Seventh.

"Norrah?" Elena called out from the top landing as they tripped over one another on their way down. Bonnie came first, stopping in the middle of the staircase followed by Elena and Caroline. I was still standing in the entranceway with my phone in two pieces on the ground. I bent down to retrieve them.

"I'm so sorry, it just slipped out of my hands," I said as they made their way down. I held the battery in my hand and reached out for the body of the phone as Caroline did the same. She looked up at me, her eyes narrow as they met mine for just a second as she let it go and let me pick it up. I fussed with the two pieces, trying to get them together as my hands shook.

"I'm going to give Stefan a call," Elena said cautiously as she turned towards the kitchen where her phone sat on the counter.

"No!" I shouted as I ran around in front of her. "I mean you don't have to do that. I'm fine, really, I just dropped it. Please don't call him over here. It was a long night, and I'm sure if he was dealing with Katherine he's probably exhausted." I locked eyes with her, "We're safe." I repeated back to her the words she had said to me an hour ago.

I looked up past Bonnie to Caroline who stood at the bottom of the stairs, her arms crossed and a look of disbelief on her face. As she glared back at me she unfolded her arms, rolled her eyes and walked into the living room, switching the TV back on. She slumped down onto the couch and sulked. I didn't have time to deal with that right now. I had to figure out what I was going to do about Katherine before she hurt anyone else.

"Okay, well I'm going to go out and pick-up a few things for breakfast," Bonnie announced, "any requests?"

"But you can't leave," I said to her, "Katherine is out there somewhere waiting."

"I've dealt with her before, trust me she isn't a threat to me." Bonnie replied despite my plea.

"If anyone is safe leaving this house right now, it's Bonnie," Elena agreed as Bonnie went up to change. "C'mon, I'll get some coffee brewing, I think we could all use a pick-me-up this morning," she said leading me into the kitchen.

I sat in one of the chairs at the table as she found the coffee filters and got the machine started. Once she sat down with me I lowered my voice so that the other girls couldn't hear. "So is Caroline always this broody, or is it just me?" I asked her, hoping the TV was loud enough to cover-up my voice.

"She laughed, "Don't take it personally, that's just Caroline. I think she feels a little threatened by you, but she'll come around."

"I hope so," I told her. "It would really help if we were on the same team. I probably deserve it though. I haven't exactly been very friendly."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Elena asked.

"No, it's better if I do it," I told her, "we're overdue for a heart to heart anyway. It'll be easier to talk to her alone.

"Right," she said and nodded back.

Elena stood to pour the coffee as Bonnie came back down dressed in jeans, an embellished t-shirt and an oversized knit vest with accessories to match. I was impressed, my own taste had always been so plain. She held out a travel mug as Elena poured the brew into it, dressed it up with a little milk and sugar and headed out. I grabbed a mug and took my time adding sugar and a touch of light cream while Elena prepared her own and one for Caroline. She sipped her own and handed me the extra mug. "I'm going to take a shower and change," she told me, "why don't you go and try to make peace with Caroline."

She took her mug and left the room. I stayed in my seat until I heard the water running then picked up the two mugs and headed towards the living room. I put Caroline's mug on a coaster on the coffee table and took a seat in the small loveseat cross from her. She stubbornly stared at the TV so I knew that I would have to make the first move. "Caroline, I…" She cut me off before I could even get my sentence out.

"It was Katherine wasn't it," she asked me pointedly, "on the phone this morning, that's why you dropped it?"

She stared me down and I have to admit that I could see how she might be a little intimidating to a lot of people. I glared right back. "Yes, it was Katherine."

"Then why didn't you just say that? Why cover it up, we all know she's after you and that she's threatening Elena."

I wasn't really sure how to respond. I thought for a minute and then said, "I don't want everyone worrying about me. She caught me off guard the last time, that's all."

"Yeah, but it's not just you who could get hurt. She threatened Elena, she killed me. There is a lot more at stake this time. She isn't going to stop until she gets what she wants, and she doesn't care who she hurts in the process."

"I know," I told her, "and I'm sorry. Please Caroline, we need to fix this thing between us. I know that I initiated it, but I'm asking you to forgive me so that we can work together, otherwise she wins. She'll drive that wedge in so far that we'll all break apart." I looked into her eyes, "I'm asking you to help me. If you can't do it for me, do it for Elena. I can't let her lose anyone else that she loves. Please."

"Okay, fine," she said, "but you can't refer to me as a newborn anymore then, deal?"

"Wait, when did you hear me refer to you as a newborn?" I asked. "Is that why you've been so hostile?"

"I didn't hear you say it exactly," she said nervously, "but I overheard Katherine telling Damon that was why you didn't trust me. I wanted to help you, really, I just didn't think you wanted my help."

I started to laugh, and then I couldn't stop. I had no idea that this was why she was acting this way. She looked at me like I was crazy and started laughing too. Soon we were both red faced and giddy. We looked up as we heard a knock at the door and Stefan stepped in balancing a tray with five huge coffee cups on it. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked as he casually sniffed the air. "Smells like I might be too late."

"Trust me," Caroline said to him as she got up and helped relieve him if his load, "we can all use it this morning. I smiled and followed them both into the kitchen.