She Sits with Rebekah after cleaning up the ashes, a completely impossible task to distinguish which belonged to Elijah and which remains were those of Klaus.
"Bloody idiots". She hears Rebekah mumble into her drink.
No amount of booze is going to make this better she thinks. They should be planning. Finding witches to fix this mess. What a goddamn mess. God the amount of time it will take to get him back. She's already made Alaric take charge of the School, of Hope and the twins. She has a bigger priority right now and it's finding a way to bring him back. She had watched from the distance as he faded away. Aching to run to him and beg him to stay. The way he looked at her in that bar, proving to her it wasn't right. He wasn't meant to leave.
None of it made sense. It was all like a bad dream. Why would Klaus just give it all up? He was the man who hunted Katherine for five hundred years, the man who daggered his siblings to protect them, the man who promised to be her last love. Why would he ever do this?
She can't stop thinking about him. He always said she was more than a pretty face and he was right. Something just isn't right. This is a bad dream she can't wake from. Things have been off for a while. Getting forced to carry the twins. Marrying Stefan. Letting Klaus walk off into the sunset with the white oak…
It's not a dream. It's not a dream… but it's not real. It's not real.
"Oh my god." She jumps from the curb. Whirling around to face Rebekah. "Its not real! Rebekah this place isn't real!" she's flailing now, her hands carding through her hair. Wild eyed.
"What the bloody hells are you going on about?" Rebekah is slurring her words. Clearly inebriated from the amount of alcohol ingested as a newly made human.
"Rebekah, when have you ever known your brother to be selfless?" Rebekah blinks at her as if she has gone crazy. "When did he ever give a damn about humans like Camille or allow people like Hailey who have betrayed him to live?" She's franticly bouncing on her heels. Pleading with Rebekah to understand. To wake up to what she's just figured out herself.
"Gods Caroline! He hasn't been dead twenty-four hours. Can you try to hide your excitement? Unlike you I loved my brother. Despite the ass he could be." Rebekah's grief sobers her gleefulness.
"Don't you see Bekah? This place isn't real. We are in a dream…. Well not a dream maybe, but an alternate reality?" She tips her head as she thinks. "It all went weird after Silas! Don't you see? We are real but this place isn't!"
"Well then what happened to everyone who died then Caroline? Hum? Where are my brothers? Where are Stefan and all the rest of your poor mans Scooby gang!" Now Rebekah is the one with wild eyes. Ready to slap Caroline. "If this isn't real how am I human? Tell me oh wise one. Tell me what is going to happen now!" Rebekah is clearly ready to snap. Caroline doesn't give her the chance and proceeds to launch into her theory.
"Self Sacrifice. That's how we break free. When someone is willing to sacrifice their life for another it breaks the curse for them! Think about it! Klaus and Haley for Hope, Elijah for Klaus, Stefan for Damon, Damon for Elena. Bonnie for Enzo, Tyler for Liv… Everyone who leaves goes when the give their lives for another."
It's as if a switch is flipped in Rebekah. She can practically see the light bulb turn on as it all comes together for her. "This isn't real" Rebekah murmurs. "What about Marcel…Hope…The Twins?"
Caroline feels a twinge in her heart at the though of leaving them. "They aren't real. They're meant to keep us here. I think Silas was banking on Klaus being well…Klaus. He never fathomed your brother would sacrifice himself for someone else."
Rebekah is standing now. Pacing rapidly back and forth. Her mind evidently racing as fast as her own is at the new information. "This is strong magic Caroline. If we figured this out though, why are we still here? There's no way Silas could even manage something so intricate and detailed. It may not be real, but it might not be a farce either. Maybe an alternate dimension?" Rebekah is staring off into the sunrise now. Contemplating how to get out of this place, to go back home to their real lives.
"What if we just kill ourselves?" she speaks so low she thinks Rebekah doesn't hear, but she does.
Rebekah startles her when she grasps her by the shoulders. "No! Caroline that's too dangerous. We have no clue what that will do. No proof when we die that we go back to our old lives. Are you mad!"
" I just want to go home! I want to see my mother! I want my friends back. Don't you want to see your brothers?" Caroline defends herself with ire.
"Obviously, you nit wit, but Marcel… he was long since dead. And are you forgetting your relationship with my brother…"
She gasps. Realizing Rebekah is right. If they go back there will never have been a relationship with Klaus. No whispers of last loves. No hot hybrid sex in the woods. No hopeless flirting on road trips. What if she doesn't remember any of it when they go home? As if reading her mind Rebekah's voice startles her from her heartbreaking thoughts. "What if we forget all of this?"
"That's a chance I am willing to take Rebekah. Aren't you?" Caroline didn't even have to think about it at this point. She knew what she wanted. It was Klaus and somehow she knew they would be together.
"So we go back. But how?" Rebekah's frustration is palpable. "There's no one to sacrifice myself for and the children are safe. We are sitting ducks with no way to go home." Rebekah looks at her as if she has answers but Caroline knows she is no closer to one than Rebekah. She's exhausted and almost ready to declare they sleep on it. Rebekah looks like she is about to collapse and seems to have forgotten humans need sleep. If Rebekah is to be of any help she needs to be rested, whether this is reality or not.
It's a minor detail Caroline can't believe she didn't associate with their predicament. "Self sacrifice is more than just dying for another…all you ever wanted was to be human. Now you are. Your sacrifice is giving up your humanity Rebekah. Your dreams of marrying Marcel and having a family and growing old together." She's absolutely confident this is Rebekah's saving grace, her way back home to her brothers. "If I turn you it's over. You'll fade like Elijah and Klaus. It's why they didn't burn like Kol or Finn. They never really died." Her confidence isn't lost on Rebekah. But she can still see her hesitation. Letting go of ones dreams is difficult.
"What about you Caroline. How will you get back?" Rebekah doesn't seem to keen on leaving her behind alone. They have come along way since the days of cheerleading and school dances.
"I'll figure it out. Don't worry. Lets get you home." She is not going to wait another minute to save Rebekah from this world and safely return her to reality. She bits into her wrist and holds it out to Rebekah, who cautiously sips from the wound with utter distain. "It will be quick and painless Beks, I promise." Rebekah nods. Trusting her to keep that promise, but still terrified. Rebekah tries to be brave, but her shaking gives away her terror. Caroline Grabs her hand and squeezes tightly. "I'll see you soon." Without giving Rebekah a chance to reply, Caroline grasps her neck and twists. She wonders if she needs to catch Rebekah's body as it falls, but as she had suspected, Rebekah begins to disintegrate before her eyes.
She's alone now, alone and clueless of where to go from here. Caroline has always been brave, but knowing she is on her own for this plan is gut wrenching. There is no Klaus to run to for help and no originals or Scooby gang to brainstorm with. She is out of ideas and so tired she can feel it deep in her bones. She needs blood, a hot shower and sleep. Then in the morning she will keep working on a way to get home.
What she doesn't realize is the amount of time it takes her to find a way home. It has been months now since she watched Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah fade into nothing. She got so desperate she staked herself. Unfortunately, she woke up and was right back to square one. Self Sacrifice was a pain in her ass.
The longer the time past the more angry she became. It was like the stages of grief. When the year mark of her being alone came and went Caroline had realized she wasn't going home anytime soon. Something she needed to accomplish had to happen but she was so tired of waiting. When she got back to the boarding school that night the twins were gone. Out enjoying their youth. Could she leave them now?
Klaus hadn't left her mind and she longed to talk to him, to get his opinion and assistance on what to do now. She wanted the life he promised her, but she was here and couldn't seem to leave. No amount of spells completed by any witch worked. Wear wolf bites were painful but not a killer. She was stuck. Maybe there was no way home for her.
By year two she stopped searching. She needed to be there for the twins. Her place was here now. She would see Klaus again someday. She only hopes that he doesn't forget her. As she gets ready for bed she wonders what he is doing and who he is wife. She hopes he is happy. He's the last thought she has as she drifts off to sleep.
She knows something is different the moment she comes to. She's in her childhood bedroom. The smell of coffee is what has roused her from her slumber. She hears her mother speaking to someone, most likely on the phone with someone at the station. "Mommy!"
She flings the bedding off and races to the stairs. She's praying to whatever deity will listen for this to be real. She is home. Finally. How though she had tried everything to get back here and nothing worked. "Klaus…" She has accepted she had to give up her dreams of a life with Klaus. Their love was her self-sacrifice.
She races back to her room to throw on some jeans and a shirt. She doesn't bother with her hair or make up. Her priority is finding him. She's pulling her riding boots on by the door and grabbed her car keys. Yelling to her mother she'd see her later. She's out the door and racing across town to the Mikaelson manor.
"Please remember. Please remember." She flings herself out of the car and runs through the door. Politeness be damned. "Klaus!" Caroline yells franticly as she runs through the house. "Klaus where are you!"
She senses him the minute he appears at the top of the stairs. He is clearly shocked by her presence, but she doesn't care she races up the stairs and throws her arms and legs around him. Sobbing into the crook of his neck and she holds on for dear life. His scent calming her and reminding her he's here and he's real. His grip on her tightens and his hand runs soothing circles down her back. He's whispering to her but the blood rushing in her ears is too loud.
"It's all right love. You are here. It's over now. You're safe sweetheart." Klaus is shushing her sobs. Hands running through her hair as he places her back on the ground. "It's all over my love. I've got you." He's looking at her in that way that makes her heart achingly warm. As if she is everything and he can't be bothered to look at anyone or anything else.
"I love you." She's incapable of sound thought at this point. She just wants him to know. Wants him to know she choses him as her last love. "I love you." She says again. She's peppering kisses all over his face and keeps repeating the words as if she knows no others. She keeps her eyes closed partially out of fear that if she opens them this will be a dream and partially to hide the tears that are still streaming down her face.
Klaus gently stops her movements. Gently holding her cheeks between his hands. "Look at me Caroline." He's talking to her as if she'll startle and bolt off. "Look at me love." She opens her eyes as he brushes away the tears. " I love you." He's looking her straight in the eyes and there is no sense of hesitation. Just longing, lust and love. "I have loved you since the moment you threw that bracelet at me and told me to get over my daddy issues." A laugh bubbles out of her chest at his incredulous look. "No amount of time apart will change that. I've just been waiting for you to catch up love."
She smiles wide and throws herself back into his arms. Laughing as he twirls her around. She's so utterly happy she can't even begin to fathom how they'll deal with life now that the nightmare is over. But she knows that whatever comes there way will be worth it. He is worth it. They are worth it.
She nuzzles into his throat as they just hold each other. "I love you." She whispers again. As if she can't stop now that he knows.
"And I you." He murmurs into her hair.