Episode 11: Road Trip

In order to rise from its own ashes a phoenix first must burn.
-Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents.

Mystic Falls, 1864

I was out in the yard, humming an old Irish tune while hanging the linens, as I was oft to do when I had a lot to think about. Tensions in town had risen as the townsfolk realized they were infested with Vampires. They would soon be taking action to rid themselves of the plight.

Katerina—Miss Pierce had become insufferable at the estate, allowing me no peace.

"Oh, Maggie," Kat sang.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

I sighed before turning around. "Yes, Miss Pierce?" I gasped at the sight I was greeted to. Damon was standing next to Katherine, a shotgun in his hand pointed at me. "Damon what are you doing? What is this?" I asked Katerina.

"You're proving to be a real thorn in my side, sestra. I may not be able to kill you, but he can."

"Damon, my love, you don't have to do this."

Damon hesitated, the barrel of the gun fell a little, his hands were shaking. He was trying to resist the compulsion that forced him to aim the gun at me. Kat noticed. She stepped in front of him, staring into his eyes to rework the compulsion. When she stepped away Damon's aim straightened.

"I'm sorry, Maggie." He said, tears falling down his eyes.

"No," I pleaded, "Damon you can fight this."

"Fire!" Kat ordered.

Damon pulled the trigger.

Georgia, 2009

I woke up with a gasp in the passenger seat of Damon's car. Elena was in the backseat yelling for Damon to pull over. I knew we should have just taken her home when we came across her crashed car last night. But, no. Damon always had to have something over his brother.

Elena was unbuckled and attempting to climb out of the back seat before the convertible even came to a complete stop on the side of the road. She was still sore from the crash and struggled with the task. Damon rushed over to her side to help her. I got out of the car calmly, at a human speed.

Elena pushed Damon away the second she got her feet on the ground.

"I'm fine. We have to go back."

"Oh come on. Look—" Damon started.

"We can't go back," I interrupted from the side of the car. Elena's eyes flashed to me in surprise. "We're almost there, it'd be pointless to turn back now. Besides, Damon promised me a fun road trip. Might as well make the best of it."

"Why are you letting him do this?" She asked me.

"I didn't let him do anything." I said, sending a glare Damon's way. "I told him we should have dropped you off before we left Mystic Falls, but Damon does what he wants."

Elena pleaded to Damon to take her back, that she couldn't go to Georgia, but he wasn't having it.

"Well, you're in Georgia." Damon wiggled his fingers towards her bare neck, "Without your magical little necklace, I might add. I can very easily make you...agreeable."

"Damon!" I said sharply. Elena's cell phone rang from the backseat. "I'll get it." I looked at the caller ID and answered, "Hi Stefan, how can I help you?"

"Charlie? Where's Elena? Why do you have her phone? Is she okay?"

Damon plucked the phone from my hand and answered.

"She's right here. And, yes, she's fine." I couldn't hear Stefan on the other side—no vamp hearing— but I could imagine how much more upsetting it must be now that he knew Damon was with us. "He wants to talk to you." Damon said to Elena, but curiously she didn't want to talk to him. "Yeah. I don't really think she wants to talk to you right now." Even if Damon's smirk wasn't a tell, I could practically hear Stefan yelling threats. "You have a good day. Mm-hmm. Bye-now." Damon hung-up before Stefan could say anything else.

"Look, no one knows where I am. Can we please just go back?" Elena asked.

"We're almost there." Damon repeated.

"Where is there?!" Elena asked, looking between me and Damon.

When Damon didn't answer right away I did, "A dive bar just outside Atlanta. Damon knows the owner. Some witch who can tell me what I am."

"How are you so cool with this?" Elena asked me, "Aren't you worried about what your mom is gonna do when she finds you missing?"

"My mom thinks I spent the night at Bonnie's, and that I got sick and am stuck at her Grams' place." I said, nonchalantly.

"Bonnie agreed to cover for you going out of state with Damon?"

I shrugged. "More or less. She didn't know Damon was going to be here. Oh, come on, Elena. I need a break from Mystic Falls, and from what I can tell, so do you."

"Trust me. Your problems are still going to be there when you get home." Damon added, "Look. Step away from your life for five minutes."

Elena looked as if she was going to argue.

"Five minutes!" I reiterated. I hadn't realized how much I really needed this trip until now, when it was almost cut short. Elena acquiesced, but first she made Damon promise not to compel her. She took her phone back and climbed into the car.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, looking at Elena through the rear view mirror.

"Talk about what?"

"You and Stefan, duh? Why didn't you want to talk to him?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Charlie."

"Oh come on, Elena. I'll tell you a secret if you tell me yours." I sung, eliciting a small smile from her.

"Not right now, Charlie." She said, glancing at Damon.

That afternoon we arrived at 'Bree's Bar'.

"No. No, it can't be. Damon. My honey pie." The bartender said as we approached. She was a beautiful woman, probably in her 40's, and as soon as Damon was within reach she grabbed his face and kissed him. I assumed that was Bree. Elena and I shared a look at the display. When Bree released Damon she got out some shot glasses and shouted, "Listen up everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!" She poured some shots for the people sitting at the bar. "Drink up!"

Damon and Bree took their shots, then Bree poured two more for Elena and I.

"So, how'd he rope you two in?" She asked us.

"We're not roped in," I said.

At the same Elena said, "I'm dating his brother."

Bree set out each shot in from of us and as she placed mine she said wisely, "Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride."

Elena just looked at her shot glass, but I was pretty sure we were going to be here for a while so I gulped mine down.

"So, how did you two meet?" Elena innocently asked, looking between Damon and the bartender.

"College," Bree answered.

"You went to college?" Elena looked to Damon with surprise.

"I'm sure he's been to a college campus," I said, smirking at Damon. Flashes of images of Damon locked away underneath Whitmore College ran through my mind, I winced at the memory. The ensuing headache made it difficult for me to focus on Bree's story, but I caught the gist of it.

About twenty years ago she fell in love with Damon. He was probably using her at the time for his plot to kill Katherine, because, as I already knew, she's a witch.

"So, what is it that you want?" She asked, knowing Damon wasn't there for just a social call.

Elena excused herself as her phone rang, it was her Aunt Jenna, and walked outside. After she was gone Damon turned to the witch conspiratorially.

"I need another way to get into the tomb," he said.

"Seriously?" I scoffed.

"What? Like you didn't know I had an ulterior motive." He turned back to the witch, "Come on, there's gotta be another way."

"After all these years, you're still obsessed with Katherine." Bree said, shaking her head. "How do you even know she's still alive?"

"Kat's the most conniving bitch I know, but she's a survivor. She's still alive." I said. Bree looked at me strangely.

"And just how do you know Katherine? I didn't peg you for a vampire, and I got a sense for those things now."

"I'm so glad you asked, because that's why I'm here." I gave Damon an annoyed look before smiling back at Bree. "I don't know what I am, but I was hoping you could tell me." I tried explaining all the strange things that have been happening to me; the memories of past lives, the fire, the flying.

Bree nodded her head along as if those were all perfectly normal things for a teenager.

"I've heard stories of women like that, from some witches I met in New Orleans. Give me your hand honey." I did as she asked. Bree took my hand in her own, turning it over so she could look at my palm. Her index finger traced my life line. She let out a soft gasp. "Oh, yeah, I know what you are Babydoll, but I can hardly believe it. You're a Phoenix."

"Like the bird?" Damon laughed. "You've got to be kidding."

"That explains how she flew don't it?" Bree retorted.

"No offense, but I'm pretty sure I'm not a bird," I said, but the more I thought about it the more right it felt.

"The way I heard it," Bree explained, "the Phoenix was a bird that one day turned itself into a girl."

"Great you're a mystical fire bird," Damon said dismissively. "Can we get back to helping me get into that tomb?"

"I already did." Bree said, her hands on her hips, "Twenty years ago. Remember? Three easy steps: Comet. Crystal. Spell."

"There's a little problem with number two." Damon said, "I don't have the crystal."

"That's it, Damon. There is no other way. It's Emily's spell." On the surface Bree's words had a finality to them, but she stood with less confidence than before and I could tell that there was more she wasn't saying.

"What about a new spell with a new crystal that overrides Emily's spell?" Damon suggested hopefully.

Bree shook her head. "It doesn't work that way, baby. Emily's spell is absolute. You can't get into that tomb."

Damon's face fell. The heartbroken look I saw there made me want to help him even if I didn't agree with what he was doing.

"What about me? Could I help open the tomb?"

"No offense Jean Grey," Damon's voice was cutting, whether he intended for it or not, "but how is your new found supernatural heritage going to help?"

"Maggie gave the crystal to Emily. It wasn't just powered by the comet, it had her Phoenix power as well," I explained. "My power."

"Well, that is one piece of the puzzle." Bree said thoughtfully.

"And the other pieces?" Damon asked. Bree hesitated and Damon jumped on it, "Come on Bree, there's something you're not telling me."

"Emily's grimoire," she revealed, "her spellbook. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in her book. Find that and you can open the tomb."

"Where is this book?" Damon pressed.

"I don't know."

Damon was tense and I worried he might hurt somebody. I put my hand on Damon's arm reassuringly. It seemed to calm him down.

"Hey...at least now you have a lead."

After making sure Damon wasn't going to kill anyone I walked outside to check on Elena. She had just finished her phone call and was clearly upset with whoever she was talking with.

"Hey, Elena you okay?" She turned to me, it was obvious she wasn't, her emotions were painted on her face. "Do you wanna talk about what happened between you and Stefan, now?"

Elena debated in her mind, she finally said, "He lied. He lied about Katherine."

"Oh, did you find out you look just like her." I blurted out. Perhaps I should have used more tact.

Elena stared at me clearly betrayed.

"You knew? How did you know?"

"I knew her, in my past lives." I put my arm out for Elena, inviting her in, "come on, let's go inside and talk about it. Damon's getting cheesy fries."

The three of us sat a table sharing a basket of cheesy fries, the good kind, with bacon bits thrown in for extra flavor.

"Let's just say that I'm descended from Katherine...does that make me part vampire?" Elena asked between bites.

I snorted.

"Vampires can't have children." I informed.

"But we love to try." Damon smirked suggestively. I threw a clean fry at him.

"Don't be gross. Kat had a baby before she was turned, if you're related to her it's likely from that child."

"How do you know that?" Elena asked.

"Full disclosure time," I lowered my voice, "She was my sister."

"Bullshit!" Damon spat out.

"It's true," I insisted. "Before Maggie, before she was even called Katherine. 1400's Bulgaria, there was Katerina and Viktoria Petrova."

"This is crazy." Elena ate another fry. "Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?"

"Don't be silly. You're nothing like Kat. If you were he probably wouldn't want to date you. She compelled him to love her. Trust me, Stefan hates her almost as much as Damon does."

"How can you even eat?" Elena asked as we watched Damon devour a mass of fries, cheese, and bacon bits."If technically you're supposed to be…" She trailed off, not quite sure how to phrase it.

"Dead?" Damon whispered. He laughed good-naturedly. "It's not such a bad word. As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."

Bree came up and handed Damon and I a beer each.

"I'll have one too." Elena requested, surprising all of us. She blushed, shrinking a little under our attention. "Time out, remember? For five minutes? Yeah, well that five minutes is going to need a beer."

Bree smiled at her and handed a beer to Elena.

"I propose a toast," I declared, raising my bottle. "To five minutes." We clinked our bottles and took a drink of our beers. In a surprising move Elena chugged hers until it was gone.

That moment unlocked something in Elena that had been tucked away since her parents died.

I was sitting next to Elena at the bar, she had just finished chugging her second beer when Damon came over with a couple shots for me and himself.

"I bet I could drink mine faster than you." Elena challenged after Damon and I finished.

"Oh yeah?" Damon asked playfully, "Let's get some more shots then."

Soon it had been two rounds already, Elena having beaten both Damon and I, we were lined up for a third round and it looked like Elena was winning that one too. She placed her glass upside down on the bar and clapped her hands, dancing a little in triumph.

"That's three!" She said proudly. She looked to Damon and pouted playfully. "Aw, do you need a bib?"

"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol." He quipped.

It was nice seeing Elena let loose and enjoying herself again. I got off my stool and wrapped my arm around Elena.

"Damon, I think I'm seeing a ghost. The ghost of my best friend having fun again."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Who's ready for another round?"

Whatever Elena thought she could handle, I was feeling the effects of two beers and four shots.

"I think it's time to switch to beer or water," I said.

"Couldn't agree more. Care for a dance break?" Damon offered me his hand and I took it, allowing him to lead me to the dance floor.

I watched, mesmerized as Damon moved to the beat, humming along to Hooked on a Feeling.

"Someone's in a good mood." I commented just after Damon twirled me out and back in.

"Why shouldn't I be? I'm out with two pretty girls and I've got a lead on the road to retribution." He twirled me out again, "It's been a good day."

Later, Elena and I found our way to the pool table while Damon stayed by the bar catching up with Bree. We were both so drunk that it was a pretty even game. I wasn't paying too much attention to the game, but collectively I think we sunk maybe three balls.

"So, why did Damon bring me along?" Elena asked as she lined up a shot. It hit the ball but bounced off the side of the table, missing the pocket.

"Well," I started as I moved around the pool table, "we found you all damsel-in-distress-like, so naturally we stopped and helped you out." I stopped to lean on my pool stick as I continued, "I wanted to drop you off at home, but Damon loves to piss off Stefan. I'm glad you're here with us though, I think we both needed some time away." I took my shot, missing the intended ball entirely and hitting one of Elena's.

"I did used to be more fun." Elena said as she got ready to hit the same ball I'd just accidentally lined up for her.

"You're still fun." I corrected.

Her phone started ringing and Elena stumbled a bit as she took it out of her pocket.

"Hello?" Elena answered, one finger in her ear as she tried to hear over the music of the bar. "Jenna? Hang on." Elena stepped out to hear better.

I waited by the pool table for a few minutes but when I felt she'd been gone too long I went out to search for her.

"Hello? Elena?" I called out. I stepped further out from the bar to try and find her. Someone landed behind me, covering my eyes and mouth before I could react. I almost lost my balance but they held me up.

"Guess who?" The person said from behind me. I'd only met them once, but I recognized the voice.

She uncovered my mouth and I answered, "Lexi?"

She let go of me entirely and I spun around to face the smiling blonde. "Hey, you're right!"

"Oh my god, It's so good to see you." We hugged like we were already good friends.

"Thanks to you," She said, acknowledging my part in her survival. We released the hug and she gestured around the corner of the bar. "Wanna meet my boyfriend?"

"The love of your unlife? Of course."

Lexi lead me around the building to where Elena and a brown haired guy were talking.

Elena was still drunk and leaned on the guy as she introduced him to the amusement of Lexi and I.

"Charlie! This is…Lee, Lexi's boyfriend."

"He's cute," I said in approval.

"Lexi, didn't you say your boyfriend was human?" Elena asked. I guess Lee had done some sort of vampire trick before I got there.

"I was." He answered.

"You turned him?" Elena had so many questions in her eyes, it's like she couldn't fathom why Lexi would do it. To me the answer seemed obvious and Lee confirmed what I thought.

"If you want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever."

Elena and I must have been sobering up in the cold for awhile because Damon came out to look for us.

"Charlie! Elena!" He called. Damon turned the corner frantically, it seemed he was actually worried about us. He stopped once he saw us with Lexi and Lee, and approached more cautiously.

"Uh, hi, Lexi. How's it going?" Damon spoke slowly. He pointed to Lee "Is this the flavor of the month?"

I blinked and suddenly Lee had Damon pinned to the side of the building.

"What the hell?!" Damon cried.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked, panic lacing her words.

"You tried to have my girlfriend killed." Lee said, pushing Damon harder into the bricks.

"I told you Damon," Lexi said, walking up to the two, "if you ruined my time with Stefan I would hurt you."

"You're not going to kill him, are you Lexi?" I asked, nervous for the first time around my new friend.

She sent a wink my way before swiftly snapping Damon's neck. Elena let out a short scream. Lee released him, and Damon's limp body fell to the ground.

"Is he—?" Elena couldn't finish the question, she looked horrified.

"Dead?" I finished for her. "Only a little more than usual. It takes more than a snapped neck to kill a vampire permanently. He'll wake up soon enough."

"Still hurts though." Lexi added. She admired her handiwork for a moment before suggesting we all head back inside. It was probably for the best that none of us were around when he woke back up, Damon was going to be pissed.

However, I couldn't say Damon didn't deserve a little pain.

We found a table and I went up the bar to get us all drinks.

"Four beers, please, Bree." I said, "And a bourbon for Damon when he gets back in, he's gonna need it."

Bree set everything on a tray for me but as I was taking it from her she held firm, keeping me there for a moment longer.

"Wait." Bree warned me, "Be careful who you tell your truths to, there are those looking for a Phoenix like you."

"I will." I said, but the warning was ominous and off putting. Who could possibly be looking for me? And what could they want?

"So Charlie, what's your secret?" Elena asked as I handed out the drinks.

"My what?" My mind drifted back to Bree and her warning, despite Elena already knowing my 'truth'.

"On the way here you offered to share your secret if I shared mine," Elena reminded, "Well, I did. So pay up."

"Uh… Damon and I kissed." All three of my companions looked at me with wide shocked eyes. I added, "It wasn't a big deal. And it won't be happening again."

"Does your sister know?" It was Lexi who asked.

"No." I ducked my head in shame.

Elena looked disappointed, as if I didn't already feel guilty about Caroline.

"Char—" she started, but I couldn't—didn't— want to hear it.

"There's no point in telling her." I intercepted, "it's never happening again, so telling her would just bring up unnecessary pain. She's almost completely healed from him, I don't want to wreck that."

By the time Damon had rejoined us, and the living, we had moved on to lighter topics. There was some awkwardness between the three Vampires at first, but I had asked Lexi not to hold a grudge. She agreed, saying she knew first hand how destructive a vampire grudge could be. Moving on from that the five of us actually had an enjoyable time until it was time to leave.

Mystic Falls, 1864

"Fire!" Kat ordered.

Damon pulled the trigger.

I could feel my heart break before the bullet even pierced it. The force of the shot pushed me back and I fell to the ground.

Damon dropped his gun, the compulsion complete. He rushed to my side, but it was too late. Already I could feel a blazing fire erupt from where the bullet hit. Damon attempted to put pressure on the wound, but he had to pull his fingers back lest they get burnt.

The fire was spreading, but my cheeks were wet. Some mixture of Damon's tears and my own.

"I'm sorry, Maggie. I'm so so sorry." He cried as he held me the best he could.

"It's okay," I managed out, "It wasn't you."

The fire had almost completely consumed me by now. Damon had to let go.

"I won't forget you," He promised, "I won't let anyone forget you."

I could feel my body start to crumble to ash.

"We'll see about that." I heard Katherine say. She pulled Damon away from me, she compelled him again.

The last thing I saw as my body completely turned to ash was Damon grab Kat and kiss her.

Mystic Falls, 2009

The day we returned to Mystic Falls I visited Maggie's gravestone. I tended to the flowers and when I finished I played an Irish tune on my flute. It was a song I had stuck in my memory, I just couldn't quite place where I had learned it. A remnant of Maggie's lifetime I suppose.

"She loved that tune." Damon said. I stopped playing. He picked up a fallen forget-me-not, twirling it between his fingers, "And she loved these flowers."

"And you loved her so much that you placed a gravestone for her, even though there was no body to bury."

"I wanted the town to remember her." He confirmed.

"'Unable are the loved to die, For love is immortality,'" I recited. "That's a good quote."

We stood in silence. Both of us were staring at the gravestone, or at least I had assumed that's what we were looking at until I turned back to Damon to find that he was already staring at me.

"Maybe I was wrong." It was whispered so quietly that I thought maybe he hadn't actually said anything at all. But Damon's eyes were dark and intense and as he took a step closer to me, he continued, "Everyday I see more and more of her in you. Maybe it's possible that—"

"No, you were right." My heart was racing, my palms were sweating, my brain was screaming out, but I couldn't let him finish. I elaborated,"We've talked about this. I'm not Maggie now, and I'll never be again."

"Right. I know." Damon agreed. His expression became guarded again as he turned to leave at a human pace, "Well, I need a drink. Maybe two."

"Wait!" Damon stopped and half turned back to me, there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes that was quickly shielded. I couldn't fathom what he was hoping for, or at least I didn't want to. "I'll help you Damon. I'll help you get into that tomb to kill Katherine."

"Why?" Damon asked, a tinge of distrust in his voice.

I thought, because I can be vengeful too. Because I'm still hoping you'll change your mind.

"I saw how Kat killed Maggie," I said, "how she made you pull the trigger. I don't agree with you releasing 26 vampires into town, but I'll help you kill her."