Disclaimer: Still don't own anything to do with The Vampire Diaries.
Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites! You are all awesome!
Damon blinked in surprise as the door slammed shut in his face. He turned to his brother, pointing at the door with an incredulous look on his face. "Did Vampire Barbie really just slam the door in my face?"
"Yes, she did. You were being an ass and Elena is upset enough. Why don't we just go close the blinds and drapes so that Elena doesn't burst into flames on her way downstairs? You can continue antagonizing Caroline later." Stefan started to walk backwards toward the stairs, hoping his older brother would follow him.
After one more irritated glance at the door, Damon followed Stefan who turned around as the other vampire caught up with him. "Did you know that those two stole two of my best vintage last night?"
Stefan sighed. "Is that the reason for your extra bad attitude today?" There was no way that was all that was bothering Damon and he had a good idea as to what the other reason was.
"You mean besides the Original that you invited to stay here even though it was his sister that killed Elena in the first place?" Damon stopped at the first landing and glared up at his brother before closing the blinds and securing the heavy drapes over them.
"Damon, she wants him here." After his brother snorted and start down the next flight of steps, Stefan's irritation increased. He caught up to his brother and grabbed his arm. Damon stopped and turned around to glare at Stefan. "You know how stubborn she is, Damon! If she wants his help, she'll find a way to get it, with or without our support. If he's here, we can at least keep an eye on their interactions and make sure he doesn't do anything to hurt her. If any of us are going to help her, you need to at least make an effort to get along with Elijah. If you don't you're just going to push her away. Do you really want that to happen?"
Damon wanted to refute his brother's logic, but ended up agreeing. He didn't want Elena running off on her own and trying to figure everything out for herself. She'd end up losing control and killing someone. He didn't think she'd be able to handle that. "Fine," he growled out through gritted teeth. "But if this goes sideways, the way it always does where the Originals are concerned, it's on you, Brother."
Stefan nodded, knowing this was all he was going to get in the way of cooperation from Damon. "Then it'll be on me," he agreed.
Damon walked into the living room to see Bonnie sitting on one of the couches. "Witchy," he greeted her as he walked to the windows to shut the drapes.
"Why couldn't you just let her make her own choice, Damon?" Bonnie couldn't deny that she was happy that Elena was still alive, more or less, but it should have been her decision, not his.
Damon finished with the windows before turning to look at Bonnie. He couldn't remember her ever looking as haggard as she did right now, which tempered his attitude when he answered her. "Because I was so relieved that she wasn't completely dead that I didn't want to take the chance she'd refuse to transition. Would you really have had her decide that?"
"No," Bonnie acknowledged, looking away from him for a minute before turning her gaze back to him. "But, I might have been able to do something to change it, to prevent her from dying or turning." She was feeling so guilty and very desperate. She would have tapped back into the dark magic she'd used to desiccate Klaus to save Elena.
Damon sighed, trying to control his temper. "There is no cure for vampirism, Bonnie. You know that as well as I do." She looked like she wanted to argue with him, but just looked down at the hands she had folded in her lap. She looked defeated and worn and he couldn't help the surge of sympathy that suddenly washed over him. "I'm gonna get some coffee, would you like a cup?"
"Already done, Brother," Stefan said, entering the room with a small tray filled with coffee mugs, cream, and sugar. Setting it down, he handed one of the steaming mugs to Bonnie.
"Thank you," she said before looking over at Damon and giving him a small smile of acknowledgement for the offer.
Understanding the message, Damon smiled back at her with a slight nod as Stefan said, "You're welcome."
Both vampires suddenly turned their attention toward the stairs and Bonnie stood up nervously, placing her mug down on the coffee table. She had to support Elena, but she was now understandably uneasy in her presence. Taking a deep breath, she willed away the uneasiness and straightened up. She put on an understanding smile as Elena, with Caroline at her side and Elijah behind her, entered the room.
Elena looked at Bonnie apprehensively and Bonnie couldn't help but go over to her. She gave Elena a quick hug, making sure that it only lasted a second so as not to tempt Elena before pulling away. She could see her friend appreciated the gesture.
Relief flooded through her when Bonnie actually hugged her. It only lasted a second but Elena was grateful for show of support and forgiveness. "Bonnie, I'm so sorry," she started.
As soon as Elena tried to apologized, Bonnie shook her head. "I know how hard this is on you, Elena. I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose. But, you'll be fine; you've got all of us to help you get through this."
"Thank you, Bonnie." Elena felt relief flow through her and glanced at a beaming Caroline. For the first time, she began to feel like she would be able to get through this. If Bonnie was still willing to be supportive after what happened, then Elena swore she'd work as hard as she could to find control.
"Come on, let's sit down. I smell coffee," Caroline said. She flashed both her friends a sunny smile and looped the arm that was not wrapped around Elena's through Bonnie's and led the girls over to the couch.
He crept quietly to the edge of the woods surrounding Salvatore Boarding House. Training his hearing, he picked up on the conversation between the Doppelganger, witch, and baby vampire. Apparently, the Doppelganger had done something to anger the witch, who was being surprisingly forgiving for a witch. They were such a self-righteous lot. He continued to listen, hoping to find out what had happened, but it wasn't mentioned again. He heard the voices of the brothers, as well, as they discussed things he couldn't care less about.
Finally, about half an hour or so later, he watched the witch leave and decided to make himself known.
Hope this was a bit better than the last chapter, lol. Sorry there was Elena/Elijah interaction in this chapter, but I wanted to go through the other characters interactions as well. I have time, so I'm going to work on the next chapter and hope to have it up within a week or so.
