Book Two: Aquiver (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Sit on the floor" Bonnie answers, Diana hums a little and sits where she stands, crossing her legs and taking a breath. Bonnie stands at her back. "Are you ready?" Bonnie asks Diana who nods. Bonnie places her hands on either side of Diana's head.

"Bonnie?" Jeremy asks noting the tears falling.

"I'm fine" Bonnie assures him. "It's just....so much noise" Diana hums in agreement. "Like..people talking over one another but it's....so many voices. How do you cope with this much....noise?"

"Learnt how to shut it off, wade through them" Diana mumbles as she searches for Elena. "There. She's there. I've got her" Diana states. "Okay" She lets out a breath. "Unhelpful" She groans. "She was in a car trunk the whole way there, I can't....find any locational landmarks in her memories...."

"What about people?" Damon asks her. "Anyone around her? The people who took her?"

"Two" She answers. "Vampires...I don't recognize them....minds are......chaotic" She cocks her head in Bonnie's hands. "They're scared"

"Damn right, they better be" Damon growls slightly.

"No...not of you, of....someone else....something else....I can't....." She pulls a face. "Bonnie" She scolds when she slips free.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie tells her. "I...I can't..." She releases Diana's head and steps back. Diana looks over her shoulder at her.

"Bonnie?" Diana asks, Bonnie nods back at her.

"So?" Stefan asks. Diana hums a little as she opens up the map on her phone.

"This is the most likely location" She taps her phone and hands it to Stefan who looks down at it.

"Most likely?" Stefan asks her, she shoots him a look.

"It's the middle of nowhere" She points out. "Side roads and undocumented paths...You're a vampire, deal with it" she pushes herself to her feet. "Sniff her out or...hear her or something...." Stefan nods a little and then turns to leave.

"I'm coming with you!" Jeremy tells him.

"No Jeremy, you're not."

"No, I'm gonna just sit here. What if she's hurt okay?" Jeremy asks them. Bonnie has a nosebleed but the guys don't see it, Diana glances at her though, she does see it.

"You two go back to your house just in case. I'll call you the minute I find her."

"Well, you can't do this alone."

"He's not." Damon counters and shares a look with Stefan. "Let's go."

"You're coming with me?"

"It's Elena." Damon offers, he and Stefan share a look before they leave.

"You're welcome" Diana shouts after them and sighs.

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

Diana and Alaric cross the parking lot towards his car, both worried about Elena. Diana reaches up and rubs her head. Alaric glances at her.

"You okay?" he asks her, she nods and lowers her hand.

"It always hurts...long-range" She admits. "All those voices...."

"What's it like?" she looks at him.

"It's like standing in a room full of people and they're all yelling at me" She answers, they share a look.

"Diana" Derek states and jogs towards her and Alaric.

"Now's not a great time" Alaric warns him, actually trying to protect him because Diana isn't stable enough yet. Alaric wraps his arm around Diana's waist and pushes her forward a little, wanting her to keep walking.

"I just need to talk to her" Derek defends. "It's important" Diana and Alaric share a look.

"I'll call you later" Diana counters. "Elena's taken off..."

"So this isn't about the werewolves and the vampires?" Derek asks them, they both turn to stare at him, unaware when he found out, and who the hell told him. Derek lets out a breath. "I've been getting my memories back, Di" He steps closer to her.

"Derek" She warns.

"Bits and pieces, flickers, like....watching an old tv but they're coming back..."

"When?" she asks him. "When did they start?"

"The night of the Carnival" He answers.

"The night you killed Eva" Alaric whispers to Diana who nods. "Why didn't you say anything?" Alaric asks Derek who takes a breath and shrugs.

"It sounded crazy" He answers. "Then I heard Mason and Tyler talking about the whole Lockwood curse thing...seemed less crazy then...And when I came looking for you to talk to you about it...Jenna said you went back to Greece"

"About things that happened.." Alaric starts. "With me and Diana..." Derek shakes his head and stops him.

"I'm not mad or upset with you, with either of you," He tells them and then looks at Diana. "When I saw you at your parents' funeral...I never considered that we would get back together, I didn't want to get back together with you......when you were away, I missed you sure...but I missed you more as my friend then my girlfriend. And I was dating someone, met her in Florida when I went there for Spring Break..." Derek looks away from them.

"What happened to her?" Alaric asks, Derek clears his throat.

"Turns out she was...." Derek shrugs a little and pulls a face. Diana sighs a little.

"It was Eva..." She points out, Derek nods. "I'm sorry," she tells him. "It was because of me that she went after you"

"Yep," Derek agrees. "But...I don't blame you...I blame her and....the whole situation..." he shakes his head. "And you have been dealing with all of this for months" He looks at Diana. "And what I did to you..." he shrugs a little. "Just wish you would have told me what I'd done, I have so much to make up for"

"I forgave you" Diana counters. "The moment I realized that you weren't in control, none of it mattered..."

"Of course it mattered, Di" Derek argues. "I hurt you...Let me make up for it now...I want to help with everything going on"

"No" Diana snaps. "No way..."

"Diana" Alaric whispers, she shoots him a look.

"The whole point of everything we do is to protect people from the monsters" She reminds him.

"But maybe if anyone could help Tyler..." Alaric offers. "It's his brother" Diana looks at Derek who frowns.

"Tyler?" He asks. "Is this about the dead girl?" Derek then seems to realize. "He did it...he's..."

"Yeah" Diana agrees.

"Wow" Derek lets out a breath. "Okay..." He nods. "I'll help Tyler..." He assures them. "I can do that" Derek hugs Diana who stiffens slightly, her hands coming up to pull the blade from the back of her trousers, her eyes turning black over Derek's shoulder. Alaric grabs her hand and stops her from hurting her friend. Derek pulls back from Diana and smiles at her. "I'll make it up to you" he promises her and then walks away. Alaric takes the blade from Diana who glances at him. She nods a little as her eyes return to normal.

"It's wearing off, whatever Bonnie did, isn't it?" he asks her, she nods.

"It wasn't going to last forever...I'm going to go back to.....her" he touches her face and lets out a breath. She gives him a sad smile.