Woke up sweating from a dream
With a different kind of feeling
All day long my heart was beating
Searching for the meaning
Maroon 5, "It was always you"
30. A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEELING.
It comes the time when he runs out of excuses to monopolize her time. There's no more Silas, no summer trip, no memory loss. The problem is that he's spent so much time with Caroline over the course of the last few months, that now it feels weird to be on his own.
The right thing, the best thing he could do is moving to Portland, as he told Lexi he would.
Instead, he goes back to his house, to the awkwardness with Damon who seems to think he hates him. Stefan thought he'd resent his brother more (he certainly did during his temporary amnesia), but that's gone too.
Overall, he's happy that Damon finally has what he wants in life. Elena makes his brother happy, and Damon makes her happy in return.
It should hurt more than this, but he's kind of tired of being unhappy. Maybe he stuck around Caroline long enough that her bright outlook on life still lingers around.
After everything that's happened during the past year, even his hatred for Katherine doesn't seem to be the same, to the point that when he finds her lamenting her luck, that she's aging and dying soon, he sympathizes with her.
"Tonight a cute guy kissed me and ran away only to be killed by my friend, now I find out my best friend was ignoring me to hang out with his manipulative and backstabbing ex, and my other friend has been kidnapped by witches, so forgive me if I'm in a mood."
He frowns. Who kissed her?
Ah, that's none of his business.
"Who was killed?"
Same thing.
Then there is Tom.
Stefan really wished nothing ever happened to his doppelgänger because there would be no reason for Caroline to invest more time on him than she already did.
But here they are, and it's really annoying how blatantly Tom is flirting with her.
"I'm okay now. I woke up and there was a beautiful woman coming to my rescue. What else can a guy ask for?"
He's not eavesdropping. He just happens to hear that part.
"I hate to interrupt you, but I think it's time to discuss where are you going from here"
Honestly, Klaus wouldn't be his first choice if there was a better option, but the alternative is to drag Tom with them, whether that is Mystic Falls or anywhere else, and the story cannot end much better than Elena's.
Now, with Silas and Amara dead, and Katherine already dying too, Tom is the last doppelgänger, and Klaus only chance of making more hybrids. If he was willing to go to extreme lengths to turn Elena human again, surely he'll put the same effort in protecting this one.
And, as Caroline puts it, he's going to be a father, so he has another motive to grow his ranks.
"How do you know he's having a kid?"
"Dreams" She confesses a bit reluctantly "and he told me once."
They stay in touch.
In the past, he would have teased Caroline about Klaus infatuation with her, but it isn't funny anymore.
"If I was the one who needed protection, would you put me in his hands, too?"
Of course not.
She is his best friend, and if she was in danger he would personally make sure that she stayed safe. However, it's different with his doppelgänger. Stefan wants Tom to be okay because he is important to Caroline, because he was the one who helped her go through the aftermath of being tortured by her father. The guy was also there to help her cope with Bill's death, which, he doesn't forget, was all his brother's doing.
But if Stefan has to choose between the two, it's not something he needs to think about. Having a doppelgänger around means trouble. He knows because he is one, he's been in love with one, and if he has to see her go through the things he put himself through because of that love, then suffering doesn't sound heroic anymore. It's just something she should never go through.
Thankfully, she agrees.
Tom isn't a big fan on the idea of being seen as a 'blood bag', but he's not stupid and he cares about Caroline too, so they can negotiate this.
"You're both insane. I'm out of here."
"You're not going anywhere." He grabs Katherine's arm to stop her.
"Exactly," Caroline says, raising an eyebrow. "How do we know that you won't run to tell your daughter, who might tell her witch friends, who will come for us?"
"Klaus is going to kill me."
"He is not going to kill you."
"Why not? Because you ask him so? Don't be stupid."
"Hey, hey, I think we need to calm down a bit. We're all tired, or at least the ones with human needs here." Tom says, glancing from Caroline to Katherine as if he expects them to start fighting at any minute. Maybe he's not wrong. "Katherine, maybe you can give some tips about being on the run. I've heard you have experience with that."
"I'll be gone the second Klaus walks into this place" She declares and walks out of the kitchen.
"She's stressed. Losing hair and all that." Tom whispers before following her.
"I'll keep an eye on her" Caroline sighs and grabs a bottle of whiskey. He has no idea where it came from, "are we really doing the right thing?"
"As I said, it's the best we can do. Besides, we have other issues now."
"Finding out what the Travelers want."
He nods. "That, and something is wrong with Damon and Elena."
"When is it not?"
"I mean, he hasn't replied to my texts or called me back yet. And I tried calling Elena, her phone is off too."
"That's not so weird. Maybe they are… you know, doing Damon and Elena things."
"Right," he crosses his arms. "But I've got a bad feeling about this."
Proof that Klaus either values the chance to make more hybrids, or he wants to see Katherine dying slowly, or just keeps being obsessed with Caroline, it doesn't take him long for him to make the trip from New Orleans to Atlanta.
"You are going to protect it as if your daughter's future depends on it, do you hear me?"
"Who says I care that much about that unborn child?"
"I know you care, and that you are going to try and be the father you wish yours was. You are going to love her and earn her love."
"Do you really believe… that kind of picture is possible?"
"I know it is."
Sometimes he doesn't understand how she manages to do that, seeing the best in people, but it's not strange that the worst kind of creatures like his former friend are drawn to her light.
"I know vampire ears work much better, but I'm pretty sure eavesdropping is still considered rude."
Stefan turns to see Tom, who is also spying on him with amusement in his eyes.
"Some other advice on good manners you want to give me?"
"Nah. Can't blame you."
This is probably the last time they are seeing each other (or he hopes so).
"What happened with Katherine?"
"She ran off back to Mystic Falls as soon as we heard Klaus arriving. Just as she said she would."
"I see. So that's the oldest vampire in history, cold blooded murderer I'm about to trust my life to. And he's in love with Caroline, too."
"Too?"
"Nevermind."
"And yet, you are still willing to take the risk."
"There are not many scenarios where I get to live if supernatural beings are out there to kill me, or something. And Caroline will be at ease this way."
"Why do you care so much? You have not known her for a long time."
"I have no family. I went from one foster family to another family, sometimes it was good. Sometimes, not so much. I guess, in some way, I wanted to feel like I was needed, and the thing is, that feeling never lasts long. But Caroline has a way to make people feel special."
That, she does. Stefan has lost count of how many times her capability to see the best parts of him was the glue holding him together.
"Do keep in touch with her when you get to safety. She'll worry."
Tom rolls his eyes. "Of course, I know."
There's a short pause.
"Take care of her."
They go back home together. For this reason alone, Stefan feels strangely content.
Yes, Klaus may love her, and Tom probably loves her too, but at the end of the day she's sitting on the copilot seat of his car, freaking out about the assignments she might miss for the days she was absent in class in a very Caroline Forbes fashion. And he feels things are perfect just the way they are.