I made it as far as the front step before my legs gave out. It was too much to deal with all at once. I could hear Stefan's voice in the back of my head telling Elena to pick one emotion and focus on that and that alone. Wouldn't you know I'd pick the same one she did – rage. I had a focal point for that rage and its name was Klaus. I focused on dealing with him, running through every possible scenario, always coming back to the same one – desiccation and a swim in the deep blue. It was too good for him, an ending that really wasn't, because even if we wanted to kill him, we couldn't. His entire sire line would drop dead, including Elena, Tyler and me.

Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gone ahead and staked him, to hell with the sire line. Klaus would be dead, so would I. That would be better than this, living without her. Had I known that everyone we cared about, that she would end up dead, I would have searched heaven and hell to find that special white oak stake, the one with your bring-me-back-to-life Gilbert ring fused to it. Instead, I dismissed that possibility and focused on my desiccation plan.

In the midst of my diabolical planning, Elena plopped herself down on the step beside me and said nothing. She always had a way of knowing what I needed and when. This was no exception. She just sat there, her head on my shoulder, breathing the same air as me, letting me know we were in this together. Little did she know that she would be nowhere near the action. I was planning on sending her far, far away from the danger I was knew I would be walking into.

She took my hand, lacing our fingers together, sighing, she broke the silence. "You know you can't kill him, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Turning to kiss the top of her head, I matched her sigh with one of my own. "You know that you aren't going to be part of this plan, right?"

It was a mistake, I knew it as soon as the words left my mouth. I had just poked the sleeping bear that was Elena the Martyr, who also doubled as Elena the Protector. Nope, no way she was going to take this sitting down.

3… 2… 1

She shot to her feet, hands on her hips, glaring down at me for everything she was worth. I knew the speech, had it memorized. Hell, I could have given it in her place if she ever needed to take a sick day. Before she could launch into her 'you can't put yourself into danger' tirade, I was on my feet, too. I silenced her the only way I knew how, kissing her breathless, until she was limp in my arms, at my mercy. The girl knew how to pick her battles. She let me have that victory, although I was sure the next skirmish was just around the corner.

Discussion over for the moment, I took her hand and led her back to the library. I had a revenge plot to orchestrate, as well as convincing my nearest and dearest to go on the run. There wasn't a soul in the room who would willingly sit this one out, but that's how it was going to be.

All eyes turned toward Elena and me when we walked into the room. I hadn't earned my title as the one who made the tough decisions by letting others be in charge. It was up to me to steer them in the direction I wanted them to go.

"Okay, guys, we all know we can't kill Klaus, not unless we want all of the vamps in his sire line to die, too. That leaves us with the tried and true method of getting rid of Originals - desiccation. While I'm out finding a witch, the four of you are going to leave town, get as far away from here as you can and hide from Klaus. Get your stuff packed tonight. We're all leaving first thing tomorrow."

I turned and walked right back out of the room. Decision made, proclamation issued, whatever you want to call it. I wasn't going to stay around while they tried to change my mind, convince me that I needed them to take down Klaus. No, what I needed was to not have to worry about their safety while I went on, what could be, a suicide mission.

By the time Elena followed me to our bedroom, I was throwing clothes into a travel bag, prepping to leave the following morning.

"Damon."

I could feel her hovering just inside the door, unsure of my mood, unsure of how to approach me.

"Damon, you can't go alone. Do you even know where you're going?" Worry radiated off her, at odds with the outward calm she had on display as she walked into the room.

"I told you, Elena. I'm going to find a witch." I kept packing, trying to seem more confident than I felt. I thought I could find a witch, but there was no guarantee.

"We have a witch. Bonnie. She's even done the desiccation spell before. Why can't she be our witch? Then, you don't have to go running off on your own."

Yes, I know, she made a good point. Here's the thing, though. I didn't want Elena to lose anyone else. I didn't want to lose anyone else. Although, I wouldn't have admitted that to anyone, no matter how true. I do have a bad boy image to maintain after all.

"Nope, not gonna use Bonnie. I want all of you as far away from Klaus as possible." I refused to budge on this.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Klaus would probably kill her before she could do the spell." She nodded, conceding the point to me.

"Exactly. I'm sure I can find a witch who hates Klaus as much as we do. Problem solved."

"You still haven't told me where you're going."

"I know." She had finally worked her way across the room and around to the real question on her mind. She wanted to know where she could find me when she ditched the others. I wasn't naïve enough to believe that she would do what I wanted her to do. I certainly wasn't going to make it easy for her.

"Damon, I should be going with you. Tyler can go with Matt and Bonnie. At the very least, I need to know where you are going to be."

I traveled the short distance between us in two steps, wrapping my arms around her.

"No, Elena, you don't need to know. What you need to do is help Tyler keep Matt and Bonnie safe. Two humans, two protectors. Sounds about right to me."

"Damon, I don't think I can do this. We should be together. I can't just watch you drive away and not know whether or not you will be coming back."

"I know, but tomorrow morning, I am loading you and our friends into Matt's SUV and I'll watch as you drive away. I'll be heading out as soon as you're gone." I kissed her forehead before pulling back enough to catch her gaze. "You won't see me drive away. You'll see me standing in our driveway, waving. And when you come home, I'll be standing in the same spot, waiting for you."

She nodded, finally accepting that I was not going to change my mind about this. Her safety would always be my first, last and only priority.

By that point, we were both exhausted. It had been another long day in a string of long days that had no end in sight. I convinced her that we needed to go to bed and get some sleep. She convinced me that sleep could wait a while. She had other plans for what could be our last night together.

I woke up early the next morning, before first light, to find Elena awake and staring at me.

"Close your eyes and stay here. I'll be right back."

Knowing she would try to argue, I was ready for her. As soon as she started to open her mouth, I shushed her with a finger lightly pressed to her lips.

"I mean it, Elena. Close your eyes. Don't move a muscle. I'll be right back."

As stealthily as possible, I moved across the room, slid the drawer open and tunneled my hand under the perfectly folded silk boxers until I made contact with the object I sought. Grabbing the box and closing the drawer in one fluid move, I was back in bed before Elena realized I was gone.

I propped myself up on one elbow, the hand with the box hidden under the sheets. For the first time in longer than I could remember, I was nervous.

"Look, I know it's still a few days until your birthday. We don't know where we'll be, probably on opposite sides of the country. I don't want you to have to wait for your present."

I moved my hand out from under the covers, trying but failing to hide the blue velvet box until the last moment. She gasped, guessing the contents. As I started to thumb the box open, she stopped me, wrapping her hand around mine.

"No, Damon. Don't do this now. Give it to me when you come home. Promise me you will come home." Her eyes were pleading with me. I said the only thing I could say.

"I will do everything within my power to come home to you. I promise."