Chapter Forty-Three

Lost and Found

"You say I took the name in vain. I don't even know the name. But if I did, well, really, what's it to you? There's a blaze of light in every word. It doesn't matter which you heard the holy or the broken Hallelujah..." ~ Leonard Cohen

"It's everything you wanted, it's everything you don't. It's one door swinging open and one door swinging closed. Some prayers find an answer. Some prayers never know. We're holding on and letting go..." ~ Ross Copperman

"Pink flowers and bows, is all you should know, and summer days. Cuz all that you are is beautiful child, but they'll never know, they'll never know..." ~ Ross Copperman

Stefan's Point of View

Ava's been missing two days. There was nothing in the house to indicate what had happened to her. Jackson and I both went over every inch of the house and found nothing. Jackson and the Club were out trying to find any leads to tell us who took her and why.

I got the feeling that Jackson had an idea what had happened to her, but he wasn't telling me anything. I stared at the pool of blood on the carpet consumed by fear. "Where is she?" Damon demanded his presence unmistakable.

He was furious and scared. Something I never thought I'd see from him. I've seen Damon furious before, but never so scared. "We don't know," I answered truthfully.

"This is exactly what I warned her about. Exactly what I was afraid of," he said coming to a stand next to me. His eyes settled on the blood stain and his beast surfaced. Not from hunger but from anger. "Why didn't you call me?" Damon asked turning to look at me. His beast retreated leaving behind the man that loves Ava.

"Because I didn't want you to do something stupid," I said honestly.

Damon seemed to accept my reason and looked at the stain again.

"We need to find her," Damon said.

"I'm trying, but there's nothing to go on."

"It's been two days Stefan. What do they want?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely not the Keepers."

"So, Jackson's lifestyle finally caught up with her?"

"It looks like it."

"This was exactly what I was afraid of," Damon repeated shaking his head.

We stood in silence, both occupied with the worst case scenario. Ava could be dead.

Immortal or not she could still die. I just wished I hadn't left her alone. I shouldn't have let her convince me to go to the venue without her. I should've protected her.

"It's not your fault," Damon said pulling me from my thoughts.

I was surprised to hear those words coming from his lips and they sounded so sincere.

"Yeah it is, because I left her alone," I said.

Jackson pulled into the driveway and I turned towards Damon.

"Don't attack the human," I warned as Jackson approached the house.

Damon turned towards the door as Jackson entered. He looked scruffy and tired.

It was apparent that he had had no sleep since Ava's gone missing. I felt sorry for the poor man. He and Ava was meant to be married, and what should've been the best day of their lives turned into something tragic. "Anything?" I asked as Jackson looked around the house. He was hoping to spot something that we might've missed, but there was nothing to be found because we've already checked three times.

"We thought we had something, but it was a dead end," he said his eyes taking in every inch of the living room. I could sense Damon physically holding in the urge to tear Jackson apart. I stepped between Damon and Jackson not wanting Damon to kill the man Ava loved. We had enough on our plates as it was, there was no space for more drama. "What can we do?" I asked. Jackson shook his head and left without so much as a word. I watched him leave feeling helpless.

Jackson stopped in his tracks on the porch as tires squealed and a van came to a stop. Damon and I rushed to the door just as the van door opened and two masked men pushed a bleeding and bruised Ava from the van. The van door closed and sped down the street. Jackson jumped on his motorcycle following the van. Damon and I rushed towards where Ava laid on the ground. She was barely breathing. Damon was on his knees gathering Ava into his arms. He picked her up and carried her inside.

Her wedding dress was ripped and blood stained. Her face was unrecognizable.

She was a mess. Damon got in the shower and sat down with Ava in his lap and undressed her. I helped him take off the dress and clean her bruised and battered body. She still had on her underwear. There was blood everywhere and she barely had a heartbeat. We got to her back and we both stopped what we were doing and stared at her back. Carved in to her flesh were the words you're next.

Damon was the first to regain his composure and cleaned her back. I left Damon to undress her completely and wash away all the blood.

I handed Damon a towel, and clean underwear and t-shirt. Damon carried Ava into the room a few minutes later and laid her down on the bed. We exchanged worried looks, her pulse weak and her breathing labored.

Damon's Point of View

Time ticked by slowly, Ava's heart beat slowing down with each passing second. Sasha came running into the room, and stopped in her tracks. She put her black bag down and stared at Ava's battered body. She burst into tears, sitting down on her heels. I gave her moment, before I cleared my throat.

"Oh," she said wiping her eyes. "Stefan called me."

"Sorry, I should've done it," I said getting up. She looked at me her big green eyes alight with fury and resentment. Sasha and Ava were really close, so it goes without saying that she'd be upset because I hurt her friend. Sasha noticed me studying her and turned back toward Ava. She picked up her doctor's bag, at least that's what I thought it was, and walked over to where Ava laid. She put the bag down by Ava's feet and opened it. It was indeed her doctor's bag. She took out her stethoscope and began her examination. I got out of the way, letting Sasha do her job.

I watched as she carried out her examination and clean Ava's wounds with disinfection. "Her back too," I said when she finished the front. "Can you lift her?" she asked getting to her feet. I nodded and went over to help Sasha lift Ava. I flipped Ava gently on her side, and Sasha lifted her shirt and closed her eyes.

"I told her," she said fresh tears glistening in her eyes. "I warned her that this might happen." I saw the pain in Sasha's eyes, and knew that something was wrong.

Sasha cleaned the wounds, and nodded. I laid Ava down again and covered her body with a blanket. I got to my feet and looked at Sasha.

"It's not good," she said putting away her things.

"But she'll be okay?" I asked, the desperation in my voice undeniable.

"She's dying, Damon," Sasha said defeated.

"What do you mean she's dying?" I said looking at Ava. "She's suppose to heal!"

"She's too weak, her body is broken."

"Then fix it," I demanded.

"I can't fix it, her body is too badly damaged," Sasha said her anguish evident.

She was losing her best friend. Sasha was losing the one person she could rely on.

I shook my head not ready to believe that Ava's dying.

"I drained her blood, and she healed! So why isn't her body doing the same now?"

"It's not a matter of pumping blood to her brain, it's about healing what we can't see. There's too much damage to her organs."

"You have to do something."

"There's nothing I can do, Damon." She touched my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

I didn't need her to comfort me. I needed Sasha to safe Ava.

"Don't say that!" I snapped. "It's not meant to be this way!"

"You think this is what I want?" Sasha asked angrily. "None of us want this."

"You blame me for this?" I said looking at Sasha. It was clear that she did. It was written all over her face. "All of this is your fault!" she whispered angrily, glaring at me. "You!" she said poking me in the chest. "You just had to love her! You fell in love with a psychopath and a school girl, but you couldn't fall in love with the one person that's always managed to love you! You're an ignorant ass!" Sasha took a deep breath in an attempt to reign in her anger. Sasha was right. All of this was my fault. Every single decision I made has effected Ava in some way. I just had to choose her.

"No," Sasha said breaking the silence. "I blame whoever did this."

Sasha dropped her gaze and took a deep breath. She looked up and met my gaze.

"She just can't survive this. She's exhausted, Damon."

"Then it'll all be for nothing," I said softly, more to myself than to Sasha.

"This is not how it's supposed to end," I repeated sitting down next to Ava, and taking her hand. "I don't know what you want from me," Sasha said picking up her bag, getting ready to leave. Sasha took two steps and then stopped. She turned around and looked at me with interest, like she just thought of something.

"How did you help her in 2002?" she asked.

"I gave her my blood," I answered.

"Then do it again," she said putting her bag down.

"No," I said shaking my head. "The last time I gave her my blood she became violently ill!" I looked at Ava contemplating whether I should give her my blood. But thought better of it. "Her body will only reject it."

"It'll be enough to help speed up the healing."

"Or she could die and turn."

"It could save her life, you owe her that."

"No," I insisted, shaking my head. Sasha glared at me picked up her bag and left.

I put her hand against my mouth and closed my eyes. I heard footsteps and looked up. Sasha was smiling, her eyes screaming that she might have a way to safe Ava.

"If you don't want to give her your blood, then tell her to stop."

"What?"

"You're the only one with power here, Damon," she said looking at me with pleading eyes. "Ask her, no tell her to fight." With that she turned around and left the room again. What the hell did that even mean? If I could I would safe Ava, but I couldn't.

So, I waited in pure agony for the end to come. I prayed that it wouldn't.

But Ava herself once said that she's still only human. I sat by her side, waiting.

She had to pull through. There was no other way. Jackson walked in, stopping in his tracks by the door, taking in the image of Ava laying on the bed. The blood drained from his face, his heart rate speeding up with fear and anger. He strode to her side, taking her hand in his. He leaned forward, kissing the top of her head, lingering there for a moment. He breathed in her scent, not caring that her face was disfigured beyond recognition. His love for Ava was unmistakable. He sat down, resolved to stay by her side for however long he had to. Jackson's mother popped in and gasped at the sight of Ava. She covered her mouth, tearing her gaze from Ava and met her son's. They shared a look of concern, both shocked at the state Ava was in.

They both feared for her life. It was very obvious that Ava meant a lot to Jackson and his family. They all loved her. "Can I get you anything?" Gemma asked. Her question wasn't directed at anyone in particular. Both Jackson and I shook our heads in response. The two of us sat in silence beside Ava, listening to the clock ticking. Almost an hour passed by without so much as a word being said.

Ava's chest was rising and falling, her breathing labored. "She doesn't believe in anything," I said breaking the silence. I felt so helpless, as I waited for Ava to come back to us. For now we just had to wait. Jackson stared at Ava shaking his head.

I didn't know whether it was to my statement, or because he wasn't sure what had happened the last few days. I could see why he was confused. "She believed in me," Jackson said tearing his gaze away from Ava, looking out of the window. He had that haunted look in his eyes, one I was very familiar with. "She believes in me," he said again, this time looking me straight in the eye.

"You and your boy means more to her than anything else in this world. If she's fighting then it's for your family," I told him honestly.

"But she's not, is she?" he asked, pained. It was my turn to shake my head.

"I don't know." That was the truth. I had no idea what was happening with Ava.

We sat in silence again after that, both occupied with our own thoughts. Jackson sat back in his seat, crossing his arms over his head. A sign that he was tired.

I hardly knew the guy, but I felt bad for him. He was sitting here by Ava's side in good faith. "You can't help but fall in love with her," I said after almost an hour of silence. "You tell yourself that falling in love is the last thing you need, but before you know it you love her. I don't know what it is about her that makes it impossible to walk away." Jackson looked at me, thinking about what I had just said.

I could see the answer to the question forming. He looked at Ava, a hint of a smile on his lips. "It's because her love is pure." He met my gaze, his love for Ava radiating off him. "It doesn't matter who or what you are, her love never falters."

I nodded, feeling no need to respond. I didn't think Jackson knew just how true his statement really was. To Ava it didn't matter who or what you were, in her heart she knew whether you were worthy of being loved. We sat in silence once again, our attention on Ava. Minutes passed the silence getting to Jackson. He stood up, stretched and left the room. I sat forward in my chair rubbing my face. I wasn't ready to lose her, not to death or to Jackson. Stefan and Lucinda was right; if I was going to get her back I was going to have to fight for her. I took her hand in mine, squeezing it lightly. I stroked her hair with my other hand, taking in her beauty. Even laying here pale and weak she was beautiful. "I'm here, and I will never leave your side again," I promised in a whisper. "I'm here," I pleaded desperately, willing Ava to wake up.

Ava's heart rate slowed a sign that she wasn't getting better. Desperate I clutched her hand tightly in mine. "Avalon Victoria Harvey," I whispered sternly. I leaned in close, my mouth a couple of inches from her ear. "I don't want to piss you off, but if you don't come back to me you will leave me no other choice." I stroked her hair, letting my head rest against her cheek. "I will feed you my blood if that means saving your life." Tears rolled down my cheeks, the fear of losing Ava too much to bear.

"Please," I begged in a murmur, kissing her lips. Footsteps approaching pulled me away from Ava. I sat back in my seat, quickly getting rid of the tears. Jackson walked in a few seconds later with two cold beers. He handed me one and I left him with her, needing a moment to myself.