A/N: Big huge thanks to Miranda for betaing this. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks so much for all of your reviews and questions, etc. Over on my tumblr (willowaus) I've got pictures of what I picture the girls look like. It's tagged: charlotte and lizzie mikaelson But anyway, enjoy the chapter :)

'Doubt truth to be a liar but never doubt that I love you'—Shakespeare

Present Day

Lizzie had thought the plane ride to camp had been the worst of her life. Flying across the Atlantic Ocean on a turbulent flight had left her stomach queasy and with a headache for at least a day, but none of that compared to the trip from camp to California. It was maybe a fourth of what she'd flown before but her anxiety was through the roof by the time the plane landed on the tarmac.

What if her mom realized right away that she wasn't Charlotte?

What if she didn't like her? What if she saw through it all and sent her away as soon as possible, wanting her daughter back and not Lizzie?

She had the picture of her father in her suitcase—the one that had belonged to Charlotte while her sister had the one of their mother with her now. On the phone she carried were tons of pictures of the woman she had dreamed about for years, of other people who should have been in her life, who she should have gotten a chance to grow up beside. But there weren't any other pictures of her father and none of her grandmother or aunts and uncles. It was going to be weird to not be able to look at them whenever she wanted to but she would see them again.

This might be the only time she could see her mother if things didn't pan out the way her and Charlotte had planned. Which it would. The alternatives were just not allowed.

It took every bit of control for Lizzie to not have a panic attack, though she had nearly fallen over that edge once or twice during the flight. The flight attendant kept checking on her though, making sure she was as comfortable as she could be because she was an unaccompanied minor. That had helped take her mind off the meeting that was about to take place for long spans of time but as she headed through the airport toward baggage claim with all of the other passengers and the flight attendant at her side, all of her worries started clambering for attention.

They were quickly pushed aside when she spotted Caroline at the exit from the airport terminal, big, glittery sign in her hands with 'Welcome home Charlotte' delicately written. She didn't even bother to wait for the flight attendant to see her mother, didn't wait for Caroline to see her either. She had waited far too long for this moment, dreamed of it a million times over, and while it wasn't quite going how she planned, Lizzie would be damned if she didn't give Caroline a hug then and there.

She sprinted across the floor, trying not to cry as Caroline spotted her, a brilliant smile forming on her face as she dropped the sign and eagerly embraced her. Lizzie squeezed tightly as she closed her eyes, trying to remember every little piece of this initial meeting. She needed to categorize how Caroline's arms felt around her, how different they were from being embraced by Sage or Rebekah, and yet how similar it was to when her father hugged her. There was a safety here that she only felt with him, a sense of love and adoration that she only ever got when she was in his presence, and it was practically mirrored in her mother's embrace.

Caroline's scent was different. Citrusy instead of woodsy and Lizzie wanted to smell it forever, wanted to douse herself in the flavor so that she would always remember what being hugged by Caroline felt like.

"I missed you," Caroline murmured into her hair and Lizzie hugged her tighter, ignoring everything else that was happening around them.

"I missed you more," she finally breathed out as they both reluctantly pulled apart. Lizzie held Caroline's hand though, smiling at how easily they fit together, at how perfect it was to be holding her mom's hand.

Caroline was thanking the flight attendant before nudging the two of them over toward the baggage claim to retrieve the luggage. Lizzie grinned as Caroline started talking to her, going a mile a minute about all of the people Charlotte had told her about. "But don't worry. I told all of them that I get you all by myself for the weekend," Caroline informed her as she placed the last of the bags onto the cart.

That sounded like heaven to Lizzie. Two whole days with no one but her mother was definitely a dream come true. Lizzie hoped that Charlotte was enjoying herself in London as much as she was in California and she had only just arrived.

"I'm going to want you to tell me all about camp. What friends you made. What activities you did. If it was everything you ever dreamed of," Caroline continued as they steered the cart out toward the parking lot.

"I'll tell you about everything, Mom," Lizzie promised, unable to stop grinning. "The food was okay, Mom. Not like the best or anything, definitely not like Grandpa Stephen's, Mom. But it was good, Mom."

Caroline laughed and leaned over to hug her daughter to her side "I'm sure Grandpa Stephen will like hearing that it didn't beat out his world famous BBQ."

"I don't think anything really could, Mom," Lizzie replied as they stopped at a car. It looked like the one from a few of the photos on the phone so Lizzie figured it was Caroline's car—their car. Her mom's car.

She couldn't help but stare at Caroline though as they put all of the bags into the trunk and then steered the cart over toward the drop off area. Even as her mom kept hold of her hand, giving it a squeeze as they rounded back to the car. "What? Do I have spinach in my teeth or something?" Caroline asked before running her tongue over her teeth to check.

Lizzie shook her head. "No, Mom. It's just like seeing you for the first time…in so long, Mom!" Phew. "Cause like I didn't see you for weeks and now I'm just trying to memorize you all over again, Mom."

"All you have to do is look in the mirror to see me," Caroline pointed out as they got into the car. "You've got a lot of my features."

Lizzie looked over at her again after buckling up and scrunched her nose, taking that in. "See, like that look," Caroline pointed out with a smile.

"But my hair is darker, Mom." More like her father's.

"True." Caroline replied as they headed out of the parking lot. "Why do you keep saying 'mom' at the end of every sentence?"

Oh. "Well, Mom, I didn't even realize I was doing it, Mom," Lizzie told her, laughing when she realized she had done it again. "Sorry, Mom." Caroline laughed as well and Lizzie swallowed hard, loving the sound. How had she gone ten years not hearing that sound?

"The truth, Mom?" Lizzie started and Caroline looked over at her, concern etched in her feature's at how serious her daughter seemed at that moment.

"Always, Char."

"It's just like for my whole life—or you know, the last few weeks—I was never able to say the word mom," Lizzie quirked her lips, watching as Caroline did practically the same motion. Did her dad ever look at her and see her mother? She had a feeling that he did. "Not ever. Not even once. And if you ask me, a mom is an irreplaceable person in a girl's life. There's even a whole day for celebrating moms! Just imagine what it's like not to have a mom. To never buy a Mother's Day card." She had given ones to her grandmother before but that simply wasn't the same. All of those countless mother's day crafts made in school had been stealthily dumped before arriving home so that her father didn't see them.

"There are kids that never get to hug their mom or have their mom do their hair. Never do the whole shopping thing with their mom or having them sing you to sleep, or tuck you in or a million other tiny little things that moms do," Lizzie continued, trying to keep her voice light and happy. "You can't be like 'Hi, mom' or, 'Catch you later, mom' or even just 'I love you, mom'. Like a baby's first words are sometimes mama, aren't they?"

"So, what you're saying is that you missed me?" Caroline asked and Lizzie could have sworn she saw a flicker of sadness in the woman's eyes before she smiled. Was she thinking about her? About how she had a daughter out there that wasn't able to do any of those things?

"So much, Mom," Lizzie grinned back, pleased when Caroline reached over and gently squeezed her arm.

"Then we'll need to make sure this is the best girls' weekend yet," Caroline told her and Lizzie placed her hand on top of Caroline's, giving it a squeeze before leaning back against the passenger seat, unable to stop smiling.

August 2004

One late period hadn't exactly freaked Caroline out. Her body reacted to stress sometimes by skipping it and with the sudden change of location plus everything that went along with trying to get into school in London, Klaus' family's reaction and her own fathers' reactions, being a little late hadn't really been a big deal. She hadn't even realized she'd missed it at first. With all the changes and learning the layout of an actual city it hadn't been on her mind.

But then when she was nearing her second month and there was no sign of it, she was beginning to worry. Maybe it was still all the changes though but that excuse would only work for so long. She didn't want to worry Klaus though. Not with the brand new case he had just taken on, the one that would apparently help sky rocket his name into certain circles or whatever if what Elijah and Esther kept going on about was right.

Caroline knew that she couldn't keep this worry from him though. Marriage was about communication and she didn't doubt for a second that he'd pick up on her stress if she tried to keep her concerns to herself.

She planned it all out. How she'd tell him and then what would happen next. Of course all of her plans were shattered on the living room floor because of her inability to get her mouth to keep up with her brain.

"I think I might be pregnant," she started as soon as he walked into their flat.

Caroline swallowed hard once she realized what she had said, waiting for his reaction as she wrung her hands together, not really sure what to do.

Klaus stared at her in shock, no doubt the words still processing in his brain. Was his silence a good thing, a bad thing? Caroline didn't know how to take it and she tried to think of something else to say, anything to say to break up the silence that had fallen between them.

"Okay," Klaus finally got out and she stared unbelievably at him.

"Okay? Did you seriously just say okay?" She didn't mean for it to come out as a shriek but how was he being so calm right now?

He was across the room and in front of her in seconds, hands sliding up her arms, trying to calm her down. "You said that you think, Caroline, not that you know," Klaus tried, and she shook her head.

"But what if I am?" she demanded, trying to figure it all out in that moment. She was eighteen. They hadn't even been married two months yet.

"Then we'll deal with it," Klaus told her and her eyes widened, unsure what he meant by that. He cringed at his own words, realizing how they sounded. "Caroline, we'll figure this out. But first we need to know if you actually are or not."

She nodded, trying to calm her body down. "I got a test." She'd read the instructions about a hundred times already.

Klaus kissed her forehead as he hugged her tightly, knowing she needed that bit of comfort right then. His mind was also a mess, going through a hundred different scenarios, and Klaus knew that if he was doing that Caroline most likely had been doing so since she'd gotten the idea into her head. He understood her need for planning out different options, for having back up plans. He was the same way but she had a way of freaking herself out when plans fell apart. He didn't want her needlessly stressed.

If she was pregnant then they would alter their plans. It was as simple as that for him. A baby wasn't something either of them had planned for this soon in life, but the idea of Caroline carrying their child was something he couldn't quite be upset about. It only made what had happened between them that more real. Every day he woke up, waiting for her to not be there in bed with him, for the entire cruise to have been a dream. Waking up to feel life growing inside of her would only help cement that this was his life now and he was desperate for that permanence.

Caroline pulled away after a moment and headed into the bathroom. He let her go and pulled off his tie before settling down onto the couch to wait for her to return.

Fifteen minutes later and they had their answer.

They were going to have a baby.

"We're going to need a bigger place," Klaus murmured, brushing back Caroline's hair as she stared down at the stick. His flat could work for a while, but if they were raising children he knew she would want there to be a garden. Nothing like the lofty estate of his childhood home, but a space for their child to run around outside. "Maybe one closer to school for you so you're not having to walk too much." Since she wouldn't let him hire a car for her and insisted on taking public transport, something he knew he'd hate even more once she started showing.

"You're taking this really well," she breathed out, hands shaking as she placed the stick down on top of the box it had come in. "Everything is going to change now."

"We were planning on having children, Caroline. I believe you told me that you wanted at least three," Klaus reminded, running a soothing hand along her back. "We've just sped up the timetable on it." His hand stilled. "Unless you don't want to…"

She shook her head. "No. No. I couldn't…" That option hadn't even entered her mind. "It's just a lot to take in." Their families were going to flip.

Carefully crafted plans had gone through the shredder and that was always hard for Caroline to process. Her mother's words echoed in her head though, about how she wasn't supposed to let life pass her by while she was trying to plan out the perfect moments. "I wonder whose eyes our baby will have," she grinned at the idea, trying to picture it.

"I don't think it works like that," Klaus informed her and she elbowed him lightly in the gut. "As long as they have your nose."

"Mmmm." Caroline pressed a kiss to his nose before pulling away and looking him over. "But you're really okay with this? Because it's going to change everything for both of us. I'll probably manage at least a semester of college before the baby is born and then just see how it goes for the second semester." It would all depend on the pregnancy for if she'd do the spring one or not and there were always online classes. "But you're not going to be able to do so many late nights with work, Klaus. Not once the baby is born at least. And I know that you love your job."

He was good at his job. He was building his career and she didn't want to be a roadblock for him.

"Sweetheart, late nights are something I'll happily do without if it means we'll be bringing something that is part you and me into this world," Klaus replied and brushed his fingers along her cheek.

"Your mom and Elijah will so not like that," Caroline pointed out but he shrugged.

"They'll deal with it." He sounded adamant about that but Caroline had a feeling that Esther would lay down a nice amount of guilt over it all. "We're going to need to find you a doctor though. Make sure we're doing everything we need to."

Caroline nodded, already mentally making a new list of all the things she needed to start looking into. His hand slid under her shirt, fingers brushing against her stomach and she looked at him, knowing what he was thinking.

"We're going to have a baby." It still sounded surreal for her to say but she couldn't help matching his smile at her words.

They could make this work.

Present Day

Charlotte really wasn't a big fan of flying, especially not over really long distances. The longest she had ever done was to camp and that had been a big deal. Usually when she went places with her mom it was up and down the Californian coast and one time to Portland, but they drove a lot instead of flying. So heading across the Atlantic Ocean on a plane had been a terrifying experience, one that Charlotte wasn't entirely sure she was going to be able to handle.

But she kept reminding herself that on the other side of the long flight would be her father and that helped quell some of her jitters. The fact she was riding on a private jet and doted on by all of the personnel didn't hurt either. Plus she could have her bear out with her without anyone questioning where it had come from yet. Lizzie had said that only the captain was someone she had known all of her life. The others she barely saw and wouldn't have to worry about keeping up the charade too much around them.

When she wasn't sleeping, Charlotte practiced her accent, trying to make sure she didn't slip back into her Californian one when she was nervous or excited. The plan was to play it off as having done drama at camp and playing around with accents with the friends she had made but she knew that Lizzie was just as worried as her about accidental slip ups.

She tucked the bear into her carry-on bag before landing, wanting to keep it close but out of sight next to the one photo that she had of Caroline. The door lifted open and Charlotte took a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever sight would greet her.

There was a black car off to the side and leaning against it was a man she had only ever seen in one photograph. He looked older but the smile he directed at her was the same as in the picture. "Daddy!" she cried out, running down the stairs and ignoring the cries for her to be careful.

She barreled into him, shrieking when he lifted her up in the air and swung her around. No one had ever done that to her before. Her grandfathers didn't have the strength and her mom was always too afraid she could get hurt. Her shriek turned into laughter as Klaus spun her around before bringing her in for a tight hug.

His hug was different than her mother's, hard lines where her mother had curves, but she felt the same love in his arms that she always picked up when Caroline hugged her. "Did you have them all waiting on you by the end of the first week?" Klaus asked as he pulled back, brushing stray hairs back from her face.

"After the first day, daddy," she grinned, watching as he laughed at that before looping his arm with hers and directing her toward the car.

"I'm not even a little surprised, little love," he told her as he led her around to the passenger side. Her bags were already being stowed away in the boot and Klaus reached to take the one she was still carrying.

"It's okay. I've got this one," Charlotte told him and he simply shook his head and opened the door for her instead. "It's got all of my memories in it from camp. I don't wish to be parted from it." There. That sounded like Lizzie-speak.

"Whatever you want, Liz," Klaus told her before closing the door.

Charlotte watched him talk to the captain of the plane for a moment. She worked to memorize the way he spoke to the others, how he seemed to command authority by just being there, from the way he stood to the tone of his voice. Klaus headed around to the driver's side and got in, offering up a large smile. She could see herself in it and in his hair. The same shade as her own blonde hair, darker than her mom's.

"Now, I don't want you to worry. I already informed your aunts, uncles and grandmother that they're not to come around for the next two days at least," Klaus told her as he drove them off the airport tarmac. "We'll see how many of them actually listen to that but if they disregard my request, I'll be sure that they leave as quickly as they came. I know you'll want to decompress after the trip."

"But we'll still do stuff?" Charlotte asked, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. She knew he was a busy man. Lizzie had told her so but she hoped she would be able to do some things with him before she had to reveal who she really was.

"My schedule is already cleared for at least the weekend," Klaus told her and she let out a sigh of relief at that. "I would have booked us a trip out of town if I didn't know you would want to be home for a bit before another adventure." That was a habit of Lizzie's. Whenever she went away for a length of time she needed at least a week at home before doing anything or so her sister had told her.

"I'm good with whatever you want to do, daddy," Charlotte told him, nodding her head.

"When did you get so agreeable?" Klaus asked with a laugh and Charlotte grinned at him, liking the sound. She hoped she could make him laugh and smile a lot before she'd need to head home.

"Don't worry. I'll be less agreeable after like a week and start making all of the plans again!" He laughed harder at that. "I just missed you." So much. "So I don't care what we do as long as it's together."

"Even if I take you to another art exhibit?" Klaus glanced over at her and Charlotte's eyes widened at the idea before schooling her features and shrugging nonchalantly.

"As long as we get ice cream afterward that's okay." Lizzie had told her that was their tradition. "And I don't have to wear one of those awful dresses that grandmother buys me."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Klaus told her and Charlotte leaned back against the seat, unable to stop smiling. Especially when Klaus reached over and squeezed her hand for a moment before setting it back onto the steering wheel.

This switch was definitely the best idea she'd ever had.

October 2004

"Did you pick up mangoes?" Caroline called out as soon as he opened the door to their flat.

Klaus shook his head, unsurprised by his wife's question. It seemed that her current craving was for fresh mango. Not frozen, as he had found out when he'd tried to bring some of that home the other day. He had figured it would allow them to keep more around so she'd have easier access to it, but the frozen kind had only caused her to gag and look miserable for the duration of the day. That was something Klaus had no intention of allowing to happen again.

"I did. A few ripe ones and the rest should be ready by the time you peel into them," Klaus informed her as he shut the door.

He found her sprawled out on the couch with a book in hand and headed over, placing the bag of groceries down on the table as he looked down at her. "And how are my girls doing?"

"The same as we were when you asked me that question like an hour ago over the phone," Caroline teased as she shut her book. She'd finish studying later on. She had a good grasp on the material she'd learned so far and wasn't too worried about the quiz coming up. It was simply better to be prepared and review than not.

She scooted over a little on the couch, giving up enough room so that Klaus could sit down beside her. He leaned over, kissing her in greeting and she didn't think she would ever get enough of his mouth on hers. His hand slid over her swelling stomach and couldn't help but grin against his lips because of how much love she felt from that small gesture.

"Back pain?" Klaus asked as he pulled away, hand still remaining on her belly and moving slowly over it. She shook her head and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Nothing serious," she assured with a shrug but he was already tugging her up so that he could move behind her and work out the kinks that wouldn't quite go away. Klaus tugged her shirt up to her shoulders and Caroline sighed happily as he started massaging her back. "I think you just look for opportunities to get your hands on me."

"Always," he breathed against her ear, causing shivers to run down her spine. He kissed the side of her neck before bringing his attention back to her back, kneading out the knots that he could feel.

"Your mom called. I was just getting inside so I let it go to voicemail," Caroline started and Klaus frowned at that, wondering why she hadn't simply called his cell if she needed something. "I heard it though. She wants to come over for lunch and go over baby names again."

"I believe we're booked for the next month with engagements," Klaus replied. The last time his mother had tried to offer up baby name suggestions Caroline had been wound tight for the next few days. He was not about to repeat that mistake. "She can suggest all she wants anyway, love. It's our decision in the end."

"I know," Caroline murmured, twisting around to look at him. "But we're naming one of the girls after my mom so maybe your mom is right and the other should have a family name?"

Klaus snorted at that. "We're not naming our other daughter after anyone in my family." Esther could have whatever grand delusions she wanted but it wouldn't be happening. "We already decided that we're not going to call her Elizabeth anyway. I believe we settled on Lizzie."

"But," Caroline frowned, and Klaus pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

"Don't let her try and guilt her way into the list I know you've created for potential names, love." He had seen her scribbling away in her notebook and looking down at her stomach far too many times for that not to be what she was doing. "We'll pick a name and it will be beautiful." And his mother would learn to deal with not having a child named after her. She could convince Finn or Elijah to do that whenever they finally had children.

"We could always go with Kollita," Caroline replied, and Klaus quirked a brow at that. He could tell that she was trying not to laugh. "Maybe Kol is right and it's a unique name. We could start a worldwide trend."

"No more late night phone calls with my brother," Klaus told her before nuzzling her shoulder as she laughed. "And he can save Kollita for when he's a father."

"Oh no. He's saving Kol Jr for that. Boy or girl, doesn't matter." She yelped when Klaus gently nipped her shoulder.

The house phone began to ring and the two looked at one another before Klaus moved to pick it up. Of course it was his mother. "Which day can I expect you and Caroline for lunch, Niklaus?" Esther asked. He could hear Rebekah chattering away in the background. No doubt Elijah would be stopping by for dinner soon as well.

"I'm not sure when we can schedule that into our calendars," Klaus replied, watching Caroline roll her eyes and pull her shirt down. She picked up the bag of groceries and headed off to the kitchen.

He followed after her as Esther continued. "Your assistant informed me that you have nothing on your schedule this weekend and I believe Caroline will have taken her quiz by then as well." He was going to need to fire that assistant. "So shall I put you down for Saturday?"

"Sunday," Klaus replied, wiping his hand over his face as he watched Caroline slice into one of the mangoes. Just because he said yes now didn't mean they would have to go. Excuses were easy enough to come by and he would field his mother's wrath at being stood up.

"Perfect. I'll see you two at noon then," Esther replied before hanging up.

"So we're doing lunch on Sunday, huh?" Caroline arched a brow and Klaus placed the phone down.

"I'll think of an excuse for us before then," Klaus assured, already coming up with a few he could try out.

Caroline shook her head and dropped the knife into the sink. "Nah. It's fine." If they did that then Esther would just show up at their place which was infinitely worse than any formal lunch. "We'll just need to get really serious about another name so we already have one picked out before we get there."

"As long as it's not Kollita." Anything but that monstrosity. Caroline looked over at the mango she was preparing and quirked her lips. Klaus leaned forward and snagged a piece of it. "And nothing after fruit."

"Spoilsport," Caroline pouted before Klaus moved to get another slice. She smacked his hand. "Stop eating my mango."

"I'd much rather taste something else," he told her as he tugged her closer to him.

"You're insatiable." She couldn't help but grin though as he leaned forward, lips brushing against hers.

"For you? Always." And forever. He didn't think there would ever be a time that he wouldn't want her, wouldn't need her as desperately as he did. She was a light he hadn't even known he was lacking but now that he had it, Klaus knew that he couldn't cope without it.

"Even when I look like a mess and am huge and whining because we don't have any of whatever I'm craving at that moment?" Caroline asked, resting her forehead against his.

"Especially then," Klaus assured, tucking his fingers under her chin before gently raising it. "Always and forever, Caroline."

"Always and forever," she murmured back, before moving to embrace him tightly. He hugged her back and brushed his lips against the crown of her head, still marveling in how right it felt to have her in his arms. "But seriously, stop stealing my mango."

Klaus laughed but didn't pull away, simply held her a little bit tighter, wanting to bask in the perfect moment for as long as he could.

Present Day

Caroline had known she had missed Charlotte the last few weeks, but it didn't really sink in just how much she had missed her daughter until they were back home. Braiding Charlotte's hair as she listened to her talk about camp had Caroline realizing just how quiet the house had been without her there. She had known that already, had despised the silence that had followed her around without her daughter's presence, but it truly didn't sink in until the house was full of a little girl's laughter and chatter again.

They had eaten entirely too much popcorn and "sweets"—'that's what all the girls are calling it now, Mom'—and watched a ridiculous amount of movies before Caroline was finally forced to call it bedtime. Charlotte was fighting off closing her eyes anyway, trying to prolong the night, but the sooner they slept the sooner they would be able to wake up and start on the plans for the next day.

"I love you, mom," her daughter murmured into her as she hugged her tightly before heading into her bedroom for the night.

Caroline watched her go, smiling as she bounded up the stairs two by two, before turning around to clean up the mess they had made. She could have done it in the morning but there would be no way she could sleep knowing there were bowls and wrappers left behind. The lack of Charlotte's chatter though let Caroline's mind wander back to their earlier conversation during the ride home.

The one about children without mothers.

She couldn't help but think about the daughter she had been forced to leave behind, the one who wasn't able to do all of things that Charlotte had mentioned. Caroline had never looked to see if Klaus had remarried. It wouldn't have exactly surprised her if he did. Especially if Esther got a say in it. So maybe her other daughter did have a mother. Maybe she didn't feel a pang of sadness every time Mother's Day rolled around.

She headed upstairs, checking in on Charlotte for a moment before moving onto her room. The picture in her bedside drawer was worn, the colors not quite as bright as they once had been. Anyone who looked at it would simply think it was a well-loved photograph of Charlotte. Only Caroline knew that it was Lizzie, dressed in purple so she would be able to tell the two of them apart at that young age. Charlotte had always been in red.

She sat down on the edge of her bed and stared down at the photograph in her hands. Knowing that all she needed to do was look at Charlotte to know what Lizzie probably looked like didn't quite cut the pain. If anything it only sharpened it, making the lack of contact, of presence in her little girl's life that much harder.

"Mommy?" Charlotte called from the doorway and Caroline schooled her features before turning toward her. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Of course you can." She patted the bed, smiling as Charlotte bounded toward her before placing the photograph back where it belonged.

The two of them got under the covers and Caroline reached over, shutting off the light as Charlotte snuggled up to her. "I love you so much, my little love," Caroline murmured as Charlotte's arm wrapped around her. She brushed her fingers through her daughter's hair, listening to her repeat the sentiment before her breathing evened out, signaling that she was asleep.

And I love you, my other little love. "Always and forever."