Disclaimer: not mine as much as I wish it. A/N: I'd like to say that this story is based on one of my favourite movies of all time. It is a request from Smritikapil on Twitter who provided the idea & a challenge - to create an alternate ending. I hope this satisfies your feels :) No ship wars please, written for fun! R&R :)

Wishing & Hoping

Part II

It was the day of the wedding. Caroline picked at her nails and felt like her voice had shrivelled up into nothingness. Perhaps Ursula kept it inside a shell necklace? Enzo had gone off to look at suits while she waved at Stefan in his last suit fitting. Katherine was elsewhere, probably putting the final touches together. Caroline felt sick at the thought of telling Stefan how she felt. What would he say? Why did she feel so guilty? Did she have to tell him everything?

"We need to talk," she said, having the courage to begin. Stefan smiled, his eyes lit up, and he spun on the podium. The tailor thankfully ran off to find some more pins. "You don't like the suit?" he assumed, pulling at the sleeves, and fixing his shirt collar. "It's Armani, you know? Oh, before I forget." He hopped down and gave her a black velvet box. "Guard this with your life!" he said.

Caroline stared at it. "What is it?" Although her thumping chest had already guessed. Stefan ran his hand through his 'hero' hair. "The ring, duh!" he put his hands in his pockets. "She'll like it, won't she?" he asked when she opened it, and felt her heart break into a thousand pieces. It was a slim gold band with dazzling diamonds. She had to clear her throat twice, before whispering. "Yes," thinking of herself. She watched Enzo encouraging her from behind a model, and clenched her fists.

"Stefan, we've known each other for twenty years, and in that time, we've grown very close, " she felt like she was reading her Valedictorian speech at her college graduation and hundreds of bored students were about to peg tomatoes at her. "Do you know what I mean by close?" Stefan busied himself by adjusting his skinny black tie in the mirror. "Sometimes people think they know how they feel about each other, but they don't until they do... I have a point, the question is, am I getting to it..." she looked nervously up at him.

Stefan gripped her shoulders. "Whatever you have to say, can't be that big a deal, spit it out." There was a loud bang as the model Enzo leant against fell into a nearby rack of clothes. "Who's that?" Stefan asked her. Enzo had dropped out of sight, and Caroline waved him off, unimportantly.

"Enzo, I told you about Enzo, he's my editor. He's here to be with me..because he's my friend, my good friend, my best friend these days. You've been busy." She tried to get back on track, but it was too late, Stefan had other ideas. "So, all this has been about Enzo?" Caroline knew it was wrong the minute she started nodding, she could see Enzo looking sympathetic for her, and here she was spinning lies about how they were dating.

Stefan hurried over to shake hands with a confused Enzo, while she beamed, thinking of how Stefan couldn't take his eyes off her. Success! It was only a matter of time before he admitted he loved her, right? Enzo and Stefan had engaged in idle chit-chat while she daydreamed.

"Well, that's Caroline," Enzo said, giving her an odd look. She beamed, taking his arm, and playing the proud fiancé.

"I hope you're staying for the wedding?" Stefan asked, handing over a cheque to the tailor.

"Oh no, I just came to check on this one," Enzo admitted, putting his arm around her. Caroline patted his chest, smiling and saying the first thing that popped into her head. "Just for a few hours, to ah, to ah, fuck me! Yeah, we're engaged, but not abstaining." She laughed seeing it dawn on Enzo exactly what had happened and by Stefan's shocked expression, it was clear he hadn't expected his best friend to be so brutally honest.

Stefan put away his cheque book, ears red at the thought and waited for the tailor to pack his suit up into a bag. Stefan and Caroline bickered in the doorway.

"Give me your ring!" Caroline elbowed Enzo as they left the shop. "We have to look 'married!'" she hissed, while Stefan hailed a cab.

"This is insane... I can't believe you're doing this to me!" Enzo murmured. She kicked him in the shin. Enzo bit back a yell and gave his wedding band to her. "You lose that, Maggie will kill us both." She slipped it on her ring finger.

"Find me irresistible!" she demanded when Stefan looked up from a hailed cab. Enzo rubbed his bruised shin, and pretended to be tying his shoelace. Stefan opened the cab door with a friendly smile. They squeezed inside, Caroline sat in the between them. She folded her hands on her lap, glancing at Stefan while Enzo got comfortable in the seat beside her.

"Something wrong?" she asked Stefan, breaking the silence. He shrugged. She wished she could hold his hand. The cab driver sang along to Usher. Enzo mimicked him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes while Stefan picked a fraying sticker off his door.

"It's just, the way you always talked about Enzo, it sounded like he was gay..." Stefan mumbled. Caroline frowned when Enzo burst out laughing, spit hit the back of the driver's seat. He'd almost deafened her. She rubbed her ear.

"Common misconception," Enzo said, slapping her knee, his hand slid further up her thigh. Stefan noticed, returning his gaze to his phone messages, ears even redder than before. Enzo hugged her shoulders. She had not intended he play the part of a 'touchy-feely boyfriend', it seemed he wanted to pay her back for the kick in the shins. Caroline warned him with a look as his hand inched towards her breast. She gave him an subtle shove. "Not here!" He smirked, lifting her hair from her ear.

"Careful what you wish for," he said, catching Stefan's brief eye and grinning. Her chest heaved and she hissed for him to 'get off', but they both maintained their 'status' when Stefan looked up to relay a message from Katherine. "We've got the wedding rehearsal now, and then tonight, the real thing." He told the driver to alter course towards the church. Enzo pulled Caroline's reluctant hand into his.

By the time they arrived, Katherine's mother was speaking with 'Father Kieran' and Enzo murmured: 'my god, race you to the altar! Oh wait, I'm already married...' she was almost sick of hearing his voice. She noticed Stefan looked stressed, but before she could go to him, Enzo pulled her back, reminding her they were an 'item.' He hooked her arm through his, and proceeded to the altar.

Katherine looked up from Stefan's conversation and gave Enzo a warm hug. He made sure to gush over her welcome to rub it in Caroline's face. Caroline fixed her expression to hide her annoyance at Enzo and saw Damon making faces at an amused Elena. "I'm sorry, I got so carried away." Then came Katherine's childish laugh. Caroline smiled at Stefan, wishing it was her own wedding rehearsal. Enzo made a joke and slapped her on the arse, harder than he intended. She winced. "Paying attention, gorgeous?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Of course," Her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the fake smiling. Enzo's voice echoed through the church. "You must be Katherine's sister?" he shook hands with Mrs Pierce with Caroline still attached to his hip. Damon glimpsed Enzo, and stared, like he'd seen him somewhere before. Mrs Pierce laughed. "Oh, what a tease. Elena, Damon, come meet Caroline's fiancé!" Damon jogged over to shake hands."I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but Caroline said, no, this is Katherine's big day-" Enzo pecked Caroline's cheek, and her fake-smile reappeared.

Stefan looked awkward and out of place. She sent him a smile, while Katherine's arm slipped around his waist. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but from his silence, she knew he was still processing the news. But did he believe it?

Enzo seemed to get on well with everyone in the vicinity, it was his personality. He was comfortable in his own skin, knew what he wanted in life, and motivated her to do the same. "I'm so happy for you." Katherine gushed, snatching Caroline's wrist. "All those broken relationships, all those men... it must have hurt so much...and all this time the man of your dreams is right in front of you," she sighed in a somewhat envious voice.

Caroline felt like Katherine had personally ripped out her heart. Enzo adjusted his leather jacket, the noise startled her from her thoughts. "She's talking about me..." he hissed, while the conversation continued between Katherine and her family on the topic of flowers. He said aloud. "Would you like to tell them, pumpkin?" Stefan's head raised in interest. "It's a funny story actually," Enzo chuckled.

"Oh, please?"Katherine clapped her hands, suddenly thrilled while Father Kieran sat on an empty pew and closed his eyes for a small siesta. "I'm curious," Stefan murmured, though he looked, murderous. "No, it's personal," Caroline retorted, biting her tongue. Katherine and everyone else, including a jealous Stefan looked at Enzo for more. She could hear loud snores bubbling from the Father's throat, while Enzo set the scene.

"A vision in pink," he began, very over the top but with Katherine gasping at every word. Caroline studied her painted nails. "You don't wear pink," Stefan retorted. Katherine shushed him, and after Enzo's story they returned to the wedding rehearsal, some more convinced than others. Enzo took Caroline's hand as she stood in her spot beside Elena, the other bridesmaid. He lowered his voice so only Caroline could hear.

"Look, tell him you love him. Say whatever you want about us, but please tell him, kiss him goodbye, and go home. That's what you came here to do, so do it."

Enzo kissed her temple, and felt his phone vibrate in his hand. Damon bumped into Enzo as he left the church. "How's Maggie?" It dawned on Enzo, he'd seen him at his wedding. He was an old work colleague of Maggie's. "You knew the whole time?" Damon shrugged. "I know what Caroline's going though. Katherine and I had a fling, not that I ever told Stefan, and to be honest, I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember." Enzo smirked. "That bad, hey?" Damon laughed. "I don't know, she never stayed long enough to tell me and now it's like I never existed."

Enzo hailed a cab. "Guess that's your answer, mate. To answer your question. Maggie's fine, we're having a baby. I hope you get your happy ending, just please, keep an eye on Caroline for me? Your brother certainly did a number on her." Damon nodded. "He sure did. Between you and me, I've been wondering why he never proposed to her in the first place." Enzo merely smiled, grateful to be returning home to his wife, and son.

Damon found Stefan and Caroline sitting on the bench outside the church, he didn't disturb them but hovered behind a pillar out of sight. "I called off my engagement," Caroline told Stefan. "Those string of broken relationships you told Katherine about, nobody, not even Enzo, can live up to the man I measure everything against. You," she stole a glance at him, pleased to see him smiling, his hands pressed against the edge of the seat.

"You know, I've never been so jealous of anyone in my life. Crazy jealous. I know now, how it felt, when I told you I was marrying Katherine." He looked up. "I'm sorry." They sat together staring at the church gardens and listening to the birds, and cars rumbling down the street. She ran her fingers through her hair, and felt the sun warming her shoulders. It was nice to just sit, to be, one last time.

"I've got an idea," he said taking her hand, and pulling her from her comfortable seat. "One last ferry ride, before I get married. You know, a sort of send off, because I heard married life can be beautiful and hectic, and I've been thinking of taking that job Katherine wanted for me, and maybe I won't see you for six months..." he glanced at her, a dull sense of hopelessness reflected in his eyes.

She closed her fingers around his. "Our first date," she remembered. He nodded. "What about Katherine?" She followed him down the wharf where a ferry service had tooted its horn. "The wedding's in a few hours." She wondered why she even cared, now was her chance to tell Stefan everything, why she had really come. "I just need some time with my best friend, she'll understand. She always has." They paid for their tickets. The ferry pulled out.

They jumped onto it, right before they closed the gate. "You're a bad influence on me, Stefan Salvatore!" she laughed, feeling the wind in her hair. "You've always loved my dark side, don't lie." He laughed, pulling her up the stairs to the roof. They took in the view, listening to the other passengers chatter. Stefan leaned against the ferry's rail. She waited for him to speak, knowing how hard it had been to find the right words, how hard it had always been, whenever they spoke about their feelings.

"I've been thinking a lot these couple of days...about us. Well, you've been the woman in my life..." He leaned against the ferry's rail, and took in her longing looks. He smiled and Caroline thought of all the memories they shared over the years.

"You've been the man in mine," she whispered, unable to take her eyes off him. He bumped his shoulder against hers with a smile. She heard a seagull's call. Stefan struggled with his next thought. "I mean you commit to this wedding, and then there's this momentum, you forget you chose it. You and I, I mean in our relationships with other people, we didn't mention the word 'love' much, did we?" Caroline frowned, she had always been afraid to say it, especially with Stefan.

He ran his hand through his hair again. "Katherine says,' if you love someone you say it, because otherwise the moment just passes you by." His eyes hover over Caroline's lips as the ferry passes beneath a bridge and they are cast in shadow. He leaned his head against hers. She swallowed, resting against him, feeling her emotions heighten. It had been too long since they'd shared a moment so sweet, and she wanted so badly to say them. Three words. Eight letters.

Sunlight showered over them and Stefan pulled back. She heard Enzo's words clearly, like they offered some comfort but none at all. Stefan began to hum, eventually singing the words to their song. "Someday when I'm awfully low, and the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you, and the way you look tonight." He grinned, offering his hand and leading the dance. She rested her chin against his shoulder, hugging him tight, and closed her eyes, feeling his breaths against her ear.

"With each word, your tenderness grows, tearing my fears apart. With each laugh that wrinkles your nose, touches my foolish heart." His lips pressed against her temple, and his left hand swept down her back. She blinked back tears as they slowly rotated on the spot. She heard giggling and laughter, and the water lapping against the ferry's hull, and the moment turned into minutes.

"We don't even have a song, do you think that's a bad sign?" Stefan twirled her at arm's length and her smile faded, her hand slipped from his and she returned to reality. "We should get back. There's a wedding at 6 o'clock," she reminded him, breathing in the salty air and thinking of Katherine.

Caroline returned to her hotel room to pick up her bridesmaid's dress. She sat on her bed like a pathetic teenager and cried until her eyes were red and puffy. Stefan was marrying Katherine in a few hours, and still she hadn't told him how she felt. They'd shared a moment on the ferry, and she regretted not kissing him when she had the chance. She washed her face, had a shower and put on her make-up. She listened to her voicemails, including one from Enzo which told her he was in hospital and sent her a picture of his baby boy.

She had mixed emotions: happiness, because it's what he'd always wanted and deserved, and guilt because she'd stolen him away from Maggie, when she needed him the most. She sent him some hugs and kisses, and a promise that she'd be coming home soon. Katherine had sent her a VM to invite her to her house so they could do their hair together. Damon had texted her with: 'We need to talk!' and Stefan had sent her three excited emoticons.

Feeling stressed, Caroline opened her mini-fridge for a drink - and found it empty with a post-it note: Tell him that you love him. She squared her shoulders, dressed in her sexy top and jeans, and took her dress in its protective case to Katherine's house. She was going to do it. She had to, she had to stop the wedding, and tell Stefan the truth.

She located a distraught Katherine alone at the kitchen table once she'd arrived, her hair half done and mascara smudged. Elena entered, carrying empty champagne bottles. Katherine burst into tears at something that came up on her phone. "I don't know what Damon was thinking, but he should have kept his mouth shut." Elena confiscated the phone, reading the message for Caroline's ears. At the mention of Damon's name, Katherine wailed, and threw her champagne glass onto the floor.

Caroline looked alarmed, what had Damon done?

Elena consoled her sister, whispering things like 'Stefan will understand' and 'he knows you love him' and 'what happened with Damon was before you were together.' Caroline checked her phone to see if Stefan had sent her anything. There was another VM from Damon, she played it back wondering whether she should tell Stefan - wasn't it her duty as his best friend? She had to admit, discovering Katherine's secret gave her some comfort - she wasn't perfect, at all.

Stefan just walked in on Katherine and I in an argument, about us, sleeping together, and he punched me in the face. I guess that's a satisfactory reaction, but what I wanted to say is, I may have ruined Steffy's big day, but I did it for you. For the love of God, tell him you love him, and that I'm sorry.

Caroline's jaw dropped and she looked out the kitchen door. She needed to see Stefan and check that he was okay. She made up some lie about dropping her favourite lipstick in the yard and hurried outside. So Damon had slept with Katherine before she and Stefan were together? Still, she knew Stefan, he based friendships on trust and honesty, and Katherine keeping this from him, was a huge betrayal. She texted Stefan, sussing out his location, and looked up to see him pacing beneath the rotunda nearby.

"You heard?" Stefan massaged his bruised fist, every syllable wrought with frustration and rage.

"Have you changed your mind...about marrying Katherine?" Caroline pried, wringing her hands.

"She fucked my brother and never told me, I think that constitutes as a reason to rethink this."

"It was before you were together..." she found herself saying. His glare made her look at her feet.

"You're condoning their behaviour?" She shook her head, trying to calm him down. "No," she said.

"All I see when I look at her, is Damon's gloating face. Why would he do this to me? Why now?"

Caroline licked her bottom lip. She couldn't let Damon take the blame for what was partially her fault. "He did it for me," she admitted, hearing the sprinklers watering the grass in the background.

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "He and Enzo are acquaintances, I imagine Enzo told him to look after me. Damon thought he was doing the right thing - you see," she cleared her throat. "This is by far, the dumbest thing I've ever done in my entire life, so dump I can't...but I'm going to." She sighed, finding courage to look her confused best friend in the eye. She was momentarily distracted by the amount of blood pooling between his knuckles and the need to comfort him.

"Stefan, I love you...I've loved you for nine years and I've just been too ignorant and scared to admit it. I realize this comes at a really inappropriate time, but.." she took a step closer pulling out his rings, and placing them into his hands. He blinked several times, his mouth open in surprise. She took a deep breath, rambling on.

"Marry me, choose me, make me happy..." Caroline reached for his smarting hand, and licked her thumb, wiping away whoever's blood it was. Her other hand swept through his thick hair. She stared at his mouth, seeing the surprise in his eyes, and ignored her rapid heartbeats. She felt like crying when her name fell, ever so gently, from his parted lips. "Caroline..." She didn't wait to hear what he had to say, even though she desperately wanted his approval, on the chance that maybe she had already lost him.

Her mouth crashed against his, and she exhaled. Tears flooded her cheeks out of joy and desperation, and she felt Stefan hold back, like there was somebody else on his mind...Katherine.

"You bitch!" Caroline broke apart at the sound of Katherine's yell and because Stefan had bit her lip. Feeling her blood drip into her open palm, his awkward pat against her shoulder, offered nothing but confusion, then he was gone. "Stefan!" She saw Elena frowning from the courtyard and caught sight of Stefan's white shirt disappearing into the garage after Katherine. "She wanted to help you find your lipstick," Elena said. "Instead she found a backstabbing bitch!"

Caroline pursed her lips, lifting her head high and stomped through the wet grass, taking the jets of water to the face. Elena shook her head. "You and Damon deserve each other after the shit you pulled." Caroline clenched her teeth, thinking about Enzo, and knew that wherever Damon was, he was better off. She just missed Stefan as he zoomed away after Katherine and looked around for a mode of transport, a bicycle, anything...

Someone had foolishly left their keys in the ignition of a catering van. She rang Enzo on the hands free, not bothering to keep her voice down. "IT IS NOT GOING WELL, THIS IS WHAT COMES FROM TELLING THE TRUTH. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, ENZO. I SAID THAT I LOVED HIM, I KISSED HIM AND I'VE STOLEN A CATERING VAN!" She blasted the car horn at a bunch of teenagers who were taking forever to cross the road and heard a baby crying, remembering Enzo must still be in the hospital.

"Did he kiss you back?" Caroline thought about it. Did biting her lip mean Stefan liked her, or had a new fetish? "Yes, I think so." But to be honest, she wasn't completely sure. She cursed when Stefan's car turned the corner and someone blocked her. "SERIOUSLY? LEARN TO DRIVE, MORON!" Enzo's restrained voice echoed in her ear. "Caroline, listen to me. If Stefan is chasing Katherine, and you're chasing him, who is chasing you? NOBODY! YOU ARE NOT THE ONE! So do the right thing and let him go. Call me again with this nonsense, and I'll put a very grumpy Maggie on, to sort you out."

She heard Enzo hang up on her before she could ask what they named their son and pulled into the curb, running inside the train station after Stefan. Enzo's words had hit her hard, and as much as she could give up, she was determined to find out what it was that Stefan wanted to say before they'd been rudely interrupted. She found him sitting in an empty seat, starting at the rings she had returned to him.

He looked desperately sad, and it broke her heart that she had attributed to that. She hadn't meant to hurt him, and she couldn't imagine what he felt... or could she? This was the equivalent of a broken heart, and she'd felt that the last four days. Stefan looked up when she approached, and she felt distanced from him, even when she sat down beside him. His silence unnerved her and whenever it was silent, she always had to speak.

"I have another confession.. Besides loving you, I encouraged Katherine to suggest to her dad you needed a promotion. I knew it could ruin your relationship and truthfully I wanted it to. For four days I've wanted to tell you I've fallen in love with you, but I was afraid, and now I'm the bad guy." She wiped fresh tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I guess I was just crazy jealous."

Stefan stared at her, shaking his head. "So you sabotaged my wedding?" he demanded.

"I was trying to win you back, but that doesn't excuse any of it. I'm going to apologise to Katherine." Stefan sighed, pulling her back into sitting position. "Thank you, for loving me that much, that way..." he hesitated and Caroline tried her hardest not to look too disappointed, standing. There was only one place a girl would go when she was heartbroken, and needed privacy, she thought.

Caroline pushed open the public toilet door. "Katherine? Are you here?" she called. The door nearest to her banged open. Three other women waiting in line for the free toilet jumped back in surprise. Katherine shoved her against the vanity and somebody yelled 'bitch fight!' causing everyone to form a circle around them. "I invited you into my life, into my home because you were Stefan's best friend and all the while you were trying to steal him from me? You kissed him, on my wedding day!"

The bathroom erupted in hisses and boos. Caroline swallowed. Hearing it aloud only convinced her she had turned into a monster. "I came here to apologize, and yes, I did all of those things, but Stefan doesn't want me. He loves you, Katherine...I haven't done much I'm proud of these last few days but I'd like to take you to the church, so you can walk down that aisle and marry the man of your dreams." She readied herself in-case Katherine refused her offer or punched her in the face, after all, she had tried to steal her man.

Katherine surprised her by hugging her tight and Caroline rested her chin against Katherine's shoulder, smelling her Marc Jacob's perfume. There was a hint of sadness when she realized they not only had the same taste in men; they also liked the same perfume. Maybe she should have paid Katherine more attention to who she was as a person, and not as the woman who fell in love with her best friend. "Come on," Caroline hooked her arm in Katherine's. "There's someone I want you to meet," she said.

They left the loos together on equal terms, but when Katherine saw a depressed Stefan staring at his polished shoes, she pulled Caroline back, with more on her mind. "The thing is, Caroline. He's not the man of my dreams, he's yours." Caroline thought she had misheard. Did Katherine hit her, and she now lay on the bathroom tiles unconscious and unloved? "Stay here. I've had a few hours to think, and as much fun as it was back there, I think you might have saved my life."

"Katherine?" Caroline tilted her head, not understanding the brunette's meaning. "Stay there," Katherine repeated, walking up to Stefan. Caroline watched from her spot metres away, trying to read their lips and body language. She felt awkward when she heard her name being repeated by a desperate Stefan and then, confused when Katherine kissed his cheek, and returned, remarkably fine over the whole thing. Caroline looked puzzled.

"I can't marry Stefan, not when he's in love with someone else." Katherine wrapped her arms around her friend. "Stefan's going to come over here when I leave, and I want you to listen to what he says, and then, I want you to say 'yes', and come back to mine for a little party."

"But the wedding?" Caroline asked. Katherine patted her on the shoulder. "See you soon," Katherine winked. Caroline glanced at Stefan, who looked like he'd rather stay where he was. She rolled up and down on her heels, waiting like a fool and then stormed across to meet him half way. He opened his mouth, and closed it, looking anywhere but her eyes. "Stefan?" she asked, folding her arms. If things were going to be this awkward between them post-kiss then she may as well go home.

Stefan swallowed, she noticed his sores had dried and his eyes eventually rested on her curious ones. He looked confused, sad and yet, she didn't interrupt, upholding her promise.

"Katherine turned me down, she said, she wasn't being honest with herself about Damon, and she didn't regret what happened between them. She said, we rushed into this, and didn't think through what it was we really wanted." Stefan sighed, blinking a few times, his head lowered in thought.

A few minutes passed. "She said, there's a reason why I didn't push you away tonight, that when I'm with you, she sees a light she's never seen before. She said, all this time, it's always been you, and that I've fallen in love with my best friend, without even realizing it." Caroline stared at him but when he suddenly dropped to one knee and showed her the velvet box meant for Katherine, she stopped him from opening it.

It was everything she had wanted and more, but for some reason, Caroline couldn't. Not even if it was Katherine's last wish. "You don't have to. Stefan, I will always love you, you're my best friend...but-" he gripped her fingers, removing them from the box and bringing them to his lips, like a gentleman, kissing her knuckles softly and causing her breath to catch in her lungs. He fumbled with the box, taking out the diamond ring. People were beginning to notice, stopping to watch. She swallowed, a million butterflies fighting to burst from her chest.

"Marry me at six o'clock, Caroline Forbes, in front of my family and friends, and for Katherine, because you at least owe her that." Still holding onto her fingertips with his sore hand, he waited for her response. She wondered whether Enzo would pick up his phone if she called to ask what she should do? He waited, not pushing the issue as all their memories, and everything that had happened over the past four days, flashed through her mind. Katherine had walked away, and yet, Caroline dropped to her knees, and closed her hands over Stefan's.

"Is this truly what you want?"

Stefan grinned, and she let out a small gasp when his lips collected hers. She closed her eyes, as his hand brushed aside her blonde waves above her ear. She felt him giving her the keys to his soul and when his tongue brushed along her wounded lip, she exhaled, trusting her instincts and smiling into his long kisses. She felt as though he'd successfully convinced her with every kiss, of any or all doubts. She opened her eyes, with a sigh, his hand a comfort beside her glistening cheeks and listened to his confession.

"What you and I have, is something even better than true love, Caroline and I wouldn't miss that for the world. It only took you to be crazy jealous for me to realize that everything I've ever wanted, has been right in front of me." He smiled, glancing down at her hand on the ring. Whispers echo through the platform as the crowd encouraged her to 'say yes!' She lifted her fingers gradually, one by one, making up her mind with a smile as Stefan raised his eyebrows.

"Marry me?" He asked, and Caroline nodded.

A/N: Okay, okay, I know you were all waiting for an extravagant wedding and I thought about putting in George/Enzo's dance at the end, but really, I think for this little two-shot, it works well as is, at least, you tell me. It was actually a pleasure to write this fic and explore the various relationships, what did you think of the alternate ending? What would you have done differently? Stay tuned for more SC movie-themed one-shots coming soon.