In less than two decades of life, Caroline Beth Forbes had been dealt a rough hand. Her father had left her when she was only a small child, and her mother had struggled along without him. She had been emotionally damaged and rejected again and again, which led to her disturbingly haunting relationship with the eldest Salvatore, and, due to her association with him and with Elena, she had been suffocated one night by a woman who had taken absolutely no time to gain any knowledge of her.
She and her mother had never truly gotten along, but the death of her father and her transition into a vampire certainly didn't help. In fact, she often wondered how Elizabeth had been able to cope with a transitioning daughter and a dying ex-husband in such a short span of time. Then again, her mother was insanely strong.
So she had doubted that Fate was cheering her on, but she had never truly thought it hated her. After all, most of her friends were alive, her love life was going about as well as could be expected of a college girl dating a werewolf whom she wasn't positive she loved anymore, and she was excelling in her studies.
The first time she had any inkling that Fate could possibly hate her accompanied news relayed to her by a bitter and exhausted Tyler, news that the man who she loved had reproduced a daughter with another woman. Yes, Hope was adorable, bright, and a ray of sunshine for all who met her, but, at the time, Caroline hadn't been able to stomach the idea of her. She was existing proof that Klaus hadn't loved Caroline enough to wait.
After a while, though, Caroline recalled that she had told Klaus to back off again and again, and, when given time to truly think about it, she realized that she was in love with him. Hope would become an important aspect of her life because she was an important aspect of his, and she would love the tiny child as if she were her own. It was the only thing that helped her to maintain her sanity and reason when she was driving down the road, headed in the direction of the South with absolutely no idea what she was going to do when she arrived.
But when Hope's piercing wails pierced the quiet night air, when Klaus's lips pulled away from hers with a wry smile curling them upwards, she knew that Fate had it out for her.
Sighing, she scooped Hope into her arms, rubbing the child's back soothingly as she stared out the window. Hope showed no signs of quieting anytime soon, her wails loud and seemingly permanent as they pieced Caroline's ears and made her grow even more exhausted than she previously was.
"Okay, what do you say we go to Care's old haunt? Does that sound fun?" she cooed to the baby, who calmed down as soon as the words were uttered. "Looks like we'll be driving tonight, Klaus," she said to the man next to her, who nodded.
"Yes, she does seem to do that a lot," he mused, placing his hand on the small of Caroline's back and leading her towards their waiting vehicle. "How many old haunts do you have?" he questioned as he helped her in.
"A lot. I used to avoid my dad's house during the weekends, and since he had a legal right to see me, I'd make up excuses, make up excuses to my mom, and then drive away for the entire weekend. They didn't ever call, probably because I told them I was hiking and that Elena was going with me and she would stay inside for the entire weekend."
Klaus smiled. "My daughter will probably behave like that."
"Oh, she will. It's part of every teenage girl's stages in life. We hide until we feel as if we will be accepted, and my parents couldn't stand each other, which is why I'm glad you and Hayley can at least pretend to like each other. Trust me, growing up with a mother and father who don't like each other sucks." She strapped Hope into her car seat and spun around, smiling at Klaus. "Let's go an adventure, why don't we?" she said.
And that was what they did.
