Book Three: Ineffable (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Forty-Five

Alaric sits in the tomb, his finger pressing into his head as he listens to Derek on the other end of the phone. He knew Derek would take it badly, Diana is his best friend, and this is going to hurt her.

"You can't do this to her" Derek scolds Alaric. "Everything you've been through, this isn't how it ends"

"Yes, it is" Alaric counters. "It's better this way...

"Better for who?" Derek counters. "For you....'cause it sure as shit isn't better for her" He snaps slightly. "I never had you down for a coward, Ric...." He adds. "This is going to break her heart...And she's going to have two great big stinking reminders that you've done this to her" Derek states.

"You can't make me feel worse about this" Alaric scolds him. "I love Diana, more than anything, that's why I have to do this, becoming a vampire will forever put her in harms way. I'm trying to protect her and the babies from what I would become" Derek sighs.

"I have to go" Derek states. "They're moving Diana to the delivery room"

"Just don't tell yet" Alaric begs. "Tell after the babies have been born" Derek sighs again.

"Okay" he then hangs up. Alaric looks down at the phone sadly.

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

Derek stares down at Diana who sleeps now, labor over, babies delivered, so she sleeps. He strokes her hair sadly. Meredith enters the room.

"Damon called" Meredith whispers to Derek who nods. "I'm going to the cemetery to help, I guess" She looks at Diana. "I'm so sorry" She whispers, though Diana is still fast asleep. Meredith then leaves. Derek closes his eyes and presses the back of Diana's hand to his forehead.

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

Damon sits outside the Salvatore tomb with the white oak stake and a bottle of whiskey. Meredith walks up to him.

"I gave him a sedative. He'll fall asleep first. He'll go comfortably." She admits.

"Well...I offered to snap his neck, put him out of his misery but...he didn't take me up on it."

"You seem surprised." She points out.

"Well, you just think a guy so used to dying, wouldn't want to drag it out." He takes a swig from the bottle of whiskey in his hands.

"Well, it was nice of you to give him the option."

"Hmm...apparently my choices have been a little controversial lately."

"You shouldn't leave him alone in there." Meredith tells Damon who glances over his shoulder at the tomb.

"That's what he wants."

"Is it really what you think he wants?" Meredith asks him and then walks away. Damon stands.

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

Damon enters the tomb and looks down at Alaric.

"Aw, Ric."

"Is this the part where you give me a dream? Rainbows and rolling green hills?" Alaric asks him.

"I was drunk when I told you that." Damon counters. Alaric laughs weakly, there is no real humor in it.

"Yeah and I told you I'd use it against you."

"Damn you. Sorry I killed you. Twice." They both laugh sadly, Damon sits next to Alaric.

"So I have to actually die to get a real apology out of you."

"Drink." Damon offers Alaric the whiskey bottle.

"Actually, I've been thinking about cutting back." A tear rolls down Alaric's cheek.

"Ha, yeah! This stuff will kill ya." Damon takes a swig from the bottle. Another tear is streaming down Alaric's face. He takes the bottle and has a drink. Damon glances down at his phone and lets out a little breath. He holds it out to Alaric and gives him a small smile. Alaric takes the phone and looks down. A photo of the twins is on the screen. "Congrats, man" Damon tells him, Alaric nods and closes his eyes.

"She's going to hate me forever" Alaric points out, Damon nods in agreement.

"Yeah, she is" He voices. Alaric nods a little and then stares down at the photo.

...........

Later; Damon is sitting next to Alaric who is unconscious and breathing heavily. Alaric stops breathing. Damon drinks the rest of the whiskey in the bottle, puts it down and exits the tomb. Outside he sees Bonnie. There's a full moon in the sky.

"What are you doing here?" He asks her. Bonnie is walking blankly towards the tomb. She doesn't show any signs of noticing Damon. "Hey, Bonnie...What, are you sleepwalking or something? Bonnie?" Bonnie turns around and lifts her hand in the air towards Damon and gives him a headache. He clutches his head and falls to the ground screaming in pain. "No! Bonnie! No!" Bonnie enters the tomb, looks down at Alaric's body, then stabs one of her palms with the indestructible white oak stake and puts her palm to Alaric's mouth. He starts drinking. He wakes up, revealing vampire teeth. He pulls Bonnie closer, bites her neck, and drinks. He throws her body to the floor, gets up, and holds the stake.

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

Diana sits playing with her wedding ring, the twins sleeping in two hospital cribs. She has a bad feeling. A deep bad feeling in her soul. Derek sits in a chair next to her, his eyes watching her. He doesn't help her bad feeling.

"He's not coming, is he?" Diana asks, Derek shakes his head. "Tell me" Diana pushes Derek who looks away from her.

"Esther returned" He admits. "Wanted to create the ultimate vampire hunter....she turned him, or attempted to...Ric, he....he urm..."

"He's dead, isn't he?" she whispers, Derek nods. Diana looks away from him and out the window, tears flow down her cheeks.

"Di?" Derek asks reaching for her hand. She pulls it away from him.

"Leave" she tells him.

"What? No...I'm not going to leave you alone"

"I don't want you here, I don't want anyone here...." She admits and looks at him. "Leave" she repeats. He hangs his head and nods a little before he leaves. Diana waits till the door closes before she allows herself to truly break down. Her entire future has been taken from her. Her children's father. Her husband. Everything is gone.

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

Meredith knocks on Diana's hospital room door and then lets herself in. Diana is curled up on the bed, her eyes staring at the wall across from her. She doesn't acknowledge Meredith.

"Elena's here" Meredith tells Diana.

"I don't want to see her" Diana counters.

"No" Meredith steps closer. "She was admitted" Diana turns her head to look at her.

"Oh" Diana whispers and then turns away again, her fingers toying with the ring around her finger. Meredith frowns at her.

"Diana" She starts.

"I heard" Diana counters. "Thank you for telling me" She adds.

"Don't you want to check on her?"

"Not particularly" Diana admits. "This is all her fault, all of it..."

"I'm sorry about Ric, but taking it out on your sister"

"Elena is not my sister" Diana counters. "She's...She's not anything to me anymore" Meredith sighs and shakes her head. "My family is sleeping over there" she nods to the cribs. "They are all that matter now...So Elena can rot in the Underworld for all I care, they all can" Meredith knows that this is her grief talking, that all those baby hormones have just dialled that up. They all knew that losing Alaric would be hard on her.