Book Three: Ineffable (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Thirty-Five

The next morning, Alaric wakes up in a holding cell at the police station. He frowns a little as he sits up.

"Unbelievable" He mumbles to himself as he runs his fingers through his hair, his free hand going to his stomach but his wound has healed.

..............

Later, Alaric talks through the bars with Liz and Damon.

"I didn't do it." Alaric defends.

"You're arresting him for what this nut job Dr. Fell says?" Damon asks Liz.

"No, I'm detaining him. The cell is for his own good." Liz argues and then turns to Alaric. "You were shot; Dr. Fell used vampire blood to heal you."

"Dr. Fell is the one who shot me." Alaric points out.

"Because you came at her with a knife!" Liz counters.

"Yeah, with a knife I had found hidden in her things!" Alaric adds.

"Are we gonna ignore the part where he is one of the killer's victims? I mean, the guy was practically stabbed to death." Damon argues.

"Well, Dr. Fell suggested his wounds could have been self-inflicting." Liz adds.

"You think I stabbed myself?"

"Look, I think I don't know what to think. I've got nothing, except murder weapons from yours and Diana's stash and a respected member of a founding family pointing a very long finger."

"She is setting me up. I'm being framed here!"

"Well, that may be so, but I don't have any proof of that."

"Well then we'll find some." Damon snaps at Liz.

"No, just stay out of this, Damon. You getting involved is only going to make matters worse." Liz counters. "And tell Diana the same" Alaric looks between the two of them.

"Listen, Liz..."

"Don't make me put you in that cell with him!" Liz warns Damon and then walks away. Damon sighs and turns to Alaric.

"I'm going to call Diana" Damon tells Alaric. "She can get you out of this"

"No" Alaric argues quickly. "No, just....make something up, don't tell here I'm here..."

"Ric" Damon warns.

"She's stressed enough as it is...just wait this out" Damon sighs a little but nods.

...............

Later: Alaric and Liz are talking again, this time alone.

"You have to agree, Sheriff, there is no motive here." Alaric points out.

"Look, both the medical examiner and my ex-husband got into altercations with Meredith Fell before their deaths. Now, she said you were a witness to her fight with Brian Walters."

"So, what are you saying, I was defending her honor? I barely knew her then."

"She's your wife's family" Liz points out. "She said she also told you that Bill threatened to report her to the medical board for giving him vampire blood."

"No she didn't." Alaric argues.

"A two a.m. call the night he was killed? I pulled your records, you spoke with her for over an hour." Alaric sits down on the bed in the cell and frowns.

"I don't remember that" He admits.

"Well, do you have an alibi for the night Brian Walters was killed?" Liz asks him.

"I was there the night of the bridge fundraiser, okay? With Diana.....Until midnight. You saw me there!"

"Time of death was between one and three am."

"Well, then, I-I must have been home, sleeping with my wife. I'm sure of it." Alaric points out.

..........

Diana opens up a chest in her and Alaric's bedroom and rummages through it before she finds a wrapped journal at the bottom. She pulls it out and stands leaving the room.

.........

Diana is making notes in the living room, the journal open at her side as she reads through it. Suddenly, Alaric enters the apartment, Diana sets down the journal and stands to move to him.

"Are you okay?" She asks him, he nods.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright." he hugs her tightly. Diana closes her eyes behind his back and clutches to his jacket.

.............

Alaric heads back into the living room after he's showered and changed. Diana is still sat going through the journal.

"Feel better?" She asks not looking up from the journal.

"Yeah" He answers as he runs his fingers through his damp hair. He moves towards her. "What are you reading there?" He asks as he sits at her side.

"Old family journal." She answers and looks at him.

"Any juicy family secrets?" He teases, she smirks.

"Like I could take any more" She counters, he touches her cheek and smiles at her. "It belonged to Samantha Gilbert" he raises an eyebrow. "Johnathan's granddaughter" She turns back to the book. "Apparently she went just as crazy as he did. So, great genes, huh?"

"Well, at least you have something to look forward to." She laughs a little and looks at him.

"What a pair" she whispers sadly and then takes a breath. "We have to talk about something else" He frowns at her. "I had Meredith shoot you" She admits.

"What?"

"I did it for you, Ric. I had Meredith forge the coroner's note to clear your name."

"What the hell, Diana?"

"No!" She grabs his arm to stop him from getting up. "Now that you've been cleared, they'll look somewhere else, they won't look your way again." He sighs and closes his eyes. "Please. Let me explain" He looks down at her. He nods and sits down again. She reaches under the table and pulls out a folder before setting it on the top. She opens it up and turns it to Alaric. The folder has all the crime scene evidence in it. "Like the Sheriff said, the victims were killed with our weapons." She explains. He nods.

"Yeah, but I was attacked." He reminds her.

"With my knife. A wound that could have been self-inflicted." He stares at her.

"It's impossible! I would know if I were killing people, Diana"

"Would you?" she counters. "Blackout...Lost time" she points out.

"You're being crazy" he scolds her.

"No, I'm not....but I think you might be." He shakes his head.

"No" She touches his hand and looks down at his ring.

"You wear a ring that lets you cheat death, Ric. How many times can you die before it changes you?" she releases his hand and touches the journal. "This has happened before, almost 100 years ago." She admits, he looks down at the journal.

"Samantha?" He asks her, she nods. "Are you sure?"

"No" She answers. "No, but it's the only answer I have" he watches her face, because they both want answers to this, but she is taking it harder because of her pregnancy, because she is absolutely terrified of losing him. "We have to find a way to fix this, Ric..." she admits, he nods.