You are my Freedom

Bad Moon Rising

Stefan had just finished burying Carter when he felt a jabbing pain in his abdomen, he looked down to see a stake... the pain brought him down to his knees.

It took all his effort but he managed to pull it out and flip himself over. Looking behind him he could see Damon standing not too far away.

"Maybe I needed to be clearer, but when I leave to help YOUR girl and her little friends and MY girl stays behind to help clean up their mess, I have certain expectations, namely my brother not allowing some teenage witch to SET HER ON FIRE!"

Stefan gulps knowing how unpredictable his brother can be when he is this angry, "Damon, calm down, she's fine, it was just a misunderstanding."

Damon breaks off some tree branches and approaches Stefan,

"Misunderstanding, you say?"

Damon throws the branches, one hits Stephan's shoulder and the other pins his leg to the ground,

"Whoops... sorry about that, but relax just another misunderstanding,"

Stefan struggles to put some distance between him and Damon, "Damon, please, I stopped Bonnie, Clara's okay."

"Yeah, people are always just dandy after getting set on fire! I don't know why I bothered trying to do the right thing for you and this ridiculous Scooby gang but believe this brother, I won't ever bother myself with any of you again. I'm going back to only caring about me and mine, so good luck."

He ends his sentence by jamming another branch into Stefan's neck and then leaving him there to suffer.

He found Clara not too far away and approached her slowly not wanting to frighten her, "hey, you okay?"

"Been better," she said her voice noticeably weakened,

Damon smiles sadly, "let's get you home, okay?" Clara nods and Damon picks her up bridal style walking them back to his car.

Clara looks over at Damon, "that sounded rough, what I could hear."

"Don't worry about that."

Clara sighs, "he did stop her, Damon, if it wasn't for Stefan I don't know if I would still be here."

Damon grips the steering wheel nearly breaking it, "let's just get you home, okay?"

Clara nods tiredly and silently hopes all the progress the two brothers have made wasn't undone by all this.

Later that night...

Elena, after convincing Caroline with Bonnie's help, that she wasn't Katherine and explaining vampires and witches Elena went home. After such a long day she just needed to be in the comfort of her own bed.

Stefan stayed out in the forest hunting animals for a few hours to get his strength back, knowing it was better for his health if he stayed away from the boarding house tonight, he got an idea after seeing the Carnival shut down and abandoned.

He snuck through Elena's window to find her sleeping, he kisses her on the cheek and she wakes up.

"Hi. What time is it?"

Stefan smiles, "it's almost dawn. Come with me."

They are at the carnival. It's empty.

"Stefan, what are we doing here? We could get caught."

"Well, I compelled the guard to on break so I could kiss my girlfriend on top of the Ferris wheel."

The Ferris wheel lights suddenly turn on.

"Stefan..." Elena practically swoons at how thoughtful and romantic her boyfriend is being,

"We have to take these moments, Elena. What Katherine did to Caroline could just be the beginning and there are things with Tyler's family that we don't even understand yet and now it seems whatever ceasefire my brother and I had has been called off... I came back to this town to start a life with you. We can't forget to live it."

"But Stefan, how are we gonna get to the top?"

"I guess you'll just have to hold on tight."

Elena holds on and Stefan jumps to the top of the Ferris wheel and sits down. She laughs, then stops, looking at Stefan with confusion.

"What?"

"It's just so nice to see you laugh," Stefan tells her.

It was a perfect moment between the two that led to an even more perfect kiss.

Meanwhile...

At the Boarding House, Damon was taking care of Clara while downstairs Caroline was trying to make sense of everything, Bonnie and Elena both thought it would be for the best if she broke up with Matt, it sucked but she saw where they were coming from.

Over the next few days, things between the brothers remained tense, and they learned about the existence of werewolves with the help of Alaric and that the Lockwoods carried the gene.

Katherine still hadn't reappeared and Stefan was working with Caroline to help her get a handle on being a vampire. Clara was taking over lessons for the day because Stefan, Elena, and Rick were going to Duke to see what else they could find out about the town's new Werewolf problem.

Damon thought she was being stupid trying to help after the last time went so poorly, but she insisted that was down to the witch and was no one else's fault.

Damon wasn't sure he agreed but it did give him time to work on the special "apology" project for Clara, but it was really so much more than that.

Caroline & Clara in the Woods:

"So what are we doing out here in the woods? Stefan already showed me how to hunt," Caroline complains,

"I may be older than you but I'm really not that much newer to this life than you are. Not only did I have to adjust to being a vampire but also to being in a completely new century. I understand how confusing and overwhelming it all can be. It's great that Stefan is helping you but I think you need more confidence so your not just surviving what has happened to you but embracing it, It sucks that all these dreams you've had for your life are gone but you can make new ones. So I have a bargain to make with you."

Caroline studies her skeptically, "what kind of bargain?"

"First we do some vamp training so we can report back to Stefan I actually spent time teaching you in his absence but afterward, I am handing off the reins to you, I still need a lot of help, I was thinking a makeover? Maybe introduce me to movies/tv shows, so far only Damon has been in charge of my introduction to this time period, I think having a female's perspective might be useful. This way it's not just me teaching you but you teaching me, it won't feel like you have the whole world still to learn you'll be reminded how much you already know and are awesome at."

Caroline smiled and jumped up and down happily excited to get her hands on Clara's very out of date wardrobe and have an honest to god girls night, with movies, and magazines, maybe some blood and ice cream, It felt really good to be planning a fun night again, Clara was right, it was just what she needed to feel in control again.

"You have no idea how much I need a fun night, I haven't been in the sun for days and everyone is at the swimming hole having fun and Matt is there! But it's still too soon for me to be around all those people and with Bonnie being so weird with me and then Matt finally telling me he loved me but I'm still being forced to blow him off! and then with Stefan wanting me to eat adorable bunnies, it's just felt like I've been losing everything, so thank you for thinking to give some control back to me."

"You're welcome," Clara smiles and then gets serious again, "Alright you ready for this?"

"Right, what is it I'm supposed to do again?" Caroline asks,

"Race me so we can practice our speed, whoever runs into the least amount of trees wins,"

Caroline giggles, "You're on," and the girls take off laughing,

Later that Night Clara and Caroline arrive at the slumber party, they knock on the door and Elena answers shocked by the new and improved Clara, her hair is shorter and has some highlights,

"Well?" Caroline asks excitedly, "What do you think of the new 21st century Clara?"

It's a lot for Elena to take in, "Its... uh wow, quite a change,"

"Ugh, pay no attention, you look amazing!" Caroline tells Clara

"Is um Bonnie coming?" Elena asks,

"Bonnie hates me, Elena,"

Elena sighs at Caroline, "She doesn't hate you, this has all just been really hard on her,"

"And it hasn't for me?"

"Of course it has,"

Clara decides to jump in, "how about we put a pin in anything heavy or complicated for the rest of the night? I was promised an introduction to something called Channing Tatum? What is that anyway?"

The rest of the night is carefree girly fun-

Meanwhile...

Damon and Stefan are stalking Mason's wolf to figure out how much danger they are really in.

Back at Caroline's...

Elena is passed out from a sugar coma and the two vampires are talking.

"No offense but I still can't wrap my head around you and Damon."

Clara smiles, "I know it's hard to imagine because of everything he's done to you but the Damon I grew up with was actually very sweet, charming, strong, and noble."

Caroline shakes her head, "I just can't picture him as one of the good guys. If that's who he was, how are you still with him... you must see how much he's changed?"

Clara nods, "I do... there has always been a darkness in him probably due to his father but now its taken over almost all of him. And I don't always love how he behaves or hearing about the horrible things he's done but I've loved him for as long as I can remember, I don't think I know how not to love him.

He was my first kiss, my first everything, I went to war for him, I went up against Katherine as a human for him... I don't know if that's romantic or codependent but it's the truth my whole world is based on and selfishly I don't want to change it, no matter how it might look to anyone else."

Caroline shrugs, "maybe it can be both, romantic and codependent." the girls exchange a sad smile,

"What about you and Matt?"

Caroline lets go of a deep sigh,

"Honestly, it's nothing like what you just described... I like him, I really do and I want to be in love SO badly but incredibly I want what you and Damon have, even what Stefan and Elena have, I want something... epic, I'm just not sure that's him, ya know?"

Elsewhere...

Damon and Stefan come across Tyler, Matt, and Amiee in the woods, and see Mason's wolf attack,

The werewolf rushes into Matt who is trying to protect Amiee. She falls on the floor, the werewolf is on Matt. Stefan rushes the werewolf with his powers and pushes him.

Tyler steps up and screams trying to protect his friends, "No!"

The werewolf stops and looks at him eventually deciding to leave.

They get Matt and Amiee to safety and compel the two to forget anything out of the ordinary from this night.

Looking back they exchange a look not sure what to do about Tyler.

"Do you understand what just happen?" Stefan tries gently asking him,

"You attacking a wolf, the wolf attacking my friends, and then somehow understanding me... NO, I don't understand any of it."

"Let me break it down for you then..." Damon starts before Stefan tries derailing him,

"Damon, don't"

"What? The kid wants the truth, let's give it to him. Your uncle is a werewolf, me and Stefan vampires, surprise!" Damon waved his hands mockingly.

"Whatever... you guys are insane," Tyler takes off and later comes across Mason's car,

Mason arrives naked and muddy, "wanna toss me those?"

He passes him a bag over to his uncle, "It was you?"

Mason nods.

Back at Caroline's...

Caroline looks over and both Clara and Elena are asleep. Not being able to go back to sleep herself she decides to go for a walk.

She ends up seeing Matt and Amiee together at the grill, and it get's her a little down but not as much as she was expecting, turning around, she sees something that truly upsets her,

"E..Elena?" Caroline asks hoping against hope

"Nope, try again." but those hopes were quickly dashed

"Katherine." Caroline tries to move away from her, but Katherine quickly stops her,

"Don't be frightened. We're going to have so much fun together." (She smiles evilly.)