AN: Ta dah! Part 4! And there will be another chapter, don't fret. (Because you will at the end of this one) I'll be quick about it, for all of our sakes. It'll probably be more like two so I've updated the story summary to fix the discrepency.
Special thanks to EyesLikeLiquidFire for suggesting I throw Stefan in this part. It got me up and running with this part and I hope everyone enjoys how it turned out!
Thanks for reading, my loves! And stay tuned for the ending; it's coming, I promise! ;)

The streets of Paris were nothing like she imagined. There was more walking around than driving and almost everyone sat outside to enjoy their tea and pastries. The air was always laced with some scent from a bakery or chocolatere or a restaurant, nothing like pine-scented Mystic Falls. It was exhilerating.

But she wasn't here for her. She was here to meet Stefan. Her mom hadn't stopped asking about him since Caroline came to visit her at home. She only visited because seeing her mother so weak physically while still so mentally sharp just broke her heart. Watching her go through it every day would be too much. And Liz understood. Caroline went to see her every month or so, careful not to be seen outside the house too much. There weren't many people around who still knew her, but it was better to be on the safe side.

Liz's health had taken a turn about a week ago, and Caroline offered to cancel her plans to travel to see her best friend. But her mom insisted she go, have a good time, eat a crepe. So she did.

Stefan had picked her up from the airport when she arrived and they'd been doing the natural touristy things for a couple days. This morning Caroline decided to get up early and surprise him with coffee and croissants from his favorite cafe. As she walked along the quiet side street leading back to Stefan's apartment, a memory hit her.

"I'll take you...wherever you want...Rome..Paris..."

The words suddenly replayed in her mind, his face accompanying them. He looked so excited, so happy about the prospect of showing her the world. And she'd written him off so quickly then.

What about now? that ever nagging voice in the back of her head asked.

Truthfully, being in Paris the past few days had been amazing, but it also felt a bit strange. She remembered like it was yesterday when she told him she would give him a chance and he promised he'd wait. Something about being here without him almost felt like a betrayal of some sort.

Maybe he's forgotten by now. Its been almost fourty years, part of her mused.

Yeah right, that man doesn't forget anything, another part countered.

Caroline almost tripped on the stairs of the building at a third thought: maybe he got tired of waiting. It surprised her just how much that idea hurt.

By then she'd reached the front door, carefully balancing the cups on top of each other and holding the bag with the delicious pastries between her teeth. She tapped on the door twice then walked in, yelling a muffled, "I brought breakfast!" When she made it to the little coffee table in the center of the living room without spilling a drop or dropping a crumb she almost applauded herself. Out loud. Almost.

"Oh, Caroline, you're an angel," a slightly groggy Stefan mumbled as he came out of his room from the hallway behind her. He immediately grabbed a coffee and flopped down on the big plushy couch, taking a tenative sip. "God, thats perfect," he sighed and Caroline chuckled.

"You want me to leave you two alone?" she said, rolling her eyes and grabbing the other cup, taking off the lid to let it cool and sitting next to him.

"I'm surprised you even came home last night," Steffan said after they'd both consumed some caffiene. "That guy at the club was really into you."

Caroline scoffed. "Yeah, he was also into a cab twenty minutes after you left because he was so piss drunk."

Stefan laughed. "Wow. You sure know how to pick 'em."

You don't know the half of it.

"You really should get back out there. Its been what, 5 years since you and Tyler split?"

"Yeah," she whispered, then cleared her throat and repeated, "Yeah."

Her friend looked over at her then leaed forward to set his coffee down. "Shit, I'm sorry, Care. I thought it was fine."

"No, it is," she said quickly before he beat himself up too much. And it was. Fine that is. After about 28 years together, it started to feel like they were only together out of obligation. Two more years of awkward attempts at rekindling their romance and they decided to call it quits. Tyler said he still loved her very much and she'd always mean the world to him, but they just didn't have it anymore. It wasn't fair to either of them to stick out something that wasn't working. Carline felt the same way. She cared about him, but he didn't make her pulse jump with a simple touch, she didn't smile just thinking about him, she didn't feel like there was anything particularly remarkable about them - about her - anymore.

And as much as she hated to admit it, she had been drawing comparisions between Tyler and a certain someone for years. She couldn't help it. As her feelings for Tyler dwindled, her feelings for Klaus seemed to get amplified. She was thinking about him constantly, about that one, perfect kiss.

And it scared her shitless.

What if they gave it a go and there were no sparks? What if he'd changed back into the old angry, killer Klaus? What if he didn't like who she'd become? The idea of him now - of them - was terrifying to Caroline. It was the main reason she hadn't sought him out. She wasn't quite...there yet, ya know?

"Caroline?" she heard Stefan say and she felt his hand take her coffee cup from her grasp. Then she realized she'd spilled some of it on her hand and it had dripped onto her jeans.

"Oh shoot," she said, standing up too quickly and knocking her purse off the side of the couch, its contents dumping on the floor. So thats where I put it last night.

"Where were you just then?" Stefan asked while he bent to pick up her wallet, cell phone, keys, makeup bag,etc.

"Nothing, I was just..." Caroline trailed off as she saw him pick up the folded piece of parchment that she'd started keeping with her. She froze.

"What's this?" Stefan asked as he unfolded it. Caroline didn't answer but instead stared at the drawing of her from that night. It was the one thing no one else knew about, the one secret she allowed herself. She found it clipped to her mailbox the day after prom. She'd known exactly who it was from just by the paper and her heart had sped up almost double time. When she unraveled it, she found a beautiful rendering of herself in the golden dress, smiling wistfully at her classmates dancing a few meters away. She could remember almost the exact moment it depicted. At the bottom of the page, she noticed his unmistakable script: "As long as it takes..." He didn't even have to sign it for her to know exactly who it was.

Caroline shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.

"You were thinking about him, weren't you?"

She blinked, looking over at Stefan from their crouched position.

"What?" She took her purse from his hands and set it aside as she got up to get a napkin to dry up the coffee drips.

"You were thinking about him a minute ago when you almost dumped your coffee on the couch," he said, getting up to follow her. Caroline started to deny it just to avoid the conversation, but Stefan went on, "And just now. You were thinkning about him."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh yeah? How do you figure that?"

"Because you had your Klaus look."

"I do NOT have a 'Klaus look'!" she countered, rolling her eyes. Do I?

As if reading her mind, Stefan said, "Yeah you do. Whenever you look longingly into the distance and smile that sad smile that doesn't reach your eyes; thats your Klaus look." Caroline gave him her best how-the-hell-can-you-tell-that look. "I'm your best friend, Care. Its my job to pick up on things like that."

She glared at him for a few more seconds before going, ah screw it. He's already called me out on it. "Its complicated."

"Are you trying to make a crack about my intelligence?" Stefan said, placing a hand on his chest it - mostly - mock hurt. Caroline laughed shaking her head. "Talk to me. I think I can keep up."

Caroline sighed in resignation and nodded. Then she turned to the cabinet and grabbed the bottle of Scotch they kept on hand and a couple shot glasses from the rack next to it. "We're gonna need this. I'm definitely gonna need it.."

They walked back over to the couch and sat in the same places, but Caroline brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, her normal defensive posture. Stefan poured each of them a drink and handed one to her. She downed the liquid courage before he brought his to his lips.

"Okay, it can't be that bad," he said with a laugh, pouring her another.

"I guess its not, I just...its really confusing." She accepted the second drink and Stefan gave her an encouraging smile, inviting her to talk. She took a deep breath and started at the beginning - ish. "So you're pretty aware that Klaus had - has - a thing for me, yeah? Well...shit, I'm already saying this wrong," she grumbled, throwing back the shot.

Stefan took the glass from her, placing on the table. Apparently she was being cut off. "Okay, just start small. What were you thinking about when you spilled your coffee? When I brought up the break up?"

"Um...okay. So remember prom? How I showed up in this really amazing dress of mysterious origins? Well I went to see Klaus earlier that night, he gave it to me. Or helped me find it, rather. See, I tried on a bunch and nothing was right and the zipper caught on like the zillionth one and I started to kind of lose it a little and Klaus just..." she trailed off for a second, getting lost in the memory. "He calmed me down. He even said he was sorry for the part he played in the mess I thought I was in." I am truly sorry, Miss Forbes. "He was just so...sweet, gentle even. If he was like that to more than just me, maybe things might have turned out differently..."

"Sounds like you really cared about him," Stefan said.

"I did," she answered, then clarified, "I do. Somehow I still...care. He got under my skin and I can't seem to shake him." Caroline suddenly remembered Elena saying something similar about Damon. They'd been together for the past 32 years. Huh.

"Okay, but..." Stefan's voice brought her back to the present. God, she was zoning a lot today. "Something tells me that isn't the whole story."

Caroline sighed and said with a laugh, "Damn you and your perceptiveness, Salvatore!" She shoved his shoulder and he playfuly smacked her leg.

"I'm the broody vampire, remember? Bottling up feelings is kinda my thing, so its easy to see when others do it." Caroline shook her head and chuckled. "Now spill."

Well, here goes.

"Okay so I went back by his house, mansion, whatever later that night to return the dress. He stole a dance after I won prom queen - something I'm still mad you missed by the way - and I said somthing that scared him into running off, so I went to confront him about it."

"Wait, what did you say?" Stefan interrupted.

"I called him Nik," Caroline said with almost a grimace, bracing for his reaction.

Stefan threw his head back and laughed. "Seriously? You called him by his name and he ran for the hills?"

"Will you let me finish!" she scolded. Stefan composed himself, and after a couple more snorts of laughter, he nodded for her to continue. "So, when he told me why he ran off, I challenged his reasons, and he played the Tyler card. And I knew he was right, I couldn't act on what I felt for him because I was with Tyler. He said he didn't want to be Nik to me until I could be his completely and of course I couldn't do that still dating Tyler, but I couldnt just leave Tyler like that, ya know? Is this weird, me telling you this?"

"Caroline, I asked you to. And from that run on sentence, it sounds like you need to get it out, look at it from a different angle." Stefan gave her a smile taking her hands in his, helping to calm her nerves. "What happened?"

Caroline contemplated saying nothing for a second before she found herself actually saying, "I confessed I wanted to give him a chance because I honestly did - I do. And he told me he'd wait. As long as it takes..." she swallowed the unexpected lump that was forming in her throat and continued, getting out the last bit of her secret. "And we kissed and it was...innocent and sweet, hopeful but sad. It was like we knew it may never happen again. I swear, in that moment I wanted to forget everything else and just have that one thing for myself, I wanted to know what it would feel like to be with him and not just physically with him, but like emotionally, everything." Caroline paused before adding very quietly, "Then he let me go...I left him and I didn't look back. And I've never doubted that decision more than I do right now."

She could feel tears prickling her eyes and she took a deep breath, forcing them back. It was strange, but it felt like, saying all this out loud, she realized just how stronggly she felt about it. Before now, she just chalked it up to her mind making it seem more intense, but saying the words, reliving the memories, everything made sense now.

She had to find him. She had to tell him that she finally was sure of her feelings.

"Hey," Stefan said softly, hooking a finger under her chin so she looked at him. His eyes held none of the judgement she expected and feared. He just smiled and said, "Sounds like we have a hybrid to find."

Caroline choked out a laugh and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and Caroline felt a weight lift when they shifted apart again.

"I can try calling his cell, but last I heard he was in New York. We can start there."

Caroline smiled at her awesome best friend. "Thanks, Stefan."

Just then, there was a knok at the door and Stefan cursed. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot Damon said he was dropping by," he told her, getting up to answer the door. "He heard you were here, wanted to say hi."

"Oh," Caroline said, slightly shocked. She ran a finger under her eyes, catching any make up that may have gone rogue then ran her hands through her hair, finally standing up. "Great, let him in."

"You sure? I can tell him to come back later," Stefan said, eyes gentle and concerned.

"No its fine, I'll grab another shot glass. It'd be nice to catch up with your...lesser half." She winked at him and headed for the kitchen as he headed for the door.

Thats when she heard her phone ring from the couch and she turned back to grab it, answering without looking at the caller i.d.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Caroline Forbes?" a woman's voice asked.

"Um, yes. To whom am I speaking?" Caroline answered getting more and more anxious by the second. Very few people had this number.

"My name is Doctor Trace. I just wanted to inform you that your grandmother, Liz was admitted to Mystic Falls General earlier this evening. We've had her on fluids and antibiotics, but there's an infection in her lungs that isn't going away. We're doing everything we can to make her comfortable, but it might be best if you were here. It might help her recover faster with a familiar face."

Oh my god...ohmygod, no. She knew what those words really meant: it didn't look good and they weren't sure how long she'd hang on.

"Can I speak to her?" she croaked out as her mind went a million different directions at once. Stefan and Damon picked that moment to walk into the room and Caroline hushed them with a wave of her hand and a stern look. Damon looked confused and Stefan looked concerned.

"Hi, Care," her mother's voice finally rasped into the phone. She sounded awful.

"Hey, mom," she said, trying to keep the tears out of her voice. "I thought I told you to call me if you were getting worse."

"Oh, honey you worry too much. Its honestly just a cold, I don't know what they're fussing about." Caroline heard her cough away from the receiver. She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I knew you'd be having fun with Stefan, I didn't want to bother you." Another cough. Her voice was a bit weaker. "Send him my love, will you?"

Caroline brought her eyes to meet Stefan's and he walked toward her, placing a comforting hand on her arm. She knew he could hear everything.

"How about this," Caroline said, trying to sound upbeat. "I'm getting on the next plane home and I'll bring Stefan with me." She looked up at him momentarily, hoping it was okay. He nodded. "Then the two of us can take you home, okay? We'll have tea and chicken noodle soup and we'll get rid of that cold in no time." Caroline stopped just as her voice broke trying to hold back her emotions.

"Alright, honey, but only if you're sure. I don't want to ruin your vacation."

"Its fine, mom, really. I'm on my way to th airport now, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see you soon then."

Caroline shut her eyes tight again and said, "I love you, mom."

"Love you, Caroline." came the labored reply. Then the line went dead.

She stood there for a second just trying to breathe and Stefan whispered, "I'll call to book the tickets. Pack whatever you need." He placed a kiss on her forehead then retreated back to his room, pulling his phone out in the process.

Caroline almost couldn't move she was so scared. What if they didn't make it in time? What if...

Damon was suddenly in front of her, nudging her toward her room. She'd almost forgotten he was there.

"C'mon, Barbie. Lets get you packed." He had to almost pick her up and carry her down the short hallway to the room she occupied. Once inside, she froze, not knowing what to grab. It was weird. She knew she should be rushing around, getting out of there as quickly as possible, but her body just wanted to curl up and cry.

Thankfully, Damon was there. (A phrase she probably never would have otherwise thought was accurate.) He stepped around her frozen form, grabbed her suitcase from the closet and started grabbing anything he could find and throwing it in. After almost all her clothes were packed he turned to her.

"Barbie, look at me." He leaned his head down to catch her eyes. "I remember a time your mother almost took me down. Me! A couple times actually, but the point is, someone that bad ass doesn't go down like this." Caroline felt her lips tug up a bit at the corner. Leave it to Damon to try to joke about the situation. "And guess what? You're said bad ass's off spring, so you inherited some of it too. Show me some of that fire, Caroline. Pull yourself together and get home to your mom."

Her eyes actually focused on his for a second and he winked at her. She let out a breath and shook her head, willing her feet to move, gathering the remains of her clothes and other necessities. She was ready to go five minutes later.

"Good job, Barbie," Damon said from her doorway. "Let's go. I'm driving."

Caroline grabbed her suitcase off the bed and hurried after him, retreiving her purse from the coffee table and meeting Stefan at the door.

"Tickets will be waiting for us at the gate," he told her, opening the door and holding it for her.

"Okay," she answered. Then she realised something. "You didn't pay for both did you?"

Stefan gave her his best we don't have time for this look and said, "Just let me get you home, Care."

The ride to the airport was shorter than it should have been, but with Damon's driving she wasn't all that surprised. The sunlight outside was a strange foil for how she felt. Her mother was an ocean away, a handful of hours behind, it was very weird.

They all got out and hurried into the building, reaching the point when they had to part ways rather quickly. Caroline took her bag from Damon - when did he even grab it? - and gave him a quick hug. He awkwardly patted her back and when she opened her mouth to say thank you, he waved a dismissing hand.

"Don't mention it." He turned to Stefan and they shook hands. "Another time, brother. Give Liz my best." Then he turned and started walking back to his car.

"Wait!" Caroline called after him. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Come with us," she said.

He smiled. "Stef only booked two tickets. And besides, I probably shouldn't leave Elena here to fend for herself."

Caroline mentally slapped herself. Of course, his other half was in the city. How quickly one forgets. "Okay, but I want the two of you there as soon as you can. She may deny it, but I know my mom loves you guys too."

Damon smirked and gave a slow nod. "Right behind you, Barbie," he replied, then once again walked away.

"We've got about an hour," Stefan said, pulling her attention back to him. "Our flight leaves at 11:30am. We should get to the gate asap."

"Yeah," Caroline answered numbly and turned to follow him.

At 11:28, they were in their seats, ready for take off. Caroline usually slept on long flights, but she was too wound up to do that now. So, she set her focus out the window, at the trees flying past as they took off, at the city as they gained altitude, at the clouds when they were up among them. Her mind wandered from her mother to Klaus and what she was going to do now. Before that phone call, she was ready to drop everything and go to him, wherever he was, but now...she had to be there for her mother.

What if he came to me? she mused. While she didn't think it was likely, the thought gave her a certain amount of peace. He had comforted her before when she needed it and his presense was more than welcome now. Unfortunately, it wasn't likely.

She closed her eyes, trying to remember what it felt like when he'd held her, how it both made her heart race and her mind calm down and focus only on him. Caroline was so caught up in the memories, that she didn't notice she'd fallen asleep until Stefan nudged her leg.

"Hey, sleepy-head, we're about to land in Richmond."

"How long was I out?" she asked, stretching a bit in her seat.

"Not sure. I passed out too, lost track of time. I think at least half the flight you were asleep."

"Wow. I didn't think I'd actually be able to," she said quietly, looking around a bit.

"You had a lot to think about. I'm pretty sure if you'd stayed conscious any longer, your head would have imploded."

Caroline chuckled and smacked his arm.

A miraculous 45 minutes later and they were through customs, on their way to baggage claim. Caroline checked her phone and saw no massages or missed calls from the hospital which she took as a good sign. No news is good news. She looked up to find Stefan walking toward her, bags in hand.

"Okay so rental car or bus? Car would be faster but -"

"Caroline," he said, cutting her off. They were almost to the front doors, she could see the group of people holding signs for the people they were picking up.

"What?" she huffed, getting a little impatient. "Its only two hours from here, we have to get a move -"

"Caroline!" he interrupted again grabbing her arm. "We have a ride."

She studied the odd look on his face, a mixture of excitement and caution and asked, "Who?"

Instead of answering, he nodded his head in the direction of the crowd and Caroline turned to follow his gaze. She scanned the area until her eyes landed on a sign written in a very familiar script. It read: Forbes.

Her eyes traveled up the form, noticing the black henley covered by a black leather jacket and painfully familiar necklaces. Caroline took a deep breath as she looked at his face their eyes instantly connecting. Even after all this time, all her doubt, one look from his stormy blue eyes and none of it mattered. He was here.

Klaus smiled a little at her speechless state then looked over at Stefan - who was evidently leading her by the elbow toward him - and gave him a nod. They came to a stop about two feet from each other and Klaus brought his gaze back to hers. Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline saw Stefan step up beside Klaus and clap him on the shoulder saying, "I'll grab the car." Then he walked away, leaving the two of them standing there like idiots, just staring at one another, trying to believe it was real.

After thinking about him so much on the plane, seeing him actually standing in front of her was almost too much for Caroline. Then she remembered why he was picking her up at the airport; she was going to see her possibly dying mother at the hospital. Then she recalled wanting the comfort of his arms, thinking about it so hard on the flight she swore he was sitting right next to her.

Before she knew it, she had stepped forward and thrown her arms around his neck and burried her face in his shoulder. Immediately she felt his arms encircle her waist, pulling her closer. Caroline was hit by a sudden and intense feeling of safety, finally being where she'd only wished to be for so long. For a moment, she just enjoyed the feel of him, breathed in his unmistakable scent, ran a hand through his magnificent curls.

Then Klaus turned his head and whispered into her hair, "We can talk later, love. Right now, how about you let me take you to your mother."

With a final squeeze, Caroline loosened her grip and stepped back from him, whiping at tears she hadn't noticed falling. Whether they were tears of joy from being reunited or tears of sorrow for her mom's condition, she wasn't sure. Probably both.

Klaus inclined his head to the doors and led her outside where Stefan had already pulled the car up to the curb. He got out and opened the passenger door for her before tossing the keys to Klaus and climbing in the back. Caroline ducked into the car and focused on who was waiting for her in a hospital bed, two hours away. She thought about what they could do for her once she was home, what she would do if she never came home again. Her mom had always been there; thinking about the possibility of life without her brought fresh tears to her eyes.

With her focus out the window as buildings and trees flew past, Caroline felt warm fingers lace through hers, picking up her hand. She looked over at Klaus who brought her hand up to his lips and pressed a soft kiss on her knuckles. Her eyes fluttered clossed and she sighed, willing her brain to slow down enough so she could sleep off the remaining time between her and her mom.

"Rest, love. We'll be there soon."

Will they make it in time? Will Klaus and Caroline finally stop being stubborn and be honest about their feelings?
Let me know! Reviews are my inspiration! :)