Maddy was confused.

She understood that she'd been asleep for four months. That wasn't hard to comprehend. But according to Stefan, he and Klaus had met before, when he and Maddy had been in Chicago in the 1920s.

"That's impossible," said Maddy. "If you knew Klaus, I would have realized it. I would have known."

"Not if you were too busy cleaning up your brother's mess," said Klaus pointedly. "You know, love, your brothers have grown accustomed to you being their maid because you made them think that you'd handle everything."

Maddy scoffed. "Stefan never saw me as his maid. He just didn't care. I did. This... this makes no sense. Why are we even here?"

"I'm having quite a bit of trouble making hybrids," said Klaus. "Unfortunately, Stefan and I haven't determined why that is yet. We came here to see a rather powerful witch who I knew would have the answers. She required me to wake my sister, which is why I figured there was no time like the present to end your beauty sleep."

He looked at her expectantly, and she cringed. "Am I supposed to be thanking you for waking me up?"

Klaus shrugged. "I was under the impression that you were the polite one."

She looked around. "What are we waiting for? Why are we still here?"

"We're just waiting for Rebekah to wake up. I'm sure she'll be along short..." he held up his finger, hearing some rustling, and then a yell. "There she is." He looked at Stefan and Maddy. "Wait right here. Don't come in until I signal for you."

He went into the next room, which was apparently where 'Rebekah' was just waking up.

Maddy took a moment to look at her brother. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"Fine," he said gruffly. "You?"

"I... I don't feel any different. Did I really miss everything?"

"Mhm."

"He did this on purpose," Maddy grumbled. "He knew he wouldn't turn you into the wingman he wanted unless I was out of the picture. Stefan..."

"Don't, Madeleine," he said. "It doesn't matter. Nothing does."

"Rebekah," she heard Klaus crooning in the next room, which made her go still, just waiting. "It's your big brother. Come out, come out, wherever you are."

She heard a grunt, and a slicing sound. "Go to hell, Nik!"

Surely she would have known if Klaus and another Original had been friends with Stefan. Maddy was sure she knew all his friends. Had he been sneaking around, the entire time she was stressing about keeping the authorities off their backs? Did she not know her brother at all?

Maybe that was the case. Damon had been the one insisting they didn't tell Stefan about being trapped with the Augustine Society. It was likely that Stefan kept major secrets from her, too.

But how did that make sense? She had been trailing behind Stefan (some would say, like a lost puppy), trying to anchor him to his humanity. Unless, of course, she'd bugged the Originals so much that they compelled her to go away for a few hours. Obviously, she would never have remembered it.

"Don't pout," said Klaus in th either room. "You knew it wouldn't kill me.

"Yeah, but I was hoping it would hurt more." Maddy was trying her hardest to place that voice. But she couldn't. She'd never heard it before, she was sure of it.

"I understand that you're upset with me, Rebekah... so I'm going to let that go. Just this once. Brought you a little peace offering. You can come in."

The Salvatores slowly walked into the room. Even seeing Rebekah upright was stirring no memories. Maddy would have sworn in a courtroom that she'd never seen that woman before, in her life.

"Stefan," breathed Rebekah, looking at him lovingly. Her gaze shifted to the older Salvatore. "Madeleine... is that really you?"

Maddy would have said, 'Yes, it's really me, now how do we know each other?' But Klaus chose that moment to come forward, putting one hand on her shoulder, and his other hand at Stefan's. "Now, you remember," he said, looking between the both of them.

And that's when it all made sense.

She was standing back in Gloria's, having been waiting for Stefan to come back in after feeding on the usual helpless girl he'd pick as his meal. Her glass of wine had only a few drops of blood in it, courtesy of one of the compelled waiters.

She tried to focus on the music, humming to herself. She glanced up as her brother came to stand beside her, arms gripping the railing and looking out over the people dancing.

"Guess who my eyes have just spied, ladies?" said Gloria from the stage, still swaying her hips to the jazz she'd just been singing to. "Looking for a good time, Mr. Salvatore?"

Stefan grinned at her. "Save me a dance, Gloria." He then nudged his sister. "Why aren't you dancing?"

"I was dancing," she said bitterly, nodding toward a blonde who was pressed up to a man. "That woman over there coaxed him to dance with her, instead. Don't know what her problem is with me. That's the third time she's butted in while I'm enjoying myself."

Stefan pursed his lips. "What do you say we have a drink together— one in here, I mean— then we go somewhere else?"

She nodded. "I'd like that."

Stefan moved down the steps, going toward a waiter holding a tray of champagne glasses, which really only had one glass that was full. Stefan made to grab it, but the blonde his sister had been indicating suddenly walked past him, snatching it up before he could.

"Ooh," said Stefan sarcastically, raising his brows, "please, help yourself."

"Oh, I always do," the woman told him, moving closer to him. Maddy watched the woman trace her tongue over Stefan's lips, then whispered in his ear, "Careful, Mr. Salvatore. You're still wearing your date. She's lovely."

Stefan and Maddy looked at one another, and before the woman could leave, he pulled her back. "No, no, no. Who are you?"

She didn't answer. Putting her finger to her lips to silence him, she walked off, glaring at Maddy as she passed her.

"Let's stay," said Maddy, seeing the woman had left the man she'd been dancing with behind. "I want to know who she is."

Stefan assented. "And I'm going to work to find out."

Just an hour later, Maddy had been dancing and simultaneously interrogating the man who'd been her partner. Off to the side, Stefan and a group of his friends were drinking, and being quite loud. The blonde was on the dance floor, with another man, and Maddy saw her glare at her brother in exasperation before marching over to him, speaking loudly enough for all the people there to hear.

"Sorry to crash the fun, boys, but some of us actually came here to hear the music," she said snidely. "Not you."

"I am so sorry, sweetheart," said Stefan mockingly, leaning back on the bar. "Are we offending you?"

Maddy smirked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear to hear what the woman said, once she lowered her voice. "It would take a lot more than a baby face like this to offend me," she said, patting Stefan's cheek.

The other men laughed, and Maddy saw Stefan looked impressed. So impressed, in fact, he caught the woman's arm again to keep her from leaving. "Ahem— hey, hey, you ever going to tell me your name?"

"Sure," the woman promised. "When you earn it. Now..." she whispered in his ear, "do Gloria a favor and stick a sock in it."

Maddy had to admire that the woman was bold enough to do that. But then again, if she was a vampire, she had to have more courage than most people did in those days. Maddy, being on the younger side of the supernatural spectrum, typically wasn't bold enough to act that way unless she knew who she was dealing with first.

From there, Rebekah and Stefan had gotten to know one another. The Original had realized that Maddy was Stefan's sister, and the hostility was over. But it only meant that Maddy ended up alone nearly every night they went to Gloria's, in order to give Stefan and Rebekah their space.

"Hello, love," said a male's voice in her ear, one night that she'd been watching Stefan and Rebekah feed on a woman.

She turned, wondering who in this bar was speaking in a British accent. His dirty-blond hair had been sleeked back, and though his eyes were blue, they were quite different from the iris in Maddy's eyes. His blue was dark. Hers, like her mother's, light.

"A little far away from England, aren't you?" she asked, taking a sip of the martini in her hand.

He chuckled lightly. "And you're a little far from the action. Surely a woman like you came with a date?"

"No date," she replied. "Just a strangely underprotective brother."

"Underprotective brother?" he inquired. "Love, your brother must not be right in the head if he's leaving you off to the side, unguarded."

She raised her brows. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. Perhaps I ought to mention he's my younger brother."

"I see," said the man, sitting beside her. "I suppose that means there's no need to ask him for permission to speak with you?"

She batted her eyelashes. "You've been speaking to me without his permission. The only permission you need, handsome, is mine. And you have it... for now."

He winked, flicking his hand at the bartender, to bring him something to drink. "Tell me, love, what's your name?"

"Yours first," she prompted. "You're the one who approached me."

"Niklaus," he told her, extending his hand toward her. "But I prefer to be called Klaus."

"Madeleine," she said, taking his hand, but not shaking it. Her fingers slid over his palm, thumb coiling around his before slipping her arm away from his. "Maddy, to my friends."

"Maddy," he said quietly, leaning closer. "A beautiful name."

She met him in the middle. "You're not my friend," she whispered. "Madeleine, to you."

He slowly licked his lips. "An even more beautiful name. Can't say I'm complaining, love."

She sat back up, crossing her legs, purposely allowing the slit of her flapper dress to open, revealing her bare thighs. Klaus's gaze flickered to them, and he scooted his chair closer. "Your brother wouldn't mind if you left early, would he?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said innocently. She looked over at Stefan, and Klaus mimicked her. "He's a bit too busy to notice."

Klaus's expression hardened. "Who's that he's with?" he asked, wanting to see if Maddy knew Rebekah.

"The girl he's been trying to woo," she replied. "Rebekah. He's smitten with her."

"She's my younger sister," said Klaus, getting to his feet.

"I see," said Maddy slowly. "I suppose that means... you have to be overprotective."

"Right you are, love," he said, patting her hand. "I'll return shortly. Don't go anywhere."

That night, she'd learned about the Originals. Klaus and Rebekah had seemingly decided that both Stefan and Maddy ought to know the truth about them. Sitting at a booth together, with their respective drinks, the two Salvatores had heard the tale of how the Mikaelsons came to be, though it lacked detail, and really only glossed over the most important aspects. At any rate, they knew that Klaus and Rebekah were vampires far older than them.

"So, Stefan, enlighten me," said Klaus, his arm spread over the backrest of the seat, to be around Maddy, who was to his right. On the other side of her, Rebekah, and then Stefan. "What makes you worthy of an Original like my sister? She's a pure vampire, and you're no more than a diluted bloodline."

"Don't listen to him," said Rebekah, to both Salvatores. "Nik's an elitist."

Maddy looked over at Klaus, scrunching up her nose. "Mm, I don't see it. To be an elitist, don't you have to be part of the elite?"

Klaus put his hand under her chin, close to her throat. He appeared amused. "Do mine ears deceive me, or are you contradicting me?"

"She's contradicting you," confirmed Stefan. "She gets it from our older brother. He basically raised us after my mother died."

"The middle child, are you?" asked Klaus, releasing her. "Funny. So am I."

"How adorable," said Maddy teasingly. "Where are those family members of yours, Klaus?"

"Well, let's see," he said, as if having to think about it. "Um, I killed most of them."

"But not all," mentioned Rebekah.

Stefan seemed surprised. "And you're okay with that?"

She shrugged. "Well, we all had the chance to choose a side. I chose the right one, eventually."

"Maddy did, too," said Stefan, though this time, his sister didn't appear to like his comment. "Oh, come on, it was a joke."

"He'd be here, if you both were less stubborn," she noted.

"But we're not. So how about... we don't talk about it?"

Maddy huffed, purposely sliding over Klaus's lap to get out of the booth. "I'm going to—"

She intended to go dance, but a man stopped her. "Where the hell's my wife?" he demanded, making Maddy step back.

"I don't know," said Stefan innocently. "I give up."

"You think you're so tough?" snapped the man. "Hiding in your bar, drinking your liquor? A telephone call to Chicago P.D. might set you straight."

"Ooh!" said Klaus, smirking and pulling Maddy to sit back down.

"Lila?" said Stefan, beckoning toward a nearby woman. "Lila, please, come here for a second."

The man turned, and saw his wife. "Oh, thank God. Come on, we're leaving."

"Oh, no, no, no, no," said Stefan, catching the man's arm before the couple could go, and looking into his eyes to compel him. "No, you're sitting."

Klaus pulled Maddy closer to the center of the booth, allowing the man to sit beside her, while Lila went next to Stefan. The younger Salvatore pulled the woman's glove off, and extracted a pen knife from his jacket pocket.

"Stefan," Maddy said in a warning tone.

"What the hell are you doing?" demanded Lila's husband.

Stefan ignored them both, and cut into Lila's wrist, causing her blood to pour into his champagne glass. Maddy looked uncomfortable, but the two Originals were smiling, enjoying the horrified look on the other man's face.

"Thank you so much, Lila," said Stefan. "Why don't you go and bandage that up?" As soon as she left the table, he slid the glass of blood toward the husband. "I'd like you to join me for a drink."

The man was disgusted. "What kind of sick freaks are you?"

"I suggest you drink," said Maddy lowly, seeing the glint in Stefan's eyes. "Unless you wish to be next."

The man, whose name they later learned was Liam Grant, had forced himself to down the glass. Klaus had taken Maddy to dance once Liam and Lila were both gone, his arm delicately around her waist as he pulled her close, wishing to speak with her privately.

"You don't seem happy, love," he mentioned. "Why?"

"You and Rebekah encourage him to act that way, and it will only hurt him," she whispered, putting her head on his chest. "My brother is good, Klaus. This— this is only going to be a short-lived time where he has his fun, without humanity, without caring who he tears to shreds. When he gets out of it, that regret, that guilt, it will destroy him. I've tried so hard to protect him because I hate seeing him in pain."

She looked to where Stefan and Rebekah were already feeding on another woman. "He's enjoying it now, but he'll be bitter later on, thinking of himself as a monster. I don't want him to see himself that way. He isn't a monster. Neither of my brothers are, no matter what bad things they've done. It's not easy for me to save him from himself. So I guess the only thing I can do is to be here, monitoring and making sure he doesn't take it too far."

She sighed, and shook her head. "The more he builds up his growing list of cruelty upon innocents, the harder it will be to get him back on the path he wants to be on. He relies on me, and on our friend, Lexi, to bring him back when he falls off the wagon. I don't want to fail him."

Klaus tilted her face up, looking down at her. "You'll only fail him if you remain this tense, Madeleine. When was the last time you had any proper fun? You clearly aren't a Ripper— you exercise more control than any non-Original vampire I've met up to date. If you let yourself enjoy the party, you'll still be there to help him, love. In fact, I predict you'll be more able to help him."

Maddy slid her hand down, from where it'd been around his neck. "Where is there a place to have fun around here?" she whispered.

She hadn't expected to forge a relationship like that. She was the one who was calm and collected, not wild. She didn't sleep around like Damon, she wasn't a reckless drinker like Stefan. And yet, she felt she could be free around Klaus, enjoying all the finer things life had to offer.

In the real world, Maddy had teared up, the memories hitting her like a truck on a highway.

"You don't get it," Damon had mumbled to her. "You don't know what it's like to have this inexplicable connection to someone. I want to let her go but I just can't. I feel like not knowing her would just eat me alive. You've never had that, Mads. You've never had someone that made you question everything. That made you want to be so reckless because for once you feel passion like nothing you've felt before."

But she had known that. Klaus had been the one that made her question everything, the one that encouraged her to let loose. During their time together, she'd done things she never would have pictured herself doing. She explored the lifestyle of a vampire who cared about nothing other than pleasure.

"Did you ever have that?" Elena had asked. "An epic love?"

"I... I don't think I have yet," Maddy had replied. "I've had puppy love, I think. First love. But I haven't let myself get too involved with anyone in recent years."

But that wasn't true, either. She'd had her epic love without knowing it. In the short time they were together, Klaus had been everything she'd never known. The light she thought didn't exist during a dark period where she felt herself losing touch with reality and with herself as she focused all her energy on saving her brother.

The rest of the memories continued plowing into the front of her mind, threatening to overpower her.

"You're wicked," she giggled, after Klaus had ordered her another drink, on a different night. He was feeding on her, holding her leg up over his, the other hand working to keep her neck in place. "Is it really so enjoyable for you to drink through my body?"

"It's the most enjoyable thing in the world," he told her, sitting up and planting his lips ferociously on hers.

"Klaus—"

"Nik. Call me Nik."

"I thought you hated the name Niklaus."

"I do. And I usually prefer Klaus. It is those closest to me who have permission to call me by the nickname my siblings use. I wish for you to refer to me that way."

She blushed, and slipped her other leg up, to wrap around his. "Then you ought to start calling me Maddy."

She remembered the day wooden bullets had rained around in the club. She and Klaus had been sitting at one of the booths, his hand on her leg as they chatted, occasionally looking over to where Stefan and Rebekah were dancing.

Suddenly, Klaus sat up. "What is it, Nik?" asked Maddy quietly, knowing he'd sensed something wrong.

Seconds later, the shots started, and Maddy dove under the table. Klaus, however, had remained seated for a moment, until he made a choice. Pulling Maddy out from underneath the table, he put his body in front of hers to keep the bullets from piercing her as he walked toward where Stefan and Rebekah sought refuge— behind the bar.

"Rebekah!" Klaus called. "Come on, we've got to go, sweetheart."

"What the hell is going on?" asked Stefan when Klaus yanked Rebekah up, and pushed Maddy down behind the bar. He started to drag Rebekah away, and the two Salvatores' curiosity got the best of them, because they made to follow.

"Stefan," said Klaus, catching him by the shoulder once Rebekah had left. "I'm sorry, but the fun has to end here."

"What are you talking about?" said Stefan, pulling Maddy behind him.

Klaus looked into his eyes, and Maddy knew he was compelling her brother. "You must forget Rebekah and me. Until I say otherwise, you never knew us, Stefan. Thank you. I had forgotten what it was like to have a brother."

He made to grab her, next, but she sped off, ending up outside, where Rebekah awaited.

"Tell me what's going on," she demanded. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Maddy."

She turned, and Klaus was there. "Nik, please," she said, going to take his hand. "Whatever it is, I can help. If— if you're running from something, or someone, I'll come with you! Stefan and I can accompany you, we can get you somewhere safe!"

There was a pained look in his eyes as he seized her face, forcing her to look at him. He didn't want to do this. He wanted to tell her to bring her brother and come along, if it meant she could remain near him. But she meant something to him, and that terrified him. If Mikael were to hurt her... well, it was becoming clear that he could use her against him. He'd rather lose her forever than see her killed because of her loyalty to him.

"Forget me, love," he said, and Maddy caught sight of a teardrop forming in his eye. "Forget me, forget my sister, forget what you learned about us. You've never heard the name Klaus Mikaelson. You don't know who I am."

He leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, he and Rebekah were gone.

"Stefan?" she asked, going inside the bar and seeing there were police officers inside. Her brother was crouched on the floor, picking up a necklace. It looked familiar to her, but she didn't know where she'd seen it before. "Stefan, come on, we ought to go home."

"Hey, kids."

They looked up, seeing a man in a suit, waiting to speak with them. "Chicago P.D."

"I'm not afraid of you," said Stefan boldly, stepping in front of his sister.

"Oh, I'm not here for you," the man told them, pulling out a drawing of two faces, that were now unrecognizable. A man and a woman. So familiar yet so foreign. "Have you seen these two?"

Stefan shook his head. "I've never seen those people before in my life. If you'll excuse us, sir, my sister said she wants to go home."

The man nodded. "Wrap it up, boys," he told the other officers. "We're through here."

Maddy and Stefan were still facing Rebekah. It was Maddy who turned back to Klaus, who was looking expectantly at her.

"We were friends," she heard Stefan say, and realized he, too, was looking toward Klaus now.

"We are friends," Klaus corrected him.

He appeared scared for a moment, as if he wasn't sure whether Maddy would slap him or leap into his arms. He knew that he might be expecting too much. Before the compulsion was removed, he was nothing but a villain in her eyes.

Maddy's mouth was dry. "You never said anything. This entire time. Did... did Elijah know?"

"No," said Klaus, more gently than he'd ever spoken to her, even in her memories. "But if he went into your mind, he surely saw past the compulsion. He would have... figured it out."

The woman grabbed onto the nearest object— Rebekah's coffin— and tried to hold herself steady. "I-I think I'm gonna pass out," she squeaked.