Book Four: Solitude (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Eight

Diana types away at her laptop as she works, she's still writing. Alaric was the one who gave her the idea to write about her life, even if it is in the form of fiction, but he is the one that pushed her, encouraged her to do it, so she will continue doing it. She will continue to write....for him. For her children. One day they might read it and see how screwed up her life was. She sighs when her cell phone rings. Her eyes drifting to the screen to see that it's Caroline that's calling her. Diana taps her teeth together and grabs the phone to answer it.

"What?" She asks with a slight whine. She just wants to be left alone.

"It's Caroline"

"Yes, I figured that from the called ID." Diana offers. "What do you want?" She asks.

"I need your help" Caroline admits, Diana laughs humourlessly and then turns serious.

"No" She answers.

"You don't even know what I need" Caroline defends.

"No" Diana draws out.

"Diana, please" Caroline begs of her.

"Still no"

"You owe me" Caroline scolds. "You vervained me....and maced me" Diana purses her lips and sighs. She did tell Damon she was going to make up for her mistakes, she got Liz, Meredith, and Carol their jobs back, she did attack Caroline, and she supposes she should make up for that too.

"Fine, I do this and we're even. You don't ask me for anything ever again" She then hangs up and takes a breath before standing from her seat.

..........

Diana enters the boarding house and lets out a breath seeing Caroline, Stefan, and Tyler gathered, Tyler actually looks in an immense amount of pain, and that makes Diana a little happy. Caroline moves towards Diana.

"Thanks for this" Caroline offers.

"Let's get this over with," Diana tells Caroline who nods, Diana sets the pram brakes on and then moves to where Tyler is sat on the couch in pain. She raises an eyebrow at him. She pulls a switchblade out of her boot and snaps it open. She smirks a little, Tyler gives her a weird look. "Shall we begin?" she asks him.

...........

Later, Diana is still pulling the wooden bullets out of Tyler's torso with her knife. Stefan and Caroline are standing nearby, watching her work.

"Please tell me that's the last one," Caroline begs her. Stefan observes one of the bullets.

"These were specially carved; the length, the width. If you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead." Stefan points out as Diana places a wooden bullet into a glass of alcohol to clean it off.

"This guy knew what he was doing. His gloves must have been steeped in vervain. He was looking for a vampire and he didn't hesitate for a second when he found one." Tyler admits. Diana looks over one of the bullets.

"These etchings...." Diana whispers, more to herself than any of them.

"Di?" Tyler asks her.

"I've seen them before" She admits as she picks up the bullet to look at it. she stands from her crouched position and traces the bullet.

"Where?" Caroline asks her.

"I don't remember" Diana answers, she shakes her head and shrugs. "Never mind" Diana pulls on her jacket again, tucking the bullet into the pocket as Caroline moves to look at the twins.

"They're so adorable" Caroline offers and reaches into the pram, Diana is then at her side, her fingers tight around Caroline's wrist to stop her.

"Don't touch them" Diana scolds Caroline who stares at her. "Don't ever touch them..." Diana adds and releases Caroline's wrist. She nods a little and backs away from Diana. Stefan moves to Caroline's side, and gives Diana a sad look.

"Diana..." He starts.

"We're even," Diana tells Caroline. "Don't call me again" She takes the pram and leaves with the twins, not looking back.

"They weren't kidding" Caroline whispers. "She is really......"

"Hurting" Stefan points out. "We just need to give her her space, she'll come around"

"Before or after she kills us all?" Tyler asks as he stands from the couch.

"More so you, Damon, and Elena" Caroline counters for Stefan who sighs a little.

"And Klaus" Tyler adds. Caroline nods in agreement.

...............

Diana turns the wooden bullet around in her hand as she paces the apartment floor, something bothers her about it, something she knows she knows but she's tucked away as unimportant. Something she'd never have to know. But now she needs to know. She cringes and then turns to the baskets holding the twins, both of them crying away.

"I can't think with you screaming at me" Diana scolds, she presses her fingers into her head.

"They're nine days old" Ghost!Alaric points out. "Pick them up and comfort them" Diana stares down at the twins and then walks away. Alaric closes his eyes, he knows it's not her fault, it's situational. It's also possibly his fault.

................

Diana swings open the apartment door before Derek can let himself in. She lets out a relieved breath. He frowns hearing the twins crying within.

"Make them stop" Diana begs of Derek who touches her arm and moves to the twins. Diana closes the door and turns to watch him with the babies.

"They're hungry" Derek points out. "Have you fed them?"

"No" She answers, he shoots her a look. "I've been busy" He looks over her, she actually looks like crap, tired....exhausted even. He frowns a little.

"When was the last time you slept?" Derek asks her, she shakes her head.

"I haven't" She whispers as she sways where she stands, if she keeps moving she won't fall asleep, she doesn't want to fall asleep. "I can't sleep" She turns and disappears into the study closing the door behind her. Derek sighs and moves to the kitchen to make up bottles for the babies. He taps the bottle top on the counter and takes a breath. He's not going to put up with this. He turns and makes his way to the study.

"Diana" Derek knocks on the study door. "Can you come out here?" She swings open the door, she's holding a book in her hand when she looks at him.

"What? I'm busy..." She snaps at him.

"You need to stop," Derek tells her as he takes the book from her hands. "Just stop" She looks away from him. "Because if you don't...If you don't concentrate on your children....you are going to kill them" She snaps her head to him. "I know you are hurting, Diana, and I know you're having a hard time adjusting..." Her lip trembles as he talks. "And I know it's not fair, that none of this is fair.....but they need your attention, all of your attention......And right now, they need you to hold them and feed them" He tells her, she wrinkles her nose. "You have held them, right?"

"I pick them up" She answers. "Crib to basket....to pram"

"But have you held them? For a prolonged period of time?" She shakes her head. "So that's what you are going to do...Okay?" he asks her, she nods.

"Okay," She whispers and moves towards the twins. Ghost!Alaric looks at Derek.

"Thank you," He tells him, even though, once again, he goes unheard.

"Then they'll sleep and we'll take them to the memorial with us....and after that, we'll come back here, we'll all eat, shower, and then you'll sleep" Derek points out and moves towards Diana as she struggles with the idea of holding her own children. "Just pick one up" Derek pushes her. "They don't bite" he teases, she looks at him, her eyes pleading with him not to make her do this. "Diana...it's okay" He touches her arm and nods before moving to the kitchen to make up the bottles. Diana takes a breath and curls her fingers into her palms. She has to do this, she has to be able to do this. Derek glances at her, watching her. Alaric steps closer to Diana. Both men waiting to see what she does here. Diana reaches into the crib and picks up Ezra, recognizable by the little blue band around his wrist, it's the only thing of gender-specific color that the twins have, the blue band for Ezra, and the pink one for Veronica, just for now, just to help Diana figure out which is which. She is careful as she pulls Ezra closer to her chest, her eyes focused on his face.