This is set in series 3 of Wild at Heart. This is when Rosie has her Hen doo, and Max his Stag doo, before the wedding the next day. This does not include the wedding.
Caroline's sister Judith is mentioned in this, but for those of you who have read my first Dup and Caroline fanfic "Never Too Old to be in Love," this does not tie in with that fic. This story is true to what actually happens with Dup, Caroline and Judith in the actual series.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild at Heart or any of the characters. I take no credit for either.
Joy and Despair
Chapter 1: Joy
It was the day before Rosie and Max's wedding, and last minute preparations were being made for the big day.
All the adults were looking forward very much to the Hen and Stag night, and they had been rather grateful to Du Plessis. For he was the provider of the great amounts of booze, for both the ladies and the gents. No surprises there.
Dup had even gone as far as naming himself "Booze Master."
He had fully adopted this name in the presence of Caroline, as she had laughed so heartedly at it. She blessed him with such a lovely vision of her being so happy, that it caused him to lose the ability to breathe every time he produced this effect on her.
Anders had noticed how He and Caroline were now so much closer than they had ever been before.
He knew that this was because of the events that had so recently taken place, when Caroline's sister Judith had come to spend a week with the family at Leopard's Den.
Judith had immediately detected the feelings that He and Caroline had for each other.
Anders knew that he had fallen hopelessly and completely, heart and soul, with every fibre of his being, in love with Caroline from the first moment he set eyes on her.
His feelings were obvious to everyone, but as for Caroline, none were so sure, not even Caroline herself. So, with utter compassion for her sister and deep hopes to ensure her happiness, Judith hatched out a plan to make Caroline realise just how much she felt for Anders.
Anders himself had been left completely in the dark by Caroline, he didn't have a clue whether she loved him or not. There were times where he believed that she did, but when he analysed it all, over and over again in his head, he always came to the conclusion that it must be simply his own desperately wishful thinking.
But out of curiosity, and desperation to know how Caroline truly felt about him, he had agreed to go along with Judith's plan.
Needless to say, the plan worked beautifully. Judith had got Caroline to confess to her that she did love Anders, although she had not realised this before. And Anders himself had overheard the conversation between them, and could not remember a time when he had loved her more than he did then.
She loved him, and after waiting for so long to hear it, he felt as if the world was somehow much brighter and happier than ever before.
Later that day Caroline had come to sit next to him in the bar. After querying him as to why he was grinning so broadly, and boyishly, Anders had admitted that he loved her back.
And ever since, they had become much closer. They weren't together as a couple, but it was a start.
Things were looking bright.
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"Max man this stag is gonna be a blast!" exclaimed Dup, as he handed the last of the many crates of beer to Max from the back of the jeep.
"Yeah, I still can't believe that I'm getting married tomorrow," said Max dreamily, as he placed the crate on the ground by the camp fire, which would be lit later that night.
"I'm really happy for you two, and you my friend are marrying one hell of a girl," Dup replied smiling approvingly, and then went about sorting the cool box for later.
"I know, Rosie is so great," Max paused for a minute and wondered whether he should ask his old bush mate this, or if it would be best not to as he thought it wasn't really his business. However, his curiosity won him over.
"Dup?" he began.
"Yeah?" came the muffled reply.
"I hope you don't mind me asking but…err" he faltered, feeling embarrassed for trying to ask. But he couldn't go back now.
"Max, for goodness sake, spit it out man!" Dup said mockingly, but becoming slightly impatient.
"Well…I just wanted to know…Are you and Caroline actually together now? Because I heard what had happened with you two from Rosie, and I was just wondering if you were?" Max said it quite quickly, but Dup got every word.
Dup froze for a second, whatever Max had wanted to ask him, he was certainly not expecting that. He stood and looked down at Max, recovered from the slight shock, and smiled.
He had, actually, really wanted to talk to someone about this.
"I'm actually quite glad you asked me that," he laughed nervously, "Well to be honest Max," he folded his arms and then let out a puff of laughter,
"I have no idea…I mean we've already acknowledged that we both have feelings for each other, but I don't know whether she really wants to be a couple yet. It's perfectly understandable, she probably finds it difficult to really open up to someone, after her ex-husband cheated on her so much in the past." He sighed.
He hated that man for ever hurting Caroline, and he wished that he could take that pain away from her.
He wanted so badly to be with Caroline, but he didn't want to rush her into anything. He knew that all he could do was to be patient for just a while longer, until Caroline was ready to really let him into her heart.
Max felt sorry for the poor man, he knew that he adored Caroline, and Dup was such a golden hearted person and loyal friend, that Max couldn't help but want to see him really happy and in love. Just like Max was with Rosie.
"Don't worry Dup, I'm sure it'll happen for you both soon," Max reassured his old friend. Dup smiled wearily, but thankfully, back at him.
He saw that this subject was becoming difficult for Dup to talk about, so Max decided not to press it any further.
"Come on then 'Booze Master,' we have to get back or the family will think that we've drunk everything already," he joked.
Dup roared with laughed at this and said, "Yeah, I'm sure they will. They'd defiantly believe that I, most certainly, would! Ha!"
Both men got into the jeep and drove back to Leopard's Den to rejoin the celebrations.
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Caroline couldn't remember the last time that she had enjoyed herself so much. Well, at least the times when she wasn't with Him.
All the girls had gone through, let's say, a considerable amount of booze. They were all having a great night, and after deciding that being on dry land was far too boring, they plunged into Mara's luxury heated swimming pool. Splash!
Well, more like, splat, considering the state they were in.
"We need more booze!" declared an inebriate Rosie, who was sitting on the edge of the pool kicking the water in a somewhat 'cancan' resembling fashion.
Caroline, sitting next to her, more sober than the rest said, "I'll get it, I can still walk without swaying or falling over," she giggled. Her statement was followed by shrieks of laughter coming from the rest of the girls.
Caroline removed her legs from the pool and made her way, bare footed to the wine store, which was conveniently only a short distance away from the pool.
She walked, as best she could, around the corner and out of sight. She walked for a few yards to the wine store, when she suddenly caught sight of Anders emerging from there with a crate of wine tucked under his arm.
She laughed at the rather comical sight of him, in a hat that made him look as though he had cow horns and ears. Her heart filled with love. Anders turned abruptly at the sound of her laughter, and dropped the crate, as if he had been caught red-handed by the police.
He looked utterly relieved when he saw that it was only Caroline.
"Good evening 'Booze Master,' I see that you are carrying out your duties to those in need," she said coyly with a broad smile across her face.
Anders chuckled and replied, "Yes I am indeed," he removed his hat and gave her a very low and exaggerated bow, making Caroline laugh so hard her sides hurt.
Seeing that radiant glow of happiness imprinted on her soft features, he again was rendered breathless. All he could do at that moment was grin dreamily at her like a love struck school boy.
Caroline walked towards him still giggling. Suddenly, she tripped on an uneven part of the path, snapping Anders out of his daze, catching her quite impressively seeming as he was quite inebriate himself.
Instinctively, Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked up into his coral blue eyes that she was certain could see through to her very soul. Her heart was fluttering wildly in her chest.
He raised her so that she was on her feet again, but she kept her arms entwined around his neck, her gaze never leaving his, his arms around her slender waist.
Anders felt light headed, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't to do with the amount of alcohol he had consumed.
She was so close, and so heart wrenchingly beautiful, he couldn't break away from her. He was powerless to resist.
Caroline slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, tangling her fingers in his scruffy and curly hair, knocking the hat of his head. It was a ridiculous looking hat but, bizarrely, it suited him. Anders took a small sharp intake of breath. He thought his heart might explode.
His shock wore off and he kissed her deeply, holding her beautiful visage in his hands, which Caroline noticed were surprisingly soft, both wanting the moment to last forever.
He immediately regretted, for the first time, the fact that he was drunk; he wanted so much to remember this moment of heaven with her.
He was terrified that in the morning he would forget the breathtaking array of sensations he was experiencing. The feeling of absolute ecstasy as she ran her fingers through his dark sand coloured hair, the taste of pure sunshine and honey, and the scent of sweet vanilla mixed with dust.
Caroline's feelings were completely mutual with his, and she was having some magnificent sensations of her own.
He was so incredibly and welcomingly warm; his warm skin was the shade of a Baobab tree's golden brown branches. He smelt of dust, sandalwood and aftershave, his rugged face against hers felt oddly enticing, and the way he kissed her was so heartbreakingly passionate, and so full of love, that she almost felt like crying.
When they finally, but regrettably, broke apart, they just stood there gazing at each other and smiling with utter content and love.
Anders let out a puff of laughter and said, "Well…that was…new." He was sure that his overwhelming happiness was going to burst out of him, like a wild animal.
"It was lovely," Caroline whispered. Feeling her happiness produce the exact same effect on her.
"You're lovely," Anders whispered in return.
Caroline smiled, pressed her hands to his chest, and leaned forward again to kiss him again, briefly.
"I love you Anders Du Plessis." She said, smiling at the look of pure joy that broke across his face, when he heard those wonderful words.
Anders could barely breathe, let alone speak, but he forced the words out, "I…I love you, with all my heart, and with all my soul Caroline. I'm yours," he laughed, giddy with excitement of the thought that they might finally be together, and repeated, "I'm yours, entirely."
"Likewise," said Caroline, tears of happiness starting to fall from her deep, ocean blue eyes.
He brought her to him, and she laid her head against his warm chest, holding on to him tightly, never wanting to let go. Anders kissed the top of her head, and somewhat rebelliously stated, "I take it we're now a couple, don't you think?"
Caroline let out a puff of laughter, removed her head for Anders' chest, which he immediately missed, and replied, "Yes, Anders, I do believe we are."
With that Anders swept Caroline off her feet, which emitted a small surprised squeak from her, walked over to the pool side, where all the girls watched them. They burst out laughing, as they knew exactly what Anders was planning to do next.
All their predictions were proved right, as Anders, with Caroline in his arms, plunged into the pool soaking them both from head to toe. Laughing along with the rest of the, very inebriate, partiers as they too threw themselves, clumsily, into the pool after them.
This is set a few weeks after Sarah's funeral; everyone is taking the loss quite hard. When things become tough for the strongest of all the family, who can that person turn to?
Chapter 2: Despair
Anders still couldn't believe it, Sarah was gone. Sarah, the rock of the family had been snatched so suddenly from the living world, that none could accept the fact that they would never see her once so lively and loving soul ever again.
Anders hadn't been able to sleep ever since it happened, neither had anyone else for that matter. The funeral had hit home the reality of the situation, more so than anyone would have wanted.
Caroline knew that she was the new rock of the family now. Sarah had got her strength and bravery from her mother, and Caroline was certain that this was what Sarah would have expected her to do. To be the strong one, the one who people came to when they needed comfort, the one who would always be there with a smile on her face and an open heart.
But no one seemed to realise just how hard it was for Caroline to be that strong. Everyone was so wrapped up in their own grief that they did not spare a thought for how Caroline felt. All accept Anders of course.
Caroline was so busy looking after everyone else that she did not let herself even think about her own grief and pain.
One night, however, it all got too much for her.
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Anders was lying in bed, unable to sleep for what seemed like the hundredth night in a row, since the death of Sarah. Realising that he could not stay in bed for any longer, he threw off his covers, donned his midnight blue dressing gown, and stepped out of his bedroom door into the hallway.
He had made it halfway towards the kitchen, when he heard the faint sound of someone crying.
"These days the sound of crying is normal," he thought bitterly. He realised that the source of the cries was coming from outside, and he observed that the front door was slightly open.
Anders, slowly, opened the door so that he did not alarm the person on the other side. When he saw who the person was, he couldn't help but be quite shocked…The person was Caroline.
He was not used to seeing her like this; in fact he had never really seen her cry before, certainly not out of sadness. She had always been such a strong and feisty character that he had presumed that nothing, neither man nor beast, could frighten her or reduce her to this state.
"Caroline?" The sound of his voice made her jump, which was strange to her, because whenever she usually heard his voice it would always calm her, with its deep, resonating, gruff yet soothing tones.
She faced him wiping away her warm tears, "Oh, Anders…I didn't hear you coming."
Anders left the front door open by an inch, sat himself down on the cool stone step beside her, and placed his dressing gown around her shoulders. Caroline smiled weakly and gave him a look of gratitude.
"You wanna talk about it?" he asked with a look of total concern and worry etched on his features.
Caroline let out a small puff of laughter, "Anders don't look so worried, I'm not ill," she said noting how scared for her he looked.
"I do worry Caroline, I don't like seeing you upset…come to think of it I've never really seen you this upset… you are, for obvious reasons, I know." Anders paused and looked her in the eyes, pleading with her.
"Sweetheart, talk to me,"
Caroline's eyes fell from his gaze, and she looked down at her hands, which were fiddling with an end of the tie from Ander's dressing gown, that had been lovingly placed around her to keep her warm. It was such a simple gesture but the meaning and kindness behind it was heart warmingly sweet, especially coming from Him.
She and Anders were a couple now, but their romance had seemed to be put on hold ever since…that happened. She knew she needed to tell someone how she felt, or she would really make herself ill.
She took a deep breath, but didn't meet his gaze, and for once in her life, she let it all out.
"Ever since Sarah died, I knew I was going to have to be the one to step up to the mark, to be strong for everyone. And I accepted that, I wanted to be there for the family, especially for the kids. But recently I've been feeling so…so…trapped and…alone and isolated because I have to be strong for everyone. I'm just one person, and I feel that everything is caving in on top of me. The burden of it all getting heavier and heavier to carry, until I can't take it anymore, and I succumb to the weight of it," she confessed, her voice laced with emotion.
She had started to cry again, but his time it was almost relieving, as all that bottled up grief and anxiety was coming out of her in powerful waves.
Anders felt his heart being tugged painfully at his heart strings, making his chest constrict. It was so achingly excruciating to see her like this, but he knew that it was good for her to let it out, to open up.
Her sidled up closer to her, slipped his arm around her waist and squeezed her against him reassuringly and affectionately.
He knew that it was his turn to say something. She had just poured her heavy heart out to him, and he knew that, that wasn't easy for her. He had to show her that he was her support, her rock.
"Sweetheart, listen…You have to remember that, while you are looking after everyone else, you lost your little girl. You have to realise that you yourself need someone to support you. You need, just like the rest of us need, someone that you can lean on and vent out all your grief and pain to," He removed his arm from her waist, turned to her, and gently tilted her head up so that she looked him in the eyes.
He took a deep breath, and continued.
"I want to be that person for you Caroline…I am that person for you. There is no need for you to feel alone at all…because I am, and always have been, and always will be…right here beside you. To be there to catch you when you fall. To comfort you whenever you need it. To help you shoulder that burden." Caroline stared at him speechless; she was too in awe of him to say anything at all.
"You shouldn't feel the need to look after me anyway…I'm a tough old fighter, and I don't have the burden of looking after everyone. The burden that you have so sweetly, and selflessly taken on. But please Caroline…please let me take on your pain… please let me try and take some of it away…To make things easier for you. I assure you that you are no burden in the slightest. I'll tell you what you are…you are an absolute angel for being just so…so…you. A caring, strong, loving, golden hearted, and may I add down right gorgeous woman." He affectionately, and cheekily, added.
Caroline laughed at the latter; she was so in awe, and completely filled to the brim with warmth and hope from his loving words, that she could not express how much she loved him at that moment.
She knew then that she had never, really, been alone, because he really had always been there for her. Always in reach of her.
He may have been in the background of her life before she became friends with him, but he was always there. She was eternally grateful to him, and she knew that she would love him for the rest of her life.
No matter what happened, he would always be there. And that alone gave her hope, and made her happier than she had ever been.
She didn't care what would happen…as long as he loved her, and she loved him in return, that was all they both ever really needed.
"I love you Anders, always," said Caroline, her hands blanketed in his larger and warmer hands. Her deep, but soft, ocean blue eyes fixed gazing into his gentle, but striking, coral blue ones.
"I love you too Caroline…to no end," he replied adoringly.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers deeply, but tenderly. When they broke apart they saw the dawn's first light, piercing through the twinkling blue-grey mist of early morning cloud, reflecting heaven's light upon Leopard's Den and the hopeful, openly loving, and golden hearted creatures that resided there.
Anders took Caroline's hand in his own, led her inside and said, "You see? Things are looking brighter already."
He said this as he gazed at her beautiful face, lighting up with that heavenly vision he had seen on her soft features so many times, which always made him forget to breathe. And that spark of happiness, love, and what was simply and completely Caroline, radiating from her.
Then Caroline smiled broadly, and lovingly replied, "They certainly are my guardian angel."
END!
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