A/N - I'm sooooo sorry for the delay. I've been distracted, you know how it is. I don't expect future chapters to take so long. Thank you for the reviews, they live in my heart. And thanks to my always faithful and inspiring beta. And rock on.

Elena wanted this moment to last forever. She wanted to freeze time and forget about all her obligations and responsibilities and live in Damon's arms. The strength of the hold he had on her probably meant he felt the same way. There were certain things Elena knew about Damon Salvatore, and the number one fact about him, whether he'd ever admit or not, was that in some weird way, he wore his heart on his sleeve. In those few seconds he held her, she knew everything there was to know about him. And it was more comforting than she could ever hope to believe.

But the moment was soon interrupted, as all of Elena's moments with Damon inevitably were. Stefan came running into the library. "What the hell happened here, Elena? I heard you scream all the way-" He trailed off, first as he saw the man lying dead on the floor, second when he saw his brother holding his girlfriend.

"Damon? What the hell? When-what the hell?"

"I got in a few minutes ago. Just in time, too, right, brother? I can ask you the same question-what the hell were you thinking leaving Elena alone in this house?"

"She's perfectly safe!" Stefan said, getting louder with each word. "She has her bracelet and her necklace and no vampire is going to harm her, Damon. I ask you again, why are you here?"

Damon chuckled, and leaned to the floor to turn over the mysterious man. "If you haven't noticed, this isn't a vampire, Stefan. He only died because I shoved a stake straight through his heart. He isn't decomposing, as you can see. The vampires obviously sent him to rattle Elena. And did a damn good job."

Stefan joined his brother to examine the body. When it was obvious the mysterious man was, in fact, not a vampire, Damon glared at Stefan.

"You bring her to this place to take her away from the drama at home and you don't protect her from the evil happening here? You're pathetic. If you want to be a bad boy, be a bad boy. But don't drag Elena into it."

"I'm pathetic? You came all the way here to do what, bring my mail? I know why you're here and you can have that over my dead body."

Elena wondered if she was supposed to be the "that" in this equation.

"I go where I please, Stefan. And I get what I want. But that's not why I'm here."

"Then why the hell ARE you here?" Elena had only seen Stefan this angry a handful of times. It didn't look good on him.

"He's with me," a familiar voice said softly. Elena couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it. And still couldn't believe her eyes when Katherine came strutting into the library like she'd always belonged there.

"I heard you were here and I was fascinated," Katherine said demurely. "Remember when we used to talk about coming here together? Remember when I told you about the Vlachs from the beginning? You never knew there could be such a world. And now you're here exploring it without me. I couldn't have that."

Stefan scoffed. "You are one psychotic bitch, Katherine. You followed me and Elena here? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"My, my, Stefan. France isn't doing a very good job of mellowing you out. No, I'm not here for you. I thought it would be nice for Damon and I to come together. Visit the old vampires. Take our relationship to the next level."

Elena's heart sank. She glanced at Damon and he looked annoyed, but he wasn't denying anything. What was he thinking?

"Excuse me?" Stefan seemed just as confused as she was. "Damon, what the hell is she talking about?"

"You were gone," Katherine answered for Damon. "I needed someone to entertain me. Damon had some time on his hands. Things happened. Now we're here."

Elena never took her eyes off Damon. He finally looked at her. There was something in his eyes she couldn't identify. Whatever it was, it broke her heart.

"Things happened," Damon echoed. "It is what it is."

They were all quiet for a moment while everything sank in. Elena wanted to go home. She wanted to get in her own bed, cuddle with her stuffed animals and tune out the rest of the world. None of this was real. She'd just been having a very bad dream for the last two years.

Before she could ponder that any longer, Damon snapped out of his Katherine fog and started accusing Stefan of bringing Elena here so he could indulge in his dark side with her by his side. Stefan accused Damon of being selfish and spineless and how dare he come here with Katherine after all the trouble she's caused for both of them. Katherine defended herself and before long, everyone was yelling incoherently while Elena watched, horrified and beaten.

When she couldn't take this much longer, she yelled, "Guys! Can you please just shut the hell up? This is not some family vacation we're all on together. Do you even care WHY this guy was about to kill me? He saw what I was reading. He knows what I know now. And you all need to know, too."

Damon nodded. "I've been looking into Klaus and I have information, too. That's why we're here," he said, looking at Stefan intently. "You go first, Elena."

Elena cringed when he said her name and she wasn't sure why. Even if he was "with" Katherine, whatever that meant, he still held Elena with all the feelings and emotions she felt before. He was the same Damon. But something about him and Katherine made Elena sick to her stomach. It just wasn't right. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

"This book says that a hybrid is coming to France during a full moon. It's another curse; only it's the worst one yet. The hybrid, being an original, has connections to all the Vlach vampires that still exist in the world. Once he triggers the curse, the vampires become ten times more powerful. The sun no longer bothers them. They can enter anywhere they'd like without being invited. All their powers are magnified. That's not all. It didn't say in the book what else these vampires are capable of, but I'm guessing it's not going to be good. And there are millions of them. I can't be sure, but I believe their ultimate goal is to obliterate all the humans. Either kill them or turn them. This book is from hundreds of years ago. Klaus has been planning this all along."

"I have even better news," Damon said grimly. "Bonnie was reading the grimoires and found out that the only way to stop the curse is for the doppelganger to kill Klaus while he's in transition during the full moon. Since the doppelganger was supposed to die during the sacrifice, it's a safe bet that the hybrid can go through with his plans without interruption. Klaus is very much planning to rid the world of humans. Well, not entirely. He'd have to keep some around to feed off of, of course."

Elena cringed. That wasn't a pleasant thought. "So the future of the human race depends on my killing a vampire-werewolf hybrid." This news should have fazed her, but seeing what else she'd been through lately, it was just another thing she'd have to do. "How do I go about doing that, exactly?"

"With a stake," Damon said. "One that a witch put a spell on. I had Bonnie do it before we left. I know it sounds simple, but that's it. It would help if you and Katherine, the original doppelganger, could do it together, but we're going to have to be very careful about that. Klaus knows Katherine will be here. That could either give us an advantage or screw us over."

Elena sighed. Was this really her life? Unfortunately it was. She made a vow to herself that when all this was over (if the whole human race survived, that is), she was going home whether Stefan followed her or not. If he didn't, and if Damon and Katherine continued whatever the hell they were doing, she'd be done with the Salvatore brothers. It would make life so much more simple and drama-free. And boring. And she'd be devastated. But someday she'd get over it. Suddenly she wondered what Matt was doing these days...

"What in the hell is happening in here?" Gabriel and Olivia came stomping into the library, looking confused and angry. Elena thought that pretty much summarized the situation.

Before anyone could manage to squeak out a reasonable explanation, Olivia shrieked. She bounced over to Katherine and embraced her with youthful exuberance. Gabriel looked shocked but managed to collect himself enough to shake Damon's hand and give him a warm welcome.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Gabriel asked when Olivia had settled down.

"I just wanted to see what Little Bro was up to," Damon said. "Check out the sights. You know."

"We're so delighted to have you here! We love Elena, of course, but it's nice to see the rest of the family," Gabriel said. Elena knew Gabriel liked her in his own way, but it still stung when he always managed to exclude her from "the family".

Finally, Gabriel and Olivia saw there was a dead dude lying in the middle of the library.

"Well, what happened here?" Olivia said, not looking too worried about it.

"Someone came after Elena," Stefan said. "We thought it might have been a vampire but it's not."

"Hmm," Gabriel said. "That's not good. We'll have to beef up the security around here, I guess."

And that was it. Nobody seemed to particularly care about the dead guy. Gabriel retrieved his phone from his pocket, texted someone, and before Elena could even blink, her attacker was swept away into the night. This was not normal. This was not how Elena wanted to live her life.

When the dust settled and Stefan and Elena retreated to their lair, Damon and Katherine found an empty bedroom. Only when Damon knew no one could possibly be listening did he finally unleash his wrath.

"What are you thinking? I know this is a common question, but what the hell is wrong with you? Why do you want Elena to think we're together? Katherine, you've done some ridiculous, crazy, messed up things over the years, but this..."

"Makes the most sense?" She said with an annoying grin. "I thought we were here for the same reason, Damon. We want similar things. You want Elena. I want Stefan. If they think we're together, they'll never see it coming."

"What...what?"

"We both know Stefan is on the human blood. Elena doesn't know that, but I'm sure she has her suspicions. Stefan doesn't want Elena, Damon. He thinks he does, but what he needs is someone to support and indulge the bad boy in him. If he thinks we're together, he won't notice me slithering in; getting to his soul. Trust me. This is going to work out for both of us."

"Perfect as usual, Katherine. Really. Wonderful. Did Klaus put you up to this idiotic plan?"

Katherine's grin turned into a frown. "Well...yes. But it benefits everyone, don't you get it?"

Damon would be lying if he said he wasn't in France for Elena. He'd be lying if he said his goal wasn't to be the one going home with her instead of Stefan. He was there to make sure she was safe, yes, but he was also there because he needed her. And part of him believed she needed him.

"I don't like even pretending to be with you, Katherine. I need you to know that. Thinking about being with you again makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

"I love you, too, sweetie," she said, not amused.

"I don't like Elena thinking we're together. She must think so much less of me right now. If this doesn't work..."

"It will," she said. "We'll both get what we want."

If she hadn't looked so strangely vulnerable when she said it, Damon might have protested more. But he saw the fear in her eyes. She wanted Stefan more than she'd ever wanted anything, he could see that. Damon knew the feeling.

The full moon was in two weeks. For the next week, the four of them huddled together to make plans for the impending doomsday. Elena did her best to ignore Damon, who was trying his best to get her not to ignore him. Meanwhile, Katherine was being the same old Katherine. Elena watched as she played both Damon and Stefan to differing amounts of success. Damon wasn't as receptive to her public displays of affection but this didn't seem to bother her. And Katherine was different with Stefan. Serious. She'd stroke his arm and pull him away for inappropriate amounts of time to do god knows what. He looked like he enjoyed the attention. And something in Elena began to see what was happening here.

Stefan wanted to live in France. He wanted to live among the vampires and sleep all day and prowl all night. He wanted to embrace his dark side while still having the advantage of Elena by his side. Her thoughts, her goals in life, her dreams of the future didn't matter as much to him anymore. They were not in a partnership anymore. And yet, Katherine was already a vampire. She supported his dark side. She encouraged him to seek it out. Katherine was like Elena in some ways, the good ways, but like Stefan in the ways that mattered. Katherine was much better suited for Stefan and Elena could see that in plain daylight.

Meanwhile, it became clear that the Vlachs were also gearing up for something to happen. It was like everyone at the estate was preparing for something very specific. It was not talked about or acknowledged; it was just inherent. It was inside them. The reckless and loud partying in the middle of night was almost non-existent. The catered dinner affairs were put on hold. Elena played along and asked Abby what was going on.

"What's happening around here lately?" Elena asked her. They were sharing a pizza for lunch. It was too hot outside for their usual sunbathing activities.

"I don't know. Damon and Katherine's arrival sure shook things up around here. Maybe we're all still reeling from that. Man, you really do look exactly like her. It's a little freaky. Anyway, perhaps everyone will settle down once they get used to Damon and Katherine. Although I'm not sure how anyone gets used to Damon. That man's eyes...whoosh."

"No one ever gets used to Katherine, either." Elena muttered. "But it seems like there's something else going on. The whole atmosphere has changed recently. I know I haven't been here long but even I can see that."

"Maybe it's the shadows," Abby teased, and made a gruesome face. Elena laughed.

Abby wasn't going to tell her about Klaus and the impending Doomsday. Maybe she didn't know. Or maybe she knew more than Elena did. Whatever it was, she wasn't talking. Elena wondered why.

Katherine's existence at the estate made Elena very nervous. Most of the vampires thought Elena was just some random chick Stefan brought with him from America. But once they saw Katherine for the first time, they all now knew the truth—they were in the presence of the doppelgangers. Elena didn't know if any of the vampires, including Gabriel and Olivia, knew the key to breaking the curse was through the doppelganger. Would they give her up to Klaus once he arrived? It was too much to think about.

Later, Elena looked for Stefan so she could share her concerns. She was still trying to avoid Damon, which killed her. But the very idea of him forgiving Katherine for all the damage she'd caused him over the years made Elena question everything she loved about him. This feeling of disappointment in Damon was so familiar to her that it almost felt comfortable.

She found Stefan in their bedroom. But he was not alone. Katherine was sitting next to him on the bed, stroking his leg, murmuring softly to him about something Elena couldn't hear. But whatever Katherine was selling, Stefan was buying. He was giving her his full attention. This managed to both intrigue and annoy Elena. But mostly annoy.

"Stefan."

Stefan turned and glanced at her standing in the doorway. At least he had the decency to look guilty.

"We need to talk," Elena said, more to Katherine than Stefan.

"I guess that's my cue," Katherine said. "Good night, Stef. Remember what we talked about. Elena."

They both watched as Katherine left the room. The girl was good at making entrances and exits.

"I'm not even going to ask," she said.

"It's nothing."

"It's always 'nothing', isn't it?"

Stefan sighed heavily. Elena tried to see it from his perspective, she really did. But she found it hard to step into the shoes of a 150 year old vampire who was maybe betraying her for an even older vampire.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"Yes. I was thinking about how big a problem it is that some, um, people around here know I'm the doppelganger. And if they didn't know, Katherine being here is a pretty big indication."

"Yes, I've thought about that. It's going to be a problem. Most people don't know the key to breaking the curse is Klaus dying by your hands. But it's a problem. We're just going to have to be careful. I don't have any grand plans or schemes to get around it."

"Awesome. Something to look forward to."

"Hey, come here," Stefan patted the bed like she was a dog. She reluctantly sat next to him.

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. It was the most genuine kiss they'd shared in months and Elena felt some of her anger and frustration melt away.

When Stefan started to unbutton her shirt, she took his hand and held it in her lap.

"What does Katherine want you to remember?" She asked, effectively ruining the moment.

"Oh, come on. She's just trying to stir up trouble, you know that."

"I don't know what I know. Look, if you want to be with her, its okay. I'll get over it. Maybe she's better suited for you anyway."

"Elena, look at me."

She shook her head.

"Look at me."

She looked at him.

"Let's get past our petty arguing and have a discussion about this, okay? We can do that, can't we? Let's just be honest with each other. We owe it to ourselves."

She exhaled. Finally. "Okay."

"Okay. Now listen. I don't want to be with her. I haven't wanted to be with her since the 1800s. She's with Damon now...or maybe not; I don't really understand what's happening there. But let's work on this. I want this, you and me. Don't you want that, too?"

"Of course I do. I love you, that hasn't changed. But I don't want to stay here. I don't want to be a vampire. I can't be a vampire."

Instead of nodding and assuring her it was okay, as always, he was quiet. He held her hand tighter. She wasn't getting a good feeling about this.

"Why?" He finally said. Before she could give her exasperated reply, he continued. "Trust me, I remember our conversation by the water fall. I know you want to grow old and have babies, but don't you think you'd be happy with me without those things? Assuming you're able to stop Klaus from ridding the world of humans, we would travel around the world, eat the best food, drink the best wine, know the best people. We could start our own estate like Gabriel. We can see things most humans don't get to see. And we'll always have each other's backs. What is so unappealing about that?"

It's not like Elena didn't think about it all the time. Now with Jenna and both sets of her parents gone, she didn't have anyone to be responsible to. Of course there was Jeremy, but he'd still be in her life. None of her friends would blame her for making that choice. Well, Bonnie might, but eventually she'd understand. Elena had visions of her and Caroline having fun vampire adventures together. And, of course, she and Stefan would roam the world together forever, letting their everlasting love and devotion fall down on them like rain.

It was nothing she hadn't thought about a thousand times. But she also came to the same conclusion a thousand times. She just didn't want to. Especially now, seeing Stefan's shady, devious behavior. Why would she want to spend an eternity with someone like that? Someone who didn't exactly lie to her but never actually told her the whole truth.

Instead of answering his question yet again, she said, "What if I asked you the same question? What if I asked you to become a human? What if I asked you to make the sacrifice for me? Why can't you do that? Don't you love me enough?"

Stefan looked surprised and somewhat confused, as though he'd never prepared for this question.

"That's not fair, Elena…"

"Why not? Why do I always have to be the one to make the sacrifice? Why am I the one who has to change everything about myself to be with you? Just tell me that, Stefan. What is so damn great about being a vampire?"

He looked so uncomfortable. Elena almost felt bad.

"It's what I know. What I'm used to. When I was human, I was always being bullied. No one respected me and I had to fight for everything I wanted. I could never truly find my place in the world and nobody ever gave me a chance. As a vampire, I have power. I have strength. I can get what I want without asking for it. Maybe it's ego or a power trip or whatever you want to call it, but I like it. And I want someone to go on this journey with me."

Elena sighed. "Stefan...I'm not going to change my mind," she said softly. "The only way I'll ever be a vampire is if you do it against my will. And even then, I'll resent you forever."

"Then that is a problem," he said sadly. "I love you. I practically love everything about you. Your soul, your eyes, your passion, your strength. I want that forever. And I'm not sure what else there is to say. Can we at least try to keep this together until we defeat Klaus? We can talk about it more when we get home, okay?"

"You mean, we can go home after this whole Klaus thing?" Elena knew they were being optimistic about being able to kill Klaus, but it was the only way to move forward.

"Yes, at least for a little while. We can talk about it—about us—one more time and decide what to do."

"Okay," she said, and shrugged. What difference did it make? Damon was with Katherine, anyway. Plus, she respected and appreciated her duty as the doppelganger. Sure, it drove her crazy and she wished things were different, but they weren't. This was her life.

The two of them got undressed and went to bed. He spooned her and she enjoyed the comfort. But as always, when she drifted off to sleep, it was not Stefan Elena was thinking about. Right as she closed her eyes, she let herself wonder if Damon would sacrifice anything for her. She had a feeling the answer was yes.