CAPTURED MY HEART, BODY & SOUL [1]

39 : REMAINS

        The drive to Mystic Falls had been silent and long, even if Elijah broke the speed limit to get them there as quickly as possible. Her cheek was pressed against the glass, tears in her eyes, as she thought about Alaric and everything he had gone through. She thought of their goodbye the day before, the one on the phone where he made her promise to try and find happiness. She wished he had had the chance to have the same, after enduring what he had with Jenna and then losing his sanity and control because of Esther. Charlie knew the person he was now, wasn't the Ric she had come to know and love. He wasn't the man that accepted her soulmate bond without judgement. He wasn't the friend that sat with her as she brooded over what Elijah had done before the summer. He was now the worst part of himself, and he was going to kill the entire vampire race by eliminating the Mikaelsons.

And Elijah refused to stay behind.

Upon finding out that Esther had somehow managed to get Alaric to transition, the first thing Charlie wanted to do was to return home and see him, to find out if it was possible to save him. But she knew what the chances were. Alaric's humanity had been severed and she had no idea how she was meant to bring it back, to stop him from killing the very people they had grown to love and cherish. She couldn't imagine a world without Stefan, Damon, Caroline and Tyler, no matter how irritating they could all be. She would miss being able to call Stefan, day or night, for anything. She would miss Damon's annoying nicknames and even his inability to mind his own damn business. She would miss Caroline and Tyler's googly eyes at each other and the way Tyler loved Caroline in a way that Mason hadn't been capable of. But most of all, she would miss Elijah, and how deeply he had made her feel loved and important. She couldn't lose them, because no matter how annoying they all were, they helped her become who she was. She didn't want the worst part of Alaric to take that from her. Besides, there was clearly something Stefan wasn't quite willing to tell her over the phone, which she recognized from years of knowing him. Whatever it was, she knew it was because Stefan knew who was sitting beside her, listening to every word.

A few miles from the Mystic Falls border, Elijah received a phone call from his sister, and what she revealed caused him to stop the car in the middle of the otherwise deserted road, the two sisters staring wide eyed as Elijah listened to Rebekah. Charlie couldn't hear what she had said, so it wasn't until the phone call had end did she know what Rebekah had to tell him. Klaus was dead. Or at least, desiccated, as whatever solution they had decided to go with to get rid of Alaric had instead been used on Klaus. Charlie didn't know how she was meant to feel about that, because she hated Klaus and wanted him out of her life, yet at the same time, knew what he meant to Elijah and they needed Alaric gone. He was their biggest threat for the time being.

"What is she saying?" Lily leaned forward between the seats, looking between her older sister and the vampire, asking about what Rebekah was saying. "Anything I wanna know about?"

"I can't hear it," Charlie began before realizing how Lily was able to get as close as she had. "Put your seat belt back on right now!"

"But-"

"Now!"

"Hang on, Rebekah, repeat that." Elijah shot them a look, his brows furrowed. "What's your solution?"

Charlie leaned closer to her boyfriend to hear more of what Rebekah was saying, and Elijah allowed it.

"It's simple, Elijah! We kill Elena and Mother's damn monster at the same time-"

"No!" She was quick to object and Elijah shook his head to tell her to stop.

"I told you you're not hurting Elena, Bex!" Elijah heard Drew say in the background, confirming the younger vampire was with her.