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Chapter 4

Mystic Falls

The silence was lengthy after Silas made his exit, everyone trying not to look Stefan in the eye. Damon hurried to Elena's side, checking her for any injuries as we all sighed with relief that no one had been hurt. Silas had been in our midst again and we hadn't known it. Stefan was angry, anyone could see it on his face. Caroline couldn't really blame him, his family and the people who know him so well had been fooled again.

"Thanks, Rebekah." Stefan said, appreciating how she had dealt with the situation, but looking accusing at everyone else. Damon was having a hard time meeting his brother's gaze, obviously feeling guilty that he hadn't known for sure. Silas had lived among them for months and it wasn't until Caroline had been kidnapped before they started realizing that there was a problem.

"It's nice to realize that you know me so well, brother." Stefan said, not even trying to sugarcoat it. He scoffed as Damon stayed silent, either not knowing or having to nothing to say. The door opened and Tyler walked in, giving some relief to the tension in the room. He looked around at the damage. "What happened?"

Damon folded his arms. "Silas happened. He was here, impersonating Stefan and fooling us again." He glanced at Stefan before looking away, almost in shame. "We need a plan, maybe a code word or something. And we should all stay here until we can entomb him, being separated is making it too easy for him."

Stefan breathed out his frustration, obviously still upset. He nodded in agreement as he glanced at Caroline. "How's your mom?"

Caroline sighed. "She's fine. But I don't think a code word would work, he can read our minds, can't he?"

Jeremy agreed. "Yeah, that's not going to work. We just have to do what Rebekah did, ask a question that only that person would know. It was pretty smart." Matt gave a half-smile to Rebekah, which caused Tyler to roll his eyes in disgust.

"I have to go check on something, I'll be back soon." Stefan said, turning away to head out.

"We just agreed to stay together, Stefan." Elena argued as she stepped closer.

Stefan snapped. "I don't need a babysitter." Elena looked hurt by Stefan's tone. Here comes the tension again, Caroline thought. She stepped forward to avoid an argument. "I'll go with you. I need to check on my mom and get my phone, anyway."

"I need to talk to you, Caroline." Tyler pulled her out the house to gain some privacy. Caroline held a finger up to Stefan, asking him to wait.

Tyler faced her, anger still lingering in his eyes. "I think we should get out of town. It's not safe here."

"Our friends need our help, we can't just leave." Caroline said, keeping her voice down, though those with vampire hearing could still hear.

"They can take care of this, they always find a way. They don't need us, Caroline."

Caroline shook her head, wondering what this was really about. "Stefan's barely holding on, my mom is still in danger and Silas is terrorizing everyone. How can you say they don't need us?"

"We can convince your mom to leave-" Tyler started again.

"I've already tried, she won't and I'm not going anywhere when Silas is still a threat to her, Tyler."

"You were willing to leave with me before?" Tyler said, his eyes narrowed, almost with suspicion. Caroline couldn't believe they were even having this discussion with so much going on. She glanced over her shoulder as she wondered how Stefan was. He was really angry that we hadn't been able to tell that it was Silas.

"Silas wasn't trying to kill everyone we know. I'm sorry, but I can't go." Caroline stated firmly.

"When are you going to stop putting everybody before us? This is our lives and being here right now is dangerous."

"You're right, it is dangerous, which is why I'm not going anywhere." Caroline didn't give him a chance to say anything else as she walked back into the house. Tyler was worried about her, she could see that but it always annoyed her how he sometimes put his needs first, even over his friends. As she stepped back in the room, Rebekah handed her phone back to Caroline. "You need to call, he's probably on his way." Caroline closed her eyes and exhaled the stress. Tyler followed her back inside, glaring at Rebekah as she moved away to stand with Matt. Caroline stepped back outside, thinking this day had just started, but it felt like it would never end.

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New Orleans

Klaus stood on the balcony, looking out over the city. This waiting was brutal, not knowing what was happening. If he could just hear her voice, he would be able to relax. There were so many scenarios that were running through his mind, he felt like he was going crazy. Silas was powerful, he had even fooled Klaus once and Caroline was vulnerable. Silas could impersonate anyone, how would she able to know the difference? He gritted his teeth as his fear begin to overwhelm him. He just needed to know that she was safe. Sophie and the others should be there soon, but until he knew that Caroline was protected, nothing else mattered.

"You're worried about Caroline, aren't you?" Davina asked, stepping out onto the balcony with Justine.

Klaus turned, not really wanting company. He started to tell them to go back inside, but he could just imagine Caroline telling him not to be rude. He nodded in response as he checked his phone again.

"Sophie will protect her, she'll be okay." Davina spoke, confident in her sister. Klaus sighed, wondering how he could get rid of them as he was still not comfortable in their presence.

Justine moved to stand with Davina, not taking the hint. "So, if you care about Caroline, why did you sleep with that other woman?" They obviously didn't know much about tact as both Davina and Justine looked inquiringly at Klaus.

"What's with the questions?" Klaus snapped, losing his patience.

They both shrugged, before Justine answered with a smirk. "We're kids, remember? Kids ask questions."

His phone rang, interrupting the inquisition. He recognized Rebekah's number as he moved away to answer. "Where is she?" Klaus shouted, causing Davina and Justine to jump.

"Stop yelling, I'm right here." Caroline's voice, even filled with anger sent relief flooding through him, leaving his body weak. He closed his eyes and bowed his head as the fear left.

"Are you safe?" Klaus asked softly, wanting to know only that.

Caroline hesitated to answer. "I really can't handle you flipping-"

"Tell me what happened, Caroline." Klaus could sense that Caroline wanted to avoid telling him everything.

"Silas was in the house with Mom when I got there, luckily I had just come from Stefan's, so I was able to figure out quickly that it was Silas and Bonnie helped us get away." Caroline hesitated again. "This morning, Silas came to the Salvatore's impersonating Stefan again but Stefan showed up and we realized who was who, only Silas got away again."

"Where are you?" Klaus demanded, anxious that Silas had gotten close to her twice.

"At the Salvatore's. I'm about to leave with Stefan to go check on my mom and find my phone. We're all going to stay here, safety in numbers."

"I sent you some protection and after I take care of things here, I'm coming to Mystic Falls."

"Klaus-" Caroline started to respond, but he didn't give her a chance.

"I don't trust your friends with your safety, love. They're already on their way."

"Who's they?" Caroline asked, with confusion.

"Your witchy friends. They'll be there to protect your mother, as well." Klaus figured the best way to avoid an argument was to bring her mother's safety to the forefront. He was right, because she grew quiet as she started to think.

Caroline breathed. "Okay, that's actually a good idea. I was trying to figure a way to keep her safe, short of compelling her to leave town. Thank you, Klaus." She hesitated once more. "But Tyler's here-"

"I could care less about wolf-boy's feelings. Your safety is everything to me, Caroline. He'll just have to deal with it." Klaus scoffed. He could hear Caroline's frustration through the phone. He smiled as he imagined her waving her hands in aggravation as she tried to get her point across.

"Klaus, there is so much going on right now, adding you to the mix is a recipe for disaster." Caroline said, trying to reason with him.

"Yes, I imagine. Although, I could have just showed up and dragged you away to safety, but I figured it would be better this way." Klaus smiled again, wishing he could see her face. She was so funny when she was mad.

"I'm not leaving my friends, Klaus."

"Which is why I'm coming. I'll be there soon, but I want you to call me when you get back to the Salvatore's and let me know you're safe."

Caroline was silent for a minute, before she accepted his decision. "Fine, but please don't start anything with Tyler, I can't handle that right now."

Klaus smiled, glad that he got his way. "I won't. Trust me."

Caroline huffed out her frustration. "I'll see you soon." She hung up before he could say anything else.

Elijah stepped out on the balcony, nodding a greeting to Davina and Justine. "I found Diego's hideout, it's just outside the city." Klaus nodded, waving everybody back inside. He turned to Mary, who was sitting in the living room. "Watch them while we go take care of this." Haley walked in as they were preparing to leave.

Haley looked around at the others. "You're leaving me here with strangers?" Davina and Justine curiously inspected Haley as she sat on the couch with Mary.

Elijah nodded. "We won't be long. Keep an eye on each other."

Haley shook her head. "Some protection, leaving me here with two kids."

Davina and Justine exchanged disgusted looks as they linked arms to walk out of the room.

Davina glanced back at Klaus. "We like Caroline better." Haley glared at the two teens as Klaus smirked, walking out the door.

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Mystic Falls

Caroline bit her lip, worried about the anger radiating off Stefan. They went by her house, where she found her phone and packed a bag for her and her mom. She moved to stand by Stefan on the porch, who was starring off into space.

"I got everything I need." Caroline said, but he didn't respond. "Stefan, I know this is hard for you and I'm sorry for that."

Stefan met her eyes and shook his head as he tried to gain control. "It makes me angry that you all can't tell the difference. I could tell when Katherine was impersonating Elena, I could feel that it wasn't her."

Caroline was silent, sad that Stefan was in pain. She had felt that something was off when Silas had come close, but she had assumed it was just because of the night she had. She needed to start trusting her instincts more, she thought. They were both quiet, deep in their thoughts as they drove to town.

Stefan sighed. "We'll go check on your mom and then I need to go to my apartment."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Where Katherine is staying?"

Stefan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "She's just staying there for protection."

Caroline kept her judgments to herself, not really having any room to talk since Klaus was on his way here. She appreciated Klaus's help, especially the protection of her mom, she was just worried about the impact of Klaus's presence on Tyler. But she couldn't think about Tyler's feelings right now, keeping the people she loved safe was the most important thing. They arrived at the town square and walked together to the police station. As they entered Sheriff Forbes's office, Caroline breathed with relief to see her mom behind the desk. Liz looked up and jumped to her feet when she saw who was following her daughter.

Caroline held her hand up. "It's okay, Mom. That's Stefan. Who saved me from Dad?"

Liz looked confused by the question. "Tyler and I saved you."

"Sorry, but I had to check. We figure Silas won't know everything, so we're asking questions that the person would know the answer to. Maybe it will work, maybe not."

Liz didn't fully trust that it was Stefan as she looked in his eyes, but she accepted Caroline's word. Stefan shook his head with frustration and moved away to gain control. Everyone questioning his identity was really getting to him.

Caroline stepped closer to the desk. "Klaus is sending protection for you, they should be here soon. Just be careful and don't trust anyone."

"Klaus? What does he want in exchange?" Liz asked, the worry returning to her eyes.

"Nothing, Mom. He's doing it because he's my friend and he knows I'm worried about your safety." Caroline could understand her mother's doubt in Klaus, but she wished people would stop questioning everything Klaus did for her.

Her mother nodded, still in doubt. "Fine. But you need to be careful with him, Caroline."

Stefan and Caroline left to check on Katherine, but when Stefan opened the door to his apartment, they found it empty.

Stefan looked around. "Something's wrong, she's supposed to be here." They exchanged glances before deciding to search for her. Stefan wanted to split up, but Caroline didn't think it was a good idea. As they walked the town square, Caroline could see that Stefan was worried as more time went by and we still couldn't find Katherine.

"I'm going to check the Grill, stay here until I come back." Stefan left before Caroline could argue his decision. She turned in a circle, still looking around. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw someone on the roof of Stefan's building. Caroline focused on the shadow as it stepped closer to the ledge. It was Katherine. She sent a text to Stefan, but decided not to wait for him. She couldn't run at full speed with everyone watching, but she kept her eyes on the roof as she hurried to his building. Caroline entered his building and flashed up the stairs to the roof. Katherine was now standing on the ledge, looking out into the distance.

"Katherine, what are you doing?" Caroline asked quietly, not wanting to startle her.

Katherine turned her head, her eyes were slightly out of focus. "I have to jump. Stefan told me to come up here and jump off."

Caroline could see that she was compelled, she edged closer to reach her, knowing she wouldn't be able to talk her down. "Katherine, look at me." She ignored Caroline and took a step forward off the ledge. Caroline flashed to her, with her hand reaching out to Katherine as she fell over the side.

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Sorry to leave you hanging. I'll update soon.