Stefan woke up on the couch with a sharp gasp as he heard the baby cry out, frightened by the storm. He moves the book on his lap to the cushion beside him and stretches rolling his shoulders trying to fix the crick in his neck.
"Ma!"
Stefan looks inside the wooden crib, he had brought down from the nursery, at his niece letting out a shriek as thunder struck outside again. Making sure to support her head he picks her up and holds her against his chest.
"It's okay, baby girl." He murmurs making sure to bounce her softly as he begins to pace back and forth. She slowly stops yelling, but her blue eyes are still wide with fright.
"Ma." She repeats sniffing as she grabs onto Stefan's index finger tightly.
Stefan hums as he looks through the sitting room window and sees the rain dropping harshly and the trees trembling. "Your Ma and Pa probably stayed the night in the city," Stefan says as he watched a bright light flash across the night sky. He really hopes Damon and Caroline managed to find a place to stay put till the storm cleared.
Caroline wakes ten or so minutes later with the rain falling on her and to the loud sounds of the wind and waves. She wraps the grey blanket on her shoulders tighter around her and sees Damon concentrating on his rowing.
"Damon!" Caroline yells over the noise trying to rise to her feet.
Damon looks over at her as she moves to the bench directly in front of him making sure to keep her hands on the boat to keep her balance.
"Damon?" Caroline calls, her eyes widening as she sees Damon lose his grip on the left oar and falling into the water. Damon gulps but just decides to keep on paddling with his remaining paddle making sure to alternate sides.
"Blondie don't move and hold on to something." He tells her when he loses the second oar. Damon carefully moves closer to the edge of the boat to see if he could spot the paddles, but his vision was clouded by the rain.
"Damn it." He whispers harshly under his breath as he turns and looks at Caroline. He walks over to her making sure to take her into his arms and covers himself with the blanket as well.
"We are going to be fine." He tells her kissing her forehead and hugging her tighter to him.
The boat continues to bounce, and tilt being pushed and pulled from one side to the other. He stares ahead and sees the spot where he hid the bulrushes.
"The rushes will hold you up."
He hurries to where he hid them and grabs them making sure they are still tied together. He moves towards Caroline grabbing the ropes from the sails.
"What's that?"
Damon ignores her as he places the bulrushes on her back and ties them to her front ensuring she would float if… if it came to it.
"Damon?"
"They will keep you afloat." Her eyes widened.
"What about you?" He looks into her eyes making sure to hug her one more time. "I love you." He tells her and she nods crying.
The boat tilts. One splash. Another.
Damon moans as he opens his eyes rubbing his head. They must have floated to shore. He rises to his feet and looks around noticing he is down by the pier near the Mikaelson cottage. There was a pathway that would lead straight to town coming up behind the B&B.
He turns towards the water's edge, "Caroline!" He cries out. If he made it to shore, she must have as well. "Caroline!" He squints and can see his boat overturned and rushes into the water. Each step causing the water to turn and slow him down as he went deeper. He turned the boat upright somehow it had managed to stay intact, but Caroline was nowhere near.
"CAROLINE!"
He screams himself hoarse as he decides to run for help. He reaches the Mikaleson cottage and knocks harshly not bothering to apologize as Kol opens the door. Kol's pissed off expression slides off his face as he looks at his friend.
"Damon?"
"Caroline, help. Boat." He exhales sharply taking deep breaths to calm himself enough to explain. "Caroline and I were out in the water when the storm hit. She's still out there."
Kol sucks in a breath sharply and nods, "I'll wake Bekah and we'll call the other fisherman to come and help. You should go home."
"No. I'm coming with you."
"Mate, you're in no place to go out there."
"She's my wife, just try and stop me."
Kol nods, "Alright, you should head to the B&B and get Meredith just in case. Maybe see if more people want to help in the search."
Damon nodded reaching out and pulling the man into a hug, "Thank you."
Kol pats him on the back and watches as he lets go and takes off at a sprint towards the B&B.
"Kol? What's going on?"
Kol turns to his baby sister, "It's the Salvatore's. Caroline and Damon got caught in the water during the storm."
Rebekah gasped she was a few years younger than Caroline, but the woman had always been so kind to her when they ran into each other. "Are they alright?"
Kol shook his head as he went to the phone and started dialing the number of the nearest fisherman. "Bekah go prepare the boat I'm calling for help."
The blonde nods heading back to her room to change from her pink flannel pajamas and slippers.
-S-S-S-
"HELP!" Damon yells once the outer cabins of the B&B come into view. The cabin at the end belonged to Logan Fell, Meredith's older brother and the owner of the B&B. Beating his hands harshly against the door he takes a step back as Logan finally opens it.
"What the hell, Salvatore!"
"Call your sister now!" Damon demands barging into the room. Logan crosses his arms over his chest and Damon quickly explains what happened. Logan nods and calls his sister to explain and tell her to head down to the dock.
Soon most of the cabins lights are on and people are rushing back and forth knocking on doors, gathering lanterns, and supplies to head out with Damon to help.
Elena looked out the window watching as people scrambled out of their rooms. Quickly grabbing her coat and wrapping it around herself she slipped into some flats and went outside intercepting the first person she saw.
"Hey, what's happening?" Elena asked one of the other guests. Carry? Or was it Courtney? She didn't really care.
"A couple of the locals got caught in the storm. The Salvatores. Apparently, the wife fell overboard, and her husband and the fishermen are heading out to look for her. Poor woman."
Elena's eyes widened, "Oh my. That's horrible. Where is everyone heading then?" Elena asked hoping her tone was more curious than pleased.
"The pier."
Elena nods telling the woman to get going and that she would catch up after a second.
Damon had actually done it. She would just have to wait till he came back from the search and then they could finally be together without Caroline getting in her way. Elena smirks as she starts walking towards the pier making sure to stay in the shadows as she sees all the people crowded together by the shore's edge with lanterns waiting for the fishermen to return.
There were several rowboats afloat on the water with men searching and yelling for Caroline Salvatore. With flashlights and lanterns trying to look for her in the dark, but it's for naught.
Kol rows his boat as Rebekah and Damon hold two lanterns searching the water. His eyes kept wandering to the dark-haired man in the wet and rumpled black suit and the loose blue tie around his neck.
"Caroline!"
Kol sucks in a breath they already rowed over twenty minutes out from shore in the direction where Damon had crashed his boat and expanded for a five-mile radius. There were also men walking up and down the shore hoping to spot her. It had already been over an hour since Damon showed up in his cottage and while he really hoped they would come across Caroline he knew that chances were slim. His family had been caught in several storms in much stronger ships he knew how vicious the tides could be. Looking to his sister he knew she was thinking the same.
"Mate, I think we should head back."
Damon glared shaking his head, "She's out there, I know it."
Rebekah shook her head at him telling him not to push, "We can keep looking for a little longer."
Damon kept looking at the water ignoring the worried looks and whispers the Mikalson siblings kept sending him. Caroline had to make it she had to. He sees something in the water and reaches out thinking it was probably just a stick but once he took a closer look hope sprung inside him.
"Turn the boat this way." He tells Kol showing Rebekah the piece of bulrush in his hand.
"I tied a bundle around her she would have floated to the top," Damon told the blonde throwing the bulrush onto the boat and peeking out as he saw they were rowing towards a trail of more strands of loose bulrushes.
"Caroline!"
Rebekah shone the light above him telling Kol to stop as the trail came to an end several bulrushes floating in front of them.
"Care!" She yelled out. She couldn't see anyone in the water.
"Damon she's not here."
"No. The bulrushes should have saved her."
Rebekah leans over putting her arm in the water feeling the tide and pulls out some more sticks.
"Damon the knot must have come undone."
Damon shakes his head his body trembling, "No."
Rebekah sighed wrapping her arms around the man patting his back, but he pushed her away.
"CAROLINE!"
Rebekah sighed and bowed her head Kol coming up behind her and putting his hand on her shoulder.
Kol took a deep breath and took off his hat placing it on his chest.
"Damon we have to head back."
Damon falls back into his seat his face pale and blank. As he takes in the other fisherman all with their hats in their hands and heads bowed in mourning.
"No." he whispers. This couldn't be happening it couldn't.
"The rushes will hold you up. Scatter them before you reach the shore and tell everyone she drowned by accident."
Damon gulped, 'an accident'. It was an accident. Just like he had wanted when they set out that morning. It was all her fault. His fault too. She had given him the idea, but he was the fool who fell for her charms, he was the one who took Caroline onto the water. He was the one who couldn't protect her.
Damon froze eyes wide. Completely immovable and unaware of the ongoings happening around him. He didn't feel as Kol turned the boat around and started rowing back to shore, all the other boats following his lead. Didn't hear as Rebekah cried and tried to mutter words of comfort to him.
It should have been him. If anyone deserved such a cruel fate it was him, not his wife, not his Caroline.
-S-S-S-
Kol tied the boat once he made it to shore and offered his arm out to Rebekah to help her off.
"Damon we're back." She tells him and watches as Damon stays sitting staring at the bench in front of him.
"Kol help him." Kol nods and goes aboard putting an arm under the man trying to help him to his feet, but Damon just slouches his legs incapable to hold up his weight.
Kol manages to get him off and drags him towards the group of men waiting to find out what happened.
Rebekah tells the men the unfortunate news hearing several gasps. She turns to the doctor next to her, "Mer, I think he's in shock."
Meredith nods tears building up in her eyes as she turns to her brother.
"Logan can you help him get home, he needs to eat something, and Stefan should watch him and be made aware too."
Logan nods making his way to the Salvatore and helping Kol drag him back.
"It will be alright," Logan muttered softly remembering the blonde he had known all his life. He knew how much she cared for her family. "Caroline was loved Damon she knew that in the end."
Kol nodded but didn't say anything he doubted anything he said would take away the pain of losing the person he loved.
Stefan groaned as he headed for the door with Bonnie in his arms. He had just managed to calm her a while back once the thunder stopped by reading her a story, but she still hadn't been able to fall asleep.
He opened the door to see his brother along with Logan Fell and Kol Mikalson.
"Pa." Bonnie murmurs sleepily reaching for Damon to take her frowning when her father didn't look at her.
Kol grimaces as he looked at the babe and turns to Fell nudging him to tell them the news.
Stefan shook his head 'no' as he listened to Fell tell him what happened. "No that's not- ". He trailed off as he looked at his brother. "No. Damon, where is she? Where's Care?" Stefan said fixing his hold on Bonnie who kept struggling to get out of his arms.
Stefan saw as a tear escaped down his brother's cheek.
"No."
Damon took a step forward dragging his feet inside the house ignoring his brother and made his way up the stairs.
"He's been like that since we returned from the search," Kol tells the younger Salvatore.
"Meredith thinks you should keep a close eye on him. Make sure he doesn't hurt himself. You should feed him some sugar too it should help." Logan says softly.
Stefan nods hugging Bonnie to his chest trying to keep it together for her.
"We can stay with you to keep an eye on him and help with Bonnie if you want. We know how close you three were." Kol offers, reaching his arms out to help with the babe.
Stefan agrees for them to stay but keeps his hold on Bonnie walking inside with the men following him to the sitting room.
-S-S-S-
Damon had finally made it up the stairs his feet waddling slightly till he finally reaches the door to his room. He turns on the light and walks inside his eyes glazed over. He reaches her side of the bed and collapses to his knees. His hands clenching the sheets tightly as he starts to sob his head buried in the covers.
A/N
Hey everyone so I'm kinda upset with this chapter I feel it could have been a lot more but I think its good for a filler chapter. Hopefully you guys can hold on a little while longer for one more chapter.
The final chapter of this story will be posted either Friday or Saturday.
It will be split into two parts and will probably end up being a similar length as the last chapter maybe longer. The first part will be the final week of Delena that we're missing. It will include more Steroline friendship to fill in for the lack of Daroline. The second part will be me trying to wrap up the lose ends with Damon and Elena.
Also unfortunately, Cheerygirl014 I will not be including Stefan finding out about Delena's plans to kill Caroline. I have decided to write about it, but that scene will appear in Before Sunrise rather than here.
Thank you, to all of you who have followed and kept up with the story either from the beginning or midway it has been fun I can't wait for us to wrap this story up together.
Till next time!
Agent C.