EPILOGUE

It was Christmas in snowy New Orleans and Caroline was surrounded by everyone she loved.

What else could she want her?

With laughing eyes, he watched the scene unfolding around her in the living room of the Mikaelson mansion. A large tree adorned a corner of the room, complete with twinkling stars on top, positioned right by little Hope. Klaus was near the tree and chatting with Damon: weird to think, but they had become friends. A moment later, he turned his head to look for her with her eyes: all the love he felt for her shone in her gaze; he winked at her making her understand that he couldn't wait to be alone with her. Caroline had never been as happy as she was in that moment when she had everything she ever wanted, ever since. She had her best friends, her friends, her family, and most importantly, she had him: her only love. Klaus loved Caroline more than his own life than she did and when she announced this party he hadn't been able to say no to her: it was just impossible to say no to her. He was a little worried: everyone knew that Klaus did not enjoy an excellent reputation, nor did he possess pearls of good deeds; even he was aware of this, so much so that he wanted to go back and rewrite everything so as not to give Caroline a displeasure, so as not to make her doubt her choice even for a second. Yet she managed to surprise him within a few days with the news that they would all come: Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan, Elena, and unlikely but true, even Damon; all for a day that promised to be truly memorable. This news had taken Klaus with amazement mixed with a strange happiness: perhaps for the first time, he could say he had a family and friends.

Hayley's baby bump was starting to weigh, given the start of her fifth month of pregnancy; the sex of the child was not known because they had decided they wanted a surprise. Elijah did nothing but worry about her, so much so that every moment of her he showed her natural gentlemanly manners; also, despite her rounded shape, when no one looked at them he was able to snatch a few kisses from her, making her understand that he still wanted her.

On the floor in front of one of the sofas, Bonnie and Jeremy were playing with their one-year-old son Peter. They and Rebekah burst out laughing when Peter grabbed a ball that had been thrown at him, rolling on the floor, by Charlotte, daughter of Rebekah who was now 15 months old. Beside Rebekah she could not miss her partner, a great friend of Caroline, Matt who observed the scene amused and in love with her family. The following year there would be four children because, to everyone's surprise, Bonnie had announced that she was expecting another child, another little Gilbert.

Not far from all of them, there were the two eternal lovers: Stefan and Elena; their passion had never faded over the years, in fact it had grown stronger. Both had had to face difficult trials and only by being separated did they understand that they loved each other and that they could not live far from each other. Caroline and Klaus hoped that Christmas gathering would become an annual tradition to share with their best friends. She was the woman that everyone appreciated, no one could hate her: she was a load of happiness and harmony that was difficult, indeed impossible, to break down.

The air was magical, not only because of Christmas and the friends surrounding Klaus and Caroline, but because Hope had begun to learn some magic tricks and was, quite rightly, doing little rehearsals with great success, making everyone present laugh.

Caroline had a special relationship with Hope: it was as if they had known each other forever; Whenever her parents told her no or forbade her something about her, she would go to Caroline who allowed her more than her, spoiled her a little, just to piss Klaus and tease him. Caroline knew that after an outburst they ended up having sex, a great and inevitable sex that neither of them was going to give up.

At that moment, Damon passed his brother a glass to toast and Klaus walked over to Caroline to put his arm around her shoulders.

"Happy?" he asked her.

"Do you understand?" she exclaimed.

"It is wonderful to have our friends with us".

Klaus smiled again in surprise.

"Even if the two of us will be celebrating Boxing Day?"

"Especially for this," she replied with a smirk.

"You are beautiful!" he echoed, stroking her cheek.

"In this case you have to thank your daughter: she chose this dress".

"Oh! And you know: she took the good taste of her father ".

Another laugh rang out on her lips.

"Who would have thought that we would all gather here, all together, to rejoice without bloodshed?"

He bent her head and kissed her forehead.

"Life is beautiful," she announced out of the blue.

"But not like one of your paintings," Caroline teased him.

"I would say that it looks rather like a modern opera. That's what you are capable of. And beauty is all in the eye of the beholder ".

"Kiss me," she urged him at that point.

"And I'll tell you what I'll be able to do later."

A flash flashed in his eyes.

"I can not wait."

Then he bowed his head and placed her lips against hers, sealing their future with that kiss.