Stefan was woken up by the crash of thunder outside. He groaned and rolled over ready to shut his eyes fall back asleep when he heard the soft sound of her sobs. He didn't waste anytime in reaching her door. He knocked once before opening it slowly.
"Caroline." he whispered.
When she heard his voice she tried to stopped the sobs.
"Can I come in?" he asked and when she didn't give an answer and walked over to her still body curled up next to the wall. "You're not afraid of a little storm are you?" he asked sitting on the edge of her bed. "You're Caroline Forbes."
She shook her head. "It's not the storm, not all of it."
"Well, tell me." he said placing a hand on her back.
"It's nothing. Go back to bed, Stefan."
"Care…"
"Stefan, please go." He hesitated, but got up and left. There was no way he was going back to sleep now. He walked into the kitchen where Damon and Elena were sitting at the table.
"Hey, Stefan." Elena said as he sat down with them.
"Do you know what's going on with Caroline?" he asked thinking Elena might know something.
"Oh, right." she said more to herself as if remembering something. "The storm and being here is probably bring back some tough memories.
Stefan looked at her questioningly, "What do you mean?"
"Well, when we were kids and we'd come here any time it'd storm Caroline would freak out. She hated it, but her dad would always be here to make her feel safe. He'd start a fire, make hot chocolate, and they'd share a big comfy blanket until the storm was over. Or until Caroline fell asleep."
"Then lets make some hot chocolate and get a fire going." Stefan replied. "Damon get the firewood, Elena go get Caroline and comfiest blanket we have, I'll make the hot chocolate."
They got to work on the task assigned to them. Stefan got to work on making his special hot chocolate, the same way his mother used to make it for him. The fire was glowing when he heard Caroline and Elena walking down the steps.
"Where are we going, Elena?" Caroline asked.
"We're all just going to hang out, wait for the storm to pass."
Elena and Caroline took a seat on the couch and cuddled up under the blanket. Stefan carried in a tray that held the four mugs. he sat it on the coffee table and handed out the cups. His unbeating heart skipped when Caroline smiled at him as a thank you. The two Salvatore brothers took opposite chairs and the four of them settled in.
"Thank you guys." Caroline said. "I know you're trying to cheer me up."
"It was all Stefan's idea." Elena informed her.
Caroline's eyes met his shyly. A short, nonverbal conversation was shared between the two.
"Remember when your family spent the fourth of July weekend here?" Caroline asked Elena after a few minutes of silence.
"Yes, your dad singed off his eyebrows trying to light one of those cheap fireworks." Elena answered.
Caroline laughed, "And then we spent the rest of the time arguing over which cheap firework was better."
"That's nothing." Damon chimed in. "You should have seen how we celebrated the fourth of July back in the old days."
"Alright, Damon. Enlighten us." Caroline challenged.
Damon told stories of the holiday past and Stefan interrupted to call out his brother's lies. Hours had passed and many stories were told.
Elena let out a yawn. "I think it's time to go to sleep. Will you be alright, Care?" she asked standing up to stretch.
Caroline nodded. "You guys go ahead if you want."
Damon and Elena locked hands as the headed up to bed, but Stefan hung back.
"Thank you." Caroline said again.
"Elena told me about the hot chocolate, and the fire, and the blanket." he shrugged.
"But you put it all together. Always making sure I'm okay." she smiled.
"I know the storm let up, but maybe I could sit with you for a bit? In case it starts up again." Stefan said shyly.
"I'd like that."
Caroline lifted up the blanket, offering him the space next to her. The two sat close as they shared stories, some more personal than the funny ones they shared with the group.
Caroline told Stefan of the last time her mom and dad were at the cabin together. "They were fighting. It was over stupid stuff too like who was going to get to keep the silverware in the divorce."
Stefan found her hand and squeezed it as her head rested gently on his shoulder. They fell asleep gazing into the fire, and that's how Damon found them the next morning.