Bonnie was staring into the fire when she heard the door to the Salvatore house open.
Stefan was carrying Caroline, her body blue, his face broken and wet with tears.
Bonnie dropped the cup of tea she was sipping and let out a cry as she jumped up.
"Oh my god!" She rushed over to him. "What happened?"
Stefan didn't speak, he crossed the room and laid Caroline down on the couch.
He held Caroline's hand in his and stared at her.
Bonnie stepped closer to him, "Stefan?"
Damon and Elena rushed down the stairs, hearing Bonnie cry out.
"Oh No!"Elena gasped. "Caroline?" Tears welled up in Elena's eyes and rolled down her face.
Damon steadied her as she nearly collapsed, his eyes going to Bonnie to take in her emotional state.
Bonnie just stared at Stefan. His grief radiated off him, she couldn't even see him anymore. His body was crumpled next to Caroline, completely destroyed.
Bonnie suddenly remembered what they had learned earlier.
Kai can get her out of Gehenna.
"We can get her back."
Stefan didn't hear her, his mind was already searching for his humanity switch, ready to turn it off. He couldn't handle the pain, the unrelenting despair that spread like a sickness through his body.
Bonnie got on her knees and pulled Stefan's face to hers- "Stefan!"
He looked shocked, completely unaware of anything happening around him.
His eyes fought to look back to Caroline but Bonnie held his face.
"Look at me, Stefan! We can get her back."
Stefan blinked. He realized what she was saying and hope began to wash over his anguish. Then he shook his head.
"She wouldn't...she's good. She wont be there."
Bonnie shook her head.
"Not if she refused to find peace." Bonnie explained.
Stefan eyes widened.
Bonnie continued, letting go of his face. "Do you think Caroline would leave you willingly?"
Stefan looked back to Caroline, his face noticeably crumpling again when he does. "No. I don't think she would leave me." He whispered.
"She's there." Bonnie stood up. "Damon go get Kai."
Damon nodded and ran up the stairs to where Kai was sleeping.
When he returned Kai was in a t-shirt and boxers, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"When i said all hours of the night earlier i didn't mean liter-" Kai stopped when his eyes landed on Stefan and Caroline.
His face contorted in horror at what he saw.
He felt himself wanting to go to Stefan and hug him, even though he didn't really know him, or hug people. But the look on Stefan's face, it shook Kai. It was a feeling he had never experienced, he felt Stefan's grief and it spread within him.
He knew exactly why he was awakened.
Kai swallowed hard. "I have to learn the spell. I don't know it yet."
"Who is coming?" Kai asked.
Stefan stood up, still holding Caroline's hand.
Damon looked to Bonnie then turned to Elena. "Elena. You need to stay with Stefan and go with him to Gehenna the time comes."
Elena looked to him, confused.
"We need to go find the other pieces of the ascendant...and Stefan" He looked at his brother, seeing in him a hopelessness he had never seen before. "You need to be here for him. Make sure he doesn't...go off the rails." He looked back to her. "Bonnie and I will go get the two pieces."
His eyes traveled to Bonnie's and she nodded. "I still need to practice the cloaking spell."
Kai moved towards her. "Come on, you practice that while i learn the spell to get to Gehenna." He held out his hand to lead her downstairs.
Bonnie's instinct was to turn away from Kai. Every time she looked at his face she remembered the horrors he had inflicted on her. Her mind still winced at the sound of his name. But there was a part of her that knew that the man who had done those things to her, no longer existed. Kai's emotions had turned him into someone else. Someone she still didn't like, but someone else none the less.
Bonnie looked at Kai's hand and ignored his offer but allowed him to lead them downstairs.
They went to the cellar where Lily told Kai how to get to Gehenna and Bonnie practiced cloaking them.
Stefan sat back down on the floor next to Caroline, not taking his eyes off her.
Damon walked over to his brother.
"How did this happen?"
Stefan's voice was hoarse, "Enzo."
Damon began to breath heavily, anger rising and taking over his body.
"I'll take care of him."
"No." Stefan grabbed his brothers shirt. "He's mine."
Stefan stood up. "Call me when Kai is ready."
"Stefan wait." Damon grabbed his brothers arm as he tried to pass. "You should-"
Stefan spun and punched his brother in the face. His own face contorted in anger and grief.
Damon took the blow, and put both his arms around his brother, restraining him into a hug.
Stefan fought against him, screaming for Damon to let him go. Damon kept his grip, willing his brother to relent. Stefan gave up and let Damon hug him. He succumbed to his grief again, weeping in his brothers arms. Damon supported his brothers weight as Stefan could no longer hold himself up.
Elena watched the two men, tears streaming down her face, her hand over her mouth.
"Stefan, she's coming back. You are going to get her back. I promise."
Damon pulled Stefan back, looking into his brothers eyes. "Let me come with you. Your emotions are not going to help you win a fight against Enzo."
Stefan nodded, accepting his brothers offer. "But i get to do it."
Damon agreed, "Of course."
/
The brothers went to Enzo's apartment, not expecting to find him but hoping ot track his movements.
Stefan didn't speak. He could barely breathe, he felt like he was choking on the shock of the evening.
Damon had never seen his brother so distraught. He worried about what Stefan would do if they couldn't bring Caroline back.
He shook his head, not wanting to think about it until it was necessary.
Damon spoke. "Where would he go? He isn't a coward, he is anticipating this fight..." His eyes searched the surrounding area. "He would want to set it up perfectly."
There was a warehouse just a half mile down the road that Damon could see from Enzo's balcony.
"There- that's where he is."
Stefan searched the area with his eyes and nodded once. Turning around and walking out the apartment.
As they approached the warehouse, Damon stopped Stefan.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He paused. "I don't mean kill him, i just mean right now. Are you sure you are up for this.?"
Stefan just glared at him and continued walking towards the warehouse door.
Damon sighed and followed his brother inside.
"Oh look- the Hardy boys found their way." Enzo's voice bellowed throughout the warehouse.
Stefan and Damon looked around, trying to find where he was.
"You know Damon, i wasn't really expecting you. Although, I'm not really surprised. You were always willing to sacrifice so much for your little brother. You know, except Elena." Enzo jumped down from somewhere and they heard his feet hit the ground with the thump. "But Stefan. What the hell has Stefan ever done for you?"
Damon looked at his little brother, "You know- good point Enzo." His smile was forced. "i'm on your side now, come on out so we can kill Stefan together." His eyes searched the warehouse for Enzo.
"Sorry it had to be Caroline, you know. But if you hadn't loved her so damn much- it wouldn't have happened."
Stefan growled, his fingernails drawing blood from his palms as he clenched his fist.
"Well I guess we better get on with it. You know- the fighting part of our evening."
Stefan and Damon saw a flash in front of them. Enzo sped around them, throwing stakes as he did.
Stefan took one to the upper arm and one to his spleen. He barely felt them as he pulled them out and ran after Enzo.
Damon struggled to pull a stake out of his back, barely able to reach it to put his fingertips around. He grunted as he yanked it out.
He searched for his brother, finding him on top a stack of crates. Stefan looked around, trying to find Enzo who had managed to slip him.
Suddenly, a fire began roaring behind Damon, pushing him closer to Stefan.
"Fire? Not cool Enzo" Damon yelled.
He looked up to his brother to see him jumping across the large crates making his way across the warehouse towards the rack of boxes against the wall. It towered to the ceiling,. Enzo was sitting patiently, kicking his feet back and forth on the top shelf.
Damon assumed Stefan was walking into a trap and yelled to him but Stefan quickly changed his trajectory, grabbing broken pieces of crate and throwing them in Enzo's direction.
Caught off guard, the wooden pieces threw Enzo backward, one pinning him to the box behind him by the neck.
He moved his hand to pull out the stake but Damon was faster and threw a nearby box at his hand, breaking it and making it unusable until it healed.
Stefan vamp sped at Enzo, using his incapacitation to his advantage. Damon saw him pick up the stake Damon had pulled out of his back and charge towards Enzo.
Enzo used his other hand to reach for the piece of wood pinning him in place. Stefan was faster though, throwing the stake at Enzo, pinning his other hand against his chest.
Enzo's eyes grew wide as he realized what had happened. He had been outmaneuvered.
Stefan walked slowly over to the shelf, climbing up enough to reach Enzo's foot and pulled him to the floor, the piece of wood slicing his neck open completely.
Stefan stepped on the stake pinning Enzo's hand to his chest.
"At least i got to her first." Enzo said with a smile. "Knowing you'll have to live an eternity with out her- makes it all worth it."
Stefan didn't say a word as he plunged his hand into Enzos chest.
Enzo gasped as his heart was ripped from his body.
Stefan exhaled.
He had hoped that killing Enzo would relieve some of the pain he felt, but it only made him feel more empty. Without the need to kill him, Stefan was left was nothing but his despair.
He kept reminding himself that he would see her again, that they were going to get her back but he couldn't get the imagine of her dying face as he held her against him out of his mind.
The light he loved leaving her eyes as she died.
He squeezed Enzo's heart, crushing it in his hands.
Damon walked over to Stefan, putting his hand on his arm.
Stefan dropped the heart and turned away.
He didn't want to cry again. He didn't want to let any of it in again.
Damon noticed his brother's demeanor, fear racing through him.
"Hey"- He grabbed his brothers arm. "don't you dare turn it off."
Stefan looked at him, his eyes swimming with tears. He knew he couldn't.
"She is going to want you to bring her back, not some emotionless douchbag."
Stefan nodded as he let his brother lead him back home.
/
Caroline felt weightless.
All of her senses were clouded with darkness.
Her fear rose higher as she tried to call out.
No sound came out. She tried to move but couldn't find her body, she couldn't feel anything.
Is this hell? Will i live like this forever?
Her thoughts were cut off by the ambient sounds that began to hum softly in her ears.
The darkness began to seep out of her eyes.
She could feel her body materialize, no longer suspended in weightlessness.
When she was able, she focused her vision, taking in the world around her.