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𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗶𝗻𝗲
𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘔𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦
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WHEN FRAN WOKE, her head was pounding the back of her head being the worse. Her eyes peeled open, and a silent groan escaped her lips as she sat up. Her thoughts were already fuzzy, so she was even more confused when she realised she was sitting in a dark room.
Slowly, Fran pushed herself up from the cold ground, using the wall to keep herself from falling over as the room spun. She ran her hand along the wall and took small steps as to not trip over anything, looking for the light switch.
Once she found it, she flicked on the light, squinting at the sudden change of brightness. Blinking a couple of times, Fran looked around, realising she was in a bathroom.
Her frown deepened when she saw someone lying unconscious in the bathtub. She slowly walked over to the girl, her brows shooting up when she saw that the girl wasn't just anyone; it was Bonnie.
Fran whipped around when the door suddenly opened and someone was pushed in.
"Elena?" "Fran?" Both sisters say simultaneously. Elena sighed a big sigh of relief before hugging Fran tightly, glad to be with her sister despite the situation.
"What's going on?" Fran asked, gently hugging her back. She didn't usually hug people because she always was awkward about it, but she kind of picked up the habit of hugging Elena back since it happened a lot.
"I don't know, but the people out there are vampires," Elena told her, opening her eyes and pulling away. She was slightly calmer now that she knew she wasn't alone, but now she had to worry about her sister and not just herself.
Fran hummed, "That's probably why Bonnie is here." Elena's eyes widened, and she finally noticed her best friend laying in the tub.
She quickly rushed over to her, wanting to make sure she was okay and alive. "Oh, my God." Noticing the blood on Bonnie's head, Elena quickly wet a piece of cloth and put it to spot with dried blood.
Fran peeked over Elena's shoulder, watching Bonnie begin to wake. "Elena? Fran?" Elena let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, you're okay."
"My head." Bonnie groaned, head pounding. "Here." Elena helped Bonnie sit up. "Oh, my God. Ben is a va─" Elena shushed Bonnie before she could finish, "They can hear." Elena whispered, tapping her ear.
Fran leaned back and flicked on the faucet to the sink to drown out any sound the vampires could hear.
"I'm so stupid." Bonnie scolded herself, mad that she allowed herself to fall for a vampire's tricks.
"No, he had all of us fooled," Elena told her, comforting her. Fran looked between them with her brows furrowed in confusion, having no clue who they were talking about.
"What's going on? Why are we here?" Bonnie asked, looking between the two sisters.
Elena shrugged, "It must have something to do with the tomb and Emily's spellbook."
"Spellbook?"
"Damon said that it could open the tomb," Elena told her. "Why didn't I know about this?" Bonnie asked, feeling left out.
"Because you didn't want to be involved with vampires?" Fran answered though it sounded more like a question. Elena gave her a look before turning back to Bonnie, "I was trying to keep you out of it, hoping it would never come to this."
"Come to what?" Bonnie questioned, and Fran sighed, tired of all the questions. Her head hurt, and she just wanted to sleep, plus, she was really craving pie.
Elena hesitated before sighing, "They need a witch... to break the spell and let the vampires out."
"No way." Bonnie shook her help, not wanting to help free a bunch of killers. Elena grabbed her shoulders to calm her down, "I know. I know. I know."
Fran jumped away from the door when it was suddenly kicked open, revealing one of the workers at the Grill who gave her pie. "What'd the door do to you?" She questioned, making a face since there was no need to be so dramatic, they already knew he was there.
The vampire glared before turning off the faucet. "You're wasting your time. I'm not going to help you." Bonnie told him, not willing to back down.
He chuckled before snatching both Fran and Elena, holding tightly as they struggled to get out of his grasp. "That's why they're here. Motivation for you to behave." He leaned in close to Bonnie, "You know, you shouldn't be so desperate. You made it too easy."
He then began to push Elena and Fran out of the room as they still struggled to get away from him, Elena moving around more than Fran who was thinking of ways to escape without getting her head ripped off. "She wants to talk to you." He pushed Fran and Elena, both the girls stumbling but catching their balance before they could fall to the ground.
"Well, well. Elena and Fran Gilbert. You two really are Katherine's doppelganger. You must have the Salvatore boys reeling." They turned around, seeing an unfamiliar girl watching them with an amused smile.
"Who are you?" Elena asked, having no clue who she could possibly be.
"I'm Anna. Your brother may have mentioned me? I mean, we're, like, practically dating." She said, slightly chuckling.
"Oh, so you're crazy stalker chick," Fran said, looking her up in down with squinted eyes.
"I thought you were a sociopath. Aren't you supposed to be the least judgmental of the two?" Anna sneered, already liking Fran the least.
"Jeremy's words, not mine." Fran shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Just sit down." Anna snapped, pointing at the bed before going over to look out the window.
At first, Fran refused to sit, but eventually, she was pulled down by Elena, who whispered a stern 'stop'. Fran honestly didn't know what she was doing wrong; she was only telling Anna what she heard.
"Bonnie's not gonna open the tomb," Elena said after a while.
Anna continued to look out the window as if she was waiting for something or someone, "Oh, I think she will."
"Do you really want Katherine out that bad?" Elena questioned, wondering why she'd want Katherine.
Anna finally looked at them, saying, "Trust me. No one I know wants to see that girl again. Except Damon, the love-struck idiot."
"Then what is it? Or who is it?" Elena continued with her questions, causing Fran to glance at her. Why is she allowed to annoy the vampire with questions but I can't say anything, she thought before she got distracted with a painting on the wall.
"My mother's in there," Anna told her truthfully. "Katherine couldn't help herself. She just had to toy around with both Salvatore brothers. And then when she got caught, so did my mother. I watched Jonathan Gilbert take her away."
"I'm sorry," Elena said, being sincere. She knew how horrible it was to lose a family member.
"You really mean that, don't you?" Anna asked, noticing how she wasn't faking sympathy.
"So, how old are you exactly? You know, since Jeremy is only fifteen I can't let you be with him if you're over seventeen because that would make you a paedophile, and I don't condone that." Fran broke up their moment, turning to look at Anna with squinted eyes.
"Are you an old woman? I'm assuming you're an old woman." Fran added, scrunching up her face while she nodded in thought.
Anna glared at her while Elena gave her a wide-eyed look, "You remind me of Katherine; bitchy and manipulative. You've got everyone around liking you even though you don't give a damn about them."
"My nonexistent personality just seems to draw people in." Fran shrugged, not at all bothered by the fact that she was angering the vampire.
Anna's glare deepened before it dropped, and she looked back at Elena, "Yeah, we'll skip the 'dead mom's bonding so you can start serving a purpose."
"Which is what?" Elena snapped, allowing annoyance to seep through her words.
"Leverage," Anna answered before grabbing a phone off the table next to her. "This belong to you?"
Elena immediately went to grab it, but Fran caught her arm and pulled her back, "You told me to sit, now I'm telling you to sit."
Anna smirked before moving back, choosing a contact before pressing call. Fran and Elena both shared looks before watching Anna as she spoke with who they assumed was Stefan.
"Elena, are you okay? Is Fran there?" Stefan asked the moment he answered the call.
"They're fine, for now. Tell me you have the Grimoire, and they'll stay fine." Anna looked at the two who were watching her.
Stefan hesitated before saying, "I can get it." Anna was quick to respond, "Which means your brother has it. And I have your witch. So one of you had better meet me in the town square in 30 minutes so we can safely discuss how fun it's gonna be to work together."
Anna then ended the phone call before going over and knocking on the bathroom door, "I'm leaving." Ben walked out of the bathroom, dragging Bonnie with him.
"Keep them buttoned down. Compulsion won't work. Just use violence." Anna told him before she looked at Fran, "And keep an extra eye on that one: I don't trust her."
Fran smiled innocently, shrugging one shoulder. She didn't have a plan on how to get out, so they didn't really need to be concerned about her trying to escape.
"Right. I got that." Ben said, and Anna walked out of the motel room. "Sit. Behave." He pushed Bonnie onto the second bed in the place.
Fran opened her mouth but closed it when she received pointed looks from Elena and Bonnie.
"So you're the key to this. Literally. The one who opens the door." Ben announced, taking off his jacket while looking at the glaring Bennett witch. "Tell me, how long have you been a witch?"
"Is there anything to drink here?" Elena questioned, crossing her arms.
"Are you offering?" Ben asked, walking towards Elena with a grin.
"You're such a creep. Don't you have anything better to do than target underage girls?" Fran asked, bringing the vampire's attention away from her sister.
"There's water on the nightstand." He told Elena, keeping a glare on Fran.
Elena grabbed the water from the nightstand, bring it up to her mouth to drink. But before she could take a sip, Bonnie spoke, "Hey. Can I have a sip?" Elena paused in confusion before handing the glass to her.
Bonnie splashed the water onto Ben, and within an instant, the spot the water touch caught on fire.
The three girls immediately ran to the door while Ben tried desperately to put out the fire. While Elena and Bonnie made it to the door, Ben was able to grab Fran since she was farthest away quickly.
Fran thrashed around in his arms, trying to escape but failing. Ben roughly grabbed her arm, causing her to stop moving and gasp in pain.
"Fran!" Elena shouted, going to run back into the room but being stopped by Bonnie.
"Come back in and shut the door or I break her arm." Ben threatened, his grip tightening on Fran's arm, causing her to struggle to keep in a cry of pain.
"Let go you asshole!" Fran gritted out, still trying to get away from him.
When Ben realises Bonnie wasn't going to allow Elena back into the room, he glared in anger. In one swift motion, he snapped Fran's arm, not only causing her to scream but Elena as well.
Elena finally broke free from Bonnie's hold and ran to her sister who Ben had pushed to the ground.
While Bonnie was in shock of what happened, Ben sped over and pulled her back in the room while slamming and locking the door.
Fran bit her lip to contain her sobs of pain, holding her arm close to her chest while Elena held onto her tightly, feeling guilty for allowing her sister to be hurt again.
Ben forced them to go back to the beds they were sitting on before they tried to run. The only reason he hadn't attacked Fran for her blood was that he knew he'd get in trouble and the pain from his arm catching on fire was distracting.
"Witches don't have eternal life, right?" Ben questioned, pacing back and forth. "So you guys can die."
"Yeah, we can die," Bonnie answered, her voice cracking slightly as she listened to her friend's silent cries while her other tried to comfort her through her own tears.
"Huh. That sucks." He chuckled, going back to pacing. The door was suddenly kicked in, and the curtains were pulled open, allowing sunlight to shine into the once dark room.
Ben screamed in pain before scurrying to a corner the sun hadn't reached, his skin burning.
"Stefan!" Elena exclaimed in relief, glad to see her boyfriend.
"Guys get outside," Stefan told them, his stern look faltering for a moment when he saw Fran's broken arm.
They didn't waste any time running out of the room and to safety, Elena never letting go of her sister.
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FRAN WINCED AS STEFAN WRAPPED HER ARM IN GAUZE, squeezing Elena's hand tightly to distract herself from the pain. Stefan had to set her arm back in place which hurt enough, but after the stitches and everything, Fran just wanted to pass out.
"There, that should help for now," Stefan said, clearing his throat and standing up from his crouch position in front of Fran.
"Thank you," Fran muttered, causing Elena to slightly smile since she always forgot to tell people 'thank you'.
"Of course." Stefan nodded, wiping his hands on his pants while looking around to avoid the smell of her blood.
"I meant, thank you for not biting my arm off, not fixing it," Fran said, causing Elena's smile to drop and Stefan to look at her.
"Joking." She deadpanned, standing up and walking into Bonnie's grandmother's house.
Elena and Stefan followed her after sharing looks. "So, what do we do now?" Elena asked, knowing Anna was still out there along with Ben.
"Well, for now, you need to stay here," Stefan answered, crossing his arms.
"A prisoner in my own home? I don't think so." Shiela responded without hesitation.
"I can't protect you if you leave," Stefan told her.
"We'll protect ourselves," Sheila said, causing Fran to look down at her arm with squinted eyes.
"I say we give dickhead his girl and call it a day. I'm tired of getting hurt, and as long as he's around throwing a tantrum, that's exactly what's going to continue happening." Fran spoke up, looking at everyone in the room.
"No. He doesn't deserve to get what he wants." Bonnie denied, shaking her head.
"This isn't about him getting what he wants; it's about me not getting hurt anymore. I've been stabbed, pushed, hit, my arm's been broken." Fran groaned, rolling her head back before glaring at Bonnie.
"It's selfish, Fran," Bonnie told her, still shaking her head.
"Selfish is watching your friend get her arm snapped and still wanting to run instead of helping her," Fran responded, her voice blank and head tilted in a taunting manner.
Bonnie swallowed thickly, guilt settling in the pit of her stomach. Of course, she felt guilty for almost leaving Fran, but she didn't think Ben would actually hurt her.
"Witches being pulled down by vampires problems. As much as we try to do to stay out of it. I'll open the tomb. You get your brother's girl and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over." Sheila finally gave in, knowing Fran was right and more people would end up getting hurt if they don't help.
"We still have to get Damon to agree." Stefan pointed out, knowing he didn't trust them after what they did.
"He already agreed once," Elena said with a shrug.
"Yeah, and then you two lied, something you told me people shouldn't do," Fran said, giving Elena a pointed look.
"You two hurt his little vampire feelings." She added, looking down at her still stinging arm when she got an idea. "But I didn't, so he should trust me a lot more. And if he doesn't," Fran slowly raised her broken arm, "I'll just guilt him into trusting us."
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FRAN WHISTLED AS SHE WALKED THROUGH THE SALVATORE HOUSE, looking for any signs of Damon. She eventually found him, seeing he was getting ready to leave.
Damon stared at her for a moment, not knowing how to feel seeing her there and okay. "I'm gonna have to change the locks. You stage a jailbreak?" He finally said, grabbing the grimoire from the desk.
"Tried to run, got my arm broke, not fun," Fran said, showing him her arm that she hid behind her back. "Yeah, bad, huh?" She mused when she saw his face drop. "You should have seen it before Stefan snapped it back in place. The bone was sticking out, and blood was everywhere!"
"Are you trying to guilt-trip me into something?" Damon asked after a moment of realisation.
"It worked with the Bennetts." Fran shrugged, catching Damon's interest. "I managed to convince Bonnie to help you get Katherine back." She continued, walking down the stairs towards Damon.
"I doubt that," Damon said, watching her.
Fran scoffed, "Have you seen my face? These innocent eyes plus a broken arm can go a long way when it comes to guilting people who care for me. I mean, I've been hurt multiple times when all I ever wanted to do was help my sister."
"You sound like Katherine," Damon told her, frowning at her mocking tone. "So I've been told." Fran mused with a one-sided shrug.
"Look," She began, stopping in front of him, "I'm going to tell you what I told Stefan... It's obvious you love this Katherine girl, and you're doing all these horrible things to get to her. Cute, really. But, after a while, it gets tiring, especially when I'm the one always hurt at the end of the day. So I'm helping myself by helping you. You've just got to trust and believe me." She told him, trying her best to show she was being sincere.
"Plus, why would I willingly lead the guy who always gets me pie to his ultimate demise?" Fran asked, jutting her chin out and raising her brows. "That's just stupid."
"What about the other night and the fact that I didn't help Stefan find you or your sister?" Damon questioned suspiciously, remembering the way she reacted.
"I have the attention span of a toddler, trust me, everything is cool." She waved it off, beginning to think about pie now that she's mentioned it.
Damon stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and beginning to walk away, "I'm not interested."
"Why? I had valid points as to why you should trust me." Fran frowned, turning on her heel to follow him.
"Fool me once, shame on you," Damon replied, shaking his finger at her.
Fran made a face, her voice higher pitched than usual, "I haven't even fooled you yet. That was Stefan and Elena."
"Exactly, 'yet'." Damon pointed out, beginning to leave again.
Fran clenched her jaw, trying to think of something to say that would get him to stay. "You're my friend!" She finally blurted out the first thing she could think out.
Damon stopped and turned to her with a raised brow. "Yeah, you're my friend. From what I know, friends care and trust each other. Plus, you're the only person that knows what it's like to be judged for doing something bad that you did for someone you care about."
"You care and trust me?" Damon scoffed in amusement, setting the grimoire on the desk next to him.
"Not entirely." Fran answered honestly, shaking her head, "But I do trust you a lot more than your brother despite what you did, and that's saying a lot." She told him, raising her head high.
"We're partners. You buy me a pie, and I help you with whatever stupid plan you have." She paused before continuing, "And that includes getting Katherine back."
Damon walked closer to her, saying, "You know Anna won't stop, by the way, no matter what I do."
"Not my problem, it's Stefan's since he likes being the hero." Fran shrugged carelessly.
Damon's quiet for a second before he says, "I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it."
Fran slowly nodded, relieved that she managed to convince him. "Just so you know," She began, looking down at her bandage that had blood seeping through, "Ben's the one who broke my arm... Just in case you want to, you know, rip his heart out or something."
She then walked past him, leaving him wondering if trusting her was the right thing to do.
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FRAN WALKED IN FRONT OF DAMON, ignoring all the partying teenagers around her. Damon was falling behind her, neither of them having said anything to each other since they left the house.
Fran abruptly stopped when Matt and Caroline walked over to them, "Fran, oh, my God. Where have you and Elena been? How are you?"
Fran looked around for Elena, figuring she was with Stefan. She wasn't used to talking to Elena's friends by herself since her sister was always around to do it for her and correct her when she accidentally hurt someone's feelings.
"She's fine. Long story, no time to tell it." Damon answered for her.
"I wasn't talking to you." Caroline snapped, still angry at him for the pain he caused her.
"Sure, you were." Damon smiled, unfazed by her hatred towards him.
"We haven't met. I'm Matt." He introduced himself, holding out his hand for Damon to shake.
"Matt, there's a reason we haven't met," Damon responded before turning to Fran who had zoned out of the conversation. "You and I are going that way." He grabbed her arm and began leading her towards the church.
Once they finally made it to the old church, they saw Stefan and the Bennett's talking while Elena watched, looking around for them. "Brother. Witches." Damon whistled, gaining everyone's attention.
"You're here." Elena acknowledged in relief, glad to see that her sister managed to convince Damon without being killed.
She knew Fran could be convincing and manipulative when she wanted to be or, at times, even when she does not mean to be, so she had little to no doubt that she'd fail.
"Everything okay?" Stefan asked, eyes on Fran. He wanted to know if Damon hurt her in any way.
"My sore." She answered, not picking up on the fact he was worried if Damon hurt her. "And can this hurry up and be over with? Because being emotional is exhausting and I want pie, but I can't it when I'm out here, in the middle of the woods." She added, walking over to Elena that patted her on the back.
"Are we ready?" Elena asked the Bennets.
"Yes." Bonnie nodded, though it was apparent she wanted to be anywhere but there.
They all then went down the opening of the tomb, getting ready for the spell. Sheila set the torches on fire, "Air. Earth. Fire."
"Water." Bonnie finished, holding up a bottle filled with water. Sheila took the bottle before pouring it in the circle of torches.
"That's it? Just water from the tab?" Fran questioned unimpressed.
"As opposed to what?" Sheila asked, continuing to splash the water everywhere.
"Don't you have to bless it or something? This just seems so... plain, and that's coming from me." Fran mused, tilting her head. "I expected something more..." She didn't finished and just raised her hands and wriggled her fingers.
The older witch smirked in amusement before continuing to do everything she needed for the spell to work.
Damon taking something out of his jacket, caught Stefan's attention, causing him to shine his flashlight at him ask, "What's that?"
"It's for Katherine. I gotta have something to get her going." Damon answered, unravelling the blood bag. "Unless your girl is offering up a vein." He added, looking back at Elena.
Fran looked Damon up and down before going over to a corner and sitting down, pulling her knees up to her chest and laying her head tiredly on them. She was cold, tired, and hungry and just wanted to go home.
"We're ready," Bonnie told everyone. They stood from the ground and linked hands, beginning to chant the spell.
"What are they saying?" Damon questioned, standing next to the tomb entrance.
"Sounds Latin," Stefan answered, looking over to Fran, who was clearly freezing. She wasn't able to change from her sleepwear that consists of shorts and a regular short-sleeved shirt, so she had nothing to protect herself from the cold air.
"I don't think it's Latin." Elena shook her head, keeping her eyes on the witches. She only looked away when Stefan walked past her while taking his coat off, confusing her.
She couldn't help but smile when she saw him give it to Fran, who wasted no time putting it on, already relaxing at the warmth it provided her. "Thank you," Elena whispered when Stefan walked back over to her. He smiled and nodded.
Elena backed away when the fire suddenly flared up as the chanting continued, "What's happening?"
There was no time to answer when the rock blocking the tomb suddenly opened. "It worked," Bonnie whispered in shock.
"Of course, it worked," Sheila said.
"Don't you have some fires to build?" Damon questioned Stefan.
"I'm gonna get the gasoline. I'll be back." Stefan told Elena before quickly leaving.
Damon looked at the witches in suspicion before he turned to Fran, only to realise she was sleeping with her head covered by Stefan's coat. So, instead, he turned to Elena, "You ready?"
"What?" Elena asked in confusion and worry.
"Do you think I'm gonna go in by myself so you can seal me in?" Damon grabbed Elena's arm and roughly pulled her towards him.
"Don't take her in. I'll bring the walls down." Sheila threatened.
"You'll bring the walls down if I don't. You think I trust you?" Damon responded with his usual sarcastic smirk.
"As much as I trust you."
"Enough. Both of you." Elena spoke up, ending their back and forth banter. "Look, he needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not gonna shut the door when he gets inside. I get it. I'll go."
Damon went over to grab a torch, "May I?" He asked, taking it anyway before walking into the tomb. Elena gave the Bennetts a nod before she followed him.
Before long, Anna hurriedly walked down the stairs, joining them. Bonnie immediately stepped forward, "Hey, you're not going in there."
"You think you can stop me?" Anna challenged, only wanting to get her mother and leave.
"Bonnie," Sheila said, causing her to let Anna enter the tomb reluctantly.
"Why did you let her go in?" Bonnie exclaimed the moment Anna was out of sight.
"Because she isn't coming out, baby. None of them are." Sheila told her, causing her heart to drop in dread.
Soon after, Stefan came back down. He looked around, seeing Elena nowhere in sight, concerning him, "Where's Elena?"
"Damon took her," Bonnie told him.
"What?" Stefan immediately went to charge into the tomb, but Sheila stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Stefan! If you go in there, you won't come out."
"What did you do?" Stefan asked, becoming more concerned by the second.
"Opening the door didn't remove the seal; it just opened the door," Sheila stated with a shrug.
"What's the seal?" He asked.
"Some seals keep vampires from entering. This one keeps them from coming out." She explained.
"Elena's human, she can leave. Anna and Katherine can't. Damon can't." Stefan said, nodding his head in realisation. "You were never planning on breaking the spell, were you?"
"I told you. I will protect my own. Elena can get out. That's all that matters." Sheila said, letting go of his arm and backing away.
Fran suddenly jolting awake, caught everyone's attention. Stefan immediately went over to her in concern, hearing her heartbeat like crazy. "What's wrong?"
Fran looked at him, "Elena's in danger." And, as if on cue, a scream from inside the tomb was heard; Elena.
Stefan wasted no time entering the tomb, going to help Elena. "Stefan!" Bonnie went running after him, but her Grams stopped her before she could. "You can't just leave him in there, Grams.
"He made his choice." Sheila snapped, glaring warningly at Fran when she stood up from the ground.
"No. No. Here." Bonnie grabbed the grimoire from the floor and walked back over to Sheila. "Just show me what to do. I'll do it." She said, desperation in her voice.
"We are not strong enough. Even if we bring the seal down, there's no guarantee we could get it back up again." Sheila told her.
"Well get strong enough. My sister isn't coming out of there without her vampire boyfriend." Fran snapped, stepping forward with a glare.
"You said it yourself, 'Many things can fuel a witch's power.' Help me. Or I'll do it alone." Bonnie begged desperately.
Sheila eventually gave in to trying to help. While they searched for the spell, Fran sat back and watched them, now wide awake.
Fran looked away from them when Elena suddenly ran out of the tomb, and she immediately relaxed when she saw she was okay.
"Elena. Stefan..." Bonnie began, but Elena interrupted her. "He's right behind me." She said, going over to her sister.
Everyone looked to the entrance when Stefan slowly came into view. "Stefan, what are you doing?" Elena asked when he didn't come out.
"It's gonna be okay. We'll fix it." Bonnie said, causing Elena to look at her sister for answers."What is it?"
"I can't," Stefan answered instead. "'Can't'? Can't what?" Elena asked in confusion.
"The spell's still up. We can't get them out yet." Bonnie explained sadly.
Elena turned back to Stefan, "You went in not knowing if you can come back out?" Stefan looked at the ground without an answer, causing tears to fill Elena's eyes, "Oh, my God."
"Fran said you were in danger, and I heard you scream," Stefan told her quietly.
"We can't leave him in there. We promised him, both of us." Elena said, talking about Damon.
"That was me." Fran corrected, making a face, knowing she was the one who made a promise, not them. She wasn't going to let them take credit for her hard work.
"I know." Stefan nodded, looking between Elena and Fran. He wasn't planning on leaving Damon, despite how he feels about him.
Sheild speaking up causes everyone to look at her, "Even if we're able to break through the seal, we won't be able to hold it for long."
Stefan gave Elena an assuring nod before leaving to go find his brother.
The two Gilberts watched as Bonnie and Sheila chanted, Elena pacing back and forth anxiously. She stopped when the fire flared like last time, "I think it's working."
Anna appearing in the entrance with her mother, caused Elena to back away in caution. "I just wanted my mother back. Jeremy's fine. He's outside. We won't touch him." Anna explained before disappearing.
Fran watched as Bonnie began to sway and the fire dimmed slightly. "Bonnie, keep going. They better hurry." Sheila said over the loud sound of the flames, both of the Bennetts feeling weak.
"Stefan, they can't hold it much longer!" Elena shouted into the tomb, hoping he'd hear her and hurry up.
Fran crossed her arm over her chest when one of the torches went out. Elena looked at her to make sure she wasn't watching before she quickly ran into the tomb to go find Stefan and Damon.
Fran continued to watch as the Bennetts struggled to continue. Bonnie nearly collapsed to the ground, crying in pain, "I can't!"
"Yes, you can." Sheila encouraged, still focusing on the spell. Bonnie pushed herself to continue, the torches going out one by one.
Fran looked away from them when Stefan, Elena, and Damon all walked out of the tomb. She frowned, having not realised until now that Elena had runoff.
The door to the tomb shut and everything went silent, the crypt going dark when the last torch blew out.
Suddenly remembering what Anna told her, Elena rushed off up the stairs, "Jeremy!" Stefan followed quickly behind while Damon and Fran followed at their own pace.
Once they made it outside, Elena and Stefan ran over to Jeremy who was passed out on the floor.
Fran looked around, pulling Stefan's coat closer to her body when a gust of wind blew. She then looked over to Damon, seeing the sad look on his face.
As if sensing her staring at him, Damon slowly looked up at her. Fran watched him for a second longer before turning and walking the way she knew her car was.
What she told him earlier wasn't entirely true. She couldn't feel everything she told him; it was all to get him to trust her. She didn't feel bad that he didn't get the girl; she just didn't care.
She wasn't going to pretend to comfort him when he had Elena to do that, and hers would be genuine, unlike if Fran did it.
As she walked away, she could feel Damon watching her, but she didn't turn around. She did what she had to; her job was done; she didn't need to be involved with Damon any longer.