CAROLINE'S POV:
The end of the month came quicker than I hoped it would and Stefan was off to Chicago for the week on his business trip. I was much better now, having stuck to a rigorous physio routine and was now out of the wheelchair I'd been sent home in and could move around unaided, although I did have the support boot still on my foot…
"Caroline Forbes, what do you think you're doing?" Bonnie's voice questioned from where I stood on a chair in my kitchen, rooting around for some lightbulbs in the top cupboard
"Bonnie!" I proclaimed, carefully climbing down from the stool to make my way over to her, embracing her in a hug as I did so "I've missed you!"
"You'll miss me even more when your boyfriend kills me after he finds out you've injured yourself under my watch." she replied "What were you trying to do?"
"The light in my bedroom has blown." I informed her "And I'm sure there's some bulbs on that top shelf."
"Well you put the kettle on and then sit yourself down and I'll look for the lightbulb. We've got so much to catch up on…" she admitted as she moved to the chair I'd been stood on minutes previously "So, are you missing Stefan?"
"He's only been gone for like seven hours." I replied
"Counting, are we?" she questioned, smirking as she spoke "I know you, Caroline. And it's okay to admit you miss him."
"Well this week is girl time." I informed her as I stood up as the kettle boiled, pausing mid-sentence as I felt a wave of dizziness hit me "I'm fine…"
"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked "You've gone deathly pale…"
"I forgot about my leg and put too much pressure on it when I got up." I explained "Stefan keeps telling me off. Anyway, whilst I'm up, I'm going to use the bathroom and grab some blankets so we can start our movie marathon. The lightbulb can wait."
"Sounds perfect." she replied, smiling at my warmly
Later that evening, Bonnie and I were getting dinner sorted. She was cooking one of her specialities – spaghetti Carbonara, a dish we always had when we were together. It was one of our traditions…
"Dinner's up." she proclaimed as she walked into the lounge, setting a tray down on my lap before climbing back under the blanket, setting her tray on her lap
"This looks amazing, Bon, as always." I admitted as I took a mouthful "And taste's just as good too "I've got some sharing bread in the cupboard…"
"I'll get it." she informed me, setting her tray down on the coffee table
Bonnie returned moments later and ripped the bread apart, handing me some…
"Does this taste funny to you?" I inquired
"The bread?" she questioned "No, it's yummy as always!"
"It's got an odd taste to it," I admitted "must be me…"
Thursday came around in a flash, and Bonnie was accompanying me to my physiotherapy session…
"I told you, Bonnie; you didn't have to come with me." I informed her
"And miss all the fun?" she asked "Not a chance!"
My physiotherapist had been working with me on building up the strength in my leg again so I was currently doing bar steps – repeating stepping up and down on a small step and before I knew it I was on the floor, my leg having given way beneath me…
"Caroline, are you okay?" Bonnie questioned worriedly
"I'm fine," I replied, seeing I was now sat in a chair in the corner of the room "did I pass out?"
She nodded her head… "You were stepping one second and the next you were out on the floor."
"You fainted, Caroline." the nurse who'd been taking my blood pressure informed me "Your blood pressure's a little low, that's all. Have you been eating properly?"
"No, she hasn't," Bonnie replied as I was about to speak "she's not eating as much as she used to."
"Bon…" I sighed
"What?" she inquired "You weren't going to tell her."
"You need to eat, Caroline," the nurse replied "you lost weight during your recovery and you need to ensure you build your strength back up and that means building your weight up too. Why aren't you eating properly, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't have time." I admitted "I sleep most of the day and when I do eat things, they taste funny."
"That'll be your tablets." she informed me "They can change the way your food tastes and your appetite works. We'll see what we can sort out for you, because it's essential you eat."
"That would be great, thank you." I replied "Am I finished for today?"
She nodded her head… "You need to be careful though. Your leg gave way today so you need to be gentle and watch how much weight you're putting on it when you're standing and walking."
"Bonnie, can you help?" I asked as I moved to stand, taking her hand as she moved over to me
"You okay?" Bonnie questioned as we made our way down the corridor
"I'm fine." I assured her "And Bon, not a word of this to Stefan, okay?"
She nodded her head and swallowed a lump in her throat… "He'll be worried about you."
"It's fine." I replied "Nothing major."
"You passed out, Caroline, and hurt your leg again in the process. Just call him and tell him." she begged
"I said no, okay, Bonnie?" I questioned "I said no!"
"Caroline…" she began
"Just take me home, Bonnie, please." I begged
STEFAN'S POV:
"Bonnie, hey, how's Caroline?" I asked as she answered my call
"She's," she began "I don't know. She seems stressed. She's not herself."
"Why? What happened?" I questioned
"She'll kill me for telling you this but she had a setback at physio today. Her leg gave way and she passed out. It upset her quite a bit; more than she's making out, actually." she informed me
"But she's okay now, right?" I asked
"She went straight to bed," she replied "and I think she cried herself to sleep. Do you know when you're going to be back? She could really do with seeing you right now…"
"That's why I'm calling," I admitted "I'm at the airport now and am just waiting for my flight, so I'll be there when she wakes up in the morning."
"That's great. Well safe trip and I'll see you on Monday in the office, okay?" she asked
"Okay." I replied "Thank you for everything this week, Bonnie."
I arrived at Caroline's in the early hours of the morning and let myself into her apartment with my key, bolting the door behind me as I did so. Setting my suitcase down, I kicked off my shoes and walked through to her bedroom and sighed as I took in her appearance – her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she'd got an icepack on her leg. Moving onto the bed, I lay down next to her, allowing my eyes to close too…
CAROLINE'S POV:
The next morning I came to and turned, bumping something as I did so. Lifting my head from my pillow and opening my eyes, I saw Stefan was sat up, his eyes on me, my eyes filling with tears…
"Stefan…" I sighed
"Morning," he greeted me, a sob escaping my lips as he spoke "hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she replied "I'm just happy to see you."
"I'm happy to see you too." he admitted "Now, are you going to tell me anything more about this little setback you had at physio yesterday?"
"Bonnie told you?" I inquired
"Yes." he informed me "And I'm glad she did, because you wouldn't have done. It's okay not to be superwoman all the time, Caroline, you know that, right?"
I nodded my head… "I know."
"Good," I replied "then maybe you'll reconsider moving in with me then?"
I smiled at him warmly and moved closer to him, resting my head on his chest, turning to press a kiss against the material of his t-shirt as I did so… "Nice try, but I've still got time left on my lease yet, but I do love how persistent you are…"
Stefan's home…