14. Stay

"Look, I know graduation still has a few months to go but Jeremy and April have gotten accepted to art school" Aria said, as her and Damon sat and talked to Principle Webber.

"I have no problem with April Young going to art school, but Jeremy Gilbert? I don't think so" Principle Webber, "Not with his academic record".

"What's wrong with academic record?" Aria asked confused.

"You have a few hours?" Principle Webber asked, "All right, let's start with drug use in his freshman".

"You mean the year that his parents died?" Damon asked.

"Okay" Principle Webber replied, "So, what's the excuse for the next three years of woeful attendance?".

"Extracurricular activities, health and fitness, that sort of thing" Damon replied, "I mean, did you see how scrawny he used to be?".

"No" Principle Webber replied, "But I do recall the four months where he faked his own death".

"Funny thing about that, he actually didn't fake it" Damon said, making Aria look at him in shock, "We went to this island off the coast of Canada in search of this cure for vampirism, and--".

Before Damon could reveal anything else, Aria placed her hand on his mouth, preventing him from speaking, "Kol was right, you were the wrong person to bring for this" she said.

"Is this some sort of joke to you?" Principle Webber said, glaring at Damon.

"Of course not" Aria snapped, "Look, you don't understand, Jeremy and school just don't go together, but he's really good at art, all we want for him is to be happy and do what makes him happy".

"Exactly" Damon said.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't let that happen" Principle Webber said.

"So can we try this my way now?" Damon asked Aria.

"Go for it" Aria replied, having enough of Principle Webber.

"Okay" Damon said, standing up and kneeling beside the principle, "This small-town atmosphere doesn't nurture a creative spirit like Jeremy Gilbert, and it's of your opinion that it's high time for him to get the hell out of Mystic Falls" he compelled.

***

After dealing with Principle Webber, Damon and Aria entered the Grill where Kol, April and Jeremy were doing going away shots.

"Look who graduated" Damon said, slapping Jeremy's diploma on to his chest and the graduation hat onto his head, while Aria handed April her things.

"Wait, the Principle actually let Jeremy graduate?" Kol asked shocked.

"Yeap" Aria replied.

"Sure, I mean practically flunking, missed a hundred days of school and he can barely spell cat, but sure, he was fine with Jeremy graduating early" Damon said.

"You guys compelled him, didn't you?" an amused April asked.

"We had to" Aria replied, "Otherwise Jeremy was going to be stuck here, while you were away at art school, now, who wants shots?".

"Me" Kol said, putting his hand up.

"On it" Aria said, walking over to the bar.

"Is she okay?" Jeremy asked Damon.

"She will be" Damon replied, "We all will, somehow we'll all find a way to move on without you, Jeremy, oh, hey, just did".

"Don't worry buddy, I'll miss you" Kol said, patting Jeremy's shoulder.

"Of course you would, who are you going to partner up with now to annoy Damon?" April teased.

"Exactly" Kol said.

"That's the only reason you're going to miss me for?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeap" Kol replied, just as Aria brought back a bottle of bourbon and some shot glasses.

"Let's toast" Aria said, pouring everyone shots, "To Jeremy and April!".

"To Jeremy and April!" everyone said, clinking their glasses together.

***

"Not to be blunt, but I think dying gets you a ticket out of work" Damon said, entering Liz's office, "Just saying".

"I thought you were with Aria" Liz said.

"I was, but you know your daughter, she likes to overthink everything, and with Caroline and Klaus babysitting the kids and getting the Forbes cabin ready for you, Aria was anxious with you being alone, so here I am, Aria will be here after spending some time with Jeremy" Damon said, sitting infront of Liz.

"That sounds like my daughter" Liz said, a fond smile on her face.

"So, how are you feeling?" Damon asked, concerned for the women infront of him, who wasn't just important to Aria but also to him.

"Like I'm not gonna leave this job with unfinished business" Liz replied, "I have all these open cases".

"Well, let me see if I can help you close a couple of them" Damon said, Liz chuckled but nonetheless handed Damon a bunch of files, who began scanning them, "This one was me, me, also me, ooh! This one was Stefan's", Liz gave Damon I don't believe you look, "Oh, wait, no, me".

"Yeah, I always had a sneaking suspicion" Liz said, as Damon put all the files into the case closed box, "What about this one?".

Damon took the file from Liz, "Jeremy's parents" he realised, "I didn't know there was an open investigation".

"Well, at the time, I was taking care of Aria, Elena and Jeremy and I didn't wanna drag them through more heartache" Liz said, "And then when I was finally ready to reopen the wound, Aria had moved on and you and I had become friends, and I worried that--".

"What?" Damon asked, seeing Liz's hesitation, "That I was involved? Liz, no, I promise you".

Liz breathed a sigh of relief hearing Damon's words, "Miranda left me this message two hours before they got in that car" she informed Damon, "Two hours before they drove off that road for no reason".

"Liz, it's Miranda Gilbert, I have something urgent to talk to you about, please, call me back as soon as you can".

"Well, I'll be damned" Damon said, after listening to the voicemail, "Looks like you've got a good old-fashioned sheriffy whodunit on your hands".

***

While Damon was taking care of Liz, Aria and Jeremy decided to spend their last moments together doing what they do best, playing video games in the Forbes living room, and currently they were playing Jeremy's favorite game and Aria's most disliked game, fifa.

"Kol!" Aria yelled, "Clear it, dammit!".

"Your best friend won't stop blocking me!" Kol defended, the two best friends having forced Kol and April to join them.

"Yes!" Jeremy and April yelled, jumping up and hugging each other.

"What the hell just happened?" A confused Kol asked.

Aria grabbed a cushion and hit Kol with it, "You scored an own goal!".

"You two suck" Jeremy teased.

"No, we don't" Aria said, "You're just evil, you purposely chose the one game I can't play".

"Let's play a board game" April suggested.

"Yes!" Aria said, "We're playing monopoly and I'm beating all your asses, and Kol, no cheating".

"I would never" Kol said, pretending to be offended by Aria's accusation.

"Liar" Aria, Jeremy and April said stimuteanously.

"You know guys, it warms my heart how well you know me" Kol teased, making everyone laugh.

"You are such a dick" Jeremy said.

"Thanks jerk" Kol said.

"Your bromance melts my heart" Aria teased.

"I'm in the same boat as you Aria" April said, high fiving Aria while Jeremy and Kol shook their head at the girls.

***

"You know, this would be a lot more fun if I had some--".

"Top right-hand drawer" Liz interrupted Damon, her eyes stuck on the file she was currently reading.

Damon opened the top right hand drawer, "Well, look at that" he said, pulling out a bottle of bourbon, "This is why you are a terrible sheriff".

"No, I'm a terrible sheriff because one of my best friends is the perp in half my open cases" Liz retorted, as Damon opened the bottle of bourbon and took a sip out of it, he then offered it to Liz, "Not till I finish this".

"Suit yourself" Damon said, "I just don't get why you're opening this case so many years later".

"Because of this accident, me and Caroline nearly lost Aria" Liz reminded, "Aria lost her second parents, and I know Grayson doesn't deserve to be called her father, but Miranda loved Aria as her own, and if something or someone did cause her death, then she deserves justice".

"Fair enough" Damon said.

"Can I ask you something?" Liz asked, "About that night? You saw Aria and then pulled her out of the car while Stefan pulled Elena out".

"Yeap" Damon replied.

"So you both just happened to be in town the night the Gilbert's died" Liz said, "Why?".

"Well, believe it or not, Liz, I once had a mommy too" Damon replied, "She died around that day, and the years when my emotions were on, I would stop by and lay flowers at her grave".

"You never talk about her" Liz said.

"Not much to say, she died" Damon said, "Old-timey disease, consumption".

"Why do I feel like you're leaving something out?" Liz asked, giving Damon a pointed look.

"Tell you what, why don't we use your investigative instincts to solve this?" Damon said, quickly changing the subject, not wanting to talk about his mother, "Come here, check this out", Damon showed Liz a file, "All right, so why were the Gilberts taking Wickery Bridge when Old Miller Road was clearly ten minutes faster and why are there no skid marks at the scene of the accident, and why was the trunk full of luggage as if they were going out of town?".

Liz nodded, "Something did happen that night" she realised.

***

"Wow Aria, you are really not in your zone tonight" April teased, as Aria lost monopoly to Jeremy.

"Maybe if someone didn't keep stealing my money, I would have won" Aria said, glaring at Kol.

"Hey!" Kol said, "Don't blame your inability to win monopoly on me".

"I hate you" Aria mumbled.

"You love me" Kol teased, side hugging Aria.

"Get off me" Aria said, playfully shoving Kol away from her.

"Wait, so since I won, does that mean I get you car?" Jeremy asked.

"Absolutely not" Aria replied.

"We made a bet Aria" Jeremy reminded.

"No, you and Kol made a bet, I was not involved in this" Aria said.

"I don't have a car" Kol said.

"Then why did you make the bet?" April asked.

"So I can bet off Ri's car" Kol replied.

"Why are you being so mean to me today?" Aria asked.

"I'm being mean?" Kol asked, "You've been hitting me with cushions all day".

"It's because you deserve it" Aria defended, making Kol roll his eyes at her.

"Come on Aria, me and April are moving to a new town, starting a new life, we need a car" Jeremy said.

"Then make Kol buy you one" Aria said.

"Why me?" Kol asked, "They're your friends".

"But you're the one who has a bromance with Jeremy" Aria teased.

"You can compel yourself a new car" Jeremy told Aria.

"Do you even realise how many cars you and I have wasted over the years?" Aria asked.

"A lot" Jeremy replied, "There was my parents station wagon you and I crashed".

"Of course" April said, shaking her head in amusement.

"Then I also crashed the SUV supermom got for my birthday" Aria added.

"Katherine wrapped my car around a light post, that's three" Jeremy counted.

"And now you want to take my car and crash it, we might as well make it four" Aria said.

"Why are you so sure I will crash your car?" Jeremy asked.

"Because it's you we are talking about" Kol replied.

"Hey, what happened to my marshmallows?" Aria asked, looking at her empty packet of marshmallows.

"You ate all of them, Ri" Kol replied.

"Really?" Aria asked, not remembering eating all the marshmallows.

"You forget about your surroundings when eating marshmallows, don't you?" Kol asked.

"Not my fault marshmallows are so good" Aria defended, just as her phone started ringing, taking it out of her pocket she realised Damon was calling her, immediately worrying her as she knew Damon was currently with her mom, "Is mom okay?" she asked as soon as she answered her phone.

"Your mom is fine, Ria" Damon assured, "I just wanted to run something by you, is there any chance you can get to the sheriff's office? It's important".

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes" Aria assured, "I was anyways going to come and check on mom".

***

"Mom, I don't remember why Grayson Gilbert took that route home" Aria admitted, sitting in the Sheriff's office, going through the Gilbert's case file, both Damon and Liz not having missed Aria address Grayson but his name and not as dad, "And I knew my luggage was in the trunk because they were going to drop me at yours for mine and Caroline's for a week because me and Caroline wanted to spend time with each other, but I didn't know their luggage was also in the trunk".

"What about the lack of skid marks?" Liz asked, "Any reason Grayson would just drive off the road like he was trying to avoid something without braking?".

"I was busy text Caroline and Jeremy when the accident happened" Aria admitted, "Plus, that night wasn't the best night for me, so I kept to myself not really looking at my surroundings".

"What about the voicemail?" Damon asked curiously.

"I have no idea" Aria replied, "I wasn't there when supermom sent that voicemail, mom, do you really think that there's a possibility of someone purposely driving our car off the bridge?".

"I don't know" Liz admitted, "But given the way this town works, I wouldn't be surprised, I'm so sorry Aria, I know I should have brought this up sooner but in those first few weeks after their death--".

"Stop mom" Aria interrupted, "You don't have to defend yourself, I know everything you've done is for my betterment, I remember for a few weeks I became silent, and Jenna was trying to help but she didn't know how to, but you did, you and Caroline visited me everyday, made me food, took me to school, you did everything for me".

"Wait" Damon said, "You cook?".

"She tried" Aria replied, making Liz laugh, "Mom, I need you to know that I love you, okay?".

Liz gave Aria a small smile, "I know baby" she assured, "And I also know that you and Caroline are scared of what's going to happen after I leave, but don't be scared, I know both my daughters are much stronger then they give themselves credit for".

"Mom, please don't talk like you're dying today" Aria said, "I'm going to go see if Jeremy knows anything, while you're going to stay here and be the sheriff, and take the the thought of dying out of your mind".

"Aye, aye, captain" Liz teased, making both Damon and Aria laugh.

After giving Damon a small smile, Aria left the room to talk to Jeremy. Once Aria left Liz started going through other files when suddenly she started feeling dizzy.

"Hey" Damon said, quickly rushing towards the sheriff, "You okay?".

"Yup, yup, I'm good" Liz assured.

"Yeah?" Damon asked, not fully convinced.

"I'm fine" Liz replied.

"Okay" Damon whispered, staying by Liz in case she needed him.

***

After leaving Damon with her mom, Aria came back to the boarding to talk to Jeremy.

"Hey" Aria greeted, entering Jeremy's room, only to see him busy packing his things, "You still haven't finished packing?".

"I didn't realise how much clothes I had till today" Jeremy complained, making Aria laugh.

"Here, I'll help" Aria said, walking over to Jeremy and helping him pack.

"Thanks" Jeremy said, "So, what did the sheriff want?".

Aria hesitated for a moment, but she realised Jeremy deserved to know if there was any foul play involved in his parents accident, "She wanted to talk about the night our car went off Wickery Bridge, the night your parents died, mom has a suspicion that maybe the accident, wasn't an accident".

"Then what was it?" A confused Jeremy asked, "A vampire attack? A werewolf on the road? What else could we possibly go through?".

"A few hours before the accident happened, supermom left mom a message" Aria informed, "In the message she said she wanted to talk to mom about something important, Jer, was there anything that happened that night, that maybe shouldn't have happened, do you remember anything out of the ordinary?", Jeremy thought about it for a moment, and then realisation crossed his face, causing him to let out a small chuckle, "Why are you chuckling for?".

"I used to smoke pot in my room" Jeremy replied.

"Yeah, I know" Aria said, confused with what that had to do with the accident.

"Mom caught me that night" Jeremy revealed, "She said she was gonna have me arrested".

"That's why she called mom" Aria pieced together.

"She was pretending to be all business, but I could hear Jenna giggling outside" Jeremy said, "That was the last time we spoke, fighting through a door".

***

"That makes sense" Damon said, talking to Aria on the phone.

"I'm helping Jeremy and April pack, can you make sure mom gets home safely?" Aria asked.

"Of course" Damon replied, hanging up on his girlfriend and walking back into Liz's office, "So the message was a joke, Miranda wanted you to bust Jeremy for smoking pot".

"Well, what about everything else?" Liz asked, "I mean, the route, the skid marks, what about the luggage?".

"There was a storm the day before" Damon replied, "Jeremy's dad was planning a secret trip to their lake house and the storm rained them out".

"The storm" Liz whispered, suddenly everything making sense to her.

"Yeah" Damon said.

"The storm that dropped a power line across Old Miller Road, explaining why they took Wickery Bridge, which had a drainage issue before its renovation" Liz said, putting all the puzzle pieces together, "Meaning the road was probably still slick".

"Slick roads, no skid marks" Damon realised.

"The storm" Liz whispered, "That was the reason", Damon gave Liz a small nod, "Mystery solved", Liz started clearing all the papers from her table, "Would you mind calling Caroline and Klaus and telling them they can surprise me tomorrow? I'm not really feeling up to it tonight".

"Absolutely" Damon assured, giving Liz a small smile, "I'll go get the car".

After Damon left, Liz slowly stood up from her chair, she took her sheriff's badge out of her pocket and after giving it a fond look, she placed the badge on top of the Gilbert's now closed file, she then turned the desk lamp off and made her way towards the door.

Reaching the door, Liz turned around one last time and gave her office a sad smile, realising this was the last time she was going to be here.

***

"You both ready to leave?" Kol asked, as he and Aria walked into the living room.

"Ready as we'll ever be" April replied, standing by her and Jeremy's bags.

"I don't think I should leave" Jeremy suddenly said, shocking everyone

"What why?" Aria asked.

"Your mom is sick Aria, I should be here with you" Jeremy replied, "I can't leave you alone here".

"But I'm not alone, Jer" Aria said, as Alaric entered the boarding house, "I'm surrounded by the people I love, I will be okay".

"No, you won't" Jeremy argued, "I was there when your parents died, and I was there when my parents died, I saw what those deaths did to you Aria, I can't leave knowing I'm going to be leaving you here in pain".

"Ri isn't going to be here alone, Jer" Kol assured, "She has Damon, her kids, me, Ric, and everyone else"

"He's right" Alaric said, "We all will take care of your best friend, but it's time for you and April to get the hell out of here".

"You and April deserve to live a normal, supernatural free life, Jer" Aria said, "Go to art school and stop worrying about me, I'll be fine".

"If you need me, promise to call me?" Jeremy asked, still a bit apprehensive.

"Of course" Aria promised, "As soon as I need you, I will call you back".

Jeremy nodded, he stepped forward and pulled Aria into a hug tight, "I'm going to miss you".

"I'm going to miss you too, Jer Bear" Aria whispered, tears welling in her eyes, after breaking the hug, Aria turned to April, "Take care of yourself and my idiot best friend, okay?".

April nodded, "I will" she assured.

"Come on now, let's get you two to the airport" Aria said.

"Actually, why don't you let me take them?" Alaric said, "You and Kol should go be with Liz".

What Aria didn't know was that Damon had called Ric and informed him about Liz's condition getting worse, worrying the ex-vampire, and he feared if Aria went to the airport to drop Jeremy and April off, she might not get to say goodbye to her mother.

"I'll call you when we get to the airport and when we land" Jeremy told Aria, seeing the reluctant look on the tribrids face, after a little bit of hesitation, Aria nodded.

"Take care of yourself" Kol told Jeremy, "And in a couple of days, expect a SUV at your door".

"Hang on, you're getting me a car?" Jeremy asked shocked.

"No, I'm getting April a car" Kol teased, making Jeremy playfully roll his eyes.

"I always knew you had a soft spot for me" April teased, making everyone laugh.

After a lot more hugs and tears from Aria, Jeremy and April finally left Mystic Falls to start a new journey together.

***

"Get in there" Damon said, help Liz lay on her bed, "Nice pj situation, you look hot".

"Damon, you're the father of my grandkids, I do not have the energy to tell you how deeply that disturbs me" Liz said, "Speaking of Aria and my grandkids, why haven't you asked Aria yet?".

"About what?" Damon asked confused.

"Why haven't you asked Aria to marry you yet" Liz replied, "You took my blessings a long time ago, so why haven't you done it yet?".

"Because I screwed up" Damon replied.

"But Aria forgave you" Liz reminded.

"Yeah but then I died and then she took our memories away" Damon reminded, "There hasn't been anytime to propose".

Liz sighed, "You know, I'm happy I get to leave this world, knowing my two daughters will be well taken care of by you and Klaus".

"Liz--".

"I did everything right, Damon" Liz interrupted, "I lived a good life, I took care of my family, I just--".

"I know" Damon assured a now sobbing Liz, "Sometimes really terrible things happen to really amazing people".

"I have to admit, there is a certain amount of peace knowing after my death I'll see my best friend again" Liz said, "And also knowing that I'll be one of the only people in Mystic Falls to die an ordinary death", Damon chuckled, "I'm exceptionally ordinary, I'm okay with that, Caroline and Aria are anything but, both of them were meant to be extraordinary and they need to know how proud I am of them".

"Yeah, they will" Damon promised, "You tell them yourself, come on, lay down on this bed".

Liz obeyed Damon and slowly laid down, "Thank you" she said after a moment of silence.

"For what?" Damon asked confused.

"For today" Liz replied, "For being here".

Damon held Liz's hand and gave a small smile, "Yeah, I didn't get a chance to spend much time with my mom before she died, I volunteered to write the eulogy and then when she actually died, I didn't even go to the funeral".

"You want a second chance?" Liz asked.

"Hm?" Damon asked.

"Write mine" Liz said, causing a smile to form on Damon's face, "Only do me a favor, nothing dirty".

"No promises" Damon joked.

Liz gave Damon a small smile, "Stay happy Damon, and keep my daughter and grandkids happy as well".

"I will Liz" Damon said, "I promise to always keep them happy".

Liz gave Damon a thankful look, "I'll take that drink now" she said.

"Yeah?" Damon asked, Liz nodded, "I'll be right back", Damon stood up and started making his way out of the bedroom, "You want rocks or you want neat?", when Liz didn't reply, Damon turned around only to see her eyes closed, "Liz?".

***

"Where is she?!" Caroline asked, as her and Aria barged into the hospital, with Kol and Klaus behind them.

Aria quickly ran to the receptionist, "Can you please tell us what room is Elizabeth Forbes in?".

"Ria" Damon called out, walking over to the two panicked girls.

"Damon, what happened?" Caroline asked, Damon having called the two girls and informed them about him taking Liz to the hospital.

"She fell asleep, I couldn't wake her up, they said she went into a coma" Damon informed, shocking the two girls, things around them suddenly started passing in a haze, all they could think about was that their mother was now in a coma, "They said they can make her comfortable".

"She's not comfortable, she's dying" Caroline snapped, as her and Aria rushed towards their mother's room.

Reaching Liz's room, Aria and Caroline stood by the door and stared at their unconscious mother with tears streaming down their faces, after grabbing each others hand, the two sisters slowly walked towards their mother.

"We didn't get to say goodbye" Caroline whispered.

"We weren't there for her in her last moment" Aria whispered.

Klaus and Damon walked over to their respective girls, they wrapped their arms around the two girls and let them cry it out.

***

"Hey Jer" Kol said, leaving Jeremy a voicemail, "I know you and April might be on a plane right now, but you two need to come back, Liz isn't doing well, Aria and Caroline are going to need all of us, call me once you receive this", after Kol hanged up, Damon walked over to the original, "What did the doctor say?"

The two vampires looked at Liz through the window, they saw Aria and Caroline sitting on either side of her, holding on to their mother's hand and begging her to come back to them while Klaus tried to calm the two girls down.

"Well, she's stable, but, you know" Damon said.

"How much longer does she have?" Kol asked.

"Not long, the hospital says she has a DNR, so" Damon replied, making Kol let out a sigh, "I'm gonna get some air and call Enzo and Rebekah to check on the kids".

After Damon walked out, Kol entered the room, his heart hurting seeing two of the strongest girls he knew breaking down like this.

"I shouldn't have left" Aria cried, "I should have stayed with you".

"You didn't know, Ri" Kol said, walking over to the tribrid, "Neither of you did, you can't blame yourselves for this".

"We knew she was sick" Caroline whispered, "And we knew it was bad".

Klaus placed a hand on Caroline's shoulder, "Love--".

"We're her daughters, Klaus" Caroline cried.

"We were supposed to be there for her, let her know it was going to be okay" Aria sobbed, "We were supposed to tell her that she go peacefully because me and Caroline will be okay, and we were supposed to thank her for being the best mother anyone could ask for".

"God, I don't even remember the last thing that I said to her" Caroline said, "Me and Aria were supposed to be with her in her final moment".

"You both still can" Kol said, an idea forming in his head.

***

"Clear your minds" Kol instructed the two girls.

"Okay" Caroline whispered, while Aria nodded in understanding.

"Now, think about a favorite memory you two share with your mom" Klaus said.

"There's a lot of memories, Nik" Aria said, feeling overwhelmed.

"Relax, Ri" Kol said, "Take a deep breath and close your eyes and open up your minds, you're gonna live in her memories of you two".

"We can do that?" Caroline asked.

Klaus nodded, "Grab her hands" he replied

Aria and Caroline sat down on either side of Liz and grabbed her hands, they then took a deep breath and closed their eyes and suddenly they were in their mother's head.

"Mommy, I'm going to fall" A young Aria said, as Amelia and Liz taught their daughters how to ride a bike.

"You're not going to fall baby, I've got you" Amelia assured, holding on to her daughter's bike.

"Mom, I want to stop" A young Caroline said.

"Me too" Aria said.

"If you two stop, you'll never learn, sweethearts" Liz said, her hands on Caroline's bike.

"We don't want to learn" Caroline said.

"Yes you two do" Amelia said.

"This is too hard for me, I can't do it" Aria complained.

"Just pedal" Liz instructed the two girls.

"We're gonna fall" Caroline said, not realising that her and Aria had started to ride their bikes on their own as their mothers slowly stepped back from them.

"We're holding you two up, you can't fall" Liz assured.

"I'm so scared" Aria whispered, "I think I would like my other wheels back on please".

"Same" Caroline said.

"Just keep on pedaling you two, you've got this" Amelia assured.

"Don't let go" Caroline said.

"We won't" Liz assured, as her and Amelia started slowing down, "Not till you two are ready".

"We're not ready yet, so don't let go" Aria said, not realising that Liz and Amelia had stopped walking and just let her and Caroline bike away from them.

"They're ready" Amelia whispered to Liz.

"You think they are going to be okay without us?" Liz asked, slightly worried.

"Of course they are" Amelia replied, "They have each other".

Liz smiled and nodded in agreement, the two mothers stood next to each other and admired their baby girls cycling away from them.

When Caroline and Aria opened their eyes, they saw a small smile on their mother's face, by now Damon had also walked back into the room.

"Mom" Caroline whispered, as the two girls heard their mother flat line.

"Mom" Aria cried, as Damon walked over to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"She's gone" Caroline sobbed.

Caroline and Aria start crying hysterically while holding on to their mothers hand, both the girls still not ready to say goodbye to her.

***

Presenting 6x14 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter? I absolutely hated writing this chapter, it was so upseting 😭

Fun fact: As I'm writing this chapter it is exactly 12:01am here in Australia, meaning it's 1st of May, meaning your girl is officially twenty, YAY ME! 🥳

Thoughts on Jeremy and April leaving for art school together?

Thoughts on Aria, Kol, Jeremy and April spending Jeremy and April's last moments in Mystic Falls playing games?

Thoughts on Damon taking care of Liz in her last moments?

Thoughts on Liz's death and Aria and Caroline's reaction to it?