Mercy ▼ Inanna Gilbert

Just me

1864 Quarry

What are you doing? Who is that?

I brought her for you. She's a gift. Stefan said

Have a seat, please.

What have you done, Stefan?

Damon, I've been to see father. He came at me. I didn't know my own strength. There was blood everywhere. He was dying, and the blood was too strong. I needed it. I had to have it.

You fed

Yes. And it's incredible. My body is exploding with power, Damon.

No

I can hear things from far away. I can see through the darkness. I can move, like it's magic. And the guilt, the pain...Damon, I can turn it off. Like a switch. Katherine was right. It's a whole another world out there, Damon

Katherine is dead, Stefan. There's no world without her.

No. You can turn that off, too. You don't have to feel that pain anymore.

I don't want it

You're weak. You'll be dead soon. You need this

No

You'll die

No. I can't.

Please. I won't let you die.

No. I can't.

Don't fight it. We can do this...together.

Damon couldn't fight it anymore and drank the blood of the girl.

Present day
From the moment Stefan had his first taste of human blood, he was a different person. I suppose I should thank him. It's been a hell of a ride

Oh, my God. He said he wanted to die. That's why he won't feed. Now I understand why, but...

His choice. If he's stupid enough to make it, so be it

Don't do that. Okay? Don't pretend like you don't care

Where are you going?

I walked  down into the cellar to find Stefan gone, but his ring was still on the cot. I picked it up and ran out of the cell.

X

I approached Stefan at the Quarry

Stefan. Damon told me the rest of the story. I thought I might find you here

I should have died that night, just like I had chosen. I should have let Damon die, too

But you didn't. And if you die now, it's not gonna change what happened

Every single person that's been hurt...Every single life that's been lost, it's because of me

The night that my parents died...I blew off family night so that I could go to some party. I ended up getting stranded, and they had to come pick me up. That's why we ended up in the car at Wickery Bridge. And that's why they died. Our actions are what set things in motion. But we have to live with that

I made a choice, Because of that choice, a lot of people were hurt

You also made a choice to stop, to reject the person that the blood made you. You made a choice to be good, Stefan

No. Please don't do that

That's the person who jumped in the water to save the family whose car had driven off the bridge

Please. Don't make this all okay

That's the person who saved my life

You don't understand, inanna

Then tell me

It hurts me. It hurts me, knowing what I've done, and that pain...That pain is with me all the time. And every day, I think that if I just...If I just give myself over to the blood, I can make that pain stop. It would be that easy, and every day, I fight that. And I am so terrified that one day, I'm not gonna want to fight that anymore, Inanna . And the next time I hurt somebody...It could be you

There will be no next time.

You don't know that

Maybe I don't. But what I do know. Is that you can take this, throw it in the quarry, and let the sun rise. Or you could take this ring and put it on and keep fighting.

I gave him his ring and kissed his cheek

It's your choice.

I began to walk away

Inanna

Stefan put on his ring and ran to me and grabbed me in a hug

Thank you he whispered

X

We walked into the library to see Damon sitting there

Little boy lost

I'll be upstairs, OK?

Okay

Good night, Damon.

Elena walked upstairs and I out the door

X Third person POV

Thank you

No, Stefan, thank you. You're back on Bambi blood, and I'm the big badass brother again. All is right in the world

I mean it. Thank you. For...helping her take care of me

You brood too much. Everything on this planet is not your fault. My actions, what I do, it's not your fault. I own them. They belong to me. You are not allowed to feel my guilt

Do you feel guilt?

If I wanted to, it's there. Emily waited till after I turned to tell me she'd been successful in protecting Katherine with her spell. She didn't want me to know about the tomb. She thought it would impact my decision

She didn't want either one of us to turn. She said it was a curse, Witches...Judgy little thing

Why didn't you tell me?

'Cause I didn't want you to know. 'Cause I hated you and I still do

I know

But not because you forced me to turn.

Then why?

Because she turned you. It was just supposed to be me, Stefan...Just me.