• • •

After the kids and I get off the plane they're immediately met with an excited Caroline Forbes. But I knew better, I know my sister was sickly worried on the inside, but would never show it in front of the kids.

"Aunt Caroline!!" The twins squeal, they both run up and hug her tightly in a sandwich.

They always loved being around her, Lizzie was practically a carbon copy of her at our age.

"Hey guys!" She squeals and hugs them back just as hard.

Alec and Jace walk up to greet her with a kiss on the cheek and a hug.
She turns her head towards me and if you looked hard enough you could see her eyes getting slightly teary. Yet she conceals it with a soft smile.

She speeds over to me at a human pace seeing as we were in the middle of the airport, bringing me in a bone breaking hug.

I nod as if understanding what she's trying to say through the hug and whisper only audible to her, "We'll talk soon."

We break apart as the kids start to look at us in slight suspicion. I just saw Caroline a couple of weeks ago so the way we were acting now was no doubt suspicious.

"Let's go! I rented out a villa just for us!" Caroline excitedly says covering up her true emotions.

After the kids get settled in they all decide they want to go site seeing together. Me and Caroline stayed behind to talk, although we told them I was too jet lagged and Caroline promised the girls to take them shopping later. We sit in the living room in silence as she just stares at me with a look of grief on her face as if I'm already dead but still processing it.

"How much longer?" She whispers, barely loud enough for me to hear her.

"A couple of weeks at most." I say nodding my head still trying to process it myself. I've never been afraid of dying, just afraid of what I'm leaving behind.

She abruptly stands up yelling, "Then we call Bonnie! We tell her that it's time! We tell her that at no cost are you going to die! That we need to start looking for cures now!"

"Care..." I whisper looking at the floor, though she continues ranting in denial.

"What could've changed in these past few months! He said that when you're the most content or happy with your life that it would happen! Nothing has changed! We were supposed to have forever! This isn't supposed to be real!" She yells with tears forming in her eyes. After a couple moments of silence she says, "Why are you being so quiet?"

I feel her eyes piercing into me as I look up. I clear my throat looking towards the ceiling praying that if there was a god out there that he wouldn't make my family suffer this way, no matter how much I have sinned in my past.

"The Mikaelsons are back." I say simply with a shrug as if it's no big deal.

Her face contorts to surprise and then into confusion.

"But you got over your love for Klaus, you moved on with your life with out talking to Kol everyday, you've found some else to go on shopping sprees with besides Rebekah, you haven't missed having sophisticated stupid conversations with Elijah!" She says throwing her hands up, pacing while trying to understand what had happened "You fell into an epic love with Stefan, Damon became your best friend, we go on shopping sprees every time we see each other, and you and Alaric are constantly in stupid deep conversations!" She finishes yelling in disbelief. She was just randomly rambling at this point.

"Caroline, I don't know. I just know that this is happening." I say gently standing up and softly pushing her to sit down, knowing she's going to need to be sitting to finally get what's happening. She has been denying that this was real until now, but she needs to come to terms with it before everyone else does. "I'm going to die. Nothing is going to slow it down, nothing can stop this. And it's okay, I love you so so much. And you're going to be okay." I try to convince her.

As I look at her she looks so heartbroken. When our mother died she took it the hardest. She turned off her emotions because she couldn't handle the pain. But she can't this time. The kids will need her. Alaric will need her. I'm going to need her by my side until I'm gone.

She opens her mouth to speak but closes it. It goes on for another couple of seconds before she finally gets the harsh truth out.

"You- you're going to d-die." Her voice cracks and as she finally comes to the realization she begins to sob.

I hug her hard as a few traitor tears fall from my face. I take her face into my hands as I wipe her tears I explain, "You're my sister. You've been by my side since birth. I need you to keep doing that until my final breath." I take a few deep breaths. "I need you to do it even after I take my final breath. Because Jace, Lizzie, Josie, even Alec. All hold a piece of me. And they're going to need you. They're going to need you to be strong, to be their fierce brave aunt Care that they grew up loving so much. They're going to need you."

She sobs shaking her head, "Why are you so calm! You're leaving us all! Your kids! Me!"

"Because I know I'm leaving my kids in amazing hands. I'll be dying knowing I raised my kids to the best of my ability and they became amazing people. I had my sister by my side until the end." She sobs even harder hearing my words. "Because although I'll always love Klaus Mikaelson, he has so much more to live for in this world and I know Stefan will be waiting for me. I'll be okay. You know he'll take care of me don't you?"

She nods her head sadly.

"I imagine mom will be waiting there right next to him, and Ty will be there waiting to tease me and give me a big bear hug. They're all waiting for me care. My fate was sealed before the girls were even born. " I say softly trying to be sensitive yet firm with her.

We sit there for the next hour or so in the others embrace until we calm ourselves down knowing the kids will be home soon.

"When are you going to tell them?" She asks sadly while gazing out the window.

"Not until the last possible second." I say closing my eyes in thought.

She nods in understanding. I don't want them spending their last days with me in tears or denial. I know Lizzie and Jace will take it the hardest.  They've always been the biggest mommas kids. Josie and Alec will be just as sad but hide it better. Alaric won't know how to take it, we've grown so close raising the kids together. The Mikaelsons, I imagine they've delt with a lot of death in their lives, though I know it never gets easier.

The rest of the week was spent in quiet sadness for Caroline. She'd come into my bed to sleep with me at night while the kids were sleeping like we did when we were scared as kids. I spent as much time with all the kids together and individually as I could. I could tell they were starting to get suspicious with how over bearing I've been.

They became even more suspicious when Caroline announced she would be staying with us in Mystic Falls for a while. Little did they know it'd probably be permanent.

When we got home Alaric was even more surprised to see Caroline. He tried questioning us about it but we brushed him off.

I've noticed both Kol and Klaus just staring at me sometimes as if sensing something was off. I've spent every waking moment with one of my kids and if I couldn't then I was with Caroline. The black veins have covered my arms, shoulders, my whole back, and are making their way to my heart. I'm constantly wearing long baggy clothing trying to hide them.

Tomorrow was the day all the families of the schools students visit them for the day. I just need to get through the next week or two with a bright smile before I ruin all of their happiness.

I'm constantly in pain moving around, I try not to show it but the kids and Alaric catch me wincing sometimes. I ignore their questions or change the subject. I need to push through this. Because this is nothing compared to what's going to happen soon.

I'm losing a battle against myself.

𑁍 𑁍 𑁍
Vᴏᴛᴇ & Cᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛ
✍︎
Rᴏsʟʏɴ Mᴀᴅʏsᴏɴ