AN: Wasn't really happy with this chapter either...but I'm posting it anyway so I can move onto the next one! -) I only incorporated elements from 'The End of the Affair' that I wanted, but there's more to come so stay tuned and feel free to leave me some love!
She walked through the house slowly, cautiously. Everything was dark, and too quiet. She peeked around the corner of the living room and timidly made her way up the stairs. Strange, soft sounds were coming from the bedroom on the left. As she made her way in that direction she stared to notice a peculiar smell emanating from the room. Metallic. Blood. Standing at the bedroom door she pushed the door open and cringed as it squeaked.
There was a body stretched out on the floor, lying in a pool of blood and a second person sat on the floor next to it. Holding the body, he was cradling it almost and crying into the neck. Why was he crying? He lifted his head from the neck and Elena gasped. He wasn't crying! He was eating! Blood dripped down his handsome face, his mouth painted red and his eyes bloodshot. Oh, Stefan she thought, what have you done? He dropped the body on the floor and moved quickly heading towards Elena. She began to back up but he was too fast. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him, crushing her.
She looked past him at the body lying prone on the floor now, not moving. Oh, God he was dead? And then the face became clear, like a camera when it changes focus. Jeremy! Oh, no! Her brother! She began to struggle in Stefan's arms, crying out for her brother. "Jeremy! No, Jeremy! Stefan, what have you done?" She cried out. She began to thrash against him.
"Elena!" Stefan yelled. "Stop." He framed her face with his hands, held her so tenderly. "It's okay, sweetheart."
"No! No Stefan! You killed him!"
Stefan's eyes gleamed, his teeth flashed and he began to lower his face towards her neck.
"Elena! Wake up! It's just a dream, Elena. Open your eyes, sweetheart."
"No, oh God, Jer!" Elena screamed. Hand shook her shoulders. She opened her eyes. Damon! He was frowning, his eyes soft, concerned. He saw her eyes open, and clear the remnants of the dream. He pulled her into his arms, held her head to his shoulder.
"It's okay, sweetheart. It was just a nightmare." He whispered soothingly in her ear. Tears pooled in her eyes, spilled out onto his t-shirt. He rocked her slowly, back and forth murmuring nonsense to her. She sniffled against his shoulder and tightened her arms around him.
"Thank you." She whispered, then "I'm sorry."
He grasped her shoulders, pushed her back so he could see her face. "Jesus. Don't be sorry. It was a nightmare, Elena. I'm surprised you don't have them more often." She nodded and just looked at him, mesmerized by his ocean blue eyes. He ran a hand over her hair, effectively breaking her trance. "Do you want me to make you some hot chocolate?" She smiled softly at him.
"Sure." She whispered. She pushed the covers back and climbed out of bed. Damon stood up and walked into the kitchen. She followed behind him her feet padding softly on the hardwood floor. She hopped up onto the kitchen counter, bracing her hands on either side of her legs. Damon began to move around the kitchen taking out an old fashioned tea kettle and grabbing various items needed for hot chocolate. The home made kind. He reached for two large mugs and then turned to face her, leaning back against the counter.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked gently after observing her for a minute. Elena shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "Okay." The tea kettle began to whistle and he turned to begin making the hot chocolate.
"He killed Jeremy." Elena whispered, once his back was to her. "I found him holding Jeremy, blood all over his face, and when he saw me he came after me." Damon kept his back to her, afraid if he turned around, she'd stop talking.
He contemplated things to say to her, 'it was just a nightmare, Jeremy has an eternity ring, Stefan wouldn't do that' but it was all meaningless, so he kept silent. He hated to see her hurting, even from a dream. He mixed in some mini marshmallows and turned to hand her the mug. She smiled gratefully at him. She wrapped her hands around the mug, and inhaled deeply. He knew that this trip, this situation, and hell this life was taking its toll on her. He didn't know what to say.
"Distract me." She murmured, looking up at him with those big doe eyes. He sighed, thinking of multiple ways he could distract her, none of them beneficial to her at this point.
"So colleges, huh? You're thinking about Northwestern? It's a good school." She nodded at him.
"I've been thinking a lot about it lately. How much I'd like to get out of Mystic Falls, but I can't leave Jeremy, or uproot him. So I might do a year at the community college and then transfer." She said, sipping on her hot chocolate. "This is delicious."
"I think it would be good for you to get out of Mystic Falls. And Jeremy would be fine. He's grown a lot in the past year. But I understand the need to look out for your little brother." More than you know, he thought. She made eye contact with him again and the pain and sadness in them damn near broke his heart.
"Thanks." She snorted. "God, we can't keep the conversation away from it, can we?" She set down her mug and hopped off the counter. "Away from him? Away from this situation? I'm so tired of all this crap, Damon. So tired of it." She walked over to the windows, looking out at the city view. The sun would be coming up soon. Buildings were still illuminated, lighting the river and the city. It was breathtaking, but nothing was as breathtaking as seeing her standing there in his place, his own place.
She just fit here. He closed his eyes and could almost imagine it, her being accepted to Northwestern, moving to Chicago. She could stay here, or he could get her a place, either way he could be with her all the time, hell he could enroll in classes too. He wouldn't mind adding another degree to his collection. He'd never been to Northwestern. But it didn't have to be Northwestern, he'd follow her anywhere.
"It's so beautiful." She whispered, reverently.
"Yeah, it is." He replied, meaning more than just the view. She turned to face him, hearing the wistfulness in his voice.
"I should probably try and get some more sleep. Long day tomorrow." He just nodded; bringing himself back to reality was depressing. She wasn't going to move to Chicago, she wouldn't want him tagging along and she would probably never agree to living with him whether romantic natured or not. Unrequited love was such a bitch. She walked to her bedroom and spun sharply on her feet. "Damon?"
"Hmm?" He asked, looking over at her. She blushed and he sat up straighter, confused. Why was she blushing?
"I, um….do you mind maybe sitting in here with me? I might sleep better if you want and don't mind." She immediately shook her head. "You know what? Never mind. It's stupid; you need your rest too." She began to back into her room. He leapt up and went to her quickly before she could slam the door.
"I don't mind. And it's not stupid. I can rest easily anywhere." He tipped her chin up with his finger to meet her eyes.
"Okay." She said and turned to climb into the bed. He snagged one of the decorative chairs and plopped down into it, propping his feet up on the other side of the bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and turned so she could face him. She yawned and said, "You don't have to sit in a chair, Damon."
"I'm fine, Elena. Go to sleep."
"You can lay on the bed. On top of the covers, of course."
"Oh, of course." He grinned. "I'm fine. Good night, Elena."
"Night, Damon." She whispered and closed her eyes.
He watched her sleep. It had taken a while for her breathing to even and the fidgeting to stop. Eventually though she had succumbed to her body's need for rest. He had nothing to do but think. He had feelers out already, testing the waters to see where Stefan and Klaus were holed up. Stefan had his regular haunts in Chicago, places he frequented often when they had both lived here in the twenties. They hadn't been on speaking terms then so they had avoided each other at all costs, but nevertheless Damon had kept an eye on Stefan. Damon considered their plan going over it backwards and forwards, thinking of every possible outcome. There were too many things that could go wrong, too many ways for them to fail. But he had promised Elena, and that was the end of it. He hoped for her sake that their plan worked.
A tiny whimper caught his attention. He leaned forward in his chair. "No," she cried softly. He moved to sit on the bed, cupped her cheek in his palm. She began to move restlessly on the bed.
"It's alright, Elena." He crooned to her. "You're safe." He ran his other hand over her hair, stroking it gently, soothing her. She calmed after a minute or so, and he pulled his hands back, ready to move back to his chair when she gripped his hand. His eyes flew to her face but she was still asleep.
"Don't go." She whispered and his heart tightened. He would kill to hear her speak those words to him while she was awake.
"I won't leave you." He murmured, and lay down beside her, holding her hand.
He woke curled around a warm body. He could hear her heartbeat deliciously beneath the surface. With nothing but a tilt of his head he could easily feed. Andie wouldn't mind. He tightened his hold, bringing her closer and was lowering his head when it hit him. The smell was all wrong. Andie smelled of lavender and vanilla an odd combo of shampoo and body lotion. He immediately let go of her, and propelled himself back over to the chair. Elena turned slowly to face him. She was blushing, and he'd be damned if it wasn't the cutest thing he'd ever seen. "You…" she started.
"I'm sorry. I fell asleep." He told her.
"It's alright, I just wasn't expecting it. But," she held up her hands. "No more nightmares."
"You were in the beginning of one, that's how I ended up on the bed."
"Oh." She nodded, "Well thank you, I slept very soundly." He couldn't take this anymore so he got up.
"I'll go make breakfast. If you want to freshen up, go ahead. We'll leave after we eat. Lots to do." And he slipped out of the room, shutting the door quickly behind him. He leaned against it for a moment, relishing the lingering warmth she had left imprinted on his body.
He began prepping her a smoothie with items delivered via room service at the hotel. They didn't normally cater to the condos but when you knew the right people you could get just about anything. It also helped if you were undeniably charming and had lots of money. Elena had liked the one he made yesterday, so he easily duplicated the recipe. Then, lowering his fangs and bringing his wrist to his mouth he punctured the skin and allowed several drops to fall into the blender. It mixed easily and it wasn't enough for her to taste but was enough to ensure that should the worst happen her death would not be final.
He popped some croissants into the oven to warm as he heard the shower cut off. It was something he couldn't allow his dirty mind to stray to. It would get him into too much trouble. His phone buzzed and he immediately reached for it. "Salvatore House of Horrors, Damon speaking."
"Any leads?" Ric asked, not bothering with any pretenses.
"One. Going to check it out after I feed Elena breakfast." Damon replied.
"Okay. Keep me updated? I'll have my phone on me at all times today."
"Yup." Damon poured the smoothie into a glass and grabbed the croissants out of the oven. "Hey, Ric? Has Elena been having nightmares?" He asked as nonchalantly as he could.
"Uh…not to my knowledge, but I couldn't tell you for sure. You'd have to ask Jeremy." Ric answered.
"Thanks, man. Call you later."
"Be careful with her." Ric added last minute.
"Always." Damon said and hung up. He dropped the phone onto the counter. Elena surfaced from the bedroom in jeans and a lightweight long sleeve shirt. "Hey."
"Hey." She said, sitting down at the breakfast bar, she had pulled her long sleeves over her hands and was gripping the ends in her fist. That wasn't like her.
"What's wrong?" He frowned.
"I'm just nervous." She admitted softly. Damon reached over the bar and covered her hand with his.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He insisted, he tipped her chin with his finger, forcing her to look at him. "You know that."
"Yeah." She answered, and turned away to sip her smoothie. "These are really good. Where did you learn to make smoothies?"
"I dated a health nut in the late nineties; it was all she would eat." He said with a grin. Elena smirked and finished off her drink and began working on her croissant. Once she was finished, Damon tossed her a zip up hoodie. "Let's go, Gilbert. Faster we get this done, the better." And they walked out the door.
"What is this place?" Elena asked as they pulled up in front of a dilapidated building downtown. Damon sighed and turned in his seat.
"This is where Stefan would bring his victims in the back in the day." Damon told her. "Stay in the car. I'm just going in to check and see if he's been here recently." He reached into the back seat to grab a Vervain dart, and handed one to her too. "Do not be afraid to use this." And then a stake. "Or this." She nodded at him, dumbly. The reality of the situation must finally be setting in, he thought. Good, she should be scared. "I'll be right back."
"Okay." She said firmly, the stake gripped in her hand upside down.
"Pointy end down, Elena." He laughed, and she glared at him then flipped the stake.
"Go already." Slipping out of the car, he strode into the building like he owned the place. The bottom floor was nothing to speak of, just rotted wooden tables, some abandoned machinery, and metal chairs. Basically a storage dump. The upstairs however was a sadist's paradise. Torture racks, belts, chains, metal slabs, and dried blood everywhere. Even Damon grimaced at the setup. However, everything was coated in a sheet of dust. No one had been here in a long, long time. Dead end number one.
He returned quickly to the car, and Elena frowned. "Nothing?"
"What? You expected to find him the first place we looked?" He laughed. She shook her head no, but you could tell by the look in her eye that she had.
"What now?" She asked, tucking the stake into her hoodie pocket.
"Next haunt." Cranking up the Camaro, he made a u-turn and headed down the alleyway. He hid his disappointment well, he hoped. He didn't want Elena knowing that this was the first place he had expected to find Stefan. He would spend days, weeks even holed up in that building. Shaking his head, he pulled into a parking lot that was a stone's throw from Stefan's hideout. He got out and came around to Elena's side of the car.
"What? You mean you're going to let me go in?" She asked, stepping out of the car.
"You'll be safer inside." Damon admitted, opening the bar door for her. As they entered, Damon nodded at the barkeeper whose eyes grew big as saucers. A few men were playing pool in the corner, and one sat a table in the back nursing a beer. No threats present, Damon relaxed. Just a little. The barkeeper threw her towel over her shoulder.
"Damon Salvatore. As I live and breathe…." She laughed. Damon smirked.
"It's nice to be famous." Damon sidled up to the bar and reached across to give her a hug. Maddie Long, Mad for short had always been a cool chick. And a vampire. The windows of the bar were UV resistant, allowing Mad to operate during the daytime. And hunt at night. She hugged him back.
"Who's the chick?" Mad asked, nodding in Elena's direction. Elena turned to face her and Mad hissed, jumping back.
"Whoa, sweetheart." Damon held up a hand and stepped in between the two, Elena didn't cower behind him but she was cautious as she should be. "She's with me, Mad. Maddie Long? Meet Elena Gilbert, the Petrova doppelganger. Elena, Maddie." Damon said as way of introductions. "She's Katherine's great great great something or other, but that's neither here nor there." Damon waved his hand. "I'm looking for my brother. Seen him?"
Maddie was still eyeing Elena with a distrustful eye, and Elena's hand was clasped firmly around her stake. Damon snapped his fingers in front of Maddie's face. She gave him a quick glance.
"Stefan?" Maddie asked. "Nah heard he's in town though."
Maddie motioned for them to join her in the back room. She set her towel down and hollered for some guy named Fish to take over the bar. They followed her to a storage room. Maddie turned to look at Damon. "Rumor is he's hanging with an Original." She told him. Damon nodded.
"Blah, blah, I'm here for information we don't already know, Mad." He rolled his eyes. "Where is he?"
"They've been hanging out at Gloria's."
"Gloria? She's still around? I'll be damned." He paused and grinned. "Well, you know what I mean."
"He's gone Ripper again, Damon." Maddie whispered. Damon turned to look back at Elena, whose eyes looked a little sad.
"We know. We're here to take him home."
"Good luck. You'll need it." With that, she disappeared through the barroom door, leaving Elena and Damon behind. Elena was biting her lip. Damon reached over and pulled her into a hug.
"C'mon. I know where he is." And they left silently, slipping out a back door.
Damon closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat. His car was parked around the corner in an alley back behind Gloria's. His mind was racing. It had all come down to this. He turned to look over at Elena. She was gripping her Vervain dart so hard her fingers were white. He placed his hand over hers, hoping to calm her.
"Hey. Look at me." She turned her gaze to him, and his heart melted. "We have one shot at this. I'll go in and distract Klaus. But you have maybe five minutes tops before he rips my head off. You can do this. Right?" She nodded and Damon took a deep breath. "Alright then." She could do this. God, he hoped she could. He could do it, too. For his brother. And Elena. He opened the car door.
"Be careful." She whispered softly after him.
"Careful's my middle name, sweetheart." He laughed and shut the door behind him. He slipped into the bar, unnoticed. Quickly scanning the room, he noticed Klaus sitting at the bar talking to Gloria. The old witch had aged well, looking ten maybe twenty years older than she had in the 1920's. Not bad. Stefan was sitting in a booth, whispering into a dazed woman's ear. Damon quickly texted Elena and made very brief eye contact with his little brother. Stefan raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised to see him there but he said nothing to alert Klaus. So there was hope. It was too risky for Elena to enter the bar, if Klaus saw her….so Damon whispered 'outside' knowing his brother would hear him. And hoping against all hope that Stefan wouldn't attack Elena and she could drug him in enough time to move forward with the plan. Stefan whispered something to his 'date' and began to slide out of the booth, following Damon out of the bar. Waltzing into the alleyway, Damon was shoved forcefully from behind. Quickly spinning on his heel, he moved out of the way, just as Stefan moved to shove him again.
"What the hell are you doing here? Are you nuts? If Klaus sees you he'll kill you. Jesus, Damon. Take a hint. I'm fine. Let me go." Stefan raged.
"I was going to. But your girlfriend is bound and determined to check you in to Vampire rehab! And she's turned into quite the bully." Relieved, that his brother still seemed to have some sense about him, Damon crossed his arms. Stefan moved into Damon's space, into his face.
"Well, tell her to forget about me." Stefan hissed.
"Tell her yourself." Damon said and nodded in Elena's direction. She stepped out of the shadows and stood not twenty feet away underneath a security light. She looked frail and innocent and absolutely beautiful. Damon shook his head. It's up to you now, sweetheart. And he snuck back into the bar for phase two.
His face was cold, his expression remote. Nothing like the Stefan she loved. Her heart broke a little as if it wasn't already in little pieces. "You need to leave." Stefan told her, no trace of warmth or love in his voice at all. She cringed.
"Come with us." She pleaded. "I can help you, Stefan. Let us help you." She reached up to touch his face, cup his cheek. He snatched her hand, held it in his grip. He didn't hurt her, but it was tight enough to know he meant it.
"Go home, Elena." He started to turn away and Elena reached for him.
"Stefan, wait!" She pulled him into a hug. He didn't return it at all. Elena knew it was now or never and she slipped her hand into her pocket, raised her arm to hug him and was about to stab him in the neck with the dart when he twisted her arm behind her.
"How much clearer can I be?" Stefan hissed in her ear, "I don't want to come home. That part of my life is done. It's never going to be the same!" He yelled. He released her, shoving her away from him. "I've left bodies scattered from Florida to Oregon, Elena. Innocent people!"
"I can help you, Stefan. Lexi did it before, let me help you." Elena pleaded.
"That took thirty years! That's nothing to a vampire, but to you? It's half your life." He shook his head, his resolve hardening. Elena could see him distancing himself further and further and further. A single tear began its trek down her cheek. He paused and for a second she thought she might be able to reach him, just try one more time. And then he summed it all up. "Go home, Elena. I don't want to see you. I don't want to be with you. I just want you to go." And he turned on his heel and walked away. She had failed. He was gone.