A/N: It's odd why I decided to write this chapter. It was an one shot, but then I planned to add this here. I hope it will match with the theme of this story.

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own any of the characters here.

When Stefan woke up the first thing he noticed was the open window beside his bed and a certain blond vampire seated in an armchair facing the window. As the cold wind swindled the curtains, Stefan looked at the pretty profile of his sleeping friend and sighed. She must have spent the entire night taking care of her. It was late evening when she brought him the blood bags and she stood quietly until he was done feeding. She was smiling at his direction like sunshine in a cold snowy morning.

It was just as usual, her smile, as a wave of life and light. Only there was something missing, what Stefan could not point his finger at, but he could definitely sense it. He thoght hard- it was not easy to stress his mind at that moment, only hours after he was rescued from his under water imprisonment, and he was still losing his focus from the reality- and after sometime he had finaly realised what was the missing element when she covered his shivering body with a blanket. The usual heat was not there.

Stefan had felt his lips were curling a little, but he couldn't figure if they were forming a faint smile or a painful wince. He wondered if that was the reason her smile recalled a cold snowy morning; there were snow everywhere. Snowflakes had blurred the sight and he could not see the reasons of her dimmed smile. He was supposed to be able to see them clearly, the reasons bothering the girl closest to him after Lexi. This was a terrible feeling rising through his system.

He had failed being a son, he had failed being a brother, he had failed being a lover and worse of all, he had failed being a friend. Yet he was there, living his immortality, an undead corpse. He had failed himself.

"Stefan, hey!" The soft half-whisper sounded like a forgotten song. He moved his eyes and found her at his bedside, leaning forward, touching his shoulder. Her face showed signs of concern.

"How are you doing Caroline?" Caroline spilled a smile, like a bunch of pearls scattered accidentally on the white marble floor.

"Stefan Salvatore, I should be the one asking this question to you," she said placing her hands on her hips, "although the curious smile on your face is telling me that you are not in mortal perils anymore and your physical weakness is gone too."

Stefan pushed himself up and sat on the bad, resting his back on the headboard. "I will live, but Caroline, are you alright?"

"Stefan, I am not the one sent to a solitary confinement under a hundred feet of icy-cold water and left to starve by a sociopath immortal witch, so asking me this question is absolutely pointless. What's gotten into you?" Before Stefan could reply, tell her that his question was not too pointless, Caroline was rushing again. "Are you hungry? Let me get you a blood bag."

"Caroline, wait. I need to get some air. Have a walk with me." Caroline stopped at her track, a frown appeared in the middle of her forehead.

"There's a psycho witch out there. Are you sure you want to go out now? It's 3 in the morning." It was even late for night creatures like themselves; but what did he ever achieved in his life being so careful every instant? He simply nodded.

"We have a lot to catch up." He said climbing down the four poster bed. He was feeling the familiar finesse in his muscles. Caroline shrugged.

"If that villain shows up I'll run to the opposite direction, I promise you that." Stefan chuckled.

"He's my shadow self. Who knew why he never showed his true face?"

It was a bit chilly out in the deserted road. "Wow if my mom was here she'd definitely arrest us. Lucky she's busy nowadays." Caroline rubbed her sides while walking.

"So what's going on here now? Lets start with Matt. Hows he doing?" Stefan genuinely wanted to know about the eighteen years old boy, who had gain maturity the hard way. He was interested to know about his road trip and his future plans, if he had made any.

"Matt and Barbie Klaus are still enjoying their trip. He called last night and he sounded happy."

"And Jeremy? Hows he holding up? Can he still... you know, see them?" Caroline glanced sideways.

"You know about Bonnie don't you?"

"Silas told me. Is Elena okay?" And there, his wound was out in open again, gaping, burning, spreading the sensation all over his strained body. Was Elena ok?

She had to be, even though she had lost her best friend, she had her love by her side, the most deserving brother she had chosen at last. Damon was someone she could hold onto. Caroline breathed as though deciding the safest words to place without further hurting him.

"She was not well at first, but time heals all sort of wounds. Besides with Damon she is much stronger now, at least she seems so."

Stefan chuckled. "I knew she will be okay. Damon would take care of her more than he did for himself. He is really good for her." He wrapped his hands around Caroline's shoulder, letting an emotion he longed for so long build inside him. When he was underwater, he dreamt a lot of his former girlfriend, his friends, his human life and the life he somewhat loathed... but somehow this particular emotion never came to him. The familiar emotion he thought was love, although he was sure it was not only love but a lot of other emotions too, and it felt like a long forgotten dream he once swayed in.

"Do you really think so?" Caroline asked ruefully, wgich confirmed him that after a month or so, still now Caroline couldn't bring herself to accept Damon and Elena's relationship.

"I do. You know the last time I talked to Damon after she made her choice, I told him that I was not happy for Elena, but I was not unhappy for Damon too. It was true. Now, however I am happy for both of them, because when Elena came to rescue me with Damon and Tyler, I was not properly conscious but I could feel the calmness and satisfaction in her." Stefan breathed in some air and took a small step forward. "Which brings back the topic of Tyler. I hope ypu two are back in your previous track, now that Klaus being gone?"

"Everything is good." Caroline muttered.

Stefan had stopped walking. He was gazing at her with his dark green eyes, penetrating the cold wall Caroline had built setting one after one brick od confidence and a feeble attempt of saving him from one more bad news.

"Look at me and say that Caroline. Do you really think you can hide this from me?" He pulled Caroline backwards grabbing her hand, her hand, cold and shaking. She looked away, but he could sense the tears welling at the brink of her eyes. "It's alright, sometimes, not to be alright."

When Caroline looked into his eyes, he knew at once what she was repressing. he knew this pain of seeing the love walking away from your life. He knew how it felt to realize that even though your surrounded by a crowd of friends, at the end of the day you are alone. He knew how it felt when someone - who was there in every twists and turns of your life, creating chaos and disorders, and yet claiming their undying love for you - leaves you alone suddenly.

"Stefan, I..." He could feel the lump constructing in her throat and the prickles she was having in her eyes.

"It's okay, Caroline, you are oaky." He wraps himself slowly around her shaking body, gently stroking her back and healing himself with teh fragrance coming off her hair. "You are hurt, and you must bleed to get rid of this pain. I am here."

"You have no idea what happened with me in the last couple of months. Tyler came back with a girl he was living with, he said she was completely alone and too weak to take care of herself. He also said that maybe I should have gone to New Orleans with Klaus, thot would have been good for all three of us, because Klaus is what I deserve. He said that Klaus maybe evil but he was the man who could keep me happy and give me all the good things I truly deserve. How does that make sense Stefan?' Caroline sniffed and stared at the concrete road beneath them. "You were gone, Bonnie was dead, Elena was with Damon exploring her new self. I had no one to talk to, no one to share.".

And for the next ten minutes she cried. None of them spoke, none of them, looked at each others face, they held each other as if they were holding dear life and they cried. Crying was good, for the first time they both realized it, that shedding the tears made them feel better, lighter than they ever felt. They cried until their eyes were bloodshot, breathing was slow and stable, head was clear. Slowly they smelled dawn coming in the air, some flowers bloomed somewhere, and some birds chirped.

After a while when they were back to their usual selves, Caroline smiled looking at her feet. She was assured now, that she was not alone anymore.

Stefan smiled too. He was there with Caroline Forbes, The girl who spread light in his darkness, and he would be there for a long while now. He would be everything she need.

~~The End~~

A/N: Thank you all for reading and being wioth me. I am planning for another Klaus-Caroline multichapter, and it will be about a fun filled road trip. Most probably it would be ready to post around next month. Keep me in your alerts to get notifications.

XOXOLavanya