Chapter 53: Talk it Out
Caroline stepped out a backdoor of the house and into the yard. They were all gathered to check in and start strategizing, but so far all anyone wanted to do was watch Jackson and Lydia argue. Arguing was good. Arguing was anger and anger was a perfect distraction from the pit of pain she was barely keeping herself from. Lydia had tried her best and Caroline and Elena were going to need extra suitcases just for the new clothing when they went back home. It was nice, too. They didn't spend the day moping or trying to avoid the subject altogether, which would've been worse. Lydia asked endless questions about Bonnie and made them tell funny stories, made them laugh, instead of cry, about her. She even picked out outfits for the witch, based on all the pictures she had demanded to see - afterwards declaring that their friend had had great style. They even ate all Bonnie's favorite foods for lunch, which included an excessive amount of chocolate cupcakes for dessert. It was nice, for awhile. But then it ended and they came back and she saw Jeremy and the pit opened right back up underneath her. At least anger gave her something to cling to to keep from falling in.
"Are we ever going to talk about it?"
Tyler turned from where he had been standing and staring out in the trees. What he was thinking, she could only imagine. After everything he had been through - no, she wasn't going to start feeling sorry for him when she was just letting the anger in.
"About what?"
"About the hybrid-sized jerk you've been for not calling me back. Ever."
"In case you forgot," Tyler's brow furrowed, "I was kidnapped."
"No, not then." She crossed her arms. "Before."
"I already told you, I was helping a werewolf pack in the land of no cell phone reception."
Tyler smiled and Caroline wanted to sink into that smile and forget the rest of this conversation, but there was so much that had to be said.
"I saw your face. When Elena first told you that Klaus was coming here. You - you looked happy. Excited. And then you flung yourself into battle training, volunteering to stay as a hybrid punching bag even though you were still healing. First, you're running for your life. Then, you're helping other packs, which is great, and then I find out you were taken by the Alphas and then you're missing and I thought you might be dead, but no, you survived. And you're here. And we're together. Why isn't that enough?"
"Do you know the reason we're together?" Tyler cocked his head. "Because Klaus granted us permission to be together. I'm sorry, but I can't live like that."
"I see." Caroline dropped her arms. "So this is about Klaus."
"No, this is about me." Tyler moved toward her. "This is something I have to do."
"How long have you been planning this?" Caroline stared at him for a long moment. "If - If all of this hadn't have happened - Beacon Hills and Klaus coming here, would you have gone after him anyway?"
Tyler bowed his head.
"After I helped that last pack, I was going to go." He looked up at her. "I was going to find him. Kill him."
Caroline took a step back, swallowing.
"Were you ever going to come back to Mystic Falls?"
"Of course, of course I would've come back." Tyler took her hands.
"When?" Caroline whirled around. "After how long?"
"However long it took."
"So, what?" Caroline threw up her hands. "Just forget about college? Your future?"
"He killed my mom and got away with it. I can't just start caring about sociology and frat parties."
"You haven't even given it a chance."
There was a heavy pause as Tyler turned away and then back toward her, unwavering.
"I need to find a way to destroy his life the way he destroyed mine."
"For someone who hates Klaus, you're starting to sound a lot like him."
Tyler opened his mouth and then closed it. It didn't matter though. Caroline was already turning around and storming back into the house.
Elena was still on the front steps with Allison and Scott when Stefan walked out onto the porch. It was Allison who looked up and noticed him first.
"Um, Scott and I should head in and see if Derek's back and ready to get started," she stood, grabbing the werewolf's arm and dragging him inside.
Elena stayed seated for awhile, slowing bouncing her heels against the step, before finally standing to turn and face Stefan.
"Hey."
"Hey," Stefan nodded.
"Seems like there's a theme here tonight. Jackson and Lydia. Scott and Allison. I could hear Caroline and Tyler from over here. Seems like everyone who either has been or is a couple is having it out tonight. It's like a soap opera around here," she tried to laugh. "And then, there's us." Elena paused, searching Stefan's eyes. "What is 'us', Stefan? Are we still friends? We've barely spoken since I got rescued and right after that we were dealing with getting the others back and then finding out about Klaus and - and Bonnie," Elena swallowed, taking a measured breath. "But with everything that's about to happen, and losing - Bonnie - I know that we might not have the time to say the things we need to say to each other again. I - I wanted to say - something - to you. Make sure you're okay. But then I also wanted to give you space. And you have every right to that. It's okay if you want space. It's okay if you're mad -"
"I'm not mad, Elena," Stefan stepped toward her. "I'm not happy. But, I've only ever wanted for you to make your own choices. To live the life that you want. It - it hurts. Of course, it hurts."
Elena nodded, crossing her arms and rubbing her hands over her shoulders.
"Were you going to come back?"
Stefan walked over and leaned against the porch railing.
"I'm not sure," he sighed. "The night I left, I wasn't sure of much of anything, except that I had to leave. I think, eventually, I would have. Mystic Falls will always be my home, no matter how long I'm gone. And, you and I, we will always be friends, no matter what happens between us, or how long it takes to get back to that place. I still care about you, Elena. I came here to help save you. I will always be here for you."
"Me too," Elena smiled softly. "If you ever get captured and locked up in a closet in a bank, I'm there."
Stefan chuckled.
"Will you come back with us," Elena tensed, "when all this is over?"
Stefan looked away for a long moment.
"I can't imagine things with Klaus ever being over," he shook his head. "But things here? I don't know, Elena."
Elena nodded, swallowing against tears.
When Stiles passed out on the couch while waiting for couples therapy to finish and the meeting to begin, Erica took to poking his face while Boyd watched on.
"You know," Erica hummed, "he really is Batman. Super smart, but still breakable human among a group of, well, definitely not heroes. But a group of a bunch of enhanced individuals"
"Since when do you read comics?" Isaac laughed quietly.
"It's something we share," she rolled her eyes. "He knows." She gestured at the unconscious teen and then pretended to pout. "You and I just don't have the same connection for us to have an inside comic book joke, sorry."
She wasn't paying attention when Isaac tossed the wrapper of his sandwich at the girl. Because of course Scott had picked them all up food on the way from the hospital - even if he did use Stefan's money to pay for it all. Erica responded by kicking the rickety wooden chair out from underneath him. He fell to the floor laughing and she moved to help him up with a snort.
"I'm glad you're back," he spoke softly once standing.
"Don't get sentimental on me," Erica plopped back down on the couch and then looked back up to stare at her friend. "Me too."
"Guess nobody missed me," Boyd huffed from the other side of Stiles' slumped over form.
"Do you want a hug?" Erica spread her arms around Stiles and toward him. "Cause I can give you a hug."
"Shut up," Boyd shook his head.
"I'm happy your both okay," Isaac said after a quiet moment, "really. Derek's our Alpha so it's different. Before Scott, you guys were the first, and only, friends I've ever had."
"Same," Boyd nodded, his voice barely above a whisper.
"And we're the only friends any of us ever need," Erica grinned.
They smiled at each other as Scott walked over.
"Hey," he nodded. "How's he doing?"
"Besides when I almost killed him for starting to drool on my leather jacket," Erica shrugged, "he's okay."
Scott ran a hand over the back of his head.
"Good."
"You haven't talked to him yet, have you?" Isaac glanced up at his friend from where he still sat on the floor.
"Got a little," he eyed Boyd and Erica, "distracted."
"You two on the outs?" Boyd asked, not unkindly.
"Since pretty much right after you and Elena were taken." Isaac nodded.
"You guys seemed okay out on the field today," Boyd shrugged.
Scott sighed, folding himself down onto the floor.
"There are times when it feels like we're back to normal, but then sometimes he says something or just looks at me, and I know he's still upset." He looked up at his friend. "After Heather went missing, he demanded to be involved. And then things just sort of spiralled. We never talked about any of it."
"I don't understand," Isaac shook his head. "It's not like you killed someone or betrayed him or something. Why is he so upset?"
"Everything changed after I got bit," Scott swallowed, "and not just the obvious stuff. Ever since we were kids, Stiles was always the one with the idea, the plan, the adventure. He was the leader. It was just the two of us, but he was. He looked out for me. I mean, we looked out for each other, but like, when I'd have an asthma attack, he'd help me through it. He always carried a spare inhaler on him, and had spares in his house and dad's car. Earlier this year, he told me that, after his mom died, he used to get panic attacks. We were friends then, but he never told me about them. And if he had any while I was around, which he probably did since we spent almost every day together, he hid them from me."
"He doesn't want to be seen as weak," Erica nodded, eyes distant and remembering times of falling from rock climbing walls and being laid out on classroom floors.
"And then I basically went and called him it to his face, or well, over the phone," Scott shook his head. "After I turned," Scott sighed, "he made a joke about not wanting to be my sidekick. That he was Robin now and I was Batman. I thought it was just a joke. But that's how he is. It's what he does. Jokes. When he's happy, when he's upset, when he's scared. I didn't know it meant anything different this time." Scott bowed his head. "I should've."
"Well," Erica huffed, "as his official fake girlfriend, I demand that, when he wakes up, you talk to him about this. Because we've got so much bigger problems to deal with right now."
"Fake -?" Scott squinted. "Oh yeah. Huh. Forgot about that. Feels like forever ago."
"You're telling me," Erica huffed. "Months in a vault and you start to lose track of time. I mean, not literally. I was counting the days between full moons and all. But just because you know it's only been one month, or two months -"
"It feels a whole lot longer," Boyd nodded, glancing up at the girl across the room pacing back and forth.
"So," Erica nodded slowly, smiling, "Derek's sister."
"It's crazy," Scott shook his head.
"Cora," Boyd offered up. "She's cool. Helped me get through it."
"How long was she in there?" Isaac peeked at her over his shoulder.
"Got thrown in a couple days after me," Boyd shrugged.
"So, it's true," Erica tensed, "they had you both. I was just a Plan B. Or to keep Tyler in line."
"Erica," Scott started.
"Don't," she shook her head. "Cora got Boyd through those months? Well, Tyler got me through them. I know it. I wouldn't have made it. I wanted to attack them, to kill them. He talked me down. Over and over again, he talked me down from doing something stupid. And he taught me control. And what did I do? I had to get carried out of there and leave him behind."
"You're alive," Scott caught her gaze and held it. "He kept you alive and you stayed alive. And he's here. He's okay." He turned, watching Cora. "You're all okay."
Cora leaned against the wall, crossing her arms as she rose an eyebrow over at her brother, the same brother who hadn't stopped staring at her since they stopped training over an hour ago.
"What?"
"You're okay," Derek shook his head. "I'm sorry. It's just -"
"Weird." Cora finished for him, scoffing.
"I was going to say something like 'great'," Derek sighed. "Look, you know, you knew, I was never good with this," he waved a hand between the two of them. "But I am happy you're alive. That you're here." He paused and leaned his shoulder against the wall next to her. "So, South America?"
"You remember what Mom always taught us about hunters," Cora shrugged. "I hid. For days. I hid and waited for someone, anyone, of our family to come find me."
"We thought you'd been inside," Derek swallowed.
"I was supposed to be," Cora picked at the peeling pieces of burnt wood on the wall. "After you went off to school with Laura, werewolf-homeschooling with just me and Mom was a drag. I got jealous of you guys getting to go. Got bored. Gave Mom hell." She frowned, eyes distant for just a moment until she visibly pulled herself back. "I was in trouble. I don't even remember what I did. Something stupid," she smirked. "And then Mom, you remember how she was? All firm, but more disappointed than angry."
"Disappointed was always worse."
"Always," Cora tried to laugh and then sighed. "We had this big fight. I was a brat. I was supposed to be up in my room." She glanced up, as if she could see her old purple carpet and dark wallpaper above the burnt out ceiling.
"You snuck out." Derek laughed lightly. "You always snuck out." And then Derek stilled and repeated more softly. "You snuck out."
"She had to have known. Heard or smelled or just knew, how she always did. But she let me do it. Every time. Let me cool down until I came back and then just acted like she didn't know I'd been in the woods the whole time." She paused, taking in a breath. "I was still out there when I smelled it. I ran back, but," she glanced away, "it was too late. The fire was everywhere and the hunters had the house surrounded. I wanted to help. I could - hear - them. Screaming. I went to try and get past them, sneak in somehow. Don't know what I planned to do. The hunters had spread mountain ash around the house and locked it all up. So I hid. Until I realized that no one was coming, and ran."
"We would've come," Derek didn't miss a beat. "If we had known, we would've found you, Cora."
"Where were you?" Cora tried to keep the accusatory note out of her tone but it still coated the edges.
"We were supposed to be home," Derek shifted, settling with his back against the wall. "Pack meeting and all. Basketball practice had run late because some of the guys were failing classes so we were getting lectured by our coach. Laura was waiting after play rehearsal to take us home. We were out in the parking lot, yelling at each other about me making us late, when it happened. She just, stopped walking." Derek swallowed. "And when I turned around, her hands were on her knees and - her eyes were red. She was the Alpha." He paused, looking over at Cora and then back down and away. "We knew it was bad, but we didn't know how - didn't think it could be - that. We got to the house around the same time as the firetruck and cops. Laura tried to get inside, to check. I - I couldn't. I just stood there. Watched them wheel Peter out. I didn't recognize him. Everyone else, they were, they were brought out - later."
He didn't finish. He couldn't. He already saw images of his family, wrapped in black bags, some whole, some - not, enough. He didn't need to give that to Cora.
"The cops had seen us, had taken our statements. We knew it was only a matter of time before whoever had done it would realize that there were still Hales alive. It wasn't safe to move Peter and he was already barely alive, so we took off that night. Ran and kept running."
Derek stared off to the side for a long moment.
"After Laura, I thought I was alone."
Cora shifted, shoulders tense.
"You had Peter."
Derek's gaze drew down.
"We haven't really taken time to catch up," Derek glanced over to where he was sure his uncle was eavesdropping. "I told you Laura died and I became the Alpha, but I didn't tell you everything."
