A/N - Another chapter! Enjoy :)

...

Two

'Jeremy's transitioning,' Alaric said.

'WHAT!' Elena practically screamed and she threw herself past Damon, past Alaric and over to Jeremy who shrank back as she threw herself onto the sofa next to him and tried to look him in the eyes.

'Well we think,' Alaric said as Damon went to join Elena on the sofa.

'Why? What makes you think that?' Damon asked seriously, addressing Jeremy rather than Alaric.

'I'm hungry but nothing food wise at home was tempting me, I'm feeling very confused and a little dizzy and I'm starting to remember things that I'm not sure I should be,' Jeremy reeled off, trying to stop Elena from feeling his forehead.

'What are you remembering?' Damon asked. Jeremy was quiet for a moment.

'I remember you telling me to forget Vickie,' he said quietly, 'and to focus on my studies and my life ahead. That I would be ok eventually.'

Elena glanced at Damon. He was staring in concentration at Jeremy, his piercing ice blue eyes focused on Jeremy's. She knew he'd had something to do with Jeremy's sudden newfound determination to study hard and give up on the drugs and hard drinking but she'd never guessed that he'd tried to comfort her brother as well. Then again, Damon and Jeremy had a strange relationship.

Jeremy allowed Damon to take his head in his hands and look firmly into his eyes. Damon sighed.

'There's a good chance you are in transition,' he confirmed, 'we'll know for sure if you start finding peoples necks tempting.'

Elena tapped his arm in annoyance and pulled her brother towards her for a hug. Jeremy didn't resist this time.

'What do we do?' Alaric asked, almost helplessly.

'If he does become a vampire I'll help him through it,' Damon said firmly, 'but it'll just be one more problem.'

'You mean as well as Klaus and Elijah still being out there and being practically unbeatable?' Alaric said.

'Yep and Stefan going right alongside them,' Damon added, heading straight for his favourite bourbon.

'What?' Alaric and Jeremy chorused together, stunned. Damon explained briefly while Elena avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. There was a silence when he'd finished.

'We're screwed,' Jeremy finally said, 'Stefan can easily tell Klaus anything about us and then he can use it against us.'

'Surely he won't do that,' Alaric said hesitantly, 'he'll lie or something, he must still be on our side.'

Elena wanted to back him up, she really did. But she'd seen Stefan on human blood, he hadn't been himself. There was no telling what he would or would not do.

'It's Stefan on human blood, it'll be affecting him in a bad way,' Damon said, as if he'd read Elena's thoughts, 'we can't rely on the hope that he won't tell Klaus anything.' He tossed back the glass of bourbon he was holding and without really thinking about it, poured himself another.

'So we're screwed?' Jeremy said again.

'Maybe, maybe not,' Damon shrugged, 'either way, that's not what we should be focusing on right now. We need to concentrate on you.'

Elena and Alaric both nodded as they looked at Jeremy who shifted uncomfortably. As of late he didn't like being the centre of attention.

'Besides,' said Damon with a sudden smirk, 'if you do transition, that'll be one thing against them because Stefan has no idea.'

...

Stefan's lip curled in disgust as he took in the dank hotel room. Why Klaus had insisted on this detour was beyond him. The building was such a mess he was surprised it was still in business. The room they were in was cramped with one tiny bed in the corner, a cupboard with a broken door and a light that didn't work. It smelt damp and he could tell that to a human, it would be incredibly cold. He glanced across at Klaus who was looking out of the window with that dangerous smile on his face that made Stefan nervous. He still had no idea what Klaus was planning but anyone could guess it would not be good news.

He glanced at the one chair in the room and decided it would probably break if he sat on it. The bed was out of the question to. He didn't care that he was a vampire and immune to disease, he still didn't fancy sitting on the musty, yellowed sheets that were lying rumpled on the bed.

'Wondering why we're here?' Klaus murmured without turning from the window.

'Why are we here?' Stefan asked. Klaus turned his attention to the younger vampire.

'What can you sense?' he asked. Stefan stared at him and then extended his senses, feeling excitement as he felt the strength he now had from too much human blood. He sniffed the air tentatively and then grimaced as he recognized a smell underlying the damp air.

'Blood,' he noted. Klaus smirked.

'Obviously there's been another vampire here, stocking up,' he said cheerfully, 'go on what else can you sense?'

Stefan wondered if Klaus was testing him. Considering he still had no idea what Klaus's intentions were, it made it impossible for him to guess why Klaus wanted him around. He sniffed at the air again.

'Katherine,' he said suddenly as he picked up the tiniest hint of the perfume smell that had always clung to his former love. Klaus winked at him.

'She's trying to keep up her strength in the hope she can get away from me,' he said lazily, leaning against the window.

'You'd think she would have learned by now,' he smirked. Stefan said nothing.

'I want you to track her from here,' Klaus announced, looking Stefan straight in the eye, 'and when you do, I want you to tell me where she is so I can come to her myself.'

Stefan wondered what Klaus meant by that. Did he want Katherine alive or dead? Why couldn't he just bring Katherine to Klaus himself? But he accepted the job because it meant that just for awhile he could get away from Klaus.

'Stefan,' the original called as he made to leave the room, 'don't let me down because I will know and then you will truly learn the meaning of the word regret.'

...

'How can Jeremy be turning?' Elena asked in frustration, turning to Damon expectantly. He shrugged, But Jeremy and Alaric suddenly turned uneasy eyes on her and she looked at them questioningly.

'What?' she demanded.

'Elena I uh...I got shot,' Jeremy said hesitantly. Damon suddenly turned away from Elena but not quick enough. She saw the flash of distress in his eyes but she couldn't worry about it for now.

'What? By who?'

'Sheriff Forbes.'

'Why! Why would she want to shoot you?' Elena cried.

'She wasn't aiming for me, she missed her target,' Jeremy explained.

'What was she aiming for?'

Jeremy shook his head, unwilling to say anything more. He didn't blame Damon in the slightest for moving and letting him take the bullet, the vampire had been seriously sick and had had only one thing on his mind, getting to Elena before it was too late. But he couldn't guarantee that Elena would understand straight away and right now she needed Damon, even he could see that.

'Caroline tried to save me by feeding me her blood but it didn't work,' he continued, 'but Bonnie did a spell and basically brought me back.'

'So you must be transitioning because of Caroline's blood,' said Damon thoughtfully, still not making eye contact, 'you came back from the dead with vampire blood in your system and clearly it's taking effect.'

'Bonnie's going to freak,' said Jeremy miserably, 'she hates vampires.'

'Jeremy,' said Damon seriously, finally facing the others again, 'if we're right and you're transitioning that means you're not fully a vampire yet.'

Elena could feel tears in her eyes as she realised what Damon was saying.

'You have a choice to make,' Damon said.

'Whether to complete the transition or not,' Jeremy finished. He looked at his sister and this time it was he who pulled her back into a hug. How could he leave her? That wouldn't be fair and he was the only family she had left, even if they weren't technically related. On the other hand, did he really want to be a vampire? Could he handle Bonnie's hate of what he would become. Or would she still want to be with him regardless?

Just then he realised he could smell something sweet, something that was overpowering his senses slightly, something he found himself craving the moment he smelt it. He wondered if it was Elena's hair and pressed his face into it, wondering why he would be craving the taste of shampoo. Her hair had a nice scent to it but it wasn't what he was looking for. He nuzzled down until his mouth was hovering inches from her neck and then he pulled back abruptly and pushed Elena away hard, leapt from the sofa and backed into a corner before any of the others could stop him. Elena and Alaric looked shocked, Damon grim. He knew exactly what had just happened, had even prepared himself in case Jeremy hadn't pulled away in time.

'Elena, I'm sorry!' Jeremy gasped.

'For what?' she asked.

'Your blood. I could smell it and...I wanted it.' Jeremy leaned heavily against the wall and looked across at Damon.

'Oh,' Elena whispered.

'We don't have all the time in the world here,' Damon said, fixing Jeremy with his piercing gaze once again, 'this is your decision. You're in transition, do you want to complete it or not...?'