Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

50. This Is Where I Leave You

"We leave you alone for one night and you end up in hospital?" Riley asked Elena playfully as she and Caroline helped her into the Gilbert house the next day. When she had been kidnapped by Klaus he'd taken a lot of her blood. After they left the victory party, she had collapsed.

"I'm fine. I just... I want something to eat," Elena said softly, trying to pretend that she was completely fine, which both Riley and Caroline saw through.

"We're on it," Tyler announced. "As soon as we make sure no one's lurking in the closets." He and Matt took off upstairs while the girls took Elena to her couch. Riley sat down beside her and Caroline threw a blanket over the both of them.

"Seriously, your mom said I'm fine," Elena reminded Riley.

"My mom said you need rest," Riley rebutted, snuggling further into the blanket and leaning her head on Elena's shoulder.

"Now what can I get you? Do you want some tea, maybe some vodka? Both will help you sleep," Caroline offered. When Elena didn't answer, she sat down heavily on the couch. "I know, I'm being smothering. It's what I do."

"It's nice. I was just thinking about Ric. Or... whoever he's turned into. I mean, he's still out there."

Riley nodded sympathetically. "He knows that you're the key to his existence. You're not in any danger Elena."

"I'm not worried about me," she insisted. "Ric's mission is to kill vampires. If he kills whichever Mikaelson sired their line..." she looked up at Caroline as she trailed off, knowing that she didn't need to finish the sentence.

Caroline sighed. She couldn't pretend that this wasn't a thought that she'd had herself. And with Ric on the loose, there wasn't much anyone could do about it.

"Well, Klaus is desiccated and hidden, Kol isn't in town, and Rebekah and Elijah can look out for themselves, and each other. So I'm sorry guys, but I'm pretty sure vampires are here to stay," Riley said, trying to cheer them up. They both provided her with half-hearted smiles that didn't reach their eyes, but Riley refused to think about the other possibility. Her two best friends, and her sort-of boyfriend, were vampires. She wouldn't let anything happen to them.

Suddenly, Caroline's phone began to ring. She took it out of her pocket, glanced down at the caller ID and immediately answered.

"Hey mom. We're at Elena's, Tyler's here too. Why? What's wrong?" she listened to her mother's voice, a look of worry and confusion on her face. "OK, we'll be there." She hung up and turned to Riley. "My mom wants us and Tyler to go to the Lockwood place."

"Why?" Riley asked.

Caroline shrugged her shoulders, but the look on her face suggested that things were about to get a lot worse.

***

"Alaric outed us to the council," Carol Lockwood informed the teenagers. Liz Forbes looked at her daughter with tear-filled eyes.

"He's got them looking for Klaus, and then they're gonna come looking for you. You can't be here when they do," Chris Fletcher told them sternly.

"What are you saying?" Caroline asked, her voice shaking slightly. Riley reached for her best friend's hand, preparing for whatever was coming next.

"You both need to get out of town."

"Wait, you want them to run?" Riley asked incredulously. In a way, she should have expected this outcome, but she never thought it would be coming from their parents. All three parents had a mixture of worry, sadness and determination on their faces. Clearly, running was exactly what they wanted Caroline and Tyler to do.