Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing. Only the story is mine.

Note: Okay, guys, I got an idea for the next chapter of "Freedom isn't Free," and thought I'd write it. Thank you for the reviews so far. You guys are the best! When we last left everyone, Damon and Elena reunited, and Damon says that Rebekah's other brother, Kol, is still a threat, and, out of concern for her and the baby, sends Elena to Atlanta to be with his mother while he and Stefan take care of Kol. No spoilers, except the action in the chapter is divided into two parts: first part deals with Damon and Stefan, and the other deals with Elena. Don't ask, just take it as it's written.

Damon looked out the window as Stefan drove, not saying much. He was thinking about Elena and how disappointed she was about not joining them on their mission. However, he had done what he did to protect her and the baby. If he had allowed her to come along, chances are they'd be in danger, and he couldn't risk that, not after he had just reunited with her.

"Penny for your thoughts, Damon?"

Damon was startled out of his reverie by Stefan's voice. Obviously, he had noticed his brother's silence and was concerned about him.

"I'm okay, just thinking about Elena."

"You did the right thing," said Stefan. "This isn't something that someone in her condition should be getting involved in. It'll be safer for her in Atlanta."

Damon nodded. "By the way, thank you for looking after her for me until I was able to get away from Rebekah. I know that you love Elena as much as I do, and I appreciate that you stayed with her and made sure that she was protected."

"She did try to discourage me at first, telling me that because I was a civilian, she couldn't risk me getting hurt," said Stefan. "But, I didn't back down. I told her that you wouldn't like if anything happened to her and the baby if she did this alone."

"Still, I appreciated that you were with her," said Damon. "Even though she had her gun on her, the baby's safety is top priority."

Stefan smiled and then, he grew serious again. "So, what's your plan to deal with Kol?"

"I know I said going to the bus depot is too risky, but we should do it anyway," said Damon. "The only thing is, we don't go in."

"Don't go in?" said Stefan. "But, Damon, what if Kol thinks we're not going to show?"

"I'm getting to that," said Damon. "See, Kol doesn't know Rebekah is dead. So, when he starts to think we're not coming, he'll try to call her and leave her a message on her voice mail, thinking that she'll call him back." He looked at his brother. "With me so far?"

"I think so," said Stefan. "So, what's going to happen after Kol doesn't get a call back from Rebekah?"

"That's when we spring the trap," said Damon. "We wait until he comes out of the building and then, we drive by him and I'll let the son of a bitch have it." He took out the gun he had stolen from the henchman he killed. "With this. You're not the only one who's packing heat, Stefan. Just before I killed Rebekah, I killed one of her thugs and stole his clothes, as well as his weapon."

"What about the money?" said Stefan. "We can't keep it. It was probably stolen from a bank and stashed at the airport months ago. If we keep it, we'll get arrested, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that, right?"

"No, especially not after Elena got Caroline's boss to pardon me for the crimes Klaus made me commit," said Damon. "Don't worry, we won't keep the money, even though it would make a decent sized scholarship fund for the baby."

"Nice as that sounds, we still can't keep the money," said Stefan. "We'll have to get something else set up for him." He sighed. "So, getting back to the plan, do you think it'll work?"

"It has to," said Damon. "Our family's safety is riding on this, Stefan, and we can't afford to fail."

Home of Elisabetta Salvatore, Atlanta, Georgia – Later...

Elena pulled her car into the driveway of her mother-in-law's house, sighing after she killed the engine. She opened the door and walked up the sidewalk leading up to the front door, smiling as she remembered the first time she had ever come here, which was the day Damon proposed to her. As she approached the porch, she saw the front door opening and Elisabetta stepped out. Elena had called her while on the road, letting her know she was coming, and she wanted to greet her daughter-in-law.

With a smile on her face, she said, "I swear to God, I must have ESP or something, because I was just thinking about you when you called me and told me you were coming."

"Yeah, probably," said Elena. "I'm sorry that the call was last minute, but..."

"Oh, don't be silly, Elena," said Elisabetta. "You know you're welcome to come here whenever you feel the need." She stepped back further and opened the door so that Elena could enter the house. "Now, what's going on? Your call did sound a bit urgent."

"It would seem that a face from Damon's past resurfaced," said Elena. "Her name was Rebekah, and she was Klaus' sister."

Elisabetta raised an eyebrow. "Why are you referring to her in the past tense?"

"She's dead," said Elena. "See, she kidnapped Damon, but he killed her before he escaped her. But, her death didn't end the threat. Now, there's another sibling of Klaus' out there named Kol. Stefan and Damon are going to deal with him."

"And you aren't with them?"

"Damon sent me here for protection," said Elena. "He told me that the safest place for me is here with you. So, until Kol is dealt with." She heard her cell phone ring. "Hold on, let me see who's calling me." She checked the ID and saw Tyler's name. Strange, what was he calling about?

"Who is it, Elena?"

"Tyler, one of my friends at work." She pressed "Send" and brought the phone to her ear. "Gilbert."

"Oh, Elena, thank God, I kept trying to call you at home, but you weren't answering."

"Of course I wasn't answering, you idiot, I'm not even at home right now," said Elena. "I'm at my mother-in-law's house. Now, what's going on? I can't talk long, because I don't know if my phone is being bugged."

"This won't take long," said Tyler. "I did some checking about that briefcase of money that Rebekah sent you to get. It was stolen from the Virginia Savings Bank about two, three months ago. The money was never found, and the bank manager told me the robbery was committed after hours, so nobody was hurt."

"Damon and Stefan still have the briefcase," said Elena. "I got it from an airport locker."

"That's probably why it was never found."

"Did the report tell you who the thief or thieves are?"

"Not really," said Tyler. "But, we've got footage from the security camera. Maybe it'll tell us."

Elena nodded. "Good. Analyze the footage and keep me posted on your findings."

Upon getting Tyler's affirmative, Elena hung up and then sat on the couch, joined by Elisabetta a second later, who had a look of curiosity and confusion on her face.

"What did he say?"

"The money Rebekah told me to get was stolen a few months ago," said Elena. "Since it was committed after hours, no one knows just who did it, but Tyler has security footage from the robbery, so we'll know who did it after a careful analysis." She felt another kick from the baby. "Ow, take it easy, little one." She looked at Elisabetta. "The baby is worried about his father. I can tell from the way he's kicking me."

Elisabetta blinked. "'He'? You're having a boy?"

Elena nodded. "Yes. I just told Damon before I left." She smiled. "He was excited."

Elisabetta smiled as well and hugged her. She was definitely looking forward to the arrival of her new grandson and in that moment, she had a silent vow that she'd do everything in her power to make sure that Elena and the baby were safe.

Note: Here it is, Chapter 7 of "Freedom isn't Free."

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