Hello everybody! This chapter was written in part by me, but mostly by my sister who was fed up with me not updating this story. You can all thank her, sammy01587, for this update. I also want to say thank you to everyone who read this so far, we have over 40,000 views, almost 150 follows/favorites, and 200 REVIEWS! This is absolutely amazing and this story is most successful one which makes me so happy. It really just proves how strong and powerful this fandom is and I LOVE YOU ALL!
"So that's what a werewolf bite looks like?" Katherine looked on as Damon showed her the bite. He nodded as she went on, "It doesn't look that bad" but Damon knew what was going to happen, so he shrugged it off, saying "It will be." As Damon got up from his chair in Alaric's apartment, Katherine stared at her former lover and questioned, "So you're just going to die?" The younger vampire then shot back, "Well that depends, you know anything about a cure?" When she shook her head, he then confirmed that he didn't either.
When Damon started walking away from the former love of his life, she hesitated then spoke, "145 years and no last goodbye?" He didn't think she deserved one after what she put all of Mystic Falls through, so he started to walk away from her. Just when he thought they were done, the elder vampire sped in front of him, not wanting him to leave mad. Damon then denied her stating, "Us ending off on good terms isn't exactly on my bucket list, Katherine. I have people to save for once."
"Klaus made me call Jenna to lure her out there was nothing I could do, I didn't have a choice!" Katherine argued, but Damon angrily fired back, "That's why I gave you the vervain, so you would have a choice". Katherine explained that she chose survival over saving Jenna, she would always be her own first choice. Damon helped the woman who broke his heart and she stabbed him in the back once again, making him question all that happened.
Katherine made sure her strategy was clear as she explained, "I didn't let love get in the way. I'm sure Erin will learn once all of this blows over." A hint of something flashed in Damon's eye, but he quickly recovered bidding his ex a happy eternity alone. Knowing he wasn't going to give up easily, Katherine questioned his next move. "I'm going to offer myself as a replacement to Klaus" was his answer, but she shot him down saying that Klaus would not take him due to his lingering werewolf bite. "I'm sorry, Damon, but Jenna's dead, there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, don't you want Erin to become a vampire? You'll have an eternity to make her fall in love with you, well if she hasn't already."
Erin was looking around the quarry for something anything to save Jenna, who was complaining that her head was pounding. "What happened?" Erin questioned, praying that her suspicions weren't true. "You called me, you were so scared," when Erin made a face, Jenna cursed herself and continued, "I should have realized that it wasn't you. The second I walked out of the house someone grabbed me, a vampire." Erin was smart, she knew it had to be Klaus.
When Jenna was explaining the story further, Erin felt more and more upset as she went on. She didn't want to believe it, she tried to deny it, but inside she knew what was going on. Jenna's questions pulled Erin out of her thoughts and she answered her aunt, "We're at the quarry, he brought us here." Erin felt bad for Jenna, who was still new to the supernatural world and had no idea who, what, or why they were there.
"Jenna, do you remember what I told you on how someone becomes a vampire?" She answered correctly and by the look on her face, Erin knew she had caught on. The woman started to panic as the younger one attempted to soothe her. Erin promised that she would get her beloved family member out of danger. "I'm a vampire," Jenna reluctantly admitted as the information started to settle in. Greta, the witch, interrupted the two, "And I bet you're hungry."
As the witch stepped closer and closer to Jenna, Erin became more enraged and finally went for it. She ran over to the witch trying to catch her off her feet, but failed. Greta flicked her wrist and Erin went flying, away from where Jenna was on the ground. A circle of fire formed around the doppelgänger and she tried her hardest to run through the flames. "Don't bother trying to get through, I spelled the circle. You're trapped no matter what you do."
Erin was begging and pleading for Greta to let Jenna go, but the witch picked up a rock from the ground and cut her wrist. Greta put her bleeding arm right near Jenna's mouth, telling her to drink the blood. Much to the horror and dismay of Erin, Jenna gave into her temptations, completing the transition. When Jenna had enough blood, Greta used her magic to create another circle of fire around the Gilbert's aunt. Seeing Jenna's horrified face, Erin kept trying to give comfort to her family member.
"The sacrifice is completed in three stages as the sun sets: first the werewolf is killed, then the vampire, and finally the doppleganger. Once Erin dies, the curse will be broken. Klaus will become a hybrid." Elijah explained as he, Stefan, and Alaric met up outside of the old witch's house. The human teacher asked when they should attack, and the Original explained, "Erin's death will activate his dormant werewolf side. Klaus will be most vulnerable during the transformation, that's where Bonnie comes in."
Stefan wanted to make sure Erin's best friend, and his friend, would be okay. "If she can deliver him to the brink of death, I can finish the job myself." Elijah spoke, and Stefan's phone cut off the men's conversation. Damon called to tell them the sacrifice would be happening. With Jenna in it.
"How are you feeling?" Erin asked, worried about how the newbie vampire was reacting to her recent transformation. "I feel like myself, only not. Everything is brighter, the fire is hotter. Part of me is terrified, but another part doesn't feel anything at all." The younger one told her aunt about the switch vampires have to turn off their emotions.
"I'm gonna die aren't I?" Jenna said with tears welling up in her eyes. "No, no. I'm not gonna let that happen because I will do whatever I have to do to get you out. I don't care what happens to me, as long as you and everyone else are safe. I will protect you, always," Erin truthfully told her guardian. She would not let anybody get killed tonight. But Jenna was not having it; she would not allow Erin to go on yet another suicide mission, replying with, "That's the problem."
Just as Erin was about to explain to her aunt her intentions, they heard snapping and groans in the distance. Erin deduced that it must be the werewolf, but she did not expect it to be Jules. In fact, Erin was confused as to why Greta was doing this in the first place. I mean, wasn't she a witch? Erin faced Greta and attempted to convince the witch to stop the ritual by arguing, "Witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature, it is your duty to them to keep this curse sealed-" Greta snapped at the brunette, "My duty is to Klaus, the new order."
Klaus appeared from the shadows and stepped towards Greta, "Glad to know I still have a dance partner." All three of the female sacrifices wore different facial expressions. Jules showed one of pain, Jenna was just flat out terrified, and Erin wore one of pure disgust. She followed all of his rules and requests and now here he goes to sacrifice one of her loved ones. She just wanted to save Jenna and get her back to the Gilbert home and be with Elena, Jeremy and Alaric. Erin would do whatever it takes, even if it means costing her own life. The lone male turned to the women, "Well my lovelies, are we ready?"
Damon heard a knock on the door, multiple knocks actually that never seemed to stop. "Heard ya the first time," he shouted. However, the blue eyed vampire stopped in the middle of the Salvatore Boarding House doorway, suddenly feeling the effects of the werewolf bite. He quickly shook it off though and answered the door, revealing an angry looking Uncle John. "Great, I was just thinking of getting a bite to eat" Damon said, mentally picturing the countless number of people he would rather be talking to.
"Nobody has returned any of my calls for days. I mean, I expected that from Elena and Jeremy, but when I got nothing from Erin I got worried. I need to see Erin," John opened with, ignoring Damon's sarcasm. The vampire's hatred was evident when he replied, "Well you're a day late and a daughter short, John." Now, John was confused, so when he asked Damon what he was talking about, Damon revealed, "Klaus has her, the sacrifice goes down tonight."
John was shocked, "How could you let that happen? You were supposed to keep her safe, wasn't that the sum total of your plan, to keep her safe?" John did not like where this was going as Damon told him that he had fed her his blood. John's face went from shock to disbelief as the new information refused to settle in. "When Klaus kills Erin in the sacrifice, she will come back to life. Granted as the thing you hate most in the world, but no one really cares what you think, John."
John lunged for Damon, but the vampire slammed the human into the wall, making John groan. "You do not want to mess with me right now." John recovered and told Damon, "You ruined her life, you know that right?" Damon did not want to hear that right now, he knew she would hate him, but he had no interest in thinking about the girl he loved never speaking to him again. "I get that, I took her choice away, but she will be here and that's all that matters to me."
The werewolf was yelping in pain, unable to handle her transformation. Klaus walked over to Greta who was standing by a fire of her own. He took something out of his pocket and handed it to the witch, the moonstone. "I've got the moonstone. I've spent 500 years searching for this, I hate to part with it." Greta looked up at the sky, observing the moon, making sure everything was right. She dropped the moonstone into the fire, making it spark. It was time.
As Jules' flame ring disintegrated, she looked over to Erin and confessed, "Everything I did, I was just trying to help Tyler." Erin remembered what Jules had done and was not forgiving, "You tortured me, how was that helping Tyler?" As Klaus stalked over towards the werewolf, she got out a few last words, "I didn't want him to be alone."
When Klaus was close enough, Jules tried to make a run for it, but the vampire was too fast and he grabbed her before she could escape. With one swift movement, he threw her down and ripped her heart out. She was dead. 1 down, 2 to go.
Elena, Jeremy, and Bonnie were all in the old witch house searching through old grimoires to find a spell to bring Erin back human. Elena was in the corner reading through one by herself, while Jeremy and Bonnie were pretty close on the other side of the room. The witch asked her human boyfriend which book he was looking at to which he responded, "Emily Bennett's. There's a section on spells she did for our ancestor, Jonathan Gilbert."
Elena couldn't tell whether Bonnie was joking or half serious when she said, "Yeah, I think she had a thing for him." Elena made barfing noises in the background, clearly grossed out by the obvious flirtation between her best friend and little brother. Jeremy broke the tension by saying, "I think there's something about a resuscitation spell she was working on." Bonnie knew what he was talking about so she explained to the two, "Yeah I saw that too. She just didn't explain what it did exactly."
"Well, that sounds helpful," Elena added sarcastically as she continued flipping the pages of her own book and went on, "Maybe Jonathan wrote about it in one of his journals, I can have Stefan bring them over." Elena was trying to be as helpful as she could, she knew her sister did not want to be a vampire, at least not yet anyways. She would do anything to get her back safe and human. The three then heard footsteps coming down the basement stairs and saw a flashlight leading the path, it was Alaric.
However, Alaric was not supposed to be here, making the three teenagers confused. "Elijah and Stefan are upstairs," he then motioned to Bonnie, "can I have a second with Jeremy and Elena?" Bonnie nodded and headed up to talk to the vampires. When Bonnie was out of sight, Alaric told the two, "Guys, something's happened to Jenna."
"We can't let Jenna die." Bonnie stated, causing Elijah to point out that Stefan agreed with her. The younger vampire went on to explain, "We're gonna offer another vampire, one he'll want more. Me." The witch felt like she got punched in the gut as Stefan said that, and she knew that Erin was going to be devastated no matter who was sacrificed. But, Bonnie knew her best friend well. She knew who Erin would choose.
Jenna sat in her circle, looking to Erin who was staring at Klaus and Greta. "The day the lawyers called me and told me I was your guardian, do you know what my first thought was?" When Erin shook her head, her aunt continued, "Isn't there someone else that can do this?" Erin refused to let her think like this so she said, "Jenna, there was no one who could have gotten me, Jeremy, and Elena through that. And I know that it's hard, but you did everything you could. You put your entire life on hold to take care of three teenagers, we are lucky to have someone like you."
Jenna replied coldly, "Look around, Erin. I failed you." The younger of the two shook her head and denied, "No, you didn't because I failed you. All of this is because of me and I'm so sorry you got dragged into this, but I'm gonna try to get you out. Listen, being a vampire intensifies your guilt, but it also makes you stronger, faster. You can fight back. I need you to believe that I will get through this-" Jenna interrupted her niece and questioned, "Do you believe you're gonna get through this? You'll be a vampire, Erin."
Erin pushed her thoughts away and focused on Jenna, "I believe that for me to get through this, so do you. Promise me that if you get the chance, run." Jenna only nodded, forming a plan in her head. The Gilbert family needed to stick together, they couldn't lose another person.
John walked down the stairs of the witch house to the basement carrying a big box. "I've brought the Gilbert journals." Jeremy, Bonnie and Elena walked over to the table where John set the journals down and started digging through. John went on, "I think I know the spell you were talking about. Look through and you'll find what you need, Bonnie. I need to do this for Erin."
Elijah came up behind Stefan and informed him that the sacrifice was happening at Steven's Quarry. The younger vampire thought it was ironic that he turned Damon there, and Erin saved him from taking his own life at that quarry just a few months ago.
Stefan said that he would head over first, and then Elijah would go over with Bonnie after him. Elijah nodded and continued, "Until the moon hits its final phase. She's to stay hidden until then; Klaus cannot know she's alive." The blonde remained skeptical of the Original, and he side stepped him to head over to the quarry.
"You're very honorable." Elijah remarked, and Stefan whipped his head back towards the brown haired vampire. "Are you? Because I know Erin trusts you for some reason none of us understand. And this whole plan is contingent upon your honor, Elijah." The Original stated in response, "I won't fail Erin."
Stefan soured a little at that and replied, "Klaus is your brother. I know I've wanted to kill my brother a thousand times, and I've never been able to." Elijah then told Stefan what he told Erin. He had siblings, a whole family that Klaus slowly took away from him one by one. The hybrid then buried them all at sea so he wouldn't be able to find them.
The blond pinpointed the one flaw in Elijah that Erin would be disappointed in, "You want revenge." Elijah remained stoic and stated, "Sometimes there's honor in revenge, Stefan. I won't fail you or her." Before Stefan left, he spoke, "Please end this."
Jenna and Erin were both in their own little worlds until Klaus's voice interrupted their thoughts with, "Hello, Jenna." Both of the girls were now standing and Erin spoke first, "Let her go, she has nothing to do with this. I understand that I have to die, but she doesn't." Jenna and Klaus were both saying stop, but she just went on and then blurted out, catching the big bad vampire's attention, "I'll strike you a deal!"
"You want to strike a deal with the man who is minutes from killing you? Hmm, what is your bargain, love?" Klaus asked, intrigued by this doppelgänger who thought that she could compromise with him. Pleadingly, Erin bargained, "I followed your rules, I did everything you asked, and I didn't run! I can get you a new vampire, any vampire. If you give me one hour, I can find a new sacrifice. I will willingly come back and when you kill me, you'll finally be a hybrid and my family can be in peace, please."
Klaus looked like he was actually considering the compromise until he heard something in the distance. "Well, well, well, I don't recall you being on the guest list," looking towards Stefan, who stood at the top of the hill. Stefan. Erin gasped when she saw him. He shouldn't be here, Klaus could kill him if he tried to interfere with the sacrifice, but Klaus looked ready to talk and he sped up towards Erin's boyfriend.
"We found something in the Gilbert journal," Bonnie told Damon, motioning for John to explain the story. "Jonathan told the story of a mother who called upon Emily's services. The woman's baby was sick, dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind the woman's life force to her child's." Damon was not up for story time, so he told John, "Just skip to saving the love of my life part."
So, John went on, "The child died, but the mother's life force flowed through her, restoring her back to life." Jeremy was not completely convinced as he added, "We already know Erin's gonna come back to life, but she'll be a vampire-" John interrupted the teen and explained, "Not if her soul remains in tact." Damon thought this all was a bunch of crap and it was not going to work.
With raised eyebrows he freely expressed his opinion, "Her soul? Really? I mean I know she has a great soul and all, but you're gonna put your faith in some act of God mumbo jumbo?" Bonnie also considered this, but John now was just pissed. "I refuse to let Erin become the live I spent my whole life protecting her against and you can call that God or mystical energy or whatever you want, but yes I'm putting my faith in it." Damon nodded, accepting his answer as John walked away from him.
"What's going on?" Erin asked her aunt, assuming she knew of her new found abilities as a vampire. When Jenna did not know, Erin explained, "You can hear them, you can hear anything. Just focus on them and their voices. You can do anything, Jenna, just set your mind to it. I believe in you." When she finally got the gist of it, she gasped saying, "Oh my God."
Erin wished she could hear what they were saying herself, but Jenna transferred the news that Stefan wanted to trade places with her aunt in the sacrifice. To say Erin was calm, was the worst way to describe it. Her heart felt like it was being pulled in a million different directions. She did not know what to say or what to feel.
Bonnie was chanting, performing the spell on John, so they could bring Erin back to life when she dies. However, Damon was getting a little antsy and impatient. He snapped his fingers, motioning for Bonnie to hurry up with the spell. Once it was complete, Bonnie and Damon started to head out.
Jeremy and Elena started walking behind to go with them, but Bonnie stopped saying, "I'll be back soon, stay here." Jeremy and Elena protested, they had to be there to save their sister. Jeremy pointed out that he had his ring and that John could give his to Elena, they would be safe. Then, Bonnie kissed Jeremy, performing a spell that knocked him out to keep him out of harm's way. Then, Elena, Bonnie, and Damon ran upstairs to meet up with the rest before going to the quarry.
When they got to the doorway, Damon, Bonnie and Elijah walked out first. Alaric explained his plan, "I have the weapons in the car. I can handle the stakes and Elena can get the cross bow, let's head out." Prepared to go and fight for their two loved ones, a barrier haulted the humans from going anywhere outside the house. "I can't put anyone else at risk," was all Bonnie said in her defense. "We can't just stay here with Erin and Jenna out there, are you crazy?" Elena was furious, she was banging against the barrier, ready to defend her twin sister and aunt. "Sorry guys, but she's right," Damon said. And with that, the vampires and witch headed to battle.
"I have to do something, this can't happen," Erin kept talking to herself. She was in crisis mode. After a few minutes, Klaus came down the hill with Stefan trailing behind him. "Well, this is quite the predicament. It's funny all this talk about preserving family and here's Stefan, granting your wish." Erin just stared at Stefan like he was crazy, she could have done this on her own, she almost had Klaus agreeing to a deal and here her boyfriend was trying to be a martyr. "It's okay," was all Stefan said like it was his last words.
"Who is it gonna be, Erin? Love or family?" Klaus asked, but on the inside, Erin knew what her answer was. She looked to Stefan who nodded and then looked to Jenna, who mouthed two words, pick Stefan. Erin didn't want to choose anyone because they would die, but she knew she had to. Stefan was the boy she loved and she admitted that to him some odd hours ago, but Jenna was family. Family was forever.
"I love you, Stefan, so much, but I will always pick family." Klaus was surprised by her decision, but not as surprised as Jenna was. Stefan wanted Erin to pick Jenna over him. He had lived for 160 years and hours ago he learned that the love of his life loved him back, he could die happy. Jenna was too young and had too many people back home counting on her to stay alive. "Actually there is no choice," Klaus said and before anyone could figure out his next move, the Original sped to Stefan and stabbed him in the back with a stake.
"I actually have plans for your boyfriend, I want him alive." Stefan was groaning in pain, trying to pull out the wood sticking out of his skin. Then, Klaus snapped his neck. Everything else just went in slow motion for Erin. Since he didn't permanently kill Stefan, he was going to kill Jenna. She made a choice and he didn't listen to her. Greta started chanting again, signaling for the fire around Jenna to cease. It was Jenna's turn.
Erin was begging now, "Please, Klaus, just let her go. Remember my deal? It's still on the table, just give me your word. You can keep me, I just want Jenna to be safe." Klaus smirked and was about to respond, but Jenna insisted, "Erin, it's okay. I know what I have to do." Tears started to run down Erin's face, she knew this was the end. Suddenly, Jenna vampire sped to Greta and sank her teeth into the witch's neck, but Klaus was faster.
He plunged a stake into Erin's aunt's side, making her let go of the witch. Klaus then dropped her on the ground, making Erin look into her aunt's eyes. Erin was sobbing at this point, saying Jenna's name, trying to comfort her in any way she could. Erin wanted her to be free from the pain, guilt, the darkness, so she told her to do it, to flip the switch. She repeatedly whispered, "Turn it off," to her aunt until she saw the emotion leave Jenna's eyes. Then, Klaus staked her in the heart. Jenna was dead.
Erin was devastated seeing her guardian's body turn gray, she screamed her name, praying that she would wake up again. She knew it wouldn't happen and that made her even more sad. Even in the supernatural world, you were never truly immortal, there was always something that could kill you.
Stefan woke up from his temporary death with a gasp and a groan, realizing he still had a piece of wood stuck in his back. He looked around, searching for any sign of Erin and there she was, her eyes were all red and her hands were tangled in her hair. The vampire looked to his left, finding Jenna's body with a wooden stake sticking out of her heart, his plan failed. He cursed himself, he tried to be the hero and save his love's family, but he couldn't.
Stefan's gaze met Erin's as he whispered the words, "I'm sorry," but all she asked was whether or not they were going to kill her aunt's murderer to which he nodded. Erin did not care what happened to her, she wanted Klaus dead. At first, she understood why he wanted to break the curse I mean who wouldn't want to be an immortal hybrid, but now, she didn't care. The big bad soon to be hybrid stalked over to her as the flames around the doppelgänger faded. Stefan started to get angry, he never wanted this to happen.
"It's time," Klaus said, extending his hand to Erin, motioning for her to take it. However, Erin gave him the middle finger, bumped into his shoulder, and walked towards Greta. Klaus smirked, he liked this century's doppelgänger due to her feistiness. Erin stepped closer to Greta, unable to look at the corpse of her beloved aunt. A tear rolled down her cheek as Klaus placed his hands on her face and told her, "Thank you, Erin. You aren't afraid of me and I have to admire your efforts until the very end." Erin scoffed, "Just kill me so I can be with my family."
And with that, Klaus sank his teeth into Erin's neck, consuming every ounce of blood in her body. Stefan was helpless and he was forced to watch his girlfriend die. Just as the life went from Erin's eyes, the fire went out, thus marking the beginning of Klaus's transformation. As the bones in his body were taking a new shape, a force flew him into a tree, Bonnie Bennett had arrived.
As Bonnie was bringing Klaus to the brink of death, Damon snapped Greta's neck, killing her. Damon then noticed the body of Erin on the ground in front of him. He picked her up bridal style and brought her body over to his brother. Damon pulled the wood from Stefan's back so he could start healing faster. "I need you to get her out of here," Stefan said, "I'm not leaving until he's dead. Go!"
Meanwhile, Bonnie used her magic of the dead witches to weaken Klaus until he was almost dead, then Elijah came in. "Hello, brother," and with that, the elder brother punched his fist into Klaus's chest, holding his heart in his chest cavity. Just as Elijah was about to pull his hand out, Klaus confessed to his brother, "I didn't bury them at sea, their bodies are safe. If you kill me, you'll never find them. I can take you to them." Stefan pleaded with Elijah to not listen to anything Klaus has to say, but he was not listening. When Klaus gave Elijah his word, Bonnie spoke, "Do it and I take you both out. I don't care if I die killing you."
Elijah seemed to consider both options for a moment until determination became clear in his brown eyes, "Tell Erin I am so sorry." And then, in a flash, the Originals were gone.
Uncle John was finishing up writing a letter when Alaric spoke, "We should have heard from them by now." He was on edge knowing Jenna was out there potentially dead from being a sacrifice in the ritual. Jeremy asked John, "Did you read all of this?" When he nodded, Jeremy went on, "So you know what happened to the child's mother when the baby was brought back to life?" John knew what he was doing and explained to Jeremy, "She saved her daughter, she found peace. The two things I have always wished to do."
John looked to Elena and handed her a piece of paper, "Could you give this to Erin for me? Tell her everything is in there. Also, I want you, Jeremy, to give her my ring." Alaric was extremely perplexed as to what was going on right now. Elena and Jeremy nodded, accepting their roles. "Take care of each other, please," John pleaded as the four heard a door opening upstairs. Elena, Jeremy, and Alaric went sprinting up, but John stayed where he was.
Damon carried Erin bridal style into the witch house and placed her temporarily dead body on a couch in the nearest room. He said to her, "If you come back as a vampire, I'll stake you myself, so don't." As the vampire placed a piece of hair behind her ear he whispered, "I can't stand the thought of you hating me forever." Then, the three trapped in the house came rushing in, asking him how Erin was doing. When Alaric asked about Jenna, Damon couldn't look at him, which gave Alaric his answer. The raven haired one allowed the news to sink in as Alaric walked into another room while Jeremy just stood there not knowing what to do with himself.
They didn't notice Uncle John walk outside, waiting for Erin to wake up. When Erin finally jolted back to life, Jeremy rushed to her side. Damon felt a huge weight lift off of his shoulders when she told him she felt fine, normal, human. The spell had worked. No one noticed John fall to the ground, as his soul flowed through his body to his daughter's.
"We all set?" Damon asked his brother. The vampires were both getting ready for the funerals of Aunt Jenna and Uncle John. Stefan nodded and Damon told him that he compelled some grave diggers to do the work. Worry and concern filled Damon's eyes as he went on, "How's she doing?" He obviously meant Erin, his not so secret love. "She lost the only parents she had. She's doing the worst of all of them. She's blaming herself for not only Jenna's, but John's death, too. She's in shock."
Erin looked at the pictures on her wall. There were corkboards full of family photos with her parents, her siblings, Aunt Jenna, and even Uncle John. Getting ready for another funeral was hard to say the least for her. When she heard footsteps, she straightened up and tried to look more put together than how she actually felt. Jeremy and Elena knocked on her door; both looked ready for today's events. "I'm almost ready," Erin said although she didn't sound as confident as she normally did. Jeremy didn't care if they were late, she could take her time and they would go when they were ready.
"John wanted us to give you these." Erin turned to Jeremy, who had the Gilbert ring in her hand, while Elena was holding a letter. When Erin took the objects, her siblings headed for the door, but Erin's voice stopped them in their tracks, "You guys, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that you both have lost so many people." Elena grabbed her twin's hand and softly added, "But we still have each other, always." And with that, the Gilbert siblings engulfed one another in a big hug. When the siblings ended the embrace, Jeremy and Elena exited Erin's room, giving her time to read over John's letter.
Dear Erin,
It is no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I failed in that task and because of my prejudices, I failed you. I'm haunted by how things would have played out differently if I'd been more willing to hear your side of things. I wish this life went differently for us, maybe in the next life we could all be a proper family. Every day remember that I love both you and Elena, she may need some reminding. You always defended me and in your time of need, I felt responsible for repaying you after all these years. For me, it's the end. For you it is a chance to grow old and do something better with your child. For that child I give you my ring. I don't ask you for your forgiveness or for you to forget. I ask that you take care of your brother and sister. I know that my girl will pull through, but your siblings will need a push to do the same. I also ask that you believe this. Whether you are now reading this as a human or a vampire, I love you all the same, as I've always loved you and always will.
-John
Erin walked through the cemetery with Stefan by her side, supporting her. She held four roses as she placed the first on John's plot, then Jenna's. All of her friends and her remaining family were there as well, also saying their goodbyes. Erin then noticed the gravestone a few feet away that she would sit near at the beginning of the year and write in her journal, the memorial for her parents. She placed her final two roses next to her parents gravestone, breaking down in the process. As she started to cry, she felt two pairs of hands comfort her. When she turned around, she saw the comforting faces of Jeremy and Elena. The next to lay their flower was Alaric, who bent down to place his rose on Jenna's grave. He kept himself together for the sake of the three Gilberts in front of him.
"We're gonna head back to the house," Stefan let his brother know as he prepared to leave. "I think I'll skip the coffee and tea cakes," Damon said, knowing where this conversation was going. "Damon, they need us right now, she needs us," Stefan told his older brother. Stefan has known for a long time how Damon felt about his girlfriend. Right now, Erin needed all of her loved ones, including Damon. Stefan let his insecurities show for a second. Anyways, Damon didn't see what their next move would be after this. They had to take down the Original brothers before things got even more out of hand.
"I'm not gonna let Erin lose another person, she won't be able to handle it-" Stefan was interrupted by Damon who snapped, "I wouldn't make any promises, brother." Stefan was confused, so he asked his brother what he was talking about to which Damon revealed his arm and confessed, "Tyler Lockwood bit me. It's actually more of a nip really, but there it is." Stefan couldn't lose his brother, not after all they had been through. "Look we kept Erin human, we found a way when there was no way. Hey, I will do this, I will find a cure," Stefan truthfully told the raven haired vampire. Damon didn't need his little brother trying to save him again, he knew he was basically dead. "You wanna do something for me? Keep this from Erin, the last thing she needs is another grave to mourn." With that, Damon walked into the sunlight, through the cemetery, and out of sight.