Summary: Damon finds out what Klaus is up to but is that the entire story? In the meantime he debates on whether or not he should trust Elijah or go off on his own. Later, he checks up on Alaric to make sure he's doing fine.

Damon sat on the counter top with an annoyed look plastered on his face. Was a little alone time too much to ask for? They had been trying to enjoy each other's company for what seemed like ages. He watched closely as Alaric approached then opened the door for the original. The blond greeted Elijah and like the night before, he stepped aside so he could enter.

"What do we owe this lovely visit for?" Alaric asked.

"I do apologize in advance." Before anyone could react, Elijah quickly grabbed Alaric and snapped his neck. It was all so fast, but at the same time it was like watching it in slow motion. Damon was frozen and couldn't even speak. That couldn't have really happened could it? No, it couldn't have because Alaric didn't have his ring on and he really would be- no. It had to be a dream, an allusion, something.

"No- no...that-you didn't-" He couldn't get his words straight so he settled for a scowl. Damon glared up at Elijah and charged at him but was countered and slammed into the wall. Impulse attacks were not a good idea.

"Again, my apologies, Damon." He stuck a needle into the vein in Damon's neck and injected him with enough vervain to incapacitate him. He didn't have time to fight with the other vampire. Time was scarce and diminishing quickly. He needed to stay on track.

Damon's body went limp in Elijah's arms and the original fled with him. He knew he had to sedate Damon or it would be hell to get him to listen. He would explain things soon enough.

It was all just a matter of time.

"Come on," Elijah said to the poisoned vampire. He took Damon's arm and loosely draped it around his neck. Damon was still disoriented and limp but Elijah managed to get him to the master bedroom.

Damon started to stir back into consciousness but struggled to sit up. He could barely move his fingers let alone his upper body.

"There's enough vervain in your body to incapacitate you for a little while. I needed to get you here in one piece and that's what I did without the hours of wait involved with snapping your neck."

"...ugh, fuck!" He groaned, irritation clearly in his voice. "Alaric, where's Alaric?" Damon grumbled under his breath incoherently. He was drowsy and not quite in his right mind just yet but he still knew he needed to get to his friend. He had to see him.

"He's fine. I retrieved the ring from my brother and slipped it back on him before snapping his neck. I know I went about this in a harsh manner but it had to look convincing." He explained. Before speaking again he grabbed a glass of water off the night stand and gave Damon a sip. "We were being watched." He knew it all must have sounded confusing but he was getting closer to the full explanation. "You're probably curious about my intentions, correct?"

"No shit, Sherlock."

Elijah rolled his eyes and took a seat in the chair near the bed. "My brother has plans for you. Plans that I won't sit back and watch happen."

"Please cut out the prologue and stop beating around the bush. Get straight to the damn point and tell me." Damon huffed.

"Klaus plans to use your blood to continue making his hybrids."

"Do I look like a fucking doppelgänger to you or are you just trying to fuck with me?"

"No. You don't understand-"

"Then spit it out already!"

"You have Elena's blood in your system. That last battle you participated in drained you of nearly all of your blood. Elena saved you with hers. The majority of your blood is now doppelgänger blood. Klaus purposely injured you because he was certain that Elena wouldn't let you die. He knew she would offer you blood and that you would take it."

Damon glared at the original. "And snapping Ric's neck was just for kicks and giggles huh?"

"No, it was not my attention to kill him but Klaus planned to use Alaric to get to you so I intercepted his plans."

Damon frowned and recalled the conversation that he had with Klaus earlier that day. "So he has someone watching me. They think Ric is dead now?" This could prove useful to him. He might even be able to get his ring back tonight.

"Yes. I replaced Alaric's ring with a fake in Klaus' room. He'll think I fetched you for him and he'll try to control you. That's why I injected you with vervain. The amount I gave you will last a few hours but when it wears off I'll retrieve more for you."

"Why are you helping me? You're up to something, I can tell."

Elijah went quiet at the question; he wasn't sure how to answer that. "I have my reasoning."

Damon sighed. "Whatever." He was starting to get the mobility back in his hands. "When can I leave?"

"You may leave when my brother compels you-"

"-when he attempts to compel me." He corrected. "How do I know that I can trust you? How do I know that you are even telling me the truth now?" He asked skeptically. "You don't exactly have much of a good track record with keeping your word."

"You're alive aren't you?"

"Yeah and I'm still not sure why, how about you try explaining that to me."

Elijah rolled his eyes and stood from the wooden chair. "If I wanted you dead, you would be. As I've said before, I have my reasons for keeping you alive and when I feel like disclosing that information I will. For the time being, that's my business and mine alone. So I advise you to stop pestering me about it." He stepped closer to the bed and glanced over Damon's facial features. "Klaus will arrive soon. Stay in bed."

Damon watched the original's anger slowly seep to the surface so he just dropped it. He was in no position to piss off Elijah. Not yet. "Oh, of course baby, thank you so much for taking care of me. Don't forget to tuck me in." He said sarcastically.

Elijah glared at him. He was not amused with Damon's sarcasm.

At least not on the surface he wasn't.

Damon was growing inpatient; he had been in that room for nearly two hours. On the bright side, he had full control of his body now since the effects of the vervain wore off. "For crying out loud, Klaus, if you're going to beat the shit out of me to make me comply, then get your original ass in here and do it!"

The door opened and as Damon requested, was Klaus standing there with a cocky smirk painted over his features. "I see some things never change. Shall we begin, Damon?"

"Begin what?"

"I'm sure my dear brother explained all of that to you so let's not play that game. How about you do as you're told and we all have a great night? Sound good? Not like you have much of choice either way."

Damon made a face. "Uh-huh, sure, sounds like a wonderful plan." He walked over to Klaus and tilted his head. "Get on with it, granny."

Klaus looked Damon in the eyes and smiled. "You're going to do my bidding. You're going to lock your brother and Elena up then you'll give me your blood when I call for it. You'll watch that disrespectful mouth as well. Oh, you'll need this." He shoved the ring against Damon's chest. "I expect to hear you succeeded by tomorrow night. Or you'll find more fallen friends." He still had plans up his sleeves. "Go."

Damon nodded and quickly fled the room because he didn't want to take any chances of Klaus finding out he was faking compulsion. He was caught off guard because Elijah didn't mention anything about locking Stefan and Elena up. He was hoping that Elijah was being serious about helping because he was starting to believe that he was going to need it.

Meanwhile back in the apartment, Alaric jolted up in a sitting position from the cold wooden floor. "Fuck!" He shouted, grabbing at his neck. "What the- what the hell happened?" He turned to look at the counter to see Damon not there. He felt slightly sick because right before he died he really thought he was going to die for good. It was painful. "DAMON!"

Damon was approaching the apartment and heard his name being called. Alaric was okay. That's all that mattered. Rushing through the door he locked eyes on the blond who was still on the floor. "You are so lucky you didn't die because I would have brought you back and killed your ass."

Alaric laughed. "Sadly I think that's your way of saying you're happy I'm alive."

Damon extended his hand to Alaric and helped him up. "Yeah."

"You okay?"

Damon nodded. "I am now." He sighed and pulled Alaric into a tight hug. It was unconventional of him to do something like that but the night itself was unconventional. He was really relieved that Alaric was alive.

Alaric, definitely surprised, hugged back and smiled. Damon was obviously worried so he didn't even tease him about it. He just quietly relaxed into the unusual affection.