Originally Published: June 14th, 2014

Reunited

The effervescent Slivka101 requested: "Mystic Falls gang holds reunion in the future and Caroline surprises everyone when she arrives hand-in-hand with Klaus. I would like to read Klaroline preparing for the reunion and then reactions of the gang. Btw this is how I imagine perfect ending of TVD."

Caroline Forbes was a planner. Others may see organizing as a hobby or a pastime, but to Caroline it was a way of life. Everything around her had to be just so and anything that could possibly jeopardize her desired outcome would be swiftly dealt with before any problems arose.

Perhaps it was this intense need for control that kept Caroline away from Klaus for so long. After he left Mystic Falls and promised to never come back, the blonde put her life back together in the way she'd thought she'd wanted it. Life at Whitmore was inspiring and Caroline wouldn't have traded the experience she had in college for the world, but there had still been days when she would miss Klaus.

The hybrid was definitely under Caroline's skin and she couldn't seem to shake him. Yes, there were other men that she grew to care for, maybe even love, but none of them felt like forever to her. At first she tried to convince herself that the only reason he felt so eternal was because he had lived for a thousand years, but eventually even Caroline couldn't believe the lies she told herself.

It was after the town heroes had settled their last battle in Mystic Falls, making a promise to reunite in fifty years, that Caroline went to him. Just as he'd said, she ended up at his doorstep wanting him to show her the world.

Unfortunately, for the first few years the world was constricted to the limits of New Orleans, not that Caroline minded. She loved the city, and she could see pieces of Klaus in it. The lively temper of the people, the artwork, and the culture fit him so perfectly there was no wonder he had such an affinity for the city.

After a decade New Orleans was firmly under Klaus's control and he willing to take a well deserved vacation with the woman he loved. They started with the basics—Rome, Paris, Tokyo—but eventually he took her to see the beauty of Tanzania, the wonders of Mount Kilimanjaro, and the depths of the Red Sea.

Often Caroline would joke of their relationship dynamic, trying to cover her obvious discomfort due to their rather legendary age gap. It was strange to Klaus that the love of his life could be so confident and insecure at the same time. Despite what she may think about his wisdom and experience, he knew the truth. For every lesson he taught Caroline about the history of some small town located in the middle of nowhere, she taught him how to show mercy, forgive, love, and live every day like there was something even better just around the corner.

The hybrid knew that he would be forever in her debt, so when she asked to return to Mystic Falls for a reunion with her friends, he begrudgingly agreed.

When he promised to arrange her flight, Caroline would have none of it.

"I love you. The whole point of this get together is to see where our lives have gone, and I am sharing my life with you. There's no reason to pretend otherwise," she'd said as she placed a kiss on his cheek and went to go pack.

That was how they ended up where they were now, all dolled up to go to the Mystic Grill—a restaurant that Klaus was almost entirely certain violated at least half-a-dozen health code regulations.

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to, love," Klaus said when he noticed Caroline's white knuckles as she held onto her seat for dear life.

She shook her head, "they don't get to dictate who I am anymore." She flashed him her best Miss Mystic Falls smile and then went back to silently worrying.

In situations similar to this Caroline would normally ask herself "what's the worst thing that could happen," but in this case the worst possible outcome would end with a few wooden stakes and a couple missing hearts. Old grudges die hard and after the carnage Klaus had caused while he was in town, well it was reasonable to say that the worst-case scenario was probably the most likely.

"I just wish we weren't late," Caroline mumbled.

Klaus flashed her a knowing look, "and whose fault is that?"

Caroline met his gaze before self-consciously checking her hair again, "I never placed blame, just wished that things were different.

So maybe getting ready took a few hours, Klaus should have known better than to engage her in certain other activities when they'd awoken in the hotel that morning.

Pulling into the Grill parking lot, Klaus opened Caroline's door for her and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze as they headed into the building.

Caroline barely had time to look around before Elena tackled her into a hug.

"Care, I missed you so much," Elena said as she cut off the blonde's air supply.

When Damon and Bonnie died it took Elena nearly a year to get over the pain. Everyday the group consulted as many grimoires as possible, trying to reach the other side, but despite all their efforts they were unable to bring Bonnie back—she had already found peace. Kol, Damon, and Katherine on the other hand were reachable. With the help of a few witches that had been fighting to find a way to bring Kol back, Stefan, Elena, and Caroline were able to pull out a few of the people who had been sentenced to the darkness.

Damon didn't come back in one piece. His mind had been torn to shreds as he was forced to relive all of the pain he'd caused his victims. It took him months to even look at Caroline again, but eventually his apologies turned to insults and everything was back to some sense of the normal that they once had.

The girls never did find Bonnie and that pain only strengthened their friendship. Eventually things settled into something different, Katherine and Kol found a place within the small Mystic Falls gang—they filled the void that was left by Bonnie—and for the most part things stayed the same, except for Matt who was killed in a car accident a couple of decades after Silas was put down for good.

There were times when Kol's mouth was not appreciated, but it surprised the group the way that he'd known Bonnie. On the other side she was the only person he could speak to, and during his time there he grew to care quite a lot about the little witch.

Seeing as the the doppelgänger was still strangling his love, Klaus cleared his throat, causing Elena to notice him for the first time.

"Oh," she said, confused but not angry or disappointed as Caroline had expected.

Damon and Stefan walked over and by the look on his face Damon must have won the lottery.

"Well look who Blondie brought with her," Damon said, smirking at Klaus.

Caroline tensed waiting for the verbal lashing that was bound to come her way.

"Looks like I win, as always, Stef. Guess you don't know your best friend as well as you thought you did."

Stefan marched off grumbling to himself about being only a few years off.

Caroline laughed. The stress of how her old friends would react was over and now she was filled only with joy. Of all the things that could have happened this was definitely the best; her old life and her new coming together in one perfect symphony—a great beginning to an entirely different story.