Goodbye, Paradise:
"I win again!" Beth cheered jumping up. She was in a good mood since the previous night, and in an even better one beating Kol at video games. Kol was stubborn about learning everything he could about this generation and he picked up a liking for the xbox. He was really good at it, but Beth had more practice. Whether he won or lost, he just loved seeing her smile.
"You cheated." He accused playfully as he pulled her down into his lap, facing him. She laughed her melodious laugh, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's impossible for you to win 3 times in a row, love. You must be cheating somehow."
She giggled. "I think you just need more practice, besides you almost got me the last time." She leaned in to kiss him slowly, but pulled away before he could connect their lips. "You'll have to catch me if you want a rematch. No vampire running!" She laughed as she ran out of the room. Kol chuckled before getting up and taking off after his witch.
Beth laughed as she ran outside before she knew it, he had caught up to her picking her up over her shoulder. "Hey, I know that you cheated. You could've never caught up with me so fast. " She accused him. He chuckled as he brought her back into the living room and set her down on the couch, hovering over her.
"No, you're just not that fast, love." He teased her, brushing his nose against hers, as he captured her lips into a searing kiss. He pulled away a moment later when she was breathless. "Okay...I admit. I cheated." She gasped and pushed him off making him chuckle.
"I knew it." He laughed as he pulled her down with him on the floor and kissed her again. She smiled into the kiss. It seemed that recently neither of them could keep from smiling when around the other. Little did they know that the honeymoon period of their relationship was soon going to be over with.
xxxxx
Beth woke up in the middle of the night to a ringtone. She groaned and flipped over to look around. She saw her phone on the other side of the room. It was weird because she's kept it off for all of the trip. Kol insisted , because he knew that she wouldn't get any better, especially with Damon calling. She looked over and saw Kol still asleep and Day sleeping at the edge of the bed. He really was starting to love Kol, so she quietly got out of bed.
Beth couldn't resist checking her messages. She saw about 38 texts, mostly from Damon and 27 calls, almost all of them from Damon. The recent one was a few minutes ago. She put it to her ear and listened, her eyes growing wide as she listened to the other ones. She knew one thing; She had to get back to Mystic Falls.
Kol stretched, waking up to Beth running back and forth in the room, putting clothes in her bag, still dressed in only his oversized t-shirt. "Darling, it's almost midnight. What are you doing...packing?" She sighed and stopped for a minute, enough for his attention to catch on the cell phone on the side table, on. "Elizabeth, I told you, you shouldn't listen to them."
"I know that, Kol, but...so many things have happened in Mystic Falls." She said with a shake of her head as he stood up. "There's a hunter, like a really bad hunter there. A-And he's seriously bad, Kol." She rushed out as she stuffed some more clothes into her bag, as Day jumped off their bed and walked off in search of food. Kol grabbed her hands to stop her but she didn't. "There's something else. Klaus...is alive."
Kol was stunned. His older brother. The one he had the most complicated relationship with, but still somehow couldn't completely process his death was alive. "N-Nik's alive?" He said not hiding his surprise. Beth gave him a weak smile, nodding. Kol might have put on a brave face most of the time, but knew he went into his room and heard him looking at some of his things they left there. He missed him, as much as Beth did. His face turned unreadable once more. "You're sure? It's not a trick?"
"I don't think so, Kol. Bonnie did a spell and he's alive!" She smiled at him. Klaus being alive meant that Tyler was also alive. He smiled as she kissed him quickly going. "You see now that I have to go! Damon wouldn't have called me if he really didn't need me." She continued to throw more clothes into her bag.
Kol hesitated. As much as he wanted to please her and go back, he didn't want this to set her back. Her health meant more to him than helping one of her friends, but he knew that she felt differently. She was too kind. "Elizabeth, are you sure? We don't have to go back now. You're doing so well and I'm not letting Damon Salvatore set you back for a bloody spell."
Beth sighed. "It won't. I have you, and you won't let me get set back, but...maybe you should stay here." She suggested quietly. He looked shocked at the idea of letting her go back alone. "Just because of the hunter! He's supposed to be really good, Kol and there's still a white oak stake out there."
"I can take care of myself, besides, you're insane if you think for a minute that I'm going to let you go alone." He scoffed as he rushed to grab his bag and started packing. She gave him a small smile as he took her hand and kissed it. "We're in this together, remember? Always and forever, Elizabeth."
Beth kissed him quickly. She knew he was right. If there was anyone in the world that she could count on it was him. Kol had taken care of her since they left Mystic Falls. He'd become her lover, friend, everything that she needed and she loved him for that. He would always be by her side, even when he wasn't physically there. "Always and forever."
xxxxx
Beth took a deep breath. She was back in Mystic Falls. It was late out but it was still as she remembered, yet it seemed to be kind of eery not being here in a while, especially with a hunter in town. She wandered around. Since it was late, Beth figured Damon was probably drinking, at home or with Elena. Probably all three. She knew that Alaric had his grave in the cemetery and she wanted to lay down flowers for him. He deserved that. "They're floating lanterns in the sky, can you believe that? A Japanese lantern is the symbol of letting go of the past. Well, here's a news flash, we're not Japanese!" Beth heard the familiar voice of Damon Salvatore. For a minute she thought he truly lost his mind.
He continued talking to Alaric's grave as Beth listened to him. "Do you know what they are? Children. Like lighting a candle is going to make everything okay or even saying a prayer or pretending Elena is not going to end up just like the rest of us murderous vampires. Stupid, delusional, exasperating, little children. I know what you're going to say; "It makes them feel better, Damon." So what? For how long? A minute, a day? What differences does it make?"
Beth sighed as she listened to her friend. He was frustrated but like her, he missed Ric. "Because in the end, when you lose somebody; every candle, every prayer is not going to make up for the fact that the only thing that you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody that you cared about used to be. And a rock with a birthday carved into it that I'm pretty sure is wrong. So, thanks, friend. Thanks for leaving me here to babysit, because I should have been long gone by now. I didn't get the girl, remember? I'm just stuck here fighting with my brother and taking care of the kids. You owe me big." Beth saw him take a swig of bourbon
She took a deep breath before making herself known to him. To say he was shocked was an understatement. It was like he couldn't believe that she was actually alive, let alone in Mystic Falls. He was speechless as she laid flowers down at Alaric's headstone and took a seat next to him. "Hey." She greeted him softly.
"Hi. I didn't expect to see you here...or at all for that matter. I didn't think you'd show up." He admitted barely glancing at her. He wasn't happy that she ran off without telling anyone but at the same time he was just glad that she was safe.
"Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises." She sighed. There was an awkward silence between them as the cold air blew by. "I miss him too, you know." She nodded towards his grave. Damon swallowed hard, nodding. He knew that he hurt her a lot, he was surprised she was here with him at all. She stood up and made to leave and he grabbed her hand.
"You're seriously going to leave? You just got here." He scoffed. She rolled her eyes at him and tried to pull away but he yanked her back. "Just stay for half a minute before you run off again."
She sat down, rolling her eyes at him again. "You know that a please wouldn't hut." She shot him a look. He chuckled at her. At least she didn't lost her spunk.
"Please, El." He mocked her. She stuck her tongue out at him, as he noticed her shivering. He automatically shrugged out of his jacket and put it over her shoulders, knowing it would help at least a little. She went to protest but he cut her off. "Don't,, El. You're always cold. You need it."
"Thanks." She muttered as she slipped her arms through the slightly too big arm holes, but it was still warm. "So, um, you called...like a lot. After I heard what's happening I came back, thought you could use some help."
He nodded. "Yeah, well you weren't answering your phone. I was trying to make sure that Junior didn't kill you." She rolled her eyes about his comment about Kol. He could see that she was getting annoyed and tried to make amends. "But I'm glad to see your back. He...he took care of you didn't he?"
"Yeah he did. He did a lot more for me than anyone else did." She shot at him. He rolled his eyes.
"He wouldn't have been the only one if you had stayed here."
"Yeah, well no one was really volunteering." She snapped back at him. He scoffed and she ignored him. It seemed like it was almost impossible to have a civil conversation with each other without getting into a fight. They both were too stubborn to let up.
Beth got up to leave. "Wait...don't...don't leave just yet." He said with a sigh. Beth was surprised by how desperate he actually sounded, as though he actually missed her. She felt guilty, she didn't give him much credit, but she could see now how worried he'd been. He looked tired, more than usual.
"Are you okay?" She asked hesitantly. He looked at her confused before laughing at her.
"You start snapping at me and then you ask if I'm okay?" He chuckled. She shrugged. He gave her a weak smile. "I'm fine, El. I've been worried sick about you for the past few weeks but yeah, I'm better now that I know you're alive."
She scoffed. "I'm sure you've had Elena and plenty other distractions these past few weeks."
"Is it so hard to believe that I've actually missed you?" He asked looking over at her. She glanced at him, surprised. There was something in his voice that made her want to believe him so badly, but she couldn't get hurt again, not by him. She couldn't fully be friends with him, not after all he's done to hurt her and Kol. She didn't think she could trust him yet. She stood up.
"It's not, but I should, um, get going."
"Back to your boyfriend?"
"He didn't come. It wasn't safe for him." She told him softly. She didn't feel guilty about lying to him. Damon used to be someone that she could trust but after he tried to kill Kol, she didn't think that she'd be able to, at least not with someone that she loved like Kol. "I'll see you later." He nodded, hesitantly as she gave him back his jacket, but stopped. "I miss you." She whispered to her godfather's grave.
A few feet away, Alaric's ghost was settled behind Damon and watched his surrogate daughter walk away. "I miss you too, Beth." He muttered with a sigh.
xxxxx
Beth sighed and hesitantly opened the door to the apartment she shared with Alaric. It felt weird being there without him, knowing he'd never be there again. It made her feel bad but she'd push through it. She dropped her bag on the couch and made her way to her room. She walked into her room, recognizing a familiar vampire on her bed. "You could take off your shoes, you know."
Kol lay on the bed with his feet propped up on the edge reading a book. "So, do I need to hurt Damon Salvatore because I have no trouble getting my bat out again," He reminded her with a grin. She rolled her eyes as she kicked off her shoes and jacket to get in with him. "I don't mind, darling. It would be absolutely no trouble." He insisted.
"Shoes, off." She commanded. He sighed and kicked off his shoes, as she got under the covers. He threw his shirt and pants leaving him only in his boxers, a sight that always seemed to always make her blush. He slipped in with her, as she turned to face him, he stroked her hair back behind her ear.
"So, how'd it go, honestly?" He asked seriously.
She sighed and played with his hand. "Better than I thought, but not as good as it could've been." She looked down at his hand as he laced their fingers together. A gestured that made her smile, for the comfort. "Don't forget what you promised. You'd keep a low profile while we're here."
"I know, darling. It's not like you'd let me forget. I'll still take care of you, protect you. It'll be okay. I promise." He whispered. She smiled at him. The golden specks in his brown eyes sparkled in the mood light. She gently touched his cheek as he kissed her hand.
"I know."
