For a city of music, parties, and life, New Orleans seemed awfully dead. The city was just… Deserted. There was not any actual damage, but as Caroline stood in the middle of the French Quarter and twirled around, taking in her surroundings, it was almost as if she was standing on an abandoned movie set. The air was still. No noise was audible; not even with her super-sensitive vampire hearing. It was to the point where she was ready for a camera crew and Ashton Kutcher to pop out of an alleyway, saying she'd been Punk'd. At this rate, it would almost make more sense.
She had received a call from some crazy chick named Davina at three in the morning, saying she needed to get to New Orleans. Apparently the Originals had gone missing, someone had died, there was something going on with species, and basically, Caroline had told the girl she was on her way and to chill out before she hyperventilated herself to death. She had thrown some clothes and necessities in a suitcase, scribbled a note to Elena and Bonnie, and hopped in the car. By driving thirty miles over the speed limit—and compelling her way out of four tickets, which was a very useful perk—she had managed to make it in ten hours instead of the normal fourteen. Unfortunately, the Davina girl had refrained from informing her where exactly they should meet. Even now, Caroline was not entirely sure why she had come to New Orleans. She just… She felt like she needed to come.
Going to the 'Recent Calls' button on her phone, Caroline called the number Davina had contacted her with back. It rang for a few seconds, and then there was a click. "Hello?" When there was affirmation of human life on the other end, she continued talking. "This is Caroline. You know, the chick you called at three o'clock this morning? Look, it's all fine. Anyways, I'm currently standing in the middle of the ridiculously empty French Quarter, and I would love to know where to meet you. Um, what? Seriously? Look, I'd really like to know what on earth is going on." She sighed. "Okay. I've got the address. Bye!" Hanging up her phone, the vampire slipped it back into her purse and went back to her car. Apparently, she was not supposed to head into the heart of the city. If only she had been warned of that beforehand. These were slightly important details to remember!
By the time Caroline finally got to the address Davina had given her—it led her to an apartment building on the other side of the city, and she had had to park a bit away and then walk up stairs and it was just a mess—she was irritable and exhausted. It was time for some answers. Knocking on the door, she was shocked by the sight which awaited her when it was answered. "Are you alright?" She asked, more than a bit disturbed. The woman who opened the door was spattered in blood, though it all smelled like it was a few hours old.
The woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. We just got here and I haven't had time to change yet." She started walking off, before looking back at the young woman stuck on the threshold. "Oh, you can come in, by the way!"
"Thanks." Caroline glanced around. Clearly this woman knew the vampire protocol. "I'm Caroline, by the way. You're Davina, right?"
"Uh, no. I'm Camille, but you can call me Cami."
"I'm Davina." A voice called from another room. A petite brunette in a pretty dress floated in the room, holding a baby of all things. "I'm sorry I called at such a weird time, but it really was an emergency."
"About that…" Caroline followed the other two women back where Davina had come from. "Why am I here? I mean, I'm not entirely sure why I even came in the first place, but like the Mikaelsons are sort of my friends if you can call it that, and you know, if they die that doesn't bode very well for me or my friends so like… What's going on?"
"First of all, I'm a witch." The young lady said. "And I saw in a dream last night that you needed to come to New Orleans. It was important that I call you." Davina sighed.
"If you didn't notice, New Orleans is a wasteland." Cami cut in. "The city used to be under the control of Marcel, but when Klaus came to town, he wanted the power for himself." She stood up, looking for something around the room.
Caroline gave a huff. "As usual."
"I'm skipping a lot, but three days ago, the Originals went into an enchanted cemetery and never came out. Marcel and his men went into the place after it had been twenty-four hours with no word, but all they came out with was this." Cami held up a very familiar item. Caroline stood and snatched it out of the other blonde's hands.
"You shouldn't have that!" She shrieked, her eyes wide. She slipped it into her purse, and closed the latch. "That's a very special thing."
Davina took over the story this time. "The witches in this city have gone power crazy. They've taken over. The Originals are missing, M-marcel is dead," The girl choked up, and Caroline assumed Marcel was a member of her family or something, "and both Cami and I know it's because of the witches."
Caroline stood up and hefted her purse over her shoulder. "Look, I don't know who you two think I am, but I'm not here to help you take down a band of witches. I've been a vampire for just over a year. Find someone else better for the job."
"You're not here because we need your help." Davina shot back. "You're here to take the baby."
It was like someone had dropped a very heavy thing on Caroline's head. She felt dizzy for a moment and tunnel-vision was forming before she snapped out of it. "Excuse me? Why do I need to take some random baby?"
The brunette witch scoffed. "Okay. So I lied a bit when it came to actually getting you here."
"Explain…" Caroline snapped, her tone frigid. "And give me the real story this time."
"Fine." Davina crossed her arms. "I assume you already knew Klaus impregnated the werewolf Hayley, correct?"
The vampire arched an eyebrow, her tone turning frosty. "I was told by a friend, yes." More like Tyler, in a fit of rage after he found out she and Klaus had slept together. Yeah, that had been an eventful evening.
"Good. Well, that's who the baby is." Caroline's eyes opened wide and she stood up before pacing.
"Why isn't she with her mother?! Did Hayley run off on her kid? Because seriously, I could see her pulling something like that." The young vampire continued her pacing, emotions everywhere. They wanted her to take Klaus and Hayley's child.
"Hayley died in childbirth. The baby was turned wrong and something happened… I don't really know. Either way, she hemorrhaged to death." Cami interjected. Caroline's mouth rounded in an 'o', and she lowered herself back down to the chair she had been sitting in. "From what she told me while I was delivering the baby, which I can tell you, I did not learn while getting my psych degree, the child's a hybrid of some sort. She's supposed to be the downfall of the witches or something. I don't know much. Either way, it's no coincidence the only other existing family the baby has went missing right around Hayley's due date."
"I called you right around the time Hayley's labor turned bad." Davina said. "My coven figured out where Hayley had been staying a few hours earlier, and they expected on my assistance. They just didn't count on my playing turncoat—since they killed the only form of family I had left—and I informed Cami. We got Hayley to another location, but that must have upset something." She sighed, a young girl who had seen far too much in one evening. Caroline recognized that look, as she had seen it many times in the mirror. "I didn't know what else to do, so I went into a magically-induced dreamlike state, where I attempted to contact Klaus. I got you instead."
With that, Caroline looked down at her hands, a tinge of color flowing to her undead cheeks. Great. Even magic seemed to recognize her and Klaus's connection. Not that there really was one. "We're…friends." She summed up pathetically, not fooling anyone. "And then you called me here."
"And then I called you here." The witch agreed. They all sat in silence for a few moments, Caroline digesting the bomb just dropped on her, and Davina and Cami taking in the events of the past twenty-four hours. They were snapped out of their peace, however, when Caroline's hearing caught something.
"Is there any chance the witches might have figured out who took the baby? If there is, I think they just showed up." She looked at the two other women, and stood up when they sprang into action.
"My coven." Davina's voice was filled with doom. "Caroline, you need to take the baby and get out of here."
"I… I can't!" Caroline panicked. "I'm a college student. Why can't either of you?"
"They'll notice if we go missing. Davina's in their coven, and I'm connected with the human Faction and the vampires. You're an unknown, though. You need to take the baby and get out of here." Cami wrapped the child in another blanket and put her back in the baby basket she had been laying in during the entire time Caroline had been there.
The blonde vampire took a step back, hands raised in a defensive position. "The child will die if you don't take her!" Davina screeched. "I saw in the dream that it's supposed to be you!"
Loud footsteps started down the hall, and Caroline's eyes flickered between the baby and the door. "It's too late now!" She whispered.
Cami shoved the baby basket in her arms and pushed her towards a window. "There's a fire escape right there. Head up and towards the roof. They'll have the building surrounded, and with your vampire powers I'm sure you can jump somewhere."
"Will you two be safe?" Caroline asked, watching as Davina started making the place look as if she and Cami were just hanging out.
"We'll be fine." Cami said. "It's just vampires and werewolves they don't like. Now go!"
"Run, Caroline!" Davina urged. "The witches will come after the child. I've cloaked her for the time being, but I don't know how long it will last." And, well, she went with it. It was better to take the baby, rather than leave both of them to die by crazy witches. That was not on her bucket list.
Caroline breathed deeply and stepped out onto the fire escape, just as pounding started on the door. It was early March, and a bit of a breeze was present, so she briefly checked upon the child before crouching and launching herself up to the roof. Scanning around the base of the apartment building, she noticed a few witches stationed at various points. She would have to get farther away before heading down to the ground. Strategizing her next move, Caroline made sure the baby and her purse were secure—God, she had an actual baby with her right now—before taking a running leap and onto the next rooftop. Two similar leaps later, she landed on the top level of the parking garage where she had left her car.
Adrenaline rushing through her veins, she sped down to where she was parked and quickly got inside the safety and familiarity of her vehicle. Then she looked down at the newborn who was ensconced in blankets in this baby basket thingy, and had a miniature panic attack. What the hell was she going to do with an effing baby?
Taking a deep breath, Caroline dared to actually look at the little girl for the first time. She could see traces of Klaus in the baby, though maybe that was Rebekah's nose. Then again, all of the Mikaelsons favored each other ridiculously. The child appeared to have her mother's hair, as it was brown, and there was a lot of it; of course, this could be another Mikaelson trait. The young vampire ran a hand down her face, sighing. She didn't know what to do, but what she did know was that she couldn't let an innocent baby die. Besides, she and Klaus were a lot more than just friends, at least according to that really awesome day in the woods. Who knows…? If she had taken up his offer to go to New Orleans, she may have ended up being a part of this baby's life anyways… Maybe.
It was when she went to leave, however, that Caroline realized she was lacking important stuff. Like, a car seat. And diapers. Not to mention clothes… Looks like she was hitting the baby store before getting out of town.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Holy shit, I'm a fucking statistic." Caroline blurted to herself as she looked up at the looming thing they called a baby store. Then she glanced down at the newborn in the weird wicker thing labeled a "Moses Basket". Apparently, Google does have an answer for everything. "Sorry…baby. I'll try not to swear so much. But seriously, I'm going to look like one of the 30% of teenage girls who got pregnant and had a kid. And I learned this from health class so I'm right. I don't want to be a statistic like that." The child was asleep, as newborns often tend to be, and she shrugged it off.
As Caroline walked into the store, she was thankful it wasn't busy. If she looked as uncomfortable with this baby as she felt, then everyone would be able to tell that she was literally one of those teenage runaways with a baby like you see on the news and creepy ads online. And, now that she was on the run from some psycho coven of witches, conspicuousness was not what she wanted.
Browsing the shelves after briefly nodding to the bored-looking chick behind the register, and grabbing a cart, Caroline felt a weight sink into her stomach. How was she supposed to handle this? Like… This looked hard. Everything seemed to scream 'Get this to make your baby healthy' and it was basically overwhelming. "Okay." She calmed herself down, talking to both the baby and herself. "First order of business is diapers. Because frankly, that one on you is starting to smell. And then we need formula, and bottles too. And clothes. Lots of little adorable clothes." The clothes were actually going to be fun to shop for, if the racks and racks of cute little outfits were any indication. "At least whoever picked out your basket has good taste." Caroline shrugged. The basket was quite cute, with a delicate white lining, accented with pink ruffles and four green bows. "It was probably Rebekah. I may dislike your aunt a lot, but she at least has class. And I can't really see Klaus or Elijah going to a baby store." She giggled at the thought, before sighing. "What happened to them? I can't imagine they left you on purpose. And like… I can't even hunt them down, because I'm apparently magically ordained to protect you because your dad—wow, that's a weird thought—has a thing for me and I may or may not reciprocate a teeny tiny bit. Or maybe quite a bit."
"Do you need any help, dear?" Caroline turned to the person behind her, startled. It was a woman in her late-forties, early-fifties, and she looked like a stereotypical grandmother type.
"Um, yes. I… I need the basics for a baby. Not like furniture or anything but just like the…other stuff…" She trailed off awkwardly, earning a confused look from the woman.
"Are you alright?" The lady asked, eyeing her car-rumpled clothes, and the baby's obvious newly-born status.
"Do I look alright?" Caroline reached her last nerve. "I just had a fuc—I mean freaking—baby dropped on me out of the middle of nowhere and she's the kid of the chick who stole my boyfriend, and the guy I sort of like even though I'm not supposed to! And I'm a freshman in college and I have a group of psycho witches after me, and I'm going out of my mind!" When the woman reached for the pager clipped on her belt, Caroline's instincts kicked in. She stepped around the cart, which was holding the baby, and made eye contact with the employee. "You are going to help me shop because I don't know what I'm doing, and then you're going to fix it so I get everything for free because I'm a very important person like that. Afterwards, you're going to forget you ever met me, and if anyone asks you about me or shows you a picture, you will tell them that you see a lot of blondes with babies, but you think I was asking about the closest airport, and was muttering something about getting out of the country. Got it?" When she repeated back the compulsion, Caroline nodded in relief. "Great! In that case, what do I get first?"
AN: Hi everyone! If you all don't know who I am, I'm Abi, otherwise known as the author of A Tree Called Life (shameless plug much?).Anyways, I mentioned the title of this summer fic a while back, and I felt like I should just give you all a bit of background info.
This story first came to my mind when I saw the spoiler pics for TVD 5x18, and we got the whole Mommy!Elena thingy. My mind works in mysterious ways, and for days all I could think about was what Mommy!Caroline would be like, and since the issue of her ever wanting or missing the fact that she can't have children anymore was never touched upon in the show, this fic was born. For those of you who know me, this story will be Klaroline, though it's really Caroline-centric overall.
I know there are probably a lot of questions to be had, so if you're confused about anything, please, ask me! I can be reached through reviews, PM, and on tumblr at lionheartedqueencaroline. My ask box is always open, so if you're confused about anything, or just want to chat, I'm completely available.
Anyways, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, and I'll have chapter two up soon enough! :)
-Abi