Author's Note: thank you to all the people that reviewed! You guys are awesome. I threw up another chapter for you, I hope you like it and please review and tell me what you think!

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Chapter 17: The Fight

Mystic Falls 1864

The table was silent as Giuseppe his sons, daughter and Katherine ate. It was clear that the air was tense.

"Thank you for inviting me to stay, Mr. Salvatore." Katherine showed her appreciation politely.

Giuseppe smiled. "You are quite welcome, Miss. Pierce. We are all happy to have you."

Katherine delicately placed her fork down. "And I am happy to be here." She locked eyes with Stefan over the table. "You have lovely gardens; perhaps your son would be kind enough to give me a tour?"

Lucia noticed as Katherine's eyes swung from Stefan to Damon. "Which one Miss. Katherine?" her voice was sweet and innocent but Giuseppe knew better.

"Lucia…" he scolded warningly. "I'm sure Stefan would be honored to show you around." He offered for him, completely disregarding Damon.

Damon looked down at his plate and tightened his jaw.

"Absolutely, Miss. Pierce." Stefan agreed happily.

"Please, call me Katherine." She said in a flirty tone.

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Damon escorted Lucia out to the garden, while Stefan escorted Katherine through the paths in front of them.

"She's interesting." Lucia commented, looking up at her brother.

"She is…only Father would not approve of my interest as he does Stefan's." Damon watched his brother with jealousy.

Lucia stopped walking and pulled him to a halt with her. "Father is a fool…he cares not of me or you or Stefan. He thinks only of his reputation and status. You should not take heed to what he says, I don't." Lucia laughed pulled up her skirts skipping her way through the path.

Damon caught up to Katherine and Stefan, and fell into step beside Katherine. "She's a free spirit." Katherine mused with a smile as they watched Lucia frolic by herself.

Damon smiled charmingly. "She takes after her older brother." His grin widened when she smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm sure she does." Her eyes flirted discreetly. Lucia ran back to join her brother's and Katherine. "Let you and me take a walk…just us girls." Lucia nodded and continued through the path with Katherine looking back once at the brothers.

Both boys were silent fro a while, watching the girls walk in front of them. "Father is planning her wedding to Franklin Fell." Stefan stated linking his hands behind his back.

Damon frowned at looked at him incredulously. "But he has barely courted her."

"That's of no concern to him."

"And do you agree?" Damon questioned angrily.

Stefan nodded. "Yes." When Damon scoffed and shook his head he continued. "She needs to learn that she cannot live with endless boundaries, Damon. She cannot stay a child forever!"

Damon rounded on his brother. "No, but she is still a child!" he hissed. "She shouldn't have to be subjected to the demands Franklin will make of her as his wife." He took a moment to calm himself. "She is our sister, Stefan."

Damon stormed back towards the house leaving Stefan standing there on his own.

"I was a lot like you when I was you're age." Katherine told Lucia gracing her with a small smile. "A free spirit; living by no rules but my own. Its fun isn't it?"

Lucia nodded. "I would much rather get my hands dirty than struggle to breathe in a corset." Both girls giggled.

"Me too." Katherine admitted honestly. "You know…there is a way out; a way to a whole other world." She proposed mischievously. Lucia looked at her with curiosity and interest. "Of course it would mean giving up all that's important to you." She said offhandedly.

"There's not much." Lucia admitted sadly.

"What of you brothers?" Katherine questioned, her brows furrowed.

"Well Damon of course…he's my best friend. But Stefan doesn't understand me at all. He means well but…" she trailed off on a sigh.

"Will you tell me about them?" Katherine asked linking her arm with Lucia's. She wanted to learn all she could about this family, and she wanted to keep up appearances as much as possible. She didn't much care for this heart to heart, but if it would get the girl to talk then she would deal…by all means necessary.

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The next morning Damon took Elena to school, saying that he and Lucia were gonna spend the day catching up, and he'd pick her up after school. Damon walked through the door after dropping her off and strolled into the kitchen to grab some blood.

Lucia was sitting on the corner part of the counter with a mug of blood in her hands. "Hope you don't mind, I helped myself." She smiled brightly. Damon grabbed a bag and drank straight out of the IV tube. "God Damon…it's not a cocktail."

He grinned around the tube, leaning against the island, looking at her.

"So Elena…" she trailed off taking a sip from the mug.

Damon rolled his eyes and tossed the empty blood bag in the sink. "I thought we dropped this."

"Only temporarily. She looks identical to Katherine…explain!" She flicked her bangs out of her eyes.

Damon crossed his arms and shrugged. "Elena is Katherine's doppelganger and a direct descendant…it's a thing." He said with a wave of his hand.

Lucia nodded. "Does she know about Katherine?" she bumped her heels against the lower cabinets.

"Yeah…They've met. Please stop doing that." He kept his eyes trained on her feet.

Lucia kept it up for a litter longer to piss him off. "They've met? That's crazy…how is she still alive?" she knew how dangerous Katherine was first hand.

"Self preservation. She needed help and so did we…we had a common enemy."

She nodded slowly taking another gulp of her blood, wiping the corner of her mouth. "Huh…and it's not because she looks like-"

Damon shook his head. "That's not why I'm with Elena. I was curious at first…but the truth is Stefan met her first." Damon said begrudgingly.

Lucia arched her brow high. "Wow. History really is repeating." She hopped off the counter finishing the blood before putting it in the sink.

"Except I got the girl in the end." Damon grinned.

She leaned by the sink across from him. "But isn't it weird? I mean they look exactly-"

"No." Damon stated strongly. "They are completely different. Elena is sweet and loving and selfless. She's nothing like Katherine, even on her bad days." He chuckled in memory of the time Elena would stand off with him in a heated debate.

His sister smiled fondly. She dug around in her purse briefly, pulling out a pack of smokes. She lit one quickly; ignoring Damon's scrunched up face and wave of his hand. "Look at you." She exhaled a stream of grey smoke. "All hung up on this girl. She must be good in bed." she took a puff and laughed at him with her eyes.

Damon faked a laugh. "Yes, but I fell in love with her long before that." His face turned serious. "She understands me, Lucia. She knows how to get around the walls I put up after Katherine. She believes in me."

Lucia looked hard at him. "Who are you? I mean, I'm not complaining but I've never see you like this…even when you were human." It was like looking at the same person she always knew, but someone else was talking. It was crazy.

Damon shrugged and avoided her eyes out of nervousness. "People change."

Lucia scoffed and took a drag. "Yeah…a hundred and fifty years later."

"Why do you smoke those things…they're nasty." Damon's lip curled up.

Lucia shrugged. "Um, well first of all…they're not gonna kill me, I'm already dead, and two it helps with the cravings. I'm not used to staying in a small town like this where people would notice a body or two. I gotta keep to the bagged stuff while I'm here and I needed a vice…so sue me." She took another long drag before putting it out in the sink. "So why isn't Stefan here?"

Damon headed for the parlor and Lucia grabbed her purse and followed behind him. "Long story short: Elena broke up with him, he went crazy and started drinking human blood-which you know is not a part of his daily diet-killed someone then left town to try and 'find himself'. Elena's been staying here, might be weird for him." He grabbed himself a glass and noticed his scotch decanter was nearly empty. "Well that sucks." He pouted a little in disappointment.

Lucia nodded. "Yes it does…I say we grab a drink somewhere. I wanna have a little fun!"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Of course you do…but you can't have too much fun." He told her seriously.

She crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "And why not? Last time I check I was old enough to make my own decisions."

Damon stepped closer and placed his hands on her shoulders. "The Council is still around and they've got half the town wearing or ingesting vervain. Being careless could mean exposing yourself and getting a stake through the heart." He poked her lightly in the chest.

She sighed in understanding. "How do they not suspect you? How do you and Stefan blend in here?" They walked out the door towards Damon's car.

"I'm in the Council, just to keep up appearances and to get a heads up with what their plans are and Stefan enrolled in high school…again." Damon peeled out of the driveway and headed towards town.

"Figures." She scoffed. It wasn't long before they were outside the Grill. Damon opened the door and a dark haired guy bumped into him on his way out. It seemed a little forced and Damon looked back at the tall guy walking out to the parking lot. "Drop it, Damon…" she warned him. "No need to get all macho and prove yourself. You'd win and he'd be weeping like a baby." Lucia's voice carried a bored inflection. She was used to talking him down. They headed straight to the bar and sat down. "Vodka martini straight up."

The bartender looked at her in disbelief as he wiped his hands on a towel. "Sorry sweetie can't serve you that. How bout a Shirley temple?" he laughed out.

Damon smirked when Lucia leaned across the bar a little. "I said a Vodka martini straight up." Her eyes caught his, and she smiled when he nodded.

"You got it." He grinned and moved quickly getting her drink ready.

Damon ordered a scotch as usual and when she got her drink she sipped it slowly. "So I missed a lot huh?"

"Yeah and I didn't even tell you about Klaus and the Originals yet." He grinned tightly when her eyes bugged out and she put her glass down.

"Wait, Klaus? As in the Urban Legend?" she asked in uncertainty.

Damon nodded, and took a sip. "Yeah he's real…and rotting away in the tomb under Fell's church." He waggled his brows.

Lucia's mouth hung open her lips playing a small smile. "No. Fucking. Way…"

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Elena sat at a picnic table in the courtyard with Bonnie, telling her about Damon's sister. "She's really nice, Bonnie…and her and Damon are so close. He seemed so excited to see her." Bonnie looked past her to see Damon sauntering over. Bonnie nodded behind her, and Elena turned around and smiled and she stood up.

Bonnie smiled tightly at him. "I'm gonna go…I'll see you later Elena." She felt a little uncomfortable around Damon after his drunken admission.

Elena nodded, and met Damon halfway, appraising his attire. He wore his black jeans, tight black t shirt, and a pair of aviator shades covering his eyes. "Hey." She leaned up to kiss him. "I thought you were spending the day with Lucia."

Damon sighed. "Yeah she ditched me…let's go." He grabbed Elena's hand and tried to lead her to the parking lot.

Elena laughed and pulled away. "What? Damon I still have three more classes."

Damon turned back to her and pulled down his shades so she could see his eyes. "So? There are so many more interesting things we can do." He wagged his brows with a sly grin.

Elena narrowed her gaze and smirked. "Don't tempt me. I can't afford to take anymore time off school." She wanted to skip and spend the rest of the day with him, but she was already failing a couple of classes.

Damon furrowed his brow and placed his hands on either side of her neck. "Elena…I'm not asking you to miss school…I'm telling you to." He informed her firmly.

Elena gave him a look of concern and spoke quietly. "Is something wrong? What happened?"

Damon rolled his eyes and pulled away to cross his arms. "Nothing happened…there's no reason to be so dramatic. God, why is everything so doom and gloom with you?" he asked harshly.

Elena glared at him. "Um I don't know, maybe because that's all I've known since you and Stefan barged into my life!" she barked back. She knew it was only a matter of time before they would have their first fight…it's what they were best at.

Damon ran a hand over his face and groaned in annoyance. "I don't need this right now, Elena. We're going?" He grabbed her arm and pulled, and she nearly fell off her feet.

"Damon! Let go of me…you're making a scene." She hissed trying to pull herself out of his grasp.

Damon turned around to stare her down with his ice blue orbs. "And I'll make an even bigger one if you don't shut your mouth." He muttered darkly.

Elena looked at him in disbelief and a little fear. "What's wrong with you? Are you hearing yourself?" she continued to struggle but he didn't let go.

Damon smiled softly, and ran a hand down her cheek. "Nothing's wrong with me babe. It's you that's wrong." He whispered in her ear.

"Damon!" Alaric stormed over with an angry look on his face. A bunch of people were watching the scene unfolding before them. Once Ric reached them he got in Damon's face. "Let her go."

Damon smirked. "Or what?"

"Or I'll stake you." He stated confidently.

Damon blinked a couple of times, not affected by Alaric's threat. "I'd kill you before you could do that." He replied cockily.

"Then I'd come back and try again. I've been cutting you a break because Elena asked me to, but I'm not afraid to end your existence if I have to." The two men continued to stare each other down, while Elena looked between them, afraid of what was going to happen.

Damon swung his eyes down to Elena giving her a tight smile. "Elena…we'll talk later." He kissed her forehead and walked away leaving Elena there starting at him in confusion.

Alaric turned her to look at him and searched her face. "Are you okay?"

She blinked a couple of times, before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Something's wrong." She looked in the direction Damon headed in but saw that he was gone.

Alaric scoffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah in his head! Why would Damon do that?"

Elena shook her head. "That wasn't Damon."

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Caroline headed to her car after school let out, and saw Stefan leaning against her car. She smiled and walked over to him. "Hey!"

"Hey…I was wondering if you wanted to continue our sparring match." He opened the door for her politely.

"Yeah! Get in." Stefan got in the passenger seat and Caroline drove them to the entrance of the woods, and ran from there.

They ran and weaved through the trees, trading blows and jabs. Caroline pinned him to a tree but he quickly flipped them. "You're getting good." Stefan complimented with a smile.

"Thanks." She rasped nervously. Stefan's face was inches from her. She didn't know what he was thinking as he looked at her but she was going to find out. "Okay, so what is this?" Stefan's brow furrowed briefly before smoothing out. "Are the lessons really just lessons because we're having fun and then all of a sudden I'm pinned under you and you give me those eyes, and then you kissed me and I'm a little confused about what you what-" she rambled not exactly meeting his eyes.

"Caroline." He stopped her gracing her with a smile. "I'm sorry if I'm not being clear. I like you…I enjoy your company. And the lessons are lessons, but also an excuse to see you." He confirmed shyly.

The blonde smiled sweetly. "You don't need an excuse, you know."

Stefan nodded, and leaned in closer to her. "I know." His kissed her tenderly weaving his hand in her hair, as Caroline melted against him.

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Author's Note: I hope you like that chapter, I love writing flashbacks, more to come by the way in the next chapter. I hope everyone is okay with the Stefan/Caroline pair up because yes it is happening. So did anyone buy that stunt that Damon pulled? What's up with him? Next chapter will disclose it, I promise!