Okay, guys – I know I said the rating would be upped this chapter, but...it will actually be next chapter (for real)! Hehe, sorry for making you wait, but before I could into that, some self-reflection had to take place between two particular characters. : )

I hope you'll enjoy it anyway and if you're reading – please review! : ) Thank you, once again, for your fantastic support!

PS – there are only two more chapters left after this! Hold on to your seats... : ) And for a little shameless self-advertising, I've recently posted a Damon/Elena one-shot ("Revelation") and the first chapter of an M-rated 3-shot romp between Damon/Katherine in 1864 ("Desire")! Please check them out and tell me what you think. ; )

Part VIII: Veracious

There's a heartbreaking chill
Running through my bones
I got my clothes but I can't really
Feel them on
Oh no
Whatever I do
I'm naked
I'm naked
Without you

-Leona Lewis, "Naked"

Stefan sat on the couch in front of the fire, bent slightly forward, tightly clutching a glass of whiskey in his hands. He stared blankly into the flames, watching the flames spar with each other in an almost mesmerizing dance. Despite the distraction he found in the fire and the burning of alcohol sliding down his throat, his mind had yet to quiet.

He had said goodbye to Bonnie nearly twenty minutes ago; Rose had gone to escort the witch home. After having seen Katherine, she snapped and almost killed the other vampire. Stefan smirked in spite of his mood. He was well aware of the position he had put Rose in, but Katherine had been useful tonight; she had stopped the poison from spreading further into Damon's bloodstream and had probably ultimately saved his life.

"Can I join you or would you rather be alone?"

Speak of the God damned devil. Katherine sauntered into Stefan's line of vision, blocking out the fire, her eyes cast downward as she studied him curiously. At that moment, though, she was more interested in the drink in his hand because she had never seen the man drink without a little peer pressure first. But, she supposed, in his defence, it had been a really long night.

"I don't care," Stefan replied tonelessly, not returning her inquisitive glances.

Katherine sat down next to him and stared off into space with him. There was something uncomfortable in the fact that they weren't antagonizing each other or playing little mind games; that they were sitting in almost companionable silence was eerie and reminiscent of 1864.

The brunette was the first to speak. "I'm sorry about Damon," she said softly, fiddling with lapis lazuli necklace around her pale neck.

Stefan looked up sharply to meet her eyes directly. "Are you, Katherine? Because – and excuse me if I have this all wrong - but I'm so used to you lying to me that you have to forgive my suspicions. I suppose that you're sorry about coming back to Mystic Falls and terrifying, hurting, and attempting to kill my family and friends? Are you sorry about those things, Katherine? Are you sorry about the hurt and grief you've caused Damon and I? The only good thing that's come out of you and me is that I've lived long enough to meet Elena." He took a long swig of the drink, his eyes never leaving hers. He was burning an absolute hole through her entire resolve.

Katherine swallowed hard and looked down, placing her hands in her lap. "Stefan, I would never be able to write a list long enough for the things that I'm sorry for. There's only one single thing that I'm not sorry for: meeting you. Like I said before, I didn't compel your love for me. And for the record, I didn't compel Damon's, either. The way our situation escalated...I didn't expect it to happen that way." She sighed softly.

Anger raced through Stefan and he clutched his glass tightly, nearly shattering it. "You used us. We loved you. We died for you. And then you hid your existence from us. At least I was able to move on. Thank God Damon has now, too, otherwise he would still be stuck in that endless, vicious cycle of loving you so much that he can't let you go and trying to let you go because he loves you so much."

He took a deep breath, realizing that his voice was shaking and then continued slowly, calmly. "You turned Damon - whether you realize it or not - into someone he wasn't because he wanted your love so much. And although I have a hell of lot of my own emotions to deal with where Elena's concerned, I'm grateful that she's been able to show Damon what real love is." Stefan finished the drink slammed the empty glass down on the coffee table in front of them. "I realize that you 'winning' me back is supposedly part of your master plan, but know this: even if I wanted to, how could I ever trust you again? You're only still here because Bonnie put a spell on you and a lock on this house."

Katherine observed Stefan for a moment, clearly seeing the anguish and the anger in his green eyes. She was well aware of having shattered the lives of the Salvatore brothers and she knew that she could never return those pieces that had been lost in 1864.

She didn't know what to say to him - nothing she said could ever say would convey how sorry she was. But in 1864, she had already been looking out for herself for over three centuries, and that's what mattered back then – complete self-preservation.

Now that she had seen the three of them - Elena, Stefan, and Damon - interact, she had come to realize that love had great potential as a healing mechanism; there were more important things in life than the preservation of oneself, and love was it.

And, she realized, that she still had feelings – overwhelming feelings - for Stefan. If Elena was important to him, then she would protect Elena so she could protect him. It was really a simple revelation, but it had taken her a long while to get there and to realize its implications. She knew that Stefan would never want her again, but that wouldn't stop her from wanting him.

She realized, all too clearly, that this feeling of utter helplessness was exactly what Damon must have felt when he spent all those years searching for her, only to have her reject him. It hurt like a bitch, but she would do the right thing and save those whom she had failed all those years ago.

"Stefan," Katherine finally said softly, placing her hands in her lap again, after having nervously twisted at her curls for a long while. She felt vulnerable and human for the first time in a long time. "I'll protect you and all that you cherish." She stood up so she could leave him to his thoughts and to find a quiet place to contemplate her own.

Stefan looked up at her, startled and confused, and before he could stop himself, he had grabbed her arm. "What?"

Katherine looked at his hand on her arm before gently pulling it away. "You heard me."

Stefan stood up slowly, too, looking her full on in the face, searching her dark, dark eyes. "You're telling the truth," he whispered, astounded. He knew when people were lying or playing games because he had a lot of experience with it; he especially knew when Katherine in particular was lying or being honest.

"No more games, Stefan. I'm tired of those. When this is finished, if I'm still alive, I will leave and never return. That's a promise I wholly intend to keep." She blinked, nearly getting lost in his eyes again. God, she positively ached for him in this moment.

Something swelled in Stefan's chest for a second before he pushed it down, and said a little too carefully, "It's about time we all moved on with our lives." He tore his eyes away from hers and stared at the fire, dropping his hand from her wrist.

Katherine simply smiled slightly at him before turning away; what he didn't see, however, were the few honest tears that fell from her eyes, splashing the ground soundlessly. She blinked quickly and strode in the direction of a spare bedroom to which she had been pointed earlier.