A/N - So this is the longest chapter I have written yet. I don't really know that happened, but the scenes just stretched longer then I anticipated, so I hope you enjoy it. :) Review and let me know what you think or if you have any constructive critism. Thanks!
Enjoy this new chapter.
Caroline slid the ring over her finger and tentatively stuck her hand out into the sunlight.
Nothing Happened.
She looked over at her best friend. "You really did it!" She jumped up gave Bonnie a huge bear hug. "That you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me. I don't have to hide away during the day anymore." She held out her hand to admire the ring.
Bonnie smiled. "It was the least I could do." She smiled, like she had just gotten an idea.
"What is it?" Caroline asked, noticing Bonnie's face.
"I think it's time you went back into the world of civilization. Now that you can walk in the sunlight, you can 'move back' to Mystic Falls. You don't have to worry about anyone wondering why they never see you at school anymore. But as for today, I think we should celebrate."
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean, let's get out. Caroline Forbes, you are going to enjoy this first day out in the sunlight since you . . . since you died." Bonnie said. She grabbed Caroline's hand and pulled her up and out the front door, into the sunlight. It was a new day.
They drove down to the Grill and headed in. Matt looked up from the drink he was pouring as the two girls sat down at the bar.
"Caroline? I didn't know you were back." He said, walking over.
Caroline threw a smile at Bonnie. "I didn't know I would be coming back this soon, but I got lucky."
"I was worried about you."
Bonnie stood up. "I'm just, I mean, I need to go now." She winked at Caroline and headed away from the bar.
Matt leaned in toward Caroline. "Look, Caroline, you helped me out this summer and now I'm here for you if you need me. I just want you to know that you're not alone."
She nodded. She desperately wanted to tell him the truth about her death and new status as vampire, but she was afraid of what he would say. How could he possibly be there for a vampire? A killer. His sister's murderer.
The guilt from that act started pulling at her stomach. "By the way, how are you doing Matt? With, Vicki's . . . with Vicki's death?"
Matt stood up, sadness quickly overtaking any other emotion in his eyes. "I'll survive."
Caroline reached out and took his hand, trying to comfort him. How could she have done this to him? And then stand there and try to comfort him as if she wasn't the one to blame?
She tried to focus on something else. Anything would be better then the guilt she was feeling. She stared at his hand as she stroked it. It was larger than hers, and it would be stronger if it weren't for her super strength. There was a vein that was more prominent than the others and she could feel his heart beat as it pumped the blood through his body. It was slow, constant, dependable. Unlike her, his heart would never do anything to harm him. It sounded so good. So delicious.
"Hey, are you okay?" Matt asked.
She realized what she had just been thinking about and felt the veins in her own face grow more prominent. She turned away from him as quickly as she could. "It's nothing. I'm fine."
Her phone rang and she pulled it out, thankful for the distraction. "Hello?"
"Caroline?" Said the voice on the other end. "It's Elena. Are you okay? You never came home last night."
Caroline slapped her forehead. In all the excitement of getting her own daylight ring, she had forgotten to tell Elena about it. Of course she would be worried. As far as she knew, Caroline could have been burnt up by the sun by now. "Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, something happened. You wouldn't believe it-"
Elena cut her off. "Caroline, I'm sorry, but I need your help. We have, a bit of a problem."
Caroline noted her friend's serious tone. "Yeah. Okay. Sure. What's up?"
"A blast from my 's kidnapped my history teacher Mr. Saltzman and he is threatening to kill him."
"Oh wow." She put her hand over the end of the phone and whispered to Matt, "I'm sorry, I have to go." She stood up and made her way toward the door. "What does he want?" she said to Elena.
"It doesn't matter." Elena replied. "I can't give it to him and now I need your help to rescue Mr. Saltzman. How fast can you make it to the Salvator's house without burning up in the sun?"
Caroline couldn't help but smile at the irony. "A lot faster then you would think."
The front door to the Salvatore house flew open. Elena spun around to see who it was. The door swung shut, slowly revealing the blond who had seconds prior been standing bathed in sunlight.
"Caroline? How did you . . ." Elena tried to ask.
Caroline caught on to the question. "Get here so quickly in the sun without burning up?" She smiled. "Turns out I do know a witch after all." She walked over and showed Elena the ring now on her hand.
"Who's the witch?" Damon asked, walking into the room.
Caroline glared at him and Elena could tell she didn't trust him. Elena couldn't blame her. How well did they really know him? "None of your business." Caroline snapped. "Why are you here anyway? Elena said she needed my help, not yours."
"Well, if you didn't notice, this is my house." Damon replied, gesturing to the house around them.
Elena interrupted them. "Actually, I asked you both for help."
"And me." Lexi said, standing up from the couch she had been sitting at. She walked over to the other three and looked at Elena. "What's up?"
Elena hesitated. "Klaus is back."
Lexi stiffened and stared at her longtime friend with terrified eyes. "What?" she said with barely a whisper. "What does he want?"
Elena shook her head. "The same thing he's wanted from me for the last century. Revenge, and what I stole from him back." Lexi nodded, she had heard the story many times. Elena continued, "I just got a phone call from him. He said he has my history teacher Mr. Saltzman. If I don't give him what he wants . . ."
"Then why don't you give it to him?" Damon asked.
"Yeah?" Caroline continued. "Whatever it is, it can't really be worth someone's life, can it?"
Elena shook her head. "I can't. If Klaus wants it so bad, that means he needs it for something, and whatever he is planning, it can't be good. We can't give it back."
Caroline couldn't hold back her curiosity. "What is it?"
Elena glanced over at Lexi before answering. "It's called a moonstone. It's generally used for powerful spells, as a talisman, to bind them. If he wants it, then he probably wants to use it to break a spell."
"Wait," Caroline said. "If this is a vampire matter, why isn't Stefan here? I mean, he knows what you are and everything."
"I don't want him getting hurt." Elena answered. "Any anyway, he asked for a break, so I'm giving it to him."
"Classic Stefan." Damon said. "Of course he needs some time to struggle with the morals of what it means that there are vampires. Me, I'm cool with it." The three girls stared at him. He shrugged. "So anyway, what are we going to do? About the teacher I mean." Damon asked, getting back to the current situation.
"We are going to rescue him." Elena said.
Lexi shook her head. "We can't Elena. Klaus is too powerful. It would be a suicide mission."
"I don't care." Elena said "I am not going to stand by and watch as some innocent gets killed because of me. You guys can help me if you want, I was hoping you would, but I'm going."
Caroline glanced around the group before saying, "Me too. I don't want anyone to die, and I'm not going to let my new best friend get herself killed."
Lexi sighed. "You really are stubborn, you know that Elena?" Elena smiled. "Okay fine," Lexi said, "I'm in."
The three girls turned to Damon. "You three are really going to all go on some suicide mission for a guy who, just a few weeks ago, tried to kill you?" Damon asked, turning to Elena at the end of the sentence. Elena didn't say anything. Damon looked like he wanted to argue but he must have decided against it. "Okay fine. I'll help you, but not for the teacher. I want to make it clear that I don't give a crap about the teacher."
Elena nodded. She didn't really care why he was helping, as long as he on her side. He may not have been a vampire, but she had a feeling he would still be a pretty useful piece in their rescue mission. And if he was willing to risk his life to help, she was happy.
Damon ran through their plan again in his mind. Caroline had left to go reconcile things with her mother, now that she had the daylight ring, and Lexi had headed upstairs to get a shower before the sun went down. As she still didn't have a ring, they had to wait till nightfall to enact their plan, which gave them each a few hours to get ready.
Damon sat down on one of the couches in the living with a drink in his hand, before he noticed Elena, still standing there. "Why aren't you off, preparing or whatever?" He asked.
"Because," she walked over to him, "I need to give you something." She pulled a smooth white stone out of her back pocket and held it out to him.
He took it, looking up at her for an explanation. "Is this what I think it is?" He asked. She nodded. Damon looked down at the stone in hand and then back up to the brunette. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"I need to keep it somewhere safe. My house is too obvious, my person is too dangerous, and if I were to give it to Lexi or Caroline, I'm afraid that if something goes wrong they will end up using it to bargain with Klaus, which would mean he gets it anyway and everything we are trying to do is pointless. I still don't really know you, but I have a feeling you won't let your feelings get in the way. Keep it safe."
Damon nodded, telling her that he understood what she was asking of him. "Okay." She said. She turned and walked away, heading out, probably to the Grill, to get a little down time before the big rescue.
Damon watched her go. He wondered what had possessed her to trust him with the most important piece that they had against this allegedly immortal Klaus. He wondered what had possessed him to agree to help in the first place.
He sat in silence for a few moments, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. The shadows on the floor made their way across the room as he sat, drinking his drink.
The front door opened again. "Hey Stef, where have you been all day?" Damon asked without even turning around.
"I'm not your brother. But I shouldn't be too much of a disappointment." Damon spun around to see the girl who looked very much like Elena Pierce walking down into the living room.
"Katherine? I remember you now. How is that? I mean, I know about you, but I can only remember that I've actually meet you personally when you're here."
She looked almost exactly like Elena, but Damon found the differences blaring anyway. There was the obvious difference of hairstyles, as Elena straightened hers and Katherine always had curls. Then there was the clothing. They both had a fairly good since of style, but while Elena's style was more on the cute and practical side of it, Katherine was never seen without larger earrings, darker makeup, normally a leather jacket and quite often heals. But in this moment, Damon noticed another difference. They way they each walked and held themselves. Elena was self-confident, but more trusting and she held herself on the same level as those around. Katherine on the other hand, was always elevated in some way. She walked as if she owned the house and spoke to others like they were just there to entertain her.
"I compelled you to forget me, unless you were with me." Damon nodded as his memories of his secret meetings with her came rushing back to him. He remembered her showing up in his room the first time and compelling him to be her spy. He remembered her consistent visits every night after that for the past few weeks where she came, flirted with him and learned everything he knew. And he remembered becoming increasingly frustrated that each time he couldn't remember her after she left. "Now," She said. She zipped over to Damon, stopping a with her face only few inches from his. "Did anything interesting happen today that I should know about?"
"Elena, Lexi, Caroline and I are planning a rescue mission for the kidnapped teacher." Damon answered without hesitation.
"Hmmm, very interesting." Katherine said, circling Damon like a bird does it's prey. "And what is your plan, exactly?" Damon explained it to her as she circled back around to face him.
When he was done she nodded and smirked. "Well then, something has to be done about that. That is valuable information." She gazed at him, thinking. "I really do wonder what it would be like to have one of the Salvatore Brothers as my own."
"Then take me." Damon said. He had no one else in his life and Katherine had given him something he desperately wanted. She was paying attention to him, while no one else in his life seemed to notice his loneliness, even if he forgot about it as soon as she left, he remembered her now. "I don't have anyone else."
A moment passed. Then they pulled each other together and they were kissing. Damon wasn't sure who had kissed the other first, but It was strong and passionate. He ran his hands up and down her sides as she held onto the back of his neck.
Damon suddenly pulled back and held her shoulders. "Let me remember." He said desperately, "I don't care about anything, I just need to remember this."
She walked around him. "I can't do that Damon."
"Why not?" He asked. "I won't tell anyone. But I want to remember you. I want to know that I don't have to just sit by and watch as my brother gets the girl, but that I have you."
She shook her head. "You're being silly Damon. I can't let you remember and risk you exposing me."
"I won't, I promise. I just want to be with you." Damon wasn't sure where this was coming from, but he knew that a part really did want to be with her. However, another small part of him just wanted to be something more. Something darker. Something stronger.
Katherine shook her head. "I'm a vampire, remember? I live forever." She turned to walk back out the front door.
"Then turn me." She stopped. The silence seemed to grow as they both started to realize the seriousness of his request. He didn't even know he was going to say it before he did. It had just escaped from his lips, but he found himself not wanting to take it back. He had never admitted it to himself before, but he knew that it was what he really wanted. This was what he had wanted since the moment he learned that vampires existed, but he had never admitted it to himself before now because he didn't like the evil side of it. He didn't want to be just some mechanic anymore.
Katherine slowly turned around to face him, a wicked smile spreading across her face. "Not yet, Damon. I have plans for you. You will make a wonderful vampire one day. But not yet." She spun back towards the door and left, leaving Damon to forget what a significant moment he had just had.
