A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews-they make my day. The support for this story continues to be outstanding. I have been trying to respond to all of the reviews and I apologize if I missed anyone. Happy reading!

Chapter 17

After having a scintillating conversation with Stefan at the crack of dawn, then compelling the high school principal and multiple teachers to excuse Alaric and the supernatural Scooby gang from school, all the while listening to Alaric bitch about having to use compulsion in the first place because of Klaus, we were all gathered back at the Boarding House. I camp out in my favorite chair and am sipping a glass of blood when Elijah arrives.

"Good morning." Elijah strides into the room like he owns the place.

I snicker at the chorus of grumbled "morning" from the sleep deprived group gathered in the parlor.

"I can assume by the gathering that Elena is on board to end Klaus?" Elijah's gaze falls to Elena who nods her head.

"The real question is can we trust you to help make sure Klaus dies this time. Can you be a part of something that results in the end to your brother's life?" Stefan stares Elijah down. Stefan's wearing his big boy pants today. It's enough to make a big brother proud. All the eyes in the room turn to Elijah waiting for his response.

"My relationship with my brother has always been complicated, but Klaus was my brother and there was a time when I could let no harm come to him." Elijah looks from Stefan to me. I get it, not unlike me and Stefan who have hated each other off and on for 150 years but neither of us can let the other die.

"Since the night of the sacrifice, I have learned that he was responsible for the deaths of my mother and father, he kept me from my siblings for no other reason than leverage to ensure I would not betray him, plus Klaus daggered me. I no longer call him family. He will pay for the wrongs he has done against my family with his life. You have my word on that." Elijah's eyes lock with Elena's and she studies him for a moment.

"Excuse us if your word is a tad suspect at the moment. " Alaric eyes Elijah suspiciously.

"You mentioned something about a weapon. Where is it?" The edge in my voice is evident.

"Ever to the point as always Damon." Elijah reaches into the inside pocket of his blazer and pulls out a dagger and places it on the coffee table. The hilt is made of wood and bone with what looks like Viking script carved on it. The blade is about six inches in length streaked with lines of silver, black, and white. Elijah sets the dagger on the coffee table. I stride over and pick the dagger up by the blade.

"Shit!" I instantly drop the dagger as it burns my hand.

"The blade was forged by my father. The metal was wrought and infused with vervain" Elijah gives me a half smile, "as well as wolfsbane and the ash from the white oak that my family burned to the ground."

"I thought he couldn't be daggered like the rest of you?" Elena asks.

"My father created this not as a means to kill Niklaus, the white oak stake was the only weapon capable of ending his life in one stroke, but he created it as a means of weakening him. Make him vulnerable. It was his…back-up plan if the stake was ever lost. Like the white oak stake he had this hidden away and my mother alerted us to its existence. I have been searching for the dagger since we re-cursed my brother." Elijah adjusts his suit jacket shifting his weight as he stands taking in the room.

"Where was it?" Bonnie asks. I roll my eyes impatiently at the question.

"My father hid it at our ancestral home in Europe."

"Who cares where it was or the long saga of finding it. We have it now so we need a plan to make sure Klaus is D-E-A-D, dead." I cross the room and grab a crystal tumbler filling it with bourbon.

"Isn't a little early to be drinking?" Elena rolls her eyes at me.

"Its five o'clock somewhere" I shrug taking a sip.

"Tell us, Elijah, what do we need to know about this little dagger of yours. The last dagger I was given almost got me killed." I glare at him. Granted I was trying to use the dagger on him, so he is probably happy about that fact. Had Elena not read her ancestor's journal in time, I would be one dead vampire.

Elijah walks over to Bonnie and pulls a small book from his left hand pocket. He holds out the book to Bonnie. She tentatively reaches out and takes the book looking at him with confusion.

"As with the other daggers, it is spelled that if wielded by a vampire, death will follow. This book contains a spell that will allow me to dagger my brother." Elijah stands behind one of the leather winged back chairs running his hand along the top of the chair.

"How do we know you'll actually go through with the daggering?" I ask incredulously gesticulating at him with my crystal tumbler.

"As I said before, Klaus is no longer my brother and will pay for his crimes with his life." Elijah's face took on a stern look.

"Maybe I should dagger him. I will already be close to him when he takes my blood and I'm human so it can't hurt me." Elena offers.

"No!" Stefan and I say in unison. "It's bad enough you have to there for any part of this, we are not putting you in harms way any further." Stefan says gently moving to sit next to her on the couch.

Elena shoots a look of disgust at me and Stefan before turning to face Elijah. "So how does this ritual work to break the curse?" Elena asks calmly.

"First they will turn the werewolf so he or she is fully transitioned by the time they are needed for the sacrifice. Then Elena, your blood will be used to awaken Klaus. He will need to drink from you until the point of death." Elijah explains.

"Can someone tell me what 'point of death' means?" Jeremy interrupts.

"There is a moment, its brief, where a vampire can hear from the heartbeat that the person has reached their limit. Any more blood loss would result in death, but if you stop in that moment the person should still live." Stefan explains with a wistful expression as if he is remembering what it was like to feed from a live person. I try to suppress my sigh as I see his face. He just needs to hang on a little longer at controlling the bloodlust. Once Klaus is dead we can focus back on his control issues.

"Once Klaus is awake he needs to drink from the hybrid then remove his heart. Once the hybrid's heart has been removed the dagger will no longer be of any use and Klaus will again be invincible. The window of opportunity is narrow." Elijah sighs.

"So what's the plan?" Elena asks looking from Elijah to me.

"Create a distraction and I will stake Klaus and remove his head. Once he is dead the sire bond will be severed and the hybrids will no longer want to create a blood bath in your fair town." Elijah crosses his hands behind his back.

"Do tell Elijah, where will this shindig go down tomorrow night?" I ask.

"My brother's body has rested in the caves that hold our family history." Elijah informs us.

"His body has been in Mystic Falls this whole time? Thanks for giving us a heads up." Caroline scoffs. "Could you have made it any easier for Klaus to get to Elena?"

"Again we thought no witch would ever want to help Klaus. Since Miss Gilbert has strong attachments to vampires we assumed she would eventually turn eliminating the source that would help end the curse." Elijah's gaze travels from Elena, to Stefan to me. "If she remained human, we would only need to keep Klaus hidden from any helpful witch for 70 or so years until Elena died a natural death." Elijah gives Elena a small smile. Elena's death does not warrant smiles. I hate that she is just a pawn in their games.

"But what if I were to have had kids, another doppelganger would eventually be born and would suffer the same life as me." Elena's voice rises in anger as she speaks.

"We would have crossed that bridge when we came to it" Elijah says simply.

Elena just shakes her head, her anger evident to everyone from the scowl on her face. If looks could kill, Elijah would one dead original.

Elena seems to regain her composure. "I think we should reconsider having Elijah dagger Klaus. I will already be close to him. It just makes sense to have me do it." Elena argues.

"To wake him up, he has to feed off of you, Elena. You're going to be weak. Not a good idea to have the person daggering an original barely able to stand. Leave it those that can heal quickly when Klaus tries to crush whoever holds that dagger" I argue back.

"Damon's right." Alaric agrees. "Let the undead deal with the undead and we humans can be back-up." I flash her a grin of satisfaction. Let's see you defy good ole step-daddy.

Elijah picks up the dagger again. Now I see that he is only touching the handle. A little heads up about the blade would have been nice. I blur over and grab it from his hand. "I think, this, remains here with us." I hold the dagger up in the air away from him, remembering to hold it by the hilt this time.

"Call it an act of faith" Stefan offers. Elijah nods at both us.

"Very well, if it means I have you're trust then I will leave it in your care. With that, I will make my leave. I will be back tomorrow so we can finalize our preparations for tomorrow night. Good day. Elena, may I speak to you a moment before I depart?" Elijah holds out his hand in front of him for Elena to lead the way outside. Elena looks around at everyone in the room.

"Alone, please?" Elijah gestures to the front door again. What is that sneaky bastard up to?

"Sure" Elena gets up waking outside with Elijah following.

Stefan looks at me and I nod my head in the direction of the door for him to follow. Stefan moves to the foyer and leans against the wall next to the front door. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of Elena's heartbeat to make sure it doesn't leave the front porch. A sense of surprise comes from her. A few minutes later the door opens and Elena re-enters the house.

"So what did our fair Elijah want to discuss?" I refill my glass eyeing her with suspicion hoping she is not hatching some new kamikaze plan.

"He just wanted to reassure me we can trust him." Elena says fidgeting. Something is up, but she is so stubborn I'm not sure I will be able to get it out of her.

"Do we have a plan to make sure Klaus doesn't drain Elena dry?" Caroline asks.

"We chock Elena so full of vervain that Klaus will have no choice but to stop drinking from her. If he has to take even one drop of blood he is going to suffer for it." I smile at the thought of him writhing in agony from drinking Elena's vervain laced blood. "Everything that you eat or drink for the next two days is laced with vervain and we have a nice hot little nurse come visit tomorrow afternoon and give you an IV of fluids also full of vervain." I walk around the bar and flop back into chair feeling very pleased with myself.

Elena sighs in exasperation as she sits back on the couch. Frustration, anger, hit me in waves, in other words, Elena is in a wonderful mood. "Cheer up pouty, you are in the mix for this plan, you just don't get the honor of daggering the big baddy this time. You've daggered three originals already. It's someone else's turn." I smirk at her.

"But you think Elijah should be the one to do it? Do you trust him?" Elena fires back.

"Nope." I pop the p. "That's why witchey" I nod my head in Bonnie's direction, "is going to do the spell so me, Stefan, or Caroline can use the dagger, not just Elijah."

"Why?" Jeremy asks.

"If there is one thing I learned from our past failures and from Klaus himself is to have a plan, back-up plan, and back-up of the back-up plan." I drain my glass and look around the room. "So get with the spell making so any vampire in our little Justice League is able take out Klaus if the others are somehow… engaged." Or dead.

I turn to Stefan. "Speaking of back-up plans, did do that thing we discussed this morning?" Saint Stefan has been roped into my plan making process as he can be more persuasive than me. People just like him more.

"It's done." Stefan acknowledges. Elena's eyes flicker from me to Stefan but luckily Bonnie speaks up before she can get a question out. I just grin at her.

Bonnie glares at me. "The spell has to be done at dawn. It's a really complicated spell. I'm not sure I can do it without an extra boost of power."

"The witches are still shutting you out?" Stefan asks.

"Yes, they've never forgiven me for bringing Jeremy back." Bonnie looks over at Jeremy with a sad half smile.

"Witches are fickle creatures, maybe if you ask really nice, say pretty please, they'll let you back in the secret circle," I drawl. "Tell them if they help they can soon have Klaus on the other side to torture for the rest of eternity."

"Damon's right, it can't hurt to ask." Jeremy pipes up.

"I'm brilliant, what can I say." Those witches better not go back on our deal

We strategize and come up with a plan to subdue Klaus to allow him to be daggered and killed. Alaric has luckily thoroughly mapped out the caves so we were able to identify locations for everyone to be stationed to keep the hybrids at bay and provide the necessary distractions.

"Okay the plan is set." I stand up and stretch turning towards Stefan. "Let's go brother; we have things to do, and evil to overthrow. Blondie, you stick with Elena. Make sure there are no early departures. You guys can do more research on the dagger make sure Elijah isn't leaving out any pertinent details."

"I have a stack of research at my house. I will drop it off on my way to talk to the witches." Bonnie stands up and gathers her things.

"I'll come with you." Jeremy jumps up.

"Meet back at the house, we'll have grab pizza or something. All of us." Elena puts on her fake smile. Damnit, the same sadness from last night hits me. She still thinks this is going to end badly and wants a good-bye dinner. Well, she's probably right, but for once I would like one of our plans to work.

Stefan and I head out to his Porsche and I see a slight smirk on his face as he climbs into the driver's seat. Smug brotherly bastard. He's a little too chipper about my car being destroyed.

"Where are we going?" Stefan looks at me out of the corner of his eye as he drives away from the Boarding House.

"Covering our bases. Klaus isn't stupid. He knows we will have something planned to protect Elena and he will try and catch us off guard." I give him a sideways glance. "How do you feel about a little body snatching?" I fell positively giddy at the thought of stealing and torturing Klaus's body.

"How will that help?" Stefan asks.

"Plan A, have no original that needs to be woken up. Plan B is daggering the bastard." I look out the window at the passing scenery. "Maybe Bonnie can sever the link that allows Klaus's mind to go on his little midnight strolls. We can then drop him in the middle of the ocean or somewhere equally pleasant keeping Elena from needing to be involved." I worry too many things can go wrong with our plan to dagger Klaus.

"Let's go see about stealing an original." Stefan speeds down the road.

We park a few miles away from the caves and head the rest of the way on foot. We didn't travel far before we spotted the first hybrids. We watch for over a half hour and see at least five hybrids patrolling the area.

"So much for just walking in and grabbing him" I say sarcastically.

"What now?" Stefan asks.

"Let's get out of here. We can't get to him on our own. Tomorrow just before this all goes down might be out best bet and our secret weapon will be just the thing to pull this off. We have more prep to do in case we can't get to his body and have to go with this stupid idea of daggering Klaus tomorrow night." Stefan and I retreat back to the car.

"Now where?" Stefan asks as he climbs back into the car.

"Head to the Sheriff's office." We drive in silence the rest of the way.

Stefan and I stride into the sheriff's office. Liz is sitting behind her desk working on her laptop. "Damon, Stefan, I assume you are here about Klaus and Elena?" Liz leans back in her chair as we sit down across the desk from her.

"That is why I like you Liz, no bullshit." I wink at her as a slight blush tinges her cheeks.

"Is there a way to track Elena if we are not with her?" Time to use any and all resources at our disposal.

"We can track her using her cell phone. Assuming she can keep the phone with her and turned on we would be able to locate her. Leave me her cell number and I will make sure I am in the office tomorrow night so we can locate her if needed." Liz gives me a sympathetic smile.

"Good. You need a curfew or some way to keep people off the streets tomorrow night."

"Why?" Liz sits up concerned.

"Some of Klaus's hybrids are here and the rest are heading back into town. Things could get bloody if this doesn't go his way." I stand up to leave. "Remind your deputies that the only way to kill them is to remove the heart or head."

"Tyler?" Liz asks.

"Klaus has been controlling him. We assume he'll be back tomorrow night if he's not back already." Stefan stands up and starts heading to the door.

"I can't promise that Tyler will make it out of this unscathed." A scowl comes across my face. Even though I know Klaus is responsible all I can picture is Elena's beaten body on her front porch and Tyler's face.

"Just make sure my daughter survives, that's all I ask." Liz stares directly in my eyes. I just nod my head in acknowledgement and stride out of the room after Stefan.

"What's next?" Stefan asks as we get back on the road. "Do you really think this thing will go down in those caves?" Stefan asks.

"Nope, that's why our next errand is too scout our other locations they might use. So let's go chauffer, drive, scout." I snap my fingers and lean back in the passenger seat as Stefan sighs. We drive around for the next few hours stopping periodically to map out locations and plan the tactical assault that could work at each location.

As we are driving around, a sense of sadness and disappointment hits me. "We have one more stop to make before we had back to Elena's."

Elena's POV

Research has turned out to be futile. Nothing in any of Isobel's research or the Gilbert journals mention the dagger. I did turn up a lot of information on doppelgangers. None of it good.

Just as Alaric, Caroline and I were giving up on the research Damon and Stefan walk in the house arms full of grocery bags.

"What are you two up to?" Caroline asks suspiciously.

"Dinner" Stefan strides into the kitchen.

"I was just going to order pizza." It's not the best last meal but as long as we are all together it doesn't matter.

"Pst, pizza. You have two expert Italian chefs, one drop dead gorgeous and one," Damon looks over his shoulder at Stefan "so-so." Stefan glares at Damon.

I can't help but roll my eyes at him. "You don't have to do that."

"You need to eat, we can cook, win-win." Damon shrugs heading into the kitchen. Caroline and I follow them into the kitchen sitting at the kitchen island watching them work. Before our eyes things are chopped, sauce is simmering on the stove, and Stefan and Damon are efficiently moving around the kitchen making a full Italian feast. Chicken cacciatore, garlic bread, salad, strawberry shortcake for dessert. As I watch them work, it makes me wonder if this is a glimpse at what their relationship might have been like when they were human.

A short time later Bonnie and Jeremy come home. "Wow, what smells so good?" Jeremy exclaims.

"It's called cooking baby Gilbert. Meals are possible without the microwave." Damon smirks at Jeremy.

"So I should just call you Susie homemaker from now on." Jeremy fires back.

"Watch it there little Gilbert or I'll have Pops over there ground you and send you to bed without any dinner." Damon motions over to Alaric who cringes at the 'Pops' reference. We are so lucky that Alaric has stuck around. Jeremy and I would have been lost without a parental figure around through all of this.

The seven of us gather around the dining room table to eat. We talked and laughed. None of us spoke of what was about to happen the next day. No one acknowledges that this might be our last night alive and together as the dysfunctional family we have become. After dinner I offer to clean up while everyone else gathers in the living room.

As I finish loading the dishwasher I sense someone behind me. I turn to see Stefan leaning against the island watching me. "I enjoyed watching you and Damon cook together. It was nice seeing you two have a brotherly moment." I smile at him.

"I'm sorry I accused him of hurting you." Stefan took a sudden interest in the sleeve of his long sleeve t-shirt.

"I know you are. Just know that even if Damon doesn't show it, he cares about you and looks out for you even when you don't realize it." I reach out and gently touch his arm.

Stefan just nods his head. "I have to go hunt. It's probably my last chance before tomorrow night. Are you going to be okay?" Stefan moves over and pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. I repress a sigh trying to suppress the felling that something is missing being in his arms.

"Fine. Just be careful." I pull back and force a small smile.

Stefan heads out of the house saying good-bye as he passes by the living room. I follow him into the living room and lean against the back of the couch watching Damon and Jeremy play a video game. Alaric is cheering Jeremy on urging him to 'kick Damon's ass' while Bonnie and Caroline gossip off in the corner. I can't help but smile at the normalcy of the scene. A bystander would never know that in twenty four hours we are all about to risk our lives in an attempt to kill an original vampire, werewolf hybrid. Damon suddenly looks up and locks eyes with me and smiles. Why is it I feel like a bolt of lightning hits me whenever he looks at me like that? Get it together, Gilbert. These are the times that I wish I had that vampire feelings switch and could turn everything off.

I sit and watch them play for a while and my eyes grow heavy. The next thing I know I am being carried upstairs.

"Go back to sleep Sleeping Beauty. Tomorrow will be a long day." Damon says quietly as he sets me down on the bed and covers me with my comforter. He kisses me on the forward and turns to the leave the room and panic fills me.

"Please stay" pops out of my mouth before I can stop it. Caroline is right that I take Damon for granted and I am selfish with his feelings, but I am petrified that everyone is going to die tomorrow night and I don't want to me alone. I shouldn't ask him to stay, but he is the only one that provides me with a sense of comfort and safety.

"Sure" he says quietly sliding onto the bed resting against the headboard. I scoot over so my head is resting against his leg and close my eyes. Damon gently strokes my hair calming my frayed nerves. I can feel my eyes grow heavy again and I hope my nightmares stay away just for one night.

"There is something between us. Admit it." Damon says urgently an arm on either side of my head caging me against my bedroom door. I just shake my head furiously at him trying to duck under his arm.

"I love you. I know you feel the same way. Just say it." He growls stepping closer his hips pinning me to the door.

"I can't " I whisper fisting my hands in his button down shirt resting my forehead against his chest.

He lifts my chin so we are eye to eye. "You're scared" he ghosts against my lips. "Just say it Elena. Say what we both know you feel."

"I can't" I whisper again.

"If you can't say the words then show me. Show me how much you love me." Damon kisses me and moves his hands into my hair. The electricity sparks the second our lips touch. Before I can fully return the kiss he pulls back and stares into my eyes. "Show me" he dares.

My heart is beating out of my chest and I rip open Damon's shirt buttons making soft sounds as they bounce around the room and I start kissing and sucking at the newly exposed skin. Damon quickly returns the favor and my tank is in tatters on the flow. Damon grips my thighs and my legs immediately wrap around his waist.

"I love you Elena. I will always love you." Damon kisses his way down my neck across my collarbone as I undo his belt and push his jeans down his hips. My jean skirt is already riding up and Damon rips off my white panty's throwing them aside to join my tattered tank top. The intensity of his touch causes me to close my eyes.

"Elena, look at me" Damon softly orders gently rocking his hips against me. I quickly comply and feel like he is looking into my soul. "Let yourself feel Elena."

"Damon, I l-"

"E-le-na" Damon strangles out slumping against me. My feet touch the ground just in time to catch Damon as blood pours from his chest. I just stare in horror at the dying vampire in my arms.

"Tsk, Tsk, Elena. You really are Katherine's doppelganger, aren't you? Here I thought I would stumble across you having idyllic dreams of your sweet Stefan not his dastardly brother." I look up to see Klaus standing in front of me.

"Klaus." Klaus shoves Damon's body aside and presses himself against me.

"You will be mine soon, love." Klaus's vampire visage comes out and he sniffs along my neck. "I can't wait to taste you in so many ways." Klaus pushes down my bra strap and pierces my shoulder causing me to hiss in pain as he drags his fangs down across my chest before pulling back.

"Shall I give my regards to your little brother?" Klaus steps away from me walking backwards across the room.

"Leave Jeremy alone" I growl. Klaus laughs and continues to walk away from me.

"Klaus!" I scream.

"Elena, Elena" I feel myself being shaken. "Elena you're having a nightmare." I try to get up but feel arms wrapped around me. I open my eyes and look up to find myself staring into Damon's crystal blue eyes as I take ragged breathes.

"You're okay. It was a nightmare." Damon says gently pulling me closer. I look around and he is sitting up against my headboard his arms wrapped around me. Sunlight is streaming through the windows.

"Jeremy" I whisper and untangle myself from Damon's arms and run for Jeremy's room with Damon close behind. Jeremy's room is empty. I can't breathe. Jeremy isn't in his bed. Damon turns me around and grabs my arms holding me in place.

"Elena, he went with Bonnie to do the spell on the dagger. It had to be done at sunrise. He's fine." Damon explains. He sniffs the air and looks me his eyes widening. "You're bleeding."

I look down as blood starts to stain my t-shirt. Damon slowly pulls down the top of my t-shirt revealing two long deep gashes.

"How?" Damon asks his face contorted in anger. I don't understand either how the injury Klaus gave me in my dreams translated to the real world.

I just shake my head, not having any answers. "Klaus was in my dream."

"Sit" Damon leads me to the bed before disappearing into the bathroom and returning with the first aid kit.

"Is this our new thing? You applying first aid to me?" I try to laugh and tamp down my fear which is threatening to become paralyzing at the moment. The last thing Damon needs is my fear on top of everything he is feeling at the moment.

"What can I say…I have like playing doctor." Damon does his eye thing at me. I can feel myself blush. Stupid body.

Damon cleans and bandages the wounds and we head downstairs. I feel much calmer. Alaric is already in the kitchen making coffee.

"Elena can you grab the paper from the porch?" Alaric calls to me.

"Sure." I open the front door looking down. I can't stop the sob from escaping as I stare at the porch. Damon is at my side in a second.

"Shit!" Damon mutters.

"Damon" I whisper as I bend down and pick up Jeremy's eternity ring.

A/N: Just in case there was any confusion. The italics in the Elena's point of view section was Elena's dream. Please review!