Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
A/N: Final chapter of season 3! So exciting! And such an emotional chapter haha, I hope it lives up to expectations! And I hope you enjoy my surprise twists ;)
XXX
It was a normal morning when Elena Gilbert's alarm went off. She blinked awake as P!nk blared around the room, loud enough to deter any thoughts about going back to sleep. Luckily, Elena was far too excited to go back to sleep. The Timberwolves were playing, which meant that Elena would be taking part in the cheerleading. Which was something that the oldest Gilbert child enjoyed. She had always enjoyed the excitement that came with being a part of the cheer squad, the companionship. It was something that she did with her best friends and was just hers. Her twin wasn't at all interested in taking part and Elena liked that, even if she sometimes felt bad for thinking that.
With an excited grin, the girl turned up the music, bobbing her head along to the beat as she got out of bed. She walked over to the dressing table and grabbed a hairband, tying her hair up into a ponytail, before grabbing her pom poms from the table. She spun around, her hair swishing behind her, and threw them onto her window seat, where her cheerlead uniform was neatly laid out. With a content nod, she turned and walked out of her room.
She made her way across the hallway and into her sister's room. Alexa was still snoring away, only the top of her head visible. With a roll of her eyes, Elena flung open the curtains. She ignored her twin's grumbling and whining at the sudden influx of sunlight, and continued to potter around the room, opening curtains. It was only when she glanced over her shoulder to see that Alexa had covered her head with her blanket, that Elena sighed. She shook her head and strode over to the bed, yanking on the blanket.
Alexa held on to it tightly but she did reveal the top of her face, green eyes narrowed behind her hair. Even though it was tickling her face, the younger twin was too annoyed to blow it away. Her voice was muffled when she ground out, "Elena. Let me sleep. I don't have to get ready for cheer practice like you do."
"I don't care," the older sister shrugged, content that Alexa wouldn't go back to sleep. "I want you there, for support. And besides, Caroline wants to discuss the bonfire party tonight and your donation to the charity drive later."
Alexa let out a loud groan, "Uh, fiiiiine. Honestly, you're all the worst. Go on, shoo. Let me get ready."
With a pleased smile, Elena did just that.
The twins got ready separately, although the younger one was still grumbling when she followed Elena down the stairs. They walked into the kitchen, Elena wearing her uniform and Alexa a summer dress, to see their Aunt Jenna making coffee.
"Hey," Jenna smiled at her nieces as they walked into the room. She placed the coffee pot on the counter, next to a plate of croissants and a bowl of fruit. "Alexa, I'm surprised to see you awake this early."
Alexa gave her sister a dirty look before rolling her eyes, "If I had a choice, then I definitely wouldn't be."
"Oh don't be so dramatic," Elena laughed, shaking her head, before looking at Jenna, a teasing look on her face. "Jeremy locked himself in the bathroom again. Does he think that we don't know what he's doing in there?"
"He's fourteen," their aunt leant in close, a cheeky smirk on her face as she winked. "They don't think."
"Ain't that the truth," Alexa agreed with a laugh, grabbing a couple of mugs from the cupboard while Elena reached out for the coffee pot. But before she could start pouring it out, Jenna quickly confiscated it.
"Hey! You'll get me in trouble," she quickly put it back in machine while her sister walked in. Miranda glanced between them before a gentle smile formed on her face.
"Good morning," she greeted the room, before walking over to her oldest. She drew her into a hug, as was her norm in the morning, and kissed her cheek.
"Morning, mom," Elena smiled back, enjoying her mother's hug. No matter how old she got, Elena knew that she would always enjoy this little morning ritual. All of the Gilbert children would, even Jeremy, who thought that hugs were 'uncool'. Of course, that was a belief that came about because his middle sister enjoyed forcing them upon him in front of his friends. But it was something that was bound to happen, being a teenage boy.
After checking in with Elena, Miranda made her way over to Alexa, who had compromised and made a tea for her and her sister. Alexa let out a fake grumble when Miranda made a comment on her dress, but she knew that it was just her mom's way of looking out for her. The Gilbert matriarch pressed a kiss to her youngest daughter's cheek before drawing her in for a hug.
Alexa hid her pleased smile at the affection when she saw Jenna laughing. She did have a rep to protect, after all. And that rep meant that she had to be the one to dish out hugs, not receive them. So she rolled her eyes at Jenna before loudly declaring that no one had better have touched the cupcakes that she made last night. They were to be given to the local charity cake drive that Caroline had organised. And she was not going to risk the wrath of one Caroline Forbes.
Once she was certain that her red velvet cupcakes were safe, she was bundled into the car along with her sister. Jeremy would be taken to school with Jenna later, as he had escaped having to go to the cheer squad practice before school. Alexa had tried to get out of it one final time, but Elena had Miranda on her side now. And their mother was determined for her middle child to spend time socialising with others, not just Tyler Lockwood and the Nolan siblings. She occasionally worried that they were a bad influence on Alexa, unlike Elena's friends. And she would do what she could to surround her children with as many positive influences as she could.
XXX
I could barely remember the moments after my twin collapsed. I knew that Jenna was panicking next to me, alternating between hugging me and running her hands over Elena's head. Unfortunately, it was poor Jeremy who had to take charge. Even though he was clearly panicking too, he kept enough of a clear head to call an ambulance.
Jenna went with Ellie while Jeremy took me in the car. I had tried to insist upon driving, but there was no way that my brother would let me. Which was probably a good thing to be fair. As there was no way that I would be a safe driver in that moment in time. I was barely a safe passenger. The moment we got to the hospital, I was jumping out of the car, before the kid had a chance to park up, and was racing through the doors.
I had just enough sense left to wait for Jeremy before demanding the location of my twin. We were told what room she was in and met Jenna outside. Ellie was laying in the bed, a peaceful look on her face, while Meredith did some tests. We were made to wait outside while the doctor did what she needed. It was only for Jenna and Jeremy's sake that I took a few deep breaths. It didn't stop me from pacing, but I tried to keep a calm look on my face. Even as my heart pounded crazily in my chest.
I didn't know how long it had been since we got there, but eventually Meredith came over to us, a clipboard in hand and a soothing look on her face. She glanced between us, Jenna protectively sandwiched in between us, while we all looked at the doctor with an expectant look.
Meredith quickly took the hint and spoke, her voice soft and gentle, "She's gonna be fine. She got a little banged up today, hit her head, but it was just a slight concussion, nothing to worry about."
While I was incredibly glad, I was also surprised. There had been a lot of blood, so for it to be a simple concussion, it just felt weird. But I had to trust Meredith. She was a doctor; she was Jenna's friend. If there was something seriously wrong with my twin, she would tell us. So for her to say that she was gonna be okay, then I had to believe that. At least I wouldn't be losing my twin. I couldn't go through that.
"But she collapsed," Jeremy frowned, glancing over at our sleeping sister. "There was blood."
Meredith's smile was sympathetic, "Honestly, Jeremy, she's okay. She's just… she's been through a lot. Is there anyone you want to call?"
We exchanged a glance. It was obvious who we should be calling. But should we be distracting them from their mission to dump Klaus' body somewhere safe? Because I would rather them not do something stupid that got themselves killed. We would be safe here for now. And then when Elena woke up, we could take her home.
Eventually, I sighed, "I'll call Damon. But don't expect them to be happy about this. Damon already believes that I'm a danger magnet, this won't change his view on that."
"I'll do the talking," Jeremy nodded, a determined look on his face. "Since I know that you are one step away from a breakdown."
"No, I'm not," I muttered petulantly, ignoring the fact that I really was, and pulled out my phone. I found my vampire in my contacts list and called him. While we waited for him to pick up, I resisted the urge to tap my foot. To be honest, I was surprised that I hadn't broken down over it all. I knew that a part of it was that numb feeling that was still hovering at the edge of my mind, even though I had done everything I could to push it away. But I knew that it would hit me soon. Even though I had been told that my twin would be okay. But as long as it happened when we got home, I could get through it without worrying anyone.
When Damon picked up, I put the phone on speaker phone, glancing around to make sure that no one was near us. Luckily, it was far too late for random people to be around. I cleared my throat and glanced at my brother, "Jeremy wants to speak to you."
"What happened?" Damon immediately said, knowing that this wouldn't be a fun phone call. And he was right. It wasn't. I held Jenna's hand while Jer explained what had happened in the past couple of hours. Everything was silent for a moment before my vampire groaned, "You did what?"
It was clear that he was not impressed with what we had done, as I had anticipated. But I had to give it to my brother, he was not backing down. He was determined to defend what he had done and I respected him for that. He had taken charge in a difficult situation and I was proud of him for that. It was clear that he was no longer that little kid that toddled around behind me, he was becoming a man.
"I took her to the hospital," Jeremy said firmly. "When you find your sister unconscious and the other panicking, you call 911."
"Not when you have a parade of vampires at your disposal!" my vampire hissed and I glanced around again. We were still in the clear, but I kept looking, content to let Jeremy take control. It was probably a good thing, because the kid was right, I was close to breaking. And I trusted the kid to deal with this.
Stefan spoke up then, ever the voice of reason, even when we didn't want it, "Every remaining Original is gonna want Elena dead to stop Alaric. She's a sitting duck in there."
"Well, Meredith wants to keep her here for observation," my brother argued, determined to do what was best for Ellie. Even if it meant going against the wishes of the vampire brothers. Meredith was a doctor that we could trust and she was here, right now. And until one or both of the brothers were back, I would trust her instincts on this.
Damon sighed and I could tell that he was shaking his head, "Just get Elena home. We're on our way. Alexa, give me a call when you get home."
"Will do," I agreed before he hung up. Well, that wasn't as painful as it could have been.
XXX
It didn't take long for Matt, Caroline and Tyler to arrive at the hospital after we called them. Elena had woken up and had been given the all clear by Meredith. The doctor wanted her to stay at the hospital, but after relaying the Salvatore brothers' warning, she reluctantly agreed to release her.
Matt drove Jenna and Jeremy home, while I remained with my twin. Despite Elena's wishes, I held her close, refusing to let her go. I could see that she was okay, a little tired, but I was still worried. So until I felt reassured, I wasn't going to leave her side.
Tyler drove as fast as he legally could to get us home from the hospital. Caroline had expressed her disappoint in us not calling them, but I told her that Jeremy had made the executive decision to take her to the hospital. I also added that the poor kid had to make that decision while Jenna and I were panicking, so he did the best he could. The blonde had to accept that. After our little adventure in abductions with Klaus, wanting the normality that going to the hospital brought, it its own weird way, was understandable.
The others were waiting for us when we got home. Caroline helped me ease my twin out of the car, holding her steady while I quickly climbed out. I wrapped one arm around my sister's waist, while Caroline had an arm around her shoulders. The boys waited for us to get ready, Jenna protectively sandwiched between Matt and Jeremy, before walking us up to the door.
When we reached the porch, Jeremy glanced between us before looking at Tyler, "Have you guys got this? I'm going to head to the Grill, get some food and see if I can find out anything about Alaric's whereabouts."
"No way," I immediately shook my head, Elena and Jenna quickly agreeing. "It's not safe for you to be out by yourself."
"Look, he isn't going to hurt me," the kid argued, taking a step back. "I'll be fine. I just… I need some air."
He gave me a look when he said that, one that I recognised from the months after our parents died. It was hard, seeing a loved one in hospital, and I knew that this was Jeremy's way of saying that he was struggling. And how could I force him to remain at home when he needed that time to settle things in his head? So I did the only thing I could, I supported him.
"Text me when you get there, when you leave and every 5, no, 3 minutes in between," I used my best pointy finger, ignoring the outraged looks from my sister and aunt. "If anything happens, and I mean anything, you leave and you come home, calling for backup if you need it."
"Okay, Lexa," Jer nodded, a grateful look in his eyes as he back away. I watched him leave before sighing and giving my keys to Matt. He and Tyler unlocked the door, carefully creeping in to the lit house. In our panic earlier, we had neglected to turn off the lights. But it meant that we were able to look around when we entered.
"Couch," Caroline ordered my sister as we helped her in the house. Jenna was on my other side, a tired look on her face.
"You too, Jenna," I directed her way, keeping my voice soft. I could tell that there was something not right with her. I figured it must have been her grief. It had only been a day since she lost Ric, the real Ric, and now she was having to deal with all of this bullshit. I felt bad for her, I really did. And I made a not to myself to look out for her, as well as my sister.
Speaking of, the stubborn girl was protesting, "I'm fine. I just… I want something to eat first."
"Jeremy's gone to get food, but we can put together a snack for you until he gets back," I nodded gently, while the boys exchanged a glance.
"We're on it," Ty nodded, glancing around the house, a look that I associated with his super hearing on his face. "As soon as we make sure that no one is lurking in the closets."
We watched as the two made their way upstairs before focusing our attention back on the other two with us. I sighed and let Caroline take over supporting my sister before wrapping an arm around Jenna. I directed her to her favourite chair, the blanket already on the back of the chair.
Behind me, I heard the blonde vampire repeating her order, "Alright, couch, now!"
"Uh, I told you, I'm fine," my twin protested but I heard them moving. Content that she was being looked after, I focused on tucking the blanket around my aunt, ignoring her protests.
"Stop complaining, Ellie," I glanced over my shoulder at her, giving her a look. "Otherwise I'll put you on bedrest instead of sofa rest."
My twin rolled her eyes at me when Caroline agreed, "Doctor says rest, you rest."
The blonde grabbed the spare blanket that I passed her and laid it over Elena's legs. Once she was content that she was sufficiently covered, Care stood up, clapping her hands together, "Now can I get you two? Do you want some tea, maybe some vodka? Both will help you sleep."
"Nope, no vodka," I shook my head, surprising myself with how responsible I was being. "But I can offer you some of the herbal tea that Bonnie loves to give me."
My twin just glanced between us, an unimpressed look on her face and the vampire sighed, a wry smile on her face, "I know, we're being smothering. It's what we do."
"And we aren't going to stop any time soon," I nodded sharply before glancing down at Jenna. "You aren't safe from it either, Auntie J. So don't even think about arguing."
"As if I ever would," Jenna smiled weakly, resting her head against my side.
Ellie glanced over at us before a small smile fought its way onto her face, "No, it's-it's nice."
Caroline smiled broadly before leaning in close to my twin, a sneaky look on her face, "I'm thinking, maybe tea with vodka. You distract Alexa and I can get it done."
I rolled my eyes dramatically as my twin giggled, "I hate being the responsible one."
XXX
After cheerleading practice, Alexa reunited with her twin and friends. Elena's boyfriend, the darling Matthew Donovan, had joined them. Since the game was in a few hours, Caroline Forbes had put her team through it. Including making the sly little comments that she was known for. Normally, it was amusing, but sometimes, the comments were just weird. Especially when she running on a cheerleading and event planning high.
"Caroline Forbes told me that my ponytail lacked 'zhuzh'," Elena was saying, a confused look on her face as she ran her hand over her ponytail. Alexa flicked the end of her own ponytail, a playful look on her face.
"Really? Cos she loved mine," the girl smirked at her sister, sticking out her tongue. Alexa knew that she was only being complimented because it was rare for her to do anything with her hair. Normally, she left her long locks down, enjoying the natural wave in her hair. It was only when one of her loved ones, usually Caroline or Elena, got fed up enough that something different was done. "She said that it has 'pizazz'."
"I don't know what any of that means," Matt laughed, breaking Elena's put-out glare. She playfully rolled her eyes at him, squeezing their joined hands. Alexa fake gagged at the loving expression on Matt's face. The blonde ignored her, used to her teasing. When you grew up with Alexa Gilbert, you learned to love the teasing, especially when most of it was directed towards others. Matt managed to escape most of it, the only teasing that Alexa gave him was around his relationship with her twin.
"It means that Caroline is driving Elena crazy, as usual," Bonnie smiled widely as Alexa wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "And Alexa is joining, which is also normal."
"Damn straight, Bon-Bon," the girl laughed, carefully placing her friend between her and her sister. "Can't let Caroline have all the fun."
"Of course not," Bon shook her head dramatically before changing the subject. She knew the twins well enough to know that someone needed to. Once they got started, it was hard to get them to stop. "So, as I psychically predicted, flare jeans are making a comeback."
"Really?" the younger twin mused, a thoughtful look on her face. "I might need to get some more then. I'll mention it to Jazz and Care, they'll take me out to get it sorted."
"That doesn't make you psychic, Bonnie," Elena rolled her eyes. "It means that you watch too much Top Model."
"Don't let Caroline hear you say that," Alexa teased her twin, unable to stop herself. The girl was practically incapable to resisting the opportunity to tease her sister. It was something that would up Elena, and their family. But Alexa refused to stop the habit. She knew that her role was The Funny Twin. And she had to live up to that. Even if she didn't always feel like it.
With years of practice, Bonnie interrupted any potential retaliation, "Say what you want, but I've got a bad feeling about the bonfire tonight."
Elena winced at the mention of the party, "It doesn't matter… because I can't go." Her boyfriend turned to her, a disappointed look on his face as he pouted down at her. Her wince deepened at the look, "I know, but Jenna's in town and my parents want to do family night."
"And she wasn't smart enough to help with organising, thus guaranteeing herself an invitation," Alexa bragged, ignoring the dirty look that her twin shot her. The younger sister wasn't going to let Elena ruin her fun. It wasn't often that she got involved in this sort of thing, but Caroline's normal deputy wasn't able to help out and Alexa was incapable of saying no to her friends. So she did something that she normally avoided and agreed to organise. The girl actually enjoyed it, not that she would ever admit it. Especially since her parents gave her a pass to miss family night. They thought that it would be unfair for her to miss an event that she had worked so hard to put together.
"You have to go," Matt protested, tugging his girlfriend closer. "See if you can sneak out." Elena smiled up at him and the boy pressed a kiss to her lips. He tucked her hair behind her ear before sighing, "Gotta see Coach Tanner. Love you."
Elena's smile turned slightly pained as Matt gave her a kiss on the cheek before jogging off. Alexa looked at her twin with a knowing expression. She knew her sister's feelings about her relationship. Elena just wasn't feeling it anymore, but she was too scared to tell Matt. It was something that had been plaguing the older twin for a while, and Alexa didn't know when she would find the courage to admit how she feels.
"You didn't say it back," Bonnie said quietly, a sad look on her face. She also knew Elena's feelings, but she was a lot more vocal on her thoughts. Alexa knew how stubborn her twin was, so she kept quiet, content to wait until Elena approached her for advice.
"What?" Elena tried to play dumb, but at the knowing look that she got, she sighed and winced.
"You know what," Bonnie's voice was soft, but the raised eyebrow was severe. "You can't string him along, Elena. If you're not into it anymore, just tell him."
Elena nodded sadly, glancing to the side, in the direction that Matt left in. Her voice was quiet, barely noticeable, "I just don't know how."
"Oh Ellie," Alexa sighed, moving to wrap an arm around her twin's shoulders, tucking her into her side. "Yes you do, you just don't want to admit it. But we'll be here, when you're ready."
"Thanks guys," Elena smiled softly, glancing between her friend and her sister. "I appreciate that."
"Anytime, honey-pie, anytime," Alexa pressed a kiss to the side of her head before tucking Bonnie into her other side.
XXX
I was still sat next to Jenna when Elena woke up. Jenna was dozing by my side, Larry at our feet, and I had been talking quietly with Matt. He was the only one left with us, the others having been called away. We had been talking about the best ways to keep Elena safe, while also checking in with Jeremy. He had been texting me as I had requested, but I wasn't happy by how long he had been gone for.
"Where is everyone?" Ellie asked quietly, drawing our attention. I gave her a soft smile when she glanced over at me before Matt answered her.
"Tyler and Caroline got a call from their moms," he explained quietly, not wanting to wake up Jenna. Now that Caroline was gone, I was able to relax a bit more. Every time I looked at her, I was couldn't stop thinking about Alaric's revelation. And that I knew, deep down, that it was true. And I didn't know if I could deal with that guilt. "What were you dreaming about?"
Ah, so he had noticed the tiny smile on my sister's face too. It was quite cute really, watching her smile in her sleep. A part of me wondered if Matt had missed that. I knew that he did miss how close they were, but they were rebuilding that relationship, even if it would never be the same again.
"Sophomore year," Ellie answered softly, a wistful look on her face.
"Seems like forever ago," the blue-eyed darling nodded and he was right. It did feel like forever ago, but it was only a couple of years. But so much had changed. So many people had died in that time, we had met so many new people, fallen in love, created ever-lasting enemies. It was quite insane. But I couldn't give up any of it. It had all changed me, for the better. I was stronger, more confident. And I wouldn't give up Damon for the world.
"It was," Elena sighed, before wincing. "I'm sorry that I strung you along. I should have figured out what I wanted and just been honest about it."
"Hey, it's cool, I understand," Matt, the nicest person that I had ever met, smiled gently and reached out to grab her hand. "We wanted different things; I get that now. Maybe, if your parents hadn't have died, then we could have worked it out. But we've both changed."
"Thank you, Matt," my sister had her serious look on her face as she gave his hand a squeeze. "I appreciate that."
"Aww, you two are so cute together," I cooed quietly, ignoring the dirty look that my sister gave me. "For the record, if you two ever want to get back together, I would totally support that."
"Alexa," my twin looked completely aghast and I shrugged.
"What? I'm just saying, you two are both single and you know a lot of each other's dirty laundry, it's not the stupidest thing in the world," I picked at my nails, ignoring the looks that I was getting. I didn't add my final reason. Elena needed to get over Stefan. Even if she still felt something for him, he had done a lot of bad shit recently and she needed space from that. If she still wanted him after a few months, or even a few years, then they could work something out. But until then, she needed something else, something different. And I would support her in that.
"I really hate you sometimes," my sister muttered, covering her face with her hand.
"No, you just hate that I'm speaking sense," I raised an eyebrow at her. "And let's face it, Matt is a catch. If you don't snag him, someone else will. And that will be a total loss."
Matt blushed brightly as he cleared his throat, "Thanks, Alexa, I think, anyway."
"You're welcome, dear," I smiled softly at him. "And for the record, I was also totally supportive of you two. So welcoming you back into the family is something that I am more than happy to do."
I had successfully made everything awkward. And I couldn't bring myself to regret it. I had been thinking about it for a while and I needed to say it. And they needed to hear it. I wanted Elena to move past Stefan, even if just temporarily. Although I was forgiving him for what he did to me, I couldn't forgive him for what he did to her. So while I would play nice and not actively turn her against him, I wouldn't encourage her to leap back into a relationship with him. In fact, I would try and find others that would suit her better. Starting with the darling Matthew Donovan.
The awkward silence was reaching its peak when the front door opened. I immediately turned to look at it, my body relaxing slightly when I saw Stefan. I looked behind him, expecting to see my vampire. But there was no one there. Only the younger brother had returned. I tried to push past my disappointment while Stefan walked over to my sister.
Elena pushed herself to her feet and into the arms of the vampire. She relaxed in his embrace and I sighed. I glanced down to see Jenna watching them, a slightly frustrated look in her eyes. I knew that she shared my thoughts on Stefan Salvatore. And I appreciated that. I knew that she had previously supported his efforts to woo my sister, so that fact that she didn't approve of him now was useful. It was one less person to fight me in my attempts to find Elena someone else.
"Stefan," my twin mumbled into the vampire's chest, sounding far too relieved to see him.
"Hey," Stefan cupped the back of her head, cradling her close to him.
The bitter part of me wondered why he had to be the one to return. Why it couldn't be Damon. He would do a much better job in protecting us and he would be more sensible. Stefan would give in to Elena's every desire, even if it was incredibly stupid. But I guess that I had to be the voice of reason now. At least I had Jenna with me.
XXX
Elena was relegated back to the sofa while Matt and Stefan took over the kitchen. I left her with Jenna, who had woken up, to go and try and get a hold of Jeremy. The kid still wasn't home and I was getting worried. It shouldn't have taken this long to get food from the Grill. And each time I called him; it went through to voicemail. I was getting increasingly creative with my messages to him and it wasn't until the most recent one that I called him a little shithead and ordered him to call me back.
With a sigh, I tucked my phone back into my pocket and rubbed my face. This was the last thing that I needed tonight. It was bad enough that I had seen my sister in the hospital for the second time, now my delightful younger brother thought that it would be fun to go MIA. I swear I would throttle him when I saw him next.
I sat down on the bottom step, resting my head against the wall. I could hear Elena and Jenna speaking in quiet voices but I let them be. I sighed again and closed my eyes, enjoying the cool feeling of the wall. It was oddly comfortable and it gave me something to focus on while I took some deep breaths. I knew that Jeremy would be okay. Alaric wouldn't hurt him, since he wanted to recruit him for his fucked up little plan. And as far as I was aware, none of the Originals would target him. Klaus was the only one who knew about the link between my twin and the hunter. And he was desiccating, gone, unable to tell his siblings. My only hope was that he was getting his flirt on with someone or that he was talking with Bonnie. Maybe even flirting with Bonnie.
I only opened my eyes when I felt a cold nose against my cheek. I looked to see Larry standing in front of me, wagging his tail as he laid his head on my knees. With a soft smile, I scratched behind his ears, "Hey buddy. Aren't you a good boy?"
I ran my fingers through his soft fur, enjoying his warmth and the calmness that he brought. Persuading Jenna to let Jeremy keep him was one of the best decisions that I made. And I knew that Jenna adored him. He had barely left her side since Ric died. He looked after her, making sure that she wasn't alone. And I knew that she appreciated it.
"Where's our silly boy gone, eh?" I spoke softly, gently bopping the dog's nose. "Should we go looking for him?"
Larry's tail wagged and I took that as a yes. But before I could think about getting his lead, my sister let out an aggravated sigh. I knew that it was coming, I was just surprised that it took so long. Elena's ability to tolerate being coddled was not something that she was known for. She put up with it when I did it, but I knew when to back off. The two boys in the kitchen were not backing off. And had refused to let her up from the sofa. I knew that Jenna was reluctantly agreed to keep her there, but we were reaching the point where our aunt needed her own space.
"I'm being over coddled," I heard Ellie grouse and I could just imagine the grumpy look on her face. "I feel completely fine."
I heard some pans clatter in the kitchen while Stefan spoke, "You're on house arrest. You're supposed to be coddled."
"There are other things that I can do while being stuck in here," Elena protested with an eye roll. "Like finishing off painting the loft room. I don't need to be sat here the whole time."
I had to admit, Ellie had a point there. Just because she was stuck in the house, didn't mean that she couldn't be useful. There were a lot of things that needed doing. And I knew that my twin hated sitting still if things needed doing. I was surprised that she had lasted this long.
"Would it be smarter if we just got you the hell out of town?" Matt frowned and I shook my head. Elena would never go for that. She wasn't one to run away like that, even if it was for her own safety. No, she would stay here for as long as possible, even if it was the riskier option.
"And do what?" Ellie scoffed gently, sharing a look with Jenna. "Go on the run for the rest of my life? No thank you." I heard movement and I just knew that Elena had finally given up on the sofa, putting in her protest. She rolled up the blanket that she covering her and threw it into the corner of the couch. "And I'm not an invalid. I'm done with the couch."
"That took longer than I expected," I gave my twin a soft smile when she walked into the hallway. She rolled her eyes and gently stroked Larry's back.
"I know that I scared you all earlier," she shook her head, wincing slightly. "But I can't keep being coddled like that."
"Yeah, they just don't know the right way to go about it," I shot Ellie a teasing look. "They obviously didn't ask for tips."
"Oh ha ha," my sister rolled her eyes at me. I was about to make a comment back but the sound of the door opening had me shooting up. I pushed Elena behind me, resting a hand on Larry's head as I glared at the intruder.
Elijah stood in front of us, dressed impeccably, as always. He didn't look any different than he had the last time I saw him, when Esther was trying to kill him and his siblings. I narrowed my eyes, body tense as I waited for him to make his move. But he just stood there, a tense look on his face.
Elena's face was neutral when she said, "Stefan."
I heard footsteps and the two boys in the kitchen appeared in the doorway. Matt let out a little gasp while Stefan spoke, "Elijah."
At the sound of his name, the Original inclined his head slightly, "Hello again."
XXX
We were all gathered around the dining table. Elena sat at one end of the table with Elijah opposite her. I stood at my sister's side, a hand on her shoulder as I narrowed my eyes at the Original invading my home. Jenna was sat next to me, Larry at her side. The dog rested his head on her leg but you could see that he was tense, waiting to protect his family. Matt was leaning back against the island while Stefan lurked behind us.
"All we need is to take that stake away from him," Elijah was explaining, hands clasped on the table in front of him. "Once he's been disarmed, the weapons in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us."
Stefan exchanged a glance with my sister as he slowly sat down on her other side, asking, "And you'll just run."
"We've done it before," the Original shrugged, not looking too fussed by the thought of going on the run again. "Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?"
"How do we know that the rest of your family will agree to go on the run again?" I frowned, a suspicious feeling curling around my stomach. This just felt too good to be true. "I know for a fact that Rebekah hated being on the run for that long."
"Because we'll be together," Elijah made eye contact with me and I could feel the sincerity in his words. He honestly believed that they would run with him. "And we know that there is an end date to it, it wouldn't be forever."
"It just feels a bit too good to be true," I muttered, glancing down at the phone on the table. The moment Elijah proposed a deal, I called Damon. I knew that he would be a voice of reason. Stefan would do what Elena wanted and my sister was a bleeding heart at times. Damon was the only one strong enough to tell her that she was being stupid, especially since Jenna was still struggling with her grief. And talking about her dead boyfriend like this was not helping.
Elena glanced up at me before sighing, "We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back."
The Original nodded in understanding, "I give you my word, Elena. I will not revive Klaus within yours nor even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners." Those final words were muttered to himself, with a tone that could only come from an older sibling. I had to bite my lip to hide a smirk. Klaus would never learn manners, but it was amusing that Elijah still held out hope.
"Why should she trust you?" Matt frowned, making a very valid point. "All you've done is screw her over."
I saw Ellie wince and internally rolled my eyes. It was something that we all knew, but obviously something that my sister didn't want to be reminded about. Because trusting the Original sat in our kitchen was not always the smartest thing to do. But I knew that Elena would trust him anyway.
"And for that, I am deeply ashamed," Elijah did actually look ashamed, to his credit. "But know this, she could have been dead the instant that I walked through that door tonight," he glanced up at me before looking at my twin, "So, Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not."
Clever, he went to the one that would definitely trust him. Because my twin was an idiot and a sap and was unable to say no to the charming Original. Even if we all told her that she was being stupid, hell, that would probably make her want to trust him even more. So I was incredibly glad that I had backup to remind my stubborn sister of how stupid she was being.
"Not!" my boyfriend snapped from the phone; his voice sharp. "Hello? Did that concussion give you brain damage?! His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!"
"I agree with Damon," I nodded, ignoring Stefan's eyeroll. "He speaks sense, Elena, when it comes to family, Elijah can't always be trusted." I gave the Original a sharp look and he refused to meet my gaze.
Instead, he looked at Elena and Stefan, the two idiots in the room, "Rebekah and Kol will honour the terms. If you return Klaus' body to us, Elena will come to no harm." My twin and her vampire looked at each other as Elijah asked, "Do we have a deal?"
I could tell that they wanted to agree to it, and I was gearing myself up to rip into them when a voice interrupted. Damon's voice was sharp and frustrated as he repeated, "No! No, no, no, no! Did I mention no?"
"I think we need one more, to drive the point home," I spoke up, narrowing my eyes at my sister. "No, Elena. It's not a smart choice."
Stefan gazed at my sister as he said, "Elena, it's up to you. It's your choice."
"Uh, actually, it's everyone's choice, since Alaric is a threat to everyone and someone that we use to love," I turned my narrowed eyes to the younger vampire.
My boyfriend must have agreed as he snapped, "Oh, come on!"
"Why do you want Klaus' body?" my twin asked and I could tell by the look on her face that she would agree to the deal. She was just playing for him. And Elijah's answer was the final nail in the coffin.
"He's my brother," the Original said simply. "We remain together."
"Fuck," I muttered, closing my eyes as I knew what would happen next.
Elena sighed and nodded, "We have a deal."
XXX
Elena was saved from my throttling her by Jeremy's arrival. He walked through the door, a pensive look on his face, only to pause when he saw Elijah sat at the dining table. He stared at the Original before looking at us. I gave a shrug before walking over to him, "What took you so long?"
The kid hesitated before sighing, "Alaric cornered me at the Grill."
"He what?!" I snapped, immediate checking him over for any injuries or signs that the new vampire had gotten rough with him. Thankfully, my brother looked okay, but that didn't stop me from tugging him close and wrapping my arms around him.
"Are you okay?" Jenna asked, rushing over to rest a hand on his cheek.
"I'm fine," he quickly nodded, giving our aunt a reassuring look. "He didn't hurt me. He… he wanted my help."
"With what?" Elena frowned, exchanging a glance with Stefan. I felt my heart clench in worry as I squeezed the kid tighter against me.
Jer wrapped an arm around me as he slowly answered, "With killing the Originals. He wants me to help him get rid of all of the vampires in the world before desiccating him, so Elena can live out her life in peace."
"Nope," I immediately shook my head. "You are not getting involved in any of that and I will rip Alaric a new one if he tries to push you into it. Keeping you safe is a priority."
"Why would he do that?" Jenna frowned, a tense look on her face. I could tell that she was close to tears at the thought of it all, but my amazing aunt, bless her, she was staying strong. She wouldn't let this break her.
"Because he thought that he could manipulate me," Jer sighed, shaking his head as he pulled Jenna into his side. "He tried to use Elena's latest injury against me."
"Asshole," I mumbled, narrowing my eyes at the thought of it before sighing.
Everyone was silent for a moment before Damon spoke up, his amazing mind always ticking and thinking, "Is there a way that we can use this?"
"What do you mean"? Stefan asked with a frown, looking down at the phone.
"Can we use Jeremy to lure Alaric somewhere and desiccate him? Removing the threat that he poses while also taking the target off of Elena's back?"
"It is a good idea," I mused, a thoughtful look on my face as I slowly nodded. "I think it's worth a shot."
Of course, Stefan disagreed.
I let Damon argue it out with him while Jeremy went to go sit on the porch. I wanted to go follow him, but Matt had beaten me to it. I knew that he cared for my brother and he would make sure that he was alright. So I busied myself with tidying up the kitchen, putting away the half-prepared food.
Amazingly, Damon had managed to get Elijah in on the plan. I guess putting Alaric down made it safer for his siblings. Elena was the other person who wasn't too happy with this plan. But when I suggested that Jeremy could call him from here and that he didn't have to do anything that put him in danger. There was no need for him to leave the house for his part of that plan. After that, Ellie had no more arguments.
"So, how do we do this?" I sighed, leaning back against the kitchen island. My arms were crossed to hide the slight shaking in my hand. I knew that this was the right thing to do, it was a smart plan, but I was still worried. We were risking a lot. But we had to try. As long as the white oak stake was taken from him, it didn't matter if everything went to hell. The Originals could survive and flee, and Elena would still be safe.
"We give him a fake location for Klaus' body," Jeremy spoke up, standing in the doorway. I hadn't even noticed him coming back inside. But he had a determined look on his face now, like he had made up his mind. Matt was standing behind him, and I frowned slightly at the look on his face. I made a mental note to talk to him later about it.
Once Jeremy's story was sorted, the kid called our dead guardian. I was glad that I wasn't the one who doing this. I didn't want to talk to Alaric again, especially after what happened earlier. I knew that it was a selfish thought, but I couldn't help it. I was scared to find out what other things my evil side had done, what I was capable of doing. And so I would run away from that situation, avoiding it as much as possible.
I knew the second that the vampire answered the call as Jeremy's body tensed slightly. I reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder and gave him a nod. He returned the nod before saying, "I know where Klaus' body is."
I could tell that the two vampires in the room were listening intently. I was slightly envious that I couldn't hear too, but a part of me was relieved. I almost didn't want to know what Alaric was saying. Jer would tell us if it was anything important.
"Damon's on his way to bury him in the woods off Route 12," the kid's gaze flickered over to my phone on the table. Damon had hung up not long before Jeremy made the call. He was arranging for Bonnie to do some kind of cloaking spell on Klaus' body, keeping it safe while we took out Alaric. "I'll text you with the specifics."
Whatever the vampire said next had my brother tensing further. I gave him a worried look but he closed his eyes and kept his tone neutral as he said, "I know." The kid glanced over at our sister as he hung up the phone. He cleared his throat before saying, "He bought it."
XXX
Of course, once Jeremy found out that we were planning on keeping him safely at home, he kicked up a stink, insisting that he had to go. I let him duke it out with Elena and Jenna, retreating up to my bedroom. I knew that my words would be ignored, and if I was being honest, I was too tired to fight. I had spent too much time today worried about my loved ones; it had taken too much out of me.
With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and dialled a familiar number, "Hey, how are you doing?"
"Well, I'm doing something that I never thought that I would be," Damon's voice had my body automatically relaxing as I laid back against the pillows on my bed. "But life has been strange since I came back to Mystic Falls. The more important question is: how are you doing, baby?"
"Uh, not good," I closed my eyes, resting my arm across them as I allowed myself to be vulnerable. "This whole day has just stressed me out and I can't relax. Jeremy now wants to go to the woods to help with taking down Alaric. And Elena is just being stupid in trusting Elijah. And I don't have the energy to deal with it all."
My boyfriend was silent for a moment before sighing, "Oh baby. Do you want to come and meet me? I can tell you where I am, if you need to get away from town for a bit."
"It's a seriously tempting thought," I laughed humourlessly. "One that I am seriously considering. I'm just worried that if I leave Elena by herself, she might do something stupid. Because she is incapable of thinking sensibly right now."
"I can always get Bonnie to spell her inside the house again," Damon offered and this time, my laugh was a bit more sincere.
"Now I will definitely have to take you up on that," I shook my head, biting my lip at the thought of it. "If you do that, then I'll come meet you."
"I'll get Bonnie to do it when she gets here," my boyfriend promised, his voice filled with a comforting warmth. "Speaking of, she's just arrived. I'll speak to you soon, Ally."
"Be safe, Day," I felt my heart clenching with worry, but I knew that he would be fine. It was the others that would be in danger. He was hiding Klaus before coming back for the confrontation. He would probably miss most of it. "I love you."
"I love you too."
I closed my eyes again after he hung up. So many of my loved ones were in danger tonight and there was nothing that I could do to help. I hated feeling so powerless. It was so frustrating and even though I had trained hard and increased my strength, I was still useless. I couldn't help the ones that I cared about it.
Voices drew me from my thoughts. I sat up and shifted so that I could see out of my open door. Ellie was in her room, speaking to Stefan. She was sharing her own worries with him, ones that I also felt. Because it was true. It did feel like every time that someone left the house, they wouldn't come back. And it was so painful. I didn't blame Elena for admitting that, I would have done the same if Damon was here.
But I was surprised when Stefan held my twin close and gave her one of the most passionate kisses that I had seen from him. My eyes widened dramatically and I slumped back out of sight. I definitely wasn't expecting that. I mean, I knew that he still loved my sister, but I didn't think that he would act on it. Not now, after everything that he had done to her. So to see him kissing her like that, I was a bit of a shock.
I waited in my room until I heard him leave, keeping still until I heard the front door shut. Jenna was still downstairs, so I knew that I would have some privacy when I spoke to my twin about what just happened. And I had to talk to her about what happened. Of course, I would be nice about it. But I knew that she would need to share her thoughts on it.
"Sooo, that was interesting," I remarked as casually as I could, leaning against my sister's doorframe. Ellie glanced up at me from where she was sitting on her window seat. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Should have known that you would see that," my sister shook her head with a wry smile.
"I see everything, Ellie," I teased her gently, moving to sit next to her. I reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Now, spill, tell me how you feel about it."
"I just…" my twin sighed, a frustrated look on her face as she struggled to articulate her feelings. "I still love him. I've tried fighting it, but I just… He came into my life at a time when I needed someone and I fell for him instantly. And despite everything, I never unfell for him. Does that make me a bad person? He hurt you, he tormented my friends but I still love him."
"Of course it doesn't make you a bad person," I was quick to reassure my twin, tugging her closer. "The heart wants what the heart wants. I mean, do I approve of Stefan? No, not right now. Maybe not for a while. But I don't judge you for loving him still. He held an important place in your heart and if you do move on from him, then it will take time. And having his humanity back certainly won't make that any easier for you."
"I just don't know what to do anymore," Ellie looked so helpless and it broke my heart.
"Well, for now, I would say don't think about it," I offered, keeping my voice gentle. "Once the danger is gone and we've had time to mourn Ric, then you can start to think about the matters of your heart."
Elena didn't look convinced, but she nodded, relaxing against my side.
XXX
Elena walked through the woods towards the road, the noise of the bonfire party behind her. She had seen her sister sitting on one of the benches, laughing at a joke that Jasmine Nolan had made. The light of the fire illuminated her face, causing her green eyes to sparkle. The older twin hated the thought of killing her sister's happiness so she pulled out her phone.
She dialled her home number, standing there with a sigh, holding her arms close. It didn't take long for someone to pick up and when they did, she said, "Hey, it's me."
Jenna laughed as she rolled her eyes at her brother-in-law, "Your dad is making me play Pictionary. I suck at Pictionary."
Grayson Gilbert laughed, giving Jenna a teasing look, "You do. You're terrible."
"Bite me, Grayson," she shot back before focusing her attention back on her niece.
"Listen, do you think that someone could come pick me up?" Elena asked with a wince, feeling guilty. She had put up such a fuss about being able to come to the party and now she was asking to come home early. It was a bad move from her, but she wouldn't be asking if she didn't need to. She couldn't stay at the party, not now.
"Oh, having second thoughts about ditching family night?" Jenna teased gently, looking up as her sister entered the room. Miranda didn't need to hear any more before walking over to her younger sister.
She held out her hand, a gentle look on her face, "Here." Once she had the phone in her hand, she softly asked, "Elena, everything okay?"
Elena definitely wasn't okay and her mom could hear it in her voice as she said, "Matt and I got into a fight. He was talking about college and marriage and all the stuff that he always talks about and I just… I couldn't."
Miranda's voice was full of understanding, "He doesn't really care about that yet, honey, he's just trying to figure out how you feel about him right now."
"I don't know how I feel," her oldest daughter's voice was full of misery, even as she lied to herself, just like she had been doing for a while. She couldn't bring herself to admit that her relationship with Matthew Donovan was over.
"Yes, you do," the Gilbert Matriarch contradicted gently, a sympathetic look on her face. "You're just afraid to say it."
Elena bit her lip, knowing that her mom was right. She was always right about this sort of thing. But she didn't know what to do. Matt had been a part of her life for so long, she didn't know what she would do if she lost him. So, with a despondent sigh, she said, "Yeah, but I don't want to lose him."
"You're not gonna lose him, honey," Miranda reassured her daughter, catching her husband's eye. "You're setting him free."
Hearing the tears in Elena's voice, she quickly told her daughter that her and her dad were coming to pick her up. While they were on their way, she asked her oldest to check if Alexandria wanted to come home too. Elena knew that Alexa would stay, but it would keep her busy during the short amount of time that it would take for her parents to come. So she hung up the call and went to go find her twin.
She didn't need to go far. In fact, Elena only walked a couple of steps before her twin came barrelling through the trees towards her. The oldest sister quickly swiped at her eyes, hiding any tears that could have fallen, before her sister could see them and start worrying.
"Ellie, hey" Alexa smiled brightly at her twin, coming to a stop just in front of her. "Are you alright? Jazz said that she saw you walk this way."
Elena nodded, the light from the bonfire perfectly illuminating her face, completely unaware that she was being watched. Damon Salvatore, newly returned to town for a brief visit, stood in shock, unable to believe his eyes. The girl looked exactly like his lost love, Katherine. He almost went over to her, but was halted by the arrival of the other girl. He didn't get a good look at the newcomer, just seeing long brown hair accompanied with a delightful laugh.
"Yeah, I just called mom to get come get me," Elena smiled weakly, doing her best to make sure that her twin didn't suspect anything. "I've got a bit of a headache, so I'm going to go home."
"Ah, no, Ellie, are you okay? Do you want me to go home with you?" Alexa quickly asked, resting her hands on her sister's shoulders. "I don't need to be here, looking after you is more important. Sistas over mistas innit."
Damon frowned at those words as he focused on the heartbeat of his lover's lookalike. This girl was clearly human, but why did she look so much like Katherine. He listened in to their conversation, trying to find any clue as to why the resemblance was possible.
"No, honestly, I'm fine," the oldest twin was quick to reassure her sister. "You stay here, I'm just going to take some aspirin and watch Jenna and dad wind each other up."
Alexa looked dubious but nodded, "As long as you're sure. If you need me, then I'll come home as quickly as possible. Just give me a shout. Promise me that you will."
"I promise, Lexa," Elena smiled softly, reaching out to rest a hand on her twin's cheek. The look had Damon's heart clenching in his chest as he remembered Katherine smiling like that at him. He missed her so much and he was so close to getting her back. But until the comet arrived and until he had the necklace, he could investigate the mystery of the girl in front of him. But for now, he was content to wait in the shadows, watching from afar. After all, he didn't want anyone to know that he was back in town yet.
XXX
I left my sister when Matt came to see her. I knew that they had some things to talk about and I was content to let them do that in peace. Besides, I had said what I needed to and made my sister promise to speak to me if she needed to.
I retreated downstairs and found Jenna on the couch in front of the fireplace. She had the blanket over her lap still, a couple of mugs on the table in front of her. I slumped down next to her, resting my head on her shoulder. Larry was stretched out in front of the fire, slumbering peacefully. It was quite calming, watching him sleep. It was only when Jenna cleared her throat that I glanced away.
"How are you doing?" she asked, carefully easing me up so that she could grab the mugs. She passed me one before settling back next to me. "Matt made some tea, I looked after yours for you."
"Thanks Jenna," I gave her a smile before sipping at my tea. As usual, the Donovan darling had completely over sweetened it with honey but I didn't mind too much. I sipped at it while I glanced over at my aunt. "I'm fine, as usual. But how are you doing? Are you coping okay? Don't think that I've forgotten that you've gotten one of the shittier ends of the deal."
Jenna gave me a warning look for my language before sighing, "I'm just taking each hour as it comes. Right now, the thought of the future is something that I just don't want to deal with."
"That's understandable," I nodded, resting my hand on her knee. "I'm here if you need to talk, okay? I know what it's like to lose someone you love like that. And trust me when I say that you definitely need to talk about it."
"I'll talk when you talk about how you are feeling," my aunt gave me a knowing look and I cleared my throat and looked away. "I was told what Alaric revealed to you and about what happened at Klaus'. I know that you haven't processed any of it and that you're trying to avoid it."
"One day, I'll remember to stop giving you lot advice when something has happened," I muttered, hiding behind my tea. "Look, I'm fine. I need to be fine. Until Alaric is dealt with and all of our loved ones are home safe, I will continue to be fine. It's just what I need to do. Because if I even begin to think about what I was told, I would drown in guilt. I mean, I killed my friend's dad, how can I look Caroline in the eye after that? The Klaus stuff I can deal with. He's made several threats towards me, he's just old news now."
"You can't be blamed for what happened to Bill Forbes," Jenna's voice was soft as she gently tugged my empty mug out of my hands, placing it to the side. "It wasn't you. It was a part of you that had been created and manipulated by Esther. Caroline will understand that, you just need to talk to her."
"I just… I still feel like I should be blamed for it," I said quietly, staring into the fire. "I should have been able to control that side somehow. And I spent so long trying to pretend that there was nothing wrong with me, that I wasn't having those blackouts. If I had said something sooner, then maybe I wouldn't have killed her dad, I wouldn't have taken him from her. But I was too scared and these are the consequences of my fear."
"You're allowed to be scared, Alexa," Jenna gently tugged me against her side, resting her head against mine. "With all of the stuff that we deal with, fear is allowed. Especially when something is happening to your body that you don't understand. No one blames you for being scared about that. I'm just glad that we were able to help you before it was too late."
I heard the guilt in Jenna's voice and frowned, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze, "Hey, you aren't to blame for what happened to Ric. None of us knew that he wasn't taking his herbs. He hid it far too well and then when the alter ego took over, it was game over. I mean, if anyone should be feeling guilty, it's me. I promised him that we would get through it together, I should have noticed that he wasn't taking his herbs. But I didn't. And now I don't know how to save him."
"You still think that it's possible?" my aunt's voice was full of hope and I didn't know if I was being cruel in encouraging it.
"I do," I replied, making a silent promise to myself to find a way. "Bonnie said that she would look into it and find a way. I trust her and I'll do what I can to help her find a way. We're a creative lot, once Alaric is neutralised, then we'll have all the time in the world to find a way. And, in a very helpful way, the only way that he can die is if Elena dies. Which isn't happening any time soon. So trust me, we'll get Ric back. Even if I have to hire every witch in the world to do it."
"Thank you, Lexa," Jenna whispered and I kindly ignored the tears in her voice.
"He's family," I sighed, watching as Larry rolled over, huffing lightly. "And you love him. Saving him was always going to be done, I just need to find a way to do it."
We were silent after that, just sitting together. Eventually, the heat from the fire and the warmth from my aunt had my eyes slipping shut and more of my weight resting against her. I didn't realise that I was tired until I was already asleep.
XXX
I woke up in Matt's truck.
And I was not happy.
I glanced out of the window, seeing the trees move past us at quite some speed, before turning my unimpressed gaze towards Matt. My sister was snoozing against my shoulder, her hair covering her face. And that made me even more unimpressed. She was safer at home. Not in a truck going god knows where.
"Matthew, darling," I kept my voice low, not wanting to disturb my sister or unleash any anger before I found out what was really happening. After all, Matt was a sweetheart and I didn't want to yell at him if he didn't deserve it. It would be like kicking a puppy, just not cool and a shitty thing to do. "Where are we going?"
"Away from Mystic Falls," my friend replied, keeping his gaze on the road. But I saw him wince slightly as I glared at him. "I had to do it; I couldn't let anything happen to either of you."
"And speaking to us first just wasn't an option?" I ground out, feeling Elena stir. She raised a hand to her head as she sat up. I helped her sit up straight, keeping my narrowed eyes on Matt. I knew why he didn't speak to us. And I suspected how he managed to get us into this truck without waking us up. I just didn't want to shout at him until I checked in on my sister.
"I knew that you wouldn't agree to it," Matt sighed as Elena turned to look at him too. I could see the confusion on her face and kept my arm wrapped around her shoulders. I carefully examined her the best I could but it was clear that she wasn't hurt. She was fine. But that didn't reassure me too much. Because I had no way of guaranteeing that she would stay fine.
"What's going on?" she frowned, glancing between me and Matt and the road in front of us.
"Stupidness," I crossed my arms, doing my best to keep calm. But it was hard. Because being out here, Elena was at risk. Yes, the Original siblings had apparently agreed to leave her unharmed, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't accidentally do something. And it didn't keep her safe from Alaric. He might decide to swoop in and lock her away somewhere to keep himself safe and alive. Either way, it was a foolish risk, taking her away from the safety of the house.
"It was the only way that I was gonna get the both of you in this truck," the boy shook his head, looking slightly apologetic.
I could see my sister frowning in thought and waited for her to put together what I did. I knew that I wasn't tired so falling asleep like that was weird. And I also knew that he knew that we weren't going to get into this truck voluntarily. So he had to be sneaky about it.
"The tea," Ellie gasped, shooting Matt a betrayed look. "You drugged us?"
"Did Jenna know?" I asked when our friend winced. "Was she in on this?"
"She gave me her permission," he admitted softly and I cursed under my breath. I knew why, she just wanted to keep her safe. But I didn't appreciate these underhand tactics. She should have just spoken to me, to us. "Look, I'm sorry, but Elena, what you said earlier, you're right, okay. You don't have any parents to tell you what's right or wrong, and there is only so much that Jenna can do, especially when she is grieving Alaric. Other than her, the two of you just have me and Jeremy and a bunch of vampires fighting a war that you shouldn't be in the middle of."
I exchanged a glance with my sister and I just knew what was happening. I let Elena get angry. Even after my forced nap, I just didn't have the energy to deal with it. It was too much. I knew that they had good intentions but they took our choice away from us without even speaking to us first. We didn't get to tell them why we wanted to stay in town. Why this was a war that we should be involved in. For one thing, so many of our loved ones were involved in it. Yeah, a lot of them were vampires, but why should that matter? We grew up with Caroline and Tyler, we had no right to be abandoning them now. As for Damon… I loved him more than I could put into words. I couldn't leave him to deal with this without my help. Whether Matt liked it or not, we were involved because Alaric's life was linked to my twin's. And I wouldn't leave Ellie to deal with this by herself.
"What the hell is going on, Matt?" Elena snapped, resting a hand on my knee to stop it from bouncing. I didn't know how else to get rid of the pent up energy. I wanted to scream but I couldn't. I wanted to get mad but I knew that Matt had good intentions even if I hated them. But I was too tired. So what else could I do? There was nothing. We were stuck in this truck, being driven away from our home and loved ones.
"I'm getting you both out of town, Elena," Matt replied tiredly, but his face shone with determination. And I knew that we wouldn't be able to get him to turn this truck around. "It's the only way to keep you both safe."
"Even if it means taking away our choices?" I asked quietly, shaking my head. "None of you asked what we wanted. If we wanted to leave. Because you knew that we would stay to fight for our loved ones. We wouldn't abandon them like this, not after everything that we had done to keep them safe."
"Keeping them safe at the risk to your own lives," the boy argued, glancing over at me with a passionate gaze. "Alexa, you've died five times because you wouldn't keep yourself safe. Someone has to do it for you."
XXX
Alaric had killed Klaus.
I didn't know how he had managed to find him but he had called our bluff. Our plan had failed and now Klaus was dead. The one who had supposedly sired our vampires' bloodline. I was holding onto my twin's hand, squeezing tight. She was holding on just as tightly. Faces were flashing through my mind: Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Tyler. So many people were in danger now. And if Klaus was right, then I was losing all of them. Of course, my traitorous mind couldn't stop reminding me that no matter what, I was losing Tyler.
"Got it, Jer," Matt hung up the call, having learnt everything that we could. I could feel my heart thudding in my chest. And I felt my stomach rolling with nausea. I couldn't believe that this had happened. I didn't want to believe it. But it had happened.
The moment that call was ended, Elena spoke up, her voice filled with urgency while I sat next to her, my heart frozen in my chest, "We have to go back. Listen to me, Matt, if Klaus is the one that turned their bloodline, then they're all gonna die." Matt didn't respond, he just kept on driving, keeping his gaze fixed forward. My sister shook her head, raising her voice, "We have to go back, Matt!"
It was then that our friend glanced over, his eyes filled with sadness as he quietly said, "Elena."
"What?!" my twin's voice was still filled with urgency, her voice louder than normal.
And Matt winced, looking over at me, before he revealed, "Damon's not with them."
I froze in my seat, my breath catching in my throat. I knew that he had been with Klaus' body. But I had assumed, foolishly assumed, that he had come back to town with Bonnie. But he hadn't. He was still so far away. Oh god, I had to go to him.
"He's a hundred miles out of town," Matt continued to explain softly, looking at me with sad eyes. "I can keep driving to him or I can turn around and go back to Stefan and the others. It's your choice."
Elena was silent for a moment, while I tried to breathe around the tight band around my chest, suffocating me. I closed my eyes, trying to breathe, to calm the panic coursing through my body.
"We have to go back," my sister spoke softly after a few seconds. I opened my eyes, looking at her through a teary gaze, unable to stop the betrayed feeling stabbing through my heart.
"No," I rasped, holding a hand against my heart, willing it to calm down, just for a moment. "I need to go to Damon. I have to see him. Why do you get to say goodbye to Stefan? Why can't I go to Damon?"
Elena wouldn't look at me in the eye when she said, "It's not just Stefan. Caroline and Tyler are there too."
"But it's not like you'll go to them, you'll go straight to Stefan. They will stay together; they won't go to you. They'll go to their mom's if they aren't together. Take me to Damon," I was barely paying attention to what I was saying. My mind was spinning, the only coherent thought was my need to get to my boyfriend. To the man that I loved. "Please."
"I'm sorry, Lexa," she shook her head, looking past me to speak to Matt. "Take us back."
I shook my head, tears finally falling, but I knew that there was nothing that I could do. It was hopeless. Elena would get to say goodbye to her vampire, who she wasn't even with anymore, but I wouldn't get to say goodbye to mine. The best that I could do was call him.
My hand shook as I held the phone to my ear, praying for him to pick up. It took a few seconds, but he did, "Let me guess. Calling to see if the Grim Reaper's paid a visit?"
"Of course not," I smiled weakly, trying to hide my tears. "Just thought that I would check in, make sure that Bonnie didn't lock you up somewhere." I sniffed slightly before quietly asking, "How… are you okay? Is anything happening to you? Are you feeling anything?"
"Not yet, baby," Damon's voice was soft as he spoke, but I could hear the worry buried in his voice. And I desperately wished that I wasn't sitting between Matt and Elena, that I was able to make this call in private. "But I'm sure we'll have a laugh when we find out that Klaus is a big, fat liar."
"And we'll dance on his grave too," I forced out a laugh, closing my eyes, ignoring the tears that fell.
"Where are you?"
"Matt is taking us home," I couldn't hide the sob, even as I bit my lip after. "They didn't give me a choice. They said that Stefan and Tyler and Caroline are there. And I couldn't go to you." I drew my knees up to my chest, resting my forehead against them as I whispered, "I just wish that I didn't waste so much time. I could have revealed my feelings so much earlier, we could have had so much more time together."
"I know, baby, but I will never regret the time that we got together, even when we were just friends," my boyfriend, even when he was facing the prospect of dying, would never stop reassuring me. "I love you, Alexandria Gilbert, and I will always love you. No matter what."
"I love you too," I squeezed my eyes together tighter. "And you're going to be fine. Klaus was a filthy liar and you are going to be okay and I'll see you very soon and you're going to be fine."
Damon's voice was distant when he agreed, "I'll be fine. I love you, baby."
I couldn't stop the tears when the call ended and I sobbed into my knees, ignoring the comforting arm that my twin wrapped around my shoulders. Because I knew in my heart that nothing was going to be the same again. That I was saying goodbye.
XXX
I didn't move from that position, even when Caroline called. I knew that it wasn't good news but the pain in my heart stopped me from asking what it was. I just didn't have the energy to care. I had just said goodbye to the man that I loved. I knew that it was goodbye. Klaus didn't lie, he had no need to lie. And now we were suffering the consequences of his truth.
"You too, Care," Elena nodded, her voice softy before hanging up the call. I kept my eyes closed. I knew that Matt would ask what was wrong, what had happened. So I didn't have to, I could drown in my grief.
"What now?" Matt immediately asked, waiting barely a second after the call ended.
I could hear the tears in my sister's voice as she answered, "It's Tyler, he um… he's…"
She trailed off but we didn't need to hear the rest of it. It was obvious what had happened. And new tears joined the old ones. I had tried not to think that I was definitely losing Tyler. It was a horrible thought. But now I couldn't run away from that truth. He was gone. He was dead. And I just didn't know what to do. It was Tyler. He had always been there. Even when we were fighting last summer, he was there. And now he was gone.
"Damn it!" Matt tried to hide the sob behind his anger. But we could all hear it. He began to hit the steering wheel, anger and grief mixing together. And I couldn't blame him. Tyler, poor Tyler, who had been through so much, was now gone. He didn't deserve that. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
"Matt, Matt! No," Elena leant across me to rest a hand on his arm, gently urging him to stop. "Stop it."
"This isn't how our lives were supposed to be, Elena," our friend looked over at my sister, blue eyes shining with tears. The pain in his voice hurt my heart and I couldn't help but agree. We weren't supposed to be dealing with this. We were all supposed to be happy but happiness just didn't feel possible now.
"I know," my twin was soft as she sighed. And what else could she say? We all knew that our lives had been changed the moment that Stefan came to town. Things would never have been the same after that. And Elena knew it more than anyone. Just by existing, she had changed everyone's lives. The Salvatore brothers coming to town had just sped that up.
Things were silent after that.
We were all caught up in our own thoughts. Thinking about those who had died or were dying. About how much had changed. It was horrible. All of it. And I just didn't know what to do. Everything hurt. My heart hurt. With every breath, all I could think about was the fact that I had lost the man I loved, lost my brother, lost my friends. How could we move on after that? It was like the night our parents died all over again.
Elena had her phone in her hands, checking in on people. There was no more new news. But I knew that something was coming. It had to be. It was just a matter of time. With a shake of her head, my sister muttered, "I need to call Stefan, but my phone is dying."
I barely held in the snort. Why did she need to call him? She was going back to him. We were leaving Damon to die alone so that she could go back to Stefan. I knew that it was unfair for me to think like that. But I couldn't help it. Elena always got to be the one to say goodbye. I just wanted to be with the man that I loved for one last time.
Matt nodded, pulling out his phone, "Here, use mine."
I moved my knees out of the way, letting Elena reach over to grab it. I kept my mouth shut and looked out of the windscreen in front of us. We were approaching Wickery Bridge. We were close to town. And I hated the sight of that bridge. It represented the change in our lives. Our parents died here. My sister nearly died here. Stefan threatened to kill us here. I didn't know if I would ever forgive him for that. Even if Elena apparently had. I hid a sigh and closed my eyes. I didn't want to see the bridge anymore. I didn't want to see any of it. I just wanted to close my eyes and pretend that everything was fine. It was the only thing that could keep my going. Because I couldn't give in to my pain, not yet. Not until I was alone.
"Thanks," Elena gave him a small smile before glancing up. Matt was still looking at my sister, totally unaware of what was in front of us. But my sister had seen it. She immediately shouted, her voice urgent, "Matt! Look out!"
But it was too late.
I opened my eyes to see Rebekah standing in the middle of the road. A vicious look on her face as she stood there, the trucks headlights illuminating her face. Including the tears staining her skin. With a shout, Matt jerked on the wheel, swerving to avoid her. But he didn't have anywhere to go. Except into the guardrail, protecting those on the bridge from the water below.
The truck crashed through the wood and for a brief moment, we flew through the air. And then the front of the truck titled down, giving us a clear view of the water. Elena screamed beside me and I reached out to grab her hand, giving it a squeeze.
And then we hit the water.
My head snapped forward and for a moment, I cursed my lack of seatbelt. But then my head hit the dashboard and I knew no more.
XXX
The truck was at the bottom of the river. All three of the occupants were unconscious, unaware of the water that was filling up the vehicle. It was Elena that woke up first, blinking awake. Once she saw the water, she closed her mouth, keeping in as much as she could. Elena turned to the others, noting the blood that stained her sister's head. She tried to shake Alexa awake, but the girl remained unconscious. Elena's heart broke in her chest as she failed to wake up her sister.
Her eyes burned, from tears and from the water, as she held Alexa close. Elena then grabbed Matt's arm, shaking his body, trying to wake him up. But he wouldn't wake up either. Elena knew that she was the only one that could help them. But she couldn't stop herself from shaking their bodies, desperately calling their names. The sound was swallowed by the water.
With a desperate sob, she turned to the door, tugging on the handle. But it wouldn't open. Elena tried to break the window with her elbow, but she wasn't strong enough. They were trapped in the truck and there was nothing that she could do to help any of them. She couldn't save her twin; she couldn't save her friend. They were going to die down here and the thought broke her heart.
Elena turned back to the others, pressing her twin against her while she tried to shake Matt awake. But he still wouldn't wake up. She couldn't see his face properly, but she didn't think that he had hit his head, like Alexa had. But he must have, since he wasn't waking up. No matter how much she shook him, he just wouldn't wake up. And that only added to her worry.
It wasn't until she saw movement from outside that she relaxed slightly. Stefan was swimming down to the them, stopping outside the door beside Matt. Their eyes met and Elena knew that they were saved. That her twin and friend were saved. For Elena had realised something in those few seconds. Her life was tied with Alaric's. Alaric, who was a threat to so many that she loved. She could save those people, she just had to take that final step.
Using his vampire strength, Stefan ripped the door to the truck off, dropping it to the side. He tried to swim past Matt, desperate to get to Elena. But she shook her head, pointing to Matt, to her sister. The vampire hesitated for a moment before shaking his head, attempting to get to Elena again. But the doppelganger narrowed her eyes and shook her head even more fiercely. She had made up her mind and she wasn't going to change it.
Stefan and Elena stared at each other for a moment. And the vampire realised that he couldn't save all three of them. Not even with his strength. So had to do the hardest thing possible. He had to respect Elena's whish, even if it meant leaving her behind to die. But he had always respected her choice, he couldn't stop doing that now.
So, with one last look at the girl he loved, he grabbed Matt by the arm, pulling him from the truck. Elena pressed a kiss to Alexa's head before passing her over to Stefan. The vampire wrapped an arm around her waist, grabbing Matt with his free hand before swimming to the surface.
The moment he breached the surface, Stefan focused on getting the girl in his arms to breathe again. It took only a few seconds before Alexa was coughing, choking on the water. Content that she was alive, he did the same to Matt. The boy took a bit longer but when he blinked his blue eyes open, Stefan gave him a nod. Knowing that they were both too weak to tread water, the vampire pulled them over to the riverbank as quickly as he could, thankful that they were close.
Down in the truck, Elena had waited until she saw her loved ones disappear from her sight. She could feel her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. But she didn't need to suffer that pain for long. Elena closed her eyes and opened her mouth, breathing in the water. She focused on why she was doing this, praying that her family would finally be safe. With her last thought being of her twin sister, silently begging the world to be kind to her.
Stefan had just managed to get the humans to the riverbank when Alexa started choking. She held a hand to her throat, panicked green eyes meeting his. Matt held onto her, calling out her name with a weak voice, as Alexa struggled to breath. It felt like she was drowning on dry land. And she just couldn't breathe.
Stefan and Matt kept on calling her name, as her eyes rolled back and her body went limp. As Elena gave up her life beneath the water, Esther's spell claimed the life of her sister. And so, both of the Gilbert twins died, leaving the world the same way that they entered.
Together.
XXX
Damon's POV
The moment I got back into town; I went straight to the hospital. I was desperate to get to my girl. Stefan had told me what had happened. I didn't want to believe it. Alexa couldn't be dead. Not now. Not ever.
I pushed my way through the doors, desperately looking for my girl. I didn't know where she would be. Because she couldn't be dead. I refused to believe it. She had to be here somewhere, alive and okay. I couldn't let myself believe any differently.
"Where is she?" I growled, pushing my way through the people that dared to get in my way.
"No, Damon, wait!" Meredith called after me, running over and grabbing my arm.
"Where is she?!" I kept on moving, needing to find Alexa. I ignored Meredith's attempts to stop me until she dug in her heels. I spun around and snarled in her face, barely keeping a hold on my temper as she tried to stop me from looking for Alexa.
"You need to know, when Jeremy and Alexa brought Elena in here earlier tonight, her injuries were worse than I let on," the doctor spoke quickly, clearly sensing that she needed to give me as much information as she could, as quickly as she could, otherwise I would ditch her. "It wasn't a concussion, it was a cerebral haemorrhage, bleeding of the brain." I frowned at her, not realising what she meant until she emphasised, "They were both so worried, I didn't want to tell them, but I… I helped her. She needed my help."
She had given Elena vampire blood. She had helped her, in the cheating way that she used. But I didn't care about that. Whether Elena lived or died wasn't my concern. No, all I cared about was Alexa. The older twin had my brother to worry about her. Alexa needed me.
"What about Alexa?" I snapped, tugging my arm from her hand. "Did you help her? No. So, where is she?"
"In the morgue," Meredith replied quietly, stepping back and pointing in the right direction. "You'll find her down there."
I nodded before striding forward, desperate to get to my girl. I moved as quickly as I could without using my vampire speed. I wasn't in the right mind to make sure that no one saw me and I was more likely to rip someone apart than compel them if they stopped me from getting to Alexa.
I burst through the doors, ignoring my brother. Stefan was sat by Elena's body, looking down at her with red eyes. He blamed himself for her death. And I blamed him for Alexa's. I knew that he got her out of the water, but I still couldn't stop myself from blaming him. He was the one in town, he was supposed to be protecting them. And now the twins had gotten killed on his watch.
I went straight to Alexa's body, perching on the stretcher. I carefully picked her up, settling my girl on my lap. I kept my back to Stefan, hiding the tears that formed against my will. I held Alexa's body close, resting my chin on the top of her head. She was cold. And I knew, deep down, that I had lost her. I didn't want to admit it, but I didn't have much of a choice. She was gone.
Behind me, I heard Elena gasp awake, the vampire blood doing what it needed. But I ignored it, leaving my brother to deal with it. It was his twin; he could deal with it. Alexa deserved all of my attention and I refused to put anyone above her. Stefan tried to calm Elena down, explaining what he could. But the girl was delirious, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
I was just about to turn around, to tell him to get her out of here, so that I could mourn in peace. But then something amazing happened. something I never expected.
Alexa gasped awake.
She stared up at me, body cold, heart still.
And I knew.
I didn't know how it was possible. But it was clear to see.
Alexa was in transition.
XXX
A/N: Thank you for the reviews, please keep them coming! I'm so happy that we got to 500 before the end of the season :) I've started work on season 4, it's been going a bit slow but now that I have decided what I want to do, it should go a bit quicker. But in order to build in some backup chapters, I am unfortunately going to be taking another break from updating. The next update will be on Friday 1st April. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and the season, until next time xoxo
