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NOVO AMOR - Anchor
"And I hear your ship is comin' in
Your tears a sea for me to swim
And I hear a storm is comin' in
My dear, is it all we've ever been?"
ELENA STARED AT HOLDEN IN WORRY. He was bursting out because of Stefan flipping his humanity switch and his mother, who was suddenly alive and a ripper just like Stefan. "Love..." Elena trailed off with a sigh as Holden stopped throwing things around to look at her.
His breathing was rapid as he waited for Elena to say what she wanted to say. "My mom is alive, Elena," he admitted but she already knew the truth from Damon.
Both brothers were lashing out causing Izzie to try and calm Damon down. Elena was doing the same with Holden. "I know," she nodded her head as a small smile appeared on her lips but it didn't amuse Holden.
"And Damon lied to me. He kept it as a secret."
"I know that too," Elena then moved from her spot. She stopped behind Holden and hugged his torso causing him to sigh but still be tense. Elena kissed his shoulder as Holden placed his hand on her forearm. "But she's alive... Aren't you happy?"
"I spoke at her funeral, Elena. I said goodbye," Holden then pulled away leaving her to look away. He walked over to the table with drinks and poured himself a glass of bourbon. "And apparently she's a vampire and a Ripper one. I guess she was Stefan's mommy after all."
Elena paused before a mysterious look crossed her features. "How much was she Stefan's mommy?" she questioned as Holden felt pain rise in his chest.
"He would have hanged himself with a mother's apron strings if it meant her approval," Damon opened the door with his finger causing Holden to look away because in that moment he wanted nothing but to kill Damon. "We all would. We loved her. She was our world."
Holden was avoiding Damon's eyes but he knew the older brother was staring right at him. "And, no, Elena. We are not doing what you're thinking we should do," Damon shook his head as he entered the room. "By the way, thanks for telling me Stefan flipped his humanity switch, brother."
"Well, I thought I'd keep a secret too if we're like this," Holden finally met Damon's eyes so Damon rolled his eyes.
"Listen, guys, this is our only way to get Stefan back!" Elena explained seriously as Holden frowned. "You can't tell me that his mother isn't an emotional trigger."
Holden closed his eyes for a second before looking at her. "Elena, she killed a lot of people causing the entire coven of witches to put her away from this world. How can you fix one Ripper with another?"
Damon noticed how much it affected Holden because he loved his mother like no one when he was young. They all did. "Think about it, Holden. If this works, we don't just get Stefan and Caroline back. We get your mother back. Aren't you even a little curious to see her? And you, Damon?"
Holden wasn't quick to answer so Damon sighed, giving in. "I might know a few witches that could help. But I need to know Holden is fine doing it..."
Elena and Damon stared at Holden who only nodded his head, though he was not ready to meet his mother at all.
BONNIE AND KAI WERE DRESSED IN ATTIRE FOR COLDER CLIMATE BECAUSE THEY WERE ABOUT TO GO BACK TO 1903. Bonnie cut her palm with a large knife to draw blood for the spell. "Damn. Crocodile Dundee called. He wants his knife back," Kai chuckled as Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. You know, he's no longer a thing, and neither is that joke," Bonnie sassed angrily causing Kai to muse.
Damon entered the room wearing a coat as Holden trailed behind him with a winter jacket on too. Bonnie sheathed the knife and dropped her blood on the Ascendant.
Elena then walked in while wearing a coat. "Is this presentable attire by 1903 standards?" she questioned as Holden furrowed his eyebrows.
"I already told Izzie that she is not going. I thought you'd tell Elena that," Damon grumbled as Holden shot him a dirty glare.
He then walked over to Elena. "Maybe you should stay here?"
Elena only laughed and shook her head. "I'm going to meet the woman who gave birth to two epic loves of my life. I'm not staying," she told him strictly and a shadow of a smile appeared on Holden's lips.
He turned back to Damon with a shrug. "Powerful as I am, there's a limit of how many people one witch can transport with this spell," Kai commented causing Bonnie to glare at him.
"Right, which is why there's two of us. Shall we?" Bonnie turned to two people she wasn't angry at.
"Okay," Holden grabbed Elena's hand and the two joined Damon and the two witches.
"Izzie will kill me when she finds out I didn't take her to meet my mom," Damon grumbled as Holden sighed deeply.
"Izzie's not a child."
Damon smirked sarcastically. "Fine. Let's go get Mama."
Everyone then joined hands as Kai began to chant a spell. With a blink of an eye the five people stood outside a snowy Mystic Falls. It was still daylight as the group looked around the scenery. "Well, isn't this a picturesque slice of hell?" Damon said with a grimace.
Holden stroked Elena's cheek and pulled away with a sneer. "With your commentary it is..."
Bonnie smiled slightly. "You guys go ahead. Kai and I will start the locator spell on the Ascendant."
"But Kai just had the Ascendant. Why do we have to find another one?" Elena questioned in confusion as she grabbed Holden's hand in hers because it was quite cold.
Kai smiled. "The Ascendant can't travel between worlds, which means we gotta find its mirror image here in 1903."
"Page 10 on the world-jumping rule-book. Shall we?" Damon asked the couple sarcastically.
Not waiting for an answer, Damon started to head towards the boarding house. Holden remembered the exact same place it was as well. "I don't want to leave you alone with him," Elena whispered to Bonnie as Holden stared at Kai in confusion.
"I'll be fine," the three people looked over to see Kai catching snowflakes on his tongue. "He's good now, remember? New leaf."
Holden smiled at Bonnie with a nod and motioned for Elena to go with him. The two left the witches alone then in search of their mother.
Not long later, the couple caught up with Damon as they finally made it to the Salvatore Estate, where Elena was marveling at the old-fashioned lamps and furniture.
The brothers, on the other hand, didn't look too pleased to be there. The house did hold a lot of bad memories. More than they held good ones. "Isn't that a place you wanted to build Melanie a house?" Damon pointed to an empty field as he stood by an old window, looking through it.
Elena snapped her head at Damon, angry that he would annoy Holden with past. "It is," Holden didn't let that get to him. "Isn't that where you begged me not to go to war with you?"
Damon smiled dully as Elena rolled her eyes but then smiled. "Can we just take a second to acknowledge how insane it is that we're standing in the house that you both grew up in?" Elena then found a tin-type photo of one of the brothers from when they were young children on the mantle. She cooed happily. "Awww, Damon! Who knew you were once adorable!"
Holden chuckled genuinely as Elena showed them the picture. "Aww, thanks!" Damon said sarcastically. "Except... that's Stefan."
Holden then approached the framed pictures to find a picture of him and his father. Giuseppe barely had any photos with them but he sacrificed his time for Holden. And that made Holden feel guilty because he had his dad's somewhat love when the other two didn't.
Elena noticed Holden staring at the picture so she smiled, knowing he was looking at himself. "We're not here to socialize. We get the Ascendant, we find our mother, and after she flips Stefan's switch, we figure out what the hell we're going to do with her."
Holden didn't even notice how Elena grabbed the photo of him and his dad and put it into her jacket. She was definitely gonna bring that home. "So, you're not gonna give her a second chance, Damon?" Elena asked him.
"Chance to what?" Damon snapped as he snooped through the desk. "Disarray another literal boatload of people?"
"Stefan was a Ripper. None of you gave up on him..."
Holden was quiet as he exchanged a look with Damon. The younger brother didn't want to admit but he was with Damon on this one because she was a liar. She left her family to be with another. "And where was Lily from 1858 to 1903? She was blood-binge-ing through Europe while Holden, Stefan and I carried the loss," Damon told her as Elena glanced at Holden sympathetically. "Not exactly maternal, Elena."
"Our mom died when we buried her empty coffin," Holden spoke as Elena frowned deeply. She had no idea what it meant to find out that a woman you loved and who you thought was dead, wasn't actually dead. "I'll be damned, she's just a toll to help bring Stefan back."
Elena opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a female voice called out behind them. "Damon? And you..."
Elena gaped in surprise as she turned around to see Lily, who had been gathering firewood outside, was now inside and was shocked to see her son and another boy that looked so familiar to her Holden. "Hello, mom," Holden said with an overwhelmed face.
Lily only breathed out.
LILY COULDN'T STOP LOOKING AT HER SONS. After she started the fire she boiled a kettle of water to make tea. Damon was sitting on an expensive and antique armchair while Holden and Elena made themselves comfortable on the couch. "There was a time I marked days on a calendar," Lily smiled softly as she joined them at the coffee table and poured each a cup of tea before sitting across from them. "I gave up after a few years, but judging by your bizarre attire..."
Elena frowned slightly as Holden stared at her with a mixed feeling. "You've been here for over a century..." she said with a face as Holden placed his hand on Elena's leg, squeezing it softly.
"Yeah, I would've come by sooner, but I thought you were safe and sound in the family crypt," Damon commented sarcastically before he fake smiled. "I would've said an eulogy myself and not given it to Holden if I knew you were alive but, oh, my bad."
Lily was shocked as her eyes turned to her now grown up second boy. He looked a lot like her husband but much calmer looking. "Technically, I did die in 1858, after a nurse in the TB ward fed me vampire blood."
"And you never thought to stop by and tell us this?" Holden asked her bluntly as Lily looked at him awkwardly before returning the kettle to the fire.
Elena sensed the tension and decided to change the topic. "How did you end up here, Mrs. Salvatore?"
Both, Damon and Holden, looked at her incredulously. "Mrs. Salvatore?" Holden whispered with a tired and yet a little amused look on his face.
"I don't know what to call her..." Elena whispered back causing Lily to chuckle.
"Please, call me Lily," she nodded and sat back down. "It was October 31st, 1903."
Everyone watched Lily dip a tea bag in each of their cups. Next to the cups there was a sealed jar of blood and a small dropper. "I had just arrived in New York Harbor. The night sky was alive with this beautiful shimmering light. And, out of nowhere, a coven of witches attacked. When I woke, they were gone. Everyone was gone."
Lily then chuckled nervously. "That night, the sky danced with colors again, and it's done so every night since."
Lily handed her sons and Elena each a tea cup. "It's called 'prison'. You must have pissed off a lot of people," Damon told her coldly so Elena and Holden both looked at him with different expressions.
The Salvatore female only smiled. "That life seems like forever ago."
Holden then picked up the dropper next to the jar of blood and examined it. "Why so shy?" he asked dully as his eyes met Lily's.
"I depleted every slaughterhouse within walking distance, and every butcher's shop along the hellish trek from New York to Mystic Falls," Lily then picked up the jar of blood and showed it to them. "This is the last of the blood here, heh. Two drops a week, just to stay awake."
"That sounds miserable," Elena trailed off as she glanced at Holden.
"I manage," Lily smiled and then looked at her sons, sitting not so close but next to each other as always. Lily remembered the days when Holden was born and how protective Damon was of him. She wondered whether that was still the case. "I heard all three of you turned during the war."
"Mmhmm," Damon mused with a look.
Lily sipped her tea as Holden looked down for a second. He regretted the choice of coming there. "Your father must have been horrified."
"He was! And then, Stefan ripped his throat out," Damon said so Lily giggled so hard she accidentally spit out her tea, and then looked a little embarrassed. Damon smiled at her.
"I apologize- that's cruel to laugh, but... good for Stefan," Lily said as Damon nodded at her. Holden only sneered. "I truly hated that man."
That pissed Holden off. "Of course you did," he said with sarcasm. "So much that you let him favor me... So much that you left your kids with him, faked your own death, and then went out to join the Ripper Coalition."
Damon smirked when he saw Lily's reaction. Elena only gave Holden a stern look. "Well, it's nice to see that you're grown into yourself, Holden," Lily smiled tightly causing Holden to look away. "How's Stefan?"
Holden then lost his way of speaking as none of them knew how to break her the news.
"AND, YOU BELIEVE I CAN RECONNECT STEFAN WITH HIS HUMANITY?" Lily asked them as they were still talking in the parlor.
Holden held a grimace on his face because the woman in front of him wasn't the same woman he loved. "The last memory Stefan has of you is a vision of an angel telling him 'Everything is going to be okay.' "
Lily looked touched by the story and smiled. "So, you're gonna be an angel again. He doesn't need to know how screwed-up you really are," Damon told her calmly.
The mother's smile faded as she stared at her son. "Of course I'll help! I'd love nothing more than to see him again."
Damon then smacked the table and stood up. "Pack your bags."
Lily stood up as well. "Wonderful! I'll alert the others, hmm?" she laughed in excitement.
Holden stood up in confusion as Damon stopped in his tracks before he stared at her in confusion. "You'll alert who?" Holden asked with a face.
"You knew so much about me, I assumed you'd heard of my traveling companions?" Lily asked them as Holden let out a laugh before glancing at Damon.
He looked uneasy. "What traveling companions?"
Lily, holding a lit lamp in her hands, led her sons and Elena up to the attic, where they found six more vampires, all desiccated to the point of immobilization, sitting around the table. "Everyone, meet my sons Damon and Holden. They're here to take us home," Lily smiled as the trio were all horrified at the sight of Lily's den of vampires.
Damon and Holden exchanged a concerned look. This wasn't going as expected.
Lily then turned on a gramophone in the attic as the three vampires in front of her shook themselves out of the shock. "These vampires have been trapped here with you? The whole time?" Elena questioned as Holden glanced from the love of his life at his mother.
"We went everywhere together. They happened to be on the boat that night, poor souls."
"These... pour souls... don't happen to have the same affinity for rolling heads, do they?" Damon asked in disbelief.
"On the contrary, these people saved me from that part of myself. I was banished here because I was a monster. I drank with no remorse from whatever human I could sink my teeth into," Lily then affectionally straightened up the handkerchief in one of her male friends' pockets. "But, locked in this cage, I was forced to confront the animal I had become. And, as we ran out of resources, my friends sacrificed their rations for me. And, I knew if I drank everything, as every bone in my body demanded, there wouldn't have been enough to wake them. So, I learned to control my bloodlust, for them. These people made me feel human again."
Holden gave her a suspicious look, but Lily seemed to be oblivious. "I'll fetch the rest of the blood so we can revive them," Lily explained and left causing Damon to shake his head as Elena touched Holden's arm soothingly.
Elena then started to wander around the room, and the desiccated vampire at the end of the row stared at them all with bloodshot eyes. Elena held up a finger and waved it back and forth as she watched the man's eyes follow it.
"Who is she, exactly, Damon?" Holden whispered, forgetting that he was angry at him at the moment.
"Not only is she a Ripper..." Damon then lowered his voice. "She's an insane Ripper!"
"Or, maybe she feels responsible for them?" Elena questioned as she looked away for a second.
"What, are you kidding me? Vampire dollhouse?" Damon snapped as Elena noticed the Ascendant laying on a nearby dresser.
Her eyes widened in shock as she picked it up. "Holden! Isn't this the Ascendant?"
Holden approached her with a nod. "Yes."
The couple then turned to see Damon, who looked awkward. "Yeah."
"Then why isn't Bonnie here or is there another secret you'd like to keep?" Holden sneered angrily because he was getting annoyed by Damon more and more.
Elena opened the Ascendant. "Because Bonnie isn't looking for the Ascendant, Holden," Damon whispered as Elena looked at him in confusion.
THE NIGHT FINALLY CAME AND THE AURORA BOREALIS WAS LIGHTING UP THE SKY OUTSIDE. Holden was standing by the window looking at the sky as Elena stood besides him, snuggling close to him. "You don't see these things every day," Elena commented with a smile as he looked down at her with a loving look.
Lily was watching her son interact with his lover as she put her jacket on. "You two seem lovely," she commented as Holden turned back to look at her in confusion.
His mother then smiled softly as Elena blushed. Damon then returned downstairs to grab his coat. "Wait till you see my girlfriend," Damon mused with a sarcastic smile as Holden rolled his eyes. Lily was a little overwhelmed as Damon looked at her. "Your vampire-menagerie is going to have to take the next train out. We're down a witch."
Lily looked at them in disbelief. "You want me to leave them behind? No, Damon, you can't save me without saving them."
Holden rolled his eyes. "We will get here back for them. Promise. Now let's go. It's already Aurora Borealis outside."
Just then, Bonnie returned to the house and joined them. Kai was not with her and Holden knew it was for the better. "Also known as our ticket out of here," she then looked at Elena. "You got it?"
"Yeah!" Elena pulled the Ascendant out of her pocket and handed it to Bonnie.
The witch took it with a nod. "You gotta be kidding me!" Damon then sneered when he noticed that Lily has vanished. He then looked at the girls and Holden, clearly frustrated, and sighed. "Go. Start the damn spell. I'll go get her."
Damon started to move but Holden followed him. "I'm with you," Holden said when Damon gave him a confused look.
Upstairs in the attic, Lily was dropping blood from the jar into the first vampire's mouth to wake him up. "Time to wake up!" Lily exclaimed but Damon vamp-sped over to Lily and shoved her against the wall.
She was so shocked by it that she accidentally dropped the jar of blood down but Holden caught it with his vampire speed. "No!" Lily yelled as Holden held the jar with a glare.
"I said, they're not coming," Damon sneered angrily.
"Give them blood, Holden," Lily ordered as Holden stared at Lily in hate.
Damon turned to look at his younger brother who only let go of the jar while avoiding Lily's eyes and the jar broke causing the blood to splatter all over the floor. "What have you done?!" Lily shouted as Holden glared at her.
"We'll see them after the reunion. Let's go," Damon shouted at her.
Lily wasn't quick to give in. "You don't understand. I will not leave them!"
"Too bad," Damon sneered as he grabbed her arm to drag her downstairs, but she pulled away.
"They're my family!" Lily shouted as she ignored the hurt looks her sons gave her. "These people are my family."
Holden then let out a laugh. "These freaks can be your family, I don't care anymore," he sneered as he slowly approached Lily, who stared at Holden in fear. "I have my own family, Damon Salvatore is my brother, Stefan Salvatore is my brother, who needs help now. I came here thinking you'd be even a tiny bit happy to see us but I see that it's not the case. You're a liar and a Ripper and you will never see my again unless you come here with us now. I can leave you here to rot."
Lily had tears in her eyes but Holden felt relieved after getting everything out of his chest. Damon was hurt but proud of his brother. "Do you understand me?"
Outside, Bonnie was cutting her hand and dripping her blood over the Ascendant as she started the spell.
Elena looked worried but then Holden walked out with Damon and Lily behind who were hand in hand. "Holden!" Elena shouted so they all reached out to hold onto Bonnie, who was now holding the Ascendant.
Elena noticed a single tear on Lily's face as well as Holden's hurt expression. Before they were gone to the real world, Holden heard someone yelling and he knew who it was. And he didn't even feel bad.
HOLDEN WAS IN THE KITCHEN AS HE LISTENED TO DAMON AND LILY TALKING UPSTAIRS IN A SPARE ROOM THEY GAVE THEIR MOTHER.
He sighed as he sat down on the chair and closed his eyes, finally ready to rest from the reality.
Suddenly, he felt two hands touch his shoulders and soon someone sat down on his lap. He opened his eyes to see Elena looking at him with a teasing smirk. "You look like your father but you have your mom's laugh."
"I don't giggle," Holden said as he wrapped his arms around her. Elena chuckled and then took out a picture of Holden and his father. "You brought that back?"
"It's the only picture of my boyfriend in existence! Of course I brought it back," Elena kissed his temple as Holden grabbed the photo into his hands to examine it. "Sorry that it's with your father... I know how that turned out."
"It's better than taking a picture of me wearing a sailor costume," he joked as he stared at the picture with a longing look. "I can't believe I saw her today. Talked to her, threatened her."
Elena frowned as she played with his hair. "Give her some time. I know she's not the woman you remember," she whispered as Holden turned to look at her.
"You're so adorable when you're optimistic," he sighed deeply as Elena chuckled happily causing him to smile at her.
"Well, I learned that from someone who spent a long time feeling optimistic about me," she commented as he stared at her in nothing but love and admiration. "See some good in her."
"This woman left her kids to to be the den mother to a family of vampires..." he trailed off. "I think it'll take quite some time."
Elena smiled widely. "Well, then it's a good thing we have forever!" she exclaimed causing Holden to roll his eyes. Elena then kissed him softly.
The kiss turned out to be heated as Elena started to unbutton his shirt as she sat on top of him, kissing him passionately on the lips.
Holden kissed her down the neck but then someone cleared their throat. Elena quickly pulled away from Holden to see Damon there, looking at them with a smirk. "Don't stop on my account," Damon commented as Holden glared at him.
"Ew, Damon, seriously," Elena fixed her shirt that was almost off and stood up as Holden started to button his shirt back.
"Sorry. Awkward timing," Damon mused so Elena grabbed her things quickly as well as the photo of Holden from the 1800's.
"I actually have to go check in on Ric to see how things are going with Stefan and Caroline, so..." Elena then gave Holden one last kiss before she left the brothers to talk.
Damon smirked at Holden and then sat down next to him. "So... Is our toll set for tonight?" Holden questioned as he leaned back into the seat.
"Yeah..." he whispered as Holden knew that they lied to their own mother. They were never going back to bring her companions. "Listen, there's a thing or two I want to say."
"No need," Holden mused blankly but Damon shook his head. "Seriously, Damon, if you're gonna apologize, don't. I'm done with it."
"I'm sorry," Damon continued nevertheless as Holden sneered. "I shouldn't have lied to you and I definitely shouldn't have pushed you the way that I did. Ugh, I hate being good."
Holden then smiled to himself sarcastically. "You're forgiven," he then admitted as Damon turned to him with a surprised look.
"But not forgotten?" Damon asked so Holden rolled his eyes expressively. "Why?"
"Because today I realized that I should cherish the family that I have. Not including, you know..." he motioned to upstairs with his finger so Damon nodded calmly. "Let's just get our little brother back. The glue of the family, you know."
Damon smirked and nodded once again. He then sighed and took out a small box. "Since I don't want you to kill me for keeping any more secrets... Bon-Bon came by tonight. Handed me this."
"What is this?" Holden questioned in confusion so Damon motioned for him to open it.
Holden took the small box and saw something he had already seen not too long ago. "The cure," Holden said in surprise. "The cure to vampirism."
"Yep."
"Why would Bonnie give you this?" Holden questioned as he stared at the cure in the box.
"Because her mom is happy being a vampire, we know blondie will come back to her own terms, so she decided that I wanted to become human because of Izzie," Damon answered as Holden looked at him questionably. "It's complicated, Holden. I love Izzie but I don't know if I'm ready to be human again."
"Why give it to me then?"
"Elena," Damon whispered as Holden's eyes looked away from Damon. "I know how much you wanted it for her at first. So... I'm giving you this. Give it to her, or not. I don't want to be human yet. Izzie will understand, if she loves me..."
Damon then stood up and patted Holden's back. "It's up to you, brother," he then left the room as Holden started at the cure, conflicted about what to do.
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