The Story Of Our Life
11 years old…
5th Grade
Caroline and Stefan were enjoying a peaceful day together as Lizzie was at Maria's for the day. Not that they didn't love to spend time with their daughter but sometimes they just needed a break for themselves. To just spend a day basking in and reaffirming their love.
Stefan was currently pressing Caroline into the cushions of the couch, his hands roaming her sides and underneath her top as he devoured her lips. The way she dug her fingers into his back to hold him as tight as possible made him flex his hips against hers in want, he was rewarded by her pulling on the strands of his hair in her other hand, and a moan vibrating against his mouth. He pulled back to smile at her, watching those pretty blue eyes of hers darken as he started to push her top up her body to reveal all that glorious skin to him.
A key was heard in the front door.
Stefan jumped off of Caroline to sit beside her, placing a cushion into his lap to hide his obvious arousal. He tried to calm his heavy breathing, running his fingers through his hair to try and make it look like his gorgeous wife hadn't been sliding her fingers through it and pulling on it in her ardour just moments ago.
Caroline sat up too, pushing her top back down to cover her exposed midriff, and smoothing her hands over her skirt to make it look slightly less ruffled. She ran her fingers through her hair, shaking it out so that the tousled look she was sporting would appear as if she'd done it on purpose instead of Stefan's exploring fingers messing it up as he kissed her senseless.
Lizzie stomped into the room, throwing herself dramatically into one of the chairs opposite them – Stefan and Caroline had to resist the urge to smile at how very Caroline that action was – and promptly stared at them with narrowed eyes as she studied them.
Caroline and Stefan shared a confused look, unsure why Lizzie was back so soon and why she was just staring at them.
Caroline was the first to break the silence in the room, "Lizzie? Why are you back so early, sweetheart?"
Lizzie's gaze switched between both her mom and dad, her forehead wrinkled into a frown the longer she continued to gaze at them. Still she said nothing.
Stefan was worried about Lizzie at her silence. She was hardly ever silent, taking after her mother for her talkative behaviour. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he spoke softly, "What is wrong, angel?"
Lizzie stared at her father for another moment before suddenly declaring, "Why don't you look older?"
Caroline swallowed, the dreaded question she had been avoiding for a decade. She was surprised that her daughter hadn't asked her or Stefan sooner, but at the same time she was relieved that she hadn't asked when she was younger, it gave Lizzie more time in a wonderful childhood blissfully unaware of the supernatural elements around her. Once she'd reached the age where she started to understand more of what was happening around her, she and Stefan had asked Damon and Bonnie to stop the magic and vampire face until they thought Lizzie was at an age where they thought it was okay for her to know, or as proven right this moment, she finally asked them.
Stefan released a sigh, straightening up and taking Caroline's hands in his. He knew she needed the support just as much as he did. They'd had near enough eleven years of normality, Lizzie had had a completely normal and regular childhood. It was time she knew. He tilted his head to look into Caroline's worried and scared eyes. He smiled at her and raised his eyebrows, telling her without words that it would be okay and that they needed to be honest with their daughter. He knew the moment that she agreed, her shoulders slumped and she nodded infinitesimally at him, breathing deep to prepare herself for the conversation they were about to have. He stroked his thumb across the back of her hand, even after all these years it still had the effect of calming her down, and whispered so low that only his wife would hear it, "I love you."
Caroline smiled, flicking her eyes to his, repeating under her breath, "I love you." They shared another loving look before she turned to her daughter, flutters of anticipation and terror were felt in her stomach. She took deep breaths, just like her husband had taught her in that bathroom almost twenty years ago. She could get through this.
"Lizzie, your father and I," Caroline gestured between her and Stefan with her other hand not currently occupied by the death grip she had on her husband's hand, "we don't age because… because…" She hesitated in saying the words, her heart feeling like it would burst out of her chest in her fear at her daughter's reaction, remembering her namesake's reaction all those years ago.
Stefan rescued his wife, like he always had and always would. He finished what she was going to say, slowly and clearly, with all seriousness on his face, "Because we are vampires."
Lizzie blinked, "Vampires?" She tilted her head to the side, her brow creased in confusion, "So how come you don't sparkle in the sunlight?"
"Jesus Christ, I hate that stupid book." Stefan groaned out, almost twenty years since the books and films were released and yet they still lingered within people's mind when you thought of vampires, every new generation of young seemed to latch on to it and love it. What was wrong with Bram Stoker's Dracula? Dark and as near to the truth as possible. He heard Caroline's giggles beside him and he shot her a glare.
"I said the same thing to Damon." Caroline shrugged her shoulders, glossing over the memory of everything else about her time with Damon decades ago, "I'm sure eventually a new movie will come out about vampires and make everyone think of that." She patted Stefan patronisingly on his thigh, giggling more at the annoyed huff he let out. My poor annoyed husband, she grinned even wider at the thought.
Stefan turned his unamused gaze onto his daughter, "No, we do not sparkle in the sunlight. We burst into flames, which is why we have these rings that protect us." He held up his right hand, his middle finger adorned with his lapis lazuli ring.
"How old are you?" Lizzie asked, curious to how old her parents really were.
"Seventeen." Caroline and Stefan answered together, having both died and turned at the same age.
"Obviously you didn't have me when you were six," Lizzie shot her parents a 'duh!' look that was all Caroline, "so how old are you really?"
"I was seventeen when I turned into a vampire, and I will always be seventeen forever." Caroline blew out a breath as she prepared to state how long she'd been alive so far. Her number was far lower than Stefan's but it was still jarring to know that she should be this age and look far older but she never would, no matter how big that number got. She licked her lips before revealing her true age, "I am thirty-three."
Stefan swallowed before telling her, "I am 178."
Lizzie's eyes widened to the size of two saucers, "You are almost two hundred years old! Oh my god." She chewed on her lip before snorting, "That's super old."
"Hey! Your uncle is much older than me." Stefan pouted, not wanting to be reminded of how close he was to the big two-zero-zero, though when you have met people that are one thousand to two thousand years old, two hundred is nothing compared to them.
"Uncle Damon's a vampire too?" Lizzie asked, amazed with all the new information she was getting about her family.
"He's my brother, of course he is. We turned at the same time." Stefan replied, deciding to leave out the finer details of how her grandfather killed his own sons for their shame of sympathizing with the vampires, and how he turned Damon against his will. Oh, and also how it was her grandmother that made it possible for her to be born when she held him and Caroline hostage and tortured them for days. His daughter was definitely not ready or old enough to hear about her history as a Salvatore.
"So… spill." Lizzie grinned up at her father, "How old is uncle Damon?"
Stefan couldn't help but grin as he gleefully revealed, "Damon was turned when he was twenty-five, so that makes him 186 in total."
"That is old." Lizzie chuckled.
Stefan smirked, he couldn't wait until the next time Damon came over and Lizzie told him that she knew his true age. He resisted the urge to rub his hands with glee, he was looking forward to that eagerly as he loved tormenting and teasing his brother. Only nowadays it was done with love instead of maliciousness.
Caroline chuckled at Stefan's smirk. She knew he couldn't wait to have Damon over so that he could tease him as soon as possible. Suddenly a thought occurred to her and she asked her daughter, "What brought on the sudden curiosity about me and your father not ageing?"
"I was looking at Maria's parents, and I noticed that they had changed over time." Lizzie looked down at her hands and shrugged, "It just got me thinking."
"Oh." Caroline knew it would have happened eventually. One day her curious brain would find it strange that she and Stefan had not aged a day. Ever.
"How come no one else has noticed?" Lizzie asked curious.
"As a vampire we have certain… abilities." Caroline answered, "We can compel people into believing or thinking what we want them too."
"We didn't want to have to move and uproot you every five years when people started to notice that we never aged." Stefan picked up the explanation from Caroline, "We wanted you to have a stable and happy childhood."
"So, when we meet your friends' parents or the staff at a new school for you, the first thing we do is compel them not to notice anything strange about us." Caroline continued, she had compelled a lot of people in the last decade, but it was worth it so that her daughter could grow up in the same place with the same group of friends like Caroline had.
Lizzie nodded her head, understanding why her parents had done that. For her. So that she could have a normal life, and she was grateful. She smiled at her parents as she stood up, walking over to them she took each of their hands in hers, "Thank you."
"You are happy." Caroline smiled up at her beautiful daughter, raising her hand up to brush across her cheek, "That's all the thanks I need."
"I agree with your mother." Stefan squeezed Lizzie's hand as he smiled at her, "As long as you're happy that makes every single thing worth it."
"I love you both so much!" Lizzie leaned down and kissed first her mom's then her dad's cheeks. She straightened up and grinned mischievously at them, "Now, I wanna see your vampire faces."
Caroline and Stefan shared an amused glance, wordlessly agreeing, before they turned back to their daughter with their veins rippling and their fangs out.
Lizzie peered at their faces closely, "Cool."
They couldn't help but burst into laughter at Lizzie's reaction.
14 years old…
9th Grade (Freshman Year)
Caroline and Stefan were driving Lizzie to her first day of high school. The both of them had always taken her to school on her first day, especially at a brand new school. It was still surreal to them that they had a fourteen-year-old daughter and that she was starting high school today. Unfortunately, as they both still looked seventeen they had to either compel the faculty to not comment about that fact, or pretend that they were her sister and brother. They hated that one the most but it was a necessary evil sometimes. Lizzie knew the truth, that they were vampires and her parents, and that was all that mattered to them.
They pulled up outside the school gates, smiling at the sight of Maria, Cami, and Sarah waiting for Lizzie. Their friendship with their daughter warmed their heart, having been so close since they were at Kindergarten together. They had the kind of friendship that would last forever, just like Caroline had found Bonnie and Elena when she was little, they were as close as sisters.
Lizzie leaned over the headrests and gave her mom and dad a kiss on the cheek, "See you after school. Love you!"
"Love you too." Stefan called after his daughter.
"Love you too, sweetheart." Caroline replied instantly, smiling as she watched her daughter greet her friends.
They stayed there and watched Lizzie and her friends until they were safely inside. Once they were Caroline finally let the tears she'd been holding back down her face. Her little girl was growing up.
Stefan reached over to cup her cheek, rubbing his thumb delicately across her cheek to collect her tears on the pad of his thumb. He smiled at her lovingly, knowing the tears were because Lizzie was starting another huge chapter of her life, just like Caroline had cried on every first day of school that their daughter had had over the years.
Caroline closed her eyes and leaned into Stefan's palm, laughing at herself for her show of emotion, "I just can't stop crying every time she leaves us."
"She's not leaving us, Caroline." Stefan's voice was soothing, his thumb still stroking her soft cheek, loving her even more for being the most incredible mother to their daughter, "She's just… growing up."
"I don't want her to." Caroline pouted, tears clinging to her lashes, her red rimmed eyes making the blue shine even brighter, "She's our little girl, and I want her to stay that way. She's the only child we'll ever have. I don't want her to grow up."
"No parent ever does." Stefan leaned over, softly caressing her lips with his, sighing in contentedness at the way she made him feel. No matter how long they'd been together, it was almost sixteen years now, she still gave him butterflies.
Caroline raised her hand to hold onto the back of his head, eyes closing in bliss as she enjoyed the tender kisses with the love of her life, her heart thudding loudly in her chest. He always made her feel like it was their first kiss again, taking her breath away and making her heart throb with all the love she held for him.
Stefan pulled back with a smile, slightly breathless from their kisses, gazing at her with adoration, "I love you, Caroline Salvatore."
Caroline smiled and blushed. They had been married for twelve years but it still made her heart skip whenever she heard her name. Caroline Salvatore. She leaned her head against his, the love read easily in each other's eyes, "I love you more than anything, Stefan Salvatore."
Stefan grinned, pure happiness radiating from him as he pulled his gorgeous wife back down to his lips.
Stefan had just finished preparing dinner and stuck it in the oven. He poured a glass of wine for Caroline, and a glass full of Dr Pepper for Lizzie, bringing them into the living room for his two favourite girls as he waited for the food to cook. He put Lizzie's next to her on the table where she was going through her new books to get herself organised. He put Caroline's on the coffee table, leaning in for a loving and lingering kiss.
Caroline moaned as their lips parted, her eyes glowing with promise that they would continue later, once Lizzie went to bed, and then they would make love to each other through the night.
Stefan licked his lips, humming as he savoured her taste, eager for later tonight when he could show her just how much he loved and adored her. He stole another quick kiss from her before settling beside her on the couch, his arm curling around her shoulder to curl her into his side, resting his cheek against her hair, and stroking his fingertips along the skin of her arm. He was utterly blissful and content surrounded by his family. The two most important people in his life, his whole entire world was right here in this room.
Caroline snuggled closer into Stefan's side, throwing her arm around his waist to hold him. She smiled, feeling so happy and loved in his arms, just as she always did. She looked over to her daughter as she organised herself, chuckling at how much like herself she was. Wanting to know how her first day had been she asked her, "How was your first day?"
Lizzie beamed, "It was great! Thankfully, I'm in most classes with at least one of my friends so I won't be lonely."
"Have you met any new people?" Stefan asked. He loved that his daughter was more like Caroline with how social she was, but she also took after him by being selective with her friends, preferring a very close knit group of friends, adding a new one every now and then but the core still remained of Lizzie, Cami, and Maria.
Lizzie nodded, "I met a girl called Elizabeth." She giggled as she recalled their introduction, "We were sat next to each other and got talking when we introduced ourselves. Our names are very similar so she asked me if Lizzie was short for Elizabeth and I told her no." She looked over at her mom, giving her a small smile, "I said that I was named after my grandma Liz who passed away before I was born."
Caroline's heart ached, the pain of her mother's loss hitting her again, not that it ever truly left her, it just faded to the back of her mind until one day she was reminded of her. It didn't hurt as much as it used to, but it was her mom, she would never truly heal from losing her way too early.
"Your grandmother would be so proud that you have her name. She was an amazing woman." Stefan smiled at his wonderful daughter, pulling Caroline closer to him to give her comfort, dropping a kiss onto her head.
"I was I could have met her." Lizzie smiled sadly, wishing she could have met her grandparents, but all of them were now gone, and seeing how her dad was over 180 years old the only living relative she had was her uncle Damon.
"I wish you could have too." Caroline smiled at her daughter, now knowing just what her own mother had felt after having her, there was this love for your child that was unexplainable and went beyond simply being in love with someone, it was complete and utter love for your child.
She knew that Liz would be looking down on the family she had for herself and she would be happy and proud of all that Lizzie had become.
17 years old…
12th Grade (Senior Year)
Lizzie, Cami, Sarah, Maria, and Elizabeth were on their way back from one of their other friend's house party/Christmas party. Elizabeth was driving as she was the designated driver and she had remained sober while the other girls had enjoyed themselves drinking. The girls were sensible – after the first time they had gotten completely trashed they were grounded for two weeks and received a tongue lashing from all of their fuming parents - so they had all stayed with their limits and were only slightly buzzed and not completely drunk.
The girls were singing along to a pop sing on the radio, giggling at all the missed and slurred words. Even Elizabeth was singing along even as she concentrated on the dark back road she was driving down. Then she slammed on the breaks as a deer jumped in front of the car.
It was too late.
The car slammed into the deer, flipping upside down onto its roof, before barrel rolling down the rest of the road until it crashed into a tree. The tires were still spinning around in the wheel arches, the metal groaning as it settled back onto its back after hitting the tree.
There were no sounds to be heard. Only complete silence.
Inside the car, all the girls were still in their seatbelts, hanging upside down, all their different coloured hair hanging down and stained with red. Their arms were hanging loose, broken and bent and covered in blood, dripping down to tinge the ground beneath them red.
Caroline and Stefan burst through the doors of the hospital, the first words out of her mouth was, "Where is she? Where is my daughter?"
The receptionist asked, "What is her name?" She was used to frantic parents so she remained calm.
"Lizzie Salvatore." Stefan replied, digging his fingers into the wood of the desk, impatient for information on his precious daughter, and feeling that the receptionist just wasn't being fast enough for him.
She searched the hospital records, swallowing as she came onto the information on their daughter. She looked at them sympathetically, "I think you should have a seat and the doctor will be with you very soon."
Caroline was having none of that. She leaned over the desk, taking a hold of the woman's uniform and pulling her up so that she looked straight in her eyes as she compelled her, "You will tell me what's wrong with my daughter right now and you will hold nothing back."
The receptionist's eyes dilated and she started speaking mindlessly, "Your daughter was in a major car accident. Her and her friends were hurt bad. She and Elizabeth were in the front seats. Neither made it. The others are still fighting for their lives. I'm sorry."
Caroline felt her legs go out from under her, Stefan's arms catching her before she could hit the floor. She screamed in denial, sobs ripping from her throat in her despair. Her precious daughter was gone.
Stefan clutched Caroline to him as he cried into her hair, his heart felt like it was ripped apart in his chest. He had too many years of complete and utter happiness, so the universe had ripped one of the best things in his life away from him. His beautiful daughter was dead.
He led Caroline away from their audience, moving her through the waiting room to the door which led to the stairwell. He sat down on the steps, holding her tightly to him, as they cried out their grief. He was in agony, and the switch hovered in his mind. He wouldn't do it, he couldn't do that to Caroline, he wouldn't burden her with his ripper self when they had just lost their daughter. He wouldn't repeat their mistakes of twenty years ago.
Caroline clutched her fist in his shirt, feeling a thousand times worse than she did the after her mom died. She wanted to switch off her pain so much, but she knew that it would just be the coward's way out, and there would be no coming back from it this time. Suddenly she stilled completely, a gasp escaping her as her eyes grew wide.
Stefan turned his head to look into her wide eyes, frowning as he saw the hope shining from her tear filled eyes. His voice trembled as he said her name, "Caroline?"
Earlier that day…
Caroline and Lizzie were in the kitchen. Lizzie was helping her mom cut the vegetables for the stew she was making for her dinner with Stefan tonight as Lizzie was going to a party at one of her friends' house.
Caroline was browning the lamb in the pan, stirring it around so that it wouldn't burn. She turned her head to look at her daughter cutting the carrots for her, seeing that Lizzie was distracted she couldn't help but tease, "So… will there be any cute boys at this party?"
Lizzie blushed, moving her head down further to cover her face with her hair, "Mom!"
Caroline chuckled, knowing who her daughter had a crush on she teased further, "Will Paul be there? I know you have a thing for him."
"Mom!" Lizzie took her eyes off what she was doing to glare at her mom when she hissed in pain, "Ow!"
Caroline spun to her daughter the moment she smelled blood in the air. Her eyes zeroed in on the deep slice across Lizzie's palm. She rushed to her side, gently taking her wrist in her hand as she applied a dish towel to the wound. Her daughter hissed at the pain, and her heart throbbed in sympathy, "You okay, sweetheart?"
"It hurts." Lizzie whimpered, tears in her eyes from the pain, "I can't go to the party with my hand like this."
Caroline bit her lip, debating with herself for a moment before nodding to herself. She moved away from her daughter to go to the cupboard and pull out a glass. She bit into her wrist and let it pour into the glass. She ripped off some kitchen paper and cleaned up the blood from her wrist. She walked back to Lizzie and held out the glass to her, "Here you go. Drink my blood and you will be all healed up." She smiled as she watched her daughter drink her blood, moments later the cut on her hand closed up like it was never there except for the blood left behind. She rubbed her hand up and down her daughter's back as she winked, "Just don't tell your father. And be careful."
"I will be." Lizzie smiled back at her mom, gratitude clear in her gaze, "Thank you."
"It's my pleasure, sweetheart."
Caroline started laughing and crying in relief. She covered her face with her hands, just repeating over and over again, "Thank god for that cut. Oh god. Thank god."
Stefan had never felt so worried for his wife. They had just lost their daughter and she was laughing. He frowned at her, the rawness of the grief making him snap, "Our daughter is dead! Why the hell are you laughing?"
Caroline couldn't stop the beaming smile covering her face, "She is dead. But she's not dead."
"Caroline!" Stefan shook her by the shoulders, afraid for her sanity, hoping that the loss of their only child hadn't broken her mind, "Stop it. Our world has fallen to pieces. We've lost our little girl; I can't lose you too." The tears fell down his cheeks, "I wouldn't survive."
Caroline took Stefan's face in her hands, and looked into his grief stricken eyes with seriousness as she choked out, "She cut her hand this afternoon."
Stefan frowned in confusion. Their daughter was dead, what did it matter if she'd cut her hand earlier on.
"I gave her my blood." Caroline stroked her fingers across his cheeks and waited for the moment that her husband would catch on.
Stefan's eyes widened, the agony being replaced by hope. He desperately clutched at her arms as he searched her eyes, "Are you sure?"
Caroline nodded.
"We need to get to her before the doctor takes her to the morgue." Stefan stood up, Caroline still holding his face, a look of determination coming over him, "I won't watch anyone else I love wake up on a cold slab."
Caroline nodded as she released his face. She knew he was talking about Elena, who woke up in the morgue after Rebekah drove her and Matt off Wickery Bridge, and unknown to Elena and everybody else she had died with vampire blood in her system.
Stefan took Caroline's hand in his, squeezing it in reassurance, "Let's go make sure our daughter wakes up to the sight of the two of us."
Caroline smiled and nodded. She followed Stefan as he compelled them into their daughter's room. She had to swallow back tears at the sight of her laying their dead, however temporary it may be, it still broke her heart that her baby had died at seventeen just like her parents. Though at least she had died in an accident, and had not been killed like she and Stefan were.
She took one of the chairs and placed it by Lizzie's bedside, taking her hand in hers as she waited for her daughter to open her eyes. She smiled as she felt Stefan stand behind her, his warm and solid palm landing on her shoulder, giving her comfort and support as they waited for whenever the magic blood in her system would make her awaken in transition.
Hours later, Lizzie finally gasped awake. She panted as she drew new breath into her lungs, the bright light of the room hurting her eyes. She screwed her eyes shut, turning her head to the side, opening them to see the crying and smiling faces of her parents. She frowned at them, "Mom, dad… what happened?"
"You were in a car accident, sweetheart." Caroline smoothed her hand along Lizzie's hair to comfort her for what she was about to tell her, "It was pretty bad. Unfortunately, your friend Elizabeth didn't make it."
Lizzie covered her mouth with her hands as she sobbed, "Oh god!"
"And you…" Caroline could hardly bring herself to say the words but she forced herself to, "You died."
"Obviously, they managed to bring me back." Lizzie couldn't believe that one of her best friends was gone.
"No they didn't." Caroline choked out on a sob.
Stefan bent down to place his hand on his daughter's cheek, wiping away the tear that had made a track down her face. He took a breath, "You died with your mom's blood in your system. You're in transition."
It took a moment for what those words meant to catch up to her. She was in transition… to become a vampire, "Oh!"
"You have a choice to make." Caroline let the tears fall down her face as she forced herself to tell her daughter, "No matter what you choose I will support you."
"Me too." Stefan agreed. It would kill him if Lizzie said she didn't want to complete the transition, but unlike all those years ago with Damon he would respect her wishes and let her go from this world in the manner she would choose. It would hurt like hell but he would do it for his precious angel.
Lizzie looked between her parents for a moment. Both looked at her with supportive faces, despite the lingering grief in their gaze. She knew that they would go along with any decision she made, and that made her feel so loved that there was only one choice available to her.
She held out both of her hands, waiting until both of them had a hold of each of her hands. She smiled at the two best parents that she could ever ask for, and told them her choice, "I love you both so much. And I guess I will forever."
Caroline released a breath, her beaming megawatt grin covering her face, "And I will love you forever too, sweetheart."
"I'll love you forever, angel." Stefan smiled at her, briefly squeezing her hand before letting her go. He walked over to the side where he had placed something he hoped that she would want when she woke up. He walked back to his two beautiful girls, holding out the blood bag to his daughter, "If you are sure."
"I am." Lizzie smiled, and she didn't even hesitate in taking the pouch from Stefan. She ripped the tab off and brought it to her lips. She sucked down her first mouthful, groaning in agony as her new teeth came out of her gums. She looked to her parents in reassurance.
"It's normal to hurt the first time." Caroline stroked the back of her hand along Lizzie's cheeks, "It's okay. The pain will go away. Just take slow gulps, don't rush it."
Lizzie did as her mom told her. She slowly drank the blood bag, feeling better once she finished the whole thing. She knew she needed it to survive, but she was glad that she could also still enjoy normal food and drink as she'd seen her mom and dad eat for years before she even knew they were vampires.
"Let's get you home." Stefan smiled, still sad that his little girl had died, but so happy that Caroline had given Lizzie her blood so that she would live on. He wasn't ready to lose her, now or ever.
Caroline frowned as she realized she didn't have any spare clothes on her, "I don't have any spare clothes."
"I'll get some." Stefan offered, gesturing his thumb behind him, "I have to go compel everyone to forget that Lizzie died."
Caroline nodded, almost forgetting that one of them would have to do that. She watched her husband leave before turning back to her daughter. She couldn't stop herself from touching her, the grief from thinking she'd lost her for good still lingering around her system.
Lizzie took her mom's hand and gave it a squeeze, "I'm okay, mom." She smiled big and bright, letting the happiness into her gaze, "Really I am. I knew the decision on whether or not I turned would have to be discussed sooner or later. Fate just decided to make it sooner."
Caroline chuckled and shook her head, "When did you get so wise?"
Lizzie smiled back, "When the fates gifted me to you and dad. They knew we would be a family forever, and no thought has made me happier."
Caroline pulled Lizzie into her arms, burying her face into her hair as she breathed in her daughter's beautiful scent. She smiled in happiness, "We will be a family forever."
And they were.
THE END