15. Let Her Go

"Okay, we've got band-aids, surgical gear, and a medevac en route for an airlift" Liz said, as her and Amelia walked over to their daughters who were currently sitting on the ground crying, both of them having fell from their bikes after attempting to high five each other while riding.

"You're making fun of us" Caroline cried.

"No, sweetheart, I'm making fun of me and Amelia" Liz said, sitting infront of her daughter, while Amelia picked Aria up and placed her in her lap, "There is no greater first than watching your kids ride without training wheels and no worse first than seeing them bite the dust".

"Elbow" Aria cried, showing her mother her bleeding elbow.

"It's okay baby, mommy's going to make it all better" Amelia assured, cleaning Aria's wound and then placing a bandage on it.

"Mommy, there is so much blood" Aria cried, "Am I dying?".

Amelia and Liz laughed at Aria's question, "You're not going to die, I'm not going to let you" Amelia replied.

"Are you two gonna die?" Caroline asked.

"Well, everyone dies eventually, sweetie, but not for a long, long time" Liz assured.

"What happens if you and mommy die and me and Caroline are left alone?" Aria asked, scared of being left alone.

"When that happens you and Caroline will be all grown up, and you won't need us because you will have each other" Amelia replied.

"I think me and Aria are always going to need you both" Caroline said.

"I agree with Caroline" Aria whispered, hugging her mom, while Caroline hugged Liz.

Aria gasped and opened her eyes, the dream having disturbed her sleep, looking around, she realised her and Caroline were sleeping in the kids nursery, the two mothers finding solace in their kids after their mother's death.

Aria slowly sat up, she saw Caroline still sleeping on the couch, she then looked towards the floor where she saw Rebekah and Kol sleeping.

A small smile formed on her face seeing the two originals, realising the only reason they were sleeping here were to make sure the sisters were okay.

After realising what the time was and that any minute her kids were about to wake up, Aria decided to go downstairs and prepare their bottles. As Aria walked down the stairs, her eyes landed in the living room, where she saw Klaus, Elijah and Finn sleeping, Elijah and Finn having come back to Mystic Falls as soon as they heard about Liz's death, Jeremy and April tried to come back as well but all the flights were full so Aria told them to stay at school, assuring them she was fine.

Without waking any of the originals up, Aria quietly walked into the kitchen, entering it, she was shocked seeing Damon sitting on the table, from the look on his face, he looked extremely frustrated.

"Hey" Damon greeted, giving Aria a small smile.

"Hey" Aria whispered.

"Why are you awake so early?" Damon asked, knowing both Aria and Caroline had slept very late, both the girls spent most of the night crying.

"Um, it's nearly time for the triplets to wake up so I thought to make their bottles before they start crying and wake Jayden and Hope up" Aria replied.

"I'll make their bottles" Damon said, standing up, "You should go back to sleep".

"No need, I'll make the bottles" Aria assured, "You should go back to whatever you're doing".

"Liz's eulogy" Damon clarified, "Would you believe your mother entrusted me to eulogize her?".

"She believed you had it in you to give her a good eulogy" Aria replied.

"I think she was trying to teach me a lesson about my own mom" Damon said, "I was supposed to do the eulogy at her funeral, and I just couldn't do it".

Aria sighed, "Well you're gonna do it this time" she said.

"How are you so sure?" Damon asked.

"Because I believe in you" Aria replied, causing a small smile to form on Damon's face, "Just like mom did, now excuse me, I have to prepare for probably what's going to be the worst day of my life".

"Today isn't the worst day of your life, Ria" Damon assured, confusing Aria, "Today and tomorrow, it's a cake walk, there'll be people around you day in and day out, like they're afraid to leave you alone, the worst day? That's next week, when there's nothing but quiet, just a heads-up".

Aria looked away from Damon, not wanting him to see her teary eyes, "I'm going to go to the triplets before they create a havoc".

"I'll come as well" Damon said.

"No" Aria said, "You need to write my mom a good eulogy, I've got our kids".

Damon watched as Aria walked out of the kitchen, even if Aria tried to hide her tears, Damon had seen it, and he knew no matter what she said, Aria was hurting, a lot, and Damon wondered how much more hurt could she take before she decided it was enough.

***

"You've all asked what you can do to help" Caroline said, addressing everyone, a notepad in her hand, "There are five days worth of projects on here, we are going to do them in one, we can break the rules and cut through the red tape, yeah, me and Aria expect our mom to be properly celebrated and buried by the end of the day".

"Sure, whatever you two need" Rebekah said, giving her two best friends a smile.

"Okay, so me and Aria are on casket shopping" Caroline said.

"Rebekah you going to be okay with the kids?" Aria asked.

"I've got them" Rebekah replied.

"We are also here to help her out" Finn assured.

"Great, then let's move" Caroline ordered.

***

"Your mother was such a vibrant women" A lady at the funeral home told both Aria and Caroline, "Even after her husband ran off with that man".

"And we're done here" Aria mumbled, walking away from the women, Caroline quickly following, "For a second I forgot about these stupid sympathies, I've completely forgotten the prepared responses I had, guess I'm going to have to make new ones".

"I don't know how you survived this" Caroline said.

"I did this twice" Aria reminded, "I've got practice, as time went on I've learnt that our response will be different to different category of people, there's friends of circumstance, then there's casual acquaintances, and let's not forget loved ones".

"Are we going to get through this?" Caroline asked suddenly.

"I have no idea" Aria admitted.

"I still have you right?" Caroline asked.

Aria looked at her sister, "We are forever" she reminded.

"Don't leave me" Caroline whispered.

"Only if you promise not to leave me" Aria whispered back.

The two sisters stood outside the funeral, hugging each other, the two not needing anyone except each other.

***

"I'm worried about Ri and Caroline" Kol said, entering the Salvatore's kitchen, wearing a black tux and tie, all ready for Liz's funeral, "There's something we're missing, they seem fine, like a bit too fine", Damon didn't say anything just kept looking down at his notepad, making Kol realise that Damon was still not done with Liz's eulogy, "You're still not done?".

"No, I'm not done" Damon retorted, "And I will never be done, I am not a nice person, and I shouldn't have to stand in front of the whole town and pretend to be a nice person", Damon rapidly tapped his pen on the table in frustration, "This is Liz having the last laugh from the great beyond".

"Relax" Kol said, "You need to get over yourself and remember that this eulogy isn't about you, this is about Ri and Caroline, this is about what they need to hear to be okay, to be able live the rest of eternity without their mother by their side".

Damon let Kol's words sink in, he knew this wasn't about him, this was about Aria and Caroline, Damon had to finish this eulogy, not for himself, not for Liz, but for Aria and Caroline, who were relying on him to give their mother a good eulogy.

***

Aria entered the church in which her mother's funeral was being held in, she walked over to her mother's casket and looked at her mother's body, to Aria her mother looked like she was peacefully sleeping, with no stress or doubt on her face.

"Aria?".

Aria turned around after hearing her name, "Noah?".

"Hey" Noah greeted, slowly walking over to the tribrid, "Jo informed me about your mother, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you".

Aria gave Noah a small smile, "It's okay" she whispered, "I didn't really expect you to be there for me".

"I know" Noah said, "But I still wanted to be there".

"Thank you" Aria said, giving Noah a grateful nod.

"How you doing?" Noah asked, concerned for the tribrid.

"I'm fine" Aria assured, rapidly nodding her head, while tears welled in her eyes.

"It's okay to admit that you're not okay, Aria" Noah said, stepping closer to Aria.

Aria looked at Noah, "I can't break, I have to be there for Caroline".

"Caroline has a lot of people there for her" Noah assured.

Aria sighed, "I know that" she said, "But she's my sister, I have to be there for her as well".

"You can be there for her while also grieving" Noah said, "No one will blame you for that".

"I don't want to grieve just yet" Aria said, "Right now, I just need to make sure my mom gets a proper goodbye".

"And she will" Noah assured.

"I'll believe you when everything goes to plan" Aria said.

"Ri?" Kol called out, walking over to Noah and Aria.

"Yeah?" Aria asked.

"They're ready" Kol informed, "Do you need more time?".

Aria shook her head, "No, it's okay, I'm ready" she replied, Aria gave her mother one last look, "Me and Caroline are going to be all right, mom, I promise you, after today, for a few months, everything will be okay".

Though Noah didn't pay much attention to Aria's words, Kol did, causing him to frown, wondering what Aria was on about, but before he could ask her any questions, after wiping her tears Aria turned to Kol.

"Let's go, I'm ready" Aria said.

***

"We're here today to pay our tribute and our respect to a pillar of our community, our sister, our protector, Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes, we are also here today to show our love and support for Liz's family and friends", Caroline and Aria glanced at each other, both having tears in their eyes, without saying anything, they just held each others hand and turned back to the priest.

Everyone watched as all the police officers stood up and walked over to Liz's casket and spread the flag over it.

"Calling Sheriff Forbes", Aria and Caroline tried their best to not break down infront of everyone, "This is the last call for Sheriff Forbes, no response".

"Radio number 2-6 is out of service after twelve years and four months of police service, gone but never forgotten".

After all the police officers walked down the stage, Damon walked over to the podium, immediately his eyes landed on both Aria and Caroline, both the girls gave him a encouraging nod, "Liz Forbes was my friend" he started, "In her last moments, she asked me to pass along a message to her daughters, but I cut her off before she could say too much, told her she could tell Caroline and Aria herself, but she didn't get that chance", Damon looked at the two emotional sisters, "Your mom wanted you both to know how proud of you two she was, and she should be, you two are beautiful, strong women, generous friends and bright lights in a sea of dark, she said you both were extraordinary, and you two are, and so was she, Liz was a hero to this town, she was a hero to all of you, and she was a hero to me", Damon glanced at Liz's closed casket, "Goodbye, sheriff, you will be missed".

After Damon was done, Aria stood up from her seat and walked over to the podium, on her way she passed Damon who gave her a small smile.

"I was very young when I lost my biological mother" Aria said, "After that, though I was taken in by the Gilberts, Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes was the one who brought me out of the darkness that my parents death pushed me into, she was my shoulder to cry on, she was there to comfort me when I woke up screaming after having a nightmare, she was there to take care of me when I neglected my health, she gave me hope when I felt hopeless, she was there for all my major milestones, she was there when I graduated high school, she was there when I started college, she was there when her little girl became a mother herself, she taught me how to be what I am today, and I'm going to be thankful to her for the rest of my life, I love you mom, and I really miss you, I wish I had longer with you, I wish my kids could have known you, but I promise, they will know about you, they will know about the amazing women who raised their mother to be what she is today".

Aria stared at her mother's casket, tears falling down her cheeks, wiping her tears, Aria sat back in her seat, next to Damon, who quickly grabbed her hand in support, making Aria give him a grateful look.

After Aria had sat down, Caroline stood up and walked to the stage, "Thank you all for coming" she said, "This is for my mom", Caroline took a deep breath and started singing, "Go in peace, go in kindness, go in love, go in faith, leave the day, the day behind us, day is done, go in grace, let us go, into the dark, not afraid, not alone, let us hope by some good pleasure, safely to arrive at home".

***

After the funeral, Damon and Klaus stood in the Grill, thanking everyone for coming when a panicked Kol walked over to them.

"Caroline and Ri are no where to be found" Kol informed.

"What?" Klaus asked shocked.

"I saw them leave the church, I thought they might go to Rebekah and Enzo at the boarding house to check on the kids but I called Enzo and he said none of them ever arrived" Kol replied.

"Where the hell did they go then?" Damon asked concerned.

"I have no idea" Kol replied, "But we need to find them, their behaviour all morning has been bugging me, something isn't right".

Damon and Klaus nodded and with that the three vampires rushed out the Grill to find the missing sisters.

***

Aria kneeled infront of her parents grave and placed two roses infront of them.

"Mom, Dad, I'm about to do something I know you two won't agree with" Aria said, tears slipping down her face, "But I can't do this anymore, the pain, it's too much for me to handle, I lost you guys, then I lost supermom and now I lost mom, why is it always me who loses family? I can't take it anymore, I need the pain and hurt to just stop, and I know I'm being selfish, I know my kids need their mother, but I also know that they are in good hands, I know Rebekah will take care of them, and in a few months, when the pain isn't there anymore, I will return to them, but right now, I have to do this, it's the only way I will survive through mom's death, please don't be mad at me, try to understand what I'm going through".

"Ria".

Aria turned around and saw worried Damon and Kol standing behind her.

"How'd you find me?" Aria asked, wiping her tears and standing up.

"Kai did a locator spell on you and Caroline" Kol replied.

"Caroline isn't here" Aria informed.

"We know" Kol said, "She's at her house, Nik's there with her".

"You two should also go to her" Aria said, "I'm fine, I don't need anyone to check up on me".

"You're lying, you're anything but fine" Damon stated.

"I knew something was wrong" Kol said, "You and Caroline wanted to get everything done so quickly, like there was something else you both had to do, both of you were trying to get through today without worrying if you would survive tomorrow, and now listening to your talk, I realised what you're about to do".

"You're going to turn your humanity off" Damon finished.

Aria looked at Damon, "I thought I was strong enough to survive mom's death, but I'm not, I can't just pick up myself up this time, it's too damn hard and Damon, your words made me realise that none of this is ever going to get better, it's just going to get worse, it's better for everyone if I do this".

"Better for everyone?" Damon asked shocked, "Which everyone are you talking about? Cause it certainly can not be me or Kol, and what about our kids? How am I meant to go home tonight to them without you by my side, what am I meant to do when they cry for their mother?".

"They have you and Kol and Rebekah" Aria cried.

"But they need you, yeah they have all of us, but they need you, their mother" Kol snapped.

"I'm not leaving them forever" Aria snapped back, "I just need some time, okay?! I'm not asking forever, I'm asking for a few months without the pain, please"

"When you turn it back on, the pain is still going to be there, Ria" Damon argued.

"But it will be less" Aria cried, "It hurts too damn much Damon, I can't take it, I want my mom back but I know that's not possible and I haven't learnt how to live without her yet, I need time to get used to everything, and I know the pain will still be there but the worst part would be gone, which is exactly what I need right now, I need the worst part of the pain to be gone".

Aria fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, Damon and Kol quickly rushed over to her.

"My mom is dead" Aria cried, as Damon hugged and Kol rubbed her back, "Another family member of mine is gone, and it's hurts so much that at times I can't breathe, I need the pain to go, please Damon, make the pain go, I can't take it anymore!".

Aria clutched on to Damon's shirt and sobbed, while Damon and Kol exchanged worried looks.

"Turn it off" Damon suddenly said.

Aria broke the hug and looked at Damon in confusion, "What?" she asked.

"Turn it off, Ria" Damon repeated, "But before you do, promise me something, promise that you will come back to me, to our kids, promise me Ria because I won't be able to do this without".

"I will" Aria cried, "I promise I will come back, just give me a few months".

Damon looked at Kol, who sighed but nonetheless nodded, even he knew this was the best thing for Aria, for now at least.

"We will" Kol assured, "But know this, if you take too long to turn it back on, I will compel you to turn your humanity back on".

"Deal" Aria said.

After giving Damon and Kol one last look, Aria closed her eyes, and the next time she opened her eyes again, they were emotionless.

***

Damon entered his kids nursery, only to see all three of them fast asleep, after Aria turned it off, she had rushed off somewhere and both Damon and Kol couldn't follow her as she cloaked herself.

"Your mother is on a small vacation" Damon whispered to his children, "For a few months you three are going to have to deal with me, she took care of you guys when I wasn't there and now it's my turn, but I promise, she'll come back to you and once she does, me or you won't let her leave us ever again".

"Damon" A worried Kol called out, entering the nursery.

"Did you find her?" Damon asked, really needing to know where Aria was.

"No" Kol replied, "But I found someone else".

"Who?" Damon asked confused.

"Bonnie and your brother" Kol replied.

"Bonnie made it out?" Damon asked shocked.

"Yeah, she used Qetsiyah's blood" Kol replied, "But that's not important, while coming out of the prison world, Bonnie ended up in another prison, where she saw a women, she managed to record her face and when she showed the recording to Stefan, he immediately tried to contact you but you weren't answering his calls which is why he came to me when I was looking for Ri at the Grill".

"That's cause I blocked him" Damon informed, "Anyways, why do I care about who Bonnie saw in the stupid prison world, I have better things to do, like making sure Ria doesn't land in trouble and that my kids are okay".

"Damon, it was your mother" Kol revealed, shocking Damon.

"What did you just say?" Damon asked Kol, not knowing if he heard  Kol correctly.

"Turns out, your mother is alive and she's stuck in a prison world" Kol revealed.

***

Presenting 6x15 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Damon writing Liz's eulogy?

Thoughts on Noah attending Liz's funeral?

Thoughts on Liz's funeral?

Thoughts on Aria turning her humanity off?

p.s. now that Aria has no emotions, the real drama between her, Damon and Noah is about to start, we are about to find out what kind of person Noah really is 👀