A/N: Another one of my favourites to write – at the end I actually cried writing this – I was watching the episode at the same time and I strongly suggest you watch the scene while reading it – the bit where Damon's in front of the fireplace after speaking to Anna and Pearl. Hope you enjoy this one!
I do not own the Vampire Diaries. All rights to those mad geniuses who do.

Fool Me Once

"You know that I could use somebody,
You know that I could use somebody,
Someone like you and all
You know and how you speak"

Stefan hasn't been home all night and I've been studying the grimoire – not that I understand a whole lot of it but it passes the time and right now I'm fresh outta witches. And he's back.

"Anna took Elena" Uh-huh. I'm well aware of that from your six hundred voicemails. He tells me he's been out all night searching which is what I figured but really...you've searched every street and haven't found her? What kind of useless vampire are you? I could have found that girl in ten minutes by scent and heartbeat alone.

But, but Damon, what if you're blood hasn't passed out of her system? God shut up. First of all Anna's not going to kill her - she's leverage. It's actually very smart and I'd be more impressed if it wasn't Elena we were talking about. And secondly, if she somehow does manage to get killed, and let's face it, the girl does seem to be a danger magnet; then at least we know we'll see her again.

Which is exactly what I tell Stefan only I replace the 'we' with 'you'; I'm still pissed as all hell at him and Elena so I'm in no mood for pandering to him. He asks me again to tell him where Anna is "you must know" Yep. I do. Not gonna tell you – you can go now.

"All I can remember is hating you. There might have been a time when that was different but your choices have erased anything good about you" – yeah. Probably not the best thing to say when you want my help Stefan, jees.

"This all began with me. Katherine got taken away from you because of me" Yep. That she did. Your fault. Again, not really making me want to help out here baby bro.

"And I'm sorry" – I give him an A for effort, I mean, it's a nice speech. Be a whole lot nicer if it was actually sincere and he wasn't just saying it so I'll help him find Elena. I tell him his apology is accepted and now we're back to the begging stage of this tiresome conversation.

"It's Elena" Yes. I'm well aware of that. I'd like to go now but one last thing before I do.

"I mean this sincerely, I hope Elena. Dies" Fuck that was really hard to actually say. I thought it in my head first but actually saying it out loud hurts. I obviously don't mean it sincerely but he wants to hate me, I give him something to hate. I'm the bad brother, remember?

I need to find me a witch and sadly the only one I know nearby happens to be Elena's judgy little friend Bonnie. Still, third time's the charm right? A woman who is also very judgy tells me she's not there and won't ever be. Apparently "spirits talk" which is kinda creepy if you ask me.

I challenge her to come outside and make me leave and yeah; well that was a bad idea. Wow. The pain. My brain feels like it's burning. Right well I'll just be...going home then.

I hear the phone ring and Stefan say "Elena" so I move to listen in. I knew I was right; Anna is using Elena as leverage. Apparently she also has the witch so I guess I'll go meet Anna then. Need that witch. And, um...Elena, obviously.

I meet Anna in the town square and I tell her again that I work alone but she's got the witch and I've got the spell-book so it seems we're at an impasse.

"Stefan will come after you; you know that. For messing with Elena" – "then he won't be too happy if I kill her when I don't get what I want" oh bloody hell. Okay okay. I don't think she would really kill Elena but I don't know and that uncertainty is enough for me to agree to whatever the hell she wants.

"God it's like 1864 all over again – you Salvatores are truly pathetic when it comes to women" – yeah, tell me something I don't know.

I'm about to leave the house when Miss Elena arrives, seriously...now she just walks right on in. I don't really know what to say but eventually my brain kicks into gear. Stefan rescued her.

"Ah brother. Ever the white knight" she tells me that she's convinced witchy 1 and 2 to help open the tomb and says she's not sorry for getting the grimoire because she was protecting the people she loves. I guess I can understand that. Still it doesn't change anything and I tell her I'm not interested and start to walk away.

"Yes you are" – damn voice pulls me back in again. "Because you were willing to work with us yesterday" - yeah well...fool me once shame on you. And then she has to go and bring up Atlanta. Why'd she have to do that?

"Why didn't you use your compulsion on me" now that I've accepted having this conversation I may as well be close to her while we're having it so I walk over to her. "Who's to say I didn't?" – "You didn't – I know you didn't, but you could have" – and now she's walking closer to me. Did she learn nothing from last night?

"You and I, we have something..." I'm sorry. Excuse me while I collect my jaw from the floor.

"An understanding" Oh. Well. Okay yes I suppose we have that too.

"And I know that my betrayal hurt you different from how it is with you and Stefan" – uh-huh. Am I nodding my head like a puppy dog? Very true. How is it that this girl just gets me? How does she know?

"But I'm promising you this now I will help you get Katherine back" God I'm conflicted, so conflicted. It's not that I don't trust her. I tell her I wish I could believe her but I do. It's not that.

I feel all...conflicted inside and I can't even work out exactly why. I think I might have been conflicted inside since the second I laid eyes on this girl. Then she shocks me. She takes off her necklace.

"Ask me if I'm lying now" but as I said, it's not about that now. I do believe her, possibly against my better judgement but I don't really care anymore.

"You know Anna won't stop...no matter what I do" I wonder if she even understands what I'm trying to say here. I pick up her necklace and clasp it back on placing my hands on her when I'm done. She's been honest with me today and she asked me a question to which I figure she deserves an honest answer.

"I didn't compel you in Atlanta because we were having fun. I wanted it to be real" the skip in her heart-beat makes my insides tense up and god...what is with this girl?

Elena and I walk to the tomb where we bump into Barbie and I'm probably rude but now that we're actually doing this I just want to get it over with. Get Katherine and get out; away from 'understandings' and conflictions.

I brought blood for Katherine and Stefan admits that he can't wait to get rid of me. I tell him to go and get the fire stuff ready for destroying the rest but it's only so I can take Elena inside. I'm stealing a page out of Anna's playbook – leverage.

Luckily Elena is a clever girl and understands this and she seems willing enough to come along so in we go. Stefan'll probably be pooped at me but I'll be gone so I won't have to deal with it. I probably scared her when I say that they can sense her and it is definitely not okay that I've just disappeared and left her alone but now I'm in here all I can focus on is finding Katherine.

She's not here. Not here. She's NOT HERE. Why is she not here? How is she not here? Where is she? I can't...what's...it doesn't...I saw...they locked her inside. Stefan keeps talking but I'm not listening. How could she not be in here?

"Damon" Elena. "Please." Elena.

Elena wants me to come out. It's Elena. Okay.

I can't process...it's too much...too confusing. I'm so...confused. And then Elena comes. Elena comes to me and she puts her arms around me and pulls me in to her and she says "I'm sorry". Yeah. Me too. I can't remember the last time someone hugged me. She saved me tonight. Again. Maybe I should start taking score.

I go to Anna. Why the fuck should she get what she wants? She knew Katherine wasn't in there. She must have known. Pearl tells me the truth "The guard at the church...the one who locked us in...she promised to turn him...he was obsessed with her" a recurring theme, from what I can tell. "He let her go."

"She knew where you were Damon...she didn't care" Knew where you were Damon. Didn't care. Knew where you were Damon. Didn't care. Didn't care.

Somehow I've found my way home, poured myself a drink and found a space in front of the fire. I hear Elena ask Stefan about me but maybe she doesn't care either...same face. No. I don't believe that. Elena saved my life. Twice now. We have an 'understanding' whatever the fuck that means.

Stefan comes and sits by me; he doesn't speak and I don't speak. But it's nice for the first time in 100 odd years to have my brother sit in silence by my side. And all I can hear in my head is "she knew where you were Damon...she didn't care"

Dear Diary,
I woke up in a motel room and it all came flooding back. Kidnapped. I tried to sneak out past the vampire but he woke up and tried to compel me and then the girl who took me (Anna) came back and put me in the bathroom. Bonnie was there; she'd been taken too. I explained what's been going on to her.

Anna also knew Katherine – is there anyone in this town who DIDN'T know Katherine? Anna's mother was trapped in the tomb. Stefan came and rescued us – he threw open the curtains – why didn't I think of that?

We went to Bonnie's grams house and tried to figure out what to do and I knew that the only thing we could do it let Damon have Katherine back. Bonnie said he doesn't deserve to get what he wants but it was our only choice and as much as I didn't want Katherine back I knew that we had to. Then Stefan said that we still had to get Damon to agree and that's where I came in.

I knew what I had to do. I just wasn't expecting what happened.

"I didn't compel you in Atlanta because we were having fun. I wanted it to be real" he didn't compel me when I took off my necklace this afternoon. He didn't compel me in Atlanta because he wanted it to be 'real' – his face when I said we had an 'understanding'. It's all so much...I need time to process. When he said he wanted it to be real, it reminded me of when Lexi said "when it's real you can't walk away" and I don't know how to define what Damon and I have, but I know that it's real. Whatever IT is.

Anyway we had to go to the tomb and Damon took me inside which was I was FINE with but then he just left me! Just disappeared. And there were all these vampires and it was terrifying! Anna came and grabbed me – she was going to use Jeremy's blood to bring her mother back but then she bit me and god it was so painful and I screamed.

But then Stefan was there and he rescued me only he couldn't come back out again, he went in not knowing if he could come back out and...Damon. I knew we couldn't leave him in there, no way. I PROMISED him and there was no way I was breaking his trust again. Especially after today. I couldn't leave him in there, I had to go back in, I had to get him out. I had to make him come out.

And he did. But god he looked...broken.

I feel so sorry for him; I can't believe she wasn't in there. I wonder where she is? I'm just glad we got Damon out in time, but I don't think I'll ever be able to forget how broken he looked. I hugged him, I hope it helped. Maybe not though; I mean I do have the same face as her – maybe I didn't help at all. I wish I could.
Elena