I don't own The Vampire Diaries - I wish I did though, because apparently on this week's episode, Elena is going across the country with Damon to see if she has feelings for him. Wow. It's so pathetic that the writers have basically made it so that Stefan and Damon are just doormats sitting there waiting for her to give them some attention. If I were either of them, I'd be like 'I'm a hot vampire. I don't have to put up with this crap. ADIOS.'
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to CaraSalvatore. Your review made me laugh out loud! Thank you for that :)
To anonymous reviewer subatomic: I think the characters have to be flawed. They really do. Otherwise, they are completely impossible to relate to. It's hard enough to relate with the supernatural element involved in the story, but if all of their actions are 'perfect' there's no enjoyment. Thanks for reviewing!
The Solution
Chapter 37
Caroline's eyes opened the following morning and Damon wasn't on the pillow next to her and she smirked and moved her hand under the covers to touch his head. She heard him laugh a little – clearly at the fact she'd totally caught him – then he popped up from under the covers.
"Busted." She teased and he smirked then crawled up her body and kissed her.
"Morning, beautiful." He said against her mouth as his hand trailed down her side and she smiled.
"How are the children this morning?" She teased playfully and he poked her side lightly for making fun of him.
"They told me to tell you that you're not funny." He jibed amused and she laughed a little.
"Lies. My son and daughter would never say such a thing." She mocked and he chuckled then kissed her.
"Your son and daughter? Think I'm offended." He teased as his hand trailed down past her hip to cup her ass and she giggled as he kissed down her neck.
"Tell you what? You carry them for a while and then they can be yours." She bantered and he laughed against her shoulder as he hitched her knee over his waist. He kissed down to her breasts and swirled his tongue around her nipple and she moaned softly as his hand slipped into her open folds. His middle finger entered her slowly as he nibbled on the skin of her breast and her fingers knotted gently in his hair. His finger lazily thrust in and out of her as he kissed back up her chest, up her neck, across her cheek to her lips.
"They can be yours as long as you will be mine." He muffled softly against her lips and she smiled.
"I'm already yours." She responded and his stomach fluttered as he kept kissing her.
"You know, going to sleep naked is far too much temptation in the morning." He smirked and she giggled. She surprised him then when she pushed him onto his back and rolled on top of him. He smiled deviously at that and Caroline pushed herself down on him and he moaned at the feeling of her tight muscles encasing him then he held her hips.
"It's not temptation if you can get what you want, Mr Salvatore." She said seductively in his ear and he shuddered at her being so sexy.
"We're always going to sleep naked from now on." He mumbled and she giggled.
After they had breakfast together, Caroline went down to her mother's house to start packing up her things and Damon went to the boarding house to do the same. He'd already packed up most of his clothes already as he'd been planning to live there alone until she was ready to join him. When he walked in, Stefan, Bonnie, Brent and Katherine were in the living room. Damon wasn't pleased at the sight of Brent but he chose to bite his tongue.
"Hey." Katherine greeted. "Where have you been?"
"My house." Damon answered with a shrug then wandered up the stairs without further comment causing Stefan to frown as they wouldn't be living together anymore.
"Why does Damon have a house if he lives here?" Brent queried confused.
"I guess he's moving into the other house instead, now that the decorating is nearly finished." Katherine shrugged.
"Where is it?" Brent enquired curiously.
"On Caroline's mom's street." Bonnie responded and he looked confused again.
"So, is he moving there to be closer to her or something?" Brent probed.
"She'll be moving into the house with him as well. She wanted to be close to her mother's house, so he bought a house on the same street for them to live in." Katherine eplained and he looked surprised at Damon doing something so considerate.
"Kind of surprised that he'd still want her after her slutty move with Allan." Brent quipped and Stefan, Bonnie and Katherine's eyes widened at the fact he'd said that in Damon's hearing range. Before any of them could tell him off, Damon appeared at the bottom of the stairs with narrowed eyes.
"Think I might have to take a chunk out of your neck for that one." Damon drawled as he casually walked in and Bonnie, Stefan and Katherine's eyes widened at him saying that. "Did you just say what I think you said?" Damon examined in a dangerous tone and Brent kind of swallowed nervously. Stefan, Bonnie and Katherine were glancing at each other knowing this wasn't going to go well.
"He's my best friend." Brent defended, though he didn't understand the first comment and Damon nodded.
"Well, Caroline is pregnant with my twins so your best friend took advantage of a heartbroken, emotional and hormonal woman knowing that she was pregnant at the time." Damon countered and Brent's jaw dropped then Damon appeared in front of him in a blink causing him to jump in fright. Damon picked him up by the throat and dangled him in the air and Katherine covered her mouth with her hands in worry for Brent. Damon's face changed and Brent was gasping in fear. "So, the next time that you decide to bad mouth her, make sure that you know all of the facts and it's not in my hearing range because I tend to snap and kill people who piss me off." He warned dangerously then dumped Brent on the couch and disappeared back upstairs in a blink. Bonnie, Stefan and Katherine were sat frozen at the fact Damon had just outed himself without compelling him. Brent was clutching his throat as he stared at Katherine in disbelief, mainly at the fact she didn't look surprised – and neither did Stefan and Bonnie.
"What…?" Brent gasped and Katherine sighed.
"You really shouldn't have said that about her." Katherine glared at him because she was furious at his comment.
"You have been kind of mean to Caroline recently." Bonnie agreed. Brent was just gaping at them at the fact they clearly knew what the hell Damon was.
"What is he?" Brent whispered in shock then he heard a chuckle coming from the stairs where Damon was carting down two large suitcases.
"He can still hear you." Damon quipped. "Don't you watch TV? Hello? Vampire." He retorted with a smirk and Brent paled.
"A… vampire?" He repeated in disbelief.
"You should really fill your little toyboy in, Katherine." Damon teased and she scowled at him while Brent looked at her dazed.
"Piss off, Damon." Katherine muttered aggravated and he winked at her.
"Gladly." Damon said amused then disappeared out the front door in a blink.
"Damon is a vampire?" Brent probed her wide-eyed and she sighed.
"So am I." Stefan revealed and Brent's jaw dropped.
"This is a seriously long story." Katherine muttered.
"Are you a vampire?" Brent asked Katherine confused.
"Not anymore, but I was." She clarified. "I was born in 1455." She divulged and Brent's eyes bugged.
"You're… 556 years old?" He gasped in shock and she nodded.
"I was born in 1847 and Damon was born in 1844." Stefan added and Brent looked like he was about to fall over in shock. "Katherine turned Damon and me into vampires."
"How do you know about this?" Brent asked Bonnie who sighed.
"I'm a witch." She said and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Really?" He asked sceptically and Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"So, vampires you believe but a witch is the shocker?" Katherine giggled. Bonnie moved her hand and motioned to the fire place and it suddenly ignited and Brent jumped in surprise.
"So, basically, long story short, there was this thousand year old vampire hybrid that came to Mystic Falls and he was terrorising all of us, so me and my ancestors turned every vampire in the world human, so that we could kill him." Bonnie explained. "That's how Katherine, Stefan and Damon became human again. My ancestors and I turned Damon back into a vampire and he's been charged with the mission to repopulate the vampire species. So, he turned Stefan back a couple of weeks ago."
"That's what you meant that day in school. When you said he was going back." Brent remarked to Bonnie in realisation and she blushed at the memory of Stefan kissing her.
"Yeah." Bonnie confirmed.
"So, how long was Damon human?" Brent queried confused as he tried to process all of it and they laughed.
"One day." Katherine answered entertained.
"He knocked Caroline up with twins in one day?" Brent asked shocked and they laughed.
"Everyone's said that." Bonnie giggled. "Yeah, he did. Caroline was a vampire too, so they'd both forgotten about birth control."
"Caroline was a vampire?" Brent asked shocked.
"Yeah." Katherine agreed. "She was a vampire for almost a year when she turned back to human."
"Wait, but what about Elena? I saw her as a kid. She's not 556 years old." Brent stated confused.
"Elena and I are doppelgangers. We aren't sisters. We don't really know how the doppelganger thing works." Katherine explained.
"So, Elena knows about all of this?" Brent tested.
"Yes." Bonnie nodded.
"Are there other supernaturals?" Brent examined.
"Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf." Katherine responded and Brent's jaw dropped.
"Oh my God. Are you serious?" He asked in disbelief.
"Yeah." She replied. "Oh, and Phil Anselmo isn't a family friend." Katherine remarked. "I've actually known him for twenty years." She admitted and he looked at her curiously.
"I did find it weird that he'd banter with you like that when he's like 40 and I thought that you were eighteen." He said and she smiled. "God, this is weird." He mumbled and they chuckled.
"Too weird?" Katherine tested softly and he looked at her with a smile.
"No, I'm still totally into you, don't worry." He winked at her and they laughed.
"You can't tell anyone about this." Bonnie cautioned him. "Mystic Falls has a council that hunts down supernaturals. If they found about Stefan, they'd kill him."
"Well, they'd try." Stefan smirked and Katherine sniggered at his cheeky expression.
"Isn't Damon on the council?" Brent questioned confused.
"Yeah." Stefan snickered. "He joined so that he'd be in the loop if they found out anything."
"Would he really kill me?" Brent asked hesitantly and the three of them glanced at each other.
"We can never predict what Damon would or wouldn't do." Bonnie said and Brent looked surprised.
"So, he kills people." Brent stated more than asked.
"He hasn't for a long time. Well, apart from when he turns people back. That's where he's been travelling to." Stefan added and Brent nodded in understanding. "But, Brent… Damon loves Caroline more than anything. He won't tolerate anyone being a dick to her."
"Yeah, Damon's kind of crazy." Bonnie agreed.
"Okay, this may be a stupid question, but if he's kind of crazy and lethal, how is it that he walked in on Allan and Caroline in bed and Allan's still walking around without a scratch?" He enquired and they tittered.
"The truth?" Stefan tested and Brent nodded. "That night we went to the club and Caroline got sick, Allan dropped everything and took her straight to the clinic. The fact that he did that instead of just like, sticking her in a cab or something, is why he didn't kill Allan. He thinks Allan is a good guy and he isn't pissed at Allan for sleeping with Caroline because he thinks that any guy in the world would sleep with the girl they want if they had the chance so he can't really blame him for that." Stefan explained and Brent chuckled in surprise.
"So, he's not the crazy jealous type?" Brent queried.
"Oh, he is." Katherine refuted. "But he does have these moments where he's like ridiculously rational too. It's weird."
"Does the Sheriff know about all of this?" Brent probed.
"Yes." Stefan confirmed.
"She doesn't care that her daughter is dating a vampire?" Brent questioned sceptially.
"Liz loves Damon." Bonnie countered amused. "They're friends. Though, she threatened to shoot him several times regarding Caroline being pregnant." She giggled and Brent looked surprised.
"She threatened to shoot him and he didn't get pissed?" Brent asked.
"He's not like… a tiger waiting to pounce, Brent." Katherine retorted. "You don't know him but Damon's really fun and sarcastic when you get to know him. You could say whatever you want about Damon and he'd just ignore you but Caroline is his whole world and the way he reacted with you is the same way that he'd react to anyone who said something mean about her."
"Mmhmm. Even me. Though, he'd kick my ass on top of it if I said something about her." Stefan commented and Brent looked like he was thinking about that.
"So… do I have to worry about being around him now?" Brent asked and they snickered.
"No, he would have forgotten about it as soon as he went back upstairs. He will have considered it 'dealt with'." Bonnie answered and Katherine and Stefan nodded in agreement.
"I feel really bad about being a dick to Caroline now, though. I'm kind of pissed at Allan instead because Damon's right; he did take advantage of her being vulnerable especially because he knew about her being pregnant." Brent sighed.
"Babe, just move past it. Damon and Caroline are back together and back on the right track with their relationship. No point in bringing all of it up again." Katherine soothed.
"Still, I'm going to apologise to her." Brent countered.
"Don't. That'll make her feel all awkward again." Bonnie disagreed.
"Just be nice to her and she'll be happy." Stefan advised and Brent nodded in agreement.
"Can I see your face do that thing that Damon's did?" Brent requested of Stefan and they all amused.
"Sure." Stefan agreed with a small smirk. Stefan allowed his face to change and the dark veins appeared under his eyes as his eyes went bloodshot and his fangs slipped through his gums. Stefan flashed a toothy grin showing off his fangs to Brent who watched in awe.
"That's so cool." Brent blurted.
"Let's see." Bonnie requested from where she sat beside him and he turned his head to look at her. Bonnie stared at his face. She looked at the face of Stefan's 'monster' and the hesitation she'd once felt about him being a vampire was completely gone. He was still Stefan despite the fangs. She realised in that moment that she knew her path. Katherine and Brent saw that Bonnie was staring into his eyes and they saw the emotions flit across her face. "You know something?" She asked him softly forgetting that Katherine and Brent were there.
"What?" He asked her curiously.
"I love you." Bonnie said and Katherine and Brent grinned widely and Stefan looked like he'd melted into a puddle.
"Really?" He probed with a big fangy smile because he couldn't help being so happy.
"Yeah. Really." She responded amused at the fact he was wearing such a mushy expression and it looked funny with the veins and the fangs.
"I love you too." Stefan replied and she smiled then kissed him despite the fact his fangs were still out and he kissed her back gently while Katherine and Brent snickered.
"Took you long enough." Katherine quipped and Brent laughed.
"Totally." Brent agreed amused.
"So, can we cut the crap now?" Stefan queried Bonnie with a smirk and she giggled.
"Yes. Crap officially cut." She approved and they laughed.
"We have to tell Care. She'll be so pissed that she missed that." Katherine remarked digging out her phone and Brent, Stefan and Bonnie chuckled. Katherine got her phone out and dialled Caroline's number then put the phone on speaker. They heard the phone answer and then a loud thud.
"Damn it." They heard Caroline mumble in the background then there was some static and they all looked confused.
"Care?" Katherine tested sceptically.
"Hey. Sorry about that. I dropped the damn phone and now it has a crack. How typical is that? I only got it like three months ago. I doubt the insurance company covers 'butterfingers'." She rambled and they all shook with silent laughter at that.
"What are you doing?" Katherine queried, amused by her wordy friend.
"Packing up my room." Caroline sighed. "God, I have no idea how I can possibly have this much crap. It took Damon like a minute to pack up his room and I'm still at this like two hours later." She muttered and they chuckled.
"Want me to come over and help?" Katherine offered.
"I'd love you forever if you could." Caroline replied and they laughed.
"Sure, I'll head over." Katherine confirmed amused.
"Who are you with?" Caroline asked.
"Brent, Bonnie and Stefan." Katherine answered.
"Say hi to them from me." She chirped.
"Hey." They greeted in unison.
"Is Damon with you?" Katherine tested.
"No, he's still refusing to come into my room." Caroline muttered and Katherine nodded in understanding. "He's at the house. He's apparently 'planning the back yard'. Loser." She joked and they all laughed at that.
"He said that he wants to put like a mini-play area in the garden." Katherine commented.
"Yeah, but I really don't see the point. Did you finally tell Brent by the way?" She enquired.
"Damon did." Katherine responded and Caroline was quiet.
"Uh… was he nice about it or a dickhead as usual?" She probed and they laughed.
"He kind of vamped out and went a teeny bit nuts." Katherine admitted and Caroline gasped.
"Oh my God! Is Brent okay? I'm going to kick Damon's lily-white ass." She muttered and Bonnie, Stefan and Katherine guffawed at that while Brent looked surprised that she would stick up for him at all when he hadn't been very nice to her.
"He's fine. Though, Damon took off without compelling him so we filled him in." Katherine cleared up.
"Thank God!" Caroline sighed in relief. "It's about time he knew about all of this crap."
"I still can't believe you said that Damon has a lily-white ass!" Stefan chortled and Bonnie, Katherine and Brent laughed loudly while Caroline giggled.
"It's an expression, Stefan. It's not actually lily-white. No… it's, God, it's like the most perfect guy ass ever. He really does have a God-like body. He's just so damn hot… Okay… I am getting off topic." She rambled and they were all laughing hysterically at her getting lost in a little daydream about Damon. "So… why'd you call?" She tested hoping to change the subject.
"I called to tell you that you missed the gossip of the year." Katherine teased and Bonnie blushed while Stefan looked highly amused.
"Ooh, what happened? Is it Stefonnie gossip?" She examined and they chortled at her joining their names.
"Yep. Bon went all mushy and told Stefan that she loves him." Katherine sing-songed and Bonnie was like beetroot red because she'd been swept up in the moment when she said it. Caroline gasped.
"And I missed it? Dammit!" Caroline exclaimed annoyed while Brent and Katherine laughed. "What else?"
"They've agreed to, quote, 'cut the crap', so I think that means that they're finally together." Katherine spilled amused while Stefan chuckled and Bonnie wrung her hands nervously.
"Thank God." Caroline mumbled.
"Why?" Katherine giggled knowing her answer would be funny while Stefan and Bonnie looked like they were bracing themselves to be highly embarrassed.
"Because Stefan's been super grumpy. He needs to get laid." She quipped and Katherine and Brent guffawed while Stefan rolled his eyes and Bonnie was just crimson.
"You're so blunt." Brent said amused.
"Oh, crap. I'm on speaker?" Caroline asked.
"You only just noticed? You've been talking to everyone." Katherine giggled at her slightly slow-on-the-uptake friend.
"Yeah, but I was packing while I was talking, so it didn't register… Sorry, Bonnie." Caroline said.
"Why are you apologising to Bonnie?" Stefan queried entertained.
"Because Bonnie will probably be blushing like a tomato at the moment at the thought of finally getting you nekkid, Stef." Caroline teased and Stefan, Katherine and Brent shook with laughter while Bonnie hid her face in her hands in embarrassment.
"I'm going to kill you, Care." Bonnie muttered and Caroline giggled.
"It's normal, Bonnie. Plus, once you go vamp you never go back, so enjoy." Caroline teased and they laughed loudly.
"That's true." Katherine agreed and Brent shot her a look.
"Hey." He defended annoyed and they laughed.
"I'm human at the moment, so it doesn't matter now." She placated.
"What do you mean?" Brent probed sceptically.
"It's really hard for a female vampire to get off." Caroline answered bluntly and they sniggered at her saying that.
"Oh." Brent replied surprised.
"All this sex talk is seriously not helping my concentration." Caroline muttered and they laughed.
"You started it." Stefan pointed out amused.
"That is because my hormones are on overdrive and I can't friggin' think about anything else." She complained and they laughed. "Actually, Katherine… uh… can you give me an hour before you come over?" She requested and they shook with laughter.
"Why?" Katherine teased.
"Because I'm going to run over to the house and jump Damon's old bones then yell at him." She answered and they chortled.
"What's the point in yelling at him after?" Bonnie queried.
"Well, if I yell at him first then he might go in a mood and I might not get any." She explained like it was obvious and they buckled over with laughter at that.
"You're so blunt." Brent chuckled.
"But, yeah, I'll leave in an hour." Katherine agreed entertained.
"Great! See you soon!" Caroline said then hung up and they chuckled.
"She's so funny." Brent said amused.
"Maybe, but she makes an excellent point." Stefan quipped.
"What do you mean?" Katherine asked and in a blink Stefan stood up then picked Bonnie up bridal style.
"What are you doing?" Bonnie gasped surprised and he smirked while Katherine and Brent laughed loudly at Stefan doing something like that.
"Making you blush." He winked then disappeared upstairs and Katherine and Brent laughed at him using Caroline's words against Bonnie.
"So, Stefan's getting 'nekkid' then." Brent commented highly amused and Katherine giggled.
"Do you like to be outdone?" Katherine smirked and a sly smile appeared on Brent's face then he grabbed her hand and the two of them ran down to her room…
A/N: This chapter is kind of a filler, but I wanted things to be getting back to a normal and place. Next up: Caroline jumps Damon on the couch ;)
Let me know what you thought of the chapter! I'll try to get the next chapter up in the morning.