Author's Notes: Clearly, I do not have any idea where I'm going with this. But I wanted to write so here it is. All errors are mine. Standard disclaimers apply.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think. Reviews are my drug. Enjoy!
She spends the rest of the night and much of the morning half awake and half afraid, refusing to fall into a restful sleep. She keeps her right hand on his chest so she can feel it rise and fall with his breath. She wakes every so often to feel the heat on his cheeks, leaving a gentle kiss each time.
When she feels the sun stream through his bedroom window, she gives up her attempts at rest. She lifts herself up by her elbows from her place on his shoulder and rests her cheek on her fist. She inspects him closer, letting her fingers touch the tender bruises and wiping off the dried blood still on his skin. She tries her best not to cry every time she finds another evidence of the pain Klaus' army caused him.
Hoisting herself out of the bed, she hears Damon and Alaric downstairs. She follows their voices to the kitchen and finds them discussing in hushed tones. She squints her eyes suspiciously at them as their conversation halts at her presence.
"Go on..."
Alaric starts to explain but Damon interrupts.
"We were just.."
"No Damon. I want the truth." Her voice is firm, unwavering. She's suddenly filled with the need to know the story even though she knows it will break her.
Alaric starts again, "When we found him, he was so weak and he reeked of vervain. Just the smell of it made Damon sick."
"He had deep wounds and cuts and bruises everywhere and they weren't healing as fast as they should've been," Damon said with his head down, a cup of warm blood in his hands.
"I had him drink my blood for a while but he wouldn't take it, even human blood. It looks like his body is rejecting everything it needs to heal." He shakes his head, lifting it to meet Caroline's eyes.
She can hear the pain in his voice - the guilt. But what strikes her the most is the fear that's written all over his face, to the grips of his hands. He's just as scared as she is.
"That's all we know at this point." Alaric's voice is calm and composed. He's their rock, the solid ground they stand upon in times like this. But behind all that she can sense the tiredness and the hopelessness.
She chooses to ignore them - the feelings of frustration and uncertainty weighing on them anchors to a ship but she wants to set sail. So she smiles a little, even though it took everything in her to pull up the corners of her lips.
"Most of his wounds have closed up, maybe not completely, but they're getting there. And he doesn't look as pained as he did when you guys came." It's all she can do, highlight the good things. She doesn't want to think of anything else but the good things. She doesn't want to forget she still has those. She still has him.
He's been out for nearly 20 hours and she tries to reason that he needs the rest but she's dying to see the green of his eyes and hear the bass of his voice.
She goes about and heats up some blood in case he asks while the boys silently watch her.
"I'll go back up and wait for him to wake. He might not be strong enough to call."
Elena finds her in one of his plush, old Victorian chairs. The one he normally uses for when he was writing or reading.
She makes her way to her, sits down by her legs and leans her head on one of her knees.
They remain like this for awhile, just watching him - the rhythm of his chest and the furrow of his eyebrows.
"When we stopped halfway back, in one of the raggedy gas stations no one seems to go to anymore, I caught him staring at his phone." Elena sighs and repositions herself, her back against the leg of the chair.
She continues, "It was his turn to drive and we were waiting for Damon to get back from the bathroom. I had the back seat and I saw him pull out his phone and stare at it. I couldn't help but sneak a peak." She lets a small laugh escape and then turns to face Caroline.
"It was a picture of you. I believe it was from when you went to see the Grand Canyon. You were beaming like an idiot."
She remembers the long drive they went on that summer, hot humid air be damned. She remembers him uncharacteristically asking her to strike a pose against the majestic background. She repeatedly refused, arguing that the drive had ruined her hair and her make up.
"Shut up, Vampire Barbie. You never wear make up and your hair looks fine," his camera is already pointed at her and his smile is wide and refreshing.
"Since when are you an expert on all things Caroline?" she says back, mirroring his tone.
"Since I became your boyfriend," he says, a little shy, but she can hear the certainty in his voice.
She shocked by his admission but she quickly recovers, her cheeks hurting from smiling too long.
"Oh yeah?" her eyebrows are raised and her hands on her hips.
He lifts his head up so he can meet her eyes from behind his smartphone. "Uh huh," nodding his head as he finally takes the picture.
She remembers wrapping him in a tight hug on that cliff in the Canyon. She remembers kissing him for the first time. She remembers the drive back, how they would steal glances at each other and laugh when the caught each other staring.
She feels a sad smile form on her lips.
Elena pushes herself off the floor, taking Caroline with her. She wraps the other girl in her arms. "He's not going anywhere without you. Don't worry about that."
And she whispers a genuine thanks in reply.
She's rubbing her thumbs across his cheeks when she feels him start to stir. She stays close, her breath hot on the side of his face.
"Stefan?"
His eyes are searching and unsure.
She plants a soft kiss to his temple but she feels him pull away with a little moan. "Are you okay, baby? Do you need anything?"
He's shocked by the evident affection in her tone.
"What happened?"
She watches the fear slowly build up on his face.
"Klaus. He.."
"Stefan!" Elena is in the room in two long strides. She opens her arms for a hug but Stefan shakes his head.
"Katherine?!" His face twists in pain and surprise.
"What are you doing here?! How did you find me?"
He's visibly shaking now. He attempts to lift himself up but his arms give way. He plants his back firm against the headboard and Caroline watches him try to hide the wince forming on his face.
"Brother."
They all turn to see Damon leaning on the door frame, arms folded over his chest. "Elena, Caroline, I need you to go downstairs and talk to Alaric. I have to speak to Stefan."
Caroline opens her mouth to protest but Elena grips her wrist and shakes her head.
She resists the urge to close the distance between them and plant another lingering kiss on his forehead. She follows Elena across the room but turns around right before she heads out the door.
"I'll be right downstairs, Stefan."
They all hear the break in her voice but Stefan's confusion is all the reply she gets.
