This is the last part of my series. Thanks to everyone for reading and special thanks to those who took the time to leave a review. I hope you liked it.
I got the idea for the ritual from the house of night books. If you don`t know those, I can really recommend them.
There will be no more parts to this, but I already have an idea for another mulit-chapter fic and I guess I kinda promised a sequel to "anything for love". So you`ll hear from me again. Whether that`s a promise or a threat is up to you.
Disclaimer: I still don`t own them. Sadly.
While there is hope
The first thing Damon noticed when he awoke was the fact that he wasn`t in his room. Blinking his eyes open he sat up with a groan and looked around, wondering what the hell he was doing at the old graveyard.
After a second it all came back to him. That stupid original witch kidnapping Alaric and Elena, using Elena`s blood to turn Ric into an original vampire. The shocking news that once Ric completed the transition his evil alter ego would take over and he`d want to kill them all. Ric deciding not to complete the transition and Damon staying with him in the tomb, waiting for death to take his best friend.
The vampire remembered finally confessing his love to Alaric and the teacher responding in kind. Deep down Damon had always known that Ric felt the same, but he`d been too afraid to do something about it. Too scared Ric might leave him in the end. And now it was too late. Ric was gone and there was only a dull ache in his chest, where his heart used to be.
Nothing had ever hurt like this. Losing Katherine, finding out that Katherine betrayed him, Elena choosing Stefan over him... all that was nothing compared to the pain he was feeling now. Damon wanted to scream, wanted to smash something to pieces. Or maybe someone. He wanted to find the originals and stake them one by one, not caring that it would result in his own death.
But he remembered the promise he had made. Remembered that Ric told him not to lash out. Finally getting to his feet he suddenly remembered something else. He hadn`t simply fallen asleep in front of the tomb. Bonnie had showed up, hadn`t reacted when he spoke to her. She had done some witchy stuff that made him pass out.
Only now Damon noticed the strong smell of blood coming from the tomb. He rushed inside and was shocked to find Bonnie lying on the ground, blood dripping from a wound on her neck, pooling on the floor. There was no trace of Alaric. And also no trace of the white oak stake. "No, no, no please tell me this isn`t true."
Cursing under his breath the vampire knelt down next to Bonnie and shook her gently. At least he could hear her heartbeat. So she was still alive. She startled awake and blinked at him owlishly. "Damon?" He helped her into a sitting position and she started to tremble. The bite mark on her neck was still dripping blood and he noticed a cut on her hand.
Stifling another curse Damon bit his wrist and held it to her lips, but Bonnie jerked back like he had burned her. It took the vampire a moment to realize she was probably remembering that he had turned her mother not so long ago. "Oh come on! You`re injured. My blood will heal you. If it makes you feel better I promise not to kill you today." he snapped, pressing his wrist to her lips again.
She stared at him warily, but at last she drank. Once the wounds had closed Damon scooted back. "Now tell me what the hell happened." Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself. "I had no control over it. The witches led me here. They wanted him to turn..." she whispered, flinching when Damon swore loudly.
"Are you telling me that evil Ric is out somewhere with a stake that can wipe out the entire vampire race?" Bonnie nodded, tears in her eyes. For the first time in a long while she seemed scared of him. Usually Damon wouldn`t give a crap, but he still needed her, so he forced himself to calm down.
"Come on, we have to tell the others and figure out what to do." He helped her to her feet and led her to the Gilbert home, not really surprised when Stefan answered the door. "We have a problem." Stefan took one look at them and ushered them into the house. They sat down in the kitchen and Damon relayed the news to his brother.
"What do you mean he turned? I thought you were standing guard!" Stefan snapped at him. "Don't blame me. Blame Bonnie the blood bank, she fed him." Damon shot back. "I had no idea what was happening, okay? The witches led me there. They wanted him to feed so he turned. And if you are so upset with me, why did you feed me your blood to save my life?" Bonnie defended herself, glaring at Damon.
This was more like the witchy he knew and somehow he felt glad about it. Maybe now she could be helpful. Of course he didn`t say that. He told her he just did stupid things sometimes. "We have to figure out how to kill him." Stefan cut in. "No, we don`t. We have to figure out how to undo whatever that stupid witch has done to make him a killer." Damon protested.
"You can`t undo it. We already tried, remember? Ric is gone. Accept that." Stefan looked at him with pity and Damon saw red. Technically he knew that it wasn`t Ric anymore, but his heart wouldn`t accept that. The memory of last night, of Ric telling him that he loved him was too fresh. Without thinking he vamped out and pushed Stefan against the far wall. "No-one`s killing him! Is that clear?!"
Stefan looked truly shocked. But then a look of understanding crossed his features. "Okay. We`ll do what we can. But when push comes to shove, when it`s him or us, I know what I have to do." Damon forced himself to let go of Stefan`s shirt and take a step back.
Bonnie was frowning at them, but before she had the chance to speak the doorbell rang. Shortly after the vampires heard Jeremy ask: "What the hell do you want?" and hurried to the door, fearing the worst. Klaus was leaning in the doorway, trying to get Jeremy to invite him in. The Salvatore brothers moved in front of Jeremy and sent him to his room. To Damon´s surprise the teen complied.
"Poor lad. Loses one questionable father figure only to be replaced by the likes of the two of you." Klaus murmured. "Yeah, about that. Something happened." Damon started, but Klaus interrupted him. "Oh, I know all about my mother's little creation and that's why I'm here. I'm leaving town, just need to pick up a few road trip necessities. Spare tire, flashlight, doppelgänger."
Deciding that talking to Klaus was just pointless Damon shut the door on him and shared a look with his brother. Coming to an unspoken agreement, Stefan went upstairs in search of Elena, while Damon returned to the kitchen to inform the witch. However it only took Stefan a few seconds to come back down again. "She's not here."
"What do you mean she's not here? Where did she go?" Stefan just shrugged. Groaning in frustration - why did that girl always have to disappear on them? - Damon glanced outside just in time to see Klaus hurl something at the window. "Duck!" he shouted, ducking down. Stefan reacted quickly, grabbed Bonnie and ducked as well, when something smashed through the window.
Outside Klaus was shouting at them to let him in. "What is going on?" Jeremy asked, joining the other three in the kitchen. "Elena's car is gone." Stefan noticed. Suddenly the front door burst open and Klaus hurled a picket into the house. It narrowly missed Damon's head and got stuck in the wall behind him. Stefan grabbed Jeremy and Bonnie and pulled them down.
Damon had no idea what posessed him to pull the picket out of the wall and throw it back at Klaus, screaming: "Missed me!" Stefan made a frantic motion for him to get down, but Damon ignored him and instead watched with a kind of sick fascination as Klaus broke another picket in two and threw half of it at him again. "Missed me again!" he shouted, grinning like a maniac. And maybe he had gone crazy, but he didn`t care.
Klaus tried another approach and threatened to burn the house down. But then Stefan`s phone rang and Damon recognized that voice instantly. Stefan listened for a moment, then he went outside and held his hands up to stop Klaus. "Elena's not here. Alaric has her and Caroline and he's gonna kill them both unless you turn yourself over to him." Klaus lowered his improvised torch. "Now, I know you're not asking me to walk into a certain death."
"I really wish we could. But unfortunately, if Alaric kills you there's a one in four chance that we die too." Damon joined his brother outside, just as Stefan said: "Why don't we just figure out a way to put Alaric down?" His eyes flashing with anger Damon ground out: "We`re not going to kill him!"
Klaus watched him with a calculating smile he didn`t like at all. "Okay, how about Damon sneaks in and distracts Alaric, while Stefan grabs Elena and carries her to safety?" the original proposed. "Huh, that's a great idea. What's to stop me from getting killed instantly?" Damon shot back. Klaus grinned. "Nothing. But since you`re so keen on keeping your lover alive I thought you´d give it a shot."
That sentence deflated Damon´s anger instantly. How the hell did Klaus know? "This isn't really helping too much." Stefan intervened, stepping between them. Damon turned away and saw Bonnie walking towards them. "I might have an idea. My mom and I looked into this before and there could be a spell that helps us to restrain Alaric`s dark side. If I can get in touch with Abby, I might be able to use it."
Damon´s heart started beating faster at those words. "If and might? Your words inspire such confidence." Klaus mocked, but the witch didn`t back down. "I'll get it. But even with the spell, we'll need a back-up plan and all the help we can get. Including yours." Klaus turned around. "Just so we're clear, the sun sets in about eight hours. If we don't succeed before then, Elena will be dead, I'll be gone, and the rest of you will be left to fend for yourselves."
Damon watched him go and turned to Bonnie. "Call your mum." She nodded and headed inside. Damon was about to follow her, but Stefan stopped him. "I`ll grab Jeremy and try to think of a back-up plan. One that doesn`t involve killing Ric, okay?" he promised. Damon gave him a grateful look and nodded.
About an hour later Damon and Bonnie were waiting in the parlor of the boarding house. Bonnie noticed Damon glancing at the clock. "Relax, Abby will be here." He snorted. "I'm sorry, I forgot about her stellar track record in the dependability department." Bonnie decided not to comment on that.
Another five minutes later there was a knock on the door. Bonnie rushed over to open it and Damon heard Abby`s voice. "Jamie's worried about you. He said it was urgent. I just didn't think you'd ever want to see me again."
"Like Jamie said, it's urgent." the young witch explained while she led her mother into the parlor. Damon met them halfway. "We called you here because I need help with a spell." Bonnie explained. "Esther turned Alaric into an original vampire and now his dark side is ruling him. You told me about a spell when we first looked into this..." Abby shook her head. "Bonnie, it's too dangerous. This spell requires a lot of strength. It`s too much for you to handle."
"You turned your back on me for sixteen years, you have no idea what I can handle. You have no idea how strong I am." Bonnie told her mother. "Gotta say I'm team Bonnie on this one." Damon piped up, wishing they would get on with it already. Abby shot him a dark look.
"There`s more to it than just a spell. It`s a ritual. You have to trap him in an elementary circle, along with someone he really cares about. If you manage that, it´s up to that someone to bring his feelings, his emotions back to the surface. You can`t do anything to help." she explained. Bonnie just stared at her, so Damon decided to speak up. "I`ll do it."
Now both witches turned to stare at him. "Lock me in that witchy circle with him. I`ll get him to feel again." He was certain that he could do it. "If he attacks you, you cannot defend yourself. You can`t allow yourself any negative emotion towards him. He might kill you." Abby cautioned.
That didn`t make him change his mind though. "Alright. So I`ll talk to him, if he attacks me I don`t fight back and I have to think happy thoughts. Anything else?" Abby shook her head. "Okay, then let`s do this."
Quietly Damon moved through the school hallways, hoping for once everything would work out as planned. He had convinced Bonnie not to tell Stefan the exact details of the ritual, knowing full well his brother would interfere if he knew Damon´s life might be in danger. The older Salvatore refused to believe Alaric would kill him. It was still Ric, evil side or not and he would get through to him. He just had to.
His phone vibrated, signaling him that Bonnie was ready. Now all they had to do was lure Ric into the gym. And for once luck seemed to be on their side. Damon arrived in the hallway just in time to see Caroline and Elena running away, Ric chasing both girls. "Hey Ric, over here. Want me to lead you to Klaus?" he called out.
Ric stopped and stared at him and Damon had to suppress a shudder. He didn`t recognize his Alaric in those dark eyes. But he didn`t have a lot of time to ponder this, because Ric was moving towards him, fast. Turning on his heel Damon sped off down the hallway, Ric on his heels.
Unfortunately he was faster than Damon had anticipated and caught up to him in front of the door that led into the gym. Before he could react, Damon was thrown into the wall. "Where is he?" Ric demanded. Damon pointed at the gym. "In there." The former teacher grabbed his arm roughly and pushed him to the door. "You first."
They went inside and Damon´s heart raced. He prayed Bonnie`s timing would be right. But he needn`t have worried. As soon as they were both inside, the last of the five candles placed around the gym, flickered to life and suddenly the two vampires were surrounded by a ring of fire. The witch had closed the circle, allowing no-one to enter or leave it anymore until the ritual was done.
Ric´s eyes darkened as he vamped out. "You tricked me." he growled and Damon saw him raise the stake. A second later the stake went up in flames. The only help Bonnie could give him from outside of the circle. Hopefully the only help he would need. Ric dropped the burning stake and advanced on Damon. "I don´t need that to kill you."
Damon stumbled backwards, careful to stay away from Ric as well as the flames. "You don`t want to kill me, Ric. I know that. I know you`re still in there somewhere. You have to fight it." His words didn`t seem to have any effect on the newly created original. But Damon refused to give up.
"Remember last night in the tomb? When I told you that I love you? I should have told you sooner. I was so scared you might leave me. But I`m not scared anymore. I love you and I want to shout it from the rooftops. I want to be with you. I want us to have drinks at the Grill again, I want to spend lazy mornings in bed with you. I want to spend nights making love to you. I`d do anything for another chance. And because of that I need you to fight for me. For us. Come on, Ric." he pleaded, not caring who else heard him.
Without him noticing they had moved around the circle twice. But now his escape was blocked. The flames were behind him and Alaric was in front of him. He came closer until they were only inches apart. And still Ric didn`t even seem to recognize him. Damon was suddenly sure he would kill him. And he knew he wouldn`t fight. If it had to end like this, then so be it. He closed his eyes and whispered one last time: "I love you, Ric."
The only answer was a growl. And then Ric´s arms were around him and the hunter sunk his fangs into Damon`s neck. Damon let out a startled gasp, not having anticipated that, but he didn`t fight. Instead he wrapped his arms around Ric and tilted his head to the side to give him better access. Allowed him to feed.
No negative emotions, the witches had said, so he concentrated on the happy memories. He remembered their drunken nights at the Grill, remembered losing himself in Ric`s arms, hours spent just talking about nothing at all. He wished they could have done this before, shared their blood.
Blood sharing was intimate between vampires and even if Ric was taking a lot more than he could spare right now, he didn`t mind. It didn`t hurt. It felt good. Like it brought them closer than they had ever been. But the blood loss was quickly weakening him. He could hear Stefan´s voice. His brother seemed to be shouting, but Damon could barely understand him. Could barely hear anything at all.
Suddenly the pressure on his neck was gone and he felt himself being lowered to the ground. Someone said his name, but his vision was blurring and then the darkness took him.
Damon woke slowly and tried to sit up, blinking into the darkness and groaning when every muscle in his body protested against the movement. A hand on his chest pushed him back down. "Easy there. You lost a lot of blood."
Damon´s breath caught in his throat. He knew that voice. Turning his head a little he found Alaric sitting at his bedside. "Ric..." he whispered. The former teacher smiled and leaned closer. "What the hell were you thinking?" Damon blinked, tried to understand what was going on. "What happened?" he asked finally.
"What do you remember?" Ric asked him instead. Damon thought for a moment. "The witch made you turn. We had a plan. I remember the gym and the burning circle. I talked and then... you fed from me." Alaric snorted. "Fed from you? I nearly drained you, Damon. And you let me."
Damon tried again to sit up, this time with little more success. Finally Ric helped him, propping him up against the cushions. Once he was settled the former teacher handed him a blood bag. "Here, drink up. You need it." Damon did as he was told, only now realizing how hungry he was. Ric watched him drain the bag and handed him a second one, which he drained as well.
"What happened is... you succeeded. You saved me. Helped me restrain the evil me. For good, according to Bonnie." Damon breathed a sigh of relief. "I came to just as you were passing out. The flames died down at the same time. I was lucky Stefan didn`t have a white oak stake at hand. He would`ve killed me otherwise. Tried it anyway. It took Bonnie some time to calm him down. She made sure the spell had worked and she said you`d wake up in a while, probably feeling like shit."
"Yeah, she was certainly right about that." Damon groaned. The blood had helped a bit, but he was still feeling disoriented and hurting all over. "What about the others? Are they all right?" Ric hesitated for a second, looking anywhere but at him. "They`re okay." he said finally.
"Why don`t I believe you?" This elicited a chuckle from the former teacher. "Maybe because you know me too well? No, they are okay. Klaus used the distraction to kidnap Elena, but Stefan and the others managed to get her back. Obviously Tyler helped greatly with that. Finally stood up to Klaus. Like you she lost a lot of blood, but Stefan`s taking care of her and she´s fine. Didn`t even sleep as long as you did."
Damon frowned. "How long was I out of it?" he asked, somehow dreading the answer. "About two days." Ric murmured. When Damon tried to get up, he pushed him back down again. "Stay where you are. You need to rest. Everything else can wait." he ordered. Sulking Damon complied.
Ric watched him for a second and then whispered: "Thank you." The older vampire blinked up at him. "I meant everything I said. In case you heard some of it." Ric`s smile told him he had heard a lot of it. Or the others had told him.
"Scoot over." Damon did as he was told and Ric slid into bed next to him, smiling when Damon moved closer. "Are you okay?" the former teacher asked, while he gently stroked his back. "Yeah, just a little dizzy still. Guess I need some more blood." He was startled when Ric held his wrist out to him. "Hey, it`s only fair. I`m the reason you`re this weak. Take what you need."
Hesitating only a second Damon bit the offered wrist. He could hear Ric`s breathing getting uneven and locked eyes with the other vampire. They stared at each other while he drank and once he stopped Ric leaned down to kiss him. "Wow, was this what you were feeling when I...?"
Damon nodded. "We should do that more often." Ric decided and Damon could only agree. "We will. And lots of things more. We have all the time in the world."
"I like that thought. But now we could both do with some sleep, don`t you think?" Damon cuddled against the other vampire and nodded sleepily. Just as he was drifting off he heard Alaric whisper: "I love you, too, Damon. And tomorrow we can shout it from the rooftops if you want." With a smile he fell asleep, safe in the arms of the man he loved.
That`s it. I hope the ending wasn`t to sappy. I just couldn`t help myself.