Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries - the original books were written by L J Smith and the TV show was developed by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson. This story is the product of their characters and world and my imagination.

This is canon up to the end of season 4 of TVD except Katherine isn't given the cure and there is no Hope.

I started writing this when I got the spoilers about the finale a few days before it aired. Suffice to say I was completely horrified by what the writers did but I liked the idea of Caroline keeping the voicemail and so this story was born. There are mentions of New Orleans things but I've disregarded The Originals.

"Caroline. I'm standing in one of my favourite places in the world, surrounded by food, music, art, culture, and all I can think about is how much I want to show it to you. Maybe one day you'll let me."

She doesn't want to admit to herself what Klaus' voicemail makes her feel.

They've all come to a détente of sorts with the Original Hybrid, and Caroline knows that there is far more than that between the two of them, but after so long of pushing her feelings for Klaus away she struggles to embrace them.

The sincerity in his voice makes her heart beat a little faster, though.

However, she can't think about Klaus right now.

He's gone to New Orleans and she … well she has college and a life to build, a mom to spend time with (because Liz Forbes' humanity weighs heavily on Caroline and she knows she's only got so many years left with her).

She knows instinctively that if she starts something with Klaus then it won't be casual. And she's not ready for that, not at all. She's only eighteen after all, barely a year into her life in the supernatural world. It's too raw as well, all the things he's done, and it's still hard to reconcile the monster with the man.

She knows she should probably delete the voicemail and forget all about it.

Yet she can't bring herself to do that. The thought is abhorrent to her.

So she hits save and tries not to think about the curve of Klaus' dimpled smile.

She sees him again, far sooner than she imagines.

Only it isn't Klaus, but Silas instead.

She tries not to think of the reason why Silas has chosen Klaus' form to taunt her with, because danger lies in those thoughts.

He's so realistic, though … scarily so.

And he makes her honest, too honest. If there's one good thing about the whole mess then it's the fact that the real Klaus never hears her admission.

Because Klaus is the sort to grasp hold of any leverage he can get and use it ruthlessly, even when he's trying to be charming.

When it's all over she goes home and stares at her phone for ten minutes straight.

Then, with slightly trembling fingers, she selects the saved voicemail and listens to it.

She almost exhales in relief when she hears Klaus' voice, unencumbered by Silas' venom.

And if she listens to it a few times more, just to make herself feel better, then nobody but her has to know.

Graduation comes and this time Klaus is the hero.

A smirking one who uses graduation caps to decapitate witches, but it is Klaus after all.

She smiles and realises how happy she is to see him, especially when he grins back at her.

Perhaps it's a good thing she's getting away to college – she has a feeling that extended proximity to Klaus might be dangerous for her heart.

Later, he finds her alone and shocks her with his selflessness when he tells her he's allowing Tyler to return to Mystic Falls.

She can see the glint in his eyes that reminds her he isn't conceding, especially when he makes his promise to her.

"He's your first love. I intend to be your last … however long it takes."

And even though she loves Tyler, even though Klaus is a supernatural nightmare she should stay far away from ….

She believes him.

College is a lot of fun, at least when there aren't supernatural emergencies occurring.

Unfortunately, with Whitmore so close to Mystic Falls, it sometimes seems like there are potential disasters to avert every other weekend.

She can deal with most of them, but Silas' return pushes her close to the edge of her tether. A hundred times or more she reaches for her phone, to make a call or even just send a text to the number that Klaus had put into her phone after graduation.

But she wants to do this herself, wants to know she can be brave and strong and cope with the supernatural world she is part of without Original assistance.

It gets harder when Tyler finally decides he can't stay, that the woods and other wolves call to him too much.

She takes a little solace in the fact that it's not Hayley he's running off to.

(Hayley's bones lie buried in the bayou, death being the sentence Klaus imposed on her for conspiring with the New Orleans witches to attempt an absurd deception involving an impossible pregnancy).

She loved Tyler, loves him still even though they've grown apart.

Saying goodbye to him hurts terribly, and brings up all the old feelings of insecurity that she thought she'd put behind her.

She picks up her phone and begins to listen to Klaus' voicemail without even thinking about it, and it sparks a wanderlust in her that she can't shake.

So, come spring break, Caroline heads to Europe.

It's not too long a trip, only two weeks at hostels on a shoestring budget, supplemented very occasionally by subtle use of compulsion.

She still doesn't like compulsion, or the nightmares of Damon that still linger even now, but she's learning to use it when necessary.

She's not ready to entirely embrace her monster, so she steers clear of the known supernatural hotspots when she visits big cities, but she enjoys the history, the monuments, the culture and the nightlife.

In Prague, the first city she visits, Caroline buys a postcard on a whim, and before she knows it she's filled the back with an excited account of her trips to the Old Town, Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral.

She doesn't think too closely about the fact that she's kept the card with Klaus' New Orleans address, the one that came with the mini-fridge he sent as a graduation present (together with a ridiculous number of gift cards to use for university supplies) at the beginning of her first year, only copies it onto the postcard and mails it quickly before she changes her mind.

She finds postcards for him in every place she visits.

Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna.

She chooses an absolutely random selection of places, but there's fun in that, and it's nice to see different places and cultures.

Sometimes she wonders why she sends postcards only to Klaus, but she knows deep down that it's because he's the one who inspired her in the first place.

His voicemail that has her trying to get her fill of food, music, art and culture.

When Caroline gets back to Whitmore, refreshed for a new semester, she finds a box on her bed.

Inside is a beautiful, handcrafted carnival mask with jewels and feathers in varying shades of blue. She somehow knows that this isn't some shop-bought item - in fact it's probably an heirloom worth more money than her mom makes in a year.

There is a card inside, with Klaus' distinctive script scrawled across it.

The Carnival of Venice is always an event to remember.

Part of her thinks she should return the obviously expensive mask. Surely Klaus has realised by now that he can't buy her?

Another part of her, though, believes that maybe that isn't what he's trying to do. Perhaps he just wants to help her enjoy her travels.

He is, after all, the one who's always been interested in her desire to escape her small-town life.

She sits down at her laptop to google the carnival and finds out it occurs just before Mardi Gras.

She looks again at the exquisite mask and smiles.

It looks like she's going to Venice next year.

Sadly, Caroline doesn't get to Venice quite as soon as she wants to.

An unexpected, and nasty, turn of events during her final year sees Caroline and her friends facing off against the Augustine Society, whose tests on vampires make Caroline want to rip out some hearts.

She gets a new friend out of it. Enzo is charming, murderous and has an accent – Damon snarks that he's just her type, but while Caroline can see the similarities between Enzo and Klaus, the former soon becomes more like a brother than anything else.

Klaus still lingers in the back of her mind, stubbornly refusing to leave. Sometimes she listens to his voicemail just to hear his voice, because she's still not ready to have an actual conversation with him.

When Caroline graduates with a business degree and the knowledge that she's been part of shutting down the Augustine Society's horrific activities, she decides she needs a break.

She's helped save Mystic Falls, has assisted her friends in countless escapades at her own peril, and now she wants to get away.

She starts with road trips around America. As she'd once told Klaus, she's never really been anywhere – or at least she hadn't before college – and so before she goes back to Europe and beyond, she thinks she should get to know her home country a little better.

Enzo and Bonnie are her preferred companions. Stefan is pining over Elena again and not in the mood to do much of anything, and since Elena never seems to go anywhere without Damon these days, she's out too (because it'll be a cold day in Hell before Caroline voluntarily spends any significant length of time with Damon Salvatore).

She stays far away from New Orleans, but otherwise finds herself all over the country. She still sends postcards to Klaus, amusing Enzo and worrying Bonnie. They're not usually long, just a few lines about anything that catches her eye, a monument she finds interesting or even just a really delicious meal.

So much of it is new and exciting to her, and she rather likes having someone to babble to about it, even if only in written form.

Months and months pass this way, and Caroline loves it.

She's got money from her dad's life insurance and she supplements it with short bouts of work when she finds a city she loves. Temping in offices, bartending, even a little bit of modelling. She thinks that one day she might like to have a steady job and a proper home, but for the moment she just enjoys travelling, seeing the world and getting countless new experiences.

The year after graduation, Caroline and Enzo head to Venice for the carnival.

She carries the mask in her hand luggage, very aware of how delicate it is and determined to ensure it remains in pristine condition.

They splurge on a fairly fancy hotel rather than their usual hostels and cheap motels, and on their first day there Caroline leaves Enzo lounging by the hotel pool (flirting with no less than three women and two men all at once) so that she can go shopping for a dress to go with her mask.

The boutiques are rather more intimidating than the shops Caroline is used to in Mystic Falls, but she refuses to show any kind of nerves to the sale assistants who tend to be overly friendly and seemingly unaware of the concept of personal space, or wearing perpetually frosty expressions as they look at her like they're cataloguing her physical flaws.

She sees what she thinks must be the perfect dress after three hours of shopping, but as she reaches to look at it, another hand beats her to it. She turns to glare at the interloper (the dress is amazing and she wants it badly) only to find herself face to face with Rebekah Mikaelson.

"Oh, it's you," Rebekah glares, but there's not much venom in it and Caroline realises that Rebekah isn't as put out to see her as she'd like Caroline to think.

"Rebekah," she says evenly, "what a ... nice surprise."

Rebekah rolls her eyes, "a surprise for us both. I guess I know now why Nik was so insistent that I should visit Venice this week."

Caroline's eyes widen and her traitorous heart beats a bit faster. Rebekah narrows her eyes, clearly noticing, and Caroline blushes very slightly.

"I still don't know what he sees in you," Rebekah sighs, "but if you're in here then at least your fashion sense has improved."

She pauses for a moment and tilts her head to regard Caroline. She feels rather like a gazelle being evaluated by a lion whose trying to decide if they'll make a good meal, and she tries very hard not to freak out.

"Shopping's more fun when there's someone to tell me how fabulous I look," the Original says, "and while this place is good, I know somewhere even better – are you coming?"

For a moment Caroline wants to say no, but there is something in Rebekah's gaze now, the smallest hint of vulnerability, of the longing for company.

"Sure," she says, "I don't have to be back at the hotel for a few hours."

As Rebekah grabs her arm and practically drags her out of the shop, Caroline wonders what she's let herself in for.

Shopping with Rebekah is an experience.

Caroline has no intention of being bullied, but Rebekah has just as much of a forceful personality as her brother and she marches Caroline in and out of a parade of shops with what seems to be next to no effort.

Thankfully, it also seems that out of Mystic Falls, away from the toxic environment of her family and Caroline's friends trying to kill each other, Rebekah is actually a lot of fun.

Nice she is not, but then that's not a word that's often used to describe Caroline either.

She doesn't want to ask after Klaus particularly, knowing better than to give Rebekah anything to use against her, but in the end she doesn't have to.

Rebekah takes full advantage of a new audience to air all her current grievances with her family.

Elijah, it seems, has once more taken up with Katherine – or, as Rebekah calls her, "the slutty doppelganger, although at least she has an actual personality, which is more than I can say for Elena Gilbert" – and they are residing in London.

Caroline can't really picture Elijah, with his immaculately tailored suits and his twisted version of nobility, with fiery Katherine, but she doesn't know Elijah very well so she supposes that maybe it works for them.

Caroline's couple of weeks with Katherine (in Elena's body) as a roommate also taught her that the doppelganger is fierce when it comes to getting what she wants, so it doesn't surprise her that she managed to get the supposed love of her life back despite all the obstacles.

"Nik hates it, of course," Rebekah tells her, "he threatens to kill Katerina at least twice a week – last time they were in the same room together he'd pulled her heart nearly the whole way out of her chest before Elijah stopped him."

Klaus, Caroline thinks, clearly hasn't changed much. Although she's sure that if he really wanted to kill Katherine then not even Elijah could stop him – there's food for thought in that idea.

Kol is in Canada, clearly behaving with a modicum of restraint since Caroline hasn't heard any news about massacres there recently.

"Kol was dead, though," she says to Rebekah.

The Original scoffs, "you didn't really think Nik was just going to let him stay dead, though? We know a lot of witches, Caroline, and death isn't always the end, not for us."

Caroline wonders how many of those witches had to die for Kol to return – if her friendship with Bonnie has taught her one thing about magic, it's that there is always a price. But she decides not to consider it – after all, Elena and Jeremy caused the deaths of thousands of vampires when they murdered Kol, so none of them really have room to talk.

"Do you see him much?" she asks.

"Oh he comes to New Orleans every few weeks," Rebekah says, "and drives us all crazy. He annoyed me so much the last time he visited that I was forced to stab him with my heels. They were special edition Valentino too, and I just can't get all the blood off them."

Caroline just nods and smiles. Mikaelson family dinners must be a nightmare.

There's a new Mikaelson too, or rather a rediscovered one.

Caroline doesn't know how someone with Freya's backstory can be the most well-balanced one in a family, but this is the Mikaelsons and it's really not hard when you consider the atrocities she knows Klaus, Kol, Elijah and Rebekah have perpetrated over the centuries.

Rebekah seems excited to have a sister. It would be almost sweet, if Caroline didn't know that Rebekah is more likely to eviscerate someone who calls her that than thank them.

Rebekah doesn't offer up much about herself and mostly just moans about her brothers.

"Nik keeps eating anyone I go out with," she complains, "he says they're dull. There's Marcel, I suppose, but I'm still angry with him, and besides he's sulking because Nik came back to New Orleans and made him stop pretending he was king."

Caroline has no idea who Marcel is, but clearly he's in an unenviable position – being in Klaus' bad books tends to be a one-way ticket to losing your heart (and probably a few other limbs before that).

"Then I decided to go to Milan," Rebekah continues, "but it was just absolutely dead there. I was rather relieved when Nik suggested I come here, though clearly he had ulterior motives – to be honest, I really expected him to do his own stalking when it came to you."

Caroline rather agrees with Rebekah. And if she's the tiniest bit disappointed not to see Klaus in person, well she's not about to admit it to Rebekah, of all people.

Caroline doesn't hear anything directly about Klaus until she and Rebekah are back at the hotel and introductions have been made between Enzo and Rebekah.

The two of them hit it off right away. It kind of terrifies Caroline.

Enzo asks about Klaus, curious about the man Caroline keeps so quiet about but still sends postcards to almost religiously.

"He's doing the usual," Rebekah waves a careless hand, "painting, murder, visiting art galleries, murder, ruining my love life, murder."

Caroline thinks this may be a slightly unfair description. She hasn't heard from Klaus directly, but Bonnie's in contact with some of the New Orleans witches, who admit that after purging the witches trying to trick him when he first arrived in town, he's mostly left them all alone unless they've acted against him.

She's sure he makes clear examples of anyone who stands against him, but her handful of years as a vampire have given her a little perspective about monsters and the supernatural – Klaus isn't her nightmare, and the rules of their world don't follow human morality.

They remain in Venice a week, Rebekah choosing to extend her three day stay to match theirs. She's already booked into the same hotel as them, which would surprise Caroline (there's at least half a dozen fancier hotels within half an hour of their location) if she didn't have a sneaking suspicion Klaus arranged it that way.

At first she's daunted by the prospect of a whole week with Rebekah, but out of Mystic Falls the Original isn't nearly as intolerable as she was to Caroline in her hometown. She knows all the best spots too, all the little secrets about the city that they never would have discovered otherwise.

Watching Rebekah and Enzo together is … interesting. They seem to spend most of their time arguing and the rest shut up in Rebekah's hotel suite having ridiculously loud sex. Somehow, though, they really do seem to suit each other. And Enzo, of course, is just crazy enough not to be intimidated by Rebekah's brothers.

If the two of them get serious, though, Caroline might have to brave an actual phone conversation with Klaus to make sure he knows he absolutely cannot kill her best friend.

Caroline and Enzo part at the end of their Venice holiday. She's going back to Mystic Falls to see her mom and he's decided to go on to Rome with Rebekah.

Enzo invites her to come along, but even if Rebekah wasn't giving her a look that suggests pain if she goes with them, Caroline would still have refused anyway – Klaus' promise from the Mikaelson Ball is always there in the back of her mind and she's got no desire to set foot in Rome, Paris or Tokyo just yet.

When Caroline gets back to her house in Mystic Falls, lugging a whole extra suitcase to fit all her souvenirs in, there's a package waiting for her on her bed.

The handwriting on the label gives away the sender as Klaus, and she opens it up with a slight nervousness to find half a dozen sketches inside.

Five of them depict various scenes from Venice, all of which she recognises, even if some seem to show the area as it was a few centuries ago, and the detail in them suggests Klaus has visited the city himself many times.

The final sketch is of Caroline herself from the shoulders up, wearing her mask. At first she thinks Rebekah must have sent him photos, but when she looks more closely she realises he's sketched things a photograph wouldn't pick up, things he must have drawn from memory.

It's a magnificent piece and Caroline feels warm inside at the effort Klaus has clearly put into the drawings, and at how well he has remembered her face.

Her phone rings while she's still admiring the gift. She considers not answering, but knows it might be her mom letting her know when she'll be back from the station and so she picks it up without even glancing at the screen.

"Hello."

"Hello, love."

Caroline sucks in a breath as she tries to deal with the shock of hearing Klaus' voice. She hasn't spoken to him since graduation, though she has now got into the habit of listening to his voicemail every few months (and sometimes more often).

"… Klaus … how did you get my number?"

She has his number in her phone, but she knows she's never offered him hers.

"Rebekah sent it to me as a bribe so I wouldn't kill her new boyfriend. She says he's a friend of yours – how attached are you to him?"

"You better not hurt Enzo," she warns him, "or the only reason I'll be turning up at your door is to stab you with a stake."

"Easy, love," he laughs, "I'll restrain myself, for your sake. Now, why don't you tell me all about Venice?"

It's a topic she can say quite a lot about, and so after she thanks him for the mask (which had garnered her many compliments) they pass an entertaining hour as she narrates tales from her holiday and Klaus interjects occasionally with stories from his own visits there.

He always seems completely and utterly fascinated by everything she tells him, even if she's only describing a really nice dessert she'd tried.

Klaus may be many terrible things, but uninterested in what she has to say has certainly never been one of them. He asks all kinds of questions about her thoughts on the architecture, culture, music and food there.

He even, rather begrudgingly, asks a little about Enzo. Caroline is sure he's already got his minions researching her friend, but at least he's trying to get some information honestly.

She's not sure if it would be a good idea for Enzo and Klaus to ever meet. She thinks Enzo is a lot like how Rebekah describes Kol, often enjoying needling people into an amusing overreaction. Except with Klaus, overreactions normally come with body counts.

When she says goodbye to Klaus, Caroline has a wide smile on her face.

She's remembering why she's been so careful to avoid phone calls with Klaus. It's not the same as a face to face meeting, but he's certainly still extremely charming over the phone.

Still, she can't go to him yet. Her head knows that, even as her heart whispers that it's inevitable that one day she'll find him so that they can finally explore what is between them.

Caroline doesn't call him again while she's home, and he has the sense not to try ringing her.

Instead, she spends time with her mom and even talks her into taking an unprecedented three weeks off work so that they can go to Spain together in six months.

She catches up with Bonnie, pointedly refuses to talk about Klaus (Enzo has clearly been gossiping with her witchy friend) and meets Elena (minus Damon, thank God) one afternoon, though she spends most of the time trying to hide her eye rolls as Elena gushes about Damon as if she's forgotten all the horrific things he did to Caroline (and yeah, she might have … feelings about Klaus, but at least she is kind enough not to constantly talk about such feelings to those who have suffered because of him).

Bonnie is still her best friend (even if that role is now shared with Enzo) but Caroline feels she and Elena are continually growing apart.

She can't find it in herself to mind very much.

Three years pass.

Caroline crosses countless cities off her list, learns Spanish and French, enough Italian to get by and some basic Mandarin phrases.

She and her mom have an amazing holiday, and Caroline rejoices at the relaxed aura her mom gets, a nice change from the stress and strain being sheriff of Mystic Falls causes.

She and Klaus talk every few months, and Caroline finds her yearning to listen to the voicemail wanes now she has semi-regular contact with him. He always offers her use of his properties (he has so many worldwide that she wonders how he keeps track of them all) and while she isn't sure about it at first, she soon begins to take him up on his offer, knowing he means well.

She doesn't always like what Klaus does, but she does trust him.

They argue of course. Since Rebekah has apparently decided that Caroline is now her friend, she tends to show up unexpectedly every now and then, often complaining about Klaus' latest massacre.

It's not exactly what Caroline wants to hear and she's not shy about telling Klaus that.

Some things she can understand, like self-defence or a reaction to betrayal, but killing an entire coven just because one member tries to kill you is, she thinks, not really acceptable.

It's a hard line to walk with Klaus. She doesn't want to be his moral compass or his conscience, nor does she expect that he'll be able to unlearn a thousand years of blood and violence and power.

Things aren't as black and white to her as they were when they first met either. She doesn't need him to become a completely different person for her, knows that in the supernatural world weakness is dangerous and that fear plays a large part in the Originals keeping control … but a little restraint would be nice.

Klaus doesn't take criticism well. She suspects he never has, and she thinks that part of the fault for that might lie with Mikael.

For someone as deadly as he is, Klaus can sometimes be almost bashful about certain things, most notably his artistic talents.

She still remembers when he told her about his painting in The Hermitage (she keeps meaning to visit, but feels like it might a trip best taken with Klaus as her guide), and the lack of boasting, as if his comment had been almost an afterthought.

He's never cruel to her, but he can certainly be very biting and brusque, enough that she has to hang up the phone before she snaps back and they descend into bickering.

She doesn't mind lively debates with Klaus, even when they don't agree, but she doesn't enjoy truly fighting with him.

Things are going well, though.

She likes being free to wander the world, to learn through experience. She thinks she'll do another degree at some point, but maybe not for a decade or two. She's got the time, after all.

And she's not pining for Klaus, not really. She has a couple of flings, some dates, all of them very casual. A part of her has accepted that Klaus will undoubtedly be her future, but that doesn't mean she has to be celibate in the meantime – she doesn't imagine Klaus is (though she hopes he shows better taste now than he did when he slept with Hayley).

Admittedly, she does find herself missing him, even if it's been years since she's seen him in person. Klaus is the sort to get under your skin and stay there – she imagines he knows that and is unbearably smug about it.

But she's happy. She's in a good place, building a life for herself outside of Klaus (because that's important to her, to know that she can escape from his orbit if she ever needs a break).

Then, of course, Damon bloody Salvatore has to come in and ruin things.

The thing about Damon is that he thinks he's about a thousand times smarter than he actually is.

He also thinks his plans are actually well thought out and clever. Spoiler alert – they're not.

She's on a brief visit to her mom when he finds her in at The Grill. She ignores him, because she decided after graduation that she wouldn't be pushed into acting like they're friends, like she doesn't have flashbacks almost every time she sees him.

What Damon did to her years ago was rape and abuse, even if none of her Mystic Falls friends will ever admit it out loud. She won't kill him because Elena loves him (though she often wonders if that will change one day, if eventually her friendship with Elena will deteriorate enough that her feelings on the matter won't count to Caroline) but she sure as hell isn't going to be friendly.

Damon, it turns out, is after the cure for Elena, who apparently now yearns for a human life.

Caroline has no idea why. There are things she misses about being human, but Klaus was right all those years ago.

She likes being strong, fearless, ageless.

She also wonders if Damon remembers that there has only ever been one dose of the cure. She supposes he plans to lurk creepily around while Elena ages and then kill himself in a dramatic fashion when she dies.

Caroline has no real problem with that plan. She'll mourn Elena, but not Damon.

No, the issue is that there is no cure.

She doesn't like to remember the period of time where the cure was on everyone's minds. She had never wanted it for herself, but she had been dragged into the search anyway, and it had been that search which ended up freeing Silas.

Elena wanted to cure Katherine, which Caroline had thought was a giant waste considering all the trouble everyone had gone to in order to get it, but when the dust settled it had been Klaus who ended up with it.

No one has seen it since.

"It's gone, Damon," Caroline tells him impatiently.

"Klaus has it," he counters, "and you, Barbie, are the one who can persuade him to give it up."

She rolls her eyes at him, "do you really think that Klaus hasn't destroyed the cure? He hates it, knows it could be used against him, and I've no doubt he obliterated it as thoroughly as possible as soon as he got the chance."

"No," Damon shakes his head, a slightly manic glint in his eyes, "he'd never get rid of leverage like that."

"He didn't want it," Caroline reminds him, "and neither did any of his family apart from Rebekah – and he wouldn't let her take it. He's not going to do favours for anyone else who wants it, so he's got no reason to have kept it."

"I can't believe you'd try and stop Elena getting the cure," Damon glares at her, "and just so Klaus can keep it."

Caroline only sighs and begins to walk away, "you're being ridiculous, Damon. Forget about the cure and stay away from me."

"I'll get it from him one way or another," Damon shouts as she walks out of the door, "everyone has a breaking point, even an Original."

She doesn't look back, but she knows there's going to be trouble soon.

Caroline spends three days debating with herself about what to do.

She knows she should tell Klaus, but she's also sure that doing so will sign Damon's death warrant.

She thought she might be faced with such a choice eventually, but she didn't realise it would come so soon.

There is no choice between Klaus and Damon – she'll choose the former any time. But Elena … she can still remember sleepovers and parties and whispered secrets, even if they're mixed up in more negative memories.

Once upon a time she would have chosen Elena over Klaus without even a thought. A little later on it would have been a harder decision, but one that probably still would have ended in Elena's favour. Now, though …

She finds herself listening to Klaus' voicemail once, twice, three times. She hears it in his voice, the softness and sincerity that only seems to appear for her and sometimes his family.

She thinks that this time Klaus will win out.

And maybe that makes her a bad person, but she can't help how she feels.

So she makes her choice.

And then she waits for the fallout.

She's in Canada when she hears about Damon's death, and the news comes from Kol, of all people.

The Original finds her in Toronto, where she's spending a few days, and insists on taking her out for dinner. She's not too keen on the idea, but she doesn't refuse, knowing that Kol probably won't hesitate to use violence to get his way.

Klaus might be pretty crazy but at least he's got a soft spot for her – Kol has no such thing.

He tells her the news cheerfully over their appetisers, eyes wide and excited as he watches for her reaction.

She clearly doesn't give him what he's looking for because he pouts at her tightly controlled expression.

"You're no fun, darling," he tells her, "I was hoping for some hysterics at least … but then, you were the one who told Nik about the eldest Salvatore's stupidity, weren't you?"

Caroline turns away so she doesn't have to see his smirk. It's true that she had texted Klaus a warning about Damon's intentions, knowing that his final words to her certainly constituted a threat towards the Original Hybrid, but she's had no contact from Klaus since his three word response to her long, slightly rambling message.

Thank you, love.

"He was planning to grab you the next time you came home," Kol continues, "to use you for leverage against Nik."

He looks pleased when her eyes widen, but she's too surprised to care. She'd thought Damon would try and use one of Klaus' siblings against him – it never really occurred to her, despite everything, that Damon would consider her the best leverage.

"Well I imagine he'd have a hard time trying to subdue any of you," she tells Kol in what she hopes is a calm voice, "better to try and catch a baby vampire than an Original."

Kol gives her a look, one that suggests he thinks she's an idiot, "don't play the dumb blonde, darling. Salvatore might have been a fool but I think we both know his choice of potential hostage was spot on. Nik spent hours with him every day for weeks, inventing new tortures especially for him – his creativity impressed even me."

Caroline shudders. She's gotten used to the violence of the supernatural world, but thinking about Kol's idea of creativity disturbs her.

"What about the others?" she asks, worried about how her friends might have fared under Klaus' wrath – he's not known for containing his anger to one person, after all.

"Don't worry, darling, they don't know that it was you who spilled the beans to Nik," Kol tells her, "even if they may figure it out one day. And they all still live, even those accursed Gilberts."

He gives her a smile that is probably supposed to be charming but actually seems more menacing, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to let me have a bite or two out of dear Elena and Jeremy – Nik insists I leave them be, even after they bloody killed me and my entire line, and I'm assuming you are the reason for his order."

She looks at him sceptically, "I'm pretty sure you'll do what you want regardless of what Klaus or I say."

He shrugs, "perhaps so, but it's always very tiresome when Nik gets in a mood and I've no desire to be daggered for a century or two."

"I'm not going to give you permission to kill my friends, Kol."

He sighs, "how disappointing to hear, darling, but I can be patient – I'm sure you'll get tired of them all eventually, self-centred little murderers that they are."

She says nothing, wanting to deny it but unable to quite bring herself to do it. She's always been uncomfortable with what Elena and Jeremy did to Kol, mostly because his death killed thousands of other vampires with him – and surely they can't all have been as psychotic as Kol is.

The Original in front of her notes her silence, her refusal to commit herself either way, and grins.

"I'll be going now," he says, "there's a delicious-looking brunette leaving now that I think will offer me a very entertaining evening."

He takes no notice of her disgusted frown, but before he leaves he turns to look at her.

"Nik can be the absolute worst sometimes. He's constantly threatening me with a dagger to the heart, is an absolute control freak and constantly in a mood, and he's always trying to stop me having fun. But even I can see that he cares, darling, and at least you don't need to worry about being daggered every time you have an argument. Take all the time you want – it's amusing to watch Nik be a lovesick puppy – but remember that some things are inevitable."

He's gone in a flash then, leaving Caroline a little shell-shocked by his unexpected insight.

She'll have plenty to think about now.

She calls Klaus the day after Kol's unexpected visit.

"Caroline," he says happily, his voice making her feel warm inside.

She's sorry their conversation will have to be a serious one.

"Kol told me about Damon," she blurts out.

He is silent for a moment and then sighs, "I was planning to tell you, sweetheart, but I found myself unexpectedly busy. I imagine Kol was trying to get the information to you before I or one of your friends did – he enjoys thwarting me, and being the bearer of shocking news."

"Yeah, well he was a bit of an ass," she says, "but he was okay in the end, gave me some things to think about."

"Oh," says Klaus, a little tersely, "do tell, love."

"Not right now, Klaus" she tells him apologetically, "I … I wanted to tell you that I'm going to be out of contact for a while – no phone calls, texts or postcards – and I didn't want you to worry."

"Caroline –"

She cuts him off, "it's not because of Damon, Klaus. I'm sorry for Elena and Stefan, but I'm not sorry he's dead. This is … this is for me. I've been keeping my distance so I can grow on my own, but I've still been in contact with you. And I think I need a clean break – not forever, but just so that I can be absolutely sure about my choices. Because I know that if I choose you then I'm choosing you forever."

She can hear his intake of breath over the phone and she wonders what his expression looks like – is he angry, sad, hopeful?

"How long?" he asks her.

"Perhaps a few years," she tells him, "and if you're planning on getting your minions to stalk me then you better make damn sure they keep their distance."

"I'm only a phone call away," he tells her, "if you ever need me."

"I know," she says softly, "goodbye Klaus, until we meet again."

"However long it takes, Caroline."

As she hangs up the phone, a single tear drips down her face.

Four years pass slowly.

No contact at all with Klaus. She doesn't even listen to the voicemail, though it remains saved on her phone and she's got the words memorised.

She sits in on a term of Art History classes at Oxford University, works in an office in France for six months, travels all over Russia for the better part of a year and tries out countless different hobbies.

She visits her mom in Mystic Falls and Bonnie in Chicago (where she's currently making her home), and meets up with Enzo and Rebekah for a month in Australia.

She visits Katherine and Elijah for a week in London. Katherine's terrifying in her own way, but ever since their stint as roommates Caroline has realised she's not quite the villain she once thought, and being able to live in peace with Elijah has mellowed her a little. Elijah, who Caroline has rarely spoken to, is polite, if distant, but clearly adores Katherine. Caroline is glad that Klaus seems to have let his grudge against Katherine go for his brother's sake, at least for now.

She even ends up running into Kol on a trip to Mexico, where despite trying to rein him in they end up causing three bar fights, starting a riot, and ending a witches turf war by the simple act of eradicating one side (Kol deals with the last one – her participation is only noted because she has to snap the neck of one witch particularly hostile to vampires, whether they were ones who killed humans or not) – and all that only in forty-eight hours. At least Klaus has a few minions close by to help with the clean-up.

She keeps busy, and she proves to herself that she is damned good at living.

She learns how to get IDs sorted when she starts to look too young for her supposed age, she sets up bank accounts worldwide, gets tips on the best long-term investment opportunities, and makes her first property purchase.

And she discovers what she's good at and what she likes, decides what skills she wants to develop and what she'd rather avoid.

In short, Caroline makes sure she knows how to be someone she likes without the input of anyone else.

She wants to be able to want Klaus without needing him.

Then, one day, she thinks she's ready.

She listens to the voicemail for the first time in years, and the last part gets to her like it always does.

"… all I can think about is how much I want to show it to you. Maybe one day you'll let me."

She's always wanted to be someone's first choice.

Now she thinks she's brave enough to take a chance.

The house is beautiful, and so is New Orleans. She can see why Klaus loves it here.

She knocks on the door with some trepidation. She knows that Klaus has told her 'however long it takes', but the insecure part of her (the girl who was the Elena back up, the second choice, the afterthought) wonders if maybe he's changed his mind, if she's taken too long by going off the grid to find herself and get ready to accept his offer of forever.

He answers the door in a henley splattered with paint, and when he sees her his mouth widens into a dimpled smile.

She doesn't think she's ever witnessed someone so happy to see her.

"Caroline," he says her name like a caress, like he wants to keep saying it for eternity.

She says nothing, only pulls out her phone and presses play on the only voicemail saved there.

"Caroline. I'm standing in one of my favourite places in the world, surrounded by food, music, art, culture, and all I can think about is how much I want to show it to you. Maybe one day you'll let me."

He looks at her more gently than he ever has before, his smile softer but somehow even more meaningful.

"You saved it."

"You owe me a tour," she tells him, taking his hand and pulling him towards the street, "I want beignets first, and then everything else you promised me."

She pauses for a moment and then gives him a slightly shy grin, "maybe in a week or two, when you've shown me around New Orleans, we can take a trip to Paris. I've always wanted to go there."

He tugs her close to him and presses his lips against hers. It feels like coming home.

Their first kiss.

The first of many.

"Caroline, sweetheart," he murmurs against her lips, "I'd like nothing better."

And, hand in hand, they walk off into the first moments of their forever.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.