Hello everyone, thank you for your reviews again. If you enjoy this chapter and would like another, I'll shall make this into a full fanfiction. Just say the word. :) Please review! I do like this fanfiction but without reviews I won't have any reasons to continue. Thanks

His eyes peered through the dark towards the road Hayley was maneuvering the truck to be on. It seems after five years she was quite good at the turns, he wouldn't have been able to manage it himself. He saw Hope sitting in the passenger seat, quietly staring out the windshield with the obedience of a child who's known this life for far too long. That was about to change. Klaus's eyes fell on Caroline who was also staring ahead with the determination of a bull. She looked down at her phone and texted, her slight fingers quick on the screen until she finished and let her hands drop back into her lap, graceful as a ballet dancer.

"I texted Rick, he'll meet us where you're headed." Caroline said to Hayley.

"Alright, then we're one step closer to getting everybody back." Hayley replied happily, smiling at Hope who stared back at her, a hint of a smile in her eyes, and turned onto the road they needed. Klaus looked back at Caroline and she glanced at him innocently.

"It's good that the father of the siphon twins is on such good speaking terms with you to agree to your demands so easily." He noted. Caroline turned her phone light on and stared at the screen absent-mindedly.

"Rick knows that the girls want to help." She gave him a playful eye "They really want to meet Hope as well." Caroline added, warranting another smirk.

"Tell me, how did Rick manage to father the twins at the same time as catering to your high-maintenance vampire lifestyle?" Klaus teased her. The joke fell short as Caroline turned the screen light off and looked up.

"He asked me to marry him a little after the girls were born." She replied. What? The edges of the hard metal seat beneath him felt very cutting suddenly. The entire truck in fact was cold. Klaus looked away, his heart hammering painfully in his chest and he dared himself to let out a breath, although knowing it wouldn't do any good.

"And are you?" He asked, the words from his mouth, the sounds his voice made, made the pain worse. It was different from the blade but only in the sense that the pain couldn't be removed as easily as Hayley had done.

"What?" Caroline asked in return, looking at him. He implored her with wide eyes not to make him spell it out; he had had enough pain for five years. Caroline continued to stare at him, studying his face, riddling out what he was thinking and Klaus could not tear his eyes from that beautiful face. Even more so, if that face was now wed to another. If she told him his fears weren't realized, he would apologize over and over to Elijah. The memory of a man in love with a married woman.

"Married to him." Klaus forced out, leaving a new scar somewhere within him. Oh God the minutes that passed, the time it took her to deliberate her answer convinced him she'd said 'I do' five years ago while he was buried in a wall unable to move.

"I didn't." Caroline said softly, her sympathetic eyes staring into his. Disbelief flooded his brain. What? His face changed with the thought. A jolt of relief coursed through him before he could erase his confusion. "I didn't marry him." She added with a smile. Before he could control himself a huge, sparkling grin overcame his face. If Caroline had been married this entire time, it wouldn't have changed how he felt. If she was married, he'd have lived the rest of his immortal life alone. And Caroline was the one person who made him believe that after all this time, he wouldn't. He so wanted to kiss her right then, he could feel tears starting to come to the surface and he blinked, rubbing at his face and panting, surprised that suddenly her arms were around him. The feeling of her blonde hair against his skin, her head resting against his body, her strength enveloping him, made him nostalgic and he embraced her in return. Klaus buried his face in her hair, and kissed it. Slowly, they pulled back and he caught her hand, kissing her knuckles and gripping the hand with both of his. Caroline watched him and hesitantly put her other hand on top of his. Klaus rested on the back of his seat, and Caroline joined him, their hands still clasped.

Hope turned back from watching her father with the woman he'd shown now, that he truly loved. As the scenery on the side of the road passed them by, she wondered where they were going.

"How's your dad doing back there?" Her mother asked, glancing at her before staring at the road again.

"He seems happy." Hope noted, watching her mother still.

"Yeah. He's loved Caroline for years." Hayley replied. "I thought he just had a thing for her, but Caroline told me different."

"How much does he love her?" Hope asked and Hayley looked at her.

"Why, sweetie?" She asked in return.

"Would she take him away from us?" Hope replied. Hayley continued to stare at her for a minute before remembering her eyes needed to be on the road.

"Your father loves you very much, Hope. Just because he also loves Caroline doesn't mean he'll go away." Hayley replied softly. Hope looked to her lap and played with her fingers.

"Would Caroline want him to?" She asked softly, staring at her fingers still. Hayley put her hand over her daughters, keeping a firm grip on the wheel.

"Baby I promise you. Caroline wouldn't break up our little family. She knows how much your dad loves you, and she loves your father just as much as you do. She would never take him away." Hayley pulled her hand away and put it back on the steering wheel. "She loves you too, sweetie. How could anyone not love you?" Hope smiled to herself and blushed slightly, resulting in a light laugh from her mother.

The four turned into another parking lot down by the docks, a bigger one than the last with more open space, but they wouldn't be there long. Klaus sat up and looked out the window, Caroline getting ready to get out when the truck came to a stop. Hayley looked at Klaus and he stared back at her.

"Good to have you back." Hayley said. He nodded and she climbed out. Hope stared at her father after his eyes fell upon hers.

"I want you to know," Klaus began, offering his hand again "that no matter what happens in this family, if Elijah ends up marrying your mother, if I end up marrying Caroline. It won't take either of us away from you." Hope gripped her seat, close to his hand. Well that was progress. He gave her a smile. "I promise you, Hope, nothing could take me away." He said. He said. Hope took his hand and his squeezed it, not showing his surprise. She smiled at him and let go, slipping from her seat, and Klaus jumped out on his side, glancing from the outskirts of the docks, the tops of the buildings, to his daughter. When her eyes were on his again, he led her around the truck to meet the others. He looked at Caroline and she gave him a smile. Hayley looked at the both of them and then nudged Hope, resulting in her looking at her mother. She seemed to secretly ask if Hope was alright and she gave a small nod. Klaus looked at Hope as well, smiling before a small silver car pulled into the parking lot.

Alaric's head popped into view and Caroline spun around, looking for the twins in the backseat. As Alaric rounded about to get into a parking space, careful to aim inside the lines, the twins looked toward her and jumped to the window, pressing their small hands to the window and grinning. Lizzie continued to smile at her mother, who grinned back and waved at her, while Josie's eyes went to the smallest one in the bunch, a silent gasp came and she waved at the older girl. Caroline glanced at Hope, as did her parents, watching her reaction to children around her age. Hope stared at them, and Hayley could see she was scared.

The car stopped and no sooner than it had, the door on the right popped open, the twins rushing out to their mother. Caroline picked up Josie and hugged her tightly, mumbling about how much she missed them both. She dropped Josie on her feet and hugged Lizzie, who buried her face in her mother's hair. Klaus smiled at the reunion and studied Caroline's face, her tightly shut eyes, loose mouth as she continued to murmur softly to the girl in her arms. The true, Madonna and child. He wanted to burn this image into his mind and paint it later. Give her the work as a mother's day present. Tell the small child how much Caroline loves her. Then the other figure appeared in his vision and he saw Alaric had left the car, coming straight for him. The look in his eye was a mix of protective father and protective friend. He glanced at Caroline before stopping before the hybrid, standing tall before him. The last time they'd been this close, he was possessed by a spell of his mother's concoction, if it hadn't been for the doppelganger trying to save her friends, he would've died. And Caroline would've been dead right along with him. Maybe that spell Davina had finished wasn't so terrible after all.

"Klaus." Alaric greeted brazenly. Klaus stared back at him and nodded.

"Good to see you again, Alaric." He replied, for the benefit of his children and Caroline, whether the children were paying attention or not. Alaric gave him an untrusting look and turned to Caroline, whose eyes found his and gripped Lizzie as she put an arm around Alaric. Klaus blinked and watched them, relieved to have found Caroline's teal eyes on him again as she continued to hold the former vampire.

"How's the little prodigy doing?" Alaric murmured to her. Caroline pulled away and held onto Lizzie with both hands.

"She's a little shy. But I'm sure Lizzie," She looked down at the little girl who smiled up at her "And Josie will love her."

"She's like us?" Lizzie asked.

"Yes, she is. But she's got a lot to learn before she can control her powers." Caroline replied, kneeling before her daughter. Klaus continued to watch them with a smirk. "Her aunt's been teaching her how to use it from inside her mind." She added with suspense, getting a gasp from the little girl, who put her hands on her face. Lizzie ran over to Hope, who had moved to stand in front of her mother, Hayley taking her shoulders in her hands protectively as Josie continued to talk to her.

"How long have you and your mom been travelling?" Josie asked.

"A long time." Hope replied in a small voice, staring at the girl in front of her. "We've had my dad's brothers and sisters with us the entire time."

"Where've they been?" Josie asked. Hope looked hesitantly at her mother. Hayley nodded to her and looked back at Josie.

"It's okay, you can tell her." She said. Hope turned back to the girl in front of her.

"They're in the back of the truck Mom brought." Hope replied slowly, watching Josie's reaction. She's come so close to telling other children where the rest of her family was. When she did the one time…it didn't go the way she wanted. Misha was her best friend. Her dark blue eyes had gone from curious to full of terror, but Josie's eyes light up with a smile.

"Cool! Can Lizzie and I see them?" Josie asked. Hope looked back at her mother who smiled at her, and then led them both to the back of the truck. Hayley caught Caroline and Klaus's eyes before they went, and Klaus followed Caroline close behind as she held Lizzie's hand. Alaric was beside Lizzie, glanced back at Klaus before standing before the doors to the truck.

Hayley got up on the end of the truck, and used her hybrid strength to move the steel away from the entrance of the doors. It swung to the side, as she opened one door and Hope opened the other. Klaus watched her as she did it, her eyes curious and blank at the same time. Whatever memories Hope had of them, of the life they once led, they were buried. All she knew now was the life that was spent away from them. He bowed his head. Caroline looked back at Klaus, and put a hand on his arm. He looked at her and put the thought on the back burner.

Hayley climbed the rest of the way into the truck, and helped Hope inside of it, picking up Josie as Caroline handed the girl to her, Klaus climbed in and Alaric climbed up, taking Lizzie with him. Hayley let Klaus go before her, holding onto Hope and watching her as he stepped closer to his family.

His hand met the polished wood of the coffin, caressing the surface as if it were Rebekah's blonde hair. He looked at another, and squeezed the side, as if it were Elijah's shoulder. He looked beyond, to the two other coffins ahead of him, and felt his heart tremble again. Klaus turned back to Hayley and looked at Caroline.

"Let's get the girls ready to do this." Klaus said in a low tone. Caroline watched him. She knew how much his family meant to him. Knew how relieved and frightened he was, all at the same time. She wondered if she was the only one to see it, but knew it wasn't possible. He stayed in New Orleans for a reason. But as she looked back at her girls, who stared at her, their father and Klaus with a little fright, she knew he was in over his head.

"Maybe we should wait a sec." Caroline said, surprising everyone. Klaus looked back at her in confusion.

"Caroline, my family will be lost soon if this doesn't happen now." He replied, emphasizing every word.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. But you were trapped in a wall for five years, Klaus. Hayley, Hope, me, we were the ones that figured out what to do. So let us take back the reigns." Caroline said. He stared hard at her, and looked away.

"Hayley, what is it you suggest?" Klaus sighed heavily, turning to her. Hayley stared back at him in surprise.

"Well, I –" She glanced at Caroline and down to Hope. "The girls are going to need a minute, possibly. When was the last time you had them siphon something?" Hayley asked Alaric.

"Ah, we had them unlock the doors to the Armory two years ago." He replied, and then looked back at Klaus who was staring at him. "We need them to remember how to do what it is, they have to do. Otherwise something could go wrong, and your family's lost either way." He told him. Klaus set his mouth in a line.

"Did you really not think to check if your children were up to the task?" Klaus demanded of him.

"We came in guns blazing without a plan for a reason, Klaus!" Alaric exclaimed. "When Caroline called for you, and didn't really let me get a word in edge-wise, I didn't have time to think." He added. Klaus's mouth closed and he looked away. His eyes fell onto Caroline's.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to potentially put your children in danger." He said. Caroline nodded, giving him a smile of reassurance. "How much time do we have left?" He asked. Caroline took out her phone.

"We've got fifteen minutes."

"How long do you estimate the girls will need before they're ready?" Klaus asked

"Maybe five. They're strong." Caroline offered. He nodded.

"Very well. When you are all ready I'll be here." He said. Caroline and Alaric wasted no time in hopping out of the truck, taking their children with them, and Hayley led Hope closer to him.

"You really think we'll get them back?" Hayley asked softly. Klaus gave her a look.

"We have to at least try." He replied. He looked down to Hope, whose eyes stared back into his. He offered his hand. She took it.

"You will learn a new meaning of family today, littlest wolf." Klaus said, smirking. Hope studied him and smiled back, stepping in and putting an arm around his neck. Klaus bent down onto one knee and hesitantly put a hand on her back. He smiled to himself and rubbed her back, letting his daughter squeeze his neck for another minute. He closed his eyes, rocking her side to side with one hand staying on her back. Hope pulled away and smiled big. Klaus stared at her and returned her smile.

"I'm ready for that." Hope replied, getting a laugh from both of her parents.

"So are we, Hope." Klaus chuckled, and gently pulled her head in to press against his own. He stood fully up, still smiling at his daughter. He looked at Hayley, and she sat down on the side of the truck, Hope turning around to take her hands. Klaus joined Hayley and watched the little game Hayley played with her. The thumbs moved, and Hope used her speed to slap the top of her mother's hands, Hayley pulling back just in time, both of them laughing. Klaus chuckled with them, loving the sound of his daughter's laughter.

Hayley played the game with Hope, all the while Klaus watched between them and Caroline talking to Josie and Lizzie. Alaric stood beside her, not saying anything with his hands in his pockets. The protective father as Caroline prepared their children for awakening his family. In any other circumstance, he wouldn't have allowed it. Those children had bright futures, and plans just like their mother. It should not be taken from them like so many futures had been. But then Caroline would feel the same. She was having the two individuals she loved more than anything; help someone she might still have feelings for. At least he hoped so. The children looked to be prepared for their task, and were talking to their father, making jokes with Caroline. Her smile came, and her eyes glanced towards him. Her smile faltered slightly and then brightened, making him smile.

The lid of Elijah's coffin opened and the death-like sleep was apparent to Klaus. He stared at his older brother's body, not sure if he could save them all again. This time might be too late. They would forgive him possibly but he'd had to spend another five hundred lifetimes away from them. That would be the true curse. Caroline led Josie by the shoulders to the opening, and had her stand on the stool Hayley had put out. Josie stood a waist-height over Elijah, her hands would easily be able to reach him.

"Okay, just like you did with your sister before." Caroline whispered. Josie nodded. She put her hands on Mr. Mikaelson's open wound, wincing at the feeling of the dark red on the man's arm. She inhaled deeply, and felt something through her body like she did before. That wasn't it. There was a really powerful spell attached to him, mommy didn't say anything about that and suddenly she felt scared. It shook her, and quickly her hands were ripped off Elijah's limb, and she was enveloped in a tight hug.

"It's okay, sweetie." Her mother murmured to her. Caroline threw a panicked glance back at Klaus who watched the scene in concern. Josie was barely able to take away the magic of the bite. He wasn't sure Lizzie would be able to do the same, nor did she need to try. He caught her eye again.

"I'm sorry." He said again. Caroline turned to him.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Your girls aren't strong enough yet, it seems they won't be for the next few years. Elijah is safe now, but the rest of my family isn't." He replied. Caroline nodded. Hayley stood up from watching Elijah.

"What're you going to do?" She asked.

"If the blade that Marcel had put into my chest is the variable in which Rebekah, Kol and Freya were kept safe and alive, perhaps it simply just needs to be put back." Klaus replied.

"We are not putting that thing back into you." Caroline protested.

"I don't see how we have any other choice." Klaus replied simply.

"Really, all the dramatics." A voice said from the coffin. Hayley gasped and put a hand over her mouth, staring wide-eyed at the man she loved. Hope watched the scene as well, grabbing ahold of her mother's hand. "Niklaus, you haven't changed a bit." Elijah said, grinning.