Thank you to Aliyah, alyssmz, katherine, ElectricIndigoAndAllThatsDead, Venus88, FluteNinjaEm, Guest, Iansarmy, Linwe-Amari, shadowfaxangel, HybridGlitch, Guest, bridgetzombie, SkyBlue1309, LoVecakes, lily94, WeasleysGroupie, babyvfan, Sci-fi Christian, Unverse, .Risk, ForverInYourArms, The Hunger Games-My Life, redbudrose, Chaosinchains91, starvee, UnsinkableShip, hbhe123, Lovely Rain Dancer, Anonalways, walkinthegardengnome, helfabulousgirl, Guest, Jess, Inga, AgathaN, itsjustanotherbrickinthewall, NeverGiveUp22, LadyKlaus, PsychVamp, undomiel444, MyloveforKlaroline, TheMiseducationOfB, jessinicole, ak269, SweetyK, McKenzieMac, and ApekshaStar for reviewing!

Soooo… I'll be honest with you, I completely forgot about this story… I am a bad, bad author, I know. There really is no excuse for leaving everyone hanging for three whole months…

Anyways, I'm back with the FINAL part of the story! I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Don't own TVD!

Terms and Conditions

Part V

In the months after the 'incident' as Caroline called it, things between her and Klaus shifted. Surprisingly, this shift wasn't for the worst. In fact, it seemed Klaus' opening up to her, even though it came in a rather violent way, helped him and their relationship. There had been no more awe-inspiring and terrifying displays of power, no more over-hanging threats. It had been peaceful, of all things. They'd even fallen into more of a routine; they still had dinner together every night but now they went out at least twice almost every week, just to get a change of scenery… And they talked all the time and about everything. Klaus had even told her about what had been going on in New Orleans, the struggles between the vampires and the witches. Caroline, for her part, had been trying to help him solve the city's supernatural problems, at least to some extent.

Caroline began to notice that Klaus took every opportunity to touch her as well. It was usually rather innocent, a hand on a shoulder and such. Sometimes he would pull her to him however, though never when she was unwilling, not anymore. He also no longer forced kisses upon her either (though she did have a tendency to melt into them).

He was letting her be her own person, something which she greatly appreciated and which was also a tentative step forward in their friendship.

As the weeks passed quickly by, she found herself beginning to really like it here; she even began to think of it as her home. It would never be Mystic Falls, but in terms of being stuck somewhere, it really wasn't so bad. She had everything she could need and, weird as it was, the company could honestly be much worse.

She had only begun to realize how bad it could be on one of their day trips, when she saw some nightwalkers roaming around, slaves to the current ruler of New Orleans, Marcel's, every whim. Klaus, though controlling, had never treated her so lowly and to see this, made her appreciate him all the more. It was surprising, actually, how easy it had become between them. She was actually starting to enjoy herself a little.

That same night had been the first time that Klaus had allowed her more freedom in the city, this time allowing her to choose where they went and such. It had been Mardi Gras and Caroline, being the small town girl she was, had never experienced something so exotic.

"This has been fun. Thank you." Caroline had said at the end of that night, when he finally took over again and brought her to a random balcony on one of the older buildings in the French Quarter; which apparently held his favorite view of New Orleans. She glanced at him from where she was leaning on the iron wrought railing. He looked back at her with a slightly torn expression. As if he wanted to do something but could not.

"Yes, well, I didn't give you a choice in the matter." He replied, as if trying to get his own mind off some subject that Caroline was sure she had no idea of. As for his actual statement, however, she knew he didn't mean just tonight. Tonight he had given her plenty choice. He meant over all. She was still, for all intents and purposes, under his command. But he really hadn't commanded much of her lately, and so Caroline found herself internally disagreeing with that statement… Because she did have a choice. At least that is how it was for now. "I'm sure you want nothing more than to be elsewhere." Klaus continued, unaware of Caroline's current inner turmoil.

Despite this, she still shook her head, this time showing her disagreement. "Do you see me trying to escape?" Caroline asked him, with no small amount of sass, sending him a large smile when she saw the doubt on his face soften in fond gentleness.

"No." He conceded. "I suppose not."

By the time they got back to the house it had been early morning, but Caroline did not regret a thing… After all, there had been no shortage of smiles that night.

Because of the immense amount of work to be done on Klaus' part, it was only after two weeks when he announced that they would be taking another day trip to the city, much to Caroline's immense pleasure. The house they lived in was beautiful, and neither of them wanted for anything. However, a free spirit like her could only occupy herself for so long. There weren't that many episodes of Grey's Anatomy for her to catch up on, after all. Caroline found herself smiling as she remembered Klaus' utterly disappointed face when he had first walked in to see her watching her favorite TV drama. He had been amused with her though, she could tell. Of course, neither spoke of how he had joined her in a few of her marathon TV sessions after that.

Klaus Mikaelson would never stoop so low, after all.

"Caroline." Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The blonde vampire was pulled out of her thoughts by the sudden reappearance of Klaus in front of her. He was smirking knowingly at her, almost as if he knew what she had been thinking. Caroline found herself blushing, hoping to God that the Originals hadn't developed telepathy as well lately. That would just plain suck, pun not intended. "I'm afraid I must run errand before we can have our outing today. I shall return soon."

Caroline nodded in response. "Ok, I'll be ready to go when you get back."

Klaus shook his head, smirk still in place. "I know you will." Giving her a last glance, he squeezed her forearm once in farewell before zooming off at vampire, well, hybrid speed.

Always the show off.

Sighing, though not in annoyance, Caroline got up from where she had been sitting on the living room couch and stretched her arms out. That was another thing that Klaus found amusing about her, her continuously human gestures. As a vampire, she really didn't need to act so alive, for lack of a better word. And Klaus made sure to let her know at all times.

Why do I keep thinking about what Klaus likes about me? Caroline suddenly wondered, before shrugging it off and heading upstairs to go change out of her comfortable sweats. The first few weeks of her time spent indoors in her new home – Klaus' home, Caroline had to remind herself – she had dressed to impress everyday, doing everything in her power to show Klaus that she sure as hell wasn't going to consider this place her home. But, as the weeks progressed, that whole thing got tiring and she started to get more comfortable around the house. She wore less makeup, didn't do her hair… until, eventually, she came to where she was now.

She really was treating this place like a home. It was rather disconcerting if she were being honest. And quite a startling realization as well. Either way, Caroline decided to not think about, instead focusing on actually looking presentable enough to go out. She didn't need to make this any harder on herself.

She was putting on the final few touches sitting at her extravagant vanity (one of Klaus' many insistencies) when she heard a loud bang from downstairs. The blonde immediately froze. If there was one thing that Klaus wasn't, it was clumsy.

Someone's here.

Suddenly wary and very cautious, Caroline moved with quiet vampire grace to the stairs, her feet barely making a sound. She rushed down the stairs, headed straight to the parlor where she heard furious and annoyed whispers.

Familiar whispers.

As she blurred through the parlor door, the blonde stuttered to a halt, her eyes wide with shock when she realized who was waiting for her. The four people in the room turned to her, looking tense, as if ready for a fight. But upon meeting her eyes, all of them relaxed slightly, relieved.

"Caroline. Oh thank god." The decidedly awkward silence was broken when suddenly the blonde vampire found her arms full of lively brunette doppelgänger.

"E-Elena? Wha-?" She trailed off, still completely and utterly shocked to find her friends here. How did they-? When did they-? …What?

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Elena pulled back, tears shining in her kind brown eyes as she scanned Caroline up and down frantically, looking for any sign of injury. Her delicate, olive-toned hands were firm on her paler friend's shoulders as she did so, but her grip was not so firm as it had once been. Immediately Caroline realized that her deal with Klaus had worked; Elena had taken the cure and was no longer the evil, psychotic vampire she'd been a few months ago.

"No, no I'm fine." Caroline said gently, removing Elena's hands and squeezing them in her own. She was surprised to find her throat had clogged with emotion. I guess I really missed my friends.

Her moment was interrupted when another one of said friends stepped forward, looking very serious. "Ok, well, we have to get you out of here. Like right now." Bonnie said, taking hold of Caroline and pulling her with them. Stefan and Damon stood by the witch's side, looking around carefully as if they expected the big bad wolf to jump out at them at any moment… literally. She knew that if the situation had been different Bonnie would likely have crushed her in another hug, as would Stefan, and maybe even Damon (though the general state of loathing between them was mutual). As it was, however, they seemed to be on some sort of clock, trying not to get caught by the resident hybrid and all that.

Speaking of which… Caroline suddenly felt like they had thrown a bucket of cold water on her face. Klaus. She couldn't go with them. She couldn't break the terms of her deal… she couldn't leave him. "Wait you guys, just hold for a sec." She said, trying to stop but unable to do so without potentially injuring Bonnie. None of them paid her much mind, too busy with trying to complete their, frankly half-assed, rescue plan. Caroline was happy to see them, don't get her wrong, but if she let this happen, there was no way Klaus would simply forgive them all… didn't they know that? They were endangering all of their lives.

She had to put her foot down, so without further ado, she ripped her arm from Bonnie's grasp, internally apologizing for the wince she saw on her friend's face. "Wait- Just stop!" The blonde exclaimed.

"Care?" Elena spoke again, her brown eyes holding nothing but confusion. She shared looks with the Salvatore brothers, all of them wondering what exactly was happening.

"We are not going anywhere." Caroline said, speaking a bit more calmly. Don't they see this is a monumentally stupid idea? Klaus will go after them and kill them… and me. Another traitorous part of her mind disagreed with either notion; she ignored it easily. "I made a deal and I plan to keep it." She stated instead, holding her ground.

"But you can run from him! You can fight back!" Elena exclaimed.

"If I do, he'll kill you, Elena!" The blonde yelled back, frustrated that they didn't seem to get it. "He told me so himself…" She tagged on at the end, remembering Klaus' earlier threats. He really hadn't made those in quite a while…

Something in her tone made her friend pause. "Why-Why don't you seem sure about that?" Elena asked, her voice strained, her brown eyes confused as she stared at her friend, wanting answers.

"It's just… he's different…" She winced immediately after her answer. I really couldn't think of anything better to say?

"Different? Different? Caroline, he's a killer! Don't get all Stockholm Syndrome on us now!" The brunette was nearly outraged, reaching forward and grabbing Caroline's forearm, her eyes searching her friend's blue ones. The blonde assumed she was looking for some sign of insanity.

"He's not the only killer we know!" She defended, her voice rising with anger. "What about Damon? And Stefan?" She looked to both Salvatores, seeing the guilt in Stefan's expression the stoic stillness of Damon's. "And me! I'm a killer too, Elena!" She added, her heart suddenly wracked with shame and horror as she thought back to that first awful night and all of the other bad, evil deeds she had committed since. "Remember? I killed that guy… and… and…" She choked up, unable to continue.

"It's not the same." Elena insisted.

"But that's how it starts, isn't it?" Caroline silenced the brunette, her question ringing shockingly truthfully. "Look, maybe… maybe I can do some real good here, maybe I can help him."

He needs me.

And maybe…

Maybe I need him.

"Blondie, I hope you know you are completely delusional." Damon put in as the silence around them stretched longer, his usual snark in place. The blonde rolled her eyes at his insult, expecting nothing less. At least some things stayed the same, she supposed.

"No, Damon, she's not." Stefan shook his head, speaking for the first time. His eyes laid heavily on her, but she could feel the understanding in them. It didn't surprise her, in all honesty, that Stefan was the first to come around, at least a little. Because, when Stefan had turned away from all that was good in his life, they had not given up on him. He had been pulled back. The younger Salvatore knew a thing or two about redemption, and about guilt and regret.

"Stefan…" Caroline whispered, sudden emotion taking her over. She opened and closed her mouth once, unsure of how she could reply.

Regardless, he cut her off before she could think of anything to say. "It's ok, Caroline, I understand." His eyes held hers as they spoke, conveying his acceptance at the decision she had already made, unbeknownst to even herself as it was.

"Thank you…" The blonde smiled lightly, grateful at Stefan's support. He's always been a good friend to me.

"I don't. Please, Care, come with us." Bonnie exclaimed, shaking her head incredulously at the whole situation. This was supposed to be easier; Caroline was supposed to want to go with them. "You need to get the hell away from that monster." The witch continued, unwilling to accept that her friend would stay here by choice. "He'll bring you nothing but pain and somewhere inside you, you know that. So st-"

Bonnie never got to finish her sentence, not when there was sudden blur and the person they'd all been trying to avoid, at all costs, appeared.

Klaus Mikaelson looked as imposing and powerful as ever when he stood before them. Though not the tallest man, no one could deny his strength, nor could they deny his rage. He stared at them all with absolute fury, blue eyes dark with it. Caroline's dead heart stopped in her chest when her gaze met hers. She could see it there already. The betrayal he felt.

Klaus thought she'd betrayed him.

Oh no. Caroline wanted to scream her denial at him, wanted to shout to make him understand. I'm not leaving you! I would never betray you like this – I know others have done it but I'm not them! I swear.

I swear. I swear. I swear.

There were so many things she wanted to say to him, so many words, but none of them came out. She was frozen in panic, her mind numb with the implications this might have. He'll never trust again after this… Never.

"Well, if it isn't the Mystic Falls club; come to defeat the beast and take the princess away?" Klaus said, the anger clear as his voice deepened with it. His piercing eyes roved over them all before coming back to her. Caroline watched in silent horror and regret when she saw the normally blue orbs shine yellow, the veins around them thickening with blood.

Klaus smirked around his fangs, looking the monster he so liked to say he was. "Sorry, but that isn't happening." The next thing they knew, the hybrid had burst forward and grabbed the Salvatore brothers by their throats, hauling them up off the ground and choking them. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." He stated darkly, that wicked smirk still in place.

"No, Klaus, please! Klaus, please don't." Caroline exclaimed, running to them, her heart in her throat. She was desperate, yes, but surprisingly she was not angry at his very obvious threat… In this time she had spent with him, she learned that Klaus was more than just some evil thing, out to get them all. He was a man; he had feelings and dreams, hidden though they may be. She hoped above all else that he wouldn't do this, that he wouldn't harm her friends. But she felt that maybe, just maybe she might be able to convince him not to. She could help him; she could help them both.

Caroline just needed to say the right words. And this time she found she could.

"They're my friends, my family. I care about them." She whispered, her hands going to his arms where he was holding the Salvatores up. She didn't focus on them, however, not when everything hung so delicately in the balance. Instead, her gaze stayed only on Klaus, drilling into him until finally his own eyes shifted to meet hers.

"Do you?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." She nodded immediately, hoping her eyes would convey the rest of the message. I care about them. I care about all of them. Don't you see what this would do to me?

"Fine." Klaus growled after a moment, unceremoniously dropping the two vampires to the floor, both of whom needed a moment to readjust to the fact that no, they were not dead. After all, the Klaus from several months ago would not have been so willing to just let them live.

"Thank you." Caroline said, one of her hands still on the hybrid's forearm, her eyes still glued to him, as if looking away would break this spell they seemed to be in.

"You missed them, didn't you?" He asked in return, his gaze searching hers for confirmation.

"Of course. I haven't been able to talk to them, my family, in months. Don't you miss your family sometimes?" She replied. There had been a reason she'd mentioned family in all this mess. If there was one thing the Henrik incident taught her it was that one should never underestimate the importance of family to Klaus. He may be a complete douche to his siblings sometimes, and douche in this case was a rather weak word to use, but he did still care about them. In his own way, that is.

Family, weirdly enough, was something he understood. At least to some extent. It was one of the things that made Klaus seem almost human. And Caroline, she knew that sometimes you had to tap into that side of him in order to move forward in the right direction.

"I'm afraid my family is less welcoming than yours." Klaus said now, his eyes holding a long and tumultuous history. A past so ancient she could barely comprehend it.

But she could try to sympathize. "I'm sorry."

The hybrid only nodded in return, his blue eyes unfocused and clouded as he looked past her, over her head. "Very well then…" He sighed, turning away from her. That action worried her. Klaus was never one to turn his back, not when he meant to stay. What are you doing? "You are free Caroline." He stated heavily, much to everyone's shock. All the eyes that she had been feeling on her back suddenly shifted to the older vampire at her side. What-? What does he mean by that…? And then he said it, that word which had hoped to hear for months but now only served to crush her very soul. "Leave."

It was a command, plain and simple. A command thst she was not sure she could follow. Despite the fact that this had been the outcome she had been supposedly looking for all these months after making her plan, she couldn't accept it. So when he walked away from her, without a backward glance, Caroline found herself following.

"What-? Klaus? Wait, where are you going?"

She was just about to chase after him to where he ran outside, when another person blocked her. Elena... I almost forgot they were all still here, the blonde realized, startled at her own concern for Klaus. Only a few short months ago, she would not have acted like this at all. She would have been ecstatic at the opportunity of escape. Now, however… now things were different. And Caroline was worried about the one man she shouldn't be."Did you hear that Care? You can come with us!" The blonde vaguely heard Elena say in excitement.

"Yeah… Yeah…" Her mind was entirely too preoccupied and panicked for her to truly focus. She couldn't stay here like this. Not when this man, this man that she had been so close to for what seemed like an eternity was suddenly out of her life. So she did the only thing her mind told her she could. She broke free from Elena's hold and sprinted after him, after Klaus.

"Care? What are you-?" She barely heard Elena call after her. For a moment, Caroline wondered what her friends might do. Would they come after her and Klaus as well? Would they continue in their mission?

But then she heard Stefan's calm words. "Just let her go, Elena. Let her go."

As she flew off, Caroline could feel the slightest of smiles tugging at her lips. Her friends still had her back.

It was a small relief in a big world of confusion and misery but it was enough to give Caroline courage to continue with this road she was following, wherever it might lead her and her future.

"Klaus, wait will you! Klaus!" Caroline yelled as she chased after him, having to run the fastest she could to have even the smallest chance of catching him. She found herself returning to the same place she had found him in the woods before, where he'd gone on Henrik's birthday. Just as then, she threw caution to the wind, not caring that he was emotionally compromised. She couldn't allow him to walk away from this.

"I'm giving you what you want, sweetheart." Klaus said monotonously when he finally stopped, turning to her. His eyes held no light; they looked scarily… dead. A part of Caroline suddenly wished he would be angry again, just so she could see some life in him.

"Will you just listen to me? Please?" She asked, her voice edging on panic as she tried to capture his attention and keep it on her. If he didn't hear this now, he wouldn't ever hear it. Of that, she was sure.

"Go with them. You are free from me, love." Klaus went on, his eyes looking past her, foggy and empty. He turned his back to her a moment later, his voice still in that horrible dead-sounding tone. "Live your life the way you wish it."

"But Klaus…" Caroline's voice cracked, her sudden desperation and panic shining through "I can't think of a life without you in it anymore." She found herself admitting, her words a bare whisper as the realization hit her. It was true. It really was. These past months had shown her another side of Klaus. Though the way she'd gotten here wasn't what you would expect, here she was anyways. With Klaus. And she wasn't going to leave him. Not for a while yet.

As Caroline's words hit Klaus, he froze in his place and turned around slowly, his eyes stormy with emotion, a shocked and disbelieving expression on his face.

"How? After all I've done? All the evil I've brought into the world?" He asked her, his voice raw as he stared at her, his eyes begging her to give him the answers he had been searching for so desperately.

Caroline did the only thing she could. She gave them. Gladly. "There is good in you, I can see it, I've always seen it." She whispered, her words reminiscent of ones she had spoken before. Anybody capable of love is capable of being saved.

Even with her words, however, Klaus still could not accept them. He had lived a millennium denying the truth in them after all. She could see the wall come back down in his eyes, blocking her from himself. It was like concrete, dark and gray and strong even with age. But, Caroline… she could see the cracks in it… and maybe, just maybe she could worm her way through. Of course, Klaus was decidedly not going to make it easy for her. "You are deluding yourself, Caroline, to think there will ever be good in me." He hissed at her, trying to put up that cruel, distant façade he did with everyone else.

It wouldn't work on her, however, not so easily. "But it's already there, Klaus, don't you see?" She implored him softly, trying to get him to see what she saw. She wanted him to know that no one, even him, was simply evil or simply good. He was both, and as he was so, he could sway more from one side to the next.

"I can't change, I won't." Klaus replied after a long while, stiff and reserved, his eyes still filled with nothing, not even the slightest inkling of hope. He truly believes that this will be the end of it, of us.

Well, he's in for quite a surprise then.

'You already have." Caroline responded gently, reaching out to him.

Klaus pulled back, voice gruff as he next spoke. "Not in the way you wanted me to."

"No, but in the way I needed you to." Caroline replied, getting flustered and panicked that maybe his guilt and insecurity in his actions towards her would make him leave in some stupid attempt to be honorable. The mere thought of him leaving for her 'own good' devastated Caroline, but also made her furious.

"Klaus." She exclaimed, frustration running through every part of her body. "I love you, don't you get that?"

Things fell silent between them as the words spilled from her lips. Later, Caroline would freak out over this new revelation, but for now she could not help but feel the truth in her statement and her heart beat faster as the feeling filled her to her very soul. Klaus, for his part, was understandably shocked, looking at her if she were some sort of rare, precious thing. It was look that she now knew to be pouring love… much like her gaze was. But there was also pain there and a manner of darker feelings. But that was Klaus; an enigma, a puzzled unsolved.

"I thought your love was the one thing you would never give me, could never give me." He said after the silence stretched too long, his voice deep with emotion. He was, in some ways, looking for confirmation, his long and deep mistrust of others not allowing him to believe her. Caroline knew that he would never completely believe this, she barely believed it herself if she were being honest, but she would try to make him see it. She would try to make him believe again.

So she took a step forward, the anger and irritation that had previously been tensing her up suddenly flowing out of her until she filled with nothing but love. Love, happiness, realization, lust, passion and all of those she had kept bottled up for so long. She walked until she was as close to him as possible, her chest almost to his as she looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "I lied, Klaus." Caroline whispered, so quietly that he would not have heard her if he were human. A huge, sunny smile suddenly lit her entire face. "I love you." She said again, louder. "I love you."

Though Caroline wanted nothing more than to do so, she did not take Klaus' hand. She didn't dare to touch him again. It was up to him. This had to be his decision. She had made her own, though she wasn't quite sure what it would entail, and now it was his turn.

She watched in silent hope as emotions ran across his face, giving her bare fleeting images of various possibilities of the future, their future. As it often was with Klaus, though she knew him well now, she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

But then it seemed he put her seemingly endless waiting to an end when his hand suddenly raised to her chin, lifting her face up again when she had pulled her gaze away only a few moments before. He stared at her for a long while, the air between them growing thick and heady with tension. His face was still a mask, however, until finally it fell away when his lips pulled into the smallest of smiles.

"…As I love you. But you already knew that, didn't you?" He said with that genuine smile still in place, making her heart soar. I knew he loved me, I knew… but to hear him say it to me… there's something so different about it... Caroline sent him the sunniest, most dazzling smile she could muster, knowing no other way to react. Her mind was whirring with all sorts of thoughts, jumbled and disorganized but, she found, happy.

"Yeah, I did… So, what now?" Caroline replied, almost tongue-tied because of the whole ordeal. How do you react to something like this?

Klaus smirked in return, blue eyes burning into her own, carrying heat and passion. "Now? Now I work against my better judgment and do this." Suddenly she was propelled forward into him and his lips smashed into hers. It seemed forever since they had kissed but Caroline thought that forever had definitely worth it. His lips no longer moved against hers solely with possessive power; there was still some of that, yes, but now there was love and gentleness too. Klaus' arms secured her tightly to him, wrapping around her waist. Her own hands tangled into his hair, doing the very thing she had been dreaming of doing these past few weeks. Caroline gasped when he suddenly deepened the kiss, his hand creeping to the bare exposed skin at the small of her back, thumb tracing unrecognizable patterns there. She suddenly realized that she was being pressed into one of the trees, though it was strangely wasn't uncomfortable. He caged her in with his arms but Caroline never felt safer in her life. Despite the fact that, in the past, when he held her against anything he was asserting his dominance over her, she knew that if she decided, she could escape his hold. Klaus would allow her to do so. And that made all the difference to her. She smiled into his kisses.

After what seemed like forever, though definitely an enjoyable forever, Caroline pulled her lips from his; she still kept her arms firmly around his neck, though. Klaus looked down at her, his blue eyes wild with all sorts of emotions as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"So I guess that means I can stick around?" Caroline murmured with a small laugh, her eyes shining with happiness.

Klaus smirked in return, mirth playing out on his face. "If you wish it."

She didn't hesitate, not even for a second. "That I do."

Klaus' smile of reply was genuine and blinding and she knew in that moment that this would be all worth it. Don't get her wrong; she was well aware that what happened next would be difficult, especially considering their past. Not to mention there were her friends and mother and his siblings to think about. Regardless, Caroline had the feeling they would be able to overcome all that, with time. And seeing as they had eternity…

Though Caroline might be worried about how exactly they were going to overcome the obstacles, she was confident they would get there. Eventually. It would just take work, a lot of it.

Even as all of this went through her mind, there was only one thing that really stuck out to her about this situation. It was something that made her smile at the thought of if, because, really, who would've thought?

Because Caroline may have been forced to come to Klaus, as part of a deal… but she would stay with him willingly.

And that, that was the key.

FIN

Once again thank to bdoku-no-maria for the supplying me with the idea ;)

Thank you so much for reading this little story of mine, especially if you stuck with it even after this loooong time gap. I really hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to tell me what you thought!

RW