Author's note: Thanks for the support in the earlier chapters I posted this week. It really is an awesome feeling for an author to realize people are reading and enjoying something – or at least it is for me. This is the last installment of my "3 part chapter." While the story itself will continue, I've posted these three sections close together because they're really one long chapter, but I prefer my fanfic chapters to be a little shorter.
After this chapter, I hope to have an update ready by the weekend, but I can't promise that. From here on out, I'm hoping that my plotline diverges from the show – but sometimes my thinking is kind of similar to the writers', so we'll have to just wait and see.
Warnings: MATURE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, violence, blood, language, adult content, character death, popular TV trope in later chapters (any guesses?), Stefan
"What are you doing here?" Stefan's voice carried down the stairs into the basement.
"Damon called. Said Elena wanted to ride to the funeral with me. Thought it would look more natural for her to be riding with her brother." Jeremy answered, but Damon didn't need to hear the whole explanation. He's the one who called Jeremy and Matt in the first place. He needed their help.
He pushed the first of the dungeon doors open. No Elena. He continued down the darkened hallway. She was down here somewhere. Her ragged breathing filled his ears...and there was no way she could have gotten around him. "Elena?" He opened the second door. Still empty. "Elena?" Damon pushed the door to the store room open with a creak.
Elena. She stood in the farthest corner of the room, valiantly fighting for control as the faintest hint of veins circled her eyes.
"You set me up." Her eyes flashed red as she lunged in Damon's direction.
He caught her and held onto her arms before she could do either of them any harm – or give Bonnie any reason not to give her the ring she needed so desperately. "You needed a reality check." He wrapped her in a bear hug as his words sunk in and the fight gradually left her. "You're about to be in a very small room while emotions are running extraordinarily high. You've never experienced anything like it. Trust me." She tried once more to squeeze out of his arms. He leaned down closer to her ear, careful to speak softly enough that they wouldn't be overheard by any of the vampires upstairs. "And you're starving. Not the best recipe for learning how to control yourself."
Her muscles relaxed, and he tentatively loosened his grip. "I want you to be able to do this. I want to give you the chance to say goodbye. But you can't. Not if you haven't fed. You lost control the second Jeremy and Matt walked into the room. Imagine that magnified by two hundred."
"I tried." She pleaded with him.
"I know that. I've watched you." He glanced at the refrigerator standing next to the door. "If you want any chance of making it through the funeral. You're going to need to feed." Elena nodded hesitantly. Damon went to the fridge and pulled out a bag. "Pretend it's a juice box."
Elena rolled her eyes. There was the girl he knew. Her lips wrapped around the tube, and she took a tentative sip.
And then everything went badly wrong. "Ahh." She swallowed and clawed at her throat. "It burns." Her eyes watered as she dropped the blood bag at her feet, ignoring it as it splashed and covered Damon's legs.
"What?"
Elena coughed and sputtered. "Burns. Damon it hurts. Oh. It's like fire." She panted an explanation.
Damon didn't wait for permission. He tore into his own arm and held it in front of her lips, knowing she was too needy to resist. Even if it made her sick later, it might take away the pain.
This time wasn't like the last. When she fed on him to transition, she'd taken a single sip, but now she was beyond hungry. It was only as he felt the need radiating out from her that he realized exactly how close to starving she'd been.
She moaned in a mixture of relief and ecstasy. He felt the first stirrings of something more than just the satisfaction that she wasn't going to starve at the same time as she looked at him in surprise. "It's okay." He pulled her more tightly against his chest as he whispered into her ear. "Sometimes, when a vampire feeds on another vampire, it can be personal." Even as the implications of his words dawned on her, she didn't stop. She couldn't.
He supported more and more of her weight as she made no attempt to break away. Her eyes locked on his as she continued to drink. Her eyes darkened with desire, and she swallowed one last time before the overwhelming wave of pleasure washed over both of them and pulled her out of the desire to feed. Her knees buckled beneath her, and, overwhelmed by his own physical response, Damon slid down the wall.
Her eyes filled with a faint hint of fear. "What just happened?"
Damon could feel the pool of warmth on his lap. She knew what just happened. "Nothing you should be ashamed of." He kissed the top of her head. Even he hadn't been prepared for the outcome. In the past, feeding from another vampire had added to a night of passion, but he'd never experienced anything like that before. "You needed blood before you could go to the funeral."
"Elena? Damon? Everything alright down there?" Jeremy called down the stairs.
"You alright?" Damon stood and pulled a shaky Elena to her feet. Her cheeks had more color than he'd seen in days, but he wasn't sure if that was from the blood or what happened after she began to feed.
Elena nodded. She smoothed her skirt and gave a hesitant smile. "I'm fine."
Elena twisted the new ring on her finger. She wished it wasn't on her ring finger, and that Bonnie hadn't left it with Stefan. He'd had an odd expression on his face when he slid it onto her hand in celebration. Having so many friends and her one remaining member of the family standing around them when he did it made it feel oddly…not right. She'd glanced at Damon, but his face was unreadable.
Now, she was thankful for the ability to sit under the beam of sunlight streaming into the church she'd gone to as a child, but she hadn't been prepared for everything else.
Thudding heartbeats.
Waves of emotion.
Tears.
It would be easy for her to be caught up in it, but that would mean she'd risk losing control. Jeremy glanced in her direction as Mr. Billings took his place behind the podium. Three songs. Four speakers. A message from Pastor Williams. And now their principal had to speak? Was this service going to go on forever?
She slid sweaty palms along her black dress. As the closest thing Alaric had to relatives, she and Jeremy were seated front and center. She could hear Damon and Stefan breathing just behind her. They'd been careful to not let her get too far out of reach.
Caroline sat off to her right with Bonnie and the other cheerleaders. They'd already finished off one box of tissues. Elena hadn't realized just how popular Alaric had become in such a short period of time.
Tears threatened to overwhelm her. It hadn't even been a year and a half since her parents' funeral, but she hadn't been there to see it. Is this what it was like? Practically everyone in the town was here now. Were they here then? Did they say goodbye to her mom and dad? Jenna didn't even get a public goodbye.
Elena's heart pounded in her ears as she drew in a halting breath. An arm wrapped reassuringly around her shoulder, and Jeremy looked over at her with concern.
"Students. Faculty. Friends. Alaric Saltzman made a lasting impression on this town during the short time he was here with us." Mr. Billings paused and turned in the direction of Elena and Jeremy. "He even managed to end up with two teenagers he considered his own. Jeremy. Elena. He may not have really been one of your parents, but he was so proud of both of you."
A cold sweat broke out along Elena's forehead as the attention of everyone in the church turned to her. She couldn't do this. Her stomach heaved with a feeling that had grown much too familiar in recent days. Paying no heed to the fact that half the town was watching her, she made a mad dash for the back door. She knelt at the edge of the juniper bushes and lost her most recent attempt to feed on anything.
"Elena." Jeremy huddled protectively over her, effectively blocking her from view as footsteps gathered around her. Damon. Then Stefan came to his side. She couldn't turn back to look at them if she wanted to. Her fingers trailed through the fresh mulch as she desperately searched for something to cling to as wave after wave of nausea held her in its grip.
"Jeremy, is she alright?" Mrs. Lockwood called out from the church's front stairs.
His hand rested on her back. "She's going to be fine. Just a little overwhelmed."
Surely her stomach had to be empty by now. She hadn't taken that much from Damon. Had she? She rocked back on her heels and peered up at the trio of men staring at her with concern.
"Come on, Elena. Let me take you home." Jeremy helped her to her feet and led her to the car.
"Come on in." Jeremy stepped out of the doorway as Damon walked through the door. Tyler and Caroline followed close behind. Somewhere between the church and Elena's house, he'd lost track of Stefan. Right now, that was a good thing. He didn't know for sure, but he strongly suspected she wouldn't be enduring this discomfort if his brother weren't so dead-set on keeping her on the vegetarian diet.
"It's okay. Everybody just thought she was upset." Caroline reassured Jeremy as she made her way into the kitchen, a small casserole dish in hand. "Mrs. Peterson wouldn't let me leave without promising to bring y'all lunch."
"Not sure if either of us are able to eat yet." Jeremy's skin was still a faint shade of green.
Tyler cringed. "Where is Elena?"
"Upstairs. She wanted to change clothes." Jeremy gave an uncomfortable look in Damon's direction. "Stefan got here just before y'all did." He picked up the covered dish and placed it in the refrigerator.
"Is Matt still coming?" Tyler picked up a pen laying on the island in the kitchen and clicked it open and closed.
Caroline nodded while she knelt in front of the sink. She dug through the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of 409. She sprayed the already-clean countertops to give herself something to do. "He said he wanted to walk over."
The shower turned off upstairs, and Damon listened as the door to Elena's room opened. "Stefan! You surprised me. Can you give me a second?" His brother's heavy footfalls echoed as he paced in the hallway upstairs. The door creaked back open and shut.
"And that's my cue to leave." Damon nodded goodbye to Jeremy and then to Tyler and Caroline. Between the three vampires and Jeremy, his presence wasn't really needed here. Damon's boots echoed off the hardwood floors as he walked to the front door. It was awfully quiet upstairs. He didn't even want to think about what that meant. He opened the door and shut it with an odd feeling of finality.
He'd made a deal with Stefan. Florida was nice this time of year. So was Hawaii. It had been years since he'd been in one place this long. He should leave. Every time he cradled her in his arms when she was sick…only to watch her step back to Stefan's side tore a piece of his heart.
But now, he wasn't sure if he could honor his agreement. Saying Elena was having difficulty with the transition was an understatement. He needed to find Katherine…or a witch who knew more than Bonnie.
His hand closed around the car door handle just as the first hint that something was wrong in the Gilbert house sounded. Wood broke with a crash followed by the tinkling of shattering glass. What the hell? Something had killed three of Klaus' hybrids. Had it found out about Elena? He crossed the yard in a flash just as a scream sounded from above.
"Stefan, I'm sorry." Elena cried out. "I'm so sorry."
"You lied to me."
"I tried to tell you."
"You lied!" Something struck a wall with a thud.
Damon didn't even remember mounting the stairs.
"Get. Out. Of. My. House." With no weapon in hand, Jeremy faced off with Stefan. His anger rolled off of him in waves as he stood protectively in front of Elena.
Caroline stood on one side of Jeremy, and Tyler stood tense at the other. "Stefan, she did tell you. I was there."
Stefan's face was a mask of anger and rage. He appeared to be trying to decide who to attack next, but there was no trace of the vampire visage - only the blind fury Damon remembered so well from their father.
"No. It's not his fault." Elena struggled to sit up from the spot next to the bed where she sat crumpled on the floor. The dresser was shattered into hundreds of puzzle-like pieces, and the glass from the mirror twinkled like diamonds across the floor. The Elena-shaped depression in the wall made him see red.
He would have happily torn his brother from limb to limb if he hadn't seen Elena's eyes. She was afraid. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I shouldn't have fed from him. I should have come to you instead." And she was still pleading with Stefan…
"I told you to get out." Jeremy advanced toward Stefan as Tyler took hold of Stefan's arm. Together, the two young men led Stefan from the room.
"No. No. It's my fault." Elena tried to sit up again. "I made him angry. Really, it's not his fault."
Caroline reached for Elena, but it was too late. Everything about being a vampire was magnified – including overwhelming fear. Elena began to hyperventilate. "No. No. No." She shook her head violently, not even realizing Caroline was pulling her to her feet. "I made him mad. I should have thought. I should have known…."
"Shh…" Caroline brushed Elena's hair out of her face, revealing a gash just below her temple.
Elena began rocking in her place on the window seat. "He didn't mean it. Really, he didn't."
"Elena?" Caroline spoke softly. "Has he hit you before?"
Elena's eyes pleaded with her in desperation. "Just once…twice if you count the time he was trying to threaten Klaus. But really, he was mad then. He wasn't himself. I made him mad. I should have thought... It was my fault."
Caroline looked up at Damon. He was frozen in the middle of the room, unable to completely process what he'd just heard. He'd worked so hard to protect Stefan from their father. He never dreamed Stefan would become just like him – and he definitely never realized he'd ever struck Elena.
He studied the mess in Elena's room once more. If she hadn't been a vampire, she never would have survived Stefan's attack. Like father, like son. "Elena, look at me." Damon crouched in front of Elena. "Stefan hit you. That wasn't your fault. Someone else hitting you is never your fault." He should know. He took a closer look at her face. Her eye was already swelling. Her hair was matted from the blood flowing from the cut above her eye.
"Damon?" Jeremy returned to the room and inhaled in surprise.
"You got this?" Damon waited for a nod from Caroline as he crossed the room. "Come on Jeremy, show me where the ice is."
"I'm pretty sure you know where the ice is." Jeremy didn't move out of the doorway.
"Then help me find an ice bag. Surely you have one around here. Your dad was a doctor." Damon threw Jeremy a pointed look.
"But."
Damon looked at him like he was the one who just got hit on the head. "Come on." Finally Jeremy understood and followed Damon out of the room. "What are you doing here?" Damon asked Matt as he stood at the bottom of the stairwell.
"Door was open." Matt answered simply.
"What's wrong with her?" Jeremy followed Damon like a puppy. "I thought vampires were supposed to heal."
"She's not strong enough." Damon opened a drawer and dug through it, only finding a handful of dishtowels. "Really, where's the ice bag?"
"She's not strong enough?" Matt repeated.
Damon slammed a second drawer closed in disgust. "Is there an echo in here?" Damon shook his head in annoyance. "My dear brother, who you were just so kind to throw out of your house before I staked him with a piece of the dresser he broke, seems to have Elena convinced that the bunny diet is the only way to survive. Sadly, her stomach disagrees. Blood from a bag burns her skin like it's laced with acid. My blood…is also a no go….hence the disruption at the funeral."
Matt circled the kitchen island and knelt down, reaching into the far right cabinet. He pulled out a blue ice bag. "I used to spend a lot of time here." He shrugged and handed it to Damon.
"Is she going to die?" Jeremy voiced the question both the high schoolers wanted to ask.
Damon turned to the freezer and pulled out a handful of ice, pausing long enough to answer. "I don't know. She's not transitioning – at least not completely. That might be because she initially fed on me…or it could be another lovely side effect of her life as a doppleganger."
"Katherine drinks blood from a bag." Jeremy prompted.
"Does she? I've seen her hold one, but I've never seen her drink. She'd never be stupid enough to let us know about something she considers a weakness." Damon stuffed one final handful of ice in the bag and screwed the lid on top.
Matt looked guiltily at Damon. "How can we help Elena?"
Damon fixed his eyes on Matt's neck. "Find a willing volunteer."
Damon carried the ice bag and a towel into Elena's room. Matt followed closely behind, his heartbeat racing. Damon could have sworn that Matt's heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of Elena.
She looked small and defeated, like she'd committed an unforgivable crime. A single tear cascaded down her cheek. Even the ever-confident Caroline Forbes even seemed to be at a loss as to how to best help her friend.
Damon takes Caroline's place. "Elena. It's going to be okay. Right now, you're still getting used to being a vampire. Everything feels more extreme than it has before. We're all going to help you." As he caressed her cheek, he'd never been more aware of all the eyes on him. "You've tried. We all know that. But something's not right. Your body's fighting the transition. That's why you're still bleeding. You're a vampire - that cut should have healed by now." He didn't do good – at least not when anyone other than Elena could see him. "Elena, do you trust me?"
She nodded.
"Feed from me." Matt stepped forward, and Damon was amazed that he didn't show a hint of his original fear. Of course, the reason she needed Matt's blood right now was because she'd traded her life for his. He could stand to loose a few pints…every day….for the rest of his life.
"No. I can't." Elena shook her head in protest.
Caroline took hold of Elena's hand and squeezed. "Yes, you can. We promise. We won't let you hurt him. You need to do this."
Damon motioned for Matt to come closer before he helped Elena to her feet.
Matt reached out, just like he used to wrap her in a hug. Elena couldn't resist any longer. Her face changed, and her fangs pierced Matt's skin. She gave a contented sigh as the blood flowed into her mouth. Just as Caroline made a move to pull Elena off him, Elena's grip loosened from Matt's waist, and she pulled herself away.
So…now you've read my "pet theory." While I loved Stefan in the books, my dislike of his character has grown immensely as the seasons have progressed. Whether the writers are aware of it or not, I believe his character has crossed the lines of physical and emotional domestic abuse more than once.
I'm about to get "heavy" on you – if you want to stop here, that's completely fine with me. If you'd like to see why I think Stefan's behavior is abusive toward Elena – read on.
We've seen Stefan throw Elena to the wall in Miss Mystic Falls. He also fed her his blood and threatened to drive her off Wickery Bridge because he knew that would provide the correct emotional response from Elena that he needed Klaus to hear. In the S4 premiere, we watched as he verbally attacked her for going to Damon for help – even after she'd tried to tell him what was wrong. He reduced her to tears and then played the role of the "good guy" in public where their friends could see them. And finally, we had the interaction in the woods before Elena went on "feeding lessons" with Damon. Instead of supporting her attempts to learn to feed (since she can't use his preferred sources), he continually questioned her – until I think she questioned herself…and we saw that once she made eye contact with Bonnie. Elena was ripped out of the moment and her thoughts went back to the time she'd spent with Stefan that morning and the warning he'd given.
Just to back me up because it happens more often than any of us like to talk about or admit….I pulled the definition from an abuse hotline website -
Emotional abuse includes verbal abuse such as yelling, name-calling, blaming, and shaming. Isolation, intimidation, and controlling behavior also fall under emotional abuse. Additionally, abusers who use emotional or psychological abuse often throw in threats of physical violence or other repercussions if you don't do what they want.
Thanks for reading. Sorry for my soapbox moment. For some reason, this section of the plot this season has really troubled me.