Charmed © Constance M. Burge and The Vampire Diaries © L. J. Smith. I don't own or have any affiliation with either TV shows.

I also claim no ownership of the movie Titanic. That belongs solely to director James Cameron.

Please review constructively and respectfully. Flames will NOT be tolerated.

THE CHOICES WE MAKE

"For fear of what you might do, I say nothing but stare at you.
And I'm dreaming, I'm trippin' over you."
~Mika: 'I See You' (The Boy Who Knew Too Much [2009])

Salvatore Boarding House
Day

Back at the boarding house, Vicky is high on Damon's delicious blood and she is dancing around the parlour with a highly amused Damon smirking as he was watching her and dancing as well.

"I am so over Tyler, SO over him." Vicky was bitching to a highly uninterested Damon, but she was oblivious to this. "I knew from the beginning that I was only a piece of ass to him, but I thought maybe if he got to know me better, he might see something more. But no." Vicky frowned, hurt. But brightened up almost immediately. "Now, Jeremy, on the other hand, that's all he's ever seen in me is something more, and I like that." That got Damon's attention.

"Jeremy, huh? Elena's brother?"

"Yeah, yeah." Vicky waved her hand carelessly, too busy bitching about how much her love life sucked, and how life in general sucked for her. "So, Elena used to date my brother, and they were always together, so Jeremy would always be hanging around and crushing on me and…" Then Vicky really took a good look at Damon, who raised an inquiring eyebrow at her. "Hey, why don't you have a girlfriend? You're, like, totally cool and hot."

Inwardly, Damon rolled his eyes. Because my girlfriend is keeping me at arm's length because of a dumb-ass move I made with your High School coach. She claims that she loves me, but I'm not sure how serious she is about that… But outwardly, Damon forced a smug smirk on his face.

"I know." Vicky looked at him with concern.

"Don't you wanna be in love?" I am in love…

"I've been in love." Damon admitted. "It's painful and pointless and overrated." He lied. Or at least it was until Phoebe came back into my life… Vicky frowned, correctly realising that Damon was lying through his teeth at her.

"Except when it isn't." She stated pointedly. Damon wanted to change the subject, so he quickly grabbed Vicky's hand and started dancing with her.

"No more talking. Let's dance!"

Vicky giggled as Damon sped over to the stereo and turned up the music. The song playing at that moment was Anberlin's Enjoy the Silence, and Damon lost himself in the punk rock music; swaying and gyrating his hips and eventually he and Vicky danced their way into Stefan's room where they immediately started trashing it in time with the music. By the time Green Day's 21 Guns started playing, both Vicky and Damon were slow dancing in Stefan's trashed room. Vicky started venting again, and Damon rolled his eyes. He had hoped this part of his imprisonment was over with already. Obviously, he was wrong.

"My mom spends most of her time in Virginia beach with Pete. He drives trucks. I don't remember my dad, but from what I gather, he's not worth remembering." Vicky whined and Damon snorted.

"Your life is so pathetic."

"Yeah. I mean, I'm the screwed-up one. Matt's got it so easy. He's the golden boy. I mean, he's gonna get a football scholarship and marry Elena and have a lawn mower and some babies, and when I think of my future, I just come up blank." Damon closed his eyes and shook his head, feeling exasperated.

"You are so damaged." Damon insisted. Vicky nodded and rested her head on Damon's shoulder; thinking Damon was sympathising with her.

"Yep." But Damon wasn't done with his opinion of her. He was actually being truthful and rather hurtful. He was getting sick of Vicky's whinging and needed a reprieve. So he came up with the only solution he could think of to get rid of her.

"I mean, you don't have one hint of self-esteem." He pointed out and Vicky nodded in agreement.

"Nope, none." She frowned at Damon, wondering where he was going with this. Damon kept a straight face.

"I think I know what can help you."

"What's that?" Damon pulls back from Vicky and smiles pityingly at her.

"Death." He replied simply, in a low gentle voice. Vicky's eyes widened before she laughed in disbelief and turned to walk from the room.

"Yeah, right. I'll get right on that…" She agreed sarcastically, and started to leave the room. Damon watched her go.

"Where you going?" He asked mildly, and walked towards her with slow, measured steps. Vicky, feeling strangely freaked out, sped up her escape. Damon mentally cheered, relieved that she was finally going and giving him some peace. But because she was still slightly out of it, Vicky's movements were a little uncoordinated. Suddenly, she tripped and tumbled headfirst down the staircase. Damon, hearing the commotion, sighed in frustration and moved to investigate. He walked unhurriedly down the staircase and looked blankly at Vicky's dead body. He slow clapped.

"Wonderful. Nice form. Little shaky on the dismount though… but nevertheless a ten!" He said dryly to Vicky's corpse and just casually sauntered back upstairs to freshen up. Since Vicky was practically swimming in Damon's blood, she would be waking up as a newborn vampire in a few hours. Plenty of time to shower, and get ready for his 'night' on the town.

In no time at all; Damon, dressed as usual in black, walked back downstairs to the foyer, and fixed himself yet another bourbon as Vicky stirs and sits up, looking around in confusion.

"What happened?" She looks around and sees Damon, inspecting his nails and generally ignoring Vicky. "We were talking, you freaked me out and I left, and then…" Damon sighed.

"Then you tripped and broke your neck falling down the stairs." Vicky froze.

"What?"

"You're dead." Damon stated. Vicky laughed with disbelief, which Damon scowled at. There wasn't anything funny about this … unless Stefan was involved. Then this would probably make his day…

"I'm dead?" Damon looked at her with irritation.

"Is there an echo in here?" Vicky looked sheepish. "Anyway, let's not make a big deal out of it. You drank my blood, barrel rolled down the stairs, and now you have to feed in order to complete the process ... or die." Damon explained, still examining his nails. Vicky didn't believe him.

"You're wasted." Damon gave her a blank look.

"You don't wanna be out there all alone. You're about to get really freaky." Now Vicky knew that he was being serious, and now all she wanted to do was leave.

"Okay, I had a really great time. I just wanna go home." She got up from the floor and started for the door, but Damon blurred in her way blocking her escape. It would be irresponsible for him to just let her go; and as much as he enjoyed creating chaos, this would be one headache that he'd rather avoid.

He was bad, but not stupid.

"You're gonna start craving blood, and until you get it, you're gonna feel very out of it. You have to be careful." Damon told her, no hint of a smirk or amusement on his face. Vicky had had enough.

"Come on, move." Damon sighed.

"See? You're already starting to fall apart."

"And I'm going home now." Vicky insisted and Damon had no choice but to step aside so that she could leave.

"Okay, fine. I'm just warning you." Then an idea struck him, and a mischievous smirk spread over his face. "Actually, you know what? You should go. In fact, if I were you, I would stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house." Damon suggested. Vicky waved a careless hand in the air, barely acknowledging Damon's suggestion.

"Yeah, whatever." She walked around Damon, and he turned and leant casually on the wet bar with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." He called out casually. "No, wait. I did." He smirked devilishly as Vicky walked faster, trying to ignore him. "Bye! Oh! And tell Elena I said hi and if you see Stefan, tell him to call me." He requested.

Piper came down the stairs and frowned at Damon cautiously.

"Hey, where's Vicky going?" She demanded. Damon shrugged like it was obvious.

"Home? Where would she go?" He retorted and moved around the witch, hiding the smirk that had formed on his face. Piper narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Damon as she followed him and watched as he disappeared into his room, presumably for something private since the sun was still in the sky and he was virtually trapped. Piper just hoped that he left her alone. She might've been a powerful witch, but her freezing and exploding powers could only do so much against an equally powerful and unpredictable vampire, intent on one thing.

Gilbert Residence
Day

The doorbell rang over and over again, nearly driving Jeremy insane.

"I'm coming!" He yelled. Jeremy strode towards the door with an annoyed expression on his face that immediately cleared when he saw who the visitor at the door was.

"Hey." Vicky greeted him, squinting and wincing in the bright sunlight. Her transition was clearly causing her great discomfort, not that she knew much of what was happening to her. "The sun is killing me. My eyes are on fire." She complained as Jeremy stepped aside and allowed her into the house.

"Where have you been?" Jeremy demanded, looking relieved but also sounding extremely concerned. The police – and for some reason the Council – had been searching around for her since her junkie friends had been found dead and burned in the same cemetery Vicky had stumbled upon Damon in. Only her ID had been found, which made people very nervous. However, Vicky brushed aside his concerns in favour of wrapping her arms around Jeremy's neck.

"It's good. Everything's good." She insisted and drew Jeremy into a kiss, which he happily responded to. When they both finally came up for air, Jeremy frowned at the pained expression on his girlfriend's face.

"Did something happen?" He questioned. Vicky frowned.

"I'm hungry. What do you got to eat?" Jeremy laughed incredulously.

"You're high?" Even this was extreme for Vicky, he started to get concerned. "Vicky, it's the middle of the day." He told her, and Vicky winced putting her hands on her head and scowling slightly at Jeremy.

"Could you just not talk so loud? My head, it hurts. I need quiet." Vicky wondered into the Gilbert's kitchen, leaving an extremely concerned Jeremy to trail along behind her. He frowned. Some assembly was required this time round; something was not right.

Salvatore Estate Ruins
Day

Elena was still asking Stefan questions about the vampire way of life. The topic this time: mind compulsion.

"The mind control … you said Katherine used. Do you ever do that with me?" Elena asked cautiously, unsure if she wanted to know the answer or what her feelings about the matter would be if the answer was affirmative. Stefan shook his head.

"No. That necklace," he indicated the necklace he had given her the day of the Football Match, "it contains an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled. I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence. But I also wanted to … protect you from me." Elena looked surprised by the vulnerability she saw in Stefan. "Elena, you should never take that necklace off … because no matter what happens after today, no matter how you feel about me … You'll know that you were free to make your own choices." Elena bit down on her bottom lip as she started to toy with the necklace around her neck. It had become a cherished gift. Now it was a source of protection. From Stefan… Phoebe ran up, closing her phone as she approached looking stricken.

Paige looked concerned.

"That was Jeremy. Something's going on with Vicky, he wants us to come home right away." Phoebe reported. Elena nodded and immediately ran for her car, Stefan hot on her heels.

"You coming?" Elena asked from the driver's seat. But Phoebe shook her head, grabbing Paige's hand for a quick getaway.

"I'll meet you there. Paige and I will see what's going on and try to keep things under control until you and Stefan get there." Phoebe explained. Elena nodded and Stefan frowned.

"You sure?"

"Positive. Get gone!" Phoebe insisted and she and Paige disappeared in swirling orbs.

Gilbert Residence
Day

Jeremy stood within view of Vicky, who was rooting around in the kitchen for something to eat to stave off the hunger pangs; unaware that the substance she was craving was something more sinister. Jeremy was so intent on watching his girlfriend's movements that he jumped ten feet into the air when there was a knock at the door. It was Matt; Jeremy had called him seconds after alerting his sister and Phoebe.

"Where is she?" Matt demanded, worriedly. Jeremy sighed and gestured to Matt.

"Come this way." Matt followed Jeremy to the dining room which was a room with a view to the kitchen. Both boys looked at Vicky with concern, as the visibly distressed girl took a bite of food and immediately rejected it with a frown on her face.

"What's she on?" Matt asked.

"I…I don't know." Jeremy admitted, just as clueless as Matt was. Matt took in a deep breath before he approached his older sister.

"Hey, Vic. How you doin'?" He asked, in a fake cheerful voice. Vicky turned towards her brother with large scared eyes.

"Not good, Mattie. I hurt." Vicky admitted, sounding rather pathetic. Matt frowned, looking for the source of the hurt.

"Okay, where's it hurt?" Vicky started massaging her gums and her jaw, visibly wincing as she did so.

"My gums. My jaw hurts. My gum… there's something in my gums, and it hurts." Matt's eyes widened in alarm.

"Okay, well…" He moved to inspect his sister but she backed away defensively.

"No. Just leave me alone." She snapped, angrily. Matt shook his head, with frustration.

"Come on, Vic. Don't be like that. Let's get you home." He suggested to her, using a soothing voice designed to comfort an obviously distressed or confused and scared person from doing something stupid or something they'd likely regret long term. Vicky fidgeted irritably.

"Just turn it off!" She yelled in frustration. Jeremy looked at her in confusion.

"Turn what off?"

Vicky glared at both him and Matt with distain.

"The talking, the chatter, just turn it off." She demanded cuttingly. Matt and Jeremy looked at each other in confusion until they realised that the TV was on. But the volume was low. How could that be possibly annoying her from where she was? Then something caught their eye. Jeremy turned up the volume, ignoring Vicky's protests as he focused on the screen.

"…horribly. Three bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry. The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls cemetery." A man on the TV reported. Jeremy blanched with shock.

"That's where we were last night." Jeremy explained to Matt, who looked at Vicky with fear.

"What happened, Vic?" He demanded, gently. But before she could reply, the man continued talking.

"…homicide, and are fast under way looking for suspects. They're asking anyone with information…" Matt made a beeline for the phone.

"I'm calling the cops." Vicky immediately stopped him.

"No, don't." Both boys looked at her suspiciously. Jeremy came over to Vicky cautiously.

"What happened after I left last night, Vicky?" Vicky responded by shoving Jeremy away hard. Jeremy grunted in pain.

"Jer, are you okay?" asked Matt, in alarm. Jeremy impatiently waved away his friend's concerns.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Matt glared at Vicky.

"Damn, Vick." Elena, Stefan, Phoebe and Paige entered the house and located the three of them in the kitchen. Phoebe sums up the situation in two seconds flat and doesn't like what she senses coming from the three teenagers.

"What's going on?" asks Elena. Matt turned to his ex-girlfriend looking visibly distressed at the state of his sister.

"She's really messed up." He whispered to her. Phoebe noticed Stefan critically analysing Vicky and apparently suspecting something as he immediately darted over towards her.

"Elena, back up." Elena obeyed him and Stefan crouched down in front of Vicky and talked to her with calm, soothing words. "Vicky, look at me. Focus." Vicky looked at him, curiously. "You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." Stefan turns to Matt and Jeremy.

"Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds." Stefan took in the alarmed look on Matt's face and he gave the boy a reassuring smile. "She's gonna be okay. Come on, come on." He urged them and both Matt and Jeremy took Vicky upstairs. Elena pulls Stefan aside and Phoebe and Paige come over to join in the conversation, both looking extremely serious and very worried.

"You know what's wrong with her?" Elena asked worriedly. Stefan had a stony expression on his face.

"Yeah."

"What is it?" asked Phoebe. Stefan hesitated before replying.

"She's transitioning."

Elena looked confused.

"Transitioning to what?"

"A vampire." Elena's eyes widened, while Paige's face went blank and Phoebe frowned.

"What?" Stefan cursed, and started to pace again.

"Damon must have gotten to her." Phoebe frowned at Stefan. Always jumping to conclusions… "She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet." Paige stepped forward.

"Hold on, back up. How did she even start to transition? And how can Damon be to blame for this?" She demanded. Stefan sighed.

"Vicky must have drank from him, and then he must have killed her." Phoebe's mind started ticking over. This all sounded very familiar to her…

"Still needing more information here." Paige persisted.

"When a human consumes enough of a vampire's blood, they are vulnerable for approximately 24 hours and have to be extremely careful not to be killed…" Phoebe gasped in shock and realised exactly where she had heard this before:

(FLASHBACK)

Boat Deck - Day
Titanic
April 13th 1912

"It's the blood, it has healing properties. That's also how we were changed into vampires." said Stefan. "Katherine had secretly fed us her blood, and we consumed enough of it between us that when we were killed; we triggered the transition." Phoebe was a cross between intrigued and slightly grossed out. She could work out how the blood had been given to them, and it was more than she needed to know. Plus, it made her feel extremely jealous, to her better judgement.

"So that's it, you were vampires?"

"It's not as easy as that. When we finally woke up, we had two choices: Complete the transition, or die permanently."

(END OF FLASHBACK)

Stefan turned and looked curiously at Phoebe.

"Are you okay, Phoebe?" But she wasn't listening to him. She was pissed that Damon had done this, but she was mostly pissed off with herself that she had forgotten something at important as this about vampire blood. Perhaps if she had spoken up sooner, Vicky wouldn't be going through this undoubtedly frightening experience, and they could've stopped Damon from killing yet another innocent person on a whim.

"Excuse me." Phoebe muttered in despair and dashed upstairs.

"Phoebe? What's wrong?" asked Elena. Stefan was confused, until he remembered that he had told Primrose exactly how human were turned into vampires and cursed once again. "Stefan?" Elena was getting impatient because no one was answering her questions … again.

"I'll go check on her." Paige volunteered and went off after her sister. Elena turned and glared at Stefan.

"How does Vicky complete transition, Stefan? And why did Phoebe react that way?" She demanded.

"She has to feed on human blood." Stefan explained. "And as for Phoebe's reaction, it's not my place to tell you. You'll have to ask Phoebe." Elena nodded, annoyed by his answer but deciding to let it go for now, in favour of learning what was going on with Vicky.

"And what if Vicky doesn't?" Stefan didn't sugar coat it.

"She'll die. She may only have a few hours." Elena's eyes widened and she panicked when she realised her brother was upstairs at this very moment.

"She's upstairs with him right now."

"It's okay. She doesn't know what's happening to her yet." Stefan reassured her. Elena nodded, not looking entirely convinced.

"So when is she gonna know?"

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, and the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice." Stefan explained. Elena went quiet.

"The same choice you made?"

Meanwhile, in Jeremy's bedroom, Vicky was fretting over everyone's reaction to her in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry I'm so much trouble." Vicky apologised. Jeremy smiled at her reassuringly.

"Aw, you just… you just need to sleep it off, okay?" He suggested and hugs her close. Vicky relaxes into the hug and smiles. However, her mouth is near his neck and she seems like she's about to bite him, when she gets up and leaves.

"No." She shoves Jeremy away, and makes her escape.

"Vick. Vicky!" Elena and Stefan burst into the room, looking around for the source of the problem. Vicky had disappeared. Jeremy looks at his sister and her boyfriend frantically.

"She was fine, and then she just… she just freaked out." Jeremy explained Vicky's absence. Matt got to his feet and made a beeline for the bedroom door.

"I'm gonna go look for her. Call me if you hear anything." He leaves, and then a few seconds later, Stefan turns and whispers to Elena.

"I can track her." Elena nodded firmly.

"Go."

Outside the Gilbert Residence
Dusk

Hands in pockets of his waist-length leather jacket, Damon swaggered along Maple Street feeling a bolt of excitement run down his spine as he tried to imagine what sort of reaction Stefan and Elena would have towards Vicky; and momentarily panicked when he realised that Phoebe would also be there too. His carefree smile dropped slightly, hoping that this wasn't another strike against his name for Phoebe. This time, for once the death wasn't entirely his fault; but he wouldn't put it past his 'darling little brother' to instantly lay blame upon him. His shadow loomed long, and his boot heels were the only sound above the wind that was picking up. He came upon the Gilbert house and was amused to hear the panic and see the worried faces of Elena and Jeremy. Phoebe however was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe we should check in with Matt." Jeremy suggested as he walked towards the landline. But Elena stepped into his path, and took the phone away from him.

"He'll call when he finds her." Elena told him and Jeremy looked extremely frustrated.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" He demanded. Elena sank down on to the couch.

"We wait. We're supposed to wait." Jeremy didn't like that answer, and he started pulling at his hair in his anxiety.

"I don't know what's wrong with her." Elena got up and grabbed onto her brother's shoulders, turning him to face her so she could reassure him. Damon smirked and started up the path leading to the front door as he heard Elena say:

"She'll be fine. It'll all be fine." He pressed the doorbell and rocked back onto his heels as he waited for Elena to answer. He didn't have to wait for very long before the door opens and Elena gapes at him for a split second before she tries to slam the door in his face, but he catches the door with his hand and pushes it open.

"Jeremy, go upstairs." Elena orders her brother in a no nonsense tone, and Damon arches an eyebrow at her reaction.

"You're afraid of me. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally 'fessed up?" Damon asked pleasantly. Elena scowled at him.

"Stay away from me." She warned him. Damon smirked. This kitten has claws…

"Hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan." He reached out with his vampire senses to see if Stefan was inside. He drew a blank. "May I come in?" Elena opened her mouth to deny him entry but he charged ahead, not bothering to let her reply. "Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited." Elena's eyes widened in horror, and Damon laughed. "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you right now … or ever in fact." That earned a surprised look from Elena, before she scowled. "That wouldn't serve my greater agenda." He continued. "So … where's Stefan? He still owes me my ring." He reminded her.

Elena decided to go for the truth.

"He's out looking for Vicky." She replied. Damon narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena retorted and Damon's smile turned into an intrigued grin.

"Mmm. Got the whole life story, huh?" Elena looked revolted.

"I got enough." Damon snorted.

"Oh, I doubt that. Tell Stefan I'm looking for him." Damon turned and stepped off the porch, making his way back down the path to the street. Elena was just about to close the door when Damon unexpectedly called back to her. "Oh, tip for later: be careful who you invite in the house." He said meaningfully. Elena immediately shut the door, and Damon chuckled and shook his head before he took in a deep whiff of the night air, trying to sense where his brother might've disappeared to. Locating him, Damon took off on an easy sprint down the street.

Mystic Falls Cemetery
Night

Stefan tracked a very scared and very desperate Vicky to the cemetery. He found the poor girl, cowering near the crime scene where her friends had been found chargrilled by Damon. Stefan winced sympathetically with the girl and approached her cautiously.

"Vicky." She looked up and stared at him like a deer-caught-in-headlights. She reached up and started massaging her temples.

"I'm starting to remember things, what he is, what he said. I remember you. The hospital, the… the rooftop, it's all coming back." Stefan knew the 'he' Vicky was referring to was Damon and he couldn't help but once again curse his brother from here to kingdom come for putting this troubled girl through so much hell.

"I'm so sorry. Damon had no right to do this to you." Stefan apologised for Damon's actions, but Vicky looked at him in confusion.

"Do what to me?" She asked. Now it was Stefan's turn to be confused.

"Damon. He killed you… didn't he?" Vicky shook her head.

"No, I fell down the stairs and broke my neck." Compulsion… Stefan suspected and scowled. But Vicky quickly changed the subject before Stefan could delve deeper into the topic.

"He said that I needed to feed. What will happen if I don't?" She asked timidly. Stefan sighed.

"You'll fade quickly… and then it'll all just be over." Vicky lowered her head in defeat.

"I'll be dead." Her eyes filled up with tears and Stefan immediately came over.

"Hey…" But Vicky stepped out of his reach, and Stefan made no move to follow her; choosing to give her personal space.

"I don't want this." Vicky whispered.

"I know. It'll be okay. You're gonna be okay. I can help you." Stefan promised her. Vicky looked up at Stefan with hope in her eyes.

"Is it better? Is it better? Will I be better?" Stefan said nothing, which spoke volumes for Vicky who visibly crumbled and she looked vulnerable. "I wanna go home. Will you take me home?" Stefan nodded.

"Okay." He reached out his hand for Vicky to take, but before she could clasp his hand; there were gunshots and Stefan is hit by bullets.

"Ahhh!" yells Stefan in pain.

"No!" shrieks Vicky, in horror. Then without warning, Damon appears from out of nowhere and tackles Logan Fell who was the one who pulled the trigger. Damon takes a bite out of Logan before he comes over to Stefan and digs into his wound to take the bullet out of his chest. Damon scoffs in disgust at what he finds.

"It's wood." He throws away the bloody bullet and looks down at his brother. "They know. But if anyone's gonna kill you, it's gonna be me." He extends a hand to Stefan. Stefan, surprised, thinks Damon is offering him a hand to get to his feet and he reaches out to accept his help. However, Damon pulls back his hand at the last minute; raising an eyebrow. "My ring." Stefan scowled.

"I gave it to Phoebe. Take it up with her." Stefan suggested and struggled drunkenly to his feet. Then reacts in horror when he sees Vicky drinking Logan's blood. "No! No! Vicky!" Stefan despaired and Vicky stops feeding and realises what she was doing.

"I'm sorry…" Then she ran off.

"Oops." Damon feigned guilt and looked over to see a compass which Logan had dropped during the struggle. He reached over and picked it up. "Well, I'm off to see a witch about my ring. Be seeing you." Damon said dismissively and sauntered off, leaving a fuming Stefan behind.

Gilbert Residence
Night

At the same moment, Phoebe was sitting in her bedroom with Paige; mentally kicking herself for Vicky's situation. But she also couldn't believe that Damon could do something as horrible as taking away an innocent teenager's life before it had even begun. She shook her head, despairing. Was Damon a lost cause?

"You okay, Pheebs?" Paige asked quietly. Phoebe had already filled her in on why she had so abruptly left the room the second Stefan started talking about Vicky transitioning, and exactly how she started transitioning. All Paige knew was that Damon had better not show his face around her, or she'll orb something very important to Damon somewhere far faraway.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Paige. Why don't you go back to the Boarding house? I'll see you tomorrow." Phoebe reassured Paige, who nodded looking concerned.

"Okay." She came over and hugged Phoebe goodnight before disappearing in swirling orbs. Phoebe sighed and picked up her sketchbook, flicking through the pages at all the pictures she had drawn since before she had come back to Mystic Falls, and now.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Phoebe looked up and saw Damon sitting on the window sill, smirking at her mischievously.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face 'round here." Phoebe pointed out, scowling at him disapprovingly. Damon raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused about what Phoebe was getting at.

"Sorry? Run that by me again?" Damon asked. Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you heard me." Damon flashed into the room, and pressed Phoebe's back up against the wall, standing nose to nose with her as he glared.

"Now, why the hell would I lie to you of all people?" He demanded, but Phoebe remained stubbornly defiant.

"Really? Then maybe you would explain to me why you killed Vicky Donavan?" She demanded and Damon groaned.

"Well, I would brag about it if I did. Too bad, my hands are clean." Phoebe concentrated hard, trying to sense whether or not Damon was lying to her. To her surprise and relief; Damon was in the clear.

"You really didn't kill Vicky, did you?" Damon's face went solemn and vulnerable for a split second before he snapped back to being cocky, and Phoebe felt guilty for putting that expression on his face. "So what happened? How did she die?" Phoebe asked, gently. Damon pushed away from the wall, allowing her some breathing space.

"Fell down the stairs and broke her neck." Damon shrugged, feigning disinterest; and Phoebe smiled when she realised just how hard Damon was trying to avoid killing without a reason. Phoebe felt ashamed that she had jumped to conclusions; just like Stefan seemed to be doing recently. But then she frowned, wondering why Damon was here in the first place.

"Well if you're not here to brag about killing Vicky, why are you here?" She asked curiously.

"To see you." Damon gave a half-truth. But Phoebe gave him a look, and Damon caved and lounged casually on Phoebe's bed as she turned and observed him from the wall. "And Stefan told me that he gave you my ring." Damon admitted. Phoebe smiled and held up her hand where Damon's daylight ring was displayed on her thumb.

"You mean this?" She asked playfully. Damon smirked and reached out his hand towards her. She pulled it back and grinned. "Uh, uh, uh. What's in it for me?" She teased. Damon's eyes lit up, sensing a challenge that he couldn't wait to conquer, and he got up off the bed and prowled over to her. A seductive grin on his face.

"Don't play games you can't win, little girl." He warned and Phoebe blinked back at him playing coy, before she laughed and tossed him his ring. He caught it effortlessly and slipped back onto his finger.

"Back at ya, little boy." Phoebe replied in a southern belle drawl that Damon smirked at. Damon continued advancing towards her and Phoebe's coy expression softened to one of curiosity. Once again, Damon had her pressed up against the wall; only this time there was no aggression involved, only pure unadulterated lust that made Phoebe weak at the knees. But it also made her slightly uncomfortable. Damon moved in for the 'kill' but Phoebe placed a hand on his chest and stopped him.

"Damon…" She whispered. Damon smiled slightly and realised he was overstepping his boundaries. Realising that Phoebe wasn't ready to make the next move in their relationship just yet, Damon respectfully retreated; but not before he leaned in and kissed her chastely on the corner of her mouth.

"I'm not giving us up, Phoebe. I can wait, and I have every intention of doing so." He promised. Damon kissed her again, before he backed away from Phoebe just as there was a knock at her bedroom door and she instinctively turned and looked at it.

"Phoebe?" It was Elena. Phoebe turned back to Damon, but groaned in frustration when she realised that he had disappeared. Phoebe turned back to the door and sighed.

"Yeah, Elena? Are you okay?" Phoebe responded.

"Not really. May I come in?" Elena replied, dully. Phoebe sighed, and realised that this was her chance to reveal to Elena her secret about why she was so close to Stefan. Phoebe couldn't ignore the jealousy and resentment she could feel from Elena every time Stefan confided in or put Phoebe on the receiving end of genuine admiration and sibling-like love.

"Yes, of course." Phoebe replied and sat down cross-legged on her bed, leaning against her headboard. Elena stepped into the room, and came over to Phoebe's bed looking miserable. Phoebe looked at her with concern. "What the matter, sweetie?" Phoebe asked, gently. Elena looked up at Phoebe with sorrowful eyes, and Phoebe winced.

"What's your relationship with Stefan?" Phoebe hesitated.

"Complicated." Elena scowled at her.

"No. Don't do that."

Phoebe looked surprised at Elena's reaction to her answer.

"Do what?" Elena's eyes started to well up.

"Don't avoid the question, please. Stefan has been doing that since before I knew that he was a vampire, and I don't like being kept in the dark. Please tell me the truth." Elena pleaded, sounding vulnerable and scared. Phoebe hesitated, before sighing in resignation. It was true; it wasn't fair that Phoebe was keeping a secret such as this from Elena. And now that Elena knew that Stefan and Damon were vampires, she deserved to know why both Salvatore brothers felt so comfortable around Phoebe, and why Stefan and she got along so well that it intimidated Elena. Phoebe knew that whatever she was about to reveal to Elena would stun her; especially the parts of the story involving Damon – considering everything that had been happening recently that involved him in an unsavoury light.

"Alright. As long as you realise that whatever I tell you cannot be told to anyone else unless I say it's okay?" Elena nodded, relieved that somebody was going to be giving her the truth for once. "But first, I think you should go and talk to Stefan."

Elena looked confused.

"Why?"

"Because, as an empath; the shitty part of my power is that I can sense your hesitation to continue this relationship with him." Elena looked cornered, and Phoebe let out a long-suffering sigh as she finally understood what her Grams had to deal with when Phoebe was Elena's age. She did not envy her Grandmother this task, and hoped that Grams wasn't laughing at her from where she was. Phoebe took Elena's hand and pulled her down to sit across from her on the bed.

"It's extremely clear to me, Elena, that you don't trust him. And until you do, your relationship with him will not work. So please, go and talk to him; and follow what your heart is telling you to do." Phoebe urged her. Elena stared at Phoebe thoughtfully before she nodded. Phoebe smiled warmly.

"Good girl. And once you've done that. I think it's best if we make a night of it, so I can tell you everything you need to know. How does that sound to you?" Phoebe asked, hopping off the bed with Elena and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The girl hesitated. "We could treat this like a spa treatment at the same time." Phoebe sweetened the deal, and finally Elena gave a small smile and agreed.

"I'd like that."

"Go on then. Remember what I said." Phoebe reminded her and Elena nodded before exiting the room. A loud caw startled Phoebe and she turned and spotted a large crow sitting on her window. Almost immediately, Phoebe recognised who it was and she smiled and shook her head. She wondered over to the bird and leaned down to kiss it on top of its feathery head.

"Sweet dreams, Damon." Phoebe said, before turning and disappearing out of the room to prepare for the girl's night in she had promised Elena.

The Porch
Night

Following Phoebe's advice to make things clear to Stefan, Elena walked outside to sit on the steps of the porch; waiting for Stefan to arrive. She didn't have to wait long before Stefan appeared and leaned against the wall near her, giving the space she needed to think and get what she had to say out.

Elena observed him closely.

"You're bleeding." She exclaimed worriedly, but Stefan immediately reassured her.

"No, it's okay. It's okay. I'm okay." Elena sighed in relief, and an awkward silence descended between them. Neither knew what to say to each other. Eventually, Stefan broke the silence. "I couldn't stop her. I tried." He confessed and Elena looked at him, confused.

"What does that mean?" She asked, quietly. Stefan drew in a deep breath before replying.

"She fed, and then I lost her." Stefan confessed and Elena hid her face in her hands.

"Oh, my God."

Stefan immediately tried to redeem himself.

"I'll take care of it. I'll find her, and I will show her that she can live like I do. I will make sure that she does not hurt anybody, Elena. I promise you." Elena didn't look convinced, and she could see what Phoebe was talking about her not trusting him completely at present.

"What do I tell my brother and … and Matt?" She asked, worriedly.

"We'll come up with a story." Stefan answered confidently. Elena made a face.

"You mean we'll come up with a lie."

Stefan was silenced, and he realised something was wrong.

"I'm so sorry." Elena shook her head, knowing exactly what she had to do. But it broke her heart to do so, since she truly did love him. But they couldn't be together if she felt this way. It was the only solution.

"I gave you today just like you asked. And I understand that you would never do anything to hurt me, and I promise I will keep your secret. But… I can't be with you, Stefan. I'm sorry… I…I just can't…" Elena gets to her feet and rushes into the house. She couldn't bear to see the anguished expression on Stefan's face.

The second the front door closed, Elena crumpled to the floor and cried.

A/N: Poor Elena, right? At least the romance between Phoebe and Damon hasn't completely fizzled out - but they still have a lot of work to do before they can get back to what they had when they were on the Titanic together.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed this chapter. The next one is presently being planned and written. It will be out momentarily.

Please review with your thoughts! Until then ;)

TTFN xx