Chapter 2
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries still does not belong to me.
A/N I tried to publish this earlier today and I clicked on the wrong place. I do apologize to all of you who tried to read Chapter 2 and it wasn't there!
A/N I wrote "A Few Broken Bones" and "One Bruised Heart" as separate vignettes. However, if put together in chronological order as the story of the Denver trip, "Heart" is like Chapter One, "Bones" is Chapter Two and this little story is Chapter Three. In order to put at least two of them together, I'm adding this to "Bones" as Chapter 2. Confused?
Thank you all for Reviews, Favorite Stories, etc. You all are wonderful and so encouraging.
BROKEN CHAIN
The emotional atmosphere in the car could have been nicer, but there was still a bit of tension between Damon and Elena. For the most part they rode in silence, concentrating on their own thoughts.
Elena felt that going to Denver had been a good idea because it had been great to be with Jeremy again and to see that he was all right. But then, she and Damon had found out that Kol Mikaelson had actually befriended him! Well, that "friendship" certainly was not a good idea and Damon had ended it by staking Kol. Of course, it was also not really a good idea to infuriate an unstable Original vampire, who couldn't be killed by that kind of ordinary wood.
Elena was pleased that Jeremy had been successful in contacting double-dead Rose, who had given them the lead to her creator, Mary, a resident of nearby Kansas. Still, it had been very embarrassing for Elena that her brother had witnessed the passionate kiss and confrontation between her and Damon at the motel, but what was done was done. That is, except for the tension she still felt from Damon.
She and Damon had left Jeremy at school in Denver and hoped he would be safe. At that time, they didn't know that Kol had gone after Crazy Mary.
Elena now felt bad about Mary. The old vampire had been around a long time, doing her thing (she was apparently a serious hoarder) and probably not bothering anyone. Damon had found blood bags in her dirty refrigerator and hundreds of empties scattered in the junk-filled house. Unfortunately, it turned out that Mary was no help at all in providing information, due to the fact that Kol had reached her first and had run her through with a broken, wooden baseball bat. It was probably the same sharp piece of wood Damon had used on him. That was sort of ironic.
It had been a little scary for Elena when they found that Kol was still in the house. He was really sadistic and he had given Damon a brutal thrashing. Although Damon seemed to have recovered completely from the beating, she was still concerned. She knew he still was sore here and there. And he kept chewing the rough edge of a fingernail that had been broken in the fight. Unfortunately, neither of them had fingernail clippers with them.
Now, here she and Damon were, driving along with no further goal in mind other than getting back to Virginia. She hoped they could do that without any more emotional clashes between them and no run-ins with Kol.
"I wish we knew where Kol was right now," Elena said as she stared out at the gently rolling countryside of eastern Colorado. They had barely entered Kansas in order to find Mary's house. Now they were heading back toward the Denver airport. "Jeremy knows to keep an eye open for him, but what can he really do if he sees that nasty brute watching him? I mean, Klaus ordered Kol to keep an eye on my brother. He's going to keep doing it and hoping he gets the okay to kill Jeremy." It was a very worrisome idea.
"There's nothing we can do about it," Damon said, staring at the straight highway as he drove. "Unless we come up with a proper white oak stake, we can't kill the bastard. We don't even have a dagger and oak ashes to immobilize him."
"Why do you think Kol went after Mary? How did he know we were looking for her? I mean, do you think he already knows who belongs to what blood lines? Do you think Klaus does?" She didn't really expect Damon to have answers to those questions.
"I guess it's possible. I could believe Klaus might know, just because he's been active for a thousand years. Kol has spent most of that time in a coffin."
"Even if we get hold of Alaric's stake, we can't use it until we find some answers about your 'ancestry.' So far, we keep hitting dead ends," Elena said, stating the obvious.
He just grunted.
"Maybe Stefan has coaxed Alaric to tell where his stake is," she said to keep the conversation going.
"From what Stefan said over the phone, Alaric is not being cooperative. Well, I guess he is trying to, but his alter ego isn't."
"You think Stefan really will beat the information out of Alaric or his alter ego?" Elena asked, finding it hard to believe. The Stefan she loved would never do that. The cold, unfeeling Stefan would. She suspected the young man she loved was seesawing back and forth. She wondered how much control he had over that.
She glanced at Damon when he didn't answer. He looked a bit sullen around the mouth. The other thing that had not gone well on this trip was the serious conflict between her and Damon based on his love for her and her indecision about where her heart lay.
She had relished the passionate kiss they had shared. In fact, she had initiated it. Damon could really turn her on! It had been so stupid of her to let it happen. She had certainly felt him respond and then, of course, they had argued when she had backed off. She couldn't blame him for still being upset about that. Damn, she needed to figure things out!
The last thing she wanted was for Damon to turn off his feelings totally. Stefan might continue to waver back and forth, refusing to give himself to her as long as he was like that. In the end, she could lose both of them. It worried her sick to think of that.
In fact, if they killed the wrong Original, Damon and Stefan might both die and that would be a terrible tragedy.
"What difference does it make if we get Ric's stake?" Damon said, still thinking on that subject. "Klaus is waiting for us to turn it over to him. Jeremy's safety and that of others depend on that."
"I know," Elena said. After a long pause, she ventured to say, "I wonder how many vampires around the world dropped dead when Finn died." She wondered how many of them had really been decent citizens. With one blow, a hundred beings might have been killed!
"We have no way of knowing," Damon said. "Don't dwell on it, Elena." He could tell it bothered her. He didn't mention that the deaths might start a vendetta by those who loved the now-gone-forever ones.
"Do you think there is a possibility that with Rose and Mary gone, the chain is broken?" Elena asked. "I mean, say your line through Katherine, Rose and Mary goes back to Kol. If Kol was killed, would the deaths of that line stop at Mary and Rose, who are already gone? They are now missing links in the chain."
Damon frowned, wondering. "Is that possible? What if it is? Many vampires have died over the years, all of them descended from someone. If it's true that we all go back to the Mikaelsons, and I'm not convinced that they truly are the only Original family, then it's possible our chain has been broken. The only proof we've seen of a chain is when Finn, Sage and what's-his-name died, one after the other. They were each a direct descendant of the other, like father, daughter and grandson."
"Klaus and his siblings must have turned a lot of people in a thousand years. A good number of them must have been killed one way or another. The lines of descent could be broken anywhere," Elena reasoned.
"I agree. I wonder if Esther knew that she might be killing hundreds of vampires if she killed her kids," Damon mused, still chewing on the fingernail.
"When I talked to her, it seemed like she was only thinking of the kids. I bet she didn't know about the connection to the others. I also think it would have devastated Bonnie if she found out she had helped kill so many, even if she doesn't like vampires," Elena said, knowing how sensitive Bonnie was.
"Mikael must not have known, either," Damon said.
"I don't want you or Stefan or Caroline to die, Damon. You know that, don't you? I don't think I could stand it." She reached out and gave his arm a squeeze, only a brief one, and then she let go.
"Yes, Elena, I know," Damon said with a sigh containing a hint of annoyance. "You need someone to turn you on and light up your life now and then." He rolled his eyes.
"Damon!" How could he joke about something so serious. "Okay. You're still angry with me."
"No, not at all. It's the pain."
"The pain? Are you still in pain from that beating?" she asked with increased concern and she looked at him intently.
"I'm in pain from the invisible stake you drove through my miserable heart," Damon growled.
"Oh. I guess it'll be a while before you can forgive me for that." She frowned and stared out the window.
They rode in silence for some miles with the radio playing something softly.
"Maybe your line goes back to Elijah. He's really a decent guy, Damon. I can feel it. I like him."
"You like him, huh? Does he light your fire, too?" Damon said with a snort and an eye roll. " Sure, he acts like a gentleman, all quiet, proper and reserved. And I suppose he's good-looking. But he set you up to possibly be killed by Rebekah, or have you forgotten?"
"To save himself and his sibs. I can't fault him for that."
"I can. He's as bad as Klaus. In a more subtle way, he's just as dangerous."
"I suppose," Elena said with a sigh. "I don't know where all this is going. Where is it going to end? Who is going to die next? And I just know someone will."
"I'm sure. Let's hope it isn't someone we really care about," Damon said as he spotted the sign directing them to the airport where they would return the rental car and catch a flight home. "And let's hope your idea is right, that the chain is broken."
A/N This is the end of the Denver trip stories. I hope you liked this little wrap-up. Now, back to Mystic Falls. Any comments?