Title: "In the Backseat"

Author: Lila

Rating: PG-13

Character/Pairing: Caroline, Klaus, Caroline/Klaus

Spoiler: all aired episodes

Length: Epilogue

Summary: Klaus goes on the run with Hope; Caroline comes along for the ride and does some healing of her own.

Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing them for a few paragraphs.

Author's Note: Apologies for the late delivery, but it's done. Yay! And with this fic wrapped up, I can focus on finishing "We Own the Sky." Title and courtesy of Arcade Fire. Enjoy.

Caroline feels the first raindrops as she buckles Hope into her car seat, a slow trickle down the back of her neck. She glances up and while the sky overhead is clear and backlit by the threat of a blistering summer sun, there are black clouds rolling in off the sea, the water already churning a dark, stormy gray.

She grits her teeth and slides into the passenger seat, avoids looking at the looming storm. "We'd better get moving."

Klaus nods and starts the engine, keeps his eyes on the road while Caroline watches the sky, heavy with rain and threatening to burst at any moment. It's appropriate, she thinks, storm clouds moving in on her sunny day; she and Klaus might be doing what needs to be done, but neither of them is happy about it.

Yet, even Klaus can't outrun Mother Nature, and the clouds part with a loud crack, lightning splitting the roiling sky. Caroline grabs the door handle, shuddering as the thunder follows with an angry clap. In the backseat, Hope lets out a terrified wail. Caroline tries to soothe her, but it's a nearly impossible task when the rain is coming down in sheets and pinging so loudly against the roof that it's impossible to hear her own voice. She feels on the verge of tears herself, separated from the battling elements by a thin skin of metal, powerless to help a crying baby. It's not how she wanted to spend her last day with Klaus and Hope.

Without prompting, Klaus pulls over and turns off the engine, unbuckles his wailing daughter and pulls her into his arms. "It's okay, Little Wolf," he croons. "Daddy's here. Shhhh…"

Hope quickly calms down, tear tracks glimmering on her cheeks but seemingly content in her father's arms. And perhaps more important, he looks content having her there. Caroline smiles at him over the baby's head and it's no longer a surprise when he smiles back. She ruffles Hope's curls and earns a belly laugh in return, the kind of infectious giggle that erupts in the adults too, and soon the car is filled with laughter even as it shakes from the force of the storm.

They watch the rain in comfortable silence, Caroline's head resting on Klaus's shoulder while Hope sleeps in his arms, and when it's over, Caroline insists on a quick walk to stretch her legs.

She tilts her face to the sky, now bathed in milky shades of pink and gold, breathes in a world scrubbed clean. She loves the smell right after it rains, how everything feels new, like anything is possible. It feels like a fresh start.

Klaus comes to stand beside her, Hope still cradled against his chest. "Après moi, le déluge," he mumbles and Caroline struggles to remember her high school French.

"After me, the flood?" she asks, assuming it's a glib comment in the wake of that killer storm, but the tense set of his jaw makes her think otherwise.

"It's often attributed to Louis XV, although without any definitive proof. He ruined France, set the stage for the ensuing revolution. He knew the damage he'd leave in his wake and he didn't care." Klaus stares down at his daughter, dreaming peacefully in his arms, and holds her tighter. "What have I done?"

Caroline watches the sun peek through the clouds, sighs in awe as a rainbow arcs across the sky, and takes it as a sign. She cups his tense jaw in her hands and presses a kiss to his mouth, soft and sweet but filled with promise. "It doesn't matter what you did before because now you have me. It's my turn to be strong."

She drives the rest of the way to New Orleans while he watches the scenery pass by and Hope giggles to herself and plays with her toes. Every now and then, when she squeals particularly loud, Caroline catches Klaus smiling out of the corner of her eye.

The city falls upon them steamy and seamy, a fine mist rising up from the broken cobblestones in the wake of the storm. It's an old city, a city that never should have existed to begin with, and Caroline feels more comfortable than she should in this unfamiliar place. She knows what it's like to fight to survive, to exist, to thrive despite so much working against her. She thinks she could like it here.

Her instincts are confirmed even when Klaus directs her to an unremarkable building with a set of wrought-iron balconies and chipped brick walls, tells her to park at the curb and wait for him while he retrieves Hope. When he's ready, he picks up his daughter and takes Caroline's hand, leads her through a heavy wooden door and through an ornate passageway. The scent of magnolias hangs heavy in the air and Caroline's careful to keep to the slate walk and avoid the well-kept flowerbeds lining the path. She mostly focuses on the taut line of Klaus's back, way he's holding his head a little too straight, his shoulders a little too tight, and makes sure to keep up. He's about two seconds from snapping at the first Mikaelson to cross his path and it's not how they should be starting this reunion.

The hallway opens into a wide atrium filled with flowers and fountains, three angry vampires, and a pair of fuming werewolves. She assumes the smirking vampire on the fringe is Marcel, keen eyes taking in the show.

"Welcome home, brother," Elijah says, elegant and composed in his slim-fitting suit, but there's a razor-sharp edge to his tone that betrays his cool exterior. Caroline's enhanced vision also catches the pulse throbbing in his left temple. Klaus is at his most dangerous when he's calm and collected, but there are few things more terrifying than Elijah losing control. Klaus tucks Hope a little closer as he steps into the room.

"Elijah," Klaus says, eyebrows raised at Rebekah's scowling face. "Sister. I see you're back to your old self."

Rebekah flicks blonde hair over her shoulder. "I prefer my original body for settling debts."

Hayley is on him before he can respond, ripping their daughter from his arms and holding her tight, burying her face in Hope's curls. "Baby girl," she says through her tears. "I missed you."

Even standing a few feet behind Klaus, Caroline doesn't miss Hayley's diamond ring catching in the light, or her broad, bearded husband wrapping her in his arms. They stand together for a long moment, a little family, while Klaus stares at a point over Hayley's shoulder and the pulse in Elijah's temple hits a tempo even a human could see. Finally, Hayley looks up, eyes glowing an eerie yellow as she takes in her daughter's father. "I should kill you."

He shrugs. "I'd like to see you try. You kidnapped Hope, I kidnapped Hope…she's home and now we're square."

"You put a curse on me, kept me away from my daughter for months on end, and now you want to make amends?" Her grip on the baby tightens and Hope cries out. Caroline knots her hands together to keep from intervening. It's not her job, not anymore, and Hayley quickly releases her hold, cooing to her daughter until she's smiling again.

Klaus's voice is quiet but matches Elijah's razor-sharp tone. "We both want what's best for her. Working together to achieve that is the right choice."

Everyone in the room looks at him like he's gone insane, but Caroline grins, chest pumping full of smug satisfaction at the man she's made of an insolent boy. She didn't set out to fix him but she's still proud of the person he's become, the father he'll be to his daughter. It feels good to give another little girl a happy ending.

It's then that they notice her, when Klaus looks over his shoulder to give credit where it's due, and Hayley's face twists into a furious sneer. "Did you enjoy playing house with my daughter?"

Klaus's hand falls low on Caroline's back as she moves to stand in front of him, clings to the base of her spine like it's there to prop her up. She doesn't need it, but it's nice to know it's there. "It wasn't like that, Hayley. I – "

Hayley takes a step forward but her lumberjack of a husband stops her with a hand on her arm and a few soothing words in her ear. "I'll deal with you later." She turns to Klaus, eyes blazing. "You and I, we're having words now."

She stalks to the interior of the house and the other Mikaelsons follow like ducks in a row. Klaus moves to take Caroline's hand but she steps out of his reach. "I'm gonna sit this one out."

"Caroline," he starts, but she shakes her head and blinks back tears. She wants to be with him and Hope, but it's no longer her place. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

"I got you here," she says softly. "I brought Hope home, but you need to do the rest on your own."

"Caroline…"

"You can do this," she tells him. "Make it work with Hayley. Give your daughter everything she deserves."

She's gone before he can catch her, uses her superspeed to her advantage, but slows to a walk when she's standing on the broken sidewalk in the bright sunshine. The humidity is the only indication that a storm recently swept through town, but she doesn't notice the heat or the damp, only the burning need to numb the pain. She knows it's the right thing, letting Klaus solve his custody issues without her, but she can't shake the feeling that she's lost something she'll never have again. Hope, she realizes, both the person and the way the baby made her feel. Good. Clean. Like she was worth something. She blinks back another round of tears and jerks open the door to the nearest bar.

Rousseau's is dark and seedy and exactly what she was looking for, so she slides onto a stool and signals for the bartender.

A pretty blonde tightens her apron and smiles politely. "What's your poison?"

It suddenly requires too much energy to think. "Surprise me."

"You got it."

Caroline takes stock of the place while the blonde fixes her drink, but mostly studies her appearance in the smudged mirror over the bar. Her hair is sleek and smooth and her face eternally young, but her eyes betray her outward youth. They're aching and haunted, a dark fin lurking under two bright pools of blue. They're too old for a girl who'll always be seventeen.

"One Sazerac on the house." The bartender slides a red-tinged drink with a fringe of lemon peel across the counter. She smiles knowingly.

"Thanks," Caroline says, swallows the drink in one long gulp.

"Bad day?"

"More like a bad life." She knows her mom would disapprove of drowning in self-pity, but the liquid courage is helping avoid that voice in her head. She's lost so much this past month, her mom and Hope, but also the things she won't let herself want, all the things she thought she'd have before a girl wearing her best friend's face changed the course of her life.

"I know what that's like." It's midday and the place is mostly empty so the girl – Camille her nametag reads – rests her elbows on the bar and leans in for some girl talk. "My brother died two years ago and then I lost my uncle a year later. I keep making terrible decisions when it comes to men. There was this body swapping incident." She laughs without humor. "My life's a mess."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Caroline pauses. "My mom died a few weeks ago. It's been horrible."

Camille's eyes round in sympathy. "I'm a good listener if you want to talk about it."

Caroline shakes her head. "No, I think I've made peace with it. She was sick and now she's not. I miss her so much but I'm glad she's not in pain anymore."

Camille's quiet a long moment, then quickly pours two shots of whiskey. "Sláinte," she says and downs the shot. Caroline nods and downs her own shot.

"Irish?" she asks while Camille cleans up the glasses.

"Half. I go by Cami most of the time. Keeps the creepers from trying to ask me out in French."

"You must get that a lot."

Cami shrugs. "Like I said, I have terrible taste in men."

A week ago Caroline would have readily agreed, but a vision of Klaus and Hope splashing in the ocean pops into her heard, and she revises her position to complicated. "I do too, but you go first. Tell me about it."

"Where to start?" Cami muses. "I meet this guy and everything about him screams bad idea, but then he does something, something sweet and true, and I see this different side of him and fall all over again." Caroline flushes, realizes it's exactly how she'd describe her relationship with Klaus. He isn't perfect, but when they're together, it feels real. Honest. Like it's time to stop running.

"I have someone like that too. It's why I'm here, actually. He showed up on my doorstep and needed a favor and I couldn't say no." She pauses, stumbles on the truth. "I didn't want to say no."

A familiar figure appears. "I'm glad you didn't." Caroline looks up and Klaus is behind her, watching her closely in the mirror, one hand resting loosely on her hip. Across the bar, Cami straightens and stares at them with narrowed eyes.

"This is the guy?"

Caroline swallows, eyes shifting from Cami to Klaus and back again. She shrugs off his hand. "You weren't lying about having a type."

Klaus frowns but doesn't try to put his hand back. "Hello, Camille."

She crosses her arms across her chest and glares at him. "Klaus. I was just getting to know your girlfriend."

"I'm not – "

"I never lied to you," Klaus says softly. His expression is almost regretful, and his eyes are kind as he smiles at Cami. "Caroline and I…we weren't together but we always find our way back to each other." He catches Caroline's eye in the mirror and she ducks her head to hide her smile. She likes Cami and this moment has to suck; there's no need to make it hurt more.

Cami's eyes shift between them for a few seconds. "And I thought it was daddy issues holding you back. I guess it's hard to start something new when you never let go of the past." She signs heavily. "I get it, but could you stay away for a while? I need a break from this."

He regards her seriously. "Davina released the Crescent Wolves from their curse and they're looking for retribution. You represent the human faction in the Quarter, Camille, and we'll need your help in the days ahead."

"And I'll be there, but this?" She gestures between them. "I need a break from you. The O'Connell psychology clinic is closed for business." Still, she smiles at Caroline. "It was nice meeting you." She gives Klaus a meaningful look, one that says stay away until I find a way for you to pay for breaking my heart, and departs for the opposite end of the bar.

Caroline stares up at Klaus. "That could have gone better."

He sighs and scrubs a hand down his face. "This was the last place I thought you'd be." He glances around the grubby room. "Why did you come here?"

"It had air-conditioning and alcohol."

"That's not what I meant."

She takes a calming breath, careful to keep her voice from reaching Cami's ears. "We played house for a few days but that's all it was – playing a game. I'm not Hope's mother and she's not my daughter. I had to leave before I forgot that."

"She needs you." He pauses, raises her chin so she's looking into his eyes. "I need you."

"You worked out a deal with Hayley, right?"

He nods slowly. "Yes, but – "

"So mission accomplished. You got your daughter home, made peace with her mom. I…I'm not a part of this anymore."

His fingers slide down her neck and tangle in her hair almost painfully, tilt her head so his eyes are boring into hers. "Don't you get it? You're a part of me. No matter where you go, no matter how far or how long, I always find you." His mouth hovers over hers. "No matter how hard I try, I can't let you go. I don't want to let you go."

The world falls away, the noisy bar and nosy ex across the room, and it's just the rough stubble on Klaus's cheeks and the brown waves of his hair and the yearning in his eyes, the need and want and fear that she'll say no.

And then, it's the easiest thing in the world, cupping his jaw in her hand and smiling against his mouth. "Okay," she says. "I'm yours."

It's different the second time, slow and steady, without the frenetic want, the desperate worry that it might never happen again. Klaus's hand is firm around Caroline's as he leads her up the stairs, his gaze confident as he shuts the door behind them and leans in to kiss her.

His mouth is hard but the kiss is gentle, fingers pressing on her jaw with the right amount of pressure so she falls back against the door with a low moan. He's smiling when she opens her eyes, that newly confident grin.

"Hi," he says softly and brushes her hair back from her face.

"Hi," she whispers, feels suddenly shy under his steady gaze. He's always been able to read her well but this close, it's like he's seeing inside her, all her hopes and fears laid bare across the open expanse of her face.

She knows she wants this – him – but it feels like too much. She's just started figuring out who she is and what she wants – she can't lose herself again. Except when she looks in Klaus's eyes, there's trust there, honesty and loyalty and something that looks very much like love. The force of it scares her, and yet, it also gives her strength. There is so much she can do if she doesn't have to go about it on her own.

Her heart – literal or figurative, she doesn't care – skips a beat and she kisses him hard and hot and filled with everything she feels. She lets go, takes the final step into the abyss, drowns in the emotion shimmering in his eyes.

She doesn't fall, not when he's there to catch her.

Caroline wakes in an unfamiliar bed, but she doesn't panic, even if it takes a moment to find her bearings. After the week she's had, a quick lapse in memory is a minor annoyance. She can hear Klaus too. He's too far for her to make out the exact words, but she can hear his low growl and Elijah's clipped syllables, a slightly accented female voice cutting in every now and then. Maybe the missing sister? She makes a mental note to ask later.

After a quick trip to a bathroom the size of her bedroom in Mystic Falls, she checks out her surroundings, honing in on the easel set up near the balcony to take advantage of natural light. Caroline studies a half-finished painting of a local wharf, then notices a set of paintings stacked against the far wall. There are easily a dozen of them, and she turns over the first, catching only a flash of blonde hair before she's interrupted by a knock on the door.

"One minute!" she calls out and reluctantly lets go of the painting, slips into Klaus's long-sleeved t-shirt and pads to the door.

She expected Rebekah or Elijah, maybe a nightwalking servant with fresh clothes, but never Hayley. She stands awkwardly in the hall, holding her daughter while Hope chews on lock of her mother's dark hair. If Hayley notices, she doesn't let on. Despite her pained expression, Caroline can see how happy she is to have her baby back in her arms.

"Can I come in?" Hayley asks. She looks just as awkward inside the room and she shifts Hope's weight for something to do. "I've never actually been in here. Klaus and I didn't talk much when we were at the plantation, and once we were here…" She trails off and smiles nervously. "Sorry. I'm rambling."

"Let's start over." Caroline leads her to a set of wing chairs, careful to cross her legs when she sits down to keep from putting on a show. Klaus's shirt is roomy, but also only reaches to mid-thigh.

Hayley takes the opposite chair and adjusts Hope so she's facing out, gnawing on a tiny fist until Hayley hands her the stuffed rabbit. The delight on the baby's face is familiar and Caroline starts to feel more at ease, until Hayley brushes Hope's curls from her face and the baby laughs in return, a coil of jealousy curling through Caroline's belly. She knows Hayley only wants to be with her daughter now that she has her back, but it still hurts seeing how easily Hope has adjusted to being with her mother.

"Why don't you tell me why you're here?" Caroline crosses her arms and regards Hayley steadily. They didn't get along in Mystic Falls and she can't imagine it will be any better now, not after their confrontation downstairs. She mostly hopes Hayley will quickly get to the point so she can get on with her day.

"I know we haven't always seen eye to eye," Hayley starts. "And I'm sorry for how I acted before. I was angry with Klaus and took it out on you." She smiles down at her daughter. "I know you're the reason he brought her home."

Caroline's cheeks flush from the unexpected praise. "It was the right thing to do."

"Maybe. But I'm sure it wasn't easy standing up to Klaus." Hayley pauses, tears glinting in her green eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much for bringing my baby home."

"You're welcome." Caroline isn't quite sure what to do – hug Hayley? Pat her hand? – so she smiles warmly instead, reaches out to tug on Hope's closed fist, receives a belly laugh in return that goes a long way to break the tension in the room.

"She likes you."

Caroline lets go of Hope's hand. "We had a lot of time to bond when we were on the road."

"I know. It's actually why I'm here." Caroline glances up and the tears are gone from Hayley's eyes, replaced with gratitude and maybe a bit of admiration. "When I found out I was pregnant, I was so scared, not only about having a baby but the responsibility of raising one. I didn't know anything about being a mom." She strokes a hand over Hope's hair. "I think I'm doing okay, but I'm still learning."

"What does this have to do with me?"

Hayley takes a deep breath. "I'd like you to be Hope's godmother."

"Me?" Despite her adventures over the past few days, she has even less experience with parenthood than Hayley.

Hayley nods. "Tyler told me about your mother. He said she was smart and strong and never backed down from doing what was right. He said she wasn't always easy, but that she loved you so much. That's what I want for my daughter. I'm hoping you'll show us how."

It's a long moment before Caroline can speak, let alone see through the sheen of tears pooling in her eyes. "Of course," she whispers, feels the final vestiges of grief lift from her heart. She'll always miss her mom but Caroline can't think of a better way to honor her than taking the best parts of her and giving them to someone else. She smiles tearily into Hope's face, Klaus's eyes and Hayley's mouth but maybe something of herself in the baby's sweet expression. As long as she walks the earth, she'll do whatever it takes to keep it there.

Balancing Hope on her hip, Hayley gets up and motions for Caroline to do the same, wraps her in an awkward hug. It's short and uncomfortable, but they're both laughing when they pull back and Caroline doesn't mind, thinks they'll only get better with practice.

Hayley pauses in the doorway. "You should know, I haven't told Rebekah yet. I can't guarantee how she'll react."

Caroline groans, hopes the revelation doesn't involve an impromptu cheerleading contest. "I can handle Rebekah."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," Caroline says and clucks Hope under her chin one more time. "I'll be here."

The sun doesn't set the same way in New Orleans.

Back home, the sun slips from the sky to close out the day but here, it opens a new chapter. The city comes alive under the cover of darkness, so much energy that the streets practically vibrate with it. Caroline's never experienced a place like this before but she doesn't doubt her choice in coming here. Wherever this journey takes her, she won't be going at it alone.

She hears Klaus before she sees him, continues watching the lights and people while he comes up behind her and presses a butterfly kiss to her throat.

"You spoke to Hayley?"

Caroline rests her head against his chest, leans into him and lets him carry her. "You should have said something."

His chuckle rumbles against her back. "She wanted it to be a surprise. I assume you agreed."

"And I assume you worked things out with her."

"I think so." He rests his hands on her shoulders and turns her to face him. "Whatever progress we made is because of you."

"It was the right thing to do," she repeats.

"No, it was what you would do." He looks like he wants to kiss her, and he does, a tender brush of his mouth over hers. "I've made a tentative truce with Hayley and we'll try to raise Hope together." His expression is regretful. "I can't leave New Orleans. I know I promised you the world, but right now, this is all I can give you. I'd understand if you want to leave."

Once, she would have taken him up on the offer, returned to Whitmore and carried on like the college girl she wanted to be, but she's no longer interested in that life. She can't pretend it's enough, not when there's genuine beauty waiting for her. She can audit classes if she wants, or write a novel or take up gardening. She can hold Hope close and learn to like Hayley and practice her French with Elijah. She can do anything she wants, and more than anything, she wants this.

She tangles her fingers into his hair, looks deep into his eyes so he can see the commitment in hers. "You promised me a thousand birthdays too. I can wait."

"You're sure?"

He's never given her a choice before and she's never seen him so scared. "I don't need Tokyo or Rome. Everything I want is right here."

"Strong, beautiful, full of light…" he murmurs and dips his head to kiss her. Maybe, for the first time, she believes him.

Once, he claimed he'd be her last love. She intends to take him up on the offer.

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