Ace of Hearts

18

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" Kol's voice carries through my head as I struggle to open my eyes. It's like that first moment after you wake up from a deep sleep and have weights holding you down.

"Maybe I should--"

"Don't you dare, Kol. You promised you wouldn't ever give her vampire blood, and it wouldn't help if you betrayed her trust like that." Rebekah scolds with her usual fashion. "Now, take a deep breath and calm down. If Lee wakes up and finds you like this she'll kick your butt."

I barely manage a smile at the comment and whisper, "Damn right." My eyes open to find a beaming Rebekah, a smug Klaus in the doorway, and a clearly worried Kol on the bed beside me. "So, I'm gonna take a guess here and say we did it?"

"Yeah, we did. Thanks to you." Rebekah smiles as she takes my hand. "Matt called me in a panic shortly after you left the grill, and once we listened to the recordings, we knew we were trouble."

I do my best to pay attention as Klaus and Rebekah fill me in on the details of what happened before their arrival and after I passed out.

Still, I can't help but notice that Kol stays deathly silent. I take his hand in mine and glance over. Our eyes meet, and unspoken conversation passes between us. "Can you give us a minute?" I call out to the siblings without looking away from Kol. The moment the door closes. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"

"You nearly died."

"Except, I didn't." I reply as I move so we're facing each other. "I'm right here, and I'm fine."

"That's not my point, Lee." Kol avoids looking at me as he speaks. "Maybe Esther was right. It's too dangerous for you to be around me, but I can't bring myself to let you go."

"Then don't." A sigh escapes my lips as I organize my thoughts together. "Kol, I don't want to have this argument with you again. I'm staying, and nothing that you say or do can change that. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"It's because I trust you. I love you. Part of that means that I'm going to stay through thick and thin." I take his hands in mine. "No matter what kind of situation I find myself in, who we're facing, or how bad it may seem, I know it will okay. Because, I can face anything when I know you'll be there by my side." Tears brim in my eyes as I continue on with my speech.

"It's the reason Esther couldn't change my mind. She didn't understand that you make me stronger. So you can tell me a million reasons to leave, but I won't listen. Because for the first time in my life, I found someone who understands me and makes me happy. To be honest, I don't know what I would do if I lost you after everything we've been through."

"I don't want to lose you either, and it scares me." Kol takes a deep breath as he wraps my hands in his own, with his thumb running over my knuckles. "Which makes think that we should revisit a certain topic. The one where we discuss your opinions of vampirism."

I bite my lip as I meet Kol's gaze. "You know how I feel about turning. I want to hold onto my humanity for as long as I can. Although, after everything that's happened--"

"You don't have to decide anything right now."

"Let me finish. I would love to stay human as long as I can, and I'm not quite sure if we've reached the point in our relationship where we're willing spend eternity with each other. Still, if it came down to it, I wouldn't object to you doing what you had to." I wait a second to figure out the exact words to use. "If I'm ever in a dangerous situation, hurt, or about to die, I want you to be able to use your blood to heal me, or turn me if necessary."

"Okay." A small smile appears on Kol's face as he continues. "Just promise me one thing. Do your best to make sure it doesn't come to that any time soon."