Elena is adjusting her headband for her costume in a mirror t the Gilbert house when the doorbell rings. She opens the door and finds that it's Stefan. He smiles at her.
"Wow, you look very dapper." Elena comments.
"You look um- very beautiful. Here, I got something for you." Stefan pins a white rose on Elena's dress.
"Thank you." She offers then glances at her phone and sighs.
"Still nothing from Derek?" Stefan asks.
"Ugh, three hours and still no baby," Elena comments with a small smile. "I'm just kind of excited" She admits. "Every bad going on, Diana having these babies is like the only good thing we all have"
"We could always not go to the dance, go to the hospital instead" Stefan offers.
"Nothing is happening so Derek suggested we go about whatever we were going to do until Di's closer" Elena shrugs.
"So, given our dangerous dance karma, sure you're up for this?" Stefan asks.
"Getting out of bed is dangerous these days. But we have to live our lives."
"Hmm. Who gave you that horrible advice?" Stefan asks her.
"Some guy I used to date said it once or twice."
"Right"
"Shall we?" She asks him.
"Please."
..................
Diana is still in labor, Derek paces a little as they wait for things to really get moving. Meredith walks into the room and Diana and Derek both look at her. Meredith sits on the stool at the end of the bed and lifts the blankets around Diana. Diana hisses a little and closes her eyes. Meredith then pulls back from Diana and Diana appears hopeful.
"Meredith, I've been in labor for five hours." Diana points out. "You have got to give me some good news! How many centimeters am I dilated? Eight? Nine?"
"Three" Meredith answers.
"Three?! I'm dilated three!!!" Derek points out.
"We are moving along, just slowly," Meredith assures them.
"Oh." Diana whispers.
"Don't worry. You're doing great. I'll be back soon." Meredith tells them before leaving.
"Hey, y'know what, I'm not waiting," Diana complains. "I'm going to push these babies out. I, I mean, three centimeters, it's gotta be like this." She holds her hands about eight centimeters apart.
"Actually, it's more like this." Derek pushes them in.
"Ugh, stupid metric system," Diana complains throwing her head back against her pillow.
............
Damon, Elena, and Stefan walk out of the school hall. Jeremy sees them and follows them.
"If Alaric is sick then we need to find a cure. Something." Elena tells Damon and Stefan.
"We tried medicine, we tried magic." Damon reminds her.
"Why don't we get him off vervain, compel him?" Stefan asks.
"What? To pretend to be Alaric? The guy that we know is gone." Damon answers. "We're talking about someone who not only hates vampires, but vampire sympathizers. Which makes one of his most obvious targets: I don't know, you!" He indicates Elena.
"What you think he'd go after Elena?" Stefan asks.
"He went after Diana" Damon counters. "Pretty sure everyone else is fair game to him."
Elena: So wait, what are you suggesting we do?" Elena pushes.
"I'm suggesting that we put him out of his misery."
"What?!" Jeremy joins them, having overheard their conversation.
"No, no way in hell!" Jeremy argues.
"Oh come on, It's what he would want. It's a mercy killing."
"You are out of your mind!"
"Jeremy..." Jeremy turns around and leaves. Elena follows him.
.........
Outside Elena is following Jeremy as he is walking out the high school.
"Jer, stop..."
"This is Alaric we're talking about!" Jeremy defends. "Diana's husband, the father of her children, you want to take that away from them?" Elena looks at him sadly. "She would never forgive you, any of you for doing that to her"
"No one is gonna hurt him," Elena assures him. Jeremy turns around and starts to walk away. Elena grabs his arm and stops him. "Hey. Hey...Look at me. I promise."
"Elena!" Elena turns around. Esther is standing before her. "If you wish to help your friend Alaric, I suggest you come with me."
"Jeremy go inside and get Stefan and Damon, now!" Elena tells Jeremy, he runs inside.
"I mean you no harm. But willingly or not you will come." Esther points out. Elena follows Esther. A moment late, Damon, Stefan, and Jeremy are hurrying out of the school. Suddenly Damon and Stefan stop, while Jeremy continues walking until he stops as they don't follow him. There is a line of salt going around the school.
"Salt. It's the binding agent for her spell." Stefan points out.
"We're trapped here," Damon adds.
..................
Elena and Esther are walking towards the Salvatore tomb.
"You'll forgive me for taking you from the dance this evening. That's the burden of being the doppelgänger, I'm afraid. Your blood is a potent binding agent for a witch's spell."
"Just please don't hurt Alaric."
"She's not hurting me," Alaric assures her as he appears in the tomb doorway.
"Ric!" Elena moves towards him, but stops when she senses something is different about him. "What's going on? What are you doing with him?"
"I'm going to remake him." Esther answers.
"Remake him?" Elena asks.
"Make him strong, fast, like my children. Indestructible. For one final time I'm going to tap into the dark magic I used a thousand years ago. Like my husband Mikael before him, I will make Alaric into a true hunter, a vampire to end all vampires."
"You can't create another Original. What if he turns out to be an even bigger monster than your children?"
"He won't now that he has embraced his darkest aspect his hatred for them will become more pure and uncompromising. In death, that hatred will be magnified."
"You don't know that, you don't know anything about him." Elena scolds.
"That is where you're wrong. Each time he died with that ring during his brief journey into death I was there on The Other Side. I spoke to him, I nurtured him knowing that every death brought him closer to his true self. Vampires took everything from him. Now he's getting his vengeance." Esther points out. Elena turns to Alaric.
"What about Diana?" She asks.
"What about her?" Alaric counters.
"She's in labor, right now," Elena tells him. "And she is all alone" It's a lie, but she is trying to pull on his love and his humanity to pull him back. "You were supposed to be there with her"
"I'm doing this for her, for my children, so they won't have to live in a world with the threat of vampires" Alaric defends.
YOU ARE READING
Book Three: Ineffable (A. Saltzman)
FanfictionAfter the events of Aquiver, Diana and Alaric must work hard to mend what was broken by Klaus whilst aiding Damon in his search for the hybrid and his brother, Stefan. Diana's pregnancy is well underway and her due date is rapidly approaching. But...
