everyonelives | for the rest of us death will be a relief

[Colm nods slowly. "I'm twenty. And she's a freshman, so ... eighteen?" He's pretty sure he remembers her saying that her birthday was the Ides of March so yeah. She's still eighteen.

Lindsay inches closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder gently.]

Yeah, you probably are. But that's parenthood. Disappointing your kids is kind of inevitable.

[That probably says more about how she's raised than parenthood in general.]

And you're especially going to disappoint them if you waste time trying to live up to the other version of you that they've been living with for eighteen years but you have no context for. So just ... be you. I've got your back. The rest we can figure out.

( "It's a nice gesture, but, to catch you up to the complicated part of your weekend holiday, that won't be the Josie we know. Damon brought us here, so that to me is reading you into the chaos. Stop me now if I sound insane," Gray says, trying.

Damon sighs deeply. )

Well. There's this group chat I'm missing. I saw Elena all over it. She seem like she's in a place to take big news? Matt Donovan would be bomb enough...

["My mum was a Watcher and my brother is the leader of the human faction for New Orleans and I know Hope Mikaelson. The bar for insanity is high." He gestures with his hand. "But go for it."

Lindsay starts to swipe through the messages, catching up on what she might have missed.]

I think she's probably unconscious for however long her body will let her. But you can leave her a message and she'll call you back when she's awake?

How vague do you think I can get away with?

( Without seeming like he doesn't care.

Well, that's an answer he can get behind. He doesn't know what a watcher is, but Gray knows about humans and factions - and everyone knows about Hope Mikaelson.

"Our mother didn't give birth to us in this reality. I'm pretty sure we don't exist in this reality. Your Josie isn't cousin Josie we know. That in there isn't our dad. Our dad's not a vampire anymore. Our uncle Stefan is dead. Mom's not in Kansas of all places. And he's in there trying to brainstorm how to tell her we do exist here and now. Do you think a paternity test will prove who we are or does that not make the insanity bar?" he says. )

If you're incredibly vague, do you think she'll actually call you back?

[Because this is Elena and last she heard she was kinda annoyed with you in your last conversation.

Colm takes all this in and as he processes, he sums up their situation succinctly. "Ah. This is some multiverse shite."]

No. I don't. Not after how I left it.

( grabbing his phone up, he sits back, dropping his head back, hoping to god Elena's phone goes to voicemail, but also that he has enough time to come up with he wants to say.

"That went over a lot easier than Steph's taking it," he marvels. Sorry, Steph. )

[Oh, he's definitely going to go to voicemail. This thread of things may be picked up elsewhere or tomorrow, but for now, you just get the familiar. "Hey, you've reached Elena. Leave a message and I'll call you back or text me."

Stephanie's hand lashes out against her brother's shoulder because don't tease her because her life is falling apart. Her phone has become an emotional support brick.

Colm, on the other hand, shrugs.]

In her defense, it's not happening to me.

[If it was happening to him, he'd probably be a lot more upset about it. That being said:]

You're in good hands with Linds, though. She's good at putting puzzles together. A little Sherlock Holmes, that one. And she's good people too. If anyone can figure this out, it's her.

Elena, it's Damon. Call me back when you get this. I don't want to fight, but something big's... come up in New Orleans and it has to do with that growing group chat. ( a beat. fuck. ) This is not about Matt. Just. Call me back. It's serious.

( He hangs up.

If she wants to talk about Matt, he will. If Matt wants to avoid him, that's fine, too. But for now, he's -- done the minimum. She's asleep. She'll get this message.

Yeah, yeah, Gray is sorry for the jab.

"And what's a watcher?" )

[Well, that's a longer story, but also because Colm is friends with a guy who does love comic books he can start here:]

Do you have Slayers in your universe?

["Slayers?" Stephanie's brow furrows at the the way he says that, like it's a title. "No? At least not that I know of."

Lindsay reaches over squeeze Damon's shoulder gently. "Now that it's done you don't have to worry about it, and you can focus on the kids. She'll call you back."

Stefan will make sure of it.]

( Gray hesitates. "Watchers," he turns to his sister, making a connection he didn't, previously. "Slayers," he says again, slowly. "Sorry, we - yes. We do. I misheard you." He looks around himself. "Is there something to drink around here?". Because they are not discussing what that could mean. Maybe it's different.

Damon sets his phone down, leaning forward, listening to the conversation in the other room. )

Pick a cake?

Damon came in with a bottle of whiskey, so start there.

[But since that whole bit feels awkward:]

Want me to go recover it?

[Lindsay shakes her head. "We already have a cake. Bairre's making the cake as a wedding gift and it is going to be delicious, but we do have a potential caterer and Klaus helped us negotiate space for Bairre to bake said cake the week before the wedding because naturally he can't fly it here from London pre-baked."]

( "I actually meant water, but if you can get a bottle of whiskey off our dad in any universe, you win more points with me." And probably his sister, but he's not speaking for her. )

Naturally. Is next week still flowers?

["Water's in the sink." He'll grab two glasses for them but that actually sounds like a challenge so he'll do what he does best.

Walk directly into the other room where Damon and Lindsay are talking, brazenly pick up the bottle, and walk back out again.

Lindsay will track this and roll her eyes before answering Damon's question.]

Yep. I got the contract from the venue this afternoon so hopefully I'll be able to go through and make sure all the vendors we've liked so far are approved.

Where -

( He brings his arms up, like, is this --- aunting?

Gray turns with cold water in two glass and sees - oh, the bottle. )

You think the paternity test is the way to go?

[Lindsay sighs.]

That kid has absolutely no fear. He used to break into the Abattoir to crash for the night with no notice because he was reasonably certain that Klaus wouldn't kill him because it would make Cami sad. And apparently he was correct. So if he's not scared of Klaus, there's no way he'd be scared of you.

[That being said.]

Might as well know for sure. Taking them at their word is one thing but I think Elena would want proof.

[Stephanie's brow furrows. "Sorry, when she says Klaus does she mean Klaus Mikaelson?" She may not have dived in like Gray, but she knows some things.

Colm nods. "He's my cousin-in-law."

"Isn't he supposed to be dead?"]

I don't need him to be scared of me, I stole that whiskey for me and not my magic kids.

( But, he ... lowers his voice again. )

Why would they lie. What would anyone get out of lying like that. Pretending to me Elena's kids and then finding me? Real intelligent plan.

( Thanks, sis, change the subject.

"He is dead," Gray confirms. "And he's got some really bad stories about him." )

I dunno. And I'm not saying they are. But confirmation, just to cover your bases, doesn't hurt anyone.

[Colm shrugs, before tipping his head back towards the living room. "So does your family and you don't see me judging. Stefan Salvatore's your uncle, yeah?"

He's just saying.]

Yeah.

( The keys turn in the lock and a humming Beck returns.

"I love New Orleans, there's always some kind of band playing," he says, happy, bag of steaks and some more sides in hand.

"Also dead," Gray says, flatly. "But, I see your point." )

Not here. He's coming to my brother's wedding.

[Which is his way of saying to check your expectations of anyone you may or may not meet by the door. But he will go help his brother with the steaks and the sides and work on setting the table and getting all of them around it.

Lindsay will push up from the couch with Damon and make her way over to Stephanie and Gray.

"Are you guys feeling up to talking, or would you rather eat first?"]

( "We knew that," Gray said. "There are some big differences. Our dad's a vampire." A beat. "Is he going to the wedding, too?"

Damon sits, being the unhelpful friend.

"We've been talking. To Colm. But, if you think talking to you will help, then let's all talk." Gray pushes off of the counter and gets out of the way of the prep. "Thanks, for tempering our expectations," he says, gratefully to Colm.

Damon gets up from the couch, moving to the table, because Gray and Stephanie move to sit there, along with Lindsay. )

["He's the man of honor." Which may or may not give them the information they need, but that's all they get before Lindsay comes in.

Colm gives him a thumbs up at the thanks. Lindsay nods, because fair enough.]

This is going to be a different kind of talk. I need to know what you guys remember about how you got here. Were there any clues that something was up before you ran into your dad at Rosseau's?

( It's a wedding he doesn't much care about, sorry, dad, but good to know he's not a complete vampire menace to not be invited to such things.

Gray exhales, thinking back. )

Not really, not until after I got out of the shower. I noticed the uh, sheets were a different color in the bedroom. Steph thought so, too, in hers but just thought we got them wrong. For a second, I thought Lenore had come in and changed them while we were getting settled. ( Which was fucked up. ) Couldn't find my wallet or my phone, but Steph's was in her hand, with her wallet in her pocket, too, so she has all hers. The uh, the water pressure did something weird, too. But, I thought it was just old pipes.

( A beat. He starts to look down at his simple shirt, hoody and shorts. )

That's probably not our Air B and B anymore, is it. And I probably stole these.

Okay.

[She pulls out her phones and makes some notes for when she compares and contrasts with the other people who were affected.]

We will get you some new clothes and new phones and somewhere new to stay.

[Probably with Damon, hopefully his new place has space.]

I don't know if Damon told you but you're not the only one this has happened to. We've got people popping up all over the country, so you're not alone. But I'm going to see if we have anyone that knows about other timelines that might be able to better help.

["So what do we do until then?" Stephanie asked. "Just hide in Dad's apartment or whatever until you figure out how to fix it?"]

And, he didn't exactly tell us, but he also hasn't been subtle. Like, uncle Matt.

( "I wasn't trying to be subtle, I was sitting across from you. If I didn't want you to know something, I would not take calls in front of you." he says. For the record! )

That's what we're calling it, though. Other timelines?

[She refrains from saying: "Unless you were also brutally murdered before you fell through, it's the safest option."]

For now, yes. At least until I talk to more of you to find a better point of commonality. There is another one here in New Orleans, but I've been told I have to wait for the local alpha to give me the all clear.

[She would make a joke about Derek hiding behind his hybrid girlfriend, but no, there's a traumatized teenage girl involved, she will keep that to herself.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject