Running Up That Hill by asesina
Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or the songs. Kate Bush wrote "Running Up That Hill".
Summary: "And if I only could make a deal with God and get him to swap our places…" Missing scenes from 7x09 and 7x10. Damon & Stefan gen. Part 1 is Stefan's POV and part 2 is Damon's POV.
I hope you like it!
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I. Stefan lowered his eyes and fought the urge to slap some sense into Damon, some life, but it was far too late, and he scoffed bitterly in the overwhelming silence of their cavernous living room.
"Well, you were right," he said quietly, forcing a bit of edge into his voice to keep the despair at bay.
"I guess I should've let it go," he drawled, absentmindedly picking at a bit of loose rubber on the sole of his boot.
"But you're so predictable, Damon. You blew yourself up last year, and now you did it again," Stefan added gruffly, swallowing the tears that he knew would eventually fall.
"This was my stupid plan. I should be in there."
Stefan was overcome with a surge of anger, and he stood to his feet, hurling the nearest object, a ceramic vase, into the wall.
This time, it wasn't stopped miraculously by Damon's hand, no, he was only allowed to do that trick once, and the vase shattered into a dozen pieces with a resounding smash.
What if Damon had finally run out of second chances? What if this was permanent? Stefan started to pace, not daring to entertain the thought, no- He would get his brother back.
He glared at the lifeless form of his self-sacrificing, self-destructive brother.
"Why'd you do it?" Stefan shouted, and his brother's silence mocked him as he ignored the obvious answer.
"I'm not a kid anymore. I didn't need you to-," he faltered, dropping to his knees again as he furrowed his brow in exasperation.
"I'll- I'll do something, Damon," Stefan murmured, reaching for his cell phone. He hurriedly dialed Caroline's number and held his breath.
They would do something.
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II. Damonfelt the world opening around him, under him, through him, and a wall of radiant light parted to reveal Bonnie's worried face.
"Damon?" she gasped in relief.
"Bonnie?" he whispered through cracked lips. This wasn't like the last time. No, that was dark and drawn out like a tunnel from Stargate. This-
This was different.
"Where am I?" he managed weakly.
"Damon, you're back at your house. You've been dead for three months," she said softly.
Damon's eyes widened and he shot upright, perhaps a bit too quickly, he noticed with a wince.
"Where- What the hell happened?"
"We brought you back," Bonnie said with a teary smile. She dropped the Phoenix stone into his palm, and Damon's unbeating heart clenched with fear.
"Where's Stefan?" he asked suddenly.
"Damon, just wait. We'll explain everything to you later. You just need to rest," Bonnie said quickly.
"Bonnie, where the hell is Stefan?" Damon demanded. He slammed the Phoenix stone down on the table, sending the silverware flying.
Bonnie looked down and brushed away a few tears.
"Julian has him," she said quietly. "He's still in the stone."
"What?!" Damon cried, eyes flashing with anger.
"We're going to get him back, Damon. We did before, and we will again," Bonnie said resolutely, placing a firm hand on Damon's shoulder.
"We need to find Julian now," Damon said through gritted teeth. He tried to stand, but his legs were unsteady with a human weakness that was alien to him.
"I did a locator spell. We have a rough idea of where he is," Bonnie said, offering Damon a shoulder to lean on as he stumbled over to the couch.
"I- Thank you," Damon said simply as he leaned back to catch his breath. He thought about the terrors that he had seen in the stone, and his heart ached for Stefan. No. He shook his head and buried the thoughts, forcing himself to focus on formulating a plan, repeating Stefan's name like a mantra, and Bonnie answered with a nod.
"Let's do this."