3rd Person POV

It was 5AM in the morning when Hope was woken up by a series of knocks in her bedroom room. She had barely gotten any sleep last night, staying up studying before her finals. That's all she did lately and it acted as a distraction for her, from her dad not being here to her relationship problems going on with Landon- it was all too overwhelming for her. So she spent her days with her mom, half-sisters and aunts and uncles- her family, her comfort people.

She opens the door to be greeted with Kaitlyn's smiling face, causing her to frown in confusion.

"Mom? Is everything okay?" Hope asks as she rubs her eyes and moves out of the way to let her mother enter the room.

"Yeah, all good."

"Then why're you here at 5AM? Did I do something? Are you going somewhere?" Hope fires her questions at her mother.

"You're not in trouble, relax," Kaitlyn chuckles, "you've just been holed up in your room. So I thought we should go out today."

"At 5AM?" she asks as Kaitlyn nods enthusiastically.

"Who are you and what have you done to my mom? She hates waking up early," Hope jokes.

"No, I don't," Kaitlyn retorts as Hope raises her brow at the comment, causing her to sigh, "okay, maybe sometimes I do. But I also happen to be an early-bird sometimes. I love sunrises. Come on, get ready. I'm taking you to watch a sunrise with me from a very special place. Meet me downstairs when you're ready," Kaitlyn tells her with a bright smile before walking out of the room, leaving Hope to get ready for their adventure.

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"Okay, I'm ready!" Hope calls out as she struts downstairs and into the kitchen where she finds Kaitlyn making coffee while playing with Oreo.

"Took you long enough," Kaitlyn jokes as she transfers the coffee into two thermoses and sets Oreo into his playhouse that sat in one corner of the kitchen/living room.

"Liz and Josie aren't even up yet and you're telling me I took too long?" Hope complains as they put on their walking shoes.

"No, it's just you and me. I didn't wake them."

"Why not?" Hope asks in confusion.

"Because it's you who's holed up in her room. Now, come on, we need to talk alone, anyway," Kaitlyn tells her as she ushers them both out of the house and towards their destination.

"We're outside the Grill," Hope sates in a bored tone, "can you even see the sunrise from here?"

"Oh, would you stop fussing?" Kaitlyn complains, walking them both to the bench near the edge opposite to the Grill, "sit here. The sunrise is beautiful from here. For the past 18 years now, ever since I moved to Mystic Falls, whenever things got too overwhelming for me or I needed to relax, I'd come here after midnight and sit alone, admiring the stars and stay to watch the sunrise from here. The transition from dark to light...it's so mesmerizing."

Hope nodded as they sat in silence and soon the birds in the trees begin to chirp as a new day was beginning.

"Do you still come here sometimes?" Hope breaks the silence after a while.

Kaitlyn nods, "I do. This bench...it's kind of like my comfort place. I was here when I first found out about the supernatural world, when I broke up with Damon, when Alaric died, Jerr died, Kol died, Elijah left, Bekah left, Elena died, Stef went missing, so did Bonnie and Damon, when I met Chris, when I lost him, when I found out about the girls...all of it," Kaitlyn reminisces, "I...the first time I ever met Nik was here too."

"You...you met dad here?" Hope questions in surprise and Kaitlyn nods as her daughter speaks again, "will you tell me about it? Unless it's too much for you, then you don't have to."

"It was midnight, a few days after the decade dance where Nik attacked us...'killed' Bonnie," Kaitlyn says bluntly as Hope gasps.

"He killed Bontie?" Hope asks in an alarmed voice.

"It was an act but he killed...or nearly killed a lot of us. And a lot of us nearly killed him many times. It was...a brutal life for us. One that we don't want for you guys. You see why now?"

"I do. How did you love him even after everything he did to your friends? Was it the soulmate bond?" Hope asks curiously.

"No, we didn't know about the bond. I mean, your dad and his siblings knew but after a thousand years of not finding the one...they'd given up on the idea, thinking it was a hoax."

"Then how did you find out?"

"We found out after Esther linked us all unknowingly, trying to kill her children at once for being such abominations," Kaitlyn answers.

"She...linked you to them too?"

Kaitlyn nods, "my fault was being the soulmate to her bastard son. So she thought I should die with her children, as well."

"She tried to kill me too," Hope mumbles as Kaitlyn turns to look at her with a sad smile before reaching out and holding Hope's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"I know, Kol told me almost everything you all had to go through. I wish I was there to protect you," Kaitlyn sighs.

"You had a life here...and if you were there, I don't think we'd even stay back in New Orleans for that long. You know, I read dad's journals that Cami wrote for him. In those, he's talk about you very often but he'd never get into the details. I always wondered why he'd talk about you that often but never really mention what your bond was," Hope confesses.

"I don't think even we understood what our bond was for a very long time. We...we might be soulmates but we've been apart more than we've been together, it just seems to be what our fate is," Kaitlyn admits to her daughter.

"But...you two still love each other, don't you? Isn't that why you still wear the engagement ring dad got you?" Hope asks in a scared tone.

"I'll always love him, kiddo," Kaitlyn smiles to herself as she looks down at her ring, "the moment I realized I loved him, there was no coming back. I never stopped loving him and I don't think I ever will."

"What about Ryan's dad? Didn't you love him?"

"Of course, I did. It's just...it was different. Your dad and I...we're the kind of tough love where there's struggles and so much to overcome before you find your moment of peace with each other. I was a teenager when I met Nik and at that time in my life, I was already living a reckless life so it didn't matter what risk we had to face next as long as it meant I had him by my side," Kaitlyn explains, "with Chris...it was secure. When I met him, I had already lost too much, too many people and I was giving up on life. All I wanted was a new start and then I found out I was pregnant with the girls, I was so scared. I wasn't ready to be a mom, I didn't have a stable life, a partner to raise children with and I...it wasn't the right time, or so I thought. But I had my friends and when I met Chris, I was 5 months pregnant with the girls, I was beginning to accept that I am going to be a mother. At first, Chris and I became really good friends and Ryan was so little then. He called me 'mom' oneday and we were all so shocked but...I don't know why, I always had this motherly instinct to protect him. Having him around reassured me that maybe I could be a mom, maybe I could raise kids. And Chris was there by my side, through it all- when I gave birth, when I decided to move in with Ric, all the drama; all of it, he was there. It was safe, warm and comforting. Again, the right kind of love for that aspect of my life."

"But you still loved dad then?"

"I did," Kaitlyn answers after a moment of silence, "Nik is my first love. I'll never not love him and everyone knew that. Chris did too but he also knew everything else that happened and he still loved me. I loved him too...but never as much as I loved Nik. Your first love...good or bad, is one you never forget, Hope. It's one that stays with you forever. One person you won't ever forget. One feeling you'll always remember. Probably the hardest love to give up on too."

"What if you don't want to give up on it but you feel like you need to?" Hope then asks quietly.

Kaitlyn turns to face Hope and offers her a reassuring smile, "then you need to ask yourself if you still love that person enough to stay. Want and need are two very different yet corelated things. It's the person you need to consider. If you still love them, you fight for them. You fight by their side instead of against them and you make it work. No matter how long it takes."

"I...I don't know how to tell if the love is still there or not. How can you tell if you still love them?" Hope asks with teary eyes.

"When you're with them but you still miss the feeling you had when you were in love with them. When you miss the memories more than the person in front of you. When you need to keep reminding yourself you love them. When you start questioning whether they still love you or not."

"I do love him, mom. I do...but I'm scared. I know you all have tried so hard, all these years, to protect me and keep me away from harm but you know, I was born in the middle of a war. All my life...all I've known is war and separation. And I...I'm scared I'll drag Landon into this life. The life he doesn't deserve. If I love him, people will use him to hurt me. I can't let him suffer for me, I can't risk it when it comes to him. I'm so scared to lose him that I'd rather distant myself from him, if it means he's safe and happy."

"And what about your safety and happiness? Doesn't that matter too?" Kaitlyn quizzes rhetorically, "none of you deserve this life, Hope. None of us did. But it's what we got and yes, there's so much fight and fear, but there's also so much worth fighting for- your family, friends, love, yourself. It's hypocritical because I feared to love Chris for the same reasons and in the end, he did die protecting me and Ryan but the years I had with him...they were everything to me. His love was something I needed at one of the darkest points of my life and I don't regret loving him, letting him in. There's always a risk, Hope. But sometimes, there's just people worth risking it all for. The love you and Landon share, it's special. And you both love each other so much, you understand each other and the bond you have- it's one of a kind. So, if you do love him, don't let your paranoia get in the way of one of the best things that can ever happen to you."

Hope sniffles as Kaitlyn reaches out and wipes some stray tears from her cheek, "okay, I'll...I'll take the risk. I love him, mom. More than anything. And you're right, he's worth fighting for, so no matter what gets in the way, I'll love him and we'll be at each other's side, always," Hope tells her mother as Kaitlyn smiles at her proudly.

"Well then, maybe you should call him and enjoy the day together, instead of being holed up in your room," Kaitlyn suggests as she gets up from the bench.

"Wait, you're not staying?" Hope asks as Kaitlyn goes to walk away.

"I think I'm going to take a walk but you stay here and watch the sunrise. It's very special. I'll see you back home or at school later. I love you," she tells her daughter, kissing her forehead lovingly before smiling and walking away.

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After walking a short distance, Kaitlyn finds herself outside the old Gilbert residence that Damon had rebuilt for Elena, saying 'Stefanie should get to grow up in her mother's family home'. The keys to the residence stayed with Kaitlyn, for the most part, as she would get it cleaned every now and then. She sat on the porch outside and sent a text to their old family groupchat, "I got Hope away for the day. Landon's on duty to keep here away until you kids are ready. How's the planning coming along?"

Alaric: Lizzie is driving me crazy but we're working on the decorations.

Ryan: I'll be home in an hour or so. Mads stayed back for her semester finals.

Josie: We're ready. We'll meet her there soon.

Lizzie: I still can't believe she doesn't remember her own birthday.

Kaitlyn: You kids have fun, okay? I have somewhere to be, I'll see you all tonight. Love you all.

Ryan: Where are you going?

Kaitlyn: Just somewhere.

Yes, it was May 2nd. Hope and Kaitlyn's birthday. Due to all the stress Hope had been going through, she had forgotten her and her mother's birthday. And her family decided to use it to their benefit and surprise her. The kids were taking her out to an outdoor festival while her mom, aunts and uncles set up a small get-together at the Mikaleson mansion, since they refused to let Hope end her last teenage year without a big celebration. With Caroline and Rebekah away, it was Davina, Freya and Kaitlyn who had to get all the planning done. It was going to be a cozy movie night since no one felt like making a big deal out of the day this time as most of the family and friends were away, anyway.

And with that, Kaitlyn was off to spend her birthday, alone again. She had a day planned to herself, at the place where Klaus had taken her on a date, two years ago on this very day. She missed her soulmate so much that she couldn't help but want to relive their memories together, until he could come back again.

Kaitlyn spent her day there, painting like she and Klaus had done once. There was music, there was a great view, delicious food but he wasn't there. And none of it meant anything without him. If anything, being here, recreating their date, Kaitlyn felt closer to him, as close as she could get, at least.

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Kaitlyn finally returned home at 8PM, finding most of her friends and family already there.

"There you are," Alaric greets, causing everyone's attention to turn to her, "Ryan says they'll be here soon. We need to get in position."

Adelaide just nods before moving to turn off all the lights as everyone hit around the living room, ready to surprise Hope when the kids got here.

After a few minutes of silence, they hear chatter outside the house, thanks to their supernatural hearing. The knob of the main door twists as someone enters the house hesitantly.

"Why is it so dark?" they hear Hope's voice echo through the silence, "is no one home? Is the electricity out? Mom, Ric?!"

Just then, according to plan, Ryan moves to turn on all the lights and everyone springs out of their hiding places and exclaim in unison, "SURPISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Wh-what?" Hope whispers in surprise before turning to her friends with wide eyes, "is that why you guys dragged me to the festival?"

They all smiles and nodded at her sheepishly as she glared at them, "and you didn't even feel like reminding me?"

"That would ruin the surprise!" Kol points out with a grin.

"You didn't even notice the date on your phone?" Keelin inquires then.

"Huh? No, mom dragged me to watch the surprise with her so early in the morning, I left my phone here. Oh, and then he ditched me before the sunrise even happened," Hope mock-glares at her mom as Kaitlyn walks up to her with a big smile and hugs her tightly.

"All part of the plan," Kaitlyn mumbles, "happy birthday, sweety."

"Happy Birthday to you too, mom. Sorry I forgot about it...and didn't even get you a gift," Hope replies sheepishly as they break away from the hug.

"I don't need a gift, it's alright. You guys are enough for me," Kaitlyn answers.

"Ew that was so cheesy," Kol speaks up before looking at Davina, "when we get our baby, I still want gifts, okay?" he jokes as everyone laughs at the couple's antics.

"Okay okay, let's get the movie night started!" Lizzie exclaims, ushering everyone to the living room. Due to the request of the birthday girls, everyone ended up watching the Mamma Mia duology, singing and dancing along to all the songs.

After the movie came the gift-opening session. Caroline, Stefan, Marcel, Rebekah, Bonnie, Enzo, Jeremy, Elena and Damon had all sent gifts to both the girls, even while considering that they couldn't be here themselves.

When it was Kaitlyn's turn to open the box with Elijah's name on it, she finds a letter inside it, along with two matching necklaces. The envelope read, 'this is for you both, but not from me', causing everyone to frown in confusion on who it might be from then.

"Open the letter first, Lyn," Freya points out as Kaitlyn nods, opening the envelope to find a brown-papered letter inside.

My Dearest Kaitlyn and Hope,

Happiest Birthday to you both. I hope you are all doing well and are happy. Hope, I hope you have the friends and family you have always wished for, even considering I am not there, again. You have every right to hate me, both of you do. Kaitlyn, my love- of all people, you have every reason to give up on me, now more than ever. But knowing you and knowing me, you have never given up on me and I hope, I pray you still have faith in me, the same way you always have in the past.

I have no excuses to make, nothing I say or do could make up for what I hate put you both through. You're the most important people in my life, the ones I love the most, but also the ones I've hurt the most. And for that, I am ashamed. I could never be the right person you needed me to be. Never the perfect father Hope needed, never the perfect lover that you deserved to have, Kaitlyn. But there is a beauty to imperfections too, and maybe that is why you've never given up on me, neither of you have.

And as they say, 'distance makes the heart grow fonder.' so know, every day I spent apart from you two, all I think about it you. I think of the family we could've been, the memories we could've made. Since I never got the chance, all I can say now is that I am sorry for the role I have played in the hurts of your lives and even when goodbyes don't have to be forever, no matter what happens, you two will always be in my heart. Always and forever.

Hope, I have you have an exceptional graduation. I hope you get to follow all your dreams and I hope you know how proud I am of you, my dear. I know your mother and the rest of the family have been by your side for these years when I couldn't be. I am thankful to them for it all.

Kaitlyn, my love, my everything- I don't know what I could write to you now that I haven't told you a million times before. You made me a better person, you bring out the best in me. Even now, in my darkest moments, the thought of your smile alone brightens up even the darkest of my days. I wish I could've been better for you, I wish I could've given the world to you the way I had promised to. Instead, all I gave you was sorrow and it is, will remains to always be my deepest regret. But do not for a moment forget that I love you. Because I do, more than all the days or months, deeper than the oceans and skies and everything else in existence.

I want you both to know that even while away, I am there for you. Whenever you need me, you will know how to find me, but until then, it is best if I keep to myself- not by choice, but an obligation.

I hope this letter finds you well. Even the best of wishes aren't enough for you. You both are the best things that ever happened to me and I love you with all I have and more. I will come back to you, and we will be a family, I assure you.

However long it takes,
K.M.

"W-was that dad?" Hope whispers to herself but the other supernaturals hear her, "where did Uncle Eli find this? Did he meet him? Mom?"

"I...I don't know. Elijah didn't tell me anything about this," she whispers back with a shocked expression as she looks around the room to meet the angry and sad faces of her family.

"He doesn't just get to disappear for two years and then suddenly pip up like this," Ryan grits through his teeth, "let alone today, of all days. He's ruining a perfect day!"

"Well, I honestly agree," Kol mumbles, also fuming in anger.

Hope clears her throat and gets up from her place abruptly, "Aunt Bekah is calling, I'll answer it upstairs," she says before excusing herself from the rest of the group. When even an hour later, there is no news from Hope, the others prepare for dinner as Kaitlyn stumbles upstairs to her daughter's room.

"Hope? Sweety, all good in there?" she asks while knocking and only hears sniffling in return, "alright, I'm coming in, okay?"

When she still receives no reply, she enters the room slowly, finding Hope sitting on the floor, staring blankly at the shattered photoframe with the picture of her, Klaus, Hayley, Elijah and Rebekah from when she was little. There was blood on the floor too, but of course, Hope healed quickly so Kaitlyn couldn't notice any scars or cuts on her.

She slowly approaches Hope and sits down of the floor next to her, wrapping an arm around her daughter as Hope instinctively buries her face in her mother's lap.

"What happened?" Kaitlyn whispers softly, gently stroking Hope's hair away from her face.

"I miss him, mom," Hope mumbles, "I miss dad so much."

"I know, sweety. I know."

"Bring him back, please," Hope says, lifting her head from Kaitlyn's lap and meeting her mother's eyes as tears fill her own, "please mom. All this time, I thought he didn't even remember, but he knew...he knew I'm graduating this year. And he still doesn't want to be here for me on that day?"

"Please mom, I don't want anything else. Please, I just want my dad back and I just want us to be a proper family for once. Us...you, me, dad, Liz, Jo and Ryan. Please mom, you're a pure-blood, aren't you? Find him, please," Hope cries as Kaitlyn shushes her.

"I've tried, sweety. I...we've all tried to do all we could, but we couldn't find him. No one can find Nik if he doesn't want to be found."

"Didn't he say whenever we needed him, he'd be here? That we'd know where to find him? Well, I need my dad now. I've always needed him and I still do, now more than ever. So where is he? Because he sure as hell isn't here," Hope spats in anger.

I don't think he has the option to," Kaitlyn defends softly as Hope scoffs.

"You don't even believe that yourself. He's the oldest and the most powerful; supernatural being and he doesn't have the choice? You know dad and I do too. If anyone tries to tell him what to do, he tears them apart without mercy. And you think there's something holding him back now?"

"He's been held back before," Kaitlyn retorts, "when you were a stillborn, Dahlia, the Strix, the Hollow- all of it. And he let himself be held back all those times because it meant he was protecting you...the person who means the most to him," Kaitlyn trails off when a lightbulb goes off in her head.

All those times, it was all for Hope. 'And when he felt without a word this time...it was for Hope, wasn't it?' she thinks to herself as her eyes widen in realization. Hope, her daughter, their daughter was in danger again...and Klaus had yet again chosen the safest path for his daughter. The kills weren't random. It had a pattern and it all led back to Hope.

"I...I need to do something," Kaitlyn says, scrambling onto her feet in panic, "I'm sending Lizzie and Josie with food for you, okay?" she says before kissing the top of Hope's head and rushing out of the room. Downstairs, she send the girls to Hope's room before she breaks the news to the rest of the family.

"So, you're saying Hope's in danger again?" Freya asks in shock as Kaitlyn nods.

"And Nik knew?"

"Of course, he did," Kol scoffs, "and he didn't even bother telling us. I mean, the more the people, the easier and quicker the work, right? But he had to do this his way, like all the other times."

"There's got to be more to this," Kaitlyn whispers before abruptly pulling out her phone and dialing a number.

"Hey Lyn," they hear Bonnie's voice ring through the phone, "wait, what's wrong? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"BonBon, I need your help. You know the secret coven in Italy that you led me and Care to? I need you to find it for me again, please. It's an emergency," Kaitlyn rambles.

"Okay, give me an hour. And...what happened?"

"I'll tell you later, okay? Just please, find the place ASAP," Kaitlyn replies as Bonnie nods.

"Okay, I'll send you the coordinates as soon as I find it," Bonnie assures.

"Yeah thanks," Kaitlyn greets before hanging up the call.

"Bee, what's going on? What does that coven have to do with this?" Alaric then asks her as the others wait for her answer.

"That coven is the only functioning coven in Italy now and it stays hidden. Some type of cloaking spell. Bonnie found them when we were looking for help with the merge problem but then, the day Nik left, he said him and Eli were meeting a coven in Italy too," Kaitlyn explains, "I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out. But if that's the only functioning coven there, they must've visited the same place. And that's where Nik left Eli and disappeared, so it must've been something he heard from the coven's Supremes, right?"

Kol, Freya and Davina nod in understanding as Ryan asks, "what's a Supreme?"

"It's their leader," Kol answers, "they're like a jury of three or six. But the Supreme in the head of the coven."

"This is how ancient coven's used to function," Freya chimes in, "it's confined within a specific bloodline. The person who is the Supreme remains ageless as long as there is no pure descendant to follow their footsteps. When a pure descendant is born, the Supreme begins re-aging until it's their time to go. Then the descendant becomes the Supreme and remains ageless at the age they became the Supreme, until another descendant appears and the cycle continues."

Just then, Kaitlyn's phone dings with a text from Bonnie, "she found it. I need to go," Kaitlyn says, walking out of the room until an arm stops her.

"I'm coming with you," Kol states, "and it wasn't a request."

"No, you can't, Kol," Kaitlyn denies, "the kids can't know about this. If I leave, we can call it a business trip but if you come along, they'll know something's up. Please, stay. Watch over them while I'm gone."

"I'm not the Elijah to your Klaus that you're asking me to watch over them while you're gone, god knows where," Kol retorts as Kaitlyn chuckles.

"But you are, though. You've always had my back, never left my side and helped me through thick and thin and everything in between. You might not be the Eli to my Nik but you are the Kol to my Kaitlyn. My best friend, Kol- that's what you are. And I trust you with my kids more than anyone else, so stay, please," Kaitlyn requests as Kol sighs in defeat.

"Fine, but you better come back alive," he jokes as Kaitlyn hugs him.

"No promises but I'll try," she jokes back before breaking off the hug and walking up to her room to pack for the trip ahead.