Author's note: This is our final chapter for this story. We'll wrap up the plot to this story with hints of what the future may bring for Klaroline. Thank you for all of your kind words and sending me your guesses about where the story was headed — your patience and your support as I wrote my first science fiction multi-chap mean SO much! You guys kept me motivated to put my writing out here. :)

Also, thanks to your interest and requests about my other stories, I've expanded one of my ghost stories from Klaroween and created a multi-chap Klaroline story, Ghostly Secrets. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Warning: A tiny bit of smut!

One year later

Fitting that they'd journeyed to a place of mysterious rituals to perform one of their own. The ancient Greek region of Arcadia beckoned to them, with Mt. Lykaion long-held in folklore as the birthplace of Zeus. The ancient Greeks believed it to be a divine place, their rituals shrouded in mystery. Of all the times Caroline had stood on Mt. Lykaion in her lifetime, this was the first moment in ages she'd felt at peace. While the ethereal beauty of the dark blue petals of the wild lupines certainly fueled her mood, she knew it had more to do with who was standing next to her. Klaus surveyed the breathtaking view, a look of awe gracing his handsome face.

It had been a year since the terrible events that happened in the hidden research lab. Caroline's team admirably had handled the aftermath, with Katherine initiating White Oak Protocol. While Enzo and Bonnie monitored the surviving civilians at the transport, Kol disposed of the bodies using liquid nitrogen and a series of strategically placed microscopic bombs that disintegrated the remains. Caroline and Katherine identified structurally significant beams on every other floor and planted bis-oxadiazole-fueled explosives. After Kol helped Klaus ensure all sensitive data had been erased, the group evacuated the facility and activated the bombs. Watching its destruction had been strangely cathartic for Caroline. Just as it had been for Klaus.

He'd been understandably quiet during the debriefing with the other surviving civilians. As part of White Oak Protocol, the information the civilians were given was strictly need-to-know, and they were told that Stefan was a casualty of the final battle with the creatures. While Caroline and Kol could vouch for Klaus' trustworthiness, the remaining survivors underwent psychological evaluation and then those who wished to continue their work in research were placed in secure facilities of their choosing. So far, intelligence briefings indicated that the civilians understood what was at stake and had no interest in talking about their time in the remote lab.

As for Klaus, it was as though new life had been breathed into him, and he declared he was finished with government research, instead preferring to spend his time in the private sector, where he felt he could do more. He was energized and always seemed on the verge of another scientific breakthrough, and it was a pleasure to see him excited for the future.

Their future. Despite Caroline and Klaus never truly defining what it was between them, there was an unspoken acknowledgement that it was something. Something incredible, she inwardly thought with a smile. While her work with the Hunters kept her busy exploring the world, she convinced her special forces unit to scale back their activities. This gave her the opportunity to explore things with Klaus.

Whenever she thought back to how close they'd become, her chest fluttered pleasantly and she couldn't stop grinning like a lunatic. Klaus gave her butterflies. Actual fucking butterflies. And whenever she wasn't off prowling sweltering jungles to wipe out dictators or freezing in remote mountain villages to take out human traffickers, she was with Klaus. They'd 'go off the grid', refusing to answer their phones or emails, getting completely wrapped up in each other until it was difficult to recall there was a world outside of their cozy little bubble.

But that wasn't to say that all of their time started and stopped in the bedroom — in fact, Klaus had shown an interest in some of Caroline's hobbies, so she'd started teaching him krav maga, rock climbing and fencing. After an initial shaky start, his strength and agility quickly had improved, and he even bested her a few times.

When they were apart, they still managed to keep up a wildly inventive sex life via webcam. Klaus was insatiable, and that nearly feral gleam he'd get in his eyes during their trysts made her pulse race just thinking about it.

The last time they'd engaged in a spicy webcam session, Klaus was wearing a naughty smirk and nothing else while that scandalous silver tongue of his had somehow convinced her to smear her camo face paint all over her bare breasts. "Tug on those pretty nipples, love," he purred, running the tip of his tongue over his lips as he watched her.

Caroline barely held back a whine at the feel of her fingers, desperately wishing they were Klaus'. Panting, she commanded, "Stroke your cock faster. I want to see you come." She loved the way his jaw tightened at her order and the delicious slap of his flesh as he increased the tempo made her vibrate with need. If he didn't tell her to slip her fingers in soon, she was going to do it anyway.

She slowly inched her hand in that direction, when suddenly the alert system sounded on her tablet and Kol's face filled the screen. "Commander, Kat wrapped up the Ascendant Operation ahead of schedule and wanted to see if you'd be up for a detour to the Maldives to check out that beach that glows in the dark."

Caroline blinked, trying to judge if the angle of her tablet screen was high enough to avoid her loud-mouth officer getting an eyeful of her paint-smeared nipples. Based on his raised eyebrow, it appeared she wasn't so lucky. "No, I'm good here," she answered hastily, trying to decide whether it would call more attention to her nudity if she crossed her arms.

"Right," he said with a mock salute, "do carry on then." Raising his voice a bit, he called out, "Well done, brother. I'd no idea you were such a finger-painting enthusiast."

Caroline shook her head briefly, realizing now wasn't the time to think about that. Especially considering what they were there to do. She sat down on the edge of a large, flat rock and patted a place next to her for Klaus to sit. As he moved next to her, she couldn't help but admire his beautifully sculpted body. The simple blue t-shirt he wore revealed his powerful forearms, surprisingly unmarred after the werewolves had clawed his flesh. She hadn't been as lucky — she still bore a long scar down part of her Hunter's mark tattoo and puncture marks on her shoulder where the monsters had attacked her. The monsters. Her father and Damon.

They'd traveled to Mt. Lykaion to scatter her father and Damon's ashes. But not Stefan's. The thought of releasing her brother's ashes on the mountain where she'd felt such a connection to the world around her felt wrong. Maybe some part of her believed that Stefan didn't deserve peace the way that Damon and their father did. His betrayal still stung, and she wondered if she'd ever be ready to move past the terrible things he'd done to their family.

She realized she'd been staring off into space, her gaze hard as she recalled how Stefan's selfish ambitions consumed him to the point that he took away their father and brother's choice. Their humanity.

A stray chunk of limestone went sailing past her line of sight, interrupting her dark thoughts. As Klaus aimlessly threw another rock into the distance, he told her, "I've had time to look over Stefan's notes. The formula he engineered was needlessly cruel. It transformed their DNA to its most primitive — all aggression and violence and instinct. He'd purposely designed it so that nothing of who they were remained."

She nodded, unwelcome tears clouding her vision and choked off any words she might've said. She rested her head on Klaus' shoulder, and as he wrapped an arm around her, she drew strength from his comforting warmth.

"Sweetheart, there was no humanity left in your father and Damon. No one would want to live like that. It's always important to remember who you are," he continued, tilting her face up to kiss her softly. "Putting them down was a mercy, but I'm sorry for all you've endured. And I swear things will be different now."

She gave him a tearful smile, her heart a bit lighter as she heard the sincerity in his tone. "Different sounds perfect."

Together, they removed the simple wooden urns from her canvas backpack, solemnly scattering her father and Damon's ashes from the mountaintop. As she watched the breeze gently carry away the last traces of her family, she sighed. "I still don't know if I'll ever be ready to bring Stefan's remains here. It's a peaceful place, and I haven't decided if he deserves peace."

Klaus' gray eyes softened in understanding. "You have plenty of time to decide, love. And I'll be by your side whatever your decision." Pulling Caroline close, he planted a reassuring kiss on top of her blonde curls.

As his eyes briefly darkened to a monster's black, Klaus was mindful not to hold her too tightly with his newfound strength.