A/N: Thanks all of you for the author alerts and the favorite alerts and all of your reviews. Fantastic... Love you all!

A special thanks to my Beta, as always - you know who you are :)


Damon was lying on top of Elena, weighing her down while stroking the soft insides of her arms which she had stretched over her head. Her hair had come undone from her hair pins and silky strands were tickling Damon's wrists while he greedily took her lips in possession. Her hot pink dress was in a neat pile next to his bed, his trousers and shirt haphazardly thrown on top of it. He couldn't really figure out how they got to his house or how they got undressed, but he guessed with all the talk of Katherine and Stefan making his night a total buzz fest, he'd had one or two glasses too many of whiskey. Not that he cared. All he cared about was the naked and supple girl lying underneath him, moaning against his mouth.

'I can't wait to have my way with you', he whispered hotly, letting his tongue slide down her neck, nibbling at the fragile skin just about covering those succulent veins of hers. He could smell her blood and it made him feel slightly dizzy with want and thirst. He bit down with his blunt teeth just above her collarbone instead to stop himself from grabbing her by the throat and tapping her vein on the spot. The silent moans coming out of Elena's mouth made his blood boil and pound in his ears almost drowning out her soft cries of pleasure. He was on edge, he hadn't fed properly in days and his balls felt like they were about to explode. He couldn't wait to fuck her brains out and feed on her while hearing her scream his name.

He groaned out loud, his dick aching to be buried inside of her. He slipped his tongue in her mouth, moving it along hers, relishing in the fact that he could turn her on like this.

Elena wrapped her silky smooth legs around his waist and with a sigh he pressed himself harder against her. A wave of excitement slithered down his spine as he heard her sharp intake of breath and felt her body stiffen in response to his erection pushing against her wet slit. She started saying something but he covered her mouth with his lips.

'Sch', he soothed and continued kissing her. At first she didn't respond to his tongue or mouth insistent against hers, but she eventually relaxed and eagerly let her tongue massage his. He waited until she was completely relaxed to position himself right on top of her, waiting to hit the target when she least expected it.

Damon ran his hands along the length of Elena's arms and gripped her wrists to keep her in place just as he thrust himself deep inside of her. The small whimper that came from her kiss swollen lips egged him on further. He withdrew, leaving the head of his dick inside of her, before he once again forcefully rammed his length into her wet heat. Elena cried out in pain and he took delight in her obvious distress. He grabbed both of her wrists with his left hand and grabbed her hip with his right to keep her from squirming underneath him as he pushed himself in and out of her, grinding his hips against her, relishing in her walls constricting around him.

'Damn, you're tight', he groaned, kissing her neck. She tried to get away from him, tried to get her hands free, but he had her both her wrists in an iron grip.

'Please', she cried. 'Please, Damon. You're hurting me.'

Elena moved her head to the side when he leaned in to kiss her, and it really annoyed him. He let go of her hip and reached up, pulled that goddamn ring off her finger and threw it on the floor next to them. She gasped in shock.

'Why are you doing this?' Her voice cracked and tears were streaming down her face. 'Please, Damon', she tried again. 'Please stop.'

He grabbed her chin with one hand and let the other slide around her tiny waist while looking deep into her eyes.

'I want you to want me, but you keep resisting', he said and went completely still, barely noticing her feeble attempts to get him to let go of her, pushing her small hands against his chest. 'You're going to let me fuck you and feed from you and you're going to love it.'

Elena looked at him, her eyes empty and her pupils dilated. She stopped trying to fight him.

'I'm going to love it.' She said in a small voice and then she smiled at him. Damon smiled back. All was back to the way it should be, and apparently Daddy Dearest had forgotten to give her vervain after all. What an idiot.

'Good', he said, feeling very content with himself. Elena even started moving in rhythm with him as he slowly picked up the pace again. Her tightness felt amazing and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling, trying not to think that he had now rendered her into any other random girl he could have easily picked up on the street.

He let his fingers gingerly caress the side of her neck, feeling her pulse beat against the softness of her skin. He grabbed her by the throat and held on just a little too tight, making her eyes widen in alarm and her mouth open slightly to catch her breath. He smiled at her and she warily smiled back, compulsion fighting against the voice in her head screaming 'danger'. Seeing the fear in her eyes, smelling her arousal, the arousal he'd induced in her by compelling her to want him, attracted the vampire in him.

He felt the veins protrude around his eyes and his fangs elongate. Elena inhaled sharply but said nothing. Damon's breathing was shallow and his pulse beat fast, just like it did every time he was about to feed, the adrenaline surging through him. But the compulsion he'd put on Elena made her compliant and calm. The ultimate high for him was a victim that was terrified. Their blood tasted riper than any other. He toyed with the idea of compelling her to remember to be frightened, but he was horny and she was wet and he was hungry as hell. He leaned Elena's head to the side for a better angle and was just about to plunge his teeth into her, when a tiny sound from his left distracted him.

'Damon', he heard Elena's voice from the entrance to his room. He looked at Elena in confusion but her eyes were closed and she didn't seem to have said anything. She was still smiling serenely, holding his neck in a loose embrace.

'Damon', he heard the voice again. Slowly he let his eyes leave Elena towards the door.

A dark haired girl was leaning leisurely against the door frame, dressed in a violet colored crinoline dress, one which he'd once upon a lifetime ago bought Katherine… He sat up with a start, pushing Elena away from him, his eyes not leaving Katherine Pierce's petite frame, where she was standing in front of him, smiling gleefully.

'Have you forgotten about me already, Damon? You promised me to chase me forever.' She tossed her long dark curls over her shoulder and pouted her lips the way that used to make him want to move the sun and earth for her. 'You told me you'd love me forever.'

Damon shivered as Katherine's slightly childish voice fully registered in his brain. He felt his mouth open in surprise, but he couldn't do anything to hide his shock. Katherine was back! Somehow she'd found a way to get out of the tomb, and now she was back seeing him in the arms of someone else. A feeble copy of herself at that. He felt himself trying to untangle his body from Elena's, to show Katherine how he never meant to forget about her, but the look of disdain that passed over Katherine's delicate features showed him in not so many words that what he had done wasn't just something he could get away with in a heartbeat. There was a trickle of panic coursing through him, the thought of Katherine not wanting him any longer made his throat constrict, made it unbearable to breathe, which was odd, since he didn't need to breathe to survive.

'Damon.' He heard Elena say next to him and he looked over at her in confusion. 'You've got me now; you don't have to chase her anymore.' She smiled at him, and her smile was genuine and beautiful.

He looked back at Katherine. She was edging closer to the bed, her dress rustling gently against the wooden floor boards.

'I'm back now so you should just get rid of her.' Her voice had taken on a slightly nasal tone, one she used only when she was annoyed. Damon remembered every single detail that was Katherine Pierce. He also remembered that he used to do anything and everything she told him to.

'Kill her', Katherine whispered vehemently leaning in over him, pushing his chin up with her finger. 'She's served her purpose now. She kept you company while you were waiting for me, I get it. Now get rid of her.'

Damon started shaking his head. There was something wrong, he couldn't put his finger on it, but it all felt wrong.

Katherine raised her voice into a loud hiss.

'You need to kill her Damon, so we can be together.' Katherine was standing so close to him if he only leaned forward a bit he would be able to kiss her, but Katherine was looking intently at Elena, who sat naked and shivering next to him on the bed. 'Kill her.'

'Please Damon, don't', Elena whispered, her eyes glittering with unshed tears.

He shook his head at her and turned to Katherine again, who gave him a poisonous smile.

'If you don't kill her, I will.' She waited just under a second before her face shifted and she lunged for Elena whose scream sent chills down Damon's spine.

'No!' he growled and sprang towards Katherine just as her fangs sank into Elena's neck. He was about to reach them, when Katherine's arm came out of nowhere and pushed him hard enough for him to crash into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Then everything turned dark.


Damon woke up with a start. All he could hear was his own elaborate breathing, the rest of his room lay in complete silence, and it was pitch black. He spun around in the bed to look for Elena's dead body where Katherine must have left her, before he realized that she wasn't even there with him. It was in the middle of the night and he was alone and it had all been a dream. He ran his hand over his face to calm down, trying to sort his head out.

Damon Salvatore didn't do nightmares. Not unless he was causing them. He got up and started pacing the room, the drying sweat on his back causing chills to run up and down his spine.

This was all Elena's doing. Trying to get into his head, making him forget the real reason he was in this town to start with. In his dream he'd tried to save her from Katherine – when he should hand her over to Katherine as a gift, a peace offering for having had to leave her in that damned tomb for too fucking long.

There wasn't a chance in hell he'd be able to go back to sleep now, not that he slept much at night anyway, the nocturnal part of him always nudging to break lose. He got dressed quickly and left the house in silence. Instead of taking his vintage car, he started running towards the woods. It was always faster that way, especially when he was on the hunt.


Stefan found Damon nursing a bottle of whiskey at The Grill. He sat down next to his brother who groaned slightly at the sight of him.

'What now?' Damon snapped and grabbed his tumbler, taking a long sip of the amber colored fluid.

'Coffee, please', Stefan told the bartender, and shot Damon a sideways glance. 'You haven't been home in days.'

Damon rolled his eyes at him. 'What do you care?'

Stefan sighed and nodded towards the bartender who brought him his coffee. 'Look, I know I shouldn't have taken up Elena's time…'

Damon interrupted him before he was able to finish his sentence.

'No. What you shouldn't have done, brother, was compel Caroline to do your dirtywork. You're not good at it. In fact, you suck at it.' Damon looked straight into Stefan's eyes. 'It didn't accomplish anything, except pissing me off. And when I get pissed off,' He gave Stefan a devilish grin. ', who knows what I'll do.'

Stefan looked flustered.

'Damon, please…'

'Oh come on, Stefan. I'm only joking. There's no way in hell Elena would go for you. I mean, look at you.' He glanced over at Stefan with a frown. 'You're just so boring and broody. Elena's way too much fun for you.' His face lit up as he smiled, albeit with a mocking underlining in the curl of his mouth. 'That's why she opted for the better and superior brother. Me.'

Stefan shook his head and smiled his tone of voice not entirely void of sarcasm. 'Damon, you're right, of course. Why would she ever pick me?' He then turned to Damon, with a slight frown between his brows. Damon used to call that his more 'serious vampire-look. 'I'm not going after Elena. I'm just making sure you're just not using her as a pawn in one of your games. When I spoke to her, I…' He stopped himself, as if he thought better of him saying anything.

'What?' Damon asked, feeling a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

'I must be stupid for even telling you this, but when I spoke to her at the Lockwood's last Sunday, I realized that she likes you, Damon.' Stefan's eyes turned serious. 'She really does, and I am hoping that you won't screw this up. I think she might be worth your while.'

'Oh, come on.' Damon scoffed. 'She's just part of the entertainment, making my stay in this godforsaken deadbeat town bearable.' He waved for the bartender to get him another clean tumbler before grabbing the bottle of whiskey and the glasses and walking over to the pool table. Stefan warily followed.

'Then why are you here, Damon? Why don't you just leave, if this town is making you so miserable? I know you're not here to visit Uncle Zach for the sake of family.'

Damon turned around and held out a pool cue to him, a lopsided smirk on his face.

'Game of eight-ball, a drink and I might tell you about my diabolical plan.'

Stefan sighed, but reluctantly accepted the cue.

'I'm not in the mood for playing games. Just tell me why you're here.'

Damon shook his head and poured them two doubles.

'Cheer up brother, and drink with me. You might just find out the reason I'm making your life hell on earth. Why not take the risk playing a game of pool with your brother? For old times' sake.'

Stefan looked around the bar for a moment before deciding.

'Fine. One game, and then you tell me why you're really here.'

Damon chuckled.

'Only if you win, baby bro'.'

Stefan nodded once.

'Rack 'em up.' He grabbed some chalk and started working his cue tip. 'I'll break.'


'Elena.' Elena's mother sighed looking at her daughter who was sitting in the window sill of the downstairs living room, writing in her diary. 'You should really concentrate on looking at those college applications that I've gotten for you. I know I keep going on at you about it, but your future is really important.'

Elena finished writing her sentence before putting the pen down.

'I've started looking at Mercy College and New York University', she said. 'They've both got great campuses and renowned professors, I'm sure you and Dad will find them appealing.'

Miranda Gilbert sat down next to Elena and looked at her with a concerned frown. Elena knew what would be coming next.

'Your father has his eyes set on you going to University of Virginia. New York is pretty far away and…'

Elena interrupted her, feeling the anger washing over her in waves. They'd been through this so many times now.

'…and he wants me to become a doctor, just like him, but with better prerequisites.' She let out a loud sigh. 'Yea, I know, he keeps telling me. And I keep telling him that I don't want to be a doctor, I want to be a writer. And you've always wanted me to become a writer; I don't understand why that's changed?'

'Your grades are outstanding.' Miranda interjected. 'I do think you should consider your options more carefully.'

Elena stood up and walked across the room towards the stairs leading up to her bedroom.

'Look, Mom, I've already thought about it. You've always told me to follow my dreams, and now I am, so why are you trying to stop me?' She shook her head slowly. 'Maybe Jeremy wants to pursue Dad's career, but I don't, I just wish Dad could see that and be happy for me.'

With that she turned on her heels and hurried up the stairs. She could understand her parents concern about college applications, but what she couldn't understand was her father's insistence on her becoming a doctor. He wasn't ever giving Jeremy grief about stuff like that, and yes, she knew that Jeremy didn't have the test scores that she did, but it wasn't fair – the amount of pressure they put on her.

She tried calling Damon, but it went straight to voice mail. It's not like he'd been avoiding her, but since the night of the summer banquet, she'd noticed that he was acting more withdrawn around her than he usually did. She was hoping that he was coming out of his funk soon, or she'd have to see to that he would. She smiled while she set her cell down on the vanity table in her room. Damon didn't know it yet, but she had plans for them both, and she was sure he was going to love it.


'Right', Stefan said and laid his cue down on the pool table. 'I won so you're telling me about your…', he raised his brow at Damon, 'diabolical plan that has brought you to Mystic Falls.'

Damon was fuming inside, only for the plain fact that he had to lose against Stefan in a damned game of eight balls. He would've won hands down. But he was itching to tell Stefan why he was in Mystic Falls, to see the look on his brother's face as he told him he was bringing Katherine back to them. To him.

'How did you get so good at Eight-Balls?', he asked Stefan instead and leaned against the pool table, reaching for the whiskey bottle which was nearly empty by now. 'You used to suck at it. I taught you how to play.'

Stefan shook his head. 'You're deflecting. Tell me why you're here.'

Damon pointed his finger at Stefan's chest. 'See, I remember when you asked me to teach you how to play. You were around twelve and Father's friend, Clark Williamson, had a Billiard table shipped over from England for us. No one around here had played it before, and Father brought all of his acquaintances over, and over cigars and brandy they learned how to play. And after I'd learned the game you asked me to teach you how to play Four Ball Billiards on the sly when Father wouldn't notice, because he'd forbidden you to. Then you told him about what I'd made you do, as if I'd forced your hand, and he whipped me.'

Damon frowned in remembrance, looking intently at Stefan who was visibly disturbed by the memory. 'Do you remember? I couldn't sit for a week. And if I'm not mistaken you told me you enjoyed the game too much and it made you feel bad. So you decided to have Father punish me for something you felt bad about.'

Stefan flexed his neck and moved to stand in front of Damon. His jaw clenched and unclenched, trying to forget some things from the past best forgotten.

'Damon. Why are you really here?'

Damon stood up, making Stefan take a step back.

'Do you remember what it was like in this town, before Katherine and the others were killed in that church?'

Stefan nodded slowly, trying to work out how Katherine came into play all of a sudden. Damon looked at him with cold, calculating eyes.

'I remember the fear and the hysteria', Stefan said warily.

'The town's people were killing vampires one by one. When they came for Katherine I went straight to Emily. I said I'll do anything, name your price – just protect her.' Suddenly a faint glow appeared in Damon's eyes. 'She did.'

'What do you mean, Emily protected Katherine? She died in that church, Damon. She died.'

Damon shook his head, a smile starting to appear around the corners of his mouth.

'She did some kind of spell with a crystal and while the church was burning and we thought Katherine was burning in it, she wasn't.'

A chill started to spread low in Stefan's stomach. Damon's facial expression looked slightly feverish. He really didn't like what he was hearing. It had to be wrong. Damon had to be wrong. Katherine was dead.

'I saw her go inside the church, we both did.' He was grasping at straws, he knew that. Damon's demeanor was changing, there was an intensity surrounding him that frightened Stefan.

'See, that's the thing, Stefan. There's a tomb underneath the church and the spell sealed Katherine in that tomb, protecting her.'

Stefan took a step closer to Damon, looking around to make sure no one was listening in. The bar was buzzing with punters, no one paying attention to the brothers, but he just wanted to make sure. The chill had turned into a petrifying cold, numbing his face, making it harder for him to speak.

'Are you telling me that Katherine is alive?' he managed to ask between clenched teeth.

'Well, if that's what you wanna call it', Damon scoffed. 'She's been trapped in a mystical holding cell for the last century and a half. How do you think she's doing, Stefan?'

Damon leaned in close to Stefan, his warm breath tickling Stefan's neck and ear.

'Did you know that witches can use celestial events to draw energy into their magic?' He leaned back in mock surprise. 'Me neither. But in order to get the crystal its power, Emily used the comet that was passing over our heads that night. Remember the comet?' Damon looked at him with his upper lip curved in sarcasm. 'Of course you do, it's the night you died. Anyhow, in order for that crystal to work again… connect the dots for me here, brother.'

'The comet had to return', Stefan said in a low voice.

Damon threw out his arms, pretending to be enthusiastic. 'So the prodigal brother of mine solves the mystery. Downside – long time in between comets. But the comet passed and I got the crystal – thanks to you and Caroline – making it easier for me. And now here we are.'

Stefan looked at his brother, his eyes narrowing. 'Why would Emily do this for you?'

Damon smiled a knowing smile. 'Because she knew that they'd come for her too. And she made me promise that her lineage would survive.'

Stefan looked over Damon's shoulder, at nothing in particular. 'I remember you saving her children.'

'Yea, and as long as Emily keeps her word, I'll keep mine.' Damon raised his chin, a smirk on his lips. 'But if she screws me over, the deal is off. Then there will be no more Bennett's in this world. We will be rid of all the witches.'

'Wherever you go people die, Damon.' Stefan's face was contorted in brooding pain and Damon wanted nothing more than shove his fist in his face and beat the crap out of him. 'You can't possibly mean that if Emily's spell doesn't work you'll look all of her descendants up and kill them?'

'Then help me get Katherine out and I'll be on my way', Damon shrugged. 'That should be an easy enough task even for you. I'll even let you keep Elena; I'm done with her anyway.'

'Even if I wanted her' Stefan said, clearly lying through his teeth, 'she doesn't want me, Damon, she wants you.' Damon enjoyed hearing the hurt coloring his brother' voice.

'Just get that ring off her finger and compel her, if that's what's bothering you. I'll even help you out, seeing as you're doing me a favor.' Damon smiled at him, the smile not reaching his eyes. 'Quid pro quo, brother.' He raised his eyebrows.

'What?' Stefan asked, looking dumbfounded. Damon sighed and took a step closer to him.

'Am I using too big words for you?' He saw Stefan starting to shake his head in annoyance, but he couldn't resist a quip when one presented itself. 'How about – you rub my back and I'll rub yours? That better?'

Stefan stared at him. 'You don't really mean that.'

'Oh, but I do.' Damon smiled at him – a genuine smile. One Stefan hadn't seen him wear for centuries. 'I'm getting Katherine back. ' With one last look at Stefan he sauntered across the floor, towards the entrance, leaving Stefan to process what he'd just found out.


Remember; reviews equals love.