I dont own anything. I'm merely borrowing.
It was a beautiful room, open and spacious. It was one of the few places on earth she felt truly at home. Although that had more to do with the people around her than the vaulted ceiling and the gigantic windows that offered a view of the meadow outside.
They did this twice a year, for her favorite holiday Christmas and a summer barbeque. During the holiday snow would lay thick on the meadow outside. And the smell of cooking would come from the kitchen. But she would have to wait six more months for Christmas, for now the meadow was the playing ground for four children running barefoot on the grass. And a whiff of barbeque came in from the garden.
They were all gathered around the sofa table, where nine whiskey glasses were being filled by Jeremy. It was their tradition to take some time for themselves, to step away from the cooking and the rest of the family, and share a toast. Their own little family of misfits. There was only eight of them, but one glass was for everyone they had lost. Damon had once said that everyone on the other side had to share one glass, because there was neither enough whiskey nor glasses in the world to insure they all had their own.
Caroline was lying on her back on one of the sofas her head resting on the armrest and her feet propped up on Matt's lap, the little Toddler sleeping on her stomach moved a little in her sleep. She watched how Jeremy started to hand out the glasses, to Damon who sat in the armchair, and to Elena who was perched on his armrest. He handed one to Ric whose wheelchair was parked right next to Damon. Jeremy leaned over the table and handed both her and matt a drink, he sat down again and handed Stefan who was sitting next to him a glass before turning to bonnie on his other side.
He put his free arm around her shoulders, and raised his drink.
"Family." He said simply. It was the same toast every time, but it never got old.
"Family." They all repeated and drank. It was a challenge not to wake nor spill on the sleeping child, but she managed.
They were all silent for a while staring at the only glass left untouched. The memories of Caroline's mother burned bright in her memory. Her mother had finally found love again, and died old and surrounded by loved ones. It was a normal death, the best thing you could wish for your parent. It was normal for children to outlive their parents, but the loss still hurt. Technically she died long before her mother. For some time after she changed Caroline had kept referring to herself as dead. Then it had changed, she´d felt alive and she was going to live as much as she could.
Conversation had started to break out again after the silence, Damon and Ric had their heads together and mischievous looks on their faces. The pair of them looked absurd, Damon the looked the same as he had for over 200 years, but time had changed Ric into an old man in his 90s. Thin and frail and slowly dying. They were all dying, all humans die. But as the pair clinked their glasses together conspiratorially, it was hard not to see her old history teacher.
Caroline meet Elena's eyes, and they shared a small sad smile. They both knew whatever plans her soulmate and Ric were cooking up, his time was rapidly coming to an end.
Time had also affected Matt, Jeremy and Bonnie who were listening to Stefan talk about his latest protégé. Who knew that the ´Ripper of Monterey´ would channel his inner Lexi and travel the world helping vampires? They all owed their gratitude to one person in particular when it came to Stefan's wellbeing.
She had started to show up to their get-togethers with Stefan a few years ago, but they'd been together for way longer than that. It was probably out of respect for the rest of them she´d stayed away. It had taken a while for everyone to be comfortable with Stefan being with one of the originals.
Caroline could hear her helping Miranda and Shelia in the kitchen, talking and laughing with Jeremy and Bonnie's daughters. Rebekah loved to play human. They weren't really friends, friendly maybe. Caroline hadn't called her ´Evil blood slut´ for a few years. So that was progress.
"Oh, and we meet Kathrine" Stefan's voice took Caroline out of her musings, everyone turned to look a Stefan.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Elena said throwing a pillow at him
"Calm down, it was just a few days ago" Stefan said catching the pillow with ease "We were coming home for this thing and ran into her and Elijah in Egypt." Elena looked at him as if she wished she had more pillows to throw. "Oh, and she's a vampire," he continued sipping his glass as if this wasn't gigantic news.
Elena grabbed Damon's empty glass and threw it at Stefan. "Why didn't you tell me? I need to know if my evil twin is walking around again!" She said loudly. The baby stirred on Caroline chest she absentmindedly put a hand on its back making tiny soft circular movements.
Stefan caught the glass with one hand "Funny she called you the same thing," Stefan mused "But she's not really your twin anymore, she had time to age 20 years with the cure in her system before Elijah changed her."
"Oh I bet she doesn't like that" Caroline chuckled thinking about how invested Kathrine was about her looks.
"So... Everyone is fine with this?" Damon asked incredulously "Even the big bad original that spent 500 years chasing her?"
"Oh I don't think he has a choice" Rebekah appeared in the doorway "Elijah made it clear that he wants to spend eternity with her, so they made a deal." She pointed at the half filled whiskey bottle, "Can the kitchen maids get some of that?"
Damon threw the bottle to Rebekah, which got him a stern "Don't throw bottles in my house" from Bonnie. He gave her a smirk and pointed to himself and Rebekah "Vampires remember? We could probably throw that baby and it would be safe." He started to get up "Give her here blondie" he said to Caroline. Only to get pushed back in the chair by Elena.
"And defiantly don't throw my granddaughter in my house" bonnie said giving Damon a look that reminded Caroline forcefully of Bonnies late grandmother.
"What if we go outside?" Caroline asked smiling. She knew no one would ever hurt this family, and she´d seen Damon cooing to the child earlier, barely a year old and she already had him wrapped around her little finger.
"Who is throwing my firstborn?" Shelia said as she walked past Rebekah with three more glasses in her hand.
"I put the men on kitchen duty," Miranda said as she followed behind her sister "What else are husbands for?"
Shelia and Miranda sat down of the floor. They looked so much like bonnie when she was younger. The way they moved and talked, it was as if bonnie had doppelgangers.
"So tell me about this deal" Ric said trying to get the conversation back on point.
"Well, long story short" Rebekah said as she filled their glasses again "Nik made it so the witches could practice magic again, restoring a sort of balance in New Orleans. They were all very grateful, scared out of their tiny little minds but still grateful." she handed a glass each to the witches sitting on the floor, with an apologetic look "So they made an ever filling goblet. Made with the blood bags he got from you Elena. So... ever filling goblet meant no need for a living blood supply"
The silent room looked at Rebekah "So he had no use for doppelganger blood, and had no real reason not to, when Elijah asked him to spare her. It turns out that no matter how many times he daggered us, my brothers greatest weakness is his family." she raised her glass "Family." She simply said.
She downed her drink and sat down next to Stefan. Caroline downed hers too, and thought about Klaus. She knew how much family meant to him, he had once told her over the phone on those rare times he called; family was what made him truly happy. There had only been four of those calls during the forty-something years that had passed. But every year on her birthday he would send a drawing. They were all of her, some of memories he had of her and some of her in places she´d never been.
"And don't worry about Kathrine," Rebekah said "It was part of the deal that she didn't bother you, I don't know if you noticed but your life has been quite drama free of late"
"That's nice of Elijah," Elena said "But he kind of owes us."
"I had enough drama for several life times" Damon said leaning his head back and looking up at Elena "But it won't stop me tracking down Kathrine just to point out that she has wrinkles now." They all laughed. Caroline was probably the only one who heard Rebekah mutter "Yeah.. Elijah.. Right" but only as she was focusing all of her enhanced senses on the other blond.
The conversation started flowing again everyone was talking about their plans and life. Caroline and Shelia was talking about university. Caroline had been to most of them, studying art, medicine, language and history. Moving around to not rise any suspicion as the non-aging student. But in the back of her mind she kept thinking about Rebekah's comment. Had Klaus made their safety part of the deal?
A ten year old boy came in to the house, "Grandad" he said looking at Matt " come out and play football with us," he said pouting "all of you, we need some vampires on our team."
"Well I'm better than any vampire, champ" Matt said and got up.
"Oh game on!" Stefan got up and put an arm around Matt's shoulders. The aging man and teenaged vampire followed the child out of the room together.
"Roll me out Damon and I'll show them what a ninety year old man can do." Ric said with a grin.
"Whatever you say buddy." Damon said as he put the bottle in ricks lap and rolled him out.
"Well this we need to see" Elena said looking at the rest on them. They all made their way towards the door laughing and talking. Caroline smiled to herself at the ease and love between them all, who knew that after so much drama and loss, life could be this easy. Bonnie turned to look at Caroline
"Coming care?"
"Oh, go on without me" she said looking down at the sleeping baby "I don't want to wake her"
Bonnie smiled at her best friend, and her granddaughter and followed the others out.
"I envy you." Rebekah said "I always have."
Caroline hadn't noticed that the other blond had stayed behind. "Why?"
"Well you got to play human" Rebekah was absentmindedly playing with an empty glass.
And it was true, Caroline had to play human. She had fallen in love with studying at collage, and traveled, but when bonnie got pregnant she moved home again, to be a part of the family. It had worked to both their benefits, with no grandparents to help out Caroline became an aunt. She got to play her own version of motherhood. Teaching them to walk, walking them home from school. Buying their first bra and helping with their first heartbreak. Now the girls looked older than her and they had their own family. But Caroline would always be a part in their life and she was eternally grateful for that.
"But you've always been so human, I think that is what I envy." Rebekah said looking up at her.
"I'm sorry you couldn't take the cure." Caroline said, and it was true, Rebekah had lived a thousand years longing for humanity only to have a glimpse of it before losing it forever.
"I don't think it would have made me more human," Rebekah said smiling sadly "only more mortal."
She looked at the sleeping child with such intense longing Caroline had to break the silence
"But Elijah must be happy, he deserves that"
Rebekah smiled " Yes he does, he deserves to live his life without babysitting his family"
"So now he got his own doppelganger to babysit" Caroline said laughing.
"True, but were all pretty happy. I got Stefan, Kol is out seeing the world and Klaus got his kingdom and..." she faulted as if she didn't know if she should continue "and... hope" she finished.
"He called me you know," Caroline said looking down at the child "The day she was born, he was so happy. He said he had a light in his life."
"He could always use more" Rebekah looked at her knowingly. "Do you talk a lot?"
"No" Caroline said "He sends things for my birthday, and I've sent postcards from all the places he wanted me to see." She smiled "but drawings and postcards don't count as talking."
"You know, for every drawing he sent you there's a hundred more in his study..." Rebekah said putting down the empty glass. And getting up to join the others.
Caroline remained silent, watching through the window as Damon sped past Matt at vampire speed with a laughing ten year old on his back. The sunlight shining on her family that kept growing.
"He said he'd wait a century" Caroline said mostly to herself.
"It's only been half that" Rebekah said from the door behind her "And take it from someone who's knows him; you might be the only thing he's willing to wait an eternity for."