The aftermath of Damon and Bonnie's death was unlike any the Mystic Falls gang had ever experienced. Jeremy tore through the woods, crying out for Bonnie. Stefan wept softly by a fire, speaking in hushed tones to Caroline. He lost his brother, his best friend, and Bonnie all in one evening. Crushed by grief, he rested his head on Caroline's shoulder. She attempted to remain strong, though experiencing painful losses herself. She could hardly bare to lose Bonnie again. Hell, she would even miss Damon. She silently regretted her previous judgments of him. After all, if it weren't for Damon, Stefan, her Stefan, would be the one on the Other Side, lost forever in the abyss. Damon's sacrifice was one she could never repay.
Caroline started at the sound of snapping twigs, and someone rushing toward them at superhuman speed. Alaric.
Caroline and Stefan jumped to their feet. Caroline ran and threw her arms around Ric's neck. The tears welled up in her eyes. So many lost, yet so many gained. He smelled like he always had, of pencil shavings and Bourbon. History teacher by day, and bad ass by night.
It wasn't until Alaric released her from the embrace that she realized something was terribly wrong.
"Where's Elena?!" Alaric started.
"Wasn't she with you?" Stefan responded, his voice tinged with worry.
"I lost her when we ran after Jeremy," Alaric ran his fingers through his short brown hair, a move so characteristic of him, Caroline's eyes welled with tears again. He looked like a worried parent. Back from the dead, yet so worried for Elena and Jeremy.
"We need to find her. She's not in her right state of mind," Caroline stated firmly. Stefan and Alaric understood what she meant. Between losing her best friend and her boyfriend, there would be no telling what Elena might do. When she lost Jeremy, she turned off her humanity switch. No one would be surprised if she did that again, or perhaps something worse.
It was then that Tyler and Matt returned, leading a grief-stricken Jeremy. Jeremy came somewhat back to his senses when the others told him of Elena's disappearance. The immediate worry for his sister took precedence over grief.
"Well, Mystic Falls is a magic-free zone now, but just to be safe, I think Tyler and Matt should search the town. Make sure she's not on some crazy suicidal mission, or looking for Damon's body," Jeremy ordered.
"Stefan and I will cover Mystic Falls' borders ," Caroline volunteered, "while you and Alaric can search the woods." she continued. She was worried for Elena, of course, but she couldn't bear the thought of being parted from Stefan. Not right now. Not like this.
"Perfect," replied Stefan, "She can't have gone far. We'll meet back here in an hour."
The pairs split. Caroline hopped into the passenger's seat of Stefan's tiny sports car. They were silent at first, both intently scanning Mystic Falls borders, hoping to catch some glimpse of the long, dark hair, and brown doe eyes of Elena Gilbert. After a little while, Stefan spoke.
"If I were Elena Gilbert, where would I be..." he mumbled, more to himself than to Caroline.
"Normally, I'd say wherever Damon is, but..." her voice trailed off. Stefan smiled weakly. As of late, Stefan and Caroline had made jokes that if you ever needed to find one, all you had to do was locate the other. Even when Damon said he never wanted to see her again, they couldn't seem to stay away. Like magnets, they found there way back to each other.
Elena's location hit both Caroline and Stefan at the exact same moment. Their fearful, wide-eyed stares met. Stefan slammed on the gas.
Wickery Bridge lay just inside the Mystic Falls borders. Stefan knew he'd have a few minutes before the pain hit him to fetch Elena. Staying inside the borders too long meant certain death.
He slammed on the brakes as the bridge came into view. Elena has just crossed the Mystic Falls border and was walking calmly toward the edge of the bridge. Stefan and Caroline flung their doors open and ran into the cool night.
"Elena!" cried out Stefan. By now, Elena was coughing and sputtering out water, reliving her human death that led to her transition to a vampire. In a few minutes, she would be human, and then dead.
Stefan fearlessly crossed the Mystic Falls border without thinking. Caroline followed. She already lost one best friend tonight, like hell she'd lose Elena too.
Elena had toppled over, still coughing up water, succumbing the the drowning sensation. Stefan felt a piercing pain in his chest, and looked down as the blood began to stain his t-shirt. The sensation of being shot slowed him down, but didn't stop him. Caroline felt her breath become stifled. She felt as if someone was smothering her. Oh right, she thought bitterly, that is technically how I died. She powered through the suffocation, silently cursing Katherine for not killing her in a more bearable way.
They reached Elena. The drowning had become so intense she was unable to speak, only kick and resist Stefan and Caroline.
"Grab her legs!" ordered Stefan. Caroline gasped for air, but obeyed. She began to feel woozy. In a few more moments, she'd be unconscious.
"Over here! I found them!" cried the familiar voice of Matt Donovan, followed closely by Tyler. Relief coursed through Caroline's veins. Between the four of them, they easily restrained and carried Elena to safety.
Once over the border, Stefan turned to Caroline.
"You alright, Care?" Stefan asked, concern in his voice. She clutched her chest and gasped for air.
"Yeah...I'm okay. Are you?" She panted. He glanced down at his chest, his wound closed, the only evidence of his pain was the blood still on his shirt. He nodded, then turned fiercely towards Elena.
"What the hell were you doing?!" he shouted, although he already knew the answer. Elena coughed up the last bits of water from her lungs.
"Trying...to...die," She sputtered between coughs.
"Elena, why?" Caroline voice caught with tears.
"BECAUSE DAMON IS DEAD! HE'S DEAD AND IT'S MY FAULT!" Elena yelled with such ferocity that Caroline jumped backed. Elena's body convulsed with sobs. Stefan attempted to put a hand on her shoulder.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she cried, then softer, "You should have left me...you should have let me die," Overcome with emotion, Elena wrapped her arms around her knees and wept.
Caroline noticed Alaric had slipped in behind them while Elena cried. She moved her mouth to speak, when he put a finger to his lips. She stopped. Alaric crept up behind Elena before swiftly puncturing her neck with a syringe. She cried out before her head drooped.
"What did you just do?" cried Caroline.
"Vervain," Alaric stated shortly, "She's volatile right now, Caroline."
"She couldn't hurt us, we're all strong!" Caroline shouted.
"It's not us I'm worried about. Clearly, she's ready to hurt herself," Alaric replied calmly. This silenced Caroline. As much as she didn't like it, Caroline couldn't deny that Elena was suicidal and needed to be protected from herself.
"But, what do we do when it wears off?" Stefan asked softly.
"Maybe we could reason with her, maybe..." Caroline began but she knew it was hopeless. Elena was stubborn. The only person who'd ever changed the mind of Elena Gilbert was gone. If she'd resolved to die and be with him, she'd find a way. They all knew it, but no one spoke.
"I have an idea," Jeremy cut in. All eyes lifted towards him. "I have an idea, but you guys probably won't like it..." he hesitated.
"We're pretty desperate for ideas right about now," Alaric prompted.
"When I lost Vicki a few years back, I was in a really rough place, but I came out of it. Damon did something kinda shady and took away my memories of her. I found out and was pissed, naturally, but that's because I was strong enough to handle it. I don't know if Elena is strong enough to handle losing Damon, and with the Other Side shattered, it's pretty clear we've lost Damon and Bonnie forever," his voice caught when he said her name, "So I propose we compel Elena to forget Damon ever existed."
Stunned silence, followed by loud protests ensued.
"You can't compel her to forget my brother, I know that isn't what she wants!" Stefan protested loudly. "Besides, Damon would be furious. It's an insult to his memory." Stefan huffed.
"Besides, would you want to forget Bonnie?" Caroline asked softly.
"Of course not," Jeremy's eyes brimmed with tears, "But I'm not the one threatening suicide. And I can't bear to lose Elena, not after all this," the tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Well, there's one problem here," Matt began, "Vampires can't be compelled."
"Not by average vampires, no. But they can be compelled by Originals," Jeremy's eyes fell on Caroline.
"Nuh uh, no way, I am not calling Klaus. No." Caroline stammered angrily. Awkward silence engulfed the group as Jeremy stared pleadingly at Caroline, and Stefan angrily stared into the distance.
"Would you all rather see her dead then?" Jeremy questioned. Caroline wiped angry tears from her cheeks. Without making eye contact with Jeremy, Stefan spoke.
"I think this is 100% wrong. But since her life is in danger, and you're her brother, I'll leave this decision up to you," Stefan said stiffly.
Without speaking, Caroline sniffled and lifted her phone to her ear.
"Hi, Klaus? Look, I need to ask a favor of you..."