A/N Alternate season 4 continues. I only own my story and am borrowing characters from TVD/CW.
Bonded for Life #25
"I guess there's always Damon…"
She was baiting him, dangling the threat of renewed brotherly competition for her affections. Logically, he understood it was because he'd compared her to Katherine. But still, there was only so much a man could take. He'd had enough of being in competition with his brother, of losing her to his brother.
Stefan sneered, fangs extended, and he blurred as he launched with vamp speed to pin Elena to the bed. His jaw opened wider than ever before as he roared and clamped down on her neck to claim her as his own. No one else, especially not Damon, would have her, especially after the whole sire bond debacle. Elena was his.
He clamped tighter and growled as if demanding her submission. The overwhelming and animalistic desire to keep her and protect her, even to protect her from herself, sparked through his alternate nature like a jolt of electric testosterone. Elena whimpered and squirmed in discomfort and Stefan eased his hold, already beginning to regret this overreaction. Stefan's eyes closed briefly as he tried to shake off his vampire visage.
Breathing deeply to calm himself, he opened his eyes to see hers watching him. Stefan was somewhat relieved to realize he was still standing across from Elena and her deadpan gaze, her words lingering in the air between them. He was not in Ripper form pinning her to the bed. The furious but fleeting image of trouncing upon Elena was over and Stefan stood still as he tried to manage himself down to the human-sized reactions of anger, hurt, and frustration.
Elena was certainly expert at pushing his buttons now. Being emotionless, nothing kept her from taking full advantage. The stillness in the room was quite telling as each could sense his angry tension being kept tightly under wraps. The anticipation of watching him ready to explode was evident on her face.
"And by Damon, you mean? You'll go back to him if I don't accept you without your emotions? Really? I don't think so, Elena. You are just trying to get back at me for the Katherine comment, for which I've already apologized. It was stupid of me."
"He'd have no problem with me this way." She went back to tending to her pedicure as if she hadn't just tried to gut him with her jealousy tactic.
Stefan stifled his reaction again and bit at his lip. Anything he could say to fight her now would just push her further into a defensive if not outright hostile posture. He needed to stop and rethink the approach here before it got out of hand. Stefan physically eased his shoulders and neck, consciously trying to relax and not further escalate the conversation into a full blown fight. He sat on his side of the bed, removing his shoes and readying for sleep.
"He might not at first, but Elena, love, love is everything. Don't you see that? It's why you came back to me. It's why you got overwhelmed with Jeremy's death and shut it all off. Even Damon thought he finally had someone that truly loved him. Maybe you couldn't tell being under the sire bond and all but it changes you, it changed him. You might be surprised by how much it would mean to Damon now, to be loved."
Stefan stripped down to boxers and muscle T-shirt and climbed into bed. He was dragging, emotionally and physically fatigued. He lied on his side, his back to Elena. "Get the lights when you're done, k? I'll wake you after I shower. Should be enough time before we leave."
Stefan was quiet thereafter, presumably trying to fall asleep. Eventually satisfied that her nail polish was dry, Elena looked over her shoulder at Stefan with a curious look on her face. It was interesting that the fight didn't escalate. He was good, really good at managing the situation despite his emotional attachments. It had seemed for a moment that he was going to lose it but perhaps she now knew just how far she could push before he would do something he'd regret. She'd certainly pushed the right button with the brother aspect. No doubt, she'd need to use that knowledge at some point even if it meant using Stefan's guilt to keep him in check.
Her eyes lingered, taking in the shape of his hips under the covers, and wanting to sink her nails into his bottom as he rode her. Eyes trailing up his body, she paused, spying his bare shoulder, the one without the tattoo, and she imagined giving him a love bite as he penetrated her. She longed to touch him but she held herself back. Sex was one thing. But tenderness, that's what he would be hoping for from her while all she wanted was some good fucking before sleep.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Enjoying their penthouse view, the odd but attractive couple lounged as the sun rose over Central Park.
"And why don't we live here?" the man asked.
"Because they do," the blonde answered and indicated the slightly older couple dining at a table full of breakfast, eggs, bacon, and piping hot coffee. She gave them a smile and a wave. The hosts smiled back and toasted their coffee mugs in a kind of greeting that looked like a fancy java commercial.
"We should get going," he said, but he didn't move.
"Oh, I know. I said it twenty minutes ago."
"If we actually lived like this, I might actually grow to like you. I'd share this."
"Damon, rest assured, I will never live with you regardless of where."
"Aw, come on, and I was being all nice and this," he said indicating the view. Damon being happy was a new experience. It complimented his c'est la vie attitude about dining on humans. Rebekah could see how he would be an appealing vampire companion to some. "How can you want to give this all up to be human?"
Rebekah smirked. It was futile to deny it. This was a pretty perfect set up despite the fact that Rebekah still wanted to marry and raise a human family. Even she could get used to the lifestyle of these wealthy New Yorkers on whom she and Damon had dined in the park and then compelled to be their hosts overnight.
"Speaking of being human, let's go." Rebekah got up and stretched. "You've had your sunrise but it's time. The trail will get cold."
She crossed to the homeowner's giving them a last bit of compulsion and thanking them for their hospitality. Damon, slowly rose, took in the view for a last moment or two and said goodbye to New York, for now, and hello to the Podunk town somewhere on Katherine's map of Original hide and seek.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Holding a talisman provided by Abby, the witch went undetected as she assessed the younger witch from afar. Normally, a witch could sense another witch's presence, but the talisman allowed for distance otherwise not afforded. It was not just luck that Abby had saved this talisman from the day of Bonnie's birth and had taken it with her when she fled the town of Mystic Falls years ago. Abby had held the talisman many times over the years, calling on the spirits, the elements, and the love and blood bound to the talisman to keep her daughter safe. When she'd created it, Abby hadn't known she'd end up using it from afar, but seeing as she'd fled motherhood and but continued her protective enchantments solely in this way, the talisman now seemed imbued with magic that was specifically good for compensating for distance. Then again, Abby's and Bonnie's blood were both involved in the creation of the talisman so perhaps it was simply well-adapted to anything related to Bonnie, if not Abby anymore.
Suddenly, Bonnie stilled, stopping to take in her surroundings. Had she noticed someone was watching her? She looked a bit like her skin was crawling with a feeling of being watched. Soon enough however, she turned back to continue on her way and the older witch breathed a sigh at not being discovered.
Later, Bonnie couldn't shake the feeling that she'd had a tail for most of the day. Settling into the corner booth at the diner where she'd recently met Caroline, Bonnie surveyed the restaurant between reading page after page of spells. She was patient and knew if she waited long enough, the spy would need to approach her to uncover anything of value. It could have been Silas or anyone on a supernatural mission. But she was fairly sure it would turn out to be another witch, one way or the other.
Finally, just as Bonnie had gotten immersed in yet another grimoire, the other witch came forward. Without looking up, Bonnie said, "'Bout time. Did you find what you were looking for yet?"
The older witch sat across from Bonnie not speaking until she had Bonnie's undivided attention. Bonnie finished making a note, put her pen down and looked up at her would-be spy.
"I'm a friend. Abby was worried. She thought maybe I could help since she can't anymore." It was clear this witch knew Abby had been a witch but no longer was anymore. She probably even knew why.
"I don't need any help."
"You asked Abby for help…and Caroline."
"I know them."
"Anyone else?"
Bonnie's lack of answering was curious. The new arrival sat quietly taking in Bonnie's demeanor for another moment.
"How did you trail me without me seeing you?" Bonnie asked.
"How do you think?"
Bonnie thought about it for a while. "She gave you something of mine."
"In a manner of speaking."
"Let me see it."
"It's Abby's to share, not mine."
Bonnie suddenly held both wrists of her now captive witch spy and began to chant quietly. The veins in Bonnie's hands began to flow black and swell above the surface of her skin. Her eyes seemed to roll back showing only the white. The weather outside began to darken then just as suddenly, it was over. Bonnie opened her eyes, now completely their normal color. "Give it to me, now." She released one hand of her now shaking foe who then brought out the talisman from a pocket, placing it between them on the table.
"Thank you. You may go now."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"So, what did you find?" Abby asked anxiously.
The witch seemed nervous, maybe even frightened, as she stood awkwardly away from the two vampires.
"This is Caroline. She won't hurt you. You could drop us both with a look, hon."
The witch moved in closer but didn't relax much. "Bonnie seemed completely normal and tied to the talisman just as you said she would be. But when I finally came forward and talked to her, I saw her for what she was."
"What do you mean by that?" Abby asked.
"She's using 'Expression', Abby."
Abby sat back, mouth agape. Caroline was confused and impatient. "So what? Was she really Bonnie or not Bonnie?
"I think it was really Bonnie. I didn't get any sense of this Silas you think has been let loose or any other magical interference. The talisman would have seemed benign to an unwelcome search and gone undiscovered. But it didn't. Bonnie searched for it and the talisman welcomed it, her. But the scary part is when a witch turns from her true magic, and uses dark magic…, if Expression is taking over, she's not really the Bonnie that you know anymore, not entirely at least."
"Bonnie has been using Expression for a while now and she's been fine. A little edgy but fine." The witch and former witch looked at Caroline surprised at her take on Bonnie's magic. "What? She knew it was a lot to handle but she was doing it. She can handle it." Caroline directed her next question to Abby. "Is this why you thought it wasn't Bonnie the other night? Because of Expression?"
"I don't know. I don't have the ability to sense these things anymore. Mostly, she just didn't feel like my daughter. She told me about Silas being able to make you think you are seeing something when you aren't. So I started thinking that Silas might be testing me and that if this was Silas, what better way to gain my trust than to discuss the very thing he could do to fool someone, to be the one sharing a confidence. And then there was the headstone. Something wasn't right about Bonnie's request."
"That's where I come in. Abby brought it to me. It's just a rock. There isn't any sign of any blood at all. There is nothing about that rock to show it is the blood-soaked headstone of a super witch from a couple thousand years ago." Both women looked to Caroline for her thoughts. "You must have the real one."
Caroline felt the vampire equivalent of getting goose bumps or the hairs on the back of her head rising... Something was off. She held back on discussing anything further about how she'd hidden her rock for Bonnie. If all this conversation was somehow an elaborate ruse to get Caroline to reveal where her headstone was hidden, if she even had the real one, Caroline did not want to blow the whole thing in front of a possible imposter.
She ventured a question to keep them focused on the rock in Abby's possession. "What if the blood was somehow concealed until it was needed. Maybe it was protected in some way. How would you know if it was the actual headstone?"
"I don't suppose we would know," Abby answered but looked to the witch.
"Abby's right. I wouldn't know. Unless…" The witch bit her lip as she pondered. "I could try to destroy it. Presumably, I wouldn't be able to if it was…"
"What? Why? Just hold on a second. You don't know if it's the real one and you are willing to destroy it just to see IF it fights back and stays protected?" Caroline stared heatedly at first one then the other. "Why do we care?" Neither answered seeming to think the question was rhetorical. "If Bonnie knows how to get the real one when she's ready, why do we care?" Still no response as both women had not good answer. "Then leave it to Bonnie!"
There. Perhaps this was the ultimate way to suss out someone desperately trying to find the real headstone before Bonnie was ready for it. Caroline no longer trusted this conversation at all. She couldn't afford to from here forward. Had Silas gotten to Abby, used her to find Bonnie and the headstone? Or the witch, was she compromised in this effort?
Finally, Abby spoke. "We can't leave it to Bonnie. Not any more, Caroline. It's not safe. Expression is dangerous. It will take over. It will consume Bonnie and eventually kill her. A lot of others will get hurt too before she was through."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Stefan watched Elena sleep for a little while longer. Her mouth was slightly puckered and made her look so innocent and childlike. Her skin was a touch more fair that when she was human, but still so smooth, so soft. He longed for her to wake, to look at him with love in her eyes, for her to stir and smile, to snuggle playfully, whining sweetly for five more minutes of glorious sleep.
But, his mind was simply imagining something that could not happen anymore, not without some serious intervention. His heart ached. He licked his lips lightly before leaning down to kiss her cheek.
"Elena. It's time."
Opening her eyes, Elena saw Stefan leaning over her, his look of sorrowful longing unmistakable even if he'd masked it slightly with a soft smile. If only he'd been longing for sex. That would be more her speed this morning. Sex, such a great way to go to sleep or to wake up. Instead, he was dressed and ready to go. She smiled politely. "Ok, thanks."
He stood back and returned to getting ready to leave. Elena sped through an abbreviated version of her morning rituals having showered before bed. She was ready to go by the time Stefan had pulled up the car and loaded in a few things they'd each readied before bed.
Sucking down her breakfast, Elena emerged to see Stefan waiting patiently, leaning against the little red roadster. His eyes left his phone upon hearing her emerge. She eyed him up and down, not at all discrete enough for him not to notice her hungry gaze accented by a few well timed slurps and sighs. He stopped typing to open the passenger door for her and closed it once she was seated inside.
Stefan had already texted Damon with disappointing results.
S: Worried. She's getting worse.
D: Not my problem
S: She's more distant, harder.
D: So do her
S: Funny
D: Better than torture or maybe it is torture with you.
S: Not funny. I was supposed to pull back.
D: Then don't fucking ask me! Deal with it.
S: Thanks for the help, bro.
D: Anytime, asshole.
Damon never was a morning person. Stefan had shoved his phone back in his pocket after receiving no help from his big brother. Granted, Damon was the jilted big brother so the bitterness was bound to be omnipresent when it involved Elena.
Thankfully he'd tried Caroline next.
S: Hey. You up?
C: Yep.
S: Bonnie call?
C: Nope. Sorry. Elena?
S: No progress. Worse actually.
C: So, back to plan A?
S: Don't think so.
C: Then stick with it, Stefan. It's difficult but you'll know. Go with your gut.
S: K. Thanks. Leaving now.
C: Good luck. ;-)
Funny how basically similar advice could be delivered and received so differently.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Caroline rolled over to her back with a sigh. Poor Stefan. It had to be killing him, not having Elena's true self by his side. After all they'd been through, after the sire bond, Jeremy, and more, it just didn't seem right that some happy times were not afforded them, all of them. There was no balance in their lives of late. Trauma followed drama and vice versa. It had become their constant state, punctuated sporadically by very brief moments of poignancy and tenderness.
Sighing again, Caroline rose to start her day.
"Caroline?" called her mom.
"Come in!"
"Oh good you are up. I have to go in and track some stolen plates for Damon. Can you wait for the serviceman and sign when he's done? He should be done in about a half hour."
"Sure, no problem. What's he fixing?"
"Dishwasher," Liz called back to her, already halfway down the hall and heading out the door.
Caroline got dressed and ready to go before stepping into the kitchen. "Hi."
"Oh, hey, almost done," he answered, nose deep into the motor he was fixing.
Caroline poured coffee and sat to text while she waited with her coffee.
The man finished reassembling the dishwasher, collected the few tools he'd used and stood to finish up. Spying Caroline directly for the first time, he paused, taken aback by how pretty she was. "Wow."
Caroline blushed and looked into her coffee.
"Sorry, I had no idea Liz's daughter was so…ah..well, ah, grown up. What was your name again?"
"It's Caroline."
As soon as she spoke her name, the man flung a screw driver into her chest, nicking Caroline's heart with its metal shaft.
Caroline was stunned. "What the…" she cried, wincing at the pain, pulling the tool from her chest and ready to lunge at the man.
"I have a message, from Silas," he said. He seemed like a totally different person than he was a moment before. Previously a stumbling fool taken by a pretty girl and now a deadly serious calm sort that was rather menacing. Still, he was human. She could hear his heart and smell the sweat. He was afraid but unable to stop himself. He'd been compelled.
"Find Bonnie or your mother is dead. Return the headstone or you are."
"I've been looking but I can't find Bonnie."
"Find Bonnie…or your mother is dead. Return the…"
Caroline cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, and return the headstone or I'm dead."
"You have three days."
"Three days…got it."
He had nothing further to say. He was likely compelled to ensure she'd understood. He reached out for his screwdriver expecting her to simply hand it back. She wiped off the screwdriver with a dish towel within her reach and handed the tool back to him. It was clear that she understood. As soon as he had his tool back, he switched back to himself just as easy as turning on and off a light. "Oh, thanks, wouldn't want to leave that behind." He stashed the tool in his belt.
Caroline held the dish towel in her fist, pressing it to the now bloodied shirt she would have to get rid of once he left.
"Ok, then, I'll need you to sign, this," he said as he filled in the form on his clipboard. As she signed, he noticed the towel she held to her chest. "Did you spill that coffee? Must have hurt. Hot, huh?"
Caroline just smirked and nodded as if in commiseration. As soon as he left, Caroline was calling Bonnie and changing her shirt.
"Bonnie, please, you need to call me back. It's getting pretty flippin' serious around here. Silas is coming after me and my mom. Where are you? Call me!"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"You're quiet this morning." Elena was watching the road as Stefan drove.
"Am I?" he asked.
"More than usual."
"I guess I'm trying to think about how to get there, what we need to do when we get there, and if we are even going to find Katherine or not."
"And the cure."
"Yes, and the cure."
"You know I won't take the cure, Stefan. You can't make me."
Stefan turned a puzzled look at her for a moment then back at the road in front of him. "Is that why you are so set on keeping your emotions off? You think I'm going to force you to take the cure?"
Elena didn't answer. Stefan sighed.
"I'd be more likely to resort to forcing it if you kept your emotions off, wouldn't I?"
"So you would consider it, wouldn't you?"
"You're twisting my words, Elena. I didn't say that. But if you are worried about it, one good way to ensure we stay on the same page, with neither of us taking the cure, would be to flip your switch back on."
It was quiet for a few miles.
"If you wanted to be human again, Elena, I'd support that. But, honestly, I don't want you to take the one-dose cure, if it's your choice not to take it. You know me, I'll feel guilt for the rest of my days about it wanting it, but I've always wanted you to choose forever with me. A human life together doesn't look like a possibility for us. And a life with only you human would just be too short now that we know what we could have…"
Elena turned her look away, staring at the scenery out her window. Stefan stole glances at her again as he pondered why she started that conversation. Why would she be fixated on being forced to take the cure? No one in their circle has supported that. Only Klaus would want to force the doppelganger bloodbag returned to human.
It was quiet again. One mile…then another…Both of them pondering Stefan's words.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Katherine smiled to herself, pleased with having Elijah in her bed. He lied next to her on his stomach, naked, facing away from her. It was quite the contrast to see him like this, completely unrestrained and fully satiated, compared to their phone call just a week prior.
"Please, just listen, please," the she pleaded over the phone to the man that seemed little moved to help her. "Elijah, I want a life. I don't want to run anymore. I'm just so tired of it all. The scheming, the planning, the running…This could be a fresh new start for me. I want to stop running. I want to live. I want to love and care and have someone be truly mine."
"You want a lot of things, Katerina."
"Please don't make it sound like that. You know what this could mean. I could be that girl again. You know who I was but I can barely remember her. I don't want to be this anymore, this scared and villainous bitch that has to protect herself at every turn. And Klaus, he could have one less hate-filled plan for vengeance poisoning his heart."
Elijah sighed, his heart feeling for the human girl he'd once nearly let prove to him that love did indeed exist.
"Please, Elijah. Please come."
Elijah was so rigid when he first arrived. It took some real skill and patience to unravel his vice-like hold on himself. Katherine could always find men's true desires and drive the men to act upon them.
Back to the present, Katherine smiled again and sank back into the pillows. She had accomplished a lot in a week. She could afford to sleep in a little having put Elijah through his paces for a few hours. She'd earned it.
Her body, though worn and stinging, was pleasantly overwhelmed by lasting vibrations trembling through her which she hadn't felt in a long time. How a man could be so tender and yet brutal, rather like herself, made her think she and Elijah might just be a good pairing for real.
Once a truce was negotiated, Katherine would need to ensure Elijah stuck around, at least for a while.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Caroline heard her own voice sounding shrill. If she could hear it, others must think she was being a total bitch. She tried to calm herself as she ran the prom committee meeting. They were behind schedule. What did she expect? She'd been busy dealing with life and death and cheerleading and magic and finals and caps & gowns, and Elena, and Stefan, and Silas, and… "Stop."
"Stop what?" one of the volunteers asked as the entire team stopped to look at Caroline.
Caroline hadn't meant to say that out loud. She was trying to reprimand herself from spiraling. She knew the drill. Heck, she was the drill sergeant. "Sorry, I mean, I just wanted to go back to the pictures. Who's got the next step on that?"
The meeting went back to normal, Caroline breathing a sigh of relief when it was over. As all the volunteers left, Matt stuck around for a few minutes.
"Matt, thanks for helping me. I'm losing it."
"It's fine. Besides, I don't think the A/V team speaks your language. The geeks get a little tongue-tied when a pretty girl actually acknowledges them." Matt gave Caroline a smirk and made her smile.
"Are you sure you don't mind? I mean, all the pictures with Elena and…"
"Caroline, its fine. I got it. I'm just glad I can actually do something that might help."
"I was really hoping she'd be back to normal by now, you know. So, better to have a plan to help than no plan at all." She started to pack up her things. "Have you heard from Bonnie at all?"
"No. It's weird. I've never seen her go rogue like this before, have you?"
"No."
"Let me know if you see her, k?"
"Sure thing, Care. Hang in there."
The two friends parted, Caroline heading to her locker and Matt heading to his car. Stowing items in her nearly empty locker, why wait until the last day to clean out your locker, right?, Caroline closed the door only to be startled seeing Klaus leaning nearby.
"Hello, love."
"Klaus, what the hell, you scared me."
"I wanted to see a pretty face and yours was the first that came to mind."
"What do you want, Klaus?"
"Heard from Tyler?"
"No, and you know I haven't." Caroline walked away. He followed. "What do you want?"
"Honestly?" He stopped her and pressed her up against the nearby lockers. "I missed you."
"Klaus, you don't miss anyone. You miss bothering others, controlling them, pressuring them to do your bidding. How are your hybrids by the way?" she smirked knowing full well that most if not all were now unsired by Tyler.
"You smell nice," he said leaning into her neck. "How about a bite?"
Caroline stiffened, afraid to again be sentenced to death by his wolf venom. Klaus toyed with a lock of her hair.
"Do I have your attention now?" She nodded, pained. "Good. You are going to help me because I am going to help you. We are going to find Bonnie, together."