So I've fallen slightly (okay, completely) in love with Stefan and Caroline, and am really hoping that he'll be the one who convinces her to turn her humanity back on. Anyway, here's my take on how it could, and hopefully will happen…
And, just a little FYI, I've made it read as though Stefan and Damon had their chat r.e. Caroline at the bar before the memorial, when in fact in the show it was after, just to avoid confusion… Enjoy!
STEFAN'S POV:
"Why do you need me to come with you, exactly?" Elena asked as we arrived at the bar
"We both know what Caroline can be like, and with her humanity turned off she'll be a thousand times worse." I informed her
"And what do you think me being here is going to do?" she questioned "She attacked me and then bolted if you hadn't forgotten…"
"And if you hadn't forgotten, she's your friend who's just lost her Mom." I replied "We need to stop her before she does anything stupid."
"Who's to say she hasn't already?" she inquired
"Can you stop with the questions please?" I asked
She held her hands up in defence and we made our way into the bar, me holding the door open for her. Scouring the room full of people, I spotted her in the crowd, on the dancefloor…
"You see her?" Elena questioned
"Yeah, over there." I informed her, motioning to the dancefloor
CAROLINE'S POV:
The song finished and I made my way to the bar, ordering a cocktail from the barman when I laid eyes on them across the bar. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I handed the barman his money, telling him to keep the change as he set my drink down on the bar. Manoeuvring my way through the crowd, I reached them and took a sip of my drink…
"What are you two doing here?" I asked
"What do you think?" Stefan inquired "What are you doing here?"
"I'm not in the mood for this, Stefan." I admitted "So tell me what you want and then just go."
"Nope, not without you." he informed me
"Now's not the time to pretend you care." I scoffed
"What makes you think I don't care?" he questioned
"I'm gonna leave you two to it." Elena informed us, placing her hand on Stefan's shoulder before turning and leaving
"Well?" he asked "I asked you a question and I'd like an answer. What makes you think I don't care?"
"Does it matter?" I inquired
"When you've turned off your humanity and are going off the rails, yeah, it matters." he informed me
"I'm not going off the rails," I replied "I'm having fun and letting my hair down. Mom's death made me realise life's too short to be control freak Caroline."
"You should be with people who care about you…" he sighed "Just come home, Caroline."
"I don't have a home any more, Stefan." I informed him "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back and dance."
"I do mind…" he admitted, taking a hold of my wrist as I turned to walk away
"Let. Me. Go." I spoke through gritted teeth
"What if I don't?" he questioned "What are you gonna do?"
"Do you really want to find out?" I inquired
"You do realise I could just take you back to Mystic Falls with me right now, don't you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I freed my wrist from his grasp, drained my drink and walked back to the dancefloor…
STEFAN'S POV:
"Are you just gonna sit there propping up the bar all night?" the barman asked as I watched Caroline make her way around the dancefloor "Or are you going to order a drink?"
"Bourbon, neat." I replied, sliding a note onto the bar
"Coming up." he informed me
Downing the amber liquid, I continued to watch Caroline, motioning for the barman to fill up my glass again…
CAROLINE'S POV:
I made my way to the bar and ordered another cocktail. Sitting down on a barstool, I turned my head and saw a guy at the end of the bar watching me. Taking a sip of my drink, I smiled at him…
"You've got some neat moves…" he informed me as he reached me
"Thanks." I replied
"Fancy showing me a few?" he questioned
"Now there's an offer." I chuckled
"Well, is it a yes or a no?" he inquired
"Why don't you follow me and find out?" I suggested, raising an eyebrow at him
STEFAN'S POV:
Ordering another bourbon, I watched as Caroline led a random onto the dancefloor. Downing the liquid once again, I moved from the barstool and round to the other side of the bar, wanting, needing to keep a closer eye on her…
CAROLINE'S POV:
I wound my arms around the random's neck, his finding my waist, the two of us moving in time to the rock music that filled the room. Taking a hold of my hands, he spun me underneath his arm and kept our hands entwined, my free arm staying wrapped around his neck as I made eye contact with Stefan…
"I didn't need to show you my moves as you've got some pretty neat ones of your own…" I informed him
"Not as neat as yours." he replied "But thanks."
He smiled at me warmly… "Do you fancy getting out of here?"
"Yeah," I replied "I do."
"Let's go then." he proclaimed, taking my hand to lead me from the dancefloor
STEFAN'S POV:
I arrived at Caroline's side in an instant, pushing the guy away from her and into a wall…
"Stefan!" she proclaimed
"You're not going with this guy." I informed her
"You're not my Dad, you can't tell me what to do." she replied
"I know what you're thinking…" I informed the random "Sleep with her and then ditch her, do you think that's really all she's worth?"
"Maybe it is all I'm worth, Stefan!" Caroline proclaimed
"Do you really think that?" I questioned as I turned to her
"Are we getting out of here or not?" the random inquired
"What do you think?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him
"Okay, I'm gonna go…" he admitted
"Good idea." I replied
CAROLINE'S POV:
The random hurried off past us and back to the bar. Watching him as he disappeared out of sight, I turned to Stefan…
"Thanks for that…" I scoffed
"You're welcome." he replied
"I don't need saving or whatever you think." I informed him "So you can stop the whole moral crusade, it's getting boring."
"I'm not on a moral crusade," he admitted "I care about you, Caroline, when are you going to realise that?"
"Maybe when you start to show it." I replied
"Can't you see it?" he asked "I've been showing you for weeks."
"What?" I questioned "No you haven't!"
"Haven't I?" he inquired "So me supporting you when you found out your Mom had a brain tumour, what was that? Helping fix up the cabin, that was me just doing it for something to do, was it? All this time we've spent together this past month, I thought you'd see it."
"But then we kissed and everything changed. You bolted. You thought it was a mistake, I know you did." I replied
"I didn't bolt, Caroline," he sighed "I was there for you but wanted to give you space too."
"I didn't need space. I needed you. I was falling apart and you weren't there…" I admitted
"Then why didn't you come to me?" he questioned
"I shouldn't have to, you should know, just like I know with you." I informed him
"The memorial service…" he whispered
"What?" I inquired
"The memorial service, I should've told you how I felt there and then, when I said we needed to talk." he replied "So I'm gonna say what I wanted to say then now."
"What if I don't want to hear it?" I asked
"Tough," he proclaimed "you're gonna hear it. Caroline, I love you. I should've listened to Damon and just told you anyway but when I saw you I knew then wasn't the right time, and then I came over to see you and that was when I found Elena."
"What are you talking about? You should've listened to Damon? You're not making any sense!" I proclaimed, running my hands through my hair
"He said I should tell you how I felt because you could've done with some news like that on the day of your Mom's memorial," he explained "I should've forgotten about it not being the right time and came straight out with it but I didn't, and for that I am so sorry. All of this, it's my fault."
"I can't listen to any more, I'm sorry." I whispered
STEFAN'S POV:
Before my eyes, Caroline disappeared and I sighed heavily, punching the wall in front of me…
Part 2 coming soon…