A/N: I apologize for the delay in updating. Last week's episode left me a tad depressed and it caused me to write and rewrite this chapter. Thank you for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews. Happy reading!
Chapter 16
Yes, my pitiful existence has sunk even lower. Not only am I in love with an eighteen year old human that I can never have, but now I am making her breakfast. One final flip of the pan and her french toast is golden to perfection. I made it, how could it be anything but perfect. A whimper from upstairs draws my attention. Damnit, Elena is having another nightmare. I blur upstairs just as she bolts up in bed.
"KLAUS!" Elena screams.
Elena is panting her eyes wide looking around the room. I sit on the edge of the bed and grab her hand. She turns to look at me and squeezes my hand back.
"Nightmare?" I ask stupidly.
She just nods. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shakes her head 'no' in response then throws back the covers scrambling out of bed without a word heading for the bathroom. There is nothing but the sound of breathing on the other side of the door for a few minutes. Then I hear water running before she emerges with her 'I'm fine' face as she heads out of her room towards the stairs.
"You know, I can help eliminate those nightmares with some sexy dreams of the eternal stud" I joke as I follow her down the stairs.
Elena stops at the bottom of the stairs and looks up at me rolling her eyes. "You can make me dream of Brad Pitt? I'll keep that in mind." She laughs at me before heading into the kitchen.
"Ouch" I respond putting my hand over my heart in mock pain. She is diving headfirst into the 'let's pretend everything is normal' routine. If she wants to pretend for now, I'll let her and not push. Too bad I can sense all of that fear underlying the witty banter.
Elena stops once in the kitchen seeing the plate of french toast and coffee on the counter. She looks up at me. "I got bored waiting for you to wake up and everyone else is at school so I made breakfast." I shrug and pick up my coffee mug from earlier.
"Thanks." Elena sits down with a smile and digs into her breakfast then takes a sip of her coffee. She suddenly looks up at me.
"Something wrong, is the coffee cold?" I start to move to the coffee pot to get her more to warm it up.
"No, its…how do you know how I take my coffee?" She looks at me in surprise.
"Three sugars, two creams. You hang out with someone for almost two years; you pick up a thing or two." It also helps that I am madly in love with you and have probably memorized every detail about you, filing away every factoid you have uttered for future reference. But those are things probably best left unsaid.
"You said everyone is at school?" Elena asks putting her dishes in the sink.
"Yes, so you are stuck with me for the day. Go get dressed, we need to go to the Boarding House then I have an errand to run." Elena heads back upstairs and thirty minutes later we are on the way to the Boarding House so I can shower and change.
"Do me a favor; count the blood bags in the basement while I take a quick shower." I need to know if baby brother has been partaking while I have been out of the house.
"Okay" Elena says confused as she disappears down to the basement. I quickly shower, change and find Elena sitting in the parlor with a book when I return downstairs.
She looks up at me. "Fifty-three. Why was I counting blood bags?" Fifty-three, that was the same number that I counted yesterday before I tried to get some sleep. Sleep that was so rudely interrupted by Elena's witch induced midnight stroll.
"I just needed to know if I had to make a trip to the blood bank yet." I smirk grabbing my leather jacket and Elena's car keys. "Let's go."
"Checking up on Stefan?" Elena stares at me as she climbs into the passenger seat of her car. Just like I see through her bullshit, she sees through mine.
"Just making sure baby bro stays on the straight and narrow is all." I shrug as I pull out of the driveway.
"Where are we going anyway?" Elena asks staring out the window at the passing scenery.
"Richmond. Have to go see to my car guy to see if he can fix my baby. That stupid hybrid tried to destroy my camaro last night. Alaric called and had it towed. So it's a mini road trip." I wiggle my eyebrows at her when she turns to look at me.
Elena looks at me with a thoughtful expression. She opens and closes her mouth a few times like she has something serious to say. Her emotions are jumble and difficult to read at the moment, but I sense some apprehension and embarrassment of all things. I am guessing she is tempted to ask more about what I saw when I was in her head. She has to have some inclination that I got a glimpse into the feelings she has for me; none of which is news to me. She cares for me, likes me, but loves Stefan….it will always be Saint Stefan. But Elena and I never discuss these things. We never discussed the deathbed kiss, we never discussed how we close we got while looking for Stefan, we never discussed the kiss on the porch. It's sort of our thing now.
"The Scooby gang are all meeting at the Boarding House this evening so we can have nice little fireside chat with Elijah." He better have some fucking answers. "So until then, no conversations of hybrids, spells, Klaus, or evil plots. A break from our lives in is in order for both of us after last night. Deal?" I know she's not sleeping due to stress and nightmares, frankly I'm not sleeping either so a little frivolity in our lives may do both of some good.
"Deal." Elena says quietly.
"So, Miss Elena, whatever shall we talk about" I drawl.
"I was always curious. What was your favorite decade?" She pulls her legs up underneath her and rests her head against the seat looking at me.
I don't even to think hard about this. "The sixties. Sex, drugs, Rock & Roll. That decade was made for me." I get lost in the memories of that time for a minute.
"Any good stories? Sleep with anyone famous?" She gives me a wicked grin. Surprise, surprise, there is a minx buried under the layers of goody-goody.
"A gentleman never tells." I quip.
"So you should have no problem telling, Mr. Salvatore." Elena fires back. I've missed this.
"If you're just looking for pointers, a hands on demonstration can always be arranged." I can't help but wink at her.
"Let's stick with the story telling." I can hear her heart rate speed up and a blush creeps up her cheeks. At least I haven't lost my touch with turning her on. She won't love me, but I'll stick with what I'm good at. Sex.
"Come on, there must be some good stories" she whines.
I can only shake my head with a chuckle. "There were a couple of famous buxom beauties from that decade. None that would be a shocker, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Mansfield. My favorite memory from the sixties was Woodstock. Everyone was high and sexually charged so it was like vampire smorgasbord." I sigh. "Good times."
"Gross." Elena winkles her nose, but I see a small smile pull at the corner of her mouth.
"How about you Miss Gilbert? Any sexual exploits you want to share." I feel like a kid in a candy store swapping sex stories.
"Well, there was this one time at the Lockwood's, Stefan and I…."
"Ew, that's my brother." I am fighting the urge to throw up as the images of Elena and Stefan having sex from Elena's memory flash through my mind. Gross.
Elena bursts out laughing. "I was wondering how far into the story I could get before you stopped me."
"You are pure evil." I guess being scarred for life is worth it to hear her laughter, but I shoot her a scowl anyway. The rest of the afternoon passes quickly sharing stories, laughing and pretending our world may not be crashing down around us.
My car guy said he could save my camaro, but it will take a month to fix. Stupid, fucking hybrid. Once we get back from Richmond, we head straight to the Boarding House to wait for everyone. Elena are I sitting on the couch in the parlor in comfortable silence when I hear two heartbeats and three sets of footsteps approach the house and can smell Alaric's aftershave and Blondie's perfume before they walk in the door.
"Help yourself to the bar" I call and raise a glass in Alaric's direction as the door opens and closes.
"Actually, Ric, Caroline, do you want to help me do a weapons inventory?" Elena asks suddenly jumping up from her seat. I see her throw a look in Jeremy's direction as she walks to the basement Alaric on her heels. Once they have disappeared out of the room I turn back to the fire. Jeremy hasn't moved from the doorway.
"What's on your mind baby Gilbert? Just like your sister, I can hear your little brain going a million miles an hour." I never turn to look at him and just continue to sip my bourbon.
"I'm sorry about the way I acted last night. I just panicked when I saw Elena was hurt and sort of jumped on the 'Damon is a bad guy' bandwagon as I needed someone to blame." Jeremy says quietly.
I turn my head to look at him. "So glad I could be of service. Go help with weapons inventory. Tell Elena you did what she asked." He's looking at me with what looks like pity. I can't stand to be pitied. I down my shot and get up to refill my glass.
"I really am sorry Damon. You've done a lot to help my sister as well as me and Alaric. It's just, I know how you feel about her and part of me knows that you would never hurt her, but there is also a part of me that worries about her being around you. No offense, but you have a tendency to be impulsive and I worry one day that trait could get my sister hurt or killed." Jeremy stands tall as he looks at me. I want to be pissed that he thinks I could hurt her, but I know he's just trying to do the protective brother thing. If anyone gets that, it's me.
"I will always protect your sister, even if it's from me or even from my brother." I just stare at him. "Now go help your sister before I do something impulsive and test if that ring of yours still works." Jeremy just gives me a half smile and nods walking out of the room.
I hear Elena, Jeremy, Caroline and Alaric come upstairs just as Bonnie and Stefan walk into the house. Elena's breathe hitches for a moment and her anger hits me full force. I was so pissed myself last night that I failed to realize the depth of her fury. I think she got a double dose of the Petrova fire.
"I'll just go see what Damon is up to." Caroline says.
"I'll come with you" Alaric murmurs. Cowards. Caroline, Jeremy and Alaric practically run into the room.
I stand there listening to what will happen next. I sneak a glance at Caroline and realize she is listening to what is about to go down in the foyer as well.
"Have either of you spoken to Damon yet?" Elena asks with an edge to her voice. I can hear her heart rate pick up and her breathing is ragged.
"No, Elena. We need to focus on Klaus not whether or not Damon's feelings are hurt." Bonnie fires back.
"What we don't have time for is all of us fighting. Damon saved me. You're supposed to be my friend, Bonnie. For me, go say something to him." Elena says firmly. "Stefan you were wrong and you know it. Now go act like a brother and make amends." Wow, Alaric wasn't kidding about her getting mad at them.
"Fine." Bonnie marches into the room her arms crossed.
"Damon, thank you for saving Elena. I'm sorry for accusing you last night, but I'm not sorry about the spell or the other things I said." She says with an acerbic tone.
"Oh, witchy, you secretly want me." I give her a smirk and do my eye thing at her. Bonnie growls and stomps off into the corner throwing herself into a chair.
"Damon" Stefan says hesitantly.
"Stefan" I mimic back.
Stefan shoves his hands into his pockets looking at the floor. I can tell by the look on his face that he feels bad and he's sorry. He's struggling, no point in letting him be any broodier.
"I get it, you're sorry I'm the better brother. More charm, better looking. All is forgiven." I give him a crooked smile. I hold out my drink to him tilting the glass from side to side. "Peace offering." Stefan just shakes his head 'no' before crossing the room to stand in front of the fireplace.
Before Elena can leave the foyer, there is a knock on the door. I stiffen immediately as Elena moves to open the door.
"Elijah, I'm glad you're here." Elena gives him a small smile.
"Elena, lovely to see to again." Elijah follows Elena into the parlor. Anger courses through me and I blur over to Elijah pinning him to the wall my hand wrapped around his throat.
"How is Klaus back?" I growl at him.
"Damon!" Elena shouts.
In a move I should have anticipated, he pulls my hand from his throat and twists my arm behind my back bringing me to my knees. "Remember, my friend, that I let you live solely as a courtesy to Elena. She has suffered enough losses in her young life, has she not?" He whispers in my ear so only I can hear him. He releases his grip and I jerk my arm away stomping straight for the liquor like a petulant child.
"Now, can we have a civilized conversation?" Elijah straightens his sport coat before sitting in my favorite chair. Damn smug original bastard. These are the times I regret undaggering him.
"Elena has been stalked and attacked multiple times. We need an explanation." Stefan watches Elijah with a weary expression.
"Yes, Rebekah explained there was incident and Elena was in a coma for a time." Elijah turns to look at Elena. "I am happy to see you are making a full recovery."
"Thanks." Elena sits down on the couch.
"I was informed there was another incident last evening, is that correct?" Elijah asks.
"A witch used her ju-ju to lure Elena out of the house and she was nearly kidnapped by hybrids. Said witch and hybrids were all in the employ of your brother. So, tell us Elijah, how the hell is it possible for Klaus to be sending his minions on errands?" I demand flopping on the couch between Elena and Alaric. I notice Bonnie was sitting in the corner and Stefan was leaning against the fireplace both avoiding eye contact with me despite their heartfelt apologies.
"To fully understand what is happening now, I need to reveal the details of what transpired with Klaus, that last day." Elijah rises and moves to my bar. I notice he pours himself a tumbler of my best scotch.
"When you undaggered us, we quickly found out our father was dead and Klaus had already uncovered that Elena's blood was the secret to making hybrids. He then kidnapped Elena preparing to move as he desired to create the master army he always dreamed of. Since our father was dead and the only weapon to kill Klaus died with him, we had few options and little time to subdue him." Elijah states.
"You turned to magic." Bonnie pipes up from her corner.
"Correct, Miss Bennett. We used a witch to channel my mother. Since she was the one to originally curse my brother, we knew she would be able to devise a solution." Elijah sipped his drink slowly and swirled the contents around his glass before continuing.
"She cast a binding curse on Klaus leaving him to exist in the twilight of life." Elijah explains.
"The twilight of life?" Caroline rolls her eyes. "So, he's in, like a hybrid coma?" Caroline questions.
"Yes, Caroline, that is an appropriate analogy." Elijah smiles in Caroline's direction.
"Figures" Elena mutters under her breath. I suppress a chuckle by quickly taking a drink.
"I am sure the irony of Klaus's situation is not lost on you in light of your recent accident, Elena." Elijah eyes Elena over the rim of his glass.
"It wasn't an accident, Tyler Lockwood was taken over by something and attacked Elena and nearly killed her." Alaric argues sitting forward glaring at Elijah. I don't need a spell to sense the anger seething within Ric. He really considers Jeremy and Elena to be his own.
"Not something, someone." Elijah corrects.
"So it was Satan Klaus that was the puppet master for wolfboy." I just shake my head. I still want to kill the little hybrid dick, but Elena will defend Tyler even harder now and insist he live.
"Correct, Damon." Thanks for the support, original dumbass.
I sneak a look at Elena and sense her guilt. She can't actually feel guilty over the stupid Lockwood kid, can she? She is sitting cross legged on the couch playing with the hem of her jeans not looking at anyone.
"How is Klaus back if he is supposed to be comatose, or bound, or whatever?" Jeremy asks.
"I have ensured that Klaus's body is still under the spell and is hidden where my siblings and I had him placed. His mind on the other hand has found a way to wander freely. He seems to be attaching himself to his hybrids, and it seems Klaus has had the greatest success attaching himself to the young Lockwood boy. It is most likely due to the fact he was the first hybrid." Elijah expounds.
"How is that even possible?" Stefan asks shoving his hands in his pockets.
Elijah glances over at Stefan. "Elena's blood has been the key to making hybrids and her blood allowed him to form a mental link using the sire bond."
Un-fucking-believable. The girl was tortured enough when he was around and kicking. Just when we get some peace of mind, thinking he was gone forever, he decides to mind fuck her, literally. This is not going to end well.
"Where is Tyler now?" Caroline asks before quickly dropping her eyes. "My mom thought he moved into Mexico and few weeks ago." Caroline obviously still has feelings for the prick despite the fact he almost killed her.
"Klaus has been using Tyler to make preparations to free his body. I heard of Elena's attack and news of a string of bodies that bare a striking resemblance to Miss Gilbert. I convinced Finn to track him." Elijah swirled the amber liquid in his glass. "Klaus found a witch in California willing to help undo the binding curse. He has been moving through Mexico gathering the necessary ingredients and is now moving east. We believe he is returning to Mystic Falls."
"Well hasn't Klaus been the busy bee. What ingredients was he gathering in Mexico?" I demand.
"After Klaus made his first pack of hybrids, most of the werewolves went into hiding. There are known werewolf packs in Mexico that may not have heard of Klaus's previous…activities. Klaus was also looking for spells or magical objects of protection." Elijah let his words linger in the air and the meaning settles over me.
Obviously the meaning hits Stefan as well. "She's meant to be sacrificed again." Stefan's eyes, full of sorrow, are glued to Elena.
"How….is….she….the sacrifice….again?" I say through clenched teeth fighting the temptation to stake Elijah.
"A binding curse in of itself would not have been strong enough to keep my brother at bay for long, but one sealed by blood would be enough to hold Klaus. He has kept witches as slaves for centuries; we assumed no which would ever help free him. We assumed wrong." Elijah gives Elena a look of sadness.
"How does Klaus plan to break the curse?" Bonnie asks.
"The binding was sealed with the blood of the doppelganger and the blood of a hybrid. These are the same ingredients he will need to undo the spell and free himself." Elijah rises walking over to the bar to refill his glass and he seems to be studying the group.
"So we keep Elena away from Klaus's body, everything is good, right?" Caroline pipes up.
"No, Kol has been tracking the hybrids that Stefan forced Klaus to send away from Mystic Falls. Once they were outside of Mystic Falls they scattered but seem to have regrouped and are heading this way. They would have been here already had I not sent Rebekah to help Kol slow their progress." Elijah moves back to his seat.
"I was wondering where Rebekah had disappeared to" Jeremy mutters with a scowl on his face. I hadn't even noticed that original Barbie was gone.
"It is no secret there is no love lost between my sister and Elena. Rebekah only remained in Mystic Falls due to her affection for the younger Salvatore and to ensure the damage Klaus has afflicted was undone." Elijah states matter of factly. All the ladies just loooovvvve Stefan.
"So if Klaus needs Elena, then we are getting the hell out of dodge. All of us." I lean forward setting my glass on the coffee table.
"I agree with Damon on this one." Alaric runs his hands through his hair.
"No, we can't leave the town defenseless" Elena exclaims turning to look at me.
"It's us or them, Elena, and I chose us" I argue back turning towards her.
"I know you don't mean that, not anymore." She glares at me. She's right, but I am not risking her life. I'll get Elena out of the fray and come back to help where I can to keep the hybrids at bay.
"You've given enough to that bastard. Pack up, we'll find an island somewhere and bask in the sun while Klaus plays puppet master."
Ignoring me, Elena turns away from me to look at Elijah. "I assume you have some sort of plan to kill Klaus?" Elena questions.
Elijah gives Elena a slight nod. "The binding my mother did was twofold. She suppressed both his vampire and werewolf halves. Elena's blood unlocks the vampire and the blood of a newly made hybrid will release the werewolf allowing Klaus to be a full hybrid again. Between the two is where he will be weakest. There is a weapon if used before both halves are fully unlocked that will weaken him allowing his heart or head to be removed thereby ending Klaus for good."
"Why not just use the weapon on him now, cut off his head and call it a day?" Alaric asks.
"We tried to eradicate him once the spell had been cast, but he proved just as indestructible as before when he walked among us." Elijah sighs. Of course, that would have made things so easy.
"So Klaus kills me, you kill him. All is right with the world?" Elena asks nonchalantly. I glare at her and can feel her fear rippling through her in waves. She is always trying to put on the brave face.
"No, the spell is very specific. Klaus needs to drain you to the point of death, but not beyond." Elijah stares at us, his face unreadable.
"What happens if he were to drain me completely?" Elena asks calmly.
Elijah shakes his head. "We don't know. Mother did not share those details."
"But, he's been without blood for months. Will be able to stop in time if he starts to feed from Elena?" Jeremy asks his voice rising in panic.
"Probably not, but that's the point isn't it?" Elena stares at Elijah. "It's the failsafe if he were to find a way to try and undo the spell. If she put something that specific in the spell then killing me must have some consequence. Either he dies with me or at least she knew he would no longer be able to make hybrids" Elena says leaning back on the couch.
"Mother was nothing if not thorough." Elijah gaze drops to the floor.
"When will he try to break the spell?" Stefan asks quietly.
"Two days. Two days there will be a full moon. The power of the celestial event is needed." Elijah suddenly stands placing his glass on the coffee table. This is bullshit, two days.
Elijah starts to walk across the room, but stops in front of Elena. "I know you are tempted to run, but I would advise against it. Klaus's manipulation of other's is growing stronger. He not only wants you to break the curse but I believe he wants you by his side. Klaus will come for you one way or another. Have you started to dream of him yet?" Elijah asks.
Shit. Elena gives me a sideways glance. "Yes." Elena keeps her voice steady, but her heart is practically beating out of her chest.
"He will manipulate and twist your dreams and eventually your thoughts until there is nothing left of you and nothing can be done to stop him until he is dead. I leave you to consider all that I have said and will return in the morning to make preparations if you are willing." Elijah gives a slide nod to his head and blurs out of the house. I am suddenly at a loss. I don't know how to protect her from Klaus getting in her head. That sick bastard has to die; no one ruins the plan this time.
"So I guess that's a no on the private island?" Caroline asks lightly. Everyone turns to glare at her. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood" She grumbles.
"Okay, we are all tired and cranky. Let's go home and sleep. We can meet back here first thing tomorrow to strategize, okay?" Alaric stands and stretches before looking down at me. "I may need a little assistance to take some more time off from school."
"Christmas came early; the vampire hunter is going to let me use compulsion." I rub my hands together and smirk at him.
"I may have officially lost my mind." Alaric starts walking towards the door shaking his head Jeremy a few steps behind him. Alaric stops at the door and turns back to face the room. "Elena, are staying here or coming back to the house?"
'I'm coming." Elena gets up from the couch Caroline walking alongside her heading for the door.
"Oh, I ran into Mrs. Lockwood earlier. She is totally clueless about what is going on with Tyler by the way. She wanted me to remind you that you're supposed to be at the Wickory Bridge dedication and the charity event after on Saturday." Caroline rambles.
"Oh, I forgot about that. Tell her if I survive breaking another curse I'll be there with bells on" Elena jokes. I hear Stefan sigh and he and I lock eyes for a second. A moment of understanding passes between us that she will survive this at any cost.
Bonnie walks towards the door staying behind Elena. As Elena is about to cross the threshold she turns suddenly and pulls Bonnie into a hug. "I don't want us to be mad at each other. You just need to trust me, okay?" Elena whispers.
"I will always trust you Elena. You're my best friend." Bonnie whispers back. Both girls are sniffling as tears roll down their cheeks.
Elena pulls Caroline into the hug. "I love you guys" Elena says through her tears. Why does it look like I am watching a good-bye?
The house empties leaving me alone with Stefan in the parlor. "I'm going hunting since everyone will be here first thing in the morning." Stefan pushes away from the fireplace and starts to cross the room. As he passes in front of me he stops. "Thanks Damon, for saving her."
"You're welcome little brother." I give him a half smile. "Now go have fun playing with bambi and thumper." Stefan gives a small chuckle and is gone. Maybe we can actually pretend to like each other someday.
The fire dies down as I sit and try not to think about Elena. Looking at the clock I realize it's almost midnight and decide to try and grab some sleep while I can. As I start to trudge up the stairs a sadness descends over me. The burden of it grows heavier with every passing second. The hug Elena gave to Bonnie and Caroline flashes through my mind. Damn her, she was saying good-bye. Fuck, I don't have my car. I blur out of the house and hope I make it her house in time. Arriving on the front porch I see her car still in the driveway. Listening to the sounds of the house, I hear two heartbeats upstairs and one heart beat, that I would know anywhere, downstairs. Elena is walking around the main floor of the house heading for the front door. I head over to her car and climb in the passenger seat and wait. Luckily her car is parked deep in the shadows. Minutes later the front door opens and Elena steps out. She looks back over her shoulder for a minute, I can only assume to take one last look at her childhood home, she whispers "good-bye" and quietly closes the door walking away from the house her head hung low.
The sadness increases and I have to fight to breathe as I feel like I am drowning in it. Elena opens up the driver's side door and stops as the dome light eliminates her doe eyes as they stare at me in shock.
"Going somewhere?" I ask narrowing my eyes. I had been hoping I was wrong, hoping she wouldn't be attempting a suicide mission. From the looks of it, that is exactly what she is doing.
Elena settles into the driver's seat. "Get out of the car Damon" she growls at me.
"What's the plan E-LE-NA? Hand yourself over and hope all will be right with the world?" I ask sarcastically.
"I'm trying to do the right thing Damon. No one else is going to die for me. Now, get….out…of …the…car." Elena reaches across me to open the passenger door. I pull it back shut.
"No, you're just trying to get yourself killed." My jaw is clench so tight to keep from screaming at her that my teeth may shatter.
"How did you even know I would be out here?" She crosses her arms and glares at me.
"Since judgey saddled me with an emotional lojack for you, I could feel how sad you were. A sadness that only comes from leaving friends and family." I hiss at her.
"Bonnie" she mutters angrily.
"I mean it Damon; if you care about me at all you will respect my decision and get out of the car." She looks me right in the eye.
"No, you don't get to do that. Not this time. You don't get to use my feelings for you to get what you want. It's because I love you that I won't let you destroy yourself." I don't care if she hates me if it means she lives. Part of me hates that I love her so much, that I allow the push pull of our relationship to occur as it suites her needs, but the other part of me excepts that just like the rest of she has flaws which actually makes me her love her that much more.
She looks at me shock written all over her face. "Damon, I didn't, I don't mean…." she growls in frustration. "Can't you see I am just trying to do the right thing? Trying to make sure everyone stays safe? Please get out!" She points her index finger indicating for me to get out.
"God, how can one person be so fucking selfless and selfish all at the same time" I say angrily not even looking at her.
"Selfish, SELFISH!" Elena reaches over to slap me, but I catch her wrist.
"I seem to recall having this discussion with you before. Don't try to hit me again." I hiss at her. Part of me wants her to be scared of me so she would run back into the house to get away; of course she is too stubborn to be scared of me.
She yanks her hand out of my grasp. "How is trying to make sure my friends and family are safe selfish?"
"Because you're not making some noble sacrifice. You're being a martyr. You're giving up. You get to die thinking everyone is safe but the rest of have to survive with the knowledge that we let you die."
"No one is 'letting me die' Damon." She stared out the windshield no longer meeting my gaze.
"This is how you're selfish Elena. You don't even realize the devastation that will be left behind if you just give yourself up to Klaus. What happens to Jeremy? You're the only family he has left. He's mourned the same loved ones you've lost and now you're going to force him to bury you too? What about Alaric? He's practically an alcoholic as it is. Protecting you and Jeremy is all that gets him out of bed in the morning." I'm gesticulating widely, but I'm on a roll and couldn't stop myself even if I wanted to.
"What about Stefan? You weren't even going to tell him good-bye were you, Elena? You dying like this will destroy him. I've already watched Klaus destroy him once I won't watch that happen again. And that's what will happen Elena. Everyone, everyone will be destroyed if you turn yourself over now." Now I'm yelling.
"I'm saving the people I care about by doing this Damon." She argues back looking my in the eye again.
"No you're not Elena. You're giving up. I've seen inside of you Elena. I felt your pain when you thought I killed Jeremy. Felt you grief as you recounted all that you had lost as thought you were watching me die. I lived your fear of feeling like all the pain and death of the last two years is caused by you. Admit while you're really doing this." I say urgently my voice hoarse from yelling.
Elena's eyes brim with tears and she just shakes her head. "Please Damon, just let me go."
"Say it Elena" I plead. "You don't have to pretend to be strong for me."
"I'm begging you Damon. Let me go." She whispers.
"No."
"I never asked anyone to die for me Damon." The tears finally start to flow.
"That's why you're selfless Elena, you would never ask anyone to risk themselves for you, but the fact is they did. You're selfish to think your death wouldn't devastate all of those that have fought so hard to keep you alive. You give up now and Jenna, John, Isobel, Jules, they are all died in vain." I run my hands through my hair hoping that some of this is getting through to her.
"If I go now no one else has to die. I-I can't watch anyone else die Damon. They're all gone because of me. I won't survive losing anyone else. The pain is too much to carry." The sobs start to rack her body. Finally she admits it. She has carried this burden of her loses on her own for so long, thinking she has to be the pillar of strength. Maybe letting some of it out will ease the burden a bit.
"That's the burden of living Elena. Its pain and grief but they died so you could have the chance at joy and love." I cup her face forcing her to look at me.
"You are the strongest person I know Elena. You stronger than you realize. Fight. You have to fucking fight. Don't let Klaus win. Don't let all the pain and death be in vain. Honor their memories by surviving. Fight alongside me and I promise you that Klaus will die and you and everyone else will survive." I am fighting to stay strong as the tears are streaming down her face.
"You can't make that promise Damon" she says through ragged breaths.
"I promise Elena. You and the Scooby gang will walk away from this with Klaus dead. Understand." I say urgently still cupping her face.
Elena just nods as the sobs rack her body harder. I get out of the car and circle around and open her door. I pull her out of the car and she clutches my shirt and cries. She cries for all those that have gone before us and the pain and chaos that Klaus has dumped on our lives. I just stand in the yard holding her until she cries herself to sleep. I carry her into the house and up to her room. Alaric emerges from his room on hearing my footsteps on the stairs.
Alaric watches me as I deposit Elena on her bed, covering her with her comforter. I stroke her cheek gently praying for her to have a few moments of peace in her sleep. I head out of her room and downstairs Alaric following closely behind.
"What the hell happened now?" He asks in exasperation.
"Cute PJs" I joke as I notice he is only standing in the foyer in his boxers.
"Shut-up asshole and tell me what happened." He glares at me.
"One suicide mission aborted." I quip heading into the kitchen and grabbing the bottle of whiskey and taking a drink straight from the bottle. I hand over the bottle and Alaric takes a long pull from it sitting heavily on a stool at the kitchen island.
"Let me guess, trying to save us all?" Alaric takes another long drink.
"Easy there dad. Need you sober to keep an eye on the kids." I grab the bottle from him.
I pull out my cell phone and dial Stefan. "Stefan, can come over to Elena's? She's fine" I finish quickly.
"Sure, I'm on my way." Stefan hangs up. Alaric and sit in the kitchen until Stefan walks through the door. As I sit there I think over our previous plans to take out Klaus. Too many close calls where we almost lost Elena. We need a back up plan and insurance that she survives.
Looking at the two of us, Stefan's expression darkens. "Is everything okay?"
"Alaric will explain. I need to borrow your car to run an errand." Stefan gives me an odd expression but tosses me his keys without asking any further questions.
"You kids be good while I'm gone." I smirk and leave the house heading for Stefan's car driving to one of the places I hate the most.
Gazing up at the dilapidated house, the place where so many witches lost their lives, I push my apprehension aside and walk in. It's best that I came at night since the dead witches tend to make my daylight ring null and void. Even the dead love to hate me.
"Hello dead witchy-witches." Suddenly I can no longer move. "Good to see there are still no hard feelings." I call as I continue to struggle to move from the spot where I am frozen.
"I came to discuss Kla-us" I sing song. I fall forward as I am suddenly released. A wind rustles throw the house whispers floating on the air currents.
"Klaus is trying to break free of the spell cast on him. A spell cast by one of your own and Elena is yet again needed to break it. Yet again she is forced to put her life on the line to try and end Klaus, correct a mistake a witch made." The wind whips fiercely around me.
"Elena already died once; she only survived because a father gave his life for his daughter. Her entire family is gone except for her brother. There is no family left to protect her because she was forced to watch them all die around her" I yell into the darkness of the house.
The wind blows and I hear whispers.
"Balance" comes from behind me.
"Abomination" drifts on the air in front of me.
"Klaus will not survive this; I will make sure of that. You best be prepared to greet him as he crosses to the other side, but Elena doesn't deserve to die for that to happen. I will do everything in my power to protect her, but if something goes wrong, I offer a trade. My life for hers." The house shakes around me.
"It's a win-win. One beautiful pure soul remains in the world and one evil vampire is gone." The house shakes again more violently.
"Esther, I know you can hear me. You owe her! Elena is compassionate and selfless, yet you bound her to a life of death and pain. You ask an eighteen year old girl to fix your mistake. Witches are about balance, yet you allowed a monster to live. Klaus has plagued generation after generation with death and atrocities. I get that he is your son and you couldn't kill him. Elena is someone's daughter too. She loves and is loved. Elena hasn't even begun to live. The deal I offer is fair, take my life for hers. Please." I plead into the night. I am met only with silence.
"Let Bonnie back into the witchy secret circle and let her draw on your power again. It was because of me Jeremy was shot and he paid the price by being tormented by the ghosts of those he lost. We will need her at full strength if we are to defeat Klaus." Bonnie and I may be at odds, but she is one of the strongest witches I have met and having access to the power of this place could be the difference in Klaus dyeing or us.
The house remains silent. "I love Elena. She deserves to live. Please help me make sure she lives."
A piece of paper flutters to my feet. I reach down and pick it up reading its contents. "Thank you." I tuck the spell into the inside pocket of my jacket and exit the house into the cool night air. The moon shines bright nearly full. The stars seem brighter and the air crisper as I breathe it in. I guess knowing that there is a good chance you will be dead in two days makes you appreciate the little things a bit more.
A/N: This chapter was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, which seems to fit Damon and Elena's relationship. Please review!