Their father was pacing uncontrollably. But he had his own way of dealing. Damon was leaning coolly against the wall, but his eyes were shut tight like he could prevent himself from feeling by not seeing. Stefan had his face in his hands, hunched over and leaning on his knees. He could hear his father's dress shoes shuffling frantically against the floor boards.
The doctor exited her bedchambers with his medical bag. Their father stopped abruptly, Damon moving away from the wall, and Stefan looked up. Mr. Salvatore's face was grasping for hope as he asked, "So?" The small light in his eyes died as the doctor spoke, "She's not in good condition. Her illness seems to be growing worse if not spreading. She will not live another year at this rate. I'd keep an eye over her for the night, just in case, Giuseppe," His head lowered, and the slight shake of his head bid the doctor goodbye.
Damon pushed past him and straight into her bedroom. Stefan followed in pursuit, expecting his father to follow but instead, he heard the front door slam shut with anger. He turned his back to the door, watching his brother kneel down beside her bed.
The first thought to Stefan was that she looked so fragile. Her body was slender, the night gown she wore swallowing her. Her chocolate brown hair was in stringy strands, her eyelids hiding the piercing blue color of her eyes. Though she lie on her deathbed, no one could deny her beauty, even in sickness.
Damon took her limp hand in his own, squeezing it. Stefan noticed the light squeeze she returned, her head slowly turning. She opened her heavy eyes to him, her colorless face brightening with a weak smile. She forced her other hand to snake over to cover Damon's.
"You made it before—" she shuddered as a fit of coughing overwhelmed her. She turned away from Damon, spitting the blood from her mouth and into the pail that had been placed there for specifically things like this. Stefan moved forward, grabbing the wet cloth. He went to wipe the blood on her lips, but she took it from him and did it herself.
"Cass," he began, but she stopped him with a hand. "Just because I am ill, does not mean that you must pity me and care for my every whim," she sounded angry with herself. Stefan sucked in a deep breath before he scolded her.
"Don't you dare think I do this because I must! I do it because you are my Cassie. I love you and will do anything that you desire, understood?" his voice had never been so strong and forceful. Cassandra nodded, her eyes on the floor, or quite possibly on the bucket filled with a half inch of her coughed up blood.
Damon rose off the floor and sat on the edge of her bed, placing a hand on the other side of her body so she was forced to look at him. "We will find a cure to this disease, even if it kills us," his choice of words made her eyes widen and the color shine with worry as she began to tremble.
"Don't say that! I will not allow you to die over me if I am to die anyway. You will not waste your lives on one as weak as mine. If God wishes to take me, I will follow Him. If He wishes to cause me pain, I will endure best I can. If He wants me cured, He will propose it to us Himself. Now. Leave these chambers and check on our father, make sure he isn't throwing things around again," her words were final, he could hear it in her tone. Damon sighed before he rose from the bed, nodding. He bent over, kissing his dear sister on the forehead.
"Whatever you desire Cassie, I will give you. Even if you ask the world, I will find a way," he said softly before exiting her room. Stefan took her hand, "Please do not give up on fighting. I do not know what we—what I—will do if you were to leave us here without you to keep us from killing each other," she smiled with little strength.
"I bring this family together now, what makes you so sure my death won't bind you together forever?" his breath caught and his grip tightened but she only let out a broken laugh. "I cannot leave my reckless brothers and father here without a replacement that will keep this family glued together. Until then, I will not let death take me easily," Stefan wasn't truly satisfied with the answer, but he only smiled and left the room so that his dear, sickly sister could rest.
She needed all the strength she could muster to fight this battle. That was something all the Salvatore's knew and yet it still broke their hearts to see someone so small and fragile that they loved so much fighting a disease that is incurable.
A threatening hiss slipped through her fangs as her veins turned black and slithered to her eyes, her bloody red eyes. She heard his finger hit the trigger and the mechanics in the crossbow work as the stake shot forward. She pushed off the ground with all her strength, then landed silently behind the amateur hunter. Opening her mouth wide, she snapped her teeth on the boy's neck.
She could feel the light burn on her throat from the vervain, but it wasn't enough for her to retract. He was limp in seconds, falling from her bite and landing in a heap on the ground. She reached up, wiping the blood off her mouth with her sleeve. It was then Isaac, Ella, and Jace stepped out of the shadows with Ella holding the stake that was shot with her magic.
It fell to the ground, ruffling the leaves in its landing. "You didn't kill him, right Cass?" At the frantic voice of his girlfriend, Jace stepped forward and bent down, pressing fingers to the guy's neck. He nodded. Cassie released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. The soft sound of her sigh got Isaac's attention and he moved over to her, enveloping her tense body into his arms.
"He's fine, Cassie. You didn't kill him. He might have a major headache in the morning, but he's fine." He could feel her relax in his embrace, her breathing coming gentler with less of a shudder to go along with it. He started to rub her back absently, and it soothed her even more. She melted against him, walking with his arm around her toward the shed.
They pulled away from each other, bracing for anymore hunters like the one she'd bitten. Jace yanked the door open, and nobody was inside. Except for a familiar face. Cassie stepped in front of them all, being the most invincible against the beast she saw.
"Hello Lorenzo. Surprise to find you here," she said sarcastically. His eyes showed he despised her mockery. Sighing, she kneeled down and went to rip the chains that bound him, but his growls made her stop. He then pressed his wrists against the inside of the metal, and his flesh began to bubble. He jerked back in reaction to the feeling and she frowned.
"Vervain?" he shook his head. Her eyebrows furrowed. Then what was so horrible that she couldn't touch without her skin bubbling? She shook her head and grabbed for it anyway. As soon as her fingers brushed the metal, her flesh began to burn and a yell escaped her. She was against the wall in a blur, her instincts being to get out of sunlight.
Her breathing was labored as Enzo moved to check on her. If it was instincts, she didn't know. But he only burned himself, causing him to flinch against the pain and relax on his calves. Ella, noticing Cassie's inability to do so, used her powers to snap the cuffs and Enzo rose to his feet quickly.
"I showed you what happened, and yet you touched it still. I knew you could be stupid, but how dumb can you possibly be?" she rolled her eyes, moving from the wall. "You're welcome," she snapped. She moved past Jace and Ella, taking Isaac's hand in hers and they began to walk away from the shed.
"Do you know what that was?" she asked Ella. Enzo answered, "Liquid sunlight, for vampires, made by witches," She stopped in her tracks, turning to look at him. Her face was full of confusion and curiosity. It made sense, considering she'd felt like her daylight ring had been taken off and she'd been pushed into the sunlight, despite it being dark outside. She wiggled her small ring, checking if it was still there.
"Rings do not work against witchcraft." He answered her unspoken question. Huffing, she pushed herself forward with an immeasurable amount of strength, moving faster than everybody else, including weak Enzo. She could still hear her friends when she'd stopped moving so quickly, and she also heard Enzo trying to catch up to her.
"Does Salvatore know you're here?" she ran her fingers through her bone-straight, brown hair that was like silky water against her fingers. Her blue eyes gazed down, her heart aching dramatically for her brother. "No. I couldn't do that to him. Not after us both having lost Damon, I didn't want to make him feel so much. I didn't want to make him break completely."
"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't have been a great thing to do to your brother. But to an enemy…" Cassie suddenly whipped to face him, her fangs gleaming as a snarl came out as an intimidating purr. "Don't touch him," her voice was low, and it wasn't loud enough to be heard by her friends who were coming closer.
"Calm down, Cass, I'm just playing," he said in his irritating accent. She snapped her mouth shut. "One little mistake, Lorenzo. That's all it takes," she warned. He put on an innocent face. "I would never harm your brother, Cassie," She almost laughed at his lie. Did he think her a fool? She eased back against the familiar figure of Isaac.
He had his arms wrapped around her, calming her. That's how it worked most of the time. They kept each other alive, calm, and out of trouble. The other times, well, they could get a bit…dangerous. Those times were when they were both angry at somebody in particular. Either one of them had to calm themselves and the other down, or Jace and Ella had to keep them from becoming Bonnie and Clyde, Supernatural Style.
"Let's go home," he whispered in her ear. She nodded and allowed him to pull her to the car. Enzo stared after her, his eyes holding something like a yearning or longing for the moments they'd had. He sighed before disappearing into the night.
Cassie climbed into the backseat, Isaac following. She curled up against him, and he held her close. It was time that they found her brother. And it caused a feeling worse than dread to fill her and leave a lump in her throat and make her eyes burn with tears as she remembered Stefan. And Damon.
A/N: So, whatcha think? I'm trying to go along with the show, keep up with the episodes. I don't know how that's going to go at all, but we'll see! Anyway,
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-AmberReneeTodd