ALMOST IS NEVER ENOUGH | TVD [4]

V • LIVE THROUGH THIS

five. live through this

Alaric's Apartment

Bonnie and Minerva just arrived with a big cardboard box in the older former's hands. Alaric is sitting on Jo's bedside, in which she is fast asleep, and Minerva has witnessed the previous night's unforgettable events relating to the resurrecting Phoenix ruby stone in the preserved campus hospital morgue. Both girls watch the sleeping Jo as well, concerned.

"Hey, how's she doing?" Bonnie asked him.

"I don't know. She's been sleeping for twelve hours. That's normal, right?" Alaric replied doubtfully, concerned as well, and the two girls share a look.

Bonnie side-eyes him while Minerva replied in an obvious tone, "Yesterday, she was dead. Today, she's alive. I'm not sure normal applies."

The man notices the box in Bonnie's hands, "Please tell me that's food."

"Term papers. Unfortunately. They were jamming up your inbox. You are still employed as a professor here, you know." Minerva reminded him, who takes the big cardboard box from her patiently grateful best friend and smiles.

"Hey, do either of you want a job as my new TA? All you have to do is write, 'Interesting point' in a few margins and then give everyone a B+. Easy."

"I'm not really sure I'm that qualified to be a teacher." The senior scoffs.

"Mmhm. Tempting, but I need to figure out exactly how I brought your wife back to the land of the living." Her witch best friend kindly reminded him.

"Yep. This stone's pretty, but it's pretty shady." The banshee pointed out.

"Look. She's here. She's okay. What does it matter now?" He earns a look.

"Seriously?" Minerva said, "Uh, in less than twenty-four hours, Bonnie raised two people from the dead with a sketchy spell and something called a Phoenix stone...No research, no rehearsal time, and no contingency plan."

"And now that I have a little breathing room, I want to figure out what kind of magic I was dealing with just in case I opened up Pandora's rock. So, can I have it back, please?" Bonnie asked as she reaches her hand out to him.

Alaric sighs and pulls the ruby Phoenix stone out of a small box on an end table where he hid it. He holds it out to Bonnie, who reaches out to take it, only for him to yank it away with a playful smile. He then puts the stone in Bonnie's open hand, and she smiles at him before the girls turn to leave.

Once the two college best friends are gone, Jo starts to stir awake on the big bed, and Alaric rushes back to her side, smiling excitedly at her official wake in the living world, "Oh, hey. Hey, sweetheart, how you feeling?"

Jo looks truly puzzled for a long moment as she slowly sits up and looks around the unfamiliar bedroom. After a moment, she looks up at Alaric, "I'm starving." The two simple words please the man, who laughs in relief.

****

Stefan and Rosie's Apartment, Grove Hill

Rosie and Stefan are spooning in their big queen-sized bed, naked, after they had sex the previous night. Rosie is already awake and looks antsy, and Stefan pretends to still be asleep for a moment before he finally speaks up.

"This is torture for you, isn't it?"

Rosie, embarrassed for having been called out, lied badly to him as she couldn't resist the blush coming up to her lovely face, "What? No."