Hello, my lovely readers. Okay, we're switching back again. So, hold on as we wind down because we're almost at the most shocking point of the story. On with the show…
Chapter 31: Welcome Back, Damon Gilbert
Waking up on a beach in Greece was an interesting experience especially when he had no idea how the hell he got there. Sitting up, Damon Gilbert blinked and scrunched his eyes as he looked up at Elena Salvatore who was staring down at him unhappily. "What happened?" Elena asked quietly but by the look on her face Damon thought she already knew as she crossed her arms.
"I have no idea. I guess we were switched back," Damon muttered as he got to his feet. This was a disorienting sensation seeing things this clearly in his own body. When had his sight ever been this good? Turning to look at Elena who was staring out at the water like she expected someone to walk out of the waves Damon tried to think of how to phrase his question.
"Ummm… Elena, can you tell me what exactly happened while I was gone?" Damon asked the vampire curiously and she ignored him. He had to follow her when she decided to walk away from the beach and back toward a hotel. Or at least that was what Damon thought it was. Was he even supposed to be following her? What had she and Damon Salvatore been doing together? Did he want to know? And where was he? Was Caroline alright?
"Elena, can you please tell me something?" Damon shouted and then he regretted shouting when Elena whirled around and strode back toward him.
"I have no idea what you want to know. And I don't care." Elena yelled at him, her eyes sparkling with tears. "Now, let's reunite you with your little girlfriend and then you two can enjoy your vacation cause I'm getting the hell out of here." Choking on her tears, Elena began to run away and Damon ran after her. He should not be surprised that he was almost as fast as she was.
"Elena, stop," Damon yelled catching up with her and grabbing her by the wrist. Yanking her backward he felt slightly better when she lost her balance and fell against him. "Just stop running and stop fighting. Tell me what happened while I was gone."
Sucking in a breath, Elena looked around her frantically like she was looking for an escape route but Damon held her tightly to him. "Nothing. Nothing happened. Okay. Damon Salvatore came and it was so very boring. And you and Caroline went for a little vacation to Greece… and I came too… because I've never been to Greece."
Glaring down at Elena, Damon shook his head. "Nope. I don't believe you. Because when I was in the other world I met Elena Gilbert… and I realized some things that scared me a lot and one of those things was that I had feelings for you."
Elena stared up at Damon uncertainly. "But you don't like me. I scare you. I'm bad and evil and hurt people," Elena babbled on as she stared at Damon, her eyes wide. "You're good. You do good things and people like you and I'm this disaster waiting to happen. You need to be with a good person."
"But I'm not a person anymore, am I?" Damon questioned, cupping her face and looking down at the vampire who used to scare him to death. Right now, all he saw was her vulnerability, her fear of rejection. "I'm a vampire. Like you. Right? And I want to find out what that means. I want you to teach me. Will you teach me?" Damon asked her examining her lips.
Elena stared up at Damon and smiled slowly. "I haven't taught anyone how to be a vampire in a long time. But it's probably like riding a bike. First you get on and then you crash but you just keeping going until you remember how to ride." Raising her eyebrows Elena closed her eyes and waited for Damon to kiss her.
When their lips met for the first time it was different than the way that she and Damon Salvatore had kissed. It was sweet and Elena smiled. The kiss was sweet and slow. She could not remember the last time that anyone had kissed her like this. Kissing Damon back, Elena slid her hands into hair and pulled him closer.
Pulling back Damon pressed his forehead to Elena's. "Okay. Where are we and how did we get here?"
Elena shook her head. "Well, it's a long and very complicated story. This vampire named Klaus-"
Cutting her off, Damon nodded. "Yup. Met him in the other world. Skipping past the whole my being a doppleganger and his trying to sacrifice me part to the other bits."
"Okay. You were turned and Rebekah suggested that we run from her brother because of his temper and his need for vengeance." Elena told him.
Damon thought about it. "But you said Caroline is here. So, she isn't with Klaus in this world?"
Elena's eyes went wide. "That happened in the other world, too?"
Running a hand through his hair Damon sighed. "That answers that question. How did you get her to leave him?"
"Rebekah compelled her to forget him," Elena informed him crossing her arms as they walked through the doors of the hotel.
"She did what?" Damon asked feeling angry at the Original sister. "She should have let Caroline make up her own mind about what she wanted to do. I can't believe her."
"Oh, really?" Elena snapped at him, stepping in front of him before they could start up the stairs. "If it had been me I would have done the same thing."
"No, you wouldn't," Damon snorted before he walked around her.
Elena sped around him and stood blocking the staircase. "The hell I wouldn't. If it would protect you I would kill every last person at this hotel. All Rebekah did was protect Caroline from her own stupidity. You should be thanking her. Or did you stop caring about your childhood friend while you were gone? Because the Damon Gilbert I knew would have given up his own life for that girl. That is the Damon Gilbert I was falling in love with."
Damon stared at Elena seeing the shock on her face as her words registered. "I would risk my life for Caroline but I also believe that you don't have the right to strip someone of their free will."
Growling, Elena glared down at Damon. "Well, then I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Unless you want to give Klaus a call and tell him where we are? Then we can put your little freewill idea into practice and watch how long it lasts."
Shaking his head, Damon sped around Elena and began to go up the steps until he remembered that he had no idea where exactly their room was. And for some reason he thought that it would be their room rather than separate rooms. Elena sped past him and up the stairs. Flashing forward Damon caught up with her just as she opened a door. Shoving his body in through the door way as Elena tried to shut it, he grabbed and flung her on top of the bed.
Sitting up, Elena looked surprised when Damon sped over and leapt on top of her. "We need rules, Elena. You may be older and possibly wiser but we need rules."
"Such as," Elena asked, narrowing her eyes.
"We can't go around manipulating and destroying other people's lives. Like Caroline, she's a smart girl. She can figure out what to do about the Klaus thing on her own," Damon informed Elena who was shaking her head as he spoke.
"That's not my thing. That's Rebekah's. You'll have to talk to her." Elena told him. "What else?"
"Killing people. I am not pro-cold blooded murder," Damon told Elena who groaned.
"Don't tell me you want to be a bunny eater like Stefan," Elena begged playing with Damon's shirt collar.
"Nope. I just don't want to hurt people," Damon replied sitting up and pulling her into his lap. "And I would really like it if you could try feasting on blood bags from now on rather than people."
Elena laughed. "You really have a high opinion of what I will do to be with you, don't you, Gilbert?"
"Uh huh," Damon replied, pressing his lips to hers and smiling as she pulled him closer to her. He was determined to keep things slow with them because he wanted to get this right. He wanted to spend the rest of his apparently undead life with Elena. The first step to happiness was to not rush things.
"Hey, let's go check on Care," Damon suggested trying to extract himself from Elena but she clung to him like a vine.
"She'll survive for the next half hour," Elena murmured and pulled her top off.
Damon groaned and walked back over to the bed, falling backward. Elena grinned down at him as she kissed him until he forgot about all his good intentions. Peeling her bra off, Damon felt like this was the real Elena, not the girl he had been with in the other world. That she was a dream and this was the sweet reality.
Grinning down at Damon, Elena suddenly leapt off the bead and had thrown her clothes back on in less than ten seconds. "Let's go check on Blondie."
Moaning, Damon forced himself to his feet and headed to the door. He looked out the door to their room and found Elena opening the door to the room next to theirs'. When Damon walked into the room he noticed several things that disturbed him.
The room was not spotless like it would be under usual Caroline Forbes standards. Her clothes were laying around along with plates of untouched food. Then there was Caroline herself. She was staring out the window. Her naturally long locks had been cut short and it looked like she had done it herself. Nor had she showered in sometime.
"Caroline," Damon called coming to kneel beside his friend. "Hey."
Caroline turned to look down at Damon and blinked. "Hello, Damon," she whispered and then looked down at her hands folded in her lap.
"Caroline. Care, please look at me," Damon pleaded. He hated to see Caroline like this. They had been friends for a lot longer than they had been a couple. For him their friendship always came first. "Caroline," he called and Caroline blinked back tears.
After a moment, Caroline looked down at Damon. "I'm home, Caroline." Damon told her and Caroline began to cry sliding out of the seat.
"Damon. Damon, I don't know what's wrong with me. Something is wrong. Something is missing. I don't know what's wrong with me. But it's like I can't remember something and it hurts so much I can't stand it. Damon, please help me." Caroline begged as she pressed her face into his shoulder and Damon looked at Elena.
"I'll help you, Caroline. Okay. I'll help you find what's missing," Damon promised Caroline while Elena rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose in annoyance. Shifting his gaze back to Caroline, Damon began to speak. "Tell me about what it is you think you can't remember."
Sniffling, Caroline stared at the floor her mouth twisted. "I don't know. I think. It's like I can feel this part of me that's missing. I can't explain it right." Placing her hands in her short hair Caroline blew out a breath. "Damon, I don't understand this. What is it?"
Trying to think of a way to avoid the subject of Klaus, Damon attempted to find something to distract Caroline with and failed. "Caroline," he murmured. "What if it were better for you that you forgot this thing because it could hurt you? Then would you be alright with letting it go?"
Searching Damon's eyes, Caroline opened her mouth. "Damon, tell me. If you know what it is I'm forgetting please tell me. I don't think I can live like this too much longer. Please," she begged.
Elena whirled around and walked out of the room allowing the door to slam behind her. Damon stared after Elena and he was torn as Caroline stared up at him with wide hopeful eyes. "Please, Damon."
"Caroline, what I'm going to tell you, you're not going to like," Damon began to tell Caroline everything that he knew and her face wrinkled in confusion every time he said Klaus' name. When he finished she leaned back. "Now, do you understand why we can't go back and you can't see him again."
Biting her lower lip, Caroline nodded as her eyes brimmed over with more tears. "Caroline," Damon murmured and he felt his heart breaking with hers.
"Damon, I don't know," Caroline whispered. "I don't know."
Nodding, Damon looked at her and took her hand. "We'll go back then."
"No, we can't," Caroline told him, her expression turning horrified.
"But you love him, Care. So, we're going to go home," Damon told her having made up his mind. As Elena had pointed out, he would give up his life for Caroline if he had to because she was his best friend and he did not want to be part of a world she wasn't part of. "So, how's Jeremy?" He asked wanting to change the subject for a moment.
Wiping away tears, Caroline laughed. "He's learning Japanese."
"Really? I would pay to see that," Damon retorted and they began to laugh. "Okay. Let's go find Elena and make sure she's not taking out her anger out on the tourists." Getting up, they started to leave the room when Elena walked back inside with Elijah Mikaelson.
"Hello, Damon," Elijah greeted him with a smile and held out a hand. "It's very nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Damon replied as he shook the Original's hand briefly. Then he heard a snapping noise and turned to stare in horror at Caroline's lifeless body on the floor. "Elena, what the hell are you doing?" Damon yelled as he looked between Caroline's body and then back at Elena.
"I told you that I would do what I had to," Elena informed Damon. "I'm just lucky Elijah was in the area right now. Thanks, Elijah," she called and nodded as Damon felt a hand on his neck and he knew what was about to happen as the world went black again.
"Where are we going, Elijah?" Elena asked the Original.
Looking thoughtful, Elijah replied. "We're going to England. The countryside. Everyone will be meeting us there."
"Great," Elena replied trying to not show how nervous she felt as they pulled out two large suitcases and eased the two vampires into luggage. Elena hated this. She just wanted to call Klaus and get this over with. If he wanted to fight then at some point they would have to fight. It was only in her attempts to preserve Damon's life that Elena found herself hesitating.
Picking up the suitcase with Damon tucked away safely inside Elena followed Elijah downstairs and out to the car that was waiting for them. Getting into the car Elena stared out the window. She really hoped that Damon didn't wake up in the suitcase. Otherwise she would just have to keep snapping his neck until they got to their new home. She wondered how far away Klaus was and felt some dread about whether he had any idea where they were or where they were headed. For all she knew he was already there waiting for them.
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LL