I do not own TVD or TO.

I did it y'all. I finished writing the story. Just for the record this is not the last chapter, but they are all done.

"What do you mean 'it was deliberate'?" Elena licked her lips. She could feel her heart beginning to hammer in her chest.

Damon leaned back against the wall and watched the warring emotions in her eyes. He still doubted she had turned it on, but if she had he would be in for a treat when she hauled off and punched Kol in the face; maybe she would even break his nose.

"We mean somebody killed him," Damon rolled his eyes, "and signs are pointing towards a vampire."

"Then they've likely already killed themselves," Kol frowned.

"One aware of the hunter's curse," Klaus cocked an eyebrow.

"The coroner's report indicates a professional hit," Rebekah didn't glance up from where she was inspecting her nails.

"Are you telling me somebody assassinated my brother?" Elena felt like she was sitting on a fence and at any moment she was going to tip over into all-consuming rage or soul-shattering despair. "Who would… why would…"

Her nails dug into the back of the sofa. The fabric split beneath her fingers.

"Oh let's see," Damon straightened his cuffs, "who wanted to prevent the cure being found at any cost?"

Elena's eyes narrowed. She knew that tone. It was the way Damon spoke to her when he knew something she didn't know but expected her to know it anyway. The patronization had always grated on her nerves. She looked up to see an accusatory glint in Klaus' eyes, an exasperated sigh on Elijah's lips, and a pointed gaze being directed from Damon; she followed their eyes at the same moment Kol realized he was the centre of attention.

He might have noticed sooner if he hadn't been so focused on the irregular beating of Elena's heart.

"Me?" The thought of ever actually harming Jeremy Gilbert had never crossed his mind. He might have threatened to, but he threatened everyone. He had once sworn he was going to kill Rebekah, but the worst he had done was ruin her favorite dress.

"Why the bloody hell would you think I did it?" His eyes narrowed. The thought that Elena would believe her friends accusation made his stomach knot. She had known him less than six months.

"Maybe because you're afraid of Silas," Rebekah lifted her eyes from her manicure. Truthfully she didn't care who had done it, but a small part of her ached for Elena; she knew what it was to lose a baby brother.

"Did you do it?" Klaus growled. Kol was known to deceive, but even as a child he would give it up after being caught in the act.

Elena shivered as her head swam. She stood from the chair and turned around to face him, but over every other heart in the room she couldn't pinpoint his.

"No," he struggled to maintain his anger at the accusation. It was easier when he met Elena's flickering eyes. "No; I didn't do it."

Elena's breath seemed to still in her lungs; his voice reached her from underwater.

"You're not buying this?" Damon snorted and waved to Kol. "Who else would have done it?"

"You suggested she did," Stefan crossed his arms.

Elena spun on her heel so fast to flash across the room that Klaus and Elijah, who had yet to witness her speed, were impressed. Caroline brought her hand up to hide her grin when Elena slapped hard enough to knock his head around into the wall causing a painting to crash to the floor.

One of the benefits of living with Kol for so long meant she knew the house and was able to quickly disappear into the library.

"Should I take that as a yes?" Damon rubbed his jaw.

Caroline raised her hand and smacked the back of his head.

"You should take that as: Damon, you're an idiot, and how dare you accuse me of killing my own brother." Caroline stepped out into the hall to find Kol standing outside of a closed door; she could hear Bonnie telling Damon how tactless he was.

"Elena," Kol twisted the locked doorknob, "please open the door? I'd rather not break it down."

Caroline came up beside him and placed her palm flat against the wood. She gave him a look that said 'let-me-try' and closed her eyes.

"Elena, can we talk?" She frowned when she heard nothing from inside. "Are you sure she's in here?"

Kol nodded and ran a hand through his short hair. "I had a witch spell all of the rooms so you can't hear what's going on inside if the door is shut."

"Can she hear us?" Caroline rocked back on her heels. At Kol's nod she knocked again. "Come on, 'Lena, open the door. We can talk about anything you want."

She held her breath; it came out in a sigh of relief when the lock clicked and the door opened a crack. She could see the urgency in Kol's shoulders and held up a hand.

"Give me a few minutes."

It took all of his self-control to nod and watch the blonde step into the room. He leaned back against the door and closed his eyes to think of anyone and everyone who might have orchestrated Elena's heartache. It had been a long time since his list had held anyone else's name besides Klaus, but he knew it was about to double in length.

Caroline closed the door and twisted to face Elena. The brunette had slid down the wall and now sat with her chin propped on her bent knees. It was dark in the library but she could see the shimmering tears that tracked down her friend's cheeks.

"They all think I did it," Elena's voice was small. "They think I killed my brother."

"I don't."

Caroline slid down the wall until her hip brushed against Elena's. The slight contact was enough for Caroline to feel the vibrations brought forth by Elena's shivers.

"I don't believe it. Elijah doesn't believe it. Klaus doesn't believe it."

She wrapped her arm around Elena's back and brought the brunette's head to her shoulder.

"I don't think Bonnie believes it either, and Kol definitely doesn't."

"Damon does," Elena muttered, "and Stefan does."

"Screw them. You didn't kill your brother, and you didn't plan for someone else to do it. The only reason Damon suggested it was because of the way you acted without your humanity when you said you didn't want the cure."

"I still don't want it," Elena sniffled. "The morning I went to talk to Jeremy I asked him to stop looking. I never wanted to be a vampire, but I don't think I should waste my life searching for a cure that will unleash hell on earth."

"You believe Kol?"

Caroline rubbed Elena's shoulder and felt her nod. She could smell the ancient vampire beneath her skin.

"Do you believe he didn't do it either?"

Elena nodded again. She didn't know why or how she knew it, but she knew with a calm certainty that he hadn't arranged Jeremy's murder.

"You might want to tell him that," Caroline cleared her throat. "You should have seen the look on his face when I came in. I think he likes you."

"Yeah," Elena murmured.

"Do you like him?"

Elena stiffened slightly. Her heart was screaming yes while her head said it was too soon to feel the way she did.

"Jer just died Care."

"I know, but that doesn't change the way you feel. Maybe you're not ready to say it yet, but you do like him."

Elena leaned back and tipped her head so it hit the wall. Caroline was too intuitive for her own good.

"How can you tell?"

"I can smell him all over you," Caroline smirked. "I could also smell you all over him. Did you two…?"

"Have sex?" Elena laughed through her tears. "You all kind of walked in on that."

"Not that," Caroline shook her head. "Did you… did you blood share?"

Elena turned sharply to look at her. How had Caroline known? Was there still blood on her neck?

"Sex leaves an imprint on the skin," Caroline shrugged, "but blood sharing lingers beneath."

Elena swept her hair back over her shoulders and braced her elbows on her knees again.

"I… I had an impulse." She couldn't think of another way to describe the burning need that had brought her teeth to the juncture where his neck met his shoulder.

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, "I know that impulse." She could vividly recall the moonlight turning a ring of blood nearly black.

Elena wrinkled her nose and inhaled. Amongst the leather, musty pages, and flowers she could smell her blood and Kol's lingering under her skin. She could also smell Caroline and something… someone else that smelled familiar.

"Caroline have you been blood sharing?"

"No…" she flushed under Elena's sceptical look, "… not recently… it's been a few days."

"Then why can I still smell it?"

Caroline's brows lowered as she lifted her wrist and inhaled. Her eyes grew round at the smell assaulting her senses.

"I don't know," she lowered her hand, "but I'm going to find out. Are you alright to talk to him now?"

Kol straightened up as the door opened. He barely waited for Caroline's nod before slipping inside.

Caroline brought her wrist to her nose again and inhaled. The smell should have left her days ago but it lingered still in her blood; it was faint, only the smallest of traces, but it was there.

Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor all the way back to the living room. She didn't say a word; she just walked up grabbed his sleeve and pulled him through the house into the kitchen.

"Caroline, love…"

She cut him off by raising her wrist.

"Smell me."

"Odd request," he tilted his head.

"Just do it."

He sighed before inhaling. A line appeared between his brows. He heard her breath hitch when he surged forward and breathed her in. Slowly he lifted her blonde curls and found a small mark.

The door slid shut behind him with a soft click. He had expected to find her still on the floor where he had caught a glimpse when Caroline went in but she had moved.

She turned around from where she was watching the rain beat against the windows.

"Elena I…" He trailed off when she moved and wrapped her arms around him. For a moment he was immobile. Shouldn't she have slapped him? Shouldn't she be screaming?

Hesitantly his hands slid around her waist; one held her back as the other threaded through her knotted hair.

"I didn't kill your brother, darling."

"I know," she lifted her chin and met his eyes.

His chest flooded with warmth. His fingers rubbed small circles along her scalp.

Elena closed her eyes and let the familiar comfort wash over her from head to toe. The goosebumps that had risen in the living room fled.

"Somebody did," she inhaled the combined smell of them both. She wasn't sure where he ended and she began.

"We'll find out who," determination settled in his chest, "I promise."

She didn't know what to say so she lifted her chin and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she glanced down to the place she had bitten him.

Shouldn't the mark have healed?

Minutes turned into days and before Elena knew it two weeks had passed and she was stepping into the cemetery. Her fingers traced the stems of the red roses in her left hand.

Every step added to the swell of her anger. It was only being held up by the dam she had erected. Each day it grew a little bigger, a little hotter, and a little harder to hide.

Her feet crossed the familiar path until she was circling around to stand in front of the tombstones. She placed a rose on every grave and knelt to trace the letters on the newest stone.

She was still kneeling in the damp grass when the full moon rose over her head.

"I believe I said something about wanting to be alone," she crossed her arms to ward off a chill.

"You did, darling," he leaned against a tree and watched her silhouette. "Just pretend I'm not here."

"I can't; you're like an extra limb. I know you're there."

She couldn't be too angry with him. He'd only hunted her down because she was out under a full moon.

Kol pushed off from the tree and came up behind her. The tension in her shoulders did not go unnoticed; he'd been feeling it for weeks whenever he was near her. He could only assume it was a by-product of what they had done.

Her fingers lifted to her neck and the bite that had never disappeared from her otherwise flawless skin.

"I can feel you; this spot gets warm whenever you're near." She traced the faint scar and watched as he sat beside her in the grass. "Why hasn't it healed?"

He bent his knee and wrapped his arm around it while shaking his head with a small chuckle.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," he pulled back the collar of his jacket, "it's probably for the same reason mine hasn't."

Elena leaned closer to inspect the teeth marks that were barely visible against his skin; marks that had been inflicted by her. She felt a tiny swell of pride when she saw the scar she had managed to leave on him; it was the first he'd had in a thousand years.

"Why hasn't it healed?" She felt his shiver when she traced the bite.

"It's a mark," he listened to her accelerating heart and allowed the tip of his index finger to ghost over her throat. "Vampires can leave a permanent mark on another vampire."

"Vampires mark each other?" She gave him an incredulous look. "I don't remember doing that."

"Neither do I," he offered a sheepish smile. "I didn't even realize I had done it until we were in the library. I would have told you sooner but you've had a lot to deal with."

"What exactly does this mean?" Her tongue darted out to whet her bottom lip. She focused on his answer to try and forget about the white hot rage simmering in her blood.

"Well," he lifted his gaze to her eyes, "it acts as a deterrent and means you're off limits. Any vampire who sees it will know you've been marked and even if they can't they'll be able to smell me just beneath your skin."

"Off limits?" She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Kol Mikaelson, did you claim me?"

He bit his lip to try and hide his smile but he knew she caught it when she rolled her eyes.

"You did, didn't you?"

"In my defence," he cleared his throat and held up a finger, "you marked me first."

"So what…" she fell back to sit in the grass, "… I belong to you now? How old world…"

"You could look at it as me belonging to you," he suggested. "That's a little less 'old world'."

"I suppose it is," she sighed.

"Are you alright, love?"

Elena shook her head and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"No; I'm angry. I'm so angry. It's like a hot ball of lead that just keeps getting heavier and heavier."

"Are you angry with me?"

Elena shook her head. She was angry at a lot of people, but not him. She was angry at Esther for what she had done to Alaric. She was ticked off with the Salvatores for their little torture session while she was without humanity. She was upset with herself for being born a doppelganger. But the bulk of her anger centered on a faceless individual.

"You don't know who you're angry with."

"No; I feel like I'm gonna explode."

Kol nodded slowly. He stood up and reached for her hand to pull her to her feet.

"What are you doing?"

He walked backwards to lead her from the cemetery.

"I happen to like you very much the way you are," he flashed her a teasing smile, "so I'm taking you far away from any wolves that might be lurking…" as if on cue a howl echoed from the west, "… and I'm going to help you work out some of that anger."

Leave a review and let me know what you think.

I know I promised answers in this chapter and I fully intended to do it but then I got a review that inspired this bonus chapter that I was initially not going to include.