The line went dead.

"ELENA! Ele—," Damon looked down at his phone and nearly threw it across the room, "DAMN IT!" he shouted instead.

"What was that about?" Matt asked, his own urgency increasing. As he, Ric, Stefan and Damon were developing a plan at Ric's apartment, they had received Elena's call.

"Who has her?" Stefan asked, watching Damon uselessly try to call Elena back. After the second attempt and immediate voicemail greeting, Damon let out a frustrated yell before turning to Matt.

"Why is Mystic Falls a magnet for this shit? Did you know you had a doppelgänger?" At Matt's pure bewilderment, Damon nodded, "You do quarterback, and whoever he is, he has Elena."

"Oh, he's not just a doppelgänger," Kai interrupted, strolling in and taking a seat on the couch, "Ooo, this is comfy, Ric."

As the others did a double take, Ric was immediately ignited, "You son of a bitch!" Leaping across the room, Ric pounced on Kai and instantaneously threw them both onto the floor. Fists flying, Ric managed to land three solid blows to his face before Damon and Stefan interceded and ripped them apart. "Let me go! That son of a bitch killed my family!" Hysterical, Ric's eyes flooded with rage.

Kai dabbed the blood off his lip and laughed, sending a warning to Damon over Stefan's shoulder, "Someone better compel him to calm down before I leave, and you lose the only lead you have on finding Elena."

Turning Ric around to face him, Damon's eyes met with Ric's, "Just for today, forget you hate him. Forget what he did to Jo and the babies." Still, Ric struggled against him.

"I'm on vervain, you idiot! You can't make me forget this! I'm going to kill that bastard right now!" With a sigh, Damon let Ric go, only to usher a blow to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

"It's so much easier when they just let us compel them," rolling his eyes, he caught Ric's limp form, and gently placed him in his nearby La-Z-Boy. Turning his attention to Kai, Damon's voice was low and threatening, "You. Start talking, or I'll tie you down and let Ric do as he pleases."

Returning to his spot on the couch, Kai continued to clean up the blood still trickling from his lip, "Like I said, he's not just a doppelgänger, and if he has Elena, there might not be much you can do for her at this point."

Yanking Kai off the couch by his collar, Damon brought him close and glared, "I'm not the patient one here, nor am I willing to waste any more time while you banter idly on the couch. What do you know." It wasn't a question, it was a menacing command, as Damon managed his biting tone through clenched teeth. Stefan placed a hand on his shoulder, a firm reminder to ease; that they needed him despite his every desire to rip him apart.

"I'd rather show you." Before Damon could stop him, Kai's hands were on his temple, invading his mind and implanting his own memories within his subconscious.

The world around was indistinct, the only image clearly defined was that which stood before him. As Damon's mind raced to catch up, he silently watched the form before him slowly come into focus. Kai stood next to him, his arms crossed as he took a steady breath. Passengers in this memory of Kai, Damon was unable to do anything other than watch. His sole purpose was to observe. A woman, covered in a sheen of sweat, cried out. Blood flooded Damon's senses, his eyes reacting before he could restrain himself. Another woman, quickly helping to ease her thrashing held a compress against her forehead.

"Just breathe, sweetie, that's it."

With a frantic cry from the woman, another cry began as a baby was born. Its wailing filled the room as the women rushed to clean it and bundle it in soft linens. Carrying the baby to the mother, they doted, "she's beautiful."

"Josette," the mother breathed with relief, "My sweet Josette."

Damon eyed Kai, suddenly realizing where they were. Nodding back to the woman, Kai whispered, "Pay attention. This is where it gets good."

With a few more labored pushes, another cry filled the room. Another rush to clean and wrap, and another baby delivered to the mother's arms. "Malachai," she cooed, holding both babies on her chest.

With a grin and theatrical sniffle, Kai wiped away pretend tears, "It's just so heartwarming, isn't it? Where it all began."

The midwives in the room took the babies from the mother's arms and cleared away the stained bedsheets beneath her. "Ok, Colleen," one began, "You're almost done. The third baby is crowning."

Damon snapped towards Kai incredulously. "Third baby?"

"Shh. Don't interrupt."

As the third baby entered the world and joined his siblings, Damon's mind raced. Kai continued to watch the scene proudly, his own reverie holding as they spent a few more moments suspended in time.

Breaking free from the memory, Damon pushed off of Kai as his trance was released. Falling back against Matt, Damon eyed Kai and allowed his thoughts to clasp. Everything had changed. Everything had new meaning; new ominous meaning. Three. Kai wasn't born a twin, he was a triplet.

Kai smiled at Damon, "Any more questions about who has Elena?"


Once again, Elena woke, only this time she was in a familiar place. Her eyes blinked, focusing against the groggy memories of being in a truck with Matt and on the phone with Damon. Hazy from what she recalled, she didn't remember returning to the Salvatore estate, nor climbing back into Damon's bed. Straining against a band of sunlight creeping through the drawn curtains, Elena rubbed her eyes and felt a tumble through her stomach. Attempting to sit up, she immediately fell back against the pillows, 'Why does it feel like I finished a bottle of wine?' With a groan, she turned over and closed her eyes.

"Here," she glanced up, seeing Matt's form before her, handing her a cup of tea, "drink."

Shakily, she accepted the mug. "What happened?"

"I don't know," he sat beside her, watched her take slow sips. "We were on our way back when you fell asleep."

"I feel like I was at a kegger at Whitmore," she groaned. Glancing around Damon's room, she sighed, "Do you know where my phone is? I need to call Damon. I need to make sure he's okay." Again, she sipped.

"You don't remember talking to him? You were on the phone with him almost the entire way back. He's fine – said he would meet you here. You fell asleep, so I brought you upstairs."

"Thank you, Matt," she smiled at him, "I'm so glad I can always count on you." Setting down the tea on the nearby nightstand, Elena rubbed her temples and sighed.

Moving closer, he put his arm around Elena, hugging her in reassurance while softly rubbing her back. "Shh," he soothed, "It's okay." As she returned the hug in gratitude, he lifted her chin towards his and impetuously kissed her lips.

"Matt," she nearly laughed, pulling away, "What are you doing?" Blinking twice, she tried shaking off a sudden wave of lightheadedness.

"Shh," he repeated, "it's okay."

He brought her back to him, this time kissing her forcefully, tugging on her hair and pushing her back against the pillows. The world started to spin as Elena's focus began to wane once again. Reaching out feebly, unable to push him off of her, she knocked the tea from the nightstand and it shattered on the floor. Moving over her, he held her down with his weight, continuing to kiss and stroke her as she struggled. "Stop!" she breathed against his lips, her will and strength beginning to fade. "Matt, stop, please!" she managed. Her words slurred as her eyes began to slide with heavy lids.

"I'm not Matt," he whispered against her ear, his breath hot and impatient. Her heart raced, slamming against her ribcage and thundering in her ears. As he began to unbuckle his belt, Elena felt his hands traveling across her body, undressing her as she grew limp. Numb, and slowly losing herself to whatever drug he put in her tea, her final flickers were that of him and his rough hands. In agony, she lost the final grips of reality and slid into an oblivion of blackness.