A light dusting of snow blanketed the cemetery. It was two in the morning and there was only one set of tracks across the snow. A young man dusted the snow off of a tombstone.

Esther Mikelson, Loving wife and mother. The dates of her birth and death. There was nothing else, no picture or symbol.

He ran his fingers over the the numbers. It had been ten years to the day. It was a risky move, visiting her grave on that day, he was sure Mikel would be watching.

Let him watch, he thought. Let him find me. I'm ready to end this now.

He half expected Mikel to come stepping out of the shadows, and placed a hand on his gun, ready to fire. But this wouldn't be the day. His phone beeped and he saw a text.

The L. Job is on. Pack your bags for warm weather.

It all started ten years ago. He was fifteen, Kol was thirteen, and Rebecca was eight. Henrik had just turned two years old. Finn had been gone for what seemed like a lifetime, and Elijah had left for college the week before. He didn't want Elijah to leave, he didn't want all of the responsibility to fall on him like it did on Elijah when Finn left.

"It's a full scholarship, Niklaus, and Engineering is good money. You just have to get through these few years, and then I can take care of you. All of you."

"Elijah, I can't calm him down like you can, what if.."

"You have to try. I can't stay here. This Scholarship is our chance out."

"It's your way out, not mine."

"I will come back, as often as possible, and when it's all over, I'll find a way to get custody of Henrik, Becca and Kol, you'll be a legal adult by then, this is the best way."

Klaus was skeptical. Finn had left four years ago, the day he turned 18. He had never written or called, they had no idea where he was. He didn't even know about Henrik.

"What about mother?"

"We can't make her leave. All we can do is give her the option."

And then Elijah was gone. He had called every single day to talk to his family, and it made Nik feel more assured that he wouldn't lose this brother like Finn.

It had been walking on eggshells, so far. Mikel hadn't made a physical attack, but everyone could sense it coming. Esther and Niklaus were the only ones he ever went after, but the others had all all felt his wrath when they tried to intervene. Niklaus had taken Becca and Henrik out to the park whenever possible, anything to keep them out of the house. But he had school and they always had to be home by dark, so there were still many hours spent in the prison that way their home, just waiting.

Kol had been excited about a party that night. One of his friend's parents had left for the week, leaving a rather irresponsible older sister in charge. Once it seemed like their parents had gone to bed, Kol slipped out the window. He invited his brother to join, but Nik had declined.

Recently his mother had slipped back into her pill and wine induced stupors, where she would sit like a zombie, unaware of the world around her. Mikel was gearing up for something big, he could feel it in the tension of being around him, combined with the sickly sweet episodes where Mikel would play at being a good family man, patting his wife on the head while handing her another pill and refilling her glass, playing on the floor with his youngest children. But something was changing, the way his hands lingered on Rebecca when they played, the way he looked at her. It turned Nik's stomach to even acknowledge it, but there was something predatory, sexual even, in the way his father handled her. Nik didn't think anything had happened yet, but he felt himself growing more and more protective of Becca. He would wake up every hour throughout the night and rush to check on her. He couldn't leave her alone in the house with him. Not when their mother was so incapacitated.

So he watched Kol leave through the window. Then he went to Becca's room to check on her. He smiled when he saw the glow of a flashlight under her sheets. She was supposed to be asleep but she was sneaking a picture book. He closed her door softly and started to walk back to his room when he heard the sound of every pot and pan that had been hanging in the kitchen falling to the floor. His stomach turned. The best possible scenario was that his mother had stumbled trying to walk to bed, and she knocked over the shelf on her way down. The more likely situation was that Mikel had snapped again.

There was screaming and arguing coming from downstairs and he knew it was the latter. He stood still in Becca's doorway, as if he could guard her from what was happening. He knew he should go down there and help his mother, but he knew it would end in scars and bruises for him. He stood there, trying to find the will to pull himself down there and take the punches for her, trying to fight off the little voice inside that told him to just leave it alone and stay away.

He looked down the hall and noticed Henrik's nursery door was open. It was never open once the baby went to bed.

Henrik wasn't in his crib. Nik felt himself go numb as he ran down the stairs.

"You stupid bitch, You'll die for this!"

Mikel was over her. He had tied her a chair and was pouring something in a familiar bottle all over her. It was the lighter fluid they kept next to the grill. This was new. Mikel had always used his bare hands to unleash his rage. Something had snapped.

It was then that Nik noticed the tiny body on the floor. Henrik was in a smudged pool of blood, face up on the floor. He could tell from his wide, unmoving eyes that the baby was dead. It started to add up. Mikel had attacked her from behind, not knowing she was holding the baby. The fall to the tile floor had killed Henrik.

He ran to his mother but before he could get to her Mikel had lit the match and engulfed her body in flames. Esther was screaming in pain. He tried to get to the sink, water, towels, anything to help her, but Mikel slammed him into a wall. He was holding a gun.

"Well if it isn't the bastard himself, come to save your whore mother?"

Nik struggled against him, trying to reach the woman screaming in pain, but Mikel was bigger and stronger.

"I wanted to kill her for you, the vile product of her affair, you are nothing but a disgusting reminder of her mistake. But I held back. Now she's gone and killed my youngest son. I can not suffer her to live anymore."

Nik tried to get to his mother, to help her, but Mikel wouldn't let go. Her hair had burned off and her skin was melting away, revealing the layers of redness underneath.

Mikel forced Nik to face his mother, gripping his arms. Nik felt something cold in his hands. He immediately knew what it was and tried to turn to face Mikel but his father was too strong.

"There's only one bullet. Since you're the piece of shit bastard child who ruined her, it seems fitting that you should be the one to kill her."

"I won't" he screamed

"Nicky, please" begged his mother, using her special nickname for him, the one they only used when they were alone. "It hurts. Please. Do it."

He realized what she was asking. She wanted the bullet. She wanted a swift end to her pain. The burns were all over her body, boring deep holes in her raw flesh, she would never recover. The burns weren't the only pain she could never recover from. She nodded yes to him and he felt hit tears running down his face.

He pulled the trigger.

The second it happened he felt Mikel's grip relax. He whipped himself around and hit him as hard as he could with the gun. He hit him in the face over and over, feeling Mikel's blood spray back at him.

It was done.

He put the gun in his pocket and scrubbed at his face until the water ran clear.

Becca would have heard everything. He ran to his room and changed his clothes, putting the bloody ones in a bag he could throw away on the way out. He grabbed a duffel bag from the closet and began packing it with the essentials. he ran to his parents room and pulled the money from his father's wallet and the jewelry from his mother's dresser. The car keys were on the floor.

Becca was hiding under her bed, crying and gripping her favorite doll. He crouched down on the floor to look at her.

"Becca, it's ok, you're safe. You have to come with me. We have to get out of here."

"Is Mommy coming with us?"

"No, sweetie, she can't come with us, we have to go right now."

She hesitantly grabbed his hand and pulled herself from under the bed.

He strapped Becca into the backseat and drove away. Elijah had taken him to get his learner's permit a few months ago, and he could drive just fine. He was going to Ayanna's. She was his mother's coworker and best friend. She was also the only one outside their family who knew what Mikel was really like.

She opened the door the second they knocked, almost as if she had been expecting them. Becca ran to her and hugged her legs.

"Can you take care of her for a while?" he asked

She leaned over to him and wiped a streak of dried blood off of his ear. "Esther. Is she?" she asked, and he nodded yes.

Her arms tightened around Becca. "Of course. You can all stay here."

"I shouldn't. But Kol... he's at his friends house."

"Where?"

"127 Oak street."

"I'll pick him up and bring him here. What about Henrik?"

He shook his head, looking down.

"That monster. Are you sure you won't stay with us?"

"I can't. I can't be here, I was the one to..."

She nodded and scrambled for a pen. She was drawing some kind of symbol on his forearm. Once she finished that, she was scribbling something on a piece of paper.

"This is directions to my sister's house. Her name is Emily Bennett. I never told your mother about her. Show her the symbol on your arm and she'll know what to do. She'll take care of you."

He bent down to kiss his sister goodbye and then he was gone.

Across town, Mikel opened his eyes.

Ten Years Later...

Caroline Forbes waded through the pool to the little bar that was set up in the middle of the low end. She pointed at the slushy pitcher of Pina colada and held out her wristband for the bartender to scan. Everything would be charged back to Tyler's room. If her boyfriend insisted on spending the whole day working, she would have to find some other way of entertaining herself.

She woke up to him measuring and testing little piles of white powder, scribbling notes and measuring off smaller sections, carefully treating them with some clear liquid he held in an eyedropper. When all her attempts to seduce him failed, she shrugged and headed down to the pool. If his needed to focus on his work, she wasn't going to pout and sit in the room when the sun was shining so perfectly.

She spotted Elena walking over to the pool and waved. Her friend smiled and placed her bag on a chair before wading in.

Tyler's partners, the Salvatore brothers, were with them for this particular business venture. Considering they were planning on staying for a month, she was relieved that one of them brought a girlfriend along. It gave her someone to talk to.

Elena kissed her on the cheek and took a sip from her drink.

"Thats amazing, I'm getting one. Or five."

Caroline smiled and splashed her as Elena waded to the pool bar. Once she got her drink they picked a sunny spot to lay out in.

"How's Damon?"

"Ugh. He's so serious and uptight today. The big client coming in tonight I guess."

"Tyler's the same, if that makes you feel any better. I practically sat on his lap naked at breakfast and he couldn't be bothered. Too busy fussing over the product."

Elena gave her a sympathetic smile. She and Damon had actually spent the better part of the morning in bed, he was always good about making her feel like the most important thing in the world, even when he was busy and stressed with work, but she wasn't one to brag about it. Elena was kind. She was happy and wished everyone could experience the type of happiness she had with Damon. Caroline just didn't seem to have that with Tyler. She silently wondered how Tyler ended up with a girl like Caroline anyway. She wasn't a junkie, she didn't even touch the stuff, so it wasn't like she was after him for that. She didn't seem like a total gold digger either, and she was beautiful, she could get any guy. Tyler had money and power, but he just didn't seem like a good match for Caroline. Maybe she just wanted an adventure? That was one of the things Elena liked most about her life with Damon. Every day was an adventure.

He had been watching her. He had memorized her picture from the files and he had noticed that she was beautiful, but she was even more stunning in person. He tried to push those thoughts away. This was a job. She was his way in. He was here to kill Tyler Lockwood, and she was the easiest way to get to him. In fact, his client had suggested it. He could kill Lockwood easily, but this job had some specifics about the when and where that he had to follow. He felt himself smile as she laughed with the girl next to her, joking about something. He had been waiting for hours, but the two of them were inseparable, going to get drinks together, even going to the bathroom together. He stood up when the pretty brunette next to her picked up her phone and walked away to get better reception. Alone at last.

"Excuse me, sweetheart, where are they selling those drinks?"

Caroline was caught off guard. Her book slipped from her lap as she looked up at the man with the incredibly sexy voice. Yes, he was speaking to her. He bent down to pick her book off the concrete and handed it back to her. She just looked at him, he was so attractive. She had forgotten the question until he asked again and she snapped out of it. You have a boyfriend, Caroline. A boyfriend who collects weapons and would probably kill this guy for talking to you.

She straightened up and tried to be a bit short with him, so he wouldn't stay and try to flirt.

She pointed to the pool bar "Over there."

"Will you come with me? I'd be happy to buy you one for being so kind."

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Well then would mind if I left my shoes here while I go over there?" He started to pull a credit card out of his wallet.

"Are you new or something? You can't pay with that."

He raised an eyebrow at her. She was a feisty one.

"Where's your wristband? Thats the only thing you can use to pay for things while you're on the resort. It all goes automatically back to your room."

He dug through his wallet, he had just shoved all the little papers and cards they gave him at the front desk in without bothering to look.

She reached over and grabbed his wallet, pulling the black plastic strip out, and she gave him his wallet back and handed him the wristband.

He fumbled with trying to put it on himself. It was an act, of course, but he was doing anything to spend another minute with her. He needed to make an impression.

She rolled her eyes at him and put out her hand. He handed her the wristband and sat on her chair with her. He felt her tense up as his skin touched hers. She seemed a little nervous as her hands wrapped the wristband around his wrist and she snapped it shut.

"There. You're good."

His hand grazed across her leg as he stood up. She bit her lip, trying not to blush. Caroline didn't want him to know she was imagining his hands doing a lot more.

"Thank you..." He paused, waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Caroline Forbes. And you're Nik Night."

He was taken aback. How did she know the name he used for work?

She smiled "I saw your license when I grabbed the wristband from your wallet." She didn't add that she also knew he was in room 527, in the same tower as her, but a few floors below.

He smiled. She was smarter than he anticipated. He'd have to be careful.

He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, placing them on the chair next to her. He was about to put his wallet and phone down too, but decided against it. She might poke through them, and while he always deleted texts and calls from work, what if he got one while he was gone?

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just putting these down while I grab a drink."

"Well put them somewhere else."

"Have I offended you?" he laughed.

"I'm. Not. Interested."

"Interested in what, love?"

"Sleeping with you. or dating you. or whatever."

"I wasn't offering. I just happen to like this particular chair."

She clenched her jaw. Why couldn't he take a hint? "Fine. I'm leaving anyway."

He watched her, amused, as she attempted to gather up all her things and Elena's and balance them in her hands without spilling her drink. Elena was walking back and shot Caroline a confused look, but walked over and took some of the things her friend was holding.

Caroline stomped away. "Come on, Lena, We have somewhere to be."

No we don't, Elena thought, but she noticed the cute guy with the devilish grin in the chair next to where Caroline was sitting, and she figured her friend wanted to get away. He didn't seem like a creep, and there was no harm in just talking to someone, but she followed Caroline anyway.

"Who was that guy?"

"No one. He's no one."