Okay dear people who still read this, I want to ask that you do what I say in this moment, trust me.
Get comfortable because this is probably the longest chapter I've done for this story.
Get your tissues, get your teddy bears. I cried while writing this so you know what that means.
Get your popcorn, because every fight scene gives is a bit entertaining.
I truly hope you enjoy all that you are about to read
Please leave a review at the end :)
Nick winced in pain, his head felt fuzzy from what he assumed was drugs leaving his system. His head lolled to the side while fighting off the fatigue. He remembered what Mason had been rambling about, something about Rebecca ruining things and he was going to go after Caroline. He had to get to her, but how?
He felt the tape binding his wrists far too tight for him to just yank himself free and the slight stinging in the back of his head made him remember Mason hitting him over the head. He started to search the floor behind him, feeling around for anything, a shard of glass, a screw, a nail.
He exhaled in delight when he felt a thumbtack pushed into the bottom part of the wall. The drugs were finally worn off enough for him to get out of here and go to his wife and now he finally had some hope that he would succeed. The only thing against him was time, he had to hurry.
He felt it in his heart that something was wrong, he knew that Mason was hurting her and the helplessness was overwhelming. He tried to shout out for help as he used the thumbtack to start tearing at the tape but his voice was so hoarse from dehydration that barely a whisper came out.
He had to hurry up.
Caroline screamed as she felt her body slam against each step on her staircase as she was dragged down. She tried to grab onto anything and she cringed while feeling her nails scrape against the wooden steps. "No Mason! Please!" She groaned in pain when the whole front of her body hit the floor, she began to panic as she thought of the baby.
She tried to fight back but he grabbed her by her hair and made her get on her knees, she was terrified until he pushed her back down and flipped her over, slamming her back against the floor. He put his hands on her shoulders so tight that he could practically feel her bones connect to each other, "I'm so tired of waiting for you! I killed your husband for you! I gave you a baby! I knew how much you and your mother disagreed so I helped get rid of her! For you! It was all for you!" Mason screamed at her while shaking her.
She grabbed onto his wrists, trying to push him away, "Please stop!"
"I was willing to give you everything! I was going to be with you for the rest of our lives! That was what I was willing to do for you! And how did you repay me?! You married him! You were going to let him raise our baby with you! You cried for him! You protected him!" He kept screaming, his anger getting the best of him. Every time he uttered the word him he'd shake her by the shoulders a little harder, making her scream.
She prayed her father and uncle would walk in any second, or at the very least a neighbor would hear the commotion and come to her rescue. But she knew her luck had run out when Nick died. No one was coming to save her, she was an idiot for opening the door.
He was still shouting about her betrayal and how badly she had hurt him, she couldn't focus on what he was saying anymore. Her vision was starting to blur as he shook her harder and her head hit the hardwood floors repeatedly. Spots began to cloud her vision as he grabbed the sides of her face and whispered tenderly, which was a striking contrast to his bellowing moments ago, "I don't want to but you've given me no other choice…"
She stared at him, dazed and confused as he lifted her head, she saw a hint of compassion in his eyes as he stroked the sides of her face. For a moment she thought he was going to stop hurting her, but the anger was back in his eyes, his grip on her face became tighter and pushed her down hard against the ground; her world went black.
Elijah and Kol were speeding down the road; it hadn't even been five minutes since Caroline called when they pulled up in the driveway. They both bolted out of the car and approached the house, Elijah had the pistol he'd bought years ago when he fled home while Kol was gripping onto his bat. They looked around and Elijah was confused at the fact that the lights were off and the front door was closed, just as he had left it.
"Something's wrong." Elijah said, loud enough for his brother to hear as they walked up the porch steps. Elijah held the gun pointing in front of him as he slowly reached for the doorknob, he felt sick when he felt no resistance. He knew he had locked the door before he left.
He shoved the door open and was greeted with absolute silence, he looked around and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Slowly, he and Kol walked into the house, prepared for any surprise attacks.
"Caroline?" Kol called out but there was no answer, "Elijah I have a bad feeling about all this."
Elijah didn't answer him, he saw Caroline's phone in the corner along with her pink aluminum bat and went over to it, he shook his head, hopeless, as he dropped the gun and put his head in his hands.
"Elijah…There's scratch marks on the stairs." Kol called out as he examined the floorboards.
"Her phone's here. Oh god, he took her." Elijah said, sounding as if he was crying, "I shouldn't have left her alone."
Kol sighed, "We know where the bastard lives, let's go. We'll save her."
Elijah nodded a little, composing himself, "Do you think he already hurt her?"
Kol sighed and shook his head slowly, he didn't want to lie to him, "There's scratch marks on the ground…I think it's safe to say that he literally dragged her out of here. We need to go get her now."
Feeling sick to his stomach, Elijah nodded, grabbed his gun and walked out, Kol not too far behind him.
The tape binding Nick's wrists were beginning to give and now he had to be discreet in freeing himself. As slow and stealthily as he could, he began to scratch the tape with the thumbtack even faster. He was running on adrenaline alone now, he was starving, thirsty, in pain and exhausted. He knew he could and would crash at any moment. He just prayed he crashed and burned after Caroline was safe and away from their abductor. "You let her go you bastard." Nick croaked out, watching Mason walk in with an unconscious Caroline.
"Shut the hell up before I kill you for real this time." Mason said as he set Caroline down in the corner next to Nick. He went and pulled out the tape he used on Nick and cut a strip, "I really didn't want to hurt her but I'm at my wit's end. I gave her so many chances and she chose you each time. So it's time for me to just cut my losses and get over her."
Nick looked over at Caroline and saw that she was wearing her purple sleeveless nightgown and he saw bruises forming on the tops of her arms, he gritted his teeth and worked quicker at cutting himself loose, "You couldn't get over her even if you tried. You love her." He tried to keep him calm so when he was free, it would be easier to take him down.
"Yes but sometimes love isn't enough. She hurt me too much. Now it's my turn to hurt her. I mean, I don't want to, but she's given me no choice. I thought…I thought once I gave her the baby that she'd finally choose me. But it only pushed her to you even more. She just lied and said you were the father. That hurt more than I'd care to admit." Mason said as he kneeled in front of a still unconscious Caroline, about to bind her wrists.
"What are you talking about?" Nick asked, completely confused.
Mason paused in his taping of her wrists and sighed, feeling hopeless and depressed, "She told her Dad that I raped her. I didn't. She wanted it. She was out with Bonnie and Rebecca the night before the wedding and wearing clothes she knew I'd love and…I went to her and she practically fell into my arms. That night was…the best night of my life and she chalks it up to me raping her. It's unfair."
Nick swore he saw red in his sight as the words registered, it all made sense. Now he understood why Caroline seemed sadder, why she was crying at the wedding, what she wanted to tell him and why Mason had deluded himself into thinking the baby was his. It was because it was possible that the child is his, now he knew he was going to kill him, "It's my fault she's hurt you so much. I told her that I would, that I would make sure she never saw her father again if she chose you." He fibbed, trying to move Mason's attention to him and it worked.
Mason let the strip of tape fall to the ground as he turned to glare at Nick, "What?"
"I forced her to choose me. Each and every time, at one point she thought that you were the better choice. I couldn't have that. You have to understand, I love her too and I couldn't lose her, especially to someone like you."
"Someone like me?"
"Yes…My bastard of a brother. You think I forgot that we unfortunately have the same birth parents? It's a pity really. Our mother should've aborted you. It would've saved me quite the trouble." Nick quipped, using everything he could to push his buttons, he smiled evilly as he felt the last of the resistance against his wrists cease.
Mason shouted a wordless scream as he lunged for him, his fists clenched tight.
Nick was slightly quicker, thanks to the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he pulled his arms forward and blocked his punch, paying no mind to the pain burning up his forearm from the beating he received days ago. It didn't matter now, he had to get Caroline out after killing this sorry piece of shit.
As hard as he could, he shoved Mason to the ground and reached for the gun Mason had kept on the line of tables against the wall. Before he could grab it, he was tackled from behind and grunted in pain as he landed.
Mason gained the upper hand and punched him.
Bonnie was pacing in her bedroom, waiting for word from Mason that they hadn't shown up but there was nothing. No text, no call, no email, absolutely nothing.
She walked to the nightstand and picked up her phone, about to call him herself when it started ringing in her hand. Not even looking at who was calling, she answered, "Well, how'd it go?"
"Caroline isn't there. He took her. We're going to the address Rebecca gave us to go get her." Kol explained.
Bonnie set her jaw tight and before she could stop herself, she yelled through the phone, "No!"
"Bonnie, we have to!" Kol yelled back, incredulous.
She rubbed her hand across her face and sighed, damage control time, "Kol, it's far too dangerous! He already killed Nick and he's the one who took Katherine. He hurt Rebecca. He's the reason this family's relationships are shit right now. I don't want to lose you." She said, faking sincerity and concern. She rolled her eyes when she heard his sigh, knowing he bought it.
"I'll come back home to you, okay? I'll be fine. I won't let him hurt me." Kol promised and it took everything in her not to laugh at him.
She sighed, "Fine. Be careful."
"I will be. I love you." He said with so much love that she nearly puked.
"I love you too." She said with force, before hanging up, she didn't give a shit if he noticed or not.
She tossed her phone to the bed and started getting dressed, "It's time this shit ends." She sneered to herself as she combed her hair and put it in a ponytail. She felt her blood boiling and realized it was because of jealousy.
He took her. He actually took the little bitch. She was so fucking stupid to think that he'd be able to let her go at some point and love her. But no. He kidnapped Caroline and left her to play the concerned newbie aunt. It was bullshit.
Her skin crawled just imagining what he was doing with her right now. She had flipped her shit when she had found out he slept with her when she was nearly right there near them. If she finds out that he slept with her again tonight, she knew she was going to kill her. She didn't care if it meant that Kol knew who she really was. She didn't care that it meant her plan she's had in place for years would fall apart.
Mason was hers and there was no way in hell she was letting a member of this fucking family steal him right from under her nose. This family was done taking people from her.
Caroline began to wake up and gasped at the sight she awoke to; Mason was on the ground in front of her, bleeding from his nose and seemingly knocked out. Not that she wasn't happy, but who the hell saved her?
She squinted, her eyes still showing a slight haze over everything, as she looked around the room. She heard someone in the corner coughing so she rubbed her eyes, "Dad?" She asked, remembering vaguely that he was on his way when Mason grabbed her.
"Not exactly, honey." The person said as he kneeled in front of her.
Hearing his voice made her heart jump, she quickly dropped her hands and stared at the man in front of her in shock, "Oh god, please tell me I'm not dreaming." She whispered while reaching up to hold his face in her hands, "Nick?"
He smiled and put his hands over hers, "I missed you so much."
She started to cry, "But…the pictures…they looked so real."
Nick sighed, "We'll talk about that later, but right now I need for you to leave. Get out of here, go home and lock yourself in the house. I mean it, Sweetheart."
Caroline shook her head fast, "No I'm not leaving you."
"Yes you are. I need you to be safe, Caroline. Go home."
She sighed and he helped her stand, they both looked at Mason, who still appeared to be out cold, "I want him dead." Caroline said in disdain.
"He will be. I promise." Nick answered with an even larger amount of hate and disgust in his voice.
Those were the first words Mason heard as he roused from unconsciousness. Those were the words that set him off, intent on killing them both. Too quick for Caroline and Nick's exhausted eyes, Mason jumped up and swung at Nick, hitting him square in the jaw.
Caroline screamed as Nick fell to the ground hard and she felt hands on her throat while her back was slammed into the wall behind her. She looked, terrified, into his eyes and saw nothing but anger and madness, "I didn't want to hurt you!" Mason yelled at her as his grip kept tightening around her neck.
Nick stumbled on the ground for a moment before standing on unsteady feet, he heard Caroline choking and wheezing and quite literally pounced on Mason, punching him repeatedly on the side of his face, causing him to lose his grip on Caroline throat.
Mason growled in anger as he backed up across the room into the other wall, making Nick cry out in pain from the force against his back. He let Nick fall to the ground, turned and started to kick at him.
Caroline, who had been on the ground, coughing and catching her breath, ran to the table and grabbed a serrated knife from Mason's collection. She felt the anger and hate and pain well up in her heart as she ran over to Mason and shoved the knife into his shoulder. She cursed out loud because she was aiming for the middle of his back, but he moved while kicking Nick. Feeling a sick pleasure at the sound it made and resistance the knife had while embedded in his shoulder, Caroline smiled and twisted the knife, relishing in his cries of pain.
Nick crawled out of Mason's reach, coughing and twitching in pain from what he was sure were broken ribs when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Caroline fall to the ground. Mason had turned and backhanded her across the face, she still had a tight grip on the knife; the force of the blow threw her back, the knife along with her.
Caroline tried to back away from him but he reached down and grabbed the front of her nightgown. She raised her hand, about to stab him again when he grabbed her wrist and yanked the knife from her hand, surely breaking a few of her fingers in the process.
Trying as desperately as he could, the pain was unbearable; Nick couldn't get up to help her, all he could do was shout and beg, "Please! Stop! Don't hurt her, please!"
Mason gritted his teeth as he squeezed the knife in his hand, Caroline struggled against him but he had her by her upper arm again, she felt her pulse where his fingers were squeezing down and she put her hands on his chest, "Mason, please." She cried as he held the knife against her throat.
She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the first slice begin, just as she felt him begin to move the knife across her neck three things happened; to her right, she heard the door that she noticed moments ago swing open, she felt Mason pull her body to shield himself and she heard the loud and distinctive bang of a gun.
Elijah and Kol quickly got out of the car when they were in front of the house Rebecca had sent them to. It looked old and shabby, if Kol didn't know any better, he'd imagine an old woman with fifty cats living here.
As they walked to the front door, the street was as quiet as the insides of a coffin. Kol tried to open the front door but it was locked; Elijah moved in front of him and kicked it open, quickly walking inside and pointing his gun out in front of him.
The house was eerily silent and dark, as if it was vacant. It was a one story house, only one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen and the smallest living room Elijah had seen in his life.
"Are you sure Rebecca gave us the right address?" Kol asked quietly as he, too, looked around the room, flicked on the lights and saw absolutely nothing but old, dusty furniture.
"I'm positive. Look for a loose floorboard, a basement has to be in here somewhere." Elijah said as he walked around the kitchen, staring at the floors.
That moment, a scream echoed through the house. Elijah looked out of the kitchen, figuring out where the noise had come from when Kol shouted from the living room.
"I found it! It's like bolted shut from down there or something." Kol said while hitting the hollow floorboard with his bat as hard as he could. It took him only two tries for the floor to give.
Elijah was the first to race down the creaky steps, he heard a man, Nick, pleading and a woman, his Caroline, begging for her life. He quickly pushed the wooden door open and pointed his gun into the room, he saw Mason and Caroline standing in front of him. Mason had a knife to Caroline throat and he saw the first few drops of blood on her neck, he had the shot and he took it.
As he fired the gun, his heart dropped to his stomach as he watched; in that second of the bullet travelling between them, Mason grabbed Caroline and put her in front of him as he turned to face Elijah. The bullet wouldn't have hit Mason…
Caroline gasped in pain as the bullet pierced her in the stomach, the color drained from her face as she looked down at herself and saw the blood already forming where the pain was emanating from.
Kol ran into the room, hearing the gunshot, and his jaw dropped at the sight of Caroline. Nick shouted and tried to crawl to her as he saw Caroline's knees buckle beneath her and Mason let her go. She fell to the ground and Elijah, panic-stricken, fell to the ground with her and cradled her head in his lap, "Oh god, no, no, no. No, please." He begged hopelessly as he held his hand against her stomach. Kol joined him on the floor to help keep pressure on her stomach while pulling his cell phone out to call for an ambulance.
Mason was about to take advantage of their distraction when another gunshot echoed through the room and Mason fell to the ground, a bullet hole in his head.
Kol and Elijah quickly looked to see who was in the doorway and were shocked to see Bonnie. Kol noticed that she was angry yet tears were on her cheeks as she stared down at Mason's body before walking out of the room as fast as she could.
Nick had crawled to Caroline, the pain in his ribs forgotten. Kol moved out of his way as he gave the 911 operator the information they needed. Nick kneeled next to Caroline while pressing his hand where Elijah's was.
Caroline coughed, tears streaming down her face, "The baby."
Elijah squeezed his eyes shut, "I'm so sorry. I thought-I-Caroline I'm so sorry. Oh god." He sobbed as he realized what he had just done. He shot his own daughter. He shot his pregnant daughter in the stomach. "Oh god, I'm sorry."
Nick shook his head, "It's not your fault. Caroline, baby, you're gonna be fine. You both are going to be okay. You're not leaving me." He said as he felt wetness on his face. He was crying and he was terrified, she wasn't supposed to look so pale and sickly this soon.
Caroline reached out and grabbed onto Nick's hand, "I don't want to go."
"You're not, just hold on. Help is coming, okay? Just focus on me, we're going to get through this. Promise me, you're going to get through this." Nick cried while Elijah kept apologizing quietly.
She groaned in pain, "I can't…make promises…that I don't know…I'll be able to…keep." She panted out, a tearing sensation intensifying where the bullet entered. She started to cry harder, she was scared and heartbroken; "I'm sorry." She sobbed out, not only to Nick but to her child. The child she had not wanted she knew the possibility of who its father was, the child she had only begun to love before she lost Nick, the child she couldn't accept to love because of her grief. She closed her eyes and felt herself drifting away.
Nick took her apology as a goodbye and shook his head vehemently as he saw her head slowly loll to the side, "No! Stop it, you're going to be fine. You can't leave me. I just rose from the dead, you lunatic, you can't just get up and leave me here!" He shouted at her as he put both his hands against her face and gently shook her, "Wake up, you have to wake up, Sweetheart. Please." Nick begged while sobs overtook his whole body, "Please Caroline, wake up.
Elijah heard sirens approaching and wiped some of the never-ending tears from his cheeks. It was as if his life was in slow motion, everything was moving at a snail's pace as the blood roared in his ears.
They heard Kol shouting at people, they were here.
Kol was pacing in the waiting room of the hospital, Elijah was sitting in his seat in the corner, crying into his bloodstained hands.
They had gotten here an hour ago and the doctors were grim when they saw Caroline's state and rushed her into an operating room. They had taken Nick to a room to tend to his broken ribs and lacerated face, head and arms.
Elijah looked up at Kol, his eyes red and swollen from his tears and his lip quivering, "If she dies, Kol…It'll be my fault."
"Hey, don't think like that. Caroline is strong. She's stronger than all of us combined, she'll pull through this." Kol said, fighting his own tears back.
"I shot her…I thought it would hit him but he pulled her…he pulled her right in front of him at just the right time. He used my daughter as a human shield against me." Elijah sobbed as the moments replayed in his mind. "I can't lose her, Kol. She's all that's keeping me alive and sane."
Kol sighed while sitting next to his brother and putting his arms around him, he didn't say anything. What was there to say to even attempt to comfort him? Kol could think of nothing.
Nick was shouting for a damn nurse to come and tell him the state of his wife but they all ignored him, they had no information, apart from the fact that she was in emergency surgery, but he had already known that.
He shouted again and this time the door opened, he was about to yell a mouthful at the nurse when he realized it wasn't a nurse behind the door, but his sister. "Rebecca."
"Kol called me." She said in the smallest of voices as she slowly walked further into the room, after a moment she went to his bedside, "Can I hug you?" She asked in a shaky voice.
Nick didn't answer, instead he reached forward, grabbed her arms and pulled her down into his arms, he cried into her shoulder. She held onto him as tight as she could without hurting him. "I thought you were dead." She cried, "I couldn't even face Caroline, I thought it was all my fault."
"It's okay…It wasn't your fault, it was Mason's. I'm here, safe and sound." He reassured her, hoping and praying Caroline would do the same for him soon.
Caroline was standing in a blinding white room, wearing nothing but a beautiful yellow dress. She stared down at herself and smiled, she remembered this dress. She wore it for her thirteenth birthday, it was the day she actually felt beautiful.
"Don't you get too comfortable." She heard a voice say from behind her.
She twirled around to see who it was speaking and she smiled even wider than before, "Mom?"
Katherine nodded, "Yep. Hi Honey." She said before going to Caroline and hugging her.
Caroline hugged her back tight, "Mom, what's happening?"
"Well…You're dead." Katherine said, subtly never being her forte.
"I'm what?"
Katherine shrugged, "It happens…I watched everything and I'm not much help unfortunately. But, you can't stay here."
Caroline crossed her arms, she knew she looked like a child but she couldn't care less, "And why not? I want to stay here with you."
"And you will, one day. But that day isn't today, Sweetie. You have a husband to get to. He needs you far more than you ever needed me. And your dad. When I left, he was barely holding on by a thread, he wouldn't survive losing you. It's not your time yet. You have so much to do still. You have to have kids, go see the world, go be happy, go have your first real fight with Nick." She giggled, making Caroline smile, "I want you to be here with me because I miss you terribly, but you can't stay right now."
Caroline closed her eyes, wanting to cry, "I'll come back one day?"
"Yes. When you're old, with white hair and wrinkles galore, I promise. I'll even pick you up myself."
Caroline smiled a little and nodded, "I love you Mom." She whispered while wrapping her arms around her mother for what would be the last time in a very long time.
Katherine hugged her back, holding on just as tight, "I love you more, Carebear. Be happy…"
Those were the last words Caroline heard…
A doctor walked up to Elijah and Kol, who were still in each other's embrace, "You're Caroline's family?"
They quickly stood and nodded, Elijah asked, "Is she okay?"
"She's in recovery now. We were able to stop both the internal and external bleeding. She had a slight fracture on both her upper arms. Three of her fingers on her right hand were broken. She had a small fracture on her skull, right in the back, as if someone forced her down repeatedly. And…she lost her child." The doctor explained.
Elijah let out a long sigh as he put his head in his hands once again, "Will she be okay?
"It will take some time for her to heal, but I expect that she'll make a full recovery."
Kol nodded, "You should just go with that first."
The doctor told them what room she was in and then left.
Elijah looked at Kol, "I killed the baby…"
"No. Mason hurt her. Mason beat her and broke her bones far before you inadvertently shot her. This isn't your fault, Elijah."
"Why do I feel like it all is?" Elijah said before getting up and going to see Caroline. Kol thought it'd be best to go talk to Nick and explain what he learned and then call Bonnie; who had disappeared as soon as she saved the day.
The following morning, Caroline slowly opened her eyes and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. She could hear a distant beeping, like a heartbeat…She looked around the room and saw wires sticking out of the top of her hand.
"You're awake." Elijah said from beside her. She felt a squeeze on her hand and instinctively squeezed back, "Dad?" She asked, hoarsely.
"Yeah. Oh Caroline, I'm so sorry." He apologized while kissing the top of her bandaged hand.
"What happened? Where's Nick?" She asked, looking around the room.
"Do you remember everything?"
Caroline closed her eyes and thought about it and sighed, "Is the baby dead?"
Elijah sighed and looked down, "Yes…It's all my fault…I didn't mean to shoot you, Honey, I'm so sorry."
She sighed and nodded a little at the confirmation, then shook her head, "Daddy, this isn't your fault. You weren't the one who pulled me in front of the bullet. Is Nick okay?"
"He will be. He got some stitches and got bandaged up. You scared the hell out of him. And me."
"I'm sorry…I felt like I was floating." Caroline said, the words jogging a memory, "I saw Mom." She said with a small smile.
"Really?" Elijah asked.
She nodded, "She told me it wasn't my time…That you and Nick needed me more than I needed her."
"Well, for once, your mother is right…I'd go crazy without you, Kid." Elijah said as tears, once again, welled up in his eyes.
Caroline exhaled and opened her arms, Elijah stood and embraced her, burying his face in her shoulder, "Please don't scare me like that again."
"I'll try." She whispered back to him. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you, so much more."
Nick finally got one of the CNAs to bring him a goddamned wheelchair so he could go see Caroline. It had been a day since they had both been admitted to the hospital and though Kol and Elijah would tell him she was healing, slowly but surely, he felt the anxiety that they were lying to him.
He wouldn't feel okay until he saw her face.
When he entered her room, he saw her sitting up with a smile on her face; against the CNA's orders, he stood from his wheelchair and walked to her bedside and sat next to her.
She put her arms around him and as he turned to face her, she buried her face in his chest, "I missed you." She breathed into his chest, a sense of calm coming over her.
He put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, "You scared me."
"I'm sorry…I'm here now."
"That's all I've been wanting since he took me from you."
Caroline smiled a little, "Aren't we the couple of the year, we both die and come back in the same month." She giggled.
"Don't joke about that, please."
She sighed and looked up at him, "What did Mason do to you?"
He shrugged, trying to seem indifferent, "He just…he beat me, drugged me. I don't really want to talk about it."
She nodded a little, "Okay…Did…" She sighed and rested her head against him again, "Did Dad tell you I lost the baby?"
Nick sighed and nodded, "Yes he did…"
"I feel so bad, Nick…So guilty."
"Why? None of this was your fault, you know that right?"
"Well, yes, but…I didn't feel…I didn't feel completely bad when Dad told me…I mean, when I got shot and I said I was sorry…I was apologizing to her, to the baby because…I didn't want her. I didn't…I barely began to love her when we found out she was a girl and then…When Mason took you and made me believe you were dead…I felt nothing for her. I felt no love or even the acceptance that she was mine. What does that say about me? What if…What if she was taken from us because of me?" Caroline confessed, tears choking her up.
Sighing, Nick pulled her closer to him and lightly rubbed her back with his hand, "I know why you didn't want her…"
"What?"
"Mason…told me when he brought you to the room with me. That's why you were crying at the wedding, right? You were so upset because of what he had done the night before?" Nick asked, looking at her with sadness and understanding.
She sighed and nodded, "Yeah…I was having a panic attack from all the people and I went outside and he was right there…I fainted and woke up the next morning in pajamas with a bruise on my side. I just knew what he'd done and I threw up, I cried…I wanted to tell you but it was the wedding day and…I wanted it all to be perfect. Then there he was again, asking me to dance in front of all those people and he waited for all of you to be distracted. I was going to tell you right then and there but he threatened to kill you if I did."
Nick sighed, "I should've figured it out, I knew something was wrong but I thought you were having regrets or something. I should've just asked you."
"I wouldn't have told you either way…Then I got sick and found out I was pregnant. I was happy for a split second, when I told you. When I saw the joy it brought you…then he reminded me that it was probably his and I just…I didn't want her. I loved her but I didn't want her. I didn't want to risk being tied to him forever. Does that make me a horrible person?"
"I loved the baby, but she was his…I think I just…I lost the idea of having a baby of my own with you. She wasn't mine…And no you are not a horrible person…It makes you human. And like you said, when you got shot, you apologized to her. Even in your time of dying, you apologized and that showed you did love her. You aren't horrible. You're just a hurt person…who was terrorized for so long."
Caroline started to cry, "Is he dead?" She asked, hopeful.
"Yes he is. I watched the bastard die, myself. I wish I had been the one to do it after knowing what he did to you."
"Who killed him?"
"Bonnie."
Caroline nodded a little, "Remind me to thank her when I see her."
"We have to find her first. I think her killing someone scared the hell out of her. Kol says he can't get a hold of her."
Caroline frowned for a moment before deciding not to comment on it, "So…we're really free this time."
"No more psychotic fathers slash grandfathers trying to kill us." Nick said before kissing her on the forehead.
She smiled, "No more creepy deranged stalkers trying to take me and kill you."
"Finally…we have some peace."
"This is so surreal…We're both sitting in a hospital bed, broken bones and bruised as a dropped peach, but I've never felt happier."
"I know exactly what you mean…We can start our life without any fear of being tracked or taken or killed…" Nick said with a cheeky grin.
"Once we get out of here, let's just leave. We'll go to California or Paris or Rome…London…Tokyo…Let's just go see the world while we still have a chance." She offered, remembering her mother's words.
Nick smiled and nodded, "I couldn't agree more. We'll do just that once we break out of here."
They passed a few minutes in silence, just happy and content in each other's arms when Caroline began tracing random shapes against his shirt. "Nick…I want you to know…that all this time…I'm glad it was with you. I'm glad you were the one who heard me scream that day…I'm glad you're the one that saved me from Michael…from Mason…and I'm so glad you're not my uncle." She said with a laugh.
Nick laughed with her, "So am I, Sweetheart. You've given me so many scares and we haven't even been together three years yet."
"I wonder what the future holds." She mused.
"Whatever it is, as long as you promise to stay by my side, I'll be happy." Nick said as he held her left hand in his right.
"I promise you, I'm never leaving you again, ever." Caroline said sincerely while looking up at him.
"And I promise you that I will never leave you again, never ever." He concurred before bending down to kiss her and he smiled as she kissed him back, they couldn't do anything now while all bandaged and stitched up in a hospital; but they sure as hell could make out like two teenagers who had their whole lives ahead of them, together.
Well, this is it. The ending to yet another chapter of Nick and Caroline Smith's story.
I've had the most amazing time writing this story, I've cried over these keys in anger, frustration, sadness and happiness for so long. I'm crying of happiness right now because I finally finished it. I finally have it the way I wanted.
It's complete yet still open if I want to revisit later on. (Which I most likely will because I am far too attached to these characters)
I hope you enjoyed this roller coaster ride as much as I have and will stick around to read my other stories.
I love you all!
Playlist (in no particular order):
This Is War - Thirty Seconds To Mars
Face Down - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
I Will Not Bow - Breaking Benjamin
Time Of Dying - Three Days Grace
Broken (Ft. Amy Lee) - Seether
Monster You Made - Pop Evil
Breathe Me - Sia
Beauty From Pain - Superchick
Mad World - Alex Parks
Broken Arrows - Daughtry
Hey Brother - Avicii
Fight The Good Fight - Triumph
My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me - Danny Gokey