Title: After Dark
Summary: Elena can't sleep and Damon is dying to find out why…
Rating: M, eventually
Disclaimer: I don't, in any way, profit from this story. All creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s) – no copyright infringement is intended.
A cough from the other side of her bedroom startled her. "Am I interrupting something?"
Elena scrambled off the bed, backing toward the bathroom door as she eyed her intruder with fear and suspicion.
"Oh, calm down. If I wanted you dead, you'd be snapped in two already. We have much more pressing matters to deal with."
"We?" Elena croaked.
"Yes, we." Katherine's eyes glinted in the darkness. "Come on, you could look a little happier to see me."
"Forgive me, I forgot what great friends we are." Elena replied, dryly.
"And that's exactly why I came to you." Rolling her eyes at Elena's sceptical expression, she continued, "…because friends help each other out." Katherine smiled conspiratorially. "Don't they?"
"What do you want?" Elena tried to keep her voice from trembling.
"Oh, just your boring old human self to obtain something for me." Katherine tossed her hair over her shoulder and sat down nonchalantly on the bed.
"Why can't you compel some other human to get it for you?"
"Because my dear doppelganger, as you will know by now, when it comes to you and me nothing is ever simple. A vampire cannot penetrate the seal and neither can an ordinary human. Only a human with doppelganger blood can get me what I want."
"How inconvenient for you." Elena snapped.
"Those Bennett witches sure as hell had a sense of humour." Katherine eyed her fingernails, feigning boredom.
"And why should I help you?" Elena asked boldly, her hands on her hips as she stepped forward.
"Because if you don't, the vampire race will be wiped from this earth forever. Including your precious Stefan."
Elena gulped. "Dramatic much?"
"I like your sass but unfortunately, I don't have time for it. You need to come with me." Katherine stood, closing the distance between them.
"I'm not going anywhere with you. Not without Damon and Stefan." Elena shook her head resolutely. "What?"
Katherine's eyes narrowed, assessing Elena carefully. "Damon and Stefan. Not Stefan and Damon? And why Damon at all?" She mused.
"They're brothers and they are both in danger." Elena stuttered.
"Now, now. I've been around a lot longer than you and I have enough personal experience with those brothers to spy a ménage-a-trois when I see one."
"Gross. No!" Elena twisted her face in disgust. "I'm not you."
"There is no sin in loving them both Elena." She murmured.
"Only pain." Elena whispered, before she could stop herself.
Katherine shrugged. "You're too virtuous to understand what you possess. You need to think of them as two sides of the same coin, not unlike you and me."
"Excuse me?"
"You and Stefan, you're innocent and pure and you try so hard to be what everyone expects you to be. Me and Damon, we're wild and reckless and our only goal is to achieve our desires. And regardless of what you may think of me, I desire the same as Damon. True, unconditional love in its purest form. And whilst I can only find what I seek in Stefan, Damon can only find what he seeks in you."
"What makes you the authority on what I do and do not feel? You're hardly a shining example of morality and wisdom." Elena spat whilst at the same time, her mind processed the words Katherine was saying to her.
"Look, I'm hardly Oprah but I can tell you this for nothing. The sooner you come to realise that Damon is your other half, the easier all of our lives will be. For a long time Damon thought that I was his salvation. But it is you. Just like Stefan is mine."
Before Elena could respond, Katherine gripped her wrist. "Share time is over. Places to go, people to see and all that."
"Please tell me that you aren't going to wallow for too long." Damon sighed as he entered the living room to find Stefan cradling a bottle of brandy on the sofa. "Here's a tip, you might find the wallowing will pass quicker if you had better taste in alcohol."
"Go away, Damon."
"Touchy, touchy. Look at you, all bent out of shape because your girlie doesn't want you anymore." He sniggered as he poured himself a shot of Bourbon.
"I mean it Damon, leave me alone." Stefan growled.
"Well, well – some things never change do they boys? I wonder what has got your panties all in a bunch." Katherine sing-songed from the doorway.
"Katherine." Stefan flashed from his prone position on the sofa to pin Katherine up against the door frame.
"I'm thrilled you remember. You know how I like it rough." She winked at Damon over Stefan's shoulder who had reacted to her presence with a mere eye roll.
"What on earth did I do to deserve seeing you again?" He muttered as he watched Stefan continue to press Katherine into the wall. Then he saw Elena appear behind her, her face calm but her body trembling at the attempt she was making to contain her fear.
"She needs my help." Elena managed to state calmly, only vaguely noticing Stefan release his grip on Katherine. Her eyes were locked onto Damon's who was stood on the opposite side of the room starting right back at her.
"I do love a soap opera." Katherine giggled as she watched the interactions unfold before her. "But we don't have time for all that now; we have booty to collect."
"We don't have anything to do with you." Stefan hissed, his palms clenching at his sides.
"Has Bugs Bunny done this to you baby or are you off the wagon?" Katherine looked at him amused. "I can feel your anger. And I like it." She licked her lips.
"Ok, ok. What do you want, Katherine?" Damon interrupted as he watched Elena step around her to stand closer to him, effectively out of the reach of Katherine and Stefan.
"Just a magical bug-a-boo that I need the doppelganger to collect for me. She was adamant she wouldn't go anywhere without you, Damon." She let the statement hang for a moment before continuing, "…so I brought her here to prove to her that I didn't want to kill her, well not today anyway."
"If you harm her, I swear to god." Stefan's voice was low and cold.
"Calm down, honey. Really. Elena's fine. See?" Katherine pointed at Elena who by this point had navigated her way to the other side of the room and was stood at Damon's side. "There she is, stood right next to your brother. All in one piece."
Damon eyed Elena warily as he tried to fathom out how Katherine appeared to be up to speed on the situation with him and Elena. He didn't receive any answers from Elena though as she lowered her eyes to the floor.
The only person who didn't appear to have a clue as to what was going on was Stefan. Nothing new there then. Damon sighed. "Why should we help you?"
"Because if you don't you'll die. And so will I, and so will Stefan and every other vampire on this earth." Katherine shrugged.
"Well, I'd say that sounds like a good enough reason to me." Damon replied. "It's not like I've got anything better to do."
Stefan turned away from them all and began pacing in front of the fire place. "Fine." He mumbled to himself, digging his hands in his pockets.
Damon fixed Katherine with his gaze. "Ignore him, he's drunk. Now, got a plan you'd care to share?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Katherine grinned, reaching for the decanter of Bourbon and a glass.
Damon waited patiently, his hands at his sides, his body acutely aware of how close Elena was to him. And he didn't think Katherine or Stefan noticed when Elena carefully slipped her hand in his.
I hope you like this chapter… so sorry for the delay. Unexpected events took over last week so I thought I had better post an update just incase something happens again next week! Though fingers crossed it won't ;-) Your feedback and support for this story continues to keep my muse well fed – please hit the review button and let me know what you guys think – I was a little worried about writing Katherine but I think it's worked out ok… do you? Even Katherine is #TeamDelena :)