I Will Always Find You...

Slipping away...

Slipping away

In the furthest reaches of the warehouse Blake found herself in a room with no doors or windows...she turned around and around again, confused and bewildered...'how could I have entered a room with no door and more importantly how am I going to get out?' she asked herself. Then she sighed rather loudly...almost accepting whatever fate was bestowed on her. From beyond the shadows stepped a figure...silently it moved towards Blake and she remained steadfast in her position, quietly awaiting her doom. She surprised even herself at how calmly she waited and then realised that the only possible reason for this was that she was not in any danger. The gem that she carried vibrated at a very low frequency and it offered a sense of reassurance and safety as promised by Melissa. When she looked directly at the approaching figure she could see it was a woman and she felt a familiarity that drew her closer. "Are you Bonnie? Please ... please be Bonnie..." she uttered inquisitively.

"How can you see me? I cast a spell that removed all light from this place...it should be impossible for you to see me...unless..." Bonnie took a good look at Blake, slowly circling her and then exclaimed "You're under a spell of your own aren't you?"

"Well a spell yes, but not mine...are you Bonnie?

"Who are you?

"Do you have a gem? A black gem?"

"Why do you keep answering a question with a question?

"Why do you?"

Bonnie uttered some words in a soft low voice, almost a whisper, with her eyes cast downward...after a couple of seconds she looked up and at Blake...she was trying to cast aside the spell that protected Blake, to reveal her true self, but Bonnie was knocked back, the spell remained intact and it was then that Bonnie realised who must have cast it.

"I'm Bonnie...where are the others? Are they safe?" said Bonnie

"Yes, they're safe...they're waiting for you, they need to move forward with the plan and they need you back. Things are really weird... and scary...and terrifying actually and I can see you because I have magical eyes I guess and I'm carrying a magical stone" Blake laughed a half laugh, the kind you hear when someone isn't quite sure if they're crazy or have just realised how fantastic things have got. As Blake was trying to decide which it was, she handed Bonnie the stone that Melissa had given her without even really comprehending she was doing it. When Bonnie saw the stone she immediately pulled out the one Melissa had given her and instinctively knew to place them together.

She took Blake's hand as she joined them and in an instant they were back with the others.

"Bonnie!" Screeched Caroline, as she rushed over to hug her. Blake turned around to see everyone and looked around herself in disbelief...Wh...what? How? Her skin was becoming pale and sweat beads were forming on her brow...her legs were becoming shaky and Melissa could see that Blake was in trouble but before she could take a breath to alert anyone Damon was over at her side catching her as she fell and placed her gently on the couch to rest.

"Nice catch Damon" remarked Stefan

"She's dealt with a lot, and there's still a lot to do"... he looked at Melissa and said "don't suppose you have a marble for this?"

"I think she'll be OK...she's a lot stronger than you think...just give her a few minutes"

"OK...a few minutes"...said Damon unconvinced..."so Bonnie, who did you see and what help can we expect from our fearless friends?"

Bonnie looked more serious at that moment than she had ever been before... Stefan stepped forward saying "What is it Bonnie? Has something happened? Is Silas already here?"

"something has definitely happened Stefan...everyone I saw was pissed at us, like we'd betrayed them or something...they were angry and upset and talked about us all as though they couldn't care less if we lived or died. I tried to get to the bottom of it but it was getting too risky...I'm not sure I got through to any of them."

"So is it a spell or something Bonnie? Who did you see?" asked Caroline

"Matt...Jeremy...Alaric...Tyler...a bunch of people at the grill and a handful of people throughout town, they're all saying the same thing as soon as they hear the names Stefan , Caroline or Damon, they seem to be trigger words. A spell is the most likely cause Caroline...a very powerful one."

"Can you break it? Can you get through to them? Are they alright?"

"I don't know Care, I think right now they'd kill you themselves."

"OK", said Melissa, "Bonnie...work on breaking the spell or changing it or casting one of your own...anything to help us, I'm not sure if we have enough energy to succeed without them, it would be a huge risk for us."

"Oh that would be a huge risk? As opposed to ...the minimal risk we have taken so far?" blurted Damon

Melissa looked at Damon wanting to contradict his statement but realistically could not with all they had endured in such a short time. "I know, you've all been through a lot, but you have to know the risks if we don't get any help."

"We know the risk" he said through gritted teeth... becoming annoyed..."now let's get on with it... one way or the other it will be over. When can we leave to wake the others?"

"Let's give Bonnie a chance to come up with something...and for Blake to be ok...we'll talk again in a few hours and decide then"

"NO...I'm not waiting any longer, there's always a reason not to proceed and there always will be."

Melissa's posture and persona changed as she said "WE WAIT".

Everyone looked at her, surprised and slightly alarmed...Stefan's arm instinctively stretched across in front of Caroline as he stepped forward in front of her whilst guiding her back behind him. Damon moved away whilst keeping a fixed eye on Melissa's position. Tom got to his feet as if in defence of her and the room became silent.

An awkward moment followed...Stefan and Damon found each other's gaze at the same time, Stefan slowly shook his head from side to side warning Damon off...Damon considered his options and accepted his brothers assessment of the current situation (all in a micro second).

"Fine... we wait" he quipped flippantly as he walked away and found a quiet corner to think.

Melissa realised her 'slip' and tried to reassure the others that she was only looking out for them, that with her many years of experience...so many beyond theirs, that she could read the situation better and knew when to hold back and when to go forward....now was not a time for the heart to rule the head.

Everyone acknowledged what she was saying but something seemed different between them...a little bit of the trust was lost.

Tom offered counsel to Melissa while Stefan did the same for Damon. Caroline spoke to Bonnie about what might be going on and they all moved around each other with an air of caution.

Stefan offered Damon a drink as he spoke to him, trying to gauge his mental state. "Relax brother" stated Damon, looking at Stefan and smirking, "I know what you're up to and I'm fine. I'm not gonna do anything that might jeopardise Elena"

"I know you won't, I also know what it's taking for you to hold it together...I wanted to make sure you're ok. Are you ok Damon?"

Damon just looked at him... a look Stefan had seen many times and knew well. Damon was NOT Ok.

Stefan slapped his back as he walked away (an acknowledgement of what he was feeling) and he made his way to the others to let them know to tread carefully around Damon.

As he approached Caroline and Bonnie he realised what they were talking about. Whilst out in town trying to muster help Bonnie realised that Silas may know more about their plan than they realised. He might be heading for Elena, everything she saw and heard led her to believe that HIS plan may now be to kill Elena, taking the most vulnerable out of play will solve his problem and leave them all helpless. Stefan's eyes widened and he flipped his head round to where Damon had been, realising that he may also have over heard their conversation.

The door was banging open and Damon was gone...