A/N: I want to thank everybody for the reviews I got on the prologue, they made me so happy! This story is an idea I've had in my head for a long time and I'm just now sitting down to write it, so thanks again for the reviews!
Also, for anybody who was reading my Damon/Caroline story The Revenge, it's on hold right now as I accidentally deleted two chapters and replaced them with something else and I just haven't re-written them yet. I had them perfect before they got deleted and I'm having a hard time remembering what I wrote. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue that story, so it's just on hiatus for the time being.
Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Jeremy, and their friend Matt Donovan were sitting in the middle of the parlor of the Salvatore boarding house, where Stefan and Damon grew up, trying to figure out a way to get Damon out of the slump he was in.
"I don't think he'll fall for anything," Jeremy stated, and Stefan shook his head.
"I know, Jer, but he's driving me crazy. He sits up in his room, drinking and moping. Well, every once in a while he checks in at The Grill, but everyone knows that he drinks there, too. He eats, but he doesn't do much else. We've gotta figure out a way to get him back out there."
"Did you hear who moved to Richmond recently? Well, it's more like moved back…" Elena's voice trailed off when she looked up and saw everyone staring at her. "What? This pertains to the conversation, I swear."
After a moment, Bonnie asked, "Who?"
"Caroline."
"I bet her relationship with Tyler finally deteriorated," Matt said, speaking up for the first time. "I know that we used to be friends in high school, but seriously, that guy was such a douche."
They all nodded in agreement, but Elena spoke up, "She loved him."
"So she chose Richmond over Mystic Falls?" Stefan asked, almost sounding hurt.
"Yeah. You know she spent a good amount of her life in Richmond. The last family she was with, for the last four years, lived in Richmond, remember? What was their name? Uh…" Elena sighed as she thought about it for a moment, "Oh yeah. The Mikaelsons."
"How does this pertain to the conversation, exactly?" Jeremy asked. He was used to his sister's ramblings, but he still wanted to know.
"Well, it's just that Damon's alone, and Caroline only lives a couple of hours away and she's alone too."
When everybody had gone quiet, Elena said, "I think we should try to set them up. I mean, she just opened up that boutique in Richmond. I bet we could get Damon up there if we tried."
"And tell him what? That he needs a new suit?" Stefan asked sarcastically.
"Actually, yes," Elena said, matter-of-factly. "I mean, there's that founder's party next Saturday, and –"
"Stop right there, Elena," Stefan said after a moment. "He's got a ton of suits."
Elena made a face, "C'mon, guys, we've gotta try. Bonnie, clear your schedule tomorrow. We're taking Damon to get a new suit."
-x-
The next morning, Damon awoke to his curtains being yanked open. He groaned and covered his head with his blanket.
"C'mon, Damon, rise and shine," Elena said, in her best sing-song voice. "We've got stuff to do today."
"Today's my day off, Elena," Damon said from underneath the blanket. "I don't have to do jack shit today."
"Damon," Elena said, yanking the blanket off of him in one swift motion, "You know that you don't have to go to work unless you want to. Besides, Bonnie and I are going to take you up to a boutique in Richmond. You need a new suit."
"A new suit? Really? I 've got at least 10 good ones that I can wear to that thing next Saturday."
"What thing?" Elena decided that it was best to play dumb so Damon didn't know what she was up to.
"Oh, come on, Elena," Damon said, taking her hint and sitting up, "This is all about the founder's party next Saturday. You want me to get out there and find my one true love, like you and my little brother did. News flash: I don't have a soul mate. No true love for me."
"Damon, you've only been with three girls –"
"No, I've only been serious about three girls. I've been with a lot more."
" – and a little drive won't kill you."
"It's not a little drive, Elena. Richmond is almost two hours away from here."
"C'mon, Damon, think of it as an adventure." Elena got into his dresser and threw some clothes his way. "You can even drive."
Damon thought about it for a moment before saying, "Fine. But Judgey better not antagonize me. I'm not in the fucking mood for that bullshit."
Elena nodded, "Bonnie will be civil, I promise."
-x-
The day had been moving slowly for Caroline. Part of her just wanted to close up shop and go home early, but what was there to go home to? Other than her dog, Lizzie, it was just an empty house. She had nothing. She didn't even really go out anymore. Even though the abuse had happened years ago, Caroline still lived it. She dreamt about it, she had very vivid flashbacks to where she was living the abuse all over again. She even still had the scars to prove it.
But what had everybody told her? She was strong. She survived, so that made her strong, right? After being beaten, raped, used and tortured, she was still standing, and living her life as normally as she could. Just because she lived alone didn't mean that she didn't live as safely as she could. Even with her state of the art burglar alarm and her German shepherd who protected her fiercely, Caroline didn't feel safe. However, she couldn't take the chance. After her breakup with Tyler Lockwood a few years back, Caroline didn't want to take any chances.
"What have I done for you in the past, Care? I've protected you. You're nothing without me."
Caroline watched Tyler closely as she stood in the kitchen, "I need to be on my own, Ty. I need to be my own person."
"I can give you that. Remember, I told you, if you chose me, I'd give you the whole fucking world."
"But it's not just me, is it, Ty?" Caroline was starting to get a little bolder, although she wasn't sure where this boldness was coming from. "I know you're fucking every girl that you can get your filthy hands on. And I know you've been fucking that Sarah whatshername behind my back."
"Do you really believe that?"
"Yes, I honestly do. Do you know who I got that little piece of information from?"
She saw Tyler's normally light brown eyes turn dark, to almost black, as he said, "Sarah told you."
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" Caroline said sarcastically. She even clapped her hands for enthusiasm. "Yes, Sarah told me that you two were fucking, and if I loved you in any way at all, I'd step out of the picture so she could have you all to herself, because, well," Caroline stuck out her bottom lip for emphasis, "she's just so needy and could really use a guy like you."
She felt it before she heard it; Tyler's hand connected with the side of her face, and she flew across the linoleum floor. Her head hit the wall, so she reach up and checked for blood. There was none.
"I'm done, Ty," Caroline said, after she regained her confidence. "I'm tired of the fights and the lies. I've had it."
Caroline went over to where her duffel bag was by the front door, but before she had a chance to leave, Tyler spoke up, "You'll be back. I'll make sure of it."
If asked, Caroline would honestly tell people that she came back to Richmond because that's where the only family she had was. The Mikaelsons, the last family she lived with while she was in the system, had become close to her. Their oldest son, Niklaus, was very fond of Caroline, and after he was discharged from the Marines, Caroline had him come and work for her. Sure, he was just labeled as her assistant, but she felt safer knowing that if there was a problem, he could handle it.
But that wasn't the real reason she moved back to Virginia. No, the reason was that Tyler was still in Chicago, where Caroline had went to fashion school, and she wanted to be away from him. She didn't want to risk running into him.
Shaking away her thoughts, Caroline took a few deep breaths as the bell rang over the boutique door. She looked up and saw Elena and Bonnie and…was that Damon?
"Oh my God, Elena!" Caroline cried, jumping up and going to hug her best friend. She hadn't seen Elena in years.
"Hey, Care," Elena said, hugging her back. "It's good to see you."
"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked, going to hug Bonnie.
"Damon needs a new suit," Elena said, going over to where Caroline kept her portfolio books. She opened one and saw the dress that was on the page, "God, Care, these are gorgeous."
Caroline shrugged, "I can help Damon out, I guess. What do you need this suit for, anyway?"
"The founder's party next Saturday," Damon said as Caroline picked up her measuring tape and went over to him.
Damon watched her carefully as she started measuring him. She wrapped her hands around him to measure his waist, and he just couldn't resist, "I know you just wanted to touch me."
Caroline rolled her eyes, "Seriously, do you think that you are smooth? 'Cause you're not."
She went down to measure his in-seam, which was the length of his thigh, and she heard him chuckle, "Easy with the goods, darling."
"Not your darling."
While Caroline was finishing up measuring Damon, Elena and Bonnie were over, looking at her books, when they saw a man come closer. He was tall and blonde, and he had caught Elena's eye.
"Hi," he said, offering his hand for her to shake it, "I'm Niklaus. Call me Klaus."
"Klaus," Elena said, shaking his hand, "I'm Elena."
"Yeah, Caroline's mentioned you. That would make you Bonnie, right?" He said, looking in Bonnie's direction. She just nodded.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.
"Getting Damon a new suit," Elena answered, nodding in Damon's direction. They saw Damon make another smart ass comment and Caroline poked him with a pin. That made Klaus laugh.
"You know, while we're here, I wouldn't mind a new dress," Bonnie mentioned. "I need a new one for that founder's party."
"Care does high quality work, you know," Klaus said. "I bet she'd be happy to make you one. You know, not that she has a life outside of this place."
Elena raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"Her whole life is in this place. She works all the time. She makes a pretty penny, too," he added. "I've known her for almost eight years and she has turned into a real workaholic."
"You're Klaus Mikaelson, aren't you?" Elena said, thoughts clicking in her head. "The overprotective big brother figure."
He nodded, "Yeah. Caroline was put in my mother's house when I was in Afghanistan, but when I came back on medical leave, she was there and we grew pretty close. I love her like my sister."
"What happened to you?"
"I was hit by shrapnel. It got me in the lower back and I had to take a few years off. Caroline was always there for me, so I'm just returning the favor."
There was a moment of silence, and Elena noticed that Klaus was staring at Damon. She looked at him, "Something wrong?"
"I know that guy. He looks so familiar."
"You know Damon Salvatore? We're from Mystic Falls."
"Oh, yeah. The playboy of Mystic Falls." Klaus rolled his eyes, "I really hate guys like that. The real love 'em and leave 'em type, huh?"
"It's not like that, Klaus," Elena said, but he gave her a look.
"His reputation precedes him," Klaus said. "I know all about him."
"He's…he was hurt. The love of his life turned out to be a manipulative bitch that used both him and his brother to get what she wanted. That really fucked him up."
"I guess that could hurt anybody," Klaus said thoughtfully. "Still, he's probably hurting people."
Elena shook her head, "He's afraid to open his heart again. Katherine really did a number on him."
"I understand that," Klaus said, nodding in Caroline's direction. "She's the same way. Tyler…well, he messed her up, too. She's afraid to be with anybody. It's been almost three years since they broke up and Caroline hasn't been on one single date."
"So, tell me, Klaus," Elena said, watching him carefully, "Did you do anything to Tyler after he hurt Caroline?"
He shook his head, "No. I was in Iraq. But don't get me wrong, I'd love to do something to him. However, killing him isn't cruel enough for me. I would really like to see that asshole suffer."
"I know the feeling," Elena agreed. "Yes, I definitely know that feeling."