Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries is the property of the CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

Information: The prequel to this story is Playtime - story id 8089181.

Synopsis of Playtime:

Klaus, not being as foolish as he was portrayed in the TVD show, immediately brought Elena to Mystic Falls Hospital after escaping from Alaric. He forced a hospital doctor to extract three pints of her blood and then cut his losses – killing her and compelling an orderly to hide her body in the morgue. He retreated to his home, leaving Alaric dead and the Salvatore brothers scrambling to find Elena. Klaus decided to celebrate by kidnapping Stefan to keep him company as he turned at the full moon. When the escapade was over he confessed that Elena was dead and forced Stefan and Caroline to leave with him.

The story opens in Paris, France.

~ x ~

"Tch!" A disgusted Stefan let the loud exclamation escape him when he realized that he had read the same page three times and still didn't know what he was reading. He rubbed his forehead irritably, unable to concentrate. It wasn't the room or the book. The library in Klaus's Paris home was perfect. Everything was designed to nurture the serious reader; the soft chair providing the correct amount of support in the right places, the comfortable hassock, the carefully controlled lighting, and the burnished cherry wood cabinets lined with books. To complete the atmosphere of comfort and luxury, an Abussian carpet cushioned your feet as you walked around leisurely scouting out your next read.

It was his mind that was distracting him. It wouldn't stop going round in circles. Everything had happened at such a whirlwind pace. One day he was in Mystic Falls, and the next he was in a different country. No time to say goodbye, no time to prepare, no time to mourn, no time for closure. Life as he knew it was over. A new one had begun, and he had no idea what to expect. It had been two months since he and Caroline had for all intents and purposes been kidnapped, and Klaus was frequently absent. When he was home he was, well, he was weird. Stefan was totally off balance, unsure what the hybrid wanted or expected. The only thing he was sure of was that they were sequestered in this house, not able to step a foot outside without a contingent of hybrids watching their every move. "It's like he's waiting for me to do something! I don't know what he wants, and then when I don't do whatever it is he's expecting he's pissed!"

He gratefully put his finger on the page and closed the book around it when a barefoot Caroline, holding a box beautifully wrapped in paper, wandered in.

"How ya doing?" He was genuinely concerned about her.

Caroline shrugged, running one hand over a little side table. "How're you doing?"

Stefan shook his head, running his hand through his hair in a distracted manner. "I honestly don't know." He gave a little self-conscious laugh. "Sorry. I should be the strong one here. Should set some kind of example for y—"

"Don't, Stefan. We've been through too much over the last year to pretend that everything's okay. It's not." She let out a huge sigh and then tried to recover. "Look." She held the box out for him to inspect.

He gave her a small smile. "Another present from your not so secret admirer?" he teased.

She returned a lopsided smile and sat on the rug like a child, ripping open the wrapping paper and flinging it around. She sliced through the string and impatiently tore off the top. She pawed through the pink tissue paper until she triumphantly emerged with an impossibly high heeled, jewel encrusted shoe.

"Oooooohhh!" she cooed. "It's so pretty." He voice changed to awe as she realized the significance of the red sole. "Christian Louboutin! They're from Christian Louboutin!" She followed that up with a squeal of excitement.

Stefan looked it over critically and commented, "It's not very practical, is it?"

That remark earned him a disapproving glare. "Don't be such a guy!" she chastised him while holding the shoe up in front of her and looking at it from all angles. She reverently exclaimed, "It's a work of art!"

Stefan, unable to get excited over a shoe, kept silent, watching her stroke it delicately with one finger, for all the world as if it was alive.

Caroline put the shoe on her bare foot and then dug through the paper for its mate. She strutted around in them, imitating a model's exaggerated runway walk.

Stefan's somber expression was lightened by a small smile, as he watched her posture and prance.

She stopped in front of him. "You have to admit, when you live with Klaus, it's always the best of everything. This beautiful house, gadgets. She spread her arms wide. "Designer jeans and everything." She pointed to herself while she said that. "Everything a girl could want."

Stefan, watching her carefully, thought her exuberance was a little forced. He cautiously agreed. "We get everything we want; books, movies, any kind of entertainment that can be brought in."

"Oh yeah" she agreed. "Everything's perfect. More things than I've ever had in my life. Everything my mother couldn't afford to give me. Things, things, things!" Her voice rose higher with each repetition of the word.

"What's wrong Caroline?" he asked softly.

"Nothing! What could be wrong when I get everything I want." Suddenly she started to weep quietly.

Stefan sprang up, the book dropping to the floor unnoticed, and opened his arms. She gratefully went into them, letting him enfold her. She laid her head against his chest while he rested his chin on her head. She knew she was deluding herself, and he couldn't really help her, but it gave her the illusion of safety when he cradled her in his arms. She drew in the warm clean male smell of him that somehow reminded her of her father and Tyler. Stefan, in turn, drew comfort from holding her. It was a balm to his soul, helping to ease the ache of knowing he would never be able to comfort Elena again.

"Two wounded veterans of the Original wars," he murmured against her hair. "We're quite the pair."

She snorted out a laugh and stepped back. He released her immediately, smiling at her fondly.

"I'm okay." She donned her perky manner like a costume. She bounced a little, forced a huge smile, and said brightly, "Hey look, we got to fly first class to Europe which I never expected to ever be able to afford to do, and we're in Paris where I've always wanted to go, and Klaus is showering me with gifts, and he hasn't beaten the crap out of you more than twice."

Stefan joked back. "Wow, you know I hadn't looked on the bright side. He hasn't held my arm or any other body part in the fire yet. What's a mere two beatings with no bones broken? I have no idea what he expects from us, so it's kinda hard to stay on his good side. I guess I could do a lot worse."

They both laughed and Caroline added, "I have to admit I got the better end of the deal."

Stefan looked closely at her too bright eyes and her slightly quivering mouth and quietly asked, "What? What is it really?"

She shook her head, swiping her eyes and looking away from him. "I can't tell you. It's stupid."

Stefan placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "You can tell me. I'm not gonna laugh."

She turned her head back to him, looking at him for a moment before wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his chest. He hugged her again, his chin brushing her blonde hair.

She spoke into his chest. "It's losing Tyler and Elena and stupid things like I'm not going to graduate, and I won't get to go to the prom and . . . and . . and . . I miss my mommy. She's got to be out of her mind worrying about me, and there's nothing I can do about it."

She suddenly backed away from him again, determined to be strong and regain control of herself. "If my mother—" Suddenly Caroline's face crumpled and she started to sob. As Stefan reached for her she held up a hand to stop him. She cut off the sobs by pressing her fist to her mouth.

Stefan looked stricken. "You miss your mother."

"It's stupid." She seemed embarrassed, dropping her hand from her mouth and attempting to pull herself together. "I'm an adult. I would have been going to college soon. I—"

She gave up, allowing the tears to well up, and spill over. "I never got to say goodbye to her. She doesn't know where I am." She appealed to Stefan for understanding. "I was such a snot to her, and we were just getting to a good place, and I mean I thanked her, but I never really said I was sorry for being so hard to deal with, and I was worried about Tyler, and I never told her how much I love her, and Klaus will probably never let me see her again and I'll never get to tell her an—"

The words kept tumbling out faster and faster. Finally Stefan took her by the shoulders and interrupted. "It's okay, Caroline."

She totally lost it then and sobbed so hard she wet his shirt with her tears. Stefan for his part just held her, rocking her slightly, allowing her to find release.

When she finally quieted, she murmured into his shirt, "How do you stand it?"

He didn't have to ask what she meant. He spoke into her hair. "I guess I never really believed that I would end up with Elena. I knew I would lose her one day, either to old age or . . . to Damon." She felt him shrug. "Damon's hard hit, but he's strong. I have to believe that he'll carry on." He was silent for a while before continuing. "Bonnie, your mom, Jeremy, my brother . . . they'll be okay now that Klaus is gone. I keep reassuring myself that this is okay because at least I'm . . . we're keeping them safe."

He felt her nod and she moved back slightly from him. "Thank you. I didn't think about it that way. It does help." But her lower lip trembled slightly as she said, "I just wish I could talk to my mom. I need to tell her I'm okay. I . . . need to hear her voice."

His lips tightened and he looked determined as he placed his lips next to her ear and whispered a promise. "You will."

Caroline's eyes sparkled for a moment before she lost hope. Resting the side of her face against his, she breathed into his ear. "How? We're never alone."

Stefan put his lips to her ear, mouthing the words more than actually speaking them. "We can steal a cell phone."

Caroline's eyes opened wide as he continued. "That blonde werewolf, James. The one that always swaggering around. He deliberately stood in the doorway when I had to get through and he wouldn't move. He just couldn't help himself. He just had to make me push my way past him, and I felt it inside his jacket."

"Klaus'll be pissed. You know what he told us. No contact with anyone from Mystic Fall. Don't leave the house without an escort." Caroline weakly protested his plan.

"I know. But . . if we're gonna do it, we should do it now. Klaus is out of town. This is the perfect time if you have to call?" He left it up to her.

She didn't think for long, at this point no longer caring about the consequences. Her need was too great. "I have to hear her voice, even if it's only for a few seconds."

Stefan nodded. "We won't have much time. We'll probably only get one call. So make it count."

They looked at each other and Stefan mouthed, "He won't be suspecting anything. Go down barefoot and pretend you've got a splinter in your foot. Sit to dig it out, and I'll come after you and go for the neck break. We go out the front door hand in hand and run like hell until we find an alley where we can call. We can't get fancy cause they'll track and catch us by scent almost immediately."

Caroline took a deep breath to steady herself and then got that mulish, determined look that her mother and all of her childhood friends knew was a warning that Caroline Forbes meant business and woe to those who stood in her way.

Surprisingly, their plan worked, and they were outside on the street, running at top vampire speed. Stefan could only guess they pulled it off because it was so spontaneous. He had enjoyed breaking James' neck and sincerely hoped Klaus would punish him for failing to restrain them. The man had inherited all the worst traits of the werewolf gene; bad tempered, arrogant, and a bully.

For now, Stefan concentrated on finding a likely alleyway and ducked into one between small stores on a side street. He pulled out the cell phone and dialed the 001 for the United States, punched in Sheriff Forbes' number, and handed it to her.

"Please . . please . .please . . please." Caroline prayed while squeezing the phone as if the sheer pressure could force her mother to answer.

"Sheriff Forbes."

A sob of relief escaped her as she heard the familiar voice. "Mom, oh mom, it's me."

"Caroline. Oh My God, where are you? Are you okay? I've been so worried!" The Sheriff's voice cracked with pent up emotion.

"Listen Mom, I don't have much time. So please just listen. I'm okay. Stefan's with me. I'll be okay. I don't want you to worry about me."

Liz interrupted. "Tell me where you are. I'll come get you."

"No, Mom. You can't and I . . I . . don't want you to. It would be too dangerous for you. Just know that I love you, and if I can I'll contact you again."

"Caroline, please tell me where you are?" Liz pleaded.

Caroline heard Stefan's swiftly indrawn breath and looked up to see Klaus, flanked by two hybrids, watching them. She gulped and said, "Gotta go, Mom. Remember I love you!"

She cut the connection while Liz was still talking.