A/N: Hi all, just stopping in to publish a little piece I've been working on - a Klaroline-centric alternate ending to The Originals. I've tried to stick to the general plot of the last two episodes, so you will see some borrowed dialogue.

This is Part I and addresses the events in episode 5x12 as told from Caroline's POV.

Thanks to livingdeadblondequeen for reviewing this draft before I posted it! She enjoyed it, which is reassuring since I haven't ventured heavily into canon as far as Klaroline is concerned for some time.

The title may change if I can come up with something more "original" - LOL, but both livingdeadblondequeen and I had it in mind and like similarity it has to the actual title of 5x12.

Please review me! I'm always curious for your thoughts.

"And where do you keep the hybrids? In the root cellar?" the familiar accented voice questioned sarcastically.

A pleasant shiver ran down the length of her spine as she shot him an unimpressed glare in reaction to his ill-timed interruption.

Feigning a pleasant expression for the group of new students she was showing around the boarding school, she excused herself, advising them that she needed a moment with the lost janitor named 'Bob.'

"Come on, Bob," she said, narrowing her eyes in Klaus's direction, "I'll show you the toilets."

She heard a surprised scoff escape under his breath as she swiped past him for the hallway that would lead to her office.

His tentative footsteps down the hall behind her.

As they walked, she waited for his empty threats to discontinue his generous donations citing hybrid discrimination and historical negationism as he observed the many references and tributes throughout the school to those supernatural families who had once fought against him – the Salvatores, the Bennetts, the Lockwoods – to name a few, but those familiar comments never came.

It made her uneasy and a pit formed at the bottom of her stomach. He wasn't simply here to break a promise he had made to her all those years ago and share a moment with her, or to chat about Hope's progress at the school, he was here for something more important. She could sense that he was carrying the weight of something.

She opened the door to her office, holding it for him so he could enter and allowing her to catch his familiar sweet masculine scent as it floated by her.

Turning her back on him to close the door, she paused to take a breath in an effort to disregard the low heat just his presence could still stir deep inside of her.

Regaining her composure and focusing on his impromptu appearance, she spun around.

"Seriously?" she scowled, charging into her office and towards the desk where he was busy fidgeting with her nameplate. "You're not exactly a selling point for this place," she chastised him.

She snatched the nameplate from his hand as he moved past her, his back towards her.

"Because these kids have so many other options," he said sarcastically.

"I thought we made a deal about you showing up in Mystic Falls," she retorted, directly referencing their tryst in the woods when she briefly allowed herself to succumb to her heart's desires.

He pointed at her accusatorily. "That was a long time ago."

His conviction took her aback and she gave him a surprised look.

He relented, dropping his hands with a defeated sigh.

"I need your help, Caroline," he revealed. "Hope is dying – she consumed the dark magic and now it's consuming her. She won't survive tonight's full moon," he said desperately.

His news stunned her as she struggled to process it.

"She trigged her curse?" she questioned as she put the pieces together.

She wondered what kind of situation Hope had gotten into in New Orleans during her absence from the boarding school. The whole reason Hope was enrolled in the boarding school was to keep her safe and away from the constant darkness that might lure an impressionable child in.

"It was my fault," Klaus acknowledged, looking away from her guiltily.

She didn't want to know the details, but she had a feeling it was more complicated than that. Klaus had been capable of doing horrible things, but she knew he would never intentionally put his daughter in harm's way.

"I-I thought that the crescent wolves could control their transformations?" she asked, confused, wondering why Klaus was so concerned about the full moon if Hope was able to control her transformation.

"Not the first one," Klaus shook his head. "It's a rite of passage – unavoidable," he explained helplessly, his eyes darting around her office as though he might find the solution to his problem there amongst her office furniture and paperwork.

"What do you need from me?" she offered readily, hoping there was some way she could help him.

He stepped towards her somewhat hesitantly and she grew anxious with the rise of his serious expression.

"I need a very rare type of witch…from the Gemini Coven," he revealed reticently, awaiting her reaction as she realized what he was implying.

There were only two witches that she knew from the Gemini Coven – her daughters, Lizzie and Josie.

"You can't be serious," she scoffed, bewildered by what his request would entail for her family.

"I need your daughters, Caroline," he confirmed directly.

She shook her head. "No! Absolutely not!" she denied flatly, turning towards her liquor cabinet. "They're children," she reminded him. Her girls were younger than Hope. She and Alaric were trying to maintain a delicate balance between protecting them and allowing them to embrace their supernatural identities. She feared that allowing them to use their magic to fulfill Klaus's objectives would disrupt that balance.

"They're siphoner witches – it's what they're born to do – siphon magic from one thing," Klaus reminded her in an effort to reason with her – as though rationality would work with her when it came to her daughters.

"And put it in another," she finished for him as she filled a liquor glass for stressful occasions like these. "So after they siphon it from Hope, what are they supposed to do with it?" she questioned, suspecting that he'd not thought that far ahead. Even if she was going to entertain her daughters being involved, there was no way she would allow it if there wasn't a destination for the dark magic. "You can't just shove a demon in a jar and put it on a shelf," she underscored acerbically before allowing the amber liquor to burn her tongue.

Klaus looked at her solemnly as he released a sigh of resignation.

She tensed, an ominous feeling stirring in the pit of her stomach.

"They'll put it in me," Klaus said decidedly.

His reply caught her off guard and she felt the liquor catch in her throat as she swallowed quickly contemplating how to respond. Putting black magic in one of the most powerful supernatural beings – and in one as impulsive and hot-headed as Klaus – was not one of Klaus's best ideas.

"That's great," she replied, "And then you can practice mindful meditation while we just cross our fingers and hope that you don't develop some sort of temper…oh wait," she said sarcastically before taking another drink.

Klaus responded by removing the liquor glass from her hand, giving her a serious look, signalling to her that there was more to his plan that she would not approve of.

"You remember when you and your friends threatened to chain me up and drown me in cement and drop me in the deepest ocean?" he recalled.

She cringed inwardly, feeling guilty for her involvement in her friends' historic efforts to end him back when she had such a black and white view of the world.

"Well, when your daughters have put the magic in me," he said, gesturing towards himself. "I need you to make good on that threat," he finished.

Her eyes widened incredulously as a look of puzzlement spread across her features. He couldn't be serious.

"I won't fight you this time," he assured her, shaking his head.

She scoffed. "I was just a kid back then, I didn't know…" she paused. "That was a long time ago," she reminded him, turning his own words back on him. If he could use that excuse with her, then it was only fair that she could use that excuse on him.

"I can't allow my daughter to die," he said, a look of desperation etched on his face. "But I promise you, I will not endanger yours," he said sincerely, placing his hands upon her forearms.

She tried to avoid his pleading expression by closing her eyes dismissively.

"Caroline, please," he said, in that way only he could say her name to capture her attention. "Caroline, I'm begging you," he emphasized, his eyes digging into hers.

"What do we get if we say yes?" her daughter, Josie, asked, taking advantage of the situation to negotiate terms with her.

"The warm feeling from your heart that comes from helping a friend in need," she retorted with an exaggerated smile as she clasped her hands together.

Klaus was pacing behind her impatiently as she gave her parent-child pep talk.

"Well, we are in need of new cell phones," Lizzie suggested with folded arms and a smirk.

She shouldn't have been surprised that her daughters would take advantage of the situation – this is exactly how she operated with her mom when she was their age.

"And," Josie cut in, "permission to go to the Senior Solstice Dance."

Her mouth fell open, about to respond, but Josie continued.

"And, you and dad take the skirt length rules out of the dress code; it's anti-feminist and oppressive," Josie added to their list of demands. She supposed she couldn't blame Josie for the request. The dress code hadn't been drafted by her and there had been so much involved in establishing the school that when Alaric implemented the archaic policy, she hadn't given it much attention at the time.

"And, not cute," Lizzie chimed in.

"No to the phones," she said pointing towards Lizzie. They had just received cell phones for their birthday the year prior. They did not need new phones.

Lizzie and Josie frowned.

"Maybe to the dance," she continued, pointing towards Josie. "And yes to defying the patriarchy one plaid skirt at a time," she acquiesced with a smile, again, having not been responsible for the drafting of the dress code in the first place and so happy to dismantle it.

Josie smiled at her.

"Deal?" she asked her daughters hopefully, unsure of what Klaus's reaction would be if they refused.

While she trusted that Klaus wouldn't hurt her or her girls, when it came to saving the life of his daughter, she wasn't sure what lengths he would go to. However, she could understand his desperation, being the mother of twin girls, herself.

Rather than forcing her daughters to do what he required, she suspected that Klaus would undermine her parenting decision and kidnap the girls to go to the nearest Apple store to pick out their preferred phones in exchange for their cooperation.

Her daughters exchanged glances at one another, communicating without verbal cues as they often did as twins. Lizzie shrugged at Josie, leaving it up to her to make the call.

"Deal," Josie answered for them.

She smiled appreciatively, but also proud of herself and her girls for being able to navigate a teenage parenting moment somewhat successfully.

"Now, Mr. Mikaelson is going to explain exactly what he needs you to do," she said as she stepped out of the way for Klaus to speak to the girls, "very clearly and kindly without even a hint of a temper or frustration," she said as much to Klaus as she did to her daughters – a subtle threat to Klaus to behave himself so as not to frighten Lizzie and Josie.

"First of all," Klaus began. "Thank you…"

Before Klaus could continue, his face contorted in pain and he released a loud roar of agony as a stake pierced through his chest.

He dropped to the ground, revealing Alaric standing behind him with his crossbow.

"Dad!" Josie cried, obviously fearful and confused by what had just happened.

She was trying not to alarm their girls and Klaus had been on his best behaviour up until that point – who would have thought that Alaric would have been the one to sabotage that.

Alaric stepped over Klaus's body towards them.

"Whatever the hell is going on here, no!" Alaric insisted firmly.

She charged towards Alaric as he entered the library of the school, where she had been waiting for him after he had locked Klaus up in the basement of the school to buy time to contemplate the next move.

"I'm confiscating this forever," she said flatly, grabbing his crossbow and setting it aside.

"Fine," he replied resentfully. "It's only for the security of the school, but apparently that's a thing of the past since you're just inviting Voldemort to campus."

"Ric, we started this school to protect these kids. Hope is one of them and she's in trouble. We can't just turn our back on her," she retorted.

"He still clouds your judgment," Alaric said with disgust.

She scoffed and dropped her hands to her sides. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Klaus Mikaelson – a cockroach of a creature who wrought havoc on this earth for a thousand years and can never be stamped out ever – and you just want to give him more evil power?"

Words escaped her as she stood there silently trying her best to maintain her composure against the onslaught of Alaric's criticism.

"Caroline, I…I know your intentions are good, and I want to help Hope…of course I do…but we can't call another witch…use one of the teachers? Bonnie?" Alaric suggested optimistically – or perhaps desperately.

She shook her head. "This is not something Bonnie can do - our girls can," she stressed to him. "And then you can pop a bottle of champagne and watch him sink to the bottom of the Atlantic – everyone wins!" she said, referring to Klaus, trying to convince Alaric of the plan with feigned enthusiasm, though the thought of sinking Klaus to the bottom of the ocean like the Titanic made her wince. Notwithstanding her sorted history with the hybrid, there wasn't one part of her that wanted to celebrate the demise of Klaus Mikaelson.

"How many times have we tried to sink him to the bottom of the ocean?" Alaric countered, reminding her of all the times when they had tried to put an end to Klaus.

"He's a willing participant this time," she explained, hoping that would change things from Alaric's perspective.

"Alright, fine," Alaric relented. "Let's just pretend for one insane moment that you have reason enough to believe that that's true now, you think that's gonna stick? The ocean isn't big enough to hold him down, Care," he stressed forcefully.

A commotion from the basement interrupted their heated discussion.

"Oh no," she said, spinning around towards the entrance of the library as Alaric grabbed his crossbow.

Klaus swooshed into the room, the stake that had been formerly lodged in his chest, now in his hand as he inspected it. "Very impressive system – secure I'm sure if you are a baby werewolf navigating puberty." Klaus tossed the stake on the ground. "But, I'm a little past that," he reminded them.

"Klaus," she said to him warningly, concerned that Alaric might have done more harm than good by riling him up.

"Alaric's right, the ocean won't hold me," he acknowledged as he leaned against the wall. "But when I transfer the Hollow's magic out of hope, I don't intend to drown it," he revealed, removing what appeared to be a stake carved from a branch of a tree.

"What is that?" she questioned tentatively as she stepped forward, hoping the answer would not be what she thought it was.

"This," he started, looking at the wooden stake, "is the last remaining white oak stake," he revealed stepping down towards them and approaching her. "When the power is in me, there's only one way to make sure it's gone for good – someone needs to kill me," he said, looking at her seriously.

As the school bell rang, signalling the end of recess and the pending start of the final class of the day, Alaric had put his foot down and insisted that they and the girls would not be helping Klaus, looking for her to follow him out of the library in solidarity to leave Klaus to fend for himself.

She gave Klaus an apologetic look and put on a good front with a defeated sigh as she started towards Alaric. This prompted a satisfied Alaric to turn his back as he left the library, giving her an opportunity to look back to Klaus, mouthing for him to meet her at the old mill on the Salvatore property.

The old mill was the hangout spot for the Salvatore students who wanted to escape the prying eyes of the school faculty. With Klaus's appearance, it was quickly serving the same purpose for her as she tried to avoid Alaric's prying eyes and any faculty member who might spot her with Klaus and report back to Alaric.

Klaus was not long behind her as she waited for him with clean clothes – Stefan's old clothes – for him to change into, having torn and bloodied what he had been wearing previously.

Allowing him the privacy to dress, she gazed out over the forested Salvatore property from the second level of the mill.

As she waited for him to make some suggestive remark about their past times together in these woods, it was all she could think about to herself – the time when she had thought him to be Tyler and she'd attacked him with her mouth, when they set out to research the expression triangle and he'd buried the twelve witches that she killed for Bonnie, when she'd confronted her feelings about his departure to New Orleans though he'd been Silas in disguise, to when they'd finally embraced the tension and the feelings between them all those years ago on the condition that he would never return to Mystic Falls. She tingled briefly at the thought before she was reminded by the reality of the fact that in a few short hours, his promise to her would become more final than she ever thought it would be. For the third time, she felt like her heart was being betrayed.

"They fit fine, a bit dusty but…" Klaus said as he approached from behind to stand beside her, interrupting her thoughts.

She glanced at the clothing briefly, a shudder vibrating throughout her body with the brief fleeting memory of Stefan and the bitter feelings the memory stirred within her.

"Well the previous owner died a decade ago so," she mentioned, looking away from Klaus, trying to contain her resentment. "You know he chose not to warn me before sacrificing his life either," she pointed out, unable to prevent it from spilling out over the top.

"Caroline," he started sympathetically.

She put her hand in between them. "Don't – look, why didn't you tell me the truth? Did you think that I wouldn't let you go through with it?" she questioned exasperatedly.

"Perhaps I didn't want to know either way," Klaus answered defensively, giving her a brief moment of pause. His response indicated that his feelings for her still lingered – that if she was all too willing to help him sacrifice himself then he'd be hurt and if she refused to help him on the basis of her feelings then it would be more difficult for him to carry out his planned sacrifice for his daughter's sake.

"Where do you even get a white oak stake?" she wondered, under the belief that the stakes had been destroyed.

Klaus looked away from her, seemingly ashamed. "It was decades ago," he admitted. "I was going to destroy it, but the weight of immortality was heavier then," he elaborated, suggesting that there had been a time – contrary to the speech he had given to her about being human during their Miss Mystic Falls date – when being one of the most powerful supernatural beings was not all he had made it out to be.

"Maybe we can buy you some time," she thought aloud, desperately searching for another way to protect help without necessitating her father's death – for both selfless and selfish motivations.

Klaus appeared more pessimistic.

"The magic in Hope is rooted too deeply," he explained looking to her. "Tonight, when she's trapped in that space between human and beast, that's when your daughters can remove it from her," he said decidedly.

"Are you sure there's no other way?" she wondered, hoping he would have an alternative in mind before they executed his original plan. There was always another way and it always seemed that Klaus had a backup plan. She could not believe that this was his only option.

"There's always another way," he said with a faint amused expression on his face. "Somewhere written in some forgotten language in some city lost in lava likely lies buried the secret to having everything I want," he explained, staring at her intently as if to imply that surviving for the sake of his daughter was not the only reason for seeking out an alternative solution. "All at once," he continued, "but, I'm not going to find it today and today is all I have," he acknowledged gravely.

She bit the inside of her cheek discreetly, trying not to let the gravity of the situation overwhelm her. With a sigh, she looked at him reassuringly. "I'm going to convince Ric to let our girls help you out with this because you are being a good father, and you are being a good person, and how could I tell you not to do that when that's all I ever…" she stopped short, not wanting to delve back into the complicated feelings she harboured for Klaus Mikaelson.

It was true though. All she had ever wanted was for Klaus to reform himself – to become the person she knew he was capable of being. It was a selfish desire of hers when she had been younger to assuage her guilt and allow her to envision more with him. Now, it was for the sake of his daughter.

He looked at her hopefully, as if expecting her to continue the confession she had started all those years ago in the woods before she allowed her body to take over where her words had left off.

She sighed with a smile, amused by the irony of the situation, as she leaned over the rail. "Ugh," she relented. "This would be so much easier if you just stayed the big bad wolf," she confessed, the confliction battling inside of her.

A look of understanding crossed his features as he realized that perhaps her feelings still lingered for him as well.

"Just wait here," she instructed him.

As she turned to leave, the heat of his body turned with her, as though he would follow or say all of the unspoken words that had formed the thread of their relationship since its beginning.

Their daughters were exiting Alaric's office as she arrived, giving her quick greetings before rushing off excitedly towards their awaiting classmates, uttering comments about attending the dance.

She eyed them suspiciously before turning her attention to Alaric, who appeared to be busily typing something on his laptop.

Entering his office tentatively, she contemplated how she would convince Alaric to allow their daughters to participate in Klaus's plan.

"I've decided to let the girls help Klaus," Alaric said nonchalantly, breaking the silence and leaving her stunned in the process. He looked up at her briefly from his computer before returning his attention towards his work.

So much for having to convince Alaric to allow the girls to do the spell; his consent had been the last thing she expected to hear from him.

"What changed?" she questioned hesitantly, thinking back to their earlier heated conversation, unsure of what his response would be. She leaned against the arm of a chair as she awaited his answer.

Alaric released a sigh before closing the lid of his laptop. He stood up and rounded his desk, leaning against the surface as he faced her.

"The existence of the white oak stake," he admitted bluntly. "And when I reminded myself, as you had tried to do earlier, that this was not about helping Klaus Mikaelson," he informed her – his distaste for the hybrid apparent in his tone of voice.

Given Alaric's history with Klaus, she supposed that she couldn't blame Alaric for his unfavourable opinion of him, though she had hoped he would come to see him differently after Hope and his generous donation to the establishment of the Salvatore School.

"It's about helping Hope Mikaelson, who is innocent in all of this, who had the unfortunate luck of being born into the Mikaelson family," Alaric explained, having always had a soft spot for the youngest Mikaelson since she had started attending the school. "It's about teaching our daughters when to use their abilities for a greater purpose."

While it was not exactly the answer she would have liked to hear, she could accept it knowing that it led to the same result.

She nodded understandingly.

"I'll tell Klaus," she said simply, turning on her heel to leave.

"I was wrong about what I said earlier," Alaric confessed apologetically causing her to pause.

She arched a curious eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.

"He doesn't cloud your judgment," Alaric corrected, referring to his earlier comment about her relationship with Klaus. "If anything, you've cleared the clouds away from his."

She gave him a small appreciative smile.

Alaric caught her hand before she had a chance to step back from him to leave the room. He clutched it sympathetically. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I don't understand it, but I know that you care for him and that this can't be easy for you after everything," he acknowledged, subtly referring to her relationship history with men who always seemed to have a higher cause to champion for. And while those causes were noble and said much about the character of the men she chose to give her heart to, the inevitable loneliness that followed their worthy abandonment was never easy to swallow.

She pressed her lips together as she fought the tears that were rising in her eyes.

"Then you will understand why I can't be there tonight to watch him die," she said shakily as she heard her voice accept Klaus's impending death.

Turning away from Alaric, she headed for the door.

"You should be honest with him about your feelings before it's too late and you regret not having the chance," Alaric suggested while she lingered in the doorway.

She didn't look back at him, but she shook her head dismissively to downplay the legitimacy of Alaric's advice and the strength of his observations about her feelings for Klaus.

Klaus and Elijah had taken Hope into Mystic Falls for dinner as a distraction under the guise of ensuring that she had a proper meal in preparation for her first werewolf transformation. Little did Hope (or Elijah) know that it was more like Klaus's last supper before the dark magic was siphoned out of Hope, placed into him and then finished with a white oak stake. He wanted one last meal with his daughter and the brother who had stood by him all these years.

On the one hand, she felt that Hope and Elijah had a right to know what Klaus's plan was to rid Hope of the dark magic. On the other, she understood Klaus's perspective, and in particular, his desire to keep Hope oblivious so as to prevent her from interfering or upsetting her as she was about to undergo her first werewolf transformation. As a parent herself, she sided with Klaus, for the most part, knowing that she and Alaric could not be ones to judge – they had been keeping the merge from their daughters since their birth.

Elijah – she was less conflicted about. She felt strongly that he should know, after everything the Mikaelson brothers had been through together. She had debated about telling Elijah herself when he had sought her and her daughters out after Hope fainted upon her return to the school earlier that afternoon, but she refrained, trying her best to respect Klaus's wishes.

When she thought back to the Klaus she had first encountered in her high school when he had turned Tyler into a hybrid for his own selfish ends to the Klaus she'd encountered earlier today at the School ready to selflessly sacrifice himself for the sake of his daughter, it was hard to believe that they were the same person.

It saddened her to think about what it would be like for Hope – losing both her mother and father and in such a short time. Hope would blame herself. She could relate, having been through something similar.

And though self-centred – it saddened her to think about what it would be like for her without Klaus. Sure, they had lived their separate lives apart for many years, but she always knew that he would be in her corner when she needed him, and deep down, she always felt that their lives would cross again, and that despite her relationship with Stefan, there was a part of her that had always believed that her story with Klaus had not yet been finished. Perhaps the words he uttered to her at her graduation stuck with her over the years.

While her girls prepped the siphon tonic and rehearsed the spell with Alaric's supervision, she was tasked with keeping tabs on Klaus and Hope as the night drew closer to midnight – when Hope's transformation would begin and the spell would follow.

After she had searched for Klaus and Hope in some of the small restaurants in town, she spotted Klaus through the foggy night, illuminated by the lights coming from the town hall stage. He was observing Hope from a safe distance as she danced with an unfamiliar boy to the soft blues music playing from the band performing.

She approached slowly watching the adoring way in which Klaus looked over Hope as she danced with the boy.

"Don't worry," Klaus sighed. "I'll behave myself," he assured her, as though he knew she was about to make a remark about how he had managed to successfully restrain himself from strangling the boy Hope had set her sights upon.

She smirked, standing with him quietly as they continued to watch Hope.

"Care to dance?" he asked her with a sheepish grin, despite the tragic set of events that were about to unfold. He extended his hand towards her.

She took his hand, justifying it to herself on the basis that it was the simple request of a dying man and who would she be to deny him.

They stayed where they were, apart from the rest of the crowd and from Hope so as not to interrupt her. It was quieter…almost romantic, if it had not been for what was looming over them.

As one of his hands joined with hers, the other slipped delicately around her waist causing her chest to flutter at the sensation. It had been awhile since he'd embraced her and it pained her to know that this would be the last time – their last dance.

"Would you have indulged my request so readily if I had longer to live?" Klaus asked boldly, asking her the question she had just asked herself but covered up with an excuse.

There was no point in trying to fool her or him – she would have eventually accepted even if he had an eternity to live.

"I might have let you chase me around for a few more centuries," she said teasingly. "That was always the fun part anyways," she admitted.

Oh was it ever. There was something to be said for having a centuries old hybrid pining after you. Admittedly, it had always been thrilling to be so desired by him.

He smirked at her guilty admission, as if satisfied that she was so bluntly acknowledging the feelings he stirred within her.

"Thank you for allowing your daughters to be involved in this mess – for trusting me," he said genuinely.

People may have thought she was crazy, but in hindsight, she had begun to trust him early on despite everything that he had done. It was in the way her body relaxed against his when he'd encountered her in the high school trying to escape from Alaric or how she had known deep down that he'd never let her die after he'd tried to do so to prove a point to Tyler.

"Years ago when the girls were really little I was in trouble and I was scared," she began. "I just put the girls in the car and I drove and I ended up in New Orleans looking for you…you weren't there, but the point is I think a part of me has always known that you weren't the villain of my story," she confessed, clarifying her feelings for him with an example – clarification that she should have provided to him all those years ago.

He appeared regretful that he had not been there for her when she had needed him most – regretful that he would not be there for her in the future when she would inevitably need him again.

She glanced away from him as they continued to dance, it hitting her once more that in a few short hours he would no longer be there as she had come to expect.

"I'm sorry, Caroline Forbes," he apologized sincerely for his absence, recapturing her attention. "Salvatore," he added with a playful but seemingly jealous scowl as he looked away from her innocently. He'd obviously noticed her full name written out on her nameplate in her office. "I think Mikaelson would have had a better ring to it," he remarked confidently, knowing he could get away with a comment like that in the circumstances and given his past friendship with her deceased husband. "I think my mate, Stefan, would have agreed," he continued humourously with a shrug causing her to react with a snort of amusement despite her best efforts to maintain a neutral expression.

Klaus's subtle indication that he would have made her his wife one day felt bittersweet. His eyes went from looking up at the night sky to piercing hers once more as he released a long wistful sigh. "Ah, I had big plans for us," he alluded confidently, but with a regretful undertone as his hand, securely around her waist, began to stroke her back tenderly. "We would have seen the world together…everything I had once spoken of to you," he recounted their conversation long ago when he had invited her to the Mikaelson ball held at his former residence in Mystic Falls. "We would have swam in the bluest oceans under hottest sun," he imagined, grazing his finger over her daylight ring, "made love on the softest beaches under the brightest stars," he continued, grinning guiltily as his cheeks reddened, worried that his last comment may have boldly overstepped a boundary or two.

Her eyebrows rose at his description – flattered, embarrassed and sad at the same time. His dreams for them were a brief but welcome reprieve from the reality of their situation.

"Perhaps we would have," she acknowledged with a sincere smile, taking him by a bit by surprise, having not expected her to agree with him – particularly with respect to his last suggestion.

There was no use in denying her feelings now, in keeping with Alaric's advice. She was certain that she and Klaus would have eventually found their way back to one another at some point in the future.

"I suppose that this is karma for all of the horrible things I've done over the centuries; to have you and my daughter like this, in this moment, but for only a moment," Klaus concluded regretfully.

She nodded understandingly. From her perspective, it seemed wholly unfair that she always lost those she loved most eventually.

"I had intended to be your last love," Klaus reminded her apologetically, thinking back to her graduation ceremony. "That never changed after all these years," he said, confirming that his feelings for her had never faltered after all this time.

As she had done plenty of times that day, she chewed the inside of her lip to suppress tears that were eager to fall.

"But, it looks like you'll be mine instead," he acknowledged to her softly, his voice cracking with his realization.

She stopped their dance, staring at him longingly as his confession hit her deeply. And though it took everything to fight the sadness inside of her, she smiled at him genuinely, and without hesitation, she found her lips pressed to his in a kiss that was as much an affirmation of their feelings for one another as it was a goodbye.

His lips felt familiar and he consumed her in the way he had all those years ago. This felt like a dream that she did not want to wake up from.

The dream ended quickly enough with the complaint of the clock tower sounding and startling them both. It signalled the beginning of Hope's transformation was drawing closer. She recoiled at the interruption, but Klaus's hands both now framing the sides of her face held her in place. He didn't want to let her go.

Even when their lips parted, they remained close, their foreheads still touching and their short breaths dancing on each other's skin.

"I...I think we need to get back to the school. It's time," she said regretfully, pulling away self-consciously as she looked around to ensure their moment had not been observed. Klaus did the same.

Hope was still happily engaged in conversation and dance with the same boy, completely oblivious to her father's mild indiscretion with her headmistress.

"We'll be right behind you," he assured her, as he continued to focus his attention upon his daughter.

She looked at him with concern, worried that he might be second guessing his plan and trying to come up with an alternative at the last minute.

"She can have the next five minutes dancing," he explained.

His preference to watch Hope from a distance when he only had a few short hours left to live baffled her.

"I don't get it. Aren't there a million things that you want to say to her? About life, dating, or how to file tax returns? I don't know?" she questioned, dissatisfied with the way he was handling his impending death insofar as his daughter was concerned.

"She'll figure it out," Klaus replied confidently. "What I want to do is stand here, and watch my daughter dance with a townie – to see her happy," he sighed.

Even in his last moments, he continued to frustrate her.

"Say goodbye to your daughter, Klaus. Give her real closure," she encouraged.

Klaus shrugged dismissively. "Closure is a myth."

She scoffed.

"Look, what you're doing is noble, Klaus, but if you don't say goodbye, if...if you leave Hope with questions and pain and anger, you'll haunt her. And I don't think that's your endgame," she said sternly, hoping he would change his perspective before it would be too late.

He shrugged, looking to her helplessly, his eyes now glassy with tears. "I don't know how to say goodbye," he admitted.

Seeing his pain, knowing how difficult it was to say goodbye, feeling the same way about saying goodbye to him brought back the tears she had been fighting so well up until now.

"Try this," she said, looking down at his hand and taking it into hers lightly. "One of you walks away, but doesn't turn back," she paused with the fracture of her voice, her emotions getting the better of her as she knew that she was coaching herself on how to say goodbye to him, just as much as she was advising him on how to say goodbye to his daughter. "You don't turn back even if your heart aches for just one more look, one more moment. But you'll know that the not looking just means…" she stopped with a lingering sigh as he looked at her to continue. "I'll never forget you," she finished, a tear rolling down her cheek as she squeezed his hand gently before releasing it.

In that moment, he too seemed to realize that her advice about saying goodbye was as much for her as it was for him and that she was saying goodbye to him.

His features appeared to convey every emotion he ever had for her all once as he searched for the right words to say. That was the problem – there was still so much left to be said between them, but not enough time in which to say it. Resigning himself to the fact that her approach to goodbye would need to suffice, he gave her a small nod of understanding – permission for her to be the one to walk away, confirmation that he, too, would never forget her.

Once she was sure she was out of earshot, unable to be detected by Klaus's hybrid hearing, she breathed a sigh of relief as she allowed her tears to flow freely down her cheeks.

She would have preferred to wait to cry until she was behind closed doors, but the muscles in her face burned from the effort she had to exert to hold back the tears she needed to shed and she couldn't wait any longer. Fortunately, it was dark enough that she was able to walk down the pathway towards the street without attracting any sympathetic attention from anyone who was still milling about downtown.

Stopping to regain her bearings and her composure, she collapsed onto a bench off the sidewalk across the street from the Mystic Grill.

As soon as she sat down, the irony donned on her and she burst into a combination of laughter and more tears. Someone was playing a cruel joke on her.

She and Klaus had sat here on this very bench almost two decades ago after he'd nearly gotten himself hit by a car chasing after her as she lured him out of the Grill – playing his decoy as part of one of her friends' master plans to bring the Originals down.

He was relentless in his pursuit despite her rebuffing him at every turn.

"I want to talk about you…your hopes…your dreams…everything you want in life," he had recited as if he had pulled that line straight out of one of her mother's romance novels that she had immersed herself in when she was younger.

As she reminisced about that encounter, she laughed and she cried, thinking about how much time had been wasted by playing childish games and focusing on her friends' objectives rather than her own.

If only she could go back to that night with him on the bench knowing what she knows now, she thought as she glanced up at the night sky.

She was startled by a masculine throat clearing and a black silk handkerchief being extended in front of her.

"Mind if I join you?" Elijah's familiar accented voice said from in front of her.

Looking up, she saw him standing over her, a look of curious concern spread across his features.

Taking the handkerchief, she shrugged and shifted to the right edge of the bench to allow him space to sit beside her.

"My apologies," he said as he seated himself. "It's rather impolite of me to interrupt when you appear to be having such a personal moment," he acknowledged as she dried her eyes.

"It's fine," she said, trying her best to collect herself in front of Klaus's brother, sensing that his appearance here was more than just a coincidence.

"Having regard to my ill-mannered interruption, there's no need for feigned polite responses, Ms. Forbes," Elijah mused. "Salvatore," he added, much in the way Klaus had earlier. It seemed that all the Mikaelson's had difficulty with her surname. "I simply ask for your honesty," he requested.

"Caroline," she corrected meekly, hating the formality with which he addressed her as though he was a student of her school.

Elijah softened.

"Caroline, Niklaus upset you – When I came across you both in the square just now, I couldn't help but notice how saddened you looked while walking away from him. Tell me, what has you here laughing and crying with so much vigor? What is my brother planning?" he wondered hesitantly, the worry evident by the way he asked the question.

Her suspicions about Elijah's intentions proved correct as she contemplated how to answer his questions. In an effort to buy herself some time to decide, she chose to divert the subject somewhat.

"What do you know of my relationship with Klaus?" she queried, curious to know what Klaus's older brother had come to know of her given their limited interaction while he had resided here in Mystic Falls.

Elijah considered her question thoughtfully, though subtly irritated by her effort to avoid his question.

"What I've heard of your relationship with Niklaus has been mostly pierced together through hearsay from my siblings and others," Elijah admitted.

"Klaus never spoke of me to you?" she wondered, a bit offended that she had not come up in conversation since his departure from Mystic Falls considering how much he claimed she had meant to him and how close he was with Elijah.

Elijah shook his head, noting her look of dismay. "That doesn't mean anything insofar as Niklaus's feelings for you are concerned, Caroline, I assure you. My brother has never been one to kiss and tell. Those he keeps close to his heart are those he tends to care the most for. As you know, we aren't exactly the most loved family in the supernatural universe. It's how he keeps those he loves safe," he explained.

She found his answer reassuring and she leaned back against the bench with a sigh.

"While I'm not one for gossip, rumour has it that you're the reason why Niklaus ended his vendetta against the Lockwood boy and why he forewent the opportunity to observe Katerina in her final moments of life despite centuries of him relentlessly trying to end her. When New Orleans was in the midst of chaos, my brother returned to Mystic Falls at your behest and I understand that he saved Stefan Salvatore, your departed husband, from the wrath of Rayna Cruz despite the fact that Stefan led her into our City and potentially put our family and friends in grave danger all for your sake," Elijah recounted.

She nodded as she thought about all of the-out-of-character things that the infamous Klaus Mikaelson had done out of adoration for her. He'd spared Tyler on numerous occasions, saved Stefan, saved her, buried twelve witches, killed twelve resurrected vengeful witches, and more, all for her without the expectation of anything in return. Well, save for the time he had agreed to let Katherine die in peace in exchange for her confession in the woods. He had gotten a lot more than he'd bargained for on that particular occasion.

"When insisting that I come with him to Mystic Falls today, Niklaus professed that I was the only one he trusted. However, it's apparent that his statement was either incomplete, or, an outright lie, as he seems to trust you with equal measure," Elijah noted observantly. "It's why he enrolled Hope at this school and why we returned to Mystic Falls with her today – he trusts you with his daughter's life as he does me, and so with all of this said, I can only conclude that his affections for you run quite deep and that you mean a great deal to him," Elijah concluded sincerely.

Despite her best efforts, fresh tears began to soak the handkerchief Elijah had given to her.

"He tried to seduce me on this bench nearly two decades ago," she chuckled through her tears. "And I rejected him."

Elijah laughed in amusement, taking a brief moment to revel in his brother's lighthearted misfortune. "Niklaus has never been subtle when it came to the art of seduction – he has always been rather blunt about what he wants, which doesn't always translate well romantically. I can only imagine your rejection of his advances enamoured him to you even more," he elaborated. "I suppose that explains your laughter in this moment, but I'm still unsure as to the cause of your tears," Elijah wondered, a serious undertone apparent with his remark. "My brother's tactics to woo you couldn't have been that insufferable," Elijah mused.

She laughed at Elijah's final comment, made at the expense of his brother, but quickly frowned as she debated about what to tell him of Klaus's plans. She didn't want to betray Klaus's confidence, but she needed to talk to someone who could understand her perspective and who may be able to help. She was desperate and felt like she had no other choice.

"I fell for your brother a long time ago, but it's taken me until now to acknowledge that. For a long time, I denied how I truly felt about him. My feelings felt like a betrayal of my friends after everything he had done to hurt them and to hurt me. I worried what my feelings said about me. I couldn't understand how despite every terrible thing he had done, I still cared for him," she shrugged, feeling frustrated with herself, at times wishing that she had never crossed paths with Klaus Mikaelson to begin with.

"I've have endured your struggle for centuries, Caroline, insofar as Niklaus is concerned," Elijah empathized with her. "What I've come to realize, as I'm sure you have, is that good and bad is not so black and white, and nor is love and hate. We should not feel guilty for our affections for Niklaus – it's not a crime to love what you cannot explain," he continued, touching upon the very same sentiment Klaus had expressed to her over the phone once before when the girls were first born. "None of us are without fault, and while I can't excuse the awful things my brother has done over the years, he's never done them out of pure evil intent. He cares and he loves and it's the glimmer of humanity in him that's always given me hope and the resolve to stand by him, knowing that he's capable of redemption," he proclaimed, his words resonating with her loudly, reminding her of similar words she had spoken to Klaus at the Gilbert house as she lay dying in front of him from his lethal werewolf bite.

"What if Klaus's redemption comes with the ultimate price?" she wondered aloud, garnering a quizzical look from Elijah.

"The cause of your tears," Elijah inferred, surmising that this conversation would eventually come full circle.

She nodded.

"My girls aren't just siphoning the dark magic from Hope, leaving it to be disposed of once we come up with a plan," she suggested, falling quiet for a moment, giving Elijah an opportunity to process her words.

Elijah's eyebrows furrowed as he began to sew the pieces together himself.

"Niklaus is going to have the dark magic transferred into him, isn't he?" Elijah concluded. "And then what?" he wondered apprehensively, staring away from her and into the darkness. "He can't consume that dark magic without destroying himself or the rest of us in the process," he said knowingly.

She nodded, hoping he could fill in the blanks without her having to do it for him.

"He would never want to put his family in harm's way, but he's immortal…there is no way to…" a horrified look of realization appeared on Elijah's face as he spoke. "Unless he somehow possesses more white oak," he reasoned, staring at her seriously.

"Apparently he saved one stake after all these years for such an occasion," she revealed with a sarcastic and bitter tone.

Elijah's eyes wandered in front of them frantically as if searching for another way while his hand reached out and griped hers – an expression of the desperation she felt.

"I did not stand by my brother's side all these centuries to watch his redemption be wasted. Hope deserves to have her father. You deserve to know the Niklaus that I know," Elijah spoke bitterly. "If my brother's redemption requires the ultimate price, then I assure you that it will not be Niklaus who will pay," he declared decidedly.

She was about to speak in protest as Elijah turned back to her, eager to discourage the elder Mikaelson sibling from making any impulsive decisions that may not be reversible and which she might be blamed for, considering the information she just shared with him, but Elijah cut her off before she had the opportunity.

"I hope you'll forgive me, Caroline, and perhaps you will when Niklaus is still here tomorrow, but you cannot be involved in this anymore than is necessary. We both know that my brother has an impeccable way of misdirecting his, typically, unwarranted anger, and none of his indignation, after what I'm about to do, should be placed upon you," Elijah said adamantly.

And before she realized what Elijah was about to do to ensure that she would not be implicated or interfere in his decision any more than she had to be, everything went black.

When she came to, she found herself on the wet grassy ground behind a bush near the bench where she had been conversing with Elijah. He'd obviously placed her here so that passersby would not notice her unconscious and cause her more trouble. She supposed she should at least thank Elijah for his consideration and foresight in that regard.

As everything that was about to transpire flooded back to the forefront of her mind, she scrambled to stand, glancing across the town square towards where the band had been playing and Klaus had last stood watching Hope.

The band was nearly finished packing up their instruments and equipment and the small group of remaining spectators were departing in various directions to wherever they were headed to next. Of course, none of the remaining spectators consisted of Klaus or Hope.

Scanning the town square in a panic, she noticed the large clock above the tower of the police station. Midnight was drawing closer and she was running out of time to get back to the school.

At this point, driving her car back to the school would only eat up precious time she didn't have, and so once she was sure she was shielded by darkness and out of sight she used what she could muster of her supernatural capabilities to fast forward her return to the school, despite being low on blood and her magical energies having previously been used to repair her snapped neck and bring her back to life.

By the time she made it back to the school and into the forested perimeter towards the old mill structure on the property, her knees were practically touching the ground, almost too weak to stand to push herself forwards to where she could see light and hear her daughters beginning the recitation of the siphoning spell.

She stopped briefly, pulling herself up straight with the help of a thick tree branch, struggling to catch her breath. She needed blood, but she needed to get to her girls and Klaus more so – if it wasn't already too late.

As she was about to lunge forward to try and sprint the final stretch to the old mill, the sound of the crackling brush behind her sent a chill down her spine and she froze.

Looking over her shoulder, she was confronted by the amber eyes and sharp teeth of a young white wolf gazing at her predatorily.

"Hope," she uttered hesitantly, sensing – hoping – that the young wolf was Klaus's daughter. It couldn't have been anyone else but her. The grounds were fenced and the other wolf pupils of the school would have been secure in their transformation facility as they had always been on each full moon. After seeing Klaus's disappointed reaction to the small cell-like structures they had specially constructed for their werewolf students, she knew that Klaus would have wanted his daughter to roam free for her first transformation – as had been the way since the creation of werewolves.

The white wolf bared its teeth wider as a low growl rumbled from its chest causing her to tremble in fear in the face of her traditional enemy on the night of a full moon.

"It's me, Caroline," she muttered shakily, hoping that her words might get through to Hope inside of the werewolf body.

Having been through Tyler's early transformation years ago, and having securely observed the early transformations of her students more recently, she should have known that trying to communicate with the wolf – particularly a young one unfamiliar with the transition and their wolf form – was of no use. When transformed, werewolves were at the mercy of their natural instincts and even the oldest wolves had little control.

The werewolf growled louder, nearly to the point of barking as they lowered themselves to the ground, their front claws digging into the soil, as if preparing to give chase.

She released an exhausted groan, knowing she had no choice but to use what strength she had left to try and outrun the wolf make it to the mill where the spell was beginning – as much to save herself now.

Sucking in her breath, she launched herself from the tree and darted towards the clearing.

She made it to the edge of the tree line to see her girls facing one another on the outside of the circle, reciting the spell and holding the blue light of the dark magic above them, with Alaric observing worriedly, and while Klaus fervently awaited the Latin cue to enter the circle and have the magic transferred into him.

What the four of them did not see was Elijah standing to the side, covered by the darkness, also awaiting his own cue to sabotage Klaus's plan to sacrifice himself.

Before she could go any further, the wind was knocked out of her as she was pushed face first against the ground by four strong werewolf paws, its claws digging into her back. She cried out as she felt the wolf's teeth rip through her jacket and pierce her shoulder blade.

"Klaus!" she cried out as her girls chanted the magic words he'd been waiting to hear.

With her plea for help doubling as a warning, she saw Klaus's attention turn towards her before her vision went hazy as she struggled to fend off the white wolf from its attack.

In seconds that felt like minutes, the attack stopped and she could hear whimpering and growling from what sounded like multiple wolves.

Opening her eyes, she tensed at the sight of the furry underbelly of a mixed-coloured wolf standing sideways overtop of her torso, its attention turned away from her, growling at her feet. Dragging herself out from underneath, her fingernails buried in dirt, the wolf that had been over top of her was staring down the white wolf that had attacked her.

"Elijah, what the hell are you doing?!" she heard Alaric shout from the circle before she heard Elijah release a boisterous bellow of pain.

She rolled herself over to look towards the circle, seeing Elijah consumed by the electric blue light.

Disregarding her now, both wolves leaped over her towards the circle, but found themselves blocked from entering by an invisible barricade. They barked and whimpered in response, until the blue light quickly disappeared within Elijah and the barrier was dropped.

She heard Alaric yell after their daughters to come to him, obviously fearful for their safety being in the direct presence of two werewolves and an original vampire now consumed by dark magic.

And with that, everything went dark for the second time that evening.

A/N: Sooooo...what did you think?

Part II will be coming eventually and will very loosely resemble episode 5x13. I have a general plan, but I always consider your thoughts and so I'm curious to know what you would like to see in the second part!

On an unrelated note, I am working on a sort of epilogue to Tangled Up In Blue, offering a glimpse into Klaus and Caroline's life in New York up to their wedding. The first chapter is a bit of a beast, however, and so I'm not sure when it will be completed. Keep an eye out.

Thank you for reading!