Kai was sick the following morning.
"Are you being for real?" asked Rosalind, standing over him with her wrist against his forehead. "You're not running a fever."
"I feel like shit," Kai moaned, holding his stomach. "Tell your girlfriend to examine me."
Elena, who was in the corner of the room, shrugged. "I think Rosalind's doing a pretty good job. You are forty, technically, so maybe we need someone to do a rectal exam."
Rosalind snickered as Kai covered his face, groaning in agony. They perceived it to be agony, at least.
Suddenly, Kai coughed, spitting a clot of blood onto Rosalind's lap. She frowned, helping him turn on his side as he spat it to the floor. "Okay, well, that's definitely not a good sign."
"I think I'm dying," said Kai weakly. "I need to see Jo."
"She's not going to want to see you. Let's take you to an actual hospital. Or better yet—" she bit into her wrist. "Here, you'll heal from whatever you have."
He started to drink, but that seemed to trigger another coughing fit, where he spat out the blood. "Something tells me this isn't a normal illness."
"You think this is magical?" asked Elena, furrowing her brows.
Kai nodded, his forehead beaded with sweat. "What if it's because of the Merge? I need to see Jo. I need her to see me."
"She's not going to want—"
He flicked his hand, coughing into his elbow after sending Rosalind and Elena crashing into the wall, where he kept them magically pinned. "I'm going, whether you accompany me or not."
Elena decided they should just go with him. She messaged Alaric beforehand, and though Alaric and Jo both seemed to think it was a bad idea, they felt more comfortable knowing Rosalind and Elena would be there.
"One thing you need to learn," said Rosalind as she and Elena dragged him up the stairs to Jo's apartment, "is that you need to respect people's boundaries. Alaric says Jo's got food poisoning, so you better be damn thankful that she's taking time out of her sick day to see what's wrong with you."
Kai frowned. "Food poisoning? That... that might mean..." he didn't get to finish as he started to cough again. Rosalind grabbed the nearest decorative vase and put it in front of his mouth.
Elena rang the doorbell, waiting for Alaric to answer. When he did, he cringed at the sight of Kai. "You said he's coughing up blood?"
"Yep," said Rosalind, tilting the vase as proof. "Is Jo—?"
"I'm here," said Jo, appearing behind Alaric. She looked very pale. "What do you want, Kai?"
"Look," he panted, "I'm thinking it's the Merge, because we really didn't do it right. You know, the whole, 'You're not my twin,' 'Hey, that's okay, close enough,' plan? It worked, which is, you know, cool. Hey, I'm even a little bit nice now, in case you were wondering. But I think the other shoe dropped—" he stopped abruptly as he vomited into the vase again. When he was done, he continued, "I don't think you have food poisoning. I was supposed to Merge my magic with you. But I got Luke's instead. Oh... now I'm defective, and I think that's why you're sick. I kind of feel like I'm dying, actually. And if I die, so do you, Dad, Liv, and the rest of our dumb coven. So could you please fix me, like, now?"
They drove to the hospital so that Jo could access her office. Kai was placed on the exam table, and she asked the others to stay by the door, watching the process.
She first used her stethoscope to check his breathing and heartbeat, as well as bowel sounds. Then, she brought out a thermometer, marking his temperature. She took his blood pressure, and it seemed that that must have come back normal, because she moved on to using a penlight to check his pupillary response.
"Any joint pain?" she asked.
"Mhm," he said.
"Headaches?"
"Yup."
"Are you pregnant?"
Kai glared at her. "Stop making jokes. I feel like I'm being scrunched from inside out. This is kinda private. Do they really need to be here?"
"We're not leaving her alone with you," said Alaric. "So deal with it."
"Okay," said Jo. "Your vitals are fine, your temperature is normal. I'll wait on pathology, but there is nothing medically wrong with you."
"Yeah, duh," said Kai. "Because I'm magically diseased. Hey, you haven't puked in at least—"
He started to gag. Elena was the quickest to put a trash can under his mouth. Jo reached out to hold the other end, and Kai gripped her arm, starting to siphon, which caused her to shriek in pain.
"Hey," said Rosalind, making him let go of her. "You're hurting her, and she's trying to help you."
"I feel better," he said as he sat up, tilting his head.
"Yeah," said Jo, annoyed. "Because you juice-boxed my magic."
"Yeah, sorry about that," he replied. "That was an accident. But I— wow! I legitimately feel better." His eyebrows went up. "You need to give me your magic."
Jo was bewildered. "What?"
"This faux Merge is clearly failing because I was supposed to get your magic, right? Just— I don't know— put it in a teddy bear or a bed pan and gimme—"
He reached out, but Alaric caught his hand. "Listen. I could just as easily break seven little bones with one good squeeze, okay?"
Elena forced him to let go, too. "No violence from any party involved here, okay?"
Alaric released him. "I can see you're skeptical, Ric," said Kai. "Can I call you Ric? Hey, buddy, but here's the thing you need to know is that Jo only survives if I do, okay? And if that's not enough for you, the power that binds the prison worlds comes from the leader of the Gemini Coven. If I die, the worlds collapse, alright?" He noticed they all looked stunned. "I see vacancy. Would you like me to start over with single syllables?"
"You said prison worlds," said Rosalind. "Like worlds, plural. Was that intentional?"
Kai had a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Has no one ever mentioned that?"
Jo heaved a sigh. "I need a minute to think about this." She left the room, and Alaric followed.
"You know," said Rosalind, "now would be a good time to either explain to us what you mean by 'prison worlds' or to tell Jo about your plan to unlink her and Liv from the Coven. At least then they'll think you're doing something good and maybe things will be less hostile."
"I'm not going to tell her that," said Kai, scowling. "I don't want them to know I'm doing a good thing. I want to just kill the entire Gemini Coven, and have them realize they're still alive and then... nothing."
Elena raised a brow. "You wouldn't want recognition for a good deed?"
"It isn't a good deed, is it, Eleanor?" said Kai. "I'm still killing everyone they know, they're not gonna throw a party for me just 'cause they don't die. I'm doing this for Ruby."
"And why for Ruby?" asked Rosalind.
"She didn't want me to let Jo and Liv die. So I'll give her her wish. I don't care about it. I don't want recognition."
They went silent as they heard Jo coming back. Out of nowhere, she swept her hands up. "Motus!" Kai was tossed into the wall. She waved her hand, and he began to cry out, holding his temples.
"I messaged Dad," she said. "Guess who's not sick? Him. Liv. And I'm feeling pretty good right now, too, which leads me to believe I'm not gonna die anytime soon, so what's your game?! Tell me!"
"I don't have a game!" Kai snapped. He yelled out as he thrust his hand up, inflicting the same pain spell on her. "As much as my suffering might bring you pleasure or whatever, this is not the way to handle this situation."
He let up the spell once he got to his feet. Alaric, Elena, and Rosalind shared a look, unsure if they should leave and let them kill each other or if they should stay. It felt as if they were intruding.
"Is this all just a ploy for you to get more magic?" asked Jo breathlessly.
Kai looked offended. "It's a ploy for us all to stay alive, actually. Alright, I'm sorry if that seems selfish."
"I don't believe you!" Jo accused. "Because you're a liar. And you are the worst kind of liar because your lies sound so much like the truth, it's impossible for me to tell the difference!"
Now, Kai simply looked hurt. "You're right. I am a liar, alright. I'm the black sheep, you know, the defective twin that nobody wanted. Must feel real nice for you to stand here, judging me, surrounded by all the things that you got out of life while I spent eighteen years in a prison world as the family reject, with only one person for company. The only person who ever thought to give me a chance, and even she hated me and left me soon after. And she never deserved to be put in there in the first place! You let them put us both in there. You helped them trap us. And you were never planning on letting us out. Let me tell you, every inch of me wants to kill you for that. EVERY PART!" He'd come to stand right in front of her, making her flinch. "But I can't. Because the only way that I can survive is if you help me. And I'd like to live, frankly, because I didn't get to do a whole lot of that before everyone decided that I wasn't worth it."
Jo made her decision. "I'll give it to you. But under one condition. You take it, you get out of my life. I never want you anywhere near me ever again."
"Fine—"
"I'm not finished," Jo said sharply.
Kai rolled his eyes. "Shocker."
She continued, "If you break your promise, I'll kill you. I'll take myself and our entire coven down with you, because I don't want to live another minute afraid of my own brother. You got it?"
"Got it," said Kai tightly.
"Good," said Jo. "Then let's do this."
"Okay," he replied. "Me, our coven, and the prison worlds thank you."
Alaric decided to interrupt, "What exactly is this other prison world?"
"A place filled with crappy people like me, I'm sure," said Kai, eyes flickering between him and his sister. "Congrats. You're saving their miserable lives from oblivion. And don't look so stressed. You never liked being a witch anyway."
"Shut up." Jo took his cheeks in her hands. "Oribos turai manecsitus. Orbiem. Oribos turai manecsitus."
A gust of wind seemed to enter through the vents, and began to blow the papers in the office in the air, swirling around Jo and Kai. Rosalind used her jacket to shield Elena's face, preventing her from getting any paper cuts.
Jo continued to chant. Suddenly, the air went still. "It's done," said Jo.
Kai definitely looked better. The color returned to his face, and he was able to sit up, breathing a sigh of relief. "Ah... thank you. And congratulations." He leaned forward, whispering in her ear, 'You're pregnant.' He stepped back. "Have a good life, Sissie." He waved for Rosalind and Elena to follow.
"Congratulations," Elena squeaked before following him out the door.
"How did you know?" asked Rosalind as they walked to the car.
"When she gave me her magic, I just got a feeling," said Kai with a shrug. "I'm going to be an uncle. Not that I'll ever meet the kid."
Rosalind and Elena didn't know what to say about that. "Let's get home," suggested Rosalind. "We should update Ruby on what happened."
Ruby had been burrowed in the room all day. The curtains were still closed when they arrived, and she had a bucket of ice cream in her lap, eating while covered in blankets and watching a YouTube video on her phone.
When she found out what'd happened, she offered the idea of a rescue mission.
"You need to find those records from the other prison world or worlds," she said, staring up at Kai with big eyes. "We could free all the people that are trapped there. Give them a second chance, just like us."
Kai pursed his lips. "It will take time to find that. But it's not a bad idea, Ru-Ru. Start packing."
"Packing?"
"Jo doesn't want to see me ever again. Let's get a place in Charlottesville, you and me. We'll have more privacy there." He winked.
Ruby looked at Rosalind and Elena. "Kai, um, before we consider a move like that, we should... talk about some stuff."
"We'll start looking at apartments for you guys," said Rosalind, just to give herself and Elena something to do so they wouldn't accidentally eavesdrop. "If you're sure about Charlottesville, that is. There are other surrounding cities that are still close by. I assume you're still wanting to stay in the area if you're thinking of Charlottesville."
"Yeah, stay in the area," said Kai, furrowing his eyebrows and wondering what it was that Ruby wanted to talk to him about. "Ru-Ru has abandonment issues, too, and she doesn't want to leave you."
Ruby yanked him into the room, closing the door. After a few seconds, all Elena and Rosalind could hear was some light buzzing, as if Kai had thrown up a Silencing Spell.
"Okay, that makes me a little nervous," said Rosalind. "We won't be able to hear if he starts beating her to death for wanting to be with Enzo at the same time."
"I don't know," said Elena with a shrug. "I think he will be excited that she's considering him as being a part of it. With the way she was going out with Enzo every day, I figured she really just wanted to be with them. Finding out she might want to be with Kai, too, was surprising. He might just be flattered."
"I worry about her," said Rosalind. "I don't want him or Enzo to hurt her. I don't know if she spoke to Enzo about this, she's been here ever since we left with Kai."
"Well, maybe she wants to tell Kai first in case he reacts differently than expected. He's probably the one she's most worried about when it comes to their reaction."
"Or maybe she wants to see what Kai will do. If he'll want her all to himself and give her a reason to ditch Enzo."
"I don't think she'd do that. She likes him too much."
"I just hope they react well. She should be happy."
Elena tilted her head, and placed her hand on Rosalind's. "Even if it's not with your dad?"
"My dad is dead," said Rosalind quietly. "He'd want her to be happy, no matter how many someone's she's with. I want her to be happy and safe because... she deserves it. My dad would have wanted it, he would have protected her throughout this process. But she isn't here. I am. And it's up to me to watch over her. I never thought I'd be counseling her through being in a throuple, but I guess we've had weirder things happen in our lives."
"So, if she gets married to them, who's going to be each guy's best man?"
"Damon will probably be Enzo's. As for Kai's best man... well, shit, I don't know about that one. I have to walk Ruby down the aisle, so he might pick... Tyler? They've interacted the most out of everyone in the group."
Elena squealed as a notification popped up on her phone. "Alaric proposed to Jo!"
"Speaking of weddings," said Rosalind, raising her eyebrows. "Pregnancy proposal? That's kinda shitty, isn't it?"
"Oh, no, he had the ring picked out, I promise. Aw, and they're asking Damon and Liv to be best man and maid of honor! Ooh, and Jo says I can be a maid, too. The other groosman will be Jeremy."
"When's the wedding?"
"They're thinking in June. Oh, Caroline is going to go insane when she hears that. She's totally going to plan the whole thing for them."
Rosalind smirked. "Can't think of anyone better than Caroline Forbes to plan a wedding. Can you imagine her and Bonnie coordinating to make it truly magical?"
"That would be cute! I can't wait for the wedding, I love weddings."
"So... would you want a big wedding? When we get married?"
Elena thought it over. "I don't know. I know you're not really a big fan of those big events."
"I'd be willing to have a big wedding if it'd make you happy."
She shook her head. "A wedding with just family would be nice. It would still have several people. The whole friend group. Your family and mine. Probably just one other bunch of people, these friends of my parents that live in Colorado who supported us a lot when they died. Caroline's mom, of course. And... well, that's it."
"Klaus and Kol," said Rosalind. "Klaus was the biggest 'Rosalena' shipper from the start. He's the one that helped me figure out I liked you. And if we invite them, we have to invite the other Originals."
"Even Elijah? He and I are friends, but I know you don't like him."
"Fuck it, he can come. Rebekah can come. She's probably going to want to pick our wedding dresses."
"If she does that, Caroline will be livid. I can't really see them agreeing on anything."
"How about Caroline picks your dress and Rebekah picks mine? Compromise."
"That works. But... who'll walk us down the aisle?"
Rosalind faltered. "Right. Both without dads. And your mom is... welp. Okay, well, Tyler can walk me down, and Jeremy could walk you down. But if they don't want to or prefer another task, then I guess my first backup would be my Aunt Carol, then Ruby, then Klaus, then Damon. Or maybe all five of them can carry me."
Elena giggled. "Jeremy could definitely walk me down. If not him, then I think it would be cute if Caroline and Bonnie walked with me, side by side. Oh, wait, but they'll be my bridesmaids. Matt could do it. He's my best friend. Ooh, or Caroline's mom, too."
"Thank fuck we have time to decide," said Rosalind, tucking her hand under Elena's chin. "I can already hear your heart racing away just from thinking about it. Are you excited for our wedding day, princess?"
Her cheeks flared up. "Not here. Kai and Ruby are in the room."
"So? I can still call you princess, can't I?" She kissed her jaw. "Angel. Darling. Sweetheart. Beloved."
"Come to my dorm tonight," said Elena softly. "Caroline and Tyler are spending the night at the Lockwood Mansion. Bonnie's with Jeremy at the house."
"Mm... I could never say no to an invitation like that."
They waited until Ruby and Kai emerged from the room. Kai looked like he was still processing all the information. Ruby's cheeks were quite red, and she kept fanning her face.
"I need to talk to Enzo now," she said to Rosalind. "Is it okay if I invite him over?"
"Sure," said Rosalind. "I'm spending the night at Elena's dorm, so ah... try not to break anything."
Ruby's blush deepened. "Break anything? We're not going to break anything."
"You sure about that? Just use protection, even if you don't think it's necessary—"
"You are my child, you know? I think at this point I know safe sex practices."
"Wasn't I an accident?"
Ruby faltered. "Well— um— I suppose—" she huffed. "Are you encouraging me to—? With them—?"
"I'm encouraging you to do whatever makes you happy, Ruby. With or without them. Just be safe. Be careful. You need any help, you call me, okay?"
She smiled. "Thank you, Rosalind."
She arrived at Elena's dorm wondering many things. Had Kai actually been sick? Would Jo's child remain linked to the coven even if Kai unlinked his sister from it? Had Ruby actually told Enzo anything? Would he and Kai be functional and respectful partners for her? Would Kai manage to find records for other Gemini prison worlds? Would they be able to rescue the people stuck in them? Who was in there? What had they done to be imprisoned? Were they dangerous?
"You're thinking so much," said Elena, noticing that Rosalind was seated at the edge of the bed, resting her chin on her hands. "Relax."
Rosalind managed a smile. "Just wondering a lot about what's going to happen. Whether it's a good idea to be looking into these prison worlds. I do want to survive and make it to New Orleans one day, you know. I want us to have our wedding. If we open up a can of worms and those worms turn out to be vampire-killing parasites or something..." she leaned back against her. "I don't want anything else to get in the way of our happiness. After all that we've been through, we deserve some peace. I just want us to have our happy ending, whether it be as immortals or as mortals. I want a life with you, Elena Gilbert. One not marred by danger."
"We will have that life," said Elena confidently. "We will. And we'll have our dream wedding. Kids, somehow. The life we want. In the meantime, though... we just have to keep braving everything that comes our way. Surviving. And remembering to take breaks and just... remind one another how in love we are."
Rosalind caught her off guard, pinning her onto the bed and hovering over her. Elena batted her eyelashes, remaining still as Rosalind dragged her hand down her face and chest.
"You're right," she whispered, undoing Elena's jeans. "Let me remind you how much I love you, Elena Gilbert."
.
A/N: Debating whether I should just have the next chapter be an Epilogue sort of thing or actually go into the whole Lily Salvatore thing. The angst I planned might be a bit too cruel to write out. We'll see. If anything, this is the warning that next chapter will be the last! If it doesn't end up being the last, then ignore this. I'm just eager to be done with this story and give Rosalena their happy ending tbh! I refuse to give my LGBTQ+ stories a sad ending. Comment for more!