N: Thank you, all of you that reviewed this; for some reason I can't see half of your reviews, so I couldn't answer them, but I will as soon as the problem will get fixed.
Here's the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy.
Thank you so much Dez2sweet for looking over this!
What's under your layers?
Elena woke up that morning knowing exactly who she was.
She never actually forgot, but all the drugs and medication had her confused for a while. People were coming and going all the time. At ICU was always like this. Each and every one of them had addressed her as Mrs. Salvatore; they seemed all convinced they were talking to her. Even Mr. Salvatore was sure he was talking to his wife.
They were all wrong and she had to find a way to communicate the mistake to them. But how? She was unable to say a word, her body was refusing her commands to move and everything was just wrong.
What was wrong with these people? She was Elena Gilbert. It was clearly printed on her press pass, her driver's license and all her other forms that…were probably long burned in the crash.
Horrific images started to wash over her mind and she felt the fear taking over.
Where was Alaric? Why wouldn't he look for her? The answer made her shiver, even if her body did not move. They all thought she was dead. They thought Elena Gilbert was dead and Katherine Salvatore was alive.
"Good morning."
Elena recognized the voice immediately. It was the voice that kept her strong and gave her hope when she wanted to give up. He moved a little and took a sit in the chair next to her bed. Now she was able to see him as well as she could with only one eye. She guessed either it was a windy day or he didn't go to sleep, because his raven black hair was a mess.
"The doctors say you show no sign of pulmonary infection, that's great news," he said and smiled, but Elena didn't feel the smile. He noticed that before, but she thought it must've been the fact that she couldn't see him well. He always smiled politely and never with his eyes.
"Mom left Anna's room for a few minutes. You have to stay here so she can see you," he told his mother and Elena could see a beautiful woman approaching her bed. She smiled too, but just like Damon… Oh, but it was so obvious. Damon Salvatore, of course, they were quiet famous.
"Anna's doing well; she eats well and sleeps better. The doctors say she'll be running around in no time," the woman said.
Elena just now remembered the beautiful little girl she carried out of the plane. Because she had the child, people must've thought she was Katherine Salvatore. More than that, they exchanged seats. When Elena arrived, another woman had been in her seat. She didn't mind, so she took the empty one. Yes, now it was coming back to her. The other woman was wearing her hair long and slightly curled over her shoulders, just like Elena was wearing hers. The color was very similar as well. The flight attends even asked which one was the mother and which one was the aunt, guessing they were sisters. But she wasn't Katherine Salvatore and they weren't even related; she had to tell them!
"You better go back in case Anna wakes up, mom."
"Bye, Katherine. I'm sure once Dr. Sulez's done with the surgery you'll look just as pretty as before," the woman said before taking off.
"Elijah, dad, and Stefan all send their regards," he said bending closer to her. "Stefan went home, Caroline needs him, you know and God only knows what Rebecca is up to these days."
From what she gathered, Caroline was Stefan's wife and she had some sort of disease no one wanted to talk about. Rebecca was their daughter that apparently was old enough to drive, but not old enough to have her own place.
"Listen Kat, about the campaign, I'm going ahead as planned," he said.
That's why he looked slightly familiar to her. He'd been on the news quiet often lately. He was running against Klaus Dekker for the post of senator.
"Don't worry I won't neglect you or Anna. Elijah and the others support me, they understand…"
A soft knock on the door interrupted him and Elena noticed he turned his head. "Mr. Salvatore, I was just informed that Mrs. Salvatore's jewelry is still in the hospital's safety deposit box."
"I'll go pick them up later, thank you."
No, no, you have to now! Elena's mind was screaming. He won't find his wife's belongings; he would find hers, Elena Gilbert's. Then they will realize they made a mistake. Damon will suffer a great loss, yes, but Alaric will be happy she's not dead. If he didn't go now, it will be too late. When the plastic surgeon will be done, everyone will see her as Katherine Salvatore. That was her last thought as the now familiar, calming sensation of the medication took over.
***lucky 13***
Damon Salvatore will never live to take office; there will be no senator Damon Salvatore…he won't live….
Elena woke up screaming – a mute scream. It was the 3rd time she had this nightmare since the stranger came into her room and spoke those horrible words to her. Wait…did she just admit the first time hadn't been a dream? What if it was true? What if someone was indeed trying to kill Damon? She had to think, to put the puzzle together; she was good at it…when she wasn't high on medication though.
No matter how hard she tried to think and rationalize things, it only seemed to make it worse. It made no sense. Why would someone want to kill Damon? Why wouldn't they? But why come here and risk being caught? There were just too many questions and before Elena even started to think about answering them, she fell back asleep.
***lucky 13***
"I'm not surprised by her reaction, it's completely normal. Imagine if your handsome face would've been pulverized, how would you feel?" the doctor asked.
"Thanks for the compliment," Damon said tightly.
Despite his impeccable record and reputation, Dr. Sulez turned out to be the coldest person Damon had got to know. It seemed that ice was running through his veins instead of blood. He was cocky and arrogant and Damon did not like him one bit, but he was the best at his job.
"I always put myself in my clients place, under the circumstances, she's doing quite well."
"You're contradicting yourself!" Damon snapped. "She did take the news of the crash and her and Anna's survival well, but when I started talking about the surgery, she started crying. God, do you have any idea how pitiful she looked crying with only one eye, it was like an image from 'The Twilight Zone.'"
"Your wife was a very beautiful woman Mr. Salvatore. It is obvious she's scared she'll end up looking like a monster. My job is to assure her I can not only reconstruct her face exactly the way it was, but actually improving it. If you doubt I can do this, Mr. Salvatore, I refuse to perform," he said firmly.
"Listen, you must be the most pompous son of a bitch I've ever met, but by all accounts, you are the best, so I will cooperate in order to help my wife."
"Good, then. Let's go see the patient," Dr. Sulez said, completely unaffected by the insult.
Elena opened her eye as soon as the door opened. She saw Damon bending over and noticed another man with him.
"Katherine, this is Dr. Sulez, he is the surgeon that will put you back together."
"Hello, Katherine. We've met before, right after you've been brought here, you just don't remember it." Elena started to panic again at the thought of someone transforming her face forever into someone she was not.
"I think she's trying to say something," Damon noticed.
"Yes; that she doesn't believe me, it's customary," he replied calmly. He bent over a little to be closer to her. "Your burns are superficial; they're treating them with antibiotics. I'll have to wait until all risk of infection has past, which means another week or so. You'll have an invisible scar, here,' he said drawing a line with the tip of his pen on her forehead, over her bandages. "Another one here," he moved lower, on her jaw. "You won't be able to eat solid food for a while since a week or two after the surgery they'll implant your new teeth and I assure you that the hair will grow normally. After I'm done, not only will you look exactly the same, but the surgery will actually make you look ten years younger. What woman wouldn't want that?" he asked smiling.
Apparently Katherine didn't. Damon noticed that the doctor's visit managed to frighten her more than calm her.
After the doctor and the nurses left, Damon took a seat in the chair beside her. He placed his big, warm hand over hers and she wanted to squeeze it, but her muscles were completely numb. He talked to her about why he chose Dr. Sulez, he told her he didn't like him and she blinked to let him know she didn't like him that much either.
When he rose to his feet, Elena whished nothing more than be able to tell him to stay a little longer; she needed someone.
"You're going to be alright Katherine, I swear!"
I'm not Katherine!
"Try to get some rest. Good night Katherine," he murmured and as always, he brushed his fingers over her forehead.
No, I'm not Katherine…please, I'm not Katherine. I'm Elena…I'm not Katherine.
Although, when she comes back from the operating room, she will be.
N: So, you still like? Review and let me know!