06. Handle With Care

An extremely hungover Brayden was woken up by a voice he definitely didn't want to hear the first thing in the morning.

"Morning, sleepy head" Qetsiyah greeted, kneeling by the couch Brayden was sleeping on, as soon as Qetsiyah's voice reached his ears, an annoyed Brayden shot up and glared at the two thousand year old witch for disturbing his sleep, "Sleep well?".

"I was till you disturbed me" Brayden said, he then started looking around and realised somehow he was back in Qetsiyah's cabin, immediately he was confused as he had no memory of coming here last night.

"You're confused" Qetsiyah observed, "Is that the amnesia or the tequila?".

"Both" Brayden said, holding his head in his hands, "What the hell happened last night?".

Qetsiyah sat next to Brayden, a teasing smirk on her face, "We bonded over our misery, there were body shots, the misery lifted, here", Qetsiyah held out a small bowl infront of Brayden, "Berries".

"I will take that" Brayden said, taking the bowl of berries from Qetsiyah's hand, "Also, drunk or not, I'm not stupid to do body shots from you, you're really not my type".

"Are you sure about that?" Qetsiyah asked.

"A hundred percent" Brayden replied, putting some berries in his mouth, "Now that we know it's not the body shots that made you happy, mind telling me why you're in such a good mood so early in the morning?".

"I happened to see a text message pop up on your phone after you crashed last night" Qetsiyah revealed, "A warning from your brothers, Silas took the cure, he's a witch".

"So?" a confused Brayden asked.

"He's mortal, and now I can kill him" Qetsiyah clarified, "Get up gorgeous, your ancestor dies today, Silas is looking for the Anchor" Qetsiyah stood up from the couch and walked over to the table and started organising the flowers on the table, "It's the object I used to bind the spell when I created the other side, destroy it, the spell's broken, no more supernatural limbo, then Silas can die and find peace, I'd rather his lying, cheating ass not have that".

"That's a great plan" an annoyed Brayden said, really fed up of Qetsiyah's constant talking, "It will definitely work, but where the hell is this anchor?".

"New Jersey" Qetsiyah revealed, "Something Silas also knows after the bastard tricked me into thinking he was Stefan, and while I was distracted, he read my mind".

"That's mean your at a disadvantage" Brayden pointed out, "Silas is probably going to that place now with my brothers, what are you going to do?".

"You know that old ancient story I told you about the travelers?" Qetsiyah asked.

"No" Brayden said, trying to remember when Qetsiyah told him about the travelers.

"Oh right, I fried your brain and took your memories, sorry" Qetsiyah said, not even slightly apologetic, making Brayden glare at her, "Well, the travelers--you know how Silas wants to destroy the other side so he can be at peace with that slut Amara that he calls his one true love? The travelers don't want that".

"And why's that?" a curious Brayden asked.

"Not important" Qetsiyah replied, "Scratch that, very important, I'm just not gonna answer it".

"Okay, you're really starting to do my head in" Brayden said, grabbing the half empty alcohol bottle and taking a massive swig out of it.

"The travelers have been in possession of the anchor for two thousand years" Qetsiyah continued, "They constantly move it so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands, and they're not gonna let him get near it, at least not before I kill him".

"And have you thought about what happens if the travelers fail to stop him?" Brayden asked.

"He won't destroy it, he won't be able it" Qetsiyah stated.

"And why's that?" Brayden asked.

"Let's just file that under the not gonna answer it category" Qetsiyah replied.

"Oh god, you are so annoying" Brayden said, laying back on the couch, "You know what? One good think about this amnesia is, I don't really give a crap about Silas and what he's doing, no memories, not my problem".

Qetsiyah chuckled, "Rest easy, sweet pea" she said, kneeling by Brayden, "All you have to care about is that Silas is going to die today, and he will spend eternity on the other side as far away from Amara, and peace, as possible", Qetsiyah stood up and moved towards the door, "I have it all covered".

"Good on you" Brayden said, giving Qetsiyah a thumbs up.

Qetsiyah opened the front door, "You don't scheme as long as I have without considering every possibility" she continued, she went to step out of the cabin but quickly realised she couldn't because a invisible barrier was blocking her.

A confused Brayden sat up and looked at Qetsiyah like she has lost her mind, "Why are you hitting the air?" he asked, seeing Qetsiyah bang her fist on nothing.

A furious Qetsiyah shut the front door and faced Brayden again, "Silas put a spell on this cabin" she informed, "We're stuck here until sundown".

"And how the hell do you know that?" Brayden asked.

"Because I taught him the damn spell" Qetsiyah revealed.

***

After realising he was trapped in the cabin with Qetsiyah till sundown, Brayden decided to go shower and get rid of the hangover he was feeling from drinking himself to oblivion last night.

While Brayden was in the shower, he had left his phone on the table in the living room where Qetsiyah sat, hearing Brayden's phone ring, caused a curious Qetsiyah to grab it and see who was calling, a smirk formed on her face seeing Caroline's name.

"Brayden's phone" Qetsiyah answered.

"Who the hell are you?" a confused and jealous Caroline asked, wondering why a girl was answering her soulmate's phone.

"The witch responsible for taking your soulmates memories away" Qetsiyah replied.

"Qetsiyah" Caroline realised, "Where's Brayden?".

"He's here, well, not here, here" Qetsiyah replied, "He hopped in the shower, between us girls, he works up quite the sweat, but I guess you know that".

"Yeah, you're gonna have to try harder then that to create a misunderstanding between me and Brayden" Caroline snapped, she knew Brayden will never sleep with another woman, ever since he found out that they're soulmates and he's forgotten their memories, Brayden has been going out of his way to make sure Caroline knows that with or without his memories, she is someone that is extremely important to him, no matter what.

"May I leave him a message?" Qetsiyah asked, slightly annoyed seeing Caroline's trust on Brayden.

"Yeah, tell him to leave the crazy bitch who took his memories away and come back home to his soulmate" Caroline said.

"I don't know, I think he's enjoying his time here" Qetsiyah teased, hanging up on an angry Caroline.

***

Qetsiyah opened the front door of her cabin, a smirk formed on her face seeing Caroline on the other side.

"Well, if it isn't the woman standing between Brayden and his fated love" Qetsiyah taunted.

"Where's Brayden?" Caroline asked, wanting to make sure the crazy witch hadn't done something else to her soulmate.

"Come on in" Qetsiyah said, stepping out of Caroline's way, "I'll allow you and Brayden some alone time before he makes his way over to Kaitlynn".

Caroline rolled her eyes at Qetsiyah's words but nonetheless entered the cabin, as soon as she entered, she saw Brayden coming out of the room, drying his wet hair with a towel.

"Brayden" Caroline whispered, a smile forming on her face when she realised he was okay.

Hearing Caroline's voice, Brayden looked up and immediately a frown came on his face when he realised Caroline had stepped into the cabin.

"Oh, Caroline" Brayden whispered, "Why did you step inside?".

Caroline frowned hearing Brayden's words, "Why?" she asked, suddenly feeling both angry and jealous, "Did I disturb your time with the crazy witch?".

"What?" a confused Brayden asked.

"Did you sleep with her?" Caroline asked, jealously fully taking over her brain, "Is that why you don't want me here? I mean I know that you don't have your memories but if you've slept with--".

"I didn't sleep with her" Brayden interrupted Caroline's rant.

"No?" Caroline asked.

"No" an amused Brayden confirmed.

"Oh" Caroline whispered, suddenly feeling stupid.

"Oh" Brayden chuckled, finding Caroline's facial expression extremely adorable, "Tell me something, why would you think I was sleeping with Tessa?".

"I don't know, ask her" Caroline mumbled, "She told me, at first I didn't blame her, but then you told me I shouldn't be here, so--".

"So you over thought everything" Brayden finished.

"Yeap" Caroline whispered.

 "I am so bad with messages" Qetsiyah said, gaining the attention of the two soulmates, "Oh, look, Caroline called, she's wondering why you're here, I may have embellished for effect".

Caroline looked at Brayden, "I didn't come here because I don't trust you, because I do, I trust you so much, I came here to make sure she didn't do a love spell on your or anything like that, because honestly it sucks you having no memories but if you fell in love with someone else that will literally kill me, so, yeah".

Brayden stepped closer to Caroline, he cupped her face in his hands, "Caroline, I'm not falling in love with anyone else", Brayden had to stop himself from telling Caroline that he was falling in love with her, he didn't want to have this conversation infront of Qetsiyah.

"Then why did you not want me inside here?" a confused Caroline asked.

"Because now that you're inside, you're not getting out" Qetsiyah revealed.

"What?" Caroline asked, she looked towards Brayden for answers, "What is she saying?".

Brayden sighed, "Like I said Caroline, you shouldn't have come inside this cabin, because now you're trapped in here along with us".

***

Damon, Stefan, Silas, Jeremy and Kaitlynn, who had finally been filled in on everything and though she wasn't happy with Damon and Stefan for trying to kill her sister, she couldn't be mad at them because Katherine was still alive.

The group had separated in the warehouse and were trying to find the anchor that was holding the other side together, while Damon was looking through the many crates, his phone suddenly started ringing, taking it out of his pocket, he realised his twin was calling him, Damon would be lying if he said he didn't miss having his twin around.

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise" Damon answered his phone, he was eager to talk to his brother, he knew he had to apologise and at this point he'll even hear Brayden's complaining, as long as they could go back to how they were.

"You ain't seen nothing yet", the small smile that had formed on his face immediately fell when he heard Qetsiyah's voice instead of Brayden's, "Since I'm occupied at the moment, I need you to go ahead and kill Silas for me".

"Gladly, but he's such a control freak that he wants to off himself, himself" Damon said.

"You mean after he destroys the other side?" Qetsiyah asked, "Yeah, that's not gonna happen, plus, I want him dead before he has the pleasure of finding the anchor".

"Yeah, I'm not following" Damon admitted.

"Kill him, now" Qetsiyah demanded, "Did I mention I have your brother and his soulmate here with me?", Qetsiyah suddenly started using her magic on Brayden, causing him to yell and hold his head in pain.

"What are you doing?!" Caroline yelled, rushing over to Brayden.

"Just stop! Stop it!" Damon yelled, not liking hearing his brother's screams, "I can't kill him yet, he has to do something for me first".

"Is that something more important than Brayden?" Qetsiyah asked, "Because Silas put a spell on this house and bound it to the sun which means we're trapped here until sundown, which means you have until then to kill Silas or I kill Brayden and then Caroline, bye now".

"Wait" Damon called out, but Qetsiyah ignored him and hanged up the phone, a furious Damon took the crowbar in his hand and smashed the crate near him, he didn't know what to do, if he didn't kill Silas then Brayden dies, but if he kills Silas, then Fae doesn't return and he loses Stefan, whatever he did, it seemed to him either way he was going to lose a brother.

***

Worried Brayden and Caroline sat on the dinning table together while Qetsiyah sat on the couch going through a magazine.

"Look at all the incredible things they've dreamt up to do with food" Qetsiyah said, "Pineapple on pizza? Mm", Qetsiyah looked towards Brayden and Caroline, "So sad, let me guess, gluten-free?".

"I'm not sad, I'm in pain" Brayden snapped, rubbing his forehead, his head still hurting from what Qetsiyah did.

Caroline rubbed Brayden's back and turned to Qetsiyah, "How did you even come back to our world?".

"Excuse me?" Qetsiyah asked.

"It's not a hard question, Tessa" Caroline snapped, "I'm asking how did you manage to become alive again?".

"Oh, yeah, that, you can blame your friend Bonnie for that" Qetsiyah replied.

"Bonnie is not my friend" Caroline said, after what Bonnie did to Fae, Caroline could never be friends with her.

Qetsiyah ignored Caroline's comment about Bonnie and continued talking, "She opened the door, distracted herself when she sacrificed Fae and brought Jeremy back to life, so I just walked right through".

"Silas was supposed to bring her back" Caroline whispered, having also been caught up on things.

Brayden looked at Caroline, confusion evident in his eyes, "What?".

"Damon and Stefan made a deal with Silas" Caroline revealed, "After they found the anchor, Silas was supposed to bring Fae back, but that's not going to happen now".

"And why's that?" a confused Brayden asked.

"Because Damon will never put anyone's life above yours, Brayden" Caroline replied, "I know you're angry at him and Stefan for what they did at the historical ball, trust me so was I, but you need to know, if they thought that neck snapping will truly harm you, they wouldn't have done it, especially Damon, he has always put your life above everybody else's, even his own, he always says that the relationship he has with you, is the one relationship he can't destroy at any cost".

Caroline's words made Brayden go silent for a moment, he then looked at Caroline, "Can I cook?".

"What?" Caroline asked.

"Can I cook?" Brayden repeated.

"Yeah, you're one of the best cooks I know" a confused Caroline said, wondering why Brayden was talking about food after everything she just said.

"What's my specialty?" Brayden asked.

"Chicken fettucine" Caroline replied, wondering if the memory loss has effected Brayden's brain.

"Great, I'll cook it then, I'm starving" Brayden said, standing up and walking over to the kitchen.

"What is happening?" Caroline wondered.

***

"Taste this" Brayden said, holding a spoonful of homemade pasta sauce towards Caroline, "And tell me if it's perfect or not".

"And everyone thinks I'm a perfectionist" Caroline teased.

"We both are, maybe that's why we're soulmates" Brayden teased back, "Now come on, taste".

Caroline let Brayden fed her the sauce, "Surprisingly, it's exactly how you always make it".

Brayden shrugged, "Natural talent, I guess" he said, making Caroline chuckle.

Qetsiyah rolled her eyes in annoyance at the duo, "Oh look, almost sundown" she said, gaining the duo's attention, "I wonder how your brother's doing Brayden", Qetsiyah grabbed Brayden's phone again and dialed Damon.

Seeing Qetsiyah distracted, Brayden turned back to cooking, "Act normal" he whispered to Caroline, "Don't react, I have a plan, I'm not going to let her even touch you".

"What's the plan?" Caroline whispered, realising nothing was wrong with Brayden, he was just busy thinking of a plan to save them, like he always does.

"Tell you when it succeeds" Brayden whispered back.

"Why isn't he picking up?" an annoyed Qetsiyah asked, waiting for Damon to pick his phone up.

"What?" Damon asked, finally answering the phone.

"Is he dead yet?" Qetsiyah asked, getting straight to the point.

Damon ignored Qetsiyah as he came face to face with Jeremy, "There you are, man up, we're under attack" he informed, handing Jeremy a crowbar, he then turned his attention back to Qetsiyah, "No, he's not dead yet, I was just ambushed by some of your inbred cousins, any idea why travelers who hate Silas would wanna stop me from killing him?".

"They probably want his blood" Qetsiyah concluded.

"For what?" a confused Damon asked.

"Silas drank the cure from Katherine, now his blood is the cure" Qetsiyah reminded.

"But they're not immortal, so who do they want it for?" Damon asked.

"Think about it, Damon" Qetsiyah said, "The travelers aren't fans of immortality, and I had to bind the other side to something, something that would last forever, something that Silas couldn't destroy".

"What, his favorite childhood sled?" Damon asked, having no idea where Qetsiyah was taking this.

"Something a little closer to his heart" Qetsiyah clarified, "Two thousand years old, immortal, indestructible, you're a quick boy Damon, figure it out".

As soon as Qetsiyah hanged up on Damon, she turned around to face Brayden and Caroline again, when suddenly Brayden speeded over to her and stabbed her in the stomach, he then threw on to the floor, and after grabbing Caroline's hand, quickly rushed out the cabin.

***

"Staying the night?" Brayden asked, as he and Caroline entered the boarding house together.

"Will that be a problem?" Caroline asked, a smile on her face.

Brayden smiled and shook his head, "Absolutely not".

Caroline chuckled, "You know, today made me realise something".

"What?" a curious Brayden asked.

"That I really need to start listening to Kaitlynn more" Caroline admitted.

"Kaitlynn?" a confused Brayden asked, wondering where she came in all this.

"When you lost your memoires, I was so afraid to face you, but Kaitlynn insisted that with or without your memories you will always be Brayden" Caroline said, "The Brayden who will fight everyone just to make sure I was safe, I mean you're the one who Tessa wanted to kill, yet you made sure she doesn't hurt me".

Brayden shrugged, "That was instinct" he admitted.

"It's nice to know that even without your memories your instincts are to protect me" Caroline said.

"I guess whatever I feel for you runs deeper then anything I've ever known" Brayden said, "I don't need memories to protect you, to realise that you're amazing, to know that I'm extremely lucky that you chose me".

Caroline shook her head, "You're not the lucky one Brayden, it's me".

Brayden shook his head, he stepped closer to Caroline and placed one of his hand on her cheek, "I wish you could see yourself from my eyes, then you'd realise whose truly the lucky one".

Caroline and Brayden glanced into each other's eyes, they slowly leaned forward and just as they were about to kiss each other, the front door slammed open, immediately causing the two soulmates to separate from each other and look towards the door where Brayden's twin and his girlfriend stood.

Kaitlynn slapped Damon's shoulder in annoyance, "Couldn't you have opened the door softly, they were about to kiss, idiot".

"How was I supposed to know that?" Damon asked, rubbing his shoulder.

Brayden shook his head at the two and turned back to Caroline, "Uh, see you tomorrow?".

Caroline nodded her head, "Mm-hm" she simply said, no other words or sounds coming out of her mouth.

After giving Caroline another smile, Brayden went upstairs towards his room, ignoring the teasing looks Damon was giving him.

"Shut up" Caroline told Kaitlynn, seeing the smile on her face.

"I didn't even say anything" Kaitlynn defended, as Caroline went towards the guest room.

"Your smile said a lot" Damon teased.

"Shut up" Kaitlynn said, "I'm just really happy for them".

Damon put his arm around his girlfriend and kissed the side of her head, "Me too" he said, making Kaitlynn smile at him.

***

A smiling Brayden entered his bedroom, but that smile immediately went away when he saw Qetsiyah sitting on his bed.

"What the hell do you want now?" an annoyed Brayden asked, tired of dealing with her the whole day.

"Do you have any idea what it's like watching history repeat itself?" Qetsiyah asked.

"Are you here for me to heal you?" Brayden asked, wondering why Qetsiyah was here, "Because no offense, I don't think I will".

"That's not what I'm here for" Qetsiyah said, slowly standing up, "See, memories are important, I made a mistake when I found you, I eased your pain, you used to have a lot of pain, remember?".

Before Brayden could say anything snarky, Qetsiyah started using her magic on him, immediately causing Brayden to yell in pain and fall to the ground while holding his head in his hands.

"Your father despised you, and your own brother forced you to become a vampire" Qetsiyah said, slowly returning Brayden's many memories back to him, "The woman you fell in love with hid herself from you for over a century while you prepared to rescue her from a tomb she was never in, you would have fell into a pit of despair if it wasn't for her, your soulmate, Caroline Forbes, a soulmate who believed you walked away from her when in reality you were in pain, physical pain, torture, remember? You were trapped in the safe, tossed in the quarry, water flooded in, you tried to scream, you tried to escape, but all you could do was drown, over, and over, and over again, the only thing keeping you same was the hope that one day one of the three people you loved, they'd come rescue you, but they didn't, I did, always remember that".

As soon as Qetsiyah's magic on him stopped, Brayden laid there on the floor, his breathing heavy while he remembered everything he went through, including the last three months in the safe where no one came to rescue, not his brothers and not his soulmate.

***

Presenting 5x06 of They Don't Know About Us!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Brayden getting trapped in the cabin with Qetsiyah?

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Thoughts on Brayden attacking Qetsiyah to protect Caroline?

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