10. Fifty Shades Of Grayson

Damon used his fist to rapidly punch the wall, having made a plan to escape and find Aria before it was too late, once a rock from the wall had fallen to the ground, Damon grabbed it, and after grabbing the wooden bullet Aaron had dropped, he put the bullet in the lock, Damon used the rock and slammed it on the lock, causing a small explosion to go off.

"Come on" Damon said, rapidly kicking the cell, and after a bit more effort, the cell gate finally opened.

***

Damon entered Aria's dorm room, to see a panicked Kol, Caroline and Rebekah there.

"Damon" Caroline said, relived seeing the oldest Salvatore, "Where have you been, we have been looking for you and Aria everywhere".

"Aria's not here?" Damon asked worried.

"No" Kol replied, "After she left to find you, no one has seen her anywhere".

"Dammit" Damon said, "Wes took her somewhere, we need to find her before it's too late".

***

Aria slowly opened her eyes, she realised she was in a basement, tied up to a hospital bed, with vervain and witchy herbs being pumped into her through a drip, keeping her down and extremely weak.

Aria looked around the basement and suddenly was hit with a sense of deja vu, she felt like she has been here before.

"Subject 83182 appears conscious and the vervain and herbs seems to be not also keeping her weak but also seems to give her pain" Wes recorded, suddenly appearing infront of Aria.

"Where am I?" Aria asked, trying to ignore the pain in her stomach, she just hoped and prayed her babies were okay.

"Why?" Wes asked, "Look familiar?".

"What is that?" Aria asked, trying to get out of the restraints, "What are you doing to me?".

"83182 commence prep for blood dialysis" Wes said, ignoring Aria's question.

"If anything happens to my kids, I will murder you!" Aria yelled, trying really hard to get out.

"Don't worry Aria, I'm taking extra precaution when it comes to your child, I won't let anything happen to your child, after all, it will be incredible to find out all the things the child of two vampires will be able to do" Wes said, before Aria could go off at him, Wes placed a gas mask over her nose and mouth, "Count from ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five--", before Wes could even finish his countdown, Aria was out cold.

***

Aaron was in the student lounge, when Damon sat next to him, Damon removed his earphones from Aaron's ear, gaining his attention.

"Pop quiz, so your pregnant girlfriend is taken by a mad scientist" Damon said, "Now do you, A, get a new girlfriend, B, call the police, or C, kill the person closest to the mad scientist".

Aaron tried to run away from Damon, but his way was blocked by Kol, "Sit down" he said.

Damon patted the seat beside him, "You really don't want him to repeat that, he doesn't like repeating thing".

"His right" Kol said, giving Aaron a mock smile, and pushing him down on to the couch.

***

"Four-point-one pints drained" Wes said, looking at the blood bag which had Aria's blood, "83182 still shows sign of consciousness" he said, lighting his torch in Aria's eyes, "Note that fifteen years ago, subject 12144 faded into unconsciousness after losing 2.9 pints, evolution or luck, a mystery for another day".

"Stop" Aria said, trying to get out, "Why do you have these tubes attached to me? Let go of me Wes, you don't realise how many people will come after you if something happens to me or my kids".

"Relax" Wes said, "I plan to let you go, once I'm through with you".

"You are so dead" Aria whispered.

"By who?" Wes asked, "Your heroic vampire friends?".

"No, my serial killer boyfriend" Aria snapped, trying to use her magic, but failing.

"Did you know Aaron Whitmore spent his entire life thinking that his family was haunted by some death curse?" Wes asked, "Turns out that curse was your boyfriend, systematically killing every member of his family tree, just like Katherine Pierce did to yours, I'm curious, how does one differentiate his actions from her actions in your mind?".

"You know nothing about my family!" Aria snapped, "What Damon did to Aaron's family was because they spent years torturing him, but my family did nothing to Katherine, and tell me how do you even about my family's history?".

"Ever wonder how Katherine found out about your parents?" Wes asked.

Aria looked at Wes in confusion, "Do you know something I don't?".

"I know a lot that you don't know" Wes replied, grabbing a file and reading from it, "June 25, 1999, incredible findings today, after enduring 3000 volts of electricity, the subject continues to have a heartbeat, June 26, more success, subject was exposed to 4000 volts today, seizing continues after electrocution, flesh remains hot to the touch".

"You're disgusting" Aria spat.

"This isn't my journal, Aria" Wes said, "These are the handwritten medical findings of Dr. Grayson Gilbert, your adoptive father".

"You're lying" Aria said, refusing to believe Grayson will do that.

"Everything I'm doing to you, I learned from him and your father" Wes revealed.

"My father, did this as well?" Aria asked, tears welling in her eyes, turns she didn't know her fathers as well as she thought she did.

"No entirely, your father did other important research with Dr. Grayson Gilbert, he had no idea what his friend was doing to the vampires, because Dr. Gilbert knew your father would never agree to this" Wes replied, "But then your mother's identity was exposed to Dr. Gilbert, he found out she was a witch, and was from the most strongest bloodline, so risking his friendship with your father, Grayson Gilbert took your mother in Augustine and started doing research on her, he made your father believe that your mother had ran away, leaving you two alone, but one day, Lucas Connor found out the truth, he rescued your mother and a bunch of other vampires, and in order to keep Augustine's secret, Dr. Grayson Gilbert had to do something that will haunt him for the rest of his life".

"What?" Aria whispered, "What did he do?".

"Find Katherine Pierce, and inform her about two Connor witches still being alive" Wes revealed, shocking Aria.

***

"I have no idea where Wes took her" Aaron snapped.

"They're not at his stupid lab, that's one deduction for you" Kol said, "Now think Aaron, where else could your guardian hide a pregnant tribrid?".

Aaron ignored Kol and turned to Damon, "How are you not dead? I shot you".

"Well, cause you went for the head, you gotta go for the heart" Damon replied, slapping the back of Aaron's head, "Go for the heart next time, now, where's Aria?".

"I have no idea" Aaron repeated, "All that Wes told me was to go about my life as usual".

"Well you call Wes and tell him if he doesn't give us Aria then the next experiment that he conducts is gonna be sewing your arms back on" Damon threatened.

***

"This is Grayson dad's clinic" Aria whispered, realising why she felt she has been here before, "Right now, we're in the basement".

"Was Dr. Grayson's clinic" Wes corrected, "Then your town council burned a whole bunch of vampires down here, now it's just condemned building in Mystic Falls where no one will find us".

"I don't believe you" Aria said, "Grayson dad took me in, why will he take me in if he was the reason Katherine found my parents?".

"Guilt, Aria" Wes replied, "Have you ever wondered, why your powers didn't show up until you were a teenager?".

"Because I didn't know I had magic" Aria snapped.

"No, it's because Miranda Gilbert had been giving you herbs to stop your magic from emerging, she didn't want you to have the same fate as your mother" Wes informed.

"How do you know all this?" Aria asked confused, "How do I know you're telling the truth?".

"I learnt all this from Grayson Gilbert himself" Wes replied, just as his phone started ringing.

Wes walked out the building to answer his phone, while Aria continuously tried to get out of the restraints.

"Aaron, hey" Wes greeted.

"Do you have Aria?" A panicked Aaron asked.

"Aaron, what's wrong?" Wes asked worried.

"Uh, Kol and Damon are gonna kill me unless you give them Aria" Aaron replied.

"Damon Salvatore is locked in an impenetrable and inescapable fortified cell" Wes informed.

"Or he's in front of me imagining what my kidney would taste like" Aaron said.

"Fine, meet me in my classroom" Wes said, "Once I see you're safe, tell them I'll give them Aria".

***

"So I know how Ri and Aaron know each other, but I don't know how you two know each other" Kol said, walking with Damon and Aaron towards Wes's classroom.

"Aaron is Aaron Whitmore" Damon informed, "And he comes from a long line of vampire-probing, blood-testing, organ-removing freaks called Augustine".

"And how do you know this?" Kol asked confused.

"Because I was their test subject in the '50s" Damon replied.

"Test subject?" Kol asked.

"Meaning I donated my body to science" Damon replied, "Except I was alive and it was against my will".

"Why don't you finish the rest of the story Damon?" Aaron asked.

"Who said you could talk again?" Kol asked, "Was it you, Damon? Cause it definitely wasn't me".

Damon shook his head, "I don't remember anything".

"Thought so" Kol said, walking away, making Damon smirk, while Aaron simply glared at the two vampires.

***

"When did you meet Grayson Gilbert?" Aria asked, her eyes closing due to exhaustion.

"He was working with Augustine to turn vampire blood into a magical cure-all, to fight disease, cure cancer, save the world" Wes replied.

"Did you ever meet my dad?" Aria asked.

"Yes" Wes replied, "I did once, the day before he died, let's just say, I see where you get your protectiveness for your kids, your father was very protective over you as well".

"What?" Aria asked confused.

"After finding out what Dr. Gilbert did, I told your father that to save himself and his wife, all he had to do was hand you over to Augustine" Wes replied.

"I was ten" Aria snapped, "You wanted to experiment on a ten year old?".

"It was for science" Wes defended, "You are also part of the Connor bloodline, I wanted to know how your magic could help the world, but your dad refused, he would have rather died then hand his daughter over for science".

***

"Which one is it?" Damon asked.

"It's right here" Aaron replied, leading the two vampires into Wes's classroom.

"21051" Enzo greeted, as soon as Damon entered the room.

"Enzo?" Damon said shocked.

Enzo stood up, "It's been awhile, mate".

"Who the bloody hell is that?" Kol asked.

"Lorenzo" Enzo introduced, "But my friends call me Enzo, kidding, I don't have any friends", Enzo forwarded his hand towards Damon and Kol, but none of them stepped forward to shake it, instead Kol looked at Damon for explanation.

"Enzo's another Augustine vampire, our cells were next to each other" Damon informed, he then turned to Enzo, "So we're here to meet somebody, Wes Maxfield, do you know him?".

"That's your first question for me?" Enzo asked, glaring at Damon, "Not, how are you? How did you survive in that fire I left you to die in?".

"All that can wait" Kol snapped, "The mother of his children is currently in danger, so unless you know where she is, stop wasting our time".

"Does somebody wanna tell me what's going on here?" Aaron asked confused.

"I'd love to, have a seat" Enzo replied.

"It's like my words didn't even reach his ears" Kol snapped.

"I'll let you save Damon's baby mama, but after you listen to me" Enzo told Kol, "I've been waiting seventy years to tell my story".

***

"I saw Enzo" Aria whispered, "Is he a Augustine vampire as well? Was he the vampire who killed Megan?".

"Conserve your energy" Wes said, "We've drained enough blood to start phase two".

"Which is what?" Aria asked, "Your death?".

Wes chuckled, "If phase two works, you'll be the first one to know Aria".

"Why did Megan have Grayson Gilbert's photo in her phone?" Aria asked.

"Maybe because her parents helped fund his projects" Wes replied.

"So they knew about Augustine as well?" Aria asked.

"Well, no" Wes replied, "All they knew was that Dr. Gilbert had an unregulated compound that could cure most injuries".

"Vampire blood" Aria realised.

"Exactly" Wes said, "But as Megan grew up, she got suspicious, enrolled at Whitmore, roomed with Dr. Gilbert's adoptive daughter, then she went to a party at Whitmore House and put her nose where it didn't belong".

"She found Enzo, didn't she?" Aria asked.

"And being clueless to what a starving vampire will do around fresh human blood, I'm guessing she got too close" Wes replied, just as his phone started ringing, "Aaron" he greeted.

"Where's Aria?" Kol asked.

"Who's this?" Wes asked confused, while Aria smiled hearing the voice.

"You are so screwed" Aria said, while Kol breathed a sigh of relief hearing Aria's voice.

"We have Aaron and we're trying to decide how to kill him" Kol said.

"Funny, I have Aria and I'm wondering how she'll function without her cerebral cortex, or her babies" Wes said, "Touch him and you'll never see her again".

Aria glared at Wes, "Gilbert's old clinic!" she yelled, trying to get her voice to Kol.

Wes quickly hanged up on Kol and glared at Aria, "What did you do?".

Aria smirked, "Signed your death certificate".

***

Kol took Aaron with him to find Aria, giving Damon and Enzo some time to catch up.

Enzo downed a drink, "What about cricket?" he asked Damon, "Did that ever become a thing here?".

"No" Damon replied, annoyed that he wasn't the one who saved Aria.

"Oh, shame" Enzo said, "Fun sport, not that I can play, took up drawing for a while, of course I had no pencils, so I'd just prick my finger and paint the cell wall with my blood".

"What do you want?" Damon asked, his patience running out, "You want me to feel guilty? I couldn't save you, now, where's Aria?", Enzo suddenly grunted in pain, "What's wrong with you?".

"Wes injected me with poison that'll stop my heart" Enzo replied, "I'll desiccate if I don't return for the antidote".

"All the more reason to tell me where he is" Damon said, "Look, you get the antidote, I'll save my girlfriend and my babies, you, me and Kol will kill Wes together".

"Did you even think about it after you left?" Enzo asked, "The experiments, the cell? Or did you just go out and live your merry life to its fullest?".

"Look at me, if you go back, we go back together" Damon stated, "We finish this for good, come on", Damon forwarded his hand.

Enzo stared at Damon's hand for a moment, then grabbed it, "You're not gonna see your girl or your kids, Damon" Enzo said, breaking Damon's hand, "Because I want the antidote, and Wes told me not to come back until you were dead".

Enzo grabbed Damon and pushed him through the window

Damon landed on top of a car and causing him to groan in pain.

"I imagine you just broke your clavicle" Enzo said, walking over to Damon, "Probably a few lumbar and thoracic vertebrae, it's funny what you learn about your body when it's taken apart like a bloody automobile right before your eyes".

"I'm not gonna fight you, Enzo" Damon stated.

Enzo punched Damon in the face, "What are you gonna do, then? Run?" he asked, "You're good at that", Enzo went to punch Damon again, but Damon held his hand.

"I wanna find my pregnant girlfriend" Damon replied, shoving Enzo to the ground, "All right?".

"While you were out running wild, I had one single thought, that of the pleasure of killing you" Enzo informed, he speeded over to Damon and held him by his neck, just as vein started appearing on his arm.

Damon removed Enzo's hand from his neck, "Enzo, look at me" he said.

"Bloody poison!" Enzo yelled.

"Where is she?" Damon asked, "Where is Aria? Tell me where she is!".

"Or what?!" Enzo yelled, "You'll never see her again, you will never see your kid be born, Damon! It might be good for you to know what it's like to miss someone for the next sixty years".

Enzo fell into Damon's arms, "Enzo, look at me", trying to keep Enzo up, "Hey! Enzo! Where is she? Where is she?", Damon shook Enzo, "Enzo, hey", but it was too late, as Enzo had desiccated.

***

"Since you decided to take things in your own hand, we're going to have to speed things up" Wes told Aria.

"Die" Aria whispered, "Aah!" she yelled, as one of her babies kicked her.

"Have you heard of Pavlov?" Wes asked Aria, "He conditioned his dog to salivate at the sound of a bell, the compound is like that bell, except, instead of a ding, your body will salivate at the smell of vampire blood".

"That's what you did to Jesse" Aria whispered, "Not all vampires are monsters Wes! But what you did to Jesse, you turned him into a monster! In the name of science, you're creating even bigger monsters, please stop!".

"You won't understand Aria, you're one of them after all" Wes said, "And Jesse was a fantastic case study, but he took too long to condition, and considering the size of the vampire population a single-dose injection is much more efficient".

"He couldn't stop feeding" Aria snapped, "He tried to kill my boyfriend".

"Exactly, vampires are now one shot away from craving their own kind" Wes said, filling up his injection, "And you're about to be Patient Zero".

"What?" Aria asked shocked, "No, Wes please don't do this, you don't know what that will do to my babies".

"I guess we will find out" Wes said, walking over to Aria.

"Don't" Aria pleaded, "Don't do this".

"You'll be doing this world a favor, Aria" Wes assured, "I might not be able to kill vampires but you will".

"No" Aria pleaded.

Just as Wes was about to inject Aria, he started yelling in pain, he fell to the ground, holding his head and screaming in pain.

Aria looked at him in confusion, she then looked at her stomach and at Wes and smiled, her children were protecting her before they were even born.

"That's what you get for trying to harm a tribrid's baby" Aria said.

"Aria!" Kol yelled, running down the stairs.

"Kol!" Aria yelled.

"What happened?" Kol asked, looking at a unconscious Wes in confusion, he ran over to Aria, and broke the restraints.

"The babies" Aria whispered, as Kol slowly helped Aria stand, "They protected me".

As soon as Kol helped Aria stand, she yelled out in pain, "Aah!" Aria yelled, holding her stomach in pain.

"Ri!" Kol yelled worry, "What's wrong?".

"It hurts" Aria cried, "Kol, it hurts".

Kol quickly picked Aria up in his arms and speeded out of the building and towards the hospital.

***

After giving Enzo the antidote to the poison Wes injected in him, Damon rushed to the hospital.

"Where is she?" Damon asked Kol, "Where's Aria? Is she okay? Are the babies okay?".

"I don't know" Kol replied, running his hand through his hair in worry, "Meredith admitted her, but she won't say anything".

"What happened to her?" Damon asked.

"I don't know" Kol replied, "I went to save Ri, but when I got there Wes was already on the floor unconscious, when I asked Ri what happened she said the babies protected her, and then she stood up and started screaming in pain, and by the time time I brought her to the hospital she fell unconscious".

"I'm going to kill Wes!" Damon yelled.

"Kol, Damon" Meredith greeted.

"Is Ria and babies okay?" Damon asked.

"Damon, yours and Aria's kids, are tribrids right?" Meredith asked, "They have vampire and witch blood in them?".

"Yeah, so?" Damon asked, getting impatient.

"Aria was injected with vervain and some witch herbs that stopped her magic, when they entered Aria's body, they effected your babies" Meredith replied, "I've pumped as much as I can out, but Aria is still unconscious".

"And the babies?" Kol asked.

"They're stable, for now" Meredith replied, "You brought her right on time, the babies are okay, but I can't say anything about Aria".

"What do you mean you?" Damon snapped, "If the babies are okay, then how can Aria not be okay?".

"The witch herbs in Aria's body were slow poison for witches Damon" Meredith revealed, "If Aria doesn't wake up in twenty four hours, then she might not wake up, and if Aria doesn't wake up, I'm not so sure I will be able to save the babies".

"She's a vampire" Kol snapped, "Vampires heal".

"But she's also a witch" Meredith reminded, "Her vampire healing for some reason isn't healing the poison".

"I need to see her" Damon said, "I need to see Aria".

Meredith nodded, "You can visit her, but one person at a time".

"Go" Kol told Damon, "I'm going to call Rebekah".

Damon nodded, he walked over to Aria's room, entering the room, Damon saw Aria, her eyes were closed, she was laying on the hospital bed, hooked to multiple wires.

Damon went and sat on the stool next to Aria's bed, he held her hand in his, "Please wake up" he whispered, "Please come back to me, I need you Ria, I need someone to tell me that I'm not a monster, I need someone to understand me, I need someone to give me a reason to hold on to my humanity, you have to come back, not just for me, but also for our babies, who won't be able to survive without you".

***

Presenting 5x10  of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on what Wes revealed to Aria, about Grayson Gilbert being the reason as to why Katherine found her parents?

Thoughts on Damon and Kol meeting Enzo?

Thoughts on the baby Salvatore's protecting Aria from Wes?

Thoughts on Aria being poisoned?