Disclaimer : I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any and all of the characters and settings used.

THE PERFECT CHOICE

By Veronica Bali

Chapter 3 : Sacrifice

We all knew it was crazy. But at least we had a plan: We are going to look for Elijah. It was a big risk, but apart from Mikael, he was our only chance. And we all agreed Elijah seemed to be easier to get along with than Mikael. Elijah's body was in Chicago, based on Bonnie's spell. Me and Damon will try our luck and find our once-ally tomorrow.

I pulled the blanket to cover my body. It had been too cold the past days in Virginia. I looked at my bedside clock, and it was already midnight. I eyed the ceiling, not seeming to take my mind off of the woman at the Salvatore's. Damon dropped his usual snarky comments the whole day, but not one word about the woman. I wanted to ask him a lot of times to feed my curiosity, but decided it wasn't really my business.

I almost dozed off when a built figure appeared in front of my bed, causing me to abruptly sit up in surprise. I completely awoke.

It was Damon.

I got off my bed and went for the lights. "It's already late, Damon," I muttered under my breath.

When I looked back at him, he was already facing the window. I was going to ask him what was wrong, but it was him who broke the silence, "Pamela –" He said, "The woman a while ago, I knew her from a long time ago, she lied to me 'bout her age." I heard a dragged simper, "Didn't know she was an original. Till now."

It all started to make sense. When I called and told him about Pamela, he drove to Kansas to confront her. But why? I unknowingly crossed my arms, "Why didn't you tell me?" There was something in his eyes when he faced me. There was something he wasn't telling me. Something I had to squeeze out of him.

"Oh. So you're my secretary now?" He moved towards me. I put down my arms and gulped. Sometimes, when I feel like I'm getting through to Damon, he just shuts this huge barricade between us. I hate it. I hate that at times, it feels that he doesn't care, that he refuses to care.

"She could've just told us where Elijah was." I stiffened as I said the words.

"We both know that's not it." He said like he saw through my excuse, he moved closer than ever. Our gazes caught, and I flushed all over. I was overtaken by an anxious chill that made me want to escape. I didn't know what to say, and he probably saw that too. He bid goodnight and was almost out the door when I called out, "What do you mean?" I bit my lip. I knew I shouldn't have asked.

"I've taken my sweet precious time to think about this – "he orchestrated with his hands "- this thing between us," he cleared his throat, "since you're such a big fan of worrying, maybe you should try to think about it too."

I have, Damon. Too many times. I almost said it aloud. He looked at me with gaze that seemed to be looking right inside me. He was waiting for me to say something, anything. But it would be a sin if I did. He left without a word after, then I went back to bed, the drowsiness all gone.

I was already awake, but I refused to open my eyes. How long have I been asleep? I felt the car moving at its fullest speed, the wind brushing my face through the opened window. A part of me was jolted to go see Elijah. It was another chance to bring Stefan back, another chance to make things go back to normal. And maybe I needed a road trip after all, I needed to get away.

Damon was singing along to the song in the radio. Well, that's something you don't see everyday.

Suddenly, the car lessened it speed. I felt Damon stroke my hair gently, then his fingertips brushed my face following its contour. He thought I was still asleep. It was too sweet to handle. A part of me wanted to open my eyes and catch him off guard. But somewhere inside, I wanted him to touch me. I wanted to let go… Breathe. Trust.

But I found myself opening my eyes, sending a confused look to him.

Awkward much? The situation said it all.

"Where are we?" I asked, escaping the sticky moment.

He ran his fingers through the steering wheel, like playing the piano, "Almost there, sleepyhead."

The sun had already set when we arrived at an old warehouse in Chicago. It was right in the middle of nothingness, except trees… and well, more trees. Damon and I got out of the car and looked around, cautious that someone might be guarding the place. But strangely, it was quiet, too quiet actually.

"Stay here." Damon said protectively when I took a step closer to the warehouse. From a far, the wooden structure seemed too old that one push could make it crumble. In a second, Damon was at the door. He thrust it powerfully, leaving it swinging off of its hinges. He looked back at me, hinting me to follow him.

Inside were storage boxes that were covered in dust. There were a couple of broken chairs and tables on the left side, and on the other – our ticket to survival : Elijah's coffin.

"For once, luck is on our side," I said, realizing how easy it was to get Elijah back.

But naturally, I spoke too little too soon. We weren't even half near the coffin when a figure pushed Damon to the wall in lightning speed, pinning him to the creaky wall. He was about as tall as Damon, but maybe older. He seemed stronger in ways I couldn't imagine.

"Who are you?" Damon managed to say despite the tight grip of the stranger. But the stranger responded with a contemptuous laugh. I ran to them, not knowing what I should do, or how I should go about it. I weighed it in my mind, but I didn't have to, I was certain that I could not take the stranger.

"Please let him go. We'll leave, you'll never see us again," I raised the white flag and desperately pleaded. But the stranger showed no reaction to my assurance. I saw in Damon's eyes that he wanted me to escape, I covered my mouth with both of my hands, and shook my head. There was no way I was leaving him behind. I won't. I can't. I don't want to.

In one quick second, the odds were changed and Damon was the one pinning the stranger to the ground. His hand held a leg from the chair. Slowly, he pushed the wooden leg to the stranger's heart, and twisted it with force. The strangers face turned to ashen white, its veins popping in gray. The body dried up quicker than the sand.

Damon let out heaps of breath as he walked towards me. I was shaking in mixture of fear and anxiety, I brushed my teary eyes with the palm of my hands. When I cleared my look to Damon, blood rushed up to my face, adrenaline pumped through my heart. The stranger had stood up again, aiming Damon with the stake from behind.

"Damon, no!"

I rushed to his behind and felt liquid gush through my back, a bolt of incredible pain with it. I did not have inhuman abilities. And I do not know how I did it, but in an abrupt moment, Damon was carrying my body.

I put my hands in my back to feel what it was.

I had been staked.

Author's Note : Please comment or review if you have time, it's what gets me going most. :)