"We could go to Europe. See the world. Just you and me."
STEFAN'S POV:
"So where to first, Miss. Forbes?" I asked as we sat in the airport lounge
"I can't believe we're actually doing this…" she admitted
"After everything that's happened, I think we deserve a little bit of spontaneity in our lives." I informed her
"Yeah, but to ditch everything and everyone and fly off and see the world?" she questioned "Don't you think that's a bit extreme?"
"Nope," I replied "not really. Why? Are you having second thoughts?"
She shook her head… "As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we are, but I'm just wondering why you're doing this…"
"Why do you think I'm doing it?" I asked
"Because of all the memories," she replied "you want to forget about everything for a while, and I get that, I do, but I just want to know you're okay."
"I'm okay." I informed her, pressing my lips against her temple as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder "Honestly I am. So where to first?"
CYPRUS:
CAROLINE'S POV:
"This is amazing…" I sighed as a masseuse worked at my back "Don't you think, Stefan?"
Turning my head to my side, I chuckled softly as I heard Stefan snoring lightly…
"Time to wake up, Mr. Salvatore." I whispered into his ear once our couples massage was over
"What?" he questioned
"Who was the more reluctant of us to have a couples massage?" I inquired
"Me. Why?" he asked
"Because you were so relaxed you fell asleep!" I informed him
"No I didn't." he replied
"Yes, you did. You were snoring and everything." I admitted
"How about we get back to our room, share a bath in our Jacuzzi bathtub and then choose where we're going to eat?" he suggested
"Nice save, Salvatore." I replied
"I thought so." he admitted
STEFAN'S POV:
"I've changed my mind." I informed Caroline
"On what?" she questioned
"On going out for dinner. I think we should stay here…" I admitted
"And why's that?" she inquired
"Because sharing a bath with you is far better than any food we could eat." I admitted
"I'm sure it is," she replied "but I'm hungry, so we're going to eat, and if you're good, I'll let you satisfy your perverted needs. How does that sound?"
"Perverted?" I asked "You're calling a man wanting to be with his girlfriend perverted?"
She nodded her head and rose to her feet, my eyes raking over her naked frame before she stepped out of the bath and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her… "Yes, I am. Now hurry up, because you're buying me dinner."
CAROLINE'S POV:
"Ugh, it's too hot!" I proclaimed as Stefan and I arrived back at our hotel suite "I'm gonna need to shower before bed."
"Okay." he replied "I'll jump in when you're done."
"Why don't you join me?" I suggested, raising an eyebrow at him
He smirked at me and moved over to me, a squeal escaping my lips as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, slapping my bum before carrying me through to the bathroom, setting me on the ground, his lips capturing mine passionately…
BELGIUM:
CAROLINE'S POV:
"Sneaky, Salvatore." I proclaimed as we rode up in the hotel elevator "When did you book this?"
"On the plane." he informed me "I figured we get a couple of hours rest, get some food and then head out to see what the sights have to offer, what do you say?"
"Sounds perfect." I replied
I moved closer to him and wound my arms around his neck, sighing as the elevator dinged and the doors began to open…
STEFAN'S POV:
"This room is amazing." Caroline sighed "Have you seen this view?"
"Yeah, I've seen it." I replied
Caroline turned her head to me and looked at me over her shoulder, shaking her head at me… "I didn't mean me, you goof."
"Hey, I was admiring the view!" I proclaimed
"Well how about you admire it in more detail?" she suggested, her hands resting on my shoulders as she moved to stand in between my legs
"What about getting a couple of hours rest?" I questioned
"We're vampires," she replied "and are you really trying to get out of having sex with me?"
I shook my head and leant up, cupping her neck, pulling her lips to mine, moving myself backwards onto the bed, bringing her with me as I did so…
CAROLINE'S POV:
"Salon Du Chocolat!" I proclaimed
"And that is?" Stefan questioned
"We're going to admire the work of master chocolatiers and sample chocolate in a great variety of forms at the world's largest chocolate event." I informed him
"So basically we're going to stuff our faces?" he asked
"It can be whatever you want to call it," I replied "but we're going, now!"
PARIS:
CAROLINE'S POV:
Stefan stopped in the middle of the street for the 100th time, turning the map to yet another angle…
"Stefan, can we just ask someone?" I asked "We're lost, just admit it!"
"No, I know where the Eiffel Tower is; I just don't exactly know it from here but we're really close, I just know it." he informed me
"If we're as close as you say, shouldn't we be able to see it?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at him
He pursed his lips together nervously… "Um…"
"Let's just ask someone, please," I begged "it's hot and I'm getting tired of going round and round in circles."
"I was supposed to be your tour guide." he sighed
"You are, and you're doing a great job but clearly we're lost and I'd like to get to the Eiffel Tower before they close for the night." I replied
"Fine, I'll go ask someone." he informed me
Smiling at him warmly, I pressed my lips to his, pulling away reluctantly as he began to deepen the kiss…
After finally asking someone, we were given clear directions to the Eiffel Tower, and I took great pride when the Frnech lady we'd asked told us we were in fact on the opposite side of the city. Deciding we could still make it on time, we also managed to see a few more sights on the way including the Arc De Triomphe and a nice elderly couple took several pictures of us together, commenting on how perfect we were together as they did so and then we made our way to the "love lock bridge", capturing a picture of the moment as Stefan padlocked our lock onto the bridge with the millions of others…
"Stefan, stop!" I proclaimed
"I thought you wanted to get to the Eiffel Tower before it closes for the night?" he asked
"I do," I replied "but these shoes…"
"Caroline?" he questioned
"Yes?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at him
"Let's go…" he replied
Sighing, I took his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead me the rest of the way…
STEFAN'S POV:
It was 8pm by the time we reached the Eiffel Tower, and we were at the highest point, looking out across the beginnings of a beautiful sunset across Paris…
"It's so beautiful here." Caroline sighed as I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind
"It is, but not as beautiful as you." I informed her, pressing my lips to her cheek "Nothing is."
"I'm so glad we decided to come here." she admitted, tilting her head backwards to press her lips to mine "Thank you for an amazing trip so far."
I smiled at her warmly as she turned back to look out over Paris and took her hands in mine, spreading her arms out, pressing my lips to her neck…
"Trying to re-enact a scene from Titanic?" she questioned
"Close your eyes." I whispered
"What?" she inquired "Why?"
"Just do as I ask for once, okay?" I asked
"Okay." she replied
"And no peeking!" I proclaimed
I held onto hr waist with one hand and reached into my pocket, making sure she still had her eyes closed, a smile spreading onto my lips as I saw she was smiling too. Pulling the ring out of my pocket, I took her hand in mine and slid it onto her finger, her eyes opening, a gasp escaping her lips…
"Oh my God…" she whispered
"Will you marry me?" I asked
"Are you serious?" she questioned
"Totally serious." I informed her "You said at the beginning of this trip you didn't care where in the world you were as long as you were with me and the same applies to me. I never want to spend a day without you. I want you for the rest of our eternal lives."
She smiled at me warmly and nodded her head… "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."
"Really?" I questioned
"Yes!" she replied
Smiling at her warmly, I pressed my lips against hers, wrapping my arms around her waist as she locked her legs around my waist, the two of us only breaking apart when a few other tourists started to clap, snapping us from our trance…
I guess it was true what they say – Paris was definitely the city of love.
LONDON:
CAROLINE'S POV:
Stefan and I were sat in a waiting lounge in Paris Charles De Gaulle airport and I was still yet to find out where we were going next. Stefan had decided this was to be a secret for as long as possible this time…
"Please, Stefan," I begged "just tell me where we're going!"
Stefan grinned as our gate was called and handed me the envelope before picking up our bags…
"Let's see where we're going then." he replied as we made our way to the gate
I opened the envelope and was greeted with two tickets to London… "Are you serious?"
"Totally." he informed me
I smiled at him and rose onto my tiptoes to press my lips against his… "This is amazing."
"Well that's not the reaction I was expecting from the girl who hates surprises." he admitted
"Shut up and hurry up, or else we're going to miss our plane!" I proclaimed
We made our way through passport control and check in, my hand entwined with Stefan's as he guided me through. He took a seat in the waiting area and I sat on his lap, watching the big boards rapidly change as Stefan played with my hair…
"So what will we do in London?" I asked as I turned to face him
"Well there's all the sights," he replied "Big Ben, the London Eye, the Tower of London, the West End. I've booked for us to see a… Caroline, are you listening to me?"
"Um. The West End and something about an eye?" I questioned
"Okay, I'll let you off." he informed me "And I think it's our plane now."
Stefan and I were soon sat on the plane and I wrapped my hand around his arm as the pilot began to speak… "How long will it take to get to London?"
"An hour-and-a-half," he replied "two at most."
I smiled at him warmly and pressed my lips against his before sitting back in my seat, smiling to myself as I felt Stefan's hand entwine with mine and closed my eyes. London, here we come…
STEFAN'S POV:
Once Caroline and I had landed, we collected our luggage and made our way to the front of the airport where I hailed us a taxi and told him the hotel location. Sitting back as he began to set off, I watched Caroline as she stared in awe at the city as we drove through the streets…
"I take it you like your surprise then?" I asked, wrapping my arm around her shoulder
"I love it," she replied "I'm so glad we're able to do this together. Maybe one day we could travel the world?"
"We have forever." I informed her "So anything's possible. But let's just enjoy the here and now. There's Big Ben."
"It's magical!" she sighed
Half-an-hour later, our taxi pulled up outside our hotel and I noticed Caroline had her eyes closed. Smiling, I pressed my lips against hers…
"Hmm, that's nice." she whispered
"Time to wake up, I'm afraid, sleeping beauty." I informed her "We're here."
Helping her out of the taxi once she'd come to, I handed the taxi driver his fare and watched her face as she looked up at the hotel before us…
"The Savoy?" she questioned "Stefan, you didn't?"
"You deserve a little luxury, Caroline." I informed her as the door opened and our bags were took from me and placed onto a trolley
"Mr. Salvatore, Miss. Forbes," the concierge greeted us as we made our way into the hotel reception, both of us been handed a glass of champagne "if you'll follow me this way, your room is waiting for you."
I entwined my hand with Caroline's and followed the concierge through the hotel, smiling as I saw the look on Caroline's face that was worth any amount of money…
CAROLINE'S POV:
I was sad that mine and Stefan's few days in London were up, him having pulled out all the stops on this trip, making it as special as possible for me; for us. We took an open bus tour of the city, seeing some amazing sights along the way. On our first evening, after we'd recovered from the flight, we'd ate in the most beautiful restaurant. We'd also taken a trip on the London Eye, a river boat tour of the Thames and the most special part of all – Stefan had booked tickets for to see a show in the West End. We'd eaten out again and then had gone on to see Ghost, The Musical. It was perfect…
"Are you ready?" Stefan asked, resting his hand on my shoulder as I stared out of our hotel room window, admiring the view one last time
"Yeah," I replied, smiling as I turned to him "onto our next adventure."
ICELAND:
STEFAN'S POV:
The extreme cold made me feel like I was working hard to breathe, but this was the most exciting part of the trip. Caroline was gripping tightly to my arm as we ploughed through the snow – it was really hard to walk quickly when we were kitted out in as much of this winter clothing as we were. Caroline shivered slightly, her arms tightening around me. I grinned as I looked at her, only just been able to see her face peeking out from her fur lined hood…
"Are we still going dog sledding tomorrow?" she asked
"You really want to go, don't you?" I questioned
"Yeah, I do," she admitted "I want to see the huskies and you can't deny that you don't want to. Do you think we're far out enough?"
"We should be." I replied
I turned my head and saw that we were now at the top of the hill we'd been climbing, the only thing visible being the small glow of the lights from the town below. We'd been given directions to reach where we needed to be and here we were, all alone, out in the snow…
CAROLINE'S POV:
"Maybe we should've stayed in one of those glass igloo things…" I sighed
"Why?" Stefan questioned "Not cold, are you?"
"No!" I proclaimed
"Whatever you say." he replied, pressing his lips against my cheek before setting his bag on the ground, pulling out a huge blanket, laying it out on the snow covered ground
"I can't believe we're doing this." I admitted as we sat down
"Well we are." he informed me as he pulled me closer, wrapping another blanket around our shoulders so we were cocooned
I cuddled close to him and rested my head on his shoulder, the two of us looking up at the sky in silence, awaiting the light display. It was 10 minutes or so before anything happened, and I was almost dropping to sleep when Stefan nudged me…
"Caroline, look…" he whispered, pointing up at the sky
I looked up in time to see a shimmery green streak flutter cross the sky – colour rippled into life, bursting into different shades of green and blue, gentle waves moved across the sky as if by magic…
"It's beautiful." I replied
Stefan smiled at me warmly as I turned my head to him and took my hand under the blanket…
"I love you." he informed me
"I love you too." I mirrored
ITALY:
STEFAN'S POV:
"Welcome to my history!" I informed Caroline as we turned a corner onto a small alleyway "This is where my great, great grandfather lived. See this little shop? It was his. He owned a tailors."
Caroline let go of my hand and walked down the alleyway, removing her sunglasses as she examined the light brick walls… "I can't believe this is your heritage. Giuseppe and Margarete Salvatore. Wasn't your Dad called Giuseppe too?"
I moved over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind and rested my chin on her shoulder... "He was. He was named after his grandfather. I'm lucky I wasn't a Giuseppe as well."
Caroline turned in my embrace and wound her arms around my neck, her lips pressing against mine…"I'd still love you, but I prefer the name Stefan. So, where to now, old man?"
"Hey, less of the old, thank you!" I proclaimed "I thought we could go and have some lunch and then visit the Trevi fountain? You can throw in a coin and make a wish…"
"That sounds perfect," she replied "but I don't need a wish. I have everything I want right here."
CAROLINES POV:
After making our own pizzas and finishing up in the restaurant, Stefan and I made our way to the Trevi fountain. It was extremely busy and full of people rushing around, and I noticed Stefan was holding me closer to him, being extremely protective and shouting something in Italian every time any guy looked in my direction and couldn't help but smile and move closer to himself, the tension leaving his body every time I did so…
"What's so funny?" he asked as I laughed
"You," I informed him "you're so protective and dare I say it, jealous?"
"You're mine, Caroline," he replied "and everyone needs to know that. I don't like guys ogling you – you're not a piece of meat."
"Hey, you're the one I love, Stefan," I admitted "and even if any other guy was to sweep in and try to take me from you, I'd tell him with some choice words, that I'm yours. Now didn't you say something about making a wish?"
STEFAN'S POV:
Standing at the edge of the fountain, Caroline and I stood hand in hand looking into the water. We turned around so our backs were to the fountain and each held a coin in our hand…
"On three…" I informed her
"Wait!" she proclaimed "I don't know what to wish for!"
"Well according to legend, he who throws a coin in the fountain is guaranteed a return to the eternal city," I replied "throw in a second coin and you'll get a new romance."
"I think one coin is enough." she admitted
"Ready?" I asked "Make a wish, Caroline."
VEGAS (to get married):
CAROLINE'S POV:
"Vegas?" I questioned "Why do you want to go to Vegas?"
"Can't you guess?" Stefan asked
"Should I be able to?" I inquired
"What's Vegas most known for?" he questioned
"We're not getting married in Vegas!" I proclaimed "No! Not a chance!"
"Why not?" he asked
"I want to get married in front of our friends," I informed him "and I thought you'd want Damon to be your best man?"
"I do." he replied "But I also want to get married to you and don't want to have to wait for you to get into control freak/Bridezilla mode and plan it all down to the last detail."
"Bridezilla?" I asked "You're not fighting a very good case here, Salvatore."
"I just want to get married to you," he admitted "I don't want to wait to be able to call you Caroline Salvatore. I want you to be my wife."
I swallowed a lump in my throat and pursed my lips together as he spoke, nodding my head… "Okay."
"What?" he questioned
"Okay. We'll go to Vegas and get married." I informed him
"You're sure?" he asked
STEFAN'S POV:
"I now pronounce you man and wife," the registrar informed Caroline and me "you may kiss your bride."
I smiled at Caroline warmly and cupped her cheeks in my hands, pressing my lips against hers, smiling into her mouth as her body pushed against mine and her arms wound around my neck…
"Wanna head back to our hotel suite, Mrs. Salvatore?" I asked
"I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate, Mr. Salvatore." she replied
The end…