Author's note: I hate to go all "lecture mode" on y'all, but I need to get a couple of things out of the way before I move on with the story.

First – I've gotten one review and several PMs "debating" the rating of this story with me because it lacks explicit sexual content. I don't consider any of my sex scenes graphic in any stories I've written (I write according to the "flow" of the story, sometimes it's fade to black - sometimes it's more detailed), so if that's the main reason you're following this story – I'm probably not the best author for you. When I rate a story, I take the content of the entire work into mind. This one does have multiple sex scenes, at least one character death, domestic violence, language, and "standard" violence. Combining those made it rated "M" in my head. I save my "teen" ratings for stories w/no graphic violence and only fade to black bedroom scenes.

Second – This story was planned out back in July. I believe my plot line is about to intersect the way the writers are telling their story. While I'm not intending to copy where at least one section of the show is going, I have changed character names just to keep is less confusing for my readers.

Ratings: Mature – violence, language, adult content, character death, Stefan, Bonnie

Elena closed the door with relief. After three hours of playing hostess while she could only focus on Dr. Shane's vaguely menacing words, she was more than ready for the evening to end. She'd been too nervous to even make an attempt at feeding, so now she was hungry, on edge, and annoyed – not a great combination for a new vampire.

Damon stood behind her, leaning casually against the wall. "So, let's go see what was so important that he had to sneak into a dinner party." He offered her his arm, and when she didn't take it, he reached for her arm and placed her hand atop his elbow.

Dr. Shane sat on the couch in the middle of the library, flanked by Jeremy on one side while Matt stood behind him. Caroline stood with her back to the fireplace, Tyler mirrored her posture on the left hand side. To say the mood in the room was tense was putting it mildly. A shiver ran down Elena's side as she and Damon entered the room. Damon placed a hand in the small of her back as they took their places just inside the doorway. "You've been wanting to meet me?" Elena prompted, staring at the middle-aged man.

"For a very long time." Dr. Shane made a move to stand but thought better of it when every other person in the room leaned in his direction. "Forgive me." He nodded and settled back in his seat. "I feel like I know you already."

"You've met Katherine." Elena decided to stop beating around the bush. A professor who specialized in the occult likely already knew about her unique lineage.

"Not personally." He sat back and studied the many faces around him. "I was a good friend of your mother."

"I'm pretty sure that Mom never mentioned you." Jeremy seemed ready to toss their uninvited guest out on his ear. His foot bounced with impatience across his knee.

Dr. Shane smiled and shook his head. "I'm certain that Miranda was a lovely person, but I'm speaking of Isobel." He cast a pointed look in Elena's direction, waiting for her to fully understand the weight of his words. "We were colleagues as well as confidents. I knew her secret, and she knew mine."

"You have a secret? Do tell." Damon took a menacing step in the professor's direction.

"All in due time." He grinned with the satisfaction that he knew something that they needed to know, then his face turned sad. "I'm sorry to see that Isobel's greatest fears have come true." Before he could be misunderstood, he continued on. "Perhaps I should explain myself." He flinched under the weight of Damon's glare.

"That would be a very good idea."

"I first met Isobel when she'd just arrived back on campus after a brief sabbatical. She'd had the reputation of being a brilliant teacher, but I found her distracted…preoccupied. She allowed her graduate student to lead all her classes while she locked herself away perusing aged texts. One day I entered her office to find her crying at her desk." His brown eyes fixed on Elena's face. "She was looking at a photograph of you." He shook his head. "It wasn't really you, of course. It might have just as easily have been, though. Taken on the streets of Atlanta in 1859, the woman in the picture looked almost exactly like the photograph of the teenaged cheerleader she kept on her desk." He shifted forward in his seat and grinned at Elena. "In my line of work, the concept of a doppleganger was spoken of in whispers…..but I knew what I saw in front of me."

He leaned up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Isobel was distraught. She'd never known her family's history – not until she met Jonathon Gilbert, and by the time he shared it with her, it was already too late. She was already pregnant with you – half Hunter, half Petrova – your fate was sealed the moment you were conceived. Now, if my suspicions are correct, the blood of the originals runs in your veins as well."

"What?" Matt scratched his head and looked around the room in confusion. "You lost me back on half-hunter."

"Perhaps this would be better if it were shared with a more…intimate gathering." Dr. Shane looked pointedly at Tyler.

"I trust everyone in this room." Elena crossed her arms in front of her to reinforce the idea that no one was leaving.

He nodded and gave a dismissive wave of his hands.

"There's a reason the witches have always kept such close track of certain bloodlines – the Petrovas for obvious reasons, the Hunters – represented today by the Gilbert family, those witches that you refer to as the Bennett line, and those descended from the Originals."

"But all the Originals were vampires. None of them had any children." Caroline turned to face the professor.

"Didn't they?" Dr. Shane seemed amused at the idea. "Not in this world, perhaps, but before they left the old country, Elijah most definitely had a child. Unfortunately, the mother was a peasant, and Mikael wasn't fond of her. When she died in childbirth, not uncommon at the time….and the child was given to a group of young women pledged to take in the orphans. They called themselves the Saviors. The last name changed a bit through the ages."

"Salvatore." For one of the first times since she'd met him, Damon appeared afraid.

"Exactly." Dr. Shane smiled widely. "And now that the three lines are unified in one….she's the key to unlocking Silas' tomb."

"Silas is just a legend." Damon shook his head but reached for Elena's hand at the same time.

"Is he?" Dr. Shane's lip turned up at the corner. "Most would say the same about dopplegangers, werewolves, vampires – almost everyone in this room to be exact."

"What can we do?" Damon's voice was hoarse with emotion.

"Nothing." Dr. Shane shook his head sadly. "Isobel never meant to condemn you to this. That's one reason she chose to turn – to try to protect you. I've been searching for you for years, hoping to find you in time. I never believed she'd hide you here of all places. The Hunters have already sensed her presence, even though they don't know what they're looking for. They'll figure it out soon enough."

"But why?" Jeremy stared at Elena rather than the man sitting next to him on the couch.

"Unlocking Silas' tomb will give them the ability to cure the world of its vampire problem." Dr. Shane's voice was solemn as his eyes travelled down Elena's arm and fixed on her fingers interlocked with Damon's.

Caroline cocked her head to the side and crinkled her forehead. "There's a cure?"

"Silas was so angry that his daughter Tatia was used to create the vampires in the first place that he used his special abilities to create a spell that would cure all the supernatural creatures in existence. " Dr. Shane let out a long breath. "Death."

"Well, that's one way to break up a party." Damon loaded the last of the plates in the dishwasher. He stared at Elena with concern. Even after finding two suitable snacks for her, the color hadn't returned to her cheeks from before the party started. She tried to look relaxed as she leaned an elbow on the marble countertop, but she was failing miserably. "You know he's probably nuts, right?"

"But he knew Isobel." Elena bit down on her lip as her knuckles whitened and gripped counter in front of her. She closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her free hand.

Damon looked around at the various trays of leftovers arrayed throughout the kitchen. "Why don't you go somewhere else?" He crossed the room and placed his hand on the back of hers that gripped the marble so tightly it was as if it were the only thing keeping her anchored to the ground.

Elena shook her head and stood stiffly. "No. I don't want to leave you with all this on your own." She nodded in the direction of the pots and pans.

Damon smirked. She still wasn't used to a vampire's full speed. "Go in on the couch. I'll be there in five minutes." He gave her a look that suggested he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Five minutes turned into ten. He'd forgotten that Caroline had insisted they use the real crystal glasses. He had to be careful with those. They were some of the only things that survived the original Salvatore house burning down during the hunt for Stefan.

He draped the damp dishtowel over the handle of the oven and slowly walked out of the kitchen, curious to discover what kept Elena so entranced that she hadn't noticed it had taken him twice as long as he'd estimated. He had to admit, that part of him was preoccupied with thoughts of Dr. Shane's story.

He'd heard of Silas before. Once, years ago, when he happened upon a group of centuries-old vampires travelling across the European countryside, one of them drunkenly started spouting off warnings that if they left a mess, Silas would come find them. The story seemed like something you'd tell disobedient children, so he hadn't given it a second thought…until tonight. When Dr. Shane stared at Elena, he couldn't ignore the sense of foreboding that crept into the room.

Everything else centered on her – why not one more ancient curse?

If hunters were being drawn to Mystic Falls, that would explain the dead werewolves and hybrids as well. It was just a matter of time before one of their friends met the wrong end of a hunter's stake. They'd have to do something to stop it before anyone else got hurt.

Especially the person now…sleeping in front of the fireplace. He'd expected to find her pacing, worrying, texting someone – not softly snoring while leaning her head against her favorite throw blanket. Dr. Shane's words were menacing, but right now he was just as anxious to find out why Elena still wasn't transitioning normally. He should never have been able to sneak up on her, and he definitely shouldn't have been able to scoop her into his arms and carry her upstairs to their bed.

Elena's eyes slowly drifted open as Damon lazily trailed a finger down her cheek. "I thought you were out for the night." He cupped his hand over her cheek and rubbed her jaw with his thumb.

"Sorry." She blinked in confusion. "How did I get here?"

"You were really out cold." He kissed her forehead. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that she was running a temperature. "Are you feeling alright?"

Elena nodded but didn't speak. Tears pooled at the corner of her eyes.

"Hey." He lifted the sheets and blankets and smoothed them on top of himself and Elena. Pulling her into his side, he held her tightly. "Don't let what that idiot said bother you."

"But you'd heard of Silas." Elena's lip trembled as she spoke.

Damon gave a grim nod. "I have, but it was a long time ago. Dr. Shane may have simply heard the same legend."

"Or he could be telling the truth…like the legend of the sun and the moon."

"That one didn't exactly do what the Originals said it did." Damon peeled the hem of Elena's blouse out from the waistband of her skirt. As he slid his hand over her bare skin, she slid closer against his side. Even when she wanted to be worried about something else, he knew exactly the right places to touch to get his desired response.

"You're trying to distract me." Elena only looked halfway annoyed as he nipped at her earlobe.

"Is it working?" Damon slid his hand lower and discovered he wasn't the only one who'd prepared a surprise for after the party. "No panties. Miss Gilbert, what's come over you?"

"You have." Elena was already working on removing his belt when he gripped her hand to still it.

"Patience." Damon rolled her onto her back and tugged her skirt over her hips. "You've had a hard night." The skirt hit the floor and was soon joined by its coordinating sweater. The plunging neckline had been teasing him all night, and he'd been counting the minutes until he could get it off. Now he stared down at her black lace bra. He made quick work of the front closure, and soon her breasts were free for his enjoyment. Elena reached for his shirt, and he sat up. Elena groaned at the loss of his lips' attention to her nipple. "Right now, this is about you." He gave her a lustful grin. "You had a nap. We have plenty of time."

"But…." Elena palmed his erection through his pants.

"You're not changing my mind that easily." He lowered himself back to the bed before she was successful in her attempt. With his mouth covering her breast, his hand drifted slowly over the rest of her skin, finally coming to rest at the juncture of her thighs.

He gently pushed her legs apart and slid his fingertips over her most sensitive skin. He loved the sound she made every time he gave attention to her most private area. She might have been bothered by Dr. Shane's words earlier, but it didn't take much effort for Damon to make her remember what they'd almost been doing before Caroline interrupted them so rudely.

Elena's back arced as her hips moved in time with his hand. "Damon." The intense look in her eyes caught his attention. "You have no idea how much I love you."

His fingers continued their gentle massage as her gaze burned into his. "Yes I do." Her body trembled beneath him, and he attacked her lips with his own. "Because it's how much I love you."

Yep, this story keeps on coming in threes...so I hope you'll excuse the brevity of this chapter. Three chapters in three days from me...not too shabby.

I'll be answering reviews tonight.

For my American friends - I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

For all my readers, y'all are truly one of the things I'm thankful for this year. Thanks so much for your continued support. I love hearing from all of you.

Thanks a million!

D'Ann