Chapter Two

Caroline spent the day hanging out with her friends before finding her way home and to bed early so that she could wake up in time to get ready to meet Elijah. She couldn't decide what to call him, she knew that he was her father, but it felt weird calling someone she had never met dad. But it also felt weird to call him Elijah. She wanted so badly to get to know him enough to call him dad. She barely slept that night and was up early to get ready. She showered and curled her hair, then she put on the small amount of makeup that her mother would let her wear, before finally picking out a dress to wear. Finally, she put on the necklace that she had had since she was a baby, she didn't know if it was from him, but it was the closest thing she had to possibly being from him. Then once her necklace was in place and her sandals on her feet, she walked out to the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal. That was where she found her mother.

"Morning mom."

"Good morning Caroline, are you excited about today?"

'Yeah, but I'm also nervous. I don't know what to call him."

"I am sure he doesn't care what you call him, Caroline. He is your father, but if you are not ready to call him that, he will understand. He knows that you don't know him." Her mother explained with a smile as she placed a cup of tea in front of the girl who had become a daughter to her.

"I guess. Do you think he will take me shopping in town or to the mall in the next town over?"

"I would guess the mall, he won't want anyone to see you with him and ask too many questions."

"What do you think he will be like?"

"Caroline, when I met him he was reserved, he looked like he was carrying the weight of the world, but at the same time he had everything organized. He knew what he was doing, or at least it seemed like he did. Occasionally though he would loosen up for a moment with a smile, or a laugh, and that is the thing that makes me know you are like him. Your smile is the exact same as his, and your laugh lights up a room like he does. It is almost as if the world knows that the two of you have so much on your mind and yet sometimes you choose to smile, there is something special about a smile that is chosen instead of felt." Her mother said as she finished her tea and placed the cup in the sink. Caroline let that be the end of the conversation and fell into silence while she ate her breakfast. Just as she had finished and placed the bowl and cup in the sink, the doorbell rang. She glanced at her mother before the two of them walked to the door. With a deep breath, Caroline pulled it open. There he stood, he was wearing a black suit with a blue shirt and black tie. His hair was perfectly brushed to the side and his face perfectly shaven. He held a bouquet of roses in one hand and a small gift in the other. His eyes were brown and dark, they seemed to still hold the sadness that Elizabeth Forbes had seen so many years ago. He stood straight as if he were meeting royalty or at a really important business meeting. The one feature that seemed almost out of place was the smile that graced his face as he made eye contact with Caroline.

"Hello, Caroline." His voice was the same as it had been on the phone, but it almost seemed deeper in person. It still gave Caroline that calm feeling, though, as if he was the safest place in the world.

"Hi."

"Hello, Elijah, it is good to see you again, please come in." Caroline's mom offered once she realized that Caroline had gotten nervous in the moments it had taken her to get from the kitchen to the door. They all stepped back into the den before Elijah handed Caroline the gift and Elizabeth the flowers.

"Thank you for letting me come, I apologize for not giving more advanced notice."

"It really is fine. Thank you for the flowers, and for being willing to take Caroline shopping, I am going to put these in a vase, and then I will be back, can I get you a drink?"

"No, thank you, I am fine."

"Can I ask you a question?" Caroline asked once her mother had left the room.

"Of course."

"You put a picture of your family in the book, but you didn't tell me who was who, will you tell me about them?"

"Do you have the picture?"

"Yes, here it is." Caroline said, grabbing the book out of her bag on the chair and opening it to the photo.

"Clearly, I am at the top, next down is Kol, then Klaus, then Rebekah. Finn isn't in the picture, Klaus has a complicated way of protecting us from our father. He has silver daggers that put us in a slumber until they are removed, when we get in our own way, for example when Finn became a martyr, and when Rebekah fell in love and was unwilling to run, he would dagger us. Finn has been daggered the longest, so he is not in the picture."

"Where are they now?

"All but Klaus are daggered, and I have no idea where Klaus is. He disappeared to stay off of the radar of our father."

"What about you? Are you off of his radar?"

"Mikael went silent a few years ago. Nobody has seen him, heard from him, or been killed by him in years. Honestly, I do not think he has any clue as to where I am." Elijah explained, he was pretty sure that Elizabeth Forbes was listening from the kitchen, but he had nothing to hide from the woman who had raised his daughter.

"What about your brother? Does he know where you are? Does he want to dagger you too?"

"As far as I know, Klaus has no idea where I am, and the last time I checked he didn't want to dagger me." As soon as he finished talking, Caroline had jumped into another question and Elizabeth had returned to the den,

"Why is my name Caroline Ahana?" Caroline had begun to speak faster as her nerves made themselves known to the others in the group.

"Your first name, Caroline, means strong. Your middle name, Ahana, means inner light, inner happiness, and strong will. Your mother was named for the meaning of her name, and while my parents did not name because of that, she asked that we name you that way. She wanted to name you strong, and I wanted to name you something to do with joy or happiness, she came up with your name." Elijah explained, with a smile.

"I am assuming that you will be taking her to the mall in the next town over?" Elizabeth asked, keeping Caroline from asking another question.

"That was my plan, I did not want the people of this town to see me with her and ask too many questions."

"My thoughts exactly, If I were you I would get on the road, the traffic will pick up soon."

"Very well, Caroline, are you ready to go?"

"Yup." As she had talked a little bit to him her nerves had gone down and her excitement had gone up, while she still had many questions she was ready to spend more time with him. So she quickly grabbed her bag and the book that lay next to it. Once she grabbed her stuff, Elijah opened the door for her and with a quick wave to her mom she headed out the door. When she saw the car out front, she froze, it was the nicest car she had ever seen. It was an old-fashioned sports car, it looked like it was from the 50s. Because she had paused, Elijah had time to move around her and open the car door for her. After a moment, she moved to get in the car. After shutting the door for her, Elijah moved around the car and got in himself, starting it and beginning the drive to the mall. The first few minutes were silent as they made their way through the awkwardness of the first meeting. Elijah didn't want to start the conversation and make her nervous, so he sat in silence and waited for her to be ready to talk. After about ten minutes, she reached down and grabbed the book from the floor at her feet. She opened it to a page that Elijah knew well, it was the page with the photo of his wife.

"What was she like?" Caroline's voice was soft, it sounded almost cautious to Elijah as he glanced to see that she was carefully running her finger over her mother's photo.

"She was strong, and kind. She cared more than anyone I ever met, but she was also careful. She was brave and caring. When you got sick, there was nobody you would want to nurse you more. She was careful with her words, and she never tore anyone down with insults. She had a faith that she held to above all else, and she loved you more than anyone ever will again. She would die for those she loved, and she always stood up for the weaker person. She saw the good in people, especially my brothers, who most called wild and crazed. She would have been more proud of you than anyone else." Elijah explained, his wife had been like no one he had ever met, even in his thousand years of life.

"What was her name?"

"Regina."

"What happened?"

"She died in childbirth, there were unknown complications that in this time would have been fine, but in that time couldn't be treated. I couldn't go to help her or be with her because of the sun. She died before I could get there, and the night I went to my parents for dinner ended up being the last time I ever saw her." After Elijah finished, Caroline closed the book, and they once again fell into silence, it only lasted for a moment though as Elijah decided that this time he would be the one to break it.

"What did you do for your birthday?"

"I glanced through the book, read the first letter, and then I went to get ice cream with Bonnie and Elena at the grill. Then I went home to get some sleep for today."

"Did you read anything else but the first letter?"

"No, I wanted to save the others, I know that you said you would be there for me when I needed you to, but I also know that there will be hard days when you won't be here, I thought I might want to have them to read then."

"Page 123, read that when you feel alone and misunderstood. That is the one letter that I think you might treasure more than the others." Elijah offered.

"So, where in the mall are we going?" Caroline asked, changing the subject from the somewhat sad one it had been sitting on.

"What do you mean?"

"When mom and I go to the mall we pick one or two stores, and then we can get an item from each, that way we don't break the budget, but we also get to have fun."

"We can go to whatever stores you want to, no budget needed."

"No budget?"

"I have had a thousand years to collect money, Caroline, I promise that you won't break my bank." Elijah laughed, it was refreshing to see someone actually appreciate the fact that he had money. Typically, the people he knew didn't care that he had money or not.

"What do you do?"

"I own a few law offices, and a few hotels, mainly real estate, things I can hire someone to take care of, so I don't have to do much."

"You said that you would arrive here this morning even though you left yesterday, where were you that it took you so long?"

"I was in England, I have a few properties over there, so I had a bit of business to do."

"I wish I could go to England, I haven't been anywhere."

"Technically, you have been to almost every continent in this world, but seeing as you have no chance of remembering that, I would be happy to take you someday soon."

"Really, you would take me?" Caroline asked, excitement filling her voice.

"I will take you anywhere you go. How about this summer, you can choose where all you want to go, and we can take two weeks and go see the world."

"I would love to do that, I will have to ask mom, though." Caroline replied, a big smile breaking on her face.

"Well, of course, she can also come if she wishes to."

"Why did you choose her? Out of all the people in Mystic Falls, why her?"

"They had announced to people that they wanted to have kids a year before I brought you to her, I guessed that they had not been able to conceive. An adoption in a family that wants kids, but can't have them is typical, and quickly overlooked. Most people will not bring up the fact that a child was adopted in a situation like that. Your mother was also up for a promotion to a safer position at work, her job would provide a stable life for you, and it would be unlikely for you to lose her on the job. She was the only person in the town that seemed like she would be able to look past my nature while still knowing exactly what I was, and she was the only one who seemed like she would raise you to be a kind and caring human who would fight for those she loves. That was the most important reason to me." Elijah responded, he was glad that his daughter was asking all these questions, he wanted to get to know her and he was glad that she wanted to know about him too. The rest of the drive was filled with random conversations about favorite colors and greatest memories, she told him about her friends, and he told her about her family. By the end of the ride, both of them wore smiles and were beyond happy to be able to spend the rest of the day having fun in the mall.

The day at the mall had been the most fun of Caroline's life, she walked out of the mall with her hands full of bags and her father's the same behind her. They had shared a soft pretzel and had gotten ice creams. He had waited while she tried on more clothes than she ever had before, and he even allowed her to pick out an outfit for him, which consisted of a pair of jeans and a band t shirt. It was the exact opposite of what he had on, and it made her smile to see him go from a suit and tie to something so relaxed. She had laughed more than she had in weeks, and he had laughed more than he had in years. By far, though, his favorite part of the day was when he had tried on the outfit and spun in a circle, as to which her reaction had been to tell him to stop, but for the first time that day she had called him dad instead of Elijah. She continued to call him dad for the rest of the day, and every time that she did it brought a smile to his face. Once back to the car, he opened the trunk for her, allowing her to place her bags within before opening her door for her to get in. Once he was settled in the seat beside her and the car was running, her voice broke the comfortable silence.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Caroline?"

"When we go on our trip this summer, can we go see the Eiffel Tower?"

"Of course, we can go anywhere you want to go."

"I still can't believe that you're my dad, that I'm not actually a Forbes. It's not a bad disbelief, it's just that I was always different, mom told me that that is because I am like you, and you sometimes show that you are from an entirely different time. Even my friends sometimes think I am annoying and are fake with me. I didn't get it until mom told me that you're my dad. I'm not blaming you, I actually am thankful to know that. But it's been a weird two days, to realize I have a whole other family that I don't know. You have already proven to me that you are a good dad, it's just that it's so new and weird."

"I know. You learned a lot of new information in one day. Caroline, you must know though that you are not an outcast, you are not unworthy just because you were born so long ago. You are worth more to me than you will ever know, and whether your friends see your worth or not is on them. True friends will be like family to you, and family is always and forever, Caroline." Elijah said, grabbing his daughter's hand while he talked, he hated that she thought so low of herself, she was worth more than anything that money could buy.

"Thanks, dad." Caroline's voice was somewhat broken as she had begun to cry at her father's words. Elijah looked over at his daughter,

"Caroline, look at me." she hesitantly glanced up from her lap to make eye contact with him, once she had, he continued.

"You are worth more than anything in this world, more than anything any amount of money would buy. Your name truly fits you. You are a light like no other. Never let anyone tell you differently, you are the most important thing in this world to me, and if someone doesn't think the same about you, it doesn't matter, because I will always love you, I will always choose you." His words made her tears speed up a little, but she also wore a smile. This is what she had been missing, when she had spent the nights crying on her bed because of things that someone had said, or because her adoptive dad had left. She had wanted her dad, she had thought that she wanted Bill Forbes, but now she knew, she wanted this, she had wanted him. Somehow deep within, she knew that she knew him, she had known his voice, somehow she had known that he existed out there. His hand still gripped his daughter's hand as he continued to drive down the highway back towards Mystic Falls. It hurt that she had needed him so badly and he hadn't known it. He hated what he had had to do. He just hoped that he could make it up to her and prove to her that he wasn't going anywhere.