"Stefan, wait." Caroline raced to the door, making it there just ahead of him. "I don't know how much time I'll need before I'm ready to jump into this relationship. It could be a few weeks, a few months, maybe even a few years. I don't know. What I do know is that I lost my mom, Alaric lost his family, Tyler lost Liv, and we all lost Elena." her voice cracked. "There is so much loss and sadness in our lives, I need something good. I need you. I need you to my friend right now. And as my friend you'll stay with me, and you'll hold me, and let me cry until I fall asleep knowing I'm safe because you're here." Her eyes pleaded with him, begging him to stay with her.

Stefan swallowed hard, she was asking the impossible. She was asking him to be near her, to touch her, and to take in her scent; but she was also asking him not to kiss her or tell her how much he loved her. However, he nodded. He knew he couldn't leave her when she was asking him to stay. "Go change, and I'll be waiting for you."

"Thank you." She breathed out a sigh of relief. For a second she thought he was going to leave, and she wouldn't have blamed him. She walked to her room to get ready for bed, as Stefan waited downstairs.

Stefan placed another piece of wood on the fire then walked to the kitchen. There was one lonely cup in the sink and he took the liberty of washing it. Caroline wasn't one to leave any dirty dish in the sink, but given the current state of things he could hardly blame her. He placed the dish on the drying rack and turned around just as she was walking down the stairs.

"Did you wash my cup?" she asked him.

"Uh, yeah." he shrugged.

"You didn't need to do that. I was going to get it, actually that's what I was coming down to do when you showed up and I just-"

"Caroline," he gently grabbed her shoulders, "it was just a cup."

She nodded and turned away from him as a tear fell from her eye. "I'm sorry."

"Come here." he whispered pulling her into him. "It's okay."

She nuzzled into him, letting his warmth sooth her. She stayed like that for a few minutes, letting herself calm down.

"How's Damon?" she asked looking up at him.

"He's grieving, the only way Damon knows how."

"He shouldn't be alone." Caroline knew what could happen when Damon was upset.

"Bonnie's there." Stefan informed her.

"What about Alaric?" she asked with worry in her eyes.

"He's there too and so is Tyler, and Jeremy, and Matt. Everyone is safe."

"We should be there. We all need to be together." she insisted. "I'll go pack a few things." She didn't even wait for his response.

Stefan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it would be easier to ignore the urge to kiss her if there were others in the house.

Damon had left while Bonnie was sealing in the sleeping Elena. Numbly, he made his way to his bottle of bourbon. He poured himself glass after glass, hoping to forget a fraction of the night's events. When he knew it was no use he angrily threw the empty glass into the fireplace, and that's when he noticed her. Bonnie had returned from the tomb and was looking at him with sad eyes.

"Not in the mood for your words of wisdom, Oprah." Damon said.

"Then how about a friend?" Bonnie asked walking over and placing a hand comfortingly on his back.

"What do you want me to say Bonnie?" He turned to face her. "That I'm upset? That I'm miserable at the thought of living without her for the next 60 some years? Well, so what? I made the choice to keep you alive. I don't regret it, but that doesn't mean I liked my options." He swallowed hard. "Just leave me alone."

Bonnie didn't listen. Instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around him. When she was about to let go he pulled her closer. She heard him sniffle, but didn't say anything. They let the silence fall over them as they found comfort in each other's arms.