This is basically starting where the last chapter leaves off. Stefan and Elena betrayed Rebecca and Damon, but if you read the last chapter, you're good to go. LOL
Chapter Thirty-Four
The next morning Damon received a whole slew of voice-mails from Stefan, and the gist of each was "Elena's missing. I think Anna has her. Call me back when you get this."
Damon didn't call back, and he took his sweet time going back to the boardinghouse too. He didn't let Rebecca know about Elena because he knew if Anna was going to hurt Elena it was for a reason, and she would tell Stefan, contact him some way, and try and set up something where Elena didn't get hurt.
"Anna took Elena," Stefan said when Damon reached him.
"Yeah. I got that from your 600 voice-mails."
"Damon, all night long, every single street in town, I've been searching. What if your blood hasn't passed out of her system?"
"Well, at least you know you'll see her again," Damon said.
"Damon . . . you're angry, I get it, but this is Elena. What do you know?"
"I know that she helped you hurt Rebecca." Damon smirked because he knew that Stefan couldn't counter that without flat out lying. "You know she was trying to be friends with you? She wanted to be even after what you did to her, and you yourself said you wanted to be friends with her. Which is pretty ballsy, you know? You and Elena, you're her friends and you betray her like that. Funny how I'm the trustworthy one."
"Damon, you were with Anna," Stefan said, deciding to ignore the truth of Damon's words. "You must know where she's living. Just tell me."
Damon pretended to consider it, and then . . . "Nope. You can go. Really."
Stefan didn't go. He decided he wanted to talk some more. "You know, all I can remember is hating you."
"Mutual, little brother."
"There might've been a time when that was different, but your choices have erased anything good about you. But see, I know that you have just as much reason to hate me. This all began with me. But please, tell me what you know."
Stefan wanted his help and he was bringing that up? Really? Not the best strategy.
"I mean this sincerely. I hope Elena . . . dies." Damon tried to appear nonchalant. "Now, Rebecca's necklace. Where is it?"
Stefan looked crestfallen, but he answered anyway. "It's in your room with her things. In her drawer."
Meanwhile, Rebecca was with Jeremy, Matt, Tyler and Caroline at the Grill. Tyler was shooting pool, Matt was working - sort of - and Caroline was being Caroline. Jeremy was doing homework, and Rebecca was just along for the ride. They were all talking about some party a guy was throwing that night.
"Ten kegs? Do you know how much damage we could do with ten kegs?" Tyler seemed excited enough. "Duke's got it all hooked up."
"Duke's a douche," Matt said.
"Yeah, a douche with ten kegs. AKA, my new best friend."
Jeremy shook his head and scoffed. The only thing missing was the eye roll.
"What's your problem, Gilbert?"
"Don't have one, Lockwood."
"Yeah, I didn't think so."
Matt looked between Jeremy and Tyler and then settled his gaze on the latter. "You ever get bored of it?"
"Of what?" Tyler asked.
"Yourself."
Matt got back to work, and Rebecca and Jeremy got a few chuckles in.
"Keep laughing, guys," Tyler muttered.
"Come on, you're being a dick," Rebecca said.
"I'm what?"
"Being . . . a . . . dick," Rebecca said, sounding as though she were speaking to a child.
"You know, you really shouldn't talk to me like that," Tyler said, coming to stand beside her. "It's rude."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said sarcastically.
Tyler grabbed her hand when she reached for her drink. "You really shouldn't talk to me like that."
His grip was tight and Rebecca was surprised by how strong he was, but Tyler did play three sports - football, baseball, and basketball.
"Tyler, let her go," Jeremy said, closing his textbook and standing up.
"Yeah? What're you gonna do?"
Rebecca grabbed Tyler's wrist and squeezed the pressure point hard enough to make him let go. He seemed surprised and had a "what the hell" expression on his face.
"Wrong day, wrong girl," Rebecca said seriously. She was not in the mood to put up with the Aggressive Male Syndrome today. In fact, she wasn't in the mood to put up with anything at the moment.
She realized Jeremy and Caroline were staring at her now, and she looked down at the table. "What?"
Tyler walked away, holding his wrist, muttering.
"You know, who are you lately?" Jeremy asked. "How do you even know how to do that?"
"Um . . . I've been taking self defense from a friend. I caught on quickly."
Rebecca was glad when Caroline changed the subject. "So where's Elena? I've been texting her and Bonnie all day about Duke's party."
"Uh, she went somewhere with Stefan," Jeremy said.
Caroline sighed. "I'm so not gonna be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new boyfriend."
"Who is Duke?" Jeremy asked.
"Some guy that graduated a couple years ago. And he throws a party every time he comes home from Duke."
"Wait, Duke goes to Duke?"
"His real name is Bob or something. He's a total ass, but he buys the beer. You know, you should come."
"Uh, yeah, I -" Jeremy seemed uncomfortable. "I don't think so."
"No, seriously. Everyone goes. Even quiet loner little brothers. Think about it?"
Jeremy grinned and Caroline walked away. Jeremy went back to his homework and Rebecca smiled at the thought of Caroline trying to get Jeremy to go to the party.
It was being held at the old cemetery near the church. Why anyone would have a party in a cemetery was beyond Rebecca. Not to mention . . . it was December and freezing; it was even calling for snow that night.
"Hey, look, I gotta go, but I'll see you later," Rebecca said. "I might be at the party later if I can't find anything better to do."
"Okay."
Outside the Grill Rebecca trundled into a very panicked Stefan.
"Rebecca, can I talk to you?"
"Yes, but I won't promise to listen." She walked by him, getting ready to get into her car.
"Elena's missing," he blurted out.
Rebecca stopped in her tracks. Elena was what, now?
"Jeremy said she was with you . . ." she said suspiciously. She wasn't very trusting of him right now. What if this was a trick?
"I told him and Jenna that so they wouldn't panic. I think Anna has her."
"What would Anna want with Elena?" Anna had seemed a little preoccupied with Jeremy, but now . . .
"I don't know."
Rebecca noticed how concerned Stefan was and, even though she was mad at him for being willing to risk someone's life - who, she didn't know - she still felt bad for him. She couldn't help it, that was just her - she saw someone suffering and she wanted to help make it stop.
"Anna won't hurt her. She won't risk it."
"Risk what?"
"I have the grimoire, Stefan, and she knows it."
"You mean you didn't give it to her?"
"No!" she exclaimed. What, did he think she was stupid? "Get in the car and I'll explain."
So she explained the rules she'd set with Anna, and said as long as she had the grimoire Anna wouldn't risk hurting Elena because Rebecca might actually destroy the book. That had been the rules.
"So . . . you were never planning on giving it to her?"
"No, Stefan, I wasn't. I'm not stupid. I wouldn't just hand over a powerful book to someone I don't know. And if you had come to me instead of going behind my back, you would've known that."
"If I just knew where Elena was, we could fix this."
"I thought you said she was with Anna."
"I don't know where Anna is. But Damon does. He won't help me, but I figured if you asked . . ."
"Ah . . . right. Well, I'll help, but we're still not okay. I - I'm still angry at both of you but I don't want either of you hurt."
So they headed to the boardinghouse and, on the way, Stefan asked a very personal question.
"Why Damon? I mean, you know how he is, what he does, so . . ."
Rebecca did know how he was and the things he did. Killing Lexi and forcing Elena to drink is blood were just two of the mistakes on a long list of -
"Oh, God. Elena has his blood in her system.
"I know, I know. I mentioned that to Damon; he didn't seem to care."
"He's mad that you hurt me, and I don't agree with him forcing Elena to drink his blood, but that was the only thing he knew to do that would get you to cooperate."
"And it worked."
"Yeah, it did." Rebecca sighed and slowed down the car just before they reached the turnoff for the boardinghouse. "I'm sorry that Damon forced Elena to drink his blood. I wish it hadn't happened. No one should be forced into something like that. I'll talk to him about it after we figure this stuff out, okay?"
Stefan nodded appreciatively. "He'd listen to you better than he would me."
"Yeah. Look, I want to get along with you, Stefan. You know that, right? But I can't if you keep doing things like this. Next time just let me know how you feel. I'm the reasonable person in Damon's and my relationship. I won't hurt you for not agreeing with me, so no more deceit, okay?"
Stefan nodded again. "Well, then, I should tell you that the reason Mr. Saltzman is here is because he knows about vampires. He attacked me at the school. It sort of surprised him when I didn't attack back."
"How does he know?"
"His wife was a paranormal investigator. She researched this town. Led him here."
"Okay. Didn't see that coming, but I knew there was something odd about him. He asked way too many questions."
If Mr. Saltzman knew about Stefan, that meant he knew about Damon. That was why he'd been talking to him at the dance. He was lucky Damon hadn't suspected anything or the teacher would've been dead. And . . . when Damon had gone to compel him to tell the truth . . . he must've had vervain on him or in him because he'd obviously lied - he wasn't just a history teacher.
She then remembered Stefan's original question.
"Oh, and, uh, the answer is because he helps me loosen up and have fun. Every other part of my life is all gloom and doom, but when I'm with Damon none of it matters. Everything else just fades away. And there's only me and him, and I just know that as long as I have him I'll be okay. That why it's Damon."
At the boardinghouse Damon didn't relent. He still didn't want to tell Stefan where Anna was staying. Even if Rebecca was the one who asked him to spill. It would be considered helping Stefan, and Damon wasn't in a help-Stefan mood. He was in a make-Stefan-miserable mood.
"Damon . . ." Rebecca said, big green eyes shining up at him, and he forced himself to ignore the fact that she was trying to get him to tell her. "Please? If the situation were reversed, Stefan would help you find me. And no, I don't think Anna will hurt Elena, but what if she does?"
That was when Stefan's phone rang, and he said it was Elena's phone.
"Elena, are you okay?"
"She's fine, for now," Anna's voice came over the line. Damon motioned for Rebecca to be quiet so he could hear both sides of the conversation. "Your brother and his Slayer girlfriend have the grimoire. I have Elena and the witch. One of you better meet me in the very public town square in 30 minutes so we can safely discuss how fun it's gonna be to work together."
Damon knew from this one phone call that the reason Elena - and Bonnie - had been taken was because Anna didn't trust Rebecca or Stefan or him, for that matter. Taking Elena was a way to get Stefan to cooperate. Taking Bonnie was insurance that Anna actually had a witch. It would probably be a trade off. Rebecca let Anna use the spell book and she would give Elena and Bonnie back, no harm done.
Anna hung up; Stefan hung up. He looked at Damon pleadingly.
"Go ahead. Grovel again," he said. "Oh, wait, no. I don't care."
"So you're really not gonna help?" Rebecca asked, and Damon didn't answer.
Fuck, Damon thought. He was actually going to make her cry over this. If only making Stefan miserable didn't mean making Rebecca miserable. Hurting Rebecca on purpose was something Damon had promised himself that he would never do. But Damon didn't understand why Rebecca wanted to help Elena anyway, not after what she and Stefan had done the night before. Shouldn't their friendship be null and void now?
"Fine," Rebecca said, turning to Stefan. Turning away from Damon, and Damon felt in his heart that her turning away signified something bigger and he didn't like it. "We can do it another way. A location spell; Sheila can do it. Bonnie's Grams, she's also a witch."
Damon had seen the disappointment in Rebecca's eyes at the fact that he wasn't going to help them get Elena and Bonnie back. He knew Anna wouldn't hurt them, not with Rebecca holding the very important card that was the grimoire. But . . . God, but he was a sucker when it came to love and the woman he loved. He sometimes hated himself for it.
"It's a hotel," he said, cursing himself for giving in. Stefan never should've brought Rebecca here when Damon clearly didn't want to help Stefan. That was using Rebecca against him, against his will power, and it wasn't fair. Granted, he knew he'd done the same thing with Elena last night to get the book from Stefan but still . . . Stefan wasn't supposed to do things like that. "It's just outside of town. No invite needed."
And just like that, Rebecca's disappointment faded away and gratitude took its place.
"Okay, well . . . I still need to go to Sheila's and try to convince her to help - Bonnie can't do it alone. One of you needs to go find the girls, and the other needs to meet Anna. Tell her we'll still help but we just wanted to make sure our friends were safe."
Damon looked heavenward and shook his head. He was being bossed around by a seventeen-year-old girl. How the hell had that happened?
Damon was the one who met Anna in the town square. He was the stronger of him and Stefan so he'd . . . volunteered. He sneered at the thought. When had he become such a pushover? It was almost . . . human.
He watched as Anna walked along the sidewalk and stopped to talk to Jeremy Gilbert. Jeremy asked her to a party that night and she accepted. If Damon didn't know any better, he'd say Anna was actually interested in the kid. After she accepted, Jeremy walked away and Anna went to sit on a red bench, and Damon quickly went to sit beside her. He was the perfect picture of nonchalance.
"Got a hot date or are you just planning on nabbing the entire Gilbert family?" he asked.
"Party. Right next to the old cemetery. Isn't that nice of them? Lots of warm bodies for starving vampires."
Anna seemed perfectly sure of herself and he didn't like that.
"Stefan will come after you, you know that. For messing with Elena."
"Let him come," Anna said. "With his diet, he'd be lucky if he lasted ten minutes."
And now came the hard part; the next part depended on Anna and how she reacted. He told her about Stefan going to get Bonnie and Elena but that Rebecca still planned on helping her. She just wanted her friends back.
"God, she's a meddlesome girl," Anna seethed.
Damon smirked as he remembered Stefan had said the same thing a long time ago.
"Last person who told her that got a wooden stake to the stomach."
Anna's lips turned down into a frown. "Joking aside, you should really keep an eye on your girlfriend if you wanna keep her. She's good at what she does, which means she's going to piss a lot of people off. Someone's already sending loose cannons her way."
"What do you know about that?"
"Only that it's not me. Rebecca told me the rest."
Damon's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Why the warning? It's not like you care what happens to her."
"I'm older than you. I've met a few Slayers. Not all of them were like her. They didn't care about vampires; they just wanted them dead. At least Rebecca can be objective. She doesn't see us as monsters just because we can be monsters. Things could be worse."
"Hm."
Damon had never actively searched out any Slayers. He hadn't cared about them at all; he'd only wanted to get back to Rebecca. He'd even gone to see a few witches to ask them to send him into the future to be with her but it had been impossible. Obviously, or he wouldn't have had to wait, and he hated waiting.
"So, when do you wanna do this?" he asked her.
"Tonight. After sundown. Meet at the church."
Anna got up and began to walk away, but she turned back around. "She's your girlfriend . . . Can I trust her?"
Damon then saw Anna for what she really was. A teenage girl who missed her mother and just wanted her back. He was almost sorry.
"Yes, you can trust her. If she says she's gonna do something, she does it."
"And why are you her little errand boy?"
Damon used his icy stare on Anna. "I am not an errand boy. Rebecca had to talk to Sheila Bennett about helping us because Bonnie isn't strong enough to do it on her own. She hasn't had her powers for long, and she's been practicing for an even shorter amount of time." He smirked. "A little flaw in your plan there, getting an inexperienced witch."
Anna huffed at the sort of insult and walked away, leaving Damon to grin wickedly as he watched.
Meanwhile, at the Bennett House, Rebecca was explaining to Grams how she'd gotten the grimoire and, since it had been Emily's, that after everything was done either Grams or Bonnie should keep it. It was rightfully theirs.
"I'm really sorry," Rebecca said.
"Not as sorry as they're gonna be."
Grams had been worried and angry when Rebecca had told her that Anna had Bonnie and Elena, but she reassured Grams that it was already taken care of.
Not long after that, Stefan showed up with Bonnie and Elena. Grams reluctantly let Stefan in even though she knew what he was. Rebecca avoided looking at or talking to Elena even though she was glad Elena was okay and back.
"So, what do we do now?" Elena asked.
"Well, for now, you need to stay here," Stefan said. "Your house isn't safe for you; Anna's been invited in."
"A prisoner in my own home?" Grams asked. "I don't think so."
"I can't protect you if you leave the house."
"We'll protect ourselves."
"Okay, butting in here," Rebecca interrupted. "How did Anna get to you, Bonnie?"
Rebecca knew Elena had been taken from her home, so that meant Anna had been invited into the Gilbert residence - probably by Jeremy - but Bonnie . . .
"Ben McKittrick. I went on a date with him," Bonnie said.
"The bartender at the Grill," Rebecca said, grimacing. "Vampire, working with Anna. Wow."
"You knew he was a vampire?" Elena asked.
"Yeah. And I'm sorry, Bonnie. If I had known you were interested in him, I would've told you."
"No, it's okay. You didn't know."
Rebecca sighed and stood up. "I think that's the problem. None of us know anything anymore. We all have our own stuff to deal with. We've all kept secrets for our own reasons. And we just shouldn't anymore. Not with each other."
There was a knock at the door and Rebecca knew it was Damon. She looked at Grams, who seemed hesitant about letting another vampire in the house - especially Damon. Rebecca understood that. Damon could be unpredictable. Grams let him in anyway, and here they were - one big happy family; or not so happy.
"Witches being pulled down by vampire problems," Grams muttered. "As much as we try to do to stay out of it. I'll open the tomb. Anna gets her mother and we destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over."
"I . . . agree with that statement," Rebecca said. This had been what she'd wanted anyway. Anna walking away with Pearl; the others destroyed or, at the very least, left in the tomb. No, she wasn't all woo-hoo for killing vampires that weren't hurting anyone, but she couldn't risk them getting out and running around town and sucking people dry either.
"But . . . I want to get something out of the way right now." Since Rebecca had explained what had happened she didn't mind saying it in front of everyone. "Elena, Stefan . . . I understand what you were trying to do. I get it, I do. If . . . I look at it objectively, letting one person die so that everyone else can live . . . would be the right thing to do. It would be best for everyone else. And I don't want things to be awkward between us today, so I forgive you. We have work to do and we can't - I can't - let this get in the way."
The words I forgive you sparked a memory in Damon. Rebecca had once told him when he was human that sometimes one had to forgive people who had wronged them not so much because they deserved it, but because they needed it. That was what she was doing now; they had to work together, so it was best if things weren't tense and awkward.
Damon realized then that this was probably why he and Rebecca got along so well. Rebecca was able to forgive him for his trespasses. He meant more to her than all the vampire things he thought he had to do.
"As I said earlier . . . we don't know each other anymore. It's not our fault; it just happened," Rebecca said. "I have the Slayer stuff, training and all that. I have Damon . . ."
Rebecca blushed a little.
"I know I've been MIA because of my relationship. And Bonnie, you're a witch. And Elena . . . your life is so mixed up I don't know how you're dealing with everything. We've been away from each other a lot because of all these things, and we shouldn't be. We should stay together. Stick together. If we don't, then we will fail, and in this town failing might mean dying."
"Speaking of dying -" Damon interrupted what was sure to be a great and inspiring speech. "Anna wants to open the tomb tonight. We meet her at the church at sundown."
"But there's a party there tonight," Rebecca said.
"Mm-hm. That's why I said speaking of dying. Pearl hasn't had any blood in almost a century-and-a-half. Who do you think she's gonna wanna munch on?"
"The teenagers, God." Rebecca shook her head. "Matt, Caroline, Tyler, and Jeremy are gonna be there. Plus a bunch of other people."
A lot of people were gonna die, and she was going to be the reason. It would be her fault because she'd agreed to help Anna open the tomb.
"If we're gonna do this, we're gonna need some things," Stefan said. "Flame thrower, gasoline."
"Can you get it by tonight?" Elena asked.
"Guess we'll have to."
"We'll have to clear out the debris from when the ground fell in, too," Bonnie said. "We can't get down any other way."
"There should be a staircase down there somewhere," Damon said. "Probably caved in over the years."
So they split into two groups. Damon, Rebecca, and Elena were going to the tomb; Stefan, Grams, and Bonnie were going to get things they needed, including spell stuff that Rebecca didn't know about.
At the tomb Damon went down into the hole that had been created by the ground giving way, and Rebecca and Elena began looking for a trapdoor that could've been hiding a staircase. It couldn't be that far from the collapsed bit of ground, so they didn't wander away needlessly.
"Do you think Anna will really just stop with her mother?" Elena asked.
"Yes, I do. I think that's the only one she wants."
By the time the sun went down Stefan, Bonnie and Grams had come back, and Damon had cleaned the debris from the hole in the ground. Damon had found the staircase and had had to make the way clear for that, too. Rebecca had set up torches for the two witches - Grams had said something about channeling energy through the elements. They could draw power from the fire. Rebecca was interested in the magic because, aside from the spell she'd done herself, she hadn't seen a lot of magic firsthand. Except for Bonnie having visions and being possessed by Emily, Rebecca wasn't sure Bonnie had ever done a big spell like this. She didn't know if Bonnie could handle it.
"Grams . . . this spell, it won't hurt you guys, right? I mean, you said it takes energy, so I'm guessing that means your energy."
"We'll be fine, baby," Grams said, her wise eyes showing a maternal affection. "But, yes, our energy is what fuels the magic."
Rebecca couldn't tell if Grams was lying or not, but she decided to trust her. Grams knew what she could and couldn't do.
"Okay, well, I'm going to go check on the partiers. Someone should really make sure they stay away from the church."
"I can put up a barrier once everyone gets here before we do the spell," Grams said. "It's not that hard."
"Okay."
Stefan began setting up the gasoline cans and the flame thrower. It was everything he needed to destroy the tombed vampires.
"I just wanna get this over with," Elena said. "Are we ready?"
"I guess so," Bonnie said.
"Wait until I get back, please," Rebecca said.
"You shouldn't leave," Stefan said. "It might draw a few stragglers back. Best to just stay here."
Rebecca suppressed her natural urge to rebel because it was Stefan telling her that and stayed put. They all went down into the hole via the staircase. They lit the torches and got ready to do the spell. Anna would probably be there soon.
"Air. Earth. Fire," Sheila said, calling on the four elements - well, three, but soon to be four.
"Water," Bonnie completed. She was holding a jug of water.
"That's it?" Elena asked. "Just water from the tap?"
"As opposed to what?"
"I just figured it would have to be blessed or mystical or something."
Grans smiled softly and took the bottle from Bonnie. She sprinkled some water on the ground where she and Bonnie would be working.
"We're ready," Bonnie said, opening the grimoire to the page needed. Now all they needed was for Anna to come, hopefully without surprises.
Bonnie and Grams held hands and began chanting in a different language.
"What're they saying?" Damon asked.
"Open sesame?" Rebecca suggested playfully, and Damon rolled his eyes. "How am I supposed to know?"
"It sounds Latin," Stefan said.
"I don't think it's Latin," Elena contradicted.
"How would you know?" Rebecca asked curiously. "You take French, not ancient dead languages." Rebecca remembered Grams saying something about other spell books she owned having been translated from the original into English, so maybe it was Latin.
Suddenly the flames from the torches shot up higher, and Rebecca felt the heat from it and backed away a little. Well, Damon pulled her back a little. It was heartwarming to know that Damon was always looking out for her. He was always on the alert for things that were dangerous to her.
"Careful," Damon hissed at the witches. "Some of us don't heal automatically."
And being set on fire was not one of Rebecca's fantasies.
"What's happening," Elena asked.
There was a loud crash and then the door to the tomb opened. There was a hideous odor, and Rebecca had to fight the urge to gag.
"Ugh!" The funk of 145 years hit all of them in the face and Rebecca noticed that Stefan and Damon were holding their breath - their chests were no longer moving. They didn't need to breathe.
"It worked," Bonnie seemed shocked.
"Of course it worked."
"Don't you have some fires to build?" Damon asked Stefan.
"I'm gonna go get the gasoline. I'll be right back."
Once Stefan went back to the top it took about a minute for Anna to show up. She looked around at everyone.
"Didn't expect such a crowd."
"What, did you think they would let me come alone?" Rebecca asked.
"You said only you would be here. So only you're coming in with me. Well, you and Elena." Anna looked at Damon. "Motivation for you and your brother to behave."
"She's not going in there alone," Damon said.
"I don't think I have a choice," Rebecca muttered. "She needs to know she won't be ambushed."
"I won't hurt her," Anna promised. "I get my mother out, we come back out, and you have her back. It's as simple as that."
Rebecca grabbed her necklace, the one with the Salvatore crest on it, and reassured herself of the fact that she was protected from compulsion at least.
Rebecca looked at Elena. "You up for it?"
Elena sighed. "Like you said, we don't have a choice."
Damon looked angry but he was going along with it anyway. He didn't have a choice either.
"Fine, Here." He threw a few bags of blood to Rebecca and she looked up at him, surprised. Leave it to Damon to remember the part of the plan she hadn't come up with. "Should be enough to at least get her away from the party."
"Good thinking," she complimented and he smirked.
Damon watched as both Rebecca and Elena went inside the tomb with Anna. He was not happy. This was where things could go terribly wrong.
Stefan came back without the gasoline, which Damon was going to mention, but Stefan asked where Elena was.
"Anna took her and Rebecca inside," Bonnie answered.
"What?"
Stefan moved toward the entrance but Sheila grabbed his arm. "Stefan, if you go in there, you won't come out."
Damon straightened up and glared at the witch. Not come out? That didn't bode well for . . . any of them. "What did you do?"
"Opening the door didn't remove the seal; it just opened the door."
"What's the seal?" Stefan asked.
"Some seals keep vampires from entering. This one keeps them from coming out."
Elena and Rebecca were human - they could get out. Anna couldn't, Pearl couldn't. None of the vampires could.
"You were never planning on breaking the spell, were you?" Stefan asked.
"I told you," Sheila said, standing firm. "I will protect my own. The girls can get out. That's all that matters."
Meanwhile, inside the tomb, Elena and Rebecca were trailing behind Anna. They all three had flashlights but Anna had the advantage seeing as to how she was a vampire - vampires had a sort of night vision thing since they were nocturnal by nature. Rebecca found herself silently thanking Diana for training her to fight and be alert in total darkness. If the flashlights died - Rebecca would still be able to defend herself.
"You know, you must have a taste for it," Anna told Elena. "You scream and shriek and even bother to escape, but then you just come right back to it."
Rebecca had been counting the vampires and, when they reached the end of the tomb, she was one short. There were supposed to be twenty-seven but there were only twenty-six.
"She's not here," Anna said, looking at Rebecca. "She never was."
So . . . Katherine had gotten away. Rebecca wasn't surprised, really; she'd had the entire town under her spell.
They finally found Pearl and Anna really did seem concerned; she really did love her mother.
"Your boyfriend did this, you know," Anna told Elena.
"His father did."
"And Jonathan Gilbert. Made a choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that brought her back to life. I had Jeremy all ready to go, but . . ."
"Hold that thought train, sister," Rebecca said. "It ain't happening. She drinks from the blood bags, or she doesn't get any blood at all. Elena, go."
Anna actually hit Rebecca in the face but it was more from annoyance than any real desire to hurt her so Rebecca didn't fight back.
"You're really bothersome, you know that? It's no wonder someone's trying to kill you."
"Story of my life. Now, hurry up. This place gives me the creeps."
A hand grabbed Rebecca's ankle and teeth latched onto her calf, tearing into the muscle, and Rebecca screamed.
Outside the tomb both Stefan and Damon heard the high-pitched scream. The brothers looked at each other and both took off into the tomb at the same time. The layout of the tomb was easy to remember - there weren't any secret passageways or anything like that.
They ran into Elena on the way, and Damon asked where Rebecca was.
"She's with Anna. She told me to leave."
Damon looked at Stefan and said, "Get her out of here."
Then he took off again, all the while cursing himself for not coming with the two girls in the first place. When he reached the place Anna and Rebecca were he saw the problem. Rebecca was bleeding, and all the vampires had sensed it; they were waking up. Rebecca had been bitten on the leg and was wobbling around. The vampires could sense the blood, the human blood, here and it was making them come back to life.
"Damon." She caught his gaze and let out a sigh of relief.
"I, uh, heard you scream. Can you get out of here on your own?"
"I can walk, yeah."
Rebecca looked at Anna, who was giving Pearl some blood.
"Go on," he said. "I'll stay."
Rebecca heard something in his voice that made her freeze. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin', get out of here."
"Is somebody hurt?"
"No, everyone's fine. I'll be there in a minute."
With obvious reluctance, she went. Once outside the tomb Rebecca found out why Damon had been acting so weird. Stefan was standing at the mouth of the tomb, and he couldn't get out, which meant Damon couldn't get out, and he hadn't wanted to tell her that. He'd come in because she'd screamed - Stefan, too, for some reason. And now . . . now they were stuck inside and it was her fault.
"We can't just leave them in there," Bonnie said. Rebecca felt relieved that she hadn't had to say that herself.
"We are not strong enough," Gram said. "Even if we were able to bring the seal down, there's no guarantee that we could get it back up again."
"You went in there not knowing if you could come back out again?" Elena asked. "Oh, my God."
"Grams . . ." Rebecca said, trying to remain calm. "What would it mean if . . . if you tried? Would it hurt you? If you're not strong enough, would you die?"
"If we did a spell outside our limits, yes," Grams put it bluntly.
Rebecca looked down at the ground. She didn't want to risk Bonnie and Grams to get Damon back. Risk people she loved to get someone she loved more back? That wasn't fair.
"Even if we're able to break through the seal we won't be able to hold it for long," Grams said, making the decision for her.
Rebecca, being the kind to think quickly on her feet, unclasped her necklace and handed it to Grams. "You can channel energy? Take some of mine."
"That's very dangerous, dear."
"I don't care. I'm not leaving them in there. I love Damon, and I told Anna that I would help her get Pearl back. Leaving her in there to rot is not helping her."
Grams was hesitant but she agreed and took the necklace anyway.
"Once the seal is broken you'll have maybe a minute before the door closes. We'll give you enough time to find them and then we'll start."
"Okay."
But at the mouth of the tomb Stefan stopped her. "I'll go. You're bleeding, it's not safe."
She looked at him suspiciously. "Damon, Anna, and Pearl?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I'll wait here."
Bonnie and Grams started the spell and almost immediately the flames flew higher and Rebecca felt the difference in her body as Grams pulled energy from her. Or Bonnie - whoever. It was odd, almost like fainting, where everything wanted to fade out, only she didn't faint and it was in slow motion.
One of the torches went out and the younger witch stumbled over the words.
"Bonnie, keep going," Grams encouraged. "They better hurry."
Elena went to the entrance of the tomb and yelled, "Stefan, they can't hold it much longer!"
Meanwhile, in the tomb, Damon was watching Anna get her mother strong again. He thought that she was only fighting a losing battle.
"Anna, we're stuck in here. You're not doing her any favors by waking her up. She's just going to starve again."
"You're in here," Anna muttered. "Rebecca will find away to reverse the spell."
"Might take a while."
"Or not," Stefan's voice came from a few feet away. "We need to get Pearl out of here. It's what Rebecca wants, and we need to hurry. We have less than a minute. Sheila is channeling Rebecca's energy to lift the seal. Rebecca won't last too long, not with the bite she took."
Anna grinned Damon's way. "Told ya so."
"Yeah, yeah."
Damon and Stefan grabbed Pearl and lifted her up so they could run with her. Anna trailed behind them. Once outside Damon looked only at Rebecca, who had fallen to the ground. As soon as they were out, Damon went to her, leaving Pearl to Anna and Stefan. She was aware the tomb door slammed shut behind him, but he was focused on Rebecca and her rapidly slowing heartbeat.
The witches had fallen to their knees as well but he wasn't worried about them. He was checking Rebecca for injuries other than the obvious. Her skin was cold but that was probably from the chilled winter air.
He felt his face change as he bit into his wrist. He didn't need his fangs to break the skin but the overwhelming emotion from the thought of losing her now was hard to control, so the vampire part of him rose to the surface.
He could still save her, though. He forced her mouth open and let his blood flow into her mouth and down her throat - she wasn't so far gone that she couldn't swallow. He breathed deeply, blinking against the prickling behind his eyes. If she died, it would be because of him, because she did this to help him. So . . . she couldn't die.
Bonnie had crawled over to them and she was holding Rebecca's hand.
"Will she . . ." Bonnie bit her lip. "Is she in danger of becoming . . . ?"
"No," he forced out. "She's still alive. My blood will help her wake up."
The little witch nodded. "Grams told her it was dangerous but she wouldn't leave you in there. I'm sorry."
"She'll be okay," he said, because he refused to believe otherwise.
Rebecca began moaning and moving her head, and he drew his wrist back. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at them both and smiled softly.
"It worked."
"Yeah. Everybody got out that was supposed to," Bonnie said.
Rebecca sat up and Damon remained silent. He was torn between emotions, so he chose not to say anything. He was glad she was okay, glad he wasn't trapped inside the tomb - he'd had enough on starving to last his entire existence, thanks very much. But he was angry that she'd risked her life to save his. Hers was much more valuable.
"Grams?" Rebecca asked.
"She's okay. She's tired, though."
"Jeremy?"
"He's right outside. We won't touch him," Anna said.
Rebecca took in Pearl, who needed a lot more blood to get her maximum strength back. Anna was tending to her mother tenderly, lovingly.
"So we're good now, right?" Rebecca asked. "You got your mother back, so everyone I love is safe."
"Yes." Anna smiled softly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Rebecca had to take it slow but she got up to the top with Elena and Stefan and Damon. She wanted to check on Jeremy. He'd been hit on the back of the head. There was a very bad odor coming from the area too.
"Did you burn something?" Rebecca asked.
"That would be Ben," Stefan said. "He attacked me first."
"Ah."
"Is he gonna be okay?" Elena asked, gesturing to her brother.
"Yeah, but he'll have a hell of a headache," Damon said.
"Uh!" Jeremy groaned as he woke up.
"Jer?" Rebecca said, kneeling beside him. "Hey, you're okay."
He grabbed his head and sat up. "What happened?"
Ignoring his question Elena asked one of her own. "How's your head?"
"Uh, it's all right. I just wish I knew how I passed out. I didn't drink that much, I swear."
"What were you doing before you passed out?"
"Uh . . . I remember I was walking with Anna, but other than that, it's pretty cloudy."
"Okay. It's okay."
"I know how this looks," Jeremy told Elena. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
Just then Rebecca saw Bonnie trying to sneak Grams away and she excused herself. When she reached the two witches she asked if everything was okay.
"We're fine," Grams said. "You don't need to coddle me, baby."
"It was a big spell, Grams," Bonnie said. "I could tell it took a lot out of you."
"I'll be fine," Grams handed her the necklace back. "That was a very selfless thing you did. It helped Bonnie a lot."
"I couldn't let you die for helping me. I never would've forgiven myself. Anyway -" she replaced the necklace around her neck and then continued " - I am exhausted, so . . . I'm gonna head home."
It was as she was leaving that Damon told her how stupid a stunt she'd pulled.
"You would've done the same for me." She decided to not be offended - she was too tired.
"You could've tried a different day. I wouldn't have died but you could have. And then what? Hm? We still would've been stuck in there and you would've died for nothing!"
"You went in there for me, Damon! If you had gotten stuck it would've been my fault."
"No, I made my choice - "
"So did I!" she said firmly. "And, frankly, I don't have the strength to argue right now so can we not? I mean, I'm still here and you're free, so it didn't end that badly, right?"
She put her arms around him, knowing that most of his anger was coming from worry.
"It's over now, and I'm okay, okay? They wouldn't have been able to do it alone, not safely, and I couldn't let them die, okay? I can't pick and choose between the people I love."
Damon sighed and shook his head and finally wrapped his arms around her, too. "You're . . . infuriating, you know that?"
"Everybody seems to think so." She giggled against his chest. "I really do have to go home, Damon."
Damon gave her a ride home and then she went inside her house that didn't really feel like home because Damon wasn't there.
Okay, so let me know what you guys think. This is what I think would happen, personally, if Damon was happy and had someone who loved him the way he deserved to be loved. I didn't want to make his character too different, so . . . this is what I came up with.