I don't own The Vampire Diaries.
A/N: This is the first chapter in a three chapter arc of pure drama, but, things will only get better after that :)
This chapter is dedicated to The Green Eyed Cat and I hope you feel better soon! Take care :)
The Solution
Chapter 28
They didn't know that Damon had heard the entire conversation. Damon's jaw was literally dropped at everything Katherine said to her. He'd never imagined in a million years that Katherine could care so much about another person the way she clearly cared about Caroline. He was a little surprised that Katherine stuck up for him on the weight gain thing and that she was just as pissed at Stefan as he was. He was kind of amused at Katherine's offer to get just as enormous as Caroline though. He hadn't expected her to say something like that. He was surprised that Caroline was letting Katherine boss her around, though he figured that it had been scary for her having to go through all of that and he gathered that she was scared enough to listen to reason.
Damon was also pretty surprised that Katherine hadn't slept with the Brent guy yet. He was a little shocked to hear Katherine call Caroline her best friend too. Though, he couldn't help a silent chuckle at Katherine's 'What are friends for if not to yell at you when you're being an idiot?' He'd found that highly amusing.
Most of all though, he was pissed at Caroline. Actually, no, not pissed – he was furiously angry with her. He wasn't angry at the fact she could be putting the kids in danger – he was angry at the fact she was putting herself in danger. That she could make herself ill. That he could lose her. He thought that keeping herself healthy would be her top priority but no, she was so worried about putting on a little weight. Like that was more important than her health. He didn't want to talk to her yet because he didn't want to fight with her and he felt like he would if left alone with her. He had to say something to her though, so he went with simple. He opened the door and Caroline and Katherine looked up from where they were sitting up in the bed next to each other.
"Your mother's here. Do you want to see her?" He asked calmly and both Caroline and Katherine were visibly surprised at that being the first thing he said. They both knew he was clearly furious.
"Uh… okay." Caroline agreed then before she could say anything else he gave her a nod then left again and Caroline's eyes were wide.
"Seems I was wrong." Katherine commented surprised.
"He's furious." Caroline stated and Katherine nodded in agreement.
Liz went in to see her and was half very relieved and half annoyed and she gave her a bit of a lecture – it was mild in comparison to Katherine's but Caroline promised her as well that she would take better care of herself. Katherine stayed with Caroline and they both fell asleep soon after Liz left. Damon sent Liz and Allan home and he stayed in the waiting room all night. He wanted to be there for her but he didn't want to talk to her yet. He thought over everything, had a short nap in a chair and soon it was the morning and Dr Newbury appeared.
Damon spoke to her for a while and she could see that he was angry at Caroline for a) not looking after herself and b) not telling him that there was a problem. Dr Newbury promised to keep him in the loop from then on and he was appreciative of that. She went to see Caroline and once Caroline was given the all clear, she and Katherine appeared at the waiting room where Damon was reading Cosmopolitan magazine and they both chuckled at the sight of that. He rolled his eyes and tossed the magazine on the table.
"Caroline's been released." Katherine stated and Damon nodded then grabbed his jacket and the three of them walked out to his car in silence. Katherine and Caroline were glancing at each other at the fact Damon was just silent. Caroline motioned to Katherine that she should go in the front seat and she nodded. Katherine climbed into the front seat and Caroline into the back and Damon was oddly appreciative of that because he really did not want to explode. Katherine put the radio on when it became obvious that conversation wasn't going to be happening. Damon didn't say a word the whole drive and when they arrived at Caroline's house, Caroline took a chance.
"Damon, can I talk to you for a minute?" She requested and he scowled at nothing in particular. Katherine saw his expression and she shot him a look.
"Fine." Damon sighed. "Two minutes." He said to Katherine after Caroline got out of the car and she nodded.
"Go easy on her." Katherine whispered and he shot her a look then followed Caroline up to her house and went inside behind her. Damon was glad that Liz wasn't home.
"Why are you ignoring me?" Caroline tested seriously once they were in the door.
"I'm not ignoring you." Damon refuted calmly.
"You've barely said two words to me." She remarked and he shrugged.
"What do you want me to say?" He asked her.
"You stayed at the clinic all night but you didn't say anything to me." She said confused. "Why did you stay if you weren't going to talk to me?" She questioned him annoyed.
"I don't have to talk to you to hear from the doctors how you're doing." He pointed out and she gaped at him.
"Last night was scary for me." She said to him in disbelief and he glared at her.
"You put yourself in that situation! I have no sympathy for you!" Damon snapped at her finally breaking his calm and she took a step back from him in shock over what he said.
"What?" She asked in disbelief.
"I heard the entire conversation you had with Katherine after you woke up! I know you've been dieting so that you don't gain weight!" Damon yelled and she bit her lip. "How do you think it makes me feel knowing that you were so worried what I would think if you gained weight that you end up making yourself ill because you won't eat?" He snapped at her and she gulped. "Like my love for you is conditional on you keeping your figure?" He asked her in disbelief.
"I didn't mean it like that." She placated in a small voice.
"Katherine went nuts at you and told you how serious the situation was but your excuse was that I would care if you get fat? That I wouldn't want you, in your words, when you become the 'fat and pregnant girlfriend'?" Damon repeated upset. "You disregarded everything Katherine said at first! Like your health doesn't matter to you at all." He glared.
"It does matter, but you're not the one whose body will change!" She exclaimed.
"And you aren't the one that would have to live without you if you die!" He snapped and she blinked rapidly in shock. "It's me. If you starve yourself and die, I am the one that has to lose you. I am the one that would have to deal with that. But the thing that you don't get is that I couldn't deal with that. There would be no point to anything anymore without you." He declared as his eyes watered and tears fell from Caroline's eyes as she finally understood what he was so angry at her for. "Maybe you should have an abortion." He stated and she gaped at him.
"What?" She asked in shock.
"If you aren't going to take care of yourself, you should turn back into a vampire because then at least I can't lose you to some stupid illness. Then it won't matter if you don't eat because it can't kill you." He said emotionlessly.
"But the twins…" She gasped in shock and he shook his head.
"Like I told you. I could deal with losing everyone but you." He reminded her as he wiped his eyes and Caroline sobbed.
"I'm sorry. I'll take care of myself. I promise." She cried.
"Dr Newbury cancelled your appointment for Monday because she took your blood pressure this morning. It's for a week on Monday instead. I think me being around you is having a negative impact on you, so I'm going to arrange a flight to Brazil for tonight or tomorrow." He revealed and her jaw dropped.
"You don't have a negative impact on me!" She gasped.
"I clearly do if I make you so self-conscious." He contradicted. "Obviously something that I'm doing is making you feel that way and I don't know what to do to change it, so I think it's better for your health if I'm not around you. Katherine promised that she would make sure you are okay. I'll come back for the mid-January scan." He said and she sobbed.
"Please don't leave angry." Caroline sobbed.
"I'm not angry." He countered softly. "I just obviously can't be what you need and I hate myself for that because I want you so much. There's nothing I want more than to be good for you but it's obvious that no matter what I do and how much I want it… I can't get it right." He said and Caroline paled.
"No." She gulped in disbelief at the direction the argument was headed.
"I should have known better than to think I could be with you. You deserve so much better. Nothing good will come of being with me." He admitted.
"You're breaking up with me?" She exclaimed in disbelief and he gulped then nodded.
"Being with me is detrimental to your health. If it's not hurting you in bed, it's controlling you and now you aren't eating because I've made you so self-conscious. I'm sorry, Caroline. I never meant to hurt you." He urged as tears fell down his cheeks and he wiped his face. "I love you so much but I can't be selfish and do this to you anymore. So, we're finished." He said and she sobbed.
"Please don't do this, Damon." She cried. "I don't want to be without you." She sniffed. "This isn't your fault, it's mine. You didn't make me self-conscious. I've always been self-conscious."
"Take care of yourself." He said seriously. "I'll come back for the scan. Bonnie's right about me. You should be with someone like the Allan guy. He would treat you the way you deserve." He said shocking her then he turned on his heel and left her house and hurried back down to his car. He got in and Katherine saw his watery eyes.
"What the hell happened?" She asked annoyed.
"I did what I should have done weeks ago. It's what's best for her." He murmured staring out the window.
"What do you mean?" She probed.
"I broke up with her." Damon confessed and she gaped at him.
"You are such as ass!" She yelled at him then got out of the car and hurried up to Caroline's door and Damon drove away. Katherine didn't bother knocking, she just went inside and she found Caroline sitting on the couch sobbing into her hands. Katherine went over to her and hugged her and Caroline hugged her back tightly. "What the hell did that moron say?" Katherine soothed.
Damon walked into the boarding house and Stefan and Bonnie were in the living room waiting.
"Damon? Is she okay?" Bonnie questioned him and he glared at both of them.
"No thanks to either of you." Damon snapped annoyed and they winced.
"We're sorry." Stefan gulped and Damon nodded.
"I'm leaving for Brazil today. Whenever I can get a flight." He stated.
"Why?" Stefan asked confused. "If Caroline's not well…"
"Caroline has been starving herself so that she doesn't get fat." Damon cut him off and both of their jaws dropped.
"What?" Bonnie asked in disbelief and Damon nodded.
"So, can you two idiots make sure she eats properly?" Damon probed them annoyed.
"Of course." Stefan promised immediately. "What happened with Allan?" Stefan asked hesitantly and Damon shrugged.
"Seems he actually is a nice guy." Damon said surprising them both. "So I decided to take your advice, Bonnie." He revealed and she looked confused.
"What advice?" She questioned.
"You were right. Caroline's better off with someone like him." Damon said and both of their eyes widened.
"What does that mean?" Bonnie asked but it was obvious that she didn't want to know.
"I broke up with her." Damon specified and they both nearly fell over in shock. Bonnie looked like she'd been slapped. "So, I'm sure that you're very happy now." He snarked then he disappeared upstairs in a blink and Stefan shot her a look while she looked like she felt really guilty.
"Caroline's going to be so upset." Bonnie mumbled biting her lip.
"I know that you don't particularly like Damon but you shouldn't have said that and especially not in front of him." Stefan glared.
"How was I supposed to know that he would listen to anything I say? He never has before." Bonnie pointed out.
"Just go see if Care is okay. I'll try and talk to Damon." Stefan ushered her towards the door and she nodded. "Here, take my car." He offered giving her his keys and she nodded again then hurried out of the house.
Caroline was a mess so she told Katherine everything. She told her that Damon had been so amazing to her, she told her everything Damon said… and she told her about when she purposely made Damon lose control. Katherine gaped at her for that.
"You… you are telling me that you provoked the inner vampire in him? On purpose?" Katherine questioned in disbelief and Caroline sobbed and nodded. "Then how on earth did you survive?" She asked shocked.
"What do you mean?" Caroline tested confused.
"I've had that done to me a few times to the point I lost all control and none of them survived. It was a haze. I could barely remember what happened." Katherine clarified and Caroline looked shocked.
"Then how did he stop himself?" Caroline probed shocked.
"I honestly have no idea." Katherine answered seriously. "That was incredibly stupid, Caroline." She glared at her.
"I know." Caroline replied biting her lip.
"But… from the sounds of things from everything you said, apart from when he lost control, he's done nothing but care for you and show you that he loves you." Katherine said confused.
"I know." Caroline confirmed guiltily.
"Then why do you keep pushing him away and making him feel badly about himself?" Katherine queried softly. "Why are you making him feel like a monster?" She examined and Caroline sobbed.
"I'm not trying to do that, Katherine." Caroline refuted. "You might not understand this but I see Damon as perfect. He's like…the ultimate man. I can't fathom that he could feel so strongly for me because I feel like I'm nothing." She responded and Katherine gave her a sigh and a sad look.
"I understand better than you think." Katherine replied and Caroline looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked for clarification.
"When Damon was human, I made a decision that I would never turn him. I loved Damon so deeply but for the first time since I turned, I felt I couldn't be selfish with him. He was so good and so kind that I felt like I could never deserve him. I knew that I didn't deserve him. Stefan on the other hand was selfish and spoiled and took what he wanted regardless of the consequences to others so I planned to turn Stefan to be my companion. I knew that it wouldn't be an eternity kind of romance but I figured it might be nice not to be alone anymore. I chose Stefan because I knew without a doubt that I couldn't be with Damon because I would never be good enough for him." Katherine confessed and Caroline was gaping at her the whole time.
"He thinks you didn't care. He thinks you purposely made a fool out of him." Caroline said and Katherine looked surprised.
"I didn't. I found out from Emily that Stefan forced him to turn and Emily told him I was in the tomb as I'd asked her to. The reason I asked that is because I thought maybe 150 years as a vampire would be long enough that he wouldn't be so good and kind and sweet that maybe then I would deserve him. I thought maybe by then I could find a way to kill Klaus so that association with me wouldn't put Damon on Klaus' hit list." She explained and Caroline looked stunned.
"Then why didn't you get back together with him?" Caroline queried her confused.
"Because when I was faced with him for the first time since he was human, he thought I was Elena and he kissed me. I was jealous and hurt that he had feelings for her and when I was faced with him when he knew it was me, I kissed him and he didn't kiss me the same way. He kissed me the way you kiss some random hook-up. So I was angry at him and I lashed out by saying I only ever loved Stefan. I'm not proud of that, obviously, but it's the truth." She admitted and Caroline was shocked.
"You have to tell him that, Katherine." Caroline encouraged softly.
"Why?" Katherine asked confused.
"Because a lot of his issues about love and being with someone and hating himself come from the fact he thinks he never mattered to you at all when you were such a huge part of his life." Caroline answered and Katherine looked like she felt really guilty.
"I didn't know I had any impact on him like that." Katherine confessed…
A/N: The next chapter is the most drama filled chapter in the whole story. Hope you'll stick with me through it. I promise they'll make it work :)
