(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Ninety

Damon's car approaches Wickery Bridge, but there is a bonfire of wood a blaze that tells Damon and Daphne that they are too late. That they shouldn't have diverted. But it's done now. They can't go back and change it. Rebekah stands in front of the bonfire, looking rather smug with herself. Damon stops the car and gets out, moving forward towards her. He thought they had one up. But they shouldn't have been talking about it out in the open. They shouldn't have said anything. It is a mistake that they are now paying for.

"Your grand plans always seem to get ruined, don't they?" Rebekah asks, smirking away. "Sorry to disappoint you. Again" Rebekah walks away. Damon turns around and sees Sage by his car with her hand around Daphne's throat, having pulled her out of the car. Damon clenches his jaw in anger.

"Let her go" Damon growls, taking a step closer, but Sage tightens her fingers around Daphne's throat causing him to stop. There is an irony in this considering their last conversation. He doesn't think she meant that she was fine with dying this soon. Daphne reaches up to claw at Sage's hand and arm as she is lifted up slightly, feet brushing against the ground.

"I heard you both talking" Sage admits, but Damon already guessed that. He assumes that it is also how Rebekah figured out to burn the wood. They both heard him and Daphne. "I don't care what happens to Klaus or Rebekah....but Finn..." She lets out a breath and glares at Damon. "I know the Originals are all linked, if one dies they all die" Damon rushes toward Sage and grabs her by the throat, pushing her against his car as Daphne stumbles out of the way, gasping for breath. She then turns to watch Damon with Sage, something proud and touched rising in her watching him defend her like this.

"I should end you," Damon tells Sage, snarling in her face.

"I'm 900 years old, Damon. You're not capable of ending me"

"But I am" Daphne has her wand held out and pointed at the female vampire who glances at her. Sage holds up her hands a little and Damon releases her, moving to place himself between Sage and Daphne, just enough that the witch can still point her wand at Sage.

"Let me tell you something, your long lost love has a suicide wish" Damon informs Sage. "Cause when mama witch linked them together in a spell he's the one that volunteered to die"

"He wouldn't do that" Sage argues.

"He didn't want to live. Not for you. Not for anyone. He doesn't love you, Sage. Now, when I do find another way to kill those Originals" He glances back at Daphne. "When we find another way" He corrects himself. "I'll start with Finn" Sage glares at him before she vamp-speeds away from them. Daphne lowers her wand arm and rubs her throat with her other hand. Damon grabs her arms as he turns to face her. "You're okay" He assures her, she nods back at him and closes her eyes. He rubs her arms trying to comfort her but she's fine. She feels fine. She wasn't all that scared because he was there and she knew he'd look after her. He had her back and she had his. She falls into his chest, curling her arms around his back and clutches to his jacket. He laughs softly and wraps his arms around her, pressing his head to the side of hers. "You're fine" He whispers warmly. "I got you" She lets out a breath and nods against his chest. She knows that he does. "Come on, let's go home" He offers when he pulls back, she nods and steps out of his embrace so she can climb into the car. Damon moves around the hood to get to the other side but before he gets in, he pauses and looks back at the burning bonfire. He shakes his head and then gets in his car, glances at Daphne in the passenger seat, she glances back at him and smirk, he bites his lip, trying to fight his own smirk. She really is a genius.

"Revelio" She whispers, drawing her wand over the empty space between her legs. With the spell, the Wickery Bridge sign appears. The one that Alaric had been working on. The one that was made from the old wood. The white oak wood. She was right about this town. They had decided to use the old wood to create the new sign. Something that neither Rebekah nor Sage would have thought about. But she did. Daphne thought of it. As Damon drives them away, Daphne's phone starts ringing in her bag. She closes her eyes already sensing that this is going to be bad news. This is going to be something else. She pulls her bag into her lap and opens it up to pull her phone out of it. She glances at the caller ID and frowns before answering it.

"Hey, Elena, what's going on?"

"We have a problem" Elena answers on the other end. "It's Ric" Daphne lets out a breath, because of course they do. They do something right, they get a head start, a chance to fix things, so of course, something goes wrong.

"Yeah, sure, we'll be right over" She assures her sister and then lets out a long, long breath as she hangs up. "Maybe Elena was right about me taking a break" She comments. Damon hums a little and glances at her.

"Gilbert house?" He asks, and she nods. It's been a long day already and it is not even over. She leans back in her seat. Just when they had a win under their belt with the sign, an Alaric bomb dropped. She should really start thinking about a vacation.