The Long Way Home

Chapter 8: Fade Into You

Beta: PrincessOfSilence (she's the absolute best!)

Disclaimer: I own nothing of The Vampire Diaries. I only own my characters and my story.


"Well, we were right about one thing," Cassandra mused before taking a sip from her coffee cup. Her eyes scanned the front page of the newspaper she was holding. The headline was splattered across it just like she knew it would be. Damon sat beside her and spooned another mouthful of food to Ava.

"Hmm?" He asked as he cleaned off his daughter's lips with the edge of the spoon. His wife tossed the newspaper on the table, so he could see the headline. He brought it closer to him and read it along with a few details from the story. He made a face, as if it was something that didn't faze him.

Officer Takes Fatal Fall off Roof at Whitmore Benefit

"They know how to cover up vampire attacks," she replied. Damon flipped through the paper, not finding anything else of interest and went back to feeding Ava.

"It had to be done," he said, trying to justify their actions at the benefit. "No sense feeling guilty about it."

"I know," she sighed. "But I'm worried that we still have targets on our backs."

"Then we take care of them." He moved to wipe Ava's mouth with her bib and took it off her. He unlocked her from her highchair and cradled her on his hip. "Not gonna lie, you'd look cute with little fangs."

Ava giggled as if she knew what her father was talking about and clapped her hands. Cassandra stiffened at the remark and was going to rebut, but kept herself quiet. She had hoped to keep Ava away from vampires, hybrid, and witches at least until she was old enough to know about such things, but that was becoming increasing difficult because everyone she knew was some form of a supernatural race. She dreaded when that day would come when Ava was of age, but some comfort was brought to her knowing that Damon would be there to help her.

The oven gave a loud ding and Cassandra jumped up to open it. Caroline was having a Friendsgiving celebration and of course begged Cassandra to bake for the occasion. The fragrant scent of apple pie wafted through the kitchen and tickled Damon's nose. Cassandra set the pie aside on the cooling rack and continued about the kitchen, wiping down the cabinets and countertops. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Damon staring at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

Damon smiled, but it faded into a frown. "Guilty conscious."

Cassandra raised her eyebrows and turned to face him. "Why?"

"Well, this is Ava's first Thanks-I mean, Friendsgiving and I won't be here."

His wife frowned too, that had been dwelling on her mind since she heard Stefan, Damon, and Ric were trying to organize a trip to Portland, Oregon to try and find the Gemini coven. Originally these plans weren't even on the radar, but Damon received the surprise of his life last night when he took Cassandra home from the benefit. Vanessa, who picked up Ava from the party, had already tucked Ava into bed and was asleep herself when the couple tiptoed into the house. The hybrid was prepared to fall into bed, dress and all when she saw Ava's toys littering the living room floor. Sighing and knowing she would not want to do it tomorrow, she started cleaning them up. With a handful of dolls and and books, she opened up the toy chest to reveal a brown teddy bear nestled inside. Needless to say, Damon shouted in excitement so loudly that it nearly woke the whole house. Seeing Ms. Cuddles meant that Bonnie was still alive and it was up to them to find her.

"I know, Damon, but you have to find Bonnie." Cassandra spoke. "It's because of her that you're here with me. It's time to bring her home."

The vampire nodded, his eyes still showing turmoil, but he knew that Bonnie needed to get out of that prison world. Cassandra placed her hands on either side of his neck and gently traced over his tensed cheekbones. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and then one along his jawbone. Damon leaned into her, nuzzling the tip of his nose in the crook of her neck. Cassandra felt a feather light touch along her forearm and when she peeked down at it, she saw Ava running her small fingers over her skin. Her eyes looked sad, obviously sensing the emotion from both of her parents and Cassandra swore that she could see her lip quiver.

Her mother combed Ava's wisps of hair and kissed the top of her head. Damon brought Ava closer, so that she was in between both of her parents. His other arm wound around Cassandra's waist, encircling his family and keeping it close to him. In the months he'd been gone, this was what he missed he most. Every night he'd dream of hugging his girls to him, but whenever he'd reach out, their smiling faces would fade away and he would wake up alone. That was not his reality anymore. He was home with both his wife and daughter with him; a reality he'd never tire of.


How on Earth does she do it?

Elena Gilbert often asked this question whenever it came to Caroline's over-the-top gatherings, but this one had to have been one of her more inventive ideas. Caroline had wanted to host a Friendsgiving celebration for everyone just so people would have a place to celebrate with hot food and good company. Naturally, she did not want to have this kind of affair out and she couldn't have it in her own home because of the border problem, so she decided to improvise by setting up her party inside her dorm. Sure, it was partly easy since pretty much everyone had gone home to spend time with their families, but Elena had to wonder how much time Caroline had put into decorating and preparing for the day.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Elena took more platters from the blonde vampire and placed them on the table, making sure they were meticulously placed or else she'd be asked to move them. She adjusted the table cloth and centerpieces and even pushed a wine glass back into place just as Caroline waltzed in. Everyone who was expected to come had shown up. Cassandra was changing Ava, Liam spoke with Jo, and Tyler and Liv...well, and she'd hardly call their exchange a pleasant one. Tyler was trying to get some conversation out of Liv, but all she did was ignore him and give him dirty glances.

"Hey," Cassandra sighed as she came back into the room empty handed.

"Where's Ava?" Elena asked.

"You mean Cranky? I had to put her down for a nap." The hybrid joked and looked upon the exchange between Liv and Tyler. "Hmm, I sure hope Ava doesn't grow up to be a moody teenager."

The blonde rolled her eyes and shot Cassandra a glance over her shoulder. "I heard that."

Cassandra waved teasingly, a wide smile upon her lips while Elena stepped in closer to her. "Come on, today is supposed to be a good day. Let's do it for Caroline."

"Well, I don't know why she had to be invited. As I recall she and her weirdo brother were trying to kill all of us and almost succeeded." The hybrid grumbled under her breath.

"Alright! If everyone could gather around the table at their assigned seats." Caroline clapped happily from her place at the head of the table. Elena and Cassandra went into the kitchen with Jo to help bring out more food for the table.

"Sorry I'm late." Luke ducked in and quickly found his seat.

Caroline cleared her throat and Luke gave her a look to say that he was sorry. "We will each share something that we are thankful for in 100 words or less."

"Uh, anyone want to see some embarrassing baby videos of Liv?" Luke asked, making his twin roll her eyes. Tyler seemed intrigued, so he moved to stand behind the twins. Liam stayed put, not wanting to get on Caroline's bad side, but her mood was already soured by Luke's tardiness.

"Oh! You know what?" Caroline said. "Now would actually be an excellent time just to shut down anything with an On/Off button."

Luke ignored Caroline's wishes, got up from his seat, and brought his phone over to Liv. He leaned it up against one of the stemmed glasses and pressed play on the video. Tyler stood behind Liv and smiled seeing a blonde haired little girl bouncing around on the screen.

"No, please. Let the food get cold," Caroline muttered sarcastically while pouring herself a tall glass of wine. "Whatever that is, is far more important."

Liv, Tyler, and Luke were much too enthralled in the movie playing to take Caroline's complaints to heart. On the screen were two small children, both with blonde hair and wide smiles. The children were moving about excitedly until a voice coming from off screen beckoned them to come closer and hold still.

"Happy Birthday!" A woman's voice spoke. "Wave to me!"

Both children waved. "Hi, Josie!"

"How old are you?" Josie asked.

"Four." The boy and girl replied simultaneously.

"How do you add that?" She asked them. "You guys want to do some numbers? Okay! What's one plus one?"

"Two!" They said.

"Two plus two?"

"Four!"

"Nice!" Anyone could tell that Josie was beaming by the joy in her voice.

The video continued to play and Josie kept speaking to the two twins. Elena, Cassandra, and Jo then walked back into the dining room, each with bowls and placed them on the table. Cassandra smiled to herself hearing the children speaking on the video, however Jo was frozen, her gaze focused on Luke's phone.

"What are you watching?" Jo asked him.

"That kind of sounds like your voice." Elena noticed.

"That is my voice," Jo said and walked around the table to see the video playing on the phone. "I took that video 18 years ago at a birthday party for the twins."

Liv's sharp eyes snapped up from the screen and settled on Jo. "Oh, my God."

"Lukas and Olivia?" Jo asked tearfully.

"Jo as in Josette?" Luke murmured.

"Wait. So, you guys know each other?" Cassandra asked.

Jo nodded with fresh tears in her eyes. She looked between the two twins, in shock that she was seeing them again after years had passed. "I'm their sister."


"So, if you don't know each other, then how did you all just happen to end up at the same tiny liberal arts school?" Caroline asked curiously. Everyone was still reeling from the news that was dropped by Jo.

"We had a family friend here," Jo said. "Sheila Bennett."

"You knew Bonnie's Grams?" Elena was in shock. She hadn't heard that name in forever.

"She took me under her wing. She also helped my family put Kai away."

"Kai?" Cassandra spoke from perch against the wall. "You mean, Damon's Kai?"

Jo nodded. "As in our brother, my twin."

"There are two sets of twins in your family?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, there were until my coven put Kai in a prison world," Luke said.

Liv's normal scowl turned into a deep frown. "Now there's just Luke and me."

"I'm sorry. Did you say 'coven'?" Liam suddenly stood up from his seat, a look of confusion on his face.

"Aw, crap," Cassandra muttered, palming her face. Needless to say, everyone had forgotten Liam was still in the room and was completely clueless about anything having to do with the supernatural world.

"Oh, my God...Liam." Elena blanched, her face flushing. "Is still here."

"Oven. She meant oven." Cassandra jumped in.

"Yeah, I heard oven." Tyler agreed.

"Yeah." Elena nodded.

"Oh, look! We don't have a wine opener on the table." Caroline discreetly moved the wine opener that had been on the table out of sight and waltzed over to Liam. She took him by the shoulders and let her eyes dilate. "Liam, you have a wine opener in your room. Why don't you get it? Take your time."

Liam left the room in a daze, shuffling slowly and when he was out of earshot. Caroline continued speaking. "As you were saying, you put Kai away?"

"Kai killed four of our brothers and sisters to make a point, but he was really targeting Lukas and Olivia."

"Why them?" Tyler wondered.

"Because in our coven, twins are in line to be leaders," Jo replied.

"Hence our lame-ass name...Gemini," Liv said.

"Kai wanted to be the leader, but that wasn't possible if Lukas and Olivia were alive. So, I protected them with magic, which just pissed him off more."

"I'm confused." Cassandra's nose wrinkled. "You guys are all witches. Shouldn't Kai have been able to use his own magic?"

Jo shook her head and wrung her hands together tightly. "My brother was born without his own magic. He can only draw it from others; it made him feel like a freak. My parents saw him acting out, isolating himself, and they realized that he'd never be capable of leading our coven, so they kept having children until another set of twins were born. Kai figured it out and he snapped."


"Let me get this straight. Jo and Kai are twins?" Damon exclaimed. He was perched near one of the white posts that held up the front porch of Jo's childhood home. Alaric and Stefan stood within earshot and sifted through some papers and photographs they'd found.

The trip to Portland had been uneventful, however first approaching the address and seeing an empty field was certainly trying on their nerves. Where the hell was the house?! During a verbal disagreement on the location of the house, Damon made an offhanded comment to Stefan about his hero hair and used Ms. Cuddles to hide behind. Annoyed by his brother's teasing, Stefan took the bear and dropkicked it away from them. Bonnie's magic caused the Parker house to become visible and the three of them were ready to head inside when Cassandra called to give them more information about the Parker family.

"Yep," his wife replied as she paced back and forth in Caroline and Elena's dorm room. As much as she wanted to hear more about Kai, she needed to talk to Damon and see how their day was developing.

"Remember Luke and Liv? They're twins too, from the same family as Jo and Kai. They are all related and belong to the Gemini Coven."

"This family tree keeps getting weirder and weirder," he groaned.

"And what's worse, Kai's own family were the ones who locked him in that prison world."

"No wonder that little weasel holds a grudge," Damon muttered.

"But then how the hell did Bonnie and Damon land there?" Alaric asked from his place, his eyes still on the worn pictures in his hands.

Cassandra shrugged and sat on the edge of Elena's bed. "I'm not sure. Could have been because Bonnie's Grams helped to put Kai away."

"I highly doubt Grams would put us with a complete and total sociopath," Damon argued.

"I mean, Damon? Maybe. But not Bonnie." Stefan muttered.

"Very funny, brother." He glared.

"Maybe that was her only way of making sure you guys didn't disappear with The Other Side when it collapsed?" Ric theorized.

"Look, I hate to be the nagging wife, but please consider what you're doing." Cassandra pleaded. "Kai killed his siblings because he could only siphon magic and he had no shot at being the leader of his coven, so he clearly has no moral compass. I'm worried that if any of you go back to get Bonnie then he'll try to escape."

"To be fair, you were the one who told me to bring Bonnie home." Damon countered with a smirk.

"I know what I said, smart-ass." She grumbled. "Just please be careful. I'm not losing you again."

"We will." He nodded. "I told you I wasn't going anywhere, right?"

She smiled softly, biting her bottom lip. "I love you."

"I love you too." Damon whispered and leaned against the post of the porch. "How's my little girl doing?"

Cassandra cast a glance to Ava who was sleeping comfortably in her carrier. "She's getting her beauty rest."

"And how is Friendsgiving?"

"Well, now that's it's turned into a witchy family reunion...awkward." She sighed. "Have you guys find anything useful there?"

"Some old pictures and articles. Jo definitely lived here." The professor concluded, walking them over to Damon.

"What Ric really means to say is that we did not find the Ascendent." Damon tsked, paying no mind to the photos.

"It's gotta be there somewhere. Maybe it's buried on the grounds?" She suggested. "Witches like to pull energy from the elements."

"Wait, you're suggesting we just start digging up this whole place?" Stefan asked.

"Do you know how many acres this property is?" Ric glared. "We'd be here for years."

"I'm just trying to think of-" Her speech was suddenly cut off hearing another voice in the background. She tried to make sense of the words, but it was as if someone turned on a white noise machine in her ear.

"Damon?" She called into the speaker, but the noise on the other end only got louder. She pulled the phone away from her ear to shield herself, but the noise was so loud that it woke up Ava. Her tiny fists rubbed against her eyes and her mouth opened into a wailing cry. Cassandra dropped the phone onto the bed and gently rocked the carrier to soothe her.

"It's okay, sweetheart." She cooed, but Ava's cries continued to get louder.

Her mother scooped her up, cradling the baby to her chest and walked while bouncing her. Nothing worked. Ava's voice was becoming hoarse from her screaming. Cassandra sat back on the bed and moved Ava to lay down in her lap, but the very motion cause her to wriggle about and cry even more. The dorm lights flickered above them and Cassandra pressed her sobbing baby into her chest. Her eyes grew wider at the dimming and brightening lights that seemed to be in sync with Ava's screams. Cassandra watched in horror as Ava squirmed almost wanting to leave her mother's hold. Underneath Ava's sobs, she could still hear the noise from her phone because she had forgotten to end the call. With one arm around Ava, the other clicked off the phone call. Within seconds, Ava's cries quieted and so did her jostling body. The lights dimmed before going back up to their normal brightness and Cassandra remained still as she tried to make sense of what had just happened in the room. She leaned Ava away from her to see she had stopped crying, but was hiccupping every couple of seconds. Cassandra wiped away her daughter's tears and rubbed her back.

"Hey," Caroline's voice made Cassandra look up. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah...Ava was just a little upset," she replied, rocking her daughter. "You guys might have to check the breaker."

Caroline's nose wrinkled. "Huh?"

"The circuit breaker." She clarified. "The lights were flickering."

"No, they weren't." The blonde shook her head. Cassandra blanched. Did she imagine the lights? Did she imagine everything? Caroline must have noticed Cassandra's panic, so she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you feeling okay? You look like something is wrong."

Cassandra opened her mouth to explain what had happened with the phone call to Damon and the lights, and Ava, but a commotion from the main room made them both exchange confused glances before rushing out of the bedroom. They entered the dining area to see Jo on the floor coughing up blood while Liam and Elena were huddled over her. Elena had a phone pressed to her ear and she was frantically shouting to whomever was on the other end while Liam was trying to assess Jo's condition.

"What happened?" Cassandra asked worriedly.

Jo coughed, more blood spilling onto her dress. "I...I think my dad's trying to k-kill me."

"Oh God." She passed Ava to Caroline. "Hold her please."

"What the hell is she talking about? Her dad's trying to kill her?" Liam was trying to get answers, but everyone in the room was dodging his questions.

Cassandra knelt beside Jo and gripped her hand tightly. "You're gonna be okay."

Jo tried to speak, but all that came out of her was more blood. "Crap."

Elena hung up the phone. "How is she?"

"Her skin is hot." Cassandra mumbled to Elena. "She thinks this is her dad?"

"Liam, we need some ice." She turned to him.

"I'm not leaving Dr. Laughlin." He shook his head.

"But we need ice to cool her body temperature down."

"Elena, we should really be-"

"Dear God," Cassandra growled and grabbed Liam by his shoulders, a fire in her eyes. "Liam, I don't like when people have to repeat themselves, so I'm telling you this one time and one time only. Go. Get. Ice."

Elena watched as Liam straightened himself up and slowly trudge into the kitchen area. It reminded Elena of how a dog walks with its tail between its legs when it knows they've done something wrong. That kind of reaction did not come from compulsion. Liam genuinely felt bad for acting like a brat and did as Cassandra asked. The vampire looked to Cassandra who was keeping track of Jo's pulse. When Liam was completely out of sight, Elena moved closer to the hybrid.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Cassandra hummed, not lifting her eyes away from Jo.

"Make him do that without compelling him?"

"It's called being a mom." Jo whispered weakly. "Mine could look at me and I knew I was in trouble."

"Yeah, it's kind of like a new super-power I have." She winked at Elena who understood completely. While she was never a troublemaker, she knew that when her mother was serious; she was serious. She'd seen Jeremy get into trouble lots of times and more often than not, it was Miranda Gilbert's stern look that made Jeremy want to sulk away and never disappoint his mother again.

"Thank you...for not compelling him," she said quietly.

"Well, I figured if you want to keep bringing him around that he should know not to question you." The hybrid smirked just as Liam came back with ice cubes wrapped in a dishtowel.

"Thank you, Liam." Sweetness dripped from her voice, so much so that it made Liam uncomfortable.

"You're welcome, Mrs. Salvatore." He nodded, still keeping his eyes down. Cassandra pressed the ice against the back of Jo's neck and heard her sigh quietly. Elena squeezed Jo's hand as her eyes fell closed, but just under the skin she could feel Jo's pulse rate skyrocket.

Suddenly, Jo's body began to convulse wildly on the floor. Cassandra removed the ice and moved the chairs out of the way, so Jo would not injure herself while she gyrated. She then motioned to Caroline to leave the room with Ava, but the blonde was already gone.

"She's crashing!" Elena shouted worriedly.

"Dr. Laughlin, look at me." Liam snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Jo, can you hear me? Jo!" The hybrid called her.

"Come on, Dr. Laughlin. Please wake up." He then looked to Elena. "Check for dilation."

Elena pulled open the lid of Jo's eye to reveal them to be blood red.

"Holy crap!" Liam gasped. "What the... what happened to her?"

"I don't know." Elena shook her head.

"Call 9-1-1. I'll start CPR." Liam pressed his hands to her chest while both woman remained stone still. Cassandra cast a glance to Elena who was conflicted on what to do. Deep down Elena knew what she had to do, but did she have the heart to do it? Dr. Laughlin would die if she hesitated a moment longer.

"Call 9-1-1, Elena. We need help. She's about to die!" He repeated.

"Liam..." She hushed, her eyes beginning to turn dark red. "Liam, there's not enough time."

Liam looked up just in time to see Elena bite into her own wrist with her sharp fangs. He backed away from Jo, fear flickering wildly in his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Just leave her be." Cassandra spoke and Liam watched as the vampire crouched beside Jo and put her wrist to her lips.

"Elena, your face..."

"It's okay. My blood will heal her." She said and Liam sat by silently. A few long moments passed before a gasp left Jo's lips and her eyelids fluttered open. To everyone's relief, her eyes had returned to their normal chilling blue.

"Jo?" Elena whispered.

The doctor took a few steadying breaths and looked around at her surroundings before replying. "I'm okay."

"I'll get you some water." The vampire stood and left the room with Liam following after her.

"Here. Let me help you." Cassandra wrapped an arm around Jo's waist and carefully hoisted her onto her feet. She sat her up in a chair at the table and used a napkin to clean up her face.

Jo cast a sad look over the set table and shook her head. "I've...ruined Thanksgiving."

"Come on, now. No pity parties allowed." She dabbed a cloth napkin into a glass of water and wiped the bloodstained skin around her mouth clean.

"Where's Ava?" The doctor was suddenly aware that she had been coughing up blood and seizing in the presence of a baby.

"Caroline has her. It's okay." Cassandra soothed and continued cleaning the blood off of her.

"I didn't want her to see that."

"I know."

"I'm sorry about all of this."

"Jo, it's okay." Cassandra stressed.

"No...because of Kai and the Ascendant and my family..."

"Jo," Caroline stood in the doorway with a phone in her hand. "It's Ric."

Cassandra nodded and stood up from her seat. "I'll let you two talk."

The blonde vampire whispered to Cassandra that Ava was sleeping back in her carrier in hers and Elena's room. The hybrid smiled warmly at her and without another word, she snuck quietly into the bedroom. Just as Caroline said, Ava was snoring soundly and snuggled up in blankets. Cassandra sat on the bed and took up her phone and it felt heavy in her hands. Memories flashed before her eyes of Ava's cries and the flashing lights. She couldn't even begin to explain what had happened, nor did she want to think about it. With nimble fingers, she dialed Damon's number and held it to her ear. It rang for what seemed like ages until he finally picked up.

"We seemed to have a horrible connection before." His voice washed over her like a wave beating against the shoreline.

"I know." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"I will be. Once I get home and get out of these clothes. The Portland airport is filthy." Damon quipped. He continued talking about their trip to Portland, but Cassandra wasn't listening. She looked down at Ava who was suckling on her binky as if nothing had happened earlier. Damon's voice faded into a garble and Cassandra bit her bottom lip as she held back tears. Something was wrong with their little girl and she wasn't sure if she could keep herself together to tell her husband.

"Damon-" she stopped him right in the middle of his story.

"Yeah, babe?"

Cassandra swallowed heavily and ran her fingers over the tiny wisps of her daughter's hair. "It's Ava."


hexgirl.x: Thanks so much for reviewing! Hehe, yes they are a badass supernatural couple ;)

NicoleR85: Thank you Nicole! I'm glad you enjoyed reading the latest chapter.

Queen24824: Yeah, season 8 was crazy! I can't wait to write it and I am even more excited for everyone to read it :) Thank you for reviewing!

DamonsSavior: I know it has been a while since the last update. Thank you for reviewing and for being patient with me. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!

vampangel25: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

BrittStar1199: I love Ava too and it is not weird to want Kai to have playtime with her ;) Kai and Ava will definitely have some interesting interactions despite the interests of her parents.

Aisha: Thank you for reviewing! I agree, Damon and Cassandra do need some more romantic moments. I will try to add them in as the story moves on.

bfireworks5: Yeaahh, the problems are continuing to pop up. But don't worry, the gang always finds a way to solve them ;) Thank you for reviewing!

Shining Ruby: Thank you very much for your kind words, my dear xoxo. Damon and Cassandra are a force to be reckoned with ;) I try my best to make my chapters multi-faceted, so my readers enjoy them. I hope you liked the latest chatper.

CarlyLynn: Thank you so much for reviewing!

grapejuice101: Thank you, thank you! There will be more Ava moments coming up :)

Cushy96: Thanks so much for reviewing! Ava is certainly a cheeky little girl ;) Damon and Cassandra are total protective parents and it is fun to write them as such.