Review responses:

Guest: I'm so glad you feel that way and thank you for the review!

Only reviewer: Yeah, they really were too controlling with her at this point in the season. I mean I get they're trying to do what they think is best, but they were just completely ignoring her view which did make it look patriarchal as you put it. It was also just plain rude. But here, she at least has Sarah in her corner. ;) And we'll have to wait and see with Scarlett. After all, being enslaved to Klaus doesn't sound much better...

Charmedbycharmed: What's confusing you about Amelia, maybe I can clear it up? And we've got more Sarah/Elena here for you, though more action than that last chapter. And as you pointed out, Elena is now a more key part in the story now, so she and Sarah will be having a lot more scenes together, like they have been over the past few chapters.

I think you guys will like this one and the next one and I'm also pretty sure you'll figure out why by the end of the chapter. We're now on the Descent episode, and the next two chapters feel a lot more confined than previous chapters, so hopefully that will allow you all to catch your breath...before the drama starts kicking in anyway.

In other news I've started Uni, done my irritating bootcamp stuff and now onto my proper course, though this is my first week so I've only had one lecture and class by the time I upload this. It's going okay, I guess. Still getting used to it all, but that shouldn't effect the next upload – at least in theory. I have a plan.

Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows since last time you guys, I appreciated every single one and you're all fantastic, remember that!

Chapter 23: The Descent

"Can I go back to bed, please," Rose groaned in a sickening voice, huddled on the coach in the study with a blanket wrapped around her. Looking at her, Sarah did her best not to grimace. She'd never seen a vampire look so bad before. She was pale, and for a vampire that should probably be saying something. And the layer of sweat covering her skin didn't help, nor did the bags under her eyes.

All vampires had stepped through death's door, but looking at Rose now, she looked like she was about to step back through at the drop of a dim.

"Once you stop faking being sick, sure," Sarah said, forcing herself to smirk as Rose snorted, only to end up coughing. "Damon should be back in a second," Sarah said reassuringly, sitting down next to Rose as she continued to cough violently into her hand. "The blood should help with…" she wasn't entirely sure how to finish her sentence. Frankly she was struggling to see anything that wasn't wrong with Rose currently.

When she arrived home last night, she'd thought hearing about Scarlett's traumatic experience would've been the worse thing about that day. Little did she know, it had been about to get a whole lot worse. She'd found Rose and Damon in the study. Damon had been unnaturally startled, struggling to keep himself still as he paced. Rose had been sat on the couch, fighting off tears. When Sarah had asked what was going on, Rose showed her the werewolf bite. And since then, it'd only gotten worse.

Sarah and Damon had stayed up all night, even when Rose slept. But while Sarah had been by Rose's side doing her best to keep her comfy and grounded, Damon had been keeping himself busy. If he wasn't getting her blood, he was getting her anything medical related in hopes that it might help. Nothing so far had worked, but the blood had helped her with the pain.

Finally, Rose stopped coughing, settling down as she hunched over, catching her breath again. Sarah remained at her side, and then suddenly Rose began talking about the past. Some of it had to do with Sarah, the odd few times they'd met up. Most of it had to do with Lexi, their common friend, and Sarah was never opposed to hearing stories about Lexi, especially new ones. It kept her own memories alive. But somethings Rose said where all over the place and had no relevance to what she'd been saying previously.

"I was born in fourteen-fifty, that makes me five-hundred-and-sixty years old," Rose said, after she'd been talking about the first few days she and Sarah had met, all the way back in the early twentieth century, in New York. Sarah did her best not to frown, to show in anyway that she was concerned or worried. Because she knew if she showed it, Rose would feel it even more.

"Well, if you were a bottle of wine," Damon teased as he walked in, blood bag in hand. Sarah smiled at his jest, but she was very much aware of how much he was deflecting.

"So I can die. I've lived long enough," Rose said soberly as she stared into the flickering flames of the dim fire.

"I thought we agreed you were going to stop this, 'end of my life' nonsense," Sarah pointed out while Damon grabbed a glass, pouring the blood into it. Rose snorted at Sarah's comment, head lowering a little as she coughed once more.

"Sarah's right," Damon added, still pouring the blood as he topped of the glass. "And if you're going to keep up this horribly dramatic performance, I'm just gonna kill you myself, just to put me out of your misery."

"My brother, you might find his picture next to the word, 'Sympathy', in the dictionary," Sarah said mockingly, to which Rose laughed. Damon shot his sister the stink eye, before then handing the glass of blood over to Rose. She took a sip, before stopping herself, grimacing at the glass.

"Oh, come on. It's just a little werewolf bite," Damon said in dramatic sarcasm.

"Just a little, fatal, vampire killing, werewolf bite," Rose added with a sad smile, staring into the glass of blood in her hands.

"Well, that's according to a legend which is notoriously unreliable source," Damon pointed out with a confident smirk. But he was conveniently leaving out the incident with Logan, were Scarlett bit him and no more than a few hours later did Alaric find him dead. In fact, Sarah was pretty sure he wasn't just leaving it out of the conversation, he was doing his best to ignore the idea. Not that Sarah was keen for Rose to die herself, but judging by the evidence, the odds weren't in her favour.

"Come on, drink up. Blood heals," Damon said encouraging, motioning to the blood once more. With a sigh, Rose took another gulp of blood, letting as much of the crimson liquid slid down her throat as she could before she stopped, worried she might throw it all up. She swallowed what was left, then sat, letting the energy of the blood flow through her aching veins.

Despite her grimace of disgust, Rose did say, "Yeah, it does feel like it's working."

"Let's have a look, come on. Let me see," Damon said as he moved behind the couch to get a look at the bite. Rose leaned forward, and Sarah leaned back so she could look along with Damon. First he pulled back the blanket around her, then pulled the shoulder of her top off, exposing the monstrous looking rash like infection that ran all the way down her right side, from shoulder to lower back.

It truly was disgusting, like some kind of roadkill that had been ran over so many times it was unrecognisable. And then some one had slapped it onto Rose's back. The throbbing red infected area, had everything that screamed help, from blisters, to peeling skin, blood oozing out like it was puss and blackened veins that seemed to stretch out like scouts, looking to expand their settlement.

Sarah did her best not to grimace at the sight, just in case Rose could still see her. Damon however, who was directly behind Rose frowned. It looked as if he were confused, but Sarah knew he was forcing that emotion out over the one he'd been pushing down ever since Rose got bitten. Fear.

"How is it?" Rose asked, head turning towards Sarah who quickly plastered on a smile for her friend. But when she realised she hadn't said anything, and that Rose was still looking at her, waiting for an answer, she turned to Damon, eyes asking him for an answer as she did her best to hide her worry.

But when Damon's eyes connected with hers, she realised just how right she had been about Damon's fear. He hid it well, she'd give him that, but for a split second when their eyes first met, she saw how truly scared he was. However, the only thing he could use to mask it was his confusion and disgust at the infection that was spreading down Rose's back. So he ended up frowning, lips open but not saying anything. Until finally he came out with, "Definitely…better."

Sarah could have slapped him for such a stupid response. Of course Rose would see right through that. She pressed her eyes further open, irritation fuelling them as Damon simply shrugged back, still unable to come up with anything better. But Sarah wasn't willing to let it go so easily, which was why Damon was lucky that Elena happened to walk in then.

Quickly taking advantage of the situation, Damon glanced over to the entrance and said, "What do you think, Elena?" putting the spotlight on her.

Unable to stop herself, Sarah's gaze followed Damon's to Elena who was stood by the stairs that separated the raised level of the study from the lowered level. She had stopped upon seeing Rose, mouth open in horror, much like anyone would be if they saw the state the vampire was in. And still there was no sign of improvement, even with all the blood they'd been getting her to drink. Rose might have been feeling better because of it, but the infection wasn't showing any sign of slowing down.

Thankfully when Rose started to turn around, Elena pulled herself together with a positive smile. "I think…it's not bad," Elena said, somehow managing to sound more honest that Damon. Though after his emotional stumble it was hard to do any worse.

"Where's Stefan?" Damon not so silently whispered. Sarah shot him a look for his not so subtle change in topic but he just continued to ignore her.

"He left," Elena answered before looking to Sarah. "Can you talk to him. He's convinced that he has to find Isobel, but I think that's gonna upset Elijah and Amelia."

"Sure," agreed Sarah with a nod form the couch, where she was still sat next to Rose.

"Well, you might want to get a similar sister brother speech ready for me, Sis, cause I'm with Stefan on this one," Damon said as he poured the last of the blood from the bag and into Rose's glass before handing it back to her. Motioning to drink as he walked around the couch and towards Elena. "But you'll have plenty of time to run it over with Elena while you two play nurse for a while."

"Where you going?" Sarah asked, suspicious frown lining her forehead as Damon stopped just past Elena, looking back as his blue eyes met Sarah's green.

"To see a lady about a…bite," Damons answered, frowning at his own words.

"Not your best," Sarah said with a sympathetic, yet amused smile. She knew why he'd mucked it up. It was his feeling for Rose, but he still wouldn't admit it, and Sarah knew exactly who he was going to find. The woman who'd bitten Rose, the one who if Sarah had gone to see instead, then none of this might have happened. Jules. The werewolf that had brought with her a storm of supernatural problems when she came into town. And there was only two reasons Damon would be going after her; to find a way to help Rose, or to skin himself a wolf. To be honest, Sarah would be happy with either. But she'd be even happier if Damon would just open up about his feelings, rather than repress them until it was too late.

"Yeah, well…" frustrated Damon threw his hands up before turning and continuing on out. "Just keep her comfortable until I get back."

"It's not necessary," Rose said, shaking her head at Elena and Sarah, refusing to be treated like an invalid.

"It is necessary," Damon called over his shoulder, turning around as he walked out backwards with his smug smile in place as he explained. "Elena's a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resist. And my sister seems to have developed this really stupid impulse as of late, to help Elena with whatever she's doing." As he finished he vanished from view, narrowly avoiding the scowl Sarah shot towards the archway.

She quickly wiped it off though, placing her hand on Rose's knee as she turned to her friend with a smile. "Back in a sec. Just keeping drink that until I get back, okay?" With a brave smile, Rose nodded, understanding that Sarah had to have a word with her brother. Just like always.

In appreciation Sarah smiled back before getting up and vamp speeding over to Elena's side as both walked out the study and after Damon who was halfway towards the door. "Damon," Elena called softly after him. He heard, turning around before taking a few steps towards them, all keeping their voices down in hopes that Rose wouldn't overhear their uncomfortable conversation. "Is she gonna die?"

"Probably," Damon sighed. "The wolf bite caused some kind of infection and it's getting worse."

"Like poison?" Elena asked concern all over her face. Though that was hardly surprising. Despite the tactless way in which he put it, Damon was right about her. Elena did care, and she couldn't stop herself. What was more surprising for Sarah, was that Damon almost mirrored her look of concern.

Emotions slipping past his built up walls for just a second as he said, "I don't know, Elena." In that, Sarah heard Damon's heart. His hurt. His fear of loss. But then he recomposed himself in a split second, gesturing with his wide arms as he said, "I'm not an expert in the field," sounding more like the person he was pretending to be right now. Heartless and uncaring. But he wasn't that man, and Sarah knew, he never had been.

"I'm sorry," Elena said, as she too had heard and seen his heart in what he'd said.

"Death happens," Damon cut in quickly, maintaining a scowl as he fought the emotions raging inside of him. "We come, we go. Sooner she dies the better."

"Damon," Sarah scolded, but he just scowled at her instead of Elena.

"That's life, Sis. We all gotta go some time," Damon said spitefully.

Sarah rolled her eyes, glancing back at the study before leaning towards Damon. "Could you maybe stop the whole macho alpha male thing now. I get you don't want Rose to worry, but come on Damon, it's okay to feel."

"I don't feel anything," Damon snarled, leaning towards his sister as his blue eyes flared up. "I don't know what you think is going on here, but I have no care in the world for the woman who's dying in our study right now," Damon explained with a jab of the finger towards the open archway that lead into the study.

"Damon, it's okay. We understand," Elena said softly.

"There's nothing to understand," Damon snapped.

"You can talk to us Damon," Sarah pressed, trying to reassure her brother while also trying to open the lock that was around his heart.

"There's nothing to talk about it!" Damon shouted in frustration. "I get you like to play the noise little sister, and since this one started her suicidal missions, you two have decided to become the new Thelma and Louise," Damon growled as he jabbed his thumb towards Elena. "But could you both, please, try and grasp the simple fact that I do not love Rose."

"Who said anything about love?" Sarah quipped, raising an eyebrow.

Credit to him, Damon was smart enough not to respond and dig himself a bigger hole. Unfortunately, Sarah didn't want her brother to be that smart. He glared at her for a few seconds, breathing heavily through his noise before turning and stomping out the front door without another word.

But once he was out the door, Sarah felt the guilt settle in. That had probably been the last thing her brother needed right now. Then again, she didn't want him wasting what little time he had left with Rose. He clearly felt something for her, whether it was love or not was hard to tell. Damon had been an all or nothing guy even before he turned. First it had all been for Katherine. Then there was nothing. Then he'd started looking towards Elena, until Sarah shut that idea down. And now…now he was at risk at being hurt. Stuck in between his two extremes not knowing which to go to.

She didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing except look after Rose, ease her pain, and hope Damon came to his senses before the end and came back to her. If he didn't, Sarah would help her pass, but she could tell from watching them both, there was something there. And maybe at the end, Rose would rather have that then Sarah by her side.

"What now?" Elena finally asked, looking to Sarah as the vampire sighed.

"Play nurse," Sarah said with a tired smile to Elena. From there they then went back into the study, finding Rose just as they'd left her. But already the effects of the blood were fading and she was groaning once again in pain. She was continually moaning about the couch so Sarah and Elena agreed they needed to move her. And then Sarah had the great idea of putting her in Damon's bed, which Elena happily agreed with. Rose had caught onto what game they were playing at, but right now she just wanted a bed, so she didn't say anything as Sarah helped her up.

"I hate this," Rose grumbled as Sarah walked with her into the room, Rose's arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulders as the younger vampire supported her. Elena followed behind, glass of blood in hand. "I'm a vampire, I haven't had a cold in five centuries."

"Good thing too. If anyone else had had to put with this, I imagine they would have killed you long ago. Now shut up and get into he bed," Sarah said in dramatic sarcasm as she took Rose over to Damon's bed. Once they were close enough, Rose unwrapped herself from Sarah's side, falling onto the bed, knees first.

"You're so sympathetic," Rose grumbled as Sarah stepped aside, allowing Elena to pull off Rose's hoodie, once she'd placed the glass of blood on the night stand. The bite mark was still throbbing, boils appearing as the cracks in the skin grew wider and deeper. But Elena was learning quickly, and only for a split second did her disgust show before she reeled it in, helping Rose get under the sheets.

"We're not supposed to get sick. When we die, it's supposed to be fast and sudden, and it's certainly not drawn out in illness," Rose continued to complain as she lay back, pulling the sheets over her.

"You're not gonna die," Elena said as she helped Rose with the sheets, like the good nurse she was.

"Such a human thing to say," Rose teased with a grin. Sarah let out a snigger, but shut it when Elena looked back at her.

"Sorry," Sarah apologised, as Rose chuckled to herself, before breaking out into another coughing fit. Sarah then passed the blood to Elena who held it out for Rose who eventually took it for a sip once her coughing died down. Again she grimaced, taking only a sip before forcing the glass back into Elena's hands.

Rose then lay down on her side, making herself comfy as Elena took the chance to look around the room she'd never set foot in. She'd been in Stefan's room many times since meeting the Salvatores, but this was her first time she'd set foot in either of his siblings' rooms. She looked around, taking in the fireplace, the flatscreen TV on the wall and the huge open bathroom.

"You've never been in Damon's room before, have you?" Rose said with a teasing grin as she watched Elena look around.

"She better not have, if Damon knows what's good for him," Sarah said firmly. Elena looked back at her raven haired friend, smiling as she handed her the blood. After that though she started behaving a little nervously, pushing her hair behind her ear as she shrunk in on herself a little. Like being in the room felt wrong. Then as if needing somewhere else to look, she glanced down and found a book on the floor. She bent down, picking it up as Sarah sat the glass of blood down. Normally the vampire would have had a drink, but consider Rose had drank from the glass, Sarah wasn't really wanting to push her luck.

Looking back over to Elena, she was now staring tensely at the book she'd picked up. Sarah then snatched it from her, grinning when Elena shot her an irritated look. "Gone with the Wind," Sarah read from the cover, before her eyes went back to Elena's. "He does like that one," she said before throwing the book onto one of five growing piles that had formed next to his bed since he'd moved back in to the boarding house.

"What about you, do you like it?" Elena asked, folding her arms as she titled her head to watch Sarah.

"Not my favourite," Sarah said with a shrug, as she glance back at the book. "I've only ready it…three times," Sarah said, cocking her head as she tried to recall how many times she'd read the thing.

"What is your favourite book then?" Elena asked curiously, folding her arms.

Sarah scoffed, "You mean this week?"

"All right," Elena chuckled a little. "What's one of your top ten, then?"

Shrugging, Sarah threw out the random answer of, "Dracula," to which the two began to laugh.

"I'm serious, Sarah," Elena stated. Though she was still smiling in spite of her words.

"Dracula's a perfectly good book," Sarah said defensively, though it was hardly passionate enough for it to be serious.

"And I'm the one who got the infectious werewolf bite," groaned Rose from the bed. "Where's the justice?"

"Look, I read a lot of books," Sarah said with a shrug. "Asking me to pick a favourite is like asking someone to pick out their favourite memory. And if they can so easily do either of those things, then they're doing it wrong. It should never be easy to pick out your favourite book or memory," Sarah explained passionately before frowning when Elena burst into a smile. "What?"

"I just don't think I've heard you talk about books so passionately before," Elena pointed out, bringing a mild blush to Sarah's cheeks. Though it was easily missable thanks to her smile.

"Yeah, well. I had to find something to do in between all the family drama didn't I?" Sarah said rhetorically, smile remaining while Elena brushed a strand of her brunette hair back behind her ear.

"You're both so lucky," Rose said with a sad smile, looking up at both women from her horizontal position on the bed, having now comfortably sank into the mattress. "No one's ever loved me the way you're both loved."

"I very much doubt that," Elena said as she turned back around to her patient, sitting down on the bed next to Rose.

"Trevor was my best friend. Nothing more," Rose began to explain. "I spent all those years on the run from Elijah and Amelia. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire."

"Stefan and Sarah seem to make it work," Elena said a little quickly, almost defensively.

"That's different," Rose said tiredly, sounding like she was in no condition to discuss the matter further. Seeing this, Elena held her tongue, even though she was more than happy to argue the matter.

Instead, Elena looked to Sarah. "What do you think?" she asked the younger of the two vampires. "Can vampires have families?"

With a sigh that had more complexion behind it than Sarah wanted to let on, she made her way over to her friends, joining them by the bed. She remained standing, face sealed in thought until she started to smile. "Well, I know Rose here is lying about that whole, 'no one's ever loved me' bit."

"It's true," Rose groaned feebly from bed.

"What about Damon then?" Sarah prompted, bringing a grin to her and Elena's lips.

"He doesn't love me," Rose mumbled weakly.

"You sure about that?" Elena chimed in.

"Yes," Rose said with as much strength as she could muster. But even with an infectious wolf bite and already pale skin, the blush still broke through on Rose's cheeks. Her two nurses looked to each other, repressing giggles as they grinned away.

"All right, Rose, whatever you say," Sarah said slyly as Elena let out a chuckle that she quickly got under control.

"When I'm I getting new nurses," Rose groaned, turning her face into the pillow.

"Sorry, you're stuck with us until Damon gets back," Elena said in a mixture of sympathy and light teasing as she grinned.

"Well in that case," Rose said as she rolled her head back around to look at Elena. "Can I ask?" Rose said, eye taking on a more serious look. "Why are you so eager to give up?"

"I'm not giving up on anything," Elena answered, before taking the blood from the nightstand and handing it over to Rose. "Here," she said as the vampire took the glass, though Rose seemed to be using it as something to cuddle, rather than drink.

"What do you call this whole deal with Elijah and Amelia then?" Rose asked.

"I call it my best option," Elena answered.

"It's your easiest option," Rose answered back, momentarily stunning Elena.

"That's not fair," Elena replied, though there was something else to her voice that Sarah noticed. In her own opinion though, she had to agree with Elena over Rose. It wasn't an easy choice, but then again Rose didn't know all the details like she did. Elena was still going to get sacrificed, but in return all of her friends and family would be safe. And Sarah was going to be forever thankful for that, even if she wished it could be different. But it was what Elena wanted, and Sarah was going to help her until she either changed her mind or achieved her goal.

"Do you really think that your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?" Rose then inquired, though Sarah noted the tone of skepticism in her voice.

"I spoke with Bonnie. I know that she had the help of another witch," Elena explained.

"Which is more than likely one of witches working with Elijah and Amelia," Sarah interjected, folding her arms.

"So, no, I don't," Elena answered honestly, though it was hardly a major concern. At least in regards to Elena's endgame plan with the two Originals. Whether they had the moonstone or not – which Sarah suspected they did – it didn't effect the deal Elena had made. And even if it did muck up the Originals' plans, they claimed it wouldn't make them go back on the deal. They were apparently people of their word. Although, Sarah was still yet to see proof of this statement. And unfortunately, the deal with Elena would be the only way to find out if it was true or not.

"You really are determined to die, aren't you," Rose said quietly.

"I'm not going to die," Elena said with a brave smile, one that Rose caught onto as she lifted one eyebrow ever so slightly above the other.

"Are you sure about that?" Rose asked, and the question was enough to once again stun Elena. It was then Sarah realised just how much Rose had worked out on her own. Maybe it was from her own past experiences with Elijah and Amelia, or maybe she was just smarter than she'd ever given her credit for. But Rose had worked out what her brothers had not. That in Elijah and Amelia's deal with Elena, she was still at risk of dying. "At least I ran, you're not even trying," Rose said, snuggling down into the bed while still cuddling her glass of blood in one hand, not that she'd taken a sip since Elena handed it over to her.

Then her eyes closed and she let out a yawn. She didn't need to say, "I'm so tired," because Sarah and Elena had already worked it out from her yawn and mere look alone. She was exhausted, drained even, and the blood didn't seem to be helping with that. Apparently thinking the same, Elena took the glass of blood from Rose's loss grip and placed it back on the nightstand.

After that she looked to Sarah who subtly nodded towards the door, deciding it was best to leave Rose alone, at least until she got off to sleep. Nodding in agreement, Elena slid from her seated position on the bed and up onto her feet. She started to walk out and Sarah went to follow when she heard Rose stir from behind. Both she and Elena turned then to see Rose reaching out across the empty space towards them, eyelids half open as she drifted between conscious and unconscious sleep. "Tell them to prepare the horses," she ordered in a daze.

"It's okay, Rose," Sarah said softly, with a delicate smile to her injured friend. "Just get some sleep."

"You'll feel better when you wake up," Elena added, both she and Sarah watching as Rose closed her eyes and settled back down into the bed.

But it didn't last for long, as she rolled over, mumbling, "Trevor, don't be so stupid. We're never going to make it there before the sun," smiling dreamily as she did. Then suddenly she was sat up, groaning in pain before falling onto her back, arms clutched around her stomach. "Blood… I need blood," Rose groaned out, eyes opening wide, only to then be squeezed shut as she tried to fight off the infection raging inside of her.

Elena turned to run back over to her but Sarah was already there, on the bed with Rose helping her up as she handed Rose the blood. One of her hands then helped Rose guide the glass up to her mouth with the other resting on her back, helping her sit up. By the time Elena joined them at the bed, Rose had already taken a gulp of blood. But then she turned, choking on what she'd taken until she threw it back up, along with another black substance from within her body.

"Crap," Sarah groaned, rubbing Rose's back while she coughed up the rest of whatever she needed to get out. She could see the warning signs for what it was, there were only a handful of reasons vampires couldn't hold down blood, none of which were good.

"What's happening to her?" Elena asked in shock.

"I don't know," Sarah admitted grimily as Rose continued to cough up the black substance from within, having thrown up all the blood she'd just drank.

"What do we do?"

"Get some water. Now!" Sarah ordered, looking back to Elena who was already running into Damon's bathroom. By the time Sarah then turned back to Rose, the sink was already running and Elena was pouring a glass of water. "You're gonna be all right. Just focus on getting it all out," Sarah said supportively, but she was struggling to believe her own words. If she'd been skeptic about the werewolf bite legend before, this would be enough to push her towards the possibility of it being real. And assuming it was real, she doubted it would be easily cured by simply throwing up. As a general rule, when black stuff comes out your body, it's a sign of very bad things.

Finally Rose stopped coughing, leaning back towards Sarah who continued to hold her. But then Sarah found herself on the wooden floor of her brother's room, groaning out as her butt, then her head, whacked off wood. "Sarah?" Elena called, returning to the room with a glass of water in hand, only to find Sarah on the floor and Rose having vanished from the bed.

Going back to Sarah, who was now rubbing the back of her head, Elena got out, "What happen–" right before she found herself shoved against the wall in a series of blurry movements. Next thing she saw, was Rose's vampire face glaring back at her, as blood filled her eyes and the veins blow her eyes began to throb.

"It's all your fault, Katerina!" Rose shouted at Elena, fangs having formed in her blackened stained mouth. "You Katerina, you did this!"

"It's Elena! Rose! Rose, I'm Elena!" Elena shouted back as she tried to fight her off, but she had no strength in comparison to that of an older vampire like Rose, who held her easily against the wall.

"You betrayed us!" Rose shouted angrily, not hearing anything that Elena was saying, as she glared on in fury.

"I'm not Katherine!" Elena cried out.

"I'll kill you!" Rose roared, arm reaching back as she went to rip out Elena's heart.

"Rose, stop!" Sarah shouted over Elena's cries, grabbing ahold of Rose's arm before she could remove Elena's heart. Rose's head swung around to meet Sarah's, ignoring Elena who she had secured with her other arm. "Come on, get a grip!" Sarah shouted at her friend who only hissed back. Then using her superior strength, she yanked her arm free of Sarah's hold, then grabbed her by the throat. Swinging her around and shoving her against the wall next to Elena.

"Rose…it's me…Sarah," she croaked out, trying to reach her friend like Elena had.

"I don't care who you are!" Rose snapped. "If you're with her, then I'll kill you!"

"Rose, it's us, your friends. Elena and Sarah," Elena pleaded, able to speak more easily than Sarah, as she was only held in place with Rose's hand on her shoulder, while Sarah had Rose's hand around her throat. "We just want to help. Please, listen to us!"

Then, just as suddenly as Rose had attacked them, her throbbing veins began to settle, and the blood drained from her eyes. She then blinked, and it was as if she'd just woken up from a dream, and realised what she was doing. "Elena? Sarah?" Rose said slowly, releasing them both as she stepped back in pure confusion.

"It's me, it's Elena," the human girl said, though she was visibly shaking in both body and voice. Sarah, however was a little more relaxed, body calm while she rubbed her burning throat, choosing not speak while she let her body heal.

"Oh my God…Elena…Sarah. I'm so sorry. I…I don't know what's happening to me. I'm sorry," Rose said hysterically as she tried to get a grip of herself. So confused and terrified of what had just happened, almost as much as Elena seemed to be, externally anyway. Sarah was confident she was made of stronger stuff – though they'd all been shaken by what had just happened.

"It's…It's all right. We're all okay and alive," Sarah said, still struggling to speak after her recent choking experience.

"My mind, I'm…" Rose said, hands going to her head.

"It's okay," Sarah promised, taking Rose by the arm as she led her back towards the bed. Looking over her shoulder as she went to make sure Elena was doing all right. But already she'd stopped shaking, and had a brave smile on as she followed the two vampires back towards the bed. But Sarah noted the distance she maintained.

"It was just for a second," Elena said in support to Rose, offering a smile when she looked her way.

"I'm sorry, don't be scared of me," Rose begged, terror in her own voice.

"Please," Sarah scoffed. "It's gonna take a lot more than your ugly mug to scare her off. Right, Elena?"

"Right," agreed, Elena, smiling bravely as she managed to keep her nerves under control.

"Now come on, back into bed," Sarah ordered as she helped her friend back into the bed. "And feel free to do whatever you want in there. Mark your scent or whatever. Just make it clear to my brother that you're here to stay," Sarah said with a grin, before standing back up alongside Elena once Rose was safely in bed.

"I'm scared," Rose said quietly, not able to join in on Sarah's positive spin on things.

"You're not alone," Elena spoke up as she stepped forward. "Me and Sarah are right here."

"Here, where's here?" Rose asked uneasily as she began to nervously look around the room.

"You're in my house," Sarah said with a tender smile, as she placed her hand on Rose's shoulder, gently pushing her back down into he bed when she went to sit up. "In Damon's bedroom."

"I want to go home," Rose said timidly, eyes and body unable to stay still or get comfortable.

Sarah wasn't sure what to say to that, never having seen her friend like this before. Thankfully, she had Elena, who leaned in next to her and said, "Tell us about it," offering up an always caring smile.

"St. Austell. Thirty kilometres south of London. With fields and trees and horses." And as Rose spoke, she seemed to relax. Sinking into the bed as she let her eyes close and her lips seamlessly shift into a small smile.

"Sounds beautiful," Elena said quietly, while she and Sarah smiled softly at the tired Rose.

"When you live long enough, everything disappears," Rose then said. "So much time wasted, I just wish I hadn't been so afraid." After that she fell silent, and not long after she drifted off to sleep. She snored a little, as one does when they're sick, every so often her breath would catch and Elena would begin to panic. That was until Sarah pointed out Rose was a vampire and could survive without air longer than humans. And even if it did cause her to die, she'd come back. At least that's what Sarah hoped.

When it later became clear that Elena needed something to do, Sarah sent her to go and get some clean sheets from one of the cupboards out in the hall. She insisted she was happy to stay, but Sarah could see the worry in her eyes. Not over Rose attacking her, but over the possibility of her death.

It was still odd to Sarah, how Elena could sometimes so easily forgive someone, and so quickly too. She'd forgiven Damon, who even killed her own brother. True he came back, but Damon hadn't been aware of that factor at the time. If something like that had happened to Stefan or Damon, Sarah wouldn't rest until she got revenge. But Elena was just so good, so kind, so selfless that she would put all that aside, even for someone who'd wronged her.

Even so, her constant, not so subtle worrying was beginning to get on Sarah's nerves, so she demanded that Elena go and get some sheets. Pointing out it would be good for Rose, which was apparently what Elena needed to hear in order to comply with Sarah. She made a mental note of that, now having a useful way to manipulate Elena should she need to.

In the time that Elena was gone, Sarah remained by Rose's side. She found Damon's privet fridge, that was hidden away behind a secret panel in the wall, stacked with blood bags. What shocked her though was how empty it was, only a few left, with a dozen or so empties lying around inside. He must be using these over people, Sarah thought, allowing herself a smile. He really was making an effort to be better. In all honesty though, she missed the fresh taste of blood too, but blood bags kept everyone else happy and it satisfied the vampires.

Grabbing one of the few that remained, Sarah opened up the bag as she closed the fridge. Then covering it up with the secret wooden panel. By the time she'd turned back around towards the bed, she'd taken two gulps before then freezing on the third. She began to frown, green eyes staring at the bed in case they were playing tricks on her. But they weren't. Rose was gone again.

"Rose–" Sarah got out before finding herself once again on the floor. Legs swept out from under as she landed face first. Luckily she managed to catch herself with her hands. But by the time she lifted her head and flicked her hair aside, whoever had attacked her was gone. As was her blood bag.

It was Rose, had to be, Sarah thought. But if she'd wanted blood all she had to do was ask. At vamp speed she then jumped back up to her feet, slowly looking around in case Rose was still in the room. Feeding. But there was no sign of her, nor could Sarah hear her from any of the nearby rooms. She still had to be in the house though, as the sun was up.

When the door creaked, Sarah swung around to face it, thinking it might be Rose about to rush her once more, but instead found Elena walking in with fresh sheets in hand. It took her a second to stop, realising that something was wrong. She looked to Sarah, frowning, before her eyes then moved to the bed and widened. "Where did Rose go?" Elena asked calmly, looking towards the bathroom in case she'd gone in there. But Sarah could see into the walk in bathroom from where she was stood, and there was no way she was in there.

"I don't know," Sarah answered as she made her way over to Elena who dumped the sheets on Damon's bed. "I turned my back on her to get some blood, and the next thing I knew she was gone and so was my blood bag."

"Well, she can't have gone far. The sun's still up," Elena pointed out, gesturing to the window that had been covered up by luscious styled curtains, keeping out the sunlight.

"I know, but after what happened earlier, I'm worried about her," admitted Sarah, facial features conveying that message.

"You don't think she'll run outside do you?" Elena asked in mild panic.

"I think we better find her before she gets the chance. Come on," Sarah said as she lead the way out of her brother's room with Elena hot on her heels. They searched every bedroom, but found no sign of her, so they went down to the first floor and continued their search there. Sarah tried her heightened hearing but couldn't pick up anything. The house was eerily quiet. It was making Sarah feel uneasy. She looked into the living room, still no sign of Rose. She went to look at Elena then, only to find she was entering the study further down the hall. Blissfully unaware that she'd gone the other way from Sarah. The vampire then silently sped over to join her, deciding it was best not to separate, and followed Elena in as if she'd been behind her the whole time.

The study was also empty, and Elena turned to look back at Sarah with a furrowed brow. "We'll keep looking, come on," Sarah said as she rolled her head back towards the hallway.

"I'm just going to call Damon. Let him know what's going on," Elena said, walking over to her bag that she'd left downstairs. "You go on," Elena said as she retrieved her phone.

"It's okay, I'll wait," Sarah said nonchalantly, leaning back against a bookcase. Truth was she didn't want to leave Elena alone, not with Rose like this. Fact was earlier Rose could have easily killed them both. She was older, stronger, and starting to lose it. That made her dangerous. And even if Sarah knew what to expect now, it still wouldn't count for much, and if she was going to struggle against Rose, then Elena would be doomed. At least if they stuck together, Sarah could race them both outside into the sunlight if things took another drastic turn. Alone though, Elena wouldn't be able to escape Rose. Even Sarah was going to struggle, what with Rose's advanced age.

Elena started to make the call. "It's Elena," she said once Damon answered. "I'm worried about Rose. I think you should come home. Something strange is–" A loud clang echoed throughout the house and both Sarah and Elena sharply turned their heads. It had to have been Rose, they both knew that, and after quickly focusing her hearing, Sarah knew where they were going to find her now.

"Downstairs," Sarah said, looking to Elena as she got ready to leave.

"I'll call you back," Elena said as she hung up, cutting off Damon's protests and demands for an explanation.

Sarah took the lead, Elena following. They both left the study and then took the stairs down to the basement. The smell of blood hit Sarah almost instantly, as if walking into a new atmosphere. It wasn't fresh, she could tell that right away. Rose had just gotten into the refrigerator that they kept int he basement. Nothing to worry about…at least that was her thinking until she found blood bag after blood bag littering the floor.

She looked back to Elena, an uneasy look on both of their faces. "If you want to go and wait outside–"

"I'll stay," Elena said firmly, shaking her head at the idea of leaving. Not wanting to waste time arguing, or generating too much noise, Sarah merely nodded back, before proceeding to follow the blood bag trail. It didn't go all that far, just around the corner, where they found Rose hunched over, on the floor, tearing into a blood bag. The last one full of blood, while empty plastic bags formed a messy ring around her. Next to her, the open fridge cast an unflattering white light on her, bringing out the infected growing area on her back. And from the sounds she was making as she devoured the blood bag, she sounded more like an animal than a person.

"Oh my God," Elena gasped as she took in the sight from next to Sarah. A second passed, and then Rose turned swiftly, glaring at the pair, before she then focused on Elena. Sarah could understand why, given what she saw in Rose's eyes. Even before the whites of her eyes turned blood red, she could see how hungry Rose was, and how the frozen stuff wasn't doing it for her. She needed it to be fresh, from the vein. But then something else followed that look, after her vampiric features came out. An undying hatred Sarah had occasionally glimpsed in the mirror. But only when she thought of…

"Katerina," Rose growled, fangs elongating as she practically spat at Elena.

"Oh, crap," Sarah breathed out as Rose started to rise. Quickly Sarah shoved Elena towards the stairs, implying that she run while she held Rose off. But then she suddenly found herself being pulled away by Elena. She looked to Elena confused and about to ask what the hell she was doing until Elena shoved her down the corridor. With herself now in between Rose and Sarah, Elena grabbed an olden broken door and pulled it over to block Rose off. Rose threw herself towards the pair but the door blocked her in mid-flight, as she snapped and growled at them, saliva and leftover blood flying as she cried out at them.

"Run!" Sarah ordered, grabbing Elena and pushing her ahead as the two ran for the stairs. Meanwhile, behind them, Rose threw herself at the old door once again, only this time breaking through, but by that point Elena and Sarah had made it to the top of the stairs and where running into the study.

"Go on only, I'll hold her off!" Sarah called to Elena as she turned around to face the roaring Rose who was charging up the stairs after them.

"No, Sarah, I'm not leaving you here–" Elena protested, voice been over powered by Sarah and the sounds created by Rose as she ran.

"Elena, just go, I'll be fine!" Sarah shouted over her shoulder, finding Elena had stopped in the middle of the study, waiting for her to follow. She then turned to see if Rose had caught up to them – and to find out how much time she'd have left to argue with Elena – before then finding Rose right in front of her. No longer seeing Sarah, but instead a barrier between her and who she thought was Katherine.

Snarling, Rose advanced, ready to attack Sarah until she shouted, "Rose, stop. It's me, Sarah!" That gave the bitten vampire pause, though her features and everything else remained the same. It was almost like she was frozen. "It's Sarah. Sarah and Elena," she explained, gesturing back to Elena who had taken a step closer to them.

"I'm not Katherine, Rose. I'm Elena," the doppelgänger explained, doing her best to put on a friendly smile.

"And we're your friends," Sarah added, going for a friendly smile as well, only it came out more uncertain than she'd hoped for. "It's just a hallucination. It's not real. Katherine's locked up, and she's never getting out. That's Elena, and I'm Sarah."

"You're friends," Elena added. And for a moment, it seemed like they'd broken through to Rose again, their friend. Her vampire features retracted, fangs disappearing into her gums, blood leaving her eyes, shoulders relaxing just enough.

"That's right," Sarah said encouragingly, looking at her friend with a smile. But Rose just continued to stare at them both, as if unsure. Then her eyes flicked to Elena, and suddenly her vampire features were back. With a roar of anger she shoved Sarah aside, sending the vampire into a bookshelf. She clattered to the floor, books following her down, each giving her a good whack as they landed on top or around her.

"Sarah!" Elena cried out, only for the word to turn to a gasp as the wind left her body. Rose had tackled her, both landing beneath a closed curtain next to the fireplace. Rose had her pinned, hands holding down Elena's shoulders while she straddled her. Elena fought back as best she could, but she had no chance in her position, not against someone as strong as Rose. Even so, Rose took longer than usual to go in for the kill, hissing and growling as she glared at Elena's neck. As if mentally trying to understand how Katherine's blood could appear so human, and if that meant bitting into her would kill her.

She didn't get the chance to find out, as Sarah raced over. Rose didn't notice, and even if she did, it wasn't her Sarah was going for. Grabbing hold of the curtain behind the tussling Elena and Rose, Sarah yanked with not even half her strength and the thing was torn away. The curtain fell, and light blasted into the room through the window. Instantly the sound of sizzling skin filled the room, followed by Rose's cries of pain.

Sarah waited for her opening, confused as to why – despite her screams and obvious pain – Rose held onto Elena, remaining in the light. But finally the pain and fear of death won out over her insanity and she released Elena, rolling towards the fireplace and out of the shining sun. Sarah then darted in, avoiding Rose as she grabbed Elena, pulling her up before running from the study at vamp speed.

When she stopped by the front door Elena stumbled, but Sarah caught her and redirected her towards the door. They ran, and despite the fact it was only a meter or two away, Sarah still managed to get grabbed from behind before they could reach it. She found herself being lifted up off the ground before then flying backwards into the living room where she hit the floor. A groan of pain escaped her lips before she then found Rose on top of her, once again hissing and snarling like a lunatic. Sarah tried to shove her off but the older vampire was easily able to remain on top, despite her erratic movements.

Arms then swung at Sarah and she managed to catch them, but one quickly got away as Rose thrashed the other one about, trying to get free of Sarah's hold. Her free hand then went to claw at Sarah's face and she only just managed to defend herself, using her arm as a shield. But Rose didn't let up, and kept trying to get at Sarah's face while also trying to free her other arm.

Sarah wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, she was painfully aware of that, and she couldn't spot a way to get herself free. That was until Elena rushed in from behind Rose, practically jumping onto her back as she thrusted her fingers into Rose's bite mark. Another cry of pain, similar, but different to the one from when Rose had been hit by sunlight. Refusing to let up, Elena pushed her fingers in further, face contorting in disgust and distress at her own actions. Then finally Rose subsided, back arching as she tried to free herself of the pain caused by Elena's fingers inside her infected wound.

With Rose relenting, Sarah quickly grabbed Rose's other – momentarily still – arm. She then told Elena to let Rose go. Cautiously, Elena backed off, yanking her fingers from Rose's back. Then Sarah pulled Rose towards her, while curling her legs in and sliding them beneath her opponent. She rolled back and then unleashed her legs, sending Rose arching towards the fireplace, where she hit the wall with another animal like scream.

Wasting no time, Sarah shot back up to her feet and grabbed Elena. Now subconsciously fearing the front door, Sarah took a detour, and ran up to Stefan's bedroom. The highest place in the house, with only one staircase leading up to it. It was one of the easiest rooms to defend in the house from an inside approach.

Once in, Sarah then slammed the door shut and locked it, but knew full well one wooden door wouldn't be enough to stop Rose. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, landing on a nearby dresser. It seemed Elena had the same idea as she was already running towards it, meaning Sarah didn't even have to convey her message. Grabbing an end each, they quickly moved the dresser in front of the door, the legs scrapping against the floor as they did. Still not comfortable though, Sarah grabbed the nearby couch, lifting it up as she dragged it towards the door. Elena ran around and started to help, lifting her end so they could move it faster, before then allowing Sarah to position it against the door. And then just for good measure, Sarah shoved the closed bookcase towards the door, which it hit with the loud sound of cracking wood.

The sound of a chair toppling over behind her caught her attention, and Sarah momentarily panicked, thinking Rose had somehow gotten into the room. In reality, it was only Elena, who'd been backing up and hit a wooden chair, knocking it over in the process. Sarah met her eyes, trying to reassure the panicked girl. She wasn't scared, necessarily, but she was alert and understandably shocked after what they'd just gone through. Her breathing laboured as she tried to get it under control.

Wanting to keep her busy, but not so much so that her adrenaline continued to flood through, Sarah calmly told her to open up all the curtains, letting in as much sunlight as possible. Elena nodded, quickly completing her task while Sarah grabbed the leg off the knocked over chair and snapped it off. Now she had a stake, but she was only going to use it as a last resort. No matter what was happening, she didn't want to kill Rose. She was her friend, and she was sick.

But she'd still do. To save herself and Elena, she'd do it.

Elena stepped over to Sarah's side once she'd finished opening up all the curtains, light now filling most of the room. But there was still a few spots where shadows clung to the walls and floor, providing spots where Rose could hide until the sun went down. "Whatever happens, stay in the light," Sarah ordered Elena, glancing over to make sure she understood. She nodded, but remained next to Sarah. Half her body in the light, while the other half was in the shadows along with Sarah.

A rattle from the door caught their attention, both looking back to the barricaded door. Someone was trying to open it. Sarah took up her fighting position, stake in hand while Elena tensed from next to her. "Sarah? Elena?" It was Rose, on the other side of the door. She tried again but still couldn't get in. "I know that's you and not Katherine. I know that you're my friends–" the last word was mixed in with a violent cough, followed by the sound of Rose throwing up once more.

Her body was still rejecting the blood. Sarah knew that wasn't a good. She also knew it wouldn't be long until the sun set, and if blood bags weren't doing it, logic would compel Rose to try a fresh source, and drink until either things improved, or got worse. "Please," Rose groaned out from beyond the door. "I'm sorry I tried to hurt you both." Another coughing fit. "But I need your help. Please, Sarah? Elena?"

Unable to ignore her friend's pleas, Sarah bit her lip. She would be happy to risk herself, but it was Elena she was worried about. In her opinion, things would probably be fine if Elena wasn't here. Her resemblance to Katherine seemed to be what was triggering Rose's hallucinations, or at the very least, making them easier to believe. But she was here, and Sarah had to protect her now. While also trying to help Rose. She couldn't prioritise one friend over another. So she looked to Elena, positioned in her readied stance.

"I'm going to open the door," Sarah said quietly as not to startle anyone. Elena didn't seem all that surprised and nodded in understanding. Passing her the stake, Sarah forced it into Elena's hands, making sure she had a hold before letting go. "Stay in the light, and up against the window," Sarah instructed. Though reluctant, Elena did as told, backing up towards the window that provided her with the best view of Sarah and the doorway.

Once she was safely surrounded by light and armed with the stake, Sarah turned back to the door. First she moved aside the couch, flipping it over so that it landed upside down and out of the way. Then she pushed the bookcase back upright, and finally pulled the dresser back enough so that she could easily open and close the bedroom door. Another look to Elena, making sure she was safe and comfortable. Another nod from Elena, and Sarah unlocked the door. She gripped the handle, taking a steady breath, reading herself for whatever happened next, and then opened it. Only now, Rose was gone.