Tiberius Salvatore: The eldest brother

50

"Go to your brothers. I have a feeling they won't mix well with Rebekah." Charlie pushed her husband.
"You're trying to get rid of me."
"If only it were that easy." She smiled. He moved forward to her.
"And what are you and Anya going to do?"
"We'll meet you there. Need to get ready first, don't we?"
"I can wait."
"Just go, Ty. We'll be fine." She gave him a kiss.
"I love you."
"Love you more."
"Not possible." He smirked. She gently slapped his chest.

"Go!" She said firmly. He smiled down at her one last time and whizzed off to the Grill.

Rio didn't even make it inside the Grill before he saw his brothers. And Rebekah. Rebekah stood holding a woman with blood running down her neck as Stefan and Damon stood together.
"Hey!" He called. "What are you guys doing?"
"Tough love, Rio. Stefan's not gonna survive this cold turkey thing, he never does." Damon looked at Stefan. "It's time to get that monkey off your back."
"No. No." Stefan shook his head.
"Feed or I'll let Rebekah have her way with her. You know she'll kill her."
"You know I will."
"Wait wait wait. Time out guys. No one is killing anybody. And if you're going to get Stefan on human blood you don't go straight to a human. You start with a few sips in a cup from a blood bag."
"No because then as soon as he sees a human he'll go ape shit crazy."
"Then, with his consent, get Rebekah or Klaus to compel him not to kill a human."
"That could work."
"Except Klaus wouldn't agree and I find this way much more amusing. Maybe he'll snap and kill Elena."
"Rebekah." Rio warned.
"Tiberius." Rebekah mimicked him.
"Stefan." Damon said, joining in.
"Damon." Stefan finished.
"What are you two doing?" Rio frowned. "And for God's sakes heal the poor woman."
"It's Stefan's choice. He can feed, or she can bleed out, or Rebekah could have a little nibble. And Stef, the blood will all be on your hands-"
"No." Rio marched towards the woman. "Come on, Bex. You're mean, but you're not that mean."
"Are you trying to compliment me or insult me?"
"Neither. Let go of her." Elena walked round the bend with Matt beside her. All she saw was the woman with blood dripping down her neck and the hunger obvious in Stefan's eyes. Not that he succumbed to it.
"Oh my god!" She gasped. Matt quickly pulled her away from the alley.
"Sorry, not sorry." Rio said to Rebekah, as he quickly bit into his skin and fed the woman his blood before Rebekah could react, using what just happened as a distraction.
"Come on, Bex. You like girls. What happened to your whole 'Girl's stick together' thing?"

"She's human. And probably a whiny twit."
"Maybe. Maybe not. Let go of her. I've already healed her. I'll compel her and we'll send her on her way and we'll talk about what you want to do about my brother. Alright?" Sighing, Rebekah rolled her eyes and dropped the woman. Rio caught her before she fell to the ground.
"Fine, we'll do it your way."
"Thank you." Rio looked at the woman. "Hey, hey. It's all right. It's okay. Look at me. You're going to forget this night happened. All you'll remember is that you came to hang out at the Grill, maybe have a drink to forget whatever it is you want to forget you had a great time and now you're going back home. Sober."
"Hi. Oops, sorry. Must've bumped into you." She said, not recognising Rio. She tried to get out of his arms and he realised he hadn't let go from when he caught her. He smiled and helped her up.
"No worries. Get home safe." She nodded and walked back to the car. He turned to his brother and Rebekah.
"Did I miss anything?" Charlie's voice came from behind.
"Now you come?" He asked his wife, sarcasm dripping from his word.
"Well, I just wanted to make sure I didn't intrude on family time."

"Babe. You're my family."

"You guys aren't gonna start making out again, are you?" Anya winced.
"I am your mother, Anya. You can't say that!" Charlie chuckled.

"She's a cheeky one." Rebekah chuckled.
"Takes after her mother." Rio smiled.
"Alright Barbie Klaus, we got it from here. Go ahead."
"The night's just getting started." She shrugged innocently.
"Scram. No one likes a lurker."
"You're a real arse, you know?"
"So I'm told."
"First off, Damon, that's rude. Secondly, you can stay Rebekah. Just ignore Damon. We all do."
"At least one Salvatore has manners." She smiled pleasantly.
"Thirdly, Damon- don't go pulling something like this again. We'll help Stefan get his appetite for human blood in control, but in the meantime can't have you rounding up every innocent woman in the city."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"So they let Ric go. Sheriff Forbes says she's out of suspects again, but Ric is in the clear. I know it may not seem like it, but you did really well tonight. I mean, you resisted human blood so we'll try it Rio's way. If it doesn't work, there's always my way. And before you know it you're gonna be the king of moderation. Elena will understand. Besides, it's not like you actually fed on a human." Damon assured.
"Doesn't really matter what Elena thinks."
"Uh-uh, none of that. No more no-humanity Stefan. There's a road called recovery and we are on it." 
"I find it to be interesting how Elena seems to crop up in ever subject, every topic."
"Whatever, we're not talking about her." Stefan sighed. "Why do you even care, huh? The whole brother bonding thing, getting Elena to hate you, what do you feel guilty because you kissed her, is that it Damon? Because you can stop, go back to hating me. It was a lot easier. And you, Rio. What, you find out we're alive and suddenly we're all a big happy family? You've been gone for almost one hundred and fifty years. It doesn't work like that. You were supposed to be the big brother, but every time I would have needed you, you weren't there. I thought you were dead. We both did. And now you've come back, with secrets no less, and you think we'll just move right on like you spent the night away?"
"Can you for one minute actually believe that I'm trying to help you? That we're trying to help you."
"I thought you two were dead, Stefan. Dead, and don't act as if you guys never keep secrets. Every time you plan to kill a Mikaelson you never tell me, even though those are my friends you're trying to hurt. And excuse me for not being there as a shoulder to cry on. You died. I came to your funeral, and I grieved you both. The only secret I keep, is to protect you. Not to harm you. Don't act like I'm out to get you, because Damon and I are your big brothers and we'd never hurt you. Remember that time we first let you into our treehouse? You'd been begging for us to let you in, and it took you crying for us to cave. We promised never to hurt you-"
"Because we're your big brothers and we'd always look out for you." Damon finished with a smile, as though he'd just remembered.
"Well I'm not a little kid anymore, and this time I don't need your help."
"You don't need my....Are you kidding me? Do you remember what happened last time you said that?" Damon laughed, dryly.
"What are you talking about?" Both Stefan and Rio said together.
"1912, Stefan. The last time I convinced you to drink human blood." Damon then went ahead and started to explain the day the two brothers were in a boxing ring arena type of place.  The day were Stefan ended up killing the woman, because Damon had tried to help him get used to human blood. "The Founders' Council killer had nothing on you. By the decade's end, they were calling you the Ripper of Monterrey. I let you walk away. I watched you go over the edge, I didn't do anything to stop you."
"You couldn't have."
"Sure I could've. But I just didn't want to. But I want to now. And whenever you go too far, Rio and I will be there to pull you back. Every second, every day, till you don't need us."
"Why?"
"'cause right now, the two of you are all I've got."