Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.

Note: Caroline is the first Valkyrie and Klaus's "mate", so to speak. Also, Klaus has no love-ties to Tatia or any Petrova doppelganger. And all the events of the series up to, but not including, the finale have happened, regardless of Caroline's involvement.

Chapter Seven

Elena stared at the woman in front of her, starting to see a side to the blonde that she hadn't thought possible. At least not in a woman insane enough to be in love with Klaus.

Caroline was staring at a sketchbook, touching pages softly. Somehow, the doppelganger knew that it was Klaus's, the the other woman was trying her hardest to reconnect to him. She had been away from him for over a thousand years; even for an immortal, that was a very long time.

No wonder she was so desperate to get him back.

Maybe that was why the Valkyrie hadn't bothered to tie up Elena; she was too preoccupied. Maybe that was why a pang of guilt and sympathy swept through the doppelganger.

Maybe that was why she said, "I can tell you where he is."

Standing up immediately, Caroline turned on her. "You shall?" Then she paused, eyeing her would-be enemy. "What is your motive?"

Elena shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "I think we can help each other out. I'll tell you where he is if you'll just promise me something."

-.-.-.-.-

He'd been floating in…nothing for far too long. The darkness made him feel the loneliness kicking up inside him again, nearly choking him with the emotion. And he hated it. With every fiber in his being, he hated it.

But the switch within him didn't work. He couldn't do it. Here, in this purgatory, he was human, which meant he had to remember—vividly—every bad thing that he'd ever done. Every innocent kill, every time he'd used someone to his own advantage…guilt and regret assailed him, making him want nothing more than to tear out his heart in pain.

Yet, when he thought he couldn't take anymore, a face and voice appeared in his mind, soothing him.

The strange woman watches him with even stranger interest. "Your family is close, but not you." Her head tilts in confusion. "Why is that, Niklaus?"

He blinks at her, wondering how she knew his name. However, he wasn't going to respond to her intrusion on his family troubles. He smiles charmingly, striding closer to her. "You know my name, but I do not know yours; that is hardly fair."

Her grin matches his. "I am Caroline."

That had been the first time he'd ever seen her. They'd met in that same spot night after night and he soon opened up to her. He told her that he thought he loved Tatia, but he wouldn't give up his brother to have her. She'd been the one to tell him that the Petrova would soon choose Elijah anyways; she wanted the brother that could offer her more and a bastard son of a werewolf couldn't do that.

He'd told her that he wasn't a werewolf and she'd laughed at him, telling him that Valkyrie could sense the supernatural around them because of their godly parents.

Immediately after he'd been turned into a vampire, he'd wished that he'd believed her.

They'd made plans, so many plans. To live together for eternity, to love each other throughout their time on the planet.

But then Ayanna had cast that spell and torn his entire world out from under him.

"Be strong for me, Niklaus. Take this blood and awake for me."

His mind snapped out of his memories as he felt the world shift from beneath him. Everything was shifting and he smelt it: blood. Sweet blood, the nurturer of his species.

But Caroline's voice was what was drawing him, taking him out of the dark world and back to the life he'd made for himself.

-.-.-.-.-

Elena stumbled into the Salvatore house, breathing heavily from the path she'd taken through the woods. Once she'd told Caroline how to get to Klaus's body, the blonde had vanished with an expression of desperation and hope.

Hope.

It seemed that even someone that could put everyone's lives in danger could be controlled by love.

"Elena?" Jeremy asked in wonder as he appeared from the shadows with a crossbow. When she offered him a tired smile, he dropped the weapon, falling upon her with open arms. "Elena!" he said again as he crushed her to his chest. She couldn't help returning the embrace just as tightly. "I thought you were going to die," he murmured. "I couldn't lose you, too."

Tears filled her eyes as she became aware that the others were crowded in the foyer. Jeremy released her so she could go to them, though she hesitated between going to one of the Salvatore brothers.

In the end, she sobbed, "I'm so sorry—"

Before she could finish her apology, a voice from the doorway asked, "Miss me, mates?"

-.-.-.-.-

So sorry it took so long! I was moving and just got to the library today. So I figured I would upload the rest today. 7/9 complete.