Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.
Author's Notes: Someone commented that I had spelled Stefan's name 'Stephen.' I would like to say that I did realize that I had spelled his name differently, and it was only after I went back to the books that I realized that the spelling was different. Sorry about that. I'm going to keep spelling it 'Stephen' seeing as it's a bit too late to change it. Hope it doesn't bother anyone too much!
Chapter 11: Confrontations
Damon and Stephen sat in the sitting room, discussing the next steps that they would take to deal with Katherine when there was a knock at the door. Stephen stood up to open the door. Surprised to see Elena standing there, he said, "Elena, I thought you were still at the hospital."
Not waiting for Stephen to invite her in, Elena walked through the door. "Dani came and told me to get some rest. I came here because Aunt Jenna is asleep at the apartment and I didn't want to disturb her. Is it OK if I stay here for a few hours?"
Stephen nodded, noticing the dark circles under Elena's eyes and her slumped form. He led her to the staircase only to be intercepted by Damon.
"Now's not the time Damon. Elena needs some sleep."
"Yeah yeah, I know." Shifting his eyes to Elena's face, he asked, "You said that Dani came to the hospital?"
Elena nodded.
Damon grunted. He had slipped some vervain into her pocket that morning, but he was still worried for her safety. With Katherine out and about town, there was no telling what she'd do. Dani did promise to call every thirty minutes to say that she was safe. She had called him right after she left Jenna's and he was waiting for her second call, which should be in a few minutes.
Damon moved away from the staircase, letting Elena pass. As she started up, he said over his shoulder, "Remember Elena, Stephen's room is to the left. If you happen to find your way into my bed…well, I won't blame you for that." He smirked.
Stephen punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll be up in a while Elena. Just make yourself comfortable."
After Elena had gone up the stairs, Stephen turned to Damon. "Dani's supposed to call soon right?"
Damon nodded and they both went to sit down again, waiting for Dani's call. The call never came though. Damon got more anxious and impatient as the minutes ticked by. After forty-three minutes, Damon got and went to get the phone. Dialing Dani's cell phone number, he waited for her to pick up.
After what seemed like forever, she picked up. Not giving her the chance to say anything, Damon said, "What the hell have you been doing? You said that you'd call me every half hour, and here I am nearly an hour later, and you still haven't called! This isn't the time to be forgetting about your own safety Dani! Gods, we can't take any chanced now that Katherine is-"
"Now that I'm what Damon?"
If Damon's heart was still functioning, it would have stopped just then. An overbearing wave of fear gripped his body, turning his already cool blood into ice. He didn't notice Stephen turning to him, having heard Katherine voice on the phone instead of Dani's with his heightened hearing.
"What have you done with her?"
"Tsk tsk Damon. A hundred and forty-five years and I don't even get a 'Hey Katherine, how have you been all this time?' Very rude, but then again, you were never one to follow the rules of society. That's what I love about you Damon."
Damon growled deep in his throat. "What. Did. You. Do. With. Dani."
"She's safe. For now that is. My friend David Zenna is looking after her at the moment. You remember him right?"
Damon swore. He should have suspected that Zenna had vampire blood in his system when Dani killed him. He had just been too concerned with Dani to check.
"What do you want Katherine?"
"Just you."
"What do you want me to do then?"
"I want you to come to the old bridge. You're brother should be familiar with it, since it is where he saved that carbon copy of mine from drowning. I want you to come alone, at ten o'clock, and if you don't, then I'm going to rip off that woman's pretty little head off so that there's no chance to revive her. Understand?"
"Yes," Damon said grudgingly.
"Good. See you tonight then." There was the sound of a click and the line went dead.
Damon stood there for a moment, the phone clutched in his hand. Stephen walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "What do we do now?"
Damon turned to Stephen. Stephen gasped and took a step back. Damon's face had contorted into a snarl with his fangs extending over his lower lip and the veins in his face popping out hideously in fury. The worst of it was his eyes. They had turned pitch black in his anger, the white's non-existent.
"Damon…"
"First off, dear brother, 'we' are not doing anything. I'm handling this bitch myself. It's time that she learned that if you screw around with Damon Salvatore, you end up dead."
Smiling, Stephen felt his own fangs lengthen in excitement. "So what's next?"
Damon smirked.
Dani sat on the railing of the old Mystic Falls Bridge, the one that hung over Fell River. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at the dark rush of water below her. The bottom of the river had to be at least ten feet under, and with the heavy chains around her wrists and ankles, she wouldn't have a chance in hell if she dropped over. The gag in her mouth would also make it hard for her.
She looked over the woman Katherine. They had arrived an hour ago and Katherine had been standing at the opening of the bridge for the entire time they had been there, just staring out into the darkness. Zenna was nearer Dani, more in the middle of the bridge, waiting for Katherine to tell him to push Dani into the river. The little devil would be glad to do it too.
Ever since her capture, Zenna had been looking at her with a frightening look of hunger in his eyes. It was hunger for her death. Dani knew that Zenna would like nothing more than to rip off her head and drink her blood until her body ran dry, but thankfully, Katherine had a firm hand on his leash. He wouldn't do anything to Dani until Katherine said to.
Dani hoped that Damon wouldn't come for her. She knew that if he did, they both had a very good chance of dying that night. She felt tears run down her face as she thought about her impending death. No matter what Katherine had promised to Damon, she knew that Katherine would have her killed.
She saw Zenna suddenly perk up, his head swiveling in Katherine's direction. Dani turned her head to look out into the dark woods as well, a part of her hoping that Damon was indeed coming while another part of her screamed for him to stay away.
She sobbed through her gag as she watched Damon emerge from the shadows.
Damon walked along the side of the dirt road, his eyes, now the color of ice blue, stayed on Katherine as he slowly approached.
"Damon," Katherine smiled, "I'm so happy that you made it. I'm sure that your little friend over there is very happy to see you as well." She gestured behind her.
Damon glanced over Katherine's shoulder to see Dani sitting precariously on the edge of the railing over the river. He took note of the chains around her wrists and ankles, and the gag in her mouth. He also noticed the tear tracks that ran over her cheeks. Not trusting himself to look at her any longer, he focused on Katherine.
Gods, she looked exactly like Elena. There were differences between them however, he could see that now. Katherine's eyes were colder, her mouth thin with contempt and arrogance, her body rigid and still. Elena was so much more open and warmer than Katherine. He felt like a fool, not being able to spot the differences when it had counted.
Katherine smiled and held her arms open. "Don't I get a welcome Damon? After so long, I think I deserve a hug."
Damon stepped closer, his arms going around Katherine's waist. Katherine's arm went around his shoulder's, holding him tightly to her.
"It's good to feel you so close again Damon. It's been too long."
"That wasn't exactly my fault."
Katherine pulled back, pouting up at Damon. "I am sorry about that Damon, I really am. I just thought that you were dead this whole time. I was there when you were shot you know."
"Anna said that you've known about me since the 20's Katherine."
"Yes, well, I was actually with someone at the time, so I really couldn't drop everything and leave now could I? You understand Damon, don't you?"
Damon looked down at the vampiress, his face expressionless. "Yes, I understand."
Flashing him a brilliant smile, Katherine continued, "Good. Then you also understand why the woman must die."
Narrowing his eyes, Damon said, "You told me that you'd let her go Katherine."
"Well, I didn't exactly say that, but if she lived, I'd just worry all the time about whether you'd go back to her and leave me all alone. I can't let that happen Damon. You belong to me."
Dani watched the exchange between Katherine and Damon. She stiffened when Katherine said that she was planning to kill her anyway. Dani knew that it would come to that, but it was still a shock to hear someone say it out loud.
Damon stayed silent for a moment, before looking over at Dani. "May I say goodbye then?"
Katherine made a show of thinking about Damon's request. She shrugged and motioned him forward. "I can't see the harm in it. Just don't take too long darling, we have a lot of catching up to do."
Damon nodded and walked to where Dani was sitting. He glared at Zenna as he passed. When he was close enough, he reached up and slipped the gag from Dani's mouth.
"Damon…"
He silenced her with a finger to her lips. Depending on what happened next, either both of them were going to die or they were both going to live. Since he couldn't think of anything to say to her, he decided to do something that he had been longing to do for a while. He leaned down and touched his lips gently to hers.
Dani gave a little whimper as Damon's mouth fell on hers. 'It isn't fair,' she thought. 'I wanted more time with you. I wanted to be with you. I wanted to love you.' As Damon's lips moved over hers, Dani couldn't help but respond. Their kiss wasn't one of passion or lust, no. Damon kissed her with such love and tenderness that Dani could feel her heart breaking. His hands went up to her face, cupping her cheeks gently, his thumbs running over her jaw line as he continued to kiss her.
She kissed Damon back, trying to convey her feelings for him within what brief moments they would have. She didn't close her eyes, and as brown met blue, they both saw their feelings reflected in the eyes of the other.
Dani brought her shackled hands up to grasp the front of his shirt, her mouth turning more desperate. Damon wrapped his arms around her, clutching her to him, their bodies melding together. Dani started to sob once again. She clung to Damon desperately, not wanting to let him go, yet knowing that this would be the last time she would ever be together with him.
Finally, they separated, their pants fogging in the cool night air. Dani lifted her hand to lightly touch Damon's chin. Her lip quivered as she whispered to him, "I love you."
Damon took her smaller hand in his and lightly kissed her fingertips. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of clapping. He looked over at Katherine, his eyes shadowed.
"That was quite the show Damon, but it really is time to be going now. I'll have Zenna take care of the woman while we retire to somewhere more…hospitable."
Damon looked once more down at Dani. He gently kissed her forehead and stepped away from her. He looked over at Katherine. "I don't think so."
He watched as Katherine lost her smile. Her eyes grew dangerous and hard. "What?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you Katherine. You left me alone for a century and a half, and you expect me to just fall back into your arms like some five dollar whore? You actually expect me to forget everything and just take you back? Are you an idiot?"
The veins around Katherine's eyes bulged. "Careful what you say Damon. I might be persuaded to let you and the woman be together, if only in death."
"You know Katherine, you're so pathetic. I can't believe that I actually thought I was in love with you! Ha, what a joke. Now I see you for what you really are, and that's a dried up old tea bag that lost her flavor a very long time ago. It's time for a new flavor honey, so I don't think that it's going to work out between us."
Damon didn't see Katherine coming. Before he knew it, he was suspended up in the air with Katherine's hand around his neck.
"You are not one to deny me anything Damon Salvatore!" she snarled. "I made you into what you are! You owe me your very existence and you are mine for all eternity! You live when I say live and you die when I say die! There is no where you can hide from me. You are mine."
Damon smirked and made a gargling sound deep in his throat that sounded like laughter. Confused, Katherine raised a brow in question. Her grip tightened on Damon's throat, cutting off his laughter.
"What the hell is so funny?"
Damon looked down at Katherine and gave her his trademark smirk, or tried to give his smirk as best as he could at the moment.
"Katherine?"
Katherine tilted her head, waiting for Damon to continue.
"See you in hell."
Eyes narrowing, Katherine wondered what Damon was up to. While she was pondering, she didn't take notice of the movement in the bushes to her right. She also didn't hear the sound of the firing air gun until it was too late.
The stake drove into her side, causing her to scream in rage and pain. It also caused her to drop Damon, which gave him enough time to pull out the sharpened wooden pencil he had in the inside pocket of his jacket. He drove it home into Katherine's heart, taking pleasure in the look of surprise and betrayal on her face.
Katherine reached out to him, her face a mask of anger and hate, but Damon just pushed her down to the ground, watching as the woman he had once loved died in agony. He was so busy watching Katherine die, he forgot about Zenna. It wasn't until Alaric cried out in warning from his hiding place in the bushes that Damon turned and saw that he was too late.
Dani was sure that she was going to die as Damon pulled away from her. At least she had gotten to see Damon one last time; at least she had gotten to see Damon…
She closed her eyes, waiting for Zenna to kill her when Damon's words caught her attention. He was making the Katherine woman mad by calling her pathetic and an idiot. It took a few seconds for Dani to realize that he wasn't going to leave her to die.
Her heart leapt into her chest when Katherine grabbed Damon by the neck and raised him up above her head. She struggled with her chains, wanting to help Damon in any way that she could, knowing at the same time that she couldn't do much.
As she struggled with her chains, she caught a shift in the shadows in the corner of her eye. A split second later, a wooden stake had embedded itself into Katherine's side. She didn't see Damon move, but all of a sudden, he had thrust a pencil into Katherine's chest.
She smiled, relieved to know that it was over. A cry from the bushes made her turn her head. David Zenna rushed at her in what seemed to be slow motion, a large knife in his hand. It didn't even register with her when he stabbed her in the heart.
She looked down at the handle of the knife, just sticking out of her chest as if it belonged there. Her eye sight was dimming in the corners as she looked over at Damon, who was just turning to look at her.
The last thing she saw before she fell over the edge of the bridge was Damon's expression of absolute horror.
