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"Said you'd always be my white blood. Circulate the right love. I need you right here with me."

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THE ONLY TIME snapping ones neck is useful is when you need to put a vampire down temporarily. It doesn't take long for the bones, tendons, veins and muscles to heal, but it does allow time for one to get away. It allows one time to hop into a car, and drive past the anti-magic boarder in which they can ignite an explosion by driving their car into a building suffering a massive gas leak. It allows enough time to kill hundreds of Travellers at once, all part of the plan to end the Travellers once and for all.

By they, I surely mean Damon and Joel who I fear have already gotten themselves into trouble.

I awake with a gasp on the cold, hard floor of the forest, pine needles sticking me in my back and poking me through my sweater. I glance up at the night sky in which the moon has just taken it's rightful place, assuring me that more than several minutes has passed since Joel so wrongly snapped my neck.

That's twice in twenty four hours that Joel has snapped my neck to get away from me, and although deep down I know he was only trying to protect me, I can't help but feel anger towards his actions. Not only did I fail to believe their plan would work, but Damon knew it. He sat there while I explained my reasoning, yet he still had the nerve to put his life on the line to follow through with a plan that was doomed from the beginning. He knew I didn't believe it would work, which is why his eyes were filled with guilt and regret seconds before Joel snapped my neck.

From the ground where I sit, I glance around noticing Bonnie standing in the middle of the cemetery, looking around as if she's expecting to see something. From where I sit I can hear Liv chant the spell over and over, presumably giving Bonnie the power to override the other side.

My head quickly turns to the sound of light sobs coming from beside me, and it's only then do I notice Elena kneeling on the ground. Her eyes are visibly red under the moonlight, her eyes sparking with tears.

"Did he snap your neck too?" I ask her, rubbing the back of my neck.

Elena shakes her head and stares at the ground, gripping pine needles in her clenched hand. "No," she whispers. "He told me he loved me, and to respect his choice and before I knew it he and Joel had left for his car," Elena explains, finally turning to me.

I purse my lips as the look on her face really shows just how much she loves my brother. I know deep down a part of me hates her for what she did to Stefan, but I can see now the good she's done to Damon. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined Damon to volunteer to blow himself up, knowing there was a chance he couldn't come back. He chose to sacrifice himself for the people he loves, including the doppleganger sitting beside me.

"Have they-" I gulp, not believing in their plan but suddenly I feel as if I'm forced to have hope, forced to believe that their plan will work. "Have they come back yet?" I croak.

Elena shakes her head. "No. They've passed through, but Bonnie hasn't said if they've come back. It's been almost fifteen minutes." She cries, gripping the ground harder.

I frown and close my eyes, taking deep breaths to calm myself down. "Why didn't they snap your neck?" I ask curiously.

She sniffles and turns to me, a faint smile on her face. "Because they know you're more stubborn than me," she says, my lips curling up in a small smile.

From where we both sit on the ground, I place my hand over hers forcing her to release all the soil she's gathered within her clenched fists. I send her a small smile, but before I have a chance to say anything there's sound of footsteps approaching from behind us, forcing me to my feet in a quick and defensive stance.

Elena stands up beside me, both of us watching as two figures make their way out of the shadows and into the clearing so that they're standing right in front of us. As the moon lights up the cemetery I'm able to clearly see the faces in front of me, and to be honest they're the last people I expected to see right now, especially the toddler in his hands.

"Oh my god," I gape, staring at Logan and Christina who stand ten feet ahead of us, Theo in Logan's arms.

"You're okay!" I cry with happy tears, running straight to Logan who immediately hands me Theo.

"Mommy!" Theo screams in excitement, his face showing no signs of fear.

"Are you okay?" I ask him through my light sobs, checking him up and down for any scratches but he's perfectly fine.

"I'm okay mommy," Theo squeals happily. I sigh and bring him closer to my body, wrapping my arms protectively around his little structure. This morning when the Travellers took him from me, it was if someone had killed me inside. Theo has become part of my family, and every motherly instinct I've ever had to protect him came out assuring me of just how important he is to me. He is after all my little boy.

I release Theo and set him down, his arm still around my leg as I glance at Logan. I grin widely, making him laugh before I engulf him in a tight hug. "Were you the man Joel hired?" I laugh into his neck.

"Yup," Logan chuckles, rubbing my back soothingly.

"Thank you," I whisper genuinely, feeling as if my words fail to meet the amount of gratitude I feel right now. Logan was the only one who could get over the boarder, seeing as he wasn't a vampire. "I owe you everything," I say, releasing him.

He smiles. "That was the least I could do." 

"How did you do it exactly?" I ask out of curiosity.

He shrugs. "Let's just say the Sheriff had a little something to do with it." He winks, making me smile even wider.

I turn to Christina to see she's smiling widely, her eyes wide with happiness. "Thank you for coming," I say, wrapping her in a hug. She wraps her arms around me and places a kiss on my cheek before releasing me.

"No, thank you," she says, wiggling her fingers in front of me. Only now do I realize a ring on her finger, supposedly the one I asked Elijah to have made for her. "Thanks to you, I now have a daylight ring." 

I smile and nod in return, before kissing Theo on the forehead again just to assure myself this is real. None of it seems real, as everything has happened so quickly. It feels as if Theo was never taken, like Damon and Joel didn't blow themselves up and Stefan isn't dead, but the more I think about it do I realize it is real. Every time I let everything from today sink in, I feel like I'm going to faint.

"Where is Joel?" Logan asks, concern in his voice.

"He didn't tell you?" I question cautiously.

Logan shakes his head, exchanging a nervous glance with Christina. "What did he do Blair?" Logan presses.

I sigh and look back at Bonnie who stands still in the middle of the cemetery. "He's on the other side," I say lowly, Elena glancing at me, knowing how hard it is for the two of us.

"He's what!" Logan exclaims, but before he can protest further, Bonnie lets out a gasp as suddenly a blonde male appears in front of her, running straight into the Salvatore tomb where Liv is set up. I furrow my brows in confusion, not believing what I just saw with my own eyes.

That man just came back from the dead.

Suddenly, another person appears in front of Bonnie, his black hair slicked back and a smile on his face as if nothing happened. He walks straight past Bonnie and towards the exit of the cemetery, passing Caroline who walks towards us. "Hello gorgeous," I hear the man say, but I'm too in shock to process who the hell he is.

Bonnie lets out another cry of pain as Tyler Lockwood appears in front of her, his eyes landing straight on Caroline.

"What the hell is this?" Logan shouts in anger, not understanding anything.

"Tyler?" I shout, his attention turned on me. "Is it you?" I ask.

He nods and lets out a forced laugh, wrapping Caroline in a hug. However, he bounces back as soon as they make contact, confusion on his face. "Woah. That felt different," he says cautiously, before going and picking up the sharpest rock he can fine, piercing the edge into his skin to draw blood. At first I'm confused, but soon realize he's not healing. He's no longer a hybrid, but rather a werewolf.

As Tyler and Caroline let out a laugh of relief, I find myself finally able to process it all. Somewhere in my mind I failed to see the logic of it all through the tall wall I had built around myself as I was too oblivious to the fact that it was possible to pass from the other side through Bonnie. All of it was true, the spell and everything, and their plan has properly fallen into place. As I let this process I realize it's not so crazy after all, and I find myself believing that there's a small chance I may get to see my brothers again, hell maybe even James if he hasn't already passed on.

Bonnie suddenly lets out a horrific cough, her hand covering her mouth splashed with blood. I gasp at the sight, only now realizing the reality of it all. Not only is this spell working, but it's killing Bonnie too.

"Bonnie!" I yell, just as she starts to fall over. She stumbles on her own feet as her coughing makes her loose balance. I sprint vampire speed to her side to help her up, but I bump into two people who are already there before me- suddenly appearing out of thin air. As I trail my eyes from their feet to their faces do I realize who it is.

"Joel?" I gape, my shoulder touching his. I glance from the left of Joel, my eyes landing on Stefan. "Stefan!" I cry, helping Bonnie up.

However Stefan appears to be in shock as he looks off into the distance with fear. "No, no no. I was only trying to help her, she was falling," he rambles.

"What are you saying Stefan!" I shout, gripping onto Joel's shoulder for support.

"Damon, he wasn't back yet," Stefan whispers, finally making eye contact with me. He stares at me in shock, like the realization of my presence has finally hit him.

I don't say anything as I wrap my arms around my twin, pulling him close to comfort us both. This is the first contact I've had with Stefan in almost two years, and somehow I wish it was under better circumstances. "He'll be alright Steff. I believe it," I say sternly, surprised by the words that leave my mouth.

"But Blair, I didn't see James either. He was supposed to come back with Damon. They're still at the grill," Stefan whispers into my hair, making my whole body freeze. I slowly release him, my thoughts processing like a computer.  

"What did you say?" I ask him, not sure if I heard him correctly.

"He's over there Blair, I saw him with my own eyes." Stefan assures me, noticing my confusion.  "James is on the other side." 

I back up away from Stefan, glancing at Joel who stands close to my side. "It's true Blair. I saw him," Joel says, a small smile on his face.

Bonnie begins to cough more, walking away from everyone to get some space within all the chaos. "Bonnie!" I yell, fearing for her life.

"It's okay. I can hold on," she assures us.

I purse my lips as Theo starts to cry. Logan picks him up for me, Christina gripping his arm in shock. I realize that neither one of them have seen this sort of supernatural thing before- people coming back from the dead, and frankly neither have I. I know I should be shutting down in shock, but somehow through the hope of seeing Damon, of seeing James keeps me going. I never thought it to be possible until I saw Stefan and Joel reappear right in front of my eyes.

My eyes water with tears as the wind blows through the trees, Bonnie letting out another violent cough. She has blood spilling from her nose and mouth, and I know she only has minutes left before she won't be able to take it any longer.

"That's it. Bonnie, I'm stopping the spell," the blond male yells from the tomb, as he begins to chant a spell.

"No," I whisper, bringing my trembling fingers up to my lips. I had hope, I had hoped too much and now everything was falling apart.

Suddenly, another body goes flying from Bonnie, appearing on the ground. His face is hidden with his head bowed down, making my body go still. 

However, as the male lifts his head I realize it's Alaric, and although that brings joy to my heart there's still two people missing.

I watch intently from the tomb to Bonnie, dropping to my knees as the candles from the tomb go out, the spell coming to it's end as the male and Liv disappear out of sight before any of us can get them to start up the spell again.

As my knees hit the ground, I let out a single cry, feeling as though my heart has been ripped out of my chest once again. I close my eyes and feel my whole body tremble as I feel a tremendous amount of anger rush through me- anger that I let myself believe in something so stupid. I should've never let myself believe this would work. I should've never let myself believe that I would see James again, or Damon for that matter. I knew as soon as Joel snapped my neck I wasn't going to see him again.

"Blair," Stefan says, gripping my shoulder lightly from where he stands beside me.

"No." I cry, still not daring to look up. If I look up and see empty space in front of me, space that should be filled with the ones I love I fear I may be forced to turn it all off. It's an action long over due.

"Blair, just look damn it!" Joel shouts, silencing my sobs for a split second.

Confused by his sudden use of anger, I lift my head from where I kneel on the ground, my eyes trailing to another body that stands several feet in front of me. My watery eyes follow from his feet to his eyes, my breath catching in my throat as I forget how to breathe.

Not five feet in front of me beside Bonnie stands the only man who has ever made me feel alive. In front of me stands that man who was so wrongly taken from me not two years ago.

In those few seconds I forget how to breathe, I lock eyes with the hazel blue eyes I never thought I'd see again, and as he smiles do I slowly feel myself drawing in a breath.

Because standing in front of me is James Branson.

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[completed & edited: 09/25/2021]