A/N- I'm SO sorry about the horribly long wait. I don't even have a suitable excuse. I just couldn't get it out. Thank you so very much for all the new followers and reviews. I hope you all like this chapter! If I have any Whovian readers, you may spot something from it in this chapter. I still don't have a beta, so please excuse all the grammatical errors and/or misspellings.

Caroline's face lit up immensely as she, Ric, and Damon made their way through the gates of the zoo. She still couldn't believe that the guys had agreed to come.

"So, Blondie, what do you want to see first?" Damon asked, enjoying seeing her so happy, but not liking having to be there.

"I really want to see the koala bears! They're just so cute." She exclaimed happily.

Damon rolled his eyes, of course she would want to see the koala bears. He had hoped she would pick something more manly like the lions or lizards.

"Sure." Ric said.

"We have to walk down that trail, then turn left to reach it." Caroline said studying the map in her hands.

They started towards the area she had gestured to.

Ric didn't mind spending the day at the zoo. He secretly loved animals. He had thought about going to veterinarian school when he was married to Isobel, but when she had disappeared he decided to just get a teaching degree. It had been more of a practical decision. He did love history and had come to love teaching, but his real passion was in animals. No one else knew, but it became apparent to the other two when they made it to the enclosure.

"We probably won't see them move any. They usually don't wake until after the sun sets." Alaric said looking at the koalas. "They generally are only awake about five hours a day."

"Didn't know that you knew so much about these creatures." Damon said. He had not known that Ric was so interested in koalas. Or any animal for that matter.

"It's not just these. I know a lot about animals in general. I think they're interesting."

"That's awesome! Aren't they so cute, though?" Caroline asked looking at the koalas lovingly.

Ric and Damon rolled their eyes and chuckled, they should've known she would only care about how cute they were.

Caroline was glad that she had brought her camera with her. She snapped a few pictures and then turned to the boys, "What do you two want to see?"

"I say we ditch this place and find a bar. It wasn't worth that twelve dollars to get in." Damon said, smirking.

"Damon, you didn't pay for your ticket. You flirted with the ticket lady and she gave you a free one." Caroline said, rolling her eyes. He always had to flirt with anything that had two legs. Seriously, how can he be such a man-whore?

"That and it's ten in the morning. There isn't a bar that's open." Alaric pointed out. He turned to Caroline, "I would like to see the elephants."

"Oh, me too! Elephants are actually my favorite non-domestic animal." Caroline said. "They're so smart."

"They really are. They also never forget anything." Ric stated.

Throughout the day they each saw animals that they enjoyed. Everyone were able to get along really well, and they were all having fun.

Damon had mysteriously slipped away while the two were occupied with the gift shop.

"Do you know where he could've gone?" Caroline asked. She wasn't at all surprised that he had slipped away, she had been expecting it.

"Probably a bar or something. Let's just hope he didn't take the car." Ric stated displeased. "I'm going to head back in and see if I can find something for Elena." He gestured towards the gift shop.

Caroline smiled, "Make sure you don't get her a stuffed Koala, I already got one for her. I'm going to wait here"

He nods and heads into the shop.

Caroline had decided that she would get something small for Elena and Bonnie. She was starting to feel the guilt of just up and leaving. She got Elena the bear, figuring it wasn't too much, but was better than not bringing anything at all. For Bonnie she chose a small charm bracelet that had a few different animal charms on it.

Some of the animals on the bracelet had some characteristics that were nice and calm, while some were ferocious and strong. Just like how Bonnie is.

Alaric came out of the shop, carrying a oversized panda bear.

"Wow, that things huge." Caroline said, it probably stands as tall as her waist.

"It's the only thing I saw that I thought she would like." He said.

He really didn't know that much about Elena, like what sort of things she likes. He just figured every girl wants a oversized stuffed animal.

"I'm sure she'll like it." The blonde assured. "Do you wanna go ahead and leave? We can go get something for lunch."

"Sure. I'll text Damon and see if he left the car." Alaric said handing the panda over to Caroline so he could fish his phone out of his pocket.

"I'll kill him if he didn't."

Damon was sitting at a bar when his phone buzzed.

Did u happen 2 leave the keys 4 ur car -Ric

Damon sighed and rolled his eyes at all the text speak. It drove him nuts and that's exactly why Ric did it.

It's under my seat. Be careful and don't scratch her. Don't let vampire Barbie drive. ~D

Damon slipped his phone back into his pocket and took a sip of his bourbon. The only reason he slipped away was because he realized he was having fun. Too much fun. It bothered him, because if he was with anyone else he would've hated it.

He decided that he really didn't want to think of anything serious right now, so he paid for his drink, (yes, he actually pays for things sometimes) and went to find something to occupy his time.

A few minutes later he was walking down what looked like the main shopping square when he spotted a dress in a boutique window.

It was a pale pick color with a sequined one shoulder strap, and it flowed all the way to the floor.

The first thing Damon thought was that it would look amazing on Caroline, especially the color of it. He went into the store just to see how much it was. When the shop worker gave him the price, his jaw nearly dropped. No way could a dress be that expensive. He wasn't even sure if the blonde would even like it.

On a whim, he bought it and went to stash it in the hotel somewhere she wouldn't find it. He wasn't even sure he was going to give it to her.

He ended up putting it in the back of the closet in Ric's room. Damon figured that there was no reason for the blonde to go in there and it was stashed in the back, so Alaric probably wouldn't find it.

Damon was about to walk back out of the suite when he heard Caroline and Ric walking down the hallway towards the room. He quickly grabbed a blood bag and arranged himself on the couch so that it looked like he had been there for a while.

Ric and Caroline stumbled into the suite with there hands full of their purchases from the zoo and some Chinese take-out.

They sat the food down on the kitchen counter and collapsed on the couches.

"How can walking through a zoo be so exhausting?" Ric exclaimed.

"I don't know, but all I want to do now is go take a nap." Caroline said with a yawn.

"Are we still going to the club or are we just going to go tomorrow?" Ric asked looking down at his watch.

Damon rolled his eyes, "How are you two even tired? You don't have too come, but I'm definitely going."

"Damon, when we got to the gift shop you snuck away. We don't even know where you were most of the day. You shouldn't be tired at all." Caroline pointed out.

"Of course I snuck away." Damon said, pointedly. "I didn't want anything from the gift shop. It's all overpriced and cheap"

"Yeah, you're probably right." Caroline rolled her eyes and decided not to argue with him. It would just make him grumpy anyways. "I still want to go to the club, just give me like a hour to get a shower and get ready."

"We can eat first." Damon said gesturing to the food sitting on the counter.

They all fixed a plate and sat at the table.

"So where did you go after you left the zoo?" Alaric asked Damon.

"Grabbed a bourbon at a bar and then came back here." Contrary to popular belief, Damon wasn't comfortable lying to people, especially those he considered friends.

Alaric could tell he wasn't telling the exact truth, but decided to question him on it later. If he wasn't telling the truth then he probably had a reason.

"I'm surprised you didn't go feed instead of getting a blood bag." Caroline said. She had thought that he only fresh fed.

"I wasn't in the mood." Damon replied.

Caroline thought something smelt fishy, seeing as she had never not been 'in the mood.'

"Really? You must know something that I don't. I would fresh feed all the time if I could."

This surprised Damon, "You fresh feed?"

"Yeah, taught myself." Caroline said looking down at her plate. "Took a few times to get it right."

At this, Damon felt terrible. She didn't have anyone to teach her the ways of a vampire. He should have been there for her. Because he wasn't there to help her she had killed someone. Maybe more than one.

Alaric caught the look on Damon's face. He looked miserable, like he blamed himself for what had happened with Caroline.

He decided to change the subject, "So, what's the name of the club we're going to?"

" Black Diamond. I've been to it once, and it was nice." Damon said, relieved that the subject was changed.

"Oh, I've heard of that!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Is it hard to get into?" Ric asked.

"We don't have to worry about that. I'll just compel everyone in." Damon said.

"Good, that way we don't have to pay to get in, it's ridiculously expensive." Caroline said, standing up to take her plate to the kitchen.

'That's hot.' Damon thought before he could stop himself. He dismissed the thought. It's no secret that the blonde was hot. He'd thought it before.

"I'm going to go get ready." Caroline told the men.

She slowly made her way to her and Damon's room to get ready. She didn't really feel like going, but she didn't want to be left behind. That and maybe she could somehow prevent Damon from sleeping with some random girl.

Not that she thought that she'd actually be able to. She just hoped she be able to at least prolong the inevitable.

Back in the kitchen Alaric was questioning Damon on where he really was that afternoon.

"I told you, I was here." Damon said uncomfortably.

"Come on, tell me where you really were." Alaric asked, he was kind of hurt that Damon wouldn't tell him.

Damon didn't know why he wasn't telling Ric. He felt embarrassed that he had bought the dress. He had planned to take it back in morning before anyone woke up. But, Damon saw the hurt on Alaric's face and decided to clue him in. He was Damon's best friend after all.

"Go to your room and look in the back of your closet." Damon said solemnly.

"What?" Alaric asked, confused.

"Just go look." Damon mysteriously answered.

"Okay."

A moment later Ric came back laughing.

"A dress? I thought there was going to be a dead body in there or something." Ric said snickering.

"Hey, stop laughing. It's not funny." Damon scolded.

"Yeah, it is. Who is it for?" Alaric already figured out it was either for Elena or Caroline. Most likely the latter. He also knew that Damon was probably embarrassed. He wasn't used to feelings, or impulse gifts.

Damon muttered something that the teacher couldn't make out.

"What was that?"

"Caroline okay!" Damon whisper-yelled. He didn't want the blonde hearing. "Let's just drop it."

"You going to give it to her? You know, the spring formal is this weekend." Alaric pointed out.

"No, I didn't know that. It doesn't matter though, I'm taking it back in the morning." Damon said.

"Why? I think she would love it." Ric stated. When will Damon realize his feeling for her? It's as plain as day, Alaric thought.

"I don't know. I'll think about it." Damon said. He knew that he would take it back. "I'm going to go get ready."

"Just so you know, some things about her may surprise you." Alaric said, standing up and heading towards his room.

This confused Damon. What did Ric mean?

Damon shook his head, trying to displace the thoughts that were swarming his mind. He made his way to his and Caroline's room to get ready for the night.

Caroline walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later fully dressed. She didn't want a repeat of that morning. She found Damon in their room shuffling things around in his bag.

"Damn it." He muttered. How could he of forgotten it?

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked, slightly worried.

"I forgot my damn leather jacket." He scolded.

Caroline chuckled, "Seriously? That's what you're sulking about?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Of course. That jacket makes me look like a hot badass."

Caroline rolled her eyes and grabbed her make-up bag from her suitcase and walked up to the full length mirror.

"If you say so. I'm done in the bathroom if you want to grab a quick shower."

Caroline sat crossed legged in front of the mirror applying mascara when Damon came sauntering out of the shower wearing nothing at all and no towel in sight.

"Uh, why are you naked?" She asked trying not to admire his body, but failing miserably.

He smirked noticing her eyes roam up and down his body in the reflection of the glass.

"I forgot my clothes and there are no more clean towels."

Caroline scoffed, she knew there was towels in the bathroom.

"Okay." She said, getting up and leaving the room.

Why would he come out naked? She rolled her eyes and chalked it up to his arrogance. He probably just wanted to show off his body.

The blonde made her way to the living room and sat down on the couch. She pulled out her phone and hit the on button. She had turned it off last night so she wouldn't be bothered by Elena or her mother.

She had four voice messages and eleven text. She let out a exasperated breathe, why did no one trust her to take care of herself?

Eight of the text messages were from Elena basically demanding that Caroline tell her why she went and to come back. Two were form her mother telling her to be careful and to call if there's any trouble and one message was from Bonnie asking her what her dress for the dance looks like. Looks like no one had clued her in yet, thought the blonde.

The only message that she replied to was the one from Bonnie, telling her she hadn't gotten one yet. She didn't have any reason to ignore the witch, she had always been there for her and was never as self-centered as Elena.

She deleted the voice messages without listening to them. They were all probably from Elena, whining about stuff.

Caroline stood up and walked to the kitchen in search of a some alcohol.

She figured it didn't hurt for her to get the night started a little early.

They all decided to take Damon's car. More like Damon decided. The other two didn't really mind. Caroline hopped into the back and tied a scarf over her hair.

"Why are you wearing a scarf on your head?" Damon asked.

"Because you refuse to put the top up in here the wind is really bad. This way it won't mess up my hair." Caroline disclosed.

"It looks ridiculous." He muttered in return.

Either Caroline didn't hear him, or she chose to ignore him. Either way he was glad she hadn't chosen to badger him into raising the cover.

"Allons-y." Caroline muttered as they pulled out of the hotel garage.

"You know French?" Damon asked, puzzled.

"What?" Ric asked, not hearing what Caroline had said.

"No, it's just something I learned from a TV show." Caroline said.

"What are you two talking about?" Ric asked. He was thoroughly confused.

"Just something Blondie said under her breath." Damon said.

"Oh." It sounded crazy, but Alaric sometimes forgot that he was in company with vampires. They usually seemed so normal.

They made it to the club around nine. The club was already packed full and the only reason they were allowed in was because if Damon's compulsion.

When they got inside all three immediately went to the bar.

"Okay, so I'll see you two tomorrow. I'll leave the car with the keys under the seat." Damon said arrogantly. "Adios."

Damon disappeared into the crown in search of a willing woman.

Ric and Caroline rolled their eyes and sat down on a couple of bar stools.

"I need Bourbon for him and a cosmopolitan for me please." Caroline told one of the bartenders.

"I'm going to need to see some ID for you, sweetheart." He replied, eyeing the blonde skeptically.

"You've already seen my ID." Caroline compelled. "And these drinks will be free."

The bartender hastily poured the drinks and handed them to the two. "They're on the house."

"Thanks." Caroline replied happily.

"I could've paid for them." Alaric said.

"Oh, I plan to pay for any after this one. I just figured one free one was okay." Caroline smirked.

"Ah, okay." Ric said awkwardly. Neither of them knew what to say, so they settled into a semi-awkward silence.

Caroline swiveled around on the stool and searched the crowd for Damon. She spotted him in the far left corner of the club chatting to a women who looked to be in her early thirties.

Caroline scoffed. It made her angry when she knew it shouldn't.

"You like him, don't you?" Alaric asked, seeing her look longingly towards Damon.

Caroline turned towards Ric in surprise. She looked back towards Damon to make sure he hadn't heard, thankfully the music was too loud for even a vampire to hear over.

"How did you know?" Caroline asked. If Ric knew, then Damon possibly knew too.

Ric knowing what she was thinking replied, "Don't worry, it's not all that noticeable. I'm good at figuring that kind of stuff out." He shrugged.

"I don't really know what to say." Caroline said, looking down at her drink.

"I won't tell him." Ric said. "Well, I'm going to go see if I can find someone to buy a drink for."

"Okay, have fun. See you tomorrow. You can take the car if you want to." Caroline offered.

"Are you sure?" Ric asked. He didn't want to leave her stranded here by herself.

"Yeah, I'll just run to the hotel. I haven't done that in a while, so it'll be fun." Caroline assured him. She figured she'd just head to the hotel as soon as she noticed the other two leaving.

"Okay, if you have any trouble with anything call one of us." Ric said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Caroline nodded her head and watched as he was swallowed by the dancing crowd.

A couple hours later the boys were gone and Caroline was ready to leave. A few guys had bought her a drink or two. She even danced with a few, but eventually she let them know that she wasn't interested in going home with them.

The blonde was walking out of the restroom when she heard something coming from the door to her right. The steel plate on the door read 'Back Entrance.' Caroline dismissed the noise as a animal savaging for food. She turned and started walking towards the front door when she heard a faint scream. She looked around to see if anyone else had heard it, but it didn't seem like the humans heard it over the still blaring music.

Caroline decided to check it out. She walked through the doorway and found that it lead to a alley way that was a dead end. The first thing she smelt was the sharp metallic aroma of blood. At the entrance of the alley stood a group of angry people. They appeared to be crowded something on the ground. The group shifted and she noticed that it was a woman and she was covered form head to toe in blood.

"Hey, get out of here." Caroline growled.

She didn't know what the situation was, but no one could deserve to be beat that badly.

"Why would we do that, darling?" Said a tall bulky guy. In a flash the man was beside her side, except he didn't appear as a human anymore. In his place, stood a midnight black wolf.

With a gut-wrenching realization Caroline looked upward and saw a full moon hanging in the sky. She quickly turned and tried to grasp the handle of the door to the club, but someone grabbed her from behind. She screamed and her face changed.

"Wait, she's a vamp. And from the look of it, a baby one." Someone from the back of the group said.

"What are you doing on our territory?" Said a stout women who looked like she was ready to tear Caroline to pieces.

"Please, let me go. I didn't know this was your territory. I'll leave. I promise." She said on the brink if tears. She hated seeming so weak, but she had no clue what to do in this kind of situation.

"I have a idea." The sneering woman said with a twisted smile on her face. "You can go. But, not without a price."

The woman whistled and the black wolf charged toward Caroline and pounced. She fell back on the ground.

The woman whistled again and the wolf backed away. Caroline was absolutely terrified. She didn't understand.

"There you go, darling. Hope you have a wonderful night." The woman laughed wickedly and exited the alley. They all followed her and someone grabbed the unconscious lady on the ground.

Caroline's heart was beating so fast in her chest that it hurt. When she was sure they were gone she pulled herself over to the alley wall pulled out her phone. She quickly dialed Damon's number.

He answered on the fourth ring.

"What is it, Blondie? The night was just getting fun." He asked agitated.

"There were werewolves. I didn't know what to do." She whimpered into the phone.

"What? Are you okay? Where are you?" Damon hurriedly asked.

"I'm behind the club. I think I'm f-" Caroline's voice cut off. She noticed there was blood covering the bottom half of her tank top. She pulled it up and started to cry harder.

"Caroline, are you there? What happened? Are they back? Talk to me damn it!" Came Damon's worried voice from the phone.

Damon appeared in the mouth of the alley and flashed to her side. No, this couldn't be happening. Please, he begged inside his head. Don't let this happen. Not to her.

"It bit me." She sobbed hard into his shirt as he examined the wound.

At this point there was tears streaming down Damon's face. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed the number he thought he'd never have to use.

A/N #2= I hope you don't hate me for making you wait so long and then ending it with a cliffhanger. It just felt like the right place to end it. I tried to make this an extra (extra) long chapter to make up for the long wait. It's by far the longest chapter I've ever written. To all the readers who don't watch Doctor Who, (You really should! It's a brilliant show.) or speak French, Allons-y means 'Let's go'. I'll post as soon as I can! Hopefully it won't be another two months. If you have a moment I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know what you thought.