Chapter Thirteen

Alaric answered the insistent knocking on the front door with his heart beating somewhere near his Adams apple. Whenever someone hammered on a door like that it never meant anything good, especially in Mystic Falls. He was even more anxious when he pulled the door open to find Gaby standing on the porch, clutching one of her arms to her chest.

Her face was devoid of colour and she looked to be swaying slightly, which wasn't surprising considering there was a broken bone protruding from the arm she held and blood soaked through her white work blouse and the side of her black waistcoat.

"Gaby!" he exclaimed, ushering her inside. "Are you all right?"

"Where are Jeremy and Elena?" Gaby asked, her voice a barely audible whisper. It was obvious to Alaric that she had lost a lot of blood, especially when she took a step over the threshold and tumbled forward.

Alaric managed to catch her before she hit the ground and he lifted her into his arms. As he carried her into the living room he looked down into her pale face and could almost see Ella staring back at him. She looked so sad and vulnerable that she reminded him of the girl who had become his friend.

"Where are they?" she asked again, her voice was becoming weaker.

"I don't know," he answered, sitting her down on the couch. "Gaby, we have to get you to the hospital."

"Have…to…call…them…" Gaby forced herself to remain conscious. "Tell…them…come…home…bring…Damon…important…"

"I'll call them as soon as I phone you an ambulance," Alaric promised. He moved to get up, but Gaby grabbed the front of his shirt in an iron grip, holding him where he was.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I'll…heal…need…you…set…bone…"

"Me? Gaby I don't think that's a good idea," Alaric argued, his eyes wide in alarm.

"Please," she begged, and there she was again…Ella. Sweet and innocent Ella D'Angelo, the girl you couldn't help but love and want to keep safe. She was his best friend's daughter, what else could he do?

"Ok," he nodded.

"Call…them…first…"

Alaric nodded and got to his feet. He pulled his cell from his shirt pocket and dialled Damon. His friend answered on the first ring.

"Ric, what's up?"

"Are you with Elena and Jeremy?" he asked, forgoing the pleasantries.

"Well they're here at the Grill, so I guess you could say I'm with them. We're not hanging out or anything if that's what you mean."

"You have to bring them home, right now Damon."

"What's going on Ric?" Damon demanded his tone suddenly serious.

"Gaby's here," Alaric explained. "She's hurt Damon."

"We're on our way."

Damon hung up before Alaric could say anymore. It had been all the explanation his Vampire friend had needed to come to his daughter's aid. It still amazed Alaric how much Damon truly loved this girl, he had never seen his friend care so much about someone, not even Elena. It was true what they said about a parent's bond to their child, even if they had met that child less than a year ago.

Before turning back to Gaby, Alaric grabbed a pencil from the sideboard. He then knelt at the young woman's side, she was already fading into unconsciousness, her eyes drooped heavily. Her arm couldn't heal until the bone was back in place and blood was still pumping over the already soaked fabric of her blouse. Alaric was no doctor, but he had a feeling that the bone may have nicked an artery.

"Gaby," Alaric said, shaking her slightly. "I need you to bite down on this pencil."

Forcing her eyes open a little, she looked at the pencil in his hand then opened her mouth. Alaric put it up to her lips and she bit down, he then braced her arm before pulling on her hand. There was a sickening crack as the bone slid back into her arm and connected with the other half. Gaby's back arched off the couched and she moaned in pain, her teeth coming down on the pencil hard, snapping it in two. A few seconds later Gaby slumped back onto the couch having lost the battle to stay awake.

***VAMPIRE DIARIES***

When Gaby awoke, she sat bolt upright on an unfamiliar sofa. Her brown eyes scanned the room and it took a few moments before her memory came flooding back. The fight with Patrick, running to the Gilbert house, Alaric setting her arm…looking down Gaby saw that her arm had healed, but that her uniform had been ruined, it was saturated in her own blood.

"Thank god." Someone breathed a sigh of relief beside her.

Gaby's head whipped round to find Damon Salvatore sitting on the coffee table beside her. His hands were twisted together in his lap and he looked paler than usual. Gaby could feel the worry and relief that he felt heaving in the air around him; it was mixed with a strong feeling of love toward. It wasn't a romantic love, but Gaby couldn't quite explain the feeling.

"How are you feeling?" Damon asked her.

"Fine," Gaby answered, her voice was still a little weak and truthfully she felt a light headed. "Thirsty."

Damon nodded. "You lost a lot of blood. Alaric was worried for a minute that maybe you'd lost a little too much blood, but you started healing almost as soon as he set your arm."

"Where is he?"

"He's in the kitchen, getting you a glass of water."

Alaric reappeared then, closely followed by Elena, Jeremy and Caroline. Gaby figured that Caroline must have heard that she was awake. Ric handed Gaby a glass of ice water and she drank gratefully while the others watched her. A mixture of relief and curiosity emanating from them all.

"Gaby, what happened?" Jeremy asked when she had drained her glass.

"It was Patrick," she answered, but she looked at Elena and Alaric. The others stirred up too many emotions for her to focus on them. "The day that I came here and found out who I used to be, Patrick compelled the neighbour to follow me, he knew everything that you told me."

"He told you this?" Alaric pressed when she paused.

"Yeah," Gaby nodded. "He wanted me to kill Jeremy too, to drive Elena crazy. When I refused he accused me of being in love with Jeremy. I told him that he was being ridiculous, I didn't love Jeremy, I barely know him. Then he said that Ella had been in love with Jeremy, that I might remember Ella's feelings even if I couldn't remember Ella. He'd known all along who I was and why I was really sent here!"

Tears had begun flowing freely down Gaby's cheeks, and without saying anything, Damon was on the couch beside her. He gathered her up into his arms and held her against his chest, Gaby didn't fight it, it made her feel safe and she liked that feeling. They all let her cry; she could feel their sadness for her and Jeremy's pain when she had said that she wasn't in love with him but remembered Ella's love for him. He missed his girlfriend and for the first time Ella wished she could be that girl for him.

"How could they do this to me?" Gaby sobbed, gripping the front of Damon's shirt. "I don't understand, why me? What did I ever do? I don't understand why they would take away my memory then send me here to kill someone I once loved just to turn me into a Fury?"

"A Fury?" Caroline questioned.

"When a Fae takes the life of an innocent person, especially if it's someone they loved, it can cause them immeasurable grief and pain, the only way to survive it without losing their minds is to shut off their emotions. If they do that they become a Fury, cold and empty and about ten times stronger than a Fae because they don't care what they do or who they hurt."

"And that's what they wanted from you?"

Gaby nodded. "Yes. They wanted me to kill Elena to torture Damon before killing Damon."

"You couldn't do it though, could you?" Elena asked softly. She leaned over the couch and squeezed one of Gaby's hands gently.

"No," Gaby moaned through her tears. "It would have been a lot easier if I had, but I couldn't do it. I may not remember you, any of you, but I still feel Ella's connections to you. It seems that her bonds with each of you are too strong to be broken by new memories. That was why Patrick was sent here with me, if I started showing signs that I might be remembering, or feeling something for you he was to call for me memory to be changed again."

"Where is Patrick now?" Damon wanted to know. A wave of anger burst from him when he said Patrick's name.

"I have no idea, he got away when we fought," Gaby explained. "But it's too late. He already made the call, they're on their way here and they won't stop until we're all dead."

TBC…