A/N: Hey guys :)
Real quick, I changed the summary to this story. This doesn't change the premises of the story but I just thought I'd let everyone know about the change that was made.
Hope you guys enjoy :)
Chapter Three: A Favored Cure
Forcing herself to step out of the rental car was possibly one of the hardest things Caroline had ever had to do, it was such a minimal thing that shouldn't have caused her palms to sweat, her heart to race, her bones to be jittery, or her breathing to come out jagged. But stepping out of the car meant she was really back in Mystic Falls, getting out of the car meant she couldn't turn around at that point, she would have to keep moving forward until she decided her visit here was over. Inside the car Caroline could pretend she was anywhere else but her hometown.
It was the first time she was back in Mystic Falls after leaving twenty-two years ago. When she had left the day of Lizzie's and Hope's wedding, she had thought she would have been back to visit less than a year later, that had never happened. Once Caroline had gotten a taste of the world, she refused to give it up, she refused to come back to Mystic Falls to be confronted with a past that was dead.
It wasn't that she dropped all ties to her old town or the people she loved, she didn't stop contact with the people who mattered to her. Lizzie, Josie, and Hope communicated with her on the regular, her daughters and Hope had even traveled to see her on multiple occasions when she told them she wouldn't be coming back to Mystic Falls anytime soon.
One of those visits was for Hope and Lizzie to introduce Caroline to her grandchildren, to Klaus's grandchildren, Luca and Mia, a set of siblings one year apart that they had adopted seventeen years ago when Luca was one years old and Mia had just been born. The children were completely human but not ignorant of the supernatural world, of course they knew, not only because of both their mothers but because they, like everyone else, had eventually questioned why their grandmother never aged.
Unlike her sister who had herself a wedding, a wife, and children, Josie chose a life the exact opposite of that. When her other daughter came to visit her, she almost always had a new partner in hand, Caroline understood Josie was a free spirt that didn't want to be tied down, she had made some unconventional choices for herself but one's Caroline supported wholeheartedly. Caroline would always support her daughters decisions, as long as it made them happy.
She was glad to continue the routine they all had developed not long after she had left, it worked out well for her. She was still a part of her daughters and Hope's lives without bringing attention to them, and Caroline was out experiencing new things all the time, she was content in the way she chose to live.
It wasn't happiness exactly, but it was a comfort she was scared Mystic Falls would aim to destroy. She had the option of not coming back here, she always had that option open to her, but Caroline felt this was as good a time as any to come back.
All her old friends were in their senior years, even her daughters and Hope were up there in age, being in their 50's. The Mystic Falls scooby doo gang was hanging on by mere threads, soon there would be none of them left, they would all be dead and buried six feet underground. Alaric had already passed on; Caroline remembers clear as day the phone call she received from her girls crying eleven years ago informing her that their father had died of a sudden heart attack. She had tried her best to console the girls through phone calls and facetimes, but she couldn't bring herself to came back to attend his funeral, she didn't want to, as sad as she felt for her daughters, Alaric had long since been absent from her life.
Taking a deep breath to raise her courage Caroline stepped up to the school that was now ran by Lizzie and Hope, and knocked on the door. She shuffled her feet while she waited for the door to open, the Boarding House had so many memories that Caroline didn't want in her head but already they seemed to be lingering just at the edges ready to spring forth. Good memories, bad memories, memories that were better left here in the Boarding House, in Mystic Falls, where they belonged, forever engraved in the walls and roads of this miserable town.
"Well now what do we have here." Caroline wouldn't have ever thought her first reaction to seeing Kol would be to beam at him, to have an urge to hug him, he was someone she was looking forward to seeing as unusual as that was to admit, having a chance to see him was half the reason why she had even came to begin with.
As much as she wanted to hug him, she held herself back from stepping into his personal space, she wasn't sure if they were on a level of familiar with each other enough to hug like they were old friends or not. He stood in front of Caroline, cocky as ever, grinning at her whole leaning against the door as if he owned the place.
"Kol." Caroline nodded to him, letting her smile grow a lot bigger once she pushed her way past him to enter the school.
She took a minute to look around, she didn't know what she was expecting to see but everything looked the same as it did when she was here last. There was minor changes here and there, a couple of updated pieces of furniture mostly but it was almost like she had never left, as if the school had been frozen all these years.
"Long time no see Darling." Kol commented to her from the place he had taken up next to her, their shoulders were pressed together, he was watching her curiously as she took in the Boarding House.
"Yeah." Caroline agreed, she turned away from the frozen house to look at Kol, he of course hadn't changed a bit in appearance, just like her, she found it was a lot easier to study him then it was to take in the house that had consumed so much of her younger years.
"How have you been?" Caroline asked, she wanted to prolong this encounter with him, she was genuinely interested in his answer, but moreover she wanted to take her time going into the living area where she can hear multiple voices overlapping each other, "How's Davina been?"
Kol raised one of his eyebrows at her, his grin turning into a smirk at her question, "Small talk? Really Darling?" He asked back letting out a deep chuckle that made Caroline's stomach do a summersault.
"Shut up." Caroline grumbled back halfheartedly, she couldn't keep the smile off her face, there was something about being in Kol's presence that pushed her boundary of being content to bordering on being happy.
"I've been absolutely amazing." Kol bumped his shoulder against hers, playing along to her small talk, she was glad to hear the truth in his words though, relieved even, she hadn't even realized she was worried of his response to her.
Walking just slightly ahead of her in the direction of the living room, Kol turned around suddenly just before entering the space filled with people, stopping Caroline in her place right behind him, putting his hand to her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, he said, "Though I have caught myself wondering when I would get the pleasure of seeing you in person again." He gave a look to her that Caroline felt was too intense for this moment before he moved into the living room, leaving her hanging at the entry way, staring after him.
Apparently they had enough familiarity with each other for shoulder squeezes, perhaps giving Kol a hug wouldn't have pushed into unknown territory, Caroline looked down to her feet, she didn't want to acknowledge that her shoulder tingled where he had laid his hand.
Kol was someone Caroline never thought she'd have any contact with, ever, there wasn't a reason to, they were different people only connected by a smidge of a string that was brought on by her connection to Klaus. Klaus, whose been dead for thirty-seven years, that tiny string should have severed the second Klaus had died, yet somehow incomprehensible to Caroline, the string actually grew longer and thicker. Not into anything amazingly formidable, it was still flimsy in comparison to the strings she had attached to other people, to the string that had connected her and Klaus, but it was a string that wasn't even supposed to exist anymore, and somehow it made the string that much more special to Caroline.
Two physical interactions is all she's had with Kol, just Kol, not including those of which included Klaus next to him. Both those interactions had given Caroline a piece of herself back, made her a little bit more whole afterwards, made her reconnect with Klaus again in some form too, they weren't idle interactions that she easily forgot.
When she had left Mystic Falls, she thought that was the end of any communication with Kol, nothing could have surprised her more though then when Kol somehow got ahold of her number and he had starting texting her random places he thought she should visit after she explored Rome, Paris, and Tokyo to her hearts content. He had also texted her small commentary of what he missed about those places he suggested, what he hated, and what he thought she would love or hate about them.
Their communication was never more than texting, they never made phone calls to each other or facetimed, their texts even were just quick messages every other month, never more than a friendly incentive to a maybe friend who was traveling. She hadn't expected Kol of all people to make an effort like that though, and she wasn't sure why he did but she couldn't deny that she liked waking up to a text from him, giving her the next destination to travel to.
Walking into the living room after Kol, Caroline followed him, keeping herself as close to the walls as she could get, edging herself away from the crowd, first wanting to take in the people gathered here before making any rounds of hugs and hello's to anyone. There was a lot more people then she had expected, she could tell which ones were here for Rebekah and which ones were here for Damon, they kept a fair amount of distance between each other. Eyeing one another with no hint of trust on either side, the same animosity between them that's permitted their surroundings since they first came in contact with each other.
No one paid her any mind, too busy with the purpose of why they were gathered here to begin with, only her daughters, Hope, and Davina gave her a head nod of acknowledgment. She took a seat in a chair Kol pointed to, one that was next to his and Davina's, their seating was a little bit away from the main gathering, not a part of the mass fully but just on the brink of it, still there but not vital in the mix.
This was something Caroline didn't need to be a part of, not really, it had nothing to do with her, it wouldn't affect her in any way, but inside she couldn't shake the feeling that she had to be here for Klaus. Logically she didn't, she knew that, it wouldn't matter either way, but for her peace of mind she was here, for the promise she made to Klaus concerning the cure and his sister, she was here.
She had traveled all the way to Mystic Falls after so many years to watch Rebekah, Klaus's baby sister that he had loved so much, occasionally too much, get the one wish she had harbored in her heart for hundreds of years. Rebekah was finally going to be human again.
A wish that wouldn't be granted if Klaus was still alive, but a wish he gave his blessing to just before he died. He had asked one more favor of Caroline when he had asked her for her daughters help to get the Hollow out of Hope and put into him, and that was to secure Rebekah's place as the next person to take the cure from Damon when he was close to death. She had done just that, for Klaus but more so for Rebekah who desperately wanted a human life after so much of an endless vampire one that was quite literally never ending.
It was time for Rebekah to get her long waited, much deserved wish, Damon was sick, he was given less the six months to live a little over five months ago, getting weaker every day, barley holding on to life. He would naturally be gone soon, according to him he was ready to leave the world, Elena wasn't quite as ready as he was but she knew in order for Rebekah to get the cure she needed to let go of the long and fruitful life she had shared with Damon, so someone else had the chance to experience that same joy.
Half the people that surrounded the living room were here to support Rebekah becoming human. Marcel and Freya were with Rebekah on one of the long couches, Marcel was whispering sweet nothings into her ear while Freya held her hand in a tight grip. Keelin was just behind the couch with hers and Freya's children, as well as a few unfamiliar faces Caroline couldn't name, all of them had encouraging smiles for the Original Vampire. Kol and Davina were with Caroline, not as close as the rest of the Mikaelson family but still close enough to show the support and of course Hope was here as well fretting around Rebekah and Lizzie, seemingly not knowing who to stand by.
The other half of the people here were grouped closely to Damon, whispering their goodbye's to him, he would rabidly deteriorate once the cure was out of his system, now was the only time they had to express their sentiments. Elena along with her and Damon's daughter Stefanie and their two other children Caroline couldn't remember the names of were at Damon's head, pressing kisses to skin, weeping tears into his shirt. Just to the side of them were a man and young kids, Caroline assumes this was Stefanie's husband and kids. Bonnie and Jeremy along with their two children were seated on the other couch that was pressed together to the couch Damon was on, they too were crying, though more silently then Elena and her kids.
Matt, Lizzie, and Josie, and her own grandchildren Mia and Luca were here as well but a little further from the Mystic Falls group like she was, keeping their distance, more on neutral ground than anything else. Caroline supposed she was here as a mixture of both, to support Rebekah and to say a wordless goodbye to Damon, more so for Rebekah though.
Finally after a long moment of silence, Damon said he was ready, Bonnie would be the one taking the cure from Damon, Freya would be the one transferring the cure to Rebekah.
Caroline turned away well the cure was transferred, everyone else seemed to fixate on it, seemingly fascinated with the process but she didn't want to look as Damon died and as happy as she was for Rebekah she didn't want to watch the painful process of her turning human either. Glancing to her right side, she caught Kol's eyes with her own, he wasn't watching either, instead he appeared to find more entertainment watching her. They held eyes for a minute before Kol's attention was pulled away by Davina's hand suddenly gripping his thigh, her mouth and nose scrunched as Freya asked Rebekah if she was ready.
Turning her eyes away from the couple next to her, Caroline choose to study the people in the room with a little more attention to detail, she would be leaving soon now that the cure was out of Damon and in Rebekah so it was a perfect time to look, no one was paying attention to her. She ignored the faces she had no names to, glossing over them she focused on the faces she did know.
The majority of the people around had human faces that had aged, some more than others, excluding herself there was only now two other vampires in the room, Kol and Marcel, everyone else was human, Rebekah being the newest member to join their mortal world. The aged faces were a harsh reality to Caroline that she had come to terms with some time ago, not easily of course, but a truth nonetheless, one day she would be alone in this world, that was a reality that was fast approaching her.
Caroline didn't have contact with the majority of the room, this being the first time she's came near them in forever, but knowing Elena, Bonnie, Jeremy, Keelin, Freya, and Davina, didn't have much more time left on this earth did make a part of her sad, she couldn't lie and say she would mourn them because she wouldn't, for Bonnie, Elena, and Jeremy, she's let them go already and as for Keelin, Freya, and Davina, she didn't know them well enough to mourn but it was a sad thought to know they would be gone one day regardless. Hope, Lizzie, and Josie also didn't have a lot of time left, mere decades if they were lucky, unlike the previous occupants of her thoughts though, Caroline would be mourning their loss.
It was a reluctant habit of Caroline's at this point to think about and compare her life to the other world Caroline she had imagined up. That Caroline wouldn't be alone like she would be once everyone's time had come, the other world Caroline had Klaus by her side, always and forever. That Caroline wouldn't live a lonely existence, that Caroline got everything she wished she had gotten in this life.
She wondered if the other world counters of their daughters had turned, if Klaus and she had presented a good supernatural future for them that Caroline by herself could never offer them. Maybe her daughters had changed into full-fledged heretics and maybe Hope had turned into a tribrid, maybe they had given into the supernatural world with her and Klaus, maybe unlike this world staying human hadn't ever crossed their minds.
The other Caroline also had a whole family of originals to call her own, Rebekah would not have been given the choice of a human life, Klaus and Elijah would still be alive, Kol would obviously be there as well, and Freya might have been convinced to turn with a whole family at her back, significant partners like Keelin and Marcel would also be there, other world Caroline would never starve for company, she would never go days in a pitches of darkness that reeked of loneliness. Other world Caroline would never know the pain that came with having to say goodbye to everyone one by one.
What a lucky bitch.
Loud sobs from several people in the room pulled Caroline from her thoughts, it was completely done, the cure was transferred, Damon was dead and Rebekah was human.
Rebekah was taking part in the sobs coming from those in mourning, her sobs spoke a different language though, one of happiness and relief, Caroline smiled to herself, she hoped Klaus could see from wherever he was how much this meant to his sister. She hoped he was as happy for Rebekah as she was.
When Rebekah met Caroline's eyes across the room, she mouthed a silent "thank you" to her, Caroline nodded, she hadn't done much in the overall grand scheme of things but she wasn't not about to accept gratitude from someone who once upon a time had driven Caroline up a wall with her demands and her bitchiness. The rest of the sobs came from those grieving Damon, he lied perfectly still on the couch, drained of life, his hand still somehow clutched tightly with Elena's. She sent a silent prayer to him, wishing him the best in whatever after life there was, one that would no doubt hold Stefan there, one where both brothers would wait for Elena to join them.
Thinking now would be the best time to leave, Caroline stood from her seat, everyone was busy either starting the grieving process or celebrating, none of which she had any desire to participate in, it was the perfect time to make her get away without questions. She would call her daughters and Hope later to explain her disappearance, though she didn't think they would be shocked that she left without greeting them or saying goodbye to them, this house, this town, wasn't home anymore, she itched to leave.
Passing behind Kol's chair Caroline pressed her palm to the middle of his back, his spine straightened up when she did, he had noticed her getting up but made no attempt to follow suit, he turned a little in his seat to look over his shoulder at her. She didn't say anything to him, just ran her hand across his back in a silent goodbye before she continued on her way.
She dawdled in the doorway of the room for a minute, watching the people inside, most of them would be gone in the next decade or two, this would be the last time Caroline would see most of them, she had no plans to return to Mystic Falls anytime soon after all. Much like she did for Damon mere moments before, she sent a silent goodbye to them, hoping that when their time came, they joined loved ones on the other side.
"Leaving so soon Darling?" Kol stopped her just outside the school before she reached her rental. She hadn't heard him come after her, Kol apparently had developed an unhealthy habit of following after her when she left any room, she found she actually didn't mind that one bit.
"I only came here to make sure Rebekah got the cure." Caroline told him, that wasn't entirely truthful, she had also came here to see him but she wasn't going to verbally express that to him. She slowed her walking, stopping completely when she reached the front of the rental, she turned around to face him. How her and Kol had gotten to a point that their comfortable enough to be less than a foot apart from each other, she doesn't know, she'll have to dissect that when she's alone with her thoughts.
"Yes, keeping a favor to Nik." She really shouldn't be so shocked still to find out Kol knew way more then he should about what went on between herself and Klaus, she honestly should have expected it. It was both enduring and creepy how he casually mentioned the promises, the interactions, the connection that she and his brother once shared together. It might have been her pure imagination but Kol sounded a little bitter with his statement, he looked at her as if waiting for something.
"It was more than a favor to him," she told Kol, ignoring his downturned mouth, "Rebekah has been wanting this for hundreds of years, I wanted to be here to watch that dream, that wish come true for her." She wasn't close to Rebekah, not at all, but it meant a lot to her to be here on her and Klaus's behalf, it was important to Caroline to show that support and understanding.
"I see," Kol looked down, kicking a rock away from his foot, he stepped closer to her, "You've also just watched the last of my siblings choosing to leave this world behind." An unspoken "leave me behind" was heavy in the air around them.
The sad truth was that Kol wasn't wrong, Rebekah was the last of his siblings he had left that before this day would have been there with him for hundreds of years to come. His younger brother Henrik had died over a thousand years ago, Finn had died twice over, once in Mystic Falls and once in New Orleans, Klaus and Elijah had died thirty-seven years ago saving Hope, Freya was well on her way to her death bed, and within the next couple of decades she too would no longer be here.
The last one really was Rebekah, and now she would be gone in matter of decades as well, after having lived a long human life. He didn't even have Hope or Davina to rely on at that point, both of them would be gone in a few decades just like Freya and just like Rebekah, both having chosen to stay human. Or even Marcel, who was his brother-in-law, but who knew what would happen to Marcel after Rebekah's human life had run its course, who knew where he would be, where he would go.
Kol would be alone after that, like her. Some selfish part of her instantly felt less lonely with that fact, it was terrible but no less true. Kol would eventually lose everyone, the only ones who would remain would be family that he's not close to, family that would be better to leave behind because it would be an endless cycle of pain of losing more people over the years. Family like Luca, Mia, Nik, and whatever children Rebekah might chose to have. They were better off without them in their lives, their children's lives, their children's children's lives, and so on. It would be better that way, better to keep an eye out for them from afar but not push it beyond that.
Knowing the people you love are all going to die well you lived on was a special kind of torture that Caroline had accepted but didn't care for. She and Kol shared that torture, that pain, no one else understood it like they did, she's almost positive Kol hasn't shared this small bit of fear he harbored of being alone with anyone except maybe Davina. She wonders what it means for him to be confiding in her, she knows what a small part of her wants it to mean, but that thought was better left hidden in the deep corners of her brain.
"I'm sorry Kol." Caroline hesitated only a second before she blanked her mind, ridding herself of the doubts she had inside, she closed the small distance between herself and Kol to hug him, her arms wrapped around his waist, her head laid on his chest, he accepted the hug instantly, his own arms went around her and tightened, he laid his head on top of hers, burying his nose into her hair, breathing in her brown sugar and vanilla scented shampoo.
They didn't say anything for a long moment, taking the comfort they refused to knowledge they needed from each other in silence.
"Was that the only reason you came here today?" He whispered into her hair, talking for her ears alone, he pulled back from her to look into her eyes, searching them, looking for something that she's not even sure if he know what he's looking for.
"I might have also caught myself wondering when I would see you again, I couldn't very well pass up the opportunity when it presented itself, could I?" She quietly said back, she wasn't admitting to anything more than wanting to see him again but it did feel like she was baring her soul to him in the little bubble they had created outside of the Boarding House. A bubble that was meant for just the two of them, a bubble filled with an unexplained tension that felt close to what she remembers having with Klaus, a deep sense of rightness, a slowly formed bridge for them to connect with each other.
"I mean you could have passed it up," he wrapped a loose curl of hers around his finger, playfully tugging it, "But you didn't, and I can't explain why that makes me happy." It tugged at her heart that he genuinely sounded confused with his own emotions, though she has no room to judge, her own emotions were a roller coaster she wanted to get off of half the time but she didn't like seeing a frown in place of his grins.
They pulled apart completely when the door to the school was opened, her arms dropped from around him, and he let go of the piece of hair he was playing with, they each took a step back from each other, creating a notable distance that wasn't there before.
Davina stood at the entrance of the school, her blue eyes flickering back and forth between them before understanding and something close to pity reflected back. Caroline had a sneaking suspicion that Davina knew exactly what Kol had told her, maybe Caroline was wrong, maybe Davina understood loneliness on a deeper level then Caroline had given her credit for. She was relieved to note that Davina didn't look the slightest bit upset over how close Caroline and Kol had been, she wouldn't ever want to disrespect a marriage like that, especially not Kol's marriage, if anything Davina looked pleased to see them together, Caroline didn't want to think too much on why.
"I should go before anyone else comes outside." She didn't want to chance someone inside the school convincing her to stay if they came out to disagree with her leaving early, she doubted anyone would but it was better not to tempt them to do just that. Plus she had one more stop to make before she left Mystic Falls, a stop that would take her a better part of an hour. She planned to put flowers on her mother's, Stefan's, and Alaric's graves before she left town, they deserved that much from her at the very least.
"Of course Darling, the wonders of the world wait for no one." Kol teased her, the serious tension filled discussion put behind them, Caroline rolled her eyes at him as she walked backwards to her car, she waved at Davina, giving her a large smile, who returned her hand gesture with a small smile of her own.
"I'll see you around Kol." It felt like a promise, something she hasn't made in a long time, there hasn't been anyone to make one to, she found she didn't mind that hint of a promise to him.
"Goodbye Caroline." He told her, she got in her car, driving away, it was Deja'Vu looking in the rearview mirror as she left, watching him watch her drive off, not knowing when they'll see each other again.
A/N: I'm not sure how the cure was meant to be handled because the show confused me a little bit with it so I just went with what I interpreted when I watched the show, if it's wrong please don't come for my head lol. Also I didn't write it in because I didn't see that much of a point but it goes without saying that the school was cleared out of kids before any of the cure business took place.
Hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to leave a review :)
***ANSWER TO REVIEW***
To: Jalissa12213: This unusual pairing for sure deserves a little bit more attention and love then what it has, Caroline and Kol have such potential that is just begging to be explored lol I'm willing to read any and all stories of them, and I'm so happy that I could provide a story for other readers to enjoy with this pairing. It is nuts to think that eventually Kol and Caroline would be alone, I hadn't thought about this either until those Tik Tok's popped up on my For-You page. Caroline was meant to be a Mikaelson and no one can tell me different lmfao she fits to well with all of that crazy family to not be destined to be one of them. Thank you so much for the review :)
To: cerulean369: I am so glad to know that I'm doing something right when it comes to this story lol this couple is very rarely put together in fanfiction and they only have like 3 scenes together in the shows (and that's pushing it) so I can understand why many people might not have ever considered them together as a couple, but they are one of my favorites and I wish they got more love from fans because the possibilities to angle their story as a couple are limitless. Thank you so much for your review, I'm so happy that you've enjoyed the story so far :)
To: potterheaddd: Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I'm definitely looking forward to posting more soon, school has been crazy this past semester which is why I haven't had time to edit the last two remaining chapters the way I would like to, but I'm hoping to be able to soon considering this semester will be ending soon for me. Thank you again, reviews/comments keep me coming back to my stories, determined not to give up on them :)