Author's Note: Surprise bonus chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Five: Still Dreaming

"Waking up, I hear the way your voice sounds.
My heart starts to pound, now...
To the rhythm of yours.
You're so angelic. Your words so symphonic.
Touch your lips to my soul, eat this sorrow away.
How am I so lucky, I found you?
Sometimes, I feel like I'm still dreaming…"

Ooo0ooO
Eventually, I went to sleep on the couch in the other room. Klaus sat with Caroline as she slept to make sure she was healing properly.

I fell into a dream almost immediately.

I was back at Niklaus's mansion, standing in the front. I stared at the massive house and smiled.

The front door opened and I jerked in shock, seeing Kol exit the house.

"Kol?" I asked in disbelief. He walked over to me with his hands in his pockets.

"Anna, right?" he asked, his tone friendly and casual. I nodded.

"But… how?" Kol gave me a small smile and a shrug.

"It's your dream, correct?" he replied, amused. He began walking into the woods and I followed him.

"Are you… Is this… How?" I asked. Kol looked over at me with shining eyes.

"Am I real?" he asked. "I suppose I am here, since I'm currently rotting in the kitchen."

"Are you a ghost?" I asked, eyes widening. Kol considered that with a little pout.

"Perhaps. Although I was under the impression that Jeremy Gilbert was the only one who could see ghosts."

"But you're in my dream," I said, wrinkling my brow in confusion.

"Well spotted," he said easily, giving me a teasing smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. I've had weirder dreams, I guess," I said on a sigh. Kol looked over at me curiously.

"Oh? Like what?" I shot him a look.

"Why would I tell you?" I asked. Kol raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Well you might as well be hospitable since I'm dead." I looked at him for a moment, unable to grasp why or how this was possible.

He looked so real.

Giving in, I stuck my hands in my back pockets.

"Well, first off, I started having dreams about your brother a while ago, before I knew who he was. I would just wake up and there he was. Eventually, I convinced my brother, Charlie, to help me find him. When I did, there was one night where I had a dream about…" I took a deep breath.

"About us having kids," I finished. I looked over at Kol. He was studying me and gave me a smile.

"Are these dreams premonitions?"

"I thought they might be," I admitted. "But it all just seems so…unreal."

"But you are planning on having a future with my brother, yes?" I smiled a little and nodded.

"Yes," I said. Kol stopped and I saw we were in front of the river. He looked over at me with warm hazel eyes.

"I think you suit my brother," he told me. "I know he can be a rather difficult man to deal with, but you look like you can hold your own." I grinned.

"Thanks," I said, feeling a twinge of happiness at Kol's approval.

"Could you do me a favor?" Kol asked suddenly, facing me. His eyes were now dark and serious, which reminded me of Klaus's serious look.

"Of course," I said.

"When you wake up, could you tell Klaus that I'm sorry for being such a prat?" My eyes widened. "Could you tell him I love him, despite everything?"

"But Kol, I thought this was just a dream," I said, feeling uneasy. Kol gave me a strange smile and cocked his head to the side.

"Yes, I suppose it is… But does that mean I'm not really here with you?"

In a flash of light, Kol disappeared.

I woke with a start, and I stared at the ceiling in shock. I looked up and saw Klaus dozing on the leather chair. Quietly, I got up and walked over to Kol's body.

Pulling the cloth aside, I saw his eyes were still closed. I placed the sheet back and stood up, rubbing my eyes.

"I'm going crazy," I muttered. I turned and saw Klaus standing behind me. I flinched and slapped a hand over my heart.

"You scared me," I gasped. Klaus's lips curved and he hugged me.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. I sighed and snuggled closer to him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. I looked up at him, debating whether or not to tell him about the dream.

Taking his hand, I lead him over to the chair. He sat down and watched me with a curious expression as I settled myself down on his lap, curling against him.

Gathering my courage, I looked him in the eyes. "I had a dream about Kol." Klaus's eyes widened.

"What?" I bit my lip.

"I don't know how but we were in front of your house… and we went to the river. We just talked. I don't know how it was possible, Klaus. It seemed to real. He really looked like he was right there in front of me."

"What did you two discuss?" Klaus's voice was wary but still curious.

"You. Me. I told him about how I found you, through the dreams…" I looked Klaus in the eyes. "He wanted me to tell you something."

Klaus flinched a little, like an involuntary muscle reflex. "What was that exactly?"

"He said to tell you he was sorry for being a…brat? No, prat. And he told me to tell you he loved you…despite everything."

Klaus stared at me for a long moment, his gaze dark. I wondered what was going through his mind.

"Kol said that?" Klaus said quietly. I nodded, running a hand through his short, curly hair.

"How is that possible?" he asked in a small voice. I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"I have no idea," I admitted. "But how are any of the dreams we've had possible?"

"No idea," Klaus murmured. I snuggled even closer to him, wanting to comfort him. I nuzzled the side of his neck and he sighed.

"I'm glad it happened though," I said. I looked up at Klaus and met his gaze. "I hope it was real, that that was really Kol."

"Why?" Klaus asked. I smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Closure, Klaus. Closure."

Ooo0ooO

Annabelle fell back asleep while resting on my lap, her body curled against mine comfortably. Her breaths were deep and even.

I wondered if she was dreaming again.

Wrapping my arms around her, I heard her quiet whisper.

"Klaus…"

I felt a small smile creep across my lips. I glanced over at Caroline and saw her eyes were open and focused on us.

"You really love her, don't you?" she asked quietly. Unsure of how much I could trust the blonde vampire, I simply nodded.

Caroline sighed. "She brings out the good side in you. It's a good look on you, you know." I chuckled softly.

"Get some rest, Caroline," I ordered quietly. I saw her lips curve before she listened to me.

Studying the girl, I thought about how I use to have feelings for her, uncertain and muddled. But with Annabelle, everything was clear- so clear it was almost painful.

I thought about how she use to be the woman in my dreams, my silent angel, who came into my life and brightened it with her light. She drew me out of my darkest places and still had hope in me.

And by some divine miracle, she loved me. I looked down at her and saw her small hand was resting above my heart. The heart that was hers.

I knew I had to choose, for her sake, whether or not to continue this war between myself and the others trying to kill me. I knew Annabelle wanted me to choose right, where no one else had to be hurt or killed.

It seemed I had no choice but to give up the idea of using the cure against my enemies. I understood my sister wanted to take it, to be human again. The idea terrified me a little, knowing if she did she would eventually grow old and die.

After a thousand years of life, Rebekah was willing to do that just for the sake of being human. Part of me understood that, since the thought had flickered through me once or twice when I thought about my future with Annabelle but part of me shed away from that. I couldn't really grasp the idea of being human again after all these centuries, after being the most feared creature in the world.

I looked at Annabelle again. I wondered if she would want me to take the cure.

Eventually, I shoved those thoughts aside. They were meant for another day. For now, I would enjoy the moments I had with Anna now.

Ooo0ooO

I woke up a few hours later, when the sun was beginning to rise in the sky. I looked over at Caroline and saw she was still sleeping lightly.

Shifting a little, I saw that Klaus was holding a book. The Heart of Darkness.

"Did you sleep well, sweetheart?" I looked at Klaus and smiled. I gave him a gentle kiss.

"Yes, no dream this time. Are you enjoying your novel?" I asked, teasing him a little.

"Very much so," he replied. Resting my back against him, I read along with him.

"I knew him as well as it is possible for one to know another."

"And you admired him," she said. "It was impossible to know him and not to admire him. Was it?"

"He was a remarkable man," I said unsteadily. Then before the appealing fixity of her gaze, that seemed to watch for more words on my lips, I went on, "It was impossible not to-,"

"Love him," she finished eagerly, silencing me into an appalled dumbness. "How true! How true! But when you think that no one knew him so well as I! I had all his noble confidence. I knew him best."

"You knew him best," I repeated. And perhaps she did.

I sighed contently and smiled. I felt Klaus press a kiss against my shoulder and gentle happiness set in.

As the sun began to rise, Klaus and I sat together in that old brown chair, both of us reading that worn copy of The Heart of Darkness.

After a long time, I felt whole. I had Klaus and he me, and even though we had a lot in front of us, we always had these moments to ourselves.

These moments where the rest of the world didn't seem to exist, where we were in our own private bubble. Nothing could hurt us, touch us. It was just me and him, forever.

And somewhere deep in my heart, I knew we would have many moments life these in the future.

Ooo0ooO

Author's Note: Ah-ha! Did you think that the strange dreams would stop? Think again! So, what do you think? Are they just dreams, or something more?

Find out in the upcoming chapters!