Okay, I'm brand new to fanfiction and everything that comes with it, so I just hope you enjoy this. I've seen the show and thought it had really interesting plot lines ... and a few began to form in my head. Rather than just think about them I've decided to write them down this season. The stories are episode form, as if it were the show. Not sure when I'll update again, but Part 2's almost done.

Season 3- Love Kills

Episode 1- Picking up the Pieces: Part 1

Stefan looked around absorbing the scene around him. It had been one of those little immigrant communities that had taken up a few blocks on the outskirts of New York City, but it was that no longer. Blood and carnage had transformed the what was once a hopeful cluster of buildings into a horror scene. Stefan continued to watch what was left with a smile on his face.

"Over two hundred in little less than an hour," he mused, talking to himself. "Quite an accomplishment."

"I don't know," came an English accented voice from behind him. "I've done better myself. 1796 in France. No one notices when whole little villages are destroyed during The Reign of Terror."

"Klaus," Stefan said curtly, turning to face him.

"Ready to wake because I have things to do? Oh, wait, that means you do, too."

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows wondering what on earth he was talking about it was 1919, and he wasn't asleep ... was he?

Stefan woke with a jerk and looked around somewhat disorientated.

"That was some dream," said Klaus, sitting in a chair next to the beds in the cheap motel they had stayed in that night. "Impressive but not your best."

Klaus stood up and threw some clothes and a blood bag over to Stefan. "Hurry up. We have a long day ahead of us and a ride to catch." With that he left the room and closed the door, and Stefan began what would soon become routine to him.

Elena drummed her fingers on the table, staring at her phone. It had been hours and Stefan still hadn't replied. That could not be good.

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"A watched pot never boils," muttered Damon sarcastically under his breath. He was pretty much back to his old safe after he had taken a shower. Still a little weak, but definitely the Damon she was used to.

Elena ignored this comment and furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you think Katherine meant when she said Stefan had given himself over to Klaus?"

"We've already been through this, Elena," Damon began exasperatedly, pouring himself a glass of blood. "I don't know."

"And where did Katherine go?" Elena continued as if he hadn't spoken at all.

"No idea," Damon retorted still sarcastic.

"What does Klaus plan to do now, too? And-"

"Elena!" Damon almost yelled. "I'm not sure, and it's not going to help us figure the answers out no matter how many times you repeat the questions," he explained taking a drink. "It's just going to make me more and more anxious and frustrated."

"I know, I know, I'm just ..."

"worried," he finished for her. "I am too," he said putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But we'll figure it all out."

Damon sat down next to Elena on one of the couches; they sat in silence before Elena jumped and went for her phone.

"It didn't ring," Damon pointed out, confused.

"I know," Elena said. "But I've just realized, no one knows you're alive but you, me, Katherine, and maybe Stefan." As she finished typing in the number it began to ring.

"Hello?" Bonnie asked sleepily- at Caroline's since she had a bit of a boarding situation to deal with.

"Bonnie?"

"Elena! Oh, what happened? I should've called but ..." Bonnie yawned on her end of the conversation.

"Damon's fine. He got the cure in time."

"The cure? Klaus had it?"

"Klaus was the cure, or his blood, actually."

"What?" Bonnie asked, yawning once again. "How'd ya manage to get it?"

"That's the bad news," Elena began tiredly. "Stefan traded himself for it."

Bonnie didn't answer for a few seconds the said, "Elena, I'm so sorry. Do you know where-"

"No," Elena cut in. "We don't know much of anything right now."

"We'll start on that tomorrow because I need a recharge before I do any more spells."

"What? Why?" Elena asked confused. Damon, who was listening in on the conversation looked the same.

"Well, it took a lot with Jeremy ..." Bonnie trailed off then began hurriedly. "Oh my gosh, Elena! I'm so sorry. I completely forgot to call and tell you."

"Tell me what, Bonnie?" Elena asked, hysteria creeping into her voice.

"Elena, Jeremy died; Liz Forbes shot him by mistake when she was trying to take out Damon."

"What!" Elena screeched.

"Relax, relax, relax. He's fine now. The witches helped me bring him back to life."

"Good," Elena said, relaxing. "Thanks for telling me about Jeremy. Bye."

"Bye," Bonnie responded, already closing her eyes.

"Oh, Bonnie?"

"Yeah?" would you tell Caroline about Damon?"

"Sure."

"The witch can bring people back from the dead?" asked Damon, mystified.

"Apparently," Elena muttered under her breath."

Just then Elena's phone began vibrate loudly against the dark wood of the table. Quickly she grabbed it up and looked at the ID. Her face immediately fell when she saw it was not Stefan but Jeremy.

"Hey, Jer. How are you?" she mumbled into the phone, to tired to ask him for his side of the story from that night. Damon also listened to Jeremy's answer.

"Fine, I guess. Uh, Elena, what happened with everything?" he asked, alarmed by her depressed tone.

"We're not sure yet," she said.

"We're?"

"Damon and I," she said slowly, a little confused.

"Damon, so he's okay?"

"Yeah, hasn't anyone told you?"

"Told me what?" he asked a little impatiently as he paced back and forth down the hallway from the front door to the kitchen. He had been so distracted by him almost dying (well, actually he had died then come back) that he hadn't bothered to get the rest of the story from anyone. That and he'd kind of been freaked by him seeing Vicki and Anna. Shaking his head, trying to get their images out of his mind he repeated. "Told me what, Elena?"

"Stefan and Bonnie talked to Emily and they found out there was a cure, and Klaus knew about it or something. So Stefan went over to find out what it was."

"He went by himself?"

"Yes, and it turns out Klaus' blood is the cure. Stefan traded himself for it. Then Klaus gave a bottle of his blood to Katherine who, in turn, came and gave it to Damon. Damon's fine now, but we've got no idea what happened to Stefan or where he is," she finished shakily.

Damon took the phone from Elena gently as she wiped her now watering eyes. "Jeremy," Damon said seriously. "Stay in the house. I'm not sure what's going on, but stay there until everything's under control. Tell Rick to do the same if he's there."

"Okay," Jeremy said, then hung up.

Damon handed to the phone back to Elena. "Do you think he's- he's ..." she trailed off, unable to finish.

"Dead? No, if he wanted Stefan dead, then he had countless opportunities to kill him and he never did." Damon didn't elaborate, but Elena sensed he was holding something back.

"What?"

"What do you mean what?" Damon said, playing for time. He didn't want to lie to Elena, but he also didn't want to tell her his suspicions.

"Why would Klaus want Stefan alive?"

"I'm not sure yet," he lied. Damon knew exactly why Klaus would want Stefan. Perhaps not the details, but he knew the general reason why Stefan. And he didn't want Elena knowing. Sure, she had come to accept that a vampire had a darker side, but she didn't need to know how dark. "Call the witch," he said suddenly.

"What?" Elena asked, taken aback.

"Call Bonnie and ask her about Stefan since she would have been the last person to see him," he said on his way out the door.

"Okay, but wait, where are you going?"

"Rick's place. I'm going to see what went down there."

"You shouldn't go by yourself-"

"They're probably long gone by now. Klaus wouldn't just hang around. He's done what he intended to do here. I'll be lucky to find anything." And with that he was gone.

Elena picked up her cell phone and dialed Bonnie's number.

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Jeremy continued to pace back and forth even after he got off the phone with his sister. His mind strayed back to his descent down the stairs and his seeing the two girls. After the moment of immediate shock Jeremy had blinked his eyes hard and rubbed them with his fingers, and they had been gone. However, he was sure they weren't a hallucination.

"Jeremy?" called a sleepy voice from the couch. "Jeremy, is that you?"

"Ah, yeah, Rick, it's just me," Jeremy called back.

"What are you doing?" he asked sitting up. "It's like three in the morning."

"Oh, I-I thought I heard a noise." Sure it wasn't the whole story, but it was basically true.

"And?"

"Nothing. I think I'm still a little out of it after everything."

"Oh, well, try and get some sleep. Something tells me it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, probably. I'm just going to grab a glass of water. Oh, and Elena said Stefan got the cure to Damon in time," Jeremy told him, and he walked towards the kitchen as Rick dropped off to sleep again.

"Good," Rick mumbled already half asleep.

He walked over to the cupboard, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. Then he turned around and almost walked smack into Anna. "Hey, Jeremy," she said with a half smile.

"Anna?" Jeremy asked once again, not sure if she was a hallucination or not.

"Yep," she responded.

"Jer?" said another voice off to the side.

"Vicki?" he said, still really confused.

"Yeah."

"What are you two ... I mean ... What's going on?"

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Bonnie was camped out at Caroline's since she probably wouldn't have been welcome home to her dad's in the the middle of the night after being MIA for the past couple of weeks.

"What do you think's going on with Damon?" asked Caroline nervously.

"For the umpteenth time, Caroline," said Bonnie rolling her eyes but still smiling, "I don't know."

"What if he died, what if Stefan didn't find the cure, what if Klaus killed him, what if-"

"Caroline!"

"Sorry."

Bonnie's cell rang and Elena's number was on the screen.

"Ooh, that's Elena-"

"Caroline ..." Bonnie said, putting the phone to her ear. Caroline shut up then, listening hard. "Hey, Elena."

"Bonnie!" Elena said in relief.

"What happened?" asked Bonnie.

"Damon's okay. Katherine brought the cure in time."

"Katherine?"

"Don't ask, I have know idea why her."

"Okay, what about Stefan, how did he manage it?"

"In the worst possible way- he traded himself for the cure- Klaus' blood."

Right then all three of them were off yelling and popping off questions.

"Wait, wait, wait," Bonnie shouted over both Elena and Caroline. "What do you mean traded himself?"

"That's what Damon has gone to find out. He just left, and I'm not sure when he'll be back. He said something about going to check out Rick's apartment so ..." Elena tapered off not really wanting to discuss Stefan or what had happened between her and Damon before Katherine had come. "Anyway, what happened with Jeremy. I got your text after he had gotten home."

Caroline took the phone and put it on speaker. "My mom was stupid enough to try to go after Damon. So she followed Damon and Jeremy into the Grill. She aimed her gun at Damon, but he moved and she ended up shooting Jeremy instead. I'm so sorry Elena."

"Don't be, it's not your fault, Care. Your mom was just trying to keep everyone safe. I get that," Elena told her gently. She had felt a sense of shock when she heard that it was because of Damon's actions that Jeremy had been shot, but he had been really sick, not in his right mind. To be honest, he might not have known what was going on at that point. It hadn't been his fault.

"I can't believe Damon, though," Bonnie grumbled, voicing Elena's first thoughts. "That bullet wouldn't have even killed him, even though it was wooden."

"Bonnie," Elena chastised, "Damon was sick, he didn't know what was going on, and that bullet could very well have killed him with the wolf bite."

Bonnie grumbled something but dropped it, and an awkward silence took hold.

"So," Caroline began, cutting the tension, "what do we do now?"

"Wait for Damon to get back and tell us what he's found, I guess," Elena said taking a deep breath.

"Sounds like a plan," Caroline agreed, trying to be cheerful. Bonnie just yawned.

"We should try and get some sleep," Bonnie said. "Elena, we'll figure out a way to get Stefan back first thing tomorrow."

"I know, and guys-"

"Yeah?" they both asked in union.

"Thanks for everything."

"Goodnight, Elena," Bonnie said.

"Night," Caroline agreed.

"See you tomorrow." Elena hung up then curled up on the couch she was sitting on and tried to get some sleep.

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Damon had to break in once again into Rick's apartment. This time, however, Katherine wasn't on the other side to tell him what Klaus was up to.

Just as he had suspected, the place had been wiped of almost all trace of Klaus, Katherine, those witches, or even his brother being there. There was one thing, though. The floors and counter were smeared with blood- human blood. These signs spelled nothing but trouble for Damon. He knew exactly what this meant. It hadn't been Klaus that had overdone it with the blood bags or any of his little minions- it had been his dear little brother.

"No!" Damon yelled kicking a chair and actually splintering the wooden leg in frustration.

He had known this would be why Klaus had made the deal. Stefan was ripper, and pretty good one too if given enough blood. In the past century and a half his little brother had been on again and off again when it came to the human stuff. It changed him in a way the was mostly for the worse.

Vampires could generally keep the bloodlust and the emotions under control with some practice after getting used to it all. Stefan was one of the few that couldn't. These vampires couldn't control themselves well in this new state and often acted as if they were newly made vampires even centuries later.

They didn't care about anything except blood. That was it. And Stefan was a true ripper; someone who enjoyed. For years now he had kept it bottled up- this was the longest Stefan had been off human blood- nearly two decades now. Klaus seemed to know about Stefan's past as well. Seeing as Klaus had traded his blood for the service of Stefan as a ripper.

"Just great," Damon muttered, stalking the room.

He had no idea where to go from here. When Stefan started it almost always took a miracle to get him stopped. A miracle ... or Lexi. "Only thing is Lexi's dead," muttered Damon under his breath.

Even if Lexi was alive there would be the issue of tracking him. Rogue rippers left a trail easy enough to follow. Damon knew that from tracking Stefan down. But most rippers didn't have an original vampire to back them. Nor did they usually have a specific target in mind, which was the only reason Klaus would want Stefan.

It finally sank in that he would have to tell Elena everything, and he was not looking forward to it.

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"Where are we going?" It seemed like he had asked the question over a hundred times.

"For the hundredth time," Klaus said (Stefan hadn't been the only one counting), "you'll know when we get there."

Stefan moved uncomfortably in the passenger seat. Klaus had been driving for hours now with no intention of stopping any time soon. His entourage, too, was following in a black SUV behind them.

"Can you at least tell me what we're going to be doing at this place you can't tell me about?" Stefan pleaded, not sure if he was going to far or not.

Klaus smiled mischievously, still rather pleased with himself. "Oh, I think you can guess."

Yes, Stefan could guess. He would be killing and was by repulsed by the fact that he was looking forward to it- that what he wanted right now was to feel his fangs grow and sink into some unsuspecting victim's neck, or better yet, a victim who knew it was coming. He came back from this fantasy with a jolt. He couldn't do this again. He had to keep himself in check. No one that didn't have to die would- just enough to keep Klaus happy ... and maybe one or two for his own enjoyment.

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"Elena ... Elena ... Elena ... Elena," Stefan called from out of sight.

"Stefan?" she called back looking around. Elena was standing in the ruins of Fell's Church. "Stefan?" she called again. "What's going on? Where are you?"

"I'm behind here, Elena. Behind the wall."

Elena hurried towards the place Stefan's voice was coming from- right behind one of the few remaining walls of the church.

"Elena, aren't you coming?" his voice called again.

"Yes," she said breathlessly as she ran around the wall.

"Stefan!" she cried excitedly then just mouthed silently, astonished. Stefan was crouching In front of the bodies of several victims, and on his face lay what remained of their blood. "Stefan what- what did you- how could you-"

"I'm a vampire, Elena, this is what vampires do."

"No, no, you're better than that. You are so much better," she began, fighting hysterics while shaking her head frantically.

"How do you know that? When I was on animal blood, sure; but the only time you've ever seen me on human blood was over the course of only a week or so when I almost killed that one girl," he finished with a bloodcurdling smile. After a moment he continued, "You've only ever seen me living a lie, living as a human. I am not; I'm a vampire, Elena, and this is what vampires do."

"It's not. It's not, Stefan. Vampires don't go and massacre dozens of victims!"

"Oh, but they do. I myself have done so in the past. Remember when we were at the lake house? I told you my past was dark and that I wanted you to here about it from me? Well, this is me finishing my tale, Elena. The founders were only the beginning."

Stefan had risen from the pile before him and slowly began making his way towards Elena.

"I've killed so many more. More than you could ever imagine."

"No," Elena breathed as she began moving ever so slowly, too- away from him.

"After Lexi left the first time I reverted to my old ways, and I enjoyed it immensely. Especially without Damon there chastising me about it all," Stefan finished waving a dismissive hand at the bodies now behind him.

He was now only a few paces away from her, even with Elena backing up.

"Lexi- Lexi and Damon left?" she asked trying to stall him while figuring out what to do.

"Yes, of course, but surely you knew that. After all, both came to visit me in Mystic Falls. They weren't already there. We weren't the three musketeers or anything."

"I knew that," she snapped, her eyes narrowing. Her boyfriend was obviously not there. Gone was the man she had fallen in love with, who care for her and everything around her. In his stead was some monster- a monster with a love a blood, a vampire. "I just never thought about it, I- I guess."

The last word ended as a shriek as she tripped on a root and fell to the ground. Only she never reached it. Firm, strong hands held her upright and turned her to face their owner.

"Elena," cooed Stefan as he let his finger trail down the side her face.

"Yes?" spoke Elena, in barely more than a whisper, scared to death.

"Do you know what the best part is?" This time she didn't speak at all. Stefan still took it all in stride, though. "It's the hunt. Not the chasing because that can get rather boring. But you never get tired of the look in there eyes. That look of fear as they realize that their life has come to a close. That look, well ..." Glee was evident in every aspect of the features on Stefan's face, "you never forget get it."

"Really?" Elena replied flatly, refusing to look into Stefan's eyes.

Stefan cupped her face gently and stared directly at her. "It's the look in your eyes right now."

Before she could register what the words he had said meant she felt fangs sink into the flesh of her neck and screamed.

"Elena! Elena! Elena!" Damon yelled, trying to shake Elena awake.

She yelped and cringed away from Damon, but realized it had all been just a nightmare. A hell of a nightmare for sure, but only a dream. Then she lost it and her watering eyes let the tears flow, and a sob rose up in her throat. She began crying. Crying for everyone that had died because of her. Crying for her screwed up life. She cried for all the things she had been through and everything else that was inside her.

And Damon let her. He held her in his arms, stroked her hair, and let her cry for as long as she needed.

"I- I'm sorry. It's just-" Elena sniffed.

"I know, Elena. I know, trust me," Damon laughed darkly.

They sat in silence for a little while longer with a sob occasionally escaping Elena's throat until Damon finally broke the silence. "Do you ... want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Elena cried out. "About the fact that the whole universe seems to be conspiring against me? Should I talk about the fact that I attract dire trouble like a magnet. Maybe the fact that everyone I've ever cared about I've managed to put in some type of danger or died because of me? Oh, and let's not forget I also have gotten Caroline turned into a vampire and Tyler a werewolf. Then there's my vampire mother who died trying to turn me over to Klaus and my now dead father/uncle who gave up his life so I wouldn't end up a vampire! Maybe you'd also like to discuss how I'm actually a dopleganger that was used in some strange original supernatural ritual that made an already unbeatable vampire- practically invincible, who just so happens to have my vampire boyfriend whose vampire brother is sitting on the couch next to me listening to me rant and cry," she finished weakly, falling against him again.

"Actually, I meant whatever nightmare you just had. But if you want to talk about all that other stuff, too, then it might take us awhile, but ..." he just shrugged with the hint of a smile.

Elena choked in the middle of a sob and giggled. Then, almost immediately, the smile left her face. "I was in Fell's Church and Stefan was calling me to come to him, but I couldn't see him. He was behind a wall, I think," she said, trying to recall her nightmare. "Anyway, I finally found him, but, Damon it was awful, like every horror story you ever read or movie you ever watched. Stefan- Stefan was crouching over a pile of bodies with all the blood drained, and," Elena let out a sob. "and the he came towards me, blood covering his face, and he- and he ..." Elena shuddered and began to cry again, but she needn't finish. Damon knew exactly what his brother had done in the dream.

"It was just a dream, Elena. Nothing more than a nightmare."

"I know, it just seemed so real, for a dream anyway."

Damon shifted uncomfortably in his position on the couch. He made barely any movement at all, but Elena still caught it. "What?" she asked. "Why are you squirming?"

"Nothing, Elena," Damon said casually, moving her off of him and getting up.

"Damon!" Elena called. "What is it? Is it something you found at the apartment, or was it the dream?"

"I said it's nothing," Damon repeated in a tone that clearly indicated that was the final say on the subject.

"No," Elena continued. "It's not. Damon, you can tell me. What did you find?"

Damon turned to face her wearily. He knew she wouldn't stop until she was told the truth, and to be perfectly honest: He just didn't have the heart to lie to her right then.

"I know why Klaus wanted Stefan."

Elena just looked expectantly at him.

"Look," Damon began in a tone that almost always expressed sugar-coated bad news, "first off you need to understand that not all vampires are the same. Yes, we all suck blood and have supernatural strength and hearing, blah, blah, blah. That's not really the point, but you need to know that to get what I'm about to tell you."

She nodded.

"Some vampires you would never be able to pick out from the crowd even if there was blood everywhere. They have complete self control and rarely act like anything but a human unless they have to. Others never stop moving. They are always moving to the next town looking for their next meal. And some, like Stefan, are ... well, let's call them problem drinkers."

"Problem drinkers?" Elena asked, eyebrows raised. "Damon, I already know that after that incident with my blood he wasn't himself for days-"

"Anyway," Damon continued, cutting her off, "some of these vampires can keep things in check by limiting their amount of blood consumption or just sticking to the animal stuff-"

"Like Stefan," Elena said, this time cutting him off.

"Not like Stefan actually, miss know-it-all. While some can do this others can't, and these are eventually found out and killed by humans or by vampires. Then there are what are called rippers."

Elena was not liking where this was headed at all.

"Rippers are basically mass murderers that are vampires. All humanity gone. They don't have a thought in the world other than that of where their next meal is coming from because the more you drink the more you want, and rippers always want."

"So you're saying," Elena began shakily, "that Klaus agreed to save you if Stefan became a mass murderer for him?"

"Not exactly. Way back when Stefan was known for being a great ripper. Never caught, very powerful, a true vampire. He was kind of on and off the wagon when it came to blood, and you had the fortune of meeting him when he was ... sober, for lack of a better word."

"What makes you think that that's why Klaus wanted Stefan or what he did with him?" she asked, clinging to the last hope that Stefan wasn't becoming monster.

"It just seems like a viable reason," Damon lied.

"No," Elena mumbled, "he wouldn't."

Damon had no idea if she was talking about Klaus or Stefan, so he didn't say anything. And instead sat back down and put his arm around her.

"Elena, we can find him and get him back," he whispered in her ear. "Give him a few weeks to detox and he'll be right as rain, if that is why Klaus took him. For all we know it was his insurance so that we wouldn't come after him."

"We?" she asked, laughing a little while her eyes watered. "You never let me come with you when it's anything remotely dangerous."

"I've learned my lesson when it comes to you," Damon said chuckling himself. "I'm not stupid enough to pretend that if I tell you to stay put you will- anymore. The best way to keep you safe is for you to stay close to me."

Elena nodded warily, wiping away the remainder of the tears left. "I should go and see Jeremy. Make sure he's alright, and I've got to figure out what to do with him while you and I are out looking for Stefan."

"What do you mean do with him?" Damon asked, confused.

"He's still a minor, Damon. I just can't leave him by himself at the house! Then there's school, thank God we're not far from summer break, but ..." she finished shaking her head.

"We've got a a were-vampire hybrid who just so happens to be holding the leash on your vampire boyfriend and my brother, and you're worried about ... What was it? Oh, yeah school."

"And my brother," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh. Look, Elena, it's not like he's some little ten year old that need's help tying his own shoes. He's what, sixteen? I think he can handle himself for a few weeks; after all, it's not like we're going to be leaving tonight."

Elena dropped her eyes, "We're not?"

"No, I don't have the first clue as to where they are or what they're doing, Elena. And I'm not going on some wild goose chase. We need to figure out some things first."

She nodded reluctantly, seeing Damon's logic.

"And if you're still worried about Jeremy," Damon continued in a much softer tone, "then Rick could stay with him. I'm sure he won't want to be going back to his place anytime soon."

"Why? What did you find?"

Damon shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Nothing much," he said as casually as he could. "Just some blood."

"Blood?" Elena asked, skeptically, sensing there was something that Damon wasn't telling her. Maybe there was more than just a hunch to Klaus turning Stefan into a ripper.

"Yeah, there were a few blood bags ripped open."

"What do you think that means? Is that why you think Klaus is ... So Stefan might really be ..."

"I ... am not sure yet," Damon said slowly.

"Not sure?" Elena asked, eyebrows raised.

"Not sure yet," Damon corrected.

"What do you know, Damon, and don't mince your words."

"I have hunch, but I want to be sure first," Damon said grudgingly.

"What hunch?"

"I told you I want to be sure. I want to know what Klaus is doing first exactly."

"Damon!"

"Elena, I'm not going to move on this. Until I know for certain it's staying to myself."

Elena narrowed her eyes, but agreed. She knew now wasn't the time to push Damon. Klaus taking off with Stefan had really gotten to him. That and coupled with the fact that he had just come back from the brink of death and there was all that unresolved stuff between them ... Well, she would let him have this.

"When will you know?"

"It should only take a few days. If I'm still not sure by the end of the week I'll tell you, but not before. Okay?"

"Fine," she muttered.

"Good."

"Well," Elena said, standing. "I promised Bonnie and Caroline I'd meet them and explain everything in person. Then I'm going to see Jeremy."

"Alright," Damon said, nodding. "I'm going to check out a lead."

And with that, both left, each with their own agenda to attend to.