Geez, Finally a new effing chapter. Thank you ALL who reviewed, all 6 of you!
scarlett2112, megabill, cotychan, charahkids, She Made Him Good,
Chapter 11
It didn't take them that long to get to Albany. Stefan didn't like that he had left Elena at the mansion alone with only Jeremy to help with Damon, but he didn't really have a choice. Stefan had to go and talk to the witch. Though he trusted Caroline, he really didn't trust Klaus, and he wanted to be there to ask his questions and hear the answers for himself. There was no room to let anything slip and fall away due to miscommunications once it was all relayed to him.
It was with that thought in mind that he reluctantly left, though he preferred to stay. He didn't have a choice but to leave Elena alone with him. Damon still needed care. While Stefan had hoped the trip would just be over night, maybe two nights if really needed, he couldn't leave Damon with nobody there to care for him, and while a vampire could live a while without needing to feed, though it was painful, with Damon on animal blood, and not enough to stop the thirst, there was no way he would handle the starvation for a day or two. So he had left his brother in Elena's care.
"I think we're almost there." Caroline said as she glanced at the GPS that was on the dashboard of her car.
Stefan blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings, noticing that they had entered some kind of suburban area. It looked like any other area in America, which shouldn't have really surprised him much. Unlike vampires, witches blended well into their communities, but somehow her association with Klaus made him imagine a dark area shrouded with mystery. Not the two story all American house they pulled up to a few minutes later.
They pulled up along the street and Caroline turned off the car, looking out the window at the house next to them. "Totally not what I thought." She mumbled unbuckling her seat belt.
"What were you expecting?"
Caroline shrugged her shoulders and grabbed her keys. "Spikes with heads in the front yard warning people off?" She said seriously. "It is Klaus after all."
With that she opened the door and got out of her car with Stefan following a moment later silently agreeing with her. He watched warily, eyes moving everywhere, taking in their surroundings and looking out for danger. He half expected Klaus himself to come out and jump on top of them, though even Stefan knew that was unlikely as Klaus would figure that Caroline would be with him.
With one final sweep of the area they passed through the large metal gate that surrounded the house, a chill coursed through Stefan's body as he did so. There was no doubt in his mind that the woman they were about to meet was a very powerful witch and Stefan just hoped that she would be somewhat friendly to them and not try to kill them.
Stefan approached the door first with Caroline trailing only a few feet behind him. Raising his arm he balled his fist and was about to rap on the door when it opened suddenly as if on its own, and he eyed an elderly woman standing just out of reach. Another chill ran down him and this time he couldn't stop the shiver, feeling the hairs on his arms and neck raise and he fought the monster within him.
The woman seemed to be taking her time appraising the two vampires in front of her as the two did the same, noticing her darkened hair that was littered with grey and white strands and her blemished skin that was becoming lose with age. But her eyes were still young, still sharp despite her bodies aging and Stefan felt as if she were looking right through them to their very souls.
"Hey, are you Judith Newberry?" Caroline asked wish a slight shove at Stefan to the side, apparently she didn't feel the same thing as he did.
The woman in front of them quirked a brow and cocked her head slightly at Caroline, staring at her for a few moments before a small half smile appeared on her face in amusement.
"You must be Caroline. Klaus had told me to expect you." She stated. "He mentioned you were, what did he use…perky."
Caroline looked down at the ground for a moment and Stefan couldn't help his smirk at seeing her blush at the woman's words. Perky was one way to describe Caroline, thought there were better adjectives that Stefan himself preferred to use that he wouldn't be sharing. The vampire in question however just shrugged a moment later and put the smile back on her face.
"Well, we all have our issues." She dismissed, shifting side to side slightly. "We were wondering if you could help us."
The woman nodded as she listened and stepped aside inviting them in. Caroline bounced straight ahead but Stefan was a little more cautious. Even when people knew what they were, they were always still hesitant to invite them into their homes freely. The woman must have picked up on his hesitation as she closed the door tight behind them, bathing them in a darkened room with soft lights scattered around.
"Don't worry, Klaus vouched for you. I trust no harm will come to me or mine or there will be severe consequences." She warned with a sharp eye walking past him and leading them down the hall and into the kitchen.
The room looked normal, like any other American home which surprised Stefan though he really shouldn't have been. He only knew of a few witches in his long existence but had never really gotten close to any, always preferring to stay out of their way. Closest he'd gotten was Bonnie and based on how well that went, he was content to keep his distance.
"Klaus informed me that you had a problem that you needed a witch for." Judith started as she indicated they should sit at the table in the corner. The witch turned to the stove and set about putting water on. "He didn't say what the problem was. He didn't even know what it was but he did tell me that a very special vampire would be coming to see me and that he would appreciate if I could help in any way I can."
"Yeah, we didn't exactly want him involved." Caroline said bashfully, obviously knowing that she was the special vampire. "He has a tendency to make things a lot worse and they don't generally get better."
The witch turned around then and faced us, a brow quirked high as Caroline's apparent boldness to speak openly about the most powerful vampire in the world. For a moment Stefan braced himself, readying to speed out of the house with Caroline if she had somehow angered the witch but a moment later the witch began to laugh.
Stefan glanced at Caroline curiously, she had her own smile on her face and just shrugged one of her shoulders in return.
The witch's laughter began to subside as she turned back to the stove and went about making tea for the three of them, bringing it to the table and setting down a plate of cookies with Caroline reaching out eagerly for one.
"You are a brave one young vampire." She said sitting down across from them. "It is not many who has the gulls to say such a thing about the hybrid."
Caroline shrugged again and bit into her cookie. "It's not really gull as he's just a big fat jerk most of the time. But he can be really sweet and good when he wants to be." She replied thoughtfully.
Stefan fought the urge to growl, settling for a frown instead. He knew the connection Caroline had with Klaus and he respected it, but he didn't like it, especially with how his feelings for the young vampire had been growing over the last few months.
"It all comes down to respect my dear. Respect him and his power and don't be a simpleton who just sucks up to him or is weak and he will treat you the same way. That is, until you piss him off."
"He is a vampire after all." Caroline said sharing a little laugh with the witch.
"So tell me children, what is your issue that you decided to seek out a witch. Last I heard, there was a Bennett witch in Mystic Falls. She's young but the Bennett's are very powerful." Judith told them, sipping from her tea cup.
Stefan and Caroline shared a look, communicating on what should be told about the situation. Caroline was right that they didn't want Klaus involved, but they didn't want anyone else either. The more people who knew the more trouble there could potentially be. But if they wanted the help of the witch before them, then she would need to know the whole truth.
"Well, you see…about that…" And Caroline proceeded to tell the witch their story of Katherine, of Damon, of Bonnie's banishment of the vampires. The witch sat quietly, watching the both of them as she listened to the blondes' tale.
Once she was finished they sat in silence, each processing what was revealed, even Stefan though he of course knew it all already. Hearing it allowed his mind to process more details and hopefully come up with a solution, but sadly, nothing came to mind and he was once again at the mercy of this witch to help fix his brother.
"I know of this vampire, your brother, Damon. He is very dangerous, very deadly. To have him gone from this world would be better for all humanity." Judith stated while Stefan shook his head.
"He's my brother." He argued.
"Yes, I know, which is very unfortunate for you, for you love something so deadly. And with just the beast within it makes him even more so." She said.
"The best within? I don't understand." Caroline said, sitting up in her chair leaning towards the witch. The witch eyed the two vampires again before sitting back in her own seat and sighing,
"The beast is the monster within each vampire. It is the thing that craves death and violence. It's a magical side effect of the creation of your species. Humans, in general can't bring themselves to attack another human in order to get what they need to survive. So this creature is the counter to the vampire humanity."
"Oh my god, I've never thought of that. I've never thought of any of it." Caroline stated astonished. Stefan had though. He thought about it a lot over his existence and what the witch was saying made perfect sense to him. There was no way as a human he would have been able to do what was required to survive.
"Not many do child but it's important to understand. Vampires are common but only young ones. Most do not last more than a century. The fact Ms. Caroline that you know so many is a fluke that not many can claim. The violence and the guilt and the blood eventually gets to the vampire, piles up and most do not survive by either their own hands or by turning off their emotions, which makes them careless and easy to kill.
Most of it is dependent on who you were as a human. As you know you're emotions get heightened as well as your personality. You have to be strong as a human to survive long as a vampire. Your traits is was set what kind of vampire you will be. Some are too soft and kind and others are the complete opposite and neither make it long. It's the ones in the middle."
"What does any of this have to do with Damon?" Stefan asked, getting impatient. All they've gotten was a lesson on vampires and as interesting as it was, he needed a cure for his brother and to get back to him.
"Everything Mr. Salvatore. Your brother is a terror on the human race and to have him die would be the best solution. Your brother is smart, and passionate, a very dangerous combination. I don't pretend to know what happened to you two as humans but whatever it was, the monster within him has made him unbalanced and destructive."
Stefan stood up suddenly, walking away from the table and over to the counter opposite them. He couldn't be near the witch at the moment, he was afraid of what he would do to her. Everything she said about Damon he already knew, but he couldn't give up on him. He wouldn't give up. Despite their differences since turning, Stefan knew without a doubt that if he needed his brother then Damon would stop at nothing to help him.
He stared out the window over the sink for a few moments, watching life outside of it. Everything looked so peaceful in the witches' garden, with butterflies, and birds twittering around each other and the beautiful flowers and plants that grew there. He had longed to be part of that peace for over a century and half like he had been once more. But he knew that if he stepped out into that peaceful garden, everything would flee and it would deadly silent as every living creature felt a deadly predator enter their midst.
"If you won't help us, I'll find someone who can then." Stefan said softly before turning around to face the two women still sitting at the table. "I understand and I can appreciate what you are saying, but he's my brother." Stefan closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing hard before opening them again to stare at the witch, meeting her steely gaze. "I lost him when I forced him to turn. And trust me when I say I'm well aware of just how unstable my brother is."
"Stefan…"
"Let me finish Caroline." He stated firmly, walking back over to the witch and sitting down in the chair next to her, leaning close enough so she felt him but far enough away that she wouldn't feel threatened. "As a human, my brother only wanted two things in life. To be loved, and for me to be happy." He said glancing at Caroline for a second with a small smile. "He's on the brink of getting that. He has a girl, who is absolutely in love with him, who wants to spend eternity loving him, and will do anything for him."
"The doppelganger." The witch added, nodding her head knowingly.
"Yes, Elena. And he being happy and whole and back in my life would make me the second happiest vampire that ever existed. So please, if you can help…"
He kept the contact with the witches' eyes, trying to convey every feeling and emotion he could through his gaze, begging her to help him. He wasn't even sure what to do if the witch turned them away right now. How would they be able to face Elena when they tell her they failed at getting the witches assistance?
After several minutes the witch blinked and turned her head to gaze at Caroline, breaking the contact with Stefan, and with a wary sigh she stood up from her chair and walked out of the room. Stefan stared after her for a moment before dropping his face into his hands despondently. He didn't know what to do next. He didn't want to leave there without some kind of clue on what to do next.
"It'll be ok Stefan." Caroline said softly. He heard her chair scoot out from under her as she walked around the table and took the witches chair in front of him and ran her fingers gently through his hair. Stefan took a deep breath as his nerves tingled at the sensation, glad he had her with him.
The moment was broken however when a soft plop landed on the table next to him, and he sat up again and stared at it. It was a Ziploc bag and inside it was filled the brink with a mixture of herbs. He put his hand on it, picking it up before looking up at the witch as she leaned against the doorframe to the hallway.
"When the world finally beats down a human they start to disappear. They become depressed, stop living, and stop caring. Sometimes they even go away, in their own minds away from where anything else can harm them. It's self-preservation. That's what happened to your brother." She explained. "The only difference is, is that he's a vampire. He has 175 years' worth of pain and grief causing his heart to shatter."
"But he's there, I know he is. He's spoke to me when we found him. He was broken but it was Damon. Now…"
"What you see now is the monster, the beast within. With Damon inside himself that leaves the beast free and in complete control of him. It is strong, it is what holds your brother's powers and it will protect itself and Damon with everything it has." She explained. "Steep those herbs in hot water and have a human drink it before allowing the beast to feed on them. The tea will put the beast to sleep quickly after a few gulps so there is little danger but be careful." She warned. "With the beast asleep his defenses are down and you should be able to slip into his mind and find the shards of his heart."
With that she turned away from them heading towards the front door. With a quick glance at each other, Caroline and Stefan followed suit, blinking in the sudden light of the sun as the door was pulled open. Stepping out onto the porch Stefan stopped and turned back to the witch, giving a small sad smile of thanks.
"What do we owe you?" he asked her gratefully. But she just waved him off with a smile of her own.
"Don't worry about it. My debt to Klaus is now paid off. Good luck Mr. Salvatore." And with that she closed the door, leaving the vampires alone in the afternoon sun.
***(((****(((***'
Elena sat back against the wall on the bed, tilting her head from side to side enjoying the pops as her neck realigned from its previous position. She was hungry and bored and there was really nothing she could do about either until Stefan came back.
She looked to the right, glancing at Damon again for the millionth time since she'd been stuck in the cell with him. She let out a slight sigh of dismay that he hadn't really paid any attention to her in hours, only sat crouched on the floor in that corner that had taken her days to get him out of as he watched the door for any sign of Jeremey to come back.
It had been a disaster from the beginning. Stefan and been with her when she fed him the previous morning. Damon had been as he had been for weeks; hunched on the bed in the corner, knees tightly to his chest, watching both of them with eyes of a hawk. Stefan had followed her in for the first time ever, wanting to say goodbye to his brother and reassure him that he would be back the following day.
She didn't think Damon heard or cared.
The second Stefan stepped into the room once Elena was sitting on the edge of the bed, ready to put down the cup of animal blood, he growled. Not softly as a warning but loud with a hiss as he held himself tight as if ready to attack. Stefan had stopped in his spot, right in front of the closed door and opened his mouth to say something, only for the hissing and growling to get louder and Damon pulled himself up on his hunches to pounce.
Stefan took the hint and left quickly.
Stefan had warned Elena to be very cautious when going to feed Damon, and he had hesitated in leaving her alone with a deranged vampire and a human brother. But the need to save his brother outweighed the worry of leaving them alone and he had followed Caroline out.
When Elena went down that evening to feed him, Jeremy trailing behind her to lock her in, she didn't think anything of it. Both Stefan and Caroline had been downstairs, standing at the window of the cell door and as long as they didn't try to enter the room, Damon was still and silent. She didn't think anything of having Jeremy there with her.
That was her big mistake and something she have learned a long time ago when she first learned about vampires being real. Never be complacent with a vampire. No matter who they were, or if you were one yourself. What happened as she entered the cell could have been much worse if she hadn't reacted quickly enough, and if Jeremy had been just a second slower.
Damon had been in the same spot he always had been for weeks, only looking up when he sensed her at the cell door. She stood there watching him for a moment before unhooking the many locks and slowly opening the door to enter. Everything after that moved too quickly for her to fully remember. One second she was stepping in, placing the cup on a nearby table, the next a loud hiss was sounded and Damon launched himself pasted her to the door that was luckily slammed shut a half second sooner with Jeremy shouting on the other side to hold him back so that he can lock the door.
She jumped into action, grabbing Damon around the waist as she pulled him back from the door giving Jeremy time to start locking it. Damon fought her hard, and though weakened severely from the limited animal blood they'd given him, he still had over a century and a half on her making him the stronger of the two.
As soon as she heard the last lock click into place she released her tenuous hold on the man that she loved and he went flying to the locked door, pounding on it, growling, fighting as hard as he could throwing himself at it trying to get to her brother.
"Jer just go!" She shouted over the loud noises.
"I can't leave you in there!" He shouted back obviously dismayed.
Elena shook her head and flapped her hands in motion towards the stairs behind him. "I'll be fine, just go, please." She begged him and with one final frown he did.
Once he was out of site, Damon spent the next hour or so pacing back and forth in front of the door, waiting for brother to come back, but luckily he didn't. Finally Damon seemed to realize this too and retreated back to his original corner, leaving the bed to Elena as he crouched onto the ground, keep his eyes where they were.
She knew that she was going to be stuck in the room with him all night, so she waited until all sounds from him stopped before getting up to bathroom, wetting a washcloth to clean the blood from the glass window. She moved slowly around the room doing her task for if she made a sudden move, a sound of warning came from deep in Damon's chest. It had taken a while for her to get close enough to him to clean the blood off his own hands and arms, and from the side of his face from where his skin had split as he fought to get to Jeremy.
Once those tasks were done all she could do was wait for Stefan to come back, and she hoped it would be soon. She was so tired and she was too afraid to sleep in the room alone with Damon, something that caused her heart to ache and tears fall from her eyes a few times before she gasped and broke down to full blown sobs.
She didn't know how long she had sat on that spot, crying, crying for her, crying for Damon, crying for her friends and everything else. She felt herself grow tired and weary, but she knew she couldn't fall asleep, so she lifted her head from the pillow she had buried it in and gasped in shock at she came face to face with Damon, who kneeled on the floor by the bed with his head cocked to the side.
Not wanting to startle him, she stayed in her position, leaning up on her left elbow, watching him wearily. She gazed into his eyes, expecting to see him, to see her Damon and she thought she did for a few seconds before it dulled and it was just the vacant yet pierced eyes of a stranger.
He watched her carefully, brows furrowing as he reached his hand out towards her, swiping his fingers softly from her eyes down her cheek following the trail of tears. Elena had closed her eyes at the feeling as goosebumps spread across her body from the soft gesture before opening them again as he brought his hand to his face and sniffled the moist tears that were on them. They stared at each other for several beats until he cocked his head once more, giving a few grunts before quickly scattering back to the corner he had come from.
That had been hours ago, and here they sat now, silent in the own corners waiting. She waiting for Stefan and Damon waiting for Jeremy.
"I wish I knew what was going on in your head." Elena said softly, breaking the silence. "You were always hard to read, but when you told me, it never ceased to fascinate me."
Damon didn't even look in her direction as she spoke, and her heart ached, desperately wanting to see the smirk he would have given her before.
"I know you're in there Damon, you're just lost." She told him. "But don't worry, I'll find you. No matter how long it takes I'll find where you are and I'll bring you back. Then we can have our eternity together." She sniffed as the emotions began to well up inside her again, but no tears fell this time as Damon stood sat up straighter, indicating someone was coming.
She scooted to the edge of the bed, preparing to leap up and stop him if it was Jer, but to her relief it wasn't. It was Stefan and he had a smile on his face.
For the first time in a weeks, Elena felt some hope.
A/N: I must admit this is the longest I've ever not posted a new chapter on a current story. Sorry. I'd say I'll get back on the wagon but I have vaca starting the 9th and who the hell wants to work on their vacation? Next chapter most likely end of July.
