CHAPTER TEN

"So, how's your day been?" Carter asks as he walks back into his dorm room at Whitmore. Nyx has spent the whole day in his and Tyler's room with the twins — the boys have been in class.

"Amazing." Nyx smiles as she turns to look at him. "I can't believe how big they are, and how different they are from each other. I mean, they have different favorite toys, and..." She chuckles. "I could literally go on for hours, but I won't bore you with stuff that you probably already know."

"It's really good to see you. Especially to see you so happy." He says, and she smiles.

"I mean, they're just..." Her smile widens, and he chuckles. "God, they're great. And they know me, Carter. They know that I'm their mom. I owe Vicki, Lexi, and Bobby the whole frickin world." She says. "The only thing that could make this any better..." She looks down as her smile falls.

"Is if Dean were here." He says, and she nods.

"I miss him so much." She sighs as she sits on the foot of Tyler's bed. "I spent two and a half months avoiding talking about him because it hurt too damn much. Instead I cried myself to sleep in Jess' room every single night. And then Damon finally convinced me that I should talk about him. So, I did. I told jokes and talked about my favorite memories. I told him all of the annoying things that Dean did, that I refused to admit to him that I thought was cute. And then I cried some more, wishing I had told him."

"I can only imagine what that year must've looked like to you on the Other Side, but he—"

"He loved me. He loved the twins." She nods. "I know. It looked like he was in pain, and he was grieving. I don't like what those first five months looked like. But those last seven, seeing him with the twins..." She smiles as she looks up at him, a sad smile. "I was there on Christmas — I think that was my favorite. I saw them at the little Santa's Village place, and he refused to let the twins anywhere near the Santa. He was creepy, and... And the way he was with Everly." She chuckles. "He was being overprotective, and it was the most adorable thing in the entire world."

"Are you gonna be okay?" He asks, and she takes a deep breath as she stands up.

"I guess we'll find out. Although, I'm not sure I have a choice." She looks at the twins, who are now asleep. "They need me to be."

"If anyone can survive this, it's you." He says, and she smiles. He still doesn't know that Dean's alive, they haven't had a chance to tell him because he keeps pretty busy most days.

"Can you keep an eye on them for a minute?" She asks. "I think I left my phone in Elena's room this morning. I wanna go take a look. I'll only be a few minutes."

"Yeah, no problem."

"And when I get back, I want to hear all about how you're crushing on Liv." She says, and he laughs as she walks past him.

Nyx walks into Elena's room, and Vicki looks at her. "Hey, I was looking for Caroline. Do you know where she is?"

"Uh, looking for Enzo, I think. I don't know. I left my phone here all day." Nyx tells her.

"You two know Enzo." A male voice gets their attention, and they turn around.

"Who the hell are you?" She questions.

He pulls a gun from behind his back, and the two girls see that it's loaded with vervain darts. The veins come out under Vicki's eyes, and he raises the gun to shoot her. She catches the dart and throws it back at him.

The man groans when it enters his leg and then he pulls a stake out. Nyx runs at him and grabs it. She holds the stake to his throat, with his back to her chest.

"Who are you?" She repeats, but then she's hit with three darts in her back. She turns and sees two men, who then shoot Vicki with the vervain darts. Both girls go down.

—

Nyx groans as she comes to in the back of a van. The first person she sees is Enzo. She sighs as she pushes herself into a sitting position.

"Morning, sunshine." He greets, and she looks to her side and sees Vicki waking up as well.

"What the hell?" She mutters.

"Glad to see you found your way back. Did you bring anyone with you?"

"Damon." She tells him.

"Mm." He nods. "Too bad I didn't get a chance to see him. We're headed to Mystic Falls — known for bridges, quaint small-town charm, and a really big vampire bug zapper."

"No." She pulls on the chains that are connecting her to the van. "I have to get back to my babies."

"Sorry, love. I don't see that happening."

"Someone could've told me that there was a hunter in town." She says as she looks around and sees blood on the van walls.

"No kidding." Vicki says as she pulls on her chains. "Any ideas?"

"Not really." Nyx looks at Enzo. "Little help?"

"I've been stuck with him for days. If I could've found a way out, I'd have done it already." He tells her.

"Great." She shakes her head. "I'm gonna leave my babies orphaned again. I'm officially the worst mother ever." She says as she starts pulling more violently at the chains.

"Actually..." Vicki starts. "They...won't be orphans." She tells her.

"What?" Nyx looks at her, brows furrowed.

"We don't exactly know how, but Dean's alive. He showed up at the house a few hours before you and Damon got back." She says. "We tested him with silver and holy water — it's definitely him. Something pulled him out of hell, but we don't know what."

"He's..." She takes a deep breath. "So, the twins will have him?" She asks, and Vicki nods. "I guess there's that, but..." She doesn't want to leave them without a mom. And she wants so badly to raise them with him. "Does he know that I'm alive?"

"No. He and Bobby went looking for Sam before you and Damon came back. Lexi's supposed to tell him when they get home."

They suddenly come to a stop, and the three vampires look at each other. Then Nyx and Vicki hear a familiar voice.

"Evening." Ric greets the driver. "I'm trying to get my buddy to a bachelor party, and our car just stopped. Think you can help us out?"

"Papa Bear?" Vicki asks, and Nyx chuckles.

"Uh, I don't know anything about cars." The man driving the van tells him.

"Yeah. Uh, well, maybe you could give us a ride then." Ric continues.

"Who's that?" Enzo asks.

"Ric." Nyx says with a smile. "He's up to something. Gotta love my father-figure."

They hear glass shatter and then there's a struggle. The van suddenly launches forward again, and the vampires in the back all get bounced around. The van flips, and they all end up on the roof.

Nyx groans as a cut in her abdomen opens up and she starts bleeding out. Enzo's coughing up blood. Ric's outside the van in a similar position as Nyx, and he's coughing up blood as well.

—

Lexi's pacing back and forth in the living room, and she sighs when she hears two cars pull up outside. The door opens, and she stops pacing.

"Hey, the twins asleep?" Dean asks, and she nods.

"I think so, probably."

"Is Vicki with them?"

"No." She shakes her head. "Stefan said that he thought Carter had them. So, I checked, and he does. So, they're safe."

"Are they not here?" He questions, getting angry. "Lexi?"

"Vicki took them to Virginia." She says as she turns around to face him. "Try to remember that they like me, and they'll be sad if you kill me."

"Why are my kids in Virginia?" He's trying to contain his anger, but it doesn't help when she checks her phone. "Lexi!"

"I... Okay." She takes a deep breath as she taps her phone against the palm of her hand. "You guys left to find Sam, and then Stefan called me. He told me some...shocking news. And Vicki needed to take the twins. And now things are complicated, and I'm waiting for an update. Fill you in later." She turns around.

"What news?" He asks, and she sighs as she stops walking.

"Damon's alive."

"Vicki needed to take my kids to Virginia because Damon's alive?" He questions, and she turns around to look at him. His face softens as he realizes what she's not saying outright. "Is Nycole alive, Lexi?"

"Nyx came back with him, and she spent the day with the twins." She tells him. "She left them with Carter and went to get her phone from Elena's dorm. Then she and Vicki were taken by a new hunter in town. Stefan, Ric, and some new friend of hers and Damon's were waiting on route nine at the border of Mystic Falls. I was on the phone with Stefan, and then there was this loud crash. He said that they went over the border, and then he just hung up. I haven't been able to get him back on the phone."

Bobby turns away from them, running a hand down his face before taking his hat off.

"Why is that such a big deal?" Dean asks, looking between the two of them.

"The Travelers cast a spell over Mystic Falls before they died. The town is a magic-free zone, so if a vampire crosses the border, the magic that makes them a vampire is stripped away." She tells him. "So, if they're over there..."

"She's dying."

"Nyx, Vicki, Enzo... And if Stefan or Ric cross the border to save them, then the spell affects them too." She shakes her head. "I don't know what's going on, or if any of them are alive anymore. Vicki and Nyx could be... I'm sorry, Dean. I'll let you know as soon as he calls me back." She says, and he nods before turning around and walking out of the house.

—

One of Nyx's chains broke in the chaos of the crash, and she presses her hand to her bleeding stomach. "Son of a bitch."

"Consumption. Wasn't much fun the first time around either." Enzo says as the van door is busted open.

"Nyx?" Jess rushes over to her.

Nycole turns her head and looks over at Vicki just as her head snaps to the side. "No!" She screams, knowing that Vicki's now dead. "No, no, no, no. Vicki!" Tears start streaming down her cheeks as Jess makes Stefan get Enzo out of the van, then Mystic Falls.

"I need you to hold on." Jess says, talking to her best friend. "I was pre-med in college, remember? And that wasn't three years ago for me — so, let's see if I'm still any good."

"Vicki."

"I can't help her." She sighs. "I'm sorry." She says as she slows the bleeding.

Take her hand.

Nyx looks around when she hears a voice in her head. "Wha..."

Take her hand. Do it now.

Nycole reaches for Vicki, tears still streaming down her face. Jess is doing chest compressions, and Nyx can hear a woman outside yelling for Alaric to stay with her. He went over the border too, and she knows it.

Vicki's dead. Ric is dying. Nyx is dying.

"No." Nyx looks up at Jessica as she starts to lose consciousness. She fights to keep her eyes open, and an image flashes through her mind: the twins sound asleep only an hour ago. "No!"

A burst of warmth and energy surges through Nyx, and Vicki suddenly gasps as she sits up. Jess looks between the two of them, confused as they both sit up.

"Are we still in Mystic Falls?" Vicki asks, seeing that they're still in the flipped van.

"Yeah." The blonde nods.

"How..."

"You were dead." Jess says. "And Nyx, you..." She shakes her head.

Nyx grabs the bottom of her shirt and pulls it up to find that there's no wound there anymore. "I should be dead. Rebekah compelled that man to kill me — that wound killed me." She looks at her two friends. "How the hell are we alive right now?"

"I have no idea." Vicki says, and Jessica shakes her head.

"Oh my God. Ric." Nyx says, and she starts pulling on her other chain again.