Author's Note: So…how much do I suck? This update is severely overdue. And I will include a list of reasons at the end of the chapter which, while ridiculous, are all true. Just ask Dee (Wreckless Righter) as she has seen me through all of them. That being said, this chapter is halfway dedicated to her for listening to my crazy day in and day out. So, I know that I suck, and that this chapter is SUPER late, but here it is. And, for what it's worth, I have the next 4 or 5 chapters outlined, and the very next is actually written, just awaiting some tweaks now that this one is finished. So, now that all is said and done, I hope that you enjoy! Let me know in a review!

Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me (except Zacc. He's all mine, modeled after a friend). But I enjoy playing with the characters in my own plots and shenanigans. I hope you enjoy it as well!

She's fluffing her curls self consciously, examining her reflection in the mirror when the doorbell rings. With a deep breath, Caroline turns to answer it. The door swings open to reveal Zacc with a full bouquet of wildflowers, face bright with a huge smile.

"Wow, Zacc, you shouldn't have. Really, they're beautiful, but you didn't need to go to the trouble," Caroline stutters, drawing in a shaky breath and trying to will her discomfort away.

"No trouble," the tall surfer replies, obliviously slipping passed the frozen blonde and making his way into the small house. "I'm really glad you changed your mind about tonight, Rebekah. We are going to have a great time."

Smiling timidly, Caroline nods before leading him towards the kitchen, "Can I get you anything to drink?" At his refusal, the blonde makes her way to the playpen in the living room, a genuine smile filling her face when she watches Hope flip the cardboard pages of her three little pigs book, blabbering to herself happily. Lifting the girl into her arms, Caroline turns back to her guest, attempting stilted small talk while readying the stroller for the evening out.

The surfer seems to catch on the to the vampire's discomfort eventually, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his cutoffs. "Rebekah, is something wrong? You seemed a lot more exited about this when we made the plans on Tuesday?"

Sighing heavily, Caroline drops her hands away from the stroller's restraint strap and slowly stands and turns toward the handsome man leaning against her worn couch. "Nothing is wrong, Zacc. It's…just been a ling time since I've done this. Gone out, I mean. Not since…" she trails off, gesturing towards the drooling baby beside her.

Realization crosses his face as he scrubs a hand against his cheek. "Wow, I didn't even think. That—that makes sense, I guess. Since she's so young. So, you haven't gone out since Hope's father, then?"

Caroline feels the color draining out of her face at that thought, and clears her throat harshly before nodding stiffly. "Yes, uh," she coughs, "yes, I haven't gone out since—Nik. My life has more of less revolved around this one here."

"We can still cancel, Rebekah. If you're not ready. Or uncomfortable. Or whatever," Zacc coughs dejectedly. He hangs his head slightly, peering up at her through his lashes in a remarkably familiar 'puppy dog' expression that tugs painfully at her heart.

Smoothing her hands down her denim wrapped thighs, Caroline shakes her head, "No, no, we made plans. Let's go! Just, maybe, can we—"

"Take the pressure off?" Zacc finishes with a barking laugh, "Yeah. No pressure, no stress. Let's just go out and have some fun," he smiles broadly, gesturing toward the door Following the blonde out, he pulled the door closed behind them as the threesome made their way downtown."

Three hours later, Caroline has to admit she is enjoying herself. The carnival Zacc had taken them to is small, and rather disorganized in her opinion, but it is good lighthearted fun. As the night progresses, however, Hope has been growing more and more agitated.

"I'm sorry," the blonde groans for the tenth time, wincing as Hope lets out a particularly shrill shriek. "She's been teething. I think her tooth is finally cutting through," Caroline rushes through her explanation, running finger coated in baby Orajel over the girl's ravaged gums. The third tooth is officially through, she notes.

Zacc just shakes his head distractedly, his attention on the ring toss game he is attempting. "Nothing to apologize for, babe. I've got three younger brothers—and they were all a lot worse than Hope."

Nodding absently, Caroline lifts the whimpering infant to her shoulder, nestling her beneath her chin and stroking a gentle hand down her back. Bouncing the tired baby delicately, the vampire looses a curse when a sharp pain stabs across her collarbone. Pulling Hope away from her chest, she swipes a hand across the afflicted area, spying a large drop of blood on her fingertip. She feels the wound close almost instantly as her companion turns to face her, concern etched across his features.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she laughs awkwardly. "She just nipped me a little. More shock than anything," Caroline waves off his worry and Zacc slowly turns back to his game.

Nearly an hour and fifty dollars later, the group is making their way toward the makeshift food court, arms and stroller full of an assortment of cheap stuffed animals. The beach city native points out his opinions of the best booths to order dinner from while his small town companion listens excitedly. Leaving the girls at a table, he verifies the items that she had been interested in before making his way to his first booth's line.

Smiling to herself, Caroline shifts the finally sleeping baby in her arms and swipes a hand across her brow, confused when her fingers come away damp. Vampires don't sweat, she thinks. The baby vamp is pulled from her thoughts when a large plastic cup of lemonade and a paper boat full of chips and fresh guacamole materialize in front of her.

"An appetizer to hold you over, my lady," Zacc grins at her, gesturing with flourish. "Enjoy this while I wait for the artichoke and the kabobs."

She sips delicately as the lemonade, coughing lightly as the sickeningly sweet liquid does nothing to slake her thirst. Reaching below the stroller seat, Caroline pulls out her thermos, unscrewing the cap quickly and gulping down the contents. She drains the B Positive inside in under a minute, licking her lips greedily. The young vampire stashes the thermos and tries to ignore the hungry burn still raging in her throat. She is confused by the sudden craving, not having felt this out of control of her urges in years, literally.

Setting Hope in her seat, Caroline secures the restraint and bundles the girl's blanket around her, standing shakily and making her way towards Zacc.

"Hey, Zacc. I think we should call it a night," a suddenly exhausted Caroline begins when she reaches his side. The pounding of his pulse fills her ears and he turns a concerned gaze to her when she takes a beat too long to continue. Her blue eyes jump to his face and she scrambles to speak, "It's just, um, since she's been so cranky tonight, and now she's asleep already. I probably have a very long night ahead of me." Caroline finishes with an innocent shrug and raises a quick hand to stop the objections she expects. "Please, it's still early. Don't call it a night on our account. I know you wanted to head over to the main stage in a bit. We'll talk tomorrow, kay?"

Nodding obligingly, Zacc moves forward to initiate that always awkward first date kiss goodnight, but stops short when Caroline flinches violently. Offering his hand in a failing attempt at playing it cool, Zacc shrugs, "Goodnight, Rebekah. I'll call you later, see if there's anything you need, sound good?"

With a dismissive node, Caroline angles the stroller toward the street and dashes off at the fastest human speed she can manage. The duo reach their house in a little more than twenty minutes, and the first thing Caroline does is settle the miraculously still sleeping infant into her crib. Closing the door with a sigh, the vampire pulls her hand across the ache in the back of her neck and makes her way to the bathroom.

Snapping the light on, Caroline gasps loudly when she gets a glimpse of her reflection in the round mirror. Her skin is pale except for her unnaturally flushed cheeks and sweat has collected on her brow, but most shocking of all, the veins beneath her eyes are contracting violently beneath her skin. A few deep breaths seem to get them under control as the blood flows back away from her eyes, and the girl flashes into the kitchen. Pulling a blood bag from the crisper drawer of the refrigerator, she tears into it ravenously, draining it without breathing. Another bag undergoes the same treatment before Caroline feels in control enough to think about what is going on.

Realization dawns on her as she runs through the events of the evening in her mind. Clutching a hand to her chest, her fingers lightly graze over the spot where Hope had bitten her.

It's not possible. Is it? It can't be possible. But…maybe. Hope is the daughter of the Original hybrid. And a wereslut. So, of course, that would mean werewolf, right? But werewolf meant she killed someone. But maybe Hope was different? The thoughts are whirling through her head a mile a minute even while her vision starts to blur. Every turn in her pacing sends her hands out in an attempt to steady the room as it starts to spin around her.

"This can't be happening," Caroline groans. Hiding out with a baby was hard enough. Hiding out with a baby who could kill her in a teething accident or tantrum? Not possible. She spins around in frustration, her foggy mind coming up blank as she tried to figure out her next move.

A few sobbing breaths are the only time Caroline takes to herself before scrambling for the purse she has tucked into the stroller and digging her hand into the depths, searching for her cell phone.

Her fingers dial the number mechanically and Caroline paces quickly around the small living room while the call connects.

"Hello?"

"Rebekah, I think we have a problem," as strong as she tries to make her voice, Caroline is pained to hear the pitiful crack it as her knees begin to shake. "How soon can you land at LAX?"

"What problem?" Rebekah's clipped voice leaves no room for nonsense. "I'll be there in four hours. Five at most. I just need to wrap up a few things here before I can slip away. What happened?"

"I think—I think I got bit by a hybrid tonight. A very tiny little one. Or a werewolf. I'm not really sure," the blonde's brow wrinkles in confusion while she tries to stop the rambling. "I need you to get some of Klaus' blood. Just a little bit, it was a little bite. I'll explain more when you get here…"

"Caroline?" Rebekah only hears a quiet groan and a thud as the young vampire collapses on the carpet. "Caroline!"

On the other side of the country, the blonde Original flashes up the stairs into her brother's study. Before he can greet her she is in front of his desk, sliding the letter opener from the pen cup and upturning the rest of the contents onto the writing surface.

"Is there something I can help you with, sister?" Klaus quirks an eye at the petite blonde as she crosses the room toward his easel.

"Nope," she responds. As he quirks another eyebrow she grabs his wrist and slides the blade across his palm.

"Bloody hell! What was that for?" the big bad hybrid whines as Rebekah collects the dripping blood in the pilfered pencil cup.

"Your daughter bit your girlfriend. Gotta run. Ta!" And with that, she's gone.

Caroline slowly opens her eyes, surprised to find herself on the floor. After a few confused moments, the knocking on the door draws her attention to the disturbance that awoke her in the first place. Groaning quietly, the blonde climbs to her feet and moved glances around idly for a clock to see how long she was unconscious on the floor but assumes it was long enough for Rebekah to make it with the blood she needed.

"Rebekah, thank you so much for—," she comes to a stuttered stop at the blonde pompadour attached to the very masculine figure on her doorstep. "Zacc? What are you doing here?" Caroline questions quickly with a whine, pulling her hair down over the festering wound on her collarbone.

"I just wanted to see how things were going. How Hope's gums were holding up," he tries to joke while the uncomfortable girl tries to block the entryway with her exhausted body.

"Oh, we're fine. We're great—having a great night, nothing to report here," she rambles as a piercing cry rings out from the baby monitor on the kitchen counter. "Well, we were. I should go get her, she's probably just going to work herself up. Thanks for coming by, Zacc. I'll call you this week, okay?" The door shuts in his face before he can respond and the blonde hurries down the hallway.

"Come here, little girl. I know, it's so upsetting isn't it? How dare—," her breath halts on a rasping wheeze as she lifts the shrieking baby into her arms, "How dare your teeth grow in? Who told them they could do that? Huh?"

Bouncing the girl in her arms, Caroline settles into the sliding rocker and takes another deep breath. Hope continues to wail, taking little comfort in the oscillating movement or the hand running up and down her spine. Eventually both the girls drift into fitful sleep, Caroline's mind beginning to run down dangerous, venom induced trains of thought that have the young vampire shooting up in her seat and jostling the agitated baby.

Settling Hope back into her crib and stroking her gums with another thin layer of the anesthetic gel, Caroline hurries from the room. Taking a moment to lock the door behind her, the anxious baby vampire nearly runs down the hall to her own room. She is hiding on the floor beside her bed, a pillow clutched to her chest when she hears the repetitive patter of an Original's knuckles on the front door.