I HAVE MY LAPTOP BACK. God, I'm so happy it's fixed. The hard drive blew and I had to get it taken care of…it was a huge mess. I'd been updating from my iPod so the chapters were shorter and all…but it should get better. I heart you all! (:

Oh, and Happy Holidays!

"What are you talking about?" I insisted.

His eyes narrowed. "Let me finish, child."

I quieted, focusing on him respectfully. The way he spoke to me made me feel small, inferior.

"Much better. Now, then.

"There's a curse that's been placed on me, on my hybrid gene. If I were to try to make another of me, the vampire blood would kill the wolf. Thus, I could never produce more hybrids. I don't like to be alone, and if I could break the curse, I could create a family."

"A hybrid family," I repeated incredulously.

"Precisely," he agreed. "In order to break the curse, I need a vampire, a werewolf, and...you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you, Elena, are a doppelganger."

I shook my head. The word was unfamiliar. "A doppelganger?"

"Yes, a sort of spitting image of one's ancestor; except for the doppelganger is an exact replica of the person."

Her hands...my hands. Her face...my face."But I'm not related to Katherine!" I objected. "I'm a Gilbert, she's a…" I was at a loss. I'd never asked what Katherine's last name was. It hadn't exactly been important.

"On the contrary; you are most definitely related to Katherine. You are not a Gilbert. You are a Petrova doppelganger; a Pierce."

I hardly let the words touch my ears. "No. No! That's impossible. I'm a Gilbert; you can check the gravestones with my parent's names engraved on them!"

"You're wrong. Whoever those humans were who raised you were not your biological parents. You were adopted."

"No…" I whispered. "That can't be!"

"Oh, but it can. Come on, Elena." His eyes willed me to believe him. "Consider it; is it really that far-fetched an idea?"

I exploded. "Yes! Yes, it is! You're lying to me!"

"I'm not lying" he shouted, and I curled my head to my knees—awkwardly, what with the chains—to shield myself from his anger. "I can prove it," he hissed, his mood having snapped back to normal very suddenly. He dug out a small cell phone from his pocket and typed numbers into it viciously.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving your Aunt Jenna a ring."

I felt my heart stop. My body went cold. "How do you have that number?"

He gave me a look. "Do I not strike you as one to do my investigations with the upmost thoroughness?"

My glare didn't leave his eyes. "I swear to you, if you hurt her, I will kill myself before you can use me to break your curse."

The phone was suddenly hurled across the room, and he shoved me against the wall, yanking the chains out with me. I screamed as I felt my wrists snap from the impact. "You would be wise not to threaten me," he breathed ominously. My body was pinned to that wall. My head pounded. He let go of me and I slid down to the ground, whimpering. Pain attacked my whole body, unleashing the worst of its wrath onto my wrists and temples.

The phone began to ring. I was surprised it hadn't broken. I watched carefully as he turned his back on me to retrieve it. Utilizing my one opportunity so far, I gathered myself up swiftly, twisting the chains around my hand several times. I could use it to make my punch heavier, like brass knuckles…except these were steel.

I heard my aunt's frantic voice over the phone. "Elena? Is this you? Elena, where are you? You've been gone all day. I'm worried! Talk to me."

Wordlessly, the man handed me the phone. I stared at him cautiously as I accepted it with the hand that wasn't decked in chains. "Aunt Jenna?" I croaked. I thought about asking for help. The idea must've been written all over my face, because he grunted and cut a thumb across his neck in the universal slit-throat gesture. I took a deep breath as all hope flooded out of me, and tried to speak. "Aunt Jenna, it's me. Listen, I'm okay. I'm with Damon. I'm sorry I haven't called, I—"

"Damon was just here to tell me he couldn't find you and that I should contact the sheriff, Elena! Now what the hell is going on?"

"I…" I tried not to cry. "Am I adopted, Jenna?"

She was silent for a moment. Then, "Is that what all this is about?"

The tears sparkled in my eyes, and then began streaming down my face. "You tell me."

She sighed heavily. "Elena, I'd much rather have this conversation in person. If you could just—"

My heart squeezed. This was my goodbye to her, and I had to pretend to be mad. "How could you? How could you not tell me?"

She couldn't fumble through a full sentence.

I plowed right on, delivering another punch to her. "I'm not coming home, Jenna! I just...can't. Tell Damon…everything's fine. Tell him don't worry about me." I hoped he would understand what that meant: move on.

"Elena, this is ridiculous!"

I turned the phone off quickly. "I love you," I whispered. I sobbed for just a few moments, letting myself come to terms with what was to happen.

He needed a doppelganger, a vampire, and a werewolf. I was a doppelganger; he needed me. That meant that I couldn't leave until he didn't need me anymore, and I had this horrible feeling that by the time he was done with me, I'd be dead.

I hoped Damon would get my message. I hoped he wouldn't blame himself forever. It was so unfair that I was to die without ever getting to really now if I was in love with him, before ever getting to tell him.

I wasn't ready to die. I hadn't been ready to die six months ago, and I wasn't ready now. One thing had changed though, between death and me, and that was that I no longer feared it.

So, I was able to scrape myself up and hold myself together long enough to confirm with him. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

He nodded simply. "Yes. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

I shuddered. "Can you at least tell me where I am?"

His eyebrows crinkled together. "Hmm. I suppose you have a right to know. We're in Georgia; but not for long. Tomorrow we go back to Mystic Falls, so that the sacrifice can take place."

Sacrifice? I died a little inside. "Okay, listen, uh…what was your name?"

"Klaus."

"Klaus. I will cooperate willingly, no fighting involved, no runaway attempts, so long as you swear to me that you won't touch Jenna…or Jeremy."

"Well, it's a bit late for Jeremy, but I can promise not to hospitalize Jenna alongside him, if that would make you happy. I'm not doing it because I fear you will complicate things, though, Elena. I will spare them because they are innocent…as are you. You are involved by nothing more than bad luck. Your family will not pay for that. You have my word."

"But how much does your word truly mean?" I questioned boldly. "I'm sure you have killed plenty of innocents without a second glance in your time."

"That is true," he consented. "But, unfortunately for you, my word is all you have to hold onto. You never will know whether I keep my promise, but maybe you can die more peacefully knowing that I have sworn not to touch them. Maybe it will help."

"What would be helpful," I growled, "is for you to let me out of this damn sacrifice. God, why can't you just use Katherine?"

"Because she's a vampire," he explained. "She did have doppelganger blood…until she was turned. Now she's useless to me."

"Useless? Why not use her as your vampire in the sacrifice?"

"I gave her my word."

It clicked; I was the "answer to her problems".

He was going to fulfill his end of the bargain, as she had delivered me the way he'd asked.

I could trust him with Jer and Jenna.

I could die peacefully.

"Ah, so you see. I do tell the truth every now and then." His smile was strangely cordial. I bit down on my lip and faced him with wide eyes.

"Please, Klaus. I don't want to die."

His expression saddened, and again, he traced my cheek lightly. "But you must." Then, he left me.

I spent the night on that floor. He brought me one meal, which I ate like I'd never been fed before. It was soup—lacking slat—and dry, crumbly bread. Still, I practically inhaled it, and when it was gone, I could've cried for the loss.

I wondered if Damon had any idea where I was; if he was looking for me. I wanted to believe that maybe he would show up at just the right moment and save me, but I knew that kind of stuff only happened in movies. There really wasn't any hope for me.

But there was hope for Jer and Jenna. They could live their lives together. My heart ached when I thought of how alone Jeremy would feel: I was the only immediate family he had left. I wondered if Jenna would tell him I was adopted. I wished she wouldn't. I never wanted him to think of me as anything but his sister, never wanted my name or memory to have any connotation with anything sad or heartbreaking when he thought of me. Once he had time to heal from losing me, I wanted him to be able to think of me fondly and happily…not of the poor girl who never knew her real parents, who was sacrificed for some stupid hybrid curse. I hoped he never found out about Stefan and Damon.

I tried to remember where Klaus had said he was taking me. Somewhere back in Mystic Falls…my guess was Fell's church, since that was where everything spooky seemed to be. But I could've been wrong. Maybe he just needed a really big field…or something.

I dozed to sleep after a few wet, sloppy hours of mourning my own death. The floor hurt my neck, and my dreams were all blurry and dark. I longed to be home with Jeremy and Damon. I tried not to get my hopes up that maybe Damon would find me, because I didn't want my last few moments alive to be filled with despair. I wanted to go peacefully, into the waiting arms of my parents.

It was either the middle of the night or the first few hours of the morning when I was awakened. Sometime in my restless sleep, Klaus had dragged me out of the room and into…the back of a truck, it seemed, or maybe the trunk of a car. I tried to move but found I was bound by rope, and that my mouth was sealed with tape. My breathing picked up. Somehow, even after all my preparation, I was still surprised that Damon hadn't come for me.

I was afraid to cry and stuff up my nose, because then how would I breathe? So instead of thinking about what was to come, I focused on my happiest memories. Most of them starred my family or Damon. If I wasn't gagged, I might've smiled at the memory of our first kiss, our first dance.

I was cramped in that trunk for at least an hour. We hit multiple bumps in the road we traveled, giving me more than a few bruises, the worst drawing blood on my scalp. When the car pulled to a stop—the first of the entire drive, not having slowed for any stop signs or lights—the trunk was cracked and gray light filtered in. I blinked, not used to the brightness, and shied away from Klaus's waiting hands.

He grabbed me from the car quickly, and ripped the Duct tape from my mouth. I let out a small shriek.

"Sorry about that, love," he mumbled as he caged me under his arm and took off with me. He was more careful than Katherine had been, avoiding trees and rocks this time. When we stopped, blood was rushing in my head. He set me down on the cold ground.

"Your pest of a boyfriend was hanging around our hideout. I don't know how he tracked you down, but he almost got you. We had to make a run for it…but he's taken care of now. We will have no more complications."

He's taken care of now. Sobs choked in my throat. He cut my hands loose so that I could cover my face as I cried. What did that mean? Had they killed Damon?

I didn't know what it meant for him, but I knew exactly what it meant for me.

"Your tears confound me, Elena…is this not what you wished for?"

I sniffled at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You told me that you wanted this to go smoothly—no complications. You promised me you wouldn't fight me, in return for the safety of your family."

"I thought you were going to grant them safety regardless," I whispered, only affected a small bit by his words.

He shrugged. "I still don't see why you're so upset. You never said anything about Damon when you bargained for Jeremy and Jenna's safety."

It took a minute to speak. "Never this…I I could never be okay with this. Klaus, please, I—I think I love him."

"That does not concern me," he said soullessly, without a touch of sympathy or regret. "No one will stand in my when it comes to this Elena, no one. Besides, nothing you do can save your precious Damon. Not now."

"What? Why?" I tried to get to my feet, to protest.

He moved with me, careful not to let me past him. "Because he is the vampire who I will sacrifice to complete the ritual."