19. Man On Fire

"I hate this" Aria complained, as Kol forced Aria to sit down at the Whitmore café.

"Ri, you're the one who messaged me saying you needed a distraction" Kol reminded, "This is me distracting you".

"By helping me study?" Aria asked.

"Yes" Kol replied simply, "Rebekah told me that with Katherine possessing you, you've been behind a bit, so I'm here to help".

"But I don't want to study" Aria complained.

"Ri, you're about to be a mother, you can't be acting like a baby anymore" Kol said.

"Watch me" Aria said, grabbing Kol's tea.

"Hey, I got you hot chocolate" Kol complained, taking the tea back.

"The babies don't want hot chocolate though" Aria said.

Kol shook his head at Aria in amusement, "Fine, if that will stop your complaining, then take it" he said.

"Yay" Aria said, taking the tea from Kol, "You're the best".

"I know" Kol said simply.

"Hey" Rebekah greeted, walking over to the duo, "How's studying going?".

"Awful" Aria replied, "I can't believe the two of the most non-studious people are forcing me to study, I really wish Care was here, she would have been on my side, but no she's visiting her hybrid boyfriend in New Orleans leaving me with you two".

"Do you want to become a writer or not?" Kol asked.

"I need to write a book to become a writer, not get a degree" Aria replied.

"Well, someone's grumpy" Rebekah commented.

"Sorry" Aria said, "It's been a long couple of days".

"We know, that's why we're trying to distract you" Kol said.

"You want to distract me?" Aria asked, "Then help me figure out why I've I just want to scream since the moment I woke up".

"Scream?" Rebekah asked, "As in a banshee scream?".

"Since I've woken up, there has been this horrible pit in my stomach, and I just want to scream" Aria replied.

"Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with you know who?" Kol asked.

"No, Kol" Aria replied, "This has nothing to do with Damon, it's something else".

"Wait, you don't think someone's going to die, do you?" Rebekah asked, looking at Aria in concern.

"I think I might know who" Kol replied.

"Who?" Aria asked.

"Them" Kol replied, pointing behind Aria.

Aria turned around to see Stefan, Bonnie and Elena entering the café.

"What the bloody hell are they doing here?" Rebekah asked.

"You didn't hear?" Aria asked, "Bonnie and Elena are officially Whitmore students".

Rebekah groaned in annoyance, "Lovely, just what we needed".

"Hey" Bonnie greeted, walking over to trio.

"Sorry, we don't give out donations" Kol said, making both Rebekah and Aria laugh.

"Aria, there's something you need to know about the other side" Bonnie said, ignoring Kol.

"The other side?" Aria asked confused.

"It's falling apart" Bonnie replied.

"Excuse me?" Aria asked, not sure if she heard Bonnie right.

"After the travelers leader Markos managed to come back, something happened at the other side which is causing it to disintegrating" Bonnie replied.

"Grams, Alaric, Finn, Lexi, Natalie" Aria whispered, "They're all on the other side, if the other side falls apart, we don't know what's going to happen to them".

"Exactly" Bonnie said, "So I was hoping you could help me figure out a way to stop the other side from falling apart".

"No" Kol snapped, "The only reason you came to Ri, is because you know somehow she will figure out a way to save all the ghost on the other side, and while she does that, you're hoping she saves you as well, and let me break it you, that's not happening".

"Plus, we have bigger problems then you dying" Rebekah said, "The travelers are planning to takeover Mystic Falls".

"Relax Beks, Damon's on traveler duty" Kol said.

"That's even more worrying" Rebekah said.

"So you don't care about your brother?" Elena asked both Kol and Rebekah.

"Of course I do" Rebekah snapped, "But I also trust Aria to know that she will save him, so I'm not worried, you on the other hand should be worried as no ones going to save your best friend".

"For someone whose supposed to save him, she sure is quiet" Elena taunted, looking at Aria, who was staring at the cup of tea.

Kol and Rebekah turned to Aria, who didn't even realise that she was being stared at.

"Ri?" Kol asked.

"We need to find a traveler" Aria whispered, an idea coming into her head.

"What?" Rebekah asked.

"If we want to bring everyone back before the other side collapses, we need to find a traveler" Aria repeated.

***

"Jeremy, Damon's going to kill us after he finds out that Tyler stole the travelers knife" April said, pacing up and down worry.

"Relax April" Jeremy said, "Damon isn't going to kill us".

"Ding-dong" Damon said, barging into Jeremy's room, "I'm so sorry I interrupted whatever weird ritual you two were doing, but I just want to de-Passenger the great citizens of Mystic Falls, using the magical Traveler knife Kol gave you two to keep safe, so hand it over".

"We'd love to" April said, "But we don't have it".

"Five words that make me wanna vamp toss my keys into your chest cavity" Damon snapped, glaring at the couple infront of him, "Little Gilbert, help me in the fight against my dark side and elaborate, please".

"Tyler stole it" Jeremy revealed.

"Stole it?" Damon asked shocked, "How did Tyler manage to steal the knife?".

"We gave the knife to Luke and Liv, and Liv called saying Tyler went to her dorm, and stole the knife" Jeremy replied.

"She thinks it was a traveler who is using Tyler's body as a passenger" April said.

"You two idiots are so lucky I'm trying the whole not be a murder for my kids thing" Damon snapped.

***

Before Kol or Rebekah could ask Aria why she needed to find a traveler, Enzo walked over to the group.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, not a huge fan of the vampire.

"Can't join my friends for a cup of tea?" Enzo asked.

"You have friends?" Kol asked.

"Ouch, Kol" Enzo said, "And here I thought we were on our way to becoming besties".

"You only have one friend Enzo" Rebekah said, "And he's not here, and we have better things to do then entertain you".

"Relax, gorgeous, I'm not here for any of you" Enzo said, "But Aria, remember when I told you and Caroline about the girl I've been searching for? A women named Maggie".

"Yeah" Aria replied, slightly confused, "She was your kind of girlfriend from the Augustine days".

"Maggie worked there as an observer" Enzo corrected, "Taking notes on my behavior, she never got too close, never took off her vervain bracelet, but we spent hours and hours talking and we developed an attachment, now, she left in 1950, I imagined her one day teaching in one of these fancy universities, starting a family, living her life to the fullest, I'm sure you guys can appreciate that".

"What's going on?" Elena asked confused.

"He's reminiscing" Kol replied, glaring at the doppelganger.

"That traveler girl, Sloan, gave me this yesterday" Enzo said, taking out a paper from her pocket, "Making good on a promise, from the Augustine files left behind by our good Dr. Wes", Enzo handed the paper over to Elena.

Elena looked at the paper, and realised it was a picture of a dead Maggie, her head ripped from her body, it was exactly like Stefan's signature, Elena sighed and hanged Stefan the photo.

"Yes, imagine how I felt when I saw it" Enzo said, "Turns out Maggie died in 1960, in Mystic Falls, someone tore her head right off her body".

Elena turned to Stefan, "In 1960, were you--?".

"A ripper?" Enzo finished, "Clearly".

"I wasn't a ripper then" Stefan said, "I'm really sorry about your friend, but I had nothing to do with it".

"You realise Kol was a ripper to, right?" Elena told Enzo.

"I was bloody daggered in the 1960s" Kol snapped, "Don't blame me for your ex-boyfriends mistake".

"I didn't do this" Stefan snapped.

"I thought you might say that" Enzo said, "Liv!" he called out, "Little service here, please".

Liv walked over to the group, and using her magic she started giving Stefan and Elena an aneurism.

"Woah, what's going on?!" Aria asked confused.

"Sit back and relax, Ri" Kol said, amused, "Let Enzo do his thing, cause I'm enjoying this a lot".

"Liv, what are you doing?" Bonnie asked, "Stop".

"I can't stop, sorry" Liv replied.

"That's my fault, really, where's Luke?" Enzo asked, as another compelled person brought Luke in, "See I compelled blokes from the rugby team to keep her brother's life in jeopardy so that should the witch disobey, he will die, there's a good solider".

"Okay, no" Aria snapped, standing up, "You want a witch to give Stefan and Elena an aneurism, I'll do that, but you are not going to threaten Luke and Liv".

"Why so protective over strangers?" Enzo asked.

"We're not strangers, we're part of her coven" Luke snapped.

"Coven?" Bonnie asked shocked.

Aria turned to the two people who were holding on to Luke, she speeded over to the them, and put a finger one each of their temple and rendered them unconscious.

"Liv, Luke, get out of here" Aria stated.

"Aria--".

"I'll help you torture them" Aria interrupted Enzo, "But you're not hurting these two".

Luke and Liv turned to Aria, a small smile on both their faces, "Thank you" Luke said.

"Go" Aria said.

Luke and Liv didn't waste another second in walking away from the group.

"Alright, now that's done, Stefan, are you ready to talk about what you did to the love of my life?" Enzo asked.

***

"That vervain water is going to hurt even worse if you struggle against those knots" Enzo warned, as another compelled guy, tied Stefan and Elena up, "Chap's in the sailing club".

"You know when I told you I don't like Enzo?" Kol whispered into Aria's ear.

"Yeah?" Aria said.

"Forget it" Kol said, "Because he's my new favorite person".

"Is that because he's torturing them?" Aria asked, looking at Kol in slight amusement.

"Yeap" Kol replied, making Aria laugh.

"How did you compel everyone here?" Elena asked confused, when she realised, no one was noticing what was happening.

"Place opens at 8, all of you got here at 9, do the math, college girl" Enzo said, he then turned to Stefan, "I will gladly release them once you admit that you killed Maggie".

"I would love to, except I have absolutely no idea who she is" Stefan snapped.

"That's what this is for, police found it on her body at the crime scene" Enzo said, opening Maggie's diary, "June 10th, 1951, I found a job at a pre-school, I love the kids, but still I feel lost, listless, march, 1953, while my girlfriends have all found love, for some reason I can't seem to connect with anyone, as if a part of my soul is missing or dead, my sister said there are more men in the city, maybe I'll move, now it turns out she actually did move to the city in 1958, and in the move, she uncovered a box that she hadn't touched in years, medical journals from 1950, covered in notes about a special vampire patient named 12144, of course when she came back, Whitmore House had burned and it was concluded that I had perished in the fire, you're a journal man, aren't you, Stefan?".

"This is ridiculous, in 1960, I was cleaned up" Stefan said, "I was barely feeding on people, let alone killing them".

"Aria, love, please call Damon" Enzo said, getting annoyed with Stefan.

"He's not going to answer my call" Aria said.

"You really underestimate Damon's desire to hear your lovely voice" Enzo said.

Aria sighed, but nonetheless, took her phone out and called Damon, "If he doesn't answer, then don't say I didn't warn you".

"He will answer" Enzo said.

Aria waited a moment, and just as she was about to hang up, Damon picked the phone up.

"Hey" Damon whispered, not excepting Aria to call him.

Before Aria could say anything, Enzo snatched the phone from her hand.

"Hey!" Aria complained, "You have to stop doing that Enzo".

Enzo ignored Aria, and started talking to a very confused Damon, "I take it you don't have Stefan's diaries handy, I need you to check his journal for an entry on November 8th, 1960".

"Me and Kol burned all of Stefan's journals, why?" Damon asked.

"Ah, just trying to settle a little debate" Enzo replied, "No matter, I'm right".

"Enzo, why are you with Aria?" Damon asked.

"Yeah about that, how are you hanging in there, man?" Enzo asked, "I heard you exiled Aria from your eye-line".

"Enzo, what's going on?" Damon asked, getting impatient.

"Relax Damon, I'm not going to hurt a pregnant girl, but I might kill either Stefan or Elena" Enzo said, "Eye for an eye and all that".

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Enzo" Damon warned, getting worried, "You have your murder voice on, I need you to speak very slowly, very calmly, and tell me what the hell the problem is".

"The problem, if you must know, is my girl, Maggie, the one who got away, turns out she didn't get away for long" Enzo said, "Your ripper of a ex-brother took a bit bite out of her neck membrane in the 60s".

"The sixties?" Damon asked confused, "Stefan wasn't even--".

"Gotta jet, mate" Enzo interrupted, "Nothing personal, just a bit of revenge, you understand", Enzo hanged up on Damon, "Any history majors in the house?!" he yelled, but no one said anything, "Ah, trick question, I compelled them all not to speak or react, never mind, we'll use this", Enzo started typing on Aria's phone, "1960, let's see, Ford Thunderbirds, Lincoln Continentals, unseasonably cold that year, Tuesday, November 8th, John F. Kennedy was running for president".

"Election night" Stefan recalled, having met a women who was looking to kill Damon as revenge for leaving Enzo in the fire.

"That was Maggie?" Elena asked.

"Now we're getting somewhere" Enzo said.

"Ahh!" Aria yelled suddenly.

"Ri!", "Aria!", Kol and Rebekah yelled, in worry.

"I'm fine, I'm okay" Aria whispered, sitting down, "The babies are restless, Enzo, just continue your thing, I'm fine".

"I'm going to get you a muffin" Rebekah said.

"Thank you" Aria said, as Rebekah walked away.

"I didn't kill her, I was just trying to scare her into leaving town" Stefan told Enzo.

"So it was the other ripper in Mystic Falls then" Enzo said sarcastically, walking over to Bonnie.

"I have no reason to lie to you, Enzo" Stefan said.

Bonnie yelled in shock, as Enzo grabbed her neck, "Are your lies worth Bonnie's life?".

"Bonnie!" Elena yelled.

"Kill her!" Kol yelled.

"Shh" Aria said, lightly slapping Kol's shoulder.

"What exactly happens if you die, anyways?" Enzo asked Bonnie.

"Nothing" Kol replied, making Aria put her hand over his mouth.

"Just watch, no talking" Aria said.

Kol removed Aria's hand from his mouth, "I can't help it, this is my dream come true seeing these three suffer".

"You're unbelievable" Aria laughed.

"Let go of me" Bonnie snapped.

"Aren't you technically already dead?" Enzo asked, "Should we find out?".

"Stop" Stefan demanded, "You're right, I killed Maggie, I tore out her throat and I ripped her head off, I completely forgot about her until now, that's the truth, now let her go".

"You know it amazes me how you're so willing to put your life on risk for both Elena and Bonnie, yet how many times have you put Aria's life in danger?" Kol asked Stefan, "It's pathetic really".

Enzo ripped a piece of the wooden chair, and threw it at Stefan, which went right through his stomach, making him yell in pain.

***

"Why the sudden interest in Mystic Falls history?" Liz asked Damon.

"Because I have a doubt, and I need to confirm it" Damon replied.

"Okay then, 1960" Liz said, looking through numerous file.

"Yeah" Damon said.

"There was a mugging reported November 9th" Liz informed.

"No, no, no, it has to be the 8th, he's very specific about the 8th" Damon said.

"Okay well, that would be Maggie James" Liz said, handing Damon a file, "Died November 8th, 1960, unresolved homicide, possible serial killer".

Damon started looking through the file and immediately realised his doubt was right, "Ooh" he said, "My doubt was right, Stefan didn't kill Enzo's girl".

"How do you know?" Liz asked slightly confused.

"Because I did" Damon confessed.

***

"Where were we, then?" Enzo asked, walking over to Stefan, and twisting the stake in his stomach, making him yell in pain.

"Stop, you made your point" Elena snapped.

"Sorry, what was that?" Enzo asked, pretending not to hear Elena, "I couldn't hear you over all the screaming".

"I don't think the babies agree with torture" Aria mumbled, wincing in pain.

"Ri, what's going on?" Kol asked concerned.

"The babies won't stop kicking" Aria mumbled.

"Do you want to go back to your room?" Kol asked.

"No" Aria replied, shaking her head, "Don't worry about me Kol, I'm going to be fine".

"If there's too much pain, tell me, okay?" Kol said, Aria didn't say anything just nodded.

"I used to scream too" Enzo said, taking the stake out of Stefan's stomach, "But for me, it wasn't so much the sharp instruments as it was the fingers, all those bloody fingers", Enzo shoved his hand into Stefan's chest, "Like I was a bowl of dough".

"Well, this is depressing" Damon commented, entering the café, causing Enzo to let go of Stefan, "Is the stadium seating really necessary? These people are starting to creep me out".

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a veiled attempt to get me to release the damn hostages" Enzo snapped.

"I'm sorry, was that veiled?" Damon asked, "Release the damn hostages".

"Dammit!" Aria yelled, gaining Damon's attention.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked concerned.

"The babies won't stop kicking her" Kol replied, holding on to Aria's hand.

"Take her out of her, she needs rest" Damon said.

"No" Aria stated, "I can't leave, somethings about to happen, I can't leave".

"Aria--".

"Damon, I can't leave" Aria stated, "I feel like something really bad is about to happen, I have to stay".

"Whose side are you on?" Enzo asked Damon, taking his attention off of Aria.

"If you think I will ever take Stefan's side, then you're an idiot" Damon snapped, "I'm here to do the right thing, against my better judgment".

"You were there with me in Augustine, don't tell me you've forgotten what it was like to cling on to the one thing that kept you from feeling pain" Enzo snapped.

"Enzo, I get it" Damon said, "The prospect of seeing Maggie again was your safety line to the outside world, the one thing that kept you from shutting it off, but she's gone, there's probably a chapter in Aria's psych book about it, what are you two, study buddies now?" he asked Kol and Aria.

"I don't study psychological genius" Aria snapped, wincing in pain.

Damon looked at Aria, then at her stomach, "If I wasn't trying to be a good person, a good father, a good boyfriend, then I would have never admitted this, but since I am trying to do that, I'll tell you, I didn't know she was your Maggie, Enzo".

Enzo looked at Damon in shock, "What are you talking about?".

"She didn't tell me her name when we met" Damon replied.

"And when exactly was that?" Enzo asked.

"November 8th, 1960" Damon replied, "I'd gotten a message at the house, saying a lady wanted to buy me a drink, naturally, I was curious, at the time my humanity was still off, when Maggie tried to vervain me, I realised she was from Augustine, so I ripped her head off, had she got me with that vervain injection things would have been very different, but she didn't stand a chance against me".

"And you made it look like I did it?" Stefan asked shocked.

"Maggie was the hope Enzo clung to, at that time, you were mine, and when you didn't notice that I was missing for five years, let's just say I held a grudge" Damon replied.

"You killed Maggie" Enzo whispered shocked.

"I didn't even bat an eye" Damon admitted, "My switch was off, Enzo, I did a lot of terrible things, but I didn't do it to make your life miserable from every angle, I did it because I didn't care, so do whatever it is you gotta do, you wanna kill me, you wanna hate me, do it".

"Well, that's the problem, Damon" Enzo said, tears in his eyes, "I don't wanna hate you, because if I hate you then I have nothing left, but there is another option".

"Enzo, don't" Rebekah warned.

Realising what Enzo was about to do, Aria used her magic to threw him on to the floor, stopping him from turning his humanity off.

"No" Aria snapped, slowly standing up, ignoring the constant kicking, "You are not going to turn your humanity off Enzo".

"And whose going to stop me?" Enzo asked, standing up.

"I am" Aria replied, "Turning your humanity off is a cheat Enzo, it's not going fix anything, it's not going to bring Maggie back, and it's not going to help you forget about her".

"I'm all alone Aria" Enzo snapped, "I have no one".

"That's not true" Rebekah said, "You still have Damon, he is still your friend, I admit he made a mistake by killing Maggie, but he didn't know who she was, and his humanity was off, you turning your humanity off isn't going to fix anything, it's going to make the pain go away but only for a little bit, because then you're going to have to turn your humanity back on one day, and all the pain and grief that you refused to deal with is going to rush back in".

"You're angry, and you're in pain" Aria said, "You want to scream at Damon? Go for it, you want to punch him? Do it, but I won't let you turn your humanity off, Enzo, since I've woken up I've had a feeling that someone is going to die today, and I have a feeling that if you turn your humanity off, that death is going to be yours, so please don't do this".

"Why do you two even care?" Enzo asked, looking between Aria and Rebekah.

"Because you were there for Damon when he needed someone, you reminded him that turning his humanity off isn't going to fix anything" Aria replied, "And now you need someone to be there for you, to remind you the same thing".

"You're not alone Enzo" Rebekah said, "Let us help you get through this".

Enzo looked between Rebekah and Aria, then at Damon who was looking at him in worry.

"I'll make it up to you Enzo, no matter what" Damon said, "Just give me a chance to make things right".

"Come on Enzo" Kol said, "Like Ri and Rebekah said, you're not alone, we're right here".

Enzo hesitated, "I need a moment alone" he said.

"Enzo--".

"I'm not turning it off" Enzo told Aria, "I just need some air".

"Well, I'm coming with you then" Rebekah stated.

"No, you're not" Enzo said.

"Yes, I am" Rebekah said, "I don't trust you not to turn it off as soon as you step out of here".

Enzo didn't say anything, just walked out the café, with Rebekah quickly following.

Aria looked at Damon, who was already looking at her, before Aria could say anything, her vision suddenly started getting blurry.

"Damon" Aria whispered, holding on to her head as she started feeling dizzy.

"Aria, what's wrong?" Damon asked, stepping closer to Aria.

Before Aria could say anything, her vision went black, but before she could hit the ground, Damon quickly grabbed her.

"Aria!" Damon yelled, patting Aria's cheeks, "Hey Ria, wake up, please, wake up".

"Damon, we need to take her to the hospital" Kol said, equally as worried.

Damon nodded, and without wasting any second, he picked Aria in his arms and rushed towards the hospital.

***

"Is she okay?" Damon asked Meredith, as soon as she stepped out of Aria's hospital room, "Are the babies okay?".

"Damon, Aria fainted because of stress" Meredith replied, "It seems like she hasn't been taking proper care of herself from the past few days".

"Things have been rough" Damon admitted, "It hasn't been easy for either of us".

"You need to take better care of her Damon, she might be a tribrid, but she's pregnant, not taking good care of her is going to effect the lives of her and the babies" Meredith said, "Her delivery date isn't far now, these are not the days that you start neglecting her".

"Can we see her?" Kol asked, when Damon stayed quiet, guilt rising in his heart.

"You can" Meredith replied, "But she's asleep right now, she needs it because it seemed like she hasn't been sleeping well either".

"I won't wake her up" Damon assured.

"Then you two can go" Meredith said, walking away.

"You coming?" Kol asked Damon, when he made no effort in walking towards Aria's room.

"I can't" Damon whispered.

"Don't do this" Kol warned, "Not again Damon, you promised you won't walk away from her again".

"She's in the hospital because of me Kol" Damon snapped, "I caused her stress, this is my fault".

"And what do you think walking away again is going to do to her?" Kol asked, "You think that's not going to stress her out even more? Stop being a bloody coward, and go in there, I'm going to call Caroline, Rebekah told her about Ri and now she's freaking out back in New Orleans".

Without hearing anything else from Damon, Kol walked away from Damon, after a little bit of hesitation, Damon stepped towards Aria's hospital room, he placed his hand on the door handle, and after taking a deep breath, he entered the hospital room.

Entering the room, Damon saw Aria sleeping on the hospital bed, Damon walked over and sat next to Aria's bed, and held her hand.

"I'm sorry" Damon whispered, looking at Aria's stomach, "I promise I'm going to start taking better care of your mother and you guys, I'm going to do better, I promise", Damon placed a kiss on Aria's hand, he removed the hair from Aria's face and stared at her face, "I'll do better" he whispered.

***

Presenting 5x19 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Enzo capturing Stefan, Elena and Bonnie?

Thoughts on Aria and Rebekah stopping Enzo from turning his humanity off? I went with this route because if Enzo turned it off, then I would have to kill him and I can't be asked, plus we got to see a little glimpse of Aria and Enzo, alongside Rebekah and Enzo.

Thoughts on Aria fainting?

Thoughts on Damon promising to start doing better?