"Hey, kid," Marcel walked into the room just as Annabel was waking up. "How you feeling?"
Annabel, her skin pale and burning up, gave him a look, "Oh, just peachy."
"You want something to eat? Ice cream? Gumbo?"
"No, I just want... someone here... with me," she practically fell asleep mid-sentence, the wash of exhaustion coming and going as Marcel got into the bed next to her. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?" she asked.
"No, honey, you're gonna be fine. Alex and Diego are out in the Ninth Ward right now talking to some witches, The Tremé coven has your blood, they're trying to figure out how to make an antidote. Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah are calling all their contacts. You're gonna be okay."
She shook her head, letting out a knowing sigh, "It's not gonna work. I'm gonna die."
"Belle, don't say that," he told her, "you're gonna be fine. I know you are."
"Maybe I'll see Mom again," she said with a smile, her voice far too calm for Marcel's liking. "I can tell her about how bad her taste in men is."
"It ain't your time, Belle. You're not gonna die." She smiled at his optimism and closed her eyes, falling right back asleep.
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Annabel woke up to see only Hayley in her room, standing nearby. "You're awake," she observed with a smile. "You've been in and out for days, mostly asleep, sometimes half awake. The witches don't think you have much longer, maybe a few hours." Annabel nodded, accepting it all too quickly. "You hungry?"
Annabel saw the big takeout bag in her hand and asked, "What's that? My last meal?"
"I heard a rumor that you like Chipotle..." Annabel smirked as she was handed the bag.
As she ate one burrito bowl and Hayley ate the other, she said, "What better way to spend my last few hours than eating Chipotle with my best friend's brother's baby momma."
"Living the dream," Hayley nodded, both of them laughing.
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"I thought we could do it," Rebekah said, sitting next to Annabel, holding her hand tight, while Hayley, Elijah, Alex, Marcel, Diego, and Nik all stood nearby. "I thought we could save you."
"It's alright," she insisted. "It was fun while it lasted," she said with a dry laugh. "I've never really played nice with girls before I met you- I still don't, but I think it's what makes our friendship work. You took my annoying punk-ass under your wing when I was in a really bad place. You helped bring me out of it. You changed my life, Bekah."
Rebekah sighed, "I love you, sister. So much. And you've changed me more than you know."
"I love you too," Annabel smiled. Rebekah kissed the top of her head and finally let go of her hand, standing up and walking outside to attempt to collect herself. Hayley followed her out, giving Annabel time alone to say the rest of her goodbyes.
Annabel looked at Elijah, who was apparently next to go in their morbid little line of goodbyes. "I'll be okay," she told him, able to see his worries just looking into his eyes. "Thank you for helping me that first day we met, and for all the times after." Elijah walked over to her, kissing her on the forehead, and then, after a few moments of peaceful silence, went out to join Rebekah and Hayley.
Marcel nudged Diego, then Alex, gesturing to the door. And the moment they were gone and the door was closed, Annabel saw Niklaus's tears start to fall. "I'm so sorry, Anna," he told her, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "I failed you."
"You didn't fail me, Nik. You helped me through so much, you've been there for me through it all. You're like the best hybrid big brother I could ask for!" she said with a laugh, "You're gonna be okay. Your kid is gonna be born, you're gonna be a dad, an amazing dad, and it's all gonna be okay in the end. I know it will."
"Not without you there," he said, the humor and soft joy in Annabel's voice not reflected in his. "I cannot live with my child growing up not knowing you. I cannot become a father without you there to pull me back from my insanity."
"Well, you can just tell your kid they had the best, most problematic fake aunt ever. And as for pulling you back, that's what Elijah's here for. You've got him, you always have and you always will."
"I was referring to someone who doesn't draw me further into insanity," he corrected.
"I'm the most irksome person you've ever met. And I know this because you've called me the most irksome person you've ever met, multiple times," she reminded him with a smile. "I love you, Nik."
Tears came back to his eyes as he said, "And I love you, sister." After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and kissed her head, walking out with one final small, heartbroken smile.
Diego came in next, followed by Alex, then Marcel, and Annabel's stomach dropped, finally feeling all the pain she had been trying to push away bubble up again.
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Hayley was heartbroken watching the three strongest, scariest people she knew look so miserable. Rebekah hadn't stopped crying since they got downstairs, and was now full-on sobbing in Nik's arms, and while he tried to hide it, Hayley could see the hybrid's tears as clear as day. Elijah hadn't said anything at all. He was just sitting there, on the couch chair adjacent to everyone sitting on the couch, and stared at nothing in particular. But Hayley could see the pain in his eyes just as well.
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Annabel didn't think much about what dying would feel like. But in that moment, sitting with her head against Diego's chest, Alex crying next to her and Marcel's hand in hers, she felt more at peace than she thought she would. Maybe she would survive this - death. Maybe she would find peace, be with her mother and Zach again.
She was the only one out of everyone who had come back to congregate in her bedroom that was ready for her to die. She felt it come, first only a blurry fog in her vision. She couldn't breathe, but she didn't try to. She just closed her eyes and let it happen.
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"Are you sure?" Jeremy heard Bonnie ask out of absolute nowhere. "Well, I didn't see her!" Bonnie snapped at the ghost. "She didn't pass through me! Which means she didn't die."
"What are you talking about?" Jeremy asked, knowing it was about Annabel.
"What do you mean? If she didn't pass through me, then she didn't..." Bonnie shook her head, "No. No, that's impossible. Elena's a vampire now, Klaus can't-" Jeremy watched her, seeing her face fall. "His baby's blood..."
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Fanfic[book two] It had been just over ten years since Annabel called New Orleans home. Back then, her naivety kept her safe, clueless as to all the violence going on around her. But things had changed since then. She had changed. After graduation, Annabe...
