Peachie X continues to use some of her valuable time to act as Beta on this story. I continue to be grateful...

Not Allowed

Elena closed the car door behind Sarah as Alaric entered the passenger side front seat. Elena was turning to enter the car on the other side when Damon trapped her against car between his arms.

"Damon?" Elena asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"We need to talk." Damon said.

"We're in a hurry. I promised them we would be back before noon."

"So call Bonnie, tell her we might be a few minutes late and give your phone to the witch so she can talk to her mother. We need to talk,"

Elena sighed. "About what?"

Damon moved one hand to remove the microphone from Elena and place it in his pocket. Elena watched, but did not move as he returned the hand to the car to trap her again..

"Katherine should go there instead of you." Damon said.

Elena did try to push his arm off now. "Damon, let me go. We need to leave."

Damon shook his head. "She could do it, Elena, she should."

"Do not think you can do this to me, Damon. Let me go!" Elena was getting mad now.

"Do not think I will let you go back to where someone tried to kill you without trying to at least talk you out of it." Damon said.

Elena met his eyes now. "I promised Damon."

"Katherine can do it."

Elena pulled her phone out. "All right. We'll talk, but just for a minute." She called Bonnie.

"Elena?" Bonnie asked, answering.

"Bonnie, we may be a few minutes late. Nothing has changed, but there will be a delay."

"Delay?"

"Yeah. I'm giving the phone to Sarah. Would you let her talk to her mother until we're ready to go? Tell them I'm really sorry, but we'll only be a couple of minutes. OK?"

"I will. They heard everything, I told them it would be harsh. They're waiting for you to come back to see what you say."

"Soon Bonnie. Here's Sarah."

Damon still had her pinned to the car, but backed off a little so she could turn around.

Elena shoved him as she opened the door. "If you ever do that again, it had better be because I want you to kiss me."

"You always want me to kiss you." Damon said as Elena passed the phone to Sarah.

"Talk to your mom for a minute? I need to clobber Damon."

Sarah, who had been watching the incident through the window, laughed and accepted the phone.

Elena purposely moved a few feet away from the car to face him.

"Damon, I have to go back in there. I made promises to Nathaniel, Katherine and Sarah."

"You're the only one here keeping promises, Elena."

"I'm still going to keep them. Besides, Bonnie knows when you are outside of her house. These witches would know if it was a vampire instead of me. How would you get them to invite her in anyway?"

"Compulsion, Elena."

"You don't think they have vervain?" Elena's voice was rising.

"I could bite the witch and find out."

"They know about it, Damon, Sarah mentioned it to me. So yeah, they probably have it if they are having vampire problems."

Damon looked down. All visible attitude was gone. "I don't think I can bear to let you go back in there, Elena."

Elena paused to take a good look at him. She could see that he wasn't just being a jerk. She softened "Don't you think Katherine's demands are enough? Two vampires?"

"I don't know." Damon said, meeting her eyes again. "I don't know what it's like in there."

"Damon, I have to. You'll be there, that's what you wanted, right?"

"That's at the bottom of a very long list of things I would rather have happen – like having Katherine go in there instead of you."

Elena shook her head. "It wouldn't work, and it wouldn't be protecting her, which I have to do."

Damon gave her a hard look now. "So you admit it's not safe for Katherine in there, but you're going?"

Elena shrugged. "I have to and I want to, Damon. Plus, everyone in the house will be looking out for me, including you. I couldn't be safer anywhere."

Elena could tell Damon was not convinced. "I am going in. Is there anything that would make you feel better about it?"

Damon nodded his head, "Yes. Let us give them a demonstration, Elena, as soon as we enter."

"Demonstration?"

"Describe the witch that attacked you. When Isobel and I see her, we will hit her from different directions before she can react."

"No, Damon." Elena said quickly. " I told you, no more threats. I won't let you touch them unless provoked."

"Provoked? That hasn't happened? What is provoked – when you stay dead?"

Elena expression turned hard again. "Damon, we're past that – you know what I mean. Not unless provoked again."

"We won't hurt her, just show them how fast we can get to her and break her neck. There may be some touching, but we won't hurt her."

"Damon, I don't think I want to start off that way."

"They started off by killing you." Damon's expression was hard now.

Elena closed her eyes and shook her head. "Damon I told you, we're past that. I'm not dead."

"You're past it. I'm still ready to kill someone because of what they did." Damon saw Elena's expression. "But I won't."

"Yet." Elena said almost bitterly.

"No Elena." He was speaking calmly now. "I might say 'yet' to the witches, but not to you. I won't do it because it's not what you want. But we at least need a demonstration – something to show them that we could do something to them, but that we aren't."

Elena sighed. "Saber rattling?"

Damon nodded.

Elena looked into the car at Sarah. She was still on the phone.

"Will I lose her support if we do?" Elena wondered out loud as she moved to stand next to Damon, who was also looking into the car.

"Do you really think you have it?" Damon asked.

Elena nodded. "Yes. Microphone please?" she said, holding her hand out.

Damon gave it to her. She replaced the mike and turned to look into his eyes. "No Damon. I understand what you're saying and why you want it, but I'm not going to enter their house and do anything but talk to them. I know what they did, but Nathaniel and Katherine trust me to do what I think is right. No demonstrations, no provocations. Please, you just stay next to me – watch the witches if you want, but stay next to me unless there really is a problem."

"I've never just stood by when you're in danger, Elena."

"I know. Do it for me this time. Please?"

Damon hesitated briefly, but nodded. Elena took his hand and let him lead her to the other side of the car. He climbed in before her, sitting between her and Sarah.

Elena sat next to him and gave him a questioning look. As she leaned over to accept the phone back, Sarah asked "Is Katherine always like that?"

Elena shook her head slightly. "No. It's rare. Mostly when someone she cares about has been killed – or almost killed."

"Mostly." Sarah repeated.

"Yeah. Mostly." Elena confirmed as she sat straight again.

She turned to Damon and asked. "Why the middle again? Isn't it uncomfortable?"

Damon whispered to her "I'm staying between you and witches whenever I can."

Somebody Knows

Elena leaned over to talk to Sarah as the trip neared its end.

"Did your mother say anything? She's knows about having the vampires go in with me, right?"

Sarah nodded. "She knows. Bonnie helped convince her and she has seen that they do what you say."

"I do not do what Elena says." Damon said.

Sarah looked into his eyes. "From what I saw, even the baddest of you does what Elena says. It had better stay that way if I'm going to let you into my house."

Damon actually turned to Elena. "I do not just do what you say!"

Elena gave a quick smile towards Sarah and looked at Damon. "It would be easier if you did, but you will while were in their house won't you?"

"That depends." Damon claimed.

"No. While in their house, you will stay with me. Take a bullet for me if you must, but stay next to me, OK?" She was looking earnestly at him.

"Fine." Damon growled.

"Fine." Elena repeated.

"Fine" Sarah said, trying to suppress a smile. Then she gasped as she saw a motorcycle with two riders cross in front of them.

Isobel hit the brakes and swerved, the car sliding to a halt. Sarah did not know if the motorcycle had been hit or not.

Before anyone could blink a fist hit Isobel's door, jamming it. Then the door next to Elena was ripped off by one vampire when another grabbed Elena and began to carry her away.

Damon was instantly out of the car, but hit immediately with the door and tackled by the other vampire. Isobel was still trying to get her door open while Alaric was trying to reach his bag of supplies.

Sarah saw Damon getting hit with the door as he exited. When he was out of the way, she saw a vampire holding a struggling Elena, exposing her neck. She reacted immediately, casting a spell in Elena's direction. The vampire's mouth was just connecting with Elena's neck when he let out a yelp, cursed and dropped her to the pavement.

Isobel had managed to force her door open, ripping it off in the process. She hit the vampire before it could recover. Alaric, who held a dart in one hand and a stake in the other, was quickly with Isobel, trying to get the dart into the vampire..

Sarah ran to Elena as she scanned for others. Not seeing any, she turned to Elena, who was trying to push herself up.

"No. Stay down for a minute. You're bleeding. We need to make sure you're OK. Let me cast a protection spell," Sarah said and immediately started chanting.

Elena was on her side and pushed herself to lie on her back as she heard Sarah cast the spell. She was starting to feel the scrapes on her arms, elbows and legs.

She turned head trying to see what was happening. She could see that Alaric had hit a vampire with a dart and was staking it as Isobel moved to help Damon.

Elena was sore from her fall, but felt no pain except where she thought she had cuts and scrapes. When she saw that a second vampire had been staked by Isobel, she tried to sit up again and was helped by Sarah.

"Find the rings or whatever." Isobel told Damon and Alaric. "Let the sun take them," she said as she scanned the area for others. She saw no one else.

Isobel went to the edge of the protection spell and looked at Sarah, trying not to glare.

"Let them in," Elena told Sarah. "They don't see any other danger."

"Like they saw this." Sarah said, almost grumbling, but she complied.

Damon was at Elena instantly, but backed away slightly when the scent of her blood hit him.

"We need to get her back to Katherine." He told Isobel.

"No, my house is close." Sarah said. "We have supplies to clean her up." Then she spoke to Elena, "Anything but cuts and bruises?"

Elena shook her head as Damon said "Murderers are in your house."

Isobel interceded. "Damon, she's right. We're exposed here – we need to go somewhere close."

"We need to get her out of this town and keep her as far away as possible," Damon yelled in frustration. "then nuke it," he added softly.

"He means we'll go to your house." Isobel told Sarah. "Can he bear your blood? Can he carry you while bleeding?" she asked Elena.

"Yes," Elena nodded.

"Then he can carry you and I'll carry Sarah."

Sarah was dubious. "Can't I just walk or run?"

"No." Elena said to Sarah, though looking at Isobel. She was amazed that one of the vampires had mentioned Sarah by her name.

She turned to Sarah then. "We need the speed. You'll be safe with her."

Sarah hesitated, until Isobel said "We need to move – Elena's in danger here." Sarah finally nodded.

"Ride on her back." Alaric told Sarah. "Otherwise, it'll look too weird."

Isobel shook her head at Alaric's comment, then spoke to him. "Will you get the car and the doors there? Do you remember where her house is?"

"I've been paying attention." Alaric said, looking to see where the doors were.

"Thank you. As fast as you can – Katherine wants you there with us."

"Fast too?" Alaric said, noting that the keys were in the car, that it was still running, and going to pick up the doors. "I'm leaving the bike."

"Fine" Isobel said as she helped Elena stand. As Damon picked Elena up and she turned to allow Sarah to climb on her back, she spoke in a low voice. "You know what this means."

"Yeah," Damon responded in a normal voice as they started to run. "Someone knows she's here."