Loss.>D. Salvatore (Seasons 3,4&5)

Chapter Fifteen

Break On Through

"What are you looking for?" I asked Meredith. She and I were in the other room, watching Alaric get an MRI.

"I don't know. A tumor, vascular anomalies. Anything physical that might explain his behavior. If it's medical, I can treat it."

"What if it's not?" I asked.

"Well... then we'll deal with that, too." She said looking at me.

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

"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." The journal Matt, Elena and I found in Meredith's closet. Elena read it and told us the same thing that happened to Samantha, is happening to Alaric. "I don't know if you know this, but we Fells are notorious busybodies." She smiled.

"Then why did you protect him?"

"Because I'm a doctor. I don't like to see someone hurt by something they have no control over." She said. "And, because when he and I first met, I felt like, I don't know, I... I just kind of want to help him." She smiled which caused me to smile back.

We turned to look and Alaric, who was laying still in the machine. A couple seconds later he started to fidget and breathe heavily.

Meredith pressed the speaker button. "Everything alright in there?" She asked.

"Yea." Alaric answered a couple seconds after being asked. "Yea, everything's okay."

After about fifty more minutes, Alaric was in his hospital room, after getting an MRI. I headed in after speaking with Meredith.

"Meredith says that everything is normal." I told him.

"Well, everything is normal because there is nothing wrong with me." He said picking up his phone from the counter, leaving the Gilbert Ring. "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 told me with his voice rising. He looked to the ring and wasn't sure to put it on or not. "Or I did, and I've gone insane, just like Elena's ancestor, who... wore that ring." He picked it up and set it back down.

"Look, I'm gonna call Bonnie. The rings were made by a Bennett witch. Maybe a witch can reverse the damage." I told him.

He slid the ring to me. "Take it. I don't want it anymore."

I sighed and placed it in my pocket. Then, Damon walked in.

"Ready to ditch this house of horrors?" He looked at me then Alaric. "Oof. you look terrible."

Alaric laughed. "Yea. Let me check out of here." He said then left the room, leaving Damon and I together, alone. We glanced at each other then I left the room.

I was walking to my car and Damon was following. "Don't worry about him. We'll take him out for chicken soup, we'll get him a martini, make sure he doesn't kill anybody."

I stopped walking and turned to look at him. I took a deep breath. "Maybe, I should just come with you guys."

"You don't trust me?" He asked.

"I do trust you." I whispered. "It's just—"

He cut me off. "Just taking him to the Wickery Bridge, then he'll be home." He assured.

I hesitated before replying. "Fine."

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Elena, Alaric and I were sitting at Elena's kitchen table when Alaric handed over a paper.