A/N: This chapter has been my favourite to write so far. I'm going to write more so I hope you guys like this as much as I do.

It was raining when she finally found him. He was in an alleyway, hunched over the person he had just killed. Their blood was running down his chin, and his eyes were still red, the veins surrounding them.

"Stefan," she whispered, not wanting to startle him. But she needed to get this out. He stood up when she said his name, his features returning to normal.

"What?" he snapped at her, and she flinched, taking a step back. She watched as he wiped the blood from his chin using the back of his hand. He ran his other hand through his hair. She blinked as the heavy rain pelted her face and soaked her hair and clothes. A small voice in her head told her she should have brought an umbrella. But that really wasn't important right now.

"I can't do this anymore," she said quietly. Her eyes started to fill with tears. Over the past few months she had watched him lose himself more and more. He had killed countless people and she just couldn't take it anymore. She needed to go home and forget about him. She couldn't live with this Stefan forever, she wasn't strong enough. He needed someone better than her.

"Do what?" he asked, his voice not as harsh as before. He stepped closer to her so he could see her face, and he didn't like what he found there. He knew Caroline was struggling, but he thought after a while she would get used to the new him, come to appreciate it and maybe even join him in his new lifestyle.

"I can't be here anymore. I need to go home," she told him, her vision clouding as her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let spill. He couldn't see her cry.

"I thought you were going to stay with me forever," he replied. Stefan hadn't told Caroline, but he had turned his humanity back on the second he was freed from Klaus' compulsion. Stefan killed and hurt people because the blood helped to numb the overwhelming pain he was feeling. It was the only way he could cope. He was so afraid. He was afraid of losing Caroline, of driving her away. And that was exactly what he was doing now. He was scared of being alone. He was scared that if he let himself feel completely, that if he stopped killing and drinking human blood, then he would surely die. The pain and guilt would surely kill him.

"I know I said that," she whispered, "but I can't see you like this anymore. I can't do it anymore, Stefan." The tears were flowing freely now, but it was hard to tell, the rain washed them away as quickly as they appeared.

"You can't go," he said, his voice taking on a desperate edge. He stepped closer and grabbed her hand. "Please don't leave me. I need you." It was if a rusty knife had found it's way into Stefan's heart. The sharp pain in his chest was trying to claw itself free, but Stefan kept it buried. He wasn't breathing.

"Stefan…" she trailed off. She looked into his eyes and saw something she hadn't seen there in a long time. For months all she had seen was the empty, neutral look in his eyes. She had never seen any emotion. But now she could see sadness. But it wasn't just sadness, it was agony. Her breath caught in her throat and she threw herself into his arms, wanting to take away all of the pain.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. "I'm so sorry." Large sobs wracked his body as he held her, and she clung to him as tight as she could, determined not to let her own grief and pain take over.

"It's okay," she whispered. "It's going to be okay." She didn't know what else to say. She held him for what felt like hours while he cried. By the time he had stopped apologising and pulled back to look at her, her own eyes were bloodshot from her tears. "Let's go home, okay?" she spoke gently and took his hand in hers.

They walked back to their apartment slowly, it was still raining heavily but the pair had long forgotten it now. Caroline didn't let go of his hand as they opened the door and turned the light on. She led him around with her as she shut curtains and turned the heating on. She got a towel and then took him to his room where she helped him take his shirt off, and then dried his hair and face.

He only stood there while she did all of this, watching her. She was beautiful, even when she had been crying and standing in the rain for hours. Her hair clung to her face and forehead and as it dried it was slowly curling. He clothes clung to her body and if he was being honest with himself, he had never seen anything sexier in his life.

"Take your jeans and shoes off," she commanded, handing him a towel. "And wrap yourself in this when you're done." She turned her back, not leaving the room while he got undressed. She was scared of leaving him alone. Now that he had finally let some of the pain in, she was scared that she was going to lose him. If she left him alone for just one second, she could lose him forever.

"I'm done," he said, his voice was low and quiet. She could tell he was tired. She just wanted to put him in the shower and then get him into bed, but she couldn't do that without leaving him alone. She turned around and smiled a small smile for him.

"Why are you here?" he asked her. She paused, the smile slipping from her face.

"Because I care about you," she replied.

"Why? I'm so broken, Caroline. I'm a lost cause." He sat down on the end of his bed, his head cradled in his hands. She hated seeing him like this. He was her life now, whether she liked it or not. And even though she had planned on returning to Mystic Falls, she knew they would never want her back. She had betrayed them. She had run away with the bad guy. With her best friend's ex boyfriend. Whether she liked it or not, all she had was Stefan now.

"You're not a lost cause," she said firmly. "Don't say that. You are going to be okay, I'll make sure of that."

"Nobody can help me," he replied. She moved across the room and sat next to him on the bed. She grabbed his wrists, gently pulling them away from his face.

"Look at me," she ordered. He lifted his head slowly, his green eyes meeting hers. She could see the pain there and she wanted to hold him again. "I am not giving up on you. You can make it through this. You taught me how to survive, I owe it to you to help you." Stefan let himself be comforted by the girl in front of him. The girl who was still soaking wet because she hadn't left him to get changed yet. Her eyes were so beautiful. It was something Stefan had always loved about her. They were easy to get lost in, and they told you exactly how she was feeling. Right now they were telling him that he was loved, that he was worth fighting for.

"I…" he trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say. He leaned forward and covered the short distance between them, he placed a soft kiss on her cold pink lips. He lingered a moment before he pulled back, trying to figure out her reaction. She didn't move or speak, but her eyes sparkled and he took that as a good sign. "Your lips are freezing," he told her, lifting his hand to her face and running his thumb along her bottom lip. Her eyes dropped to his lips and she had the overwhelming urge to have him kiss her again.

"They are," she agreed.

"I can help with that," he told her, and leaned forward again. He placed one, two, three gentle kisses on her mouth before she moved her hands to his face, holding his lips to hers. She shivered violently and realised that it wasn't just her lips that were freezing, but the rest of her as well. She was still in her wet clothes.

"Go get changed into something dry," he told her. She opened her mouth to protest but his lips on hers silenced her. "I'll… be… fine," he told her between kisses. "Just get changed and come back here."

She nodded and moved to her room. She changed quickly, pulling her hair into a bun and throwing her wet clothes into a hamper. She came back to Stefan's room in under a minute and found him lying on the bed. She climbed onto the other side, slipping under the covers. He reached over and switched the lamp off beside his bed and took Caroline's hand in his.

"Goodnight Caroline," he whispered.

"Night, Stefan," she whispered back. And for the first time in a long time she felt hope. Maybe everything would be okay after all.