A/N The first episode of the second season! I really hope you guys like this. As always, please review.
Tyler sat at Cynthia's bedside, head lolled back as he dozed. He only woke up when Elena lightly tapped on the door to the room.
"Hey… How is she doing?" Elena asked, crossing the room and pausing on the other side of Cynthia's bed.
"Uh… Better. She woke up last night, but I was with mom. According to the nurses, she had a total freak-out. They sedated her, but she should wake up soon." Tyler explained. Elena nodded once.
"I heard about your dad. I'm so sorry." She told him. He looked away from her, uncomfortable.
"Thanks… I gotta tell her once she wakes up. Mom's busy with Dad's wake, so…" Elena grimaced, knowing that Cynthia already knew, that she had seen it. She felt bad for the Lockwood girl.
"I'll leave you to it." Elena patted his shoulder as she left. She met Stefan outside the room.
"Do you want to-?"
"No… I'll talk to her when she wakes up." Stefan said quickly.
"You know, I'm pretty sure she's already forgiven you for what happened at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant." She told him quietly.
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure she could use a day without vampires. Let's go talk to John."
Later, Cynthia's eyes fluttered open. Tyler sat up straighter. Cynthia frowned, looking around the room before focusing on Tyler.
"Hey, hey, you're okay." He assured her, rubbing her shoulder.
"How long was I out?" She asked, settling back against the pillows.
"Well, when you got to the hospital, you passed out. You woke up in the night and then you were out again. Now it's noon." He explained. She didn't say anything. She closed her eyes.
"She's…not a…vampire."
"Vervain doesn't effect you, but the Gilbert device did…"
"Mayor, is that you?"
"Get her out."
"Oh my god! Are you okay? Why were you there?"
Cynthia woke up again. Tyler was leaning over her worriedly.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked, concerned. She nodded once, but stopped when it made her head hurt.
"When can I get out of the hospital?" She asked.
"They want to keep you in here for a while for observation. Look, we need to talk…" Cynthia listened as Tyler explained everything he knew about their dad. She calmed him down when he started to get angry and then they hugged each other when he had finished. Finally, he sighed.
"Mom wants me at the wake." He told her. She nodded once.
"Then you should go. I'll be fine here." She assured him. He looked at her for a minute before nodding and kissing her on the head.
"I'll be back later." He promised.
"Okay… Hey, if you see Jeremy, can you send him my way?" She asked. He frowned.
"Why?"
"I just need to talk to my best friend."
"Okay… I'll do that."
Later that day, Jeremy came into her hospital room.
"Hey. What's up? Are you okay?" He started to sit on the edge of her bed.
"Shut the door." He went across the room and shut the door, confused. Then he came and sat down on her bed.
"Anna… Anna's dead." She choked out.
"I know." He told her, hanging his head. She hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"I'm sorry, Jeremy!" She told him.
"I know you loved her too."
"Not like you did. It would be creepy if I loved her like you did." They both laughed weakly. Then the door opened. Jeremy automatically moved away from Cynthia.
"Uncle Mason?"
"Hey. Mind if I talk to my niece alone?" He asked Jeremy. Jeremy nodded.
"Yeah, sure." He got up and left. Mason went over to her.
"Hey, kiddo. Dang! Last time I saw you, you were this tiny kid." He told her, grinning and shaking his head. He sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Last time you saw me, I was a little kid." She reminded him.
"What are you doing back in town? Oh… Yeah." She remembered everything about her dad and leaned back against her pillows, not saying anything else.
"Yeah… Hey, the doc says you'll be out of the hospital the day after tomorrow."
"Okay, cool."
"I'm gonna get back to the house. You feel better soon." She gave a sarcastic salute.
"Yes, sir." He chuckled, bent over to kiss her head and then left.
That night, the hospital was eerily dark and empty. Cynthia fidgeted in her bed, wishing that Tyler or Mason had stayed with her during the night. But she was pretty sure that the nurses would have kicked them out if they had tried. She heard her door open and shut. She jerked up into a sitting position, ignoring the pain in her arm and head as she did so. Elena stood by her door.
"Elena… Jeez, you scared me. They let you in this late?" Cynthia asked. Elena came over to her bedside.
"Hey, Cynthia… My name is Katherine. I was hoping you would give the Salvatore Boys a message for me." Cynthia reached for the button to call the nurse. She hadn't heard a lot about Katherine, but she knew she was bad news. Katherine grabbed her wrist.
"Oh no you don't. You've got to deliver a message for me." Katherine insisted, tightening her grip on Cynthia's wrist until it hurt.
"Okay! Okay! What message?" Cynthia yelped. Katherine bit into her wrist and forcefully fed Cynthia her blood. Cynthia struggled hard against her, but it was no use. After she was done, Katherine leaned in close to whisper to her.
"Tell them… Game on." She snatched a pillow from underneath Cynthia and shoved it over her face. Cynthia clawed at her hands and tried to shove her away, but it was useless. Flashes of her life came before her eyes and it all went dark…