Mystic Falls - Saturday Afternoon, FHT

[need_no_moon]

It was a pretty quiet, but busy day at the garage. One of the guys had fallen ill and the boss had gone off to help someone out whose car had broken down. It meant that he had the place to himself and he could tune the radio to whatever song he liked instead of that old timer music the boss always insisted on. It was actually relaxing and he'd

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[daddy_bill]

It hadn't taken much talk to get past the desk clerk and into the garage. Despite moving away ten years ago, everyone in this town knew Bill Forbes. Well, almost everyone. He paused just past the doorway, watching the younger man looking under the hood of a car.

Bill had been told the kid was eighteen, yet he looked to be in his twenties and probably stood close to six and a half feet tall. Frowning, Bill wondered what Liz had been thinking letting him into her home. Perhaps she was slipping.

[need_no_moon]

It took a moment for Jake to realise that the radio hadn't been changed yet, but he could still hear the person on the other side of the room. Frowning, he stood up, turning away from the car and its scent of oil and grease. He was pretty sure he hadn't seen the guy before and looking at his clothes, he probably wasn't a new mechanic.

"You're not supposed to be back here, sir. If you'll just go back up front, someone will be with you in a moment," he told the guy.

[daddy_bill]

"Oh, they've already helped me," Bill replied, moving closer as he spoke, his face showing an easy smile. He felt perfectly comfortable in what others would call uncomfortable situations. After what he'd lived through, relaxation came easily to him.

[need_no_moon]

Somehow the smile wasn't working for Jake and he raised an eyebrow as the guy moved further into the garage. Maybe it was his scent that was setting Jake off, there was something off about it, a trace of something familiar that he couldn't quite place yet as there were too many other scents mixing with it. "And they sent you here?"

[puppywithatutu]

The Next Morning, Mystic Falls Time

Caroline woke up in a familiar drugged haze, unsure how long she'd been out. She blinked, finding herself sitting in a hard metal chair in a dim cellar. Her hair was hanging in her eyes, but her hands were stopped short by restraints that held her firmly in the chair. Pulling against the shackles burned and she cried out, her own tears stinging in her eyes. Somehow there was so much vervain in her system that everything burned well beyond the welts covering her skin wherever the chair touched her. It was like there was vervain in every breath she took, irritating her nose and throat.

"Daddy?" she called out hesitantly at first. "Please?" Caroline's voice grew louder as she began to shout through the pain, not knowing where he might be if he'd left her there. "Daddy, why are you doing this to me? Please, talk to me!"

[daddy_bill]

Stepping into the doorway, Bill had to steel himself against the sight of his little girl burning in the chair. "Shh. I'm so sorry this happened to you, sweetheart," he told her, moving forward to kneel in front of the chair.

[puppywithatutu]

"Dad, I can explain everything, just let me out of here, okay?" she asked, sniffling and biting her lip.

[daddy_bill]

"I need an answer, Caroline," he said, shaking his head sadly at her. "How do you walk in the sunlight? It shouldn't be possible."

[need_no_moon]

Jake woke up with a start, sitting bolt right up in his bed, the magazine that he'd been reading sliding off his chest onto the covers. The light was blinding and he squeezed his eyes shut. He was still completely dressed and he'd never closed the curtains to darken the room. He'd never intended to go to sleep as he'd been waiting for Caroline to get back. It must have been so late that she hadn't come to see him, or maybe she'd found him asleep and... No, he was talking about Caroline here, she'd wake him up no matter what

[sheriff_forbes]

Liz was tired. What Jake didn't realize was that she hadn't been home yet to notice her missing daughter. Answering her cell, she prayed it wasn't another murder victim in need of a coverup.

"Sheriff Forbes," she said, attempting to mask a yawn.

[need_no_moon]

"Liz? Hey, I'm sorry to disturb you at work, but have you heard from Caroline today?" Jake rushed out the words, forgetting to try to not make Liz worry too.

[sheriff_forbes]

"Caroline?" Liz sat up a little straighter at Jake's tone. "No. What's going on?" Something was always going on in Mystic Falls, it seemed.

[puppywithatutu]

Same Day, A Little Bit Later

Even with the light blocked, Caroline still felt as if it was melting her skin. Her head hung forward as she focused on anything but the pain encasing her body.

"You should know, last night when I put you in here, I sat in that doorway and cried." She could hear her father talking but failed to have the energy yet to look at him.

"Dad, I'm fine like this. You have to believe me," she complained, finally lifting her eyes to meet his. "I don't need to be fixed. I...can't be fixed." She winced, knowing this was not what he wanted to hear and honestly, Caroline didn't want to be burnt again.

[daddy_bill]

It worried Bill that her disbelief would mess up the process, but she had to see that it would work. It had to work. Her death was not allowed.

"I've always taught you to try your best. I need you to try now, Caroline," he said, pulling out the blood bag and holding it in front of her, watching as she struggled and won the battle against the beast within. "See? Do you see that, you're doing it."

[puppywithatutu]

He sounded so happy that Caroline had to groan, even as she tried her hardest to fight the hunger. "I can't! Daddy, I'm starving," she croaked, struggling against the chair again.

[daddy_bill]

"I know you are, Care. Try. Fight the urge," he demanded, the bag dangling in front of her eyes. It was everything that she win this battle.

[puppywithatutu]

The day had gone quickly once they'd all made it safely back to the house. Liz had insisted on taking care of getting Caroline cleaned up and put to bed in fresh pajamas while Jake took care of warming up a cup of B positive.

As much as Caroline appreciated her mom brushing out her wet hair and pulling it back, she worried about her father and he was dealing now. "Thanks mom," she murmured as Liz finished and patted her lightly on the shoulder to relax back again.

[sheriff_forbes]

Liz stroked her hand over her daughter's damp ponytail. "Honey, I know this is hard, and there is no excuse for what your father did, but I want you to understand something. All our families, we have beliefs that have been passed on through generations. And we were taught never to stray from them."

[puppywithatutu]

"You did," Caroline reminded her, glancing over at her mom with sad eyes.

[sheriff_forbes]

"Oh sweetie, I've had time. And you showed me that I could look at things a different way," Liz replied, smiling at her daughter and reaching an arm around her to alleviate some of that sadness.