***I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters within it. I'm trying something new with this story, a little bit of a slower burn if you will. A friend recommended I write this story, so I am taking requests/prompts. Please let me know if you'd like to see a specific story or coupling. I re-watched the 5th season recently and as much as I love Caroline and Klaus, there is absolutely something between her and Stefan. Like I said, she has chemistry with everyone and therefore I must blame her for this. Set after the Season 5 finale***

Stefan rolled over and rubbed his eyes, kicking the sheets from him. He blinked several times and waited for the sinking feeling to hit him, just like it always did every morning of every day for the past four months. He sighed and let himself reel all over again.

His brother was dead. Damon was dead. And there it was. Stefan waited as his stomach turned and his heart shattered all over again, blinking furiously through the tears. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, and waited for the first wave of unbearable pain to wash over him. He longed for the few hours of the day where the pain dulled a bit and he could function.

Stefan rolled over and smiled at the two women sound asleep next to him. He silently chuckled to himself thinking of how Damon would react to Saint Stefan having two women in his bed. His chest tensed a little as his brother's name passed through his mind.

His eyes swept over Elena and Caroline, facing each other, hands clasped together, breathing deeply and soundly. He allowed a small part of him to be pleased that he could comfort them enough to finally get them to rest.

Elena hadn't slept at all the weeks following the incident. Caroline had stayed up to comfort her, which had resulted in the two of them showing up at the Salvatore home in the middle of the night in tears, both sobbing incoherent sentences, and very clearly needing to sleep. Stefan opened his empty house to them, finding each of them a room. He consciously avoided Damon's room, having honestly considered burning it down altogether. When neither woman would loosen their grip on each of his arms, Stefan brought them both to his room and wrapped them up in his blankets. He watched as Elena inhaled the familiar aroma of the Salvatore mansion, and cried herself to sleep in Caroline's arms. Stefan tried sleeping in one of the guestrooms, but found himself racing back to his own room every few hours in response to screams or wails. Eventually, he found himself crawling into bed with them, anticipating the next panic attack. Things calmed down over the months, but somehow this always stuck. The three of them always slept in the same bed.

Stefan slid out of the bed now, careful not to disturb the girls, and crept down the hallway. He glanced at the closed door of Damon's room, like he did every morning, and lingered for only half a second before descending the stairs. He'd come to realize long ago that he would never be able to bring himself to open that door again.

He walked slowly through the mansion, knowing what came next. He did this every day. The same routine. Wake up, make coffee, look outside, and try to figure out what the hell he was going to do for eternity. The thought of carrying around this heavy heart for all-time felt exhausting to even think about. Only one thing brought him back on mornings like these.

Caroline.

All these months, she'd assigned herself as Elena's caregiver and Stefan as her assistant. The first few weeks had been the worst. She held Elena's hand or hugged her close when she sobbed through every stage of grief, sometimes crying as well. She made sure Elena showered and ate, as well as had clean clothes. She put her to bed every night, promising she'd be in soon. After what seemed like eternity, Elena started to function properly again. But still Caroline kept at it. She created a schedule where she and Stefan cleaned for them, went on blood bag runs, did laundry, restocked the bar. She made sure they functioned like a family, as they were all lacking in that department.

She'd been an incredible friend to not only Elena, but also to Stefan. She'd been his saving grace. After Elena went to bed, they'd sit on the porch for hours in the night, exchanging stories and discussing Elena's condition. Never did they talk about their own feelings. For some reason that felt off limits to Stefan, like it wouldn't be okay for him to ask about Bonnie or Tyler. Caroline had volunteered information that her mom knew where she was and that Caroline had chosen to not move back in with her.

"You guys need me more," she said with a wink. And that was the end of that.

They set unspoken rules to their late night chats. But somehow, it was perfect. And it held Stefan together. He waited for night to fall, tediously going through the motions of his day. He longed for her closeness and comfort, wanting to lose himself in their meaningless discussions. He watched the clock all day, begging it to move its arms faster. When night came, he pleaded with the moon to let the darkness last longer.

His desperation intensified when he found himself making excuse to be with her during the day. He'd always helped her with chores but not like this. He was happy to be anything she needed. He would have been fine sitting next to her, watching her beautiful blonde curls bounce down her back as she scurried around the house if that's what she wanted. He'd catch himself staring at her, her glowing complexion hypnotizing him, her beauty overwhelming him. Once he snapped out of his haze, he reconciled with the fact that Lexi was right. What terrified him was that Caroline may not feel the same way. He hadn't seen any changes in her behavior. Was he alone in this?

Stefan flipped the switch on the coffee maker and leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms.

"Uh oh. Looks like Serious Stefan is up."

Stefan looked up to find a groggy Caroline sauntering into the kitchen. His heart pounded a little harder at the sight of her in one of his t-shirts, her hair messy and flipped over her shoulder.

"Morning Care," Stefan said, forcing a smile.

Caroline made her way to the cabinet for a coffee mug. "You look like shit."

Stefan laughed humorlessly. "Thank you. How are you this morning?"

"Well," Caroline said, sipping her coffee, "Elena slept through the night last night finally. And she's still sleeping, so I think that's a good sign, right?"

"Yeah that is good," Stefan said, "but I was actually asking about how you are doing."

Caroline looked up from her coffee, clearly surprise at the question.

"Umm, well, I'm okay."

Her eyes softened a little. "I mean, you know."

Stefan half smiled at her. He did know. This was about as far as they got on the feelings talk. She slid into one of the bar stools and placed her head in her hands.

"This is the first time in a long time I am dreading eternity."

Stefan came around the bar to sit next to Caroline. His heart sank as he watched her. He put his hand on her back and she shuddered at the contact.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head.

Stefan took Caroline's hand and squeezed it.

"It's going to be okay, Care."

Caroline shook her head.

"No, unfortunately, it's probably not. But thank you for saying that anyway."

Stefan wrapped his arms around her as she breathed heavy, gaining her composure again.

"Hello?"

Stefan heard the door creek open as the voice echoed through the hall.

"Come on in, Alaric," Stefan hollered.

Alaric came into the kitchen, eyes heavy.

"Good morning my Depressed Vampire Mansion friends," Alaric said sleepily. He flopped into a chair at the table. "Have you seen Elena today?"

"Not yet," Stefan said as he got up from his seat and grabbed another mug for Alaric.

"Thanks man," Alaric took a drink of his coffee. "I'm getting more worried by the day. I mean, it's been four months. Is she ever going to be okay? She's been through so much."

Alaric sighed.

"How about you, are you guys doing okay?"

Caroline and Stefan exchanged a weighted look. Alaric didn't miss it and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Dumb question I know. But I want to let you guys know I'm here for you, too. Always."

Caroline smiled.

"It's good to have you back, Alaric. But to be honest, I think Elena is the one that needs you the most right now. Besides, Stefan and I have each other."

Stefan's heart skipped a beat at her words and he smiled down into his mug.

"Do you guys mind if I kidnap Elena for the day? I want to get her out of the house."

"Yes!" Caroline exclaimed. "I think that's a great idea, Alaric."

Alaric smiled and headed toward the stairs.

Caroline turned back to Stefan.

"So…"

Stefan narrowed his gaze at her. "What?"

"I wanted to talk to you about us staying here," Caroline stared at the countertop.

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah?"

"Look, I know your grieving too, and if you want us out just tell us. We can take it. I don't know if it's doing much good for Elena anyway. So many memories, ya know?"

"Okay, first of all," Stefan said, leaning onto the counter, "you guys are my family. You're more then welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like. Frankly, I prefer not to be alone here. Secondly, I might have to agree with you on the Elena front. Alaric may need to take her for a while. Help her move forward."

Caroline forced a small smile. "Okay. No problem."

Stefan's eyes widened and he reached out to grab her hand. She glanced up and looked him in the eye.

"But honestly Care, I would really like it if you stayed. I am being serious, I don't want to be here alone. The memories are tough for me as well ya know."

Caroline bit her lip. "Oh god, of course, Stefan, I'm so sorry. It's just that you're so strong, I sometimes forget…" she smiled a real smile this time. "Well, I would like to move in to that gorgeous guest room upstairs, the one with the giant closet? My stuff would look so good hanging in there."

Stefan smiled, stifling the disappointment of not having her in his bed any longer. Even if nothing was going to happen, having someone that close during the night was comforting. He knew he'd miss it. "Perfect," he said.

Caroline glanced up as Alaric's voice floated down from above.

"Thank God," Caroline said as she sipped her coffee. "Someone needed to get her out of this house."

Stefan smiled at the ceiling and sighed in relief, hearing Elena agree to head out with Alaric.

"I heard that," Elena hollered from the stairs and Caroline raised her eyebrows to Stefan.

"Um… we love you!" Caroline said shrugging her shoulders and widening her eyes at Stefan.

"Sure you do," Elena said as she closed the front door behind her.

Caroline looked at Stefan.

"They'll be fine, right?"

Stefan eyeballed Caroline.

"Yeah…" she said and Stefan laughed.

They sat in silence, sipping their coffee. Stefan allowed his gaze to wander toward Caroline's dainty fingers as she held her mug. Somehow even her hands were sexy and he knew they couldn't sit in the house all day. He was absolutely bound to do something stupid.

"Hey, we should do something today, too."

Caroline perked up in her chair, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Really? You want to do something?"

"Sure, what else are we doing?"

"Oh my gosh yes Stefan! Fun! I'm going to go shower and get ready!" Caroline jumped out of her chair and bounced up the stairs.

Stefan burst out laughing at her adorable reaction and tossed the coffee mugs in the sink.

***I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters within it. I'm trying something new with this story, a little bit of a slower burn if you will. A friend recommended I write this story, so I am taking requests for stories as well. Please let me know if you'd like to see a specific story or coupling. I re-watched the 5th season recently and as much as I love Caroline and Klaus, there is absolutely something between her and Stefan. Like I said, she has chemistry with everyone and therefore I must blame her for this. Set after the Season 5 finale***