Tell Tale Tit.

Elijah looked from Damon to Elena and back again, his expression one of mild interest and curiosity.

The strained looks and the darting eyes were enough to have him laughing, but only internally. After all, it wouldn't do to give the game away just yet. Pasting on his most polite expression, he quirked a brow inquiringly.

Unsettled by the question that Elijah had just thrown their way, it took Damon a moment or two catch up. But before he could say anything, he was pre-empted by Elena.

"Are you saying that Katherine asked you to perform compulsion on her? That she actually wanted to forget whatever it is, that you erased?" She frowned. "And what did you mean, when you said you thought we'd be pleased?" She shot Damon a suspicious look. "Exactly what was it that she got you to compel away, Elijah?"

Damon rolled his eyes skyward, before attempting to head off what he knew, would end up being a complete clusterfuck.

"Never mind about us, I want to know why she asked you to do it at all and what she actually said?" He interjected hastily. "And for that matter, why the fuck would you agree to do such a shitty thing?" He added angrily, before remembering that Elena didn't know the details of the compulsion and that he had wanted to keep it that way.

Well Fuck! There was no way he was getting out of this room without her curiosity being satisfied, he knew Elena well enough to know that, without even having to think about it.

Elena looked from one vampire to the other. Just what the hell had Katherine asked to forget, that had Damon so panicked?

Seconds later a metaphorical light bulb lit up in her brain.

Stefan. Katherine had asked to forget Stefan. And if it was true? Then that meant that Elena still had a chance, she could fight for Damon. He could be the one she chose, the one that wanted him; without having to have her mind wiped. All she had to do was cross her fingers and pray that she was right, that Stefan was the subject of Katherine's compulsion.

It probably made her a selfish and horrible person, to hope that Damon would not want to be with someone, who'd had to compel her love of his brother away. To hope that Katherine's former actions, had driven a wedge between the newly reunited lovers. But to be honest, she didn't give a crap what sort of person that made her; as long as she got another chance with Damon. Now she just had to hope she was right and then get him to hang around long enough, to comfort him in a way that would make it very clear which Salvatore she preferred.

Elena Gilbert, put on her gameface and crossed those fingers that she was right. Because if she was, Damon was about to get everything he'd ever wanted, and she couldn't wait to be the one to give it to him.

Elijah shook his head apologetically, as he met Elena's eyes.

"Oh dear, I'd assumed that Damon would have told you already, if only to put your mind to rest, over the Stefan situation. Forgive me Elena, I apologize if my earlier explanation was a bit vague."

Damon glared at Elijah, his teeth clenching impotently at the knowing look on the older vampire's face.

The asshole was enjoying this. He knew full well, that Damon would not have wanted Elena to know what he'd done to Katherine, even if it had been at her request. Which was one revelation he was going to take with a very large grain of salt.

"You see, Katarina came to see me earlier this week because she had reached a rather momentous decision. Apparently, she had been in town for some number of weeks. She readily admitted to observing the whole situation with your new status and of course, Stefan's and Damon's reactions to your turning. I'm sorry to report that she was quite displeased with the dynamics between the three of you and very upset, that Damon, to paraphrase her words; was being treated like crap, by just about everybody." Elijah cleared his throat before continuing.

"She felt that it was unfair, that Damon was being treated the way he was when he had, to her mind, done nothing to warrant such treatment. She seemed quite disgusted with Stefan's treatment of his brother and she was extremely angry with you, Elena. Apparently, her feelings over the matter were so intense, that she decided to do something about it." He waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal, as he continued to explain.

"I of course, tried to talk her out of doing what she wanted to do, but it was to no avail. Katarina was quite determined that her plan would be the perfect solution to everyone's problems and in the end, I found myself unable to deny her this one last request."

Elena frowned impatiently, she wished he'd get to the point already. Oh screw it, she was just gonna ask.

"What was it she wanted Elijah?" she demanded pointedly.

Damon flinched, knowing what was coming, though he still wasn't sure that Katherine's compulsion was her own idea.

"Yes well it was really quite a neat answer to everyone's difficulties, as I said earlier. You see, she asked me to take away all memories of loving Stefan, to leave only her feelings for Damon, so she could finally give him what he'd wanted." Elijah smiled.

"Actually, thinking about it now, she was quite sweet about it. She said she wanted Damon to have someone that would choose only him and by getting me to compel her, she did that twofold. Without her memories of how she felt for Stefan, it allowed her to choose Damon without repercussions, while at the same time, by asking me to compel her in the first place, she was actually choosing him twice." he studied Elena carefully, as he went on to tell them the rest.

"She said she'd seen Damon's heartbreak and realized that he deserved to be loved by someone who would appreciate him."

Elena flinched.

She informed me, that Stefan was far too broody and angst ridden over your being a vampire and he seemed to be taking it out on his brother, rather than you, Elena. After seeing the way the three of you had been interacting, she decided that neither of you deserved to have Damon in your lives. So she came to the decision that the best thing for all concerned, would be for her to take Damon away and give him the life he could not have, not if he stayed in Mystic Falls." He frowned briefly.

"Of course I believe now, that she had finally come to terms with the reality that Stefan would never want her, not while he had you. And that knowledge, combined with the fact, that you were now to be a very long term rival for both men's affections, was what most likely pushed her into making a definitive choice. To be fair to Katarina, she was extremely angry at the way that Stefan was acting towards Damon. She truly didn't understand how he'd had no problem sharing her with his brother, but denied Damon even a crumb of affection when it came to you, Elena."

Elijah smiled internally as Elena's expression went through a gamut of emotions.

"Normally I wouldn't have entertained her request, but I was feeling somewhat guilty over my own actions where Katarina was concerned and that, combined with the fact that I felt my family owed you a debt for a number of reasons, decided me. By doing what she wanted, I felt that I was freeing you from the worry over her potential rivalry. It is no secret that Stefan has had..." he paused thoughtfully, "shall we say, some reservations, over your becoming a vampire. I concluded, that without Katarina's meddling, you would have a far better chance to work out your relationship issues satisfactorily. If I have been at all presumptuous in this, I must apologise, but at the time it seemed and elegant solution."

"Elegant! You call brain wiping my ex, so she's convinced she's in love with me, elegant. You and I, obviously have a very different definition of that word," Damon spat in disgust.

"We fucking blood shared Elijah, something that I have done, maybe once before in my life and never with someone so close in my line. Thanks to that, I know exactly what Katherine feels for me and I still think what you did was wrong. And if what you say is true and Katherine really did ask you to do the compulsion, it still doesn't matter, because I will always know that she loved Stefan, even if she never remembers it."

Damon clenched his fists and tried to control his notoriously short temper.

"I want you to lift the compulsion, undo it, or better yet, compel her to not remember what she felt for either of us. It's just plain wrong, what you two have done and I want it fixed." He glared at Elijah and counted to ten, while he tried to regain his composure.

"Did either of you stop to think, when you were planning your wonderful solution to all our problems, about how I might feel about the whole thing? That I might not welcome the thought of having Katherine in my life on those terms, or any for that matter," he snarled.

"Don't get me wrong, a couple of years ago, I might have been thrilled that she cared enough to do this and I do care about her, for trying to make it up to me if nothing else. But I'm not in love with Katherine and I haven't been for a long time."

His eyes flitted to Elena, before coming back to rest on Elijah,

"Everyone in this God forsaken town knows how I feel, so why the hell; after waiting for Katherine for a hundred and forty five years, would you think I'd feel any less for Elena. Love isn't something that's interchangeable, just because the women involved look the same and I resent the fact, that you both think I'm that fucking shallow. Undo the compulsion Elijah, in whatever way you see fit, but undo it soon. I'm planning on leaving town and I don't particularly want Katherine stalking me for the next hundred years."

Elena's heart plummeted at his words, closely followed by a surge of panic.

Thinking quickly, she turned to Damon.

Damon, I need to speak to Elijah privately," she gave him a meaningful look, "but I want you to promise you won't leave until I come back. I need to talk to you about a couple of things before you leave town. Okay," she asked. Her hand curled around his forearm, gripping it hard, as though she was afraid he'd try to leave before she could get him to agree.

Damon eyed the hand thoughtfully, before nodding once.

He turned to Elijah, his eyes boring into the older vampires.

"Elijah. I trust that you'll fix my little problem, without any added tweaks. I would hate to find anybody else I cared about wandering around with muddled thoughts." His eyes flickered between Elena and the original again, the message in them very clear.

Elijah suppressed his smile at Damon's not so subtle threat. It wouldn't do for Damon or Elena to find out, just how much he'd manipulated the current situation. They were both so pig headed, they'd probably bolt in different directions. And Elijah had gone to a lot of trouble, to fix things so that Elena finally got some happiness in her life.

Now, if Damon would just leave them alone for a little while, Elijah might actually be able to find out if his meddling had borne fruit or not.

He inclined his head graciously before meeting the younger vampires eyes.

"You can be certain Damon, that I will do as you have seen fit to ask. As I said, I was only following Katherine's request out of a sense of fairness. I honestly did not mean harm. I am most apologetic if your experience with Katarina, was not what I thought it would be."

"Yeah well, just fix it and I'll forget it ever happened." Damon huffed, somewhat thrown by Elijah's agreeability.

"I'm gonna run home and get something to eat. Be back in twenty, okay?" The last was addressed to Elena, his concern obvious as he met her gaze.

"It's fine Damon. We'll be fine. I just want to ask Elijah a few questions about the feeding thing, okay?"

Elena smiled at him, her expression deliberately unconcerned, while inside she was very quietly freaking out over everything she'd learned. Especially the part where Damon was still leaving town.

Damon sketched a quick salute and left the same way he'd entered.

Elena waited just long enough to hear his car leave, before turning to face Elijah.

Elijah smiled at her knowingly, but Elena was far to stressed out to notice.

"Elijah, I need you to something for me, something that will totally make us even for everything. I need you to put Katherine back the way she was but without her anger towards Stefan. And then..." she took a deep breath, then I want you to compel Stefan to admit what he feels for Katherine and to act on it."

She watched Elijah nervously waiting for his reaction.

Elijah's mouth curved in a warm smile.

"I take it you have finally realized that it is Damon that you are in love with then?"

Elena's eyes narrowed at his unsurprised tone and his shockingly smug expression.

"You knew. You knew that I loved Damon and you still compelled Katherine. Why would you do that Elijah? What sort of game are you playing now?"

He laughed.

"Oh Elena, Of course I knew. I am very old after all and have seen this particular story any number of times. And having seen the outcome so many times, I decided that rather than drag this out, I would assist in its resolution."

He sighed at her angry glare.

"Elena, how long do you think Damon would have stayed in Mystic Falls, knowing that there was no hope? And how long do you think it would have taken you to finally realize that you are in love with him? I dare say, it would have been five minutes after he left and at least six minutes too late. And Damon Salvatore, does not strike me as the sort who would be easily found if he did not wish to be." His expression was reproachful, as he met her stricken gaze.

"When Katarina came to me with her plan, I immediately realised that it might be the only way to jolt you out of your complacency. So I tampered with things a little. Katarina, was not initially planning to seek Damon out, not until he was actually on the verge of leaving. Admittedly, she felt it would be sooner rather than later, but I compelled her to be a little more hasty than she might have wished. I wanted you to find out about them Elena," he admitted gently, his eyes suddenly showing his true age.

" You needed a wakeup call. Stefan is not the one for you, he does not value your heart regardless of the form that holds it, but Damon does."

Elena felt her eyes fill with tears, as both Elijah's words and how close she'd come to making a huge mistake, hit her again.

Elijah was right. Damon; as much as he loved her, would not have stuck around for much longer, not with the way she'd been treating him. God. She owed Elijah so much, even if she hated the way he'd gone about it. Though to be fair; at least knowing that Damon had been handed everything he'd wanted for a hundred and forty five years and had rejected it because of his feelings for her; well to be honest it actually put one of her biggest fears to rest. Now she was sure she wasn't just some replacement copy for Katherine.

"Elijah, thank you. You're right and I'm glad you decided to meddle, I owe you big time. But right now I really need you to go and compel Katherine and Stefan before Damon has a chance to talk to either of them. I'll do my best to keep him here, for as long as I can and if it goes the way I want it to, Damon won't even think about them for a good long time, but I don't need any more drama now that my head is straight." She smiled up at him.

"You're right, I do love Damon Salvatore and I have no desire to fight off Katherine or upset Stefan, so the quicker you can get to the compelling, the better it will be for all of us."

Elijah reached for her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"I'm glad for you Elena. Love, true and enduring love, that sort of love is very hard to find. I am so glad that you have found it, even if it's with Damon," he added with a grin.

Elena chuckled and impulsively threw her arms around him in what, if he'd been human, would have been a crushing hug.

"Thank you," she murmured into his shoulder.

Raising her head she stepped back and met his eyes.

"If there is anything I can ever do..."

"Nonsense my dear, you deserve every happiness after what my siblings have put you through. Just be happy and that will be more than enough reward for me".

Elijah bowed his head, then taking her hand in his he kissed it with an old world style, that only Elijah could pull off.

"Now, I will bid you farewell and be on my way. I can promise you that by this time tomorrow, Stefan and Katarina will no longer be a factor in yours and Damon's relationship, nor will they have any desire or memory for anything more... than each other."He smiled.

"And Elena... I trust you have what you need to convince Damon?"

Elena grinned.

"Oh yeah.. I'm thinking that blood bond thing should do it."

"Indeed it will Elena. Just be sure that you are both drinking at the same time and there will be no way that Damon can deny your feelings, let alone his" he cautioned.

He bowed once more and then in the blink of an eye, Elijah was gone.

Elena breathed out a huge sigh of relief, her heart feeling lighter than it had in months.

Now, all she had to do was pray that Damon came back. And then hope that her acting skills were good enough to get her what she wanted. Damon Salvatore didn't know it yet, but he was most definitely not leaving Mystic Falls, not tonight and maybe never. At least, not without her.

Just short of a half an hour later Damon approached Elena's room for the second time that night. He tensed at the thought of seeing her now that she knew the truth. Thankfully his senses told him that Elijah had gone, but his relief in not having to be in his company; was offset, as he felt his gut twisting with anguish. The thought of having to say goodbye to the woman he loved cutting him to the bone.

Fuck!

Well, better to get this over with. Though why the hell he had even bothered to come back was a mystery. He should have just packed his crap up and gone after getting Elijah's promise of cooperation. Why the hell he felt the need to torture himself by seeing her again, he didn't know. But he'd promised to come back and talk, so that's what he'd do. No matter how much it hurt.

Entering her window, he braced himself for the pain that would surely follow.

Katherine stretched like the cat she was so often named for. Her eyes fluttered open and she reached for her lover. The fact that he was not where she remembered him being, along with the sudden rush of their earlier blood sharing memories, meant that the woman Damon had left asleep in his bed was about to be very very angry. She just needed to work out who to kill first.