She thinks of him – more often than not. But it is sporadic and sometimes it is less than often and never constant. But she always, always finds herself thinking of him. She thought of him when Enzo appeared in her life. When Stefan left. When Elena went mad. When her life was plunged into chaos. She thought of him when Tyler left her. So impertinently, so scathingly. She thought of him when she had nightmares. She thought of the conversation. Of art.
She wonders if he thinks of her too. She'd heard of the empires he'd built, of the things he'd done, of the wars he was fighting. She wonders if he ever thinks about her anymore.
"I intend to be your last."
"I would never hurt you."
"Thank you for your honesty."
On the day of her mother's funeral, Caroline finds a letter enclosed in a plain envelope labelled Caroline Forbes waiting for her in the morning. She opens it without expectation or ceremony to find inside the condolences of one Klaus Mikaelson. Regret is the word he uses for the death of her mother, brave like her daughter he writes. I offer my heartfelt condolences - she marvels at the formal but warm tincture in his words.
If I can be of any help, please do not hesitate to contact me he writes. And that is enough for Caroline to know that he more than thinks of her. She marvels at his friendship. His ability - his thoughtfulness, to reach out to her despite the fact that he's embroiled in wars. She marvels at him.
She folds the letter carefully, slides it into the envelope, and walks up to her room to keep it in the box where she'd kept his drawings. She walks down the stairs and joins her friends to mourn her mother, but not before the clear realization that, despite their wars, their friendship will always be something she can depend on.
A year later when Caroline learns about Klaus's baby girl and the fact that the mother is Hayley, she feels a gash open in her heart. She learns of the defeat of Mikael and Esther, and she learns that the baby girl's birthday is coming up.
She learns all of this from Matt who tells Elena and her the day the latter go to Mystic Falls to meet their friend. They learn he is dating Rebekah and that is how he knows so much. Elena expresses her displeasure at their friend's life choices but Caroline reserves the right to keep her judgement to herself. She cannot bring herself to say anything against Rebekah. It's been three years. She doesn't believe she knows her more than Matt. And more importantly, she doesn't believe she can conjure up anything coherent to say for she is too busy dealing with the terrible ache in her heart.
She goes back home and takes out a card to write a congratulatory note. She sends a gold chained pendant for the one-year old as a gift. She writes, I'm sure you're a wonderful father to your daughter, I can't imagine you being otherwise, somehow she knows he needs to hear this. The Klaus she knows is insecure deep inside and would be throwing God knows what tantrums. You have a family and a have everything that you've ever wanted. She bites her lip when she writes, I hope you've found happiness.
Thank you for sending me your condolences last year. The service was beautiful. She chews on her bottom lip for an entire minute before she writes, I wish you'd been there.
She gets a letter a week later. This letter is less formal and more him - or rather, them. He calls her love here and she ignores the way her heart swells at the use of the familiar endearments.
Hope, is the baby's name, he tells her . But she already knows that. Appropriate but quite ordinary, was her first reaction to the name when Matt had told her but having Klaus write it out to her makes her realize the importance and aptness of the name. She is his Hope. Not quite ordinary.
She likes the way he apologizes but doesn't make excuses for Caroline finding out the way she did about the baby. But such are things at times, he says and she accepts. There is nothing more to do than to accept and move on. Caroline has had enough of wars. The lives they lead are filled with chaos and war, war, war. She doesn't want to forego this rare friendship she's found. She doesn't want to pick at the scab. She lets it heal.
The pendant is lovely, thank you, he writes. I don't know about wonderful but I am trying, he writes. It is difficult but she's worth it.
He tells her about the first words his daughter spoke. Of the time she peed on him - Caroline laughs out really loud at this part earning an odd look from her dorm mate but Caroline is far too engrossed to care - of the time Hope walked for the first time. He's even enclosed pictures. There's pictures of the baby girl with Klaus,some with Hayley. She has Klaus's eyes but Hayley's nose and ears. She's a pretty baby girl.
How is everything on your end, love? he asks her.
It is when she's keeping the letter and photos inside that she finds a first-class ticket to New Orleans tucked snugly against the envelope. It's dated for next year. Caroline reads the letter again. There are no hints or references made to the ticket. She searches for notes or hints behind photos - but there's nothing there. Nothing behind the ticket. She feels frustrated and angry - wonders if it was sent by mistake. Then she realizes what it meant.
He wants her to come, but he wants to leave it up to her to decide entirely. No questions, no begging, no suggestions - nothing. Just the ticket. To go if she wanted to. She had an entire year to decide.
When Caroline replies, she doesn't talk about the ticket. She talks about her classes at Whitmore. She's majoring in event management and minoring in advanced microbiology. She talks about her friends - excluding the 'Mystic Falls Gang' as Klaus liked to call them. She talks about her other vampire friends, other human friends. She talks about the parties she's been going to and the new experiences she's been having. The books she's been reading, and the papers she's been writing.
There's a whole world out here, she writes and leaves it at that. She knows he will understand. He had understood her even before she had. She knows he will understand the importance of her words when she talks about her new experiences, her new life. She is talking about moving on, she's talking about independence. She's talking about herself. She's talking about discovery and it is wild and lovely. She knows he will understand with just that one incomplete sentence. For he was the one to point out the latent nomad in her when it was still dormant. For he had recognized the insatiable beast within her when she had refused to even acknowledge the presence of any such thing. He understood her. He knew her. And she knew this because she understood him and knew him. Perhaps better than he himself did.
They write to each other for a year. She talks about her trips, he of his daughter and his city. They make no reference to the ticket. Ever. When the date approaches Caroline waits for dread to fill her but is surprised when nothing happens. She understands. Finally. Something Klaus understood years ago.
He is taking a stroll down the road when he spots her. She has just walked into Rousseau's, he can hear her ask, can you tell me where the Mikaelsons live? He wants to rush to her and startle her but he cannot because he's frozen on the pavement. He didn't really believe she would come. She had made no suggestions she would. When he sees her walk out of the bar with a determined look on her face, her eyes searching for a taxi, Klaus allows himself to drink her in. She looks...riveting. She looks like sunshine and happiness. She looks like Caroline. And he realizes how much he loves her.
It takes Caroline an entire minute to realize someone is staring at her and her heart leaps to her throat when she realizes it's him. He is smiling and she does not think he knows it. She feels her own face split into a smile. "Kl-," she begins but stops. What is there to say? What is there to do except to just...be?
They stand there for ten whole minutes drinking each other in, remembering each other's letters, remembering the people they were before the letters, before they went their ways, and the people they were now. So much had changed but so much was still the same.
Caroline is the first to start moving in short decisive steps. Her hand presses against his cheek and she is reminded of their rendezvous in the woods. That felt sinful but this feels divine. She cups his cheek and smiles. She knows everything is going to only get better, especially when she feels Klaus's mouth on her's. She knows life isn't ever going to be the same and she finds herself to be not one bit terrified.