Umm, what?" Was all she was able to nervously bite out.

"Come on Barbie, have you not been listening to a thing we've said?" Damon asked her impatiently. It was clear that he was not very happy with the way the meeting was going, and her loss of concentration had only added to his annoyance. "You're going to be the one that takes care of her. You are going to kill Keilyn Watkins," he continued.

Caroline froze in shock. She did not expect that she'd play such an important role in the plot to take down Keilyn. She didn't know how to react to Damon's news, so "oh, okay" was her only response.

The meeting concluded pretty soon afterwards after a few more details had been discussed, none of which Caroline was able to comprehend. She was still too overwhelmed by the prospect of attempting to kill an original vampire who was stark mad! It was not until everyone started to stand up and head towards the front door that she realized that she needed to be filled in with a lot more information if she had any chance of not screwing up the plan.

Caroline felt lost. She needed someone to tell her what was going on, but if she asked Elena or Bonnie, she'd be forced to tell them why she was so distracted from the meeting in the first place. There was no way that she as going to tell them about her odd fascination with Daniel, or worse, Klaus! Her only chance at getting answers to her questions without having to reveal her secret was to talk to Rebekah or Klaus since they weren't likely to ask her any questions.

Daniel and Rebekah left together followed closely by Alaric, but luckily Klaus loitered a little in the foyer. This is my chance, Caroline thought to herself. After quickly checking to make sure that the girls, Damon and Stefan were occupied, she darted out of the living room, grabbed Klaus's arm, and pulled him out of the front door and around the house.

Caroline didn't stop running until she had reached a little clearing in the dense forest behind the mansion, which had a convenient fallen tree in it that was perfect for sitting on. When Caroline released Klaus's arm, he took a seat on the log and looked up at Caroline with a startled look in his eye, yet he remained silent to allow Caroline to take the conversation where she wanted.

"So…" Caroline began nervously, glancing from Klaus's face and back to the grass again, afraid to stare at him for too long. She settled on pacing back and forth in front of the log so that her eyes would have places to wonder to besides the handsome man who was staring up at her so intently. "I need you to fill me in on the plan. I would have asked one of the girls, but then they'd ask me why I wasn't listening and then get super worried that something is wrong with me and stuff. So yea, fill me in, captain." Her sarcastic tone was somewhat marred by the slight tremor that accompanied it. She was still a little shaken up by Damon's revelation of her role in 'The Plan'.

If Klaus was confused by her lack of knowledge, he didn't show it. Instead, he slowly laid out the details for her. Rebekah and Klaus would talk to the council and the police to keep their eye out for any activity that would indicate Keilyn's location or plans. Everyone else would stay aware as Bonnie also tried a few locator spells. Once Keilyn was located, Rebekah would move in to distract her; bring up their past together and hopefully keep her so engrossed in their trip down memory lane that Caroline would be able to sneak up and stake her. Klaus would be on hand to move in for further distraction if necessary.

"Okay, this is starting to make a little bit more sense," Caroline said when Klaus finished. By now she had stopped pacing and was just standing in front of Klaus. "But that still doesn't explain, why me? Why do I have to be the one to kill Keilyn? Wouldn't it be a bit easier and less risky if Damon or Stefan did it?" She looked at Klaus hopelessly, still unable to accept what she had to do.

Klaus stood up and placed one of his large hands on her shoulder. "Look Caroline, you have to be the one to kill Keilyn because you are the only one out of all of us who can." Klaus caught her eyes in his, keeping the eye contact to convey the sincerity of what he was saying. "Neither Rebekah nor I will be able to kill her because we are too close to her. The Salvatore brothers can't kill her because the sight of vampire boys will drive Keilyn crazy and she will probably kill them before they have a shot at her. We need a vampire to kill her because humans don't possess the strength or speed needed. It has to be you, Caroline."

Now he moved his hand down her arm so that he could take her hand in his. The movement should have startled Caroline but instead, she felt it natural and comforting. "I believe in you, Caroline. I know that you can do it."

Somehow, Caroline believed what he said. She believed that she could do it because Klaus told her that she could. Caroline believed that she could kill Keilyn Watkins.

A/N: Once again, sorry it took so long! Hope you loved the chapter, and please review!