This story is set in series two. I always wondered what would have happened with Caroline and DuPlessis if she had actually left with Gerald. So this is what I think should have happened if caroline had.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild at Heart or any of the characters. I take no credit for either.
What If things were Different?
Caroline slowly opened her sleep heavy eyes and pushed herself away from the mattress, to sit upright on her bed.
She felt that she had awoken with an all new sense of purpose that morning. This was something she had not felt in a long time, and the thought of it made her smile broadly.
She looked at her calendar and was happily surprised when she realised what today was. Today was the day when she and Gerald would leave Leopard's Den for good, and start a new life at Gerald's big house on the cape.
No longer would she have to worry about Meer cats coming into her room at night and chewing on all of her shoes.
No longer would she have to worry about getting dust in her hair and on her clothes.
No longer would she feel the strain and stress of working under the always staring eye of that loud, rebellious, tactless, reckless and barely house trained oaf, DuPlessis.
Finally she would be free of this place, and she would at last take control of her life. She was finally moving forward and not just going around in circles anymore.
Caroline dressed herself, and made her way to the kitchen where all the family were sitting having breakfast together. She would miss this particularly happy scene, but she knew what she wanted, and that was to leave as soon as possible.
Nomsa approached Caroline with a plate of food, and handed it to her smiling. Caroline gave her thanks and went to sit down, regrettably, at the end of the table where DuPlessis sat reading the paper, having already finished his breakfast.
When she sat down he glanced over to her, obviously enjoying her presence. He smiled warmly at her and then went back to his paper. "He's not all bad I suppose," mused Caroline as she began to tuck into her food.
"Morning everyone!" came a smooth and deep voice from the hallway. The family looked up to see Gerald entering the room with a large smile on his face. All returned the gesture in one murmuring voice.
All except DuPlessis, who refused to acknowledge the man's existence whatever the circumstance.
Gerald accepted gratefully his breakfast from Nomsa, who didn't seem all that keen on Gerald either, and came to sit down next to Caroline, who was far more pleased to see him than the rest of the Leopard's Den residents.
Caroline smiled a beautiful smile at Gerald, which made DuPlessis seethe with envy. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and attempted to carry on reading his newspaper, with little success.
"So, what time do you think we should leave?" she asked innocently, unaware that Dup was scrunching his fist into a ball so hard, that it made his knuckles go white.
The family saw that this scene was not going to be one that they desired to witness, so all got up to leave and made excuses that they needed to go and do some work, leaving the love triangle participants at the table.
Gerald, who was fully aware of Dup's feelings towards the matter, tauntingly reached out, took Caroline's hands in his, and placed a kiss on both, slowly and deliberately. Dup was glaring loathingly at him knowing the full meaning of his actions.
It meant, "This woman is mine and you will never get the chance to do this, or in fact to see her ever again. Sorry old chap…Tough luck…Such a shame."
"We can go whenever you want my dear," he said gently, and smiled a charming smile at Caroline, and in return she kissed him gently on his cheek. Dup felt like his heart had been cut into with a painful and rusted knife, twisting inside until he could take no more.
"I want to leave now," said Caroline still completely unaware of Dup's feelings. Before he could stop himself Dup blurted out,
"So soon?" he immediately regretted saying this. Caroline turned to him and shot him a puzzled look. Dup tried to cover up his mistake and nervously said, "I just thought that you might have wanted to sort things out with the family before you left."
Caroline stared at him for a moment, trying to decipher if that's what he truly meant to say, or if he just said that to cover up want he really wanted to say.
Her staring made Dup catch his breath, and he went slightly red. Finally she turned away from him, rose from her seat and said, "I've already sorted out things with the family that needed sorting Anders, so I don't think you need to worry about that. Thank you for asking anyway," she smiled sweetly at him, thanking him for his concern.
Anders looked her straight in her captivating eyes, and smiled boyishly and warmly back at her, his heart rate increasing as he gazed at her. With that she turned and went to finish off the rest of her packing, leaving the two men at the table scowling at each other in a mutual hatred.
"That was a cheap shot man!" growled Anders in a hushed voice so that no one heard him except Gerald.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean DuPlessis," he said with an innocent yet smug smile on his face, which made Anders just want to smash his face in with his fist.
"You know perfectly well what I mean you disgusting snake!" Anders barked back.
"There's no need for that…And anyway why should you care so much? Sure, I know you like her and all, but she's completely put of your league," he stated with a coldness, laced in his normally so smooth voice.
"You've only taken a stupid little fancy to her Gerald, You know that I feel so much more for that woman that just a slight 'fancy,'" Anders' anger was building up so much inside of him that he thought he might explode.
"Oh my God DuPlessis…You love her!" said Gerald, very surprised and delighted to hear this. DuPlessis loved Caroline, but Gerald was the one who had won her over. Yes, he was indeed very satisfied with this.
"Of course I love her, surely it's obvious that I do," Anders rolled his eyes angrily and irritably at Gerald.
"Well, yes of course. She has beautifully captivating eyes, a radiant smile, a gorgeous and slender figure, and she's all mine DuPlessis. Gosh, I really am a lucky man to have found such a woman to be with," said Gerald, deliberately making Anders even more jealous and angry by the second.
Anders stood up abruptly as if he had been scolded by the painful and tormenting words that Gerald had used to wound him with, his fury clearly etched in his features.
Gerald rose slowly from his own chair, obviously proud of the reaction he had produced, and turned and walked away from Anders. Leaving him steaming in his own pool of hatred and jealousy.
Anders slammed his fists on the wooden table, slumped down into his chair and rested his head on the cool surface of the wood, feeling as though he was going to pass out from the intensity of his anger, running through his veins, scorching every fibre of his body.
He lifted his head, and rested his chin on his forearms, hot tears flowing silently down his face, his eyes tightly shut. He was slipping into despair. He couldn't lose Caroline. He just couldn't.
He loved her far to much to be able to let her go and not be forever wounded and taunted by the memory of her, and how he had lost her to someone else who didn't even have any real or true feelings for her. His arms ached so much to hold her, and the pain he felt was indescribable.
Caroline peered into the kitchen and saw Anders in this horrid state, a pang of guilt and sadness gripped her heart, making her want to embrace him and cry herself. She had heard everything.
She had, had no idea that Anders loved her. She knew that he had feelings for her, but none as strong as love she had thought.
She felt so guilty for getting him into this situation, but she knew she couldn't have prevented it. She had never been, really, that friendly with him, but that hadn't stopped Anders falling head over heals in love with her.
Sadly, even though she knew about his feelings for her, Caroline still left with Gerald. She had to leave. She didn't belong there, and she couldn't stay just because of Anders. She was unhappy here, and she knew she would cause Anders pain anyway, because she didn't have feelings for him.
She embraced Anders when she left and kissed him gently on his cheek, making him forget to breathe.
Then she was gone…Anders would never be the same again, he had met Caroline and fallen in love with her. He was not going to get over her easily; in fact he knew that he would never get over her.
The wound she left in his heart was still so fresh, and it was a wound that only she could heal.
Anders was a broken shell of a man, he felt so empty and cold without her.
But was this the end?....