Bethany paced back and forth and back and forth across her room. There was no other word for it. This whole thing was a CLUSTERFUCK...her whole wonderful plan to bring the woman her father loved into their lives had opened a whole can of fucks, complete cluster of them. Hence, clusterfuck.
As she continued to pace her Aunt Rebekah appeared in her doorway holding a warm cup of tea.
"I thought maybe you could use this after the day you have had." presenting the cup to her niece.
Bethany grimaced at the cup.
Rebekah let out a small chuckle and set the tea down on Bethany' s desk.
"Perhaps something a bit stronger then." Rebekah produced a cut glass bottle of scotch and two glasses. She liberally filled a glass with 3 fingers neat, and presented it to her niece.
Bethany took the offered drink from her Aunt and downed it in one gulp. Then held it back out expectantly.
Rebekah laughed "Maybe a bit slower on the next one." Refilling Bethany' s glass with the same liberal amount.
Again Bethany downed it in one gulp and held it out for a refill.
"Or not." Rebekah refilled Bethany' s glass for a third time.
Bethany took a small sip and placed the glass on her nightstand before sitting down on her bed.
Rebehak poured herself a drink and joined her niece.
"Your father and Matt should be landing in Amsterdam any minute now, it always makes me incredibly nervous when we are seperated." Rebekah finished half her drink in a single swallow.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but Bethany found the courage to voice her fears "Did I ruin everything?"
"Oh no sweetheart you didn't ruin anything, something like this had to happen sometime. Although he would never admit it now, I can still see the pain it causes your Uncle, the running, the hiding, the separation from those he considers family. Sometimes, when he feels a soul pass through him, there is a look of devastation on his face not from pain of the soul passing through but because it's a reminder that Bonnie is right there with him, just out of reach, trapped for far longer than they ever intended for her to be. The look is only ever there for a split second but each time I catch it, my heart breaks for him. He didn't do so well with it all in the beginning which is part of how we came back into each other's lives. Now he has found a turbulent peace with it, but I know he wishes that he didn't have to live his life this way."
"Do you really think my Dad was wrong for trying to keep me away from magic?"
"I can say that as your Aunt I disagree with him but honestly if you were my daughter I am not entirely sure I wouldn't have locked you away in a tower somewhere just to keep you safe."
Her Aunt's words floored Bethany.
"Your father is fierce in his love and protection of those he holds close, even if he can be rather heavy handed about it. But you know this already."
"Do you think they will find her and fix my mistake? Do you think they will be able to make her understand I didn't mean any harm?"
Rebekah gave her niece a long and puzzled look, finally she gave a half laugh and answered.
"Will they find her? Of that I have no doubt. But let me ask you this, do you honestly think there is a snowball's chance in hell your father is returning empty handed? My brother would have spent the last 22 years traipsing all over the globe to find Caroline, the only reason he didn't is because of how much he loves you and his refusal to do anything that would separate him from you. And rightfully so, but if he is in the same room with her, do you really think he would ever let her go?"
"Do you think Caroline will choose to come back with them?"
"Oh Caroline will be with them when they return. There is no question in my mind about that. The question is? Will she be conscious when she gets here?"
"Do you really think he would force her to come back with him?"
"As I said heavy handed."
"So if Caroline is here and Uncle Matt is here, which means half of the Anchor is here, and I am now some sort of power beacon. It's that well sort of dangerous?"
Rebekah picked up her glass and took a sip " Umm.".
"So my spell could possibly ruin everything?"
"No you're looking at this the wrong way. Did you make a mistake? Yes. But the question now is. What are you going to do about it? Wallowing doesn't suit a Mikaelson woman."
"I am not wallowing!."
Rebekah raised an eyebrow at her niece.
"Fine I am wallowing but only a little, so what do I do?".
"That sweetheart is entirely up to you."
Her Aunt was 110% right...wallowing did not suit a Mikaelson woman. She had made a mistake, and the least she could was attempt to fix it. Okay, maybe not fix, but do something to make sure that if Caroline and her Uncle Matt were here because of her mistake then they were protected. She had unknowingly put these events into motion, and she would be damned if anyone got hurt because she had wanted some sort of fairytale happily ever after.
Bethany looked at her Aunt for a long time before finally speaking "I have an idea but I am going to need Grandma's book and I used it as a bargaining chip in order to be here when you arrived. My dad has it hidden somewhere."
"Well then it's a very good thing your father's bratty little sister is home, and happens to know where he keeps all the best stuff hidden."
With that Rebekah jumped up off the bed, grabbed Bethany' s hand and pulled down the hall.
Two hours later, she and her Aunt sat on her father's bedroom floor surrounded by all manner of magical items.
"Do I even want to know why my Dad has these?" Bethany asked, holding up a pair of chained iron manacles.
Rebekah let out a barking laugh "If you put them on a witch they can't use magic, however with your father's history".
"Stop, stop right there before you say something that sends me running to Aunt Cami for therapy."
Rebekah let out a light chuckle.
After playing several more rounds of "what is this and why does my father have it?" Bethany really couldn't keep the smile off of her face. When she had heard her Aunt was coming these were exactly the kind of moments she had hoped for. The two Mikaelson women bonding over mischief. The older one giving the younger one advice. The kind of moments you commit to memory, and use to give you strength in the toughest of times.
"How did you know Uncle Matt was the one?".
Rebehak looked up from her searching and smiled at her niece, an almost dreamy expression on her face, she even went as far as to flutter her eyelashes before saying "The one huh...why is there a special someone I should know about?".
Bethany looked away shyly for a moment before shaking her head "it's not that it's just" Bethany looked into her Aunt's eyes trying to find the right words "Like you said heavy handed."
She was 21 of course she had dated, and had some short term relationships...okay let's be honest she had flings, not relationships, but when your father was Klaus Mikaelson, your mother and stepfather are the alpha' s to one of the largest and strongest wolf packs and your adopted Aunt/mentor was the Regent to the 9 covens, it made dating difficult. Just one of those things was intimidating enough for a perspective boyfriend, all three. Well all three, was quite the legacy to overcome. Introducing someone to all those opinions, she had never been sure enough about someone to take that final step. Okay so maybe there had been one where she had seriously considered it , but life and its obligations had killed that baby bird before it ever really had a chance to fly and that before the "oh hey this is my family" hurdle came into play. She explained to her Aunt.
Rebekah smiled and nodded knowingly "What made your Uncle the one?" Rebekah pursued her mind for a moment before continuing "I spent a large part of my life searching for the one. And I found many, most of which met an untimely demise at your father's hand."
"Jeez that's comforting." Bethany cut in.
Rebekah laughed before becoming serious "Your Uncle Matt isn't the one."
The look of shock on Bethany' s face had Rebekah chuckling before she concluded "But he is my choice."
"After all that's what love really is..it's a choice. You choose to make a life with someone, you choose to believe in someone, you choose to be there to support them through all the ups and downs."
"That's what my mom always said that she chose Jackson."
"And she did. It is all a choice, like I said I spent a lot of time obsessed with finding the one, as though there was this perfect person, and when I met them the stars would align, the sun would shine down from the heavens and I would be magically effortlessly happy. I was more in love with the idea of the one, then the people I thought were the one, and I think your father always knew that. Although I hated him each time for it, it wasn't until Matt that I became the least bit grateful for his previously murderous behavior. Your father knew Matt was different, that I chose him, and although your father is still my great pain of a big brother, who might think Matt is never good enough for his sister, I don't truly think he would do anything to take Matt from me. And I have to believe that when you make your choice he will do the same. Don't get me wrong, he will belittle, badger, and torture the poor fellow. But remember if this fellow truly chooses you in return, no matter your legacy he will not falter under it. Your Uncle Matt didn't and neither did Jackson."
Bethany nodded taking all of her Aunt's words in, she didn't consider herself an overly romantic person, the whole her dad and Caroline fantasy notwithstanding of course. But when you grew up with examples like her mom and Jackson or her Aunt Rebekah and Uncle Matt, it made you want to strive for only the best. They presented her with an example for what true partnership, respect, and love in a relationship looked like, and although she didn't expect stars to align or anything, she did expect all of those things from the person she gave her heart away to.
They both continued their search in silence before saying "Ahh I found it" at the same time each holding up a book.
"Grandma had more than one book?" her father had been holding out on her.
"Yes she had several but these are the only two left."
"Let me see that."
Rebekah handed the book off to her niece. As Bethany began to peruse the book she had never seen before, Rebekah's cell phone went off.
As her Aunt talked, Bethany looked over pages and pages on connective magic, things she hardly understood, things she had only heard Aunt Davina talk about in theory.
Finally her Aunt spoke "Well they found her, your Uncle said they were heading back to the plane now."
"What's Caroline really like? All I have to go off of is my Dad's stories and since he conveniently left out the part of her being in hiding, I am figuring they might be a bit skewed."
Rebekah was silent at first, and Bethany wondered if she was trying to find the right words to shatter her world "Truthfully I don't know, you have to understand living the way her and your Uncle Matt have it changes you. The running, the hiding, the being hunted, I know it changed all of us. The people we had to become for the 1000 years Mikael hunted us." Rebekah shuttered. "You heard Elena on the phone, all of this has changed Caroline. I know who she used to be, but I don't know who she is now, we can only hope that the person she was is still in there somewhere, and I don't want you to be disappointed if the person they bring home doesn't meet your expectations."
Bethany nodded in understanding, looking back down at the book she was reading.
Breaking the silence Rebekah asked "So what was your idea?"
"There is a barrier spell in here." tapping the first book, the one Bethany knew by heart.
"I am sure the witches already have a barrier spell in place." Rebekah said a little underwhelmed by the uncreativeness of her niece's idea.
"Not like this one, Grandma had barriers down to a science, this literally turns New Orleans into a no fly zone for magic or anything supernatural for that matter. If there's magic of any kind inside you, you're not getting in without a key."
"Yes but travelers don't have magic, usually they use regular humans to disguise themselves."
"Ya I know but they have to be magically put in the body with a traveler's knife, if we can find one we can link it to the spell and abracadabra no traveler even disguised can get through. I am betting Aunt Cami has one in her creepy room of dark objects."
Quite impressive, Rebekah thought to herself, "I'll do you one better your Uncle Matt has a traveler knife in our bags upstairs."
"Really. Why?"
"He always kept in the hopes he would someday use it to bring Bonnie back."
"Oh that's kinda sad." Bethany looked over at her Aunt, who nodded sympathetically.
"None of this has been easy on him, take care when you speak to your Uncle about these things, he is too proud to show it but just like Caroline all of this has changed him."
As her Aunt went to go get the knife, Bethany returned to her room to hide the two books, she would study the new one later, after all her Aunt had said there were those who believe she posed the biggest threat to Markos, maybe just maybe there would be something in there that could make that belief a reality.
"Well lookie here." Kol smirked. Looking at Rebekah as she held up a spell book in her hand.
"What?" Adam asked as he appeared beside his uncle who was sitting beside his sister and aunt on his father's bedroom floor, haphazardly going through his father's magical items and hiding places.
"Time will tell if your sister will figure out exactly what she possesses with that book but I am betting she is brilliant enough to get it all sorted and you should go talk to your Aunt. I think you really hurt her feelings last night mate."
"Ya I know I am going."
It took only a moment to think of his Aunt and then he appeared beside her in a tiny airplane. What an inconvenience it would be to lose that ability when he ended on the living side of things, if he ever ended up on the living side of things. At this point he wasn't even sure it really mattered to him.
"Aunt Bonnie?" there was no reply, no indication she had heard him at all.
Adam wasn't sure he had ever really thought about it, what it must be like for his Aunt Bonnie trapped here, while those she loved fought to keep her hidden. He had never asked her if she could feel it, the being separated into four pieces on the living side. And now all of a sudden he felt like a selfish asshole. Here was a woman, who had loved him, protected him, and raised him as though he were her very own, and he hadn't thought to ask her the most basic of questions.
"Are you okay?" Still no reply.
By the far away look in his Aunt's eyes Adam could tell his Aunt was lost to the landscape of her mind. He stood beside her on the tiny plane and watched her for a moment. Her gaze shuffling between Matt and an unconscious woman with dark hair.
"Are you alright?" he asked again for a second time.
Bonnie's voice sounded as far away as the look on her face, coming out slow and thick as though it was surrounded by fog. "This is the closest I have been to being whole in 22 years, and it's only half of me."
Bonnie continued to look back and forth between Caroline and Matt. The sight of them together shook Bonnie to her very foundation. Could this really be happening, was there really a chance she could be with them again? Not as she was now, where although Matt sat directly in front of her, he could neither see nor hear her, but truly be with them. Able to provide and receive comfort and friendship, she would give almost anything to be able to feel one of her, Elena and Caroline's group hugs, to truly have Matt smile at her, God she even wanted to argue with Damon and Stefan again. She wanted her people back.
Adam looked over at the other three occupants of the plane, Matt stared off into the distance, much like Bonnie, his whole body sending off waves of solemness and disbelief. His father was quietly simmering in rage, his body tense, his eyes locked onto her...Adam's mother.
Caroline was stretched out on one of the seats between Klaus and Matt, she looked peaceful like an angel, until one took in the odd angle of her neck. Clearly it had been snapped. So her presence here was not voluntary, Adam thought to himself.
"I take it, her capture didn't go well." referring to Caroline as less of a person and more as some sort of wild animal.
Again his Aunt did not immediately answer, she just kept staring into the face of his mother. As if she was searching for something, as though somewhere in the plains of his mother's face she would find answers to unasked questions.
Bonnie' s voice came out slowly, "Matt did it."
"It was for the best" Bonnie continued as though she was trying to convince herself of that.
As Adam watched his Aunt watch his mother, he didn't know how to feel. For maybe the first time in his life he truly looked at his mother. She had jet black hair but he had seen her with every color of hair possible. Aunt Bonnie always said her eyes were a perfect match to his, but he knew if her eyes were open now his blue green would not be the color that was reflected back at him.
Honestly he wasn't exactly sure what his mother truly looked like, he had seen her in every eye and hair color possible, but he had never seen her in her natural state. He didn't know her. She was a stranger to him. She hadn't bore him, she hadn't raised him, the credit for those things went to the woman he stood next to. Would she have even have wanted to raise him? He had been told his whole life that she would have but he wasn't sure if he believed that or not. Yes genetically she was half of him but she hadn't planned to have him.
Vampires weren't supposed to be able to have children, it was an impossible thing, but somehow the combination of his aunt's essence into his mother's body had created a loophole, allowing for his life to take form inside his Aunt on the other side. Nature was so good at finding those loopholes especially when it needed to find balance. His existence was a fluke, the answer to stabilizing the other side, nature's way of keeping the balance, if the other side hadn't been threatened by Markos's escape he wouldn't have even existed at all. Or at least that was the gist of what he had understood, when he had made the mistake of asking the witches about it once. They had used a whole lot more technical words then that, and there had been something in there about ancestral magic and a link..whatever he had retained the cliff notes version. He supposed he could have just as easily been Damon and Elena' s kid but Aunt Bonnie had said from the moment he was born she just knew who his parents were. Maybe she was wrong maybe this woman he stared at wasn't even his mother. But he didn't really believe that, Aunt Bonnie said she knew, and her, he trusted explicitly.
He truly studied Caroline's face now looking for any signs they shared anything at all, half afraid of what he would find. Slowly he began to see it, the shape of their eyes were the same, they shared the same nose, and supposedly they shared the same golden hair color, not that he could know that for sure right now. With his father he had always been able to see that they shared the same cheek bones, chin, and face shape. But her, he had never really studied before right now, maybe he had been afraid to find the things they had in common. Would he share other things with her? He had watched her do some horrific things, was he capable of that sort of darkness too? Staring at her right now she didn't look like the monster he knew she could be, no right now she looked peaceful, and alarmingly he found himself thinking she looked like someone he could trust.
He turned away and focused on his Aunt that thought was entirely too much to process right now. And he hadn't come here for his mother, he had come here for his Aunt because unlike the woman he owed nothing to, his Aunt was owed an apology for his behavior yesterday.
As he sat down beside her and took her hand Bonnie looked at him startled for a moment as though she hadn't realized he was there or who she had been speaking to before he took her hand.
"Aunt Bonnie, I am sorry about last night. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"You didn't hurt my feelings, there is nothing to forgive."
"I still shouldn't have talked to you like that."
Bonnie went back to staring at his mother, once again lost in that far away place in her mind, where Adam could not follow.
Raising Adam had been the singular joy in Bonnie' s little over 22 years of being stuck on the other side. Don't get her wrong it was great to spend time with Grams and the other Bennett witches, but she was the Anchor, she could see them at any time.
She wouldn't trade a single moment with Adam for anything, that boy meant more to her than words could express, but still deep down in that part of her that wasn't Adam's aunt or Grams' s granddaughter, or even Kol' s co-parent, in the part of herself that was solely Bonnie Bennett, all she wanted was to go home. Everyday she was separated from them, it ate at her a little more.
She wanted to be with those she loved, she wanted Adam to know his mother. She wanted Caroline to know her son. Bonnie knew that missing almost 21 years of her son's life would devastate Caroline, but she also knew that nothing would save Caroline faster than knowing he existed. It wasn't just Adam that needed Caroline, Caroline needed him to.
Although Adam questioned it, Bonnie knew Caroline would adore him, and he would become the single most important thing in the world to her. She just needed to know he was here.
Plus Bonnie could feel it, they were running out of time. The spell had never been meant to last this long, and the pieces of herself hidden away inside her friends, were starting to die. She feared that if she wasn't made whole again on their side soon, she might not have the strength to become whole ever again. Her essence would become dependent upon its host for survival, unable to keep form without them. She would never again leave the otherside, and if they did defeat Markos, she feared what that might mean for Adam. If he was no longer needed to keep the balance, what happened then. Did he simply fade out of existence? No she would not have that.
Adam had a right to his life, Caroline had a right to know her son, and ya she guessed technically Klaus had a right too.
Bonnie pushing the ticking clock she could do nothing about from her mind, and refocused on her nephew. Lord help her, Kol had been right she did need to allow Adam to make up his own mind about his mother, and the more she pushed her opinions on him the more he would dig his heels in, until he became unmoveable. Thank you, Caroline and Klaus for creating the world's most stubborn child. EVER.
Finally she spoke, when she looked at Adam there was a pleadly look in her eyes and a half smile on her lips.
"Promise me that you will give her a chance. Your uncle was right and DON'T you dare ever tell him I said that! I do need to let you feel how you feel. You don't know the woman I do, all you know is what you have seen. But I want you to remember when you do finally meet your mother, that everything I have told you about her and everything you have seen her do are 2 sides of the same coin, the truth of who she is somewhere in the middle. I want you to give her a chance to prove to you who she really is. Thanks to both your mother and your father, your stubborn streak is about a mile wide, and I don't want for you to become so steadfast in your conclusions about her, that she has no chance to change them."
Adam nodded that was the most he could give his Aunt at the moment. He didn't know how he would react when finally him and his mother came face to face, and he wasn't willing to make his Aunt a promise he didn't know if he could keep.
Caroline began to stir, Matt delicately reached over and snapped her neck again.
"Sorry Care, but we can't have you freaking out at 30,000 feet."
As though she could hear him, and understand his justification for the numerous amount of times he had snapped her neck today. Then he sunk back into the same far away place Bonnie had been only moments ago.
Bonnie shuttered as Matt snapped Caroline's neck. She stood up and said "Let's go I don't think I can watch Matt do that anymore today.".
And then they were gone leaving just the prior 3 occupants of the plane.
"This is Care, THIS IS CARE" was the mantra Matt kept repeating to himself over and over again. No matter how different she looked, how different she acted. THIS IS CARE.
And God did she look different, it wasn't the black hair and dark brown eyes, or the overly dark make up she wore. The difference was in the lines of her face, in the darkness behind her eyes, in the hardness she wore like armor. He understood that darkness, he truly did. Sure it had manifested differently for him, but he still understood it. He knew exactly how she felt. It was different for him and Caroline. Elena was still with Damon, so she wasn't alone and Stefan had years of practice being on his own. Being raised in the small town of Mystic Falls, him and Caroline had never actually been alone. Everyone knew everyone, no matter how alone you might feel there was always someone right there. Especially for Caroline, who had been the head of how many committees back then. They were not the sort of people who thrived without a community. And going from that life, to a life of being utterly alone, hunted, hiding, running, and being cut off from everything and everyone you knew. They had both been in no way prepared for the toll it would take on them.
Maybe that was why he had done it, snapped her neck and put her on this plane. It hadn't been his original intention. In fact, he had come on this trip to ensure that if she really didn't want to, Klaus couldn't force her to come back with him. Not that anyone could force Care to do anything she truly didn't want to do. Which is why he kept repeatedly snapping her neck, if she woke up right now she was liable to send this small plane crashing to the ground. He also knew that once they landed she was as likely to take off again as she was to stay. Would he try to force her to stay in New Orleans? No, he knew he wouldn't. It was a choice she needed to make for herself, and he had already taken enough choices away from her today. What was the saying? You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.
Great, now he was comparing her to a horse, he could almost hear her throwing a fit at being compared to an animal. Even though right now panther was probably the better comparison, not that he would ever let her know that he thought that.
But she needed this. Needed to be reminded of who she was before she lost herself entirely, and in New Orleans she could do that. Being alone like she was, it had a greater effect on a person then all the hiding and running combined. He should know, it wasn't the running, the hiding, or the being hunted that had almost taken his life, it was the loneliness he had felt after Tyler's death. He could honestly admit to himself that had it not been for Rebekah, he wouldn't be here today.
Right now Caroline needed that same life line or she might not be with them much longer. He didn't think she would ever take her own life but everything that made her who she was would be gone. And if she forgot who she was, then she might forget exactly why they all were doing
this, and that would make her sloppy. Make it all too easy for her to get caught. He couldn't allow that to happen, he couldn't sit by and do nothing..so he had snapped her neck, stuck her on this plane, and hoped that when she woke up…well he didn't really know what he hoped
for, he only hoped. He knew where her current path would lead and he couldn't let that happen not to her. Not to the vibrant soul that was Care. This is Care, he thought to himself again.
In all their years on the run, he had only seen Caroline once, 6 months in, when she met with him to pass off the amulet. Her and Stefan had been the first to take the amulet as the direction of west had a lot more hiding options then either North or South did from Virginia. They were still meeting in person back then, Ty was still alive, and they were all still living under the blissfully native notation that this wouldn't last forever. That they would all find a way to defeat Markos and return to their lives. She had darkened her hair but had yet to change her eye color then.
When she called and asked him to meet her at a hotel in Minneapolis he had gone without
hesitation as they all had agreed. So they had spent the night hold up in that hotel, like a pair of clandestine lovers. They spent the night talking, trying to catch each other up on 6 months worth of information, without revealing too much about future plans. Caroline and Stefan had recently split up, as it turns out it had been all too easy for Markos to track the reports of missing blood bags from hospitals. So they agreed to separate since Caroline had no problem drinking live and Stefan did, better to be alone then risk staying together and getting caught. It was why she had called him to do the exchange so soon, in case Markos was still managing to track her even
though she had gone completely off the grid. She joked about how her and Stefan had started out with identities as siblings, and how when she left there in the morning she would be someone completely new. Matt even helped with suggestions on a back story.
Matt had his own surprises and revelations to reveal, he and Tyler had been camping in the backwoods of Maine at the time. More room for him to adjust, because in the surprises of all surprises, it turns out that the Lockwood's were not the only Mystic Falls family to carry the
werewolf gene, just the only family to have triggered the curse. After he had kill that traveler on the night they had escaped Mystic Falls, his curse had been triggered, and on the next full moon a wolf he became, and being that he wasn't a hybrid and had to change with each full moon both him and Tyler agreed hunkering down in the isolated woods seemed like the best place to allow him to adjust. They had recently decided to move on after the amulet was in Matt's care, although they had yet to decide on a new location not that he could tell Caroline where they would be even if they had already decided.
When they separated the next morning, it was filled with hugs, a tearful Caroline, and lots of promises. Promises that they would see each other again soon. Promises that it wouldn't be like this forever. Promises that they would find a way. Promises that they would never keep.
That was it, the last time they had seen each other until tonight, outside that club.
Sitting in this plane Matt kept up his mantra This is Care, This is Care.
By the time she had called to pass off the amulet again, they had already started using compelled humans to do the exchange, instead of meeting face to face. There had been too many close calls, for them not to use the extra precautions.
After that night Matt and Tyler had made the jump to Canada. Nova Scotia to be exact. They fell in with a wolf pack there, and stayed with them up until Tyler's death. Tyler had always felt better among the pack. Wolves were not meant to be solitary creatures by design. The lone wolf dies while the pack survives, was a lesson the Nova pack taught all their children from birth.
Thinking about Tyler still caused Matt to shutter, it was still ,19 years later, a bone deep pain, one he didn't really think would ever go away. Markos had found them, a hybrid among a wolf pack was a rumor that spread no matter how careful they were. Matt had passed off the amulet only days before, in fact Markos had descended upon the pack only hours before he returned from that meeting. Matt had almost walked right into the trap Markos had set, the only reason he had escaped was because of Tyler's sacrifice. He didn't get a chance to bury his friend or mourn him or mourn those lost among the pack that night, his only chance to say goodbye was the momentary acute pains he felt as each of them passed through him to the otherside, as he ran for his life.
In the days and months after Tyler's passing, Matt had wandered aimlessly, untethered to the world as though he really wasn't a part of it anymore. He finally settled in a little nowhere town in Minnesota, he worked under the table as a bar back in some run down dive bar, and did his best
to be as invisible as he felt inside. Because of him, Tyler and half the Nova pack had died and he refused to make that mistake again. He even went as far as to pretend to be mute, so no one would talk to him. It had been surprisingly easy, not to speak to anyone, but the longer he went without talking, the more disconnected he felt from the world, as if he was nothing more than a ghost. He made it a year, living but not really living. The utter loneliness and the death of Tyler had pushed him to the brink. And more than once he found himself thinking of how much easier it would be to simply no longer keep living.
It was true, the lone wolf dies, while the pack survives.
He made a choice. He was done. He couldn't do this anymore. He made one phone call, and bought a plane ticket to Italy. To that tiny island where he and Rebekah had started their world tour the summer after he graduated high school. Found that tiny wedding chapel, she had joked about taking him to, and walked inside. When he entered he didn't know what he would find, but he knew that this would be his last hope. She was already there when he arrived, standing up at the altar, arms crossed over chest, an impatient look in her eyes, as though to say that he had kept her waiting long enough. He knew then, that she would be his saving grace, for he knew that if she had not come, he wouldn't have survived until the next morning.
In his darkest moment she had come, held out her hand and brought him back into the light. When they had first met she was in love with how human he made her feel. Funny how just 4 short years later she became the only thing that could make him feel human again in return. She had slowly but surely breathed life back into his dying soul. And from that potent friendship grew the love he felt for her today. Except for her trips back to New Orleans every few years to strengthen the spell for Bethany, they had not been apart in 18 years, up until now.
Over time they became each other's perfect match, each giving and taking. Even when they had begun discussing whether he would become a hybrid or not, she had never pushed, never demanded, even though it was in her nature to do so. Especially when it was something she wanted. She let him come to the conclusion all on his own, he doubted that Bethany even remembered the tiny amount of blood her Aunt had taken from her in order to make him a hybrid.
Because it was a decision he made all on his own and not something he did to avoid the transformation there had been no sire link between him and Little B. However, that little girl…okay woman, she wasn't 5 anymore, and he had to keep reminding himself of that, owned a piece of his heart. The need he had always felt to protect her came from an Uncle's love not a sire bond. Their little tea party dates had helped to heal those dark places inside his heart just as much as Rebekah's love had. Ahh the Mikaelson women….where he would be without? He didn't know, but without them he would surely be missing his heart.
He had managed to wade through the darkness that so fully held Caroline in its grasp, and made through because Rebekah had cared enough to show up. So here he was showing up. Looking into Caroline's face, he knew he wouldn't make her stay in New Orleans but he would do his best to convince her.
A/N- First off...HUGE THANK YOU to anyone who is still reading this story. I know this is more of a supporting character's chapter, but I felt like I needed more time to write the Caroline capture chapter in order to do it justice, and I figure no one wanted to wait another 5 years for an update.
Anyway...I love reviews, comment and even suggestions. So Please leave them guys, they really help to motivate me.
AGAIN...THANK YOU
Cora