Ch. 28 The Death of an Original

Disclaimer- not mine


"What the hell are you doing?" Milo's cold voice jumped out at her. Caroline stumbled forward in the sunlight. She raised a hand to protect her eyes from the white hot sun. She had just stepped out from the Darter's front door.

Milo's voice was obviously angry. And he had a serious angry face to go with it.

"What's your problem?" she grumbled. In the past few days things had been touch and go with her best friend Milo. There was rocky ground between the two and they were both tip toeing around each other.

Caroline walked past him and he followed behind. He tried to catch her elbow but she pulled away from him. "You have to stop coming here."

Caroline jerked away and swung to face him. "Why are you so scared of the Darter's? And why have you been so rude lately?"

"Well let's see," Milo grunted. "You continue to hang around dead people who are making you go crazy. Do you even see how it's changing you? You can barely walk right now, I don't know what they're doing to you but-"

"You're scared about me hanging out with Millie because your mom went crazy just like her." Caroline clamped her mouth tight together instantly regretting what she had just said. Of course that was the reason he hated her for hanging out in the Darter house. It was there that the women of the family went crazy. He was just scared. It was the reason for their lack of being BFF's lately. That and the fact that he was very worried about Mikael hanging around. Tense situation were popping up all around in their world.

The air whipped between them. The gate to the Darter house closed shut and it was just the two of them standing in the street. Milo shook his head and turned his back on her and walked away. Guilt settled in the bottom of her stomach. She didn't know what she was doing. Did anybody know what they were doing anymore?

Mystic Falls was on edge with Mikael and Esther there. Nobody had really seen them but it was enough just knowing that they were there. Everything was suspended in time as they all just waited for something to happen.


"Damon what the hell are we doing here?" Stefan stepped over a tree branch. His thick heavy boots had guided him into the forest on the edge of town. His older brother had given him a call and he had arrived within ten minutes.

"Shut up," Damon called at him. "Were you followed here?"

"I didn't see anyone or hear them follow me," Stefan took one final step into the clearing and the sun's final rays beamed onto a casket. "Is that Esther's casket?"

"I had to borrow it," Damon told him. He leaned forward and raised the top.

It took a lot to surprise Stefan. He usually always had his steely blank face but Damon got a satisfying reaction when he saw the sharp intake of breath from his brother. He didn't take his eyes away from Finn's lifeless body.

"Where was he?"

Damon remained quiet for a minute in thought. "A gift from the blonde Barbie." He shut his mouth and kept quiet making Stefan look at him. It prompted him to continue to talk. "She didn't tell me what the creep did to her but she got him good."

"Where was he?" Stefan asked again.

"In a hole," Damon took his eyes away from Finn. "She called and told me she didn't want anything to do with anymore. That she was over it. She sent Crosby and he took me to the country side of Germany. I had to dig him up."

"He wasn't even in a casket?" Stefan asked. Damon shook his head.

"Where ever he was the ground was burnt. People had died there." Damon reached behind his back and pulled out the last white oak stake. "I don't care what anybody else says. I'm not gonna live in this town with crazy ass papa and mama Originals. We're going to send them a message."

"Klaus isn't going to like this," Stefan reminded him. "This is their brother we're about to kill."

"Don't go all pansy on me now, little brother." Damon bent down and was about to take the dagger out when the body moved in a flash and he was shoved back with force.

"Damon," Stefan shouted out before he was also pushed down. The dagger had come loose out of his body and now Finn was awake.

"Be careful Stefan," Damon warned. "The Originals can use the dagger like a stake. It's lethal in the heart."

"How do you know that?"

"Creepy Crosby knows a lot of weird facts." Damon got up on his feet and raced after Finn. It was easy to catch up to him as he was only walking. He took him down to the ground but he was thrown off. Stefan was next in line to take him down and he wrestled with him.

"We're moving into town," Stefan told his brother. "If we're going to do this than we need to do it now."

"I know," Damon kicked at Finn.

"Where's the girl?" Finn struggled below Stefan. His movements were still sluggish from being asleep for so long. It was the only reason they had an advantage over the stronger Original. Stefan kept his elbow down on the vampire's neck. "Where the hell is the bloody girl?"

He broke free from Stefan's grip and ran out into the town square. They were one minute away from having an audience. Damon lunged with the stake but it was knocked back to the ground. Stefan pinned Finn's hands back while Damon tried to spot the stake.

The piece of wood landed in Finn's heart. Damon looked up sharp to see Matt Donovan shoving the stake into the Originals flesh. Tyler was standing to the side. They must have walked over to the commotion.

"Guy's," Tyler pointed to behind them. They all turned to see Caroline standing with the dagger lodged into her. It must have flown out and struck her as the target. She crumbled to the ground landing hard on her knees. She was graying.

"Where the hell did you guys come from?" Stefan rushed over to Caroline. "Nobody followed us."

"You're kind of taking down an Original in the town square," Matt replied. "I just killed an Original."

"Tyler," Caroline whispered for the first time. All eyes were brought to her. The fatal wound was bleeding. "You have to bite me."

They all stood back.

"What," Tyler said in disbelief.

"I can survive a bite," she looked up into his eyes. "I can't survive this. You have to do it."

"How is that going to work?"

"I don't know if it will," she was honest. "But it's the only plan I have right now."

In front of their eyes she was waning. Not knowing what to do or how this night had gone so far from how it had started Tyler bent down and looking around unsure he tilted her head back and as the others were silent he sank his teeth into her skin. It was brutal.

"Stop," Stefan put a hand out. Tyler drew back but the damage had already been done. Stefan leaned down and picked Caroline up. "Liz is closest."

"I still don't know how she got here," Damon followed behind.

"Cora's at the Grill," Matt told him. Caroline had just walked up at the wrong time.

"Look," Stefan turned his head back to speak. "I'll get her home and you guys go drop Finn at his parents."

Damon nodded and did as he was told. He shook his head and the feeling that something had just gone massively wrong. He had gotten what he had wanted. Finn was dead and about to be a present to his parents. The wolf bite Caroline had would cancel out the effects of the dagger probably. Actually he didn't know if that was true, but maybe Caroline was just strong enough to hold her own against some stupid knife. In fact he told himself that Crosby was on crack. The creepy man probably didn't know what the hell he was talking about.


"To Finn," Kol raised his glass up in the air. They clinked the shot glasses together and the brothers and sister drowned the liquor in it.

It was a somber affair. But then again it wasn't. Family was everything to the Mikaelson's. For centuries it had just been the siblings fighting to hold on to one another. Finn hadn't been a part of that. He hated his own existence and he hated his brothers and sister even more for adapting so well with their vampirism.

It didn't help that he had been locked away for almost nine hundred years and then on top of that when he was finally set free he ended up with a dagger back in him. It was sad to lose him and to know they would never have him in their family photo again but it was also sad to say that it wasn't hard to say goodbye to him because they simply just didn't know him that well. Towards the end he had almost been more like an enemy anyway.

"I can't believe that stupid football player has killed our brother," Rebekah wallowed in the dramatics.

"I can't believe we're now sitting in his bar drinking," Kol dead panned back to her. He leaned his head back to slam another shot. His gaze slid down the bar at the pretty little thing named Cora. He called out to her. "I gather your friend is alright."

Cora looked up from her own drink. She shrugged not wanting to meet Kol's eyes. He made her nervous. "She'll be fine. Honestly the bite probably didn't even hurt her."

"How can that be," Matt threw a hand towel over his shoulder as he walked up and down behind the bar counter. "Tyler took a bite from her big time."

Elijah cracked a smile and Rebekah gave him a look. Her brother didn't show emotion like that.

He shrugged and explained. "It's rude to think this, I know, but Damon would have cried if Tyler had bitten him again."

The comment caused a round of laughter before a hush fell over the crowd. It was so interesting how their lives had turned out. They felt guilt at the fact that they could still laugh at their brother's memorial. It hadn't even been a full night but they could so easily get over the death.

Matt flung the towel down and passed Damon his usual as he entered the Grill and headed to them. Without a thank you he drained it and turned to the Originals.

"Is the dagger lethal to regular vampires?"

"Of course," Elijah told him without question. "If you were to dagger me right now you would die. You know this."

"But," Damon held out his hands gathering his thoughts. "If it landed in a vampire's heart would it act as a stake?"

The Originals pondered the question.

"Probably," Kol consented. "But then again they've never been used as weapons. So no, Crosby only knows myths most likely. You all were a bit dramatic with the werewolf bite now weren't you?"

"Better safe than sorry," Matt said though he wasn't all too sure how the bite had helped Caroline.

"We're just saying that the only reason she's alive is that she's immune to bites," Rebekah rolled her eyes. "There's no truth to the dagger being able to kill normal vampires like that."

Matt leaned down on the counter. "I've been thinking about something."

Rebekah groaned and Kol mentioned something to the tune of that's too bad mate under his breath.

Matt ignored them and went on. "We know Caroline daggered Finn. But how did she survive that?"

They were silent for a moment and then one by one they looked down the bar. Cora kept her head down.

"Come on love," Kol prompted.

She shook her head still not looking at them. Finally she gave just a smidge of information. "It was an accident stabbing him. She actually never touched the dagger."

"How does one accidently dagger an Original?" Damon said loudly.

"She didn't know who he was," Cora was so quiet.

"You know what," Rebekah leaned back with a bottle in her hands. "Let's just stop. Finn is gone, we shouldn't worry over things like these anymore." She turned to her more outgoing brother. "Let's honor him by drinking our lives away shall we?"

Kol swallowed his own liquor. It sounded like a fine plan to him.


"You need to lie down," Liz told her.

"Mom I'm fine," Caroline told her for the hundredth time. "I know it's weird but trust me when I say I'm fine. Chase and I made sure I could bounce back from a bite fast."

Liz stepped further into her daughter's room. It was the first time in three years that Caroline was occupying her old room. She didn't usually get emotional but Liz Forbes swallowed back a few tears.

"Are you sure you feel okay?"

"I'm sure," Caroline looked at her mother. "If it makes you feel better I'll stay here for the rest of the night. I'll even have somebody pick me up in the morning so I won't drive."

At the mention of driving the sudden thought that her old motorcycle could still be hidden in out back made her smile. She might have to get that out.

"I'll let you rest," Liz smiled happily. Things felt right. "But you have to rest."

"I'll get into bed now." Caroline replied. She got up from her desk chair when something caught her eye. "Wait, what is this?"

"Oh," Liz said in surprise as she looked at the item. "It's the photo album that Chase gave me when he came to see me. Nobody used to ever come in your room so I hid it here."

Caroline opened the thick cover and started to flip through the pages. She was wrapped up in looking and after a few minutes she realized her mom was nervously watching her.

"It's fine," she knew Liz was worried that she would freak out about seeing Chase in the photos. "In fact I'm going to bed now. Night."

Liz smiled again and dipped her head to say good night before bowing out of the room. True to her word Caroline had every intention of getting some rest. Her bones felt weary and her muscles were under strain from healing. She placed the album on the corner of her desk and turned to her bed. Taking one step she clipped the side of the book and it fell onto the floor. Just great, she thought, because it's always good to be a klutz. She bent down and picked it up and placed it on the desk above her. She was about to stand up fully when she saw the letter. Confused at first she turned it in her hand. And then she realized it had fallen out from the photo album.

Babe. The envelope was addressed. It was Chase's sprawling hand writing in black ink. Standing up gingerly she tenderly slid the seal open. Pulling the letter out it unfolded in front of her.

Hey Care,

I know you call me paranoid all the time and it's true. So when you're reading this there could be two options. One you've found this note and are laughing at me because we're married and happy. Or Two…I'm dead.

Before you go on stop freaking out. I've always known that I would die young. Call it intuition. Or call it my weird gift because I'm related to the Darter's. I know, a bomb has been dropped because you now know that not only am I related to Ray but to also Cicilia. And you also know that they're cursed. It may skip the male side of the family but I swear I got some foresight from the deal.

At first I wasn't really sure why I was writing this. To tell you that I was okay. To tell you that I knew I would die young. That I wasn't going to make you my widow. That I'll always love you. That I know you'll always love me. But that being said I want you to find love again. You have a big heart don't waste it on my lifeless body.

Now I think I'm writing this to give you encouragement. I hope that this scene is totally straight from a movie. Maybe something life shattering has just happened and you found this letter by accident. And maybe it helps you find your way. You know, just something out of an Oscar worthy movie.

I hope because of this letter you find your way. There I said it. I think you've always know what path you would be on. You're different Care. As a human you were different and as a vampire you're different. It's scary to be the first at something. It's scary to know that you have power in you that can lead to a new world. It's because of you that a lot of things will happen. It's because of you that the pack is different. You have to change Mystic Falls. You are a natural born leader but somewhere along the way you decided to hide in the shadows. Is it cheesy if I saw it's your time to shine? It's your time to shine.

I have one last thing to say to you. You know how they say Helen launched a thousand ships. You know what they say about you? That you melted Klaus's heart. I know you're about to throw this piece of paper down in disgust at the mere mention of his name but don't. I'm not alive anymore. And if someone is going to fill my shoes I guess it's okay if he does. You might be wondering what the hell I'm doing. I'm dead but I'm trying to set you up. Well I have sound logic. I want the best for you and I know that you won't let him treat you like crap. Think about it Caroline…he loved you as a human in your darkest days. He'll love you now. Maybe it's time you guys just talked.

Hold onto my family for me but know that they'll be okay with your choices for your life. They've always been cool when it comes to respecting things like that. Make sure you know that they love you.

It's sad but I have to end this letter at some point but how? I can't just keep repeating that I love you. Which I do. And I hope this letter hasn't been too girly, cause I'm a man.

I love you,

Chase

P.S. Name a kid after me some day

It fell out of her hand. It wavered to the ground in the rooms current. His voice had struck her so clearly as she had read it. She looked down at her hands. They felt different. In fact her whole body suddenly felt strange. Was she okay with the letter? It was very Chase. But something else was wrong. She pulled her hand up and the motion felt slowed. She ran a hand through her hair. It felt different. She was just psyching herself out.

She looked back down at the letter. And then she fell down. When her mom came back to check on her she was unconscious.


Before I get a ton of pissed off comments saying you hate that this isn't a klaroline story I'm pleased to announce that in about two chapters they will be together. Forever. Thanks for taking the time to read my story.