Disclaimer: Rights belong to their respected owners. A/N: Continuing my SC movie fics with Sweet Home Alabama, one of my all-time favourite movies. For fun. Reviews welcome x
Sweet Home
1.
Six year old Caroline Forbes ran out onto the sand dunes below the Falls in the late afternoon. She can hear rumblings of thunder above and Stefan's questions, she doesn't have time for. She looks up at the sky, brushing back strands of wet blonde hair, and sees flashes of light streaking across the navy-blue clouds. "One thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three..." She counts the seconds, waiting for the next bolt of lightning.
Stefan shakes the water from his hand-me down sleeves. "No, you won't answer? Or no you won't marry me?" he shouts. A bolt of lightning almost hits them, and Caroline screams. Stefan pulls her down into a squatting position. "We'll be safe here," he says. "Says who?" she demands. "Lightning never strikes the same place twice," he grins, helping her stand. She wipes the rain from her face. "Why'd you want to me marry me?" He's still holding her hands, and leans forward. "So I can kiss you anytime I want." She kisses him, and is struck by another bolt of lightning...
...she wakes up, shaking the dream from her mind. "How could y'all let me sleep?" She'd spilt her coffee all over her designer portfolio, and mops it up with a crinkled tissue. Her work colleagues are chatting nearby and aren't concerned, in fact, she thinks to herself, they probably noticed the bags under her eyes and thought she could do with a nap. "Ok thanks everyone, good job today, get some rest and I'll see you back here tomorrow." She had moved from Mystic Falls to Chicago where she found a career in fashion. She'd worked her way up the ladder, studied Design in college and was inspired by Elie Saab and Vera Wang. Tomorrow, her designs would be on the runway.
Caroline entered her apartment, dropping her things on the coffee table, her eyes travelling over hundreds of individual red and white rose petals leading her into her living room. She pressed play on her answering machine, smelling the bouquets of multi-coloured roses her boyfriend, Tyler, must have put inside her apartment. She had given him a key, since she often worked long hours. "Welcome back, Caroline, there's a rose for every minute I thought of you..." he was such a romantic, and she loved him for it.
She spent the remaining hours of her night relaxing in a bubble bath, letting the lavender soapsuds rejuvenate her skin, and thinking through the list of things she had to do tomorrow. After her bath, she rang Tyler to thank him for her flowers, and was on the phone for almost two hours chatting before he had to take another call. She cooked some pasta for dinner, caught the end of Friends, the one with Ross' wedding, and then set her alarm.
Marcel Gerard, her dear friend and mentor, came to congratulate her as she fixed one of her model's outfits which had been put on backwards in the chaos. "Look at you, you started out as my assistant and now you're my steel magnolia, with her very own style." Caroline brushed her wavy locks out of her face, and removed a pin from her mouth. "Thank you, it's so nerve wracking, I've constantly been on the go-" she sighed, giving Marcel a hug. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." He gave her a reassuring smile. "You're doing fine for your first showcase!" he said.
Caroline pinned hems, readjusted shirts, sipped her coffee, and layered jewellery over her designs. Her models were all smiles, and the crowd's cheers were an indication she was doing something right. Her assistant, Katherine Pierce, gave frequent updates on what was happening on stage, and in the few minutes she had waiting for her models to do the lap, she spotted Tyler on the news, he was on the red carpet just outside the building. Katherine turned it up at her request. "Please tell me he has a flaw..?" Katherine asked. Caroline rolled her eyes. "He's asked me to fly to Ireland with him," she admitted. Tyler Lockwood was secretary of the state, as well as her boyfriend. "He's going to ask more than that," Katherine sang as Caroline raised her eyebrows. "You think so?" Katherine nodded, leaving Caroline to think over the possibilities.
Caroline's designs won first prize. It was everything she wanted, everything she had worked towards since moving to Chicago seven years before. After Marcel and Katherine dragged her on stage to do a few final bows, she said her goodbyes and met Tyler. "Congratulations, Care," he said, his brown eyes warm and comforting. "I just want them to like me," she breathed, gripping his hand tight. "Judging by that prize, they do. I love you," and he kissed her temple as they climbed into his limo.
"So have you made a decision for Ireland?" Tyler asked, caressing her hand, as the driver escaped the media crews. She wanted to say yes, but her life was in Chicago. She hesitated, knowing he'd asked her four months ago, and he was entitled to an answer but she'd barely had time to think. "What's going on?" she felt the limo stop and the door opened. "Ma'am," the driver requested for her hand. Tyler encouraged her with a nod.
They had entered an unidentified building, walked through a long corridor where Liam adjusted his hat, beneath the flickering blue lights. Her heels clacked against the linoleum, and before too long, Liam opened another door where she made out the image of a man. She thought she saw a silhouette of rectangular booths or were they crates? And the carpet smelled strongly of lemon, making her almost sneeze, but then somebody turned on the lights.
She didn't need to be told where she was, she had guessed the moment her eyes had seen the branding. Baby blue bags with white ribbons stood on the counters, and inside those glass cabinets were thousands of rings of different colours, and designs. She was inside Tiffany's, and she glimpsed the shop attendants waiting for Tyler's instructions. "Tyler, what is this?" she asked, playing with the ends of her yellow scarf. He smiles, kneeling on one knee. "Caroline Forbes, will you marry me?"
She blinked, his words echoing through her mind, and blurts out. "-are you sure? It's only been eight months?" Her words fail her and she knows it's not the answer Tyler expected. Her onlookers seem to deflate, but Tyler persists, kissing her knuckles and repeats the question, adding to it. "I love you Care, I'm not going to ask you again." She thinks about being married to Tyler, and soon the words tumble from her mouth. "Yes, yes, yes!" she cries, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He picks her up into his arms and spins her around, Caroline presses her forehead against his. "I love you!" He kisses her gently, and lowers her back to the ground, holding her hand and waving his other around the room. "Pick one," he says, giving her the option to choose her own engagement ring. She is overwhelmed by his generosity and he encourages her to listen to the shop assistants, who open the cabinets and pull rows upon rows of rings for her to try on, until she finds the right one.
They were back inside the limo, Caroline admiring her 19c white gold ring with a small diamond and thinking she was the luckiest girl alive. They were headed for the fundraiser, where Tyler's mother, Carol Lockwood, also known as the Mayor waited. Tyler rested his hand on Caroline's knee. "I can't wait to see the look on my mother's face!" he smirked. "Can we just wait a few days, it's your mother's big night, I don't want to take away her limelight." Tyler sighed.
"You won't. What's the matter?" She made a face. "It's just that if we announce it tonight, it'll be in the Chicago Times and all the other newspapers, and I just think we should keep it on a low profile, I mean I haven't spoken to my parents in seven years, and I should probably go see them in person, to tell them, alone," she rambled.
"I'll need to meet them eventually," he said, entwining his hand into hers. Not only did he have a way with words, Tyler was a very good kisser. Their first kiss had taken her by surprise, and their second, third and fourth had led to sex in a friend's bed. He knew she loved him, and could always calm her nerves with a kiss. "We're going to be late," she hissed. "This will do, Liam," she calls out to the driver. "Yes, ma'am," came his reply. She fixed Tyler's tie, and her hair, and took a deep breath, meeting his mother was always a stressful event.
Again were the cameras, the media and the screams, following them up the red carpet. Tyler kissed his mother in greeting. "There you are! What's that on your lip?" Tyler felt the remnants of his fiancé's lipstick, and wiped it away with his handkerchief. "Doesn't suit you," Carol murmured. "Mind your own business," he murmurs, bringing an anxious Caroline to her attention. "Oh, don't you look pretty?" Carol gushed, taking in Caroline's black off the shoulder shirt, and white pants.
"Thank you," Caroline held out her left hand and then froze. Her ring glinted beneath the flash of a camera, and, too late, Carol had snatched up her hand. "Tyler, what is this?" her tone sickly sweet. "Mother, there's something we'd like to tell you-" Tyler began, as Caroline tried to pull her hand out of Carol's grip. "Caroline and I, are engaged." It was out, her engagement to the mayor's son would be plastered on every newspaper in America. It was only a matter of time before it reached her family back home.
Caroline parked her car outside an old run down cottage in Mystic Falls. She used to spend a lot of time their camping as a kid on weekends. She hadn't thought of the place in years, and pulled a file from her bag, jumping when the bloodhound on the front porch howled at her arrival. The fly-screen banged off its hinges and she leaned against her car, crossing her arms, and grimacing when she saw Stefan staring back at her as though he'd seen a ghost.
She didn't have time for pleasantries. "Why don't you get your stubborn ass down here and give me a divorce!" Her southern accent returning as she shouted, brandishing the file in the air. When he said nothing, she stomped up to him. "What? Speak?" His mouth opened and closed, and then he shook his head, running his hand through his hair. "You're shitting me right?" Stefan Salvatore stood his ground, infuriating her even more. "I haven't seen you in seven years... and then you come back just to order me to sign some divorce papers? 'Hey there, Stefan, remember me, your wife'?"
Caroline furrowed her brow. "I'm not your wife! And I wouldn't be here now if you had just signed the damn papers when you were meant to have," she snapped. Stefan walked down the steps, his singlet covered in grease. Bryant followed to relieve himself on the grass. "Well, I don't sign anything from flashy lawyers. So, down here, honey, we're still hitched." Stefan took in her flashy car, her designer clothes and new life with a frown. "Have you even seen your folks yet?" She glared at him. He snorted in contempt. "Boy have you turned into a hoity-toity bitch!"
"No, I was just the first girl to climb into the back of your truck, but you're right I have changed," Caroline yelled, furious. Part of the reason she had left Mystic Falls was because of him. She needed to escape her country life, and create a life for herself. "Since this is my house," Stefan scratched his nose. "Would you please get off my lawn, I won't be asking you twice." Caroline heard the fly-screen slam and heard the lock click. Bryant looked shocked, and she retrieved the spare key from beneath the potted Geraniums. "We'll show him," she murmured, unlocking the door. His gleeful expression disappeared when entered. "How'd you-?" Stefan demanded. She showed him the spare key, and he went on a rampage about her breaking into his house. "Our house! Actually, my house, since my parents gave it to me as a wedding present. And since we're discussing property, why is Mo's plane out there by the lake?" Stefan ignored her question, threatening to call the Sheriff. "Don't you dare, I don't want them to know I'm here-" Caroline's mum used to be the Sheriff of Mystic Falls, but that was years ago, and though she loved her mum, she had been a difficult child to raise, often getting into mischief with her friends.
"Why, you ashamed of us?" Stefan demanded, putting his phone on speaker. "Sheriff? Yes, there's an intruder in my house. No, it's not an animal," Caroline tried to grab his phone off him. He dodged her. "Actually, now I think about it, it does have sharp claws, and teeth, and it's sort of crazy looking, and smells," Stefan threw insults every which way just to annoy her. "Just sign the damn papers, and I'll be out of your hair!" Stefan glanced at them, putting away his phone. There was a knock on the door, and her heart stopped as she wondered who had taken over from her mother's position.
Stefan flung open the fly-screen, and demanded the new Sheriff arrest her. Standing in the doorframe was an old friend. "Matt Donovan?" she jumped into his arms. He had been one of the pack rats. He grinned, just as surprised and gave Stefan a confused look, in relation to his call. "You're Sheriff now? Oh my god, look at that badge, it looks good on you." Matt beamed at her compliments. "Thanks, you look amazing, god, it must be what five years-?" he hugged her.
"-seven-" Stefan and Caroline answered in unison and then glared at each other. Matt sighed, his hands resting on his belt. "I didn't break in, Matt, I used my key," Caroline explained, showing it to him. "And all Stefan has to do is sign these divorce papers, but he won't, he's being a big jerk!" Matt looked between his two friends, always bickering and fighting, and sighed. "I'm not arresting her, Stefan, she has every right to be here." Matt leant down and patted Bryant's head. "It's good to see you, Caroline. Hope you're staying a few days. Say hi to your mum for me."
"She took a swing at me," Stefan yelled as he turned to leave. "I did not! He's lying!" Matt dismissed him with a wave of his hand, and a shake of his head. He had just stepped onto the porch when Stefan yelled. "She's the one who drugged your mother's goldfish!" This was a secret he'd promised to keep when she was six, and it had been an accident. "Stefan!" she cried. Matt had loved those goldfish, and due to their unconscious state, floating upside down in the water, the pigeons had eaten them, and they then, had fallen from the sky.
"Caroline Forbes, I'm arresting you on the charges of animal cruelty, trespassing, domestic abuse, and breaking and entering!" Matt's sullen expression accompanied her all the way to the station where she had to take a mug-shot and try to explain she was a different person now, and how very sorry she had always been about those fish... "My mum died of a broken heart because of those fish." Caroline tried to reach out to him, but jumped when he slammed the cell door closed, and she sat down on the hard bed, pulling the scratchy grey blanket over her shoulders. "This is all Stefan's fault!" she hissed, curling her legs up beneath her blanket to keep warm.
A/N: Please review! Hope you like the casting choices. Please point out any typos, thanks!