I'm finally back with an update! I'm so glad you're all sticking with me and please don't hate for me this chapter…it was necessary. I know that Stefan is probably very OOC, but I plan to explain the reason for his behavior in the following chapters. Next chapter will be up soon!
Chasing memories
Memory of another kind
In the end, Katherine had used all fours legs of the chair to mutilate Stefan's body. Two of the deadly pieces of wood had missed his unbeating heart by mere millimeters. Another one was pierced through his stomach and the last one was sticking out of his right leg. Stefan felt the blood seeping out of him and his body growing weaker by the second. All his attempts to get up ended in even greater pain running through him and he started to frantically search for his phone in his pockets. He was finally able to reach it and dialed his brother's number, his fingers trembling violently. He swore feebly when it took Damon exactly five rings to pick up his phone. As soon as he heard his brother's voice on the other end, Stefan hoarsely spit out:
"I need your help. Katherine was here…stake…"
Fortunately Damon didn't seem to be drunk and immediately caught on:
"We'll be right there."
Stefan was in too much agony to think about the 'we' his brother had just used. He gritted his teeth and tried to suppress the screams waiting to break out of him. He was sure he'd never been gladder to hear the 'wushing' sound announcing his brother's arrival than today. However, when Damon finally came through the door, Stefan was still lucid enough to see that he was not alone. Elena was right behind the older Salvatore brother, her hair sticking off in every direction indicating that Damon had carried her here on his arms. Now she stood stock-still in the doorway, a silent cry on her lips at the sight of the wounded vampire. Even Damon seemed to be affected by Katherine's cruelty as he hurried towards his brother. With one swift move, he pulled the pieces of wood out of Stefan's body, ignoring his shout of pain. Damon scrutinized the wounds for a moment before he declared the obvious:
"You need blood."
Elena immediately picked up the dilemma showing itself on Damon's face and asked:
"Caroline said something about you drinking from blood bags. Can't you-"
Damon shook his head and explained:
"He can't drink so much human blood at once, Elena. Small amounts would be okay, but he needs more than just a few drops to heal. I need to go hunt for him."
Elena didn't understand Damon's reasoning, but gathered that he was planning on leaving her alone with Stefan. Maybe it was the metallic and nauseating smell of blood, but Elena was suddenly scared beyond belief. Stefan didn't look like he would stay alive much longer if they didn't do anything soon. What if something happened while Damon was away? She wouldn't be able to help Stefan, she wouldn't know what to do. The thought that Damon could lose his brother was unbearable. Suddenly Stefan's weak voice became audible:
"Just give me human blood, Damon. I've been drinking it since a couple of days."
Damon's blue eyes widened in disbelief and Elena perceived one emotion after the next flickering across his face. She believed to discern resentment, frustration, disappointment and strangely something close to fear. Finally the pool of blood beneath his brother growing rapidly in size forced Damon to shut of his emotions for a moment and to act.
He left the room in a blur and was just as quickly back, this time holding two bags filled with the red lifeblood. He hesitated a pregnant moment before holding the straw to his brother's mouth, who gulped the blood down avidly.
The gaping wounds in Stefan's body closed itself slowly and some color returned to his face as a result of the human blood circulating through his veins. For Elena it was the first time she witnessed a vampire feeding and she was slightly repelled by the sight. She didn't know whether her own exhaustion was playing a trick on her, but for a moment she believed to see veins popping out around the vampire's eyes and fangs growing in his mouth. After emptying the two bags, Stefan was far from satisfied and rattled:
"I need more."
Damon vehemently shook his head:
"Oh no, little brother. Remember last time?"
The older Salvatore kneeled down beside his brother, pushed his arms under his body and lifted him up, groaning from the effort. He carried him towards the bed and let him sink into the fluffy sheets. Damon started getting the bloody and ripped shirt off of his brother and so Elena quickly went towards one of the dressers searching for a new one. While searching through Stefan's stuff, she discovered women clothes and deduced that they belonged to herself. A pang of guilt invaded her and she hurried to find a clean shirt as quickly as possible. She finally picked a grey one and approached the injured slowly, wondering whether she was expected to put the shirt on Stefan. She couldn't help but feel relieved when Damon grabbed the shirt out of her hand and did the dressing. He said to Stefan, his tone slightly dangerous:
"Stay here and rest. I'll get you some of your own diet."
Without leaving Stefan time to respond, Damon got off the bed and mentioned to Elena to leave the room. She followed his request like she was in a trance, her head still spinning from the masses of blood and the sight of the wounds. They descended the creaky stairs in silence and entered the parlor. Elena sat down on the couch, her legs shaking from fatigue and shock. She stammered:
"Is he going to be okay?"
Damon wanted to comfort her, but he knew he had to concentrate on more pressing matters for now. Stefan needed more blood or his body would soon weaken once again, bringing him closer and closer to death. The two blood bags had indeed been far from enough to help him recover from the damage Katherine had caused. He needed to get the animal blood as quickly as possible. Damon turned towards Elena:
"Elena, listen to me. Stefan is going to be fine, but I need to get blood for him right now. Just stay here, I'll be back before you know it."
Suddenly remembering the other threat in the room, he added:
"Katherine won't be back tonight. She's probably taking out her anger on some poor…"
He left his sentence unfinished and started to rummage through a drawer of an old cabinet. After sending a couple of items flying through the room, he finally found what he was looking for. It was a fine silver ring adorned with a small blue diamond. He turned towards Elena and ordered:
"Give me your hand."
He gifted her questioning glance with a cheesy smile and elaborately dropped down on his knees. A gleam of irony in his eyes, he purred:
"Miss Gilbert, will you wear this vervain-filled ring?"
Elena cocked her head as if she had to think about it, all the while smiling widely. Despite the horrible situation they had both just witnessed, Damon was still trying to cheer her up. And it was working. She nodded in response and Damon slipped the ring onto her finger. The next moment he was gone.
While speeding towards the dark forest, Stefan's big revelation about his changed diet crept back into Damon's mind. Since when had he started to drink human blood once again? And more importantly, why? There was one thing Damon knew for sure: his brother had become more unpredictable and unstable then ever.
Meanwhile, Elena had gotten comfortable on the sofa and closed her eyes. She felt drained and lost, now that Damon had suddenly left her side. The day had been filled with unexpected turn of events and she wondered how much more her mind could take. First there had been Caroline's visit, than Katherine's, than Damon's and now here she was in the same house with a badly wounded vampire. She sighed in defeat and grabbed a blanket lying on the backrest and huddled under it. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she shouldn't fall asleep, especially since Jenna didn't know anything about her whereabouts. In the end, sleep overtook her nonetheless.
At some point during the night, she believed to feel a hand brushing over her cheek, but she was too drowsy to open her eyes. She only awoke when bright rays of sunlight illuminated her face in the morning.
Elena blinked a couple of times and it took her moment before she realized where she was. She was still at the Boarding House, lying on the couch in the middle of the parlor. Somebody had put a soft pillow under her head and laid another blanket on top of her to keep her warm. She smiled at the thought of Damon taking care of her to this extent and slowly sat up. She shortly wondered whether the two brothers were still sleeping, when she saw a letter on the small desk beside her. She grabbed it and skimmed over the neat handwriting:
Good morning beautiful!
Now before you get all worked up about how Jenna doesn't know where you are – I called Jeremy and explained the situation to him. He's going to tell that scary aunt of yours that you slept over at Caroline's.
I'm just out getting some real food, since I don't suppose you'd be happy to get a blood bag for breakfast.
Damon
P.S. Don't go upstairs. Stefan is still in no condition to be near a human.
P.P.S. Did anyone ever tell you that you snore awfully during your sleep? I spent half the night searching for earplugs…
Elena read the letter a couple of times, the smile on her face growing wider every time. She folded the paper and put into the pocket of her jeans when she heard a faint voice floating through the room:
"Elena…are you there?"
She recognized Stefan's voice and jumped up, wondering whether he had somehow managed to get into the living room. She didn't see him anywhere though and tiptoed towards the stairs. Stefan was standing at the top, looking like he would collapse any minute. Elena raced up the stairs as fast as her legs allowed it and yelled:
"Stefan, you should be in bed! What are you doing?"
"I need to talk to you."
He breathed heavily and his face was distorted from the pain. Elena hooked her arm under his and so the pair hobbled back to the bedroom, which was fortunately close to the stairs. It still took them half an eternity to reach the bed and more than once, Elena felt like she would crumble under the weight. Finally Stefan slumped back into the bed and Elena sat down near him, her entire body aching. She whispered:
"What do you need to talk about so urgently?"
Stefan turned his head towards her and hoarsely answered:
"You can't trust him, Elena. I know that you want to, because you remember him. But he forced you to drink his blood while you –"
Elena interrupted him without thinking about it any further:
"Stefan, I know about the blood. And it's okay, Damon did it to help me."
Stefan seemed to be taken aback by this, but continued even more urgently now:
"Can't you see that he's using the fact that you don't remember our love? My entire life, he's always wanted what I have. He's sole purpose is to make my life miserable. Getting you is his ultimate goal."
Elena starred at him now, her eyes for once unreadable. She thought back to Damon's confession and how selfless his words had been. He was in love with her, but he had accepted that she was with his brother and didn't want to ruin their happiness. How could Stefan be so ignorant about Damon? Even though Stefan didn't know anything about her memory, he of all people should know about the good in his brother. She wondered whether the pain was causing Stefan to imagine things and decided to forgive him for his misjudgment. Maybe he was hurt that she had pushed him away and still let Damon back into her life. She touched his arm in a calming gesture, trying to convince him and herself that he didn't have any reason to be jealous:
"He's not using anything, Stefan. He's only trying to help me through this difficult time, as a friend."
Deep down, she knew that she was lying to Stefan about the relationship between her and Damon. It was more than friendship and Damon wasn't the only one to be blamed for that.
The injured vampire on the bed was very much aware of the fact that he wasn't getting through to Elena. He also knew he didn't have much time left to make her change her mind before Damon's return. Gathering all the strength he had left in himself, Stefan rasped:
"He was the one who killed your birthmother Isobel."
Stefan had been unsure whether his plan would work, but when Elena's eyes closed in remembrance, he couldn't help but feel slightly triumphant. Indeed, the name had triggered a memory and this time it was a memory of a different kind.
Elena was back at the Grill. It was once again jam-packed with people, but something was clearly different from her visit last night. Elena quickly found what irritated her: she was boiling over with unpleasant emotions. There was a big lump in her throat while anger and disappointment were clouding her mind. Suddenly she felt herself bumping forcefully against someone. A familiar voice sneered:
"Wow, easy there. Buy a ticket like everyone else."
Elena looked up to Damon, her face instantly contorting into an expression of disgust. She spit out:
"Did you enjoy that? Rubbing it into Alaric Saltzman?"
Damon's smirk was replaced by furrowed brows because of her hostility and he asked, completely confused:
"What?"
"Just as I was trying to think that there was something redeemable about you!"
At that moment Stefan's voice cut through the room, apparently trying to stop Elena from whatever she was planning on doing:
"Elena –"
Damon was still in the dark about what was going on and repeated:
"Am I missing something here?"
Elena felt the rage overtaking her and snapped:
"Did I forget to mention – earlier when we were talking about my birthmother, the one that gave me up – her name was Isobel."
Any trace of arrogance was now wiped off his face and she saw recognition flashing up in Damon's eyes. Deeply hurt and close to tears, Elena continued:
"Go ahead. Reminisce about how you killed her."
As much as Elena strained herself, the memory stopped there. The last thing she believed to remember was regret in Damon's eyes, but she couldn't even be sure about that anymore. She kept her eyes closed, but a single tear still found its way down her cheek. She felt a hand brushing it away and immediately jerked up from the bed. Stefan had a knowing look on his face and something indefinable glowing in his eyes.
Elena felt the air in the room choking her with its heaviness and fled as fast as she could, the door thundering close behind her. She stumbled down the stairs, her eyes blinded by tears.
