November, 2018
Nashville, Tennessee
Stefan pulled out the chair at their island, about to sit down with his blood bag when suddenly, his phone began to ring. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen: Rebekah.

What was Rebekah calling him for? He hadn't heard from her in almost a year. "Hello?"He spoke into his phone, pushing his mug away from him on the counter.

"Hello Stefan. Miss me?"Rebekah's teasing voice came through the receiver.

He couldn't help but smirk at her greeting, and couldn't help but reply, "Every day."

"Right," Rebekah snipped, "more or less than you miss Caroline?"

What did she mean? Stefan immediately looked up in the direction of Caroline's bedroom, afraid that the Originals had gotten to Caroline somehow in the few minutes he was downstairs. He could hear Elena in her own bedroom, shifting through her backpack and pulling things out of it, but it took him a moment to hear Caroline's soft movements in her bed. He was immediately relieved that Caroline was safe in her room, but the uneasy feeling still sat in his stomach. "What do you mean?" he asked, waiting for clarification as to what Rebekah could possibly be talking about.

"Elijah informed me today that Caroline hasn't been herself since our little...interference."

Stefan didn't reply right away. He could hear Caroline sniffling every so often, no doubt still feeling guilty over Holly's death. He walked from their kitchen to the front porch, closing the door behind him. He didn't want there to be any chance that Caroline could overheard him. "No she hasn't been herself."

"How exactly? Elijah was a little short on details...Is she okay?"

Stefan couldn't help the little smile that managed to grace his lips at Rebekah's last question. Rebekah had always tried to be tough but he could hear the sincerity evident in her voice. Both Caroline and Rebekah had been reluctant to spend any time together when Klaus and Caroline had started dating, but somehow they had become close friends. He had always assumed it had something to do with their shared love of shopping and complaining about Klaus.

He wanted to tell Rebekah everything that had been happening with Caroline but he was afraid of what would happen if he did. Both Elena and Damon would hate him, and Elijah might do something drastic like take Caroline away from them if Rebekah let it slip that Caroline had remembered a few events that were supposedly erased from her memory. And who knew what Elijah would do with Caroline once he had taken her away?

"Stefan? Is she okay? You need to tell me," Rebekah asked again.

To tell Rebekah or not to tell Rebekah...

"Please Stefan, if you don't tell me I'm going to come see her for myself!"

"No," Stefan immediately responded. "I'll tell you." He took a calming breath that didn't need, much like he taught Caroline. "Caroline was fine when Bonnie first cast the spell. She went to school, continued to cheer and plan half the school's events, and she was even on the bunny diet. Then, around late April she dropped out of cheerleading, and you know how much she loved it. Her attendance at class became sporadic, and she almost missed her media ethics final, but we got her out of bed and there somehow. After the semester ended she refused to hunt. She's been living off of blood bags since then. During the summer we took her to the beach for a month, and she didn't seem to enjoy it at all. She had no enthusiasm for anything we did. Then...in September it got worse. Since the she's barely left her room and only attended class a handful of times and we practically had to drag her there. And then today..." Stefan started, but stopped once he realized he wasn't sure how much to tell her.

"What happened today?" Rebekah pressed.

"This morning Caroline came down while we were eating breakfast and said something about going to class, but we already informed Vanderbilt that she had dropped out for the semester. Caroline didn't take the news well and said she would convince her professors it was a mistake. Then, she and Elena left. They were gone for maybe 45 minutes when Caroline came running back into the house crying. Elena and I think she...remembered."

"What?" Rebekah gasped from the other side of the phone. "Everything?"

"No, just things connected to her dorm room, which is where Elena said they were. She remembered Holly and remembered that Klaus killed her."

"So she remembers him?"

"No," Stefan shook his head even though she couldn't see him. This was all so complicated. "Caroline said she just remembers a man but not his face. She's really upset," Stefan told her, recalling how Caroline had been sobbing in his arms not even an hour earlier.

"Oh."

Stefan strained to hear the inflection in Rebekah's reply. Was she actually upset that Caroline didn't remember Klaus?

"Have you dealt with this before? Is this normal? How did she remember Holly?" Stefan inquired, against his better judgment. He didn't want to ask Rebekah for help but he desperately needed answers on his friend's condition.

"I can't...I don't know Stefan. I've never had a witch erase someone's memory before, I could always compel people. I could ask Elijah or Kol...?" Rebekah suggested.

"No that's alright," Stefan quickly assured her. Telling Rebekah was enough of a risk, he didn't need her telling Elijah and Kol what was happening too. "We'll keep her away from her dorm room since that's what seemed to trigger it. And Rebekah, could we keep this just between us, for now?"

"Okay," Rebekah agreed. "But there's something else: the white oak stake. You need to hide the stake in a better place, Elijah is worried about it and he's going to come take it from you if you don't hide it somewhere better than the attic of your house."

"How do you…?" Stefan sputtered, but then shut his mouth. It seemed there was little the Originals didn't know.

"Elijah, remember," Rebekah replied.

"Why is he so concerned about the white oak stake all of a sudden?" Stefan asked. The deal was that they kept the white oak stake for insurance and if Elijah suddenly wanted the stake something had to be going on.

Rebekah was silent for a moment, and then she explained. "Nik was out at a pub last night where he was attacked by one of the five. Elijah is convinced the hunter will find the stake and use it on Niklaus."

"But we have the stake. There's no way that the hunter could get it," Stefan assured her.

"Do you not remember last time? The hunters are smart Stefan," Rebekah implored him. "If this hunter doesn't know about the stake already, it's only a matter of time before he finds out about it and comes for it."

"We won't let him have it," Stefan promised.

"I'm sure you wouldn't let him have it, but if he had Caroline would you trade it then?" Rebekah asked.

Suddenly it made sense, Rebekah's sudden call. The stake was in danger and Stefan and Elena would trade the stake for Caroline if she was in danger. And Caroline in her current state was a much easier target than she had ever been, and she had always been a magnet for trouble to begin with. A sudden feeling of dread settled over his shoulders. Things were about to get a lot worse if one of the five was after Klaus and the stake.

Rebekah finally spoke up, "I thought so. It'd be in your best interest to move the stake somewhere safer. And Stefan?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of Caroline."

November 2018

London, England

With those words, Rebekah hung up the phone.

She sat down on the sofa in the living room of her flat in London that overlooked Green Park. After dinner with Elijah she had decided it best to call Stefan from the privacy of her own flat rather than the house they all shared.

Her head spun with all the information Stefan had told her. Caroline didn't seem to be doing any better than Klaus was. A least she's not murdering everyone she sees…unless she is and Stefan didn't tell me that part…but Elijah would have said something if she was. He would have intervened already and Stefan didn't mention anything about seeing Elijah's lackeys.

Rebekah ran her hand through her hair. She was unsure of what to do next. She had already told Elijah that she believed Klaus and Caroline shouldn't be separated and Klaus' behavior this past year had already proven her point. Elijah seemed to be coming around to her point of view if dinner earlier was any indication, but would this new information about Caroline mean anything to him? He seemed to already know that Caroline wasn't her sweet and bubbly self but did he know how different she had become? Would it matter if he did?

All Elijah seemed to care about lately was making sure every vampire and werewolf in Europe knew that they were the ones in charge. Elijah killed the vampire "lords" that had popped up all over Europe while they were in Mystic Falls all those years ago breaking Klaus' hybrid curse and making sure the werewolf clans were not about to try and take on their family. He was almost as bad as Niklaus was when he was determined to break the sun and moon curse.

Rebekah got up from her spot on the couch and walked to the kitchen, opening up her wine fridge and grabbing a bottle. She opened it easily and poured herself a generous glass. Her brothers were too much to even think about without a drink.

What about Caroline remembering that Klaus killed Holly? Bonnie said she wouldn't remember anything connected to Klaus when she performed the spell. And now all of a sudden she remembers that he killed Holly? Something is wrong…I could ask Elijah what he thinks is wrong even though I promised Stefan I wouldn't…but what would Elijah do? Rebekah took another gulp. Would he make Bonnie perform the spell again, or would he let Caroline have the memory? And would Caroline remember anything else?

Rebekah emptied the contents of the bottle into her wine glass and took another long sip. She was at a loss what to do. Her brothers were unpredictable at best, and with Klaus acting out and Elijah in control she wasn't sure what the rules were anymore. She wanted to help her brother and her friend….Stefan and I could get them together. They could meet somewhere, then Klaus would know she's alive and Caroline…Bonnie would have to reverse the spell somehow.

What a mess.

She pulled out one of the chairs at her kitchen table and sat down, resting her head in her hands. What was she going to do?