A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reading and to SomebodyWhoCares the D/E moments are coming soon :)

Chapter 20

Blood Brothers

Flashback, Woods in 1864

"We have to get to the church, they're waiting," a man yells, as the small town of Mystic Falls gathers the vampires in their midst.

"Circle around that way, I'll distract them," Stefan orders his brother as they watch the townsfolk, "go," he urges when Damon doesn't move. Damon nods leaving as Stefan walks forward into the men's midst. "Over here," he calls to them, pointing in the direction opposite the caged vampires, "there's another one, quick, help me."

"Arm yourselves," Jonathan Gilbert tells the others, as they all begin to follow Stefan. A lone figure remains to guard the carriage containing the vampires. Damon hits him, knocking him to the floor unconscious. Damon grabs the keys out of the man's pockets as Stefan returns, fumbling with the lock on the carriage.

"We don't have long," Stefan says as he manages to get it open.

"Katherine, Rose," Damon calls. They left the two vampires, untying them and removing their muzzles.

"We're going to get you out of here," Stefan promises them. A shot pierces the air landing in Damon's chest as the life flows from him. Stefan runs over, "Damon, no, no," he cries in despair.

"Come on, let's go," a man calls, forcing the vampires back into the carriage. Stefan grabs a gun without thinking running after them, but he too is shot.

"Stefan, Stefan," Damon calls to the hallucinating vampire.

"I love you, Stefan," the words come from Elena and Katherine as both the past and the present merge.

"Stefan I'm so sorry," these words are from Elouise, but when Stefan looks at her he only sees Rose.

I nervously pace the basement floor as Elena watches over Stefan. "Its so hard to see him like this," I mutter, half the time I couldn't even look at him. Yet, I was going to be here for Stefan, he had looked after me, I'd do it for him.

"I know," Elena murmurs.

"Hey, you two locked him up," he reminds us.

"Right and you didn't help," I remind him.

Damon shrugs, "I couldn't have him running around chewing on people, while the town was looking for vampires, now, could I?" he questions us, as if that was the only reason.

"It had nothing to do with you actually caring about him?" Elena asks, voicing my thoughts.

"Your guys thing, not mine," Damon informs us, and I roll my eyes because I know he's lying.

Flashback, Quarry in 1864

Stefan awakes with a start, pulling open his shirt to find the bullet wound gone. He is surprised to see a ring on his finger, pulling it closer he examines it. "Katherine and Rose had me make that for you weeks ago," Emily says announcing her presence.

"Where am I?" Stefan questions confused and disoriented.

"The quarry just north of town. My brother and I brought you here last night. We found you dead in the woods," Emily explains.

"Where's Damon? Am I? Am," Stefan asks hesitant to say the word.

"Not yet, you're in transition," Emily tells him.

"But how?" Stefan questions even more confused, he had no recollection of taking vampire blood.

"You had Katherine's blood in your system when you died," Emily explains.

"No," Stefan shakes his head, "I never."

"She's been compelling you to drink it for weeks now Stefan," Emily interrupts him.

"And Damon?" Stefan asks, almost afraid of the answer.

"No compulsion necessary, he drank from her willingly," Emily informs him. Stefan takes in this information, as he went to sit beside his brother by the river.

"I woke up last night, I didn't know where I was. I went to the church. And I watched them drag them inside. They set fire to it. And the whole church went up in flames. They killed them, Stefan. They're gone," Damon recalls, trying to have control over his emotions.

"So did you ever figure out what that was?" I question Damon as he stares over the invention Pearl gave him, throwing some of my dirty clothes in my bag.

"Nope whatever it is, it doesn't work," Damon tells me.

"Pearl didn't say anything else about it?" I ask him, checking through my phone to find too many messages from Daniel, I was going to have to call him.

"She thought she was stealing his vampire compass but that was a pocket watch. That Jonathan Gilbert was a crazy scientist," he comments, "have you spoken to your uncle lately?" Damon asks Elena as she walks in.

"I've been avoiding him lately, that and I've been here most nights," she reminds him.

"So you two plan on being here again tonight?" he asks us.

"Is that a problem," I question him, swinging my bag over my back.

"Yes, you're both complete nuisances," he jokes smiling at us both.

"Thanks Damon, we'll see you later," I say, grabbing Elena's arm as we walk out. I turn back just in time to see Damon wink at me and I roll my eyes in response.

Flashback, Quarry in 1864

Stefan grabs a pail of water, bringing it over to where Damon is sitting. Together the wash the blood out of their shirts. "I bet Jonathan Gilbert has told father by now, wonder how he took the news we're dead," Stefan says, his mind turning to his father.

"As if he cares, he betrayed us," Damon hisses.

"He thought he was protecting us Damon, he thought he was protecting this town," Stefan seeks to explain their father's actions to his brother.

"God, this sun hurts my eyes," Damon complains, changing the subject.

"Its part of it, the muscle aches, the sick feeling, Emily says its our bodies pushing us to feed, to complete the transition," Stefan tells him.

"That's not going to happen," Damon replies without thought.

"Is that your choice then? To die instead?" Stefan questions him.

"Isn't it yours? All this was to be with Katherine…and Rose. They're both gone. I want it over," Damon declares.

"Why isn't Stefan eating?" I ask Damon sitting across from him, "I'm officially worried," I declare.

"He's just being dramatic, he's not going to starve himself," Damon assures me, I just wish it was a little easier to believe him.

"He said he didn't want to survive, why would he say that?" Elena questions walking back into the room, her face full of anxiety.

Damon shrugs, "He feels bad about hurting that girl. It's a very typical Stefan martyr stuff, it'll pass," he tells her.

"Will it? Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain," Elena argues.

"Yeah, well that will pass to, once he eats," Damon replies, seeming to not really care about this conversation.

"I don't mean physical pain," Elena corrects him.

"I know what you mean. Look, are you two going to be okay here if I run out? I have to go to an errand with the teacher," he informs us, getting up.

My eyes widen in surprise, "You and Alaric, are you friends now, do you guys do coffee dates, oh bar dates," I joke teasingly. Damon moves in a flash, tipping my car over as I land on the floor.

"I don't have any friends, Elouise," he says from above me, smirking.

"Good to know," I mutter, giving him the thumbs up as I put my hands to the ground picking myself up. Elena has a barely contained smile from where she sits.

"You two should stay up here, you shouldn't be down there with him by yourselves," Damon advises us, as I pick up my chair, kind of surprised at the concern for our wellbeing.

"We'll be fine," Elena promises, not even a shred of doubt in her voice.

"Exactly," I say in agreement, I knew Stefan would never hurt us, he never could.

"You know, you're both very trusting of him giving the circumstances," Damon points out.

"So are you," I reply, "or you wouldn't be leaving."

"I won't be long," he promises us.

"Hey Stefan," I call trying to sound cheerful, Elena had gone to the bathroom so I decided to take trip to the cellar. "Still being stubborn," I comment as I look through the bars at the blood that has gone without being touched.

"You know Damon hasn't fed me vervain in a while, I could be at those bars in a flash and you're be dead," he warns me.

I sigh, "You know Stefan when people are going through a bad patch, yes there a bad words flung around but usually it does not involve threatening of lives," I tell him, just in an attempt to get him to smile or something.

"Please just go away, I don't want you here," Stefan says to me. I ignore his words entering the cellar and picking up the bottle of blood, "What are you doing, get out," Stefan yells.

"No," I say simply, I wasn't going to leave him like this, not in a million years.

"You're taking a stupid risk, I could hurt you," Stefan reminds, trying to get me to leave.

"But you won't, just drink this and I'll be gone," I promise, offering him the bottle of blood.

"Elouise get out or you're going to regret it," Stefan warns me.

"Then I'll regret it," I snap, "drink," I order pushing the bottle closer.

"I said get out," Stefan yells, knocking the bottle of my hands as his face transformed.

"No," I reply.

"No," the word comes from behind as Elena stands beside me, "we're not leaving Stefan," she says her words firm.

"Talk to us Stefan, why are you doing this?" Elena questions as we sit in the cell with him. It was something I'd like to know to, I mean I get him feeling guilty it was Stefan, but this was ridiculous.

"I'm making the decision I should have made years ago," Stefan informs us, his voice tired.

"What?" I question confused, trying to work out what he meant.

"You have to feed in order to complete the transition," Stefan tells us.

"I know that," Elena nods.

"It was a choice I shouldn't have made," Stefan admits to us.

Flashback, Salvatore's House in 1864

Stefan steps slowly into his father's office, "Dear God," Giuseppe says upon seeing his dead son, his voice full of horror.

"Even in our death you only feel shame," Stefan comments hurt.

"You're one of them now," Giuseppe claims.

Stefan shakes his head, "No father I came to say good-bye," he corrects him.

"I watched you die," Giuseppe recalls, looking at his son.

Stefan frowns, "You were there when we were shot?" he asks, almost scared to know the answer.

"I pulled the trigger myself," his father tells him, without a hint of remorse.

"You killed your own sons?" Stefan asks in horror.

"You were both dead to me the moment you sided with the vampires," he hisses, "I only thank God that your mother isn't alive to see the disgrace you've become."

"I haven't turned yet, I don't want to. I'm going to let myself die, father, please," he begs him.

"Yes you are," he agrees, grabbing a stake and attempting to send it through his son's heart. Stefan defends himself throwing him against the wall, the stake impales Giuseppe, the blood seeping out as he falls to the floor.

"Father, I didn't mean to," Stefan says in regret as he rushes to his father's side.

"Get away from me," Giuseppe yells, afraid of the thing he once called son.

"No let me help you, please," Stefan pleads, unable to see his father die. Stefan takes the stake slowly out of his father's chest as he stares at the blood covering the stake and now his fingers. He is transfixed by it as he brings his fingers closer, licking the blood from them. He puts them back on his father's wound taking more blood to drink. His eyes begin to transform as he becomes a vampire. "Oh god, what's happening to me," Stefan cries as he feels the fangs grow in his mouth.

"How can you two even look at me right now?" Stefan asks us in confusion. I couldn't believe he thought we'd judge him for that. His father was clearly a world class ass, who deserved to rot in hell. I mean seriously who killed their own sons, he was the only monster in the story as far as I can tell.

"You need to be able to talk about these things, Stefan. I need to hear them. Come upstairs we can talk about more, and we'll keep talking as long as you need," Elena promises him, smiling.

"You're so sure I'm ready," Stefan comments. Elena pulls out Stefan's daylight ring, carefully placing it on the cot beside him. "And when you feel the same way, we'll be upstairs," Elena tells him as we stand up.

"You couldn't control it Stefan," I remind him before I leave, "that doesn't make you a bad person, if anything it makes you human."

"Elouise, are you alright?" Elena questions me as we sit together in the living room.

I sigh, "Okay color me selfish, but I was just thinking about their father and what that must be like, and then I realized would my mum feel the same way about me?" I question, I mean I sided with vampires, and mum hated vampires.

"No," Elena shakes her head firmly, "not if she loves you."

"God, you two still here," Damon complains as he walks in.

"Were you expecting anything else?" Elena asks him.

"No," Damon replies, picking up my legs that I had stretched out across the couch as he sits down, placing them on his lap.

I roll my eyes, "How was the coffee date?" I question, smiling.

It was Damon's turn to roll his eyes, "Futile, but I think I witnessed the teacher have an existential crisis, has Stefan eaten yet?" he questions us.

"I thought you didn't care," Elena retorts, trying to catch him into proving he does care.

"Chalk it up to morbid curiosity," Damon tells us.

"I think he's getting there. But he's got a lot of guilt that he has to deal with, and it doesn't help that you spend the last 145 years punishing for Katherine and Rose getting caught," Elena points out.

"This is my fault now?" Damon questions confused.

"No its nobody's fault," I assure him, "what Elena's saying is you're not the most innocent party in all of this, I mean come on you made its your life mission to make him miserable."

Damon stands up and I pull my legs back into myself watching him, "Let me ask you a question. In all this important soul searching and cleansing of the demons of Stefan's past, did you ever manage to get the rest of the story," he asks us, which made me kind of nervous to know what the rest is.

"He said there was more," Elena confirms.

"Yeah, that's an understatement," Damon tells her.

Flashback, Quarry in 1864

Stefan walks forward in the quarry a human girl with him as he greets his brother. "What are you doing? Who is that?" Damon questions confused.

"I brought her for you, she's a gift," Stefan tells him.

"What have you done, Stefan?" Damon asks horrified.

"Damon, I've been to see father. He came at me. I didn't know my own strength. There was blood everywhere. He was dying, and the blood was too strong. I needed it. I had to have it," Stefan explains.

"You fed," Damon surmises.

"Yes and its incredible my body is exploding with power," Stefan declares, trying to get his brother to understand the gift they had been given.

"No," Damon replies, wanting no part of this.

"I can hear things from far away. I can see through the darkness. I can move, like its magic. And the guilt, the pain, Damon, I can turn it off. Like a switch. Katherine was right. It's a whole another world out there, Damon," Stefan tells him, eager to explain the benefits.

"Katherine and Rose are dead," Damon reminds him, "there is no world without them."

"No, you can turn it off, you don't have to feel that pain," Stefan assures him.

"I don't want it," Damon argues, set in his resolve.

"You're weak, you'll be dead soon, you need this," Stefan tells him.

"No," Damon snaps.

"You'll die," Stefan reminds him, showing him the blood that fell from the girls neck.

"No, I can't," Damon pleads.

"Don't fight it, we can do it together," Stefan promises him. Damon can't fight the urges anymore he drinks from the girl completing his transition.

"From the moment Stefan had his first taste of human blood, he was a different person. I suppose I should thank him, its been one hell of a ride," Damon reminisces, finishing his story.

"Oh my God, he said he wanted to die. That's why he won't feed. Now I understand but," Elena stops at a loss for words at a loss for how to help him through this.

"His choice, if he's stupid enough to make it," Damon comments.

I frown, "Don't do that, stop pretending that you don't care," I tell him, just for once I'd like him to admit he was worried for his brother.

"Where are you going?" he questions Elena, ignoring me.

"You know did ever occur to you that maybe Stefan just wanted his brother, last I checked that wasn't a punishable offence," I remind Damon. I'll be the first to admit it wasn't fair for Stefan to do that, completing the transition should be a choice thing, but not wanting to be alone for an eternity I got that to.

"He's gone," Elena announces, holding Stefan's daylight ring.

"The quarry," I guess, worried that Stefan might really go through with this, "we should," I suggest.

"Its okay, I've got this," Elena says, grabbing her keys.

I nod at her retreating figure, "Guess that my cue," I mutter more to myself, heading to get my stuff together.

"You know Elouise you've got it all wrong," Damon comments from behind me.

I swing around to face him, not expecting him to be so close, "So set it right for me," I dare him.

Damon hands me my car keys placing them in my hand, "It was meant to be just me," he tells me.

I turn back around zipping up my bag as I place it over my shoulders, "I know," I say not facing him. Katherine really screwed over both of them. I take a deep breath, not looking back at Damon as I make my way out of the house. I hesitate at the door, "Thank you," I say, knowing he'll hear me.