Chapter Thirteen

Rebecca was going crazy. She didn't know what was going on. She heard gun shots coming from the woods – coming from the same direction Damon and Stefan had gone. Something was wrong. Damon hadn't really been in trouble since he'd been locked in the basement of Grayson Gilbert's old doctor's office, but Rebecca remembered clearly how paralyzing it was when she felt Damon in trouble.

She'd always perceived it differently than he had. Rebecca usually felt when Damon was in trouble because it physically affected her. She could feel his pain. Like just now, she knew that Damon had been shot; she'd felt a phantom ache in her chest because of it. The pain had passed quickly, but it had still been there.

Even Caroline knew something was wrong. Liz had run off quickly and now there were gun shots? Rebecca, Elena, and Caroline, had moved away from the workers. Rebecca and Caroline needed to be able to hear better.

"You guys go on. I'll catch up with you after I give Chelsea back to my dad."

Caroline and Elena did what Rebecca had said, Caroline leading the way. She stopped when she smelled blood.

"They've been here," Caroline said. There was red liquid coating the ground and even some of the plants around them.

Caroline heard the crunch of leaves and looked up to see Mason.

"What're you two doin' out here?" he asked.

"Have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, Elena. I've seen him. Seen Damon, too."

"Well, where are they?"

"You don't need me for that." Mason crept closer. "I'll let your friend here sniff them out."

Mason looked at Caroline and she glared back.

"Does your mother know what you are? I'm happy to tell her."

Caroline growled, perceiving the threat. She wanted to wound the guy, but he grabbed Elena by the throat and wrapped an arm around her neck. It stopped Caroline in her tracks.

"Don't be stupid," Mason said. "Necks snap easy around here."

Caroline didn't know what to do. She hadn't had any proper training for things like this. What if she messed up and got Elena killed in the process?

"Let her go, Mason," Rebecca's voice came from behind Caroline, causing the blond to almost sag with relief. "It doesn't have to be this way."

Caroline felt rather than saw Rebecca step forward so that both blonds were lined up side by side. Caroline looked at the Slayer and Rebecca nodded her way. Caroline knew that meant her job was to get Elena away from Mason and Rebecca would deal with the werewolf.

"We can take you," Caroline said confidently. She'd watched Rebecca train a few times since she'd turned; she knew Rebecca could take care of this.

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah," Caroline said, flashing forward and pushing Mason away from the brunette. "I do."

Caroline shoved Mason into a tree so hard that it trembled from top to bottom. Rebecca took over then. She kept a hand at Mason's throat and brought a knee up to connect with his groin. She let him go and he fell to his knees. Her foot made a solid connection with his stomach. He flew through the air with the force of it and his back hit another tree. When he fell to the ground this time . . . he was unconscious.

"Come on," Caroline said to Elena after admiring Rebecca's handy work. "We've gotta find Stefan and Damon."

When Damon came to the first thing he felt was another gun shot, this time in his leg.

"This is how it's gonna work." He heard Liz's voice even through his grunting. "Answer me and you don't get shot, understand?"

Damon opened his eyes and looked around. He was in an old quarter for slaves. Stefan was with him, still unconscious. Liz was there, too, with a gun trained on him. She'd shot him.

"How many of you are there?" she asked.

"Liz, please," Damon rasped out only to get another bullet shot into his other leg. She'd aimed for the knee cap, too.

"How did you fool us? How do you walk in the sun?"

Damon didn't speak, so Liz fired another shot, this time at Stefan. Stefan couldn't feel it, of course, so Liz focused her attention back on Damon.

"I will drag this out painfully."

"But . . . but you're my friend."

"Our friendship was a lie," Liz said.

That was when Damon realized Liz was hurt; she felt betrayed. He'd kept his secret from her. He couldn't have told her, but it had obviously still struck a nerve.

"Answer me and I'll kill you fast."

Outside the slave quarters, Caroline, Rebecca, and Elena were trying to figure out what to do.

"He's not gonna tell us anything. Kill them both," Liz's voice drifted from the opening. Caroline placed a hand over her chest and shook her head.

"My mom. She's killing them."

"What?" Elena took a step forward. "We have to stop her."

"No, I can't," Caroline said. "Elena, she's gonna find out about me!"

Elena went down the stairs anyway. Rebecca followed her, smiling sympathetically at Caroline on the way. She didn't envy the position Caroline was in; she truly didn't.

At the end of the stairs there was a gate. It creaked when it was opened and Rebecca heard Liz tell someone to check it out. A deputy appeared out of nowhere so Rebecca punched him, effectively knocking the man out. They reached Liz, who, surprised, turned her gun on them.

"You can't kill them. I'm not gonna let you," the brunette said.

With a puff of wind the gate slammed shut behind them. Caroline had decided to get involved, Rebecca realized and felt a rush of pride for her friend.

"Who else is with you?" Liz asked.

There were two deputies down there with them; the one Rebecca had punched was now waking up, the other was trying to follow the blur that was Caroline. The blond stopped behind the first deputy and savagely bit into his neck. The disoriented deputy shot at her, but Caroline used the other deputy as a body shield. Both deputies were dead.

Caroline backed herself into a corner until she brought herself under control. She then stepped out of the shadows and looked at Liz, who seemed to be paralyzed with shock.

"Hi, Mom."

Rebecca quickly removed Liz's gun from Liz's hands and shoved the sheriff into the wall, baring her own fangs. Liz didn't scream at the sight, but she did seem shocked – even more than she already had been.

Knowing that Liz was not going to try anything, Rebecca let her self focus on Damon and Stefan.

Elena went to Stefan's side, and Rebecca went to Damon's. Both girls had to help get the bullets out of the respective boyfriend.

"Damon, hey!" she said softly, running her fingers down his cheek to assess the damage. She told Caroline to block the entrance so nobody could get in and so Liz couldn't get out.

After a bunch of yelling Damon was bullet free and so was Stefan, who had woken up in the middle of Elena digging into him. Rebecca dragged both deputies over for Stefan and Damon to drink from. Damon had no qualms, but Stefan wouldn't do it. He remembered what had happened last time, apparently.

"I'll be fine. It's just gonna take a little bit longer."

After Damon was done drinking he stood up, still unsteady on his feet.

"This is a most unfortunate situation."

Rebecca noticed Damon limping and realized his legs had to still be bothering him from when he'd been shot.

"Two deputies dead, and you." Damon looked at Liz, who had sat down and not spoken a word since. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Caroline asked. Liz looked at her but turned her head quickly. "Mom? Please? Look, I know that we don't get along and that you hate me, but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right? Mom, please, he will kill you."

Damon nodded minutely and Liz looked at him. "Then kill me. I can't take this. Kill me, now."

Rebecca hoped it was just the shock talking, but it seemed like Liz didn't want to live because Caroline was a vampire. The sheriff had worked so hard to protect her daughter from this and she had failed.

Damon crept closer to Liz and said darkly, "But you were gonna drag it out so painfully." Then he jerked her up roughly.

"Damon, don't," Stefan said firmly.

"Relax, no one's killing anybody." Then to Liz, "You're my friend."

Rebecca assumed that meant Damon knew that Liz was probably hurt, too, from finding out about Damon being a vampire. She'd trusted Damon above everyone on the council. To find out about him, about what he was, it had to sting.

"We gotta clean this up," Damon said.

Rebecca and Caroline were the only vampires that hadn't been shot so Rebecca volunteered them for it. Caroline had to learn somehow. But Damon said no.

"These are deputies. They'll be missed. We had to leave them somewhere they'll be found. Once Liz is vervain-free and compelled, she'll chalk it up to an animal attack as a cover story. We can't just bury these guys."

Rebecca nodded, seeing the reasoning behind Damon's words.

"Okay. I'll help you," Rebecca said. She needed to learn these things too. "Care, you go with Stefan and take your mom with you."

Once everyone had gone and only Damon and Rebecca were left, Rebecca told Damon to drink from her so he could heal completely. It was weird, but even though she was a vampire now, her blood was still just as powerful. It probably didn't taste super fresh, but it was stronger than a human's. Plus she loved the feeling she got when he drank from her. It was much more pleasurable now that she was a vampire.

Back at the Lockwood mansion, Jeremy and Tyler were still in the office. Now Jeremy was looking at a white stone, the one Tyler had shown him earlier.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked, turning it around in his hands.

"It's a moonstone," Tyler said. "I looked it up online. It's a natural rock, but they're supposed to have all sorts of supernatural legends attached to them."

"Why didn't you give it to him?" Jeremy asked, referring to Tyler's uncle.

"Because he wants it," Tyler admitted. "Because I'm a jerk like that. It's important to him for some reason, but I don't trust the guy, so I'm not just gonna hand it to him."

Jeremy didn't blame him. Not one bit.

"Found you!" Jeremy heard Sarah say as she came into the office.

"Hey, you guys are missing all the drinking." That was Aimee.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you two having a moment?" Sarah asked.

"No, we're good," Tyler said.

"Hey, what is that?" Aimee asked, taking the moonstone from Jeremy's hand.

"Pretty," Sarah said.

"Okay, let's not play with the rock," Tyler said, standing up.

"Well, come and get it."

"Look, I'll play along for a little bit, but seriously, give it back."

Tyler had been going toward Aimee, but then he realized Sarah had the moonstone when she moved to leave the office.

"You're lucky you're cute when you're drunk," Tyler said, following her out of the room and up the stairs. Aimee and Jeremy followed Tyler out, mostly because they wanted to see what was going to happen.

"I want Jeremy to come and get it," Sarah said, smiling at the brown haired boy.

"Give me a break."

"Sarah, don't be a bad drunk."

"Jeremy, come upstairs with me. See how bad a drunk I can be."

"I'm good, thanks," Jeremy said.

Tyler made it up the stairs and grabbed for the moonstone. Sarah began laughing.

"This isn't funny," Tyler said.

Jeremy wasn't sure what happened next. He didn't know whether Tyler had pushed her or if Sarah had fallen on her own, but Sarah did fall down the stairs.

"Sarah!" Jeremy said.

"She fell!" Tyler said, rushing down the stairs.

"She's not moving," Aimee said.

All three of the others surrounded Sarah, and Jeremy started freaking out. What if Sarah was dead? Would Tyler turn even if it wasn't really his fault?

Then Sarah was smiling. "Fooled you!"

Jeremy fell on his butt, relieved.

"You pushed me down the stairs," Sarah whined.

"Look, he – he didn't meant it, okay," Jeremy said, getting back onto his feet. He helped Sarah get to her feet and let Aimee lead her away.

Jeremy looked at Tyler, who was leaning against the railing of the stairs looking more scared than anything else. He wondered if the thought of him turning had passed through Tyler's mind too.

When Damon got back to the boardinghouse Caroline was just arriving. Elena let the blond in and Caroline said, "Hey. Sorry that took forever. I just didn't know how long my mom was gonna be here."

"It'll take about three days to get the vervain out of her system. Maybe even sooner," Damon said.

Damon left the two teens and went down to the cellar, where Liz was being held. He handed the sheriff her cell phone back and told her to call in sick so nobody would miss her at work.

"Thank you," Damon said when Liz handed the device to him. Liz went around him and stopped at her cot. "It's not exactly the Ritz, but it's secure. Brought you a good thread count. And once the vervain has worked its way out of your system, I will compel you, you will forget everything, and you will be a free woman again."

Damon tucked the cell phone into his back pocket, and then heard three pairs of footsteps in the hallway. Blondie, Elena, and Stefan.

"Keep Caroline away from me, please," Liz said. "I don't wanna see her."

"She's your daughter, Liz."

"Not anymore. My daughter's gone."

Damon knew Caroline was right outside. He also knew how much it hurt to be rejected by a parent. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"You have no idea how wrong you are about that," he said.

He looked at Blondie with real sympathy. He kind of owed it to her. She'd saved his life earlier and hadn't had a reason to. She was okay in his book.

Caroline put a suitcase by the door and took off back upstairs.

"Your daughter," Damon emphasized the word, "brought you some clothes."

Damon heard Elena and Stefan follow Caroline, and then he walked out the door and locked it behind him. Damon knew Caroline would be in serious need of some comforting, which he wasn't really good at, so he got out his phone and texted Rebecca.

Hey, Blondie needs you. Come home soon – D, was what he sent.

"Katherine took a little bit of vervain every day and built up a tolerance to it," he heard Stefan say. "I could do the same with human blood. I could learn to control myself on it."

"But you can't." That was Elena. "Stefan, you don't have to."

"I almost died tonight, Elena. Because I was too weak."

"But the last time that you drank human blood –"

"Look, I told you I would find a way to stop Katherine, didn't I? Well, this is it. This is the only way, because she's stronger than me. And unless that changes, I can't protect you."

"Can we talk about this later?"

"He can hear us wherever we are because he drinks this."

Damon assumed they were near the freezer where the blood was kept.

"This is – this is the only thing that can help me."

"Are you serious? Or are you pretending to fight? Because I can't tell if –"

"No, this is real. No more pretend."

Damon heard Elena stomp away and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Learning to control his blood lust was the best thing for Stefan, why couldn't Elena see that?

After Rebecca had gotten Damon's text she'd picked up her sister and had rushed back home. She found Caroline on the couch in the parlor, crying. Elena had just asked Caroline if she could take her home.

"I can't go home."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Why are you scared?" Elena asked.

Chelsea was fidgeting in Rebecca's arms and was saying "dow" over and over again. Rebecca knew her sister was trying to say 'down' so she let her sister go, safely depositing her onto the floor.

"Katherine's gonna be there, and she's gonna want me to tell her everything that happened today. She told me I had to spy on you and report back to her."

Elena looked away from the blond and said. "I know. And I have been so mad at you. But then I tried to put myself in your position, so that I could understand why you would do this to me, and to Stefan, because he's been such a friend to you."

Caroline's face shattered. She began sobbing, which made Chelsea start crying so that Rebecca had to pick her back up again.

"Who did she threaten?" Elena asked Caroline.

"Matt," the blonde whimpered. "She threatened Matt. And I am so scared of her, Elena, I am so scared of her."

"And you should be, Caroline, we all should be."

"Why is she doing this?" Caroline asked. "What does she want?"

"That's the million dollar question."

Caroline, still sobbing, leaned into Elena when the brunette opened her arms. As for Rebecca, she didn't know what was wrong with her sister, but she didn't want to stop crying.

"Hey, what's the matter?" she asked.

"Care!" the girl said – well, screamed, really.

"She's okay," Rebecca said. "Everything's okay."

Caroline lifted up her head and then reached her arms up for Chelsea. "Give her to me."

Rebecca listened to Caroline and then said, "I'm gonna go talk to Damon to see if we can put you up for the night."

At the Lockwood mansion, Tyler found his uncle in the study. Mason had just gotten off of his cell phone and was now looking at him.

"Hey," Mason said.

"Hi." Tyler had come to his uncle for a reason. "I almost killed a girl today."

"What?"

"It was an accident. I was being stupid. She's okay, though." Tyler saw the relief on his uncle's face. "But there I was, you know, just for a moment, for a split second, I hoped she'd die. Look, whatever this is inside me, I don't want any part of it. I don't ever want to feel that way again. I won't. I can't."

"I know," Mason said, stepping forward.

Tyler was still suspicious of Mason, but he'd been telling the truth. He didn't want anything to do with this werewolf business. He took the moonstone from his pocket and handed it to his uncle.

"Thank you," Mason said, looking at the rock in his hand as if it were a piece of gold.

Tyler walked away, hoping he'd done the right thing.

"So I guess you heard about Caroline working for Katherine," Rebecca said when she walked into their room upstairs. Damon was changing his shirt; his other one had had blood on and bullet holes in it.

"I heard," he said. "You don't seem surprised."

"I'm not. I knew already and she asked me not to tell you because she thought you might try to kill her again."

"Ah. How'd you find out?"

"She was acting weird so I confronted her. I told her I'd help her. So, can she stay here tonight? Katherine's probably waiting at her house so . . ."

"She can stay." Then, "Why was Chelsea crying?"

Rebecca hesitated. "I don't know. She started crying when Caroline started crying, so . . . I think she knew something was wrong even though she's just a baby. She wouldn't stop crying until she was in Care's arms.

"Hm."

Damon knew Chelsea had something that made her different than other girls her age. It was almost like the girl was empathic – maybe she was.

"Do you think you could get Bonnie to do a spell on Chelsea? I –" Damon started.

"Do what? Bonnie's not doing some spell on my sister. She could turn Chelsea into a toad or something."

"A toad?" Damon scoffed. "Hear me out, please? Something could be happening to Chelsea. We need to know what it is."

Damon watched Rebecca bit her lip and nod hesitantly

"I don't know if she'll listen to me. I did bite her."

"Yeah, but that was two weeks ago," Damon said.

Rebecca blinked, amused. The bad thing was that in Damon's warped brain Bonnie should just be thankful that she wasn't dead. Bonnie had threatened him and Rebecca had acted naturally; she'd let instinct take over.

"Right. Well, I'm gonna go tell Caroline to pick a room. I'll be back."

"Uh, I'll come with you."

Once downstairs, Rebecca and Damon saw Elena tucking Caroline underneath a blanket on the couch. Chelsea was not asleep; she was walking around, going from the couch Care was on to the table and back; the young girl was fine now.

Elena looked at Damon and said, "Caroline's sleeping on the couch," as if it weren't obvious.

"I heard. And you?"

"I'm going home," Elena said.

"Ho!" Chelsea repeated. All three adults looked at her and Rebecca covered her mouth to keep from laughing; Damon was grinning.

Elena went to the door and reached for it before turning back around. "What you did for Caroline's mom . . . that's the Damon who was my friend."

Damon nodded and a small smile graced his lips. He figured now would be a good time to tell Elena what he knew.

"Hey. Stefan didn't drink the people blood, if you were curious. But he needs to. And deep down, you know that."

Rebecca looked between Damon and Elena. What had she missed?

Damon took Rebecca by the hand and then grabbed Chelsea. Damon decided just to leave Blondie on the couch since she was already asleep. He took his girls upstairs, taking both to their respective room. Chelsea didn't mind sleeping alone as long as he left a light on and the door ajar.

Once in their room, Damon explained what had happened between Stefan and Elena before Rebecca had come back.

"I don't like it," Rebecca said. "Last time he was on human blood, he killed me."

She had a very valid point, Damon knew.

"I remember," Damon said.

"Do you think he'll be able to control it?"

"I think he can learn," Damon admitted. "If he'll try."

"And it'll be from blood bags?" she asked. "At least until . . ."

Damon nodded. "He'll learn to control the amount. He'll start with a little bit everyday and work his way up."

"Well, if he does it, we'll have to watch him. It can't end up like last time, agreed?"

"Agreed," Damon said. "It won't be like last time."

Okay, so this is my latest offering to you guys. I didn't know how to really change this one without anything drastic happening, so I kept it pretty much the same.