Kudos to my beta! My story would be dead in a ditch it it wasn't for her! xx

Previously on Everything Changes…

Damon convulsed on the cold floor, his palms covering his ears.

As if that would help.

John slowly pulled a syringe out of his pocket and handed it to Ezra.

"I'll let you do the honors," he murmured.

Ezra nodded, taking the syringe and sticking into the back of Damon's neck.

~0~

Anna and Jeremy, still in the Grill's restrooms, were talking about what had been going on when Anna fell.

She started screaming like the others, grabbing her head while simultaneously trying to block out the noise.

"Anna? What's wrong?" Jeremy took the girl into his arms. "Anna!"

She crumpled to the floor, sliding out of his grasp.

"Please, make it stop!"

~0~

The device was a success. Any and all vampires were incapacitated.

The tomb vampire's leader fell as one of the deputies injected him with vervain and drug him towards the Gilbert's building. Elena crouched over Stefan as he screamed in pain. Jeremy held Anna as she sobbed.

As Ezra peeked out the blinds, he couldn't help but to smile.

Third Person POV

Stefan lay on the floor, still quietly groaning as the device took its toll.

"Got one," a voice said and Elena whirled around to see a deputy approaching them.

Eyes widening she moved to shield Stefan from the vervain needle.

"Hey, I got this one!" Alaric called to the deputy. "There's one over there. Take this," he handed him a stake and a syringe. "Go! Go! Go!"

Once the deputy left, Alaric helped Elena heave Stefan back to his feet. The two moved the wounded vampire down a flight of stairs into a lower alleyway.

"I don't know what happened, he just dropped," Elena murmured as she eased her boyfriend's body to the floor.

Alaric grunted as he stood up. "Yeah, he's not the only one. The cops have gotten everyone who's gone down, injecting them with vervain."

Elena's eyes widened.

Could the device be doing this? Hadn't Bonnie gotten rid of its magic?

"What?"

They both silently stared at Stefan for a moment.

"They must be rounding up the vampires…" the brunette murmured, eyes still lingering on Stefan.

~0~

The mayor and his wife had just made it out of the crowd when he went down.

"Please, help him!" She shouted to a deputy. "He just went down!"

The deputy silently injected him with vervain and escorted him away, despite Carol's protests.

~0~

Two deputies barged into the bathroom where Anna and Jeremy sat. Anna was still sobbing in agony.

"I got one," one said into his radio.

The other pulled Jeremy off of Anna and held him back as his partner stuck the downed vampire with vervain.

"Hey!" Jeremy yelled, squirming in the deputy's grasp. "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

His eyes widened as he watched the needle pull out of her skin, leaving a small red prick behind. "Hey, leave her alone!"

When the partner began to drag Anna out of Jeremy's line of sight, he panicked.

"Leave her alone! Anna!"

~0~

The device's time was finally up. John heard a soft click and he removed the gear from the box and placed it back into the compact.

Ezra opened the front door and ushered a few deputies inside, helping them carry the bodies into the basement.

"The device is done," John called to Ezra. "We don't have much time, let's finish this."

Ezra nodded and then turned to the deputies standing around, watching. "Remember, the only thing keeping them down now is the vervain."

~0~

Damon awoke to the sharp smell of gasoline. His head was pounding and he couldn't move.

Vervain must still be in my blood.

He lulled his head to the side as his ears picked up heartbeats.

John and Ezra were throwing gas on the unconscious vampires, obviously meaning to torch them shortly.

Anna, whom was lying on the floor next to where John was standing, reached out and grabbed his ankle in a death grip.

"Anna," he greeted, staring down at her limp body.

John turned to Ezra. "Go ahead and head up; I can take it from here."

Ezra narrowed his eyes on Damon. "I have one thing I want to do first."

Damon swallowed nervously returning Ezra's gaze with the same amount of animosity.

The man moved towards Damon, stepping around the lifeless bodies of the vampires.

"Damon Salvatore," Ezra murmured, kneeling down next to him. "My brother wanted me to stake you, but a quick death would be too…undeserving for you."

The Salvatore held Ezra's gaze unflinchingly, a slow smirk drifting across Damon's face.

Ezra withdrew a thick birch wood stake from his jacket pocket, plunging it into the middle of Damon's chest.

Damon wheezed and gasped as the sharp piece of wood pierced through his skin and scraped the side of his heart.

"You feel that?" Ezra whispered next to Damon's ear. "That piece of wood, scraping your heart?"
Damon let out a grunt as Ezra pushed himself up. "Remember who I'm protecting when you burn and know that you'll never have her, never be worthy of her."

While this was going on, John and knelt down next to Anna and staked her in one fell sweep. The color drained out of her face and was replaced with the ashy gray.

Damon's vision began to clear as he bled out, the vervain leaving his body with the blood.

Ezra and John headed back up the stairs, a trail of gasoline following them.

~0~

The moment the device stopped, Stefan's soft groaning stopped.

"Stefan?" Elena murmured, smoothing his hair back. "Are you okay?"

He sat up, his body healing himself. "It was like needles were piercing my skull and it just…stopped."

Elena nodded sadly, slowly rubbing his shoulder. She was so glad he was okay.

The pair glanced up as Alaric came down the stairs.

"I saw at least five or more vampires go down. They're taking them to your family's old building."

Stefan got to his feet, using the wall for support. "It's that device, it has to be."

Elena stood up next, frowning. "But how did he get it to work? Bonnie unspelled it, we saw her."

"Maybe she didn't…" Alaric said, jutting his eyebrows up with a shrug.

"But, she did…" Elena insisted; though it didn't seem like she believed it herself.

"No, no, no, Ric's right. Think about it. We asked Bonnie to deactivate a device that could protect people against vampires…" Stefan murmured, realization dawning across his face.

"So we could protect you," Elena added, not wanting to believe her best friend lied to her.

"And Damon and Klaus. Vampires. Where is Damon?" Stefan pushed himself off of the wall.

Alaric shrugged and the trio headed up the stairs. "I don't know, I haven't seen him since this thing started."

Stefan frowned, but didn't say anything.

"Ric, can you get my brother, take him home?" Elena asked, pausing at the top of the stairs.

Ric nodded, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Of course."

"Let's go," she said to Stefan and the two briskly set off to find Damon.

~0~

After Carol watched the deputies take away her husband, she knew something was up.

I'm sure Rudy would know what's going on.

Once she arrived at the station and found him chained to the radiator, she freed him. After explaining what was going on, they went to see what they could do to stop it.

~0~

The blaze burned like a wild fire throughout the Gilbert office's basement. Cries escaped the burning vampires' mouths. Damon's head lulled around as he regained consciousness.

His vision cleared, the fogginess burning away with the heat of inferno.

"Mayor?" Damon said as Mr. Lockwood's face came into view. "Is that you?"

The mayor coughed and turned towards the sound of the voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a vampire," he said dully. "What's your excuse?" Damon paused a beat, taking in the mayor's shocked expression. "No, really. The vervain didn't affect you, you're not a vampire, what the hell are you?"

Mayor Lockwood's eyes widened at the realization that Damon was a vampire – and that he was lying in a burning room full of vampires. Scooting back, he felt his back hit another body.

Damon raised his eyebrows.

The moron had managed to back into another vampire, who seemed to be waking up.

"Mayor Lockwood," the leader greeted, sitting up. Putting his hands around the mayor's neck, he twisted in one sharp movement.

Crack.

~0~

Elena and Stefan briskly walked through the crowds when Stefan heard it – the roaring fire and the groans somewhere underground.

"Wait, wait, wait, I can hear them!" he paused, eyes wide as he realized what he was hearing. "The building is on fire."

"What?" Elena stopped dead in her tracks.

"The building's on fire!"

Stefan looked to the dark sky and pointed where billows of light smoke were floating into the night air.

The two sprinted around the corner, towards the fire.

Elena and Stefan's eyes widened as they realized it was Elena's father's old office.

"Stefan!"

The man in question turned towards the sound of the familiar voice.

"Caroline," he said in surprise. "What are you doing here? Didn't Damon find you and tell you to get out of here?"

The blonde cocked an eyebrow. "Did you really think I would tuck tail and run when my friends are in danger?"

Stefan opened his mouth to retort when Elena noticed something.

"Uncle John," she growled, stalking over to him. "Where is Damon?"

Ezra walked out of the burning building, smoke spilling out from the doorway. "With the rest of them, where he should be. It's over for Damon."

Caroline went over to where Elena, John and Ezra were standing.

Caroline glared at her uncle. "You both are crazy."

Elena nodded in agreement, arms crossed.

"Why? Because I'm doing what should have been done a hundred and forty-five years ago? This is the right thing, Elena."

Behind them, Stefan stared anxiously at the building that was quickly going up in flames.

"Go ahead, Stefan. You wouldn't make it out. It'll save me the trouble of killing you myself," John continued.

Stefan cut in before John could say anything else, "You know the building, Elena, is there any other way in?"

The brunette nodded. "Utility door, there's one around the side."

Stefan took off around the building. Elena went to go follow, when a voice called out, "Elena, Stefan!"

Turning around, she saw Caroline approaching her.

"Care!" she greeted as the blonde ran to her. "Damon's stuck in the building and it's on fire. Stefan's going into save him."

The blonde's eyes widened. "Let's go help him then!"

The pair went to move around back, past their uncles, when John and Ezra stopped them.

"You take one more step and I'll alert those deputies that they missed a vampire," John growled, gripping onto Elena's arm.

"I'm asking you not to," she said, eyes darting over John's shoulder to the deputies at the edge of the crowd.

"That doesn't mean anything to me," John snorted, his grip still firm.

Elena swallowed. "As my father, it should."

Caroline's eyes widened as John's jaw dropped ever so slightly.

"You know," he murmured, gaze softening.

"She wasn't sure," Caroline said. "Now she is."

John released her arm and Elena disappeared around the side of the building.

Caroline went to follow after her friend, only to be stopped by Ezra.

"You aren't going back there, Caroline."

She leveled her gaze on her uncle. "Why? Because your brother said I couldn't?"

Ezra's eyes widened, forgetting for a moment that she knew that her father was alive.

Caroline jerked her arm out of his grip and sprinted after Elena and Stefan.

When she got around to the back of the building, Elena and Bonnie were still there.

Bonnie was gripping Elena's arm.

"Elena, you can't go in there!"

Elena struggled to get out of her witchy best friend's grasp, saying, "Bonnie, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry I lied to you," she murmured, meeting her gaze.

Bonnie began chanting a spell, neither having noticed Caroline's presence just quite yet.

"Bonnie, I've got to get in there!" Elena whined, tugging again.

Inside, Stefan threw open the basement door. His face was hit with a wall of heat and smoke, the flames licking the ceiling.

Suddenly, as Bonnie's spell took place, the flames diminished, a narrow path appearing down the wooden stairs.

Stefan ran down the stairs, carefully avoiding the fire. His wide green eyes took in all the downed vampires.

Mayor Lockwood? Anna? Both were dead. But why was Mayor Lockwood in here? He had a heartbeat – he wasn't a vampire.

His eyes finally landed on Damon, who was lying on the ground. A burning beam lay between Stefan and his brother.

Stefan tossed aside the beam with a hiss. It was then he noticed the stake sticking out of his brother's chest.

"Damon!" he exclaimed, ripping out the stake and throwing it away. "Come on, hurry!"

He heaved his brother to his feet and used his supernatural speed to run out of the basement.

"Bonnie…" Caroline said as the witch stopped chanting. "Bonnie, what is it? Are they gonna be okay?" she tugged on her friend's arm when she didn't say anything. "Bonnie!"

The utility door suddenly swung open and Stefan and Damon stumbled out.

"Oh my god!" Elena exclaimed, rushing forwards.

~0~

"Damon," the blonde got up quickly, staring at Damon.

"Caroline," Damon murmured.

Caroline had been sitting outside of Mystic Grill for quite some time, watching the firefighters put out the molten mess that once was Grayson Gilbert's office building.

"So, what are they saying caused it?" she asked, referring to the fire.

Damon shrugged and took a seat on the bench, motioning for Caroline to sit next to him.

"Something about old wiring," he shrugged, wincing as his mostly healed wound throbbed.

She nodded, not saying anything. The two sat in silence for a few moments.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Damon," Caroline suddenly said, turning to stare into his blue eyes.

Damon's lips trembled up into a small smile, staring back at her.

"You know," he mused, getting to his feet. "I came to this town wanting to destroy it…" he offered a hand to Care. She took it and stood up.

"Tonight, I found myself wanting to protect it. How does that happen?" he raked a hand through his dark hair. "I'm no hero, Care. I don't do good. It's not in me."

"I don't believe that," she said, stepping a bit closer to him.

He frowned, shaking his head. "Nah, that role's reserved for my brother and you…and Bonnie…who, even though has multiple reasons to hate me, still helped Stefan save me tonight."

Care mirrored his slight frown, cocking her head to the side. "You're surprised, aren't you? Why? Is it that hard to believe that someone is willing to help you?"

"Because she did it for you…" Damon took a small step forward, expecting Caroline to back up. She didn't.

"This means that at some point in our…friendship…you made the decision that we were friends and that I was worth saving." Damon's tongue darted out to lick his lips as he took a deep breath, pausing. "And I wanted to thank you for that."

Caroline smiled, arm reaching out to rub Damon's arm. "You're welcome, Damon."

Damon's gaze caught Caroline's green eyes. He held her gaze as he leaned forward, very slowly.

She blinked, rapidly trying to process what he was doing.

When his cool lips met the soft skin of her cheek, her insides flipped, eyes fluttering shut slowly. Damon pulled away after a moment, their faces still close. Their eyes met again, both breaking to glance down at the other's lips. Damon moved closer, still hesitating. Caroling took the last tiny step forward to connect their lips together.

Damon's heart swelled in his chest and his arm darted out to wrap around the blonde's waist, tugging her body closer to his.

Her arms went around his neck, one playing with his hair and the other resting on his back.

Their lips clashed as they fought for dominance in the kiss. Damon's kisses were full of emotion and longing, while Caroline's were soft and passionate.

Damon was the first to break away, knowing the fiery blonde would need air. He began kissing down her neck when she gently pushed him off of her.

"I-I," she stuttered, her lips feeling a bit puffy. "I have to go get my dress."

She quickly scurried away towards the school.

Damon took a few steps back until his legs touched the back of the bench. He plopped down, hair a mess and eyes wide. After taking in what just happened, he smiled, fingers coming up to touch his lips.

~0~

Matt sat alone in the hospital's waiting room. Tyler came through the sliding doors, having just passed his checkup. When he discovered his friend, sitting alone, he took a seat beside him.

"Hey man," he started. "I'm so sorry. Look, I don't even know what happened."

"It's okay," Matt said, though it was evident by his tone he didn't completely believe that himself. "She'll be alright. She has to."

The outside doors slid open again and Zach Salvatore walked in.

"Where is she?" he asked, quickly stalking over to Tyler. "What's happened? Is she gonna be alright? Will Caroline be alright?"

Matt licked his lips, looking down. "There was some internal bleeding; they're taking her into surgery now."

"What else did they say? How did this even happen?" Zach pressed, arms crossed.

Tyler sighed, looking up to meet Zach's eyes. "I was driving us all home when I heard this…noise. I lost control of the car…"

~0~

Caroline's POV

I drifted in and out of consciousness, bright flashes of lights and shadows of people flicking in my brain.

Where was I? I tried to remember the last few hours of that day. After trudging through my groggy brain, something came rushing back…

I decided to go home with Tyler, Matt and Angelica; even though I'd much rather stay and help Damon and Stefan. The drive to Tyler's was awkward. Matt and him were still fighting I supposed, and that just led to an even more awkward silence. Angelica had tried to break it at one point, but none of us seemed to be up for small talk.

We were about five minutes away when suddenly Tyler said,

"What the hell is that?"

I frowned, turning to look at him. "What the hell is what?"

"That noise!" his face contorted into a grimace.

Matt leaned forward from the back seat. "Wait, what noise?"

Tyler's hands came up off the wheel and gripped his temples. A loud wail escaped his mouth and the car began to drift into the oncoming lane.

"TYLER!" I yelped, trying to get ahold of the wheel.

"Dude, hey!" Matt exclaimed from the back, shaking his friend. "Care, the wheel!"

I made another desperate dive, but it was too late.

The large cement block wall grew larger and larger in our vision before we eventually crashed right into it.

The airbags whipped out, knocking the air out of my lungs and my head to the side.

Everything was dark after that.

~0~

Third Person POV

Sheriff Bennett came in next, a grim look on his face. He'd already been filled in on what had happened.

"Tyler, have you spoken to your mother yet?"

Tyler shook his head and stood up. "I left her a message telling her I was here…why?"

The sheriff ushered him a few steps away.

"Son, you need to call her…"

Tyler frowned, cocking his head to the side. "What is it, Sheriff?"

Sheriff Bennett sighed. He took off his hat and rubbed his bald head for a moment. When he put his hat back on, he said, "It's your dad."

~0~

Stefan left Mystic Grill; Elena had just left to get her stuff from the school. He was honestly ready to go back to his home and sleep. Today had been a long day.

Bonnie was just about to enter the Grill when Stefan exited.

"Oh hey," he greeted.

"Hi," she replied.
"You…you just missed Elena," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I was looking for you, actually," she corrected. Stefan cocked his head to the side, waiting for the witch to continue. "Elena and Caroline are my best friends. Because they love you, I couldn't let you or your brother die in that fire."

When Stefan saw people approaching from over Bonnie's shoulder, he motioned for them to move out of the way.

Once they had relocated, Stefan said, "We both want the same thing."

"We both want to protect the people we care about. The difference is, for you, Damon is one of them. You saw what I was able to do tonight. I know who I am now, and if Damon spills so much as one drop of innocent blood, I'll take him down. Even if I have to take you with him." Bonnie murmured, her voice low and serious.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Stefan replied, nodding.

"Let's hope it doesn't."

~0~

Jeremy had just placed the flask of Anna's blood into the drawer when Stefan arrived.

"I thought you need to know that Anna's dead," Stefan murmured.

Jeremy nodded, face blank. "I figured as much whenever the deputies took her away."

Stefan studied Jeremy's face. He didn't like how emotionless he was. Stefan knew from experience that it wasn't good to bottle everything up inside.

"I know you cared about her and I know you're hurting…but Jeremy, it's not good to bottle everything up."

"Why does it matter? She's dead." The teen responded dully, crossing his arms across his chest.

Stefan sighed. "We took away your suffering once before. We can do it again, but this time it will be your choice."

Jeremy's face fell. "Look Stefan, I know you all think you took it away, but it's still here – even though I can't remember why. I still feel empty, alone and I know that making me forget this won't help. It can't fix what's really wrong."

Stefan pressed his lips together, nodding understandingly. "What my brother did to Vicki was wrong. I'm sorry for his part – and for my own."

They were quiet for a moment. Jeremy went to sit down on his bed, while Stefan stayed at his place in Jeremy's doorway.

"Anna said that vampires don't have to feel pain; that they can turn it off, if they shut out their humanity…" Jeremy suddenly said. "Is that true?"

Stefan narrowed his eyes, a suspicion growing in the pit of his stomach. "It's true…why?"

Jeremy shrugged. "I just wanted to know if it was easier that way."

"Is what exactly easier?"

"Life."

Stefan took a slow, deep breath, considering his next words. "Life can suck either way, but if you're a vampire, you don't have to feel if you don't want to. That's what I did for a very long time; when I was in a very dark place."

Stefan's phone rang.

Stepping into the hall and shutting Jeremy's door behind it, he answered.

"Hello?"

~0~

Once Jeremy was sure Stefan was gone, he went into the bathroom, Anna's flask of blood in his hand. With shaky hands, he searched through one of Elena's old bathroom bags. After a few moments, he pulled out two bottles of prescription pain killers.

Is this what I really want? He asked himself.

He looked up to gaze at himself in the mirror. His dark brown eyes were framed with dark circles and his brown hair was a mess.

Once he dumped the contents of the pill bottles onto the counter, he popped the lid off of the flask.

Jeremy took a deep breath, rubbing his face. Gritting himself for the taste, he downed Anna's blood, cringing at the bitter and rusty taste it left. One by one, Jeremy took each pill. His head spinning, he staggered over onto his bed and lied down, eventually passing out.

~0~

Downstairs, Jenna stuck her head outside. When she saw Elena sitting on the porch swing she said, "Hey 'Lena, it's late. You probably should come inside."

Elena nodded, getting up off the swing. Heaving the dress into her arms, she squeezed by Jenna and headed up into her room.

~0~

Elena wandered down the stairs, bored of sitting up by herself in her room.

Meanwhile, John was in the kitchen. He opened the fridge to grab a drink. When he closed it, Elena was there, leaning against the cupboard door.

John's heart leaped in his chest, not expecting to see his daughter tonight.

I thought she would be avoiding me…

"You scared me," he murmured, unscrewing a bottle of water.

"Sorry," she said solemnly, going over to grab a dry towel.

"You know…" John started, leaning back against the kitchen's cabinets. "I first met Isobel when I was a teenager. I fell in love with her instantly; although I'm pretty sure she never loved me. She was special. A part of why I hate the vampires so much is because of what she became, how it ruined her. And I never would have sent her to Damon had I known she wanted to turn."

Elena didn't say a word during all of this; she simply continued to dry dishes.

When she realized he was done, she stopped drying dishes and looked at him.

"It's my fault," John continued. "I'm telling you this because I hoped maybe you'd understand."

"Thank you," Elena said quietly before brushing a strand of curly hair out of her face. She then went over and grabbed a meat cleaver to dry.

John walked over to her, extending his hand. "Mind if I help?"

Elena's brown eyes flickered down to his hand for a moment before looking up at her face. "Sure."

She tossed the damp rag onto the counter and when John went to reach for it, she swung the knife down in an arc, ramming the steel blade into the fingers.

He screamed out in pain when she jerked the knife to the side, cutting his fingers clean off.

Next, the brunette shoved him against the sink and John groaned out in pain again.

"Katherine?!" he exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Hello John," the vampire said, veins and fangs emerging. "Goodbye John."

With one swift thrust, she buried the knife into John's abdomen, a sickly sweet smirk on her face as she did.

Katherine froze as she heard her doppelganger at the front door, on the phone with someone.

"I looked everywhere…Yeah, someone definitely took my stuff…Caroline's was missing too. I wonder what happened. I'm gonna check on Jeremy before I go to the hospital. Can you meet me there?"

Elena's voice grew louder as she walked into her home, unaware of Katherine standing over a bloody John on the other side of the house.

"Okay, I love you Stefan," Elena threw her purse down and hung up her phone, tossing it onto the side table beside her bag.

"Jeremy?" she called into the silent house. "Are you awake?"

Something thudded in the kitchen and Elena frowned, slowly walking around the corner to investigate.

Everything Changes is now officially done!

There will be a sequel for the Season 2 portion. I don't know when it'll be out, because I start my senior year of High School the 13th of August. I still have to figure out a name for the book, though I have a pretty good idea of the plot for the first few chapters.

I can't believe that it's finally done! It's crazy to see how far I've come in writing.

Let me know your reactions! What do you think happened & will happen to Care? Did you like the Daroline kiss? Don't worry, there's gonna be some Klaroline coming up real soon ;)

xx