2312, Chicago, Illinois

"Where is she?!"

Klaus stormed around their living room as he continued to receive more bad news.

"Nik, please - I'm sure she's fine," Rebekah soothed.

"Oh, well then, that puts my mind at ease - hear that, everyone? Rebekah is sure Caroline is fine," Klaus sneered. "We are on the precipice of another world war, sister - the likes of which we have never seen before! And she is out there, god knows where, probably in the thick of it, with delusions of - helping!"

Rebekah shared a look with Elijah. Their volatile brother hadn't mentioned Caroline's name in decades, yet when it became clear that the drums of war were beating, he had begun a frantic search for her.

With every lead, came another dead end; their brother was now frenzied with worry.

Klaus paced before his siblings in agitation.

The looming war promised to be more devastating than those in the past, with new technology, new weapons and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of warm bodies. The petty wars and little skirmishes that had sprung up during Caroline's first lifetime were nothing compared to what was coming. Disease, famine, droughts, and an even larger disparity between the haves and have-nots were all coming to a climax between nations.

"I am not being paranoid, Rebekah. Elijah agrees with me; there will be at least one nation - one imbecile - that launches a nuclear bomb," Klaus said. "She will not survive if -"

He paused to regain control of his emotions.

"Caroline will not survive if she is caught in the blast. She is barely three hundred years old," he whispered. "Her damn humanity will have her in the thick of battle, trying to help."

...

"Niklaus, we have to leave," Elijah said carefully.

Klaus shook his head, unwilling to listen to reason. He refused to face his eldest brother, and instead continued to stare outside the high-rise windows. Below, the looting had already begun and panicked citizens were trying to claw their way out of the city by any means necessary.

"Chicago is falling - we need to evacuate," Kol insisted, the panic evident in his voice.

"There's still time," Klaus said softly, more to himself than in answer to his brothers. "She can make her way here, she knows this address; she knows I'll protect her - she cannot think that I am still angry with her -"

"Niklaus," Elijah begged. "We cannot wait any longer. If she was stateside, and if she needed help, she would have been here by now. But this city is no longer safe; it is falling, and it is directly in the trajectory for a nuclear strike."

"I can't," Klaus simply replied.

"Niklaus! Did you not hear me?" Elijah roared. "A nuclear strike is imminent, and I have no wish to find out if this family can withstand a nuclear bomb! We need to go - now. We have waited long enough as it is."

"Nik," Rebekah said softly, approaching him slowly and placing her hand on his. "Please."

Klaus faced his little sister - the one he had always sworn to protect.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "But we have to go. We can't wait any longer."

He closed his eyes against her fear-stricken face, already knowing that he would acquiesce; knowing that they were right. His siblings would not leave him and they would all be in danger if they stayed. The time had come for the Mikaelsons to abandon Chicago.

"She's smart, Nik. I bet she's already hunkered down someplace safe - she could even already be in Mystic Falls," Kol said encouragingly.

Klaus nodded, signaling his acceptance, and felt the air shift as his siblings breathed easier.

For the thousandth time, Klaus cursed himself and his impulsiveness. He had failed to restrain himself in Denver, and now all he was left with was the knowledge that he had failed Caroline yet again.