Stefan and Caroline spent the evening in front of the tv, cuddling up on the couch. Their bodies fit perfectly together as they laid there watching a Scorsese movie. As the credits began to role Stefan pulled Caroline closer to him.
"Thank you." His breath tickled her ear.
She giggled softly.
"For what?"
"For watching that with me."
Caroline turned herself so that she was facing Stefan.
"Well it was your turn." She smiled. "Next time though- Fault in our stars."
Stefan laughed, "I'll have the box of tissues ready."
Caroline smiled back sweetly before her face turned into a slight grimace.
"Are you at all worried about Damon?"
Damon had told both of them that he was still thinking about it when they asked him about what he was going to do with the cure. Neither of them wanted it, but both Stefan and Caroline wanted Damon to make a decision. It was killing them knowing he just had it sitting in a box in his bedroom.
Stefan sighed and looked up to the ceiling as he rolled more towards his back.
"I don't know- yes and no." He paused. "I mean- i wasn't surprised he was considering it...but i thought he would have made up his mind by now."
Caroline's eyes went wide."Wait- you weren't shocked? Cause I was."
"That's the thing you don't understand about Damon, Caroline." Stefan turned back to face her. "He hates to admit it, and actually said the exact opposite many times...but Damon, he misses his humanity. He never wanted to be a vampire." Stefan looked down, avoiding Caroline's eyes. "I made that choice for him."
Caroline's eyes softened as she tilted her head to catch Stefan's gaze again.
"Hey, don't blame yourself for his choices." She put her hand on Stefan's face. "You are a good man Stefan Salvatore, despite the things you did in the past."
Stefan smiled and pulled his forehead to Caroline's.
"Hmm." His voice was almost a whisper. "Maybe you could extend that same compassion to Damon?"
Caroline was taken back by Stefan's question.
She held a lot of things against Damon, for the awful things he had done and for the person he was when they met. She knew that everyone had seen a change in him, but there was a piece of her that just couldn't let go of her distrust.
Caroline understood what Stefan was saying though, that if she can look past the horrible things Stefan had done, and looked only to the man he was now- why couldn't she do that for Damon?
"Its easy to do it for you Stefan, I love you." Caroline explained, guilt threading her words.
"I know that Care- but maybe you can work on that. Realize that Bonnie has found in Damon what you found in me." He paused, letting her absorb his words. "Do you trust her?"
Caroline thought about that for a moment. Bonnie was the strongest person she had ever met. She was wise beyond her years and held herself and her friends to a standard that was impossible but always in their best interest. Caroline did trust her.
"Yes- of course i do." Caroline sighed. "You're right Stefan."
She brought her lips to his, kissing him softly. "You always know what to say."
He smiled as he kissed her. "Mmm. You know what?"
"Hmm?" She looked back to his eyes, seeing the heat smoldering behind them.
"I think i'm ready for that bath."
Caroline's smile grew wider. "Me too."
She jumped up from the couch and pulled Stefan up with her. They both made their way quickly to Damon's bathroom, laughing as they closed the door behind them.
Stefan ran the water and added a healthy dose of bubble bath before turning around to see Caroline pulling her shirt over her head. SHe had already taken off her pants.
"Hey!" He called to her, moving closer to her, a playful smile on his lips. "I missed my favorite part."
Caroline gave him a wicked smile as her eyebrows rose.
"You like watching me take off my pants?"
Stefan nodded slowly, moving closer to her as his smile became less playful and more seductive.
Caroline giggled softly as Stefan put his hands on her bare hips and pulled her to him, kissing her firmly, but gently.
Her lips responded as she brought her hands up the top of his button down shirt and began unbuttoning it. Stefan undid his belt and pants then worked his way behind Caroline back to unclasp her bra.
She smiled against his lips as she shrugged off his shirt and pulled his t-shirt over his head. They both finished disrobing, Stefan watching as Caroline slowly pulled down her black lacy underwear.
He sighed deeply as he stared at her body.
Caroline moved to the bathtub and turned off the water before stepping inside slowly.
It was the perfect temperature, hot enough to make her skin turn red, but not so hot to make her uncomfortable.
She sat down slowly, a mass of bubbles rising around her.
Stefan wished he had a camera. The sight of Caroline staring up at him expectantly, her body smooth as silk, covered in bubbles, it made him ache with happiness.
Stefan stepped inside the bathtub behind Caroline and sat down, pulling her between his legs as she laid her back against his chest. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Mmm...every day should end like this." She said softly, her words echoing around the room.
"Agreed." Stefan spoke down to her head, kissing it softly. He stroked her arms with his hands, pulling water up with them and letting it cascade down her skin.
"I think when we redo our room, we should take some of it and make the bathroom bigger...and get a tub just like this."
Stefan smiled. "I love that idea."
He loved thinking about his future with Caroline. His heart beat in excitement at the thought of all the things they would get to do together, the kind of life they would lead together.
His mind wondered to his conversation with Damon earlier in the day.
Stefan had never given much thought to a tradition human marriage. Vampires live forever, it seemed like kind of a pointless ceremony. The vampire in him saw it as a mundane ritual, something that could never compete with true eternal love.
But now, his heart being so full of the purest love he had ever felt, marriage didn't seem so mundane. It seemed like a goal he was itching to attain. When he really thought about it, being married to Caroline would fill a piece of him he never really knew was empty. That piece of his humanity that continued to pull at him. He wondered if Caroline felt the same way, if she had thought about marriage too.
Her voice interrupted his train of thought.
"I'm thinking a nice dark beige stone...with a darker brown grout...maybe paint the walls something in the sage color..."
Stefan chuckled softly and kissed her head again. "I love you."
Caroline rotated her head up to look up at Stefan. "I love you too."
He bent down to kiss her, their lips meeting only for a moment before Caroline pulled back.
"Do you just say that when I'm being crazy about something and you want me to shut up?"
Stefan laughed again. "Maybe."
Caroline pushed her body back against his forcefully, shoving him with her back as she laughed.
Stefan groaned in mock pain and she slapped him lightly on the arm.
"You think you're so funny Mr. Salvatore." She smiled up at him.
Stefan loved the sound of his surname on her lips. He played around with her name in his mind.
Mrs. Caroline Salvatore.
He smiled before swallowing hard, summoning the courage to find out her feelings on the subject.
"So- I was talking to Damon today...about Ric's wedding-"
"Oh did you tell Ric we got that caterer Jo wanted?" Caroline interrupted.
Stefan smiled. "No i didn't get the chance."
"Oh- okay- I'll just call Jo tomorrow."
Stefan sighed and begun again.
"And i was wondering something."
"what's that?" Caroline's voice was cheerful and completely oblivious to the thoughts on Stefan's mind.
"Marriage." Stefan paused, trying to figure out how he would broach the topic. "How do you...feel about it?"
Caroline felt her body freeze. The hand that was stroking Stefan's thigh stopped mid-stroke and hung there like a deer in the headlights.
"Uh- like in general or..." She tried to buy herself from time.
Stefan pulled his arms around her chest, resting them gently across her breasts.
"Just what comes to mind when you think about it."
Caroline thought about it for a moment. She wanted to be honest, but she was afraid it would scare Stefan away. She didn't want him to think she was pressuring him into something like that if he wasn't ready. But a part of her worried he would never want that and that was something that bothered her and she needed to let him know where she stood.
"I guess...i think its the ultimate expression of love. Its two people wanting to declare in front of everyone they love that they want to spend their lives together. I guess...i think its wonderful."
Stefan could feel a weight lift from his chest, his smile growing wider as he squeezed her tighter against him.
Caroline turned to face him again, her eyes looking up at his with a hesitation he found remarkably beautiful.
"And for you...would you ever want to get married?" She asked softly.
Stefan smiled down at her, his voice coming out smooth and comforting.
"I never thought so before...but now.." He bent down to kiss her lips. "I cant imagine anything better."
/
Damon paced his room. He was waiting for Bonnie to finish getting ready for their date and he could feel a rising nervousness in his chest.
He was holding the vile that contained the cure. He tossed it back and forth between his hands as he moved around his room. He had made his decision that he did in fact want to take it, but now he was contemplating when the right time would be.
He heard his mother's breath outside his doorframe and turned around to face her.
"So?" She asked him, taking a step inside his room. "What will it be Damon?"
He sighed as he looked down at the cure to his vampirism in his hands.
"i'm going to take it."
Lily smiled as she let out a sigh of relief. She moved closer to him, her instinct to wrap her arms around him but held back and pulled her hands behind her back.
"When?"
Damon looked down to the ground before turning away from his mother.
"I don't know."
"what's stopping you from taking it right now?"
"I don't know." His voice was low, his head hanging low.
"Well let me ask you this." Lily stepped closer again, this time reaching out and putting her hand on Damon's arm, turning him to face her. "Why do you want to be human?"
Damon let out a long breath. " Because i never wanted this." His voice getting stronger. "I don't want to constantly fight my destructive instincts, i don't want to do bad things." He shook his head.
"And your relationship with Bonnie? Does that have anything to do with this."
Damon blinked a few times, unsure of how to answer.
"No- I mean in a way yes. But...i've always missed my humanity. I've always wished i could go back and never turn." He sighed. "But of course, there is a big part of me that is looking forward to being with her...as a man. Not as a vampire."
Lily nodded.
"Well, no time like the present son." She smiled as she brought her hand up to cup her sons face. "What a gift she gave you,," She said softly, her words comforting and warm. "And what a gift you can give her."
She smiled again, staring deeply into his eyes before turning and leaving him alone in his bedroom.
Damon thought about what his mother said. He thought about what it would mean for him to become a moral man again. He would lose his vampire strength but he would regain his strength of morality. He could finally feel worthy of the love Bonnie had for him. He could finally be free of the guilt that tore at him.
Damon took a deep breath. He knew that tonight he had planned to take the next step with Bonnie. He felt ready, and he could tell she did too. Being with her the last two weeks had reminded him everyday of who he could be, who he wanted to be. There were moments his mind would drift to Elena, and his heart would sink in the guilt of everything that surrounded them. But he continued to push that away, knowing that not being together was what was best for both of them.
He had real feelings for Bonnie, something he had never experienced before. His desire to be as close to her as possible was beginning to overwhelm him and he was ready to cement their relationship.
And now holding the cure in his hands, he wanted to do that not as a vampire, not as someone who is fighting his darkness every minute.
He wanted to be with her as a man.
Damon crossed the room and shut his bedroom door.
He looked down at his hand and pulled the cork of the vile off.
He took another deep breath and brought the vile to his lips.
Damon tipped it up into his mouth, letting the blood flow freely down his throat. He swallowed back the last drop left in the vile before letting it drop to the floor.
Part of him began to panic at the finality of what he had just done but his emotional state was interrupted by the world beginning to blur around him.
His vision went dark and his body became too heavy for him to support.
Damon closed his eyes as he took his final breath as a vampire, before collapsing to the floor.