Hey guys, i have adotped this story from the amazing hybridpuppy! I hope you enjoy!
Caroline whimpers as the floorboard creaks outside the bedroom, a light crackling coming from the baby monitor. "It's okay, baby," Liz whispers, tears streaming down her beautiful but broken face. Liz's heart pounds in her chest and she takes a deep breath and turns to the door.
Bill carries their four year old son in to the room silently with a hand over his mouth. Stefan looks at his parents and opens his mouth to ask why they're crying, but Bill's large hand covers it once again as he sets him down on the floor. Liz hands over his baby sister, Stefan's small arms holding the baby as Liz ties Caroline to his front in the carrier
"I want you to climb out of the window and hide on the roof, okay, Stefan?" Liz whispers almost silently. The boy nods and looks between his parents. "We love you both, remember that always, my beautiful son," she chokes out, smiling through her sobs. "I love you, too, mommy," he breathes, "I love you, daddy." Bill smiles down at his son before they kiss his cheeks. "I love you both," Bill finally says as Stefan slips out of the window and climbs up the fencing along the wall where the roses no longer grow. They haven't for months now. Liz said it was a sign but Stefan just thought his dad was a bad gardener.
Liz watches as Stefan turns and waves to her, confused and scared in the dark. "Hide, baby," she tells him, "Hide and scream if anyone tries to take you. Wait for the heroes to come." He nods and climbs over the peaks of the house, settling in to the folds as he holds Caroline to him tightly.
The silence fills with gunfire and Caroline's cries whilst her rocks back and forth. There's shouts and lights turn on around the street, the dark night filling with panic and fear of what happens outside of the safety of their homes. Stefan doesn't know how long he's been up there as time blurs around him and Caroline's cries start to turn in to whimpers. Gun shots turn to sirens, night turns to dawn, shouting turns to murmurs.
"Stefan?" A voice says near him, causing the little boy with red eyes and tear stained cheeks to look over at a man in a fireman's uniform. "Can we bring you down now? We'll take you somewhere safe; to the hero house," the man smiles sadly and Stefan perks up, shuffling closer to the man. "I'm Finn, did your parents tell you about me?" The man asks in a quiet voice in case he scares the boy off.
"She told me you were one of them," Stefan's hoarse voice whispers. "Good," Finn smiles slightly, something clearly unnatural to the older man as he looks more pained than anything. Stefan looks at him a while longer; greying hair, sharp features, warm eyes, thin and tall. He has this strange... aura about him that Stefan can sense selflessness in. He clambers over, his legs numb from being curled up for hours and his back hurting from resting on the tiles. Caroline stirs awake and begins crying again, hungry and tired and confused.
Finn wraps one arm around Stefan before climbing down the ladder and jumping from on top of the fire truck. A paramedic runs over and Stefan holds Caroline tighter to his little shaking body. "I'm Elijah, your mother told you about me, didn't she?" the man speaks softly but with an authoritarian tone. Stefan nods and lets go of Caroline so Elijah can untie her and help her.
Elijah is tall, with broad shoulders and slender body. He has chocolate coloured hair and eyes with a strong facial structure and a kindness radiating from him. Stefan moves over to him wearily and tugs on the leg of his trousers for attention. He looks down at him and smiles sadly, like Finn did, and Stefan makes grabby hands up at him. Elijah chuckles before crouching down and scooping the boy up in his free arm.
With Caroline silently curled in his arm and Stefan sat on his hip, Elijah takes them over to an ambulance to check them over. A man in police uniform waits there; sandy hair, solemn expression, full lips and blank eyes. Stefan sees some dark in the man, but he isn't evil or anything. "This my brother, Niklaus," Elijah tells Stefan quietly, "You know of him, don't you? We call him Klaus, okay?" Stefan nods and Klaus reaches out for him, eyes becoming warmer and showing vulnerable sadness. "Come on, Stefan, we'll take you somewhere safe," Klaus offers, smiling slightly when Stefan releases his tight grip on Elijah's jacket and reaches for him. "I have sister that's going to spoil you rotten," Klaus tells him, holding Stefan close to his body as the boy finally lets exhaustion take over.
Stefan gasps awake and the doors burst open with a gust of air. "CAROLINE!" He yells, his voice filled with fear and horror. Klaus walks in with a little bundle in his arms, relighting the candles Stefan blew out in his panic before making his way over. "She's here, mate," Klaus whispers softly, looking at the little boy drowning in the large bed he's sat up in. Sweat covers the boy's body and he's shaking with worry, reaching out for Caroline. Klaus complies, setting the three month old girl on to Stefan's lap and letting him wrap his small body around her as he rocks back and forth. "Me and you, Care," he whispers, kissing her head as he holds her. "Me and you."
Klaus swallows and turns from them, an odd feeling of protectiveness and obligation sweeping over him when he's near the baby girl. "Stefan, do you understand what happened to your parents?" Klaus asks, immediately wanting to stake himself in the head for asking even though he has to. "The bad men wanted us, so they died protecting us," Stefan tells Klaus, "I dreamt that they got Caroline, too." Klaus sits next to him, wrapping an arm around the Forbes children and holding them until Stefan falls asleep on his lap and Caroline stirs awake again, lip wobbling in a threat that she'll cry. "Sorry, mate, I have to go," Klaus whispers as he slips from under Stefan and scoops Caroline up to feed her yet again.
Klaus bounces Caroline in his arms as she fights against sleep to keep her large blue eyes on his weary stare. She yawns, her toothless mouth stretching out as her tiny fists wave around lazily and land on her face. She whimpers and he rolls his eyes, walking over to the bed in her nursery that he's taken on as his own. He lies back and rests her on his chest, hand holding her in place as she wriggles until she's comfortable. Finally with a little dribble coming out of her mouth, she falls asleep with his hand on her back and his chest as her mattress. He holds her for the rest of the night, his attempts to put her in the crib failing when she begins crying in her sleep for him.
Rebekah smiles as Caroline takes another step, falling on her knees in to Kol's arms. He dramatically falls back with her on his body, her giggling lighting up the room. "NIK! 'LIJAH!" Rebekah calls excitedly as Finn passes her the camera. "What?" Klaus asks, immediately in the room in fear of something happening to Caroline. "She took her first step!" Rebekah gushes as she flaps her arms around madly. "Jesus, woman, I thought something bad happened," he breathes, holding his chest as he releases all of his anxieties.
"Na!" Caroline beams, crawling to Klaus before getting up and running to him. He stares at her wide eyes as she collides with his legs and grips on tightly until he recovers and picks her up. "That's my girl," he smirks as she giggles and hugs his neck. She squashes her mouth against his cheek and he screws his face up, making her laugh louder and throws her blonde curls back.
"Na! Na! Na!" She chants, waving her arms through the air. Klaus tries to get her to say their names for the rest of the day whilst playing with her and leading her around in a walk until she gets tired. He's made progress; Rebekah is "Beba", Kol is "Gow", Finn is "Fib" and Elijah is "Elalala" and Klaus is now "Nib".
She lies on his stomach, mouth open as she snores quietly and content with her exhaustion. He smiles as he scoops her up, walking through the noisy corridors full of students that part like the sea as he walks through.
The kids range from 10 - 18 and all respect the Mikaelson siblings along with the other teachers. They quieten down as Klaus walks through with the sleeping toddler that most of them have gotten used to in their lessons or roaming the halls with them, mostly Klaus, Elijah or Rebekah though. Stefan stumbles over and makes grabby hands at Klaus before rubbing his eyes. Klaus sighs and crouches down, picking him up and tossing the five year old over his shoulder as he keeps Caroline snuggled up in his other arm. "You two are ruining my reputation," he mutters with a small smile as he walks up the steps, knowing that flashing them to their rooms wakes them up.
Caroline sits impatiently, wriggling on her spot on the floor as Elijah brushes her long hair out. "If you stopped moving, I would get it done quicker," he tells her with a smirk on his lips. "Stefan is already gone, though!" She pouts, crossing her arms over her chest as she frowns. "That's because he's got short hair and you have very long and beautiful hair, dear," Elijah explains as he combs out the knots from her damp hair. "Its not fair! I wish he was bald so he didn't have his stupid hair!" She grumbles, kicking out her leg in a huff.
"Yes, that makes sense," Kol mutters from the corner. "Shut up, poo brain," Caroline insults, sticking her tongue out at him. Kol fakes hurt, holding his hand over his heart. "I thought I was your favourite," he teases. "Nope, that's Nik," she tells him proudly. "That's my girl," Klaus smirks as he walks over and scoops her up off the floor. "Lets go set Kol's things on fire," he jokes, earning an excited cheer from Caroline as he carries her out of the room.
Kol walks over to Elijah and sits next to him on the sofa as he places the hairbrush on the table in front of them. "Do you not worry about them two?" Kol whispers, nodding his head to the window where Klaus and Caroline are playing chase, obviously at human speed for her sake. Elijah sighs and shakes his head. "This may be a strange situation for us but think about it from Niklaus' perspective, she is his mate," Elijah shrugs. "I may love her like she is my daughter, but Niklaus loves her as a friend despite her young age. It has happened before; need I remind you of Finn and Sage?" Kol just shrugs and walks to the bar, unlocking the cabinet before pulling out the bourbon. "Its just that... It's Nik, you know," Kol huffs, running a hand through his hair, "And Care. She's like my baby sister and he's... her mate. It's weird and kind of creepy."
Elijah rolls his eyes at his brother's immaturity. "He isn't in love with her yet," Elijah explains, "He feels protective and possessive over her but that is it. He wants to keep her safe until the time is right for them to be together. He's going to scare off any potential boyfriends and make her happy until they can be mates. For now, he's her friend and her guardian. He loves her like you love her, not how I love her or Stefan loves her... Or how Finn loves Sage. They are connected, they are two halves of the same heart and soul... But neither of them know it yet."
"I know, and they won't," Kol relents, having been told many times not to tell Klaus about Caroline being his destined mate. "He can't know, or else he might feel disgusted by his feelings and push her away until they're both miserable and aching for one another so much that they'll be depressed... even suicidal. So, please, Kol, I beg you to keep it to yourself," Elijah pleads, looking out of the window to where Klaus flashes around the garden with Caroline on his back. Her laughter fills the air and Elijah can't help but smile at the sight.
"How can he not know that she's his mate?" Kol breathes, looking at them so happy and bright together. "We both know that Niklaus gave up on love a long time ago. This news may scare him off and that will break both their hearts as well as our own. We've just become a family again, Kol. We can not do anything to jeopardise that," Elijah explains, "I figured it out as soon as he took an interest in her. He wants to keep her safe. He stayed in her room until she turned one and he was certain that nobody was after her anymore. Even then, he stayed across the hall. I am certain he doesn't sleep so he can keep her safe."
The door opens and Stefan runs through the room, a mat dragging behind him slightly as he carries Caroline's giant teddy in his arms with it. "What the hell is that?" Kol asks, pointing as Stefan stops outside and Klaus sets Caroline down. "Caroline felt like Stefan wasn't there for her anymore so she told our dear brother," Rebekah announces as she carries a picnic basket in and looks at them. "As soon as the waterworks started Nik set off to have a picnic made so they could spend an hour or two together before Stefan goes back to class."
Kol rolls his eyes and Rebekah walks out, setting the basket down in the middle before sitting with them all and enjoying something so normal. Caroline uses the big teddy as a lounge chair, resting on it's stomach with it's legs as arm rests. Klaus lies on his front next to her with Stefan opposite them, Rebekah's camera snapping away as she takes photos of them all. "Is Stefan..." Kol trails off, turning to Elijah who was thinking the same thing. "I think he might be," Elijah nods, turning to leave his siblings and the children to their picnic.
Stefan puffs up his chest proudly in his suit as Caroline giggles at him. "Your hair looks silly," Caroline teases, a British tint to her voice now she can fully speak thanks to Elijah and Klaus. "It does not!" He argues, sniffing and tucking his shirt in to his trousers. "Yes it does," she laughs, rolling backwards on the bed on to Rebekah's lap. "You look handsome, Stefan," Rebekah reassures, reaching over and straightening his tie. "Come on, Care, lets go see mom and dad," Stefan smiles sadly, reaching for her hand. "Okay," she sighs, pursing her lips and hugging Stefan tightly when she sees the sadness in his eyes.
They walk with Rebekah to the graveyard down the road on the private land that connects to the school. It isn't too full; past teachers with no family or orphaned children they lost many a year ago to illness mostly rest here. Caroline holds Stefan's hand as they stop in front of a small plot where their parents ashes are. "Hi mom, hi dad," Stefan greets, kicking at a rock nervously. "I'll give you time," Rebekah offers, rubbing his back before walking over to a nearby tree and waiting, listening to the pair.
"I-I'm looking after Care like you asked. They're really good to us here and Elijah's like our new dad, Nik and Kol are like my brothers and Rebekah's really great too. She's better than a sister and I love them all. I miss you both, even if I don't remember much," Stefan mumbles as he wipes at his face to remove the tears. "What do I say?" Caroline asks nervously, turning to look up at Stefan with worry in her beautiful blue eyes. "Whatever you want, Care," Stefan smiles, "I promise they love you so it doesn't matter what you say."
She nods and shuffles her feet nervously. "Hello, mommy and daddy... I- I don't know you or know what to say but I love you. You're my parents so I love you. I- I'm happy here, even if some of the big kids are mean sometimes. I- I love the Mikaelsons, especially Nik - he's my favourite - and even Kol! Elijah teaches me things and I think he's being my new daddy even though I don't know what that means. Rebekah's like a big sister and she plays dress up with me because Nik says skirts are for girls and he won't wear one, which sucks. I- I'm sorry, I'm rambling... I love you... I think I miss you, but I- I don't know. I hope you're angels, that's what Nik says when I ask where you are... erm, bye."
Stefan kisses her cheek before waving a teary Rebekah over to take them back. She nods, letting them walk ahead a moment before turning to the headstone. "Thank you for giving us your children," Rebekah whispers, "We love them and... we know she's his mate. We'll protect them with our lives for eternity. Thank you." She flashes over to the two of them before they notice she's not there, taking their hands and leading them from the grave.
Klaus watches with tears in his eyes, running Rebekah words over until he can't think of anything but them. Caroline is his mate. That explains it all.
Caroline skips through the halls to her first class. Finally reaching her tenth birthday a month ago means she's now in class. The hall is empty here, since she and Stefan live in the far end of school with the Mikaelsons. Her footsteps are light as she swings her arms with a smile playing on her lips.
She pauses, her heart in her throat when she hears heavy footsteps that she doesn't recognise coming towards her. She pulls her bag off her shoulder and places it against the wall before stepping towards them, wondering if it's one of the older kids coming to collect her. She rounds the corner and gasps, eyes trained on the gun pointed between her eyes.
"I've found you, you little freak," the man growls in a terrifying voice. She looks up to meet his eyes and screams, his face marred with scars and a bullet wound visible on his collar bone. Her screams are met with his yells as he burns in flames that appear from nowhere. She keeps screaming, flames rising higher and her hair bursting alight burning from golden curls to red flames. The blue of her eyes lights like burning embers as the man thrashes and fires his gun wildly in an attempt to hit her and put himself out. He falls to the floor, the smell of burning flesh filling the air
She's grabbed at the shoulders and she looks at Klaus, finally stopping everything and passing out in his arms. He wraps his arms around her, patting out the little flames at the ends of her curls. He swallows thickly with emotions; rage because someone tried to hurt her, fear because she might've been killed, horror because she may never forgive herself for killing someone, regret at not walking her to class and saving her from this, confusion at how he got in and relief that she's okay.
Kol removes the body in a blink as Elijah brings their witch over to clear the air and seal the school with a spell so that nobody with negative intentions can enter the land they own. Klaus picks her up as Rebekah runs to collect Stefan from the hall where all the children wait. He carries her back to her room, laying with her on the bed when she refuses to let go of his shirt.
She wakes up not long after, lips trembling as she remembers what happened. She feels a hand on her arm and panics, only to have her mouth covered up. "It's okay, it's me," Klaus whispers, her eyes meeting his own. "It's okay, you're safe now." She nods, tears running down her cheeks as he sits up and pulls her o to his lap, holding her as she sobs. "I'm sorry," he breathes, closing his eyes with a few ears coming from them despite his control. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't there." She sniffs and holds on tighter.
"Promise you won't leave me, Nik," she begs, "Promise me." He nods and kisses her head, wrapping his arms around her shaking body. "I- I promise I won't let anyone hurt you," he tells her, the fact that he never said he wouldn't leave lost on the terrified girl
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE LEAVING?" Caroline yells, standing up from her seat and glaring at him when Stefan holds her back from hitting him. "You promised you wouldn't leave," she croaks, voice breaking with tears she tries to hold back as she pulls her arms from Stefan. "You're sixteen, I'm sure you can manage without your best friend for a bit," Klaus shrugs, his heart breaking because he can't tell her the truth.
"Why are you leaving me?" She demands, turning and hitting his chest desperately. "I need you, you ass, and you're leaving just like Kol and Elijah did!" He grabs her wrists in one hand and she breaks down against his chest. "They left because we have a lead on the people trying to hurt you after six years," he tells her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and holding her to him. "Why are you leaving me?" She cries, his shirt stained by the tears he never wanted to bring her. "I have some business in New Orleans," he says emotionless. "I need to deal with it."
"Don't LIE to me, Nik!" She shouts, shoving him away and stumbling backwards. "You're lying because you don't want to be here anymore. You don't want me now I'm not cute and little. Pets are always cuter when they're little, right?" She snaps at him, eyes turning red and her hair beginning to flicker with flames.
He takes a deep breath, eyes flicking to Rebekah for help but she nods, telling him to go along with it for Caroline's safety. "Yeah, that's it," he lies, heart screaming for him to just tell her. "I can't be bothered anymore. I'm leaving for some peace and quiet from all these fucking kids and my siblings that are left. Goodbye, Caroline."
He turns and leaves as she screams at him. "You bastard ! I fucking trusted you! YOU COWARD! I HATE YOU!" Tears pour from his eyes as he picks up his bag and leaves, her words pounding in his head, his stomach turning and his throat burning with the held back despair and heartbreak he feels.
He'll come back for her when she's safe and when she's ready He'll come back and tell her everything. He'll come back and love her. He'll come back and win her over again. He'll come back and make her love him again.