"Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" Claire shouts jumping on her sisters bed. Caroline instantly wakes and is slightly disoriented. Before she knows it, Caroline is giggling as she rolls on the bed due to Claire's insistent jumping.

"Claire!" Caroline shouts laughing. Claire grins and falls to her knees. The then lays on her back besides Caroline. The twins smile widely as they look at each other.

"Happy birthday." Claire muttered. Caroline smiles at her.

"Happy birthday" Caroline whispers back. Caroline holds her sisters gaze for only a moment longer before looking up at the ceiling. Her smile fades.

"What's wrong Care-bear?" Claire whispers. Caroline doesn't answer right away. Claire frowns and shifts so her head is resting on her sisters stomach. Caroline slowly begins to play with her sisters hair, just like they used to do when they were little.

"So much has happened since we turned 17." Caroline mutters. Claire sighs silently agreeing with her sister. "Technically I'm still 17" She grumbles sadly. "I don't even like being 17. The only point of being 17 is to get to 18. It's a filler year, I'm stuck in a filler year" Caroline snipped climbing out of bed. Claire's head falls on the mattress. "We used to have everything in common and now you're living your life, you're moving on without me. You get to be 18 and you get to grow and..."

"Care" Claire sighs climbing out of her bed. She walks over to her slightly fanatic sister. "I'm always going to be the little sister" She whispers hugging Caroline tightly. "I don't want to be the older sister, that's so much work." Caroline rolls her eyes. "And you're always going to be the taller sister too, I stopped growing in like.. 8th grade." Claire rubs Caroline's back. "We still have things in common Care-bear. I could never move on without you... You're my twin sister, I don't want to know of a world without your beautiful smile in it."

"I love you, Baby" Caroline whispers. Claire smiles and hugs her tightly.

"I love you too, Care-bear." Claire whispers back. "Hey, today is supposed to be amazing" She said pulling away. She wiped Caroline's tears away. "Today is the best day of the year, it's our day."

"I don't want to go to school today" Caroline muttered. Claire shrugs.

"I'm fine with that" Caroline smiles gently. "But I'm not going to stay inside and have you sad and depressing, not today. Today we're going to celebrate all the good that's happened in the past year."

"Probably count all of that on one hand" Caroline grumbles.

"You became an aunt to an amazing baby girl" Claire said holding up one finger. "You became a badass vampire." She holds up another finger. "You've grown as a person. You don't let people walk over you. You stand up for not only yourself but for me, for Madelyn and for our family. You don't let anybody use you." She holds up a third finger. "You've improved your relationship with our mother. You two are on much better terms than you were a year ago." She holds up a forth finger. "You've been an amazing, supportive sister. You've saved your little sisters life more times than you can possibly imagine." Caroline smiles at Claire, tears starting to cover both of their eyes as Claire holds up her fifth finger or thumb as most people call them. "And lets not forget all the fantastic parties and get together's you've planned. Would you like me to continue?" She asked holding up six fingers.

Caroline pulled her sister into a bone crushing hug. Claire held back a groan and held her sister. They both sniffled as a couple of tears slipped down their face.

"This is supposed to be a happy day but between the two of us we've cried three times already." Claire teased and Caroline laughed.

"You know how I get when you go all mushy like that" Caroline whined pulling away. They wiped their tears away smiling at each other.

"Today. Me and you. Nobody else." Claire told her.

"Just us?" Caroline asked smiling. Claire nods.

"I already told Elijah, Klaus and Henrik they would have to wait until tomorrow to celebrate with me because it's our day and I want to spend our day together." Claire told her.

"Sounds perfect" Caroline grinned.

"And you know what's even more perfect?" Claire asked. Caroline tilts her head. Claire raises two black credit cards.

"Are those...?" Caroline asked slowly. Claire grinned wider and slowly nods.

"Mr. Elijah and Niklaus Mikaelson's unlimited credit cards completely at our disposal" She said. Caroline grins widely.

"They truly have no idea what they're getting themselves into." Caroline said and Claire grinned shaking her head.

"I've warned them many of times and every time they've assured me that we won't put a dent in their accounts" Claire said. Caroline smirked taking a credit card, Niklaus'.

"I feel like that is a challenge, what do you think Baby Face?" Caroline asked.

"I think you're right Care-bear" Claire agreed. They then giggled at each other. "We leave in an hour so get ready" Claire said pointing her finger at her. Caroline nodded excitedly before Claire left her room. Claire went back into her room to get changed only to find Henrik in the process of doing just that.

He had his back to her with only a pair of jeans on. He had a few shirts laid out on the bed and he was contemplating which one to wear. Claire took a moment to just admire his back. His muscular, toned, smooth back.

Silently, Claire advanced forwards. She leaned toward him and placed a soft kiss in between his shoulder blades before wrapping her arms around his waist. He lean back into her. Her hands explore his exposed chest as her lips covered his back.

His eyes closed enjoying the moment. He releases a soft sigh. He grins as her teeth nibble at his skin lightly. He could feel his heart escalating as her hands continued to message his chest and her lips continued to kiss various spots on his back.

Henrik's jaw clenches as her hands move lower, towards his waist band. She rises on her tip toes and continues her assault on his neck. Her hands rub his lower waist slowly. Her eyes glance at the shirts on the bed.

"I like the one on the left" Claire whispers in his ear. She captures his ear lobe in her mouth, pulling it gently. She grinds her teeth with his ear still captured between them. He moans quietly.

"I think I got you all wrong, Claire Forbes" He whispers. She hums in his ear. "You're no angel" He said. She smirks against his skin. He turns in her arms and lifts her. Claire quickly wraps her legs around his waist, clinging to him. "You're an enchantress and you have me under your spell."

"Then I hope you never break free from my grasp" She whispers pressing her forehead to his. "You're quite the catch" She mutters kissing his lips. He grins deepening the kiss. He lowers her onto the bed.

"Happy birthday, babe" He whispers. She pulls away and tilts her head. "That is what you call one you care about these days is it not?" He asked tilting his head similar to her.

"Yes.. It's just.. I didn't expect you to call me that." She whispers. "It's such a modern term."

"Do you like it?" He asked nervously.

"I will like whatever you call me... Just don't call me Caroline" She teases. He frowns his eyebrows not understanding the joke. She laughs and pulls him into a gentle kiss. "You're over thinking it" She mutters. "I love you." He smiles relaxing. He recaptures her lips with his.

"I cannot wait to have you to myself." Henrik whispers. Claire thinks about it. She feels a pang of guilt hit her when she realizes the last few days... last few weeks really... Klaus and Elijah, mainly Klaus, have been hogging her.

"I'm sorry" Claire whispers.

"Don't be" Henrik shakes his head. "I got to be with you your entire life. Albeit, not in the way either of us wanted but I was still with you. I got to watch you grow. I got to watch you laugh and cry and my memories. I got the first kiss, I got the fire 'I love you'. I know and understand the concept of sharing. Just don't forget about me." He whispers quietly.

Claire quickly twists her hips and manages to flip them. She straddles his waist and presses her lips on his. He moans quietly. He rubs her back slowly, savoring the feeling of her pressed against him.

"I could never, would never and will never forget you Henrik Mikaelson." She whispers looking into his eyes. "I love you, always and forever." He smiles caressing her cheek.

"You are so beautiful" He whispers. She smiles and kisses him again softly.

"This Friday. You and me." She promises.

"I look forward to it." He grins. She smiles back and gives him another soft kiss.

"I have to get ready" She whispers. He grins deeper and flips them back over.

"We have time" He mutters kissing her neck. She giggles softly. Her hands run through his curly black hair. She had him cut it so it wasn't at his shoulders but there was still some length to it, some curl. She loves it. She loves all of her mates hair, it easily one of her favorite things about them.

"We'll have plenty of time to do this on Friday" She whispers in his ear. "I'll make the wait worth it, I promise" She whispers.

"Anything involving you is worth it" He mutters. Her heart swells. "The black shirt you say" He says looking at the shirt she had told him she liked.

"You Mikaelson's look absolutely sexy in black." She whispers lustfully. Henrik instantly smirk.

"Dully noted." He kisses her forehead and climbs off of her. She gets up as well. He shrugs on the shirt.

"Where did Klaus go? He seemed like he was in a hurry this morning" Claire remembered.

"Can't say, Angel" Henrik shrugs.

"What are you hiding from me?" She wonders. He smiles and kisses her again. She relaxes against him.

"I'll be in the kitchen" He mutters before leaving.  She watches him suspiciously wondering what Klaus is up too. She quickly changes into a cute outfit before going into the kitchen. Elijah is feeding Madelyn, Henrik is eating and there's a plate for both Caroline and Claire full of food.

"Good morning, Elskan" Elijah greets standing up. Claire smiles and gravitates towards him. He pulls her into a soft kiss. "Happy birthday" He whispers.

"Thank you" She kisses him again. She grabs her food and goes to sit down. Henrik grabs her by the waist and pulls her into his lab. He wanted more time with her and he was going to get it any way possible.

Claire smiles at him and sit comfortably on his lap. They both eat in silence. Claire watches Elijah with Madelyn. She wished that Elijah was Madelyn's father, her biological father. Madelyn deserved someone like Elijah. Claire was going to make sure Madelyn wouldn't feel the pain that followed wherever Tyler went. She wants to protect her daughter from all the pain in the world. She knew she couldn't do that but she could protect her from Tyler.

Caroline joins them eventually and once they're done eating, the sisters head out for the day. Caroline felt ecstatic to have her sister all to herself. While Claire felt excited to be with her sister, she felt anxious being away from all of her mates. Especially since Klaus is doing something without her knowing, she knew it wasn't bad but she still wanted to know.

Claire found it hard to keep her mind on tract during the car ride to the mall. All she could think about is Klaus and what he's doing. Elijah, Madelyn and Henrik and how they're doing. Then Finn and Kol. She hadn't met them but she missed them. She wanted them back but she didn't know where they were. As her mind thought about Finn and Kol she thought about Rebekah and that lead her to think about Asher.

Asher. Her poor little brother. Claire knew exactly how he's feeling. He's torn up, completely lost and losing his mind. He needs Rebekah just like Claire needed Elijah when they took him. Now they have Finn and Kol. Because she's never met them, the bond she shares with them isn't nearly strong enough to force her anxiety but she still cared about them. She wants them back safe and she wants to drive a stake through Stefan's heart.

Caroline could tell Claire's head was elsewhere. It wasn't hard to see. She felt disappointed her sister wasn't paying attention to their day. This day used to be the best day of the year. The parties were always amazing and they always had the time of their lives.

But this year is different. This year, Claire's a mother and Caroline is technically dead which means she's still only 17. This year they've lost all of their friends because of the Salvatore's and their beef with the Mikaelson's. They've lost respect and trust in their father after he kidnapped Caroline. They've lost and gained their relationship with their mother, only now she still isn't talking to Claire.

The only thing that has remained constant this entire time is their bond. Their twin bond. If anything it's grown. It's been tested, strained throughout the year but now, as they sit in the car together, it's stronger than it's ever been. No matter what difficulties they've faced, no matter what life threw at them, they still remained together. Caroline felt confident that even if she lost her friendships, she'd never lost Claire and Claire would never lose her.

*I feel like our twin girls need friends. Obviously not Elena, Bonnie and those assholes. What do you think? Maybe make some of the hybrids be friends with them? Maybe bring some new characters in, characters that have been in high school with them but only now are becoming friends? What do you guys think? I just feel like they need more friends. Caroline needs people to talk to and Claire needs people other than the Mikaelson's... What are you opinions?*