Magical Steroline
Chapter 2 – Trouble Sleeping
Caroline was woken by the sound of broken cries. She knew who it was immediately. Stefan. This was the second night in a row that he had woken her up with his nightmares. She jumped out of bed and threw on her robe as she raced downstairs. Her heart ached as she saw him tossing and turning on the couch, tears on his cheeks, and distressed noises coming from him.
Her heart ached for him.
She sat beside him on the couch, running her fingers through his hair as she tried to soothe him, "It's okay, Stefan." She could feel him beginning to settle down and stop his frantic movements. She moved her hand from his hair to stroke his cheek, watching how his face smoothed out and his breathing returned to normal. His eyes slowly opened and she smiled down at him, "Hey."
Stefan frowned, hating that he had woken her up again. She offered him a place to stay and he repaid her by not letting her get a good night's rest. He felt horrible. He opened his mouth to apologize when his words were stuck in his throat by her fingers on his lips. He had to swallow a lump in his throat at the action, especially when paired with the soft glow of concern lighting her eyes in the dark.
"No, you don't." Caroline shook her head, knowing where Stefan's thoughts had led him and she wanted to put his mind at ease straight away, "Don't apologize. You are not a burden to me. You're my best friend." She leaned in close so that their blue and green eyes could see every emotion in each other's gaze clearly, "I am here for you, always. You can stay here for as long as you want."
Stefan could do nothing but wrap his arms around Caroline and pull her against his chest. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in her soothing scent, his heart racing in his chest. He held her tight, and with emotion clogging his throat he stated, "You are my best friend too, Caroline Forbes."
Caroline smiled. She felt Stefan settle back against the cushion of the couch, keeping his hold firm around her. He obviously expected her to sleep on the couch with him again. She shook her head, pushing up on his chest to look in his eyes, "Nope. I am not sleeping with you on here again."
"Oh!" Stefan cleared his throat and looked away. He suddenly felt stupid at just expecting Caroline to sleep with him again just because he's had a nightmare. She left his arms, and he felt dejected and bereft without her there. He felt ashamed of himself, Caroline was his best friend not his personal teddy bear.
Caroline held her hand out to him, "Come on."
Stefan tilted his head in confusion, "Where?"
"I am not sleeping on this couch again. It must be so uncomfortable for you to have me on your chest." Caroline explained, taking Stefan's hand in hers and pulling him to his feet.
Stefan's heart raced as it filled with hope. He followed her up the stairs in a sleepy daze to her bedroom. She released his hand and he felt something twist in his gut at the loss of her. He watched her silently drop her robe and get into bed. He just stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do.
Caroline smiled at Stefan, feeling a new kind of affection for him at his hesitancy. She patted the space beside her, "Get in. We'll be much more comfortable here."
Stefan silently slid into her bed, settling next to her, unsure of what to do next. He was in his best friend's bed, and he had no idea how to act or where to put his hands. As usual she took the uncertainty out of the sleeping arrangements when she placed her head on his chest and laid her arm over his stomach. He felt better already. He wrapped his arm around her back, placing his other over her hand, smiling at the little sigh she let out.
Caroline closed her eyes, beginning to drift off at the soothing feeling of Stefan running his fingers across her back. She smiled, whispering just before sleep took her, "Night, Stefan."
"Goodnight, Caroline." Stefan whispered back, his eyes closing on their own accord now that he knew that she was safe.
They both slept soundly throughout the night.
Caroline's eyes fluttered open the next morning to find that she had moved in the night. She was no longer against Stefan's chest, but on her side, his arm around her waist and his face buried in her neck. She smiled at the puffs of breath she could feel against her, knowing that he was sleeping soundly made her happy. She was dying to ask him what his nightmares had been about but she didn't want to push him or make him talk about what haunted him before he was ready.
She needed to get out of bed without waking him, which would be a difficult process with how close he held her. She placed her hand over his, her breath hitching as he entwined their fingers. She listened for a moment, her heart pounding in her chest as she listened to his calm heart and steady breathing. He must have done it in his sleep. She ignored the way that made her heart flutter.
She lifted their joined hands, attempting to slide her body out from his, almost falling off the bed when she was free. Their fingers were still tangled together, so she tried to release her hand from his but he only held her tighter. She blew out a frustrated breath, throwing him a glare only to be met with two very awake and amused green eyes. She rolled her eyes at him, "Seriously! What are you twelve?"
Stefan laughed out loud, "163 actually."
"Wow." Caroline crinkled her nose, her eyes sparkling with amusement, "You really are old."
"You are gonna pay for that." Stefan tugged on her hand so that she fell against him, he rolled them over, finally releasing her hand so that he could tickle her ribs. He grinned down at her, her high pitched squeals of laughter only making him tickle her harder.
Caroline tried to escape his fingers, almost crying with laughter as his fingers tortured her. She tried to push him away, but she couldn't stop moving to find any leverage. She cried out, "Stop!"
"Do you take back your old comment?" Stefan asked, stilling his fingers but keeping them on her sides.
"No." Caroline giggled, shaking her head, "You are old!"
"Then I can't stop." Stefan dug his fingers into her sides, chuckling as she tried to squirm away from him, only for him to double his efforts until she was a writhing mess underneath him. He grinned down at her, raising his eyebrow as he asked again, "What do you have to say about my age?"
"You are old!" Caroline declared, crying out as he went back to tickling her so she practically screamed, "You are the hottest 160-year-old ever!"
Stefan stopped his tickling, tilting his head to the side as he contemplated her. After a moment he nodded his head, "I'll take it."
Caroline giggled, turning her head to the side as she tried to bury her laughter.
Stefan smiled down at her. She looked absolutely adorable right now, and for this moment he felt none of the pain that still hurt him from Elena breaking his heart. He never could be sad in Caroline's presence very long, she always had the ability to make him laugh and smile without much effort. The Caroline Forbes effect as he liked to call it.
Caroline finally calmed her laughter enough to look at Stefan again. The smile spread across his face made one curl her lips in return. It was a rare and beautiful sight to see a smile on his face that she couldn't help but mirror it. Their eyes caught, and she felt the air suddenly become hard to breath. Did his eyes darken? Her heart raced in her chest.
Stefan found himself trapped in her sparkling blue eyes, his position on top of her suddenly became known to him, his body pressing against hers. He swallowed, his heart skipping at the lack of space between them.
The air around them both became highly charged, only broken by the sound of the door opening and Liz staring at them in exasperated amusement.
"I love that you two kids have fun together, but just not this early." Liz glared at them playfully, "Some of us had a late night."
"Sorry, mom." Caroline looked sheepish, still trapped by Stefan's body on top of hers.
"I'm sorry, Sheriff." Stefan apologized, in his happy fun with Caroline he had completely forgot that someone else lived there.
"Stefan." Liz chuckled in amusement, "You live in my house, and I'm best friends with your brother. Call me Liz."
Stefan nodded, smiling over at Liz.
Liz was about to turn to go when she couldn't resist teasing, "Plus, technically you are actually older than me." She chuckled as she left.
"See? Told you." Caroline giggled, patting him affectionately on the cheek, "You are an old man, Stefan Salvatore. Deal with it."
"Oh shut up you." Stefan chuckled, lowering his head to place a kiss on her cheek before he got up. He froze for a moment once his actions caught up with him before quickly shaking it off. She was his best friend, it was okay to show her his affection and appreciation of her.
Caroline stood up, stretching her arms over her head as she stretched her body. She felt well rested and had the urge to do something today. She didn't want to be cooped up all day.
Stefan could see the gears turning behind her eyes, her thinking of doing something, he guessed what she planned to do for the day. She does love to plan, he thought affectionately.
He moved to stand in front of her, keeping his eyes on her face and not the small glimpse of her toned stomach as she lift her arms above her head. He smiled at her and asked, "What are we doing for the day?"
Caroline grinned in happiness that he automatically said we.
"Caroline!"
Caroline shot up with a gasp at the scream of her name. She checked the time on her phone; 3am. Stefan was having another nightmare, and this one she presumed included her at the shout of her name.
She heard another terrified scream of her name, so she scrambled out of bed, and rushed to open the door. She met her mom who was bleary eyed at her doorway. Caroline felt bad that her mom was woken up, but Stefan needed her, "I've got him, mom, you go back to sleep."
She vamp sped down the stairs and in the next second she was knelt beside him. She cradled his wet cheeks in her hands, brushing his tears away, her heart aching at the pain in his face. Her voice broke as she called his name softly, "Stefan! Stefan, it's me. It's Caroline."
Stefan's eyes shot open, his breath coming in huge frightened gasps. The images swam through his head torturing him, increasing his panic even more.
Caroline could see his chest moving rapidly, so to try to calm him down she turned his head to her and laid her forehead against his. She caught his wild eyes with hers, still stroking her fingers against his face, "You're okay, Stefan. I'm here."
Stefan didn't think he just acted. He closed his eyes in relief, raising his hands to bury his fingers in her hair, breathing in her scent as deeply as he could, trying to chase away the lingering terror from his nightmare, "You're here. You're okay." He opened his eyes to stare into hers, so very close to his, so close that he could read every emotion in them; the concern, the confusion, he could see it all. He soaked it all in, saying in one shuddering breath, "You're safe."
Caroline blinked her eyes rapidly, the only sign of her surprise that he really had been dreaming about her. She wouldn't ask him right now; she could see that he was still shaken from whatever had happened in his head. So she made a new plan in her head, one she wouldn't share with Stefan just now, but she knew he wouldn't reject her idea.
Stefan dug up all the courage inside of him to ask her something when she beat him to it.
"Come on you. You are staying with me tonight." Caroline smiled at him, placing a tender kiss on his brow as she stood up. It didn't surprise her that he laced his fingers with hers, she knew that he needed the contact right now. Not saying a word, she led him along the familiar path to her bedroom.
Stefan didn't even hesitate to get in her bed this time. They were facing each other, so he scooted close, wrapping his arm around her waist, and rest his head on the pillow close to her. He couldn't stop seeing the images of Caroline from his nightmare, he needed to see her clearly, knowing that she was safe and in his arms.
Caroline lifted her hand to his cheek, softly stroking his skin as she asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Stefan swallowed. Gazing into her caring and concerned eyes lifted some of the fear from his heart so he nodded. He clenched his fingers in her tank, not realizing that his hand was now pressed against the bare skin of her back. He took a deep breath, "The wolves… when they took you… I didn't get to you in time… they…" His eyes filled with tears, his voice tight with emotion as he choked out, "…they ripped you apart right in front of me."
"Oh Stefan…" Caroline's heart broke at his tears. She placed her arm around his waist, rubbing her hand along his back to soothe him, the other she trapped between them holding it against his chest over his heart, "It was just a dream. You saved me. And I know you always will." She pressed her lips to his jaw, breathing into his skin, "I trust you with my life."
Stefan tightened his hold on her, pulling her close to his side, closing his eyes as he assured himself that she was safe and he wouldn't let anything happen to her. It was just a dream, she was okay.
The next night when it was time for bed Caroline turned to Stefan and held her hand out, "You ready for bed?"
Stefan couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. His gratefulness for Caroline being his best friend filled him yet again. She was the most kind and caring person he knew, and it made him feel bad for rejecting her when they first met.
He took her hand, and followed her up the stairs to her room. They both changed into their sleep wear separately before crawling into bed.
Stefan pulled her into his arms, smiling as he closed his eyes, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Caroline whispered back before closing her own eyes and relaxing against Stefan.
They both fell asleep wrapped around each other.
Stefan didn't have a single nightmare that night.
The continued to go to bed together the next night, and the next, until Stefan followed Caroline to her room without needing to be asked. The only time he slept soundly was next to the warm body of his best friend.
Not that it was a hardship sharing a bed with a beautiful woman every night.
TBC
AN – I hope you all enjoyed it! There will be a jealous Elena next chapter ;)
In reply to the guest review from last chapter - I can't tell you WHAT the request is obviously. But you'll find out real soon.
