I couldn't breathe.
"Rayna. Are you listening?!" a voice said. "We have to go back." said another. "Rayna, he's—" the first voice started.
"We have to go back, Matt!" said the second. Everything was crumbling around me.
SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER
"She's gonna be fine. She got a little banged up today, hit her head, but it was just a slight concussion. Nothing to worry about."
Nothing to worry about.
I had woken up, just a few hours after falling asleep, and was about to drift back into sleep when my vision blurred and I had a psychic vision. The kind of vision I'd always feared I might have.
And sure enough, after I sprinted into the room we'd been painting, I saw it. My sister, unconscious on the floor. Blood streaming from her nose.
Nothing to worry about at all.
"But when she collapsed there was blood," Jeremy said. "I'm pretty sure you don't bleed through the nose from a slight concussion." I added.
"Honestly, you two," Meredith said calmly, "She's okay.
She's just… she's been through a lot."
"Jeremy's been through a lot." I told her, pointing at my brother to emphasize my point. He nodded his head. "Elena's tough, I'm—"
"I'm tough." My brother interjected.
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway— I'm pretty sure 'going through a lot' doesn't equate to bleeding from her nose. I'm not a complete imbecile! I know there is something more than that." I said irritatedly.
She was doing one of the worst things someone could do to me.
She was lying.
"I am tough." Jeremy argued.
"No one's saying you aren't." I told him. "But you just—"
"I've wanted to be a doctor for a very long time, Meredith," I continued, ignoring my brother. I was on edge, "so, I like to think that when it comes to situations like this— due to my first aid training, I'm pretty able to tell the difference between a slight concussion and something considerably worse. Something considerably worse is definitely bleeding from the nose because it signifies trauma one hell of a lot worse than a slight conc—"
"We can ask her what happened when she wakes up," Meredith glared at me, "You may have spent several hours of your life Google-ing medicine, but I am the trained doctor here." she spoke with self importance. I scoffed. "It was a concussion, nothing less, nothing more. That's it." She said, looking at me sternly. "Now, is there anyone that either of you wanna call?" she asked us, changing the subject.
Jeremy and I shared a look. "Well..." he said.
"You did WHAT?" Damon's outraged voice came from Jeremy's phone which had been put on speaker.
"We took her to the hospital, Damon." I repeated slowly.
"When you find your sister unconscious you call 911." Jeremy said.
"Not when you have a parade of vampires at your disposal!"
"Every remaining original is gonna want Elena dead to stop Alaric, she's a sitting duck in there." Stefan said.
"Meredith wants to keep her here for observation." Jeremy argued.
"Both of you, get Elena home. We're on our way."
"Damon, wait," I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and swallowing, "Uh, this might be a good time to let you guys know that there's a possibility it isn't Elena's life that's tied to Alaric's."
"What?!" two voices crackled from the phone.
"What?!" Jeremy yelled.
I laughed nervously. "Yeah, well… Esther kinda took my blood too. So we don't know whose life Alaric's is tied to."
There was silence.
"You could have mentioned this earlier!" Jeremy yelled once more.
"Well, of course I could have. I could have done a lot of things, Jere... I just didn't."
"Jeremy," Stefan said sternly, "Get them both home. Now."
The line went dead.
I entered the house with Elena, Caroline, Tyler and Matt following us. After dropping Jeremy off at the Grill of his shift, Caroline had insisted on coming with us to take Elena home. Of course, Tyler had followed suit and wherever Ty went, Matt usually wouldn't be very far behind.
"Couch. Now." Caroline told her sternly.
"I'm fine, I just… I want something to eat first." Elena said, smiling.
"We're on it." Tyler said. "As soon as we make sure no one's lurking in the closets."
I snorted.
Everyone turned and stared at me. I blinked several times before saying, "Oh… You were serious... Alright, couch." I said, turning back to Elena and dragging her through to the lounge.
She groaned. "I told you both, I'm fine."
"Doctor says rest, you rest." Care said firmly. I nodded in agreement.
Elena sat on the sofa and put her legs up before Caroline spread a blanket over her.
"Now what can I get you?" she asked. "Do you want some tea? Maybe some… Vodka? Both will help you sleep!" she smiled, before sitting down on the sofa. I dragged an armchair opposite them and sat down. "I know," Care sighed. "I'm being smothering. It's… What I do."
"It's why we love you, Care." I smiled.
"No," Elena smiled, looking at us both. "It's nice."
"I'm thinking… Maybe tea with vodka." Care said before getting up and walking to the kitchen.
"Bring me some too!" I yelled.
Elena laughed, before closing her mouth. "Elena?" I asked gently.
"Yeah?"
"I love you. You know that, right?" She frowned. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."
Nodding, I smiled almost sadly. I wanted her to remember that. I wanted her to remember that I loved her. Jeremy knew. But I needed Elena to remember especially, so she wouldn't blame herself when...
"Get some rest." I told her. "I'll wake you up if anything interesting happens."
"Thanks." She said, giving me a strange look, closing her eyes.
"Sweet dreams, twin."
I heard her chuckle, "Sweet dreams, tw…" and then the faintest snoring could be heard.
I stood up slowly before walking upstairs to my room. Hanging on my vanity mirror was my Gilbert talisman.
Courtesy of the late John Gilbert, I thought dismally as I hung it around my neck, feeling a new sense of security.
I walked back down the stairs and, in the need of some comfort food, made myself some toast with nutella.
Some time later I walked back through to the living room to see Elena talking to Matt.
"Hey, guys, does anyone want some toast?"
"Me, please." They both said.
"Okay, well, there's a toaster and some bread in the kitchen." I said, taking a bite out of my toast. "Go nuts."
They both rolled their eyes. I frowned. "Get it?" I encouraged. "Go nuts. Go nuts. Nutella. Nut-ella. N-u-t—"
"We got it." Matt said.
I heard the front door open behind me.
I put my plate on a side table and turned on my heel, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw that it was just Stefan. He closed the door behind him and walked towards me, wrapping his arms around me.
"You should've told me she took your blood too."
"I did."
"You should've told me sooner." He said.
I heard someone clear their throat from behind me and pulled away before turning around.
Matt was studying Elena. Elena was looking at me and Stefan, frowning.
"I'm, uh, gonna go make some toast." I said.
"But," Matt began, pointing to the plate of toast on the table, "You've already—"
"I'm gonna go make some more."
I walked through to the kitchen and put some bread in the toaster.
"Need some help?" a voice asked from behind me.
"What?" I asked, laughing. "Making toast? I appreciate the offer, Stefan, but I think I've got it covered."
"Right." he said, chuckling.
I didn't look at him as I said, "I'm glad she has you. To take care of her. Elena."
"It's my fault, so I—"
"It's not." I interrupted. "It's not your fault. And anyway, it's... I have a feeling this is going to blow over soon."
"You do, huh?"
"Yep. Alaric will... He'll be gone and everyone will be safe."
"I'm being over coddled." Elena announced, boredly. "I feel completely fine."
She was still on the couch, with me next to her as Matt and Stefan did... whatever it was they were doing in the kitchen.
"That's what crazy people say." I told her. "You know— crazy people never actually think they're crazy. And if they do think they're crazy, they're not really that crazy. They're more eccentric than crazy."
"What's your point?" she asked. "... I can't remember."
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm being over coddled." She repeated, louder.
"You're under house arrest." Stefan pointed out. "You're supposed to feel coddled."
"Wouldn't it be smarter if we just got you the hell outta town?" Matt asked her.
"Probably." I shrugged.
She hit me on the arm. "And do what? Go on the run for the rest of my life? No thank you... And I'm not an invalid. I'm done with the couch." She said, walking off in a huff.
"No one forced you to stay there, anyway." I shouted after her, taking another spoonful of nutella and shoving it in my mouth.
"So you're just gonna let her call the shots?" Matt asked. "Her and Ray are both in danger the longer they stay here." Matt said before turning to look at me. "Don't you think it would be better if you—"
"Hell, yes." I said. "But I'm the younger twin." I said, like it explained everything. In a way, it kind of did. "I don't get a say."
"You do have a say," Stefan said, before turning to Matt, "Rain would never leave without Elena." Matt looked at me, and I just shrugged. It was true. I wouldn't skip town for my own safety and leave my sister to the... dogs? The thing was, the originals would all want her dead as they thought she was the key to killing Alaric. They didn't know it could very well be me. "I'm letting them make their own decisions."
"Even if they're wrong?"
"Nothing wrong with free will, Matt." Stefan said. "You don't realize that until you lose it."
"Stefan." Elena's voice came from the front door. I got up and, leaving my nutella jar, walked around the sofa to stand in the hallway to look at the doorway.
And, in front of Elena I saw my second favourite Original. "Elijah." Stefan said, standing next to me.
"Elijah!" I beamed.
"Hello, again." He said.
It was probably the most boring, over-used line in the history of forever and yet, when he said it, I felt as though I'd never heard a more dramatic line in my entire life.
"All we need is to take that stake away from him." Elijah said, later, when we were all sat at the table. "Once he's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the earth. And Alaric will follow us."
"And you'll just run?" Stefan questioned.
"We've done it before." Elijah reminded us. "Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half century while Elena and Rayna are able to live out the rest of their natural lives."
"We finally stopped him, Elijah." my sister stressed. "After everything he's done to us I can't just... let you bring him back."
"I give you my word, Elena, I will not revive Klaus in yours, nor even your children's lifetimes... Perhaps that'll finally teach him some manners."
"Why should we trust you?" Matt asked. "All you've done is screw her over."
I rested my chin on my fist. I was far too emotionally drained to bother pointing out the flaws in everyone's points.
And there were many.
"And for that, I am deeply ashamed." Elijah spoke solemnly. "But know this, she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight so, Elena, Rayna, I leave it to the two of you to make the decision whether to trust me or not."
"NOT!" Damon's voice yelled, from Elena's cell. "Hello?! Did that concussion give you brain damage, his lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!"
"Rebekah and Kol will honour the terms, if you return Klaus' body to us, neither of you," Elijah said, looking at me and Elena. "Will come to any harm."
There was silence as we thought about this. "What about Jeremy?"
"Pardon?" Elijah asked.
"Jeremy," I repeated, "I can't put him in a position where he'll get hurt too, he can't defend himself... not against Originals anyway, and Kol is—"
"You and your siblings will be protected." He said firmly. I looked over at Elena, who looked convinced.
"Do we have a deal?" the Original asked.
"NO! No, no, no, no, no. Did I mention NO?!"
"It's up to you two." Stefan said, not seeming all too happy about the situation.
Elena frowned from next to him.
"Why do you want with Klaus' body?" the Doppelganger in question asked Elijah.
"He's my brother. We remain together." I caught my twin's eyes and nodded. "We have a deal."
Sometimes, in life, things happen. Things that surprise you.
I walked up the stairs slowly. I was so deep in thought, it took me a while to register voices from Elena's room.
"... Stefan." A voice said. It was either Elena, or Tatia wasn't as dead as we thought because I knew that Katherine was long gone. "Forget it, um, w-we can talk later."
I peered my head around slightly to see Elena and Stefan in her bedroom, kissing.
I didn't know why I was surprised at what was happening. But I didn't like it.
Why?
I assumed it was because I was friends with both of the Salvatores. I couldn't pick a side, but I needed her to stop alternating between the two.
Shaking my head, and releasing a breath I didn't know I had been holding, I walked briskly into my own room, careful to be as quiet as possible. Only to see Matt and my brother already waiting in there for me.
"We have to talk." Matt said, closing the door behind me.
I sat in Matt's truck, between him and my sister. It was quite uncomfortable, actually.
"What's going on?" Elena asked, coming to.
"It's the only way I was gonna get you in this truck." Matt said.
"The tea. You drugged me?! You let him drug me?!" Elena screeched, looking at me through the rear-view mirror.
"Never said I agreed with his methods, Elena." I replied, rolling my eyes.
"I'm sorry Elena," Matt told her, before reciting what I'm sure was a very well-planned apology speech. I just stayed quite as he pussy-footed around her. I wasn't going to pander up to her and sugar coat this, because honestly, I didn't care much for what she wanted. I was going to get her out of town, and I was going to make sure that her and my brother were safe before I left. Because that's what mattered to me. She could get as upset as she wanted but I was not going to let her die.
"What the hell is going on, Matt?!" Elena demanded.
"We're getting you out of town, Elena." I told her. "It's the only way to keep you safe."
"Where are we gonna go, then, huh?"
"Matt is going to take you somewhere safe, and you'll meet Jeremy there."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna make sure you're both safe."
"What are you gonna do, Rayna?!" she repeated in a louder, harsher tone.
Matt's phone began to ring.
"Whatever it takes." I said.
"Hey, Jere." Matt said, having answered the phone. He frowned, before asking, "What's happened? Klaus is... He can't— how— right. Okay. Are you sure he's dead?... Okay. Yeah. Got it, Jere."
Matt hung up.
I couldn't breathe.
The voices in the background faded away as I ran a hand through my hair, a habit I had recently adopted from Stefan.
Stefan... Caroline... Damon... Tyler. All of them.
They were all going to die because—
No.
There has to have been a mistake. There has to have been a mistake.
Klaus can't die. It's... it's against the rules, after everything, he can't... If he is dead then...
No. They're lying. There's been a mistake.
"Rayna. Are you listening?!" a voice said.
"We have to go back." said another.
"Rayna, he's—" the first voice started.
"We have to go back, Matt!" said the second. Everything was crumbling around me.
"Matt, we have to go back!" Elena demanded. "Listen to me, if Klaus is the one that turned their bloodline then they're all gonna die! WE HAVE TO GO BACK MATT!"
He isn't dead. Everything will be... Fine.
Because he's not dead.
"Elena..."
"What?" she asked him. "Damon's not with them."
"What?"
"He's a hundred miles outta town. I can keep driving to him, or I can turn around and go back to Stefan. It's your choice, Elena."
"Like hell it is!" I argued.
"But, Damon— we can't let him die alone!"
"Non of them are gonna die, Elena!" I yelled.
"YES THEY ARE, RAYNA! THEY ARE GONNA DIE! BECAUSE KLAUS IS DEAD, OKAY?!" I put my head in my hands and tried to block out the sound of my sister's voice. "HE'S DEAD AND NOW ALMOST EVERYONE WE LOVE IS GONNA DIE TOO! OKAY?! KLAUS IS DEAD AND AT LEAST—"
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"
There was silence in the car, for what seemed like hours, and then—
"... How are you feeling? Are there any symptoms?" Elena asked. I looked up to see her on the phone. "... Yeah, I'm— I'm sure we will... Matt's taking us home... Not just to Stefan, Damon. To Tyler, to Caroline... Yeah, of course... I love him, Damon. He came into my life at a time where I needed someone and I fell for him instantly. No matter what I feel for you, I— I never unfell for him... I can't think about always. All I can think about is right now. And I care about you, Damon. Which is why I have to let you go. I mean, maybe if you and I had met first... You're gonna be fine. You hear me? You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be— I'm gonna see you soon."
She ended the call, and I saw the tears streaming from her face.
"You didn't let me talk to him."
"We'll talk to him again soon." she said, looking out of the window.
I frowned. "Will we?" I asked.
And there it was again. The silence that spoke so loudly. It was almost painful. The three of us didn't speak as we thought about what could be, or even, what could've been. And the same three words seemed to repeat in my brain.
He isn't dead. He isn't dead.
He isn't dead.
In the past, Klaus' death would have probably solved our problems. And now I knew it would just cause so many more.
My phone began to ring and I grabbed it pressing it against my ear.
"Care!"
"Rain."
Her voice sounded strained. She was crying.
I let out a shaky breath. "Who?"
All I could do was pray that it wasn't Stefan.
"It's Tyler! He... He's... Ray, he's gone!"
Tears clouded my eyes, but I did my best to hold them in, and succeeded, as the all too familiar mixture of loss and guilt welled inside of me. Because this proved it. Klaus was dead, and...
Tyler. My childhood best friend, and my friend who had taken care of me so many times before. And all I had cared about was whether Caroline was calling to say Stefan had died instead.
"I'm so... Care, I—"
"I know." she sniffed. "I know. Just get home safe. We can talk then."
"You too, Care. Hang in there, okay? I'll be back before you know it. So don't you dare—" So, don't you dare die on me. "Take care of yourself. I love you."
"Love you too."
The line went dead.
"Who?" Matt and Elena asked. "Tyler."
I squeezed Matt on the shoulder as his face scrunched up in pain and his eyes welled with tears. "DAMNIT, DAMNIT, DAMNIT!" He yelled, hitting the steering wheel.
"Matt, don't! Stop it." Elena said.
She was looking at us both in sympathy. Elena and Tyler had never been close.
"This isn't how our lives were supposed to be, Elena." Matt said.
"I need to call Stefan, but my phone is dying." Elena said.
"Wait, use mine." Matt said, taking his out of his pocket and handing it to Elena.
"Why don't you just us mine?" I asked.
I looked up through the window of the car in time to see Rebekah looking at me, eyes wide with shock.
"MATT, LOOK OUT!" Elena screamed.
I heard the sound of tires screeching and I felt my sister grab onto me, as though for dear life and then—
A/N— Are you-is this— WHAT?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?! I think my eyes probably burst out of their sockets when I read your reviews. And I tried— I am trying— to reply to as many as possible. Wow. Thank you. Thank you all so much. And yes, of course I'm doing a sequel! After all this feedback, why wouldn't I? How couldn't I?! I never expected so much... argghhhh, thank you again. The prologue for it has been posted. The sequel is called (not so originally) 'I'm Never The One: The Betrayal'. Because Rayna's going to get one hell of a lot thrown at her next season. And not for the reasons any of you will suspect. Yes, yes. While taking embarrassingly long to update this I was not just conjuring up chapter eighteen, I was also planning season 4. Not that that means I actually know how I'm going to end it, but... yeahhh. Anyway, while I get to work on some stuff, I hope you all loved this chapter. It's been a pleasure writing for you all and I really hope that you enjoy the sequel. The prologue to which has been posted and may be found on my profile but don't forget to drop a few words at the end and tell me how I did for this final chapter! Once again, thank you all for everything.
UPLOADER'S NOTE: This is it guys! I'm posting this chapter and 17 so if you came to 18 go back and read 17. I'll post ch 19 when the sequel goes up. Also, FFN has been having issues. According to their owners they are re-vamping the website so expect some bugs. But also! Don't be a dummy - download your favorite fics! I use the chrome extension FicLab and its great. You can also just ctrl p that baby and save it as a pdf. I'm thinking of uploading this into AO3 so its easier to download but I don't know if there's interest in that so let me know.