17. Rescue Me

"Dean!" A ten year old girl yelled, running over to the writer.

"Hey sweetheart" Dean greeted, kneeling infront of the girl, "How can I help you?".

"Dean, I love your writing so much" The girl said, "My mom bought your poetry book, and she reads it to me everyday, I'm in love with you".

Dean chuckled, "I really appericate you liking my work".

"Can I please have your autograph?" The girl asked, handing Dean his book.

"Of course you can" Dean replied, signing the girl's book.

Aria gasped and sat up in shock, taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down from the vision she just had.

"Ria?" Damon said, looking at Aria in concern, "Are you okay?".

"The travelers took my blood to keep track of Dean, according to them his my original soulmate and we have a link, using my blood, they're going to keep putting visions of Dean in my head until me, Caroline and Enzo find and kill him and his brother" Aria replied, getting up and wearing her bra and pants.

"Dean?" Damon asked shocked.

"Dean Avery, your doppelganger" Aria replied, not realising that Damon already knew that.

"Ria--".

"Last night, shouldn't have happened" Aria interrupted, "And what happened last night, doesn't change anything between us, you walked out on me and our kids, and this time I refuse to forgive you, what happened last night was a mistake, I was vulnerable, and--", Aria looked at Damon, who had now crawled over to her side of the bed, "And I needed one last night with you, but it's not happening again".

Aria started looking around for her shirt, Damon whistled, waving Aria's shirt, Aria grabbed it but Damon refuse to let go of the shirt.

"Damon" Aria warned.

"I don't want to let go" Damon admitted.

"Well, you have to" Aria stated.

While still holding on to Aria's shirt, Damon stood up and started walking towards Aria, causing Aria to step back until her back touched the balcony door, making it easier for Damon to trap her against the wall.

"I don't have to do anything, Ria" Damon whispered, running his finger across Aria's cheek.

"What do you want from me Damon?" Aria asked, glaring at Damon and trying not to let his touch effect her, "You are the one who walked out on me and your kids, not me, so now it shouldn't be hard for you to let me go, you did it once already".

"And I will regret my decision for the rest of my life" Damon said, "And right now, I don't want to think about that".

"Then what do you what to think about?" Aria asked, "You want to think about the perfect life we were going to have together, before you screwed up?".

"I don't know what to think, or say or do" Damon replied, Damon wrapped his arms around Aria's waist, "All I know, is that right now, I wanna rip your clothes off, take you out in the balcony, and kiss every square inch of your body, while a bunch of people that drive minivans listen, wishing they were us".

By the time Damon finished talking, his lips were just an inch away from Aria's, and Aria was trying her best not to just attack him.

"That's probably a bad idea, right?" Damon whispered.

"Mhmm" Aria said, not trusting her voice.

"Okay" Damon whispered, stepping away from Aria, letting her breathe a sigh of relief.

Without wasting another second, Aria grabbed her shirt from Damon's hand, and quickly ran out the room.

"Stupid, stupid hormones" Aria mumbled, walking out, while an amused Damon watched on.

***

"Wait, so you and Damon broke up?" Caroline asked, as her, Aria and Enzo sat at a diner.

"Yeap" Aria replied, "I want food, I need food".

"Well, that's why we're here, pit stop for the pregnant lady" Enzo said, placing a chocolate muffin infront of Aria.

"Yummy" Aria said, wasting no time in biting into the muffin.

"Hello, are we not going to talk about yours and Damon's break up?" Caroline asked.

"No" Aria replied, "And Care, you, Kol and Rebekah are lucky I'm even talking to you guys".

"Wait, what did I do?" Caroline asked confused.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you three let me believe that Damon stayed and helped me" Aria snapped, "When in reality, he was with Enzo killing Dr. Wes because apparently that was more important then the lives of his own children".

"I mean, revenge is pretty sweet" Enzo said.

"Shut up" Aria and Caroline said, making Enzo chuckle.

"Look Aria, we wanted to tell you, but the first thing you asked for when you woke up was Damon, you thought he saved you, and none of us had the heart to tell you the truth, so we thought it was better that Damon told you the truth instead" Caroline said.

Aria sighed, and bit into muffin again, "I feel like an idiot Care".

"Why?" Caroline asked.

"As soon as I found out that Damon was in trouble, I ran to find a solution to help him, but he walked out on me" Aria whispered, "He left our children's life in the hands of Katherine Pierce, and on top of that, my dumb ass, decided to have sex with him last night instead of slapping him across the face".

Enzo groaned in annoyance, "Too much information".

Before Aria or Caroline could say anything to him, Aria's phone started ringing, realising it was Sloan, Aria went to pick it up, but Enzo beat her to it.

"Hey!" Aria complained.

"Atlanta Assassination Squad" Enzo greeted, ignoring Aria's glare, "How may we be of service?".

"I take it you haven't located the doppelgangers yet?" Sloan asked.

"You told us to find a nameless writer at a nameless café, in a city full of cafes, fried green tomatoes, and terrible readers, it's not exactly as easy as it sounds" Enzo said, making Caroline and Aria smile.

"Which is why I'm calling" Sloan replied, "Aria knows the doppelganger's name, and where to find him, but she's hiding it, get her to fess up".

After Sloan hanged up, Enzo and Caroline turned to Aria.

"What?" Aria asked, "Don't look at me like that".

"Why haven't you told us you know about this new doppelganger?" Enzo asked.

"I--" Aria sighed, "Look, he has the same face as my soulmate, okay? It's not an easy pill for me to swallow, and on top of that, if I had never met Damon, I was suppose to be with Dean, I'm killing my original soulmate, so I'm sorry for trying to delay it as much as I can".

"Dean?" Enzo asked, "That's his name?".

Aria nodded, "Dean Avery, he's a writer, and from the looks of it, a very good one, the last vision I had of him, he was at a café".

"What café?" Enzo asked, but Aria stayed quiet, picking at her muffin, "Aria, if you don't tell us, what café, then the travelers are going to go after Damon, they need one soulmate doppelganger alive, and they don't care if it's Dean or Damon, the choice is yours, who are you going to choose?".

"That's not fair" Aria snapped.

"Life's not fair" Enzo snapped back, "Now tell us where is he?".

Aria sighed, "The last vision I saw, was him at a café called, The Hideout" she replied.

***

Damon sat at the Grill, downing shots, when Kol and Jeremy came and sat either side of him.

"Alcohol for breakfast, yummy" Kol commented.

"Let me guess, this is the result of yours and Aria's break up" Jeremy said.

"You know, that is so incredibly insightful, Little Gilbert" Damon snapped, "You've become really street smart from cleaning tables and dodging school".

"At least Little Gilbert, isn't looking for answers in alcohol" Kol said.

"Kol Mikaelson is now a life coach, congratulations, we are all doomed" Damon said sarcastically.

"We are just here to make sure you don't go on a killing spree while Ri's out killing another you" Kol said, "Which by the way, she still doesn't know that they've met before".

"You still haven't told her?" Jeremy asked shocked.

"Of course, he hasn't" Kol replied, "He's Damon Salvatore, he thinks telling Ri about Dean will magically change her soulmate".

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Jeremy told Damon.

"Agreed" Kol said.

"I hate both of you" Damon said, downing another shot.

"Love you too, darling" Kol said, patting Damon's shoulder.

"Bottle of gin, let me see you break the seal" Liv told the bartender, coming and standing next to Kol, "What can I say? I got issues".

"Whoa, pull up a chair, tell the professionals your problems" Damon said, "Just talk slow and use small words".

"Thanks, but never, ever, goodbye" Liv said, walking away.

"I don't like her" Kol said.

"Surprise, surprise" Jeremy said sarcastically, making Damon chuckle, and Kol throw a coin at his forehead.

"Ow!" Jeremy complained.

"Suck it up baby" Kol said, handing Jeremy a shot, which he gladly downed.

***

"Thanks" Caroline said, walking over to the table Enzo and Aria were sitting at, after talking to an employee of the café, "So the employee doesn't know Dean personally, but I compelled her to call the manager who organises Dean's reading every other night in this café".

"So, I'm the only one who doesn't like this?" Aria asked, looking between Enzo and Caroline.

"I don't like this, but it's either Dean or Damon" Caroline replied.

"Personally, I'm loving this" Enzo commented.

"Of course you are" Aria mumbled, she looked at Enzo, "Can I ask you a question?".

"Go ahead, love" Enzo replied, "We have some time to spare anyways".

"After Damon, walked out on me, did he--was there any regret afterwards?" Aria asked, slightly scared of Enzo's answer.

Enzo sighed, "You and I both know love, Damon doesn't show his emotions to anyone, maybe you, but certainly not me" he replied, making Aria sigh and look down at her hands, "But I can tell you this, he did miss you, even if he didn't want to show it, he would spill here and there, I could tell there was definitely regret".

Aria nodded, and let Enzo's words sink in.

"I still don't understand why you're even here" Caroline told Enzo.

"Damon's trying to be a good boy these days, according to him, he doesn't want his kids to have a killer as a father" Enzo said, making a small smile form on Aria's face, she did appericate that Damon was trying to fix his mistakes, "Which means I'm in need of a new murder buddy".

"We're not murder buddies" Aria said.

"I'm joking, a joke, british humor, you two should know since you both have two British people in love with you" Enzo said, talking about Kol and Klaus.

"Okay, clearly Damon and you have done a lot of share and tell" Aria realised.

"We had nothing better to do while being trapped in a farmhouse together" Enzo said, he looked between Aria and Caroline, "You two remind me of someone I once knew, she worked for the Augustines".

"Which means she tortured you" Caroline said, causing Enzo to chuckle, "I can definitely relate to that".

"Maggie was only there to observe my behavior in captivity, quite liked her, actually" Enzo said.

"Let me guess, she made you want to be a better man" Caroline said sarcastically.

"Not at all" Enzo said, "She just reminded me that I was good all along".

"Love does that to you" Aria commented, giving Enzo a small smile.

"You were asking about Dean Avery?" The café manger asked, walking over to the trio.

"Uh yeah, we need to see him, do you know where he is?" Aria asked.

"It's a matter of life and death" Caroline added.

"I wish I could help, Dean Avery was one of the best writers I have ever met, and he was highly underrated".

"What do you mean, was?" Enzo asked.

"Dean and his brother Tom disappeared four months ago, no one knows where they went"

"Well that's concerning" Aria mumbled.

***

Caroline, Enzo and Aria stood outside the café, calling Sloan.

"I hope you're calling to tell me the two doppelganger's are dead" Sloan said.

"Your stupid doppel-visions gave us bad information" Caroline snapped.

"What do you mean?" Sloan asked confused.

"Tom and Dean have been missing for months" Aria replied.

"Aria's blood links us to the doppelganger's mind" Sloan said, grabbing the bucket of Aria's blood, "If we're seeing old memories, that means we have to go deeper".

As soon as Sloan said that, Aria fell to the floor, clutching her head in pain, "Argh!" Aria yelled.

Enzo quickly grabbed Aria and steadied her before she could fall to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Caroline asked, worried for Aria, "You're going to destroy her memories", Caroline turned to Aria, "I'm right here Aria, listen to my voice, I'm here with you".

"Aah!" Aria yelled, holding on to her, while Enzo made sure she didn't fall.

It was nighttime and Dean had just finished another one of his reading, wearing his coat, he stepped out in the cold night of Atlanta, not realising he was being followed by a red head.

"Excuse me?" The women called out.

"Hi, can I help you?" Dean asked.

"Are you Dean Avery?".

"Yes, I am" Dean replied.

"My name is Hazel" The red head introduced.

"Well Hazel, it's very nice to meet you" Dean said, "Is there something you want from me?".

"No, I just wanted to let you know how much I love your writing" Hazel replied.

Dean smiled, "Thank you so much".

"I hope, this is not too forward, but I was wondering if I can buy you dinner, and maybe we could talk more about your writing?" Hazel asked, "Oh, god, I'm so bad at this".

Dean chuckled, "How about 7, tomorrow?".

Hazel smiled, "Perfect" she said, "You can pick me up at 6643 Peachtree Drive".

Dean nodded, "I'll be there".

"Come on Aria, say something" Caroline pleaded.

The pain in Aria's head suddenly went away, "6643 Peachtree Drive, Hazel" Aria mumbled, before going limp in Enzo's arms.

"Aria!" Caroline yelled.

"Dammit!" Enzo said, picking Aria up and taking her towards their car.

Caroline looked down at her phone, and realised Sloan was still on the phone, "When I'm back in Mystic Falls, I'm going to rip your heart out, you little bitch".

"Clock's ticking, Caroline" Sloan simply said, ignoring Caroline's threat.

***

"It's a miracle we found the place" Enzo said, as the trio walked over to the address Aria saw in her vision, "Every other street in the blasted city is Peachtree".

"Aria, are you sure you're okay?" Caroline asked, concerned for her pregnant sister.

"I'm fine" Aria replied, "I just have a massive headache".

"You could just wait in the car" Caroline said.

"Not happening" Aria said, as they stepping on the porch, "I want to meet Dean".

"To kill him or to save him?" Enzo asked curiously.

"I guess we will find once I see him" Aria replied.

"These look old" Caroline commented, grabbing the magazines that were outside the house, "Like four months old".

Enzo knocked on the front door, he tried to turn the knob but failed, "Seventy years in a cage" he said, "You'd think I'd have learned to pick a lock by now".

"Move" Aria demanded, standing infront of the two vampires.

"What are you doing?" Enzo asked.

"Breaking the door" Aria replied, she used her magic to break the door, as soon as Aria broke the door, the trio saw a witch in a circle of salt, surrounded by candles, her eyes white, "That's her" Aria said, "I saw her with Dean in the vision".

"She's a witch" Caroline realised.

Caroline and Aria tried to enter the house, but failed, as a barrier stopped them from entering.

"Lovely, she owns the house" Aria realised.

"Not for long" Enzo said, grabbing a branch, and throwing it right at the witch, impaling her right through her heart.

"Enzo!" Aria yelled shocked.

"Why did you do that?!" Caroline asked, "She was our only lead".

"Exactly" Enzo replied, "And I am a murderous vampire, surprise".

"Unbelievable" Aria mumbled, following Enzo into the house.

***

"She was in a bloody trance" Enzo snapped, "Unable to answer questions, I don't see why you two are mad, I'm only doing what's necessary to save Damon's life because you two won't".

"Don't" Aria warned, "Don't ever say that I will risk Damon's life, you might know him Enzo, but don't know me, you don't get to come here and tell me that I'm risking the life of the father of my children, you have no right to say that".

"Damon has told me about you, Aria" Enzo said, "You are not capable of doing a cold-blooded murder of an innocent man, specially not of one who looks exactly like the man you love".

"This isn't suppose to be easy" Aria snapped, "Like I said, you don't know me or my sister, we have trouble killing innocent people, no matter what they look like".

"We don't just go around killing people" Caroline added.

"You two have gotten me all wrong" Enzo said.

"Maybe because since the day we've met, all you've been talking about, all you've been doing is murdering people" Aria argued, "You've not given us a chance to get to know the non-murderous you".

"I'm not judging you two Aria, I'm preparing you" Enzo said, "I've seen soldiers, men trained to kill, look their enemy in the eye, and freeze up on the battlefield, a hesitation that usually costs them their lives".

"Dean isn't the enemy" Aria whispered, "And this isn't war Enzo".

"And we are definitely not soldiers" Caroline said.

"What about Tom?" Enzo asked, "Is he the enemy?".

"If he's anything like Stefan, then yes" Aria replied, "I haven't seen visions of Tom, but I've seen visions of Dean, and he's a good guy Enzo, we can't treat him as the enemy, but at the same time, I know you're right, if I don't kill Dean, I will be risking Damon's life, I would rather die, then do that, so to save the life of the man I love, I will do anything, even if it means killing a guy who doesn't deserve it".

Suddenly, the three vampires started hearing two heartbeats.

"What's the sound?" Caroline asked, not sure if it was what she was thinking.

"Heartbeats" Aria replied.

"The telltale heart" Enzo said.

The three vampires followed the sound of the two heartbeats, which led them into the basement, where they saw Dean and Tom laying on two stretchers, unconscious.

"Dean" Aria whispered, running over to the unconscious doppelganger, as soon as Aria saw him, she felt an immediate pull towards him, she knew this was due to the soulmate bond between them, though it was weak, it was still there.

"Why would a witch go to such lengths to keep two men alive and off the grid for four months?" Enzo asked confused.

"Four months ago, Silas and Damien died" Caroline recalled, "The original doppelgangers".

"Well, they are dead ringers, all right, or rather, soon to be dead" Enzo said, as Aria slowly removed the drips from Dean's hands.

"Dean?" Aria called out, waving his hand infront of his face, "Come on Dean, time to wake up".

"Aria, let me do this" Enzo said, "Just walk away now, go upstairs--".

"No" Aria interrupted, "I'm not leaving".

"Aria, I'm the one who made the deal, this is on me, let me do this" Caroline said, realising how hard this is on the tribrid.

"No" Aria repeated, "I'm not leaving, end of conversation".

"Maybe you can't stand the thought of putting Damon's life in anyone's hands but your own" Enzo said.

Aria looked at Dean, "I'm sorry" she whispered, preparing herself to kill Dean, but before she could do anything, both Dean and Tom gasped and sat up in shock.

"What's happening? Who are you people?" Tom asked.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked, looking at Dean.

Dean looked at Aria, and for a second froze, "Who are you?" he asked curiously.

"We're angels, come to deliver you to the sweet hereafter" Enzo replied, before Aria could say anything.

"My name is Aria, and please don't be scared of me" Aria pleaded.

"I'm not scared of you" Dean said, confused himself, "Which is really weird".

"Bonding with him will only make it harder on you" Enzo warned Aria.

"Shut up" Aria snapped, she turned to Dean, "So you trust me?".

"I shouldn't" Dean replied, "But I do".

"Good" Aria whispered, "This won't hurt, you" she said, Aria glanced at Caroline, who already knew what was going on in Aria's mind, so she just gave Aria a small nod, Aria glanced at Dean, then at Enzo, and before Enzo could realise it, Aria had used her magic to snap Enzo's neck.

"Oh, my god" Dean whispered shocked.

"What the hell are you?!" Tom yelled.

"I'm a witch" Aria replied, untying Dean, while Caroline untied Tom, "Still not scared?".

"Depends, are you here to kill me or save me?" Dean asked.

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be untying you right now" Aria replied, "Now come on, we need to leave before he wakes up".

***

Damon was at the boarding house drinking, and getting restless with the more time he spent without any information on Aria, Damon's drinking session was broken when the doorbell rang.

Damon groaned in annoyance, but nonetheless got up to answer the door.

"Liv?" Damon asked confused.

"Damon Salvatore, just the guy I was looking for" Liv greeted.

"What the hell do you want?" Damon asked.

"I want to kill you" Liv replied, shocking Damon.

Before Damon could react, Liv had used her magic to throw Damon backwards, and into the glass table.

"Sorry about this" Liv said, pulling out a wooden stake from her pocket and walking closer to Damon, "My coven did everything in it's power to protect the soulmate of it's leader, but you're just too dangerous".

"Speak, english" Damon snapped, as glass pierced his back.

"Sorry, don't have time" Liv said, about to stake Damon, but before she could, Kol speeded over to her and smashed her head on to the side table, rendering her unconscious.

"What is it with you that makes people want to murder you?" Kol asked, forwarding a hand towards Damon and helping him stand.

"Ugh!" Damon groaned in pain, as he stood up, "The bitch is dead".

"Not before she tells us what the travelers want" Kol said.

***

"Wow, you two are really hungry" Aria commented, watching the two brothers eat so quickly.

"Sorry, I don't even remember the last time I ate" Dean said.

"It's all good" Aria assured.

"So let me get this straight, Hazel met up with you two separately and invited you two for dinner?" Caroline asked.

Tom nodded, "Hazel seemed nice, so, you know, I figured why not have dinner?" he said, "So I showered, picked her up, and that was it, that's the last thing I remember".

"That's exactly what I remember" Dean said.

"I didn't even know you were back in town" Tom told his brother.

"Didn't think I had to tell you" Dean snapped.

"You're still angry at me?" Tom asked, "It's been five years Dean, get over it".

"You turned mom and dad against me and my passion for writing" Dean said, glaring at his brother, "I'm never getting over that".

"Writing wasn't going to get you anywhere" Tom defended.

"Yet, here I am, a successful author, while you're busy trying to find a hospital who will hire your fired ass" Dean said.

"You were fired?" Caroline asked Tom, "What did you do?".

"Stole medical supplies and sold them" Dean replied, before Tom could say anything.

"Can you not tell our whole history to two strangers?" Tom snapped.

"I trust them" Dean said simply, making Aria smile, "So witches, huh? They're real?".

"Witches, vampires, werewolves, they're all real" Aria replied.

"Why tell me this?" Dean asked, "I could yell and tell everyone what you are".

"You could" Aria said, "But you won't".

"And why's that?" Dean asked.

"Because you know I'm not trying to harm you" Aria replied, "If I wanted to, I would have already done that, and deep down, you know you can trust me, otherwise you wouldn't have told me everything".

Dean looked at Aria, "Can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"Shoot" Aria replied.

"Is the father still in the picture?" Dean asked, pointing to Aria's stomach.

"He's still in the picture" Aria replied.

"So you're taken?" Dean asked, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Um, we broke up, but he's still going to be in the lives of the babies" Aria clarified.

"Babies? As in more then one?" Tom asked.

"Triplets" Aria replied.

"Yikes" Tom said, "Congratulations" Dean said, at the same time.

"So, why did you save us?" Dean asked curiously.

"Because you remind me of someone that's very special to me" Aria replied, "And from everything I've gathered, you are a really nice guy".

"You're not bad yourself" Dean said, "I mean, you did save a stranger's life".

"You didn't seem like a stranger to me" Aria said, giving Dean a small smile.

"Weird, you don't seem like a stranger to me either" Dean admitted.

"So what is it that you two want from us?" Tom asked, interrupting Dean and Aria.

"What we want from you two isn't something we can take" Caroline replied.

"I don't understand" Tom said.

"Well, you don't have to" Caroline assured.

"So you're a writer?" Aria asked Dean.

"I try" Dean replied.

"Anything you want to share?" Aria asked, "I've never met a writer before".

"You want to hear my poetry?" Dean asked slightly shocked.

"Only if you want to" Aria replied quickly.

"I'd love to" Dean assured, "I just didn't think you're a poetry girl".

"I love reading, I don't care what genre it is" Aria said.

"Okay, then, this piece doesn't have a name, but it was the last thing I wrote before getting kidnapped" Dean said.

"Go on" Aria urged, excited to hear Dean's poem.

"I didn't fall in love with you, I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way, I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we'd choose anyways, and I'd choose you, in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you" Dean read, looking right at Aria.

Aria smiled, "You believe in soulmates" she realised.

"I believe there's someone out there for everyone, it's just a matter of fact of finding them" Dean said, "Do you believe in soulmates?".

Aria chuckled, "Yeah, I do" she replied, "You're a great guy Dean, which is why you need to get out of this city".

"What?" Dean asked confused, "Why?".

"I was sent here to kill you and your brother" Aria blurted out.

"What?!" Tom asked shocked.

Dean looked at Aria, "Then why am I not dead yet?".

"Because I can't get myself to kill you" Aria admitted.

"You feel it too" Dean realised, "The weird pull?".

"Wait, you feel that?" Aria asked shocked.

"Yeah" Dean replied, "It's like there's an invisible string attached to us and it keeps pulling us closer".

"I'd love to explain everything, but it's a long story, and we don't have time for it" Aria said, "You and your brother need to leave, get on a train and  find a place that you like, a place that will keep the writer in you alive, find a girl who will make you happy, get married, grow old, have a very happy, long life".

"Away from you?" Dean asked, slightly upset.

"Yeah" Aria replied, "Like way away, from me".

***

Damon staked Liv in the leg, as Kol tied her hands behind the chair.

"I am gonna rip this nasty rag out of your mouth" Damon told Liv, "If I hear so much as one syllable of hocus-pocus, one of us is gonna break your neck, spoiler alert, it's gonna be me", Damon removed the rag from Liv's mouth, "Talk" he demanded, but Liv stayed quiet.

"This is getting stupid" Kol said, grabbing a glass of shard and sticking it in Liv's other leg, making her scream in pain, "Talk, witch".

"You are Damien's doppelganger, and you are Aria's soulmate" Liv said, "Your friends have gone to kill the human you, by now he's probably dead, which means you're the last male soulmate doppelganger now, you need to die, otherwise the travelers are going to come for you and your pregnant girlfriend, they will use you two, the witches can't let that happen, and we can't kill Aria, she's our coven leader, but we can kill you".

"Coven leader?" Kol asked confused.

"The Gemini Coven" Liv replied.

"You're part of the Gemini Coven?" Kol asked shocked.

"Unfortunately" Liv replied.

"Are you bloody kidding me?!" Rebekah yelled, barging into the boarding house with Jeremy.

"You can't kill her" Jeremy told the two vampires.

"She's going to kill Damon, if we don't kill her" Kol said.

"No, she won't, she is gonna help keep Damon and Aria safe, I will make sure of that" Jeremy promised.

"How?" Damon asked, "You can't even get a passing grade in penmanship".

"I won't let anyone hurt Aria" Jeremy snapped, "And if you get hurt, so does Aria, so against my better judgement, I won't let you get hurt either", Jeremy turned to Kol, "Please Kol, Liv knows more about the travelers than she's letting on".

"Give him at least one chance" Rebekah said, "If she screws up after this, I'll kill her myself".

Kol turned to Damon, "It's your life, so your choice".

Damon looked at Liv, "I'm about to be a father to triplets, so I'm trying this new thing of being good enough for them, so don't make me regret this" he said, walking away.

***

"So here's plan C" Jeremy stated, walking outside the boarding house where Liv and Luke were arguing, "You're gonna protect Aria and Damon, and I'm gonna help you stop the Travelers".

"You realise this is an epic conflict of interest?" Luke asked.

"Maybe not, Jeremy's got hunter skills, and he's not afraid to take a stand" Liv replied, "If the Travelers are coming for his best friend and her boyfriend, or making a move on Mystic Falls or both, he's gonna see it coming before we do" she told her brother, she then looked at Jeremy, "So, what's the catch?".

"I'm gonna need some help" Jeremy replied, as Kol and Rebekah came behind him.

Luke scoffed, "More townies, no".

"Original vampires, actually" Rebekah corrected.

"Who can rip you limb from limb in seconds, so show us some respect" Kol threatened.

"They're part of the deal, take it or leave it" Jeremy stated.

Luke and Liv exchanged a look, "We're in" Liv said.

***

Caroline, Tom, Aria and Dean were now in the parking lot, walking towards Caroline's car, with Tom and Caroline walking ahead of Aria and Dean.

"Thank you" Dean said, breaking the peaceful silence.

"What for?" Aria asked, slightly confused.

"For saving my life" Dean replied, "And then not killing me".

"Can I admit something?" Aria asked.

"Go for it" Dean replied.

"I don't want to kill you, but I want to kill your brother" Aria admitted.

Dean chuckled, "A lot of people feel like that" he said.

"You and your brother don't get along?" Aria asked.

"Nope" Dean replied, "Never have, and I don't think we ever will".

"The vampire that I stopped from killing you two at that house, he might come attack you and your brother, and I might only be able to save you" Aria said honestly.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because you deserve to live, I mean, maybe your brother does to, but, his face reminds me of someone I don't like" Aria replied.

"Who?" Dean asked curiously.

Before Aria could replied, Enzo had speeded over to Tom and snapped his neck, killing him.

"Your turn" Enzo told Dean.

"No" Aria said, standing infront of Dean, who looked at his brother's dead body in shock.

"Get out of my way Aria" Enzo said.

"You're not killing him" Aria stated, "There has to be another way".

"There is no other way" Enzo snapped, "He needs to die, otherwise the travelers won't tell me where to find Maggie".

"Let me talk to Sloan, I have an idea, Enzo" Aria said, "It's a painful idea, but it's an idea, just let me try, please".

Enzo looked between Dean and Aria, "Five minutes" he stated, "You have five minutes before I kill him".

Aria nodded, she turned to Caroline, "Stay with him, I'm going to call Sloan".

"Okay" Caroline said, as Aria walked away to call Sloan.

"Did you kill him?" Sloan asked, answering the call.

"Tom's dead, but Dean isn't" Aria replied.

"Kill Dean as well Aria, otherwise Damon dies" Sloan said.

"Look Sloan, you want one soulmate doppelganger, right?" Aria asked, "What if Dean and my soulmate bond breaks? If we can do that, then Dean won't be a soulmate doppelganger, he will just be a doppelganger, and you said there can only be one of Silas and Amara, but you never said they're can't be an extra Damien".

"You realise what you're saying?" Sloan asked, "Do you know how painful that will be on you two?".

"So it's possible?" Aria asked.

"It's possible" Sloan replied, "But I don't think you realise what breaking a soulmate bond does to someone, the pain will be unbearable, even if it's a weak soulmate bond".

"Will my kids be alright?" Aria asked.

"I already told you Aria, the universe wants your kids to be born, nothing in this world will stop them from being born" Sloan replied.

"Okay good, so I'm gonna bring Dean to you, and you're gonna break our already very weak bond, and then you're going to free him, am I clear?" Aria asked.

Sloan sighed, "Fine" she replied, "I'll do it, but don't say I didn't warn you about the pain".

Aria turned to look at Dean, who was kneeling beside his dead brother, "He deserves to live" she whispered.

***

"We are supernatural soulmates?" Dean asked shocked, as the group walked towards the Travelers.

"We were meant to be, but I met Damon before that, and I fell in love with him, so my soulmate changed" Aria replied, "But the bond between us is still there, it's weak, but it's there".

"You said that breaking this bond, will be painful, are you sure we should be doing this?" Dean asked, "Specially considering your condition".

"Dean, if you want to live, we need to break this bond" Aria replied, "I want you to live, without this supernatural mess".

"I don't want you to be pain though" Dean admitted.

Aria smiled, "I'm a tribrid, I can handle it, I'm more worried about you".

Dean playfully nudged Aria, "I'm a writer I can take it" he said, making Aria laugh.

"Ria".

"Holy shit" Dean said, looking at Damon in shock, "You weren't kidding when you said we have the same face".

"No, I wasn't" Aria said, "Dean meet Damon, Damon meet Dean".

"Why are you doing this?" Damon asked, ignoring Dean, "Sloan just told me that breaking a soulmate bond is extremely painful, just kill him and get this over and done with".

"No" Aria stated, "We're not killing him".

"Why not?!" Damon asked, "Don't tell me spending one day with him and caused you to change soulmates".

"Screw you, Damon!" Aria yelled, "I'm doing this because I don't want another innocent person's blood on my hands".

"Ria, this is going to really painful" Damon reminded, really worried.

"I can take it" Aria said.

"What if our babies can't?" Damon asked.

"They're stronger then you think, they're going to be okay" Aria assured, "I know what I'm doing Damon, I need you to trust me, breaking a soulmate bonds kills you, but since my soulmate is you, mine and Dean's bond is weak, yeah it will be painful, but none of us will die".

"I can't lose you" Damon admitted.

"And you won't" Aria promised.

"We're ready" Sloan said, interrupting Aria and Damon.

Aria turned to Dean, "You ready?".

Dean nodded, "If you are".

"I'm ready" Aria assured.

Damon held Aria's hand, "Ria--".

"I'll see you soon Damon" Aria assured.

Both Aria and Dean sat on the two chairs the travelers set for them.

"Hold hands" Sloan instructed, as both Dean and Aria held hands, a traveler placed his hand on Dean's head, while Sloan placed her hands on Aria's.

"She's going to be okay" Caroline whispered, to a terrified Damon.

"She better be" Damon said, as Sloan and all the other Travelers started chanting.

As soon as the travelers started chanting, both Dean and Aria started yelling in pain, and black veins started appearing all over their bodies.

Caroline hid her face in Damon's chest, not wanting to see the scene.

After what seemed like ages, the travelers were finally done, and both Aria and Dean were unconscious.

"It's done" Sloan said, "Dean and Aria no longer have a soulmate bond".

***

After a little while, both Dean and Aria gained conscious and immediately they could tell something had changed between them, they no longer felt the pull, but there was a certain emptiness in both their hearts that they couldn't really explain.

"So, this is it" Dean said, standing by Jeremy's car, his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah" Aria whispered, "This is it".

"Is it weird that despite there being no pull anymore, it still kind of hurts going away from you?" Dean asked.

"That pain will go away soon" Aria assured, "My best friend Jeremy will drop you out of town, wherever you want to go, think of him as your personal chauffeur".

"Rude" Jeremy commented, getting into the drivers seat.

Aria chuckled, then turned back to Dean, "Well Dean Avery, the short of time I spent with you, it's going to stay with me for a very long time".

"Back at you, Aria Connor" Dean said, "Before I leave, can I do something? If I don't do this, then I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life, and I don't like having regrets".

"What?" Aria asked confused.

Dean didn't say anything, he just stepped forward, placing a hand on Aria's cheek, he leaned down and placed a kiss on Aria's lips.

"Goodbye, Aria" Dean whispered, after breaking the kiss.

Aria gave Dean a small smile, "Goodbye, Dean".

Dean got into Jeremy's car, and Jeremy drove off, with Dean keeping an eye on Aria until he physically couldn't.

After Jeremy's car was out of sight, Aria turned around to see Damon standing there, an unreadable expression on his face.

***

Damon entered his room and Aria's shared room, to see Aria packing her clothes.

"I'm not going to apologise for kissing Dean" Aria stated.

"I never asked you to" Damon said, "How you feeling?".

"There's some pain in my chest, but Sloan said that will go away with time" Aria replied, continuing to pack her bags.

"Something tells me you're not packing for our honeymoon" Damon commented.

"I'm going back to Whitmore" Aria said, "There's not much time left before we become parents, and I want to study as much as I can before the babies take all of my time".

"Is that really the reason?" Damon asked.

"Does there have to be another reason?" Aria asked.

"No" Damon replied, "But we both know that isn't the reason you're leaving, but you realise you leaving doesn't solve anything, right?".

"I can't stay here" Aria replied, "If I stay here, every bone and cell in my body is going keep yelling at me to get back together with you, but I can't do that, you need to realise that I can't just forgive you for walking out on me and our kids".

"I'll drive you to Whitmore" Damon said.

"You can't" Aria said, "Kol's going to do that, I already asked him".

"Ria--".

"Damon if I sit in that car with you, your hand near mine, all I would want to do is grab it, like we always used to do whenever you drove your car" Aria said, "And then you're gonna kiss me, and I'll try to stop you but at the end I won't be able to and we will have a repeat of yesterday, and we can't repeat yesterday, you need to let me go Damon, please, let me go".

Damon didn't say anything, just stepped forward, and cupped Aria's face in his hands.

"Damon--".

"Shh" Damon whispered, he bent down and placed a small kiss on Aria's lips, "Be safe".

Aria nodded, "Thank you" she whispered.

"Go Ria" Damon whispered, "Go before I stop resisting and instead kiss you with everything I have".

Aria nodded, she grabbed her suitcase, she then looked at Damon and placed a kiss on his cheek, "Someday, Damon" she promised, a tear falling down her face.

Damon watched as Aria walked out the door, he watched as Aria walked away from him, "Someday" he whispered.

***

Presenting 5x17 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Aria and Dean meeting? Spoiler Alert: You're going to see Dean again 👀

Thoughts on Jeremy, Kol and Rebekah teaming up with Luke and Liv to save Damon and Aria from the Travelers?

Thoughts on Aria breaking her soulmate bond with Dean to keep him alive?

Thoughts on Aria officially moving out the boarding house?

Next chapter: Aria & Dean, Damon & Avery 🙈