Caroline fights a mutt, and she and her daughters make a decision.

•••

Caroline sighs, kneeling in between both of their graves. "Hey, Ric. It's me. Caroline. I know you can't hear me right now because you're not on the other side and are at peace, but I miss you. I don't know how to do this without you." She starts. Tears began to sting her eyes but she was determined to hold them back. "I don't know how to raise two girls, let alone be a good mother. I wish you were here. Both you and Stefan. Stefan he-. . .he was like my big brother and now he's gone too. Damon and Elena aren't here in Mystic Falls very often after moving to Georgia, and when they are they are only here for a few days. The girls miss you, Ric. They wish every night that their daddy could come in and say goodnight and give them a hug and a kiss and tell them they will be okay."

She looks down at the flowers in her hands. Two for each grave. As she places them on the graves, she feels another wave of tears hit her and they begin to roll down her cheeks. She can't hold them back any longer.

Caroline sighs again, knowing that this was pointless. Neither of them could even hear her. She stands up so she can go back to her car. She hears footsteps behind her and sighs. She should have known one of them would find her.

"Care?"

She spins on her heel to see Elena slowly approaching her.

"Hey, Elena," She greets, not sure if Elena can even hear her because of how low she's speaking.

Elena was human now, Damon too. They have a baby named Stefanie after Stefan. Eventually, Caroline knows that she was going to lose Elena and Bonnie, along with both of her girls. Even Damon. Damon may have hurt her badly in the past, and did terrible things to her, but she was friends with him now.

"Care, are you okay?" Elena gives her a concerned look, and Caroline can't hold back her tears any longer. She falls to her knees and Elena falls with her and immediately wraps her arms around her.

"I miss them, Elena. I miss them so much!" She cries out, and punches the ground, making the other girl jump from the impact as it sends vibrations up through her legs.

"Shh, Care. It's okay, we're all here for you. You know that." Elena whispers, but Caroline isn't calming down, her sobbing is just getting harder. She starts to heave, trying to gain control of her breathing. "Maybe it's time to go see him Care." She whispers into Caroline's ear.

That made Caroline look up at her with tear-filled eyes. "No! I- no Elena! I won't be able to look him in the eyes if I do! I'll just break down and he won't know why, and then I'll have the entire original family coming to see what the big commotion is and he probably moved on and he probably doesn't even remember me!" She is rambling and she knows it, but she can't bring herself to care very much. Elena has brought up someone she can't lie to, let alone see without breaking completely. No, she can't face him. Not like she is; too broken, too fragile.

"Caroline, you know that isn't true. He hasn't forgotten you, nor has he moved on. And I don't know about his family, but didn't you once tell me that you and one of his brothers were close friends?" Elena asks, and Caroline slowly nods.

"K-Kol, yeah," She sighs, hugging Elena softly because when her emotions got the best of her, her vampire strength got harder to control. "I can't go though, Elena. What about the girls?"

Elena sighs and then an idea pops into her head. "What if you move to New Orleans with the girls?" She smiles at Caroline.

Caroline looks at her, pulling back from the hug. Her face was carefully blank. She isn't going to move to New Orleans with her girls. She would be taking them away from her friends. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'll be taking them away from everything they know, and what about Klaus. He knows about the twins, he's known since the day I found out, but he's never met them? What if he doesn't like them?"

Elena sighs. "Caroline, you need to go. It's the only way you will be able to move on from . . .from them" She breathes gently, and Caroline sighs.

"Fine, I'll ask the girls about it tonight. Okay? Are you happy now?" She looks at her and Elena smiles. "Come on, we have to go before Damon and Bonnie come looking for us. They have tried calling you, but you wouldn't answer." She says, and Caroline looks at the ground sheepishly.

"I- uh, I destroyed my phone last night when I threw it. I found the horse painting that Klaus gave me and it frustrated me because I'm still in love with him and I miss him." Woah, where did that come from?! Oh well, it's the truth... She sighs. "I'm so in love with him Elena, and I can't admit just how much control he has over me. He gives me all I have ever wanted. To be loved like I'm the only girl that he sees. He always chose me first. He never chose anyone above me. I wasn't his second choice like I was Tyler's. Or Ric's, or Matt's, or even Stefan's. I...I was always the second choice. With. . .with Klaus, I wasn't." She rambles.

"Care, listen to me. Klaus Mikaelson would give you the world if you let him. He'd find a way to make you the Queen of England if you asked him too. I may not like Klaus all that much, but he loves you, Care. He has since he met you all those years ago." Elena tells her.

She sighs. "I know,El-" A sound and a smell catches her attention. She stands up, pulling Elena up with her..

"Elena you have to go," She whispers to Elena, slowly back herself and Elena up from the treeline.

Elena nods, trusting her judgment. "Is everything okay?" She whispers back, and Caroline shakes her head.

"Go to your car, drive home. I'll be right behind you, I promise." Caroline says and Elena nods and does as she is told.

Caroline smirked coldy as soon as Elena's car is gone. She turns to face the trees. "You can come out now, mutt."

The man comes out from the treeline and Caroline snarls at him. "Hello Jakob, it's been a long time," She says, her eyes not leaving the wolf on the other side of the cemetery.

"Indeed, bloodsucker."

Jakob's green eyes tell her why he is here but she wants to hear him say it. "Why are you here Jakob? You know you're not allowed in Mystic Falls." She speaks, taking a step closer to him. Her eyes turn blood red, bluish-grey veins appearing under her eyes as her fangs descend.

"You know exactly why Caroline. You killed a friend of mine. It's time to repay the favor." He maliciously smirks and then runs at her.

She quickly dodges him, spinning as he does and roundhouse kicks into his back, causing him to fly into a nearby tree, cracking it in half as he tumbles to the ground. He bears his fangs and stands up, facing the blonde vampire.

"You're gonna have to try a little harder than that bloodsucker," He hissed and she hisses back, running at him. He quickly moves out of her way, and she digs her heels into the dirt to stop herself from flying into a headstone. She quickly spins around to face him again.

They were nose to nose now.

"I think it's time you left town, mutt." She said darkly. She grabs his arm with her complete strength, and smirks hearing it crack, signaling a break. He howls in pain, quickly pinning Caroline to the ground. She lifts her knee, hitting him in the groin and he winces, letting her go. She takes the chance. She quickly gives him a swift left uppercut to the jaw, sending him toppling over onto his back.

Caroline quickly stands. She walks away from him, passing the last of the headstones. She hears him growling at her and she spins back around.

"Seriously? Do you seriously not know when to back the hell off? I get it, Jakob. I killed Ann, but you need to learn when to back off. If I were you, I would make sure that you never return to Mystic Falls. Otherwise, you'll have a very very angry hybrid on your ass. Have you ever heard of Klaus Mikaelson?" Caroline warns, feeling a burst of confidence knowing that Klaus would take him out if she needed him too. He always did anything to protect her.

He looks up at her, glaring. "There's no way in hell Klaus Mikaelson is your lap dog," he snarls.

Caroline laughs, her voice chiming like bells. "You have no idea what he would do for me, Jakob. So I suggest you run along." He snarls at her again, and she glowers. "Go home, Jakob. I have said it a million times, you need to let it go. She was out of control and needed to be put down. So be a good dog, and get over it." She smirks.

She loves putting dogs in their places.

He growls at her, but instead of racing towards her like she knew he was dying to do, he walks back into the treeline, turning back to her before he walks away. "I'll be back, Caroline."

Caroline waves him off, knowing he would be. And when that happens she would be ready. "I'll be waiting."

He turns and disappears from sight, and Caroline sighs, running a hand over her braids. "Time to go ask the girls about moving to New Orleans," She mutters as she gets into her car and throws her purse into the passenger's seat. With a shake of her head, she starts the car.

She drives to the boarding house, sees Elena's car out front, and smiles knowing she is safe. She gets out and walks inside the house, grinning when she hears Damon being scolded for something.

She immediately hears two pairs of feet running toward her. She smiles and hugs them both as soon as they reach her. "Mom! Aunt Elena told us that something happened. Is everything okay?" The brunette thirteen year old looks worried.

"Yeah Jo, I'm okay. I have a question for you both though, but it will have to wait until I'm done talking with Aunt Elena and Uncle Damon okay?" Caroline smiles at the girls who nod and go back upstairs to get their stuff. They head out to the car after they grab their bags to wait on their mother, Lizzie on her phone, and Josie reading her grimoire from Bonnie.

"Elena? Damon?" Caroline calls loudly, as she walks into the living room to see Damon sitting on the couch next to Elena, who is holding Stefanie.

"Blondie! You're okay, Elena said something bad happened and you made her come home." Damon says, standing up, and Caroline smiles, then drops it when she realizes why.

"Jakob was there. We fought, I won and I told him to back down, otherwise, he'd have a very angry and very powerful hybrid on his ass." She says, watching their reactions. Elena beams at her, while Damon scowls as the thinks about that.

"Jakob knew not to return to Mystic Falls. Why'd he come back?" Elena asks curiously, shaking the baby in her arms.

"He said he needed to repay the favor of me killing his girlfriend," Caroline shrugs, and then looks at Elena, who looks guilty.. "I'm going to ask the twins, Elena. I need him," she said.

Elena nods, smiling. "Good Care. Just remember what I told you okay?" Caroline nods as she hugs her best friend with one arm so she doesn't hurt Stefanie. Damon moves in front of her before she gets a chance to move toward the door.

"Ask the twins about what? And who do you need blondie?" He asks, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm asking the girls a question about moving somewhere far from here. I'm only telling Elena and Bonnie what the girl's decision is and where I'm going because they are my best friends, and Elena was the one who suggested it. And who is none of your business, Damon. So I suggest that you sit down before I break your arm." Damon flinches slightly, and does as he is told and sits down. His unhappy look made Caroline laugh and Elena smiles at him as she hands Stefanie to him.

"Fine" He mutters, taking his daughter and she smirks.

"Good. I'll call you later Elena. Okay?" She says to Elena, who has a smile on her face as she nods..

"Of course," She replies and Caroline walks out to her car, seeing the girls playing on their phones waiting patiently for her.

"Alright, let's get home, and then I'll ask that question. Sound good?" Caroline asks as she starts the car and both girls nod.

"Will we like or not like the question?" She hears Lizzie ask and sighs.

"Lizzie!" Josie reprimands, and Lizzie shrugs.

"I'm not sure girls, we'll just have to see, yeah?" Both twins nod and Caroline drives to their house.

Ten minutes later, all three were in pajamas with cups of hot cocoa in their hands. She is anxious about the girl's opinion on moving to New Orleans. They would be meeting the man who stole Caroline's heart years and years ago if they said yes, and they would meet his daughter Hope. She was a few months older than the twins, so hopefully, they would all become fast friends.

They know about Klaus and Hope, but they had never met him. Caroline knows that it will be a little awkward at first, but all of them will get used to it.

She looks at them, taking a sip of her cocoa to help her anxiousness settle. "How would you both feel if we moved to New Orleans?" She asks, a little hesitantly, but her nerves calm once she sees her daighters' reactions.

Lizzie and Josie look at each other smiling, and then nod and look at Caroline. "When do we start packing?"