Another quarterback
(Stefan)
Elena and I returned to the morgue from a short hunt. The blood loss at the Grill had made us both edgy and we needed to replace it quickly before we hurt anybody. Tyler and Caroline had gone upstairs to look after Matt and Bonnie would keep watch over Damon together with Jeremy. I had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation when we returned and found Bonnie and Jeremy asleep in the chairs. The door to the room stood slightly ajar. I woke them. "Bonnie? Jeremy? What happened?" I asked, seeing that Damon wasn't in the room anymore. "It's okay Stefan. I was awake and he said he would like to be alone for a while," Bonnie explained. "Stefan, come quick!" I heard Elena's exclamation from the morgue room and we all rushed inside. She stood next to Caitlin's corpse and held something up. A phone and a ring. Damon's ring! I groaned. "Is that…?" Jeremy started wide-eyed and I nodded. "Damon's ring. Shit!" I stepped forward and took the ring from my girlfriend. She stared at me with her big doe eyes. "Where would he go, Stefan?" she whispered horrified. I tore at my hair and shook my head. "I don't know, he could be anywhere!" I ranted. "What's going on here?" I heard Caroline's voice from behind and spun around. "This!" I said and held up Damon's ring. Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God! He wants to kill himself?" she exclaimed. I nodded. "No, I can't believe it. Stefan, are you sure?" she insisted. I flashed over to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Care, he's said it before, back in Louisville when Caitlin almost died from a bullet. He said "if she'd died, you'd be digging my grave right now". He doesn't want to live without her, Care!" I stated. She took a deep breath. "Okay, think, Stefan. Where would he go? What place would be most suitable for that?" she urged me. I wrecked my brains. What place could be significant enough for my brother to choose as his grave? Suddenly, a whole chandelier lit up. "The quarry," I whispered. "What?" Elena said. "The quarry, that's where his existence as a vampire started," I repeated. We stared at each other, but before we could turn to the door, we heard a gasp and a cough!
We rushed over to Caitlin's body. She bolted upright, eyes wide open, pressing her hands to her chest and wheezed for air. I caught her back, supported her while Caroline and Elena were in front of her. "It's okay, Cait', I know it hurts a little. Breathe, keep breathing," I urged her. The joy I felt about her revival was tinted with sadness. Another quarterback, as my brother had put it so eloquently when Elena had turned. Well, not yet, she still has to make the decision, I thought. "What the hell…?" she croaked, staring at us. "What happened? Where am I?" she asked, casting glances around the room. "Where's Damon?" She moved as if to stand up. "Whoa, hold it!" I said and held her tight. "Caitlin," Elena urged her to listen. "Cait', you got shot at the Grill, do you remember? You're in transition now, you must've had vampire blood in your body. Do you understand what I'm saying?" She opened her mouth and stared at Elena, but no sound escaped her. I could see the wheels turning in her head, trying to find the loophole that had enabled her to come back. "But that's impossible! It's been more than twenty-four hours…" she blurted. Then she moaned and hugged her knees to her chest, lowering her head on them. "God! Damon's gonna kill me!" she groaned, rocking back and forth. "Very unlikely," Bonnie interjected. Caitlin looked up at her. "Where is he?" she asked and was met with awkward silence. Her eyes widened with something I would've classified as panic and she moved to get up. "Where is he, answer me!" she got louder. Caroline pushed her back on the tray. "He's gone, Caitlin! We think…, oh well, Stefan, show her," she demanded exasperated. I held Damon's ring up. She caught her breath. "No!" she whispered horrified. "He can't…," she croaked. "We've got to find him!" She jumped up, wrapping the plastic shroud around herself. The lights started to flicker and I looked around. Had she retained her magic power? I wondered.
(Caitlin)
I woke with a gasp, my lungs screaming for air and right after I inhaled, I had to cough like crazy. I sat up straight, trying to shake off that claustrophobic feeling, struggling against the plastic sheet. Why was I wrapped up in plastic? I thought. The light was suddenly too bright and I squinted my eyes. I felt someone supporting my back, holding my shoulders, massaging them slightly. "It's okay, Cait', I know it hurts a little. Breathe, keep breathing," I heard a voice urging me. Stefan? I opened my eyes carefully. My blurred vision cleared a little and I saw Elena and Caroline right in front of me. They had worried faces, and they seemed to be surprised. About what? I thought. "What the hell…?" I tried to speak, but my voice sounded terribly hoarse. I could only stare at them. "What happened? Where am I?" I looked around from where I sat. Stefan was behind me, there were Caroline and Elena and Bonnie… "Where's Damon?" I moved to swing my legs from the platform I was sitting on. "Whoa, hold it!" Stefan said and held on to my shoulders. "Caitlin," Elena said urgently and cupped one of my cheeks. "Cait', you got shot at the Grill, remember? You're in transition now, you must've had vampire blood in your body. Do you understand what I'm saying?" My eyes nearly bulged. Then I realized where I was. It was a morgue! I looked down on my body. The plastic sack was a shroud! I wrecked my still foggy brain, trying to figure the last time that Damon and I had shared blood. The night before… but that was… too long ago… "But that's impossible! It's been more than twenty-four hours…" I blurted. Then a memory hit me. Damon's face… what he said when I had mentioned this possibility to him. I hugged my knees to my chest and buried my face between them with a moan. "God! Damon's gonna kill me!" I groaned.
"Very unlikely," I heard Bonnie say and looked up at her. "Where is he?" I asked. An awkward silence answered me. Something like panic started to grow within me. He should be here, he should be with me unless… I tried to get up. "Where is he, answer me!" I almost shouted, but Caroline pushed me back on the cold gurney. "He's gone, Caitlin! We think…, oh well, Stefan, show her," she said. Her voice sounded impatient and desperate at the same time. I turned to Stefan and saw Damon's ring between his fingers. I gasped. "No!" I whispered. Fear crept through my veins. He wouldn't… he was going to kill himself? "He can't…," I croaked, my voice breaking. "We've got to find him!" I exclaimed and got to my feet. I couldn't let him die – I couldn't lose him! "Stop!" Caroline intervened. "Calm down! It's around six… we've got at least an hour and a half before sunrise. Stay here, I'll find you some clothes," she ordered and pointed at my obvious state of nakedness underneath the plastic before she flashed out of the room. Bonnie approached me carefully, like one would with a wild animal. "Caitlin, can you still use your magic?" she asked. Confused, I ran a hand through my hair. Why was that important? "I… I don't know. Let me try," I replied and turned around. I waved my hand and the tray slid back into the compartment and its door closed. The magic was still there. "How's that possible?" I whispered in awe, looking at my hands. "I don't know," Bonnie said. "When my mother was turned, she also retained a little bit of her magic. We'll see if it stays." I wrapped my arms around myself. "When she was turned…," I whispered to myself. "You've got to make a decision, Caitlin," Bonnie said. I looked at her. There was sadness, but also compassion on her face.
(Damon)
My warm lips softly touched her icy ones and then I caressed her hair once more. "See you soon, darling," I whispered and placed my phone next to her on the tray. Then I looked down on my hand for a moment and finally slid my ring from my finger, placing it next to the phone before I flashed out of the room and left the hospital behind. It was still night time, the sun wouldn't be up for another two hours. I had told Stefan once that I couldn't live without her. And I wouldn't. I would follow her to the other side and I would find her there, I firmly believed in it. A strange kind of calmness settled in my heart while I walked slowly through the dark forest. I was headed for the quarry, the place where I had been forced into my decision to become a vampire by my brother. This time, the decision to cease my existence would be mine alone. I didn't pay attention to my surroundings. The creatures of the night usually stayed away from our kind, especially on a moonlit night like this. Christmas Day, what a strange way for such a joyful festivity to end, I thought. Suddenly, I heard a low growl in the shrubs and stopped. Right in front of me, a wolf emerged from behind a tree, canines bared and growling at me. I just sighed and changed direction, continuing my walking without looking back. I wasn't in the mood for a fight with some stray dog. "I can't believe you're ignoring me, Salvatore!" I groaned, hearing the well-known British lilt in the voice behind me. "Leave me alone, Klaus," I replied without facing him and walked on. He flashed in front of me, stopping me with his hand on my chest. "I don't do being ignored, Salvatore," he growled. I held his gaze and suddenly he dropped his hand, his eyes widening in understanding that something had changed. "I'm not in the mood for a little werewolf chat, Klaus. Unless you plan on killing me naked," I pointed to his obvious state, "I suggest you fuck off," I said. When he didn't answer, I resumed walking. "Thought so," I muttered.
After a while I heard his footsteps behind me. When he caught up, he was fully dressed again and started walking next to me. "What the hell happened?" he asked curiously. I took a deep breath and shook my head. "Nothing of your concern." He remained silent for a while. "Oh come on, don't tell me you're turning into a brooder like your little brother?" he tried to cheer me up. "Where's your lovely girlfriend?" I stopped dead in my tracks and for a moment I considered breaking his jaw. Slowly I turned my head. "In the morgue," I replied tersely and looked at him. He was obviously shocked by the news. A second later I was shoved roughly into a tree with his hand gripping me viciously by my throat. "What happened?" he snarled. I gasped, struggling to break his suffocating hold. "What's it… to you, Klaus?" I croaked. "Didn't like… the news?" I coughed when he released me again. "Listen, mate, we seem to have a huge misunderstanding and a similar taste in women. We both prefer those who are hard to get," he explained. "I like feistiness in girls, and so do you, and that's why I took a liking in that annoyingly stubborn and beautiful witch that happened to be your girlfriend." He breathed hard. "Now, tell me what the fuck happened!" he finally shouted. "A spree-killer ran into the Grill last night. She had no chance and died before I could…, before I…," I couldn't continue and closed my eyes, fighting back the pain while leaning to the tree. "Before you could save her," he finished my sentence with a softness to his voice that I hadn't expected. "Where are you headed?" he asked. I nodded into the direction. "To the quarry," I replied. He looked me over and his gaze finally lingered on my hands. "And now you want to end your life?" I nodded. He took a deep breath and scrutinized me. Then he barked a short laugh and flung his arm around my shoulder. "Ha! Come on, mate, I think you could need some company," he said and dragged me back to the path that would lead to my death.
