Author's note: Whoa, two chapters in two days...don't pass out. It's true. Fasten your seatbelts - this is the last "real" chapter. After this, we just have the epilogue.
A couple of notes since there's been some confusion on the subject:
Bonnie's call was a surprise since she'd been in a coma for 9 months. When Damon spoke of needing help from the witches, not only did he need their help overall, but he wanted them to help wake Bonnie up.
I've had several comments about Elena questioning whether or not she wanted the baby. Remember, she was adopted, and John said that Isobel giving the baby up was the most difficult thing she'd ever done. Elena KNOWS that Stefan wants the baby. His plan is to kill her daughter. No matter how much she might want the baby, she's trying to decide if the little girl would be safer hidden very far away from her. Damon has been very "two steps forward and one step back" throughout her history with him. Yes, he's in love with her, but she's not certain if he's ready to take the step to suddenly become a "family vamp." Now that point's been settled and they won't be revisiting it.
Warnings: character death, sensitive subject matter, language, violence, adult content, disturbing imagery
Rating: Mature
Only the plot is mine. I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit. I'll put them back, I promise.
(I know some of y'all skip the author's notes, so I wanted to make sure you had a chance to be appropriately warned. This chapter isn't gory, but it has some possibly disturbing content. I've tried to gloss over it - while still giving an idea as to what has taken place. Just remember, in Klaus' words, Stefan once killed an entire village.)
Damon ran his hand over the sweat-slicked skin of Elena's lower back as he leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. The childbirth instructor had told them that as long as the mom-to-be felt up to it, continuing with the activity that had earned their place in the class was good for her. Damon was very interested in Elena's health. She nuzzled her still-flushed cheek against his bare chest and looked up at him with a satisfied smile. He lazily circled her nipple with his thumb and smirked. "See, isn't this more fun than the 80s dance?' He trailed his hand lower over belly and was rewarded with a gentle nudge. "She thinks so."
Elena draped her leg across his. "You're not going to get an argument from me." Tilting her face up, she looked at him in anticipation of another kiss.
"After all, Lisa did say that labor was going to be a marathon, we just have six more weeks to get ready." He answered her request with his lips. "Have to keep your stamina up."
Elena laughed as her hand rested on his bare hip. "Not sure if my endurance level can get much better." Ever since Dr. Morton had cleared her to resume all activities following Stefan's attack, they'd spent a lot of time in training for the big event. "But Caroline's not going to agree with you about the dance." Elena leaned away from Damon, craning her neck so she could look at the clock. "And if we're not there in thirty more minutes, she's going come through that door and drag me out."
"I'd like to see her try." He gently rolled her to her back and crawled down the bed, leaving a trail of kisses in his path. A knock at the front door earned a feral growl as his teeth lightly grazed the skin between her breasts. "I didn't mean that literally." His mouth closed over her swollen breast, and he was rewarded with a groan from low in Elena's chest. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him even more tightly against her. He lapped at her nipple, and it mounded beneath his touch.
The knocking continued but increased in volume.
"We're going to have to take care of that." Elena tapped his shoulder.
Damon peered up at her and shook his head. "They'll go away." He returned his attention to her, laving her nipple with his tongue as his hand strayed to the curls between her legs.
"Elena? Damon?" Alaric's voice had an edge of concern as he called out from below.
"You're the one who gave him a key." Elena pushed at Damon's shoulders.
Damon's glare in the direction of the doorway could easily have stopped anyone in their tracks. "If he's smart, he'll leave."
"Are you here? Neither of you are answering your phones. I'm about to come upstairs." Alaric's voice was louder. "Yell if y'all are doing something I don't need to see."
"Later." He gave her chest a parting kiss as his fingers slid through the warmth beneath her curls. "Just a second, Ric." He pushed off from the bed and reached for his jeans, lying in the doorway where they'd been discarded after Elena had arrived home from school. The pregnancy guides might say that a woman's desire for intimacy decreases as her due date nears, but no one had told Elena's body that, and Damon was truly thankful. "What's so urgent?" He ran one hand through his hair to tame it as he reached down and plucked his shirt from the stairwell. "I was going to see you at the dance in an hour."
"Liz is right behind me." Alaric glanced up the stairwell and lowered his voice to little above a whisper. "Is Elena where she can hear us?"
The sound of the shower from above answered him.
Alaric led the way to the game room and flicked on the television as Sheriff Forbes and Caroline entered the house without waiting for an invitation. Flipping through the channels, each displayed virtually the same scene. A reporter stood in front of small brown school building, bright yellow crime scene tape formed an effective perimeter where adults stood clinging to each other. Breaking News crawled across the bottom of the screen.
"And for those of you just joining us, I'm Scott Putnam reporting from this gruesome scene. Once again, we advise that our youngest viewers leave the room during this report." The man visibly paled as a stretcher with a small body bag rolled behind him.
"What the hell?" Damon looked between the three others in the room.
"Keep watching." Liz choked out, staring at the screen.
"Law enforcement officials are still in the early stages of investigating the scene. A Boy Scout pack was meeting in the school library while five to ten other students remained in the childcare program at the school." The reporter turned around as a commotion came from the front of the building. A heavyset man in a blue police uniform approached the cluster of reporters. "I believe Sheriff Zuckerman is about to give a statement." The camera panned to the gray haired man's pasty face.
"Hello. I'm Sheriff Bradley Zuckerman. I've been working here in Milsap for almost ten years not. I don't believe I've ever seen a crime like this in our country's history." He shifted in apparent unease at the bank of cameras facing him. Reporters called out questions in a cacophony of noise reminiscent of seagulls feeding on the beach. "The investigation is still ongoing. But, we want to bring you up to date with as much information as we have. At approximately 4:30 this afternoon, the assailant, or group of assailants, entered the building, killing the receptionist before breaking the lock to the inner door and gaining access to the rest of the building. Due to the time of day, most of the students had gone home. However, two groups of children and a handful of staff still remained." The man choked and wiped a tear from his eye as a woman behind the police tape collapsed to the ground. "The attack was swift - no one was able to escape." He cleared his throat and wiped a heavy paw-like hand across his eyes. "While we normally wouldn't release something of this nature until we were farther along in the investigation, due to the nature of the crime, time is of the essence. The school's security cameras captured this image..."
"Stefan." While those assembled in the room had their attention fixed on the screen, no one had noticed Elena's presence. Now, looking at the undeniable image on the screen in front of her, she clapped her hand over her mouth as yet another small, black bag was rolled out of the building by law enforcement officials. While the camera panned the crowd to catch every minute reaction. "We have to stop him." Her brown eyes fixed intently on Damon's ice blue ones. "You," she paused for emphasis, "have to stop him."
"That's at least two hours from here." Alaric frowned in Elena's direction.
"Not the way he drives." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked back and forth between the two men.
Damon shook his head as he walked behind the couch and placed his hands on her shoulders. She'd been in such a hurry to get downstairs when she heard the voices coming from below that she hadn't stopped to dry her hair, and now her shirt was almost soaked through. "I'm not leaving you."
She turned and stared at the television screen. The new station displayed the first photos of the victims. The tiny red-haired boy smiled at the viewers in what appeared to be a snapshot from his first day of school. She turned her doe eyes on him - fully aware of what she was asking him to do. "You have to."
"And what's your plan when we get there?" Alaric watched Damon's face in profile and tried to ignore the speedometer. Thankfully, Liz loaned them a Mystic Falls' police cruiser and had radioed the departments along their route letting them know that she was sending a team who'd be traveling just under the speed of light through their town. They'd been driving for almost an hour and, so far, no one had tried to stop them.
Damon's fingers tightened on the wheel. He puckered his lips and allowed himself to glance away from the road for an instant. "I'm up for suggestions."
Alaric shifted his bag of supplies at his feet - not sure what in his arsenal would take down an out-of-control Stefan. The last time they'd met him, he'd tossed Damon through the air like a paper airplane and only Bonnie had been able to drop the younger Salvatore in his tracks. Today, they'd left her behind with Elena. "Nothing will take down Stefan if he's out of control."
Damon gave a half-nod to indicate his agreement before ignoring the speed they were traveling at and doing a u-turn in the middle of the highway. Alaric gripped the back of the seat for support as the car fishtailed wildly out of control for an instant. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Damn!" Damon proceeded to allow a fountain of curses spew from his mouth as he clenched his jaw. "Why?" He slammed his fist on the dashboard, creating a hairline crack. "Damn it!"
"Damon?"
"He was in control." The speedometer topped out as Damon pushed the car to the limit. The scenery was little more than a blur. Alaric was surprised a sonic boom didn't follow in their wake. "No veins around the eyes...no fangs." He growled and fought for his own sense of control. "He let us see him. He was looking at the camera. He knew we'd follow him if he attacked a school." Damon tugged his phone from his pocket. "Stefan lured us away. He's going after Elena tonight."
Elena dropped into the chair next to Bonnie at the side of the dance and pulled the lime-green scrunchie from her side ponytail. "I'm still not sure how I let you and Caroline talk me into this." She rolled her eyes in her friend's direction.
"Like Caroline said, we're keeping your mind off things." Bonnie shifted in her chair to better face Elena. The only lingering effect of being in a coma for almost nine months seemed to be the fact that Bonnie still tired easily. When they'd arrived at the school, she danced for a while, but she soon retreated to the row of chairs normally occupied by the wallflowers. "Just think, this way you can pretend to dance while really pacing the floor instead of wearing a hole in your own carpet."
"That obvious?"
Bonnie smiled and laughed. "Only to the ones who really know you." Looking through the crowd, she nodded to someone in the distance.
Elena leaned forward, placed her hands on her knees, and let out a long sigh as her face contorted in discomfort.
"Are you okay?" Bonnie stared at her friend in concern.
"Practice contraction." Elena pressed on a muscle in her side and flinched. "They're becoming...very effective." She let out a slow breath as the pressure eased. "Whew!" She blinked and watched the dancers around her move to the music. "I know Caroline means well, but I'm just not really in the mood to be here."
"No sneaking out." Jeremy placed an unopened can of soda next to his sister. "Pretty sure they spiked the punch." He nodded to the drink. "If you're thirsty, might want that."
Elena smiled gratefully at her brother as she wiped her forehead. Not only was the gym stifling hot, her feet had given out at least a half-hour before. "Thanks," she was quiet for a moment, "but if I'm going to drink this, I'm going to need to make a quick stop. I'll be right back." She stood up and began making her way to the gym doors with Bonnie at her heels.
"Hey, Bonnie!" Dana rushed to the girl's side and wrapped her arms around the smaller teen. "I'm so happy to see you here!"
"Um, thanks." Bonnie pulled out of Dana's embrace.
"You know, we were so worried about you. I can't believe you almost drowned in the Lockwood tank. I mean, I've been swimming there all my life." Dana stood next to Bonnie and rested her hand on the witch's arm. "Were you scared?"
Bonnie peeled Dana's hand from her shoulder. The girl needed a serious lesson in boundaries. "I don't really remember anything."
Dana clapped a hand over her mouth. "Of course you don't. I didn't mean to be rude. You probably don't like talking about it."
"No. It isn't that. I...just don't remember." Bonnie gave a sheepish grin in the hope that Dana would get the idea that she didn't want to talk. "I was actually on my way..." Bonnie pointed to the door leading to the restrooms.
"I'm so sorry!" Dana bubbled with apologies. "Of course you need to...um, go. Don't let me keep you here."
"I won't." Bonnie pushed through the double doors into the hallway and looked around for Elena. "Elena?" The darkened hallway was quiet and empty as she made her way to the restroom. Tugging the door to the girls' restroom open, she was filled with a sense of dread. "Elena?"
Elena was gone.
The car's tires left a trail of rubber as Damon screeched into the high school parking lot. Fighting against his desire to blur through the darkness, he waited until Alaric had gathered his bag from the floorboard, all the while hoping they wouldn't be using the contents - at least not tonight.
Footloose echoed through the gym doors as strobe lights flashed overhead. Damon and Alaric slowed to a fast walk as they entered the overcrowded room.
"Good evening Mr. Saltzman! You're a little late." Mrs. Lindly-Meek tapped her watch and glared in his direction. She turned to Damon and her lips puckered as if she'd been sucking on a lemon. "I don't believe you're on the chaperones list."
"Um, he's with me." Alaric didn't even break his stride as he pushed past the older teacher with Damon at his side.
"Where are ..." Damon looked anxiously around the room for Elena, but one look at Bonnie's face as she ran toward Jeremy answered his unfinished question.
"I'm sorry, Honey." Stefan squared off with Elena in the cafeteria as she leaned over, panting for breath. The ease with which he overtook her and knocked her to the floor showed the chase had been for her benefit only. He held a finger to his lips. "If you scream, I'll kill everyone out there." They stayed silent for a moment and listened for the pulse of music from the dance. "You know I can do it. Just stay quiet." He'd been toying with her like a lion stalking a mouse.
Now he had her pinned by the tail.
"I can imagine it isn't easy to run in your condition." For every step Elena took away from him, he countered...and drew a little closer each time. "You're due in six weeks?"
Elena panted as she tried to stand completely upright. She had to keep him talking. That was the only chance she had for the others to realize she was gone. "How." Pant. "Did." Pant. "You." Pant. "Know." Pant. "That?"
Stefan looked at her in amusement. "Not that many doctors in town, Elena." He circled her like a satellite on a degrading orbit. "Just had to keep compelling them until I found the right one." He stopped his movement toward her and cocked his head to the side. "Dr. Morton was more than helpful. She even explained exactly when the earliest the baby would be able to arrive and still be able to breathe easily on her own."
Elena's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"
Stefan laughed - a cold, unfamiliar sound. "I knew I'd have to act before you could hide her." He frowned slightly. "That is what you'd planned to do, isn't it? It's what Isobel did with you. Keeping her with you would make it too easy...and I couldn't take the risk you'd really be able to hide her from me." He reached out and touched her cheek. "I'll try to make this as painless as possible." Leaning over, he brushed a kiss across her forehead.
He thought she was going to go without a fight. He was wrong.
Elena ducked out of his grasp and bolted for the doorway, pulling the fire alarm as she ran. She hit the crash bar at a run and was immediately yanked off her feet when he caught hold of the back of her shirt. "I was going to make it painless." Elena shrieked and thrashed uselessly against him as his fangs pierced her neck.
"Let go of her." Damon flew through the doorway, his face morphing as he was fixed on Elena's already groggy expression as her blood dripped from Stefan's chin.
"If you insist." Stefan flung Elena at the wall, and she limply slid to the ground with a sickening thud. He gave a cocky smile as he faced off with his brother. Launching himself at Damon with a roar, he didn't notice Bonnie and Caroline's entrance into the room.
The brothers were locked in mortal combat as they rolled across the cafeteria floor. Stefan had size and strength on his side, but Damon was fighting for more than his own survival. He kicked at Stefan and attempted to push his brother off of him. Stefan wrapped his fingers around Damon's throat and laughed.
Caroline looked up as she crouched in front of Elena's still form. "Bonnie!" She snapped at her friend.
"I'm trying." Bonnie squinted the effort of trying to take down Stefan.
The two brothers growled as each attempted to get the other hand. Stefan leapt to his feet, dragging Damon with him. The younger brother propelled his sibling into the bank of folded cafeteria tables, causing them to crash down like so many bowling pins. He sped back to Elena's side, leaving a handprint in the pool of blood beneath her neck.
"Oh no you don't." Caroline transformed and took on Stefan as a stake flew through the air from Alaric's crossbow. Stefan knocked her to the ground as Damon slowly got to his feet and re-entered the fray.
The cries and animalistic growls of the three vampires locked in battle echoed through the building as Stefan made another attempt to reach Elena. He seized her by the arm as he froze and arced backwards before falling to the floor.
"Elena?" Damon crawled to her side, his left arm hanging limp and useless. "Elena!"
Bonnie dropped to her knees and leaned over Elena. "She's not breathing."
Damon leaned against the wall in the mostly-darkened corridor, still trying to process the events of the past hours. He read the display on the clock at the end of the hall and shook his head. Less than six hours had passed since Elena had been smiling up at him in his bed.
When the paramedics wheeled the gurney into the emergency room, Elena was beyond lifeless. She wasn't breathing at the school, and somewhere along the way, her heart had stopped beating. Giving her his blood hadn't worked to repair the injuries, but he didn't think she'd been able to swallow.
He'd never felt more helpless than when the doctor met him outside of the operating room, telling him he might have to make a difficult choice.
How could he choose between two halves of his future?
Damon stared the doctor down and commanded him to save both of them.
Now he'd spent the last 60 minutes watching as the monitor kept track of her pulse and respiration. The only reason he wasn't holding her hand now was because the nurse said she needed a little privacy as she checked on Elena. He thought she just needed an excuse for him not staring at her while she worked.
"Damon?" A soft voice carried down the hallway. "I saw Bonnie in the waiting room. She said I'd find you here." Lucy came to stand at Damon's side. She nodded to the closed doorway. "How's Elena?"
"Breathing." Damon wasn't in the mood for small talk.
"I'm sorry she was caught up in all this." Lucy seemed honestly regretful.
"You mean that not only was she key to breaking one curse, but that some other part of the curse made sure that she got pregnant with a child that was the key to breaking it?" Damon fought to control the volume of his words.
Lucy gave a half-nod. "And I am truly sorry for what happened with your brother. He was unable to fight against his two warring sides within himself." Damon stiffened. "But I have to ask you a question...did you mean what you said that night on the road?"
Damon looked at her in confusion. "What night?"
Lucy stared him down. "You remember." Her eyes peered deeply into his as she prompted him. "Your biggest regret..."
"I don't have time for this." He began to make his way back into Elena's room.
Lucy caught hold of his arm. "Actually, you do." She refused to release him. "Did you mean the words you said?"
Of course witch spirits would have been on the street that night with Jessica. He rubbed his eyes in fatigue as he tried to decide what to say. "Yes. I meant it."
Lucy nodded as she backed away. "I've been sent here with a message. We are the guardians of the natural world. The circle has been broken. The last of the hybrids is gone, and now the Petrova curse is over. No more dopplegangers." Her lips curled into a grin. "We also watch over Mystic Falls. You made quite an impression on us. More than one curse has been broken tonight."
His brain too tired to fully comprehend her words, he simply said, "Thank you." He started to continue, but an agonized cry drifted into the hallway. Damon spun around in response to Elena's voice. When he turned back, Lucy was gone. Without waiting for the nurse's permission, he hurried into the room.
"Miss Gilbert. Miss Gilbert." The nurse struggled to calm Elena down as she fought to sit up in the bed.
"Elena." Damon stroked her cheek as she ran her hand over her flat stomach.
"Damon, he said he was going to take her. Where is she? Where's the baby?" She pulled against the nurse's restraining arms.
"Shh..." Damon reached for his phone and held the display in front of her face. He tapped the screen. "She's okay. You're both okay."
As Elena's eyes focused on the screen, she stopped fighting and looked at the photo in amazement. In it, Damon stood with a tiny pink bundle in his arms. As her breathing slowly returned to normal, she realized he was currently wearing blue hospital scrubs. "You've held her?"
"All four pounds." He nodded and advanced to the next picture. The baby's eyes were closed tightly and her fists were tiny balls. "She's absolutely beautiful."
"Would you like to see her in person?" The nurse broke into their conversation.
"Can I?" Elena tried to get out of bed and moaned in pain.
"Not so fast." Damon smoothed her hair. "You had an emergency c-section two hours ago."
The nurse stared up at the monitors overhead. "You're surprisingly stable." She nodded once to herself. "I think it'll be alright. I'll go get her."
Damon pulled a chair up to Elena's bedside, never letting go of her hand. "How are you feeling?"
Elena blinked slowly, the adrenaline rush beginning to wear off. "Tired." Her eyes threatened to stay closed. She grimaced. "Dizzy." Slowly the events of the night came back to her. Her last conscious memory was of flying through the air...and crunching painfully against the wall. "Damon?" She couldn't voice the question, but she didn't have to, the fear in her eyes spoke for itself.
"He's gone." Damon kissed her palm. "I didn't do it." He ran a fingertip over her arm. "Or I don't think I did...we're not sure who used the stake." He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. "You had a lot of people fighting for you tonight."
A soft knock came from the doorway. "Mom, are you ready to meet your little girl?" The nurse pushed a bassinet in front of her, a wailing pink bundle making her presence known.
"Is she alright?" Elena strained to sit up from her pillow to catch her first glimpse of her daughter. Watching her struggle, Damon helped Elena sit up higher in the bed as the nurse carried the little one to her side.
"Tiny. She's just having a little trouble keeping herself warm." The woman nodded to an incubator set up in the back of Elena's room. "I'll get that set up now that you're awake. She can stay in the room with you for a few hours, then I think all of you need some sleep." She placed the shrieking baby in Elena's arms. "She's quite a fighter."
"Like her mother." Damon kissed the top of Elena's head. The story that Elena had survived the attack of the Jack the Ripper killer had already made the news. Reporters assembled outside the hospital, waiting for anyone who seemed to know Elena to talk with them. Liz made a statement some time ago, but Damon didn't know what she said. The words on the television in the waiting room all ran together while he'd been awaiting news of Elena and the baby's condition.
The nurse ran her hand gently over the baby's dark hair. "She made sure we knew she was hungry."
As her daughter rooted into Elena's breast, she stroked the infant's cheek with a single fingertip. "She's so small." Tears sparkled in her eyes as the baby curled into her chest. Damon helped Elena adjust her hospital gown before the baby latched on instantly. Elena flinched at the unfamiliar sensation.
"We've been making her mad...waiting for you to wake up." The nurse watched as the baby began furiously sucking. "I know she's a little early. Do you two have a name picked out so we can stop calling her Baby Gilbert?"
Damon nodded and looked at Elena for confirmation. "We do." Elena watched as her daughter's frenzied assault on her nipple slowed and her eyes drifted closed. She reached out and stroked the baby's fist. "Jenna."
