Chapter 9 : what the future holds

She opens her eyes to find herself in the same room she was in in the morning. She moves her sights searching for him, and soon she finds him standing at the doorway, his back resting against the wall, with the dagger in his hands and a sad look on his face.

"My apologies love! I..." he says with a low voice, not able to even look at her. 'I couldn't protect her' is all he can think of.

"Klaus" she looks over at him as she sits herself up, she knows how guilty and furious he must feel "it's ok. I'm fine now"

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, he knows that she knows what he means and that she'll try to comfort him and make things sound less terrible "no Caroline, that's not... your friends will..."

"I know" she stands up and walks towards him with a smile on her face, "it was my decision and I will deal with the consequences." It was a decision that she'll never regret taking. She risked her life to save Klaus Mikaelson, the one who killed Tyler's mom, Elena's aunt, and many innocent people. But still she doesn't regret it, and she'll do it again if she has to. That's the truth, she wouldn't mind dying for him in spite of all he's done. A truth she never admitted to anyone, not even herself. But he knows now, everyone knows actually.

"I can..."

(~he can compel them to forget it, for her sake if she wants, that's what he was going to say~)

Before he could finish, Caroline gets a hint of what he means and interrupts him, "don't, please!" she tries to choke back the tears "I've made my side very clear today! I'm sure they'll hate me for it. But they're my friends, they will eventually forgive me. They just need some time." she pauses and looks away, "I need some time actually"

Klaus nods "I understand".

"I'm sure you do. You always do" she smiles politely.

He takes one more step towards her and gently holds her right hand between his, "I'll wait for you!" he looks into her teary blue eyes.

"Where I am right now, with the guilt and the grief, "she bites her lip and shakes her head "I've killed people, innocent people Klaus! That's not who I am, I need to regain my control, and time to forgive myself" then she bursts into tears.

.:.

She's ready to leave, but she feels like she has to let her friends know she's leaving on her will, she ows that much at least. For the moment, Caroline doesn't have the guts to say goodbye in person.

'I am sorry things had to go this way. I'll come back when I'm forgiven by everyone, including myself. Take care Elena!'

She sends the text message then she gets rid of the SIM card. She grabs her bag and walks out of Klaus' Mansion, where she finds him waiting for her outside.

"I know you said you didn't want to take anything with you, but can you keep this with you? As a favor?" he opens his hand and she notices the bracelet that he'd given her in the past but she gave it back when they had a little spat.

She smiles at him and nods, taking the bracelet from his hand, "you know I don't need a souvenir to remind me of you, Klaus!". Even his name sounds different this time, there's no hostility and revulsion anymore. Deep inside, she wishes they had met under different circumstances. He's just perfect, a perfect fit for her. (~if there is such thing~)

He told her she was beautiful, strong, full of light when everyone considered her insecure and shallow.

"you're stronger than you think Caroline! Never forget that!" he cups her face with his hand and softly wipes away the tears that had escaped her eyes, "don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

She rubs her cheek against his hand, savoring his warm touch. She shivers under the thought of having to leave him to deal with her hardships all by herself. But she reckons she's not ready to be with him yet. Her life is a mess, her mom died, she did the worst possible thing a vampire can do she turned off her humanity and killed innocent people, her friends probably consider her a traitor for saving the person they've been plotting to kill all along, in addition to having feelings for him; her friends' nemesis, Tyler's. A real mess!

'Will he really wait for me?'

Klaus lets his hand drop to hold hers and caresses it with tenderness "take all the time you need love! However long it takes, I'll wait."

'Good God! He can read my mind or what?'

Caroline closes her eyes and smiles to herself. She likes how he tingles her vampire heart with the right words. If there's one good thing he gained over the centuries then it's his incredible ability to make her believe his every word. She chuckles because of her thoughts and he notices for sure.

"That's it, sweetheart!" He kisses her on the forehead "Keep smiling"

.:.

A year has past, and Caroline still can't get over her mother's death. She can almost hear her mother's voice waking her up in the morning. She hadn't been in contact with anyone, not even Elena. Instead, she travels around the world, Greece, Cambodia, Argentina, Norway... It was quite a struggle for her off the places he mentioned; Rome, Paris, Tokyo. If she was to visit them, then it should be him who takes her. She fantasized about it several times, still does.

As more years go by, she learns new languages (~Italian, Spanish ~) never thought she could learn them, studying French during high school was a pain in the ass to her, now she speaks it fluently. She has even started meditating, she used to mock meditation whenever Bonnie brings up the topic but it's really helping her keep herself under control now.

She might've ended up with two or three guys (~or more maybe, most are not worth remembering~) during that period, but she ends up backing off each time and compelling them to forget about her for they never seem to ascend to his level, how could anyone do? he's perfect, just so beyond annoying she can't even compare any guy to him. His scent still lingers in her senses when he surprisingly hugged her before she left.

Day after day she grows more, in terms of confidence, maturity, wisdom (~well, not that much, she doesn't want to end up wisely-boring~) but she certainly feels like she has matured enough in her judgment. She can handle herself and life better now.

She's ready!

.:.

A "few" years later

"Klaus" her sweet tender voice hits his ears in the middle of the crowded street of New Orleans. And why wouldn't he recognize it, out of all the noises and music around him, he hasn't forgotten about her for a single day!

"It took you long enough, sweetheart!" Klaus turns to face her. And there she is beautiful, strong, and full of light as she ever was. His eyes sparkle as he looks at her, nothing's really changed about her. She is still as he remembers her; her beautiful blue eyes, her naturally-waved blonde hair, and her bright smile that lightens up her pretty face. One particular thing catches his attention; she's still wearing the bracelet.

He walks to her as she stands in the crowd, "ok, go on and tell me how long it has been!" she blinks and smiles at him.

"Six years, four months, and seventeen days". He draws near her and gently places a kiss on her cheek, "It's good to see you again, love!"

She smiles graciously at him, "It still impresses me, even though I knew you must've counted" Caroline kids cheekily.

He smiles politely back at her, and the next thing he knows she's hugging him, tightly, letting him know how much she missed him. He hugs her back letting his hands caress her hair.

She draws back and looks into his eyes, "I'm ready Klaus! Ready to take on the world with you, to see what the world has to offer, and what the future holds for us!"

He grins and simply nods, he's been waiting eagerly for this moment, aspiring for her to tell him she's ready. She knows who he is and what she'll be facing if she chooses to be with the original hybrid, and still she desires to stand by his side and face it with him. There's a moment where all the noises around them disappear, it's just the two of them, their blue eyes meet and exchange unspoken words. She wants to kiss, and so does he. She actually wanted to kiss him long ago, when he was the only one who saw how deep and good she is. He draws to her slowly, she does the same, she steps further and lifts her hand surrounds his neck. They both breathe heavily when their lips finally meet. It's no longer a dream or a fantasy, they're actually kissing. Their hearts are beating loud, filled with passion and love. He loved her enough to wait for her, and she loved him enough to leave everything behind.

Their faces brighten with smiles and their hearts are filled with a well-deserved happiness. They start walking the street, she lets her hand loop through the crook of his elbow, and he likes it, walking like that with her without having to worry about any judgments or second stares. They're together, let the world know.

"So, how's your daughter? Hope, I think?"

"She can't wait to meet you actually!"

.

.

A.N.: I know most of you would think it would be easier for Klaus to just compel Caroline herself (along with the others of course) to forget it all, yes that would lessen her worries and guilt. BUT she's not Cami ! And I'd love to believe that Klaus would never compel Caroline, why? Cause he wants her to

Enough of that, I hope you liked this fic and enjoyed it as much as I did while writing it.

P.S.: don't forget to let me know what your thoughts of its ending are.

Wait wait, while you're here, check out "the selfish one", you may like it ( fingers crossed ) :p