Prompt from brenda-blush: "I promised you a June Wedding." After Stefan finds a way to return to Caroline.


Driving home, Caroline fought tears as she gripped the steering wheel. Violet was babbling away in the passenger seat; it was so painfully reminiscent of herself when she first turned, Caroline tried to smile if only to reassure the girl that coming home with her was the best option. The boarding house was empty anyway, and she needed Violet to get ahold of her cravings before setting her loose to live a real life.

She pulled up the driveway, hating that the house would be dark and empty like it had been for weeks. Staring at her ringless finger, Caroline's heart dropped further that her home would be empty forever. It had been a risk, throwing the ring back at Stefan. While she had to do it, knowing she couldn't feel beholden to the Ripper who treated her so poorly, all she wanted was for Stefan to come home to her.

Violet gasped, effectively distracting Caroline from her morbid thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"I'm already dead," she cried. "Is he here to rub it in?"

Parking in front of the boarding house, Caroline glanced up to find Stefan sitting on the front porch. She rolled her eyes, getting out of the car and encouraging Violet to follow. "Go inside, there are blood bags in the fridge. Drink one, slowly. I'll be in soon."

Violet stood frozen before Stefan, though he wasn't even looking at them. Lightly pushing her around him, Caroline glared down at her- at Stefan. "He won't hurt you anymore," she said comfortingly, though her voice was biting. "If you finish the blood before I get in, take a shower. You can take Damon's bed, he's got a great bathroom."

Scooting quickly around the man who killed her, the baby vampire disappeared into the house, leaving the former lovers behind.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline crossed her arms when Stefan didn't even glance up, his focus on his hands. "Stefan, answer me."

"I promised you a June wedding," he said blankly. His hands opened a bit, revealing her ring being passed between them like a bad omen.

Caroline shook her head. "You made me a lot of promises, Stefan," she snapped. "I'm tired of waiting for you to live up to them, and I shouldn't have to. That's why I gave back your ring."

"You keep doing that."

The hit lands like a stake to her chest, and Caroline bites her lip to keep from crying. Steeling herself, though, she found her resolve from earlier - there was a plan. "And I learned my lesson about accepting it. Don't worry," she snarled at his curious frown. "It won't happen again. You can have your fun serving Cade without me ruining the party." Feeling immensely tired, Caroline just sagged in on herself. "Just go away, Stefan."

"Ripper." His eyes flick up, something deeper than the sick amusement she had grown used to seeing in his expression. "Cade wanted the Ripper."

"You can't scare me, you're still Stefan," Caroline spat. "But you killed that girl upstairs because you knew it would hurt me. She's a lasting reminder that you choose this life over the one we were going to build together. That's not the man I was going to marry, and I'm not going to apologize for realizing that."

Though his emotional detachment was clear, Stefan seemed lost as he stared up toward Damon's window. "I could always kill her for good," he shrugged, like it was an obvious solution to a problem he didn't even care to fix. "The reminder doesn't have to last forever."

"Violet's going to live forever, Stefan, because you turned her," she explained sternly. Her nails pinched into her skin from how hard her arms clenched across her waist; she didn't know if her body wanted to punch him or hold him, just that she should resist the temptation. "And I'm going to take care of her, like a good friend once took care of me."

Stefan's impassive face didn't even flinch at the barb, and Caroline was done. Pushing her way past him, she had almost reached sanctuary when it occurred to her how strange it all was. "This is your house," she scoffed, whirling around. "You can't even come inside because you know what it will do to your precious Ripper-hood."

He raised a challenging eyebrow as he stood to face her, carefully standing beyond the porch.

"You're so scared to deal with the consequences of what you're doing, especially now that you've succeeded at pushing both me and Damon away," she said, reveling in the mean girl persona she used to be so proud of. "So yeah, I'm going to take care of Violet, but tell me, Stefan," she dared. She stepped closer, poking a finger into his chest. "Who's going to take care of you?"

"I've got the devil on my side," he shrugged easily, though Caroline saw his throat bob in consternation.

Her eyes hard, Caroline's smile was ice cold. "Then go to hell, and leave us alone."

She flashed inside, slamming the door shut before she showed another weakness. Tears streamed down her face; 'us' didn't include Stefan anymore, and that hurt her more than anything. Hearing telltale clinks and thumps of Violet digging in the refrigerator, however, Caroline gently wiped her eyes. "Hey, save me a blood bag," she called, ignoring how thick her voice sounded as she walked to the kitchen.

Missing her daughters fiercely, Caroline couldn't help but notice that Violet's wide-eyed expression was very similar to Josie and Lizzie's feigned innocence when they snuck into the cookie jar. Home had been an empty feeling without the girls and Stefan around; maybe this was what she needed to ease that longing. She wanted to care for Violet the way she wished someone had cared for her the day she woke up with old memories and new horrors, and if she had to atone for her part in Stefan's deal, then this was certainly a good place to start.