Kaitlyn's POV

I wake up to feel arms wrapped tightly around me and a face nuzzled into my neck. It takes me a second to remember I'm not on the Supernatural Plane anymore. I'm back to my own reality, with my own people. But all the things I saw were real too. How do I explain everything to the others when they ultimately ask me about it?

As such thoughts storm my mind, I slowly try to move Nik's arms from around me and get up but as I try, he only tightens his grip and nuzzles his face further into my neck.

"Nik," I whisper, trying to move him away but he groans in return.

"Don't go, please," he whispers back as his hot breath hits my neck and goosebumps erupt throughout my body.

"We need to talk, Nik," I tell him and he slowly moves his face away to look at me but doesn't move his arms.

"What is it, love?" he asks, looking almost scared of what I might tell him.

"I think you and I need to talk about what happened before I tell the others," I tell him and he slowly nods, letting go so I can sit up straight.

We sit in silence for little as he waits for me to begin but doesn't want to seem pushy about it and I don't even know where to start.

"So...when Hayley's vision ended, you all were brought back here but I got pulled into this Supernatural Plane. It's a lot like the Other Side used to be," I say and I watch him tense, probably at the thought of me dying. So I reach out and take his hands into mine and give them a reassuring squeeze as I continue.

"All Supernatural entities stay there until it's decided whether they go to Hell or Heaven. There, I saw Chris, Christopher Fraser, Ryan's dad. He told me he found peace and was summoned there that day for some reason. Later we realized it was probably so we could meet but I don't know, it was all so mysterious and confusing," I tell him and this time he squeezes my hand.

"How was it? Seeing him?" he asks and I know what he's actually trying to ask.

"It was...it was nice. We didn't get to see goodbye so this felt like a much needed closure," I tell him and he gives me a sad smile.

"Anyways, then when we were talking, suddenly we were in New Orleans. Not in real but like, a vision. I saw it all, Nik. An alternate reality. I saw I was pregnant and some witches held me captive when I was in the bayou to help Hayley find her family. I saw Elijah and you at the cemetery, trying to find me. I saw everything you guys went through- Esther, Mikael, Dahlia, The Strix, the mystical sleep, the Hollow, all of it. But this time I... I got to keep my children," I say and my voice breaks a little.

"Children?" he asks and I nod.

"We had twins. A girl and a boy. Hope and...Ryan. We named the boy Ryan. Then I saw myself in Mystic Falls to attend Alaric and Jo's wedding. Kai killed them both and I got the twins, still. And all the villains and the horror still happened but we made it out of all that. Then...then we moved away somewhere into a lake house. I was just us and our four kids. It was an alternate reality. Probably what would've happened if the witches hadn't interfered. I don't know, it was all so real but it felt like a dream," I tell him and he looks at me with tears spilling down his eyes.

"Were we happy?" he whispers and I smile.

"We looked happier than ever," I tell him and he nods.

"What happened after that? You said you saw your mom?" he questions.

"Yeah. After the visions ended, me and Chris were back on the Supernatural Plane but it started to collapse and we had to say goodbye again. He said...he said he was proud of me and the kids I've raised and that he'd wait for me, whenever I'm ready to go back," I say with a smile and then clear my throat, "anyways, after that, the ground beneath me was collapsing and someone saved me before I fell. It was my mom. She said her name was Catherine Hart. She told me about our ancestry and bloodline. She died during childbirth and apparently, my dad was never around. And apparently, I come from a long line of powerful witches where when a witch dies, their magic gets transferred into their offspring. I got hers when she died and she said if I died, my child would get my magic too. I think she meant Hope," I whisper, "because before Silas, I was an untapped witch with undetectable magic. She said the magic I now have is mine, not Silas'."

"And I told her about my life," I say with a smile, " I told her about the kids, about you. She said I had to go back to my loved ones and that I should live my life to the fullest before I can go back to her, when fate thinks it's time. And then she disappeared and I guess, I woke up after that," I finish and wait for him to say something.

"You know, the past two days, I kept thinking of what Hayley showed us and now that I look back, I remember so many moments when Hope would say or do something and I'd think to myself how similar she was to you at that moment. I told myself it was a delusion and I just couldn't get you out of my head so I was imagining things but I guess I was right all this time," he says.

"I don't know how to deal with this. I...I thought I lost you. I kept asking you to come back, not leave me like everyone else since I just got you back. I kept begging but you didn't wake up. You were gone for over two days and after a while of you being unconscious, you started to desiccate," he says and I gasp.

"Wh-what?"

"Yes, I think it was when the Supernatural Plane was crashing, like you said. Freya, Davina, Bonnie and Kol kept looking for solutions. They were saying it was like your body was here but your mind wasn't. I fed you my blood to stop the desiccation but nothing worked. Everyone stopped eating and sleeping, the kids were crying all the time. Elena, Caroline and Alaric were there with them for the most part, making sure they were okay. In the meantime, Hayley got sicker. She can barely move or speak now. She kept saying how she can't die or find peace unless you forgave her and the hex was eating her away. So much was wrong and I...all I could think of was how we could've avoided all of this if only I listened to you when you told me to let go of the cure and move away with you. We could've had the life you saw for us, or an even better one but I threw it all away and not only did you suffer but our daughter got stripped away from her mother," his voice breaks and he lets his head fall into his hands as he cries.

I scoot closer to him and he brings me onto his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and he rests his head on my lap as we both try to grasp onto all the 'what-ifs' and the reality that we are yet to face.

After a while, we decide to go downstairs and face the inevitable. As soon as I walk downstairs, Caroline rushes towards me and pulls me into a hug.

"Thank god you're okay," she keeps whispering into the hug. I give her a sad smile as we pull away from the hug and then one by one, I hug everyone. The last few left are Damon, Kol, Alaric and the kids. As I hug Kol, he doesn't let go and Damon speaks up, "hey stop hogging her, there's still more people in the line."

I chuckle and hug him then, "so good to have you back, Buttercup," he says as we hug and I nod before turning around and hugging Alaric.

After everyone was done, I turn to see the kids waiting, scared and not knowing what to do.

"What? No hugs for mom?" I joke and the three immediately rush towards me and pull me into a bear hug. I see Hope standing in a corner, watching us and I motion for her to join us, which she hesitantly does.

"I love you guys so much," I tell them and they smile at me.

"Never do that again!" Lizzie exclaims and I laugh and say, "never again."

Then we all settle down in the living room as me and Nik tell everyone what had happened.

I notice how Hope was always sitting away from the other three and I make a mental note to address that later. For now, I needed to see Hayley.

I excuse myself from the living room and Elijah walks me to his room, where Hayley was.

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"Can I have a moment alone with her?" I ask Elijah and he nods, walking back downstairs. I put a privacy spell on the room so the eavesdroppers downstairs can't hear us talk.

"Hey," I say as I walk into the room. Hayley looks extremely tired and overall sick. She goes to say something but winces in pain so I motion for her to stop.

"I know trying to talk hurts you so don't. I just want you to listen," I say and she slightly nods.

I then tell her all about the Supernatural Plane as well as the reality I saw there. I then tell her everything I had pointed out to Chris as well. About how similar I thought we were and how I understood that she cared for Hope.

"Nik told me how you said you can't find peace unless I forgive you. Is that true?" I ask and she nods.

"Well then, I guess we can't change the past and you've suffered enough. I... I forgive you, Hayley. I really do," I say with a small smile.

As I go to walk out of the room, she speaks up.

"Kaitlyn, I know 'sorry' doesn't change anything but I want you to know that I am sorry. I...you were right, I found a family and I was so scared to lose them that I did the most selfish thing anyone could ever do and I regretted it every day. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. Honestly, I don't even know how you found it in yourself to forgive me because I never could. I'm just guilty and this hex...the reason I didn't tell everyone was because I know I deserve it. I deserve this pain and suffering for what I did...to Klaus, Hope and you. I deserve to die," she cries and I turn back to face her.

"No one deserves to die, Hayley. Not even you. And if you do realize your mistake, that is your redemption, in my opinion. I hope it didn't have to be this way. No matter what, you're important to them- the Mikaelsons. You and Elijah just found happiness and no one deserves to have that taken away from them. Trust me, I know. I've been there more than once. And I forgave you but maybe that's not it. Maybe your sufferings won't end until you forgive yourself and trust me, you should," I say and then walk out of the room and as I pass the guest room beside it, I see the twins and Ryan there. No Hope, though.

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I decide it was due time I caught up with my kids and so I walk into the room.

"Hey kiddos," I say and they instantly sit up and make space for me on the bed they were all scrammed in.

"How're you guys holding up?" I ask them and Ryan scoffs.

"Seriously mom? We should be asking you that," he says.

"Well, I am fine. I just thought it was time we talked about everything," I tell them and Ryan nods while the twins look scared.

"So you saw dad?" he asks and I nod.

"Yep and he said he's proud of the man you've grown up to become," I tell him with a smile.

"Did he...did he find peace?" he asks hesitantly.

"Of course he did. He said he watches us from Supernatural Heaven sometimes," I say and he laughs.

"Sounds like something he'd do," he says and I nod again.

Then I turn to the twins, "what about you two?" I ask them.

"We're fine, mom," Josie reassures but Lizzie looks like she's holding back.

"What's wrong, sweety?" I ask her and I reach out to hold her in my arms.

She tightly hugs me like she's scared to let go, "do you still love us?" she asks as she cries in my arms.

"What? Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?" I question and I see all three kids have the same insecure expression on their faces.

"What is this about?" I ask them again.

"Hope. This is about Hope. She's your daughter. Your real daughter. What if you don't love us anymore now that you have her?" Lizzie cries again and I gasp.

"How could you even think that? You guys will always be my kids, the ones I raised and loved as my own. You are as real kids of mine as Hope is. I love you guys more than anything," I tell them and Josie and Ryan smile but Lizzie still looks sceptic.

"Lizzie, you will always be my little troublemaker. Nobody will ever replace you, any of you. So you have nothing to be scared about, okay?" I say and this time, they all smile and nod.

"I noticed you guys distancing yourselves from Hope. If this was the reason, I don't want you to ruin your friendship over something like this. She's already losing Hayley, she'll need her friends and I raised you better," I tell the twins and they nod.

"And mom," Ryan says and I turn to him, "these two days, we were all so scared for you. Everyone was a mess but no one was worse than him. He wouldn't leave your side for even a second and I...we all saw how much he cares for you. I just want you to know we want you to be happy and if we're the ones holding you back, you have nothing to be worried about. We know you love him and we saw how much he loves you too so, be with him if that's what you want," he says with a smile and the twins nod along as well.

I smile at them, "thank you, kiddos. We haven't really talked about all that yet but let's see. For now, my kids are my first priority. Now, I think I need to go catch up with some more people, I'll see you guys later, okay?" I say.

"Mom, can you at least stay until we fall asleep?" Josie requests and I nod as the twins lay their heads down on my lap and Ryan takes a pillow to lie down beside me.

After they've fallen asleep, I put a blanket over them and kiss their foreheads before I walk out of the room and into the living room.

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I walk downstairs to see a glum look on everyone's faces, especially the Mikalesons.

I notice neither Elijah nor Hope are there and I instantly think of ...no.

"What happened?" I ask trying to confirm my fear.

"It's Hayley...she didn't make it," Davina speaks up and I immediately rush to her room to see her body covered by the sheet and Elijah sitting alone beside the bed, sobbing.

"There's no such thing as happy endings, is there?" he whispers and I swear I felt my heart break for him that instant.