Caroline and Haley sat in the Grill eating their dinner. Caroline found that Haley's company was easier to handle than that of her friends who were all ready to verbally abuse Klaus and happy that he was gone. Haley, who was still under the sire bond, didn't have the same level hatred for Klaus that everyone else in Mystic Falls nurtured.

Caroline did hate him, his vicious word were unforgivable. He'd told her that he never would have allowed Tyler to hurt her if Tyler had still been under his control, but then he'd gone on to hurt her worse than anyone before him had ever managed. A few terrible words casted doubt on every other moment they'd ever shared.

Two months had passed since the Original Hybrid skipped town. The hybrid pack had taken over the Mikaelson Manor, they figured Klaus owed them at least that much after using them as indentured slaves for months. Caroline didn't care about the empty house, but she had walked through it anyway, looking for things that the Mikaelson's movers may have left behind. She didn't know what she'd been looking for until she found it. One of Klaus's sketchbooks was on the mantel in his study, the one she'd flipped through when she went home with him after the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. The start this whole fiasco of a whirlwind romance seemed like a lifetime ago, and in some ways it was.

She looked at the book. She knew Klaus too well to think that he'd forgotten it. The book was the closest thing to an apology she was ever going to get. It wasn't enough, so she tucked it away on the shelf along with her broken heart. She only had one life to live and she didn't want to waste it nursing regrets and disappointments. Maybe no guy she'd ever loved thought so, but she thought she deserved better than that, and that was what really mattered anyway.

"Care?"

Caroline looked up at Haley, roused from her thoughts. She found her fork had stopped halfway to her mouth. She took the bite and chewed it slowly.

"You okay?" Haley asked.

"I'm fine," Caroline said, "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"You, actually," Caroline said. It wasn't entirely a lie, she had been thinking about Haley earlier, "Why haven't you had Tyler help you break the sire bond?"

Haley looked uncomfortable, "I'm not supposed to tell you."

"Why not?" Caroline asked.

"Klaus asked me not to."

"Did he compel you to keep a secret?" Caroline asked.

"No, but," Haley started.

"If he didn't want you to tell me, he would have compelled the memory away," Caroline said, "He's not big on trust."

Haley thought about it, but seemed to draw the same conclusion.

"He told me to keep you safe." Haley said, "I figured since I was going to do that anyway, I didn't need to break the bond."

"Why were you going to do it anyway?" Caroline asked.

"You saved my life on that island, Care," Haley said, "I'm not about to forget something like that."

The girls finished their dinner and parted ways outside of the Grill.

Caroline had walked to meet Haley, she could have taken her car, but she liked the time alone, between her mother, Haley, Bonnie, and Stefan, she rarely got a second on her own anymore. She appreciated that they were worried about her, but she wasn't as breakable as they thought.

That was the funny thing, by breaking her heart, Klaus had pieced together all her other broken parts. He fixed her with the secret she'd realized when she found the sketchbook, a secret she didn't plan to tell anyone else. Klaus left because he loved her. He knew that he as too dangerous, that she would forever have a target on her head so long as anyone thought that he loved her. He left because he loved her enough to let her go and live a human life. She despised his methods, but she could live with his reasons.

"Hello Caroline."

"Elena?" Caroline looked up, surprised by her friend's voice. She saw Elena's face, but she knew immediately that it wasn't her friend.

"Not exactly." Katherine Pierce said with a smirk.

"Katherine," Caroline backed away from the petite brunette, "what are you doing here?"

"Imagine my surprise when I found out that the stupid blonde I turned into a vampire is the almighty Klaus's weak spot."

"Klaus is gone. He gave you a pardon," Caroline said, looking down the street for help, but no one was to be seen. There was no way she could out run the vampire.

"I don't care about forgiveness," Katherine said, "Klaus took everything from me. I intend to return the favor."

Katherine slammed Caroline against the wall of the Grill, pinning her with an arm pressed firmly to her throat.

"Katherine, please," Caroline begged.

"Sorry, but it's only fair," Katherine said, "He took everything from me, so I'll take away the one person who means everything to him."

"Katherine," Caroline, choked, stars blotting out her vision.

Just when Caroline thought she would lose consciousness, Katherine's grip slackened. Caroline gasped for breath, her head spinning and her vision slowly returning. When she could see she saw Katherine on the ground, her face gray and desiccated. Caroline looked up, her heart speeding up, expecting to see Klaus, thinking that he'd come back for her. But it wasn't Klaus holding Katherine's heart in his bloody hand.


"Elijah," Caroline breathed.

The eldest Mikaelson looked at the heart in his hand sadly before letting it fall to the ground. He pulled his handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped away the blood. He'd loved Katarina dearly, but only ever succeeded in destroying her. The irreparable damage had been done centuries ago. He'd tried to fix her, but some people refused to be saved.

"You saved me," Caroline said as she massaged her bruised throat.

"I made you a promise," He said, "I couldn't control her, so I stopped her."

"Thank you," Caroline whispered.

Elijah nodded, stepping away from the pretty blonde. Then he stopped, because he heard something. Beneath Caroline's pounding pulse, beating violently from fear, he heard something softer. A fast, quiet fetal heartbeat.

"You're with child." He observed, though she wasn't showing yet.

Caroline didn't deny it. Elijah couldn't take his eyes off of her. He could barely identify what he was feeling, it was different than anything he'd felt in a very long time. It felt like hope.

"Who's the child's father, Caroline?" Elijah asked.

"I think you already know."

"But," Elijah started, "it's not possible."

"I've stopped believing in impossible," Caroline said with a shrug.

"Have you told Niklaus, Caroline?" Elijah asked.

Caroline shook her head.

"He will return, once you tell him, he will return," He assured her.

"No." Caroline said firmly.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to tell him." Caroline said, she swallowed hard, she looked terrified. The very notion that she thought he would harm her appalled Elijah. He would never harm her while she was with child, his niece or nephew. "And you're not going to either."

He felt a burst of amusement at the frail little human's boldness.

"I'm not?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"No, you're not." She said.

"And why is that?"

"Because Klaus chose to leave." Caroline said. "That was his choice and this is mine."

"He loves you, Caroline," Elijah said, "Of that I am sure. Just tell him of the baby. The baby changes everything."

"The baby changes nothing."

"Caroline," Elijah started to press.

"Do you honestly think we will be better off with him in our lives? Because I don't."

"But what do you want?"

"What I want doesn't matter now. I don't have the right to be that selfish, not anymore."

She covered her stomach protectively and Elijah could tell that she had shifted from a girl to a mother in the last few weeks. A slight smile curved her lips and Elijah felt a desperate longing for the humanity that pulsed through her veins. The cure offered a short human life, a family, a purpose. There was honor in that. But there was also honor in family and fighting to save what was left of it.

"You truly love my brother." Elijah reminded her. "I've seen it."

"I do." Caroline said. She looked down at her belly and the new life within it. "But this isn't just about my life anymore."


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FYI - Sorry, but between work and life I'm going to have to dial back to updating once a week. If I can do more, I promise I will! :)