Book Two: Aquiver (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Forty-Four

Alaric's body lies on the floor of the parlor room at the Boarding house, Damon has been chained to a chair with a wooden spiked metal collar around his neck. Damon has become less weakened by the vervain, but is still unable to move much. He takes notice of Alaric's dead body on the floor and looks worried for a moment, before spotting the Gilbert ring on his finger. Damon sighs with relief, not wanting to be the one to break that to Diana, he then glances over to his right where Stevie is standing, holding the ends of two chains which attach to Damon's spiked collar.

"Morning, sunshine." Stevie walks in front of Damon. "I saw this movie once, some torture porn flick. Anyway, they had this collar device that was really cool, so I just modified it some with some wooden nails, and when I pull..." Stevie pulls the ends of the chains forward. The wooden spikes insert themselves in Damon's neck and Damon groans in pain. Suddenly, Jules speaks up from the corner.

"So I hear you have the moonstone." Jules comments then she and two other werewolves walk farther into the room. Damon laughs a little.

"Oh, if you only knew the irony of this moment right now. Let me tell you how this is gonna go. You're gonna torture me, I don't talk, someone loses a heart. Last time, it was your boy Mason." Stevie wraps the chains around his hand. Jules inches closer to Damon.

"This time, it'll be you." She warns. Jules looks at Stevie and nods. Stevie pulls on the chain again, impaling Damon's neck. Damon groans in pain. Jules shifts where she stands and leans against her shotgun. "You know what the great thing about buckshot is? It scatters through the body. Maximum damage." Damon looks at her with feigned intrigue. Jules lifts the shotgun up and points it at Damon. "Where's the moonstone?"

"Get over it, honey. You're never gonna get it."

"You looking for this?" Elijah, leaning against a banister, twirls the moonstone in his hand. Everyone turns to look at him. Elijah walks down the stairs and places the moonstone on an end table. He backs away. "Go ahead. Take it." One of the werewolves uses his wolf speed to rush towards the moonstone, but Elijah, being quicker, plunges his hand into the wolf's chest and rips out his heart. The wolf falls down onto the couch, dead. Two other wolves rush at Elijah and Elijah, without any effort, plunges his arms into their chests and rips out their hearts as well. Jules wolf-speeds out of the house before she is killed. Elijah walks over to Stevie, who crouches down and pulls his jacket over his face in fear. Elijah pulls him up from the ground. "What about you, sweetheart, hmm? You want to take a shot? Yes? No? Yes? Where's the girl?"

"I don't know." Damon answers.

"It doesn't really matter." Elijah punches Stevie in the face and Stevie falls to the floor. Elijah then removes the chains strapping Damon down into the chair. "So you realize this is the third time I've saved your life now?" Damon doesn't respond. Elijah turns around, grabs the moonstone, and walks out of the house.

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

Later, Damon, still at the Salvatore house, moves the chair back to its original place. He talks on the phone with Diana who lets herself into Alaric's apartment.

"So he planned to kill her all along." Damon mumbles.

"Yeah. The sacrifice is part of Elijah's plan." She agrees.

"Got it loud and clear." He tells her. "Anything you want me to tell Ric when comes around?" he asks her, there is silence on Diana's end of the phone. Damon glances to Alaric as he suddenly wakes.

"No" Diana finally answers. "I'm just..." She sighs. "I'm at his place, so...I hate you so much"

"Whoa, what did I do?" Damon defends, Alaric frowns at him as he leans up.

"Maybe you're preggo" She mocks him, reminding him that he's the one that put this stupid thing into her head.

"Wait....are you?" Damon asks turning his back on Alaric.

"I took a test...." Diana admits. "Haven't had a chance to look at it yet, with the...Bonnie thing" She lets out a breath.

"So maybe you're not" He counters. "Maybe I was joking"

"I still hate you" Diana mumbles and then hangs up. Damon lets out a breath and turns back to Alaric.

"Who was that?" Alaric asks, but part of him already knows the answer.

"Watchdog" Damon answers, Alaric raises an eyebrow. "Maybe you should go home."

"Why?" Alaric asks.

"Think she might need you" Damon answers, they share a look. Alaric pushes himself to his feet.

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

Diana takes a deep breath as she paces Alaric's apartment, she's trying to pluck up the courage to take the pregnancy test from her pocket and look at it. Whatever she has, at least she will have an answer. If it's negative, then she can go back to her life, as if nothing happened. And positive. She'll have to figure out a way to tell Alaric. Then figure out if she's actually going to keep it because she doesn't know what she wants here. She takes another breath and reaches into her pocket, fingers wrapping around the test. 

"Nope" She scolds pulling her hand back. "Can't do it...Cannot do it" She shrugs out of her jacket and flings it away from herself. She's not ready to know either way yet. 

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

Later; Alaric closes the door to the apartment and lets out a breath, he shifts the bag of food in his arm over so he can throw his keys into the bowl next to the door.

"Diana?" he asks as he heads towards the kitchen where he places the bag down and looks around. He stops and glances into his bedroom and finds her sleeping on his bed, he lets out a breath and toes off his shoes whilst he shrugs out of his jacket before he approaches the bed. He touches her cheek and smiles a little. Whatever is going on, she at least still came here, to him. "Diana?" he wakes her, she hums and blinks up at him.

"You're back" she whispers and then stretches a little.

"Yeah" he agrees as he sits on the bed next to her. "Where have you been?" he looks at her.

"With Bonnie and Caroline" she answers and then leans into his side, he wraps his arm around her. "We can spend time apart without there being something wrong" she whispers, he closes his eyes and kisses her head. "I just needed some space" he nods a little. He overreacted. But with everything that's happened, he is allowed to worry about her and where she is. The last time she just disappeared, she killed people. 

"I brought food" he offers and gives her a small smile. "If you're hungry" she leans up and kisses him. 

"Starving" she whispers against his lips, he smiles and kisses her back softly.