Chapter 52: Our Town

October 10, 2010

When Ellie woke up, she was unsurprised to find that she still had a lot of rage still pent up. She'd woken up when the sky had just barely started to turn orange with the morning sun. Katherine had kindly agreed to meet her in the woods for an early morning workout before Ellie had to get back. She needed to work out some of her rage before school. It was Caroline's birthday, and she was Caroline's best friend. Which meant her rage had to go on the back burner because Caroline deserved an amazing day.

Jenna, who was by no means a morning person, had also agreed to come out to the woods. If Ellie had to guess, she was worried about the whole issue of Klaus having Alaric run down by a hybrid. "What's wrong?" Jenna asked as she watched Ellie hit the punching bag that Katherine had somehow gotten with force.

Katherine, who had been holding the bag in place, had also noticed the tension in her double's shoulders. "Nothing." Ellie denied.

Rolling her eyes, Katherine replied, "You're a crappy liar, surprisingly enough. Now fess up."

Ellie straightened her shoulders as she stopped throwing punches. "It's Caroline's birthday." She told them.

"Why does that have you stressed out?" Jenna asked as Ellie pulled off her gloves.

"It's her first birthday since she became a vampire." Ellie explained. "Maybe it's nothing and everything goes on today like normal. I'm just worried about everything, that's all." Katherine had an expression that looked something like guilt, but it vanished in an instant. "But we can't be here too much longer, I had to get stuff ready to decorate Caroline's locker."

The orange of the bright morning sun had faded into a soft blue sky. They'd been out there for longer than they'd realized. Like last time, they finished their workout session with a run through the woods. Once they'd finished, Jenna and Ellie said their goodbyes to Katherine and headed back home. Had Ellie not been so focused on birthday prep for Caroline and had Jenna not been so sucked into one of her college essays, they might have realized that Jeremy was packing.

When she finally had everything ready to decorate Caroline's locker, she let Jenna know she was leaving and headed off. It might have been petty to leave without seeing if Elena was ready, but she was still angry at her twin for daggering Rebekah when Rebekah had done nothing wrong. Given that Rebekah hadn't shown up at their house, demanding for Elena's head, Ellie could only assume that Klaus had left her daggered, which made her even angrier than she already was.

She should have drank some chamomile tea before she left the house. It probably would have helped, though it was too late for that now. When she arrived at school, she pulled into the open parking space next to Matt's truck. "Hey." Matt greeted her as she got out of her car. "Someone went all out." He joked as he nodded his head to the nearly overflowing gift bag in the passenger's seat.

"Well, someone has to." She shot back as she smiled at him. Matt was a good neutral ground. He was kind and for the most part, he wasn't involved in the supernatural business. When everything went down with Mikael, he was one of the only ones that had no reason to be angry at her. "Hold this for me would you." She passed him the gift bag before getting her book bag.

"You're a good friend." He told her.

"Huh?" She asked in surprise as she locked her car.

"You guys have got a lot going on, but you still don't forget the little things." He commented softly as they walked in the building. "Caroline's lucky to have a friend like you."

She scoffed a little and nudged him with her shoulder. "You say that like you aren't my friend too." She replied. "You're pretty great yourself. You didn't act like I was some awful person for not going through with the plan."

They'd arrived at Caroline's locker and Ellie dropped her things down to start pulling out decorations. "You're a lot of things, Ellie, but stupid isn't one of them. Whatever it might have been, I know you wouldn't have done what you did without a reason." He shrugged as he passed her a piece of tape. It meant more to her than he probably realized, and she paused her decorating to hug him tightly. "What was that for?"

"For trusting me." She said softly. Ellie glanced up and down the hall, and when she didn't spot any of their friends, she sighed. "Do you wanna know what really happened?"

"Of course." He replied as they went back to decorating Caroline's locker.

"At the party, Klaus told me that if something happened to him, his hybrids would kill Damon. That even in death they had their orders. I didn't know what to do, so I went to Stefan." She told him. She wasn't sure how he would react to Katherine, and she wasn't in the mood to find out. "I knew he wouldn't want Damon to die, but we couldn't just not go through with the plan without Mikael killing us all. Rebekah was terrified at the mere mention of Mikael. You should have seen the way Klaus reacted to him. We didn't have any choice other than to kill Mikael."

Matt's jaw went slack. "Wait, you're telling me you were doing it to help Damon and didn't tell anyone?" He asked in shock. "I thought you hated him."

"Hating him and wanting him dead are two different things." She shrugged. "He's Stefan's brother. After everything Stefan has done for me and everything he's done to keep Elena safe, I owed him that much." She didn't really talk about what went on during the summer. She didn't know how to talk about it. But she hadn't forgotten everything Stefan had done to help keep her sane. "Besides, Damon's hopelessly in love with Elena, and if something were to happen, he'd do whatever it took to keep her safe."

"Hey, Donovan! Can you come help us move this desk?" One of the football boys called from down the hall.

"I think that's your cue." She told him. In all honesty, she felt a bit better having someone know the truth now.

"Yeah. Have fun decorating!" He replied as he set the bag down and went to help the boys.

Elena arrived shortly after Matt had left. There was an awkward tension, but they both seemed willing to push it aside for Caroline's birthday. They were working in silence when Bonnie arrived. "Hey, sorry I'm late." She apologized as she walked over. "I, uh, I got held up."

"It's ok. I just got here too." Elena assured her. "Will you pass me the balloons? Thanks. What got you running late?"

"I, uh, was working on some new spells." Bonnie explained.

Ellie looked over to her with interest. "Do you need any help? We haven't gotten to practice together in a while."

Bonnie gave her a tight smile and shook her head. "No, I got it. I was just really focused on what I was doing and lost track of time." She replied. Ellie nodded in understanding. She couldn't even count the number of times she had lost track of time while she was absorbed in a grimoire. "What about you, Elena? What had you running late?"

"Working out with Alaric." Elena told them. "Hey, Ellie, do you think you could go check the parking lot to see if Caroline is here yet? I don't want her to see this before it's ready." Ellie knew her sister well enough to know that the voice she was using was the one where she wanted someone to go away to talk privately. She'd used it countlessly on their parents when she wanted to talk boys with Ellie, Caroline, and Bonnie.

"Yeah, sure." She agreed. Whatever she was planning on telling Bonnie, Ellie would find it out sooner or later.


After school ended, Ellie found herself propped against her car with Matt, Elena, and Bonnie before her. "Caroline didn't show." Bonnie said in disappointment.

"Caroline never skips school on her birthday. She has too much fun getting happy birthday compliments from people." Matt commented as he leaned against his truck.

"So what are we gonna do about it?" Elena asked as she looked about the group.

"We move to Plan B." Ellie said with confidence.

"We have a Plan B?" Bonnie asked in surprise.

Ellie grinned. "Well, we do now." She replied. "Alright. Matt and Elena, go home and raid Alaric's liquor supply, get something good. Bonnie, you and I are going to run to the store and we're gonna get a cake and candles and party hats and whatever else. Then we all meet at Caroline's. Let's go to The Falls."

"Wait… what do we do if she's there?" Elena asked.

"Good point. I'll go to her house to make sure the coast is clear and you guys can text me when you're ready so I can let you know if she's there." Ellie decided. "Bon, can you get the supplies by yourself."

"Of course." Bonnie told her.

"Perfect, let's go, people." Ellie said as she clapped her hands together. "We don't have all day." With that, the four teens split up and headed off to their tasks. When Ellie arrived at Caroline's house, she couldn't see Caroline's car in the drive, so she let herself in. "Caroline! You here?" She called as she walked through the house.

There was no response, so she sent a text to the others to let them know the coast was clear. However, they needed to hide their cars so that Caroline didn't see them when she arrived. Bonnie texted back to tell her that she'd pick up Matt and Elena and they'd ride together. It was much easier to hide two cars instead of four. In the end, Ellie parked her car just off the driveway so that Caroline could still park in her normal spot. "How long do you think it'll be before she gets here?" Matt asked once they'd arrived.

"Hopefully not long, but long enough that we can get everything ready." Ellie said as helped Bonnie bring in the bag of supplies.

"What are we gonna do about the cars?" Matt asked curiously.

"I've got it covered." Ellie said with a sly smile. She sensed the area around them, looking for Caroline's energy. When she didn't feel it in the immediate vicinity, she expanded her range and startled slightly when she felt it coming. "She's coming. Take this stuff into the kitchen and hide." Ellie said as they rushed to hide. She took a pink birthday crown and placed it on her head. She looked over to where her and Bonnie's cars were parked. "Invisique." In an instant, the cars vanished from sight and Ellie felt a rush of pride at her handiwork.

They heard Caroline pull into the driveway as Ellie hid with the others. She came in and dropped her keys onto the table. The four of them nodded and at once, jumped out from their hiding spot and called, "Surprise!" Caroline was startled, but she smiled as Matt told her, "Happy birthday!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Caroline asked in surprise.

"Well, you blew off school and missed our work of birthday art, so, uh…"

"Change into warmer clothes, we're going to The Falls. S'mores, campfire." Bonnie added for Elena.

"Cake, like when we were little." Elena told her.

"Except with tequila." Matt added, causing Caroline to laugh.

"Aw, thanks, guys, really. Um, I'm just not really feeling my birthday this year." Caroline confessed.

Bonnie was the first to react. "I'm sorry. What? You've already claimed your birthday as everyone's favorite day of the year."

"Yeah, and now it's just a reminder that, technically, I'm dead. Look, I didn't even like seventeen. And the only point of seventeen was to get to eighteen. It's a filler year. I am stuck in a filler year." Caroline explained.

"You're not stuck, Caroline." Elena denied.

"Yeah, I am, but it's ok. You know, it's all good. I will be fine. But I just need some time to wallow in it." Caroline said.

Ellie paused for a moment, her thoughts racing before a new idea came to her. "Ok, well, I think I have another idea. But you still have to get dressed into something warmer because we're still going out." Caroline looked like she was going to protest, but Ellie cut her off. "What kind of best friend would I be if I let you wallow alone?"

Caroline sighed, but nodded and went to get dressed. "What's the plan?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"You'll see, but get some flashlights and a couple blankets." Ellie instructed.

Once Caroline was dressed, they made their way out of the house. "Wait, where's your cars?" Caroline asked when they only saw Caroline's in the drive. Ellie winked at her before dropping the spell.

"Holy…" Matt said in surprise. "That's so cool."

"I try." Ellie told him. "Alright, everyone into mine and Bonnie's cars. When we pull out, Bonnie, follow me." Caroline went with Ellie as Matt and Elena piled back into Bonnie's car. By the time they got to where they had to park the cars, the sun was already setting. "Come on, it's just a bit of a walk." She assured them as Bonnie passed out flashlights to everyone.

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked curiously as they walked through the woods.

"You'll see." Ellie promised her. She'd spent a lot of time in the woods and the cemetery since she'd become a witch, which gave her the opportunity to be pretty familiar with her surroundings. "Oh, there it is." She told them as her light hit the side of an old mausoleum.

Bonnie walked in first as she moved to avoid a thing of spiderwebs. "This is creepy." She decided as she glanced around the room. "Even for us."

"No, Caroline was right. Technically, she's dead." Ellie said as she instructed Elena on where to place down the cake. "Sorry, but you don't need a birthday. You need a funeral."

Elena nodded in agreement and added, "You need to say goodbye to your old life so that you can move on with your new one."

Caroline nodded as she pulled off her tiara. "Ok." She placed it down as she took a moment to gather her thoughts before she said, "Here lies Caroline Forbes."

"Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third grade hopscotch champion." Elena said as she placed the candles in the cake.

"Friend, daughter… overachiever." Bonnie added.

"Mean girl, sometimes, no offense." Matt said as Caroline made a face.

She scoffed lightly before saying, "None taken."

Ellie smiled at her before she said, "Best friend, loyal and loving and fierce. A force to be reckoned with."

Elena spoke up again as she took the cake out of the box. "She was seventeen and she had a really good life. So, rest in peace, so that she can move forward." She brought the cake over to where the others stood. "That's what you really need. It's what we all really need. Amen or cheers or whatever." They all dissolved into laughter at that. "Uh, Ellie… do you think you could?" She moved the cake slightly in Ellie's direction and Ellie didn't need to be told twice. It only took a split second of focus before the small candles shot to life. "Nice. Ok, make a wish."


They had fallen into a comfortable little party as they chatted and drank the alcohol that Matt and Elena had brought with them. Ellie had had a little bit to drink, but refused to drink too much since she had driven them and someone needed to stay sober enough to get them home. She was pretty sure that Caroline was the one that needed it the most. Caroline, on the other hand, had no reservations about getting drunk.

Caroline was a giggly drunk, and was all smiles as she got Matt another slice of cake. As he sat down next to Elena with the bottle of tequila, Elena snatched it away. "Nuh-uh. I need it more than you do, trust me." She told him. Ellie frowned at her, but didn't ask what she meant. "Caroline, what are you doing?"

"What? Hmm, huh, nothing."

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

"Ok, you're a bad sober liar. You're an even worse drunk liar." Elena told her bluntly.

Caroline tilted her head before confessing, "I might have texted Tyler."

"Caroline." Elena chided.

"What? I'm delicate." Caroline told her.

"You know, give her a break." Bonnie defended. "You can't control what everyone does all the time."

Elena looked at her in shock. "Wow." She replied.

"Ouch, Bon." Matt said as he stood so that he could distance himself from them.

"I'm sorry. I know it's Caroline's birthday, funeral or whatever, but I just feel it's really wrong that you compelled Jeremy to leave town." Bonnie told her.

Ellie's eyes shot wide. "I'm sorry. You what?" She asked as she looked over at Elena.

"I'm doing it to protect him." Elena told them. "I want to give him a chance at a halfway normal life."

"He should be able to choose how he wants to live it. You're taking his choices away." Bonnie replied.

"Bonnie, you can't tell him." Elena warned.

"Why? Are you going to compel me not to?" Bonnie asked.

Ellie, who had gone into shock at the turn of events, felt that rage itching under her skin like a fire that was trying desperately to burn bright. "Elena, what did you do?" She asked, her voice icy.

Bonnie gave Elena a look of disbelief. "You didn't even tell her?"

"You compelled Jeremy?"

"Ellie, it's the right thing to do." Elena tried.

"You don't get to make that decision, Elena!" Ellie snapped. "Does Jenna know you did this? Who knew about this?"

"Just Damon and Alaric. Ellie, you can't tell Jeremy." Elena said.

"I have had just about enough of you telling me what I can and can't do, Elena. You had absolutely no right to do that to him! What were you going to tell Jenna and I when we woke up and he wasn't there? After everything have you learned nothing?" Ellie hissed as she stood from her seat.

"It's the right decision!"

"Says who? You? Because you're oh so wise, right? Because you always know what you're doing, right? You are not the adult here, Elena. Jesus you're not even the older twin. You had no right to go behind Jenna's back like that." Ellie shouted.

"He isn't safe here!"

"Klaus agreed to spare him, Elena! He made that deal with you, I was there. He won't break the deal. The only reason Klaus is angry is because Stefan stole his family. What did you expect him to do? Politely ask for them back over tea?" She scoffed as her mind raced. "You know what, that's fine. If we're cool with having people compelled on command, I'm sure Klaus would love to compel Damon to undo what you had him do."

"You can't do that!" Elena shouted as she also rose.

"The hell I can't! I'm done letting you call the shots. Screw that. I'm sure Jenna would be all for him compelling Damon." Ellie told her. "Pretty sure she's at the restoration fundraiser. I wouldn't be surprised if Klaus was there too. It'll make all of this go much easier." She said before turning to Caroline. "I'm sorry, but apparently I have to go undo Elena's idiot decisions."

Caroline was silent from the unexpected turn of events, but accepted Ellie's hug with ease. "Um, ok."

"I love you, happy birthday or funeral whatever." Ellie told her. Caroline returned the sentiment before Ellie turned on her heel. When Elena tried to block her from leaving, Ellie didn't even feel bad about using her magic to force Elena out of the way. "You do not get to try and stop me." She snapped before she slammed the mausoleum doors behind her.

Nature reacted in accordance to Ellie's fury. The wind was howling as she walked towards her car. She drove hastily, but the time it took to get to the restoration fundraiser did nothing to settle the anger that filled her. Katherine never mentioned anything about the Petrova Fire being volatile. She shouldn't be surprised though, fire was always dangerous and apparently the fire in her was no exception. When she arrived, she rushed through the building, looking for either Jenna or Klaus. Jenna found her first, "Ellie, what are you doing here? I thought you were doing a birthday thing for Caroline."

"Where's Alaric?" Ellie asked.

"He just left a few minutes ago, said there was something he had to get done." Jenna asked as she frowned. "What's going on?"

Ellie pulled Jenna into a less occupied room. "Elena had Damon compel Jeremy to leave town. Apparently Alaric knew about it and didn't stop her." She explained.

"What?"

"She didn't even tell me about it. I only found out when Bonnie told Elena she thought it was wrong." Ellie replied. "I told her if she wanted to play it like that, that I would ask Klaus to compel Damon to undo his compulsion on Jeremy. Are you opposed to that?"

Jenna looked righteously angry. "No. No, I'm not opposed in the slightest. I saw Klaus earlier, I didn't speak with him though." She said as she straightened her shoulders.

They headed out and when Ellie saw Damon, she made her way towards him. "You son of a-"

Damon was unfazed by her anger. "Not now, Sabrina. We've got a problem." He said as he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her with him.

"Let me go!" Ellie hissed.

"Not yet. We have a problem." He said again as his grip tightened. Ellie frowned as she glanced at Jenna. Something was really wrong, if his tone was anything to go by. It seemed her rage would settle long enough to find out if this was something important. "Klaus, we need to talk." Damon said sharply as he interrupted Klaus' conversation.

"If you'll excuse me." Klaus said politely as he allowed Damon to lead them into an empty room. "What now? You just pulled me away from a fascinating conversation about landscaping the town square."

"Stefan just grabbed Elena." Damon said as he released Ellie and shut the door.

"What?" Jenna and Ellie asked together.

"Well, he's getting desperate." Klaus replied as if it were nothing to be concerned over.

"He's gonna try and use her against you." Damon warned. "Do what he says. Get rid of your hybrids."

Klaus gave him a look. "Or what? Stefan would never dream of killing her."

"Are you sure about that?" Damon asked. "He just tried to behead someone in the middle of a council party. He's operating on crazy right now."

"He tried to what?" Jenna asked.

"Well, crazy or not, that kind of love never dies." Klaus told him with confidence. "He's bluffing."

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. But if you don't want to believe him, believe me. I know my brother better than anyone and right now I don't have a clue how far he is willing to take this. So, if he says blink, I suggest you blink." Damon warned.

"We'll see." Klaus said as he let himself out of the room.

"I'll deal with this." Ellie said as she broke away from Damon and Jenna to follow the Original. "Klaus!" She called as she followed him outside.

"I see you're speaking to me again." He commented casually.

"What are you gonna do? What if Stefan actually hurts her?" She asked.

"He won't. He'd die for her. He loves her." Klaus replied.

"Normally, I'd agree with you. But Damon is right and Stefan is way over the edge." Ellie replied.

When Klaus' phone started to ring, he gave her a grin. "I guess we're about to find out." He answered his phone and said, "Stefan, how nice to hear your voice."

"Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus." Stefan warned.

"Well, that's not going to happen until I get my coffins back."

Ellie moved close to Klaus to hear what Stefan was saying. "Ok, well, then I'm going to drive your blood source off Wickery Bridge." He threatened.

Her blood went cold at the mention of the bridge. "I don't believe you, Stefan." Klaus said simply. "You won't kill her." There was a sick crunch and tires squealing before Elena started coughing. "What's going on?" Klaus asked.

"I just fed her my blood. No more hybrids if she's a vampire."

"You won't do it."

"Really?" Stefan scoffed. "Try me. Because your coffins are next to go." She could hear the car start to accelerate as Stefan added, "Say goodbye to your family, Klaus."

"Stefan, slow down!" Ellie could hear Elena scream. "Stefan! Stefan, stop it!"

She grabbed Klaus frantically. "Please, please make him stop. Klaus, make him stop!"

Ellie and Elena's screams mixed together before Klaus finally said, "Fine! I'll send them away. You win."

"Stefan! Stefan stop!" Elena screamed.

"Stop the car, Stefan!" Klaus growled.

Elena screamed as the tires squealed. "Elena!" Ellie cried, her heart beating violently in her chest. When it went silent, Klaus hung up the phone and Ellie's legs gave out. Klaus caught her with ease, holding her up as she hyperventilated. "He almost… oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god."

"Breathe little witch." Klaus coached as Jenna ran towards them.

"Oh my god. What happened? Is Elena ok?" Jenna asked as she pulled her niece to her.

"He almost drove them off Wickery Bridge!" Ellie choked as Damon approached. "He almost killed her on Wickery Bridge."

Jenna looked sick. "I should go get Elena." Damon told her gently as he touched her arm.

In their fear over losing Elena, the rage at what they had done had temporarily subsided. "I'll come with you." Jenna agreed as Ellie forced her breathing to slow. "I need to make sure she's ok. Ellie…"

"I drove here. I don't think… I don't want to be near that bridge right now." Ellie confessed.

"Are you able to drive?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah. I just need a minute. Go get Elena. I don't want her on that bridge a moment longer than she has to be." Ellie insisted and she watched as Damon and Jenna rushed towards the parking lot.

Klaus reached out towards her. "Love?"

"Our parents died on the bridge, Klaus." Ellie said softly. "Elena and I almost died on that bridge. He knew that. He was the one that saved us."

Klaus hadn't expected Stefan to be willing to go that far. He'd thought about what Ellie had said before. She was right. She had been a loyal comrade, saving his life from his father and he'd nearly killed her brother. There was an uncomfortable rush of guilt at having made Tyler bite Caroline. "Why don't you come with me?" Klaus suggested. "There's something I need to do."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'd rather you be angry with me than be distraught." Klaus told her gently. "Come now, we haven't any time to waste." She didn't fight as he led her to her car or when he opened the passenger side door for her. She frowned when she saw Tyler approach Klaus, talking frantically as Klaus tried to calm him. With her emotions as all over the place as they were, she didn't try to listen.

After Tyler had gone again, Klaus got in the car and started to drive. She tried to figure what he'd meant and concern started to creep in when she realized they were on the route to Caroline's. "What did you do?" She questioned as she sat up straighter.

"Something I shouldn't have done." He confessed as they pulled into Caroline's driveway. They walked up to the porch and Matt opened the door. "Tyler came to see me. Poor boy, he seemed quite distressed. He said Caroline had had a terrible accident."

"You made him do this to her." Matt said angrily. "He would have never done something like this."

"Tell me you didn't." Ellie asked in horror.

"I'm here to help, Matt. My blood will heal her, please ask the sheriff to invite me inside." Klaus told him.

Ellie watched as the Sheriff approached them. "I know how this game works. You want something in return."

Klaus shook his head at her. "Just your support."

"Come in." Sheriff Forbes said and Ellie followed behind Klaus as he headed for Caroline's bedroom.

She heard Caroline gasp and ask, "Are you going to kill me?"

"On your birthday?" Klaus asked in surprise. "Do you really think that low of me?"

"Yes." Caroline replied and Ellie stepped into the doorway. She caught Caroline's eye and saw the flash of pain run through the blonde.

Klaus stepped towards the bed, pulling the sheet down just enough to reveal the nasty looking bite mark. The last time she'd seen one was when Stefan was bitten in the woods. It still made her feel sick. "Oh, that looks bad. My apologies." Klaus said. "You're what's known as collateral damage. It's nothing personal." He reached forward and tapped a charm on Caroline's bracelet "I love birthdays."

Caroline scoffed weakly. "Yeah. Aren't you like a billion or something?"

Klaus smiled fondly at Caroline, more fondly than he'd really looked at anyone that Ellie had seen him interact with. "We have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline." He told her with a small smile. "Celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial human convention. You're free."

"No. I'm dying." Caroline corrected.

Ellie watched as Klaus carefully sat down on Caroline's bed. "And I could let you die… if that's what you want." A rush of panic filled her. She didn't want Caroline to die. She couldn't handle it. "If you really believe that your existence has no meaning." He was nearly whispering as he spoke to her and Ellie found herself almost enchanted by the scene before her, and she dared not speak a word. "I've thought about it myself once or twice, over the centuries, truth be told." He leaned close to Caroline and continued, "But I'll let you in on a little secret. There's a whole world out there waiting for you, great cities and art and music. Genuine beauty. And you can have all of it. You can have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask."

Emotions danced across Caroline's face as her eyes watered. "I don't want to die." Caroline told him in a small voice.

He helped her sit up enough for him to hold her as he offered her his wrist. "There you go, sweetheart. Have at it." She bit into his wrist and he gently rested his head on top of hers. "Happy birthday, Caroline."


Author's Note:

As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Also, we are so so close to getting Elijah and the rest of the Originals back. Also thank you guys for over 300 favorites!

To AdiraBraelynn: I love writing Bekah and Ellie together so much. I do think it's kind of funny that it was the person that Elena didn't expect to betray them is the one that did. Ellie and Elena are definitely going to have issues. I think that even with no humanity Stefan couldn't let go of his attachment to her. I mean after everything they've been through how could he? Honestly writing Ellie's Petrova Fire streak is so fun. Ellie is definitely creeping towards the Mikaelson side, and Elena's not going to like that when she realizes. Bro, writing Jenna giving her opinion on the Mikaelsons and Kat would be so good to see. Exactly, Ellie is not ok with abusive parents, even when they're a thousand years old. Now that I think about it, the way she is with Klaus honestly mirrors a lot of her relationship with Tyler. This is the part where Stefan goes nuts.

To RiRi: You're not wrong, but you know how Elena is. She's narrow minded and thinks she's always right. I absolutely agree, had Damon not done what he did out of selfishness, there would have been no reason for John to die. And you're absolutely right, Damon did all of that and more and it's definitely going to get addressed. The things Damon has done will get thrown in Elena's face, don't worry. Klaus does feel bad, just like he regretted what he did to Caroline in this chapter. I don't know why Alaric let's Elena run the show, I really don't.

To xenocanaan: You are absolutely right and you should say it. Elena has no one but herself to blame for some of the things that Klaus did. She intentionally provoked him. Stefan and Ellie will get more time together for sure, I just can't remember how much Jeremy and Ellie content I've written.

To brigitm28: I completely agree. I like writing them bonding and I like kind of giving glimpses into how much Klaus actually cares about Ellie even if he doesn't actually say it. Him screwing up was important, because it kind of shows him on this learning curve of who he was before Ellie and who he could become. Elena's definitely a hypocrite. You're definitely going to get more of the Kat/Ellie/Jenna trio!

To Qewbix: I will admit that I do like Damon, just not in the very early seasons where he's the antagonist. Even though I understood some of what he did back then. Bonnie and Caroline are both great. Care is one of my favorite characters. She had so much development. I have the same habit. But actually, The Originals and The Vampire Diaries were kind of going on at the same time and there's sometimes crossovers between the two, kind of like Buffy and Angel if you watched those shows, or the Arrowverse shows if you watch them. The Originals starts at like season five of The Vampire Diaries. You'll get a backdoor pilot to TO in season 4 of TVD as well. Angry Ellie is fun to write.

To Mimi: I do intend for Kat to get her freedom, she deserves it, but it's going to take quite some time to get there. Honestly, I haven't even written her interacting with the Originals yet. There is absolutely going to be blowout between them and the whole Damon of it all and his actions will be addressed. He's done a LOT that Elena just ignored. Um, there is going to be more Stefan and Ellie and I'm hoping to get to a point where he's team Ellie, but with everything that will be happening it'll take some time. But despite what he did without his humanity, they are still going to be friends.

To animefreak112097: The wait is over! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

To flawsome4ever: I'm glad you love her relationship with Kat!

To Oz: Elena does suck at being a sister, and really Kat is probably going to end up replacing Elena entirely and kind of fill the role that Elena's lost with her actions. You're absolutely right, Elena really doesn't seem to care about the others as much as she says. It's definitely more Damon than Klaus, though Elena does have some responsibility for saying she doesn't want to be a vampire, and then continuing to be around them. I also like Damon, but he did some really messed up stuff. Somebody is very much going to bring that up to Elena, don't you worry. Like literally that exactly is going to be brought up at some point it's already written. You're definitely going to get more Stefan and Ellie moments, some small and some large, but their friendship isn't going anywhere.

To spirouFr: Anytime!

To skyellebaby: I'm so happy you found my story binge worthy! And I'm literally so happy that this is one of your favorites! Her relationship with the Mikaelsons is honestly so interesting to write. Oh, Ellie was furious. Bekah didn't deserve that at all. I have hopes for their relationship getting better though it'll be a bumpy road. Speaking of a sibling breaking your trust, that's literally one of the reasons Ellie kind of gets their situation, because that's what Elena did. She doesn't trust Elena anymore because of her actions, but still doesn't want anything to really happen to her. I think it gives her the opportunity to kind of understand why the Mikaelsons act the way they do even when Elena doesn't. I haven't gotten to write a whole lot of Kol moments, though he has appeared and interacted with Ellie, hopefully I'll get to write more of him, though either way there will definitely be more of him in TO. Elijah will be undaggered soon and we will definitely be getting more moments between them.

To Guest: Katherine really is always there to help her. It depends on how the story works itself out, but having Elena witness that would honestly be fascinating. It's definitely possible.

To SJES246018: I'm so glad you're enjoying it! If you're new, I update every Saturday around this time!

To AdiraBraelynn: They're one of my fave trios as well! Honestly I thought it was the best way for Jenna to really form her own opinion of Kat as well as how Kat is with Ellie. Oh Ellie is pissed at Elena. Elena is definitely going to get confronted. Oh Rebekah's hate for Elena isn't going anywhere, neither is Katherine's. Honestly, even though Ellie hates Damon, she still thinks he deserves better than the crap Elena is pulling on him. Elijah and Mikaelsons will be back so soon I can't wait. He did screw up, and he screwed up again with what he did to Caroline, but he realizes that he fucked up.

To sumaiyahc06: I do want her to have a good relationship with Kol. Honestly, when I was originally planning this story, I made her for Kol and it just somehow became an Elijah fic. I've been thinking about making an AU with Ellie where she does end up with Kol though. But in this story I do intend for her to have a good relationship with him. There's definitely going to be fights between Ellie and Elena. I'm not sure I can pick a favorite Original honestly. They're all really interesting and I love them. I update every Saturday around this time. Don't worry about it, I love it when you guys ask questions!

-Madame Magic

Posted: 1/23/21