A/N: See, nice reviews make me update faster ;) Seriously though, I'm blown away! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and alerted this story and to all my friends who morally support me here and on twitter. It means the world to me when someone tells me they enjoy what I do. Nothing is sweeter. Also, Melissa, you reviewed anonymously so I couldn't reply but your review made me laugh out loud! You have an awesome lab-partner! Anyways, without further ado…
The fourth chapter, in which someone gets a little carried away
Elena woke up and she was freezing. She was also surrounded by bustling and yelling which made her head pound horribly. She tried to open her eyes tentatively but the bright light they were met with caused a searing ache to throb through her brain. She winced at the sensation.
"Elena, Elena pumpkin, are you awake?" she heard a familiar voice. She attempted to open her eyes again, despite the piercing pain. At first she could only make out fuzzy shapes moving around but she blinked her dizziness away and slowly she could focus her eyes on specific forms. She saw her husband's face come into focus before her eyes. He was crouched down before her and had a worried look on his face. But as she opened her eyes further, the tension in his features visibly relaxed. "Oh my god, I was so worried," he said, stroking her cheek slightly. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm cold," she replied.
"You should really let me put that blanket over her," she heard another male voice speak up behind her husband. She turned her head slightly to look up and saw her bodyguard standing a few feet away, looking at her with concern in his eyes. She slowly let her eyes drift down and towards her body and noticed that she was only wrapped in a towel that was riding up dangerously high on her thigh. In shock she pushed herself up and pulled the towel down as far as possible while also clinging to the top to prevent it from splitting open across her chest. The last memories before she had lost consciousness came rushing back to her and she began to panic, looking around her. She was lying on the velvety chaise longue in the foyer of her house, Mason, Damon, Caroline, Vicki and Tyler all standing around her, staring.
"Yes, could I please have a blanket?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as level as possible.
"No honey, this is a crime scene. We have to wait for the police." Her husband said in the voice he usually used to reason with his children. She looked around again and caught Damon rolling his eyes behind her husband's back, then felt another shiver run up her body as a breeze stroked her bare legs. She stared at her husband in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me?" she finally spat. She grabbed her hair, verifying that it was still damp. "how long have I been lying here?"
"We're not sure. No longer than forty-five minutes," Mason said reassuringly.
"I've been lying here for forty-five minutes in nothing but a towel, with wet hair, drugged, and you refuse to put a blanket over me because I'm a crime scene?" she asked, barely able to contain herself.
"Pumpkin, you have to understand…" Mason couldn't finish his sentence, being interrupted by Elena's hand that collided forcefully with his cheek. The cracking sound reverberated off of the high ceiling and the marble floor, stunning everyone present into complete silence.
Damon stared at her in amazement. He had never seen her lash out. But her husband had pushed her too far this time and there it was, that fire that he had always known was flaring under the surface. She was stunning, her eyes ablaze, her hair wildly flung over her naked shoulders.
"Damon, give me that fucking blanket!" she demanded and he hurried over to wrap the warming cloth around her freezing body.
In that moment the doorbell ring and Caroline opened it to let a throng of policemen into the soon crowded foyer. Damon started to talk to them instantly, probably explaining what had happened. Elena would have very much liked to know herself. A female officer asked who the victim was and was directed to Elena instantly. She walked over to her and sat down, talking to her in a calm voice.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"A little confused still," the brunette replied in a quiet voice.
The officer only nodded understandingly. "Would it be okay if I checked your vitals real quick?" Elena nodded and the woman pressed her fingers to the pulse point on her throat and looked down at her watch to count the heart beats. She then unhooked a flashlight from her belt and shone it into Elena's eyes. "Your blood pressure is a little low but not alarmingly so. Your reflexes seem fine." The officer gave her a reassuring smile before turning to Mason. "When will the ambulance get here?" she asked.
"Uhm… we were waiting for you before calling one," he replied. The woman looked at him confused, then turned the other people standing around and looking a bit embarrassed. In that moment the door opened again and a group of paramedics entered, being directed to the chaise longue by a police officer.
"Who called these people then?" the female officer asked, now looking utterly confused.
After a short bout of uncomfortable silence, Bonnie spoke up: "Mr. Salvatore, the Lockwoods' bodyguard, called an ambulance when he was informed about what happened," she explained, looking apprehensively towards Mason, knowing that her friend had defied a direct order from their boss.
Mason didn't look too happy but swallowed down his objections when the officer said: "He did the right thing."
The paramedics were done checking Elena through and gave her the green light to go upstairs and get dressed. Bonnie went with her. Despite the large number of policemen in the house, no member of the family was supposed to be by themselves right now. After Elena got dressed, Bonnie made for the door but Elena stopped her by placing her hand on her arm softly. "Miss Bennett?"
"Yes, Mrs. Lockwood?"
"Why wasn't I kidnapped?" The bodyguard looked at her boss with wide eyes, at a loss for words. "I mean, I remember being attacked. I remember someone coming up behind me and putting a cloth over my face, drugging me. I remember losing consciousness. But I woke up in my own house. What happened?"
"We don't really know. Mr. Tyler and Vicki found you. Tyler had to come over before the event to discuss some business with your husband. They found you, unconscious, in the foyer. It seems the perpetrator only moved you. It was meant to send a message. They left another note."
"What does it say?"
"I think they ask for more money. Mason has it."
The two women headed back downstairs. Elena was reluctant, the bustling and hectic made her uncomfortable. She still felt a little dazed. But she wanted to know what exactly had happened and what the next steps would be. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she instantly spotted Mason standing together with Damon and a couple of detectives, poring over a sheet of paper encased in a transparent envelope.
"May I see?" she asked, joining the circle of men.
Mason looked reluctant but Damon, who was currently holding the paper, handed it over to her without hesitation. She tried to keep calm while inspecting the note.
WRONG ANSWER.
NEXT TIME SOMEONE DISAPPEARS.
WE NOW WANT TEN MILLION. DON'T MESS IT UP AGAIN.
Elena felt panic rise up in her again. She felt the same anxiety she had felt when they found the first note, felt her body wanting to shut down again like it had then, but this time she fought it. It took a deep breath and handed the paper back to Damon who looked at her intently, searching her face to gauge her reaction.
"So what happens now?" she finally asked.
"Well, we're not letting some wannabe criminal blackmail us. We're not paying." Mason replied firmly.
"Didn't feel like a wannabe to me," Elena mentioned quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I know pumpkin. We're not staying in this house. We'll go to a hotel," he tried to reassure her.
"Really? A public building? How will we be safe there?" she asked, not even trying to hide the venom in her voice. Mason looked at her, obviously annoyed at her sudden but constant talking back to him
"There are cameras everywhere," he spat back.
"Well, there are cameras everywhere on this property as well. Didn't make me feel very safe tonight, though," she answered back equally as harshly.
"Well it's either a hotel or my mother's house," he replied angrily, obviously hoping to shut her up this way. Damon could see anger flare up in her eyes but she didn't retort anything to this threat. He could see her struggle for words like a caged bird, fighting desperately but aware of her inability to do anything about the situation she was in.
"Maybe I can offer a solution," he spoke up, breaking the antagonistic silence. All eyes turned to him instantly, the police officers' filled with hope that they wouldn't have to face the security nightmare that was a hotel, Elena's thankful that a possible other solution was being proposed and Mason's annoyed at Damon's repeated intervening and contradicting of his instructions.
"I have a house. It's out of state, it's secluded, we could go there." Damon suggested.
"We can't go to a private residence," Mason argued. "They would definitely make a background check on us and look at any property we own."
"Oh but going to Carol's house is a good idea?" Elena mumbled, not really meaning it as a contribution to the discussion though.
"It's not under my name," Damon explained.
"This might be feasible," one of the officers supplied. "We'd have to get in touch with the local authorities, make sure they're equipped to handle observation and emergency response. But this might be our best shot."
"I can't go out of state, I have to take care of my business," Mason contended.
"No, Mason, you have to take care of your family now," Elena disagreed.
"I'm trying. But I can't just up and leave!" Mason replied, visibly getting more and more angry.
"Well," Elena decided calmly, "your family is up and leaving. So you can either come with us or you can stay here and take care of business. But I'm not keeping my children in this house or locked up in some hotel for god knows how long."
"Pumpkin, be reasonable," Mason started again but was cut off by his wife instantly.
"No, you be reasonable! You can't always have everything your way. You don't want to pay the money? Fine. But you can't make us stay in a hotel room for an indeterminate period of time. We are people, Mason! So we're going to that house and I will tell the kids it's a vacation so they don't get even more scared. And you can either join us or you can stay here. But you can't make me stay."
Mason was glaring at her, clearly battling his indecision. In that moment Tyler walked up behind him, speaking quietly: "Mason, you can't go. We have the Mikaelson project coming up."
Anger and resignation both flashed over Mason's face, before he finally gave in. "Fine, I'll stay here." Then, glaring at Damon, he added: "You better not let anything happen to my family."
Damon nodded. "Alright, Mrs. Lockwood, Jenna and Jeremy will come with me. We will take Caroline and also Bonnie, for additional protection. We should leave as soon as possible. Tomorrow, if that can be arranged." Turning to the policemen, he added: "I will give your Captain the details so he can get in touch with the local authorities." The police officers nodded, promising to contact their colleagues immediately and arrange for a departure on the next day.
Tyler spoke up again: "Dou you think it would be possible for my wife to go with you? She is really scared. I worry that she will become the kidnappers' target if they find out that Elena and her children have disappeared."
Damon was reluctant to bring any more people, but he could see the worry on the man's face. He glanced over at Elena quickly to see how she felt about it and when she gave him an unenthusiastic shrug, he agreed to take Vicki with them and instructed Tyler to make sure she was ready at eight a.m.
Elena was hesitant about bringing Vicki. Her sister in law did not handle crises well. On the other hand she didn't know how long this situation would last and she would probably be glad to have a friend with her. Feeling like everything was settled for the time being, she went upstairs to pack, instructing the nanny to get the children's things ready as well.
They left right on schedule. The police had cleared the destination and surprisingly, Vicki had showed up on time. They were going to be travelling in two cars. Bonnie was driving the car taking Caroline and the kids, while Damon would drive Elena and Vicki. As they were loading their bags into the cars, Damon and Bonnie stepped aside to go over the route, compare times, and revisit emergency strategies. As Elena looked over after depositing the last suitcase in the trunk, she witnessed Bonnie and Damon each inspecting a gun and securing them in holsters around their torsos. A strange feeling of dread and excitement crept up her spine. She had never liked violence. She felt like it was the lowest form of conflict resolution. Weapons did not entice her; she had never wanted to shoot a gun. She knew what harm they could do and that you didn't stand a chance should anyone decide to use one against you. She mistrusted anything that took away your ability to react or fight it. But surprisingly, Damon handling that weapon didn't set her on edge, but strangely calmed her. He exuded strength and control and it made her feel safe. He was infuriating in his cockiness but she had come to trust his abilities to defend her. A firearm in his hand did not seem threatening to her, it seemed like the ultimate line of defense should everything else fail, and she found that to her own surprise she had utter faith that with Damon around, she did not have to worry about that. After a reserved farewell to her husband and a rather sloppy and mushy farewell of Vicki to hers, they all headed for the cars and left.
Vicki having claimed the backseat of their car, stating that this was an ungodly hour to be awake and that she needed to sleep during the drive, left Elena riding shotgun and in the uncomfortable position to perform small talk with her bodyguard. Despite her being thoroughly trained in that department, thanks to the many social functions she and her husband were regularly attending, she found having a conversation with Damon exceedingly difficult. Not only did he not ask her any questions himself, he was also avoiding pretty much every single topic she proposed. After stonewalling questions about his family, childhood, hobbies, career choice and Italian heritage, she gave up and decided that impolitely sharing an uncomfortable silence was still preferable to being shot down every time she tried to spark up a conversation. After a bout of complete silence however, she decided to at least get some information about their destination.
"So what is this house we're going to?" she asked, hoping that that question would be general enough for him to answer.
"It's an old summer residence. My family used to vacation there when I was a kid." He replied, giving her more information about his childhood than he had during the entire car ride thus far.
"So it belongs to your parents?" He had said that it wasn't under his name, but being under his parents' would probably not throw the kidnappers for too much of a loop either.
He hesitated a while before answering and Elena was already expecting him to dodge the question again, but he could probably hear the uncertainty in her voice and felt it necessary to reassure her. "No, it's in my brother's name. And he took his wife's name when they married. People don't make the connection. We should be safe for a while."
"That's unusual," Elena remarked.
"My brother is an unusual man," Damon sad, smiling lightly.
"And he and his family won't want to use it themselves?" she inquired further, being encouraged by his openness.
"No," came his curt reply. Normally this would have perfectly satisfied her, but the pained way in which he said it made Elena think there was more to this story. She didn't dare to press him for details though so she refrained from continuing with her questions.
They had been driving in silence again but Elena had a question that had been irritating her for a while now, so she gathered up some courage once more and turned to address Damon.
"Why didn't they kidnap me?" she asked. "I mean, isn't it strange that they drugged me and then just moved me?"
"It's very strange," he confirmed.
"So why would they do it?" she asked again. "I mean, they obviously had the opportunity and I'm sure Mason would be more cooperative if he felt my life was actually in danger." She wasn't actually sure about this, but affirming her husband's devotion to her had become an automatism.
"We should see it as a positive sign," Damon replied in his most assuring voice. "The most likely reasons are that either they are unable to kidnap you, because they can't financially or logistically pull an actual kidnapping off or because they can't make a clean getaway. The second reason would be that they don't want to go to such extremes and that they hope to get away with mere threats. In that case we still have to worry about how far they might be willing to go if they are being pushed. Desperation makes people dangerous. But we should be encouraged by the fact that so far they've been reluctant to actually follow through on their threats."
Elena just nodded and turned her gaze towards the window, watching the scenery fly by and contemplating her bodyguard's words. He was right. If the people blackmailing them were really serious about their threats, she would not be sitting here; the attack on her would not have been a threat. On the other hand maybe that meant that they could actually be paid off. Maybe withholding the money was not the right move. Maybe this way they would be driven to more drastic measures.
They had been driving all day and they really were in a forlorn area by now. They had passed the last town about an hour ago and were now driving down dirt roads. Apparently there was a highway somewhere nearby and the police station that would come to their rescue in case of an emergency was on that highway, but they were surrounded by a thick forest and Elena would have believed it, if someone had told her she was hours away from any kind of civilization. Damon suddenly stopped and got out of the car and it was only then that Elena noticed a small and dirty forest road that forked off the dusty one they were on. A small rusty chain hung before it and assign fastened onto it informed any passers-by that this road was for authorized forest rangers only. Damon unhooked it and drove through, parking the car a little further down the road and, after Bonnie had passed through the gate as well, he refastened the chain and they continued their way through the seemingly never ending sea of trees. Finally, they emerged from the woods and as they passed over a final little hill, Elena couldn't hold back a gasp. Before her, she saw the endlessness of the Atlantic Ocean expand towards the horizon, the evening sun glistening and sparkling in yellows and oranges off the small waves. A short stretch of dunes faded into a fine sand beach which was encased to both sides by rocky cliffs that were topped by more forest. A single, middle-sized wooden house had been erected at the bottom of the northern cliff. It had two stories and was surrounded by a small porch, the stairs of which ended directly in the white sand.
Damon parked the car on a small patch of grassy gravel and got out, stretching his tired limbs. Elena was right behind him, letting her gaze wander across the scenery in admiration.
"It's beautiful," she exclaimed in a half-whisper. Damon only smiled at her. The second car arrived and Caroline and the kids came running up to them, a constant stream of Oohs and Aahs on their lips. When Bonnie joined them, Damon handed her a bundle of keys and went back to the car to get the bags. The children, not needing to be told twice, ran off towards the ocean, their nanny hot on their heels. Vicki came up next to Elena and together the women eyed the beach warily.
"What's the hold-up?" Damon spoke, suddenly beside them again.
"How do we get to the house?" Vicki asked.
"We go there," Damon replied, confused by the question.
"But there's no walkway," she complained.
"I know. You walk on the beach. It's supposedly very romantic," came his indignant reply.
"I am wearing Louboutins! I am not walking through sand!" she exclaimed.
"Well, do they come off?" Damon asked, obviously getting annoyed.
Vicki let out an angry huff but reluctantly pulled off her high heels. "You're carrying the bags," she ordered without looking back and started walking barefoot towards the house.
"And you?" he asked, turning to Elena. "Louboutins as well?"
"Manolo Blahnik," she corrected.
"Well, off they go." And with that he took off his own dress shoes to leave them behind.
"I'm also wearing $200 stockings," she disputed, convinced that that was a perfectly valid argument.
"Little word of advice," Damon sighed, "next time you're on the run, don't wear stockings that cost more than other people's entire outfits."
"You're one to talk, with your John Vervatos shirts," she huffed.
"Unbelievable," he sighed and before Elena knew what was happening, he had bent down and picked her up, one arm around her torso and one under her knees. When she realized what he was doing, Damon was already carrying her towards the house.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled, trying to squirm and shove at his chest. "This is unacceptable! Put me down right now!"
"But what about your shoes?" he asked, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
"This is preposterous! How dare you!"
"Just calm down and enjoy the sunset," he replied, completely unfazed by her outburst.
Noticing that they were already halfway across the beach, Elena reluctantly (and a little embarrassedly) relented, but not without huffing "You're such a caveman!"
If she was being honest, she would probably have fought more fiercely if being carried towards the sunset in his arms hadn't felt so good.
A/N: Be kind, review 3 3