Chapter 10

Mystic Falls, VA

-2012-

"What do you mean they're getting married?!" Bonnie yelled as Kol held his hands up, backing away from her.

"Sorry to be the one to break the news, darling, but I figured you should know," he said, as she ran a hand through her hair, pacing back and forth.

"But she's only been there a few days! How could all of this have happened so fast?!" She asked, looking to Kol for answers.

"We knew time passes faster for her in the past, we just didn't know how much faster. From the memories that I have, I would guess that when he proposed, she had been there for ten months, maybe a little more," he said, watching amusedly as her eyes turned to saucers.

"Look Bonnie, I know you loathe my brother, and you have every reason to, now. But Nik as a human was so much different, better, if you will. He was everything that he lacks now, except trusting, but hopefully Caroline is helping him work on that as we speak," he said, placing a reassuring hand on her arm before leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Bonnie didn't know what to think.

Part of her was furious at Caroline for letting Klaus get to her so fast, but the other part wanted to hug her friend tightly and congratulate her. Elena was going to freak.

"WHAT?! How could she do this? Doesn't she know who he is?! This is ridiculous!" Bonnie was right, Elena totally freaked.

"I know, Elena, that was my reaction at first too, well, maybe a little milder, but then I got to thinking about it, and I realized that she didn't get engaged to evil hybrid Klaus, she got engaged to insecure human Klaus. That was why she was sent there, after all. Maybe once they are married, the spell will be completed and the witch spirits will send her back," Bonnie rationalized, as Elena's features softened slightly.

"I miss her," she said, looking at the ground, "I know it's only been a few days, but with all that she is going through, I just want to give her a hug." Finished Elena, as Bonnie nodded in agreement.

"Who's gonna tell Tyler? Nose goes." Said Elena, as she touched her finger to her nose, sticking her tongue out at Bonnie when she realized that she had lost the game.

"Hey Bonnie, what's up? Any news about Caroline?" He asked, taking his turn against Matt at the pool table.

"Yeah… actually that's why I need to talk to you. It seems that time passes a lot faster in the past than it does in the present when time-travel spells come into play, so while it only feels like a few days to us, Caroline has been in the past for almost a year," she said quickly, backing away as his face turned angry.

"What?!" Hissed Tyler, throwing his pool cue onto the table. "You mean to tell me that she has been with him for a year?!" He shouted, waiting for Bonnie to disagree.

"Yeah. And unfortunately, that's not the worst part for you," she said, her eyes filling with pity for him.

"Oh great, what now?" He said, rolling his eyes and leaning against the pool table.

"Kol told me that Klaus proposed to her in the past… and she said yes," Bonnie said, wincing as Tyler growled, flipping the pool table over, and turning back to Bonnie, his eyes yellow and fangs showing.

"Whoa, Tyler man, I think you should go to the restroom or something," said Matt, who noticed his friend's… problem.

"Stay out of this!" Tyler shouted, drawing more attention to himself. Before he knew it, someone blurred in front of him and flashed him out of the Grill.

"You need to calm down, Mate," said Klaus, unaware of just how bad his timing was.

"Calm. Down?"Tyler said, as Bonnie, Elena and Matt came running out of the Grill. "You think you can propose to my girlfriend and I'm just gonna calm down?" He yelled, half tempted to turn right there and rip Klaus' head off.

"Wait a minute, you do realize that it wasn't me, don't you? The person who she is engaged to, while sharing a name and physical appearance with me, doesn't even know you exist, unless she told him, which I can't seem to recall," he said, which only seemed to make Tyler angrier.

"Tyler, he's right. You have every reason to be angry, but not at him, at Caroline. But you should also think twice about being angry at her. She has been gone for a year, Tyler. If it felt like a year to you, would you have waited for her?" Matt said, watching Tyler as his face returned to normal.

"I guess not. But that doesn't mean that he's off the hook," Tyler said, angry that Matt was right.

"Ty, no one is saying you have to like the guy, but at least don't threaten to kill him. We all know he could rip your heart out with his eyes closed," said Matt, leaving the group to get back to the bar. Tyler shot one last angry look at Klaus before storming away in the opposite direction, missing Klaus' smirk.

"So, where's Stefan?" asked Klaus, trying to ignore the death-glares he was getting from the witch and the doppelganger. Luckily for him, Stefan decided to choose that moment to grace them with his presence.

"What's going on here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the girls and Klaus' half-amused half-scared out of his mind expression.

"Klaus and Caroline are getting married. Have fun dealing with him," said Elena, grabbing Bonnie's hand and leading her away from the Grill. Stefan merely cocked his head to the side and followed Klaus into the bar.

-992-

"AHHHHH! Congratulations!" Caroline almost plugged her ears as Rebekah squealed before pulling them both into a tight hug, jumping up and down.

"Calm youself, Bekah!" Said, Nik, unable to wipe the grin from his face.

"I am just so happy for you! I have always wanted a sister!" She said, latching onto Caroline as the other blonde laughed happily.

"So have I!" Responded Caroline, relieved at Rebekah's reaction.

"Congratulations on the wedding, Nik. Caroline, pity you never gave me the chance to sweep you off your feet," said Kol with a wink, causing Nik to glare and Caroline to roll her eyes.

The rest of the Mikaelson reactions were to be expected. Elijah gave them both a firm handshake, and wished them a lifetime of happiness, while Henrik high-fived his brother and kissed Caroline's hand shyly, telling her that he was glad to have another sister.

Then came the moment that both Nik and Caroline dreaded, Esther and Mikael's reactions. Esther had watched the exchanges with a half-smile, so when she gave them both gentle hugs, neither were surprised. Mikael, however, was a different story entirely. He gave Nik a handshake without eye-contact, but Caroline could tell that it meant the world to Nik. He then took Caroline's hand, brushing his lips over her knuckles and then walking away.

Once he was gone, Caroline turned to Nik, who was looking after his father with a look of astonishment, and pressed her lips to his temple. As he turned to smile at her, he was interrupted by Rebekah.

"Okay everyone, we have a wedding to plan!" Said Rebekah, prying Caroline's hands from Nik's arm as she dragged her away. Caroline's eyes pleaded for help, but Nik just chuckled and turned to tell his brothers how he proposed.

"Bekah, I really appreciate this, but you really don't have to help plan the wedding," she said. Rebekah gasped as she placed a hand over her heart.

"Of course I do! I know I am to be the maid of honor! Right?" She said, looking pointedly at Caroline.

"Oh! Of course!" Said Caroline, who hadn't really thought much about the wedding at all.

"Great! Then let's get started," she said, as she started rambling on and on about flowers and hairstyles, making Caroline wish that she could trade places with Nik.

"Great news everyone! Caroline and Nik have decided to get married one month from Saturday! We will have the ceremony by the pond, since it is Caroline's favorite place, and afterwards Caroline and Nik will go to the other house for their honeymoon!" Rebekah said as Caroline and Nik smiled and nodded behind her. The truth was that Rebekah had decided everything and left Caroline with the job of simply showing up.

The other house that Rebekah talked about was equivalent to a guest house. It was very close to the main house, but provided more privacy, which would definitely be welcomed on their wedding night.

"Actually, that was something that your father and I wanted to talk to you about, Nik. As a wedding present, we have decided to give you the guest house to live in once you've married. We know that you will not want to live in such close proximity to everyone else once you're married, and frankly, we do not want that either," said Esther, eliciting a blush from Caroline, and a shocked expression from Nik.

"Mother, are you serious? You are giving us the house?" Asked Nik incredulously.

When she nodded happily, he rushed to her, hugging her and placing a kiss on her cheek. As for his father, he held his hand out, waiting for him to shake it, which he did, but only after reminding Nik that he would need to find a way to earn enough money to pay the taxes. While it wasn't the most loving response, Nik was happy with it.

He couldn't remember the last time that his father had looked at him as anything more that an outsider. Giving him the house showed that he at least acknowledged raising him, no matter his parentage.

After everything had been settled and the family had retreated to their respective bedrooms, Caroline pulled Nik outside with her.

"Where are we going, love?" He asked, thoroughly exhausted from a whole day of listening to Rebekah yammer on about the wedding.

"I don't really care, I just want to be alone with you," she said, turning to face him with a smile. He returned the smile and pulled her behind the nearest tree so that his family, namely Henrik, wouldn't see what was happening.

He sat down, his back to the tree, and pulled Caroline onto his lap. As he brought his arms around her, she put a hand behind his neck and used it to pull her face close to his. As she leaned her forehead against his, she closed her eyes, whispering "I love you," before he reached his hand behind her head and pulled her lips to his.

As her hands ran through his messy curls, her tongue slid into his mouth as he moaned into her mouth. He pulled his lips from hers, moving them to her neck as she tilted her head back, moaning his name. As he brought his lips back to hers, he paused a minute, his blue eyes piercing her green ones, "Love, you are going to be the death of me," he said as she smiled and pressed her lips to his, both of them thinking about what the future held for them.

-2012-

Stefan and Klaus had nearly finished an entire bottle of scotch at the Grill as Klaus recounted everything that had happened leading up to his proposal. He hadn't planned to tell anyone about his new memories, but when Stefan asked, he couldn't stop talking.

"So, are you glad that she was sent back in time?" Stefan asked, although the answer seemed pretty clear.

"Of course I am, but it doesn't change the fact that I have been trying to win her for months, and human-me did it effortlessly in a few weeks," said Klaus, downing the rest of his glass.

"You do realize that human-you and present-you are the same person, right? You kind of seem like you're having an identity crisis right now," said Stefan, amusement apparent on his face.

"But we aren't, the same I mean. Obviously. What could I have done then that I couldn't do now?" He asked, his eyes watching the ice cubes in his glass.

"There are a few things at play now that weren't at play then. Tyler, for example. First of all, she was dating him when she met you, and second of all, you killed him, among other people. She had good reason to dislike you for those things!" Said Stefan, trying to talk some sense into his old friend.

"I guess so, but what does that mean for me when she comes back? Is she going to go back to Tyler? I mean, I'm still going to have killed all of the same people, so what would make her want to be with me?" He asked, pouring more scotch into his glass.

"With or without the murders, you still have the same personality. And don't forget, we've all killed people. She was sent there to teach you to love, Klaus. If she comes back and has been successful, I don't see how she could turn you away, especially after being married to you," said Stefan.

"I mean, if she somehow looked past all your flaws in the past, she should be able to in the present, right?" Said Stefan, chuckling as Klaus glared daggers at him. "I was just joking, man. Kind of," he said, tossing some bills on the bar, and getting out of his seat.

"Just remember, Klaus, something about her got her to court you AND accept your marriage proposal. As long as that aspect of you is still there, there is no way she could come back here and NOT be with you. Plus, you deserve it," he said, clapping his hand on Klaus' shoulder before walking out.

Klaus was perplexed. That was the second time in a week that someone had left him at the bar after telling him that he deserved happiness. What in the bloody hell was going on?!

There it is! What did you think? I am trying to move this part of the story as fast as I can, because the most important parts are coming up, so I hope it doesn't feel too rushed. The wedding will (hopefully) be in the next chapter, and we shall see what comes afterwards! Also, I just uploaded another video, called Treacherous to my YouTube channel (MalfoysLover), so check it out and let me know what you think! Thanks again for all of the support I have received for this story! I hope you continue to enjoy it J Until next time ~