AN: Okay I'm sorry that this is like super, super late. Life got in the way but better late than never.
Chapter 21: An endgame in sight
Caroline groaned as she turned to her side, trying to get the morning sun out of her eyes. Why did she not close the curtains last night. Well in her defense she had been quite forgetful lately. Pregnancy brain and all that. Not to mention the fact that they just got to the Appalachians nights but at least the pregnancy part will be over soon.
Caroline rubs her swollen belly. She was just about ready to pop as the twins could come at anytime now which she was so ready for because saying she was uncomfortable and moody was probably the understatement of the century.
She sighed in annoyance knowing that sleep was not going to find her again when she feels a hand around her waist. "Good morning love" klaus says sleepily. Caroline smiles and it takes a great deal of effort for her to turn to face him. Klaus chuckles at her effort and she swats him playfully.
Her and klaus were kind of a recent development. They didn't have much time to 'define the relationship' but they knew how they felt about each other, or at least she knew how she felt.
She had confessed her feelings before they had to leave New Orleans and even though klaus did not say the 'L' word back she knew that he cared about her.
Although there was a part of her, the insecure part of her that wondered why he didn't say it back. Maybe he didn't love her after all. Maybe he liked the chase and now that he had her he would get bored with her and leave.
She tries to push those nagging thoughts aside and take in every inch of his face in the sunlight. He looks so young, nothing like the monster some see him as. Her hand moves to the curls brushing his forehead. "Morning" she says quietly.
"How did you sleep?" Klaus asks, his hands burning a trail up her side and back down again, making it hard for her to concentrate.
"Well the twins have been kicking up a storm, so not well" she replies. "What about you?" Caroline questions. "Very we'll love" klaus says as they fall into a comfortable silence.
She loves these moments when it was just them. They didn't need words to fill the silence, they could just be.
Caroline also knew that it couldn't last. She was not that naive. She knew things were not good- to say the least, but generally whenever they found even a little bit of happiness things would fall apart.
She also knew that klaus was restless. The power he craved was taken away from him, the city he once ruled, no longer his and his family in danger.
Klaus could wait centuries for what he wants. Hell, he did wait centuries to break his hybrid curse, but as they learned, they were running out of time.
Bonnie, along with Damon and unsurprisingly, Kol were currently tracking down the grimore that held the spell used to turn Rayna into the huntress she was today. After Bonnie's visit to the ancestral plane she was convinced that there was a way to reverse the spell and after some digging, found that she had been right.
The dead witches that helped Bonnie thought that the grimore was still in New Orleans but Bonnie found that a descendant of the Sharmans that turned Rayna had turned his back on magic and took it way.
It exchanged hands along the way and finally they tracked it to New York with Rayna hot no their tail, desperate to get to the grimore before they did.
Sefan, Rebekah, along with Marcel and Davina were having less luck. They were currently in Portland, trying to find anything they could about the Gemini coven. It was the coven that entrapped Lilly and her heretics in the prison world but they could find nothing relating to how they did it.
The grimores that belonged to the coven had disappeared. They had suspected that Kai had stolen it after he killed them and hid it, so that it could not be used against him. The question was where.
Lilly was still looking for the Phoenix stone and didn't mind leaving a trail of bodies behind. Everytime Stefan or the others got close to finding answers they were ambushed. They all got out alive but some innocent bystanders weren't so lucky and it would only be a matter of time before their luck would run out as well.
That left Enzo and Freya. Caroline was surprised when Enzo and Freya decided to work together, having thought that Enzo would want to look into the heretics. There was nothing romantic about the pairing- because Caroline made it a point to ask Enzo about it.
In a rare moment of vulnerability Enzo had confessed that even though he wanted the heretics back in any prison world, he saw them as his family once and it would be difficult to watch them be trapped again.
Freya and Enzo also made a good team as he had told her over the phone. Apparently they were similar in some ways. Freya never knew her family, Daliha having taken her away at a young age and Enzo has always craved a family. It was an understanding that they shared.
They were searching for a way to end the prophecy, trying to find loopholes that would work in their favor. The prophecy stated that the Mikaelsons would fall by friend, family and foe.
So far the only thing that they could come up with was that one of the Mikaelsons should dagger the other, as to remove the family aspect of the prophecy. The dagger won't kill them, just temporarily put one of them out of action.
In the vision Davina had, it showed Caroline handing over the Phoenix stone to Tristan. Freya knew that Caroline was not going to give the stone to Tristan, as it would mean the death of the ones she loves which meant they could strike out the friend part of the prophecy.
The only one left was foe, which they were counting on the others to help with. Rayna, the heretics, Tristan and Lucian. They all had to be delt with swiftly.
This left Klaus and Caroline- with the help of Elijah, Hayley and Alaric, to deal with Lucian. After some digging they found out that Lucian was trying to gain venom from the different werewolf packs. They had to stop him before he could or he would become something stronger than even Klaus.
Breaking the link between Lucian and the ancestral plane was difficult for Davina, her powers having dropped to the point of almost being non existent since she was away from New Orleans but she had succeeded, to the dismay of the ancestors who wanted to be rid of the Mikaelson's and by extension every vampire in existence.
Now all they had to do was free the last of the werewolves that Lucian had trapped. Which was why they were in the Appalachians.
Caroline couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over her. They've been freeing wolves from different places for a while now, that she had gotten used to it but there was something that felt off about the thought of them doing it now.
She feels Klaus run a comforting had along her arm and she sighs. He knows that she's worried and she's grateful that he's trying to comfort her. "Everything will be fine love" Klaus says soothingly, running a hand through her hair. "You don't know that. What if something bad happens" Caroline whispers back. "I'm as bad as they come love. I can handle anything. So can Elijah and Hayley, although losing the human would be a bonus" Klaus says jokingly, although by the look on Caroline's face, it just made her worry more.
"I wish I could come with you" Caroline says and it's not the first time she has said it. She knew that she couldn't however, being pregnant and all.
That left her and hope to hold down the fort while the others went out into the crossfire. "If you were out there with us love, all I would do is worry" Klaus says while kissing her forehead, then moving lower to capture her lips. "Are you saying I'm a distraction" Caroline teases.
Klaus smirks at that and shifts their position so he's hovering over her, careful not to put any pressure on the dump. "The best kind sweetheart" he growls and she shivers at the tone of his voice.
He captures her lips with his own yet again. First slowly and then more passionate. Caroline moans at the contact. Klaus moves away from her and looks to her.
For the past few months he's been pulling away. Her being pregnant with someone else's child kind of puts a damper on the mood. She really couldn't blame him though.
Caroline thought about when she made the decision to help Alaric. Klaus and her weren't together then. She didn't think about how it would affect them. Hell at the time she didn't even think there was a 'them'.
She didn't regret her decision to help Alaric. He deserves happiness after what he's been through, hell they all deserve happiness but she's also thankful that this was coming to an end and her and Klaus can start afresh.
Caroline feels a pain radiate through her arms and she gasps out in pain. "Are you alright love?"he questions, turning to face her from his spot at the closet looking over her with concern, trying to see if she was hurt.
Caroline is quick to cover the discomfort she felt though. "I'm fine. Their kicking can become uncomfortable" she says with a smile as she rises from the bed. "We should get ready. Everyone will be ready to leave soon" she says as she kisses his cheek and moves to the bathroom that's connected to their room.
Once in the bathroom Caroline takes in a deep steadying breath. She had no idea what the hell that was. She obviously wasn't going into labor considering the pain radiated through her hands.
It was probably nothing to worry about. She was human now. She was supposed to get aches and pains right. That's all this was. A normal human kind of pain.
Caroline decided not to tell Klaus or the others. Why let everybody worry over nothing. Especially when they had to go out and save a bunch of werewolves. They needed to focus. Besides the pain had gone as quickly as it came.
After a lengthy bath-because she was allowed to indulge from time to time-she made her way downstairs. The Mikaelson property in the Appellations was much smaller than the one in New Orleans or Mystic Falls but nonetheless it screamed Mikaelson, with the art and decor that gave a bit of mystery to the place.
She turned into the kitchen and saw Hayley leaning on the kitchen island with Hope next to her in a high chair. "Morning" Caroline greets while getting what she needs for a bowl of cereal.
Hayley and Caroline were certainly not bff's. They didn't have a relationship like Caroline had with Bonnie or Elena but things had grown less awkward.
They trusted each other. Hayley trusted Caroline with Hope and Caroline in turn trusted Hayley to watch Klaus and Alaric's back.
Caroline put the things she had collected on the island just as Hope reached out for her. "Care" the baby girl babbled her name for Caroline.
Along with learning how to walk the girl had also started saying words, adding 'dadda', 'mamma' and 'care' to her vocabulary. The most recently added one being 'Lijah'.
"How's the dump" Hayley gestures toward Caroline's stomach as Caroline plays with Hope. "They've been kicking like crazy" Caroline says. "Probably ready to come out. God knows I am ready for them to be born" she adds with a teasing roll of the eye and a smirk.
"Yeah it was pretty much the same with Hope. Near the end I just wanted her to be born. Although I would change the circumstances of how she was born" Hayley says jokingly.
Just then Klaus walks in with Elijah following behind, no doubt having a last minute meeting to revise the plan.
Klaus walks over to sit next to her. He takes hope and places her in his lap. "We're almost ready to leave" he says while his attention is focused on his daughter, "Alaric is just packing up the last of the weapons, though why we bother with it I don't know" he adds with a smirk as Hope reaches for his necklaces.
"Well Niklaus, considering Alaric is human, I would say having a weapon would be in his best interest" Elijah chastised for his spot near the kitchen island. "Caroline how are you feeling" Elijah asks.
Caroline was glad that he had graduated from calling her 'Miss Forbes'. "I'm great, just a little uncomfortable. Have you heard from Stefan or Bonnie?" She asks. "Yes, just a few minutes ago actually. They both send their love" he replies.
Each group tried to have as little contact as possible. Caroline thought that they were being paranoid at first but found out a few weeks ago one of Tristan's spies had overheard a conversation between Stefan and Damon and sent people after them. Turns out they weren't being so paranoid after all.
"Did they say anything else?" She questions. "The ripper found a solid lead on where the Gemini coven grimore's are and Bonnie found the grimore to help defeat Rayna. She's trying to learn the spell to reverse Rayna's huntress ways. It's quite complicated" Klaus says still playing with Hope but looking to her.
"That's great news. Now all we have to do is free the wolves and find a way to take Tristan down" Caroline says enthusiastically. "Well I would rather not celebrate to early" Klaus replies, "in my experience things have a tendency to go wrong when you least expect it."
"I thought you said things won't go wrong" she replies cleverly and she knew she had him there. "Come on this is a good thing. We're at the endgame" she looks to Elijah and Hayley hopefully, for support. "She's right Klaus. We're due for a win" Hayley says. "Thank you" Caroline replies with a smirk directed at Klaus.
It was a long shot for Elijah to back her up. His view on this was the same as Klaus. Experience had taught him the same lesson as his brother.
Alaric soon joins them, spending some time asking about how Caroline was doing, conversing with the Mikaelson's and telling them that they should leave soon.
Klaus gives a quick peck on his daughters forehead and puts her back in the high chair. "Dadda" the little girl giggled as Klaus moves away."I'll see you soon littlest wolf" he says softly and moves to Caroline.
"Be safe" she says as he puts his hands around her waist. Elijah, Hayley and Alaric already saying their good byes and giving them some privacy.
Klaus runs his hands up her sides and into her hair. He moves forward and captures her lips in a searing kiss. One that Klaus hoped would tell her how he felt, how important she was to him, how he loved her. 'If you love her then why can't you tell her' a voice in his head echoed.
He pushed the thought aside. Saying he loved her out loud was a vulnerability he wasn't sure he was ready for. What is she leaves him. What if this was some 'bad boy' experience that she wanted to have and after a while she would get tired of trying to change him.
Although she already has changed him. Since the first moment he walked into her bedroom, he showed her a different side to him. A side that no one, desides his siblings had seen. His human side.
He could of killed her that night, easily. But he didn't. He couldn't. There was something different about the baby vampire who stood up to him even on her death bed, that he couldn't quite explain.
Something unique and he was determined to let her light into his life, in what ever capacity she would allow. "I will come back to you" he says and with one last kiss he turns to leaves the house. "I love you" he hears her say as he goes and he closes his eyes and forces himself forward.
;*KC*;
It's been about three hours and Caroline was restless. It normally took Klaus and the others a few hours to rescue the wolves, get them to a safe place and look for anything that Lucian had hidden around.
But Caroline felt the uneasiness from earlier creep up on her again. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
She looked down to where Hope was sitting between her legs, staring intently at the television screen where a cartoon was playing and relaxed a little bit. She was going to drive herself crazy if she didn't stop with her worrying.
Hope made a fussing sound and turned her head away from the tv. "They'll be home soon sweetie" Caroline murmurs quietly as the girl wiggles from her position.
Caroline lifts the baby and stands from the couch they are currently on to move to the floor where Hope's toys are. Hope's hand immediately finds the little wooden horse that Klaus had given her a short while back. She babbles as she moves the horse around.
Caroline takes another toy and plays with her as the girls eyes move excitedly from the horse to the other toys scattered around. Hope reaches for another when Caroline hears a sound coming from outside.
If it was Klaus then he would have called to tell her they were headed back like he usually did. She checked her phone to find that there was no missed calls from Klaus or anyone else.
Standing with hope, Caroline puts the baby in the crib that was set up on the side of the large lounge area. She walks to the window close to the front door and looks out.
She sees nothing. The sun peaked through the clouds, the trees rustled and everything seemed normal. As she was ready to turn around however-about to mentally chastise herself- she sees a man approach the house.
She doesn't know who it is but she knows that they won't be friendly. Caroline sees that more people are emerging and walking toward the house.
Once they are in front of the house some start to chant while others watch with wicked grins. A wall of fire erupts around the house on the outside. She quickly moves back to the lounge and picks up her phone, dialing Klaus' number.
She knows that they won't be able to get into the house. Klaus had a witch do a spell that allows only a person who has an invitation to enter decades ago but if they did she was alone with hope with no help. "Caroline" Klaus answers his phone immediately. "Come home" Caroline replies just as quickly, "there are people trying to get in. There's a fire" she says. "Go to the front closet. Alaric's weapons are there. The combination is 05-02-12. I'm on my way" Klaus says and the line goes dead, no doubt he's already on the move to get to them.
"We know you're in there" Caroline hears one of them say. "Come on out or we'll be forced to come in" another says with a laugh.
Caroline looks to Hope. If who ever this was comes in then who knows what they could do and she had to protect the innocent child who is looking up to her, wide eyed. But she also had to protect the babies within her.
Caroline moves to the closet that she now knows holds some of Alaric's vervain bombs. She puts on one of the jackets that are hanging there and stuffs the pockets with the vervain bombs.
Looking at safe she unlocks it and takes the gun out. She moves out of the closet and toward Hope again. "It's going to be okay" Caroline says calmly as she kisses the girls forehead.
With a last deep breath Caroline steps outside on to the porch. Even with the wild fire in front of her she doesn't hesitate to throw a vervain bomb at the person standing on the other side of the flame.
She aims the gun at another and fires. Aiming for the head, she doesn't miss. She is a sheriffs daughter after all.
As she prepares to throw another bomb she feels a gut wrenching pain course through her body. She screams out and drops to her knees as the pain intensified.
Caroline knows how witch aneurisms feel, having been on the receiving end one to many times and this is not what it feels like.
She thinks about Klaus in this moment, hoping that he would know how much she loved him, how sorry she was for not protecting Hope. She wished that they could have more time together.
Her mind also wonders to Bonnie and Stefan and then to Alaric. Hopefully they to would know how much their friendship meant to her and how sorry she was.
The last thing that Caroline sees before her world goes black is of her hand desecating.
;*KC*;
AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this. Please leave reviews to tell me what you think about this chapter. I'm not sure when I'll post the next chapter but I will do it as soon as I can.
Thank you for reading.