Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters over the age of seven.

"Aww…shhh…poor baby," Katherine cooed as she bounced her 17-month-old daughter in her arms. Sophia was sneezing, then crying, then would try to take a huge breath of air but fail, then sneeze again. Her chubby cheeks were swollen and red and her eyes were puffy from crying so much. Snot kept running out of her nose faster than the tears came falling out of her eyes. Katherine's heart broke seeing her baby so miserable.

"Elijah!" Katherine greeted as he entered the kitchen. She was juggling trying to console their daughter and also try to poor herself a cup of coffee.

"Hi Katerina," he said in that gorgeous voice of his. But something sounded off. Katherine didn't have the time to deal with it right now.

"Babe, can you drop Hayden off at daycare? I am running so late—I have to take Sophia to a doctor's appointment, then I'm thinking about just taking her into work with me. That way, she won't get all the other kids at the daycare sick, and I don't mind missing a day if she needs comfort every minute—but hopefully, she can rest so she can feel better and I can get some work done—Elijah, are you even listening to me?"

Elijah nodded off as he examined the blueberry muffin sitting on the table. "Take Hayden to daycare, you're bringing Soph to the pediatrician and then taking her to work. Got it."

Katherine raised her eyebrow. Something was not right about her husband this morning. "Are you alright?"

Elijah sighed. "This case that I am working on. Hitting a little too close to home."

Bobby and Amelia Long had died in a horrific fire. At least, so everyone thought when they put their thirteen-year-old daughter in foster care three years ago. She had been adopted by her foster parents six months ago, and then Bobby and Amelia were spotted following her home from school. They had faked their deaths and now were trying to win custody of their daughter. Elijah was representing the adoptive parents. This case is a mess from start to finish and all he could think about was how his own parents may have faked their own deaths as well. How long until they reappear in Mystic Falls and demand to know their grandchildren? Blood is thicker than water, is the argument Bobby and Amelia are trying to make. Not to mention, the Mikaelsons are known for putting family first. They did learn it from somewhere.

"I am sorry, babe, but I really got to go. I love you!" Katherine said as she kissed her husband's cheek, kissed her little man who was all set to go in his baby carrier, and then grabbed her daughter, her purse and her car keys and sped out the door.

…

Jeremy took a deep breath as he took his daily spot next to Anna's hospital bed. It's only been a week since Brooke was born, but Jeremy couldn't bother to leave Anna's side. She needed to wake up. He wrapped his hands around hers, bringing her knuckles to his lips for a kiss.

"Anna, baby… I need you… our beautiful daughter needs you," he whispered. "We were supposed to do this together. I'm afraid… I'm afraid that you're going to be gone and it's just gonna be the two of us, and I can't do this without you."

Although the doctor said her vital signs are stable, he wasn't quite sure why Anna wasn't waking up. This was making everyone nervous.

A knock on the door only vaguely brought Jeremy to reality. A soft touch appeared on his shoulder and he turned his head slightly to see Pearl, Anna's mother, standing behind him.

"You must hate me," Jeremy whispered softly.

Pearl shook her head. "No, Jeremy Gilbert. I do not hate you. You are a great man and you have given me a beautiful granddaughter. You made my daughter happy and I know she would not want you to waste your life by her hospital bed. She would want you to spend time with your daughter."

As of yesterday, baby Brooke has reached healthy vitals enough to go home. They wanted to monitor her for a few extra days because of the traumatic birth. Jeremy hasn't had the strength to take her home without Anna. It just didn't feel right.

But he knows he has to do it eventually. Brooke cannot grow up in a hospital room.

"Your daughter could be dead and it's all because of me."

Pearl took a seat beside Jeremy and grabbed his hands. "You need to listen to me. Anna did not have to go through with this pregnancy if she didn't want to. She chose this, despite the consequences. She knew what could happen. But she's healthy—she is going to wake up. But you cannot just sit around and wait for her to. It's not right."

Jeremy nodded, a single tear running down his cheek. Pearl patted his knee.

"You look like you need some coffee and a bagel?" Pearl said in an offering tone. The brunette boy nodded. Pearl made her way to the door to go grab some coffee and a bagel from the café.

Jeremy resumed looking at Anna and placed his hands back in hers'. He glanced at the sleeping baby in the bassinet. He couldn't believe how peaceful she has been this past week. It's been such a relief that the baby was so easy, especially since Anna was not here. He hopes she keeps this up when her mommy wakes up.

Jeremy felt a tap on his knuckle, but assumed he was imaging things.

Until he felt more movement amongst his fingers, but he was not moving them. He glanced down and saw Anna's hand trying to move. He squeezed her hand and she managed to squeeze back.

"Anna? Can you hear me?"

She squeezed his hand and he could see her mouth trying to move, but it was a challenge. Waking up from a coma is challenging as your brain has to retrain all of your muscles. He was watching her face in slow motion trying to open her eyes and her mouth. It felt like a lifetime before she fluttered her eyes open, but then shut them again as words escaped her mouth.

"Hi," she croaked.

Jeremy let out a sob of relief and leaned forward to hug her. "Oh baby," he kissed the top of her forehead. "I am so happy you are here."

"The baby?" she managed to croak; her eyes wide open.

Jeremy stood up immediately. "Of course, you want to see her. Oh, Anna, she's beautiful," he said as he walked to the bassinet and reached for his daughter. He placed the sleeping baby in her mother's arms.

Anna couldn't help but cry as she held her daughter, so grateful that they were both here in this moment. "Hi Brooke," she said, her normal voice coming back slowly instead of the croakiness. "I'm your mom," she laughed. "Jeremy, this is our baby," she smiled, looking up at him.

"Yes, it is." He let a few more tears of joy slide down his cheek as he kissed the top of her head.

…

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Katherine looked up from her sketchpad to see her sister, her aunt, and her sister-in-law walk in the front doors of her fashion store. The brunette couldn't help but smile at them. She remembers a time where she wouldn't have been caught dead hanging out with Elena and Bonnie, but now she couldn't imagine her life without them.

Katherine Pierce has a heart. Who knew?

Her smile got even bigger when she saw that they had brought lunch.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Katherine raised her eyebrows.

"Anna woke up!" Elena couldn't help but squeal. She was immensely happy for her brother, and relieved that they didn't have to fill a spot in the Gilbert family plot.

"What?" Katherine dropped a French fry.

Bonnie nodded. "Yes. I am so happy that she's awake. Jeremy would've been so heartbroken, not to mention scared to raise Brooke all by himself."

"Pearl asked that everyone give Anna a day to spend with Jeremy and the baby before everyone comes bombarding her," Jenna explains. "But we wanted to come surprise you at work and tell you the good news."

"That was nice," Katherine spoke. "I've been so slow today at work and my poor baby is sick."

"Aww, what's wrong with Soph?" Elena asked as she picked up her niece.

"She has a simple cold, not a big deal. Poor baby is miserable though. I took her with me to work to keep her from getting all the little ones at daycare sick. They gave her some baby aspirin to help the fever go down. She seems to be able to sleep soundly now, so that's good."

Ring. Ring.

"Excuse me," Katherine said as she walked behind her desk to pick up cell phone. "This is Katherine Pierce Mikaelson speaking," she spoke into the phone.

"Hi, this is Officer McCarthy from the Mystic Falls Sheriff Department. I am calling to alert you that we found a baby, presumably a year and a half old, in the back seat of an empty car registered in your husband's name with all of the windows rolled up and your husband nowhere to be found. We had to break the windows in order to access your baby and we are taking him to the hospital now, he seems severely dehydrated—Uhh, it looks like we found your husband. He looks completely puzzled—"

Katherine didn't need to listen anymore before she dropped the phone.

"Kat?" Bonnie asked.

Katherine couldn't decide between falling to the floor in hysterics or grabbing her keys and storming to that hospital and beating her husband to a pulp.

"Elijah is a dead man," was all she said.

…

Katherine couldn't hear or feel anything as she rushed through the hospital doors. All she could think about was getting to her baby and she could only see the path that was going to get her there.

She reached the waiting room in the pediatric wing and saw Elijah with his head in his hands, staring at the floor. He heard her heels click and he stood up to face her, but immediately recoiled when he saw her face. She didn't look angry, persay, but she looked hurt. Betrayed. Devastated.

As she reached him, time slowed down and he just stared at her betrayed face. It was like those eyes were staring through his soul for a good ten hours.

And her gaze was all that reached him because when time sped back up, she walked right past him to the waiting desk.

"I'm Hayden's mom—" the desk clerk just nodded in understanding and let her walk through the doors to where Hayden was occupied.

Katherine couldn't bear to see her baby hooked up to all those wires, so she backed out of the room. She could vaguely hear the nurse beside assure he that once he gets fluids in him, Hayden will be all set to go home. He was going to be fine.

She found herself sitting beside Elijah in the waiting room in silence. He didn't know what to say to her. For once, Elijah Mikaelson did not have charming words to convince someone to be on his side. For once, Elijah Mikaelson had screwed up. And he had no idea how to fix it.

"What happened?" Katherine finally asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Elijah sighed. "I-I… I don't know. I had a court meeting this morning and I was really stressed, and then I got a call about some other case and I had to run a few errands for that and… I get back to the car and there's all these cops surrounding the car and Hayden's car seat is empty, and the glass is shattered… I-I just forgot. I forgot."

For once, Elijah Mikaelson stuttered his words.

"You forgot?" Katherine hissed. "You forget to pick up the dry cleaning. You forget your wallet in the car at the grocery store. You do not forget your fucking baby! A baby, Elijah!" at this point, she was shouting.

"I'm sorry," was all he could muster.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson, but Hayden is ready for release," the nurse announced as she walked up to them. "Miss., you may follow me, but Mr. Mikaelson, the police have a few more questions for you."

…

Another day, another Sunday, another Mikaelson Family Dinner.

This one, however, is different than the past few Sundays because Caroline finally felt like joining the clan this time. She hasn't come to a dinner since she had the baby. She's barely seen anybody since she had the baby, let alone text or call anyone on the phone. But, after last week's incident, she agreed with Klaus that she needed help and she needed her friends.

Caroline sat in the passenger seat of her husband's car and feels the vehicle come to a stop outside of Katherine and Elijah's house.

"How are you feeling?" Klaus asked as he reached over to grab his wife's hand.

The blonde blew some hair out of her face and nodded. "I'll be fine," she attempted to give him a small smile.

As they walked through the front doors, Caroline was attacked into a hug by Bonnie.

"Oh, I am so happy to see you," Bonnie wanted to cry. Her heart has been hurting that her best friend is in so much pain and didn't want her help.

"I am happy to see you too," Caroline spoke softly. Bonnie pulled away from her blonde best friend and cupped her face. Caroline couldn't help but smile at the gesture because she was starting to remember what it felt like to be loved. Of course, she knew that Klaus loved her. But Bonnie was someone who has known her almost her whole life. It was a different kind of love, and arguably more powerful.

The two girls were then engulfed into a bear hug by their childhood best friend, Matt. Caroline mimicked Bonnie's giggle and was shocked to find herself actually mean it. Having Matt and Bonnie's arms around her felt like home. They've known her for her whole life and have loved her though everything and as cliché as it sounds, the closest people she has to her mom. Bonnie and Matt came from broken homes and spent most of their time with either Caroline's family or the Gilberts'. Although, Caroline's home eventually became broken, it wasn't until a much later date and even then, Liz Forbes was still a mother who cared about her child and her friends.

Caroline hated herself for forgetting about her friends. She did owe them an explanation. She shouldn't have cut them out of her life like she did. Even through their hugging and whispers of "I love you," she could feel their heartbreak, their regret for having let her down. But she had let them down.

Klaus smiled at the scene in front of him. He knows how much Caroline missed her friends, even if she didn't know it herself. She needed the reminder of her friends, that she was worthy of love. Because she didn't want to listen to him or accept his love.

Matt was the first one to break the hug with Caroline and Bonnie, but the two girls kept their arms around each other.

"Nice to see you, Caroline," Elijah smiled at his sister-in-law. He knows what a tough time Klaus has been going through seeing her the way she has been and couldn't imagine how Caroline actually felt.

"You're lucky you can see her," Katherine snapped as she made her way to give Caroline a hug.

"Can you knock it off?" Elijah muttered to his wife.

"Can you not leave our baby in the car?" Katherine retorted.

"You are being such a child right now!"

"You're lucky we still have two children!"

"Okay!" Finn interrupted the lover's quarrel. "Katherine and Elijah, I know that this is your house, but let's make tonight a happy night because Caroline is here."

Caroline smiled as her eldest brother-in-law leaned over to give her a welcome kiss on her head. Sage and Kol were the next to hug her.

"What happened?" Caroline asked. She wasn't aware of anyone leaving a baby in the car. Although, she presumes it is obvious: Elijah left one of the twins in the car.

Katherine picked up a fussy Sophia and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it," she whispered to Caroline.

Elijah, who had heard Katherine's comment, groaned. "You want to talk about it nonstop until you get asked and then you want to act like a non-dramatic—"

"Brother, you may you want to stop talking," Kol pointed out as her saw the tips of Katherine's ears turning red.

"Where is Hayden?" Caroline asked, looking around for the missing baby. She sees Hope and Emma in the corner of the room giggling at something on Hope's tablet, while Tate was playing race cars with Jonathan—although, the six month old baby was just sitting and putting the toy cars in his mouth. Lydia and Nate were in a playpen area for the really little ones, and Lydia was on her stomach just starting push up on her elbows. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Klaus pick up Elizabeth from her carseat and place her next to her cousins. And of course, Katherine was holding Sophia. So, where was Hayden?.

"Sleeping," Katherine said curt.

"So…" Rebekah tried to change the subject, but she couldn't think of any topics other than Caroline's depression and Elijah leaving Hayden in the car, so she quickly shut up. It felt awkward because no one was wanting to talk about anything else.

"Caroline…" Finn began. "Klaus says you've been playing a lot of piano lately. Would you like to play something for us?"

Caroline shook her head. "No… Uh… I suck, to be honest."

"No, you do not," Klaus rested his hand on her knee. "You did at first," he joked. "But you've improved immensely. It's beautiful."

Caroline blushed.

"We have a piano," Elijah stated. "Time somebody put it to some good use."

"Excuse me," Freya sang.

"You never use the piano, just your computer keys," Elijah sang back.

"Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes, please play something," Katherine added.

"I—"

Caroline was cut off by a baby crying. Hayden had woken up from his nap.

Although Katherine was sitting down with Sophia in her arms, she stood up to get her son. Elijah stood up at the same time.

"Katerina, you have Soph—" he reached out his hands, but grimaced when Katherine just pushed right past him, causing his shoulder to hurt to be honest.

"Yikes," Kol muttered. "She is ma-ad at you."

"I would be too if I got that phone call," Bonnie snapped. It was obvious who had taken whose side in the Katherine-Elijah argument and whenever it was brought up, it was causing strife between Kol and Bonnie.

"Things could have been a lot worse," Sage defended Elijah. "Do not beat yourself up over it," she addressed her brother-in-law.

"He doesn't have to; Katherine is already beating him to a pulp with her words and her eyeballs!" Kol snorted.

"Whose side are you on?" Elijah snapped at his youngest brother. "I made a mistake and I feel horrendous about it, okay?" I do not deserve to live.

"Why don't we all go eat some dinner?" Freya suggested. "I am starving."

"Yeah, me too," Rebekah stood up with her sister. "All this arguing gives me an appetite."

As everyone was making their way into the kitchen, Caroline ran her hands across the piano in the foyer. It was much grander and more beautiful than the one in her living room.

"Care?" Bonnie squeezed her hand. "You are coming?"

"In a minute," Caroline sent her friend a small smile. It felt fake this time and Caroline wanted to cry. Her happiness lasted only a minute.

Bonnie was the last of the family to make their way into the dining room. Caroline sat at the piano bench and opened up the keys. She ran her fingers down the keys, not pressing down hard enough to make any noise. She noticed a candle sat at the very top of the piano. She could not take her eyes away from the flame, its embers climbing higher and higher against the air.

She could hear some laughter and some chairs moving and some kids babbling. The subject was already changed to a happy one, now that she wasn't there. She knows they were walking on eggshells around her, and the vibe was even more awkward since Elijah and Katherine were fighting. But honestly—when weren't they? The whole family was able to laugh in the other room because she was not there.

Flames.

Caroline reached forward and knocked the candle over. The wax fell onto the keys and she didn't move as the piano started sparking flames. She didn't move. She felt the warmth of the fire and did not want to move.

"Caroline—shit!" Klaus walked into the foyer to get her and immediately grabbed a blanket to take out the fire.

The blonde shook her head and stood up immediately when she realized what was happening. "Oh my god!"

Katherine and Bonnie ran into the room, both gasping when they saw the scene. The tops of the piano keys were burnt charcoal. Some of the paint was burned off, as well.

"Kat—I am so sorry," Caroline cried. "I'll pay for it. I didn't mean it—"

"That's because you never mean it!" Klaus shouted. "You need help!"

"It's not good for her to be yelled at," Bonnie snapped at her brother-in-law. She rushed to her best friend's side. "I know you love her, and I know seeing her this way hurts you, but you cannot get mad at her. Getting mad won't fix it," she put her arm around Caroline. "I will take you to a therapist tomorrow, okay?"

Caroline shook her head. She knows she promised Klaus she would start going, but when the day had finally come, she had faked a stomachache.

"I'll come too," Katherine added as she reached out to hug Caroline. "We can invite Elena, and all go get lunch tomorrow? And do not worry about the piano—it was taking up too much space anyway."

"Stop being nice to me," Caroline muttered. "You don't really mean it."

"Of course, I do," Bonnie stated. She stood to face the blonde and grabbed her shoulders. "I was a mess when my grams died, remember? I hid away at my mom's for almost a month. I missed so much school they wanted to hold me back, but my best friend, Miss. Student Body President, stood up for me and worked her magic and got me to become a senior if I made up some community service hours. You've always been there for me and I'm always going to be here for you." Caroline nodded and let a tear fall down her cheek. "I love you," Bonnie whispered.

"I love you, too," Caroline whispered back.

Klaus sighed. He knew he didn't have enough patience, but he was trying his goddamn hardest. He loves Caroline more than anything in this world, but he has a baby to think about now. He couldn't just spend this past month catering towards Caroline. He was raising a newborn, and that already makes you want to put your hair out, and doing it alone? It was stressful. He admits, he shouldn't have yelled at his wife. He's only yelled at her three, maybe four times. But it's four more times than she deserved.

Bonnie took Caroline's hand and started to lead her into the dining room, but Caroline stepped back. "Save me a seat, I need to talk to Klaus."

Bonnie nodded in understanding and followed Katherine back into the dining room, where everyone was sitting at the table and totally not eavesdropping. They will all continue not eavesdropping.

"I apologize for yelling at you," Klaus said softly. "You didn't deserve that."

"Yes, I did," Caroline said. "I know I've been difficult lately. More than difficult—almost unbearable. I feel like there's the me that's here, standing before you, that is just a stature of who I used to be and the old me is inside banging to get out. You have done the very best you could, dealing with me and taking care of the baby. I understand that it is a lot for a man to handle. I'm surprised you haven't yelled at me more than you have. You've showed so much patience. I know this sounds stupid, and it's all my fault for shutting her out, but seeing Bonnie reminded me that I have more people who love me and who want me to get better. I can't keep putting you through this."

"You are not putting me through anything," Klaus whispered as he tucked a few strands of blonde hair behind his wife's ear. "You are grieving, and your brain is chemically imbalanced. It's the timing of everything. Do you want to get better?"

Caroline quietly sobbed. "I think I do. But I'm scared I'll change my mind again tomorrow and then I'll actually end up my hurting myself next time."

"Will you give Bonnie and I permission throw you in the car kicking and screaming?"

Caroline managed a laugh. "Yes," she nodded.

Klaus kissed the top of her hair as he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, my sunshine."

She wanted to laugh at the irony of that nickname, but just managed to whisper, "I love you, too."

…

"Hi, Caroline," Dr. Allison greeted. "My name is Allison. How are you feeling today?"

Caroline shrugged. She never really needed a reason to open up about her personal life to strangers before, but today felt different. This whole situation, everything she's been feeling for the past five weeks was different.

"I understand you lost your mom recently. I am sorry for your loss."

Caroline nodded and whispered a thanks.

"Congratulations on the birth of your daughter."

"I don't deserve her," Caroline whispered.

"Why do you think that?"

"I failed her. I couldn't breast feed."

"A lot of mothers have issues with that. Some have medical issues, sometimes the first week is difficult for both mother and baby to find a routine. Did you keep trying?"

Caroline looked down at the ground. "No… I… Uh… gave up after three days."

"I think that there was something else bothering you… Why you didn't want to try again to breastfeed."

"My mom just died. I didn't try to deal with that because I was still pregnant when she passed, and I didn't want to put on too much stress and hurt the baby."

"Instead, you held in all of your emotions, even emotions from your childhood or teenage years that you never dealt with, and now you're hurting your baby. You're hurting yourself and your husband and your friends."

The blonde nodded. "I didn't mean to do that. I just… wanted to curl up into a ball and not leave. I didn't want responsibilities."

"You wanted to grieve. Caroline, everyone has different ways to grieve. Everyone has different circumstances when they experience loss. None of this is your fault."

Caroline nodded as some tears blurred her vision and she wiped them away. "You know… you're right about me bottling up feelings from the past… I was such a neurotic control freak—I still am, I guess, but I've learned to own it and be proud of the fact that I am organized, and I like being in charge—I don't know, it's silly. But when I was younger, I was really insecure and never felt like I was good enough, and I know that my freakiness made people uncomfortable—it made me uncomfortable. God, I hated that girl. She was super jealous of her best friend. She made my mom's life a living hell, she blamed my mom for my dad leaving. That girl was not a nice person."

"What changed?"

Caroline had to think about it. She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment. "I don't know, actually. I felt alive. That's what changed… I no longer felt dead on the inside."

"Let's get back to your mother. You said you were mean to her as a young woman. Did you two ever talk through your differences or your feelings?"

She shook her head. "No… we just all the sudden understood each other and worked towards being better. We didn't need to talk about that stuff."

"Maybe you should have. Maybe that's why your mother's death is so hard on you. You never apologized for being so hard on her."

"It's a little too late for that."

"I wouldn't think so. The fact that you are here today means that you're done grieving and you want to get better. You want to move on."

"I don't know how to move on."

"Let me tell you where to start…."

…

Elena walked through the doors of the little French café with a nervous smile on her face. This was going to be the first time she's seen Caroline since she left the hospital the day after their babies were born. She was excited to see her best friend, but worried about the state the blonde will be in. Bonnie called her last night to tell her what happened at the Mikaelson Family Dinner and invited her to lunch today. Elena teared up hearing what Caroline was going through but was glad to hear Bonnie was driving her to a doctor. She was happy that she'll finally see her best friend again.

Elena noticed that Katherine had already grabbed a table by the window, with Hayden in her lap and Sophia in a booster seat beside her. She shook her head and made her way over to her sister and sat across from her.

"Hey, twinnie," Katherine grinned. "Bonnie just texted that she and Caroline just left the doctor's now." Elena nodded as she felt the text buzz on her phone as well.

"I am so happy to see her," Elena sighed. "I've missed her so much."

Katherine nodded. "You never really notice how much you love torturing yourself until you realize you miss Caroline Forbes' squeaky little voice and perky personality."

"Her voice is not squeaky," Elena defended her best friend.

"And your voice isn't whiney. Nice try," Katherine smirked.

"How are the twins doing?" Elena changed the subject as she glanced at her niece and nephew.

The older twin shrugged. "Hayden is surprisingly fine after what happened," she bounced the baby in her lap. She is having a hard time letting Hayden out of her sight, especially if that meant he'd have to be with Elijah. She knew it wasn't fair, but it was how she was feeling. She knew that this lunch was supposed to be a girls' thing, but she couldn't bear to be away from the twins, so she brought them along.

"Katherine," Elena began, "you have to forgive him."

The older twin glances down at the baby in front of her and caresses his little brown curls. "How am I going to trust him with them again?" She sounded choked up.

"You are going to trust him because he is a great father and a great husband, and he's your best friend. He loves you and those twins more than anything. He needs you to trust him, especially now."

"I'm just so scared…"

"If it had happened to you, you know how awful you would feel. And you know that his love and his trust would be the only thing that would get you to forgive yourself."

Katherine nodded through her tears. "I know. You're right." She kissed the top of her son's head.

Elena saw out of the corner of her eye Bonnie and Caroline walk through the front doors of the café. Elena waved to them and Bonnie smiled, waving back. Elena couldn't quite tell what Caroline was thinking, but as she got closer to the table, a small smile broke out on the blonde's face. Elena jumped up to meet her best friend and pulled her into a hug. Caroline gripped Elena a little too tightly but the brunette did not mind. "I love you," Elena whispered.

Caroline nodded into the brunette's shoulder. "I love you, too."

…

Katherine shut the door to Sophia's nursery as she finished putting her daughter to bed. She glanced at the clock worried. Elijah still wasn't home yet. Freya helped her get the twins ready for bed and was in Hayden's room reading him a bedtime story right now. She glanced out the window and saw Elijah's car in the driveway. Her eyebrows furrowed. It looks like he was still in it.

She slipped on a pair of shoes and a jacket and made her way outside. He didn't seem to notice her walking towards the car. She opened the passenger's seat and gasped for air as the heat of the car hit her. She looked at him with horrified eyes. He was sweating and his eyes were glossy. She settled in next to him and he looked away from her. She glanced at the air vents, which were blasting the hottest air possible in the beginning of spring. Even when it's winter, if the car gets too hot you turn it down or turn it off. He had to have been sitting in here for a long time for it to get this hot.

"I can only get the heat to 85 degrees," he finally spoke. "When I left Hayden in the car, the car was at least 100." He put his head in his hands and sobbed. "I can't forgive myself for this, I can't forgive myself for being so careless. I almost took away the most important thing in the world to us. After everything we've been through, those twins were our miracles. And in just one moment I almost took that away."

"But you didn't…" she whispered as she reached over and turned the car off. She then turned her face up and used her hand to caress his face and make him look at her. "You didn't."

She tried to convey all the words in just one look. She forgave him. She loved him. She wasn't angry anymore. He nodded and reached forward to hug her.

…

Jenna reached into her purse to get out her keys, her muscles shaking every bit of the way. She had been having irregular periods ever since her miscarriage. She had frequent trips to the gynecologist to monitor her periods and her eggs as they established there was an issue with her eggs. Not a lot of them were viable. She was prescribed some medication and has been on a journey for the past year to strengthen her body, which would also help develop some strong eggs. Jenna had to go to the gynecologist once a month to check her egg count. Now that the doctor is aware of the issue with her body, they can monitor her progress a little differently if she gets pregnant again and take all of the precautions so that she does not have another miscarriage.

Today's appointment was a little different than usual because of the news she received.

Last month, she had one good egg. It may or may not have been the one that would sit in the uterus during ovulation, but it looked like a pretty likely possibility. But even when people try to get pregnant, they sometimes miss it.

But they didn't.

Jenna was pregnant.

She and Alaric knew that it was one in a million chance. You couldn't control the egg that could get fertilized, but by some miracle that one viable egg was the one.

It's going to be a long road. These next nine months are going to be filled with so many precautions: eating the right foods, taking care of her body, relaxing, doing additional checkups with the doctor, praying for this miracle to make it. But now that they know what to expect and what could happen, they know how to prevent it and to do everything right this time.

Jenna finally managed to turn the knob to their apartment open. She saw Alaric sitting by their kitchen island with history papers sprawled all over the counter covered in red ink. He likes to organize them by grade, so he makes piles for the As, the Bs, the Cs—well, you get it. A lot of papers in the B pile. That's good, Jenna thought.

"Hey babe," Alaric smiled at his wife from behind his glass of scotch.

"You're already drinking?" she raised her eyebrows.

"It's celebratory," he defended himself. "I have not had to assign a single D or F for this semester's midterm."

She smiled as she set her bag on a chair. "That is great news! You're a great teacher, so this must make you happy."

"I'm always happy because I'm with you."

She blushed. Over three years of marriage and she couldn't believe how he still knows the right things to make her heart flutter.

"I think I'm about to make you even happier," she grinned as she slid her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead. He raised his eyebrow seductively, but his facial features became gentle when he saw her innocent expression. He ran his fingers up and down her back, preparing for anyway this conversation could go. "I am pregnant."

Alaric paused his fingers, not knowing how to move; and yet, his mouth knew how to move. A smile broke out onto his face. He wasn't expecting this news, this fast. He was almost certain that they wouldn't have any luck getting pregnant by themselves and they'd be forced to use some other way.

But they did it.

"Baby, this is amazing!" He exclaimed as he pulled her into a hug. She laughed and leaned into kiss him and neither of them could stop smiling into the kiss. They made a miracle happen.

…

Caroline picked up the flowers off her passenger's seat and tucked them under her arm as she hopped out of her car. She opened the back door and unhooked the baby carrier from the carseat, so that she could carry Elizabeth.

She was bringing Elizabeth to meet her grandmother.

She was saying goodbye.

Caroline hasn't been to her mother's grave since the funeral. She never even thought about it. She only thought graves were to be visited on Mother's Day or her mom's birthday. But her therapist had a point. Say goodbye the way she wanted to.

Without even realizing, Caroline's feet reached her mother's gravestone. "Hey mom," Caroline smiled softly as she set down the baby carrier on the grass and placed the flowers on the gravestone. Her eyes started swelling as she sat down. Elizabeth was fussing, she wanted to be held. "Here we go baby," she whispered to her daughter as she picked her up and held her in her arms. "Mom, this is your granddaughter. Elizabeth Rene Mikaelson. She was born on the same day as Elena's daughter and Bonnie's son. Isn't that wild, mom?"

Elizabeth was cooing at her mom, gently waving her fingers through Caroline's blonde locks. The new mother sighed in relief… she was feeling better already. Her relationship with her daughter was mending—not that the baby even realized it was off.

"I miss you so much," Caroline sobbed. "I knew what was coming, but I pushed it all aside. I really thought this wouldn't happen—th-that you would get to help me. But I know that you prepared me every way and as best as you could. I even took notes," she laughed. "I haven't been using them," she admitted. "I let my grief control me… I-I couldn't handle you being gone. I thought I prepared myself, but I didn't. But I am going to do better. Elizabeth deserves that. She's just a baby. She didn't deserve how I've been acting for the past month."

Caroline looked down at her daughter, who was fighting so hard to keep her eyes open. "My love… this is your grandmother, who, if had been given the chance, would have loved you with her whole heart. I am just going to have to love you enough for the both of us."

She believed every word that she said. Every word felt a little chip fall from her shoulder.

"Mom. I am sorry for how horrible I was as a teenager. I was a brat. I thought the divorce was your fault—but it wasn't—it was nobody's fault. Not mine, not yours, not daddy's. I know a lot of fifteen-year-old girls have that 'rebel-against-everything-their-mother-says stage' but I am not sure how many of them apologized for it. After certain fights, yeah there's apologies, but you deserve an apology for that whole Caroline-era. I am so glad our relationship evolved the way it did. You were there for me in ways a lot of people couldn't be. I am going to miss that. So much. But I want you to know you've left me in good hands. Klaus—boy, I have not appreciated him enough, but he is the best father and the best husband a girl like me could've asked for. Elena and Bonnie are always there for me, even when I wasn't the best kind of friend. But nobody's perfect—they're not either, but the three of us have always been there for each other no matter what. It's nice that we've stayed friends for so long, and I would never ever trade my days with them for the world. Even the days when we were fighting."

Caroline wiped some tears away from her cheek.

"I wouldn't trade my days with you for anything either…even the days when we were fighting," she chuckled. She bounced Elizabeth in her arms. She glanced down at her sleeping daughter. "And I am not going to trade any of my days with you, even when we're fighting. But right now, I am going to be your best friend." She kissed the baby's head.

"I love you, mom. Goodbye."

Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I was going to have the last scene be a happy group scene, but I am going to leave the chapter here. We are at an end of an era. When we next see these characters again (in the context of this story) it will be 4 years in the future. What will happen? How many kids should all the couples have?

Please review and stay safe xoxox