The Salvatore Jewel

Chapter 25

Soon enough, it was time for everyone to go home. Tyler, Caroline, Ellie, and Matt decided to drive together in Tyler's truck while Damon, Stefan, Elena, and Jeremy drove together in Damon's car. In Tyler's truck, Caroline and Ellie sat in the back as they giggled about something. Matt noticed that Tyler was rubbing his forehead and said to Tyler, "Tyler, are you okay, buddy?" Tyler nodded his head and replied, still rubbing his forehead, "Yeah, I'm okay." Caroline looked over to Ellie to see that she was doing the same as Tyler, rubbing her forehead. The blonde said to Matt, "Uh, Matt?" Matt turned to look at his friend then his eyes widened when he saw Ellie rubbing her forehead as well. Before anyone could do anything, Tyler lost control of his truck and ran off of Whickery Bridge. The last thing that was heard were Ellie and Caroline's screams before the cops and an ambulance arrived. With the others, the others arrived at the scene just in time to see Tyler, Matt, and Caroline being pulled out of the water. Damon's heart dropped when he didn't see his daughter come out of the water. He ran over the edge of the bridge but was pulled back by a police officer who told him that they were doing all they could to get Ellie out. He wanted to believe them, he truly did, but he wouldn't allow himself to loose his daughter like he did with his wife. Stefan saw the heartbreak on his brother's face and took off his jacket, giving it to Elena. Elena took her friend's jacket and said to him, "Stefan, what are you doing? Stefan?" Stefan didn't respond and walked over the edge of the bridge, ignoring the worried calls of the police officers. He took a deep breath and jumped into the water. Stefan looked around the water for a sign of his niece and found Tyler's truck at the bottom.

On the bridge, Damon paced around as he waited for a sign of his niece and brother, ignoring the reassurances from the police. He stopped pacing when he heard a loud gasp and turned to see his brother coming out of the water, with Ellie in his arms. It felt as if things slowed down as paramedics raced over to Stefan and Ellie and went to attend to the unconscious girl. All this time, Jeremy stood with his eyes wide in shock and fear and couldn't move. He had already lost Ellie once and it felt like he was losing her all over again. From the shadows, Katherine watched the scene with a smug look and a smirk graced her face. Her plan was now falling into place. She was unaware that she too was being watched by Victoria, who had a distraught look on her face. At the hospital, Ellie was rushed into the ER and was barely breathing. The doctors began to do CPR on the teenage girl but there wasn't a response. A nurse said to the doctor, "She's not breathing!" The doctor replied, pressing his hands on the girl's chest, "She's not dying on my watch! The girl has been through enough already." The nurse said, "Let's just hope for a miracle." Another doctor replied, "A damn good one." A while later, a doctor came out to the waiting room and walked over to Damon who was practically pacing down the hallway. Damon stopped and said, turning to the doctor, "How is she?" Elena said to the doctor, "And how are Caroline, Tyler, and Matt?" The doctor took a deep breath and replied, "Caroline and Matt are doing fine and they have minor injuries. Tyler, on the other hand, has a minor concussion. As for Ellie, we're doing all we can. She came in barely breathing and had a lot of water in her lungs, along with a concussion. Right now, we're moving her to a room where we can check on any changes. So, in the meantime, we just have sit tight and wait. And hope for a miracle. She has been through a lot. *He turned to Damon with sympathy* I'm so sorry, Damon, but we're doing all we can."

Damon nodded at the doctor, who walked away to check on more patients, and walked out of the hospital. Well, more like he stormed out. Elena watched her boyfriend storm off with sadness on her face and turned to her boyfriend's brother. Stefan nodded at Elena and walked off to follow his brother, patting the two Gilbert siblings' shoulders as he passed them. After looking for his brother for what seemed to be an eternity, Stefan found Damon at Victoria's gravestone and watched his brother with a look of sympathy. Although he and Damon don't get along often and Damon sometimes could be a jerk, Stefan believed that Damon didn't deserve this. He had already lost his wife to childbirth, he didn't need to loose his daughter who was his only link to humanity. Damon heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him and saw that it was Stefan. Damon kept his eyes on the engraving on his wife's tombstone and said to Stefan, "Why is this happening, Stefan?" Stefan sighed and replied, "I really don't know, Damon." Damon said, "First, Ellie's werewolf side comes out, then that scrape, and now this. It's as if nature is punishing us." Stefan replied, "I don't know what to tell you, Damon. Like the doctor said, we just have sit and wait and hope for a miracle." Damon sighed and said, finally turning to Stefan, "You know that he was only saying that go get our hopes up, Stefan. Don't you get it? You have no idea how much that kid means to me. When Ellie was born, it felt like the whole world made sense. She's the only link of humanity I have left. And I will do anything it takes to keep her safe................even if I have to turn her into a vampire." Stefan's eyes widened and replied, "You can't, Damon. Ellie won't forgive you for doing it." Damon said, "If it means that she lives, then she'll thank me later for it." With that, he stood from his spot and sped off back to the hospital where he could turn his daughter. He just wasn't ready to let his daughter go yet. And besides, the prophecy wouldn't be fulfilled if Ellie died.

Damon eventually found his daughter's hospital room and found her, once again, hooked up to different monitors that monitored his daughter's health. His eyes landed on the bed and his heart broke. Ellie was unconscious and her chest was hardly moving up and down. For a second, he was having second thoughts but he knew what he thought he had to do. The older Salvatore made his way over to the hospital bed and sat next to his daughter. There was a loose strand of brown hair that covered the unconscious teenage girl's face. Damon gently pushed the hair away from his daughter's face and whispered, sighing sadly, "I'm so sorry, Ellie." He then bit his wrist and moved his wrist above his daughter's mouth, allowing his blood to fall into Ellie's mouth. He sat there for a couple minutes before going to the bathroom to clean up his wrist to not cause suspicion. While Damon was in the bathroom, Jeremy was in Ellie's hospital room to check on her for himself. Stefan had went to check on Matt and Tyler while Elena went to check on Caroline, who had just woken up and was being visited by her mother. In Caroline's hospital room, Caroline sat in her hospital bed as she and her mother talked. A knock on the door interrupted the conversation and Liz went to answer the door, smiling softly when she saw it was Elena. Liz gave Elena a small smile and said to her, "Hi, Elena." Elena smiled at the officer ad replied, "Hi, Liz. I came to see how Caroline was doing. May I come in?" Liz nodded and stepped aside, allowing Elena to step in. Caroline smiled sadly at Elena and said to her, "Mom and I were just talking about Ellie. How is she?" Elena sighed and replied, "Things are not looking too good. Ellie had too much water in her lungs and had a concussion. The doctors are hoping for some type of miracle."

The sound of someone calling for help grabbed the two teenagers and the officer's attention. Elena ran out to see Jeremy calling out for a doctor and raced over to him, with fear on her face. Elena placed her hands on her younger brother's shoulders and said to him, "Jeremy, what happened?" Jeremy shaked his head with fear on his face and replied, "I don't know. One minute I was with Ellie and she didn't move but the next, the monitors went off and she started thrashing around." Damon walked out of the bathroom to see doctors and nurses in his daughter's hospital room with a slight raised eyebrow. Elena sighed in relief when she saw her boyfriend and said to Damon, "Thank God, Damon. I think that Ellie might be having a seizure." Damon replied, trying to pull off as concerned, "What happened?" Elena said, "Jeremy was with Ellie and her monitors went off. *Her eyebrow raised when she noticed the fakeness* You knew this would happen though. You gave Ellie your blood, didn't you?" Damon sighed but nodded and replied, "It's for her own good, Elena." Jeremy crossed his arms and said, "And now, you do realize that if she dies again, she'll be a vampire when she goes through transition? You know how she feels about blood and killing. Just the thought of it would make herself feel sick." Damon rolled his eyes and replied, "We'll be there to help her, Jer. What's done is done."