The last few days had been like something out of a very messed up tv show and Caroline was the female amnesiac star. It was surreal. There had been so many revelations that she thought her head would explode.

The most harrowing had been the loss of her mom. Tyler hadn't wanted to tell her at first but she had started freaking out, imagining the worst and as it was the worse had been correct. He had reached out to hold her but that added contact would have made her crazy. His touch was a reminder that everything was far from what she thought she knew. It was too much. So she had turned away to cry, shedding tears for the relationship that she could never get back, the one she had spent most of her teenage years fighting against and now as an adult - god she really was an adult now! - wished she could have.

The other big reveal hadn't been that much of a reveal at all what with him asleep on the chair next to her; his dark hair falling forward onto his face. It was shaggier than she remembered and she had the strangest urge to smooth it away from Tyler Lockwood's – her husband's – face. After her initial freak out she didn't get upset again because somewhere in her mind she hadn't really grasped what was going on. Because how in the hell did one forget almost a decade of their life. Things like that didn't happen. Unless your name was Caroline Forbes, uh, Lockwood then it seemed as if all bets were off. She had no idea what to make of the fact that she was married to Tyler Lockwood and with the grief of her mom's death she didn't want to. But she had no choice because it wasn't like she could wish her husband of two years away.

Two years of marriage to Tyler-freaking-Lockwood. Yes, she was aware that she kept thinking his name like it was a single entity but Tyler? Really? Tyler, who was also the youngest mayor in the history of Mystic Falls. And still hot as hell. Hello, even when he was being a dick she would have been blind not to notice how smoking he was. And add to that he seemed to have grown an inch thicker and had this manly maturity well, he was gorgeous to say the least. But still, Tyler? She still didn't know what 25 year old Caroline had been thinking. Even if he did look at her like she was the only girl in the world.

It had been a little startling to see the love and adoration in his eyes, especially since she had no idea how to return it. They had talked a lot albeit awkwardly over the past two days, about their life and about who they both were now. She was the Mayor's wife. And in charge of the historical society, was heavily involved in numerous charities and volunteered on Saturdays to work with special needs children; which coincided with what she had studied at College, which was childhood education. And honestly at what point had Caroline Forbes become Mother Theresa?

Tyler had studied Political Science and had come back home with her in tow to take the town by storm and been elected Mayor. According to him, he had only won because she ran such a good campaign but Caroline had her doubts. Caroline and Tyler, power couple. Who would ever have thought it?

And as much as this was completely insane, it wasn't only Tyler who had shocked the living hell out of her but all her friends had. The Gilberts, not Elena and Jeremy but Bonnie and Jeremy had arrived the morning after she had been brought into the hospital, from visiting Bonnie's family out of town. Bonnie was all new-age-crystal-looking-mother-superior with way too much sass and if that wasn't enough to astonish Caroline, she was a full 36 weeks pregnant. Baby Gilbert, Jeremy, was so grown that she had to smile at him. He was very protective of his wife, (Awwwwww!) who despite being thirty pounds heavier climbed right onto the bed and wrapped Caroline in her arms as she fell apart crying at how overwhelming everything was. Jeremy had kissed her on the cheek and pulled a very distressed Tyler out the door giving them time to talk. And they had talked and cried and laughed and she was happy to know she still had friends like Bonnie.

The surprises didn't end there but continued as Damon Salvatore walked into the room. She was about to give him the dirty eye but when she saw the tenderness in his she stopped. With his customary 'Hey Blondie' he had tilted her chin and looked into her eyes as though he was trying to assure himself she was alright. To say she was shocked speechless would be an understatement. It was only when he seemed to find what he was looking for did he step back and became Damon Salvatore.

"So, nose dive off Wickery?"

"Ass," she had huffed back. He then sent her one of those Damon smiles that in the early days had made her swoon. When Tyler entered a few moments she saw the elder man's face changed drastically.

"Where the hell were you?" he all but hissed at Tyler.

"Damon!" It was Tyler's voice, growling as though in warning.

"Where. Were. You?" He said through gritted teeth and Caroline immediately got it. Damon was asking Tyler why she had been driving alone.

Tyler sighed and said, "Can we just…talk outside?"

A curt nod was given and Damon winked at her before stalking out. Weird. It was super strange seeing Damon so protective of her. When they returned Damon looked worried and uncomfortable.

"What's the last thing you remember Blondie?"

"Damon," Tyler voice cut in again but Caroline waved him off.

"You were the worst boyfriend imaginable. And I really hated you."

Damon looked away for a moment and then said, "You got over it!"

Caroline couldn't help but chuckle at his response and said "I gathered."

When Stefan and Elena came Caroline was even more amazed. Last Tyler had told her, they were in Italy so she hadn't expected them so soon but less than 48 hours after the accident they were there. Elena didn't look a day older and a petty part of Caroline still envied her for it. Not only was she beautiful but she got the patent on anti-aging as well? But it was Elena. Warm, caring Elena. And Stefan Salvatore was as hot as he ever was, still pensive, still brooding, still Stefan. He had kissed her on the forehead before being almost immediately being pulled away by Damon who hadn't left the hospital longer than to shower and change and eat. It was funny because years ago she never would've figured that Damon would be one of her best friends. But there was no mistaking the closeness they seemed to share.

When she caught up with Elena she noticed that she did the same things that Bonnie did, avoided some timelines, people, topics. Especially the topic of Matt Donovan. Elena's eyes had shifted and she'd mumbled that Matt had moved out of town a few years ago. But Caroline didn't push because as it was she had enough to worry about without focusing on things that what were obviously awkward. She didn't think she had room in her mind for anything else right now.

If Caroline had any doubts that she was loved by her friends, and her…husband her time in the hospital had dispelled that. She was never alone for longer than a few minutes. They kept her company. Damon had the amazing knack of getting actual food past the hospital staff and talking about inane things that made her laugh and forget the fact that she had lost so much. And when she just needed the physical presence he knew when to shut up.

With Tyler everything had been… weird. He tended to walk on eggshells around her, cutting his accustomed intimacies short and leaving them with an awkward moment. And Caroline got it, they were husband and wife, they were friends and so seeing him reach for her shouldn't be so weird. But when he cast her, a questioning glance or stopped mid-way into a kiss it just reminded her more of how much she had lost. How much they both had lost and the fact that he was the only one that remembered.

Caroline looked down at Tyler again, his face more peaceful than she had ever seen him. Well, more peaceful than she had ever remembered seeing him. There was something different about him now. Something that wasn't easy to place. He looked so different from the boy she used to know. The way he moved, the way he spoke to others, even the way he smiled seemed to scream happy in a way that his seventeen year old self appeared to never have. He looked like just what he said he was, a man concerned for the love of his life.

The mutterings outside her door let her know that rounds were happening. When the doctor entered her room, he shifted awake opening his eyes, meeting hers. The smile he sported was so brilliant so amazing that she couldn't help but smile in return.

"Good morning, Caroline, Tyler," Dr. Fell said as she entered, the nurses following her uttered similarly.

"Good Morning," they replied in turn.

"You've been improving steadily over the past week Caroline…"

"Yeah, well you guys did pump me full of every drug known to man," she answered back.

"And you understood the reason for that…" Fell continued quirking her eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah. I just, I want to get out of here and go…"

"Home. I get it. If we allow you to go home today, and I mean if then you are on bed-rest for the next week at least. You still have a few days left on antibiotics so those will be going with you and it is important that you take them. Finally, if she even coughs funny, Tyler and I mean that both literally and figuratively you are to bring her right back here. She gets a fever you bring her back, any difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, worsening memory, anything out of the ordinary. Got it?"

Caroline looked at him as he agreed eagerly and she had to force herself to stay quiet as the talked.

When Fell was done detailing the things she could or could not do, Caroline looked at her for an answer to the all-important, but she couldn't finish the question, "Doctor, am I ever…"

Caroline saw real sympathy in her eyes as she answered, "I wish we had a miracle cure for your memory loss but we don't. As far as we can tell, there has been no lasting structural damage and therefore it may just be time that is needed for you to heal. But I really can't say for sure."

Caroline nodded fighting the tears that welled up because she refused to cry. Crying didn't solve anything.

Tyler watched her as she blinked back unshed tears and wondered if there was going to be a day she would ever stop crying, if she would ever remember her life and who they were to each other now. He knew it was selfish to be thinking of himself but he had not felt so unsure since that night when everything with his father had come to a head. Care had been the one who had gotten him through.

And now he wanted to help her. He wanted to hold her like she had held him then. He wanted to touch her. Even in the awful hospital gown she was beautiful and every part of him ached for her. She had almost died and he had been unable to touch her, to kiss her, to feel her body next to his. Maybe it would have been easier if they had the fairytale, been in love for forever but they hadn't. They had fallen in love under extenuating circumstances and now he couldn't tell her that. Care had suffered nightmares for years after that night and he was selfish but not that selfish. As it was he was hoping she would remember and then all of this would have been moot. But it had been 9 days and still nothing.

He was almost tempted to take Damon up on his offer to feed her vampire blood but if they did and it didn't work, he would have a thoroughly freaked out Caroline who didn't remember anything about their life. How she was the one who had started the path they were on. Convincing the vampires, werewolves and humans to form an alliance that led to the peace they now had. They handled any threats together and it was all her idea. She didn't remember that often when the humans on the council got restless she was the one whom they trusted because she had made hard decisions for the good of mankind already and they knew she would do it again.

Tyler called everyone and told them that Caroline was discharged and they could come and visit her tomorrow after she had settled in. He made sure Stefan kept Damon out of his hair because they were literally only two people in this world the elder Salvatore listened to and that was his brother and Caroline. He would be lying if he said that their relationship didn't raise the hair on his neck sometimes. But that bond had been forged with blood and there was nothing he could do about it. But tonight he needed a little time with his wife, even just to have her near.

By the time they left the hospital it was dark out and Tyler knew that Caroline would need her rest. Helping her from the car he took her through the side entrance as it had very few stairs. Caroline hadn't said a word on the drive over but fiddled with the radio until she found some pop song she liked. When they stepped into the house he saw her eyes open.

"It's nothing like I remember," she commented, reminding Tyler that she had spent many days there as a child while their parents talked business.

"This isn't the original house. That one um, got burned in a fire. But when we moved in we wanted it to look less like the Lockwood house and more like Caroline and Tyler's."

"As evidenced by the hieroglyph theme, chimes and crystals."

"The crystals were Bonnie's idea. They're cleansing crystals."

"Why does that not surprise me?" she answered and smiled. Tyler smiled back glad that at least they were talking.

"I'll show you our room," he said.

"I… Tyler, uh, I don't think…" she stammered out looking uncomfortable.

"Oh…I just wanted… I just wanted to show it to you. I had our helper prepare another room across the hall for you."

"Thanks," she sighed and started to walk up the stairs but he held her back. Looking into her eyes he swept her into his arms as he made his way upstairs.

"Tyler, I can walk!" she shrieked.

"And you're supposed to be taking it easy," he countered, "I just...let me carry you Care.

Nodding she allowed him to carry her up the stairs. Once they were up on the landing he noticed that she shot out of his arms. Sighing softly he opened the door to their room.

"So this is our room," he began, "You usually sleep on the right and keep any books your reading in the desk."

"So what do we do at night?" she asked innocently.

Tyler raised his eyebrow with a smirk, unable to help himself.

"Oh. Ummm…right. Geez. I am so not this girl," she mumbled as she blushed. Tyler saw her squaring her shoulders and laughed at how even with memory loss she was still the woman he fell in love with. If anything frightened her or made her uncomfortable, she braced her back and did it, because nothing was supposed to get in her way. "So, we have sex every night?"

Now it was him that was blushing but he met her eyes and said, "No, we make love every night. And most mornings and sometimes during the day if we get the time."

"Geez. Any, uh, weird kinks?"

He grinned at her, teasing, "We keep it adventurous but nothing weird. We've uh probably tried every position known to man and a few we invented ourselves."

She was blushing again .And Tyler had the urge to kiss her pouty lips. He made a step forward and just like that he saw that it was too much and she stepped back. Instantly, the moment had been crushed as though they had been doused with a bucket of ice-cold water.

"You can show me around some more tomorrow. I just think I need to rest."

He nodded and showed her to the room she would be staying in. He couldn't bring himself to call it her room. As soon as she was settled, he left her and as if she had been all the air in the hot air balloon holding him up, he deflated. Trying to coach himself from feeling despair he stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed. But sleep did not come easy and Tyler got up throwing on a robe and moving to his study. Grabbing the phone he called the one person who was like a brother to him.

"Hey bro." Jeremy answered after the first two rings.

"Hey," he could hear a door closing on Jer's side.

"Bonnie asleep?" he asked.

"Finally. I swear that kid is gonna be a kicker on Mystic High's football team."

"You sure you're the father because we both know that that wasn't your strong suit," he teased chuckling.

"Screw you, Lockwood. How is Caroline?"

"She's okay I guess, considering. And sleeping."

"Then why aren't you? You must be exhausted."

"Because...I haven't slept without her in my arms in years and now she's across the hall and I just... Isn't that pathetic?" he answered honestly.

"No, it's love," Jeremy answered and he could hear the smile in his voice, "I can't tell you everything will be fine but I promise things will get better. Bonnie's been searching for something to help her."

"I figured. Damon wanted to give her blood."

"Why didn't you let him?"

"Can you imagine the fall- out if it doesn't work?"

"I get you man. Just…give it time and I'll let you know if Bonnie comes up with anything. And get some rest. Either way you can't add fatigue to the list of things you're gonna have to deal with."

"I know and I will."

"And Tyler," he listened as Jer paused for a moment, "She fell in love with you once. You must have done something right. It can happen again."

"Thanks Jer and bye."

"Bye."