I Need Him - A Stefan and Elena Story

Chapter Twenty-Six : Joesphine

We all sit on the couch, I take a seat next to Stefan and Hayley. It's a very small sofa so I'm very cramped up next to Stefan not that I'm complaining. His legs are touching mine, his arms are touching mine and I keep getting whiffs off his aftershave.
"So what do you people need with the other side?" Josephine hands everyone a mug of tea.
"Thank you" I take the mug from her and my hand brushes with Stefan and I try to hide my blush by bringing my mug up to my face and take a sip from my tea, it's boiling hot but I swallow it down as it is to embarrassing to make a fuss about it.
"We lost someone. She was a vampire" Stefan answers Josephine. I turn to face him at the sound of his velvety voice and I find myself looking at his lips. He turns to face me and I quickly look up to his eyes and then back to Josephine.
"Well it is true the other side it exists but it hasn't been opened in two thousand years" Josephine takes a sip from her tea and crosses her leg.
"Why?" Hayley answers putting her half empty mug on the table and crossing her arms across her chest. Pushing me closer into Stefan. I'm almost certain she done it on purpose when I see her smirking slightly.
"People can't get all the ingredients, they aren't willing to get them all" Josephine looks down to her cup.
"What are the ingredients?" Rebekah leans forward.
"The first one is a belonging from the person you want to bring back, it has to mean something to them. It can't just be a random item of theirs" I look over to Damon and scowl as I remembered how he burnt half of Carolines belongings. "You then need the spell" Josephine carrying one.
"What spell?" Bonnie asks.
"It's hard to come by, it comes from a witch line. It's in one of their grimoires" Josephine finishes her tea off.
"What witch line?" Bonnie leans forward, shes close to falling off the edge.
"The Bennett witch line" Josephine answers Bonnie. I let out a sigh of relief, we don't have to track anyone else down.
"My name is Bonnie Bennett, I have all the Bennett grimoires and I have never seen a spell that mentions the other side" my stomach drops, so the spell is lost. Great.
"I know, I have the spell" Josephine says after a minute of silence. I look up in shock.
"Why? You're not a Bennett" I look at her confused.
"Many years ago I met this witch, a Bennett witch we quickly became best friends. I then met a boy, he was a vampire. We quickly fell in love but Claire, she didn't agree with me being in love with a vampire, she said they were an abomination, they shouldn't exist. There was a war a big one, vampires vs witches" Josephine looked down at her empty cup.
"That was in the 1800s, you weren't even born then" Rebekah looks up from her cup to Josephine confused.
"I created a spell, a spell that will slow down my ageing. It's not definite immortality like vampires if I die I die but it keeps me from ageing until I want" Josephine looks quite proud of herself with the spell she created.
"Carry on" Damon sighs.
"My true love he died in the battle, I begged and begged Claire to help me bring him back but she told me it wasn't possible. I knew it was though, I saw it one of her spell books one time. I done what I must do to bring him back" Josephine looks down to her feet, avoiding Bonnies eyes.
"You killed her?" Bonnie raises her voice.
"No I couldn't, I waited until she fell asleep and took the page from the book and fled. I spend weeks studying the page but I couldn't do what the spell required me to do" She looks down in saddness. I look around the room and notice there isn't any photos or anything that suggests to me someone else is living here.
"What did it ask you to do?" Stefan asks.
"I had to sacrifice someone, my first thought was myself but it wouldn't of worked" she shuffled around on her seat uncomfortably.
"Why?" Hayley asks.
"You also need a very powerful witch to perform the spell and I was that powerful witch. I couldn't sacrifice myself and be the powerful witch" her face filled with annoyance at herself.
"So we need the spell, a witch and a sacrifice?" Rebekah looks up from deep thought.
"Yes" Josephine asks shortly.
"We need the spell from you" Damon says standing up from his seat.
"No" she moves back a bit in her seat but keeps her self calm.
"What do you want? I have money lots of it, name your price" Rebekah stares at Josephine.
"I don't want money, I want something else" she looks to all of us.
"What?" Hayley stares at Josephine.
"When you bring back whoever you bring back, I need you to bring my Frankie" she looks at Hayley.
"That's all?" Hayley asks, looking relived.
"Yes" Josephine places her cup downcarefully.
"We need to sacrifice what?" I look up from Stefans daylight ring which my eyes were drawn to for some reason.
"You need to take a human life" my stomach drops.

"We can't do that" I stand up from the couch. Josephine went in another room for the spell.
"Yes we can" Damon smirks.
"We can't! She wouldn't of wanted this" I look up from my own daylight ring which I've been playing with for the last ten minutes. I know my best friend and I know she wouldn't of wanted this.
"She's right" Stefan stands up and looks at Damon.
"What's a pesky human life compared to bringing back one of our own" Damon laughs and crosses his arms over his chest.
"Why do vampires treat humans like they are nothing. Need I remind you we were all humans at least once and how would you like it if you were killed because other people were putting their needs first!" I start to raise my voice but lower it when my hunger and anger starts to come out.
"We will find another way, just not this one" Stefan reassures me.
"Fine. I'll go tell Josephine that we aren't bringing her boyfriend back" Damon rolls his eyes and walks towards the direction where Josephine went.
"Let's go" Rebekah says and we make our way back to the car and wait for Damon.
"I'm back, she didn't take it well obviously. She told me to give you this in case you change your mind" Damon hands Bonnie the spell.
"She was right, this spell does need someone powerful. The sacrifice sets of the spell in a way and then you begin the rest of it" Bonnie spends the rest of the car journey reading the spell whilst I drum my fingers on my legs trying to avoid thinking that to get Caroline back we have to kill someone.

I step out the of the car without even talking and open the door I stop in my tracks when I see someone sitting on the couch.
"Elena, it's been a while" a familiar voice calls out.