A/N: Gee, we're on chapter 34 already? Doesn't seem like yesterday this entire fanfiction was a passing thought in my mind :L Oh well, enough of the whole reminiscing shiz and let's get down to business, shall we? First off, many thanks for my loyal followers and reviews. Secondly, I'm sorry for the lateness of each chapter. Just had my maths exam and fingers crossed I've passed (yn), but, in other news, I have no exams with exception to my History until June time, so we should be good on the updating front. :) Inspiration for this chapter was obvious: How To Save A Life – The Fray. (: Any who, the big face-off between Kathy and Elena; *dun dun dunn* (lol :L) hope you all enjoy it and review for me, worked my ass off here. :L

Chapter 34: How To Save A Life.

EPOV

My breath hitched as I slammed the front door to a close and glanced about myself; it was indeed the middle of the night and from what I could tell, not even town drunks were roaming the streets of 1864 Mystic Falls. I didn't like that; the seclusion from the world felt wrong somehow, so very wrong. The freezing wind whooshed vastly around my body and despite myself, I shivered. It was then that Damon's hand caught mine, I looked up at him. Damon's eyes weren't readable, nor was his face, but what I did know was that his taking of my head meant more than a simple romantic gesture. We were in this together. We'd always been in this together. I nodded to him before speaking.

"You know what we're about to do, right?" I asked him.

Damon nodded.

"Yes, we're going to rescue my brother, thus killing Katherine in the process of it all and then we're getting the hell out of here," Damon said simply as if he were discussing something as unimportant as a football game's score.

I stared at him for longer than what was necessary; he frowned.

"Did I miss something?" Damon inquired, his eyes searching my own for clues to what he'd done wrong; I smiled.

"No, It's just… Wow. I don't know," I paused "Let's get going…" And with that I yanked him along for a few strides before he become unusually resistant and I came to an abrupt halt.

The hold of our joint hands broke and I flashed him a questioning look.

"Problem, Damon?"

Damon's eyebrows furrowed together and I watched his hands burrow into his slacks whilst he advanced towards me; I continued to look at him.

"What were you going to say?" he asked, simply.

I opened my mouth with every intention of brushing of his words, but I knew now wasn't the time to lose Damon's trust by lying to him, so, I decided to feed both of our curiosities. I sighed, defeated; god, sometime or another I seriously needed to work on my 'resisting Damon Salvatore' skills.

"I just… I'm not really sure how to phrase this, but it's weird; strange, really really strange, actually," I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to continue the sentence I started.

"What's strange?"

The inevitable question; sink or swim, Elena.

"Just the fact that you're willing to risk everything, your life, and to what? To help a girl you're not even one hundred percent sure you know and then helping her kill the woman you love?" I shook my head, saying it out loud just made it sound even more bogus that it had seemed inside of my mind.

It was then that Damon did the oddest thing. He laughed. He didn't even need to think twice about it – he just… Laughed. A look of perplexion over took my features and I stared at him.

"Uhm, Damon, I'm not sure if you realise… But I was actually being serious? Forgive me, but I don't see what's funny?" I said in a fairly worried tone.

Damon halted his noise a few seconds later and smiled, pulling one hand free from his pocket and cupping my cheek. He tilted his head a degree and for the first time in a while, I felt self-conscious.

"Elena. For one thing, whatever I felt for Katherine, it couldn't compare even a fraction to what I feel for you," his eyes measured my reaction as he continued "And for the other… Elena, how many times do I have to say it? I believe you. I honestly, whole heartedly believe you."

And as it turned out, even the 1864 version of Damon Salvatore could leave me dumbstruck. Well, I could see exactly what Katherine saw in Damon. (Besides his looks, obviously.) His thumb stroked delicately across the skin of my face and I felt my lips break into an easy smile.

"Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed.

For the second time tonight, Damon took my small hand in his own and led me towards our destination.

We were at the door now and I pressed myself up neatly against the stone wall, making my every movement swifter and quieter than the last. Knowing the time roughly I realised in reality I should be too tired to be so precise in my actions, but the adrenaline running through my veins seemed to be on my side. Damon's hand burned in my own as I reached for the handle only to be stopped by Damon's free hand; I shot him a questing glance but instead of speaking he planted a single fore finger onto his lips and I was instantly silent. To say I trusted Damon right now would be an understatement.

Damon's eyes averted left, right, left again and then head on – it was at that moment, without any hesitation whatsoever that Damon gripped the door handle and turned it, thus allowing the front door to open with a creak. I winced at the sound, hoping desperately that it wouldn't give them away. I moved forward to walk in with Damon, but was once again halted by him. I pouted but did as was obeyed; Damon knew what he was doing and we only had one shot at this that much I knew. My heart squeezed at every move Damon made and I suddenly wished Bonnie was here with us; having a witch on our side might just give us the upper hand.

That was a point… Where the hell was Bonnie? Granted, I wouldn't have thought it practical if she was to have walked in on mine and Damon's heavy petting, but then at least she would've been with us when we strike. This made me feel terribly uneasy and I was beginning to doubt myself. That really wasn't what I needed. A second later Damon beckoned me over to him and I softly padded over to the spot beside him. I swallowed; knowing there was no turning back now and after a second or two of bracing myself, took the first steps up the long, winding stairwell.

For the first time in forever I hoped Katherine was too occupied in ravishing Stefan, than to even bother looking out for intruders of who had every intention of driving a stake through her heart. We were at the top of the stairs now with no sign of any kind of noise, or anyone; not even Katherine's handmaid (aka Bonnie's ancestor), Emily. My eyes narrowed, we were getting close. I felt the blood rushing through my veins and could feel my heart accelerating through my teeth – so much for keeping a low profile, Elena. I eyed a bedroom at the end of the hallway and Damon's voice confirmed my suspicions by informing me that it was, in fact, Katherine's chamber.

I began pacing soundlessly, yet, swiftly towards it; however, at mere yard away I felt something pull me back and for a moment thought it was all over. That I'd failed… But not even a second later I felt a pair of eager lips claim my own and realised it was Damon. I kissed him back, holding him tightly as we exchanged one last desperate kiss. We both pulled away shortly after but spoke no words; there wasn't any need to – we already knew. I slipped against the wall and Damon cleared his throat, knocking the door once and then opening it.

"Miss Katherine..? Miss Katherine, are you in here?" Damon's smooth, gentlemanly voice echoed, causing the taste of vomit to well around in my mouth; I hated that he was speaking to Katherine that way, even if it was part of the plan.

A few seconds passed until a velvet voice answered him. I heard footsteps and knew Damon was now inside, so far so good. I pushed my ear up against the wall, still keeping myself hidden in the shadows whilst I attempted to listen to their conversation, awaiting my signal.

'… I know, but I just had to see you, Katherine,' a brief pause, 'But, I see you already have company.'

A sigh of an emotion I couldn't quite register.

'Oh Damon… My sweet, innocent, Damon,' a female voice cooed, making it hard for me not to gag.

A rustle of fabric followed her remark towards him and the sound of lips merging together.

I closed my eyes, trying to bat away the images from inside of Katherine's bedroom and trying to refocus my attention upon what I was about to do. But what if he changes his mind; what if he's enjoying kissing her? She could have brain washed him again… I suppressed those thoughts somewhere far, far away and nodded to myself, I could do this, I was doing this. Right now. And, as if perfectly on cue, Damon moaned Katherine's name loudly and sprinted from my hidden position and my fingers unscrewed a bottle of yellow vervain liquid. Her eyes snapped open and she pulled away from Damon; but it was too late.

My hand threw the liquid over Katherine's body and she shrieked in agony, throwing Damon to the side wall, I took the moment she was utterly defenceless to untie the remainder of the bag, finding a broken chair leg I'd made into a stake earlier. And although I was fast in doing this, I wasn't fast enough for as my eyes met Katherine's now damaged body I noticed she was now beside Damon, her arms around his neck, threatening to snap. I instantly stopped my pursuit and she smiled wryly. Yes, Katherine wasn't as strong as she was before I sprayed her with vampire-poison juice, but she was still faster than I was.

"Ah… I thought so," Katherine said with sadistic satisfaction, reminding me so badly of the day a century and a half from now; I wanted to murder her right there, but she had my weakness – Damon.

"Let him go!" I said through my teeth as I watched Damon struggling against her grip.

Katherine pouted and glanced down to Damon, noticing him fraught with aggression.

"Oh Damon… My lovely Damon; why would you bring this… This pathetic, human copy of mine to my chamber to harm me?" Katherine whispered, her hand stroking his hair.

Whilst Katherine continued to play with her food, Damon complied, but in the corner of my eyes I noticed his hand fiddling around in his pocket and then I realised he was attempting to get at the stake I'd given to him earlier. Suddenly I felt guilty for doubting him. I took a split second to glance on the bed at a half-naked Stefan, I so desperately wanted to run over to him and wrap him in my warm embrace but Katherine's voice caught me off guard.

"Stefan's fine… in case you're wondering, so very fine," Katherine murmured slyly and I raised the stake, averting her attention to me so Damon could do the deed; however, Katherine seemed one step ahead of us for the moment Damon was about to strike she flipped their position and caught the stake between her hands and in the same moment broke it.

"Insolent child, how dare you!" Katherine cursed.

She flung Damon hard against the wall once again, but this time he didn't get up immediately; he was out cold, and sooner rather than later so would Katherine. I took his opportunity to my advantage and hurled the stake at Katherine's back. Katherine collapsed to the ground as she attempted to pry the stake from her flesh but I was beside her; I stabbed a piece of wood through both of her wrists and watched her squirm underneath me. I smirked wildly, practically tasting victory in my mouth, but I knew it wasn't over yet.

"Now, listen here you hundreds of years old vampire hoe bag, I'm going to drive a stake directly through your heart and I'm going to relish in it whilst doing so. And then I'm going to take Damon and Stefan while you rot and then burn, comprehende?" I said, making every word as loud and as clear as the last.

At my words, Katherine stopped struggling and began to laugh; my eyes narrowed into slits and I barked out a questioning phrase.

"You're too late," she breathed, a smirk never leaving her ruby lips.

"What are you talking about?" I said, angry.

Her head cocked to the side and my eyes followed her gaze; it rested onto Stefan, and for the first time since I'd entered the room I realised Stefan wasn't breathing. She hadn't… Oh god, she had! My eyes began glowing red and I slapped her, hard and fast. She scowled.

"You bitch! You evil, god damn bitch!"

Katherine's smile faded and glared up at me.

"I've had just about enough of these disrespectful insults!" Katherine thrust her arm up, screaming in pain and released her arm from the stake and tore out the other; I scampered away, my hand searching within the bag as I did so.

I was going to die. Crap, crap, crap!

"Not so tough now, are we, Elena?" Katherine smirked, ready to pounce upon me, but just as she went to do so, a stake speared its way through Katherine's chest, scoring directly through her heart and her necklace was ripped from her chest and tossed to the ground; Damon had her in his grip and grinned, his breath hoarse.

"And this is for my little brother!" Damon yelled before shoving her so hard Katherine stumbled over herself and then over the open window.

After he'd done so, Damon fell to the floor and I dashed towards the window, amazingly, sunrise has come at precisely the right time; I watched Katherine wretch and twitch in agony, burning and bleeding just as she should have always ended. When I was sure Katherine had perished, I knelt to the floor of Katherine's room and pressed my back up against the wall, letting my head rest against it as I did so. Mere moments passed and I felt two arms wind around me; I turned my head, smiling, finding Damon there. My arms coiled around his battered torso and I brought his lips to my own in a tender kiss.

"Thank you," he breathed.

I cocked an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"Saving me," he replied.

"Damon, if you remember rightly, you were the one that killed her, not me," and as soon as I've finished that sentence I realised how literally I'd taken his sentence and that maybe, he wasn't referring to that at all.

He didn't answer, just waited for me to get it. I smiled warmly at him.

"It was my pleasure," I said softly before burying my head onto his warm chest.

Author's note: So, here we go; Katherine's dead, Damon and Elena are alive and as for Stefan… Well, we can't have a happy ending before the story's over now can we? :P Anywho, review for me? :)

Jackie xxx