"Are you okay?" Emily asks, mad with concern. Her hand was on his cheek and the other beneath his arm. Damon weakly nods.

"Fine," he says.

He rises to his feet groaning, and she helps him up.

He takes a minute to catch his breath, so does she.

When she starts calming down, she begins to realize how worked up she was,

and why.

"You fucking idiot," she utters. Damon faces her perplexedly. Upon acknowledging it was meant for him, he tilts his head.

"Guess I deserve that," he says.

"No. No," she frowns deeply at him, tears glistering in her eyes. "You hurt people…You kill people," she says in what seemed like a mixture of disgust and disappointment, shaking her head in the process. Damon frowns too. Her eyes light up in sudden realization. "You didn't care whether or not you getting what you wanted means hurting others. All those vampires you were gonna let loose, and still would!" her voice escalates in frustration. "I should've let him kill you!" she cries, tears freely streaming down her cheeks.

Damon feels his heart pounding at her harsh words. He glares heatedly at her, more hurt than angry. He suddenly bends down and pulls her stake out of her boot.

Her eyes widen. He forces it into her hand and closes her fingers around it,

then brings the edge to his chest.

Her bewildered, glossy eyes lock with his.

"Do it," he says, only half-serious. "This is what you want, right? I'm the center of your problems, so do it. Get rid of me," he calmly tells.

She's breathing heavily, her mind and heart just as heavy.

A part of her felt she should.

The chance was right there…

And though so much could go wrong,

she really felt like she should…

but…

she might have been drunk when she said it,

but everything she thought about him, and confessed as they were dancing, was true…

and everything she was sober enough to tell Lee…

was true…

"I can," she strictly tells, refusing to show weakness, as he seemed to be daring her, despite her shaking hands, her racing heart, her dripping tears.

Oh, he knew she could.

…He also knew she couldn't…

"But I don't want to," she retracted her hand, causing Damon's tension to somewhat unwind. She then ripped her gaze from his and looked to the side, trying to convince herself of her decision.

What came over him?

What drove him to it?

These were thoughts neither considered,

as he pulled her into him,

…and kissed her…

It was sudden,

swift,

unexpected,

yet,

somehow,

it was as though they'd both been waiting for it…

That's what it felt like,

relief.

They kissed heatedly, in a frenzy of passion.

The stake dropped to the ground.

Her hands held his face.

His were on her back, pushing her against him.

Their lips were locked firmly.

…And it was either the lack of air,

or the sudden realization of what they were doing,

that had them finally pulling apart.

XXX

The car ride back to Mystic Falls is anything but comfortable.

There was a heavy tension in the air between the two, a confused one, a reluctant one, a semi-regretful one.

There was a single thought on each of their minds; they both knew what the other was thinking,

but that didn't help.

What would they say?

What could be said?

One question. The only question that mattered. Who would say it first?

She was about to, but refrained, every time she looked at him.

He noticed, every time she did,

could almost hear her question.

They were still an hour or so from town, and for this back and forth to persist any longer would surely drive him crazy.

"Fine. I'll talk," he started. Emily faced him with great interest. "I don't know why I kissed you, Emily. Cause I wanted to. There. End of discussion." Emily eyes him for another minute as she considered what he'd said, and somehow felt indifferent to it.

She was fixed more on the fact that he didn't know, and attempted to figure it out herself.

Cause she saved him. Cause she's nice to him? She didn't think she was.

Her mind whirled back to one topic. Katherine.

"I'm not…the type to fool around, Damon…You're not over Katherine, and I don't know if you ever will be…So…just…Lets not…do that again," she weirdly explains. It actually hurt to say it, like she herself refused the idea,

of not kissing him again.

She knew it was cliché,

but, kissing him,

truly felt…

magical…

He processes her words, and accepts them. "Not like you seemed very much against it at the time," he smirked teasingly.

"Oh, shut up," she waved her hand and faced the window. He lightly chuckled.

Another moment of silence passed as Damon remembered what had happened before they left.

He went to Bree, whom he suspected was behind his attack.

Betrayal…

One of the things he couldn't stand.

Stood opposite her, he debated ending her,

then she blabbered out that there was indeed another way to open the tomb underneath the church.

Funny, because, earlier, when he'd asked her, she said there wasn't.

She told him that there may be a way through Emily Bennet's Grimoire.

He asked her where it was.

She couldn't answer, cause she didn't know.

…He killed her.

…Now, he vowed to open the tomb, if it was the last thing he did…

…but…

He glanced at the woman to his side,

and felt the smallest hint of reluctance.

He couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I'm going to open that tomb, Emily," he said out of the blue. She faced him again, confused, and about to ask 'what tomb.' "I'm getting her back." It was obvious then who, what he was talking about.

Her gaze faltered.

"But…I'll make sure you don't get killed in the process," he smirks with little humor.

Somehow, Emily doesn't believe he could promise that,

but for him to even bother,

it moved something in her.

"…Don't kill me for saying it, Damon…But she's not worth it," Emily carefully says. Damon's expression twists angrily.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he strictly says.

"Maybe…But…I guess I'm trying to say that…you deserve someone…who chooses you, you know? Just you…" she tries. Damon inhales from sudden heavy tension.

"Someone like you," he quietly, tiredly mocks, refusing eye-contact. Her heart jumps at the suggestion, but she wouldn't let her point falter.

"No…Cause I'd want you to choose me too," she logically, softly, gave.

He grew silent.

She was satisfied he wasn't arguing back; it meant he was thinking,

but, even though she hoped he'd listen, she also knew that, a hundred or so years of love,

don't just fade away.

XXX

"I don't set a lot of rules, Emily," says Jenna the minute Emily walks into the door. Emily was taken off guard as she shut the door behind her, brows furrowing.

"Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth," she rises from the couch, approaching the older Gilbert. "I got a call, about the car." Emily's eyes widen in realization. "What happened? Where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that."

Wow.

Emily certainly didn't take this conversation into consideration.

She stood quiet for a moment, before her tense posture slumped and she realized she'd have to be honest,

to a point.

"Okay. I'll explain," she says, peeling off her bag and heading for the couch. She slumps down with leg beneath her thigh, and Jenna followed suit, sitting opposite her expectantly, and angrily. "…There was a guy…on the road…He came out of nowhere," Jenna's brows furrowed worriedly. "I tried to get past him, but the car flipped, and crashed." Jenna looked profusely concerned. "…I was hanging upside down, and my belt wouldn't open…I was freaking out, when Damon showed up," she explained, all the while heartedly trying to remember details, and when to exclude them.

"Damon Salvatore?" Jenna asked for confirmation.

"Yeah…He helped me out, and I think I passed out…" she was reluctant to explain what came next, but she was also starting to grasp at a string of a good excuse. "When I woke up, I was in his car." Jenna's eyes widen warily. "Turns out, he was on his way to a friend out of town, and he took me with him, after making sure I was okay," Emily states as though it was no big deal.

"He kidnapped you?!" Jenna suddenly exclaims. Emily's brows raise.

"What? No!" she sighs. "Damon. He's like that. Spontaneous. He thought it would be…fun," Emily weirdly tries to explain, suddenly wondering why indeed had he taken her along.

"Fun?! You were in an accident. Why didn't he take you home, or call an ambulance?!"

"I was fine! And…Look, see, this is why I didn't tell you, cause I knew you'd worry the whole time till I was back, even though there was nothing to worry about. Damon's harmless."

She almost laughed out immediately after saying that.

Damon? Harmless? Right.

"Yeah. Right," Jenna sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose with her elbow on the back of the couch. "This is not okay, Em."

"I know. I know…I promise it won't happen again," she assures, despite being highly uncertain of that. Jenna sighs again, then faces the Gilbert.

"I'd be more mad at you…but I need your help," she says.

Emily's brows furrow…

XXX

"Elena. It's me. Open up," Emily tells, knocking thrice on her sister's bedroom door.

"Hey," Emily looks to see Jeremy by his door. "You're back. Where were you?" he asks.

"Hey," she smiles. "I'll explain everything. Just need to pry Elena out of her room."

"What's going on?" he asks perplexedly.

Apparently, Jeremy wasn't informed.

"I'll tell you later," she says. Just then, the door opens, and Elena is opposite her sister with a plain expression, despite having bags beneath her eyes. "Hey," Emily looks to her softly. Elena makes way for her to enter, while Jenna watched from the bottom of the stairs warily. Jeremy's face pulls a confused look, but he resides back into his room as Emily enters her sister's and shuts the door behind them.

XXX

"Where have you been, Emily? Do you have any idea what I spent the whole day doing?!" Elena says the minute Emily closes the door. "I had to go to Stefan, after I…" she pauses, and her angry gaze falters for a minute. "and then we went to Bonnie, and, that went to shit," she places a hand on her forehead tiredly. Emily smiles softly at her.

"Okay," she starts. "One thing at a time," she makes way to her sister's bed. Elena still stands. "From the beginning."

"You first," Elena pushed with an irritated tone.

"Okay," Emily says as she knelt over and removed her boots, revealing her ankle-braclete, and her stake, which she placed on the bedside table. She sighs, recalling then the exact events that had taken place. "I was coming to pick you up after-Oh! Oh my god!" she suddenly exclaims. Elena's eyes widen. Emily faces her with a bewildered look. "You said you look like Katherine. Oh my god. How did that slip my mind?!" Elena eases up.

"It's fine. Just…what happened when you came to find me?" she asks, sitting at the edge beside her sister. Emily takes a minute to bypass the incredibly important point as she began to piece one and one, with what Jenna said about Elena finding out

that she was adopted.

"Okay, uhhh, there was a guy on the road. A vampire," Elena's eyes widen. "I hit him, I think, but…he healed," Emily grimaces at the mad memory, "and got up, and started coming at me, when Damon showed up. He helped me out of the car, it had turned over, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was with him in his car, and we were headed to Georgia-"

"Georgia?!" Elena exclaims.

"Yeah. Anyways," Emily gets up and opens the door to the bathroom joined between Elena and Jeremy's rooms. She rolls up her sleeves and starts washing up. "He was headed to see a friend, this woman," Emily's nose cringes in disgust,

or jealousy.

"We ate, then, uhhh…"

"What?" Elena pushed. Emily was reluctant to tell her about all that came after, the getting drunk, the dancing, Lexi's boyfriend…

…the kiss…

She turned off the tap and wiped her hands and face in a towel. "Then we drove back," she lied through the fabric.

Details weren't that important.

She faces her sister. "Your turn," she says. Elena gets the slight feeling her sister wasn't being entirely truthful, but there was so much on her mind, she had to tell somebody. Elena followed her sister back into her room, and they closed the bathroom door to insure privacy.

"When you didn't show up, I walked home," Emily feels a pang of guilt for that. "I left when I saw…the picture."

"Yeah. What picture?" Emily pushed as she grabbed a hair tie from Elena's dressing table and pulled back her hair.

"A picture…of Katherine…It looked…old…Really old, like back when he told us the story..." Emily's brows were furrowed as she listened and made her way back to the bed; Elena did the same. "I went home, and you weren't there. Then you send that text, and I tried to call, but you wouldn't pick up."

"Yeah. Damon sent the text. He didn't answer cause," she chuckles lightly, "he thinks you don't like him, and that you would've freaked out."

"I don't like him. Why did he take you to Georgia?!"

"He was going to see someone."

"Yeah, but why did he take you?"

"I don't know. Damon's…weird," Emily brushes off.

"Yeah, or he likes you," Elena immediately guesses.

"Ha!" Emily laughs in mock,

but quickly frowns upon recalling the kiss…

her stomach churned in sorrow.

"Yeah. No. He's…in love with Katherine," she states, refusing eye contact. Elena notices the disappointment in her sister's eyes.

"…Emily, it's for the best. He's not a good person."

"That's not true," Emily quickly refuses. Elena furrows her brows at her. "Look, forget it. Go on. You got the text, and then went to Bonnie why?" Elena doesn't push.

"Right…I went to Stefan first, despite the fact that, at the time, I couldn't stand to look at him," she grimaces. Emily frowns. "I was worried that it might be vampire-related; you're not the type of person to just disappear…I guess I was right," a flash of grand concern appears in Elena's eyes. She tries to push past recalling how scared she was when Emily hadn't shown up. They were a chaotic few hours till she'd finally heard her voice on the phone. "Anyways. Even after you called me, me and Stefan went to find Bonnie. Stefan said she could do a locater spell to find you, cause we didn't trust Damon to keep you safe." That wasn't entirely true…Stefan knew he wouldn't her hurt, he only humored Elena for the chance of talking her through the deal with Katherine. "She was having trouble with her magic, and all day we tried to fix that, while Stefan explained to me…why I looked like Katherine…" Elena grows silent for a moment of discomfort. Emily patiently waits. "He told me that, he'd come back to Mystic Falls one time to see Zach…and he saw me…he stayed to make sure I wasn't her, and when he did…he said he couldn't leave without getting to know me…He was there when the accident happened…he's the reason I didn't drown with mom and dad." Emily's eyes widen at that. Tears start welling up in Elena's eyes. "He said he tried to figure out why I looked like Katherine…and he found out I was adopted…" she can't hold it in any more…

she cries heavily.

Emily quickly scoots forward and brings her sister into her arms. "I just can't believe it! How?! Why?! It…It feels like my whole life is a lie, Emily! I'm-I'm not even your sister!" she exclaims, pulling back. Emily fixes her gaze on her sternly.

"I don't wanna hear that kind of crap, Elena. Of course you're my sister. You've been my sister for the past seventeen years, and you'll stay that way. Do you understand?" Elena eyes her painfully. "I don't care about some stupid blood-tie…I'll always be here for you, do you hear me?" Emily takes on a softer tone. The hurt on her sister's face was a horrifying sight, but she felt some relief when Elena threw herself back into her arms,

insuring that nothing had changed between them…

XXXXX