On her second day as a professional in Mystic Fall's, Bella felt as if she had already been working there for quite some time. It felt comfortable, like home. She started her morning with John Gilbert's first session, which went pretty well. It took about 30 minutes before John felt comfortable enough to get started and by then, they didn't have much time left but Bella felt that it would get easier with time. At least he was ready to work on his issues and he wasn't on the defensive anymore, that was a good point.
When the time came to help Caroline tell her mother the truth, Bella was calm and confident that things would go well. She opened her door to the waiting room and saw that if they both appeared calm, both Forbes women were tensed. She noticed that Liz Forbes was out of her uniform and not carrying her gun. Not that she would have been able to use it in this office anyway but still… Not carrying her gun meant that she wouldn't be able to pull it out on her daughter, which would have been a bad starter.
"Please, come on in." Bella smiled after the usual greetings and introductions.
"Thank you." Caroline smiled.
"Sit wherever you want." Bella told them with a kind smile.
They went to sit on the couch and so Bella brought a plate with some cookies on the little table in front of the couch, right next to the box of tissues.
"Coffee, tea, orange juice?" She offered them.
"Coffee please!" They both replied at the same time, making Bella smile.
Once everything was settled between them, Bella sat on the armchair across from the couch.
"So, Misses Forbes…" She started.
"Please, call me Liz." The sheriff offered.
"Thank you. So, Liz, do you know why Caroline asked you to come here today?" Bella asked her.
"She just said she wanted to speak about some things and that it would be easier if I was here with her." Liz shook her head.
"I trust you've seen the sign when you walked in. I know you could see the hidden part of it, as did your daughter." Bella started.
"Really? How? Why?" Liz asked her daughter who looked down.
"This is what Caroline would like to talk about. Caroline, would you like to start?" Bella asked the young woman who nodded.
"Mom… Do you remember a few months ago, after the founder's day parade, when Tyler got into an accident and I ended up at the hospital?" Caroline asked her mother.
"Of course I do, it was one of the worst days of my life." Liz nodded.
"I was badly injured and could have died. Elena was worried about me and so was Bonnie…"
"Honey, we were all worried about you." Liz told her.
"I… Okay, I'll just say it and please don't interrupt me before I'm done." Caroline asked her mother who nodded.
"Damon and Stefan are vampires, Bonnie is a witch. Elena asked Bonnie if she could use magic to heal me but Bonnie didn't know how to do anything like this yet so they both asked Damon to give me some of his blood so I wouldn't die. They couldn't ask Stefan because he wasn't there at that moment. They were afraid I would die and Damon said that if he gave me his blood, I could die and become a vampire but Bonnie argued that I was in the hospital and that nothing would happen to me, that I'd be safe. Damon let himself be convinced that nothing would happen to me and he gave me his blood, I would have died without it. The problem is that a vampire named Katherine, who was Elena's ancestor and looked just like her wanted to start trouble. She wanted a vampire to give to an old vampire for a ritual sacrifice and get him to stop trying to kill her so she came, pretending to be Elena and killed me. I went through the transition alone at the hospital and Bonnie gave me a ring so I'd be able to walk in the sun later and Stefan helped me with my control and I swear I'm not dangerous. You found out a couple of months ago but I was scared and I wasn't ready for you to know so I compelled you to forget but now I want you to know." Caroline said.
She had spoken quickly but it wasn't fast enough that Liz didn't understand. She had heard every word her daughter had said and was now very pale.
"Liz, are you okay? Do you need something?"
"I… I don't know…" Liz whispered.
"Would it help if Caroline stepped out for a few minutes while we talked? This room is spelled so that even vampires can't hear what's going on inside." Bella suggested and Liz nodded.
"Don't worry Caroline, it's going to be alright. Just wait in the waiting room for a few minutes, I'll come and get you soon." Bella whispered to her on the way to the door.
Caroline was nervous but she nodded and went to sit on a chair.
"So… You're aware of the supernatural? How did you find out?" Liz asked her.
"That's a very long story I'll be happy to share later. Just know I can keep a secret, have been doing so for over 10 years and that I know a lot about the supernatural world. How do you feel about Caroline's revelation?" Bella asked her.
"I don't know… I… I'm mad that she went through it but I remember that night… I knew she was going to die and when she pulled through and recovered so fast… I was surprised but didn't question it. I was too scared questioning this miracle would make it go away… To know that she had to go through it alone…" Liz shook her head.
"She wasn't alone, don't worry. Your daughter is strong and she had her friends to help her." Bella smiled.
"I know… But… she'll never grow old, never have children..."
"I'm sure that's something Caroline will have to deal with eventually. Maybe she's trying not to think about it for now… Maybe she wanted to tell you the truth for that reason, because she wanted you to be there for her when the time came for her to deal with all of this." Bella suggested.
"You might be right… It's just… I've been taught to hate vampires from a very young age and to find out that my daughter and one of my best friends are vampires… It's not easy to deal with."
"I understand. But I think Caroline wants you to believe that you have nothing to worry about, that they're not dangerous." Bella told her and Liz nodded.
"I think I'm ready for Caroline to come back inside now." Liz nodded and Bella smiled and went to open the door and let Caroline back inside.
Bella let the mother and daughter hug and talk together for a few minutes and once they both sat back down, closer than before, Liz asked:
"What about this ritual? You said that you were killed and became a vampire so you could be killed in a ritual?" Liz asked her daughter.
"Oh, Bella took care of it." Caroline smiled and Liz turned to the mysterious new town member.
"I happened to know the vampire who wanted to do this ritual to break a curse that had been placed on him. I convinced him to kill Katherine, the woman who forced your daughter through the transition, instead of anyone else. Katherine deserved it for many other reasons and now everyone is safe. I'm sure Caroline will be able to explain everything to you better later." Bella explained with a little blush.
"Thank you." Liz smiled at Bella.
"So, anything else you two would like to talk about?" Bella asked.
"At first I wanted to tell dad too but… I don't think I could take that much tension again so soon." Caroline shook her head.
"I don't think your father would take this as well as I do Honey. He's much more radical. I'm afraid he'd do much worst that breaking your heart if we told him." Liz confessed.
"Well, maybe we can take some time to think about it and work on it. You could try and convince him to come here for a few sessions and if I feel he's ready to be told and accept you, I'll inform you." Bella suggested.
"I think it's a good idea." Liz nodded.
"So do I, thank you." Caroline agreed.
They spoke some more and Liz paid for their double sessions. Bella was glad that everything went well and that the mother had taken the news of her daughter's new status so well. She was about to go up to her kitchen to get some lunch when her phone rang.
She looked down at the number and smiled when she saw it was Klaus. Like he promised, he was staying in touch, keeping her informed and probably wanting to know if she had found where Abby Bennett was staying.
.
Klaus had been away from Mystic Fall's for a few days and had already managed to find a pack of werewolves. Maybe luck was finally on his side.
At first, his plan was to change them all but instead he decided to do what Bella would have suggested if she had been here and he gave them the choice of becoming a hybrid like him, to be able not to change every full moon if they didn't want to, to be able to live forever, to be stronger… He found a few volunteers with his offer and they even offered to guide him to other packs around the country.
He kept in touch with Bella, calling every few days to see how she was doing and if she had managed to locate Abby Bennett.
"You know, even if we find Abby and you get to Mickeal, he probably won't have the last White Oak stake with him. You should probably try to find a witch that can locate it for you." Bella advised him.
"You're right and I just happen to know a powerful witch in Chicago. I'll ask her to help me as soon as I have visited the few packs I've heard of so far." He replied before he wished her a good night and hung up the phone.
After breaking his curse, Klaus had paid Maddox and the warlock had left to finally marry his fiancé and pay for the house she had always dreamt of so he wasn't working for Klaus anymore and he had other things on his mind than finding antique pieces of wood.
Klaus wasn't worried though. He had a handful of faithful hybrids and was close to making more of them. Plus, he had Bella on his side and he had the feeling that she was someone that you wanted on your side. She had lots of contacts and he was sure that she would be able to find him so allies if he got himself into some troubles.
"Are you ready to go Klaus?" Mindy, one of his new hybrids, asked him.
"Yes, let's go." He nodded.
I hope you liked it.
Don't hesitate to tell me what you'd like to see happening here.
Review please?
Lorelei Candice Black
