Disclaimer: Not mine, as much as I wish. A/N: Continuing my SC movie series with When in Rome. In this Liz Forbes adopted Elena, and they're sisters. Humouring myself. Enjoy x

When in Rome

1.

Caroline crammed a sandwich into her mouth, she had been on her feet all day. Bonnie spoke in her ear-piece telling her she had some parsley in her teeth. Caroline tried not to dwell on her meeting with her ex-boyfriend, who had the nerve to come to her event to apologise for dumping her on their vacation a year ago. "When I broke up with you," he'd said. "I felt like you cared more about your job than about me, but I'm ready to jump in again...you made me realize it doesn't matter as long as you love them..." What a bastard, Caroline thought, watching the visitors peruse the gallery. "I've met someone who works as hard as you and we're getting engaged!"

Caroline somehow made it home, trying not think about her ex and eager to one, put the kettle on and two, massage her feet. Somebody knocked on her apartment door not long after. It was her sister, Elena. "Guess what?" Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm getting married! His name is Damon, he's Italian and he's the one, sis. I know it's only been two weeks, but when you know, you don't need proof, you just know!" Elena swept her long brown hair over her shoulder, beaming and hauled her luggage inside, kicking off her stilettos. Caroline pulled a second mug from the cupboard while Elena rambled about her holiday to Italy. She paused, leaning over the couch. "What about your love life, how's that going?"

"When I find a guy who I like more than my job, then I'll know, and so will you." Elena rolled her eyes. She shared, along with their parents, the belief that she worked too hard, and needed a life.

Caroline let her sister stay on her couch, giving her a pillow and some clean blankets. "The wedding's going to be in Damon's hometown, and I want you to come, I mean you have to take time off work, this is important to me." Elena pouted and Caroline sighed, agreeing, although she realized after going to bed, the date Elena had picked was the same day as the scheduled Gala which she'd promised her boss she'd pull off without a hitch. Her job relied on it.

Bonnie followed her as she ran to the photocopier, late for a meeting. "Instead of chasing a fairytale you can focus on work, you know I've never been happier..." Bonnie didn't say anything. Caroline knew she was obsessed with her job, she put all her energy in it so she didn't have to date and have her heart broken again and again. She sat down in the meeting, eyes on her, sipping her coffee that Bonnie had made. Her boss, the museum director, Esther Mikaelson, covered their schedule for the next month, and Caroline promised to meet it. "But there is one small detail, my sister is getting married in Italy, in Rome! But, I assure you, I will stay on top of this in Rome..."

Esther's lips pursed."You may be talented, Caroline, but you are not irreplaceable," she replied, freezing her heart. When Caroline finally arrived in Rome, she was horrified to find she had no phone reception. Her heart raced as she'd promised Esther she would only be in Rome for 48 hours, and she had so much to get done. "Look Senora, welcome to Roma!" Her taxi driver pointed out famous landmarks, sighing when he saw she had not looked up from her phone at all. "Did I mention I was late for my sister's wedding?" she muttered, as he put his foot down on the gas.

When she'd paid the driver, Caroline ran to the church, hauling her suitcase over the cobblestones, relieved to see her father waiting on the steps of the church. "Caroline, you look exhausted!" he said, calling a tall, dark-haired stranger over to meet her. "So, you're my sister too now?" Damon introduced himself and gave her a kiss on both cheeks. He hurried inside, and her mother, Liz called her inside to get changed into her bridesmaids dress, giving Bill a smile. Things had been better between them since their divorce, Caroline thought. " See if he has a brother or a cousin!" he shouted after her diminishing figure. She shushed him with her hand. When the time came, Elena gave her a hug and she made sure Elena hadn't forgotten her flowers. Caroline stood at the altar, itching to check her messages or see if she had any bars on her phone, but instead stared at the red carpet, listening to Pachabel's Canon on the organ. Elena walked down the aisle on Bill's arm. She looked stunning in an Elie Saab and Caroline was happy for her, even if she didn't think her marriage would last - she was a realist, not a dreamer.

A handsome man with short brown hair barged into the church, dropping his phone, and tripping over the white sheets attached to the pews. Caroline didn't think anyone was more clumsy than her, she had been wrong. Damon sighed, checking he had the rings, and Stefan reassured him, all was fine. Bill Forbes and Elena had reached the altar, and Damon replaced him, standing beside his fiancé. Caroline listened to their vows, and the exchange of rings, glancing at Stefan, who she recalled Elena had said was Damon's little brother. Stefan grinned, noticing her staring, making her look away.

Bill Forbes hugged Caroline, as they walked passed some traditional Italian dance performers. She lowered her phone, frustrated when she still couldn't get a signal. "That's my girl, taking care of business." She was in a bad mood and hadn't slept that well on the plane, anxious something would go wrong with the gala, even though she'd briefed Bonnie before she left. Caroline sighed, while her father kissed her forehead."You refuse to fall in love, and I can't stop, we're a funny pair." It wasn't that she refused, there hadn't been anyone she liked. Elena came running over, rattling on about some vase-breaking game.

"The what?" she asked, watching Damon's Italian family encircle her and Elena, who shoved an enormous vase into her hands. It had a pretty blue lake around it with several white swans. "It's tradition!" Elena beamed, eyes bright. "You break the vase and the number of pieces determine how many years of happiness we'll have." It sounded like a lot of pressure. So many eyes were on her. The silence, unnerving. Dropping the vase onto the floor did absolutely nothing, much to Caroline and Elena's horror. A gasp rose up from Damon's side of the family. Bill chuckled into his hand while Liz swatted him to be quiet, encouraging Caroline with a nod.

"Why won't it break!" Caroline hissed, throwing the damn thing across the room, it bounced off the floor and hit one of Damon's nonnas. "I'm SO sorry!" Caroline slammed it against the stage, suddenly getting an idea, grabbing the microphone and bashing it with all her strength. Elena was sitting on the stage with her head in her hands, clearly embarrassed, but not as much as Caroline. She raised the vase, and everyone literally ducked, then Stefan grabbed it from her and aimed it at the wall. It smashed into millions of tiny pieces. She raised her head, curling her hair behind her ear, flushed, and panting slightly.

Stefan smirked. "Wow, you're a determined little thing, aren't you?" She put her hands on her hips, adamant that she'd cracked it before he did. He nodded, and she opened her mouth to say something but Liz pulled her aside, reminding her of her maid of honour speech, she hadn't written.

Stefan accompanied her to the stage. Great, now she had to further humiliate herself. "Hello again. I'm Caroline, sister, of the bride. Elena, I look at you and I see a grown woman who has seen all the magic in the world, and I know, Damon, I haven't known you for very long, but I see that you are both so happy together, and-" Stefan jumped in, translating to the rest of the guests in Italian. When she finished her speech, Caroline knew her relationship with Damon's family had turned sour, and not because she was the crazy vase lady. "I liked your speech," Stefan said, catching up to her.

"Where did you learn to speak Italian so poorly?" He grinned, scratching his ear. "College," he admitted. Caroline noticed he had his phone in his hand. Putting the incident behind her she asked him who his service provider was. She tried to snatch his phone. "Can I send one quick work email?"

Stefan shook his head. "You're going to put your number into my phone." She kept trying to get it. "No, I'm not. I'm not going to call you, because I need to block it from my phone." Stefan swatted away her persistent hands. "No, you can't, because it's off," he said, shoving it inside his jacket pocket. She stared at him as if she'd misheard. Off? It sounded so foreign. One of Stefan's friends introduced himself as Jesse. He was tall, with a kind smile, but shy. "I tooka my vows six months ago, but I like to play cards with hima, sometimes, still." Stefan shook his head while Caroline sighed, watching his friend cross the dance floor, where Elena and Damon were having their wedding waltz.

"Look at those two, two weeks! That's not enough for a credit cheque! Are you kidding me?" Stefan hissed, glad to find somebody else who agreed. Caroline stared at him, having said the exact same thing to Bonnie a day ago. Caught off-guard by his smile, she decided to put work out of her mind, and at least enjoy the time she had. Stefan pulled her onto the dance floor, and the music became a faster tempo, with traditional instruments, and she started to laugh, mainly at Bill and Stefan's dance moves, and then because she actually felt the most alive she had in years. Stefan grinned, flicking his legs back and forth until his shoe flew off and short-circuited the entire building.

"SORRY!" Stefan yelled, standing in the dark with Caroline and feeling like a complete fool. The lights came back on, and he looked down to see her quite close..."Is that my phone?" he demanded, as she grimaced, pouting when he snatched it back. He didn't tell her how impressed he was by her sleight of hand. "SCANTO!" Two young boys started to yell, gesturing at him with large grins. Caroline twirled on the spot, enjoying their slow dance, and not remembering a time where her cheeks had hurt so much from laughing.

She looked up curious. He sighed. "It means the hit," she waited til he explained the whole story, about how he played football during a storm and was struck by lightning. "Football, goats, you hit a lot..." she smirked. Stefan frowned. "It's the type of hit I don't want to be known for, I mean, it wasn't fun, it shook me up." She nodded, resting her head against his chest, and closing her eyes.

"You smell like lavender," he murmured. "You smell like livestock..." she smirked, raising her chin, and seeing his handsome eyes sparkling. Her heart raced, aware of how they had stopped dancing, and his mouth was almost on hers. "It's time to cut the cake," Liz smiled, interrupting them. Caroline sighed, giving Stefan a smile, and went to help.

After the cutting of the cake, Caroline pinched two champagne flutes and a bottle of champagne, intent on finding Stefan and continuing their kiss, and then some. Elena and Bonnie wanted her to get out more, she thought. She stood on the balcony, pleased to see him wandering around looking for her, and sculled her first glass. "What the hell..." she told herself, sneaking outside the church and into the street. She almost called out to him when a woman in a red dress kissed him. "Of course," she said, taken aback and slipping behind a pillar. Nobody that handsome could be single, it was Italy, the city of love, or pasta...or whatever, it was.

Disappointed in herself, Caroline waited for Stefan to leave before sitting on the steps of the Fonte D'amore. "Idiot!" she kicked off her red stilettos, slouching and checked for stragglers, pleased when there were none. She swivelled in her seat and cooled her ankles in the fountain, drinking the champagne from the bottle. "What are you looking at?" Great, the bubbles were affecting her sanity. She hadn't checked her emails all day, she'd tried to plan an event for a job that could replace her in seconds, and Stefan had proved he was just like all the rest.

"You want us to wait our whole lives for some perfect guy to sweep us off our feet? Well guess what? He's not coming!" she glared at the stature, frustrated at herself and angry at the world. She looked down at her feet and saw thousands of coins thrown into the fountain by locals and tourists. "Each one of you is a desperate wish for love that ain't gonna come true..." Caroline shook her head, glaring at the guardian, who she felt was taunting her, so she decided to taunt it back, plunging her hand into the cold water.

"I'm saving you..!" she said, staring at the rusty coin, and holding it up in the moonlight. In a little restaurant on the other side of Rome, a British tourist, looked up from his bottle of pinot noir, smiling. "I'm saving you!" she said, as a dark-haired artist, dropped his paintbrush. "And you," a magician, looked up from his set of cards. "And you," a jogger stopped running. "And you," she raised a gambling chip. A shout alerted her to the police, and she picked up her things, vacating the fountain, the five coins still in her hand. Unbeknown to her, Stefan watched, with a grin.

A/N: Please review! Please point out any typos, many thanks :)