So I'll start off by saying thanks for reading! Glad you guys are still here! Let me just say that this is not where I saw this fic originally going….but I start writing and this is what happens! And without further ado…..I give you Chapter 12!

She was quiet on the ride home. Too quiet. "I can't take you to the boarding house. Or to your house. Or to Bonnie or Caroline's. Stefan's been invited into all those places. So that leaves the quarterback." She nodded and Damon reached for her hand, twined his fingers with hers squeezed gently.

"Thank you. For not locking me up somewhere and leaving me behind." She said softly.

"Oh, I was tempted. Frankly this is not one of my smarter decisions." He turned to give her a half smile. "That kiss must have fried my brain. It's the only reasoning I can come up with for my sudden lack of good judgment."

One corner of her mouth turned up in a smile, but she wouldn't look at him. Then she shrugged one shoulder. "It was alright." She murmured. He laughed and squeezed her hand again, glad that she was able to make jokes. Meant she was still with him, and not sliding into a nonfunctional state. That would be bad given current events.

"Well, once this Klaus business is behind us, I'd be more than willing to provide a repeat performance and show you just how 'alright' it can be." She looked away and he was pretty sure she blushed. Her phone buzzed in her purse and she bent in the seat to get it, letting go of his hand. He groaned internally at the loss of contact but it was probably better that way anyway. "Who is it?" He asked. Elena was suddenly staring at the phone like it was a bomb about to go off in her hand.

"Stefan." She whispered. And handed it to him. Damon slid his finger across the screen to answer it and immediately touched the speaker phone option.

"Elena's phone. Damon speaking." He said in an annoyingly chipper voice. Elena stared at him in horror. Apparently she didn't want him antagonizing his little brother. But antagonizing Stefan was what Damon did best.

"Damon? Where's Elena?" Stefan sounded slightly perplexed.

"Hello, baby brother. It's good to talk to you too. How have you been?"

"Damnit, Damon. I don't have time for your games." Stefan growled. "Is Elena with you? Yes or no." Damon turned to look at Elena, a question in his eyes. She nodded.

"Maybe. Sorta kinda. Not really." Damon answered.

"Listen, asshole. Klaus is after Elena's necklace." Elena's hand flew to cover her necklace protectively. "Does she have it on her?" Elena nodded, and Damon rolled his eyes. Stefan really knew how to kill his buzz.

"Yes."

"Good. Take it from her. Bring it to me at the falls in 30 minutes. Can you do that?" Damon glanced at his watch. "Damon?" Stefan sounded harried, under duress.

"Yes."

"30 minutes. And don't bring Elena." Stefan said and hung up. Damon glanced over at Elena and then switched into the next gear speeding recklessly towards Mystic Falls.


Katherine was standing outside the Donovan house when Damon pulled into the driveway. He got out quickly and helped Elena out. She was tapping her foot. "I hate waiting, Salvatore." Katherine grumbled.

"Get over it." He told Katherine as he quickly escorted Elena to the door. Matt pulled open the front door and stood there gawking at Elena and Katherine behind her. "Thanks for doing this, Mutt." Damon said. Matt rolled his eyes at the nickname. Damon addressed Elena firmly. "Stay here. I mean it. Don't leave for anyone or anything. I'll be back shortly." Moving quickly, he brushed a kiss across her forehead and was back in the car in seconds. Katherine went scrambling after him.

"Well that was interesting." Matt mumbled and held the door open wide for Elena.

Elena sighed and walked inside, dropping her purse on the entryway table. "Don't even get me started." She spun on her heel quickly to face Matt, feeling like scum again for forgetting. "Any word on Tyler?" Matt shook his head. "Jeremy and Bonnie are holed up searching for answers. They're safe."

"Caroline?" Elena asked, heading for the kitchen.

"In here." Caroline called out and Elena rushed to embrace her. Caroline squeezed her tight. "Are you okay?" Elena buried her head in Caroline's shoulder and nodded.

"You?" Elena said against Caroline's sweater.

"Yeah. I'm worried about Tyler." Elena pulled back to look at Caroline. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"I know, Care. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Elena. It's Klaus. He's the one that did this."

"Bonnie's going to figure it out." Elena insisted. "It'll all work itself out." It was now her turn to rub Caroline's back consolably. She nodded at Matt, who was holding up a teapot and he began to make tea. Elena wrapped her arm around Caroline leaned her head down on her shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay." Maybe if Elena said it enough, she'd start to believe it herself.


"Have you heard anything back from Mikael?" Damon asked as he sped towards the nearest place he could park his car to the Falls.

Katherine shook her head. "Nope. Said he'd be here Friday. It's not Friday." She told him.

"Always so literal, those Originals." Damon muttered.

"Ah, well. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll show up early." She twirled a curl around her index finger, pursed her lips. "So how do we know this isn't a trap or an ambush or anything else resembling a bad idea?"

"It's not. I have a built in Stefan lie-o-meter. It didn't go off." Damon told her parking the car and glancing quickly at his watch. He slipped the necklace into his pocket and took off towards the Falls. Katherine followed close behind, making sure to keep relatively out of sight. She was merely backup on this adventure. Stefan was standing by the Falls, arms crossed when Damon flew up behind him. He shoved Stefan for good measure.

"What the hell, Damon?" Stefan asked as he stumbled a little.

"Just felt like it." Damon shrugged. Pulling the necklace out of his pocket, he dangled it in front of Stefan like a toy to a dog. "Looking for this?" Stefan reached for it, and Damon jerked it out of his reach.

"Don't be a dick." Stefan muttered.

"Can't help it." Damon said with his signature smirk. "So how is our friendly little homicidal hybrid?"

"I'm not here for small talk, Damon. Give me the necklace and I'll make sure to nudge Klaus on his way out of Mystic Falls." Stefan growled.

"Too bad, little brother. I love small talk." Damon gloated. "Why is Klaus here?"

"For the necklace. His hybrids aren't working, because Elena's still alive." Damon's eyebrows rose and he waved at Stefan as if to say 'go on.' "If Bonnie can figure out a way to fix it, Klaus never needs to know Elena still lives. So help her fix it and soon. Or Tyler's as good as dead." Stefan reached again for the necklace.

Damon danced two steps back, effectively eluding his brother who was quickly becoming angry. "So why not tell Klaus Elena is still kicking?" Damon frowned, cocking his head at Stefan. "The Ripper I know and somewhat love would."

"Because as much as I don't want to, I still care about her. I don't want to see her die." Stefan shouted. "Give me the damn necklace and let me go! Eventually Klaus is going to realize I'm missing. He's kind of preoccupied with Tyler at the moment." Stefan lunged for the necklace, only catching Damon slightly off guard.

"Damnit Damon." Stefan growled. "Hand over the damn necklace!"

"Boys, boys." Said a voice out of nowhere, Damon spun to face it, tucking the necklace neatly back in his jacket pocket. Damon breathed a small sigh of relief, audible only to Stefan who looked absolutely perplexed.

"Fantastic timing, Mikael." Damon said, tipping his head in greeting.

"I quite pride myself on it actually." Mikael said, strolling up to the two brothers. Damon saw a flash of auburn hair and rolled his eyes. Seemed Katherine wanted to come out to play. He shook his head and if he hadn't been listening for it, would never have heard her grumble at him. Thankfully neither Mikael nor Stefan noticed. Mikael nodded at Damon. "Stefan Salvatore, I presume." Stefan eyed Mikael wearily.

"Possibly. And who might you be?"

"Only brothers would bicker the way you two were, Stefan. And I've already had the unique experience of dealing with your pesky brother. You two are cut from the same cloth, I'm afraid." Damon smiled and Stefan winced but crossed his arms. "And I, young Ripper am the answer to all of your problems." Stefan grunted his disbelief and glanced over at Damon.

"Fair enough." Stefan acknowledged. "But how could you possibly be the answer to all of my problems?"

"Put quite frankly, Stefan?" Mikael smiled a cold, heartless smile. "I'm here to kill Niklaus."


Bonnie screamed in frustration. "They won't talk to me!" Jeremy was pacing back and forth on the basement floor. Things were not going well. All that Bonnie had learned was that Elena needed to die. And that was not an acceptable outcome. There had to be another answer, another way to complete the ritual.

"Maybe I need to leave. Maybe they don't like me here. I'm a reminder of what you did." Jeremy offered, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're not safe anywhere else right now. You stay." She closed her eyes and began chanting again. Jeremy continued his pacing and sighed heavily. Mikael had better make an appearance soon. He was their only way out of this, the only way Elena didn't have to die. However, on the other hand it meant Tyler would die. Without the cure for the hybrids, Tyler wouldn't survive the transition to vampire. Caroline would be devastated. As Elena would also be. But losing Elena wasn't an option. He was pretty sure every single one of them would agree there. And definitely Damon. Everyone else was negotiable or expendable to Damon.

His phone beeped in his back pocket and he dug it out earning a death glare from Bonnie. "Sorry." He mock whispered.

Mikael is here. Meet Donovan's in 1 hour. -D

Oh, thank Jesus! Jeremy exhaled heavily, a big sigh. "Mikael's here. Damon wants us to meet him at Matt's in an hour."

"Good. Because I'm still getting the same answer. Bump waiting." She huffed, and stood up. She quickly extinguished all the candles with a wave of her hand. "Let's go."


Elena was huddled close to Caroline when the front door opened. Damon stood on the other side, and Matt reluctantly invited him in. Crossing the threshold, Damon strode quickly over to Elena's side. He squatted in front of her, ran his hand over her hair. "Everything okay?" He asked. Elena smiled softly at him and nodded. He glanced at Caroline. Her tears were his answer. Soon after Damon stood, Katherine and Mikael appeared at the door. Matt huffed and looked back at Elena. Elena frowned but nodded at him.

"I'm sorry." She mouthed. He sighed and invited them both in.

"Thank you kindly." Mikael told him. "I promise no harm shall come to you or any of you here, not by my hand." Matt nodded and Katherine passed him without as much as a second glance. Mikael stood in front of the television and Katherine took a seat opposite Caroline and Elena. Damon stood in front of Elena, his protective nature not slipping a notch even in the presence of allies. Their history with allies was not the greatest.

The door opened suddenly and Jeremy and Bonnie walked in. Elena could tell from the body language that things were tense between the two and she felt bad for them. Her brother loved Bonnie, she knew that. Some things were unforgivable though and Jeremy had withheld too much information from them to be trusted, at least by Bonnie. Elena stood and hugged her brother, then Bonnie tight.

"I'm so glad you're both okay." Elena whispered to them. Jeremy nodded and looked forlornly at Bonnie and sighed. She rubbed his back. "It will all work out." She told him. He nodded, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't believe it.

Alaric was the last to make an appearance. He walked in with a crossbow over his shoulder, two duffel bags loaded down with Vervain grenades, Vervain darts, wooden stakes, Wolfs bane grenades and a bunch of other stuff Elena probably didn't want to know about. He set the bags down on the kitchen table and joined the group. He greeted the group with a 'hey' and stood in the corner, leaning against the doorjamb.

"Alright." Damon clapped his hands together and took center stage. Elena went back to sit by Caroline and Bonnie flanked her on the other side. They hugged each other for comfort. "Let's get this party started. Since my ever loyal brother could not disclose Klaus' current location, we tailed him to discover it for ourselves. Now that we have that, cue you." He told Mikael and moved to stand near to Elena again.

"Niklaus has yet to learn of my presence here in Mystic Falls, though should he ask Stefan the right question, Stefan will be forced to answer it. Our best defense against this outcome is to move quickly. Niklaus also has yet to learn of Miss Pierce's presence as well. She has elected to provide her services as bait. Klaus would never believe Damon would sacrifice Elena; he would immediately suspect foul play. But...should young Caroline who I've learned has affections for the young werewolf appears to sacrifice her friend for love..."

Damon held up his hand. "Seriously? That's your plan? You really think he'll believe that Caroline would sacrifice her friend for wolfboy?" Damon glanced behind him at Elena. "And I thought your plans sucked." Elena frowned at him.

"Personally, I think it's a great plan." Katherine piped up.

"Oh, you would." Damon retorted.

Katherine laughed. "Seriously. I can play the victim. And I've become dreadfully good at playing dear old Elena. Just find me a flat iron and some boring jeans and a tee and I'll be well on my way to convincing Klaus that I'm the newest doppelganger." Katherine said with a perky smile. Elena glowered at her.

"And then what? Mikael pops up out of nowhere, stakes him with this mythical white oak tree dagger and rides off into the sunset?" Damon asked, crossing his arms.

"The dagger isn't mythical. I assure you its quite real. It's close and stashed somewhere for safekeeping." Mikael eyed Damon. "So in case you're thinking what I think you're thinking..."

"I might be reckless, but I'm not stupid. You're our best shot at bringing Klaus down. I'm not taking any chances here." Damon replied, glancing over his shoulder at Elena. "So Alaric, Jeremy and I wait in the wings in case there's trouble? Once Katherine- Elena is dead, we all move in? Sounds either incredibly farfetched or far too simple. I can't decide which." He remarked. "Won't Klaus be expecting a double cross?"

"Most likely." Mikael pointed at Damon. "Which is why the simpler the better. He'll outthink himself. It's always been his downfall, anticipating moves."

Damon shook his head. He turned to look at Elena, facing her. "I don't like it. And where does Elena fit into all of this?"

"She stays here. It's the safest place for her right now." Elena's eyes never left his. She shrugged.

"It sounds like our best option."

"I still don't like it." He whispered. "What's your take on this, Ric?" Damon asked the other vampire hunter.

"It sucks but…." Ric started.

Caroline spoke up. "It's our only shot. And if we can't save Tyler we damn sure better save Elena." She wrapped her arm around Elena. "Bonnie, make the call. Tell Stefan to bring Klaus and Tyler to the falls. If we head there now, we can pick the perfect spots. Klaus will never know we're there." Caroline stood, gave Elena a big hug. "I love you." She whispered. Elena nodded and whispered it back.

Mikael disappeared with the promise of meeting them in the clearing in fifteen minutes. Katherine followed Elena up into Vicki's old room to change. Katherine pulled on Elena's jeans and shirt, pulled her hair back into a ponytail so the waves in her hair were less visible. Elena borrowed an old pair of jeans from Vicki that Matt had yet to pack up and one of his own football t-shirts. They hurried back downstairs and Damon pulled her aside immediately. The others had all made their way outside, Matt included for a proper send off.

"Don't do anything stupid." She told him and she stepped into his embrace and held him tight.

"Likewise." He whispered against the top of her head. "Is it weird that I'm kind of jealous that you're wearing the quarterback's shirt?" He shook his head as if to clear it, and yanked her shoulders back so he could see her face. "Do not leave this house, Elena. I mean it. I don't care who calls and tells you what, you stay here." He said firmly. "Okay?"

She nodded. He leaned his forehead against hers. "I don't want you to go." She said softly, almost too low for him to hear it. "Any of you. Don't let anything happen to them."

"I won't." He took a deep breath and brushed a kiss across her cheek. She closed her eyes and with a light breeze, she knew he had gone. She walked to the door, stepped out onto the porch. She watched as they all piled into two cars, leaving Matt and herself behind. Elena waved a sad little wave. As Damon pulled out of the driveway, his gaze caught hers. A small smile graced his handsome features and she found herself smiling back just a little.

The two cars disappeared and when Matt turned at the base of the steps and his eyes widened in horror. Elena's heart stopped and she slowly turned, feeling like she was stuck inside some type of time warp. Standing in between her and the door to her house was none other than Klaus. Well, hell.

The smile on his face was cold and cruel. It sent ice cold fear shivering down her spine and through her veins. "There's my girl." Klaus murmured. "You are supposed to be dead. What are we going to do about that?"

So, surprisingly I'm already halfway through the next chapter….and not to bribe you or anything….but I might be so inclined to finish it very quickly and maybe post it VERY soon (we're talking before Christmas) if you guys leave me some love. I mean, it doesn't have to be wordy or anything! Just SOME kind of feedback….a smiley face, a two word phrase like 'good job' or 'this sucks' or even 'Merry Christmas?' I reply to my reviews which let's face it; there's been 12. It's not hard to do! Thanks y'all! And if I don't see you again before Christmas (and I hope I do!) Merry Christmas! Or Merry Christmahanakwanzika!