AN: My beta has encouraged me to let you know, now that the show has started again, that I've had this whole thing plotted out since July. Reading the rumors/spoilers I've been...surprised by certain similarities between where the show is going - or could go - and my little fantasies.

Also, thank you for the awesome replies and for sticking with my thus far. I know my pace is probably killing you, but I promise the payoff I'm guessing you're waiting for is coming. Like, in a matter of chapters. So, once again thank you and I can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter!

Chapter 14 - Resurrection

Katherine paced the small, dark chamber, trying to ignore the way the walls seemed to be closing in on her. Half an hour had passed since she'd pulled the white ash dagger from Elijah's chest and he still hadn't moved so much as an eyelid. She was growing impatient waiting for the mystical weapon's effects to wear off as her thoughts continued to circle back to Stefan.

Digging through her bag, she retrieved her cell phone, holding it up toward the roof of the cave in a fruitless attempt to find a signal. Something was telling her to call and check in and after five hundred years, Katherine had learned not to ignore her instincts. Scowling at the 'no service' light blinking across her small screen, she dropped her phone back in the bag and glared at Elijah.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty, wake up already," she huffed in annoyance as the Original continued to lie there unmoving. Pacing again, she tried to shove aside the nagging dread about Stefan, but something had happened, she could feel it in every fiber of her being. Leaving him in Savannah, half-crazed by bloodlust and at Klaus's mercy, had been a huge mistake. Running a hand through her hair, she stalked back to the coffin and grabbed the blood bags from the lid, shoving them back in her bag. Curling her fingers around the edge of the open box, she prepared to shove it to the floor. "Dammit, Elijah, wake up!"

Her eyes widened and she backed away as the Original stirred. His lips as he took in a huge breath, making his entire body seem to expand. Normal, human color returned to his skin, albeit a bit more pale than usual. What took nearly an hour to begin was over in a matter of seconds as Elijah turned and stared at her, blinking in the dim light.

"Katherine," he said carefully, after studying her for a long moment. Glancing at the box he was lying in, he grimaced and struggled to a seated position. "This is…rather awkward."

"And anti-climatic," Katherine grumbled, quickly recovering from her shock. She backed away further, careful to keep a certain amount of distance between herself and the Original. Now that he was awake and capable of compulsion, she didn't want to get too close. Elijah lifted the other half of the lid, gracefully climbing to the floor, brushing wrinkles out of his suit before eyeing the hole in his shirt distastefully. Katherine raised a skeptical brow. "All that waiting and I thought I'd at least get to see you with a hair out of place or something. Aren't you even thirsty?"

"Immeasurably," the Original assured her, accepting the blood bag she tossed to him and ripping into it in his usual refined way.

"I would have brought you something a little more lively," she apologized as he methodically consumed all three bags. "But getting past Klaus's guard-wolf was more time consuming than I had anticipated."

"Considering my predicament at the time, it's really not my place to be picky," Elijah said, taking two steps toward her. Automatically, Katherine backed up and the Original paused as disappointment flickered in his eyes. "I'm pleased to see that you escaped my brother's clutches. I imagine restoring me to life carried an innumerable amount of risks, so I thank you…for doing it anyway. Rest assured, I won't forget the favor."

"You're welcome," Katherine said, willing herself to relax despite being in a very small space with one of the few things she actually feared. For the most part, however, Elijah was a man of his word and since she needed him to help free Stefan, she focused on that. "Why don't we get out of here? Caves really aren't my thing."

"Is that where we are?" Elijah mused, gesturing for her to lead the way into the larger chamber. As she quickly led the way through the warehouse into the tunnel, he asked. "How did you find me?"

"Stefan told me where to look," Katherine replied, retrieving the flashlight from her bag the second they neared the end of the torches lining the walls.

"Stefan?"

"A lot has happened since Klaus used the dagger on you," she sighed, filling him in on the details of Stefan's deal with the other Original to help create a new race of hybrids in exchange for saving Damon's life. "If I hadn't decided to let Stefan catch me after all these years…I wouldn't have even tried to look for you."

"Remind me to thank Mr. Salvatore for inspiring you," Elijah replied dryly. Near the mouth of the cave, he stopped her, lightly grabbing her arm and pulling her to a halt. He looked her over from top to bottom, eyeing her critically. "You love him, don't you."

It wasn't a question and she wasn't compelled, but Katherine found herself answering anyway. Swallowing, she nodded. "Yes."

Elijah smiled, touching her cheek. "Good. That's good. I would hate to think that what my brother and I did to you killed Katerina Petrova completely."

Completely blindsided, Katherine blinked as he turned away, stepping out of the cave and into the fresh night air. Memories she thought she'd buried long ago – memories of the girl she'd been and the dreams that had died the night she hung herself in Rose's cottage – rose to the surface, bringing tears to her eyes. It was the second time in as many weeks that she'd thought about the girl she used to be.

After a fierce struggle, she reigned in her emotions. Kind gesture aside, now was not the time to fall apart over someone she'd never be again. Stefan was all that mattered now and she kept him at the forefront of her mind as she followed Elijah into the clearing.

"Elijah, I haven't told you everything," Katherine explained, absently noting that Caroline, Tyler and their new pet had heeded her words and disappeared. The Original raised a brow and politely waited as she closed the distance between them. "I didn't set you free out of the goodness of my heart…or Stefan's."

"I expected as much," Elijah admitted, standing unnervingly still as he studied her. "You need my help."

"Hybrids aren't Klaus's only plan," she agreed with a nod. "He's planning on killing me and someone named Liliana in another ritual. Stefan thought you might be able to fill in the blanks. That's why he sent me."

Elijah stared at her for a moment before pacing away and staring at the starry sky. He spoke softly, the single word carried on the breeze to where she stood. "Liliana."

Katherine sensed the sadness, the regret in every syllable of the whispered name, but even if she'd been in the business of coddling his feelings, there wasn't time. "Do you know her?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I don't know why my brother is planning her death," he said, turning around and clasping his fingers in the closest thing she'd ever seen to an Original fidgeting. "You see it's quite impossible. Liliana…is already dead. She's been dead for over a thousand years."

"What?" Katherine gasped in shock. "How do you know?"

"Because I was there when she died. She's my sister," Elijah revealed, his eyes radiating sadness so deep that it almost made Katherine ache for him. "Her death brought about Klaus's curse."

"I don't understand."

"He killed her, Katherine," he said, a millennia old anger making his voice as sharp as any dagger and nearly as deadly. "Liliana was the first. The mold from which you and Ms. Gilbert were poured. And my brother, in a moment of weakness and arrogance, killed her."

Bonnie clutched the steering wheel of the SUV at ten and two, staring at the white lines down the center of the freeway without seeing them. Alaric sat silently to her right while Jeremy dozed in the back seat. They'd been on the road for the past few hours and it was her turn behind the wheel.

For the last two days, they'd killed time in Missouri, checking police reports in the surrounding area for more vampires who could possibly be on Klaus's payroll. Damon had called the previous night, alerting them of Stefan and The Original's presence in Savannah. For Bonnie it confirmed her suspicions that Damon had known all along where to find his brother and his insistence on heading south alone had stemmed from a desire to take care of the situation himself. While she'd never admit it out loud, she respected him for that, even understood it. Adjusting the rearview mirror, she took in Jeremy's sleeping form sprawled across the backseat. She would have kept him from coming in a heartbeat if the choice had been hers. Especially now that their mission was about to get even more dangerous.

Fixing the mirror, she returned her eyes to the road and the problem she'd been mulling over ever since they'd killed the vampires and found the ancient texts in the library. Finding Stefan was only half the battle – now they had to figure out what to do with a monster they'd already failed to kill once. The book of dark magic packed with her things in the trunk tugged at her brain, piquing her curiosity. A malevolence emanating from it that had managed to curb her curiosity thus far, but she was growing more and more certain the answers they needed lay within those crumbling pages.

"That was our exit," Alaric said, making her jump as his voice broke through her silent contemplation.

"What?"

"That last exit," he replied, shifting in the passenger seat and gesturing over his shoulder. "That's the one we need to take."

"Oh…shit," Bonnie cursed as her face grew hot. Another sign appeared in the distance, growing larger and indicating the next exit wasn't for another ten miles. Her shoulders slumped and she apologized. "Sorry. I was…distracted."

"Something on your mind?"

"Oh, just the usual," she said, smiling sheepishly. "What can I do about Klaus? How can I make sure we all live through it?"

"We're all in this together," Alaric reminder her gently. "You're not responsible for everything."

"Yeah, well…I feel like it," she admitted, staring at the road. "I mean, really, if I could just focus and channel every ounce of Power I have, we wouldn't need a plan. I could take Klaus out and Stefan would be free."

"Okay, first of all, you don't know that," he argued, frowning at her in the green glow of the dashboard lights as if she'd suddenly lost her mind. "The witches aren't exactly happy with you at the moment, right? They might not let you channel that much power. Not even to stop Klaus."

"I know, but-."

"But let's say they make it happen," he continued, speaking right over her attempts to protest. "Wouldn't it kill you, too? I mean, I know I was little possessed through a lot of the planning phases of our last attempt, but I thought I understood the gist. Use too much Power and you burn yourself out."

"I know," Bonnie sighed as déjà vu swept through her. She'd had this same conversation with Jeremy so many times. "I do, it's just…if I don't do everything I can and someone dies…I'll never forgive myself."

"It works both ways," Jeremy mumbled from the backseat, nudging the back of her seat with his foot and proving that he hadn't been sleeping as deeply as she'd thought. "You think Stefan would want to be rescued if it meant you had to die?"

"Well, then I'm open to suggestions," she exclaimed, frustration and impotence bubbling up to the surface. "I don't want to die, so please, by all means, let's come up with a plan."

Stretching, Jeremy sat up in the middle of the backseat and leaned forward. "Plans are overrated. We do our best work when we're half-assing it."

"Jeremy."

"What?" he asked, turning to Alaric for support. "I'm right. It's like our curse or something."

Bonnie's eyes widened as a fragment of an idea skirted through her mind and disappeared. "Wait, say that again."

"What, we're…cursed?" Jeremy asked, bewildered.

"The curse," Bonnie whispered. "Oh, my god, that's it!"

"What's it?" Alaric frowned.

"Klaus's curse," Bonnie replied, gesturing wildly as she tried to keep her eyes on the road. "The-the Sun and the Moon curse!"

"But that's all bullshit," Alaric pointed out. "Right? Didn't Elijah and Klaus make it up to find the moonstone?"

"I know the details were crap, but he was cursed," she insisted, her brain racing as it formulated a plan more quickly than her mouth could speak the words. "Why can't we curse him again? Only better this time. We take away both sides and make him human. Make him mortal."

The silence that descended was charged with a cautious excitement. Jeremy glanced at Alaric before narrowing his eyes at Bonnie. "Can we even do that?"

"I don't know, but at least it's something," Bonnie insisted, reveling in the relief coursing through her as a plan began to form. The book of dark magic called to her again and this time she didn't shy away from the pull. "And I know exactly where to start."

Elena opened her eyes to the sound of running water. A thin band of light spilled from an open door, stretching across beige carpeting to an unfamiliar bed where she lay curled on her side. She stared at the light, listening to the water while trying to place her surroundings. Strangely, she felt no panic or fear and it was onto that blank slate that memories appeared.

Savannah, Damon, a motel room, Stefan, blood, pain…so much pain…

Bracing for the agony to pull her under, Elena closed her eyes, but nothing happened. In fact, she felt better than she had in months. Strong, alive, vibrant. While she remembered the night, the sharp edged details were kept at a distance by a hazy cocoon. They'd found Stefan, or more accurately, he'd found them and had left his mark on her in a way she'd never expected. Behind her closed lids, his face appeared, the sharp curve of his teeth and the soulless black pits of his eyes. Wincing at the uncomfortably clear memory, she rolled to her back and brought a hand to her head, opening her eyes in surprise as she stared at the long, black sleeves hanging past her fingertips - sleeves that belonged to a shirt that was definitely not her own.

Rising up on her elbows, Elena glanced at the empty bed next to her before warily eyeing the light from the bathroom. Her stomach flipped as she stared at the unbuttoned cuff of one of Damon's shirts and realized she wasn't wearing much else. The last she remembered, she'd been wrapped in his arms, in her own clothes, as he'd compelled her to sleep until her injuries healed.

Before she could wonder if something elsehad happened between her and Damon, the band of light from the bathroom widened as he pushed open the door. Lit from behind, he was little more than a dark silhouette as he paused in the doorway upon seeing her awake and alert. The shadows hid his expression, but she could feel his gaze as it traveled over every inch of her body. Elena barely noticed the scrutiny as her attention was drawn to his bare chest and the white towel slung low around his hips as more details pierced the fog around her brain.

She heard him sigh, apparently satisfied. "You're awake. It's about damn time. I was running out of excuses."

Elena openly stared as he crossed to the foot of the bed. Beads of water clung to his shoulders and his hair was damp. Licking her dry lips, her voice barely above a whisper, she asked. "E-excuses? For what?"

"Why you couldn't talk to Bonnie or Caroline or Jeremy or whomever when they called," he explained, clearly irritated as he sat next to her. His brows rose as he cast her a meaningful look. "There're only so many times I can tell them you're asleep or in the shower."

"So, they don't know…what happened?" she asked hopefully, humiliated by the idea that her friends would know what Stefan had done.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked, watching her carefully.

Which part, she wondered, the part where Stefan threw me into a wall because I wasn't Katherine or the part where you held me and fed me your blood while I cried from the pain? Swallowing the lump suddenly stuck in her throat, she nodded. "I remember."

"Are you okay?"

Blinking away tears, Elena considered the question. Stefan was either insane on a level she'd never even considered or he'd just broken up with her in the most literal sense imaginable. She'd woken up in a dark motel room, wearing Damon's shirt and had barely batted an eye. Now, she was having a conversation with him while he sat next to her on the bed wearing nothing but a very distracting towel. I'm not sure what I am, but 'okay' is definitely not it. Shaking her head, she shrugged. "I feel fine. Better than fine, actually, I feel…really good. I'm just curious about one thing."

"What's that?"

Sitting up, she glanced down at her apparel. "Where are my clothes?"

Leaning back on the mattress, Damon smirked, which did something to her insides she couldn't ignore. "Your clothes were ruined. I thought you'd be more comfortable."

"In your shirt?"

"It looks good on you," he said, unperturbed. "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"More comfortable?"

Elena pursed her lips, fighting a grin as she looked down at her hands, grateful for Damon's complete disregard for, well, everything. Looking at him through her lashes, she nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

Silence fell between them and despite the dozen or so pressing topics they could discuss, Elena enjoyed it. She was comfortable with Damon and wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. She didn't want to discuss what Stefan had done to her or their next move in the quest to find him, nor did she want to think about how good she'd felt last night as he'd held her in his arms, despite the pain.

"You know, I'm curious about something, too," Damon said, his tone light as he leaned on the mattress, bracing himself on his elbow. Flicking a glance at her, he played absently with the unbuttoned cuff of her shirt. "You were trying to tell me something before I compelled you."

The kiss, Elena remembered instantly, squeezing her eyes shut as panic slammed into her, breaking through the dissolving haze that had been keeping her memories of last night at arm's length. I don't want to talk about that. "I was?"

"Something about…a kiss."

I don't want to talk about it, she thought desperately, as she let him take her hand and her fingers automatically curled around his. Lifting her head, she found him watching her with the same scrutiny he'd used when he'd first sat down. His eyes were guarded, making it impossible to guess what he'd thought she might have been ready to tell him. It was too late, however, the moment had been ruined.

"I, um…I don't remember," she stammered, tugging her hand free. Averting her eyes, she scrambled out of bed, making sure to pull the shirt down as far as the hem would allow. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Leave the door open," Damon said, the absurd request stopping her in her tracks as she whirled around to face him.

"You want me to do what?" she demanded.

The smirk was back, curving his lips, but his blue eyes were flat as he looked at her. "There's a window in there. Anybody could get in."

"Damon," she argued, gesturing toward the door. "We're on the second floor."

"Vampires can jump," he replied. Realizing she couldn't argue with that, Elena huffed and grabbed her bag. Ducking into the bathroom, she immediately shut the door behind her and glared at it. There was no way she was about to leave the damn thing open. She needed the privacy to clear her head, organize her thoughts and there was no chance of that happening with Damon mere feet away, able to hear her every breath through the open door.

Catching her reflection in the mirror, Elena froze. While the cut on her cheek and her broken wrist had healed, leaving her skin flawless and glowing, her hair was another story. Blood – her blood – was caked in the hairline down the right side of her face and matted in clumps throughout the long tresses. Shoving aside the ridiculous spark of vanity that cringed at the thought of Damon seeing her in such a state, she warily eyed the small window set high in the wall. Stefan could return at any time to finish the job he'd started. No second story room would keep the monster she'd met in the alley from his goal. Grudgingly, she twisted the knob and eased the door open a miniscule crack.

Avoiding her reflection in the mirror, Elena leaned into the shower and turned the hot water on full blast. Her fingers trembled slightly as she unbuttoned Damon's shirt and set it aside. Stepping into the shower, she gasped as the scalding water hit her skin. For a few minutes she withstood the spray, her mind blissfully blank as her body acclimated itself to the punishing temperature.

As the water, turning pink with her blood, swirled down the drain, she reached for the shampoo and dumped half the bottle into her hands. Lathering it into her hair, she gave in and began sifting through her thoughts. The second she had realized it was Stefan who had grabbed her, the initial fear of being kidnapped had disappeared as she realized she'd been humiliatingly naïve. After seeing him succumb once, she'd believed that the monster that was unleashed when he drank human blood was separate from the Stefan she'd fallen in love with. When one was in control, the other simply ceased to exist.

She'd been wrong.

Sighing, Elena tipped her head back and began to rinse her hair. She'd expected the butterflies to begin, the flare of attraction and anticipation, of contentment and peace that had always, always accompanied her first glimpse of Stefan even during the throws of the bloodlust. The Stefan she saw in the alley had destroyed that notion. Completely. Irrevocably. Even if they got him back, nothing would be the same. She could forgive, but what had happened would always be between them.

Those feelings of contentment and peace she'd felt with Stefan had never come. But they had with Damon.

The moment he'd appeared at the mouth of that alley, relief and gratitude had coursed through her. As she'd feared for Damon's life while she watched him fight for her, kill for her, other feelings surfaced. She'd been in too much pain, been overwhelmed by too much fear to pick them apart and identify them, but the second he'd stepped out of that bathroom minutes ago, the confusing mix of emotions had come into a sharp, startling clarity. The butterflies, the attraction, the peace, all of it had slammed into her with alarming force.

It's okay to love them both.

Finishing her shower, she shut off the water, squeezing the excess from her hair before stepping out onto the cold, tile floor. Drying off, she wrapped the towel around her before reaching for Damon's shirt where it lay on top of her bag. Closing her eyes, she buried her face in the soft fabric, and for once, let go of the denial that she'd used to bury her growing feelings.

She loved Damon.

Tears stung her eyes as she lifted her head and stared at the door, thinking of him waiting for her on the other side. In the past few weeks, no matter how angry or upset she'd gotten with him, she'd gone out of her way to be around him. At first, she'd told herself that being with him made her feel closer to Stefan, but that hadn't been the complete truth. She likedbeing with Damon because it was him. Because, with him, it was okay to smile, to laugh in the face of all of the absurdly horrible things life insisted she face. He challenged her, kept her going, and if it hadn't been for him, she may have given up long ago.

And he deserved to know that.

Determined, she set Damon's shirt aside and dug in her bag for her pajamas. The soft, worn yoga pants and cami felt like silk against her skin as she slipped them on. Drying her hair, she ran a comb through the clean tresses. It may have been okay for Katherine to love them both, but not for her. She wouldn't play the Salvatores against each other for her own amusement, she'd just…be honest. There was still a part of her that clung to the perfect, idyllic love that she'd shared with Stefan, but Damon deserved to know that his feelings weren't one-sided.

Maybe if she told him about the kiss, if she held nothing back, he could help her figure out a way to get through it that wouldn't destroy them all.