A/N: Happy New Year! Please read the author's note at the bottom!

This was my Winter Wonderland Gift Exchange piece for LoveIsATemple. If you have not already read her stuff, you totally should :)
Angst with a happy ending. SFW. :)

Enjoy!
-Angie

Caroline curled up under the covers, trying to get comfortable. It had been nearly ten years since she'd shown up on Klaus's doorstep, and she had never been happier. He was supposed to come back that night (he was taking care of a coven of witches that were supposedly trying to kill him), and she'd tried to stay up, but her eyes were drooping, and she'd nearly succumbed to sleep when she heard their bedroom door open.

"Klaus?"

"Right here, sweetheart," he said softly, and she could see his silhouette stripping off his clothes before he crawled into bed with her, pulling her to rest against him.

"How'd it go?"

"They're dead," he said shortly. "I didn't mean for you to wait up for me. I'm sorry, love."

"It's okay. I always do it. I know you're practically indestructible, but I like knowing you're safe."

He hummed in agreement, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you," Caroline whispered as she buried her face in Klaus's neck.

He smelled...off. She had no idea how to describe it other than that. It wasn't that she thought it wasn't Klaus, but...She inhaled again, her mind shouting magic, but magic didn't have a scent...Magic was just...magic.

His arms tightened around her as he drew her against him, his nose resting against her skin. "I love you," he whispered back.

Caroline figured it was just some sort of weird residue and let herself fall into a deep sleep.

That was her first mistake.

XXX

Caroline groaned softly as the alarm clock next to her bed went off, reaching to hit the snooze and turning to cuddle back into Klaus. When she grabbed for him, all she felt was emptiness, and she huffed irritably, pulling the sheets around herself to stave off the cold.

Cold?

Her eyes flew open and she sat up in bed, her breaths ragged and fast. The first thing that hit her was how dull the colors were, the second that she did not recognize the room that she was in at all, and the third that she couldn't hear the sounds of cars outside that were the constant indicator that she was in her and Klaus's apartment in New York.

She pulled herself out of bed slowly, wincing as the cold floor touched her feet, and looked outside the window.

She'd recognize that clock tower anywhere. She was still in Mystic Falls.

She was human in Mystic Falls.

Caroline spun to find a mirror somewhere, needing to see herself, and she found it in the bathroom, managing to restrain a scream when she saw herself.

What had she done to her hair?

She bit her lip as she ran her fingers through her curls before re-centering herself and going back to the bedroom. She opened her laptop, biting her lip when she saw the date. It was still 2022, so she was still thirty, but a human thirty (which explained the slight change in appearance). She opened the calendar to see what she had scheduled, and was relieved to see that Other Caroline (was that what she was calling herself?) seemed to have the same obsessive scheduling tendencies.

It was still Sunday (according to the calendar), and she had three things on the agenda: Meet Bonnie for brunch, Pilates class, and "dinner with bae".

Who the fuck used the word "bae" at thirty? Apparently Other Caroline. But who was bae? Klaus would rather slit his own throat than have her call him anything but "Klaus" (or sometimes "honey" in private when she was teasing him for his petnames). Maybe human Klaus was different?

Or maybe Klaus wasn't human? Maybe she wasn't with Klaus?

She felt her heart drop at the thought, but flipped through the calendar some more. From what she gathered, she owned an event planning business on the edge of town that was quite well-known. She was still friends with Elena (ew!) and Bonnie. She wondered if Bonnie was still a witch. Could she fix things?

And what happened, anyway? Was she in an alternate universe when she was never turned? Did vampires exist at all?

She googled "Dracula" and Google asked if she'd meant "Fibula". Twilight only gave her moon phases. True Blood gave her suggestions about how to find her blood type.

She felt herself start to panic, but she took a few deep breaths, trying to center herself. "Vampire" gave her nothing, but she googled "blood-sucking demon" and found a few wikipedia entries about ancient legends (and mosquitoes).

What did that mean? That vampires never existed?

Well, there was one way to find out.

Caroline dressed quickly, grabbed her jacket, and pulled on some boots before walking to the underground caves, a bit surprised that they were still there (Klaus had told her once that they were made to hide from the werewolves). What if there were still werewolves and witches, but the vampires had never been made?

She walked straight to the cave that used to hold the origin story of the vampires, and was faced with a blank wall.

She felt the air press around her, a sob welling in her throat. Klaus had died a thousand years ago. She was in an alternate universe where he'd died a human with the rest of his family. Caroline leaned against the wall, sinking down to the ground and letting her tears fall, the sound of her sobs echoing through the cave.

After a few minutes, she rubbed frantically at her eyes and started running through her options. All she could do was blend in until she found a way to get home. She pulled out her phone to check the clock, she realized it was almost time to meet Bonnie. She took a deep breath and stood up, wiping off her jeans.

She had to find a way to get back.

XXX

Klaus woke to a scream, and he turned around to see Caroline flat against the wall on the other side of the room. "Caroline, love? What's wrong?"

"Who the hell are you? Did you kidnap me?"

Klaus sat up slowly, observing the genuine terror on Caroline's face, and trying to figure out what to say to calm her down. "Caroline, you're in our bedroom."

"Our bedroom? I've never met you before in my life."

"I need you to calm down, love."

"Calm down? You kidnapped me, and you know my name, and I have no idea who you are. And everything's really bright. Did you drug me? Oh my god, you drugged me."

Klaus didn't know how to respond. He decided that his first priority was to make sure she didn't leave before they could figure out what was going on, so he sped to her and grabbed her wrists, pulling her back to bed and sitting her down. "Caroline, I need you to stay right here while I figure out what's wrong with you. If you don't, I will compel you if necessary."

It was an empty threat, but she didn't need to know that.

"Compel? What do you mean compel? And I'm really hungry. If you took the trouble to kidnap me, you'd think you'd be feeding me."

"Caroline, stay here and I'll get you food, all right?" he said, bringing out his phone and walking to the door.

"Hello?" Bonnie asked irritably.

"There's something wrong with Caroline," Klaus said without preamble. "I think something happened with the witches last night."

"What do you mean something wrong?" Bonnie asked, and Klaus ignored Caroline's screech of whether Bonnie was in on the kidnapping.

"She doesn't remember who I am, or that she's a vampire."

"I'm a what?" Caroline demanded, and Klaus ignored her.

"I'll be over in an hour or so," Bonnie said, and he heard his brother's voice in the background grumbling about having to get up.

"Bring some blood bags as well," Klaus added before he hung up.

"How do you know Bonnie? Is she in on this? Is this one of her witchy things? And blood bags?"

He frowned. "You know that Bonnie is a witch?"

"Yeah. It was weird as hell at first. I thought the floating feather thing was a trick or whatever, but she convinced me eventually."

"All right, sweetheart," Klaus said slowly, trying to figure out how to explain everything, though if she believed in witches it might be easier, at least. "So, as far as I can tell right now, you have some sort of amnesia."

"Amnesia? But I didn't have an accident. I was just sleeping. Maybe this is a dream. A really bad dream," Caroline said, her words speeding up as she got more emotional, and Klaus approached her slowly, trying not to scare her.

"I assure you that this is very real. However, Bonnie will be here in an hour, and we can figure out what's wrong."

"Okay. And no offense, but don't call me sweetheart. I get that we're together in this universe or whatever, but I don't know you."

He felt his heart clench, his stomach sink, but he nodded. "Noted."

XXX

Caroline bit her lip as she entered the Grill, spying Bonnie in one of the booths, and she waved her over. "Hey."

"Hi."

"You look stressed. Everything okay?"

Caroline debated on whether to tell Bonnie. Even if witches did exist, would Bonnie know?

She had to take the chance. She could always laugh it off if it didn't work.

"So, you know the whole magic thing?" Caroline asked hesitantly, and Bonnie's eyes flashed.

"Not in public, Caroline," she hissed, checking around to see if anyone heard.

Caroline couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief before she lowered her voice. "Look, I need your help."

"Caroline, I told you, there is no spell for making people more competent at their jobs."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "No. It's more complicated. Can we get the food to-go?"

Bonnie huffed but nodded, waving the waitress over, and soon they were walking into Bonnie's apartment, setting the food down on the counter.

"So, what's going on?"

Caroline bit her lip before launching into the story, leaving out as much about Elena and the whole sacrifice thing as possible and just focusing on the fact that she was stuck in an alternate universe. Bonnie's face became more concerned as Caroline continued, and when she finally finished at the point where she woke up, Bonnie looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"So, I guess you want me to try to send you back?"

Caroline restrained the irritated, 'well, obviously' and instead nodded.

"Okay. Can you tell me anything else about the curse?"

"I don't know. My...boyfriend came back from a...a meeting with a coven that was not at all fond of him, and he just...I don't know. It felt like magic."

Bonnie was silent for a few seconds as they climbed the steps to what must have been her apartment, pulling out her key from her purse.

"Okay. Do you know the name of the coven?"

"The gemini coven."

"Oh. That makes a lot of sense, actually. They specialize in alternate dimension spells," Bonnie said, frowning. "I'll talk to Kai."

"Kai?"

"Yeah. My boyfriend. He's actually from the coven. Kind of an ass, but it sounds like you of all people would get it. My Caroline is unfortunately pretty judgy about it."

"Okay," Caroline said awkwardly. "Thanks, Bon."

"No problem."

Caroline sighed as relief flooded her. "So, any chance that after you call him you could give me a crash course in all things Caroline in this dimension?"

Bonnie smiled slightly. "Sure."

XXX

"Where's Tyler?" Caroline asked, her voice wobbly, and Klaus bared his teeth without thinking about it, making her flinch. "Look, he's my boyfriend, okay? It's normal to wonder."

"We don't know where Tyler is. He lost contact with us a few years ago," Bonnie said calmly, interrupting the impending pissing contest. "Touch this stone for me."

Caroline did, frowning at Bonnie's clear dodging of the question. "And Elena?"

"Off with Damon and Stefan somewhere."

"Who are Damon and Stefan?"

"Damon and Stefan Salvatore."

"Umm...The founding family members Damon and Stefan Salvatore?"

"Yep."

"But they're dead."

"They're vampires like you," Bonnie said patiently as she took Caroline's hand.

"So the blood sucking monster things?"

"Yeah."

"But Elena's with Tom."

"Tom?"

"Tom Avery. They met in med school."

"Oh, the doppelganger. That makes sense," Kol said slowly.

"Doppel-what?"

"It doesn't matter," Bonnie said hastily. "Look, I have no idea what spell did this, but I can check on the coven's history. Hopefully that will help. In the meantime, let's get you fed."

Caroline wrinkled her nose at the blood bag that was shoved into her hands.

"You really expect me to drink this?"

"We can put it in some coffee if you want, love. You liked-my Caroline liked that in the mornings."

"Umm, okay."

Klaus nodded and walked to the kitchen, and she heard the coffee maker start. Caroline sat on the armchair by the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms around them.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Bonnie said slowly, and Caroline glared at her, interrupting before she could continue.

"Yeah, you think? I am trapped in an alternate universe where I am a blood-sucking monster, my boyfriend is MIA, my other self is dating some one-thousand year old weirdo, and I have a huge party coming up this week and I have no idea if my other self will be able to handle it."

Bonnie and Kol snorted at the same time. "Trust me Care, if that's what you're worried about, she'll be fine."

XXX

"Okay, so he says he'll be over after work, which will be around six," Bonnie said, sitting down on the couch across from Caroline. "So, I assume that you know that you're dating Tyler?"

"Yeah. I'm having dinner with him tonight."

"You should probably cancel on him," Bonnie said, grimacing. "Just say you're swamped with work."

"That makes sense."

"He'll understand, with your mom's party this week and everything. It's big this year. You haven't stopped talking about it for weeks."

Caroline froze. "My mom?"

"Yeah. Your mom's sixtieth," Bonnie said, giving Caroline an odd look. "What did you think it was?"

"My mom's dead," Caroline said quietly, her voice shaking.

Bonnie's eyes clouded in sympathy. "Oh."

"Yeah."

They were both quiet for a minute, Caroline's mind racing. Should she see her mom? It was tempting, and she'd often wished for just one more minute with her, but would it make it too painful when she went back home?

"So, what do you want to know?" Bonnie asked quietly, and Caroline shook herself.

"Best friends?"

"Me and Elena."

Caroline nodded once, having expected that. "Okay. Is Elena dating anyone?"

"Tom Avery. He's a paramedic. They met in med school."

Caroline wrinkled her nose. Ugh. Doppelganger curse. "That makes sense, I guess. Did I go to college?"

"Whitmore."

"What did I major in?"

"Marketing."

Caroline's phone started beeping loudly, and she pulled it out, frowning.

"Where's my pilates class?"

XXX

"Okay, so it was the Gemini coven, right?" Bonnie asked, flipping through the grimmoire. "That would make a lot of sense. Their coven specializes in spells having to do with parallel universes."

"Yes," Klaus said impatiently.

"What exactly was the spell?"

"I don't know. I slaughtered all of them too quickly for anyone to cast anything."

"Are you sure? You didn't see anyone clasping hands? Or any chanting?" Bonnie prodded, and Klaus shrugged.

"Of course there were, but there wasn't any sign of magic."

Bonnie sighed exasperatedly, and Klaus had to remind himself that he wasn't allowed to kill the Bennett witch. "Okay, do you remember anything about this supposedly irrelevant chanting?"

"It was Latin."

"Do you know what they were saying?"

"Unfortunately, Latin was one of the dead languages that I haven't picked up."

"Stop being an asshole, she's just trying to help," Caroline cut in, and Klaus had to take a slow, deep breath to keep himself from saying something rude to her.

"What are your guesses, witch?"

"Well, I think the most likely thing is that she sent our Caroline to this Caroline's world, and she's inhabiting the other body. In order to bring her back, we'd need the ascendant, which is a magical device that acts as the focus for a spell like that."

"Where's the ascendant?"

"Only someone from the coven would know. It's not like they go around advertising where they put the key to undo their spell. And, since someone decided to kill them all, this is going to be difficult.

"I didn't kill them all. Just most of them."

"Okay Nik, well where's the one you left alive?" Kol asked.

"I don't know. I'll have Joshua find her," Klaus said, pulling out his phone. "In the meantime, we should attempt to pinpoint exactly which spell was used, correct?"

"Yep, and I'm going to need your help with that, Caroline," Bonnie said, turning to the other girl.

"So you'll be able to send me home?" Caroline asked hopefully.

"I think so."

XXX

"So, tell me about your coven, or whatever."

Kai leaned back, his legs crossed at the ankle, hands folded behind his head, and she couldn't help but be strongly reminded of Damon.

"Not much to tell. The only part you need to know is that we specialize in alternate dimensions."

"Okay, so how do I get home?"

"I don't know," Kai said, shrugging. "We'd have to test a few things, but my guess is that we're going to need the ascendant."

"What's the ascendant?"

"It's a magical device that creates a portal. It can only be used in one place, so my guess is that it was anchored to either where your boyfriend went to meet with my coven, or where you ended up."

"Okay," Caroline said slowly. "So, since Klaus met the coven in Charlottesville, you're saying it's either there or in Mystic Falls?"

"Most likely."

Caroline bit her lip. "Okay, well, I know roughly where they were going to meet. Is there some sort of locator spell you can do?"

"Nope, we'll have to find it. I do know what it looks like, though, if that'll help."

"It would," Caroline said, trying not to sound too impatient. "So, just to double-check, what you're saying is that if we find the ascendant, you can send me back."

"Well, yes, as long as it's during a powerful celestial event."

"The full moon is the day after tomorrow. Will that be good enough?" Caroline asked.

"Yep."

"Great. Let's go, then," Caroline said, standing up.

"Now?"

"Yes, now. I need to get back."

Bonnie and Kai exchanged an exasperated look, but Bonnie stood up, glaring at Kai until he followed. "All right. Where to?"

"As I said, Klaus met with the witches in Charlottesville."

"Want to be more specific?" Kai asked dryly.

"I can't remember the name of the field, but I know where it is."

"Oh. Excellent. That's exactly what we need. Some girl that we don't actually know driving us to a mysterious field in the middle of nowhere. Sounds very safe."

"Oh get over it," Caroline snapped, opening the apartment door. "C'mon. Let's go. The sooner we get the ascendant, the sooner you can have the other me back. At least we know that if it's not there, it's here."

XXX

Klaus tried to fight down a smile as he watched Caroline dig through his Caroline's dresser, grumbling to herself. "Do I only have pajamas that qualify as lingerie?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Caroline usually sleeps naked," he said bluntly. "And honestly, love, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"It doesn't matter. I want to be covered."

Klaus sighed, walking to the closet and grabbing one of his henleys, handing it to her. "You can wear that. Caroline also has exercise clothes if you'd like them."

"Can you stop referring to me in the third person? It's creepy."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're not Caroline, so no."

Caroline scowled, the expression so familiar that he looked away. "Where can I change?"

"The bathroom," Klaus said gruffly. "And you can sleep in the sitting room. There are extra pillows and blankets in the linen closet."

"Aren't you supposed to be polite and offer me the bed?"

"No," he said shortly.

He ignored Caroline's offended look, and once she walked out of the room he shut the bedroom door in her face, stripping quickly and climbing into bed.

He wondered if Caroline was happy in the other world, being human. The choice had been taken away from her, and though he would have bet everything he had just two days before that she had no interest in being human, he couldn't help but have doubts now that she was in that situation. Would she want to come back to him? To stay buried in this world of constant danger?

Did she miss him?

He sighed, pulling Caroline's pillow to him and burying his nose in it.

It smelled like her.

XXX

Caroline stepped out of the bathroom while toweling off her hair, still slightly achy from all the bending down she had to do to search for the ascendant. She'd forgotten how annoying it was to have human limitations. Her feet were killing her.

She tugged on some boy shorts and a tank top, tying up her hair and climbing in other her's bed. She tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, but couldn't manage it.

She wondered what Klaus was doing right then. Had the other her ended up in the other dimension? How was Klaus handling that?

Or was her body stiff and cold? Did he think she was dead?

She felt tears well up in her eyes, and swallowed, trying to force them down. He was fine, she assured herself. He'd spent a thousand years without her. A few days wouldn't be too bad. Everything was going to be fine. Bonnie would do the ritual and she'd go right back to her old life. The right life.

She pulled the pillow to her, burying her face in it, before letting out a strangled sob and throwing it across the room. She was supposed to be curled up against him, supposed to be enveloped in his scent, safe in his arms.

She didn't sleep that night.

XXX

"Where is the Ascendant?" Klaus growled, holding a witch up by the throat.

The witch's powers had been dampened by Bonnie's spell when they arrived, and Klaus was determined to make her talk.

"I don't know."

"Lies," Klaus hissed, squeezing the woman's throat harder. "Tell me!"

"It's...in a field."

"Try being more specific, sweetheart. I am perfectly capable of torturing you for eternity."

The witch smirked, despite her struggles to escape. "But will the girl live that long in her new pathetic, human body?"

"Tell me where the ascendant is," Klaus said again, choosing to try to fight down the knot in his stomach.

"I'd rather die."

Klaus snorted. "Perhaps you would. I have it on good authority, however, that you have a daughter that's coming home from school just now. Perhaps I should have her tortured instead. Would that loosen your tongue?"

He heard Caroline gasp from beside him, but he wasn't too fussed about it. His Caroline would understand when she returned, and that was what was important.

"Fine. I'll tell you," the witch said quickly, and Klaus fought down an eyeroll at the woman's predictability.

"Please do."

"It's in the field outside the girl's hometown," the witch said, hatred dripping from her tone. "I don't know exactly where. It could be buried. It could be in a tree. The only person who knows is dead. You killed her."

Klaus nodded slowly. "All right," he said, turning to a hybrid he had brought. "Watch her to make sure she doesn't escape in case we need to question her more later."

"Yes, sir."

Klaus pulled out his phone to call the man he put in charge of the dispersing information among the hybrids.

"Hello?"

"Adrian, hello. I must ask you to take everyone who isn't doing something pressing and meet me at the coordinates I text you. Please make sure they all know to wear clothing suitable for heavy outdoor activity. Anyone you've asked to attend who is not there by eight o'clock tonight will be killed slowly and painfully," Klaus said calmly, hanging up before his hybrid could respond and turning to Caroline, who was watching him with barely restrained horror. "Now, love. There's no need to be afraid."

"You just threatened to kill that woman's child," she snapped. "And now you're threatening your...your employees? With death?"

"They're minions," he said uncaringly, beginning to lead the way to the car. "They're disposable."

"How the hell did my other self fall in love with you? You're a monster."

"That, sweetheart, is a very long story," he said, opening the door to the car for her and ignoring her glare as she got in, fastening her seatbelt.

"Well, it sounds like bullshit to me. Are you sure that she really loves you? Maybe my other self is a gold-digging bitch."

"You would do well not to talk about Caroline that way, love."

She scoffed. "Like you'd do anything to me. If you did, you'd hurt the other me."

"You forget that in her body it will be easy enough to lock you away until I manage to bring my Caroline back," he growled. "Watch your tongue."

Caroline rolled her eyes and looked out the window, and he suppressed a frustrated growl of annoyance.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye, feeling slightly guilty. He wondered if his Caroline was all right. Was she scared? Did the other Bennett Witch know how to send her back? What if something happened to her? What if she died when she was stuck as a human?

Both he and the other Caroline were silent as they drove the four hours to Mystic Falls, and when they got out, Caroline looked around as she walked slowly, the earth crunching beneath her feet.

"My mom and I go for picnics here a lot in the summer," she said, frowning, before she turned to Klaus. "Is my mom here? Does she still live in Mystic Falls?"

"She's dead," Klaus said shortly. "She was shot, and we didn't get here in time to save her. Caroline was devastated."

"Save her?"

"Our blood has healing powers."

"Oh. But she's dead?" Caroline asked, her eyes filling with tears, and Klaus nodded.

"Is she dead in your universe as well?"

"No. this week is her sixtieth birthday. I've been planning her party for the last month."

"I see," Klaus said slowly, wondering if Caroline would even want to come back.

He shook himself as he began to look around the field, wondering where to start.

He would do the spell at the first opportunity, and if she wasn't doing it on the other side, they'd just do it for every celestial event until she came back.

XXX

"I found it," Caroline announced when Bonnie opened the door, clearly having been getting ready for bed.

They'd searched for the ascendent for hours, but hadn't found it. Bonnie and Kai had gone back home, but Caroline had refused to give up, and her determination had paid off as she waved the ascendant in Bonnie's face excitedly.

"Great," Bonnie said, her voice tired. "Would you like to wipe your feet before you come in? You can use our shower if you want. You're covered in mud. We have about two hours before the moon reaches its apex"

"Thanks."

Bonnie stood aside as Caroline wiped her feet and headed to the bathroom (it had been Bonnie's grandmother's house, so Caroline knew exactly where everything was). When she came out half an hour later, dressed in one of Bonnie's t-shirts and a pair of her baggier pairs of sweatpants, Bonnie was fully dressed on the couch with a coffee cup clenched in her hands.

"So, here's the thing," Bonnie said slowly. "I have to do the spell at the same time as the person in the other dimension, so hopefully they've found the ascendant and know what they're doing, because otherwise we have to do it over and over every time there's a moon."

"Okay," Caroline said slowly. "I'm sure my Bonnie will figure it out. Or Kol."

"Kol?"

"Your...don't worry about it," Caroline said. "Just a friend of ours."

"What, am I dating him or something? You can tell me. It's not like it'll change anything. Your Bonnie and I are different people."

"True."

Bonnie gave her a small smile and drained her coffee, standing up. "So, let me just leave a note for Kai and put on some shoes and we can get going. You still have an hour if you want to...you know, take care of some things."

"No. I think I'm ready," Caroline said, taking a deep, shaky breath.

"Everything will be fine," Bonnie said, laying a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Even if it doesn't happen tonight, it'll be okay."

Caroline nodded. She'd stopped by her mother's house after she found the ascendent, intending to talk despite the fact that she was covered in mud, but when she got to the door, she couldn't bring herself to knock.

She knew she'd most likely regret it for the rest of her life, but her mother here wasn't the mother she'd had, and she had a feeling it would be more painful to see her than to not.

She wanted to go home.

XXX

Klaus paced just outside the boundaries of the ritual. The other Caroline was standing in the middle, looking around in fascination as Bonnie chanted, fire erupting from various places on the ground, but not burning anything.

The moon was at its apex, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the circle, hoping that it would work, that Caroline would come back. He watched as the flames built higher and higher, Bonnie's chanting loud through the night air, and seconds later, Caroline's eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed on the ground.

Klaus spend to her, catching her limp body as she fell, and he let out a breath of relief that he could still hear her undead heartbeat, slow in her chest.

He carried her to the car, held her in his lap, her head cuddled against his chest, just inhaling the scent of her as he waited for her to wake.

She stirred as they entered their apartment, having bid Bonnie goodbye and dropped her off at her house.

Caroline's eyes opened blearily, and she cuddled closer to him as he carried her, her hand wrapping around his wrist when he set her back in bed, unwilling to let him go.

"You were dead," she whispered, and he climbed next to her in bed, both of them still fully dressed as he pulled her against him.

"Not here."

He felt her smile against him. "Well, that's good. I like you alive."

"Funnily enough, I feel the same way."

They were quiet for awhile, just holding each other.

"Promise you'll be here in the morning, sweetheart?" Klaus asked quietly.

"Of course."

**IMPORTANT NOTE**

I AM STARTING ANOTHER DRABBLE SERIES, SINCE THIS ONE IS SO LONG. There will be two, and they will be separated. One will be smut free, and the other will have only smut. They are not posted yet, but I hope to see you all there once they are ;)

Please let me know what you thought of this drabble. I hope you all had a lovely holiday season, and I'm looking forward to another year of Klaroline with you guys :D :D

Hugs!
-Angie