Thanks for the reviews they really help me to keep on writing. I had wished to hit the 50 mark but hey ho. Hope you like this chapter more!
Boarding house
Elena watches Damon come up from the basement, she notices all the worry lines, the rage the quit anguish etched upon his face. She can hear the noise coming from the basement as Alaric, or the dark Alaric throws himself into walls, cursing and damning them. As Damon turns to close the door he notices Elena, and her heart breaks for him, Damon needed him to and right now there's nothing he can do to help his friend, there is but he's already promised if it's what ric wants then they'll do it his way.
"you vile creatures think your invincible, your wrong! You will be destroyed I'll rid this town of vampires and all associated with them. Soulless monsters!"
With Alaric's words ringing in the still silence Damon closes the door. He leans against it for a moment as if he doesn't know Elena's there. His eyes then snap up and bore into Elena's. Elena steps out of the showdown challenging him. But he doesn't go any further though, he just comes toward her and runs his hands through the lengths of her hair, not looking her in the eyes. He then closes his eyes and puts his forehead against hers, in a almost audible voice he says "sorry".
Elena confused for a second, but she hears ric ranting again, she understands. When they had looked him up, to get all the herbs that were binding his dark side she had hoped his good side would overrule, or at least both sides would agree they didn't want to die. This had not happened.
And now Elena listens with conflicting emotions as the man who once would have stepped in harm's way for her, now wants to kill her.
"Don't go down there Elena, I've already pised him off!" Damon warns as he vanishes totally.
Elena listens to Damon's retreating footsteps, and then collapses by the basement door, the tears coming thick and raggered. The over bearing quilt of making him wear the ring and to stay with them, the thought of losing someone else, because o her. As always it was because of her, and she hated herself for loving Stefan and being happy with Stefan when she was responsible for all this. As Elena sobs quieten she realises so has Alaric's wailing. She turns on her knees listening more closely but there's nothing, she shouts for Damon but there's no answer. She shouts for Stefan even thought she knows he's out hunting. Damnit what was Damon doing? Elena continues to listen nothing. She's scared in case he's hurt but also scared of going down. Stop it Elena, she tells herself. You're a vampire! Faster, stronger. Just peep through the cell bars check and leave.
So she slowly and as quietly as she can opens the door and sneaks down the basement steps.
In the forsest
Caroline angrily tears at the rabbit in her hands, and then throws it down disgusted at herself. When she looks up Stefan is stood with his arms folded his eyes questioning.
"What?" Caroline hisses at him.
Stefan doesn't answer her and kicks the stones on the floor. Is actions just put Caroline more on edge, throwing her hands up in the air she groans "fine!" She stands up and begins pulling the leaves off a bush. Her actions clearly venting her frustrations, "nobody cares" she accuses.
And Stefan has the good sense not to pretend she doesn't know what she's talking about.
"Caroline how can you think that? Yes at first we may have missed that detail but only because there were so many other things to worry over. We don't even know who were sired to. And you know we always come up with a way. Perhaps it won't kill Tyler because he's part wolf. I don't know Caroline, but don't think that were willing to sacrifice Tyler or anyone, i know your worried we all are. But were a family weather we all want to be or not, we are a team and we look after each over."
"But Damon...
Stefan comes over to her takes her hands, stroking them to sooth her and reassure her, but his voice is firm and decisive, "no Caroline Damon's different he knows that we work together, look out for each other." And then he pulls her face to look at him and gives a sly smile, "plus he couldn't take bonnies wrath".
This makes Caroline laugh, she pushes at his shoulder, but is picturing Damon on his knees has bonnie pops his blood vessels over and over. They head back to the boarding house.
Boarding house
Jeremy stops at the front door as he watches bonnie pull up, his heart lifting at the sight of her, and then dropping again when he realises she probably here to see Damon. Jeremy knows he did wrong by her, and if Anna could be here she's who he would be here, but he loves bonnie too. Resigning himself to the fact that if she's happy so is he.
She gets out of the car and gives him a little hug as she comes up to the doorstep. She's happy that she has moved past the fact that Jeremy cheated on her with a ghost. And as bad as it felt at the time, she knows now they weren't meant to be, and he had never stopped loving Anna she was taken from him. Sometimes she feels like he still longs for them. But she feels like he's holding on to a memory. At the end of the day though she wants them to be friends, he's like family and they need each other.
"Hey thought you were working today?" bonnie asks
"Yeah late night just stopped by for an hour to see ric" Jeremy looks away uneasy, and bonnie's heart breaks a little for him. He's lost so much, and he really reached out to ric. Now he's being painfully dragged away to. Only Jeremy has to watch knowing there isn't anything they can do.
Bonnie reaches out n places her hand on his sleeve, "hey am sorry, i tried jer, i looked for anything. Damon even suggested vampirism, " Jeremy's head snaps back at her, eyes bright and Eger, bonnie shakes her head at him, "no jer this evil it's so dark that as a vampire it would only be amplified, it wouldn't be him, he'd be 10 times worst and strong with one mission."
Bonnie hates the words and hates seeing his wounded puppy expression. She hurts because he is, and it shows how much he is hurting when he was so willing at the idea of turning him into a vampire. Bonnie pulls him inside with her.
"You going to find Elena first?"
Jeremy's managed to snap himself out of his trance he smiles at her and wonders off in the direction of the kitchen. Bonnies rubs her eyes trying to stop the tears that are threatening to fall, and walks off to find Damon.
Basement
Elena is stood looking through the cell bars ric is unmoving laid face down on the floor, she listens closely and detect his heartbeat. She hears Jeremy come down the steps.
"Hey, didn't you hear me call...
His words are cut off by Elena clamping her hand over his mouth. She then turns his head and begins whispering in his ear" Damon's being down this morning, it sounded bad, and Damon...well he looked like hell when he came out. He's getting worst, he's laid out on the floor now not moving i can't decided what's going on. But Damon said not to come down here."
Jeremy struggles to pull Elena's hand from his mouth, he throws her a disgruntled frown, feeling put out that his sister is stronger than him and also Damon giving out the rules again.
He shrugs past her frown still in place, "i want to see ric, because who knows how much longer am going to a be able to, i don't care what that dick says!"
Jeremy peers through the bars, and the sight angers him. Ric imprisoned laid on the dirty floor.
"This is our guardian Elena, how can we be doing this to him. We have to keep looking for something anything to make him better!"
Jeremy then unlocks the bars and goes in, Elena follows and watches from the doorway. He's right she thinks this is our Alaric. Were a family,
"Ok jer we'll take him upstairs. You know that he'll have to continue to live here until we come up with something."
Jeremy's face is impassive as he begins to roll ric over. Ric still doesn't move. Jeremy leans closer to listen, and then goes to open his eyelids, but as his fingers come in contact with the skin Alaric's eyes shoot open and his hand clutches Jeremy's wrist twisting and rolling Jeremy on to his back. Alaric is now leant over Jeremy with a small handmade stake held against Jeremy's throat. Elena runs over and is about to tear Alaric off Jeremy's when Alaric make a small nick in Jeremy's throat. Small beads of blood spurt through. But it's enough to stop Elena. It's everywhere the smell, taking over her senses. Alaric takes advantage of Elena's stillness and backs up holding Jeremy. He then runs the stake point down Jeremy's arm, causing more of a flow of blood. "look at you, monster! You want it don't you Elena the blood? Feed from Jeremy your brother, BECAUSE THAT'S THE MONSTER YOU ARE!"
"NO ELENA DONT LISTEN! YOU'RE STRONG YOU KNOW YOU ARE!"
Elena can't barley register the words, her eyes are focused on the dripping blood, the sound of Jeremy's increased heartbeat. Her face starts to change, she wants it, she bite down on her lip so hard it bleeds.
"Do you Jeremy? She's not your sister. She wants to kill you because that's what she is and she needs to be stopped. Elena it's a good job your parents are dead, do you think they would have being proud? To see that you caused the loss of life for so many and then become ONE OF THEM!
Alaric's words seem to penetrate Elena's blood lust, because her eyes glaze over she then begins to retreat back, but in doing so it leads Alaric to drive the stake in to Jeremy side it's not a kill shot, but Jeremy begins to bleed more. Alaric lets go of him as he crumbles to the floor. Alaric crouches in front of him. Now Jeremy can see that ric is gone, this face is consorted in evil, it pours from him, "and you Jeremy wear the over ring you have to power to do what's right, kill the vampires. Yet you're no better than your sister. You too need to die!"
These are the last words that Elena hears and suddenly the blood isn't calling to her Jeremy is. She speeds over to Alaric's turned back, mentally preparing her to snap Alaric's neck, but at the last second he turns and pushes that small stake into her, misses her heart by an inch. Her wide doe eyes look into Alaric's black soulless ones, at least it wasn't her ric, he's completely dead.
"ELENA!"
Damon's bedroom
Damon feels the water pound against his back, he thinks of ric. Realising that he has to accept that that not ric any more . Its 'dalaric'
#
he rubs his hand hard against his forehead, because in this realisation he knows that soon he will have to die, because he's the enemy now.
Bonnie finds him the shower, "Damon"
And then a little louder "OI DAMON"
Damon turns with a startled expression, she gives a little victory smile it's nice to catch him off guard. He turns off the shower and steps out totally naked,
"Want a towel Salvatore? Or do you prefer to air dry?
Damon turns with that famous smirk his mouth opens to reply and then he stops dead. Bonnie tries to listen but can't really hear anything. "What's...Damon puts his fingers to her lips. Listening he can hear them talking and then he smells it blood a lot of it. Bonnie sees the veins beneath Damon's eyes but its only for a second he grabs his robe and vampire speeds off with bonnie running after.
Damon runs into the cell taking in the scene, Elena's blood but he can't see the cause of it, but her skin is tinted something's wrong. Jeremy's losing a lot of blood, a trail were he's dragged himself to Elena. Finally his eyes land on Alaric, whose sat crossed legged in the chair, his head being propped up by his elbow, and a board expression on his face. He notices the other arm of the chair is gone. The chairs wooden. He bends to the siblings not taking his eyes off ric. He rolls Jeremy over, "stakkked err"he mutters drowsily.
This causes a little chuckle from Alaric. Damon bites into his wrist and lets his blood drip into Jeremy's mouth.
Aww look at that, the badass vampire going soft. He only wants to be loved, have a family, be good misses being human. But you can't suppress it can you Damon? Your need to kill of how others people lives aren't always of enough value that somehow they have to die if it doesn't fit with you?"
Damon helps Jeremy up and leans him on bonnie, nodding for her to take him upstairs.
Shifting Alaric's attention to her.
"And you a bennet witch, what must you be thinking to go with someone like him? Your suppose to help protect from them. Do you think that the witches are happy? That they're not watching? That there won't be some consequence of this? I mean seriously you must have some self esteem issues, because of him your grams is dead, your mother a vampire. Or perhaps that's the attraction?"
As bonnie clutches Jeremy's heavy weight her eyes look into Damon's, but she sees no emotion just a dead flat look, he just gestures for bonnie to get Jeremy out.
Damon turns back to Elena, making sure rics doing nothing. He doesn't talk because he doesn't want to think about what's happening. Alaric points to Elena on the floor, "go ahead save Elena, it's what you do!"
Damon bends to Elena and locates the small stake that's lodged in her, its close but he slides his finger against it, to act as a barrier between the wood and her heart. It almost out, when he fells the wooden stake pierce his shin on the centre of his back, Elena lets out a loud groan, as Damon double back pulling the small stake with him, finally Elena can breathe.
Damon knew Alaric would try to kill him, counting on it, ric was a vampire hunter, he knew what to do the trouble is Damon's a better hunter. "say goodbye to ric Elena, and leave" he grates out to Elena.
Who looks past him to ric, but she see's he's not there, something else in Alaric's body, so instead she looks to the ceiling, knowing full well what's about to happen, the tears run down her face she whispers"goodbye ric, thank you for everything i hope you find Jenna, and am so sorry for my part in this, believe when i say you know this is never what i wanted for you. I just wanted you to be happy i thought you could have being with me and Jeremy"
Damon reaches behind and pulls the stake out, he knows Alaric may have 1 or 2 more of these stakes so he has to be quick, as he turns and runs at Alaric, he swears he see some emotion flicker in his eyes which are still focused on Elena, he doesn't notice Damon until he's upon him, Alaric appears another small stake, which impresses Damon that he got this much from the arm of the chair. He pierces Damon at his right side, but it barely penetrates the shin because Damon's own stake has just entered Alaric lower stomach. Damon hears Elena's gasp and once again tells her to leave. Which she now does. Alaric's trying again to raise his arm with the stake, so Damon uses the other stake and stabs him his side. Similar to where he stabbed Jeremy. Alaric's eyes change they widen, his mouth open gasping for air, clutching Damon's arm. Damon hears Alaric's heartbeat race and then begin to slow. He then notices his eyes are not black there his normal hazy brown green.
Elena runs up the stairs and out into the hall way colliding with Stefan, he pulls her close as her sobs break free, he doesn't talk, there's nothing to say, both of them listening to what's going on downstairs.
Damon clutches ric shoulder and peers into his eyes, wanting confirmation that this is there ric,
Rics eyes are wide, "finish it Damon" he pants out.
Damon feels the conflict inside he doesn't want his friend to die, let alone be the one to kill him. But he also knows rics only here now to make sure it's done.
Damon's shaking his head knowing the answer to his question before he asks, "vampire?"
Ric lets out a hollow laugh," i think I'd be the worst kind of vampire, and let's not pretend otherwise. It's ok Damon, am giving you my permission on this one"
Damon smiles weakly as ric lifts his hand, and Damon slowly pulls the ring off, just before the ring leaves his finger he whispers, "am sorry".
He places the ring in his pocket and then moves behind ric, he leans ric body on to his. "it will be over quickly think of something that makes you happy bourbon?"
Rics smiles weakly and closes his eyes growing weak from the blood lose. Damon takes this as if que.
Rics mind
Ric's out on the decking, trying to get the bbq going.
"Need a hand house daddy?"
Damon asks coming out and handing him a glass of his favourite amber liquid.
"I've got this, take down vamps on a regular basis am not going to let a bbq defeat me!"
"Daddy daddy look what Elena got me, so sparkly!"
Ric looks down at his 4 year old daughter, Megan red curls bobbing around as she jumps up and down showing off her bracelet, ric scoops her up, marvelling at how perfect she is. He then looks around the garden at everyone. His eyes landing on Jenna, his wife she perfect and has given him everything he wants, he watches her in the sunlight. Watches her smile until she catches him staring, smiling she mouths "i love you"
Basement
Damon feels ric smile, as his own tears fall he snaps rics neck. He doesn't move for a long time, until Stefan comes for him.
Week later
They all stand around the grave, that Damon had managed to compel to get a plot next to Jenna's. Its a bright day, clear and crisp. They listen to the victor but all Elena hears is a droning noise.
Elena thinks back to almost a year ago when they last stood here, she blames herself for them for ric. She feels Stefan's hand tighten on hers. But she looks past him to Jeremy, his face is twisted in anguish she sees her own thoughts reflected there she just wants to run away. Damon has reverted to drink and snidy comments. Stefan trying so hard to stop them all from falling apart.
And it's not over she thinks.
They head back to the grill, matt's asked for a private function and there's some food on. People from ric collage and North Carolina have come. And of course pupils and staff from mystic falls.
Elena's in a trance has she greets and takes peoples sympathies. Until she's had enough, she excuses herself to the toilets. But finds herself outside on the pavement.
She sets off walking until she ends up at her home. Letting herself in, she wonders around aimlessly old memories coming to her. She's unaware that someone's being watching her since the ceremony.
Startled by a noise she turns and then spins back round when it sails past her again, the cool air surrounding her, vampire she knows. She then fells him behind her. She doesn't turn just tenses when he breathes against her neck,
"So it's true, you have no heartbeat"