Pushing up the sleeves on her blue plaid shirt Addie could help but notice how uncharacteristically warm it was for an October night. The stuffy crypt didn't really help.

"This is creepy," Elena whispered as she followed her sister into the building.

Bonnie nodded in agreement. "Even for us."

"You play with spirits and ghost," Addie retorted sharply. "You don't get to judge creepy."

Matt looked around the decrepit building uncertainly. He hadn't been elated when Elena's little sister announced she had a great idea once Caroline had said she didn't want to celebrate her birthday. Addie had always been a little on the strange side and when she had become cryptic about her idea, refusing to give away anything but the location he had been less than thrilled. But everyone else had agreed to go along with her mysterious plan. Matt was tired of the guessing game though, "What are we doing, Addie?"

Solmely standing at the front of the she turned to her friends and lamented, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our dear friend Caroline Forbes."

Elena groaned loudly, "Seriously, Addison? Have you no tact?"

"I'm serious!" she nodded feverently. "Caroline's dead. Katherine snapped her neck. She woke up to a completely different lifestyle. Caroline, physically you may be trapped at 17, a filler year but," what was it Damon had said about vampire puberty? "you're still going to grow as a person and gain more and more life experiences as the years pass by and gain some wisdom. Look, girl, you're dead and you've never had a funeral. That's what you need, not another birthday." Addie shrugged as everyone stared at her and lightly remarked, "It's possible that I'm just crazy."

"You're crazy but not about this," her sister eventually decided. Elena motioned to Bonnie to open the boxed cake that they brought so she could pull it out. She placed it on one the tombs at the front of the room. "Addie's right. You need to say goodbye to your old life so you can move on with your new one."

Caroline's eyebrows briefly furrowed in confusion before she smiled slightly. "Ok," she agreed, taking of the feathery purple birthday tiara. " Here lies Caroline Forbes…"

"Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third grade hopscotch champion," teased Elena as she stuck candles into the cake.

"Friend. Daughter. Overachiever," added Bonnie.

"Mean girl," interjected Matt, quickly adding, "sometimes, no offense."

Thinking about the most dramatic changes Addie had noticed in Caroline since she had become a vampire she tacked on, "She was a shallow, insecure little girl who didn't know better."

"Isn't it bad to speak ill of the dead?" the blonde pouted.

"Not if it implies good things about the living dead. Come on, Care; it's Vampire Funeral 101," Addie replied confidently.

Bonnie rolled her eyes as she muttered, "You are so pulling this out of your ass."

"You'd be amazed at just how much of life I pull out of my ass," Addie returned under her breath.

"She was 17 and she had a really good life. So rest in peace, so that she can move forward." Picking up the cake and carefully balancing it Elena walked up to Caroline. "That's what you really need. What we all really need. Amen.. or cheers… or whatever," she concluded with an awkward laugh. Looking pointedly at the candles she address Bonnie and the they were suddenly glowing with little flames at the tip. "Nice! Okay, make a wish," she ordered eagerly, holding the cake out to Caroline.

After briefly thinking the vampire closed her eyes and blew out the candles.

Standing towards the back of the mausoleum Addie leaned against the wall as she watched her friends and her sister enjoy cake and pass around a bottle of tequila. Well, she more watched Elena and her friends. Matt definitely wasn't on Addie's friends list. Caroline was closer to Elena than she was too Addie, mostly because Addie hadn't spent much time with Vampire Caroline. Human Caroline had been too open-minded with unrealistic views and expectations and she had found Addie to be the exact opposite. It hadn't been surprising that they butted heads a bit. Bonnie was the only one there that Addie was close to.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as she noticed the glow of Caroline's cell phone reflect off her face as she stood a little bit away from the group too.

"What?" The blonde looked up at her innocently, lowering her cell phone, trying to hide it in her hands. "Nothing."

"Bull. What are you doing?" Addie demanded authoritative and confident. Human Caroline had always backed down when she became certain and controlling. Thankfully Drunk Caroline had the reactions of Human Caroline.

In a tiny, guilty voice she admitted, "I might have texted Tyler."

Having tuned in at her sister's bossy voice Elena sighed dramatically, "Caroline."

"What? I'm delicate!"

As much as she wanted to comment on Caroline turning back to a Klaus worshipping hybrid bound to do his bidding she found she couldn't really reproach her without being hypocritical. Tyler hadn't been in full control of his actions when he had gotten Jeremy off of the vervain. Damon had been in complete control of his when he had drugged her. At least she had taken about a month's break from him, though.

"Give her a break," defended Addie.

"Yeah," agreed Bonnie snidely. "You can't control what everyone does all the time."

Mentally Addie gave her best friend a standing ovation. All day the right words to reprimand her sister for compelling Jeremy to Denver had been eluding her but she was glad that someone said something.

"Wow," said Elena, taken aback.

Matt inhaled through his teeth, "Ouch, Bon."

Scowling at the boy and her sister, Addie clapped slowly and graciously added, "Thank you for saying what needed to be said."

Bonnie flashed her a grateful look before turning to Elena and apologizing, "Sorry, I know it's Caroline's birthday, funeral or whatever, but I just feel it's really wrong that you compelled Jeremy to leave town."

"I'm doing it to protect him, Bonnie. I want to give him a chance to have a quiet, normal life."

"He should be able to choose how he wants to live it. You're taking his choices away."

Addie watched the verbal spar back and forth between her sister and best friend. They both had a point.

Elena shook her head as she insisted, "Bonnie, you can't tell him."

Sharply she retorted, "Why? Are you going to compel me not to?"

"You know, you guys are ruining a perfect funeral," interrupted Matt, trying to restore peace.

"I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go sleep it off or something," Bonnie muttered, excusing herself. On her way out she muttered to Caroline, "Happy birthday."

On a whim Addie followed her. "You're right, you know," she said quietly, falling into step next to Bonnie as they headed towards where they had parked the cars.

"Of course I know. Why do you think I'm upset, Addie?" fumed the witch. "Why aren't you?"

"Trust me, I am thoroughly pissed off but, of all the crappy things my sister has done, this doesn't rank in the worst for me. Elena's always responsible for someone getting killed. Jeremy almost died because of her yesterday. It's not safe for him here. He'd never leave here on his own. I don't agree with compelling him but I definitely don't want a dead brother. Can't you see why it's a little hard for me to pick a side?" she replied wary.

Bonnie frowned, as she hit the button to unlock her car. She gave Addie a disapproving look as she opened the driver's door. "You still have a chance to do the right thing."

Her fingers raked through her hair as she watched Bonnie's red taillights fade into the distance. What was the right thing? Letting Jeremy go off and have a normal, happy but compelled life or telling him the truth and leaving him to the unknown of Mystic Falls. Damon had compelled Jeremy on Elena's request. He said he didn't know if he would compel her or not if he could.

Heading back through the cemetery towards the old crypt she pulled out her cellphone. Never did she think she'd be going to Damon for moral advice. However, she knew how much he loved his brother, even if he kind of hated Stefan. Perhaps some insight into whether or not he would compel Stefan away to safety would help her decide on what to do about Jeremy.

In a clipped voice Damon answered, "Not a good time, Ads."

"What's wrong?" she worried.

"Just a typical Founder's party. Klaus wooing the mayor. My brother stabbing a hybrid then trying to decapitate him, thinking he can be a better villain than Klaus. Aren't you supposed to be having a birthday party?" he asked, the frustration and annoyance clear in his voice.

Addie hesitated; Damon obviously wasn't in the mood for giving advice. "Um, it kind of turned into a funeral."

"What?"

"Nothing," she dismissed, shaking her head. "Uh, it sounds like you got your hands full so I'll just… call me tonight, will you?"

"What's wrong? What happened?" he demanded, concern replacing the aggravation.

She sighed as she leaned against a tree, "Nothing. I was just looking for some advice. Go deal with villains and hybrids and keeping the whole town in the dark."

Damon snorted bitterly, "Yeah, that plan's blown. Klaus has Carol believing he's going to protect the town while Stefan is some out of control lunatic ready to destroy it! And Liz is on my case to get him to stand down against Klaus."

"You did just say he tried to kill a hybrid in the middle of the Founder's party. That's kind of out of control. And pretty reckless. There are regular people at those things who know nothing about the supernatural and I doubt a dead body or a brawl between a vampire and hybrid is the way they should learn about it," she pointed out rationally as she plucked the fall leaves from a low hanging branch.

"Not helpful, Addison."

"I wasn't trying to be helpful. I was pointing out the obvious. If you want to be obtuse and ignore the fact that Stefan is a problem as he goes through vampire puberty with his humanity on a dimmer switch then fine," Addie retorted carelessly.

She could easily imagine his narrowed eyes and clenched jaw as he snarled, "I'm hanging up."

The other end of the line and she pulled the phone away from her ear, looking at it in irritation. To no one she seethed, "Just because you say you're hanging up on someone before you actually do it in the middle of a conversation, it's still hanging up on someone in the middle of a conversation."

Quickly she dismissed Damon's behavior; he was stressed and she may have slightly provoked him. Her feet dragged and she groaned as she made her way back to her sister, Matt and Caroline. Bonnie's presence had made the night bearable, returning without her seemed painful. A beam of light suddenly struck her eyes and she cringed.

"What the hell?" snapped Addie, holding up her hand to shield her eyes as she moved into the light.

As he redirected the flash light Matt said with obvious disappoint, "You're not Caroline."

"Thankfully, no. Why would you think I am?"

"We've been abandoned; Caroline ran off with Tyler," explained Elena as she appeared next to the boy.

"She is so getting back together with him," Addie mumbled to herself. She'd only manage to been apart from Damon for so long because of the physical distance she had demanded. If she were to judge, Caroline and Tyler were a more intense couple than her and Damon.

"No! Nu-uh, not happening. We're going on a search party," announced Elena. "I don't trust that she won't get back together with him and that is a dangerous thing.

Addie's eyes narrowed as she realized her sister was trying to make a decision for someone else again. Perhaps she should tell Jeremy he was compelled.

"Caroline!" Matt called out loudly.

"Come on, Caroline. We don't have anymore drinks," added Elena, managing to add a whining element to her voice. Addie mimed gagging as she watched her sister playfully nudge Matt with her shoulder and in a spooky voice say, "And Matt's being haunted by the Fell ghosts."

Grinning, he gently shoved her back. Addie shook her head in disgust. Thank God they had broken up; they were always revoltingly cutesy. Elena was still gross with Stefan but in more of a way that suggested tossing a bucket of ice water on them. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when someone shoved her back hard enough that the breath was knocked out of her and she flew threw the air. She tuck her hands out behind her to brace herself to land on her buttt and hands. As soon as she made contact with the ground she heard a familiar crack and felt an agonizing burst of white hot pain begin in her right wrist and spread through her hand and arm. Her eyes went wide in shock.

Addie blinked rapidly to try and make sense of what she had seen but Elena was gone. Matt was slumped against the crypt, hopefully just unconscious, but she didn't see her sister. Was that Stefan who had his hand clamped over Elena's mouth? Had he just shoved Matt and herself out of the way so he could abduct her sister from a cemetery? Addie moved her hand and tears immediately sprang to her eyes; she could feel her wrist painfully throbbing with each heartbeat. She'd never imagined Stefan hurting her but that had been his hero hair, she was certain of it.

Using her uninjured hand she fished her phone out as she clumsily got to her feet. It was very difficult to work the device using only her left hand but any movement to her right arm, other than holding it like an "L" in front of her stomach caused pain.

On the first ring Damon spat, "What, Addison?"

"Stefan just took Elena," she whispered, her voice cracking in fear.

"What?"

"We were in the cemetery. Stefan sped up, knocked Matt and me away from Elena and took her."

"How do you know it was Stefan if it was moving fast?" he questioned disbelievingly.

"He slowed long enough to clamp his hand over her mouth and I recognized him. I know what I saw, Damon. Your lunatic, out of control brother kidnapped my sister," she yelled, her eyes burning with unshed tears of fear and anger.

"Fuck," he swore so softly she barely heard it. "I'll take care of it, Ads," he reassured her, hanging up before she could respond.

Addie sniffled as she struggled to put her phone away. It was still rude to hang up on someone in the middle of a conversation. Even if he was rushing off to save her sister. Damon could do it; he could handle his brother. Squating in front of Matt she awkwardly slapped at his face with her left hand and called his name until he eventually stirred.

"W-w-what happened?" he stammered, blinking in confusion.

"The usual Elena and Stefan drama. Nothing we can do about it. We need to find Caroline," she answered dismissively, trying to keep her attention off of the real problem

Matt eyed her suspiciously, "What's usual? I'm pretty sure I don't get knocked out usually."

Making a big show of being annoyed Addie huffed, "Can't you just ask Elena later? It's really none of my business and I really don't care."

"Fine," he begrudgingly agreed. He never really liked Addie. "Where's Caroline?"

"I don't know, that's why I said we need to find her," hissed Addie, trying to keep her cool. She just wanted to get home and find Elena there. "It will be faster if we split up."

Addie rested her wrist in her lap as she sat in her car looking up at the brightly lit Founder's hall. The phone weighed heavily in her hand. Asking Klaus for a favor was akin to selling her soul to the devil. It was for Caroline, though. When Matt had found her he texted Addie that Tyler had given the vampire a fatal bite. Without thinking she ran to the Jeep and took off towards the only cure, Klaus' blood.

The building was packed and she was hardly dressed to blend with the crowd as she sought out Klaus. She couldn't movie around without drawing Klaus' attention. In addition to asking him for a favor, she actually had to use her cell phone for it's intended purpose and actually call him. She knew he wouldn't answer a text simply because he enjoyed making her uncomfortable.

"Addison, how lovely to hear from you," Klaus picked up, sounding genuinely pleased. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need to talk to you. Now."

She could see the mocking grin on his face. "I'm listening."

"In person."

He hesitated, sounding conflicted, "I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."

"Founder's party, I know. I'm here," she replied quickly and curtly.

"In that case you should join me and I'd be happy to discuss whatever it is you need," he said too brightly.

Addie's fingers twitched as she held the phone, wishing she could run them through her hair. Klaus unnerved her. "How soon can you come outside?"

"Oh, no, no, no, my dear Addison. If you want to meet you'll have to come to me. When you enter go down the hall immediately to your right and it's the second door on your left."

"I'm not dressed for a Founder's party, Niklaus," sneered Addie. She wasn't in the mood to play his games.

"Then I suggest you move quickly."

"Seriously?" Addie scoffed as she was hung up on for the third time that night. "Doesn't anybody know how to say goodbye anymore?"

Groaning, she got out of the car and slammed it behind her. She inhaled sharply in pain as she accidentally jostled her wrist in the motion. Addie's strides were long and purposeful as she strode up to the hall. Dealing with Klaus was a lot like how she had to initially handle Damon and still needed to act during certain fights. Knowing exactly what she wanted was essential as was refusing to be intimidated.

The party was boisterous and in full swing as Addie slipped in through the front door. There were many familiar faces but luckily nobody paid her any attention as she slipped down the hallway Klaus had told her told. Her palms became clammy and her heart started to race as she reached the second door on the left. With a deep breath she entered the room, swiftly closing the door behind her. Leaning against a desk Klaus raised a champagne flute and flashed her a cheery grin in greeting. It was the sight of the room's other occupant that made her blood run cold.

"Explain," Damon hissed, his voice dangerously quiet as he only stood a few feet away. Drawn to his full height, arms crossed, cheeks pink, peering down his nose Damon radiated cold and fury.

Addie bit her lip so hard she tasted blood all to avoid crying out when she moved to guilty shove her hands in her pocket. She averted her eyes from Damon as his narrowed and scrutinized her. In a heartbeat he was in front of her, gingerly moving her right arm to inspect it.

"Can you straighten your fingers?" he asked softly, gently trying to nudge out her curled fingers. He took her soft whimper of pain as a no. Delicately he felt the swelling, which was at it's worst right above her wrist. Trying to turn her arm so he could look at it top down only caused her more pain. "It's broken," he concluded. "What happened?"

"Your brother," she retorted bitterly, wishing she could pull her arm away, "who currently has my sister, who you are supposed to be saving."

"I told you I'd take care of it and that's what I was trying to do when you decided to chat up Klaus!" he growled. Though he let go of her arm he couldn't stop looking at it as he muttered, "I'm really going to kill him."

Addie scoffed in outrage and disgust, "I wasn't chatting him up! Tyler bit Caroline, which means she's going to die unless she gets Klaus' blood."

"You don't deal with Klaus to save Caroline! Everybody told her not to be with Tyler. It's her own fault."

"I'm sorry. I forgot I needed your permission before running my own life. You should probably make up a chart of who I can and cannot associate and under what circumstances," she said sarcastically, intentionally hitting him in the shoulder as she passed him and moved to Klaus.

He gave her a devious smirk as his eyes flashed between the swirling liquid in his glass and up at her. "It seems you have two problems only I can solve."

"Excuse me?"

"Stefan's next move against Klaus is your sister. The hybrids leave town and we get Elena back."

Her breathing became shallow and her chest began to ache. There was something off about the way Klaus was looking at Damon. Suspiciously she questioned, "What exactly did he say, Damon? Those aren't Stefan's words."

"'What will Klaus do if he can't make anymore hybrids?'" reiterated Damon, uncomfortably rubbing at the back of his neck. Watching Addie turn white as paper he quickly added, "But that's not what he wants to do. That's not his goal. He wants the hybrids out of town. We give him that and Elena stays safe."

"Are you crazy?! That statement clearly implies 'I'm going to kill Elena.' It doesn't say 'let's make a deal!'"

"He loves her; he won't kill her."

"He's operating on crazy! We don't know what the fuck is going on with his humanity! He may not even love her if that dimmer switch is low enough!"

Klaus gently tugged on Addie's uninjured wrist, turning her back to face him. He gave her a slightly sympathetic smile. "Really, Addie, all we know is that Stefan has your sister. We have no clue where or what he's doing. It's very likely that he's bluffing and won't kill her. Your friend Caroline will die without my blood; that is certain. I'm going to let you have the choice of which problem you want me to solve."

"Wh-? Choice? Why? Why can't you just solve both? I mean, I can see how the Elena situation would be a sacrifice for you but what is sending over a swig of your blood to Caroline?" Addie questioned, shaking her head in confusion.

"Stefan sees this as an opportunity to try and break me. I see it as a chance to teach you a lesson. In every single thing you do, you expect to save everyone. Consider this a chance to explore your priorities," suggested Klaus, a knowing grin in place.

She continued to shake her head, unable to comprehend. "What's wrong with wanting to save everyone? Are you completely incapable of understanding what a decent person is?"

He sighed loudly, "You really are so naive. The fact is that life sucks and you can't save everyone. Pick."

"So, I can say 'Elena' and you'll agree to get the hybrids out of town and we hope that Stefan just gives Elena back but don't really know however Caroline definitely dies or I can say 'Caroline' and she lives but Stefan stays angry about the hybrids and we still don't really know what happens to Elena?" fretted Addie, trying to understand her options.

Klaus sipped at the champagne and conversationally wondered, "What will you pick?"

Her eyes were wide and fearful as they turned to Damon imploringly. It really bothered him that she could comprehend the danger posed to those she loved and yet she didn't seem to have the inclination to worry over her own safety.

"He's bluffing. He's not going to let anything happen to your sister. You think he spent 1000 years trying to break a curse to create a couple dozen hybrids a be done with it?" Damon reassured Addie. While he was fairly confident of what he was saying, he kept his eyes fixed on Klaus, daring the bastard to contradict him. It was one thing when he toyed with Addie but what Klaus was doing was just plain cruel.

Klaus clicked his tongue in mock disappointment at Damon as he pulled out his ringing cellphone. He raised an expectant eyebrow at Addie and said breezily, "I trust you're not foolish enough to assume that I am bluffing. You're smart enough not to make the same mistake twice, aren't you?"

Addie shivered as she recalled the night Klaus complained about being hungry enough to eat an entire basketball team and the twelve high schoolers who'd been practicing that he used to make a point when she said he was exaggerating.

"Stefan, how nice to hear your voice," the Original drawled with exaggerated politeness as he answered the phone.

Addie froze as Stefan's voice over speakerphone cut through the small study, "Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus."

His lips twitched into a smile as he looked at Addie. Her mouth fell open and closed repeatedly under the pressure of his stare. How was she supposed to do anything without condemning Caroline to death? Of course if she did nothing she could be doing the same to her sister.

"You hear me?" growled Stefan, cutting through the long silence.

"That's not gonna happen until I get my coffins back," Klaus snapped into the phone, glaring daggers at Addie.

Nonchalantly Stefan replied, "Ok, well then I'm gonna drive your blood source off Wickery Bridge."

Addie clasped her hand over her mouth but it was too late to muffle her squeal of terror.

Covering the speaker Klaus whispered cheekily, "Should I stop him now?" She nodded insistently but he shook his head and smirked. "I don't believe you. You won't kill her."

The blood drained from Addie's face as she realized Klaus was speaking to Stefan. Fear ran through her at the sound of a commotion on the other end of the line and her sister's cries of protest.

"What's going on?" Klaus demanded, an edge of uncertainty detectable in his voice.

"I just fed her my blood. No more hybrids if she's a vampire," Stefan retorted smugly.

"Stop him!" Addie hissed angrily.

Klaus pretended to briefly consider her words before telling the vampire with certainty, "You won't do it."

Stefan snorted humorlessly, "Really? Try me, because your coffins are next to go. Say goodbye to your family, Klaus."

At the sound of Elena's frantic screams at Stefan Addie covered her ears. She ignored the searing pain that radiated through her right arm at the sharp movement. Through the tears of agony and terror she yelled, "Stop him, Klaus! Just do what he says!"

Addie squeezed her eyes shut but after a moment, muffled by her hands, she could make out Klaus bellow, "Stop the car, Stefan!"

Then Damon's hands were on hers, gently pulling them away from her ears. Gently he folded her arms so that her left one and her stomach cradled her broken one. It broke his heart to see her in pain but he wasn't an idiot. He wasn't going to let her around Klaus with vampire blood in her system. The pads of thumbs wiped away the tears as he comforted her. "Elena's fine now."

"No," Addie croaked, her voice hoarse from crying, "she's still with him. She's not safe as long as she's with him. I need you to go get her."

"Alright," Damon agreed gently, placing a hand on her lower back to guide her to the door.

Addie shook her head as she emphasized, "I need you to go, Damon."

Was she seriously implying that he leave her with Klaus? He snorted and applied more force behind his hand. "We'll go," he insisted.

"Go, Damon, please," she begged. "I need to know that she's ok."

"And I need to know that you're ok. Come on," persisted Damon.

"No offense but if Klaus had any intention of killing me in the immediate future you would hardly serve as the most useful of defense. He can kill you with a bite. Really, I'd be so focused on your safety that you'd be more of a liability," Addie snapped, growing impatient.

Klaus snickered, "She has a point, mate."

"You know, I wouldn't typically continue this with you if you want to be so annoying about it but in case you haven't noticed, you're down to one arm for defense. Somehow I think I'm a little more useful," Damon retorted.

She scowled at him. "The throbbing pain is a wonderful reminder of my arm situation, thank you. I'm also painfully aware of the fact that your brother just almost turned my sister into a vampire by running her off Wickery Bridge and she's still with him. Would you please go make sure Elena is safe, Damon?"

He shook his head as he tugged uncomfortably at the gray striped tie. "I get how much you worry about your sister but no, your safety is priority for me. If it's between leaving you with Klaus or Elena with Stefan, there's no choice."

Looking towards Klaus Addie sighed helplessly, "Will you protect your human blood bag and tell him you have no interest in killing me tonight?"

"But perhaps I do," the hybrid smirked as he took a long drink of champagne.

Damon wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her so that he was partially concealing her.

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed, trying to push Damon away with her shoulder. "Do you really want Elena out there with Stefan? Suppose he changes his mind and doesn't want to agree to a deal and just decides to turn her into a vampire to screw with you."

"I have no interest in harming Addison in any manner tonight. Is that good enough for her personal guard dog?" Klaus remarked boredly.

"I think you're forgetting which one of is part dog," spat Damon.

Addie groaned in frustration, "Will you just go? I am legitimately concerned about what your brother will do."

"Then come-"

"I have to talk to Klaus. I'll be home after that," she interrupted curtly, leaving no room for debate.

"Fine," he said slowly. The rage was just below the surface. "I'm going to get Elena and take her back to your house. If you're not there by the time I -"

"I will be," Addie quickly reassured him. Elena and Stefan had been all the way on the other edge of town; that was plenty of time. Hopefully. At Damon's doubtful frown she gave him an encouraging smile and repeated, "I'll be there."

"Alright." Aware of Klaus watching them Damon gently lifted her chin. His kiss was gentle but possessive. He didn't exactly know what the bastard wanted with Addie, whether his objective was her heart, her head, her body or her life but Klaus wasn't getting her. He swiftly brushed his lips against her forehead, murmured his expectation of seeing her at her house and left.

"He is obnoxious," mused Klaus as the door latched behind Damon. "You think he'd figure out that you can defend yourself at this point."

"Do you think I'm stupid? I'm not foolish enough to believe I could defend myself against you. Your flattery will get you nowhere."

"You might not be able to defend yourself in the traditional sense but you don't make me want to rip your throat out. Damon makes me want to rip your throat out… and his. Knowing when to shut up is a very valuable defense."

Addie managed to hide her snort in a cough. "I can see how Damon might make you want to rip his throat out or do anything to aggravate him."

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards but he continued to regard her impassively, otherwise. "I think Damon upsets you for different reasons than he upsets me. Why were you so adamant about talking to me?"

"I need you to cure Caroline."

Klaus frowned and shook his head. "That's not how the game works, Addison. You picked Elena."

"And now I'm saying I need you to save Caroline."

"I told you to pick one," he emphasized with his index finger held up. "You did. I already said you have to learn that you can't save everyone."

"Yeah, ok, I get that. You've made your point. Now, will you please heal Caroline?" she huffed impatiently.

He laughed, "You think I'm going to change my mind because you asked nicely? Maybe that works on Damon but I'm not him, darling."

Addie sighed, "It doesn't work on him either but I figured it was worth a shot. I thought that maybe you learned some manners or something since yesterday. Why does Caroline have to die?"

"Collateral damage."

"Collateral damage is, by definition, damage to an unintended target! Why the hell can't you just heal her and target the right person?" she scoffed in outrage.

Klaus considered her for a minute and shrugged. "By technical definition. I'm playing fast and loose with the rules and considering the part that only applies to civilian casualties."

"Why? Why do there need to be any civilian casualties?"

"I needed a test subject."

"You don't run fatal tests on civilians! Cure Caroline and do whatever bullshit you want to me!"

He snorted, "What part of this being about you learning a lesson do you not understand?"

"You just said she was only collateral damage!" Addie cried.

"Point is you want to save her and you can't save everyone," Klaus chuckled darkly.

She closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten as she tried to keep from throwing a fit becoming of a two year old. Dealing with Klaus was just so aggravating. "Why not?"

"It's unrealistic."

"Ok, I understand that. If I understand that, why does Caroline have to die?"

"Because you made a choice between her and Elena. There is a consequence to every action."

"But-"

"Addison," Klaus said sharply, demanding full attention, "you're not saving Caroline. Nothing you say will convince me to give her my blood."

Addie bit her lip to keep from crying out as she slowly maneuvered her injured arm into the sleeve of her shirt. Her teeth cut through the tender flesh but she didn't notice if the tears fall any harder or faster. It was hard to keep track of what tears were from pain and which were from guilt over Caroline. The knocking at her bathroom door made her jump, jostle her arm and give a loud whimper of pain.

She'd heard Damon and Elena get back when she had been washing, a difficult task to do with only her left hand. Knowing who it would be Addie opened the door a crack as she struggled with getting her shirt the rest of the way up her arm.

"Whoa! Hey, hey, hey!" Damon interrupted, prying his old grey tee from her hand as she whimpered trying to pull it over her head. Addie looked at him incredulously as he stopped her and he gave her an equally ridiculous look back. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

Because he'd spent almost an hour talking to Elena and she'd gotten tired of waiting on him. Addie shook her head, sniffled, and sighed in frustration, "Can't you just help me put it on?"

He kissed her softly, pulling her lower lip between his and gently swiping at the blood where she had bit into it. Damon pulled away slowly, frowning. "I definitely don't like your blood like that," he murmured, running his thumb over the swollen flesh.

"Yes, I prefer not bleeding from my lip, too. Can you help with my shirt situation?" she huffed impatiently, uncomfortably aware of being just in her bra. It wasn't quite the same as when they were making out; she definitely didn't feel as confident.

"Uh, no." When Addie gave him a look of disbelief he quickly added, "I don't want to hurt you anymore. Here." Damon bit his wrist and held it out to her. "I wanted to heal you earlier but I didn't want Klaus getting any ideas about turning you into a vampire. He needs Elena human; you don't have that guarantee."

"I figured that," she mumbled. Awkwardly she took his hand and sucked at his wrist, his blood cool and metallic. Addie's eyes slipped shut in relief as the throbbing, searing pain just above her right wrist ebbed away. Quickly she tugged on the shirt so she could pull him into a tight embrace.

Damon held her close, gently raking her hair through his fingers. "I'm going to assume this means I don't need to do a double check to make sure you healed up right?" he teased as he felt her clutch the back of his shirt. She shook her head, burying her face into his shoulder. "Why'd you need to talk to Klaus?"

he asked, a sneaking suspicion already nagging at him. Addie gave a loud hiccuping gasp and shook her head again as she softly cried. Damon did the same thing in disgust. It wasn't just for Addie's safety that he hadn't wanted to leave her with Klaus. As much as he hated the bastard he had been right about one thing, Addie could be naive and had a tendency to believe she could save everyone. He was willing to bet that she had tried to convince Klaus to save Caroline. Clearly it hadn't worked. He could have saved her the trouble and told her that her efforts were futile. It didn't make him want to kill Klaus any less for making her cry.

Actually, it had been a very good thing that Stefan had left Elena at Wickery Bridge. Damon wasn't exactly sure just how far he would take things with his little brother. He knew in his pissing match with Klaus Stefan had managed to terrify his girlfriend and that pissed him off. It was breaking Addie's arm in his little stunt that really crossed the line and made Damon see red, though. Stefan might have managed to win a round against Klaus and be the better villain but it wasn't at a price he was willing to pay. Long-term, Klaus was likely the greater danger to Addie but he seemed to want her alive, at least for the moment. Short-term, Damon couldn't predict what Stefan was going to do and he had already injured Addie once. Perhaps it was time to consider letting Klaus have the coffins back if it meant keeping her safe. He wasn't going to let Stefan keep acting in such a reckless manner. Damon needed to take action against his brother.

"Come on," Damon whispered, easily lifting her. He quickly turned off the lifts before carrying her to her bed. He tried to lay her down but she clung to him, still sobbing into his shoulder. He toed off his shoes so that he could climb in with her. It was difficult with Addie attached to him like a leech but he eventually managed to tuck the blanket around them. Until early hours of the morning he alternated between comforting, soothing noises and just letting her sob. It caused a pain in his chest to see her feel so guilty over Caroline. He didn't dare argue with her, though. If he pointed out that she wasn't the one who bit Caroline or had the magic, cure-all blood Addie would just counter with the fact that she had the option of saving Caroline. He knew she was undoubtedly rationalizing whether or not anything would have happened to Elena if she had said nothing, if she had saved Caroline. Arguing that she had made the right choice based on love or the simple fact that Elena was her sister wouldn't make a difference.

A/N: Short chapter - I know, I'm sorry! It only covered half an episode so it ended up being half the usual length. I didn't want to combine it with the next chapter, which is very long, because that would mean missing another week of updates. I promise to make up for it in the next installment!

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed!