Previously…
Elena wandered down the stairs, bored of sitting up by herself in her room.
Meanwhile, John was in the kitchen. He opened the fridge to grab a drink. When he closed it, Elena was there, leaning against the cupboard door.
John's heart leaped in his chest, not expecting to see his daughter tonight.
I thought she would be avoiding me…
"You scared me," he murmured, unscrewing a bottle of water.
"Sorry," she said solemnly, going over to grab a dry towel.
"You know…" John started, leaning back against the kitchen's cabinets. "I first met Isobel when I was a teenager. I fell in love with her instantly; although I'm pretty sure she never loved me. She was special. A part of why I hate the vampires so much is because of what she became, how it ruined her. And I never would have sent her to Damon had I known she wanted to turn."
Elena didn't say a word during all of this; she simply continued to dry dishes.
When she realized he was done, she stopped drying dishes and looked at him.
"It's my fault," John continued. "I'm telling you this because I hoped maybe you'd understand."
"Thank you," Elena said quietly before brushing a strand of curly hair out of her face. She then went over and grabbed a meat cleaver to dry.
John walked over to her, extending his hand. "Mind if I help?"
Elena's brown eyes flickered down to his hand for a moment before looking up at her face. "Sure."
She tossed the damp rag onto the counter and when John went to reach for it, she swung the knife down in an arc, ramming the steel blade into the fingers.
He screamed out in pain when she jerked the knife to the side, cutting his fingers clean off.
Next, the brunette shoved him against the sink and John groaned out in pain again.
"Katherine?!" he exclaimed, eyes widening.
"Hello John," the vampire said, veins and fangs emerging. "Goodbye John."
With one swift thrust, she buried the knife into John's abdomen, a sickly sweet smirk on her face as she did.
Katherine froze as she heard her doppelganger at the front door, on the phone with someone.
"I looked everywhere…Yeah, someone definitely took my stuff…Caroline's was missing too. I wonder what happened. I'm gonna check on Jeremy before I go to the hospital. Can you meet me there?"
Elena's voice grew louder as she walked into her home, unaware of Katherine standing over a bloody John on the other side of the house.
"Okay, I love you Stefan," Elena threw her purse down and hung up her phone, tossing it onto the side table beside her bag.
"Jeremy?" she called into the silent house. "Are you awake?"
Something thudded in the kitchen and Elena frowned, slowly walking around the corner to investigate.
~0~
Elena slowly walked around into her kitchen to find John lying on the ground.
"John!" she exclaimed, running to her uncle-slash-father. His fingers were missing from one hand and he had a deep stab wound in his gut.
After staring down at him for a moment, she scrambled over to pick up the phone off of the counter.
"911, what's your emergency?" a kind lady's voice answered.
Elena quickly rambled off her address and that she needed an ambulance when she noticed John's eyes widened.
Over Elena's shoulder, John saw Katherine standing behind her, a small smirk on her face.
"What?" Elena asked, pulling the mouthpiece away from her mouth.
"Behind you," John croaked out.
Elena whirled around, phone still in hand. No one was there, but someone must have been! Crouching down, she hung up the phone and grabbed the bloody knife. The brunette slowly advanced towards the hallway, eyes scanning for anything out of place. Katherine rushed at her, only to frighten her for a moment. After running around Elena, the vampire ran out the door.
Suddenly she remembered John and here were not alone in the house.
"Jeremy!" Elena dropped the knife onto the side table before rushing up the stairs into her little brother's room.
"Jer! Jeremy!" she shook her brother, trying to wake him. He was unresponsive. "Please, Jer! Wake up!"
After a few more frantic shakes, he gasped for breath, sitting upright in his bed.
~0~
Zach stormed into the hospital, eyes red, panic evident on his face.
"Matt!" he barked, walking over to the stunned blonde boy. "Where is my goddaughter?"
Matt gulped, getting up from the waiting room chair. "I can explain, Zach-"
Zach had just begun yelling at Matt when a nurse walked into the waiting room.
"Are you Zach Salvatore?" the sweet nurse asked, her kind blue eyes comforting Zach.
He nodded, wiping his hand across his nose. "How is Caroline?"
"She's not doing too well right now, but I'm sure she'll recover."
Suddenly, sirens started blaring throughout the hospital, causing the nurse to quickly explain she had to leave. She didn't even get to explain before she scurried off.
"What happened?" Zach whispered as the departed. Matt took a seat and motioned for Zach to sit next to him. The man slumped into the hard and cold plastic chair, leaning forward onto his knees.
"We were driving home and Tyler heard this noise…and he got…"
Zach's eyes widened, having being filled in by Alaric earlier that day. "A noise?"
Matt shrugged, "That's what Tyler yelled out. He got some migraine or something and lost control. I thought that Caroline was fine, but then she passed out. She wouldn't let the doctors look at her, not when Tyler was there on the concrete…"
Zach nodded solemnly. "Who all have you told?"
"Bonnie's on her way over now and Elena will be here soon too, someone broke into her house and stabbed her Uncle John," Matt murmured.
Zach got to his feet as one of the hospital's doctors entered the room, clipboard in hand. The news that John was injured barely registered.
"Are you Caroline's doctor?" Zach called, advancing across the room to stand in front of an older man with graying hair.
"You must be Mr. Salvatore," the doctor greeted, ushering Zach over to an empty hallway. "Mr. Salvatore, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Caroline is very weak, very unresponsive. We've done all we can do, but for now, we just have to wait and see what happens."
Zach's jaw dropped and he swallowed the knot in his throat. "How long?"
"There's honestly no telling, sir. I'm sorry I couldn't give you any better news."
The doctor left the godfather in the hall, alone. His nephews popped into his mind. Pulling out his phone, he called Damon and Stefan.
I made a promise to Liz, I have no other choice. Zach thought, as if he was trying to reassure himself for what he was about to do.
~0~
Damon walked into the hospital, having just gotten off the phone with Zach, who'd filled him in on the details. He was still very confused on what happened, seeing as how him and Caroline had kissed and she left to get her dress from the school not even three hours ago.
How did the blonde go from being fine to being not fine and in a coma so damn quickly?
"Damon-" Sheriff Bennett's voice cut into Damon's thoughts. When his hand managed to catch Damon's cold wrist, he stopped walking. "I need your help."
A brief yet terrifying look passed across the man's face before turning around to slowly meet the eyes of the sheriff.
"Sure, anything," Damon said, any semblance of rage slipping away.
"Mayor Lockwood is dead," Rudy led Damon over to the less crowded part of the stark white waiting room, where no one was sitting in earshot. "They thought he was a vampire, they put him in the basement."
Damon mocked surprise, "Mayor Lockwood was a vampire?"
The sheriff frowned, shaking his head. "No, no, a mistake was made. They said he dropped liked everyone else when John and Ezra's device went off…but he…he couldn't have been a vampire. I've known the man my entire life and now Carol is going to want answers that I honestly think no one has right now." Rudy's eyes spaced out as he got lost in his own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Zach left Caroline's room, wondering where in the hell Damon was. He had vampire speed for Christ's sake, why wasn't he here yet?
Once he came around the corner and through the doors and into the waiting room, he saw Damon staring blankly at a thoughtful and pensive looking Rudy.
"Damon!" he called, causing Rudy to snap out of his daze.
"Oh," Rudy murmured, as if he seemed to just realize why Damon was there. "Caroline. I'm sorry, Damon, go see your friend."
Damon forced a smile onto his face and walked over to Zach.
"I was wondering what was taking you so long," Zach muttered, leading Damon to his goddaughter's hospital room.
"I got caught by that damn needy sheriff," he grumbled. "I don't know why he doesn't bother Klaus instead of me."
"Klaus isn't around as much as you," Zach said with a shrug as they stopped outside of the room.
Three heartbeats met Damon's ear, one slow and steady, the other two a bit faster and stronger.
Zach went to open the door, but Damon's hand darted out to stop him.
"Is there something you could do?" Elena's voice met the vampire and the human's ears. "Like a spell or something?"
Damon rolled his eyes, getting impatient. He pushed Zach's hand to the side and took that moment to come into the room.
"She doesn't know how, do you?"
Bonnie and Elena jumped, their heads darting over to look at the source of the voice.
Annoyance morphed onto Bonnie's face. "No, I don't."
"No, you don't because it took Emily years to learn a spell like that." Damon replied snippily.
"Well, I can take down a vampire, that one was easy enough," Bonnie countered, her magic simmering beneath the surface.
"Ladies," Zach said, finally speaking up. "Damon has agreed to give Caroline some blood."
"What!" Bonnie exclaimed. "No, no way! Caroline wouldn't want that!"
"Just enough to heal her, right Damon?" Zach said. "She'd be safe here, and it will be out of her system in a day and she'd be 100% better."
"No, you can't guarantee she'll be safe!"
"I made a promise to her mother, Bonnie," Zach motioned to Damon and they began gently ushering the girls out of the room. "I'm not about to break that promise."
The girls were silent, knowing that in all reality, Zach was Caroline's godfather.
"Alright, I'll leave you to it." Zach said to Damon, once the girls were gone.
Damon nodded solemnly before entering the room.
A deep red bruise covered the right side of Caroline's forehead, a gash in the center with a few stitches running across it. Her right arm was in a cast and tubes ran across her body. Some were going down her hospital gown to attach to her chest, some were going into her arm and a few were twisted around and leading to her nose to help her breathe.
But how was she here, in such bad condition, if she was just with me a few hours ago?
Damon frowned, trying to piece together the pieces in his mind. Walking over to the door, he pulled the clipboard out of the back, his eyes scanning across the chicken scratch that was called handwriting. Finally, the time caught his eye.
Time admitted: 9 pm
He frowned, thinking back to when he kissed Caroline. He remembered the town square's clock chiming in the background right before she arrived.
It didn't make sense, he decided.
~0~
Stefan paced back and forth inside Jeremy's room. He had agreed to stay so Elena could go see Caroline at the hospital.
The front door creaked open and Stefan darted out of Jeremy's room, eager to hear more about Caroline.
"Hey!" Stefan trotted down the staircase. "How was Care?"
The brunette frowned. "Not good."
Stefan's arms engulfed her in a hug. "Just what I needed," she pulled away to kiss him.
However, Stefan's eyes lingered on her face for a beat longer than necessary, and Katherine knew she'd been caught.
His hand gripped the back of the other vampire's neck and he bared his fangs at her. He threw her on the couch and she was to her feet before he could even blink.
"Katherine," Stefan sneered.
"Hmmm," she mused. "At least one of us could fool the great Salvatore brothers."
Stefan rushed her, slamming her against the wall.
"Feel better?" a sickly sweet smile spread across her lips.
Fighting for control, Stefan spun her around and shoved her against the wall leading into the kitchen. The front door's knob jiggled and Katherine used this small distraction to overpower Stefan. After twisting his arm behind his back and pushing him to the hardwood, she flashed him a smile before disappearing.
"Stefan?"
"Elena," Stefan called, sitting up.
The brunette human came around the corner. "What happened?"
"Katherine happened," Stefan said as Elena stepped into the light. "She managed to fool me."
Elena helped Stefan to his feet and the pair went into her kitchen.
"I'm going to go check on Jeremy," Elena explained as she poured a tall glass of water. "We'll have to talk about this later. You should probably call Damon and let him know."
Stefan nodded and she departed the room.
~0~
Bonnie and Matt walked down the long hospital corridor. "He's been here all night?" Matt asked incredulously.
Bonnie nodded, stopping briefly to let a nurse by. "According to my dad, yeah. Apparently he left around 11 to go to Elena's, but he was back by 1."
"And they aren't dating?"
Bonnie smiled wryly. "I'm sure he wishes they were, but no."
"No one else?" Matt asked.
"Zach left when Damon got back at 1, and he's probably here now." She answered, knocking lightly on the door.
"Caroline?"
"Come in!" the blonde called.
~0~
Caroline's POV
Bonnie and Matt entered my room, slightly worried expressions on their face.
My brunette friend scurried over to me and gave me a hug.
"Ooo, careful." I warned, feeling my bones twinge. "I'm still a bit sore."
"Sorry," she pulled away quickly. "I forgot for a moment."
I smiled reassuringly, "It's alright, Bon. They say I'm healing really well.
"My turn," Matt said, coming over to me next. He hugged me gently and I reached up to hug him back. "Angela sends her love."
I smiled, nodding. "Thanks for coming to visit me."
"Of course, we wouldn't be anywhere else!" Bonnie said, leaning on the end of my hospital bed.
My brain was still fuzzy, but I vaguely remembered the crash.
The terror and confusion came rushing back, ensnaring my mind.
The car getting closer and closer in my mind was all I could seem to focus on and then suddenly I felt the heat of the airbag before it smacked into my face.
Wait. My brain cut into my flashback. Why don't have I have more injuries?
The only way you'd be healing as quickly as you are is…
Vampire blood. I thought about Zach and his promise to keep me safe, and then thought about Damon and Stefan.
"Caroline," Bonnie said, pulling me back to the present. "You alright?"
I forced a smile on my face, nodding. "Still just a little foggy from the medicine."
Bonnie smiled back.
"Is Uncle Zach here still?" I asked, wanting to know more about my injuries before the vampire blood.
Matt nodded. "Yeah, we'll go get him. I'm glad you're all right, Care."
The two exited my room, leaving me to myself.
Sunlight filtered into my hospital room and I closed my eyes, relishing in the warmth. I didn't know how I felt about the realization that I had vampire blood in my system. What if someone came in and hurt me, or I died somehow? I would have become a vampire. That was the last thing I wanted. I couldn't have freely enjoyed the warmth from the sun if I was a vampire.
Like always, my thoughts were interrupted by the door opening.
Damon.
"Hello, Blondie," Damon smirked, waltzing into my room and shutting the door behind him.
"Damon." I retorted, trying to sit up a little more.
"Feeling wonderful, I assume?"
My eyes narrowed. "I take it I have you to thank for the magical healing process?"
He did a little mock bow, "Zach asked me to."
I figured as much...
"So, how bad was I?" I asked, curiously.
He shrugged, "I've seen worse."
"Damon."
He moved to sit on the edge of my bed, like Bonnie had earlier. "You were pretty banged up, Care. Bruised head, internal bleeding, broken arm and ribs…"
My eyes widened and I unconsciously flexed my fingers, feeling no pain. "It was that bad?"
"You crashed into a wall going 60, Caroline." He cocked an eyebrow at me. "I'm surprised you didn't get anything worse."
I nodded solemnly.
Damon was silent for a moment, his expression a bit conflicted.
"What?"
"How did you get in that car, anyways? I thought you had to go get your dress…"
"I had Elena pick it up for me, since Zach made me leave before the fireworks. That's why I was with Tyler and them."
"Before the fireworks…" Damon mumbled, mostly to himself.
I frowned in confusion, nodding slowly. "What's it matter?"
"What's it matter?" He repeated disbelievingly.
What's he freaking out for? I wondered.