Chapter 27

A/N: Sorry it's been so long but I've been up to my eyeballs in work. But this is the first part of the last chapter which I'll post very shortly. Then that's the end of Monster. So read this one fast because I'll have the last chapter up as soon as I write it!

Monster

Nearly a month had gone by and Caroline hadn't told Tyler. She didn't know how. She wasn't even sure if she actually was pregnant. She had never had periods as a vampire so it's not like she was missing them. And she didn't produce hormones anymore so pregnancy tests didn't work either. She feared for her baby.

She was a vampire and he was a werewolf. What would the baby come out as? Would it come out undead or maybe it'd be human like Tyler was before he triggered the curse. Or maybe it'd be some strange hybrid. Or maybe it would just be born dead. Caroline couldn't sustain life after all, since she herself wasn't living.

In case she had been pregnant, she had been making a point of feeding from Tyler every so often to draw some of his essence of life into her. Maybe his living blood was enough to keep the baby alive.

She sighed to herself and began to cry. She'd been very emotional lately and she had told Tyler it was because she was homesick. It wasn't completely a lie but it wasn't the whole truth either.

"Caroline, I'm really worried about you." Tyler frowned, looking down at her on the bed. "You've had something on your mind that you're not telling me. What is it?"

"I told you, Ty. I'm just really home sick. I even miss my mother," Caroline said, trying to change the subject.

"It has something to do with me doesn't it?" Tyler looked away. "You want to leave me. Is that it?"

"What? No!" Caroline shot up. "That's not it at all. I just … I don't know. I feel different lately. But not about you. I love you, Tyler."

"But I feel like I'm losing you lately, Car, and it's scaring me." Tyler ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"It's not you. It's just something with me. Maybe a vampire thing. I don't know."

"Well maybe you're hungry."

"Maybe."

"Feed from me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I just don't want to," Caroline said, feeling irritated for no reason at all.

Caroline sat against the wall and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She knew she needed to see Bonnie again. She had to see if she'd found anything out since she'd last seen her. But she had to go alone. She had to know for sure what was going on before she told Tyler.

"Tyler …" Caroline started, not sure of how to finish her sentence. "I think that I need some time … alone. I just have so much in my head and I don't want to bring you down with me."

"Please, don't do that." Tyler shut his eyes, afraid tears would fall. "You're all I have."

"You're all I have too, Tyler. But I just have to figure this out by myself. I need to go get help. I'm sick, Tyler. I can feel it. There's just something not right with me," Caroline said, tears strolling down her cheeks.

"No. I can't let you. I can't be without you, Car." Tyler leaned his head back to stop a droplet from falling. "I'm coming with you."

"As soon as I'm better I'll come back to you. I promise," Caroline said, clutching his hands with hers.

"No."

Caroline didn't want to leave him as much as he didn't want her to leave. But this was something that she felt she had to do on her own. They'd literally never been out of each other's sight since they'd left Mystic Falls and she felt needed to have this time alone to really get her head straight if she really was going to be having a baby.

She looked into Tyler's eyes and saw the fear there. He was scared she'd never come back. She knew she couldn't let him believe she didn't want him anymore, because she did with all her heart.

"Fine," Caroline whispered softly.

"Let's just go back to sleep and we'll figure out our next move tomorrow morning, okay?" Tyler asked and Caroline nodded.

He pulled her into him and clutched onto her waist as if he never wanted to let go. Tyler fell asleep shortly after but Caroline remained awake, thinking.

Caroline took Tyler's arm from around her and placed it gently back down on the bed after she'd gotten up. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote, "If you never forgive me for leaving, just know that I love you and always will. I will come back for you. -Caroline."

She tried to keep her composure as she set the note down on the bed where her body had just been. She bent down and kissed his shoulder, and then his cheek and forehead before finally ripping herself away. With one last look she ran as fast as she could straight for Mystic Falls.

…..

"Caroline? What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"I have to talk to you," Caroline said, rushing passed her into the house. "Have you found out anything since we last spoke?"

"Well I looked in a few grimoires for anything about this and witches aren't too fond of either weres or vampires so there isn't much in there about you expect for spells to kill you," Bonnie replied.

Caroline sighed and sat down on the couch.

"Where's Tyler?" Bonnie asked.

"I-I had to leave him … temporarily." Caroline looked down.

"You need to talk to Stefan or Damon. I think they're your only shot," Bonnie said, sensing that Tyler was a sensitive subject.

Caroline nodded and raced over to the Salvatore boarding house where she knew she was probably no longer welcome. She'd run away with a werewolf after all. That was definitely against some sort of vampire code.

She didn't bother with the bell as she knew they'd probably never let her in anyway. She rushed up to Stefan's room and closed the door behind her.

"Caroline," Stefan said stunned. "What .. Why? What are you doing here?"

"What do you know about vampires … and pregnancy?" Caroline bit her lip.

….

Tyler woke up to find Caroline missing. He smashed a vase against the wall in a fit of anger and almost broke his wrist punching the ground.

He'd never hurt like this in his entire life. It felt like his heart had been ripped out and stepped on.

He sat at the edge of the bed and wept, not knowing what else to do. She was fast and probably hundreds of miles away by now. It'd take him weeks to track her. And even if he could, he didn't know if he wanted to. She'd broken his heart after all.

….

"You need to speak to Isobel. She's a vampire historian," Stefan said, still dumbfounded by the news. "She ought to know something."

"Thank-you, Stefan. Thank you for everything. You've always been a great friend," Caroline said, hugging him. "Tell everyone I love and miss them."

"I will," Stefan replied. "Now go and find her. Last I heard she was hiding out in Springfield, Maryland. Start there."

Caroline nodded and disappeared to find her. Her heart was still heavy with grief from leaving Tyler but her mind was compelling her forward to finding Isobel so she could return to her love as fast as possible.