May, 2030
2 years since
Kaitlyn's POV
It was the year 2030 now. 2 years since the Gemini merge chaos. 2 years since Stefan came back. 2 years since Nik disappeared. Everyone went back to their own lives now. Everyone's happy. Content with life. Everything's peaceful.
Ryan and Madeline graduated last year and are currently attending NYU, since they wanted 'a normal college experience' for themselves. It's a good thing they chose NYU since now, Damon and Elena often invite them over for the weekends to hang out. Needless to say, Stefanie is ecstatic about her cousin visiting so often. Caroline and Stefan renewed their wedding vows and got an apartment next door to Damon and Elena but they're travelling the world, for the most part. Of course, Bonnie and Enzo join Caroline and Stefan on their adventures too.
Rebekah and Marcel travel back and forth from Paris to Mystic Falls or New Orleans. They've been keeping to themselves, for the most part, trying to build a family-life of their own. Kol and Davina are still in Mystic Falls with us but they've been in contact with an orphanage/foster care, trying for a kid. There was a lot of disagreement of whether they should adopt a newborn or a toddler. Right now, they're just visiting often to see where their preferences lie. Meanwhile, Freya met someone at school too. Miss Keelin, our receptionist/ werewolf lecturer. They got together right after the school's renovation was completed and have been together ever since. If you ask me, I hear wedding bells soon.
Elijah too visits often but he's been distant ever since Hayley. He does visit her often and stops by in Mystic Falls to see us then but for the most part, he's travelling all over the world, chasing leads on Nik. Classic Elijah, if you ask me. He just doesn't know when to let go, not when it comes to family, especially Nik.
The twins are continuing school at the Salvatore Boarding School. They took an year off after the entire merge chaos so they'll be graduating in two years too. It took them some time to get back to normal but they're doing great now. Josie and Penelope are good together. Lizzie met this ancient ripper vampire called Sebastian. Of course, at first we didn't approve but now, we are warming up to the guy. Like I once said, 'some girls just like the bad boys', and Lizzie is definitely one of those girls.
The school has been busier than ever and so has Alaric, with overlooking the school and distracting himself from memories of Jo. Ever since having to say goodbye to Jo, he has been a little shaken up but as time goes on, he's healing all over again. I hope he finds someone soon, so he can find happiness again.
Hope has had a tough time coping, out of them all. From moving to a new town, finding new friends and family to losing the woman she has considered her mother for 17 years, to finding out who her real mother was and then her father leaving without a notice, no goodbye to her- she has been going through a lot of changes in her life. Lately, I've noticed her and Landon going through a rough patch and I'm mentally preparing myself for my daughter's first heartbreak, just in case.
Other than that, Oreo is more loved and spoiled than ever and has become a prominent member of the family. That sums up more or less everything from the past two years. As for me, I've been coping in a similar manner as Alaric- busying myself in being mother to four kids, Headmistress to countless others, best friend to so many and a cat mom too. The days are so busy and eventful that I barely have any time to think of anything...or anyone else. But the nights...the nights are haunting. They're lonely and full of 'what ifs' that keep me up. I wonder where he is, what he is doing, why he left, when he might come back, if he even will. I wonder if he misses us, his family, his daughter...me? I wonder if he too stays up at night, wondering about us, like I do. I picked up on the same coping mechanism I had the last time he left, writing letters to him about my life but never really posting them. Of course, I hear from Elijah about where is the world he is now and how he was systematically on a killing spree. But somehow, whenever me or Elijah chase a lead and get close to him, he vanishes into thin air, as if he was never there in the first place. How can it be so easy for him to just avoid us when we haven't given up on him? What could possibly be the cause of him pushing his entire family away like that?
I know he left a goodbye letter for me, and maybe I should consider myself lucky for it but...it doesn't hurt any less. It doesn't diminish any of my questions. If anything, it fuels new questions. And the worst part is when I stumble upon our daughter crying almost every night, wondering why her dad left her again, without a goodbye. To cheer her up, I even let her try locater spells on him but of course, he had gotten his tracks covered well enough for us to not be able to find him. It breaks my heart when she cries into my arms and I can't answer her questions, the same questions I've been asking myself for the past two years now.
Right after I told everyone about Nik's letter, they were all furious. Unsurprisingly, Damon was ready to go out and 'find him and kill him', right then and there, along with Ryan. Surprisingly enough though; Kol, Alaric, Rebekah and Caroline were on board too. Eventually, I calmed them down and as usual, defended Nik when he messed up again. We all took a little trip to LA next, just to calm down and relax after such a hectic time and then, everyone scattered their own ways from there onwards.
Just after the renovation at the Lockwood mansion and Salvatore School were completed, we busied ourselves into working for prom, decade dances, annual drama and whatnot. In this way, with academics, town events and family drama, we spent the last two years of our lives, settling back into the old rhythm of life. All has been well lately.
"Good morning, Eli," I greet as I answer the incoming Facetime.
"Morning Rose, did I wake you?" Elijah's voice chimes in from the other side.
"No, it's alright. I've been up all night. Planning this year's graduation party," I tell him as he turns the camera around and shows me the beautiful Brazilian sunrise.
"I thought you'd want to witness the sunrise," he comments as I look at my phone screen in awe.
"I can't wait to see that in real life, someday," I comment as I walk into the kitchen and am greeted with Alaric's smiling face and a fresh, warm brew of coffee.
"Hey, you'll be here for Hope's graduation, right?" I ask Elijah as I sip of my coffee. Yes, Hope was graduating high school in a month. These kids honestly grow up so quick. "Somehow, Maddie and Ryan convinced Hope to spend the summer attending this summer camp at NYU with them, to see if she's interested in a normal college experience too, so I guess I'm losing another kid," I mock-frown.
"I'm sure you're not losing anyone. Knowing Hope, she would get homesick for you and the others within a few months," Elijah jokes and as if on cue, Hope walks into the kitchen.
"Hey, I heard that! And rude! I could last a few months without mom," Hope jokes as she settles down next to me and takes the phone out of my hand to talk to Elijah, herself.
"Yeah but what if I don't want you to? We've got enough classes here for you attend," I protest as I get up and place a breakfast plate in front of Hope, before turning to Alaric, "Ric, it's your turn to wake up the girls today."
"Why me?" Ric whines, "you know they're like devils when you wake them up in the morning! They got that from you, by the way," he teases and I gasp in mock-surprise, slapping his arm as a joke.
"They did not. I'm an angel, morning or not," I chime in and hear Hope laugh from behind me, causing me to turn and glare at her.
"Sorry sorry," she apologizes, "it's just...I've always been taught to not lie. And you're honestly scary when someone wakes you up from your sleep," she says as Alaric smiles and high-fives her in victory.
"I hate you guys," I joke as I snatch my phone from Hope and walk into the living room, "so, any updates?" I ask Elijah when I'm away from eavesdroppers.
"Same outcome here too. He's gone as soon as I got here," Elijah sighs in frustration and so do I.
"Honestly Eli, maybe it's time you listen to him and let it go. It's obvious he doesn't want to be found. And he did say he'd return when he was ready to," I suggest.
"Do you honestly want that? For me to stop looking? I know as a matter of fact, Rose, that if it wasn't for the children and the school, you'd be looking alongside me right now," Elijah points out, "and I do not think we should just sit and wait for him to return 'when he is ready to'. He has a daughter, a fiancé, a family and countless responsibilities towards them, he cannot just run from them when some other work shows up. He cannot just cut off his family and expect us to understand. What will you tell Hope if he doesn't show up for her graduation? What excuse will you make on his behalf then?"
"I...I don't know, okay? I don't know what else to do. Yes, I want him to come back just as much as you do but I also know that if we were meant to find him, we'd have done so by now. He...he's not willing to even see us now and you know as well as I do, that when he doesn't want something, it doesn't happen. If he didn't reach out in the past two years, I doubt he remembers about his daughter's high school graduation, so I honestly don't know what to tell you. Just...do what you think is best," I retort.
"I'll inform you if I find out more," Elijah simply replies and I nod before hanging up. Just then, I hear the front door of the house open and Kol and Davina barge in, with big smiles on their faces.
"Hey, where are you guys coming from?" I greet them.
"Guess what? We met this woman today," Kol begins to rant, "she's five months pregnant and was at the foster care to discuss about the child."
"Yeah she said she can't go through with an abortion but also can't keep the baby, so she has been looking for a good foster care to put the baby in, when it's born," Davina chimes in, almost sadly.
"That sucks," I mumble and she nods in agreement.
"But then me and Davina begin to talk to the lady and she was so nice," Kol continues, "and then on our way back, we begin thinking that what if we adopted her kid? I mean, think about it, she'd find a good family to put her baby in and we'd have a newborn too, just like Davina wants."
"That...sounds great, if you're up for that kind of commitment. A newborn is a lot of work, you know," I tell them but Kol just carelessly shrugs.
"How bad could it be? It's liking raising Oreo, but in human form," he compares as I mentally facepalm himself.
"That's what you think now," Alaric says as he walks into the living room as well, "wait till it's 5 in the morning and the baby doesn't stop crying no matter what you do. You can't tell if they're hungry or sleepy or too warm, too cold; only god knows what they want. And you just sit through the night with a crying baby in your arms."
"And we had two to deal with," I chime in, "if one started crying, the other would too. It's so stressful to raise kids."
"'m sure we weren't as bad as mom and dad say we were," we hear Lizzie's voice as he comes down the stairs and joins our conversation, followed by Josie. Even Hope walks out of the kitchen and joins us.
"You were such high maintenance babies," Alaric tells them truthfully, "especially you, Liz. Spent almost every night up with you crying for no reason."
"I know what you two are trying to do," Kol interrupts, "you're trying to scare me. But I'm telling you, it's not working. If it becomes too much, we'll just call Sunshine over to help. She raised so many kids, she'd definitely be a pro by now," he says as he puts his arms around my shoulder and smirks.
"Do I get paid hourly?" I joke back.
"No, you get paid with unconditional love and appreciation," he quips as the others laugh at our friendly banter.
"Honestly, I'm surprised Aunt Bekah hasn't gotten a kid yet," Hope states, "she's the one with the big baby fever."
"That's only because raising you made her feel more human during all the New Orleans chaos," Davina replies bluntly, "and I mean that in the nicest way possible."
"Everyone's going to move forward when they're ready," I say before turning to the girls, "just like you should be right now if you don't want to be late to school. Or else, you'll end up with detention."
They groan in protest but retreat to the kitchen, nevertheless, before coming back with food and coffee in their hands and their bags slung around their shoulder.
"See you at school!" they call out in sync as they walk out of the house and towards school.
"So your son called me last night," Kol begins excitedly as soon as the girls leave, "and he was asking me about good places to get jewelry from. Think he might be proposing to his girl soon?"
"He...what?" Alaric asks at the same time as Davina nudges Kol and says, "you're such a tattle tale," while I just stare at him in surprise.
"Maybe he just wanted a birthday gift for her or something," Davina then suggests and Alaric nods.
"Yeah. He's 20, for god's sake," he chimes in.
"Yeah well, he would've asked me to help with the gift like always, don't you think? I retort, "he always gets me to choose her a gift and then he goes out and gets it for her, taking all the credit for himself."
"Look Bee, you've got enough things to be worried about so don't add this to the list, okay? Better you worry about the meeting with the town council today," Alaric reminds as I groan in frustration.
"I hate these meetings. Sure you can't go alone?"
"No, they need both the Headmaster and Headmistress there."
"Right, while you two go off to your duties, we'll head home. See you all for family dinner tomorrow," Kol speaks cheerily before waving at us and dragging Davina out of the house with him.
The rest of the day went by pretty much the same as any other. Meetings with entities that have shown interest in donating to the school, new admissions, recommendation letters for graduates, planning the graduation party etc. - basically how I've spent most of my past month. We had dinner at the Grill, us five plus Kol, Davina, Freya and Keelin. Ryan Facetimed and said hello to everyone too. Right now, I was at home, getting ready for bed when a Facetime from Caroline interrupts my plans.
"Hey, sorry I totally forgot about the time zones. Hope I'm not interrupting your busy day," Caroline teases as soon as I accept the call.
I plop down on my bed as Oreo cuddles up next to me and chuckle at her words, "hey Care Bear, don't worry about time zones. You're an interruption that's always welcome."
"What about me?" I hear as Stefan peaks into the call.
"You don't even call anymore, so as of now, I'm mad at you," I jokingly frown, "anyway, how're you two?"
"We're great! We have a flight to Paris tomorrow and Rebekah invited us over for dinner at their place," Caroline answers, "I called to ask you what gift we should take along with us."
I smile at the thought of two of my favorite blondes getting along before answering, "I don't know, they're not choosy. Some good wine should be fine."
"Thanks, that was big help," Stefan chimes in sarcastically and Caroline playfully nudges him.
"Where's Bonnie and Enzo?" I ask.
"They're out on date night but Stefan wanted to stay in, so we're ordering room service," Caroline replies with her cheery smile, "how's everyone at home?"
"The kids are fine. They miss you, though."
"I'm sure they do, since I'm their favorite," Caroline jokes and I laugh at her comment.
"Don't let Bekah hear that or she'll cancel your invitation," I joke back before yawning.
"You seem tired," Caroline apologizes but I quickly dismiss it.
"No, don't worry about it. I barely get any sleep at night, anyway," I tell her and both of them frown at my words.
"Still spending nights crying over him?" Caroline asks rhetorically at the same time as Stefan says, "I'm starting to like Damon's idea of finding him and beating him up."
"If only someone could find him," I retort, "Elijah's been trying for the past two years and it's all in vain. But honestly guys, don't worry. I'm fine, with the kids and school, I'm too busy to sit and sulk. It's getting late, though. I'll call you guys tomorrow?" I quickly change the topic, not wanting to dwell on it too long.
"Hm yeah, talk to you tomorrow. Take care. We love you!" Caroline cheers.
"Love you two, too," I say before hanging up the call and closing my eyes with a sigh before grabbing my journal.
Ever since Nik's been gone, I've been keeping journals again. I write down anything that I might want to share with him when we see each other again and it helps get things off my chest too. Elena was the one to suggest this method to me, and so far, it's been working great.
Dearest Nik,
Here I am, writing to you again and adding to my pile of letters unsent to you. Nothing much happened today but everyone's been reminding me of you lately. With Hope's graduation soon, I'm scared you won't be here and the girl will be absolutely heartbroken over it. I honestly don't know what to do anymore. Elijah has been trying and failing and at this point, I just wish you'd at least write to us; write to your daughter so she feels better about her father disappearing without a notice.
All your siblings are doing well, though. Kol and Davina think they've found their baby and I'm honestly so excited for them. Kol as a father is something I have a hard time imagining. I only wonder what he'll be like when the baby grows to be a teenager. He'd be such an overprotective dad if it's a girl- kinda like you. Guess it's in the genes to be overprotective. Rebekah and Marcel are having the time of their lives. And Freya and Keelin are happy too. Honestly, I think if you were here, they'd be married by now. They're so in love but Freya says it feels wrong to even consider a wedding without you being present. She wants her brother here on her big day. We all want you here, Nik. I just wish you'd leave whatever it is you're up to and just come back home, come back to us.
But since I know better, I realize you're doing what you think you have to and so, I just write to you in return. I hope you're well, though and as selfish as it sounds, I hope you think of us. I hope you miss us as much as we miss you. And like every other day, I wish upon a star that we can meet again, soon. That we can finally start our forever together, soon. Till then, know I love you. More than anything and everything. I miss you and I wait for you, Always and Forever and Till Forever Falls Apart.
Only yours,
Kaitlyn.
Author's Note
Gosh this is sooo sad! I don't think I'll be able to keep the two away for too much longer. But I'm excited for this act, so hold on tight, y'all. It's gonna be one hell of a ride.
Also, reminder that the Prequel is out now!! And I'm updating all stories simultaneously so feel free to check that out too.
Love you guys, muahh.
~Awwmoons.