Chapter 12 - Alaric

The next morning saw the girls, Niklaus and Kol off to Richmond for the shopping trip. Finn and Elijah had to stay behind because something had happened to Alaric Saltzman. Turns out he had been at Meredith Fell's place and gotten shot. She claimed he came at her with a knife, so she shot him, then healed him with vampire blood and turned him over to the sheriff.

Caroline had told her mom that the Mikaelson's had adopted Elena and Jeremy. So her mom had contacted them when Alaric ended up in her jail cell. So Finn and Elijah had gone down to the police station to meet with her.

They informed her the paper work was being filed, but a blood adoption had already taken place. After explaining what a blood adoption meant she told them they would need Alaric's signature to make it legal, since he was the current guardian. So they went to talk to him about it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked them.

"We need to talk to you about Elena." Elijah started.

"What about her?"

"We are adopting her and Jeremy, and we need you to sign the papers to make it legal." Finn explained.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you care about her and Jeremy. We can offer them protection, family. Nothing need change much, just think about it." Elijah said.

Alaric shook his head, "I don't like the idea, your family is one of the reasons she's been in danger in the first place."

"That changed when our mother got here. Elena has affected each one of us and we need her, we care about her. She makes us better. We want to protect her from our mother." Finn replied.

"That girl makes everyone better, she's pretty special." Alaric said. "Why pursue custody of Jeremy?"

"She wishes it, and besides he's her brother. We don't wish to break any bonds she has with anyone, we just want her to be safe. She needs her brother just like we need her." Elijah spoke.

"Will you bring him back here?"

"Maybe, eventually. Elena will have to agree to it. We just want them safe." Finn added.

"I don't know. Tell you what, you get me out of here and I'll think about it."

"Fair enough, now what can you tell us about what happened."

Alaric filled them in on how some murders had been taking place. How the bodies had been staked as if they were vampires. They promised to look into it, leaving the jail just as Damon arrived. It seems Liz had called him for Alaric, they exchanged greeting and left.

"What were they doing here?" They overheard Damon ask Alaric.

"It seems they want peace."

Damon scoffed, then turned the conversation to Alaric predicament.

Elijah and Finn left to go talk to Meredith Fell. They found her at the hospital. "What do you want?"

"Just some information." Elijah said. "Liz called us to the police department, seems your story and Alaric's differs slightly."

"What's it to you? We're adopting Elena and Jeremy," Finn replied. "Alaric is a father figure to them, they need him. We just want to get to the bottom of it."

"Why adopt them?"

"Elena makes us better, we have grown to care for her. We don't wish to separate her from her friends, and we don't want to separate her from her brother." Elijah explained.

Meredith nodded, "Come by my house when my shift is over, and I'll show you what I have."

A few hours later Finn and Elijah arrived at Meredith's place. She explained how he was injured a few days before they collected Elena and how they could have been self-induced. She also shared how he arrested four times before the age of 21 for fighter and Isobel had filed a restraining order against him twice.

"Circumstantial at best." Elijah said.

"Anything else you'd like to share?" Finn asked.

"I'll share my theory if you give me some blood." Meredith grinned.

Elijah agreed and Meredith showed him Samantha Gilbert's journal. "Samantha was one of Elena's predecessors, she went crazy and later in life said she killed a bunch of people in Mystic Falls in 1912. Officially the killer was never found, however I think she did it. I think that special Gilbert ring of theirs makes them go crazy."

Elijah took the journal and opened it, "What's this?" He asked, he pulled out an envelope and opened it. "This is from the county coroner's office," he said handing it to Meredith.

She took it and looked at it and frowned, "I hadn't seen this; this says the time of death given for Brian Walter's death was wrong. I need to go tell Liz."

Elijah and Finn accompanied her over to the Police Station, and watched as she told Liz the correction in the time of death. Liz announced that Alaric had an alibi for that time period and let him go. Alaric, told Elijah and Finn to stop by the next day to talk, he needed to think about what they were offering.

Elijah and Finn went home and waited for the group to get back from shopping. Over dinner they filled everyone in, including Bonnie and Caroline, who had stayed for dinner. Elena was worried for her father-like figure and wanted to go see him the next day. Elijah agreed to go with her and Niklaus commented that he never thought that he would be so glad he had been forced to go shopping. Everyone laughed.