Chapter 20

Mystic Falls, VA

-995-

Caroline was exhausted. Ever since the girls turned two, they had been completely out of control. They spent most of their time running around the house, evading their mother's every effort to calm them down. The worst were the days that Nik was out hunting or carving. Nik was one of the few people who could at least get them to focus their attention on something less destructive, and when he was gone, it was a lost cause.

Finally, she heard the door open, and let herself relax for the first time all day. Nik came up behind her as she stood in the kitchen, taking a break from cleaning up the mess to turn and greet her husband.

"Hello, love," he said, kissing her soundly on the lips. She smiled at him as his eyes scanned the kitchen, no doubt astonished at the mess.

"What happened in here?" he asked knowingly. It was no secret that Klara and Carina took terrible twos to a new level, and Nik knew how tiring it was for Caroline to deal with all on her own.

"Don't even pretend that you don't know, love," she snapped, immediately regretting it when she saw his face. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault, but they are seriously wearing me out!" she said, taking a seat at the table and putting her face in her hands.

Nik smiled at his beautiful wife and came to stand behind her, gently massaging her shoulders. He grinned when she tossed her head back to rest against his chest and moaned. "I know, sweetheart. I am sorry that I have to leave you here alone with them," he said softly, kissing the sensitive spot behind her ear, arousing feelings within her that she knew he couldn't satisfy while the girls were still awake.

"Please don't start something you can't finish…" she trailed off as his lips made their way to her neck. Her hand gripped his hair as her head rested on his shoulder.

"Who says I will not be able to finish?" he said, looking into the sitting room to find both girls fast asleep on the floor. "It looks like you aren't the only one who's exhausted after a long day, Caroline," he said, taking her hand and leading her past the girls and towards the bedroom.

Caroline giggled when she saw the girls. She stopped a moment to drape a blanket over them, placing a sweet kiss on each of their foreheads, and she smiled as Nik did the same before they walked together, hand-in-hand to the bedroom.

-2012-

"It is time," the witch spirits whispered to Emily Bennett. "You were correct. Sending Caroline Forbes back in time has changed Niklaus MIkaelson, but the time has come for balance to be restored."

Emily Bennett nodded in understanding. She knew what she needed to do.

Bonnie had just drifted off to sleep after a very… athletic night with Kol, when she shot up in her bed and began chanting.

'Not again,' she thought, desperately trying to stop. Her chanting had awoken Kol, who was shaking Bonnie, trying to break the trance. Realizing that it was no use, he decided to give his brother a call.

"Kol, it's 3:30 in the bloody morning, what could possibly be so important?" Klaus asked groggily, and Kol felt bad for waking him from a rare sleep-filled night.

"Nik, it's Bonnie. She just woke up and started chanting a spell. I don't know what to do, and I think it has something to do with Caroline," he said worriedly.

"Look, Kol. The last time she did a spell like this, she was obviously fine. Just let it happen," Klaus responded, trying to keep the worry and excitement from his own voice as he thought of what this meant.

"Okay, I guess you're right," Kol said hesitantly.

"Call me if anything else happens," Klaus finished, hanging up the phone.

"Stay calm, Nik," Kol whispered, knowing full-well that his brother wasn't there anymore. He was just as worried for his brother's well-being as he was for his… girlfriend? He wasn't sure if he was allowed to call her that…

After Klaus hung up, Kol wasn't any more relaxed than before. He watched Bonnie worriedly as she finished chanting, and he could smell the blood as it dripped from her nose. When the spell was finished, she slumped to the side, almost falling off of the bed before Kol flashed to catch her.

"Bonnie! Are you okay?" Kol asked, stroking her hair, concern evident in his eyes.

She slowly opened her eyes, her breathing heavy. She smiled tiredly when she saw Kol, and tried to reach a hand up to his face.

Noticing how weak she was, Kol bit into his wrist and gently pressed it to her lips. When her mouth came in contact with the blood, her eyes shot open in panic. She franticly looked around until her eyes locked with Kol's. He gave her a reassuring smile and nod as she brought her hand up to grip his wrist tighter.

Kol sighed in relief as the color returned to her cheeks and slowly pulled his wrist away. She moaned in protest as she fell against his chest, wrapping her arms around him. He gently lifted her to his lap and scooted against the headboard, letting his eyes close as his fingers traced circles on her back. In that moment Kol decided that she was his girlfriend, and he was going to prove that he was worthy of her trust, no matter what it took.

-995-

Caroline smiled as her fingers traced lazy shapes on her husband's bare chest as Nik combed his fingers through her long curls. She tilted her head to look at him, and met his eyes which held the same loving expression as hers.

"That was nice…" she said lazily, still recovering from their mid-day exercise.

He placed a finger underneath her chin and leaned forward to press his lips to hers. She moaned against his lips and pulled herself up to straddle him, as he brought his hands to her waist and pulled her closer to him. He shot her a lazy but determined grin as he brought his lips to hers, lifting her gently and bucking his hips to fill her.

She gasped against his mouth as he thrust into her, placing her hands on both sides of his face and letting him know just how wonderful she felt. As he continued, she met him thrust for passionate thrust as they fell over the edge together.

As they collapsed side-by-side on the bed, Nik caressed her cheek softly as she closed her eyes.

"I love you so much," he said quietly, as she opened one of her tired eyes to look at him.

"I love you too, sweetheart," she said, imitating his accent, and eliciting a throaty chuckle from her husband.

Just as they were both about to drift to sleep, they heard whimpering from the sitting room.

"Perfect timing, as usual," Nik said, pressing a sweet kiss to Caroline's temple before moving to get up. Caroline put a hand to his chest to stop him.

"I'll get them," she said with a smile, kissing her husband chastely on the lips before pulling her dress back over her head and walking to the sitting room. He smiled at her retreating form and got up to dress himself so that he could meet her and the girls.

When Caroline reached the sitting room, she smiled as both girls' eyes lit up, obviously happy to see their mother.

"Hello my babies, did you have a nice rest?" she asked them softly, lifting them both into her arms and pressing a kiss to their cheeks.

Suddenly, Caroline had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was something eerily familiar about it, and she started to freak out internally as she realized what was happening.

As Niklaus emerged from the bedroom, his smile quickly turned to a look of worry when he saw Caroline's panicked expression. He looked from his wife to his daughters and nothing seemed to be out of place, but he could feel the emotion radiating from Caroline as her eyes met his.

Caroline had been dreading this moment ever since she had arrived in this time, and she would be lying if she said that she hadn't thought about what she would need to do if and when the situation ever presented itself. She knew that leaving the girls in the past with a grief-stricken Nik would mean that they would grow up without a mother and that she would never get to see her daughters again. However, if she took them with her to the future, her husband would spend one thousand years in torture.

Still, as much as it made her heart ache, she knew what she needed to do. She gripped the girls tighter as Nik made his way to them, concern etched into his perfect features. He opened his mouth to say something, but Caroline cut him off.

"Nik, I need you to listen to me. I love you, and the girls love you, so much. I need you to know that. We will see each other again. I promise you," she said as she felt a pulling sensation at her naval.

Nik came closer, as his concern turned to panic. He may have put a brave face on for Caroline and his girls, but deep down, he was always worried that she would leave him and take his babies with her. But something was off. It sounded as though Caroline did not want to leave, as though she was being forced, and that is what panicked him.

Suddenly, the three loves of his life started to fade. He blinked, thinking that it was his imagination, but when he opened his eyes, he knew it was real. He felt tears well at the corners of his eyes.

"I love you, Nik! Hold on to that! Live your life for us, and you will see us again! I LOVE YOU!" She screamed, tears running down her face although he could just barely hear her. Klara and Carina were wailing now, reaching their little arms towards their father.

Nik didn't know what to do. As they faded further, he whispered, "I love you too," as the tears that he had been desperately trying to hold back spilled over as he sunk to the ground in desperation.

He couldn't move, couldn't process.

They were gone.

So... Please don't kill me! I am sorry that is was so sad towards the end, but it will really help to build up what is to come. At any rate I hope you liked it. I know everyone is glad that Caroline is finally going back to the present, and even happier that the girls are going with her. After the last chapter, I received a lot of reviews requesting that I "change my mind" and send them back before the babies are two, or make it so that when they get to the future, they are magically newborns again. I completely understand wanting to see future-Klaus deal with newborns, and I know that some people feel as though he is "missing out" on them being babies, but you have to understand that he is the same person who helped Caroline raise them, even though a lot of time has passed. Have a little faith in me! You're just going to have to trust that everything will work out. Much like us Klaroliners are having to trust the writers with Klaroline on the show :) Definitely let me know what you thought of the chapter, and thank you so much for all of the support! Also, I have a new Klaroline video to "Everything has Changed" by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, so feel free to check that our as well (MalfoysLover). Until next time~