Book Four: Solitude (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Forty-Eight

Diana slides her phone away having just hung up with Stefan. Alaric's hand instantly replaces her phone and she lets out a breath. She looks up at him. Part of her knows that this is going to end when Bonnie replaces the veil but whilst she can, whilst she has him with her, she's not going to leave his side.

"We should help Damon" She offers and goes to walk away.

"No" He stops her. "We did our part...." he reaches up and brushes her hair back from her face and then leans closer. "We're going to do this instead" He kisses her, Diana melts into it, her arms coming up to wrap around his neck.

...........

In the tunnels, Damon encounters Alaric, or Silas disguised as Alaric. Damon frowns a little when he doesn't find Diana with him.

"Whoa, it's just me. Diana called Stefan, he's heading for Elena. Did you find Silas?" Alaric asks.

"Yep." Damon swings the butt of his flashlight at Alaric's face, knocking him to the ground. Damon drops the flashlight, picks up a length of chain and starts to strangle Alaric with it.

"Damon, it's me!"

"No, you're not. I've spent more time in these tunnels than I care to admit, and there's no way you just came from the school. Not to mention Alaric would never leave his little wifey watchdog's side if he just got her back...Your mind games don't work on me, Silas." As Alaric continues to make choked shouts, Bonnie enters their tunnel.

"I may not be able to kill you, but I will stop you." She admits, she closes her eyes as she concentrates, her hair blowing in a sudden breeze. "I will make the blood clot in your veins. I will make every bone, muscle and joint in your body turn to stone. You won't have power over us anymore." Alaric/Silas turns away as his body hardens, groaning in pain. His face starts to change back to what it really looks like.

"What the hell is happening?" Damon asks.

"He can't hide behind his mind-control anymore. He's becoming his true self." Silas hardens completely with his hand covering his face. Damon looks round to look at him.

"Who exactly might his true self be?"

"I guess we'll never know." Bonnie answers and shrugs a little.

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

Derek is leaning against Diana's jeep as he waits for them to leave the school. He knows how excited Diana must be to have Alaric back. He leans up from the jeep when she and Alaric walk towards him. Derek actually hugs Alaric who is slightly surprised by the affection but hugs him back, patting his back. Derek pulls back and rubs the back of his neck.

"That was weird" Derek admits. "Don't know why I did that" He shrugs. Alaric smiles a little.

"Good to see you too, Derek" Alaric offers, Derek smiles and nods.

"Who saw Bonnie going full-blown dark side, huh?" Derek asks and nudges Diana. "I honestly thought you were going to be our next problem" She shoots him a look. "You did take your demon back in...."

"Yeah, and I have full control" She assures him, he nods.

"Yeah, you do, I just didn't think you could do it" He admits. "I remember what you were like the last time...I didn't think you could control that"

"Thanks" Diana mutters dryly.

"You know what I mean" Derek defends.

"Look, Bonnie's not with Silas," Diana tells them. "She's trying to stop him....she thinks she can get his ex to help her kill him, but she's on the other side...."

"So she had to drop the veil to talk to her" Derek realises, Diana nods. "What about this monolith thing?"

"Blood of Zeus" Diana offers as she waves her fingers slightly, the cut on her hand from Bonnie healing but still there. "It was weird, when it soaked up the blood, it was like it came alive...." She draws off, her eyes glazed slightly. Alaric touches her cheek and she jerks back slightly and looks at him.

"You okay?" he asks, she nods and smiles at him.

"Yeah" He raises an eyebrow. "Of course I am" She adds. "I got you back" he smiles and nods softly, but there is sadness still in his eyes because he knows this isn't going to be forever, Bonnie is going to have to put the veil back up, and with that, he'll go back to being a ghost.

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

Damon and Alaric are packing the trunk of the car, Diana stands close by, Damon wasn't wrong about Alaric leaving her side any time soon.

"Calcified Silas is one heavy son-of-a-bitch." Damon complains. They slam the trunk shut. Damon pulls out a flask and takes a swig.

"I can't think of a more appropriate way to spend my last moment as a semi-living person," Alaric admits

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you have someplace better to be?" Damon asks, Alaric looks at Diana.

"Yeah" Alaric admits. "Yeah, I do....." He then takes the flask from Damon and takes a swig.

"I thought you were cutting back." Damon offers.

"Yeah, well, I thought you were gonna take care of the children." Alaric teases, Damon looks at him.

"You heard that? Well, that's not creepy."

"I, ah - I found this..." Alaric holds up a small box. "In the dead guy's pocket. Thought it might do more use here than, say, 3 miles below sea level." Alaric offers, Damon takes the cure out of the box and holds it up.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Damon asks.

"Get the girl." Alaric offers with a smile and then walks away with Diana, his arm around her shoulder as he kisses her head, Diana leans into his side, her arm around his back.

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

Alaric lets out a breath and looks around the apartment. It feels a little weird being back, but a good weird. A home weird. He can actually feel the warmth around him. He looks to Diana as she shrugs out of her jacket, laying it over the back of the couch before moving closer to him. He takes her face in his hand.

"You know Bonnie has to put the veil back up" He tells her, she nods and worries her lip as she gets upset.

"I'm going to lose you all over again" she admits. He brushes away her tears. "How is that fair?"

"It's not. I know, it's not fair" He agrees. "But it is what is right" she looks away from him and takes a shaky breath. "You know it is" He whispers, she nods. Alaric touches Diana's face, his fingers soft against her skin, she closes her eyes and lets out a breath as she takes in every single touch he gives her. He leans closer to her, nuzzles into her jaw and she closes her eyes.

"Ric" She whispers as she clutches to his jacket, tears pouring down her cheeks. He closes his eyes and breaths her in. "I've missed you" She admits, he nods.

"It wasn't enough" He agrees with a statement she once told him. "Seeing you and never...." he stops and drags his fingers over her back and under her shirt. He leans closer and kisses her, his free hand brushing over her cheek and into her hair. She grabs at his jacket and then pushes it over his shoulders.