As you may know, ideas come to me in the weirdest of places, this one being in the shower, so let's see how it turns out, shall we? How will Caroline cope when she finds out she has breast cancer?

Caroline Forbes felt sick to her stomach as she tried to digest the news the consultant had given her as she sat in the car park of the hospital. Wiping away her tears, she put her key into the ignition, her phone starting to ring as she started her engine…

"Hey, Stefan." she sighed as she answered the phone to her best friend

"Hey, where are you? You were meant to be here hours ago!" he proclaimed

"Meant to be where?" she asked

"Damon's birthday party," he replied "he's on his way to being very drunk and watching him play tonsil tennis with my ex-girlfriend is really starting to grate on me now. I need my best friend, Forbes."

"I completely forgot." she admitted "But I'm on my way now."

"How could you forget?" he questioned "It's all we've talked about for weeks!"

"I just did, okay, Stefan?" she sighed "I'm on my way now so it's not a big deal. I'll see you in a while."

Throwing her head back as she hung up the phone, she threw it onto the passenger seat of her car and reversed out of the parking space, driving off towards the Salvatore mansion…

STEFAN'S POV:

I made my way back into the house and grabbed a glass of bourbon from the kitchen, downing it in one before walking back into the crowded room where the music was pumping as people enjoyed themselves. Throwing myself down on a chair in the corner, I was quite happy until Elena reached me…

"What's up, Grumpy Guts?" she asked

"Nothing." I replied "Shouldn't you be somewhere with Damon?"

"We're not joined at the hip, Stefan." she informed me

"Didn't seem like that when you were snogging the face off him not fifteen minutes ago." I admitted "Just go back to him, Elena. Caroline will be here soon..."

"Great!" she proclaimed "Then there'll be an actual girl I know here."

"You do know that all the girls here are ones that Damon's slept with, right?" I asked

Rolling her eyes at me, she turned on her heel and walked away…

CAROLINE'S POV:

I pulled up in the driveway next to Stefan's car and checked my appearance, making sure there'd been no signs I'd been crying. Climbing out of the car, I walked up to the door of the Salvatore mansion, walking in and down the steps into the living room, spotting Stefan sat in the corner brooding. Pushing my way through the throngs of people, I reached him…

"There you are!" he proclaimed as he saw me "Where've you been?"

"I got caught up with schoolwork." I admitted "Sorry."

"It's fine. Can we get out of here?" he questioned

"It's your brother's birthday, you can't just bolt." I replied

"I just need some air. Can we grab a drink and go outside?" he asked

I nodded my head. Taking my hand in his, he led me through the crowds to the kitchen, grabbed us both a glass of bourbon each and we made our way outside…

STEFAN'S POV:

"What's wrong?" I asked Caroline as she stared into space

"Hmm, what?" she questioned

"What's wrong?" I inquired "You're in a world of your own, Forbes."

"Just thinking that I can't be here for too long…" she admitted

"Why not? Do you have a date or something you've not told me about?" I questioned

"No, nothing like that. I just have so much stuff to do." she informed me "We'd better get back inside soon so I can actually say I've been to the party."

"There's something else; something you're not telling me." I admitted

"And how do you know that?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at me

"I sometimes know you better than you know yourself, and now's one of those times." I informed her "What is it, Caroline?"

CAROLINE'S POV:

I turned to look at Stefan and burst into tears, his arms enveloping me immediately. Letting my head drop to his chest, my tears soon began to soak his shirt as he ran his hand through my hair soothingly…

"Caroline, what is it?" he asked worriedly

"I. I. I…" I began, my sobs becoming louder as I tried to speak

"It's okay, just take your time." he replied

I continued to sob for a couple more minutes and then pulled away from Stefan, pulling a tissue out of my handbag. Wiping my eyes and my nose, I turned to him and smiled at him weakly… "Sorry."

"It's okay," he assured me "what is it? What do you need to tell me?"

I inhaled and exhaled a breath… "I was at the hospital, well in the car park when you rang."

"Why?" he inquired

"I went to get some test results." I admitted

"What kind of test results?" he asked "Is everything okay?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat and shook my head… "No, it's not."

"Caroline, what is it?" he questioned, taking my hand in his "What's wrong?"

"I…" I began, sighing heavily as I felt the tears begin to build in my eyes again "I. I have breast cancer, Stefan."

STEFAN'S POV:

"I. I have breast cancer, Stefan."

"No, there must be some sort of mistake, surely!" I proclaimed

"No mistake," she replied "the consultant ran all the necessary tests."

"Then he's wrong!" I informed her "We'll get a second opinion, a third if we have to."

"I said that when I was told," she admitted "but it's not going to make any difference, Stefan. I saw the results; they're there in black and white in his notes. I have breast cancer, and in a few weeks time I have to have an operation to remove the tumour and then undergo chemotherapy for 6 weeks."

"Right, well then I'll be there, through thick and thin." I replied "We'll do this together."

"I can't ask that of you, Stefan." she sighed "I can't ask you to put your life on hold for me."

"You're not asking though, are you?" I questioned "I'm telling you, that's what's happening."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"You're not asking though, are you? I'm telling you, that's what's happening."

"I can do this on my own…" I informed him "I don't need looking after."

"You probably could," he replied, chuckling softly "but truth is, you're gonna need someone to help you out, and it's gonna be me. I'm gonna take care of you, because if I don't, who else is?"

I smiled at him warmly… "You do realise I'm holding you to this, right?"

He nodded his head… "Wouldn't have it any other way. You're stuck with me, Forbes."

"Thank you." I replied

"What for?" he asked

"For being my best friend," I informed him "you're the best friend I could ever wish for."

He smiled at me warmly… "Not a problem."

Chapter 1 done and dusted – honest thoughts please…