Stefan took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his tired face. It had been two weeks of an agonizing lack of concentration on anything other than Caroline Forbes. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Two weeks since she ran out of his office and left her phone here. Why was it taking her so long to come back? She knew he had it. Bonnie must of told her by now. Maybe she has just abandoned it here to avoid ever having to see him again. Maybe seeing him after 5 years was the final straw for her and she could now leave the idea of them behind. That thought scared Stefan and was the final straw to him sitting here waiting.

He logged onto his computer and searched for Caroline Forbes file. He wasn't supposed to but he was getting desperate. It's not like he was snooping, just looking quick enough to get a home number. It was however crossing the professional line. There was no home number on record so instead he wrote down the home address and decided to take an early lunch, asking to cover for him.

When he reached her apartment his heart was racing and palms started to sweat. She was on the second floor so when he left the elevator he took a deep breath and knocked waiting for her to answer. When the door swung open, it was the last person in the world he expected to see.

"Hello brother".

"Look I'm just saying I think you two should give it a shot."

"Give it a shot?"

"Yeah I mean it's obvious you like her...God knows why" he muttered under his breath

"But I don't think of her that way she's my friend"

"Yeah friend who you had a passion filled evening with last night" Damon wiggled his eyebrows. Stefan sighed as his eyes darted around the bar.

"We were both really drunk and-"

"Who are you trying to kid brother. We both know you two have been dancing around each other for way too long now"

Stefan looked angrily into Damon's eyes. Damon sighed and responded ;

"Fine...Look if she's not the one cut her loose."

"I can't loose her she's my best friend, she's, she's..."

"Okay then. Say it was a drunken mistake and send Goldilock's to try someone else's porridge."

Stefan angrily huffed and licked his teeth.

"You know what she might find my bed juuuuuusssttt right" Damon smiled and before he knew it was on the floor with a bloody jaw and an angry brother leaning over him.

"What are you doing here?" The brothers asked each other at the same time. When neither answered after a long pause, Stefan angrily asked "where's Caroline?"

"Out" Damon responded in the same venomous tone. "Well, when will she be back?" Damon shrugged his shoulders.

"So what are you and her like a thing now?" It slipped out. Stefan couldn't help it. He was sick to his stomach. His own brother and his Caroline. But she wasn't his. Damon lightly chuckled.

"I'll tell Blondie you stopped by. Have a nice day" Damon responded in a sarcastic tone shutting the door in his face. Stefan put his hand out before it closed.

"Look, she uhh left this in my office.." Stefan said in a defeated tone. "Could you give it back to her and tell her I'm sorry?" Damon took the phone and nodded in a stunned silence.

Stefan sighed and turned to leave. As he waited for the elevator Damon broke out of his state of shock and let out an angry huff of air before starring down at Stefan.

"You know she doesn't deserve this" Damon started while taking a few steeps closer to him. "Elizabeth and Caroline Forbes. They're a family and have enough of their own problems... She doesn't deserve you coming here and messing with her head."

Stefan and damon now stood inches apart.

He knew Damon was close with Carolines mom Liz. When Damon was a teenager she took him under her wing. Put him on the right path. She was like a mother to him as he never got along with their own mother Lily. After seeing him get caught up in the wrong crowd she got him a job at the station and really helped him out. Stefan always knew it was actually Caroline who asked her mother to help Damon. She saw how worried Stefan was for his brother. Although if ever asked she always denied it claiming how much she hated Damon. Of course the brothers argument about Liz was one of the final nails in the coffin to their fractured relationship.

"I'm not having this conversation with you Damon."

"Look you're screwing up your life Stefan"

Stefan sighed and carried on throwing clothes into his duffel bag while grabbing everything he thought he would need for his move to New York. His father arranged for him to take his residency there, which was good as it meant he could get as far away from Caroline Forbes as he could possibly get. He was moving as fast as he could and had no intention of ever looking back.

"She needs you!" Damon screamed trying to get through to his idiot of a brother. Stefan angrily sighed before responding in a small voice.

"No she doesn't"

"Yeah, she does and you know what you're being a real dick to her"

Stefan narrowed his eyes to damon

"You don't know what you're talking about" he continued packing, picking up a picture frame of him and Caroline by his bedside table. It was the biggest smile he has ever seen on his face. The glass had a massive crack spreading across the picture between their faces. Ironic he thought to himself.

"Actually I do. She told me what's been going on."

Stefan shut his eyes and placed the picture frame face down on his bedside table again. "Yeah, well it's why it's best I go"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"She made her choice Damon... and it doesn't matter any more. I really don't care"

"YOU DON'T CARE! ARE YOU SERIOUS!"

Stefan paused from moving clothes into his bag to look into Damon's eyes.

"Look if you're scared-"

"I know what I'm doing Damon. And she wants it this way as well so"

Damon looked away and sighed.

"Look I didn't want to be the one to tell you this but ... her mom ... she's sick"

"What are you talking about?"

"Liz ... She, s-she's got cancer"

Stefan fell to sit on his bed in a state of shock.

"Caroline?... how's Caroline... is she ummm"

"She's devastated. She needs you. Especially now"

He took a deep breath.

"She doesn't want me Damon...and I can't... I can't be there for her" Stefan shut his eyes trying to hold back the tears. Damon just got angrier.

"WHAT THE HELL STEFAN! Get your shit together and be there for her"

Stefan zipped up his bag a walked to the door of his room.

"She has someone... And I can't be her friend...Not anymore"

Stefan left in a daze walking out the door blocking out all screams from Damon. Before he knew it damon grabbed hold of his collar and started punching him to the ground.

Since then the brothers relationship never recovered. Damon beat Stefan so violently that he passed out and ended up in the hospital. Physically he had four bruised ribs, two black eyes and a fractured shoulder, but the real pain came from his week in the hospital when not a single person came to see him. So when he was discharged he left mystic falls and his entire life behind. Apart from his grandmother's funeral two years ago he hasn't seen or spoken to Damon since. Their parents clearly took Stefan side in the spat as he was no longer invited to family occasions and very rarely mentioned. And here they stand now fighting over the same girl 5 years later.

As the brothers stood chest to chest a loud thud and smash coming from the apartment broke their staring contest. They both made their way to the sound that caught their attention to find an unconscious Caroline lying on the kitchen floor.

"Call an ambulance!" Stefan yelled to Damon as he crouched down beside Caroline's lifeless body.

"Caroline!... Caroline!" . She began to stir on the floor and slowly opened her eyes to find Stefan's face hovering over her.

"Errrr... am I in hell?" A flicker of a smile graced Stefan's lips relieved she was okay before it dropped as he registered the meaning behind her words. They gazed deep into each others eyes for a moment.

"Yeah can I get an ambulance please-" Damon continued in the phone, drawing Caroline's attention to him.

"No..I'm fine, I don't need an ambulance."

"Caroline" Stefan protested, but she ignored him as she sat up.

"Nu-uh, this is the last straw you are going to the hospital" Damon argued.

"Caroline, you should really stay down" Stefan tried while Caroline continued to ignore his presence and stood.

"Look, absolutely fine!" Caroline shrieked to Damon before falling dizzy again. Stefan caught her in his arms before she stumbled again. He completely froze and began to block out everything going on around him as he felt her in his arms. He swallowed hard at the butterflies in his stomach being more fluttering than he remembers, not that he's felt them in five years. The moment for Stefan was short lived as she leapt out of his arms and towards Damon lunging for the phone in his hand.

"Yeah the address is-heyyy-"

"Im sorry there has been a mistake, I don't need an ambulance. Thank you bye" she abruptly hung up the call and faced an angry Damon.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing that's why I don't need an ambulance"

"How long are you going to ignore this?"

"What ignore you, as long as I'm still breathing" Caroline retired with a sarcastic smile.

"This isn't funny, you need to go to the hospital"

"I will, i'll go... tomorrow"

"Yeah, sure you will... What are you doing out of bed anyway?"

"I was thirsty and I saw you weren't in the kitchen so I thought you left" Caroline responded as she held a hand to the back of her head.

"I told you to stay in bed"

"You're not a doctor"

"Yeah, but you won't go see a doctor." Caroline took a deep breath still holding her head.

"I did go and ran into him." Caroline pointed to Stefan, who was awkwardly standing there watching the she scene unfold, while they finally acknowledged his presence "uuhh-" before ignoring him again;

"If that's not a sign, I don't know what is" Caroline interrupted.

"When did you see him?"

"Like a couple weeks ago"

"WHAT?! You said you've only felt this way for a couple days when I asked you this morning!"

"Well I didn't need anyone worrying" Caroline held the back of her head again.

"Umm.. Caroline-" Stefan tried to interrupt, but again being ignored.

"Now you are definitely going-" Damon interrupted reaching for his phone again.

"I will go ... tomorrow" Caroline grabbed his phone.

"Err Caroline"

"You can go TODAY"

"I can go TOMORROW"

"Now!"

"Caroline.."

"Well I've got things to do-"

"Why can't you just-"

"I've got responsibilities Damon-"

"And you're health should be one of them-"

"Just for once could you not-"

"Just for once would you listen-"

"I am listening, I'm telling you tomor-"

"Thats not listenin-"

"CAROLINE" Stefan yelled breaking their attention from their squabbling.

"Did you bang you're head when you fell?"

"Oh god! Not you too"

"If you hit you're head you could have a concussion. You need to get it checked out"

"Thank you! Even bone head over here is smarter than you at the minute." Damon commented gesturing toward Stefan as the former run his tongue over his teeth.

"Damon please!" Caroline turned to Damon with desperation in her voice. Damon sympathetically sighed and looked down at her holding her shoulders.

"Look I know you're scared to go back there, but you'll be in and out before you know it". Damon tried to calm her down from the minor panic attack she was having but her breathing just became more erratic as she was practically begging at this point.

"I will book an emergency appointment and go to the GP first thing tomorrow, I promise."

"If you banged your head you need to go now".

"I could...take you... you won't have to wait around to be seen." Stefan interjected wanting more than anything to comfort Caroline but the look he was getting told him she wanted anyone but him there. She turned back to Damon.

"But I need to-"

"-I'll take care of it."

Caroline looked on still unsure until Damon gave the final push;

"Look you either go with him or in an ambulance and sit around in the hospital for hours, but either way you're going". Caroline sighed exhausted.

"Fine... but if anything-" Caroline pointed her finger to Damon while grabbing her coat before Damon interrupted;

"Caroline, we'll be fine". She picked up her bag as she and Stefan approached the door before turning back.

"Don't-"

"- I know the rules!" Damon again interrupted frustration exuding him.

"Ok let's go" she angrily huffed at Stefan as they left her apartment.

"Hey Blondie?" Damon called from the doorway as she and Stefan waited for the elevator.

"Are you sure you don't want me to call Bonnie or Elena?"

"No, i'll be fine" Caroline plastered on her biggest fake smile.

"Oh and remember to-"

"- I know, I know" Damon cut her off shutting the door on them. All Stefan could think was what the hell did he just walk into.