The cost

By the time Caroline came out of the bathroom Bonnie was already asleep on one of the beds, Caroline covered her with a blanket and sat on the edge of the other bed exhausted herself. She knew Stefan wouldn't be long and wanted to wait for him to make sure he was OK before she rested but she could barely keep her eyes open. The overwhelming tiredness was like being drugged and Caroline suddenly felt panicked and a rage building inside her. She got to her feet although a little wobbly, she grabbed her phone from the table and called Stefan.

'He answered, thank god', thought Caroline and she let out a heavier and louder breath than usual…

"Is everything OK Caroline?" …there was a pause…no response…"hello…, Caroline!"

"Stefan"…she mumbled, "Something's wrong…something…sssss" her voice dropped off and then there was a thud.

"Caroline!?" Stefan yelled in to the phone…and then he threw it on to the seat next to him and sped towards the motel paying no attention to any speed restrictions or road signs. Six minutes later he burst through the door and found Caroline passed out on the floor and Bonnie unconscious in the bed.

Once he had established she was breathing he shouted for Melissa and Tom. The adjoining door opened and Tom rushed through. He crouched by her side and felt for a pulse, it was still strong and although her breathing was more shallow it was ok. He instructed Stefan to put her on the bed and reassured him that she should be fine. "What the hell do you mean, fine? She collapsed, Bonnie's unconscious!" Tom was in the process of checking Bonnie when Stefan grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around, he needed more than that for reassurance.

"I don't know what's wrong with them Stefan…how do you feel?"

"I….I feel drained…I …" he looked down, his balance shaken for a moment and then his gaze shifted looking for Tom. He could hear Tom's voice but he couldn't tell what he was saying, the sound was distorted as if it had been slowed down and Stefan suspected that Tom and Melissa had set them up. The look on Stefan's face was one of accusation and betrayal. He began to fall and Tom reached him in time to lower him more gently to the ground. He could see Tom's face and from his expression Stefan knew he was not to blame…Stefan grabbed his arm and said "help Caroline…please" before he too lost consciousness.

Tom turned to the doorway where Melissa was now standing and said "I don't know what's wrong with them, I need to get some supplies Lissa, to help them" he grabbed Stefan's arms and pulled him up, laying him on the bed gently and then placing Caroline next to him. Melissa covered them and made sure their heads were resting comfortably on pillows. "How can you be so calm? They're all out and we don't know why". Melissa bit the edge of her lip, she sometimes did this when she was unsure of the reaction she would get or when she thought she was in trouble. "What?" Tom asked…"I may know what's wrong with them".

"May know?" Tom said unamused, "Yes…may…" she said resentfully, and then looking at him, took a deep breathe, rolled her eyes and declared, "Fine…I know what's wrong with them…it's the spell we cast…I cast. I didn't know for sure that this would be a side effect and I think it's worse because I wasn't in complete control, I was distracted…my desire to have you back meant that I wasn't as focused as I should have been and more energy was taken from the others than I should have allowed. This was my mistake but I can fix it".

Melissa sat on the bed with Stefan and Caroline taking hold of each of their hands. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. She began chanting or reciting a spell, with each repetition her voice quickened and on the tenth cycle she lifted her head, her eyes glowed blue and energy passed from her body to each of theirs. They lifted slightly from their still positions and returned to a more peaceful and natural sleep. Melissa repeated this with Bonnie and once they were all returned to a safe state of being she rose to meet Tom but staggered into his arms instead and fell in to a deep sleep herself.

Tom carried Melissa into the other room and placed her tenderly on to the bed; he brushed the hair away from her face and took her hand. His eyes scanned back and forth across her face looking for a sign that she would recover and for the moment…he saw none.

He paced back and forth, along the length of the bed and then to the open door to check on the others. It was so quiet and still Tom wasn't totally sure this was even real…he went over the events in his mind and then sat down on a chair that was in his room. Perched on the edge, his elbows on his knees, his hands on his head, his mind began to take him to a place that he did not want to go. What would he do if Melissa never woke up…his eyes began to fill with tears but he would not let this fear take hold and so he got to his feet and decided, right there and then that he would not let her go.

He approached the bed where she lie and knelt down beside it. He took her hand and held it against his chest as he looked at her face, so peaceful and distant, with her eyes closed he felt as though she was slipping away with every second that passed. "Melissa…Tom whispered so softly…I need to tell you something and I need you to hear me… whatever your plan was, I don't think this was a part of it, I don't know where you are but I need you to come back…right now ok? I feel the link you made with us, more than the others do because I was already linked Liss…through love". Tom's voice wavered and faltered as he tried to find the words that she would hear. "So I know it's because you bound yourself to me that this has happened…I could feel the power of the Chanul and you could feel the weakness of my humanity and it's that weakness that's taking you away… please Lissa, don't leave me now. Open your eyes…"

Suddenly Tom stopped talking altogether; his eyes were fixed on Melissa, a calmness came over him that was eerily comforting for the others who by this point were gathered in the doorway, silently watching. A tiny smile curved the corners of Tom's lips and he closed his eyes as if in prayer. Caroline felt for Stefan's hand that was never very far and their fingers interlocked. "What's going on?" she spoke in a hushed tone trying hard not to disturb Tom, Stefan just shook his head from side to side without making a sound.

Bonnie decided to offer a suggestion, "Should we do something? Help him?"

Just as Caroline opened her mouth to offer a response Tom's head lifted and she paused. …the three of them watched mesmerized, Tom's eyes opened and Bonnie gasped, Caroline and Stefan's eyes widened slightly as they looked at one another and then back at Tom. His eyes were a beautiful glowing, bright blue.

The very next second Melissa awoke and sat upright, her eyes too were glowing blue and she looked at Tom…she drew a deep breath and on the exhale they heard her say "wow…you found me Tom, you found the Chanul within you, the part I bound to you and you pulled me back with it". With surprise in her voice she continued…"I had no idea…" as they continued to admire each other their eyes returned to normal and Tom said "are you OK?"

"I'm fine…I'm OK"

"Well now that you two are Seeing eye to eye, can we please get going? We have a long way to go and I need to see my brother" insisted Stefan.

"Wait Stefan", prompted Caroline, "What happened to us?"

Melissa moved towards them and standing in front of them she gave her apologies, "I'm sorry this happened, I didn't know it would. It was a side effect of the spell".

"What?!" Exclaimed Bonnie, "Just what kind of spell are we talking about? The three of us were knocked on our asses…completely vulnerable and exposed…two vampires and a witch".

"OK look, we all need to eat and drink something before we get going so let's do that while I tell you what I can"

"No…not what you can…everything…you tell us everything" demanded Stefan. "So far you've told us Silas is after Caroline, he wants her dead but as far as I can tell, you're the only one that's put her in danger. Now you explain…or we're just goin' home".

"I've put her in danger?!" Melissa snarled…she moved a step closer to Stefan her heart rate and breathing increasing, I'm the one who is trying to save her…I am the one who has risked more than any of you to do that!" her voice becoming louder and more irate with every word.

"Oh come on…you're here for him and that's it" glancing toward Tom "you don't care about Caroline".

"Lissa, calm down…" Tom said warily as he tried to approach her. She stretched out her arm, motioning him to stay put.

"I do want Tom to survive, that's true…and he will, and I need all of you to make sure that happens but I am here for the long haul and you will do what I say to make that happen!". She took another step towards Stefan, her eyes getting a little brighter as she did so.

In that moment Melissa's hair blew away from her face, a blazing rush of air shot across the room and Tom gulped slightly. Everyone turned to look in his direction alarmed and amazed to see Damon stood there with a knife to Tom's throat. Melissa was enraged and signalled her intention to move on Damon…"uh uh uh…he says smirking, I got the impression you wanted to hurt my brother and let me tell you, if anyone's gonna kill him it'll be me, so why don't you do what Tom suggested and calm down. We can all have a chat and buddy up again…how bout it?"

Damon slowly moved the knife away from Tom's throat and slapped him on the back. "No harm, no foul buddy". Tom moved away from Damon and put his arm out for Melissa, he took her arm and said "Lissa, are you alright?" she let out a huge sigh as if exorcised from a demon. "This humanity thing is harder to get a handle on than I thought…I couldn't control my feelings or my actions. With a sudden realisation Melissa says alarmingly, Tom! I can't protect us! I don't know how you do it… that was so intense; I could have killed him…for asking a question…what's wrong with me?"

"It's OK, you'll get it…it's a new thing for you but YOU CAN control what you do". Tom reassured her.

"Aah, the whole humanity thing…yeah that's a bitch…nothing but trouble, I've been telling Stefan that for years" retorted Damon.

"Damon!" Stefan said, pleased and bemused at his sudden appearance, "What are you doing here? You were supposed to meet us in Wisconsin".

"Yeah, well, I don't like to wait and I don't like being told what to do…besides, some weird blue eyes saved my ass and I thought one of you might know something about that".

Bonnie threw some food towards Tom and passed the cooler filled with blood she had taken from the car to Caroline. "We need to eat and figure out what we are doing. We all need to be on the same page for this to work; we can't keep doubting each other. Now, will someone please tell me, in a simple but detailed manner, what the hell is going on!? …With everybody and everything…