Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

93. The Nightmare Before Christmas

Riley smiled with relief when she was dismissed from 'Calculus II', her last class before winter break. With all the drama that was happening in their personal lives, Riley relished in the time that she could spend studying. Unlike her complicated life, math made sense. But the promise of a semi-normal Christmas break with most of her best friends was something that she couldn't resist.

She stepped out of the classroom and was struck by the appearance of a familiar face that made her smile all the wider.

"Dad?" she ran to him, enveloping him in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

Her dad hugged her back tightly. "What do you mean? It's Christmas, where else would I be?"

Riley shrugged. "I don't know, at home? At work?" she suggested. "Does Caroline know you're here?"

"Liz is in your dorm with her right now. Since she can't come home, we thought we'd bring Christmas to you girls," Chris said happily. It had been a long time since he'd had the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with his daughter.

"I don't know how much fun I'm gonna be," Riley said regretfully. "Y'know, with Kai being out of the 1994 world and everything." Somehow, Kai had managed to get out of 1994 without the ascendant that Jo had been hiding, which meant that it was only a matter of time before he found her and forced her to merge with him - making him the all-powerful leader of a coven that was scared of him.

They started to walk out of the building. Considering it was so cold outside, the sun shone brightly, making it feel like it wasn't really the holidays after all.

"How are you doing?" her dad asked. "I know that Damon's back now, but Bonnie and your mom are still gone."

Riley shrugged. "We're gonna get Bonnie back," she said determinedly. "We may not have a plan right now, but we will. And as for mom..." She trailed off.

Ciara loved the holidays, especially Christmas. Most of their family photos were taken during winter vacation. The Fletcher family always stayed home, wrapped up in blankets and sipping on hot chocolate while watching those old black and white movies where everything feels like it's been infused with magic. When Riley thought about her mom, this is what she remembered; before vampires, the divorce, and Augustine had come between them. Back when everything was simple.

"It's not weak to say that you miss her," her dad told her. "I miss her too, every day."

Riley frowned. "You do?"

Her dad laughed. "We were married for 23 years, we built a whole life together. Just because we didn't end up together doesn't mean that I've erased her from my life."

The word 'erased' made Riley think about Elena's decision. "Would you erase her, if you could?"

Chris looked at his daughter like she was insane. "Of course not. My relationship with your mom changed my life for the better. Not least because I got you out of it. And now those memories, and you, are all I have of her."

Riley nodded sadly. "There's no time to miss her," she confessed. "Every day there's something else to deal with. I know I should be missing her and thinking about her and mourning, but we're under an evil Gemini Coven leader attack, and vampires can't get into Mystic Falls, and not long ago, my best friend was dead. I can't deal with everything at once!"

Her dad put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. There was an extremely guilty, sad look on his face.

"Honey, I'm really sorry. But I'm not about to make it any easier."

Riley looked at him expectantly. "Dad, if you have something to tell me, tell me. I can handle it, I promise."

They sat down together on a bench just outside the college. People moved around them, laughing with their friends or singing Christmas carols, as if they didn't know that someone's life was about to change.