Six: Down Under

By the time that the entire gang arrived from the disastrous road trip Katherine Pierce was dripped in sweat. She had forgotten how disgusting sweating was, how sticky and smelly she felt. She wondered if she could convince Damon to stop by a decent hotel before they visited Klaus.

If she was going to die today she wanted to be clean. The sun was nearly boiling her arm off. Stupid summer. Poor Caroline's face was flushed bright pink. She fanned herself with a Chinese menu that they had picked on the road.

"Can we stop at a hotel for the night?" Caroline whined. "I'm exhausted."

"Zip it blondie," Damon said as he honk his horn at a couple of stupid tourists. Damn it, he didn't remember New Orleans being this crowded. The faster that they took care of this mess the faster that they could return to Mystic Falls.

"It's almost night, Damon." Stefan pointed out. It was almost six and the sun was disappearing. "The girls are exhausted. We can rest up for the night and talk to Klaus tomorrow morning."

Damon didn't look at all pleased by the plan and it was obvious that he wanted to turn his precious Elena back into a vampire as soon as possible. But one look at Elena's tired faced made him changed his mind. "Fine. We can stay in a hotel for tonight. I'll text Klaus and tell him that we will meet him in the morning."

Katherine felt her heart jump slightly. Yes, at least she could live another day.

They checked in into a small, luxurious hotel called The Rosewood hotel that Damon had stayed in various of times. All of the girls were too tired to bitch at each other which Damon thought it was a small miracle.

He got three rooms one for him and Elena, one for Caroline and for Katherine and one for Stefan. Damon, Stefan, and Elena quickly headed to the bar leaving Caroline and Katherine alone.

Katherine played with her curls that had become wild through the long car ride. "I hate this!" she scowled as she grabbed a brush and painfully brushed her curls.

Caroline flipped through a magazine that she had bought at a gas station. "Well, with any luck Klaus will be able to fix this and it will all be a nightmare."

"Do you honestly think that your lovey boy toy will be able to fix this?" Katherine demanded. "We are talking about magic that is over 2000 years old. I doubt that any of Klaus' newbie witches will be able to help us."

Caroline scowled. "What if instead of being so negative you actually help for a change?" she got up.

"Where are you going?"

"To get some air."

Elena sipped her vodka on the rocks and made a face. It was way too strong and it seemed her alcohol tolerance hadn't gotten any better since she had become human. Elena pushed the drink away. She, Stefan, and Damon were sitting at the Hotel ballroom trying to figure out this whole mess.

However, the only thing that they were capable of doing was filling out the awkward silence. "What does Klaus have in mind? Does he actually have a plan?" A part of her hoped that he did, while a part of her wished that she could remain human forever.

"He does." Stefan said. "When I talked to him a few days ago, he promised that he had a plan."

"If he doesn't, he better." Damon took a sip of his bourbon. "Especially since his precious Caroline is human and he doesn't want her to end up in a casket."

"Damon," Elena sounded annoyed. "Please don't drag, Caroline into this." Stefan noticed the awkward tension and immediately excused himself.

Damon squeezed his hands together trying not to lose his patience. "Ok, Elena what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Elena said looking at her lap and avoiding his eyes.

"You know what I mean." Damon said with a roll of his blue eyes. "Ever since we left Mystic Falls, you've been tensed. You have even tolerated Katherine more than you usually do and that is just plain weird." Elena didn't respond and Damon leaned forward to squeezed her hand. "Talk to me please, I can take it. You can be honest with me."

Elena nodded as she bit her lower lip. "Ok, I will be honest with you because you asked me too. I'm-I'm not to sure that I want to be a vampire again Damon."

Damon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

Elena took a deep breath and pushed her dark hair from her face. "You heard me Damon, you knew how unhappy I was when I first became a vampire. Is it really much of a surprise that I am glad that I am given a second chance of humanity?" She stroke his cheek. "Won't you be happy for me, please."

Damon pulled away. "No Elena, I'm sorry I can't be happy for you when I believe that you are making the biggest mistake of your life."

8

Stefan tapped his foot to the jazz music that was playing as he slowly nodded his head to the beat of the music. It felt good to get away from the girls and from Damon. Now he could finally think.

"I remember that Gloria's always used to have better music," a familiar voice said. "If I remember correctly you were always an excellent dancer."

Stefan turned around and saw the beautiful blonde that had been Elena's rival for his affections at some point. Rebekah was wearing tight jeans and a tank top. She looked annoyed and Stefan guessed that Klaus had dragged her back from her European vacation with Matt to help with the girls.

"Rebekah, I didn't know you were in town." Stefan said as a way of greeting.

"Well, you know my brother. He can never do anything by himself." She pursed her lips. "I thought you would be protecting your two little doves by now."

Stefan crinkled his eyebrows. "I think you mean three. I know neither of us have talked in a while, but Caroline and Elena weren't the only ones that were turned by accident."

Rebekah looked confused. "What do you mean? Klaus said that it was only Caroline and Elena."

Stefan shook his head. "That was a little white lie. There was another person that was turned, but we didn't tell Klaus because there is some negative history between them. Katherine was the third person that was turned."

Rebekah's eyes narrowed in angry little slits. "What? Are you telling me that, that self absorb little bitch got the cure before me? I'm going to kill her!"

"No, you're not. You are going to help her turn back into a vampire."

Rebekah scowled at him. "Why are you defending her? She killed you!"

"Because it's complicated." Stefan said through gritted teeth. "And Katherine is human now she is no harm to anyone not to mention that for her humanity is worse than death."

Rebekah pursed her lips. "Fine I won't kill her, but that doesn't mean Klaus won't."

-End of Chapter Six-

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