Chapter 15

Mystic Falls, VA

-2012-

As Kol lay in his bed, his mind kept going back to his brother. While he had been trying to protect his brother's feelings, the real reason that he hadn't said anything was because he remembered that he wasn't supposed to know yet. The day that Caroline told Klaus that she was pregnant, Kol had spoken to her first.

The brothers were all about to go hunting, but Niklaus realized that he had forgotten his bow, so Kol volunteered to run back to the house to get it. When he got inside, was looking for the bow when Caroline heard him.

"Nik?" She shouted, and Kol could hear her voice break.

"No, it's just me. Nik forgot his bow so I offered to come find it." He said, making his way towards the sound of her voice. "Where are you?" He asked, hoping that she would be okay with him finding her.

"I'm in the bedroom." She said quietly, but he was already close enough to hear her. When he walked through the doorway, he saw Caroline sitting on the edge of the bed, her face in her hands as her body shook. Kol was not sure what to do. He had never really been around a crying woman before, other than Rebekah, and she cried so often that he was used to ignoring her.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, setting the bow down by the door and walking towards her.

"Yeah… or, well, I don't know. Maybe." She said, her eyes glued to the floor.

"You can tell me, you know. I am an exceptional secret-keeper." He said, making her chuckle softly.

"Okay, fine. I have been trying to work up the courage for a couple of weeks to tell Nik… that I'm pregnant." She said quietly, meeting his eyes for a moment, before dropping them back to the floor.

Kol was shocked. He had no idea whether or not his brother even wanted kids, but he knew that Caroline was overreacting. He took a seat next to her on the bed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything will be alright, Caroline. He will be happy, excited even!" Kol said, trying to put a smile on her pretty face. It wasn't working.

"What if he doesn't want kids and he leaves me?" She asked softly, leaning her head against Kol's shoulder.

"Caroline, even if he was not excited about the baby, which I know he will be, he would never leave you. You are the first person to truly make him feel loved. He would not give that up for anything. Losing you would probably be the end of him." Kol said, satisfied when Caroline gave a small smile, before Kol's words really sunk in. She wanted nothing more that to tell someone her secret. And especially now that Kol thought that her leaving would kill Nik. She had to stop thinking like this.

"Thanks, Kol, for everything, but you should get back to your brothers now." She said as Kol nodded, getting up and retrieving the bow, "And Kol? Not a word to Nik, got it?" She said, her eyes narrowing, a smile playing at her lips.

"Got it, sis." He said, smiling as he walked out, leaving Caroline to flop back on the bed and hope that the boys didn't take too long. Tonight was the night that she would finally tell him.

Kol felt privileged to have heard the news before anyone else, but he knew that on top of everything that was going on with Nik, finding out that he was second to know would make him even more miserable.

Rebekah felt a bittersweet mixture of emotion as she got up from the floor at the bottom of the stairs down which she had gracefully tumbled upon receiving her latest batch of Caroline-memories. Kol had called her earlier to warn her of Nik's sour mood, and about Caroline's pregnancy. After hearing this, she had foolishly expected her next memories to be of Caroline and Nik telling her about the baby, but was seriously disappointed. She did, however, remember suspecting that something was going on with Caroline when she started eating much more than usual and, although it wasn't considered dangerous at the time, Rebekah could remember Caroline refusing alcohol with dinner. Rebekah's true inner-turmoil came when she thought about the baby. Half of her wanted to be excited and congratulate her brother, but the other half of her knew that there was a strong possibility that they would all only get to meet the baby in their memories. Deciding to play optimist, she decided to start thinking about what it would be like to play with her niece or nephew.

-993-

When Caroline awoke in Nik's arms, she thought for a moment that she had only dreamed telling him the news, but when he rolled her over to place a kiss on her lips and another on her exposed stomach, she knew that she was wrong.

"Morning loves." He said with a smile, placing his hand on her stomach, eliciting a smile from Caroline. She placed her hand over his and leaned forward to press her lips to his.

"I love you so much." She said, as he shot her a dimpled grin, leaning his forehead against hers before getting up and heading for the kitchen. Caroline spread out on the bed, a smile on her face, before she realized what she needed to do today. They needed to tell the MIkaelson's the news.

"Caroline, stop worrying. Rebekah has wanted nieces and nephews since she could speak. She will be ecstatic. And I told you that I would handle my parents, Elijah and Henrik, so all you have to get through is Rebekah and Kol." He said, kissing her temple before bidding her good luck and heading towards his parents' house.

Rebekah was startled out of her daydreaming when she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in," she said, turning to face her guest. "Caroline!" She shouted, nearly knocking Caroline over as she threw her arms around her.

"Hey Rebekah, how are you?" Caroline said with a hesitant smile that Rebekah instantly noticed. Her eyebrows furrowed as she held Caroline at arm's length, waiting for her to continue. "I kind of have some news to tell you." Caroline said, pulling away from Rebekah and walking towards the window.

"Well what is it then, Caroline? I am not getting any younger." Rebekah said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice because of Caroline's obviously sensitive attitude.

"Nik and I… Um, well, I… I'm going to have a baby." She said finally, cringing in anticipation of Rebekah's reaction. Rebekah froze, as if thinking about what this really meant, before grinning and unleashing the loudest squeal that Caroline had ever heard and throwing herself at the soon-to-be-mother.

"Bekah, can't breathe." Caroline said, smiling as Rebekah let her go and sat her down on the bed.

"Have you thought of names yet?" She said, legitimately expecting Caroline to have answers.

"Um, no. I just told your brother last night, so it's all still a little new... Besides, I was actually thinking of letting Nik choose the name." She said, as Rebekah smiled.

"I think that is a wonderful idea! Nik will be so happy!" She said, as she launched into a seemingly pre-planned lecture about everything to do with babies, leaving Caroline to wonder if she would ever get to talk to Kol.

Meanwhile, Niklaus had just finished telling his parents, to mixed results. His mother had smiled and embraced him, as she seemed to do whenever he told her anything, while his father nodded, shook his hand, and walked out. Nik supposed that he couldn't have expected anything more, so he was sufficiently pleased.

Luckily for him, Henrik and Elijah were in the same room as Elijah taught the youngest how to carve his own toy-sword.

"Elijah, Henrik, I have something that I need to tell you." Nik said, as his brothers put their tools down and gave him their undivided attention. Well, Elijah did anyways. Henrik's eyes were following a bug that had entered the room, looking as though it was taking all of his restraint not to chase it. "Caroline and I are having a baby." He said, as Elijah smiled and stood up, offering his hand and clapping his brother on the shoulder, clearly pleased.

"Congratulations, brother. We were starting to wonder how long it would be. For what it is worth, I think that you and Caroline will be wonderful parents." Elijah said with a smile, as they both turned to look at Henrik, who seemed a little confused.

"Wait… so is the baby going to be my brother?" He asked, never having to deal with a situation like this before.

"No, Henrik, you will be the baby's uncle." Elijah said, noticing that Nik was biting his lip to keep from laughing. When Elijah finished, Henrik's face lit up as he ran and launched himself at his big brother.

"Nik, I am so excited to see the baby!" He said, before his eyes found the elusive bug, and after Nik nodded in approval, he ran after it. Niklaus was pleased that his brothers had been so accepting, he could only hope that Caroline was having as much luck.

After listening as Rebekah rambled on and on for nearly an hour, Caroline had managed to escape and make her way to Kol's room. She knocked twice, and after hearing him call her in, she opened the door.

"Hello, Kol." She said, trying to keep the smile from her face.

"Did you tell him?" He asked, getting up off of his bed and walking towards her.

She nodded enthusiastically, grinning as Kol lifted her off the ground, spinning her in a circle. He gave her a kiss on her cheek and beamed at her.

"Congratulations, Caroline. I told you he would be happy. I cannot wait to meet my nephew." He said with a smirk.

"How do you know it's a boy?" She asked, as she had been trying to remain indifferent to the gender.

"An uncle always knows." He said, waving to her as she walked out, shaking her head.

When Caroline finally made it back to her and Nik's bedroom, she sighed as she threw herself backwards on the bed, waking Nik from his short nap as she sat up and crawled towards him, smiling as she began to pepper his neck with kisses.

"I told you it would go alright, love." He said, fighting back a moan as her mouth moved behind his ear.

"Mhmm." She moaned into his neck as he pulled her on top of him so that her legs were straddling his waist. As he flipped them over so that he could begin showing her just how happy he was, he couldn't help but think of what an amazing pregnancy this would be if she was always so… affectionate.

-2012-

Elijah had just returned from a few days out of town when he got a voicemail from Kol. He merely warned him to be careful what he said around Niklaus, because he wasn't in the greatest mood. This made Elijah curious, but before he could ponder further, a sharp pain made him drop his phone and groan as his hands found his temples. He gasped as he remembered Niklaus finding him and Henrik in his room and telling them about the baby. While he couldn't help but feel pleased that his brother would have this experience, he also wondered whether or not his miserable brother would even be able to actually meet his baby in more than memories. He was weighing all of the possibilities as he reached the house, and hesitantly walked in.

"Hello, Brother. How are you?" He said, finding Nik sitting on the couch with his sketchpad. Elijah was glad that amidst everything, he was still able to hold onto one of his greatest passions.

"Oh, you know, just desperately trying to ignore the burning loneliness that I feel every time I think about her." He said, his eyes never leaving the paper.

"And how is that working?" Elijah asked, walking towards his brother. Niklaus wordlessly turned his sketchpad so that Elijah could see Caroline's face. "Ah. Not so well then." Elijah said, taking a seat next to his brother.

"What if…" Klaus trailed off, his eyes meeting Elijah's in a rare, or not so rare recently, moment of vulnerability, "What if I never get to meet the baby?" He whispered, turning his face towards the ground, afraid of what Elijah might say.

"You mean in the present? Because no matter what you will get to meet the baby, Niklaus. It just might not be tomorrow." Elijah said, as Niklaus sighed, his eyes closing in despair.

"But what if she never comes back?" He asked quietly, feeling the tears behind his eyes.

"She will. No doubt. The spell was only short-term. She has been gone for less than two weeks, Niklaus." He said, as Niklaus stood from the couch, throwing the sketchpad onto the coffee table.

"But she has been in the past for a year and a half. A YEAR AND A HALF, ELIJAH! That's how long that she has been with me. The better me." He finished, collapsing back onto the couch as Elijah sat silently, unsure of how best to comfort his brother. Luckily, before he had to decide, Rebekah walked into the living room, and motioned with her head that he could leave. He nodded in appreciation and got up as Rebekah took his place on the couch. Nik looked up at her with tear-filled eyes, and her heart broke. She had seen her brother show a lot of previously hidden emotions in the past two weeks, but this was new. He hadn't cried in front of her since their mother's death.

"This is killing me, Rebekah. I have only ever been with her in my memories, and my heart aches I miss her so much. And soon she will have the baby and the feeling will be doubled." He said, as Rebekah gathered him into her arms.

"It's going to be alright, Nik. I promise. She will be back, and then you won't have to hurt anymore." She said softly, trying to stay strong for her invincible brother, but failing miserably. She felt more hatred for the witch spirits right now than she had ever felt for anything or anyone in her entire life.

When Kol had called to tell her the news, Bonnie had been shocked. She supposed that she shouldn't have been, since they were married, but that didn't make what she was about to do any easier. She was on her way to talk to Sheriff Forbes. Bonnie had tried hard to keep the Sheriff in the loop with this whole thing, and telling her that her only daughter had gotten married to a person that the Sheriff seriously disliked had been hard enough. She could only imagine what her reaction would be now that she was about to be a grandmother.

When Bonnie arrived at the house, she knocked a few times, before being confronted with Tyler Lockwood. Great. Not only did she have to tell Sheriff Forbes, but now she had to come up with some way to get Tyler out of the house before he killed someone.

"Hey, is Sheriff Forbes here?" Bonnie asked as Tyler stepped aside to let her in.

"I'm right here, Bonnie. Do you have news about Caroline?" She asked hopefully. Bonnie's eyes moved to Tyler, but as she had feared the Sheriff quickly told her that anything about Caroline could be said in front of Tyler.

"Okay, well… Um, you see, Caroline, she's… pregnant." She finished, carefully stepping as far away from Tyler as she could.

"WHAT?!" Tyler shouted, fuming. "It was bad enough that she married that monster, but now she is carrying his spawn?!" He shouted, his eyes turning yellow, as his fangs descended. Sheriff Forbes looked shocked and scared as Tyler flashed to Bonnie, pushing her up against the wall, his hand around her neck. "You need to get her back. NOW!" He shouted, tightening his grip on her neck. Before Bonnie could respond, someone shot through the door and ripped Tyler away from Bonnie, carelessly throwing him against the opposite wall.

"You're going to want to stay away from here, mate, if you value being alive." Klaus ground out, dangerously low as he glared at Tyler, yellow eyes meeting each other, as Tyler dropped his head and shot out the door.

"Are you okay?" He asked Bonnie, moving to bite into his wrist if she needed it.

"No, I'm fine. I had just finished telling the Sheriff your… news." She said, and as Klaus and Liz's eyes met, she decided this would be a better decision for the two of them to have, alone. "I'm just gonna go…" She said, before turning and running to her car.

"So it's true then." Liz said, looking to Klaus, hoping that he would deny it. His eyes turned sad for a second as he hung his head.

"Yes." He said, wishing he had thought more before barging into this particular house right now.

"Are you okay?" Liz asked, surprising Klaus.

"What?" He asked, looking at her with wide eyes.

"It's just that I know you must not be having an easy time with all of this, you know, with Caroline not wanting anything to do with you here, and falling in love with your past self. I can only imagine how it must feel now. With the baby." She said as a frown formed on his lips.

"No." He said. Noticing that the Sheriff looked confused, he said "No, I'm not okay." He said, walking past her to take a seat on the couch. She followed him and sat across from him.

"All I have ever wanted is someone to love me for me. Now I have a wife and soon a child, and it just so happens to be one thousand years in the past." He said, burying his face in his hands, somewhat ashamed to be exposing himself to Sheriff Forbes, but something about talking to her felt right. She was the closest person to Caroline, and she was also missing all of these important things. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you don't want to be listening to my sob story." He said, moving to stand but her hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to listen. Besides, I guess you're sort-of my son-in-law now, so it's my job." She said with a smile, making him chuckle as she rubbed his arm comfortingly.

"Well, when you put it like that, thanks." He said, smiling at her before walking past her towards the door.

"Klaus?" She called as the door was about to shut.

"Yes?" He asked, his head poking around the door.

"You're welcome here anytime you want. To talk, or just to be here." She said quietly, unsure of how he would respond.

"Thank you, Liz. You don't know how much that means to me." He said with a nod, closing the door behind him. As he left, Liz Forbes couldn't help but think about how much he had changed in these two short weeks.

-993-

As time moved forward, Caroline couldn't help but worry about her baby. She hoped and prayed that she would be allowed to stay until the baby was born. She couldn't imagine being sent back while she was still pregnant. What would it mean for her baby if she was sent back and turned into a vampire while she was still pregnant? She hated even thinking it. She was already six months along, and despite the constant worry, she loved being pregnant. She loved knowing that her and Nik's child was growing inside of her, and she loved spending the evenings cuddled up with him as she helped his hands find the baby's kicks. Nik had been the model husband through all of this. She knew that she had been extra moody lately, but she made it up to him by being extra horny as well. He had been more and more hesitant to her advances as she had gotten bigger, mainly because he feared for the baby's safety. Once she convinced him that nothing would happen, things had gone off without a hitch. Nothing was better for her mood swings than waking up happy every morning wrapped in her husband's warm arms.

She was brought out of her thoughts as her husband came to sit beside her on the bed, his arm sliding behind her to pull her close to him, her head finding his shoulder as he brought his other hand to its usual spot on her abdomen. She smiled as she brought her hand to rest on top of his larger one. He pressed a kiss to her temple as she moved his hand to show him where the baby had been kicking her lately. She looked at him as the baby kicked, his face lighting up, even though he had felt it a million times. He lowered his face to hers, kissing her lovingly on the lips.

"I love you so much, Caroline." He said with a sigh, closing his eyes as his fingers drew circles on her stomach.

"I love you too, Nik." She said, smiling happily as her eyes closed slowly. She couldn't wait to bring this baby into the world with him. He was going to be an amazing father.

Holy long update! When I checked the word-count I was thoroughly surprised! Thank you so much for all of your support for this story! Every time I post a chapter I am overwhelmed by the amount of alerts that I get. So thanks for that! Also, I am getting a lot of reviews asking me to send Caroline back while she is still pregnant so that she can have the babies in the future, but the way that the spell works, that would be disastrous for all involved. You lovely people will just have to wait and see what is to come! I don't know how many chapters will be left, because we are getting closer and closer to my pre-written ending, but there is always the possibility that I will go beyond that. Okay, now for the playlist. These are the songs that have inspired me most while writing this story:

-Kiss Me – Ed Sheeran

-Give Me Love – Ed Sheeran

-Love Somebody – Maroon 5

-A Thousand Years (parts 1 and 2) – Christina Perri

-Stolen – Dashboard Confessional

-Gotta Be Somebody – Nickelback

-Stay With Me – Josh Gracin

-The Reason – Hoobastank

-Love Remains the Same – Gavin Rossdale

-Wherever you will go – The Calling

-Everything has Changed – Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift

-Red – Taylor Swift (And basically the entire Red album J )

-DEAD MAN WALKING – The Script (This one reminds me of this story every time that I hear it, mainly because of the beginning and the witch spirits)

I have gotten a few requests to make a video for this story, so if anyone wants to give me song suggestions (above or otherwise) and let me know if that is something that you would be interested in, I will do that! Thanks for reading! Until next time~