Maeve searched the apartment high and low attempting to find something. Katherine watched Maeve stormed around the place impatiently.

"Don't you want to give up?"

"Can't you just shut up?" shot back Maeve before she resumed her search again.

"Why are you so impatient to find whatever is that you are looking for?" asked Katherine crossing her arms.

"In case you didn't see it yesterday, Damon got bit. I need to see if I can find a way to save him."

"Give up Maeve. There's no point. There's no cure."

Maeve slammed a book in hand shut and whipped her head to stare at the doppelganger. "That's it give up? I am not you, Katherine. I don't know how to give up on people you care about."

"People you care about?" repeated Katherine with a cold tone approaching her ever so slowly, "you mean Damon who didn't even bother asking you how you are or if there's a way for you to leave? That same Damon who doesn't care about anyone but Elena. I'd give up if I were you Maeve. As long as you are useful to protect Elena, he'll keep you around. Now that you're practically unusable he's not even batting an eyelash your way."

Katherine stood right in front of Maeve meeting her at an eye level. Maeve growled in anger flashing her red eyes. Katherine stumbled back a step seeing those blood like red eyes.

"I know you're trying to get to me. But it's not going to work."

"All I am doing, is telling you the truth. You know it just don't want to accept it." Maeve ignored Katherine and resumed her search.

After a long search she finally found what she searched for. A small totem that looked like a doll. "Bingo!" she cheered. She twisted the neck of that doll feeling a crack in the air.

"Bye bye bitchy woo, see you in hell next!" she waved her fingers and stepped outside the dingy apartment.

All Maeve had to do was walk across the long hallway to reach for her apartment. She fished out her phone to find seven missed calls and several text messages.

Elijah
Maeve? Where are you?

Are you okay? I am not sure where Klaus has kept you. Please call me.

Maeve pulled up his contact instead of replying to his texts and pressed the phone to her ear. She decided to multi task and skim through grimoires while waiting for Elijah to pick up the call.

"Oh Maeve! I am so glad you picked up the phone."

"Missed me that much, huh?" she teasingly told him before clearing her throat. "I am fine. I was at Alaric's apartment along with Bitchy woo."

"Katerina? Of course. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I am. Are you?" Maeve asked referring to the sacrifice in particular rather than this health.

"I didn't go through with killing him. You were right. He didn't bury them at sea. It was a lie. I spared him."

"That's good to hear. Now what?" asked Maeve scanning through a grimoire from a stack of them.

"Currently my brother is roaming the forest in his wolf form. I am cleaning up the mess he's leaving."

"Ah multi-tasking. Talented." Maeve praised him, grinning herself.

"One of my many talents actually. Why don't you rest for now? We'll talk soon."

"Sure. Take care Elijah." The call ended then leaving Maeve to reflect upon everything in the silence. Her eyes roved around her crowded apartment room with stacks of grimoires around. Her eyes caught sight of a particular stack which looked disturbed. The books weren't in the order she recalled stacking them.

She shrugged cursing her odd memory and went back to searching through the grimoire in hand. Just as she finished a loud banging sounded at the front door confusing Maeve. She opened the door wide but before she could see clearly who it was, the person on the other side of the door leapt in for a tight hug. She furrowed her brows confused when suddenly all she could see was locks of blonde hair.

"You're okay! You're okay!" they kept repeating tightening the hug. Maeve smiled wrapping her arms around their back.

"I'm good, Goldilocks. I'm okay." Caroline pulled away from the hug still maintaining a bright smile.

"Come in now. Come on." Caroline sauntered inside Maeve's apartment.

Caroline settled down on the couch in the living room turning to face Maeve who sat right next to her. "When Jeremy told us that you've gone missing and that Klaus took you, I swear I was so scared."

"It's fine Care. See? I'm good." Maeve smiled.

"By the way, why didn't anyone come to help you? I'm sure they would have guessed it would be at Alaric's apartment."

"Well no one did. Besides, all's well that ends well."

"Seriously? Okay I came here because, I heard something..." Caroline began suddenly growing slightly grim, "damon was telling Stefan that it was Tyler who was going to be sacrificed and some random girl who was turned into a vampire. Before he──klaus...you know, turned Jenna."

"He went after Jenna?" asked Maeve surprised.

"Yeah. I think it was because Damon meddled with it or something." Caroline shifted on the couch, folding her legs up. She took Maeve's hands in hers and looked at her with a guilty expression. "What I want to know is why did you strike that deal with Klaus to save me?" Caroline picked up on her skipped heartbeat. She slumped her shoulders and titled her head to her left slightly,

"So it's true. Mae, why would you do that?"

Maeve avoided her eyes with a deflated sigh, "because I knew Katherine knew about the sacrifice. So it didn't take a genius to see you were going to be her vampire. I knew Damon would try and get his way done and ultimately piss of the big man. I struck a deal that I don't interfere with the sacrifice and he doesn't kill you guys." Caroline's eyes watered hearing Maeve. Maeve pulled Caroline into a hug, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

"Thank you so much, Mae. I don't know how to thank you. I am so sorry I didn't come get you. I feel so bad about this. I am a terrible friend."

"Hey!" Maeve pulled away from the hug. "None of that. I did what you would have done if you were in my place."

"Nobody even talked about you, you know. . Stefan and Damon? Didn't even mention you. I found out from Jeremy who was the only one asking about you."

"Yeah. Damon...he got bit by Tyler. I don't think I am anywhere in the top five of their priority list."

Caroline's squinted her eyes growing furious, "How can you say that! Do they even know what you've done? Does he even care that you could have died? No. Absolutely not. Nobody──knew did they?" Caroline let out a strong sigh, "tell me everything that happened in the last week. I can see you're hiding something and frankly everyone is hiding something. You tell me everything right now!"

"Care, let it go. It's over now."

"Maeve!" that's all it took for Maeve to accept defeat and begin to tell her everything. Caroline listened quietly with parted lips showing how angry it all made her."

"Holy shit! Seriously? You didn't bother telling me? Why? You could have called me. I am here, aren't I?"

"I know. I wasn't thinking straight."

"Now, you are. So, how about you and I go to the screening of gone with the wind in Town's square? It will take your mind off of everything."

Maeve laughed at the offer shaking her head, "I appreciate it, Care but I just got out of the apartment. I have to see if I can find a way to save Damon"

"Stefan is trying to do that. Let him. You have done more than enough."

"Look, it's in the evening right? I'll drop by then. I want to spend the afternoon by myself." Caroline smiled empathetically.

"You're not going to listen. Let me help at least." offered Caroline.

Maeve raised her hands defensively, "fine."

It was almost five in the evening. Sun was almost at the horizon. Caroline left about half an hour before that as both had exhausted all of the resources available at the apartment.

Maeve sat staring into space eating the Chinese food she ordered for herself and Caroline when her phone rang for the first time since morning.

"Hello?" she answered without glancing at the caller id.

"Good. You answered." hearing the voice Maeve did a double take pulling away the phone to look at the screen.

"Stefan! Good hear to your voice. Thank you for asking, I'm fucking great. Yeah, I am alive and Klaus didn't kill me or do anything. Now, what's up."

Stefan took a deep breath and began, "Damon got bit."

"Yeah. I know. I was at Alaric's apartment when he came."

"You didn't try to do anything?"

"I am wrecking up a storm here at my apartment since morning, Stefan. All for that stupid ass brother of yours."

"Are you sure you don't have an answer to the cure?"

"No. I don't. Did you find anything?"

"The witches said Klaus might have an answer. I'm at Alaric's apartment. Get here fast."

Maeve slapped her forehead hearing the name she hoped she'd never have to hear again. "Of course. He's the one with Poseidon's Trident. Are you su──"

"It's Damon, Maeve. Please...help me."

"Fine."

Maeve stumbled out of her apartment hastily leading for her to crash into someone. "Holy shit! I am so sorry." she instantly apologised placing both arms on the person's hands trying to get away.

"It's quite alright love." her stomach flipped before her heart beat sped up hearing the thick British accent whisper to her. She set her feet firmly on the ground and looked up. Klaus stood right in front of her with a casual smirk. Elijah was right behind him holding a stare on Maeve.

"Look who's back." sneered Maeve crossing her arms.

"So this is your humble abode then." Klaus said looking over Maeve's shoulder, inside her apartment. Maeve closed the door making Klaus let out a chuckle.

"Are you going somewhere? Seem to be in a hurry." Klaus asked changing the subject.

"To you actually. Stefan...and I need your help." she met Elijah's eyes, avoiding Klaus. Elijah seemed growing even more restless than before hearing Maeve.

"Very well. Is he here or are we waiting for the whole entourage? I don't think Damon's in the mood to come." Klaus chastised, walking away towards Alaric's apartment.

Maeve took a step to follow behind Klaus but Elijah grabbed her arm and stopped her from going any further. "Please tell me you are not about to strike another deal."

"Damon's going to die, Elijah. I went through all fifty something grimoires but nothing. Witches said that he has the answer. I have to help him." Maeve reasoned with him. Elijah licked his lips and let go of her hand. Instead of responding he stepped ahead of her and began to walk away.

"No arguments? The 'I am wrong' speech?" asked Maeve sarcastically.

"What's the point?" asked Elijah rhetorically. "It's not like my words have any effect on you." Elijah stepped inside the apartment leaving Maeve still in the hallway. An uncertain pang hit her heart at his incredulous comment.

Maeve brushed off everything and walked inside the apartment just in time to see Klaus stab Elijah in the heart with a dagger. Her eyes widened in shock as Klaus dropped him on the floor carelessly.

"Now..." Klaus pushed Stefan against the wall holding him still, "what am I gonna do with you?"

"You know why he's here." Maeve pointed out approaching the two men. Klaus gave her a significant look before he used the stake in hand and stabbed Stefan just an inch away from his heart.

"You feel that? Scraping through your heart. One little move and you'll die." Stefan writhed against the original's hold gasping in pain.

Maeve curled her fingers muttering a quick spell causing Klaus to groan in pain and let go of his hold on Stefan. "We come in peace and we expect the same."

"We?" Klaus repeated mockingly, getting up to his feet. "I held up my end of the bargain didn't I? I don't recall Stefan being a part of it."

"Bargain? What's he talking about?" asked Stefan looking from Maeve to Klaus.

"But Damon is." shot back Maeve.

Klaus moved closer to Maeve maintaining an intimidating eye contact. "the sacrifice is over. I am a hybrid. The original Hybrid. The deal is off."

Maeve slumped her back but kept her stare still on Klaus. "No snarky comments now, love?" he mockingly asked her.

"The witches said you had a cure. Make me a deal. Just give me the cure and I'll do whatever you want." Stefan interrupted them.

Klaus turned away from Maeve and instead went to pour a drink for himself, "Trouble is I don't know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now. You're just shy of useless." 

He walked back towards Stefan, "I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. In 1917, he went to Monterey and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true Ripper." Klaus said almost like he was fascinated by the qualities the man possessed, "sound familiar?" 

"I haven't been that way in a very long time." Stefan confessed. Maeve could sense the guilt piling up inside Stefan. He may have enjoyed the kill then but now it seemed a huge weight on his shoulder.

"Well, that's the Vampire I can make a deal with." Klaus answered, "that is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town."

"Katerina, come here." He instructed. Katherine looked at Stefan and Maeve but walked to him.

He gripped her arm and bit her. She panicked in pain screaming seeing the bite form. He then bit into his own wrist and fed her his blood. Everyone present in the room gasped seeing as Katherine's wound began to heal.

"You want the cure. There it is." Klaus told Stefan.

"Your blood is the cure."

"Gotta love mother nature." Klaus gave a smug grin.

"Now lets talk, you and I. And, Maeve you sit tight. We'll talk after I am done with him." Klaus offered a blood bag to Stefan who began drinking from it. The euphoria of the human blood slowly took over Stefan's control turning his face almost unrecognisable. Bloodshot red eyes and veins underneath, Maeve could hardly make it out to be the Stefan she knew.

Klaus watched in fascination as Stefan devoured bag after bag as he offered them. After five of them, he tore away his eyes from the vampire to Maeve who stood frozen in place, her eyes were dead set on Stefan. But it wasn't her unblinking stare that made him even more curious about her, nor was it the unanswered question of her identity. It was the small, barely noticeable lopsided smirk of intrigue she had.

As Alaric he came across this Hybrid who could turn at will, with red eyes, far too much knowledge about him and his siblings. He noticed how easily Damon made her do whatever he wanted. The hesitation of hers to go against him but she agreed to do it when Damon manipulated her. Was she that guilible? Or was she weak to let anyone get their way with her. If that was the case she wouldn't have stood up to him. Would have sold off the information she had to protect? All answers were either unanswered or arbitrary.

Klaus was even more curious now. Who was Maeve and why was she so adamantly brave. Moreover, he caught a glimpse of Elijah's words in the hallway directed towards Maeve. He knew by those words itself that Elijah had grown fond of Maeve. His only question was what made her so special? A hybrid was the obvious answer but it felt incomplete to him. He intended on gaining the answer, by whatever means necessary.

A devilish smirk curled on Klaus's lips as he said, turning his attention once again to Stefan, "You're very cooperative. It's almost as if you're enjoying it."

"No more. Not until you give me the cure." said Stefan throwing away the bag in his hands.

"Not until we make a deal. It's your choice, Stefan. You can either remain here living your life in Mystic Falls or you can embrace what you truly are." Stefan looked hungrily at the bag in Klaus's hand as he spoke to him. 

"Leave town with me and save your brother's life." Klaus added offering the blood bag to Stefan. He growled and snatched the bag from his hand and began to devour it. 

"That's the spirit." Klaus commented. Maeve stared without a blink at Stefan. She could see how much Stefan was struggling with control. 

"Sweetheart──" Klaus called Katherine, while taking the bottle of his blood, "take this over to Damon and come right back." He compelled.

"You want me to leave?" Katherine asked shocked.

"No" Stefan yelled attempting to stop her from leaving.

"Yes." Klaus replied, "if I were you..." Katherine speeded away.

"I'd hurry." He said to the empty space.

"She'll never take it to him." Stefan said breathily.

"She will, Stefan." Maeve responded assuring him. "Katherine is not that heartless. Especially toward you and your brother."

Klaus stood up from his chair and walked closer to Maeve, "Now, about you..." Maeve cut him off,

"Don't be a drama queen. Get to the point." Klaus chuckled darkly as Maeve gulped attempting to be brave.

"So hostile. It almost seems like you are afraid of me."

"Of you? Mockery." commented Maeve effortlessly, "what do you want?"

"Join me and Stefan. Just for the summer."

Maeve crossed her arms matching up to his glare, "am I a part of the save Damon deal or are you asking me to join because you have a lot of unanswered questions?"

"Join me and I might feel tempted to answer. Soon." Klaus told her with a knowing smirk appearing on his face.

Katherine fed Klaus's blood to Damon who laid, drenched in sweat on his bed. "Where's Stefan?" asked Elena from her place where she stood by the bedside.

"Are you sure you care?" Katherine asked her nonchalantly. "Since you want to know, he's paying for this and so is Maeve."

Damon groaned slowly waking up. "What?" he asked still drowsy from the hallucinations.

"What do you mean paying for this?"

"Yeah he struck up a deal to go with Klaus wherever it is, in exchange for the cure. But you have no problem with that. You look quite cosy here." Katherine turned to walk away. By the door she stopped and turned around again and said, addressing her doppelganger, "it's okay to love them both. I did."

Damon sat up, holding his weight on his hands and elbows. Noticing this Katherine added more, "not that either of you care, Maeve has joined the deal for the cure. She's going to be spending much time with Klaus and Stefan to save you, Damon. Poor girl refuses to see how little you care about her when Elena is still alive."

Damon opened his mouth to speak but Katherine was already gone. Elena pulled out her phone to dial Stefan when she looked up at Damon for a second, "Maeve doesn't know I am alive, does she?"

"No. Didn't say anything." Damon assured her. "She was trapped at Alaric's so I managed to sneak into her apartment and get the grimoire Bonnie wanted. For all she knows you're dead."

"Good." Elena backed away from Damon's room trying to reach Stefan.

Meanwhile, Maeve stood outside a warehouse, a little on the outskirts of Mystic Falls main town debating on whether to inform her brother that she would be spending the summer with Klaus.

"Maeve!" she jolted up in surprise hearing Stefan's voice. He jogged up to her and stood straight in front of her.

"What was this deal you made with Klaus?"

"Can we not? It's done now." Maeve turned away from Stefan but he placed his hands on her shoulder and physically turned her to face him.

"I want to know. Now." Maeve slapped his hands off of her shoulder and looked begrudgingly at him,

"Fine. I realised that your quest to save Elena was going to be an absolute bust. So I struck a deal with Klaus that he will not hurt or kill a few people if I sat the bench during the sacrifice."

Stefan grew angrier at Maeve, "all this time you could have saved Elena. Protected her because you can, you chose not to? How could you?"

"I did what I had to do. Saved Caroline Forbes...you know Elena's best friend from being sacrificed. Bonnie didn't die at the dance because of me. Damon wouldn't have almost died had he not been stupid."

"What about Tyler then? Why not him? Or Elena. She was the one in real danger."

"I care about my people, Stefan. Not low life's who don't deserve what they have because they don't give a shit about it. Drop this now. I am here serving my time for the sake of Damon. You know the guy who didn't slap me? The one who stood up for me even if it was half hearted." Maeve stormed away from Stefan leaving him in wonder of whether he should have told her about Elena or was he doing the right thing now by keeping it a complete secret.

Maeve pulled up her brother's contact on her phone and began typing,

Maeve
Hey brother! Listen, got a new job as travelogue for a upcoming European travel co. So, would be going through and about America a little bit. Won't get time to call. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted whenever I can.
Peace out chica!

Maeve let out a sigh. Maeve put her phone away seeing Klaus and Stefan approaching her.

"Ready to leave, love?"

"Let's start this so, it will end soon." Maeve turned and walked to the car.

It's going to be a bumpy ride! Maeve thought to herself as they drove away.