A/N: We are gearing up for the holidays, leaving little time for writing so I apologize if this is shorter than usual. I am still constantly blown away by your support for this story. A huge thank you to everyone reading and reviewing! Only a few chapters left after this one.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries stories or characters.

Happy reading!

Chapter 26

"K-Katherine?" Elena barely managed to get out the name. The shock at seeing her sister's slender non-pregnant figure rendered her immobile.

"But you are, you are supposed to be..." Words just tumbled out of Elena's mouth none forming a logical sentence causing Katherine to just grin wider.

"I'm just full of surprises Elena." Katherine nonchalantly leaned against the door.

Shaking her head to overcome her shock she focused her energy on her sister. "Were you ever pregnant?"

A dark expression flashed across Katherine's face and she took a menacing step forward, but Elena held her ground. Elena watched as Katherine's hand flexed around the gun. Elena had a sneaking suspicion of what happened, but when no answer was forthcoming she decided not to voice her opinion.

"Did you even sleep with Damon?" Elena decided to tackle things from a different angle. She had to figure out how to talk Katherine off the ledge she seemed to be perched on in hopes of buying enough time for Damon to find her or get herself and the twins out to safety.

Katherine eyes narrowed and her body stiffened. "I should have eliminated you then. You ruined him."

Realization washed over Elena at her sister's demeanor change. All the guilt Damon held about that night she drugged him, all the sleepless nights he'd had since Katherine told him she was pregnant, all for nothing. Part of Elena was furious at Katherine for the pain she had yet again caused Damon. There was also a part of her that pitied Katherine. That she was so desperate for whatever she thought Damon could offer, she had to stoop to deception and drugging him to get it.

"The pictures, everything from that night was fake?" Elena asked quietly easing herself onto the bed. Her eyes never leaving Katherine.

"Oh, Elena. Our first time shouldn't be with me drunk off my ass," Katherine said in a poor imitation of Damon's voice. "Ugh, I can't even blame his idiotic behavior on you being a hellcat in bed. Damon Salvatore does what he wants, takes what he wants. He would never turn down a willing woman. Until you and your attempts to neuter him. I under estimated you're staying power then, but I am correcting that now."

"He's going to find me. Like you said, Damon takes what he wants and what he wants is this baby." Elena thought it best not to stress that Damon wants her as well. The fact that Damon had chosen Elena had obviously pushed Katherine off of the sanity cliff.

"That's right. He wants a baby and I'll give him one. Damon won't be looking for you. Mean, evil, Elena abandoned the man she supposedly loved. The baby isn't his, she couldn't handle the pressure and fled never to return." Katherine recounted in a dramatic soap opera style voice.

Elena couldn't help it, but she started to laugh. The ridiculousness of the situation on top of her fear made her practically hysterical. "You think he'll believe that. We had sex this morning, talked about doctor's appointments, and then suddenly I leave him. I thought you were good at devious schemes." Elena sputtered out between her fits of hysterical laughter. Laughing was not an appropriate response which was obvious by the darkness that descended over Katherine's features, but all sense of reason had left Elena.

Katherine raised the gun which quickly silenced Elena. "Damon will believe what I tell him to believe."

Fear spiked in Elena, even more than when Katherine first kidnapped her. If Katherine thought that Damon would believe the inept story she had put together then her hold on reality was extremely tenuous. Which meant negotiating her way to safety was out of the question. Information was what she needed now. She needed to know what Katherine was fully planning. Anger seemed to loosen Katherine's tongue so that was the tactic Elena had to use.

"Getting pregnant on purpose and then pretending to have a miscarriage when you would no longer profit from the pregnancy...things didn't go as planned four years ago, what makes you think it's going to work now? How sick and depraved do you have to be to use a pregnancy and a child as pawns for personal gain? How can you hurt someone so deeply, all for what? Money, power?" Elena looked at Katherine with disgust.

"Be as self-righteous as you want Elena, but you're here because of your own actions. I had everything planned out and you put your nose where it didn't belong. Even after you got pregnant, I planned it so this could have been nice and quiet. You could have walked away, had Damon's bastard baby and lived your mundane life. I would have Damon, a baby he thought was his, and Damon would have the inspiration to become the man he is destined to be." As Katherine spoke she stalked closer to Elena forcing her to ease herself back further on the bed. A smirk tugged at her lips at seeing Elena cower against the headboard.

"I gave you plenty of chances to walk away from Damon, but even after getting everything else in your life you had to take the one thing I wanted. Damon was mine, is mine, will always be mine." Katherine started passing the floor he hand gripping and regripping the gun.

"That's your problem, Katherine. Damon, the baby, they are not pawns in whatever sick game you have conjured up in your mind. They are people, worthy of respect and love. Things you seem to know nothing about. Your own choices have you dug you into this hole, Katherine. It was your selfishness that cost you Damon four years ago, hurting him so badly that he wants nothing to do with you now." Elena bit back.

Katherine seemed to plow ahead ignoring Elena's comments. "You had to cut off the funds I would have used to obtain a baby when the pregnancy didn't work out. The DNA test would have proven the baby was his, but you had to convince Damon to fight for custody. Convince him to go to a different doctor for the paternity test. It's your choices that led us to this point, keeping me from what's mine and now you get to pay the price." Katherine paused at the door to glare at Elena.

"Know that your daughter will be raised by the best nannies money can buy and I will make sure Damon is well satisfied in life." Elena couldn't miss the lascivious grin on Katherine's face. "Oh, and scream all you want. The room is sound proof. Hope you enjoy your new accommodations." Katherine moved her arm with a flourish around the room before disappearing through the door. The sound of the door's lock was like a death knoll. Elena knew she was now living on borrowed time and she just hoped Damon would find her before that time ran out.

Damon circled his head trying to relieve the tension in his neck and flexed his fists as he rode up in the elevator with Stefan to Isobel's apartment. It was as if he was a fighter preparing to enter the ring which in some ways was true. Elena had become his life and he would fight the entire world to get her back, making sure she and their daughter were safe. He wished he was over at Katherine's interrogating her, but Stefan had been right. They needed to keep the restraining order in place. If they found any evidence of Katherine being close to Elena then they could have her arrested. In his place, he sent the PI to see what he could find out, and being gentle was not part of his instructions.

"Settle down Damon. We still don't know if Katherine has done anything wrong or if she is involved with Elena's disappearance." Stefan said in an even tone his eyes glued to the numbers counting up to Isobel's floor.

"Don't be an idiot and fall for Katherine's ploys Stefan. You heard me on the phone with Elena earlier today. Did that sound like a conversation with a woman about to leave me? Katherine thinks I'm the same gullible idiot from four years ago believing every lie that falls from that poisonous mouth of hers. Directly or indirectly, she's involved in Elena being gone." The elevator doors opened and Damon strode out heading to the apartment at the end of the hall with Stefan scrambling behind him to keep up.

Isobel lived in a luxury Tribeca apartment. Damon had been surprised at her accommodations seeing as she hadn't worked in years. But then Damon reminded himself, Isobel was a seasoned gold digger and had managed to marry and date her way into wealth. Normally it would have been difficult to gain unannounced entry to a building as exclusive as this, but most doormen have a price and Damon thought it was the best five hundred dollars he had ever spent to gain unfettered access to Isobel's domain. Pounding on the door, he grasped both sides of the door jamb waiting for it to be answered. The door cracked open and before Isobel could respond, Damon shoved his way aside. Isobel looked unfazed by the intrusion so she must have been expecting him.

"Damon Salvatore." Isobel looked around Damon and a sly smile spread across her face. "I'm graced by both Salvatore brothers. I'm honored." Isobel said slowly as she crossed the room to sit lean against the breakfast bar separating the kitchen from the living room. Picking up the wine glass from the counter she faced them with an expectant look.

Damon stepped to block his brother from Isobel's lascivious countenance. "Where is she Isobel?" Damon forced his voice to be calm.

"Katherine? Oh, she's home in Soho waiting for the birth of your child." Isobel took a sip of her wine the smugness never leaving her features. "She figured you would stop by at some point and wanted me to tell you that she'll get the paternity test done after the baby is born. Which should be any day now."

"Not Katherine. Where's Elena? What has Katherine done with her?" Damon didn't miss that Isobel's eyes widened slightly at his words and she quickly took another sip of her wine.

"I heard that baby might not be yours. Let me guess, she's in the wind? Sounds like my youngest daughter is as much of a game player as my oldest." Isobel set her glass down on the counter and started spinning the glass in her fingers.

Damon's anger was about to boil over. Isobel abandoned Elena as a baby, had no hand in raising her and then has the audacity to disparage her. Ignoring his brother's warnings, he stalked across the room putting his hands on the counter on either side of Isobel trapping her place. "Where is Elena, Isobel?"

"Tsk, Tsk, Damon, letting little Elena dupe you, then losing the girl." Isobel ran a single manicured finger down his chest looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Of course, if it's your bed that's cold, I'm always available."

"Wrong play Isobel. That is the woman I love and my child that are out there somewhere. I find out you are involved in any way with Elena's disappearance, I will tear you apart. One phone call to a certain gubernatorial candidate and all of this" Damon looked around the apartment before returning his glare to Isobel, "disappears." Damon heard her sharp intake of breath and relished the wide fearful look she was giving him.

"Katherine just told me to deliver the message. Don't kill the messenger." Damon could tell Isobel was trying to act tough and unaffected by his threat, but the slight waver in her voice gave away her fear.

"I'll tell you a little secret. I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why? Because it sends a message. Elena is not a pawn to be used. Katherine wants something from me? You tell that little bitch to come get it herself."

Damon pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed, a slight smirk on his face as he placed the call on speaker phone. "You've reached the office of Gregory Kincade, the next California Governor. How may I direct your call?" A female voice filtered through the apartment.

"Gregory Kincade, please tell him its Dam" Isobel ripped the phone from Damon's hand before he finished his sentence abruptly ending the call.

"I-I don't anything about Elena. Katherine said the baby was definitely yours and the paternity test would prove it. She insinuated she had proof Elena's baby wasn't yours, but when she found out about the custody petition dictating the terms of the paternity test she threw a hissy fit. She destroyed half the living room in my house in the Hamptons. She has her sights set on you. You know Katherine, she takes what she wants no matter what the cost." Damon pushed himself away from the counter. Isobel's shaking frame let Damon she was telling the truth. She had no information on Elena and it sounds like Katherine lied to her mother as well. Grateful that Isobel's greed meant more than her daughters, Damon was satisfied that Isobel knew nothing about Elena's whereabouts, but he was frustrated that he was no closer to finding Elena. He only hoped the private investigator had better luck with Katherine.

Elena sat on the bed staring at the TV which was the only thing to keep her mind occupied in the locked bedroom. The door opened twice her day when Katherine shoved a tray of food into the room. A small fridge was also in the closet that Elena had found the first day stocked with bottles of water, juice and snacks. Katherine's plans did not include letting her starve. Despite her earlier thoughts against it, the first two days of being kidnapped, Elena had tried to reason with Katherine during each of her brief visits. No snarky comments or gloating report was ever uttered greeting Elena only with stony silence. Elena eventually gave up realizing talking her way to freedom was a pipe dream.

Where ever Katherine was keeping her, she had planned well. She had now been held captive for a week and had found no means of escape. The window was sealed shut and tinted so no one could see in. Katherine had been right about the sound proofing. No amount of yelling ever brought any help. She had even tried using the bathroom vents in hope someone in another one of the building's units would hear, but nothing. From the window she could see the Hudson River and she seemed to be surrounded by other luxury apartment buildings, but it still didn't give her any hint of where she was being held.

From watching some of the gossip shows, she knew that Katherine had announced her pregnancy to the world and had planted a story that her baby wasn't Damon's. Damon would never believe the stories, but would he be able to track her down in time. The times Katherine showed up, she was always wearing the blonde wig. Damon expected her to be pregnant so tracking her movements may be impossible.

Despite her captivity, she had been trying to follow Dr. Fell's advice. Trying to stay calm and remain in bed as much as possible. The twins were kicking up a storm which served as her only solace that they still seemed to be faring well despite her dire circumstances. While during the day she kept her mind focused on the twins and staying calm with positive thoughts, the night was a different story. At night the last words Katherine said haunted her. Know that your daughter will be raised by the best nannies money can buy. Whatever Katherine had planned before was abandoned and she had kidnapped Elena for one reason and one reason only, her baby. She couldn't get pregnant with Damon's baby and couldn't get a baby to pass off as Damon's. In Katherine's deranged mind, she would help herself to Elena baby and at the same time eliminate the one obstacle to Katherine having Damon all to herself. Once she delivered the baby she was sure Katherine would get rid of her. At night Elena cried, fearing that Katherine would win and she envisioned all of the things she would miss. The twins first birthday. Their first day of school. First dates, prom, graduation. It was overwhelming to think she had given up on the idea of being a mother, but now after carrying the babies for so long she may never get to raise them.

Elena held back the fact she was having twins, fearful of what Katherine may due to her son. Katherine had told Damon she was having a girl so two babies would be another blow to her plans. The babies were due in seven weeks. She needed to figure out how to be free of Katherine by then. Shifting on the bed, Elena grimaced as another twinge of pain shot through her back. Her back had been bothering her all morning and no position seemed to offer her any comfort. Ignoring the pain, laughing at how her large size must be over straining her muscles, she prayed Damon would find her soon.

A/N: Uh, oh. Back pain...I bet you can guess what's coming. Please leave a review!

A little shameless self promotion. I published my first original story. It's called The Town

Atticus Esposito reluctantly returns to his home town after a five year absence to say good-bye to the man that raised him. Behind the idyllic small town is a place full of secrets and lies. Can Atticus unlock those secrets to save the woman he realizes he has loved his entire life? Or will revealing the truth lead to the end of them both?

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