Caroline stood outside the Mikaelson mansion. She was there to try to see Elena. Bonnie to her and the others what she'd learned when she saw Elena yesterday. She was apparently Rebekah's daughter from when she was human. That shocked Caroline. She wasn't too shocked to find out that Elena was related to the Mikaelson's given what they already knew, but she didn't think it was Rebekah.

Caroline had wanted to come yesterday when Bonnie told her everything, but she'd thought better of it. From what she'd gathered, Elena had gotten upset while Bonnie and her mother were there, and the Mikaelsons had kicked them both out. Going the same day would've been tempting fate a bit.

Caroline took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. She was willing herself to be calm and polite. It wouldn't do well for her to piss of the Mikaelsons, like Bonnie did. Klaus might like her, but she didn't want to test him when he could determine if she saw Elena.

The door was opened moments later by Klaus. "Hello, Caroline. I can only assume you're not here to see me."

"I'd like to see Elena, please," Caroline said as politely as she could.

"Come inside," Klaus said before stepping aside to let her in.

Caroline smiled, taking it as a good sign, before stepping into the mansion.

Klaus shut the door behind her. "If you want to see Elena, you need to talk to Rebekah."

"Why do I need to talk to Rebekah?" Caroline asked.

"I would've assumed your friend would've told you. Rebekah is…"

"Yeah, Bonnie did tell me. Rebekah is Elena's mother. I get that, but Elena is not a child. She should be able to decide for herself," Caroline said.

"Yes, well, the last person who came to see Elena upset her to the point where I have a broken window in my dining room. Elena was fragile before life-changing news was forced on her. We're trying to keep her calm," Klaus said.

"Is she okay?" Caroline asked.

"As well as she can be. She's upset. Your friend and her mother didn't help that any," Klaus said.

"I can only imagine what this is doing to her. That's why I want to see her," Caroline said.

"I get it, love, but you have to go through Rebekah," Klaus said.

Caroline sighed. She didn't love the idea of having to kiss Rebekah's ass to see Elena. That was worse than having to be nice to Klaus. However, she would do what she needed to do to make sure that Elena was okay. "Alright. Where's Rebekah?"

"Right here," Rebekah said as she came down the stairs. "Hello, Caroline. I would ask why you're here, but I heard every word you said. Also, it would be blatantly obvious even if I didn't have vampire hearing."

"Can I see her?" Caroline asked. She half expected Rebekah to immediately deny her. Rebekah was a vindictive bitch most of the time, and she hated Caroline.

"That depends on your intentions. If you're here to try to force Elena out of this house or to berate her for understanding her need to stay here then, no, you can't see her. I won't have her anymore upset than she already is. I won't have you or anyone else making this situation worse for her.

"I just want to talk to her. I want to know that she's okay," Caroline said.

"And once your done, you'll leave without incident," Rebekah said. It wasn't even a question. It was an order.

"If that's what Elena wants, I won't interfere," Caroline promised.

"Fine, but if you upset her needlessly, you will leave in pieces," Rebekah warned before heading upstairs.

Caroline blinked a couple of times in surprise. "I expected that to be harder. I figured she'd make me beg for it."

Klaus chuckled. "If it were about anything else, she probably would've, but my sister's priority is doing what's best for Elena."

"I can't see her as a mom," Caroline said.

"She never got the chance to be. My mother stole that from her," Klaus said through gritted teeth.

Just then, Elena and Rebekah came down. Elena went over to Caroline. "Caroline."

Caroline hugged her. "Hey. It's so good to see you."

Elena pulled away after a minute. "Did Bonnie tell you everything?"

"Yeah. Can we talk privately?" Caroline asked. She knew they couldn't really have a completely private conversation with five other vampires in the house, but she didn't want to talk with Rebekah and Klaus staring at them.

"Yeah. Come on," Elena said before leading the way upstairs. She led her to her bedroom and they both sat down on the bed.

"I called you a couple of times yesterday," Caroline said.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I just didn't think it was a good idea for me to talk to anyone else. I was still reeling from everything, as well as talking to Abby and Bonnie. I was afraid I'd get upset again if I had to talk to anyone else about it then," Elena said.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'm here for you, Elena. I'm here for whatever you need," Caroline told her.

Elena smiled. "Thanks."

"Are you okay? I mean, I know you're not okay mentally, but what about physically? No one has tried to hurt you, right?" Caroline asked.

"No, I'm fine physically. Everyone has been nice to me, especially considering I helped Esther when I thought she was going to kill them," Elena said.

"That's not your fault. You were only trying to protect yourself," Caroline said.

"It's not just that. Protecting us all from Klaus was my main goal, but I also knew everyone would be upset if I didn't do it. Damon and Stefan would anyway, probably Bonnie too," Elena said.

"You didn't think I would, did you? No matter how much I want this town to be safe from Klaus and his family, you're my best friend. If you felt that hurting them was morally wrong, I would have your back," Caroline assured her.

Elena nodded. "I was mostly sure you'd understand. Anyway, that wasn't even what Esther wanted. She wanted to use me as some kind of weapon."

"I've never met this woman, but she's clearly awful," Caroline said.

Elena couldn't deny that. Esther had stolen her daughter's child and told her she was dead. She'd upended Elena entire life, more than once. She was horrible. "Anway, like I said, everyone has been nice and understanding. Rebekah forgave me instantly for daggering her. Even Klaus hasn't been his awful self."

"You're his niece now. I guess that makes sense.

Elena shuddered. "That's probably the hardest part about this. It isn't that I'm now a witch or that my parents aren't who I thought they were for the second time. It's not even Rebekah being my mother. All of that freaks me out, but the worst part is that I know have to call the man who murdered my aunt family."

"Yeah, I know that has to be hard. Things are probably going to be hard for you for a while. I just want to know one thing. Are you here of your own free will?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I wanted to leave after I found out and Rebekah wouldn't let me, but after calming down, I realized she was right not to. I destroyed my house. I destroyed the living room here and took out a window in the kitchen. If any of that were to happen out there, someone could get hurt. I don't want that," Elena said.

"Alright, that's all I needed to know. I'll try to get the others to back off. They're determined to 'rescue' you," she said.

"Yes, please do that. I can't talk to Damon or Stefan right now. Neither one of them is going to be as understanding as you are right now. Damon will probably call me stupid for trusting the Originals. Talking to either of them will set my magic off, probably Bonnie too," Elena said.

"I will. Have you talked to Jeremy yet?" Caroline asked. She doubted she had. It had only been a couple of days since she found out. She was still processing it. Still, Caroline figured she'd ask.

Elena shook her head. "I don't even know what to say. I'm still dealing with it myself. He's in Denver, so there's no rush. Please don't let anyone else tell him though. He should hear it from me. I'm just not ready yet."

"I will. You'll find the words when you're ready. I assume you're not coming back to school for a while," Caroline said.

Elena shook her head. "Elijah's going to help me keep up."

Caroline chuckled. "Elijah as your tutor. That's sounds like a definition of Hell. The man has an aura of strict authoritarian written all over him.

Elena laughed. "Yeah, he does, doesn't he? I guess it comes with being one of the oldest siblings."

"You said the others are nice to you too. Do you like them?" Caroline asked.

"Well, I still hate Klaus. I'm not sure that will ever go away. Finn, I don't really know. He's kind of quiet, but he stood by me against Esther. I like Kol. He's been really nice to me, and he and Finn are going to help me gain control of my magic. And you know I like and trust Elijah," Elena said.

Caroline nodded. "Maybe I'm insane for even suggesting this, but maybe this will all be good for you in the long run. It's not just you and Jeremy anymore. You have a family again. I know no one could replace your parents, but you have people who care about you again. I think even Klaus cares about you with the way he was talking."

Elena nodded. "I don't think I'm ready to think about all that yet. I'm just trying to take all of this one day at a time."

Caroline was about to say something, but she heard Klaus yelling at someone downstairs and frowned.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"Someone just showed up, and Klaus is pissed," Caroline said.

"Oh, please tell me it's not Stefan and Damon," Elena said before getting up and heading for the door.

"Uh, Elena, I think we should stay up here," Caroline called after her, but it fell on deaf ears, so Caroline got up and followed her friend.

When Elena made it to the stairs, it was no longer just Klaus yelling. She could hear Elijah's voice, as well as Rebekah's. They were all pissed.

"Was I not clear the other night? I told you to stay way from this family," Elijah said.

"I do not take orders from you, Elijah. Now, I gave you all a couple of days to calm down, but it's time to get past this."

"Past it? You have some nerve! I could kill you right now and be completely justified in it!" Rebekah said heatedly.

Elena finally made it downstairs and saw who it was that had her newfound family so angry. "Esther."