Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created by L.J. Smith, as portrayed in the TV series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. All rights to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: There'll be a couple of time jumps in the story – and in 'reality' (marked by line breaks), and there will be one more chapter/epilogue after this. Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
WRITE TO LIVE
~ Wrapping Up ~
After Kitty's visit, Derek found new determination. No matter what the cost, he would expose Coffin and end his reign of terror. Kitty would be free, Emma's brother's girl would be free, Emma wouldn't have to… Emma, Emma, Emma. Why did his thoughts keep straying to his secretary? Of course he wanted her to be safe, just like he all the citizens of Mystic Falls. She was one of the people he had vowed to protect when he got into the P.I. business. The crooks owned this town and the cops were all dirty. It fell on his shoulders to set things straight around here – starting with Klaus Coffin.
"Coffin keeps to a routine," Emma informed him. "He takes his dinner in the back room of the club, an hour before the first act. He comes into the dressing room to check on the costumes right before the show. Then he goes into the club and inspects the guests, walking around to greet the regulars and check out any newcomers. Halfway through the night, Officer Joey drops by Coffin's office and always leaves with a smile and a stuffed pocket."
"Cops taking bribes," Derek noted drily, "what a surprise."
"Once Officer Joey leaves, Kitty goes on stage and she does her act. Coffin always watches from a seat right in front of the stage. Then after the club closes, she goes into the office with him and the rest of us go home."
"So he always watches Kitty perform?" Derek frowned, a plan forming in his head.
"Yes. Same spot every night."
"And you're backstage?"
"We're supposed to waitress, but I could fake a twisted ankle which would get me alone in the dressing room…"
"Aren't there guards?"
"Yes. Two beefcakes – Rico and Maze. But Rico likes to drink and Maze has a thing for me. They're easily distracted."
Derek shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous."
"Only one of them is backstage while Kitty's performing…"
"Is there any way I can sneak backstage without being noticed?"
"There's a narrow passage by the men's room. Rico or Maze are always on guard there. I can make sure they're not paying attention…"
"What about the combination to Coffin's safe?"
"I've got it."
"What? How?"
"There's an air vent that passes right by Coffin's office. I was able to climb in there when Rico was on watch. He had one too many drinks and fell asleep in his chair."
"You took a huge risk doing that, Emma…"
"Some things are worth the risk," Emma shrugged. "I believe you're the one who told me that."
"I did? That was clever of me."
"It's a rarity. That's why I remembered it," Emma mocked.
"It's getting late," Damon said. "You look exhausted."
"Thanks a lot. You're not looking so hot yourself," Elena stifled a yawn.
"We should take a break."
"No. Let's keep working. We don't have a lot of time left," Elena objected.
"It won't do either of us any good if we fall asleep of exhaustion. Come on, let's get a couple of hours of sleep and we'll finish the rest when we're well-rested," he said and rose from the couch, stretching.
"Uh… you can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."
"This couch? You won't get any rest that way," Elena objected.
"Well, neither would you, so…"
"We can both sleep on the bed," Elena said casually and started climbing the latter to the loft.
Damon shrugged and followed her. "So… I guess we'll finally get to sleep together," he quipped.
Elena looked over her shoulder. "You're right, you should sleep on the couch," she scowled.
"Oh, come on, I was just making an observation. I believe it's the first time I've gone to bed with a woman just to sleep. Actually sleeping, I mean."
"Yeah, I got it," Elena mumbled and lay down on the mattress. "I'll set the alarm," she said and got out her cell phone. "Good night, Damon." She turned her back to him.
"Is it really 'good night' if we're not actually going to sleep the whole night?"
"Good night, Damon," she repeated sternly.
"Guess so," he sighed and lay down with his arms under his head.
"You know, you never told me your boyfriend's name," he said after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"I didn't?"
"No. He has a name, hasn't he?"
"Of course he does."
"So… what is it?"
"It's… Edward. Edward… Cullen," Elena squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body tense as she held her breath.
"The guy on all the buses? The Discount Dentist?"
"Mm-hm."
"A little old for you, isn't he?"
"Damon…"
"I guess it makes sense, though… You have great teeth." He paused. "Then again, just because he's your boyfriend doesn't automatically make him your dentist…"
"Ok, fine!" Elena exclaimed and rolled over to face him, propped up on her elbow. "I lied! I don't have a boyfriend. But really, can you blame me? The way we met…"
"You don't have a boyfriend?"
"I don't have a boyfriend," she acknowledged in a softer voice.
"So if I kissed you right now, I wouldn't have to worry about some old guy coming after me with a scalpel?" Damon said, reaching out to push a strand of hair behind her ear, his hand coming to rest on her cheek.
"I don't think dentists use scalpels…" Elena mumbled but was quickly silenced by his lips on hers.
With Coffin's tampered bookkeeping as a weapon, everything fell into place. The girls at Club Mystique were offered reasonable wages, with the option of quitting altogether. Anna chose the latter. Jeremy was also cleared of his debt and together they left Mystic Falls.
It was a rainy night when Derek went to see Kitty. Now that she was free of Klaus Coffin… well, let's just say he had an itch he was dying for her to scratch with her long, perfectly manicured, blood red nails.
He knocked on her door and waited impatiently for her to answer it. When she did, he could tell there was something amiss.
"Derek, hi," she greeted him, flustered.
"Evening, Kitty," he said, lounging casually against the doorpost.
"Um… this is really not a good time…"
He stood up straight, looking into her apartment to see several suitcases.
"What's going on?" he narrowed his eyes and stepped past her into the apartment.
"I'm going out of town for a bit…"
"You weren't going to tell me?"
"No, I was, but…"
"Hello, brother."
Derek swirled around to see a tall, dark blond man walking out of Kitty's bedroom, his hair messier than Derek had seen it in years. "Steven."
"It was Steven who recommended I go see you," Kitty explained, walking over to Steven to lovingly caress the smooth planes of his chest.
"I knew that if anyone could get Kitty out of her contract, it'd be you," Steven said with a smirk on his face. "Thanks, big brother."
Derek didn't know why he ended up on Emma's doorstep that same night, but he did. His hair and clothes were drenched from walking the streets in the pouring rain, and he was leaving a nice, big pool in the hallway. He had picked up a bottle of Scotch on the way, too, and now he was soaked inside and out.
She looked like a vision when she finally opened the door.
"Derek? What are you doing here so late? And why do you smell like you took a bath in a tub of liquor?"
"I had to see you, Emma," he said and pushed past her.
"Why?"
"I went to see Kitty, and…"
"Stop right there," she held up a hand. "Let me guess, she double-crossed you."
"She never wanted me."
"Get out."
"What?" he blinked.
"You think you can just show up here and…" he silenced her with a scorching kiss, his arms wrapping around her to hold her close and never let go.
But Emma had a mind of her own and pushed him away, issuing an equally scorching slap to his right cheek.
"I said… Get. Out," she repeated, her jaw clenched.
"Emma, I…"
"You want to use me as some sort of substitute for her? I don't think so, Derek. I have feelings, too. You have no right to come here and… and mess with my head – or my heart. You made your bed when you chose to go to her and now you'll have to sleep on the floor. Goodnight, Derek," she said determined, hands on her hips and waited for him to sheepishly leave her apartment.
As Derek walked home that night, he pondered his life choices. He pondered his attraction to Kitty. He pondered his true feelings for Emma. When he was done pondering, he went back to his office and waited for the next long-stemmed dame to walk through the door. Maybe this time, she'd actually be offering something worth his trouble. THE END.
"So he ends up alone…" Elena said, leaning back against Damon's chest.
"Is it too sad?" Damon asked, kissing the top of her head.
"It's the only way it can end. He never had a real chance with Kitty – who wasn't worth his time in the first place – and Emma, who was a real possibility… he made the wrong choice and it's only fair he suffer the consequences. Also, it opens a window to a sequel, so… good job," she smiled and looked up at him.
"Mm… what's my prize?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her, a flirtatious smile on his full, soft lips.
"You get paid," Elena said and moved to get up.
"Uh-uh," he objected, holding her back and flipping them over so that he was hovering above her. "Later," he said and started kissing her neck.
"Damon… we'll have all the time in the world for this once you've paid that creepy guy off, but for now, I need to type up these pages."
Damon pouted. "Oh, okay," he surrendered and rolled off her. "But I'm gonna need my shirt back," he tugged at the men's shirt that was currently covering her nakedness.
Elena had just left when Damon's phone rang.
"Hello? Kat? You're in town? No, don't come over. I'll meet you. The corner café tonight at seven? Ok, I'll see you then."
Elena had just finished typing up the manuscript and was heading out the door when she remembered something and hurried over to her dresser to get a new pair of underwear. She stuffed them in her purse and grabbed her keys.
"Damon," the dark-haired beauty greeted him, "it's good to see you," she purred and kissed his cheek.
"What brings you to town, Kat? How's Stefan?"
"Oh, it's over between us," she gestured to the waiter to refill her wine glass. "He's such a bore…"
"Well, I could have told you that if I had known you were dating my brother while we were… whatever. Again, I ask, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you. Is that so bad?" Kat fluttered her long, dark lashes at him, her perfect mouth drawn into a seductive pout and her delicate hand caressed his thigh.
Damon pushed her hand away. "Yeah, it is."
"Oh…"
"Damon!"
"Elena! Hey, I didn't know you'd be done already. I was just about to head back to the apartment…"
"Well, I found you, so…" Elena said, her eyes fixed on the curly brunette at the small table.
"Oh, I'm sorry… Elena, this is Katherine. Kat, Elena's my… stenographer."
"Nice to meet you," Elena said coldly. "I've heard so much about you."
Elena glared at Damon and shoved the stack of printed papers into his arms. "All done. Have a nice night, you two." With that, she turned on her heal and strode towards the bus stop.
"Elena! Elena, wait, I can explain…"
"Your stenographer? You introduced me as your stenographer?" Elena swirled around to face him.
"Well, I didn't know what to… I got confused."
"Yeah, I bet. It must be hard keeping fiction and reality separated. Especially when reality is looking a whole lot like fiction," she hissed.
"Elena…"
"You know what really sucks? Having to listen to you describing your lust for another woman and how I was nothing but a substitute – just like Emma. Except, with me, you actually got lucky. Hey, maybe you could use that for your next book – the mousy, slutty secretary who falls for her jerk of a boss. It has cliché written all over it! Should be a bestseller!" she scowled and jumped on the bus.
Damon was left staring at Edward Cullen – Discount Dentist's pale, haggard face lined with perfect white teeth smiling at him as the bus drove off.