Summary: Caroline from the future suddenly drops into Mystic Falls at the end of 02x04 "Memory Lane" and Damon must help her find the two witches she's after before they destroy his timeline. Of course, Katherine proves troublesome, but future Caroline promises that help is on the way. Delena, Steroline
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries does not belong to me.
Damon steps out of the Grill and into the chili night air of Mystic Falls, leaving behind Caroline in her lone booth. Stefan slipped out shortly after his break up with Elena.
Like that'll last, he muses. Damon is certain that the tiff disrupting his little brother's epic love will resolve and the happy couple will live happily ever after. Because Stefan always gets the girl.
Damon turns away from the park and takes a few strides along the side walk, but quickly comes to a stop when a very unwelcome voice calls to him.
"Bad day?" says the she-devil. The pain of seeing her again is almost unbearable. He isn't sure if it's heart or his pride that hurts more.
"Bed century," Damon quips with meaningful glare, but Katherine just tilts her head with a delightfully evil gleam in her eyes. "I heard you where on the loose."
"What's a matter? Jealous I spent the day with Stefan?"
"I don't do jealous. Not with you. Not anymore. " Damon sneers at the bitch that crushed his heart and walks away. He refuses to give her any more power over him. But, Katherine loves playing her games and toying with an angry Damon is far more entertaining than a lovesick Damon.
"Then, why so pouty?" She asks, following after him.
"Tried to kill a werewolf and failed. Now, I feel like I'm not living up to my best self."
Katherine smiles inwardly at the opportunity to hook her dear Damon. Outwardly, she sighs knowingly. "Well, werewolves aren't easy prey."
Immediately, Damon stops and turns back to Katherine, much to her glee. "What do you know about werewolves?"
"Why don't you ask your brother?" She answers and Damon frowns at the barb, but doesn't respond. "Don't try to be the hero, Damon. You'll end up dead."
"Been there, done that. At least this time, it'll be worth it."
Damon takes deep satisfaction in his last insult before striding away to leave Katherine glaring at his back. He hates that her sudden appearance can affect him this much. He'll be so glad when she finishes whatever evil plans she has for this town and leaves. Although, if her confessions of true love are to be believed, Stefan may have a hard time getting rid of the dirty slut. Damon thrusts his thoughts of Katherine away into a dark corner of his mind and tries desperately to wall away the emotions they stir. He intends to build upon Katherine's wall everyday until he doesn't have to pretend the hurt away anymore. He knows from experience that one day the wall will be strong enough to protect him from the pain and embarrassment that accompany memories of Katherine. His Enzo wall has held strong for over half a century.
Damon doesn't get far along the sidewalk when a loud crackling noise captures his attention. He turns toward the park at the same time Katherine notices. They both stare into the dark night, trying to find the source of the odd sounds. A monument stands in the center of the park with trees littered throughout and several people stroll along on their evening errands. The crackling noise grows louder and an odd ripping sound joins the harmony. A handful of people stop to investigate and others rush off to safety. Damon steps off the sidewalk for a closer look, but Katherine calls to him before he can cross the street.
"Damon, don't. You don't know what's out there."
"And, you do?" He asks sarcastically. She shakes her head and Damon rolls his eyes. "Like I'd believe you."
He trudges closer to the park, but stops when he pinpoints the source of the sound. It's coming from the monument. He rushes through the trees in a vampiric blur as the marble stone begins to glow hot. The curious humans gather around, but none of them notice Damon's sudden appearance. Without warning, lightening arches through the night air, erupting from the molten marble and strikes nearby trees. The humans scream in terror and take cover. Most run for home or to local businesses. Strike after strike escapes and Damon rushes back to a safe distance. He knows something is about to happen, but he has no idea what.
What if it's a bomb? The thought spears his mind and fear laces through him. Maybe, Katherine was right. This isn't a good idea.
As the marble melts into a puddle of hot magma, Damon steps further away and edges toward the street. Two humans remain huddled behind an undamaged tree.
Yeah, it's time to go. Just as Damon is about to turn away and leave the frighten Mystic Falls residents to their fates, everything falls silent. The crackling and ripping noise is gone. The pool of molten marble remains hot as ever, but the lightening is no more. Damon steps closer with a nervous frown. And, then a very naked and screaming Caroline stumbles out of thin air and onto the charred grass at the base of the monument.
"What the hell?" Damon mutters before jumping to help the baby vamp. Caroline writhes on the ground in pain and Damon rushes to help her to her feet. He grabs her arm, but her skin sloughs off into his hand. That's when he realizes that all of Caroline's skin is melting just like the marble monument. Caroline looks up to meet his gaze and Damon stumbles back from the horrible scene. The skin from her face droops into a molten mess leaving unharmed muscles and bone beneath. Luckily, her vampire healing kicks in quickly to replace the shed skin and Caroline's face is back to same seventeen year old girl he knows. Although, she's much paler than he's used to.
"Caroline, what the hell did you do?" Damon asks as she climbs to her feet. He watches her sigh in relief and assumes it's because the pain from melting skin has finally stopped. She ignores his question and glances around the park as though searching for something.
"Did you see them?" She asks in a panicky voice.
"Who?" Damon asks. "All I saw was Chris Angels's magic show."
Caroline curses and grabs her head in pain. The two humans brave enough to hang around for the light show slowly climb to their feet and recognize the blonde teenager.
"Caroline! Oh my god! Are you okay? Why are you naked?" One of the teenage girls asks as she hands her friend her long jacket.
"Were you abducted by aliens or something?" The second girl adds.
Damon almost laughs at the suggestion, but stops. He watches Caroline slip on the jacket and frowns as he considers the possibility. Vampires, witches, werewolves, why not aliens?
"Were you?" Damon whispers in honest concern. Caroline finishes clasping the jacket closed with a great full sigh that the jacket is long enough to cover her unmentionables, before stopping to stare at her sire in disbelief.
"No, Damon. I was not abducted by aliens."
"Then, what was that? And, why are you naked in the park?" One of the girls asks. "Were we drugged? Are we hallucinating?"
"All good questions," Damon adds.
Caroline rolls her eyes at Damon and turns to the girls. She quickly compels both teenagers to be quiet and to forget everything they see tonight. Then, she bites into each neck and drains them into unconsciousness.
"I see you've given up on Stefan's bunny diet," Damon quips. Caroline wipes her mouth and catches sight of something behind Damon.
"Don't tell them that I'm here," she pleads and vamp speeds away. Confused, Damon turns around to see Katherine stalking toward him from the street. A fully clothed Caroline stands in front of the Grill behind the she-devil. Catching sight of Damon and two seemingly dead humans, the blonde vampire rushes toward him.
"What was it?" Katherine asks first.
"Psychedelic light show. Totally not worth the ticket price."
"Oh my God, Karen and Tara! What did you do to them?" Caroline asks rushing to her friends' sides.
"What do you mean, what did I do to them?"
"If you didn't who did, Damon?" Katherine asks suspiciously and points at the remains of the monument. "Maybe, who ever was responsible for that?"
Damon flashes a satisfied smile, glad to finally have something on Katherine. "Too bad, you'll never know. Uh oh, are those police sirens I hear? We better be going, Caroline."
"What? No, I need to stay with my friends to make sure you didn't kill them," she argues with an accusing glare. Damon stares at her in confusion and opens his mouth to release a sarcastic comment about her terrible acting, but something behind her catches his eyes. A naked blonde in a long coat watches from a dark alley as she hides behind a dumpster.
"Fine," he says dismissively.
"Where are you going?" Katherine demands to know as he brushes past her.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, shouldn't you be sniffing around Stefan. I hear his epic romance with Elena has come to its tragic end. Nows, the time to get your perfectly manicured claws back in him," Demand retorts as several police cars pull up and Sherif Forbes jumps out.
"Don't underestimate me, Damon. I will find out what you're up to. It's only a matter of time."
"Not tonight. Unless you want to pretend to be Elena for the next several hours and make police statements. Personally, I love spending time with my favorite sherif. Your choice."
Katherine grudgingly looks around at the growing crowd of people and police, then looks back at Damon with a huff of resignation. Then, she's gone. Damon immediately rushes to the alley hiding the blond imposter and doesn't hesitate to pin her against the brick wall by her throat.
"Who are you? And, why do you look like Caroline? And, does it have anything to do with why Katherine and Elena look alike?"
"Let me go, Damon. What is wrong with you?" The imposter complains in very compelling imitation of the baby vampire he loaves. Angry now, he squeezes her tight and bares his vampire face threatening.
"Stop playing games and tell me, now."
The Caroline imposter doesn't cower at his threat or squirm for freedom as he knows the real Caroline would, instead she frowns angrily and grabs the hand holding her. With ease, she squeezes hard enough to break every bone in his hand and rips it away from her throat.
"Ow!" Damon squeals as he steps away, cradling his injured hand. Caroline slips down the wall and watches patiently as his hand heals.
"I don't have time for this, Damon. I need to find them."
"Find who? And, you still haven't told me who you are. Or, why you look like Caroline," Damon complains, flexing his newly healed hand. Caroline considers what to say and how to explain her current predicament, but a familiar voice grabs her attention.
"Caroline, what happened here?" Sheriff Forbes asks her daughter in the middle of the park. The naked Caroline immediately snaps her head toward the sound as her as her vampiric hearing picks up her mother's voice. Forgetting about Damon, she steps around the corner of the building to see her mother speaking to the fully dressed version. Hiding in the shadows, Caroline watches Liz's concerned expression twist into confusion as her daughter lies. She tells her mother that she doesn't know what happened. She found her friends alone in the park after leaving the grill.
The naked Caroline barely acknowledges the conversation. Everything else falls away, while she watches every move her mother makes. Caroline struggles to breath past the bittersweet joy of seeing her Liz, again. The yearning to go to her mother and wrap her arms around her one more time is overwhelming. Tears blur Caroline's vision as she decides to run Liz and tell her how much she is loved and missed. But, the moment she steps around the dumpster, Damon grabs her arm and twisters her around to face him. Damon watches the swirl of emotions that pass over Caroline's face and steps back even more confused. Only a daughter could look at her mother that way.
"You don't just look like Caroline? It's more than that...How's this possible?"
"It's complicated," she whispers before turning back to watch her mother load the other Caroline into the cruiser and drive away.
"Well, uncomplicated it," Damon demands.
"Okay, long story short," Caroline says, wiping away her tears and taking a deep breath to gather herself. "I'm from the future."