Hi guys! Sorry for the late update, but finals are coming up and I've been really focused on that! But I'm here now and I hope you like this chapter!

"You've been quiet today."

"Well, not much has happened this week."

Katherine could always tell when Caroline was lying and right now, she was lying through her teeth.

"Are you still taking your medication?"

Caroline was annoyed beyond belief right now. Not only was she stuck in therapy for another half hour, but she was still reeling from her conversation with Klaus on Friday. She needed him to stay away from her, but he was doing everything except for that. It was just like that first week all over again: flirty glances and inappropriate touches. Only this time he made absolutely no effort to be discreet about those touches, attempting to hold her hand anytime they were together. Caroline didn't know how else to make him understand that they couldn't be together. Not while Logan Fell was alive, at least.

"What are you thinking about?" Katherine asked, breaking Caroline from her thoughts.

"I'm thinking about…..how I would love nothing more than to go home right now" Caroline said spitefully. She didn't want to be hateful towards Katherine, but she needed to take her anger out on someone. Why not someone who's getting paid to listen?

Katherine pursed her lips and nodded her head. "So, go home" she said, gesturing towards the door.

"What?" Caroline couldn't believe what she just heard. Katherine took her job very seriously and, considering Caroline was one of her best friends, she took it even more seriously.

Katherine scoffed and said matter-of-factly "you're not fifteen years old anymore, Caroline. If you don't want to be here, you don't have to be. You can leave anytime you want. Hell, you could've stopped coming completely the day you turned eighteen. No one's forcing you to be here, Caroline. You're the one who keeps coming back."

She was right. Why did she keep coming back? She had only started coming in the first place because her aunt and uncle had forced her to. She was an adult with no one to answer to. So, why was she still here?

Katherine could tell that Caroline wanted to leave, but something was keeping her here. They both knew what that something was, but Caroline needed to be the one to say it out loud. But it seemed like she needed a little push.

"Why do you keep coming back, Caroline?"

She knew the answer to that. She had thought about it every time she came to therapy. But thinking it and saying it out loud was two totally different things.

Katherine was staring at her, waiting for an answer. Instead of giving her the one she wanted, however, she said, more to herself than Katherine "that's a good question."

Katherine sighed, feeling defeated. "And you know the answer to that question; you just don't want to say it. You've been coming to see me every Sunday for the past eight years, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface with you. You keep everything bottled up and you keep everyone out. Why? Why do you keep coming back?"

Throughout her speech, Caroline had begun crying and shaking her head. No, no, no, no, no. She couldn't do this. Picking up her purse, she murmured "I can't do this" and ran out the door, leaving Katherine to simply stare after her.

Why did everyone keep questioning her? Rebekah, Elena, Klaus, and now Katherine. Why couldn't they just leave her to suffer in silence?

Caroline stormed into her apartment, slammed the door behind her, and almost walked right back out. Sitting there, making idle conversation with Elena was Klaus.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Caroline spat out, crossing her arms.

Klaus stood up, holding something black. "You left your jacket at work yesterday. I didn't know if you would need it today, so I brought it over. Elena was just coming back from the gym when she saw me knocking on your door and let me in. I hope it's okay" he said innocently.

When Caroline just kept glaring at him, Elena spoke up. "Of course it's okay. She really appreciates it. Right, Caroline?"

Had it been any other day, Caroline would've said yes and thanked Klaus for bringing over her favorite jacket. But right now, she was pissed off and being nice was the last thing on her mind. "Do you not understand what 'no' means? I told you to leave me alone. If I needed my jacket, I would've went to the office and got it myself. I understand that you've grown some weird schoolboy crush on me, but this is crossing the line. You don't just show up at a coworker's home unannounced; it's completely inappropriate. Leave the jacket, wipe that stupid look off your face, and get out." Before either of them could say anything, she stomped into her room and slammed the door behind her.

Klaus hadn't deserved any of that, but right now she didn't care. Remembering what Klaus had said about the gym earlier, she walked over to her dresser and started picking through her sports bras and leggings. She had just chosen a pink set when Elena threw open her door. But instead of scorning Caroline for her behavior, Elena simply glared at her.

"Don't start Elena, okay? I'm really not in the mood." Elena continued glaring. "And stop looking at me like that." Again, Elena continued glaring. "What do you want me to say, Elena? I'm sorry? Fine, I'm sorry for lashing out like that, but he shouldn't have come over, it's weird. He needed to be put in his place and that's what I did, plain and simple. Yes, I probably could've been a little nicer about it, but I made my point. End of story."

While Caroline was ranting, Elena's glare became a look of understanding, baffling Caroline.

"What?"

"You like him. You really, really like him. You don't want to admit it, but it's true. Klaus apparently realizes this too, which would explain why he didn't seem that upset when he left."

Hearing that left Caroline in complete shock. She had basically called him a lovesick puppy and he was still unfazed.

"You gotta tell him, Care. He's not going anywhere and he deserves to know" Elena spoke softly.

Shuddering slightly, and shedding a stray tear, Caroline said softly "what if he doesn't want me after I tell him?"

Straightening her shoulders and speaking determinedly, Elena said "what if he does? Fifty years from now, do you really wanna be asking yourself 'what if'?"

And with that, Elena gave her a look that said she knew she was right and walked out.

Caroline set the clothing aside and went to sit on her bed. She didn't want to ask 'what if', but the thought of losing Klaus before she even really had him broke her heart. Life was a game of chance and there were no guarantees about anything. He and Klaus could grow and flourish into something amazing or they could crash and burn. But she would never know unless she gave it shot. Before she even decided to do that, however, there was someone she needed to talk to.

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Any other man would've been upset about what just had happened, but not Klaus. Caroline's outburst earlier was just one more step in the right direction. The fact that she had been driven to be that rude to him was just another sign that she wanted to be with him. So, when he walked into his family's house sporting a confident smile, his family took notice.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence. You know, it's not nice to leave before I wake, Nik.; makes me feel cheap" Kol said in a mocking hurt tone.

Rebekah spoke next, without looking up from her magazine. "That's probably because you are." Kol narrowed his eyes at her, though she seemed to not care less. "Besides, judging by that smile plastered across his face, I'd say someone is currently ranking higher than you on Klaus' list of priorities. I'm assuming you just came back from seeing Caroline?" she asked, finally looking up from her magazine.

That caused all heads in the room - Elijah included- to turn towards Klaus.

"Ah, yes. Miss Forbes. How is she doing?" Elijah asked innocently enough, although his implied tone could be detected.

Klaus took turn glaring at each of his siblings. Why did he ever think it would be a good idea to share a house with his three siblings? It will keep us closer, Rebekah had argued and usually if Rebekah wanted it, Rebekah got it. All of them, excluding Finn, were all single, so they had all agreed to move in together. It was times like this Klaus always regretted.

"She's fine" was all he said before walking over to the drink cart and pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

"Oh, she's more than fine. What I wouldn't do to wake up to that pretty face every morning" Kol said while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Klaus turned towards his younger brother and the expression if looks could kill briefly ran through Kol's mind.

"Careful, Kol. Nik actually likes this one" Rebekah said before Klaus tried to kill Kol for his comment.

"Does he now? Well, we all remember what happened last time he liked a girl. She turned out to be a …..how did you put it, sister?"

"A selfish, gold-digging bitch. All she wanted from Nik was his money. Caroline, however, is different."

Hearing that, Elijah became interested in the conversation again. "Really? How so?"

Rebekah was about to tell him, when she suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Nik, why don't you answer him? This is in fact your relationship we're talking about after all."

Klaus was not one to talk about his feelings, especially to his siblings. But he knew they wouldn't stop bugging him until he did. Sighing and taking another sip of his drink, he said "she just is. I've never had to fight this hard to woo a girl, or even talk to her., for that matter. She likes me, I know that. But for some reason beyond me, which only makes me want her more. She's completely stumped me."

He half expected his siblings to start laughing at him, but they all just started at him in wonderment. Elijah, to his surprise, was the first speak up. "I'm happy that you've found someone you care so much for, Niklaus. After everything our father put you through, you deserve this. But if I may be so bold as to ask, are you sure it's not just simply the chase that's exciting you instead of Miss. Forbes herself?"

Klaus had thought about that before, but if this were the case, he would've left Caroline alone the day he heard her talking to Rebekah. Something terrible had happened to her, and he wanted nothing more than to be the person who got her past all of it.

"I'm sure, Elijah. Caroline's different."

Nodding his head, Elijah seemed to believe him. "Then we'll just have to get her to see that."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Caroline didn't know her schedule, so she didn't know if Katherine was with a patient or not. But she needed to talk to her now or she would chicken out and never come back. She threw her office door open and saw Katherine sitting at her desk reading a file.

"Caroline? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Katherine asked, tossing the file and walking over to her.

She nodded her head, not meaning to scare Katherine. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…" Caroline really didn't know how to explain what she thinking. All she wanted to do was disappear and not have to deal with any of this, but she knew she couldn't do that. Katherine was looking at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I just…..need to talk."

Katherine nodded her head in understanding and led Caroline onto the couch opposite her chair. They both sat down and Katherine waited for her to start talking. Usually, Katherine would begin with asking Caroline some questions about her week, but this session was different.

"I don't really know where to start."

"Why don't you start by telling me what made you want to come back? I mean, you did storm out of here earlier, so something big must have driven you to make you come back so soon."

Caroline figured this seemed easy enough to answer. "Klaus came over. I, um, yelled at him and told him to leave me alone. But that just seemed to make him want me more. Then Elena said that I needed to tell him everything. That he deserves to know because of how much he cares about me."

"And you don't agree with her?"

"No, it's not…..I-I" Caroline began to stutter, becoming flustered under all the pressure she was feeling.

Katherine knew what Caroline was felt, but there was no way she was going to tell her. She needed to her to figure this out herself or she was just say that Katherine was wrong and storm out again.

"What are you really afraid of Caroline?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Logan is not the only thing keeping you from pursuing a relationship and I don't just mean a romantic relationship. If he was the only thing you were afraid of, you would never have become friends with Rebekah and Lexi. Plus, you would've halted all contact with Elena and I. When I was talking to Rebekah at the dress shop, she told me that you only talk to people when they first talk you. Over the past eight years, you've gradually allowed yourself to believe that no one wants anything to do with because of what happened. But you also believe something else and that is what's truly keeping you from being happy. Tell me what it is."

Caroline had begun crying while Katherine talked, knowing everything she said was true. Before the tears could completely overwhelm her, she began answering.

"What if he leaves me? What if, like everyone else, he's suddenly gone? My mom, my dad, Matt, Bonnie..." She was barely able to choke out the last name. "Tyler. They all left me. What if he does, too?"

There it was; the other reason why Caroline didn't want to bring Klaus or anyone else into her life. She was terrified that Klaus was eventually going to leave her, whether it be by Logan's hand or his own.

"They didn't leave you, Caroline, okay? They didn't leave you; they were taken from you. Logan has taken so much from you, but the one thing he can't take from you is your future. Klaus wants your future and he's all but willing to accept your past. But none of this matters if you don't want it. Being with him or not is completely your decision and no one can make it for you. Forget Klaus, forget Logan, and forget everything and everyone else. What do you want?"

Caroline looked out the window and thought about her question. What did she want? For the longest time, it wasn't about what she wanted, but what needed to happen. She shut everything and everyone out in order to keep them safe. She didn't want to do that, it was just what had to be done. Now, she was being asked what she wanted. So, what did she want?

"I want….to be more. I'm tired of being girly little Caroline, getting scared of every little thing that goes bump in the night. I don't want to be scared anymore. I don't want to live like this anymore. I don't want to be this person anymore. I want….to be free."

Katherine nodded and smiled proudly at her. "Then be free, Caroline. Stop being afraid and stop making excuses. You are the only person keeping you from being happy. Do what you want and screw anyone who says you can't. Be free, Caroline."

"How?"

"Go after him, Care. He wants you and he's not going anywhere. Start living your life."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Over here, sir."

Jeremy and Alaric had been making their way through Kentucky when they got a call from the Wallace Police Department in Idaho. They'd had anonymous tip come in from a gas station on Fell. Although they didn't want to waste any more time getting to Caroline, they needed to follow every lead. They hopped on the next flight to Idaho and here they were.

The officer led them over to the garage, where CSI was currently taking crime scene photos, and found the owner laying in a pool of his own blood with his throat slit. Upon seeing the body, Alaric and Jeremy felt a quick surge of déjà vu.

"Oh, yeah. This is definitely Fell" Alaric said while putting on a pair of gloves.

"How can you tell?" the officer asked.

Alaric began inspecting the neck wound, his mid drifting back five years ago. "The last time Fell got out, he killed a man for his identity so he could check into the hotel where the prom was being held. This wound is completely identical to his."

"Should we call Karen and Jack?" Jeremy asked.

Alaric took off his gloves and stared at the body. He'd already broken his promise to Jeremy that no one else would die by Logan's hand. But he knew Jeremy was more worried about his sisters than a gas station owner. He was about to answer him when the officer spoke up.

"Are you sure he's even going after her? The owner's car is gone. He could've just killed him for a set of wheels. Just because he broke out doesn't mean he's going to Chicago."

Alaric slowly turned toward the officer, completely stunned by his audacity. Handing Jeremy his gun so he wouldn't be tempted to shoot the man for his stupidity, he walked up to him, completely invading his personal space.

"Do not for a second act like you know even half of what is going on right now. Logan Fell didn't break out just to be free; he broke out because he wants her and he's not going to stop until he gets her. I've worked this case for eight years, losing my partner in the process. I've looked into his eyes and saw nothing but determination to get her. Every day that I talked to him, all he talked about was Caroline: seeing her, smelling her, touching her. And then I had to see her slowly build herself back up from him, just to be torn apart again. I'm not doing that again. We don't have time to waste and right now, you are wasting mine. Tell your boss to keep in touch if he hears anything else and get the hell out of my way."

The officer quickly walked away, not wanting to be on Alaric's bad side any longer.

"C'mon" Alaric said to Jeremy. "He's got a car now and he's already got a lead on us. We have to hurry."

There it is! Let me know what you think! xoxo