Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries is the property of the CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

~x~

The clammy rough stone wall was cold against Damon's back. It felt good, cooling the heat in his burnt shoulder. He glimpsed, out of the corner of his eye, the crumpled scorched, bloody heap that was his brother.

"Stef. Stef. You okay?"

An agonized whisper answered him. "Depends on your definition of okay."

Damon gave a harsh laugh. "Right now it's being alive."

Stefan groaned as he moved, slowly, in jerks, uncurling from his almost fetal position. In stages he got his knees under him, body bent forward, then in a contortion rolled to his butt, and pushed himself up next to his brother. Damon reached a hand over and helped him inch up the wall with his back.

"Then I'm okay," he mumbled through bruised, cut lips.

He turned his head stiffly to look at his brother. "You don't look so good. Kinda crispy."

Damon gingerly turned his head and peered at him with the eye that wasn't swollen shut. "Yeah, well, Jeremy forgot to mention the flamethrowers. You look like crap."

"Feel like crap." Stefan shifted slightly, unable to suppress a groan of pain from his busted rib, before he continued, "What we got left?"

Damon looked quickly around the stone chamber they had chosen for their last stand. There was one remaining blood bag in the corner, a machete, and an ax they had dropped as they rushed into the chamber and pushed the huge stone to block the narrow entrance. "Not much."

"How long do you think before they get in?" Stefan asked.

Damon started to shake his head, but the pain made him rethink that move. "Don't know, but we gotta try and heal up before the next battle."

"Kay." His brother's voice was faint, head weakly bobbing as if the effort to hold it up was too much for him.

Damon was worried about Stefan. He looked like a pincushion, bristling with wooden arrows and stakes, and one arm looked like a Swiss cheese of wooden bullet holes. The only reason they had survived this long against the slayers was the protective spells Bonnie had placed on them.

The fact that they hadn't been immediately slaughtered was because they were one step ahead of the slayers. A small baby step ahead, but it still gave them a fighting chance. There was nothing amateurish about these guys. They were professionals, and they had no scale for ranking vampires . . no one to ten with one being innocent and ten being evil . .. just moving and dead and only dead was acceptable.

Damon took a moment to rest, head hanging, thinking over the last hours. They were without a doubt the longest hours of his life.

The day started with a curt warning phone call from Caroline. "Damon, meet us at the Lockwood estate, by the old well. Bonnie's on her way there. Elena and Jeremy's with me. Slayers are coming for us . . all of us."

Stefan was nearby when Damon got the call, and he overheard the conversation. Damon met his eyes, surprised by the calculating look on his brother's face. He watched mystified as Stefan pulled out his cell phone. Once Damon heard the start of the exchange, his eyebrows rose almost to his hairline, but he soon gave an understanding nod and 'why not' shrug. He wasted no more time, dashing down to the basement and grabbing a couple of blood bags. They sped over to meet a pale, worried Bonnie, a bleak, determined Jeremy, and a distraught Elena. Caroline had been calm and straightforward, astonishing Damon, who had always written her off as an airhead while Stefan took her cool headed efficiency in stride.

"Mom warned me. She overheard them and called me. She won't be able to help. These are outside slayers, and they know each one of us." She stopped and swallowed convulsively, the only sign of her internal anguish, but when she spoke again her voice was unemotional. "They got Tyler. Knew he was a hybrid and took him out first so he couldn't change." She sighed deeply but forced herself to continue. "They trapped and burnt him."

Elena wrung her hands and reached to comfort Caroline but was shrugged off. Caroline was all business. "No time for that, Elena."

Bonnie nodded, looking grim.

Damon said, "Witchy juju, you shouldn't be here. They may not take it kindly."

Stefan, face stern, hands clenched into fists inside his hoodie pockets, harshly chastised her. "You should know better, Bonnie. Your ancestors paid big time for associating with vampires."

Bonnie laughed sourly. "Too late. They know about me. Know about me saving Klaus . . getting him back in his own body . . ." She shook her head, frowning. "Stefan, they know everything."

"Who are these guys?" Damon asked. "Friggin Navy Seal slayers? Where'd they get their info?"

Caroline interrupted. "Doesn't matter now. Someone spilled their guts, and we have to assume they'll be on us any second now." She paused. "Tell em, Bonnie."

"They have a witch or witches. I can feel the magic. I . . . I don't think you're going to be able to leave the boundary of Mystic Falls."

An exasperated Damon cursed, raising his eyes to heaven. "Great, just great. Slayers and witches. This just gets better and better."

Jeremy had been silent up to this point, but now he un-slung a bundle from his shoulder. "I was able to grab some weapons."

Elena spoke up. "Jeremy, no. Leave. They won't harm you if you don't interfere; you're human."

Jeremy's face was white, the tips of his nostrils pinched, and the tic in his jaw that appeared in times of stress was working overtime. "For the last time. I will not leave you, and I will not let them kill you. If we die, we die together."

Elena's stony face was hopeless. "Damn vervain. Otherwise, I could compel you."

Jeremy turned from her and knelt, unrolling the canvas bundle, revealing a machete, an axe, bow and arrows, a huge searchlight, and some knives.

"What an eclectic collection of weapons!" Damon's sarcastic comment was ignored by all.

"There's six of them, and they have bows, arrows, wooden bullets, spears, vervain bombs, and vervain darts. Their clothes and skins are smeared with vervain. Bite them and get any blood in your mouth, and you'll be out like a light." Jeremy's voice was tense. When he had everything laid out he looked over at them. "We need a plan."

Damon crossed his arms, face serious, staring at the ground. Without looking up he barked, "Bonnie, you think or you know that we won't be able to cross the borders of Mystic Falls?"

"You can't cross here. That's why we met at this spot, so Caroline could test it on the way. I have to assume that they have more than one witch, and they blocked out an area including your house, Elena's, and Caroline's." She looked up uneasily, eyes half closed, lips parted, almost as if searching the wind for a trace of their power.

Damon frowned. "So we're stuck in a corral, trying to fight six seasoned slayers and an unknown number of witches." He regarded Caroline, Elena and Jeremy with a jaundiced eye. "I've had better odds."

Stefan who had stood by quietly now went over to the weapons spread on the ground and hefted the machete. He swung it experimentally while saying quietly to his brother, "You're forgetting your history, bro."

Damon raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh?"

Stefan calmly met his eyes. "Emily and her family. Emily's kids."

Damon's expression froze in shock, and then the first smile since he got Caroline's call creased his face.

"Brother, I take back all the foul things I've ever said about you." He quickly went over and picked up the axe and grabbed the knives. He handed one to each girl. Jeremy already had the bow and arrows and a knife tucked into his belt.

All eyes were on Damon. "Follow me. We have a way out."

"What?" "Tell me." "Damon, are you sure?" "What's going on?" A babble of voices, all seeking information rose up around him.

"Quiet!" Damon had a way about him that told people when he had had enough. His tone warned them they were close to his limit.

"Stefan, take Bonnie. I'll get Jeremy. Vampire speed. "

The group quickly reached a totally overgrown area deep in the forest but still part of the town of Mystic Falls. Stefan and Damon put down the humans and pushed away moss covered vines to reveal a cave with a narrow opening.

Bonnie, clapped her hands in delight, forgetting their problems for a moment as she marveled at the discovery. "Oooh! The family lost the location. Emily's children could never describe where it was."

Caroline totally confused, asked softly, "What is it?"

"This is a natural cavern that was used as the start of an underground escape tunnel for both slaves and witches. I promised Emily I would protect her kids if she would free Katherine." Damon turned to Bonnie. "A promise she broke by the way." Bonnie shot him a dirty look and he protested, "Just sayin."

"This is how Damon got the kids out when the town went on a witch hunt and burned her." Stefan turned to Bonnie. "That's how your family got to Salem."

Bonnie nodded. "And now it's going to save us again."

Stefan gave Damon a significant look. Damon returned it obstinately and a silent war of wills was waged, Damon surrendering only when Stefan mouthed, "You'll be able to do what has to be done."

Damon, making shooing gestures, urged the group, "Let's get inside." They discovered that the natural cavern widened up inside with several narrower outlets at the opposite end.

Stefan grabbed the blood bags, placing one of them near the rightmost narrow opening and then disappeared into the dark.

"We have to make sure that Caroline and Elena can make it past the containment spell," Damon explained when Stefan returned.

Bonnie spoke up. "The spell shouldn't extend into the ground as deep as the tunnel. Anyway this tunnel is older than Emily. The witches who were here before her time built it, and the family legends say it's spelled."

Stefan nodded. "Yeah, but if for some reason the containment does penetrate into the tunnel we'll have to come back here, and they'll be waiting for us. If they got a witch, they'll be able to track any of us to this point. We'll be trapped."

Elena spoke up. "What do you mean Elena and Caroline? It has to be all of us."

Damon still holding his brother's eyes, spoke up. "One of us has to hold them here. Make sure they think we're trapped in a cave. They won't use a witch if they think they know where we are. If they get in here, then they'll know it's a tunnel, and they'll send someone over land to find the exit, or they'll follow us. If we hold them here, fool them, we can make our escape. "

Elena was adamant. "No, all or none. We can fight here together."

Caroline backed her up. "We can do this."

Jeremy was the voice of reason. "No, no you can't.'

"But we beat the Orig—" Elena's protest was cut short by her brother.

"Elena, stop it. We didn't beat the Originals. They fought among themselves, and they didn't care enough to kill us. These people want you dead. They will win. We are outnumbered, and Bonnie is outnumbered. We have to run."

Elena shook her head, tears sliding down her cheeks. Caroline looked stunned, while Bonnie just looked resigned, knowing as well as Jeremy how desperate the situation was.

Damon and Stefan looked at each other again, and Damon nodded at Stefan, and used his hand to indicate go for it.

"Elena, I'm okay with staying. I'll hold them off and then follow you."

"I can't lose anyone else." She sobbed looking from him to Damon.

Damon's voice was kind, his look pure pity. "Elena, sweetheart. Death is part of life. Eventually you lose the ones you love." He briskly added, "But not today. This'll work. I'll make sure we can get through the edge of Mystic Falls, and then Stefan will join us." Damon spoke so convincingly that he was able to assuage Elena's worst fear.

Damon briskly issued orders. "I'll go first with Bonnie hanging on to me. Elena next, then Jeremy, and then Caroline. Bonnie and Jeremy, you won't be able to see, but we will. Save the flashlight for when you need it. Let's go."

"Wait . . In case . . . didn't get a chance . . never got to . . " Elena turned to Stefan, her huge brown eyes stricken.

"No time, Elena. I loved you, and I know you loved me. Prove it to me by fighting to live." He rushed over, kissed her and then pushed her into Damon's arms. "Go."

He hugged a now sobbing Caroline and gently kissed a sad eyed Bonnie on the cheek. Bonnie surprised him by placing a hand on his heart and on his head murmuring a quick spell. "It will hold for a while," she whispered and then quickly walked back to the mouth of the tunnel. The spell lifted her hair as a breeze whipped around her. She moved to the back of the cave saying, "That will keep out any witches."

Stefan exchanged a quick handshake and back pound with Jeremy, and they were on the way.

Damon had seen them to beyond the boundary of Mystic Falls. Bonnie had confirmed that the tunnel was shielded with spells from her ancestors that would still hold. The witches would not be able to trace them as long as they were in the tunnel. They could only pick them up when they emerged, and if their focus was held on the cave, by the time they realized it was a tunnel, the four of them would be long gone.

As expected, Elena went crazy when she realized Damon was going back to his brother . . that Stefan wasn't following . . . that he had never intended to, knowing it would jeopardize their chance of escape.

Damon ended up snapping Elena's neck. "Knew I was gonna have to do that," he said ruefully. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, and they continued on their way. When they were near the end of the tunnel, he transferred her to Caroline's shoulder. "We're almost there. I gotta get back to Stefan. Give me your phone." When Caroline handed it over he punched in a number. "Call this when you get outside, and you'll be told where to go to be met."

Bonnie quickly put a hand on his heart and head and murmured the same spell she used on Stefan.

Damon smiled sardonically. "Thanks, witchy. Always knew you cared."

Bonnie gave an exasperated smile. "Never give up, do you?"

Damon just smirked and ran the back of his hand gently over Caroline's cheek. "Keep em safe, Blondie."

Jeremy held up the flashlight so their faces looking ghostly in the pale light. "Thanks," Jeremy said awkwardly.

Damon brushed him off. "I owed it to you. Remember I killed you."

As he turned to leave, Caroline called out. "Never wanted to be a vampire, but since it worked out that way, I'm glad you were my sire."

Damon turned back, smiling. "Get to safety and stop being maudlin."

By the time he got back Stefan was deep in battle and losing. He had retreated far back into the tunnel giving ground only when forced to. He had used most of the blood he had stationed at various sections in the tunnel to heal the horrific wounds he had acquired as he lost each vantage point. He had been pushed back to the last juncture where a stand could be made. After this the tunnel couldn't be blocked.

Damon joined in the ferocious battle and between them they were able to push one of the stone blocks designed to slow pursuers into place.

The stone was huge, and there was no way for the men to get leverage. They had stopped the attack for now, presumably to replenish their weapons and find tools to move the stone.

He jokingly chided Stefan, "What's up? Thought you woulda had them beat by the time I got back."

Stefan, before losing consciousness urged his brother, "Go back. You can catch up with the others."

"Shut up." Damon had nothing else to say as he slumped to the blood splattered dirt floor.

So here they were, semi sitting braced against the wall. He inched his way further upright and butt walked until he faced Stefan. He looked him over, appalled by the damage, at a loss where to start first.

Just start with something you ninny! Get the wood out. The burns will heal when he gets blood. He spoke sternly to himself.

He reached out and pulled a large broken off spear from Stefan's belly. Stefan woke, biting his lip through, and Damon apologized. "Sorry, should have warned you."

He looked at Stefan's right arm and decided to go for an arrow that had pierced it. "Get ready," he warned before he broke off the feather tip end and pulled the rest of arrow by the head protruding on the other side of his arm. "That was lucky. It was just in the meat, not the bone."

"Really? That's what you call lucky? Lucky would be if the slayer missed me." Stefan made no attempt to tone down his sarcasm.

Damon grimaced as he looked him over. "What did ya do? Stand still and let them use you for target practice?"

"Those guys are good, Damon. Never met any better. Was only able to kill one." He couldn't stop a scream as Damon pulled out an arrow that had the head embedded in the leg bone.

He gulped several times, panting, trying desperately to overcome the pain. When he had enough control to speak again, he said, "You're right. It was lucky when the arrow head went through the meat."

Damon smugly said, "Told you so."

He quickly yanked out the rest of the wood and then pulled a knife from his belt. "Gotta take care of the left arm. You want a slug of blood before I start?"

"I shoulda had you break my neck before you started," Stefan complained. "Nah, let's wait til everything's out."

Damon gave a lopsided smile, teasing. "You always think of things too late." He looked at his brother. "Hang tight."

Stefan pressed his lips tightly together and nodded, giving Damon the go ahead.

Damon worked quickly, but Stefan was gray when he finished. Damon half crawled, half stumbled over to the blood bag. He came back to his brother, landing on his knees. He carefully tore off the plug and held the bag to Stefan's lips, tilting it up so it practically poured down his throat.

Stefan stopped him when the bag was half empty. He forced it away from his lips. "You need some."

"You're worse off than me," Damon objected, trying to push the bag back to his lips.

"No, no." Stefan blocked his mouth with one hand and grabbed Damon's shirt with the other. "A whole bag isn't enough to get me to full strength, but a half a bag will get you fully healed."

Damon hesitated but then reluctantly acknowledged that his brother was right. He hated it but drank and soon felt normal again.

Stefan looked better too, even though Damon could tell his color was not completely right, and his green eyes were slightly dull. Soon he pushed himself up to a sitting position against the wall, and Damon eased himself down next to him.

Stefan looking straight ahead urged, "You can follow them. The stone will hold them for a while longer, and I can at least slow them down long enough for you to make it."

Damon, ignoring him, was distracted by a ringtone indicating he had a text message. He read it and smiled happily. "They made it. Caroline called Klaus, and he's gonna get them out of the country."

He gently nudged his brother. "They're gonna be okay, Stef."

Stefan smiled with satisfaction. "We did it, bro. We got em out."

"Nobody beats the Salvatores!" Damon crowed.

Stefan nodded and looked at his brother. "We made a good team."

Damon looked back, nodded and admitted, "Yeah, we did. We always did."

"Do one last thing for me?" Stefan pleaded.

"Don't waste your breath, Stefan. I'm not leaving you and besides, stop being an idiot. Do ya think Klaus is gonna help me? Welcome me with open arms?" Damon didn't bother to hide his sarcasm when he spoke about Klaus.

Stefan smirked, acknowledging. "Yeah, you're not exactly mates with Klaus."

Damon got serious. "My being there might jeopardize it for Elena. He'll take Bonnie cause of her power, and Caroline cuz he's got the hots for her, and she can probably persuade him to protect the other two, but me?" Damon shook his head. "It might sour the whole deal."

"Guess it's just you and me then." Stefan reluctantly accepted the truth of what Damon said.

"So anything else you can tell me about what we're facing?" Damon figured the more he knew the better.

"There's a witch or witches, but Bonnie did good. They couldn't get in, and I felt a tingling round my head, but they couldn't give me an aneurysm. The tingle stopped after awhile. They musta realized it wasn't working." He paused and sighed. "Heart spell must be working too cause everything they threw at me seemed to slip around it." He joked, "Shoulda had her do the rest of my body."

Damon laughed harshly. "Yeah, didn't think she was gonna ever get it together, but when she did, she was the bomb."

They both jumped when Stefan's phone rang. He was so startled it took him several seconds before he pulled it out and flipped it open while Damon laughed self-consciously at being spooked by a ringtone.

Stefan looked at the screen for a moment with a funny expression on his face. "Hello, Klaus."

Damon's head swiveled around to stare at his brother.

"Nope, Wouldn't be time." His words were eerily calm, like he was discussing the weather. "Thanks for saving them. I . . I appreciate it."

"Listen, I can hold them—" Damon's offer was cut off as Stefan closed the phone cutting off the conversation. "Why didn't yo —"

"Just you and me, brother. Not leaving you here by yourself." Stefan, recognizing the mulish expression on Damon's face, clenched the argument by saying, "I wouldn't make it, Damon. I've lost too much blood."

It was Damon's turn to grudgingly accept the truth, and he did it with a bitter twist of his lips and a grunt.

They sat quietly until Damon, eyes on the far wall, said softly, "Do you think we have souls anymore?'

Stefan, startled at his voice after the long silence, turned slightly so his face was pressed against his brother's shoulder. "No." He breathed quietly for a few moments and then added, "Thought you didn't care, didn't want to think about it."

Damon frowned. "Thought it might be a good time to start thinking about it."

Stefan sighed and moved his head to a more comfortable position. "Don't care anymore if I've got a soul."

Damon's eyebrows rose and he turned his head slightly to look at the top of his brother's head. "What? You were always pissing and moaning about how you lost it? What ya mean you don't care?"

Stefan said, "Well, I figure we either do or we don't, but it'll be the same for both of us, so we'll be together. That's nuff for me."

Damon smiled and reached over and ruffled Stefan's hair with his hand.

"Don't mess my hair," Stefan protested weakly.

Damon laughed but quickly fixed it, soothing his brother. "There. It looks good again." He didn't comment on the blood clots from the partially healed scalp wound still sluggishly oozing blood.

He eased his arm around behind his brothers back and cradled him against his chest, holding him securely. "That better?"

"Yeah, you're softer than the wall," Stefan admitted.

"We had some good times when we were kids." Damon relaxed his body even further as he reminisced.

"Did," Stefan agreed. "We did. He sighed. "I liked Dad better when Mom was alive."

"Do you remember her?" Damon asked curiously. "I woulda thought you'd be too young."

"Remember her smell. Her voice. Her soft hands." Stefan's voice was dreamy. He gave a sad laugh. "It's why I thought Katherine was good. She smelled good and had a nice voice and nice hands."

Damon was stunned speechless. After a moment he squeezed his brother gently mindful of his only partially healed injuries and rocked him slightly. "Oh brother, my little baby brother. I let the wolf get the lamb, and then I blamed the lamb."

"S okay. Shouldna known better." Stefan's voice was definitely weak.

"You should rest," Damon told him.

"Plenty of time to rest when I'm dead," Stefan countered. "Already told you I'm sorry."

Stefan's lip quivered with laughter when Damon interjected, "Oh my God, are you starting that crap again?"

But he didn't let it deter him from saying what was on his mind. "Need to tell you I love you. Always have, even when I hated you and wanted to kill you."

"Stefan!" Damon protested. "Guys don't have to say things like that."

Stefan smiled as he leaned against his brother. "I can say it and still be a man."

"Well—" Damon, eyes rolling, ground it out reluctantly, "—love you too, and I'm twice the man you are. Maybe. Sometimes."

Stefan chuckled quietly, and then they sat silently in the dark for what seemed like a long time.

A low grinding noise broke the silence.

"They're back." Damon stood and helped Stefan to his feet. He reached down and grabbed the machete and put it in Stefan's hand. He grabbed the ax and then faced his brother. They clasped hands high up on each other's arms, and Damon rallied. "Let's show em they can't mess with the Salvatores."

Stefan's green eyes lit up and he said, "Meet you in hell, brother. Spec we'll have some high times down there."

Damon briefly pulled him closer in a careful hug. "I know there's gonna be some great bars, good booze. We'll have a blast together." Damon waggled his eyebrows and gave his brother his cockiest smile.

They turned and stood, shoulders touching, Stefan leaning heavily against his brother's strong upright frame as the boulder slowly rolled back.

Stefan briefly turned his head towards Damon before facing forward again. "Do me proud, brother."

Damon, his blue eyes blazing with determination, promised, "Count on it. I will do you proud."

~FIN~