Thanks to Heather as usual. Enjoy and review if you liked it ! ;o)
When Klaus tells Stefan he has something prepared, he knows this is going to end badly.
A gut feeling makes him go up to Caroline's room a few minutes before they leave.
"Did he say where we are going?" she asks him when he walks into the room.
"No. He said it was a surprise."
"I hate his surprises."
Stefan comes to her and takes her face in his hands. "You have to turn it off, Caroline. Can you do that for me? Please?"
She shakes her head, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't. I haven't been able for a while now. I think it's like, broken or something."
Stefan feels crushed. No wonder she's been feeling so horrible.
"If you want I'll tell Klaus you don't feel good."
"It's ok, Stefan. He won't buy it anyway. I can handle a few more killings..I guess."
She smiles at him, and seeing that brave smile on her face overwhelms him with tenderness. He brings her mouth to his and kisses her deeply. There's desperation in that kiss, but there's also a huge amount of love, a love that none of them can deny anymore. Stefan hadn't realized how hard he has fallen for her until now.
They are together until the very end, whatever it may be.
Too soon they have to let go, but he let his lips linger on hers for just a while longer before releasing her. It's almost physically painful for both of them.
"Let's go."
They hide in the woods, watching a group of campers having fun around a fire. Their sweet closeness together and terms of endearment signaled just the family unit Klaus is looking for. The perfect idea for a night of fun.
Slaughtering an entire family of 12 people.
Klaus points out to Stefan the only kid in the group, who' s about 12 years old.
"I thought Caroline could take him," Klaus tells him. "You know, to help her get back on things easily."
Right, because nothing would be more beneficial for Caroline than ripping out the throat of a young boy.
"No."
Stefan's word is final. Klaus looks at him.
"Why?"
"She's not stable enough. If you make her kill a child right now, she'll probably lose it."
"Careful, Stefan. When you talk like that, I'm inclined to think that your human feelings are back on and that you care too much about the girl."
"And you don't?" Stefan asks boldly, and Klaus smiles but avoid his gaze.
"Touché. Ok then. Who gets the kid?"
"I do," Stefan answers, even though it will crucify him since he has decided to leave his emotions on. If Caroline can't turn them off, then he won't either.
He closes his eyes for a minute, praying to make amends for all of this, to be able to forgive himself for everything.
He finds strength in the fact that in a little bit more than 24 hours, Caroline and him will be gone.
The next day, Caroline doesn't come out of her room and Stefan feels like a lion in a cage.
The way she reacted after last night's killing spree terrifies him. It's like she doesn't have any feelings at all. She is a cold, emotionless robot.
She still has that same attitude when she comes down later that evening, just before Klaus and Stefan are about to leave for a party. Stefan obviously has no desire to go, but he has no idea to justify wanting to stay with Caroline. So he hasn't said anything, telling himself that he would join her in her room afterward.
They are supposed to run away tonight. But for the moment he's the only who knows it.
He's really surprised to see her arrive then, all dolled up, sporting a fake smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
"I'm so happy you decided to join us, my darling," Klaus tells her while kissing her hand.
This time they are invited to a senator's home, and the evening starts fine enough. Stefan doesn't leave Caroline'side though, not really participating in any conversation but standing silently beside her, just in case.
Thanks to that, he knows the exact moment when she starts to crack.
Her speech suddenly becomes hesitant, and her hand searches his and squeezes it violently.
She's all smiles, but inside she's screaming for help.
He purposefully spills some of his champagne on her dress to get her out of the room as soon as possible. He chooses a small den situated as far as possible as the main room, and close the door behind him.
He leads her on the couch, kneeling down before her.
"Care? Care, look at me."
She's breathing rapidly now, but doesn't cry. She looks completely freaked out, grabbing his shoulders with a strength he didn't even know she possessed.
"Stefan...Stefan, I can't breathe!" and indeed, her previous short intakes of breath are non-existent now. "I can't breathe, Stefan," she repeats in a panicked tone.
He grabs her head, plunging her eyes into hers.
"You don't need to breathe, Caroline. Please, focus on me. You don't need to breathe!"
The words seem to penetrate her mind and she relaxes slightly, but the second after the tears come out and she starts trembling.
Stefan takes her in his arms and almost crushes her against his own body.
"Please, Care, you have to calm down. I can't stand to see you like this. You have to get it together, or there will be hell to pay. Please, I beg of you," he urges her.
Her shaking and sobs finally subside, and he lets her go. He takes her face back in his hands, whispering, "We're leaving tonight. I arranged everything." He presses a strong kiss on her lips before adding impulsively, "I love you."
He barely has the time to take a few steps back before Klaus walks into the room.
"Something wrong?" he asks, taking in the scene before him. Caroline is sitting on the couch, having obviously cried but seemingly calm now. Stefan is standing a few feet away from her, his arms folded on his chest, his face impassive.
"Caroline wasn't feeling well, I took her here to give her a few minutes to
recover," he tells Klaus in his best I-couldn't-care-less tone.
Caroline stands up, smoothing her dress with her hand. "I'm fine now", she tells the two men, and if it weren't for the faint trace of tears on her cheeks, no one could tell she just had a panic attack.
"Stefan, you need to stop smothering her. You're not her bodyguard," Klaus says, and if his tone is even, Stefan still detect the slight warning underneath.
"Yes, Stefan, you really need to stop fussing, I'm perfectly alright," Caroline adds, and she walks to Klaus, putting her hand on the older vampire's arm. "Shall we go back to the party?" she asks him with a sweet smile and he complies with an obvious pleasure.
He might be a thousand years old, but he's still a man.
Just before they leave the room, Caroline turns slightly around and send Stefan a look, making him understand that she registered his earlier words.
She's ready to leave.
And she loves him too.
Damon comes out of the shower as his cell phone rings. The caller's id flashes Bonnie's name.
"Salvatore's House of Perdition," he answers.
"I have the merchandise," she tells him without preamble.
"Aw, come on, Bonnie. You know I don't do drugs, and neither should you."
He can practically hear her rolling her eyes on the other side of the line.
"You know, I didn't specifically ask, but it can be as deadly on a normal vampire, for all I know. Any idea of whom I could use as a guinea pig?" she asks.
He laughs. "Very scary, Sabrina. Just tell me, how much did it cost me? An arm and a leg?"
"And all your other limbs."
"Better be worth it then. Can you bring it to the house tonight? I'll make dinner."
"Ok. I..." There's a silence then she asks, "It's not like a date or anything, right?"
"A what? A date ? Over my dead body! Uh, no, make that yours instead. Besides, you're still dating Gilbert, right?"
"Yes. Yes I am." He doesn't miss the hesitation in her voice
"Try once more, with less feelings, Bennett. Trouble in paradise?"
"None of your business," she pulls herself together. "I'll be there at 7.30. Make sure it's edible."
Damon hangs up and drops the phone on the bed, smirking.
Then he wonders why he's suddenly so interested in Bonnie Bennett's love life.
Caroline wakes up slowly. Her eyelids flutters open, and it takes her a few seconds to realize where she is.
A moving car. Stefan is driving.
She remembers.
She remembers he came into her room during the night.
She remembers they silently walked out of the house, hoping not to get caught.
She remembers how the adrenaline cursed through her veins when they reached the car that Stefan has secretly rented.
And then they were gone.
Stefan sees that she's awake and smiles. His right hand let go of the wheel to caress her cheek.
"How are you feeling?" he asks her tenderly.
"I'm ok. Where are we?"
"Pennsylvania. I'm thinking of driving another two hours then stop and relax. Find a hotel. Is that ok with you?"
Stefan is aware that they could perfectly drive back to Mystic Falls straight away, even if it is an eleven hours trip. But he wants to spend a few more hours alone with her before having to face their life back in Virginia. Face Elena, Damon, and what will certainly be the consequences of their escape.
"That's fine with me," she tells him with a smile. She obviously have the same feelings.
There's a light in her eyes and a hint of rose on her cheeks that he hasn't seen in weeks.
"Are we free?" she asks him.
He doesn't want to spoil it for her. Right now she just knows that they are away from Klaus. She has yet to realize exactly what that is going to imply in a near future.
"Yes. We are free."
For now.
When Stefan comes out of their hotel room's bathroom that evening, Caroline is sitting on the bed watching TV.
"You know, I just realized that we barely watched any TV for weeks. I didn't even miss it."
He climbs on the bed behind her and start massaging her shoulders. She moans and forget all about the TV.
She turns around and faces, him, plunging her eyes into his green ones.
"Did you mean it?" she asks, and he knows immediately what she's referring to.
He answers without hesitation. "Yes. I love you, Care."
Her face breaks into a wide, open smile. "I love you too, Stefan."
And they kiss. A real kiss this time, not one for show or one to calm her down. A deep, loving kiss.
His tongue traces the soft fullness of her lips before exploring the recesses of her mouth. She gives herself freely to the passion of it.
When he breaks the kiss, they are both out of breath. Caroline can't help but have her insecurities crawling back insidiously. "How do we know we'll still feel this way when we get back in Mystic Falls?"
Stefan looks at her intently, caressing her cheek. "I know I want to be with you. And no one else."
She nods. She really doesn't want to bring Elena's name between them right now. Besides, she trusts Stefan to do the right thing once they are back.
She just can't quite grasp the fact that Stefan Salvatore is hers now. That is, until Klaus comes barging back into their lives with a vengeance.
Stefan seems to read her thoughts. "I'll call Damon later, let him know we're on our way back, and that he should be prepared."
"That's going to cause him a shock. It's a good thing vampires can't have heart attacks."
Stefan chuckles, happy to know he will soon hear his brother's voice and see his face. It eases down his worries about Klaus a bit.
Of course the beautiful blonde in his arm doesn't hurt either. He shakes his head, wondering why he's been so blind to how incredible she was. The friendship they had formed, his constant protectiveness towards her should have alerted him that there were much deeper feelings buried deep inside.
He had been so wrapped up in all the Elena drama that he had never take the time to really discover the treasure of a girl that was just under his nose.
In a twisted way, he has Klaus to thank for that. The irony isn't lost on him.
His mouth covers hers for another soul searing kiss, and they both lie down on the bed, their hands exploring each other, their legs intertwining. Caroline puts her arms around his neck, pressing her body into his, completely intoxicated by his touch on her skin.
He finds the strength to pull out for a second.
"Care, maybe we should stop. You are..."
"Stop?" she cuts him short with a loving smile. "You're kidding, right? I'm not stopping, Stefan. Deal with it."
He answers with a happy laugh that is quickly shut off by her hungry mouth.
"Do you need anything else?" Spike asks Klaus.
"No. Thank you."
Klaus is standing in front of the window, distractingly looking at the beach, bathed in a magnificent sunset light.
That same beach where Caroline loves to go for walks.
He can't believe they are gone, just like that.
He can't believe that his plan completely backfired on him.
But he accept that the fault is partly his.
He has made the mistake to like Stefan. He has made the mistake of letting Caroline into his dead heart, and allows himself to wake up feelings he hasn't felt in centuries.
He should have seen it coming, though. Both of them were too disgustingly soft-hearted to accept that way of life. Maybe if he hadn't bring in Caroline, Stefan would have give in eventually. It was in his deepest nature after all.
But Klaus had honestly believed that he would still be too wrapped up in Elena Gilbert to move on so quickly to Caroline.
And yet he couldn't find it in himself to blame Stefan for that.
The house looks dark and gloomy now that she is gone.
He can't describe what he feels, and he hates that. He's not supposed to feel. But he can recognize sadness, anger, betrayal and the worst of them all : heartbreak.
A part of him just want to let them be. A part of him want to follow them and tear their hearts out of their chest. He has to steel himself to consider the second option and stifle the first one.
He's giving himself a few days before deciding what to do.