A/N: I don't own Vampire Diaries or any of the canon characters, but I wouldn't mind stealing Damon to save him from the curse...

The fight between them kinda came out of nowhere but I'm happy with the way it ended up. Stay tuned for some long awaited answers in this chapter…

"No, there's just us." I shook my head. "Everything we're trying to accomplish here, it's so that we can be together without this curse hanging over our heads. Look I'm sorry I kissed Stefan. I'm the first to admit that I don't know what I'm doing here, I'm flying by the seat of my pants and it's real easy for me to take a wrong turn. But I need you to know; I didn't feel anything for Stefan when I kissed him, not the way I feel for you. I admit, I've wondered how much of the physical attraction between you and me was about our natural connection and how much of it was because of the blood and I can honestly say now… it's all you baby." I smiled at him.

"Yeah?" The corner of his mouth tugged up into a grin and I offered up a silent word of thanks that we seemed to be over the worst of the rough patch.

"Oh yeah, without a doubt. So you see, something good did come out of this, now I don't have to wonder anymore."

"So you're saying I should thank Stefan for kissing you?" A single brow rose in skepticism.

"Well… yeah, in a way."

"Don't push it." Damon growled, pulling me close for a kiss.

After that I didn't have the heart to go back out on the dance floor to see and be seen as Katherine. All I wanted to do was go back to the hotel and snuggle up with Damon and enjoy the time we had together. Because that's how I was thinking of it… enjoying the time we had left. There was no doubt in my mind now that Damon was growing weaker every day and I had no idea how to stop it. The idea that we might somehow flush Katherine out seemed a stupid one now, given that if she knew how to stop the curse; wouldn't she have done it by now?

As it was, I just signaled to Lexi that we were heading out and left the club with my arm wrapped around Damon.

"No more hunting for tonight?" He asked as we hit the pavement, heading back on foot to the hotel.

"Not unless you're feeling hungry." I shook my head. Even though I hadn't had a chance to drink my fill earlier, I was fine to go a while longer without eating again. But then again, if he wanted to hunt, I would gladly join him.

"Nah, I'm thinking we settle in with a bowl of popcorn and watch pay-per-view back at the hotel and see where that leads us." He waggled his brows suggestively.

"It's a date."

By the time we got to the elevator I was thinking we would never make it to the popcorn because Damon's hands were all over me. I don't know if it was because he was feeling the shortening of time between us as well or if he was trying to erase Stefan's kiss from my mind or his; but his mouth claimed mine the moment the doors slid shut. For a moment I seriously thought about hitting the emergency stop button as his hips ground against mine, leaving me in no doubt of what he wanted. But in the end a fleeting moment of rational thought urged me to get him into a bed… the better to enjoy ourselves for more than a quickie.

Somehow we managed to stumble out onto the correct floor, more feeling our way along the corridor than actually watching where we were going. In a way I was reminded of the first time we'd gotten a room in the city together. Only this time, no being interrupted by a Katherine groupie; and hopefully no boneheaded mistake on his part about who he was in bed with. As soon as he got the door open, Damon's hands were pulling at the back of my top, unfastening the strings that held it together.

The sound of Stefan clearing his throat barely registered with either of us.

"Hey guys, get a room." Alaric's voice cut through the haze of passion, and I clutched my top, willing it not to fall off. Damon held me protectively until I could get it tied again.

"Where do you think we are genius?" Damon retorted, not at all pleased with this turn of events. "What's the Nutty Professor doing here?" He demanded, accusing his brother for letting him in there in the first place.

"He happens to have some information for us." Stefan replied.

"Well he could have waited in your room couldn't he?" Damon let go of me to head for the bar, pouring himself a drink.

"Just wait till you hear what he has to say. I thought this was more important that waiting for you two to have a little midnight delight and we decided it was best to wait here." Stefan retorted.

"He is standing right here." Alaric raised his hand, affronted at being spoken about as if he wasn't in the room. "I've asked someone to meet us here. Someone you're gonna want to talk to."

"Who?" I asked, settling down on the couch with a hopeful glance to Damon to join me, but he seemed on edge, remaining on his feet; drink in hand.

"I… think it's better if we just hold off on all questions until she gets here." Alaric perched on the arm of the sofa.

"She? Dramatic much?" Damon smirked. "Look I hate to ruin your bid to be at the center of attention here, god knows I love to be in the spotlight myself, but some of us have better things to do tonight. So how about you just drop whatever thrilling revelation you have for us, and let us get back to it."

Alaric's jaw clenched tightly and he went through a visible effort to bite back whatever retort had leapt to mind. "I'm just trying to help. Why… I have no idea." He muttered the last.

A sharp knock at the door turned all heads and Damon instantly moved to place himself between me and the door. Just what was he expecting to come through there? I rose to my feet, wanting to be ready for whatever it was. My hand sought out his and he threaded his fingers through mine, offering me his strength. Alaric went to answer the knock, his body obstructing my view until he stepped back to reveal a petite brunette, dressed to the nines in a black Chanel suit, her hair swept up in an elegant updo. She stepped into the room as if she owned it, her eyes lingering on Damon as her lips twisted into an approximation of a smile. I felt Damon stiffen at my side but his face gave nothing away.

And then she saw me. Something flashed over her features that I couldn't identify and then the cold smile was back. "So, Elena is it? You do look just like her." She studied me critically, taking in my hand linked with Damon's. "I'm assuming this getup is part of your Katherine trap? Please tell me you have better taste than that."

Immediately on the defensive, I felt the corners of my mouth turn down into a frown. Whoever she was, she was a bitch and a half. Where the hell did she get off telling me how to dress? "Tell me again why I'm supposed to care what you think?" I said coolly before turning to Alaric with an expectant look. He had about three seconds to introduce his guest before I tossed her out on her ass.

"Ouch. Just between us girls I think Damon's starting to rub off on you sweetie. But then again, who am I to talk? I imagine some of my personality has been shaped by our… close association in my formative years." Her gaze returned to Damon almost expectantly, but he remained silent.

"Let's not get started on the wrong foot." Alaric interjected, playing the peacemaker as he stepped forward. "Elena, this is my wife Isobel, your mother."

I just stared at them, dumbstruck as I came face to face with my birth mother. Now that I looked, I supposed I could see a bit of a family resemblance around the eyes, or maybe the mouth… but there was nothing in this woman that I found the least bit motherly.

"That would be ex-wife don't sugar coat it." She patted him lightly on the cheek.

"I hate to break it to you honeybunch, but we're still legally married." Alaric reminded her.

"Well no, technically I'm dead, so that invalidates the marriage."

"Legally you're still just missing not dead, so…"

"Yeah okay you two can hash it all out later with Dr. Phil, how about we start with why she's here?" Damon's voice rose sharply, cutting them off and I was grateful for the intervention, my head was starting to spin.

"I heard through the grapevine what you've been up to. You've been a very naughty boy Damon, turning my daughter like that." Isobel wagged a finger at him.

"Don't call me that." The words came automatically from my mouth. It was blasphemous, Miranda Gilbert was my mother. "Don't pretend that you care, I can see that you don't." Maybe the words came out a little more bitterly than I'd intended, but my resentment for her had come to a head, crystallized by her attitude since having met her. I was ready for her to fade back into obscurity already.

"What is it that you think that you're doing? Katherine's not someone you want to mess with. Trust me, I know." Isobel ignored my outburst, focusing on what she wanted to talk about.

Trust wasn't exactly the first thing I felt for her. "I need to know how to defeat this curse. We were hoping Katherine could tell us more about the vampire that cast it on her."

"Oh god is that what this is about?" Her eyes flew to Damon, studying him carefully before she nodded slowly. "I never though I would live to see the day. Well in a way I guess I didn't." A bitter laugh left her lips. "And you actually care about her too, don't you?"

"Why did you come here Isobel?" Damon replied, still looking like he couldn't decide if he wanted to shove her out the door or bolt out the window himself.

"Believe it or not I came to help you. Why shouldn't you benefit from my hard gained wisdom." She replied, her tone softening a little as she looked back at me.

"You are forgetting that half of the people in this room are older and wiser than you aren't you?" Damon returned.

"I'll concede to older." Isobel's lips twitched into a faint smile.

"What are you offering?" Stefan asked, breaking his silence for the first time. I'd almost forgotten he was there.

"What I know about Katherine and the curse. But I warn you… you might not like all of what I have to say." Her eyes flicked back to Damon again.

"She's just trying to fuck with us, she doesn't know anything." Damon muttered, flopping down on the couch and taking up a relaxed posture as if he didn't consider her a threat. I knew him well enough to know that he was still coiled tight inside, ready to strike if need be.

"Just… tell them what you told me." Alaric asked in a reasonable tone, guiding her to one of the chairs. I took a seat as well. Stefan remained standing, far across the room.

"I was able to read Katherine's journal, you might be surprised by some of the things she had to say about the two of you." Isobel began, looking back and forth between the brothers.

I had a dizzying moment as I realized I was sitting in a room with my vampire mother who had been turned by the guy who was now my boyfriend and was about to tell me about my ancestor, the woman who had slept with and turned both brothers in the first place and that I just happened to be a dead ringer for. It all sounded like the plot of some crazy convoluted soap opera.

"So, go ahead then." We might was well get it over with as far as I was concerned.

"Katherine was convinced she could beat the curse by carrying on with both of you. She thought that if she masked her feelings, she could somehow trick the curse. That if she didn't let on just how much she cared about one of you, you would be safe."

"We already knew that." I prompted her to continue.

"Did you know that it was Stefan she was in love with?" Her eyes glittered in anticipation, watching Damon's face carefully as she delivered the news.

A snort left Damon's lips. "Yeah right. It was me she cared about."

"Did she ever tell you that she loved you?" Isobel asked.

"Well… no, not in so many words. But that's because she was trying to protect me." Damon insisted.

"I have a journal here that says otherwise." Isobel produced the book from her designer bag, flipping the pages open to a place held by a red ribbon. "It is time for me to go and I my biggest regret is that I can not take my darling Stefan with me. For a while we tempted fate and I dreamt of a future with him, but when I saw nearly lost him today it became clear to me that I couldn't bear for him to suffer because of me. I curse the day I met you Arnaud and as God is my witness I will find a way to repay you for this misery! Until then, I will leave Stefan with a small part of me in the hopes that he will live long enough for us to be reunited again." Isobel looked up from the page. "It goes on after that, but mostly it's just her mooning over you." She nodded to Stefan.

"None of that was real." Stefan shook his head, stricken by the news. Damon looked just as stunned, and I waited to see how he would take it once the shock wore off.

"That wily bitch…" Damon muttered, but there wasn't any real anger in his voice, only surprise and maybe a grudging respect.

"I don't… why didn't she ever tell us? I mean after we turned?" Stefan asked. "She's had plenty of years to come clean. Or who am I kidding? I'm betting she moved on to someone new with the next town she breezed in to."

"Not exactly." Isobel shook her head. "She's been keeping tabs on you for all these years. Kind of like your own personal stalker. In fact she was the one who asked me to have Alaric warn you about the curse."

"She was?" That was interesting news to me. "Had she known that I was dating Damon at the time?"

"Ah no, actually when she came to see me you were dating Stefan. You should have seen her… I had to keep reminding her you were family; she wanted to scratch your eyes out for putting Stefan in danger again after she'd sacrificed so much." Isobel actually smiled a real smile and it transformed her face, making her seem almost friendly. And then she ruined it the next time she opened her mouth. "But when she heard you'd moved on to Damon she lost interest, said you two deserved each other." The way she said it did not come out as a compliment.

"Then she still cares about Stefan?" I asked. He still looked like he was in shock.

"Looks that way. Of course with this little stunt you're pulling in posing as Katherine, that's bound to attract all sorts of attention not just from her but possibly from this Arnaud as well. I think maybe it might be time to move on, give up this plan and hit the road."

"Leave? But that won't change the effects of the curse will it? It'll still catch up with Damon no matter where we go." I pointed out.

"Yes, it will. If you go together." She looked at me evenly.

"That seems kinda cold, don't you think?" Alaric frowned.

Isobel turned to face him. "Do you remember that time that you had pneumonia?"

Alaric blinked at the change in topic. "How can I forget? You were gone before I got out of the hospital." There was an edge to his voice when he replied.

"You couldn't believe that I chose to go on that business trip to New York when you were so sick." She nodded.

"Yeah, I think it was the beginning of the end for us." Alaric sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

Isobel stared at him, waiting for him to catch up.

"That was the curse? But you were human back then…"

"Yes. Katherine paid me a little visit to warn me about the curse. It's what sparked my curiosity for vampires really. Of course I probably should have told you that I knew she was out and about when I found out how bad you were jonesing to get her out of the tomb, but I was more afraid of her than I was of you." She gave a half shrug at Damon. "Wait, did you think it only affected the women in our line that were vampires? Of which there are an inordinate amount I might add. It's amazing the line lasted this long. But all things must come to an end, mustn't they?" She said sadly, eyes focused on me.

I could only imagine what Alaric must be feeling, the confirmation that she'd left him to keep him safe… changing that perception of the end of their marriage… having to rethink every conversation, every fight… it must be mind boggling. Was that why she'd never gotten to know me either? In a twisted effort to keep me safe?

"Do you know how to get ahold of Katherine?" Stefan asked.

Isobel was a long time in replying, her eyes on Alaric, her expression inscrutable. "You don't find Katherine, she finds you." She said finally, rising to her feet. "Which is something I don't recommend."

"You're leaving?" Alaric caught hold of her arm.

"I think that's for the best, don't you?" Isobel easily shook her arm free. "Take my advice. Drop this plan of flushing Katherine out. She doesn't like having her plans messed with and trust me… she's got plans for all of you."

A feeling of dread settled over me at those final words, and we all watched in silence as she slipped from the room.

A/N: So… happy with what we learned? Now the question remains, will they stick to the plan? Or try to find this Arnaud? Or secret option number three?

What did you think of last night's episode of Vampire Diaries? Quite a bit of Grrr Damon in this one which I have to admit, I kind of liked. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I watched the promo for next week. Hopefully I'll have the recap posted to my site tomorrow, I'm too tired to think about it tonight.

I also wanted to give a shout out to all of my readers for making last month my most successful month ever with over 71,000 hits to my fics on this site! I couldn't do it without you guys!

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