I cant help but write Caroline's P.O.V


That I would be fine even if I went bankrupt
That I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth
That I would be great if I was no longer queen
That I would be grand if I was not all knowing

That I would be loved even when I numb myself
That I would be good even when I am overwhelmed
That I would be loved even when I was fuming
That I would be good even if I was clingy

That I would be good even if I lost sanity
That I would be good

Alanis Morissette, "That I would be good"


20. That I would be good, whether with or without you.

She wakes up with Stefan's arms still holding her tight next to him, and realizes how stupid it would be to go to her mother's house when this is her home (its been for the longest time).

Turning her body towards him, Caroline sees the smile creeping on his face and betraying his closed eyes.

"Hi." She gives him a peck on the lips and gets out of bed, prompting him to protest.

"Where are you going?"

"To make breakfast."

It's time for her to have 'the talk'.

After all, she doesn't want things with her mother to go down to a terrible ending, not in this way, when she knows the two of them can get along better than they do now, and when she remembers how much she had missed her after losing her, the only family she had left.

Her father is a different story. She can't think of another way that doesn't involve his death, but she doesn't want Stefan adding another name to his list of victims, and sure as hell she won't allow Damon to be the one to decide who lives and who dies anymore.

"I brought you some food", she tells her mom. "You should eat."

Her mom rejects the tray, and doesn't even look at her. No surprise there.

"Don't you feel at least a bit remorseful for helping dad to lock me in a cell and torture me like I was some kind of monster. Because I'm not. I am still your daughter, and you hurt me. You have done that many times, actually, but this time is on purpose, and I don't even know how to forgive you for it."

"It was the only way to have my daughter back."

Caroline sighs.

"I am still your daughter. I am a vampire, which means I need to drink blood to live, but I don't ever plan to kill innocent people or hurt anyone around me. Neither does Stefan, he tries his best to fight the bloodlust. We just want to live like normal people."

"He killed you. Stefan killed you."

"Stefan didn't kill me. He gave me his blood and saved my life. Someone else killed me, but you know that's the kind of thing that might happen in Mystic Falls. It could have happened a lot sooner and I would be really dead, considering how long you kept the existence of vampires from me."

Her mom finally looks at her.

"I was protecting you."

"As you can see, it didn't work out exactly well. You didn't even realize I was used as a blood bag for weeks."

"Stefan?"

"Oh, god, no! Damon, but you like him so much you wouldn't even want to see it, would you?"

Leaving the tray of food on the floor, she decides she has done enough for today. Outside, she hears her father calling her from another cell just down the corridor, but it is easy to ignore him.

He can root there all of his life if she can't find another solution to his resistance to compulsion.


"You can come and live with me, too, you know that, right?" Bonnie tells her while she helps her pack.

"I know. It's just… me and Stefan, we talked about this. I know it seems strange, but the Boarding House does have a feeling of home to me." But maybe Bonnie offers because it isn't easy for her either. "Bonnie, are you really alright living by yourself there?"

"I… of course I am. I don't want to leave Grams house. That's still home, at least to me."

Caroline understands.

Bonnie was one who didn't let go either, in this the two of them were very much alike, stubborn to a fault. It had been the very same reason why her relationship with Enzo lasted so long, and why it ended. It had been why she, just like Stefan, tried to reason with Damon when he went insane the last time. No, it was more accurate to say Bonnie had been the one to convince Stefan to try and turn Damon's humanity on again.

She shakes her head, not wanting to think about this. She lived a happy life for decades, and she wants to keep those memories the most.

"You deserve more than Mystic Falls, Bonnie. I just hope you know that."

Bonnie frowns.

"You have been acting strange since you became a vampire. Caroline, tell me what is going on. Why are you suddenly so serious with Stefan when you two just started dating? Now you are even willing to move with him, like you don't even care what people are going to think."

Should she tell her? Bonnie always did her best effort to break the curse (the way she always did her best to help their friends) but it was to no avail. So why keep bothering her this time?

If they are ever going to find a way out of this time loop, it's not through her. And if it's just about confessing the secrets of her heart, she isn't ready for that yet.

"It's because I don't care what people are going to think, Bonnie. I am safer with him. We are safer when we stay together. So this is just for the best."

Bonnie stops asking, and they finish saving what's important to take with her. When they reach the porch, Elena is waiting on the swinging bench, her car parked in front of the house.

The feeling of uneasiness comes back to Caroline. This Elena is not the one who stayed her friend through the years and took her children to play with Dante every summer. It isn't even the same Elena who was madly in love with Damon to the point of throwing reason and caution out of the window.

"Why don't you come and stay at my place? Or Bonnie's. Caroline, don't you think you are rushing things with Stefan if you move at his place right now."

Caroline replies with a forced smile.

"No, I don't think so. Thank you for offering, but we are alright."

"You don't even get along with Damon, how are you going to live under the same roof?"

What's with this bullshit?

"Elena," Bonnie warns her, but it comes just a little too late.

Rage brings out her true vampire face, making the brunette recoil. At this moment Caroline really wishes Elena was a vampire so she could hurt her without feeling guilty about it.

"Stop pretending like you care about me and aren't just jealous because you still want both Salvatore brothers for yourself. Actually, I don't want to see you if it doesn't have to do with the originals coming to our hometown so, until you are ready to be a real friend, please don't talk to me."

She leaves her house dragging the suitcases behind her. She won't be coming back anyway.


When she comes back, Klaus is sitting in their living room and she can't help but wonder if this is just another obstacle put in their way (someone who can make Stefan stray to questionable moral choices, and all in the name of avoiding any pain she can go through in this lifetime).

What if something goes wrong and Elena dies? Or someone else dies? Stefan thinks he doesn't care now, just like he thought killing her father was alright. But if it happens, he'll be drowning in guilt again, and that isn't what she wants for him.

"It's not time for the ritual yet. What are you doing here?"

"I wonder what gives courage to a little, weak young vampire to talk to me in that tone."

"Klaus just came to visit." Stefan walks into the room and takes his place right by her side. "But he is leaving already. Aren't you, Klaus?"

The man raises an eyebrow, and a smirk crosses his face.

"Oh, of course. Until next time. A pleasure to see you again, Miss Forbes."

She waits until he's gone to question Stefan, who's quick to explain himself.

"He is taking care of Isobel, and clearing John's history out of town so that when we compel him to leave Mystic Falls, he doesn't run into vampire-hunting duties again."

"Are you like, best friends now?"

"That will hardly happen. Especially when he has a crush on you."

Caroline would like to protest and say it's not the case, but given their history, it would be stupid to say a word about Klaus Michaelson's feelings for her. She couldn't fully return them the first time, and now he's just become a distant memory, blurred in comparison to the love she has for the man standing in front of her.

"So, let me help you take these to our bedroom."

He's smiling at her, so she can only smile back.

"I like the sound of that."

Because it's only natural, this is the way they are supposed to be, whether it is the attempt of a normal mortal life, or an eternity as vampires.