Hey guys! Guess who is going to the beach this weekend! This girl right here! Super excited, but I wanted to make sure I got a chapter out to you guys before I left. I hope you like it!

Season 3 Episode 10 The New Deal

Working at the Grill was becoming much more tedious than it ever was before. I knew that I needed this job, that my family needed the money it provided. But it just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I had much more to worry about than my shift at the Grill or applying for college. Klaus was still out there, and Klaus was now pissed off that we tried to kill him.

Klaus also would stop at nothing to get his sister back, which made me quite on edge.

Rebekah was still in the cellar at the boarding house. I had tried once to pull the dagger from her to free her from death, but Damon stopped me and forbid me to go anywhere near the blonde vampire. But the pull to save her, it was getting more and more difficult to ignore.

"There's my girl."

I turned around and there stood Damon. It was around noon, and the drink in his hand alerted me to his extreme sadness that Stefan had skipped town and we hadn't heard from him. I had thought, if the compulsion was gone than Stefan would return to his normal self. But Stefan was gone, and both Damon and Elena had lost hope that he would ever come back.

"I know that you are going to come up with some clever way to avoid this…" I said, looking at his drink. "But you really should talk to someone about this whole Stefan thing."

"Alex, I'm fine." Damon said, downing his drink. "I have come to terms with the fact that my brother is gone and I will probably never see him again."

I made a face. Just like when Rose died, or anything happened, Damon was hiding his feelings. I wanted him to talk to me, but he still wasn't ready to rely on me for support, and that hurt more than anything.

"I still have hope." I said to Damon, taking a tray of food into my hands. "Your brother is still in there. I know it."

"I don't know how you do it." Damon said. I furrowed my brows. "After everything he has done, you still haven't given up."

"Well it looks to me like you and Elena have already given up." I said, setting the plates down at the right table. "Someone has to believe in him."

My eyes traveled across the room to where Elena sat with Bonnie. They were locked in serious conversation. I was surprised, and yet not at all at Elena's all to willingness to give up on Stefan. I was surprised, because she assured me that Stefan was the one she wanted. She loved Stefan, and I knew that she did. But that didn't mean that he was the only one she was after. This gave her every chance to come after Damon, something that horrified me and made me heat up in anger. She was leaning on Damon this whole time, and their friendship was more of a connection, a connection that scared me.

And then there was Damon, ever faithful Damon, who didn't even give Elena a second glance because he was looking at me. I had no reason not to trust him. I trusted that he would never hurt me, or drag me along while he went after someone else. But there was still that pang of jealousy whenever the two joked together or came up with a plan. He was my boyfriend, and I would fight for him if I had to.

"He's a lost cause Alex." Damon said, catching my attention. "He doesn't want to come back."

"I don't believe that." I argued. "Out of all the people in this world, I believe Stefan can come back from this. And if not for her…"

I pointed at Elena and then turned back to Damon.

"Then he will for you." I finished my statement. Damon stared blankly at me, and then he scoffed. I had seen the love between the two brothers, and I knew that if Stefan were to come back for anyone it would be for Damon.

"Hey, Alex."

I turned and Alaric came walking up to me. I smiled at him, preferring to see him at my place of work instead of at school or coming out of my mother's bedroom.

"Have you seen Jeremy?" He asked, sounding a bit concerned. "He was supposed to show up for his shift an hour ago…"

"Jeremy?" I asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Rick, Jeremy got fired last week. I thought he would have told you…"

By the confusion on Alaric's face, I could see that Jeremy did not tell him. I sighed. Jeremy had blatantly not come to work for any of his shifts, not even bothering to call in. If he was that desperate to keep the job, he could have asked one of our lovely vampire friends to compel our boss. But Jeremy didn't even do that.

"This whole parent thing is harder than it looks." Alaric said, brushing his hand over his hair. I gave him a sympathetic smile. "If you see him-"

"I'll tell him that he's in big trouble." I said with a smile. Alaric grinned back and then walked away. I turned back to Damon, who was now throwing darts. "Why wouldn't Jeremy tell Alaric he got fired?"

"How would I know?" Damon asked, hitting the bullseye. "That kid is really confusing."

"Can you blame him?" I asked, leaning against a nearby pool table. "He's lost everyone he's ever cared about. I'm afraid he's going down the wrong path… again."

"Don't worry about Jeremy." Damon said, turning to me. "You know Elena will talk him off the edge. She always does."

I scoffed. Most of the time, it seemed to me that Elena was the last person Jeremy wanted to talk to about his problems. Maybe I could help. I hadn't talked to the kid in what seemed like forever. Maybe I could talk him down from the ledge.

The ring of the bell above the door alerted me of a new customer. I felt my stomach lurch.

"Don't mind me." The accent sounding like silk against my eardrums. Damon stepped in front of me, standing in between the hybrid and I. Klaus smirked at Damon.

"You gonna do this in the Grill? In front of everyone?" Damon asked, his hand gripping my arm. "It's a little beneath you, don't you think?"

At this point, Elena had stood up and was marching over to us. She stood next to Damon, acting as if she was trying to protect me from Klaus. As noble as it was, Klaus couldn't be killed, and Elena didn't stand a chance.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate" Klaus said, looking over his shoulder at another hybrid. "And I wanted to see my dear Alexandra."

"Well you saw me. Bye." I barked quickly, pushing against Damon's grip, but he was too strong. Klaus chuckled.

"Don't worry Alexandra." Klaus said. "I'm not here to take you just yet."

"You won't be taking her at all." Elena said, arms crossed over her chest. Klaus eyed her for a second before laughing and turning to me.

"You have the doppelgänger protecting you now?" He chortled. "How sweet."

"I'm surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour." Damon spat. Klaus turned his gaze onto Damon, and the two were having an epic stare down.

"My little sister seems to be missing." Klaus said. "Need to sort that out."

I had to force myself not to gulp. Klaus was always one step ahead of us. He knew we had something to do with Rebekah's disappearance, and now he was coming to collect. As bad as I felt for betraying her, if Klaus didn't have her he couldn't form this sick, twisted family of his. I would be safe for a little longer.

"Cute blonde bombshell, psycho." Damon said. "Shouldn't be too hard to find."

Klaus set his jaw.

"Truth is I've grown to rather like your little town. Think I might fancy a home here." Klaus said, taking a dart. "Oh I imagine you're wondering how does this is affect you. The answer is: not in the slightest. Unless I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves you can go on living your little lives however you choose."

He looked at me again.

"You have my word."

"What more could you possibly want?" Elena asked. Klaus chuckled again.

"Well for starters, you can tell me where I might find Stefan." He asked.

"Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass." Damon answered, getting in Klaus' face. Klaus glared.

"Well you see that is a shame." He said, throwing a dart right past my head and hitting the bullseye. "Your brother stole from me. I need him found so I can take back what's mine."

"That doesn't sound like our problem." I said over Damon's shoulder. Klaus turned his gaze to me, leaning in close to my face. Damon gripped my arm even tighter.

"Oh, it is your problem." Klaus said. "Find him, or I will tear this town apart."

I swallowed at the threat. With a smile and a wink, he turned and went to the bar with his hybrid friend. Damon turned to me, taking me in his arms. All the while I glared at Klaus.

"Who does he think he is?" I asked, pacing the study in the boarding house. Damon was drinking, staring blankly at the wall. Jace was leaning against a different wall, arms crossed over his chest. I couldn't stay still, I was too nervous. Klaus wanted us to find Stefan, but Stefan didn't want to be found. And what did he steal that was so important to him?

"He's an unkillable hybrid." Jace said. "He can think whatever he wants."

"It's not fair!" I yelled, flopping down on the couch. I knew I looked and sounded like a pouting child, but how were we supposed to find Stefan? He hadn't contacted us since he was free of Klaus' compulsion and none of us knew where he was.

"He's Klaus, he doesn't have to be fair." Jace added. I turned and glared at him. "What it's the truth?"

"Tell me again why we tolerate him?" Damon asked me. I rolled my eyes, dropping my head in my hands. "Pretty girl, we are going to figure this out."

"How?" I asked, louder than I needed to. "Klaus said he was going to hurt everyone in town."

"I won't let that happen." Damon replied. "We just have to find Stefan."

That was easier said than done. If Klaus couldn't find him, how did he think we were going to find him ourselves?

"And how do you plan to do that?" Jace asked, pushing himself off the wall. He was thinking the same way I was. There was no guarantee we would find him, or that he would even five back what he stole from Klaus. With his emotions off, he didn't care about what happened to us or Mystic Falls.

"Yes Damon." A voice said catching our attention. "How do you plan to find your dear brother?"

It was Klaus. When I saw him my blood ran cold. Damon was up in a second, shielding me from view. Klaus chuckled as he stepped further into the room. His threat loomed over my head, and I was frightened at what he would do next.

"Jace." Damon called, the human looked up. "Take Alex to Elena's."

Jace stood there for a second, his glance going from Damon to Klaus. Klaus didn't make a move to stop him, in fact he cleared a path so Jace and I would be able to move through the room. Jace then met my gaze and walked over to me. He slipped an arm around my waist and the other took hold of my arm. I felt a little demeaned at this gesture, but I wasn't going to protest in front of Klaus. I just wanted to get away from him. As Jace led me out of the room, I shared a fleeting glance with Damon, who was putting on his tough persona in front of Klaus. I licked my lips and mouthed I love you, to him before Jace carted me out.

There was no telling what Klaus would do, and I was very much worried for Damon's safety. But if Klaus wanted Damon dead, he would have done it a long time ago. Right now, he needed all of us to help him find Stefan, so I didn't see him killing Damon anytime soon.

"Dammit." I muttered once I was in Jace's truck. I punched at the dashboard, pulling my hand back at the pain. "Shit!"

"Calm down." Jace ordered. "It's going to be ok."

"No it's not!" I shrieked. "This is a big mess!"

Jace meshed his mouth in a straight line but didn't disagree with me. With Mikel gone and no weapon to kill Klaus, we were powerless. Not to mention, he would be pretty pissed when he found out we were hiding his sister, because he would eventually find out. He always found out, he was always one step ahead of us.

"Let's just go to Elena's." Jace said. "Damon will meet us there and we can make a plan."

"Ok." I said, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Just then, Jace's hand grabbed mine. I stared at our fingers before meeting his gaze. Determined and strong, the green irises stared into me so hard that I felt like he was piercing my soul. I swallowed hard.

"It's going to be ok." He told me. I stared back at him for a second before I let out a sigh and then nodded. We would figure out how to fix this. We always did.

When Jace and I pulled onto the street that the Gilbert house resided on, we weren't expecting what we saw. It was like we were moving in slow motion. Jeremy… he was standing out in the middle of the street, and a speeding car was heading his way.

"Jeremy!" I screamed, even though he couldn't hear me. Jace stopped the car, both of us rushing to get out of the vehicle. The black SUV was getting closer and closer. I could hear other's screaming, yelling at Jeremy to move. He never did.

That's when the most devastating thing happened.

Alaric ran toward my cousin, faster than I had ever seen him move, and knocked him out of the way. Unfortunately, Rick was unable to get out of the way quick enough and the car hit him at full speed. He fell off the front and on to the asphalt.

"Rick!" I shouted, falling to the ground where my history teacher lay. He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. I felt a sharp cry come from my lips.

"There I go again." The man who was with Klaus at the Grill that morning poked his head out of the car. "Bumping into people..."

Tears were brimming at my eyes, as I saw my lifeless teacher, my mother's boyfriend, bleeding. Just then, Elena reached us, crouching down in front of us, looking just as concerned. Elena reached forward, grabbing his hand. The Gilbert ring was on his finger.

"He's going to be ok." Elena said. I looked up. "Alex, he's going to be fine."

I didn't reply, I just nodded and let out a happy/confused sob. My eyes traveled up to Jace, who loomed over me.

"I thought-"

"I gave it back to him…" Jace said, a bit relieved himself. "It was his first anyway…"

I smiled widely, grabbing him and pulling him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around me tightly. The thought of telling my mother that Alaric was dead… I couldn't bare it.

"Thank you." I whispered. Jace chuckled against me, pulling back. He smiled before he picked Alaric up and took him inside. My smile faded as I watched him. Elena was standing next to me. She was close, and it should have bothered me. But at that moment, I was too surprised and relieved to tell her to back away.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, turning to Elena. Jeremy stood in the grass, right where Alaric had pushed him. "What were you thinking?"

"I… I don't know." Jeremy replied, seeming very confused. "I don't know what happened."

I looked him over. Jeremy looked fine, the same misunderstood, angsty teenage boy who I had come to love. But what wasn't fine was his bracelet, the one that carried vervain, was not on his wrist. I squinted, staring at the pale skin.

"Jeremy." I said, catching his attention. "Where's your bracelet?"

He furrowed his brows, looking down at his own wrist. The look of shock came over his face, and I realized then that he had no clue how it had come off.

"You weren't wearing vervain?" Elena asked outraged. "Why?"

"I don't know." Jeremy replied. "I don't know how it came off."

"It was Tyler! It had to have been." Elena accused. "That's why he was hanging out with you. To get you off the vervain."

"You're hanging out with Tyler?" I asked, sounding just as outraged. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know alright!" Jeremy shouted at us. I looked at him, taken aback. "I don't know how any of this happened…"

I shut my mouth. Yelling at Jeremy would get us nowhere. He didn't have a clue… but I did.

"Klaus…" I whispered. "It's all been Klaus."

I could feel the sibling's eyes on me. He orchestrated this whole plan, just to make us get Stefan to give back whatever he stole. He was willing to kill anyone, especially if they were close to us, just to get what he wanted. I felt a rage heat up inside me as I thought about Jace, lying dead on the ground.

"Alex…" Elena said, her tone worried. I felt her touch my arm but I jerked it away. "Hey-"

"This has to end." I shouted. "I'm not going to take this anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked, stepping forward. "Alex, let's go inside. We'll call Damon-"

"No!" I yelled back at her. "This is never going to end!"

Elena's mouth clamped shut. I ran a hand through my hair.

"No matter what we do." I said. "No matter what we try, none of this will end until Klaus is dead."

"We tried that." Jeremy said. "It didn't work."

"There has to be another way." I replied. "There just has to."

Elena stepped forward, taking my shoulder in her hands. I didn't stop her, and I didn't jerk away. I just let her hold me there and stared into her eyes.

"Alex, listen to me." Elena ordered. I said nothing. "We will figure this out."

"Don't you understand that Jeremy almost died?" I asked, pointing to him. "And Alaric, if Jace hadn't given him that ring back, he could be dead too!"

"I understand."

"Then how can you say this will all be fine?" I asked. She squeezed my shoulders tightly, much like a friend would. She was concerned, and obviously still frazzled. Jeremy almost got crushed, Alaric was dead, and Klaus organized the whole thing. Still she was less freaked out then I was.

"We always figure it out." Elena said. "It's going to be ok."

I stared at her for a long time. I was still so bitter at her, for kissing Damon, for staking Rebekah, for everything. And yet, standing there, I missed how we used to be. I missed how we used to joke around, and how we would put our brains together to figure out a problem. I missed how close we became after we found out what I was, and our relationship. I missed her friendship… and because of that I let myself be vulnerable.

"I'm so scared." I said in a whisper. Elena gave me a sympathetic look before she pulled me into a hug. I didn't pull away, and I actually found myself hugging her back. God, I missed this.

"Hey!"

We looked up to the house where Jace stood. He was waving his phone.

"Damon's coming!"

I pulled back, brushing a couple of evil tears away. I then met Elena's gaze again. She was smiling, and I forced one back to her. Then we went inside the house.

"Klaus is trying to send us a message." Damon said, when he arrived. "He wants us to find Stefan who stole his coffins full of his dead family members."

I was sitting on the arm of the sofa, my eyes never leaving Alaric. He still hadn't been revived, and I kept looking to his finger to make sure that he would actually wake up. It was so odd, to see him not breathing… not alive. I couldn't imagine what it would be like… to tell my mother that yet another one of her boyfriends was dead. I couldn't do that, not to her. Not again.

"Coffins?" Elena repeated. Damon nodded.

"Yep! So all we have to do is find four coffins and voilà!" Damon said. "No one else on your family's Christmas list needs to die!"

I narrowed my eyes and gave him a glare. He simply shrugged.

"Wait- that's your big plan?" Jeremy asked. "To steal back four dead originals so this evil hybrid doesn't kill me and everyone else we know?"

"You got a better idea?" Damon asked. Jeremy stood up.

"Yeah!" Jeremy replied. "Let's get the hell outta here! Pack our bags and go!"

I was a bit surprised at the notion. Would it be possible, to just pick up and go? Of course, my mother would never understand. I would have to explain and that would be hard. But she could be safe…

"Hey, Jeremy calm down…" Elena urged.

"No, no! I'm not gonna calm down, Elena! This happens every time, no matter what we do!" Jeremy yelled. "Alex is right. This is never going to end. Not until he's dead."

"Whoa now." I said, standing up. "Don't go bringing me into this."

"But you were right!" Jeremy continued. "None of us will make it out of this town alive. No matter what we do."

I swallowed. He sounded a lot like me. No one stopped him when he pushed past us and walked up the stairs to his bedroom. I sighed. Leave it to me to plant a seed into that kids mind.

"What if we just…" Elena began. I turned to her. "He said he wants his family back."

"No." Damon replied. "Not going to happen."

"What are we talking about?" I asked, holding up my hands. Elena and Damon were glaring at one another. "Ok, I don't like this secret communication you're having."

"If we give him Rebekah-"

"No!" Damon said louder. "Klaus will undagger her, first thing she does is kill you!"

"As soon as Klaus get's those coffins…" Jace said, finally speaking up. "He's coming after Alex…"

I took in a breath. Rick was right. Klaus warned me, everyone warned me. Klaus wanted his family back, every single one of them. Of course, he couldn't resurrect the sister he killed… so he was going to go for the next best thing. Me.

"But if we don't give him the coffins…" Elena said. "He's going to kill everyone."

I could feel three pairs of eyes staring holes into my back. They were waiting to see what I would say. But I didn't know what to say. I could either save myself… or save everyone else.

"We have to give him those coffins." I said, turning around. "It's the only way."

"No!" Both Damon and Jace shouted at me. They shared a look between each other before they glared and then looked back to me.

"He will come for you." Jace spoke up first. "We have no idea what that means."

"We will just have to chance it." I replied with a shrug. Damon stepped into my line of vision, his eyes wide and his lip twitching in annoyance and worry.

"I'm not going to let him take you." Damon said. "We'll go somewhere…"

"And be like Katherine?" I asked, he cringed at the name. "No… I don't want to run."

Damon stared at me, his eyes serious and piercing. I swallowed. I wouldn't run. I won't save my ass at the expense of everyone I loved and this town.

"Klaus's coffins...How many did you say they were?" Elena asked.

"Four why?" Damon asked. Elena gave me a look before pulling out her phone. She dialed a number quickly before putting it up to her ear. "Am I missing something?"

"She's calling Bonnie." I replied, hearing Elena start talking to our witch friend as she stepped outside. Damon gave me a wicked smile. "What?"

"You got that from one look?" He asked. I shrugged. "Maybe it's a sister thing."

"Shut up." I muttered, ignoring his chuckle as I checked on Alaric once more.

"I thought the witches left this place?"

We were walking up to the old abandoned building, the one where all of those witches burned and Bonnie was able to channel their magic. It had since lost its power, or at least that was what we thought.

"The dead witches were angry at her for bringing Jeremy back to life." Elena explained. "I guess now they have something they want her to know."

"I hate witches. So fickle..." Damon said. "Passive-aggressive..."

I elbowed him, earning a smirk. We entered the house, no one in sight when we entered the door.

"Stefan?" Elena called out. I didn't see any coffins, or any sign of our vampire friend. Maybe Bonnie was wrong…

"Ah!"

I turned, seeing Damon stepping into a ray of light. His skin was burning and with his vampire speed he launched himself into a dark corner.

"Really?!" Damon yelled. "Still?!"

"What?" Elena asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"The witches are definitely still here." I said, looking around. "They don't like him."

"They mess with my ring." Damon said, looking down at his hand. I stepped up to him, gripping his jacket.

"Why don't you wait outside?" I asked him. He looked down at me in shock. "They don't want you here."

"Alex-"

"Don't worry." I said, pulling a stake from my back pocket. "I can handle your brother."

He stared at me for a second before he gripped the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. I kissed him back, but I had no doubt that I would return. When he pulled back, he gave me one more fleeting look before he bolted outside. I turned to Elena.

"Ready?" I asked. She simply nodded and the two of us went toward the basement. The creaky house scared me every time we went inside. It felt like it would just collapse, and it didn't help that it was covered with spiders. Vampires, easy. Spiders… still freaked me out a bit.

"Where do you think he's hiding them?" I asked. Elena shrugged. I began down the steps, Elena not too far behind. I was ever cautious, not trusting Stefan not to hurt me or Elena. With his emotions turned off, there was no telling what he might do. We reached the last step and my eyes swept the area. No coffins and no Stefan.

"Stefan?" Elena called. There was a moment of silence.

"Go away."

We jumped turning to the side. In a second Stefan turned around the corner, an irritated look on his face. I gripped my stake tighter.

"You shouldn't be here." Stefan said. "Neither of you."

"Stefan, we need your help." Elena said, stepping forward. "Bonnie said that you would be here."

Stefan huffed.

"Well, Bonnie sucks at keeping secrets." Stefan replied. I narrowed my eyes. I thought after Klaus freed Stefan that he would be able to turn his emotions back on. But it seemed that Stefan didn't want to do that.

"Listen, you need to give Klaus his family back." Elena explained. Stefan scoffed. "Klaus compelled Jeremy to stand in front of speeding car. Don't you get it? Stefan, he's not gonna stop until he gets what he wants."

Stefan stepped forward and I shifted in front of Elena. He gave me a look and then grinned.

"Still protecting her huh?" Stefan asked. I glared. "I'm not giving Klaus anything."

"Are you listening to me?" Elena asked. "He's gonna kill Jeremy!"

Stefan smirked.

"Not really my problem." He said, turning his back to us. I felt the anger rise inside of me. His lack of worry shouldn't have surprised me, but it did assure me that Stefan was far from himself. I thought about Alaric, how he was dead because of Klaus. I thought about my mother's reaction, what would happen if he hadn't had Jace's ring. She would be devastated. And Stefan… well he didn't seem to give a damn.

I lunged forward, stabbing my stake into Stefan's back. He cried out in pain as I pushed him up against a wall. Elena shrieked behind me, but I didn't care. I pushed the stake harder into his flesh.

"Listen to me you bastard." I said in a low voice. "Alaric is dead because of Klaus, and if he hadn't been wearing the Gilbert ring I would be having a very tearful conversation with my mother, so you listen good."

He groaned.

"I'm not going to let Klaus hurt anyone I care about, you got that?" I asked. "So you give us the coffins or I'll put this through your heart."

Stefan laughed, making me push the stake in harder. He groaned.

"Alex, let's just go." Elena urged. I ignored her. I wasn't going to let Klaus get his way, not this time.

"Do it." Stefan said. "I dare you."

I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Oh I wanted to do it. I wanted so bad to just do something, anything. Stefan's shitty attitude was making me want to do it even more.

"Alex!" Elena yelled. "Let's go!"

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes before I pulled the stake out from his back. Stefan chuckled, turning to us. I glared at him, not afraid of him in the slightest.

"I knew you couldn't." Stefan said with a smirk. "You don't have it in you."

I gripped my stake harder, plunging the tip into Stefan's stomach. Deep into his stomach. He grunted, leaning over in pain. I leaned in close to his ear.

"I want those coffins." I said. "And I need you alive to get them. Don't test me."

I then let go, leaving the wooden stake deep inside of Stefan's gut before I grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her up the stairs. I led her outside to see a smirking Damon leaning against a tree.

"That didn't go well." He said, pushing himself off of it.

"Don't start." I said, holding up a bloody hand. "Now what?"

"Ill talk to him." Damon said, trying to walk past me. I stopped him by putting a hand to his chest.

"The witches won't let you in." I said. He took my hand, putting his car keys into my palm.

"Here. Take my car keys." Damon said. "Go deal with Jeremy. I'll deal with Stefan."

I sighed, taking the keys and watching him disappear into the house. I licked my lips nervously before Elena and I went to Damon's car.

When we arrived back at the house, it was already dark. We had just walked inside when Alaric was pulling himself off the couch with Jace's help. I was so excited to see him breathing, that I didn't realize his wounds hadn't healed.

"Oh thank God." I said, looking him over. "I did not want to have to tell my mom that you kicked the bucket."

"I'm glad you don't have to." Alaric laughed, but something wasn't right. He was crouched over, like he was in pain. I furrowed my brows.

"How long did it take to revive you this time?" I asked with narrowed eyes. Alaric shrugged. "Seriously."

"A few hours…" Jace said, picking up on my worry. "Why?"

"It's never taken that long." Elena said, as if she read my mind. As if by some sick trick of fate, Alaric let out a loud cough. He caught it and when he pulled his hand back, he had a large amount of blood in his palm. My eyes widened, but I didn't have time to react because he fell to the floor.

"Rick!" Elena yelled. The three of us went to the floor. "What's going on? Why isn't the ring working?"

"I don't know." I said. "Jace, call 911."

Like clockwork, Jace had his phone in his hand and he was making the call. I leaned down to Rick's ear.

"You stay with me Rick." I said. "Stay with me!"

A few minutes later and paramedics were rushing in. I tried to stay out of their way, but it took everything in me not to try and help.

"He got hit by a car and...he's coughing up blood." Elena explained frantically. The paramedics were checking Rick's vitals.

"Pulse pretty weak. Looks like internal bleeding." The first paramedic said, making my heart sink. "We gotta get him outta here."

"Let's not and say we did." A voice from the door said. We all looked up to see Klaus' hybrid lackey, the one who hit Alaric. "Why don't you two meet us at the hospital?"

The two paramedic's then got up, without Alaric, and walked out the door. I felt my heart drop to the floor.

"No!" I yelled. "Help him!"

"What are you doing?" Elena asked. The hybrid grinned.

"You can still save his life, Elena. Here, take my blood." He said holding up his wrist. "I can't get in. You're gonna have to invite me."

"Like hell." Jace said, standing in front of both of us. The hybrid laughed and I wanted nothing more than to stab him in the heart. I looked back down to Alaric. If he didn't get to the hospital soon I would have to have that dreadful conversation with my mother…

"Why are you doing this?" Elena asked. The hybrid shrugged.

"Klaus asked for his family." He said. "You didn't deliver."

Rick broke out with awful sounding coughs and I gripped his hand.

"You stay with me Rick." I said. "Stay with me."

"He's gonna die." The hybrids said. "Might want to invite me in, Elena."

Elena opened her mouth but in a second the hybrid fell down on the front step. All three of us stared in shock, seeing Jeremy walk through the door with a crossbow.

"Jeremy?" Jace asked. "What the-"

"He's not dead yet." Jeremy said, walking past us and into the kitchen. I shared a worried look with Elena before turning my gaze back to Alaric. His breath was shallow, so very slow. He was going to die if we didn't do something.

Just then, Jeremy came out of the kitchen, a large butcher knife in his hand. I furrowed my brows, watching him go out on the front step and leaned down. He hesitated for barely a second before he lifted the knife and chopped off the hybrid's head. Elena let out a shriek.

"Now he's dead." Jeremy said, looking up with blood splatters on his face. "We have to get Alaric to the hospital. Jace, help me."

"Yeah…" Jace said in shock. "S-sure."

I had seen a lot of things, terrible things… but this… coming from Jeremy I couldn't believe that it came from him…. And yet I could.

I watched from the window as my mom's hands fluttered over Rick. Damon had come and gave Rick his blood, fixing his internal bleeding. Mom had been freaking out when I called her and told her Alaric had been hit by a car. But I was still confused as to why the ring hadn't worked as well as it used to.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." Mom said, hitting Alaric. He winced. "Sorry."

"It's ok." Alaric said, smiling up at her. "I'm sorry."

Mom ran her fingers through his short hair before she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. I smiled to myself. Even through everything that happened, the highlight of my day was getting to see my mom happy.

"They look happy."

I looked over my shoulder and saw Jace walking up to me. I smiled, turning back to the couple in the hospital room.

"I think they are." I replied, my voice sounding dreamy. Jace stopped, standing next to me and we fell into silence. It had been a long day, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. "I'm glad you gave the ring back to Rick."

"Me too." Jace replied. "It's cool, but… he seems to need it more than I do."

I turned to him, and met his gaze. In a split second, I pulled him into a bone crushing hug. He tensed for a second, and then relaxed, putting his arms around me slowly. I closed my eyes tight, fighting off tears.

"I don't know what I would do without you." I said in a low voice. I heard a small chuckle and he squeezed me tight.

"Lucky for you, you will never have to find out." He said into my hair. I smiled, hanging on to him in the hospital hallway.