Everything was pitch black. Not a star or cloud in the sky as the trees moved by in a blur.

Klaus didn't remember getting here. He didn't remember why he was running through the forest. The trees flashed by as he dodged fallen branches, and rocks scattered around. All he could hear was the sound of his heavy breathing.

He kept looking behind him, but he didn't know whom he was running from.

The further he went into the foliage, the faster the rocks and fallen branches were morphing into other things entirely. He wasn't jumping over ordinary shrubs anymore.

They were dead bodies.

Smoke rose from the spots the people appeared on. Where there was a pile of leaves, a body appeared, lying faceless in the dirt. They were still, and cold. Even decaying in some cases.

The silence was shattered with one loud, piercing shriek.

Klaus didn't search for the source of it. He was too busy avoiding the bodies that began dangling from the branches, a noose holding them off the ground. More bodies appeared on the ground, multiplying by the second. So he ran harder. He ran until he thought his legs would give out, and there wouldn't be any more death.

The screaming didn't cease as he kept going. They would scream until their lungs gave out, and then another set of shrieks would fill their place. It was never ending. Klaus didn't understand what was going on. Why was this happening?

Finally, after running as far as he could…Klaus collapsed onto the ground, his palms slamming into the dirt.

When he looked up, he didn't like what he saw.

He was looking out onto the docks, a wooden boardwalk stretching out into a murky river. Fog surrounded him as he stared in horror at the bloody body lying face up. Lifeless, just like the rest of them, and a crimson color painted across his chest.

"No…no, this isn't right!" he growled, closing his eyes forcefully. But when he opened them, the body was still there.

This was impossible! Elijah was alive, right? Klaus had seen him alive! His heart began racing as he crawled hurriedly toward his too still brother, waiting intently for him to move. Twitch. Blink. Anything.

As Klaus reached out to touch Elijah, he vanished. Just like that. Gone.

Something told him his worst fear would be behind him. A gut-wrenching feeling that said the vision of dead bodies wasn't over. His breathing slowed, and he could see his breath from the cold, night air. A strange sensation, since he didn't feel cold. But that could have been because of the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Klaus?" a voice said meekly, the sound penetrating the still air. He had been right.

Klaus turned around, his eyes wide with fright. There stood Caroline, looking at him through long lashes, while her lips trembled hopelessly. She was pleading to him, and he was weak against her need to be helped.

It didn't do him any favors when he saw the blood trickle down her stomach.

"Caroline?" he croaked. Klaus stood up slowly, but didn't waste time getting to her. She couldn't be hurt. He had just seen her! Hadn't he?

"Help me," she begged him, tears running down her face.

"Tell me how, sweetheart," he said gently. Whatever she wanted him to do, he would.

"I don't know. Just help me!"

Klaus' face contorted into an expression of pain. What was causing his love to bleed? Why was she hurting?

A nasty snarl ripped through his head, and he turned to his right, looking straight into the yellow eyes of a large, gray wolf. It's teeth bared as it growled menacingly at him. The animal was ready to pounce. Klaus turned back to Caroline.

"We have to get out of here. We have to get you away from that."

"You can't," she breathed, all hope gone from her voice. What had changed? Why didn't she want his help anymore?

"Of course we can! But let's go before—"

"No…you can't save me," she cried, tears coming faster now. "You're the monster. And you've already killed me…"

"I-I couldn't have," he said in disbelief. She was staring at him. Caroline was alive. He didn't understand what she was saying.

"You can't save me, Klaus. You can't even save yourself," she said, speaking just above a whisper.

And like the rest of the bodies he had seen, she was gone in an instant, with nothing but a wisp of smoke where she once stood.

"Caroline?!" he yelled. Nothing. Not a sound.

Klaus turned to the wolf that, unfortunately, was still there. Why didn't he have a weapon on him? Of all times not to have one, this was the worst imaginable. He didn't look away from the threatening creature once. If he could kill an army of men, he could kill this animal. Using his bare hands wasn't a new concept.

The wolf began stalking toward Klaus, and suddenly, his confidence began to waver. He wanted to run. He wanted to get as far away from it as he could. What was going on with him? He wasn't like this! Klaus Mikaelson faced danger straight on! An abnormally large wolf shouldn't change that.

But it was. So he went with his instincts, and he ran.

Klaus sprinted in the opposite direction, as fast as his feet would take him. He could hear its paws thumping against the ground, crunching leaves as it gained speed. Klaus was fast, inhumanly fast even, but it wasn't going to be enough. The beast was going to catch him.

In all his panic, Klaus didn't see the branch lying across the forest floor. His feet hooked against it, and he was on the ground before he could stop himself.

He turned around, scurrying backward to try and keep his distance from the monster chasing him. But it wasn't working, just like everything else in this godforsaken forest.

The wolf lunged as soon as it got close enough to Klaus. He braced himself for the imminent pain, facing the animal entirely. He would not be made a coward in his death. However, there was nothing.

The last thing he remembered seeing were the yellow eyes, boring into him as the creature leaped toward its prey. Before the wolf could make contact, everything around him changed drastically. Klaus was no longer staring into a set of intimidating, golden eyes.

He was staring at a pair of much friendlier blue ones.

Caroline could feel him tossing and turning again.

It had been at least two months since Klaus learned of The Five's intentions. And his nightmares for the last two months hadn't let up. She was getting a little worried about him. Would this last his whole life? Would they end once The Five were taken care of? Or would it worsen?

She watched as he began shaking a little, as if he were cold. Caroline slowly got up to get out of bed. She wasn't sure if she should try and wake him up or not, but the safest bet would be not to. People weren't supposed to wake sleepwalkers. Was it the same for those having nightmares? She needed to do more research on that. After two months, she still wasn't sure how Klaus would react to one thing or another. He had violent tendencies without realizing it. Nothing that had harmed her, but there had been situations that involved getting Elijah's help.

He wasn't having an easy time. His breathing was heavy, and his eyes fluttered back and forth between his closed lids. What was he dreaming about? No matter how many times she asked him, he never told her. It saddened her that he didn't want to divulge what tortured him while he slept.

Caroline sat down on the end of the bed, watching him silently as his brows furrowed. She wondered briefly if she should go get Elijah. He had offered to go sleep in Caroline's apartment so Klaus could have some alone time with her. But maybe she would need an extra hand tonight. It was too early to tell. No need to wake the eldest up if there was nothing to wake him up for.

Now Klaus was making weird mumbling noises. It was really concerning to her. She felt useless just sitting there, doing nothing. All she could do was be there for him. That's all she could ever do.

His breathing quickened, and before she could brace herself, Klaus abruptly sat up, looking her straight in the eyes. Caroline jumped a little, but remained sitting where she was. Klaus appeared dazed, and looked around frantically, trying to get used to his surroundings. This was all the usual routine. Nothing was different yet.

"Caroline," he breathed, as if identifying her. As if asking her if she was real. She nodded.

"It's me."

"Here…come here," he said breathlessly, like he had just run a marathon.

Caroline carefully got up, trying not to make sudden movements. She stood in front of him, and he eased her shirt up enough to expose her stomach. He ran his finger along the faint scar from three months ago. After thoroughly inspecting it, he gently brought her closer, and placed his lips upon the spot. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist, and hugged her tightly.

"I'm okay," she said soothingly, brushing his hair with her fingers. Caroline could feel how damp his forehead was from the sweat.

"Elijah…"

"He's downstairs, fast asleep in my apartment. He's okay too." Klaus nodded hesitantly.

"I want to see him."

"Let's use the fire escape. Some fresh air might help." She didn't want to argue with him over and over about how Elijah was alive. He would need to see this himself to be satisfied. Quite frankly she didn't blame him. Caroline only saw his drawings, but if that was any indication, then his dreams were rather vivid.

Klaus nodded his head against her body, pulling away enough to grab her hand, and stand up on wobbly legs. She adjusted herself so that she could put her arms around his waist, and help him to the window until he was a little more awake.

Once at the window, she went out first, and he followed behind her, never letting go of her hand when they were outside. She pointed to her window, and at the sleeping figure on…oh, come on, Elijah! She had said he could sleep on the bed, not the couch! Why would he never listen?

"See his chest moving up and down?" she pointed out, so Klaus didn't suspect he was just lying there dead. He nodded, and gave a small sigh of relief. He moved back up the stairs, and sat down, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm going insane," he said quietly, no doubt ashamed he was experiencing all of this in front of Caroline for the umpteenth time. It didn't happen every night, but definitely more so since knowledge of the trip ahead of them came to light. Which was drawing nearer.

"No you're not," she said, taking a seat beside him. "You've just been through a rough time. And that's an understatement."

"I'm tired of feeling like you're babysitting me though."

"Of course I'm not. I'm here because I love you, not because I think I have to be."

"You've never been a good liar, sweetheart."

"It's a good thing I'm telling the truth then," she retorted, resting her shoulder on his head. Klaus wrapped his arms around Caroline, allowing her to lean back on his chest.

"What if it doesn't stop?" he said, concern lacing his words. Caroline shrugged.

"Then we'll take it a day at a time. You know, baby steps. I won't leave you if, that's what you're thinking. If they don't stop, I'll still be here."

"You say that now-"

"And I'll say it when, and if, the time comes. Right now, we should focus on what's ahead. The gala your mother is hosting will be in a week. If we want to get Shane, we have to be ready for anything." She could feel Klaus' chest move as he chuckled.

"Well, would you look at my girl? Getting straight to the ass kicking. Have you thought about the fact that Shane will be at my mother's event? I don't exactly get along with them," he said quietly. Both of them kept their voices down, even though nobody lived around them. People still walked the streets at weird hours.

"But I'll be at your side. Besides, we're taking Damon and Elena. Since Damon is the big Wall Street man, that would surely impress your parents, right? Being friends with someone like him?"

"I'd prefer them to like me, but I suppose it should help with appearances. Not by much though."

"Well, if they don't love you like parents should, then we won't ever visit them again. The only reason we have to go to this is because Shane will be there."

"I'm surprised you want to actually go on this with me. I was hoping you'd want to stay here while I took care of everything. We're not leaving to go to Vegas until after Shane."

"Hey, you said it was either me or Elijah," she said, very matter-of-fact about it.

"Yes, but what I really meant was Elijah," Klaus countered.

"You should have made that clearer before we played rock, paper, scissors for the spot of sidekick."

"You're joking," he deadpanned. Caroline giggled, snuggling into his chest more.

"Obviously," she said quietly. "…We thumb wrestled for it."

Klaus broke into a fit of laughter, and nuzzled his head into her hair, placing gentle kisses on her head. "Very funny. How about you worry about getting your sleep? We have more rigorous training tomorrow."

"No," she whined, jutting her lower lip out.

"Yes. No complaints. If you're going to be with me, you're going to know how to protect yourself."

"I know…I know," she said, realizing yet again how dangerous what they were about to attempt was going to be. But Klaus was right. She needed to do better at protecting herself. Elijah had taken her to a shooting range a few times to work on her aim. Caroline did better at that than she did with self-defense, but she wasn't bad. She got better each day.

For the remainder of the night, Klaus and Caroline sat outside in silence. By the time the sun rose, they were fast asleep, and dreaming of better things than criminals and awful parents, and whatever the hell plagued Klaus' mind. For now, they could be at peace.

"I'm not going to talk to them, Kol. Leave it alone," Elijah said firmly. Honestly, how was this man apart of his family now? He had always been with Abigail, and far away from Elijah. As bad as he felt for Abigail's passing, he wished she had left something else to Mikael besides Kol.

"And why not," he continued to pester. "They're just sitting over there! Waiting for us to make a move. Why else would they come here for the past two months?"

"God forbid they might want to enjoy each others company," Elijah said sarcastically, shaking his head at Kol's logic. The man obviously didn't know anything about women. Elijah wasn't that much better, after being gone for so long, but he did know more than Kol it seemed.

Kol's eyes widened. "Do you think they're lesbians?" he asked hopefully. The boy couldn't be serious, could he?

"No, Kol. I do not." Elijah wished Klaus and Caroline would hurry up with their training. Elena was working, and Damon was off at some supposed "meeting." Elijah sincerely thought it was a ploy to get away from his rather irritating help.

"Oh well. You should still go talk to them."

"Perhaps I don't want to."

"Don't even try that shit on me," Kol smirked, leaning back on the couch they sat in. "Your eyes never leave that brunette when she comes strutting in."

"That is none of your concern," Elijah said calmly, sipping his tea. Did he have to be so observant? Or was it nosy, possibly? Saying he was observant would give him too much credit.

"But it is! If you get in with Katherine, then I have a better chance with her roommate. I know you've been out of the dating game for a while, but stick with me, and we'll be getting women like there's no tomorrow!"

"Do you ever think before you talk? Or do words just sort of spill out?" Elijah asked, looking at Kol in complete bewilderment. The younger man just shrugged.

"The latter. So will you go talk to them?"

"The answer is still no," Elijah said quietly.

"What about just Katherine then? Leave Bonnie to me," Kol said mischievously. Elijah suddenly wanted to talk to her as well, just to save the poor girl from Kol's attention.

"You haven't left me a lot to work with," he told Kol. The girls probably thought they were fucking lunatics.

"I'm sure you'll charm the pants right off of her anyway," Kol said confidently. Elijah rolled his eyes. It shouldn't have surprised him that such an annoying Mikaelson came from Mikael's side.

While he contemplated whether or not he should honestly try and speak with Katherine, the girl in question stood up. She was heading toward the counter to get another coffee. Maybe he could give it a go. He felt a certain pull to her. Elijah didn't know why, but she intrigued him, and all she had done was push Kol away without hesitation.

Maybe that was why he liked her.

"I'll be back," Elijah informed the other boy. Kol looked as if his cheeks would begin hurting from the smile on his face.

Very slowly, so he didn't look too eager, Elijah walked over to where Katherine stood. She was tapping her nails on the counter, impatiently waiting for her drink. Elena smiled at him when he leaned against the counter top.

"Hey, Elijah," she greeted him, putting cream in Katherine's coffee.

"Hello, Elena. Could you um, possibly put that on my bill?"

He could see Katherine's gaze shoot up.

"Are you sure?" Elena asked.

"Absolutely. It's on me," he said, looking to Katherine now. She didn't look happy.

"I can pay for my own drinks. Thanks," she said dryly.

"I was only trying to be polite."

"Well you can take your manners elsewhere. I don't need them," she sneered, looking him up and down before scoffing. "Such pristine clothes. Got a big business meeting later? Thought you'd hit on the first girl you saw in your down time?"

Elijah was taken aback by her brashness. He wore a suit because he was tired of wearing t-shirts and cargo pants. Two months later, and he still had every intention of enjoying the things he had missed while being imprisoned.

"No. No big business meeting later," he told her calmly. She didn't need to know why he dressed a certain way. That would be the most he divulged. He had given her the courtesy of not judging. Would she not give him the same?

"Sure," she scoffed in disbelief, taking her coffee. Katherine swayed her hips back to her friend, those impossibly high heels clicking as she did. Guess she wasn't going to be giving him the time of day.

"I'm sure she'll come around," Elena assured him. He gave her a small smile, and shook his head.

"I doubt that, but don't worry. I'm a patient man," he winked, getting up and going to sit next to Kol.

"What happened? What did she say?" What are my chances?" Kol asked eagerly. He obviously didn't waste any time. If Elijah couldn't crack the mystery that was Katherine, there was no way this boy would crack someone who happened to be her roommate. Surely they had similar viewpoints on life, men, etc. Elijah gave a small chuckle, going back to sipping his tea.

"You don't have a chance in hell," he told him with confidence. Neither of them had a chance in hell.

Caroline blocked another one of Klaus' hits. A Left hook, a right hook, and an uppercut. She avoided them all. His leg came up to kick her in the chest, but she grabbed his foot, and pushed him back. He remained on his feet, considering her strength wasn't that fabulous, but she was deflecting his hits. That's what mattered.

It had taken Caroline forever to get him to advance on her like this, but once he had, and realized that it needed to happen for her to truly learn, Klaus didn't hold back. He came at her full force, not wanting anything to surprise her when they left.

"Hit me, Caroline," Klaus demanded, his punches never ceasing. Her ponytail swung as she did a one eighty, going for a kick in the stomach, but Klaus blocked her. He held her foot, forcing Caroline to hop on the other to keep her balance.

"Make contact," he instructed.

"I'm trying!" Could he really not see that?

"Not hard enough!" he said with frustration. "Now make contact."

Klaus let go of her foot, and brought his around to kick her side. She moved in time to miss, and swept her leg out in front of her to trip him. She at least made contact with his calf, but it wasn't enough to make him fall. However, he did the same thing, and made her fall. Only he followed her to the ground, trying to pin her arms to the ground.

Luckily, she was getting faster, and moved to flip him over when he was reaching for her arms, so she was on top of him.

"Hit me," he demanded.

"Are you insane?! I pinned you already. Isn't that enough?" This was only practice. She shouldn't have to bruise him. If she even could. When, and if, the time came for her to knock someone's lights out, she'd know how. And she'd follow through with it.

"No. It's not. Bridge of the nose is sensitive. Hit me there. I want to see what damage you can do."

"Klaus!" Caroline wasn't going to hit him if she didn't have to! This was ridiculous!

"You have to be able to hit me."

"We've gone over this for weeks! I can't hit you!" Why was he getting so worked up over this? Her training had been going really well. Did this have something to do with his dream last night?

"Then you'd better learn how," he said through gritted teeth. "I want you with me, but you can't be if you won't defend yourself."

"We've proved that I can defend myself though!"

"I mean against me!" he said, his voice rising a little to try and get the point home. She got it all right. It was just something she had never considered.

"What?" She didn't like thinking about this.

"You need to be able to defend yourself…against me. This isn't just training for The Five. It's to help protect you against me as well."

"Klaus…I couldn't…I don't think I could—"

"You need to try," he said, more gently now. He brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "Where's my weak spot, love?"

"For you specifically, left shoulder, from where you injured it when you were younger. Nobody knows about it. For all the others, and for you too, use the usual spots. Eyes, groin, ribs, etc.," she recited perfectly.

"That's my girl," he smiled.

"Klaus, you've trained me. You. I'll be able to kick ass if the time comes. I learned from the best."

"Just watch out for yourself. Don't get cocky, and remember that there are no rules. You stay alive, understand?"

"Only if you do the same," she reminded him. Klaus always made sure to tell her at the end of their lessons about what could happen, and what she should remember to do. But what about what he would do?

"I'll live," he said with finality. "I have a reward waiting for us."

"I've already told you—"

"I know. But you deserve better. You deserve a house, with a front yard you can watch your grandchildren play in."

"Klaus…" she smiled, leaning down and kissing him sweetly on the lips, "It won't mean anything unless you're there too. So don't play the hero, okay? Just do what you have to. And come back to me. You promised."

He stared at her in wonderment, as if after all this time, he still didn't believe she would stick around. No matter how many times she said this to him, she didn't think he would ever believe her. It was just going to take more time. Or she'd have to propose to him. Caroline thought that might be enough proof. But how would one propose to a man? Was there a man ring available for engagements?

"I won't break that promise to you," he said quietly, sounding more like a reassurance for his own sanity. "I won't."

"Good. Now let's go before our friends start wondering where we are," she smiled, kissing him one last time on the lips before getting off him. Klaus stood up, and took her hand in his. He then walked out of the classroom with her in tow. Together, they went outside, and headed for the coffee shop. Hopefully the group wasn't tearing each others throats out. Well…at least not Kol's hopefully.

When she walked through the front doors, she had been proven wrong.

"Excuse you! We were busy!" Rebekah shouted, storming over to Kol.

"I didn't know you'd be doing the nasty in a fucking broom closet!" he yelled back, his lips quivering to keep from smiling or laughing.

Caroline walked further in with Klaus, watching everything that was going on. Half the customers had disappeared. Or maybe they had just known not to go to the cafe in the first place. The leftover patrons were very obviously focusing on their conversations, or work. It made Caroline giggle.

"Would you all quiet down? I have a business to run here," Elena reprimanded the two bickering step-siblings.

"I don't care!" Rebekah shouted, her temper continuing to rise from what Kol had done. "He embarrassed me!"

"I think you're doing that just fine without my help," Kol said smugly. Rebekah's eyes widened, and it took all Matt had to hold her back.

"You grimy little worm!"

"It's okay, Becca. He's just baiting you. Ignore him."

Kol kept that arrogant grin on his face, and sauntered to the door. "I hate to leave this party, but I have a little baseball practice to attend. I'll see you all later. Especially you, love of my life," he said dreamily to Bonnie. The girl rolled her eyes and went back to talking with Katherine.

"He's going to get it one day," Rebekah said under her breath, combing her fingers through her ruffled hair.

Caroline hadn't seen her this worked up before. Normally she was such a sweet girl, at least to Caroline. Then again, she had given Caroline a subtle warning about not hurting Klaus' feelings. So there was that. Klaus had also told Caroline about Rebekah's ass kicking to her ex. Caroline wished she could have seen that.

"Have you heard from Tyler?" Elena asked, a lot calmer now that Kol was gone.

"He said his mother was doing well, but he thinks his place is there for now. I told him we all missed him and said hi," Caroline told her.

She could see Klaus' face tighten up for a second, before he let it slide, and walked over to Elijah. He still hadn't accepted the idea of Tyler coming back to New York. She understood why, but that didn't make her heart hurt any less. Elijah had said very clearly that he was okay with Tyler being around. Of course, if he ever tried to kill him again, Elijah wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet between his eyes.

None of Elijah's words convinced Klaus, however. He wanted to snap Tyler's neck.

Because of this, Caroline wasn't upset Tyler was still out of town. It wasn't time for him to come back yet. Besides, his mother still needed him. Caroline didn't know when Mrs. Lockwood's time would be up.

Caroline absentmindedly twirled the compass that was around her neck.

"Tell him to take his time whenever you two talk again," Elena said gently, patting Care on the shoulder affectionately. The blonde nodded, and walked over to where the Mikaelson brothers sat, both looking at a spot of tea that had appeared on Elijah's tie.

"No, no, no. This was my favorite tie," Elijah said, shaking his head at the tiny stain.

"I'll wash it, Elijah," Caroline giggled, immediately going to untie the knot. Elijah pursed his lips.

"I'm not a child. I can undo it myself."

"Just let me fuss over you," she smiled, whipping the tie off, and folding it neatly for when she took it upstairs.

"There is no arguing with her, brother. When she sets her mind to something, she won't stop until she gets it," Klaus informed the eldest, a teasing half-grin spreading over his lips.

"Or someone," Rebekah said quietly, giving Caroline an appreciative smirk. Caroline gave her a knowing wink, understanding exactly what she was talking about. It wasn't her fault that Klaus had intrigued her interests so much.

"Hey, I have to go somewhere after I take this upstairs. Would you like to come with me, Klaus?" Caroline asked quietly. His eyebrows rose, knowing what she was talking about. He always knew.

"You really want me to go?"

"Yea…I do." It was a little unexpected, but thinking about Tyler's mom made her realize that with this assignment coming up, there might not be many more chances to go on a small field trip. Klaus nodded, getting up and throwing the group a small smile.

"Where are you going?" Elijah asked them.

"Caroline is taking me to finally meet one of her friends."

"You have friends besides us?" Elena giggled. Caroline laughed too, because she hadn't told Elena about where she had been visiting for the past two months. Ever since knowledge of The Five came to be, she needed someone to vent to. Staring out her window didn't always fill that need either. Klaus was the only one who knew she made the visits.

"Not many. You guys are my family, and always will be," Caroline smiled

"I was only kidding, Care. Go take care of your business. We'll be here when you get back."

Caroline smiled, offered her hand to Klaus, and walked upstairs to her apartment with him. It was time for Klaus to meet her best friend.

Klaus and Caroline trekked up the hillside, heading for the tombstone under the willow tree. It had been a decent drive, but she knew it by heart now. And it always flew by. She smiled, waving toward the one she was there to visit.

"This is Stefan. My best friend."

"Ugly looking bloke," Klaus teased quietly. She giggled, pushing him slightly before kneeling down in front of the gravestone.

"Be serious."

"Okay, okay," he said, kneeling down next to her, and clearing his throat. "Stefan, my name is Klaus. I'm sorry I never got the chance to meet you. Caroline tells me nothing but great stories about you. I think we would have gotten along had we met."

"You guys would have been great together," Caroline said softly, running her fingers over the letters in Stefan's name.

"If I can get along with his brother, than I think I would have gotten along with him."

"The Salvatore brothers. A duo that should never have been broken up," she laughed. Klaus watched her stare at the tombstone, and smiled.

"I'll go wait in the car, sweetheart. Take all the time you need. I'm glad I was finally able to meet your best friend."

"I'm sure he's glad too," she said, her voice cracking a little. Klaus kissed her gently on the forehead, and then got up to walk back to his car. She smiled, and sat cross-legged on the soft grass.

"Hey Stefan…I'd say it's me again, but I'm aware you already know that. I know you see everything, you little brat," she chuckled. Caroline hadn't forgotten about what he told her, as weird as that sounded. That time spent with him had not once left her memories, or faded in the least.

"I forgot how long it's been since I came here…maybe a week? Time's going way too fast these days. I came here to say, for the millionth time, that I don't want to Klaus to go on this trip. I think that if I go with him, it will help, but I'm afraid something will happen. I'm afraid that he won't come back to me," she whispered. A gust of wind hit her face, and it only made her cry more. Now she was over analyzing.

"I don't know what to do. I'm about to meet his parents, and try to kill a member of an elite crime organization. All in one place. How's that for unique circumstances? Where are you to join us when I need you to? You would win his parents over with your outstanding works of writing. I'm sure Klaus' father will love the businessman in Damon though. I will never understand Wall Street," she shook her head, still smiling. Stefan wouldn't have gone to a big party probably. He would have only gone if she twisted his arm about it.

"All I want is for Klaus and I to go live together in our apartment, and for us to be happy. You told me to stay alive. I want to stay alive. And now we're both about to risk everything. I'm so scared, Stefan. I'm so, so scared." She let a couple tears slip out, but quickly wiped them away.

"The only thing I can do is be there for him I guess. Make sure he doesn't kill himself. I can't talk him out of going, so I have to go too. It's not like he can't take of himself, but I still worry he'll over estimate his abilities. I guess I just can't let that happen, can I?" she smiled. It wasn't like Caroline Forbes to give up on someone so easily. The only person she had thought of giving up on was herself, but Stefan, and everyone else in her life, made her realize how foolish that had been. She would never give up.

"If…and that's a big if…Klaus joins you, would you make sure he gets a good slap for dying on me? Please? And then after…would you make sure he isn't lonely? If I can't be with him, then someone needs to be. Someone needs to be his friend," she smiled. Caroline didn't enjoy thinking about that, but she would be an idiot to ignore it completely. Anything could happen.

"I love you, Stefan. I always will. See you when this is all over, okay? Not in the literal sense but...you know what I mean. We can talk during the trip, but I'll be back to visit your grave personally when this is finished. And I'll be damn sure to bring Klaus with me… but remember what I said, in case the universe is working against me. I need to know he'll be safe no matter where he is. I can only keep him safe on earth. You have to takeover up there though. You'd have to be his friend. For me."

Caroline nodded, and stood up, wiping away any remnants of tears shed. With a final, deep breath, she patted his tombstone, and started off toward the car. The wind blew against her body, and she felt calmed. Like he had heard her, and would fulfill her wishes should that awful moment ever come. But it wouldn't. She'd make sure it never happened.

As Caroline was walking away, she didn't realize that someone had truly tried to comfort her.

She didn't see the angel leaning against the tree, smiling at her backside while she strolled toward the man waiting for her.

She didn't hear how the angel promised to always protect her, and the people that she loved.

He couldn't tell her how he would always love her too, and how he would respect her wishes, should the time ever come. He couldn't tell Caroline how much faith he had in her to keep both Klaus, and herself, alive.

Because Caroline was strong, and nobody but Klaus knew that as much as Stefan did.

A/N: And we're back!

Hope this was a good first chapter, and I hope everyone is as excited as I am to continue our journey!

Beautiful graphic made by the amazing Mel (dhfreak)

Until next time my loves! Don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts! =]