"Original Bitch is channeling her power through you, right? Just cut her off. Problem solved; no ritual, no dead Originals, we get Stefan back. Hurray," Damon said.
They were huddled in Caroline's bedroom again. A panicky phone call had summoned Damon immediately, and though he was trying to take Stefan's kidnapping in stride, Elena could hear the strain in his voice, see how his hand clenched and unclenched at his side.
"I couldn't stop her if I wanted to. Because of her tie to Ayanna, she can pull magic out of Abby and me with or without our permission," Bonnie explained. She was leafing through her grimoire, but stopped, looking at Elena. "But...I'm not sure I want to."
"What the fuck are you talking about, Bonnie? This is Stefan we're talking about. If it was me, I'd get it, but you actually like him," Damon said, advancing on the witch.
Bonnie held up a hand in warning, and Damon stopped with a frustrated growl. "I do like Stefan. But that doesn't change the facts. He's a vampire, and he's a killer. He spent the entire summer murdering innocents. His death would be a sacrifice for the greater good. I think it's what he'd want—so he could atone for the evil he's done," Bonnie said.
"He's my brother," Damon said, suddenly sounding so lost and alone. Elena took his hand, and he gripped it with all his might.
"Damon's right, Bonnie. We have to try to save him. There will be other opportunities to kill the Originals; other full moons. But if there's any hope of saving him, we have to try," Elena said. After tonight, she had no problems killing Elijah. As Caroline had so eloquently said, let the motherfucker burn. But not at the cost of Stefan's life. If the roles were reversed and she was the one who had been kidnapped, he'd be fighting just as hard to save her...or would he? Even seeing his face tonight, the guilt written large across his features, she still wasn't sure he'd be able to put his vengeance aside. Not after what had happened on the bridge.
But even if Stefan wasn't worth saving on his own merits—and Elena still believed that he was—his loss would destroy Damon. While there was still hope, they'd fight. They'd find a way.
Bonnie sighed. "Okay. I'll keep looking, but this should be Plan B. Breaking a blood tie isn't an easy thing."
"Where's Abby?" Damon asked.
"At the motel where she's staying, that sketchy one out on Route 4. Why?" Bonnie asked.
"She should stay there. If you don't have to be present for this ritual hoodoo to go down, it'll be be better if she's safe from Elijah and the rest," he said. "And I've got Plan A right here." He reached into his breast pocket and produced a familiar dagger.
"You carry that thing around with you?" Caroline asked. "What if you accidentally stab yourself?"
"I'm not an Original; it won't hurt me. Besides, better here than at home where someone could grab it. Blondie, you and Klaus were awful cozy last night. Did you get his cell phone number?"
Caroline's eyes narrowed. "I don't know where you get off talking to me like that-"
"I don't care if you're fucking him or playing him, though I hope it's the latter. But I need you to draw him out into the open and distract him. After Stefan helped you live a well-adjusted vampire teen life, I assumed you'd want to help him, not kill him," Damon said, casting a disparaging look at Bonnie.
"Oh." Caroline paused, her tirade interrupted. She collected herself and moved on. "He's already in the open. He just texted me asking me to have drinks with him and Kol."
"Perfect. Caroline, you're with me." He cast an appraising eye at her, then reached out and tugged her shirt down, revealing more cleavage. She smacked his hand away. "That's better. Let's go; I gotta call Ric," Damon said, turning to the door. Elena moved to follow him.
"Nope. Nuh uh. No way. You are staying here, and I don't have time to argue with you," Damon said.
"You're calling Ric because you need a human. I qualify," Elena said. "Who knows where he might be—he mentioned something earlier about seeing Meredith. I'm coming," she said.
Damon puffed his cheeks out, clearly wanting to argue with her. "Dammit. You're right. But you're not going in unprotected." An instant later, he was extending a dripping, bloody wrist to her, the redness lingering in his eyes. "You drink or you don't go. No debate, no discussion."
Elena hesitated. After their argument just a few hours ago, she was surprised to see Damon offering. After all, there was nothing stopping her from slitting her wrists when this was all done, when the blood was still in her system. She could do it, if she really wanted. And he knew that. "If there was another option, I'd take it. You'll do what you need to do. But I can't lose you both," he said softly.
She didn't need convincing. She moved forward to take his wrist, but Bonnie let out a disgusted cry. "Elena, you can't do that. You don't have to do what he tells you to-"
"This isn't your call. Let her decide," Caroline said.
"I'm sorry, Bonnie," Elena said, pulling the wrist toward her. She looked up at Damon. "I swore to you. I won't break it. We decide together." There was no pleasure in drinking the blood; it was thick and tepid and awkward, standing there in the pretty, frilly bedroom with the dripping wrist at her lips. But she obediently lapped up a few mouthfuls and pulled back, wiping her mouth.
"Good. Done. Let's go," Damon said.
The three filed out of the room, but Elena could feel Bonnie's eyes burning into them as they left.
The plan failed miserably. Well, not at first. At first everything went according to plan: Caroline drew Klaus away with false smiles and tinkling laughter; Elena distracted Kol with lowered eyelids and quiet flirtation. And then she stabbed him, the thin dagger desiccating him in seconds. But then it all went to hell.
Damon was lugging Kol's decaying body out into the alley behind the Grill when Klaus came, throwing them both around like dolls and ripping the dagger from his brother's chest. And then they were alone amid the trash cans. Elena lay stunned against the wall, clutching her ribs. She felt the blood working inside of her, screamed as the broken bones in her chest snapped back into place. Damon was at her side, helping her to her feet. "You okay?"
"No. I mean, yeah, I'm fine. But now what are we gonna do?" Elena said. She looked up at Damon, expecting to see him frantic with worry. But he wasn't. There was no panic as he checked his phone for the time, only a weary resignation. Was he really giving up on Stefan so easily? Impossible. Damon never said die.
"Eight thirty. Call Bonnie, see if she found anything," Damon said.
"You know something. You know something I don't know," Elena said. "What's your plan?"
"Call her."
She wanted to press the point, but there wasn't time. She dialed the number. "Bonnie. Any luck?"
"I've been through everything. I'm sorry, Elena. As long as Esther's channeling us, she can reach every witch in my lineage, living and dead. I can't break it. There's nothing that can be done. I'm sorry," Bonnie said. And Elena believed her, genuinely believed that Bonnie would miss Stefan, would be sorry for the pain his death caused her. But she also knew that Bonnie would celebrate the death of the Originals, that she'd move on. She wasn't sure either she or Damon would be able to do the same.
"Just keep looking. There's still time. Call me when you find something," Elena said.
Damon reached into his pocket and produced his keys, pressing them into her hand. "Go get Caroline, and then go be with Bonnie. She's going to need you."
"Why is Bonnie going to need me, Damon?" Elena asked. What was he talking about? They'd lost. They were almost out of time, they were entirely out of options. So why was he worrying about Bonnie, of all people?
"It's better if you don't know. It's better if you can honestly tell her you didn't know what I was going to do," he said. He drew her close and kissed her. "Tell her I'm sorry. But I can't let him go."
He released her and she was alone. And she knew. The moment he was gone, she understood. "No!" she cried, already dashing for the car. She ripped her phone from her pocket, frantically dialed Bonnie. But there was no answer this time. It rang and rang and rang. "Hey! This is Bonnie. I'm probably out doing something amazing right now, so leave a message and I'll get back to you when I have the time." She sounded so young.
"Bonnie, you have to call Abby. You have to tell her—you have to tell her not to let anyone in. Goddammit, pick up your phone, Bonnie!" Elena reached the car, but knew she'd be too late. She wasn't fast enough. But she had to try.
On the frantic miles between the Grill and Route 4, she tried again and again to reach Bonnie, to reach Damon, to reach anyone, but there was never an answer. Could Damon get into a motel room? Did he have to be invited? He'd been able to get into Katherine's room at the bed and breakfast, but Katherine was dead. Fuck. Vampire rules.
It wasn't right, it wasn't fair. Elena didn't want Stefan to die either—would gladly have laid her own life down so he could live. But she couldn't ask Abby—she couldn't ask Bonnie—to make the same sacrifice. Not for a man who'd already lived three lifetimes and more. Maybe the cost was acceptable to Damon, but it wasn't. It just wasn't.
Elena reached the motel just in time to see Damon carrying Abby's prone body from the room, her head lolling bonelessly. Their eyes met, his black and shining in the night. Slowly, he shook his head and disappeared into the trees.