Chapter Thirty-Two
Rebecca had gone to lunch with Caroline, Bonnie and Elena since Elena had planned it. It was the Sunday before the three other girls had to go back to school from Thanksgiving break. She agreed to help decorate the gym for the 50s dance; as long as Bonnie and Elena would be there she wouldn't mind
Though . . . to be fair, Caroline wasn't acting as obnoxiously as she used to. She had Matt now, and they fit surprisingly well together. He brought her down to earth a little. Matt was the all-American type; he helped her in a lot of ways.
Elena had given Caroline a necklace with vervain in it, and Caroline loved it. Elena had also given Jeremy a wrist band with vervain in it, and she'd given Jenna vervain scented perfume. They were safe from compulsion, at least.
Bonnie was a witch - a supernatural being with magic running through her veins - so she couldn't be compelled and neither could her Grams. They were safe.
Rebecca's family was being provided vervain via the Council, who was getting it from Damon. So Rebecca's family was safe, too. And she wore either the cross necklace or the Salvatore one Damon had given her, depending on what she was wearing. But she could be compelled if she lacked one of the jewelry pieces. Even though she was the Slayer, she was still human.
Rebecca hadn't known it, but Elena and Caroline had been having issues; Caroline had been avoiding Elena because of Caroline liking Matt. She didn't want their relationship to become weird. It was a whole big thing because Elena had dated Matt but had dumped him when her parents had died, and Caroline wasn't sure if Matt was really over Elena.
Elena, having a generous moment had said it wasn't about her; it was about what Matt and Caroline wanted. Matt had to move on and he knew it.
Speaking of Matt, Rebecca was at the Grill with him now and he was filling out an application. With Vicki gone and his mom not home, he had bills to pay. Rebecca was thankful she didn't have to worry about that, at least. Her dad did pay the bills even if he didn't do much else.
The new bartender was Ben somebody, and he was a vampire. Rebecca had known him from school. He'd graduated a couple years ago, had gone to college, and was back now. He'd torn his rotator cuff, which sucked because he'd been a football player. His scholarship had gone away in the blink of an eye; now he was a bartender. She wondered when he'd been turned into a vampire but she couldn't just ask him. Not now.
Besides, she'd always just thought he'd been a dumb jock; he hadn't given her much reason to think otherwise.
"So, are you going to help Caroline with the dance?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. Reluctantly. I don't really want to, but I do want to spend time with you guys. I feel like I haven't seen you guys in forever. Are you helping Caroline with the dance?"
"Yeah. I promised I would." Matt turned his ultra-blue eyes to her. "You're not gonna tease me now, are you?"
"For what?"
"Being with Caroline. I know you guys never really . . . hit it off."
"Why would I tease you? If you make each other happy, screw what everyone else thinks. You do like her, right?"
Matt wasn't the type to be with a person just for sex, so . . . the obvious answer was yes.
"Yeah. She's great. She's fun. There's just this thing, she's got this way about her, and I like it."
"She's a great girl, Matty, and you're a great guy, so . . . go for it. I know she more than likes you."
"Really?"
"She's thinks you've "peaked as friends." Her words, not mine."
"Hm." Matt went back to filling out the application in silence but Rebecca could tell something else was bothering him. After a few minutes he blurted out, "Well, what if it doesn't work out?"
"Well, do you want it to work out?"
"Yeah. More than anything. She's one of the only good things I have left. With Vicki gone, and Mom off with Pete whoever . . . I don't want to lose her, and I don't want to mess it up."
"Have you told Caroline?"
"No!" Matt looked incredulous. "How do you say that to the girl you like?"
"Um . . ." Rebecca chuckled; men were dumb - or, maybe not dumb, but they made things harder than they had to be. "Well, I would probably go with something like . . . "Caroline, can I talk to you for a second?" and then proceed with caution."
"Matt Donovan. What d'you know?" the bartender butted in.
"Ben McKittrick. What's up, man?" Matt said, beginning to smile.
McKittrick, that was his last name! He looked kind of like a younger version of Tom Cruise - think "The Outsiders" days.
"Rough season, bud."
"Yeah, it's kind of hard to recover when you have to forfeit half your games."
Mr. Tanner had been fired for unsportsmanlike conduct on and off the field. Only problem with that was that the football team was now suffering because they didn't have a coach.
"You gonna be workin' here?"
"Yup. Following in your footsteps, minus the state championship."
"We can't all be football gods."
"Yeah."
"So, what's the plan? Cook line?"
Matt shook his head. "Busboy."
Ben didn't say anything; he just looked on sympathetically.
"Hey, can you get me a Pepsi?" Rebecca asked.
"Sure. Coming right up, Becca."
The first thing that registered was that he'd called her Becca. They hadn't been friends in school; she'd been a brain and he'd been your typical jock. He'd never paid attention to her at all. Why all of a sudden was he calling her Becca?
People grow up, she told herself.
Once he turned away Rebecca jostled Matt with her elbow. "Hey, money's money, right? There are worse jobs than busboy. At least you're not cleaning floors with a toothbrush."
Matt smiled softly. "You and your endless optimism."
She shrugged. "Bright side to everything."
That night Rebecca ended up at the boardinghouse because Elena's stalker had made another appearance. He was playing a game of cat and mouse with her, trying to get in her head. Somehow he'd gotten Elena's cell number and he was using it to torment her.
"Why me?" Elena asked. "What does he want with me, and if he's trying to kill me, then why call first?"
"It's because we're predators, Elena. We hunt, we stalk. It's often as exciting as the kill."
"Well put, Stefan," Rebecca said. "Like she's not weirded out enough already."
Elena, Stefan, Damon and Rebecca - with the addition of Chelsea, sadly enough - were in the library, which could be considered the war room, she guessed. She hadn't really wanted Chelsea to come, but she'd promised to take care of her that day after she'd gotten back from the Grill; her dad was at work and her aunt had a doctor's appointment. So now . . . now she was just hoping Chelsea never repeated a word of what she was hearing.
"Are you okay? What did he do?"
"Nothing, he just stood there while he was talking to me."
Like a creeper, Rebecca thought.
"Did you recognize his voice or get a good look at him?"
"No. He had a hoodie on and I've never heard his voice before."
"Okay. Well either you're staying here with Stefan and Damon, or you're staying with me, or I'm staying with you, because you're not safe by yourself."
Elena looked semi-amused. "Are you telling me what to do?"
"Well, you always try to tell me what to do. I thought I'd return the favor. And technically, I'm giving you options on what you can do."
"Um . . . I'll stay with you, I guess."
"Okay, well, I'm really not supposed to be here because my grandparents are leaving tomorrow, so we should leave soon."
Rebecca got up to give Stefan and Elena some privacy but watched as Stefan gave Elena the pocket watch/compass that really belonged to Jeremy.
"I took it from Damon, who took it from Logan, who must've taken it from you."
"Why did my father have it?" Elena asked.
"The Gilberts were one of the founding families, and in 1864 they were among those who sought to eradicate the vampires. The compass was used to find us."
"Did you know them?"
"Yes. I want you to keep this. That way you'll ever know if you're in danger."
Rebecca had to bite her tongue to keep from correcting Stefan about him knowing the Gilbert's. He'd known them, all right. Well enough to eat them. Stefan had gone after the founding families with a vengeance once he'd been turned. But Rebecca kept her mouth shut and followed Damon out of the library when he nodded to the door. She didn't know what he wanted so she left Chelsea on Elena's lap.
It was a good thing she had, too, because as soon as the door was shut he had her up against it and was kissing her. She smiled against his lips and grabbed his hair.
"Really, I don't think now is the best time."
"Now is the perfect time. We should leave Stefan and Elena to their dramatics and go do something fun."
Damon could tell she was sorely tempted because of her lack of a negative response. He knew the reason she was reluctant was Chelsea. But he and Rebecca hadn't been able to spend much time together after their first night together due to her grandparents being in and now that he had her here he didn't want to let her go so soon.
"Your sister will be safe with Elena and Stefan here."
"Okay, but I really do have to leave soon. So I can't stay the night."
Damon lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs securely around his waist, and he raced her upstairs. Her laughter as they hit the bed was the only thing he let himself focus on.
Soon happened to be two hours later, and even then Rebecca didn't want to leave. There had been no biting this time because Damon was giving his other bite a time to heal. There would be a little scar there, and after the wound healed it wouldn't go away, not even with vampire blood. That was its purpose; it was Damon's mark.
"Okay, for real now, I have to go," Rebecca said, jumping around, trying to get her pants on. "But I will be back first thing after they leave. Then this weekend I have to help Care with the dance."
She slipped her shirt on and kissed him quickly before going to the door.
"Love you, Damon."
She walked out the door before he had to say it back. She knew it made him uncomfortable saying those words so she wouldn't make him say them every time. She didn't mind saying them as long as they were true, and with him they were.
Elena was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs with a knowing grin on her face, and Rebecca looked away bashfully. Chelsea was young and oblivious but waiting just the same.
God, Rebecca thought. I'm not going to hear the end of this anytime soon. But then again, it was none of Elena's business what she'd been doing with Damon. Damon was her boyfriend - she kind of hated that word, because Damon was so much more than that - and she had every right to make love with him whenever she wanted to.
"Are you ready to leave?" she asked Elena.
"Lea . . ." Chelsea said, holding out her arms for Rebecca. Rebecca immediately responded and took her.
"Just waiting for you," Elena said, smiling.
"Sorry."
Elena shook her head and nodded for Rebecca to follow her out. "Come on."
Since both Elena and Rebecca had their cars, Elena followed behind Rebecca. Things were okay until they got to Rebecca's house. The vampire that attacked her was unexpected and unwelcome, and the vampire wasn't alone. There were four others.
Elena had just gotten out of her car and Rebecca was just about to get Chelsea out of her car-seat when she felt them so she left Chelsea in her seat to cry and scream. The vampires were all lean and looked sort of like poster children for famine victims.
Rebecca remembered how Lexi's boyfriend had used Elena against her and Damon. She told Elena to take her car and drive - take Chelsea and go. She didn't want Elena to stop until she heard from Rebecca again.
Surprisingly, Elena listened. And the vampire didn't move to go after the brunette, so that proved they were here for Rebecca and nothing else.
Moving with vampire speed, one of them brought a wooden spear from under his jacket. The weapon was small but the blade on it was shaped like a whaler's harpoon. Why the hell did a vampire need a weapon?
Definitely going to stay away from that, she told herself as she dodged to the left and rolled around. Her back slammed into Elena's car, and the spear shattered the window and she grimaced. That noise had probably alerted her neighbors that something was going on outside. This being Mystic Falls, hopefully they had learned to mind their own business.
"You missed," Rebecca said, but the vampire didn't speak. None of them did. She noticed that each had weapons, which meant they didn't want anyone to think she'd been killed by a vampire. Not that she was going to die, but it was five against one - it could get pointless.
She used her left hand to push the one with the spear away and she heard as a few ribs broke beneath the blow. The sternum could have been broken. The vampire fell and she grabbed the spear from the ground and swung it at the vampire's head. The head popped off like a cherry from a stem.
The four other vampires never stopped attacking even though one of their own had fallen in battle. She had to duck from a horizontal strike that would have severed her head from her shoulders. She caught the elbow of her attacker and spun him into another vampire. She delivered a right roundhouse kick that connected with the back of the neck of another vampire.
She heard his spine shatter, or maybe snap was a better word. The vampire dropped to the ground and Rebecca was relieved that he didn't get right back up. That one had to heal to be able to move.
The other three looked at Rebecca and she could tell they were rethinking things a bit. All the damage had been done in mere seconds. They still had their weapons at the ready. She reached for one of the vampires, put one hand behind his head and cupped his chin with the other, then snapped his neck. There was a very audible crack. The vampire fell to the ground; he would stay there until he healed.
The vampire with the broken ribs healed more quickly than she would've liked. The vampire whipped forward with a knife and the jagged edge left a bloody line on her cheek. It stung.
That was when the front door opened and her aunt stepped outside, and her aunt screamed. Her niece was in the front yard fighting, and one of the guys had his head cut off.
When only the last one was left, Rebecca slammed him to the ground and asked why he was there. The vampire laughed.
"You don't even know. The underworld's not so happy with you. There's a bounty on your head."
"Anna?"
"Who?"
She couldn't tell if he was lying or not but it didn't matter; the vampire needed to die now. Thankfully, her aunt had gone back in the house - Robert had probably pulled her back inside. And now the last vampire was dead. And she had to call the sheriff. Liz was there within ten minutes and then Rebecca went into the house. Her grandparents, her aunt, and her dad were in the living room. The only person who seemed surprised was Tina - that confirmed that Rebecca's grandparents did indeed know about vampires.
Tina was crying and Robert was trying to calm her down. Her grandparents were confused - not about the vampires but about Rebecca fighting them.
"I, uh, I guess we all have some explaining to do . . ." Rebecca said softly.
"You're bleeding," her grandmother said. "Come sit down."
"Yeah, okay. I have to call Elena, though. She was supposed to come over. And Damon. I have to tell him what happened."
Damon would've felt she was in danger and was probably already on his way over. She didn't want him showing up with his game face on or anything when the problem was already taken care of.
Rebecca called to tell Elena that she should stay with Stefan instead - Rebecca was not going to be able to do anything but try and comfort her aunt. Rebecca told Damon, however, that he should come over and she'd explain why once he got there. She then let her grandmother take care of her wound, though the cream she used made it hurt worse than when she'd been wounded.
"Rebecca, what were you doing?" her aunt asked. "Fighting and killing. They had weapons. And where did you learn to fight?"
"Um . . ." Rebecca looked at her dad, who shrugged infinitesimally. She guessed she should just go with the truth. "I'm the Vampire Slayer."
"You're the what?"
And so the long story began.
"Okay, I know this all started with the founding families of Mystic Falls. What I don't know is why I didn't know I was part of one," Rebecca said, looking at her grandparents.
Maria, her grandmother, looked at Arthur, Rebecca's grandfather.
"Art, you knew this day would come."
"What day?" Tina asked. "What're you talking about?"
Maria looked at her daughter with sympathy. "Honey, do you remember those stories we used to tell you about vampires and the like?"
Tina nodded and narrowed her eyes. "Yes . . ."
"They weren't so much stories as they were fact."
"What?"
"I know what you're going through," Maria said. "I went through the same thing when your father told me. Denial, anger, shock. But it's true. It's unbelievable, but it's true."
"It's why we moved," Arthur said. "We didn't want any part of the council. But by the time we'd gotten up the means to leave, Jessica was already pregnant with Rebecca and Robert wouldn't let her face it on her own."
The way Arthur had put it, Rebecca had been an accident. Not meant to happen - a surprise. Rebecca would have to think about that again later, right now . . . she had to worry about Tina.
When Damon arrived at Rebecca's house he took in the damage, first thing - five vampires were dead, one was decapitated. Rebecca had done all this?
He'd been just about to come over anyway because he'd felt that she was in trouble, but then Elena had called and explained the situation. He'd been halfway to Rebecca's home when Rebecca herself had called. She was fine but she needed him to come over. He had, embarrassingly enough, the baby seat with Chelsea in it in the backseat - so not a Camaro accessory.
Damon talked to Liz for maybe a minute before he went inside with Chelsea in his arms - like he'd said, this so wasn't good for his image. He found Robert Stone pacing in the living room but he heard Rebecca talking to Tina in one of the bedrooms.
"Tina, stop. You need to calm down. This isn't good for you or the baby."
He focused on Robert now and said, "What with the bloodbath outside?" Damon had covered Chelsea's eyes when he'd seen how bad it had been.
"They attacked her at her own house. They were just . . . waiting for her to come home."
"Did Rebecca do all that or did she have help?"
"She did it herself. I watched some of it. I was going to help her, but I saw that she didn't need it. She got it done."
She always does, Damon thought.
"Was she hurt?"
"She got cut but she's fine. Tina saw it and she's freaking out. She thinks the solution is moving. She's packing her things as we speak. She's packing Rebecca's things; she thinks Rebecca should go with her grandparents tomorrow. Chelsea too."
"Well . . . she can't just leave." Not that Damon wouldn't drop everything and go with her, because he would, but this was her home. She had family here. Roots, friends, and she had given him that. He and Stefan were finally getting along again - sort of - and he was sort of friends with Elena. He could be friends with Bonnie if she'd loosen up a bit, though he understood why she was afraid and she had every right to be. He was on the fence about Blondie - she was obnoxious - but he could at least be civil for Rebecca's sake.
"That's what Rebecca said. She's trying to convince Tina that her life isn't all bad. That she isn't in danger all the time."
"Hm."
Damon noticed that Robert hadn't tried to take Chelsea away from him, and that Chelsea was content to stay with him instead. He hoped Tina's baby wasn't Robert's because he was a sorry excuse for a father. If Robert hadn't been Rebecca's dad, Damon might've killed him off of principle alone.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Rebecca was unpacking her suitcases as her aunt filled them up. Rebecca thought stuff like that only happened in the movies.
"Aunt Tina, please!"
"Don't! You could've been killed tonight!" Her aunt grabbed the things Rebecca had removed from the traveling bag and put them back in. "I know you think your father isn't involved in your life enough, but I still care if you live or die."
"But I didn't die. I'm fine. I'm good at what I do."
"And what is it that you do? All I saw was punching and kicking and - and stabbing!" Sadness overtook worry in Tina's eyes. "I don't want that for you. I don't care what Robert says."
"Well, I didn't want it either, but I got it. And I can't change it. I was chosen."
"Why you?"
"I don't know," Rebecca said, because she really didn't know. "Look, I think you should rest tonight and then we can talk in the morning. I'm not leaving Mystic Falls, so let me put my things back. Okay?"
"But . . . vampires?"
"Are everywhere, not just here. True, many are drawn here because of the energy this place gives off, but . . ." Rebecca didn't know what to do. She knew she couldn't just make her aunt be okay with all of it; it was a lot to take in. "As long as you don't invite them in, they can't get in the house."
"So we're safe in this house?"
"Yes. There are other things you can do to keep safe but you don't have to worry about them tonight."
Tina nodded but didn't move. "We're still gonna talk about this because this is not gonna be your life."
Rebecca didn't repeat the fact that she didn't have a choice; she just helped her aunt get to her room and into bed. Then she went out to the living room where her dad and Damon were talking.
"Hey," she said, feeling a sweet thrill of relief to see Damon there even though she'd seen him not even two hours before.
Damon gave a small smile and crossed the room to stand beside her. "What a night, huh?"
"Yeah, tell me about it." She gestured toward the front door. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Of course."
Now Robert did take Chelsea - mostly because Damon forced her into his arms.
Once outside, Rebecca told Damon about what the vampire had said about there being a price on her head. Damon turned furious in about two seconds flat.
"Anna?" Damon said.
"No . . . or . . . the vampire acted like he didn't know who she is. He said the "underworld is not happy with me." But . . . there's a vampire who works at the Grill, his name's Ben McKittrick. I went to school with him, and he knows me. Might be a good place to start. He probably won't be at work now but he might be tomorrow."
"I'll . . . look into it." Damon didn't know if someone she used to know was a safe bet or not. "Did he not like you when he was human?"
"He didn't notice me when he was human."
Rebecca looked around the front yard - she was thankful the noise hadn't brought any neighbors out of the homes - and cringed at the damage she'd caused. Some guy's head had been cut off.
"I can't believe I did all this, and that my aunt saw. I don't know how I'm gonna make her be okay."
"She'll come around."
"Will she? I mean, I'm her niece, ya know, and she's right. I could've been killed. And somebody obviously knows where I live now, so they're gonna keep coming and -"
Rebecca stopped talking because the more she spoke the more she felt like crying. Whoever had sent the vampires to her home knew where she lived, knew where her family lived, which meant that her family was in trouble, in danger, all the time. Screw what she'd told her aunt; she hadn't wanted Tina to be worried about something she had no control over but Rebecca knew they needed to be worried.
She wiped her eyes as Liz came up to them and she took a few deep breaths. She felt Damon's fingers on her back; it helped only a little.
"What happened?" Liz asked. "How did you . . . do all this by yourself?"
Rebecca wasn't in the mood to explain the whole Slayer thing so she told Liz she would explain later. They just needed to get rid of the bodies now.
"I'll go with that." Liz drew a key out of her pocket. "This is the key you wanted to the incinerator room at the funeral home. I'll take care of the ones tonight and I'll come by tomorrow and you can explain everything."
"Yeah, okay."
Rebecca watched as two more cars pulled up in front of her yard. Getting rid of five bodies took more than one vehicle. She shook her head as the dead vampires were taken away. She still couldn't believe she'd done all that damage herself.
Damon tried to ignore the fact that Rebecca's fingernails were tearing into his arm. She'd grabbed hold a while ago and didn't seem to want to let go. He knew she didn't like killing even if who she killed was technically already dead. He also knew that she was willing to do it - kill - to stay alive.
"Come on," he said, drawing her closer to his side. "Let's get you inside."
It was after midnight when things finally settled down at Rebecca's house. Damon left to move his car and then came right back. Rebecca didn't protest; she felt better when he was around, and she knew he'd do anything to keep her safe.
Damon knew she was worried about her family - for all that she complained about them he knew she still cared and didn't want anything to happen to them. Here he and she were, laying on her bed with the TV on and the door locked - she'd gotten it fixed almost as soon as it had gotten damaged. She was twisted in the sheets, asleep, but she had talked for almost an hour about what they needed to do.
How was she supposed to keep her family safe now? She couldn't stay home all the time. What if her aunt had problems with the baby due to all this extra stress - that was leftover worry from her mother's pregnancy problems. And so on and so forth the list of questions went. And they were questions Damon couldn't answer because, even though he'd been alive - or whatever - for almost 170 years, there was no easy way to answer questions like that.
Yes, he could've said that she couldn't keep her family safe all the time, and it wasn't her job to anyway. And he could've said if the baby was lost because of all this then the baby would just be dead, but what would be the point? Rebecca knew all that already and it would only hurt her further if he said it out loud. And what he was worried about wasn't her family or the baby, though he had no problem with either. He was worried about her - and Chelsea, a little. The added stress could make Rebecca lose her head; make her make mistakes she normally wouldn't. And Rebecca had pointed out the problem earlier: Someone who wanted her dead knew where she lived and seemed okay with sending loose cannons her way.
Maybe it was the Ben guy but Damon didn't think that made any sense. It he hadn't paid any attention to her when he'd been human, he probably wouldn't now either. And if he did have a problem with Rebecca, he could've come after her himself. He'd had the chance after Rebecca had met him at the Grill. Besides, new vampires didn't usually have any power over other vampires.
At least he knew she could keep herself safe even if he wasn't here. She'd done some serious damage and she hated herself for it - he knew that for a fact. She knew it had to be done so she'd done it; she didn't have to like it.
The day after the front yard incident Rebecca's grandparents still left even though they were worried. They offered Rebecca the chance to come with them if she wanted to get away from everything. She didn't take the offer but she did see them off at the airport with her dad. Then came talking to the sheriff. She'd promised to explain everything and she did. She talked to both Liz and Tina at the same time to save herself the trouble of having to go over everything twice.
Liz was fairly nice about the whole thing. She was okay with the Vampire Slayer thing; Rebecca was still human, so she was okay. Her exact words were, "We can use all the help we can get."
And Tina was 'coming around' as Damon had put it. She realized Rebecca couldn't help it, and Tina was okay with the fact that Rebecca had the entire Council watching her back. Not that the Council would be any help at all; half the time they didn't know their asses from a hole in the ground. But whatever made her aunt feel better was alright with Rebecca.
That weekend she still helped Caroline with the dance. She wasn't going to stop living her life because of some whacked out death thing. Yes, vampires were after her, but until they attacked again she wasn't going to worry about it; if she did, it would drive her nuts.
She, Matt and Caroline were in the front lawn of the school, in the picnic area, making banners for the dance. Caroline was telling everybody what to do - she was a control freak sometimes. It didn't annoy Rebecca as much as it used to so she obeyed with grace.
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you such a mess," Matt teased Caroline.
The blond cheerleader had blue paint on her arms and clothes but she seemed happy, at least. That was what mattered.
"Don't talk smack," Caroline said, slapping a line of blue paint onto Matt's arm.
"I mean I just thought you told everyone else what to do."
Matt threatened Caroline with his own paintbrush and she backed away laughing.
"Well, I do that too. But if you want something done right, you've gotta do it yourself. You know, I just like that we're hanging out. Who knew you and me?"
Matt smiled and went back to work. "Well, who knew you could be fun?"
"So what're you wearing to this dumb dance, anyway? Should we color coordinate?"
"Um, I'm not goin'," Matt admitted.
"Why not?"
"I've gotta work. I'm busing tables at the Grill?"
Caroline scoffed. "Since when are you a busboy?"
"It's a job," Matt said, taking offense. "You know, some of us have to work, Caroline. With my mom in and out, things are tight right now."
"Well, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I didn't know you have a job."
"Well, I do. I gotta go."
Matt cleaned up his work space and left, leaving a worried and hurt Caroline behind.
"Boys are so fragile," Rebecca said gently. "And they think we're the needy ones."
Caroline smiled a bit. "I know, right. I . . . really didn't mean -"
"I know. He'll get over it. He's just a little touchy on the subject, apparently."
"Yeah." Caroline began painting again. "Are you gonna ditch me, too?"
Caroline's tone was bitter and Rebecca shook her head. "I don't ditch my friends, Care."
The blond nodded and smiled. "I know, I'm sorry. Just . . . sometimes I think I should keep my mouth shut. I always say the wrong thing."
Rebecca shook her head. "You're . . . you say what's on your mind. That's not the same thing as saying the wrong thing. If Matt is going to be with you, he's going to have to accept every part of you. The insecurities, the control issues. He gets the bad and the good, Care."
"Yeah."
"And . . ." Rebecca smiled and leaned in like she was letting Caroline in on a big conspiracy. "I have it on very good authority that he likes you and doesn't want to mess things up with you. He told me himself that you're one of the only good things he has left."
"Really?"
"Really really."
Caroline smiled brighter but then carefully looked away. "You got a cut on your face. I didn't want to ask with Matt here, but what happened?"
"Uh . . . Knife, a few days ago. I got into a fight."
Word had gotten around about the fight, of course, this being a small town and all, but the sheriff had made it out to be a lot less brutal than it was.
"With . . . Damon?" Caroline looked her square in the eyes and Rebecca knew Caroline was thinking about how Damon had treated her.
"Not with Damon. Damon wouldn't do this to me. He knows I'd kick his ass."
Caroline smiled at that and nodded. "Okay. I just wanted to be sure. I know people can change when they find someone they really like, but it seems a little fast, don't you think?"
"Doesn't it?"
Rebecca knew it felt that way to everyone else because they hadn't known him when he'd been human. They didn't understand him. Caroline knew nothing about him, and Bonnie and Elena didn't know the story about his transformation, how he hadn't wanted it.
"Are you going to the dance?" Caroline asked.
Rebecca shrugged. "I don't know. Hadn't really thought about it. I don't really have anything to wear."
Caroline bit her lip and smiled mischievously. "I can help, and you can sign up as a chaperone. Damon can come too if he signs up."
"Uh-uh. I know that look and it means you're up to something."
"I am not up to anything." Her smile widened. "Much. Please come. I have the perfect idea for you."
"Ugh!" Rebecca groaned. "I'm gonna regret this, but . . . okay."
Later that same day, after Rebecca was done helping Caroline, Rebecca went to the boardinghouse with Elena. They were supposed to help Stefan and Damon look through their father's journal from 1864. They needed to find any mentions of Emily of the vampires. Rebecca had asked Bonnie to help but the young witch was still a little uncomfortable with the vampire thing.
They walked into the library, their meeting room. Stefan and Damon were already working. Together, without fighting. She wasn't going to say anything, though, because they'd probably stop if she made a big deal out of it.
"So . . . why're we doing this?" Elena asked.
"We want to know if it's possible to open the tomb," Stefan said. "If it is, then we have to stop Anna before she does it. If not -"
"Then we can all go away happy," Damon said. "And focus on the real problem, which is someone is after Rebecca and someone is after Elena."
"Someone's after you?" Elena asked Rebecca. "It's nice to be kept in the loop."
"Well, you have your own stuff to worry about, and it's not like you can do anything about it." Before Elena could start huffing Rebecca turned to Damon. "Do you think it's the same person? That's after us?"
"Probably not. The guy who's after Elena is more direct; he's coming after her himself. This other guy is sending others to do his dirty work. So . . . Add another problem because it's probably not the same person who wanted those books about you - or Slayers in general - either. He didn't want you killed and this guy does." A slight pause for Damon to get a breath he wouldn't need if he weren't talking. "Have you talked to Diana about it?"
"No. I hate talking to her about this stuff. I don't trust her. She almost got me killed, on purpose! If I didn't know the Council would send someone else I'd send her away."
A few minutes later Elena said, "So I guess this means you haven't had time to check Katherine's background?"
"Mm-mm. Too much stuff to worry about already." Rebecca looked at Elena. "Have you asked Jenna yet?"
"No," Elena answered sheepishly. "But I will. Soon."
"Procrastinator," Damon teased. "Or chicken, whichever you prefer."
Elena was obviously getting used to Damon's bluntness because she barely even glared.
"There's no mention of Katherine or the tomb or how to open it. There's nothing about Emily, either," Stefan said. "Not in this one."
Stefan put the journal in a pile of others that he and Damon had already been through.
"I'm not surprised. The man could barely spell his own name," Damon said.
"So . . . does he write as dull as he talked?" Rebecca asked, irreverently. She'd had no respect for the man, whether he was alive or dead.
Damon handed her one of the journals. "Why don't you find out?"
"Yeah, yeah."
About two hours into reading the very dull writings of Giuseppe Salvatore Rebecca had a sort of . . . revelation. Her mind was going in circles from reading - Giuseppe had written in riddles sometimes. But Stefan was right. There was nothing about the vampires or the tomb or anything else. Not in these journals. That was because . . .
"Uh . . . Please don't hate me because I just remembered this, but . . . we're looking in the wrong place."
"Obviously," Damon said, looking at her. "Where should we be looking, pray tell?"
"Jonathan Gilbert's journal, like Anna said. Emily told me that the key to opening the tomb is in Jonathan Gilbert's journal. A Bennett witch could open it if they can get the journal." Rebecca put the book she'd been reading back on the table since it was useless. "I'm gonna head home. Leaving my family alone at night worries me more than it used to."
"Here, I'll walk you out." Damon got up and they went outside to her car. "So I checked out that Ben kid and he's too new to have people follow him like that. It's not him. Whoever it is, they probably don't even live here or they'd come after you personally."
"Hm. Probably true. Okay, well, I'll . . . see you later, okay? Good luck getting the Gilbert journal. Uh, I know Jeremy was using it for a report - maybe Elena can get it for us?"
"Yeah, okay." He kissed her forehead and then tapped her on the nose. Damon thought she looked tired but still beautiful. Her green eyes had dulled from exhaustion, but he still saw her natural fire in them. It gave them a sort of unnatural glow, but he liked it. It showed she was alive. "Get some rest, okay?"
"Yeah, will do."
She kissed his lips firmly and then got in her car to go home.
Okay, so here's the latest chapter/offering, whichever you prefer. Okay, so I don't usually do this, but I just realized I'm seriously lacking Damon/Rebecca/Chelsea moments. I was wondering if I should keep it that way or add some more moments in there with them? If so any ideas would be appreciated. Or if you think it would take away from the plot to add random moments in then let me know that too. The way I've written it there aren't that many in the future but I DO add to the relationship naturally. So . . . let me know what you guys think!
Love you guys.