A/N: Yes, I am finally back from the dead. And I just have so much to say before getting into the GRAND FINALE of my story! But I am well aware I left you guys hanging from a steep cliff on the last one so I'm not going to waste much time - you can get straight to it. All you need to know is that I was trying to hype anything up with the extended time between the finale and the previous chapter - it was life and its mysterious ways :-/ You know how it is.

Really REALLY hope you guys enjoy the final chapter - this one's dedicated to the one's stuck with me through this journey, shared their love in all kinds of ways and everyone who cheered me on - special shout out to the KC gang on Discord, you guys are the best!

Disclaimer: Once last time, with FEELING: NONE OF THIS TVD STUFF IS MINE Y'ALL

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What Could Have Been

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37

Fare Thee Well

.

Everything she touched felt wet and the scent of moist earth saturated the air, overwhelming Caroline's senses. Her eyes were closed and her clothes were drenched as she felt her body come to, flat on the ground. She could feel a mild sprinkle of rain but it was a particularly heavy patter of raindrops jabbing her eyelids that jerked them open, making her sit up while her disoriented brain tried to make sense of what was going on.

A light buzzing in her side prompted her to snap to her senses; she reflexively tucked her hand into her pocket to pull out her phone, mildly surprised that it was even functioning when she saw the screen was cracked slightly and had fogged up from the moisture. She was just about able to make out the name on her caller ID before answering.

"Ric?" She was surprised by how dry her voice was. "What…"

"Caroline! Thank God, you're okay. We all just kinda blacked out for a moment there…"

Caroline rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I guess I did too…" she said uncertainly, her mind still trying to piece things together.

"But our girls are fine! Hope too! You did it, Caroline! You…"

Caroline smiled in relief before she froze and Alaric's voice was drowned out as everything suddenly came back to her.

Klaus.

Her phone fell out of her hand and dropped into the wet mulch. Caroline frantically turned towards where Klaus had been and spotted Rebekah standing there in front of what looked like…

A body.

No. No. No. No…

She flashed towards Rebekah who was standing unnaturally still with her eyes trained on the ground before her with her hands clasped to her mouth. It was still drizzling but Caroline was fairly certain the dampness on the blonde Original's cheeks weren't from the rain. Her body filled with cold dread as she pushed herself to look down at the body between them and she gasped as the worst scenario she'd dared to imagine unraveled before her.

Klaus lay there sprawled across the wet earth, looking completely oblivious to the sorrow his state was inflicting on the two women standing there. Caroline stared and couldn't help but think about how his visage appeared utterly peaceful.

So peaceful, it was terrifying.

No…

She stumbled slightly as she knelt down next to him and took him in her arms. Rebekah sniffled.

"He's gone, Caroline," she whispered, still standing in her place. "I wasn't sure at first but he hasn't responded since I woke up."

Caroline swallowed and looked down at the man she was so in love with. His eyes remained closed as if he were simply asleep. His dirty blonde curls that she adored so much were now a dull brown and clung to his skin as a result of the rain. Her hands trembled slightly as she gently cleared some of the haywire strands off his forehead to the side and took in his handsome face. A soft sob escaped her throat.

"Klaus…" she whispered; the rational part of her brain that had accepted the truth being overpowered by the other hopeful one that was deluding her into believing he could hear her. "You can't do this to me, you just can't…"

A few minutes passed by in silence that was only punctuated by the sound of rain and the occasional whimper that escaped Caroline's lips. Rebekah looked on somberly and let Caroline have her moment to mourn before speaking again.

"Caroline –"

"You knew."

Rebekah frowned. Caroline paused before her tear-filled eyes snapped up to glare at her.

"You knew Klaus was going to do this, didn't you?"

Rebekah hesitated for a moment, looking back at Caroline almost guiltily.

"He…told us it might be a possibility," she admitted, making Caroline's eyes widen. "Freya had this… theory that the Gemini magic could only be hosted by a witch or someone with the witch gene so you weren't going to be able to take in the magic without it being fatal to you anyway. We…" Rebekah cleared her throat and her voice got quieter. "We said our goodbyes already earlier today."

Her last words came out so softly, Caroline was sure she wouldn't have been able to hear them over the sound of the rain still steadily falling if it wasn't for her heightened senses. She scoffed in disbelief.

"Wow," she exclaimed bitterly with a dry laugh as tears now streamed freely down her cheek. "Guess I didn't deserve a goodbye of my own."

"That's not –"

"Don't, Rebekah. Just… don't," Caroline raised her palm at the blonde Original before bringing it down to run her thumb across Klaus' cheek. "I told you…" she whispered under her breath addressing him again, "I told you I won't be able to deal with another heartbreak…"

Seeing him like this with his face seeming so relaxed, took her back to that morning she had gotten the rare opportunity to observe him while he slept. She remembered how her favorite part had been how his pink lips slightly curved at the edges indicating the subtle beginning of a dimple.

She could see no sign of that now.

Raindrops trickled off her damp hair on to his forehead and she tenderly wiped them away, her fingers brushing through the ends of his curls. She continued to gaze at him and another sob escaped her lips.

"Thank you for saving my girls," she whispered as acceptance slowly began to sink in, when an unfamiliar sound pricked her ears from somewhere not too far away. Her gaze shot up to look at Rebekah who seemed to have heard it too. She watched as the Original looked across the ground and sneered at something.

"Bloody hell, the bitch is alive."

"What?"

Caroline didn't get a chance to get clarification before the Mikaelson sister flashed away. She looked down at Klaus' unmoving body once more and kissed him on his forehead. She then gently lay him down, draping her jacket over him before speeding away to join Rebekah who was now looking at…

Oh my God.

Aurora.

The old vampire was lying flat on the moist grass-covered ground but her body was now incredibly disfigured. It looked like her chest had exploded and there was blood everywhere… except it wasn't red, it was an inky blue and was still gurgling out from where the stake remained embedded in her undead heart.

A congested noise came out of her mouth, one which the two blondes recognized as the sound they had heard earlier. It was Rebekah who snapped out of her and Caroline's collective shock and spoke first.

"Why aren't you bloody dead already?!" Her shrill voice made Aurora's dead eyes lift up to look at her. Her face slowly twisted into an eerie smile that made Caroline shudder as she let out a short breathless laugh.

"It looks like your dear sister bested me," she croaked out at Rebekah. Caroline's brows knitted together in confusion as she looked down at Aurora and finally spoke up.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Caroline spat the words out as she trembled with rage at the woman responsible for all this. A chill went down her spine as Aurora's gaze slowly shifted its focus to her.

"I'm dying," she said simply, the dark viscous liquid now starting to drip out of her mouth. "But I can take respite in the fact that you will never have him," Aurora concluded with a dark smile towards her.

Caroline was fuming now.

She could feel the veins throbbing beneath her eyes as her fangs dropped and she hissed at the old vampire that lay crumbled on the damp ground, teetering on the verge of death. An angry growl escaped her lips and she was set to attack when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Rebekah frowning at her.

"Caroline, as much as I'd like to watch you destroy her for what she did to Nik, it's not worth it."

Caroline stared back at her, surprised at Rebekah's level-headedness in the situation. She took a deep breath and began to feel her vampire features even out just as the Original sister turned to address Aurora again.

"You still haven't told us why you're not dead yet," she snapped and Aurora coughed.

"I told you. Your sister did this. I can feel it…" she sneered at Rebekah. "I feel dark magic in my body… and not the Hollow…"

"The Gemini curse…" Caroline whispered, then turning to Rebekah. "Ric told me the girls are all fine. That must be it… Freya must have managed to put it in her." Rebekah's eyes went wide.

"That means Freya was right," Rebekah nodded as things became clearer and she glanced at Caroline. "This must be what happens when the Gemini curse finds itself in a host with no witch genes."

Caroline swallowed, unsure whether to feel relief from the fact that she narrowly missed being poisoned to death or sadness from the thought that Klaus probably saved her life either way.

And gave up his own.

Aurora coughed again and that caught the attention of the two blondes who turned to look at her. Even in her hurt state, she managed to throw a frightening glower at them.

"I may be dying, but I can take solace in the fact that I got what I wanted," she spat out. "In death, Niklaus and I will be together forever," she declared with a terrifying grin. Caroline clenched her fists, took a step closer to the weakened vampire and knelt down in front of her.

"You will never have Klaus," she said with a conviction she had never felt before. "Even those who are drowning together, die alone. And you, Aurora, are dying alone." She leaned a little closer to look straight in Aurora's eyes and whispered in a firm voice just soft enough that she could hear it.

"You may have been his first real love… but I was his last, bitch."

With that, Caroline stood back up as Aurora snarled before letting out a short breath. She watched as the life slowly began to fade out of her bright green eyes. A flash of electric blue flickered in them and in minutes, Aurora's eyelids trembled and her head drooped to the side as she died.

At that precise moment, Caroline felt a strong shift in the weather as the rainfall began to reduce slightly and she slowly let out a long and deep breath of relief.

It was over.

The Gemini curse was gone. The Hollow was gone.

Klaus was gone…

A loud whimper escaped her lips and her face scrunched up as it slowly hit her that Klaus was really dead. She turned to see Rebekah who was also drenched now looking back at her with a tearful face herself.

And then in a moment of rare unanimous sorrow, the two women hugged each other, falling apart in each other's arms on finding common ground in the loss of a man they both loved in their own different ways. They pulled back and looked towards the disfigured vampire on the ground when Rebekah shook her head.

"I can't believe Freya actually managed to pull this off."

"What I don't understand is why Klaus is…" Caroline swallowed, unable to say it out loud and cleared her throat. "Why couldn't he be saved?"

"The plan was to get the linked magic out of Nik right before Aurora staked herself so as to destroy the magic along with her," Rebekah frowned, looking at the body on the ground. "But from what we saw right now… it appears that the magic actually died in Aurora's host body." Her eyes snapped to Caroline's as if they came to a realization together.

"But…" Caroline huffed out, "But that means…"

"Caroline? Rebekah?"

His voice.

His unbelievably sexy voice rang out from somewhere further away behind her.

Caroline gasped, frozen in place. She vaguely registered Rebekah's exclamation of surprise and remained unmoving as her eyes clamped shut, squeezing out tears that streamed down her face and merged with the rain.

Slowly she turned around to look towards the direction of his voice.

There he was… standing in the distance. She blinked once.

Klaus really was there.

Alive.

Suddenly everything else fell away around her – the mushy green dirt on the wide-open ground, the murky gray sky that was barely starting to clear. The raindrops that were falling seemed to have stilled around her as she flashed towards him, closing the distance between them in seconds until she came to a halt right in front of him.

They were both drenched now; Caroline's hair was all over the place from having vamp-sped through the rain and Klaus' damp curls were sticking up in odd places. She couldn't help but think about how he still looked as handsome as ever just the way he was, irrespective of how his wet Henley was clinging to his chest.

She stared at him for a long moment and he didn't move either.

"You're alive," she breathed out. He smiled, his sinful dimples cutting deep into his cheek.

"Yes, love. Is Hope –"

THWACK!

She punched him right across the face and he bounced back to look at her, dumbfounded.

"Caroline, what –"

"Hope is fine," she said slowly. "And thank you for saving my children's lives," she added, glaring at Klaus and poking her finger on his chest. "But don't you EVER pull a stunt like that on me again. Do you understand?"

She watched him gawk at her reprimanding tone and he simply nodded, pressing his lips together.

"I understand." A smirk gradually made its appearance and very slowly Caroline's irate face broke into a smile.

"Good."

Before Klaus could respond she had flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a bruising kiss, taking her back to their first time together all those years ago in the woods. Her eyes fluttered closed relishing the sensation of his sinfully soft lips against hers and suddenly all those raindrops that seemed to have slowed down around her came to life and cascaded over them.

She melted into the kiss and barely felt the pitter-patter of the water over her shoulders as his tongue invaded her mouth, teasing her. All the tears that had been shed over the belief that she had lost him forever again washed away in the downpour as they continued to savor each other with a renewed urgency; almost as if they were afraid of losing each other again if they let go.

Caroline's fingertips traced circles over his stubble and she felt a dimple form right under her thumb. Her palms traced his jaw line behind his ear and her fingers crumpled around the soaked curls at the nape of his neck. Their kisses grew more insistent and she felt Klaus' hand splay across her back to pull her closer while his other hand rested securely on her shoulder, his thumb idly swiping away the excess water dripping off her skin. It was only when they finally pulled back from the kiss and smiled at each other that she realized the rain had now almost come to a complete stop and the sun was even coming out.

They leaned into each other, their foreheads touching as they simply basked in the contentment of being in each other's embrace when a familiar voice yelled out, making them jump.

"MOM?!"

Caroline's eyes went wide as she saw her daughter Lizzie gawping at her with a brightly grinning Rebekah standing in the background. She choked out a sob and immediately flashed towards her daughter, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Oh my God, Lizzie you're okay!" She cried, squeezing her tighter and stroking her hair that was slightly damp from the rain.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Her daughter demanded, completely ignoring her mother worrying over her and Caroline smiled sheepishly.

"Erm…"

"Hello, Elizabeth." Caroline spun about to see Klaus who was just breaking away from Rebekah's hug and now directing a smile at Lizzie. Before her daughter could come up with a follow-up question on what she may have witnessed, Caroline asked her own instead.

"Sweetie, where are the others?" She asked, turning Lizzie to face her in an attempt to get her to stop staring at Klaus suspiciously.

"They're still at the mill," she stated and finally looked at Caroline. "We need to head there." She tilted her head towards Klaus. "Especially him." Caroline frowned but Lizzie's comment caught Klaus' attention.

"What's wrong?"

By the time Klaus had flashed to the mill closely followed by Rebekah, the rain had completely stopped and sunshine was streaming into the wooden structure. He walked and took a quick glance around, vaguely acknowledging Alaric with his daughter Josie sitting on the side before his eyes landed on his daughter who was on the ground, hunched over someone.

"Hope!" He called out her name and her eyes snapped up to his, just as a tear fell down her cheek.

"Dad?" Her voice came out a whimper and Klaus instantly knelt down next to her and gathered her into a hug. "Are you okay? Dr. Saltzman said the spell worked and the Hollow has been destroyed for good along with the Gemini curse."

"The spell did indeed work," Klaus said briefly, glad his daughter won't have to know about how close he came to dying in the process. "And I'm perfectly alright, sweetheart. You don't seem to be doing so well, though."

"I'm fine, Dad. I just… I couldn't save my friend." That was when Klaus actually looked at who was on the ground, partly rested on his daughter's lap and recognized him.

"Is that the wolf boy?"

"He couldn't help himself," Hope sniffled. "He was under the trance of the Hollow magic. I guess he was linked to it somehow and that's why when Aurora died, he…" Klaus pulled his daughter closer as he felt her hold back a sob and he gently brushed his palm over her hair.

"Don't worry little one," he assured her, "We'll make sure he gets the respectable farewell that a wolf deserves." He continued to stroke her hair when he saw Caroline walk in with Lizzie and rush over to Josie and Alaric. He felt an arm on his shoulder and looked up to see Rebekah glancing at Hope.

"I'm so sorry about your friend, sweetie," she said softly. Klaus gently let go of his daughter so she could stand up to hug her aunt. He got up off the floor himself and walked towards where Caroline and her family were gathered. Alaric was the first to notice him and he watched him nod at Caroline who then turned to face him. Klaus came to a stop and sighed, looking straight at the twins.

"I just wanted to extend my gratitude," he said sincerely; Josie responded with a small smile while Lizzie narrowed her eyes at him. "Now that the magic is gone for good, I'm glad to inform you I won't be bothering you for your services again." His gaze briefly darted to Caroline before he turned to address Alaric. "I'm sure you'd want me off the premises as soon as possible," he drawled. "I'll gather my family and we'll take your leave."

Klaus began to walk away when a soft voice stopped him his tracks.

"Wait!"

He tilted his head to see Josie step forward and purse her lips together.

"I err, we just wanted to say thank you too," she started, hesitating slightly. "Mom told us you were the one who provided her with the information that led to finding a way to get the curse out of us."

Klaus stared at her moment before lightly nodding at her. "Right," he said simply, taking that moment to steal a look at Caroline who, to his pleasant surprise, flashed a wide smile at him.

"You don't have to leave right away, you know," Caroline began, "Hope can rest for a while. Maybe you can –"

"Nik, we have to leave."

Klaus' attention snapped away from Caroline to see his sister standing by with her phone in hand.

"What is it?"

"Keelin said the spell provoked Freya into going into labor. I know there's not much we can do but I think we should –"

"Let's go," Klaus said shortly, momentarily guilty that in the midst of everything he hadn't given a thought to his heavily pregnant sister who had actually managed to pull everything off without a glitch. He turned to Alaric.

"Take care of the boy until we get back here. I promised Hope we'd give him a respectful funeral." Alaric simply nodded and Klaus began to walk away.

"I'll see you guys out," Caroline said, directing her girls to go with Alaric before coming to walk right next to him. Klaus found himself itching to reach out and take her hand in his as their arms flitted back and forth while they walked side by side, her fingers nearly brushing his.

Rebekah had escorted Hope out and gone ahead, leaving the two of them somewhat to themselves, at least temporarily. They exchanged glances without saying anything, unsure how to go ahead after this.

"Caroline, I –"

"You don't have to say it, Klaus," she cut him short. "I understand you have to leave." She smiled at him and Klaus couldn't help the smile on his face that appeared in response to her. "I mean, I'm sad to see you go, sure, but I get it. Family first." Klaus stopped walking for a moment.

They were now halfway between the old mill and the school. Tall trees loomed around them as rays of sunshine zapped through the gaps creating mesmerizing patterns on the forest floor. Klaus could see Caroline's hair and clothes were still pretty damp from the rain just as he was; the sun had barely started to dry them. He flashed a smirk at her and came closer.

"You know, it's not like you can't claim the same perks as family," he said matter-of-factly with a shrug as he slowly looped his arms around her waist and dropped a soft kiss on her lips. "Having the Mikaelson name attached isn't the only way to avail the benefits." He used his fingers to pull back some of her short blonde strands behind her ear and whispered into it. "Unless that is something that you're interested in…" Caroline instantly pushed him off, her eyes wide.

"Oh my God, Klaus!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes at him before bursting into laughter. "You're insane."

Klaus didn't wipe the grin off his face even as Caroline grabbed his hand and practically pulled him along the rest of the way. He was almost disappointed that they had arrived at his car and Caroline dropped her death grip on him. Rebekah was already in the driver's seat while Hope appeared to be resting in the back.

Klaus and Caroline stood outside the passenger door and just stared at each other. Caroline shook her head and averted her gaze briefly.

"We'll talk, okay? Go be with your sister," she smiled at him. Klaus took her hand in his again and before she could respond, abruptly pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He felt her surprise at first, followed by an instant of giving in before seeming to remember where she was and breaking away. He still didn't go and they continued to breathe heavily, their lips lingering inches from each other.

"Nik, will you wrench yourself away from your daughter's headmistress already so we can leave?" Rebekah's voice came out of the now opened car window. Caroline found herself laughing at their sibling rapport as Klaus scowled at his sister before turning to smile at her again.

"I'll see you soon, Caroline," he said simply before flashing into the car. The vehicle began to move away and Klaus watched as Caroline's reflection got smaller in the mirror until she disappeared out of view. He sat back in his seat and sighed, a smile still plastered on his face. Rebekah groaned next to him.

"You two are so sickeningly in love it makes me want to vomit."

Klaus laughed harder than he ever had in a very long time.

"He's beautiful, Freya."

Klaus smiled at the tiny bundle that was the newborn sleeping peacefully next to his sister while Keelin stood by her. Everyone including Kol and Marcel had returned to the city to meet the newest addition to the family.

"Yes, he is," Rebekah nodded in agreement. "Almost makes me question him being named after you, Nik," she teased.

Klaus chuckled at his sister's comment but it was Kol who commented.

"Jealousy isn't a good look on anyone, Rebekah. And with that face, I don't think you can afford to try it either."

A cushion went flying across the bed hitting Kol square on the shoulder as he blocked it from his face.

"Okay! No flying objects around the baby!" Keelin glared at him.

"She started it!" He responded indignantly.

"He really is cute, Aunt Freya," Hope said, lightly brushing her fingertips over the baby's head of curly black hair. "I have the cutest cousin ever."

"We should let Freya rest," Klaus said, standing up from his seat next to the bed. "She deserves it after everything she went through for the family," Klaus flashed a respectful smile at his sister that she happily returned.

"It's fine, Brother," Freya shook her head. "I have a few more visitors coming by anyway." Klaus raised an eyebrow but Marcel spoke up before he could ask about it.

"Is Vincent coming to visit?"

It wasn't exactly who Klaus had in mind.

"Well, he is the donor thanks to whom we have our baby here today," Freya said with a smile. Klaus couldn't help but notice how much his sister was glowing. "I know he had decided to leave New Orleans for good but there's no way he would miss a chance to drop by and meet the little one."

"I couldn't miss the chance either."

Everyone in the room turned to face the voice that had come from the direction of the door. Klaus felt a smile grow on his face as he saw Caroline standing at the room's entrance with a ridiculously fluffy teddy bear and a bouquet of flowers.

"Caroline!" Freya's eyes lightened up and Klaus felt a warmth within from seeing how the bond between his sister and Caroline had developed.

Before he could respond to greet her, Kol jumped in and stepped forward, extending a hand to the former Miss Mystic Falls.

"We meet again, darling," he greeted with his trademark boyish smirk. "Nice to see you still are quite the tasty little thing…"

"For God's sake, Kol…" Rebekah grumbled and Klaus let out a low growl. He was just about ready to act upon the urge to tear out his brother's liver when he watched, to his amusement, as Caroline simply rolled her eyes at his younger brother and shoved the gifts she was holding into his hand.

"Keep this aside for the baby, won't you Kol?" She flashed a bright smile at him before waving him aside so she could approach Freya's bed.

But not before she sent a loving glance Klaus' way; one that had unfortunately not gone unnoticed by Rebekah who groaned.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I think we should take Nik's advice and step away for a bit," she suggested. "I think these three" – she pointed at Freya, Klaus and Caroline – "…might have quite a bit to talk about." The others stilled for a moment before nodding in agreement and began to file out.

Kol tossed aside the gifts in his hand and walking out sulking. Marcel came up to Caroline.

"It's really nice to see you again Caroline," he smiled and shook her hand. "I hope this isn't just a quick visit and that you plan to stick around a little longer…" Marcel threw a strange look at Klaus while he said that and he rolled his eyes at his old protégé. He stepped out of the room and was followed by Keelin who had her arm around Hope. The young Tribrid waved at her headmistress with a small smile before she and Keelin stepped out as well, shutting the door behind them and leaving just Freya, Klaus and Caroline in the room with a peacefully sleeping baby. Klaus walked around the bed to stand by Caroline's side and took her hand.

"Have you been well, sweetheart?" He asked softly, looking in her eyes and earning a radiant smile from her.

"Yeah, Klaus. I'm good…"

"And your daughters?"

"Just your usual teenage witches…"

"Okay, I have to ask," Freya said suddenly, breaking the couple out of their trance as their heads turned to face her. "What is going on with you two right now? I honestly can't even tell if you're together or not." Freya's slight exasperation in her voice made Caroline huff out a laugh.

"Well, we are… together," she emphasized, looking at Klaus who still had her hand in his. "And we're not." Freya raised a confused eyebrow and Klaus proceeded to explain.

"What Caroline means to say dear sister, is that we'll be there for each other… but for now it's our daughters that need us. We are vampires after all so we do have the time to spare…"

"But we don't want to take things for granted either," Caroline added.

"So, this is like what you would call… an open relationship?" Freya frowned and Caroline scoffed.

"Yeah, I'd like to see Klaus try his hand at modern dating," she said, rolling her eyes. "Or even better, online dating!"

"Well, you're mistaken if you think I'm going to sit idly by while horny adolescents lust after you."

"Klaus, how many centuries has it been since you actually dated anyone?"

"You think I can't keep up, love?" Klaus smirked with a wicked glint in his eye and Caroline's lips parted slightly.

"Oh, I know you can," her voice came out breathy as she looked at him like she was challenging him and the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.

"Why am I getting the feeling that my baby and I are intruding?" Freya laughed and Caroline sighed.

"Basically Freya, we're giving this a shot, on our own terms," Caroline clarified before she suddenly clapped her hands. "But right now, I'm here to see the guest of honor!" She leaned over and brushed her fingers gently across the tiny baby's head. "Oh, he's a little angel."

"And his name is Nik."

"Really?" Caroline smirked, and turned to nudge Klaus on her side. She lightly plumped the baby's cheek. "I'm looking forward to seeing you at our school someday, little Nik."

"Considering his uncle and namesake is a prime investor, I don't see why he isn't a shoo-in," Klaus shrugged with a teasing smile that had Caroline smacking his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm all about fairness when it comes to taking students in. I can't be playing favorites!" She insisted with a laugh before her tone turned serious. "Even if this little guy did singlehandedly power up his mother with his powerful magic to complete an insane spell even before he was out of the womb…" Freya smiled, resting her head against the pillow and tilting it towards baby Nik.

"It really was something…" she spoke in awe of her son. "His magic practically knitted together gaps in the spell and accomplished exactly what I needed it to, even though I was slightly unsure on some of the riskier steps involved." She looked up at Klaus. "He saved our lives, Brother."

"Indeed, he did," Klaus agreed. "I woke up that day feeling better than I ever did since the time I came back to life, truth be told."

"This little guy helped destroy the plague in my girls so they could live the life they deserve to," Caroline whispered, looking at Nik before her gaze shifted to Freya's. "I'll be forever grateful." Freya nodded.

A few minutes later, Klaus and Caroline had left Freya to rest in her room while they stood on the terrace of the Abattoir. Caroline was taking in the view with her hands gripping the railing while Klaus had his arms around her waist, dropping soft kisses on her neck from behind her.

"So… are Freya and little Nik the only ones you're grateful to?" He pouted and could feel Caroline's annoyed groan.

"Don't even get me started on your ridiculous plan to sacrifice yourself AGAIN. I'm barely over it…"

"So you are…" he started, turning her around to face him. "…on the way to forgiveness, then." Caroline's irked expression softened as she looked at him.

"Klaus, I forgave you the moment I saw you alive and well," she admitted and leaned to whisper into his ear. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to bring it up and rub your face in it when I feel the need to." Klaus laughed out wholeheartedly and pulled her in for a lingering kiss. She smiled back at him, her face glowing from the bright lights reflected from cityscape below.

At that very moment, Klaus didn't think he could be happier.

ONE YEAR LATER…

"Dad, you should go."

"What?"

Klaus looked up from his canvas to see his daughter regard him seriously from across the table. He and Hope had gotten into the routine of painting together at least once every month whenever she came home for the weekend from school; but judging by the barely touched sheet before her, she had clearly been preoccupied by whatever she had to say.

"You should go," she repeated, '…to Europe with Caroline." Klaus' eyes widened slightly and he chuckled at his daughter's blatant suggestion.

"Sweetheart," he began with a smile, "I thought it was made abundantly clear that Caroline and I decided to spend time with our children…"

"Yes, you made that very clear, like, a year ago but… this is ridiculous, Dad," Hope commented, making Klaus raise an eyebrow. "I love you but in case you haven't noticed, I'm not a small child that needs constant attention. Trust me, if you want to take the time to spend the year traveling you should." She let out a long, drawn-out sigh that felt comically exaggerated to Klaus. "Honestly Dad, after everything you've been through you deserve a break."

"A parent never takes a break, love," Klaus pointed out with a straight face as he brought his brush back to his sheet and continued to paint.

"It's JUST a year Dad, that's barely a blip of a blip in your lifetime."

"But not in yours," he said simply and Hope huffed impatiently.

"Think of it as a sabbatical," she reasoned. It was at this point that Klaus set his brush down and looked up, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Hope.

"I am curious. Why is it that my daughter is suddenly so insistent that I go on a trip?" He smirked. "Tell me, little wolf, are you already sick of spending time with your father?"

"What? No, I –" Hope laughed drily. "I just want you to have some fun for once." Klaus tilted his head at her.

"Try again, sweetheart," he said with a smile and Hope groaned.

"Fine. So, I might have colluded with the Saltzman twins to make this happen…"

"Come on, Mom. You were planning on going to Europe ANYWAY to bring in new recruits for school," Lizzie debated while flashing her mother an innocent smile from across the table during their family dinner. Alaric had stepped outside to take a phone call and the blonde twin had taken the chance to tease her mother while Josie sat next to her with the same excited expression on her face as hers. Caroline shook her head as she poked her fork into her salad.

"I'm really starting to rethink telling you girls about the first time Klaus offered to take me places."

"Are you kidding mom? It's so romantic," Josie grinned as Caroline held back the urge to roll her eyes. "I mean the way you just told him off and threw the bracelet at him –"

"It wasn't meant to be a romantic story; I was pissed off!" Caroline argued, her eyes wide.

"Even better," Lizzie said with a smirk and Caroline couldn't help but laugh at her daughters' tenacity.

"What are you girls talking about?" Alaric asked as he returned and seated himself next to Caroline.

"We were just telling Mom she should stop putting off that work trip she had been planning for ages." Alaric paused for moment and shrugged, turning to Caroline.

"Well, you did have things to do there."

"Yes!" Josie and Lizzie let out excited giggles while Caroline glared at Alaric.

"Ric, you too?"

"What? It'll be good practice if we do start to open more schools and need to be in different places while still managing things." Caroline began to argue but found herself unable to come up with anything to counter Alaric. She let out an exasperated laugh.

"You guys are crazy."

Caroline stood at the bottom of the steps as she looked up to see Klaus standing at the entrance to the small aircraft. She sighed; he was looking dapper as ever wearing the deep purple Henley she liked so much over which he had put on a dark jacket that he had paired with dark jeans and boots.

"A chartered flight, Klaus? Really?" Caroline raised her eyebrows at him as one of the crew took her bags and walked up the airstair ahead of her. Klaus simply shrugged.

"I'm almost hurt that you expected any less," he said with a smirk as Caroline walked up the steps and pulled him into a hug.

"Going all out, are we?" Caroline teased him with a soft kiss. "Careful Klaus, you might run out of ways to woo me before we are done with our first destination." Klaus chuckled lightly.

"I'm a thousand years old love, as you so delight in constantly reminding me. I think I can last at least a little bit longer than that," he narrowed his eyes at her with a challenging look and she laughed. Klaus gave a light peck on her cheeks before escorting her inside.

Just a short while later, the plane had taken off and steadied itself while Caroline and Klaus held up their glasses of champagne, sitting across from each other.

"Here's to…" Caroline thought for a moment before continuing, "…our Happily Ever After? Oh God, that sounded much better in my head," she laughed and Klaus smiled at her.

"We really have come a long way, haven't we?" He mused before clinking his glass with hers and taking a sip of his drink. He let the smooth fizzy liquid roll around his tongue before he swallowed and set the flute aside. He quietly watched Caroline do the same and let her have a moment to savor her beverage before he continued. "It's too bad, though." Caroline's attention shifted back to him; her brows furrowed in confusion.

"What's too bad?" She questioned, taking another sip of her drink and Klaus sat back, linking his fingers together.

"This 'happily ever after' concept," he explained. "I don't particularly fancy it."

"Really?" Caroline tilted her head at him. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the Big Bad Wolf doesn't like fairy tale endings," she joked. Klaus' face however, remained serious.

"But that's precisely it, love," he said pointedly. "The very phrase itself is an indication of the end of a story."

Caroline chewed her lower lip thoughtfully and watched Klaus. The way he said those words; his expression had turned so solemn that she couldn't help but smile at his earnestness.

"I see," she said simply and nodded her head in understanding. She slowly put her glass to the side and walked over to Klaus, seating herself comfortably on his lap and taking his hand. "Well, that, is where you have nothing to worry about, mister." Klaus used his other arm to pull her closer to him, capturing her gaze with his.

"How do you reckon, love?"

"Because what we have, is by no means the end of anything."

"Oh?" Klaus had to smile at Caroline's enthusiasm, her almost relentless positivity that kept her and those around her going, despite everything she had gone through in her own life.

Her undeniable light burning bright; one that shone a path through his darkness.

"On the contrary," Caroline continued, breaking into Klaus' thoughts, "I'd say this is the beginning."

"Of what?" He asked, his eyes burning into hers. She leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on his lips before squeezing his palm and whispering into his ear.

"Of our Always and Forever."

-FIN-

A/N: So there you have it, the end of what is probably the longest work I've ever written; I mean it was definitely WAY longer than my college thesis :P

It's really late and I'm too exhausted and sleepy to type but you know the drill: let me know if you enjoyed the story and what your favourite parts were! It could be anything in this chapter or something that you liked in the story overall. If you want to share the love, this is your chance :) On that note, please pardon any typos and weird things you may come across in this chap, lol.

So some things I want to get out of the way:

YES there will be an epilogue... probably. It's just a bunch of words right now and I'm not going to put a timeline on it; it will happen when it happens. Irrespective, this is the true end of the story. Also, did you notice how I did the time-jump to sorta align with the Legacies timeline where 'Caroline is away in Europe'? Bwahaha that was my last attempt at keeping things as canon-ish as I could. What fun it's been!

NO I won't be writing any more KC stories; well, definitely not multi-chaps. I'm not being mean, just realistic - I got the story I wanted to say out of my system and I'm content (also, I doubt my brain has the bandwidth for more lol). So now, I'm going to spend some well-deserved time in reader-mode instead, finally getting around to indulging in some LONG overdue KC must-reads and henceforth shall exist as the little monkey leaving purple hearts in the comments section. Yay!

MAYBE you might see other stories get put up - I like to experiment with my writing so they may be completely different Fandoms or stories so, heads up if you get any weird updates you feel like you didn't sign up for.

One final time, THANK YOU to everyone who lifted me up, kept me going, shared their love with emojis, punctuations, words, edits and WHOLE DAMN ESSAYS! I loved every moment of it. You guys are the ones who make me look THIS good.

Cheers, 💜

MUSIC PROMPTS:

~.~

"He's gone, Caroline."

'Never Forget' - Michelle Pfeiffer [Murder on the Orient Express]

~.~

"Bloody hell, the bitch is alive."

'Vanya Locked Up' - Jeff Russo [The Umbrella Academy]

~.~

"Of our Always and Forever."

'Together We Will Live Forever' - Clint Mansell

*P.S. There is an actual Spotify playlist for the music I was listening to while writing this story (including the stuff that I've mentioned on here throughout the story). If anyone's even remotely interested, say the word and I might mention it in the Epilogue update... whenever that is.