I hope you guys like this. It's a one shot that just sprung up on me and I had to write it. Warning: It's kind of sad.

She squeezed his hand tightly between her own two hands. Her blue eyes filled with tears. Saying goodbye to him was almost unbearable for her. She knew she had to hold it together the best she could for him. He needed her now more than he ever had before.

She could hear the wheezing of his chest as it rose up and down, each breath harder than the previous one. He had held on for a long time, much longer than any of the doctors had predicted. It didn't surprise her that he did that, he has always been a fighter.

She stood when he opened his eyes. She didn't know how much longer he would have before he would slip back into unconsciousness. He tried to smile for her and she yearned to see his dimpled smile one last time but he was too weak.

She knew what he was holding on for, the visitors he wouldn't leave this world before seeing. She knew they would be here shortly, having called her from the airport.

Rebekah was the first to arrive, her beautiful blonde hair flowing. Looking just as beautiful as she always did, but not ageing will do that to a person. She rushed over to his bed, tears already flowing down her flawless young face. "Brother, I wish you would've let me change you back when there was still time. I don't know how I can say goodbye to you forever." He used all his strength to gently squeeze her hand in response.

Elijah came in while Rebekah was still there, he was dressed in one of his suits that was typical of him to be dressed in. He never cried but you could tell this was very hard on him. Their other siblings had died unexpectedly, it was different to watch someone slowly fade away. Especially someone who had been as powerful as Niklaus had once been. The most powerful creature on the planet, he had once told her.

After they left she waited for their last visitors. The two most important ones. Their children.

When they showed up, it was Henry who walked through the door first. Caroline could never get over how much their son looked like his father. He had the same unruly dark blonde hair, the same blue green eyes, full lips and of course the dimples. He was slightly taller than Nik but other than that they were a spitting image of one another.

Their daughter came in behind Henry, Lizzie, was far more emotional than her brother. Lizzie looked mostly like Caroline, tall with lighter colored blonde hair. She was already crying as they approached their father's hospital bed.

Caroline went over to their side and embraced them both. Nik looked up at them and somehow found the strength to give them a smile. She wasn't surprised, for his children he would do anything. When he still had the strength to talk he had told her that he didn't want them to be there when he took his last breath. He wanted them to remember him with a smile, not the sadness of him leaving this world.

Caroline watched as her children said their goodbyes to their dad. She thought back forty years ago. They had both been very powerful, immortal creatures at that time. Her a young vampire and him a 1,000 year old hybrid. He had been in love with her before she realized felt the same way for him.

He had forced Tyler to leave town, leaving her heart broken and confused. She had feelings for Klaus, what she called him back then, but she at the time thought she was in love with Tyler. Klaus had did terrible things to her friends, things she wasn't supposed to forgive him for. If she forgave him her friends would never forgive her. She didn't know if he was worth the risk.

It was when they banded together to fight Silas that she finally let her guard down and see the real him, the side of himself he never showed anyone else. She was done for then. She declared her love for him, decided she would spend the rest of eternity by his side. However, fate had other plans for them.

While hunting Silas, Katherine found them and by threatening Caroline's life she forced Nik to take the cure. But before the last drop of the cure went down his throat, Caroline finished it off herself. If he was going to be human, so was she. They knew Katherine planned to kill him as soon as he was mortal again, but thankfully Elena showed up and killed Katherine for what she did for Jeremy.

The road to becoming a human again was painful, even more painful for Nik. He had been a vampire for a long time. At times, Caroline thought he might just end his life. She knew he never wanted to be human, she didn't really want to be one either. She enjoyed being powerful and that was a hard thing to let go. Going through everything together only strengthened their love for one another.

They had planned on having Rebekah or Elijah turn them back into vampires, but after a long discussion they had decided there were a few experiences they would like to have as humans first. They would wait just awhile longer.

Less than 6 months later she was pregnant with Henry, who they decided to name after Nik's brother Henrick. Nik was scared of being a dad, scared he would repeat the mistakes his dad had made. But of course that never happened. He was the prefect dad. After Henry was born we talked about it again but decided to wait. We didn't want Henry to be an only child.

A little less than two years later we had Lizzie, who quickly became daddy's little girl. While Lizzie looks like Caroline she acted more like Nik, headstrong and stubborn, though passionate and she has the same artistic talent as her father.

They were blessed with two beautiful loving children. They got pregnant a third time but Caroline had some issues which caused a miscarriage and they were told they couldn't have any more kids after that.

Again they talked about being turned but neither one felt it was necessary yet, they wanted to wait to see what the kids decided to do. As their kids got older they explained about the supernatural world and why their aunt and uncle never looked older. They decided to leave it up to their kids on whether or not they wanted to become vampires. They both had the werewolf gene handed down to them by Nik but neither one ever killed anyone so it stayed dormant.

As the kids got older they decided that they wanted to stay human, so then it was just kind of decided that Caroline and Nik would too. Neither one could stand the idea of living without their children. Though they rarely admitted they enjoyed their human life quite a bit. They were surrounded by friends and family they loved, they watched as their kids got older, got married and had children of their own.

They had a full life, they traveled. He took her to all the places he told her he would. He had enough money that they lived very comfortably. The only time they really felt the difference was when their friends would come over. Damon, Elena, and Stefan visited every time they were in the area. It took them awhile to come around to being friends with Nik but they did it for her. And since none of them could have children they doted on their children. Henry and Lizzie never wanted for anything, nor did their kids.

When they were told that he had cancer, they took it remarkably well. They got their affairs in order and spent the last couple of months that he was healthy doing everything that they wanted to do together before it was over. They talked about regret and the fact that neither one of them felt it at all. Their family had been worth it.

After the kids kissed their dad and promised to come back later, she was left alone with him. They both knew that he probably wouldn't make it until the next visit with the kids. The sadness in his eyes at that fact was evident, but there was also a gleam in his eye. He had finally gotten his family, the love and loyalty that he had always yearned for and even though it didn't last long every minute was worth it. He waited a thousand years to feel that kind of love.

She sat down next to him on the bed, listening as his breathing got shallow. She put his left hand into hers and gently fingered his wedding band, remembering the day they had gotten married. The beautiful ceremony that took place in Mystic Falls, all her friends and family had been present. She had been 6 months pregnant at the time but he insisted, being that he was old fashioned, that they needed to be husband and wife before their baby came into the world.

That one was one of the greatest days of her life. Now she was facing one of her hardest. She could sense the end was near so she leaned forward and kissed him one last time. With tears streaming down her face she whispered in his ear, "I did it for you Niklaus. It was all for you."

With that he was gone. The love of her life no longer there, for the first time in a thousand plus years those blue green eyes of his were empty. She held onto him for awhile longer before she finally left his side. She knew she would join him on the other side when her time came, which would probably be sooner rather later cause not even death would keep them apart.

The end