Fighting Free

Chapter 21

The ride in the ambulance went by in a blur. All you could see before you was the fight between Damon and Kol. All you could hear was the shot falling. All you could feel was the knot in your stomach tightening while Damon was bleeding out on the floor. Could you have done something? Could you have stopped it sooner so they could have called an ambulance sooner? Would that have done something or had he been dead immediately?

You just let them tend your wrists, give you an IV with fluids because apparently they thought you were dehydrated. You just let them give you an injection with whatever it was to calm you down when all you could do was cry because it felt like you killed your friend. Everything just became a bit clearer when you were back in a room, only one other bed out of the four that were standing there taken. By Rebekah. At least they had been so kind not to split you up. You had dozed a bit because of the medication they had given you and when you woke, Klaus was still sitting beside you, holding your hand. Next to the other bed was Elijah who turned around with a sad smile on his face when he heard you turn around.

"It is good to see you, Y/N." He stood up, squeezing Rebekah's hand before letting her go and sat down next to you.
"Do you want to press charges? I've told the police you weren't able to talk to them now, but they will be here tomorrow. You have all right to do so and if you choose to, I will stand behind you. I just..." He bit his lip. "He is still my father, Y/N. I want him to have the chance to see the error of his ways. Can you forgive me for granting him those twenty four hours?"

You nodded.
"As long as you don't blame me for pressing charges after that. I don't want him to walk free. I wouldn't dare to get out there if I knew he was still there. Or Kol..." You swallowed. "Did... did they say anything about Damon? Would he have had a chance if..."

"If we could have called in help earlier? Is that what's bothering you?" Elijah shrugged. "I somehow wish the answer on that question was no. That our fighting didn't take the precious minutes it could have taken to save his life, but I'm afraid no one will know for sure. He might have had a chance..."

That made you cry again. Slowly realization set in that Damon was indeed dead. That he wasn't going to walk through that door into the hospital room, telling you off for being careless. That you weren't going to have a drink with him when this all was over. That he wasn't going to tease you senseless when you wanted to go home to Klaus. That he was just gone. For good.
"Can I see him?"

"Later...", Klaus told you. "His brother is with him now. They are arranging matters for the funeral... strangely enough we went to the same school, years ago, but we never saw each other again. He did promise to keep me updated. He seemed pretty devastated about it, so I didn't press too much."

Stefan... you hadn't even thought about him. You didn't know him well, but you would have to face him later, knowing that without you, Damon would still be there. That without you, Stefan would still have a brother. That Damon would still be bothering his brother. You had heard all the stories, most of them from Damon's side, but you knew that somewhere deep underneath that careless exterior of your friend, he loved his brother deeply.

"You want me to go with you when you go see him?", Klaus still hadn't left your side and he seemed to be able to read your mind.
"I know we haven't spoken about this before, but I'm so sorry love. I'm sorry about walking out on you because of that bloody file. I'm sorry for not giving you the opportunity to explain anything." He knew what you had made of them. Elijah's accusations towards Mikael had made that very, very clear.

You nodded.
"I don't know if I can even face him, Klaus. It's my fault this happened. If he hadn't come for me..."

"No!", Klaus cut you off. "It is Kol's fault he shot. It is Mikael's fault we weren't allowed to call in help. If it's any of our faults, it is my fault to drag you into all of this. All Damon did was looking out for his friend and I am sorry it had to end this way. I will be in his debt forever. He was brave, he was loyal and we have to make sure that everyone will know that. He will not be forgotten. We owe him that."