A/N: I've had a Twilight plot bunny in my head for weeks. I decided to start that story in the hopes it would leave me alone enough to work on this more! It's a Paul/OC fic, so check it out if you're into Twilight and the wolves.
I don't anything you recognise, only my OCs.
All mistakes are my own. I don't have a beta, and my proof reading is sometimes non existent!
August 25th, 2010
The last few weeks have been suspiciously quiet. Jeremy and Matt have suddenly started hanging around together, which is not something they've ever done before. It has me concerned.
There have been no new leads on Stefan or Klaus, which has annoyed Elena. She doesn't think we're doing enough to get him back.
I'm now 23 weeks pregnant and my bump is growing. I've been feeling movements for a few weeks now, but they're not strong enough for Damon to feel from the outside yet. Every time baby is moving he puts his hand on my tummy to try and feel him, and when he can't he gives me his sexy pout. That usually results in me dragging him to the bedroom, not that he's complaining.
It's evening and we're curled up on the sofa in the library watching a movie. Damon has a whiskey in hand (of course) and I've got a blood bag. This pregnancy is definitely making me want blood more than usual.
We're quietly watching the movie when Damon's phone rings. He answers and then mouths 'Katherine' at me. I hear the conversation with my enhanced hearing.
"You're interrupting my drink." Damon says.
"You miss me?"
"Katherine. Where are you?"
"Lurking outside your window, pining away."
Damon rolls his eyes. "What do you want?"
"I'm homesick. What have I missed?"
"Well, Stefan's still Klaus' little prisoner and Elena still thinks she can save him and no one's thought about you since you left." Damon says, whilst I stifle a giggle.
"And what about you? You've given up on your brother."
"I didn't give up on him. I just don't know where he is."
Katherine hums down the line. I cock an eyebrow at Damon.
"But you do. Are you trailing them?" He continues.
"A hybrid who wants me dead and his sidekick who's off the rails? I couldn't be further away."
"Which means you know exactly where they are."
"All I know is that Klaus pitched a fit once his hybrids didn't work. Now he's looking for some answers."
"How do you know that?"
"Spend 500 years running, and there will be a few people along the way that are looking out for you."
"Is that what you're doing? Looking out for my brother?" Damon asks.
"Maybe, maybe not. I'm conflicted."
I roll my eyes. I doubt Katherine is looking out for anyone except herself.
"Where are they?" Damon asks.
I hear Katherine sigh down the line.
"Windy City."
"Chicago." Damon says before hanging up with even saying anything else. I smirk.
"I take it we're going to Chicago then?" I ask.
Damon looks at me, obviously torn. I can understand. Our bond doesn't want us to be apart and it will be uncomfortable, but he also wants us safe, so would rather us not go near Klaus.
"Ermm..." He starts. I interrupt him.
"I know you don't want us near Klaus, but you also know it will be hard for us both if I'm here and you're in Chicago. That will stress me out, Scarlett will pick up on it and it won't be good for our little boy either."
"I know, I just need to keep you and the kids safe." He replies.
"You can do that by us coming to Chicago. Scarlett and I will stay in a hotel or go shopping or sightseeing or something whilst you track down Stefan. That way I'm not too far away for it to hurt us, but I'm not in danger either." I explain.
Damon let out a small huff. "That would work I guess."
"Good. I'll get packing." I replied.
"Do you think we should take your sister?" He asks.
I think for a few seconds. "I guess so. She might be able to convince Stefan to come back if you can't. I'll call her."
"I'll help you pack." He says, and we head upstairs.
August 26th, 2010, Chicago, Illinois
We arrive in Chicago in the afternoon. We head to a hotel where Damon gets a suite with two bedrooms, one for Elena, and one for him, me and Scarlett. Once we're settled he gets ready to leave with Elena.
"Stay here. Please." He begs me. He's really worried that Klaus may do something if he sees me.
"I will. Stay safe. Please." I say.
"I love you." He says, kissing me soundly.
"I love you too." I reply.
He kisses Scarlett and I hug Elena goodbye before they head out of the door.
I sigh and go to play with Scarlett on the floor for a while before ordering room service for dinner. Once we've eaten I put Scarlett to bed and try to watch a movie but I can't settle - I'm too worried about Damon and Elena getting hurt.
A couple of hours later and I finally hear the door to the suite open. I bolt up from the couch and fly into Damon's arms. He wraps his arms around me tightly and kisses my head.
"You're both safe." I say in relief. I notice Elena has been crying.
"What happened?" I ask.
They go on to explain how Damon took Elena to Stefan's apartment and left her there whilst he went looking for Stefan and Klaus.
Damon exlains how he showed her the list of Stefan's victims. How he found out they would be at Gloria's bar later, and how Stefan and Klaus nearly found Elena.
He explains how they went to the bar and Damon distracted Klaus whilst Elena talked to Stefan.
Stefan told her that he doesn't want to come home and she needs to let him go. Klaus attacked Damon, but Gloria stopped him. They came home.
I hug Damon tighter and cry.
"Hey. I'm okay." He says to me, rubbing my back.
"But he could have killed you." I cry.
"You're more bothered about Damon than you are about Stefan saying he doesn't want to come home." Elena whines.
"Of course I am! It's Stefan's choice not to come home. I could have lost my husband!" I yell in response. "You need to let him go and move on Elena!"
She storms off in response. I let out a sigh.
Damon carries me to the bedroom and we get settled in bed. It isn't long before we fall asleep, ready to head home tomorrow.
August 28th, 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia
We arrived back in Mystic Falls last night. I'm worried Elena will fall into some kind of depression following Stefan's rejection.
Today there is a party at the Lockwood's, and I agreed to help Elena make a chilli to take. Once the three of us are ready we head over to the Gilbert house, where I leave Damon to look after Scarlett and Elena and I make the chilli.
"I just don't know why you want to bring chilli to a potluck. Everybody brings chilli." Damon says as he sits on the floor playing with Scarlett. "Show up, there's going to be nine other people that brought chilli."
I know he's trying to make Elena feel better. I can feel his mischievousness through our bond.
"It's an old family recipe, okay?" Elena tells him.
"Yeah! I know. I knew your old family. They made sucky chilli." Damon replies.
I laugh at him and he cocks an eyebrow at me.
"Showing your age there." I say with a wink.
"Forever 25. You love it." He replies smirking. I chuckle and roll my eyes at my husband.
"You don't have to do this. I'm not going to break. I am just going to keep making chilli, pretend like I didn't just spend the entire summer looking for someone who didn't want to be found." Elena says. I roll my eyes again.
"She's in denial." Damon says to me.
"I agree." I reply.
"I'm not in denial." Elena exclaims.
"Aren't you?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"You're still wearing that necklace. Isn't that the reminder of your unbreakable bond with Stefan?" Damon asks as Scarlett crawls into his lap.
He stands up with Scarlett in his arms and she rests her head against his chest.
"Nap time" I say. Damon nods.
"I'll go put her in your old room." He says before coming over to me. I kiss Scarlett and Damon kisses me before he heads upstairs.
The doorbell rings and Elena goes to answer it. I hear Caroline's voice say that she cones bearing gifts.
"Please say that's not chilli..." Elena begs. I chuckle lightly. "Bonnie!"
"I'm back!" Bonnie says. "I leave town for the summer and everything goes to hell for the both of you."
I know why she is saying that. Caroline was tortured by her own father, and Stefan is obviously still off with Klaus.
I hear Jeremy come down the stairs.
"Bonnie!" He calls.
"Jeremy." Bonnie replies. I then hear Bonnie moving and kissing. I knew something was going on with them before the summer started.
I hear Damon coming down the stairs.
"Bon-bon, blondie." Damon says.
"Hi Damon." Caroline says.
"Hi Damon. Where is Immy?" Bonnie asks.
"Kitchen." Elena replies. I hear Bonnie moving and then I'm wrapped in her arms.
"Bonnie! I missed you!" I say.
"I missed you too." She replies. "Look at this bump now!"
"I know, 23 weeks now." I say with a smile.
Everyone comes into the kitchen then. Damon and Jeremy sit at the table, and I sit in his lap whilst Elena, Bonnie and Caroline finish the chilli for the potluck.
"The problem with my dad's normal side of the family is normal made for a really boring summer." Bonnie says.
"After the last few days, I would kill for a normal family." Caroline says, helping Elena put the chilli into a pot to take to the Lockwood's.
"Since when did you learn how to cook?" Caroline asks Elena.
"Imogen helped." Elena says, glancing over at me in Damon's lap.
"You Imogen did most of it?" Bonnie says with a chuckle, winking at me.
"Something like that...ow!" Elena says, crying out in pain.
"Ahh! Did I splash you?" Caroline asks.
"No, no, my necklace." Elena says, pulling it away frim her skin to reveal a burn mark. I stand up and walk over to her. "It burned me."
"Take it off." I tell her. She does as I asked and holds it up by the chain.
"Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't be wearing it." Caroline says. I roll my eyes.
"Caroline..." Bonnie sighs.
"What, I'm just saying. If you're going to be moving in with your life without Stefan." She replies.
"I can feel the magic coming from it." I say. Damon comes up behind me and wraps an arm round my waist to rest on my bump.
"Don't touch it, it could hurt you." He says in my ear. I roll my eyes at his over protectiveness.
"Let me see it." Bonnie says, taking it from Elena.
She looks at the necklace but when she touches the pendant there's a zap and sparks fly out of it, making her drop it. We all look at each other in shock.
Elena picks it back up and puts it in her pocket.
"Come on, we'll look at that again later. Let's go before we're late." She says.
"Damon and I will catch you up. We'll wait for Scarlett to wake up then head over." I say.
We say our goodbyes and everyone leaves. Damon wraps me in his arms and we settle on the sofa to watch some TV and wait for Scarlett to wake up.
An hour later Scarlett wakes up and we head to the Lockwood's.
We arrive to find the lawns of the mansion are filled with people sitting at tables.
"You know these things are just cover for council meetings, don't you?" Damon says, kissing my temple.
"I do." I reply. "But no one turns down a founder's party."
Damon chuckles and we wander through the tables to find the others. Eventually we find them sitting at a table and join them. They are talking about Elena's necklace again.
"I have an identification spell that might be able to tell me what magic affected the necklace." Bonnie says. Elena gives her the necklace. "It's going to take a while, so tell me if anyone's coming, okay?" We all nod and she starts her spell.
We are talking amongst ourself and playing with Scarlett when Bonnie calls our attention.
"Hey guys." She calls out. We look to see the necklace floating in the air by itself.
"What are you doing?" Caroline asks.
"I'm not doing anything. It has its own magic." Bonnie replies. We all look at each other.
"I said I could feel the magic coming from it." I say with a shrug.
"I'm going to see what I find out about this." Bonnie says, getting up.
"I'll come with you." Jeremy says, and they leave together.
"Did Stefan ever tell you where he got the necklace?" Caroline asks Elena.
"No. And I never asked. Hopefully Bonnie will be able to figure it out." Elena replies.
"Do you know where he got it?" I ask Damon.
"Nope." He replies, shaking his head.
Sheriff Forbes comes over and whispers to Damon that it's time for the council meeting. He hands Scarlett to me.
"I'll be back soon." He says, kissing me tenderly.
"Love you." I reply. He winks in response and heads to the meeting.
Ric comes over and we carry on chatting until suddenly Caroline looks really upset.
"What is it?" Elena asks her.
"It's my dad." Caroline replies. We all look around and see Bill Forbes nearby.
"Why would he even show up here?" Elena asks.
"I don't know. But I can't..." Caroline stutters out.
"I get it. I'll call you later." Elena says.
Caroline gets up and disappears into the house, no doubt looking for Tyler.
"Okay, what was that all about?" Ric asks.
"Her Dad tortured her. Thought he vould torture the Vampire out of her." I say sadly.
Ric gapes at me in shock.
"He did what? To his Daughter?" Ric exclaims. I nod in response.
"That's disgusting." Ric says.
We spend the next while talking and entertaining Scarlett before Damon makes an appearance.
"Houston, we have a problem." Damon says, kissing my head.
"Where have you been?" Elena asks.
"Managing Bill Forbes. Apparently he's impervious to compulsion." Damon replies.
"How?" Ric asks.
"I have no idea. But he threatened to out me. Don't get me started on the irony of that." Damon retorts. I chuckle a little at him and he rolls his eyes at me.
"What did you do to him? How do you know the compulsion doesn't work?" Elena asks.
"That's not the most important piece of information I mentioned, Elena." Damon snaps.
"What does he want?" Ric asks.
"He wants to control the council. Says it's been compromised." Damon explains.
"It has!" Ric says.
"He wants to put vervain in the town's water supply." Damon adds.
"Maybe it's not a bad idea. I mean, it'll help you keep yourself in control now that Stefan's not here to..." Elena says.
"To what? To keep me in check? Make me behave? I should have killed him instead of compelling him." Damon says.
"You think it's Stefan that keeps him in check? Seriously? Are you forgetting I'm his soulmate? Stefan is the one who needs keeping in check if he so much as snifs human blood." I rant at Elena.
"He's Caroline's dad!" Elena exclaims.
"Damon" I say, placing a hand on his arm.
He stares me in the eyes for several long moments.
"I won't kill him but we need to do something." Damon says.
"I get it. Not only is he threatening us, but he tortured his own Daughter." I say.
"So what do we do?" Elena asks.
"We need to get him to understand that not all vampires are bad. Make him understand like Liz and Carol do." I say.
"We'll work something out. I feel how tired you are. Time to get home." Damon says. I nod and we head to the car with Scarlett.
We get home and settle Scarlett into bed. I curl up on one of the couches in the parlour whilst Damon pours himself a drink.
There is a knock at the door, which Damon goes to answer.
"Katherine. Wonderful. What do you want?" Damon groans, banging his head against the door.
"I'm just a girl looking for a partner in crime. Feel like hitting the road? Getting the hell out of dodge?" Katherine says. I climb off the couch and join them at the door. Damon wraps an arm around my waist.
"I don't think so. I have better things to stay here for." He replies. Katherine notices my bump.
"You're getting quite a bump aren't you?" She says.
"Yes. Did you think I ate a watermelon whole or something?" I say, rolling my eyes.
Katherine chuckles. "I like you. You're much better than your dull as dishwater sister."
"Erm. Thanks I guess." I reply.
"So why do you need a roadtrip partner?" Damon asks.
Katherine holds up Elena's necklace.
"This needs to not be here right now." She replies.
"Why?" Damon asks.
"Klaus is looking for it. His hybrids aren't working and he needs to contact the original witch to find out why. I don't think I need to explain why that is a bad idea in more ways than one." Katherine explains. It's my turn to bang my head on the door.
"Great. Just great." I say.
"I'll get it out of here. And I might have a way to get rid of Klaus." She says.
"How?" I ask. "He's my Uncle but I'm not sure I particularly like him."
"Ahh, I forget you're part of the original family. You're so... normal." Katherine. I snort in response.
"Thanks, I think." I say with a small frown.
"I'll go now. Klaus will be in Mystic Falls. Keep yourselves safe. Those kids need both parents." Katherine says before disappearing at vamp speed.
Damon closes the door and we head back to the parlour and settle back on the couch.
"That was interesting." I say.
"Hmmm." Damon hums, with a frown. "It's almost like she cares."
"I think she does, in her own way. Her Daughter was torn away from her and she never even got to hold her. I can understand why she would be concerned about our kids. Plus I sense she means it." I say.
"I still take anything she says with a pinch of salt." Damon says.
"I get that too. Let's just enjoy our evening together." I say, leaning up to kiss him. It doesn't take long before he picks me up and takes me to our bedroom.