A/N

Finally updating! I'm so sorry it took so long. I've had so much going on and so much writer's block. This chapter was beta'd by a good friend of mine (GoldenQueenOfTheCove). Enjoy!

How am I supposed to feel
About the things I've done?
I don't know if I should stay,
or turn around and run...
-Yellowcard, Breathing

Ziela frowned when the high-pitched beeping of her cell phone woke her up from the state between consciousness and death known as sleep. Her hand shot out to grab it - to throw it against the wall or to answer it, she hadn't quite decided yet - only to close her fingers around empty air. A small groan of confusion escaped her lips when she heard Jared's voice float through the otherwise silent air.

"She's asleep. Can I give her a message for you?" There were a few moments of silence while he listened to the person on the other side of the line speak. "I'll let her know. Thank you for calling."

There was quiet again and Ziela had just about fallen back to sleep when a small pack which was barely weighted with a clean set of clothes, was tossed onto the bed next to her. She sat up quickly, jolted out of her half conscious state. A louder than necessary, "What the hell?" left her lips before she even had the chance to gather her thoughts.

Jared barely managed to hold back a quiet laugh at her outburst and had trouble opening his mouth to speak without a chuckle escaping. "Someone named Eric Blanchard called. He said something about Chicago...?" He trailed off, his voice going higher as if in question, clearly confused as to why someone would call about a city nearly two thousand miles away from where they were.

The Dhampir's annoyance at being woken up so jarringly melted away instantly at the mention of the new lead and she grabbed the bag, hurrying toward the bathroom to change into clean clothes. "I'll be right back."

Ziela exited the bathroom a few minutes later in a light pink sweater and jeans, her vampire genes making it easy to ignore the late summer heat. "To the windy city we go," she announced, marching confidently toward the hotel room door. Jared shook his head, somewhat amused by her child-like optimism. How can someone go through so much, and still be so sure that everything would work out?he wondered silently, the small voice in the back of his head providing an answer: because she hasn't lost as much as it seems she has,it explained. Because her sister is still alive out there, when his sister was killed over a thousand years ago. Because she doesn't have to hide her identity, though her mother's may end up being the death of her.He admired her certainty; it was something he wished he had, but knew he would never acquire due to his running. He'd been hiding for the past millennium from the very person that they were tracking down. Niklaus, the insane, conceited, all-powerful hybrid that was the reason that his sister was dead, and the reason he doubted every comforting thing he was saying to his however-many-greats niece.

Jared shook himself out of his thoughts, handing Ziela her cell phone when he caught up with her. "This could be it," he said with half-certainty. "You could get her back today."

The dhampir's smile grew into a grin, her own voice confident. "We'll find her within forty eight hours, and then we'll be in Mystic Falls, awayfrom Klaus and Stefan, not too long after."

"Is that the royal we?" the older vampire questioned with an arched brow. No one besides his sister, and maybe the Original who had turned him, had included him in any sort of we, royal or otherwise - Kol didn't exactly count either, seeing as it was only to convince him to stay in England with him for a few years. The "we can be buds!" constantly being pounded into his head didn't get truly annoying until roughly ten minutes after it started. Jared rolled his eyes at the memory and waited for Ziela's reply.

She shrugged and glanced over her shoulder at him as they walked out of the revolving door. "Unless you don't want to come to Mystic Falls with us. I mean, we could go back by ourselves. We're a hundred and forty six; we don't need a babysitter." A short, humorless laugh tumbled from her lips. "No, the one person who cared about us like a babysitter was staked." Ziela shook her head quickly, her dark hair bouncing with the motion, and pulled her phone from her pocket. "Give me a minute; I need to make a call."

*LIT*

Damon slammed the phone down on the table and frowned. Of course, Katherine would choose now to give them a lead on Stefan. "Yes Katherine," he muttered to himself as he grabbed his leather jacket from the arm of the couch and started for the front door. "Because Stefan is exactly who I want to deal with right now."

Less than twenty minutes later, Damon was lying down with his eyes closed, his hands behind his head, and Elena sleeping soundly beside him. He opened one eye and looked over at the clock. Could it really be only six in the morning? It seemed so much later than that. Maybe it was how slow the days had been going by since March.

Elena rolled over and lay her head on his chest, causing him to take in a sharp breath, her own breathing gently making his partially unbuttoned shirt float upward with each exhalation. It wasn't that the position was uncomfortable or unwelcome, just unexpected. Moments later, the brief span of quasi-bliss was interrupted by the human's eyelids fluttering open. She tilted her head up to see a quickly thrown together, but believable, smirk. "Morning."

The doppelganger jumped back quickly, pulling her arms from where they'd drifted to his waist. "Damon!" she exclaimed, looking over at the clock before turning back to glare at him. "Six AM? Do you really have nothing better to do at six AM?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, the smirk – masking a hint of real emotion – remaining in its place. "Fine, don't come with me to bring Stefan back." Damon stood slowly as he continued, turning toward her bedroom door. "See ya."

"Wait," Elena almost yelled, jumping out of bed. "You know where Stefan is?"

Damon shrugged again and walked over to her dresser, carelessly looking through the drawers. "Yeah. It came to me in a dream. I was naked; you would've loved it. Ooh..." he trailed off, pulling a lacy pair of read panties from the drawer. "Put those in the yes pile."

Elena marched over and pulled the material from his hands quickly, shoving it into the drawer and slamming it shut with a frown etched into her features. "Damon..." the vampire recognized her tone as a warning and took a step back, his hands raised in mock surrender.

The frown didn't leave her face once as she threw the bare essentials into a bag. "Where?" she asked quietly when she returned from the bathroom with her toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Chicago," he replied with a similar volume.

They slipped back into silence as she finished packing, neither speaking until her bag was full and closed. Damon stepped forward and grabbed the bag from the bed before putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her toward the door. "Let's go."

*LIT*

"Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan."

Klaus's voice echoed through the warehouse as he stepped out of the car, the door closing with a slam behind him. Stefan slipped out of the passenger seat and walked around to the other side as Lilith jumped out of the back seat, grumbling about her uncle getting shotgun again. The Ripper's short glare shut her up quickly to allow the Original to continue. "Rumor has it, the Ripper of Monterrey got lonely."

"I blacked out most of it." He interrupted, shaking his head.

"Well, that's a crying shame," Klaus said with a smirk, glancing over at the pair. "It's the details that make it legend."

It was the youngest vampire's turn to roll her eyes. "Didn't you say something about a witch? We didn't come here for a trip down Uncle Ripper's nonexistent memory lane."

A short laugh escaped the aforementioned "Uncle Ripper's" lips, the hybrid a few feet away rolling his eyes. "Yes, alright. I see patience isn't one of Little Miss Darkside's virtues, but I already know that," he added with a wink, causing Lilith to roll her eyes. "Let us visit my witch, and then we may visit Rippah's memory lane." Stefan shook his head again and looked between them as Klaus continued. "Let us go see Gloria."

*LIT*

"Ziela, calm down and repeat slowly."

"They're in Chicago," the dhampir's voice came through the receiver, her excitement barely contained. "Jared and I are on our way right now; we'll be there by midnight."

Jeremy shook his head in confusion as he searched his bedroom floor for a sweatshirt. "Wait, who's Jared?"

"It's a long story; I'll explain it to you when we get back to Mystic Falls. My dad doesn't know anything, does he?"

The human sat down on his bed, his voice low and quiet. "Stefan came on Elena's birthday, he killed Andie. He told Damon about what he did, how he killed her-"

"-Which isn't a lie."

"Right, I'm still confused on how that works."

"I told you I'd explain it-"

"-I'm wait-"

"-It's rude to interrupt, Gilbert."

"You, Pierce, are a hypocrite."

He smirked, though they'd only shared three phone conversations in the past week - the only form of communication between them in the last four months - he and Ziela had become strangely close. It's amazing how times of chaos can bring people closer then they ever imagined they could be.

"Whatever, Jer. You didn't tell anyone what I told you, did you?"

"No. I told Tyler what you said after the first call, but he went straight to Elena the next day, and I know she'd go right to Damon, so I'm the only one who knows the truth."

"Good. I'll call you when we get her. Addio."

The line went dead and Jeremy stood, walking into the bathroom and glancing through the open door to see Elena's unmade and empty bed. "Of course," he muttered. "It's six in the morning, so why wouldn't Elena be out of bed and missing?"

*LIT*

Elena frowned as she followed Damon into the small apartment, a brow arching in confusion at the iron stove and old furniture. "Why are we here?"

"Stefan's old apartment," he stated vaguely, elaborating when he saw the doppelganger's confused look. "As far as I know, he hasn't been here since the nineties, but we're here to look for evidence of him being here more recently." Damon's sure steps carried him to a shelf built into the wall by the kitchen and he gently - for a vampire, anyway - started to peel it away from the plaster.

The human barely managed to get out a "what are you doing?" before the shelf swung away from the wall like a door and sent her into confused silence. She didn't speak again until she was done scanning the contents of the hidden closet. "So Stefan hid his alcohol," Elena said before adding a sarcastic, "what a monster.

Damon tilted his head toward the opening. "Look closer," he commanded.

Elena stepped forward warily and stared in shock at the list on the wall. They were names. Some were in written in pen, some in pencil, and others were carved. Giuseppe Salvatore. The name at the very top of the list gave her clear evidence as to what ever one on it had become: a victim. She took a quick step back and looked to her vampire companion for confirmation, but he was busy scanning the list himself. Tense silence filled the air as she waited for him to finish his examination.

"She's not on here." He said finally, taking a step back and closing the makeshift door. "He hasn't been here."

The doppelganger took a hesitant step toward him. "Damon..." He walked toward the main apartment door silently and she followed. He was upset. Elena had only seen him like this three times before. Once on the night he killed Jeremy - she still wasn't entirely sure what had gone down between him and Katherine that night. The second time was the morning after Lilith went missing. Time number three was less than a week ago, when Stefan had revealed the truth about what he'd done.

Elena lifted her hand to his shoulder and Damon pulled away. "Stay here, Elena. Klaus thinks you're dead, and if he finds out you're not, you will be. You'll be safe here. I'll be back soon."

*LIT*

Lilith followed Klaus and Stefan into the old bar, a frown plastered on her face from all the times the hybrid had refused to tell her where they were going ("so many questions..."). She was walking down the three steps to the dining area when a voice from across the room made her look up. "Well, look who walked into my bar." The woman had hair so white that, if even one gray hair were to appear, it would stick out like a sore thumb, the contrast to her dark skin shocking.

Klaus should his head. "Two vampires and a hybrid walk into a bar-"

"Stop." Gloria's voice was commanding as she stood. "Just because you're invincible, it doesn't make you funny." The youngest vampire of the bunch let out a laugh as she sat down at a table. "Now, I know you and Mr. Salvatore fairly well, but who's your friend?"

The Original shook his head again and started across the room, his footsteps deafening in the near silence. "You won't need to know anything about her if you can help me figure out why my hybrids keep dying."

Gloria took a few steps forward. "Hybrids? A spell that old, well, I'll need to contact the witch who made it. Now, I'm sure this witch is long dead; Rebekah has what I need to contact her."

Klaus frowned, negative emotions practically suffocating them all just from his expression. "'Bekah is a bit busy at the moment."

"I figured. But I need her. So you can go get her, and I'll help you, or you can figure it out on your own."

The hybrid grumbled in annoyance and stomped toward the door. "Rippah. Little Miss Darkside. Come. Let us get my sister."

*LIT*

Damon leaned against the bar, ignoring the annoyed look on Gloria's face. "Hi," he drawled, sitting down on the bar stool.

"Damon Salvatore," she said, her voice void of emotion. "I see Stefan's still running with the wrong crowd."

The vampire arched a brow and sat up straighter, his own voice dripping with curiosity. "You've seen him?"

She nodded. "With Klaus. Nasty pair."

"Well, where'd they go?"

"They're out running a little errand for me. They should be back soon with their friend if you'd like to wait."

Damon frowned, becoming exponentially more curious. "Friend?"

Gloria nodded again and rested her elbows on the countertop, leaning forward in a similar manner. "Mmm-hmm. A girl. Klaus wouldn't let me know her name. He called her "Little Miss Darkside" if that tells you anything."

"Well, how old is she? What does she look like?" He straightened again, eager to learn more.

The witch hummed thoughtfully. "She was young, only a year or two older than Stefan if I had to guess, dark hair - just as dark as yours, but a bit more blue - her eyes..." she trailed off, staring intently at his own icy blue orbs. "Looked just like that."

Damon sat in dumbstruck shock for a full minute before jumping up and jogging for the door. "Gloria, you probably have no idea what you just told me, but I will do something to return the favor - even if it takes me a hundred years!" He pushed through the door and hurried back to his car, leaving the witch staring confusedly after him.

*LIT*

"Why are we here?" Lilith grumbled as she followed Klaus and Stefan into the apartment, her eyes automatically flickering to the shelf that she could have sworn was swinging closed. "I mean, the-apartment-here, not Chicago-here, or with-Klaus-here."

The hybrid laughed and shook his head, muttering something about "Rippah's memory lane" before turning to Stefan and resuming their conversation from the car that she'd been tuning out. "Now, Stefan, I couldn't figure out why you wanted that poor man's name, and then I found out about your dirty little secret." He walked over to the shelf and stepped back as he pulled it open. With a tilt of his head, Klaus beckoned Stefan forward. "I believe you have more names to add to your list."

*LIT*

Elena watched Stefan closely, almost certain that he would reveal her location to Klaus and whoever the other voice belonged to. He was watching her just as closely, shock barely restrained to his eyes. "Little Miss Darkside," he said, his eyes not leaving her face. "Have you seen my list?"

Quiet footsteps carried someone toward the swung-open door until a shadow was cast over the amber bottles. "Your list of alcohol, Uncle Rippah?" The doppelganger frowned. The girl's voice was familiar, and she was close enough to call Stefan her uncle. She sounded exactly like-

"No. My victims list." Stefan nodded toward Elena and stopped her train of thought immediately. "I thought you might want to sign your own name." There was some shuffling while Stefan stepped back to let the figure into the small room.

She couldn't help but let out a small gasp when it was Lilith who stood there and the young vampire quickly covered her stoic expression with a mask of shock when the sound reached her ears. "What was that?" Klaus growled, his supernatural hearing having picked up on the near silent exclamation.

"That was me," Lilith said, making her voice sound surprised. "I'm sorry; I thought the list would be longer."

*LIT*

She was beyond thankful when Elena managed to stay quiet while she stepped forward to sign her name on the proverbial dotted line. This is it, Lilith thought, swallowing roughly. By inscribing her name on this wall, she was giving up any freedom she may have had. She was giving over her soul to whatever whack job cause Klaus had going. Who would've thought my uncle would be my own personal Rumplestilskin?A dark chuckle escaped her lips as she thought back to a book she'd read at the beginning of the summer, The Bad Beginning. Stefan had called it childish, but Klaus made time to read some of it with her - too intrigued by the character with his name to say no. Near the end, the cruel and heartless Count Olaf formulated a plan to marry Violet, Klaus's sister, and steal their fortune. Violet had gotten out of the horrendous situation by signing with her off hand.

So that's what Lilith did.

No one else would understand why she switched the pencil to her left hand to write her name, but it was like a silent promise to herself that she would break out of whatever hold Klaus had over her.

While she was enacting her plan, she didn't notice Stefan taking a small step forward and out of the waiting hybrid's line of sight. Nor did she see him make short eye contact with Elena and mouth a silent "tell him."

The doppelganger nodded quickly as Stefan stepped forward again and put his hand on his niece's shoulder. Her pencil clattered to the floor when she jumped and glared back at him, standing slowly as he stepped back to let her out of the small room. "So," Lilith said to Klaus when she stepped into his line of sight. "What's this about getting your sister?" She didn't wait for her traveling companions to follow her as she walked out the door...

"You complain too much," Stefan pointed out as they walked out of yet another warehouse, the thirteenth they'd taken refuge in that month - the one they'd been in for only a week before Lilith had begun calling it Warehouse 13.

"And you think I should just let go of the fact that you drained me of my blood and sent me into transition?" His niece arched a brow and shook her head. "I don't think so, Pete."

He rolled his eyes. In addition to calling their newest "home" by the name of a television show she'd discovered, Lilith had assigned them each the name of a character. At least he wasn't Artie. "Why exactly am I Pete?"

"Because Pete was an alcoholic - you're a bloodaholic. Pete is always thinking about food - you're always thinking about blood. Pete is childish and immature - you're an idiot." She grinned widely at her analysis and turned to face him. "And Klaus is Artie because he's old and will eventually turn on us."

Stefan shook his head. "Who are you? I forget."

"Claudia Donovan." She said matter-of-factly. "The badass loner chick who was dragged into something she didn't want to be a part of. I mean, I guess she put herself in that situation, but she didn't really understand what she was getting herself into."

Stefan paused for a moment before following her down the road, both of them freezing when the smell of fresh blood wafted toward them. He didn't move again until she was out of sight. "Lilith?" The vampire'svoice echoed in the empty alley and he looked over his shoulder when the warehouse door opened again.

"Wasn't she just with you?" Klaus asked confusedly as he stepped up behind the Ripper. Stefan nodded and hybrid's eyes widened with what looked a bit like concern when the blood in the air registered with his heightened senses. "If she kills someone, she'll run off. We won't be able to find her again, Stefan." There was less than a moment of hesitation before they both took off in different directions, not bothering to try and hide their supernatural speed.

The Ripper reached his niece first, freezing when the smell of fresh blood became almost unbearable. Blood was smeared on the sidewalk and the limp form ofsomethinglay in front of her. Because she was kneeling away from her uncle, he couldn't see her face - but he knew what he'd find there if he could. The fear, the guilt, the self-hatred for taking an innocent life away.

He remained frozen until Klaus pushed past him and gently pulled the young vampire into a standing position, a quiet "clean it up" being hissed as his niece was led back toward the warehouse. Stepping forward mechanically, Stefan got his first real glimpse of Lilith's victim.

The boy couldn't have been more than six or seven years old, and his blonde hair was matted down with drying blood. The hollowness of the still-open brown eyes was disturbing; it was as if not only his life was stolenfrom him, but every ounce of his soul and spirit had been drained along with it. It was a colder and darker look than any of his own victims had had with his on-and-off Ripper track record of the last century and a half.

He wasn't used to having to look atthe emptiness; he'd always disregarded his victims when he was done with them, not botheringto clean up his messes because someone else would clean up for him...

Stefan was jolted out of his thoughts when Klaus pushed past him in a familiar manner and the hybrid's arms circled almost comfortingly around the vampire in the hallway. Since when are they so close? he asked himself, shaking his head as he followed them wordlessly.

*LIT*

"Damon!" Elena sighed with relief as she hurried forward, pausing when he tosses some clothes to her. "Where have you been? I called you an hour ago!"

"Get dressed; you're all road-trippy and gross."

His voice was clipped, not quite annoyed - more like determined. The words were meant to be playful, sarcastic, like the Damon she'd been missing, but they came out almost cold.

"I tell you I'm almost discovered by Klaus and you're worried about what I'm wearing?"

Her words sounded almost hollow, shallow, conceited. She almost sounded stuck up, like everything in the world revolved around her and what she wanted; she looked it too, with her nose in the air in annoyance.

"I had an hour to realize what a bad idea it was to leave you alone, process it, and move on." Damon's words were firm and she stepped into the bathroom to change, sending a glare in his direction when he speaks again. "Can you hurry? I have things to do."

*LIT*

She stared at the amber-colored liquid in the glass in front of her, shaking her head stubbornly. "I'm not drinking alcohol around you. We don't know what kind of drunk I am - what if I try to get in your pants?"

"I wouldn't complain, Love," he winked, nudging the glass closer to her. "I'm sure the experience would be wonderful..."

Moments later, the bourbon was spilled onto his lap and the glass was in pieces at his feet. "You're a dick," she grumbled, jumping from the stool and stomping away.

*LIT*

One hour. Stefan had left them alone for one hour and this is what he returned to. How could Lilith and Klaus already be fighting? He'd left them alone for much longer in Tennessee and all they'd managed to do was start a game of Truth or Dare.

That had been a weird night.

Tonightwas a weird night - at least where his niece and slave driver were concerned. One minute, they were leaning on each other like they were their sole reasons for existing, the next they were engaging in annoyingly playful banter, then in the next they were trying to rip each other's throats out. They couldn't just pick one?

Them fighting, he could handle. Them changing moods like a pair of newly transitioned baby vampires, not so much. Hell, he'd take them going at each other like two sexually driven teenagers over what he was being forced to deal with now. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were to both disappear while he dealt with his Elena problem.

Stefan shook his head as his niece rejoined Klaus at the bar, frowning when she knocked back the shot that the hybrid was about to claim as his own. He moved toward the door when Gloria provided two full glasses of bourbon; he didn't want to be around in ten minutes when they inevitably tried to kill each other again.

*LIT*

Lilith let out a loud giggle when Klaus leaned over to whisper conspiratorially in her ear, both of them erupting into laughter. The hybrid paused unnoticeably when he saw Damon out of the corner of his eye. "Love," he said quietly, leaning in close and purposefully keeping his lips less than an inch from her ear. "Why don't you go back to your Uncle Rippah's old apartment and get us some high quality alcohol?"

The vampire frowned and pulled back, shaking her head. "I like Gloria's alcohol. I don't want to go so far away when we can get plenty of it here."

"Stefan's alcohol is far better than Gloria's." Klaus nodded confidently. He couldn't let his favorite asset find out that he'd been lying to her; it would ruin everything he'd been working for the past four months. "Believe me, Love, I've had it myself."

She grumbled in complaint but nodded, jumping off the barstool and walking out the door.

Damon casually claimed the now empty seat and nodded to Gloria to signal for a drink. "So, Klaus, word on the street is that you know where I can find someone I've been looking for. I hear you've been calling her "Little Miss Darkside," but I'm questioning that after hearing you call her Love."

The Original let out a hearty laugh and turned to the Civil War veteran to his left. "It was either that or the horrid pet name she detests so much. You can see what her choice was."

With a roll of his eyes, Damon turned to be face to face with his least favorite hybrid. "You have two options; you can either give me my daughter back, or I can kill you."

"You can't kill me, Salvatore; I'm an Original."

"I can try."

Both of them were on their feet in less than a second, Damon taken aback by Klaus's almost protective snarl. "You should've taken better care of her then, Damon. She's mine now, and you won't be getting her back any time soon."

The vampire scowled and took a step forward. "Yours? I don't think so, Klaus."

A cold laugh tumbled from the hybrid's lips and echoed in the empty bar. "You think she'd rather go back to Mystic Falls? She thinks you're dead, Salvatore, because that's what your brother and I have been telling her."

Damon froze, regaining his composure after a moment and spitting out a sarcastic laugh. "You're lying."

Klaus grinned darkly and spoke, making his accent more prominent and looking up as if lost in a memory. "I'm sorry, Love, but the cure didn't get to him in time. Your father is dead."

Gritting his teeth, Damon leapt forward, pinned to the ground by his neck moments later. He fought against the Original's steel-like grip desperately, feeling the pressure on his trachea increase.

"Don't bother fighting, Damon; you know I'm stronger than you." The pressure around the vampire's neck disappeared as Klaus stood. "Have a good day, Salvatore. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to collect your daughter and brother before completing my errand."

*LIT*

"We're in Chicago!" Ziela announced proudly when Jeremy answered the phone. "My sister will be safe and back in Mystic Falls before you can say "Evil hybrid"!"

The human's laugh sounded from the other side of the line and Jared couldn't help but roll his eyes at his dhampiric companion's enthusiasm. "Evil hybrid," Jeremy said jokingly. "Alright, where's your sister?"

"It's a figure of speech, Indy." she shook her head, annoyed. "She's still in Chicago. We need to get her away from Klaus long enough to sneak her away."

Jared held out his hand for the phone and Ziela slowly handed it over, watching curiously as the elder vampire put the phone to his ear. "So you're the Jeremy Gilbert I've been hearing so much about."

There was a beat of silence before Jeremy replied. "Yeah, and you are...?"

"Jared Petrova. Now, before I go into detail about myself, I have one question for you, Jeremy."

Ziela arched a brow and sent her however many greats uncle a questioning look as Jeremy replied without hesitation. "What would that be, Jared?"

"Why does Ziela call you Indy?"

*LIT*

The buzz had disappeared entirely by the time she got to the apartment, the fun, giggly Lilith leaving with it and the cold, detached Lilith replacing it. Her thoughts drifted as she sorted through the old bottles of whiskey and wine, eventually travelling toward the Forbidden Zone...

"Claudia Donovan," she'd been saying as they walked. "The badass loner chick who was dragged into something she didn't want to be a part of. I mean, I guess she put herself in that situation, but she didn't really understand what exactly she was getting into." In her opinion, the parallels between herself and the twenty-some year old protagonist were more than obvious. She heard Stefan pause and didn't even think about stopping to wait for him; the conversation had become much too awkward for her liking.

And then the heady scent of blood hit them.

After only a moment of shocked paralysis, she took off, not stopping until the young boy was just coming into her line of sight. Only a few tears were sliding down his cheeks by the time she'd arrived, the bloody scrape on his knee standing out brilliantly against his pale skin.

Her own blood rushed to the veins beneath her eyes, the skin there feeling tighter from the increased pressure. She took a small, involuntary step forward and the boy looked up, too teary-eyed to see her very hungry expression. "I tripped." His voice was quiet, as if he was embarrassed. "Can you take me to my mommy?"

Lilith hesitated before continuing forward, her eyes locked on the blood gathering in droplets atop the scratches. With her enhanced eyesight, she could see exactly where the boy's skin had split, every small speck of dirt that was creeping into the maze of shallow cuts. The blood was calling to her, the forbidden fruit of vampirism testing her control. "It might get infected; I should take you home." It was difficult to talk with her fangs trying to push through her gums, the pain only making her want the blood more.This is a test...

She failed.

Her sharp fangs were slicing through the vulnerable skin of his neck before she could process another thought. The sweet nectar of his blood was already soothing the starving burning of her throat. It was sweeter than the blood bags Klaus had been helping her force down for the last month, and a thousand times more satisfying.

When the last drops of his intoxicating life force was drained into her own body, she let the limp form fall to the ground, her muscles seeming to throb with power. The momentary, blood induced high wore off and she froze in horror - she had justkilled an innocent little boy. In her state of shameful guilt and shock, Lilith barely noticed when Stefan's footsteps sounded behind her and closed her eyes tightly. Klaus's secure arms pulled her upward and she leaned into him, ignoring his quiet hiss to Stefan when they passed by.

She never thoughtKlauswould be the person she'd lean on in a situation like this. Stefan? Maybe. Jeremy? That's a bit more likely. Klaus? Never. What drove him to want to help her? It's not like she had been nice to him for the past month, the exact opposite, actually. And what made her accept his help? She didn't want him to help her... did she?

Lilith shook herself out of the memory and grabbed the first bottle she could get her hands on before turning and running out of the apartment.

*LIT*

Elena looked up when Damon got into the driver's seat, her voice tinted with poorly veiled enthusiasm despite the crushing conversation she'd just had with Stefan. "Where is she?"

"Klaus sent her away before I could talk to her. She didn't even see me."

His voice seemed - broken - like he'd gotten his hopes up - and then had them ripped away. The doppelganger hesitated a moment before gently touching his arm. "Damon...?"

The vampire pulled his arm away almost roughly and shook he head, not saying a word as he began to drive.

*LIT*

Jeremy stared at his phone, waiting impatiently for Ziela's next call - the call that would tell him that Lilith was okay and that they were on their way. Too deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice Anna sitting next to him until she spoke. "Hey, Mr. Thinker." She glanced down at the phone lying on the bed in front of him. "Waiting for a call?" He nodded. Jeremy had filled his ghostly ex-girlfriend in on the entire Lilith situation - the girls had been best friends, he couldn't hold back that kind of information. Anna's voice went suddenly quieter, worry threatening to rear its head no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "Has there been any news?"

"Z called earlier; they're in Chicago now." He slowly stood from the bed, his eyes never leaving the phone. "She's supposed to call again when they get her."

The ghost nodded slowly before laying back, her head not making the slightest indent in the pillow. "Chicago's a big city; it could take them a few days to find her, even with Zie' and Jared splitting up. And Klaus might want to move on before they can get to her."

The both went quiet after that, too afraid that speaking anymore would make their situation worse - as if Klaus would somehow hear them and leave Chicago before Lilith could be found, as if something would happen to Ziela and Jared to stop them from reaching her, as if Lilith would make up her mind to not come back and stay on the dark side with her uncle and Klaus.

*LIT*

Klaus frowned when Lilith stomped into the warehouse and threw the bottle at his feet, shards of glass and splatters of red wine flying high enough to deposit drops almost as dark as blood on their clothes. "What?" he asked her, genuinely confused.

"You left me! I go back to Gloria's to find you gone and with no hint as to where you went?" She spun, starting for the door. "I'm leaving. I don't care how much you want me to stay, or how much you demand I stay, or how much you throw in my face that I have nowhere else to go." She turned again as he walked up behind her, shouting in his face. "I hate you! You ruined my life, and now I'm walking out of yours!"

Angry tears were escaping and sliding down her cheeks before she could stop them and he automatically lifted a hand to wipe them away...

His hand gently caressed her cheek ashisthumb collected the falling tears and pushed them away. "Everything's alright, Love.Stefan will take care of the boy."

She shook her head as she closed her eyes andleaned into him, clinging to his arms for support. "Ikilledhim. He's not gonna be okay!" Her body shook with sobs as he held her, stroking her hair in a failing attempt to be soothing. "He's dead."

He didn't know when it happened but, at some point, the subject had changed. She wasn't talking about the little boy anymore. Klaus gently pushed the young vampire away and held her at arms' length, looking into her eyes as he spoke. "Calm down, Love. He's alright. Everyone has to die some time." Compelling her was wrong, and he knew that, but he wasn't just going to stand by and watch her suffer. "You're alright now... You're with me, Love..."

Lilith nodded and slowly walked away, disappearing into the dark shadows in the back of the warehouse.

Klaus pulled his hand away quickly when she stiffened at his light touch. "Don't go?" His voice was quiet, and he wasn't telling her to stay or ordering her around; he was asking her. It had to be her choice to stay.

She hesitated, and he could see that she wanted to leave. What was that flicker in her eyes? Was it... doubt? Could she possibly choose to stay? "Klaus... I..." Now he understood. That hadn't been doubt in her eyes. That had been confusion and surprise at him asking instead of demanding.

He couldn't have that.

"Perfect; you're staying." He tried to hide how much her wanting to leave was affecting him as he took her hand, attempting to be forceful, and pulled her deeper into the warehouse. "Love, have you ever met my sister?"

A/N

Enjoy? Any questions? Any comments? Now, for my favorite disclaimer I've ever written:

Me: *does some freaking magical magic* Hi!

Giuseppe: Who are you?

Me: I'm a friend of Damon's.

Giuseppe: What about St-

Me: I don't like Stefan. Now, I need you to turn to that camera over there and say that I don't own your sons or their acquaintances in any way, shape, or form.

Giuseppe: But, I-

Me: I'll pay you.

Giuseppe: In what?

Me: Gum.

Giuseppe: …

Me: …

Giuseppe: Fine. TheDhampir doesn't own my sons in any way, shape, or form. Can I have gum now?

Me: You didn't look at the camera. And you said it wrong.

Giuseppe: I know how to use a gun.

Me: *gives him all the gum ever*

Damon: Aw. No one ever pays me in gum.

Peace In!