Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hello readers, it's been a while… Between university and my job, Bittersweet was temporarily pushed aside. Sincerest apologies, KatCrawfield.

Within a time period of a few hours, my night had turned to shit.

I'd just said exactly what I shouldn't have to my former husband. I had a missing baby vampire to deal with. There was a junkie lounging on my couch. Oh, and to top it all off, Mrs. Davies, who was possibly dead, was lying at my feet. Perfect.

I let out a cry of frustration, trying to sort my priorities as my eyes danced from Mrs. Davies to the window. I pursed my lips; either way that the metaphorical coin was flipped, someone was going to die…

I knelt beside Mrs. Davies; this was the problem that I was sure I could handle. "Mrs. Davies?" I asked as I gently turned her body so that her back was on the floor. The unmistakable aroma of a sweet, salty, coppery liquid assaulted my nostrils as her head lulled to the side. Blood. "Christ—" I pressed my hand to her neck, feeling a thready-but-present pulse. Thank god. I pressed my hand to her neck to staunch the flow of blood from the tears that Caroline's teeth had made. "Brad!" I yelled, hoping that the boy wasn't too stoned to make a phone call. There was a gasp and a slight shuffling before Brad made his way to the doorway, bloodshot eyes frozen on the woman on the floor. Looking straight into his eyes, I said, "Brad, I want you to take your hand and put it exactly where mine is. Do you understand?"

"Yes." He said monotonously as he came closer.

I took my phone from my pocket, guiding his right hand to her throat as I shoved the phone into his left. "I want you to call 911. Ask for Sheriff Forbes; tell her that you need an ambulance to the Mystic Bed and Breakfast." I commanded as Brad nodded. Next, I ran around the room in a blur, desperate to rid it of any and all traces of my stay while Brad spoke with the authorities.

When I had finished and had my duffel bag in hand, I glanced back to Brad. I was shoving all of this on the boy, nevermind that I'd intended to feed him to Caroline, the least I could do was help him out… I crossed the room in two strides, taking him by the chin while his hand stayed at Mrs. Davies's throat, "No more drugs or booze." He stared, unblinking, as I continued, "Stay clean and help Mrs. Davies."

"I will." He answered blankly.

"Good boy." I patted him on the face and ran out of the building as fast as I could.

I managed to park my car a few blocks away from the bed and breakfast before the police sirens entered my hearing range. I caught Caroline's scent almost immediately when I entered the back of the bed and breakfast grounds. She smelled of sugar and freesia so it wasn't difficult to distinguish her from the harsh woodsy sent of the forest that the trail was leading me to. Slowly, I trekked through the forest, careful to keep from disturbing any of the animals so that Caroline would not be alerted to my presence. Her scent grew to become almost overpowering as I reached a clearing. The shadows of the branches danced in the moonlight, accompanied by a whimper that was almost childlike.

My eyes zeroed in on her small form; the girl was hugging her legs, forehead pressed to her knees just at the southern edge of the clearing. "Caroline." I said softly, slowly continuing toward her after removing the blood bag from my duffel.

She gasped, scrambling to her feet, pressing her back against a tree, "I killed her. I killed that woman." Her tears glittered in the moonlight as they fell from her eyes and left moist trails on her cheeks.

I shook my head, hand outreached, "No, you didn't. Mrs. Davies is going to be alright." I hope.

Caroline's eyes widened, "Really? She's not dead?"

"Really." Fingers crossed. I put a hand on her arm, "I need you to come with me, Caroline. I'm going to help you. I promise."

Caroline massaged both sides of her blood-soaked jaw, managing to smile a little, "My mouth hurts really bad."

I chuckled, already leading her to where I'd parked my car, "I know."

"Hello!" I yelled ten minutes later, an arm around Caroline as I hit the door to the Salvatore Boarding House as hard as I could without shattering it. "Damon! Stefa—"

The door swung open before I could finish. Damon, brow furrowed and looking more than a little confused stared at the pair of us through the threshold. "Whose blood is that?" He nodded to Caroline's mouth.

"Mrs. Davies's." Caroline answered quietly.

"The lady that owns the bed and breakfast?" I nodded. Damon sighed and stood aside, "Come in."

"Go on to the bathroom; I'll be there in a minute." I pushed Caroline gently down the hallway before turning back to face Damon. I waited until I could hear the water running before I spoke, "I just need to get her cleaned up before I take her back home." There was a slight squeak from the floorboards above us before Stefan descended the stairs, a silent question on his face. "Katherine turned the Sheriff's daughter."

His lips parted in surprise, looking from Damon to me before asking, "How is she?"

I shrugged, "Alright, I suppose, now that the hysterics are over." I clapped Stefan on the shoulder, saying, "I'm handling it," before I joined Caroline at the sink. She'd already scrubbed most of the blood off of her hands and was now patting at the red areas of her shirt. I went to work on her face and hair with a damp white washcloth that was dark red by the time that I was through.

"I don't think all of it's going to come off of your shirt." I said as I tossed the washcloth into the trash.

Caroline stared at herself in the mirror before she giggled, "Now I have an excuse to go shopping." I shook my head in amazement; despite everything, she was doing relatively well. I took the girl into the library and sat her down in front of the fire with a glass of bourbon before rejoining the Salvatore brothers in the entryway.

"I don't suppose you could get me a meeting with your witch? I don't think Blondie will last long without a bit of lapis lazuli." I looked to St. Stefan expectantly.

"My witch?" Stefan snorted, "Bonnie doesn't exactly do well with the whole vampire thing—let me talk to her. Caroline is her friend. Hopefully she can see past the vampire part."

"Fine." Stefan stepped outside, cell phone in hand. I turned to Damon, "When she's finished, I'll take her home. Her mother shouldn't be home for a bit, considering the whole situation at the B&B—"

"What about you?" Damon asked, cutting me off.

Was that worry in his voice? I shrugged it off, "I'll find somewhere."

"You could stay here." He said softly. The space between us suddenly seemed so small… My nerves were practically jumping on end. "I mean, it is a boarding house…"

There went that friendly feeling from earlier tonight. It jumped right out the window and was replaced by something more primal. I shoved that feeling onto the back burner, "I –don't think that that would be a good idea."

"Why not?" Damon asked, obviously taken aback.

"I'm finished!" I nearly jumped a foot in the air before spinning around, fangs out, ready to confront the threat. I let out a shaky breath, calming myself and releasing the throat that I'd seized as a knee jerk reaction. The only thing that Vampire Barbie was a threat to now was my reputation.

"Jesus, Caroline!" I exclaimed as Damon snickered. "Do. Not. Do. That. Again." I hissed, trying to relax my clawed hands as Stefan returned.

"Bonnie's agreed to meet tomorrow at Caroline's house." He announced.

"Oh my God, Bonnie! What if she— Does she hate me?" Caroline sputtered, eyes tearing up.

"No, no, no. Of course not. But it might take some time for her to get used to the, um, new you." Stefan covered with a careful smile. Caroline sniffed, smiling sadly.

"Alright, I'm going to get her home." I said in parting.

The ride to Caroline's house was quiet. She didn't make a noise, save the occasional sigh until we reached the front porch. I smiled, patting her on the shoulder, "Good night, Caroline. I'll check up on you tomorrow. These should hold you over until I can make another run." I handed her the four remaining blood bags from my duffel before heading back to my car.

I had the door to the Charger half way open when I heard it. "Thank you." I turned around to find Caroline smiling. "Since the bed and breakfast is crawling with cops, do you want to stay here? I mean, I could stow you in the basement and my mom would never know…"

I smiled, remembering an earlier offer, "Actually, I think I've already found a place…"

R&R please.