The Ties That Bind
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Cemetary
Amber is walking through a cemetery. She passes a gravestone reading 'Sheila Bennett Beloved Grandmother', then one reading 'Taylor Lawrence. She was well esteemed and loyal to all who knew her.' then another reading "The Memory of Christian Lawrence. Rest in peace." She sees a coffin sitting above ground and places her hand on it. Klaus appears behind her, and she turns around to face him, "I figured out how to open it. Can you?"
Klaus rushes towards Amber and bites her. Amber wakes up in the coffin. She uses her cell phone's screen to illuminate the inside of the coffin. She screams for help and bangs on the coffin, "Let me out! Please! Oh my god, oh my god! Fes patrus tribum, melan veras, et vasa quisa, exu quisa!" She bangs furiously on the coffin. She hears footsteps outside the coffin, "Hey! I'm in here! Please, someone!" A woman opens the coffin.
Old Witch House
Amber and Josh stand before Klaus' coffins, "I've been having these dreams for days. It's like the witches are trying to send me a message. And I still haven't told Klaus where they are..."
"I'm offended you never told me this." Josh playfully scoffs.
Amber smiles softly, "Well I listened to Stefan."
"Wrong choice."
"Tell me about it."
"So this is the rest of Klaus' family? Does Beks or Elijah know?"
Amber nods, "I called Elijah... I told him where they were and how I was keeping them safe. Said he'd be in town soon. And I haven't told Rebekah yet, just in case Klaus tries to use her for information. She loves her brother, she'd tell him anything. Two brothers and I don't know about this one. Elijah didn't tell me."
Stefan enters, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Whatever I want." Amber faces him.
"I thought I told you not to tell anyone."
"And I thought you wouldn't try and kill me but here we are."
Josh smirks, "Yeah Steffy, you just got..." Josh pauses, "I don't know what I was gonna say. Nevermind."
"I think I know, who can open the coffin, Stefan. And I need Josh to help me find her. And I got Bonnie in on this too."
"Find who? What are you talking about?" Stefan scoffs.
"I couldn't place her face at first. Then I realized..." Amber pulls a photo out of her pocket, showing Josh.
Josh's eyes widen and he softly gasps, "Bonnie knows?"
Amber nods, "She had the same dream as me... I need her help."
Stefan looks at the photo, "Who is this?"
"Bonnie's mom."
Gilbert Residence
Bonnie and Amber are searching through a pile of driver's license records for Bonnie's mother Abby. They're looking through the records of everyone who is named Abby Bennett, "Los Alamitos?" Amber asks, giving Bonnie the record for a woman named Abby Bennett Wilson.
"Too old."
"Honolulu?"
"I wish. How many of these are there?"
"A lot. I asked the sheriff's office to pull up every single Abby Bennett in the country." Amber sighs.
"I know we haven't been able to really...that things had been weird, because of Jeremy, so, thank you for helping me with this. I know you have a lot to deal with."
"Bonnie... I'm always going to help you. I'd drop everything just for you. It's no big deal." Amber shrugs.
"It's surreal. Having to track down a woman, who bailed on her kid."
"You know, you don't have to, right? Let Stefan obsess over opening up the coffin. It doesn't have to fall on you."
"The coffin is spell shut. That makes it a witch problem. So it does fall on me. I was bound to see my mother again sooner or later."
"I'm also a witch. I could've done the spell without you."
"But that wouldn't be fair." Bonnie shakes her head, "You've had too much on your plate. You've taken a lot of pressure off of me. Now it's my turn."
Damon and Josh enter the house, Damon holding a folder, "Sooner. Abby Bennett Wilson, Monroe, North Carolina. Born in Mystic Falls Hospital, graduated at Mystic Falls High...blah blah blah." Damon hands Bonnie the folder, she opens it and looks at the driver's license record, "A little compulsion helps speed up the research process."
Bonnie nods, "This is her."
"Yep, road trip. I call shotgun!" Damon smirks, slapping Josh's hand down.
Josh pouts, "I wanted shotgun."
"Boo hoo."
Amber shakes her head, "No. Neither of you are coming."
Josh pouts, "What?"
"I'm the one who found her!" Damon scoffs.
"Okay, Damon. Look. Bonnie hasn't seen her mom in over fifteen years. We don't need your snarky commentary narrating the experience. And Josh. You're a vampire, she's a witch. She won't like you and I won't be taking any chances."
Both vampires scoff and pout. Bonnie smirks and high-fives Amber, "Girls trip!"
Bonnie's Car
Amber is in the passenger seat, while Bonnie drives, "I just can't believe that I'm actually going to see her. Or meet her. Sort of. Since I don't really remember her." Bonnie sighs.
"You've never really talked about her."
"What's to say? She left, never wrote, never called. Not even when my Grams died. Could we talk about you and Klaus instead?" Amber automatically smiles and Bonnie gasps, "Look at that smile! Oh my gosh!"
Amber laughs, "We kissed, hugged. Not much. I mean... We talk but I can't say if we're really together or not."
Bonnie smiles, "Was the kiss good?"
"Bonnie!"
"Hey! A girl has to know!"
Amber smiles, "Yeah. He's a good kisser."
"He's had a thousand years of practice." Bonnie laughs making Amber hit her softly, "Hey, I'm the driver, no distractions!"
Amber's phone rings and Amber sighs, "Stefan. Again."
"Just pick it up. He won't stop until you answer."
Amber picks up, "What?"
"Where are you?"
"Bonnie and I are gonna spend the night at the lake house, while we wait for Sheriff Forbes to give us new addresses."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, Stefan, I'm not. We need a night off from your insanity."
"Klaus is getting antsy. He knows that I'm stalling. We need to move faster."
"We don't need to do anything. Tell Klaus the truth. I have the coffins, he knows that much. Just don't tell him where. Easy. Now, don't call every five minutes, got it?"
"Whatever, Amber." Stefan groans before hanging up.
Bonnie looks at Amber before focusing on the road, "How have you been since Caroline's birthday? With... The Stefan thing?"
Amber shrugs, "I wish I could say fine but... I have nightmares about it. I lost him. I lost someone who was like my brother. He tried to kill me because of his hatred. It's scary."
Abby's House
They arrive at Abby's house, Amber hums, "Cute house."
"Yeah, in the middle of nowhere."
"Are you sure you're ready?"
They get out of the car and ring the doorbell. A teenage boy comes up the stairs beside them, "Hey, there."
"Hey, we're looking for, um, Abby Wilson," Amber speaks.
"She not home. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"It's okay, we can come back." Bonnie sighs.
Bonnie starts to walk away, but Amber grabs her arm and ushers her back, "I'm sorry but you look so familiar." The boy looks at Bonnie.
"Abby is my mom."
"Oh...I'm Jamie. You guys wanna come inside? Right this way." Jamie leads them into the kitchen, "You guys sure you don't want anything? We got fresh OJ, coconut water, some mango guava something."
"Water is fine." Bonnie nods.
"Cool."
"So are we related?"
"Oh, no. Abby is not my mom."
"Good." Amber nods and smiles while Bonnie nudges her side.
"Yeah, she dated my old man back in the day. He's kind of a deadbeat, so when they broke up she took me in. Put me through school. Didn't freak out when I totaled her car. Twice." Jaime nods.
"She sounds... great." Bonnie gulps.
Abby enters the house, "Jaime, whose car is out front?"
"That's mine. I'm Bonnie. Your daughter." Bonnie stands.
Abby looks at him, "Hi Bonnie."
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Bonnie is holding a picture of Jamie dressed in a graduation gown in her hands, Amber gently grabs Bonnie's shoulders, "How are you holding up?"
"I'll be fine. I'm not here to get my mom back, I'm just here to get her help." Bonnie sighs.
Abby comes walking in from the kitchen, "So I hope you guys are hungry, ''cause...food has always been my go-to ice-breaker."
"You have a beautiful home." Amber smiles softly.
"You're so sweet. Just like your mother."
"My mom?" Amber freezes.
"Taylor was my best friend." Abby smiles.
"So, you had a daughter and a best friend and you still left?" Bonnie scoffs.
"My best friend is why I left. Fifteen years ago a vampire came to town. Looking for your parents, Amber. No one could manage to kill him. So I lured him out of town and cast a spell to desiccate him in a crypt in Charlotte."
"Mikael. He was an Original vampire." Amber realizes.
"It took every ounce of power I had. Almost killed me. I recovered. But my magic didn't. My powers never came back. And then I found out another vampire killed your parents. I'm sorry about your loss, Amber."
"And neither did you." Bonnie saves Amber.
"It wasn't that simple."
"It wasn't? You cast a spell, put Mikael down, and then...what? You had to teach Jamie how to drive?" Bonnie grabs Amber's hand, "This was a mistake. She has no magic, she can't help us."
Bonnie is starting to leave, but Abby runs after her and grabs her arm, "Bonnie, wait, please. Don't go. Talk to me...Please?"
Amber sighs, letting Bonnie's hand go, "I'll be outside. Bonnie, you know what to do if you need me." Bonnie nods and Amber leaves them alone, walking outside.
Amber walks out to the barn and smiles softly before it disappears and Stefan is in front of her, "Hi, Amber. Nice lake house."
Amber nods, "I know right? Very pretty."
"So, what did you think, I wouldn't find out?"
"Honestly? I don't give a flying crap." Amber shrugs.
"This is why I need you to trust me!"
"Trust you?! After you almost killed me?!" Amber scoffs.
"Damn it!" Stefan kicks a chair and breaks it.
Jaime runs into the barn, "Hey! Everything all out in here?"
"Hey, Jamie, go back inside, okay? Please, trust me, it's better off for you there." Amber gently pushes Jaime back.
"I don't think so." Jaime walks to Stefan.
"I'd listen to her. Get back upstairs, man." Stefan grunts.
"I said I don't think so."
Stefan grabs him by the throat and compels him, "Go back upstairs, before I tear your damn throat out. Do you understand me?" Stefan lets Jaime go and Jaime walks away.
Amber shakes her head, "I don't think you've realized how bad you've gotten!"
"It's the way it has to be, Amber."
"Oh, yeah, right. Out-villain the villain. I get it." Amber scoffs.
Jaime comes back in with a shotgun, "You're not supposed to be here." He points the gun at Stefan.
"Woah, Jaime!" Amber puts her hands up.
"He's not supposed to be here."
"Amber, he's compelled." Stefan realizes. Jamie shoots Stefan. Stefan falls to the ground on his back. Amber yelps.
In the house, Bonnie hears the gunshot and stands up, "What was that?" She stands up and goes to the door. Abby pours some herbs into her hands, rubs them, then goes up to Bonnie from behind and places her hand with the herbs over Bonnie's mouth. Bonnie sinks to the floor.
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Jamie is tying Amber's hands behind her to a post and Stefan is lying on the ground, groaning in pain, "Why are you doing this exactly?" Amber asks.
"Stop moving?" Jaime grunts.
"Um no? I'll do whatever I damn, please! Now, let me go!"
Jaime grabs a syringe filled with a dark substance and stabs Amber's neck, making her yell in pain. Abby drags an unconscious Bonnie to the car, "Jaime!"
Amber pants and she focuses on Bonnie, "No... Bonnie!" Jamie runs to Abby while holding the shotgun and helps her load Bonnie into the back seat of the car.
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Jamie is walking to the barn. Amber's moving her hands up and down so the rope tying her is rubbing on the post she's tied to. Stefan is still lying on the ground. Amber grunts, "Stupid! God, my powers aren't working. I'm almost there, Stefan. Hold on."
"Abby hasn't called yet." Jaime sighs.
"Jamie, please, just let us go." Amber grunts.
Jaime cocks the gun and points it at Stefan, "No! Please don't do anything. Look, I don't know why I shot him, I don't know why I'm holding this gun, but if you move or do anything, I'ma shoot him again."
"Okay, I won't. Who gave you that gun?"
"A man came by earlier today, he gave me a wooden buckshot and told me if anyone got in our way, I'm supposed to shoot him."
"What else did he say?"
"If Abby didn't find the location of some coffins, I'm supposed to shoot myself."
"I'm gonna kill him." Amber whispers under her breath before looking at Jaime, "What'd he say about me?"
"I'm not supposed to hurt you, other than giving you something."
"Are you sure? Because these ropes are so tight, that it is hurting me." Amber gasps in fake pain. Jamie walks toward Amber concerned. Amber suddenly releases herself and grabs the gun from Jamie, but he has enough time to pull the trigger. Amber knocks him out with the butt of the gun. She rushes over to Stefan, "That was badass of me."
"Amber," Stefan grunts.
"Okay... What can I do?"
"Every time I move, the wood shifts inside of me. I can feel it scraping against my heart. You need to get the pieces out." Stefan grunts.
Amber groans, "God I hate this part." Amber digs into the wounds, taking the wood out. Stefan screams making her stop, "I'm just trying to help!"
"Get it out, Amber, please! Just get it out!"
"Keep screaming, maybe I'll feel sorry for you!" Amber tries again and finally gets it out. Stefan stops crying out in pain.
"You've changed. Something is different about you. You're stronger. Tougher."
"Life changed me. You changed me." Amber scoffs, throwing the piece of wood across the barn and standing up.
"It's good though."
"Well, I didn't do it for you. I did it for me."
Stefan sighs and gets up, walking out of the barn. Amber wipes the blood on her shirt and sighs. Amber goes to walk but falls on the ground. She grabs her stomach in pain. She pulls her hand away to see blood. She quickly lifts her shirt to see her stomach. There it was. She got shot.
Amber takes deep breaths before muttering a spell but starts feeling more pain. She cries out and hits the ground with her fist. Just then there was another shot. Jaime stands there with the shotgun. Amber falls to the ground. Stefan speeds in and cracks Jaime's neck.
Stefan quickly goes to Amber's side and picks her up, "Amber? Ammy? Hey, look at me, please!"
Amber shakes her head, "Stefan... Stefan it hurts..."
Stefan bites into his wrist and feeds her his blood, "It's okay. I'm right here." As soon as he pulls his wrist away, Amber coughs it all out. Stefan looks at her wounds to see it not healing. He shakes his head, "No... No this wasn't supposed to happen! No! Amber!"
Amber's eyes slowly closed, "Stefan..."
"No, open your damn eyes! Keep them open for me! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Amber, please. I didn't mean any of it. Please." Stefan cries.
"Amber!" Bonnie runs into the barn but pauses seeing the scene, "No! Amber!" Bonnie runs to the other side of Amber and starts muttering a spell but nothing works, "What happened?! What happened?!"
Klaus speeds in and kneels next to Amber, "Love?" Stefan hands her to Klaus and speeds to get the car started.
Bonnie sobs, "I'll follow you guys."
Klaus nods and picks up Amber, speeding her into Stefan's car. Klaus stays in the backseat, holding Amber in his arms. Stefan speeds, not caring about anything other than the hospital.
Amber grips Klaus' shirt, "Klaus... I can't breathe... It hurts so much..."
Klaus kisses her head, "Hey, look at me, Little Witch, I'm right here. I'm not leaving. Keep your eyes open for me, love."
Amber shakes her head, "I-I can't. Klaus."
Klaus tears up, "Please... Please, for me? You got things you need to do, okay? I need you. We need our future. I've heard you talking about us. Make it for us. Make it for Caroline, and Josh, and Bonnie, and everyone else. Fight. I just need you to fight one last time."
Amber slowly opens her eyes, "K-Klaus... Make it stop..."
"I'm trying... Stefan!" Klaus yells.
"Almost there!" Stefan speeds faster.
Hospital
"Meredith!" Bonnie yells, running into the hospital.
Meredith turns around, "Bonnie?"
"Please! Please help her!" Bonnie cries.
"Help her? Who's her?" Meredith asks but pauses when she sees Klaus running in holding a half-conscious Amber. Meredith grabs a gurney, "Put her on here." Klaus does as told. Meredith and a few other doctors push Amber to the surgery room.
Bonnie, Stefan, and Klaus look at the doors. Bonnie's phone rings and she grabs it, seeing Caroline calling her. Bonnie hands it to Stefan, "I can't do it. I can't tell her."
Stefan numbly nods and answers the phone, "Caroline?"
Caroline was crying on the other end, "What happened?! Is Amber okay? What's going on?"
"Caroline..."
"Stefan, tell me what happened to my sister!"
"Come to the hospital Caroline..." Stefan then hangs up.
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Everyone was in the hospital, waiting for any kind of news. Bonnie and Caroline were sitting in chairs, holding onto each other. Klaus was sitting with his head in his hands. Rebekah sat next to him, trying to comfort him and her. Elijah was on the other side of Klaus, sighing softly. Stefan was standing away from everyone, blaming himself. Damon and Josh were pacing. Liz was talking to the front desk ladies, trying to find more news on Amber. Ric was on the phone with Jeremy, updating him, which was hard. Sam was on the phone with his Aunt Kaylee, updating her.
Meredith comes out and everyone stands up. "I tried vampire blood again. She threw that up. Klaus I tried your blood, she threw that up. We tried everything we could do. I'm sorry but... It's time to say your goodbyes." Caroline falls to her knees, sobbing. Liz holds her daughter tightly, crying softly. This was it. This was the goodbye.
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As everyone had said their goodbyes, Sam was the last one to walk out of her room. Sam stops at the doorway and looks at his unconscious sister once more. He watches as her heart monitor flat lines. Sam doesn't move as doctors and Meredith run in. Sam feels someone's hands on his shoulders, but his eyes don't move from Amber. Caroline softly cries, her head on Sam's shoulder, both watching their sister leave them.
Meredith and the doctors finally stop and Meredith looks at Sam and Caroline, giving them a look of sympathy. Doctors leave the room and Meredith passes them, softly patting their shoulders and leaving.
Sam and Caroline stay staring at their now-dead sister. Sam lets more tears fall down his face as he brings one hand up to his shoulder, softly grabbing Caroline's hand. Sam and Caroline slowly walk to the waiting room, hugging their family and friends.
"Wait!" A doctor yells as doctors run back into Amber's room, Meredith being the lead. Meredith sees Amber's heart monitor beeping again. Meredith gasps when she sees Amber's eyes open and Amber gasps, sitting up. Meredith orders the other doctors out. As the door shuts Meredith looks at Amber whose eyes are glowing bright blue, they then turn into their normal blue.
"Amber?"
Amber nods, "I'm pretty sure." Meredith laughs and hugs Amber. Amber laughs and hugs her back before pushing Meredith away. "No..."
"What? What?"
Amber looks around, "Meredith..."
"What Amber?"
"I think I'm in transition."
"Trans-" Meredith pauses, "Oh... How? You wouldn't keep down Stefan's or Klaus'!"
Amber sighs, "Jaime injected me with something... I'm guessing vampire blood and witches' herbs. So not only did I almost lose my magic... I have it back, I can feel it... I died with vampire blood in my system. The witches' herb made me throw up Stefan's and Klaus'... I'm in transition." Meredith looks at Amber in horror.
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Word Count: 3330
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