Surprising Lover (TVDxOC) (Complete)

Heart of Darkness

Upstairs, Stefan and Grace are standing in front of the fireplace, staring into the flames. Damon is bringing luggage down for the trip.
"You hear from Klaus?"
"Not yet. I'm sure I will soon though. [Stefan picks up the white oak stake.] He's expecting me to deliver two stakes, I only have one."
"Well, that's gonna be disappointing for him."
"We'll get it out of Alaric. We just need some time."
"I like that confidence, Stefan. I don't share it, but I like it."
"You don't think I can do what it takes."
"Well, you're good Stefan again. You're in control. Sorry, you might get the girl but you lose the edge. Speaking of..."
Elena walks into the room.
"Have you ever flown first class?"
"Who did you have to compel for that?"
"Pft, please. I use miles."
Damon picks up the luggage and walks out the door. Elena looks at Stefan.
"Stefan..."
"Be safe."
Elena stares at him for a moment, and then walks out the door.
"Hopefully nothing happens."
"You want to know soon?"
"No don't tell me."
"Okay."

Stefan and Grace enter the basement and go over to the cellar which Alaric is being kept in. Alaric is lying on the cot with his eyes closed.
"Do you know how hard it is to fall asleep when that is what you're supposed to do?"
"Well, look, I know it's not easy so [Stefan holds up a whiskey bottle.] Damon suggested that I bring something to help speed up the process."
"What the hell."
Alaric sits up and puts the "Moby Dick" book that's open on his chest on the bed next to him as Stefan enters the cell. He hands the bottle to Alaric and goes to grab a chair.
"You know, I'll feel decidedly less pathetic if I don't drink alone."
"Oh, I am one step ahead of you."
He shows Alaric a glass and sits down in the chair. They hold their glasses out and Alaric pours some whiskey in them. They all drink, Stefan and Grace from the glass, and Alaric from the bottle.
"So, road trip, huh?"
"Yeah, I needed to stay here."
"Why? I mean, why you? You know, it doesn't take much to babysit me while I sit here waiting for a psychotic break."
"Well, unfortunately, we only have a limited amount of time."
"Before what?"
"Before we have to resort to other methods."
"I would rather not."
"So, you're worried that you're gonna have to torture me. You don't think Damon could have done that?"
"Look, Elena needed to go on that road trip with Damon. No matter what I go through to get her back; fighting my bloodlust, trying to gain control of my life again...None of that matters if she has feelings for somebody else."

Stefan and Alaric are sitting together in the cellar. Grace grabs a blood bag.
"I assume they've got Jeremy by now?"
"They should. Haven't heard from them. Elena's worried about him, knowing that she can't count on his ring anymore."
"Who knows? Maybe his alter ego is a pot smoking, hippie pacifist."
"Yeah, maybe."
"I can't say, I thought mine would be so hostile and militant."
"That actually makes perfect sense. Your wife left you to become a vampire and your girlfriend was killed by one."
"You must really hate me. Here I am, the failed hunter slash drinking buddy of vampires."
"Ah, he's too judgmental."
"The thing is, he's me. I'm not compelled, I'm not possessed, there's no humanity switch. What drives him is me."
"No. No, he's not you. He's the darkest parts of you. The parts we all have."
"I have one of those like you."
"What do you mean?"
"Mine tells me to kill you all."
Klaus enters the cell.
"Well, this is depressing, isn't it?"
Stefan stands up.
"Oh, and I found this [Klaus shows them the stake.] upstairs. Now, by my count, there should be one more."
"Yeah, well it's gonna take a little more time."
"Why? Because we're waiting for that one to pass out? [He points to Alaric.] No thanks. I think I'll just kill him."
"Well, then you won't know the location of the other stake."
"I can live with that."
"Well, I can't. When we staked Finn, we discovered that killing an Original vampire killed its entire bloodline. Now, I don't know which one of you I'm descended from, but I'd really rather not find out by dying, so why don't we just find the stake, destroy it, so we can all be safe?"
"So, the fate of the entire vampire race depends on you finding a stake? And to get it we need you to pass out. Which means that I feel totally justified doing this."
Klaus rushes towards Alaric and breaks his neck. Alaric dies.
"There. Sleeping like a baby."
"Like a baby?"

Stefan is reading Moby Dick and Grace is practicing magic, when Alaric comes back from the dead.
"Welcome back."
"What happened? Did I uh..?"
"No, you pretty much laid there dead for half the night. But on the uh- on the plus side, I did almost finish reading Moby Dick and Grace has gone through the book of darkness."
"My evil tried taking over, and then I read about evil magic."
Stefan gets up and walks towards Alaric.
"This is stupid. Evil me or whatever you want to call him, he's not gonna make an appearance. Why would he? I mean, the best hiding place is the one where you can't find the person who hid it."
"I know."
"So, how do you want to do this?"
"I don't want to do any of this."
"Well, that makes two of us. But I don't think we have much choice in the matter."
Alaric takes off his ring.
"Wait, wait, what are you doing? You need that ring."
"No, what I need is hope that my alter ego doesn't have a death wish. So, I'm taking bets that my dark side has a sense of self-preservation. So, let's see if he defends himself against death."
"Look, Alaric, I'm not gonna kill you, okay?"
"If we have any chance at this, Stefan, Grace, you're gonna have to try."
Stefan looks at Alaric. He rushes towards Alaric and punches him.

Stefan hits Alaric again. Alaric gets up and looks at Stefan. Grace is tensing up.
"You're not putting enough into this."
"If I put any more into it, I'm gonna break your spine."
Stefan hits Alaric again. Alaric falls to the floor, blood is coming out of his mouth and one of his tooth has fallen out. The veins under Stefan's eyes start to protrude and his eyes become bloodshot. He turns away. Grace runs over to them and vamps out.
"Well don't back down now."
"No, no, no, no, no, I can't...the blood."
Alaric gets up again.
"Come on, you're past that."
"No, I'm not."
"Then use it! Give into it! Try and kill me, Stefan. Come on!"
"Not like this, Alaric."
"No way, dude, none of our darkness could."
"Yes! Like this. You're gonna have to want to kill me for me to believe that you will."
"If I go this far, I may not be able to stop."
"If you want the answers from my darkest side, you're gonna have to tap into yours. So, don't back down, don't fight it. Just do it. Do it!"
Alaric grabs Stefan's shirt and shakes him. Stefan vamps out and throws Alaric against the brick wall. Alaric falls on the ground and laughs.
"You're so weak."
He gets up.
"Look at you, one of nature's most hideous creatures and you can't even get that right."
"You."
"Me."
"And evil."

"Where's the stake?"
"You're worse than I ever was. Spineless, pathetic."
"Tell me where the stake is before I kill you."
"You know you're all gonna burn. Ashes to dust."
"It's accually ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
"Don't test him Gracie."
Stefan hits Alaric repeatedly.
"Where's the stake?!"
Alaric doesn't answer. Stefan hits him again, then grabs him in a chokehold.
"I'm gonna kill you in three...two...one."
"It's in the cave. Where no vampire can get it. Heh heh!"
Stefan throws Alaric onto the ground and leaves the cellar with Grace, locking the door behind them. He goes up the stairs while texting on his phone and into the parlor where Klaus and Rebekah wait for them.
"That wasn't too hard, was it?"

Klaus is pouring himself a drink in the parlor. Rebekah brings Alaric up from the basement.
"That's a little gratuitous, don't you think, Stefan? I would have been more gentle."
"I'm gonna take him to the caves. You're gonna go inside and fetch me the stake and if you think you're gonna hide, you're wrong."
Rebekah pushes Alaric towards the door and leaves.
"And then there was one. I know about your brother's little mission to Denver. He failed. Not that that's news anymore."
"So, what are you gonna do now, Klaus? You gonna kill us?"
"I haven't actually decided yet."
Klaus sits down.
"Aww, sure you have. See you've had every chance and every excuse imaginable to do it, but yet you haven't. Which means you don't want to."
"You know something, you're right. You see, I'm still waiting for my old friend to come back. By the looks of it, he's just beneath the surface. Waiting to come out and play. Isn't that right, Ripper?"
"I've been fighting that part of myself, thinking that if I repressed it then it would go away. But it won't. And now that I've accepted it, it can't control me. And neither can you. So, unless you're gonna stake me, why don't you get the hell out of my house?"
Stefan leaves the room, Grace following and heading to her room.