||act one||

"caroline, can you get emerson up from her nap while i grab the door?"

"sure, not a problem, sis," caroline's distant reply came as she started up the carpeted stairs to wake up her adorable little niece. it was quite the task to wake emerson up often times because she loved to stay warm underneath her fuzzy blankets gifted to her by various aunts and uncles.

"okay, i'll be right up!" cora told her older sister as she carelessly threw a strand of her light brunette hair behind her ear and over her shoulder accordingly before walking to the door, as the door bell had rung clear, alerting her of someone waiting on the other side of her door.

cora's body filled with uneasiness as she approached the door, questioning who her visitor was exactly. her small hand grasped the doorknob tightly and as she began to twist it, a voice from outside caused her to drop her hand immediately and back away from the door.

"cora, it's me, it's kai."

with a hand clutched to her mouth in astounding shock, and brows rose in utter disbelief, cora crept from the door and disappeared into the shadowy hallway. her heart raced beyond imagination, and with his newfound supernatural hearing, she was sure he could hear clearly the blood quickly pumping through her veins from outside her front door.

"open the door, please."

with her hands continuing to tremble and a wavering present in her voice came her response, "kai, you know i can't do that." cora prayed emerson would keep quiet upstairs, so he wouldn't hear her daughter, their daughter, waking up upstairs.

when damon and bonnie threw around words similar to unexpected visitor and old friend, her mind in no way conjured up thoughts of kai. kai parker, the father of her child and the love of her life who hurt her beyond words.

"cora, i-i need to see you. please let me in; i'm not going to hurt you." kai's pleads were muffled through the wooden door. the only thing standing behind the two past lovers and their coveted reunion. though he sounded sincere, cora was still extra vigilant in dealing with kai.

"you promise?" cora's voice emulated brokenness. she had accepted false promises far too many times to count and her walls were placed so high, never allowing them to fall and crumble around her.

"when have i ever broken a promise?" kai's voice was strong and waves of nostalgia flooded through cora's veins at the sound of it.

"did you of all people seriously just ask that?" with her back against the door, she let her words cooly slip from her lips. sarcasm dripped from her words, and she had a fair point.

"when have i ever broken something i promised you," kai responded, correcting himself quickly.

"you promised me you wouldn't hurt me, ever, and when you appeared at the wedding, you hurt me," cora's voice wavered in the slightest as she attempted to remain strong in her reply to kai.

"cora i'm sor-" kai's attempt at an apology was cut off by cora in mere seconds after it had left his lips.

"just get in here." cora's desperation to see kai once again one over her steady mind, for she knew caroline would be quick to help her defend emerson if things went south, and truthfully, cora believed in the depths of her heart kai would ever harm emerson, or at least she hoped.

as the door creaked open hesitatingly, cora visibly shrunk back in fear of what was to come. tears began to cloud her already shaky vision as she came to the realization that this was it; she would finally receive the reunion she had hoped for desperately for years, the hope she had clung to for not only herself, but her daughter, as well. a hand flew back to her mouth as she saw those familiar blue irises staring into her own, and as blue met blue, arms encased the other in their own and they were one again.

through the pain kai had caused cora, she had still loved him. he had never intentionally hurt her, though indirectly it had come about. she learned to forgive because he had not received the upbringing she had. she had a wonderful mother who loved her dearly, and kai had one who called him "an abomination," worthless of all care and love.

kai's strong arms gathered up cora and held her tightly. years of pent up emotions ranging from anger to despair flooded into the open and surrounded her. sadness drifted into the and happiness shone bright in his crystal clear eyes.

"you're worth it," cora muttered into his shoulder as she clung to the hug. she poured emotion into every word she spoke confidently, for she had never been as sure as she had been when speaking those words to kai.

kai pulled away from the warmth for a moment to acknowledge the girl's statement,"what do you mean?" he asked as he gently stroked her tawny brown hair between his daft fingers.

"i mean, you're worth it, kai. you're worth loving and caring for, though that doesn't mean i necessarily forgive you. what your parents told you, it-it isn't true. you're worth it." cora's voice cracked as she spoke the words her heart ached to scream into the abyss, the void kai parker completed within her heart slowly came closer to being filled.

"i-i," kai struggled to find his words, so cora brought a hand to his cheek to rub it softy in comfort to urge him on, "thank you."

cora pulled away and cleared her throat while indirectly clearing the tension in the air after a moment later. the younger forbes had soaked up all of the love he had to offer within that hug, and she felt amazing. she brought a tender hand to her eye to wipe away the remaining tears and rid them of their existence.

"for the record, i'm sorry for what i did to you, all those years ago. it caused me to lose you, and nothing is worth losing you," kai said from his heart, a tone she rarely heard from him in contrast to his usual lighthearted one. his eyes crinkled as he chuckled at the beginning of his speech before his words took on a more somber tone.

"i-i. i'll never forgive what you did to jo, nor can i justify your actions, but your family's acts all those years did nothing to help the situation," cora told kai softly as she absentmindedly stroked her arm in order to distract herself from the important and slightly terrifying conversation at hand.

"i know." came kai's singular and truthful reply to cora.

an idle silence began to envelop the surrounding air, which allowed cora to remember back to caroline and emerson still upstairs. no more than ten minutes could have past, but it worried her that they did not come down. perhaps they heard her and kai, though she was sure caroline would have come down to check on her.

cora's face took on a frown, but she directed kai to the living room, nonetheless. she selfishly took a moment to take in his appearance, and she noticed his blue eyes were as wild as ever and to say the least, he looked as handsome as she had remembered.

cora had made the rather hard decision to box up any pictures of her and kai together, leaving them out of emerson's sight and her's as well, to avoid any unnecessary pain. however, one thing she had not taken into account were the various pictures showing emerson growing up with her family members by her side.

before she could seize the chance to guide kai to a different area of the house, he had guided himself to the warmth of the fireplace, where a recent picture of emerson sat framed atop the mantel for all to see. emerson parker forbes was dressed in her favorite pair of leggings and a jumper caroline had gotten her that day. she was cradled in cora's arms on the front porch of the forbes's cabin, a wide smile present on her face for the camera bonnie had used to snap the lovey picture of the mother and daughter in a blissful moment.

"kai i-," cora's words trailed off, for she was unsure of how to tell kai he had a daughter. cora had no idea she was pregnant until after the wedding, where she was left devastated that kai would never get the chance to meet his child and their child would grow up not knowing him. it caused her heart to ache, but the happiness emulating from emerson's spirit daily helped soothe the never ending pain and keep her going.

cora stayed very quiet as kai began to process the newfound information of his daughter's existence. they had never discussed a future, let alone the possibility of having kids together. cora knew it was more than just a "touchy subject" as kai's siblings continued to haunt him into adulthood, never mind the fact she could grow up to become a siphoned much like him, which she indeed had.

"she can't be mine, i," kai mumbled to himself, attempting to find any possible way the little girl on the photo couldn't be his flesh and blood, but the timeline fit perfectly, causing fears to creep into and settle in his bones. the small girl looked to be about three or four, bearing an uncanny resemblance as she held the color of his blue eyes in her very own.

"but i know it, she has to be mine." kai whispered, giving up on his denial strategy as a viable option to work his way out of this major conflict. "she's beautiful, just like you," kai muttered as he continued to stare at the photo before promptly placing it back upon the shelf. he began to search for another picture of the girl, his daughter, around the living room before pausing on another one of the beautiful girl, his beautiful girl.

"and she has my eyes," kai proclaimed as a small smile graced his face, nearly undetectable to anyone.

"i, i have a daughter."

a/n
crying sounds fun.