Caroline breathed in deeply. She could smell freshly baked bread and the sound of it being sliced. A small child was chided by his mother for his clumsy behaviour. Across the street from the kid, an old lady was leaning from her balcony watering the chrysanthemums, jasmines, and petunias. The air was fresh and crisp. She walked down the street, happy to be a part of this scenery. It was a bit warm, so she took off her jacket and folded it neatly before placing it in her handbag. She had left her luggage in the hotel.

She knew where to go to find him. She had made a detailed itinerary of all of the things to do before she came to New Orleans and on the top of the list was to see him. Before she had bumped it to the bottom. She wasn't sure how the meeting would go, so she wanted to check out the tourist places and get other things done before coming here. She knew his home address but wasn't sure if it would be acceptable for her to go see him there. But she did not have his cell number and hence had no recourse but to walk to his home. She sauntered in the direction she knew his house lay. When she reached that haunt, she could not get herself to cross the road. It was suddenly too real and not real enough.

"Caroline?" Someone said from behind her, and Caroline froze. It was Klaus. She wanted to smile and greet him cheerfully, but all she could do was stare at him in horror and awe. She hadn't really been prepared to see him. The meeting was too transcendental for her to actually allow it or bear it, rather, to see it occur on a material plane. She felt his warm hand touch her shoulder.

"Caroline? Is everything okay? Is something the matter?" He seemed worried.

Caroline snapped out of her stupor. Why would he think something was the matter? And even if something was the matter, why did he presume Caroline wouldn't be able to handle it on her own?

Caroline smiled nevertheless. "Klaus. Yes, yes. Everything's fine. I just didn't think I'd see you here—"

She broke off midway when Klaus gave her a confused smile, gesturing to his house and the obvious fact that she was standing in front of it. Caroline laughed. "Well, yes, not saying it's an intelligent excuse. I meant that I didn't think I'd see you so suddenly and abruptly. I didn't think you'd even be home."

"Well, technically, I wasn't," his eyebrows crinkled.

"I was in town," Caroline explained. "I thought I would visit you. I hope that's okay."

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" Klaus asked, smiling easily like he always did for her. Caroline could not recall the anger and hatred she felt toward him years ago. She could not understand how she held up against a smile so warm and reassuring.

"Would you care to come inside?" He tilted his head toward his house.

"Yes, sure," Caroline said but immediately halted, "Actually, do you mind going to a cafe or something nearby?"

Klaus paused for a moment to consider her response and nodded his assent. "I think I might know a place you would like. Have you tried the beignets?"

"No, unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to."

"You're in for a treat," Klaus said, smiling. Caroline mused they would look like someone on a date or just hanging out. Essentially, someone so human and normal, even she would be convinced of their mortality. She smiled.

"Lead the way," she said.

"It's quite a walk from here. And we have to do it at human speed—with tourists and everyone nearby. Do you need to be somewhere?"

"No. Let's walk. I haven't walked in such a long time. Haven't really looked while walking. At college, I met a girl who told me that when she was young, her best friend had told her to avoid looking men in the eye, to stare at the ground. And from then on, whenever she walked, it became a habit to stare at the ground. At the age of twenty, she could only tell pavements apart, but never the skies. I think I'm becoming like that. With the constant work and everything, I haven't really ventured out and seen much. And even when I'm walking, I'm looking at the pavements."

Caroline spoke like a mortal, and it was bizarre for Klaus. He couldn't understand her dilemma. Everything was for forever; she was for forever; why was she so worried about not experiencing things?

"I'm not sure I understand, love," he said, wrinkling his eyebrows.

Caroline noticed how his hands brushed her shoulders to steer her in the right direction. She liked the comfort and the familiarity. There was something so tender in the gesture that she almost forgot to answer Klaus's question. They had stopped at the zebra crossing, waiting for the light to change.

"I know, I know. I have like an eternity, but things don't. I might stay the same on the outside, but things change, and they move fast. They are animate and alive and then die. But I will remain the same," Caroline fell quiet. She looked pensive. "But I just really want to see everything, you know. So, I can compare. For myself."

"I keep an online blog. To track changes. It's popular. I have, like, a thousand followers," Caroline chuckled. "Anyway, now that I am out with you, I don't need to worry about missing out on things. So, tell me about the things I am seeing."

"Well," Klaus began, "this is called a zebra crossing." The light went green, and Klaus's palm wound around Caroline's wrist, "Us pedestrians often use it to make sure we cross the road safely."

Caroline snorted. "Well, that's definitely not making it to the blog."

When they reached the other side of the street, Caroline walked on confidently towards the right where the lane turned, but Klaus pulled her back. "Ah-ah, not there," he said as if speaking to a child avuncularly. It prompted a painful reminder in Caroline. She certainly couldn't avoid that topic, she told herself. Klaus opened the door of a café Caroline seemed to have missed and nudged her inside gently. The café was quaint and empty.

"Pick a table while I order us some beignets. Do you need anything else?"

"A coffee would be great, thank you," Caroline said, already searching for a seat. She found a table for two in the corner.

"Well, they'll bring us our order soon," Klaus said, sitting down from her a minute later.

"Well, I've been speaking for too long. What have you been up to?"

Klaus shrugged. "Not much. Things here have been busier than anticipated, but you've come at the right time. Everything's settled now."

Caroline smiled. She stared at the spoons and forks on the table. She arranged them according to height. "I heard you have a daughter. With Hayley." She looked up at Klaus. She didn't want to make it sound accusatory, but she couldn't help it. She was accusing him. Kind of sort of. But also, she wasn't. She wasn't entirely sure.

Klaus's face turned serious. "Caroline I—"

"No, you don't need to give me any explanations. I know everything—a little birdie told me. Anyway, I am happy for you. I've heard great things about your daughter. Where is she now?"

"She's in New York. With her mother and Elijah. They're visiting her family. Her daughter, my granddaughter, goes to college there. She's studying electrical engineering. Couldn't be more off than the family genes," Klaus smirked. "I'm afraid what she'll turn into. I'm due to visit them next month."

"Well, I'll have you know I minored in microbiology and turned out fine. I'm sure your granddaughter will too."

They were interrupted by the waiter who brought their order of a plate of beignets and two coffees for them.

"Microbiology? I wouldn't have pegged you to be the person to pursue that subject," Klaus said. "I thought you were more of an event management type."

Caroline made a face. "I see someone kept tabs on me." She took a beignet from the plate and bit into it. She felt the warm gush of syrup in her mouth.

Klaus shrugged, looking unashamed. "Well, I did when I could. I always did know you'd go in for Event Management."

"This is really good," she said.

Klaus handed her a napkin, smiling. "You've got sugar all over your face."

"Thanks," she wiped her face. "I had to actually quit school in between. A lot of stuff happened. Bonnie and Damon disappeared. I don't know if you remember them..," Caroline shook her head, "I had to quit college, and well, I didn't really think I'd go back..."

"What changed?"

"Well, after my mother passed away—and thank you for the carnations—they were her favourite. It was creepy that you knew that, but it was good to know you remembered. It was very thoughtful of you. After my mother passed away, I decided to return to Whitmore and finish my education. And things kind of took on a life of their own, and now I have my own event management company. All without any supernatural assistance, I'll have you know."

Klaus laughed at how proud Caroline looked. She looked like a child waiting to be praised, and he did not keep her waiting for long. "Well, love, I always knew you were meant for great things."

Caroline beamed. "Me too. About me, I mean," she teased. Klaus chuckled.

"And how is the Mystic Falls gang?" he asked.

"I wouldn't really know, I guess. After college, I permanently moved away from the town. It was...I think I couldn't bear it there...There was so much history—there still is. Also, I really needed to wean myself off of them—and the town. It was too intense. Plus, I got offered a scholarship at Whitmore to do a postgraduate degree, so I couldn't turn the offer down. I thought it was a sign from the universe. Egging me on to leave that place," Caroline laughed. It was not an entirely happy laugh.

"How's everyone in your family doing?" Caroline asked. "It sounds so strange, doesn't it? So," She leaned in and whispered, "human." She leaned back into her chair before saying, "Sometimes, I almost forget that I am a vampire. I am still so human, you know. My aspirations, my desires. I have never really known anything else but to be human. I wouldn't know how to be a vampire. You're the Original vampire, yet you're still so human."

Klaus felt a little taken back at her proclamation. Did she mean to say he was inferior? That he was weak?

"They're all well."

"And awake...?"

Klaus smirked. "Awake enough."

"Where are you staying?"

"Oh, at the hotel near the airport."

"Why don't you stay at my house?"

"Oh, no, I have actually come here to organize an event, so I cannot stay anywhere else apart from the one that's been booked for me, or there'll be like a huge discrepancy with the budget, and then I'd have to answer questions and ugh it's too much effort," Caroline rambled. Klaus noticed how her voice had changed. Its tone, pitch, and variation. He realized that he had been utterly deprived of her delightful company and her idiosyncrasies.

"What event?"

"Oh, it's not really fancy. It is a collaboration between Whitmore University and NOLA. I've actually been here a week now. But I had some work to do, so I decided to sort that out before seeing you."

"Well, I feel special. Shall we leave? For my home. For a drink, if you don't mind."

Caroline searched his face for a sign of innuendo or a suggestion that there might lay more than alcohol in his invitation. She wasn't sure if she was comfortable with that...yet. Not if Klaus wasn't on the same page as her.

"Are you done burning holes into my head, love?" Klaus asked after half a minute of no response from her. Caroline blushed with the realization that Klaus had caught onto her inspection.

She cleared her throat. "Of course," she said confidently. "Let's go."

"If it's absolutely alright with you," Klaus added again, for good measure.

Caroline couldn't help but snort at that. She hadn't had a guy be that polite and considerate to her in quite some time.

Klaus raised a questioning eyebrow at that. "I forgot how polite and proper you are. Guys in Washington are just like —well, never mind what the guys there are like," Caroline cut herself off with an awkward laugh when she realized it was Klaus she was talking to. He wouldn't want to know about all of that. And it was definitely not what she had come here for.

He smirked. "No, please, continue. I would love to know."

"So," Klaus asked, mixing her drink for her. "Are you seeing someone?"

Caroline could feel the tension thicken in the air. She examined the mansion as she considered his question. The Mikaelson mansion was everything she had heard about it. It was beautiful but exceedingly grim, much like its owner. She was sitting in the parlour, on the large settee, watching Klaus make her a drink from his own private bar.

Klaus handed her the drink and sat on the armchair adjacent to the settee. Sufficiently appropriate distance from a lady, Caroline thought and bit back a snigger. She chose to examine her drink. It was a swirling amber and -

"Well?" Klaus asked again.

Caroline looked up from her drink. His question. Oh. It looked like he hadn't heard. "Well," she chewed her lip, wondering if she should just tell him. Well, why not? It's Klaus, after all, "Oh well," she said after a while.

"There was someone, but no not anymore."

"And may I ask, who that was?" Klaus asked, carefully, cautiously, like she was a lamb who would run away if he made a sudden movement. Caroline rolled her eyes at the sudden formality.

"Yes, you may," she said exaggeratedly. "It was actually my husband," she said, pressing her lips into a thin line waiting for the information to sink in. It took a while. Klaus stared at her. Or maybe he had frozen. Caroline couldn't decide. She decided to proceed either way.

"His name was Michael, and I was married to him for thirty years before he recently passed away."

At the last phrase, Klaus's eyes snapped to hers. "Yep. He was human," she sighed. "He decided to stay human," she added. "We were very happy. It was —" she paused. What could she say to Klaus? Did he even want to hear this? How could she explain what she had with Michael? How they were together?

"He didn't love you enough to stay forever?"

"He loved me enough to know when to stop."

"Is that love?"

Caroline was caught off guard by Klaus's question. He was looking at her with utmost sincerity. No mockery. Genuine curiosity.

"Y—Yeah, I think so," she said. Klaus nodded, his eyes dragging along the floor absently.

"Thirty years," Klaus finally commented.

"I'm actually surprised that you didn't already know I got married," Caroline added after a while meeting his eyes, curious. Klaus gave her an incomprehensible look.

"Well, I stopped keeping tabs after college. I believed it was time to...move on," he added the last part almost begrudgingly, his eyes fixed on hers.

"And did you?"

Klaus didn't reply. "Would you like to go on a walk?" he asked instead.

Caroline downed her drink in one shot and then said, "Sure."

"I still think he was a bloody fool to not choose immortality," Klaus commented. They had been walking silently for almost forty-five minutes in the Mikaelson gardens when he had suddenly broken the silence.

"Do you think he did not love me enough?" Caroline glanced at him. The evening shadows were doing justice to his beauty. They sharply outlined his high cheekbones, and the moonlight illuminated his beard and eyebrows. His eyes remained as unfathomable as Caroline remembered them to be.

"No, I don't," he said immediately.

"You know," she began. It was so soft and so understanding that Klaus marveled at how much Caroline had grown because the Caroline he remembered wouldn't have taken such a judgment on her person calmly. She would've ripped him apart; he didn't know if he hated it or admired her for it.

"You know," she continued, "Everyone's love is different. Taking the time to learn about someone is also love." She bent to pluck a flower and tuck it behind her ear. She refused to meet his eyes. They were searching for something in the way they were urgently skimming through the dusk-enveloped gardens. In the pause that she took, she again bent down to pluck a blade of grass. He saw what she had seen: the still alive bubble of dew from the morning.

She gave him a short smile, acknowledging the miracle before she continued, "Learning someone patiently, the way they hold their fork, the way their skin tastes when it is oily to when it is dry—all of it is love. He—he knew me, Klaus. And he wasn't afraid. He wasn't disgusted. And I knew him. And I wasn't afraid, and I wasn't disgusted. To know each other in entirety, or as entirely as one can, and to accept and cherish, despite and—and because of it—That—is— that's love."

She finally turned to look at him, and Klaus felt he was helpless in the face of such a definition. He felt...starved. He looked starved.

"Are you hungry?" Klaus asked.

"Yes, thank God you asked. I'm famished. But for blood. And O positive is my favourite," she said, taking out a bag of what looked like milk from the cover. "Once, I had to pull an all-nighter, and I hadn't had a bite since the day before—and it was hell. The worst was when Mike found me unconscious and gave me hell for like a month! He withheld —"Caroline cut off immediately to quickly add, "Never mind that. He finally came up with these tetra pack ideas, and well, I've been using them ever since," She explained, "I wonder why I never thought of it before. My mom used to do it all of the time, and I just did know how I couldn't have done it. I mean, hello, the answer was right in front of me," She finally paused to take a deep breath and rip into the tetra packet to drink the blood.

Klaus, who had been listening to her quite nonplussed, burst out laughing when she finished. Caroline stared at him, confused. "What, what is it?"

"I forget how young you were when I last saw you. You've grown so much. How old are you now? Eighty?"

"Yes, Have I really changed that much?"

"It's a pity, " Klaus said and then abruptly stopped.

"What is? What's a pity?"

"Just you never ageing. I never saw the point of it... But now I think I do. There's a thing about being human. There's a thing about you being human that I regret being taken from you. I can imagine you, old and fussing about discovering the miracles of keeping food in your handbag."

Caroline smiled. "Yeah, I think about it too. Michael and I wanted to have children, and we even thought about adopting, but... We were scared of our baby choosing the life I have...I would never want someone else to want this life. I know it's unfair, but I won't be able to bear it. To know someone turned because of me," Caroline said, pursing her lips. She smiled weakly at Klaus.

"But immortality has its perks too," Caroline said at the same time Klaus said, "Why didn't you ever give us a chance?"

Caroline looked at him, surprised at his sudden query. She hadn't been expecting that. He, however, looked determined to get an answer. Though behind that determination and the facade of casualness, Caroline could see insecurity lurking. She looked at the long expanse of grass they were surrounded by. She turned to Klaus.

"I guess," She said slowly, "I was just afraid..."

She glanced at Klaus, who remained still. She wondered if she should say more and sighed.

"The thing is," she said, turning towards him, "I chose myself. I mean, after my mom died, I—I decided to change everything."

"Before she died, my mother asked me to do something...she asked me to choose myself. I didn't understand then, but now I do. I kept—keep," Caroline correcting herself, scoffing aloud, as if incredulous at her own conduct, "trying to buy people's affections through favours and... It's pathetic, really. I just, I couldn't do that anymore. I just wanted to be for me for some time. I didn't want to work so hard to make people want to be with me. And in the process of understanding myself, I found that somewhere, I began understanding you..."

Klaus, who listened to her intently, felt his face change when she mentioned him. He gave her a questioning look. Caroline gave him a nervous smile before continuing.

"You never worked hard to keep people with you. But you did, or tried to, with me. But I didn't with you... And I realized it was because I had taken your help for granted. And don't get me wrong, but it felt good because I knew you would always be there for me... Without me trying to win your affection. I was secure. I never had that with anyone," she paused to give him a look of gratitude, placing an arm on his.

Klaus could only look at her warmly, his sadness and pain not ebbing from before and only increasing. Despite everything, he knew she would reject him again. When he asked her why she hadn't chosen him then, he was asking her, will you choose me now? He hated himself for having asked that question because somewhere in his heart, he knew the answer would be a resounding no like it always had. Caroline didn't seem to notice his inner turmoil. Her eyes were skimming along the lines of the Mikaelson grounds. They had neared the brook. He could feel her appreciation for the beauty he had created.

Caroline continued to speak.

"Although I don't regret the decision I made, I just wanted to come to see you and tell you that I finally understand. But at that moment, Klaus," she turned to him, desperation visible on her face, her eyebrows drawn together, "I needed to be me. To completely understand the situation and take control of it, take the chance someone had offered me." She gave him a smile he found difficult to return. He felt the impending doom of her words. "I have done and seen things—I still want to do more. I have friends worldwide, and I am glad I allowed myself to experience this. Sometimes I am so tightly wound that I forget that my life is to live too."

"When you live forever, it's hard to not want to be with the people you've always known. Otherwise, who will I be...? I was so scared that I would not be me anymore. To spend eternity without the people I had grown up with would mean there would be no one to remember me... Or my past. The people I grew up with will die and forget me long before that. It would then really be as if I was never really there. Who will I be with no one to know me and remember me?" She looked back at him, wondering if he understood her. She felt relieved when she found understanding and acceptance in his face.

"I'm still scared," she confessed, "And I'll never be able to detach myself from them. I—I love them... And I know that they love me. But I realized I didn't need to bargain my life in exchange for acknowledgment... I try to live as much as possible rather than as extraordinarily as possible... that's what I've learned all these years."

She turned to him with a bright smile; Klaus was suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia. He felt they were back on the grounds for that Miss Mystic Falls competition when he had had the privilege of escorting Caroline to the event. This was the smile she had given him, perhaps without realizing it herself. Full of warmth and sunshine. He was reminded of the hummingbird, living life to the fullest. That was Caroline. He felt the pain from earlier dull from the warmth Caroline radiated.

"I think it was also perhaps that the first thing you did when you saw me was to inquire if I was alright if I needed help. As if, after all these years, without word or warning, I had the right to show up at your door and demand your assistance, and you would provide me with it without any airs or hesitation. It's just so...weird. To know I can depend on you so ...freely. And I know now what I want."

She stopped walking to look at him.

"I am not sure what you're saying, love, " Klaus said. He knew if he were alive, his heart would be beating rapidly at the moment. Had he understood her right? Did she ...?

"I think you do," Caroline said, smiling at him warmly.

"I do, but I'd rather hear it from you. Clearly. Before making any assumptions."

"I am saying," Caroline said, "I'm here. For you. If you'll still have me, that is. Unless you've moved on."

Klaus stared at her. Caroline's smile wavered, and Klaus saw self-doubt take over her.

"Oh my God, all this time I had been speaking, I mean, yes, that speech or speeches were long overdue, but I never paused to ask where you stand—and oh my god, are you seeing someone? Are you—like married, or something? Oh no, I didn't even inquire. Another thing I realized is I am extremely narcissistic, aren't I? Because I just waltzed in and like, hey, I just realized I really like you, maybe more, so let's get together, but what about you, I mean—I am sorry. Just, please, say something."

"I'm sorry, that tirade was far too amusing for me to stop," Klaus said, coming close to her. Caroline stopped talking, peering into his eyes, looking for answers. Klaus came closer to her, his raspberry lips curling into a smirk and then a smile. He bent down, his mouth hovering over hers but not touching; his eyes bore into hers and found only warmth.

"After so many years," he whispered.

"Time is but a social convention," She smirked softly.

Klaus smirked back before closing the distance. Time was but a social convention, and it would be a convention that neither of them abided by for quite some time.