(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Fifty-Four

Close to the Fell Crypt, Caroline, Elena, Bonnie, and Matt are walking together, heading inside. Change of plans regarding Caroline's birthday. Daphne is leaning against the outside of the crypt, she pushes herself up when she sees her friends, shifting slightly. It's cold out here and she didn't really dress for spending the day in a crypt.

"Okay, so I got your text, what's with the creepy location?" She asks.

"Caroline was right" Elena offers. "Technically, she's dead" Elena turns to Caroline. "Sorry. But you don't need a birthday, you need a funeral. You need to say goodbye to your old life, so that you can move on with your new one"

"Oh, we do something like that" Daphne offers. "Usually with ghosts, but same principle..."

"Okay, what?" Caroline asks, a little worried about whatever this is going to be.

"Deathday Parties" Daphne answers. "It's normally celebrated on the day you die but...we can do that next year if you want...." Caroline smiles a little.

"You guys celebrate that stuff?"

"Are you kidding?" Daphne counters. "The wizarding world celebrates anything and everything they can" She then gasps. "We could call it a Turningday Party" They all give her a look. "A little on the nose?"

"Yeah, maybe a little" Matt answers, she shrugs and then turns to Elena who smirks softly.

"Okay. So...Here lies Caroline Forbes..." Caroline starts as Elena puts candles on top of a birthday cake.

"Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third-grade hopscotch champion..." Elena continues.

"Friend, daughter, overachiever..." Bonnie adds.

"Mean girl, sometimes, no offence" Matt glances at Caroline who then smirks.

"Ah, none taken"

"She was 17, and she had a really good life," Daphne tells the blonde who smiles back at her.

"So rest in peace, so that she can move forward" Elena then walks up to Caroline, holding the cake in front of her. "That's what you really need. What we all really need. Amen, or cheers or whatever. Daph?" Daphne waves her hand over the candle which then lights up. Elena smirks at her sister. "Nice" She offers and then turns back to Caroline. "Okay, make a wish" She holds the cake out to Caroline, who closes her eyes and makes a wish. Daphne moves closer to Elena.

"Elena, did you?" Daphne gives her a poignant look.

"Oh, not yet" Elena opens her bag and pulls out the gift-wrapped box. "Here" Caroline takes it from Elena and raises an eyebrow at Daphne who nods. Caroline pulls off the ribbon.

"It is a vampire 101 gift box," Daphne tells her. Caroline goes through the box, her amusement growing.

"There are lollipops and cakes, stickers, badges, and..." She pauses and then gives Daphne a look. "51 vampire puns and when to use them" Caroline holds up the little pocketbook.

"What?" Daphne asks. "I read it, it's freakin' hilarious" Caroline chuckles and smiles at her.

"Oh, Daph" She coos warmly. "Thank you" She means that. Everyone else has had their moments with her vampirism, but not Daphne. From the moment she found out, Daphne had been nothing but exactly the same as she always has been with Caroline. Nothing changed. Not the way she looked at her. Not the way she spoke to her. Daphne was just okay, so what. Caroline can see why Damon likes being around her with that attitude. Everyone else finds something to judge them on, Daphne just waves it all off and sees the person underneath. Sees the personality.

.....

Later, Daphne, Elena, Bonnie, Matt, and Caroline are sitting on the floor of the crypt eating the cake. Which is probably the strangest birthday party Daphne has ever been to. Though she's never been to a vampire's birthday party before. That's another new thing. Matt takes the bottle of tequila from Bonnie, but Elena snatches it from his hand and drinks.

"Ah-ah. I need it more than you do, trust me" Elena points out. "Caroline, what are you doing?" Caroline is texting on her phone.

"What? Nothing" She stops texting, and holds her hands down in front of her, trying to hide the phone in them.

"Okay, you're a bad sober liar. You're an even worse drunk liar" Elena argues.

"I might have texted Tyler" Caroline admits.

"Caroline..." Elena scolds her.

"What? I'm delicate."

"Give her a break!" Bonnie snaps. "You can't control what everyone does all the time" There's an awkward silence.

"Wow," Daphne whispers.

"Ouch, Bon" Matt comments. 

"Sorry, I know it's Caroline birthday, funeral or whatever but, I just feel it's really wrong that you wanted to compel Jeremy to leave town" Bonnie admits quietly, but sound travels in the crypt so they all hear her. 

"But she didn't" Daphne defends. "He made the choice to go to London"

"I know" Bonnie argues. "It just came out..."

"It's to protect him, Bonnie" Elena adds.

"You know, you guys are ruining a perfect funeral" Matt complains, Daphne nods in agreement at his side.

"I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go sleep it off or something" Bonnie stands and then looks at Caroline. "Happy birthday" She then leaves. Daphne watches her go before she turns to the other.

"I'm going to go after her" Daphne offers. "Just make sure she's okay....and you know, hasn't stumbled drunk into a ditch or something" She moves to Elena. "You gonna be okay?" She asks Elena who shrugs a little. "Look, you didn't have Jeremy compelled, you thought about it, and considered it, but decided that free will was more important, that's a good thing. You did nothing wrong"

"Thanks, Daph," Elena tells her softly and then watches as her sister leaves after Bonnie.