A Glimpse Into The Future. Ch1.
Somehow the Travelers had given the gang of Mystic Falls one last "screw you" before they all left the town for safer regions. As Caroline pushed the Gilberts, Stefan, Liz, Tyler, Matt, and the various witches into cars and took off she felt a bee prick her hand. Shoving the irritating bug away she slammed the last car door and sped off, ready to put Mystic Falls in the rearview mirror.
"What do we do now?" she asked Liz, her hands still shaking with adrenaline. "We should meet with the rest of the town a few miles away. We can regroup and maybe go back when we're sure the spell has disappeared" Liz suggested, already in sheriff-mode.
"Mom we can't go back. The Grill is blown up, there are dozens of dead bodies littering the streets, and we just lost Bonnie and Damon there. If we go back no one will survive" Caroline shook her head, coming to a decision.
"We leave. We leave Mystic Falls and never come back" she glanced over at her mom, "I don't want to lose you, and if we stay there I will".
Liz thought for a few miles and then nodded slowly. "Alright, sweetheart. We'll leave".
And they didn't go back.
That night they crashed at some cheap hotel, no one willing to sleep alone that first night. So they booked two adjoining rooms and left the door open, everyone piling on any flat surface and sleeping like the dead.
Their first clue that something was wrong was the way they were all sitting in a church pew, candles lit and windows dark with night.
"What the hell?" Caroline asked, looking around at the others.
Stefan sat next to Elena, followed by Jeremy, her mom, Alaric, and-
"Klaus?" she gaped, eyes widening at the sight of the hybrid, "What are you doing here?" she then saw Rebekah and Elijah sitting next to him in another pew. Everyone looked confused and scared, standing up and glancing around at the others in the room.
"I haven't a clue love, I was just about to ask you" he answered, then saw his siblings, "What is going on?".
"This is ridiculous, haven't we gone through enough today?!" Elena said, her voice rising to a near shriek at the end. Jeremy and Alaric reached across and grabbed her hands, trying to calm her down.
"I would say I'm sorry, but apparently somebody has a problem with you guys" a voice answered behind them.
"Rose?" Stefan spoke up, "What are you doing here? Where are we?".
"I guess I'm your guide for this little trip down memory lane, I think someone's cursed somebody here" she shrugged apologetically, "I really just know that everyone here had something to do with the Veil being torn down and now whoever is up there is seeing this as some form of punishment" she stepped forward and smiled, "So let's begin, unless we have any questions?" she asked.
Suddenly Klaus flashed forward and threw her against the door, "Yes little vampire, I would like to speak to these so-called higher powers. I have better things to be doing than this" he hissed dangerously.
"Niklaus please control your temper, I'm sure the lady can't help but do her job" Elijah said calmly. He stood and held his hand out to his sister, "I assume if we go through the necessary memories and learn our lesson we will be free to go?" he asked politely.
Rose nodded, "I'm guessing so", she gasped and pulled in a breath when Klaus released her.
"Right, let's get going" she said, then the walls faded and everyone felt the world change.
…
A little girl of no more than 4 ran through the woods, her dress tearing on the trees and her bare feet slowly gaining more and more dirt. "Mom!" she screamed, her dirty blonde hair whipping around as she looked for a missing figure.
She skidded to a stop as Caroline sped out of the trees and pulled her into her arms, "Hope! Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Where's your aunt?" she gasped, searching the trees for something.
Everyone looked back at present-day Caroline is confusion, who was this little girl calling her mother?
"Aunt Bekah's holding off the wolves, she said to find you!" the girl's blue eyes began to tear up, "I want Papa!" she cried.
"Papa's off with your Uncle Elijah, I'll keep you safe" she began to look around for the quickest escape.
The three Originals looked baffled, who the hell would call them 'Aunt Bekah' and 'Uncle Elijah'?
Caroline jumped when another figure flashed in front of her. "Elena, where the hell is everyone?!" Caroline hissed, holding the girl tighter.
Elena seemed worried, "I left Jeremy back home, Stefan and Damon were on their way, is Hope okay?" she asked, attempting to smile at the girl.
"I want Papa!" she cried again, burying her face in Caroline's shoulder.
"We'll get out of this forest, and then when he gets home you can rant at him all you like" Caroline promised, beginning to run in one direction with the girl.
A howl sounded through the trees causing the girls to stiffen for a moment; another whooshing sound brought Damon and Stefan Salvatore into the forest.
"Are you all okay?" Stefan asked, checking them over quickly. "Fine for now, but we've gotta get out of here I don't think Rebekah can hold them off much longer" Caroline said, running faster.
Suddenly shifting sounded through the trees, "We're not going to make it, get her somewhere safe!" Elena cried.
Caroline looked at the little girl, "Hope, I need you to climb up this tree and stay up there, can you do that for me?" she asked. The girl nodded and was pushed up a tree, safe from whatever was stalking them on the ground.
The four vampires began to circle the tree in a defensive position, ready to attack anything that came near. Damon let out a low laugh. Stefan turned to glare at his brother, "Now what are you laughing at?" he hissed.
"We're fighting off werewolves in a forest, during a full moon, and we're probably going to die defending Klaus' daughter" he let out another laugh, "After all the times we tried killing that Original pain in my ass" he added, shaking his head.
"She may be Klaus', but Caroline might as well be her mother" Elena glared as the first wolf came into view, "So that makes her family".
The wolves attacked quickly and mercilessly, but none could fight their way close to the tree, and after a few deadly minutes each wolf had either been killed to driven back by the four vampires.
Finally Caroline saw Rebekah enter their sight. "Where the hell have you been?!" the hollered at them. Stefan rolled his eyes, "Relax Rebekah, Hope is fine" he assured her.
She stomped closer, kicking a wolf body as she went, "Well where is she?" she raged. Damon laughed loud, "Up a tree" he quipped, pointing up the tree they had circled around.
Rebekah looked up to see Hope dangling from a tree branch and grinning, "Hi Auntie Bekah! Papa's going to be so angry he missed this!" she said gleefully, her earlier fear forgotten.
She smiled back at her niece, "How about we go back home before he finds out sweetheart? I'd hate to miss the look on his face when he finds out what happened today" she laughed.
The little girl suddenly leapt out of the tree and giggled when Caroline caught her, "Gah, I hate when you scare me like that" she muttered, wrapping her arms around the girl.
The memory ended as the group began walking away, leaving a pile of wolves behind.
Suddenly they were all back in the church, standing where they had been earlier. Each one wore a look a shock, and in some cases horror, on their faces.
"Damon's alive" Stefan whispered. "My niece adores me!" Rebekah crowed, her face alight with joy.
Klaus was looking at Caroline, whose face was shocked and pale. "You have a daughter?" she asked, looking straight at him.
He nodded, "She was just born, I sent her away to be safe" he said quietly, the hurt still lingering.
His mind was churning a mile a minute; his daughter would be hunted by wolves, the Mystic Falls gang would be considered family in the future (he internally cringed), and somehow Hayley wasn't in the picture but Caroline had stepped up and become his daughter's mother.
But it was Matt who voiced everyone's opinion best.
"What the fuck".