Chapter 4: Your love is the only medicine I need

It had been two months into her relationship with Tyler and Caroline was loving every minute of it. There was no second guessing, no rehearsing, no trying to be someone she wasn't in order for the guy to love her, and if Tyler had something on his mind, he'd say it. As would she.

They were equals and respected each other, and she never took him for granted and neither did he with her. Tyler was an attentive and loving boyfriend, but he could still be rough around the edges. He had his moments when he was being such guy that she needed to restrain herself from smacking him. Like today in fact.

He wasn't feeling well and was being the biggest baby about it. Mrs. Lockwood was out doing some mayorly duties and Caroline was left playing doctor, which normally she wouldn't have minded if Tyler wasn't being such a pain in the ass.

"Caroline, I'm fine. I need to go for a run," Tyler insisted, but before he could get out of bed, Caroline was there in lightning speed with her vampire force pinning him down to the bed. "On the other hand, I could get used to this," he said winking.

"Tyler, you're not well. You're sick and as much as you hate to admit it, you need to. You mom specifically asked me to come over here and watch you. She said you were never a good patient, and now I know why." Tyler rolled his eyes.

"I don't know how I feel about my mom and my girlfriend in cahoots." Caroline was stuck on the word girlfriend. She smiled. "What? What are you smiling about?"

"You called me your girlfriend." Tyler looked confused.

"Well, yeah. I thought that was implied."

"But you've never said it before. Sometimes it's just nice to hear it." Tyler shook his head.

"You're such a girl sometimes," Tyler said as Caroline was propping up pillows behind him. "And you're also going a bit overboard with this playing doctor thing. I'm fine, really I am." But then he coughed.

"Yes, I am a girl. Get used to it. And you, sir, are not fine. I don't even want to tell you what color that stuff coming out of your nose is. It's gross." Tyler laughed.

"You can drink blood but mucus is gross?"

"Hey, nobody ever said I was perfect."

"I did." And just like that, her heart melted. "It's because you are perfect. And you know what would make you even more perfect? Letting me go out for a run." Caroline laughed and shook her head, and then gave him a kiss. The advantage of being a vampire is that being sick wasn't something she needed to worry about.

"Nope. You're going to stay in bed."

"But it's so boring."

"Suck it up." And so he did, because it was Caroline. She made sure he had juice and chicken noodle soup and did it with a smile, because she was Caroline. Tyler had to admit to himself that while he hated being sick more than anything, having Caroline by his side taking care of him made it worth it.

He was so far gone in love with her it wasn't even funny. But he hadn't said it yet, mainly because he was afraid of what she'd say, and he wanted to say it at the right time, but more importantly because he had never said to anybody. Well, anybody he wasn't related to.

They were playing a rousing game of scrabble, and Caroline was enjoying kicking his ass. He made words and she claimed they weren't, he said they so were, but then she confirmed on her iPhone dictionary that they weren't. He wasn't even sure how it happened, it might have been his fever, or the way Caroline looked when she smiled at him, but he decided now was the right time.

"Close your eyes."

"Why? Are you going to cheat?"

"Caroline, please. Just close your eyes." And she obliged. When she opened them the entire scrabble board had been empty except for three words.

I love you.

Caroline was silent, but she could see Tyler was anxiously awaiting her response. The truth was she wanted to say it so many times in so many ways and she was afraid. She didn't want to scare him off.

She turned the scrabble board towards herself and spelled out four words of her own.

I love you too.

Tyler beamed from ear to ear.

"Really?" She nodded.

"More than you know."

Okay, so their relationship wasn't always glorious, and maybe not the stuff great romance movies were made of, but it was real and she wouldn't trade it for the world, and neither would he.