Just a one shot I post on AO3 also. This was my first foray into Klaroline so please be kind.
Caroline had spent a lot of time wondering what it would feel like to show up on Klaus's doorstep. Or even how she'd end up there. A small part of her deep down always knew, despite her stubbornness, that Klaus was right. One day, be it a year or a century, she'd find her way back to him. Even after making him promise never to visit her again; she couldn't help but remember she made no promises to him.
Then there came a time when leaving Mystic Falls was no longer an option, but an obligation. The town folk were already growing suspicious as to why a group of teenagers hadn't aged a day since high school. So she did what she had never done. She packed a bag and took off. There was really nothing left for her. Damon and Elena had decided to book it to New York, Jeremy was settling down, Bonnie was trying to build a life around her anchor status, and Stefan went far across the pond claiming it was time he saw Italy.
Caroline had no sense of direction, no one to look at a map with, and no idea where her next meal was coming from, blood or human substance. Instead, she stepped onto the next bus departing from a town just outside of Mystic Falls. And she left. And she chose not to look back. This would be her new beginning. A beginning where she forgot all about dopplegangers and hybrids and vampires as old as time. This time, she'd be Caroline. Just Caroline.
At first she'd ended up in Boston. No where to stay, entirely lost and absolutely captivated. Caroline landed her first job after insulting, accidentally she swears, the costume designer's work of the city's theater company. He was pushing a rack of clothes out back just as Caroline had slipped into the alley. An awful comment about a feathered boa and the era they currently lived in coupled with the state of Caroline's worn boots lead to fast friends. Who knew.
Within weeks she had an apartment. She made friends. She found a favorite bar. She decided she could love city life as much as a small town one. In Boston she ended up playing Sandy from Grease. And Christine from the Phantom of the Opera. And somewhere along the way she ended up on Broadway, first on stage and next behind the scenes and finally, directing. Before over staying her welcome, she left. She avoided Damon and Elena like the plague in New York, but they found her. Meeting them reminded her of the Caroline Forbes she left behind. Within a week New York was forgotten and she was on to bigger and better things.
The cycle continued for years. Caroline never stayed in one place too long. A few years at most, a few days if her destination disappointed her. Montreal was beautiful, she stayed until she was fluent in French. The American Midwest was a bore. Except for Chicago. Chicago she loved. It had been long enough that she decided to dabble back into theater while opening an art gallery in the south Loop. On the side she acquired rare pieces of art for affluent clients. When someone came asking for a piece by Niklaus Mikaelson, she packed up and ran. Left a lie about a family emergency and never looked back at Chicago. She would miss their hot dogs.
Next was Colorado. She'd soon realized snow sports were actually fun when one couldn't actually feel the cold. And then there was Dallas and Houston but that was short lived. It was too close. She decided on Phoenix next. She stayed for the architecture and history but left from the heat. In Utah she compelled a rock climbing instructor to let her climb without ropes. She fell once and wondered if a vampire could die this way.
She found her way to Portland and Seattle and decided they were far more underrated than they deserved. Vancouver was not the Canada she'd been acquainted with so she stayed. Until the call of wine in Northern California became too strong to ignore. Two decades she spent exploring the U.S but she never went there. Instead, she jumped on a boat and headed for the Caribbean. She spent her days in a bikini and a sun hat before realizing the Amazon Rain Forest should be seen before it's torn down completely.
She didn't leave Brazil until her Portugese was perfect and stayed in South America until her Spanish would put her high school Spanish teacher to shame. Fiji was her next stop until the news reached her. Liz Forbes was on her death bed and it was high time Caroline hauled ass back to Mystic Falls. Nearly half a century had passed. So much time yet it felt like a blink of an eye.
Caroline got to say her goodbyes. Liz Forbes refused to be healed of any and all maladies that ailed her. She lived a long life she insisted. So instead, she kissed Caroline on her forehead and demanded a promise from her, that she be safe and that she continued to live. Liz gave Caroline that look only a mother knows and she knew what she meant. She wanted Caroline to live and to love. And with that she left Caroline's life and headed to what Caroline hoped was a better place.
Everyone came to the funeral. Their beloved Sheriff, though retired, had passed. Questions rose of Carolines, erm, physique, and compulsion was her only answer. Elena and Stefan made it back in time, standing beside her during the procession. Even Damon showed, much to Caroline's surprise. It had escaped her that at one time, Liz Forbes and Damon Salvatore were friends, working together to keep Mystic Falls safe.
Night passed with Caroline bent over her mother's grave. Time seemed so finite sitting in the dark graveyard. Her mother had passed with wrinkled and weathered skin, her bones worn down by age. A squirrel scurried past maybe ten to twenty tombstones away. It's heartbeat pounded in Caroline's ears, the quick, heavy thrum of life battered Caroline's ear drums. That squirrel may die a peaceful death like Liz Forbes, or it may die like Caroline, she realized. Eternity was not a lie to vampires. Death to Caroline would only come at her own hands or the hands of another in combat. She would never go peacefully.
The next day was spent at the bottom of a bottle of bourbon in the Salvatore Mansion as she finally understood the lifetimes she'd have to endure without her mother. Stefan pried the bottle from her hands and left her to sleep it all off on the couch. The next morning Caroline found herself on the porch of her childhood home. Packing up her safe haven for a long trip away, Caroline left. Mystic Falls was nothing but suffocating. Every street corner haunted her with vivid memories her vampire brain couldn't forget. She did what she'd come to do best, she left.
This time her compass had set itself to due southwest. Maybe he'd be happy to see her. Or maybe he wouldn't and she could go to Fiji like she planned. The car ride was longer than anything else in her life had ever felt, in vampire years or human. Night had fallen when she arrived. New Orleans was oozing with everything she was missing: life and happiness. The streets thrummed with a rhythm she could only identify as the city's own heartbeat. As the new vampire in the quarter, she was taken directly to him and that shouldn't have surprised her; he did leave with the intention to take back his home.
Whoever escorted her did not tie her up, she was not bound to anything. She was simply seated in a black SUV and taken through the city to their destination. As they drove through the French Quarter, Caroline pressed her nose to the window in awe. New Orleans was over flown with culture and food and music and Caroline wanted to experience all of it. Though captivated, Caroline waited.
Escorted to a French style mansion, Caroline couldn't help but feel a horrid mixture of anxious and relieved. The courtyard was vast, overwhelmed in French architecture and vampires milling about with the poison of their choice. With her arrival, the room silenced, as if every vampire's distinct abilities were able to sense something monumental occurring. He'd been downing shots in merriment before turning to see why his people had quieted. And her eyes found him instantly; he was a presence that spoke loudly in a silent room and she'd never forget.
Maybe it was the alcohol that relayed hesitation in him. Or maybe it was logical that he'd come to realize she'd never come. Regardless, his shoulders sagged in what he could only describe as relief. "Caroline," he whispered, faltering mid step as her name slipped past his lips in near reverence. As if knowing, everyone cleared the courtyard, leaving Klaus and Caroline to face each other after forty two years.
Tears blinded Caroline's blue eyes and she couldn't for the life of her tell you why. Blinking rapidly, Caroline swallowed that awful knot in her throat, stood a little taller and forced a smile. "Do you still think you could show me New Orleans?"
She swore to the moon and back that Klaus knew. That somehow Klaus knew she'd just lost her mother, that she'd spent years abroad away from the woman who raised her only to lose her a few short hours after their reunion; that guilt ate away at her for waiting so long on so many things. Yet her heart swelled at the thought that maybe Klaus did know but he stayed away as he promised. And it also broke because didn't losing her mom warrant a promise being broken?
Instead of saying anything telling, he simply nodded, a genuine smile spreading across his face the way the moon lights up when the sun shines it's brilliant rays upon it. "I think it's rather over due. Come on now love, let's get you settled."
Stepping forward, Caroline felt Klaus' hand gently take her elbow to guide her deeper into the house. And suddenly every worry she had since arriving disappeared.
Out of all the scenarios Caroline had come up with, she never imagined she'd stay.