The Salvatore Jewel

Chapter 16

The next day, Ellie was discharged from the hospital after staying overnight but she was forced to stay in a wheelchair to help her wound heal for a week. The one advantaged to this was that Damon had ungrounded Ellie and she was able to go out with her friends. However, the downside was that she was stuck in a wheelchair and couldn't exactly go by herself. Ellie was sprawled up on the couch, taking a nap, when the doorbell rang. Ellie stirred and groaned when the doorbell rang again. She sat up and shouted, remembering that her father was still there, "Dad, the door!!!" Damon came running down the staircase when he heard his daughter's shout and stopped at the doorway. He opened the door to see Jenna with Elena and surprisingly, Alaric. He looked between the trio and said to them, "Jenna, Elena, Ric. What brings you guys here?" Jenna chuckled and replied, "We wanted to make sure that you and Stefan weren't boreding poor Ellie to death. Well, mostly me and Elena but Ric had some news for you and Stefan." Damon nodded and said, stepping aside, "Come in. Ellie's on the couch in the living room." After Damon said that, Elena rushed past her boyfriend and raced towards her brother's best friend. She stopped midway when she saw Ellie on the couch with a bandage wrapped around her stomach and spotted a wheelchair next to the couch.

It pained Elena to see her friend in this state. Ellie looked up from her laptop when she heard her dad let someone in the house and turned, wincing from the wound. She smiled and said, spotting Elena, Jenna, and Alaric, "Oh, hey, Elena. Hi, Jenna, Uncle Ric." Jenna smiled at the young girl and replied, as she came into the living room, "How are you feeling, Ellie?" Ellie sat up to where her arms were holding her up and said, sighing, "I'm doing okay, considering that I just woke up yesterday and I'm now in a wheelchair." Jenna chuckled and replied, "Well, it's just temporary, sweetheart." Ellie said to Jenna, glancing at Alaric, "What's Uncle Ric doing here? I thought he was still in Boston." Elena took a seat next to Ellie and replied, "Damon called him for more back up. From what I gather, he and Ric are pretty close." Ellie nodded and said, "Yeah, Uncle Ric and Dad have been friends for a long time. Uncle Stefan told me that Dad and Mom named him my godfather when I was born." After talking about the news Alaric had for Damon, Damon headed back into the living room. Ellie turned to see her father walking back into the living room and said to him, noticing that her godfather wasn't with her father, "Where did Uncle Ric go, Dad?" Damon took a seat in one of love seats and replied, "He had to use the bathroom. He'll be down in a little bit, kiddo. You feeling okay?" Ellie's phone went off and Ellie looked to see that it was a text from Caroline. Caroline- Hey, do you wanna have a girl's day out with me and Bonnie? Stefan said that you were out of the hospital. Ellie turned to her dad and said to him, "Dad, Caroline asked if I wanted to go on a girl's day with her and Bonnie. Can I?" Damon replied, shrugging his shoulder, "It doesn't matter to me. As long as you send me a text." Ellie smiled at her father and said, "Thank you, Dad!" Damon just smiled and winked at his daughter. Ellie then sent a text to Caroline, saying that she would love to. Ellie to Caroline- Sure, I would love to. You will have to pick me up though. If Uncle Stefan told you that I was out of the hospital, then he told you that I'm in a wheelchair.

Soon after receiving Ellie's text, Caroline and Bonnie both arrived at the Salvatore Boardinghouse with Tyler in tow. Damon helped Ellie get into her wheelchair and gathered her stuff. Caroline came over to Ellie, who was now in her wheelchair, and said to her, "You ready to go, El?" The blonde haired girl then noticed that Elena was in the living room and slightly glared at her. Elena averted her eyes and looked at the ground, as shame came over her. Ellie took noticed of this and made a mental note to ask one of her friends. Ellie turned back to Caroline and replied, "Ready when you guys are." Tyler made his way to help wheel Ellie out of the house, with Caroline and Bonnie behind them. Damon then walked out, following the teenagers, and helped Ellie into Caroline's car. Jenna came up to Elena, who watched from the doorway, and said to her, "One of these days, you and Caroline will have to come to terms, Elena." Elena sighed and replied, "Believe me, Aunt Jenna, I'm trying." After everyone got settled in Caroline's car, Caroline got in her driver seat and pulled out of the Salvatore Boardinghouse. In the car, Ellie laughed at what something Tyler had said. Ellie cleared her throat and said, with a hint of nervousness, "So, did I miss anything while I was in the hospital?" Caroline's smile fell and she glanced at Bonnie and Tyler through her mirror. Tyler turned his head to face his friend and whispered, "I'll tell you later." Ellie raised her eyebrow but just nodded at Tyler, not wanting to increase the tension even further. The group of four arrived in town where Caroline stopped at the Mystic Grill so they could sit down and have lunch. Caroline put the car in park when she pulled up into a parking spot and turned off the car. She and Bonnie both got out of the car, as did Tyler, and opened the car door on the side where Ellie was. Tyler grabbed Ellie's wheelchair from the trunk and had Bonnie set it up where he could help Ellie get settled.

Once Ellie was in her wheelchair, the friends then walked into the Mystic Grill and waited to be seated. Ellie looked around the small restaurant and smiled softly when she found Jeremy sitting in a booth by himself. She excused herself from her three friends and wheeled herself over to Jeremy's booth. The teenage girl smiled and said to Jeremy, "So, are you just going to sit there by yourself or come over here and give me a hug, Jer?" Jeremy jumped at the sound of his best friend's voice and turned to see her smiling. Jeremy brought his best friend into a hug and said, in shock, "Ellie? I didn't know that you were out of the hospital." Ellie giggled and replied, "Yeah, I was discharged yesterday. Dad thought that I should be kept in the hospital for another day or two but the doctor said that as long as I was careful with my wound and to keep it from reopening, it was okay. The downside is that I have to be in this old thing for a couple weeks." Jeremy chuckled and said, "I guess that's hard for you." Ellie smiled and replied, "You have no idea." She turned to see that Tyler, Caroline, and Bonnie had gotten a booth and were waving her over. Ellie turned back to Jeremy and said, "Hey, I know that Caroline and Bonnie wanted to have a girl's day but Tyler came to help me get in and out of this. Would you like to join us, Jeremy?" Jeremy smiled and replied, "I wouldn't want to ruin your fun." Ellie scoffed and said, "You won't. Besides, the more the merrier. And I want to catch up with what has happened since I have been in the hospital unconscious for two and a half weeks. Now, come on." Jeremy shaked his head with a smile and placed his hands on Ellie's wheelchair handles, wheeling her over to the booth where the others were.