Cinderella Dressed in White

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–

Nobody speaks for three days.

The first to break is Katherine. They're parked in front of a small grocery store somewhere in Alabama. Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie are inside searching for supplies while her and Katherine are on watch.

Caroline stares out the window, thinking about Tyler. His smile. His friendship. He had been an amazing person. And it was her fault he was gone. Madison had been her idea.

Katherine pokes her head over the front seat. "You okay?" She asks, hand touching Caroline's shoulder.

She is okay, she supposes. Just sad. Just hurt. "I will be." She decided on saying. It's a positive answer.

"Tyler wouldn't have wanted us to be sad. You especially. He loved all of us, but he cared for you the most. He would have done anything for you." Katherine says.

Caroline doesn't look away from the window. "I know." She murmurs. Tears prick at her eyes and she sniffs. She feels like unloading everything on Katherine. She feels like crying for days. But luckily, the door opens and Damon hops into the front seat.

Caroline hastily wipes her eyes and attempts a smile but it's too late. He raises an eyebrow, and she shakes her head. He gives her a "I know you're full of it but I also know you don't want to talk about it" look and pulls out the map. Damon had been wonderful the past few days. Always watching her, always checking on her, always making sure she was okay. If she was going to open up to anyone it would be him.

She just wasn't ready yet.

Stefan and Bonnie are loading up the groceries in the back and Katherine leans back in her seat, knowing she's not going to get anywhere with Caroline yet.

Caroline wants a real bed tonight. She wants real sleep. Not four hours in the cramped SUV. And she's sure it would make everyone happy. Even Damon.

"I want a real bed tonight, Damon." Caroline says, and he grunts, not looking up from the map. "I'm serious. I want a real bed. Not the passenger seat."

"We're four days from Mystic Falls, Caroline." Damon says, looking at her like she's stupid.

She knows that. And she knows he's thinking about Elena. He just wants to get to Elena. She doesn't let the thought hurt her. "Mystic Falls will still be four days away in the morning." She reasons.

Stefan is grinning as he hops into the SUV, having heard their conversation. "You know, a good nights sleep would really boost your crew's morale, Captain." He winks at Caroline, catching on to her idea.

"Ugh, yes," Katherine says, "and maybe they'll have running water."

Damon glares at all of them, "Alright, alright. But we're not staying at any old crummy Motel 6."

–

The Marriott's parking lot is empty when they pull in. It looks completely abandoned. But Caroline knows how misleading that can be.

"I stayed at the Mariott in Texas once." Bonnie says, staring up at the tall building. "The water went out and they had to use a backup generator. Maybe this one has a generator, too."

"Oh, lord, a shower." Katherine whines, touching her greasy hair.

A shower sounds like heaven to Caroline. Clean clothes, shaved legs, brushed and dirt free hair. She almost cries at the thought. She gathers up her backpack and follows the others to the front glass double doors, still thinking about the endless shower possibilities.

"Stay on guard." Damon instructs them. "This is a big building. There's bound to be Creepies in here somewhere."

They all nod, and he pushes the doors open. Damon takes point, Stefan, Katherine, and Bonnie following while Caroline brings up the rea

r. The lobby is empty. But chairs and tables are overturned and paperwork litters the ground. And there is blood on the floor. The infected had been here.

Damon hops over the front desk, digging in the drawers. He comes back with a key. They head towards the stairs, hope in hand.

The trek up the stairs is quiet, save for Katherine's huffing. "I knew these heels were a bad idea." She gasps, tottering on her stilettos.

Stefan grabs her hand, "Just two more flights, sweets."

Damon gags at them, and calls for Caroline to walk with him. She jogs up the stairs between them and comes to his side. "How do you feel about a penthouse suite?" He asks.

"I think it's a great idea." Caroline says, smiling at him.

"Ew, you guys, stop being all smiley." Katherine moves around them, going up the next flight. Caroline flushes when she realizes they've been standing in the same spot for a full minute, just smiling at each other.

Damon follows Katherine and Stefan, all three bickering. Bonnie bumps her shoulder against Caroline's. "We are so talking about that later."

"Talking about what?" Caroline feigns innocence. Bonnie rolls her eyes, and grabs Caroline's hand, pulling her up the stairs.

They come out of the stairwell, catching their breath. The group stands at the mouth of a long hallway. The carpet is crisp and clean. Not a drop of blood in sight.

Damon moves forward, "Let's check in, shall we?"

Katherine runs after him, "I call the shower first!"

"Hey!" Bonnie cries, chasing Katherine, "No way! You can't call dibs!"

Stefan shakes his head at them, "Lunatics." He murmurs fondly, smiling at Caroline. He holds his arm out for her to take. She happily takes it, and they follow their family to their room.

–

The room is glorious.

A balcony, bay windows, high ceilings, multiple rooms and velvet couches.

And the best part? No bloodstains. This room had been untouched by the dead.

Caroline spins in a circle around the room, amazed.

Katherine comes from the hallway, "Hey, you guys." She interrupts their ogling. "Listen."

They all quiet down, and distantly, they can hear the sound of running water hitting tile. "The shower works!" Katherine all but screams.

Damon and Stefan high five while Katherine throws her arms in the air in excitement.

Smiling, Caroline searches her backpack for shampoo. The only thing that would make this day better was if Tyler was there to see it.

But she would never see Tyler again. He would never laugh and smile and he would never open his eyes again. She fights the tears and tries to push all thought of him out of her head.

Katherine skips up the her, "Hey, aren't you excited? I can't believe there's running water– Caroline? You okay?" p/p Caroline sniffs once, and her vision is clouded with tears. "Oh. Oh, sweetie. You can take the first shower and clean yourself up." Katherine holds Caroline's hand and shoves her way through their friends, Caroline stumbling after her.

Damon breaks away from Stefan and Bonnie, worried eyes on her. "Care?"

It's too late because her knees are hitting the carpet and she's gasping for air. Tears stream down her cheeks and she's all but shrieking. She sobs into her hands, back hunched. Katherine's hands flit around her, unsure of what to do.

"I can't." She gasps. "I can't stop. My fault."

Tyler's death is her fault.

"Oh, no, Caroline. It's not your fault." Stefan says, trying to be soothing. She just cries harder.

"I can't stop." She gasps for breath, clutching her hands to her chest. Suddenly, strong arms scoop her up and she's cradled against a warm chest. She can hear the sounds of the shower coming closer. She's set down in the bathroom, and Damon pulls her shirt over her head. She's not even embarrassed. He undresses her down to nothing and helps her into the shower.

The water is warm and the stream is heavy. The steam dries her tears and she can finally breathe again. She can already feel weeks of dirt melting off of her. She hears the bathroom door open and she panics. She needs Damon here.

"Don't go." She croaks.

The shower curtain is pushed aside, and fully clothed, Damon steps in. He doesn't look at her naked body. Just keeps his eyes level with hers. He puts shampoo in his hands and reaches out to her. She stumbles into his chest and he washes her hair. His fingers massage her scalp and she quietly cries into his chest. She doesn't even know what she's crying about at this point. Maybe everything?

Damon conditions her hair and holds her tightly as the water runs over them both. They stay like that for a long time. Finally, the water runs cold and she starts to shiver. Damon hops out, and returns with a towel. He scoops her up and carries her to one of the many bedrooms. He deposits her onto the bed and promises he'll return in a moment.

She sits on the edge of the bed, shivering. He comes back with her backpack and helps her dress. She climbs back onto the bed, huddling under the blankets. Damon tucks her in. "It's going to be okay, you know. It's okay to miss him. It's okay to be sad."

Suddenly, she's angry. Damon hated Tyler. "You didn't even like him. And now he's dead." She snaps.

She hopes she imagined his hands flinching away from her. She hadn't meant to hurt him. It had just came out. He stays quiet for a long time and she wants to cry again.

Finally, he says, "But I like you." before he pulls away from her and closes the door behind him as he leaves.

She cries for a long time after that.

–

Hours later, the bedroom door creaks open. She blinks her eyes open, willing them to adjust to the darkness. A hand runs itself over her hair for moment before pulling the sheets back. A warm body slides in beside hers. She touches Damon's cheek. His scruff is gone and his aftershave smells like heaven. He smells clean and wonderful. She curls her body towards him, but doesn't close the space between them. Not after what she'd said.

It's quiet for awhile, and then, "I have to tell you something." Damon murmurs.

"Okay."

"I love Elena."

"I know."

"I love Elena, but I don't want to find her for myself anymore. Only for Katherine."

Caroline is quiet, unsure of what she's hearing. "What are you talking about?" She croaks.

Damon sighs, "How do I tell Elena, who I thought was once the love of my life, that I.." He pauses, seems to choose his next words carefully, "that I care for someone else?"

"You do?" Caroline whispers.

"Yes." Damon whispers back. "I care for you, Caroline. Even though you're the most infuriating and stubborn woman I've ever met. I care for you."

"I..I don't know what to say." Caroline murmurs. Her heartbeat is going wild.

Damon rolls onto his side, running the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. "Then don't say anything." He says quietly as he leans in. When his mouth meets hers, she swears everything inside of her explodes. She can hear her heart beating in every single part of her body. His hands stroke her face, her arms, her hip. He holds her like she's the last thing he has.

After what feels like hours of no words, just lips on lips, Caroline's eyelids grow heavy. Warmth spreads through her chest at the thought of his words earlier. She is cared for.

She is content. She is happy. She is warm.

She is content and happy and warm for the first time since Tyler.

A gentle kiss is placed against her forehead, and a warm arm is thrown over her middle.

She is cared for.

–

A/N: *awkwardly waves* yeah hi I'm still alive. I know this took forever but I honestly forgot about this story. But have no fear! I will never ever ever abandon this story. Even if it takes me the rest of my life to finish it. That's a joke by the way. It won't take that long. Things are starting to get wrapped up now. A few more chapters and we'll be finished. Until next time!