A/N: I realize it's been forever, and I'm sorry about that. I've lost pretty much most of my ambition to write for The Vampire Diaries, but then I was looking at some season 3 icons on LiveJournal earlier and I thought to myself that I wanted to write TVD verse. This chapter has been half finished in my project folder for a month at least, but I finally got around to finishing it. I'm going to try to update again soon, but I can't make any promises. Thanks for sticking with me, guys!

Caroline hated Halloween. It was the one time of the year that everybody loved, everybody celebrated, but Caroline wished it would disappear from the calendar all together.

Halloween was the night that took her parents. They were on their way home from a costume party when they lost control of their car. So not only was it Halloween, but it was also the anniversary of Caroline's parents' deaths. Even when she was younger, when everybody else celebrated the holiday, Caroline would have nothing to do with it. Esther's kids had a tradition of watching scary movies and filling up on Halloween candy, but Caroline didn't want anything to do with that, either.

This year was no different. Rose, Elijah, Finn, Sage, Klaus and Rebekah were all gathered at Caroline and Klaus' house, ready to fill up on their candy and their horror movies. Caroline stayed in her sewing room. When Klaus heard a knock at the door, he yelled upstairs, "Caroline! It's for you!"

Caroline came down the stairs somewhat agitated. She didn't want to be here, but refused to go out there where everybody was partying. Instead, she just snapped, "How the fuck do you know it's for me when you didn't even open the door?"

When she opened it, however, she saw Damon on the other side. He was carrying a duffel bag and he said, "Hi."

Caroline was confused.

"Can I come in?" Damon asked. Caroline nodded and stepped aside for him.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked Damon. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you. Seeing you is always a welcomed surprise." Caroline sighed, trying to stop herself from rambling. "Anyway, what are you doing here, Damon?"

"I heard it was a bad night for you," Damon said. "So I thought I'd come over. Is it okay if I stay the night?"

Caroline nodded, "Yeah, sure. My siblings are watching horror movies, if you're interested."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm doing some work," Caroline answered. "I've only got a few more back orders to finish and I'm done with them."

Damon nodded, "Okay. You mind if I keep you company?"

Caroline shook her head, "No. Come on up, if you want."

Damon nodded. While Caroline went up to the sewing room right away, Damon stopped by Caroline's bedroom to put his duffel bag in there. When he met her back in the sewing room, he sat down at the table in there, where Caroline was measuring material.

"So, I'm surprised to see you here," Caroline was saying. "I mean, it's Halloween. Elena told me once that you host a huge party at the Grill on Halloween."

"Usually, I do. But Matt took over tonight, and Kol offered to work. Actually, Kol seemed to want me here, with you."

Caroline nodded.

"So, you hate Halloween, then?" Damon asked, not really sure how to approach the subject. He figured the Band-Aid effect was the best; just get it out in the open and over with.

"I don't know how much you remember about the night my parents died," Caroline said, "but they were on their way back from a Halloween party. If it hadn't have been Halloween, they would've never been at that party, and they would never have crashed."

"You can't think like that," Damon said, watching Caroline intently. "It would've happened, no matter what, if it was time."

"God, you sound just like a therapist," Caroline muttered. Damon chuckled.

"I kinda take that as a compliment," Damon answered. "Besides, is it untrue?"

Caroline shook her head, "No. You're probably right. Just…just let me hate Halloween, okay? It's better for my well-being this way."

Damon nodded, "Okay, sure."

As Caroline worked on the dress she was making, she and Damon chatted. Finally, after a few beats of silence, Damon said, "So, if I was, uh, thinking of moving to Richmond, what would you say?"

Caroline was taken a little by surprise, "What?"

Damon shrugged, "I was just thinking about it. That way I'm closer to you, and there's even a building downtown that's for sale. I could buy it and open up a club or a bar like The Grill."

Caroline watched Damon carefully, "I, uh…I guess I'm not really sure. I mean, yeah, it'd be great to have you so close, but it's only been, like, what? Four months?"

"I'm not asking to move in," Damon said. "I'd find my own space for now. And then, if things get more serious between the two of us, we could talk about moving in together later on. I was actually just wondering what you would say."

"It'd be great to have you closer," Caroline repeated. "It'd make a lot of things easier. But what about the Salvatore foundation?"

"I'm not moving out of the country," Damon said. "And even if I was, we've got a private plane. Stefan could be there within a few hours."

Caroline bit on her lower lip before she said, "Whatever you want to do, Damon. I'm not going to tell you what to do."

Damon nodded, "You want to go apartment hunting with me tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was Saturday. Caroline no longer worked Saturdays – April took over that when she had moved to Richmond. She had recently gotten her own apartment, so she wasn't living on Caroline's couch anymore, but Caroline still talked to April a lot. After a moment of thinking it over, Caroline nodded, "Sure. What are you looking for?"

"I don't need much," Damon answered. "Stef and I lived in the boarding house because it's been in the family a long fucking time. I have an idea that after he and Elena get married, they're gonna live there. I don't think that Stefan will ever truly give that place up."

"And the Grill?" Caroline asked.

"Matt's gonna manage it for me. I asked Kol to help out, but he prefers to do behind the scenes stuff – he's a great bartender and that's all he wants to be."

Caroline nodded, "Yeah, Kol's always been like that. He doesn't like to be upfront and, like, all eyes on him. We've always left that to Rebekah."

"Speaking of Rebekah," Damon said, "I noticed she was here. Does that mean she's in the clear now?"

Caroline nodded. "I've got a spare bedroom that she's going to move into, and Elijah got her ex arrested with the proof the hospital took of the abuse. Bekah's gonna press charges, which surprised all of us, but Mother isn't exactly happy with us right now."

"Who?"

"Me and Rebekah," Caroline answered, cutting a piece of material. "I knew that Rebekah was in danger, and Bekah didn't tell anyone besides me. With everything that's happened with me, and the way that Tyler almost killed me once, Mother gets pretty upset whenever we keep things like that to ourselves. I don't really know what to tell her, you know? I understand why Bekah kept it a secret – I do. She was embarrassed, and I get that. It's a terrible feeling when you've been beaten bloody and know that you might've been able to avoid it."

"It's not her fault," Damon said. "I know she thinks it is."

Caroline shrugged. "An abused woman's mind is a weird place to be," she said finally. "Like, with everything that happened with me and Tyler, logically, I know that none of it is my fault. I know that, okay? But the thing is, I feel like it's my fault anyway. Like all of the bullshit he used to tell me kinda sunk in. A lot of the time I feel just as worthless as everyone used to tell me I was."

"But you're not," Damon said softly. "Caroline, you're probably one of the strongest people I've ever known in my entire fucking life."

Caroline smiled, "Thank you, I guess. Would you believe it if I said I don't feel brave, and I didn't feel brave at the time, either? Most of the time I don't feel strong – I feel fucking week. Bravery is just doing what needs to be done, even if it scares you."

"And it scared you?" Damon asked. Caroline nodded.

"It scared the shit out of me," Caroline answered honestly. "I was a teenager, for Christ sake. I was forced to grow up way too fast and I know I missed out on some key experiences. I'm super thankful for Mother and every one of my siblings – they made sure I got Prom, they made sure I got a high school open house, they made sure my life was as normal as it possibly could have been, even though I had so many different things working against me at the time. And you top everything off with Mike Jones and Tyler Lockwood, and yeah, I've been through utter and complete hell, but sometimes I just sit back and really thank God for my family."

Damon nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I get jealous of Elena and Bonnie sometimes," Caroline said honestly. "I've never told anybody that. Most of the time, I'm pretty sure that Elena knows, though, because it seems to me that Elena Gilbert seems to know everything when it comes to me."

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Elena was adopted," Caroline said. "And yeah, she found out after her parents had died, but they loved her. They loved her enough to make her a part of their family and she had pretty much anything anyone could ever ask for. She's got Jeremy, who, even after he found out that his sister was adopted, he accepted her anyway. Jeremy and Elena Gilbert are as close as blood brother and sister without being such. But the thing I'm the most jealous about them is that they have normal experiences. I didn't date in high school. No guy was interested. I had a few friends, but none that really got me. And when I joined the cheerleading squad when I turned fifteen, I felt so out of place there. They worried about going out on dates, and when their parents were going to let them borrow the car. I worried about when my nightmares were going to come back and if my cutting was actually going to kill me this time."

Damon watched her carefully, but again, didn't say anything.

"My problems were too complex for anyone to understand," Caroline tried to explain. "No fifteen-year-old could understand what I was going through. Because of my history of such severe abuse, I didn't understand what it was like to have a normal life. But people who had a normal upbringing couldn't understand what it was like to have nothing but a garbage bag full of clothes they carried from house to house."

"I guess that is kind of deep for a high schooler to really understand," Damon answered. "I mean, it's becoming more and more common with people saying they were abused at least a little. A lot of people were abused, whether it was domestic, or as a child, or whatever, but you were severely abused, Care. It's hard for anyone who has had at least a little bit of a good life to really understand the concept of being as abused as I know you were. I'm sure you're not the only one who's gone through this."

Caroline nodded, "Yeah. I know." She sighed, starting to stitching lace onto the bottom of the lavender dress she was working on, "I'm sorry to dump all this on you. I've probably over-explained my situation numerous times, and I really shouldn't do that."

"I don't mind. I'm actually pretty happy that you feel comfortable enough around me to talk about it."

"I'm an open book, like I told you all those months before. I went through what I went through, and I don't see the point in hiding it."

-x-

It was almost right away that Damon found the apartment he wanted. It was a really nice loft apartment that he had found not even two hours after they started looking. Knowing that was what he wanted made everything so much easier. Around noon, Damon and Caroline had decided to stop into Maria's to get a bite to eat.

"So is this cemented in?" Caroline asked while they were waiting for their meals. "I mean, you're really doing this?"

Damon nodded, "Yeah, I really am. Unless…do you not want me to?"

Caroline shook her head, "That's not it at all. I just…nobody's ever uprooted their life for me before, Damon."

"Well, you're worth it," Damon answered. "And besides that, a change will be good for me. Being closer to you is just a bonus."

"You're too sweet," Caroline said, digging into her spinach manicotti when it came. It felt like she hadn't eaten in a year.

"Hungry?" Damon asked her, laughing. Caroline just stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, you wanna go out tonight?" Damon asked, taking a bite of his lasagna while waiting for an answer from Caroline. He swallowed before continuing, "I mean, I'm new to town. I don't really know the sights, and you've lived here a while. What's fun around here?"

Caroline shrugged, "I don't really know. Nik might, because he does go out on occasion. I spend most of my time either at the dress shop or at home."

Damon nodded.

It was after two when Caroline and Damon went back to her house. Klaus was on the couch, watching TV, with April not that far from him. Caroline watched them carefully before saying, "What's going on?"

April jumped up like she was a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She looked back at Caroline.

"Hey, Care Bear," she said, just watching Caroline for a moment. "Where've you been?"

"Apartment hunting," Damon said from behind Caroline. That made Klaus look at his sister.

"Are you moving?" he asked her.

Caroline laughed, "No. This is my house, remember? Damon wants to move to Richmond, so we were looking for a place for him."

"And you found one?" Klaus asked.

Damon nodded, "Yeah. I got a place. It was fairly cheap, too, since I don't need much."

Klaus looked at Damon skeptically.

"Don't give him the evil eye, Nik," Caroline said, watching her brother carefully. "He wanted to move to Richmond and wanted his own space. He and I have only been dating for four months, but he wanted to be closer. Besides, you know that building that's for sale, over by where Game Stop used to be?" Caroline waited for Klaus to nod before saying, "He's thinking about buying it."

"Really?" Klaus seemed interested. "And what are you gonna do with it?"

Damon shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe make another bar like The Grill. I don't really know what I want to do with it right now, but I'll think of something."

Klaus nodded.

"So," Caroline said, going back to the original subject, "What's going on here?"

Klaus shrugged, "We're watching TV. Is that a crime?"

Caroline shook her head, but then looked at April and then Klaus. "If something is going on between the two of you, I don't really care," she said softly. "You both deserve to be happy." And with that, she turned and went up the stairs, Damon on her heels.