Chapter 21
"Why is he in my bed?" Elena asks as she jumps up from her seat on the bed.
"To annoy me," the older doppelgänger explains with a fond smile, before turning to the bathroom at the sounds of someone preparing for bed. "This isn't it."
"You're kidding," human Elena complains with a frustrated sigh. "Then, why this memory? What happened to trigger this one over the one we want?"
Elena can only offer her frustrated counterpart a shrug in answer. She's not certain why this memory, either. There's nothing significant about it, is there?
"Agh!" Elena stops mid-way between her bathroom and bed and groans in surprise at finding Damon lying coyly across her sheets. His arms are crossed behind his head and he's sporting a very pleased expression at having surprised the young brunette. "Damon, seriously?"
"We got Michael."
"What? How?"
"No idea. I guess Katherine came through. The plan's in motion," he says, excitement edging into his voice. And, a no small amount of smugness. "See? I told you, I had it."
Elena purses her lips and tilts her head at him with an argumentative eyebrow raise, but doesn't argue with his claim.
"Go ahead. Kick, yell, scream. I'm sure you've been planning your rant all day," Damon says in a resigned tone. Instead, Elena shakes her head and pulls at the sheets on her side of the bed.
"I'm not going to yell at you."
"Why not?" Damon asks in surprise, but doesn't move from his position on the bed. "I went behind your back. I freed Stefan. And, you know what, it backfired. He's an even bigger dick than ever. It's just now, he's a dick that's on our side."
"I'm not mad. I'm tired. I just…I want to go to bed," Elena answers in a tired voice and pointedly tugs on the sheets trapped under Damon. Of course, he completely ignores her attempts to get him out of her bed and wonders out loud.
"You know, I think Michael's weapon is a stake because he mentioned something about it."
"Well, then they must've carved it from the white oak tree before they burned it down," Elena snaps in frustration.
"So, I was right."
Fed up, Elena rolls her eyes and flips the sheets back on her side of the bed. She slips into bed, resigned to let Damon stay on his side of the bed.
"After all that, the wall led us to Michael," Damon says smugly.
"It led us to more than just that," Elena argues as she finds a comfy position under the plush blanket. She stares at the ceiling in thought. "I think it got Rebekah on our side, too."
"Really?" Damon asks, genuinely surprised. He adjusts slightly, so as to get a better view of his doppelgänger. "What'd you learn from her?"
"I learned that she's just a girl. That she lost her mom too young and…she loves blindly and recklessly, even if it consumes her," Elena explains as she glances at Damon. He watches the expression on her face closely, wondering if she realizes that she just described herself. Let's hope Elena isn't empathizing with the thousand year old blond bitch from hell. Damon has this odd suspicion that eventually he's going to have to kill Rebekah and it's going to be a lot harder if Elena's made friends with her. Although, if they become good enough friends, maybe Rebekah could play body guard on occasion. It'd be nice not to have to worry about Elena all the time, even if she has developed quiet the right hook thanks to Mystic Fall's resident vampire hunter slash history teacher.
When Elena looks at him, the familiarity of her words rings in Damon's mind and warms his heart. His brow furls and he forgets to breath for moment. Does she remember the night they met? No, that's not possible. But, the way she's looking at him…
Elena watches Damon as carefully as he watches her. Describing Rebekah in so many words reminded her of Damon. He's so passionate and reckless. It's like he's waiting for a love to consume him, even if the object of his affection doesn't return his dedication. For a moment, Elena wonders what it would be like to feel that kind of love and passion. To feel like the world only exists for one person. That no one else matters. Could she ever be that selfish? No, not when she has Jeremy to look after. That's why she needs Stefan back. He understands that it's not right to love someone that much. It's not right to put them above everyone else. People are important. Family is important.
"And, when all is said and done, there's nothing more important than the bond of family," Elena says rolling on to her side to look directly at Damon. He immediately rolls his eyes and shifts to to face her before speaking. It's rare that Elena lets him get this close, so he acts nonchalantly.
"Well, you should tell that to my brother."
Elena snickers at the remark before slowly regaining her solemn expression. As she speaks, she reaches to turn off her bedside lamp and returns to face Damon in the dark. "I'm not mad at you for letting him out, Damon. I think that you're going to be the one to save him from himself. It won't be because he loves me. It'll be because he loves you."
Damon watches Elena whisper the truth to him in the dark and he can't help but hope that she's right. He wants to save his brother. He hates what Stefan goes through after each ripper binge. So far, this one's been fairly tame compared to ones in the past. 1912 is a great example of how bad he can get. But, if Damon can get Stefan back on track, maybe he can teach his little brother some control. Of course, the moment Saint Stefan is back, Damon's time with Elena will disappear. He'll be regulated back to body guard or worse, brother-in-law. Then, Elena does something surprising.
"Can I tell you the rest tomorrow," she whispers. When he murmurs an agreement, Elena closes her eyes and quickly falls asleep. With Damon still in her bed. He tucks his face in tighter to the pillow in effort to garner a better view of Sleeping Beauty's face, but, otherwise, he dares not move for fear that she'll wake up and kick him out. How sad is he? When did he become so pathetic that he's perfectly happy to lie in Elena's bed and watch her sleep? If she were anyone else, Damon wouldn't hesitate to touch and caress. Basically, show her the time of her life. He'd make her forget all about his little brother.
But, this isn't just anyone. It's Elena. And, frankly, he's terrified to do anything else. Keeping her safe is on him and only him. He has to protect her from Stefan, Klaus, Rebekah, and now Michael. When it comes to strength, he's outmatched by everyone on the board, so he has to be sneakier than all of them. To do that, he needs Elena to trust him and not fight against him when it comes to the hard decisions. He needs her to be on his side completely. That means he can't risk pissing her off with another failed attempt to woo her. But, being her friend is becoming increasingly difficult. Sometimes, she is just too damn irresistible. Like, right now.
Elena sighs gently into her pillow. She's still obviously not quiet asleep, but right on the edge. She shifts to get comfortable and ends up snuggled against his chest. Damon holds his arm up in the air so that it's not in her way, but then he's not sure what to do with it. She breathes deeply with her eyes still closed as though enjoying his smell and he smirks at her. He keeps his hand in the air like a big dork, but doesn't seem to mind.
"It's wrong of you to be that friendly with Damon," Human Elena growls at her vampiric counterpart as she glares at the couple cuddling on her bed. "You're just leading him on, and you'll end up hurting him."
"I wasn't trying to hurt him," Elena argues, but a spear of regret stabs at her heart. Something about her counterpart's words rings true. She knows how this love story ends, but maybe the journey wasn't as smooth as the sequel.
"Stefan…" Memory Elena murmurs sleepily and her two counterparts stop suddenly and face her. Damon's expression turns sour and he drops his hand to place it gently on her back. With the grace that only a vampire his age could muster, Damon slips away from Elena as she dances between dream and reality.
"You did hurt him, didn't you?" The younger doppelgänger asks her older version. The uncertainty in vampire Elena's glance confirms her suspicions, and Elena feels a sudden burst of anger toward her future self. How could she treat Damon that way? How could she give him hope and snatch it away like that? Damon is an asshole at times, yes, but he doesn't deserve to be toyed with. Elena has always tried to be straight with Damon to avoid this very situation. How could any version of her think this is okay?
Damon stands next to the open window to watch memory Elena for a moment with an expression of harsh resignation and a sour taste in his mouth. Just as he turns to leave, another soft breath escapes from Elena's lips, and it sends a shiver of satisfaction down his spine that releases his trademark smirk.
"Damon…"
The memory fades as Damon silently climbs out of the bedroom window and both Elenas look at each. The human is still obviously very unhappy with the turn of events, but the vampire is excited to see her love story play out. She knows at this point, Stefan has broken up with her, but she's still in love with him. Her feelings for Damon are obviously growing, but she's still very confused. The fact that Damon isn't actively trying to seduce her, somehow makes Elena love him more, but she's not sure why. He obviously loves her and desperately wants her to love him back, but he's not acting on his desires. He's just doing what needs to be done. He's keeping her safe and trying to save his brother at the same time. But, that's a tall order considering how dangerous Mystic Falls is at the moment. Damon and Elena have very few people they can trust at this point. And, the younger Elena's complaint regarding Damon's heart is a valid one. Damon is trusting her with his heart, does she let him down somehow?
"What's going on? Where are we?" The long haired brunette asks, interrupting Elena's thoughts. She looks around to find that the faded memory did not return them to reality.
"It's another memory."
"How? This hasn't happen before. Why are we back to reality?"
It's because I pulled you into my mind before the memory strike," vampire Elena offers. "This what I was hoping for. Your presence is weakening the compulsion and the power from the strike is able to break through multiple memory barriers. I think. Maybe. I don't know."
"Okay, I'm going to pretend like that makes sense," Elena responds with a shrug. "So, why this memory? And, the other?"
"I don't know," the vampire whines, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation. "Maybe, because they both have beds in the memory?"
"That's ridiculous, but whatever. This is Stefan's room. When is this? And, who is that?" The human asks, looking around. She cringes at the dead, blonde vampire lying face down on Stefan's floor. She's dressed in a red prom dress at memory Elena's feet.
"This is right after that last memory. A day or two maybe. That's Rebekah," Elena explains, pointing to the blonde on the floor, then looks at memory Elena.
The young human is notably rattled and shivers uncontrollably. With a painful groan, she covers her mouth with her hands. Tears well up in her eyes, but she squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head stubbornly.
"Stop it. You are stronger than this," Elena says to herself as she wipes away the tears. She drops her hands with a sigh that helps to calm her nerves and re-center herself.
"Damon!" She calls out, knowing he'll come. Sure enough, a few moments later Damon strolls through the open door to Stefan's room with an annoyed expression.
"You know, I'm only trying to prepare for the Klausageddon here," he stops mid-step when he sees Rebekah's desiccated body lying on the the floor. "Well, that's one less item on my to-do list."
He watches Elena sit on Stefan's bed with an overly apologetic expression. He shrugs and grabs a blanket from the closet. A moment later, he kneels next to Rebekah with the blanket covering her prone form.
"In the back. Harsh."
"It had to be done," Elena argues with a deep sigh, waving her hands as a defense to her own guilt. "Rebekah was never going to be completely on our side."
"Hey, I'm not judging you. It's very…Katherine of you."
"Not the way to make me feel better about myself, Damon."
"It was a compliment," he argues and then grimaces in acknowledgment. "Sort of."
"Stefan's right. Someone's going to let their humanity get in the way and screw this whole thing up. And, it's probably going to be me," Elena complains and Damon can see her overwhelming anxiety.
"Elena," he says, standing to sit next to her on the bed. "You just daggered somebody. You're going to be fine."
"Yeah, but I feel bad about it," she argues. "I care too much. That's the problem, Damon. I'm the weak link."
"If it makes you feel any better, she's not really dead."
Elena ignores him as she considers the plan for tonight. They are so close to getting rid of Klaus, to freeing Stefan. What if she screws it all up? What if she's the reason Klaus wins and keeps Stefan on his leash? What if she's the reason Damon loses his brother? Could he ever forgive her for that kind of mistake? Could she forgive herself? What if things go really wrong and someone is killed? What if Stefan dies? Or, Damon? The thought of losing either Salvatore in such a permanent fashion terrifies Elena even more. So, much rides on the success of this plan. So, much rides on Mikael and trusting that he won't betray them.
"Do you trust him? Mikael?" She asks, not sure what answer would frighten her more.
"Nope," Damon answers with such certainty that Elena's surprise by it.
"What about Stefan?"
"No." Again, he answers quickly. "Not as long as he's under Klaus' control."
"Then, we need a better plan," Elena announces. Their current plan hinges on Mikael and Stefan. If they can't be trusted, how can they possibly expect a successful outcome?
"I know what to do," Damon says calmly and looks at Elena with a shrug. "You're just not going to like it."
"Why not?"
"Because, when this all goes down, I don't want you having any part of it."
"What does that mean?" Elena asks, frowning at his cryptic words.
Damon watches Elena for moment as she waits patiently for his response. When did she grow this strong? When did Elena grow tough enough to fight her trusting nature so as to do what needs to be done? To stab an Original in the back rather than trust her to keep her word? It was just a few months ago that she was ready to trust Elijah with her life. Today, she's conspiring against an Original hybrid and his Jerry Springer inspired family. Is it all to save Stefan? Or, is she worried about Damon, too? It doesn't matter. Damon has to save Stefan, kill Klaus, and keep Elena safe. Everything in between is filler. But, will she do what he asks? Can she sit on the side lines, while Damon saves the day? She's had no problem trusting Stefan to play the hero when necessary. But, Damon doesn't have a hero hair-do. He isn't Stefan.
"Do you trust me?" He asks, looking into her brown, doe eyes.
"Yes," she answers so quickly and confidently that Damon can't stop the warmth in his chest nor the smile on his lips.
"Then, you have nothing to worry about."
Damon's confident smirk sends a flutter through Elena's stomach, and suddenly a different kind of anxiety blossoms. She tucks a stray hair behind her ear nervously and looks away from his intense stare.
"Can you be more specific?"
"He means me," Katherine says from the door way and Elena jumps from to her feet in surprise. "Oh, did I interrupt? I know Stefan isn't much fun in his current state, but you haven't forgotten about him already, have you?"
Elena frowns at her doppelgänger and crosses her arms over her chest defensively. "What are doing her, Katherine?"
"I came because Damon invited me. Something about saving Stefan and killing Klaus," she croons as she slinks closer to the older Salvatore brother and slips her arms over his shoulders. "Last I heard, you two were fighting. I see you made up. What a shame."
Damon rolls his eyes in annoyance at Katherine's antics. Why does she insist on antagonizing him every time she sees him? How many times does he have to make it clear that he's over her? Then, Damon catches the angry glare that Elena is throwing her doppelgänger and he puts two and two together. Katherine is goading Elena, not him.
"You invited her here? Like we don't have enough problems?" Elena argues without looking at him. She can't take her eyes off the evil slut kneeling on the bed at Damon's back and slowly sliding her hands over his arms. And, he's just letting her.
"Hey, doppelgänger hijinks keep you of the line of fire," Damon explains, ignoring Katherine's touch. He needs Katherine to play along with the plan and pissing her off won't help his case. He's more concerned with the sudden backlash from Elena. One minute she trusts him, and the next, she doesn't. Choose a lane already.
Damon notices when Elena's eyes track the delicate hands moving up his arms and to his shoulders. He frowns at her obvious distaste for the five-hundred-year-old vampire. Doesn't she know Katherine is just trying to get to her? Katherine is like a toddler in that responding to her bad behavior just encourages it. Although, Damon can't help but take a small amount of pleasure in Elena's obvious display of jealousy. For him. But, alas, all good things must come to an end. So, when Katherine's hands attempt to move South down his chest, he snatches them roughly and pushes her away.
"So, I'm just here to play decoy? How original," Katherine complains as she stretches seductively across Stefan's bed.
"It's the only useful talent you have, Katherine."
"You're probably right," she concedes with a pout before smiling devilishly from under long eyelashes. "If I remember correctly, your most admirable talent is restricted to the bedroom. Wouldn't you agree, Elena?"
"You do see the dead Original on the floor, right?" Elena growls. Katherine raises an eyebrow and leans over enough to eye the dead body shaped blanket on the floor.
"Is that Rebekah?"
"Yep," Damon answers, proudly motioning to Elena. "So, let's not piss off Miss Van Helsing over here."
"Fine. I get it. Sex with Damon is off limits," Katherine concedes, raising her hands defensively as she stands from the bed. "How about Stefan? He's delicious, isn't he? Tell me which one do you think is better. I, myself, had a hard time choosing the better lover."
"Alright, that's enough," Damon growls and snatches Katherine's arm roughly. He tugs her toward the door as she giggles maniacally. Elena glowers at the insinuation and refuses to let it go.
"I'm not you, Katherine. I haven't slept with Damon. I wouldn't hurt him like that."
Damon ignores Elena's proclamation with a clenched jaw. The meaning behind her words is nothing new to him. He knows that Elena's heart belongs to Stefan. It will always be Stefan. But, lately…it just seemed like 'always' may not be always. Of course, that was wishful thinking and Damon admonishes himself for indulging. He has to stay focused on the task at hand.
Katherine, on the other hand, smiles wickedly at Elena's response. She looks back over her shoulder at the human doppelgänger with a wink.
"Yet."
Elena growls in frustration at the empty doorway and plops down face up on to the bed. Vampire Elena watches her memory versions stare at the ceiling and fume. She remembers the anger burning through her at the thought of that evil slut touching Damon. Although, at the time, she attributed her anger to Katherine's presence in general. Even now, memory Elena worries that Katherine could send Stefan into a deeper hole of depravity. It suddenly occurs to Elena, that she never once considered the possibility that Katherine could unhinge Damon, again. Which is odd, considering her history of doing just that.
"So, wait, now you're working with Katherine, too? You said she killed Jeremy," human Elena says, pacing across the room.
"She did, or does…it hasn't happened, yet."
"But, she's still Katherine. Why were her and Damon so…friendly. Did they make up or something? Are they together? She accused you of sleeping with him, but you…I…wouldn't do that."
"I didn't want to hurt him," the vampire agrees.
"You didn't let her though, right? Katherine, I mean. She's done it before. Twirled him around her little finger, just to mess with him and make him lash out. He'll hurt people," human Elena says, a deep concern emanating from her pursed lips and wide eyes.
Vampire Elena watches her counterpart worry more for everyone around Damon, rather than for the man himself. She glances at memory Elena lying on the bed, remembering the concern for Damon she's experiencing.
"This is so weird," she complains.
"You're telling me," human Elan agrees, flipping her hands in the air dramatically. "Why are we even here in this memory? What triggered it instead of the one we wanted? At his point, I'm not sure I care about the other memory. I just want you to tell me how to stop Klaus from taking Stefan and we can avoid all this."
"No," vampire Elena says, then clarifies when the other doppelgänger stops pacing to glare at her. "I mean, yes. I'll tell you whatever you want about Klaus and Stefan, and that whole debacle. But, that's not the weird part."
"What do you mean? Nothing about this is normal."
"I know, but I meant you two," Elena tries to explain, pointing to her other two versions. "I get the differences between you and I. There are two hundred years of life experiences between us. There are bound to be some differences. But, you two are like a less than a year apart. How are you this different?"
"How are we different?" The human asks, intrigued by the observation. She steps closer to the memory Elena to watch her suspiciously. They certainly don't look different.
"I know what she's thinking and feeling, right now. I remember experiencing it because I was her. I laid on that bed and worried that Katherine would mess with Stefan, that she would betray us. I worried that Mikael would betray us. I worried that everything would go wrong and people would die. That Stefan or Damon would die. I worried about my friends and Jeremy getting caught as collateral damage. I worried about everyone getting hurt or betraying us. I worried that evenStefan would betray us, but it never once occurred to me that Damon would betray us. Or, he would let Katherine affect him like she did before."
"And, it's the first thing I jumped to," human Elena observes.
"Exactly."
"You meant it when you said that you trusted him, didn't you?" Human Elena asks, contemplating the weight of her declaration.
"Yes."
"More than Stefan?"
"Given Stefan's current off the rail status, I'd say yes," Elena answers with a nervous chuckle. She's trying to avoid lying to her counterpart, but she's getting awfully close to the true nature of her relationship with Damon.
"But, you save him, right? You get him back on the wagon like we did before?"
"Yeah, I mean, this time was different. It was harder. But, yeah, we save him."
"So, after you save him, and he's the Stefan that we both love, again," the younger Elena begins, but pauses mid-sentence. She suddenly feels anxious about putting to words this question. It feels like the single block holding up a precarious Jenga tower. No matter how gently she tugs on this block, or asks her question, Elena knows something is going to crumble. Something that she's adamantly been ignoring, but can't admit it. So, she hesitates. She hesitates long enough for the vampire to recognize her plight and the concern weighing on her.
"Don't worry, we eventually rebuild that trust," vampire Elena says, trying to reassure her doppelgänger. The human nods with a sigh of relief.
"Good. I mean, of course, you do. You spend the next two hundred years together. I don't know why I…" human Elena shakes her head again to disperse the worrisome thoughts. Feeling better, she turns back to her vampiric version to find her hiding a guilty expression. "What's that look?"
"What look? There's no look."
"Oh, my God. I am a bad liar. What are you not saying? Stefan and I do spend the next two hundred years together, right? I mean, what's the point of living forever if you can't spend it with the man you love?"
"But, you do. I have. I've been with the man I love. I can't imagine my life without him," Elena explains with a desperate certainty that pushes the panicking human onto her heels.
"Then, what's the problem?"
"Life's complicated," she tries to explain, but human Elena isn't having any of it. She grabs the vampire arms roughly and demands the truth.
"Show me the future. Show me my life with Stefan, with the man I love."
"I can't," the vampire argues, placing her hands over her counterpart's vice grip. If she were human, it might hurt. "I'm not controlling the memory strikes."
While the other doppelgängers argue, memory Elena finally stands from her pity party and heads for the door. After fuming and slowly calming down, she silently realized that Katherine would give them a great advantage tonight. But, still, why does she have to be such a slut? Elena just knows that the moment she walks down stairs, Katherine will be all over Stefan like she was Damon. And, that will really piss Elena off. It's just a reminder that Katherine is Stefan's ex-girlfriend. Damon's too. Like she said earlier, the evil slut's had both Salvatores. Apparently, they're both good at it. Which isn't surprising.
"What's surprising is that they both want me," she mutters before descending down the stairs.
Mid-argument, vampire Elena snaps her head to the escaping memory and catches the comment, suddenly remembering the feelings of inadequacy. She never really understood why both the Salvatore brothers loved her so much. She's nothing special, except the doppelgänger thing, of course. Both Damon and Stefan had spent a century with other women, but somehow they wanted her. It didn't make sense, and at times, it bothered Elena. In fact, with Damon, there was a point where she was truly worried.
"Figure it out. I don't want any more of these high school memories," human Elena demands, pulling her counterpart back to the argument at hand. "I want to see the real future. Past college and everything."
Vampire Elena shakes her head, trying to explain her lack of control regarding the memories, but she stops when the world around them changes. Stefan's room melts away to reveal a small nursery decorated in pink and purple flowers. Vampire Elena glances around and immediately recognizes the familiar room along with the memory. It takes her human version a moment to catch up.
"This is Bonnie's room. In her house. Why is it a nursery? Is a memory from when we were babies? How is that possible?"
"No, this isn't…Some thing is wrong," Elena says in a panicked voice. "This isn't one of my lost memories."
"What do you mean? When is this?"
"It's after college. Bonnie's having a baby. Caroline just got married. And, I…graduated college."
"This is the future. This what I wanted to see!" Human Elena smiles with excitement. "This is my life with Stefan."