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Chapter 005

Mi Casa es Su Casa

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Monday, May 31, 2010; around 1:30 a.m.

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Elena keeps staring at me as if she can't seem to take her eyes off me. She was very clear that she didn't want to leave me when I suggested she and Caroline go shopping, so I could feed Bonnie and Jeremy when they woke up.

I frowned and told her, "Nothing bad is going to happen 'Lena while you're gone."

She frowned back and told me, "You don't know that. What if Klaus shows up?"

I sighed and said, "I'm perfectly capable of handling him now that I'm myself once again, and it'd be better that he shows up when none of you are around to get hurt."

I paused then Caroline told her, "Seriously 'Lena, I promise he'll be fine for the hour it will take the two of us to buy groceries."

Tyler seemed to sense that no one was winning this argument so he added, "'Lena, would it help if I come back once my mom goes to sleep? Then he won't be alone, and we can call you guys if anything happens."

She paused to consider his words then said, "You promise to come right back?"

He nodded and told her, "I promise, 'Lena. As soon as my mom is out for the night I'll come back."

She nodded and smiled as she said, "Okay then." Never mind the irony of Tyler being here to protect me when his venom is what killed me the first time but the promise worked so whatever.

She admitted to Caroline in the store that, "I feel as though if I'm not looking at him I'll wake up or he'll drop dead. His dying was way too close for my comfort," which is probably true for everyone but especially for Elena. I mean I actually died again and not undead dead, but dead-dead. It's only sheer luck that I had that spell placed on me and that dying was the way to break it.

I know Elena knows I know things I'm not telling her and Caroline. I tried to keep the trailing off mid-sentence and furtive glances between each of us in the know to a minimum but they still happened enough to tip Elena, and probably Caroline, off that there are things she doesn't know.

Therefore, I'm not surprised when after our very later dinner, she follows me into the living room, and as I pour myself a glass of Bourbon she asks, "So what aren't you telling me and the rest of us?"

As I pour Ric a glass I sigh, I hate keeping secrets probably just as much as Bonnie does still I can't tell these secrets yet, so I turn to face her fully and tell her what I can, "Honestly, there's a lot I'm not telling you 'Lena, but I can't tell any of it to any of you. If I do, it would put you at risk and I'm not talking as if it might put you at risk. The simple act of speaking the words could possibly have catastrophic consequences, such as some of you dying. It has to do with the spell. I promise eventually you'll all know everything but as badly as I hate keeping secrets right now it's our only option."

She stares into my eyes the entire time I'm talking, and I know she can see the pure honesty shining in my eyes as well as the glint in them reflecting the sharp pain in my chest over having to keep a secret, so I'm pleased when she nods and says, "Okay, I trust you."

Apparently, she really does know I'd never lead her astray, and I'd die before I let anything happen to her or Caroline for that matter or really any of them at this point, even Bonnie and Tyler, who strangely are now my two number one fans. I smile a rare smile and tell her, "Thank you Elena, you have no idea what that means to me."

I know Bonnie told Elena the same thing I just did about our secrets. Fortunately for us, Elena seems to believe her too. She knows her best friend would never keep a secret if it wasn't a life or death situation, I mean her grams told her not to tell anyone she was a Witch and she immediately told Elena anyway.

Elena nods and smiles back as everyone else files into the living room. I hand Ric his glass before he goes and sits down. Ty sits down on the couch to my left as Care joins him. Jeremy has his laptop out and after placing his backpack at his feet, he sits on the couch to my right as he sets the computer on his lap. Once settled he turns to look at Bonnie who's still standing and says, "I'm not having any luck searching the internet for the warehouse I drew. Plus, other than knowing the one of the singer is probably from the 1920's based on the clothes she's wearing I'm clueless about where or when the other drawings are from so can you show him the sketches I made maybe he'll know what, where, and when they all are."

She nods and flips open the sketchbook she's carrying to the correct page and walks over to hand it to me. As she walks back to the couch Jer is sitting on and sits beside him I look down at the first page and despite the subject matter I smile. Jeremy really has grown as an artist since I first met him so I tell him, "Little Gilbert, I'm impressed, your renderings keep getting better and better."

He smiles a shy smile and says, "Thanks man, I think the advice you gave me a few months ago really helped me with my perspective issues."

I nod, as his perspective is now flawless as evidenced by the stunning use of foreshortening on the shelves holding bottles in this drawing. I take a sip of my drink and then I cautiously say, "This first one is a secret closet in the apartment that Stefan kept in Chicago during the 1920's. He still owns the whole building and I know he's continued to pay his taxes and whatnot."

Care, Ty, and Ric watched as Jer drew all of his sketches tonight so I know they already know what I'm looking at. However, at that time Elena was 'helping' me cook by stirring everything after I cut it and added it to the bowl before I threw it all in a pot and then took over stirring since I know the Gilbert's propensity for burning things. Therefore, I'm not surprised when a moment later she walks closer to me to look at the picture. I pray Elena just takes me at my word but of course, after looking at it for a long minute she asks one of the questions I don't want to have to answer, "How did you get that from a list of names on a wall and some bottles on some shelves."

I frown and my hand tightens on the book. Damn Saint Stefan and his inability to tell his girl the truth about himself. Now I'm stuck delivering his bad news. I lift the glass and take a sip just to give myself another moment before I shatter Elena's perception of the man she loves.

When I can't put it off any longer, I try to answer without actually answering, "Most Vampires have eidetic memory, and I'm no exception, so I recognize the names as the same ones on the wall in Stefan's hidden closet in the Chicago apartment."

She frowns back at me as I tense waiting for the question I've known was coming since I first laid eyes on this drawing. She stares at me for a minute and then a moment later she asks, "Oh so what do the names mean?"

I sigh again, and I tighten my grips on my glass and the book enough that my knuckles are paper white. I consciously will my hands and the rest of my body to relax with moderate success before I reluctantly tell her, "They're, well, they're his victims' names. He always asked their names so he could put them on his walls."

When she opens her mouth to ask another question I bite the proverbial bullet and just tell her, "He's actually got a number of walls like this throughout the country. But like I said I recognize these names as being from the Chicago apartment."

I see her mouth open and pray she doesn't ask how many walls he has. She pauses and I know that's exactly what she was going to ask, but miracle of miracles she seems to realize she doesn't actually want to know so instead she says, "That's a lot of names."

I put down the book and after finishing my drink I pour myself another generous glass of Bourbon before taking a big swallow then I look at her. My chest tightens uncomfortably and with pain-filled eyes I tell her, "Honestly Elena I know you love him, but he hasn't told you even the tip of the iceberg about who he is when he's on Human blood. He's not the Stefan you know and love, in fact, he's not even the Vampire who attacked that Amber girl. That incident was actually rather tame for Stefan all things considered especially since she survived. I actually think you both might be two of the few, if not the only, Humans to have been fed on by Stefan and still survive. Anyways, Vampires have a name for other Vampires like him, they call them Rippers."

Her mouth opens again so I cut her off before she can speak, "Before you ask, it's because they're addicted to Human blood and lack control so much and gain such great entertainment from the hunting and terrorizing of Humans that in the end they literally rip their victims apart. Stefan usually feels remorse or something afterward and puts them back together, but he rips them apart all the same."

She gasps and I realize a moment later that she's not the only one who did so. She obviously isn't grasping what I'm trying to tell her though as she asks, "What do you mean by rips them apart?"

I sigh and frown as my hand tightens again on my glass of Bourbon and I begin pacing in front of the unlit fireplace, "It's exactly what it sounds like Elena, he bites so hard he rips them limb from limb and usually decapitates them too. It's very brutal and very messy. He didn't used to be that way and I don't understand how that's…"

She stands up straighter and asks, "How that's what?"

I answer without thinking, "How it's supposed to teach the lesson," I realize a moment too late that we're heading towards information I can't share with her so I snap out of my thoughts and continue, "never mind the point is he's a Ripper and Klaus knows this, and I'm sure that's his purpose in taking Stefan. Even among Rippers, Stefan is beyond legendary. Klaus in all likelihood wants to make him that Ripper once more."

Bonny places her hand on Jer's knee but looks at me as she asks, "Uh out of curiosity, how does Klaus know about Stefan?"

I pause my pacing with the glass half raised to my lips and stare into the glass for a minute before taking a long sip and then stopping in front of the alcohol cart and placing the glass back on the table, "Well most Vampires know about Stefan by reputation at least, as I said he's beyond legendary. He's actually almost a cautionary tale for baby Vamps that their sires tell them to warn them to keep control or they'll end up like the 'Ripper of Monterey'. Of course the sadistic ones want to be just like him but usually the tale is told in hushed whispers as a 'behave or else' kind of tale. Anyhow, despite his notoriety most probably don't know his real name. As I mentioned he's mostly and most notably known as the 'Ripper of Monterey' since he pretty much wiped out a whole rather large immigrant population there back in 1917."

I pause to add more liquor into my not quite empty glass and then take another long sip before telling them, 'However, Stefan actually told Klaus who he was. I was in Chicago in the 1920's too. Although Stefan and I were avoiding speaking to each other, as much as possible I kept an eye on him. Klaus was there and I knew his name was Klaus, I just didn't realize he was 'the' Klaus. Therefore, I didn't put two and two together until Klaus was here in his real body, and I saw him and knew that it was him back in Chicago.

"He and his sister, Rebekah, hung out at the same club as Stefan and they were fast friends, and no I'm not telling you about the sorts of things they got up to together. Just know that Stefan's switch was firmly off, and therefore Klaus appreciated Stefan's boundless imagination as well as his propensity for truly sadistic and unlimited cruelty. Needless to say they were as thick as thieves."

I take another long pull of my drink then continue, "Stefan doesn't seem to remember Klaus so I have to assume Klaus compelled Stefan to forget him for whatever reason, but I also have to assume that eventually Klaus will reveal the truth to Stefan and hope to rekindle their friendship."

I pick up the sketchpad from where I'd placed it on the table and flip to the next picture hoping it's something innocuous and then breathe a sigh of relief when I see what it is, "Okay this is Gloria's Club where they hung out." I turn the page towards all of them and look Jeremy in the eye, "This is Gloria singing in her club on the night that Stefan and Klaus introduced themselves to each other."

I point to a light haired woman in the drawing and tell them, "This woman right here is Klaus' sister Rebekah. Stefan was being loud and she literally told him to 'stuff a sock in it' so Gloria didn't have to compete with him while she was singing. He reluctantly obeyed after trying to learn her name and a few minutes later he and Klaus met at the bar and introduced themselves. They hit it off almost immediately despite Rebekah making Stefan work for her name. Anyway, you, Little Gilbert, need to apply to art school when the time comes because this could be a fucking photograph it's that accurate."

Jeremy blushes a little but nods as I flip to the next page before whispering, "Fucking A," it just had to be a drawing of one of Stefan's crueler moments back then. I sigh dejectedly knowing there's no way around explaining the picture so I drink some more liquid courage then say, "This was one of the regulars' husbands. His name was Liam Grant and I unfortunately was a few tables away when this happened, listening as Stefan tortured him."

I pause silently cursing Klaus for making me have to reveal my brother's true nature when on Human blood then tell them, "As you might have figured out from the dark liquid in the glass and the fact that this is a Vampire story, it's not red wine it's actually full of blood, specifically his wife's blood. Before you ask, no, Liam wasn't a Vampire. And yes Stefan forced him to drink his wife's blood just for shits and giggles."

Elena lets out a shaky breath before asking, "Oh my god, he did what? Why on earth would he do that?"

I turn my broody eyes on her and say, "Because he thought it'd be fun or funny, who the hell knows. Klaus thought it was hysterical. His sister, however, didn't seem as impressed though."

She seems startled that I answered so I assume she didn't mean to ask the questions aloud. I decide to just flip to the next page and sigh in relief as I hold up the full color picture and say, "This is downtown in the old warehouse district. Unfortunately, I don't know how that relates to Stefan or Klaus though."

Bonnie nods and says, "I think it's where the coffins are, flip to the next page."

I do as I'm told and smile at the full color drawing before telling her, "Looks like the dilapidated modern version of the previous drawing. Out of curiosity whose memories is this building from?"

Bonnie and Jeremy both nod deeply as Bonnie says, "The spell gave me all of the memories of you, Stefan, and each of your first family's members as well as select memories from Klaus. I think it's because there's a line in the chanting of the spell that basically asks for any knowledge the Witch needs to have. Anyhow we think the building is near Eastern Street but we're not sure."

I nod as I fluently speak the language the spell was in so I knew the particulars of what it asked for. I put the book on the alcohol cart and close my eyes just standing there for a few minutes going over the layout of that section of Chicago. I barely notice my fingers hanging by my sides moving as if I'm giving directions. A minute later my eyes pop open and I tell Jeremy, "I know the city changed a bunch of street names down there back in the 1970's so look up Potomac Avenue and see if it's still close to Eastern Street."

Jeremy types into his laptop and clicks the mouse pad a few times before typing again and then he says, "It's one street over. Atlantic is between the two."

I smile as I realize where the building is located and ask "Okay and does 9th street still end at Atlantic?"

Jeremy clicks and types for a minute then looks up with a smile on his face, "How did you do that?"

I smile a sheepish smile and tell them, "Um I used to hunt the workers down there."

More confidently I continue, "I vaguely remember the molding on this building, it was unique to it alone, so I think it's on the corner of Atlantic and 9th street. Can you pull up any pictures to see if the building is still there?"

Jeremy nods as he says, "Hold on a sec, now that I know the streets it's on let me see if I can figure out what the address would be and then I'll…" He types and clicks for a few minutes then as he once again almost vibrates out of his skin he says loudly, "Jackpot!" and he turns his computer to face the room. I walk over to get a better look and there is a photograph of the dilapidated building in the second drawing.

I smile at Jeremy and nod my head with a proud smile on my face. Jeremy and Bonnie have really stepped up and done most of the work on this caper. My smile deepens when I notice them sitting up a little straighter with slightly puffed out chests obviously realizing that I'm proud of them, not myself.

I take another sip and say, "Okay tomorrow we go down to the falls and go spelunking for Grimoires, and then once Bonnie's had a chance to try to find the spell we need and maybe read a bit to see if anything else will help us, then we can drive up to Chicago in two vehicles. I figure my Camaro and, if he's available for a road trip, Ric's SUV. I'm not sure what we'll do if more than Elijah wants to come back with us but I figure worst case scenario I rent a car for the ride back if necessary and Bonnie or Tyler can drive the rental since you're both 18. Hell even Jer, Elena, or Care could drive if everyone's okay with me compelling any cops who might stop us especially if we enter a state where Jer's Virginia's learners permit isn't honored."

Everyone nods to show they're okay with either scenario, and I smile at the sparkle in Jer's eyes and the wide smile on his face at the idea of his driving a rental. Elena is smiling too, but she clears her throat and asks, "So we're all going?"

I frown and give her a piercing look but say, "As if you'd let me leave you behind." She nods to show I'm right, and I smile a sad smile and nod once before I continue, "Besides, I think we're all safest when we're together. Right now, Bonnie and I are the strongest and sadly, both of us need to be there, so we'd be leaving everyone else completely unprotected."

I look at Caroline and tell her gently, "No offense Vampire Barbie, but if Klaus and Stefan came back while we're gone, well you're still a baby and Klaus is over 1,000 years old. I was no match for him when I was 170 so you'd be dead before I ever knew there was an issue."

She smiles and says, "No offense taken, Brother."

I smile a secret smile at her pleased that she would publicly call me 'Brother' and then I look away and say, "And Ty I'm hoping you can come too since Klaus is looking for Werewolves to turn and like I said earlier I don't think his attempts at siring Hybrids is going to end well for the Wolves involved. Therefore, I would just as soon not have you here too, if he comes back. All it would take to kill you is a little bit of his blood. While we could feed you 'Lena's blood and possibly save you if we know about it, if we're in Chicago and you're here when it happens well we probably wouldn't get back in time to save you. So I'm really hoping you can come too."

Tyler looks touched that I care, but I was serious this morning, our family wouldn't be the same without him. Anyway, he nods to show he understands so I turn and address Ric, "So, Ric, I hope you don't mind, but I'd prefer Jer and Elena stay here tonight and the rest of you are welcome to stay too."

I smile and say, "Care I can call your mom and tell her that Elena needs you here for moral support if you need me to. I think she's calmed down enough about my being a Vampire after the conversation I had with her last night after you were all asleep."

She looks confused so I explain, "After I got back from the Gilbert's house and you and Elena went to bed she showed up and asked a lot of questions. I explained about switches mostly and how Elena made my switch turn back on and then broke it in the on position. I also told her the saintlier parts of Stefan's story and that you only killed one innocent right when you turned before Stefan found you and taught you how to control the bloodlust.

Her trust of me, and probably you, is tenuous at best, but I think it's ultimately salvageable in the long run. Anyway I'm pretty sure she'd let you stay here since she mentioned being laxer about your curfew and weekday sleepovers during the summer. Bonnie I don't know how your father would feel, but if you want you're free to stay too."

Caroline smiles and says, "I already told her I was staying over with Elena and hinted that there might be boy issues that need a good crying over."

I smile and ask, "Excellent, Bonnie?"

"My dad's out of town all week, which is why he didn't come looking for me yesterday while I was passed out. Anyway I texted him earlier and I told him the same thing Care told her mom though I figure the sheriff and my dad both probably expect us to be at the Gilbert's with Ric as the chaperone."

Ric sits forward in his chair and places his elbows on his knees as he speaks up, "I agree that's probably what they expect, so if no one minds and you, Damon, don't mind me liberating some more of your Bourbon then I'll stay too. I brought a bag. It's in my car."

I nod with a genuine smile on my face that I realize I usually reserve for Elena and say, "Mi casa es su casa. That goes for you too Ty."

He smiles and says, "I can stay for a few hours but I need to at least appear to wake up in my bed at home since my mom currently thinks I'm fast asleep in my bedroom."

I laugh and tell him, "Right can't have Carol's son hanging out with Vampires. What would the council say?" I pause and collect myself then say, "Sorry, I know it's not really funny but I just find it very ironic that one member of the Founder's Council, me, is a Vampire, while another member has a Vampire for a daughter and the head of the council's son is a Werewolf. Anyway, Ty, stay as long as you like and feel free to come back tomorrow morning and go to the cave with us if you can swing it."

He nods as Caroline smiles and then stands before saying, "Elena, Bonnie, I think we should go have a sleepover in Stefan's room, what do ya say?"

As we all look at Caroline's expectant face, Elena laughs and says, "You just want to snoop."

Caroline and I both laugh when she says, "Well, duh!"

I throw out there with a mischievous smile and a glint to my eyes, "I'm sure my brother would have no problem offering up his room for your sleepover needs."

Elena laughs again as she catches me winking in Care's direction, which causes the blonde to beam and run out to her car to get her overnight bag, which she picked up while out shopping for groceries earlier.

Elena walks back over to me and asks, "You sure you don't mind all of us crashing here?"

I smile and wrap my arms around her for a hug that I really need. The thought of Elijah staked and Stefan off doing god knows what makes me nauseous, which I've only felt as a Vampire a handful of times in my long life. I push thoughts of my two brother's suffering somewhere out there alone right now out of my mind and tell her, "I'm sure. I kind of like knowing most of my family is all in one place and safe for the time being."

She seems to know exactly where my thoughts are, well the Stefan parts anyhow, as she tightens her hold on me and she whispers, "We'll get him back Damon. I know what you're like when you have a mission, so I'm sure we'll get him back, and we'll save him, even from himself if we have to."

I hope so. I hug her back tighter for a moment and then kiss the top of her head before stepping back when Caroline says, "So girls are we ready?"

Elena laughs and follows her up the stairs with Bonnie right behind them.