I was supposed to keep an eye over Kai today while everyone else was busy doing their own things. 

I walked into Alaric's loft to see that Kai was lying on a table, drugged into unconsciousness. "Why do I have to be the one playing baby-sitter to the catatonic serial killer? Oh, speaking of killing people." I looked at Kai. "Still counting sheep or whatever the hell you psychopaths dream of?" 

"Well, Kay, it shouldn't be that much of a stretch from your everyday life style," Damon told me. "I mean, you're used to hanging around psychopaths." 

"I know," I told him. "I live with you, don't I?" 

Damon gave me a sarcastic look. 

Elena laughed. "Look, Kaylin, Alaric's gone out of town to get some mystical thingamabob to give Jo an edge, and your job is to baby-sit Kai, not smother him with a pillow." 

I reluctantly agreed. "Fine." 

"And if he starts twitching or something, just give him 50 milligrams of pentobarbital," Elena told me. 

"You're so cute when you're all doctorly," Damon told her.

"Oh, my God, the sickness of watching you two has finally returned," I told them. "Goodbye." Damon and Elena smirked, walking out of the apartment. I looked at Kai. "Well, you're not gonna be any fun today." 

I sat down, pulling out my phone, propping my feet up on the table Kai was lying on. 

******

Caroline had tested vampire blood out on a cancer patient, and it killed him, turned him into a vampire, and now he was living in excrutiating pain.

Damon, Elena, Stefan, Jo and I stood in the Whitmore Medical Center, talking about Colin, looking at X-rays of his brain. 

"I had Duke send over Colin's medical records," Jo told us. "This head scan is from earlier this week." She placed another scan on the board. "This one was taken right here, ten minutes ago. See all that red?" 

"Well, I'm no doctor, but that guy is screwed," Damon told us. 

"So, the blood didn't heal him," Stefan told us. "It sped up his cancer and killed him." 

"So, now, I have a Stage 10 cancer patient," Jo told us. "Which, by the way, doesn't exist. Who is beyond terminally ill, and a vampire, meaning all of his emotions are heightened, and he can't die." 

"Hey, no offense, but could someone tell me why I was called down here to listen to the story of Colin the Cancer Vamp?" I asked.

Liz and Caroline walked in.

"Because Caroline fed me her blood last night," Liz answered. "So the same thing is gonna happen to me."

******

Jo, Damon and I were standing in Whitmore Medical Center out in the hall, looking into Liz's room through the window to see that she was sleeping. 

"Medically speaking, this is our best option," Jo told us. "If vampire blood is the issue, then a full transfusion of human blood might stabalize her condition."

"Please sound less confident, Doc," I told her sarcastically. 

"Look, we are in uncharted territory here," Jo told us. "This isn't just a medical problem, it's a magical one."

"Well, then you're uniquely qualified," Damon told her, smirking. "Witch doctor and all." 

"Now you believe in my magic?" Jo asked. "Gee, thanks. Unfortunately, this goes beyond any witch ability I've ever heard of. But, please, if you have a better plan, I'm all ears." 

Neither of us answered.

******

The transfusion hadn't worked. 

I walked back into Alaric's loft to get back to baby-sitting Kai.

Tyler was there, taking the oximeter off of Kai's finger, making it beep as he continued to unhook the wires from Kai.

"Bad timing, Lockwood," I told him. "I'm in a mood. What the hell are you doing?" I rushed toward him, grabbing his throat, pushing him against the wall. "I'll make it easier on you. I'll give you multiple choice. A, I'm being an idiot. B, I have anger issues, and I'm a puny human now, and I like to pick on people while they sleep. C, A and B are both correct." 

I let him go.

"Liv's dad is in town," Tyler told me.

"Really?" I asked.

"She's trying to convince him to let Jo and Kai do the merge," Tyler told me. 

"Oh," I said. "So you just thought you'd come and grab Kai as a failsafe in case Papa Parker says no to Liv and Luke. You just turn him loose and he merges with Jo anyway, huh? While I appreciate your efforts, he's a psycho freak magic siphon. I'm not gonna just let you walk out with him." 

Wait...

Vampire blood was magic.

Kai could take the magic from the vampire blood and save Liz's life.

I smiled, patting Tyler on the shoulder. "I could kiss you right now, you beautiful moron." 

"I'm pretty sure I'm not your type," Tyler told me. I tilted my head, shrugging. "And what the hell are you talking about?" 

I grabbed Tyler, rushing over to the bed, injecting Tyler with the Pentobarbital, making him pass out, letting him fall to the floor. "Yep, that stuff works really well. Nighty-night. That should keep you down for an hour." 

I took Tyler's phone, calling Liv. 

"Not a good time." 

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Twinderella. Big pitch going south, is it?" 

"Where's Tyler?" 

"Well, the good news is, your boyfriend and I, I think, have come up with a solution. Now it's a bit of a Hail Mary, but I think everybody gets what they need. I just have to ask Papa Parker one question, so do you mind putting him on?" 

"I want to talk to Tyler." 

I looked at Tyler's unconscious body. "He's, uh, out at the moment." 

I heard Joshua's voice. "Yes?" 

"Hello, sir. Kaylin Salvatore here. We met on Thanksgiving. You scrambled my brother Damon's brain, and then when I came swooping in to save the day, you ran like a little bitch. Anyway, I have been sitting here baby-sitting your psycho son all day, and it's got me so bored that I have been Googling celestial events happening today, and I was just curious. Would a Mercury-Venus conjunction give you enough juice to do a little Gemini merge party?" 

"Why?" 

"I'm gonna take that evasive answer as a 'yes'. So, here's teh situation. I'm gonna need you to use that planet party to merge your set of blonde twins ASAP. Because, well, unfortunately, your formerly comatos son is gonna be on the loose and Hell-bent on beating you to the punch." I hung up. Kai came to. "Rise and shine, you little weasel." Kai tried to use magic on me, but nothing happened. "Ooh, trying to pop a blood vessel in my brain? Sorry. Not gonna work. Looks like all that magic you sucked up drained away while you were asleep, which is good for me. Don't worry. I know where you can get more." 

Kai sat up, chuckling without humor. "You really think I'm gonna trust you?" 

"No," I answered. "And I'm not gonna trust you. I just happen to need a magic siphon, and you're the only game in town." 

Kai looked down at Tyler weirdly in confusion. "Hi." He hopped off the bed, looking at me. "Let's discuss my fee." 

I smirked. 

******

I took Kai to the Medical Center with Damon, Elena and Liz in her room.

Kai was washing his hands in the sink. "All right. I need a 12-gauge needle, stat. I don't now what I'm gonna do with it, but I need it." 

"You're not a doctor, so stop playing games," Elena told him. "Because I am a vampire, and I will rip your head off if you screw this up." 

"What she said," Damon told him. "So do your stupid little magic suction trick and suck the magic out of her. Right now." 

Kai looked at Damon and Elena. "I get what you two see in each other. It's very dysfunctional." He laughed. "See what I did? Stressing the 'fun' in dysfunctional--"

"Just get on with it, Kai," Liz told him. "Listening to you talk makes me wanna die." 

I looked at her in amusement. "That's good." 

Kai put one hand on Liz's arm, the other on her cheek, taking the magic from her, causing her pain.

"Is it working?" Damon asked.

"I have no idea," Elena told us. 

Jo walked in, seeing Kai, stopping in horror. "What the hell is going on? What is he doing here?" 

"Hey, sis," Kai told her. "Little busy. Be with you in a jiffy." 

"Elena?" Jo asked.

"I'm gonna let Kaylin explain," Elena told her. 

"Yeah," I agreed.

Jo and I walked out of the room.

******

We walked into another room.

"Have you actually lost your mind?" Jo asked.

"Hey, sh," I told her. "Listen. You told me Liz was gonna die in eight hours if the magic kept doing its thing. He steals magic. You made it through med school. I figured you knew where I was going with this." 

"If you think Kai is doing this out of the goodness of his heart, I can assure you, he doesn't have one," Jo told me. "What's the price?" 

"He wants to merge," I answered. Jo looked at me in shock. "Tonight." 

******

"I can't merge tonight," Jo told me. "I'm not ready." 

"You almost burned my house down," I told her. "Don't you think I know that? Luckily for you, it's all been taken care of." 

"Kaylin, what the hell did you do?" Jo asked.

I opened my mouth to answer until I felt literally nothing snap my neck. 

******

When I woke up, I had gone to Liz's room to make sure that she was okay. 

Liz's heart monitor was flatlining. 

Damon stood nearby, overwhelmed.

Elena was doing chest compressions, but getting no response. "Stay with me, Sheriff. Just... breathe!" 

"Damon, hey," I told him. "What happened?" 

"It's her heart," Elena told me. "I'm losing her." 

"Okay, no offense, Elena, but I think we need to get a real doctor," Damon told her.

"So find one," I told him. "Now." 

Damon turned around, hurrying to find a doctor.

******

Damon walked in with a doctor. 

"How long has she been down?" the doctor asked. 

"What's that mean?" I asked. "Dead?" 

"I--I don't know," Elena told us. The doctor was charging shock pads. "Maybe... I think it was a minute. It feels like an hour." 

The doctor shocked Liz's chest. "Clear!" 

******

The doctor was still shocking Liz.

The heart monitor was still flatlining.

******

The doctor shocked Liz again.

Elena was on the verge of tears. 

The doctor started to pack up.

Damon stopped him. "Uh-uh. Hey, I compelled you to save her." He grabbed the shock pads, pushing them into the doctor's hands. "Unless you want me to gouge your eyes out, I suggest you keep working. Here." 

"I've done all that I can do," the doctor told us. "She's gone. I'm sorry."

Damon compelled the doctor. "Get out of here. Forget you're a total failure." 

The doctor turned around, walking out of the room.

Damon tossed the shock pads down.

"No, no," Elena told us, starting the compressions again. "I will not let this happen. Wake up." 

I tried to pull her away. "Hey, she's gone." 

"Come on," Elena said. 

Caroline and Stefan walked in.

Caroline saw what was happening, running around us to her mom. "No, no! Mom, Mom!" She shook Liz. "Mom, Mommy! No, Mom, no." She started to cry. "Don't leave me, please. Please, no. Please don't leave me, Mom." 

******

Liz woke up. 

The heart monitor started to beep again. 

"Mom?" Caroline asked.

"It's okay, baby," Liz told her. "I'm right here." 

Caroline cried harder in relief. "Mom."

"Oh, it's okay," Liz told her. "I'm right here. I'm right here, baby. It's okay, it's okay."

Elena was overwhelmed, turning around, walking out of the room.

Damon followed her.

Stefan and I exchanged a look of relief.

******

I had left the hospital to find Jo and Kai. 

I found them in the middle of a dark, deserted park.

Kai was lying on the ground, unconscious. 

Jo was holding Luke in her arms, crying. "Luke. Luke, wake up. Luke." 

I walked closer to her. "Good. You're still alive. That's gonna save me a huge blowout with Ric when he gets back." I looked at Luke and Kai on the ground. "I am definitely coming into something late." 

"Luke showed up and he merged with Kai," Jo explained. 

"Huh," I said. "So I guess adding the words 'twin merge' to my vocabulary was pointless, 'cause they ain't twins." 

"He's not supposed to be here," Jo told me. "The only reason he's here is because you let Kai out!" She looked at her younger brother. "Luke. Luke, wake up. Wake up, Luke." 

"Well, uh, let me give him some of my blood," I told her. 

"It wouldn't help," Jo told me. "It's up to them now. Whoever wakes up is the winner. And whoever doesn't..." Luke inhaled softly, opening his eyes. "Can you hear me? Can you hear me?" 

Luke looked up expressionlessly, exhaling, his heart beat fading and his breathing stilling, the light leaving his eyes.

******

"Luke?" Jo asked. "Wake up, Luke." Luke didn't answer. Jo felt for a pulse, not finding one. "Oh, my God."

******

Jo looked up at me, crying. "Oh, my God. Luke. He's gone. He saved me, and he's gone." 

Kai's voice came from behind me. "You win some, you lose some." I turned around to face him. Kai smiled. "Except for me. I always win." 

I rushed toward Kai.

Kai disappeared into the night.

I looked around the park, realizing that Jo, Luke and I were the only ones left.