Chapter 30: Faithful & True

ANNA. MYSTIC FALLS.

At last, there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Bonnie had managed to figure out a way to bring back Jeremy. Anna was cautiously optimistic. She wanted to believe and hope but she didn't think she could handle another blow right now.

Ever since Jeremy's death, she had left Mystic Falls and had been bouncing from one city to the next. It was like living in a daze, she wandered aimlessly for weeks. The only thing holding her back from turning off her humanity was the memory of Jeremy.

She did not want to forget. She could not forget. She owed it to him.

She wanted to preserve his memory of her. The strong and vivacious woman she had looked in his eyes. But try as she might, there was still an empty hole in her heart.

So, when Bonnie Bennett had called her and said she could bring Jeremy back, she had rushed back to Mystic Falls. It was just the right words to wake her up from her stupor.

~TGITW~

BONNIE AND DAMON. SALVATORE HOUSE.

"Are you crazy?!" Damon hollered at Bonnie. In his anger, he had thrown his glass of bourbon into the fireplace causing it to flare up.

Bonnie flinched but stood her ground.

"You know I have to do this," She sighed and continued. Trying to make Damon see reason was becoming a hopeless endeavor. "I have to make up for my mistakes."

He stood in front of her and drew to his full height. It was a last ditch attempt at intimidation.

However, Bonnie knew him better. After spending weeks together, she had come to understand his many quirks and irrational behaviour. It was all just an act. It was just him trying to protect himself from getting hurt. It was him trying to hide his desire to be loved despite the screwup he felt himself to be.

Since Damon had arrived back from New York, they had started a relationship. Bit by bit, the "big bad" vampire had opened himself up to her. While Bonnie had misgivings at first, she found herself falling more and more in love with the man before her. Damon Salvatore.

Bonnie reached out and touched his face affectionately. Instantly, Damon softened at her touch.

"I owe it to them."

"Bonnie Bennett, you don't owe them anything! You are the most selfless person I've ever met. You have given and poured out every part of yourself for them. You have sacrificed your happiness for them. You don't owe them anything!"

Damon pulled away from her and started pacing about. The crackling of the flames matched his agitation.

"They're my friends Damon." Bonnie pleaded quietly. "And they're yours too. I know you care about them."

"Well, screw them! This magic is too strong for you! You could die!"

He slumped into his favourite chair and sulked.

"You don't mean that." Bonnie placed her hand on his shoulders. "Why don't you let people see the good in you?"

Damon huffed in annoyance.

"Because when people see good, they expect good. And I don't wanna have to live up to anyone's expectations."

Bonnie sighed again. There was no talking to Damon in this state. Sometimes she saw herself as a beast tamer around Damon. He could be gentle when around her but there was still a feral beast lurking inside. One spark could trigger it. And she didn't want to push him. Not in this situation.

She decided to leave and give him some time. As she did, Damon stood up and blocked her path.

"You are a good person, Bonnie Bennett. You are an amazing woman, a mediocre crossword puzzle player, and my best friend."

They both let out a chuckle then Damon's face grew serious.

He placed his hand on her arms and drew her close. He looked her right in the eyes and whispered: "I love you Bonnie and I don't want to lose you."

~TGITW~

STEFAN AND ELENA. GILBERT HOME.

Stefan watched the sleeping Elena. She had drunk Faith's blood and was in the process of transitioning from vampire to human. Stefan sat by her bedside waiting for her to awaken. As he did, he thought back to all that had happened in the past weeks. Jeremy's death. Elena becoming a vampire. Elena turning off her humanity. Finding out that his brother had loved his girlfriend. And even worse, that his girlfriend loved his brother.

He wasn't even sure what he was doing in the Gilbert house. That is, until he remembered his conversation with Faith.

"Thanks for doing this, Faith." Stefan thanked Faith as she handed him a vial of her blood.

Faith smiled at Stefan.

Stefan pursed his lips and tried to smile back.

"Are you ok, Stephan?" Faith asked him worriedly.

He hesitated a bit then responded: "It's just…I love Elena…"

Faith waited patiently as he tried to find the words to explain.

"I think I always will…"

"But…?" Faith asked, sensing something was troubling the Salvatore.

"She…went behind my back. She…left me. And I…I don't know if I can be with her again…"

Now that he'd said the words, he bowed his head in shame.

"You know, Stefan," She smiled at him understandingly. "There's this story in the Bible, about a man named Hosea. He had married a promiscuous woman. His wife cheated on him with many men. Yet, time and time again, Hosea would go searching for his wife and bring her back home with him."

"Without fail, Hosea would welcome back his wife. Now, some might call Hosea foolish, blinded by love. But I loved that story. I loved that he was faithful and true to her even when she was not."

"You see Stefan, it's easy to give up. In fact, we can come up with all sorts of reasons to justify ourselves. But I think…I think the true test of our love is when we choose to stick to the other person even when it's hard, even when it's painful."

"When I fell in love with Elijah, he was in love with someone else. Despite how painful it was watching him love someone else, I found myself simply wanting the best for him. I wanted him to be happy even if it hurt me. I didn't really realize I has such capacity for love."

"And Stefan, I see in you that same capacity for love."

Faith was right.

Even after all the hurt, he will still choose Elena.

In that moment, Elena stirred from her sleep and open her eyes. She turned to Stefan who met her eyes and smiled.

"Welcome back."

~TGITW~

CAROLINE. FORBES RESIDENCE.

Bonnie promised Caroline that she would bring Kol back.

She was going to get her friend back.

Caroline knew it must have gone against Bonnie's every instinct to make that promise. They still saw Kol as the wildest of the Mikaelsons. The untameable one. The psychotic brother. But Bonnie was going to do it for Caroline.

Make no mistake about it though. Kol was a monster. Caroline knew that.

But she also accepted it. She accepted the monster and the man.

Kol had told her once that she was like Faith. They both saw the good in everyone because they both believed no one was perfect. They both believed people can change and that they are never too far gone.

Faith's words came to Caroline mind:

"Being bad is easy. It's so natural to just do whatever we want, to fall off the bandwagon so to speak. Being good is hard. So why is it that we choose to do good each and every time? What is it about Stefan? What is it about me? Because we believe in justice, that being good will pay out in the long run."

At last, it looks like good will win out.

~TGITW~

MATT AND REBEKAH. MYSTIC FALLS.

Matt wrapped a blanket around them. Rebekah snuggled closer to him and sipped her cocoa for warmth. They were out in the woods of Mystic Falls watching the sunrise after camping out for the night.

"I'm usually on Elijah's side of things." Rebekah explained. "But in Faith's case…I just feel that Nik loved her more."

"What makes you say that?" Matt asked with a smirk.

Rebekah shook her head at his response.

"I know you're not his biggest fan, but he really does love her. You should have seen him back in the day. The way that he looked at Faith. She was his sun. His world revolved around her. For the first time, Nik let someone in. It was like giving water to a man dying of thirst."

"And what's brought all this up?"

"I overheard them fighting." Rebekah answered meekly then took another sip of her drink.

"Ah," Matt laughed. "So, the great Rebekah Mikaelson has stooped to snooping."

Rebekah giggled at his words then shoved him playfully.

"Stop it." She said, her accent coming out.

Matt smiled then embraced her. He kissed her forehead.

"Forget about them for now. Let's just be here and enjoy this."

Pulling back, he found a beaming Rebekah.

Then she leaned towards him and they kissed.