Note: Thank you all for the feedback and interest in this story! I would respond to you individually if I could figure out how, but please know your comments are much appreciated.
A few things to remember in the this chapters:
1) It's only been about 2 days tops since the events of the ritual. Elena's been in shock and no one has really given her the details of what happened. Everyone's been concentrating on making a plausible cover up story for Jenna/John's deaths and arranging the funeral. She went from the hike to Klaus to the ritual and doesn't know all of the other events that were happening in the background, which is kinda skewing her POV right now. Also, I know everyone has their opinion on the rights/wrongs of how things happened and who did what with all the ritual stuff. Please keep in mind that what I have below is just one opinion and the one I'm going with for the purpose of this story. :)
2) Remember I said I would change some of cannon to fit this story? Well, it begins here in Damon and Katherine's back-story, so I hope things aren't too confusing because I'm only hinting at things right now.
3) Sorry so long. I had a lot to get in there. Hope you don't mind. :)
Thanks again for all the wonderful support. PLEASE let me know if you want to see me continue! Feedback is a great motivator! :)
Chapter 3
"It's bad isn't? Whatever's going on." Elena jumpstarted the inquisition before Stefan made it halfway to the front door. Her rigid stance, the tight lines of her face were the most obvious signs of her inner panic. "Stefan would have never left me alone with you if it wasn't. And Damon..." She swallowed as if the words were too big and scary to say out loud.
"We have a..." Katherine answered in her cryptically honest way. "... grave situation on our hands."
The twisted words were not lost on Elena.
"Where. Is. Damon?"
Katerina Petrova had never been particularly maternal.
Perhaps that instinct had been ripped from her heart in the same way her own child was taken from her womb and cast into the unknown without a single loving touch. Perhaps, had the child been allowed to remain, in time she would have realized it just wasn't in her nature. Perhaps she'd always been selfish and always would be.
Perhaps not.
Whatever the reason, Katerina - now Katherine Pierce - had learned to look out for number one. With no exceptions. With no remorse. With no hesitation.
Until this afternoon.
Until she looked into Damon Salvatore's pleading eyes and felt something deep inside of her stir and come alive. It was the 'please' that did it. It reminded her so much of the first time she laid eyes on him.
In 1864.
He'd been desperate. Scared. Stubbornly determined.
Trying to hold on to a life.
His noble actions caught her attention that night just as his devilish smile and sweet, poetic devotion to another in the following weeks held her interest. That he wasn't looking at her didn't matter. That a beautiful outcast had somehow earned his sole, intense focus only made him all that more intriguing.
The resurging version of that Damon in the past few months left Katherine Pierce with no choice.
She would help him now, as she had helped him then.
Despite the consequences...
Katherine hadn't lied.
For what Stefan had to do, there was very little time. She, on the other hand, could take a few moments before returning to Damon's side. After all, he was safely locked up where she could hear him and Elena's unexpected interruption could prove to be enlightening.
On so many levels.
Damon had made her promise not to bring Elena into his suffering. It was a promise she made flippantly. Thoughtlessly. Considering that his every sporadic, rational thought since then had been only and always of Elena, Katherine knew that only her presence could give him the will to believe, to hope, to hang on.
Maybe, if it came to that, even some much needed peace as he took his last breath.
But only if Elena understood what was at stake. Only if her blinders were removed and she felt the truth of Damon's devotion. If she understood his heart. Only if she was strong enough to fight for what Damon would not.
Until there was no longer a reason to fight.
If she was going to let Elena Gilbert into Damon's last moments on this earth, she was going to make sure Elena was worthy of them.
Like a mother protecting her young.
After what she'd done to him in the past, it was the least she could do for him now.
Ignoring Elena's question, she launched an inquisition of her own.
In true Katherine Pierce fashion.
"Tell me, Elena...was your passionate rush to Damon's bedroom of an apocalyptic nature or did you want another taste of that delicious blood of his?"
Elena blinked in surprise. "How did you..."
Katherine shrugged nonchalantly then turned and headed to the stand next to Damon's bed where a worn copy of Gone With the Wind lay waiting for her attention. She gently pulled the book from it's resting place and placed it on the bed next to a few other items she'd already gathered.
"When he came to me for information before the ritual, he let it slip that you had vampire blood in your system. I assumed since you were hell bent on dying and he was hell bent on saving you..."
Elena watched with increasing agitation as Katherine continued to arrange the items on his bed as if going through a checklist in her mind. "What are you doing with his things?"
"Answer my question first."
A defiant chin rose. "What I came here to say is between Damon and me."
Katherine's tone was laced with droll humor, like she was laughing at a secret joke that only she knew. "Normally, I would agree except I just happen to be his gatekeeper at the moment. Which makes me your one and only chance to see him again. So, I'm afraid I'll need a better answer than that."
A tense moment of silence lingered.
Clearly Elena was weighing her options. Dance with the devil to gain the prize. Or strike out on her own and perhaps lose her chance forever.
Her gaze shifted back to the bed.
There were no clothes. No toiletries. Nothing that would indicated an intention to travel in that pile. Just things he must love. His book. A few old photos. All centered in an old scarf, once vibrant and bold, now faded like memories through the years.
Elena swallowed hard.
Something deep inside told her forever was on the line.
She made her decision and took a step onto the dance floor.
"Damon forced his blood on me. It was not my choice."
"No? But why not? After all, you were about to die. Damon just provided you a way to live forever...with Stefan." Katherine mocked knowingly, as a taunting smile curved her lips. "Or maybe that's the problem. Maybe Stefan isn't the brother you want an eternity with."
At that bold counter-step, Elena's dance faltered.
"You know what?" Stung by the meaning of Katherine's words and unsettled by the uncertainty of her own response, instant anger flare in Elena's eyes. "I'm not doing this with you. Just take what you need and get out of here. I'll find Damon on my own."
Elena spun to leave but was stopped by Katherine's challenging words.
"You're wrong about him, you know. Just like I was."
Arms crossed in front of her defensively, protectively, Elena turned back to Katherine with a heated glare. "Oh, really? And how is that?"
"I thought his emotions made him weak. In truth, they did. Back then. But now..." Katherine's curious brown eyes met their mirror image. "How did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Turn him into a Salvatore I could love."
Elena blinked at that. "What?"
A discerning Katherine saw the wave of horror pass through Elena's eyes and instantly knew she'd struck emotional gold. "Oh, don't worry, Elena. I said I could, not that I did. You know, for someone who professes not to love him..."
She chuckled and let her taunt dangle as she rounded the bed and headed toward a painting on the far wall. She swung the painting open to reveal a safe behind it. Quickly working the dial, she pulled the door open and carefully removed a few times before reversing the process all the while continuing her conversation.
"I do have to say, if the Damon I've seen in the past few months had been by my side 500 years ago, who knows? I might not have had to run all these years. And my life, all of our lives really, just might have been a whole lot different."
"Look, Katherine, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you need to stop," Elena challenged suddenly, protectively. "He's been through enough because of you."
"Because of me? Why? Because he loved me?" Katherine asked then answered from her own personal knowledge. "No, I think Damon has just now realized what real love is. And I must say, it looks good on him. On this Damon of yours."
"He's not mine." It was an instinctive response born of internal repetition. Given the way she was feeling, it sounded hollow even to her own ears. The knowing smirk on Katherine's lips sent an embarrassed flush to her cheeks. Elena quickly retreated to safe ground. "You know I love Stefan."
"Yes. I'm sure you do." Katherine seemingly conceded without a fight as she added the latest treasures to the pile on the bed. "But then again...do you even know what love is? And I'm not talking about candy hearts and rose petals. That kind of love is for the faint of heart."
"No, I'm talking about love the way it can really be." Her gaze shifted as if she were revisiting a distant past. As if she were taking it down from the cupboards of her memory and revisiting it, analyzing it and - uncharacteristically - cherishing it. "Brutal. Raw. Intense. Real. And because it's real, it's honest. So honest it hurts, it heals. Its what breaks you, purifies you. And dares you to kiss the flame that can turn you to ash then bids you, like a Phoenix, to rise and burn again."
The words were not entirely her own, but echoes of a voice from the past.
Elena shifted uncomfortably. Her lips tightened into a thin, unyielding line. She swallowed hard, remembering a conversation not two days before and a confession that resonated through her bones even now.
Had she known that kind of love? No. She'd been honest enough with Stefan to admit that. But would she recognize it if she ever saw it?
Damon.
His face filled her mind and she instantly knew the answer to her own question. That what Katherine had described was summed up in one word, one name, one person...the realization made her shiver inside.
Katherine's discerning gaze settled on Elena. Her conclusion was obvious as she echoed Elena's inner thoughts. "No, you don't know, do you? I can see it in your eyes. But I do. I've seen it. In Damon. In the way he fought for you. Sacrificed for you..."
Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the truth of Katherine's words, Elena turned the accusation around. It didn't help her case that a note of jealousy slipped through her words. "For me? How can you even say that? He spent a hundred and forty-five years searching for a way to be with you, Katherine..."
"And found you instead." Katherine's words were warm with conviction. "You know I'm right, Elena. You feel it. Every time you're in a room alone together. The way he looks at you. The way you can't stop yourself from looking back..."
"Just...stop, ok?" A new wave of frustration surged through Elena. She couldn't honestly deny Katherine's words and yet, to acknowledge them would be the ultimate betrayal. "I don't know what any of this has to do with where he is."
"Oh, Elena. It has everything to do with it." She switched gears so fast it made Elena's head spin. "I told you earlier that you were wrong about him. Do you know why?"
"If it means you'll take me to Damon..." Still defiant, still stubborn, Elena Gilbert stood her ground hoping, praying that this apparent exercise in manipulation wouldn't end in futility. "...go on. Enlighten me."
Katherine congratulated herself. The girl was properly tweaked, seriously riled and even more terrified than she was trying to let on.
Which was exactly where Katherine wanted her.
To get through to her, she needed to be unsettled. For her to hear what Katherine had to say, she needed to have her confidence shaken. Her doubts resurrected. Her certainties made uncertain.
Katherine heard the erratic rush of blood through Elena's veins, the uneven breathing she was desperately trying to control, and knew the time to strike was now.
"You blame him, don't you? For Jenna's death. For how things went down with Klaus. You shouldn't." Her frank gaze met Elena's. "Because despite everything you think, Damon did it right."
Elena looked incredulous. "You can't be serious. If I had a dollar for every time he screwed up..."
"Of course he screwed up, Elena. It's not like he had a blueprint to follow. He singlehandedly did what no one else has ever done, including me. He stood up to the biggest, meanest baddie of them all. An Original that most of us have the good sense to fear and run from. But not Damon. Not for you. No, for you he challenged centuries of power and dared curses to remain unbroken. For you, he risked everything."
"But I didn't want him to." Instantly flushed with frustration, Elena shook her head in denial. She was so tired of having this discussion. She'd had it with Bonnie, with Stefan with Damon. With Damon again and again. Now having to defend herself to, of all people, Katherine Pierce, well it took her to a new low. "Fighting was pointless. If he'd just respected my wishes, if he'd just followed the plan..."
"Riiight. The one where you naively trusted an Original to kill his own brother. After you died, of course." Katherine paused for effect before landing a body blow. "How did that work out for you, by the way?"
"People died, Katherine..."
"Of course people died, Elena," Katherine promptly cut her off. "This is Klaus we're talking about. The most evil, sadistic vampire in the history of vampires. Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of blood and bodies and tears behind. It was never going to be just you."
A dark eyebrow rose pointedly. "That's what Damon knew. That's what his plan to use Bonnie would have avoided. But since you wouldn't let him go that route, he had to improvise, which he did. Quite well, if I may say so myself. And you know what? It just might have worked if Klaus hadn't been planning this for centuries and had taken into account every single possibility, including the two vampires that worship the ground you walk on."
"What do you mean?"
"One of them was going to come after him. It was just a matter of who."
"Damon." Elena concluded a new level of disbelief filling her heart.
"Damon." Katherine confirmed, then tweaked. "Some might say the one that loves you most."
"You can't possibly mean that..." Elena began to scoff at the words that hit too close to home.
Katherine stopped her from trying. "I was there, Elena. He burst into that apartment, confronted Klaus and offered up his own life like it was just another day at the office."
"He what?" The news didn't just shock her. It shook her to her very core.
Whatever anger had fueled her journey to his room dissolved in an instant. Whatever blame she'd already placed on his shoulders lifted. Whatever doubts she'd had about his feelings for her evaporated into thin air.
Whatever she thought she felt for him, turned itself on its head.
"You really don't know what happened, do you?" Surprised and yet not, Katherine quickly surmised the reason. "Of course not. Everyone has to protect their precious Elena. Even from the truth." A harsh chuckle turned into a heated glance of condemnation. "And you let them. Word of advice. You really should work on that. You know, getting the whole story before jumping to some very big and very wrong conclusions."
"Go on." Elena prompted through gritted teeth. When Katherine smirked in response, Elena's demand became insistent. "I said...go on."
"Alright. Big picture recap. Moonstone. Vampire. Werewolf. Witch. Those were the elements needed for the ritual." She ticked off each item with a raised finger. "Klaus already had the moonstone. He had his witch. We all thought I was his vampire, so all he needed was a werewolf and you. You were hell bent on giving him what he wanted so Damon became hell bent on finding his werewolf. He came to me for information and...surprise, surprise...I wasn't Klaus' vampire any more."
"But if not you then..."
"It wasn't Jenna." Katherine informed in a sing-songy voice. Seeing the look of surprise in Elena's eyes Katherine prompted her further. "I keep hearing you're a smart girl. Think it through. Where could Klaus get a ready-made vampire and a werewolf on a night with a full moon?"
A light dawned in Elena's eyes. "Caroline."
"A friend of yours, no? As is Tyler Lockwood..."
"...the werewolf..."
"...that Damon saved." Katherine finished Elena's thought. "Klaus' witch was a casualty as well. All of which Damon took full responsibility for when he offered himself to Klaus on a silver platter." An obviously impressed Katherine shook her head at the futility of the move. "Stupidest, bravest, gutsiest thing I've ever seen."
"But if Damon was...then how did Jenna..."
"Damon was to be the replacement vampire, but there were...complications...and Klaus couldn't use him after all, so he needed a new victim." With a wave of her hands, Katherine ushered in Klaus' substitute. "Enter Aunt Jenna."
Elena turned away from Katherine and began to pace. Her mind was whirling. With questions she'd had but didn't have the strength to ask. With pieces of a puzzle that now made all the sense in the world. She sank down into a nearby chair and lowered her head as the weight of what she'd learned pressed down on her.
Events fell into an order that shifted the ground she stood on.
Stripped away all illusions.
And made the world she knew fall away.
"Katherine..." Elena's voice was mere whisper. "...what were the complications? You said Klaus couldn't use Damon." Her pleading gaze met Katherine's. "Please, no more games. I need to know."
"Now, see that, that right there. That desperation you're feeling right now? Multiply that by a thousand and you might begin to understand why Damon fed you his blood." Turning from Elena, Katherine began to wrap up Damon's things in the faded scarf. "Now you can discuss the right and wrong of it with him all you like, but being that he's on his deathbed...you might not want to waste the time."
"His..." A ripple of tears filled Elena's breathing and her heart rate accelerated to an alarming rate. "How?"
"In the middle of the rescue, Tyler bit him." Katherine turned to face Elena. What she saw softened even a heart as hard as hers. "He wants to end it, Elena. Before it gets too bad."
"No! No, he...he can't." Elena was out of her seat in an instant. "I won't let him!"
"What's this?" Katherine questioned, feeling the irony of the moment. "Are you willing to fight for his life? Against his own wishes, if need be? Knowing perhaps there is no hope?"
Unable to speak past the lump in her throat, Elena nodded mutely, dislodging a single tear that fell down her cheek.
"The truth then." Katherine approached Elena, her gaze penetrating to the heart of her double. "Were you wrong? Is Damon a Salvatore you could love, after all?" Seeing the answer in Elena's eyes, she didn't wait for a verbal confirmation, but gave her an easy out instead. "When you figure out the answer, give me a call. I'll be waiting."
Katherine swept by Elena with a smirk of triumph on her face. She made it to the door only to be stopped by one word.
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes. He is."
Elena and Katherine turned to face each other, a new understanding weighting their gaze.
Katherine inclined her head toward the door. "Then come with me. He's calling for you."
tbc...
Note: Next up - Damon and Elena :)
