"She was friendly to a fault."

Janice Berenstain and Stanley Berenstain, The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers


Warning: Violence and gore. Also, Klaroline sexytimes.


The battered, windowless van had been such an obvious trap, it might as well have had "Kidnappers 'R' Us" printed along the sides. Three past kidnappings and two botched ones had made Caroline a bit cynical about the overall competence of the Originals' enemies. Scoffing to herself, Caroline returned her empty grocery cart to the stall, already pressing speed dial for Klaus. But then an elderly lady's grocery bag split right next to Caroline's car, and Caroline raced to help her scoop up the scattered oranges. Congratulating herself on using Klaus' "constant vigilance" techniques, she kept an eye on the shady van across the parking lot while she handed over two of the oranges she stopped from rolling behind her tire.

Weird. Caroline had expected to see a wrinkled hand reach for the oranges, but instead all she saw was smooth, pale skin. Flicking her gaze back to the lined face, Caroline gasped when the elderly woman suddenly clawed at her own face, peeling away long strips of...latex? Was that a mask?

Green eyes glittered with malice as the stranger slyly said, "I told Tristan my plan would work." Whatever witty retort Caroline might've said died on her lips when something heavy slammed into her and then the darkness came.


The stench of mold and decay started to wake her — and then the harsh slap finished the job. Glaring up at her captor, she snarled, "Seriously?! I'm awake and you know it, so that slap was totally unnecessary!"

"My, my, aren't you a prickly thing? Niklaus certainly has a type," the woman purred, haughtily tossing back her auburn waves. "I was his first prickly thing."

Caroline didn't bother biting back a frustrated groan as she realized what this was. "Well, fuck. You're one of Klaus' old bang buddies, right?" Eyeing her critically, Caroline was surprised to see how short the woman was. Impressive she could carry that much rage in such a small package. But it was more surprising that this hasn't happened before given the mileage on Klaus. Even if he only slept with a handful of people every year since he was turned, that would be — stop it. That is some icky math is just going to piss you off even though you know it's not fair.

The woman leaned over her, that sharp green gaze raking over her with obvious disdain as she said, "I'm not Niklaus' bang, buddy, you half-witted tart! I'm Aurora! And Niklaus and I were everything to each other. You can't BEGIN to understand the depth of our connection!"

Oh, for fuck's sake. "Did you seriously just kidnap me over a boy? How fucked up is your self-esteem?" This time when the slap came, Caroline was ready for it, although moving her head to the side just meant that Aurora caught her across the ear, which hurt even worse than her cheek now. Ignoring her watering eyes, Caroline attempted to reason with Aurora. "Look, I'm sure it was really hot when Klaus turned you back when doctors thought bloodletting was just like a big dose of vitamin C, but clearly he's moved on and you should too."

"He didn't turn me," Aurora blurted out, seemingly appalled that she shared this with Caroline. "Uh, I mean, he definitely was going to, you could tell...it's something in the eyes, you know," she muttered awkwardly. "But then I tried to kill myself to quiet the bloody demons before they turned me barking mad, you see, and then Rebekah took pity, and well, you know how these things go."

Wow. That was...a lot to process. To distract herself from the extra helping of crazy that had landed in her lap, Caroline wriggled her fingers, trying to get the feeling to return to them. Why do kidnappers always make the ropes so tight? Didn't they realize she was human? It was like tying up a hamster. Vampires could be such bullies. "Rebekah was kind to me too. She has this knack for finding people who need her just as much as she needs them. It's a special thing to be let into that beautiful bitch's heart. Both Rebekah and Klaus can be surprisingly empathetic when it suits them, their whole family, really."

At the fleeting glimpse of pain she saw in Aurora's eyes, Caroline bit her lip and added uncomfortably, "Uh, sorry Klaus didn't turn you for whatever the reason was. It sounds like you had a lot to deal with too — that sucks."

Aurora rounded on her, flashing fangs as though that would somehow frighten Caroline. Did she forget that Caroline's daily existence was plagued with the biggest vampire drama queens on the planet? "Niklaus hasn't turned you either," she hissed triumphantly.

"Not for lack of trying," Caroline muttered, blushing to the roots of her hair as she recalled his last attempt at trying to convince her of the benefits of vampirism had involved whipped cream-flavored massage oil and a teeny tiny speedo that turned out to be edible red velvet body paint. And glitter. So much glitter. She thought she'd vacuumed up all the evidence, but Kol wore Tinkerbell t-shirts and a knowing grin around her for weeks afterward.

Pacing in front of Caroline's chair, Aurora almost seemed to be trying to reassure herself as she revealed, "We were together — just like before — after I was turned. And he wanted me to run away with him when whispers of Mikael growing near had spread to the lower villages. I wanted to go with him, but then Elijah glamoured me into breaking his brother's heart instead."

What a dick. Apparently, Elijah made a terrible first impression regardless of the century. "Hey, listen, when that Hairdo in a Suit first saw me, he thought I was a dumb bimbo and basically accused me of banging Rebekah for a place to stay." At Aurora's incredulous stare, she hurriedly explained, "I wasn't, but I still revoked his invitation to our house until he learned some manners." Shrugging her shoulders, she added, "Sometimes these Originals are stubborn and you have to pull their heads out of their asses for them."

The women shared a commiserating look, and Caroline was surprised at the softening in Aurora's face. Despite her predicament, Caroline's heart ached for the obvious pain Aurora had experienced in her long life. Pity it didn't matter. Klaus was going to kill Aurora in all the squishiest ways possible.

As though she read her mind, Aurora told her, "I find myself regretting your role in this. In another life, I believe we would've been quite good friends. But revenge demands its price, Caroline."

"And your pretty head will fetch us the finest of prices — Niklaus." The voice that suddenly spoke next to Caroline's ear made her jump, or at least as much as she could while tied to a chair. A man fussily dressed in a three-piece suit regarded her lazily, lips curling into a sneer. "Niklaus' tastes have certainly seen better days — if this is the best the old boy can do, perhaps he's suffering from some wretched malady of the mind?"

Banging her head against the back of the chair, Caroline groaned, "Seriously?! You're one of Klaus' ex-lovers too?"

Looking slightly offended, Tristan sputtered, "Of course not; that time in the village of Roussillon doesn't count." Casting his eyes to the floor, he mumbled, "I had my eyes closed."

The awkward silence lingered between the three, and Caroline took advantage of this moment to study her captors. Both were vampires, and definitely older than the one that Tyler brought to hurt her. But they didn't scare her nearly as much as Damon. They seemed embarrassingly incompetent given their age and once they started arguing with each other, she realized they reminded her of how the Originals argued with each other. They must be siblings. Klaus banged siblings? That was such a Kol thing to do.

"Enough!" Tristan's bellow sounded weak to Caroline — especially since just the other day Klaus apparently had killed Rebekah's favorite designer right before the pre-fall VIP viewing. Rebekah's bellow rattled all the windows. Tristan's bellow couldn't rattle a teacup. "We've taken you to lure Niklaus here because he —"

"What part of my rapidly swelling face says I give a fuck about hearing your revenge monologue," Caroline interrupted with an irritated snort, clenching her fists. "I get it — who hasn't wanted revenge on an ex? Mine totally deserved what eventually happened to him, but do you know what I did when he first dumped me in the WORST possible way in the history of dumping someone? I ate a piece of cake the size of my head and regrouped and made some plans that DID NOT involve kidnapping!"

Tristan backhanded her, and Caroline winced as she heard a crack. She tasted blood, and the blinding pain behind her eyes suggested her nose was broken. "Insolent chit," he hissed, "We're going to kill you."

Even though it was the same threat she always heard from kidnappers, Caroline felt a jolt of panic at his words. Especially when Aurora bent down to whisper, "We know you've had Niklaus' blood. He probably feeds it to you daily given that you're his most recent plaything. So, we'll kill you once, Niklaus will arrive just in time to see you've turned, and then we'll stake you while he watches in helpless, hopeless agony."

Her breath caught at Aurora's words. Of course she wanted to turn one day (soon, in fact), but not like this. She wanted to be with her family when it happened, with Klaus pacing and issuing terrifying threats about painful dismemberment and worrying about every little detail because that's how he showed his love.

And August. Her baby just celebrated his fifth birthday with a Sesame Street-themed party. She should've been suspicious with how quickly Klaus and Rebekah had agreed to her vision of a low-key affair. August and his friends had nearly as much fun as the Originals. Before the day was through, Klaus, Cookie Monster and Elmo were playing bartender with Oscar the Grouch and Kol got into a brawl with the Count. And Rebekah still refused to talk about the yellow feathers that fell out of her blouse — and skirt.

At least Klaus had the decency to pay the cast extremely well (and compelling the shit out of them after Elijah lifted his entire Bentley to pick up the keys he dropped). Nothing in her world was normal. And she wouldn't have it any other way. She swore she would see Klaus and her son again. Blinking back tears, Caroline faced her kidnappers as she always had done — stupidly brave — and really mouthy.

"You know, this is my fourth kidnapping (unless you count the two botched ones), and so far, you guys are in solid C minus territory. I mean, the abandoned warehouse is so obvious, and I'm tied to a chair and you made me bleed to show how serious things are." Rolling her eyes, she conceded, "Okay, so from their track record, the Originals are kinda bad at preventing kidnappings, but they're excellent at rescues."

Even though she was in the middle of yet another kidnapping and her life was in danger AGAIN, Caroline couldn't help but recall the last time Klaus came to rescue her. The witches' bodies were torn apart all around her, but Caroline couldn't bring herself to care. Her back still stung from the fire whip they'd conjured. Klaus knelt beside her, the steel in his gaze fading to such blatant tenderness she immediately starting crying again. As though sensing she needed to feel in control, he let her roughly take his lips.

Nipping at his mouth with her blunt teeth, she felt him shudder, and Caroline was smug in the knowledge that she could bring such a powerful creature to his knees. It didn't matter that the sour stench of blood seemed to choke the life out of the basement where the witches had taken her. She pushed him to the floor, their bodies sliding against the gore-streaked concrete. Shoving up his Henley, Caroline attacked his smooth, pale chest with her mouth, tasting and taunting his flesh as he writhed beneath her.

Not to be outdone, Klaus shredded her sundress, casting aside the ragged remains with a snarl. His hands felt so good as he slid them possessively over her frame, alternating between light and desperate touches. She fumbled with his zipper, hearing seams rip as Klaus impatiently yanked open his jeans.

His cock jumped at the first stroke of her fingers and she wrapped him firmly in her grasp. Swiping her thumb across the leaking tip, Caroline grinned at his helpless grunt, increasing the strokes until his hips chased after her hands.

"You wish me to beg," Klaus panted, hot and hard and wanting, "to feel my desperate need for you?"

"Yes," she hissed, quickly straddling him to command, "now fuck me like you mean it."

With a flare of hybrid gold in his gaze, he grabbed her hips, pulling her firmly against him as he pushed inside. "I always mean it when I fuck you." Swiveling his hips in a delicious circIe, he growled, "I crave your delicious cunt as you crave my cock."

The pain from her injuries faded to nothing as he snapped her into the moment, urging her to take what she needed. She pressed down against him, knees sliding against the witches' rotting remains. Pulling him deep inside, she gasped as she felt the first fluttering release, leaning down to pluck at the cords of his straining neck with her blunt teeth.

Letting out a hoarse shout, he bucked wildly into her, chasing after his own bliss. When Klaus' hips finally stuttered to a stop, he curved Caroline's body into his until nearly every bit of skin was touching. He didn't let go for a long time. He couldn't.


Fingers snapped impatiently in front of Caroline, rudely bringing her back to the present. With a huff of annoyance, Aurora droned on, "As I was saying, Niklaus will not be able to save you for we have set dark object traps throughout this warehouse, designed to maim and ensnare so that he can watch us kill you before he meets his final end."

Dark object traps? "Oh my god — I've been kidnapped by the vampire Scooby gang! Let me guess — your stupid traps involve a suit of armor, a cannonball, a bar of soap and a crossbow?"

"It's doubtful — your latest kidnappers lack imagination, sweetheart," Klaus suddenly interrupted, smirking as he comically leaned over to check Elijah's watch. "A rescue in under 20 minutes — we have a new record."

Caroline rolled her eyes, relief flooding her body as she watched Klaus and Elijah attack Aurora and Tristan. Her kidnappers must've been similar in age to the Originals; they held their own surprisingly well in a fight. To Caroline's dulled human senses, the group was little more than supernatural blurs as they slammed each other into walls and beams, the decrepit structure groaning underneath their immense strength.

Aurora's terror-filled wail echoed throughout the warehouse, and the vampire blurs grinded to a halt. Elijah now held Tristan's head, the ruined body a decayed pile of gray flesh at his feet. Klaus grabbed Aurora by the neck, lifting her off the ground as she gasped and struggled against his powerful grip.

"Niklaus, please, my love I —"

Whatever excuses Aurora had died on her lips as Klaus yanked out her tongue with a sickening, wet snap. A single swipe of his claws ripped off most of her head, leaving behind a thin, ragged strip of sinew and red hair.

Flinging away the goopy remains, Klaus flashed to Caroline's side, ripping apart the ropes that bound her. As he gathered her into his arms, she breathed him in, allowing hysterical giggles to take over. "You guys stormed in here and then fought Aurora and Tristan all over this damn place — I knew they were lying about those traps; vampires are such drama queens."

With a low, sexy growl, Klaus claimed her lips, silently reassuring himself that she was there and safe and whole. Elijah's awkward throat-clearing finally convinced them to break apart, and he observed them with an indulgent smile. "I believe I'll rejoin Kol and Rebekah in their babysitting endeavors and leave you to your...enthusiastically acrobatic exertions."

As Elijah flashed away, Caroline rolled her eyes, playfully nudging Klaus. "Your brother is so judgy — we don't have sex every time I'm kidnapped."

"True — sometimes I merely lick you clean until you pass out."

She ducked her head as a tell-tale blush creeped up her neck, gesturing toward her kidnappers' remains. "And I'm totally on board with that, but let's move over there where I can't see their creepy, permanently dead eyes watching us." She stepped away from her chair, sliding a bit on what looked like a shredded ear — and then it happened.

The metallic whir through the air weirdly seemed to come after the dark object hit its target — burying itself in her chest. The rest of her body was set on fire with the agony of simultaneous lacerations across most of her flesh. She felt the barest brush of Klaus' fingers to her waist as though he tried to pull her to safety, but his broken roar told her it was too late.

Apparently, her kidnappers hadn't been lying about the traps.


The fangs would take some getting used to. And Kol definitely was going to make fun of her lisp until she figured out how to enunciate with those things. Caroline settled back into in Klaus' arms as they stretched out on their bed. She grumbled, "You were right — your way would've been more fun."

Placing a gentle kiss to her forehead, Klaus flashed her a dimpled smirk, seductively whispering, "We still have the whipped cream massage oil and edible body paint."

Caroline giggled, "Don't forget the glitter."