Rebekah stared at Caroline, her surprise clear before quickly transforming into a warm smile. She hadn't expected this response; hearing her name spoken by Caroline caught her off guard. Her brothers had prepared her for the chance that Caroline might not remember their shared history. "Caroline," she whispered softly, savoring the sound of the other woman's name. Caroline appeared almost unchanged since Rebekah last saw her, though there were noticeable differences—her hair was curlier, and a lingering sadness marked her face. "You remember me," the younger blonde murmured.
"Of course I remember you. It's all coming back to me in fragments—fragments of all of you," Caroline responded, her heart racing at the unexpected reunion with the woman she considered her little sister. "I've been working to piece together my past. I thought I had lost everything... thought I'd lost all of you." A wave of familiarity enveloped her, momentarily calming the anger she felt about being left behind. As Caroline took a step closer to the woman before her, her vision blurred, and the world around her began to spin.
Stefan swore as he appeared at the woman's side, and Rebekah's face reflected a look of surprise. "Not again…" she said softly.
"Can you open the door?" he asked, nodding toward the car's back door next to them. "I think we should get out of the road…" His voice trailed off; he couldn't bring Caroline back to the boarding house and wasn't sure where her new apartment was located. He could get a hotel room for them while they figured out their next step.
"Her ring is broken in half," Rebekah whispered, her gaze fixated on the woman's ring on her right hand before she opened the back door. "We can go to our house. I'll contact NiKlaus."
She can't help but match the smile on his face with her own. Nearly a century has gone by since they exchanged vows in their quaint village, back when they were still human, not the vampires they have become. NiKlaus leans in, softly whispering his love for her and assuring her that he needs nothing else in his life as long as she is by his side, promising he will always be there for her. Her eyes wander to the simple yet exquisite pearl ring that now graces her finger. "I didn't get you anything," she blurts, a wave of guilt washing over her for forgetting to give him a gift on their anniversary. The last two years have been a whirlwind; they've been on the run since their father discovered them in Asia, nearly killing Elijah before they managed to escape.
"You didn't need to get me anything; you are all I desire in this life and every life that follows," he tells her, his words a heartfelt promise of eternal love. As he gently rubs small circles in the palm of her hand, his gaze shifts to the ring adorning her finger. "This ring is meant to replace your daylight ring and to serve as your official wedding ring. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to give it to you..."
"She still has the ring," Klaus remarked, his tone matter-of-fact rather than inquisitive. There was a trace of surprise in his voice at how long the ring had endured, along with a hint of curiosity about whether Caroline grasped its significance. Rebekah had kept her promise, bringing Stefan and an unconscious Caroline back to the Mikaelson home. In the master bedroom, Caroline lay on a king-sized bed, enveloped in luxurious black silk sheets and blankets, still in a deep slumber where Klaus and Rebekah stood by each other watching over her. "Even if it's in two pieces, she appears at peace, resting like this."
Rebekah felt a pang of sympathy for her older brother. She understood the depth of Klaus's feelings for the woman lying on his bed, how profoundly he mourned his wife after the heart-wrenching ordeal they had faced when they believed her dead while saving him from their father. She knew how desperately he wanted her to remember him. "Even when you were apart, you were always by her side," Rebekah whispered softly, her eyes on the ring. "I'll work on getting her a new daylight ring. NiKlaus…"
"Yes?" he replies.
"Before she fainted, she mentioned that she's remembering us, piecing together fragmented memories," Rebekah explains. "Stefan helped fill in some gaps during our ride over here. She just realized she has the ability to compel other vampires, something I am surprised she didn't stumble upon earlier. When she turned off her emotions after leaving you and Elijah at the doorstep, it only lasted a few hours, and that was her first attempt to do so. She had intended to leave town but finds herself unable to do so—it seems there's a barrier preventing her from crossing the line."
"That's all Elijah's doing. I told him it wasn't necessary; we could follow her wherever she went. But Elijah believes it's better to keep her here in town. He must have convinced his witch to create that barrier so we could communicate with her," Klaus explains with a sigh, his heart heavy for the woman he still considered his wife. He understood the overwhelming emotions she was grappling with and the challenge of trying to manage them all at once. "Rebekah, when I first ordered the pearl ring, I actually requested three at the same time. The others are stored in the attic inside a dark brown chest labeled with her name. Please feel free to use one of those."
Rebekah nods in acknowledgment. "I'll take care of it."
The two Mikaelsons pause at the soft sounds emanating from the bed as the woman stirs awake. A flicker of guilt washes over Klaus, accompanied by an involuntary smile as Caroline opens her eyes and turns toward him. The room is still, though echoes of Stefan and Elijah's conversation drift up from downstairs. Caroline glances around the bedroom before her gaze settles on him. "NiKlaus." His name falls from her lips, tears glistening in her eyes, and in that moment, Klaus would set the world ablaze to ensure that Caroline would never leave his side again.
Rebekah stands motionless as he approaches, finally dropping to his knees at the edge of the bed, just inches away from Caroline, their eyes locking. When she calls his name, it feels like an invitation—a bridge to the unspoken words that lingered between them only hours earlier at the doorstep. "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that we didn't find you sooner. It pains me to think of how long you've been searching for us, how long it took for our paths to finally meet again." He hesitates, resisting the urge to reach for her hand. "You, Caroline Mikaelson, are the love of my life—the greatest gift I have ever received. I regret ever leaving you to navigate this world without me, without your family." He watches as Caroline takes a deep breath. "The most haunting memory I carry is of losing you. You stepped in front of me to protect me from our father, who wielded the only weapon that could end us. I still vividly remember watching you turn grey, collapsing to the ground…" His voice falters, the memory of her death feeling both distant and painfully immediate, like it happened just moments ago.
Klaus remains where he is as he hears Rebekah speaking behind him. "You died, Caroline. It sounds so simple, but it is the truth. We were fighting our father, who nearly killed Klaus. You screamed and threw yourself between them, and in that moment, he struck you down. One second, you were alive, filled with color; the next, you were grey and lifeless on the ground, still clutching Klaus with all your strength."
Caroline holds her breath until Rebekah finishes speaking, then firmly says, "Show me."
"What?" Rebekah stutters, taken aback.
Taking a shaky breath, Caroline stretches out her hand toward Klaus, just inches away, and gently places her palm on his. "Show me the memory. I need to see it. Please, NiKlaus."
He looks over his shoulder to his sister before answering Caroline, "Okay. I will." He moves himself to sit on the bed, putting his hands on each side of her head.
"He was spotted," Kol Mikaelson announces, drawing the attention of the others in the common room of the Mikaelson family's latest residence, situated near a quaint coastal town in Italy. The interior boasts exquisite furnishings that Rebekah and Caroline had compelled from a nearby castle staff. "Just a few miles away."
"What?" Caroline responds, disbelief etched on her face.
Rebekah lets out a frustrated sigh. "Already? We've only been here a few weeks."
Caroline rubs her face, finally feeling a sense of calm as her husband's hand rests on her shoulder. "Where did you hear this?" Elijah inquires. "Is it a rumor, or can you verify it?"
"I saw the memory in the witch's mind," Kol explains. "He was in town, inquiring if anyone knew about someone who had recently moved here."
"The witch gave a false answer, lied that no one knew has been to town for several months but I can't tell in the memory if he believed her or not," he adds.
"Our father likely didn't," Rebekah interjects.
The memory shifts.
The five Mikaelsons stood on a sandy beach, mere feet from the ocean's edge. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks echoed in the still night air, while the bright moon cast an eerie glow over the scene, only to be marred by the conspicuous absence of stars above. Behind Klaus, Caroline grasped his hand tightly, a gesture of solidarity. To their right, Elijah lingered a short distance away, while Rebekah and Kol stood a few feet to their left.
Before them, about fifty feet away, loomed the patriarch of the Mikaelson clan—Mikael. A white oak stake rested in his right hand, and a disquieting grin stretched across his face. "My children." He looks over them before setting his eyes on the one he felt the most hate for. "Niklaus," he began, breaking the silence. "You know why I'm here."
"You keep coming after us, but you never achieve your goal. Why do you persist?" Klaus shot back, venom dripping from his words.
Mikael rolled his eyes and glanced past Klaus at the rest of his children, including the daughter who had wed into their family. "For now, I'll spare the rest of you—if you help me kill Niklaus."
Chaos erupted before he could even await a response. Mikael knew his children wouldn't side with him against their brother, nor would Caroline turn against her husband, so why wait for an answer that he already knew of. Suddenly, vampires sprung forth from the shadows, attacking without warning. A head was ripped from a body and flung into the ocean, while another screamed as Caroline tore a heart from its chest.
"Where are the damn witches?" Elijah shouted at Kol, who was grappling with two vampires. Their plan is going off the rails, they need the witches' help, just as they planned before arriving at the beach. More intruders emerged from the wooded area bordering the beach, revealing that Mikael had come armed with an unsettling army to combat his family.
Time seemed to slow as Caroline cried out in horror, stepping protectively in front of Klaus to face her father-in-law. A white oak stake pierced her chest, rendering her ashen; her grey hand clasped Klaus's in a feeble grip. "Caroline!" Klaus screamed, collapsing to his knees as the witches finally arrived, chanting a spell in the background. He didn't need to see what was unfolding around him; he could feel Kol at his side while Rebekah, Elijah, and the witches took on Mikael. His attention, his focus was on his wife, who was now dead in his arms. He breathes out her name again, letting a small amount of tears come to his eyes.
"Brother." NiKlaus doesn't want to move from this spot, he wishes to whatever god that is watching over them, to let him trade spots with her, to take him instead of her. "NiKlaus." Kol speaks, "He's gone for now."
He hears his younger brother tell him that Mikael is gone, but he couldn't get himself to move from the spot he was in now. The person who brought so much light into his life was gone. "She's dead…" He whispers.