Liz Forbes had held on for as long as she could, and when she passed it was peaceful. The funeral had been very long and tortuous for the young Caroline Forbes. She had struggled to get though her speech, but when she needed reassurance she looked up and he was there. When the service was over and she had endure the sympathies of the guests he was right by her side.

She didn't want to go home. She couldn't face the emptiness that awaited her there. She knew she didn't even need to ask, there was a room for her at the boarding house. Physically and emotionally exhausted she made her way up the stairs and found herself collapsing in the youngest Salvatore's bed. She knew there were plenty of guest rooms in the house, but none of them had his comforting scent.

Finally, after trying to hold them back all day, she let the tears fall freely from her sad eyes. Within seconds he was there. Stefan wrapped his arms protectively around her small frame. She clutched onto him as the tears turned to sobs. She had feared of this day from that night when Stefan had told her the news. Losing her mother was something she knew she'd have to face, but she wasn't ready. She knew she never would have been, but here was so much she still needed her mom for.

Stefan held her close as he whispered comforting words into her ear. He knew how unfair this was. Liz didn't deserve to die yet, and Caroline didn't deserve to have her mom missing from so much of her long life. When Caroline stilled he knew she was asleep. He moved the hair away from her face and wiped away the last tear. He hoped she was dreaming of happy memories with Liz, or sleepovers with girls, or the kiss they had shared at her cabin. Anything other than the nightmare she was living today.

Stefan must have fallen asleep too, because when he opened his eyes she was gone. Panic set in and he sat up straight fearing she had ran away. He listened for of her, and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her. What surprised him was that she was talking with his brother.

"Help yourself." Damon said.

"I was planning on it, weather you offered or not." her voice was so full of sadness as she poured herself a drink.

"Caroline, I-"

"If you're going to tell me how sorry you are for my lose, save it. I'm so sick of hearing that."

"Actually, I was going to apologize." Damon corrected her.

It was clear she wasn't expecting that; a look of shock took over her face. "For what?"

"For starters, saying what I did at the hospital. That you, uh, killed her. I know you were just trying to save her. It's what any of us would have done in your situation. Secondly, I never apologized for what I did to you when I first came back here. I shouldn't have done that to you, but I didn't know the part you'd end up playing in my life. I didn't know how much you'd come to mean to my brother."

Caroline was taken aback. An apology was something she never expected from him. "Thank you."

"You should get back up there before Stefan thinks you're gone."

Caroline nodded and sat her glass back on the table. She climbed the stairs back to his room. He was seemingly still asleep. She laid down facing him. She couldn't stop thinking about what Damon had just told her. "I didn't know how much you'd come to mean to my brother." Once they grew closer Caroline never doubted her friendship with Stefan, but now she didn't know what it was turning into. Whenever they came close to kissing she thought back to that first night. He had told her it was never going to happen, but it did. She had finally let him kiss her. And she knew that kiss, on top of everything else, would make her go crazy. She couldn't stop thinking about it and what it had meant. At least this gave her something to keep her mind from wandering to thoughts of her mother.

She yawned, still very drained from the day's events and only napping for an hour. Stefan, without opening his eyes, reached for her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Rest." he whispered to her, finally opening his eyes. "You're safe. Just rest and when you wake up, I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere, Caroline."

His words soothed her. She knew when she opened her eyes he'd be right there, keeping her safe. "Tell me a story about you mom?" Caroline asked as she snuggled into him.

"Okay, close your eyes." without thinking he knew the story to tell her. "I was just a little boy, five years old and I thought I knew what love was. There was a girl, Addalyn, she was a year older than me. One day I pick a flower and drew the courage to give it to her, but then I saw her giving Damon a kiss on the cheek. So, I threw the flower and ran home. I was crying when my mom found me and she asked me why. Of course I told her and I told her how much I hated love."

"But my mom, she was like you, she was always optimistic." he paused as Caroline wrapped her arm around him and squeezed to let him know she was listening. "She told me never to give up on love. That one day I'd find the right girl to make me happy. A girl that I'd love dancing with, a girl that would make me smile brighter than ever before, a girl that would be my light when everything seemed so dark."

He looked down at the girl in his arms, finally seeing what his mom was talking about all of those years ago. He found the reason to not give up on love. He leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. She was his light, now it was his turn to be hers.