"Seriously Stefan," Damon threw his hands up in the air, "That…. I fucking don't even know what that is, you can't trust it Stefan. It should be locked up, shackled, not laying in your bed."
Stefan was listening to his brother with indifference, not caring what Damon thought. He honestly didn't care what he thought. Damon was the least of his worries; she was staying.
"She is staying here Damon." Stefan just stared at the fire in front of him, doing his best to focus through his brother rampage. "We can figure it all out when she wakes up."
"If she wakes up!" Damon flopped down on the couch, "What about Elena?"
"What about her Damon?" Stefan wasn't interested in having a conversation with Damon about Elena.
How was she even relevant to Chloe? Even though the thought was true, it still made him feel guilty. So much had changed inside Stefan, not just the inside, the outside as well. Stefan was the most confused with how different he felt. Not just emotionally, but the strength, and the power that he felt now. He wasn't really indifferent to Elena, he had just come to terms with the fact that they just weren't meant to be together. Not as he once hoped they would. He would still protect Elena, felt compelled to actually. Stefan just put the love he had for where it should be, to the side. The feeling of calm void of the blood lust wasn't even a whisper anymore. He needed, Chloe, needed her to wake up, needed her to explain it all. Lost in his own thought's he forgot Damon was talking.
"Well, brother….." Damon dragged out brother, as if to remind Stefan, he was stuck with him and to pay attention. "Killing her comes to mind, or at least tried to? I haven't figured that one out yet…. Moving on… What about, you, her… big pain? Remember that?"
"I don't know Damon. What do you want to hear?" Turning to his brother, Stefan waited for his answer.
"Fine! Have it your way, we will wait for the demon bitch from hell, that might, may I remind you, could possibly kill us all…. to wake up." Damon stated this as if he was now on Stefan's side. He knew better.
Stefan just smiled, Damon always working his own plan, ones that usually were foolish and rash. He would just let him plot all he wanted. Stefan had the one thing Damon always lacked, patients. Something in Stefan told him that Chloe, would not allow it.
"Damon, you will reframe from doing anything stupid." Elijah's voice almost filled the room; A room Stefan or Damon not even knowing he was in.
"What…. You don't knock?" You could hear Damon's annoyance in his greeting to Elijah.
Elijah ignoring Damon, addressed Stefan, "Has she awakened yet?"
"No." Stefan giving just a one word answer.
Stefan saw the genuine concern in Elijah's his eyes; a concern that Stefan felt himself. It had been over a week, she hadn't even moved, not even a twitch, sense Stefan laid her on his bed. Stefan wasn't about to tell either of them; he felt her, talked to her everytime he laid next to her, enfolding her in his embrace, he would hear her in his mind telling him, soon. Today, he felt her without being in contact with her. What concerned him; things were never going to be the same. There would be not fighting for Elena's affection with Damon, which surprisingly, he found comfort in that. He just wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. He wasn't sure Elena was even for Damon, which in a way sadden him, Damon deserved love, deserved her. She brought the best in him, for the most part anyway. Never feeling such balance, and well acceptance, Stefan felt he had to keep his guard up. Not with Chloe, he knew that. What he didn't know is with who?
"Stefan, are you listening to me?" Elijah interrupted his thoughts
"Sorry, no. What were you saying?" Apparently from the look that Stefan was seeing on Elijah's face, he hadn't been paying attention for a while, missing something Elijah thought was important.
"The Hunters? Remember them brother?" Damon said, "You know, growing tattoos, likes to kill vampires?"
"Have we learned more about them aside from what we already know?" Stefan's question was greeted with an exasperated sigh from Damon.
"Witch creates them, they die, another takes their place." Damon stared at Stefan with his brows raised, "Oh and they are a sheer pain in our asses, so no we don't know more."
Stefan turning to Elijah, "Elijah, you haven't had experience with them?"
Elijah just remained silent for a moment, "That why I came by. Yes, I was almost killed by one. Twice."
This got Stefan's attention, Damon's as well. "Almost?" Damon asked.
"Chloe saved me the first time, and the second she had taught me how to fight them myself so I killed the second one easily." Elijah said it so matter of fact as if shrugging the topic off all together.
Stefan knew then Elijah did not come to talk about the hunters; he was here to check on Chloe. Just as a Stefan was going to ask him what his really intentions were, Stefan felt, well actually heard, 'He means well Stefan, be kind'.
"What did you say?" Stefan, turning to his brother with his question, suddenly realizing it was Chloe's voice he heard, heard only in his mind.
"I didn't say jack! What the hell is wrong with you?" Damon not sounding the least bit concerned continued on, "Ever sense it, you go to la la land, so what now you hear voices?" Leaping from the couch, Damon got in Stefan's face, "That thing up in your bed, you know that thing that almost killed us all the other night, what she did to you, she unscrewed something up there in your head brother."
Elijah immediately pulled Damon away from Stefan, holding him by the throat, facing him nose to nose with Damon,
"Maybe you should mind your manners and not talk of things you know nothing about." Stefan had seem Elijah serious, but never protective. He wasn't sure he liked, not when came to Chloe.
"She is the last of the Guardians. It will serve you to remember that." Elijah finished and dropped Damon to the ground.
"Touchy, touchy…" Damon, walking over to poor himself another whiskey, like nothing just happened. "So why don't we start there, sense you apparently know all there is to know. What, the hell is a Guardian?"
"I can only tell you what Chloe, allowed me to know." Elijah, paused like he was trying to decide, how he would tell them something so private to him. "When we met, she told me that she felt that she was the last of her kind. She was sad, sad in her own way; that she could no longer feel the others."
"When exactly did you meet her?" With even tone, although sounding slightly jealous, Stefan asked.
"I met her 800 years ago, the first and last time I ever wanted to die, when I was willing to allow a Hunter to kill me. She stopped it, then disappeared and I didn't see her for another hundreds year, until Klaus started taking each of us captive." Elijah always had a hard time talking about his family.
"Why? Why would she save, you? She didn't seem to want to save any of us, including you I might add, last night." Stefan wanting to ask, but allowed Damon to question Elijah.
"She knew the secret of our bloodline, I die my, bloodline dies with me. When she came back it was to save all of us." Looking at Stefan as if knowing the little jealousy he felt, "She did not come back for me. This is when she told me what she knew to be her purpose."
"Which is, what to kill us all, 700 years later?" Stefan could tell, Damon was getting bored with how long Elijah was taking to just spit it out. Stefan however, was willing to indulge him.
"No, she explained, that she was justice for vampires." Elijah knew, Doman would have some comment so he paused.
"Like what, some kind of fucking vampire police?" The laughter in Demons voice made Stefan smile slightly.
"There is more, more that I don't know, she is more than that. She only told me so much, the one thing I was sure of, she was far powerful than she would ever show me." Turning to Stefan, "A short time before she met you, she told me, she would never die, she was the life that I saw all around me, even the life of every vampire."
"Elijah, that doesn't make sense. Are you saying she is the first vampire? Is that what you think she was saying?" Stefan was confused; he saw the bloodline of Finn die after he had killed Finn.
"I am not sure what I am saying. She would share a little of herself the more we got to know each other. The more she started to trust me. Even after spending 200 years with her, I still don't know everything about her, about her power. She would never let me in that far. Then she met you, everything changed for her. She would tell me that you were meant for her, that is was time, after over a millennium; she would be able to rest. During that time was when Klaus found out about her. Through his fear of her she did rest, just not in the way she was meant to." Elijah turning to the chair that was closest to the fire, sat down.
"WOOOO, wait a minute, are you saying that she met Stefan before?" Damon turns to Stefan, "You knew this?"
"Yes, you have to; you were the one that killed her. You and father asking me watch as you butchered her." Stefan's anger from the long ago memory could be heard in his voice. Even knowing Damon didn't have a choice; it was hard for him to not feel it.
"What in the hell are you talking about?" Damon of course would not remember and now Stefan wished he had never brought it up.
"You were compelled by Klaus to kill her when you were still human. She would do you no harm, she was not going to use her powers to stop you. She feared punishment and that Stefan showed love for you." Elijah stepped in to say.
"That mother…..Brother, you best start talking." Damon had no love for Klaus and having on more reason to kill him was the only reason he really wanted to know.
Reluctantly Stefan told him the story as he knew it, leaving out things that he felt were too private for the telling. How he had met her before they had met Katherine, how they had planned to get married, how she planned to live a human live with him. Most importantly the night that he introduced her to Damon and his father, they killed her and she made him forget. Stefan also wanted to comfort his brother a little so he told him that he didn't remember any of this until she touched him the other day.
"So you are telling me that you didn't remember either, well until that night, yet you still choose to keep it from me? Why?" Damon showed in his tone that he cared that he did this to Stefan.
"I was trying to figure it out for myself Damon, I still am." Stefan really couldn't say more than that to defend why he didn't tell, why he still was keeping things from him.
Turning to Elijah, Damon only had one question, "Why does Klaus really want her dead?"
"She offered him a choice, to either become a vampire or werewolf, to not have to feel an outcast within the family. She offered him the cure." Elijah said this without feeling, without looking at either of them.
"A cure? What does that mean? She is the cure to being a Vampire and a hybrid or both?" Stefan couldn't help to being a little shocked.
"I could not tell you this, it was not a conversation he had with me. It was between the two of them and the two of them alone." Elijah sounded lethargic with his answer, or was Stefan just now really paying attention to Elijah.
'He is a good man Stefan. You can trust him.' Chloe, getting his attention, 'Come up stairs now?'
Stefan wasn't sure how to just leave the room without Elijah following him. So he didn't bother and just simply excused himself.
"Excuse me." Stefan didn't wait for either of them to answer before he left the room.
I knew where I was, surrounded by Stefan's scent, bringing me comfort. I was in no hurry to open my eyes. I liked that I could just be still. I wasn't tired, or suppressed by the emotions that I had felt before. I was tune with everything around me, I was myself. The only thing different was that now after all those years of darkness, I was granted the one thing that I longed for, Stefan. I could feel his soul intertwined with mine, two parts making a whole, him feeling my every emotion and hearing my every thought, as I did him. I was content, I was whole. Feeling his body settle in next to mine I turned to face him, wanting to now open my eyes.
'Hi.' Even though it was a simple greeting, it was not a greeting I choose to speak out load.
'Hi, how do you feel?' Stefan, still was concerned not trusting his own feelings inside him, fearful that it wasn't quite right; talking to each other without words.
With a smile of comfort on my face, I reached out to touch his face, pulling back a little when I felt his fear that it would bring pain, he reached gently for it and placed it on his cheek under the warmth of his own.
'I have missed the feel of you, Stefan.' Closing my eyes, taking in the feel of his skin, the feeling of him.
He just gave me a sly smile, "I wish, I could say the same." Saying it out load.
'Shhh, I need this moment to be just ours.' I knew he would give me this. 'We most talk you and I privately.'
He just looked at me with understanding, 'I hear your questions Stefan and I would like to answer them. You must understand the importance of not sharing what you know with others. Most importantly they are not to know how closely we are connected, it could mean our death.' I went silent waiting for him to move the conversation forward.
'What happened the other night?' Such an easy question to ask, but it was not so easily answered.
'In order for me to answer this, you need to understand a little more about me. I was created by the gods, so very long ago I can scarcely remember a time, I did not exist. There were others like me, others that have gone to the darkness to never return. Some wishing to no longer be of service to the gods; asking to be mortal, to live, to die as a human. Others like me, who found their gift from the gods, killed through the deaths of their gift. I do not know if there are others like me, we are meant to live in secret separate from those that would be of danger to us. I was given the powers of the gods, to reward the worthy and to punish the wicked. Be they vampire, werewolf, and even human.' Taking a breath, knowing Stefan needed a moment to process it all.
'I am, however, not above punishment. What I did the other night was worthy of punishment, I abused my power to fulfill the desire of revenge. I cannot act with anger or personal desire against another without feeling it tenfold. I must only act in compassion when I kill or punish. It's their insurance, to keeps us in check so to speak. What was unexpected, you, when we linked our fingers, I was forgiven….' I felt tears coming to my eyes, 'I was granted forgiveness, reward by being released from the pain of punishment; to be able to have our souls finally to be connected.' I could only smile at him at my joy of being his.
'I am still getting flashes of our past; you were willing to give up everything, to be human, with me?' Stefan, still doubting he was worthy of such love.
'Yes, what you should understand, I would have died as a human, only wake up as I am now. I would have been without you Few Guardians did this; it was too painful to lose such love. I was so tired and disappointed in every living thing around me. That was when I found you at the waterfall, my waterfall. Things changed for me then.' Stefan pulled my closer to him, as if he needed to mold his skin against mine.
'Our connection… Is this way I feel different? Not wanting having the blood lust? Feeling content?' I heard the fear in his question, I knew he did not want this to go away.
'Yes, you will notice more changes as I get stronger. You will not hunger, you will feel balanced and at peace. This is the way it is for a Guardian. Even at our worst we are unable to feel anything else.' Trying to explain how I felt inside, it was not hard with Stefan, he felt it as strong as I did.
'What was wrong with you the other day?' Stefan knowing the answers deep inside him, I knew he just needed confirmation.
'I was not whole. I could feel you; you lust for blood, revenge, your anger. These things are foreign to a Guardian, emotions that I knew not how to control. It took be connected to you for me to feel right, for you to feel right.'
'Chloe, it's almost unbelievable. If I didn't feel this, I would deny your claim.' Stefan just held on to me tighter.
'The Ripper inside you, the part of yourself you could not control..' I felt Stefan instantly so tense as he held me. 'It was because you were not whole. Every time you whined yourself off human blood, you were looking for the one things one I could give you. You looked for this within your own self-punishment, in your sadness, in Elena.' I was not threatened by Elena and what Stefan felt for her, because I knew it for what it was. Stefan was the only one who really didn't. It was a conversation that we needed to have sooner than later.
'Stefan,' Pulling out of his arms a little so I could look at him, 'The love you felt for Elena is and was genuine, what I see inside you, something that you will not readily admit yourself is that, Elena represented what you longed to have within yourself. It's okay to love her, want to protect her. This was what you were meant to do Stefan. You were meant to be a Guardian's companion, a Guardian's love.'
'What if I were still human, would this still be the case?' While I wasn't expecting this question , I wasn't surprised by it.
'Yes, if I had remained as I am, not choosing to live as a human, with you, it would be the same. You just would not be as powerful; you could not have taken my full power, not like you can now.' While I said it I was not all to certain that he wasn't meant to become a vampire, to be able to accept my power as it was.
'I was just thinking the same thing,' Stefan smiled a comfortable smile. He was catching on, hearing my thoughts as if they were his own. 'Could that even be possible?'
'I have learned in my long life, that anything is possible. I am in a new world, one that you and I are going to have to learn together. You teaching me, as much as I will be teaching you.' Then we just laid there holding each other, enjoying a more silent communication, the peace of just being.
OF Course it didn't last long, Damon and Elijah were arguing downstairs about whether Elijah should come up to check on me. It was disturbing my calm, our calm. From what I could tell, Damon was in need of a long over due lesson in manners.
'We could just ignore them both.' Stefan said this in a wishfully joyous voice, which turned quickly to concern. 'Are you well enough?'
"Yes, I can handle them in my sleep. There is no need to worry about me." With a teasing tone I spoke out load, knowing full well, both Damon and Elijah would hear me.
"First things first my love, I need something to wear. I wouldn't want those boys testosterone to rise any higher than it already is." I could keep the giggle out of my voice as I fell both Elijah and Damon perk with interest.
With Stefan's help I climbed out of bed, I was more physically weak then I thought at first. I might have to pay a visit to my waterfall.
'I will take you later if that is what you need' Stefan only speaking to me, to not let the others know I was not strong.
'Tomorrow will be soon enough. Let's just deal with them downstairs before one of them charges up here.' Leaning closer to Stefan as I spoke, needing to feel his lips against mine.
Almost getting lost in our kiss, Stefan pulled us apart. 'There will be time for that, when you are feeling better.'
'Yes, there will be.' I said this as if I was promising, while Stefan dug around in his dresser of a shirt for me.
"This will do for now. Not what I am sure you are used to wearing." Stefan was almost embraced as he helped me put the tee shirt on he picked.
"I have worn worse, I assure you." Giving a smile that told him I was not the least bit concerned about what I was wearing. "Do you have pants that would work for me?"
He blushed a little, "I like how you look in my shirt, just in my shirt."
"Yea well, you will learn, the way others react to me, it is best that I cover up."
"I am not sure it would make much of a difference." Giving me a quack kiss, he handed me a pair of pants, pants that I didn't think could make the best looking of men handsome.
"Looking at him with a questioning brow, he laughed, "They are sweat pants, people wear them for comfort, to exercise in."
"Well, they are rather deplorable things, whatever they were made for." Reaching for his hand. "Shall we?" Then just to him, 'I may have to lean on you a little.'
'I can carry you most of the way, just until you would come into their view?' Such a gentleman, knowing I did not, could not show weakness. I should have stayed sleeping for a while longer.I just nodded my head in agreement.
Once I could see Damon and Elijah I couldn't help but smile. They looked like to bulls standing at attention waiting for one or the other to charge first.
"Men, you are such silly creatures. There is no need for discord." I said this while looking straight into Elijah's eyes.
I had missed my friend; knowing how horrible I was when he saw me last, sickened me. Stefan could feel my need to embrace my friend, to say how sorry I was. At the same time, Stefan was a little surprised with his reaction, he accepted Elijah, for all the same reasons I did. Stefan the moment I saw Elijah, that he was friend, only a friend. That the love I felt for him, was only the love of friendship.
"Come, I will not break Elijah." Smiling at him, as he came closer to me.
He hesitated for good reason, "You are well?" Elijah's question was understandable, his slight fear I understood as well.
"I am well, there is no need to fear me." I was only trying to reassure him, to only be interrupted by Damon.
"You have to be joking, not fear you, the she bitch from hell?" Damon was defiantly not sure about me at all.
"I am not from hell, Damon." My response was serious, how could he think I was from hell?
"Your serious?" Damon started laughing at me, I didn't much like it.
"Yes, explain yourself." Pushing past Elijah, managing to hold my own, I walked toward Damon.
He could only stare at me, but only lasting a moment. "You are serious." He sounded shocked.
Once I was standing directly in front of him, I could almost feel his disgust. "After what I saw you do the other night you are going to sit here and tell me otherwise?"
I was then only sure of one thing, Damon may not know what I was, he was more upset over my treatment of Elena. Interesting, Damon who I thought would not be capable of it, loved this Elena.
"You are upset over how I treated the women you love. This I can understand." There was compassion in my voice. "I am sorry, I was not myself." Simply put, asking him for forgiveness.
Damon catching me off guard had me by the neck, "I should just kill you now!"
Laughing out loud, "So I take you will not accept my apology? So be it." Still allowing him to hold me by the neck I continued. "There is something you should know about me."
Within a blink of the eye I had him pinned to the floor under my foot, "I may be weak, but I can still knock you on your ass. Maybe beat some manners into you."
Damon didn't even try to fight me, knowing I was not finished. "When a lady apologizes, you should accept it, as a gentleman should."
'Chloe, please.' I could hear Stefan in my head. This made me smile.
"Damon, if I let you up will you behave?" Looking down at him waiting for my answer, he nodded his head.
Letting Damon up I began walking toward the couch, before I could get there stefan had a hold of me and gentle setting me down. He looked at me questioning.
"I am fine, Stefan really. Elijah Please come and sit with me." I knew he would do as I requested and was seated next to me warming my heart.
"Hello, my friend." Grabbing his hand I rested in my lap as I laid my head on his shoulder. As I squeazed his hand I let him know the truth about me, how I was feeling. He was instantly relax, putting his arm around me.
"Are you putting some kind of spell on these idiots? Is that why they are just ignoring what happened, like it was nothing." Damon just wanted to push.
I was getting sleepy again, I really didn't want to deal with Damon acting up, but I knew he needed to get it out of his system. Standing up slowly, refusing both Stefan's and Elijah's help, I went to Damon.
"Alright, if we must do this now we will. Go ahead." He knew I was telling me to go ahead a hit me.
"You're joking right?" Stefan was between, "Chloe?"
"I will be gentle Stefan. I promise. He needs this." Then speaking to only him, 'He will get my point, but I will not tolerate this behavior, do you feel anger in me?'
'No, just calm.' Stefan could argue you with what he was feeling.
'Then trust me.' Pushing Stefan aside I stood a little taller facing Damon.
"Alright, do what you need to do." I maintained an unthreatening tone.
Damon just stood there for a long time, just looking at me. Then I felt his fist slam into my cheek. It was hard enough to knock any vampire across the room, me it only made me turn my head.
"So you want to fight it out then?" I didn't wait for his answer "Then fight we shall."
The minute the words were out of my mouth Damon was flying across the room. He was right back standing in front of me, pausing for only a second; he had his hand around my neck again. I would allow him to lift me off the ground and through his strain I felt him giving up. I wasn't going to let him.
"Want that is all you have, for all your hatred for me, that is all you have?' I was trying to push him to the point where his anger blinded him, overcame him. It was working; his face if I didn't know any better was turning red. It was then that I knew I would let him.
Turning to look at both Stefan and Elijah, "You will not do anything! Do you understand?" Elijah knew I was not requesting, I was commanding.
Making eye contact with Stefan, I smiled saying something I only wanted him to hear. 'I love you, trust me.'
When I turned back to Damon, letting him know that if was a fight he wanted a fight we would get. And I hit him just hard enough to draw blood.