Once again, I am humbled by your lovely reviews! Thank you very much. : )

I hope you enjoy this chapter – some parts you may find strange, but just remember – it's all part of my 'diabolical plan'! Oh, Katherine. Why must you be in the tomb? Your schemes were so fun! ; ) Please read and review – as you know, I appreciate your comments and am always looking to improve!

Happy Holidays!

Ice
Part II: Frost

Crossed that line, the line reserved for angels
Once you cross that line then you are lost
So best think twice before you break commandments
'Cause forgiveness comes at the highest cost… frost

-Rachael Sage, "Frost"

"Stefan, I'm going to be completely honest with you." Elena grazed the back of her hand against his cheek, sighing softly at the jolt of electricity which passed through her as she did it. His skin was cool, but if she pressed hard enough, she would be able to feel the gentle warmth emanating from it.

Stefan looked at her with adoration as he was won to do, but kept his mouth straight, sensing what was about to come. He pulled her closer and carefully removed her hand from his cheek before taking it and clutching it between his two hands. He loved her so much...and he knew that the moment had come for him to let her go.

"I can't be with you," Elena whispered, never breaking eye-contact with the green-eyed boy with the gentle smile. "I love you, Stefan, but over the last few months, as we've taken our time apart, time to think, I've realized that I love you in a different way than before. I love you as a friend and not a lover."

Stefan wouldn't cry; that would be too painful. Instead, he nodded, keeping his eyes focussed on hers. "Can I be honest, too, Elena?"

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat as tears threatened to spill over once again. "Of course, Stefan."

"I know you're doing this because you love Damon." As Stefan said them out loud, a heavy weight filtered through him to his heart and then burst open softly, rendering him momentarily weightless.

Elena opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Stefan placed a finger at her lips.

"And that's okay, Elena. He needs you...and you need him." Stefan felt something burn the back of his eyes. "You and Damon belong together, Elena. You purify his soul and he sweeps yours around in a waltz that I could never dance." He smiled bitterly, looking at their interlocking hands. "I want you to be happy, Elena...and I want Damon to be happy."

The tears spilled over and flowed slowly down Elena's cheeks. "Oh, Stefan...I'm so sorry..."

"No, Elena; I'm sorry. I have something to tell you. And if you never want to speak to me again, I understand."

Elena smiled sadly at him. "I know what Rose did, Stefan."

Stefan was silent for a moment as he reached up and stroked her hair away from her face. "I was so selfish, Elena. I should never have let her do it, though I suspect she had her own reasons as well. I promise...that even if you do not love me, I know that parts of me will always love you, and I will do whatever it takes to protect you." His own tears finally fell from his eyes

His heart was crushed, but his courage was not.

"Stefan..." Elena said softy, "parts of me will always love you, too."

They embraced each other for a long while, tears running down their faces, as parts of their hearts, the parts that they had only reserved for one another, slowly frosted over.

Klaus wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sneered down at Damon Salvatore's excruciating pain. "I've made you so weak," he murmured, knowing that Damon could hear every word. "I suppose I've punished you enough for one session. But let me tell you this, Mr. Salvatore: I am not done with you. And what I've done to you – I will do to every single one of the people you care about."

Damon cried out softly as he was thrashed with Klaus' power.

"You should bear in mind that although you are immortal and can survive my manipulations, some of your human friends – like the beautiful Ms. Gilbert – would not make it through even one lash of my power. I told you your options when you awakened. You would do well to consider them."

The person holding Damon's head up let go and he slumped forward. The remains of his black button up shirt fluttered in the cold wind. The snow fell heavier, frosting his bared skin with cold, thick flakes. His body was numb, but he knew it wasn't just from the weather.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Damon whispered. He could finally feel his wounds start to heal; it was the longest Klaus had gone without making him bleed. His neck throbbed painfully from the multiple times the older man had bled him and he knew that it would take longer for that part to heal.

"Physically, you are the strongest link, Damon; emotionally, you are the weakest." Damon could feel Klaus' smirk. "Of course, it seems like you always have everything under control, the great protector. But you're damaged – no one wants you."

Everything Klaus had said so far had been absolutely true; Damon thought himself an emotionally damaged fuck-up, but he had to conceal it so that no one could see the weakness that lurked behind his blue eyes. He needed to be strong, now, to protect the people he loved.

"And the only reason Rose wants you is because she's just as damaged as you." Klaus chuckled to himself, as if making some kind of private joke. "But you know what will be even more fun for me, Damon? Torturing Elena and making you and Stefan watch as she suffers. Of course, if you just handed over the girl, all of this could be gracefully avoided."

"No," Damon spat, fire coursing through his veins at the very thought of someone hurting Elena or Stefan. "You will have to drive a stake through my fucking heart before I let that happen!"

"And I just might, Damon. But not before I make you watch as I drive stakes through the hearts of your entire little vampire coven. No one is safe. Perhaps that is the lesson you should take from this little gathering."

Damon snarled at him, suddenly enraged as he pushed down the other emotions that had been dragged so painfully to the surface.

Klaus touched Damon's chin and lifted his head up. "I know it takes a lot to break a man like you; someone so cold and emotionally blocked. I feel like we've made progress," he continued delightedly. "I made you sob and you begged me to stop. Perhaps I've finally inflicted in you the fear that you've made others feel as you were ending their lives. You are a disgrace, Damon. I don't even understand why Katerina bothered with you."

There was a heavy and long silence, and suddenly, Damon realized the anger he had felt seconds ago was quickly dissolving into fear and pain. He could hear words echoing quietly in his ears. A slight haze danced at the back of his mind just as understanding dawned on him. "You're compelling me! Get out of my head!" he shouted.

The corner of Klaus's mouth twitched upward in a sadistic smile. "Yes, I can compel you, Damon. Don't you ever forget what I'm capable of – or what I'm capable of making you do."

Damon could feel Klaus inside him, clawing his way around, playing with his memories, and forcing him to obey what he said. He thrashed, trying to free his chin from Klaus's hand, but the man held tight.

"Now, let us see if you remember what I told you. What are you going to do, Damon Salvatore?" Klaus smiled at Damon's pain, truly enjoying the moment; he loved the feel of his suffering as it built up, peaked, came down, and then repeated.

"I'm going to fall apart," Damon finally replied, his voice flat and monotonous, "because if I fall apart, everyone else does, too."

"Precisely, Damon," Klaus praised. He nodded at his hooded companion that it was time to leave.

In a flash, they were gone, leaving Damon to suffer alone – rendered motionless by a generous doping of vervain - and in silence, as the snow continued to fall from the dark sky, smothering the world, but not the emotional turmoil in Damon's mind.

"Damon!" The scream ripped from Elena's throat when she saw him in the clearing, curled up lifelessly on his side, knees drawn up to his nearly bare chest. A black blindfold covered his eyes and ropes tightly bound his hands behind his back. She didn't have to get close to know that there was something wrong. She made a move to run to him, but Stefan stopped her, grabbing her wrist.

"No, Elena! This is more than likely a trap!" Stefan's eyes took in the eerie surroundings; a clearing, surrounded by trees, lit only be the light of the moon and the white snow. He had never seen this kind of dense snowfall in Virginia, but in the past month, he had come to realize that anything was possible.

Like the situation he was in now.

"Stefan! He's your brother and he's hurt!"

"There's no one here," came an authoritative English voice from behind Stefan. Whoever it was has been and gone." Rose met Stefan's eyes and gave a slight nod, indicating that it was okay to go to Damon. Her eyes flickered over to Elena's for a moment, and then she quickly averted them.

The guilt still weighed on Rose from erasing such precious memories, and she knew that the compelling hadn't worked on her, even though Stefan never did say what he knew directly. The girl had willpower, though, quietly ending things with Stefan while keeping her distance from Damon. Elena's focus had turned to ridding Mystic Falls of the evil forces.

Now though, Rose could tell, Elena had only one thought on her mind: Damon.

While Stefan was momentarily distracted by Rose, she broke free from his grip and ran to the middle of the clearing where Damon lay still. She gasped in horror when she saw him up close and tears welled up in her eyes, as she observed in the appearance of the vampire.

Blood stained the ground and the snow surrounding him; stained his skin and stained his jeans. She couldn't see any unhealed marks, except for his throat; usually pristine white, it was now spattered with blood, partially torn open.

"Oh, my God!" Elena screamed, dropping to her knees beside him, her jeans quickly dampening from the snow. "Damon!" She touched a trembling hand to his arm as Stefan and Rose quickly approached.

But something happened as soon as she reached out and grazed her fingertips over his frosted skin – she was blinded by a bright flash of white light, which caused the earth to tremble beneath her. Vaguely, in the distance, she thought that she could hear Stefan and Rose shouting.

She fell heavily next to Damon, dark hair fanning out around her, as her eyes closed and suddenly, the world was no more.

Elena blinked, her eyes adjusting to what was only white light. She whirled around – nothing. "Damon!" she cried out, wondering where he had gone; wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Katherine?" a familiar voice tentatively asked. "I do not know what you are wearing, and pardon my boldness, but it looks positively atrocious."

Elena turned back around and her eyes widened as she was met by a pair of startled blue ones.

"Damon?"

"The one and only. Now, Katherine, I know that you always must have the newest style, but..." A look between puzzlement, amusement, and disgust crossed his fine features as he observed her blue jeans and lavender sweater.

For a moment, Elena's fear became suspended as she regarded the Damon in front of her. White linen shirt, stiff grey slacks, brown boots...and slightly long, wavy hair. She took a step toward him, her eyes widening. "Damon!"

"Yes, we've confirmed that numerous times now. What is going on? Have you gone mad?" A dark brow rose in question.

The expression on his face was so genuinely him that Elena couldn't speak – she could only stare.

"Damon, darling, what is taking you so long?"

Elena froze when she heard a languid, sultry version of her own voice asking him that question.

"K-Katherine?" Damon turned around, away from her and appeared to be looking toward someone, but all Elena could see was white. Everything was white except for him, and the knowledge came to her as she quickly assessed his appearance again.

And then of course...

...Katherine. "Who else would it be?" she asked, confusion in her voice.

Damon turned back to Elena, his jaw dropping. "But you're...you're right there!"

And then Elena heard a snarl so vicious that she took two steps back as Katherine screamed, "Damon, get the hell away from there!"

Seconds later, Elena was screaming, too, suddenly back on the cold ground with Damon's motionless form. She clutched him tightly and it took her a few moments to realize that he was drawing in shaky, shallow breaths.

"Elena," he whispered weakly. Her scent made him want to weep.

"Damon, what the hell is going on?" Her heart pounded when she realized that whatever had just happened was quickly slipping away from her, becoming nothing more than a foggy memory. She blinked in genuine confusion and suddenly turned her attentions to him.

"He's here," Damon whispered softly.