A/N: I'm really enjoying writing this story an that's why I am posting a second chapter in less than a week. The response to this story as been heart warming, and is fueling my desire to give you more. Thank you all for the reviews, and as always, if you have a moment let me know what you think. Enjoy :)

Chapter 4: Promise

"Promise me Katherine," Damon screamed as he pushed the female paramedic away from him, and transferred his brutal grip from Elena's hand to her arms. "If I do this for you, if I make this fucking sacrifice for YOU, if I make myself Klaus' target, you will TURN ME BACK! PROMISE, promise me in blood."

"Promise him," Bryan said to her. Elena couldn't hold back the tears as she the pain of his grip on her arms. He was squeezing her so tight, his hold so punishing she was certain her bones were going to snap. And as much pain as she was in, as much pain as he was causing her, she realized that her panic, her tears were all for him. She was so scared that she was losing him, so scared that she wouldn't get to know him, and in that moment she knew she would promise him anything, anything at all.

"I promise Damon," she said pressing her lips to his. "I promise to turn you back."

Elena had lost track of how many hours she had spent sitting in various waiting rooms, in various parts of The Mystic Falls Hospital hoping someone, anyone would tell her what was wrong with Damon Salvatore. After making him that crazy promise, the paramedics loaded him into the ambulance, and told her they would be taking him to closest emergency room. They pressed a cell phone they found on him into her hands, and told her, "No they didn't know what was wrong with him, and no she couldn't ride with him to the hospital."

She had wanted to scream at them as they tore away from the curb with screeching tires, lights flashing and sirens blaring. She had wanted to throw the damn cell phone they had given her after them, but before she could Bonnie, and Caroline had rushed out the sore, bundled her into her coat, rushed her to a car, and then followed the ambulance with their own screeching tires. That had only been a few hours ago, but to Elena it had felt like a whole lifetime had passed. A bright, shining life that was slipping from her grasp, and for reasons she didn't understand it scared her, it scared her to think she would never have that life with Damon Salvatore.

"Elena I presume?"

Elena jerked awake at the light touch to her hands, and a soothing female voice. She opened her eyes to see a petite, dark haired woman in pale green scrubs sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs across from her. She looked around in confusion not quite sure where she was, when the events of the last several hours slammed through her.

"Damon," she said jerking her gaze back to the woman across from her. "Is he alright? Do you know whats wrong with him? Can I see him?"

"Slow down a little," the doctor said as she smiled and continued to soothingly rub Elena's hands. "Is there anyone else here with you? Any other family members?"

"My friends are with me," Elena replied quietly. She regretted lying about the extent of her relationship with Damon, but she knew they wouldn'tdivulge any information to her unless she was a family member. So Damon Salvatore had inherited a fiance a few hours ago, and he'd be better damn well be happy about it.

"They went to grab some coffee, and something to eat," she explained. "I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone else, but I've left messages. What's wrong with him Dr...?"

"I'm sorry," the doctor with a little grin. "Dr. Fell, Meredith Fell."

"Dr. Fell, is Damon," Elena stopped as tears sprang to her eyes and she had to fight back a lump in throat. Damn it all to hell and back! She barely knew this man, and yet her overwhelming response to him made it feel as if she had known him her whole life. She felt as if he belonged to her, that she had every right to be here, and the right to be distraught because he was hurt.

"Is he going to be OK?" Elena finally managed to say as she looked at the young doctor.

The momentary look of sympathy on Meredith Fell's face was all the answer Elena needed. Something was really wrong with Damon Salvatore, and Dr. Fell didn't think he was going to live through it. Once again, Elena's eyes welled up with tears, and she didn't bother trying to hold back the sob that burst from her. She was barely aware of Bonnie and Caroline as they came back into the room, each of them taking one of her hands as they sat on either side of her.

"Mr. Salvatore's condition defies almost everything that I know, or was taught as a doctor," she said, her gaze never leaving Elena's face. "What we've discovered about him and the reason, actually reasons that he is so ill, is unusually. Hell let's be candid, its impossible."

"What is it?" Bonnie asked frightened more for her friend than the man who seemed to have gotten under her skin in less time it took for most people to order a latte.

"It's several things actually," Dr. Fell commented transferring her gaze to Bonnie. "First, Mr. Salvatore doesn't seem to have had any vaccinations of any sort, ever. And while that is not completely unheard of in some parts of the world, it is quite astonishing for some one living in this country."

"He's sick because he doesn't have any vaccinations?" Caroline asked perplexed. "I mean, wouldn't he have gotten sick long before now?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Dr. Fell replied. "But the lack of vaccinations is unusual, not what's wrong with him. That, that's more perplexing that anything else, more so than anything I've ever seen in my life. Mr. Salvatore, Damon seems to be a carrier for almost every communicable disease that has occurred within the last 100 to 150 years, at least the most common ones know to medical science. How long he's been a carrier, I can't say, but it seems that whatever was protecting him from actually getting sick, well to put it bluntly, it's not protecting him any longer."

"I'm sorry," Elena said a look of confusion marring her pretty face. "Are you saying he's dying from a cold."

"Well," Dr. Fell said hesitating. "Yes, that and several other things."

"How is that even possible?" Elena asked her voice rising a little in disbelief. "No one's ever died from a cold. Some men act as if they were going to die from a little cold, but no one ever has, have they?"

"Not directly," Dr. Fell said in agreement. "The rhino-virus, the common cold isn't going to cause his death, but the flu can especially one that killed millions of people between 1918-1919."

"I know the flu can be dangerous, but it's not 1918," Caroline stated.

"And that is why I, and my staff are so perplexed," Dr. Fell said. "He doesn't just have influenza, he has the specific virus that caused a world wide pandemic in 1918. It's commonly referred to as Spanish Flu, and this particular strain has not been seen since killed as many as 100 million people almost a hundred years ago."

"Dr. Fell," Elena interrupted. "You're telling us Damon Salvatore is dying from a strain of flu that he would have had to contract in 1918?"

"Yes," she replied simply.

"Damn," Caroline said.

"He looks fine, damn fine for a man well over 100 years old." Caroline shrugged sheepishly when the other three women turned to look at her in astonishment. "It's just an observation, but you have to admit; he does look good, or at least he did before all this happened."

"But him being alive then, and still alive now looking like a very young man, it's not possible," Elena said her attention shifting back to Dr. Fell.

"I would agree," Dr. Fell said. "And the Spanish Flu he is fighting is only one of a very long list of illnesses that are attacking his body. It's also why this hospital has been quarantined, and why you ladies are going to be staying with us, probably for a very long time."

"What?" Bonnie said as she stood up. "Wait; we can't leave?"

"No," Meredith said a look of resignation settling on her face. "You can't, I can't, any who has treated him here at the hospital, the paramedics who brought him in, and anyone he may have had contact with in the last two weeks needs to be notified to seek medical attention. Immediately."

"The CDC has been notified, and a team will be en-route to assess the situation," Meredith continued.

"Dr. Fell," Elena said as icy tendrils of fear began to seep throughout her. "We're talking about more than just the Spanish Flu here, aren't we?"

"Yes," the young doctor replied her voice heavy with resignation. "When the lab identified the smallpox virus in his system we knew we were out of our league. It's like some one loaded him up with all the really bad shit, and aimed him at a very unsuspecting world. Some of the things running around in his system are more than a little scary."

"He's not the only one in danger of dying, is he?" Bonnie asked in a very small voice.

"No he isn't," Meredith agreed. "I can give you a few minutes alone before we get you all settled. You'll want to make some phone calls, I'm sure. I know I do. Once the CDC gets here, I'm sure they'll cut our access to the outside world in hopes of keeping the situation contained as they try to figure this all out."

"Dr. Fell," Elena said as the doctor rose to leave the room. "Are any of us going to make it out of this alive?"

"Honesty?" Dr. Fell asked her tone hopeful despite the graveness of the situation. "We are going to need a miracle, and we are going to need it real soon."

Elena had moved to a corner chair, away from her friends in an attempt to give them some privacy, to give herself some privacy. She had called her brother, told him she was taking a long weekend to give herself some perspective where Matt was concerned. He had told her he understood, that he'd hold down the fort until she got back. When she told him she loved him he had chuckled, told her she getting a little to maudlin, and he would see her on Monday.

She had called Jenna, shot the breeze with her for a few minutes, caught her up on the day to day details of her life and the store. Elena had ended the call on a happy note, hoping her Aunt would cherish this last phone call between them as a good memory. She repeated almost the same conversation with her Uncle John, promised to call more often, and to have a good time on her mini vacation.

The phone call to Matt was difficult, and not just because he was her ex or that he still had deep feelings for her, but because she realized that she did love him. It just wasn't the kind of love she wanted, or needed to feel for the man who would go through life at her side. She wanted a burning, passionate, soul deep kind of love, and Matt just wasn't the man to give it to her.

Her last call was to Katherine. She had opened the phone that Bryan had given her. Damon's phone. She had stared at list of names for a very long time not knowing what or how to say it. How did you tell some one you never knew, would never know that a person in their life was gravely ill, and not expected to survive? Elena realized it didn't matter how she did it, just that she did. She was beyond grateful that no one actually answered, and that all she had to do was leave a message.

"You don't know who I am," she said. "My name is Elena Gilbert and we seem to have a friend in common, Damon Salvatore. I hate having to tell you that he is sick, very sick and the doctors here in Mystic Falls don't expect him to recover. I'm probably not suppose to tell you what's wrong with him, but I'm going to anyway. One of his doctor's, Dr. Fell told us that Damon had managed to get a strain of a flu virus that hasn't been seen since the pandemic in 1918."

"The staff here has also identified the possibility of small pox, as well as polio and God only knows what else. No one can explain how any of this is possible, just that he needs a miracle to beat this, we all do. I don't know if you'll be able to see, the whole hospital is under a quarantine, but at the very least you know where he is. Once again I am sorry to have had to convey this information to you."

"Is something like what this girl is claiming even possible?" Stefan asked looking at Katherine after having listened to Elena Gilbert's message for the fifth time.

"Damn it Stefan how would I know," Katherine said as she continued pacing like a caged tigress. "How would anyone know, it's not like you get handed an idiot's guide to being a new vampire, especially while running from the biggest, baddest monster out there. And not to mention the fact that no one's ever gone from being a vampire back to being human"

"So what, you're going to let him die?" Stefan queried, the desire to run to his brother's aid overwhelming.

"Damon dying is not an option, end of discussion," Katherine swore passionately.

"Why not Katherine?" He asked. "There are times when I truly believe you don't love him, don't care about him, or even like him for that matter. You could leave him human, he'd be dead within the next 48 hours and you could walk away from him, pretend like he never even existed."

"No," she said emphatically "I am not ready to lose him."

"Well that's at least something," he said running his fingers through his hair. "Let me go down there. I'll go to him, I'll fix this and bring him back with me."

"No Stefan, she replied. "You'd draw Klaus' attention, and the situation is already being handled. I will not let Damon die under any circumstances. Roman and Xavier are on their way, with very clear instructions. They'll make sure everyone is given a small amount of blood to eradicate the diseases, and keep a lid on the hospital until said blood is out of everyone systems, pack up and leave town. All nice and neat."

"You're not going to turn him back?" Stefan asked her. "Despite what you promised him, despite what he sacrificed for you, you're going to leave him human?"

"I promised him Stefan," Katherine said vehemently. "And yes, after what he did, what he sacrificed I owe him the fulfillment of that promise, but not until its been a year."

"What is so damned important about this one year thing?"

"If you knew, you'd probably want to kill me," she answered. "You'd probably try to kill me."

"Don't tempt me," he said as the iron grip he had on his control began to slip a little. "But I promise you that if anything happens my brother, or he dies because of your unwillingness to fulfill your promise to him, I will do everything I can to deliver you to Klaus myself, dead or alive."

A/N: Oh my! Seems Stefan is a little put out over Katherine dragging her feet to turn Damon. I wonder what that chick is up to. Hopefully she tell us soon. Let me know what you think.