Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries TV show. That honor goes to Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson.

Hello, my lovely readers. This story was created based on a prompt created by Rune Saint. On with the show...

Chapter 1: Swapped

The world was awash in color. Stefan was confused. One minute, he was returning to the Boarding House with Caroline, both slightly drunk, and giddy after a long night of patrolling the streets and fighting off one of his mother's Heretics, the next he was somewhere else. He remembered Caroline commenting on "How much had he had to drink?" as his body became slack as he was falling to the floor.

The next thing Stefan knew his head was throbbing like he had been fighting with Damon, drinking with Damon, or talking to Damon, or really anything related to Damon. Then he heard the sound. It was far away. So far away, he was almost sure it was part of the dream. This was a dream, Stefan was sure of that, because there was an angel hovering over him with a baby on her hip.

"Klaus, could you not hear your daughter?" the blond haired angel asked, her lips pursing into a scowl that somehow was very familiar, although he could not say who it was she reminded him of. "Klaus!" her voice demanded Klaus' attention.

Sitting up, Stefan rubbed the back of his head, wondering when he had gotten another haircut. The top felt short of at least two, maybe, three inches of hair. And why was this woman repeating Klaus' name and staring at Stefan. Was this some kind of a sick joke? Stefan was about to call for Damon when the angel set the baby down beside him. The child crawled across the bed to settle atop Stefan's chest and stare into his eyes, like she knew who he was.

Blinking back at the baby, Stefan gave her a light pat on the back. He did not have too much experience with children. As a ripper, he had always been afraid that if he allowed himself to come close to children that he would do something he could not come back from. "Hello?" he said tentatively as the child continued to stare.

After a long moment of watching the scene play out, the woman scooped the baby back up. The child began to cry and reached out for Stefan, who felt an unfamiliar tug at his heart. Moving to get off the bed, he looked at the blonde. "Maybe I should take her back," he said with a smile directed at the baby. Although there was a part of Stefan that was thinking that Klaus + baby = trouble, he could not help himself. There was a part of him that wanted to hold the child.

"No!" the woman said, slowly shaking her head. Her eyes were glowing with a kind of fervor and Stefan wondered if she was mad. Not that he could judge. When he was the Ripper, he had not exactly been mentally healthy. "Who are you?" the woman demanded, rocking the child and rubbing her back rhythmically.

"I'm… Klaus," Stefan tried, and failed, to sound like he believed the words coming out of his own mouth.

"No. No, you are not. Your aura. It's not like Klaus'. It's purer," she stated and then Stefan knew what he was feeling. She was a witch. He should have sensed it the moment he became aware of his surroundings. But all he had been aware of was her wide eyes, her long hair, her lips and her scent. Everything about this woman was intoxicating to Stefan. He hadn't felt this way since he met Elena. And that had been a completely different story.

"Who. Are. You?" the woman demanded, again, and Stefan tried to figure out whether saying that Klaus had amnesia would be plausible. Prior to his brother being sent to a prison world in hell, Stefan would not believe that he could end up in Klaus' body. Unless, of course, Klaus had them switched for another sick and twisted plan that this young mother was not privy to.

"I'm Stefan Salvatore," Stefan confessed. He always believed that honesty was the best way to influence people. Then there were the times that being honest could get you killed. Stefan really hoped that this was not one those times.

"Who?" The witch looked confused.

"I'm Stefan. I was a good friend of Klaus' in the twenties. We traveled together, I was having a rough patch," Stefan trailed off. There was a possibility that this witch was an enemy of Klaus,' who was trying to kill him and had switched them in the hopes that Stefan would make an easier target.

"Ah, that was after the time that I returned. The last time, that is." The witch shifted the baby, who was becoming restless, on her hip. "But how are you here?" she asked, pinning Stefan with a wary look.

Running his hand over Klaus' short hair, Stefan shook the head that was not his own. "Ummm. I have no idea. But I would love to find out."

The woman shook her head. "Perhaps this is not a bad thing," she said thoughtfully. "My brother has done so many things that have harmed himself, this family and this city in the past months. Maybe someone is teaching him a lesson." Looking out the window, her mouth twisted upwards into an eerily familiar smirk. "Oh, could you take her for moment?"

The witch that claimed to be Klaus' sister held the baby out to Stefan who took her. He instantly relaxed as the child laid her head on his shoulder. "Klaus' sister? I thought he had one of those," Stefan replied and the witch smiled at him.

"I'm Freya Mikaelson. The eldest daughter of Esther and Mikael. My aunt, Dahlia, took me from my mother when I was a little girl, before Elijah was born. I have only been with my siblings a short time. And I have found my stay to be… challenging," she said with a laugh.

Stefan found himself smiling at this unfamiliar woman. She was disarming, sweet, and distrusting, but who wouldn't be if they were part of the Original family. "I'm sorry," Stefan said quietly.

"For what?" Freya asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

"For what happened to you. No one should be taken from one's family," Stefan told her.

Freya looked surprised. "You're being honest. Aren't you?" she asked as if that was shocking.

"Yes. At least I try to be," Stefan retorted with a chuckle. "So, this is Klaus' daughter? How did that happen?" Stefan wanted to collect as much information as he could. It might be the difference between getting through the day in New Orleans, especially when Elijah and Rebekah learned of this little switch. It was not that Stefan believed that the Original siblings would want him dead. It was that he knew that they would do anything to get Klaus back and that might mean spells that could have any number of consequences.

Freya came over to stand beside Stefan and sat down on the bed. Hesitantly, Stefan sat beside her. "This is Hope," Freya explained, stroking Hope's hair. "She's Klaus' daughter with a werewolf named Hayley Marshall. We call her the werewolf princess. Her mother was recently turned into a hybrid, married and became the leader of a pack. She attempted to take Hope to save her from Dahlia, but Klaus caught up with her. And she is now under a curse in which she stays a wolf every night, until the full moon. Which is next week."

"That all?" Stefan blew out a breath. "That's a lot to take in. So, are there any other new enemies that I need to be aware of?" Stefan quipped as Freya continued to stroke the baby's head. She looked at Stefan beneath her lashes with a hint of a smile and Stefan was almost sure she was flirting with him. He wondered if Klaus would kill him if he were to become involved with another of his sisters. Then he thought of Caroline and turned away.

"Is there something wrong, Stefan?" Freya asked, seemingly startled by his movements. She got to her feet and placed her arms over her chest. All the warmth had left the room. Or maybe that was just the witch.

"No, everything is fine," Stefan replied dully as the baby in his arms awoke and began to cry.

Freya took the child and Stefan felt alone. "It's just that I have this friend back home. And, well, Klaus was kind of obsessed with her for awhile. Then they were friends. Then they were… something else. I'm not sure what exactly though. So, I was just wondering how she was handling having him back in her life."

"You mean if she knows that it is Klaus, and not you, you mean?" Freya responded coldly. "And you're afraid that she will be happy that he is there, and not you?"

"Wait? What?" Stefan tried to laugh her suggestion off, but it left a lump in his throat.

"I have the ability to sense how you're feeling. You're afraid, Stefan. And a little jealous. Am I right?" Freya asked.

Stefan felt uncomfortable. He did not like having someone else who was able to read him so well around. "Is that part of your witchy powers?" he asked and he heard an echo of Damon in the room, but he didn't care. This Freya person was trying to get into his head and he had had Klaus in there enough times to know when he was being manipulated.

"No, you just aren't very good at hiding what you feel," Freya retorted with another Klaus like smirk.

"And you are a Mikaelson. No need for a DNA test," Stefan snapped. "Well, now that we had this conversation. I'll be heading back home. You can have Klaus back whenever my friend, Bonnie, gets me back in the right body," Stefan assured Freya on his way out of the room. He was only two steps down the hall when he felt like someone had strapped electrodes to his temples as his brain blazed and his vision blurred.

"You're not going anywhere," Freya told Stefan as she came to stand over him. "You're going to stay here. You're going to play the part of Klaus until he returns. If you do not, you will not have to worry about getting back to your body, because I will find it and you will never get it back. Do you understand me, Mr. Salvatore?"

Looking up at Freya, Stefan nodded while gritting Klaus' teeth. When she stopped and the pressure released, he got to Klaus' feet. "Why are you doing this?" he gasped.

"Because if anyone finds out that Klaus is gone, they will attack this family. I cannot allow that to happen. I just got them back. I have made it my mission to reunite them, and no one, not even you, will stand in my way," Freya explained and Stefan could feel pain beneath the anger.

Relenting, he nodded. "Okay. I'll play along. But you're going to have to tell me as much as you know about this city as you can. Otherwise, I won't be much help."

"Fine. I will tell you over dinner, tonight. Elijah will be out, conducting some kind of deal with the new king of New Orleans, Marcellus Gerard and the reigning leader of the witch community, a teenager by the name of Davina Claire." Freya stated calmly as if she had not just fried his synapses seconds before.

"It's a date," Stefan muttered as the witch strode off with the baby. He could have sworn that he heard her chuckle, but he could have been hearing things.

One thing Stefan was certain of was that Mystic Falls was a piece of cake compared to the lion's den that he had just been trapped in. He wondered how Klaus was handling being "Stefan Salvatore," or whether he was handling it. Maybe he should call home just to make sure that everyone was okay. Then again, maybe not. Freya would probably find out, and try to kill him for trying to contact Klaus. Maybe he should just sit tight and wait for Klaus to contact him.

In the next chapter we will check up on how Klaus is taking the swap.

Thanks for reading, faving, following for reviewing. :)

Peace,

Jessica