Chapter 19

Mystic Falls, VA

-994-

"Come on love, if we keep them waiting any longer Rebekah will have a spasm," Niklaus said, hurrying Caroline along as she picked up Klara, handing Carina to Nik.

"I know, I'm ready, but you know how uncomfortable your parents make me," she said, following him out the door and closing it behind her.

"Trust me, love, no one understands that like I do," he assured her, placing a comforting kiss on her lips.

"I know, Nik. I just don't like the way Mikael treats you," she said, her eyes on the path in front of her.

He stopped for a moment, forcing her to turn to look at him curiously.

"What's wr-" she started before being interrupted by his lips on hers. She took her free arm and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him closer, ignoring the squirming children in both of their arms as he pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I love you so much," he said quietly, giving her a loving smile before taking her hand and continuing on their way to his parents' house. He would never understand how someone as beautiful and full of light could love someone as broken as him.

"Give them to me!" Rebekah demanded as soon as they crossed the threshold.

"Come now, Bex. Let's not be greedy," said Kol, obviously wanting to play with his nieces as much as Rebekah did.

"Please do not fight over my daughters. They are not toys," Niklaus said, amused to see his siblings so divided over children.

"No need to worry, Niklaus, Rebekah and Kol are just jealous because they know that I am the favorite uncle," Elijah said with a rare smirk as he entered the room, Henrik trailing behind him.

"Nik! Caroline! I have missed you!" Henrik shouted, squeezing between the couple, eliciting a smile from Caroline as Nik chuckled.

"Niklaus! I feel as though I have not seen you in ages!" Esther said, embracing her son and ruffling her granddaughters' curls. "And Caroline, you look wonderful," she said with a smile, hugging her quickly.

Once Nik and Caroline had made themselves comfortable in the sitting room, Mikael graced them with his presence.

"Niklaus, Caroline," he said stoically, taking a seat next to his wife.

Upon seeing their grandfather, Klara and Carina both looked up from their uncle Kol and started crawling towards Mikael. He wore a look of shock when he realized what was happening, but quickly scooped them both up and set them on his lap, his face returning to normal as the girls played with his hands.

Caroline was trying to keep from laughing as she looked around the room. All of the Mikaelson's, except for Mikael himself, wore identical looks of complete and utter bewilderment. Niklaus's hand had tightened on Caroline's leg and his mouth was wide open. She nudged him and he promptly shut his mouth, clearing his throat.

The night went well, or at least better than Caroline had expected, but Caroline was dying to get home by the time it was over, but Rebekah all-but refused to relinquish her nieces.

"Rebekah, I know you wish you had more time with the girls, but we really should go home now," Niklaus said, sliding an arm around Caroline's waist as her tired head found his shoulder.

Wait a second, Caroline thought, as she had an idea that would please everyone, well, almost everyone.

"Actually, Bekah, if you really want to you can take the girls overnight…" She said slowly, a smile spreading across her face at the thought. Her husband looked at her in surprise, opening his mouth to respond, but rethinking it when he saw Caroline's face.

"Really?! That would be wonderful!" Rebekah squealed, making Nik cringe.

"Sure! Only if your mother is okay with it though," Caroline responded, turning expectantly towards Esther.

"Of course, dear, that will not be a problem," she said, a knowing smile on her face as she looked between her son and daughter-in-law.

"Thank you so much! Bekah, just walk back with me and I will give you their sleep clothes and blankets," she said, hurrying out the door and motioning for Rebekah to follow.

Niklaus kissed his mother on the cheek, muttering a quick thank you as a blush spread across his cheeks before running after his wife. He was almost ashamed to admit how excited he was about finally being alone with Caroline after months- yes, months- without… intimacy. He knew that the girls took up a lot of their time, and he was also hyper-aware of his wife's… frustration, but until now, he had not been able to think of a way to make it work.

"Here you go, Bekah. We will see you in the morning. Feel free to keep them as long as you like, trust me," Caroline said, shooing Rebekah out the door as Nik entered.

Once Rebekah was far enough away, Caroline launched herself at her husband, wrapping her legs around his waist as their lips met hungrily. Nik wrapped one arm around her waist while his other hand released her braid and tangled in her golden curls. As Nik started to move towards the bedroom, Caroline's hands found his hair, pulling him as close as possible, slipping her tongue into his mouth as he groaned. Once inside the bedroom, Caroline's first priority was his clothes. She quickly pulled his shirt over his head, kissing him again on the lips before making her way down his chiseled chest, stopping when she reached his pants. She could feel his arousal through his pants, and it was almost too much for her. She had been waiting so long to be this close to him again.

Realizing her hesitation, he unfastened his trousers, smirking at the look of hunger on her face once he was naked. Becoming impatient himself, Niklaus untied her dress and quickly pulled it over her head, tossing it across the room before picking Caroline up by the waist and pushing her onto the bed, coming to hover above her. He pressed his lips to hers, sliding his tongue into her mouth as she moaned loudly, grabbing his hair and pulling him closer, arching her back, begging for him.

Wanting to make the most of her frustration, he kept his hips as far away as he could, teasing her by trailing soft kisses from her neck, between her breasts, and onto her stomach.

Caroline was becoming irritated with his games, pulled his lips back to hers, and pushed him over so that she was on top. Smirking, Nik sat up in the bed and pulled her onto his lap, continuing his work on her neck as she threw her head back with a sigh.

Taking advantage of his lack of eye-contact, she sat up onto her knees, and as his eyes met hers in surprise, she lowered herself onto him, moaning as he ground out her name. Blue eyes gazed into green as Nik brought his arms around her waist.

Happy that she finally got what she wanted, she began to move on top of him, combing her fingers through his hair as they found their rhythm. His hands found her hair, groaning as he pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers passionately. As she moved faster, she broke apart from his lips, throwing her head back with a moan. She came loudly as she pressed her lips to his mouth, Nik following as she tightened around him. As he fell back onto the bed, his eyes met hers as he whispered, "I love you, sweetheart," his dimpled grin making her giggle.

"I love you too," she whispered back, combing through his damp curls as they both drifted to sleep.

-2012-

Klaus was ecstatic that Liz had been so accepting towards him when she found out about everything, and he was glad that they were developing a relationship, but he was still massively nervous every time he went to see her. There was a part of him that would always fear rejection, no matter how many people proved him wrong.

Now, as he nervously paced outside of the Forbes house holding his sketchbook, he knew he would just have to suck it up and deal with it.

He knocked loudly on the door, letting out a breath that he had been holding for who knows how long as he heard her approaching footsteps. The door opened, and Liz smiled at him, and his shoulders sagged in relief.

"Hey Klaus, nice to see you," she said, moving to the side to let him come in.

"Nice to see you as well, Liz," he said, moving past her and taking a seat on the couch.

"So, you here for any specific reason, or just to talk?" She asked kindly, pouring them both a cup of coffee.

"Actually, I wanted to show you something. I don't know if you've heard, but Caroline has given birth," he said hesitantly, unsure of what Liz's reaction would be.

At first she looked shocked, but then a grin spread across her face, which Klaus mirrored before opening his sketchpad.

"I don't know if you know, but I am quite into art. Drawing and painting mostly, but I am able to sketch pretty well from memory, so I have
been working on a few to show you," he said, pushing the open book towards her. He had carefully avoided telling her about the twins, wanting her to be surprised when she saw the sketches.

When she realized what she was looking at, her eyes widened before filling with tears, her hand coming over her mouth. She turned the page a few times, seeing all that he had done since he remembered, and finally looked up at him, her eyes shining.

"Twins?" She asked incredulously, "I can't believe you did all of these, they're gorgeous," she said quietly, placing her hand over his, making his eyes widen comically. He wasn't used to being touched, at least not in this way.

"Well, I can't take too much of the credit, I have three beautiful muses," he said embarrassedly, smiling at his new "mother-in-law."

"Yes, you do," she said quietly before going back to the sketches, wanting to memorize every inch of her granddaughters' faces. "What are their names?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Oh, right! Carina Rebekah and Klara Elizabeth," he responded, as she smiled in astonishment, her eyes shining again.

"You named her after me?" She asked quietly. At his shy nod, she promptly threw her arms around his neck, completely shocking him, as he softly patted her on the back, his eyes wide.

Well, at least she had taken all of the news well, he thought, as Liz went back to the sketches. He was so glad to have her support, it really made everything easier for him.

-994-

Caroline shot up in bed as she heard a loud knock on the door. She looked at Nik beside her, who was still sound asleep. Shaking her head, she picked her dress up off of the floor, pulling it over her head and trying desperately to smooth out the wrinkles. She opened the door and was a little shocked when she saw Esther on the other side.

"Esther, I wasn't expecting you," she said, a blush creeping across her cheeks as she thought about how she must look. She believed the term "thoroughly fucked," that she had learned while reading Fifty Shades of Grey was probably appropriate right about now.

"I can see that," Esther said with a knowing smirk, handing the twins to Caroline, and walking in to place their blankets and extra clothes on a chair before walking back to her house, leaving a bewildered Caroline standing in the doorway, wondering what exactly had just happened.

She jumped when Nik came up behind her, taking the girls from her arms, and placing them on the floor, before pressing a loving kiss to her lips.

"What happened? You look like you are in shock," he said amusedly, running a hand through her hair. She looked up at him, smiling as she decided that with his mussed up curls, he also looked "thoroughly fucked," and that the look suited him quite well.

"Your mother dropped the girls off, and I look like, well, I look like you just finished making love to me," she said as a look of shock crossed his face.

"My mother?" he said in astonishment. After a few seconds, his shock turned to amusement, which then turned into full laughter, which was very contagious, making Caroline start as well. She wrapped her arms around her husband, kissing him sweetly before laying her head on his chest, which was still shaking with laughter. She couldn't imagine being anywhere but with him in this moment.

So sorry for the wait! I know I said it would be up sooner, but I have been busy with school. Quickly, for those who didn't see, I updated the last chapter and added a short scene to the very beginning in which Klaus remembers Caroline giving birth. I received a lot of requests, and I decided that his reaction was pretty important to the story. I hope this chapter was satisfying for everyone, and please let me know what you think. The time-travel will happen either next chapter or the one following, depending on how much I need to write in between. I am going to fast-forward again next chapter, another year so that the twins will be two years old. Anyways, thanks for reading, following, favorite-ing, and reviewing this story, and I sincerely hope that it makes you as happy to read as it does for me to write. Until next time~