Stefan found her at the Christmas party she'd organized.
Caroline had rented a small hall outside of Mystic Falls to host a celebration for her friends. Unsurprisingly, Stefan was not invited. He scanned the room to find her. The hall was full of people – people he didn't recognize, friends of friends. He wasn't surprised at the high volume of guests but wondered why, with this many people, Caroline obviously still couldn't stand to have him in the room.
Caroline had outdone herself decorating the hall. The walls were painted in silver tinsel, on the ceilings hung white tree lights and in the south corner stood a vibrant green Christmas tree trimmed by skilled hands. Stefan stood in the narrow doorway, his eyes finally landing on Caroline. She was laughing with Elena across the dimly lit room when she saw him. Her smile turned bitter quickly as she excused herself from her conversation with her best friend and rushed to Stefan.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him in a huff.
"Just because I stayed away during Friendsgiving – just because you're mad at me – doesn't mean I'm not going to give you your Christmas present."
Stefan handed her an expertly wrapped gift. Caroline turned the gift over in her hands, inspecting it. Her eyes flitted over the silver paper, the lightly metallic blue bow, and she sighed.
Her resolved faltered for a moment. "You didn't have to do this. I didn't get you anything."
"I didn't expect anything from you. Listen, just open it," he said, his eyes hard on hers. "Please," he added, his voice and eyes softening.
Her hands played with the paper wrapping the gift, deciding whether or not to indulge Stefan. She sighed again and, reluctantly, she opened his gift. Under the wrapping and tissue paper, she found a solid oak picture frame. "What is this?" she asked Stefan.
"It's a promise," he started. "I noticed the last time I was in your dorm that you had turned down the photo of us on your desk. I understand why you did that and no matter how many times I apologize, it feels like I can't get through to you. Look, you deserve the best, Caroline. You certainly deserve better than me. But this picture frame is a promise that I'll work toward earning your forgiveness and earning back your trust. It's a promise that one day you'll fill the frame with a new photo of us once we've gotten past … this rough patch." He ended with a shy smile.
Caroline's eyes left Stefan's gaze and she stared at the frame, unsure how to counter his plea. She considered his offer and raised her head to look at Stefan.
She found Stefan's head raised, eying something in the doorway. He motioned with his chin for Caroline to look up at the mistletoe they stood under. Caroline blushed softly before her face hardened. "Don't push your luck."
She turned and walked away with her gift in hand – an acceptance of his truce.