Title: "In the Backseat"

Author: Lila

Rating: PG-13

Character/Pairing: Caroline, Klaus, Caroline/Klaus

Spoiler: all aired episodes

Length: Part III of III

Summary: Klaus goes on the run with Hope; Caroline comes along for the ride and does some healing of her own.

Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing them for a few paragraphs.

Author's Note: For everyone hoping that the story would expand, you win! The main part is done, but there is an epilogue. Expect it up in a week or so. Thank you again for the amazing feedback. I so appreciate the support. Title and quote courtesy of Arcade Fire. Enjoy.


In bits and pieces, Caroline chips away at Klaus's walls.

Hope is exhausted by her long afternoon in the sun, but Caroline insists on a bath, wanting to scrub the salt and sea from the baby's sensitive skin. Klaus sits on the edge of the tub while she kneels before it, handing her bottles of baby shampoo and conditioner, gently pouring water down the back of Hope's head while Caroline shields her eyes.

She contemplates asking him to hold his daughter once she's bundled Hope in a towel, but it might be too much, too soon, and she doesn't want to lose the progress she's made. Instead, she hums to herself while dressing Hope in her pajamas and retrieves her stuffed rabbit before putting the baby to bed. Klaus watches from the doorway, eyes flicking constantly from woman to child, arms dangling loosely at his sides. He looks at ease – relaxed – and Caroline thinks it scares her more than the night he ripped twelve hybrids to pieces. She knows that man, understands how he thinks, but this Klaus is a mystery, especially when he smiles at her and holds out his hand.

His fingers are cold when she takes them, but it's the same chill she feels in herself. "Fancy a swim?"

They both splashed about with Hope earlier in the day, but Caroline's been dying to try out the infinity pool. It's black-bottomed and slender, overlooking the city's lights, the moonlight glittering on the ocean. She glances at Klaus and sees starlight in his eyes, like that night in the woods, like the moment she gave into all the things she was afraid to feel. "Sure," she agrees and lets him lead her into the night.

He makes quick work of his jeans and t-shirt, diving naked into the pool. Caroline watches his long, lean body arc through the water like a pale seal, the underbelly of a great white shark. Her fingers hover at the hem of her thin cotton dress, and she's wondering if she should make a quick dash inside for her bathing suit when Klaus surfaces, teeth flashing in the moonlight as he grins. "Won't you join me?"

His eyes track down the length of her body, lingering on the expanse of pale thigh revealed by the short hem of her dress. She takes a breath, reminds herself that she shouldn't be embarrassed. He's seen her like this before, been inside her, and what's a bit of skin compared to frantic sex in the woods? She pulls her dress over her head and steps out of her panties, dives neatly into the pool to avoid the look in Klaus's eyes.

In the water, she sinks slowly and holds her breath for a long moment, much longer than she ever could when she was alive, flips on her back and opens her eyes, watches the moon ripple through the wall of water above her. It's nearly full, ripe and ready to burst, like the peaches she and Klaus picked from the trees, and she kicks towards the stars before she tries to pluck it from the sky. The sun is her master, the moon another memory of all the things she can't have.

She surfaces near the pool's lip, rests her arms on the invisible wall and stares out at the sleeping sea. Music floats up from the club below, thumping and wild, but the ocean is silent; even the waves have ceased their roiling. Klaus comes up behind her, close enough that she can feel his breath in her hair, but enough distance to keep his skin from brushing against hers.

"Lovely night," he says.

She turns to face him, a sleek, pale blur in the dark water, circling closer but never touching. "You did well with Hope today."

"She's a special girl."

"She needs more days like today."

Klaus's eyes soften for the briefest of moments. "I wish she could remember it." He doesn't say more but his meaning is clear: just because he gave into Caroline's wishes today doesn't mean she'll be treated to a repeat performance. One happy day with his daughter hasn't changed his mind about how he thinks he should raise her.

It's a gamble, breaking the barrier between them, putting herself directly in a predator's sights, but Caroline takes the risk, reaches out to lay a hand on Klaus's taunt shoulder. He relaxes into her touch, muscles loosening from the slide of her skin over his, and she gives him a gentle squeeze in support. "I know what you're doing," she says softly, fights to keep her voice steady as her childhood flashes before her eyes, all the missed calls and cancelled visits, all the times her father pushed her away because he thought it would hurt less. It hurt more, wondering why he didn't want her in his life, what she did to make him stay away. "You think if she never gets to know you, she'll never be disappointed by you. You're wrong. She'll think she's the problem. She'll spend her whole life wondering how she disappointed you."

Klaus's jaw tightens. "If I keep her alive, it's enough."

Caroline takes a step closer, so her breasts brush his chest, but there's nothing sexual about it, not when his daughter's future is at stake. "I told you once that you don't connect with people because you don't try to understand them, but I don't think that's it. You understand people just fine – you're terrified of what they'll see if they try to understand you."

"I know what I am," he says softly. "I don't want her to be a part of that." His eyes shine with unshed tears.

"Too late," Caroline reminds him. "You're her dad. She's stuck with you and vise versa. Rather than push her away, let her in. Let her see that there's love in her life no matter the things that her family has done." She remembers all the times she pulled Stefan or Elena back from the edge, how they were there for her after she flipped the switch when her mom died. Klaus has committed a thousand years of mayhem, but it doesn't change that he fathered a child; it doesn't change how much Hope will need him in her life.

Finally, he smiles almost tenderly. "You're very wise for one so young."

"Please," Caroline scoffs, suddenly aware of the warm water, the humid air, the slide of Klaus's skin against hers. "I am a college sophomore. I know things."

Klaus laughs and it ignites his brilliant smile, the one that lights up his entire face and reaches all the way to his eyes, brushes his fingers down her cheek. "I so enjoy you."

She enjoys him too, despite her better instincts, cares about him even though he's hurt people she loves, but it's too much right now. She can't help him with Hope if she's distracted by the mischief in his smile, so she takes a step back and puts real distance between them. He doesn't reach for her the way she thought he would, but lets her swim slow strokes to ladder, eyes trailing over the bumps of her spine as she climbs out of the pool. She wraps herself in a towel and turns to face him, that impish smile having moved to his eyes.

"Goodnight, Klaus," she says, aware of the high-pitched tone of her voice, the way her hands shake as she tries to knot the towel.

"Goodnight, Caroline," he drawls and rolls on his back to float under the stars. She can't seem to look away from all that smooth, wet skin skimming over the water.

Hope stirs inside the hotel room, a thin cry piercing the night, and Caroline snaps out of it, hurries inside to prep a bottle and feed the hungry baby. "I'm here, baby girl," she croons, gathers Hope in her arms once the bottle is ready. They settle in an armchair by the open door, the occasional splash permeating the silence. Caroline imagines Klaus rising from the pool, water sluicing down those sleek muscles as he stalks across the patio. She holds Hope closer and breathes in her shampoo, fresh and clean and pure. She ignores how much she longs to be with him.


They spend one more day in Miami, enjoying the sun and sea, before packing up for their next port of call. There's a king size bed and a crib for Hope but still, Caroline manages to awake tangled up in Klaus. He smiles at her and brushes messy hair from her face before getting out of bed to feed his daughter. Caroline rolls over and hides her smile in her pillow, only joining them when she's fully composed.

Klaus has been helping more and more, holding Hope while she drinks her formula and playing with her in the pool, even putting her to bed their final night. They're small moments, and with long hours in between, but Caroline thinks they're making real progress. Klaus almost looks comfortable holding Hope while Caroline makes up the bottle, like he won't crush her between his palms just from touching her.

He hands Hope to Caroline when his phone rings and disappears onto the patio to take the call. While she knows better than to eavesdrop – just because she can, doesn't mean she should – nothing good ever comes of Klaus's scheming, so she calmly gives Hope her bottle and opens her ears.

"I shouldn't have to remind you, brother, but the full moon is in three days. You've kept Hayley from her child long enough." Elijah's voice is calm and even as always, but there's a note of urgency behind the smooth cadence.

"I had thought we made amends, and yet, you throw your support in with the Wolf Queen." Caroline can imagine the blazing blue of Klaus's eyes, the rage contorting his handsome face. She's glad they're hundreds of miles from New Orleans.

Elijah sighs. "My concern is for Hope. She has but this one opportunity to see her mother and you keep her away. Was it not enough to curse Hayley and her people anew?"

Klaus's tone is razor sharp. "You and Hayley conspired to take my daughter from me once and it will not happen again." He pauses, voice ragged with anger. "I will return, but when I'm good and ready."

Elijah's response is silenced when Klaus ends the call and he storms back into the suite, chest heaving with fury. Once, Caroline would have looked away, done anything to avoid stoking his ire, but those days are done. Klaus is older than her and stronger than her, but he no longer scares her. If he hasn't killed her yet, she doubts he'll start now. Plus, she has larger concerns, like the half-werewolf baby in her arms and the rapidly approaching full moon.

"Should I be concerned?" she asks. "What will we do if she turns?"

Klaus's forehead knots and he's clearly annoyed that she eavesdropped on his call, but his face softens slightly at the sight of his daughter. "She hasn't killed anyone yet so she'll be fine."

Caroline has always felt the werewolf change-mechanism is particularly gruesome, far worse than vampires, with her kind only drinking blood to transition while Hayley's people have to kill someone to activate their curse, and she's relieved to hear that it hasn't been inflicted on Hope.

"Good," she says, keeps pushing even though she knows she should let it go. "But what about Hayley – "

"What about Hayley?" Klaus interrupts, pushes past her to raid the wet bar.

"I heard your conversation. What did you do to Hayley?"

Klaus's fingers tighten around the glass before he raises it to his mouth and takes a sip. "Always thinking the worst of me."

Caroline puts Hope on her play blanket. "I'm just working from experience," she says and slowly pries his fingers from the glass, puts the half-empty tumbler on the bar. "I'm not judging, Klaus, but I am asking: what did you do to Hayley?"

He stares at their fingers, long and pale and filled with inhuman strength, clasps her hand tightly in his. "A few months back, Hayley married another werewolf of the Crescent line. Upon their marriage, a ritual was performed, granting all in attendance the ability to control their werewolf form, to change at will rather than by the moon's dictate."

"Like a hybrid," Caroline says, remembering what Hayley endured to birth Hope, the gift her daughter gave her when she was reborn.

"But a hybrid no longer," Klaus corrects. "When she tried to flee with my child, the curse was reactivated, and with new terms. Hayley remains in her wolf form, only becoming human upon the full moon."

He says the words matter-of-factly, like he's not keeping Hope from her mother, like he isn't trying to control his daughter's future the way he once tried to control hers. Caroline remembers that night, dying of the bite he forced upon her, poison in her veins but the world at her fingertips, great beauty and art and a lifetime of possibilities, and all contingent on Klaus's whim. She'd given in that night, wanting to live more than she wanted to be free, but she's fought to sever the power he has over her. She's here of her own volition, but Hope doesn't have the same luxury. She only has this makeshift mother, but a woman who'll fight for her, ensure she has all the things Caroline never had.

"She needs her mom," Caroline insists.

Klaus smiles slyly and raises their joined hands to his mouth so he can press a gentle kiss to the back of hers. "She has you."

It makes Caroline gasp, the opportunity he's proposing. She can stay with him forever, watch Hope grow, raise her like her own. She can have the things Katherine stole from her: a child, a family, a normal life. She can be the girl she was at sixteen, before she died and came back to life, before she became the woman she didn't realize she wanted to be. For a moment, she almost says yes, but then she remembers her mother at the cabin, the love shimmering in her eyes before the light went out. She sees Hayley staring at an empty cradle, her face contorting with agony, worry and pain weighing heavy on her heart.

It's a tempting offer but she's a bigger person, twists out of his grasp and puts a healthy distance between them. "No," she says softly. "The answer is no." She holds a hand to her heart, and four years ago it would have been racing in panic, but it now lies silent in her lifeless chest. "I love your daughter. I might even die for her." He opens his mouth but she holds up a hand to stop him. "We're going to take Hope back to New Orleans and you're going to fix things with Hayley and I'm going to make sure you two idiots stop punishing your daughter because you can't get along." She stomps away before he can stop her and picks up Hope. "We'll be in the lobby when you finally get your head out of your ass."

It's twenty minutes before he appears, twenty minutes of pacing and cuddling Hope and wondering if she's pushed him too far, if a bellboy is lying in their suite, drained of his blood because she spoke the truth. When Klaus appears, there's a bellboy trailing after him, pushing their luggage and seemingly no worse for wear. Caroline relaxes when she doesn't see bite marks on his neck.

"You were right," he say, comes to stand next to her while the hotel staff loads their luggage into the SUV.

"I usually am," she says and he laughs shortly, some of the tension easing between them.

"I know," he says softly. "It's one of my favorite things about you. There are few people who'll speak so freely in my presence."

"That's because they're afraid you'll stick a dagger in their chest or rip their hearts through their spines." Her words are harsh but she doesn't regret saying them. Klaus has always gotten his way through intimidation and threats, but it won't work here, not if he wants to make things right for his daughter.

"I'm hoping you'll teach me another way." Caroline jerks her head up, finds him watching her with a shy smile. He looks young and vulnerable, not unlike the baby she holds to her heart.

"Okay," she says and his smile widens, threatens to split his face, and he's suddenly so handsome she feels like she can't catch her breath.

"Thank you," he says softly, takes a step forward while she takes one back until her heels hit the curb and there's no where else to go. He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to her mouth, over his laughing daughter's head, and it's just a brush of his lips over hers but it leaves her wanting more.

She studies him while he straps Hope into the car seat, the curls springing up around his head in the humidity and the tendons flexing in his hands as he tugs at the buckles. She swallows hard and climbs into the front seat, wonders if there will ever be a time when she doesn't want more.


They leave the car at the airport and take a flight instead, land in Tallahassee in mid-afternoon. There's another SUV waiting for them when they land, but Caroline doesn't question it, not when it means seven fewer hours trapped in the car. It's not the company but the wasted time, time she can spend walking on the beach or basking in the sun, watching Hope play in the waves.

They drive ninety minutes before stopping for gas in Apalachicola, and while Klaus grumbles about the dealership forgetting to fill up the tank, Caroline takes a good, long look around and decides to stay. She's charmed by the New England feel to this sleepy Southern town, thinks it's a good place to clear her head. It's been a long day, a trying day, and she's craving a few minutes of peace, sits on a bench outside a quaint B&B while Klaus books a room, lets the ocean breeze wash over her face, Hope's curls tickling her cheeks.

They walk into town for dinner, Klaus carrying Hope while Caroline totes the diaper bag, and even though she doesn't need to eat, it's another habit she won't break; some of her best childhood memories are the rare occasions that her mother made it home for dinner. They choose a seafood restaurant with tables overlooking the street and order oysters and shrimp, fish for Hope, and Caroline flakes off pieces of snapper as the sun sets over the water. Klaus tells her that that the fish is fresh, he can remember the taste from his human days, and she smiles over her chardonnay, asks him to tell her more.

It's hard to tell in the growing darkness but Caroline swears that he blushes, cheeks flushing under her scrutiny, but he obliges her request and shares tales of dashing heroes and brave maidens, tells her of a life she never knew he led. She's heard about his brother's death and the ensuing spell, the curse that sprang forth from inside him the first time he lost control. She knows of Mikael and his wrath, the vengeance he unleashed on his own children for a thousand years; she was there when Esther tried to finish her husband's dirty work. But tonight, Klaus only shares happy memories, builds a vivid world before he lost his soul, before he became the most powerful creature to walk the earth.

"What?" he asks when he catches her staring.

"You should tell more stories to Hope."

His jaw tightens. "I don't think that's a good idea." He stares hard from over his wineglass.

Caroline tries again, employs honesty as her weapon. "She'll already know the bad. Why not let her know that there's good too?"

He glances at his daughter, gnawing on her fist while watching them with wide, innocent eyes, and brushes his hand through her hair. "You don't think she'll hate me." He says it as a statement even though it's a question.

"You're surprisingly hard to hate." Klaus's eyes widen in surprise but she ducks her head and beckons the waitress for the dessert menu, downs her wine and orders an ice cream sundae so she doesn't have to meet Klaus's eyes.

He carries Hope home, slumbering peacefully on his shoulder, and puts her in the playpen while Caroline gets ready for bed. The mattress shifts as he slides in behind her and she lies stock still, waiting for him to touch her or hold her or say something that makes her insides melt, but he only presses a kiss to her shoulder. "Sweet dreams," he says against her skin before retreating to his side of the bed.

Caroline falls into an easy sleep and dreams of a world where she's felt loss but it doesn't stop her from laughing. Laughing and smiling and carrying so much love in her heart that it threatens to burst. Klaus is at the center of all of it.


She doesn't need sleep, but Caroline's eyes are still scratchy when Klaus opens the curtains. "Good morning, sleeping beauty," he says, laughs when she pulls the covers over her head. It's a bright morning, sunshine flooding their small room, and Caroline wants nothing more than to go back to sleep but Hope is laughing and it's all the impetus she needs to get out of bed. Her time with Hope is running out and she doesn't want to miss a second of it.

She dresses quickly while Klaus feeds his daughter, keeps her head down to hide her smile; he's taking an active interest in his daughter and she didn't even need to prompt him. There's a chartered sailboat waiting for them at the dock and Klaus shows off more of his many skills, expertly sailing their boat across the bay. They land on St. George Island and head for the beach, spend the morning investigating tide pools and reading while Hope naps, hunting for seashells in the fine-grained sand. Caroline holds one to her ear, listens for the rumble of the sea within its spirals, but hears nothing but a seagull screaming from the open ocean.

"It's not a conch, love," Klaus says and Caroline looks over to find him lounging in the sand, Hope asleep on his bare chest.

It takes her a moment to respond, to look past the handsome man with a baby sleeping on his chest, her cheek pressed against his once beating heart. The woven strands of silver twined around the Hope's tiny wrist catch her eye too, glinting in the hard afternoon sunlight.

"What's the deal with the bracelet?"

Klaus glances down, careful not to jostle the baby, frowning as he realizes what Caroline's referring to. "My daughter is a witch as well as a wolf," he explains. "My Aunt Dahlia, told me – "

"I didn't know you had an aunt."

Klaus smiles tightly. "A sister too. I gained more family and all their enemies. Long ago, my mother made her sister a promise, that in return for fertility, Dahlia could claim all firstborn Mikaelsons, channel their power and live forever."

"This sounds oddly familiar…"

He smiles again. "Perhaps I better understand your reluctance to build a hybrid army with Elena's blood." The smile falls from his face. "But for my child, I did not hold back. Dahlia is dead but her curse remains. As a firstborn, Hope is a powerful witch, too powerful to control her magic." He twists the end of the bracelet between his fingers. "This talisman keeps her from harming others, from harming herself."

"You can't keep her chained up forever."

"So I've been told."

"But did you listen?"

"I always listen to you."

He turns to check on Hope and Caroline lifts the shell back to her ear, searches for answers in its depths. Klaus might have started this journey but she's the one choosing their path. She's terrified at where it might lead.


Klaus shakes her awake just after dawn with a brush of his lips over her brow. Hope lies next to her, shaking a stuffed crab they picked up at a toyshop the day before, and Caroline bites her lip as she climbs from the bed. She knew this day was coming, but it's harder than she expected, letting go of the world she's created with the people in this room, the life she didn't think she'd get to live. Hope watches her with Klaus's eyes but smiles with Hayley's mouth, and it's the reminder she needs – this isn't her life, no matter how much she wants it to be.

She gets dressed and takes Hope to the car while Klaus settles the bill. He doesn't push when they get back on the road, doesn't say a word or question why she doesn't either, just steers the SUV through endless stretches of palm trees and shrubs and lets her stare listlessly out the window. Hope's passed out in the backseat, the car's rolling motion having lulled her into sleep, and Caroline counts license plates and mile markers for the six hours it takes to pass into Mississippi. She's quiet even when they stop to feed Hope and let her work off excess energy.

Caroline draws her knees to her chest and rests her chin on her arms, half-heartedly watching Hope army crawl across her blanket. Her little face is scrunched up in concentration as she flails, tries to find the strength to make it to her knees. She lets out a little mewl and drops to her elbows, drags herself across the blanket on her belly so she's right in front of Caroline. "Hey baby girl," Caroline says softly, clucks Hope under her chin.

Hope laughs, bright and full of glee, and smiles up at Caroline. She picks up the baby and gives her bottom a little swat so she'll start crawling in Klaus's direction, watches the cars go by and lets the noisy parking lot fill her ears, anything to distract from Hope's joyful laugh.

It's easier when they're back in the car. Hope quickly falls asleep and it's almost possible to forget that she's there, forget that Caroline won't witness the first time she crawls for real, will never see the pride on Hope's face when she takes her first steps. Caroline closes her eyes and leans back against the headrest, tries to will herself into sleep. She doesn't know which pains her more: that she's again losing something she wants, or that she thought things could change.

She's still mulling it over when she wakes an hour or so from New Orleans, grabs Klaus's arm and orders him to get off at the next exit. He doesn't scold her, although the sudden movement causes him to swerve into the next lane, but he doesn't shake her hand away either, even though she's gripping his forearm hard enough to bruise.

Instead, he turns off the highway the way she requested and keeps driving until they're parking beside a little yellow cottage at the edge of the sea. There's no bellhop or staff to carry their bags, just a smiling proprietor that takes their payment for the night. There's a small porch and uneven wooden floor sprinkled with sand, and Caroline can smell salt in the walls, feel the beach woven into the cotton bedspread. There's mosquito-netting hanging from the ceiling and sun-bleached furniture and Caroline kicks off her shoes to dig her toes into the sand.

Klaus comes up behind her, nuzzles her neck while they stare out at the ocean. "We have the night."

Caroline shakes her head. "The full moon is tomorrow."

He smiles against her skin. "We'll leave a first light."

She turns to face him, squints against the sunlight as she takes in the familiar lines of his face. "Promise," she says and he spins her in his arms, takes Hope and dashes into the waves.

It's his turn to squint into the sunlight, shades his eyes with one hand while cradling his daughter with the other. "Aren't you coming?" His voice carries like laughter on the sea breeze and it lifts away her fear, her despair, the sorrow she's trying so hard to keep at bay. The water is cold but the sun is warm, and the waves…the waves wash away the last of her grief.


That night, Caroline curls up on the couch while Klaus tells Hope a bedtime story.

"Once upon a time there was a Wolf King who fought a war for the most precious treasure in all the kingdom, his beautiful little princess." She glances at Hope, eyes drooping as she fights to stay awake, and then at her father, gazing at his daughter with nothing but love in his eyes. She knew, in the end, that her own father loved her, but never enough to risk himself to keep her safe.

Hope's eyelids flutter as she finally falls into sleep and Klaus's voice drops to almost a whisper. "But victory came at a price – allies lost, new enemies made. And so, the Wolf King stood alone – happily ever after it was not." Caroline scoots a little closer, rests her head on his shoulder and links her arm through his. She knows the things he's done, the person he's been, but she wants him to know, that despite it all, he's not alone.

Klaus smiles down at his daughter, eyes crinkling as he takes her in, and Caroline smiles with him, this little miracle that came from so much pain and carnage. "But sometimes, even the worst endings, are not really endings at all. And you should know, my littlest wolf, that even when all seems burned to ash, in our story, there is always another chapter to be told."

It's Caroline's turn to cup his cheek in her hand and lean in, brush her mouth over his for a fraction of a second. He's holding a baby and can't do much with his hands, but he changes the angle of his jaw and the kiss deepens, becomes heated, mouths open and tongues tangling, and if not for Hope, Caroline knows he'd have her naked and willing in thirty seconds flat.

But Hope is there, caught between them, and he only pulls away to smile at her. "I took your advice."

Caroline flushes but doesn't look away. "You did good." He seems surprised by her words and she realizes it might be the first time he's heard them. "You were good," she adds.

He tilts up her chin and kisses her again. "I learned from the best." Careful not to wake Hope, he helps her to her feet and takes her hand. "Let's go to bed."

Caroline nods, ducks her head to hide her tears, but follows him to the bedroom, prepares to fall asleep with this family for the last time.


Caroline sleeps fitfully, but Hope is fussy and wakes the next morning just after 5:00 am. It's not like her to wake in the night and Caroline panics, convinced she has a fever, but when she checks, Hope's temperature is completely normal. Her diaper does need to be changed but even then, she won't fall back asleep.

Dawn is just breaking outside, pale streams of light slipping through the clouds, and Caroline grabs their hoodies and trails her feet in the surf as she and Hope take a walk along the beach. There's no one around to notice if Caroline cuddles the baby a little too close, cheek to cheek as the water laps at her ankles. She knows what's coming but she wants to hold on just a little bit longer, to have the chance to say goodbye.

"Thank you for letting me spend this time with you," she whispers into Hope's hair, pulls back to examine the baby's face, Hayley's mouth and Klaus's eyes, a nose she thinks might have come from Elijah, and presses a soft kiss to Hope's forehead, hopes she'll never be anyone but herself.

Klaus is waiting when they return to the cottage, hands tucked in his pajama bottoms, and he smiles tentatively as Caroline approaches. "How are you?" he asks, eyes searching her face.

"I'm ready," she says, gives Hope one last hug before returning her to Klaus's arms. "Let's bring your daughter home."


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