Hey guys!

The last chapter was actually pretty fun to write, despite not much really happening. Most of you seemed to like it, though I know you have a lot of questions. Don't worry though, things will be revealed eventually, just give it time!

Anyway, thanks to;

Arielmermaid, Ktclaire99, Jwakeel, 1998baby, IrishBeauty294, annapung, cupcakesweetheart5, Kaylabeth21, WeasleysGroupie, and Grace5231973.

Also, some good news! I've finished one of the Merlin fics I was writing, which means I've got nothing else going on at the moment. I'll be able to focus on this fic completely, until I can come up with another one. I already have a few ideas floating around, but make sure you're following me if you're interested! I'll also have a lot of one-shots coming your way, mostly Vampire Diaries ones.

Enjoy!

Megan

oxox

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Caroline shuffled some papers around on her desk, waiting for Rose to walk through the door. Still, she knew she wouldn't turn up until the exact minute of the appointment. She was a bit obsessive with her time-keeping, something that Caroline didn't know whether it linked to her illness, or whether it was just a part of her personality. Then again, it was quite unlikely it would be linked to either of her illnesses. Obsessing over things wasn't usually a symptom or anything related to having schizophrenia or Ekbom's syndrome. In fact, it was probably totally unrelated to both.

As she waited for Rose to arrive, Caroline's eyes were drawn to her patient notebook, which she wrote all of her informal observations on her patients in. Sticking out of the notebook, was a piece of folded up paper. Caroline didn't have to take it out to know what it was, she'd stuffed it in there that morning. It was the picture of her that Klaus had drawn. She'd found it tucked away in her dress pocket that morning, and hadn't wanted Tyler to find it, so she'd put it in her notebook. Tyler was extremely jealous and protective, it was probably best he didn't know about that drawing.

After all, Caroline didn't know much about the drawing herself, or the feeling or motive behind it. She wondered if Klaus had noticed it was gone by now, or if he ever would. Maybe he had more like it? Caroline didn't know what was worse, the idea that he had more drawings of her, or the idea of him finding out she'd taken that one. Probably the latter. The drawing didn't seem in any way sinister, or anything to worry about. In fact, Caroline might find it even a little flattering, if it weren't entirely inappropriate.

She picked her notebook up off of her desk, and slid the drawing out from between the pages. She unfolded it carefully, as if it might fall apart in her hands, and laid it out on the desk. It was an amazing drawing, she couldn't deny that. The attention to detail was just . . . and he'd memorized all of her features perfectly. The strangest thing was that she'd never even seen him look at her for longer than a second. The fact that he was able to draw her face from memory, and get it so similar, astounded her.

In all honesty, Caroline didn't know what she was going to do about the drawing. She couldn't keep it. It didn't belong to her, and was a very private thing. She should never have even picked it up in the first place. But then, she couldn't exactly give it back without it being extremely awkward. And she couldn't talk to him about it either, seeing as he hadn't spoken a word to her since she got there. She knew the responsible thing to do would be to give it back. It was also the rational thing to do. But when it came to this particular patient of hers, it seemed she was finding it very hard to be rational with anything.

She hastily shoved the drawing back into her notebook, as she heard Rose approaching. She threw the notebook into her desk drawer, and smiled as her other, much less difficult patient entered the room.

"Hi," Rose said quietly, giving a small wave. Rose was probably one of the more quiet patients that Caroline had come across, but not in the way that Klaus was. Rose was just a bit more reserved than other people, and took longer for people to get to know. She hadn't been in the institute that long, but after a few sessions, Caroline was pretty sure she was ready to leave soon. Still, she hadn't mentioned it yet, as she had to clear it with Meredith and the board first.

"Hi Rose," Caroline smiled, as Rose took the seat across from Caroline's desk.

Rose sat down carefully, and tucked her feet underneath her. She ran her hands up and down her legs awkwardly, which was a sign of the anxiety that had been present in her lately. Caroline had noticed this, and had made a few notes on it. She'd even spoken to Meredith about it, but she thought it was probably due to the fact that Rose hadn't been allowed out of the facility in months, none of them had. It was likely she was just missing the outside world, and needed to talk about it.

"So I heard you've been talking recently, about how you want to leave soon?" Caroline asked, and Rose nodded, absentmindedly. Caroline smiled, that had to be it. "Well, perhaps if you focus on the reasons why you want to leave, maybe those reasons will motivate you to help your recovery?" another nod, "What are you going to do when you get out? Is there any family you want to go back to, or . . . ?"

Rose nodded again, and Caroline gestured for her to elaborate.

"Well, I . . . um . . ." Rose began, and Caroline could see her thinking. Then, a smile spread across her face, and she leaned forward in her seat, excited. She readjusted her position, and began to talk animatedly, with more life than Caroline had ever seen in her. "I want to get a job, and my own flat, here in Mystic Falls. I don't really want to leave here, I've made so many friends in this place, and I'd want to come back and visit them. My family all live out of town, but I'd probably go and stay with them for a few weeks, to celebrate. I might even share a flat with my friend, Trevor.

We've known each other since we were young, and we've stayed together ever since. I love him, obviously, but he's like a brother to me. He lives here, in Mystic Falls, he even visits me sometimes. He said he's proud, of the progress I've made. He said that when I get out, he'll take me to the Mystic Grill, to celebrate. I think I mentioned to him once, how much I missed going there."

"You see, even little things, like that. Just keep thinking about those things, and you'll be out in no time," Caroline smiled, happy to see that Rose was excited about something. When Caroline had first met her, she'd been so withdrawn, so lifeless. Watching her talk now, was like seeing a completely different person. And though Rose said she thought of Trevor as her brother, and there was nothing going on between them, a fool could see that was a lie. Still, it was none of Caroline's business really.

But it just proved that love brought out the best in everyone.

"Oh, you decided you'd come home today, did you?" Caroline yelled sarcastically, as she heard the slam of the front door reverberate through the apartment. "How gracious of you! I apologize, as I wasn't expecting you until around midnight, when I thought you'd sneak in without warning. I must say, this is quite the surprise, I couldn't even make dinner for you -"

"Shut it, Care," Tyler stormed past her, and into the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge. But Caroline had had enough. After the engagement party, Tyler had been coming in at all hours of the morning, sometimes, not even coming back at all. They hadn't even spoken since that night, and Caroline didn't even have the strength to be angry anymore.

"Don't feel like talking tonight, honey?" Caroline spat, walking up behind him as he sighed, sitting in the chair. "Perhaps you should've thought about that when you turned up late to our engagement party, and then didn't come home for three days! I suppose I should have been worried, but I'm not even sure you're worth it anymore -"

"Oh yeah?!" Tyler yelled, standing up from his chair. He reached for the bottle he'd just gotten from the fridge, and before Caroline even had time to react, he threw the bottle at the wall, and it shattered into a million pieces. She barely even flinched. They fought so often now, she was used to it. And as the fights seemed to be getting more and more violent, she braced herself. "Well why don't you just leave me then?"

The question hung in the air for quite a while, and the apartment fell silent. Because even Caroline herself didn't know the answer. Why didn't she just leave him? He wasn't the same man she'd met and fell in love with, and she wasn't even sure if she was still in love with him anymore. He wasn't her fiancé anymore, he was somebody else, a monster. So why didn't she just leave him? It wasn't like either of them cared anymore.

But she just didn't feel like she could. Her relationship with Tyler had become such a tangled web of lies and hate, that she didn't think she could see a way out anymore. So they were just stuck together, cold and unfeeling, for the rest of their lives, it would seem.

"You can't, can you?" Tyler whispered, leaning in close. Caroline could smell the alcohol on him as he got closer, and she noticed that he hadn't even tried to hide it this time. It was getting worse each time she saw him. "Because you know you're not gonna get anybody else. I'm the best you're ever going to get, Caroline, and you know it. Because nobody else wants you, nobody else cares. You're broken, tainted. And nobody wants damaged goods -"

"Stop it!" Caroline shouted, pushing Tyler away from her, and he laughed wryly.

"You see? You know it's true! Deep down, you know it!" he continued to laugh, while Caroline glared. "You know what, you're lucky you've still got me! I could've left you by now, in fact, I should have, but I stayed! Because I feel sorry for you, and I know that you're not going to be able to do much better than me. We both know it's the truth, so stop denying it!"

"God, you're so full of it!" Caroline threw back, trying to stay as far away from him as possible. He was drunk, that much was obvious, and he was disgusting. She could barely even stand to look at him. "Maybe it's time you started thinking about someone other than yourself, Tyler. Did you ever think about that? Do you even love me anymore? Did you ever? Did you even care about me at all?"

"You know what, I can't remember. It doesn't matter really though, does it?" Tyler spat back, and Caroline could feel herself starting to crumble, but she stood tall. She didn't want him to see how weak she'd become. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. "Because I sure as hell don't give a damn about you anymore."

Caroline gasped, and it felt like all the air had flown out of her lungs.

But Tyler wasn't affected in the slightest. He simply smirked at her, looking almost proud of himself, before nodding, and turning on his heel. The glass of the bottle being ground up under his shoes. Caroline flinched as she heard the door slam behind him. The silence that followed after was deafening, and she was surprised at how empty and cold she felt. Like the apartment when he wasn't there.

She'd been expecting a fight when he got home, but she didn't think he'd go that far. He'd never said anything like that to her before. Ever. Even when he was drunk, he'd always seemed to know where the boundaries lay. There were things that they just didn't say, and that was one of them. At least, it had been. Now, it seemed there was no holding back.

And while she'd tried to stay strong in front of him, now that he'd left, all of her walls came crashing back down. And before she could stop herself, she fell to her knees, with her head in her hands. The glass from the broken bottle cut at her bare knees, but she ignored it. Tears raced down her cheeks, and her body wracked with sobs. She hadn't even realized how much he was affecting her.

He wasn't entirely to blame though, she was partly to blame. He never would have turned to the drink if she hadn't ignored him for months before they came back to Mystic Falls. It was that lack of communication that had driven him away from her, and now he was a completely different person. It was heart-breaking to know that it was her fault he was this way, but she knew she couldn't blame herself for everything. He should have been stronger, better, he should've tried harder, should have fought for her.

The fact he'd given up so easily proved that he didn't love her enough.

But neither of them were to blame for the feeling of completely and utter emptiness that she felt almost constantly. She tried to ignore it, tried to distract herself from it, and sometimes, it worked. When she was around other people, talking to them, it went away from a little while. She was able to pretend. But then when she was alone . . . or when no one was looking . . . the feeling of hollowness crept back up on her. And she hated it. She hated feeling so weak, so empty, so alone.

She knew it was stupid to feel that way, she was surrounded with friends and family who cared about her, but that wasn't the point. She needed someone to love, and someone to love her in return, with equal measure. She needed someone she could trust, someone who would understand . . . someone who would try. Someone who wouldn't give up when things got bad, and could make her smile even when she didn't want to. Someone she could be proud of, and not ashamed. Tyler wasn't that person, she knew that. But it wasn't his fault.

Caroline reached around her, and began to pick up the shattered glass from the bottle. The bottle that lay, empty, and hollow, and as broken as she felt inside.

Elena walked through the streets of Mystic Falls, all dressed up for a date with Damon. It was something they'd arranged weeks ago, and though they'd at first agreed to go to the restaurant together, they'd said they'd meet there instead. Damon had to drive home from work, get dressed, and then drive to the restraunt, get the table, and wait for Elena. He'd already be there by now, but Elena was glad they'd decided to meet there. It would be a nice surprise for Damon when he saw her.

As she made her way up to the restaurant, she saw a couple across the street. They were walking up to a motel, and it was clear that they were incredibly drunk. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered her, but Elena was sure she'd seen both of them before. She made her way across the street, trying to be as quiet as she could in the heels she was wearing. Still, the couple were loud enough that they probably wouldn't have heard her anyway.

She walked slowly past the motel, watching them closely.

The girl had her arm hooked through the boy's, and they were both stumbling and laughing, leaning in close. But Elena still couldn't see their faces, which was incredibly infuriating. She knew she recognized them from somewhere, but she just couldn't place them. The girl was quite tall, with long, chestnut brown hair, and tanned, olive skin. She was wearing an incredibly short dress, and was clearly dressed for some sort of occasion.

Elena couldn't see much of the guy, as he was dressed in all black, and was walking mostly in the shadows. However, once they got to the door of their room, and the guy stopped to open it, the girl stepped up on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. It was then, when she had her head turned to the side, that Elena realized who it was.

It was Hayley, one of the girls that Elena worked with.

She'd only started working with her a couple of months ago, as she'd moved to Mystic Falls from Florida. Nobody really knew that much about her, just that she was adopted, and had come to Mystic Falls to look for her real family. Not that she'd found out anything about them. At least, not so far. Elena had been the one to show her around the company, and tell her what she had to do.

Elena told herself to focus, as she watched them go into the room.

Hayley went in first, but the guy stopped. He slid the key back into his pocket, shoving off his jacket. He threw it into the room, stepping in, and taking hold of the door. Behind him, Elena could already see that Hayley was beginning to take off her dress. As the guy turned to close the door, he looked around, to check if anyone was looking. Elena quickly hid behind a tree trunk, but she still caught a glimpse of his face, and a glimpse was all she needed.

Tyler.

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