Chapter Eight- We'll Always Have Bourbon Street

Audrey's P.O.V

"Audrey?" Damon called out as he looked around the room

" Hey." I greeted as I walked into the room wearing one of Damon's shirts

" Hey." Damon replied as I jumped into the bed next to him," Thought you might have left."

" No, I don't have to be at school for…" I trailed off, looking at the clock on the bedside table, " at least twenty minutes ago." I smiled before leaning in to kiss Damon.

When we pulled away, Damon smiled as he started playing with my hair.

" What's that face?" I asked him

" What face?" Damon said as he smiled again

" That face."

"I'm happy." Damon said, his smile growing before he brought his lips down to mine.


Third Person P.O.V

"This is a disaster." Caroline said to Stefan as she leaned against the door frame and Stefan cleaned up the couch where he had slept the night before

"Look, we don't know anything for sure." Stefan said as he turned to face Caroline

"Yes we do!" Caroline shouted, " Audrey is sired to Damon! Which means her one singular burning desire is to make him happy, just like Klaus and his hybrids."

"No it's not." Stefan told her, " A vampire sired to another vampire is one and a million. Maybe it won't affect her the same way."

" We need to do something." Caroline said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket

" Wait, no, hold on Caroline." Stefan said, quickly taking her phone out of her hand, " This isn't gossip, you can't just drop this on her before we know what's happening for sure."

" I need to talk to Tyler, okay?" Caroline told Stefan, " Maybe he'll know what to do."

" Alright, talk to Tyler but please don't tell anyone else." Stefan said as he handed Caroline back her phone, " If this is true, than it may have influenced Audrey's every action and emotion since she became a vampire."


Hayley, Tyler, and Kimberly stood around and abandoned barn as they watched a hybrid named Adrian turn into a wolf repeatedly.

" Please, no more, I can't." Adrian panted

" Yes you can." Tyler told him, "Block out the pain."

Adrian screamed in pain as he started to turn again.

" That's enough." Kim snapped, " This is torture."

"Kim, stop." Hayley told Kim, " He needs to finish."

" Not today he doesn't." Kim said as she unchained Adrian

"Yes, today." Hayley insisted, " Nate, Dean and Chris are all dead, which makes Adrian Klaus's right hand. We can't let Adrian anywhere near Klaus until his sire bond is completely broken."

" Hayley is right." Tyler agreed, " The bond isn't broken until he doesn't feel the pain of transformation anymore. If we want to get back at Klaus for everything he's done to us, Adrian has to keep turning."

" He doesn't have to do anything." Kim said, " Isn't that the point of breaking the sire bong? Free will?" Tyler and Hayley didn't say a word as they exchanged glances, " Let's go Adrian."

Then Kimberly helped Adrian to her feet and led him out of the barn.


Audrey's P.O.V

A little while later, Damon and I had gotten dressed and we were now heading for the front door since I had to go to school.

" Bag?" Damon asked me

" Got it." I said as I picked my bag up from the a small table near the entrance

" Scarf?" Damon asked but I was pretty sure it was in my bag

" What-" I was cut off by Damon taking my scarf, wrapping it around my neck and pulling me to him to kiss me again.

As we continued to kiss I heard the front door open and we pulled away from each other to see that Stefan had just walked in.

"Oh, hey Stefan." I greeted him with a smile

" Hey." Stefan replied awkwardly

" See you in history?" I asked him

" Yeah."

" I'll see you later, Damon." I said before heading out of the boarding house and to my car.


Third Person P.O.V

As soon as Audrey was gone, Stefan turned to his brother.

" Listen, we need to talk." Stefan told him

Stefan and Damon had moved to sit in the parlor and Stefan told Damon everything that he and Caroline had figured out the night before.

"Sired? Really, Stefan?" Damon asked in annoyance, "That is the most pathetic thing that I have ever heard come out of your mouth, and you've said some crap in your day."

" It was you blood that turned her, right?" Stefan said, " I mean, she's been different from day one because of you. You can't deny that."

" Sure I can." Damon said, " I finally got Audrey in a good place about being a vampire and you two idiots can't stand that she's happy because of me."

" All right. You know what? Prove me wrong." Stefan told Damon, " Tell her it's okay to drink from a blood bag."

" She can't. Her weird psychic body rejected the blood from the bag." Damon reminded his younger brother

" Right, because you told her to. You said she had to drink warm human blood straight from the vein. She almost died to make you happy." Stefan said, earning a look of skepticism from Damon, " Look, just ask her to drink from a blood bag. Make sure you tell her how happy you'll be if it works, and if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to apologize."

"When her body rejects this blood, which it will, your apology better be epic." Damon said to Stefan before he got up and walked out of the room.


Audrey's P.O.V

" Audrey!" Bonnie called as I walked down the hallway towards her and Caroline, " Hey, everything okay?"

" Yeah." I told her, " Why wouldn't it be?"

" Well, Caroline told me that you and Aurora had to move out to stay away from Jeremy." Bonnie said

"Matt is staying at the house with him and Elena to make sure that Jeremy keeps all his hunter stuff in control." I told Bonnie, " He's okay."

" But are you? I mean, clearly they don't have a flat iron at hotel Salvatore." Caroline said with a laugh as she gestured to the messy bun had thrown my hair into in a rush .

" I was in a rush." I told her as I let my hair down and ran a hand through it, " Look, go you guys have any plans tonight? I'm in desperate need of a girls night. I already talked to Aurora and Elena and they are on board."

" I'm in." Bonnie smiled, " Shane taught me some small spells I've been wanting to try."

" Oh, creepy professor guy is just Shane now." Caroline said

" He's not creepy." Bonnie told her

" We're not judging." I said

"I am!" Caroline interjected

" Don't listen to her." I smiled at Bonnie, "So, girls' night? We can raid the Salvatore wine cellar."

"Um, are you sure Stefan and Damon are cool with us crashing at their place?" Caroline asked me

" I can't go home because Jeremy is trying to kill me." I told them as I saw Damon standing down the hallway, gesturing for me to join him before walking into an empty room, " So their place is mine too. I'll see you in a bit." I finished before walking off to join Damon


" What are you doing here?" I asked Damon as I walked up to him

" You forgot your lunch." Damon said as he pulled a blood bag out of his jacket

" I can't." I said, " You know I can't."

" Well the last time you tried it, the circumstances were less than optimal and I think maybe you should just give it another try, see if it works. I really think it will." Damon said as I looked as him warily, " Please. For me?"

Damon handed me the blood bag and I took, ripping the top off before starting to drink the blood. I was expecting the blood to taste as bad it had last time but it was actually pretty good.

" You okay?" Damon asked me

" I'm fine. It tastes like blood. Last time, it was like hot garbage." I told him before taking another sip

"You sure you're okay?" Damon asked me again

" I'm better than okay. I mean, maybe last time it was a bad batch or something. I can't believe this, Damon. I don't have to hurt anyone anymore." I smiled as I threw my arms around Damon, " I have to get to class." I told him, pulling away, " Thank you." I gave Damon a quick kiss before heading out of the room.


Third Person P.O.V

Hayley was in Professor Shane's office over at Whitmore College and she was searching through all of his things when Shane walked in.

" Trespassing, breaking and entering all before noon?" Shane said to Hayley as she looked up at him

" We're having trouble breaking Adrian." Hayley told him

" Don't worry about it." Shane said, walking towards his desk, " You already got the twelve hybrids I need."

" We have eleven." Hayley said, " I told you, Tyler Lockwood isn't part of the deal."

" Well, now there's eleven hybrids. You deliver me twelve without loyalties to Klaus or your friend Tyler becomes fair game."

" You haven't held up your end of the bargain." She told Shane

" Right." Shane said as he pulled a flash drive out of his jacket pocket, " This is everything you always wanted to know about your biological parents. And it's encoded in case you're thinking of a smash and grab. Just bring me twelve unsired hybrids and it's yours."


" I talked to Tyler." Caroline told Stefan as she talked to him over the phone

" And?"

" The sire bond exists because the hybrids are grateful to Klaus for revealing them from the pain of having to wolf out every full moon, and that's why they have to turn until they're not ruled by pain anymore." Caroline explained

"Right, but Audrey's not a werewolf so what's the vampire equivalent?" Stefan asked

"Well, that's the problem." Caroline told him, " There isn't one."


Damon was sitting in the study of the boarding house as he looked though a few different stacks of papers.

" What are you doing?" Stefan asked as he walked into the room

" Audrey is sired." Damon told Stefan without looking up from the papers in front of him, "You were right, I was wrong. Happy?"

"No, I'm not happy." Stefan said, " But what are we gonna do about it?"

" Well, I'm working on it." Damon said as he found a picture and handed it to Stefan, "Remember that?"

" New Orleans." Stefan said as he looked at the picture

" 1942 to be exact."

" What was in New Orleans , 1942?" Stefan asked as he took a seat

"Other than bourbon and beads…" Damon started as he looked up at Stefan, " Us, Stefan."

" Oh yeah." Stefan remembered, " What was the name of that girl that you used to hang out with?"

" That was no ordinary girl. That was Charlotte." Damon said with a smile, " She was crazy about me from the moment we met. So, of course, when she asked me to turn her, I did."

New Orleans-1942

Damon is sitting inside a bar drinking a glass of bourbon as he listened to the band which was playing jazz Than Charlotte walked in and took a seat next to him.

" Hey." Damon greeted her with a smile

" Hi." Charlotte greeted back

"So, did you decide who you would like to have for dinner tonight?" Damon asked her

" Him." Charlotte said as she pointed to the man that was singing for the band, " He looks tasty."

" That's a very fine choice, Miss Charlotte. I will go set that up." Damon said as he got up from his chair, " Now, if anyone tries to touch my drink, you show them no mercy, okay?"

As Damon walked away, a man in a sailor's uniform came up to the bar and accidentally knocked over Damon's drink.

" You spilled my man's drink." Charlotte said angrily as she stood up

" Sorry." the sailor said with a smile, " It's crowded in here."

" That's no excuse." Charlotte snapped

"Hey, take it easy lady."

" I'm not gonna take it easy." Charlotte said before snapping his neck

Damon, who had seen the whole thing, ran up and caught the dead sailor before he could fall to the floor.

"What did you do?" Damon asked Charlotte as he looked around to make sure that no one had seen what she had done

" He touched your drink." Charlotte said, " You said show no mercy. I thought you'd be happy."

Boarding house-Present

" That was my first clue." Damon said to Stefan

"She was sired to you, and I can only assume that you took full advantage of that until you got bored of her, right?" Stefan guessed

" More like until she went all Fatal Attraction on me, then I had to make a clean break." Damon said

" How did you do that?" Stefan asked as Damon found the paper he had been looking for

"Ah, here." Damon said, handing the paper to Stefan

" Who is Valerie LaMarche?" Stefan asked as he read the paper which said ' Valerie LaMarche, 920 Dauphine St.'

" The witch that helped me break little Charlotte's sire bond." Damon explained as he got to his feet, " Pack you bags, baby bro. We're going to Bourbon Street."


Audrey's P.O.V

A few hours after school had ended, Caroline, Bonnie and Elena had arrived at the boarding house, joining Aurora and I. As the girls got comfortable in the parlor, I grabbed a few bottles of wine from the cellar and a bottle of bourbon from Damon's private collection.

" Here you guys go." I said as I handed a bottle of wine to everyone, keeping the bourbon for myself.

" I'm assuming this is for Aurora." Elena said as she picked up the blood bag I had grabbed from the cooler

" Actually, it's for me." I said, taking it before Aurora did

" I thought-" Caroline trailed off

" Oh." Bonnie started, " Are you saying that-"

I opened up the blood bag and took a sip of blood to show them that I could keep it down.

" Thanks to Damon, I am now a functional dysfunctional vampire." I said with a smile

"That's amazing." Bonnie said

" What do you mean. 'Thanks to Damon' ?" Caroline asked me

" Well, he suggested that I try it again. So I did, and it worked." I said, grabbing my bourbon before sitting down next to Aurora, " No more snatch, eat, and erase."

" So, where is Damon tonight?" Aurora asked me

" ' Out with Stefan for the night, don't wait up.'" I read the text Damon had sent me aloud, " ' Brother bonding'"

" Hm, so you guys check-in text," Caroline said, " What else do you do?"

" I know that you're not the biggest fan, but he kind of just changed my life." I said to Care, " Do you mind laying off on all the hate?"

" Okay, new girls night rule: no boy talk." Elena said

" Yeah. Plus, why talk when we have this?" Bonnie asked as she held up a bag of black herbs

" Is that stoner tea?" Aurora asked Bonnie in shock

" It's spirit tea. It opens up your chi or whatever." Bonnie said, not really convincing anyone, " Come on, it's not drugs! Shane is helping me do natural magic without having to access the spirits."

" Mm-hmm." Caroline said in a judgey tone

" Don't judge." Aurora said to Care

" Okay, fine." Caroline said, " I hereby vow not to be judgmental for the rest of the evening. Even if you guys are potentially ruining the rest of your lives as I stand idly by. It's your choice."

" I'll drink to that." I said as I held up the bottle of bourbon, Care, Bonnie, Aurora, and Elena doing the same, " Cheers."


Third Person P.O.V

Damon and Stefan walked down Bourbon Street as loud music was playing and people were parting around them.

" Well, the city is the same." Stefan said as he looked around, " Just brighter."

"Have you been back her since '42?" Damon asked his brother

" Nope, not since I shipped off to join the war effort and you didn't." Stefan said

" Somebody had to entertain the ladies who had been left by their menfolk." Damon told Stefan as his phone chimed, signaling him to a new text, " Hey, good news." Damon said as he read the message, " Audrey is at the house with the girls where she can't get in trouble. Bad news, I think they got into the Dom. Well, I told her to make herself at home."

" Yeah, you told her so she does, right?" Stefan asked, stopping to stand in front of Damon

" Sire bond isn't that literal, Stefan." Damon scoffed as he walked past him

" Really?" Stefan questioned, " Name one thing that you've asked her to do that you haven't gotten, huh?"

" You know what I haven't gotten?" Damon said, "Blame, guilt. I get it Stefan. You pissed because I get to be with someone that I love and you don't. And you can't blame the sire bond for that."

" Sure I can." Stefan said

" Why, because it's impossible to think that she has feelings for me?" Damon asked Stefan

" No, because it's impossible for her to be so blind that she doesn't see how wrong you are for her." Stefan snapped, instead of replying Damon turned and continued to walk down the street, " Hey, wait, Damon I'm sorry."

" What'd you say?" Damon asked as he turned to face his brother

New Orleans- 1942

"I'm sorry I blamed you for my bloodlust and for me becoming a ripper. It wasn't you fault." Stefan said, reciting his apology for Damon as he and Lexi walked into the bar, " Do I really have to say that it wasn't his fault?"

" Yes, keep going." Lexi told him

" You're the only brother I have and I hope that we can be friends again." he finished

" Perfect." Lexi smiled, " Now, just remember we're here to talk to Damon, no yell, not to drudge up the past, and most definitely not to pick a fight."

" That's the real trick, isn't it?" Stefan asked her

"You've spent the last twenty years turning your life around." Lexi reminded him, " It's time to make nice with your brother."

Stefan nodded as he and Lexi headed over to the bar where Damon was sitting. Stefan lightly slapped Damon on he back and Damon turned and looked in shock at his brother.

" You look like a guy that I used to know." Damon said as he recover from shock

"Hello, Damon." Stefan greeted

" Come to put a stake in my heart?" Damon asked

" More like bury the hatchet." Stefan said as he extended his hand

Damon looked down at his brother's hand hesitantly before shaking it and smiling as he pulled his younger in for a hug.


" Egypt, ha!" Damon said as Stefan was telling him about traveling over sees, " Finally get to see the pyramids!"

"Oh, I doubt I'll do much sightseeing driving an ambulance through the front lines." Stefan said, " But yeah, Egypt."

" Think they have room for another driver?" Damon asked Stefan who looked surprised at the question, " I could handle some war if it meant spending quality time with my brother."

" Tell you what, I'll take to my C.O." Stefan told him before walking away

" You're not going." Lexi told Damon

" I don't like you." Damon replied

" In 1912, you pressured Stefan to drink human blood." Lexi reminded him, " He's been trying to put his ripper days behind him, but he needs death and blood so he can deal with them as a part of life. He needs balance, restraint."

" What makes you thing I'm not balanced and restrained?" Damon asked her

" The fact that you never have been." Lexi snapped, "You think of what you want first, second, and third. Stefan is better off alone than in your company."

" Well, I beg to differ." Damon told her

Stefan returned and Damon and Lexi both put on smiles for his benefit.

" To the Salvatore's in Egypt." Stefan said as the three of them clinked glasses, " Cheers."

" Damon." Charlotte said as she walked up to the three, a woman in her arms, " Did you forget that you were supposed to meet us for dinner?"

" Sorry, I lost track of time." Damon told her

" I brought you leftovers." Charlotte said, moving the woman's neck to show Damon the blood that was dripping down her neck

" Charlotte!" Damon hissed was Charlotte passed the woman to Stefan

" Get away from him." Lexi snapped as Damon took the woman from Stefan

Some of the woman's blood had made its way onto Stefan's fingers and he was now staring down at it.

" Stefan." Damon said as he placed a hand on his brothers shoulder, watching as veins appeared under Stefan's eyes, " Stefan?"

" I…I…" Stefan trailed off as he continued to look at the blood

"She's better off without you, too." Lexi told Damon as she grabbed hold of Stefan and quickly led him away from the bar.

New Orleans-Present

" I apologize, all right?" Stefan said as he walked next to Damon, " As much as I hate this sire bond thing, I shouldn't take it out on you. It's not really your fault."

" Well, don't get all warm and fuzzy on me yet." Damon said as the two stopped in front of an apartment building, " It's were the witch lived."

"What, you weren't expecting to find the same exact witch in the same place were you?" Stefan asked

"No, but since I couldn't remember where the store was, I figured it'd give us a start." Damon said

" Maybe there's another place to start." Stefan suggested, " You think Charlotte might be in New Orleans."

" Yeah, maybe." Damon said

" Where was the last place that you saw her?" Stefan asked

" Corner of Bourbon and Dumaine. Kind of told her to count every brick in every building in New Orleans, and I'd meet her at the corner." Damon told him, " I was gone by morning."

Stefan looked at Damon in disbelief for a moment before turning and beginning to walk away.

" Where are you going?" Damon asked Stefan

" Corner of Bourbon and Dumaine." Stefan called out as he continued to walk, "See how literal the sire bond is."

Damon sighed as followed after Stefan to the corner of Bourbon and Dumaine.


" There's no way she's gonna be in the same spot after seventy years." Damon said as the two stopped at the corner of the street

" So, what are you going to tell Audrey?" Stefan questioned

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell her anything." Damon replied

" Well, you can't just lie to her." Stefan scoffed

"It's not a lie." Damon said, " It's an omission for the greater good."

" Oh, I see, that's Damon speak for 'Let's not do the right thing, let's just do what's right for me.'" Stefan said

The two looked at each other for a minute before Damon spoke up.

" I'm gonna get a drink." Damon told him, " Hunt me down when you stop being a dick."

Stefan watched as Damon walked around the corner and down another empty street. Damon continued to walk down the street when he heard a noise and stopped to look around. When he found nothing, he turned back around and someone ran at him, knocking him to the ground. Stefan ran around the corner when he heard this and ripped the person off of Damon, throwing them to the sidewalk.

" What the hell just happened?" Stefan asked as Damon as he got to his feet

" She kissed me." Damon told him

Damon and Stefan turned to see Charlotte get off of the ground.

" Damon, I always knew you'd come back for me." Charlotte smiled, " I must have counted literally every brick on every building in all of New Orleans."

"Literally every brick?" Stefan asked

Charlotte continued to smile as she wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, although Damon was trying to back away from her.

" Uh, Charlotte." Damon said awkwardly as he removed her arms from around his neck and backed up, " Please tell me you had a full life and that you've done something other than counting bricks."

" Of course I have." Charlotte told him, " I'm not crazy."

" Than why are you still here?" Stefan asked her

" You know when someone breaks up with you and there's a song that reminds you of them? First you hate it but it brings back all the good memories of them." Charlotte explained as she looked at Damon longingly, "Counting the bricks is my song and I've been playing it for decades."

" That's a really long time stuck listening to the same song." Stefan said dryly

" Yeah." Damon said, trying to keep the distance between him and Charlotte, " Well, in the plus column, you know New Orleans better than anyone in the world. Which is really nice because we need your help finding someone."


Audrey's P.O.V

A few hours and several glasses of champagne and bourbon later Elena, Aurora, Bonnie, Caroline and I were laughing and dancing around the living room. I was about to take another sip of bourbon when I realized that the bottle was completely empty. I set the bottle don before using my vampire speed to run into the kitchen and grab another bottle. Everyone cheered as I opened up the bottle and poured myself another glass. A little while later we had made out way into Damon's bathroom and I was lounging in his bathtub as Bonnie, Elena, Aurora, and Caroline sat around the tub.

" Check this out." Bonnie said as she held up her phone, showing us the video she has taken earlier, " Vamp speed video."

" I look like superman." I laughed as I took her phone, pausing the video at the moment I was using my vampire speed to run into the kitchen, "Watch this. This years Christmas card." We all laughed before I continued, " Being a vampire is so weird. Oh my God, I love this bathtub. Why don't we come and hang out here more often?"

" I'll tell you why. Cooties." Caroline laughed, "Think of all the germ ridden skanks that Damon that has lured into his den of iniquity."

" Caroline, seriously." Aurora said as I sat up in the tub

"Ok, I'm sorry." Caroline apologized. " I've been good all night. I'm stopping now."

"No, don't stop on my account." I told her, " Rip away. I mean, it's only Damon, right?"

" Well, say what you want about Ripper Stefan, but at least he wasn't a man slut." Caroline said

" Come on." Bonnie told Caroline

" So, what exactly was it about him that made you jump into bed with him as soon as you met him?" I snapped at her

"I didn't know what a sociopath narcissist he was." Caroline said

"He's always been there for me when I needed him." I told her

"Yeah, because he's hoping you'll sleep with him." Caroline snapped

" Well, maybe I did."

"You did what?" Caroline shouted

" You didn't." Elena said to me

"Yeah, I did. Look, I know you guys have issues with him, but I'm happy, and I wanted to spend tonight with my best friends so that I could tell them about it." I told them before I got out of the tub and walked out of the bathroom


Third Person P.O.V

Damon and Stefan headed into the shop that Charlotte had pointed out to them and they were greeted by a middle aged woman.

" Can I help you gentleman?" the woman asked

"Look…" Damon trailed off as he looked at a chalk board behind the woman that said 'Nandi Special', " Nandi, is it? Let's skip the part where you pretend like you don't know what we're talking about. We need a spell that could break a sire bond. Now, there was a witch here named Val. Ring any bells?"

" She was my great-grandmother." Nandi told Damon

"She had a grimoire and it had the spell." Damon started

New Orleans-1942

"The magic you are talking about is dark, powerful." Val told Damon, " Magic like that doesn't come cheap."

As Val was talking, Damon looked at Val's daughter who was writing at a table in the corner of the room before he turned back to Val.

"How much?" Damon asked her

" Money won't cut it here, pretty one." Val told him, "Dark magic draws power from dark places. Casting the spell you need requires the sacrifice of twelve human souls."

New Orleans-Present

" A sacrifice?" Stefan asked, " You brought me here knowing that the spell required a human sacrifice."

" Well, I was hoping the recipe had changed." Damon told him

" Look, there's no magic like that here." Nandi said, " I sell herbs and homeopathic remedies and dress it up with a little witchy-woo-woo for the tourists, but I don't practice."

"Okay, fine, listen, just tell us where we can find someone like your great-grandma who can break the sire bond and won't flake out on us like old Val did." Damon said

"There's no one." Nandi told him, " All of her stuff is gone- the grimoires, her journals. We lost all of it during Katrina. If a spell like that ever did exist, it's gone for good."


Audrey's P.O.V

As I was cleaning up the empty champagne bottles from the living room, Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, and Aurora walked in.

" Audrey, come on." Bonnie said

" Party's over." I told them, " Aurora, you're welcome to stay but the rest of you need to leave."

" Don't be mad, okay?" Caroline said, " We're just looking out for you."

" Do you think it makes me happy that you guys hate him?" I snapped at them, " I get it. His track record has been king of spotty but I love him."

" Ugh, you're not in love with him, Audrey." Caroline said, " You're sired to him."

" What?" Aurora asked her

" What the hell are you talking about?" I asked her angrily, setting down the empty bottles and turning to her

" Look, I'm sorry that it came out like that, but it's true." Caroline started, " Damon's blood turned you. You couldn't feed from animals or blood bags because he told you so. Then he suggested that you try again with blood bags and suddenly…"

"No." I shook my head, " There's no way."

" Are you sure?" Elena asked her

"Yeah." Caroline told her before turning to me, " Ask Stefan about it. He can explain it better than I can."

" I'm sorry, you talked to Stefan about this?" I asked her

"It's not your fault, Audrey." Caroline said, " Okay, Damon took advantage of you."

"Look, I don't know what the hell your and Stefan's problem is but you guys need to leave me and Damon alone and mind your own damn business." I snapped at her

" Audrey, calm down." Aurora told me

" No Aurora, I'm not gonna calm down." I said before returning my attention to Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie, " You need to leave. Now!"

When none of them made a move, I walked past them to the door.

"Audrey." Bonnie said, " Come on."

" I said leave." I told them as I opened the door

" Hello girls." someone said and I looked to see a girl and three guys standing on the porch

Before I could do anything the girl ran in and knocked me into the wall before running over to Caroline and grabbing her by the throat. As I tried to get up one of the guys came at me and I threw him into one of the walls. In a blur, the guy got back up, grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the wall. I started to hear chanting and I looked over to see that Bonnie, who was the only one not being held down by a hybrid, was reciting a spell of some kind.

" Stop!" the woman said as he held onto Caroline and Bonnie stopped, "One bite from a hybrid and she's dead, remember?"

Suddenly, the guy threw me to the ground and when I got back up the hybrids were gone and so was Caroline.


Third Person P.O.V

" Witch is lying." Damon said to Stefan as they walked down the street, "Doesn't practice magic my ass."

" Human sacrifice?" Stefan asked, " Did you really think I would go for that?"

" Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures." Damon said as the two walked towards Charlotte

" Did you kill those twelve people in 1942?" Stefan inquired

" Absolutely I did and I'd do it again in a heart beat if it meant a clean slate with Audrey." Damon told him, " Are you gonna help be good cop/bad cop this witch or not?"


Audrey's P.O.V

I called Tyler immediately after Caroline had been taken and he told me to meet him at his house so we could find her. I had Aurora and Elena stay with Bonnie at the boarding house to keep them out of harms way and so Bonnie could try a locator spell. When I had arrived at Tyler's house he told me that he had a good idea of where the hybrids were and we headed into the woods.

"I get it, Hayley." Tyler said as he talked to Hayley over the phone, " I'll find them and I'll get them in line."

" Bonnie says no luck with the locator spell." I told him when he hung up

"They've got to be here." Tyler said as we continued to walk, " They're not dumb enough to risk getting caught by Klaus in town."

" Well, what do they want with Caroline?" I asked him

" Kim is trying to prove that she's the Alpha." Tyler explained, "If I can make her submit, the pack will fall in line and we can finally get them free from Klaus. You'd think they'd play along with how much they hate him."

" But Adrian doesn't, does he?" I asked him, " I mean, he's still sired to Klaus."

" Being sired doesn't mean you feel differently about someone." Tyler told me, " I hated Klaus but I still did everything that he said. The bond affects how you act, not how you feel."

As I thought about this we heard Caroline scream and we both looked at each other before running toward the sound.


Third Person P.O.V

As Nandi was working in her shop, Damon walked into the shop behind her.

" What are you doing here?" Nandi asked him when she turned to face him

"Calling you out. Your not Val's great granddaughter. You're her daughter." Damon said, remembering Val's daughter, sitting at the table writing Nandi into her notebook over and over again back in 1942, " You're eighty years old but you don't look a day over fifty. You're a practicing witch."

" Get out of my store." Nandi told him

" Give me what I want." Damon demanded as he walked towards Nandi but he didn't get very far before Nandi started giving him an aneurysm

" I gave you a chance to leave with your life." Nandi told him

" Wait, wait, wait, wait." Stefan said as he ran into the store, " We don't want any trouble okay? We just need your help. That's all."

" I told you, there's no one here who can help you." Nandi told Stefan as she stopped the spell on Damon, " The kind of magic my mother practiced, it's unnatural. Witches don't even call it magic. We call it expression."

" Is that like black magic?" Stefan asked

" Worse. Channeling the power of human sacrifices call on darkness that can't exist on this plane without swallowing it whole." Nandi explained looking down at Damon, " She sold you a bill of goods about breaking the sire bond because she wanted access to that power and you gave it to her when you killed those twelve people."

" Are you saying there's no spell?" Damon asked as stood up

" The bond can't be broken with magic." Nandi said, " A vampire only bonds to her sire when she has feelings for him before she turns, human feelings. Vampirism only heightens those emotions. You want her free? You have to set her free. Tell her to live life without you and to never think of you again, to stop caring about you, and then leave her. That's the only way around the sire bond."


Audrey's P.O.V

As Tyler and I got closer to where Kim was holding Caroline I was able to hear what they were saying more clearly.

" Why are you doing this?" Caroline asked

" To show Tyler's who's in charge." I heard Kim say right before Caroline screamed again

" Stop! Stop it, Kim." Tyler shouted as we ran into an old barn where Kim, Adrian, and Caroline were, "Caroline's with us. We're all on the same team."

" She's on your team, not mine." Kim said as more hybrids grabbed up from behind

As Tyler and I struggled to get free, Kim broke Caroline's wrist and Caroline screamed in pain.

" Stop it! Stop!" Tyler yelled

"Ease up, Kim." Adrian told Kim, "Klaus won't like this."

" That's a very good point. Do you think he'll like this?" Kim asked as she held up a stake

"Kim! Don't do it." Tyler said, " I swear to God."

" No. Wait, wait, wait." I said to Kim as she was about to stake Caroline, "If you really want to hit Klaus where it hurts then torture me instead. He's fixated on keeping me alive. You want real revenge or not?"

Kim thought about it for a minute before she lowered the stake and walked up to me. She grabbed my throat and raised the stake but as she was about to kill me, Tyler broke free. He grabbed Kim, shoving his hand into her chest and grabbing her heart.

" Stay back!" Tyler ordered the other hybrids as they moved to help Kim, " I'll rip her heart out right now." then he looked Kim dead in the eyes, " Kim put you all at risk today but I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm not Klaus. I don't kill and torture my own friends to get what I want. Now, we broke the sire bond, but if you want to be free we have to work together. No one can step out of line. Now, you're either with me or against me. Submit. Submit or die."

" I'm…I'm sorry." Kim apologized and Tyler took his hand out of her chest

Kim fell to her knees as she caught her breath. Tyler looked around at the rest of the hybrids and, one by one, they all kneeled down in front of him.


Third Person P.O.V

" So, you're leaving me again?" Charlotte asked Damon as the two sat at a table in a bar

"No, I need to get on with my life and so do you." Damon told her

" I don't want to live without you." Charlotte said

" If you want to make me happy you will. You'll just forget about me. You'll never think of me again, and you'll find someone new, and you'll be happier than ever." Damon stopped when he noticed that Charlotte was crying, " Please stop crying."

" I'm never gonna be able to forget about you." Charlotte said as she wiped away her tears and stopped crying

" Yes, you are. And I'm never gonna be happy until you realize that you're never gonna have the life that you deserve if I'm in it." Damon said, getting up from his seat, " Goodbye Charlotte."

Damon didn't look back as he walked out of the bar and out to his brother.

" How'd it go?" Stefan asked

" I set her free." Damon told him

" Must have been hard. Doing the right thing, especially when it's not something you want to do." Stefan said as the two walked down the street

"Get to the point, Stefan." Damon said, "You don't think I'm gonna be able to do what I need to when I have to tell Audrey to stay away from me."

" Well, I mean, selflessness isn't exactly one of your most obvious character traits, Damon." Stefan said

" Yeah? Well, one of these days you're gonna realize you don't know me half as well as you think." Damon told Stefan before whistling for a cab

New Orleans-1942

Damon stepped out of a cab in front of a train station dressed in full uniform for the war. He walked into the train station and set down his luggage on a cart full of luggage.

" Damon." Lexi called out, getting the attention of the older Salvatore, " I know what you did and you are not going overseas with Stefan. Do you understand me?"

"Well, Uncle Sam begs to differ." Damon said

" You just killed twelve people." Lexi said angrily

"How do you know they didn't have it coming?" Damon asked, waking up to her

" Your brother had spent the last twenty years racked with guilt, fighting the temptation to drink human blood." Lexi told him instead of answering his question, " He's serving in the war as penance for the pain that he has caused. If he finds out what you did, he'll want to know how it is you function without guilt for the things you do. He'll turn to you for guidance like he did before and he'll become the Ripper of Monterrey all over again."

" I've pretty much been on my own since our little falling out in 1912." Damon told her, "Did you ever think that I just need my little brother?"

" And that's why you can't go." Lexi said, " It might be good for you, Damon, but it will destroy Stefan. For once, you need to put someone else in front of yourself." Lexi looked past Damon and Damon followed her gaze to see Stefan down by the tracks, " You need to let him go."

Damon continued to look at his brother as he grabbed his luggage back off of the cart.

" Good luck, brother." Damon said sadly before walking out of the train station.

New Orleans-Present

A taxi pulled up a few feet in front of Damon and Stefan and the both started waking towards it.

" You never told me that." Stefan said

"Yeah, well, next time I'll hang a billboard." Damon rolled his eyes as he continued to walk

" Look, I know it may seem like I'm being unfair about this, but after all of this is over wouldn't you rather know that she's with you now because it was her choice?"

"The dreaded C-word." Damon said as he opened the door to the taxi, " I know what I have to do Stefan."

Then Damon got into the taxi with Stefan right behind him.


Audrey's P.O.V

When I got back to the boarding house the sun was already starting to rise and as I was heading back into the parlor, Caroline walked in and, without a word, she started hugging me.

" I'm so sorry." Caroline said

I was going to hug her back but she had my hands pinned down so tight that I couldn't.

"Okay, if you don't start hugging me back this is going to gonna get really awkward really fast." Caroline told me

" You've got my hands pinned down." I said

" Oh." Caroline said as she let go of me for a moment before hugging me again in a way so I could hug her back, " I'm a jerk. I promise to never again judge ever."

" Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." I laughed as we pulled apart

" You guys friends again?" Elena asked as she, Aurora, and Bonnie walked in, "Thank God."

"Well, she saved my life." Caroline said, " In spite of me being a nasty bad witch."

"Thankfully we had out good witch." Aurora smiled

" Yeah." I said to Bonnie, " You know, your hottie creepy Professor really knows his stuff, Bonnie."

" It's been baby steps but he's helping me with a whole new kind of magic." Bonnie told us, " He call's it expression."


Third Person P.O.V

Shane walked into his office to see that Hayley was there as well.

"You ever hear of a text message?" Shane asked her, " Maybe just a heads up?"

"Adrian finished breaking the sire bond." Hayley told him, " You have twelve hybrids. Now, where are my parents?"

"They're dead." Shane told her

"You lied to me?"

" No, I didn't lie to you. I said I'd tell you where to find them." Shane said as he took out the flash drive and handed to her, " This is everything you ever wanted to know, including where they are buried."

" You just picked a fight with a werewolf." Hayley told him angrily, "You know that right?"

" Easy killer, I'm not declaring war hear." Shane said, "Now, just cause they're dead, doesn't mean that you can't see them again."

" What?" Hayley asked him in confusion

" This is far from over, Hayley." Shane told her, " We are the beginning."


Caroline and Stefan were back at the Forbes house and they were, once again, talking about Damon and Audrey.

" You feel sorry for him?" Caroline asked Stefan in disbelief

"Look, there's no other way to break a vampire sire bond." Stefan told her, " As much as you and I both hate it, Damon does love Audrey. Now he has to completely let her go. Ever imagine having to do that?"

" I'm sorry I told her." Caroline said, " Okay, I kind of didn't have a choice. All I know is he better do what he's supposed to do."

" He'll do it." Stefan said as he took a seat on the couch, " He's not as bad as he wants you to think. He'll do what he needs to do, he told me he would."

" How can you trust him?" Caroline asked

" Because I can see how much he loves her." Stefan told her, "He can't be selfish with her. Not anymore."


Audrey's P.O.V

I was cleaning up the rest of the alcohol bottles from the parlor when I heard Damon walk into the room.

" Hey." I greeted without turning to look at him

" Hey back." Damon said

" How was your night?" I asked him as I turned around

" Awful. Yours?"

" Same." I sighed

" Audrey, we need to talk." Damon said, walking up to me

" I know that I'm sired to you, Damon." I told him and he looked at me in surprise, "Caroline told me. That's what you and Stefan were doing, isn't it? Is there a way to break it."

"Not exactly." he said, " Which is why we need to talk."

" Tyler told me that the bond doesn't affect how I feel, just the way I act." I said, "My feelings for you haven't changed, Damon. Nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed, Audrey." Damon told me

"Okay, maybe I've changed a little but you've changed too, Damon." I told him, " And I'm happy. Just like you were yesterday morning before we knew anything about any of this."

" You know what would make me happy?" Damon asked, "To know that this entire time that I've been completely in love with you; that you actually felt for me; was real."

" It is real, Damon. I've felt this way about you way longer than I have been a vampire." I said walking up to him so we were less than a foot apart, "Damon, I know what you're about to do. Please don't do this to me."

" I don't want to do this, Audrey." Damon told me, " I'm not the good guy, remember? I'm the selfish one. I take what I want. I do what I want, I lie to my brother and I fall in love with a girl that doesn't deserve someone like me. I don't do the right thing. But I have to do the right thing by you."

I took hold of Damon's hand and moved it so it was on my chest where my heart was.

"Does this feel wrong?" I asked him, then I moved my hand to Damon's cheek, " Does this feel wrong

Damon and I didn't say another word as we continued to look at each other.


Author's Note

Well, hope the chapter was long enough for you. Please make sure to review on the way out, they mean a lot to me. Also if you know of any songs that remind you of the relationship between Audrey and Damon please tell me the title and artist so I can hear them, I'm trying to make a playlist for them and he only song I have so far is Wanted by Hunter Hayes. So send them in by review or PM. Again, please review and tell me what you thought about the chapter. Until next time…

Audrey;D