"I never tried to kill you."

Katherine's words, though quiet, seemed to echo in the silent room.

"I could make a list," Damon said drowsily, stroking her hair.

They were both fairly relaxed now, lying in each other's arms, her body melding against his as though she'd never been away.

"Go on then," Katherine challenged, without any real heat. "1864 doesn't count; you wanted me to turn you."

"Yeah, about that," Damon said, looking down at her. "You said I wasn't supposed to turn."

"I was going to do it," Katherine said. "I wasn't planning on running, not until Klaus sent me that dream."

"He warned you?" Damon asked.

"Threatened me," Katherine said. "Looking back, I don't think he was planning on catching me any time soon. He just wanted me to suffer."

"Asshole," Damon muttered.

Katherine sighed. "I supposed I can't entirely blame him. He was suffering under that curse, and I took away his chance of breaking it."

Damon opened his mouth to comment, then thought better of it. "Wait, that dream wasn't the one Elena got dragged into the other morning, was it?"

"I didn't drag her," Katherine protested mildly. "She fell into it. But yes. It haunted me … seeing you like that … I knew I had to leave you behind, where you'd be safe, and where you could live, and grow old, and find someone who wasn't going to drag you across the globe on a never-ending chase."

Damon sighed. "I wish you'd told me all this back then, Katherine," he murmured into her hair. "I would have run anywhere with you."

"I know," Katherine murmured. "You weren't supposed to die for me. It was the one thing I hadn't considered." She felt Damon tense against her. "But I should have."

"For God's sake, Katherine," Damon said, exasperated, "what part of 'I love you' didn't you understand?"

"The part were every other person who'd told me that in my life had abandoned me or screwed me over when things got difficult," Katherine said bluntly. "Eventually you stop trusting it."

Damon stroked her hair rhythmically, thinking about that. "I get that," he said finally. "I don't like it, but I get it."

"Anyway," Katherine said, settling more comfortably against him, "you were about to list the times I tried to kill you."
"Mason," Damon said.

"Mason," Katherine repeated. "Not me. I told him to distract you, not kill you."

"Dagger," Damon said.

Katherine sighed. "Another lie, I'm afraid. You can ask Elena - she confronted me before you did. I had no idea what that dagger did, Damon, I swear."

"Then why did you say you did?" Damon asked, bewildered.

"Elena asked if I knew it would have killed you," Katherine said. "You just assumed that I knew, which … I mean, even if I didn't give a crap, why would I have hidden it from you? It wasn't like you didn't have any humans who could have used it, so you using it was my only way out of the tomb. The only reason I would have hidden that from you was if I wanted you dead. And the fact that you just assumed that … It hurt that you thought I'd just let you die."

"So you lied to hurt me back," Damon concluded.

"I lied a lot while I was there," Katherine admitted softly. "Everything about John and Isobel was true, but … they were threatening you, not Stefan."

Damon sighed. "I get it, Katherine, but …"

"I know," Katherine interrupted. "Believe me, I know. Do you think you can ever forgive me?"

"I said I would," Damon answered.

Katherine grimaced. "I know what you said, Damon. But it's not gonna be that easy, and it shouldn't be that easy for you to just forgive and forget."

"I didn't say forget, Katherine," Damon said seriously. "I don't think I'll ever forget. And you're right - it's going to take time to fully trust you again. But we have time. That's the beauty of eternity, remember?"

Katherine let out a sigh, nuzzling into his chest. "I love you."

Damon tilted her face up to kiss her. "I love you too, Katherine."


Out by the stream, Stefan was sitting against one of the trees, Elena curled up in his lap.

So far, they had only moved to put their clothes back on, before resuming their quiet embrace.

"You said you had control down?"

Elena nodded, tracing patterns on his sleeve. "Damon and Katherine took me hunting tonight."

She felt him tense up, even as he asked, "Yeah? What did you think?"

Elena pulled a face. "I didn't like it. I mean, the rush of the hunt … I loved that, though it pains me to admit it …"

"It's okay to admit it, Elena," Stefan said softly. "You're a vampire; it's in your nature."

"I hated feeding from people," Elena said. "To have their life in my hands like that … it makes me uncomfortable, because I feel like I could wind up loving that, and I don't want to."

Stefan smiled, stroking her hair. "You are one of the strongest people I know, Elena. And I truly believe that you can fight that."

Elena smiled as well, nestling into him. "I don't think I've ever appreciated the fight you face every day more than I do now. And I thought I got it."

"Hey, it's not something most people experience," Stefan said. "You understood more than most … and it wasn't something I ever wanted you to completely understand. But if there's anyone who can handle it … it's you."

Elena's smile widened. His faith in her was, perhaps, unsurprising, but hearing it still felt wonderful.

"I'm glad I learned," she said. "But I don't want to have to do it again."

"You going the Caroline route then?" Stefan asked. "Blood bags?"

"Maybe," Elena answered slowly. "I want to try animals as well."

"You haven't yet?" Stefan asked, sounding surprised.

Elena laughed. "Can you see Damon stalking bunnies? Actually, I didn't ask him. I … I wanted you to. If you …"

"Of course," Stefan said, before she could finish. "Say the word, Lena."

Elena stretched. "Not yet. I don't want to move yet."

"Well, we should probably head back inside," Stefan said, scooping her into his arms and standing up.

"Best make sure Damon and Katherine have … finished," Elena warned, not arguing with his actions, unwilling to leave his arms just yet.

"Finished what?" Stefan asked. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing much," Elena said airily. "Katherine admitting her undying love for Damon, that's all." She hastily locked her arms around his neck as he almost dropped her in shock.

"She did what?" Stefan asked. "I know she finally admitted that she was never in love with me; she's trying it with Damon now?"

"I believe her," Elena admitted. "I've had my suspicions for a while, and her being in love with Damon makes much more sense than her being in love with you."

"Still begs the question," Stefan said, "what have they finished?"

"Depends on whether he believes her," Elena answered.

"Damon said Katherine was like a second mother when you were growing up?" Stefan asked.

Elena grimaced. "She used to turn up and look after me, and then compel me to forget. I hadn't seen her since I was about ten. I'm still trying to get my head around it."

They reached the lake house a few minutes later, letting themselves in through the kitchen.

"Well, there's no bloodshed in the living room," Stefan whispered.

Elena listened intently, just catching Damon's voice above them.

"I love you too, Katherine."

"Yeah, he believes her," she murmured, taking Stefan's hand.

"If she's playing him …" Stefan began.

"We rip her heart out," Elena finished. "Right behind you. But I really don't think she is, Stefan. Besides, Damon would beat us to it."

"That's true," Stefan conceded, as they made their way upstairs. "I guess you've been staying in my room?"

"Your mom's," Elena corrected. "Wasn't sure you'd want me in yours. Damon said she wouldn't mind."

"She wouldn't," Stefan agreed immediately. "And he'd know." He stopped outside his bedroom door. "You're staying with me tonight though, right?"

Elena smiled. "Absolutely."


Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline was supposed to be home alone while her mother worked the night-shift, but the house had seemed so constricting all of a sudden.

Instead, she laced on her running shoes and pounded the pavement the human way, until the rhythm of her steps almost drowned out all of the thoughts racing through her head.

She ran to the boarding house, but a quick glance told her that no one was home, and she could only hope that Stefan had found Elena, Damon and Katherine, as he had said he was going to.

Caroline really wasn't sure how she felt about Katherine being anywhere near Elena, although she could see the older woman's point about Klaus being dead.

Elena seemed comfortable with it, at least, and while Elena could be a little too forgiving at times, in Caroline's opinion, she was far from stupid.

Her path led her away from the boarding house and through the woods. If she was still human, she would never have run this way on her own, especially not this late at night, but there wasn't much in the forest that could hurt her anymore - or even catch her.

Even if she was sticking to a human pace at the moment, that could change very quickly.

She had no idea how far she'd run when she felt it - a gentle shiver running up her spine, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

She was being watched.

Slowing to a halt, Caroline turned in a slow circle, her muscles tensing in anticipation, her eyes scanning the trees for any sign of movement.

"Hello?"

"Caroline."

The voice came from behind her, sending a very different shiver down her spine, and Caroline spun around to see Tyler emerging from behind one of the trees.

"Tyler …" she moved forwards slowly, almost in a dream, half-convinced that he was about to evaporated into nothingness in front of her. "Tyler …"

Tyler smiled at her. "I'm harder to kill than you think."

"Oh, God, you're alive!" Blurring forwards, Caroline threw herself into his arms, kissing him deeply. "Thank God, thank God! I thought I'd never see you again."

"Caroline …" Tyler caught her hands as she backed him into a tree, droplets of water showering them from the recent rainstorm. "Easy, love. Wrong time, wrong place. Wrong equipment."

"What's wrong about it?" Caroline asked breathlessly, tearing his shirt open. "You're alive; I'm alive; we …" His words suddenly hit her like a missile, and she released him, taking several steps back, a sense of wrongness settling over her. "Did you just call me 'love'?"

Tyler did not do pet names.

'Babe' was about as close as he got.

There was only one person who had ever called her 'love'.

Tyler smirked, but it wasn't the warm, slightly arrogant smirk she had known all her life and grown to love.

This was cold and calculating and … terrifyingly familiar.

"Hello sweetheart."

Caroline stumbled back until she collided with another tree, fear and horror coursing through her. "Klaus …"


That's all for this one, folks. The sequel is 'Truce' which has already been posted but I am in the process of rewriting/editing so it fits a bit better with this rewrite (aside from anything, there's a flashback that I've rewritten). There's also a smutty outtake called 'Forgiveness' with Damon and Katherine, which has now been edited to fit this rewrite. Until next time x