Meredith Fell

❛ 𝐒𝐎 𝐈'𝐕𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐃. ❜  the hunter clenched her teeth as the gauze came in contact with the fleshed wound, exercising her capacity for pain tolerance, perfectly crafted over years worth of clawed run-ins and demonic throwdowns only she’d carry the scars of.  however, lana’s attention diverted from the throbbing sensation under her skin in a second flat, intrigued by her quick, particular yet  familiar  assumptions as to the reason behind her unfortunate injury.  ❛ werewolf. a bit of a bruise to the ego, considering i’ve dealt with much worse. ❜  lana sat straight on the chair, fixing the fallen shoulder of her blouse.   ❛ didn’t know they gave the monster pep talk to health personnel now. ❜

“You’ve had this talk before and you still got yourself hurt again?  I guess that makes you brave or foolish.  I am sure the answer to which one it is depends on that day,” Meredith stated, not afraid to be blunt with her patient.  She didn’t have the best of bedside manners but she didn’t believe in sugarcoating things either.  Besides, she had a feeling she was not saying anything surprising.  “Werewolf --- wow, not exactly the most friendly things to come across.  I’ll say it again: you’re lucky.”  She then smiled, more to herself than anyone at Lana’s quip.  “They don’t.  Well, not in traditional med school.  It’s more of family pep talk if you get my drift.”

It was a thought that was also crossing his mind being able to find more survivors behind walls that could protect them and they both could offer their service there but there was also a fear that the group could be worse than the walkers, thoughts pushed to the corner of his mind as his voice is soft and then he carries on to say. 

“ We might there had been rumors going around about safe places but we cannot go back to the base to search is full of those things, we will need to find ourselves if that is true and if it is then we can find some normality at least. For now we find a place get something to eat “

@meredithcheats​

She was already lost in her thoughts.  An actual home.  People.  A community.  Being able to do things that reminded of her life before everything went to hell.  She could picture it and it made her ache.  She needed to be careful.  If she let herself get too attached to the idea of some mythical place that would never exist in this new normal, she could wind up hurt.  

Or worse.

“You’re right.  We have to take it one step at a time.  We know the base is out but hopefully there are other places.  It may be a long shot but we owe it to ourselves to look,” she told him quietly.  “But for now, food and a bit of sleep sounds like a good goal.”

“Yeah, I’m right there with you. The job sucks sometimes but, I enjoy it.” Hell, he couldn’t get out of this life, he’s tried multiple times. Even if he could change it - there is no changing it. Monsters will always be there. “It’s alright, it’s…..been a while since he’s been gone. Any old wounds have been healed for the most part.”

𝐇𝐄  𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒  𝐀  𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐋  𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍  .  this  isn’t  the  first  time  he’s  had  to  keep  a  burly  hand  down  in  the  midst  of  an  invasive  surgery  ,  this  isn’t  going  to  be  the  last  either  .  ❛  oh  ,  well  what  do  y’want  to  know  ?  what  exactly  we  were  doing  when  he  got  shot  ?  you  wanna  know  what  kind  of  gun  it  was  ? ❜  a  pause  ,  a  sneer  growing  across  his  lips  as  if  she’s  daring  him  to  grow  in  his  irritation  .  as  if  things  were  currently  going  peachy  for  him  in  the  present  .  ❛  how  about  this  ,  likely  looking  for  a  nine  mil  ,  shot  from  about  ten  feet  away  ,  that  help  ,  doc  ?    ❜

a  heavy  hand    holds  the  soldier  down  ,  a  steady  gaze  on  the  doctor  ,  he’s  not  too  worried  ,  and  even  if  he  was  —  there  would  hardly  be  a  sign  of  it  across  his  features  ,  no  .  he’s  too  busy  thinking  about  how  the  job  went  bad  ,  how  his  friend  here  got  shot  when  this  was  supposed  to  be  a  clean  and  easy  pick  up  —  money  switching    hands  ,  the  like  .  there  was  a  rat  in  his  midst  and  that  was  unsettling  for  a  world  of  reasons  .  ❛      just  do  what  you’ve  gotta  do  ,  we’ll  all  be  better  for  it  ,  no  ?   ❜

She tells herself to maintain her cool even as her temper pushes back at her, wanting to lash out.  He needs her help.  Granted, he is threatening her into doing it but still, if he shoots her this guy bleeds out and then he’s got two bodies to dispose of.  She doesn’t point that out of course.  Instead she presses her mouth into a grim line and nods her head.  “Perfect, that does help.”  

“Its fine, everyone inherits their families traditions.” and everyone is nosy in somewhere, and they would be shock to hear things that they shouldn’t be hearing. “Yes, so I have heard.” Her father tends to do that and not caring about the consequences afterwards. “Congratulations, at least, someone in this pathetic town have self-preservation and a brain to use.” 

❝ Okay no one likes being single. They just tell themselves that because otherwise you’d have to admit that you’re lonely and want someone and that would apparently take away your strong independent woman card — which, BTW, is totally false. ❞ She shrugged, entirely unapologetic in her opinion on the subject.   ❝ Well… ❞ As hard as she tried, she couldn’t think of something nice to say about the situation.  ❝ You know what they say. Karma’s a bitch. ❞

“Never said I didn’t just saying it’s not me this time and if this stops it then it’s a win win for everyone,” he smirked as he looked at her. Damon wasn’t really scared of a new vampire, if that was indeed what they were dealing with, it was the possibility that it was someone else. All he wanted was to deal with the problem plaguing the hospital and consequently the town and then go back to his life. If everyone could go back to their lives without worrying about someone hunting in the hospital or town that would make everything easier. “I’m grateful that you did, better that it’s me dealing with it than to send the council into a tizzy.

The smirk turned fell from his lips as he turned rather serious because everything was serious and he wasn’t proud of himself when it came to how he’d treated Caroline. And while he did consider Liz a friend of sorts he didn’t want to put too much trust in anyone on the council. He wanted too, she knew his secret and she’d kept it but he had to be sure he could trust Liz and right now Meredith and the nurses she was going to assign to him. 

“Trust is something that I don’t give out to easily. Just know, if they do talk there will be a few more animal attack victims or they’ll simply go missing,” he threatened. He didn’t like having to threaten anyone but in this case he wanted her to know what would happen if they decided to talk to anyone about any of this. 

“Exactly, when this is all said and done we can drink to that win/win scenario,” Meredith promised.  She was glad that she didn’t paint every vampire with the same brush.  Having Damon on their side was a huge bonus; otherwise she would be trying to figure out how to rid the hospital of a vampire on her own. Even if he or she was newly turned as Damon suggested, that was still a hell of a fight to take on her own.  She would owe Damon.  

She took a deep breath, bristling a little at his not so idle threat.  She truly believed that he would follow through with what he said --- if her staff talked, they would befall the same fate she was currently trying to afford.  

Damon glanced up from his phone as she made her way downstairs, shaking his head slightly at her question.  “There are noises, but I doubt it’s ghosts.”  He was just accustomed to all the creaking in this house after almost two centuries in it, but as far as he was aware, there weren’t ghosts.  “Both.”  He locked his phone and slid it into his pocket, arms folding over his chest. “Don’t really sleep much, definitely don’t sleep a lot when there’s a vampire running around biting people.”  

     “Not sure, never managed to find it.” He shoots her a crooked grin and a lifted brow before he hums softly and tilts his head at her. “Pretty much. Oh you do, do you? Sounds like you have a whale of time when you’re not pestering vampires for their blood.” He gives her a pointed look, but his smile remains in place regardless.

“Clearly you aren’t just a pretty face,” Alice teased.  “But, yes, we’re carb loading.  All the carbs and meat and sugar.  Just gonna stuff my face and hang out with one of my favourite people, so I don’t go running off to bust a pool cue across some dude’s back.”

She’d learned from experience that was best avoided, even outside Mystic Falls town limits.

“You settle in and apologize to your liver.  I’ll get our order all sorted.”

“I try,’ Meredith quipped in return.  She was happy to help Alice in her time of need.  She couldn’t relate of course --- her instinctual behavior was calm in comparison but she knew what could happen if things went south.  So, she’d stuff her face.  “Actually, with the right dude, that might be worth it.”  She then made an apologetic look, knowing she shouldn’t be encouraging violence. 

𝐀  𝐅𝐄𝐖  𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐒  ,  𝐁𝐔𝐓  𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐇𝐄  𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍’𝐓  𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄  with  some  good  ol’  liquor  that  was  stashed  under  the  seat  .  his  head  shakes  ,  a  hand  waving  as  the  other  keeps  on  the  wheel  .  he’s  fucking  tired  of  this  shit  ,  and  the  scarred  knuckles  ,  the  blood  lining  his  jaw  prove  it    ❛    oh  yeah  ,  same  idea  ,  different  goddamn  story      —-  but  i’m  fine  just  gotta  get  somewhere  safe      ❜  he  huffs  ,  taking  his  eyes  off  the  road  to  look  her  over  ,  ❛    you  got  any  idea  what  the  hell  they  were  doing  out  there  ?  tearin’  the  place  up  ,  think  they  were  looking  for  something   ❜

𝐀  𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐅𝐔𝐋  𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃  𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍  𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐒  ,  his  head  shaking  to  follow  .  ❛    are  you  kidding  ?  this  is  the  longest  relationship  i’ve  ever  had  ,  can’t  just  let  THAT  go  ,  now  can  i  ?   ❜  a  smile  forms  ,    but  it  ‘s  lazy  ,  lopsided  ,  the  kind  of  smile  worn  when    he’s  had  a  few  too  many  and  something  cheeky  is  poised  on  the  tip  of  his  tongue  .  he  finds  himself  chuckling  to  himself  ,  amused  of  course  ,  but  then  again  there’s  the  stress  that  had  built  up  from  the  attack  (  the  fight  )  that  had  weighed  him  down  that  suddenly  the  weight  had  been  lifted  from  his  shoulders  .

for  about  a  minute  ,  he  felt  normal  ,  even  if  this  town  ,  him  ,  even  the  doctor  tending  to  him  ,  were  far  from  the  norm  .    ❛   you  know  i  can’t  lie  from  him  ,  even  if  i  tried      ❜  it’s  a  poignant  statement  ,  brushed  with  amusement  and  that  smile  still  remaining  ,  and  for  a  moment  he  feels  emboldened  to  say  something  else  —  a  daring  attempt  considering  her  obvious  frustration  with  him  as  she  cleans  away  the  blood  .  

❛    maybe  ,  and  i  mean  ,  this  is  a  toss  in  the  dark  ,  i  can  be  busy  .  you  know  from  my  experience  nothing  works  better  than  a  good  old  movie  ,  some  takeout  ,  might  need  a  doctor  to  keep  an  eye  on  me  ,  i  mean  what  could  be  better  than  that  ?        ❜  doctor’s  orders  ,  right  ?  anyway  ,  it’s  an  attempt  from  the  bordering  upon  slurred  speech  from  a  man  that  feels  as  if  he’d  been  hit  in  the  head  by  a  mack  truck  .  

“Some people just don’t want to see that the grass is greener on the other side,” Meredith retorts with a knowing grin.  “Fine, fine, far be it for me to get in the way.  You are clearly an adult and can make your own choices.”  She certainly has her own opinions on said choices but in the end, Ric does what Ric wants.  She can only hope that when he gets hurt, it is nothing more serious than that.  There are few people in Mystic Falls that she genuinely likes and spends time with --- and he is one of them. 

She makes a face as he speaks of Damon.  “I swear to God he has a the subtly of a 10 piece brass band.  I don’t mind telling him for you.  I can even make it my idea if it saves you face down the road.”  She has never had a problem standing up for her patients.  They might not be in the hospital but she is still invested in Ric’s well being.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘  𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄  𝐀  𝐑𝐔𝐍  𝐅𝐎𝐑  𝐈𝐓  ,  relieved  in  the  lack  of  argument  and  says  nothing  until  they  reach  the  car  and  he’s  tossed  himself  into  the  driver’s  seat  ,  the  car  already  revving  the  second  he’s  got  his  keys  in  the  ignition  .  ❛  right  —  so  those  things  die  ,  stake  to  the  heart  ,  removing  the  heart  ,  you  know  …  blood  is  life  same  old  bullshit  ,  sound  familiar  ?        ❜  he  takes  off  down  the  road  ,  taking  a  look  through  the  rearview  mirror  when  he  has  the  chance  to  make  sure  the  coast  was  clear  ,  ❛    you  alright  ?      ❜ @meredithcheats​

“You realize that I’m not the one that’s been attacking the locals and killing them right?” Damon looked at her. “I have in the past, yes, but I also tend to let them go and compel them to forget. It’s just easier for me that way and works out for everyone. But I also don’t owe you an explanation about my feeding habits, tends to give humans too much power and leave us vulnerable.” Listening to her he smirked a bitter smirk before finishing off his drink. “I don’t need to imagine it. I was here when it happened last time, when the town decided to put them in the church and then come up with shit story? I watched the aftermath and then I left because there was no reason for me to stay. I’d like to avoid a similar incident because now days it’s a more difficult to play it off like your ancestors tried to do. So no, it wouldn’t be pretty.”

Damon just chuckled at her words and tilted his head. “She’s my friend, I happen to know her daughter and she’s the one that doesn’t like me though I can’t really say I blame her,” he admitted. “I just don’t want this getting out and ending up having to compel the whole town council or make up some lie, I would but I don’t want to. It’s a town legacy,” he pointed out. “The only difference is the only Salvatores that care happen to be vampires.”

“I know,” he looked at her. “I just don’t want them spilling their guts about this, as far as they know they treated a patient with a concussion by observing him over night and the deaths were coincidence.”

“Oh I know you’re doing not doing this but I am sure I signed a death certificate of someone who you did.  I don’t want to know who and I don’t want to know what you do now.  That’s...your business.  My business is to keep the people of Mystic Falls as safe as possible.” She made a face at that piece of history.  She supposed that people would always fear what they didn’t understand and some of those vampire truly were a threat.  But wholesale slaughter?  That wasn’t her style.  “Exactly.  We both want to avoid that for different reasons.  That’s why I came to you.”

Meredith did not know the entire history between Caroline, Liz and Damon nor did she want to.  “Well, if you say you can’t blame her then I am going to assume you were your usual tactful self.  But that’s between the two of you.”  She had gotten just a glimpse of Caroline in action and she didn’t want to even know how that would play out between the two of them.

“mmm. you’d be surprised at how much it takes me to turn green. blood has never been an issue with me, with any of my family, really, now that i think about it.” too much. he’s said too much. but he doesn’t shy away from what he’s said. it’s not so abnormal for people to have large families in this day and age. though seven is admittedly a lot, one brother is dead. has been for a thousand years. one brother has been brought back, much like himself, and doesn’t know that kol knows about him. and then the rest of his siblings, sitting on their thrones in the compound, pretending they rule this city. they’ll figure him out soon enough. 

in the meantime, he can flirt with this woman who he hasn’t seen in years – god, if she ever finds out who i am, there will be hell to pay. though, admittedly, that sounds like fun.

“no, my accent is the first thing. i’ll be flaunting it before long. well, my accent and my incredible body.” he beams and glances up at her. “oh come on, i know you were wondering how well toned i am under this shirt. it’s a fair question. i mean look at me. i’m hot.” though the words themselves are arrogant, they come out in a kind of self-depreciating kind of way that makes it seem as if that’s all anyone ever notices about him. 

“alright, while i’m well on my way to drunk, impress me with one story. one emergency room story that i won’t believe. do your worst, madam.”

“You come from a family with a strong constitution?” she asks, giving him a look. Something tweaks at the back of her head but she tells herself it has to do more with where she came from than him.  She is used to wondering if everything someone said is loaded down by double meaning.  “My mother would faint if she saw blood.  Which is partly why I became a doctor.  I never had to worry about her visiting me at work.”  It’s a joke and she grins to show him that.  Her relationship with her mother might not be the best but it could be so much worse (she had seen her fair share of ER bust ups to know that).

She shakes her head, her mouth falling open just a little when he speaks next.  “You have no shame.  No shame at all,” she tells him.  “And you know what, I respect that.  I might be wondering what is underneath shirt but I am also a doctor.  My interest could be purely medical.”  It definitely is not but she figures that feeding his ego too much might result in him become far too confident.  She did not come here with plans on going home with someone.  It is not the kind of fresh start that she is looking for.  

She leans back a little, wracking her brain for something that she can tell him that will live up to his expectations.  “Well, I once took care of a man who had a piece of rebar stuck through him.  Kind of like a skewer.  It went in though his midsection and came out on the side of his neck.  The strangest part was that he was awake and talking the entire time.  He was a very lucky man --- or he just had one hell of doctor.”