Hey everyone! Hope everyone is doing okay. I've had this chapter written for a while but there were some tweaks that I wanted to make to it. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Please let me know what you think!

Kai awoke from his sleep slowly. He didn't want to face reality again anyway. Not with those witches feeding on him. Or vampires… whatever. He had a plan to get out though. Find the rock with the magic blood, find the ascendant, go home, and kill anyone who ever stood in his way. Starting with Bonnie Bennet.

But how would Charlie feel if Bonnie died? Well, that's a bridge he would cross when he got to it. The dreams he had while he's been locked away in this prison world have been so real. It's like she's there. Standing right in front of him. He can feel her hair brush against his arm when she rolls out of bed. Her hands on his shoulders and arms as she stands next to him while he's making breakfast. It all feels so real. So, when he finally makes his way back to the real world, he's going to make those dreams a reality.

He decided that he might as well get the day over with, so he rolled over and sat up before putting his feet on the floor. He rubbed his eyes to help wake himself up when he realized he wasn't in the room he took over in 1903. He was… at the Boarding House? He looked around and saw that he was sitting on the edge of a large bed. He's seen this room before. Well, the 1994 version of this room.

He slapped himself in the face a couple of times to make sure that he was awake. Yep, wide awake. But this felt just like the dreams he's been having. Was anything real anymore?

He was startled out of his thought as someone came out of the connected bathroom with a toothbrush in their mouth while buttoning a pair of shorts that sat high on their waste.

"Charlie?" Kai asked.

"Oh, good, you're up!" Charlie said around her toothbrush. "I wondered how long you were going to sleep." Charlie turned around and made her way back to the bathroom to spit out her toothpaste. When she re-entered the room, she smoothed out the short sleeve V-neck she had tucked into her shorts and asked, "Does this look okay?"

Kai, not one to give up the chance to admire her, gave her a once over before replying, "Of course." He would play this out like any other dream. Although this moment felt more real than when Bonnie stabbed him in 1903. "Where are you going?"

"You mean, where are we going?" Charlie asked while raising her eyebrows and digging through the closet for a pair of shoes. "Hurry up and shower. We don't want to be late."

"Late for what?" Kai asked while standing up from the bed.

Charlie gave him a confused look. "Umm, to meet with the realtor? We've been waiting on this house for long time now and the buyer finally accepted our offer. We need to go sign the paperwork."

"We're leaving the Boarding House?" He asked while stripping off his t-shirt and making his way to the bathroom for a shower.

Charlie followed him and stood in front of the mirror so she could put her earrings in and finish her hair. "Hell yeah." She responded with a laugh. Kai didn't miss her admiring his shirtless form through the reflection in the mirror and smirked to himself. That made him feel pretty good. "Damon and Elena have been married for a few months now. I know it's a big house but, they need to learn to keep things behind closed doors." She turned around and leaned against the sink while grabbing his hand and pulling him closer to her. "Besides, I'd like some privacy of our own every once in a while."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Kai responded while placing his hands on her waist. This is what he meant by real. He could see her. He could feel her. Everything about this moment seemed real, but it wasn't like any other dream he had. Because he knew, without a doubt, that there was no magic running through his veins. Charlie was definitely not a vampire. And he knew for a fact that if Charlie was in front of him right now, she wouldn't let him be this close to her like he was.

"Now hurry up and shower." Charlie said, pushing him towards the shower playfully. Kai laughed and did as he was told as he turned on the faucet to heat the water up. Charlie started to leave the room while she said over her shoulder, "I don't need my fiancé smelling up the place."

Kai whipped his head around and almost vampire like speed, "Fiancé?"

Kai woke up panting for air and knew that he was back in his reality. His actual reality. More like his living hell that is 1903. It was then he knew that these dreams weren't normal. It was too real to be normal. What the hell is going on?

Charlie sat up quickly from a deep sleep, not understanding why she suddenly woke up or why her heart was pounding. Wait a second… she's had this feeling before. She looked around and noticed that she wasn't in her room at the Boarding House this time. Instead, she was in a cute and well decorated bedroom. It gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling. It felt like… home. She just didn't know where she was.

She looked over and noticed and the other side of the bed was rumpled, as if someone had slept there. If this dream was anything like the last one, she had an idea of who it was. She heard a loud noise, which seemed to be a running theme in these dreams of hers. She didn't know where she was, but she knew where the noise came from… the kitchen.

She threw her legs over the bed and looked down, seeing that she was in the same attire as the last dream. Of course. She started to throw her hair up in a messy bun then thought better of it. Way too de ja vu for her.

She made her way into the kitchen, having no idea how she knew where the kitchen was, and saw exactly what she expected to see. Although this time was… different. There stood Kai, in his doctor's scrubs at the stove making pancakes. Instead of confusion this time though she felt… warm. As if this was a familiar sight to her dream self. And Kai in his doctor's scrubs…

"Morning, baby." Kai said, wrapping his arm around her waist as she stood next to him at the stove. He kissed her on the forehead and asked, "Did you sleep okay? It felt like you were a little restless last night."

"Yeah. Yeah, I slept fine. Sorry if I kept you up." Charlie said as she stepped away from him and grabbed a glass for water. Again, her body just took her where it felt it needed to go. Into the kitchen, to the cupboard for a glass… into Kai's outstretched arm at the stove. As if it was all instinct.

"Don't worry about it, babe." He said. He turned off the stove then turned and leaned against the counter. He gave her a once over before settling on her face and asked, "Have I told you before how sexy you are in my sweatshirt?"

Charlie laughed under her breath, "Yeah, you have actually."

"Well, then I think it just needs repeated." He said and passed her a plate of pancakes before following her to the table and taking a seat on her left. "I've got to be at the hospital soon, but after that I'll come home and change really quick before we head to the baby shower."

"Baby shower?" Charlie asked surprised. "Who's baby?"

"Damon and Elena's?" Kai said as more of a question as he shoveled some pancakes into his mouth.

"Didn't they just get married?" Charlie asked. To her, it did feel that way. It was then she realized time must've passed very differently in her dream world than it did in reality. Why should she be surprised thought? None of it made sense to her anymore.

"Two years ago, baby." Kai said with a laugh. "I'm surprised it took this long for them to get pregnant considering they go at it like bunnies."

"Gross. That's my brother." Charlie said, pushing her plate of pancakes away. "That is not a mental image I need."

"Sorry." Kai laughed. He looked down at his watch and realized what time it was. "Shit. I need to go. I'm working E.R. today."

"Go." Charlie said standing up as he grabbed his bag. "I'll clean up." She didn't know how, but this all felt like a routine to her. Waking up to him making breakfast, walking him to the door as he leaves for work and cleaning up the kitchen. It felt normal. It felt… human.

"Thank you." Kai said as he put his shoes on and threw on a jacket.

"Go save lives Dr. Parker." Charlie said as she leaned against the front door.

Kai laughed a cute little laughed and brought her left hand up to his lips. "Will do, Mrs. Parker" he said before walking out the door to his car.

It was then she noticed the white gold bridal set sitting on her left ring finger…

Charlie woke up in a panic. Sweat dripping down her face and her clothes soaked through. Once she finally caught her breath, she whispered to herself, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Elena!" Charlie exclaimed when she finally saw Elena walk into the Grille. She had called her there to talk to her about what had been happening with her lately.

"Hey, Charlie." Elena sat down across from her. "What was so urgent that you needed me for?" Elena took in Charlie's appearance. She looked tired, worn down, and basically exhausted.

"You remember, when you and Stefan were having those like, vision things when the Traveler's came into town?" Charlie asked.

"How could I forget?" Elena asked.

"Okay, well, what did they feel like?" Charlie asked.

"Umm, they felt… real." Elena tried to explain. "They felt like a different reality, of what things would have been like if we were human. When I would 'wake up' I knew that it was just a different, like, dimension if that's what you want to call it. But while I was there, I didn't want to leave. At first, I knew that it wasn't real. I knew that there was something going on. But the more and more I got pulled in, the more I wanted to stay." She confessed.

"Oh, God." Charlie said and put her head down on the table.

"Charlie, what's going on?" Elena asked.

"Well," Charlie started. "I think, that in some weird way, what happened to you and Stefan, is happening to me."

"You mean you're having visions?" Elena asked.

"They only happen when I'm asleep. I don't get them just walking around or randomly like you did." Charlie explained. "But they feel so real. And it's like you said, the more I'm there, the less I want to leave and come back to reality."

"Are you serious?" Elena asked. "Why would they be happening again? It's not like another doppelganger situation again."

"I don't know. I don't get it but…" Charlie trailed off. "I don't know if I want them to stop."

"Charlie this could be serious." Elena tried. "There has to be a reason these are happening. Are you human in these dreams?"

"I think so," Charlie said. "I don't know for certain but, I have a funny suspicion that I am. Maybe that's why I don't want them to stop because in them, I just… I feel normal."

"I get it." Elena said, "I really do. It took me a second to come back to reality and realize that these visions weren't real… and they never would be."

"I know." Charlie said.

"Wait, I was being connected to Stefan." Elena said, realizing something. "Who are you being connected to?"

Charlie put her head down on the table and mumbled, "Hmnuph."

"Who?" Elena asked, not hearing what she said, even with her vampire hearing.

Charlie lifted her head off the table, took a look around, then whispered to Elena, "I'm dreaming about Kai, okay?"

"Kai Parker!" Elena exclaimed.

"Shhhh. Will you keep quiet?" Charlie asked in a hush tone. "I know, okay. It doesn't make sense, but that's what happening. We're both human, I think. We're together. He's a doctor and it's just normal… it's human and something about it feels like home." She confessed. "Then I wake up, back to reality, and there's this… this hole inside of me. Like something is missing."

"I get it, Charlie." Elena promised. "I really do. But you have to understand that it's not real. There's something, or some reason, that you're having them. But it's not reality."

"I know." Charlie admitted, a little sad. "I know that. But there's something inside me… that wants it to be real."

"Wait a second," Elena said. "When these were happening to me, Stefan was having visions of the same thing."

"You don't think," Charlie started, seeing where Elena was going with this. "He's in 1903."

"I know, but if this is the same thing…" Elena trailed off.

"Then Kai is having these dreams too." Charlie realized. "Great."

Charlie gasped as she woke up. Great. This again. She noticed that she was in the same room she was in last time. It was the same cute, warm, lived in room of hers and Kai's house. Last time they were married. She couldn't help but wonder how much time had passed this time.

She quickly brushed her teeth and went downstairs. Walking into the kitchen she saw Kai standing at the stove, just like all the other dreams. Although there was something blaringly different this time. There was a small girl sitting on the counter next to Kai. She had dark blonde, almost brown hair like Kai's that fell to her shoulders. She couldn't have been older than five. When the child looked up, Charlie saw her own eyes staring back at her.

"Mommy!" The little girl exclaimed before using the step stool that was next to the counter to climb down and run over to her.

"Mommy…" Charlie whispered to herself. On instinct, as soon as the little girl reached her, Charlie picked her up in her arms and held her close.

"Amelia, mommy just woke up." Kai said before turning off the stove and turning toward the two. "Give her a minute before you knock her over."

"Amelia." Charlie whispered to herself again. Her heart was pounding in her chest. That was something she hadn't felt, well, since she was human.

"Come on, honey." Kai said, taking Amelia from Charlie who let go of her reluctantly. "Go wash your hands and get ready for breakfast."

Amelia scrambled over to the counter to get her stepstool before pushing to the sink. She clambered up the stepstool before washing her hands.

"You okay, babe?" Kai asked, pulling her closer to him.

"She's beautiful." Charlie said, lost in a trance. She couldn't take her eyes off the little girl.

"Just like you." Kai said with love in his eyes. "She acts just like you, too. Stubborn as hell." Kai laughed. Charlie laughed because she could definitely believe it. "I kind of want this next one to be a boy so I don't get ganged up on all the time. But as long as the baby's healthy that's all I care about."

Charlie's eyes snapped away from the child drying her hands at the sink and looked Kai in the eye. "The next one?"

Kai placed his hand on Charlie's stomach. That's when she looked down and noticed the tightness of her t-shirt over her stomach. Tears sprang to Charlie's eyes. She did everything she could to hold them in, but she couldn't help it.

"What's wrong, baby?" Kai asked in worry after seeing the tears fall down her cheeks.

Charlie wrapped her arms around Kai's neck and buried her face in his chest, letting out her sobs. Kai pulled her into his embrace and held her tightly, growing more and more worried by the second.

"Doll face, you're starting to scare me." Kai said.

"I don't want to leave." Charlie said between sobs.

"Leave?" Kai asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Please don't make me leave." Charlie said, "I don't want to leave." She repeated over and over again. "I don't want to leave…"

Kai and Charlie bother woke up suddenly in their respective worlds. Charlie brought her hand to her face and felt the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. Kai looked down and saw wet spots on his t-shirt from her tears.

"I don't want to leave." Charlie said again to herself.

"You're not going anywhere." Kai said to himself, as if responding to Charlie's world. "I promise."

"Charlie?" Elena asked as she knocked on Charlie's bedroom door at the Boarding House. "What are you doing here?"

Charlie continued to lay there. After last nights dream, she didn't know how to feel. So, she came over to the Boarding House and holed herself up in her bedroom.

"Charlie?" Elena asked again. She walked to the other side of the bed and saw Charlie staring off into nothing. She took off her shoes and crawled into bed next to her. "Is it the dream?"

"We had kids." Charlie said in sadness. "I was pregnant. I had a daughter… her name was Amelia."

Elena listened to Charlie then said, "But it wasn't real."

"But I wanted it to be." Charlie said. "I didn't want to leave."

"Was it because of Kai?" Elena asked. She had been thinking about that ever since Charlie told her it was Kai she was seeing in her dreams.

"No." Charlie answered. "At least I don't think so. Did you want to stay in your dream world because of Stefan?"

"No." Elena replied back. "I think it was just the fantasy of it all that made me want to stay."

"I was human." Charlie continued. "I had a house. And a husband… I had a child and another one on the way. But even in the dream I knew it wasn't real, and that's what killed me. I knew it wasn't real, and that that was my reality. I knew, in that moment, that I could have the house and the husband. I could have a career and all the money that I wanted. But I will never have children. I'll never be pregnant, and feel my stomach growing with a child." Charlie explained all of this to Elena with tears flowing down her face.

Elena gathered Charlie in her arms and held her while she cried. There was nothing she could say to take away the pain that Charlie was feeling.

"We need to talk to Bonnie." Elena said. "Maybe she can do some digging and figure out why you're having these dreams…"

"I need to figure it out." Charlie said. "I don't know how much longer I can feel like this."

Elena held Charlie for a little bit longer. They talked about the details of Jo's bachelorette party that would be happening next week before Elena got up and made her way to the door.

"Hey, Elena?" Charlie said as she sat up in bed.

"Yeah?"

"When you and Damon are human, if you decide to start a family… will you tell me all about it?" Charlie asked.

"Of course." Elena answered. "I couldn't do it without you."

Charlie woke up… in her dream world… again… great! How much longer was this going to happen? Charlie had explained her situation to Bonnie and her best witch friend was going to see what she could figure out.

Charlie got out of bed and wondered what the dream world had in store for her this time. She went downstairs like every other time and saw Kai standing at the stove. She looked over at the table and saw Amelia in a booster seat and a baby, probably 7 months old, sitting in a highchair.

"Morning, baby." Kai said as he plated up some pancakes.

"I can't." Charlie said, knowing this wasn't real. She had been pushed to her limit. She couldn't keep dreaming like this. It was too real… and it was tearing her apart.

"Charlie?" Kai asked, taking a step towards her.

"Charlie." She heard a familiar voice say behind her. She turned around and saw Enzo standing there. He had never been in her dreams before, why was he here now?

"Enzo?" Charlie asked and instinctively took a step towards him. Seeing him here was like a breath of fresh air. It was also like a bucket of cold water washing over her. The whole time she knew this was all a dream. Because she knew that if this was reality, she would be with Enzo. He would be her husband and the father of her kids. Her subconscious knew that all of this wasn't real, because the only world where this would be her reality was one that had Enzo in it… no one else.

"Charlie," Kai said. She turned around and saw Kai standing there with the baby in his arms and Amelia at his side. "Don't leave us."

Charlie stepped towards her dream family and admired them for the last time. She knew that this was it. She knew that she would never see this again. As much as she wanted to stay in this dream world, she knew that it was slowly driving the real her insane. She needed to break free while she had the chance.

"This isn't real." Charlie muttered.

"But it can be." Kai said.

Charlie paused for a moment before backing away slowly. "You're not real. This isn't real… I have to go."

Charlie turned around and stepped towards Enzo who had his hand stretched out towards her. She grasped his hand in hers and followed him towards the glowing light in the front door of the house.

She ignored Kai's calls for her as she walked towards the door. But what had her pausing was the baby crying and Amelia calling out "Mommy." Her heart broke for the family that she would never have, but she had to leave… She had to.

She followed Enzo out the door and away from the family that she always wanted.

The last thing she heard as she walked through the door was Kai shouting, "Charlie!"

Charlie sat up from her side of the bed at Enzo's apartment. She looked over at the bedside table and saw her phone lighting up and vibrating with a phone call. She saw Bonnie's name and snatched her phone up as quick as she could.

"Bonnie?" Charlie said as she answered.

"Charlie!" Bonnie said. "I know what's going on!"

Charlie agreed to meet Bonnie as soon as she could before hanging up. By the time she got off the phone, Enzo, who had been asleep next to her, was awake and asked, "What's going on?"

Charlie took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you."

"So you've been having dreams…" Enzo started.

"Yeah," Charlie replied.

"About Kai,"

"Yeah."

"And in these dreams, you two are together… and you have a family." Enzo continued. "But you didn't tell me until now because…"

"Because I didn't know what they meant." Charlie explained. "I knew that they weren't real. But I'll admit, a part of me didn't want to leave."

"Because of Kai?" Enzo asked after a second of processing.

"No." Charlie assured him. "Because it was… normal. I felt normal and human. But the whole time I knew it wasn't real."

"How did you know?" Enzo asked.

"Because you weren't there." Charlie said. "There is no world, dream or reality, that I would be happy in if I wasn't with you." Charlie ran her hand down the side of his face. "You're my forever, Enzo. In this world and the next. No matter what."

Enzo pulled her in for a loving kiss, absolutely moved by the amazing creature in front of him.

"Let's go see Bonnie."

"When you told me what was going on, I knew that your mother was involved." Bonnie said when Charlie and Enzo arrived at her dorm room at Whitmore.

"My mother?" Charlie asked. "Why?"

"She has her weird family or whatever still trapped in the prison world." Bonnie explained. "In order to get her to agree to help get Stefan back, Damon promised her that I would help get her people out of there."

"What?!" Charlie asked, unbelieving of what her brother promised her.

"Tell me about it." Bonnie said. "So, when you told me that Kai could be having the same dreams, I looked through Grams grimoire and performed a spell."

"And what did you figure out?" Enzo asked.

"Lily found a witch and did a spell to connect you and Kai." Bonnie said.

"Why would she do that?" Charlie asked.

"In doing the spell that I preformed, I was able to see Lily's interaction with the witch who did the spell." Bonnie explained. "Apparently this witch wasn't very good though. Lily was trying to connect herself with one of her people in 1903 to tell them that she was getting them out. But something went wrong, and the witch ended up connecting you and Kai instead. I don't know how it happened, but that's why you were having these dreams that felt like another reality."

"If Lily knows a witch, why would she need you to get her people out of 1903?" Enzo asked.

Charlie explained this one. "The spell requires Bennet blood to perform. Well, that, and the ascendant. So, can you undo the spell?"

"I can," Bonnie said. "But I don't think I need to."

"What do you mean?" Enzo asked.

Bonnie stepped closer to Charlie and held her hand over her heart. Bonnie concentrated for a moment before opening her eyes and saying, "Just as I thought. The spells already gone."

"It's gone? How?" Charlie asked.

"You said that in your last dream you walked away from the life you had, right?" Bonnie asked. "Away from Kai and the kids?"

"Yeah." Charlie responded. "I saw Enzo, and I-I knew I had to leave."

"You broke yourself out of the spell." Bonnie explained. "You should be able to sleep tonight, no problems."

"Thank you, Bonnie." Charlie said as she stood up and gave her a hug. "If you have any troubles with Lily, just let me know okay?"

"You got it."

"You really love me, don't you?" Enzo asked as he and Charlie walked hand in hand away from Whitmore.

Charlie laughed. "Why do you say that?"

"You broke yourself out of a spell, sweetheart." Enzo explained. "If that's not love, I don't know what is."

"Well, don't say I never did anything for you." Charlie joked.

Enzo stopped walking, which brought Charlie to a halt. She turned around and looked at him, wondering why he stopped all of a sudden.

"There's not enough time in the world to explain all of the things you've done for me." Enzo told her. "You loved me, in the most inconvenient of times. You made me smile, when all I wanted to do was die. I spent decades, laying on a table being opened and closed for a science experiment. And the only reason I refused to give up, was because I wanted to find you."

Charlie stared back at Enzo, not knowing where all of this was coming from, but not wanting to interrupt him, she just listened.

"It kills me that I can't give you the reality that you deserve. If there was anything, I could do for you to have children of your own, I'd do it in a heartbeat." Enzo continued. "I can't give you everything you had in your dream world, but there is one thing I can give you."

Charlie watched as Enzo released her hands before reaching into his pocket. She watched as he knelt down on one knee before opening the ring box he held in his hand, revealing the most beautiful engagement ring she had every seen.

"Charlotte Salvatore," Enzo started, "I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me?"

…

Please leave a review! I would love to hear what you thought of this chapter! What did you think when Charlie and Kai first woke up in their respective dream worlds?