A/N - I don't own the vampire diaries, I'm just a big fan and I love Delena. I can't wait to see where the third season goes with them :) for now, this is my version so I hope you enjoy and please review, let me know if I should carry it on :P also, this probably isn't the direction the show will go with Jeremy, which is why I'm trying it out :)

...

'I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I need it.'

'I love you. You should know that.'

'I do.'

'You won't be seeing Katherine again.'

'She won't get far. You'll help me see to that.'

'I feel weird, different.'

'It's ok to love them both. I did.'

'Anna? Vicki?'

One

Jeremy stood, feeling shock rippling through his entire body as he glanced back and forth at his two former girlfriends, his two former girlfriends who were supposed to be dead. He closed his eyes tight for a moment, shook his head and opened them again. Anna and Vicki were still there.

'Jeremyy,' Vicki sang in an almost taunting voice.

Jeremy turned to her but could think of nothing to say in reply. What exactly was he supposed to say? He wanted to ask why she was here in his house when she was supposed to be dead but it didn't seem right.

'Jeremy,' Anna said suddenly in a more serious tone, causing him to start slightly and turn his attention back to hers. Her sharpness inexplicably helped him to find words again and spoke to her rather than Vicki.

'What are you doing here?'

'Wouldn't you like to know!' Vicki said, practically skipping past him to stand next to Anna.

'He's going to pick me,' she said confidently to the darker haired girl. Anna ignored her, keeping her focus on Jeremy.

'Yes I'd like to know,' he said, 'and what do you mean I'm going to pick you?' he added to Vicki who simply grinned at him and didn't bother to respond.

'We're one of the consequences,' Anna said simply.

'The consequences?' Jeremy repeated dumbly.

'Yes. The witch was informed,' Anna replied. Jeremy made a mental note to ask Bonnie about that later.

'So what do you mean by being ' one of the consequences?' he asked. Anna smiled.

'How are you feeling Jeremy?' she asked suddenly. Jeremy thought about it for a moment. He'd been feeling funny ever since Bonnie had brought him back to life and he was associating it with that exactly. Now he thought about it, he was feeling dizzy and tired, like he hadn't eaten or slept for days despite having been asleep before.

'Why does that matter?' he countered feeling annoyed.

'Jeremy?' said a voice suddenly from the other room. Jeremy turned to the doorway, startled and then back again to Anna and Vicki but they had gone.

'Alaric?' he called back dizzily. Ric came into the kitchen then, looking half asleep, his hair dishevelled and his clothes rumpled. He glanced around the kitchen in confusion and then at Jeremy.

'Who were you talking to?' he asked.

'No one,' Jeremy replied quickly. Alaric stared at him for a moment before shaking his head.

'Sure you're alright?' he questioned. Jeremy nodded.

'I was just getting something to eat,' he said grabbing an apple from the side. Alaric nodded but he didn't look convinced and disappeared from the kitchen. Jeremy bit into the apple, feeling hungry but it didn't do anything for him, he didn't want it. Tossing it in the bin he began to wander back upstairs, thinking back to Anna and Vicki, before they'd been killed, before Vicki had turned. Memories rolled through his mind, messed up and jumbled. Halfway to his room, he froze suddenly as he remembered something. Seconds later he was shouting down the stairs.

'ALARIC!'

...

Elena had been staring at the same spot on the floor for longer than she realized. She wasn't even seeing it as Katherine's words about Stefan replayed in her mind, over and over again.

Damon stayed quietly on the bed, having decided it was best not to disturb her until she was ready. He was still weak but he could feel his strength returning slowly and the bite on his arm was fading fast. Stefan had ensured his promise was fulfilled, had found a way to save his brother despite Damon's certainty that there was no cure.

But Damon, though grateful to his brother, couldn't help feeling furious at the same time for the choice Stefan had made. Because he knew exactly what Katherine had meant. If he'd have known the deal Klaus wanted to make with Stefan, Damon would have refused Klaus's blood even if the original had tried to feed him it from his arm. His humanity had grown enough now that he actually cared about the terror that he knew Stefan was capable of inflicting when intoxicated with human blood. He cared about what it would do to Elena, when she saw the darkest side of Stefan that she'd believed had ceased to exist since he'd turned.

Once he was recovered, Damon was fully prepared to hunt Stefan down and deal with him however he had to, to prevent the beast in Stefan from causing a tragedy. It would be Damon's thank you to Stefan for saving his life, by saving his in return. He was also determined to find a way to kill Klaus because he simply refused to believe that there was no way. Having just been cured of a werewolf bite that he'd been led to believe was fatal and incurable had fuelled Damon's belief even more. Right now though, he wanted to be here for Elena, when and if she needed him.

Elena didn't hate Damon. She didn't. She could easily be blaming him for this, but that wouldn't be fair. It wasn't Damon's fault that Stefan had chosen him over her. If anything she partly thanked Stefan for it. When she'd kissed Damon, when she'd thought she was about to lose him for good, she'd realised just how scared she was of living in a world where Damon wasn't there. Despite all he'd done, she'd always understood him and his reasons, had never truly been able to hate him no matter how she'd tried. Glancing at him now, as he rested on the bed with his eyes closed, she knew that a small part of her world would have shattered if Damon hadn't been saved.

After another moment, she finally decided to break the silence.

'What do you think Katherine meant by that?' she said, though her voice was barely more than a whisper that Damon would never have heard if he weren't a vampire with excellent hearing. His eyes fluttered open to meet hers and he pushed himself up onto his elbows to face her better.

'I'm not sure you want to know,' he said honestly. Elena shook her head at him, determination in her eyes.

'I do want to know,' she said firmly, 'no matter how bad and I can see that you know exactly what's going on.'

'I'm not entirely sure,' Damon countered, 'but I'm pretty certain that Stefan's paying for my cure by becoming whatever Klaus wants him to be.'

Elena winced.

'What would Klaus want him to be?' she asked hesitantly.

'Just like him,' Damon said grimly, 'I hate to say it but I expect human blood will involved.'

Elena shook her head more vigorously this time, wanting to blank what Damon was saying, even though it made sense.

'No, Stefan wouldn't - he would never -,' she tried to protest but she couldn't finish the sentence.

'Klaus would never have given me the cure for free,' Damon said softly, 'Stefan's paying a price.'

Elena sat down on the bed near him, turning her face away but not quick enough. Damon noticed the single tear that fell down her cheek and suspected there were more. He sat up further and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder.

'Elena we'll figure this out, we'll save him, I promise.'

Elena nodded and just for a moment slipped her hand over his and gripped it. Then she stood up.

'I just need a moment,' she said shakily and left before Damon could say anymore. He flopped back down on the bed and closed his eyes again.

When Elena returned, she thought he was asleep. She'd let a few tears escape down in the main living room but she'd realised that she wanted comfort not loneliness and right now she wanted it from only one person, no matter how bizarre it seemed. He should be the last person she wanted but he was the first on her list. Not wanting to wake him, she'd slipped onto the bed next to him, where she'd been not long ago holding him, and lay down.

'You ok?' he murmured, startling her.

'No,' she replied simply. He nodded.

'I know,' he said softly. He still hadn't opened his eyes and she wondered if he was half-asleep. She curled her fingers around his hand, wanting his comfort and he held her hand in return, stroking one thumb soothingly over it. It was a moment that would probably never have happened had their circumstances been different. But having nearly lost each other on more than one occasion, they needed this. This closeness. It was supposed to be between them. Damon knew it even if Elena hadn't quite realised it yet. He had no idea if she was ever supposed to love him like he did her but they were definitely meant to be there for each other no matter what.

They enjoyed only a few moments of peace before there was a loud knocking on the door followed by the sound of it crashing open. They exchanged a confused look and then Damon eased himself off the bed, ignoring Elena's protests. He felt so much better and one quick glance down at his arm showed the bite had almost disappeared.

Followed closely by Elena, he left the bedroom and made his way cautiously to the stairs, keeping Elena behind him.

'Elena? Damon?'

Damon breathed out a relieved sigh and heard Elena do the same as they both recognized Alaric's voice. In a flash Damon was downstairs and moments later Elena caught up.

'What's going on?' Damon demanded as he noticed how worried Alaric looked and spotted Jeremy sat forlornly on one of the sofas.

'We may have a huge problem,' said Alaric, throwing a nervous glance at Elena.

'What?' Damon asked.

'Jeremy's transitioning...'