Chapter 13: Talking in Your Sleep

A/N: First things first. Shout out to jairem for recommending my story to her friends. Thank you so much! Next, many thanks to onehellofashot, who zeroed in on Damon's PTSD flashback and suggested I do more with that concept. That got the wheels turning, and the result is this chapter. Thank you! Cookies for you! :) She has a great story in the works, "Forever isn't Enough," so please visit her too, and leave a review! Please continue to read and REVIEW! Seems like every writer begs for reviews. Why? Lets us know we're doing something you like, which provides incentive to keep going! So show me and the other writers some love if you like our work. Thank you!
A couple of historical notes: Rappahannock Station was an actual battle, the Albemarle Rangers were an actual Virginia Cavalry unit and the Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond was the main military hospital for the Confederacy. I had two ancestors who spent some time there.

And now, on with the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own or operate The Vampire Diaries.

Zach and Stefan were having breakfast the next week. Zach took their cereal bowls to the sink.

"Stefan, Damon's been having nightmares again."

"I know," he sighed. "I heard him last night. I've asked him if he wants me to help him get rid of them, but he says no."

They went into the den and sat down. Zach said, "Well, if you did, the memories would still be there. They might still torment him."

"That's kind of what he said about them. Last night, I couldn't get back to sleep, though. His screaming woke me up, so after I got him calmed down, I started prowling through some of the stuff I saved for the family. Just as a distraction. You know, I told you Father always despised Damon as a deserter and a coward. Well, turns out Damon must have thought that was preferable to being discharged for medical reasons."

"Medical reasons?" Zach was stunned. "I always thought he came back AWOL because of that bitch, Katherine."

"We all did. Then I found this. Uncle Antonio must have saved it in particular." Stefan handed Zach several old papers.

He scanned them. "This says he was given a medical discharge for mental instability while in battle." Zach looked up at Stefan. "Combat fatigue."

Stefan nodded. "Right. Read it all."

Zach adjusted his glasses. "Lieutenant Damon William Salvatore served bravely with the 1st Virginia Cavalry, Albemarle Rangers, until his medical discharge on Feb. 1, 1864. His discharge is considered honorable, with the lieutenant eligible for all pensions from the Confederate States of America. Lt. Salvatore was removed from duty after the battle of Rappahannock Station in November, 1863, for reasons of mental deficiency. He was transferred to Chimborazo Hospital No. 1 in Richmond, Virginia for the remainder of his service. Pronounced no longer fit for battle, Lt. Salvatore is discharged from the CSA with the thanks of his commanding officers and his comrades for his service. Signed, Major Harold Allison, M.D., Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, February 1, 1864."

Zach stared at Stefan. "Good God. No wonder he was such a wreck when he came home. He would have believed anything Katherine told him. If she had told him becoming a vampire would make him be able to fly, he would have believed it."

Stefan nodded grimly. "Probably. Read the rest. It's an account of what happened that got him sent to Richmond."

Zach continued, "Officer's report, by Captain James Ryan, commanding officer, Company F. After the battle of Rappahannock Station, in which the Confederate forces sustained heavy losses, the order was given to retreat. Lt. Salvatore charged nonetheless and viciously, brutally stabbed with his saber, every Union soldier he encountered, even those unarmed and begging for their lives. Lt. George Henry and Lt. Carlton Black were dispatched to bring him back, which they did. He was incoherent when he arrived, talking of a judgment day when blood would bring the dead back to life. He was transported to the camp where field surgeon Lt. Charles Moody examined him and said he should be conveyed to Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, with all dispatch. As his mount is Salvatore's personal animal, it will be taken to the lieutenant's home in Albemarle County. Because his record is otherwise spotless, with several citations for bravery under fire, I recommend Salvatore be honorably discharged for medical reasons and sent home after treatment. It is my opinion as his commanding officer he is no longer fit for duty due to a mental defect or weakness, rendering him incapable of fighting effectively."

Zach looked up. "Wow. I don't know that I'd want this getting out for general consumption, either. Not in that day and age, when people didn't understand combat fatigue and what it can do to people. From what you told me, he was probably having a flashback when he faced down Klaus."

"I'd bet on it. Zach, he was not rational, I'm telling you. And he ran that horse in, screaming the Rebel yell and brandishing his saber, just as if his captain had given the order to charge. Now, it was something to see, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out he was seeing Klaus in a blue Yankee uniform."

"Unreal."

"You'd better believe it was unreal. I'd never have believed it if I hadn't been standing there to see it."

"What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know yet. I've thought about showing him the papers and telling him I understand. He needs counseling, but a therapist wouldn't understand his unique situation."

"Tell me about it. Are there any vampire psychologists who would understand, who could talk to him?"

Stefan nodded at his cousin. "That's a good idea. I'll have to check into it. Make some calls. Oh – and I found these." He held a large photo album. "Another thing Damon gave me. Remember I said I thought he might be Antonio's son?"

"Yeah."

"Look at this picture. This is Mother, Father, Antonio, and his wife, Margaret."

Zach perused the photo. "Wow. No wonder your dad was permanently pissed off. Every time he saw Damon, he saw his brother. Now he looks like your Mother, too – has her eyes – but his facial structure? Antonio. What do you know?"

Stefan nodded. "If that's the case, and I have to think it probably is, then Damon is my half-brother."

"That might make him feel better about the way Giuseppe treated him."

"It might. I regret what happened to Father more than you can know, but there's some part of me that remembers how he treated Damon – that says he deserved it. There he was, so ashamed of being thought mentally deficient that he would rather be named a deserter and a coward, being completely manipulated by Katherine, and then Father has to remind him what a constant disappointment he was. Then all the chaos of Fell's Church, and I was turned, Katherine gone, Father gone, and he suddenly had no one. No wonder he considered suicide."

Zach shook his head. "It's sad. Heartbreaking."

Stefan sighed. "That's exactly what it is. I need to see about finding an understanding therapist for him."

Later that afternoon, Stefan got a call from Elena. She was extremely upset. "Stefan? I'm at the police station with Damon. Sheriff Forbes is talking about arresting him!"

"For what?"

"Disorderly conduct. We were at The Grill, just hanging out, and Klaus showed up. I'll tell you the rest when you get here, but Damon's talking out of his head, Sheriff Forbes is really pissed that she couldn't get Klaus, and Mr. Saltzman is doing his best to talk the Sheriff out of arresting him. Please come quickly."

"I'll be there ASAP." Damn that Klaus. Unless Elijah was around to rein him in, Klaus was impossible. Original or not, he was just an asshole – no two ways about it.

When he got to the police station, Liz Forbes was beside herself. "Stefan, I am really worried about Damon. He's gone nuts. Elena and Ric are trying to calm him down, but he's totally paranoid. I thought this was just two guys getting into a bar fight, but Ric says Damon is a veteran. Is that right?"

Ric knew the truth, but had better sense than to tell Liz. "Yeah. He was gone for two years. He actually got a medical discharge because of combat fatigue." It was strange, how that information should be so useful right now. Aunt Phyllis again? Who knew?

She sighed. "Really, I'm glad to hear that. I could tell Damon wasn't in his right mind when we picked him up. Not that I'm a psychiatrist, but I have been in law enforcement most of my adult life, and you get to where you can tell."

"I understand Sheriff. Can I see him?"

"Yes, please. Elena said you might be able to talk some sense into him."

Stefan had a feeling he knew what Elena meant, and if it got him out of a cell, Stefan was willing to throw a little short-term compulsion on his brother. Liz showed him to the unsecured area leading to the booking cell. "I'll let you know when we need you, Sheriff," he said.

"All right. Just pick up that phone and the deputy will buzz you back."

"Thank you." Stefan turned to a visibly distraught Elena. "What the hell happened?"

"Klaus happened," she replied.

"She's right, Stefan. I was there. Damon did not provoke this," Ric said.

"Good to know, but what was going on?"

"Well, he met me there after school. We were just talking, drinking a coke, and Klaus walks in. We were in one of the side booths, but you know how he is. He must have smelled us. Anyway, we did nothing to draw any attention, and he just slithers over and starts giving Damon hell. He had challenged him to a drag race through town last week and Damon didn't take the bait."

"Obnoxious piece of shit," Ric muttered.

Elena smiled and patted his hand. "So Damon really tried to do the right thing. He told Klaus he wasn't doing this, that he needed to leave, he wasn't going to fight with him, he would call the cops – everything. I had my phone out to call 911, and Klaus grabbed my wrist. He was hurting me. You know how strong he is. And Damon went berserk. He exploded out of the booth and stabbed Klaus' hand with one of my pencils. Then Klaus dropped my wrist and went straight for Damon's throat. Somehow, Damon dodged him, dropped to the ground and rolled away from him. He grabbed this long metal rod they use to open the ceiling vents and he was trying to take Klaus' head off. He was yelling and cussing at him, and then, he just suddenly went quiet. I saw his face change. It was like Damon just wasn't there anymore. You're gonna think I'm crazy, but I think it freaked Klaus out a little, too. And then, it was like everything Damon did, he wasn't even having to think about – you know what I mean? He was swinging that rod around and it looked almost like he was playing with him. Klaus just couldn't seem to get around him."

"Like he was operating on pure instinct?" Stefan said.

"Exactly. His mind had shut down. But he was back in the Civil War. He kept calling Klaus a damned bluebelly. Finally, Elijah showed up and made Klaus stand down. You know he has that way about him. But by that time, Sheriff Forbes was there. Elijah and Klaus jetted out of there, leaving Damon, who was still going on about protecting me and keeping the Yankees from burning the house. And here we are."

Stefan heaved a huge sigh. And he thought his life was complicated before. Now he had a brother 150 years out of his timeline, with PTSD to boot, his might-be doppelganger girlfriend, and two Originals, one of whom was clearly a psychopath. What a colossal mess.

"I'll go talk to him." A deputy buzzed him back to the holding area. He went to the cell where Damon sat, his eyes wild and fearful. "Brother? Are you all right?"

"Stefan! What are you doing here! Why am I here? I was protecting Elena!"

Stefan turned to the deputy and just a smidge of compulsion got the man to open the door for him and walk away. "Let's sit down, Damon. Elena is just fine. She and Ric are in the other room. She's not hurt in any way, all right? Now she said you just exploded on Klaus."

"He grabbed her wrist! Nearly broke it!" Damon exclaimed.

"Elena said that's what happened. But she said you were out of control."

"What the hell was I supposed to do? Let him tote her out of there?"

"Of course not. But she said you didn't seem rational and that concerns me."

Damon snarled, "I didn't feel rational!" And then, he sagged against the wall and turned lost eyes to his brother. "Stefan, what's wrong with me? It's like I turn into another person."

No time like the present. "Damon, look, I know about your discharge. I found the papers in my room in all that old stuff Antonio saved."

Damon's skin went gray. His eyes actually lost some of their blue. "So you know," he said, low.

"Yeah, but it's all right man! It's a recognized problem now. They call it combat fatigue. And you can get help for it. I always thought there had to be more to the story than you just coming back for Katherine, and there was! And I'm so glad! I want you to understand there's no way you could have been rational about her, either. But help is available. I'm going to help you all I can. Elena will. Zach and Ric will."

"You told Elena?" His face was anguished.

"No, but you can. She will not hate you or think you're weak. I promise. You don't know how common this is among veterans who saw action. And there are people who can help you. I know you've been having nightmares. I can hear you. Please, let's get you some help so you don't have to worry about this kind of thing happening again. Will you? Please?" Stefan put his hand on Damon's shoulder.

"All right. Whatever you say. I don't want to drive Elena away, and I certainly don't want to keep getting arrested."

"Good man." And he didn't even have to use compulsion. Stefan was relieved. "Let me talk to Liz and see if we can get you out of here."

"Thank you, brother." Damon looked like he was about to cry, which broke Stefan's heart in return.

He left the cell and got the deputy to let him see the Sheriff. "Liz, Damon is in bad shape. He knows what he did was wrong, and he really wants to get help. You talked to Ric. You know Damon didn't start this. And if Klaus hadn't touched Elena, it probably wouldn't have gone past those two trading insults. But he did grab her and Damon was protecting her, after all."

"You're right, Stefan. But I still can't have knock down, drag out fights breaking out in public!"

"Very true. But keeping Damon here doesn't solve anything. He's all right now."

Liz nodded. "I have to agree with that. He's not on drugs or anything is he? I know some guys do that to try to help the flashbacks."

"No. Not at all. You know, he hasn't been back home long, so I didn't know what his mental status was. And it's only just now become a problem since Klaus started hassling Elena."

"She needs to take out a no-contact order on him. I can get the judge to sign it, no problem," Liz said.

Stefan hid a smile at that. As if it would make a difference. Still, it was good of her to think of it. He wondered what the magical equivalent was, and if Sheila Bennett knew one. "Thanks, Liz. I'll talk to her."

"O.K. Now Stefan, I'm letting Damon off with a warning today. But if it happens again, I have no choice but to lock him up and let him talk to the judge. All right?"

"I understand. Thank you for understanding."

"Well, when my brother got back from Kuwait in '91, he was pretty messed up, so I sympathize. I just kept seeing Keith sitting in that cell. Get him some help, please. Keith couldn't take it and killed himself in 1995."

"Liz, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"No reason for you to know. He lived in Knoxville. So go get Damon and get him home."

"Will do. Thank you again."

They got Damon home without seeing Klaus, although Stefan was fairly sure he saw Elijah across the street. He ignored the man and they left.

Damon didn't say a word the whole way home. He just stared out the window, which worried Stefan. When they got to the house, Elena immediately intercepted Damon and led him to the cottage. He didn't really want to go, but she took his hand and pointed in that direction.

"I think she wants to talk to him," Zach said and Stefan nodded. "That's going to be a tough conversation."

"Yeah," Stefan agreed.

"Damon, Stefan said you had something you needed to tell me. What is it?" Elena sat next to Damon on the sofa.

He swallowed. "He said it wouldn't change the way you feel about me."

"I doubt it will, but he said I needed to know, and it was up to you to tell me. Now tell me, Damon."

He took a deep breath. "I didn't desert when I left the war. I was given a medical discharge."

Well, that was news. Stefan told her it was because of Katherine, so this must be new information for him, too. "A medical discharge? For what?"

Damon wouldn't meet her eyes. He looked at the ceiling. "Mental deficiency. I went out of my mind after a battle and was relieved of duty. I spent some time in the hospital in Richmond, and then was given a medical discharge."

Elena tentatively reached for his hand. He flinched when she touched him, but she closed her hand around his, anyway. She knew how people used to feel about soldiers who had combat fatigue. Her dad had told her. "And you thought it was just better for people to think you were a coward than crazy?"

"Of the two, coward was preferable. At least no one would think I was a threat to their families and children. They just thought me a failure as a man." He turned his head away from her.

"Damon, I am so sorry. I knew you had those bad dreams. Please, don't shut me out." She reached to touch his chin and he turned from her. Elena narrowed her eyes and stood up. "I'm not having any of this foolishness." She moved to stand over him and took his face in her hands. "You look at me." His eyes were bright with unshed tears and it nearly made her start bawling, too. "Look at me!" He turned his eyes to hers. She had heard the expression all her life that someone looked like a "whipped dog," and Damon did. He looked completely defeated. Still, Elena steeled herself and said, "Now listen here. You are not crazy and you're not a coward. You faced down an Original vampire twice for me. Twice! That makes you the bravest man I know, bar none! You are not a failure as a man! We're going to get you some help, and I'll be right there with you, every step of the way. You're going to beat this. You're a strong, brave man and I believe in you. Do you hear me? I believe in you! I'm proud of you! I'm proud to be seen with you! If we had been courting in 1864, I'd have been proud to be seen with you then, no matter what the rest of the world thought!"

"Elena..." Damon began, before he pulled her to his lap and hid his face in her neck. She put her arms around him and felt his shoulders shaking. She had never seen a man cry and was at a loss, but just held him. His tears wet her shirt, but she didn't care. She spoke to him like a child, making soothing noises and stroking his hair. He was so proud and so fearful of anyone finding out he might not be what he appeared to be. He wanted to defend her and protect her. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was weak. But she knew this wasn't weakness. This was something thousands of other men and women had been through.

Finally, the shaking subsided and he put his head on her shoulder and they sat that way for a long time, as she stroked his hair and his face and placed little kisses on his forehead. Damon's eyes were closed, as if he couldn't quite face Elena after crying in front of her. Elena loved the look of his lashes against his skin, and envied him their length. She touched them with her thumb. His eyes finally fluttered open.

"What was that?"

She smiled at him. "Me admiring your long eyelashes. It would take half a bottle of mascara for mine to look like that. I'm jealous."

A ghost of a smile crossed his face and he shifted so he was holding her against his shoulder. There was silence, then, "Do you think less of me now? His voice was still rough with tears.

"No, absolutely not."

"Even though I wept like a child in your arms."

Elena looked up at him. "I have a feeling you had a lot of crying to do that you never did – for your dad, for Katherine, for Stefan, for friends you lost in the war, for your mom. We all have to let it out, eventually. When you were discharged, people didn't understand about combat fatigue like they do now. They didn't know why it happened, or how to treat it, or anything. What did they do for you in the hospital?"

"Kept me doped up on laudanum when they could get it. If not, and if I got too rowdy, they knocked me out with chloroform. If they didn't have any of that, they tied me in the bed so I couldn't get up and hurt someone."

"So their only solution was to keep you knocked out, or tied up?"

He nodded. "Yes. I got to Richmond sometime in November, and they finally let me out in February and I went home. Stefan and Katherine and the slaves were the only ones who seemed glad to see me. Father certainly wasn't, and neither were the neighbors. Well, Uncle Antonio and Aunt Margaret seemed happy I was back. I thought of moving in with them, and probably should have. I'd have been away from Katherine. But her blood did one thing for me."

"What's that?"

"Well, they couldn't get laudanum very often. You know, because it had been declared contraband of war and it was illegal to have it."

Elena shook her head. "I didn't know."

"Well, it was. Ric Saltzman can tell you all about it. But not long before I was discharged, someone captured a Yankee shipment and they had plenty of it. By the time I left the hospital, I was a slave to it. I was a wreck when I got home. It had been a week since I'd had any and I was craving it desperately. I was shaking, cold, feverish – everything. Katherine was smart enough to figure out what was going on and gave me some of her blood. It broke the cravings. So I owe her that much. At least the local doctor didn't have any more of it. I will say when I had it, I no longer cared about the war or anything else."

"I guess not. Isn't that stuff like morphine or something?"

He nodded. "Very similar. It's made from opium, I think."

Elena continued to sit and Damon absently twirled the ends of her hair around his fingers. "You like fiddling with my hair?" she said teasingly.

"It's like silk." He paused, then, "Elena, I love you with all my heart," he said.

She looked up at him to see him gazing at her, his eyes so blue, so soft, so beautiful. "I love you too, Damon. With all my heart."

They looked at each other for a long moment, and Damon put his hand on Elena's cheek. Her eyes were filled with love for him. He could hardly believe she could love him, knowing what she now did. She wasn't looking at him as an object of pity, but with love. It made no sense to him, but he was profoundly thankful. Slowly, tentatively, he dipped his mouth to hers, hoping she would allow his kiss. As soon as their lips touched, he felt healed and whole again. He felt warmth spread throughout his body; he had been so cold. He felt as if he had been drinking bourbon, except his mind was clear.

Elena thought she could literally feel the life returning to Damon. As he kissed her, his body relaxed, and he brought his hands to frame her face, and then down her neck and back. He lay down with her and they kissed and Elena held Damon close as she thanked God he had not been killed in that bar. Because Klaus would have killed him, she knew.

Still, she said, "Babe, I have to go. I'm sorry. Jenna is going to kill me if I don't get home soon."

He nodded. "I know. I don't want your aunt to be angry with you. Could you tell her you were sitting with a sick friend?" He smiled.

"I'll tell her you had a rough day and needed someone to talk to. That's not a lie."

"Not in the least."

"Are you going to be O.K.?"

"As O.K. as I can be when I'm not with you," he said as he kissed her forehead.

Elena grinned at him. "You slick talker, you. I guess I'll have to get Stefan to take me back to town. My car is still at The Grill. I drove your car home."

Damon nodded. "All right. I'd rather have him escort you, anyway. You're safe with him."

They kissed again and Damon stood and walked her back to the house. "Stefan, can you take Elena back to her car? She needs to get home."

"Be glad to." He stood and went to the door. Elena kissed Damon once again, quickly, and followed Stefan out.

"Sorry to impose. My car's still at the Grill," she said.

"It's no trouble, I promise."

As they drove back to town, Stefan said, "You know, I just appreciate you standing with Damon like that. He told you about his discharge?"

"Yeah."

"I just found those papers last night. My uncle must have saved them. I felt so sad for him when I read what happened to him."

"He told me a little. He also said he was addicted to laudanum when he got home."

Stefan glanced at her. "Seriously? Dear God."

"Apparently, that's what they gave people then. He said the one good thing Katherine's blood did was break the addiction."

He laughed grimly. "So she did one good deed in her miserable life. I'll thank her if I ever see her again."

"He also said his Uncle Antonio seemed happy he was home, and that he should have moved in with them, because he and your Aunt Margaret were glad to see him," Elena said.

"Hmm. That's interesting."

"Why?"

"Because there's a very good likelihood that Damon is my half-brother and Antonio is his father."

"Really? Does Damon know this?"

Stefan shook his head. "I don't think so, but there's an album of photos and Antonio is in one of the pictures. He looked a lot like Damon. Damon always had Mother's eyes, but his face is Antonio's."

"Wow. How did that happen?"

"Antonio told me later that Mother stayed with him and his first wife for a little while before she and Father married. But his wife was apparently not well, and he and Mother had a fling. It was close enough to the wedding that it didn't set too many tongues wagging when she had the baby eight months later, but Father always must have known, or suspected. But he wasn't enough of a man to love Damon in spite of it. I don't know how Mother allowed him to touch her."

"Maybe that's why there's the age difference between you two," Elena cracked.

Stefan snickered. "You may have a point. But she had a couple of miscarriages in those years. You know, that happened much more frequently then."

"Yeah, I know. Your mom must have been a saint."

"I think she was pretty close. That's one thing I hate about being a vampire. I won't die for a long while, probably. And I miss Mother. I want to see her again."

"I know what you mean, Stefan. Believe me, I do," Elena said, her voice a little teary.

He reached to squeeze her hand. "I know you do. But let me say again how glad I am you found Damon and decided to stay in his life. I have such hope for him, now."

"I'm not some kind of savior, Stefan," Elena protested.

"I know. I know. But you just want the best for him. There have just not been enough people in his life who have wanted the best for him. And it's shameful that someone 25 years old hasn't had that very much."

"You're right. Wait a minute. I thought Damon was 21 when he disappeared and there was a four-year age gap between you."

Stefan laughed. "Seven years. I messed up when I got Damon's new birth certificate. I couldn't remember the year he was born. I was thinking it was 1843, but it was 1839, and I didn't think to ask him. I saw it in the family Bible a few weeks ago. But hey, don't we all want to be a couple of years younger? And it doesn't matter at this point, I don't guess."

"No, I don't suppose it does. It is kind of funny, though." She chuckled.

"A little. The Grill, dead ahead."

Stefan walked her to her car.

"Thanks again Stefan. You saved my hide with Jenna!"

"Not a problem. Glad we were able to talk."

"Me too. Please keep a close eye on Damon for me."

He smiled at her. Finally, his brother hit the jackpot where women were concerned. "You can count on it." He gave her a shoulder hug. "Good night."

"Good night," she said and left.

Stefan turned to see Elijah parked next to his car. "Evening, Elijah," he said.

"I'm sorry, Stefan. That shouldn't have happened."

"You're damn right it shouldn't have. Klaus has no claim on Elena, Original or not. What the hell did he expect Damon to do? And I have it from Ric Saltzman that Damon did not provoke that fight. Klaus grabbed Elena's wrist. Ric saw the whole thing." Stefan didn't raise his voice, but Elijah knew he was still plenty angry. He couldn't blame him.

"I know. It was unconscionable. But I don't expect Klaus to act with conscience. I decided several centuries ago he doesn't have one. But I will do my dead level best to see that he leaves Damon and Elena strictly alone, and we will hope the solstice ritual clears all this up, once and for all."

"I hope to God it does. See you, Elijah."

"Good evening, Stefan."

Both men left.

Klaus, on the other hand, was busy standing on Sheila Bennett's front porch, yelling at her. Sheila was looking somewhere between bored and pissed off.

She let him vent, then said, "I told you to leave them alone. Phyllis is not going to allow you to hurt them. You hurt Elena, or anyone else Damon cares about, then you hurt Damon and she is not going to tolerate that. I've told you this once, already."

Klaus smacked his hand on the porch railing. "And who is this Phyllis when she's at home, anyway?"

"She was a very powerful witch who looked after Damon and Stefan when they were boys. She was a second mother to them, and she loves them both, especially Damon. She was the one who made Damon disappear and who brought him back. And as much as she loves those boys, she hates you even more. I don't often give advice to vampires, but take it from me, Klaus Mikaelson: leave them alone. I told Elena this, too. You don't want Phyllis coming after you from the Other Side. She has a lot of allies and the fact that you're an Original and an Immortal doesn't mean a hill of beans to her.

"If you're bound and determined for me to do the solstice ritual, I will, but I'd leave town until then. If you just can't do that, for whatever reason, then you need to lay low. This is not going to turn out like you want it to. It's just not. So I've given you the benefit of my knowledge and wisdom, which is what you wanted, and you even got some good, free advice in the bargain. If you know what's good for you, just get out of town until the solstice. Otherwise, behave yourself. Phyllis herself told me to tell you that if you don't, she lives in eternity too, and she will dedicate hers to making yours hell on earth. And she means it." Sheila went inside and shut the door.

Klaus went down the steps, cursing.

"Take her advice, brother. She is not joking," Elijah said. He had tracked Klaus to Sheila's house.

"All right. Let's leave for a while, then." He gave Elijah a mirthless smile. "I'll be a lamb and go anywhere you like."

"Thank you, Klaus," Elijah answered, tremendously relieved. "Let's go to New York for a while."

"Fine idea," he sullenly replied. At least there was a ready food supply there.