Hi everyone!
As Right One In comes to a close, I just want to thank you all for taking the time to read it and for also leaving me a comment or two. This has been such a fun and humbling experience. To be honest, it's the first time I'm actually writing a fan fiction and pushing myself to complete it.
I hope it won't be the last. Thank you TVD for introducing me to the lovely Caroline and the sexy Klaus Mickaelson. I owe it all to them and to those who believe in Klaroline, for the continued inspiration.
Now, without further ado, let's get back to their beautiful and tragic love affair.
Chapter 22 – Against All Odds
Esther was just as surprised as anyone in the room to see her son standing in the doorway. He may have a large gash on the side of his forehead, blood covering the front of his tattered shirt, but he looked every inch alive. This was definitely not part of the plan. Bonnie instantaneously raised her arms, with every intention to perform another spell, but Kol was quick to catch on. He grabbed both his mother's arms and held them firmly at her sides.
"Mother, is that the way you greet one of your long lost sons?" he asked sternly. To add insult to injury, he kissed her cheek.
Bonnie wanted to strangle him. Instead, as he pulled away, she forced a smile. "My son, it is a miracle that you're here—and alive. What pray tell, are your intentions for coming here today? You could have… run?"
Kol gave his mother a sarcastic look. "You tried to kill me again Mother. Unlike Niklaus, you would actually obliterate me from the face of the earth. So why are you so surprised that I would hunt you down? Do you expect me to allow that and to simply run, only to drop dead in the middle of nowhere? You must be delusional."
Damon laughed as he stared straight at the youngest Mickaelson. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad that you're alive."
Elena, Stefan and Caroline forgot all about being angry at Damon, and found themselves just as relieved as Damon was to have another ally – even if it had to be the obnoxious and drastically annoying Kol Mickaelson.
"I don't suppose I would say the same for you, Mr. Salvatore. I couldn't care less for your life." Kol replied, still looking straight into the eyes of Bonnie and holding her arms in place. "Now, Mother, relax. You should have known that we would have found a way out of this."
Bonnie was curious to know what her son had planned. She could hold off killing him right then and there for this. Besides, Klaus and Rebekah were daggered, and Elijah was far from Mystic Falls to be of use to their cause – so she was mostly in the clear. When Kol let go of her arms, she made no move to raise them and perform another spell. Instead, she comments "How interesting."
Kol walked back to where he was standing earlier and he folded his arms across his chest.
"Well I'm not usually interested in your games Mother. But I know what you're thinking. My plan won't work without Niklaus or Rebekah or Elijah." He paused, staring down at his hands before continuing. "Your lack of faith is truly insulting and yet, I simply don't give a rat's ass. Let's get on with it, shall we? Actions speak louder than words after all. And I have a little present for you."
Kol looked up to Damon and gave him a knowing smile before facing his mother.
From behind him, Jeremy Gilbert walks into the room, dressed in a pair of jeans and what used to be a plain white shirt. His face was beaded with sweat and as he quickly glanced over to his friends, they caught his fierce rage-filled gaze. This was no longer the little Gilbert everyone used to know. He was a lot more muscular, and every inch a man. His shirt may be torn in more than one place, and they could all smell the blood trickling down a deep gash on his right arm, but Jeremy didn't seem bothered at all. His eyes said it all – he was ready to kill.
"Jeremy" Elena screamed, attempting to once again break free of the barrier and embrace her brother. When she was denied passage this time, she snarled.
Stefan wrapped his arms around Elena and held her close before barking directly at Kol "What the hell are you doing? He is innocent and you know it. You shouldn't have brought him back to Mystic Falls. You had no right to bring him into his."
Before Kol could say another word and even think of explaining himself, Bonnie lifted her arms and performed a quick spell. Just like Tyler, the youngest Mickaelson fell to the ground, knocked out cold. As Bonnie took him down, you couldn't be so sure if it was actually their mother or Bonnie herself that wanted him out of the picture.
Caroline hoped it was the latter and that they could still get themselves out of this mess.
Meanwhile, Jeremy seemed to be unfazed by the takedown and moved as if he had it all figured out. He looked over to his sister and mouthed the words "Trust me" before he walked over and closed the distance between himself and the witch.
Elena bit her lip to stop herself from screaming. Caroline looked over to Stefan and the look on his face was one of pure desperation. He was worried about Elena, continuing to hold the latter in his arms tightly, but at the same time, he was struggling to find another way to get out of this. He was worried for Jeremy and for Matt who were inches away from the enemy. He wasn't thinking about himself—no, he would put Elena's life first if it would come down to that.
It broke Caroline's heart. She was the reason why they were in this situation in the first place. She shouldn't have been so rash. Now Elena, Damon, Stefan, Matt, Jeremy, Bonnie and basically the entire vampire race were in danger.
Tears fell from her eyes and she couldn't stop them even if she tried. She cried for all of her friends, for the mother she would have to leave behind, but most of all, she couldn't deny it any longer— for Klaus. As Caroline looked over to the doorway, beyond where Bonnie and Jeremy stood, she prayed that the Original hybrid would come into the room and save her life once again – just like he had done on her birthday, and for the second time when he accidentally bit her.
About five seconds later, she realized that she was clinging to such false hope. Klaus must be suffering just as much as she was – or even more. She bit her lip to keep herself from completely breaking down.
"Wake up man. You owe me this. You bit me before and I could have died. Wake up and I don't care if you bite me again, just save him already."
Caroline turned to find Damon with his wrist slit, holding it under Tyler's nose, trying to awaken his wolf side. It didn't work. Panic rose in her chest as she realized that this might truly be the end.
"Jeremy!" Elena screamed once more, ferociously banging on the invisible barrier. Blood trickled down her knuckles as she pounded even harder.
Caroline's attention immediately snapped back to the witch and Elena's younger brother, and she gasped at the sight. Bonnie had her right hand wrapped around Jeremy's neck and he was lifted off the ground as if he were as light as a feather.
"Bonnie, stop. You are not this person. He is innocent and you know it. Both of you – and I mean you Esther – you know that letting him go is the right thing to do. You want to kill us, not him – so let's just cut to the chase. Take me instead." Caroline suggested, moving towards them as far as the barrier would allow.
She started this so she might as well end it. Caroline would do anything she possibly could to save her friends, even if it meant losing her own life in the process. It was what Stefan would do for Elena – for anyone she cared about and loved. Caroline wanted nothing more but to do the same, especially when she believed she was the reason for this nightmare.
Bonnie took one good look at her, and was about to make the trade when Jeremy lifted his hand and reached out to cradle her face. He wouldn't allow Caroline to take his place and even though the witch still had her hand around his neck, choking him, the younger Gilbert remained calmed, and gazed at her with such sincerity and hope.
The purity of heart made Esther immediately let go of him. He took less than a second to recover before he wrapped his arms around Bonnie. He didn't think twice about it.
Caroline didn't know if she should scream for help or keep her mouth shut. When Jeremy used his arm to rub Bonnie's lower back, Caroline was too shocked to say anything else. Less than a minute ago, she thought they were out of options and she was willing to risk her life for all of them, but now Jeremy Gilbert was embracing the enemy and the latter wasn't fighting him off. This was the craziest situation, and she knew neither one of the vampires stuck in that room could have thought things would turn out this way.
Apparently, they had been right about their earlier suspicion. Just like how Caroline was able to calm Tyler down, Jeremy could do the same for Bonnie. Even though the witch had taken control of her body, it didn't mean that Bonnie wasn't in there anymore. No matter how much she tried, Esther would never have complete control.
It was the old witch that had underestimated them.
Jeremy buried his face into her neck, and it was then that Bonnie tried to fight him off and push him back. But all the physical struggling didn't do her any good. He had her in a deadlock and she couldn't lift either of her arms. Bonnie closed her eyes and whispered incoherent words as if trying to perform another spell, but before she could finish what she was saying, Jeremy kissed her on the lips.
Boy did the little Gilbert know how to distract. He might not be able to take the witch down, but he could reduce her hold, maybe far enough for Bonnie to take control of her body once again and use a spell to set them all free. If that worked, then they could find another way to deal with the witch.
Bonnie broke away first and as Caroline looked at her, she could see that her best friend was battling with herself. Caroline could feel her torment as if it were her own.
"Do it." Bonnie said through clenched teeth.
"Do what?" Elena asked.
Jeremy kissed Bonnie's forehead and a single tear was trailing down his cheek when he finally looked up at his sister.
Damon acted as if he could read the younger Gilbert's mind. "Tyler, man, we don't have enough time. Get off your ass already. We need your help. You're the only one who can do this."
The hybrid didn't budge. Jeremy quickly looked into Damon's eyes and nodded.
At that very moment, it finally dawned upon Caroline what Jeremy was planning to do – what Bonnie had instructed him to do. Tyler was the only one who wasn't possessed and he had the capability to breach the invisible barrier. He could take her down with a single snap.
"Jeremy, no…" Caroline began. Her hands were shaking now. There had to be some other way out of this.
Elena must have caught on as well. "Jer…" she said softly, with all intent to sound calm and collected. She couldn't risk Esther figuring it out and getting all riled up. If she were to be in control of the situation once more, and find that Jeremy had orchestrated the whole thing, there was nothing that would stop the old witch from killing him on the spot.
Damon seemed to have other ideas though. He quickly stood from where he was and walked as close to the barrier as he possibly could, and as far away from Caroline and Elena. He whistled to Jeremy and the younger Gilbert caught on quickly.
Caroline wanted to rip him apart. He was only making matters worse. Just like earlier when he provoked Bonnie to kill Matt, he was once again provoking Jeremy to carry out his plan. Caroline couldn't just sit back and watch him ruin another person's life. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when Jeremy suddenly used all the strength he had in him and pushed Bonnie into Damon's arms.
And Damon snapped her neck.
"Nooooooooo! Bonnie!"
Damon was immediately thrown across the room by Stefan, while Elena caught Bonnie in her arms before she could fall to the ground.
"Why, you sick bastard." Stefan growled, anger burning in his eyes.
"Love is sacrifice, Brother. You of all people should have known that. It had to be done."
Damon glanced over to Elena and the latter hissed in response. She looked back at him as if he were dead to her, and with such pain that it ripped him apart as well.
Stefan knew that his brother may have had his reasons, but killing Bonnie was something he shouldn't have done. Protecting Elena was always the first on his brothers' list of priorities, even if it meant sacrificing the people that she cares about. He made that perfectly clear once before when he sent Bonnie to kill Klaus even when he knew that using that much power would kill her.
Stefan thought his brother had changed, especially since he seemed to deal well with the idea of Elena choosing Stefan over him, but apparently he was wrong. He walked over to where Damon was and out of his frustration; he quickly snapped his older brother's neck, putting him to sleep before he had the opportunity to say anything else.
"I will deal with him later." He declared, to no one in particular.
Stefan then rushed to Elena's side.
Caroline was busy trying to revive their other best friend. She has bit into her wrist and was trying to feed Bonnie some of her blood. It didn't seem to be working though. Tears flooded her eyes as guilt and an immense throbbing in her chest took over. This was all her fault.
Jeremy was suddenly right behind her and she moved out of the way.
He took Bonnie's hand and squeezed it tightly. He then leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. This was no fairytale though, and there was still no response. Tears were falling from Jeremy's eyes as he leaned his forehead against hers.
"Bonnie, I know you're in there. Come back. You promised me you wouldn't leave me. Don't break your promise now baby."
Caroline was glued to the spot at his words, while Elena clung to Stefan for support. There was silence for a couple of seconds, save for the sobs coming from the two women.
Bonnie still wasn't moving and Jeremy was beginning to lose it. He tried CPR, tried shaking her back and forth, and when those things didn't work, he cried out to the spirits. He then turned to his sister with puffy eyes and teeth clenched, as if he were seconds away from completely breaking down.
Elena didn't know what else she could do.
Caroline went back over to where Jeremy was, and hugged him from behind, trying to comfort him and give him strength. The latter appreciated the effort, but placed his hands on top of hers, gently pushing her away.
Jeremy turned to Caroline and let out a long low sigh before saying "She told me to do this. She came to me in a dream yesterday and she said she needed my help—that you all needed my help. I asked her what I had to do, and she said I would know when the time is right. She told me not to hesitate and promised me that no matter what happens she wouldn't leave me."
Jeremy hugged Bonnie's body close.
"I love her, Elena. I tried to stay away for a while like you guys told me to, because I thought that was the right thing and that it would help you with your transition. But when Bonnie called out to me asking me for help, I couldn't stay away. If I lose her, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I should have stayed against all odds, but instead I let her go. Look what happened then. If we survive this, promise me you won't send me away again."
Elena reached out a hand to her brother. "I'm sorry, Jer…"
He took it, squeezing tightly. "I still have you. That's what's keeping me alive right now. Don't think that any of this is your fault because it isn't. And Bonnie wouldn't have let me have it any other way, even if I tried. She would have wanted me to save all of you."
Jeremy let go of her hand and once again hugged Bonnie's body to his, lifting her into his arms. He still believed she would wake up even though she was already as pale as stone and had been out for more than five minutes.
Caroline was never a firm believer in prayer but after everything that has happened, she couldn't lose her best friend. She couldn't allow Jeremy and Elena to lose anyone else after they had lost both of their parents, Aunt Jenna and Mr. Saltzman.
She closed her eyes and whispered words to herself, hoping for another miracle.