Caroline closed her eyes, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her.

Klaus was dead.

He sacrificed himself for his daughter and while it hurt to know he was gone, she was proud of him.

Proud of who he had become for his daughter.

A part of her regretted that she never gave him a chance when she was younger but she was practically a child then.

Someone who struggled with her insecurities and with life in general. And that's not to say she had it all figured out now, she could admit that she still had problems.

She was forever 17 both physically and mentally but she had been forced to grow up for her daughters.

For herself.

She knew why Klaus did what he did. She would do the same for the twins.

They were her babies. Maybe they weren't hers biologically but she gave birth to them. She raised them.

She watched them develop their personalities and watched them learn their powers.

Not to say it wasn't difficult because it was. Having kids was difficult but it was also rewarding.

And now, they were 13 and were shaping up to be amazing young women.

But Caroline was scared.

She was scared that she wouldn't be able to stop the merge. That she would lose one of her daughters.

That terrified her more than anything else. So, yes, she knew why Klaus sacrificed himself.

If she learned that she would have to die to save the twins from death, she would do it in a heartbeat.

Caroline walked into the twins' shared room. They were both laying together.

"Mom," Lizzie said, in greeting from where her head rested on her twin.

"Girls," Caroline replied, softly.

Josie frowned at her mom, sensing her distress. "Mom, are you okay?" She asked, sitting up, as she stared at her with a concerned look.

"I'm okay," Caroline said, reassuringly.

"Why are you lying?" Lizzie asked, bluntly. Josie's eyes widened and she whacked her sister on the back of her head. "Ow! Mom, Josie hit me!"

"Don't be insensitive, then," Josie said, giving her twin a look.

Lizzie sent Josie an offended look, "I was not-"

"Girls," Caroline interrupted, sternly. "Enough."

They both gave her sheepish looks.

"Sorry, mom," They chorused together.

Caroline just smiled, shaking her head.

"I am okay, I'm just a little stressed is all," Caroline said, lying.

"Why?" Josie asked, worriedly. "Is something wrong with the school? Or-"

"Josie, everything's okay, I promise," Caroline said, giving her eldest daughter a soft look.

"Maybe, you should have a spa day in Hawaii, that will help with your stress," Lizzie said, giving her a speculative glance. "And you should bring us along because we're your amazing daughters."

Josie facepalmed.

Caroline raised an eyebrow at Lizzie. "Are you telling me to vaca in Hawaii for my stress or because you want to go to Hawaii so you can avoid your finals?" She asked, feeling amused.

Lizzie gave her an innocent look.

"Because you're feeling stressed, of course," Lizzie said, blinking up at her.

"Uh-huh, I'm sure," Caroline said, humor shining in her eyes but then, she shook her head. "I'm fine girls. I think I'm just a little tired."

"If you're sure," Josie said, softly.

Caroline smiled, "I am." She replied.

"Mom, can we go on a shopping spree sometime soon?" Lizzie asked, hopefully, and Josie nodded excitedly in agreement with her twin.

Caroline gave her youngest an amused look.

"How about this, you do well on your finals, we go on a shopping spree?" Caroline suggested."Deal?"

"Deal," The twins agreed.

"Ok, good night, girls," Caroline said, kissing them both on their foreheads.

"Night, mom," Josie whispered, laying back down.

"Night," Lizzie said, laying down next to her twin.

Caroline smiled down at them as she got up. She left the room, turning off the light. She headed back to her room and got ready for bed.

When she laid down, she stared up at the ceiling, plotting for ways to help Hope maneuver this new world without her parents.

It was going to be difficult but she would help her to the best of her abilities as would Ric.

Caroline turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Caroline's eyes opened slowly as she tried to push past how tired she was.

Wait...she was tired?

Sure vampires could get tired but not to this extent.

Caroline paused as she realized that her bed wasn't her bed and her room wasn't her room.

She sat up abruptly.

The room she was in was something from her memories.

The room she grew up in…

"What the fuck?" Caroline whispered, in disbelief as she looked around.

The next thing that caught her attention was her hunger...but not for blood.

That wasn't possible.

Caroline stumbled out of bed, as the horror of her situation set in.

She felt weak...she couldn't smell anything...or hear anything.

"This can't be happening," Caroline muttered as ran to the mirror.

The person in the mirror was her...it was her reflection yet there was something different about it.

Acne...she could see fucking acne on her face.

She was human.

"No no no no no," Caroline clutched her head in her hands. "This isn't real, I'm dreaming, I have to be fucking dreaming."

Caroline closed her eyes and pinched herself as hard as she could.

Nothing happened.

The panic began to set in.

Caroline moved away from the mirror and backed up until her back was against the wall. She slowly slid down it.

She was in the past...she was human.

Did she somehow time travel?

But nothing happened.

Something would have had to happen to cause this...right?

Did she piss off a witch or something?

Or...

Her daughters…

They were siphoners...witches despised their kind.

What if she was sent back, so that way she was out of the way, and they could kill her kids?

Caroline put her face in her hands.

She didn't know what to do.

She couldn't stop wondering if this was on purpose or not

If there was no foul play...why did this happen to her?

What if she couldn't return to the future?

What the hell would she do then?

Live out this time and hope she doesn't die?

But...she could also try to change things.

And to be honest, Caroline wasn't sure that she could stay on the sidelines and let all the people who died, die again. But she also wanted to survive so she could see her daughters again.

Caroline looked up with a determined look on her face.

She would survive but she would also change things.

Klaus wouldn't die and neither would Hayley. Hope would not be left without her parents. She wouldn't allow it.

She also had to help Enzo because he was one of her greatest friends, no matter how reckless he was.

Caroline would also not allow Kol to die by Jeremy's hand. While the two had never interacted before the first time he died, he had run into her on a recruiting mission for the school once and the two began rather good friends if you could believe it.

Caroline's thoughts turned to her daughters' biological mother and their crazy-ass coven.

She felt conflicted.

She had raised the twins and given birth to them...she didn't know if you could give them up...and if she didn't that would mean Jo would die.

Was that sacrifice worth it?

She wished she could say that she would say her but she wasn't sure.

Then there was the Gemini Coven...if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that they needed to die but first, she would use them to fish for information about stopping the merge.

They were extremely dangerous, especially with her daughters being siphoners.

Their safety matter above all else.

Then there was Kai…

A part of Caroline didn't want to let him out but at the same time, she knew that he did become a good person after he merged with Luke but no one was willing to give him a chance. Then, they stupidly locked him away with a bunch of hungry vampires in the 1903 prison world.

It was no surprise that he snapped again.

Caroline kind of wanted to give him a chance. If he proved to be too dangerous she could lock him back up in order to protect the twins but everyone deserved second chances…

Except for Elena.

Caroline paused as she realized that she was going to have to deal with her and all her bullshit again.

This was going to be hell, wasn't it?

Caroline used to love Elena like a sister but then they had a falling out about the twins.

It was a long and complicated story but the cliff notes are that Elena was worried that because the twins were siphoners they would be as crazy and dangerous as Kai. She also went on to say when they found out that Lizzie was bipolar that it was no surprise.

And that wasn't all, no Elena could keep her opinions to herself and had to constantly remind Caroline that they weren't hers. That Jo was their real mother.

It took everything in her not to snap her little perfect neck in half.

Thankfully, Bonnie immediately took her side against Elena. Which would have been surprising, when they were younger because let's be real, Elena and Bonnie were far closer than Caroline was with either of them.

Funny how things turned out.

Maybe it was because Bonnie realized that Elena constantly guilt-tripped her and used her for her own purposes without any thanks in return. While Caroline never did that, and the times she did ask for help, she actually thanked Bonnie for it.

God, she was getting heated but could anyone blame her?

Elena was a problem.

And Caroline wasn't going to let her use Bonnie or herself to help with all her bullshitty problems.

Caroline pushed herself to her feet and looked out the window, it was early morning.

Did she have school?

Oh shit…

High school...she had to go back to fucking high school.

Would anyone be angry if she just graduated because this was going to suck?

Caroline grabbed her flip phone.

Oh god, she was going to miss iPhones so much.

She looked down at the flip phone in confusion.

How the hell did it work again?

She began pressing buttons hoping it would turn on.

It worked.

Thank god.

Caroline looked at the date.

It was the first day of school of her junior year.

Oh shit, she was going to be late.

Caroline considered putting on what she wore the first time around before deciding against it. She would wear something more her original age -or the age of where she was at mentally in the future- but she wouldn't go as professional.

She was no longer the headmistress after all.

Caroline threw on a red spaghetti strap top with black jeans and a pair of red heeled ankle boots. She grabbed a black leather jacket to go over the top.

She made sure she had everything in her bag and got headed downstairs to grab some cereal. When she reached the kitchen, she froze as she was hit with the realization that her mom was alive.

Caroline felt a familiar ache in her chest as she realized that while she'll get to see her again, she would also have to got through losing her again.

Caroline took a deep breath.

She wouldn't focus on that right now.

She grabbed the cereal and quickly ate it as she plotted.

Caroline needed to save Enzo, that was the first thing that was necessary but the question, was how.

She was a human, how could she rescue him.

He would either be at Whitmore College being experimented on or the Whitmore house in a cage.

She wasn't sure which one.

Caroline was also planning to convince Enzo to turn her.

There was no way she was staying a human.

Becoming a vampire was one of the best things to ever happen to her, along with her daughters. And she wasn't going to become Damon's toy this time around. Although if he tried it with anyone else, she would kick his ass and convince Enzo to help, which shouldn't be that hard seeing as he hated right about now.

Caroline put her dishes in the sink, then left the house, and drove to school. When she arrived, she looked at the flood of students around the campus.

This was going to suck.

Caroline got out and had her backpack on one of her shoulders as she began walking towards the school. She ignored the looks she got because of what she was wearing.

After all, Caroline Forbes was the pretty and bubbly cheerleader that fit every fucking stereotype of a mean girl.

God, she was so vain back then.

She knew that everyone was confused by her clothes. She could just imagine the shock when they learn that she was quitting cheerleading.

Caroline paused, noticing Jeremy Gilbert by Vicki -God, Vicki, she completely forgot about her- and she noticed Tyler approaching quickly, most likely planning on being a bully.

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.

Caroline quickly made her way over.

As she got closer she heard Tyler speak, "I knew I'd find you here with the crackheads." He said, giving Vicki a kiss, then he glanced at Jeremy. "Hey, Pete Wentz called. He wants his nail polish back."

"Hey," Caroline called, cutting off Jeremy's reply.

The three turned in surprise.

All of them looked surprised by her outfit and the fact that she was over there.

"Forbes?" Tyler said, looking confused.

"Lockwood, I see you're still an ugly dick with zero personality…and to think, I thought you would grow up over the summer, clearly I was wrong," Caroline said, tone mocking as Jeremy laughed in disbelief.

"Watch it, Forbes. If you aren't careful, I'll have my dad fire your mom," Tyler threatened and Jeremy straightened as he glared at Tyler.

Caroline laughed, ignoring their confused looks.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I bruise your make ego?" Caroline asked, amused. "It funny to me how you hide behind your daddy's title like a petty child. We both know that the only reason you have money is because of inheritance that your family stole from others. Is any of your money self-earned?"

Caroline could feel Jeremy staring at her in awe.

"Get lost, Lockwood. Trust me when I say, you don't want to pick a fight with me," Caroline said, openly fingering the pocketknife she grabbed that her mom gave her years ago.

Tyler glanced at the knife than to her face, and back off.

"Whatever, bitch," He spat as he walked away, pulling an impressed looking Vicki with him.

"Whoa," Jeremy whispered. "Why did you do that?"

Caroline turned to him, calmly. "Tylers a dick that needs to learn that his father's title and inheritance isn't going to give him free passes in this world," She said, calmly.

"Thanks, I guess," Jeremy said, hesitantly.

"You're welcome," Caroline replied and glanced down at the dugs in his hands. Jeremy tensed as he spotted what she was looking at.

"What?" He asked, defensively as she looked back up, meeting his eyes.

"The pains never going to go away," Caroline said, softly. Jeremy froze. "I know everyone says it does but it doesn't. However, it does get easier to manage, even if it doesn't feel like it now. And I'm not going to tell you to stop. I don't blame you for wanting to numb it out but all I ask is that you be careful, I don't want to see you hurt."

Caroline gave him a sad smile and turned to walk away but he grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving.

She turned back around and paused as she realized that there was a vulnerable expression on his face.

"Why did you tell me that?" He asked, pain obvious in his eyes.

Caroline sighed. "Because you needed to hear the truth for once," Was all she said.

Jeremy looked down, "Thanks," He whispered.

Caroline nodded. "If you ever need something or need to get away from Elena's overbearing presence, come find me, I'll help you out." She promised and walked away, ignoring his surprised eyes on her back.

It was time to go back to high school.

Caroline entered the school, immediately spotting Matt by his locker and Elena with Bonnie at their lockers.

However, she didn't approach any of them, instead, she walked past them to the office.

She heard the gasp of surprise from both Elena and Bonnie when they saw her but she continued past.

When she reached the office, she waited behind the familiar back of Stefan Salvatore as he compelled the desk lady.

She felt amused as he tried to do it as discreetly as he could because he knew she was right behind him.

He got his schedule and moved to the side so she could pass but she noticed he didn't leave. He was probably waiting for his locker number or something.

"Ms. Forbes, what can I do for you?" The desk lady asked.

Caroline noticed Stefan looking at her curiously from the sidelines.

"Hi, Mrs. Smith, I was wondering if I could quit cheerleading?" Caroline asked, shifting her backpack.

"But you're the captain," Mrs. Smith said, staring at her in surprise.

"I know, but I'm not feeling it anymore, so could you fix my schedule?" Caroline asked or more like ordered, tapping her finger on the desk.

"Yes, but who will be the new captain? As the old captain, you have to name them, also what would you do instead?" Mrs. Smith said.

"Bonnie Bennett or April Young," Caroline said simply, as she raised a single eyebrow. "And I would like to take psychology instead."

"Very well," Mrs. Smith said, tapping on the keyboard. Then something began printing. Once it was done, she handed her a new schedule. "And Ms. Forbes?"

"Yes?' Caroline said feeling impatient as she wanted to leave.

"This is the new student, could you show him around?" Mrs. Smith asked.

Caroline turned to Stefan just in time to see him be handed his locker number, he then turned her and gave her a polite smile.

That was when Caroline remembered that he had been stalking Elena since the accident, and probably was aware that she was desperate when it came to guys.

Time to quickly get rid of that image.

"Hi, my name is Caroline," She introduced, holding out a hand.

"Stefan Salvatore," He replied, shaking her hand.

"Salvatore? As in Zack?" Caroline asked as they began walking. Caroline grabbed his schedule from him as she figured out where he needed to go.

"He's my uncle," Stefan said, glancing at her.

"Hmm," Was her only reply as she tried to remember where these classes were. "Alright, first, we'll go to your locker than I'll show you where your first class is."

"Sounds good," Stefan said, in agreement.

Caroline ignored the pain she felt at seeing him again. Instead, she pulled him in a different direction than he went the first time around, so that way he wouldn't run into Elena.

She really wanted to save him from the hurt he went through from Elena rejecting him. He was her best friend, even if he didn't know it yet.

And she would do anything to protect him and that was a fact.