Written In Blood

Chapter Thirty One.

The Year: 2009
Location: Mystic Falls, VA 

Rayna found herself back in Mystic Falls after battling with her conflicted mind for a decade and a half.
As she drove towards the bridge on the outskirts of town, she put the brakes on hard as she saw a car run off the road and into the icy water below.
She got out and Vamp sped to the treeline, ready to dive in and save the driver and any passengers, but someone got there before her.
She watched and waited for any sign of life.
After a minute or so, a man surfaced with an unconscious girl in his arms.
Rayna sped to the other side of the bridge meeting him as he vacated the water.
"Stefan?!" Rayna gasped, seeing who it was.
He looked up, looking just as shocked as she did when he saw who it was.
"Rayna! Help me with her." He said, laying the girl gently on the river bank.
Rayna saw the girl's face.
"Katherine?!" She stepped back.
"No, it's not Katherine. She's human. Help me save her." Stefan pleaded.
Rayna knelt down by the girl's head, placing it on her knees and tilting it slightly.
As Stefan performed CPR, Rayna could only think about Niklaus.
She'd finally found a human Doppelganger. And she felt determined to keep her a secret from him. 

As soon as the Doppelganger was breathing and alright, Stefan waited with her for the paramedics and police to arrive before he compelled her to forget him and left her.
"Rayna, wait a second." Stefan called after the Heretic just as she was about to get back in her car.
"What is it, Stefan?" She sighed.
Stefan looked as though he didn't know what question to ask first.
"How have you been?" He concluded.
"I've been fine." She replied blankly.
"Can we talk?" Stefan looked a little upset with her bored tone.
Rayna sighed.
"Get in." She said, sitting down in the driver's seat.

Rayna parked up outside a hotel – the same hotel she'd stayed in in 1863 and got out of the car, heading toward the front door with Stefan trailing along behind her.
Once checked in and up in her room, she raided the mini fridge of two tiny bottles of Bourbon and offered one to Stefan who declined.
"Suit yourself." She mumbled.
"So what brings you back to Mystic Falls?" Stefan asked, sitting down in an armchair by the door.
"Nostalgia. Ain't it a bitch?" She breathed a humourless chuckle as she drank one of the bottles.
"Yeah... I know the feeling." Stefan replied. "How long are you back for?"
"Until I decide I'm bored with small town drama." Rayna slumped down on the bed, opening the second bottle of Bourbon.
They reluctantly shared an awfully uncomfortable silence.
"What happened to you? You never showed up at my house back in 1864. Why?" Rayna finally asked.
Stefan sighed. "I lost control..."
"I knew it." Rayna nodded. "But that was the whole point in you coming to me. I was supposed to help you through it."
"I know... But when the blood lust took over, it was all I could think about. All of a sudden, nothing else mattered. I just knew I needed to feed." Stefan explained.
"Yes, I know how blood lust works. I've been there before. But the first time, I had the option to seek help and that's exactly what I did." Rayna replied.
"I'm sorry..." The younger Salvatore replied, sadly.
"Have you seen anything of Damon recently?" Rayna asked after finishing the second bottle of Bourbon.
"He's been a bit of a touchy subject recently. His visit in 1994 left everyone involved shaken."
"Do I even want to know?" Rayna's eyebrow rose.
"I'm sure he'll tell you, should you ever see him again." Stefan shrugged. "When did you last see him?"
Rayna chuckled humourlessly.
"Nineteen seventy seven. I met your friend Lexi after he tried to kill her." She replied. 

The two spoke about how the last century and a half had been for the two of them, taking it decade by decade.
"You seem to have had a pretty dull thirties, then. Can't say they were any better for me." Rayna chuckled, raiding the mini fridge again. "Forties?"
Stefan took a moment to reminisce."I was in New Orleans with Damon and Lexi. He was supposed to come to Egypt with me to serve in the war, but he left me at the station on the day we were due to leave." He said.
Rayna sighed heavily. "New Orleans? I must've only missed you by a year or two at most."
The pair chuckled.
"It's funny. The little coincidences that happen like that. I've had many an accidental run in with some very old friends of mine over the centuries." Rayna smirked.