Damon had been in his room asleep since Stefan let him out of the cellar. It felt nice to be in his bed compared to the cold concrete floor. It really didn't matter where he was physically because of how much pain he was currently in. His muscles ached, and he could feel his body burning up with fever. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he lay in bed. He was so hot that he was tempted to take off all his clothes.
Damon hadn't seen or talked to Stefan in a while since he had been bedridden. At times, he could still faintly sense his brother outside his bedroom door, waiting for something, he didn't know what. Damon had wanted to talk to his brother about what has been going on but hadn't had the strength to.
As he laid down staring at the ceiling above him, Damon contemplated what he had done to get where he was now. Yes, he had killed hundreds, thousands of people just for fun. He had done many things he wasn't particularly proud of. Killing Elena's brother was just one of the many things he regretted doing. When he first arrived in Mystic Falls – what seemed like centuries ago – he cared for nothing and no one. His sole mission had been to get Katherine back. What a fool he had been. Damon had truly thought he loved Katherine. He believed in her. In them. Turned out Damon had much to learn about love. And he felt like he started to. Thanks mostly to the annoying little human by the name of Elena Gilbert. A human that somehow made him feel. Made him question everything he thought he knew about love. About life. If only he had more time. To talk to her. To explain his actions.
Being over a hundred and fifty years old didn't mean Damon accomplished everything he had earned for. On the contrary, he felt like he had been dead all these years. He felt as if Elena had simply awakened him. Made him feel alive again.
Damon had prided himself on being immortal for so long that in his current situation, he almost lost all hope. He had been at death's door before, but somehow, this time was different. Before, Damon didn't care much if he lived or died. When they discovered the curse Elena was needed for it all become clear to Damon. He will die for her. To keep her and her band of misfits safe. Yet somehow it was over, and they had survived; he had survived. It had felt like a second chance when Katherine came with the cure for the incurable werewolf bite. After all he had been through, Damon wanted to take that chance. Now he could feel it slip through his fingers and the thought was killing him in a way that this silly sickness never could.
Damon heard a car in the driveway and briefly wondered who it was. He didn't have to wonder long because his brother came inside the Boarding house and made his way up the stairs and into Damon's room.
"Damon? Are you awake?" Stefan asked in a whisper just in case his older brother was still asleep.
"Barely brother. Please tell me you found something useful." Damon said wiping the sweat from his forehead at a snail's pace.
"I do have some news. Bonnie was able to get some information on what is wrong with you. It's the witches on the Other Side doing this to you Damon. The reason they gave is to punish you for everything you have done while being a vampire. They put an incurable curse on you." Stefan explained, taking a deep breath before continuing. "One of the witches was sympathetic. She gave Bonnie the recipe to a potion. It won't cure you, but it will subside the symptoms significantly for a day or two, until we can do something about it."
"Fucking witches." Damon mumbled under his breath. "What about this cure? Can Bonnie really trust this witch?" Damon asked. "Has Bonnie made the potion yet? Is she positive that it will work?" He asked eager to be rid of the horrible illness that plagued him, even if it was just for a while until they found a permanent solution.
"There's more Damon. I mean… about the cure…"
"Out with it Stef!" Damon urged. His baby brother was nothing if not a drama queen.
"Well, the witch who is willing to help us told Bonnie that the cure to this curse is the blood of your soul mate. To help with the search, she gave us a clue. Turns out your soul mate is a woman you have already met." Stefan said. He waited a few seconds, but Damon didn't say anything so he went on. "Bonnie informed me that the witches have given us until the full moon, which is in three days, to give you the antidote." Stefan said with a little hope in his voice.
"A witch told Bonnie that I have a soulmate? Are you serious Stefan? Are you sure she wasn't just pulling your chain? I mean, why would I of all people have a soulmate?" Damon asked with what sounded like disgust in his tone. Damon hardly believed in soul mates. Let alone that he would have one. He had done so many bad things to good people. How could anyone who's done the things he's done get that?
"She wouldn't lie about this Damon. I know we have had our issues with Bonnie in the past, but she's trying to help us now. I'm sure she's doing it for Elena, but I'm happy that she's willing to help at all." Stefan said.
Stefan knew that his brother probably didn't believe that he even deserved a soulmate, much less actually have one. He understood why Damon felt that way. After the way Katherine had played them, he could understand Damon's unwillingness to believe in soul mates.
"You do indeed have a soulmate Damon. Bonnie said that you already met her. Can you think of anyone that you remember? Anyone that stood out? Someone different, special?" Stefan asked.
With shame, Damon's mind conjured an image of Elena at Stefan's words. If anyone in his long life could ever be considered special to him, it was her. But Damon had to be honest with himself. There was no way that good, selfless, Elena Gilbert was his soul mate. No way! "No Stefan." he started softly. Do you have any idea the number of women I have met in my lifetime?" Damon asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "A lot!" he went on. "And most of those women, I slept with. There must be thousands by now." Stefan let out a deep sigh but nodded in understanding. "Did these witches give Bonnie anything else? My so-called soul mates' race or age, the year we met? Their bloody shoe size? Something. Anything to narrow it down a little?" Damon asked.
Stefan shook his head. "I can call Bonnie and ask her to see if she can get another clue from the witch." Stefan said before heading outside to call Bonnie.
After a quick conversation with Bonnie, Stefan went back Damon's room. His brother had fallen back asleep. Exhausted, Stefan let out a deep sigh and took a seat next to Damon's bed. He hated seeing his brother in pain. Stefan always hated seeing anyone in pain. People suffering had always made Stefan want to help and a lot of the times, he couldn't. he really hoped Bonnie would manage to convince the witch to help them once more. To give them another clue. Anything to help narrow down the search for Damon's soul mate.
