Disclaimer: Not mine, as much as I wish. A/N: Having a lot of fun converting my favourite movies into TVD fics. This one in particular has so many Steroline parallels it's not funny. And yes I decided to include Klaus in this because Klefaroline! For my dear friends Natalie & Paris on Twitter. Enjoy x
Leap Year
Caroline Forbes arranged some striped cushions on a very expensive lounge before ending her call to the Realtor. "Perfect." She smiled, standing back to give the room a once over, then checked her phone calendar. Today was the day her boyfriend of four years, Klaus Mikaelson had his medical conference. Caroline liked the idea of eventually becoming the wife of a Cardiologist. They were to meet for dinner after work and she grinned, thinking about the black velvet box she'd found in his sock drawer that morning, but couldn't bring herself to open it and ruin the surprise.
"There you are sweetheart, you look gorgeous." Klaus kissed her cheek before pouring her a glass of champagne. "I wanted to make sure everything was perfect." She tried not to look too excited, having made sure to wear her favourite purple dress for the occasion. He gave her a charming smile, his eyes twinkling and she picked at her nails nervously under the table, wondering how he would ask the big question - bended knee? Ring in her champagne? She couldn't see anything glinting beneath the fizzing bubbles.
Caroline pulled the menu closer, perusing the entrees and platters. She chose a noodle salad. Klaus caught the eye of a waiter. "Can we please get some herb bread for the table, and love, do you know what you want to eat?" They ordered dinner, and Klaus' phone buzzed on the table. Apparently the caller needed his valued opinion. Caroline waved off his apologies, aware of how important his job meant to him, and waited for him to send a text. She sipped her champagne, watching the waiters delivering plates to nearby tables.
Klaus made up for it, by choosing that moment to present the black box she had found earlier. "Klaus, you didn't have to-" she said, as he grinned, placing it in front of her. "Open it." He smiled, waiting. Caroline hoped he didn't noticed her hands shaking and opened the box. She stared at its contents. "You don't like them?" He began, worried. She sat in shock. It wasn't an engagement ring like she had hoped, but two beautiful diamond earrings. "T-they're beautiful," she sent him a smile.
"Why don't you put them on?" Klaus suggested, looking down at his buzzing blackberry. "I'm sorry, I should turn this off, but it's work." Caroline nodded, putting on her new earrings and trying to keep her disappointment from showing. She took another sip of champagne and blinked back tears. Klaus didn't notice, instead he groaned, still staring at his phone.
"I'm so sorry, they want me to come in, I've got to go, love. I'm so sorry." Klaus hesitated, smiling when Caroline brushed off his apology. "It's work." She shrugged. "I'll see you when you get home in a week. It's fine. You better run, you don't want to miss your flight!" He gave Caroline a goodbye kiss, making sure to leave some money to pay for dinner. "I love you," he said, pulling apart. His eyes soft with care. "Love you too," she whispered, sculling the rest of her drink and feeling stupid to assume the box would contain an engagement ring in the first place.
0o0o
Caroline scrolled through messages on her phone, stopping on one sent from her mum, Liz Forbes, about half an hour ago. She hadn't spoken to her in a while since they both had very busy jobs, but she had replied. I'll be there as soon as I can, baby. Caroline sighed, pushing back her chair when Liz Forbes found her. "I'm sorry I'm so late. You weren't leaving were you?"
"I was just going to the bar," Caroline lied, taking out her wallet. "What would you like?"
"Vodka?" Liz suggested with a smile, sitting down. A few minutes later Caroline returned with drinks. "So tell me again, what happened?" Liz stirred the ice in her vodka orange. Caroline fingered her new earrings, which Liz noticed with a sigh. When her daughter had finished, Liz offered her some advice. "You know, Ireland, that's where I went to propose to your dad, on leap year. Maybe you could do the same? You love him, don't you?"
Caroline snorted into her drink, wiping away the excess with her napkin, and ignoring the strange look from the waiter who had just refilled their water jug. "Of course I do, but..." Liz put down her drink, her own wedding band glinting beneath the restaurant lights. "You've been together four years, that's a perfectly acceptable time frame in my book - you just need to have the guts to do it. If you really love him, then why not follow him to Ireland and tell him how you feel?" Caroline didn't answer, thinking the idea ludicrous.
0o0o
If Caroline had known before leaving for Ireland that the odds were against her, she might have reconsidered: staying home beneath her doona to watch Grey's Anatomy. The last minute flight she had managed to book had diverted its course from Ireland to Wales, because of a storm. Nobody but a small tug boat was willing to take her to where she wanted to go, and by the time the storm had ended, she had walked about 500 miles to enter a pub with four customers and a pessimistic bar manager, named Stefan Salvatore.
Caroline checked the time on her phone, dragging her Louis Vuitton suitcase over its faded green carpet and running her fingers through her drenched blonde hair. She ordered a vodka, and sat on the bar stool aware of the many eyes on her. "Excuse me, could you point me to the nearest taxi service?" she stammered. The barman chewed on a toothpick, a man of few words. He put down her drink, pointing to an old telephone at the back of the pub, and slid a card with a number on it.
It turned out, that it was some trick the locals played on newcomers. She tried not to take it personally. The barman smirked, hanging up the phone. Caroline pointed at him. "You are also the taxi service?" He nodded. "Well, I'd like you to take me to Dublin, please." The locals laughed, and the barman wiped down the bar with no intention to do as she requested. "I'll pay you, I'll pay you take me there." She rifled through her wallet, having gained his attention. "500 bucks!" she said.
"It's bad luck to start a journey on Sunday," one of the locals advised her. Caroline sighed, it was getting late, and she had been travelling all day and needed something to eat. "Our Stefan's a chef, why don't you stay upstairs, and he'll make you a ham sandwich." She agreed, much to the barman's annoyance. "Then he'll take you where you want to go, tomorrow. Won't you?" Caroline thanked the older gentleman with a smile.
Stefan grunted and disappeared into the kitchen. Rude, she thought, raising her thin eyebrows while the nice man encouraged her to follow him up the back stairs and into a small room with a bed and a closet. "Make yourself comfortable, Stefan will be along shortly with your sandwich."
Caroline introduced herself, discovering the man's name was Alaric Saltzman, he was a friend of Stefan's. Caroline closed the door, pulling out her phone charger and wondering where Klaus was spending his evening. Having trouble with the power point, she attacked the bed frame which felt like it was stuck to the wall. Dislodging it after five minutes, Caroline was sent flying into the bedside lamp, where she knocked it right off. She clambered over the opposite side of the bed, and managed to plug it in. Zap!
Screaming Caroline felt a stinging jolt of electricity shoot up her arm, sending her back against the closet which she found had not been attached to the wall. It fell forward, emptying its contents: blankets and photo frames onto her head. Below, Stefan looked up at the dust settling on his kitchen bench, the ham sandwich on a plate in his hand. "Women," he murmured, picking up a torch, and telling his other guests, that he'd turn the fuse box back on when he'd dealt with their guest. Alaric smiled, taking a sip of bourbon and knowing the world as Stefan knew it was about to change.
Caroline hovered her phone light over the photo frame she now held and saw Stefan standing next to a woman with long brown hair and another man she presumed was his brother, because they had the same nose. The door opened, and Stefan flicked the bedroom lightswitch on and off, clearly annoyed. He groaned. "What the hell did you do?!" Caroline blamed the black out on the stupid power point. His torch light shone over her, stopping on the photo she had been staring at. "Don't touch things that don't belong to you!" He snapped, leaving Caroline alone with a ham sandwich.
0o0o
The next morning, Stefan pulled open the boot of his red 1963 Porsche, biting back retorts when Caroline asked him to make sure her suitcase was restrained, because it was a designer brand. "There you are, Louis." Stefan chucked it inside, ignoring her request, and trying to only think of the money she had promised him in return to getting her to Ireland before the 29th February. "So, why are you so determined to get to Dublin?" Stefan asked, turning on the car engine.
Caroline told him her family tradition, and when Stefan began to giggle, chewing on his egg and bacon roll, and sounding genuinely interested, Caroline smiled, not really sure why he found it so funny until he said: "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" and Caroline narrowed
her eyes. "If your boyfriend wanted to propose, he would have done it already! Trust me." Stefan chortled over the steering wheel while Caroline fumed silently in the passenger seat.
"No, it's not!" She snatched his bun, throwing it out car window and laughing at his shocked face. Stefan retaliated by putting on his cassette tape - rock music blasting. He smirked at her pouting expression. She ejected the tape and threw it out the window. "Nobody touches the music!" Much to Caroline's dismay, Stefan parked the car and ran down the street to retrieve it. Whilst he acted so childishly she had screamed: "You're a cynic, a lonely, bitter, cynic!" Luckily the country road was completely deserted, it didn't matter how loud she screamed, nobody would know.
"Better than an idjit." Caroline's mouth dropped open in outrage. How dare he, even...
"I'm not paying you to talk," she snapped, clearly affronted.
"Suits me, bob," Stefan said, slamming his car door shut. Caroline slammed her own door, looking out at the road where a group of cows had congregated, eating the grass on the side of the road. Stefan gripped the steering wheel, seething silently.
"Oh, I don't have time for this!" Caroline huffed, shoving open the door to shoo them away in her expensive heels. "If you know what's good for you, you'll move!" She said, waving her arms about. Stefan swung open his car door with a sigh, and leaned over the top of it to watch and mock her.
"It will be a real shock to find out you speak fluent cow," he yelled, while she rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, they're moving now - must be your personality," he muttered. Caroline chose to ignore him, walking back to his red car. "You might want to watch your step. Too late."
Caroline sighed, looking down to see she had stepped in a cow pat. Could her day get any worse?! "Put them in the wash, they'll be grand," Stefan shrugged off. She picked off the cow pat with a nearby stick. "These are $600 shoes..." she hissed, leaning against the front of the car. She slipped, sending the old piece of junk backwards. Stefan's eyes widened in surprise, anger and fear.
"What did you do?!" he yelled.
Caroline caught her balance, watching his car roll back down the hill, faster and faster. She watched Stefan sprinting after it. H dove onto its bonnet. "Baby, I've got you!" he cursed, losing his grip and standing back to watch it hurl down into a ditch at the bottom of the hill. "Don't hurt yourself!" he called, stressed. She removed her heels and stopped just beside him. "You couldn't have just waited for the cows?" Stefan yelled, storming off in the other direction. Caroline narrowed her eyes.
She tried not to lose her cool, thinking about when she had last spoken to Klaus. She had rung him just before they'd left the pub to tell him she was in Ireland, and she was coming to surprise him. "I can't wait to see you, sweetheart. I love you," he'd said. Caroline smiled, looking at the long road ahead and stone walls beside them. A white van tooted and pulled along beside her. Stefan looked back over his shoulder hearing voices and began to run back to her.
"Do you need a lift somewhere?" the driver asked, eyeing her trench coat and suitcase and giving her a charming smile. She nodded. "Yes please, I'm going to Dublin," she said brightly. The man got out of his car, rolling up at down on his heels. "Dublin, that's a fine place. Let me help you with that suitcase." Caroline turned to Stefan, and smirked. "Well, I guess this is where we part our ways, thank you so much for your help." Stefan watched the driver open the side door and throw her suitcase in where two other men sat. When Caroline went to get in the van, it drove off with her suitcase. "Wait! Wait!"
"You could have done something!" Caroline hissed as she rubbed the soles of her feet, sitting in another pub they'd found after an hour or two of walking. Stefan had spoken with the owner and used the phone to find the nearest mechanic to fix his car, she had broken. Caroline picked up her beer, taking a swig, and imagining what it would have been like if everything had gone perfectly. She and Klaus would be in his hotel room, eating strawberries and drinking champagne, maybe even sharing a bubble bath - and she would propose, and he'd say 'yes' and they'd get married in an Irish pub somewhere and buy their dream apartment with a white picket fence.
"I have to pee," Caroline said, as Stefan paid for her drink and went to play a round of pool with the manager. His eyes caught her half way to the loo, hovering outside the next room as though she'd seen a ghost. Caroline had seen her suitcase on top of a table with the three thieves making fun of her naivety and tossing her belongings between them, one even wore her favourite knickers on his head. Caroline swallowed, trembling and walked right inside, with Stefan's eyes still on her, determined to get her stuff back.
"Excuse me, but that is mine, and I'd like it back," she said. The driver smirked, getting up from his chair. "And what're you going to do about it?" The other two surrounded her, but she stood her ground. One of them reached out and pulled the zip down from her trench coat. She gasped, closing her eyes, and suddenly a yell brought her to open them. Stefan had collided with one of them, shoving him back onto the table, as his two friends came to back up the third. Caroline tossed her clothes back inside her suitcase, zipping it up. She couldn't just leave though, so she picked up her curling iron, grimacing at the thought of breaking it and thumped one of the guys with it.
"That's what I'm going to do." Caroline smiled at Stefan's amused grin. He blocked the second man's punch and kicked him in the stomach, sending him back to Caroline where she clobbered him with her curling iron. The driver saw his two friends groaning on the floor, and narrowed his eyes. Stefan picked up a pool stick, twirled it around and knocked him out with the end of it. "Thanks," she said, slightly impressed. "You too," he said, wiped the blood from his fists onto his blue shirt, and hurried her out the door, picking up her suitcase when she had trouble getting through the doorway.
"Must be something special, you're fellow," he asked as they walked down the endless road. Caroline looked up. "Oh, Klaus, yes, he is. How far is it to Dublin now?" she said, still carrying her broken hair curler, its cord hanging down and dragging along the road behind her. "It's a few bob." She raised her eyebrows. "Cash, money, you know?" she smiled, finally understanding the nickname he'd given to her earlier. He kicked a few loose stones, sending them into the ditch.
When they'd walked to the nearest train station, the train master told them they were early by 2 hours and 33 minutes. Caroline was used to things not going her way by now. She sat down on the seat, determined to sit it out. Stefan sat down next to her. After a few minutes of silence, he pointed to the BallyShannon castle on the green hillside in front of them. "It's worth seeing," he hinted, and eventually his romantic stories of myths and legends, enticed her, and she agreed.
"I have other interests besides shopping. I have a life, a job. I stage apartments," Caroline snapped in reply to a comment Stefan made about her. He walked up the rocky outcrop, and she hastened to keep up with him. "That's when somebody is selling a place or a home, I make it beautiful..." she added when he raised his eyebrows. She gasped, gathering her breath. He turned around, a big grin on his face. "You're a con artist." He laughed, running up the hill.
Caroline chased after him. "That's typical of you! You think the worst of everybody." Stefan stopped running, his cheeks flushed, and a laugh still visible on his lips. "Just listen to me, if your house was on fire, and you had 60 seconds - what would you take?" Caroline didn't like how he always changed the subject whenever the conversation turned personal."The bottled of alcohol in your pub are exploding, what would you grab?" She grabbed her left side which had a stitch. Stefan made a face, and walked on without answering. "You can dish by you can't take it, can you?"
Caroline finally reached the entrance to the old castle, impressed by its beauty and scenery. She could see the green paddocks and hills, the cows they had passed, and some sheep in the distance, and even a few lakes and rivers nearby. She caught her breath, and Stefan waited on a nearby stairwell she eyed with caution. "It's safe, come on-" Without waiting for her ok, Stefan grabbed her hand, leading the way. She should have seen it all coming, she thought as he recited a story about a princess and her secret lover. Caroline began to question his ulterior motives.
"Oh my god, you're hitting on me?" she breathed, shocked. Stefan looked puzzled. "Huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm the young woman on the eve of her engagement that couldn't resist a stranger...?" Stefan raised his hands, shaking his head. "Caroline, I'm not hitting on you, you've got it all wrong." He couldn't take it back now, she saw right through him. She smiled until large droplets of rain spilled down on them.
Caroline heard the train. "Shit!" Stefan murmured as Caroline sprinted down the castle stairs as though her life depended on it. He chased her, telling her they'll make it, despite her thinking the total opposite and knowing this time, it was entirely his fault. Her suitcase and her clothes were probably getting soaked at the station where she had left them, and in her haste she tripped, rolling down the hill and into her own ditch. She rose her head, about to cry as she had ruined her dress.
"Well, that sped things up a bit," Stefan said, as she glared up at him. He offered his hand out.
Caroline and Stefan arrived back to the station, soaked through and mud induced. She felt a wreck, miserable on the inside and out. "In the old days I could have held it, but now it's time and money these days. We'll get you to where you want to go. Forecast says it's sunny." The train master smiled at Caroline, and whistled for his border collie, who barked and danced in the rain. At least somebody's enjoying themselves, she signed. She heard Stefan pulling her suitcase along the cobblestones behind her and imagined herself snuggled beneath warm blankets, Klaus' lips buried against the nape of her neck.
The rain eventually drizzled away, and they arrived at a nice Bed & Breakfast, where the train master introduced them to his wife. "I just had some backpackers wanting to stay here - not married - so I sent them packing!" She finished setting the large wooden table in front of them, and Stefan and Caroline exchanged alarmed looks. "So, you are?" the squat woman asked while her husband put his coat behind the kitchen door.
"O'Grady-Callaghan," Caroline and Stefan answered awkwardly with fake names.
"We're newly married," Stefan rubbed her arm. "We're hoping to have a son and heir someday."
"Let's get you to your room," their hostess eventually chirped, as Caroline hissed at him to shut up.
"Would you like a hand with that bag, pumpkin?" Stefan called, hurrying after his 'wife' who showed she was very capable of doing it, herself. The cottage was cosy and warm, and everything Caroline had wished for. When their host had left, Caroline and Stefan stared at their double bed.
"Well, you're not sleeping in that bed, Mr Callahan." She put her hands on her hips.
"Welcome to the age of equality," Stefan smirked, making himself comfortable on the quilt covers.
"We'll flip for it," Caroline pulled out a coin. They flip for it and Caroline loses to a gleeful Stefan.
"You can sleep in the bath," he grins. She pulls back the curtain to find only a shower. She pouts.
"You can sleep in the shower," he repeats, still grinning. Caroline sighs, narrowing her eyes.
"Fine, as long as I don't have to sleep anywhere near you." Stefan leans against the headboard.
Caroline takes a shower, turning on the hot water and singing to herself. She brushes the lavender soap all over her body and between her thighs, removing crusty bits of mud that'd dried to her skin. She massages the soap into her blond hair, daydreaming Klaus in the shower with her. She missed feeling his stubble against her cheeks; his arms tight around her waist. She missed those sweet names he reserved only for her: 'sweetheart' and 'love' but most of all she missed his tender kisses against her neck and his comforting hand around her waist -
Stefan watched her through the see-through curtain, amused by her initial dance moves and taken by the way her hands slowly massaged the soap into her wet skin. He couldn't bring himself to look away. When she eventually flew back the curtain and stormed over to him, he thought he was done for. "Get up, I didn't lose the bet at all, liars forfeit. Go take a shower, you stink." He put up with her expelling him from the bed and began to laugh, unable to keep his secret to himself.
"Nah-uh, you can see through the curtain!" he ran his hand through his brown hair, smirking.
"No, you couldn't?" His expression convinced her of the contrary. She gaped, tugging her white towel tighter around her, water still dripping from her body. Stefan disappeared into the shower, taking off his shirt before he'd even stepped inside. Caroline fussed about her belongings, her curling iron she must have left behind at the train station, not that it worked anymore. She tried not to peek through the shower curtain and checked her calendar for the hundredth time. They had one more day to get to Dublin.
"I hope you don't mind tripe, but it's on the menu tonight." Their hostess called through the door.
"Why don't you let me cook tonight? It's the least we can do!" Stefan called from the shower. Caroline accidently looked up to see him cleaning his teeth, shirtless, at the basin. She reassured their hostess it would be fun, and they could make plenty for the other guests as well. As she lost herself to Stefan's abs, Caroline walked straight into the door.
0o0o
"Three medium sized carrots," Caroline muttered to herself as she sat in the vegetable garden comparing the sizes of the carrots near her. Stefan watched her struggle with a cocked eyebrow. He made an impatient snort. "I don't think there's anything wrong in wanting to be precise," Caroline snapped at him. Stefan helped himself to some leeks. "Here's an idea, stop trying to control everything!" He picked up some dirty potatoes and put them into her basket.
"Heard that one before," she quipped, flicking the dirt from her cleaned carrots.
"Well, maybe you should listen?" Stefan hissed, returning with some onions.
Caroline caught his eye, pursing her lips together. He sighed, opening the gate to the chicken coop.
"It'll all work out in the end, trust me." He caught a chicken, and Caroline admired its cuteness, having never grown up picking her own vegetables, or cooking homemade meals from scratch, unless they were wrapped in alfoil and microwavable. "You're not a vegetarian, are you?" She looked up, seeing him break the chicken's neck in one sudden move.
Caroline wiped away a fresh tear. Leaving abruptly and carrying her basket of vegetables back inside the house. "Give me strength," Stefan murmured, carrying the chicken inside. "I wonder, where is it you think chickens come from?" he said whacking it onto a board. Caroline winced, giving him a sigh. "The freezer section?" she grimaced. He began to pluck the chicken's feathers making her look away. "You just surprised me. You keep doing that," she wondered what her mother would say, if she knew she was learning how to cook.
Stefan worked on the chicken, while Caroline cut up the vegetables. She'd never made coq au vin in her life, but she liked saying it, as Stefan soon found... at every opportunity. She found that Stefan was very good at chopping onions, like a professional chef. While dinner was cooking, she went to set the table, making sure to impress their hosts, and convince Stefan she was good at her job.
"Not too shabby," Stefan said as he carried the pot of chicken to the table where the other guests sat, eager to tuck in. The train master sat at the head of the table, his wife at the other end. They cracked open a bottle of Chardonnay, and Caroline took the soup spoon from Stefan, aware of the way his eyes lit up curiously, when she smiled.
Somehow, after they'd finished discussing politics, literature and the weather, Caroline and Stefan uncomfortably watched the other couples PDA around the table. "That's what it takes to be married for 44 years - always kiss like it's the first time or the last time." The train master and his wife agreed. "Come on, son, show us how it's done." Caroline waved her hand. "Oh it's fine, we did it earlier," she dismissed. "Come on, you're in the company of friends." Caroline took a rather large gulp of wine.
Stefan dropped his napkin to one side, turning in his seat. Caroline couldn't believe he was seriously contemplating their request. Suddenly she felt his lips barely graze the side of her cheek. She patted him awkwardly against his skivvy, and took another gulp of wine. Apparently that didn't pass as a real kiss. "Damn it, kiss the girl!" The four of them demanded. Caroline put down her glass, blushing.
Stefan caressed her face gently, directing her head towards him. His eyes hovered curiously over hers. She gasped when his lips tasted hers. She yearned for more, eyes shut tight, while Stefan exhaled, slowly gathering her lips like sand in a toy bucket.
Caroline melted against him, tasting a mixture of stock and wine and opening her mouth wider so her tongue brushed the top of his lip. He pulled away, untangling his hands from her hair, leaning against his chair in silence. Caroline blinked, burying her nose inside her wine glass and avoiding Stefan's gaze. "Newlyweds indeed." The Italian husband smirked, finishing his last mouthful.
0o0o
Caroline and Stefan excused themselves before a game of poker became strip poker, much to the disappointment of their hosts. Caroline fake yawned, wishing them a good night and praying the walls were thick. Stefan let her go up to bed, washing the remaining pots and pans in the kitchen. When he'd climbed the old staircase for bed, it dawned on him that he didn't have one.
Stefan pushed open the door to find Caroline getting changed into her pajamas. "Don't you ever knock?" she hissed. His eyes travelled over her blue laced bra, and at that angle, he could see most of her chest. He coughed, turning around to avoid more abuse and asked if she'd mind them sharing the bed. It was too cold a night to be sleeping in a wet shower. "One snore, and you're back in there," she pulled her blue nightie over her head, removing her bra out her sleeve.
Caroline pulled down the covers opposite to where he sat, kicking off his boots and grey socks. "Thank you for coming this far with me," she admitted, climbing beneath the linen covers. Stefan hauled the blankets up to his chin. "$675, that's how much it'll cost to get to Dublin." She hadn't expected his response to be all about the money - but she should've known. In a huff, Caroline rolled over and closed her eyes.
Stefan reached out to turn off the lamp, now wasn't the time to admit that he may be falling for her. She was off to marry some other guy. In an old fashioned way, the whole concept of her proposing to her boyfriend was sort of cute. He told his other voice to shut it, when he instantly pictured himself in Klaus' shoes.
The next morning, Stefan woke with his arms around Caroline. She slept soundly, but he needed to get organized for their road trip. Caroline woke at the sound of the door shutting, and brushed her bed hair from her eyes. She picked up her buzzing phone. It was her beau. "We got the apartment! They just told me. Tell me you're not far, sweetheart. I miss you!" Caroline smiled into her phone.
"I miss you too, Klaus. I should be there in a few hours if it all goes to plan," she looked over at the impression in her bed from where Stefan had been. "Everything is working out for us." Stefan had forgotten his watch on the bedside table. He overheard her conversation with Klaus removing his fist from the door and backing away.
Caroline skipped down the stairs to the kitchen where she found Stefan and the train master discussing transport. "I'm sorry, but there's no trains on Sundays." Stefan sighed, spotting her in the doorway, and giving her a smile. "I guess, we're walking." Caroline thanked their hosts and pulled her suitcase outside, walking with her head held high. It was only a matter of hours before she could see Klaus, and go through with her original plan.
They were walking down the centre of the road when Caroline felt something hard hit her in the back of her cream coloured trench coat. Having ignored the first one, Caroline could not ignored the second or third. "Would you stop it!" she snapped to a bewildered Stefan, who had been following in her wake for the last hour, his hands deep in his pockets. She noticed him flinch as something hard hit him in the head. They looked up to the sky in unison.
"Hail stones!" Stefan yelled, pulling his coat collar high - Caroline wondered what that was going to do but was relieved to find he hadn't been throwing stones at her all this time. Excited by their current predicament, Caroline giggled and squealed when the hail came down heavier and faster. "I've got Louis, it's alright." Stefan picked up her suitcase and encouraged her up a stone path and into what they had hoped was a vacant church until the storm passed over.
"Is there any reason as to why you object to this wedding?" the priest at the altar announced to a shocked Stefan and Caroline, who had slammed the doors to the church without realizing there was a wedding in progress. "I'm sure they know what they're doing." Stefan waved at the young couple in front of them. Caroline hid her smile between her wet hands. The real newlyweds didn't throw them from their wedding, but in true Irish hospitality invited them to join them. The Priest even offered to give them a ride into Dublin after the wedding. It seemed her luck was changing.
Caroline poured herself two glasses of champagne and found Stefan sitting at a table near to the bride and groom. He seemed sullen all of a sudden. "I hate weddings," he grumbled. She shushed him, listening to the bride's inspiring speech to her husband, who looked in admiration back at her. "May you never steal, lie or cheat. If you must steal, then steal away my sorrows; if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life; and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn't live a day without you."
A teary-eyed Caroline smiled into her champagne glass, while Stefan leaned back in his chair and scrolled through his phone messages. She tried not to let it bother her, but eventually his attitude pushed her over the edge. "How can you hate weddings? Because people in love...? That's so offensive to you? You're clearly not married, and obviously haven't been engaged..." Stefan sculled his drink. "Actually, I have, once," he said.
Caroline remembered the photograph she had found in his wardrobe. She wondered what his relationship had been to the girl in the photo. Stefan excused himself from the table, complaining he needed some peace. She followed him down the garden path to a nearby lake. "You want to talk about it?" she pulled pulling a stray strand of blond hair from her mouth.
"Listen Bob, we're not in America now. You're in Ireland, so have a drink and shut up."
"I was just trying to help," Caroline huffed, turning her attention on a duck in the lake. Stefan snorted. "Help? That's hilarious! You're making the most important decision of your life based on a myth which is a load of poo," Stefan grumbled. She frowned, glaring at him, and remember why it was she didn't like him. "IT'S NOT A LOAD OF POO!" Caroline yelled, defending her decision to propose to Klaus, and feeling a little hurt that Stefan still didn't support her decision after everything they had been through. She stalked off back to the marquee where she hoped there was some still some cake left. Stefan shook his head, he kicked a loose stone beneath the picnic chair, watching it fly into the lake and knew he would have to do something big to make it up to her, but for now, he would sulk.
0o0o
Caroline leaned against the black marbled bar, downing different flavoured shots and chatting to the sassy waitress serving drinks. "You can call me, Katherine." The girl grinned, dropping a maraschino cherry in the bottom of Caroline's vodka glass. "Who's the guy?" Caroline didn't feel like opening her soul and Katherine didn't persist. Instead she said, "I bet he feels like a right tool." Caroline agreed. Katherine put down the vodka bottle, eyeing an awkward looking Stefan. "Yep, I'm going to let you two talk." She winked at Caroline, and went to pour some drinks at the other end of the bar where a young college student had been flirting with her.
"Look, I'm not good at weddings," Stefan mumbled, looking at his feet. Caroline looked at the two vodka martinis Katherine had left behind. "It'll be better with a couple of these." He smiled, eyeing her already tipsy stance and taking the second shot glass from her. After they'd both drank them, Caroline watched the bride and groom dancing. The music was loud and a few girls played the fiddle, tapping their boots around the stage. Stefan glanced at her, deciding at her pursed lips that this was his chance to make things right. "Dance with me!" he grinned.
Caroline cocked her right eyebrow, staring at his open palm with a suspicious expression. He rolled his eyes, pointing at all the other guests laughing and dancing behind him. "Do you never let your hair down, woman?" She contemplated the thrill of the dance, and he grinned when she agreed at his request. He pulled her into the centre of the circle where Caroline noticed Katherine beside her, the college boy looking pretty chuffed. "You're only young once!" Katherine shrugged with a laugh.
Stefan led the way through the circle of encouraging dances, making everything look easy. They weaved in and out, twirled this way and that, and then the music gradually got faster, and the laughter and singing increased. Caroline wiped her untidy hair from her eyes, gathering her breath, as they waited their turn. Stefan passed her to college boy, while he danced with Katherine, and she realized she had not had this much fun in a long time. Stefan smirked to himself, seeing the light in her eyes. Her laughter gave him life until her shoe slipped off her foot and hit the bride in the face.
"Shit," Stefan murmured, watching as Caroline went to apologise to the young bride. "I'm so sorry, let me help you..." she reached out to put some ice in a napkin and knocked over the bride's red wine, all over her wedding dress. Her aghast expression was enough for Stefan to act. Whatever good intentions she had, now every forgiving bone in the bride's body was gone. Caroline didn't even bother telling Stefan to let her go - so much for her luck changing, she thought to herself.
Caroline sat against the uncomfortable stones by the lake, staring at the enormous moon on the horizon padded by some dark grey clouds. On the way leaving the church, Katherine had handed her a bottle the vodka, as though she knew it was the perfect cure. Stefan took off his jacket and propped it over her shivering shoulders. She had no idea where she had left her trench coat, but she wished she had it to put over her legs. "Aren't you supposed to be taking me to Dublin?" she asked.
Stefan had not expected to meet drunk-Caroline on their road trip. He had requested she let her hair down but not to this extent. He sighed, listening to her rambling. "You know what Stefan?" she reared her head back, stumbling onto all fours, and swatted his hands away when he attempted to help her up. "You know what you are?" He could smell half the bottle of vodka on her breath, and held out his arms in case she were to fall. "You're a beast..." Caroline hissed, inches from his chin. A small gasp left her lips as she pressed her hand softly against his chest, all thoughts of Klaus vanished. Stefan's heart beat rapidly as he enjoyed the feel of her touch, although a small part of him knew he shouldn't, for the sake of her man, Klaus. "I cannot stand you," Caroline said. He still didn't say anything, yearning to kiss her again. "But you know what? I'm onto you."
She poked him in the chest. "Is that right?" he murmured, humoured by her evaluations of his personality. Caroline nodded, swaying backwards a little. He grabbed her arms worried she really was going to fall, and she was now even closer still. "All your beastliness, it's all an act... you growl, but you are in pain..." her lips were so close. Stefan leaned his head just a little forwards. Almost. Caroline shoved him away, retching and throwing up all over her own shoes.
"That's romantic," Stefan sighed. He looked down at her.
She rolled over onto her side, losing her hands amongst the pebbles, his jacket sliding down her shoulders. Stefan sidestepped her vomit, ignoring the smell. He rolled his eyes, not exactly wanting their second kiss to go the way it had, but now wasn't the time. She needed him. "God, you're a lump." His voice strained under her weight, but she fit easily in his arms, and buried her blond head beneath his chin. Her arm flapped hopelessly around for her suitcase.
"Don't worry about Louis, I'll get him," Stefan reassured her.
0o0o
Caroline heard seagulls and children playing soccer nearby. She rubbed her eyes, opening them to find herself laying against Stefan's lap, her feet curled up on the end of the chair, where he must have brought her to wait out the bus. She still wore his jacket, smiling until memories of last night came to her. There had been lots of vodka, dancing, disaster with her shoe, and then, did she..? Did they...? Caroline sniffed the air, looking down at her shoes which were beneath the seat.
"Ugh," she held her nose. Deciding to discard them, and rolled carefully off the chair so as not to wake her friend, and laying his jacket over his lap to keep him warm. She wheeled her suitcase after her, dodging puddles with her bare feet and entered a nearby cafe, hoping to buy some bus tickets and a few hot coffees. The sun shone above, and Caroline felt excited that they were only a bus ride away from Dublin. She smiled at a boy and girl, kicking their soccer ball back to them and wanting one of the delicious pastries in the cafe's window.
By the time Caroline returned, skipping joyously and humming 'Oh! What a beautiful morning!' from the musical, Oklahoma, Stefan had awoken but he stood with his hands on his head, staring after the retreating bus, clearly disappointed. Caroline smirked to herself, wheeling her suitcase back to their seat. Stefan heard the familiar sound of 'Louis' and grinned when she waved two tickets in the air.
"I got us breakfast!" she announced.
The bus came after about half an hour of waiting, and Caroline fell asleep on Stefan's warm shoulder while he thought about the reason he left Dublin. He thought of the photograph he'd caught Caroline with the night she'd walked into his pub: his fiancé, Elena Gilbert and his brother, Damon Salvatore. It had been at least a year since he'd actually spoken to either of them. He glanced down at Caroline, foreign to the feeling in his chest. It wasn't anything like he had felt before with Elena, it was almost something better. He looked out at the blurred scenery, using the end of his left sleeve to wipe the fog from the window, thinking of how he saw everything in a different light now.
"She's here, isn't she? That girl from the photograph." Caroline and Stefan had finally arrived in Dublin, and were taking a stroll across a quaint little bridge that reminded Caroline of the one in Mary Poppins, well, in Burt's chalk painting, she assured him. Stefan took her word for it. He stopped at the middle, leaning against the wall, to watch the ducks swimming beneath them, and pulled out a similar crinkled photograph to the one she had seen in his room.
Caroline leaned beside him. "So her, and him?" He nodded. "Oh, I'm so sorry..." He was surprised to find it didn't hurt as much anymore, thinking about their affair. "I thought we were mad for each other...apparently not." Caroline squeezed his arm, and leaned her head against him, in a sort of half hug. He smiled, enjoying her company. She looked up suddenly. "I suppose, I should pay you?"
"I suppose so," Stefan mumbled, though he wasn't even sure he wanted the money, really. Caroline pulled out her wallet, and her credit card. "I just have to find an ATM," she told him.
0o0o
Caroline and Stefan stood in the foyer of where her boyfriend Klaus Mikaelson was having his medical conference. Stefan smiled, digging his hands into his jacket pocket, and watching her stalling their goodbye, like she wanted to say something more, but couldn't find the right words.
"So..." he started.
"So, here." Caroline gave him a wad of cash.
"Nah, it's okay," Stefan said, shaking his head. "Tell you what, why don't you just give me that one bob. The one we flipped for the bed." He grinned, holding out his hand. Caroline smiled, rolling her eyes, but she handed it to him, and whispered. "Liar." He closed his fingers around it, and knew he'd treasure it for the rest of his days. It meant more to him than the $675 they had initially agreed on. He would just have to find another way to save the pub on his own terms, he thought.
"Well, best of luck! So long 'Louis'!" Stefan waved to her suitcase, and flipped the one bob for luck in case this Klaus Mikaelson didn't show, but as he reached the exit, and turned back for one more look at Caroline who brought light to his darkness, she also looked back at him. "Stefan?" He smiled, jogging back to her but another voice and running feet, distracted her. "Caroline, over here!" Stefan knew he'd lost his chance. He swallowed, still standing awkwardly as Klaus Mikaelson joined them.
Klaus picked her up, kissing her cheeks, nose and lingering on her mouth for what Stefan felt was the longest time. He averted his eyes, and Caroline didn't know what to say. She smiled and Klaus looked between her and Stefan, confused at what he wanted. "Did you tip him?" Klaus asked, taking out his wallet. Caroline was shaken out of her silence. "Oh it's fine, yes. This is...my friend, Stefan." Stefan grimaced, shaking hands with the boyfriend he'd heard so much about.
Klaus's hand wrapped itself around Caroline's waist. "This lady is not big on adventure," he chuckled. Caroline's cheeks blushed which Stefan noticed, he wished he could have corrected Klaus, having just seen her survive a pretty big adventure. "Nice to meet you, brother. Thanks for getting her home safe." He turned back to Caroline. "I really missed you, and it got me thinking, why aren't we married?" Stefan caught her surprised look. Klaus grinned, and bended his knee. "Caroline Forbes, will you marry me?" Her eyes looked back to where Stefan had been standing seconds before, and she saw the door bounce back on its hinges. "Sweetheart, aren't you supposed to give me an answer?" Klaus' smile faltered, and she looked back at the ring he showed off in a black box, just like the one she had seen the night he'd left for the conference. It seemed like a million years ago.
"Yes, of course!" Caroline said, letting Klaus insert the ring onto her ring finger, and hearing the guests in the foyer applauding around her as he kissed her. Klaus hurried her to their hotel room where he had Moet champagne waiting, and probably rose petals, because he knew her so well, but Caroline had vowed to herself she wouldn't drink any alcohol for another ten mo-five we- two days, tops. She couldn't help but think that everything was going super fast, and yet her internal voice questioned: isn't this exactly what you wanted?
0o0o
Stefan sat in a pub much like his own, but this one had a working kitchen, and a lot more customers. He picked at the salted potato chips he'd squashed between two slices of bread - there were no ham sandwiches on this menu - so he'd had to improvise. He chewed one bite, tapping his hand against his beer, and annoying the 'poo' out of the barman, he chuckled to himself, hearing Caroline's voice in his head, and the many fights or bickering matches they'd had on their adventures.
"Who's the girl?" Elena Gilbert sat on the bar stool next to him. Stefan's smile faded, when he looked over his shoulder to see Damon skulking near the pub door. Elena sighed. "Thank you for calling." Stefan drank the dregs of his beer, and pushed away his chip sandwich. "I didn't do it for you." Damon caught his tone, and stepped outside. Elena squeezed Stefan's arm. "It's good to see you." Stefan sighed, wondering if he'd made the right choice. His pub was going to be repossessed if he didn't pay what he owed to the union. It was a large sum of money, and well, he had intended on asking his brother for help, but now, seeing him - he couldn't bring himself to ask.
"I forgive you," Stefan called out when Elena got up to leave. "I'll tell Damon you said that." Stefan looked over at the pool table. He smiled, remembering when he and Caroline had worked as a team to get her stuff back. He returned back to the Salvatore Boarding house and asked his regulars and Alaric to rally as many of their friends together to support his pub, which he planned on turning into a restaurant. "You're short." The irritable union manager snapped. Stefan sighed, but Alaric pulled out his entire savings. "Not by much," and he gave Stefan a wink. Soon after, the rest of the public had his back, raising double of what he had saved. He thought of Caroline, and hoped she had found happiness.
0o0o
Caroline was in the kitchen of her new apartment. It had been weeks since her engagement and Bonnie, her best friend was chatting to Klaus about how they came to own such a lovely place. He put down his champagne glass, and she overheard him say. "It was kind of a packaged deal. The residents are old fashioned - and I sort of blurted out that Caroline and I were getting married soon, and well, that's how it happened, and I don't really know why we waited so long, anyway."
Klaus looked over to Caroline, and gave her a warm smile. She gripped the marbled bench space, almost suffering from air loss. She knew Klaus didn't mean it the way it had sounded, because Klaus did love her, and this was exactly what she wanted him to realize, she just wish he had asked her three years ago, and not four, because at least then, she knew she wanted to be his wife. Now, all she could think of was the 60 second emergency run, and when Klaus returned his gaze to Bonnie, she dropped the salad server, picked up her phone, and walked over to pull the fire alarm, because then she would truly know, as Stefan had pointed out. Klaus gathered his confused guests together, telling them to use the fire escape and not the lifts. He grabbed his blackberry and computer under his arm. "Caroline, have you got everything you need?" he called from the other room.
Caroline stood silently in the middle of the room, watching everybody around her leave. Klaus' reaction had told her what she already knew, and she felt relieved. She removed his beautiful ring from her finger, putting it on the counter. "Caroline?" Klaus entered the room to find it empty.
0o0o
Stefan sprinkled some coriander over his chicken dish, wanting everything to be perfect for his opening night. One of his hired waiters came back with a plate that had just left the kitchen. "One of the customer's says the chicken is dry." Stefan rolled his eyes, eating a bit from the plate. "Alright, you're in charge Alaric, don't blow anything up."Alaric went back to flipping burgers, ignoring his friend's joke. Stefan took the plate outside, still wearing his chef's apron.
"Alright, which one of you Poos thinks my chicken is dry?" Stefan looked around the room at his many customers all tucking into his delicious food, except one. She rose from her seat, wearing a pretty yellow dress, and she grinned. "Me." He was caught off guard. "What the hell are you doing here?" Caroline flattened her dress, and removed the napkin which had somehow stuck to it.
"Klaus and I, we didn't work out." She said to the gawking room of regulars. "Well, when my 60 seconds came by... I had everything I really wanted, but nothing I really needed. I came all this way to see if maybe you thought the same? Well, I don't really have any plans after that. So, Stefan Salvatore, here is my proposal, I propose we not make plans, I propose we give this thing a chance. Do you what to not make plans with me?" she wrung her hands together, nervously. Stefan stared at her, all this time not uttering a single word. Then suddenly, and to her amazement he walked away.
Alaric had poked his head out of the kitchen to see what was going on, and watched Caroline smile, and then run out of the pub as fast as she could. He heard Stefan banging around upstairs, and then walking down the steps, and when Stefan returned, Alaric brought his beer to his lips. "She's gone to the cliffs, mate. What did you leave her alone for, you idjit?" Stefan held up a black box . "Well, what are you waiting for?" Alaric shook his head, watching his friend sprint out the door to applause.
Caroline stood on the cliffs looking down at the waves crashing below her and feeling the afternoon sun on her pale skin. She had trusted her gut like her mother had taught her, and look where it got her. She heard footsteps behind her, turning to see Stefan, with his hands in his jacket pockets.
"Mrs Ogrady-calahan, where the hell are you going?" Stefan murmured. Caroline wiped her tears from her cheeks. "You said 'no'!" she sniffed. Stefan raised his eyebrows. "I didn't say no, I didn't say anything." She sighed. "You walked away!" He shrugged. "I was getting something," he said. Caroline narrowed her eyes. "And that was a good time to walk away?" she demanded. He nodded. "Yeah, it was, actually. I was getting this." Caroline saw he'd produced something from his pocket. Her heart skipped a beat. "I reject you proposal, I don't want to not make plans with you, I want to make plans with you. Will you marry me?" Caroline smiled, meeting Stefan halfway. His hand caressed her cheek, and then his lips captured hers. The sun cast them in a silhouette, and she heard him say: "It's good luck to get engaged on a Sunday." She smirked, pulling him even closer.
A/N: Please review.