Chapter One

Elena stared at the fire, entranced and hypnotised by the flames. The pages of her father's notebook curled and turned brown before catching fire and the plastic cover of the notebook melted and bubbled in the heat. The skin on her cheeks prickled as her tears evaporated. She couldn't take her eyes off the burning book for a few minutes. Was Damon right? If her father was still alive, would he have treated her like a potential donor too? Would he have experimented on her the way he had tortured the other Augustine vampires? The way he had tortured Damon?

Thoughts of the cell she'd been locked up in just hours ago came back to her, and she shivered despite the heat of the fire. Her stomach clenched as she remembered the feeling of dread when Wes had come to collect her and strapped her to the chair, the fear at being completely at his mercy while he had drained her of blood. She'd only been there a day or two before Stefan had rescued her - how had Damon managed for five years? How had he kept his sanity? The thought of him locked up there, powerless, starving and in pain made her ache.

She wanted to comfort him, put her arms around him and just hold him, stroke his hair, whisper soft words into his ear. Try and undo some of the hurt that had been inflicted on him. But she knew it was too late for that. Burning her father's notes didn't undo the damage that had been done by him and the other doctors. It only destroyed the evidence. Damon had been carrying around the hatred and wreaking vengeance for it for fifty years, a few kind words in her arms weren't going to change that. And now he'd ended their relationship. Told her he was 'letting her go' then walked out. Well, she didn't want to be let go! After everything they'd been through, this couldn't be how it ended.

The fire was dying down. The book of horrors, details of her father and Wes' 'experiments', was mostly gone now, reduced to a pile of ashes. She wished she could erase the damage it had done as easily. She heard footsteps in the hallway and turned round. Damon stood in the doorway, looking in her direction but his eyes refusing to meet hers. He had changed. He was wearing a black turtle necked sweater underneath his leather jacket and he had an overnight bag in his hand. She looked at him, momentarily lost for words. He looked impossibly handsome and so lost. Eventually, he looked her in the eye and she could see the agony, the hurt, but most of all the defensiveness. It was like a warning sign, and it kept her rooted to the spot. They stood, eyes locked for what seemed like ages.

Finally, Elena cleared her throat.

'You're leaving?' she said, glancing at his overnight bag.

'Just for a few days' he said, averting his eyes. He was lying, she knew it. 'Got some friends in Florida I haven't seen in a while, thought I'd drop in and say hello.'

'You hate Florida' she said, desperately trying to think of something to say that would make this not be happening. Please don't leave! She wanted to scream at him. 'It's full of tourists and humidity.'

'Yeah, well, maybe I'll get some fast food while I'm down there. And the humidity doesn't bother me. My hair can deal with it' he winked and smiled, but there was no humour in his expression. He turned to the door, and a stab of pain galvanised her into action. She couldn't just watch him leave!

'Please don't do this Damon' Elena blurted out. 'Please don't leave. I Love you. Everything we've been through to be together, this can't be how it ends. I chose you, remember?'

He froze by the door for a moment, his back to her.

'You only chose me because it was the easier choice.' He said in a low voice. His face was turned to one side and she could make out the profile of his face. 'Because I don't judge you when you make mistakes.' He paused. 'Because I'm a worse person than you.'

'No!' said Elena, desperation in her voice. 'That's not true, Damon. I chose you because I love you.'

'You don't love me' Damon whirled around to face her. 'You love the fact that you can be bad around me and I don't just allow it, I love it. But that's just making you a worse person, Elena. Every day you're with me, you're a bit less Elena Gilbert and a bit more Salvatore. If you stay with me, you're going to turn into me. And I can't be responsible for that. I can't stand the guilt.'

'That's not true, Damon. I may not be the innocent high school girl you first met. But I'm a vampire now, of course that's going to change me! Everything that's happened, that's going to change me. But that's not all your responsibility.' She stepped forward. Just one step, but a little closer to him. He didn't move away and she dropped her voice a little. 'I'm still me!'

He stared at her. His eyes were dark and tortured but his face was set in a mask of determination. She took another step towards him, trying to close the distance she could feel opening up between them.

'Please Damon' there was a pleading tone in her voice, but she didn't care. She had to make him understand how she felt about him. 'I love you and I know you love me. We can put all of this behind us.' She gestured towards the fire. 'We can be happy together. I know we can.'

'No' the firmness in his voice made her flinch and take a step backwards. He stared past her, not able to look into her face. He softened his voice as he remembered Enzo's words. 'I will not ruin you too.' He said, turning away.

She was momentarily lost for words. She stood, arms crossed in front of her, stung by his rejection and puzzled by his words.

'Damon-' she began, but they were both distracted by a tumbling, bumping sound from the hallway.

They glanced at each other briefly, a silent 'What now?' passing between them before they rushed out into the hall.

Katherine was laying at the bottom of the steps, unconscious, her hair fanned out across the carpet. One of her legs was bent at an unnatural angle and one of her arms was outstretched as though she was reaching for something. When did she get so grey? Elena wondered. Her cell phone was on the floor a couple of steps above her and a voice could be heard on the other end.

'Katherine? Hello? Are you ok?'

'Oh my God' Elena gasped, bending to place two fingers on Katherine's exposed neck. There was a pulse, but it was weak and irregular. 'What's happened to her?'

'Come-uppance, I'd say' Damon said, shrugging his shoulders. 'About a hundred and forty seven years too late.'

'Help me with her.' Elena said, scooping Katherine up from the floor and lifting her effortlessly. She had become so fragile. Her body was like a bag of bones in her arms. Katherine moaned in pain, but her eyes remained closed.

'Yeah, because I owe her so much,' Damon said sarcastically, throwing a sceptical look at Elena. She glared at him. He returned the glare for a few seconds, then reluctantly gave in, raising his hands in surrender. He shook his head and stooped to pick up the cell phone and Katherine's overnight bag.

'What happened?' Stefan's voice came from the top of the stairs. He was peering over the railing.

'The old lady had a fall, maybe broke her hip.' Damon replied, putting the cell phone to his ear. 'Hello. Who is this?'

'It's Nadia' came the voice on the other end. 'What happened? Is Katherine ok?'

'Well, she's got some frightful grey hairs' Damon said, wryly. 'And-' he screwed up his face in disgust 'wrinkles. Plus she may have just had a heart attack and fallen down the stairs.'

Stefan rushed past him as he was speaking and ushered Elena into the study.

'I'm turning around right now' Nadia's voice sounded panicky, and her words came out faster, making her accent thicker. 'Please look after her until I get there.'

'Yeah, I'll get right on that'

'Damon, please. She's the only family I have. I can't lose her now.'

'Trust me, Nadia,' Damon said, walking reluctantly towards the study door. 'Katherine will outlast all of us. She's like a cockroach, she'd survive nuclear war.'

'I'll be there in an hour' Nadia said. 'I just need to stop by Matt's house first.' The line went dead.

Damon threw a quizzical look at the phone. Matt's house? He shook his head, deciding he didn't care and entered the study. Elena had laid Katherine on the couch by the fire and Stefan was covering her with a blanket. He frowned as he watched Elena check for a pulse once more and Stefan stand over her with a worried expression on his face.

'Did I miss a memo, or something?' he asked as he walked over to the bar and took the lid of a bottle of bourbon. He poured a large drink into a tumbler, took a deep drink then added a top up before putting the lid back. This was shaping up to be a lousy day.

Stefan and Elena looked at him briefly before turning back to Katherine.

'Since when did everyone start caring about Katherine again?' he continued, taking a swig of his drink. 'I know you had a night of passion with her Stefan, but I assumed that was just for old times sake, you know, make the old girl feel good about herself again.'

Elena glanced up at Stefan, who avoided her gaze. This was news to her. A stab of jealousy pierced her heart and she felt instantly guilty for it. She had no right to be jealous of Stefan's love life. Not after what she'd done. But when he'd saved her this afternoon, she'd felt something stir inside of her. When he'd lifted her off that bed and put his arms around her to steady her, it had just felt right. She'd rested her head in the crook of his neck and it had just fit. It had felt….comfortable. Like coming home. Damon had claimed her as soon as they had arrived home and Stefan had disappeared upstairs. She'd pushed it to the back of her mind, happy and relieved that Damon was alive and unhurt, but it came back to her now as she imagined Stefan and Katherine together. She looked away and turned her attention to Katherine.

'And you' Damon slugged more bourbon and raised his glass, pointing a finger at Elena. 'She's tried to kill you, what, like five times at least?'

They both ignored him.

'What do you think has happened to her?' she asked, looking down at Katherine's unconscious face.

'I don't know' he said, taking Katherine's hand and feeling for a pulse. He found the arterial rhythm quickly. 'Her pulse is weak and a little erratic. Maybe a heart attack. She's showing signs of rapid aging, so….

'We should get her to a hospital' Elena said.

Stefan shook his head.

'We have no idea how her body would react to the treatment they might give her' he said, avoiding her eyes. They both knew that this wasn't the main reason for not taking Katherine to a hospital. She would be a medical oddity, who knows what the doctors would find when they started running tests on her.

'We've got to do something' Elena said. 'We can't just let her die.'

Across the room, Damon rolled his eyes and finished his drink.

'Sure we can' he said, an incredulous expression on his face.

They both turned and stared at him.

'That woman is no good!' he exclaimed. He looked Stefan in the eye. 'She has ruined our lives for nearly a hundred and fifty years…. We don't owe her anything! We'll be better off without her.'

'She's not the woman she used to be' Stefan said, and Elena felt another pang of jealousy. Why was he defending her?

'Oh please, one night in the sack and you've forgotten what she's put us through?' Damon said, turning away in disgust.

'I haven't forgotten anything, Damon' Stefan said, hotly. 'I'm just trying to show her some compassion. Getting older and knowing she's dying, that's been punishment for her.'

'There'll never be enough punishment for everything she's done!' Damon scowled, turning back to face Stefan. Elena flinched.

'Really?' said Stefan, calmly, his eyebrows arched. 'And what about what you've done, brother? What about all the lives you've ruined, people you've killed, people you turned? Are you really so innocent that you can sit in judgement? Or are you just still mad at her for choosing me?'

There was a stunned silence and the two brothers stared at each other. Finally, Damon turned away and went to pour himself another whiskey.

'What do we do?' Elena said, bending to examine Katherine again. She laid a hand on her forehead. 'She feels cold.' She stood and walked over to the fireplace where she placed two large logs on the dying flames. She turned back to Stefan. He stood looking at Katherine, deep in thought. 'Stefan?'

'I know a doctor in Louisiana,' he said, finally. 'I could call and ask him to come.'

'That will take hours. She could be dead by then.'

'We don't have much choice' he said, removing his phone from his pocket and pressing buttons.

Damon exhaled loudly from beside the liquor cabinet.

'I have an idea.' He said, reluctantly. They both looked at him sceptically.

'Doctor death' he said, pouring himself another drink. His hands shook slightly at the thought. He poured another two fingers into the glass.

'You think we should take her to Wes?' Elena asked, her tone incredulous.

'No.' Damon spoke slowly, putting the top back on the scotch. 'I think we should bring him here.'

They both stared at him, frowns etched on their faces.

'Look, trust me, I'm no fan of his. But if anyone knows a lot about medical treatment and vampires, it's him. And I think it's fair to say that he owes us.'

'Damon, did you forget, Katherine is not a vampire any more' Stefan frowned at him.

'She's spent more years as a vampire than all of us put together,' Damon said. 'She's more vampire than anything else. Even if she has undergone a recent…downgrade.'

Elena looked at Stefan. 'What do you think?' she asked him, still wrestling with images of him and Katherine together. Stefan shrugged.

'He's met Katherine before, he knows what's been happening to her' he said, doubtfully. 'It's worth a shot.'

'How do we get him here?' Elena said, remembering her escape from his torture lab just a few hours ago. 'We don't even know where he is.'

'Yes, but we know someone who can find him' Damon smiled without any trace of warmth.

'I don't want to involve Aaron any more' Elena said, quickly.

Damon shrugged nonchalantly and sat down in the armchair, resting his drink on the arm.

'Then I guess we stay here, and watch Katherine slip away into the afterlife where she will taunt innocents and ruin lives for eternity.' He drew up a nearby stool and put his feet on it casually. 'It's not every day you get to see the death of a five hundred year old vampire.' He looked at Katherine with distaste and raised his glass again.

Elena looked at Stefan, but he held up his hands and shook his head.

'Okay, I'll call him' Elena said, reluctantly. 'He probably won't even pick up the phone.'

'That's why you need to just go and ask him' Damon said. 'The element of surprise.'

Elena looked at him. His words were getting slurry.

'Ok, well somebody needs to stay here with her.' Elena looked over at Stefan. 'Will you two go?'

'Not a chance' Damon said. 'Aaron hates me. I killed his entire family, remember. Besides, I don't really want to help her anyway. You two go, I'll stay here and play doctor. But first, I need some more anaesthesia.'

He got up from the couch and walked back over to the bar.

Stefan watched his brother impassively. What the hell was up with him? He only ever drank this hard when his mood was foul. He should have been celebrating. Elena was safe and back home with him. His eyes rested on Damon's overnight bag, dropped by the doorway. He frowned but said nothing.

'Stefan' Elena's voice made him turn around. 'We should go'

Stefan nodded, seeing dried blood at the corner of Elena's eyes. She'd been crying.

'You'd better hurry' said Damon, pouring himself another large glass and gesturing to Katherine. She was laying still on the couch and one of her arms was drooping down, almost touching the floor. 'She doesn't look so good.' He turned to Stefan and flashed him a humourless smile. 'No time to do your hair.'

Stefan shook his head and turned to walk out.

'I'll be out in a minute' Elena said, before turning to Damon and dropping her voice. 'Promise me you won't leave until we get back?'

Damon looked at her and said nothing.

'Damon, promise me?' she said, more urgently. She reached for his hand, but he jerked his arm away as if he'd been burned. She flinched and stared at him, hurt and angry. Why was he doing this? After everything they'd just been through?

He nodded once, without meeting her eyes, then turned back to the liquor cabinet. That was the best she was going to get. She turned and went after Stefan.