Chapter 49 ~ On A Mission

Damon didn't say another word to Vella the whole way home. He was fighting with his emotions again and it was exhausting him. Between the anger from earlier in the day, his fear for Vella and being completely confused about everything, he just wanted it all to stop. But as he looked into Vella's eyes and held her hand, he knew he couldn't just shut down and take the easy way out. He loved her too much for that, even when she was being difficult.

When they arrived at the boarding house, Vella went straight up to the bedroom, while Damon grabbed himself a drink before heading up to the bedroom. Vella was sprawled across the bed with her eyes closed when Damon walked in. He sat on the edge of the bed and put the hand that wasn't holding his glass on her back.

"Are we going to talk now?" he asked impatiently.

Vella opened her eyes and looked at him. "I know you need explanations, but can't they wait?"

Damon frowned and let out a long sigh. "Vella, I've been very patient with you."

Vella sat up in the bed and wiggled to sit beside him. She lifted her hand to the side of his face and looked in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Damon. All I want to do right now is sleep."

Damon put his drink down on the dresser nearby and put his hand over top of hers. "I do too, but all I can do is worry."

Vella smiled supportively and sighed. "Can you just take me at my word? Everything is fine."

Damon studied her eyes. He could tell she wasn't lying, but he still felt uneasy. "Promise you will tell me everything in the morning."

"I promise," she whispered.

Damon took her head in his hands and pulled her towards him, kissing her lips gently for only a moment. "Sweet dreams, my love."

Vella smiled at him lovingly and curled up on her side of the bed. She didn't even care she was still fully dressed. She was fast asleep as soon as she stopped moving.

Damon watched her sleeping for a few minutes and then got undressed and crawled into bed with her. He slip up behind her, with his arm wrapped around her waist. He fell asleep while listening to the rythmic sound of her breathing.

Damon had been more exhausted then he had realized. He slept through the rest of the night and half of the morning. He awoke to the sun shining in his eyes from between the curtains. It took him a second to realize where he was. He turned and realized that Vella was already out of bed. He sighed and hunted for his clothes, then went down the hall and had a shower before heading downstairs.

He didn't see anyone in the livingroom, so he went into the kitchen. There he found Vella, Stefan and Elena at the kitchen table.

"Morning sleepy head," Vella beamed at him.

"Morning," he mumbled. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table beside Vella.

Stefan looked at Damon, then at Vella and finally at Elena. He took Elena's hand in his and stood up. "Think we should go out for a bit."

Elena looked at him knowingly and stood up too. "See you later Vella, Damon."

Stefan nodded his head at the couple and lead Elena out of the kitchen.

Damon narrowed his eyes questioningly. "What was that about?" he asked Vella.

Vella looked at him, studying his face. "Get some coffee in you because we have to talk."

Damon opened his mouth to say something, but instead he complied with her wishes and drank his coffee.

Vella spent the next hour talking to Damon at length about the mayor and his deal. It took a lot of convincing, but she finally got him to see her side. They were much safer if the mayor was on their side, even if Damon hated him and his son with a passion.

After things were worked out between Vella and Damon, things were much better. Both of them had a chance to come to terms with everything that had happened recently and everything began to return to normal. Normal for them.

It was many weeks later, when Vella got a phone call. It was from Dominic. He had a mission for her.

Vella was going to refuse his request, but the case he spelled out for her had her upset enough to look into it. She wasn't sure what Damon would think and whether he would help her, but she hoped he wouldn't make it more difficult for her.

It took less convincing than she would have thought. She figured he was probably afraid that something would happen to her, but she would never let on that she knew.

"So where are we going?" Damon asked curiously as they began to drive away from the boarding house.

"A small town in North Carolina," she replied.

"North Carolina?" he asked with trepidation.

Vella gripped the steering wheel tightly and turned her head to look at him quickly. "Is that a problem?" she asked suspiciously.

Damon grinned broadly. "No, of course not."

Vella could sense something was bothering him and it irked her that he wouldn't tell her. "You know, North Carolina is a big state," she said offhanded.

Damon looked at her with his eyebrows raised, trying to look innocent. "What's your point?"

Vella sighed. "This is going to be a really long drive."

Damon looked at her funny, but didn't say anything. He was thinking about the last time he travelled to North Carolina. He didn't want Vella to know anything about that trip. He hoped wherever they were going, was far away from that little town.

It took only a few hours to get to their destination, even driving through the town Damon had been hoping they wouldn't stop in. They were only a couple of towns away, which was still way too close for him.

"So what's the plan anyway?" Damon asked her curiously, as they stopped in the parking lot of a little motel.

Vella smiled mischievously. "Well that's why I brought you along." She laughed as he gave her a dirty look.

"So you have no plan?" Damon rolled his eyes. "That's so like you." Vella stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. "So what exactly are we doing here?"

Vella looked at him and frowned. "There have been several dead bodies found in this tiny town. Necks ripped out, drained of blood." Damon looked at her with a furrowed brow. "Most of the people found dead have been tourists or people just passing through town."

Damon looked like he was thinking, before he spoke. "Sounds like someone is trying not to hurt anyone they know."

"That's what I was thinking."

"So where do you want to start?" he asked.

Vella's eyes looked down and unfocused for a moment as she thought. "Well, I was hoping to see if this town had a library. Then I could find out where the attacks happened, get an idea where this vampire might be."

Damon smiled at her. "Great idea. Let me go ask in the motel office."
Vella smiled at him. "Why, what a gentleman you are Damon Salvatore."

"I try," he said sarcastically while bowing, then he smiled and walked towards the motel.

Vella laughed and sat on the hood of her car. She closed her eyes to concentrate. She was hoping to sense something, anything, but it didn't usually work like that. She often wondered if it was because she didn't know what she was doing or for another reason. She tried not to think about that though, it only made her wish her mother was here to help her. Even though it had been nine years now, it still made her heart ache. And ever since she had got in touch with her magic, it hurt more. She found herself thinking about her mother more lately than she had in a few years. She often found herself hiding it from Damon. She wasn't sure why, but she felt silly. She could turn it all off if she wanted to, but that was the strange part, she didn't want to.

While she was lost in thought, Damon appeared beside her, making her start.

"So, what's the word?" she asked.

"Are you up for this?" he asked seriously.

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

Damon looked at her seriously. "You just seem to be lost lately."

"Oh," she said surprised. "It's nothing important."

Damon looked at her even more seriously. "I thought we were done with the secrets. I thought we learned that lesson."

Vella sighed exaggeratedly. "It's stupid or I would talk to you about it."

Damon took her head in his hands, looking deep into her eyes. "Nothing you could ever say or think is stupid enough we can't talk about it. Why won't you let me in?"

Vella looked at him and smiled weakly. "It's nothing bad. We don't have time to talk about it right now though, so I will promise we can talk once our task is done."

Damon studied her face for a moment, before replying. "As long as you give me your promise we will talk about it when this is over." She nodded in agreement. "And, that it's nothing important."

Vella took her index finger and touched Damon's lips gently to quiet him. "I promise."

Damon kissed her finger slowly, moving up to her hand, then biting it gently.

Vella moaned quietly then pulled her hand away, giving him a chastising look. "So what did you find out in the motel?"

Damon stared at her smiling for a moment. "The library is on the main street, near the middle of town. It's not far from here."

Vella nodded. "Let's go."

They drove to the library, which was a tiny red bricked building that sat beside the city hall. It was quiet inside, only the librarian and one woman browsing through the books were there. They headed to the only computer in the library to search through the newspaper articles.

"Look at this," Vella whispered to Damon, pointing to one of the articles. "They were kind enough to release a map of all the attacks." She snorted. "I would guess that whoever is doing this lives, or lived somewhere in the middle of this area here."

Damon studied it carefully, nodding. "At the very least it's a good place to start."

Vella printed out a copy of the article and they got back into their car. They drove just out of town, stopping on a quiet road.

Damon got out of the car and went exploring, while Vella sat on the hood with her eyes closed, trying to sense something, anything.

It was about an hour later when Damon came back to the car. He found Vella on the ground in front of the car. She had spread out a blanket to lay on and she was sound asleep. He sat beside her on the blanket for a moment, watching her sleep. He tapped her gently on the arm to wake her, smiling lovingly. "Wake up sleepy head."

Vella opened her eyes slowly, blinking them a few times before realizing where she was. She sat up quickly, looking at Damon slightly ashamed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Damon smiled, laughing slightly. "I think you've been working too hard."

"Tell me about it. All this magic takes more out of me than you can imagine."

He looked at her concerned. "Well, maybe you need to stop depending on it so much. You got along fine a long time without it."

Vella smiled gratefully. "I'm fine Damon. Try not to worry so much."

Damon stood up quickly and yanked Vella to her feet, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You can't make me not worry about you," he said frowning.

Vella loosened his embrace and looked at him. "Don't be such a worrywart, it's so... Stefanish," she said and chuckled.

Damon chuckled and then gave her a serious look. "Okay, this is me being as unStefanish as I can." Vella laughed as he tried not to look worried. "Just be careful. That's it."

Vella smiled and nodded and kissed his cheek. "Okay... Stefan," she laughed and then ran super fast away from him.

Damon laughed and chased her until he finally caught up to her, tickling her until she flopped on to the grass by the car. They embraced each other and kissed for a few moments, before Damon let her up. "You got grass in your hair," he said grinning.

Vella brushed her fingers through her hair to get the grass out, grinning at Damon. "Okay, we've had enough fun," she said still smiling. "Did you find anything on your expedition?"

He shook his head slightly. "No, nothing of interest. What about you?"

"No, not really," she said and frowned disappointedly. "I guess we wait for nightfall."

Damon and Vella killed some time until nightfall. First they went hunting, they knew they would need their strength. Then they found a quieter road to park the car in the long grass so no one would come to investigate it while they were away.

When it began to get dark, they both went separate ways to keep an eye out for trouble, keeping their cell phones on to contact each other.

Vella was walking by a quiet little farmhouse, when she sensed another vampire. She knew this wasn't Damon, so she did her best to hide behind some trees and keep as quiet as possible. She wasn't there long before she saw a young man walking towards the farmhouse. She quickly texted Damon, letting him know where she was and then sneaked around the side of the house. She heard the front door open and close, so she walked back around to the front of the house and squatted under an open window. She was listening to what was going on when Damon came up behind her silently.

"What's going on?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"You're not going to believe this," she said, but then stopped. "I hear someone else in there. If she's human there's no way we are getting into this house."

Damon looked at her strangely. "We need to get him out here then."

Vella nodded, biting her lip. "You go to the side of the house and cause a distraction. I will get him as soon as he leaves the house."

Damon nodded in agreement and walked around the side of the house. A minute later, there was a loud bang, which sent the man running out of the house. The man had only gotten a few yards away from the house before he went down on the ground, gripping his head in pain.

Vella walked up to the vampire, staring at him while he was writhing on the ground in pain. Damon ran back from the other side of the house and squatted beside the vampire, holding a stake above him. Vella stopped the spell she was casting and Damon looked at him angrily. "Don't move," he warned.

A woman came running out from the house yelling, "Leave him alone!" and ran up to Damon, jumping on his back.

Damon dropped his stake in surprise as he struggled to grab the woman off his back without hurting her. In the confusion, the vampire got up from the ground, growling and hissing and leapt at Vella. She didn't have much time to think as she grappled with the vampire. She managed to get the upper hand, grabbing his arm and throwing him to the ground. She jumped on him, straddling his body with a wooden stake over his heart.

"Don't give me an excuse to use this," she said while breathing heavily.

The vampire stared at her with an expression of fear, unmoving.

Damon was holding the woman by her upper arm. She was crying and screaming uncontrollably. "Please don't hurt him, please don't hurt him." He yanked her to face him, compelling her to relax. She complied, relaxing, standing still and quiet.

Vella looked at the vampire seriously as she spoke. "I'm going to get off you, but don't move. If Damon doesn't stop you, I will." He nodded his head in agreement and Vella stood up over top of him. "Stand up," she ordered him.

The vampire stood up, looking fearful. "I don't understand what you are doing," he stated.

Damon laughed dryly and walked over to the vampire. "You know, I should rip your heart out for attacking Vella."

"Damon," Vella said calmly, lifting up her hand to stop him. "What is your name?" she asked, facing the vampire.

"It's Ron."

"Well Ron," she said. "How long have you been a vampire?"

Ron looked at her and then looked down. "A few weeks."

"So were you the one killing the tourists?"

Ron kept his head down and spoke softly. "Yes."

Vella sighed and looked at Damon. "What are we going to do with him?"

Ron's head shot up as he stared at Vella. "What do you mean, do with me?" At the same time, the woman began to shake violently.

"What did you do to her?" Ron yelled at Damon.

Damon rolled his eyes and looked at the woman. "You can speak again, but don't try anything funny," he said, compelling her.

The woman gave Damon a hopeless look. "You can't hurt him. Please?" she begged.

Vella gave the woman a look that seemed to shut her up. She then looked at Ron, who was watching the woman with a worried look. "I want to know how you became a vampire. Tell me everything and then we can talk about what happens next."

Ron nodded. "It happened almost three weeks ago. I was driving back from Raleigh when I was hit head on by a car. I don't really know what happened until I woke up as a vampire. I only know what my wife, Helen told me." He looked over at the woman Damon was standing beside.
Vella looked Helen. "What do you know?"

Silent tears started to roll down Helen's face as she began to speak. "When I got the call about the accident, I drove to Raleigh. He wasn't doing well. The doctors told me he would probably die. I didn't know what to do," she sobbed for a minute before continuing. "A doctor came up to me. He said he had a miracle cure. I was too upset to think about it, so I let him do what he wanted to."

"What did he do?" Vella interrupted.

"He made me stand outside, but I watched through the window. He pulled out a syringe from his pocket. I don't know what it was but it was filled with a red liquid. He injected it into Ron's IV and then came back out to see me. It was then the heart monitor went crazy and nurses and doctors went flying into the room. When they came back out, they told me he was dead," she let out a heavy sob. "I couldn't find the doctor who injected him. I didn't even know his name."

Vella looked over at Damon shaking her head and then looked back to Helen. "What happened afterwards?"

Helen took a deep breath. "I came back home. The hospital said they would send his body back here. Then I got the call."

"A call?"

"Yes. I was told that Ron's body went missing while it was being transported," she sniffeled a few times. "A few days later, Ron showed up on my doorstep acting all weird."

"Okay, so tell me what you know about this doctor," Vella asked.

"Not much. A woman at the hospital told me he was a miracle worker. That he had injected her husband and his wounds healed right in front of her eyes. That's why I agreed to his help."

"Will you two excuse us a second?" she asked Helen and Ron. She walked over to Damon holding her fingers to her lips, then closed her eyes for a few seconds. "Okay, not sure how long the spell will work, but he won't hear us."

Damon looked at her strangely. "I've never heard of something like this before."
Vella shook her head. "Me either. Question is, is this a vampire doing this or a human?"

"It would have to be a vampire," Damon said. "How could it be a human?"

"I don't know Damon, but we need to find that out. If someone is making money trying to heal people and accidentally making vampires if they die before they can heal, that's a real huge problem."

"What about them?" Damon asked, looking at Helen and Ron.

"What if I ask you to do something crazy?"

"Because I have never done anything crazy, right?" Damon replied smirking.

"Right, right. You practically invented crazy, didn't you?" Vella said teasingly.

Damon rolled his eyes and laughed. "You know I would do anything for you."

Vella smiled at him mischieviously. "We will see," she said and walked back over to the couple. She looked at Ron as she spoke. "I can't have you killing people. So I'm going to do something to help you."
Ron looked at her confused and so did Damon.

"Me and Damon are going to stay here for a few days. Teach you how to live without killing." Damon gave her a dirty look, but didn't say anything. "If you want me to, that is."

Ron looked at her apprehensively. "What happens if I don't want help?"

"Then I'm afraid I will have no other choice but to kill you."

Ron looked at Helen and nodded. "I'll do it."

The next few days, Vella and Damon did what they could to help Ron with his new life. He was very eager to learn, so it didn't take much effort on either of their parts. Ron was so in love with his wife, he wanted to do anything to be with her and she felt the same.

On the fifth day, Ron approached Vella about turning his wife.

Vella looked at him with a frown. "I can't tell you what to do Ron, but this isn't a life I would wish on anyone."

"But you don't understand," he pleaded. "I can't live without her."
"I do understand. More than you know," she glanced at Damon. "But do you love her enough to let her live a normal life? Even if it means you live beyond her?"

Ron looked at her sadly. "I don't know."

Vella looked at him supportively. "Give it some time. Then you can make a decision."

He shook his head agreeably. "But how is it done?"

"I will tell you tomorrow before we leave."

When it was time to leave the next day, Vella kept her promise and told Ron how to change someone into a vampire. Damon didn't approve but she thought it was better that Ron know how, than to try and attempt it on his own and kill his wife. Before they walked out, they warned him about killing. If anyone else was killed they would have to come back and kill him, but Vella had a good feeling about him. It wasn't until they were in the car that Damon was finally able to speak his mind.

"You know, I never realized how crazy you are," Damon said seriously.

Vella shook her head, smiling. "I'm not crazy, I just believe in love."

Damon rolled his eyes and snorted. "Love."

Vella rolled her eyes and smiled. She was silently laughing at him. She knew he was much more soft hearted than he let on.

They drove for awhile before Damon spoke again. "What are we doing?"

"Huh?"

"About the doctor," he replied. "We are going to do something about that, aren't we?"

Vella pursed her lips. "Not we, Damon. Me."

He opened his mouth to protest, but changed his mind. He would wait until they got home to discuss it.

A/N: I wanted to post this quickly so I only proof read it once. Hopefully I didn't mess it up too badly lol. I know how the next chapter is supposed to go, so hopefully I will get it done quickly. Let me know what you think, please. I wasn't really pleased with this one.

Thanks for reading!