Cosy. Comfortable. Content…

Warm. Relaxed. Happy…

These were the first tendrils of thought to slip through Caroline's consciousness and float around in her head as she started to wake up. She hovered there for a while, surrounded by these feelings, basking in them, holding on to the last residues of sleep which still smothered any other thoughts like a warm blanket. Then, as though the blanket had been ripped off of her exposing her skin to the unforgiving cold of the morning, awareness slammed into her like a hard slap to the face. Caroline sprang up in her bed. Guilt and self-loathing making her tear herself out of the haven of Stefan's embrace and pulling her back to the painful reality they lived in. A reality in which she shouldn't be sleeping next to Stefan, no matter how innocent it had been; shouldn't wake up in his embrace, no matter how comfortable it was; shouldn't have enjoyed it so much. She would never be more than Stefan's best friend. These thoughts and feelings washed over her in a fraction of a second and before she could even inhale a gasp at the ice-cold chill they struck through her heart she felt Stefan sit up abruptly seconds after her, his body mimicking hers exactly and his arms banding round her again. Caroline drew in a sharp breath. She was overwhelmed. The onslaught of emotions - which had started out as such a pleasant contentedness only to plummet to a deep and dark guilt – so soon after waking. Her mind felt swollen and numb as she was startled by Stefan's unexpected movement. Caroline felt like she was in shock, but from her chilling and upsetting emotions, or from Stefan's abrupt movements, or from suddenly finding herself back in Stefan's arms and the instant relief it provided...she wasn't sure. She froze in place, holding her breath as every muscle in her body tensed.

"Caroline?" he asked tentatively.

"You scared me." she breathed out.

"Sorry." Stefan mumbled sleepily. The moist air of his breath fanned over her shoulder making her shiver, then her stomach leapt as she felt the contact of flesh as he pressed his lips to her bare shoulder in a soft kiss. Her insides squeezed painfully. "I Thought you were having another nightmare." He mumbled against her skin, his breath making goose bumps spread across her shoulder. Then he pulled away: his lips leaving her and taking their heat with them, then his body pulled away too, the space between them increasing again as he lay back down against the pillows. Caroline was so stunned at his intimate gesture she didn't even think to ask what other nightmare? All she could think or feel was his lips brushing hot against her skin, and the warmth of his chest solid against her back and they were both gone now. But that was what she wanted, that was why she had jumped up so suddenly – for space, to separate them. So why did she feel so lost now? Because that type of intimacy wasn't part of their relationship: it wasn't who she was to him and she knew that. She wasn't Elena, or even Katherine. She wasn't a doppelganger and who the hell could mess with that epic, cosmic universe kind of love? She had told herself a long time ago that she would never be that to Stefan, that he could never be that for her.

With a few mumbled words Caroline headed quickly for the bathroom, managing to make her exit without properly looking him in the face. Her stomach churned and her head ached – the after effects of her guilt and embarrassment rather than a hangover from the tequila. Caroline distractedly turned on the shower and pulled her shampoo and a clean towel from the cupboard, cringing at the memory of her embarrassing drunken flirting the night before: she had made a fool of herself. Her only saving grace was that Stefan had been just as drunk as her, and she could always blame any inappropriate behaviour on her sudden break up with Tyler. And yet it seemed Stefan was affecting her much more than Tyler these last few days, she thought.

It had been amazing spending time with him since the amnesia. Without his memories Stefan wasn't preoccupied by Elena and Damon and heartbreak and betrayal, at least not to the same extent, he knew about it but it didn't seem to drown him the same way that it had been before. God what an awful friend she was for enjoying her time with amnesia him. It put everything else on hold so that there was no past to brood over and no future to worry about, just the present moment to savour, where it was just them and alcohol and conversations and fun. No supernatural drama. Just two teenagers hanging out. And that was the problem. That was not good, because without the reminders of the outside world, of Damon and Elena, and all the craziness surrounding their lives Caroline far too easily got lost in their own little universe and that universe of smiles and laughter and dancing and cuddles raised her deeply repressed crush to the surface.

Facing these dizzying thoughts that were swirling around in her mind Caroline dropped her forehead forward, smacking it onto the cold tiles of the shower stall and swore under her breath as she honestly admitted to herself: Caroline Forbes had feelings for Stefan Salvatore. And it was getting harder to hide it.

Stefan yawned and stretched then reached out to the nightstand for his phone. He didn't really care about anyone or anything outside of the dorm room – the only other people he knew were Damon and Elena and he was still furious enough about having his neck repeatedly snapped at the party last night that he didn't want to have to see them for days – but it was a habit that he seemed to have retained even without his memories, to regularly check his cell for messages. He frowned down at his phone suspiciously as he opened up a message from Elena sent late last night:

Silas took the cure. He's mortal now. Be safe. E

Stefan was really starting to dislike Elena and more importantly distrust her. The message itself was simple enough but it wasn't the content that bothered him, it was the intent behind it. It was everything that the text told him without saying it. Why was Elena texting him, why wouldn't Damon do it? And why give him warnings today when yesterday they had a plan that involved snapping his neck to help Silas. On a hunch Stefan reached across the bed and checked Caroline's phone: no messages. Was no one keeping Caroline in the loop? How was she meant to stay safe and out of trouble? He remembered telling Damon that he was here with Caroline so they only needed to contact one of them, but why would Elena text him before Caroline. It wasn't right. It was wrong and manipulative.

"What's wrong?" her soft voice snapped him out of his brooding and he turned to see her watching him with a look of concern. He purposefully tried to relax and banish his frown so as not to worry her.

"I got a text from Elena." He told her, noting the brief flash of something that shot across her features at the mention of the brunet. He made a mental note to look out for that in the future, perhaps Caroline had a similar opinion of Elena as he did. "Silas got the cure, so he's mortal now." He explained. Whatever emotion had flickered through Caroline was instantly drowned by waves of concern and fear which visibly washed over her face.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked him expectantly. He watched her closely trying to gauge her reaction and realised that she didn't so much expect him to have the right answer, more she was just willing to go along with whatever had already been decided, whatever they were being told. Stefan didn't like that. He didn't remember enough to be able to make a competent decision for himself but he knew he wasn't going to trust what Damon and Elena thought. Stefan made a quick decision then that his priorities were getting his memories back and Caroline. He knew that she was smart enough to make decisions for herself so until he got his memories back what he wanted was whatever Caroline wanted. He would let her decide for the both of them.

"What do you want to do?" her eyes widened in shock. His question completely threw her off.

"Me?" she asked, startled. Stefan just nodded, careful to keep his expression neutral as a spark of anger flared in him. Did no one ever ask her what she wanted to do; or what she thought of the numerous situations that seemed to constantly face them?

"I'm still trying to get my head around what exactly is going on around here and how we're caught up in it." He said. "I'm still figuring out what would be in my best interests. All I know is I don't trust Damon and I know you don't either. My only real priority is keeping you and I safe. I want to be as uninvolved in this mess as possible. And I want to get my memories back."

He was careful not to make a decision or give an opinion, he just wanted to coax her into making her own decision. It seemed to work: her expression grew thoughtful. Now that he was focusing her thoughts towards how Silas affected them specifically Caroline instantly began to considered how she could best help Stefan.

"We need to find out what Silas is planning and if it includes you." She said "So we should go to the boarding house? And ask Elena and Damon what they know?" she asked him instead of telling him, sounding uncertain. "But you just said you don't trust them. And you must still be angry about last night so maybe that's not…" she started to second guess her decision but Stefan cut her off with an encouraging smile and said:

"I'll jump in the shower."


"Stefan! Caroline!" Elena greeted them enthusiastically.

"I thought you said it was a good day?" Damon snarked from behind her. Elena shot him a warning look.

"So Sila's took the cure? How?" Caroline asked them. As she and Stefan took a seat on the couch facing the couple.

"I fed Katherine to him." Damon told her with a dark smile, menacingly flashing his teeth. Stefan tensed at the predatory behaviour. He didn't expect Damon to attack Caroline, not physically but he clearly meant to intimidate her. The subtly threat had something primal and furious rising up in Stefan, swelling in his chest and quickening his heart with the impulse to challenge Damon and defend Caroline. But a quick glance at Caroline showed that she wasn't paying any attention to Damon. She was gazing to the side, into the fire, lost in thought and Stefan thought she actually looked more sad than scared, which he knew was not Damon's intended reaction. But why would she be sad about Katherine dying? He watched her carefully, desperate for some clue as to what she was thinking and why. Once again he longed for his memories if only for a better understanding of Caroline. Unless he was mixing up his stories or missing some crucial information, the other doppelganger had been a bitch and a menace who had caused nothing but grief and heartache.

"Didn't she kill you?" Stefan leaned in to Caroline and murmured the question close to her ear. He knew Damon and Elena would still hear him over the murmur of their own conversation but he clung to the pretence of privacy; he felt self-conscious over his lack of understanding in that moment and he wanted to talk to Caroline, no one else. Caroline smiled softly up at him. The others often criticised her for her strange capacity for compassion and forgiveness. They had all sneered at the humanity she had shown Tyler when he triggered the curse, Damon especially: they were natural enemies after all. It was the same thing now: Caroline had just as much reason as anyone else to hate Kathrine, but there were certain things she would never wish on another person, no matter who they were. Stefan had always been the most supportive and understating out of her friends. Even now his tone was gentle and confused, as though he weren't questioning her, just trying to understand her obvious sadness.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I wished her dead." She told him, "Especially not like that." Caroline's hand subconsciously went to her neck, rubbing along the vein there, eyes flickering briefly across the living room to Damon as a grimace shot across her face. It passed quickly, she shook off the sadness and turned her attention to Damon and Elena, watching as they argued quietly about something. Stefan nudged his shoulder into hers to bring her attention back to him and she looked up to see him smiling down at her.

"You're amazing." He whispered. His reward was a dazzling smile that made her blue eyes sparkle in that way that shot a surge of pride into his stomach.

"There's no need to be so dramatic Blondie. Katherine didn't die." Damon drawled.

"She didn't?" Caroline asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Unfortunately not." Said Damon "Resilient little thing isn't she. Like a cockroach."

"Ok so what happens now?" Caroline asked looking between Damon and Elena.

"Now we help Silas find the anchor to the other side and destroy it." Damon answered.

"What?" Caroline blurted in shock. "What the hell Damon?" he smiled belittlingly as she gapped at him, stunned. "Ok before we even get to the part about the other side, what do you mean we help Silas? Silas is the bad guy." She stated forcefully.

"Again with the drama queen." Damon rolled his eyes at her. "From the beginning Silas' whole 'bad guy plan' was to kill himself and reunite with his dead girlfriend Amara." He scoffed disdainfully. Caroline's eyes narrowed into an angry glare.

"Then there was that time he locked Stefan in a safe and dropped him into a raven, then posed as him all summer. Or the way he sauntered around town reading peoples' minds, intimidating people, terrorising people, killing people. He killed Bonnies dad! And you want to help him? Why the hell would we do that?" Caroline ranted furiously, gaining confidence as her indignation mounted. Stefan watched on quietly. He still didn't have much of an opinion but he was pleased by the way Caroline was heatedly snapping at his over cocky brother. Damon regarded her with a cold and penetrating stare, pausing dramatically before he threw his reason at her like a hard slap.

"To bring Bonnie back." His grin was vicious and his eyes daring as he hissed it out through barred teeth. Air ballooned in her lungs as she inhaled in a startled gasp and froze. Damon regarded her with glee as she stared at him pale and stunned. Stefan watched her closely with growing concern.

"What?" she breathed out in a pained whimper.

"It's all part of my plan to bring Bonnie back to life." Damon smirked arrogantly. He turned to Stefan and said "That's what that whole neck snapping thing was about last night, by the way. You understand right?" Stefan realised that this was quite likely the closest thing to an apology, or an admission of guilt that he was going to get from Damon. And the only reason he was getting even that was because it was a self-congratulatory brag about how brilliant his own plan was. But in that moment Stefan didn't care about what his brother had done the night before, all he was concerned with was the impact Damon's announcement was having on Caroline. She sat shaking beside him.

"What the hell are you talking about Damon?" Stefan growled "Start explaining. Now!" he demanded.

"I contacted Silas yesterday before the party and made a deal: a life for a life. Silas wants to die; we want Bonnie back. For his master plan to work he needs to find and destroy the anchor – the magical object that the other side is bound to. Tessa is protecting the anchor. Tessa's spell linked Silas and you. So: I snap your neck, the link is severed, Silas reads Tessa's mind and gets the location of the anchor. Now all we have to do is get it and destroy it. Then he can die and Bonnie can live. Easy as pie."

"Easy as pie?" Caroline questioned hysterically, the shock melting away to be replaced by a quivering fury "We're half way through some deal you made with the devil that we didn't even know about, we're caught up in the middle of some plan that involves destroying the anchor to the other side." She shrieked out, "What the hell have you dragged us into Damon?" Turning to Elena she continued, "God, Elena, what do you think Bonnie would have to say about us working with Silas? About us messing with magic to do with the other side?" she shouted.

"Well we don't know what she'd say do we Blondie. Because she's dead!" Damon snarled venomously. Caroline instantly recoiled, flinching at his words. A glint of satisfaction shone in his eyes as he watched her. Continuing more calmly he told her, "F.Y.I. a had a lovely chat about all this with Little Gilbert and The Witch before I even contacted Silas. Where do you think I got the idea from?"

"Bonnie? She… Oh." Her voice was a broken whisper.

"Some friend you are." Damon sneered.

"Damon don't." Elena chided him.

"So you want to resurrect Bonnie." Stefan interjected, his voice steely. "Is there anything else we should know about? Any other master plans up your sleeve? Anymore enemies that might try to ruin our lives and we can work with them too?"

"Actually there is something else." Elena spoke up hesitantly, "Caroline, I talked to Dr Maxfield at the party last night: he said it's not safe at the school and that we need to leave."

"Not safe? Is he threatening you?" Stefan asked. His voice deadly calm as a familiar hum began to vibrate through his veins. Elena turned her large doe eyes from Caroline to give him a sickeningly sweet smile in what looked like gratitude.

"More like a warning I think. An unfriendly warning. But he knows about us." Elena explained. Stefan's eyes darkened.

"Don't you think you should have warned her as soon as you found out? Or were you too wrapped up in your great plan: snapping my neck for the greater good to resurrect your dead best friend? Maybe if you looked after the friends that are actually alive you wouldn't have to worry so much about making resurrection plans." Stefan growled at Elena.

"Stefan!" Caroline squeaked in shock "It's ok, she only got the warning last night and you were with me last night, I was safe."

Some of the anger burning in his chest began to cool as he relaxed marginally. Caroline thought she had been safe because she was with him. That had something animalistic inside him preening with pride. He was pleased and also a little relieved that she felt safe with him, so he was willing to drop the matter for now. Caroline smiled at him reassuringly as the tension eased out of his body. Elena stared at him alarmed and confused and also a little hurt, while Damon gave him a funny look that Stefan didn't understand but met with a challenging glare. Before anymore could be said the door to the boarding house was flung open causing all four vampires to jump up and spin to face it. Silas stood silhouetted by sunshine in the doorway.

"Good morning friends."


Hello...? Are you guys still out there? I am ashamed at how long I have left this story. I have no excuses, my inspiration just abandoned me. But I was determined to update again before the end of the year, and one of my resolutions for 2016 is to finish 'A Fresh Perspective'! So I hope people can forgive me and that you are still interested in this story.

Thanks for reading.