A/N: Hi you guys. I've updated my story summary hoping it would bring more readers to it.

I would also like to thank the people below for their lovely comments:

Aaaammber, Daisywoo, Ktclaire 99, AgathaN, saule-teja, luxanakakashi, CinderNella, Mystery Girl3, laurasicas and melyna1864.

Thank you all, your comments and reviews are what keeps me going.

Natasha

"So that's it" Caroline finished, slightly flustered. She was feeling nervous, as Stefan hadn't interrupted her through her entire speech. She was used to pouring her heart out with her two best friends, Bonnie and Elena, and they would always know when to stop her for the need of juicy details, or to know how she felt in such and such situation. Now, facing Stefan's silence, she felt overly exposed.

She had told him everything from her meeting with Klaus in her bedroom on her birthday/funeral night, to her date with him at the pageant, without failing to mention his multiple attempts to charm her in between those encounters. She had told him about the emotions she felt particularly since the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and how she now felt like a traitor to her friends by fraternizing with the enemy.

"So you're feeling bad because…"

"Because I've started some sort of relationship with Klaus and I… I don't want it to end" she said. "Does that make me one of the bad guys now? Everybody thinks he's such a monster… and he is most of the time but…"

Stefan looked at her and smiled.

"Caroline, being a vampire alone is considered a monstrosity. Imagine adding a werewolf temper on top of that. Klaus being a hybrid, parts vampire and werewolf, we're lucky he hasn't burnt down the town already, killing every living soul in it. Like I told you last night, I strongly believe we are no better than him. I think he's just a lonely guy with bad issues he needs to resolve. As for us, we did some bad stuff ourselves, we were just blessed with good friends and … family." He dropped his gaze to the floor, undoubtedly thinking about his brother.

"Yes that's what you said last night, before his Big-Ass-Sword Massacre, and not to mention what he did to Tyler's mother. Now I don't know if we were just kidding ourselves in thinking he wasn't that bad."

"Then I believe it is your choice to decide if you are willing to forgive him for what he's done so far… and know if you want to help him out of this life."

Stefan got up from his seat and helped himself with another generous portion of scotch, before joining Caroline on her couch.

"It's alright for you to have feelings for him, Caroline", he said, taking her hands in his.

Caroline knew that, would it have been her listening to a friend's confession, she would have judged without caring if she hurt her feelings or not. Having a compassionate reaction from Stefan brought tears to her eyes. She vowed to herself that she would never judge another being if they confided in her… unless she really couldn't help it.

"If Elena had stopped caring for me when I got back in Ripper mode", he continued, "I would probably have lost myself to the dark side. But in the end, it's the love and care of the people surrounding us that saves us from being engulfed in the darkness. Just keep in mind that Klaus is over a thousand years old and throughout his life he has never cared for someone other than his siblings and himself. He never had people keeping him away from the dark. It could take him a long time adjusting to the light, Caroline. He never really learned to trust someone or to be worthy of someone's trust. The only thing he knows is betrayal and deception, first from his mother, then his siblings, and finally from his hybrids and you." He said smiling sadly at her.

"I know" she said, tears swelling in her blue eyes. "I feel bad for betraying his trust, and…" she sighted heavily "I feel like the worst monster of the two, right now. Plus, my friends hate me, and so does my boyfriend… or ex I should say. Klaus is mad at me for plotting behind his back again…"

"If you feel so bad about what the others might think of you, may I suggest you try to fix it?"

"How could I do that?" she asked puzzled.

"Try apologizing to your friends for a start" he said smiling encouragingly.

Caroline smiled back and thanked Stefan for his support; she left his house, promising him she would fix everything.

Bonnie was about to leave the Gilbert house when she got a phone call. She looked at the caller ID and saw Caroline's name appear. She was surprised to hear from Caroline since, the last time they spoke, Caroline seemed angry and had hung up on her.

"Hi Caroline" she answered.

"Bonnie, Hi!" Caroline replied. She sounded a little too excited to talk to her. Something was wrong.

"What's up?" Bonnie asked.

"Are you with Elena right now?" Caroline asked.

"I stayed with her last night… and was actually going to leave for my house right now, why?"

"Can you wait for a little longer? I kind of have to speak to Elena. And let's just say I'd really like it if you could be around when I meet up with her."

Caroline sounded nervous and so Bonnie agreed to wait for her before she got back home. Before she went back inside Elena's house she dialed her dad's cellphone number.

"Hey Bonnie", he said, sounding far from the receiver." I'm on the road baby, so I can't really speak right now". She clearly was on speaker phone. Her dad and technology… apparently he hadn't learned how to use the Bluetooth system she had bought him a few months ago.

"It's okay dad", she answered." Listen, I just wanted to let you know I might not be home when you arrive this afternoon. I've got something to take care of at Elena's house before I get back there."

"No problem my baby bunny", she hated when he called her like that, couldn't he see she no longer was five years old. Sometimes he seemed to so desperately held on to that image of her, refusing to see the young adult she now was. She thought it had something to do with the fact she was now embracing her true nature as a witch.

"I might have been away from town for a long time, but I still know my way around the kitchen to cook myself a respectful dinner."

She smiled, she was glad her father was coming back to town. She missed him. She didn't talk about him much but, he was the only family she had left, and although he didn't really care about witchcraft he still loved her, and she was glad he did.

"Okay, see you later dad", she said before hanging up.

She turned around and knocked on Elena's front door, before stepping inside her best friend's house.

"Hey" Elena said, surprised to see her again. She was sitting at the kitchen table holding a cup of coffee a few inches away from her lips.

"Yeah, well, Caroline called me, she wishes to see us."

Elena tensed at Caroline's name. She wasn't very happy with her other best friend right now. The blond vampire had been clear on her feelings towards Elena's relationship with Damon, and if she didn't want to see Elena with Damon, then Elena didn't want to see Caroline. She just couldn't stand being criticized over what her heart felt.

Right on cue, Caroline arrived at Elena's house and rang the doorbell. Bonnie went to meet her and invited her in. As soon as Caroline stepped into the kitchen, tension filled the air and silence fell upon the three girls.

"Hi" Caroline finally said smiling shyly at Elena.

"Hi" Elena said, not smiling back at her.

Bonnie sat next to Elena, looking nervously between her two friends. With the tension in the room building up, she hoped she wouldn't have to use her newly recovered powers to break up a fight.

Okay, here we go, thought Caroline.

"I came here to apologize to you" she said looking at Elena. "First, I'm sorry for saying all the horrible things I said about Damon, and for being judgmental".

Elena scoffed, not bothering answering.

"It's no secret I'm not a fan of the guy" Caroline continued. "I don't like him and I don't think he's what you need, Stefan is your soul ma…"

"Stop it Caroline!" Elena interjected. "I'll always love Stefan, but now my feelings for Damon have outgrown what I feel for Stefan, I can't help it Caroline. I know you thought I felt the way I did because of the sire bond, but you see, it's not the case. Damon set me "free" yesterday, and I still love him as much."

"But what about Stefan?" Caroline asked. She felt bad for the guy, he deserved to be happy.

"Caroline, I need you to be a friend and support me in my decision, even if you don't agree with my choice. But, don't worry okay, I'll tell Stefan about me and Damon eventually… but, we broke up, so… "

"Yeah about that…" Caroline started. "I kinda spilled off the information that you and Damon were now together, together… that you… consumed your love for one another".

Elena sped up to her at vampire speed and gave her an angry look. Bonnie tensed up ready to step in.

"You what?!" Elena cried out.

"I'm sorry! And that's the other reason why I wanted to apologize… We were talking about family and trust, and I just couldn't let him believe he could trust Damon so blindly when it came to you. Damon hadn't freed you from the sire bond like he had told Stefan and he was lying to his brother ..."

"So in order to obtain Stefan's trust, you went out and betrayed your word to me!"

"It's not like that!" Caroline said. "I didn't plan on doing it and I didn't really say anything, he …. kinda guessed".

"Oh that makes it okay then…"

"Why did this need to be a secret to keep from him in the first place? Think about it Elena, when you asked me to keep my mouth shut you were still sired to Damon and he was probably the one who said you should keep your relationship secret. Now think, of you own free will, would you have agreed on lying to Stefan about something like this?"

Elena looked at her and did not answer back.

"See that's what I thought. The Elena I know would have set things straight with Stefan a long time ago".

"Still it wasn't right; you should have kept this to yourself, as a friend to me."

"As a friend to you yes, but not as a friend to Damon's marionette"

Bonnie stepped between the two, arms stretched. "Guys, please…"

"I…" Elena started before being interrupted by her cellphone. She looked down on the caller ID displayed on her screen, and then turned her back on her friends. "I've gotta get this" she said.

She went a few feet away whispering.

"Caroline…" Bonnie started.

"I know, it wasn't cool for me to do what I did, but Bonnie… I could not bear the thought that Elena was some kind of puppet Damon could use at will."

"You know he loves her" Bonnie said. "He's not Stefan, but still, he loves her and makes her happy right now."

"But Bonnie, did you ever think about …" before she could finish, Elena interrupted them both.

"How dare you come here and tell me how an horrible person Damon is, when you're now friends with Klaus of all people!"

"Wait, what?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline looked blindly at Elena not sure how her friend knew about her relationship with the Original hybrid.

"That was Damon on the phone", Elena answered her silent question. "When he heard your voice in the background he told me to be careful because you might be on Klaus' side now."

"I'm not on Klaus' side…" Caroline started.

"Damon said he saw you two today, and you seemed to have bonded or whatever. Klaus is the bad guy here Caroline, if you're going to go around telling crap about Damon, maybe you should analyze your own acquaintances with the monster Klaus Mikaelson is".

"I… Klaus is no more a monster than Damon is, so your logic should apply to your own boyfriend as well then." Caroline replied.

"How can you say that, Damon is nothing like Klaus."

"How so?" Caroline asked.

"Klaus tried to kill me, and used me to create hybrids…" Elena started.

"Damon tried to kill me too, and he used me because he was bored and because he wanted to get closer to you!" Caroline replied back. She would not let Elena bring Klaus down without a fight this time. If Klaus was going down for his actions, so would Damon.

"Klaus killed Jenna and tried to kill Jeremy and Tyl…"

"Damon killed Lexi. He killed Alaric multiple times. Do I also need to remind you that he killed Jeremy once, without knowing about the Gilbert ring he was wearing?" Carolina snapped back. "Damon was responsible for Vicky and Bonnie's mother becoming vampires. He killed, tortured and used lots of people out of boredom. You and I, we've killed people, Elena. Why are we considered the good guys here".

"We didn't have any choice; we did it to save our lives and the ones that we love".

"I killed a guy the night I first became a vampire… he was an innocent victim. The other people we killed, the ones we call the bad guys, they were our foes as per our beliefs, and they probably saw us as such. Did we think about their families and friends before we snapped their necks or drowned them from their blood… no. You see Klaus did all he did to save his and his family's life. He did some bad stuff out of selfishness, but so did we at some point. It doesn't excuse what he did to you or your family, but, and I know it's going to sound weird coming from me … we can't be too harsh on him."

Elena looked at her at a loss for words.

"Caroline, what's wrong with you? Klaus is a monster. He's incapable of love, you said that yourself" she finally said.

"And I believed it when I said it, now I'm not that sure…" Caroline said.

"I can't believe this…" Elena said.

"Caroline, befriending Klaus is dangerous"… Bonnie started. "We don't know at what extent we can trust him. What if he uses your friendship… or relationship… to get to us, to get to Elena."

Caroline looked at her friends, tears swelling in her eyes.

"I'll be careful" she said. "Anyway, you're right Elena. Your relationship with Damon is not of my business… I guess we can agree on the same terms about my relationship with Klaus".

Caroline turned around and left her best friend's house as tears started pouring down her cheeks.

One last checkpoint for my Apology Journey, Caroline thought as she parked in front of the Mikaelson's for the second time that day. She longed for her bed and a good night's sleep, but she needed to get this done.

She went for the front door and knocked. She couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about seeing Klaus again. When he had touched her in the cellar, she had to keep herself from launching herself on him and kiss him passionately. She was daydreaming about that possibility when the front door opened and Klaus stepped in the doorway.

"Caroline! What can I do for you?"

She was a bit flustered about the fact that he didn't seem that happy to see her, and then she remembered they had had an argument in her car before they'd arrived at the cellar… She was here to apologize to him about lying and using him, why was she hoping for a welcome party, anyway.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course, where are my manners…" Klaus said before gesturing for her to get in.

She stepped inside his house and she couldn't help but think that this was the first time, since he had made her visit his study, that the two of them would be alone in his house… unless Rebekah was prowling somewhere around the house of course.

She went for the living room and turned around to see if he was following her. She saw him leaning against the wall opposite her, grinning.

"So Caroline, sweetheart, why don't you tell me the reason for your late night visit".

She hadn't realized what time it was and nearly jumped when she saw the clock on the top of an antique looking wooden table.

"Oh, I hadn't realized the time, I can come back tomorrow. I don't want to bother you…" She started making her way for the exit, but he grabbed her arm gently but firmly. She looked down at the floor, scared he could see the emotions that, with a simple touch from his fingers, had started boiling up inside her.

"Don't go" Klaus said. Something in his voice made her look up in his eyes. The blue of his iris was so intense she found she could not look away.

They kept gazing at each other and Caroline was the first to regain her balance. What was she here for again? Ah yes. She braced herself for the blow.

"I came here to apologize for dishonoring your trust so many times" she said. "I'm sorry for being part of the plots and plans to kill you. I haven't been a good friend to you and I'm sorry".

Klaus looked at her with a stunned expression. "You already apologized for that Caroline, why bring it up again?"

"Because I did not have the chance to show you how sincere I am about this apology", she started. If her heart was still beating he could probably hear it fluttering crazily right now. "I realized how much I cared about you when I thought you were gonna … sort of die."

She dropped her gaze to the floor as the piercing look he was giving her was too overwhelming for her.

Klaus looked at Caroline's blushing face and didn't know what to think. Was this another ruse? Was she another distraction before her friends came running in his house forks and torches at the ready. Yet, the sincerity he sensed in her voice made him want to believe her so bad.

Caroline looked back up and held an unnecessary breath.

"So that's it, I came here to apologize and ask for your forgiveness. I promise this will never happen again".

Klaus kept quiet and kept staring at her. Then, with his hand, he gently moved a lock of her golden hair away from her eyes, where it had fell, and placed it behind her ear. He lowered his hand a little, not letting go of the lock, twirling it's end around his fingers. He looked completely absorbed in his contemplation of her blond curls, and she closed her eyes unable to help the feelings that resurfaced.

"I don't know why" he said, his voice a mere whisper "but I believe you".

She realized she hadn't paid that much attention to his British accent before, but in that moment she had never heard anything sexier in her life. When she saw Klaus close the space between them, she knew he intended to kiss her, and although her head was screaming for her to get away, something was gluing her on the spot. She found she was actually longing for his lips to meet hers.

When Klaus saw that Caroline was not repulsed by his closeness, he seized his chance and was just about to savor the taste of her beautiful pink lips, when he heard the front door open.

As soon as Caroline heard the noise she flinched away, her face turning bright red.

"Nick, I'm done with my shopping and I brought you a little surpri…" Rebekah stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw Klaus and Caroline so close to one another.

"Rebekah, I'm not your personal carrier…" A masculine voice came from outside.

Oh no, not him, Caroline thought.

Kol stepped inside the house with shopping bags in each hand.

"Are we interrupting something", he said stopping next to his sister and staring at his brother and Caroline. His signature cocky smile spread across his face when he saw her face all red.

"I think I'm gonna go" Caroline muttered. She glanced quickly at Klaus and saw fire still burning in his eyes as he looked back at her. His stare alone made her knees go weak and, it took a great effort to make her legs move again to get passed the two Original vampires. She averted their eyes, afraid they would see how troubled she felt, and she left the house. On her way to her car she couldn't help but think that, that same morning, she had come here ready for war, and she was now leaving the Mikaelson's with a hope for a new beginning.

As soon as Kol closed the door behind Caroline, he turned to face his brother, smiling brightly.

"Well brother, it's nice to see you again! Rebekah filled me in on your plan; I can see you're not wasting anytime with the blond bombshell".

Klaus had to refrain himself from snapping Kol's neck right there, and he had to remind himself he needed his brother as much as Rebekah for what was to come in the next few days.

"I'm happy that Rebekah didn't waste any second finding you" Klaus said giving a grateful smile to his sister who smiled back at him.

"Tomorrow brother, you and I are going to have some fun" Klaus continued, grabbing Kol's shoulder.

"Can't wait" Kol replied, excited at the thought he'd finally get some real action going.

Rebekah left her two brothers to their reunion and went up to her room, grabbing her shopping bags Kol had left in the lobby, on her way up the stairs. Before reaching her door, she took a look at her cell phone; there were still no new messages.

A/N: Flip to the next chapter for a sneak peek of next week's publication.