A/N: Sorry here are the rejected sections. These are basically parts that I was writing but decided not to use.
Also...You may want to check out the Epilogue...I wrote more and added it so hopefully it'll give better closure.
Thank you all who enjoyed the story.
The 'Chapters" obviously what chapter they were intended for. Enjoy.
Chapter 10
For a vampire time usually passes by quickly. When you have eternity to live, day to day life passes without notice. Soon, days become weeks, then months, then years, and before they blink an entire decade has gone by. Or at least that's the way time was supposed to feel to him.
Instead Stefan felt every passing moment as it appeared to drag out. Blinking at the date on his phone he could hardly believe that it's only been three weeks since they've retrieved his brother from the cemetery in Gettysburg. To Stefan it felt much longer, like, years longer.
Sitting up from his bed, he placed his feet firmly on the ground and rubbed his face with both his hands, trying to erase the wariness that he felt. He was forever trapped in the body of a seventeen year old but recently Stefan had felt like an old man and he didn't think that feeling was going to go away anytime soon.
"Wake up Stefan, Damon needs to feed." Elena's voice said loudly through his closed door as she knocked hard. She didn't wait for an answer from him and as he heard her retreating form walk down the stairs back to the third floor.
It was the same thing every day. Stefan would wake up slowly, groaning and despondent until Elena would come up to the attic where he had claimed his room, far away from everything else in the house and pound on his door to be sure he was awake, reminding him of Damon as if he could somehow forget. She would than traipse down the stairs back into the house, doing what he didn't know, nor did he really care as he tried to muster up the energy and will to get moving.
A shower was usually next and he always stayed in as long as he could, letting the hot water just drain down his body as if it could wash away all their troubles. But inevitably Elena would come back up the stairs to his private attic sanctuary and pound on the door again to get him moving and the water would be shut off.
While he dressed and begun the trek downstairs he would always reconsider the agreement he had practically forced Elena into about not going into the cell room unless he was there. There was no doubt that Elena, now a vampire could take care of herself but he didn't trust that she would fight in the way she would need to defend herself from Damon, and he wasn't sure that Damon wouldn't kill her. So he made her agree to not go into the room unless he was there on the other side to help ensure everyone's safety.
Her disgruntled annoyance at his words had just furthered his point and eventually after some persuading from both Caroline and Jeremy, She had reluctantly agreed.
That's about the time the annoying wake up calls started.
"Hey you!" Caroline said cheerfully as Stefan walked into the kitchen. She stood by the coffee maker and handed him a large mug of freshly made coffee that smelled like heaven. He gave her a small tired smile as thanks and sat at the dining room table across from Jeremy who was ignoring his breakfast in order to draw.
He took a moment to really look at the only human in the house. He was all for Jeremy making his own decision, taking his own stand and coming with them. Stefan wanted Elena to have him nearby. Someone who was on her side and would keep her human in the coming years especially with Damon the way he was. But he would be a fool if he didn't worry a bit about him. He was the only human in a house of vampires, all who would protect him at any cost but could also be the reason for his death.
For his protection Elena had tried to talk him into enrolling into the local high school. She wanted him to have friends, and social activities. To have a life outside all the drama of the supernatural world, which even Caroline had scoffed at. Jeremy was too deep in and no matter how far out of it he go he would always be in the middle of some kind of supernatural drama. That's what happens when your sister is a vampire and you're a vampire hunter.
"Here's your breakfast." Caroline said placing another large mug in front of him full of blood. "Half animal half human, warmed to a perfect 98.1 degrees."
Stefan couldn't stop the smirk from crossing his face as he looked up at the cheery blond girl. It was the same routine every morning, the one routine that he could actually stand. He would return her smile with one of his own and they would stare at each other like love sick puppies until Jeremy made cleared his throat to break it or Elena came in all annoyed that he was still sitting there.
It was the latter today.
"You are the slowest Stefan. Damon's hungry, he needs to feed. Can't you drink that downstairs?" She pestered as she grabbed the mug and pulled Stefan's hand, dragging him out of his chair and towards the cellar door.
Once they were safely down the stairs, Elena handed him his mug back and blurred to the cell door with a cup in her hand staring through the window. Stefan came up behind her and peered in. Instead of the dark corner that he had spent his first few days in, scrunched up as close to himself as possible, he now sat in the same position but on the other side on the bed. Somehow Elena had coaxed him out of the corner to the bed, not liking that he was most likely uncomfortable and he barely left since.
Stefan watched his brother a few moments, feeling the others eyes flickering to him briefly but mainly focusing on Elena. She had been the only one to get near him without a fight. The first few days he would growl and hiss at her like an animal and she would slowly become submissive and unthreatening until he calmed enough to allow her a bit closer. Then she would repeat the same process she did on the first day, take a sip from the cup, being sure to get some on her lips and lick it off before putting it on the floor and pushing it towards him.
"He's looking pretty good this morning." Stefan commented, and it was true. Still pale and hostile, Damon's skin at least and turned smooth again and less desiccated since they'd been feeding him regularly.
"He looks hungry." Was her reply, moving to the side so he could start turning the many locks. Stefan did the first few but paused for a moment as he looked over at Elena, scowling a bit at her impatient expression.
"After you feed him we're going to need to talk Elena. I can't keep doing this." He told her.
"You're the one who said not to go in there unless you were here." Elena said as she quirked her brow and crossed her empty hand over her chest. Stefan shook his head, she obviously didn't get it. Didn't understand that it was for her safety and Damon's that he had pushed that.
"I mean we have to talk about this bitchy attitude of yours." He bit out. He didn't want to fight with her, it seemed like all they ever did was fight, but then he remembered the dejected face once again that morning and Elena dragged him, again, away so she could see Damon.
The way she had been acting the past three weeks was as if she were the only one who cared about Damon. As if his entire wellbeing was up to her and they were standing in her way and hindering her efforts.
Bad pIeces for Chapter 20.
"Alright you two, time to wake up." A male's voice came from nowhere and suddenly florescent lights above them turned on.
Elena took a step back alarmed as the familiar room came into focus as she felt her breath shorten. She had hoped to never see this place again after she was taken by Wes. She had wanted to come back to the Whitmore house to finish what Damon had started in 1958 and burn it to the ground. She wanted to decimate the cells until there was nothing left and no one, human or vampire could be imprisoned there again.
The two vampires in the cages let out pained weak groans as the lights burned upon them. Elena took a few quick steps towards Damon, stopping as she remembered it was just a memory. She peered inside through the bars as the doctor walked passed and into the room nearby. Damon lay with his back to her and her heart clinched at seeing the ratty white shirt that was ripe with age and the black pants that had seen better days.
She had only been in the cage for a few hours, Damon had been locked up for five years. She could see his initials and the year '53 carved out on one of the walls exactly as it had been in their present. Tears fell from her eyes at the wet shuddering sound as Damon took a deep breath and rolled over on his back, his skin tight and grey and papery looking.
"Oh joy, another day as a lab rat." Enzo said in the cage next to Damon's and she resisted the urge to bare her fangs and hiss at him. It was so primal the feelings that were inside of her. Everything inside her screamed to break down the cage and rush to Damon. To protect him from anything and anyone who would come to hurt him.
Damon didn't respond as he stared up at the brick ceiling unmoving. If it weren't for the unsteady rising and falling of his attempts at breath and the slow blinking of his now dull blue eyes she would think Damon was just a corpse. But he did have signs of life albeit very few and she was elated at that small fact.
"Hey mate, you still alive over there?" Enzo prodded. Elena could hear the slight worry in his voice and she glanced over at his cell.
"Do you know what today is?" Damon asked tiredly, unmoving.
"Considering I haven't a calendar mate I'm going to say no." Enzo replied.
Damon was silent for a few moments as if deep in thought, but Elena felt it was more like he was so weak he couldn't function correctly. "It's been 4 years." He said softly. "Four years since my great, great, great nephew betrayed me and sold me."
"Only four eh? Talk to me when you get to 50." Enzo said cheekily.
"I'm not going to make it that far Enzo so you'll have to live with four."
"Come on mate, feeling sorry for yourself won't help anything. It'll just make you extra mopey and I'm too tired to deal with that."
Elena watched as Damon stared at the ceiling for a few more minutes. He seemed so sad and lost. She could see his mind reeling, could see him become lost within his own mind and she felt scared. They were in his mind because he became lost, she didn't want him lost now.
"Alright I'll play your game." Enzo sighed. "You survived four years in this hell mate, how do you feel?"
"Grateful." Damon sighed out.
"Sorry mate didn't quite hear
Chapter 21
He felt so warm and comfortable he didn't want to move. For the first time in a long while his body felt rejuvenated and his bones didn't feel his actual age. Stefan resisted the urge to just fall back asleep, mold himself further into the deep recess of the red couch he was on but his mind kept warning him that there were things to do and they were running out of time.
He kept his eyes closed for a few more beats, taking a few deeper breaths and filling his lungs with unneeded oxygen. It felt good and he felt lighter allowing a small smile to cross his face. He could feel Elena's weight against his body as they lay on the couch, her warm breath gracing his neck as she slept just as soundly as he had.
He let his mind wonder, not focusing on anything in particular but thoughts and images of Damon were the central theme. He had learned a lot about his brother, a lot that he didn't think ever would. Things that he didn't even know was a possible. Damon had always been a mystery to him, but at the same time he thought he knew his brother. This journey into his mind and memories had proven just how much he didn't
Chapter 22
"Did you know Stefan was afraid of horses?" He said breaking the silence and Elena had looked over to him curiously but stopped it quickly.
"I said about yourself." She blinking.
"I am, I am, hold your horses." He smirked at his own pun and Elena rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Stefan was afraid of horses, which sounds reasonable now but was a huge problem back in the 19th century." He started. "He would get into carriages if he had to, mostly because of father, but he would not go near a horse.
"Now when I was 13 my father had given me this beautiful mare. She had the most beautiful dark brown coat I'd ever seen and she was so intelligent. My mother had convinced him that it was time, and though he had no love for me I was his son and therefore must make a good impression on society."
"How can your father not love you? That's not possible." Elena had protested but Damon held up his hand to silence her.
"As I was saying, I named her Jezebel and I would ride her every day. We'd go on long trots out to nowhere and then have her bring me home. Sometimes we would stay out as late as I dared, thinking that I could just run away and never came back.
"Of course I didn't. I couldn't leave Stefan behind so I went back every day. One day father decided it was time for Stefan to finally learn to ride. He was already delayed in his training as it was due to mother's fretting but father put his foot down.
"We had this pony name meriweather
Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Elena wasn't sure what she was expecting once they finally got past the door but for some what was there seemed to fit the rest of their journey. The library had been massive, a never ending black hole full of shelves and books, fire places, comfortable seating. It was beautiful and comfortable but obviously an image of imagination.
When they had first entered Damon's mind, they had been dropped right into an exact copy of his childhood home. It had been wondrous for her to see. She had seen such few images of it, being as it existed at the beginning of photography but the few daguerreotypes she had seen had not done the immaculate home justice. While she had spent a lot of time in and out of old homes and surrounded by old objects it was nothing like being there when they were shiny and new and perfect.
Their diverted path from the very real like home to the library illusion of the library had made the journey feel more supernatural. Diving into Damon's memories, collecting shards, the magical blood red vines that had hidden the door that they sought out gave the sense of something other worldly, but what lay beyond the previously locked door was anything but.
It was a bedroom.
Elena glanced over at Stefan for any sort of recongnition
Chapter 26
There was nothing Stefan could really do to cover up the murders. There were too many of them. He stood to the side of the wooded area next to Elena and Caroline as they watched the police and medical examiners collect the bodies and process the scene.
Between the three of them they were able to compel the police and those at the scene that it was a vicious animal attack by a pack of coyotes. Even to Stefan's ears it sounded like a cover up but they were able to disguise Damon's bite marks so no one would consider it a vampire. They'd come back later after everything is done and clean the place of any further evidence.
The other bodies along the trail Caroline had buried as she followed behind them. Stefan was sure nobody would find them so he was counting that as a win, but still things were looking very grim. Damon had just killed 35 people and now he was nowhere to be found. He would be an idiot to not to admit that he was somewhat frightened of what the future holds.
After the police released them they headed back into the woods the way they came, walking in a steady pace in the dark. The scent of blood still permeated the air and Stefan had to fight to keep himself under control. With Damon and Caroline's help he had been able to start drinking human blood, but he still had to fight the bloodlust. It was a battle he supposed he'd have to deal with for as long as he existed, but the feeling of strong and in control was something he would never give up.
Caroline reached for his hand as they walked side by side, entwining their fingers. He looked over to her with a smile and she returned it with sad eyes. He was so appreciative of her. She had no reason to help Damon and yet here she has been the whole time by their side because he was important to both him and Elena. She was the definition of a best friend.
"Ok, so...once we get back to the house I'll call my mom so she can start tracking any unusual deaths." Caroline stated firmly "Hopefully we will quickly get-"
"Elena." A soft voice came and the three of us stopped in our steps. I looked around in the dark seeing nothing at first but a second glance and there stood Damon.
***((*((*(*(***
The night drew on as Damon stared at the tombstone in front of him. He read the words over and over again and each time his heart seemed to sink lower. He never liked coming to the Mystic Falls graveyard, it held so much pain from the past but he seemed to be drawn there that night.
"Wish you were here buddy." Damon said as he sank lower into the ground, leaning against the tombstone behind him. "I could really use your advice right about now."
No reply came from it of course, just the silence of the night. Even the crickets seemed to take a night off as the only sound was the wind blowing gently in the wind. Damon wanted to reach out and smash Alaric's headstone into smithereens. He was angry at his friend for not being there, and even angrier that somehow Alaric made Damon care for him.
his own time had been lain to rest. Damon felt no real loss at reading the names upon the headstones, but he did feel a tug in his gut as each one passed his view.
He knew these people. That's what made this section of the graveyard, or of any graveyard around the world different. He had no love loss for them, not a single one, but he had known them. He had grown up with them. Some of them adults already when he was a child, and some who grew up with him, and even more still, those who were born and grew as he himself was an adult. He was associated with many of them due to his position as a founding family member, but they had only ever been acquaintances.
Damon had walked through the graves until he came to the Salvatore mausoleum. He had stared up at it for a few beats, marveling at its dark beauty before heading inside. As he read the names on the plaques he could feel his heart become numb. Amongst the names of those who had passed on after the civil war, were the names Stefan and Damon Salvatore.
No bodies lie in the caskets that were resting behind the stone walls. The mausoleum had been built around the time their half-brother, who had inherited the Salvatore estate had passed away. His son, Zachariah had built it a few years after to house the Salvatore dead. Though he knew well that his uncles had not passed on as the rest of Mystic Falls had known, he still placed two caskets in their place.
Damon had been indifferent to the gesture on the outside but inside he was touched. There was no doubt that his nephew had heard the stories about Damon from his father who had read through everything their father had ever written. His half-brother practically worshiped their father much to Damon's disgust and the fact that he still walked when he should in fact have been killed by Giuseppe, had further distressed the man.
Zachariah had been equally as frightened as his father, but Damon respected the man, as he kept their secret and at least made an attempt to make peace.
For over one hundred and seventy years Damon had never had a real friend. Sure he had acquaintances, people he would regularly consort with but he would never even for a second consider them a friend. And then Alaric Saltzman came along trying to kill him and that all went to hell. Suddenly he had a drinking buddy and confidant and it only made Damon hate him more.
"Why'd you have to die on me?" He said bitterly picking up a bit of dirt and tossing it at the stone. "I was just fine. Everything was great. Between you and Elena…" He stopped then, his hand dropping back down to the ground. His eyes prickled and he held his breath to control his emotions. "Why did you have to make me care?"
The graveyard was silent but Damon expected it to be so. He hadn't sensed anyone nearby when he had arrived, though if he were honest he really wasn't paying attention. He hadn't even known how far he had run until he came upon the sign entering Mystic Falls. Damon had stopped and stared at it for a good while, not wanting to cross the border, but there was a pull inside of himself and he didn't have the strength to fight it.
His first instinct was to go to the Boarding house. He wanted to see it again, wanted to lie in his own bed just for a little while and attempt to regain some of his equilibrium, but somehow he had been pulled to the graveyard. He had meandered amongst the oldest part of the place, where the graves of those from
