A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! I appreciate every last one of them. I love reading your thoughts, and hearing all of your suggestions. I hope you all had a great Christmas! I finally had time to relax and write. This was a favorite of mine to write and I hope you guys love it too. Thank you all again so much:)

A Surprising Development:

As they were walking side by side down the hallways, Klaus thought he heard something. He put his arm out to stop Beth. She looked up at him curiously. "What? What is it, Klaus?" She asked him. He didn't say a word as he took her by the hand and rushed off. He ran them down the hall and near the entrance to the mansion. They walked outside to see Damon punching Kol on the ground. "Damon!" She shouted out for him. Klaus held her back, not wanting her to get hurt. Before she could do anything Damon broke his neck, and his body went limp.

Suddenly, the door opened again and Stefan ran out. "Damon!" He yelled at him and he looked up to see the rest of the Mikaelson's walk out of the house with Elena with them. "Are you crazy?" He asked in disbelief. Beth pulled out of Klaus grip and rushed over to Kol and kneeled besides him, gently putting his head in his lap. It was unnerving to see him dead, even if it wasn't for long.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you insane?" She snapped, looking up at Damon. He glared at Elena, barely glancing at her. She tried shaking Kol a little, but it was no use. He was dead. Elijah walked over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, telling her he would be okay.

"Maybe a little. Far be it from me to cause a problem." He said with a fake apologetic tone, staring at Elena. She sighed and gave him a disapproving look. Beth didn't understand why he would just attack Kol like that. He barely knew him. Something must have happened for him to just lash out like that. Klaus shook his head at his brother's dead body. He should have known Kol would have gotten himself killed within the first 24 hours out of his coffin.

Klaus and Elijah picked up their younger brother and took him around the back, as not to have the guest question why Kol was incapacitated. Beth followed behind them as they carried him up the backstairs. Elijah could see the concern spread across Elizabeth's face as they brought him into his room and laid him on his bed. "Don't worry about Kol, Elizabeth. This isn't the first time this has happened. He'll wake up soon." He assured her.

"He had it coming eventually, knowing Kol." Klaus commented looking at Kol, unconscious on his bed. Beth rolled her eyes at him. Elijah sighed at his brother's comment as Elizabeth took a seat next to Kol. "You might as well come back later, there's no telling when he'll wake up, love."

"Or you're more than welcome to stay and wait." Elijah offered too, throwing a glare to his brother.

"I'll stay, thanks." She agreed with the eldest. Klaus went to argue with her, but Elijah was already pushing him out of the door. He didn't need them to start bickering. If she wanted to stay, he wasn't going to stop her. "Thank you, Elijah." She smiled over at him. He gave her a small nod, before closing the door behind him.

Beth sighed as she sat down on a chair by Kol's bed. She looked around the room. It was pretty standard. Beth knew that probably Klaus or Rebekah must have put the room together. There was a giant king bed against the wall of the bed with silk sheets. A dresser and a couch off to the side. A mirror was against the wall and a small balcony to the left of the bed. Walking over to his dresser, she saw a picture on top. It was of her. She was smiling happily, probably at him. She smiled seeing it as she sat back down at the chair, yawning from fatigue, she put her hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Beth rested her eyes, while waiting for Kol to wake up.

Twenty minutes later, color started returning to the young Mikaelson's face as he woke up. He groaned lowly as he slowly sat up. His first thought was to find Damon Salvatore and rip his head off, but then he saw Elizabeth sitting in the chair, sleeping. He smiled at her peaceful breathing in and out. It reminded him of the times she would always wait for him to awake when he did something to get himself killed..

Kol woke up and stretched out his muscles. Elizabeth was facing the window in her white nightgown, looking out towards the lake. He smiled over at her as she turned around to see he woke up. "What happened, love? I just remember talking with Nik and then I'm here." He gestured to his bed as he pushed the sheets off of his body. It was still pretty late.

She turned to sit down on the bed next to him. "Oh, you two being the imbecile that you are got into a conflict with Niklaus about me leaving to go out of the country with him and lost, and got your neck snapped." She told him, her voice filled with irritation. She hated that they both were fighting over her. It wasn't either of their choices and they didn't have a right to decide for her. Kol looked at her confused. He thought that she would be happy that he defended her. She sighed. "I appreciate you standing up for me, but it's my decision and you shouldn't have fought with Klaus, especially about me."

"That's the perfect reason to fight with Nik, sweetheart." He told her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He wasn't going to let his brother take Elizabeth away from him, alone. Not if he had a say about it. He knew how Nik was about witches and Elizabeth seemed to be his new obsession. "Don't worry about it, love. Nik and I are always looking for a reason to fight."

"My best friend, Damon back home and his brother are always fighting over this one girl. I don't want it to be the same with you and Niklaus." She said softly. She didn't want their family to split up, over her. She had come to love them all and didn't want to ruin what they had.

Kol let out a small laugh as he sat up straight. "We've been alive for centuries, love. We're stuck together, we all know that, but we're siblings. We fight." He assured her. She never had siblings so she didn't exactly understand. They may fight differently than normal siblings, but it was the same to them.

"I know that," Elizabeth sighed out. "But I don't want you guys to make each other angry and he does to you, what he did to your older brother." She said.

Kol scoffed about his older brother. "He daggered Finn because he wanted to die. I, on the other hand, love what I am and what I have." He assured her. He smiled and took her hand gently. "Or rather, who I have." Elizabeth smile at Kol. She loved when he was sweet. He didn't show that a lot to her while they were around the others, but it was fine to her. It made these moments feel more special. She wrapped her arm around his neck.

"You know Klaus though, Kol. I can't bear the to lose you, over something as stupid as an argument over me."

Kol gently smoothed down her hair. "I wouldn't do anything that'll take me away from you, Elizabeth." He told her sincerely. That would be the last thing that he wanted. He cared about Elizabeth, more than he thought was possible.

"Good." She kissed his cheek. "And as for me leaving? Once again, that's my decision." She smiled standing up from his bed. Kol groaned and fell back on his pillows.

"So bloody stubborn."

Elizabeth laughed at his dramatics. "I'm not stubborn, Kol. I just know that I want to make my own decisions." She said.

Kol gave her a wicked grin, sitting up. "Would one of those decisions be to sleep in this bed with me? Even if it's only that, sleeping?" He asked with a waggle of his eyebrows, making her laugh at him. She sat down at the edge of his bed and let out a yawn.

"You really want to sleep after Klaus just killed you?"

He grinned at her. "Well, no, I'd rather be doing a different activity, but if it means that you'll stay than I will." He said. She hesitated a moment before climbing in with him, to his delight

"This doesn't mean I'm not leaving tomorrow." She reminded him as she lay on her side facing him. He stroked her cheek gently. He loved these nights. Even if she wasn't ready to take the next step with him, he just loved having her close to him, while they slept. He shrugged.

"We'll deal with it when the time comes."

"Do you want to come with me?"

Kol was surprised by her offer. She was very clear on not wanting to be coddled, but she could tell that it was bothering him. The last thing she wanted him to do was worry about her. "Just to make sure that you're safe. I know how Nik is when he's stuck on his obsessions." He explained.

"I know that, but this isn't the first time that I've been anywhere alone with Niklaus." She reminded him. He grit his teeth in memory. Each time he was positive it was to anger him. She rolled her eyes at him. "You have to stop being so jealous."

Kol sighed and then have her a small grin. "However will you convince me not to be?" He asked. She rolled her eyes, but kiss him all the same. She went to pull back, but he deepened the kiss making her want more. Her kisses were addictive to him. And she couldn't help, but kiss him back every time. His kisses were passionate, but not demanding. They got more into it and somehow she ended up in his lap as her hand threaded through his dark hair. His hands started creeping up her bare leg, when she pulled back breathlessly.

"I need a breather."She said with a smile as she went to get off of his lap. He stopped her though. Even if she didn't want to push it, he still didn't want her to go anywhere just yet.

"Well, what do you want to do?"

She shrugged and laid down on his chest. "I should go pack, but I'm really tired, actually." She sighed out. He stroke back her hair and kissed the top of her head gently.

"Then sleep. We'll pack in the morning." He assured her.

"Will you read to me?" She asked him softly looking up at him. She liked listening to him talk while she slept. There was something comforting about Kol being there with her. She felt warm and safe. "Until I fall asleep? Your voice is soothing."

Kol held her closer and smile down at her. "Of course, love. What story?"

She twisted around, until she grabbed the book on his nightstand that she left from the other day. Grimm's fairy tales. "The one you gave me for my birthday." She reminded him as she handed to him. He chuckled as she adjusted to lay on his chest and started reading the fairy tale as she drifted off to sleep in the comfort of his embrace.

Beth started to stir from her nap when she heard sheets rustling. She looked up and saw Kol smiling over at her. "A beautiful face to wake up to, I can't complain about that." He grinned at her. She smiled back and ran over to hug him. He hugged her back without a thought. She was just glad that he was awake, finally. "It's okay, darling. Just a little snap of the neck. I'm quite all right."

"I'm just glad that you're awake. I was so worried about you." She told him seriously as she pulled back. He gave her a small smile as he took her hand in his. "Why did Damon do that to you, anyways?"

"Well, about that..." He said with a mischievous grin. Beth gave him a look, telling him to go on. He hesitated before went on. "I kind of broke the quarterback's hand and then Salvatore came out of nowhere and started to beat up on me, love."

Beth's jaw dropped as she stood up straight. "You broke Matt's hand? Why would you do that, Kol?"

"It was a handshake! It's not my fault that he doesn't have a strong enough grip."

"He's human! You can't just do that to him, Kol!" She shouted at him. "Wait...that was what you and Rebekah were talking about earlier, wasn't it? You were saying something about breaking your mom's rules and you were planning to hurt Matt." He shrugged. " I asked you about that and you lied!"

"Lying may be a strong word, I think it was more like, not telling you the whole truth." He suggested with a nod. She scoffed and hit him with a nearby pillow. "Violence, Elizabeth? I'm shocked at you."

She rolled her eyes and went to hit him again with the pillow, but he grabbed it and stood up before she snap it back and used it to pull her to close to him, so that there was barely any space between them. Kol looked up at her with an amused smirk on his face. For some reason it made her heart race. "No, don't look at me like that, Kol. I'm serious. I'm mad at you."

"And how's that working out for you?" He asked smirking as he leaned in closer, looking at her with his deep dark eyes. She sighed and shook her head. She couldn't let him get out of this so easily, even if she wanted to.

"Stop trying to be charming, it's annoying. I'm still angry at you."

He nodded in agreement, but kiss her collarbone, sending a shiver down her spine. He trailed his kisses up her neck, making her sigh in content. "Tell me...how that...works out...for you." He said in between kisses. She shouldn't have been enjoying it about him telling her, he broke Matt's hand, but he couldn't help it.

"Stop, trying to distract me." She warned him. He grinned against her skin and placed another soft, lingering kiss there.

"Is it working?"

Beth made herself push him away, even if she didn't want him to stop kissing her. "Nope. Kol, stop, ok? Just listen to me." She said as sternly as she could. She hoped that he agreed, because it was hard to resist his kisses. He sighed and pulled back.

"Fine." He said crossing his arms.

She shook her head. "No, no way. You don't get to be annoyed. You broke Matt's hand, Kol! It's broke! It doesn't heal like vampire's do. He has a broken hand. And on top of that you lied to me!" She told him, feeling hurt. Kol looked guilty. He shouldn't have lied to her, he knew that, but Matt made him angry.

Kol sighed. "Rebekah needed my help and he was flirting with you." He defended his actions. He saw the way Matt was looking at her and he didn't like it. After Rebekah told her about them being together at one point, it just made him that much more angry.

Beth scoffed. "He wasn't flirting with me. He just said that I look great and he said the same thing to Caroline. He was just being nice."

Kol scoffed at her. He should have known that she would have denied it,even if it was as clear as day. One thing that Elizabeth was, was oblivious when it came to men liking her. She never saw it, but everyone else did, especially him and he didn't like it. "He was looking at you with those eyes." He told her seriously.

"What eyes?"

"The loving eyes. He wanted you." He told her simply. He knew that look anywhere. He often wore it when he was around her. It wasn't Matt's fault that he liked Elizabeth, but he should have known better than to start flirting with her, especially when she wasn't there with him.

"There were no eyes." She laughed out. Matt wanting her, sounded completely unrealistic, after everything that happened. He was just a friend to her. "He doesn't want me, Kol."

Kol rolled his eyes at her. "That's a lie. No one can ever not want you, Elizabeth. It's impossible." He said sincerely. Beth blushed and looked down at that.

"You can't get out of this with compliments."

Kol tilted her chin up so that she was looking straight at him and pushed back a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "It's the truth," He said with a small hopeful smile on his face. Beth sighed, not being able to stay mad at him.

"Kol, I'm here with you, because I want to be with you, not anyone else. Just please don't hurt him anymore. No matter what happened in the past." She pleaded with him. Matt was still her friend and she didn't want anything to happen to him. And knowing Kol, he probably would have done worst to him, if Damon didn't stop him last night. Kol rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement. "I'm serious, that goes for all of my friend. Please, just don't hurt them." She asked him.

"And if they hurt me first?"

Beth hesitated. He would have a reason, but she still couldn't stand by and let him hurt them. "Then let me handle them? Please?" He sighed and nodded.

He looked into her eyes. "And if they hurt you?" He asked her. He could deal with someone hurt him. He could let that go, but someone hurting Elizabeth was out of the question. They shouldn't be able to get away with that, friend or not.

"Then I'll deal with it." She told him seriously/

Kol rolled his eyes at her. "As stubborn as ever, I see." He commented. He should have known that even if her friends hurt her, she'd protect them. It was admirable of her, but in a frustrating and annoying way when he couldn't make them pay. She took a seat next to him.

"I'm not stubborn."

He grinned over at her. "You are so bloody stubborn." He contradicted her.

Beth laughed. "I'm not bloody stubborn." She argued mimicking his accent, but it came out sounding wrong. Kol laughed at her. She had beer been able to copy the British accent.

"I love when you try to talk English to me."

"Try? I can totally talk Engish." She claimed with a nod.

Kol leaned in towards her and smirked as he gave her a kiss. "Love your awful at it." She rolled her eyes, but kissed him leaving the kiss a bit more lingering than his, making him want more.

"Agree to disagree."

He grinned. "I can deal with that." He told her kissing her again. His lips sent a feeling of warmth through her as she ran her fingers through his soft hair. She sighed into the kiss, before remembering why else she was mad at him. She pulled back from the kiss to look at him.

"Another thing, Kol." She told him sitting up and he looked at her concerned as he did the same. "No more lies. I hate being lied to, that's happened enough times and I want to be able to trust you." She really did. She could tell that she was falling for Kol and she did want to trust him without later regretting that choice.

"I give you my word, Elizabeth. No more lies." He promised her seriously. He was going to make sure to stick to that promise. He wasn't going to lose her like last time, not now that he had his second chance. She smiled leaning her forehead on his and he touched her cheek. "Thank you, Kol." He kissed her forehead. "No problem, sweetheart."

"It's late. I should leave now." She sighed as she stood up. He grabbed her hand to stop her. He knew that he shouldn't push it, but he wasn't ready for her to just leave yet. Even if they spent practically the whole night together, he still wanted to be with her.

"Stay." He asked her quietly, surprising both of them. He could see the apparent confusion her face, making him smile at how adorable she looked. 'I don't want to say goodbye to you."

That surprised her, but she had to admit that she didn't exactly want to leave either. She let out a small awkward cough, clearing her throat. "Where would I sleep?" She asked him.

"Right here, of course." He said with a smirk of mischief.

"Um, there? In the bed...with you?" She asked blushing.

He chuckled. "Well, not naked, love, but yes in the bed with me." He smirked at her. Seeing the blush creep up a little more on her face, made him grin at her. She hesitated for a moment. It was fast, but she didn't want to leave either.

"Um, okay. D-do you have anything that I can wear? Just for tonight?" She asked him looking down. Beth didn't really want to sleep in her beautiful dress and ruin it. And she knew that they probably had tons of clothes in the house, their had to be something that she could wear while she slept.

Kol grinned at her as he headed over to the dresser. She walked over with him as he rifled through the clothes. "I don't really know what's in here. Rebekah did my shopping for me." He explained to her as he was looking through the shirts.

She helped him go through them to find something to wear. "Knowing Rebekah, she probably got you ever item in the store." She said and Kol laughed in agreement. That sounded like his sister. "Luckily the clothes aren't too different than from a century ago."

"I'm just glad that those puffed out sleeves are gone." He chuckled as he watched her go through the drawers. "Those were bloody awful."

She laughed at that. "I couldn't really imagine you with the puffy type of sleeves. Seems a little bit too pirates of the Caribbean for you." Beth commented with a shrug as she looked over at him. He seemed to be confused at that reference "Um, it's a movie. You know like a moving picture except that they now have them in color and the actors talk."

He laughed. "That's right. I believe that Rebekah mentioned them to me. Are they any good? These pirate movies you're talking about?" He asked her curiously. "You know that Nik and Elijah taught me swordplay and Nik and I taught you how to fight, properly anyways." She rolled her eyes as he smirked at her.

"Really? Maybe we can watch the movie and then later you can reteach me how to use a sword. If you want."

Kol smiled at her. "I'd like that." Anything that allowed him to spend more time with his Elizabeth, he'd definitely take. He's been too long without her and he just wanted to be with her, whenever he could.

She cleared her throat. "Ok, these are sweatpants." She held them up and handed the clothing to him "You usually wear them to bed or when you're just around the house. This the a night shirt. It's pretty simple." She told him with a sigh.

He grinned at her. "You take the shirt. I hate feeling too restricted while I'm sleeping. I've been sleeping in a suit for a century." He reminded her as he passed her the shirt. It was big enough to look like a dress on her, "You can undress the bathroom, if you're not comfortable changing in here with me. Though, I'd love to be of assistance, if you need it." He said with a mischievous tone to his voice.

Beth blushed, but rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Just turn around." She warned him. Kol smirked, but covered his eyes and slowly turned around, making her roll her eyes at him again, as she quickly slipped out of the dress and into the shirt. "You're so dramatic, I'm already done."

"You're almost as fast as me, love." He smirked at her. She realized that he had quickly put on the sweatpants too while she was changing. Kol was now taking in her shirt, that still managed to leave her legs bare. His eyes filled with hunger looked her up and down. He pulled himself away from them to see her blushing, making him grin.

"Yeah, well. I'm just cold I guess." She shrugged as she sat down on the bed. Beth got herself comfortable under the covers as Kol shed his top. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help, but stare. For someone that's been asleep for over a century, he was ripped. His toned muscles were evident as he was shirtless. Kol smirked when he saw her staring, but she quickly turned away when he caught her eyes, making him chuckle.

"Is that your way of asking me for my warm embrace tonight?" He asked her waggling his eyebrows, making her smile and roll her eyes. He got into the bed on the other side and turned to face her.

"No, that's my way of asking you not to steal all the covers tonight."

Kol chuckled as she laid down besides him and he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her, lovingly and nuzzled her neck making her laugh from the ticklish feeling she had. "Won't need to, darling, as long as you're on my side of the bed." He told her

She smiled up at him. "You're surprisingly warm for a vampire." She commented.

"I can be even warmer, if you like." He offered with a wicked grin. She turned red at his suggestion and looked away.

"I'm good." She said quickly Kol smiled at her and kissed the corner of her mouth. "We'll go as slow, or as fast, as you want, love." He promised her. He wanted her to be comfortable with him and if she didn't want to rush anything, then they wouldn't.

"You'd do that for me?" She asked him surprised. It just seemed that he was more into rushing into everything.

He looked at her like she was crazy. "I would gladly travel the ends of the world for you, Elizabeth. Of course I'd do that for you." He said with a smile as she kiss him softly on the lips as a thanks. Beth yawned. She knew she should sleep so she could wake up to get back, before anyone worried about her. Kol slightly tightened his hold on her, as she adjusted herself so she was facing him. "Get some rest, love."

"All right. If I wake up, just ignore me. Sometimes I have nightmares." She said with her eyes closed. Kol looked over at her worried. It concerned him that she was having nightmares. He stroked back her hair and her eyes opened. "Nightmares, love? What are they about?" Beth tensed at that question. She really didn't want to talk about them too much in detail.

"Dying. Some faceless person always killed me."

Beth could see that angered him for some reason. It was like that it was someone else's fault that she was dreaming about this, but the look of anger left to replace with a look of determination. "That's not going to happen." He promised her seriously. "If you dream of it again, I'll change the dream. I'll always be there to protect you. Even when you don't want me to be."

She smiled at him, in surprise. It wasn't every day that someone said that to her, but he looked down at her seriously and she could tell that he meant every word. She took his hand in her's. "Thank you, Kol." She smiled at him. He returned the smile and kissed the top of her head as she nestled it into his chest and he rested his cheek on the top of her head. He gently stroked her hair as she fell asleep.

xxxxx

She was in the room again. The same one that felt familiar, but she didn't remember where it was from. Beth walked tried to walk out, but she saw that there were no doors. It was all wall. That was impossible she walked around the room and saw there were no windows. Beth was breathing heavily, as she heard someone whisper her name, hauntingly. It sounded like a warning though, but there was no one there. Beth turned quickly and was faced with the faceless man and he rushed towards her as she screamed and snapped her neck.

"No!" Beth woke up gasping for air, realizing she was still in bed.

"Elizabeth." Kol said her name concerned. He had tried to wake her up when he felt her thrashing around, but with no luck. She was shaking as though she had seen a ghost as she looked around to make sure she was still in his room. Her head was pounding though. "Hey, come here, love. It's all right," He wrapped an arm around her as she shook and kissed the top of her head trying to calm her down. "Breathe, lover. It was just a nightmare. It's going to be just fine." He promised her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head as her heart started to slow down, but her head was still hurting. They both lied back down with Kol's arm still around her. "Just relax, Elizabeth. Try to go back to sleep, I promise that you won't have that nightmare again." He told her seriously, and she felt as though she could believe him. She rested herself against him as he smoothed her hair back and just waited for her to drift off, slipping her into a more pleasant dream than her nightmare. Kol was pleased when he saw her smiling in her sleep as he fell back asleep next to her, keeping his arms wrapped around her protectively.

xxxxx

Finn crept into his brother's bed room, making no noise. In the bed, was Kol with his arm around the waist of Elizabeth. They were both sleeping soundly. He was lucky that she wore her talisman on her wrist for the ball, or he never would have gotten close enough to her neck. Finn almost felt bad for what he was doing. He never seen his little brother so protective of this one girl. He was usually charming and sarcastic, in every aspect, but he'd look at the girl, as though she was the only one in the room. The way he held her, he could tell that he loved her very much. It reminded him of his night's with his own love, but he shook that out of his head as he slipped out of the room as Elizabeth turned over in her sleep and Kol subconsciously held her closer.