I'll never love again [1]

BREAK ON THROUGH

"What are you looking for?" Elena asked Meredith. Nat and her were at the hospital with Ric and Meredith trying to find out what was wrong with him exactly. Which is why he was about to get an MRI.

"I don't know. A tumor, vascular anomalies, anything physical that might explain this behavior. If it's medical, I can treat it." The doctor explained and Nat looked at her worriedly.

"And if it's not?" She asked, scared of that possible outcome.

"Well, then we'll deal with that too." Meredith assured her. They turned to Ric and noticed the technician sliding him inside the machine.

"When did you suspect him?" Elena asked curiously. "That it was Alaric who was killing all of those people?"

"It was after he told me about his ring. I remembered a story my grandmother had told me about Samantha Gilbert and her secret journal." She explained to both girls. "I don't know if you know this, but we Fells are notorious busy-bodies." She added with a cheeky smile.

"But then, why did you protect him?" Elena asked confused.

"Because I'm a doctor. I don't like to see someone hurt by something they have no control over." She shrugged before looking at Ric. "And because when he and I first met, like... I don't know, I-I just kind of want to help him." She said quietly. Elena looked at her and chuckled. Ric had that effect on people, Nat thought. "Everything alright in there?" Meredith asked him over the speaker.

"Yeah, everything's okay." He said after a few seconds.

After almost an hour, Meredith told Ric that he was done and that he could go back to the hospital room to get changed. Nat and Elena stayed in the room with her and turned to her expectantly.

"Everything's okay. Nothing seems out of the ordinary." She told them. Nat ran a hand over her face and looked away. "We're gonna figure this out, okay?" She assured them when she noticed their sad and worried looks. Elena nodded and her and Nat left the room. They walked over to Ric's room and found him there already.

"Meredith says that everything is normal." Nat told him as soon as they entered the room.

"Yeah, well, everything is normal, because there is nothing wrong with me." He told them seriously. "I didn't kill Brian Walters, I didn't kill Bill Forbes, and I sure as hell didn't shove a hunting knife into my stomach." He said hotly. Nat and Elena exchanged glances and turned back to him, noticing the look he was giving the ring on the table. "Or I did and I've gone insane, just like your ancestor who wore that ring." He quietly said.

"Look, I'm gonna call Bonnie. The rings were made by a Bennett witch so maybe a witch can reverse the damage." Elena assured him but he just pushed the ring towards them.

"Take it. I don't want it any more." Nat looked at Elena and her sister took it.

"You ready to ditch this House of Horrors?" Damon's voice startled them and they turned to see him standing in the doorway. "Oof, you look terrible." He wrinkled his nose at Ric's appearance.

"Yeah, let me... let me check outta here." He told the vampire before leaving the room. Elena glared at him before leaving the room too, Nat and Damon following her.

"Don't worry about him. I'll take him out for chicken soup, get him a martini, make sure he doesn't kill anybody." Damon joked as they walked out of the hospital and Nat hit him in the shoulder.

"What is wrong with you?" Elena asked angrily. "How could you just go out feeding with Stefan like some vampire pub crawl?"

"Oh, right. I thought we were talking about Alaric, but of course we're talking about Stefan." He said airily as he stopped walking. Elena turned around and walked up to him angrily until she was close enough.