A/N: So here it is, technically the "last" chapter (though, the previous chapter was very much the ending in a lot of ways). I apologize for quite the delay from the last chapter. If you knew my life, you would know why it's taken me so long. My apologies for any errors - this chapter was not beta'd in any way.

Thank you to everyone who stuck with me throughout this massive undertaking. This fanfiction has been with me throughout some of the most difficult years of my life and I honestly can't believe that I started writing this six – nearly seven – years ago – with Heart-Shaped Glasses. It's bittersweet that it's coming to an end.

Special thank you to livingdeadblondequeen for all of her help. This fanfiction wouldn't be what it has become without you.

I hope this final chapter is everything you hoped for. I'm eager for your thoughts!

"Come on, Mom! We're gonna be late!" Grayson complained exasperatedly, calling to her from the other side of the door.

Taking a brief look at herself in the mirror, she sucked in a deep breath before opening the door to him.

"We're five-minutes early," she pointed out to him reassuringly, knowing that he was just as obsessive over having a schedule and being on time as she was.

She had purposely misled herself into believing everything started a half-hour before it actually did so that she wouldn't be late.

"You look so handsome," she gushed, admiring his styled dark hair as she took it upon herself to straighten his black tie. "I'm sure Lily will think so too," she hinted teasingly.

Shaking his head bashfully, he shrugged and brushed her hand away, obviously annoyed with her efforts to adjust his clothing.

"You look beautiful, Mom," Grayson observed genuinely, causing her to nod appreciatively and smile at his compliment.

He could be so sweet. When he looked at her encouragingly, she saw Elijah, and when he spoke to her reassuringly, she heard Elena. He was their spitting image. Seeing him could be bittersweet some times.

She leaned in to steal a kiss on his cheek and give him a hug – these opportunities did not present themselves as much as they used to when he was younger and so she wanted to take advantage of them on this day. Thankfully, Grayson humoured her and hugged her back, having finally grown out of his teenage phase where he was loathe to even be in the same room as her.

She followed Grayson to the foot of the stairs, hanging back discreetly as they noticed others entering through a large set of wooden doors down below.

Though her vision was impeded by the curve of the staircase, she thought she caught sight of Klaus's back profile from her vantage point, his dirty blonde curls familiar to her. He was standing beside someone else with a familiar feminine profile and blonde hair.

Chewing her lip anxiously, she waited for him and the others to enter before she followed Grayson apprehensively down the ornate stone and iron staircase and stopping in front of a set of large wooden doors.

"Are you okay?" Grayson asked her with a concerned tone, sensing that she was anxious.

"Just nervous," she admitted before taking in a deep breath.

He linked his arm through hers encouragingly as the doors were opened for them by waiting staff.

She gasped subtly as she saw the elaborately decorated intimate space filled with white linens, candles, deep red and white roses. All of it was enclosed by expansive windows that allowed the evening sunlight help illuminate the room and revealed the view of a calm sparkling river and the waterfall in the distance.

The eyes of the murmuring guests already seated floated in her direction as the doors closed behind her and Grayson.

"And you thought he might get cold feet," Grayson scoffed amusedly under his breath.

"I'm sure Elise had to push him," she joked back.

Grayson laughed discreetly with a shake of his head.

She took a brief moment to admire the way Elise's sun-kissed golden hair cascaded over her shoulder framing the beautiful dress she was wearing.

Turning her attention away from Elise and the curious onlookers, she focused upon him, standing at the end of the room and she felt her heart swell. She took in the sight of him, dressed handsomely in his black on black suit, and his hair styled. Fortunately for him, age had been generous to him – as it often was with men.

Grayson started forwards, encouraging her to move alongside him.

The small group of guests stood as the instrumental music began.

Her eyes fixed upon his as his set upon hers, staring at her intently from his place at the end of the aisle, standing tall and reverently, an emotional smile on his face threatening to overwhelm him.

Behind him stood the wedding Officiant dressed in a traditional-looking black suit with a black tie and white dress shirt.

Her arm tightened around Grayson's as they drew closer, becoming increasingly anxious on the approach.

Dozens of eyes were staring at her and while she was used to notoriety and attention, it was not often that she was so obviously the centre of all of it. This position was usually reserved for dress models and her clients.

Moving closer with slow strides, she caught better sight of the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, flower girls, and ring bearer.

She reached the end of the aisle with Grayson, her eyes blurred by tears ready to spill down her cheeks.

Klaus was smiling widely at her, a wet streak or two visible on his face, indicating that he had not been able to contain his emotion either. His hand wiped his eyes, trying to conceal the evidence. It was not often that she had seen him cry so visibly – only on a handful of occasions, some not as joyous as this one.

Grayson leaned against her, hugging her from the side as he kissed her cheek through the thin translucent veil she was wearing. He then released unlinked his arm from hers and took his place beside the other groomsmen.

Elise stepped towards her at that point, moving behind her to splay her dress train before offering to take her bouquet.

"You look beautiful, Mom," Elise – her junior bridesmaid – whispered against her cheek as she embraced her.

"Thank you, sweetie," she responded sincerely before Elise returned to her position with the rest of her bridesmaids – Bonnie, Rebekah and Camille.

She bit her lip tentatively as she glanced between Klaus and the wedding Officiant.

Klaus stepped towards her, extending his hand for her to take – the symbolism not lost on her.

"Wow," he breathed, other words seemingly escaping him as she took his hand and he took her in. "Caroline," he said,

"Klaus," she greeted him softly, the significance of this moment between them beginning to sink in. In a few short moments, she would legally be his wife and he would be her husband.

She took her place across from him, grasping his other hand in hers before the Officiant.

"We're finally gathered here today, in Mystic Falls, the place where Caroline Elizabeth Forbes and Niklaus Ansel Mikaelson first met and fell in love, to witness their joining in matrimony," the Officiant began cheekily, garnering subdued chuckles from the crowd of guests.

She and Klaus exchanged guilty glances.

The fact that they had remained unwed after all of these years had become somewhat of a running joke amongst their family and friends to suggest that neither one of them wanted jeopardize their career success in the event of a divorce, or that the both of them had cold feet when it came to making such a legal commitment to one another.

That had been the furthest assumption from the truth. Growing up all she dreamed of was to be married, and earlier in her relationship with Klaus, when things were less secure between them, she had thought marriage was the natural next step – after all, so many of their immediate friends and family had married over the years.

Over time, however, their focus fell upon parenting Grayson, building their successful careers, their efforts to conceive a child, and the struggles their relationship had endured through it all, and marriage had become less of a priority to her. Her own insecurities and her career was largely to blame for her perspective marriage – she had designed hundreds of wedding gowns over the years and many of those marriages had subsequently fallen apart, leaving her with a bit of a jaded and insecure view of marriage that not even her parents' own divorce had inspired.

Their failure to wed until now was not for Klaus's lack of trying, however. He had casually asked her to marry him on several occasions over the years, and each time, she rebuffed him. Klaus wanted to express his commitment to her through marriage, and she had come to prefer the idea that they remain committed to one another out of their genuine love for one another as opposed to a sense of legal obligation. The former felt more romantic and secure, the latter felt less so.

Yet here they were affirming their commitment to one another through marriage. She had promised Klaus she would marry him if they were still together after twenty years and he held her to that promise. Admittedly, it was more than just about the promise and honouring her word; it had been hard to ignore the constant prodding of their friends, family, and children about the issue and even more challenging to ignore Klaus's dimpled grin and puppy dog eyes when he had asked her the last time. More than that, she was still head over heels for Klaus Mikaelson and she deep down, despite her insecurities, she wanted him to be her husband and her, his wife.

The Officiant recited several verses and poems that she and Klaus had selected to be read, but she could not recall a single one of them in this moment. Her mind, her eyes, and her heart were too preoccupied by Klaus standing before her, his hands joined with hers.

His eyes were trained upon her, silently speaking the words of affection and seduction that he wanted to say but couldn't in the midst of their wedding ceremony without interrupting the Officiant and possibly humiliating their kids in the process.

After all these years, he was still very much in love with her and she was still very much in love with him, and though they had faced their fair share of difficulties throughout their relationship that nearly tore them apart at times, their love for one another had never faltered.

She reciprocated his acknowledgment of her with equal sincerity, before flashing him a more playful smirk as the Officiant subtly alluded to the importance of physical intimacy between a couple from one of the verses – knowing that Klaus had been particularly interested in the post-ceremony activities that would inevitably follow the dinner and reception.

Leading up to the wedding, they hadn't seen one another for a week. Klaus had been showcasing some of his new art at a gallery in Montreal while she had been in Los Angeles at the beginning of the week putting the finishing touches on a gown set for a red carpet on the figure of an A-list actress and then in Mystic Falls at the end of the week to ensure all the final details of their ceremony were in place.

Given their work, absences from one another were not unfamiliar to them, and though it could be hard at times, they always had their reunion to look forward to. This time was no different – the week long absence had added to the anticipation of the wedding ceremony – and of course, the wedding night.

Following the words of the Officiant, they were both invited to recite the personal vows they created together.

She griped Klaus's hands tightly, clearing her throat to speak.

"Klaus," she began, looking at him anxiously. "Our relationship has been anything but conventional. In fact, to some, we have done everything backwards – we lusted before we loved, we experienced the worst in life before the best, we fostered life and created it before we wed, and yet I wouldn't have traded our unconventional life together for anything," she stated confidently with a smile, though her eyes were filled with emotional tears. "Today is not just about the future, but it is an affirmation of our past. We have had one another in the best and worst of times – for richer and for poorer, through sickness and health. We have endured after all of this time without the formality of marriage, and I am here with you today, more in love with than I've ever been, to reaffirm my commitment to you," she emphasized before pausing. "I love you, Klaus, as I love no other. All that I am, I continue to share with you. I take you to be my husband – officially and finally – to continue to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to continue to love and to cherish, now and forever. This is my solemn vow," she said, the final words tugging at her heart strings as she thought back to how Elena and Elijah had recited similar vows all those years ago on their wedding day.

Klaus was more emotional than her, surprisingly, and Kol swooped in as best man to provide his brother with a tissue to dry his eyes and regain his composure, unable to resist the urge to joke to their guests about how Klaus had not shed happy tears like this since the day he (Kol) was born. His remark was met with laughter from their audience and a discreet elbow to the stomach from Klaus.

As Klaus regained his composure, his eyes focused upon her and he griped her hands tightly in his.

"Caroline," Klaus started, his voice shaky from his nerves. "I know that I was yours the moment I saw you in that gorgeous white dress that Valentine's Day so many years ago. You and your infectious smile quite literally took my breath away. And, I know that I'm still yours, seeing you here today in another stunning white dress, your smile still making it difficult for me to breathe," he professed to her. "You're a strong and beautiful woman; you are a talented artist, faithful partner and lover, and devoted mother to our children. Every morning that I wake up beside you, I have to pinch myself to make sure that it's real, because I'm not quite certain what I did to deserve you, sweetheart," he mused with a modest laugh. "Though, I must have done something right to finally convince you to marry me today and become my wife," he smirked, shooting her a wink as a murmur of laughter spread throughout the room of guests witnessing their marriage ceremony.

He glanced down at their hands entwined together, the pads of his thumbs – still faintly stained with paint – stroking the sides of her fingers.

Lifting his head once more, he met her gaze.

"I love you, Caroline, as I love no other. All that I am, I continue to share with you. I take you to be my wife – officially – to continue to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to continue to love and to cherish, now and forever. This is my solemn vow," he finished sincerely, his eyes never faltering from hers.

She reached underneath her veil to wipe the tears that were flowing freely from her cheeks, hoping that her makeup wasn't running too badly.

"It's time to exchange the rings," the Officiant announced suggestively to catch the attention of the ring bearer – Bonnie and Kol's youngest son, Henry.

Henry's head snapped up, leaping off his seat at the front, nearly tripping over the dress of the flower girl sitting beside him – his cousin, Rebekah and Marcel's daughter, Freya – as he approached dutifully with the ring box in hand.

The Officiant instructed them as to their vows as she retrieved and readied Klaus's black and metallic wedding band she had custom designed herself.

"Klaus, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you," she said to him thoughtfully, piercing his eyes with hers, as she took his left hand in hers and slipped the wedding band on his finger.

Offering her hand to Klaus, he removed the diamond encrusted wedding band from the ring box before taking her hand in his shakily – apparently nervous.

She laughed under her breath, amused by how anxious he appeared to be, even after all these years with her.

He sucked in a breath. "Caroline, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you," he said sincerely, lifting her left hand and sliding the wedding band down her ring finger temporarily absent her engagement ring which she had placed on her right hand until the ceremony had concluded and they were officially married.

Klaus lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the curve of her finger where her wedding band now rested. He smirked at her, knowing that she and the Officiant were judging him for nearly getting ahead of himself.

In the moment, she smiled, thinking back to Klaus's unexpected proposal in Paris on Valentine's Day. It sounded cliché, but it was anything but to her. She had been in Paris showcasing her new line of gowns at a fashion show and at Grayson and Elise's behest, Klaus caught a flight to Paris to surprise her and collect on her promise, prepared on this occasion with quite the engagement ring – a beautiful custom piece with a marquis diamond at its centre and delicately framed by smaller round diamonds. And while he'd technically been early on the timeline – it had been exactly twenty years since their speed date at the Mystic Grill – so she let it slide.

Klaus looked to the Officiant expectantly for his permission to continue to the next step.

The Officiant smirked, as if purposely delaying on purpose.

"Don't make me wait any longer than I already have, mate," Klaus chided, causing their guests to erupt into laughter.

"Niklaus and Caroline, you have reaffirmed your commitment to one another today before your children, family, and guests with the exchange of your vows and rings, and I am overjoyed to pronounce the two of you as husband and wife. And though you have kissed hundreds of times before, this evening you will kiss as husband as wife. Caroline, you may now kiss your very impatient groom," the Officiant urged her cheekily.

She grinned as she lifted her own veil, placing her hands on Klaus's chest and leaning in eagerly to press her lips to his, confirming their marriage with a tender kiss to the happy satisfaction of their guests.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Klaus clutched her face in his hands, smirking against her lips as he deepened the kiss.

They lost themselves in the moment briefly, her thoughts taking her back to the first kiss they shared all those years ago after their speed date.

The guests wooed suggestively.

"Get a room Mikaelson," she could hear Marcel pipe up from behind Klaus with the other groomsmen, causing the crowd to erupt into laughter.

She pulled away from Klaus bashfully, looking away from their guests, embarrassed by their very public display of affection, and knowing that Grayson and Elise were probably cursing them for causing them second-hand humiliation.

"That's not a bad idea," Klaus mused glancing briefly over his shoulder at Marcel before turning his attention back towards her with a mischievous grin.

She smirked at him as he took her hands in his and kissed the backs of both while his eyes held hers intently.

The Officiant cleared his throat to recapture everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson," the Officiant announced.

He and Caroline were finishing up dinner, indulging in the table wine they had specially procured from vineyards in France for the occasion, as they waited anxiously for Kol and Bonnie to approach the podium off to the side of the head table to carry out their jointly-prepared speech.

"Well, we're finally here," Bonnie announced, leaning into the microphone.

Kol nodded in agreement. "My brother, Niklaus, finally convinced Caroline to marry him."

Caroline and the other guests laughed in unison while he rolled his eyes jovially in Kol's direction.

"We always believed it would be the other way around – we thought Klaus would be the one who would need convincing," Bonnie explained.

"Nik was a bit of a playboy in his younger years – he never wanted to be tied down or committed to anyone, and the only vow he was making was to never get married," Kol continued.

"Enter my best friend, Caroline Forbes," Bonnie retold, smirking in Caroline's direction.

"Niklaus was smitten," Kol mused.

"And so was Caroline," Bonnie acknowledged quickly.

"From their first hookup after a night drinking at the Grill here in Mystic Falls on the eve of Elijah and Elena's wedding," Kol added with a snort.

Caroline's eyes widened. She had instructed Kol not to go into detail about that night, but she should have known that he wouldn't listen.

"I'll never forget that night," he murmured to her under his breath.

Caroline's cheeks reddened as all eyes were turned upon them.

Some of their guests were howling suggestively in approval, while their kids were cringing with humiliated horror etched on their faces.

"That was also the night my wife's legs cast a spell on me in that red dress she was wearing," Kol revealed with a smirk, gazing down suggestively at Bonnie's legs.

Bonnie glared at Kol, punching his arm in retaliation.

He and Caroline laughed, thrilled that their relationship was not the centre of attention for a brief moment.

"I think I've said too much," Kol concluded with a sheepish grin, conceding the floor to Bonnie.

"I'll admit, I wasn't Klaus's biggest fan in the early days of his relationship with Caroline. I thought his fear of commitment would break my best friend's heart," Bonnie acknowledged as she glanced over at him and Caroline apologetically.

He believed her – he had known Bonnie had her reservations about his relationship with Caroline in the beginning. Truth be told, he couldn't blame her now, knowing how he was back then.

"When they reconnected to care for Grayson, I tried to convince Caroline to ignore her feelings for Klaus to protect herself," Bonnie admitted. "Obviously, she was too stubborn to listen to me," she smirked. "And in hindsight, I'm glad that she didn't."

Caroline's hand fell over top of his as she listened to Bonnie's words intently.

"Somewhere along the line my brother's thoughts on marriage and commitment softened," Kol added.

"Klaus once told me that things changed for him the day Elise was born – after the difficult pregnancy Caroline had been through and the struggles they had endured to conceive before that," Bonnie said candidly, revealing an intimate confession he had made to Bonnie in anticipation of his proposal to Caroline.

He clutched Caroline's hand lightly, smiling at her sincerely. After all they had been through over leading up to the birth of Elise, he wanted Caroline to know how much she truly meant to him – how much he loved her – he wanted to affirm his commitment to her and anything less than marriage seemed inadequate by comparison.

"Caroline was not so convinced," Kol continued.

Caroline had reacted differently to their trials and triumphs over the years – maintaining that marriage would taint their commitment to one another by imposing upon them a sense of moral obligation to remain together.

She was also incredibly superstitious about the whole thing for some reason, believing that marriage would jinx their relationship, having seen the negative outcomes that had befallen some of the brides she had he knew there was more to her reluctance than that – particularly when he noticed how longingly she would stare at the brides who wore her gowns.

Caroline wanted marriage, and she wanted it with him, or so he had confirmed piecing together bits and pieces of wine-infused discussions she would have with Bonnie or his sister that he overheard, but she needed to satisfy herself as to his loyalty – a part of her still insecure as to her place in his heart given his past. Initially her lingering doubts ate at him given how long they had been together and all they had endured throughout their relationship, but he supposed he couldn't entirely blame her in light of everything they had been through, her own romantic history, and knowing of his own history. He also loved her too deeply to see it as anything but another challenge to overcome – and one he vowed to her to accept for the rest of his life earlier that evening with his words of affirmation sealed with a kiss.

"Klaus proposed to Caroline several times - some proposals more serious and sober than others - but each time Caroline balked at his offers of marriage. Though outwardly Caroline dismissed these proposals believing them to be made in jest, the reality was that as the possibility of marriage became more real, the more apprehensive Caroline became about it - even though she had spent countless hours planning all of the details of her wedding when we were girls," Bonnie explained.

Caroline glanced at him apologetically, regretful that she had been so hesitant and let her doubts consume her.

"Caroline had to be sure Nik was in it for the long haul," Kol chuckled, amused by anything that seemed to torture his older brother, as though it was his subtle way of getting back at him for all the times he used to tease the younger Mikaelson when they were boys. "She told Klaus she would marry him if they were still together after twenty years…"

"And here we are, more than twenty years after they first connected at the Mystic Grill," Bonnie said, emphasizing the time between that night at the Grill and tonight.

"I think the final surprise proposal in Paris and the rock he put on her finger helped convince her that he was serious that time around," Kol teased, jokingly suggesting that it was the elaborate circumstances of the proposal that had swayed Caroline.

While he had procured a custom engagement ring from the jeweler, designed with the help of Grayson and Elise, with the intention of proposing to Caroline immediately upon receiving the completed ring, he spent several weeks vacillating over what type of proposal would be deserving of Caroline Forbes.

It was Grayson and Elise who suggested Paris.

In the months leading up to the proposal, he and Caroline had been on opposite schedules to ensure that on most occasions that one of them could remain at their home base in New York with Elise. Otherwise, they would have to make arrangements for Elise to stay with Kol and Bonnie, or Rebekah and Marcel. Caroline's latest collection of gowns had taken her to Venice and St. Petersburg and galleries in Sydney and Tokyo had sought out his work. These were all places they had once vowed to travel to together someday, and while they had visited a few places on their bucket list together over the years when the opportunity presented itself, the majority of their travels consisted of solo trips, for work-related purposes, to the places they'd dreamed of travelling to together, with their exploration often limited to what they could see from the window of a hotel room or an airplane.

And then there was Paris.

Notwithstanding the troubled Mikaelson family dynamics, his privilege growing up had afforded him the opportunity to travel there with his mother, their nanny, and his siblings. At the time, he had been too young to appreciate its beauty and as he grew older he realized the trip had afforded his father, who had stayed behind for "work," the opportunity to indulge in his mistress without the threat of interruption from his family. Since that trip, he had returned on a few occasions for his own work, but had never stayed long enough to enjoy the city.

Paris was number one on Caroline's travel list, and while she had also visited briefly, it was always for work.

They had once planned an ill-fated two-week trip to Paris together one spring – Caroline had meticulously coordinated their itinerary down to the second and she had booked it far enough in advance to accommodate their work schedules and arrange for Grayson to spend the two weeks with Bonnie and Kol. They had every reason to go, until they had every reason not to go – after years of struggling to conceive, Caroline discovered she was pregnant with Elise, due that spring. While they had been elated over the news, it also meant their trip to Paris was indefinitely postponed.

Prior to his proposal, Caroline's work was slated to be showcased at a major bridal fashion show in Paris aptly scheduled to take place on Valentine's Day – every top bridal designer would be there – and it was an opportunity Caroline had dreamed of and had been working towards. It was an opportunity that she wanted to share with him, but had been disappointed when he reminded her that he had already been booked to give a guest seminar and workshop at the Art Institute of Chicago that same week.

Even though his work commitment had been scheduled months in advance, he knew the fact that he would not be there with Caroline to share in her career milestone, and to explore the city of Paris as they had wanted to do for years, was very upsetting to her. It was obvious in her mood leading up to her departure for Paris. She snapped at him for even looking at her the wrong way it seemed. Her attitude was more than just the usual stress she experienced leading up to a major show. She was taking out her frustration out on him, and not in the dirtier ways he would have preferred.

The night before Caroline was set to leave for Paris he made arrangements for Elise to spend the night with her cousins while he prepared a meal for Caroline and him to share alone together – a pasta dish and chocolate brownies for dessert – knowing that if he couldn't win her over, the carbs and sugar may stand a better chance. While it was somewhat spur of the moment, he decided that evening would be the night he would propose to Caroline.

Instead of appreciating his efforts to cook a favourite meal of hers upon her return home, she scolded him for the mess he had made of the kitchen. Needless to say, the meal went uneaten, and Caroline went to bed while he stayed up to ensure the kitchen was spotless – somewhere along the line in their relationship he had picked up Caroline's habit of stress cleaning. When he woke the next morning to see Caroline off to the airport, he found her downstairs in the kitchen with tear-stained cheeks. At first, he prepared himself for another verbal lashing for having failed to clean the kitchen to her standards, but it quickly became apparent that her tears were those of guilt and not of anger. With her taxi to the airport due to arrive at any moment, she had realized her frustration with him had been misplaced and she didn't want to leave on a sour note. With the taxi driver buzzing Caroline's phone to alert her of their arrival, he apologized and consoled her, assuring her that he forgave her and that her Paris show would be perfect. Had their time together not been limited he was sure their reconciliation would have led to their usual course of make-up sex, or his proposal, or perhaps both, but instead they settled for a hurried embrace and an I love you – simple, but sincere.

That evening, he shared the leftover pasta meal that he and Caroline had not eaten, with Elise and Grayson (who he'd lured back home from his dorm and midterm studying). This prompted an inquisition from his children as to why the meal had gone uneaten by him and their mother the night before and why the proposal had not gone as planned. Before he knew it, and at the behest of his children, he was personally calling and e-mailing the professor, who had organized his seminar and workshop, to cancel or reschedule – which is what he probably should have done in the first place. Less than twenty-four hours later, he was on a red eye flight to Paris accompanied by an engagement ring.

He snapped out of his recollections to the sound of their guests laughing as Caroline humoured them by nodding in agreement with Kol's suggestion that it had been his proposal in Paris and the ring that had won her over.

"And the rest is history," Kol smirked, holding up his glass in acknowledgment, preparing for conclusion of their speech and the toast.

Bonnie nodded in agreement. "Klaus, you struck gold when you convinced Caroline to take a chance on you. She is beautiful inside and out and she lights up a room whenever she's in it, and while she may be a bit of a perfectionist at times, you know she'll always strive to give you her everything…or give you hell if you screw up – trust me, I know," Bonnie mused, hinting that she had endured the wrath of a scorned Caroline Forbes on more than one occasion.

He shook his head, affirming Bonnie's latter observation, garnering more laughs and a playful fist to his shoulder from Caroline.

Bonnie shrugged innocently in Caroline's direction as she stepped aside, allowing Kol to lean back in to the microphone.

"Caroline, you did what my siblings and I truly thought was impossible – you made my brother fall in love with you. Niklaus does not love easily, but when he does his love is fiercely loyal and unwavering, and so while he may be a bit of a stubborn and prideful drama queen at times, who doesn't always know the right things to do or say, his heart will never betray yours," Kol said sincerely. "His dimples may also help his case a little bit too," Kol chuckled.

"It's the accent!" Caroline shouted bluntly at Kol, correcting him.

"Cheers to that," Bonnie smirked raising her glass slightly, throwing a knowing look in Kol's direction. "All joking aside," she continued, holding her raised glass in place, "Caroline and Klaus, you have been through so much together – good and bad – and all of those times have made you the best of friends and an unbeatable team and Kol and I wish you many more years together," she finished, as Kol raised his glass alongside hers.

"Cheers!" Kol announced enthusiastically, encouraging the other guests to also raise and clink their glasses.

He toasted Caroline. "To many more years," he said to her, prompting Caroline to repeat his words back to him. He brought the back of her hand to his lips discreetly.

"We want a real kiss," Kol urged into the microphone at the podium before following Bonnie back to the head table.

Influenced by Kol's suggestion, both Marcel and Stefan stood from their seats clinking their glasses with cutlery encouragingly, while others, still seated, followed suit.

Caroline gave him a reluctant look.

"If they insist," he shrugged innocently, not as intimidated by public displays of affection as Caroline.

She rolled her eyes at him – as she often did – leaning in, nevertheless, to acquiesce to their guests' demands and kissing him chastely.

Waiting to have her in the ways he wanted was frustrating. He had always lacked patience in that regard.

"Your children are present," Grayson's voice interrupted and announced from the podium with an amused smirk, causing him and Caroline to break their embrace as their guests began to snicker at Grayson's comment.

They turned their attention towards Grayson who was waiting at the podium expectantly for the other wedding guests to settle before he spoke.

Grayson stood tall, a confident expression etched on his face, ready to give a speech that he and Caroline had not expected him to make. With the suit Grayson was wearing and the way the shadows cast on his face from the candles and dim lighting, he could have sworn that Grayson was Elijah reincarnated standing there in that moment. And while there were times when he caught a glimpse of Elena in certain expressions Grayson would make, he could pass for Elijah's twin. It was eerie and comforting at the same time.

"I'm glad everyone could be here tonight for a day I've been begging my mom and dad for ever since I can remember," Grayson admitted with a shy grin as he looked towards them.

It was true. He had lost count of the numerous times when Grayson was younger that he'd asked whether he and Caroline were married, when they were going to get married, and why they hadn't gotten married yet. Grayson would always remind them that Elijah and Elena had been married, as though it was the right thing to do. At times, he sometimes wondered if Elijah and Elena weren't trolling him and Caroline through their son, Grayson.

Caroline's hand held his a little tighter as they anxiously awaited Grayson's words.

"I think everyone can agree that my mom looks beautiful tonight," Grayson said genuinely, smiling at Caroline.

While the crowd clapped and awed, Caroline blushed with a bright smile, mouthing a 'thank you' to Grayson.

"Dad, you really are a lucky guy," Grayson reminded him teasingly.

"You really are," Caroline whispered playfully in agreement as she leaned towards him.

"I know," he acknowledged with a begrudging tone simply to annoy her, though he knew it was true and he nodded his head in affirmation so that Grayson would notice his response.

Grayson paused for a moment and he could tell that he was reading over his words written down in his phone for the speech he had prepared.

"As a teenager, I struggled a lot with life and why things happen as they do," he admitted with a more subdued tone to the crowd of guests – some of whom were quite familiar with his circumstances and others who were not. "As most of you know, my biological parents, Elijah, my dad's brother, and Elena, my mom's best friend, were killed in a car accident when I was a baby, and my mom and dad stepped up to raise me as my biological parents wanted," he explained, pausing briefly to review his next words written out on his phone. "I was angry. I felt alone. I wanted to die. I felt like something was stolen from me – the opportunity to have my biological parents in my life like every other kid I grew up with seemed to have," he confessed.

It was true - Grayson had struggled in his adolescence. He harboured a lot of anger and resentment. He and Caroline had spent many sleepless nights worried about him and whether there was any light at the end of the dark tunnel he seemed to be travelling down. He was associating with the wrong crowds, experimenting with drugs, isolating himself, and his grades were suffering because of it. It had ultimately culminated in Grayson inducing an overdose in an effort to commit suicide. He'd been the one who found Grayson in his bedroom convulsing on the floor in a pool of his own vomit struggling to breathe. He shuddered as the scene replayed so vividly in his mind, thankful that it had not been Caroline or Elise who found him. As terrible as it was, it had been the wake-up call Grayson needed.

"My perspective changed after I woke up in the hospital having tried to take my own life," Grayson revealed solemnly, his voice a little shaky as he recounted his past. "I won't recount the incident because that's not the objective of my speech. The point of my speech is to tell you about how my perspective changed…" he said, pausing once more to review his notes.

Again, Caroline's hand tightened in his.

"Everything – good or bad – happens for a reason, and it's up to us to figure out those reasons and derive comfort from them. The passing of my biological parents was awful in and of itself, but I know now that Elijah and Elena were never meant to be my parents – well, they were, but they were never meant to be my only parents. Klaus and Caroline were also meant to be my parents, and Elise, for as annoying as she can be sometimes, was always meant to be my little sister, and none of it would have happened if not for the accident," he proposed. "When I chose to start seeing things from that perspective, the pain I was struggling with over the loss of my biological parents eased."

He could see tears rolling down Caroline's cheeks, and he bit the inside of his own to prevent the same reaction.

"I know that my parents have also struggled over the years with losing their brother and best friend and the guilt that stems from having survived them and finding happiness with one another – living the life they feel that my first parents, Elijah and Elena should have had. Maybe that's part of the reason why it's taken so long for this day," Grayson suggested with a small laugh. "But, if we look at things from my perspective, there's no reason to feel guilty today because we have every reason to celebrate. My second parents, Klaus and Caroline, were always meant to be together. The love of my first parents, Elijah and Elena brought them together – and as we've learned tonight from my uncle Kol and my aunt Bonnie, it didn't just start with the accident," he snickered, referencing the hook-up at Elijah and Elena's wedding that Kol had alluded to in his speech – something he and Caroline had been more reserved about when it came to discussing their relationship with Grayson and Elise in the past.

Their guests laughed amusedly and he and Caroline joined in bashfully as the eyes of their audience inevitably floated in their direction.

"I've realized that nothing was stolen from me – you can't be robbed of something you were never meant to have. I was always meant to have Klaus and Caroline as my parents and Elise as my sister, and our parents were always meant to have one another. We all wouldn't be here tonight celebrating this wedding – finally – had it not been for the loss of my first parents, Elijah and Elena. And while that is bittersweet, we should focus on being grateful for what they've given us in their absence and we should find comfort in knowing that we've never really lost them. They will always be with us – they're with us here tonight, and I think they would be overjoyed to see all of us so happy – especially my mom and dad."

Grayson raised his glass for his toast, prompting everyone else to follow suit.

"I'm so lucky to have you as my parents," Grayson said genuinely. "You are so lucky to have one another, and I suppose this day is better late than never," he concluded. "I love you both. Congratulations!"

He lifted Caroline's left hand, kissing his fingers beside the newly-placed wedding band, while Caroline used her right hand to clean up the tears that had pooled atop her cheeks underneath her eyes in response to Grayson's words.

"We're lucky to have you Grayson," Caroline acknowledged, audible only to him and those seated nearest to them at the head table.

"We are," he agreed, appreciating that if it weren't for Grayson's existence, he and Caroline probably wouldn't be married today and their relationship likely would have been confined to their brief dalliance at Elijah and Elena's wedding.

His hand cradled her waist delicately while his other hand held hers.

He had danced with her many times before like this at other formal events and nights out alone with her, but this felt different. This was their first dance together as husband and wife.

There was a deep love and mutual respect between them given all that they had overcome together over the last two decades that hadn't existed the evening he had laid eyes on her at the Mystic Grill on the eve of Elijah and Elena's wedding.

Nevertheless, he remained enamoured with her all this time – he was entranced by her – Caroline – his bride.

She looked even more radiant now than she had then, though he had fought an uphill battle trying to convince her of that – given the insecurities that came with age.

Her smile illuminated the room and her eyes sparkled against the glow of the candlelight and dimly lit iron chandeliers that hung above them. With her golden hair pulled back into a loose bun, he could admire her bare shoulders, exposed by the strapless lace gown that fit her like a glove and that he was eagerly anticipating peeling from her body later in the night.

He leaned in close to her, his cheek flush to hers as he concealed his lips from the curious crowd of their guests watching them intently, eagerly waiting for another kiss between them to swoon over. It had been enjoyable to taunt them over the course of the evening.

"You look stunning, Mrs. Mikaelson," he murmured in her ear, unable to hide his smirk, loving the way her new surname played on his lips.

"Forbes Mikaelson," she corrected him strictly.

He could feel the muscles of her cheek tensing into a teasing smile against his skin.

"Of course," he mused.

Caroline and her business associates had worried over what a name change would mean for her brand. She had opted for a compromise – choosing to keep both her surnames. In the end, the news of their engagement had been well-received by her customers, investors, and followers, seemingly increasing the attention her work garnered – after all, wedding gowns had become Caroline's speciality and it only seemed appropriate that the designer herself would finally wed.

"When can I take you upstairs?" he asked her eagerly as his lips brushed the curve of her ear.

He felt another smirk tug at the corner of her lips before she pulled back to give him an incredulous glare.

"This is our wedding," she pointed out in mild protest. "The night is still early. We can't abandon our guests when they've travelled from all over to be here."

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"You're right," he acknowledged.

Caroline's expression softened.

"This is our wedding and so I think we can do whatever we want," he finished, causing Caroline's face to contort once more.

She glanced around the room of their guests, purposely ignoring his serious gaze.

"The marriage isn't complete until it's been consummated," he reasoned amusedly, watching as Caroline rolled her eyes while trying to conceal a laugh.

"Well in that case, I still have time to back out," she teased with a playful snort.

Now it was his turn to shoot her an offended look.

She laughed – they always derived enjoyment from taunting one another.

"You would never," he said confidently.

"You're right," she chuckled. "Your talent in the bedroom is really the only reason why I agreed to marry you in the first place," she snickered.

He shrugged contentedly. "I'm okay with that." He kissed her earlobe discreetly. "Come on, love. I don't think anyone would blame me for stealing you away," he cajoled.

"We can't," she persisted. "You need to keep an eye on your son and daughter," Caroline instructed him, nodding her head towards Grayson and Elise who were seated at one of the tables finishing their dessert.

"Why are they mine and not ours?" he questioned.

"Any time they might get into trouble, they're yours," Caroline mused.

Elise was the spitting image of Caroline, but her attitude was all him. She had been suspended once this past school year for ditching class and had broken curfew on several occasions. Elise's cell phone had spent more time in his possession than it had in her hands the last few months for how often he and Caroline had to revoke her phone privileges – but she had been through a lot this last year and he'd always end up succumbing to her pouting and pleading; Caroline was always much more strict than him – he was weak and Elise knew it.

"I know Elise has developed a bit of a rebellious streak, but what's your concern with Grayson?"

Grayson was the complete opposite of Elise – which could be explained in large part by his parentage. When he was younger, missing school for any reason – even for fun on special occasions – used to fill him with such anxiety. If Grayson stayed up past his bedtime it was to finish another chapter of the latest chapter-book he'd been reading or to get ahead on school work. That work ethic had faded briefly in high school as he struggled, but had resumed again in post-secondary and landed him a summer internship with a prestigious architectural firm in the City as he entered his final year of study. He'd like to think that he and Caroline had inspired his interest in the creative aspect of architectural design, but other than that, he was certainly Elijah and Elena's prodigy.

"We need to make sure he's being respectful of Lily. He's to go back to his separate hotel room with Elise at the end of the night," Caroline said flatly.

He rolled his eyes at Caroline's streak of prudishness.

"Grayson and Lily have been dating for over a year," he reminded Caroline, failing to understand the source of Caroline's concern.

In addition to being gifted with Elijah and Elena's intelligence, Grayson had also been blessed with their attractiveness. And, while he had been quite the bookworm growing up, he had, over time, developed an effortless way with girls that impressed even his former-self – something he'd like to take some credit for.

"You know how conservative Stefan is when it comes to his kids – his daughters, especially," Caroline reminded him.

It was true. When Stefan first found out Grayson was dating his daughter last year at her high school graduation, he'd nearly caused a scene in front of all the other students and their parents.

"Well, then I guess he can't be too happy about Grayson becoming her roommate this fall when Lily transfers to NYU for her sophomore year," he concluded, thinking about the latest development in Grayson's unexpected relationship with Stefan and Meredith's daughter.

Despite where their lives had taken them, a summer trip back to Virginia had become somewhat of an annual tradition over the years for their family as he and Caroline felt it was important to maintain that connection for Grayson. Invariably, Stefan, Meredith, and their kids would be involved – and this is how Grayson and Lily crossed paths. In hindsight, Grayson and Lily's relationship shouldn't have come as a surprise to any of them, including Stefan; Lily had been Grayson's first kiss at age six after she'd convinced him to play house with her. Grayson had been quite disgusted and inconsolable about the incident immediately afterwards, which is how they had found out about it. At first, Stefan believed it was Grayson who had kissed Lily, but Lily had proudly admitted to them that she had been the one to make the first move. It was something they all quite enjoyed pestering Grayson about now.

Now, Grayson and Lily would be moving in together and 'playing' house for real. He didn't like to dwell much on this latest development in his Grayson's personal life as it reminded himself of his own age. He himself probably wouldn't have found out about their plans to move in together until the start of the school year had he not overheard Caroline talking to Meredith about it over the phone. While Grayson regarded him and Caroline equally as parents for the most part, it was often Caroline whom Grayson confided in first about major decisions and milestones in his life – though, Caroline had purposely left him to deal primarily with the "fun" parenting topics when it came to Grayson: puberty and sex.

Judging by Caroline's concerned reaction to his comment, he sensed there was more to this story.

"Stefan doesn't know yet, does he?" he guessed.

Caroline gave him a slight shrug as she shook her head, affirming his suspicion.

"Christ," he muttered with a sigh, glancing over guiltily at Stefan, who was indulging in a glass of wine at the head table, oblivious as to the news that he was sure would hit him like a Mack truck. At the same time, he was relieved that he had not inadvertently spilled the beans today. "Meredith hasn't said anything to him?" he wondered.

"Meredith is leaving it to Lily as it's her decision and she doesn't want to be the middleman between Lily and Stefan," Caroline explained.

His expression narrowed towards Grayson.

"Maybe your son should man up and talk to Stefan himself," he pointed out, feeling strongly that Grayson should face Stefan honourably, instead of cowering behind his daughter.

"I've told him that," Caroline said, "And, he's offered," she added in Grayson's defence, "but, Lily has insisted that she be the one to tell Stefan. She's just afraid to."

While he was a father of a daughter as well and so could relate to Stefan's perspective – he did his best to challenge the double standard he knew he held when it came to Elise versus Grayson – and so he did sympathize more so with Lily.

"Stefan needs to lighten up. He and Meredith lived together before they were married. Grayson and Lily are both adults," he pointed out, noting the hypocrisy in Stefan's position.

"Maybe you can talk to Stefan tonight," Caroline suggested.

He glared at her with a wide-eyed expression.

"You just got finished telling me that Lily wanted to tell him about her new living arrangements, sweetheart. Our wedding also seems like the least appropriate place to have that conversation, even if I was going to entertain the notion of talking to him," he promptly refused, shaking his head quickly in protest. "I could end up injured, or Grayson," he snorted, jokingly implying that Stefan would unleash his anger over the news about his daughter's planned accommodations for her move to New York.

Caroline shook her head. "You don't have to tell him, but maybe you can warm him up to the idea over a drink?" she explained with a small pleading grin.

He raised his eyebrows at her unconvinced.

"If I do, will it get you upstairs faster?" he wondered with a suggestively raised eyebrow and a small smile tugging at his lips.

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed in forced distaste at his remark, but laughter quickly penetrated her serious expression as she hit his chest playfully.

"Maybe," she acknowledged with a coy shrug.

She was cracking.

"You know that you want to go upstairs just as badly as I do," he concluded, his confidence faltering as they heard a throat clear from behind him.

They stopped their dance to turn their attention towards Grayson who was standing there rather judgmentally.

"The wedding night hasn't started yet," Grayson chided them as a child would when catching their parents flirt. Grayson was being facetious, but the nature of his comment and the sound of his voice sounded exactly like Elijah.

"I think that's our call to make," he retorted, referring to himself and Caroline.

Grayson rolled his eyes at him defiantly.

"Can I cut in?" Grayson asked, smiling sweetly at Caroline, and extending his hand towards her.

Seeming to forget that he was there, Caroline quickly acquiesced to Grayson's request with a bright grin and a ready nod, flattered that Grayson had asked her to dance. She was putty in his hands. While she had always been the stricter parent, she had always had a soft spot for Grayson.

"Sure…" he replied to Grayson's question, not that his answer seemed to matter as Caroline had already taken Grayson's hand quickly disregarding him as though this was just another day.

Realizing that she was bailing on her husband at their wedding, Caroline paused and turned back to him, looking at him apologetically as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "You have no idea," she whispered to him deviously, responding to his earlier comment about going upstairs. She smirked amusedly at his dumbfounded reaction as Grayson led her away to a new spot on the dance floor, leaving him there hanging – this was the story of his life with her; she loved to torture him and he was a glutton for punishment.

He shook his head at how pathetically in love he was with her still. Accepting that he would have to wait to have her alone, he took a moment to soak in the sight of Caroline alight as she danced with Grayson. It was still hard to believe that Grayson was no longer the giggly toddler he so vividly remembered him to be.

It was then that his mind turned to Elise and his eyes moved around the room searchingly. He spotted her seated at a table alone with Logan, Stefan's son.

His expression narrowed and he approached Elise purposefully intent upon breaking up what he assumed was trouble.

"I seemed to have lost my dance partner," he observed, interrupting Elise and Logan. "Care to dance with your father?" he asked her.

She gave him an incredulous look, a small scoff escaping her lips, now at the age where the last thing she wanted was to be seen with either one of her parents. He and Caroline had experienced the same thing with Grayson for a time.

He held his breath as he waited for her swift rejection and the embarrassment he would experience having been refused by his own daughter in front of Logan.

"Will you give me my phone back?" she attempted to negotiate hopefully – or bribe and manipulate him as Caroline would call it.

It seemed that Elise had picked up on the negotiation tactics he and Caroline often liked to employ with one another.

She looked up at him sweetly and he could feel his defences crumbling – yes, she could be just like her mother.

"I'll consider it," he relented, knowing he would come to regret giving in, but too charmed by her thankful and excited reaction to care as she leapt up from her seat to hug him.

As Elise excused herself from Logan, who looked annoyed by the sudden interruption, he flashed the boy a subtle but triumphant expression, laced with a veiled warning to back off. He supposed that he could chalk up this interaction to karma for Grayson's relationship with Lily.

He led Elise out to the dance floor, pleased that he had been able to convince her to dance with him – even if he knew she had likely only accepted his invitation on the basis that she'd be provided with her phone back.

Caroline and Grayson moved by them, and as he made eye contact with Caroline, her eyebrows rose in his direction pleasantly surprised by the sight of him with Elise. She wouldn't be so happy after she had discovered the terms he had negotiated with their daughter in exchange for the dance.

He couldn't even remember the last time he'd danced with Elise – probably at Matt and Declan's wedding several years ago. Then, their dance had started out with him kneeling to accommodate her height and ended with him picking her up. Now, her height rivalled his – the heels Caroline had let her borrow didn't help matters. She looked too grown up and he found it unsettling.

"Thanks for rescuing me from Logan," she said, her eyes wandering around the room as though she was searching for someone while they danced.

He gave her a serious look, wondering what she meant. "What? What did he do?" he questioned, feeling himself grow defensive as he awaited the details.

Her attention, which was elsewhere, quickly set back upon him as she realized what he was insinuating.

"Oh my god, Dad, no, he's just so boring," she scowled dramatically. "He is gorgeous to look at, but he only talks about himself," she revealed bluntly in her usual way.

While he wasn't always comfortable with what Elise had to say, he did appreciate that she was comfortable enough to be so open with him.

The pace of his heart slowed and her response made him snort. It was comforting to learn that she had no affections for the younger Salvatore who he'd noticed had been vying for her over the course of the evening. That said, he had noticed Elise had her eyes set upon someone else.

"He likes you. He's trying to impress you," he mused.

She shot him a disgusted look before looking away once more. His eyes followed the direction of hers, quickly realizing what was behind Elise's strong resistance to Logan's interest.

"But his attentions are not the ones you want, are they?" he noted, delicately suggesting that there was someone else she was interested in. He and Caroline had to tread carefully in this area lest their daughter misinterpret their intentions and overreact with a dramatic display as she often did.

He could tell by her stunned and guilty expression that his suspicions were correct as she continued to look away from him, avoiding his gaze, embarrassed by his observation. He followed her eyes again to the far corner of the room, where her stares had floated every so often even in the short time they had been dancing.

"Why don't you talk to her?" he encouraged.

Her cheeks reddened further and she looked in the opposite direction to try and cover her tracks.

"She's older than me, and Lexi doesn't like girls," she shook her head, referring to Logan's twin sister.

"How do you know?" he wondered.

"She's had boyfriends," she noted

"So have you," he pointed out begrudgingly – Elise was too young for boyfriends or girlfriends in his mind – but he was trying to give her some hope when it came to Lexi.

Elise huffed in frustration.

"Dad, it's not that easy," she sighed shamefully, a look of defeat crossing her features and causing his heart to sink a little.

She had come out to him first earlier this year – he should have been more sensitive knowing how hard it was for her to even reveal that part of herself to him and then to Caroline.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he apologized guiltily. It was sometimes difficult to step into her shoes in this regard because this was not something he'd ever had to experience himself. He loved her unconditionally and it hurt him that she had to fear judgment from others, so much so that she felt like she needed to hide a part of herself.

"It's okay," she shrugged, as though this difficulty was something for her to accept.

"Hey," he said, recapturing her attention. "There's no reason why she wouldn't like you, you're thoughtful, you're fun, smart, you're perfect – you look beautiful tonight," he complimented her, in hopes that he could reassure her and bolster her confidence.

She rolled her eyes, though he noticed a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips as blush rose on her cheeks.

"You told mom my dress was too low cut," she pointed out, obviously still bitter about his feelings towards the dress she had selected, intentionally ignoring his compliment so as to avoid admitting that she had appreciated his words.

"It is," he affirmed, recalling the argument that he and Caroline had about the style of Elise's red-wine coloured bridesmaid dress that she and Elise had designed together.

She glared at him. "But you still agreed to let me wear it?" she inquired curiously.

He shrugged in defeat.

"Well, it was a two against one argument that I knew I would never win," he reasoned simply.

With Grayson gone, he was the only male in the house and often found himself outvoted by Caroline and Elise on a variety of subjects from things as mundane as to what to have for dinner to more controversial topics like sexual politics and the dress code of his teenage daughter.

Elise sighed as she looked away at the other guests, accepting his reasoning but seemingly still unsatisfied by it.

He released a defeated sigh that mimicked hers.

"And it's your body," he conceded further albeit somewhat reluctantly.

A victorious smirk lifted on her lips.

"My choice," she finished for him, somewhat amazed and impressed that he had picked up on the convincing line she liked to fall back upon whenever he attempted to protest her wardrobe selections.

Caroline had bought into it quite readily, empathizing with their daughter, having been a teenage girl herself, but it took him a little while longer.

"You're catching on," she noted optimistically.

He glared at her. "This does not mean that you're getting your nose pierced," he recovered quickly, drawing the line, sensing that tattoos and piercings were where the discussion was headed.

Elise's lips parted in protest.

"You can wait until you're eighteen," he added, cutting off her thought before she could speak.

Elise's expression quickly fell once more.

"Lexi has her bellybutton pierced," she pointed out, knowing how conservative Stefan could be, as if that should convince him to allow her a tattoo or piercing.

"Stefan probably doesn't even know she has a…" he stopped as he thought about what she said. "Wait…how do you know that she has her bellybutton pierced?" he asked with a scrutinizing look, hyper-suspicious about the status of her relationship with Lexi.

She shot him an incredulous and disgusted look.

"Dad, Lexi and I spent most my time in Mystic Falls last summer swimming at the lake," she explained defensively in response to his insinuation that there might be more to the story than she was letting on.

Her quick and confident explanation relieved him and he sensed that she was being truthful and again he felt the tightness in his chest relax. No one ever told him that becoming a parent of teenagers would make him feel like he was on the brink of cardiac arrest at any given moment.

While he and Caroline had had plenty of open and frank conversations with Grayson and Elise about sex as they grew up to prepare and educate them – with him often being the one left to answer the most uncomfortable questions – that didn't mean he felt that Elise was ready to engage in it, regardless of who it was with.

"Dad, you don't have to worry. Actually, I was the one who spent the majority of the time swimming at the lake, while Lexi used the lake as an excuse to see some gross jock named Landon," Elise informed him, bitterness and jealousy dripping from her description.

"Look, I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, cutting her off before she could go into any more detail. "If you don't want to go to Mystic Falls next summer you don't have to, but Stefan is my best mate and I feel like we are venturing into conflict of interest territory here when it comes to Lexi," he explained.

He cringed. On the one hand, he felt badly for his daughter who had to endure the sight of her crush with someone else. On the other, he didn't want to hear about the younger Salvatore daughter's exploits that might oblige him to report back to Stefan. Too much information would put him at odds with his own daughter's desire for confidentiality and the sense of obligation he felt to Stefan as a friend and fellow parent.

She laughed at him.

"I get it, dad. You and Stefan have some dad bro-code. It's cute," she teased. He grew embarrassed by her comments.

He shrugged off her remark.

"So when are you going to tell Stefan about Grayson and Lily then?" she challenged pointing out the hypocrisy in his approach to her situation with Lexi and Grayson's situation with Lily.

"Care to share a celebratory drink?" he offered apprehensively as he slid a glass of bourbon in Stefan's direction down the pale wood surface of the bar.

He couldn't believe that he'd let himself be suckered into trying to broach the subject of Grayson's relationship with Stefan's daughter by Caroline. Then again, perhaps he could believe it – Caroline had him under her thumb since day one, he acknowledged.

Stefan, who was leaning with his back against the edge of the bar, stretched his hand out alongside him to retrieve the glass appreciatively.

"You read my mind," Stefan revealed.

He turned to lean against the bar, mirroring Stefan's stance, glass in hand.

Stefan tipped his liquor glass towards him.

"Congratulations, Klaus," Stefan said sincerely. "You're a married man now – I never thought I'd ever be saying that," he teased with a smirk as their glasses clinked.

He laughed, thinking back to his earlier attitude upon the matter of marriage and committed relationships.

"Neither did I," he mused before taking a drink from his glass as Stefan followed suit.

"How does it feel?" Stefan asked curiously.

He shrugged. "It feels…" he started.

"No different?" Stefan answered for him.

Stefan's answer avoided the need for him to express his feelings in some sort of exaggerated way that didn't align with how he really felt. And while he knew that might be misinterpreted by Caroline, who had a knack for animating her feelings – good and bad – it was how he felt.

"Yeah," he responded to his friend's query.

"That's how it's supposed to feel, I think," Stefan reassured him.

He looked at Stefan curiously.

"Content – no regrets, no overexcitement – just happy satisfaction with where you are in the moment," Stefan clarified.

The way Stefan described the feeling summarized exactly how he felt on this day – there was no cold feet or second thoughts. That was probably in part due to the fact that he had wanted this day for a while.

"Though, I'm sure Caroline will give you moments where you regret this day," Stefan said jokingly.

He gave Stefan a knowing nod and a shrug. Crabby Caroline was Caroline's alter ego at times and you didn't want to end up on her hit list if she was upset about something. To be fair, he was sure he would give Caroline plenty of moments of regret – he was not innocent – Krusty Klaus was the term of endearment Caroline would bestow upon him whenever he was in a foul mood about something.

"She's already given me a few of those moments today," he joked, thinking about how she had lambasted him with early morning texts (they were not to see one another before the ceremony that day) to ensure that he was awake, not too hungover, and tending to the last minute items on his to-do list leading up to the wedding - or, how she had put him up to this task of softening Stefan's feelings towards his daughter's relationship with their son.

Stefan chuckled in response to his comment and they both fell silent for a moment as they sipped on their drinks.

"It looks like I may have to worry about yet another Mikaelson," Stefan smirked, nodding over to Elise, who had somehow been cajoled into dancing with Logan.

Elise looked to be keeping up appearances outwardly, but he knew she was annoyed.

"Perhaps, but not in the way that you think," he mused cryptically, provoking a questioning look from Stefan.

"Let's just say that Logan is not the twin that Elise is interested in," he confessed delicately, knowing that he could trust Stefan to keep his revelation in confidence.

With their kids spending many summers together, they had sometimes exchanged parenting horror stories, talking one another through situations.

He could hear Stefan cough quietly as he swallowed his drink, glancing at Elise and noticing the subtle way she would look to Lexi, who was dancing with Kol and Bonnie's oldest son, Ben.

"What? When did she tell you?" Stefan asked, confused.

"Elise recently informed Caroline and me of her equal opportunity approach to dating," he revealed.

"That must have been a lot to process," Stefan said giving him a sympathetic look, knowing how difficult that conversation must have been as a parent – not because he and Caroline were ashamed of Elise, but because it was not something they had devoted any time to preparing for. "And what about her feelings for Lexi?" Stefan wondering, knowing that the two girls were close, his mind obviously racing to whether he and Meredith had inadvertently allowed for any inappropriate behaviour to unfold between the two girls when they spent summers together.

"That was just revealed to me this evening," he explained before taking another sip of his drink.

"So, I guess I should make sure Elise stays in the guest room this summer when she spends the night," Stefan noted with an anxious laugh.

"Hey, at least we don't have to worry about unplanned pregnancies," he shrugged, trying to make light of the situation that had been unfolding unbeknownst to them.

This didn't seem to placate Stefan.

"Don't worry, mate," he assured Stefan. "Apparently your daughter was quite preoccupied last summer with a jock named Landon."

Stefan's eyes widened as he griped his drink glass in horror, resisting the urge to confront his daughter on the dance floor right then and there.

"I probably shouldn't have let that slip," he sighed, hoping that it wouldn't get back to Elise that he had been the one to let the cat out of the bag and get her crush in trouble.

"No, you should have," Stefan said flatly. "Meredith and I prohibited Lexi from seeing him last year," Stefan said bitterly.

"Well, so much for that," he sighed amusedly. Stefan allowed himself to get too worked up over things like this. There was only so much control a parent could have over their children as they got older. You had to trust that you raised them well enough when they were younger to avoid any bad decisions.

"So much for that," Stefan agreed, shaking his head before polishing off his drink and motioning to the bartender for another.

He himself had made a lot of poor choices when he was younger. Perhaps that's why he slept so soundly at night – he knew Grayson and Elise would never behave as badly as he had when he was a teenager.

It was then that he noticed Grayson holding Lily close as they danced together. He smiled softly at the sight.

"They look happy," he observed, nodding his head towards the couple, trying to change the subject, though knowing that now was not an ideal time to broach the subject that Caroline had wanted him to in the first place having regard to what had just unfolded. "I think they're looking forward to the Fall," he said boldly, trying to gauge Stefan's stance about Lily's decision to leave Virginia and transfer to NYU, putting her closer to Grayson.

"Adults making adult decisions," Stefan said simply with a slightly nervous laugh, a small throwback to the information about his younger daughter, Lexi, which he had just been informed of. "I suppose for Lily's sake I should be thanking the universe that Grayson took after one Mikaelson more so than the other," Stefan joked, referring to him and Elijah, knowing he could get away with a comment like that without insulting him.

"I take no offence to that. I wholeheartedly agree," he mused.

Truthfully, he was envious of how well-adjusted and settled Grayson was at his age – his education and career were on track and he had a stable and committed relationship with a beautiful girl he adored. He hadn't had his life together as Grayson did when he was Grayson's age. Though, he supposed Grayson's levelheadedness had much to do with who his biological parents were. Elijah and Elena had been the same way. It was only fitting that it was Grayson who brought him stability in his own life twenty years ago.

"Grayson is a good kid," Stefan acknowledged. "You and Caroline did well despite everything. It wasn't all genetics…well mostly," Stefan snickered. "But not all," he added. "He's been a good influence on Lily."

He cringed inwardly as he contemplated how to spill the beans, a drawn out silence between them beginning to turn awkward as a look of suspicion crossed Stefan's features.

"Why do I feel like there's something you know that you're not telling me?" Stefan questioned, noticing his strained expression.

He shook his head in denial. "I don't know what you're talking about, mate," he said innocently, trying to avoid being the inadvertent bearer of bad news, yet again.

Stefan gave him a serious look. "You know something," he concluded as he took a few moments for his mind to race in contemplation of what it might be. "Lily isn't pregnant, is she?" Stefan wondered, thinking back to the earlier joke that was made about Lexi and Elise not being able to get one another pregnant.

He found himself caught off guard by Stefan's comment, but it gave him hope that Stefan might find the idea of Lily and Grayson moving in together more palatable if his worst case scenario was one where they were having a baby.

"No, thankfully not," he said quickly, shaking his head readily as he talked Stefan off of that ledge. "Well, I hope to hell not," he said, realizing that he didn't actually know for certain. He was going to choose to assume so for the sake of his sanity and Grayson's survival – insofar as Stefan was concerned.

This seemed to relieve Stefan who was breathing a bit steadier now, but still seemingly set upon coaxing out whatever he felt was being kept from him.

"What is it?" Stefan pressed, eager to know what he was hiding. "You know I would tell you if the shoe was on the other foot," he added, inciting a burst of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

Stefan and Meredith had helped them through some particularly rough moments with Grayson when he was younger and it was Meredith who had first voiced and validated their concerns about Grayson's downward turn as he fell into a depression.

"Or, I'll tell your guests about how you lost the wedding rings this morning," Stefan threatened subtly with a childish smirk.

He laughed incredulously. "I simply misplaced them," he corrected Stefan, knowing that while the story was sure to amuse the guests, Caroline would not be impressed, notwithstanding the fact that their rings had nevertheless made their way securely onto their fingers during the ceremony.

Stefan shrugged, clearing his throat as he stood up from his propped up position against the bar, as though he was readying himself to get the guests' attention to deliver a speech about the misplaced wedding rings from earlier that day.

He believed Stefan was bluffing, but he didn't want to take the chance and potentially jeopardize the part of the wedding night that he had been looking so forward to. He grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back with a frustrated huff to stop him from revealing the story about the ring incident that had taken place that morning.

"You should really talk to Lily about this. She wanted to be the one to talk to you," he said, in a last-ditch effort to get out of being the on in the hot seat.

Stefan glared at him. "She's had plenty of opportunity to talk to me," he pointed out.

"Fine," he relented, giving into Stefan's persistence. "But I had nothing to do with this," he said flatly, his words having a double meaning – one, he had nothing to do with Lily and Grayson's decision to move in together, and two, he had nothing to do with letting their secret out.

Stefan nodded in agreement.

He turned his attention back to Lily and Grayson and thought about what Caroline had told him.

"Does the rent Lily will be paying in New York this Fall seem cheap to you?" he wondered cryptically, hoping that Stefan would catch on without him having to actually tell him anything outright.

"She's sharing an apartment with a roommate," Stefan answered, seemingly unbothered by his query.

He scoffed aloud at Stefan's naivety.

"Did she ever tell you who her roommate was going to be?" he hinted, more obviously this time.

It took a moment, but as Stefan processed his suggestive question, a pained look of realization and horror spread across his features.

As if on cue, the bartender approached with another round of drinks for both of them – though he had not yet finished his first.

Without a word, Stefan took his drink appreciatively, taking a generous swig from the glass as the truth of Lily's living arrangement while in New York began to sink in.

"Adults making adult decisions, remember?" he said trying to calm Stefan down, referencing Stefan's own words uttered not even ten minutes prior about Lily's decision to transfer to NYU to be closer to Grayson.

Stefan shot him an unimpressed look in response.

Using Stefan's own words against him did not seem to impress him – he should have known it would backfire.

"I take back everything I said about Grayson," Stefan said grumpily, his glass rattling on the bar top as he set it down.

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"It was Lily's idea for them to share a place," he retorted, defending Grayson, not wanting him to be Stefan's only target when his own daughter was the one who had first suggested it.

This piece of information seemed to surprise Stefan, whose initial stern facial expression when commenting upon Grayson eased at his mention of Lily.

There was silence between them as Stefan began to contemplate the reality of the situation.

"What do you think about it?" Stefan wondered, seeking his opinion.

He shrugged nonchalantly, garnering raised eyebrows from Stefan, who apparently thought he should be taking this matter more seriously than he was.

"Caroline and I were skeptical about the idea at first – they're both young, their relationship is fairly new, and neither of them have ever been in any sort of serious relationship before now…"

"But," Stefan interrupted, waiting for him to justify his laissez-faire attitude towards the relationship milestone their kids were taking.

"But, they're technically adults and we can't stop them from making decisions – whether they end up being good or bad. When we found out what their plan was, Caroline and I told Grayson that if he wanted to do this then he would be on his own for his share of the rent and utilities and he was up for the challenge, so there was no discouraging him there," he sighed, recalling how he and Caroline thought that the withdrawal of financial support for his living expenses would cause him to second guess his decision to jump into cohabitation with Lily. "And, as skeptical as Caroline and I were…and still are to a certain degree…they do seem genuinely happy, and why get in the way of that? Like I said, they're adults now," he reasoned. "Hell, I was doing a lot worse when I was Grayson's age," he added for emphasis.

It was true – when he was younger he never had a girl long enough to even remember her last name, let alone contemplate moving in with her. Besides that, he had dropped out of art school early on and so when he wasn't experimenting with paints and charcoal on his own time, he was experimenting with other substances to keep himself entertained when he wasn't in the company of a woman.

He and Stefan stood there in silence for a moment – Stefan staring nostalgically at Lily who was dancing with Grayson, laughing at something he had whispered in her ear.

"If he breaks her heart…" Stefan started with a subtly threatening tone.

Stefan's suggestion that Grayson may be the one to break Lily's heart caused him to snort, which resulted in a narrow glare and an arched eyebrow in his direction. Stefan was clearly not happy with his sarcastic reaction.

"He's head over heels for her," he clarified his response. "He's not going to break her heart," he said confidently. "She'll probably end up breaking his," he concluded.

It's not that he wanted their relationship to end in heartbreak, but he knew Grayson and he wasn't fickle when it came to matters of his heart – he shared that in common with both him and Elijah.

"How do you know?" Stefan wondered, releasing an anxious sigh.

"Because I look at Caroline the exact same way he looks at Lily. It's the same way Elijah looked at Elena, and it's the same way you look at Meredith," he said sincerely, hoping that this last observation was enough to finally soften Stefan's feelings towards the progression of Grayson and Lily's relationship.

She was feeling a little tipsy as she sat down at the head table to catch her breath – too much wine and dancing with her bridesmaids.

"Mrs. Mikaelson?" a youthful male voice said from behind, startling her.

"Forbes Mikaelson," she corrected cheekily as she turned to see one of the servers standing behind her with a tray in hand holding a single glass of wine.

Humouring her, the server smiled.

"Mr. Mikaelson…your husband," the server began as he set the tray on the table beside her, "wanted me to bring this to you."

She nodded, thanking him politely as he turned to leave. Glancing back at the tray, she smirked at Klaus's mischievous gesture, suspecting that it was his intention to feed her with a steady stream of wine until she was buzzed enough to be dragging him away from their reception and upstairs to their room, rather than the other way around.

Her smirk grew larger as she lifted the glass and noticed the items left behind on the tray that had been placed under the base of the glass – a room key card and a one-hundred dollar bill.

She glanced searchingly around the room of guests before setting her eyes upon Klaus standing by the bar, evidently waiting for her reaction.

He raised his liquor glass towards her with a pleased grin, before showing himself to the main doors of the reception venue, inviting her to follow him.

A tinge of excitement echoed inside her as she plotted her escape plan without anyone noticing her departure.

With the key card and one-hundred dollar bill in one hand and her glass of wine in the other, she walked the perimeter of the room discreetly, hoping that everyone would be too busy enjoying themselves to notice her exit.

She made note of a few people as she walked by: Stefan and Meredith were seated at a table talking with Lily and Grayson, which seemed promising. Elise's cousin Abby was taking a photo of Lexi and Elise on Elise's phone – she would have to ask Klaus about how Elise managed to get her phone back when she was in a better position to fight her desire for him and be angry with him. Marcel and Rebekah were dancing. Kol was busy chasing around some of their younger guests, who should have been in bed long ago.

Before she could locate Bonnie, she heard her friend clear her throat from behind her.

"Sneaking off?" Bonnie wondered, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.

She gave Bonnie her most innocent look. "Just going to get some air," she fibbed, knowing Bonnie knew her better than that and had likely seen Klaus slip out moments ago.

Bonnie shook her head with feigned disapproval.

"If someone had told me on the weekend of Elena's wedding that one day you and Klaus were going to be married, I would have laughed in their face," Bonnie admitted amusedly.

"I probably would have done the same," she agreed, causing both of them to erupt into laughter.

Bonnie leaned in to hug her and she wrapped her arms around her friendly carefully so she didn't spill the glass of wine she had in her hand.

"You looked gorgeous today. I'm sure Elena and your mom were here for every part of it," Bonnie reaffirmed as they embraced.

She smiled appreciatively in response to her friend's words. It had been a difficult day in the absence of so many important people in their lives lost over the years.

"Now go let Klaus prove he deserves to be your husband," she said teasingly.

"And how lucky he is to have me as his wife," she added with a wink.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You two are gross," she scowled lightheartedly, shoeing her towards the exit with a dramatically dismissive wave of her hand. "Kol and I will keep an eye on the kids," she assured her much to her relieved appreciation.

She exited the reception hall into the foyer hurriedly before anyone else could take notice of her departure.

The softly lit foyer was empty and quiet, save for the occasional staff member of the venue that was milling about in the corridors as the night drew to its end.

"I thought maybe I was being stood up on my wedding night," Klaus's accented voice joked as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere from the stairwell landing that led the way up to the guestrooms.

She held up the key card and the one-hundred dollar bill as she ascended the stairs towards him.

"It seems I've won the bet," she announced victoriously, waving the bill in between them proudly upon reaching the landing, referring to the bet they had made many years previous when they were still trying to adjust to their co-parenting relationship.

He grinned that handsome grin of his that could still ignite a fire inside of her.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, sweetheart," he said lowly as he leaned in towards her, his hand brushing over her arm lightly. "I knew that I would lose the bet the moment it was made. Deep down, I wanted to lose it to you," he confessed, the combination of his voice and his lips feathering over her ear lobe, sending a delightful shiver straight down her torso. "Because I'd already met the woman who cared about me, who I shared things in common with," he paused, kissing the spot at the corner of her jaw just below her ear. "Who was amazingly smart and talented…radiantly beautiful…sexy…and great in bed," he informed her suggestively, his smile spreading against her skin as he repeated the words she had spoken to him so long ago when she challenged his stance on marriage. "Who I fell in love with long before I even realized it," he revealed. "You still are that woman, Caroline – and I'm still hopelessly in love with you," he affirmed reassuringly.

A/N: So what did you think? I did a bit of a time jump there. Did you pick up on the little Easter Eggs I "hid"?

Anyways, I don't expect that I'll be finished with this universe just yet, as I would like to explore the possibility of writing an epilogue of sorts covering the in-between moments leading up to the content of this chapter. Anything in particular that you would like to see? Stay tuned!

Thanks again for sticking by this fanfiction and giving m all of your support. It has truly been amazing. Writing fanfiction is just a hobby of mine and I'm glad that so many of you have enjoyed my hobby with me.