You Lost Me

Chapter Twenty-Seven - The Plan

Katherine listened to Stefan and Damon's conversation carefully and with a smile stamped on her face. The younger Salvatore brother reacted exactly like she had expected. She thought it was a long shot for him to believe that she was willing to give her life up in favor of Elena's but she didn't know what else to do to convince him to join forces with her and kill Klaus. Actually she didn't need his help per say but she knew if she engaged him it would be easier to engage Damon, who had Elena and she needed her doppelganger. Her plan was like a castle of cards, each card was important to bring the next up and once she pulled the trigger each of them would lead the next to be exactly where she needed them. And she knew exactly who the next card in her castle was. She shared with Stefan in earlier occasions that they would need Bonnie's help and she wasn't surprised that as soon as he hung up with Damon he called the witch.

"Hey, Bonnie, it's Stefan"

"Elena is okay, for now, but Katherine lost control and went after Klaus. I guess Klaus is already in Mystic Falls and he'll probably start his search for Elena soon. We can't let him know about Elena "

"She snapped. I don't know exactly what her plans are but I was hoping you would be able to feel his presence"

"I know you, but is there anything in the grimoire? It doesn't need to be a locator spell as you just said we would need blood and objects linked to him. We're talking about a big source of Power, maybe the biggest we've ever seen. Couldn't you be sensitive enough to feel it approaching?"

"Okay, I really appreciate it Bonnie. Please call me when you find something"

Once she knew the witch was also engaged, Katherine retired herself from the boarding house surroundings and headed to the old Lockwood dungeon. She needed to set up her stage for the fight she had been waiting for centuries. She would avenge her family and herself and Klaus would wish he had never crossed ways with her. With a final and victorious smile, she looked once again to the boarding house, seeing Stefan's figure pacing in his room, and then she walked away in the darkness.

"Now is not a good time for you to go there, Elena" Damon tried to reason. He knew it would be nearly impossible to make her change her mind but he had to try. With Katherine drawing Klaus's attention, who might already be in the city, bringing Elena was the most dangerous thing they could ever do.

"It doesn't matter Damon, I can't stay here. I need to go back. Please, call Stefan and let him know that I'll be there tomorrow in the morning" she told him as she gathered her new belongings. Her eyes caught a pattern that she didn't see before. The clothes she picked a month ago in the store were all plain, there weren't any patterns. Her hand reached for outfit and she never touched a smoother tissue. It was a white and blue floral summer dress. A human couldn't stand to wear it that time of the year but it wouldn't be a problem for her. She definitely didn't buy it but seeing how Damon looked away as he spoke she knew he was behind it.

"Actually I was just on in the phone with him. Katherine is up to something. She asked Stefan to help her get rid of Klaus so you wouldn't need to run every time someone thinks you're her. She told him that she was going to let him kill her but we know it's not true. She would never willingly die" his voice was stoic but also confident.

"Damon, I have to see Stefan. If you want to bring him here, fine. I don't really care, you can go back to Mystic Falls and do whatever you need to do there, just send Stefan here please" she refused to give more information about her sudden need to be with Stefan. She thought about everything that happened in the past year, all she went through, she thought about both brothers and she wouldn't be Katherine, even if she only dated one. She didn't want to get between them because she now knew she had feelings for both, although those feelings differed in kind and intensity. Damon was just too easy to break and Stefan was prone to hurt in silence and she knew she would hurt one of them or maybe both but she didn't have any other choice. It had to be stopped and it had to be stopped now. If she made the wrong choice, she would deal with the consequences.

During his speech she realized Damon was right. What she was suggesting was torturous and she wouldn't hurt him like that. He said he loved her and she could see in those pools of bright blue how much he meant those words. She had been surprised by his revelation. She knew he had feelings for her but he had called it 'something'. It could be desire, passion, infatuation or a crush but she didn't expect love. And she couldn't say anything back. She had already been unfaithful to her boyfriend with that kiss and it wasn't okay to have feelings for his brother while they dated. She had been unfair to both of them and now she had to do the right thing.

"Please Damon. I can't… I wish… Damon, please" she begged him to do not make many questions or deny it to her. She could barely hold her emotions back.

"I need to make a call first, I'm not bringing you to the boarding house" he told her and left her bedroom, leading for his.

Her reaction was exactly what he expected. It wasn't too much about her words, he knew she was trying to be as sweet as possible but it was the distance she was putting between the two of them. The way she avoided to look at his eyes and tried to keep herself busy packing her clothes. From the look in her eyes he knew that was the first time she was seeing the dress. The one he bought her and that she put away in the back of the closet. He avoided looking at her while she ran her hands over it but he was capable of seeing, from the corner of his eyes, when she put it back in the closet. She knew it was his gift and he knew she would leave it there, behind her.

He walked to the bedroom where he was staying. He wouldn't take any clothes. He had plenty of them in the boarding house. He planned to die trying to kill Klaus but in the case he survived he decided to come back to the beach house. It was secluded enough. There was nothing in the area except for the bed and breakfast probably three miles down the same beach and he could live there long enough. He had spent many of the years as an undead there and that was the place he would be until he forgot Elena. The place that would smell of her for a while and where he had a few memories, not many, only of the two of them.

But now he needed a plan to ensure she would survive. He wouldn't mind being killed but he needed to make sure that she wouldn't die forever.

"Hello" the female voice greeted.

"Carla" he said simply.

The redhead who had fallen asleep on the couch watching an old movie, soon got out of her sleepy state.

"Damon?" she asked surprised.

"I didn't forget" was the first thing he said and she knew what he was talking about. It just made her care about him more. Not only had he saved her grandmother but still planned to avenge her.

"I know"

"How is Martha?"

"She's doing fine, thanks to you. The cancer is coming back but this time we're starting the treatment in the beginning. She will have more chances than she had last time" she explained.

"I'm sorry. I imagined that it would be only a temporary cure, it would heal the cells that were sick then but it wouldn't prevent new cells to be malformed" he lamented truly.

"You gave me months, maybe years, with the only person that really matters to me, Damon. I won't ever be able to do something to thank you enough"

"You don't need to do anything because of that but there's a favor I'd like to ask" he offered honestly to make sure he wasn't asking because she owed him, because she didn't.

"Anything" she didn't hesitate. If there was someone in the world who Carla would agree to do anything for it was Damon. Nobody ever cared that much about her, except for her family before it fell apart. But now she had him, even if he wasn't around, she knew she could count on him for what she needed and despite her belief that he would never need her to do anything to him, she was just as ready to comply.

"I have Elena and there's a very dangerous vampire after her who may already be in Mystic Falls. Actually after Katherine but he'll go after Elena if he ever crosses paths with her and believe me, this world can be small sometimes" Damon informed, his voice venomous but also filled with concern.

"I'm sorry"

"Anyway, she isn't in Mystic Falls but she wants to go there. I know you have no reason to trust her and I'm asking too much" his voice softened.

"There's no too much, not for you anyway"

"Could she stay a couple of days with you and Martha?"

"Of course!" she didn't falter.

"Carla, don't be so fast to say yes. Elena is a vampire now, who feeds on human blood. She doesn't drink from people but she doesn't have it totally under control. I trust her enough to do no harm to you and Martha and I wouldn't ask if I didn't think so, but you need to be aware of what you're handling here" he warned her. He cared a lot about the girl on the other side of the line and he wanted her to understand fully what he was asking.

"I'm pretty aware, Damon. I still have the vervain or whatever the name is. I guess it won't let her harm us, right?"

"No, it's poisonous to us. Even if she tries to feed on you, she'll stop the moment she tastes the herb"

"So I guess I'm under no risk"

"Just because you'll survive it doesn't mean you won't be hurt and I don't want you to ever be hurt again" his voice was soft, leading her to be teary. Only her grandmother cared about her like that.

"That's not something you can avoid, Damon. Look I know you love her. You saved someone I love. The least I can do for you and to take care of someone you love too"

"The whole city still thinks she's dead, except for her brother. My brother will visit her and maybe her brother and a couple of friends. She can't leave the house, under no circumstances. I'll leave some darts with vervain; don't think twice before using them if she tries to leave" he instructed and warned her. Elena was too predictable. He knew if she found out about his and Stefan's plan she would try to help although she wouldn't be able to do anything other than get in their way and be an easy target to Klaus.

"Why would she leave if there's a powerful vampire that could kill her?" Carla asked confused.

"Because she's stubborn and stupid. When I say very powerful I mean more powerful than I, Stefan, Katherine and probably the three of us combined. Elena won't watch us die to save her" he clarified and Carla finally understood the brunette's reasons. She couldn't agree more.

"I wouldn't sit down watching you die either"

"Yes, but when neither of you has anything to do about it you should be selfless and thankful instead of a pain" he answered slightly annoyed.

"Ouch"

"Anyway, is it too much to ask?" he honestly asked her. He didn't want her to do something she wasn't comfortable with and being in a house with a vampire, one who was yet to totally control her urges, was something to make one uneasy.

"Of course not"

"Okay, I guess we'll be there tomorrow morning, before the sun rises"

"Okay"

"And Carla, thank you" he added, although she made sure he didn't need to thank her.

Damon crossed the long corridor and without much more to say he informed Elena they would leave at five in the morning but not before making her promise to do not leave Carla's house. She tried to negotiate but he was adamant about it. She finally agreed but Damon didn't seem too convinced.

"Can I trust you, Elena?" he repeated the question she asked him many months ago.

"Yes, Damon, you can trust me" she sighed a little bit disappointed that he had to ask such a question.

"Okay"

"Damon, I'm…" she started, not being able to hold the emotions from her voice. She could see how her previous words had hurt him. But she had a boyfriend, one she still loved, that couldn't be ignored. She was going to tell him what she had in mind and finally explain everything to him but he cut her off before she said more than a couple of words.

"Elena, don't. I would compel you to forget what I said if I could. I never planned to tell you that because I know it would hurt you. Because I don't stand a chance; because it won't ever be me. I never wanted you to feel bad about it or pity me. We're both better than that. So as I can't compel you to forget I guess we could just pretend it never happened" he avoided her eyes during his speech because he couldn't bear to see the rejection and pity that she probably had on them.

"Damon, it's imposs…" she tried again but he interrupted once more.

"Good night, Elena" he said firmly and just like that he disappeared.

"Why am I here, Katherine?" the witch in front of her asked curious.

"First, because we don't see each other in a very long time" she smiled to the woman in front of her "Second, because you owe me"

"Having fun in the mystical Mystic Falls?" Lucy asked with a smirk.

"Not as much as I planned" Katherine pouted slightly.

"Did you find the doppelganger?"

"Of course I did" she plastered her full grin.

"Do you have Mason?"

"No, but I already got the next best thing" her grin became mischievous and Lucy knew the vampire did something wicked.

"What do you mean?"

"He crossed ways with Damon and let's just say not many survive the older Salvatore brother" Katherine showed a slight annoyance. She knew the werewolf had lost control during the full moon and nearly killed Stefan but she didn't expect Damon to avenge his brother just like that. But lately when she changed her mind he wasn't as useful but with Klaus coming she preferred to have Tyler around.

"But no werewolf, no spell"

"That's why I told you I've got the next best thing"

"The vampire?"

"Some stupid blond"

"The stone?"

"Right here" Katherine took the stone from her jacket pocket.

"So I guess you have everything you need" Lucy informed her without much emotion. On one hand she was happy to finally be even with Katherine but maybe breaking the curse that kept vampires night creatures in exchange for her freedom and life was a really high price to pay for it.

"Now I have" she looked to the witch with a satisfied smirk.

"And how will you let Klaus know it was you who broke the curse?" Lucy made the crucial question. Doing the spell wasn't Katherine's objective. Letting Klaus know that she finally gave him what he had wanted for centuries was.

"I invited him to the party"

"You didn't"

"Yes, I did and I know you'll be able to find him for me. Stefan got the witch to find him but I know she won't, I need her for something else. Can you feel his power already?" Katherine looked at her watch with a satisfied smile on her face. The witch closed her eyes focusing on the Powers present in Mystic Falls and she never felt something like that before.

"He's actually very close to us now" she said surprised.

"Good, so let's take this conversation somewhere else" Katherine headed their way out of the bed and breakfast she was back after running from Elijah.

"When is the next full moon?" Lucy queried when they entered the old Lockwood dungeon.

"Actually tomorrow but there are some things I need you to take care of first"

"I thought my only part was to recite the spell" the witch frowned.

"Don't worry; it's still a spell, a very good one"

"And how do you know it's a good spell?" Lucy asked confused and her frown grew bigger.

"I got a phone call to make, if you excuse me" Katherine winked to the witch, showing her the phone's screen.

Lucy's jaw dropped when she read the name while the vampire triumphantly smiled hitting the green button.

"So I've heard you're looking for me" she said with an innocent tone as soon as the phone was picked up on the other side of the line.

"You should get used to it by now. After all those centuries, I thought you had already figured out how it works"

"We can catch up later, darling, but now I have a proposal to make"

"Ah, ah, ah. Let me tell you first, I'm sure you will like it"

"I'm sure there's something you want more than that. Think about it. What do you want the most?"

"What if I could offer you that, tomorrow night, during the full moon?"

"I have everything planned. The doppelganger, the witch, the werewolf, the vampire and the stone. He'll be my special guest"

"Because I need you to help with two small inconvenient issues"

"The Salvatore brothers and Elena"

"I need you to compel them"

"Do I have your word?"

"So we have a deal, Elijah"

AN: so I'm having such a quiet week before New Year's Eve and here it goes the last update this year.

Next: the sacrifice.

Thanks a lot to my beta May and to my reviewers. I've got less reviews lately, be nice to me, peers :)

Happy New Year

Babi