Caroline had had time. Time to heal. Time to think. Time to grieve. And most of all time to regret. Her and Stephan had had so little time together. They had fought, avoided, and gotten lost. All of which was necessary for them to finally have what they had always wanted. And now she missed him like crazy. With time it had gotten easier though. Caroline did what she did best, stayed busy. Opening the school at the Salvatore boarding house was a great outlet for her. When Damon had given it to her and Rick to use as a school she wasn't sure if it was because he couldn't own the property sanely now that Stephan was gone or because he knew she might lose it without a project. It had been Ric's idea to build her and their little family a house on the property. They had their own little place to raise their girls close to the school and close to Caroline's home town. She was still able to visit her mother's bench in the town square regularly and visit the Salvatore crypt whenever she just needed to be with Stephan. But with enrollment sky rocketing at the school and her girls becoming more of a handful with age she and Ric were kept busy enough for her to not need Stephan like she used to. After all Caroline had been used to not needing anyone. Before Stephan and her were together she had been on her own more times than not and had found all the perks to being single.

But now that Klaus was on his way she suddenly felt the anxiety she used to get before a first date. It outraged Caroline that she felt this way. She couldn't think of any reason for her to act like girlish human Caroline again. She was strong now, amazingly confident, and a single supernatural mother. But the day Haylee had called Ric begging for refuge at their school she had begun to slowly roll back into her high strung self. The thought of seeing Haylee again brought up resentment form the past, but when she remembered that Haylee and she were in the same boat as far as motherhood went Caroline had concluded it wouldn't hurt to have someone around who got it. A day later Ric mentioned, after putting the girls to bed, that Klaus would be accompanying them. He asked if she would be okay with that.

"Okay? Why wouldn't I be? Klaus is Klaus and I'm-"

"Caroline Forbes." He interrupted her raising his eyebrows.

"I was going to say I'm a mom. No man, or hybrid for that matter, could matter to me right now." And as she said this she had been convinced. But after Ric had gone to his upstairs apartment in the house and Caroline to bed down the hall from the girls she thought more on what she had just learned.

Klaus always held a fascination with her. It wasn't something she had ever opened up to Elena or Bonnie about and all Ric knew was that they had slept together once. But no one knew what had gone through her head the night he bit her and let her slowly die. No one knew how sweetly he had kissed her cheek after graduation, or how a secret part of her just wanted to see him that day. She never talked about the sadness that followed her relief when he left Mystic Falls for New Orleans. And all she could think about that night as she tried to sleep was the night that had started it all. Her birthday.

She had been filled with so much hate for him when he had sent Tyler to bite her, and then he had the nerve to call her collateral damage. But as he sat on her bed trying to convince her that being a vampire opened so many doors for her, and of course he had been right, she could see in reflection that he had been waiting for consent. He had taken her consent when he ordered Tyler to kill her and now it was all he desired to save her life. Though the logic was deeply flawed and horrendously backwards there was a deep romantic feature in it that she had always held dear to her and she would hide this till her last day as an immortal.

Klaus had fallen asleep on the plane shortly after Hope had lulled back to sleep. He dreamt of his daughter. They were in Monet's backyard painting. Hopes flower depictions were so far beyond other children's of her age. He felt pride at his daughters work and superiority. Hope had looked out to the pond before them squinting.

"Who is that?" She asked in wonder.

Klaus tuned his head to see a beautiful woman beaming in white light walking across the water towards them. Klaus instinctively bared his fangs in defense of his daughter, but Hope placed her small hand in his.

"She's not here for me." Hope said smiling up at her father.

As the woman neared he saw her face at last. He would recognize it anywhere. Blonde hair and an angels face. So pure and full of light.

It was Camille.

"Klaus." She smiled as she stood on the water's edge not daring to step on land. "I loved you, you know that right?"

"Camille." Klaus choked out a single tear went down his face. His heart ached with love and loneliness.

"But there's another chance for you." Camille looked at him with love and hope in her eyes.

Klaus looked down at his daughter smiling. His daughter. His redemption. His second chance.

"No Klaus." Camille almost whispered. "There is another."

Klaus awoke to the sound of the pilot requesting him and his family to put on their seatbelts.

Hope lay sleeping as Haylee strapped her in and looked at Klaus.

"Bad dream?"

He looked at her confused.

"You were moving around a lot…" She paused looking him up and down. "Caroline?"

"Ah." Klaus said as he strapped himself in. "You mean my special friend."

Klaus gave her a sarcastic expecting look. Haylee smiled at him.

"Okay…" She sighed stifling a laugh. "Hope was asking a lot of questions. I swear she can feel when I'm lying."

"Well that wouldn't surprise me. Our daughter is a cross between a genius and the most powerful witch."

"I would keep those kinds of comments on the DL, Klaus. We want our daughter to make friends here not have fearful subjects on the playground."

"I see no problems with the latter." Klaus teased.

"Caroline probably won't want her kids worshiping the ground Hope walks on."

Haylee looked at him eyes wide ready to study his reaction in the most clinical way possible. Klaus was a great father and was turning out to be a more than decent co parent. Their relationship had changed since first meeting, she considered Klaus not only family now but a friend. Haylee remembered how happy he seemed when he was with Caroline or when he would call her just to leave a message. She remembered how much he had grown as a person after his last visit to Mystic Falls to see her. And when he and Cami seemed to have developed something serious she couldn't help, but see the same strengths and appeal as Caroline. Haylee even caught herself from time to time wondering why he would be with Cami if he could be with Caroline, and then she heard of Caroline's pregnancy. She had a new found respect and relation to this girl she had hated so much. Haylee had at least some say in her pregnancy. Caroline had her children forced on her and later had no natural right to them. Haylee understood Caroline's position as a mother too. Haylee was too prideful to admit it, but she looked forward to having another woman to relate to on supernatural parenting.

"Why are you so obsessed with Caroline all of a sudden?" Klaus asked. "I don't believe you two have been pen pals these last years have you?"

With this the plane began to descend to their new home.

After breakfast Caroline had Ric walk the girls to school while she stayed behind. Her meeting with Haylee, Klaus, and Alaric wasn't until noon so she had a few hours to collect her thoughts beforehand.

She went through her paper work she had brought home the night before. Most of it was on Hope and her magic. Caroline had read that she had been possessed by something called The Hallow and after expelling it from her body they had placed pieces of it in The Originals. They had found a way to expel and destroy it from Klaus and Rebekah, but they had several witches searching for a long lost Elijah and a resurrected Kol who was in hiding.

As Caroline sat at her desk she read on about two other new students, a twelve year old witch from France who spoke very little English and a six year old warlock whose parents were killed in a sacrifice by his own coven. After learning and memorizing the case of each student she poured herself a cup of coffee and downed a blood bag before walking to the school.

When Caroline walked into the entrance of what was once Stephan and Damon's home she felt a sense of pride for all her hard work. The curriculum had been designed by her and Bonnie with console from other peaceful witches. The old Salvatore furniture had been donated and in place of the liquor cabinets and wine cellars there were shelves upon shelves of grimoires. Most of the money Klaus had donated was spent on renovations. There were more windows now and walls between boarding house rooms were knocked down to make room for classrooms and magic practice rooms.

Elena had teased her at the idea of the school when it was just a dream. She had called her and Ric McGonagall and Dumbledore for weeks until it was officially happening. And now that Elena and Damon had a child of their own as of last year she had even more respect for her friend's project. Bonnie though travelling the world made time to stop by and give a guest lecture once a year to see her friends. Other than that and Christmas Caroline did not see them much. She had missed having girlfriends. She missed the support and the love between friends. Now the most support she got was from Ric and Jeremy, their head of security. One time they walked in on her crying on Stephan's birthday while hanging figure paintings of butterflies in the hall. She thought Jeremy might run and Ric would faint. She loved Ric and he loved her but he had only just started tentatively dating a year ago and she knew if she relied on him too much he wouldn't date and even if he did the women he was with wouldn't like it. She had decided for her family that it was better this way.

Caroline looked at the clock in her office. Klaus and his family would be here in a half hour. She let out a large breath hoping it would calm her anxieties. It didn't.

The door swung open and she leapt to her feat, eyes wide in fear. Ric walked in and shut the door behind him. He looked her up and down frowning with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm great." Caroline said a little too forcefully.

"Care, look. If you need me to do this meeting alone I can. I get it if it's too soon to see him."

"Too soon? Too soon for what? To see the invincible egotistical evil hybrid that was obsessed with me ten years ago? I'm seriously fine."

"No… Too soon for you to see the only other man you had a real connection with besides Stephan."

Caroline was shocked beyond reproach. How the hell did he know? Alaric was a very smart man, but he was most definitely not an aware man. He didn't notice things. He didn't absorb the little things between people as he passed them by.

"Damon is my best friend." He explained.

Sometimes Caroline could still feel a little hatred for her bother-in-law.

"I'm fine Ric. Is this surreal? Yes. Is it going to be an adjustment? Yes. But I can tell you right now without a doubt that I…" She breathed deeply to slow her words per minute down. "am fine."

"Okay." Ric shrugged it off reluctantly. He stood behind her desk as she took a seat and they began to go over the living arrangements for Hope. They had a room selected for her and a meal plan chosen. All that was left to decide was what level of classes she would be placed in. She would be tested while Caroline and Alaric showed Haylee and Klaus around the campus.

As Ric and Caroline discussed what to do about one of their instructors of healing spells and blessings being gone on maternity leave soon Caroline heard in the distance with her vamp hearing a voice that she would be able to pick out anywhere.

The door opened and in walked a very different looking Klaus.

Klaus was more than impressed with the changes made to the Salvatore in. It had the distinct good taste of Caroline. He was a little more than disappointed to see the state of security, but it was of no matter Hope would be living with her parents. She would be safer and happier with them.

Hope was very excited when the secretary asked her if she was ready to show a teacher how special she was. As Hope was escorted away by the secretary she seemed much more excited than Klaus had ever seen her. It made his heart beat strongly with the happiness of a father who had found the perfect place for his little girl.

Haylee and Klaus were led by a scrawny man who claimed to be Caroline's assistant. He led them down the hall on the first floor to a door with a strain glass oval window in the front. The design was of a sunflower amidst different shades of green in the background.

"Beautiful." Klaus whispered low enough to only vamp hearing abilities.

Haylee smiled at his entranced state and turned the doorknob for him opening up Caroline's office.

There he stood letting his eyes take her in, never wanting to look away again.