Chapter Four

Elena wakes in a daze, still caught in her dreams of sunshine, of bare feet on cool tiles, the ocean stretching out before her and Damon at her side. She rolls over, staring at the clock by her bed. It is 2AM, Christmas Eve. She tries to forget the dream and go back to sleep, but she can't shake the feeling of wistfulness it incited. She reaches for her phone and dials Damon, snuggling back underneath the blankets.

"Elena?" Damon answers after a few rings, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Hey."

"Is everything okay?" She can hear the rustling of him sitting up in bed.

"I'm sorry," she apologises, "I woke you up."

"It's alright, what's wrong?" He asks blearily.

"Nothing. I was just dreaming about you. Missed you."

"Was I naked?"

She laughs, "No."

"Well that's disappointing," he quips, slightly more awake.

"Tell me about it," she replies, smiling.

"Have you found anything out yet?" She can hear him moving around the room now, opening and closing drawers.

"I hope so; I think we're getting there. I went under another spell, to find out some of my repressed memories."

"That can't have drudged up anything pleasant," his voice says, muffled, as if he is pulling on a shirt.

"It didn't. It turns out that fifteen years ago when Mikael showed up in Mystic Falls looking for the doppelganger, he found me."

"What do you mean he found you?" Damon questions, his voice suddenly clearer.

Elena pauses a moment, gathering her thoughts, "I was abducted from my day care centre; I was taken by some vampires. I think they were compelled. They were going to take me to Mikael but Jon managed to stop them."

"Jon stopped them?" He asks, unbelieving.

"Yeah, he tracked them down and brought me home. I saw my parents... It was nice to see them again; I can't remember when I last saw them so clearly."

He is silent for a moment, "Do you want me to wake Jeremy up so you can talk to him?"

"It's not safe for him to know."

"Um...about that… We figured out he can't be compelled anymore and with all the vervain gone, he's probably the safest person around. So...he kind of already knows."

Elena sits up in shock, "You told him?"

"He needed to know. Hang on, I'm going to go get him up. You should talk to him; it's Christmas after all."

"Did you tell Matt too?" she asks. She can hear him opening the door and padding down the hallway.

"God no," he retorts, "That kid is like a danger magnet."

The phone quiets.

"Hello?" Elena calls. "Damon?" She waits for a moment, glancing at the screen on her phone. The call has not been dropped but there is no background noise.

"Elena?" Jeremy answers. "Are you okay?"

"Jeremy?" she asks, "That was weird. Something happened to the phone."

"I think Damon accidently hit the mute button," he explains, "Why are you calling at five in the morning?"

"To wish you a Merry Christmas?" She replies coyly.

"You couldn't do that in maybe four to six hours? Where are you?"

"It's better if you don't know. But I'm hoping I'll be home within the next few weeks."

"Good. Now that I don't want to kill you anymore, I miss you."

"I miss you too. How is everything going?"

"It's alright. Your boyfriend's a tyrant, though."

"He told you we were...dating?" Elena ekes out, wondering how her brother has taken this particular news.

"Well he left out the gory details, thank God, but yeah. For the record I'm cool with it but I'll be cooler with it when he's not constantly breathing down my neck."

"What is he making you do?" Elena questions, defensive of her little brother.

"Nothing bad, Elena, just a lot of training, running laps, and stuff."

"How is the map coming along?"

"Ah, you know, it's coming along. A bit more time I think," he replies vaguely.

"Isn't Klaus getting impatient?"

"Klaus is always impatient; that's nothing new."

"But other than that you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he reassures, "I promise. Damon cut me off from pizza, but otherwise I'm eating three square meals and everything. Don't worry about me, okay? You just do what you need to do."

"Speaking of that. I had to go into one of my childhood memories the other day; I saw Mom and Dad. It was...nice."

"I miss them too," he confesses.

"Do you think they can see us?"

"Sure, why not? I mean they're not on the Other Side so I can't contact them. But yeah, I'm sure they're out there."

"It's a nice thought. I think they'd hate what I've become, though."

"I don't. If anything I think they'd be proud that you're fighting back, not letting yourself become a monster. Taking care of me."

Elena lets out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, I'm doing a great job of that. I've left you in the hands of my much older, occasionally unstable, often drunk, vampire boyfriend and run off with a psychopath in attempts to rid the world of a vampire werewolf hybrid who is obsessed with my best friend."

Jeremy laughs cheerfully, "I wish I could deny it, but all of that is true. Sucks we're missing Christmas together, though."

"Will you hang up my ornaments for me?"

"I already did. Even that ugly purple reindeer one you made when you were six. Matt and I cut down a tree and everything. Seemed kind of stupid given it's just the three of us, and I don't think Damon really celebrates...anything. But it's nice anyways."

"I can't believe you hung up the purple reindeer!" Elena exclaims. "That thing is hideous!"

"Hey, that's your fault for making it purple in the first place and then not destroying it as soon as you had the opportunity."

"I'm pretty sure I tried. Mom kept gluing it back together." She is quiet for a moment., remembering. "I'm glad, at least, the three of you are together. Matt doesn't really have any family left and it's my fault Stefan and Damon are on the outs right now."

"Yeah, Matt's been great. He doesn't have to be here, but he's been here ever since school let out, training with me. It's good to have a sparring partner that's not completely indestructible. Listen, I should go. I need to start my run soon, and I know Damon wants to talk to you more."

"Alright, Merry Christmas, I love you. Be safe okay?"

"Love you, too, 'Lena." She waits, listening as some doors slam and feet stomp, followed by Damon picking up.

"Hey, it's me again."

"Hi."

"Did you have a good talk with Jeremy?"

"Yeah, it was nice. I don't know what you're doing to him, but he sounds okay."

"He seems to be morphing into someone who will be a semi-competent adult."

"He looks up to you, Damon."

"Well, that's unfortunate."

"C'mon. You know you like him," she encourages, smiling.

"He's slightly less annoying then he used to be," Damon confesses.

"You like him," she teases. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, what year was it you saw Cordelia Chase?"

Damon thinks for a moment, "I'm pretty sure it was 2000. Frosted tips, Britney Spears, it was horrifying."

"I'll keep looking then. I haven't been able to find anything recent for her. Maybe she's moved on since then."

"That's very likely. It was a long shot anyways. Like I said, I only met her the one time."

"Well, it's worth a trip to the library at least."

"Don't stress about it; worry about the sire bond, Elena. How close are you?" She notices his voice has an edge of apprehension to it, beyond the usual concern.

"Closer? I'm not sure. I was thinking about it, though. Damon...why do you love me?"

Damon sighs, "That's not really fair, Elena. There is no right way to answer that question. I just do."

"I'm sorry… I'm not trying to be needy; I'm just asking because of...Katherine."

"What?" Damon replies, confused.

Elena hesitates, trying to figure out how to express herself, "I just...I think for a long time I equated what I would be like as a vampire with turning into Katherine. It makes me wonder if you and Stefan have too."

"I don't know what has been going through Stefan's head since you turned," Damon says evenly, "And frankly, I don't want to. But I far as I'm concerned, the answer is an unequivocal 'no'. You might be different then you used to be, a little darker, maybe. But you're still you. You're just as stubborn and insistent on doing the right thing as you always have been. I like you this way, Elena, you know that. I am finding you this cure because it is what you want, and I want you to have everything you want."

"I know that," Elena replies softly, "And you have no idea how much that means to me. But some part of me wonders... if you liking me better this way...is you wanting the future you never got with Katherine."

"I didn't say I liked you better this way. I said I 'liked' you this way," Damon says sharply. "Let me ask you: why do you love me?"

"I think there are a lot of reasons. But when I went under that spell and I was living all those repressed memories, they were all of these horrible moments; I felt completely powerless to do anything. But, except for finding out when I was a vampire, none of them involved you."

"Could be a manifestation of the sire bond."

"No, I think it's because I feel strong when I'm with you. That's not the only reason, but I think it's one that matters."

"You've always had that in you, when you've needed it. For Jeremy."

"I guess I'm finally figuring out what it means. What happens to us when I take the cure Damon?"

"Whatever you want to happen, Elena," Damon responds instantly.

"Would you consider taking it with me?" Elena asks.

He hesitates, "I don't know how many doses there will be," he says finally.

"But if you could?" Elena urges.

"If that's what you really want."

"But what do you want Damon?"

"We're still sire bonded. I can't tell you that; it'll mess with your head."

Elena sinks back against the pillows. "Okay, tell me something else then. I'm supposed to be working through this stuff."

Damon thinks for a moment, "You surprise me. All the time. The first time I met you, you were so far from what I expected."

"And what did you expect?"

"A spineless seventeen year old girl with normal seventeen year old girl problems."

"I wish."

"I don't. I know you think it's because you're a vampire but you've always had an edge to you Elena. A darkness. And it's not a bad thing. It's what makes you strong. You were never really afraid of me, even when you should have been."

"You're not as scary as you think you are Damon."

"I am too. You just see something...different in me. You've always made me want to be better. You're the only person in one hundred and seventy-two years who has ever made me want to be better." He pauses for a moment, gearing up what he has to say. "But you need to listen to me. That doesn't mean I'm always going to play the good guy, because I'm not the good guy. Sometimes I'm going to do things you're not going to like or approve of, but I promise you that when I do, no matter how misguided you think I am, what I did was for you. I'm trying to be the person you deserve."

"You already are, Damon."

"I'm not. But maybe I can be." He's quiet for a moment. "Jeremy put up all your old ornaments. You really didn't get the artistic genes did you?"

Elena slaps her forehead in embarrassment even though he can't see her. "Nope, those went straight to Jeremy. Plus, I went through this phase as a kid where I hated Christmas colours and refused to make anything red or green."

"That explains the purple blobby thing with the bell on it."

"For your information, it's a reindeer. Are you guys going to celebrate Christmas at all?"

"Well I was thinking of letting them get roaring drunk and throwing them in the lake, maybe making them run a few laps around it, too, just to be festive."

"Damon!" Elena cries out, laughing.

"Ah see, I made you laugh, though, didn't I? What do you and Katherine have planned?"

"Hmm, well I don't know. Probably some mass murder, followed by stabbing someone who trusts us in the back, engineering a diabolical master plan, then I think I'm just going to listen to her snipe at me until I can't take it anymore, try and kill her, and wind up dead in the process."

"Wow, you've got a busy day planned."

"You know Katherine; the girl has her flaws but she sure isn't lazy."

"Speaking from experience, master plans are a lot of work. I'm surprised Caroline doesn't have one actually. She could run the world if she tried."

"Who says she isn't? By the way, have you talked to her?"

"Yeah, I've been checking in on Stefan. He's doing better by the way. She said yesterday he read The Count of Monte Cristo in its entirety, and he didn't start drinking until almost four. Progress."

"I'm glad. When you talk to her, tell her I miss her, okay?"

"Will do. I should probably go now. Gotta go boss Jeremy around."

"Be nice."

"Did you not hear what I just said about being the good guy?"

"Yeah, yeah. I love you anyways. Have a good day. Try not to traumatize them too much."

"I love you, too. Don't try to kill Katherine without me. That's a moment I really want to relish. Maybe even record so I can watch it more than once."

Elena dozes for a while after hanging up with Damon. When she wakes, she feels considerably better. Yawning, she strolls into the adjoining living room for a morning blood bag. Katherine is sprawled on the couch watching reality TV.

"Merry Christmas." Elena wishes her, pulling a bag out of the fridge.

"What?" Katherine responds lazily.

"It's Christmas Eve."

"Is it really? Wow."

"Did you find anything out yesterday?" Elena asks, pouring the blood into a tumbler.

"No. All anyone seems to be able to tell me is that he was here and now he's not. This is getting ridiculous." Katherine walks over to the window and pauses for a moment. "I've been trying to get a hold of a friend of mine, a vengeance demon, for weeks now and nothing. Which is frustrating, because vengeance demons know everyone." She sighs heavily. "Anyanka, I call on you," She calls firmly. However, nothing happens.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Elena asks. Katherine just glares at her.

"Anya?" She calls louder, still nothing happens. "Dammit, Anya! I said I was sorry about the thing with the rabbits in Bora-Bora, okay? Anya?" She pauses again and throws her hands up in frustration. "You know what?" she yells. "Fine! Halfraek, I call on you!"

There is a swirl of air and Katherine turns around. "It's about time," she spits, "I've been calling you for...D'Hoffran?"

A wrinkly faced demon with a strange beard, multiple horns and even stranger attire appears.

"Clearly you haven't heard." He states, brushing off his strange brown robes.

"Heard what?" Katherine asks, "Where the hell is Anya, I've been calling her for weeks."

"Anyanka and Halfraek are dead," he explains coldly. "They've been dead for a decade now. How did you not know that, Katerina? I thought you were such close friends?"

Katherine sinks to the ground, her head in her hands. "I thought...I figured she was busy...What? When?" She looks up at D'Hoffran in disbelief.

"Halfraek died because Anyanka let her moral scruples get in the way of vengeance," D'Hoffran explains, "And Anyanka was killed in Sunnydale. Would you please stop calling on them? It's giving me a headache."

"But..." Katherine protests.

"Good day, Katerina. Let me know if you reconsider my offer." He is gone again with a whirl of smoke. Katherine curls up into a ball, her head resting on her knees.

Elena isn't sure what to do. She's never seen Katherine visibly upset, or visibly demonstrate any sort of emotion really.

"Katherine?" she asks worriedly. Katherine doesn't respond. Elena reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Katherine, I'm so sorry about your friend. I didn't realize you had friends, but I'm really sorry anyways."

Katherine sits up, wiping her eyes, and shakes Elena's hand off her shoulder. "I don't have friends Elena," she growls. She grabs a bottle of brandy off the liquor cart and storms into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

An hour later, Elena has showered and dressed, but there is still no sign of Katherine. She waits a while longer, but when she still does not reappear, she decides to take advantage of it and spend the day looking for Cordelia. She heads downtown to the library and begins her search with phone listings from 2000. She locates a Cordelia Chase living in downtown LA, but a quick Google search reveals the building has since been torn down.

Searching for Angel Investigations reveals even less; they are not listed in the white pages, registered with the Better Business Bureau, or on any public tax information It is almost as if they never existed. Finally, after searching through the newspaper databases for what seems like every newspaper in LA, she stumbles across a nugget of information.

The story, dated 2003, relates to the apprehending of a murder and the closing of a case.

"The police do not have any comments at this time, but they would like to thank the team at Angel Investigations in the Hyperion Hotel for their help and cooperation."

Eagerly, Elena locates the hotel, a historically listed property located on Hyperion Avenue. After leaving the library, she finds the hotel with no problems, but the building is clearly no longer a working business, the windows are boarded up, and the door locked with a padlock. Glancing around to make sure no one is watching, she breaks the lock off with one quick jerk and slips into the building.

The main lobby is dark and cobwebby, her footsteps loud on the tile floors, and she peers around. The furniture remains in the building, covered in ghostly looking sheets. She decides to start with the front desk. A search of the drawers reveals nothing but a handful of pens and a pile of business cards that read "Angel Investigations, we help the helpless." She pockets one and moves on to the backroom where four filing cabinets sit against the walls, all of them filled with papers. Elena excitedly begins to shift through them, finding case files concerning all kinds of strange demons. Cordelia's initials and signature are all over them but there is no further information about her.

Frustrated, Elena closes the top drawer and starts digging through the next three, which reveal more of the same. They must have operated under the radar, because she can find no employment records, and no tax information. All she gleans is a handful of names and a sense that these people were fighting demons together. There is not a single mention of Spike, and if there was a vampire involved as Damon had mentioned, she can't deduce whether he was Angel, Wesley, Gunn or Fred. Discouraged, she glances at her watch; it's after dark and she best hit up a few of those demon bars Katherine tasked her with previously. If nothing else, someone surely must know something about a band of demon fighters.

The first bar Katherine sent her turns out to be a bust; now in a better lit, much nicer part of town, it is operating as a pet store. The second however, a dilapidated warehouse located in a dark alley around the corner from what she can only deduce is a fully operational crack den, appears to be promising. Walking past it, she reminds herself she isn't a human anymore; she can handle a few crack heads. As soon as she opens the door to the bar though, her spine tingles with anxiety. Demons with strange wrinkly faces are scattered about the room, chatting and drinking. As she gets a closer look, Elena realizes these must be the other kind of vampires. She ignores them eyeing her and makes her way up to the bar.

"I'd like a pint of blood please," she tells the bartender, with as much faked confidence as she can muster. He is clearly a human, who eyes her in a way that makes her skin crawl.

"Was that your way of offering us a drink honey?" a wrinkly faced vampire suggests, propping his elbow on the bar next to her.

Elena turns around to find that a ring of vampires have surrounded her.

"What a lucky day, Pete," one of them comments to the other, laughing. "How often is it that dinner just walks right into a bar?"

Elena glares at them, "I'm not a human," she says. They move closer.

"You sure look like a human," one of them utters, grabbing her arm. Elena yanks it away, snarling. The vampire in question backs away from her.

"What are you?" He blubbers.

"I'm a vampire," Elena snaps. "And I don't blood share with just anyone, so get out of my face."

A few of them back away, moving back to their tables. But a few remain, watching her with quizzical expressions.

She turns back to the bartender, "I'd still like that blood please."

"Hey, I know you!" he exclaims as he finally focuses on her face, "You used to come to my bar in Sunnydale. Remember me? Willy?" Elena attempts to toss her hair the way Katherine would.

"You're right; I do remember you," she lies, trying to put on a manipulative Katherine smile.

"What brings a pretty thing like you to LA?" he asks.

"I'm looking for someone," she announces, "Spike, they call him. Last I heard, he was in Sunnydale. But it appears that was a bust."

"Oh yeah. Spike and I, we go way back. We're old friends."

"I don't suppose you can tell me where to find him?" Elena asks sweetly, sipping her blood.

"Ah, now see he's been gone for a while."

"How long?" She questions, an edge to her voice.

"I don't know, awhile." He replies, cagey.

"Maybe you need some help jogging your memory?" Elena says, setting down her glass, putting both hands on the bar and leaning in closer. She doesn't want to actually hurt him, but she must do a decent job of looking as if she will because he begins to visibly shake.

"Come now, no need for that," he stutters.

"Answer my questions," Elena demands, her pupils dilating as she compels him.

"He was here after Sunnydale collapsed," Willy tells her, his face blank and his body still. "He was running with Angel for awhile there. I don't know what happened after that." He replies nervously.

"Where is he now?" She demands evenly.

"I don't know. There's rumour he went back to Europe."

"Where?" Elena snarls, her gaze hardening.

"I don't know!" Willy shouts as he starts to quiver in fear once more. Elena suppresses a smirk.

"Was this 'Angel' of Angel Investigations that he was running with?"

"Yeah, of course," Willy answers very quickly, "The vampire with a soul. They closed up shop a good while ago, another apocalypse thing. No one has seen him in years. He's gotten reclusive. I'm not even sure he's still in LA."

"What about Cordelia Chase?"

"Who?" He asks, confused.

Elena backs away, contemplating, but keeps her eyes fixed on Willy's. She has information, but none of the information she wanted. Deciding this is enough, she releases Willy of her compulsion, downs her blood, and heads home to see how Katherine is faring.

Back in the alley she picks her way through around pieces of garbage, her footsteps echoing softly on the pavement. Her skin prickles; it feels as if someone is watching her. She glances behind her, seeing nothing but an empty disgusting alley, and begins to walk more quickly. She is almost to the street when they appear in front of her. Three of the vampires from the bar block her route.

"Going somewhere?" one of them questions. Elena glances behind her. The end of the alley reveals nothing but a brick wall. She could try to get past them with a burst of speed, but that seems unlikely. She crosses her arms defensively.

"What do you want?" she snipes.

"What do you think we want?" another, wearing a dirty Jimmy Hendrix t-shirt, retorts with laughter.

"Get out of my way," Elena snarls, revealing her fangs.

The Hendrix clad vampire snickers and grabs for her. Elena lands a punch to his gut before he grabs her throat and forces her to the ground.

"Listen to me," he orders with reeking breath burning her nose. "This is our town. We don't welcome your kind here. You think you can just come here, try and take over, mind control our food sources? Well I've got news for you." He runs a hand up her shirt, keeping the other on her throat, the other vampires snicker.

Elena struggles, trying to force him off her, but she is pinned firmly by the throat and he is much stronger. Remembering what Alaric and Damon have taught her, her eyes flick around, looking for something she can use as a weapon. There's a needle lying near her left. She stretches her hand out, barely grasping it.

A crash sounds at the other end of the alley.

Taking advantage of his temporary distraction, she swings her arm around and plunges the needle into his neck as hard as she can. She doesn't wait to see how long it incapacitates him; instead, she throws him off of her and grabs for the closest thing she can get: a lid from a nearby dumpster. He rises, moving towards her, but she rips the lid off the dumpster and swings it at his head with all the strength she can muster. The sharp edge of the lid and the speed in which she swings it take his head clean off.

Moments later, he explodes in a shower of ash.

The other two vampires look at her holding the lid to the dumpster, and then run away. Elena drops the lid, breathing heavily.

"Nice moves," a throaty, mysterious voice says from the shadows remarks. She stiffens, picking up the lid again. "No need," a man says, stepping out from the darkness, his hands in the air. "I'm not going to hurt you."With the dim glow coming from the street, Elena just can make out that he good looking, in his twenties probably, with dark hair, donned in a long black coat. "I was about to step in actually when you grabbed that needle."

"Who are you?" Elena asks.

"I'm Angel."

"The vampire with a soul?" She asks lamely.

"I've been known by worse," he responds with a smirk. "And you're Elena Gilbert, the girl who has only recently become a vampire."

"And how would you know about that?"

"I've been following you." He pulls something out of his coat and tosses it to her. "You should be more careful with your possessions."

"You stole my wallet?" she utters in disbelief, examining what he tossed at her.

"You're the one who broke into my hotel." He eyes the lid that she still has clutched in her hand. "I'm not going to hurt you," he reminds her, "If I wanted to, I would have by now."

Elena glares at him, retaining her hold on the lid. "Yeah, that's not really as reassuring as you think it is."

Angel laughs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Would you come back to the Hyperion Hotel with me? I think I can help you."

Elena drops the lid again. She knows he's right; ever since she arrived here, all signs have pointed to Angel. "Fine."

Back at the hotel, Angel lets her in the back door and leads her up a set of stairs to a small shabby sitting room.

"Sorry about the mess," he apologises, clearing some newspapers off a chair for her, "I don't get a whole lot of company."

"I gathered that when I was in the lobby earlier." Elena replies. She perches herself on the edge of the chair, afraid to get comfortable.

"Yeah, I don't use it much anymore," he says darkly, taking a seat himself.

Elena tries to bite her tongue, but her curiosity gets the better of her. "What happened?" she asks, "You had a whole organization going and you just—poof—fell off the map."

Angel shrugs. "A few years ago nearly everyone I worked with was killed," he summarizes, "I prefer to do work alone now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she apologises sincerely.

"You mean that, don't you?" he observes quizzically.

"Why wouldn't I?" Elena asks, puzzled.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to vampires like you. My kind are a little different; Spike and I are the only ones I know of who have the capacity to...care."

"What do you know about my kind?"

"Not too much. There's not very many you left actually. But I know you originate from a witches curse, whereas we originate from the original demons that walked the earth; they're called the Old Ones. Your kind goes back only a thousand years or so, but our kind predates humanity itself."

"How do you know all this?"

"I'm over two hundred years old and I've been on the good side for a while now. I've had access to the Watcher's journals and other things."

"Watchers?"

"Every Slayer has a Watcher. He is supposed to guide her and research and record any demons she comes across."

"Oh."

"You're unique because when you are turned, you die, but your soul remains with you. For us, our souls are gone. They can be magically restored, but that has only happened twice that I know of. To me, of course, and to Spike. My question is, why have you been looking for him?"

"We're trying to stop a vampire back in Mystic Falls, one of the Originals of our line. The problem is: he's linked to us; if we kill him, it kills all of us. Katherine, the girl I'm travelling with, heard Spike was associated with a very powerful witch. One who might be able to undo the magic. It's a long shot, but...we're pretty desperate. Klaus has managed to turn himself into a vampire/werewolf hybrid and can create more like him. If he can get a few things he needs, he's going to create an army of them."

"What things?"

"In order to create hybrids, he needs werewolves, and he needs the blood of the doppelganger. Katherine and I are the doppelgangers. Only, we're no longer human. But they think they've found a cure for vampirism. Or at least for our kind of vampirism; I don't think it would work on you. If Katherine or I take it..."

"He'll be able to use your blood."

"We're trying to stop him before it comes to that."

"Where does Cordelia Chase come into this? I saw that you were looking for her."

"My um... a friend of mine, also a vampire, knew her here in LA, years ago. He knew she worked with a vampire, who turned out to be you, and he thought she might be able to point me in the right direction."

"Cordelia's dead," he states curtly. "I still have a lot of unanswered questions about it; I was hoping maybe you knew something."

"I'm sorry, I don't."

"And your friend?"

"He only met her once. I'm not sure of the circumstances. I can ask him, but I doubt he knows anything."

Angel watches her carefully, as if measuring her up. He's trying to decide if she is telling the truth. Not long after, he continues.

"The witch you want," he starts, "Her name is Willow Rosenberg. She was in Scotland last I heard, but I've been out of touch these last few years. I'm not sure if she's still there. But I know where Spike is, and I'm positive he'll know where to find Willow. He's definitely in London. Check the cemeteries; he likes a nice crypt. I'd start with Nunhead or Highgate."

Elena's face floods with relief. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this helps us."

"Will you answer a question for me though?" Angel asks.

"I can try."

"How did you turn?"

"Why do you want to know about that?"

"You obviously haven't been a vampire for very long. Call it curiosity."

Elena absently picks at some fraying trim on her chair. "It was an accident," she announces distantly, "I don't know how it works for your kind, but for us, vampire blood can heal human injuries. I had some kind of brain haemorrhage; when they took me to the hospital, the doctor gave me vampire blood to heal me. Later that night I was in a car accident, I died. And now I'm like this." Her last five words are filled with bitter resentment.

"I'm sorry."

"If they find the cure, I can turn back," Elena announces hopefully.

"Do you hate being this way so much?" he asks softly, "It could be worse."

"I know I should be glad, grateful even. As far as being a vampire goes, I know I don't have it so bad. But I can't help it; this isn't what I wanted for my life. I'm eighteen years old and I'm dead. I was supposed go to college, have a career, get married, have a family. And now I'll never get to do any of that."

"May I offer you some advice, Elena?"

"Um, sure."

"Don't confuse what you want in life with what you think you're supposed to want."

"Does it really matter anymore Angel? I'm dead. I'm dead and I killed someone. I never ever thought I had that in me, but he threatened my brother and I just— I lost my mind and snapped his neck. I snapped it like it was nothing."

"We all have that capacity in us. As vampires, we try and convince ourselves that the part of us that wants to kill isn't our human side; it's our demon one. But that's a lie; some of the most horrifying atrocities the world has ever seen haven't been committed by demons, but by humans. We all have the potential to be killers, Elena, and we all have the capacity to do evil. It's just as human as anything else about us. What matters are the choices we make, whether we are human or supernatural. We can choose to do the right thing, to help rather than to hurt, to protect rather than destroy."

"And that's why you do what you do?"

"I have a soul because I was cursed with one. I killed so many people and ruined so many lives that a gypsy put a curse on me as punishment. For years after that, I wandered around tormented and ashamed, doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself. It took a long time before I realized I could at least try to right the wrongs I have done. I'm still trying to redeem myself but I know I never will."

"I know someone who I think you would really like."

"Who might that be?"

"Ever heard of Stefan Salvatore?"

"The Ripper of Monterey?" Angel sneers with a bit of disgust.

"Former Ripper," Elena corrects, "Mostly. He's had a lot of trouble controlling his bloodlust in the past, but he really tries to live the best he can now; he only feeds of off animals. He's all about owning your choices and redemption and all of that."

"Tell me, how is it you know so many vampires? You speak fondly of them, and yet you hate what you are."

Elena shrugs. "I guess I've seen the best and worst of what we can do. And the fact that I have that capacity scares me," she swallows. "I haven't always known vampires if that's what you're asking me. But when Damon and Stefan Salvatore showed up in Mystic Falls a little over a year ago they attracted all kinds of supernatural crazy."

She looks around the room. It's rather sad; no Christmas decorations, no mementos. Just a few threadbare chairs, a mini-fridge, and a tea kettle. "So is this how you usually spend Christmas?" she asks, "Just sitting here by yourself?"

Angel sighs. "Sometimes I have work to do," he states, "But for the past few years, yes."

Elena feels sad for him, alone on Christmas, with all of his friends dead. And after over a week with Katherine, it's nice to converse with someone face to face without resisting the urge to light them on fire.

"Want some company?" she offers, "I can't stay for too long, but it's Christmas Eve. You shouldn't have to spend it entirely alone."

Angel gives her a half smile. "I would like that. Let me make you some tea. Or do you want blood? I have to resort to robbing blood banks myself."

"I'd love some blood if you're offering."

He grabs a few mugs off the shelf above the fridge and fills them with blood. He hands her one with writing on it. "World's Broodiest Puppet?" she asks, reading the side.

"It's an old inside joke," he holds his mug up to hers, "Cheers. Merry Christmas, Elena."

She smiles, clinking her mug against his, "Merry Christmas, Angel."

A few hours later, she returns to the hotel suite only to find it deserted. She paces for a few minutes, hoping Katherine will return and finally decides she might as well kill time and call Damon while she waits. The phone rings four times before someone picks up.

"Elena?" a—decidedly not Damon—female voice answers frantically.

"Caroline?" Elena clarifies, confused.

"Elena, where are you? What is going on?" Caroline questions anxiously.

"I can't tell you where I am. What's going on? Why do you have Damon's phone?"

"Elena, you need to come home. Things are not good."

"What happened? Where's Damon?"

"I don't know!" Caroline cries, nearly hysterical. She takes a breath before continuing, "Apparently Hayley was in league with Shane and they were going to rat out the plan to un-sire the hybrids to Klaus as some kind of ritual sacrifice—"

"What?" Elena cries in disbelief.

Caroline continues, "—now Shane is dead and Tyler and the rest of the hybrids have run for it and no one knows what happened to Hayley."

"What—"

"Klaus is already hunting them down."

"What happened to Jeremy and Damon? Caroline, are they together?"

Caroline hesitates for a moment. "Damon said Jeremy finished the map," she admits, "He told me they were going to take advantage of Klaus being distracted, and he and Jeremy and Stefan went after the cure. He left me his phone and told me to tell him when you called."

"He did WHAT?" Elena yells, wanting to wring Damon's neck. Jeremy's caginess about the map, Damon's comments this morning, all start to make a disturbing amount of sense. He was planning this.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Caroline says tearfully, "But we all agreed it was the best option. If they can find the cure, they can make Klaus mortal again."

"But..."

"I don't know what you're doing Elena, but Jeremy and Damon seemed to think it was important. Whatever it is, you need to hurry."

"I'm hurrying. I'm on the next flight to London."

"Good. I have to go now, Elena. Matt and I have a plan."

"Caroline, what are you trying to do?" Elena asks, distracted as Katherine finally strolls in. Elena bounces up and down a few times indicating she has news.

"Just hurry, Elena." Caroline says, hanging up and ignoring her question.

"What is it?" Katherine asks, clearly drunk. She throws her purse onto the floor and sinks into a chair morosely.

"Spike's in London." Elena delivers quickly.

"Really?" Katherine asks, perking up. "How do you know?"

"I found a friend of his who knows him. Katherine, we have to hurry—I just got off the phone with Caroline. Tyler Lockwood got all the hybrids un-sired and they ran for it. And while Klaus was distracted, apparently Damon, Stefan, and Jeremy took off looking for the cure."

Katherine's eyes widen. "That was stupid of them," she slurs, getting up and reaching for her purse.

"Look, we have to find that witch. Could you get us on the next flight to London? There's someone I have to call really quick."

"What?"

"I'll explain later. Just get us on a flight?"

"Yeah fine." Katherine scrolls through her phone, one that is a lot nicer than Elena's prepaid one.

"There's one leaving at ten."

"Great!" She replies, running into her room, phone in hand. Quickly, she dials the number on the Angel Investigations card, hoping Angel still uses it. It rings a few times before someone picks up.

"Hello?"

"Angel?"

"Buffy?"

"What? No. This is Elena.

"Oh, hello."

"Remember how I told you Klaus had already created a set of hybrids?"

"Yes?" He asks, befuddled.

"Well, I didn't mention that my friend Tyler was one of them, they've managed to break the bond that binds them to Klaus, and they're all on the run."

"And they need help?"

"I don't know where they are or where they're heading, but if you know of any way, can you help them?"

"I can try. I'll do what I can to find them, but if you can figure out a way to get in touch with them, send them my way, okay?"

"Thank you!" Elena exclaims quickly. "I have to go now; I need to be on the next flight to London."

"Good luck, Elena," he wishes sincerely.