Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries is the property of the CW. No copyright infringement is intended.
A Foreclosed House, Somewhere in the United States
It had been five days since Klaus angrily cut the connection on his cell phone. Stefan's phone was shut off for the foreseeable future. The phone had a GPS and while Stefan didn't know if Klaus was savvy enough to get a trace they couldn't take a chance. Katherine and her closely guarded phone were his only connection to those left behind in Mystic Falls. She assured him everyone was safe, but having second hand information didn't ease Stefan's mind.
He was certain Klaus and his hybrids were searching high and low for them, and even though Stefan had done everything he and one very devious vampire named Katherine could think of to cover their tracks he was still insecure. He had unobtrusively snuck into town and visited the local bank holding the mortgage on the foreclosed home where he had the coffins hidden. He had compelled the employees to literally erase any traces of the home. It was no longer listed on the internet or any newspapers, and there was no sign on the lawn. He spent his days there making sure no one wandered in by accident.
He returned at night to the local Bed and Breakfast where he was staying with Katherine. She had compelled the elderly woman who owned the inn to invite no one inside and tell all callers she was booked solid. She assured him she was working on her plan, but she refused to share any details.
Their nights always followed the same pattern. Katherine drove them to a neighboring town and carefully picked a victim. They shared at least one and sometimes two humans a night. Katherine liked to alternate between a male and a female. They were always careful to puncture at the femoral artery where the bite marks would never be accidentally revealed. Various stories were implanted, usually a close encounter with a barbed wire fence or a thicket bush. They wanted no unnecessary attention – nothing on the news or anything that could fuel local gossip. Katherine had promised him that she would keep his ripper tendencies under control, and she kept her word. Stefan was never allowed to feed so hard he blacked out or feed so light that hunger pains would drive him to do something stupid.
Katherine had worked really hard on him when they fled Mystic Falls together. She had alternately coaxed and threatened in turns. She had persuaded him that he was a danger to Elena, and his continued presence interfered with the girl's growing attraction to Damon. She made him feel remorse for everything he had ever done to his brother. She used his heightened vampire sensibility for others' feelings to guilt him into making the break with Elena. She had convinced him that the best way to end it once and for all was to sleep with her. Katherine had played him like a skilled violinist on a Stradivarius, and now Stefan was wondering if he had been duped.
Every night ended with them in the big double bed at the B & B. Katherine wanted to make up for lost time. She was no shy, simpering miss when she first claimed Stefan in 1864. She knew her body and what satisfied her, and she had schooled Stefan to give her exactly what she needed. Katherine had been his first lover, and he had been an enthusiastic pupil. She had encouraged him to be open with her about what he liked. She knew his likes probably better then he knew himself, and if she had played on his emotions like a master then she played his body like a Grand Master. The nights were bearable for Stefan because the overwhelming physical sensations made thinking impossible. He fell asleep too exhausted to even dream.
The days were the problem. Katherine had demanded that he feel anger. He had tried to open a tiny gap in the floodgates holding back his emotions; just enough to allow a trickle through. Instead a tidal wave has come crashing down on him. As soon as Klaus had hung up on Stefan the doubts had started, and they had been steadily building. He wasn't sure Katherine really had a plan. Could they really outwit a vampire that had been around for a thousand years? The rage had been building also; rage at Klaus for bringing out the ripper; rage at Katherine for convincing him to go; rage at himself for going. He alternated between an unbearable longing for Elena, so strong he thought he could die from the pain and anger that she just wouldn't let him go. One minute he was so jealous he wanted to murder his double crossing brother, and the next minute his mouth was filled with the sour taste of fear that Klaus would kill Damon.
He paced a circle, tormented by his thoughts, muttering to himself. 'Had he done the right thing? Would Klaus kill Damon and Elena? Was Katherine's plan really foolproof? Why, oh why, had he given into Katherine? She had sounded so confident when they spoke in the car, but he was starting to remember the times she had failed. Why was he sleeping with her?
Stefan squeezed his head with his hands, as if the intense pressure on his skull could force some order into his incoherent thoughts. It was impossible to think rationally when he felt like his head would explode.
He had always subconsciously turned to Damon when he was overwhelmed. Stefan had been strong up until the time Klaus had actually taken Elena, but when the realization hit, Stefan had panicked. Damon had stepped in and taken command. As much as Stefan condemned his brother for all the misery he had caused him over the years, when the chips were down Damon took care of him. But he couldn't call on Damon now. Stefan would not endanger his brother or Elena even more then he had already with this foolhardy plan he had allowed Katherine to talk him into.
More as a distraction then with any real thought behind his actions, he opened the three coffins, one by one. The occupants of the first two weren't familiar, and he quickly dropped the lids. He left the third lid propped open. He knew this person.
Elijah.
Elijah was probably the only one strong enough to oppose Klaus now that Mikael was dead. Elijah always had a plan and his plans worked – provided he decided to allow them to. Stefan looked up to Elijah. Yes, he had gone back on his word and failed to kill Klaus, but it was for family. Stefan understood the primal urge to protect family.
Stefan stared at him for what seemed like hours and then abruptly came to a decision. He hurried down into the dusty cellar and grabbed two bulging blood bags from the stash he had hidden behind a loose cinder block. He returned to the open coffin and hesitated. 'Was he doing the right thing?' All this thinking was driving him crazy. He needed to do something, anything. Even the wrong decision seemed better at this point then what he was going through. He took a deep steadying breath and then reached in, pulled the slim dagger out of Elijah's chest, and threw it. The resulting ding sounded unnaturally loud in the almost empty room. He staggered back into another coffin and sat, or almost fell, onto it. He braced his head in his hands and waited.
Long minutes passed. Small rustling noises alerted Stefan that Elijah was waking. When the Original sat up, Stefan walked over and put a blood bag in his hand. Without speaking the Original tore the plug off and eagerly drained the bag. Stefan waited until he was finished and then put the second bag on the floor next to the coffin. Stefan idly noted that Elijah was a neat eater. There were no telltale dribbles on his lips or chin. 'I could learn a thing or two from him,' Stefan thought.
Stefan went back and sat on his coffin seat, hands clasped between his knees.
Elijah climbed out, fastidiously straightened his clothes, and closed the coffin lid. He quickly brushed his hands through his hair before sitting on it. He looked Stefan up and down. "You look like hell."
As he deftly scooped up the second blood bag and removed the plug he said "So, Stefan, start at Ric's apartment." He cocked his head as a thought hit him. "Wait, how long has it been?"
Stefan said wearily, "A couple of months." The emotional turmoil prior to his decision to wake Elijah up had exhausted him.
"Hmm! Don't leave anything out. I need to hear it all," Elijah demanded.
Stefan started with the events in Mystic Falls: Klaus forcing him to drink bag after bag of blood. . . His losing battle to keep control . . . The cure for the werewolf bite was in Klaus's blood . . . Katherine bringing the cure to Damon . . Klaus's insistence that Stefan accompany him when he left Mystic Falls.
Elijah interrupted only when he felt Stefan had skimped on the details. Elijah absorbed information like a sponge. Every nuance was important to him.
Telling the story this way was somewhat therapeutic for Stefan. It was if it was happening to someone else and he was just a bystander.
Stefan was allowed a small break when Elijah was finally satisfied he knew everything that had happened in Mystic Falls. Stefan cupped his hands over his nose and mouth and exhaled deeply. Stefan seemed to gather himself up to tell the next section of the story. He rested his forearms on his knees, eyes on the floor.
Stefan chronicled his killing spree up and down the east coast as he and Klaus searched for a werewolf pack. He kept his tone matter-of-fact as he explained how he blacked out when he fed too deeply and ripped his victim's bodies apart, but his fist, unconsciously clenching and relaxing, revealed his deep distress.
They were sitting angled from each other so Stefan didn't catch the speculative gleam in Elijah's eyes when Stefan revealed he was a ripper. If Stefan had seen the sly smile on Elijah's face he would have been justifiably concerned.
Stefan kept nothing back. He relived his pain and loneliness when he escaped from the bar in Florida and called Elena on her birthday. Elijah's face expressed his sympathy, but he didn't distract Stefan by speaking.
He described finding the werewolf pack in Tennessee and Klaus's rage and disappointment when they all died. He told Elijah his how he saved his brother from the werewolf by ripping out his heart. Stefan sighed as he recalled how painful yet comforting it was to see Elena in the forest. He confessed how he struggled to hide from Klaus that Elena was still alive when Klaus raged against his inability to create hybrids and ticked off all the steps he had taken to break the curse. Stefan admitted he felt sorry for Klaus when Klaus had realized he had failed and uttered the 'words No comrades'."
Elijah nodded comprehension. "His greatest fear has always been that he would be alone forever."
When Stefan talked about Chicago, Elijah steepled his hands in front of his face and concentrated. One eyebrow rose when Stefan revealed his connection with Rebekah and Klaus, and how he had been compelled to forget them. It was clear this was the first time he had heard about this. When Stefan described his meeting with Mikael, Elijah spoke up. "You were lucky to survive."
Stefan quietly said, "I know that now."
Elijah shook his head in contempt when Stefan explained how Elena and Damon had come to Chicago, and Damon had left her alone in his old apartment. He questioned Stefan closely about Gloria and the Original witches' locket. He seemed amused by Katherine's exploits and how she saved Stefan from Gloria. "It appears Katerina has some feelings where you are concerned?" His inflection made the sentence a question, but Stefan ignored it. Elijah didn't press him, just filed the information away for later.
Stefan explained how Damon had come into Gloria's to distract Klaus while Elena tried to dart him with vervain. Since Stefan wasn't looking at Elijah he missed his disgusted expression. "Typical Damon," Eliajh muttered.
When Stefan moved on to how he had clumsily asked about Mikael and failed to convince Rebekah of his interest with his lackluster kiss, Elijah commented, "Don't be so hard on yourself. Rebekah may be a vampire, but she still has the sensitivity of a witch. My mother's line was very strong."
Stefan moved nervously when Elijah mentioned his mother. Elijah noted it, but did not comment.
Stefan took a deep breath and looked sideways at Elijah. "It gets bad."
"Then I suggest you get it over with," Elijah blandly responded.
Stefan told Elijah how he woke up back in Mystic Falls and Klaus discovered how he had tried to conceal that Elena was alive. He left out nothing . . Klaus compelling him to turn it off . . his biting Elena . . Bonnie contacting the Original witch through the locket . . Klaus finally creating a hybrid with Elena's blood . . Klaus compelling him to be Elena's bodyguard . . Ric and Elena conspiring to look him up in the Lockwood Dungeon . . the ghosts . . Damon and him meeting Mikael in the bar . . . Mikael forcing him to find a way around the compulsion.
Elijah noticed how Stefan's hands trembled whenever he talked about how he had treated Elena. Elijah didn't trust himself to speak when Stefan revealed that it was actually Klaus that had killed his mother, but his eyes hardened and his jaw clenched.
Elijah hooded his eyes with his hand while Stefan described how he pulled Damon off Klaus, and Klaus launched himself at Mikael, stake in hand. He forced his voice to remain steady. "Are you sure he's dead?"
Stefan confirmed the outcome. "I watched him burn."
Elijah was silent for a few moments. Finally he sighed and said, "Continue."
Stefan finished with him and Katherine and their conversation in the car. He told him how Katherine persuaded him to go along with her plan; how he stole the coffins. He revealed how Katherine had convinced him that Elena truly did not love him enough to turn, and therefore he should give Damon a chance. He recounted how Katherine had explained to him why he was a ripper, and that he would always be a danger to Elena. Stefan look embarrassed as he admitted he had slept with Katherine to show Elena they were through.
Elijah shook his head disbelievingly and raised his eyes to the ceiling as if asking for divine intervention.
Stefan hung his head in shame. "She kind of played me for an idiot, didn't she?"
He gave Stefan a pitying glance. "You are not the first, and probably won't be the last to be taken in by Katerina Petrova."
Stefan asked, "Is it true? Am I a ripper because my soul is pure?
"Is that what Katarina told you?"
"Yup, she said I would never have control over my blood lust."
Elijah took a final sip of blood and scrunched up the empty bag and tossed it to the floor. "Well, for once she told the truth. Rippers do have pure souls, and you will never be able to control drinking human blood, and you will never be content on animal blood."
Stefan hung his head, dismayed. "I was hoping she was lying. Just my luck, that for once she's actually telling the truth."
Elijah laughed. "It is unfortunate."
They were both quiet as if there was nothing more to be said. Over three hours had passed since Stefan had revived the Original.
"So," Stefan finally said, eyes on the floor, "did I make a mistake reviving you?"
Elijah pursed his lips. "That depends, Stefan. What were you hoping for? Do you want me to kill Klaus for you?"
Stefan shook his head wearily, his hands fluttering hopelessly. "I don't really know what I was hoping for."
He let his forearms rest on his knees and thought. "I guess I don't expect you to kill your brother any more. I can't kill mine, why you should kill yours? I want you to protect the people I care about. Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, Alaric, hell . . even Tyler. I want Elena to have a chance at a normal life, not just be Klaus's walking blood bank." Stefan hesitated. "I don't want you to hurt Katherine. I know you have plenty of reasons to want to, but . . . I do care about her."
Elijah's eyes were unfocused. Almost to himself he murmured "Katerina and Elena both reminded me of someone, someone I cared very much about once. Katerina turned out to be a great disappointment. I expected more from her." His admission seemed to surprise him. "But, I do care about Elena. I admire her." Elijah gave an ironic laugh. "Stefan, have you ever considered how dangerous this urge to protect those you love without regard to the consequences is? You do see that's how this all started? My parents wanted to protect us, no matter what the cost."
Stefan's lips parted as if he was going to speak, and then he clamped them shut. He just shrugged and returned his gaze to the floor.
Stefan flinched when Elijah was suddenly standing over him, his right hand forcing Stefan's chin up, so their eyes met. Elijah's pupils dilated. "Relax, Stefan. Leave this in my hands. You did right the right thing by reviving me. Where is Katerina?" he demanded.
"We're staying in a Bed and Breakfast, The Angel House, on the outskirts of this town," Stefan murmured, his eyes glued to Elijah's.
"Go back to Katherina. Do whatever you normally do. You will not mention me to her." As Elijah completed the compulsion, Stefan tried to nod, but the firm grip on his chin made it more of a jerk.
Elijah released him and sent him on his way. "The Angel House," –he snorted– "in a 1000 years I have never met a less angelic woman." He needed time to digest everything Stefan had told him and decide what his next move would be.