He doesn't sit in the chair these days, something which he knows probably scares her. The chair was like a safe proxy between them, and without it, they were somehow more intimate than captor and captive. It was a dangerous kind of intimacy, the sort that induces a slow burning hunger for the blood addiction he was striving so hard to take control of. And eternal damnation help him, his experiment wasn't a complete failure... he's achieved some semblance of control over his blood lust in the last few months. It wasn't a fool proof degree of control, including a life time guarantee of caution and control in blood related matters, but it was a start.

He was getting better.

For the first time in decades he felt lighter, humour seemed to flow out of him more easily than before, he spent even less time feeling sorry for himself. Maybe the acceptance that he was really a closeted monster helped? He wasn't sure what it was, maybe 'she' did? Yes, she was quite intuitive as a human being, the more time he spent talking to her made him realize he's been missing out on good company.

The shallow and self absorbed shell her friends always complained about wasn't that hard to crack.

It was his firm belief that real fear always brought out the person underneath. She was holding up remarkably well under the circumstances. The mental atrophy was a lot less than he expected...others before her haven't lasted as long. But then those were his ripper days, when humans and their flesh was all but white noise to him now he appreciated the warmth and perfection of the human condition, it was as close of a emotional connection anyone could have with their food, the years of abstinence did him some good after all. He wasn't the same rude bastard he'd been all those years ago. Because the more refined version of him would refer to 'food' as his life force.

Caroline's attempted escape had been a welcome distraction from Elena's constant prying eyes and his brothers equally prying questions about his 'problem'. Their unsaid accusations were only adding to his paranoia, he found himself guilt ridden in their company, His answers came across as insults and snaps that the neutered Stefan would never repeat. But he was also careful in their company to never hint at the fact that his 'problem' was still a problem and it was becoming an important part of him like a personality trait he feared he could never get rid of.

And yet the guilt didn't extend beyond a certain point for him to rise out of his angry stupor and free the golden haired cheerleader. Erase her memories and allow her back into normality. The mere thought of her leaving gave him a panic attack so intense that he worried he might be descending into uncharted insanity beyond the point of return.

He had made his own hell and now he had to burn in it.

There was a scar on her right shoulder which he found fascinating, because to his vampire eyes it looked a half moon carved into an otherwise flawless skin...He held off on his curiosity until she no longer gasped seeing him in dark sitting well away from her trembling form and she might not take it so well that he's seen more of her than she knew or cared to show him.

She thinks he gets off on control, in particular control of her. But it's not her he wished to control, it was his own urges he was trying hard to take control of, the reigns of his addiction were not in his care for now they lay in the in hands of his darker self. His inner demon which controlled his aggression and hunger, the one which would have surely drank Caroline Forbes dry the night of the Miss Mystic fall's pageant unless he'd stolen her from her home and confined her to his safety.

He could imagine a sarcastic snort from his dark rapunzel at his skewed definition of 'safety'. Rationality wasn't always a pleasant subjective tool to have; especially for morally imbalanced vampires... it could lead to all kinds of insanity and sin.

From time to time she pleads her freedom as a fragile bird fighting her cage to be free and the ugly part of him laughs at her futile attempts at convincing him to release her, sometimes he is reassuringly good with the lies and sometimes...well, sometimes he could be a really mean bastard and slam outright ridicule at her expectations of release with promises of unnecessary violence.

That ladies and gentlemen, is the newly stirred and shaken version of the Ripper emerging.

He Felt like a contradiction during the day time trying to hideaway in the halls of mystic falls high, even though by night he was the ultimate predator full of intelligence and stealth, but in the startling sunlight he was exposed like a criminal ready to be caught by the straying human eye...one such being Matt Donovan.

The jock was more than a slightly sullen mess since ...Caroline's unfortunate disappearance. Dark circles spoke volumes of his indifference to sleep. It really was a tragic coincidence, First his sister Vicki, and now his girlfriend, who he must have been infatuated to some degree to be so broken up over.

He avoided Matt successfully for weeks and weeks ...until now. His own effervescent greeting was ignored by the intense brooding demeanour of his captives almost lover.

'So, i'm just going to get to the point...a few days back i talked to Amber in class, she said she saw you talking to Caroline the night of the pageant...'

It's not the lack of question in the 'question' he found accusatory; it was just the tone of the statement...and his stance cold and disrespectful or maybe just knowing. The ripper underneath snarled dangerously, something in his expression must have hardened because he noticed Matt shift the weight of the backpack he was carrying to the other shoulder uneasily but not uneasy enough to back down. The tough guy act suited him...he let loose an involuntary quirk of his mouth as a friendly shrug. Yes, He could have just told him to the truth about the short encounter he had with his girlfriend that fateful night.

But the fear of relighting extinguished hope in the questioning eyes of Matt Donovan was far more dangerous than compelling him to stop asking questions about Caroline and accept her disappearance wholeheartedly. Of course he made sure no one was present in the hallway to see his little lie building exercise.

The darker side of him toys with the idea of tormenting Matt with the truth about his sweetheart and then compelling him to forget just as he lunged at him with disbelief. Matt's smile of acceptance as he believed the lie being fed to him made all the difference to his ripper's dark mood, the reassuring warmth felt like a pat on the back.

As he turns around and walks off to the next period he thinks he likes the jock and thinks they can be great friends ...some day.

Caroline

He's back on the chair after a few days and she lets the darkness hide any vestiges of surprise from her face, but he notices anyway because she sees the rise of an eyebrow in response. It should bother Caroline that she understood his body language so well because he was anything but expressive; the little glimpse of emotion now and then reminded her that he did have a rational side to him. The better side of his monster she had come to co-exist with so far.

But tonight she was a contradiction, every moral she had determined not to overshadow while in captivity was going to be tested tonight. It had to be or she was convinced that her existence would last an eternity in the forsaken tower. She had time to talk herself out of it and holy hell she had almost buckled under the fear of breaking from their well rehearsed routine.

She had decided on the penultimate risk and she was giving it all or nothing.

'How's Elena?...' Caroline wasn't sure who the question surprised more, the silent demeanour gave away almost everything of his internal turmoil, she tells him it's alright, they didn't have to talk about it tonight and descends from her bed like a dream underwater.

He's disturbed by the change in her and she is pleased to have that effect on him finally.

Before he can warn her, she tells him she understands his urge to keep her locked up; a floundering and unwilling prey is only as tasty as an untouchable object of desire. And when the object of desire yields ...it loses the desirability, there was only one thing left to do. Caroline refused to think that her theory might be a concoction of insomnia and isolation only equalling desperation. Maybe it was desperation but after five months of captivity and two savage attacks desperations was about all she had left in her arsenal.

He's perfectly still on his chair when she hesitantly kneels in front of him taking a shuddering breath. The vampire's eyes tread warily over her form trying to estimate the possibility of tricks, she's wearing one of his shirts as a peace offering and he takes one of her beckoning hand silently in acknowledgement to it.

'Trust me' She persists gently enough. She swallows the tremor in her voice when their eyes connect briefly, his hidden menace dawning like a slow reality. And then the red monster in his eyes is wide awake, she shudders as his eyes give an edge of a smile in return as a testament to his eagerness.

His harshness as he drags her to him and rips open the shirt doesn't affect her as she imagined it would, because it was either her inhibitions that would win or lose her the fight. Fear could not be part of the equation this time.

After the first five bites pain had become an almost hazy sensation. The rest of the night felt like a violently erotic, wet dream where she was drenched in her own blood slowly losing grip on both reality and life. His touch even though forceful was at time gentle and un offensively intimate without being intimate, only his teeth marked her body.

He was systematic, starting from lower extremities slowly making his way up, making sure she didn't lose too much blood too fast. Her nails dug into his back and shoulders holding on for dear life as his fangs sunk into her skin with little care, she doubted he felt her little take on violence. After all she had submitted to this.

At the end when the monster hovered over her lips with her life dripping from his fangs she made a final desperate plea as her body seemed to drift to that space between life and death.

' Stefan...i-i don't want to die...'

The pause was longest before a metallic tang exploded in her mouth as his lips descended on hers and her soundless scream echoed only in her mind before she closed her eyes to the world.

He doesn't come back for four weeks this time. The bites on her body have almost healed but not quite and Caroline feels a morbid sense of achievement. She has submitted to finality of fate without the fear. It worried her that he might not come back and leave her in the tower to die, maybe her plea as she was fading out failed her releasing only utter cowardice in her system, betraying her confidence.

But when she wakes up on the twenty eighth night she finds him sitting on her bed looking off into some unknown distance. There is something pained in his expression and she fights the instinctive urge to squirm away into some corner where his touch won't invade her.

Defeat is evident in his voice as he speaks 'I want to ask you for something but I'm afraid you won't give it...'

She asks him what the hell else does he want from her she's not surrendered already and there is the short guffaw of a humourless laugh before he turns to look at her with serenity radiating across his features. It's a remarkable change, Caroline is unsure whether relief is the appropriate reaction right now.

'Can, you forgive me?...i don't mean now, if we meet again someday, when i come back to Mystic Falls?'

She starts to tell him he isn't making sense but then realises something. He was talking about the future which meant he was letting her go? The question was at the tip of her tongue but she restrained herself from asking for fear her hopes would be cruelly shattered again.

'I'm leaving town tonight Caroline...i want you to know, you really helped me and I'm grateful'

A very submissive part of her wanted to exclaim heartfelt joy and thank him for his decision, but the rational part of her kept silent, she was grateful that he didn't kill her but she felt far from forgiving and he seemed to accept that just as well.

Thank god, because she didn't much feel like giving him a hug now.

The Vampire

His decision had very little to do with her succumbing to his wishes. Sooner or later she would have succumbed he knew that, but it was what came after that was the hardest part for him.

The part of letting her go, Her bravery shamed the lesser evil part of him in painfully creative ways which only made him feel worse about his task ahead, He had left Damon and Elena a note saying he needed space and would be back when he felt ready. Detailing and admitting nothing of his indiscretions and various misdemeanours all over.

He loved Elena wholeheartedly once but since the dark half had taken over he felt their love dwindling between his secrets and her inability to deal with them and he knew he could not hide his real self any longer now because it was taking him over rapidly, this other personality which wasn't the old Stefan or Ripper. It was something much better and yet much worse then he hoped.

The blonde cheerleader was dressed in her nightclothes from the night he stole her away in. She stood ready for her flight to freedom with a hand extended to him in quite the friendly mistake. He took it and pulled her closer. The slight gasp from her sent shivers of excitement down his spine.

'There's a scar on your shoulder, i wanted to know where you go it...'

Relief flooded her eyes as she touched the shoulder with the scar betraying nothing of her alarm at their closeness, it was a comforting gesture he almost apologized to her.

'I was young, i don't remember but my mom told me it was from a dog attack or something...'

He releases her hand and nods understandingly, restraining from saying out loud that it could have been a vampire because that just sealed her fate in his mind, her polite smile brought a chilling silence to their still forms until he thanked her...

Then he snapped her neck and let her lifeless body fill his arms with regretful peace. Now he can leave knowing she will always be in his tower.

Before you slip into unconsciousness
I'd like to have another kiss
Another flashing chance at bliss
Another kiss, another kiss

The days are bright and filled with pain
Enclose me in your gentle rain
The time you ran was too insane
We'll meet again, we'll meet again

Oh tell me where your freedom lies
The streets are fields that never die
Deliver me from reasons why
You'd rather cry, I'd rather fly

The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time
When we get back, I'll drop a line

The End

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the incredible amount of support they showed for this fic, i'm grateful to each and every review , they really make my day.

xsinsofglassx: I'm looking forward to writing another Damon/Caroline fic as soon as the plot bunny hits me in the head with a good story. Right now am working on another Dark Stefan and Caroline/tyler – ish story let's see. Btw yes love the doors and everything rock.

And thanks to Vampirebarbie,Lian, Daroline1864, shadowglove,Harley-Jensen, beverlie4055, klausgirl4055,taiyalin,Sparkle85,serial fanatic,LaLa,Zoey,fallenstacieb, Damonlover86,teamstefanbitches,hellzonearth,darkstefan,darolinklaroline all of you who think i'm a good writer, reviews always motivate a writer to do better.

I realise the chapter might have been rushed but i really wanted to finish the story and not leave it on a long hiatus like before. Hope the ending was not too bad, it's dark but i just didn't see it playing out any other way that was plausible.