Carnival
Caroline walked eagerly over to where Ric stood with the girls. A huge smile curled her lips as she crossed the space between them, falling to her knees as she reached them, opening her arms wide to accept a hug from both of them. She squeezed them both tight, kissing them on their cheeks before she pulled back to look at their beaming faces, "I've missed you two so much."
"We've missed you too, mommy." Josie replied.
Lizzie nodded her head rapidly, agreeing with her sister, "We've missed you loads."
"They have." Ric smiled over at his girls, a warmth settling in his chest at how they loved Caroline, "They've asked me every single day when was their mommy coming home."
"You did?" Caroline's voice was happy as she beamed at her girls. Hearing that they missed her twisted her heart, the all consuming love she had for her children making her miss them more than she already did. She dropped kisses onto their foreheads and offered, "We'd better have loads and loads of fun together then."
"Yay!" Josie and Lizzie cried out in excitement, moving away from their mother to jump up and down in their joy.
Caroline smiled at her girls as she stood up, their pure joy helping her to alleviate some of the stress that she had been through recently. She was determined to keep living her life as much as she could while also doing anything and everything she could to help Stefan and Bonnie as they searched for Damon and Enzo.
Ric looked towards Caroline, frowning as he could spot the signs of her stress. He had lived with her for three years, he knew the signs that she was pushing herself. Making sure that Josie and Lizzie were occupied with each other he asked Caroline, "What happened? Did you find anything about them?"
Caroline blew out a frustrated and angry breath, "Oh, we found them alright."
"You did?" Ric raised his eyebrows in his surprise, "I take it that didn't go well."
"No it didn't." Caroline sent a smile over to the girls when they looked over before lowering her voice as she told Ric, "They are completely lost to the darkness that has them. Bonnie tried to reach Enzo, while Stefan tried to talk to Damon."
"Nothing?" Ric asked in sympathy. He and Damon were in an off period of their friendship but he still cared about him. He was still his best friend and he always would be. Even when he hated him.
"Stefan and Bonnie almost got through to them." Caroline wrapped her arms around her waist, shivering in remembrance of the look in their eyes when the evil inside of them took over again. It was one of the creepiest and disturbing things she'd seen, "But it wasn't enough to keep the evil away."
Ric frowned, expressing his concern for her, "You need to keep yourself safe."
"I am." Caroline replied annoyed, not wanting to get into the same argument again, "But I have to be there for Stefan and Bonnie. I couldn't live with myself if something happened and I wasn't there to help."
"And the girls couldn't live without their mother." Ric shot back, the same argument he always used when they talked about this. He wanted Damon back too, but his first concern was to make sure that his children still had a mother. They were way too young to lose two of them.
"I know." Caroline deflated, sighing at the impossible situation she was in. She loved her children, she loved Stefan, and she loved Bonnie. She would do anything for any of them, and all she wanted was for them to be happy.
Ric placed his hand on her arm, giving her a quick squeeze as he smiled reassuringly at her, "I know that you have to do this. All I want is for you to keep yourself safe for our children."
"I will." Caroline smiled back, briefly covering his hand with hers, "I'll be careful. I promise."
"That's all I ask." Ric released her arm, turning to their girls to smile widely at them, "Let's go have fun!"
"Yay!" Josie and Lizzie cried excitingly, each taking the hand of one of their parents as they walked through the carnival.
Stefan watched as Caroline and Ric walked away with their kids looking like the image of the perfect family. His heart clenched in his chest at the sight. He knew he shouldn't let it bother him as Caroline loved him and not Ric. They were connected by the kids that they shared and therefore would always be a family. Just as he loved Caroline and always would. He just needed to find a way to deal with it.
Be it as Uncle Stefan for now, and then maybe one day in the future as something much much more.
He made his way over to where Caroline, Ric, and the girls were eating cotton candy. He reached her side and reached out to steal a tuft of sugary cloud.
"Hey!" Caroline laughed, slapping Stefan's hand away when he tried to get more of her cotton candy, "Get your own."
"I'd rather have yours." Stefan smirked, bending down to steal a kiss from her even sweeter than usual lips. He pulled back to lick his lips, humming at the sweet taste of both candy and Caroline, "Mmm, delicious."
Caroline's cheeks flushed as her eyes dilated with arousal, Stefan having that kind of affect on her easily. She leaned into him to connect their lips in another cotton candy flavored kiss, savoring the tastes of two of her favorite things before she pulled away. She licked her lips, satisfied as he couldn't look away from her glistening mouth, telling him in a flirtatious manner, "You're right. It is delicious."
Stefan grinned at her. He was about to go in for another sugary kiss when he heard two very exaggerated sounds of displeasure.
"Ew!" Josie and Lizzie chorused together, their noses wrinkling cutely, both of them pretending to shudder.
Stefan looked over at the girls, resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at them at their sounds of disgust. He cleared his throat, throwing them a small smile as he greeted the two of them, "Hey, Josie, Lizzie."
"Uncle Stefan." Lizzie greeted back, waving her hand awkwardly at him.
"You need to stop kissing mommy, uncle Stefan." Josie did another full bodied shudder, "It's gross."
Caroline outright laughed beside him, while Ric hid his chuckling behind his hand. He looked at them both with narrowed eyes, the two of them useless in helping him bond with their girls. They wanted them to get along on their own, to be a natural progression instead of being forced together. It wasn't easy, he was a new person in their mom's life despite the fact that he'd known her for almost ten years. He was sure that the girls were appraising him, judging him, seeing for themselves whether or not he was worthy of their mother before they gave him their approval.
Ric could see that Stefan was struggling with what to say in response to Josie, so he decided to take pity on him, despite how much it amused him, and got his girls attention, "How would you like it if I won my two favorite girls a teddy bear each?"
"I want a big one!" Josie clapped her hands in excitement.
"Me too! Me too!" Lizzie grinned wide, jumping up and down in her joy at the idea.
Caroline smiled at her daughters joy, they could make any bad day better just by being themselves. She slid her free hand into Stefan's and they all started walking over to the ring toss booth.
As they walked Lizzie looked over at Caroline and asked her, "Is daddy going to win you a teddy too, mommy?"
Caroline froze at the question, sharing an awkward glance with Ric for a moment before she turned to answer her daughter, "Daddy winning a teddy bear for you two is more important."
"But you need one too!" Josie joined in, throwing an adorable pout at Alaric as she asked him, "Daddy, win one for mommy."
Caroline and Ric were stuck in an awkward silence, neither knowing what to say to try and appease their daughters. They were trying to keep boundaries while still being a family. It was a tough situation to navigate sometimes but they were willing to try and keep the environment that their kids grew up in as happy as possible despite the change from engaged parents to separated co-parents.
"I'll win one for your mother." Stefan offered, smiling at Caroline as he flirted with her, "Something bright and beautiful just like your mom."
Caroline felt her heart flutter in her chest, falling even deeper in love with Stefan. He was trying so hard to fit into her life as a mother to two girls with another man. She hadn't asked for it, but she was so grateful for the amazing gift she had been given, as Josie and Lizzie would be the only children she would ever have. It was important to her that Stefan had a relationship with her daughters as she wanted him in her life forever, and that meant that one day he would be the girls step father.
"Okay." Lizzie seemed satisfied with Stefan's offer so she took her sister's hand and they practically skipped the rest of the way to the booth.
Caroline rest her head on Stefan's shoulder as they followed her daughters. Her heart was so full of him that she whispered into the shell of his ear, "I love you."
Stefan smiled wide at her whispered words, his heart skipping a beat in his chest with happiness. He sneaked his arm around her waist to pull her even closer to him, nuzzling his nose against her hair as he returned her words easily, "And I love you."
Caroline smiled, tilting her head to press a sweet kiss to his cheek before resting her head back on his shoulder. It felt nice to be able to enjoy a night out with her boyfriend and her kids without having to think about what was happening to Damon and Enzo. They needed to let themselves enjoy a little bit of happiness within the hopelessness of trying to bring them back from the edge.
They reached the booth and Alaric turned a smile on his girls to ask, "What would my girls like me to win for them?"
Josie and Lizzie studied the prizes, whispering together as they decided which one they wanted. The nodded their head at one another as they both turned to their dad and answered together, "We want the rainbow unicorn."
Stefan choked down a surprised laugh, the old memory of him and Elena half drained after the Travelers took their blood coming to his mind.
"I think I just hallucinated a unicorn." Elena said.
"Maybe Caroline's nearby?" Stefan joked.
"Ha." Elena chuckled before adding, "If Caroline was here, we'd have a fully catered buffet on the side of the road... and a rainbow."
Stefan repressed a smile and held up two of his fingers as he replied, "Two rainbows."
He really was an idiot to not have realized how he felt about Caroline back then. All he had to do was think about her and he was already smiling. He had it bad for her and he never even realized.
Caroline furrowed her brow as she felt Stefan chuckle beside her. She turned her head to look at him and she asked, "What's so funny?"
"Just thinking of a memory from a long time ago." Stefan smiled down at her, gazing lovingly into her bright blue eyes, his voice hushed with admiration as he told her, "They are most definitely your daughters."
Caroline smiled at the wonderful compliment. It meant a lot to her when people commentated that Josie and Lizzie were just like her even though they weren't biologically related. It was one of the best feelings, and on one of those days that she was feeling insecure about her place in the girls life it helped her to remember that she was their mom. Jo's blood ran in their veins but Caroline was the one who raised them. They were hers.
Stefan grinned cheekily at Caroline and couldn't help himself from asking her with the amusement coloring his tone clear in his voice, "Have they wanted to build a barbie castle yet?"
Caroline narrowed her eyes at Stefan, racking her brain for why that seemed so familiar to her when it suddenly clicked. She slapped his arm playfully as she gasped, "Elena told you about that?"
Stefan laughed as he told her, "Is was when we were drained by the Travelers. You came up in conversation."
Caroline raised her eyebrows in disbelief, "I did?"
"Yep." Stefan bumped his nose cutely against hers, "There was no one I wanted there more than you."
Caroline felt like melting into a puddle, her heart fluttering happily in her chest. It was amazing to hear, especially as that was back when she thought there might have been something between them, but once Damon died and Stefan ran she started to doubt if he'd had any feelings. So it was wonderful to hear that he had, even though she knew that he loved her, it was still nice to know that he'd felt something for her back then.
They were brought out of their little bubble of love by the excited screaming of Josie and Lizzie. They looked over and couldn't help but smile as Ric gave Josie her rainbow colored unicorn.
"I love it, daddy! Thank you." Josie hugged the unicorn to her chest as she beamed up at her father.
"My turn!" Lizzie grinned, jumping up and down in anticipation of her father winning her the same prize as her sister.
Stefan released Caroline with a tender kiss, smiling at her as he gestured his head toward the booth, "I'd best win you a prize before Ric shows me up."
Caroline shook her head in exasperated affection, "Shut up."
Stefan just grinned at Caroline before joining Ric at the booth. They got their rings and stood side by side.
Ric glanced at Stefan out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but issue a challenge, "Can you win Caroline her prize without using your vampire powers?"
Stefan narrowed his eyes at Ric's smugly confidence expression. He let a smirk curl his lips as he accepted confidently, "I don't need abilities to beat you."
"I guess we'll find out." Ric replied, a smirk on his own face as he turned to look at the bottles he would be aiming at.
Stefan could practically feel Caroline rolling her eyes behind them. He knew that the lingering tension between him and Ric was both amusing and exasperating to her. She expected it to have gone by now, especially now that Ric's eyes were turned in another direction and Caroline was his, but things were said in jealousy that couldn't be taken back, and so the rivalry was still between them even though they no longer fought over Caroline... well, not romantically anyway, now it was more along the lines of the time she spent with the kids and with him.
Caroline shook her head in amusement, bemused that Ric and Stefan were still acting like rivals even though they weren't any more. She had a feeling this would continue on, despite the fact she was with Stefan and Ric was only the father of her children to her. It was kind of sweet, in a weird way, she just hoped it stayed at this still friendly level and didn't escalate. She loved both of them, but in two very very different ways. They were the two most important men in her life and they would be a huge part of her life for a very long time to come. She just wanted her entire family to get along.
Ric threw his ring, it circled around the bottle a few times before settling perfectly around it. He smirked over at Stefan, sending him a smug look, "Your turn, Stefan."
Stefan took a breath, visualizing where he wanted it to go before throwing it, where it landed gracefully on top of the bottle. He smirked smugly at Ric and reminded him, "I grew up back when we played this all the time."
"Yeah yeah, old man." Ric grumbled, a hint of amusement coloring his tone as he shot back, "We can't all be from the 1800s."
Caroline giggled, finding it so funny when Stefan was called an old man by Ric, especially as he looked older than Stefan by at least a decade or two. She took a quick peak at the carnival worker, hoping that he wasn't listening to their banter, he looked bored and like he wasn't paying any of them any attention.
Stefan looked behind him as he heard the lovely sound of Caroline's tinkling laughter. She was grinning at him, her eyes shining bright with her happiness, her body shaking from her giggles. She was stunningly beautiful, and for the thousandth time since knowing her she completely took his breath away. He loved her so much.
Caroline smiled as she noticed Stefan's gaze on her, the way he looked at her made butterflies fill her stomach. She raised her palm up to her mouth so that she could blow him a kiss as she sent him a flirty wink.
Stefan raised his hand to catch her kiss, his smile adoring and blinding as he brought his hand against his heart. He was more determined than ever to win a stuffed animal for his gorgeous girlfriend. He mouthed 'I love you' at Caroline, his heart skipping a beat at she eagerly returned his I love you with her own.
Ric snorted at the lovesick pair, they could barely stay away from each other and it was starting to become gag inducing. He wasn't in love with Caroline anymore, though there was a part of him that would always love her, so it no longer hurt him to see her and Stefan happy together. While his competitor was distracted staring at his girlfriend Ric had another throw and it landed on the bottle again.
At the girls cheering Stefan finally pulled himself away from Caroline's big beautiful eyes and back to the game at hand. He saw that Ric had landed on another bottle. He picked up his ring, and chose a bottle to land on. He flicked his wrist, sending the ring sailing through the air until it caught on the bottle, circling around it before settling. Another hit for him.
"Last toss for you both." The carnival worker reminded them both.
"You can do it, daddy." Lizzie encouraged her father, holding her hands together in prayer.
"Thanks, sweetheart." Ric grinned down at his daughter, her adorable expression sending warmth straight to his chest.
Caroline jogged up to Stefan, throwing her arms around him from behind, and placed a giggling kiss against his cheek, "Good luck."
Before Caroline could take her arms from around him, Stefan quickly turned in her embrace to cradle her cheek and place his lips passionately against hers. He languidly moved his lips over hers, losing himself completely to the taste and feel of his love, forgetting that he meant for their kiss to be a quick one. He heard the sound of Ric winning in the background so he finally tore himself away from her perfect lips. He tenderly caressed her cheek as he smiled lovingly at her, "I don't need luck when I have you."
Caroline's heart fluttered madly within her chest, her love for him buzzing in her veins like a living thing, making her breathless with just how much she loved him. She smiled at him as he released her, though she quickly caught his hand as he turned around. She winked at him as he raised his eyebrows curiously at her, "For luck."
Stefan chuckled, squeezing her fingers with his as he locked their hands tighter together. He took his final ring and tossed it. He held his breath as he watched it fly through the air to land perfectly on top of the bottle.
"Yay!" Caroline cheered, throwing her free arm around Stefan to hug him happily from behind. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, keeping her nose brushing the side of his face as she hummed, "You won me a prize!"
Stefan smiled as he turned his face into her, his hand coming up to cover hers over his heart, squeezing her fingers as he asked, "What prize does my lady want?"
Caroline giggled, quickly scanning the selection of prizes before answering, "I want the same unicorn as my beautiful daughters."
"Then that is what you shall have." Stefan brought their joined hands from his chest to press a sweet kiss to her knuckles. He told the carnival worker what he wanted, and when he handed it over he turned in Caroline's hold to give it to her, "For you."
Caroline clutched the unicorn to her chest, grinning brightly at Stefan, her heart full of warmth that he'd won it for her. She leaned in and kissed him delicately. Pulling back she whispered meaningfully, "Thank you!"
"My pleasure." Stefan smiled dreamily at Caroline, seeing her face so lit up with happiness made him feel ten feet tall. If his girl was happy then he was happy. He wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her close, taking her lips with his in a lovingly intense kiss.
Ric bit back a chuckle as Caroline and Stefan were lost to each other again. It was kind of cute how much like teenagers they acted when they were together. He would let them have some time to themselves before rejoining them for some more family time. He cleared his throat, laughing under his breath at the way they sprung apart, before telling them, "Me and the girls are going to explore by ourselves for a little while."
Caroline creased her brow, conflicted about what Ric was offering. She wanted to spend time with her girls and with Stefan. She chewed her lip in worry before asking, "Ric... are you sure?"
"Care." Ric smiled at her, a conversation passing between them before he chuckled, "Go. We'll meet up in an hour."
"Okay." Caroline smiled at Ric gratefully, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Ric accepted her thanks.
Caroline bent down in front of her girls and pulled them in for a hug, "I'll see you in a little bit. Have fun with daddy."
"We will." Josie hugged her mother back tightly.
"Have fun with uncle Stefan." Lizzie said, giggling as her mom's face turned red.
Caroline tickled Lizzie's sides, smiling at her sweet giggles. She dropped a kiss on both of their foreheads, "Love you!"
"Love you too, mommy!" Josie and Lizzie returned, smiling at Caroline before going over to Ric and holding onto each of his hands.
Caroline watched them go with a pang. She was their mother and she loved to spend as much time with them as possible, but she was so grateful to Ric for giving her a little time with Stefan on her own.
Stefan placed his hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles against her as he gave her a moment. He knew that she was pulled in two different directions, between loving him and loving her kids, and he didn't want to make it difficult for her but at the same time he just wanted to to be with her. He was sure that when the kids grew used to him by their mothers side it would get easier, and that they could even spend time with the girls as well. It was a slow process, but he wouldn't risk rushing it and pushing the girls away. It meant too much to him to lose, Caroline was his forever and he would do anything to make sure he never lost her again.
Caroline released a sigh, shaking off her melancholy at being separated from her girls. She turned to face Stefan, smiling at him brightly as she asked, "Where should we go?"
Stefan reached across to push a lock of hair behind her ear, caressing the back of his hand down Caroline's cheek, and then down her arm to slide his fingers in-between hers. He smiled at her as he began leading her away, "How about bumper cars?"
Caroline's eyes lit up as she giggled, "Sounds fun."
At the bumper cars Stefan helped Caroline into hers, grinning down at her as he issued a challenge, "Do you think you can get me more than I'll get you?"
"Oh, I so will." Caroline chewed on her lip, grabbing hold of Stefan's shirt to pull him down to her, teasingly caressing her lips against his, feeling satisfied at the way his breath hitched and his eyes darkened with lust.
"Is that right?" Stefan smirked, enjoying the flirty teasing between him and Caroline. He brushed his lips to hers for a tantalizingly long moment, indulging in the glorious taste of her before dragging himself away, "You sure about that?"
"Mm hmm." Caroline smirked, keeping the electric eye contact with Stefan, building up the sexual tension between them until the air practically sizzled with it. She leaned in close, so close that they were breathing the same air, and giggled helplessly as she said, "You are an old man after all."
Stefan's eyes widened, the air of lust surrounding them popping in an instant, his mouth opened and closed in his surprise. Caroline's musical laughter finally made him react, his eyes narrowed at her, a smirk curling his lips, "It's on, Forbes!"
"Bring it on, Salvatore!" Caroline laughed, sticking her tongue out at him.
Stefan made his way to his own bumper car, chuckling at the silliness they could have despite the bad things going on in their lives. He needed a night of carefree fun with the woman he loves. Caroline could make everything brighter, and he loved that he could give her a small piece of fun and laughter to brighten her up too.
Caroline slammed her foot down and immediately went for Stefan who was heading straight for her. She giggled as they hit each other at the same time, she spun the wheel wildly to move away from him, while he kept pushing his bumper car into hers.
Stefan couldn't keep the smirk off of his face as he saw the joy lighting up Caroline's. She was radiant with happiness and it was the most beautiful thing to see. He kept bumping into her just to hear her squeal of laughter, and he let her get to him just to watch the smug grin she sent him. She was the happiest he'd seen her for a while, and it made him happy too.
Caroline was having the time of her life. She really needed this, a night of pure fun with the man she loved. Plus her kids, who she would be getting back to soon, carrying on the fun and happiness with everyone she loved surrounding her.
The bumper cars stopped signaling the end. Stefan got out and met Caroline after she left hers. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side as he asked her smiling, "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah!" Caroline nodded her head, smiling back at Stefan as she snuggled into his side, "It was so much fun."
"I'm glad." Stefan dropped a kiss onto her head, leading her away he asked, "Should we find Ric and the girls?"
"Yes." Caroline kissed his cheek, "It's their first carnival and I want to see how much they enjoy it."
Stefan smiled into her hair, "Then let's go find them."
Caroline tilted her head up to look at his gorgeous face, smiling adoringly at him as she told him, "I love you, Stefan."
Stefan looked down at her, smiling in pure contentment and overwhelming happiness as he returned her affection, "And I love you, Caroline."
Caroline beamed at him, full of so much happiness that she felt like she could burst. She knew that this time they would last, Stefan would never leave her to protect her again, and she would never let him. They would last forever.
Stefan couldn't stop smiling as he strolled with Caroline to meet up with Ric and her girls. They may not be his kids, but he looked forward to one day becoming another father to them. Stepfather if he had anything to say about it. He would be spending the rest of his life with Caroline so he would love her children just as much as he loved their mother.
He was looking forward to many more carnivals spent with Caroline and the girls over the years.
THE END
AN - I hope you all liked it! Just a little idea that all the behind the scenes videos and photos put into my head. I hope the actual carnival episode is similar to this :)