Bloodlines

Chapter 41: What Lies Beneath

Beta: PrincessOfSilence

Disclaimer: I own nothing of TVD or TO. I only own my characters and my story.

"Mmm, this was the best idea you've had in a long time." Cassandra purred softly.

Damon sat behind her and kissed along the back and side of her neck while the heels of his palms dug into her back. "Well, I thought we could both use some much needed time away from Mystic Falls."

"You can say that again," she sighed dreamily.

"Well, I thought that we—"

"Oh, hush up and kiss me." Damon indulged her request and kissed her firmly on the lips.

After the incident with Enzo, Damon had talked Caroline into using her father's old cabin out in the woods as a mini vacation spot for him and his wife since they were both in desperate need of some time together and time to unwind. Caroline finally agreed, only after reading Damon the riot act about staying the cabin and the couple couldn't pack their bags fast enough. They slept peacefully through the nights and spent mornings and afternoons down by the lake and follow the faded paths in the forest. Needless to say, it was quite the brilliant idea. They didn't have to deal with Traveler drama or any other drama that constantly nagged at them while they were at home.

"I wish we could stay here forever and never come home," she whispered breathlessly.

"I know." He pouted as he laid her down on the bed and curled up alongside her. His hand caressed her bulging belly and he pressed some kisses to it. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great. Completely rested and relaxed." She smiled from ear to ear.

"In that case, I think we should partake in some more pleasurable activities." His eyebrows wiggled playfully.

"Are you suggesting...?"

"We haven't had in a few months." He reminded her.

"Oh, well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?" She walked her fingertips over the collar of his shirt and bit her bottom lip. Their hands worked to get one another out of their clothes, tossing them carelessly onto the floor while giving each other soft, wet kisses. Damon watched as his wife's skin sprouted goose bumps wherever he touched and smoothed them with his lips. His fingers ran over her stomach and he pressed his lips against it, smiling when he felt his daughter kicking happily.

"I'm ready to meet her," he whispered softly.

Cassandra ran a hand through his dark hair and gently scratched his scalp. "Me too. Soon."

"Not soon enough." He leaned up to kiss her lips, nipping and nibbling at them as his hands moved between their naked bodies. He propped himself at her entrance and began to push inside her, but the revving of a nearby car engine made them stop and look at one another curiously.

"What was that?" She wondered.

Damon's vampire hearing picked up the sound of a car door slam and the chattering of his brother and girlfriend. He ducked his head in the crook of Cassandra's neck and cursed himself. "Oh, no..." He moaned.

Once the couple had redressed themselves, they arrived on the front porch to see Stefan, Elena, Caroline, and Luke piling out of the car. They were unpacking bags from the trunk when Damon barged over to them in a fury.

"Woah, woah, woah! What do you think you're doing?!"

"I called and left you a message," Stefan replied while handing Damon a duffle bag from the trunk. "Why don't you check your phone?"

"Look, Stefan," Cassandra had waddled down off the porch to the car. "It's not that we don't like having all of you here, but—"

"It's a long story, Cassandra," the younger Salvatore said. "The Travelers are on the move and looking for Elena and me. Luke can do a cloaking spell to hide us from the Travelers, but we need to be in the same place."

Husband and wife shared a look that could only be categorized as one of annoyance and they stood aside, allowing everyone to come inside. Their hands were tied and they had to give up their time alone to protect Elena and Stefan.

"We're really sorry we ruined your weekend." Elena frowned with a bouncing Caroline in tow.

"But don't worry. It's gonna be fun. We're gonna play games and it'll be fun." Her optimism was making Damon want to vomit.

"Great. Can't wait." He grumbled and went back inside the house, but not without pushing Luke out of the way first.

"Don't worry about him." Cassandra sighed. "He's just grouchy."

"I can tell," both girls murmured.

"This sucks." Damon pouted and leaned up against the door frame of the new room that they had to move into. Now, all of the rooms were taken in the house and Cassandra let out a huff and glared at him over her shoulder while she placed some clothes on hangers to be hung up in the closet. "No, what sucks is that I packed up our old room by myself and I am now unpacking in our new one by myself."

"Why couldn't they have just stayed at the boarding house?" He pondered aloud.

"Because the Travelers have already taken over Mystic Falls. It wouldn't be long until they started hiding inside our bodies." She answered and brought the hangers to the closet.

Damon made a disgusted face and shook his head. "That would be creepy."

The vampire finally joined in and helped Cassandra move all of their belongings into the new room, so that she could rest for a bit, but that didn't stop him from complaining or muttering something about Markos and the Travelers under his breath. Cassandra let him rant and took a seat on the bed to put her feet up. Sure, it was a surprise having everyone show up at the house, but she was determined to make the best of their time.

"And he was so smug," Damon rambled on about his meeting with Markos. While he vented his aggressions, he had unpacked the entire room and got them settled which made his wife smirk a bit that he had done the work and didn't even realize it. "He talked down to me like I was the dirt under his shoe, but I showed him who was boss."

"I'm sure you did." Cassandra tried to hold in her giggles.

"No, seriously. No one is coming into my town and walking all over me." He made his point by closing one of the dresser drawers with a satisfying bang.

"You're so cute when you're bossy." She grinned slyly, earning an odd look from her husband.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Not at all." She shook her head. "Just speaking the truth."

Her cell phone rang from the dresser and Damon plucked it up. He handed it to her and she checked the ID with a smile before answering it.

"Hi Jen!"

"Hey Aunt Cassie. I just wanted to check in and let you know that I'm at the airport and ready to board. I should be in Mystic Falls in a couple of hours."

Cassandra felt all of the air leave her lungs and she placed a hand to her forehead. "Oh no...I totally forgot that you're leaving today."

"Is everything alright?" She asked. Jen had so graciously offered to fly out to Mystic Falls to help Cassandra with the birth of her daughter, but with the Travelers in town, it wouldn't be safe for Jen to come out.

"No, Jen. Listen to me, a lot of stuff is going on in Mystic Falls and I don't want you to come down here."

"What?"

"It's hard to explain, but you have to promise me that you won't get on that plane."

"Aunt Cassie—"

"Cassandra—" Damon tried to intervene.

"No, Damon. I won't allow her to come here and get hurt or possibly killed." She fought.

"And how will you deliver the baby without her help?" He asked.

"I'll go to a hospital like everyone else," she said.

"That's a nice way for you to get killed, Cass." He growled.

"What else am I supposed to do?!"

"Aunt Cassie, please let me come out to you." Jen begged. "We don't know what this birth could hold and I want to be there to make sure everything runs smoothly."

"I can't let you, Jen. I'm sorry" Cassandra told her sadly. "Please, do not get on that plane and come here. You have your own family back home and I don't want to have to tell your husband and kids that their mom isn't coming home."

Jen was silent for a few long moments and so was Cassandra. The pregnant hybrid brushed a stray tear from her cheek and prayed that Jen would heed her warnings. She couldn't risk having Jen not come home to her own family because of the danger here.

"Okay. I won't come." Her words made Cassandra release a breath and she noticed her husband clenching his jaw while he paced the room.

"Thank you, honey. I'll be okay and so will the baby, I promise." She assured her. Their conversation tapered off and Cassandra hung up the phone with a deep frown creasing her lips. She finally looked up at Damon who was so angry that she swore she could see smoke rising from his ears.

"Please, say something." Her voice was barely audible.

"What do you want me to say?" He stopped his pacing and faced her. "Dammit, Cass. We've taken every measure to make sure that you and the baby will be safe, but you've cut off one of our resources."

"I know, but please understand where I'm coming from, Damon." She said. "I can't let her come here and be put into danger."

"And I can't let you die!" He roared.

"Then, I won't!" Her shout matched his and they were now standing eye to eye. Damon's chest deflated and his forehead creased with curiosity. "Damon, I've been so worried about this stupid prophecy ever since you told me about it. I wouldn't sleep for days and I was afraid of my own damn shadow. I let it control me and you're letting the fear control you too. That's not how our lives should be."

Damon's expression softened and his once tense shoulders bowed in defeat. He seldom admitted his emotions to anyone, but the thought of her leaving this earth, leaving him forever, just about made him want to crawl in a hole and die. He wouldn't want to live in a world without her. He wasn't even sure if it was possible. Cassandra took a deep breath and grasped his clenched fists, feeling them melt within her hold until they opened and she was able to thread their fingers through one another's.

"I've decided not to die," she told him and squeezed his hands. "I know it sounds silly, but I am tired of living in fear of death and dying. So, I won't die. I know it's hard to just accept and I sound crazy, but I need you to trust me on this."

The raven haired vampire peered down at their joined hands and the smallest of smiles tugged at his lips. How could he not trust her after all they'd been through? He gave his heart to this woman and she gave him hers to have and to hold for eternity. He brought her hands up to his mouth and kissed them affectionately.

"I trust you." His words rumbled in his chest and she smiled warmly just as she hugged him tightly.

"I love you so much," she whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek. They stayed like that for a while, safe in their embrace until Damon broke it and kissed her lips.

"I love you too." He kissed her again and held her hand to usher her downstairs, but she stopped him.

"Let me freshen up a bit before I come downstairs to start dinner, okay?" Damon nodded and closed the door behind him, allowing his wife a few minutes of silence so that she could collect her thoughts and come downstairs. She stood at the dresser, fixing her appearance in the mirror while she was being watched without her knowledge.

"Call me crazy, but Damon is a bloody idiot to trust you." Enzo mocked her from across the room. "I mean, seriously, you can't just decide not to die when the Universe is going to pull the plug on you anyway."

Cassandra continued about her business, not paying Enzo's presence any mind since he was just a ghostly figure on the Other Side. The vampire was quickly growing bored of being ignored by everyone in the physical world, but he had to admit that it was fun to talk about people right in front of them without having them hear it.

Enzo sighed and walked to stand behind Cassandra. "No matter. I'll make some space for you on the Other Side, dear. It's such a shame that your brother-in-law and his girlfriend haven't spilled the beans about where I really am. I know that Damon hired that witch to keep an eye on me, so I don't come near that precious baby of yours, but I can't help but wonder how much longer they can hide the truth about what happened to me."

With one last glance at herself, Cassandra left the room to get started cooking dinner which meant that Enzo was on his own. The vampire cursed and kicked the edge of the dresser which sent one of Cassandra's perfume bottles to the floor. Enzo managed to catch it before it shattered and he examined the bottle in his hands, weighing it and feeling the texture beneath his fingers. With a smirk, he placed the bottle down right where he found it and ran his hand along the pane of the mirror.

"Oh, well, this is an interesting development." With his new ability to touch objects in the physical world, he promised that he would make their weekend in the woods a positively ghastly one.

Dinner had been a delicious and complete success. The gang all complimented Cassandra's cooking and she was filled with pride. She'd always loved to cook, but when she cooked for people she loved, it made her heart swell. Cassandra had become a mother figure to them and now that she was having a baby of her own, she felt the need to mother a bit more to her adoptive kids. Stefan, Elena, Damon, and Caroline all helped clean up their plates and utensils, not wanting the mother-to-be to lift a finger since she worked so hard in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Luke had sulked away after cleaning his own plate; he was embarrassed by Cassandra trying to force-feed him while telling him that he needed more meat on his bones, and had gone outside to perform the cloaking spell. Thankfully, Damon seemed to be in a much better mood and she hoped that it would continue that way despite the direction that their weekend getaway had gone.

Cassandra was seated in the living room with her feet up on the couch when Stefan and Elena came back in from the kitchen. Stefan leaned against the back of the couch and ruffled Cassandra's hair, making her chuckle and bat his hands away. The female vampire moved Cassandra's feet to sit down, placed them in her lap and rubbed them a bit which made the hybrid squirm around, but she relaxed into the plush couch.

"Ahh, that feels wonderful. Thank you."

Elena smiled and kneaded the hybrid's pretty painted toes. "No problem. You were standing all day, so I'm glad you're resting."

"I can only sit on my butt for so long, Elena," she pointed out.

"I know, but overexerting yourself isn't good for you," the vampire scolded.

"She's right," Stefan added. "I would listen to her since she applied to be in the medical program at Whitmore next fall."

Cassandra's face lit up with joy while Elena looked as if she was ready to burst with excitement. "Really? Congratulations, Elena! I'm so happy for you. You'll make a great doctor."

"Thanks, but I'm not in the program yet, so don't start celebrating." She blushed.

"And you'll have no problem getting in." Cassandra assured her.

"Yeah, I spoke with Dr. Parker since she is a part of the program and she gave me an application."

"That's great! You're going to help so many people."

"Dr. Gilbert has a nice ring to it." Stefan bragged proudly.

Elena scooted closer and brushed her hand over Cassandra's stomach. "So, how excited are you?"

"Oh, so excited. I'm happy to say that the whole pregnancy went smoothly." She told them. "Except for that idiot, Enzo."

Both Elena and Stefan tensed at the mention of the deceased vampire, but tried to play it off like it was nothing. They were the only ones that knew about Enzo's death and as happy as it would make Cassandra to hear that he was gone, they knew that Damon would be furious.

"Did you know that Damon's had Luke try to locate him? Enzo must have used a cloaking spell of some kind because Luke can't find him." Cassandra continued and Stefan's forehead brooded. "Little coward."

"That's really, really weird." Elena raised her eyebrows.

"Really weird," Stefan echoed and Cassandra glanced oddly between the two of them, picking up on their strange behavior.

"You guys alright?"

"Good." Elena squeaked.

"Great." Stefan jumped on the end of her words which made him want to kick himself for drawing attention to them.

Cassandra made a face and pushed herself off the couch. "Okay...on that note, I'll go out and get some firewood."

"Uhm, no. It's okay." Elena jumped in.

"I'll get it," her boyfriend offered.

"Some fresh air will do me good." The hybrid tried to side step the vampire, but he beat her to it and held up his hands.

"Come on, please rest? You worked so hard on dinner," he said.

The pregnant hybrid let out a breath and nodded. "Okay, fine. Just don't go out there alone."

"Perfect. I'll go with you, Stefan." Elena was all too happy to pull her boyfriend away from their conversation from Cassandra and out the front door. Once they had gone, Cassandra muttered something under her breath about how weird they were being and made her way into the kitchen just in time to see Damon cleaning up the rest of the kitchen while Caroline sat at the island munching on some cherries from a bowl. An upside-down hat was beside her and cut up strips of paper with writing were inside.

The blonde vampire was concentrating so hard on a strip of paper that was in front of her that Cassandra thought the paper would light on fire. She reached for another cherry and popped it in her mouth, chomping down on it harshly. When her hand moved the bowl again, Damon smacked her hand.

"Hey, munchie. Those are not for you."

"Shh, I'm thinking." The blonde vampire tapped her pen against the piece of paper. Without her looking, Cassandra snatched up the hat and passed it to her husband.

"Ooh, what's this?"

"Hey!" Caroline cried.

Damon rifled through the hat, taking out slips of paper while Caroline tried to get it back from him. "'Area 51.'"

"Stop!"

"'J.F.K. Assassination?' What the hell is that?" He narrowed his eyes at her and she took the hat back.

"You're ruining the game." The blonde grumbled.

"What game?" Cassandra wondered.

"Charades. Our theme is secrets that people think they're getting away with."

Damon rolled his eyes and leaned on the counter. "Well, Meryl Streep, I'd love to know how we're gonna act out Watergate."

"Well, I'm sure team "Stelena" will figure it out."

"A, you just implied that I was on your team when clearly my wife is the queen of charades. Two, you just gave me that judgy little hinty voice. So, what am I missing?" Damon wondered.

"It's probably nothing." The blonde vampire shrugged.

"Come on, Care. What's eating you?" Cassandra questioned.

Caroline looked over both shoulders and darted to the doorway of the kitchen to peer into the living room. Once she scanned the room for any unwanted eavesdroppers, she scampered back to her place at the island. "Well, don't you think that Stefan and Elena have been a little...You know?"

"No. Clearly I don't." Damon deadpanned.

"Secretive," she elaborated. "I caught them being all hushed and whispery at the car this morning, and now they're getting firewood out of the shed together, which apparently takes twenty minutes."

"I agree." Cassandra snatched up a cherry from the bowl and plucked the stem off. "When we were inside just now, I mentioned Enzo and they both seemed to be a little uneasy."

The lightbulb in Damon's head was burning brightly. "You know, now that you mention it, they got all cagey when I brought up Enzo."

"No, no. I'm not talking about Enzo." Caroline shook her head. "I'm talking about Stefan and Elena."

"How much have you had to drink?" Damon asked her, his voice filled to the brim with sarcasm while nodding to the tray of drinks that Caroline had prepared.

"Shut up." The blonde vampire huffed and added a bit more vodka to everyone's glass, minus Cassandra's whose glass only had water. Just when the trio was going to continue harping on the odd behavior between Stefan and Elena, the vampire couple waltzed into the kitchen and the latter took up a glass from the tray. Cassandra, Damon, and Caroline said not one word, but their eyes were resting anxiously among the couple. They were practically leering at them until their unmovable bond would begin to rattle and shake.

"Cocktails. Good call." Elena held up her glass as if to toast.

"I'll, uh-I'll make a fire," Stefan offered.

Elena hadn't even taken one sip of her drink, but she placed it back down and smiled at Stefan uneasily. "I'll help."

The pair exited the kitchen as quickly as they entered which left the trio finally seeing their awkwardness. They all shared odd looks with one another, the three of them finally on the same page. Damon leaned into Caroline and Cassandra with a wry smirk.

"Let the games begin."

"Uh, ok. Think. Ponder. Brain." Stefan shouted out his guesses to Elena who was prancing around the room and pointing to her head. The game of Charades had started out fun, but it escalated to a game where Stefan and Elena were hogging all of the points. Damon continued to drink, refusing to play in his words, a stupid childish game while Caroline gladly welcomed Cassandra to her team. After a couple of rounds, Cassandra's eyes began to droop and she had to fight her body just to stay awake. Her husband insisted that she go upstairs to bed, but she too was even suspicious that Stefan and Elena had done something bad to Enzo. It made sense, why would they be acting so strangely and using every excuse in the book to avoid conversations about him?

Elena switched up her gestures and proceeded to mime knocking on her head until Stefan guessed the word. "Uh, skull!"

"Yes!" Elena cheered and put both gestures together, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning her head to the side.

"All right! Skull, skull. Ok. Limb. Joint. Bone. Bone, bone. Skull and bones." He finally got it correct and Elena surged forward, throwing her arms around him.

"Yes!"

"Skull and bones! Got it! Five-zero, five-zero. Come on, guys. Zip." Stefan mocked the other team to which Damon took another swig of his drink. He'd had it with Charades and was ready to play another game, one of his liking.

"Ok. Let's play a game called, 'Never Have I Ever.'" He suggested.

"Oh, I don't think I'm drunk enough." Elena shook her head.

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!" Caroline beamed, excited to play another game.

"Come on. It'll be fun," Damon mocked her perky response.

"I think I'll sit out for this one." Cassandra yawned sleepily and leaned against Damon. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"I'll go first." Caroline announced and thought of a prompt. "Never have I ever died."

"Cheers to that one," Damon said and all four drank.

"Okay, um, never have I ever been possessed by my evil doppelganger." Stefan's prompt made Elena giggle.

"Mean. Never have I ever been fooled by my evil doppelganger while she was pretending to be me," she added.

"Ouch." Cassandra laughed.

"Low blow." Caroline smirked.

"Tough but fair." Damon refilled his glass. "I have one, never have I ever lied about where Enzo is."

Elena and Stefan were looking oddly at Damon and then glanced at one another. They didn't say anything, but their answer was in their silence. Damon had pegged the nail right on the head and he waited rather impatiently for their reply.

"Okay. What is going on?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing obviously because nobody's drinking." Stefan spoke.

"I mean, clearly you know the rules of the game, right, brother? If you lied, you drink." Damon pointed to the still full glass in Stefan's hand.

"Oh, no. I understand the rules." His brother assured.

Elena abruptly stood up and set her glass down. "This just got weird. I'm officially buzzed, so I'm gonna go and get ready for bed."

"On that note, me too." Cassandra kissed her husband's cheek and then his lips. "Goodnight."

"Night," he murmured.

Cassandra followed Elena upstairs just as she closed the bathroom door. She yanked it open and shut the door behind them. The vampire was clearly startled and clasped her hand over her heart seeing Cassandra standing there. The bathroom was warm with a light mist of steam in the air from Elena's hot bath that she'd drawn. She quickly shut the faucet off to stop the tub from overflowing and faced the hotheaded hybrid.

"Elena, what is going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." She hissed and Elena frowned. "What happened to Enzo? I know that you and Stefan know something."

The vampire knew that she'd been caught in a lie and that Cassandra would drag it out of her by any means necessary. Elena rushed to the door, side stepping the pregnant hybrid, and clicked the lock shut, ensuring their privacy and she turned back to face her.

"I...I didn't want to say anything." The vampire trailed off nervously. "I was scared that Damon would overreact."

"Of course he would." Enzo deadpanned. "He's Damon."

"What do you mean?" Cassandra pressed urgently.

"The night Enzo shut off his emotions, he had a run in with Stefan after Damon and I took you to the hospital on campus. They started fighting and it turned physical really quickly. Stefan had his hand in Enzo's chest just to scare him a little, you know? Well, Enzo decided to pull back from Stefan, ripping his own heart out."

Cassandra's brown eyes continued to grow wider and wider. "So...Enzo is...?"

"Dead? Yes." The ghost chimed in. "Dead, dead, dead."

"No wonder he didn't show up on Luke's locator spell." She added.

"It wasn't Stefan's fault." Elena fought. "It was an accident."

"Some bloody accident." Enzo grumbled.

"Elena, you and Stefan have to come clean."

"Are you kidding? Damon would go ballistic!" She cried. "He would blame the whole thing on Stefan and he'd turn on me for hiding a secret from him."

"You really think that highly of him, don't you?" She spat, her voice coated thickly with sarcasm.

"You know how Damon is, Cassandra."

"Yes, I do know how Damon is, Elena. I know him for a lot longer than you do." His wife defended. She was offended that Elena would even go as far as to bring up Damon's past actions as an excuse as to why she and Stefan didn't tell him about Enzo. Sure, Damon's actions could be categorized as selfish and unforgiving, but he always had a reason for doing things. Whether it be for family or friends, he would always do whatever he could to protect the ones he held dear.

"And while he may get mad and snap at people, you know he has the capacity to forgive. Especially when it comes to his brother." She continued and she could see Elena's cheeks beginning to blush in embarrassment and realization that she was wrong. "I wish you had more faith in him."

"And you have too much faith in him, darling." Enzo tsked.

Elena didn't say a word, she was too filled with guilt to try and take back what she had said. She knew that she had to make this right and would convince Stefan to do so as well. Cassandra had made her way to the bathroom door and grasped the knob to leave Elena to her thoughts, but the knob rattled on its own. She drew her hand away like she touched a hot stove and watched in awe as the knob was shaken so hard that it fell off. The doorknob rolled to Cassandra's feet and was then thrown across the room into the vanity mirror. The glass cracked and shattered to pieces, spilling all over the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Cassandra crouched, cautious for another flying object while Elena moved back from the door.

"You hear that sound?" The male vampire whispered evilly. "That's the sound of revenge."

Elena was suddenly shoved hard that she hit the edge of the bathtub and fell in. The water felt hot on her skin and just as her head broke the surface of the water, she was pushed back down. She flailed around, trying to claw herself out of the tub, but an unknown force was holding her down. Cassandra ran to the tub and grasped Elena's hands, but they kept slipping from her hold. Water splashed all over the floor and Elena was able to get her head up high enough to let out a shrill shriek.

"Help! Stefan, help!" She was pushed under the water again, silencing her cries as her lungs filling up with fluids.

"That's much better." Enzo was filled with glee at the sound of her gurgling, but was quickly annoyed by Cassandra trying to pry him off her.

An elbow that didn't belong to Elena was thrust into Cassandra's face, cracking her nose and sending her to the floor where her hands braced her fall and were pierced by the pieces of broken glass that had come loose from the mirror. Blood tricked from her nose and over her lips as the vanity table was propelled onto its side and a leg was snapped off into a sharp point.

"Leave us alone!" Cassandra shouted at the force who had knocked Elena out by smacking her forehead against the rim of the tub and leaving her on the floor. She could hear and feel the floorboards shifting with each forward step of the force who wielding the wood like it was a stake.

"Not bloody likely." Enzo growled and brought the stake downwards, just missing Cassandra's leg and embedding it in the floorboards.

"Elena?! Cassandra?!" Stefan and Damon were banging on the other side of the door and trying the knob. "What the hell is going on in there?!"

"Get us out of here!" She pleaded and their frantic shouts only grew in volume as they attempted to break the door down.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Enzo yanked the stake out of the floor and slashed Cassandra across the face with it. A thin scratch adorned her cheek, but it healed quickly just in time for him to stab her in her left shoulder, just above her heart.

Her scream was quickly followed by the door being busted clean off the hinges and the Salvatore brothers barging in. In seconds, Cassandra could feel that the entity who was in the room with them had gone since she did not feel their pressure on the stake. Whoever or whatever it was must have left. Elena was just coming too when Stefan arrived by her side and helped her to sit upright against the tub while Cassandra's fingers wound around the shaft of the stake, but couldn't remove it. Damon knelt next to her and she tried to speak, but all she could do was open and close her mouth like a fish out of water. He took it upon himself to yank it out and he pressed his hand against her wound to stop the bleeding in time for it to heal itself.

"Are you guys alright? What happened?" Stefan asked them.

"We don't know." Elena wrapped the towel her boyfriend had gotten for her tightly around her shoulders. "Someone was in here, but they were invisible."

"What do you mean?" Damon raised his eyebrows. "Like a ghost?"

"Something like that." Cassandra groaned and groped where she had been stabbed. "Ow."

"Well, I doubt the ghost of Bill Forbes did this," he jabbed.

Elena's eyes rolled and she cuddled closer into Stefan. "Not funny, Damon."

"Besides, why would a ghost target the both of you?" He added and Elena and Stefan guilty huddled closer together, trying to ignore the glare from Cassandra. The brunette vampire took a hold of Stefan's hand and nodded to him, knowing what she had to do, but Stefan stopped her.

"Ah, Damon. There's something you should know about Enzo."

Stefan and Elena had finally come clean to Damon about what really happened to Enzo and to their complete surprise, he took it better than they thought. Sure, he was angry, but he knew deep down that Enzo was like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and obliterate everything in his path. Caroline had been filled in on the whole situation as well, but was quite perturbed that she was left out of the Stelena secret. Tensions were high in the cabin and the five friends were gathered in the main living room. None of them were permitted to exit the room without someone else just for precautionary issues, but if Enzo was to strike again, he would not be gentle about it.

After Stefan spilled his guts, he called Bonnie to ask about the activity that was happening on the Other Side, if there was any; her reply made their hearts sink. She told them that the Other Side was falling apart which aided Enzo in his plan to successfully scare the crap out of Elena and Cassandra. If the Other Side was going to continue to deteriorate, it only meant that other ghosts like Enzo could ground themselves in the physical world.

"So, because the other side is down, that's why Enzo is messing with us?" Cassandra wondered, clasping a pillow to her chest.

"Enzo! You in here?" Damon called into the room, but he received no reply. Well, one that he could hear, anyway.

"Don't reckon I'd miss this," Enzo murmured from behind the vampire.

"Because knock it off!" He warned.

"It doesn't make any sense. If Enzo wanted to kill the two of you, drowning and a stake just above the heart wouldn't have worked." Caroline thought aloud.

"Smart girl." Enzo smirked.

"Maybe he's just trying to scare us." She suggested.

"Getting warmer. Come on! You've almost got it. What is Enzo up to?" He was grinning now.

"Maybe he's just a grade-A pain in my ass?" Cassandra growled.

"Ouch." Enzo frowned and placed a hand over his heart. "I'm gonna pretend like that didn't hurt."

"What Enzo did upstairs was just a distraction." Damon realized, his eyes wide with fear. "He figured out a way to kill us all in one fell swoop."

"Did I mention that I missed you?" The ghost chuckled to himself as Damon, Stefan, and Caroline raced to the front porch only to find it vacant.

"Crap." He hissed.

"Where's Luke?" Stefan asked.

"Who knows? We better find him before the Travelers find us." His brother concluded and walked back into the house. "Stefan and I are going out to find Luke; you three stay here and don't leave the cabin. Got it?"

"But if we stay here without protection, we're sitting ducks for the Travelers." Caroline argued.

"That's why we're hoping to find Luke before the Travelers can get a location on Elena." Stefan countered. "Think of it this way, the Travelers need both doppelgangers, but what better way to foil their plan than to have one here and one elsewhere?"

"That's true." Elena spoke. "You guys go ahead. We'll be waiting here for you."

"You're sure you're okay with this, blondie?" Damon asked.

"I've got it covered," Caroline replied bravely.

"Damon, please be careful. Enzo has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and I don't want you getting hurt," Cassandra said.

"I'll be fine. Promise." He bent down to gently kiss her. "I'll be back before you know it."

The two brothers set off on their journey to find Luke which meant that the girls were on their own to fend for themselves. Hopefully Enzo was with Luke and that he would leave them alone. The seconds hand on the clock ticked incessantly and Cassandra began to pick at the frayed edge of the pillow.

"So, what do we do now?" She sighed.

The Salvatore brothers found Luke tied up in a cabin and barely conscious. Their efforts to get the warlock out of the cabin were thwarted when Enzo tried to burn the three of them alive, but Damon was able to weasel his way out of Enzo's trap. He made Enzo a promise that he would bring him back only if he promised to leave town. Enzo was not going to take the deal at first, but he figured with the Salvatore baby on the way that Damon would be spending less time causing havoc and more time changing diapers. So it only made sense for Enzo to leave Mystic Falls and never look back. Maybe he'd find a new wing man. He decided to hold Damon to his word and allow them all to leave the cabin just before it collapsed in a fury of flames.

Returning to the Forbes' cabin, everyone was packing their things to head back into Mystic Falls since Elena and Caroline had to go back to school and Damon, Stefan and Cassandra were missing the boarding house. Damon told Cassandra about his promise to Enzo and he thought that she would flip her lid, but she simply nodded, understanding his choice and continued packing her things into the trunk. That reaction made Damon's forehead crease and he asked her again if she was okay with him trying to bring Enzo back.

"Damon, I've told you for the thousandth time."

"I know."

"So, stop asking me."

"I find it hard to believe that you're okay with it," he stressed.

"Well, for one, I don't need a ghost trying to smother me with a pillow when I sleep." Cassandra shoved her bag in the trunk of the car. "And two, if you do manage to bring him back and he doesn't hold up his part of the deal, I will gladly send him back to the Other Side."

"You'll have to take a number and get in line," he told her. "I already told him that if he comes near you that he's dead."

"Then we shouldn't have any problems then." She bent down to pick up a bag, but stopped midway when her back twinged in pain. Damon immediately scooped up the bag to stop her further from injuring herself and leaned her against the back of the car to rest. He closed up the trunk and tapped on it twice, signaling that they were ready to head off.

"What will we do when we head back to town?" She asked.

Damon pursed his lips and stood beside her with his arms crossed over his chest. "Well, I was thinking we could finish up the nursery."

Cassandra's smile grew wide and she rubbed over her belly. Damon had tried to surprise her by setting up a nursery in the room next to theirs, but his plan was foiled when she wandered into the room looking for a few personal items that she wanted to put away into storage. The nursery was breath-taking and held everything their little girl could possibly need. The walls were painted a soft, ballerina slipper pink with white along the edges. A brand new crib was set up in the corner and a rocking chair was by the window, so Cassandra could read stories to her little girl under the stars. Naturally, Damon didn't tackle this plan on his own. Everyone was in on it and helped contribute items to the nursery.

"I think that would be perfect," his wife said and pushed herself off the back of the car. "Alright, let's head home. I've had enough talk of ghosts this—"

Her words were silenced when Damon pulled her body against his and kissed her passionately. Cassandra gave a muffled, surprised reply, but she kissed him back, throwing her arms around him. His hands found her waist while her fingers toyed with the hair at the base of his neck. She teasingly bit his bottom lip just as he pulled back and she looked up at him a bit stunned.

"What was that for?" She asked, still breathless from their kiss.

"I had a really crappy day and I needed it," Damon replied with his charming smile and she melted even further into his arms. The stress from the day was worn on his face, but it was slowly becoming erased by just being with his wife. His thumb traced over her cheek and he kissed her again, softer this time.

"Well, let's get going." Caroline sang as she marched outside and piled her bags into her car. Damon mumbled something about someone always manages to ruin a nice moment while Cassandra giggled to herself and kissed his cheek lovingly. She stepped around him to get into the car, but she saw a piece of paper wrapped in the handle of Damon's passenger side door. Her forehead wrinkled and she reached for it, grasping it in her hand. She unfolded it and read the dark, scribbled writing.

They're coming for you.

"They're coming for you...?" She read slowly and had to wonder who was coming for them.

Suddenly, her vampire hearing picked up the light sound of voices from within the trees. There were many voices, close together and they were repeating the same words over and over again. The sound got louder and was joined by heavy footfalls and the crunching of branches and dry leaves. She couldn't recognize the language, but she knew that fateful sound.

Travelers.

Damon and Caroline cried out, each of them holding their heads in agony before collapsing to the ground. The band of Travelers emerged from behind the trees and formed a circle around Stefan, Elena, and Cassandra who tried to rush to their friends' aids, but the spell of the Travelers kept them frozen in place. They closed in on them, making the circle smaller until the faces of each one could been seen, their features illuminated by the dim porch light. Their chanting stopped and they all held hands with one another, connecting their tight circle, however one Traveler stepped forward.

"Good evening," he spoke eloquently, his dark eyes holding a glimmer of mystery.

"Markos." His name fell from Cassandra's lips and the leader gave a sideways grin.

"A pleasure to meet you, Cassandra." He said and acknowledged the two vampires who were huddled together. "Stefan. Elena. My apologies about your friends, but I felt that they would've gotten in the way."

"What do you want?" Stefan moved in front of Elena protectively.

"For you two to come with us," Markos told him simply.

"And if we don't?" Elena challenged, to which the lead Traveler tilted his head.

"I would hate to see anything else happen to your friends." He warned and nodded to two Travelers who left the circle. "They would make lovely hosts." One went for Caroline while the other walked to Damon, but Elena stepped out from behind Stefan with her hands raised.

"No! Stop!" She begged and the two Travelers halted in their steps at Markos' command. They backed into the circle and joined hands while Markos raised his hands to Stefan and Elena. They winced at the pain in their skulls and were quickly taken by two Travelers who hauled them away. Markos now looked to Cassandra who was trembling with her hand on her stomach.

"And now you." His gaze shifted to her belly and noticed her hand clench defensively. She couldn't think why Markos would want anything to do with her, but the note she received clearly meant that the Travelers were coming for her. When Damon told her about his meeting with Markos, he never showed any interest in her, so why would he be here? Their eyes met and he began chanting. Cassandra felt a heaviness in her head, then felt weightless, and then numb. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she blinked up at the stars before falling unconscious.

Uh oh, looks like Markos was lying about not wanting anything to do with Cassandra. What exactly does he want with her? You'll have to find out in the next chapter ;) I hope all of you are doing well and please review!

*shameless advertisement* My friend, twin of a sister, has written an ElijahXOC story and it is AWESOME! Please give it a read and review. She's a really amazing writer, so please check her out! The story is called, "No Matter What."

twin of a sister: Thank you so much for reviewing, Lindsey! The kiss scene was one of my favorites too ;) I also liked the scene where Audrey was breaking things. I want to add some light-hearted, comedic moments to my stories, especially when there are some darker moments in the chapter. I hope you enjoyed this update and that your story is going well! Love ya! Mwah xoxo

SomebodyWhoCares: Thanks for reviewing! I agree! Elijah should have taken her right there in the bayou ;) Great minds think alike!

elisesellas: Hello, my dear! Thank you so much for reviewing! I am glad that I was able to put a goofy smile on your face during your commute :) I take great pride in my stories and it always gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever someone really enjoys my work. Audrey and Klaus will still be on the outs in the next chapter and Elijah and Giuliana will be avoiding each other a bit ;) Hope you liked this chapter and I'll talk to you soon xoxo

CarlyLynn: Thank you for reviewing, CarlyLynn! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

NicoleR85: Thanks for reviewing, Nicole! The reactions in the next chapter will be interesting ;)

binks13: Hey girly! Giuliana really does have a great relationship with both Mikaelsons and Hayley. There was quite a bit of conflict in the last chapter, but there will be more in the next ;) Audrey and Klaus still haven't worked out all of their issues yet and they will all come to a head soon. Thank so much for reviewing and I hope you liked this update!

Guest: Thank you for reviewing! Ooh, I think Damon and Cassandra's daughter will be a mix of both of her parents. I can't wait to have my reader's meet her.

Guest: Here ya go, dear! Enjoy and thanks for reviewing ;)