(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Five

In Daphne's bedroom, Elena sits on the floor with her forehead pressed to her knees as she cries, her arms tightly curled around her legs. She'd escaped up here after Tyler and Meredith took Daphne away. She knows it was the right thing to do but she wanted more time with her. She wanted more time with her sister in general. She felt like she barely had any time with her. All the years Daphne spent at boarding school, all those years spent away and Elena got so little time to really get to know her as she was once she graduated and returned. It's all gone. She sniffles and looks up and around the room. Daphne was the one to pack up their parents' room, she took care of all of those memories, but Elena doesn't think she can do that to Daphne's things. She doesn't want to touch anything. She doesn't want to move anything. She pushes herself to her feet, not wanting to linger in here anymore, it just hurt too much, grasping at her chest so tightly that she feels like she is going to pass out. Suddenly, Elena grabs her head in pain, fingers digging into the side of her head before she falls to the floor, unconscious. Her nose starts bleeding profusely.

.....

Later, Elena wakes up in her bed, only to find that night has fallen. She frowns and sits up, looking around her room. She is surprised considering the last thing she remembers she was in the spare room, looking at the unfinished decorating they had started contemplating the death in her life. Specifically, Daphne. Jeremy sleeps in a chair he's pulled closer to the bed, to watch over her.

"Jer" Elena starts and he jerks awake. Sitting upright to look straight over at her. Relief crosses his face when he sees her awake. "What happened?"

"I found you unconscious" Jeremy admits as he stretches his legs out, getting comfy in the chair. "I found some blood in Daphne's room, labelled with Stefan's name, so I...I just..." He shrugs a little. Implying that he force-fed her the blood to fix whatever happened. "After what happened with her...." He whispers, looking down. He knew Daphne had vampire blood and seeing Elena laying there, after what just happened with Daphne, he couldn't. He couldn't go through it again. Not so close after losing Daphne.

"I'm sorry," Elena tells him. Jeremy glances at her. "I'm sorry that...."

"I know" Jeremy stops her. "Me too" He lets out a breath. Elena pats the space next to her. Jeremy joins her, the two of them laying beside one another to bask and contemplate with grief. Two people. Alaric and Daphne. Just in the last week. They have lost two family members. People around them just keep dying. There is a scratching and a whimper from the floor that causes both siblings to lean up and look towards the source.

"Pad" Elena whispers as Pad stares at them, his tiny arms held out to them for comfort. Jeremy reaches down and picks him up, letting him join them on the bed. Elena turns her head to look at Jeremy. "Do you know how to take care of a niffler?" She asks, Jeremy shakes his head.

"Damon might want him" Jeremy points out softly. "Pad seems to like him too" Elena hums in agreement. The niffler does seem to have taken a shine to Damon. Pad snuggles up on top of Jeremy's chest, his tiny hands clutching to the fabric of his shirt.

"Do you think he knows what happened?" Elena asks, Jeremy looks down at Pad. There does seem to be some resemblance of hurt and upset to him. He likes to think that he knows. That he realises that something has happened. They can't tell how much he understands though.

.........

Downstairs, Tyler, Matt, Caroline and Bonnie are still lingering. None of them want to leave whilst Elena and Jeremy are suffering the way they are. They want to be good friends but they are all still just teenagers so none of them really know what to do to help. Elena makes her way downstairs, listening to them talking about her and Daphne and Jeremy. Worried about them. Caroline notices her first when she reaches the bottom of the stairs. Caroline moves towards Elena but Elena shakes her head, waving her off. It's clear that Jeremy has told them what happened.

"I'm fine. I just...I want something to eat" Elena offers her friends who look about ready to fuss over her. She can't blame them. Today has been a rough one for all of them.

"We're on it," Tyler tells her and then heads into the kitchen with Matt. Caroline leads Elena to the couch.

"Alright, couch, now," Caroline tells her.

"Uhh, I told you I'm fine" Elena argues. Caroline grabs a blanket off a chair and follows Elena as sits down on the couch and Caroline covers her with the blanket. Elena watches her warmly. It's a sort of reminder actually, that despite losing Daphne, she still has her friends around her. That it could always be worse.

"Now, what can I get you?" Caroline asks. "Do you want some tea, maybe some vodka? Both will help you sleep" Elena stares at Caroline and Caroline sits down on the couch. "I know, I'm being smothering. It's what I do"

"No, it's-it's nice" Elena assures her softly.

"I'm thinking-maybe tea with vodka" Caroline teases causing Elena to laugh a little. Caroline gets up. Elena remains on the couch and looks at a picture on the end table of her and her parents and one of her with Daphne and Jeremy. Her eyes sadden as she picks up the one of her and her siblings. It's from a few years back, Christmas. The three of them are wearing disgustingly hideous sweaters but they are happy. Smiling. Oblivious to everything out there. Well, she and Jeremy were at least. Stefan enters the house and quickly walks across the room towards Elena. Elena gets up from the couch and walks towards him. They embrace.

"Stefan" She whispers his name as she curls into his chest.

"Jeremy called and told me what happened" Stefan offers, rubbing her back.

"Did you tell Damon?" Elena asks quietly. Stefan shakes his head. Telling Damon is not in anyone's best interest until Klaus' body has been dealt with. Damon is finally semi-stable, he thinks his actions through because they might affect someone he loves, and to take that away will leave him unpredictable and volatile.

"No, Jeremy told me not to yet" He admits and pulls back to brush her hair from her face. "I'm so sorry"

"Me too" Elena agrees, her voice trembling with her emotions. "This is my fault" She adds. "I dragged her into all of this..." Stefan shakes his head.

"No" He stops her but it does nothing to help her, it does nothing to comfort her.

"I should have sent her away, I should have pushed her to take one of those job offers she got...." Elena rambles, thinking of things she could have done to save her sister. Things she could have done to push her away, to get her out of time. "If she wasn't here then...."

"She chose to be here" Stefan stops her, holding her face in his hand. "She chose to stand by you and Jeremy, you didn't make her....this is not your fault" But those words do nothing to soften how she feels. She's devastated by the loss. More than their parents. More than Jenna and John. More than Alaric. Because each time she knew she had Daphne. Her big sister. Always there to write to. Always there to talk to no matter how far away she was. Now she doesn't.