18 April, 2028

3rd person POV

At midnight, Kaitlyn tiptoes downstairs and holds the front door open as Alaric comes back home with a big cake and the twins, Madeline and his other friends carry the gifts and balloons with them. As Alaric and Kaitlyn set up the decorations, the kids all rush to Ryan's room to wake him up and surprise him.

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The kids all barge into Ryan's room, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" they all yell out in sync and Ryan jerks awake, listening to them.

He sits up and gives them a grateful smile.

"Happy Birthday, brother!" Josie wishes him and Lizzie nods along.

"Thanks, you guys," he replies.

"Mom and dad are setting up everything downstairs, get up and get dressed. Meet us downstairs ASAP!" Lizzie orders as everyone walks out of his room, everyone except Madeline.
Madeline stays back as she notices something off about him.

"Hey, what's wrong? Surprise not good enough?" she jokes.

"No no it's not that. I just... I messed up. I was so busy hating the Mikaelsons for what they did to mom, I completely ignored how I was hurting mom too in the process until she pointed it all out to me tonight. I promised her I'll give them a chance. You know, apparently Klaus is her soulmate, just like you are mine. I can't imagine my life without you, Mads and to think mom had to spend sixteen years away from her soulmate, only because she wanted a trouble-free life for us, I can't help but feel guilty about everything," he confesses.

Madeline sighs and sits next to him on the bed, "hey listen, we all know Miss K. You know she doesn't blame you or your sisters for any of it and she's more than thankful to have you guys in her life. Yeah it must've been tough but maybe you can look on the bright side, they're both here now. Maybe, in time, they'll find their way back to each other. Now, all you can do for her is be supportive towards any decision she makes. That's all she'll want from you. And I'm sure if you give it time, things will fall back into places for everyone, eventually," Madeline reassures.

Ryan hangs his head, "yeah I guess you're right," he says.

Madeline hugs him and rests her head on his shoulder, in a way to comfort him.

"Now get ready, everyone's waiting for you downstairs," she tells him as she gets up and leaves the room.

After a while, Ryan freshens up and meets his family and friends downstairs.

"There's the birthday boy!" Alaric cheers when his eyes land on Ryan.

Ryan smiles sheepishly as Kaitlyn rushes towards him and pulls him into a big hug.

"Happy Birthday, Bubbah. I can't believe you're so grown up already," Kaitlyn says with happy tears in her eyes.

"Okay mom, that's dramatic. Even for you," Lizzie jokes and everyone laughs.

"Come on, we set up everything in the living room," Kaitlyn states as she leads everyone there.

"Woah, when did you guys get the time to do all this?" Ryan asks, clearly surprised.

"We're like a dozen people here so it didn't take too long," Josie shrugs and the others nod.

"Let's cut the cake already!" Lizzie cheers and so they do.

Still downstairs, after cutting the cake and opening all the gifts, Ryan turns to Kaitlyn, "where's your gift?" he asks her.

"I didn't get you a gift. It's your 18th birthday so I wanted to know what you want. Ask for anything," she tells him.

"Anything?" he asks in a excited manner.

She rolls her eyes at him, "you know what anything ranges within," she tells him.

He thinks for a while before speaking up again.

"Okay then, there's a Knicks vs Bulls match in NY on the 19th, I want to go see it," he tells her as the others gasp.

"You want to go to NY?" she asks her, dumbfounded.

"Yepp," he replies, popping the 'p'

"OMG mom, please say yes! There's a Taylor Swift concert at Madison Square the day after. We can all go and attend both! Please, please, please!" Lizzie begs her parents.

"We won't get tickets for either now," Josie states and both Ryan and Lizzie roll their eyes at her.

"That's what compulsion is for, baby sister," Ryan replies as he rests his arm on her shoulder.

"You want us to compel ourselves into the match and concert?" Kaitlyn asks, again dumbfounded.

"You don't have to compel them if you don't want to. I can do it," Ryan states in a duh-tone, "don't worry, we've got it all figured out, mom."

Kaitlyn looks at Alaric for help but he puts his hands up in mock-surrender, "hey, don't look at me. You got yourself into this," he states as Kaitlyn rolls her eyes at him.

"Fine, I guess we're going to NY tomorrow then. But don't make a habit out of this. It's only for your 18th birthday, okay?" Kaitlyn points out sternly.

"Yes ma'am," Ryan mock-salutes her.

"Right, then you guys go back and get to bed, we'll plan out the tickets and everything," she tells them as her kids go back to their rooms and she turns to the other kids, "now, I can sign permits for Landon, Rafael and Madeline but the rest of you need to get permission from home, if you want to tag along," she tells them as Penelope, MG and Hope nod and then they all too leave.

"You know we both can't go, right?" Alaric asks her and she nods.

"So you can take them. We both know the kids prefer you, anyways," Alaric states with an eye-roll.

"You sure?" she asks him.

"Yeah yeah, I'll watch the home ground," Alaric jokes.

"We're not going to war, Ric. Now help me with the planning. We've got a long night ahead of us," she tells him with a sigh, as they both start to look for tickets and hotels on their laptops.

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In the morning, the kids come downstairs at 7 to see both Alaric and Kaitlyn asleep in the kitchen with papers sprawled all across the room. The kids then make coffee and wake up their parents. Soon, Landon, Rafael, Madeline, Penelope and MG walk into the house as well.

"Are you kids all packed and permitted?" Kaitlyn asks them as she comes back downstairs with her own bag, a little later.

They all nod vigorously, all very excited for this impromptu trip.

"Where's Hope?" Kaitlyn asks when she notices her missing.

"She said you need to convince her parents. They won't let her go unless they hear it from you," Lizzie states with an eye roll.

Kaitlyn nods. "Okay then, I'll go pick Hope. You kids head to the Grill and get some takeaway. We need to take a car because there's no last-minute flights available," she tells them as she gets into her car and drives off towards the Mikaelson mansion.

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Upon reaching the Mikaelson mansion, Kaitlyn rings the doorbell and Hope immediately greets her at the front door as if she had been standing there, waiting for Kaitlyn all this time.

Hope pulls Kaitlyn into a hug, "thank god you're here, Miss K. Dad is seriously being unreasonable right now. I'm sorry you had to drive all this way," she says as they break away from the hug.

Kaitlyn smiles at her, "it's okay, don't worry about it. You go get your bags while I talk to your dad, okay?"

Hope nods and heads upstairs as Kaitlyn walks into the living room to see Freya sat there with a book.

"Hey Freya," she greets.

"Oh hey, Kaitlyn. If you're looking for Klaus, he's in his art room and in a foul mood, might I add," Freya replies and Kaitlyn nods as she walks towards his old art room.

She knocks on the door a few times to grab Klaus' attention but he doesn't move his eyes from the canvas he was painting on, "no means no, Hope," he says.

"Actually...it's me," Kaitlyn replies as she walks into the room. He immediately turns back at the sound of her voice.

"Oh great, now they've sent you to convince me," he rolls his eyes.

"All the kids are going. You want Hope to be the only one who stays back? Besides, I'll keep them safe at all times, I promise," Kaitlyn tries to reassure him.

Klaus looks both shocked and confused, "wait, you're going with them?"

"Of course I am. You think I'd let these go to NY all by themselves?" Kaitlyn asks with a chuckle.

"Well I...Alaric too?" he asks again.

"No, both me and Ric can't leave the school at once so it's just me but I promise you they'll be alright," Kaitlyn states firmly.

Slowly, a smirk creeps onto Klaus' face, "well then maybe I should come with you," he offers and Kaitlyn's eyes widen.

"What? No it's alright," she tries to decline.

"Think about it, Rose. So many kids and just one parent? In NY? Not safe enough. Let me accompany you," he repeats himself.

Just then, Hope walks into the room.

"Okay Miss K, I'm all packed. Did you convince dad yet?" she questions.

"Actually," Klaus smirks, "I think I convinced her instead. I'll be down with my bag in a bit," he tells them as he speeds upstairs.

Both Hope and Kaitlyn look dumbfounded at what just happened.

Kaitlyn sighs, "well, I guess your dad's coming with us, then," she tells Hope.

"Hey Freya," Kaitlyn calls out for her as they walk back into the living room, "we're taking a trip to NY today. It's sort of an impromptu thing but you should tag along," she offers.

"Oh, that's really nice of you but I wouldn't want to intrude," Freya replies politely.

"Nonsense, it's no intrusion. Klaus is coming along so you should too. At least I'll have one adult there this way," she jokes.

"Yes Aunt Freya, come along. Besides, no one's home anyways," Hope pleads her aunt.

"Alright," Freya agrees as Hope cheers and Kaitlyn smiles at her, "I'll be down in a minute. Let me pack something along," she says as she walks upstairs too.

After a while of waiting, both Freya and Klaus join Hope and Kaitlyn downstairs.

"I already had a Chevrolet Tahoe called for all of us but I guess now we'll need a bigger car," Kaitlyn tells Klaus as they walk out of the mansion.

"Or we can take two cars. The one you called and one of my cars. That way, no one has to be crammed up into a space either. We can take turns driving too," Klaus offers as if he has the entire thing planned out.

Kaitlyn knew better than to argue with him on this so she leaves her car at the Mikaelson mansion as they get into Klaus' Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class and drive to the Grill.

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At the Grill, although Ryan doesn't look too happy with Klaus tagging along, they decide to take the two cars and change drivers during stops as embark on the nearly 8 hour long drive to their destination- New York City.

All the kids insist on staying in the same car so Freya offers to join their car and supervise them, thus leaving Klaus and Kaitlyn alone in his car.

For the first hour or so, the car ride is quiet as Kaitlyn reads a book on the passenger seat and Klaus drives ahead, sometimes stealing glances at the love of his life who is seated beside him now, with her nose buried in a book. In his opinion, she looks serene right now, completely unbothered, relaxed and happy, as he would call it. He thinks to himself how he could stay in this moment forever.

The quiet is short-lived, however, as Kaitlyn's phone starts ringing and Damon's Caller ID pops up.

"Hey Damon. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Kaitlyn jokes as she answers the phone and Klaus rolls his eyes, obviously listening in on the conversation through his vamp-hearing.

"Why is it that I just heard about your trip to New York?" he complains from the other side of the call.

"It was a sudden plan. I was going to call you soon though. I guess the kids beat me to it," she clarifies.

"Yeah they did. Lizzie texted me a little while ago and now Stefanie won't stop screaming about how excited she is."

Kaitlyn chuckles, "excited to see me?"

"Oh please, she doesn't even remember you, it's probably just the toddler-crush she has on Ryan," he jokes.

"Hm maybe."

"Oh and. You're bringing the Mikaelsons along with you? Are you out of your damn mind?"

Kaitlyn looks at Klaus but he pretends as if he wasn't listening, thus earning an eye roll from Kaitlyn.

"I'm not bringing them along. Hope was coming and Klaus wouldn't let his daughter go alone since he doesn't trust me enough, so him and his sister Freya are tagging along," Kaitlyn replies and now it's Klaus' turn to roll his eyes.

"I do trust you-" Klaus goes to say but Kaitlyn shushes him.

"Was that him? You're driving with him alone?"

"Okay enough, Damon. I'll see you in a few hours, hopefully. Tell Elena to cancel her plans for the next two days," Kaitlyn cuts him off.

"Alright. Love you, Buttercup," he replies.

"Love you too. Bye," she says before hanging up.

She notices Klaus giving her a look and turns to him, "what? What's that look for?"

He shrugs, "nothing. It's just...you seem closer to Damon than Elena now."

"Because I guess I am. Elena is busy all the time and after Stefan's death, we sort of had a little fallout. Damon was always there, though, so we got closer," Kaitlyn tells him.

"Didn't you guys date once?" he asks and she rolls her eyes at his question.

"Yeah but that was for a little while before we decided that we're better off as friends."

"You decided that you guys were better off as friends," Klaus clarifies.

"Same thing. Now, do you mind turning up the radio? It's awfully quiet."

"or we could just talk," he smirks but Kaitlyn pays him no mind as she turns up the radio and puts on her favorite radio station, slowly singing along to the songs that play.

Klaus has a smile on his face the whole time, as he listens to her humming along to the songs playing. Again, he thinks of how perfect life is at this very moment.

After nearly three hours of driving, they all decide to stop outside a diner to grab some food and coffee and freshen up a little.

Although Klaus complains about how unhygienic the diner is, everyone leaves him outside and go inside to get food for themselves.

A little while later, Kaitlyn brings coffee for Klaus, outside.

"Do you remember the last time we took a trip to New York?" he asks her as they sip on their coffee.

"If by trip you mean, you dragging me along with you to New York so we could find Finn and unlink him from us, then yes, I remember how terrified I was," she replies.

"It wasn't all bad, though. I took you to that arcade you wanted to go to, remember?"

They both smile at the memory, "yeah I remember. You fell off the crazy bull. That was the highlight of the trip for me," she laughs.

"Dad did what?" a voice comes from behind them. They turn to see everyone waiting there.

"Dad went to an arcade? He fell off the crazy bull?" Hope asks as she puts her hands over her mouth, trying to hide her laughter, "please tell me you have picture!"

Klaus smiles and looks down, relishing in those past memories and loving how close his Rose and Hope had gotten over the little time they've had together.

Kaitlyn too smiles, although it's a rather awkward smile considering her kids were all there, listening.

"I think Kol or Rebekah might have the ones I sent them. You can ask them later," Kaitlyn replies.

"Okay enough, no need to ask them anything. If you all are down, maybe we should start driving soon enough," Klaus complains with an eye roll. Everyone laughs at his situation but nonetheless, oblige.

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This time, they switch so now it's Kaitlyn behind the wheel and Klaus on the passenger seat. As they start driving again, Klaus turns to look at her, "do you really still have pictures from the trip?" he asks her hopefully.

"I think I have pictures from everything back then. It's all in this big box in my attic. The decade dances, Miss Mystic Falls, Graduation Day, Senior Prank Night, the Bonfire, Masquerade- I have them all. Caroline would kill me if I lost any," she jokes.

"Do you still have any pictures of us?" he asks again.

"Probably. I never got rid of any so they should be in the attic, with the others," she replies and he smiles at her as he thinks of her not getting rid of their memories together and instead, holding onto them for so long, just like he had.

The rest of the drive to New York goes by the same. For the most part, both Kaitlyn and Klaus remain quiet, secretly relishing in each other's company while talking every now and then- whether about their past, New Orleans or Mystic Falls while they were away, how Kol and Kaitlyn became best friends and so on. Kaitlyn tells Klaus how Elena was a doctor now and that Damon had opened a chain-bar all across the country but primarily in New York and about their daughter, Stefanie, as well.

When they pass the "Welcome to New York City" board, Kaitlyn calls Ryan and he puts the phone of speaker, so everyone else can listen as well.

"Okay kids, tell Freya to drive to The Excelsior Hotel between Central Park and Columbus Avenue. Klaus got us a two conjoined suites there so we can all stay together, more or less," she says as all the kids on the other side of the call cheer.

"Told you brining along Hope's dad would have its benefits," she hears Madeline say.

"See you guys there. And kids, Welcome to New York!" she tells them as she hangs up and they drive off to their destination.

Author's Note
So if you can't already tell, I AM A BIG SWIFTIE so prepare for a lot of TS references in future chapters!
Also, I know nothing about cars so the ones I mentioned here are just ones I found on Google suggestions, if it's not appropriate, please ignore. And I've never been to NYC so if anything about the descriptions seem off, I hope you guys can overlook/correct me on them heheh.

And this bit of the plot was the one I was so excited about writing.
How do you guys feel about someone from Kaitlyn's past showing up and resulting in a furious/super jealous Klaus? 😏
And since Damon's gonna be there, we know:
Damon + Klaus = Chaotic Drama!
So buckle up everyone.
I'm so excited to finish writing the next chapter and upload it ASAP, as well!