Author's note: Nope, I don't own TVD. I wish I did, though. I'm sorry for the delay in posting. During the past 48 hours, my grandmother has been admitted to the hospital, and my son spent the day in the emergency room. Things have been less than ideal for writing (at least not writing well...)
Before we get started...there is NO Damon/Elena interaction in this chapter. They both have other issues they're dealing with. They will meet back up in chapter 5 (the last chapter in this story). I really believe it'll be worth the wait.
Rating: M - mild language, some mild adult content, violence
Wow, when I said reviews would make my fingers type faster, y'all truly put me to the test. I was blown away by the comments on the last chapter. Thanks so much! As I mentioned in a few of my replies, I was truly uncertain about that last chapter, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover so many of y'all enjoyed it. Thanks!
Elena scrubbed her teeth and glared at Jeremy as he joined her in the bathroom. He stood next to her and calmly ran his hairbrush through his dark hair. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. She picked up her glass, swished water in her mouth, and spat into the sink. "You could have at least told me I could go outside as long as you were with me."
"And risk you getting away from me?" He shook his head. "I wasn't getting blamed for that. I haven't been able to catch you since you were 10. Getting Stefan stuck in the tomb was one thing. If I lost you...Damon's already showed me he can get my ring off." Jeremy flexed his fingers in her direction.
"Hey guys, a little help down here?" Jenna's voice was muffled. She'd spent most of the morning scurrying around the house trying to ready everything for the author's arrival.
Elena flashed her brother one more annoyed glance as she jogged down the stairs. "Jenna? Where are you?" She could hear papers rustling, but she saw no sign of her aunt.
"Down here." Jenna's voice came from behind the door leading to the basement. A loud thud came from behind the door. Apparently, Jenna had discovered the issue with the door.
Pulling the door open, Elena peeked inside. Ever since she'd done a particularly good job of concealing herself during a game of hide and seek, leading to being locked in the darkened basement for almost three hours while her father dismantled the old doorknob, she'd been reluctant to cross the basement threshold.
"Oh, thanks." Jenna sighed in relief as she dropped an overflowing box onto the floor. "That door sticks."
"I remember. Jeremy, are you coming?" Elena stepped back and called up to the second floor.
"The author called this morning, and he's on his way. I forgot to get these boxes ready for him last night. Can you help me bring everything up?" Jenna clapped Jeremy on the shoulder. "You're just in time." She slid the box in front of the door, forcing it to stand open. "Let's not get locked in." Jenna turned and descended the stairwell, followed closely by Elena and Jeremy.
"When did all this stuff get in here?" Jeremy looked around in wonder. In the past, their parents had kept a few boxes with family mementos; but now the basement was filled with what seemed to be most of the records from Founder's Hall.
Elena peeked into a box of overflowing papers. "This wasn't here when I was down here last." The papers had the appearance of being hastily thrown into their containers. Some right side up, others face down. Photographs and various official records were jumbled together with yellowed pieces of parchment.
"I think your mom brought all this here when Founder's Hall was being remodeled. She said it was safer since she didn't want the contractors accidentally spilling paint on any of this. She just never had a chance to take it back." Jenna rifled through some of the papers while she attempted to separate boxes filled with Gilbert history from those belonging to the city of Mystic Falls. She unexpectedly burst out laughing. "When did you take this?"
Elena turned to see Jenna holding up an aged photograph. Without even waiting for her eyes to focus, Elena knew she wasn't the one in the picture. Katherine.
"I don't recognize the house." Jenna blinked at the picture and held it under the dim light.
Elena took the picture from her aunt's hand. "Umm." She tried to think of a story her aunt would believe. "I think it was during the field trip last year to Richmond. We went for that living history day." She studied the house in the background. She may never have seen that house before, but she recognized it from the stories she'd been told. Katherine was standing in the maze outside the Salvatore manor. "This must be Gilbert stuff." Elena picked up the box and placed it to the side before Jenna could see the next item on the stack - a picture of Elena. All annoyance with her brother forgotten for the moment, she tapped his arm as she nodded to the picture of herself. Whoever had been looking in this box last had been comparing the picture of Elena to the picture of Katherine.
The doorbell rang and Jenna shook her head and jogged up the stairs. "Of course, he's early."
"Elena?" She turned to see Jeremy holding a gray notebook. He thumbed through the pages, revealing a barely legible scrawl mixed with assorted sketches. "This shouldn't be here."
"What is it?" Her annoyance with her brother was overcome by her curiosity.
"One of Jonathan Gilbert's journals." He hastily slid it into his pocket. "Uncle John said they were all locked up. What's this one doing here?" He looked at Katherine's picture in his sister's hand. "Especially combined with that..."
Elena suddenly had the feeling that there was much more going on here than even she was aware of. Before she could answer, though, Jenna yelled into the basement, "Hey you two, we could use some help loading his car."
Jeremy picked up the last of the boxes Jenna had placed in the section intended for the historian. "Can I trust you?" He looked accusingly at Elena.
"I'll stay with you. I promise." She followed him up the stairs and stooped to pick up a medium sized box.
"I do appreciate your assistance. I assure you, I'll return everything as soon as possible."
Elena recognized his voice before she saw his face. She stumbled and dropped the box, spilling its contents in the hallway.
"Please, let me help." Elijah locked eyes with Elena. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself carrying such a heavy box, now would you?"
Damon came down the stairs to find Rose in the exact place he'd left her the night before. After taking a shower and changing clothes, she'd settled on the edge of the couch and stared into the fire. She didn't appear to have moved at all throughout the night. He tilted his head to the side and stepped into her line of sight. "How are you feeling?" She'd been on the verge of hysterics when she arrived. Once she realized her death didn't seem to be upon her, she'd calmed down and allowed Damon to study her wound.
Rose slowly rotated her shoulder. "Fine. I think. It's a little stiff." She peeled back her robe and cringed. While the bite itself appeared to be gone, it left a section of blistered skin in its place. "Well, that's lovely." She pulled her collar back up and sat back on the couch. "I'm sorry, Damon."
Damon sat on the other end of the couch. "That a werewolf bit you? Somehow, I don't think that was planned."
"Not that." Rose stared at the floor. "For running away. When I saw Elijah...I'd been running for so long. I panicked. I never meant to run. I told you that I'd help you protect Elena, and I meant it." She tried to shrug but ended up wincing in pain. "That's why I came back. Running into a werewolf in the woods wasn't exactly part of the plan." She rolled her eyes. "Real werewolves...Slater would have loved this place."
Damon clasped his hands in front of himself, realizing just how much she'd lost in such a short period of time. Of course, she'd brought most of it on herself. If she hadn't kidnapped Elena to give him to Elijah, Trevor would still be at her side. "You stay here. I'll go get you something to drink."
School had passed in a blur. Jenna asked Elena how much homework she had, but Elena wasn't even sure. More than one teacher had commented on her lack of focus in class. She'd be lucky if Jenna didn't have a phone call from one of them before the night was over.
The doorbell rang and Elena jumped - knocking over a glass filled with ice water.
"Elena, are you feeling okay?" Jenna looked skeptically at Elena as she walked to the front door.
"I'm fine." Of course the vampire wouldn't decide to arrive via the front door. If she was going to survive the night, she had to calm down. She scooped the ice into a dishtowel and dropped it into the sink. She let out a sigh of relief as she heard Alaric's voice. Looking down, she realized her shirt was soaked. "Um, Jenna, I'll be right back down."
Jenna pulled away from Alaric's embrace and glanced at her niece - the large discolored area from the spill making Elena's trip upstairs understandable.
Elena tried to steady her nerves as she ascended the stairs. She already had a good idea of what would be waiting for her. Pushing the door open, she felt her hands begin to tremble in fear as she once again came face to face with the most powerful vampire she'd ever met.
"You're afraid." He crossed the room in a flash and closed the door behind her. "But you're not surprised."
"I've actually gotten used to finding vampires in my bedroom."
Elijah chuckled in honest amusement. "You are so like her."
"Like Katherine?"
"Klaus will be very pleased."
At the mention of Klaus' name, Elena's mouth went dry.
"Elena, are you coming?" Alaric spoke from outside the doorway. Elijah pressed his fingers against his lips in warning.
She cracked the door open and looked out into the hall. "Just a second. Bonnie called. She needed to talk. I'll be right down."
"We're going to start without you." Alaric backed toward the stairs.
"That's fine. Don't wait on me. I'm really not that hungry." Elena closed the door and turned back to face Elijah. "Are you here to take me?"
"Is that what you really want? Me to take you to Klaus?" Elijah took a seat on the edge of the window seat.
Elena felt her jaw tighten as she fought to keep her lip from trembling. "What I want is to keep my family and my friends safe."
"And you'd give yourself in their stead." Elijah gave her an appraising look. "Perhaps you're not as much like her as I thought."
"Please don't hurt them." She could hear Jeremy's laughter coming up from the dining room downstairs.
"I wouldn't dream of it. At least not after we work out an agreement."
"What sort of agreement?"
"One that would protect those you care most about." Elijah tented his fingers in front of him.
"You can do that?"
Elijah smiled as if he were an indulgent grandfather. "When you have the right sort of witches on your side, just as I happen to have."
Elena took a step in his direction. "And what do I need to do?"
"Absolutely nothing." He stood and closed the distance between them. He ran his index finger along her jawline and down her throat - trailing down until he reached the top of her blouse. "Just stay here. Keep yourself safe. No more looking for Klaus. That's my responsibility."
"You don't know where he is." Elena's voice was filled with accusation.
"Let's just say that he does a brilliant job of ensuring he keeps himself hidden. But hearing about you...that will guarantee his emergence into society." He pushed her hair back over her shoulder. "So, do we have a deal? As long as you stay here don't attempt to find him again, your family and friends stay safe."
Too confused to truly weigh the implications of the agreement, Elena tilted her head up and stared directly into his face. "One more thing."
"But even if it was real then, that doesn't change my feelings for you now." Stefan's head throbbed and he dropped it into his hands. He had long since tired of this thread of conversation, especially since it seemed to be amusing Katherine so much.
He didn't have to look at Katherine to know what expression was on her face as she answered. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." She came to stand directly in front of him.
"I am." He looked back up at Katherine - not surprised to see her licking her lips seductively. Something inside him twisted, and he exploded in rage. "I hate you." He drove her into the wall. "Whatever feelings that were between us then...mine are gone."
"Oh, Stefan." She cupped his cheek in her hand. "As your friend Lexi was so fond of saying, when it's real, you can't walk away."
Katherine told him she'd followed him through the years, but he assumed it was a lie. "This time, Lexi was wrong." Stefan growled deep in his chest but was interrupted from his next act by a noise outside. Dirt crunched in the outer chamber of the tomb. Reluctantly, he released his hold on Katherine and bent to pick up the lantern.
He approached the tomb opening, Katherine a few steps behind him. "Elijah." Katherine's voice choked in her throat.
"And a pleasure to see you this evening as well." Elijah was flanked by two unfamiliar men - one noticeably younger than the other. "Hello, Stefan. Your freedom has been arranged."
"What?" Stefan's brow furrowed. He stepped forward, only to be blocked again.
"You can thank the lovely Elena. She will be happy to explain the conditions of our agreement."
"She made a deal with you?" Katherine took a step back from the invisible barrier.
"And she struck a very hard bargain." He smiled coldly at her. "She's definitely part of your lineage. Her fire might even burn brighter than yours."
The torches flared and the older man cleared his throat.
"Stefan, if you please." Elijah nodded to Stefan. Stefan tentatively pressed against what once was a solid barrier and was surprised to smoothly walk through. "I will be requiring your services as well. Word of Elena's existence is spreading even as we speak. Others shall arrive to attempt to take her, and they'll likely be far more dangerous than I." Elijah turned to Katherine. "My dear, you'll be staying here. Klaus will want to see you."
"He's coming?" Katherine's eyes widened in very real fear. "Stefan, you can't trust him."
"Oh, you wound me. I was not the one who broke our bargain." Danger flared in Elijah's eyes and Stefan was transfixed by the sight of someone who so truly terrified Katherine.
"Stefan, please. If anything between us was ever real, please believe me. You can't trust him."
"You may go." Elijah turned and addressed Stefan. It wasn't a request - it was an order.
Stefan took one last look between the two vampires. Katherine's eyes pleaded with him. "Isobel can help you. You have to find Isobel. She'll help you keep Elena safe." Katherine's cries followed him out into the night.