Ok so I was totally blown away when I opened mail the other day and saw how much attention this fic had gotten! I love you guys for being so committed to my stories! You are all pushing me to write.
So obviously, I've decided to continue this story. I've been up all night writing this so I hope you like it.
2. Heal
They stayed in bed all night, barely moving, and when the sun came up they were still in the same position. Stefan never let go of her and she didn't let go of him.
When the morning came Stefan finally fell asleep, probably because of mental exhaustion. God knows what had been going on inside of that big head of his. He still clung to her though, with a steel grip around her midriff and his head upon her shoulder.
Caroline kept stroking his hair, it seemed to soothe him, and started doing what she did best; planning.
She took him to Spain. To the sun, to the beach, to the food, to everything not Elena.
She told him they needed a break from Mystic Falls, a vacation, and dragged him out of bed.
"Somewhere sunny" she answered with a light smile when he asked her where she was taking him. That was the last thing he said for a long time. He needed the silence, and for once, Caroline understood that.
Though he was quiet, he never complained. He let her lead the way and she took that as a sign that he trusted her. They were quiet through the whole trip to the air port, the flight and in the taxi to the hotel, though it was a comfortable silence.
Many people thought Caroline was too cheery and overly talkative, and pretty much that she couldn't shut up. But contrary to popular beliefs she had a calm side too. Stefan, especially, evoked that side of her, she had learned since they became friends a long time ago.
When they arrived at the hotel it was dark outside. The air was warm and moist and it was quiet, apart from the cicadas that was singing in the palm trees. It was peaceful, just like Caroline had pictured. The hotel was situated right at the beach and they were shown to a one room apartment with a bathroom, a small balcony, a room with two beds, a kitchen area with a table and some chairs, a sofa, a TV and a fridge. She had called the hotel before they got there to make sure that they got a room with a fridge so that they could store blood bags somewhere.
It wasn't much and she was sure he would've wanted more space, maybe a room for himself, but this was all she could do in such short notice. It would have to do.
They were both tired after the long day of traveling so they ended up going straight to bed. Separate beds this time.
Stefan was lying on his back and Caroline on her side, watching him. Just when Caroline was starting to fall asleep Stefan spoke again.
"Thank you Caroline."
Caroline opened her eyes and looked at him. She smiled lightly, but didn't say anything. She knew he knew she had heard it and that was all she needed. Then she closed her eyes again.
Two days later they were lying on the beach in their new swimwear, drinking something fruity out of coconuts with umbrellas sticking out of them and on the table between them a tray with different exotic fruits had been placed, just a moment ago.
"Did you compel them to be our servants or something?" Stefan asked, amused that the staff came running with different kinds of food and beverages all day.
"Maybe…" she answered mischievously.
"You did?!" he took off his wayfares and pushed himself up with his elbows only to give her one of his many parenting looks.
"Yes dad, I did."
"Caroline you can't do that."
"Why not?" she said happily, taking a slice of water melon from the tray. "It's not like it's them I'm eating." She emphasized wiggling her eyebrows in an impressively resembling imitation of Damon.
"Besides, you need to learn not to feel so guilty all the time. Life is a lot more fun this way!"
"But it's not right." He said and Caroline could literally see his forehead scrunch up again.
"Oh don't go all Edward with me now with the no soul-shit." She sighed, sitting up in her sunbed, adjusting her baby blue bandeau bikini top. "It's in our nature, we were meant to do it. And you don't need to use it to hurt people."
"I just don't think it feels right doing it if it's not vital or at least necessary."
"Well I think that it's a gift we've been given." She said stubbornly, taking off her aviator shades and putting them in her hair. "I also think that you really should try to embrace it."
She saw that he was going to object so she put her hands in the air to show that the discussion was over.
"I know how you feel Stefan and I respect that." She said laying her hand over his giving it a light squeeze and Stefan smiled lightly.
"Have you noticed that everybody at our hotel and this beach are really old?" he asked her one night as they ate tapas and shared a bottle of red wine in a small quiet restaurant by the sea.
"Yeah that was pretty much the point. I thought you'd enjoy being around people your age grandpa." Caroline joked.
"Ha ha, you should be a comedian Caroline." He said sarcastically.
"Is that sarcasm I hear Mr. Salvatore? I think we're making progress." She said nudging him lightly with her elbow. "No but honestly, I just didn't think you'd be up to go to some party island or some place with a lot of young people hitting on you." She revealed and Stefan chuckled, a bit embarrassed.
"Though obviously that didn't go as planned cause even these grandma's are making moves on you. I can't take you anywhere." She sighed, pretending to be annoyed.
And Stefan laughed for real this time. Every time she got him to laugh was an award for her, because she knew how much he was hurting and she wanted so badly to take that pain away from him. So when he laughed she knew the pain was gone for at least a couple of seconds, and that was more than nothing.
"Why Spain then?"
"I don't know really, I just thought we needed the sun." Caroline answered, plopping a piece of bread in her mouth. "And we needed to relax and Spaniards are like the laziest people I know. I mean they go home from school and close up their stores every day at noon to go home and take naps? Come on how lazy isn't that?" she asked making a funny face and Stefan had to put his hand in front of his mouth when he snickered because he had food in it.
"Yeah so that's why I chose this place. Why, would you rather have gone somewhere else?"
"No, no. It's perfect Care." He caught her gaze and smiled, trying to show her with his eyes much he appreciated her doing this. "I actually thought that you would drag me to Ibiza or something."
"Hell no." she shook her head. "Though there will be partying later on." She said with her business voice and a dead serious facial expression.
"Okay." He said finishing his wine, once again surprising her by not complaining.
"Yep we're going to wake up the fun Stefan that's been dead for like, a century."
"And Caroline the comedian strikes again." He said rolling his eyes, filling up their glasses, then looking at her again. "Do you know CPR? Cause your humor is killing me right now."
Caroline clapped her hands way too loudly and all the other, older, guests in the restaurant turned their way, but she didn't care. "Wow Stef, we've really made some progress today! If we carry on with this speed the fun Stefan will be resurrected in no time." She said nudging him in the side.
"Now where's the dessert meny?"
Stefan sat on their small balcony one night, his feet perched on the low railing and the back of his chair against the brick wall. He'd been having a hard time sleeping these last couple of days. So after he'd tossed back and forth for a while he used to go out on the balcony and just listen to his raging thoughts instead of trying to block them out. He could sit there for hours, just enjoying the cool breeze, staring at the stars, the beach and the dark water that seemed so much lighter in the day.
And he thought about Elena. He thought about when they first met, before Damon was in the picture, How they fell in love, how she'd been there for him when he slipped up and drank human blood for a while, how he'd been there for her during everything. Jenna and Ricks deaths, everything Klaus put them through. They had shared so much and been through so much together. She had meant everything to him, and he had meant everything for her. At least he thought so before Damon nestled himself in, and Elena let him.
And he thought about Damon. His brother, his only brother. His only family. He couldn't for the life of it understand how his own brother could do this to him.
The first days he just thought about that. About his and Elena's relationship before things started to change, how it was years ago. How Damon betrayed him. But as the nights came and went he started digging deeper. When had Elena started feeling things for Damon? Was it Stefans fault? A part of it had to be Stefans fault. For not noticing, for not doing anything. He just let her fall for Damon.
He checked one more time through the open door that Caroline was asleep, then closed then closed it and pulled out a package of red Marlboro´s from his linnen shorts and sat down in the chair again.
He smoked on and off for decades in the 20th century, mostly to calm his blood thirst. He officially quit in the 70's but now and then he liked to take a smoke just to clear his mind out. It soothed him.
He was just about to reach the Elena thoughts again when -
"Oh my god, are you smoking?!"
Caroline just stood there in her pink camisole and lacy pajama shorts, with messy hair, eyes bulging out.
Drawn out of his own thoughts, Stefan pulled his hand behind him as if he could hide it.
"I'm sorry did I wake you up?"
"I'm gonna try this again; are you smoking?!" she demanded again, ignoring his question. Stefan sighed.
"It's a nasty habit." He told her, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah totally..." She said her eyes trailing from the cigarette in his hand, to his eyes, then quickly out to the beach, then she met his gaze again.
"Can I have one?"
"You smoke?!" he looked at her with big eyes.
She sat down in the chair beside him and put her feet up on the railings too. She took the package and the lighter laying at their feet.
"I did when I was younger, but I quit a couple of years ago." She said, taking out a cigarette out of the package.
"Now – only on special occasions." She said, putting the stick in her mouth and lightening it.
"Huh…" he said, taking a puff. "I learn something new about you every day Care."
"Ditto" she said, breathing out the smoke through her nose. "Now do you want to tell me what you've been out here thinking about the last couple of nights?"
"Well I've been having trouble sleeping."
"I know that you moron." She said looking out at the waves and the dark ocean.
"I didn't know you'd noticed. Thought you were asleep." He said, admiring her profile in the moonshine.
"I know that too you martyr." She said turning her head towards him.
"And I know that you're trying to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all by yourself like you always do, I just want you to know that you don't have to. I'm here. I'm here every day and every night. Not because I have to, but because I want to." She said, putting her still burning cigarette in the ashtray and taking one if his large hands in her two.
"I wanted to die, when I became a vampire Stefan. I was so sad and angry and confused. I was just, a big mess. And you untangled me. You made it all right again. And for that I'll always owe you. But I'm not with you right now to pay off some debt. I'm with you because you're my best friend, and I want to be here with and for you. Hell, I dragged you here without even asking if you wanted to be with me." She laughed quietly, then met his eyes again.
"What I wanted to say is that I'm here because I want to be with you, and I want to help you as much as I can. I understand if you don't want to talk about it all or if you just want to be alone, I just want you to know that you can always talk to me." She wrapped it up, knowing she'd talked too much but she didn't care, and squeezed his hand.
She was about to let go but was stopped, because Stefan's grip tightened around her hands.
"Thank you." He said, staring into her eyes with an almost frightening intensity.
"And I want you to know something too."
"You are the best friend I could ever have. I don't know what I would have done or what I would do if I didn't have you. You're not even aware of it but you have been my rock for a really long time now. A long time before Elena and I even broke up." He said, and she saw a fraction of a smile on his lips, but sorrow in his eyes.
"You're my best friend Care." He said, leaning forward and kissed her on her cheek.
No one had ever done such a thing for Caroline before. No one had ever with words told her she meant so much to them before, not even her parents. Stefan's words hit her right in the heart and she couldn't control her emotions.
She lowered her eyes so that he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes, but he wouldn't have that.
Stefan lifted up her chin and made him look at him.
"I'm sorry," she said sniffling. "I'm such a girl." Stefan stroked away the single tear she spilled from her cheek with hus thumb and gave her a sad smile. He knew the reason why she was crying and he couldn't understand why people never showed this good and pure and kind girl the appreciation she deserved.
She took a deep breath, collected herself and lifted the cigarette to her lips again.
"Now, tell me what's been eating at your brain all these nights."
"So, why are we on the beach every day anyway?" Stefan asked, plopping a strawberry in his mouth which Caroline conveniently noticed he'd taken from their daily compelled fruit tray, but she didn't mention it.
"Why not? It's nice and warm and relaxing. I mean why shouldn't we lie on the beach and freakin' sunbathe? Fuck that we can't get a tan, it's the principal that matters and I want to sunbathe." she exclaimed animatedly, almost spilling out the pink drink she had in her hand.
"It's a big part of our Eat, pray and love trip." She smiled proudly and Stefan chuckled because seriously, where did this girl get it all from?
"Minus the pray and the love part. Unless you're not interested in some rebounding with one of these fine ladies" she spread out her hands around her, referring to all the old women on the beach, "or if you're like secretly really religious, that is."
"Nope and nope. I can assure you I'm not, I stopped believe in god a long time ago." He told her and took a new fruit from the tray.
"Well good, that helps with the whole Edward Cullen no soul thing." She chirped and Stefan just shook his head, still not understanding what she meant when she referred to the twilight books.
She was right though, he thought. When did he ever do anything just because he wanted to, not because he had to? Yeah, why shouldn't he get to lie on the beach all day and just relax? He deserved this.
"Anyway, as I was saying, it's a part of our eat, heal and fun trip."
"Eat, heal and fun trip?"
"Yep, and this is only the beginning."