Chapter 2

Both brothers left the basement cell with Stefan closing the door and locking it. Damon said nothing, but he approved of the idea of keeping the girl. She would recover from her faint and if she was given plenty to eat and drink, she would be able to give up more blood.

Up in the main hallway, Damon went into the study to pour himself a drink. Stefan followed him, but had to pour his own drink.

"Did that help? The girl?" the younger brother asked. He stood by the bar and watched Damon go to stare into the fireplace while sipping his drink. Almost always there was a fire going because Damon insisted. Mrs. Flowers, who managed the house, ordered cords of wood and saw that the fire kept going. Of course, she also had to clean out the ashes, since Damon didn't do it and Stefan rarely did so.

"For now. It did nothing to help with the loss."

"I know that," Stefan said, sipping his own drink. "Time will help."

"I don't need you quoting trite words of wisdom. Give it a rest." Taking his glass, he walked from the room and to the stairs. He could have zipped up the stairs in a flash, but he chose to trudge up them as if his feet were too heavy to move.

On the second floor, he walked past his room at the front of the house and went to the bedroom Elena had used occasionally when she stayed at the house. The place had become her permanent residence after she had set fire to her own house after her brother Jeremy had died. That is, after the second time he had died. Or was it the third? Hard to keep track. He had come back. It didn't matter to Damon now. All that mattered was that Elena had died – again, not for the first time. And sometime in the future, she would come back.

He sat down on the bed, neatly made with clean sheets and a comforter. Elena was in college now, pre-med. She wanted to be a doctor, to help sick people and perhaps to prevent sickness. She'd been working in the hospital after classes, often with Jo, the physician and friend who had been mentoring her. Well, both of them were dead now. No more classes. No more mentoring.

Damon leaned down and sniffed at the bedding. There was no scent of Elena. The bedding had all been laundered. If he had known that she would never come to this bed or to his own again, he would have asked Mrs. Flowers never to wash the sheets and pillow cases. How long would the scent of his beloved have remained in the fabric?

Mrs. Flowers will strip this bed now and then and remake it, waiting for its occupant to return. She'll be long-dead before Elena ever sleeps in the bed again, he thought. By then, someone else will be appointed by the Salvatore Trust to become manager of the house, keeping it in good repair even if we Salvatore brothers move away, move on with our lives. We always do.

The truth was that he didn't know what he wanted to do. Elena, what was left of her, was here in Mystic Falls. He wanted to be able to see her whenever he felt the need. Then again, doing that just put his life on hold, putting him in a self-made trap. It would be like constantly picking at a sore so that it never healed. Not that he ever had sores to pick at. Being a vampire meant his wounds healed quickly and disappeared without a scar. If he intended to pick at scabs, he had to do it quickly.

But there were emotional scabs. Emotional scars. These he had plenty of and he was not above picking at them from time to time and feeling sorry for himself. Or feeling old anger and resentments. The only ways to stop that were to become engrossed in some pursuit, or to find happiness, like with Elena, or to turn off his humanity – what he called the feelings humans felt in their daily lives, both the good and the bad, the happiness and the sadness. There were joy, laughter or grief or the emotional pain of things that had happened to them or the guilt of having done or not done something. If he turned that off, he could still feel pleasure, pride in himself, ego, or the satisfaction of murderous revenge if someone did something wrong to him. He could enjoy life and do what he wanted without guilt or shame. But also without feeling love.

Quite a few vampires lived that way and he certainly had done so from time to time. So had Stefan, who was much less likely to turn off his feelings, who was afraid because of the chance he would revert to his savage "ripper" ways. That had happened more than once and he hated it after he turned his humanity back on. The guilt weighed heavily on him. Good ole compassionate Stefan. Except when he was a vicious murderer.

What does Stefan really feel now that Elena is lying in a coffin? Damon wondered. He has been in love with the girl since he laid eyes on her. How much has the love lessoned as it became obvious that she loved me instead? Has it really lessened at all?

It was hard for Damon to tell, and besides, he had been overjoyed to have Elena to himself. Willing to start a new life elsewhere, Stefan had left Mystic Falls, leaving Elena to Damon. Twice. But the twisted life of the strange small town had brought Stefan back for one reason or another. Damon himself had been stuck in a prison world with Bonnie, of all people, for a while, but he had returned. He and Stefan were gluttons for punishment, as the saying went. He knew he and his brother should get away from Mystic Falls as they had several times before. But here they were. Emotionally stuck in a bad-luck place.

The urge to get more blood from the girl in the cellar returned. In fact, it was more than that. As he sat on Elena's bed and envisioned her lovely body sprawled there in sleep, he also saw her in his own bed, often sprawled underneath him. He now felt aroused. He could go to the young woman in the cellar and have some fun with her. He could close his eyes and pretend she was Elena. Theoretically, she was compelled to cooperate. It didn't matter. He could take her if she complied or not.

He left the bedroom, headed for the stairs and this time zipped down in a flash. He went to the cellar door and in a moment was in the corridor outside the cell. He stopped and stared. The door stood open and the girl was gone! Frustrated and furious, he slammed the heavy door shut. She hadn't escaped; Stefan had taken her away. Stefan had probably anticipated Damon's change of heart, that he would break his promise not to hurt the girl. Damn you, little brother! Damon thought.

Back up the stairs he went and he slammed the hall door, too. As he considered going to the front door to see if Stefan's car was gone, he spotted Mrs. Flowers eyeing him from the kitchen door. She looked wary, as she should. He had never harmed the woman, but that didn't mean he couldn't in a fit of rage. She was an average human woman living in a house with vampires. She certainly knew there was danger, but she had courage.

While he was standing there in the hall, almost trembling with rage and frustration, and meeting the steady stare of the woman, he was startled by the ringing of the front doorbell. He didn't move and neither did Mrs. Flowers. The bell rang again. Damon turned to the door, in a mood to bite whoever was out there.

Growling to himself, he opened the door and glared at the person outside. It was not Bonnie or Caroline or Ric. It was Elijah Mikaelson, standing there with his usual serious demeanor and impeccable suit.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon said in surprise, but putting a smirk on his face.

"I came to see Elena," the older vampire said evenly. He was reading the tone of Damon's voice, the angry squint of his eyes, the tension in his stance.

"She's dead."

"So I heard. I also know she is not permanently dead. Am I correct?"

"You're always correct, Elijah," Damon said with a snort.

"I would like to see her. You are aware that I have always admired her."

"Doesn't everyone?"

"Are you willing to show her to me or do I have to find her on my own? I have no doubt it would take little time to do so, but I thought it proper to come to you first."

"You know if we are keeping her casket here in this house, you can't come in."

Elijah looked at him with intense, dark eyes. "Damon, I did not come up here to Virginia from New Orleans to cause trouble. May I see her?"

Damon's anger over the woman being gone from the cell was abating. He didn't hate this Original vampire. They were almost friends, if one could be a friend of any of the Mikaelsons. Elijah was probably the best of them. Damon made a decision and called back down the hall.

"Mrs. Flowers, come here. Please."

Since she had not left the kitchen doorway, she could see down the hall to the front door and she knew who was there. She knew who Elijah was. Wary, she came along the long hall to the foyer.

"Yes, Damon?" she asked, looking from him, inside the front doorway, to Elijah outside.

"Invite Elijah in."

She looked from Damon's face to Elijah's and hesitated. The two men knew she was wondering if Elijah was compelling Damon.

"It's okay, Theo," Damon said, using her first name, which was actually Theophilia. "Elijah is something of a friend, despite being a Mikaelson. I'd like to talk to him in the study where we can have a drink."

Deciding that the request was what Damon really wanted, the woman politely said, "Please come in."

"Thank you, madam," the Original said with a polite nod. When Damon and Mrs. Flowers stepped back, he walked in. He had been in the house before in years past because Elena had held the lease to the house briefly and she had invited him in. The group in the house at that time had invited him to dinner. They had also acquired one of the special daggers that could immobilize him and they had used it. For her own reasons, Elena had removed it. His invitation had been rescinded as soon as she had given up her lease.

When Damon moved into the study, Elijah followed. He tried to sense if Elena's body was in the house, but he couldn't. It was a big house.

"What can I get you," the younger vampire asked as he moved to the bar. He then poured what was requested, plus some more of his excellent quality bourbon. Finding his guest still standing, left hand in trouser pocket, he muttered, "Don't stand on formalities, Elijah. Sit down."

The handsome Original glanced at the sofa and a chair and chose the leather chair. He took the drink Damon held out to him. He sipped it, nodded slightly and looked up at Damon.

"I know what was on the news, but there were few details. There was a wedding and some type of explosion. The bride and some others were killed, several injured. The report said that Elena was one of those killed. It is not entirely true, is it?"

"No. And yes. She lies in her coffin as your mother did, not dead, but not alive either, probably for many years to come." Damon sat down on the sofa and propped his boots on the big coffee table.

"What happened?"

Damon sipped his drink and then told Elijah about the wedding that was supposed to be a very happy day for pregnant Jo and for his good buddy Alaric. He explained how it had ended in tragedy because of the power and cruelty of her very evil brother Kai.

"He wounded Bonnie so that I had to make a choice," he said with memories full of both sadness and hatred. "I could save Bonnie and doom Elena to years of suspended animation or let Bonnie die so that Elena would wake up. I reacted in a way he didn't anticipate. He thought I was walking away from the whole scene, but I circled back and took his damned head off! It's him who is dead dead. And I saved Bonnie, of course. She and I have been through a lot together. Elena would never forgive me if I had let Bonnie die. It would have haunted me, too."

He also explained that Elena had taken the cure for vampirism, making her human and vulnerable. She was also vulnerable because her blood was now a cure for vampirism. He didn't mention that to Elijah, although he knew Elijah might realize the truth.

"I knew she wouldn't live a long time, Elijah. I mean as a human. But she wanted so badly to have the life she couldn't."

"The same is true of Rebekah," Elijah said, nodding. His sister was now in a unique position of having it both ways, but he didn't explain.

"I planned to take some of her blood so that I too would become human. You would not believe the arguments Stefan put up against that."

"I can imagine some points he might have made."

"It's moot now. I didn't take any blood before she was killed." He emptied his small glass and got up to refill it. He then held the glass up in the air and looked at the fluid in it. "Stefan said I would become a serious alcoholic. A human alcoholic and very depressed because things didn't work out the way I had imagined."

"There is always the danger of that."

Damon swallowed the contents of his glass and set it aside. "Come on. I'll show you where Elena is."

They went out the front door and headed for the cars in the driveway. Elijah said, "Let's take my rental. You guide me."

"Alright," Damon said, putting the keys to his car in his pocket. Noticing that Stefan's car was gone, he got into the passenger side of the black SUV. He gave his companion directions to the cemetery, which, in fact, Elijah remembered. As they drove along, Damon asked, "How is that baby niece of yours doing? Klaus and Haley's child?" He knew that initially, the Mikaelsons had faked the baby's death, but it was known now that the little girl was very much alive.

"Hope is fine. Growing. She has potential abilities, which is not a surprise. Her existence has torn our family apart. Niklaus has acted in a manner beyond reason to protect Hope. If he were not her father and protector, I believe I would kill him."

Damon looked at him with some surprise. He was well aware that Elijah had tried to kill his brother before and had changed his mind at the last moment. "You want to tell me about it?"

"I think not. It is extremely complicated and would require too much time. But I will admit that I harbor great anger toward him. The only good thing he has done is seen that both our parents are truly dead. In addition, our mother's sister, a nasty witch, is also truly dead."

"Well, that sounds like something good came from the disasters that Klaus can create," Damon reasoned. He quickly added, "I'm not defending your brother. I hate the bastard, too. How does Haley feel about what he's done?"

"She is furious. She and her pack are all in wolf form and stuck that way except on the night of the full moon."

Damon could see the anger on Elijah's face, and hear it in his tone. The man had reason to hate his brother. Damon was glad Klaus was in New Orleans and unlikely to come to Virginia again.

"Why don't you leave New Orleans? Turn your back on the whole mess?"

"I won't leave Hope. I promised Haley I would protect her as best I can. I will fly back there as soon as I have seen Elena, but I cannot live in the same house with Niklaus any longer. Marcel has a place across the river."

"Do you think there are any vampires living happy lives?" Damon asked, even though he had been very happy during the summer when Elena had shared his bed.

"Happy? I doubt it. Reasonably contented, perhaps, but only for short durations."

"I suppose you're right. Turn left, then it's the first left you come to. It's up the hill, but you'll have to park at the bottom."

Soon, Elijah parked the vehicle and they walked up one of the paths that led to different parts of the wooded cemetery. The marble mausoleum with the name Salvatore engraved over the door came into view.

"Bonnie cast a spell to seal the door, but she changed it so that Stefan and I can enter to check on Elena. Not that she's going anywhere. What the hell!" Damon said as they approached and he saw the door ajar. "I know Stefan closed and locked the door! Just a short while ago! Stefan?" He opened the door wide and rushed inside. Stefan was not there. Going to the coffin, he expected to see Elena. He swore mightily when he saw that it was empty!

A/N I hope you like this little mystery. Did Elena wake up and walk out? Did Bonnie remove the spell on the door?