Last chapter sweethearts! I had a good time writing this for everyone but an even better time seeing so many people enjoy it! Hopefully the writers of season 5 give us an ending that is satisfying for our fandom. #KlarolineIsEndgame

Until next time – However Long It Takes loves

~Always & Forever~

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All ideas, characters, etc belong to the writers of TVD/TO.

*Klaroline*Klaroline*Klaroline*Klaroline*

"How do we know if it worked?" she asked quietly.

"We could find a vampire to bite?" he offered. Obviously, he wasn't going to try to kill her to see if she would survive.

Looking down at her outfit, a giant hole in the middle and blood all over it, she said, "Let's change first. I want to get out of these clothes."

Leaning into her body, he added, "I want you out of those clothes as well."

Pushing him away with her hand, she scolded him, "Simmer down there, Niklaus. First, we need to change and then we have to call to check with Hayley and the girls."

Emotions hit him, and he was able to physically sense how hard it was for her to say that. Smirking, he said, "You want it just as bad as I do."

Thoughts of their time in the woods and on the roof flooded her mind as he was remembering those days, every vivid detail. "I think it worked. I can see what you're remembering." He then pushed another memory into her mind. The first time he saw her, laying on her bed, dying from a hybrid bite. "'Are you here to kill me?'' Caroline asked in the memory.

In the memory, she could feel how reluctant he was to kill her and how confused that made him. So instead he asked, "'On your birthday? You really think that low of me?'"

Seeing the hatred in her own eyes, she responded, "'Yes.'"

"You were never afraid of me. I was attracted to that at first," Klaus says.

She laughed, "I was terrified of you, Klaus." He questioned her. "You were the big, bad hybrid that was controlling everyone in town. My best friends feared you. Even your own brother was trying to put you down."

"I never thought you were ever nervous in my presence."

She giggled, "I thought that I was going to die, Nik. I figured I might as well go down swinging."

It was as if he couldn't get enough of touching her skin, he pulled her back into his embrace saying, "It worked in my favor."

Wiggling out of his arms once again, she said, "It's always about you, isn't it? How do you know that this wasn't my plan all along?" she joked before jogging to her room to change as he watched her close her door with a wink.

She changed quickly and as Caroline was waiting for him, she pulled out her phone and called Hayley. "Hello?"

"Hayley, it's me. We stopped Lucien."

The mother on the other side of the phone sighed in relief. "That's great news."

"How are the girls?" By this time, Klaus had begun to descend the staircase to stand next to her.

"Sleeping like a rock. All three of them." Hayley paused. "Is it safe to return?"

Looking to Klaus for confirmation, he read her expression and took the phone. "It is. However, by now you should almost be there. If you would like to stop for the night at the safe house, that's up to you."

"I think we'll stop when we get there. That will give you two time to sniff around town for any more dangers just in case we should stay put."

They said their goodbyes and Caroline promised to give her an update regarding if they find any new threats or not in town. Caroline put her phone in her back pocket of her jeans and then took a moment to assess him. He was wearing a nice pair of dark grey slacks, a black Henley and a black leather jacket. "You look nice," she whispered.

"One would say 'perfect'," he snickered, sending memories of when she told him that during the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

"You did look perfect that day. You should wear suits more often."

He waved his hand, "Nah, then it won't be special when I do pull out those uncomfortable garments." He paused, "Besides, I wouldn't want you to stop looking at me."

"Which is so beyond annoying, I can't even look at you," she had once said. Smiling, she says, "I don't think your ego could take me looking at you twenty-four-seven."

"Ouch," he teased. "Shall we find a vampire for you to sink your new fangs into?" She nodded and took his arm.

The sun was down, and it was easier than she thought it would be to find a nightwalker. She sped in and out of people on the streets faster than she ever experienced, except for the first time in NOLA and Klaus had picked her up. Grabbing a vampire, she whooshed him to an abandoned alleyway and then tried compelling him. "You will not yell or leave." And yet he struggled against her hold.

Behind her, Klaus' voice found her ears. "No use, Love. All Marcel's vampires were put on vervain the second that I walked back into town. Just bite him, I'll deal with the explanation with Marcellus later."

Sighing, Caroline leaned down to sink her fangs into his neck but paused.

Klaus sensing her hesitation, told her, "If you have my abilities you should be able to heal him. And if not, then I promise he will not die at your hand."

"You'll heal him?" she asked quietly.

"For you, I will." He said this with so much certainty that she took no time to bite the other vampire.

Letting go quickly, the man raised his hand to the bite which was beginning to fester already. "It worked," breathed Caroline, exhaling the air she was holding in. Biting into her wrist, she offered it to him. "Drink, we're hoping it will heal you." The vampire looked confused but did as he was told, his wound healing with each gulp. "We're fully bonded. I share your abilities," said Caroline excitedly, looking at Klaus. He had a funny look on his face when she let the now healed vampire go. "What's wrong Klaus?"

"I feel as if I should be guarded right now. I usually am but in this very moment, I'm calm. I'm not worried about you betraying me. I'm not worried about you using me just to gain power. I'm not worried about anything at all regarding you." Running a hand over her arm, he added, "Just different than how I usually am."

"Is that a good thing?" Her eyebrows were creased.

"Very," he pulled her completely into his arms and kissed the crease away.

"Hmmm," she sighed into his touch. "The new abilities are nice but...you saying that just made me feel like the most powerful person in the world."

"That's because you are. I've always belonged to you. And when you hold the heart of the strongest creature on the planet, you in turn become more formidable."

They spent the night questioning vampires and drinking at Rousseau's. They had met up with Marcel whom divulged that the Strix were leaving town since Elijah ordered them to get out of New Orleans after killing their leader for threatening Hayley. Caroline and Marcel even ended up singing karaoke a few times.

Completely drunk, they both returned to the Compound early in the morning, hanging on to each other to avoid falling or running into the wall. "I don't want to let you go," sloshed Klaus, his nose in her hair breathing in her scent.

"Then maybe I can sleep in your room tonight," Caroline offered. The alcohol had lowered all her inhibitions but if she was really being honest with herself, she had none the second she decided to drive to Louisiana. There was no answer between them, just silence as they walked up clumsily to Klaus' room.

The next morning, Caroline woke up with a massive headache pounding as if a high school marching band was playing the national anthem in her skull. She was unable to remember the last time she had drank enough that her vampire abilities weren't able to catch up with her. Rolling over too quickly, her head practically screaming at her before she realized she had collided with a half-naked hybrid.

He was still out of it and didn't wake up to the fact that she had smacked him square in the chest. Carefully peeling herself off of him, she heads to the bathroom. Washing her face, she looks up to look at her reflection in the mirror. Making her features change, she stared at herself in awe as her usually black eyes showed yellow hues instead. Having her fangs pop out, she could feel the second set there too.

Leaving the bathroom, she forced her hybrid self down as her headache subsided finally. Looking over at the other hybrid, she smiled as he was still sleeping peacefully. Deciding on going down to her room, she changed her clothes and dialed Hayley's number.

"Hey," Hayley greeted.

Caroline sat cross legged on the bed, her back to the door. "Hi, I just wanted to let you know that we talked to a lot of vampires last night. No one knows of any dangers in the Quarter that haven't been dealt with already. Most of them mentioned the Strix but when Klaus brought it up to Marcel, he said they were hightailing it out of town after hearing about Tristen falling at Elijah's hand."

Hayley exhaled a breath. "Thank goodness. Feels like I've been running since Hope has been born. I'm just ready to stop. I don't want her to grow up like that."

A sense of relief washed over Caroline as she heard the other mother express how much she didn't want her child to grow up always on the move. "I'm right there with you. How are they?"

"I think they could sense something was up. They were mostly quiet until this morning." As if on cue, one of them started crying in the background. "Oh, sorry, I should go. Tell everyone I'll start on the way back tomorrow."

"Hey, Hayley?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. I know they aren't your kids..." Caroline started, unsure of how to finish her gratitude.

"You're welcome. Besides, you're family now. Always and forever, Caroline." And at that, Hayley had hung up and the phone gave the blonde a disconnected tone.

"She's right." Caroline jumped at the sound of another voice behind her. She had completely missed the sounds of someone else in the room. A now fully dressed Klaus was leaning up against the doorframe, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was smirking at her, knowing full well that she has yet to see the potential of what her new abilities can give her.

"What is she right about?"

He uncrossed his arms, pushed off from his spot and walked around the bed to join her. Putting an arm behind her body, he closed the distance, not touching her but was close enough to feel the energy coming off her skin. "You're a Mikaelson now. And with that comes our promise; it's the center of our family."

"Always and forever?" she asked, and he nodded. This gave her a sense of protection which due to their connection, he could feel, making him grin more. "I think I can live with that." She leaned into his arms and kissed him. When he promised he would be waiting for her, she wasn't ready - but she was now. She was prepared to spend forever with him, raising their children together and standing with him side-by-side...as equals.