I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: I'm going to try my best to update this story much quicker because I have the chapters, they just need to be typed up. I'll try to get another chapter out in the morning.


The Solution

Chapter 53


Caroline and Stefan spent their days exploring Orlando, going to museums, theatres, the park attractions that didn't involve rides like the animal attractions, they went to restaurants, shopping and they also spent time together at the villa by the pool when Caroline was a little too tired to do too much walking. Because they were having such active days, Stefan was pushing Caroline to eat a larger amount, a little more often than she had been. She visited the clinic on the Wednesday morning to get her blood pressure taken and to provide a urine sample and Stefan compelled them to call Caroline's clinic with the results.

That evening, Caroline took a picture of herself from a side profile and sent it to Damon in an email knowing that he'd see it when he woke up on the Thursday morning. He and Ric had swapped their travel itinerary and were in Shanghai instead of Beijing as they'd already done Beijing. Caroline and Stefan were getting ready to go out for dinner when her phone rang and she smiled seeing that it was Damon calling her.

"Hey, sweetie." Caroline answered happily as she applied her mascara in her room.

"I just got the picture." He disclosed pleased.

"So, now you aren't missing anything." She replied amused and he chuckled.

"Thanks for that. Nice way to wake up in the morning." He remarked and she grinned. "I really miss you, Caroline." He sighed tiredly because it was crap being without her.

"I really miss you too. This has been a long week." She admitted.

"Something going on?" He asked her concerned at the way she said that.

"This is going to sound like I'm just complaining for no reason but there are so many people in Florida right now." She said. "And I swear to God, I'm being stopped by like 30 people a day to talk about the babies because I can't hide the bump anymore and it's just really getting on my nerves." She muttered.

"That sucks. That doesn't sound like you're complaining for no reason. I'd hate that." He pointed out.

"It does suck. And everyone automatically assumes that Stefan's the father and starts asking him questions then when we say that he's my brother they give me this look like they feel sorry for me because clearly the father ran away or something." She mumbled into the phone and he chuckled.

"You've been saying that he's your brother?" He asked amused.

"Yeah, tried the fiancé's brother thing and people just looked at me like I was a ho bag." She muttered and he laughed.

"Why?" He asked.

"Well, you know I've had a particularly dizzy pregnancy so far." She started.

"Yeah, I know." He agreed.

"So, sometimes if we're out and I get kind of dizzy, I hold his hand while I wait for the water to kick in just in case I lose my balance and people always take that the wrong way." She murmured annoyed.

"It doesn't matter what they think. You'll never see them again anyway." He commented.

"I know but it's still annoying. When there aren't a whole bunch of people in the vicinity, Stefan's been compelling them to go away." Caroline said amused and he laughed surprised that Stefan would do that as he was always so against compulsion normally.

"Good." Damon approved. "How many people has Stefan turned so far?" He queried curiously.

"Uh…" Caroline thought about it. "39." She said. "He didn't want to go too far when I'm alone in the house. He said that he'll drive further away once Bonnie gets here."

"39 is still a good number though. If he could do 100 by the time you go back to Mystic Falls that would help." Damon noted.

"I'll let him know." Caroline agreed. "Oh and… Cosa hai fatto ieri sera?" She grinned and he chuckled. (What did you do last night?)

"Your pronunciation is great. You're picking it up fast." Damon said proudly.

"I'm not really being given much choice." She muttered.

"What do you mean?" He examined.

"Stefan's practically only speaking to me in Italian so that I have to learn fast or I won't understand him." She sighed and he chuckled.

"The dweeb's right though, it's working." He commented. "But to answer your question, Ric and I went to the Hyatt on the Bund hotel for dinner at Xindalu. Typical Shanghainese food, but the reason we went there is because on the top floor of the hotel is a bar called Vue and the view of the city from up there is unbelievable." He described.

"That sounds great. Did Ric take some pictures? I'd love to see that." She smiled.

"He did. He's been taking pictures of practically everything." Damon replied amused.

"Are you glad that he went with you?" Caroline questioned.

"Actually, I'm really happy about it. I'm not really into the sightseeing much but it's better than being alone in the hotel watching crap movies that I have no interest in. It's really cool having company for this." He admitted.

"That's good. Is Ric having fun?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, he's practically demanding to go with me to Europe in March already." Damon quipped and she smiled.

"Good, I'm glad. I wish it could be me going with you but I'm glad that you don't have to do all of that alone." She said sincerely.

"Me too. Though, he ditched me last night to get laid." Damon exposed and she giggled.

"Were you sitting thinking how ironic it was?" She teased and he laughed.

"No, I was thinking that I would give anything to just jump on a flight to Florida and be with you." He replied and her stomach fluttered but it also made her realise just how much she felt his absence.

"God, I miss you so much." She said emotionally as tears welled in her eyes. "Please don't be gone for the whole month of March." She sobbed.

"I won't be. I promise." He said softly. "I'm not going for this long without you again." He added and she sniffed.

"How are we going to make that work?" She sobbed. "The witches will be mad."

"I called Bonnie yesterday and told her that I can't just leave you for that long and the witches are going to just have to deal with that. She wasn't pleased but she talked to them and they've agreed that if I compel every vampire I turn to turn others and if Stefan helps, they'll ease up on the pressure a little." He admitted.

"Really?" She asked softly.

"Yes. I talked to Stefan as well. So, when I leave on the 5th of March, it'll be for two weeks, then I'll come back and Stefan will go to Canada for about ten days then when he gets back, I'll go back to Europe for another two weeks then the witches will reassess and let me know where else I have to go." He described.

"That's amazing." Caroline said wiping her eyes. "Is Stefan taking Brent and Allan with him?"

"I spoke to Brent and he's agreed to go and he said that he'd talk to Allan and let me know. I'd rather Stefan wasn't by himself." Damon commented.

"Me too." She nodded though he couldn't see her.

"Are you and Stefan still getting along well?" He quizzed.

"Closer than ever to be honest. We still argue every day but it's in a fond kind of way." She said. "He's such a sap though. He was drunk the other night and he was all 'I can't wait until you marry Damon because then you'll actually be my sister'." She teased and Damon laughed.

"When we were human, Stefan used to say that he wanted a sister all the time. He loved having a brother but he always tends to get along better with girls than guys." Damon commented.

"That's because Stefan, although masculine, has a lot of girly tastes." Caroline said amused and Damon laughed.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, he likes shopping and the theatre and romantic comedies and a lot of girly pop music." Caroline replied amused and Damon chuckled. "We're actually going to a dinner show tonight." She commented.

"Which one?" He asked curiously.

"Stefan got us the VIP package at the Arabian Nights dinner show and it includes a guided tour of backstage to see the horses and stuff. I'm really excited about it." Caroline grinned.

"That does sound kind of fun." Damon stated surprising her.

"Then afterwards if I'm not too tired, we're going to a place called the Icebar. The one in Orlando is the biggest permanent ice bar in the world apparently." Caroline said and he chuckled at her being all 'clued up' about ice bars.

"I've been to a few of those. That's cool." Damon remarked.

"I had a look online at their drinks menu and I'm making Stefan get a S'mores Martini just so I can try a sip of it." She admitted and he laughed.

"What's in it?" He asked amused because he could just imagine her dictating Stefan's drink choice.

"Whipped vodka, graham crackers and marshmallows on the rim but the best part…" She grinned. "Godiva chocolate liqueur." She said and he snickered.

"Just get Stefan to compel them not to put the vodka in it and have one." Damon replied.

"But there's alcohol in the liqueur." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's liqueur. There's hardly any alcohol in that and it'll only be a small amount. You will have just eaten a large meal then if you drink some water afterwards it won't do anything to you. Other pregnant women drink the occasional glass of wine and there's more alcohol in that, so don't worry so much. Even Dr Newbury said that one glass of wine occasionally with food is no big deal." He replied.

"You think?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Yeah, I read all about that before I got you that non-alcoholic wine. As long as it's with or after food and you drink water, it's so diluted that it does nothing if you only have a small amount. It's not like you'd be getting drunk, you know? It's just one drink with barely any alcohol in it. That'll have less alcohol than a glass of wine anyway." He agreed.

"Okay." Caroline accepted.

"Then you can tell me if you like it and I'll get you all of the Godiva liqueurs to try." He said and she smiled at him being so sweet.

"What do you mean all of them?" She queried.

"I meant to tell you about it before but I forgot. They have the original one which is dark chocolate, they have a white chocolate one, a milk chocolate one, a chocolate mocha one and a milk chocolate caramel one. They also have two chocolate infused vodkas, one of them chocolate raspberry." He described and she said 'mmm'.

"That sounds like heaven." She replied. "When I finish breastfeeding, the first time I get drunk is going to be on that." She said and he laughed. "Bet my blood will taste like chocolate then." She teased.

"That's funny." He replied amused.

"You know, one night, maybe for your birthday or something, I'll get drunk on bourbon or something and you can try that and see if it's better." She smirked and he laughed.

"Stefan would have a fit if he heard you say that." He stated.

"Nah, he knows that I like it." Caroline replied unconcerned and Damon went quiet.

"You told him about us blood sharing?" Damon asked confused that she'd been talking about their sex life with his brother.

"Yeah. Do you remember that day I tripped over the carpet and you caught me?" She tested.

"Yeah." He replied confused.

"You left a finger bruise on my arm accidentally and he got all nosy, so I had to explain." She replied and he sighed understanding after the incident where she'd made him lose control that Stefan was worried about her.

"I'm surprised that he hasn't given me crap for that." Damon remarked.

"He knows that it's not you asking for it. It's our business anyway." She added. "Why do you feel bad about it?" She asked him softly.

"Because you're the love of my life not a walking blood bag." He retorted and her stomach erupted into butterflies at the first part.

"That's not an issue, Damon. I know you're not going to hurt me." She countered.

"I know that, but that's not the point. It'll be different when you're a vampire too." He said.

"Why?" She asked confused.

"Because then you can bite me back." He answered.

"But what's the difference? You always give me blood back anyway." She pointed out.

"The difference is… when you're a vampire I won't want to keep going." He admitted ashamed in a whisper and she sighed.

"You mean that there won't be even a grain of sand's sized thought in your head to drain me dry?" She asked and he didn't reply. "You're a vampire, sweetie. That's part of vampire nature. I know that. Doesn't mean you'd ever do it."

"Still. Because I love you, your blood is… unbelievably amazing. Like the best blood ever. And it sickens me that I can't stop that thought from poking my mind when I taste it." He disclosed.

"No vampire could, sweetie." She said softly. "You just have to remember that if it was the other way around, that tiny thought would cross my mind too. It's just vampire nature. Doesn't mean that I'd ever in a million years act on it just like you wouldn't." She added and he sighed.

"True, I'd rather rip out my own heart than hurt you." He admitted and her breath hitched.

"I love you and I trust you, Damon. You don't have to worry about all of this. You have enough to worry about with the turnings." She said soothingly. "Speaking of that, I thought of something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Something wrong?" He asked concerned.

"No. I… Two weeks today we'll be getting married." She started and he was quiet.

"Have you changed your mind?" He asked hesitantly.

"No, no. Nothing like that. Why? Have you?" She tested.

"No, not at all. Then what do you want to talk about?" He enquired.

"Well… uh… while you're away… uh… maybe you should have some kind of… last hurrah or something." She suggested and there was just silence on the other line for about ten seconds. "Damon?" She asked confused as to why he was quiet.

"Are you joking?" He asked calmly.

"No…" She said.

"And why are you suggesting that?" He asked still with the calm voice.

"Well, I don't mean it in a bad way… I just… before you went to Australia when we agreed to date, I'm guessing that you weren't thinking to yourself that you'd be getting married only a short while later… you didn't have like a kind of 'last hook-up' or anything." She rambled and he was quiet again.

"Is this about Allan?" He asked and she winced.

"No." She replied but it kind of was.

"Are you sure? You're not trying to even things out so that you'll feel less guilty?" He asked.

"I'm never going to feel less guilty regardless what you do, so no, it's not about that." She replied and he sighed.

"I didn't sleep with anyone else in Brazil when we weren't together but I was going to." He admitted and she gulped.

"Why didn't you?" She asked.

"I hit on someone drunkenly in Brazil and I felt sick by it before anything happened and literally couldn't do it so, no, I won't be having a 'last hurrah'. I don't want anyone else. I'd rather go without." He confessed and she winced at the fact he hadn't been able to do it yet she had. It made her feel even worse.

"I don't either." She said in a small emotional voice.

"Caroline, you really need to think about all of this. I don't want to go into a marriage if you seriously feel like I need to even the score because I don't feel that way at all." He said.

"What do you mean?" She asked while her eyes welled a little.

"There is no score. Not for me, anyway. I love you so much but I don't want Allan being an issue for us forever. Bonnie said that the reason you couldn't tell him to leave you alone was because he had cancer… well, that isn't an issue anymore. I turned him. But if you're going to always think of this then I can't marry you." He said and her jaw dropped.

"I'm not thinking about him, Damon. I just… I love you more than anything and I can't bear that I did what I did." She sobbed.

"But the more you tiptoe around me and constantly look at me with sad eyes, the more it makes me think that you are thinking about him." Damon admitted and she winced. "So, you either have to just let it go and forget about it and just be with me… or, we're going to have problems. Maybe irreparable problems. And I don't want that. I want you. Do you think it's easy for me dealing with the fact I almost killed you? It's not. If I think about it too much it's excruciating and I want to burn in the sun… but you said that you want me despite that and I swore to myself that I'd never do anything to hurt you ever again, so, as harsh as this sounds, that has to be enough or we won't work. We weren't together when you slept with Allan. Okay, it was unfortunate that I saw it but forgetting that part – you didn't do anything wrong. We were not a couple then. Get over it. So, either forget the thing with Allan and move forward with me or we aren't going to work out. I don't want to constantly talk to you about this. Just like I'm sure that you wouldn't want to constantly talk to me about me sleeping with someone else."

"Then tell me how you do it. Because nothing is making me feel less guilty." She admitted and he sighed.

"It'll sound incredibly selfish and insensitive if I tell you what I do." He admitted hesitantly.

"No, it won't because if you didn't do this then I would lose you and I don't want to lose you for anything. I don't give a crap about the things you did without your emotions on, I never think about it. So, tell me how you do it." She encouraged.

"Fine… I… pretend it didn't happen and block it out. I pretend that I did that to someone else, that it wasn't you. You see, because I love you so much, it feels like I always have. So, I can't contemplate hurting a hair on your head let alone anything else. It's awful because I should be feeling the guilt for that all the time but pretending it was a bad dream or that it never happened is the only way that I can deal with it." He revealed ashamed and her heart twisted uncomfortably.

"But if that's all that you do, you aren't dealing with it." She said. "What happens if down the line you stop doing that? Are you just going to up and leave me?" She asked confused and he was quiet again.

"I'll never leave you unless you want me to." He admitted.

"If you marry me then leave because of this, you'll break my heart." She said.

"I swear, Caroline, I will never leave you unless you want me to." He promised.

"Alright." She agreed. "Then I'll try your method and make Allan a bad dream."

"Stop feeling guilt for Allan, Caroline. It's not like you killed Stefan, you know? It was just a hook-up. Even if we had been together at the time, something like that would never be enough to make me leave you." He said and her jaw dropped.

"First of all, I'd never kill Stefan and second, I'd never cheat on you." She said.

"Then don't suggest stupid things like 'last hurrahs' because I'd never cheat on you either." He countered and she sighed.

"Okay." She agreed. She could see his point and she felt bad for suggesting that he would need that. "Fine, if that's the way you're going to be… you even look at anyone else and I'll kick your ass. You're mine, Salvatore." She smirked and he laughed.

"That's more like it, Blondie." He replied amused. "So, you're going to listen to me about Allan?" He tested and she bit her lip. She kind of saw his point about letting it go; she also understood what he meant about it feeling selfish… though, she refused to lose him.

"Allan, who?" She asked and he was quiet.

"Good." He answered pleased…


A/N: I felt like that talk was needed. Next chapter, Katherine, Matt & Bonnie arrive in Orlando :)