Kol paced around the house. Stefan's house. Caroline's vote counted for two, as he already knew it would, and they called Kol and gave him the happiest of news: his help would be accepted. Happy for him, at least. Stefan hated it.

He couldn't bring himself to like the fact the same Kol who only years ago tried to kill them all so many times was now roaming freely around his house and knew all of his plans.

He liked it even less when he spoke to Caroline, or smiled at her, or looked at her. Sometimes he felt like ripping Kol's head out when he was in the same room as her.

He told himself a million times that it wasn't jealousy. He just wanted to look out for Caroline, protect her, and Kol had a not so great reputation and it had been confirmed to Stefan too many times already. Caroline was his best friend. It had been months since that night in the parking lot of that nightclub, months since that day he made the choice to run away from Klaus and protect her. He couldn't risk Kol ruining it all in a matter of, what, 24 hours?

"I'm going to call Klaus," Kol said, and Stefan's head snapped up. "and I-"

"Are you insane?" Stefan spoke a little too loud.

Kol looked at him mockingly. "Excuse me?"

"You can't call Klaus."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't!"

Kol laughed. "Oh, Stefan. Of course I can. You accepted my help, didn't you? Well, here I am, giving it to you."

"We need to have a plan. We need to know what we're gonna do, how we're gonna act. You can't just come in here, call Klaus and say 'oh, yes, come and get us, brother'."

Kol's eyes seemed darker. "I'm not here to play house, Stefan. If you think for a second I'm gonna sit around waiting for Klaus just as you all have been doing for the past months, you're wrong. This isn't a war, you don't need a plan of attack. This is survival. You have the means to stop him, don't you? Well then. Get on with it already."

"You're not gonna help by calling him, you're gonna make things worse." Stefan said, defiantly.

"Do you have a better idea? Besides pretending you're Caroline's big shining hero and that nothing bad will ever happen to her because you're here?"

Stefan was at his throat before he could even think twice about it. Kol punched and kicked him until finally he got an advantage. He punched Stefan in the face so hard the room started spinning and he thought he was gonna fall down, but he kept his balance and punched Kol in the stomach just as hard. He didn't seem to feel it, though, because he was smirking again.

"Is this all you've got?" Kol teased, while Stefan felt blood dripping down his nose.

He punched him again, this time as hard as he could, right in his jaw. Kol stumbled back, but he kept himself on his feet.

"Come on, Stef. Let it out. You're angry, I can see it." Kol kept smirking.

Stefan was so angry he couldn't control himself anymore. The veins under his eyes came out along with his fangs, his blood was pumping and he could listen as his heartbeat got quicker and stronger. He closed his hand into a fist one more time and aimed for Kol's jaw.

"Stop!" Caroline shouted, running as fast as her human legs could carry her. She stood right between them, then, but her back was turned to Stefan and she was pushing Kol away. "Stop this, you idiot. Why are you hitting him?"

"He was the one hitting me!" Kol argued.

"Yeah, well, there's a reason for that." Stefan wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand. Caroline saw that, and her eyes went from angry to worried

She touched his face gently with one hand, and his arm with the other. "Are you okay?"

"He's a vampire, darling. A little punch is not going to kill him." Kol said, but she payed him no mind.

Stefan nodded, as his anger melted away under her touch. "He wants to call Klaus." He said, because as much as that was one of the reasons for his anger, he didn't feel like talking about the main reason.

"This has to end!" He tried to defend himself once again. "How long have you been here? Hiding? Afraid? You say you have everything you need, but you're lacking the courage to stand up to my brother and put an end to this already."

Caroline was still holding Stefan's arm when she turned to Kol. "I know."

The pain in Stefan's nose was almost gone now, but he felt as if he had just been punched all over again. "What?"

"Stefan, I... I'm tired." She breathed out. "I don't wanna do this anymore."

"Do what?" Stefan felt dizzy. Caroline wanted to call Klaus, too, he realized.

"Hide. I want this to end." What if you get hurt? What if you die? I can't take that, Caroline. He wanted to tell her that, he wanted to rip out Kol's heart and stop this all from happening, but instead he kept his mouth shut as Caroline's grip on his arm grew tighter. "Please. Hear him out. Let him help."

"You have a weapon." Kol said. "You have a way to defeat him. He can't be killed, we're all very aware of that, but you can stop him. There are eight of us now, if Rebekah's idiot boyfriend will serve us any good. Hell, there's Jeremy Gilbert, too! I know Elena wants to keep him out of this as much as she can, but he has that same hero complex you have, Stefan, so I'm sure he'll be eager to help out."

"Kol." Caroline made that sound like a warning. Kol rolled his eyes, but even though she was only human and Kol was an original vampire, he actually watched his tone. "What else are you waiting for?" He asked.

Stefan didn't have an answer for that, as much as he tried to come up with one. He didn't like the idea of being bossed around by Kol, and if he could only find one reason to stop this crazy plan, he knew it would work. But he couldn't.

Caroline let go of his arm, then. He didn't like that, either.

"Call him." Caroline said.

Kol nodded. Caroline looked at Stefan again, and gave him a sad half-smile. This better work, he thought. This better work because I can't lose her. I just can't.

"Brother." Kol said to the phone on his ear. Stefan listened intently to the conversation.

"Kol?" Klaus' voice was just as Stefan remembered it, only he was visibly taken aback by his estranged brother's call.

"Who else could it be?" Kol smiled. "I have a few exciting news for you." He glanced at Caroline and then at Stefan.

"You haven't called me in forever and now you have exciting news?"

"Oh, come on, brother. You're immortal. You shouldn't use that word to anything, ever. And yes, I have exciting news. Word travels around fast. You're looking for Stefan Salvatore."

"Indeed I am." There was a hint of mistrust in his voice, Stefan could hear it, and it worried him. "Where are you?"

"Well, where I am doesn't matter. At least not now. What matters is- why are you after Salvatore? I thought you were supposed to be roommates."

"He stole something from me. Now I want it back."

"What did he steal from you, may I ask?" Kol glanced at Caroline again, but he didn't pay Stefan a second look.

"It doesn't matter. At least not now."

"Again with the 'at least not now'? When will it matter?" Kol gave a nervous laugh. "Fine, whatever. I know where he is."

"Where?" Klaus asked eagerly.

"Mystic Falls, of course. And I hear he's got a new girlfriend now. I can never keep up with these Salvatores' love lives, it's incredible."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know you're looking for him and one of my, well, friends, told me about this. So I thought, why not call my beloved brother up and let him deal with his little problem while I get something nice and shiny in return?"

Stefan didn't like this.

"What do you want?" Klaus asked.

"You'll know once you get here."

"Here?" Klaus asked.

"Well, of course. Stefan has a brother too. Why should he have an advantage?"

Klaus chuckled. "I'm not planning on going all alone, little brother. But very well, if you're already there, you can help too, I guess. And then we can discuss your nice and shiny something in return."

Kol smiled. "Great. Can't wait."

And just like that, they got themselves a date with Klaus.

"The weapon is ready. I made the spell. I said the words, I did everything the way I had to, but please remember there is no guarantee. This can work, yes, but it can also fail. There's no way of testing it." Bonnie warned them as they all gathered to go over the last details of their plan.

"It's going to work." Caroline said. "I know it."

Stefan didn't share her optimism, but he stayed silent.

"What exactly is the plan?" Rebekah asked.

"Kol is going to meet Klaus tomorrow at the Grill. He'll lead him and whoever is out there with him here, and we'll go out to fight him. Caroline is going to stay inside, hidden." Stefan paused, listening, waiting for Caroline to disagree and say she wished to fight along with them, but there was nothing. That worried him more than he thought it would. "I'll have the weapon. I'll bury it right into his heart the first opportunity I get."

"And that's it?" Rebekah raised her eyebrows.

"That's it." Stefan answered.

"You'd think you had, like, a freaking master plan full of strategies and hidden weapons and magic tricks after all this time hiding away. Whatever. What do we do until then?"

"Now we go to sleep!" Damon said. "We can't go crazy over this. Let's all get some nice rest and whatever happens tomorrow, happens. Nighty night." He got up, his fingers locked with Elena's, and she followed him to the room. "Good night, guys. See you tomorrow." Elena said, and they disappeared into the house.

"This was enlightening." Rebekah mocked, and Caroline rolled her eyes. "Chill out, I'm joking. I'll be here tomorrow, I promise."

Bonnie gave the weapon to Stefan, and Kol was the last one to leave after Caroline made him apologize for hitting Stefan earlier. Stefan was surprised he actually agreed to it, but that was Caroline. She made you want to impress her, and you would do anything to please her.

She lingered on, never leaving her spot on the couch. Her eyes traveled around. She never knew where to look. She must be over-thinking this, Stefan thought. He got up from his place and sat next to her.

"Hi." He said, almost a whisper.

She looked at him and smiled. "Hi, Stefan."

"What are you thinking about?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I'm really torn. I want this to be over, but I feel like there's a million things that could go wrong."

"I feel the same way." Stefan said, and it was completely true.

"Stefan, I-" She paused.

"What?"

There was another pause before she shook her head lightly and smiled. "Nothing. I'm being stupid. I just can't believe this is it. Klaus is coming and we're gonna have to fight him and not all of us might make it out alive. He's so dangerous and powerful and freaking immortal. What if something happens to Elena, or Bonnie, or... you?"

He saw the fear in her eyes as clear as the sun in a cloudless sky, and it burned him just the same. "If anything happens to any of us, it's okay. We've lived long enough. You still have your entire life ahead of you. You're the priority."

"But I just met you." She said, and the vulnerability in her voice was nearly palpable. "You can't die now."

Stefan's breath was caught in his throat. "Caroline." He realized she was crying.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, I'm so sorry."

Stefan hugged Caroline as she cried on his shoulder and all the guilt he'd been feeling for these past few months came back to him at once. "It's my fault. I let him take you. That night, I should have stopped him, I should have-"

"No." She broke away the hug and wiped the tears on her face. "No, it was not your fault." Caroline turned from miserable to strong in no more than two seconds because she felt the need to comfort him and he almost smiled because that was so Caroline it hurt. "He wouldn't have listened to you and you know that. If anything, you helped me, and if I die tomorrow, I die knowing you did all you could to protect me."

What use will that be if you die? I want you, not the notion that you think I'm your hero after you're dead and gone. "You're not gonna die, Caroline. Stop, don't say that. We're all gonna be fine. You'll see."

He hoped Caroline believed those words because even though he was the one saying them, he had a hard time actually believing.

He slept that night, but he had nightmare after nightmare until he couldn't handle them anymore, so instead he stared at the ceiling and watched the world gain its colors back as the sun came out.

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