AN: Here it is! This one's a little filler as well, but the next chapter is when things get more fast-paced. I have the next 6 chapters mapped out, so hopefully this will be a smooth writing process. Thank-you to those who review, it's really a motivator to keep writing!

Stefan paced back and forth in the library of the boarding house, waiting for Damon. He didn't know where his brother had run off to, but he knew that he'd have to come back at some point. What he didn't know was how to face Elena. He really thought that she'd changed him; taken away the darker part of him that Lexi was only able to mask. He'd never actually gotten better; he'd only gotten more determined to make things work. Deep down, he was still the reckless favourite younger brother; the one who never had to account for his actions. He stopped pacing, and he suddenly knew where he wanted to go; Katherine.

"Fine."

His lips met hers.

Elena was shocked at first, then pushed him back sheepishly. "Damon, no" She said.

"No?" He was definitely confused. She must have been realizing what a bad idea this was, and she was going to tell him to leave. That had to be it. He opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him.

"Until you've got your body back, you still look like..."

Damon looked at himself, his sense of dread dying down when he realized that he was still in Stefan's body. "Ah, Right." He said, almost embarrassed. "The whole 'Stefan's body'thing." He smiled, stepping back.

"Just...focus on getting switched back." She said. "I'll help in any way that I can, but I'm guessing you're not going to make that easy." She smiled.

"Why would I do something like that?" Admitting her feelings had changed nothing in that regard; he still didn't want her to be in harm's way. If she was going to end up there, it would be her own fault. He knew that more than likely he'd end up saving her more than once, but he'd like to keep it to a minimum.

"Katherine?" Stefan tilted his head, waiting for an answer. He knew that she was still in the tomb, something that was convenient and inconvenient at once.

"Well well, finally decided to pay me a visit?" She said. She was decrepitly sitting on the ground near the door, withering away.

"Something like that"

"Visiting hours are over; unless you have blood, that is." She eyed him languidly. Elena was fiery, but Katherine was downright sinful; something he'd missed. He didn't have to pretend with Katherine; he really was the better one.

He held up a deep red bag. "Well then, I'm allowed to be here." He walked into the tomb, handing her the bag. She reached a hand up to grab it and smirked. "Glad to see you can waltz in and out when you please" Elijah had disappeared, and she was stuck in the tomb until further notice.

"Benefits of having your doppelganger sweating over my safety." He said, smirking. She still didn't know what had happened.

"In case you didn't notice, Damon, Elena's all wrapped up in Stefan. Sorry, you lose." She smiled, pulling the straw from the bag. "Again."

"Ouch." He said, feigning hurt. "Problem is, I'm not Damon." Katherine laughed, but realized that he wasn't joking. She looked at him sideways.

"Well then, to whom do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" She asked, starting to sip the crimson liquid.

"I'll give you a little hint." He said. "Elena's all on her own now." It was remarkable how little it bothered him...the switch on his emotions was still in tact.

"Stefan?" Katherine asked, eyeing him curiously. A smirk spread across her face. "This is definitely interesting. It's almost like I'm still playing games with both of you."

"When exactly did you stop?" he asked, watching her sip deeply from the bag.

"Never." She looked away thoughtfully as she drank. "So...I imagine you got yourself in this after annoying Emily's little...descendant?" If that was the case, the little witch had put in some serious practice time.

"An entire coven, actually."

She laughed. "Well, you've screwed yourself, then. Where are they now?"

"Dead."

"You're out of luck, then. You'll need the warlock of the coven to switch you back. If you've killed him..."

Stefan remembered the dream that Damon had described, and the mysterious "Marc". "He's alive, I just don't know where to look. Damon's more resourceful than I am." It was true. Knowing as many people as his brother did was an upside that Stefan couldn't enjoy.

"I suggest you get going, then. I've seen vamps switched before; you don't have long before your powers start to fade and your age catches up with you. Really not a look I want to see on you." She emptied the bag.

"You've seen this before?" Of course she had. If there was one person who seemed to have connections to everything, it was Katherine.

"Bring me some more blood, and I'll play truth or dare."

Stefan smiled. "Fine."

No matter how much he used it, Damon was always in somewhat awe of the cell phone. Messages which used to go by horse and rider were now sent in seconds, and conversations which took place by wire transfer were now connected in seconds around the world. Right now, he was hoping one of those connections could lead him to 'Marc.'

"Stefan?"

"Wrong, Damon" He said, knowing his voice was that of his little brother. "but-|

"Ric, I'll explain later. Can you pull up some old info? Maybe your hot little connection at Duke can help us out."

"Sure? It depends on what you need..."

"Anything on Spirits of the Eastern Dawn, a witches' coven."

"The ones you went after a few days ago?" he asked.

"Exactly. Anything on switching bodies would be immensely appreciated also...being my little brother is getting irritating."

"What the—"

"I told you, later. Let me know when you find something."

"Where are you?" he asked

"I'm pulling up to the boarding house. Talk later." He hung up. Alaric was good at getting information, but he needed guidance normally. He headed into the house, closing the door firmly behind him. It had only been around a week since the switch had happened, but he was already feeling the effects. He was tired, aching, and he needed blood.

Alaric flipped through his contacts, knowing someone who might have information. He'd dated a woman a while back (before Isobel), who was part of the coven for a while as a part of an anthropological study. He didn't know what information he'd get from her, but she'd be able to tell him who to contact. He found her number, and he listened as the dial-tone rang.

"Hello?"

"Anne? It's Alaric."

"Ric? No way! I haven't heard from you in ages!"

"True, although you did run off to an island for two years to study."

He heard her laugh. "True. Not your fault! You're lucky actually, you caught me getting back from a study. What's up?"

"Well, I have a student whose doing a project on the Spirits of the Eastern Dawn, and I was wondering if you'd be able to fax over a background on them. I want to make sure I know my stuff before marking their paper."

"Teaching still, eh? No problem. I have the write-ups that I did for the six months I was there...I'm sure you'll be able to get a good grasp out of those. I'll have to warn you though, some things aren't too believeable." There was hesitancy in her voice.

"Oh? Like what?"

"Some of their spells...they seemed to actually work." She said. "I assumed they were a naturalist coven when I arrived, but from what I learned they're actually practicing magic."

"Like hocus pocus?" It was important for her to know that he didn't believe in magic. Anne was the kind of person who would blow the lid off of the existence of vampirism, which was the last thing he wanted.

"Yes, exactly. You'll find what you need to know in the write-ups, but know that whatever far-out story your student is telling might be true."

"I'll keep that in mind." He said. "Are you going to be around in the next two weeks? I might need to call you up again o verify some facts.

"I'm heading out again, this time on vacation next Monday, so no. What I can do is give you the number to the overseer of the coven, though. He was very helpful when I was there, and I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear that students are showing an interest."

"I'd really appreciate that." Ric said, grabbing a pen and paper.

"Great! His number is 540-669-7824, and I think it's his cell. We still talk from time to time."

"Sounds good. What's his name?"

"Oh, right! IT's Marc. His name is Marc, with a 'C' at the end."

"Thanks Anne, and don't be afraid to call and catch up sometime."

Stefan didn't know what was wrong, but he couldn't run as fast as usual when heading back to the boarding house. There was no way the switch was affecting him already, was there? It didn't seem likely. One thing he knew for certain was that he was hungry again, and he needed to find a meal. His head was pounding, and his body felt like it had been backed over by a transport. Not the best day.

Seeing Katherine outside of the context of Elena had felt...good. It was good. There were no expectations from Katherine, no standards to be held up to, and she understood the need to kill. Had he known that Katherine was still alive when he'd met Elena, he guessed—no, he knew that things would have turned out differently. He would have been free to his nature. There were a few times with Elena that he actually believed he'd done wrong; that he actually felt the weight of what he'd done, but he was free from that now. Free to feel nothing, free to do what he wanted. Right now, he wanted to hunt.