entitled: come morning light (you and i will be safe and sound)

summary: He doesn't even hear her voice as he continues to gasp for air. "Stefan! Stefan, listen to me!" Caroline places both of her hands on the side of his face and pressed her lips to his.

pairing: stefan/caroline (obviously)

rating: t

disclaimer: I do not own anything.

notes: Possible spoilers for 5x09.

Dedicated to the lovely Kendra.

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She sees him enter from across the room and is suddenly reminded of that night before everything went to hell in a hand basket for the millionth time in her life.

Only, this time he isn't dressed as James Dean (even though he looked absolutely delicious). His suit hugs his body in all the right places, showing off the slimness of his waist and the largeness of his shoulders perfectly. And if she doesn't stop this right now, she will have ropes of drool hanging out of the corners of her mouth.

She knows she looks nice. For some reason, she had chosen a yellow dress for this occasion, one that fell to her knees with a low neckline. As he walks closer, she notices that he is wearing a yellow tie-

My god.

Now it was her turn.

Caroline begins to walk, meeting him right in the middle of the dance floor, a gentle smile on her face.

"Dance with me," she murmurs, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

One of those rare, absolutely beautiful smiles that she loves so much, pulls his lips up.

"As you wish, milady."

His fingers are soft. Good lord, they are so soft. She almost shivers at the gentleness of his hands as they take hers and pull her close. So close.

"I always thought that you hated to dance," she says after several minutes of silence. She realizes at that moment she was choosing her words very carefully. Avoiding the 'E' word.

Stefan chuckles. "I did. For the longest time. But someone pulled me back into it."

Caroline can't help her laugh. "No, I think it's the other way around. Someone who threw me over their shoulder and dragged me out onto the dance floor-!"

"Only because you told me too!"

"But I didn't mean me!" Caroline's laughing harder now, unable to hide her glee. Finally, God, finally, he looks somewhat happy.

"Well, I chose you. Deal with it."

Caroline just shakes her head, her fingers gently squeezing his.

That's when she catches the glitter of the emerald champagne bottle out of the corner of her eye.

She watches as the handler pops the cork and lets the golden liquid pour down in waves, catching into the large punch bowl that sits on a nearby table. It reminds her of a waterfall for a brief moment.

Stefan sees it too.

She feels his hands stiffen in hers. His whole body almost turns into a statue right then and there.

"Stefan?" Caroline whispers, delicately touching his shoulder. "Stefan, can you hear me?"

He turns his head back towards her voice but one look into those eyes and she sees he's a million miles away.

"Crap."

He bolts so quickly that her vampire eyes don't even follow.

"Stefan! Stefan, where the hell are you?"

Caroline is still trying to figure out how the hell they got there. Just ten minutes ago, she and her best friend were out on the dance floor laughing and having a good time for the first time in months and now-

Now she was trying to find him. Now, he was probably having a flashback.

That had to be it. That was the only explanation.

The sound of heavy gasping breathes catches her ears.

She finds him in a second crouched behind some bushes. As she leans down in front of him, she can see the shock settling in.

"Stefan? Stefan, can you hear me?" Caroline takes a chance and tentatively reaches out, touching his shoulder with her fingertips.

He barely even reacts to that, gasping even harder.

"Stefan!" Caroline's hands dart to his face, her fingernails lightly digging in. "Stefan, it's Caroline. It's me. You're okay."

That's when she hears it. That little gurgling sound of a throat closing up.

"Oh, my god. Stefan!"

Caroline chalks it up later to just reacting. She had to do something.

"Stefan! Stefan, listen to me!"

She leans in, pressing her lips to his.

He freezes under her touch, his mouth slack against hers. But he breathes.

After what seems like an eternity, Caroline settles back. Her thumb catches a tear that slips down his cheek. Another follows that she gently pushes away.

"What was that?" he breathes.

"I read somewhere in a book that holding your breath can help stop a panic attack. I wasn't sure if that would work on a vampire though."

Stefan raises a brow. "Are you always this technical?"

Caroline chuckles softly. "Maybe."

His long fingers brush against her cheek, sliding up to her neck. Their foreheads touch and their eyes meet.

"You're not in that safe," Caroline whispers. "Nothing is ever going to hurt you again."

She can hear the sob welling up in his chest. "How can you be sure?" he says.

"Because I believe that. Because I'm your friend. I am the only one that can kick your ass in real time."

That smile that she adores returns at last.

Caroline leans up, pressing her lips to his forehead in a gentle kiss. As she tries to pull away, he catches her waist and brings her back against him.

She doesn't try to pull away again.

It takes about another year before Stefan gets it.

He's fallen madly in love and moved on, without even realizing it.

So this is dedicated to the lovely Kendra for the beautiful fanfiction cover that she created for me. I know this isn't exactly what she requested but this idea popped into my head after reading the spoilers for 5x09 and Caroline's 'unusual form of therapy'. And yes, everyone comparing the Stydia kiss to what this could actually be helped too. I had to write it down.

Here's hoping that we actually get this but with Dries and Plec holding the reins, I doubt it.

Another little blurb: I miss Defan. I really do. But it's over. And Stefan should really walk away. He should just take Caroline and head to New Orleans. God, Klaus treated him better than Damon ever did. And in the words of Dean Winchester: "Just because you're blood, it doesn't make you family. You have to earn that."

Reviews are appreciated, my lovelies.