Chapter Forty-Three
I can't believe I'm doing this, was Damon's thought when reached Elena's house Saturday morning. She had called him early that morning wanting to talk about Stefan. She was worried about something Rebecca had told her, but she hadn't said what. Now he was knocking on the door, waiting for her to open up.
"Oh, good, you're here," Elena said when she opened the door.
"You ask, I come. I'm easy like that," he teased, walking past Elena and into the house. As usual when Damon spoke Elena didn't even crack a smile. She'd obviously missed the line for a sense of humor when she was being created.
She led him upstairs to her room where he plopped down on the bed and began playing with a teddy bear that was on the pillows.
"Did you know that your uncle's been kickin' it with the Founder's council?"
"What?"
"Yep."
"Perfect." Elena sighed. "We'll just add it to the growing list of how everything's falling apart."
Damon took a quick survey of the room and noticed a few things had been knocked off the dresser and onto the floor; a lamp was in the middle of it all.
"What happened there?"
"Uh . . ." Elena looked at the mess. "Nothing."
Damon could tell she was lying so he stared at her. She couldn't return his gaze, so . . . yep, she was definitely lying.
"Look, Damon, I - I'm worried about Stefan. He says that everything's okay, but he's clearly struggling. How long is it gonna take before he's back to normal?"
"A few days, give or take," Damon said nonchalantly.
"That's what Becca said, but it's already been a few days."
"Give then. I don't know. What's the big deal?"
This conversation was already getting boring. Damon got up and handed the bear to Elena, who threw it back onto the bed. Damon wondered why Elena still had stuffed animals on her bed. Maybe Stefan wasn't doing his job right. Maybe Elena was lonely at night.
"He's not himself, Damon."
"Well, maybe the problem is that he's spent too long not being himself."
Damon opened a drawer and found out it was her underwear drawer. Most of what Elena owned was cotton but she had a few lace things. He heard Elena groan, and she tore the material from his hands and shoved it back in the drawer.
"Don't make me sorry for asking you," she said, slamming the drawer shut and almost catching his fingers in it.
"It is what it is, Elena. The Stefan you know is good-behavior Stefan. Rein-it-in Stefan. Fight-against-his-nature-to-an-annoyingly-obsessive-level Stefan. But if you think that there isn't another part to this then you haven't been paying attention."
"He is not you. Not even close."
"Well, maybe he doesn't wanna be me. But that doesn't mean deep down that he's not."
To Damon's surprise, Elena slumped down against the dresser and sighed, pushing her hair back from her face. Where was the snarky comeback? He waited for it for what seemed like ages, but it never came. Where was her usual spunk? Her fire? She was supposed to accuse him of being the bad one and he was supposed to make some comment on how he was supposed to be bad because he was a vampire. That was how they worked - or it was how they were supposed to work.
"Rebecca said that Stefan doesn't . . . He can't stop once he's started."
Ah, so she knew.
"That's very true," Damon said, more gently now. "Human blood makes him different."
"Then how do we help him?"
Elena, strong and stubborn Elena, sounded like a small child then and Damon didn't like it. Damon was supposed to be sarcastic and she was supposed to get mad at him for pretending not to care. That was how this worked for them. He wasn't supposed to be feeling sorry for Elena because her boyfriend was suddenly her worst nightmare come true.
"I don't know, Elena, but he's come back from it before. He'll be fine."
"Well, when he . . . when this happened before . . . how did he . . . um . . . how did he become okay again?"
"It was different each time," Damon admitted. "But . . . he hasn't had much human blood. It won't take as long this time." He didn't think. But Stefan did lack something he'd had every other time he'd gone crazy. And that was Lexi. Lexi had always found a way to pull Stefan back from the ledge. Lexi, however, was no longer alive.
Stefan would just have to find someone else to fall back on.
After Damon and Elena finished their conversation they went to Rebecca's. Elena had to talk to Jeremy, who had spent the night at Rebecca's. Damon was surprised that doubt didn't automatically flash in his mind about that. A few months ago it would've.
Rebecca was in the kitchen, cooking with Tina, when Damon and Elena walked in. Damon didn't even knock anymore. Rebecca didn't care, of course, because if she was there he really had no need to knock.
Robert had already left for work, so he wasn't there, but everyone else was in the kitchen. Jeremy, who was at the table with a plate in front of him, waiting to be served, was playing with Chelsea, who was in her highchair. It seemed to be the only thing that would keep Chelsea from fussing. She didn't like being in her high chair, apparently.
"Hello, Tina," Damon said. "You're looking beautiful as ever."
Rebecca rolled her eyes heavenward, but smiled when Tina accepted the compliment with grace. Tina had always liked Damon. It probably had something to do with Rebecca being happy with him.
Tina smiled at Damon, blushed, and shook her head. Damon moved on to his girlfriend.
"Hey," she said, smiling.
"Hey."
Damon slipped his hands onto her waist and leaned down to kiss her softly. He noticed Tina make her way out of the kitchen - probably because she didn't want to invade Rebecca's privacy.
"You got your dress ready for tonight?" he asked.
"Yup. You're gonna love it."
Damon kissed her again before breaking away to go to the coffee pot. He hadn't had anything to drink that day and he needed the caffeine to help make his skin warmer.
"Did you want pancakes?" Rebecca asked. "They're chocolate chip."
Damon smirked. "Well, in that case . . . definitely."
"Elena?"
"Sure," the brunette answered. "Two, please."
Damon went to his next favorite girl - the fussing baby in the highchair. There really was no way around it - he had to pick her up; she wouldn't stop fussing any other way. Or he just wanted to hold her. But Chelsea did stop crying almost instantly. She was so spoiled. Chelsea grabbed his shirt and giggled.
"Day!" Chelsea exclaimed. He loved when she tried to say his name. She couldn't pronounce his whole name, but the fact that his name was one of the first words she'd learned . . . it meant something to him, because he meant something to her.
"Becca, I think you've ruined your sister for life," he said, no real insult in his voice.
"Well, you're not helping," she said finally. "Oh, well."
Damon noticed Elena watching on in interest, and in amusement, but Damon couldn't bring himself to care. Chelsea and Rebecca were more important than keeping up airs.
"Hey, Jer . . ." Elena stated, almost hesitant. "I need to talk to you about something. Damon and Rebecca already know and the only reason you don't know is because I didn't know how to bring it up to you."
Jeremy glanced at Rebecca, who shrugged slightly. She didn't know what Elena wanted to talk about. There were a cornucopia of topics that Elena hadn't thought to talk to Jeremy about.
"About a month-and-a-half ago I found out that . . . I was adopted."
Don't sugarcoat it for him, Rebecca thought dryly.
Rebecca saw Jeremy go still for a minute. He was looking from Elena to Rebecca and back again. She could tell Jeremy didn't know whether Elena was serious or not.
Elena began to explain, editing some parts. It came to this: Elena said Jenna explained it to her because Elena's parents weren't there to do it. Elena had gotten curious and had wanted to know more about her birth parents, so Jenna had helped her dig up some information. Alaric Saltzman was basically Elena's step-father, because his dead wife had been the one to give birth to Elena.
"I can't believe Mom and Dad didn't tell you," Jeremy said.
"I'm sure they would've eventually," Elena said.
Jeremy nodded. "I don't get it, though, why were you worried about what I thought?"
"Because . . . I don't know, it's weird. Going your whole life thinkin' you're related by blood to somebody . . . only to find out you're not."
Jeremy looked down at the empty plate in front of him. "Does it bug you that we're not?" He sounded insecure.
"No. Jer, you're my brother. That's all that matters."
Jeremy smiled the smile that Rebecca had always thought was adorable, but he didn't speak.
"So Mr. Saltzman said you've been doing great in history."
"Yeah, he's really been helping me out. He gave me some extra credit and stuff."
Elena nodded knowingly. "He loved your vampire paper."
"Yeah." Jeremy didn't miss a beat. "He thought I had a clever angle."
Rebecca noticed Damon had tensed when the vampire thing had come up. He was probably wondering exactly how much Jeremy knew.
"He got his information from Jonathan Gilbert's journal," Rebecca supplied so Damon would know Jeremy hadn't gotten the information from her.
When Damon finally got Rebecca alone he gave her a much more thorough kiss than he had earlier given her when they'd been in the presence of everyone else. He respected her too much to make her look like a floozy around her friends - or anyone, for that matter. When he pulled away she pouted.
"Hey, a girl needs more than that," she teased and kissed him again.
"Mm . . ." Her tongue flicked over his bottom lip. "At your service." His tone had been deliberately seductive, and he was gratified when he felt her shiver.
"Tonight . . . I'm going to hold you to that," she whispered, kissing him one more time. When she pulled away she was no longer playful; she was serious.
"What?"
"Diana called this morning. She's gone, by the way, but she left her apartment to me. It's paid up for the year. It leaves us enough time to get her books and the weapons she left behind. In case I needed them, she left them. All I have to do is sign the paper."
"And . . ."
Rebecca shrugged. "The books and stuff might come in handy. I don't want to use her apartment, so I'm gonna let the lease run out. I was hoping I could use one of your rooms at the boardinghouse as a storage place, maybe a weight room."
"Sure, it's not like we're using them for anything else."
"Great." She kissed him once more. "So, did you come over just to bring Elena, or . . ."
"I need an excuse to see you now?"
"No, just wondering."
Rebecca stepped out of Damon's arms and went toward the coffee maker.
"It's weird, this dance thing. Usually Bonnie's here, and Caroline. And Elena. We used to get dressed for dances together, do each others hair and make-up. But Bonnie's with her aunt, and Caroline's with her dad. Elena has her own drama to deal with . . ."
Damon watched her pour a cup of coffee and add cream and sugar to it. Then she poured a vial of clear liquid into the glass.
"Vervain?" Damon asked. "Since when do you ingest vervain?"
Rebecca looked away for a second. "It's . . . it's only until Stefan gets his stuff together. I'm not going to take chances with that. Last time I was around him when he went crazy he tried to kill me."
"Oh. I've been thinkin' about that, actually. Not him trying to kill you, but the blood thing. I've been trying to get him to drink. Just from a blood bag, but he won't do it."
Rebecca didn't say anything to that, so Damon didn't know what she was thinking. What she was thinking, however, was . . . What if it came down to a fight between her and Stefan? How exactly could she take care of Stefan without hurting Damon?
That night, Rebecca went to the Founders Day party with Robert. Robert drove her there, but she was supposed to meet Damon at some point. Tina had opted to stay home and watch over Chelsea, but she had helped Rebecca get ready. Rebecca was wearing a slinky white dress that came down to the middle of her thighs. It swirled when she turned around. Her whole body had a sort of natural glow to it. She figured Damon would appreciate it. The thing she liked most about the outfit, however, was the gold belt that looped around her waist. There was a soft, dangly tassel that hung from the end of it. The sleeves of the dress were bell-shaped and they hung loosely over her shoulders. Tina said it made her look like an angel; Rebecca thought it made her look like a virgin sacrifice. She was neither. Rebecca was feeling much better - non-existent strength not included - and she had no intention of acting like an angel or a virgin after the party.
Rebecca spent fifteen minutes chatting with stuffy old people - well, old-ish anyway - while listening to elevator music - Carol Lockwood was in charge of that particular aspect of the party. Rebecca was already bored. She'd talked to Elena, had seen Jeremy, had spoken briefly to Liz, and had avoided John. The mayor was there, somewhere, which made sense because the Lockwoods were the ones who were hosting the party. She'd also seen Matt and Mrs. Donovan somewhere.
Stefan and Damon finally showed up. Damon was as calm as usual, but Stefan looked nervous and uncomfortable.
"Oh, God. I shouldn't be here," Stefan said. It was obvious he didn't have confidence in his ability to control himself.
"Oh, come on. Don't be a downer. It's a party for the founding families. That would be us. It would be rude to skip it."
Rebecca was just about to comment on the fact that Damon had never cared about being rude before, but as soon as she got close enough he was kissing her on the cheek.
"I . . . really liked you better when you hated everybody," Stefan said to Damon.
"Oh, I still do. I just love that they love me."
Rebecca shook her head but giggled anyway. Damon had the council eating out of the palm of his hand. Nobody suspected he was a vampire at all. She didn't know if that was due to Damon's fabulous manipulation skills or the town's almost comical stupidity.
Rebecca noticed that Stefan still seemed out of his element here. She hoped it had nothing to do with all the beating hearts here so close in this room.
"How're you feeling?" Rebecca asked sincerely. It was true she was worried about Stefan, but she was also worried about everybody else here, too. If Stefan lost control, it would turn into a blood bath.
"I'm good. I'm fine," Stefan said quickly. Too quickly. So of course he was fine.
"No cravings? No urges?" Damon asked, and Rebecca had a feeling he was deliberately being unhelpful. "Is that whiskey you've been drinkin' all day doin' its job?"
Stefan forced a smile onto his face but glared at Damon at the same time.
"We are who were are, Stefan. Pretending doesn't change that."
"Nothing would make you happier than to just see me give in, huh, Damon?"
"Whatever." Damon shrugged. "It's inevitable."
Stefan rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go find Elena."
"Don't embarrass me, young man."
Stefan had obviously had enough of Damon's attitude. Rebecca didn't say anything, but she wondered why Damon was giving Stefan such a hard time. She didn't want the answer to be "Because he's Stefan."
Once Stefan left Rebecca looked at Damon. "Is it safe for him to be here?"
"One way to find out. He's been resisting all day."
Rebecca didn't think that would bode well for the people around Stefan - meaning the people at the party.
Rebecca and Damon weren't literally attached at the hip, so they left each others sides so they could mingle. Rebecca didn't plan on staying for long - definitely not for the whole party - so she had to make her rounds as soon as she could.
The main reason she didn't stay with Damon, though, was because she saw Matt and his mom being led away by the mayor and Tyler. She knew Matt and Kelly had only been invited because of the recent Vicki incident.
After the mayor and Tyler were done with whatever they were doing Rebecca went up to Matt and gave him a hug. She even apologized to Kelly about Vicki.
"Well, I guess dead kid rates a special greeting from the mayor, huh?" Kelly said. "I need a drink."
Kelly walked off, leaving an upset Matt behind. Then Tyler came back in with a full bottle of bourbon.
"Your dad is gonna beat you down if he catches you," Matt said.
"Yeah, let him try." Tyler opened the bottle and handed it to Matt, who took a swig. Tyler took a drink too, and passed the bottle to Rebecca.
She bit her lip. God, she really shouldn't, but . . . "What the hell?" she muttered. She deserved a little fun, anyway. After a few sips each, Tyler put the bottle on the table so they could just grab for it when they wanted it.
"How're you doing?" Tyler asked Rebecca. "Since . . . whatever happened?"
"I'm okay," Rebecca answered. "I'm resilient, so I get by."
Matt noticed his mom outside the room and at the bar. He rolled his eyes. "Guess I should quit now, so I can be the responsible one." He left. Rebecca didn't know if he was going to confront Kelly or if he was just going to get Kelly and leave, but Matt left Tyler and Rebecca alone.
That didn't last long because Tyler was already getting drunk, and he was steadily moving closer to her. She didn't like it, so she quickly left the room also. She saw Kelly was still at the bar. So were Stefan and Elena - Stefan was drinking.
She heard Elena ask Stefan if he was drunk, and Stefan's reply way, "Okay, I know it's a little weird, but it's really helping me. The alcohol, it takes the edge off."
"You're totally that drunk high-school guy at the party sneaking booze," Elena said. "How worried do I need to be?"
"Oh, no. You don't need to be worried. It's just until the cravings go away."
"You know, I think you can get a bit more volume if you speak from the diaphragm," Rebecca said, stopping by Elena. "Sloppy, Stefan. Taking so loudly."
"I'm drunk," Stefan said. "I think we should enjoy it while it lasts." He looked at Elena. "Would you like to dance with me?"
"You hate dancing," Elena said. "I usually have to beg you."
"No, you have to beg sober me. Drunk me, there's no begging necessary."
Rebecca giggled. Who know Stefan could be funny?
"There's really no one dancing."
"That's because they need something to dance to," Stefan said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Be right back."
"Wow," Rebecca said. "Has Mr. Uptight finally embraced the art of manipulation?"
A modern pop beat filtered through the speakers. Stefan had compelled the DJ to play something besides slow piano music. Stefan sauntered back and, seeing that Elena was less than happy with his recent action, grabbed Rebecca's hand instead and swirled her onto the dance floor.
"Hey, wrong girl!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"It's just a dance," Stefan said.
"Yeah, just a dance," Rebecca said. "With your brother's girl."
"You always care about what Damon thinks?"
"Yes, actually. Just like you usually care about what Elena thinks, so . . ." Elena, however, was dancing with an intoxicated Matt. "Fine, it's just a dance." And it wasn't a slow song so she guessed it was okay. But she'd much rather be dancing with Damon.
Where was he, anyway?
Damon was mingling. He'd spoken to Ric, who had been invited because he was a teacher, the mayor and his wife - they were the host and hostess, respectively - and now he was moving on to the sheriff. She was in the crowd of people and she looked decidedly uncomfortable in her black dress.
"I love a woman in uniform, but I have to side with this look. You look - you look smashing."
"Thank you, Damon. I needed that."
Damon smiled. He was glad he had eased her tension, somewhat.
"You know, I had my doubts about you. At first. But like everyone else on the council, you've won me over."
"Thanks, Liz. It's - it's really nice how welcoming the council has been. I like my life here in Mystic Falls. It's starting to feel like home again."
"Well, then you're not gonna like what I have to tell you. Jonathan Gilbert's claims check out. The blood banks, the missing people, all of it's true. We might have a problem."
Before Damon could offer a solution Jeremy Gilbert cut into the conversation.
"Excuse me, Sheriff. I was wondering if you had anymore information on what happened to Vicki Donovan."
"It was an overdose, Jeremy," Liz said, stating what Damon knew had been written on the police report.
"Yeah, but her body was buried. Somebody must've done that."
"We're aware of that. The investigation is ongoing, but there's nothing more I can tell you at this time."
Jeremy walked away unsatisfied, and Damon kind of felt sorry for the kid. He just wanted answers and . . . God, Jeremy would probably go to Rebecca and Damon didn't know how many more times Rebecca would lie to him just to keep Elena happy.
Damon decided the way to deal with it was to drink bourbon so he made his way to the bar. Elena was also at the bar and she was shaking her head. He noticed what the brunette was looking at; Stefan was . . . Stefan was dancing with Rebecca. Now who had given Stefan permission to do that? Damon sure hadn't.
"Have you noticed what your brother's been up to?" Elena asked.
"Nope. I've been too preoccupied with yours," Damon said, setting beside her. Damon was completely lying. Of course he'd noticed what Stefan was doing - especially since Stefan was dancing with his girlfriend. "Jeremy's been asking questions about Vicki Donovan's death."
"He knows that her death was ruled an overdose," Elena said.
"Really?" Damon lowered his voice. "Oh, but, Sheriff, someone buried her, who would do that?" Damon mimicked Jeremy before using his own voice. "I know, I know! Me! I mean, I could compel him, but he's wearing vervain."
"No," Elena said, pointing her finger in his face. "I don't want you to compel him."
"If he keeps asking questions?"
"Damon, no. I'm serious. I'm not gonna do that to him again."
Damon sighed. "Okay. But don't say I didn't warn you."
One dance ended up being about four or five dances. Rebecca found she didn't really mind. Drunk Stefan was almost as fun as a sober Damon. She saw Damon talking to Elena and she hoped Damon wasn't going to get mad at her for dancing with his brother. Damon and Stefan were trying to get along better, but that didn't mean Damon liked Stefan sharing his people.
Once Stefan found another dancing partner Rebecca was free to go to the bar and talk to Elena and Damon. Or that had been the plan, anyway, until she noticed two people who were also at the bar. John Gilbert and Chase Carson. She didn't care for either of them. Why was Chase at this party, anyway? He wasn't part of the council, so it didn't make sense for him to be at the party, and his family hadn't been one of the founding families either.
Maybe he's here for me, Rebecca thought. She couldn't help the shiver that ran through her at that thought. It was like her body was already preset to feel fear whenever it was about Chase. On the other hand . . . at least she was scared of something. She was capable of feeling fear. Until her recent kidnapping, not much had scared her.
Instead of going to Damon and risking having to talk to John or Chase, Rebecca changed her course and went in search of Jeremy or Ric or Jenna or - basically anyone who wasn't John or Chase.
It would've worked had Chase not followed her; he even had the audacity to ask her to dance with him. Rebecca knew he'd been spending a lot of time with Sarah, trying to prove he actually cared about her, but that didn't make anything okay between them. A few days of kindness toward his sister didn't undo the hell he'd put Rebecca through when they'd been together.
"No, I won't dance with you. I don't like you."
"It wasn't always like that," Chase muttered.
"No, but how you treated me erased anything positive I may have felt for you at one time."
"Oh, and I'm sure Damon Salvatore, serial killer, treats you so much better."
Rebecca's eyes widened at the casualness at the statement.
"Shh! You can't say things like that in public."
"Dance with me and I won't," he promised.
She narrowed her eyes and her mouth tightened into a thin line. Was he really going to play this game with her? He always had liked exerting control over her. Maybe she could play along for a while . . . let him think she was submitting to him, anyway. Maybe it would get him to open up a bit.
"One dance," she agreed. "But keep your hands to yourself."
Damon was watching Stefan dance with pretty much every girl at the party. He wished he had a camcorder because Stefan was dancing and making a fool of himself. Blackmail material, if only he could capture the moment.
Damon had seen Rebecca start to come over to him and Elena but he'd also seen her change her mind. Assuming she just needed her space, he let her be. Then he'd spotted Chase, who had followed Rebecca. He didn't know what the vampire was up to, but Chase got Rebecca to dance with him. Now he wondered what Rebecca was up to.
Damon took his glass of bourbon and went outside. He didn't know why, but the Lockwoods used the upstairs dance room whenever they held a party. Since he was upstairs, he went out on the balcony.
He wanted to know what game Rebecca was playing. She wouldn't have been dancing with Chase if she wasn't playing an angle.
"Okay, you got your one dance, so I'm gonna go now," Rebecca said, pulling away slightly.
Chase drew her back to him quickly, but not roughly. "One more. Or . . . or I could go tell the sheriff about your boyfriend and his brother."
Rebecca sighed and shook her head. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh? I'm stronger than you now, so you have to find another way to control me? You can't really tell anyone about Damon or Stefan without endangering yourself, you idiot." Rebecca shuddered at the feel of Chase's hands on her waist. "You know you're digging yourself an early grave. Damon will come after you for messing with me."
She pulled away again and this time he let her go. Se let a mental humph fill her as she strolled away. She guessed Chase was afraid of Damon, rightfully so.
Rebecca noticed dancing with Elena again, and Stefan was at the bar, so that's where Rebecca went.
"Can you get me a drink?" she asked him. "Please?"
"What do you want?"
"I don't know. Nothing too strong, and nothing nasty."
She ended up with an almost virgin screwdriver. It was good enough, but she was surprised Stefan hadn't reprimanded her for it. Well . . . it would've been hypocritical if he had - he was almost too drunk to stand straight.
Stefan went to dance with Elena and Rebecca watched in amusement. Usually Stefan was not a dancer, but he'd obviously had enough alcohol to lower his inhibitions. It was entertaining. He wasn't killing anybody, so she liked him better like this.
Jeremy ended up seated beside her and she smiled softly at him.
"Hey," he said. "What's Chase up to now?"
"You saw us dancing, huh?"
"Yup."
She shook her head. "He's being an ass, that's what he's up to. He's threatening to tell everyone about you-know-what."
"So kick his ass. I know you can," Jeremy said.
Rebecca giggled behind her hand. "Right, because violence solves everything." And then more seriously, "I can't. Not here, not in public."
Jeremy didn't stay with her for long, but the vacant seat was soon taken by Alaric Saltzman, who ordered a bourbon. She looked at him and noticed for the first time that he had a sort of warm, shy charm about him. Shy but confident. Had she been older and not with Damon she might have found him attractive.
Rebecca shook her head when she realized how wrong she'd been about him. She hadn't liked him at first because he'd been up to something. But now she could see he was a really good guy who missed his wife. Even if said wife had chosen vampirism over him, which Rebecca didn't get, personally. Sure, Rebecca wasn't planning on staying human, but that was because she was with Damon and it would be selfish of her to be with him if she wasn't planning on changing. She wouldn't make Damon watch her grow old and die.
"How're you doing?" Ric asked softly.
When she looked at him she saw he really wanted to know. He wasn't only asking out of politeness.
"I'm okay. Almost recovered completely."
"You heal impossibly fast," he said, eying her in wonder. "How?"
Apparently Damon hadn't told Ric about her Slayer business.
"I'm the Slayer. I think I'm defective, though, because I'm dating one of the people I was designed to kill." The last part was said as a joke but she sobered up to speak again. "I'm sorry about your wife. And I know Damon didn't deserve your help, but thank you for helping him help me."
She might've still been stuck with Fredrick or she might've been dead if Ric hadn't been a good person. Ric accepted her thanks with grace, though she was sure she saw a little pink in his cheeks; she smiled at the situation and shook her head. She wasn't used to making men blush. It hadn't happened since Damon had been human, since she'd been sent back in time.
"So . . . what's a Slayer?"
"I help keep the forces of darkness at bay."
"And you're dating a vampire." Ric seemed amused. "That's ironic."
"I know it's probably hard to understand, but Damon's . . . Well, it's complicated, but Damon has his own brand of nice. That's the best way to put it." Damon was good with her at least, no matter how he was with anyone else.
"Underage drinkin', huh? I don't know, that's pretty illegal." John Gilbert sat down beside Rebecca and looked at her glass. "They don't ask for ID here?"
"It's a party. I don't think anyone cares."
Rebecca did not like John. He sort of creeped her out; he always had. Then suddenly John was on one side of her and Chase was on the other.
"Good evening, John," Chase said.
"Chase." John nodded at Chase.
They were awfully chummy with each other, Rebecca noticed. But John and Chase fit into the same category of people, so . . . they probably felt a strong bond.
"I saw you two dancing earlier. Are you planning on getting back together."
Rebecca took a deep breath to calm herself. John knew Chase from when she had been with him. John had come around a lot when Elena's and Jeremy's parents had been alive.
"I am going to excuse myself." She went to stand up, but Chase grabbed her hand. He was beginning to form an annoying habit of that.
"We need to talk."
"No, we really don't."
"In here or out there. It makes no difference to me," Chase said. "Though I might let something slip if we're in here and who knows who might be listening in."
Rebecca clenched her jaw. She hated Chase and that scared her because she had never hated anyone before. Not even Katherine, the evil-bitch-monster-of-death. And Rebecca wasn't stupid; she wasn't going anywhere with neither Chase nor John. She didn't trust them.
"I'll talk to you, Chase. You speak softly while we dance. I want to know what the hell you're up to. It's obvious you two are working together, but I want to know what your endgame is."
Rebecca let herself be led to the dance floor by someone she really didn't want to be dancing with.
"So . . ." she asked impatiently.
"What do you wanna know?"
"How is it that you came to be working for John?"
"With," Chase corrected. "He sought me out when he arrived in Mystic Falls. I don't know how he knew I was here, but I signed up when he told me his plan. He wants to get rid of all the tomb vampires. The ones you helped set loose."
Chase spun her around and, when he caught her, he pulled so her back was to his front. She felt that he was enjoying this way too much; the proof was poking against her backside.
Rebecca suddenly wanted to be anywhere but with him. She wanted to be with Damon, but Damon was outside and she needed to find out what Chase was really up to.
"It doesn't look like your boyfriend's too concerned about me," Chase said in her ear. "I wouldn't leave you with me if I were him."
"You're not a threat," Rebecca seethed. "Not in the way you want to be, anyway."
"Hm. Aren't you scared that he'll turn on you one day? He is a vampire. It's in our nature."
"Don't you mean it's in your nature? Damon's exceptionally loyal, Chase. Something you don't know anything about."
"Uh-huh. If he's so loyal and you're not scared of him -" Chase's hand slipped under the skirt of her dress and his fingers climbed up her thigh. She was too shocked to do anything at first "- then why do you carry a stake with you everywhere you go? Were you really expecting to find anyone other than Damon and Stefan here tonight?"
"It was a precaution. And you showed up so I'd say I have perfect foresight. Now get your hand off of me."
Rebecca saw John go out the same way Damon had earlier and she wondered how long John would stay alive. There was no doubt in her mind about what John was going to do and what would happen to him when he tried.
Chase still had his hand over the stake on her leg. She wished he'd just go ahead and take it and stop touching her.
"I will break your fingers if you don't get your hand off me right now."
"And you know I think you're bluffing," Chase said.
"And I don't think she is," a voice said from behind Chase, and Rebecca recognized it as Stefan's. She'd never been so happy to hear that particular Salvatore. "Let her go."
Rebecca hoped they weren't causing a scene. Stefan was having a very bad week, so Rebecca didn't know if he'd be able to keep himself from hurting Chase. Not that she was opposed to Chase getting hurt; in fact she was perfectly okay with it, but it needed to not be in public.
Chase let her go without a fuss and she went back to the bar with Stefan. She thanked him on the way and then she realized she wanted another drink. She hadn't known how tightly wound her body had been until she began to relax as she sipped her drink. She shook with tension and, embarrassingly, her eyes began to sting with tears. Chase still scared her even after all this time and she hated him for it and hated herself for being afraid. She hadn't been scared of a single person in a long time.
"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.
Rebecca bit her bottom lip as it began to tremble.
"No. You know I've never hated anyone before, but I hate him. If we hadn't been in a crowd I might've actually killed him."
"Do you want me to go get Damon?" Stefan asked generously.
"No. I can't just . . . I can't fall back on him every time something happens. I need to be a big girl and deal with it myself."
When her third drink came Rebecca was relaxed and happy again. Sort of. She was tipsy but she felt okay again. The alcohol was flowing through her system so she was okay. Stefan stayed by her side since Elena was off with Matt somewhere.
"Damon, right?"
"John."
"We didn't get a chance to meet at the council meeting."
"Yeah, it's a pleasure. Are you enjoying the kickoff?"
"Oh, yeah, I've forgotten how much fun these small-town celebrations can be," John said.
"Yeah. When's the last time you were here?"
"Oh, it hasn't been that long. My brother's funeral. How long have you been in town?"
"Oh, not long at all."
John and Damon smiled politely at each other. Damon was only talking to John so he could get a feel for the guy.
"So, what do you think, Damon? You know this vampire problem is real, right? It's a potential bloodbath."
"I wouldn't overreact, John."
"Oh, I think it's like 1864 all over again. Vampires running amuck. I guess we're just gonna have to hunt them down, throw 'em in a church and burn them to ash."
"That is the story, huh?" Damon said and took a sip of his drink.
"Part of the story, yeah."
"Oh, there's, uh . . . more."
"There's a lot more." John smiled. "You see, it seems there was a tomb under the church where the vampires were hidden away waiting for someone to come along and set them free."
Damon didn't say anything; he was silently wondering where this guy got his information. Journals? Probably.
"But then you already knew that, didn't you? Being that you and your girlfriend are the ones who did it."
John looked smug all of a sudden. Did he not know who he was messing with? Damon could kill him in an instant.
"And you're telling me this why?" Damon asked dangerously.
"I just thought I would get the introductions out of the way."
"You know I could rip your throat out without even blinking," Damon said bluntly.
"Yeah."
"But you probably ingest vervain, so . . ."
"Why don't you take a bite, find out."
"It's not worth my time."
Damon, however, couldn't just let this guy - whoever he thought he was - get away with knowing all that information. John was a threat and he'd brought Rebecca up. That was not a good strategy for anyone who wanted to survive in Mystic Falls, so Damon quickly and expertly snapped John's neck. John fell over the balcony and landed with a loud thud on the ground below.
Rebecca was hiding away with Jeremy in one of the many rooms of the Lockwood mansion. She was hiding because Chase had been following her around ever since . . . well, since she'd stopped dancing with him.
Neither Jeremy no Rebecca were speaking. They were just enjoying the silence.
"Jer?" Elena said from the doorway. "I - I heard about your conversation with Sheriff Forbes."
"No one is trying to figure out what happened to Vicki. They're all willing to believe that she OD'd."
Rebecca didn't say it but the reason people could easily believe that Vicki had OD'd was because she'd been a known drug abuser. It wasn't much of a stretch to think she'd taken too much of something and died because of it.
Elena stepped inside the room and sat down on a nearby chair. "The coroner's office confirmed it. If that's what they say happened. . "
"Is that what you believe?" Jeremy asked.
"What do you think happened?" Elena dodged the question.
"I think somebody killed her and buried her body. And I don't think we should write it off just because it's easy."
"They're just doing what they can to move on," Elena said.
"The truth is the only thing that's going to help people move on."
"Jer, just let it go, okay?" Elena said impatiently. "Whatever it was, she's gone now."
Rebecca, who had been only half-interested in the conversation, noticed Jeremy's brow furrow.
"Whatever it was? So you don't think it was an overdose?" Elena didn't answer. "Is there somethin' you're not tellin' me? If there was something else you would tell me, right?"
"Of course I would."
Rebecca found herself rolling her eyes and wanting to call Elena out on her blatant dishonesty. She wanted to say liar, liar, pants on fire! Well, maybe not that last part, but that was what Elena was. A liar.
They all were. Stefan, Damon, herself. It wasn't safe for any of them to be honest. And Rebecca couldn't stay there to be part of the lies so she left the room only to run almost directly into Chase.
"God! Really? Why are you following me? Leave me alone. I can't get any clearer than that."
"I'd like another dance with you. The last one was fun."
"For you. Which is all you care about. Yourself."
Chase wasn't like Damon or Stefan. Both Salvatore brothers had been good men who had been turned into vampires. Both brothers still had that good in them despite the monsters they were supposed to be. But Chase . . . Chase didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. She had looked and had found nothing.
Suddenly Rebecca found herself pressed against the wall with a hand over her mouth. Chase was holding her there, and she couldn't fight or scream. She may have felt better but she didn't have her strength back yet.
Damn it! she mentally cursed.
"Okay." One of Chase's hands, the one not on her mouth, was holding hers above her head, and it was making her panic. She was at his mercy. "You wanna know why I'm following you?"
Chase carefully removed his hand from her mouth. She didn't scream . . . yet. He placed a strand of her hair behind her ear in a gesture of mock tenderness. Then his hand slid down her neck toward her breasts but stopped at her vervain-filled Salvatore necklace.
"How cute. He got you a collar." Chase shook his head. "I don't want you with Damon anymore. That's why I've been following you around."
Rebecca's heart clenched tightly in her chest. She'd known Chase's nice guy act hadn't been real.
"That's not how it works, Chase. You don't get to tell me what to do. Not anymore."
"Why? Because you love Damon? Or because he loves you? You listen to him now? Where is he, by the way? Why isn't he here right now, protecting you?"
"Because I know how to protect myself," Rebecca said firmly.
Unknown to Chase, however, was that Rebecca was feeling really afraid. That meant Damon would know she was in trouble, he would come for her.
And he did come for her.
What Damon saw at first was a man touching Rebecca against her will. Her hands were above her head and held against the wall in a grip that seemed painful. The man's other hand had snaked its way under the bottom of her dress and Rebecca was struggling against him. Damon saw red. What the other man was touching, the part of her body the man was fondling, wasn't his. It belonged to Damon - Rebecca had given it to him freely.
Damon didn't stop to think before snapping the guy's neck. That was two tonight. He guessed that meant the world hated him right now. He noticed that the guy who had basically been molesting Rebecca was Chase, and then he heard a sob escape from his girlfriend's lips.
"Becca . . ."
Rebecca was shivering, shaking all over, and Damon had to catch her as her knees gave out. Damon knew what this was about. Chase had tried to force himself on her before and tonight he'd tried again.
"I'm okay," she said between sobs. "I'm fine." She grabbed onto Damon's suit jacket. "I'm fine."
"Uh-huh." The fact that she was claiming to be fine proved that she wasn't. He could tell she was really shaken up due to the fact that her legs didn't seem to want to hold her up.
"I hate him, Damon. He knew I was weak or he wouldn't have tried that." Damon looked down at her when she looked up at him. "I think it's time to get rid of him, Damon. He threatened you and he tried to hurt me. But we can't kill him here."
Damon hid Chase in one of the rooms while Rebecca got her bearings. They both knew Chase would heal and wake up soon and they couldn't risk anyone seeing that.
"Damon, I wanna go home," Rebecca said softly. "I don't want to be here when Chase wakes up."
Rebecca squeezed her thighs together tightly and winced. Chase hadn't just been fondling her. He'd pressed and prodded and intruded with his fingers. He'd forced at least three digits inside her and she hadn't wanted it. Her body hadn't wanted it.
"What's wrong?"
"I hurt," she admitted. "His fingers aren't the gentlest things to ever touch me."
Damon let a growl loose from deep within his chest and he grabbed her hands in his. He realized they were freezing, that she was cold, and wondered if it had to do with the recent trauma.
"Becca, I am so sorry. I didn't think he would try anything in a public place. I never should've left you alone."
"It's not your fault. I let him in a little so I could find out what he was up to. He's working with John Gilbert. Supposedly, they want to get rid of all the tomb vampires."
"Oh, well then . . . they're not so much a they anymore. Uncle John Gilbert just took a dive off the balcony.
All Rebecca did was nod. She had figured that John would end up dead if he confronted Damon and she didn't really feel sorry for it. She had never really liked John and he was plotting something anyway. Aside from kicking him out of town, killing him had been the only option. So . . . she processed and moved on. Not that she felt much right now, anyway, aside from the disgust she'd felt when Chase had . . . violated her with his fingers.
"Damon, we need to get rid of him soon. I'm -" Rebecca felt hot tears spill down her cheeks. She also felt Damon wipe them away.
"You're . . ."
"He scares me. I'm afraid of what he'd do if he gets me alone again. He wants me back, Damon. That's why he's here. It has nothing to do with Sarah. She's just a - a pawn in his game." She took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "I know it's wrong to want someone dead, but I don't care. I really don't. He can't keep doing this, and I can't keep living in fear just because he's around."
Damon tensed beside her and Rebecca became aware of a warm trickle going down her leg. Before she could reach down to see what exactly had happened she felt Damon's fingers trailing up the inside of her thigh. God, his fingers were so different than Chase's had been. Both were calloused and big and undoubtedly male, but Damon's hands were soft, too, because he didn't treat her with anything but tenderness.
"You're not just sore," Damon muttered. "You're hurt."
God, Chase must've torn something when he'd . . . She realized then that she did feel a little twinge whenever she moved. Her body had obviously rejected what Chase had been doing - she hadn't gotten any pleasure from it at all. Chase should've known not to do that when she was dry. He could've damaged her more than he had.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to let him do that."
Damon's head shot up at the sound of Rebecca's voice. She was blaming herself, much like she probably had when she'd been with Chase romantically. Damon didn't like it. Rebecca wasn't this person.
"Hey!" he snapped. "This isn't your fault. You didn't let him do anything. You don't have your strength back; there's nothing you could've done."
He noticed Rebecca was shivering again so he gave her the jacket from his suit. It swallowed her whole, but she seemed to relax a bit after she had it. Maybe, because of what had happened, she'd felt exposed and now she didn't.
"We need to find a place for us, so you can heal. So I can heal you."
She nodded and they began walking. Before they could find a room that they knew would be secure they found Stefan. He was standing off by himself, still drinking.
Damon said, "You wanna hear the bad news or the really bad news?"
"Actually, I don't want any news, Damon," Stefan replied.
"A'right, well, let me rephrase. Do you wanna hear how the council's back in vampire mode, or how I just killed Uncle John Gilbert?"
"What?" Stefan asked.
"Great party, by the way, huh?"
"Damon . . ." Rebecca couldn't bring herself to care about what had happened to John. She was not in the caring mood. Granted, killing humans was bad and mostly not necessary, but . . . with John it had been. Besides she'd accepted that part of Damon - the homicidal part - a long time ago. She knew about the things he did and she was still with him; she wasn't going to bitch about it. But . . .
"Please tell me you had a reason," she said. "It wasn't just a joy kill."
"Well . . ." Damon smirked. "I did enjoy it, but I also had a reason."
A few minutes later, after Rebecca and Damon had gone to the restroom so Damon could heal her, the mayor began talking about Founder's Day and the importance of community and friendship and all that. That wasn't important, What was important was that in the middle of Mayor Lockwood's speech . . . John Gilbert walked in. He was alive and well.
Rebecca smacked Damon on the arm to get his attention.
"What?"
"I thought you said he was dead."
Damon saw John then too. "You've gotta be kidding me. I snapped his neck and pushed him off the balcony. There's no way he can be alive."
"Are you sure he's human?"
"He smells human." Damon grabbed her hand. "Can you wait for a few more minutes before we leave?"
"Yeah. I'd very much like to know how he came back to life myself. Maybe someone slipped him some vampire blood or something."
Suddenly Ric was there beside Damon and Rebecca. Damon pointed something out that Rebecca hadn't noticed. Ric and John had matching rings. That was odd because Ric claimed not to know John from Adam.
"Where the hell did you get that ring?" Damon asked, pointing at the silver piece of jewelry on Ric's hand.
"Isobel. My wife."
Damon chuckled. "Who gave birth to Elena. Under the medical care of the esteemed Dr. Grayson Gilbert. John's brother."
"So John knew Isobel and he brought her to Elena's dad?" Rebecca assumed.
"I think John knows a lot of things," Damon said. "And I think that ring brought him back to life. It would probably work on you, too, since you have one." That last was directed at Ric.
"Ooh, where can I get one?" Rebecca asked. A small smile tugged at both Damon's and Ric's lips.
"Well, Isobel did say it would protect me from things that go bump in the night."
That meant the ring protected Ric from supernatural things. If he died by supernatural means . . . he would come back to life. And assuming Isobel had gotten the ring from John, where had John gotten them? Family heirloom, perhaps?
"I think John and I need to have a little talk," Damon said. But he didn't want Rebecca anywhere near John, not when John had so blatantly stated that she was partly to blame for the current state of affairs. And not when John was working with the bastard that had just tried to force himself onto her. "Go home with Elena. I'll pick you up later. And whatever you do, don't let yourself be alone."
Rebecca knew Damon wouldn't be directly telling her what to do if he wasn't concerned about something, so she agreed almost immediately. She kissed him on the cheek and went in search of her brunette friend.
Instead of finding Elena, though, Rebecca found Jeremy. Or he found her; he wanted to talk.
"What is it, Jer?"
"What happened to Vicki?"
Oh, any question but that. Please? she thought.
"Becca, please. I know you know. The sheriff is saying drug overdose and Elena won't tell me the truth. You saw her, she was hiding something. So please . . ."
So Jeremy had noticed that Elena had been lying.
"Not in public," Rebecca said. "But I will tell you, I promise."
"When?"
"I don't know. Tonight?"
"Yeah. Yeah, okay. Uh . . ." Jeremy looked her up and down and smiled softly. "I'm almost scared to ask, but . . . why're you wearing Damon's jacket? It's longer than your dress."
"Mm . . . I feel better with it on," Rebecca admitted. "Something happened with Chase, and - "
"Are you hurt?"
Rebecca shook her head. She wasn't hurt anymore. She was still shaken up, however. She hoped Chase would be taken care of soon so she could stop being scared of him.
"You know I was just about to head out," Rebecca said. "Why don't you come with me so we can talk? I just have to go find Damon real quick. If I just disappear he'll go nuts. Do you wanna go to my house or yours?"
"Uh, yours. If you'll drive me home later."
"Sure, yeah."
Rebecca talked to her dad first and then found Damon. She told them both what her plan was. Her dad had been okay with it and had even given her his car keys, saying he'd catch a ride with Jenna at the end of the party and she could pick up Jeremy while dropping him off - two birds, one stone. Damon, however, had been suspicious.
"What?" she asked.
"What're you planning to tell him? I know he's been asking questions."
"I'm gonna tell him about Vicki. He deserves to know. If it were me, you'd wanna know. Besides, Jeremy would never tell anybody. He just wants the truth, that's all."
"And you are blatantly honest, so he went to the right place." Damon sighed. "How much does he already know?"
"He knows Anna's a vampire. He knows what happened to me. He knows I'm a Slayer. He figured most of it out on his own. He saw Anna's face change and confronted her about it. The rest sort of just fell into place."
"Just be careful. Don't say anything you can't take back."
Rebecca nodded and quickly kissed Damon on the lips. "Okay. Um . . . when you talk to John can you find out what he wants from me? I mean, what he really wants?"
Damon agreed and then watched as she walked away. He then turned to Ric and they kept watch over John so they wouldn't miss him leaving. Rebecca had brought up a very interesting and valid point. What did John want with her?
Damon had to keep an eye on Chase, too, so he could track the bastard back to wherever he was staying and get rid of him. Chase was now mingling and acting like nothing had happened. Damon had painful plans for the ending of one Chase Carson.
While Damon and Ric were waiting for John to leave Tyler and Matt got into a fight because Tyler had been caught making out with Matt's mother. Alaric had broken up the fight; that was how Damon found out it had happened.
Teenagers and their drama, Jeez.
Finally John decided to leave, so Damon and Ric followed him and cornered him outside.
"Going somewhere?" Damon asked.
"I never like to be the last one to leave a party. It's too desperate." John looked at Damon. "You gonna kill me again? Or are you going to let Mr. Saltzman do your dirty work?"
"Okay," Ric said. "You obviously know who I am."
"I do. Alaric Saltzman, the high school history teacher with a secret."
"You sure know a lot for someone who just got to town," Damon said.
"More than you can imagine, Damon." John walked past them. "My knowledge of this town goes beyond anything you or the council knows. So if you were planning on some clever high-speed-snatch-ring-vamp-kill-move know that, if i die, everything I know goes to the council. Including a fascinating little tale of the original Salvatore brothers and their present day return to Mystic Falls."
It would almost be worth it to kill this guy and remove his ring. Being outed would definitely almost be worth it. The only bad thing would be that he'd have to leave, as would Stefan. Then would come the question of whether Rebecca and Elena would come with them.
"How'd you get that ring?" Ric asked.
"I inherited one," John said. "My brother Gray, the other. This -" he gestured to the ring on his finger "- is his. I wouldn't have given mine to Isobel had I known she was going to hand it over to another guy."
"So you did know her," Damon said.
"Who do you think sent her your way when she wanted to become a vampire?"
"You sent her?"
"Guilty."
That meant that John or someone John knew had been keeping tabs on Damon for a few years. Whoever it had been had known where to find him and had told John, who had told Isobel.
"Why? Did you think someone else sent her? Maybe Katherine Pierce?"
"How do you know about Katherine?"
"How do I know anything, Damon?"
"What do you want?"
"So many questions . . . I think your girlfriend already knows what I want. You people made a mess with the tomb and I'm here to clean it up. I'd very much like her help since she is the Slayer. Things would go a lot smoother if I had her on my team - super strength and all that."
"Ah. The problem with that is she hates you. She didn't even bat an eyelash when I told her you were dead."
"Hm. Regardless of her feelings towards me . . . I would think she would want to help get rid of the people who tortured her for the better part of a day, wouldn't you? She'll be thrilled to get some revenge."
"You don't know her very well." Rebecca wasn't much on revenge; she wanted to live as simple a life as possible.
"It was nice meeting you, Ric. I've heard so much about you."
Damon clenched his fists to keep himself from grabbing John and shaking the life out of him. He had no choice but to watch John just walk away. Damon still wasn't sure about Uncle John Gilbert. If he was telling the truth, then they wouldn't have much of a problem with him and they'd get rid of the other vampires. But nothing every worked out like that. So John probably had something else planned.
After Rebecca got home, she took a quick shower while Jeremy made himself comfortable in her room. Chelsea was already asleep, so . . . they had to be quiet. Once she was done getting clean she got out, got dressed into her pajamas, and gave Jeremy a summary of how Vicki had died. Vicki had been turned, not on purpose, and she had tried to help Vicki, but the girl couldn't be helped. The reason she'd been killed was because she'd become a threat to everyone. It was hard not to tell Jeremy about Damon taking away his memories or Elena making the decision to ask Damon to do that. It was even harder keeping her loyalties to everyone. She couldn't tell Jeremy that Damon's blood had turned Vicki and that Stefan had staked her.
Jeremy changed the subject by talking about Anna. He was still seeing her without Elena knowing about it. Rebecca understood that; Elena would try to stop them, control freak that she was.
Rebecca had only been home thirty minutes before she got a text from Stefan. He was outside and wanted to talk to her alone. She texted him back, asking him to wait until Jeremy was gone.
She hoped Damon would be okay with that, her talking to Stefan. Yes, Damon hadn't wanted her to be alone but . . . Stefan would protect her. As a human, as an almost-friend, and as Damon's girlfriend, Stefan would keep her safe.
Jeremy stayed until Jenna picked him up and dropped Rebecca's dad off. After Robert went to bed, Rebecca made her way outside. She quietly shut the door so as not to disturb anyone and then stepped down off the porch.
"Stefan?" She noticed Stefan standing off to the side and in the shadows. Even from her place near the porch Rebecca could tell Stefan did not look well. Drunk and unwell. Uh-oh . . . what did he want?
"Stefan?" she said when she was closer to him. "What is it?"
"I need your help."
Okay, so I know this is long, but I really had no idea where to stop with this one.