Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries, which means I'll likely NEVER get to see any of this Guess what? Chicken butt! Plus, I don't own Vampire Diaries. Darn it all.
A/N: Well, I wanted to get this out early, because…well, because you guys POURED out your support and goodness and I have been overwhelmed beyond words. I definitely don't deserve you, but I am so grateful! I mean, I wanted to crank it out in two days because I was so blown away and I wanted to do something kind - but...well, I suck.
Honestly, my plans to be early were defeated by loads and loads of the white fluffy stuff. My snow shovel and I have become good pals. Plus, again, I hemmed and hawwed and even forced my poor husband to read this because I'm getting absolutely paranoid about letting you guys down! See? That's how much your reviews mean to me! :-)
Anyway, I'm still not totally thrilled with this one, but I'm happy enough and it's been too long! Also, I had to add a SCREEN BREAK because keeps removing mine. Ugh. FYI, I think we're getting close (2 more chapters and possibly another short one or an epilogue) to the end of this beast. I'm going to have it complete before the hiatus is up and the season veers off to make all of this totally impossible. Because now, I'm really wishing I could actually see some of this stuff! HA!
Enjoy, and as always if you can spare a quick moment, please please review – every update is really thanks to all of you. :-)
I wake up afraid.
It doesn't make sense. All is quiet and familiar. My bedroom is cloaked in darkness and the furnace is humming softly. But my arms are covered in goosebumps nonetheless.
Something rattles downstairs. Any other night, such a noise wouldn't even raise my awareness, but tonight is different. Tonight, it scares me to death.
I sit up slowly, and a warm hand covers my mouth. Before I can scream, Damon is speaking low and fast into my ear.
"Vampires downstairs. We need to go. Now."
A dream. It has to be a dream. But it feels real. And this is my life, so I'm not taking any chances.
Damon releases my mouth and I twist to see him.
"Jeremy and Jenna?" I whisper.
"Safe."
I move to stand up, but he shakes his head. "No. They'll hear you."
Then he pulls me into his arms and lifts me off the bed as if I weigh no more than my pillow. I expect him to go for my window, but he moves back through the bathroom and then through Jeremy's bedroom.
His feet make no sound. None at all.
I can see my brother's curtains billowing, his bed slept-in, but empty. I barely have time to process what's happening before Damon's leaping out of the window.
I gasp, my hands clawing into his shoulders. There is a breathless moment of freefall, my stomach tumbling end over end, and then he lands gently in the grass.
He takes off in a sprint that makes my eyes water. Houses and trees blur past. The wind is so cold that it actually hurts, but I don't ask him to stop. I don't dare.
Headlights appear from around the corner and I feel Damon's body relax.
"What's happening?" I ask, my teeth chattering.
Damon doesn't answer, just zips us over to the car. We are inside before I can even look at it. And we are rolling forward before he's pulled the door closed. I struggle on his lap. The ceiling is too low and the dashboard is biting into my side.
"What's going on?" I ask, a little panicked, searching the dark cabin of the car.
"Hi, Elena," Caroline says from behind the wheel. She guns the engine harder and I lurch back against Damon, righting myself with shaking hands.
"Are you alright?" Jeremy asks, his voice coming from the backseat.
I try to nod, but I'm still completely off balance.
"Take a left there. Don't make it obvious," Damon says.
I force my muddied mind to process my surroundings. This is Damon's car. I don't know why Caroline is driving it, but I imagine it's because he was busy rescuing me. I turn around, spotting Bonnie on one side of my brother and Tyler on the other. Everyone looks awful. Exhausted.
"I'm okay, Jer," I say, spotting the worry in his eyes. "You guys?"
"I'd like to know what the hell's going on," Tyler says. Bonnie's tight expression tells me this isn't the first time he's asked.
Damon ignores him and fusses with the heater. Likely because I'm shivering to the point of convulsions on top of him.
"Where's Jenna?" I ask, trying not to think about how short my shorts are or how cold I am. Or how hard Damon's legs feel beneath me.
Caroline takes another corner, and points to Damon's phone on the dashboard. "Mr. Saltzman texted you. He's, uh, keeping her occupied at his place. Which is just…ew."
Damon shoots her a look that would probably kill a lesser girl at ten paces.
Caroline rolls her eyes. "What? It's weird, okay? I mean, he gave me a pop quiz yesterday, and now I have mental images of him occupying Elena's aunt? Ick!"
"How has someone not killed you at this point?" Damon asks her.
"Hey, dickhead!" Tyler shouts. "Lay off her and tell me what the hell is going on."
"One more word and I will neuter you," Damon says without looking.
Jeremy and Bonnie hold Tyler back from trying to vault over the backseat.
Caroline hits a bump and I bounce on Damon's thighs. I need to get off of him. Now is not soon enough. I search for options, and come up completely empty unless I want to hurtle myself into the already packed backseat with Caroline doing eighty miles an hour. I don't see that working out well.
But sitting on Damon's lap wearing pajamas isn't working either.
We're insanely close. I can see him, smell him, feel him everywhere. I carefully try to situate myself to avoid rubbing up against...God, this is horrible. Or maybe the very opposite of horrible. That line's getting really blurry for me.
"Tell me what's going on," I say, hoping the unease in my voice will be attributed to the danger. "Where's Stefan?"
"He's fine, but his phone's not working," Caroline says, but she pulls up the statement at the end, like she's asking a question.
"He's feeding Katherine," Bonnie supplies woodenly.
This fact should do something to me. Hit a nerve. But I'm just too cold and too freaked out about being curled up like a kitty cat on Damon's lap to give a crap who Stefan's feeding. As long as he's still alive and not in this car, I'm good.
"There's no reception down there," Caroline says, probably because she thinks my silence means I'm upset. "But, no evil vampires either. I mean, except for Katherine but she's locked up. Wait, she is still locked up, isn't she, Bonnie?"
"Caroline!" I say, holding up a hand. "Real information? Please."
Damon gives me an appraising look and takes his jacket off, tugging it around me and turning the heater up even further.
"Klaus decided to play the surprise card," he says, jerking his head towards Bonnie in the backseat. "You want to tell her?"
Bonnie looks at me and I get it now. She's not spaced out. She's just scared. "I felt the wards on your house flicker about an hour ago. I woke up because I felt something. Or someone. Someone messing with my spells, and a few of their own."
"What kinds of spells?" I ask and Bonnie's lips thin into a frown.
"Ones that override vampire invitations," Jeremy says, putting the pieces together faster than me. He turns to Bonnie. "Is it possible?"
Her eyes flick to Damon before returning to me. "There are certain safe passage spells that might work. I just can't imagine a witch that would do it."
"Unless of course the witch is Klaus's bitch," Caroline says, and Tyler smirks.
"Okay, so now we know how the vampires got in. What's the rest of it?" I ask.
Damon rubs my arms through the jacket with brisk, determined strokes. "Long story short, Judgy called me. I called Blondie. Blondie brought her mutt, and we converged on your house for the rescue. Very A-Team, don't you think?"
He is way too close to be smirking at me right now. I want to move away, but there's nowhere to go. And squirming seems like a very bad idea.
"How did you get out?" I ask Jeremy.
"I took him," Caroline says. "The whole super speed thing comes in handy."
"It comes in handier when you don't wear a charm bracelet that jangles with every step," Damon says, glaring at her.
She rolls her eyes. "Riight. I'm sure that's the reason you just had to get Elena yourself."
"So are we sure it's Klaus?" I ask quickly, before that line of conversation can go anywhere.
Damon arches a brow. "Can you think of another vampire that has five henchmen and a witch on retainer?"
It's a pretty convincing argument.
"So, it's Klaus," I sigh. "Now what?"
"Elena, I tried to get the wards back up, but…" Bonnie shakes her head, tears welling. I think I've got something figured out for the boarding house, but it's only for tonight…"
She trails off, and Jeremy's arm goes around her shoulders. He catches my eye and nods. "She's saying we can't go home."
"And she's right," Damon says.
It doesn't really surprise me. Some part of me knew that the moment we jumped out of Jeremy's window.
"It's okay," I say, with as much bravado as I can muster. I lock eyes with Jeremy. "We're okay."
"Maybe for now," Jeremy says, and I feel Damon's arm go tight around my waist.
I pretend not to notice. Because I don't really want him to move.
/SCENE BREAK/
Neither a sandwich nor a shower has shaken this exhaustion from me. I'm beyond tired and I look every inch of it. I stare at my reflection: damp hair, Caroline's sweatpants, sad eyes.
Stefan will be home soon. I got through on his cell phone just before I stepped in the shower. I almost wish I hadn't. Because that means he'd been with her two hours. And it also means I didn't even care enough to ask him why.
A soft knock comes at the door, and I know it's him. He probably raced the entire way, punching his steering wheel and feeling responsible for every bad thing that's happened in the western hemisphere since he turned.
"Yes?" I ask.
"It's me," Stefan says, and I pull the door open.
He rushes in, hands cradling my face. "Elena, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," I say, easing away from him. "Really. Not a scratch."
He shakes his head, looking as shamed as if he sent the vamps to my house himself. "I am so sorry, Elena. For not being there. For not…"
I rub my temples, trying to push back the edge of irritation that's slipping into my sleep-deprived mind.
"This isn't your fault. And I'm really okay."
"I should have been there," he says. "You needed me tonight and I was—
"I'm not your responsibility, Stefan," I say, as gently as I can. I don't tell him that I never was. But I think it.
He nods but still looks hurt as he takes a step back.
"I'm sorry," I say, stepping in to give him a brief, chaste hug. "I know you were worried. But you can't blame yourself for every bad thing that happens to me."
The crease between his brows looks less pronounced, but he doesn't respond. The silence stretches into awkwardness.
"Is everyone still downstairs?" I finally ask.
"Yeah. Resting," he says. "Bonnie got her spell up and crashed right away. Everybody else was headed in that direction."
"And Jenna?"
"Alaric took her to a local Bed & Breakfast. It should be safe for a day or two."
"A day or two?" I ask, plowing my hand through my hair. "We can't live the rest of our lives by a day or two, Stefan."
"We won't," he says. "We'll figure this out once we've had some rest."
"And how do we know Klaus won't come tonight?"
"Bonnie cast some sort of firewall to protect the house. If anyone touches the exterior, they'll burst into flames."
"So, no ordering pizza tonight," I say.
We smile together, but there is a sadness in his eyes. One I know will probably never disappear. I have taken something from him. Something I don't think I can return.
"You should get some rest. You can take my room," he says. "I'll find one of the empty ones."
"No, I'm not tired," I lie. "But you look whipped. Maybe you should turn in."
"I'll be fine," he says. "I'd rather know you're resting well."
"Maybe we can switch?" I ask, not really wanting to argue this back and forth. "I want to check on Bonnie and Caroline and maybe get something to eat."
He nods, but there's suspicion in his eyes. And with good reason. We both know Bonnie and Caroline aren't the only people I'm planning to check on.
I descend the stairs slowly, hearing the crackle of the fire before I see it. It's the only light left in the main living room.
I circle until I see Bonnie and Caroline on opposite couches. Tyler and Jeremy are on the floor between them. My heart twists when I see the way my brother's body is turned towards Bonnie. And the way her arm is dangled down, like they just might have been holding hands.
When did that happen? And how did I not notice?
I slip into the kitchen, but I don't know who I'm doing it for. I'm not hungry. And I don't want to watch my friends and my brother sleep. No matter how long I stall in this kitchen, it's not going to change why I'm down here.
I find Damon in the smaller study. He's standing by the mantle, glass in hand, the fire lending beauty his face doesn't need.
The last time I walked into this room, I broke up with Stefan. It didn't stick, of course. Back then, nothing seemed to stick. Now, everything does.
Damon doesn't look up to greet me, but he knows I'm there. He's probably known since I started down the stairs. I stand by the couch, rubbing my arms and watching the fire.
"Do you think Bonnie's spell will work?" I ask.
"I never trust magic," he shrugs, not shifting his gaze an inch. "But it's all we've got."
"So, what happens tomorrow?" I ask.
Damon turns his glass in his hand without taking a drink. "We find Klaus. Then we kill him."
"You make it sound easy."
"It won't be."
No jokes tonight, then.
"Where's Dudley Doright?" he asks, proving me wrong.
"Sleeping."
He puts his drink down and leans against a bookcase, wearing that indifferent expression that's more transparent to me by the hour. "Or daydreaming about the ways he would have saved you. You know since he missed tonight's heroics, he's going to throw himself in front of any bullet he can—
"Damon, don't," I say quietly.
He gives me a look that sends a chill up my spine.
"Don't what?" he asks. His tone is colder than ice. Sharper than a blade.
"You know what," I say. "Don't act like none of this bothers you at all."
He shrugs. "We can't all hide under our beds crying about the things that go bump in the night, Elena."
"Why not?" I ask, stepping towards him. He's dodging my eyes, but I keep going. "Why shouldn't we be scared? We don't know if we can kill Klaus, do we? We don't have a plan, or even a hope, really. And this doesn't scare you? Because it scares the hell out of me!"
He doesn't answer, so I step even closer. "Answer me, Damon. Aren't you afraid?"
He still says nothing, so I reach for his arm and oh, oh, that was not a good idea. He spins me around so that my back is to the bookcase and he is looming over me. He looks feral. Dangerous.
"No, I'm not afraid," he says. "I'm fucking petrified. The thought of losing you...of you dying...if I go there for even one second, Elena, it paralayzes me."
I open my mouth, but there are no words. None that do a damn bit of justice to the way he's looking at me right now.
"I can't be paralyzed," he says quietly, tilting his head and sliding his palm down the length of my neck. My whole body wants to curl towards his touch. My legs are shaking and weak, my hands itching to reach for him.
Damon closes his eyes and I know he's feeling my pulse, recording my scent. He's holding onto me with everything he has.
And maybe I want to hold on, too.
I'm done pretending that this thing, this behemoth between this is nothing. Because it's not nothing. It's never been nothing.
I stretch up on my toes and press my lips to the underside of his jaw. He takes a sharp breath and I feel his hands tense on my neck as mine curl against his sides. Every part of me aches, from the roots of my hair down to the soles of my feet.
The edge of whatever we're standing on is beginning to crumble. He meets my eyes and I feel it, the ground giving way, the abyss of the unknown yawning beneath us.
I expected flashing lights. Gongs clanging out my certain doom. Instead, there is nothing but his face. Just his soft lips and impossibly pale eyes.
He leans in and I don't move away. It hurts to even think of moving away. I just want to be closer. I need to be closer. Just for a minute.
A blood-curdling scream sends us lurching apart. Damon slides automatically in front of me as we search for the source of the noise. It's still going on, a thread of wailing that needles through my ears.
"Outside," I say, still breathless when I see the window.
As if he didn't know. As if he can't see the orange-yellow glow outside the window. The body engulfed in flames.