Damon was woken up by a slap to the face. His first reaction was to hit the person back, but he realized he was still chained and roped to a chair, so he didn't. He opened his eyes and saw Elena sitting against the metal door across the room. She had a plastic spray bottle filled with what looked like water, and there was a disdainful smile on her face. "Morning."

"What are you gonna do with that? Strip me and cool me off?" Damon smirked, but his voice was leaving him. He was drying out after being tied up in the basement with no blood for over a week.

"You wish, lover." The girl's smile grew, and it took Damon a few moments to realize that the person in front of him wasn't Elena.

He let out a breath and rolled his eyes a bit. "Katherine." He felt stupid for not realizing it sooner, because she was dressed entirely inappropriately and her hair had sexy curls all in it. "Why are you here?"

Katherine stood up, bringing her bottle with her, and stepped towards Damon slowly. "Stefan called me and said you were off the rails again, so naturally, I've come to save you."

"Save me? Since when do you care what happens to me?"

"Come on, Damon." Katherine purred. She was less than a foot from Damon now. She leaned down to his face, and put her lips to his ear. "You know I can't let anything happen to my boys." When she pulled back, she sprayed what was in the bottle on Damon's face, and it burned terribly. The vervain got into his eyes and he screamed in pain, which made Katherine giggle. "Lovely."

"How about you leave me the fuck alone, Katherine. I don't want you here." Damon's voice returned a little to him as his face healed itself. He could feel himself sweating.

Katherine frowned. "That hurts, love. I thought you'd be happy to see me, I can be your rebound after your little fling with that teacher." She sat down in front of him, her eyes seductive, as was her voice. "I'm also hurt that you didn't call me for a hot threesome with…Alaric, was it? Before he died."

Damon tried to lunge at her, but the chair barely moved. His fangs slipped down and his eyes filled with blood. "Don't talk about him like that, bitch."

She sprayed his hands this time, causing him to wince. "I'll talk about your human plaything any way I want, Damon. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Get away from him." Elena was on the other side of the door. She pushed it open quickly and had Katherine by the throat in under a few seconds. "I have no idea why Stefan thought you could help, but I am making you leave. Now."

Damon swallowed without realizing it. "Elena, stop. She's-"

"Stronger than you." Katherine growled as she pushed Elena off of her. The younger girl fell right into the growing vervain in the corner of the room and screamed as it burned her. Katherine smiled before pulling Elena up and throwing her into a wall. "Just because you're a vampire now doesn't mean I still don't want to rip your head right off your shoulders. Watch your mouth, missy."

"Let her go, Katherine!" Damon hissed, trying to get out of his restraints. He knew it was hopeless, but he couldn't help it. He was tired of being tied up.

Katherine stepped away from Elena, eyes fierce. She looked at Damon. "As you wish, love." She left.

Once both of them heard her close the front door upstairs, Elena let out a breath and ran a hand through her long, straight hair. "I'm sorry. If I had known-"

"Save it, Elena. Just leave me alone." He interrupted her, and she sighed.

"I'm not leaving, Damon." Elena pulled a chair from the corner of the room and sat in front of him. She put her hands over his. "I'm here for you."

Rage pooled in Damon's stomach, almost boiling up. "I don't want you to be here for me, I don't want you to save me, I don't want to be saved, Elena!"

"You know, that's exactly what Stefan said to me in Chicago, and I have him now." The girl looked smug as Damon looked hard in her dark eyes.

"Well I'm not Stefan! I'm not the good brother, Elena!"

"You can be, I know you can. Alaric knew you could." Her expression was too soft. Damon didn't like it.

His voice dropped, as did his head. "Don't say his name."

"Why? He knew you could be good, Damon! Just like I did, and I still do! Even after he died, he still made the good in you come out. He may be gone now, but your love for him isn't, and that's what will save you…if we can get you to realize that."

Damon looked up at her, tears flowing down his face. His voice was a whisper. "I can't. He's gone…I can't love him anymore."

Elena took his face in her hands. Her eyes were like dark, knowing globes. "Yes you can. You can love him forever, Damon. It doesn't have to cause you pain."

"I…" His entire body ached, especially his chest. He felt like his heart had been broken into an infinite amount of pieces then ripped from his body. He couldn't take it. Anger was easier than the pain, and that was what he was relying on. "Leave me alone, Elena." He pulled his head out of her hands. She looked confused.

"Damon, please-"

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" Damon shouted, causing Elena to stand up and step back, knocking her chair down. Hurt was all over her face.

"You can't keep pushing everyone away, you know. You're running out of people who care." She didn't give him a chance to respond before she slammed the metal door shut and disappeared upstairs. Elena joined Stefan in the living room, sighing as she sat next to him on the soft sofa. "He's hopeless, Stefan. We can't do anything for him anymore."

Stefan kissed her forehead and pulled her closer, letting out a sigh, as well. "You're right. Without Alaric, he's never getting back to normal. And, I'm sorry about calling Katherine…I just thought maybe she'd be hard on him because you and I can't be."

"It's okay, I actually think she broke him, but only slightly. He opened up to me a little bit." Elena smiled at Stefan, showing him she wasn't upset with him for calling Katherine. "I should check up on Jeremy, he's at home by himself. Where's my phone?" The older vampire smiled, and pulled out Elena's phone from his jacket pocket. He held it out of her reach, which frustrated her. "Stefan! Give me my phone!"

"Give me a kiss first." Stefan loved the frustration he was getting from her, glad to lift her mood a little. Elena smiled and kissed him deeply. She slowly brought Stefan's arm down, sneaking her fingers around her phone and pulling it out of his grip.

"Thank you." Elena dialed her brother's cell number. It rang a few times before he answered with a disgruntled sigh.

"What, Elena?"

"Don't give me that tone! I'm just calling to check up on you today since I stayed with Stefan last night." She kept her voice light, trying not to anger Jeremy.

Still, he sighed again. "I'm fine, Elena. I have to get ready for work, I'll see you later."

"Dinner with Stefan and Bonnie at seven!"Elena added quickly.

Jeremy laughed a little. "I know, Elena. Bye." He hung up the phone and stretched in his bed. Jeremy didn't want to get up at all. He didn't want to work, he didn't want to go to school ever again…he didn't want to do anything. Now that Alaric was gone for good, the boy didn't see a reason for even getting up. He had nothing to live up to anymore, no one to impress, and no one to look up to.

Jeremy took a quick shower and returned to his room, hearing someone talking. "Elena?" He stepped through his door and found Alaric staring at him. There were tears all down the man's face. Jeremy couldn't believe what he was seeing, and he stepped back a bit as he shut the door behind him. "Ric? But…how…?"

"What do you mean how?" Alaric whispered. His hands were shaking at his sides, but the rest of him was perfectly still.

Jeremy cocked his head, looking at Ric in confusion. "I thought you moved on. Damon-"

"Where is he?"

"Why?" Jeremy's shock had worn off, and he sat on his bed, being careful that the towel around his waist didn't open. "What's wrong with you, Ric?"

Alaric opened his mouth, but no sound came out for a few moments. When he spoke, his voice was barely audible. "What do you think, Jeremy?" More tears fell out of the ghost's eyes. "He tried to send me away. He tried to let me go."

"That was over a week ago, Ric…and besides, you're better off without him. He's a monster."

"What? It doesn't matter how long ago it was, I still can't live without him. He's not a monster…he makes me happy."

Jeremy could barely look at Alaric. He had never seen the man like this before. "He makes you happy? Alaric, look at yourself! You're a fucking mess because of what he did!"

"Just…tell me where he is…" Ric's hands shook more. "Please…"

"I don't know where he is." Jeremy lied, hoping Alaric wouldn't pick up on it. There was no way he was going to let Alaric near Damon again, not after seeing what the vampire had done to him.

Alaric's tears stopped, and so did his hands. He stared at Jeremy for a few more moments. "You're lying."

"So?"

"So…? Tell me where he is, Jeremy!" Ric was getting angry, but he tried to keep himself as calm as possible. "Why are you lying to me?"

"Because he murdered seven innocent people last week!" Jeremy had stood up. He was eye to eye with Alaric, who's green eyes flashed with sadness.

"No…"

"Yes. Stefan and I had to go stop him, but we didn't find him in time and he killed seven people. Is that the kind of person you want to love? A monster?"

Alaric shook his head in disbelief, tears forming in his eyes again. It was his fault. He was the reason Damon killed those people. If he had followed Damon that night, the vampire wouldn't have lost himself. "I have to fix this."

"What?" Jeremy's face showed the anger he was feeling. "Stop trying to fix everything, Ric! Damon is a vampire, he can't be fixed! Whatever you had with him when you were alive is gone. It's never coming back, and he's never coming back. He's gone, don't go looking for him."

Alaric glared at the boy in front of him. "You may be willing to give up on everything, Jere, but I'm not." When Jeremy shook his head and tried to walk away, Alaric grabbed his arm. He didn't pay any mind to the fact that he could feel the boy's skin under his grip. "Where is he."

Jeremy looked at Alaric hard. "He's tied up in his basement, like the animal he is." The grip on his arm disappeared, and so did Alaric.

A/N: Mixed feelings about this chapter, guys. I don't know where I'm gonna take it from here. Sorry I don't write Stelena well, they're not one of my favorites. But please review telling me what you think!