A/N: I'm not sure how much I can really apologize for not having more frequent updates. I have a feeling that it's going to be this way for a while. Summer is dawning and I am finding myself with far more plans than I anticipated having. So, I apologize again for this taking so long. I hope you're all still reading, just the same. You have all my love if you are.


Tied With Uncertainty
How do I end up this way, a constant knot in my gut, tied with uncertainty and with lust
A classic case I suppose, a haunted man,
Who can't outrun his ghosts, there in my skin and my bones

Constant Knot by City and Colour


Caroline had no idea what was going on. They had just gotten into the house and Matt was acting strangely. On their way home, he hadn't been able to keep his hands off of her, but she could tell that something was off. His heart just didn't seem into any of it. He had seemed hollow and devoid of the emotion that should be radiating from him during such passion. As soon as they were inside the house, he had completely changed. He had gotten pushy and angry, telling her that he didn't want to do anything to hurt her, but that he would if she didn't listen to him and stay put.

She didn't understand why Matt was acting this way, but she sent Elena the quick 911 text, knowing that she couldn't be here alone with him when he was acting this way. Matt had come back into the room and seen her sending the message. He snatched the phone away and read it, before throwing the cell to the ground and smashing it into a million pieces. The last thing Caroline remembered before everything went dark was Matt coming toward her with a massive knife in his hands as he mumbled something about 'any means necessary'. Then she fainted.

Now that she was conscious again, Caroline looked around the dimly lit area, slowly realizing that she was in her basement. The air was chilly and damp and the only illumination came from the single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Caroline tugged at her hands, hazily acknowledging that they were bound together behind her back and that there was a gag in her mouth to keep her from screaming.

That's when a certain shadow caught her attention in the dark. She felt herself panicking when the shadow began moving toward her. She fought the urge to faint again and whimpered quietly instead, eyes stinging with tears, a scream trapped in her lungs.


Elena swore under her breath as she released herself from Damon's embrace. She showed him the message. "This is why we were supposed to stay together."

Damon shrugged, which Elena decided was about as close to a look of remorse as she would ever get out of him. Elena rolled her eyes disapprovingly. "We need to help her," she said, stepping out of the dark corner. "You get Stefan, I'll get Bonnie."

Damon grimaced. "I'm not going anywhere." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

Elena took a hold of his arm. "Really Damon? This isn't the time to be childish."

Damon's eyes narrowed and seemed to darken. His angry thoughts ran rampant. Who did she think she was, telling him what to do and how to act? Grabbing him as if he couldn't snap any bone in her body in the blink of an eye if he wanted to? But he kept his cool and simply said, "What's in it for me?"

Elena scoffed. "This is serious. My friend is in real trouble here."

Damon simply shrugged again.

"Ugh!" Elena exclaimed and went off to find Stefan.


Bonnie could feel that something was wrong. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge and there was a palpable tension in the air that hadn't been there a moment ago. She didn't know how she knew that, but she was positive of it. She glanced around, spotting Stefan at the bar with a drink in his hand. Bonnie's brow furrowed involuntarily. That's when she caught sight of Elena- worry and panic written all over her face- heading straight for Stefan. Bonnie's eyes automatically went to where Caroline and Matt had been playing pool. But the table was empty, abandoned. She gulped. I have a bad feeling about this, she thought silently. But what she said aloud was "I'll be right back."

Eric smiled and nodded, his mouth full of the burger he was devouring. Bonnie was glad that he couldn't say anything at the moment to stop her. She was up and out of her chair, eyes intent on Elena and Stefan as she made her way to where they were. She noticed Stefan tense in his chair as Elena whispered feverishly in his ear.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked quickly when she joined them.

Elena frowned and Stefan looked paler than usual. "It's Caroline," Elena said. "Something's wrong. She sent me a 911 text." Elena sighed and ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "She left with Matt while I was on the phone with Jenna. I didn't know-"

"Do you know where they'd go?" Stefan asked, interrupting her, his face as intense as the tone of his question. "Did they say anything else?"

"No," Elena said quickly. And then, "Yes. Matt said something about having to take Caroline home."

"Good," Stefan nodded, a quick smile thrown in Elena's direction. He didn't want her to worry too much about having been able to change what had happened. He knew that Elena was one to feel guilty about things that were out of her control. His eyes were gentle as he placed a hand on her arm. But his voice was solid, resolute. "Then we'll go there."

"Just one problem, little brother," Damon piped up- appearing on the other side of Elena in a flash. "You-" he pointed at Stefan. "Haven't been invited in."

Bonnie's hands went to her face-covering it while she forced back tears. Elena looked at him with pleading eyes. "Damon, please."

He smirked, enjoying the fact that they needed him and that he could use it to his full advantage. "Under one condition."

"Name it," Elena and Bonnie said together, and then looked at each other. If the moment hadn't been so tense, they would have had a long giggle about it.

"Once this is all over, I get one favor from each of you."

"Absolutely not," Stefan exclaimed at the same time both girls said "Done."

Elena's eyes went to Stefan and her brow furrowed. Didn't he care about getting Caroline back? They didn't have a lot of time. Elena glanced down at the text message again. Only 3 minutes had passed since it was sent, so why did it feel like an eternity?

"Stefan, we don't have time for this," Elena chided. "It's one favor." She turned to Damon. "As long as it doesn't involve anything that is breaking the law… or any sort of kinky sex."

Damon crossed his arms over his chest. "No deal."

Bonnie took a step forward. "No killing. You can't ask your brother to drink blood. And there will be NO sex unless it's consensual."

Damon's eyes narrowed. "I can make you want anything, little witch." He smirked an evil smirk.

Elena put her hands up between the two of them. "We can work out the details later. Damon, you've got your deal. Please, go to Caroline's house, make sure she's okay. We'll meet you there." She turned to Bonnie. "We don't have time to argue. I'm sorry, you're going to have to say goodnight to your date. We can't split up any more."

Bonnie nodded. "I'll do whatever I can to help Care."

Elena smiled and nodded. "I know you will." And then she turned again. "Stefan," she said, "Get yourself some water or coffee or whatever. Meet me outside. I'll go get the car."

Everyone moved, except Damon who watched for a brief moment the way they all jumped into action. He mused, silently to himself, if this was what it was like to be a part of something good. The thought left his mind as quickly as it had fluttered in, and he disappeared.

Bonnie hurried back to the table where her date was waiting for her. She smiled and instead of sitting, picked up her purse and jacket. "I'm sorry to cut this short," she apologized, "Another mini-crisis. Only not so mini this time."

Eric's dark eyebrows pulled down in concern and confusion. "Is there anything I can do? Phone the police? Give you a lift home?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Thanks, I'm covered. I'll call you later?"

He nodded, pleased. "I look forward to it." He stood up, placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and watched her leave.

Bonnie hurried outside where she expected to meet up with Elena and Stefan. She anticipated seeing Stefan's car pulled up to the front of the Grille, idling and waiting for them, but it wasn't there. Stefan emerged from the restaurant just as a light drizzle began to fall. Bonnie looked at him anxiously. "Where'd you park? China?"

She knew it was just nerves and that she shouldn't be snapping at him. After all he was bound to be just as worried as she was, if not more, and it wasn't fair to act that way towards him. Stefan shook his head and pointed. His head was already feeling clearer and he knew the rest of the effects of the alcohol would be wearing off quickly.

"Over there," he stated, causing Bonnie to follow the direction of his outstretched arm. Sure enough, one row over and several cars up was Stefan's new BMW. Bonnie's feet reacted before her mind. She took off in a sprint, but Stefan still beat her there. The driver's side door was open, the keys in the ignition and the engine running. But Elena was nowhere to be seen.


Caroline whimpered and struggled again against her restraints. By this point, she realized what must have happened to Matt- sometime over the course of the evening a vampire must have gotten to him. Caroline knew what it was like being under their compulsion. Sometimes they made you forget- but sometimes they left you with the wretched memories of what they did to you while they controlled your body and mind. She felt the bile travel upwards from her stomach as memories of Damon biting her flooded her mind before she could stop them. Sometimes he had been gentle, but mostly it was raw, unbridled power that surged through him- turning his eyes black with bloodlust. Caroline pushed the memories back forcing herself to forget. But when she opened her eyes, the memory didn't fade- she could still see his bone-chilling ice-blue eyes staring at her from the darkness. She felt her breathing quicken along with her heart-rate- amazed at how vivid the hallucination was. She had never given her imagination much credit before.

"Is he upstairs?" Damon whispered to her. And she jumped, startled that her hallucination was speaking to her. Reality crashed in when he made his way to her side in the blink of an eye and began untying her. She scoffed, how dare he show up to save her again.

He had just released her feet when footsteps on the stairs stopped him. "Has he been compelled?" Caroline nodded. Damon swore and quickly darted into the shadows again.

Matt hurried down the stairs, the long knife still in his hands. "I'm really sorry about all this Care- you just wouldn't listen. I just have to keep you here til morning and then-"

Damon seized Matt by the shoulders, staring him in the eye, but before he could reverse the compulsion, Matt grabbed Damon's arm and flipped him, landing the vampire on his back. Damon was surprised by how much force had come from the human, and he knew that there was power in him that didn't belong there. Damon laid there on the ground for a moment, staring at the ceiling, absorbing the shock. He laughed. "Didn't see that one coming." He pushed off the floor and was at Matt's throat before Caroline could blink. "So tell me, quarterback, is it regular steroids, or vampire steroids?"

Matt pulled Damon's hands from his throat and then gripped him by the lapel of his leather jacket, shoving Damon against one of the support beams in the center of the room, causing it to crack. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Damon laughed again. "A vampire definitely revved you up right before he made pudding of your brain." Now it was Damon's turn to shove- he pushed Matt into the wall furthest from Caroline and finally kept eye contact long enough to reverse the compulsion. "Whatever that vampire told you to do, you are going to forget it right now, do you understand?" It took a few moments, but suddenly Matt relaxed in Damon's hold, every ounce of tension being released at once. Matt nodded.

Damon couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. It was nice knowing that the vampire who put the compulsion on Matt was still weak enough, new enough to not fully know what he was doing. Because Damon knew that his compulsion was going to stick. His compulsions were irreversible. But whatever vampire had done this to Matt had been sloppy and hadn't placed the thoughts deep enough into the football players mind to really make them stick. "Now listen to me, Matt. You are going to get in your car and go straight home. Tomorrow, when you wake up, all you will remember is that you took Caroline home, said goodnight and went home yourself. Do you understand?"

Matt nodded again. "I understand."

Damon spun Matt around and pointed him toward the stairs. To Caroline's surprise and relief, Matt disappeared up the stairs. She heard the front door close softly, then the sound of the engine revving to life in the driveway, and as the engine noise faded, Caroline found herself finally able to breathe again. Her face relaxed from a look of horror into something more akin to contempt and disgust. Damon ungagged her and began at the rope on her hands.

"When did you become one of Robin Hood's Merry Men?" she spat, pulling her hands around to look at her wrists as she held them gingerly.

He cocked a grin. "I don't work for free. I'm here strictly on business. My brother hasn't been invited in, so he got babysitting duty with the other two while I get to play hero."

"They didn't even come with you?"

Damon's brow ticked up at that. "They were supposed to meet me here."

Caroline stood up, moved to the window and tiptoed so that she could see out through the grime covered window and frowned. "Well, they didn't."

Damon could feel himself tense now. Something was wrong, it had to be. He could still see the look of panic when Elena had realized something that had happened to Caroline. She wouldn't have not come. Just then Damon's cell rang, startling both of them.

"Yeah?" Damon said, pressing it to his ear. He listened for a moment, face hardening and lips pressed into a thin line.

"What happened?" Caroline demanded.

Damon nodded once to the person on the phone. "I'll be right there."

He hung up, grabbing Caroline by the hand and leading her upstairs. "Stay here and don't let anyone in."

"What happened?" She demanded again.

He sighed, exasperated. He didn't want to be having the conversation with her. He wanted to be halfway back to the Grille by now. "This thing with Matt was just a diversion to split us up." A pause. "Someone took Elena."


Stefan had just hung up with his brother when his phone rang again. He glanced at the screen, surprised to see Elena's name flashing across as the incoming call. He answered quickly, frantic. "Elena, my god, you had us so worried. Please tell me you're alright."

The voice that answered on the other end was not Elena's. "I'm sorry. Elena can't come to the phone right now. She's a little…. tied up."

Stefan growled, deep and menacing. "Don't you dare touch her or I'll-"

"Now now," the voice on the other end chided. "Watch that temper Stefan. Wouldn't want you saying something you'll only regret later."

"What do you want?" Stefan asked, trying a different approach. "I'll do anything."

The voice seemed amused. "Good. I'm so glad we don't have to do this the hard way. You're smart for cooperating."

"But I have to know that she's alright first." Stefan said, looking as if he would crush the phone in his hand at any moment with as tightly as he was holding onto it. Bonnie could barely hear what the voice on the other end was saying, but she wished she hadn't heard any of it.

As if on cue, Elena's voice pierced through the phone. "STEFAN!" She screamed. "Please help me!" then her shrieks dissolved into sobs.

"Hopefully she'll still have some blood in her by the time you get here." And then the phone went dead.

"Get here?" Stefan yelled, frustrated. "Where is here?" He tried calling back, but the line just rang and rang before going to voicemail.

Bonnie was leaning against the car, fear for both of her friends overwhelming her. Now she was positive that what the vampires wanted was her. They wouldn't have gone through all of the trouble to get her friends away from her if they weren't going to use them as bargaining chips. She glanced over at Stefan just in time to see Damon appear at his side, demanding to know what was going on. Bonnie was standing just out of earshot to hear what they were saying. Her cell phone beeped in her hand. She opened the incoming text message that had come from Elena's phone, instantly wishing that she hadn't.

Fells church ruins. One hour. Be there alone, little witch, or your friend dies.

Bonnie gulped audibly and shut her phone, shoving it into her pocked. She had no idea how she was going to get away from Damon and Stefan with everything that was going on. And there was no way she could convince them to let her go alone.

Stefan came over to her then, not noticing the look on her face. "Bonnie, do you have somewhere safe you can go?"

She took a deep breath, trying to think quickly as to where the best place to go would be. Caroline's was the closest to the church ruins. Maybe she could make it there without raising suspicion from the boys. "I can go to Caroline's," she replied. "Probably best to stay together anyway."

Stefan nodded. "Good. Go there and we'll call you when we find Elena." His eyes were panicked still, but his voice remained calm.

"Where will you look for her?" Bonnie asked, making sure to keep too much curiosity from her voice. She didn't want them thinking she would try to follow them.

Stefan sighed. "We're going to start at that frat house from last night. Trace any scents we can find that went either here or to Elena's house."

Bonnie had no way of knowing if she would run into them in the woods or not. She hoped that the ruins were far enough away from that side of town that they wouldn't come looking that way. After all, it seemed as though the life of her best friend depended on her coming alone. "Be safe, Stefan." She said quietly.

"You too," he replied quickly. "Call if you hear anything from her."

Bonnie shifted her eyes away from his gaze. "I will," she answered. And then Bonnie took Stefan's keys from his outstretched hand, got into his car and drove straight to Caroline's house- almost.

Once Bonnie got onto Caroline's street, she took a shortcut onto the dirt road which led to the old church ruins. She sat in the idling car for several minutes, trying to think of what Grams would do. She knew Grams would always do anything for the ones that she loved. Bonnie slowly opened the door, glanced around the darkened forest for any sign of movement, and then cautiously made her way to the Fell's Church ruins.


A/N: Don't hate me for the cliffies? Please? I just had a hard time figuring out how to end this chapter, because there's going to be a lot going on soon. I'd love to know your thoughts, good or bad. Thanks lovelies.