Hello, my lovely readers. This is sadly the last chapter of this fic. There might be more to the story at some point in the future when I don't have a billion on-going fics. I'm not really sure. Have a happy and safe holiday. On with the show…
Chapter 4: Let Your Heart Be Light
If you asked him in a week, Matt would swear that he had been terrified the entire time that Enzo had held him hostage and that hell, no, they're not friends. However, if you asked Matt in the early hours of the day after Christmas when his friends, Jeremy and Tyler were no doubt sleeping off the effects of too much eggnog, he would say, 'Yes.' Just for a few hours, Matt felt like he was actually friends, or at the very least, companions with Enzo. Odd, right? So was the life of Matt Donavon.
"Same time next year?" Enzo joked and Matt grinned while Damon and Caroline rolled their eyes also looking happy.
"Nope," Caroline replied with a smile directed at Enzo.
"Definitely not," Damon added with a quick shake of his head. "There's no way that I'm going to do this again. I've got to go look for Elena, she probably had Klaus compel her to forget where her dorm room is."
Caroline groaned loudly as Enzo's eyebrows rose. "Problem, gorgeous?"
Matt nodded as Damon drove into the hospital parking lot where Liz Forbes was a patient. "He used the K word."
"What K word?" Enzo's eyebrows went up when he noticed Caroline glaring at him. "Sorry I asked."
Damon got out of parked car. "One last thing to do," he announced as he pulled out a small box that had been lying beside Matt most of the way home. "Coming?" Staring at Matt and Enzo, Damon gave them less than two minutes to make their minds up before he started making his way toward the main entrance.
Matt got out of the car and fell into step with Enzo. "So am I free to go after this?" he questioned Enzo who looked thoughtful.
"I'm thinking 'No.'" You didn't really have anything else to do, did you?" Enzo inquired lightly. Matt had to grudgingly admit that Enzo was right. Matt didn't really have anything to do since Tripp was dead and his new job was not going as he had hoped. Tyler was wrapped up with his Liv problems. Then there was Jeremy who had decided to become the rational one between the two of them (that was the scariest part). Maybe spending time with Enzo wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Striding into the hospital, Matt followed Enzo up the stairs. When they headed down the hallway, they saw Caroline talking to a doctor with Damon's hand on her shoulder as she nodded. Sighing heavily, Matt leaned against a nearby wall. Back to reality where a woman he had known and looked up to for most of his life was dying. The worst part was where there was nothing that he could do to help her or to help Caroline. "Hey, are you going to hold up that wall all day?" Damon called with a wave for Matt to join Caroline and him.
Taking a deep breath, Damon entered Liz' room. The sheriff was just coming to when he came to stand by her bedside. Caroline instantly reached for her mother's hand with a huge smile. "Hi, mommy," she greeted her mother.
"Hi, baby," Liz replied as she tried to sit up but struggled. Damon eased her up the bed as gently as he could, holding her like she was an infant. "Damon, what are you doing here? Don't you have something far more interesting to do?" Liz teased.
"Nope. We came to give you a better than never Christmas celebration," Damon announced. Reaching for the box, he had set aside he opened it. "Look, lights," he told her with a wide smile.
"Oh," Liz shook her head as Damon began to untangle them.
"And that's not all," Damon continued. "We're going to carol for you."
"We are?" Matt looking confused when Damon shot him a sour look. "Yeah. I totally forgot."
"Any special requests?" Caroline inquired as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Ummm," Liz looked thoughtful. "Just anything that you can think of would be good, sweetie."
Caroline bit her bottom lip for a moment before grinning widely. "Okay. I've got it." Closing her eyes, Caroline sucked in a deep breath before opening her mouth. Enzo closed the door so that others wouldn't interfere. "Have yourself a merry, little Christmas," she began when Damon joined her. Soon Enzo and Matt began to sing with the other two. "Let your heart be light. From now on all your troubles will be out of sight. Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Make the Yule-tide gay. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight. Here we are as in olden days. Happy, olden day. Happy golden days of yore," Caroline giggled when Damon hugged Liz and managed to pull her in with her mom from the other side. "Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us, once more," she sang, waving Enzo and Matt over to join the group hug, "once more."
By the time that they were done, Liz had both her hands to her cheeks as she cried with a wide smile on her face. "Merry Christmas, Liz," Damon said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"Merry Christmas, mom," Caroline said as she wrapped her arms around her mother. "I love you so much," she whispered into her mother's hair.
"Maybe we should give you two a moment," Damon suggested. Leading the other men out of the room, he left Caroline to talk to her mother.
Entering the hallway, Damon withdrew his phone and glanced at the screen to find no missed calls. Sighing dejectedly, he started down the hall with Enzo and Beavis. "What do you want to do while Caroline is having quality time with mommy?"
"Visit the babies," Enzo replied while Matt looked horrified. "What?" Enzo snapped with an irritated expression. "I like to see their little feet waving about. Not like we have much else to do. Could pop by the nurses' station and see if any of them want to pop in a closet to play a round of doctor?"
Shaking his head, Damon grinned. There was a time that he would have gone with option number two before he became a domesticated boyfriend type. Sometimes he hated his life. "Or option number three, we park it here, in the waiting area and wait for Caroline."
"That's probably the best one," Matt agreed. Then he grinned. "Although I kind of liked option number two."
Damon looked back down the hall, wondering what Caroline and Liz were talking about. Definitely not him. Smiling, he got up. "Think I'm going to head to the gift shop and then grab some hot chocolate for Liz."
Caroline was trying her best not to cry. Unfortunately the tears did not want to obey her commands. Swiping at them, she forced a smile. "So, mom, is there anything that you would like to do before they release you?"
"I would like for you to stop acting like this in my funeral. That would be a good start," Liz said gently. "We still have time. Now, I was thinking that we could take a look at what classes Whitmore is offering for next semester," her mother suggested as Caroline frowned.
"How can you think about my schooling right now?" Caroline whispered hoarsely. "Shouldn't we be planning a great trip to somewhere awesome like Paris? Or at the very least, Las Vegas. Just anything crazy! You have to have a bucket list? Come on, mom. The skies the limit! I can compel us a private jet and we could go to Italy. Didn't you always say you wanted to go to Venice? We could drink really good wine. Or what about a little, remote island with a great view?"
"Caroline!" Liz stopped Caroline who was poised to come up with another idea that would only be more extravagant. "I am from a small town. This is where I have lived my entire life. I don't need a world tour. I just need you and being at home."
"But, mom," Caroline began when Liz held up a hand.
"Sweetie, I know that you mean the best, but I am tired. Now, how in the world did you end up with Damon, Enzo and Matt?" Liz inquired with a look of amusement. "The four of you don't seem like a likely group."
"Well," Caroline sighed. "Enzo kidnapped Matt because he was bored and Matt called me for help and Damon was here," she was telling her mother when Damon entered the room.
"I come bearing gifts," Damon said, holding up a small bear that looked like the miniature version of Mr. Cuddles. "And hot cocoa for what ails ya."
Taking the cup, Liz blew on the top when Caroline gave Damon a suspicious look as her mother moved the cup to her lips. Biting her lower lip, Caroline watched her mother take a sip. "That is really good," she told him with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Damon." Sitting the cup down, she examined the bear that he handed her. "Why does this bear look so familiar?"
"It's a mini Mr. Cuddles," Caroline told her, glancing at Damon who nodded. "Damon, I'm going to go get my mom something to eat. They haven't fed you yet?" she asked Liz who shook her head. "We'll be right back," Caroline said as she turned Damon around and pushed him toward the door.
"Did you put vampire blood in her drink?" Caroline hissed at Damon once they were in hall as Enzo and Matt watched them.
"No," Damon replied with a shrug and a frown;then he smiled. "Maybe. A teeny bit."
"Damon," Caroline growled, punching him on the shoulder.
"I know. I know. I just can't watch her die like that," Damon snapped. "I mean, look at you. I made you, and you're okay, according to most of our little group."
Punching Damon on the shoulder again, Caroline rolled her eyes. "Okay. I was going to slip some into her pancake syrup."
Enzo watched Damon and Caroline quarrel over which one should be the one to turn her mother. Or to not turn her mother. Or who would end it for her if she hated being a vampire. Or what they would do if she was bloody bad at it. Smiling, he leaned down in his seat. No, it might not be the wholesome take that some people would like involved with mistletoe and songs 'round the bleeding fireplace, but it was the true spirit of Christmas to Enzo, being with friends and Caroline's family since his was gone. It was nice to be able to just sit back and relax, no planning terrible revenge upon those who wronged him.
"What do you want to do after we leave here?" Matt asked Enzo who shrugged.
"Thought I would trail Caroline 'round a bit. Make sure she doesn't do anything too stupid while she's dealing with the grief and all that. Then we can go taunt Stefan by hanging 'round chateau Salvatore. When I'm bored we'll head over to Duke after the holidays to visit the real Sarah Salvatore just because I want to know if she's more like Damon or Stefan. Then I thought we could go on that road trip. Try not to talk too much or I might kill you before the New Year," Enzo informed Matt as Caroline punched Damon again.
"Sounds like a plan," Matt replied with a grin. Enzo shook his head. He was going to regret this so very much.
"Pancakes," Caroline announced with a clap of her hands.
"I thought that was our thing?" Enzo teased.
"Enzo!" Caroline complained, slapping him on the arm. "Would you stop being such a pain in the ass?"
"Admit it. You think it's adorable," Enzo told her.
"One day you're going to meet a girl that thinks that your jokes are funny," Caroline informed him haughtily. "That girl will NOT be me."
"Yeah. He will," Damon added. "Then she'll have her memories compelled away."
"Get over it," Matt snapped.
"Says the guy who hasn't had a girlfriend since Blondie," Damon told him with a sneer.
"Stop!" Caroline ordered them with a pointed finger at the two.
Damon and Matt quieted as Enzo nodded with a serious expression as she turned her back. "I think we should go to New Orleans for New Years?"
"Agh," Caroline shouted, running from the three laughing men.
"Yes. That's a great idea," Damon agreed with Enzo as Caroline turned to glare at them. "That would be one way to ring in the New Year with a bang. Right, Caroline?"
Enzo had to jump backwards as Caroline came flying at Damon before dragging him into the stairwell pummeling him with her little fists. "New Orleans it is," he said under his breath. If that preview was any indicator of the entertainment they would be in store for then he could not wait.
Thank you to everyone who has read, faved, followed and/or reviewed this fic.
Peace,
Jessica