Why Don't You Stay (Datherine)
Summary: Set in 2x1, 2x21, 3x3, and 3x5 as flashbacks and 5x1 as the present. Based on Sugerland's song "Stay."
*The End Of The Affair*
I've been sitting here staring at the clock on the wall
And I've been laying here praying, praying she won't call
It's just another call from home
And you'll get it and be gone
And I'll be crying
And I'll be begging you, baby
Damon was getting a shot glass of Bourbon, when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and then answered it, telling her, "You're interrupting my drink."
Katherine was driving as she answered him, saying, "I'm just calling to tell you goodbye."
After she told him that and they'd exchanged a few more words, he said, "Take care of yourself, Katherine."
They soon hung up.
*As I Lay Dying*
Beg you not to leave
But I'll be left here waiting
With my heart on my sleeve
Oh, for the next time we'll be here
Seems like a million years
And I think I'm dying
What do I have to do to make you see
She can't love you like me?
Why don't you stay
Damon and Katherine stood by a table in Ric's apartment. She'd shown him the bite on his arm and had asked him what it was, telling him that Klaus had said that he was as good as dead, so he couldn't use Damon for the ritual. When he told her that it was a werewolf bite, she was afraid that he was going to die.
"So, what? You're just going to die?"
"Depends. Ever hear about a cure?"
She was silent and he took that as a no.
"Yeah, me neither," he added.
"So, 145 years and no last goodbye?" she asked him.
"For you? You don't get a goodbye."
He began to head for the door.
She blurred over to stand in front of him.
"Don't. Don't leave mad."
"Us ending up on good terms isn't on my bucket list, Katherine," he replied.
*The Reckoning*
I'm down on my knees
I'm so tired of being lonely
Don't I give you what you need
When she calls you go
There is one thing you should know
We don't have to live this way
Baby, why don't you stay
Damon was driving his car with Katherine in the passenger seat. She'd offered him a road trip, so that's what they were doing. As he drove, she kissed him and he kissed back for a few, before pushing her off.
She gave him a look when he rejected her.
"What are you doing?" she asked, unhappy.
"Thought I'd give it a shot. Truth is, you just don't do it for me anymore," he replied.
*The Return*
You keep telling me, baby
There will come a time
When you will leave her arms
And forever be mine
But I don't think that's the truth
And I don't like being used and I'm tired of waiting
It's too much pain to have to bear
To love a man you have to share
Why don't you stay
Damon and Katherine were making out in the living room at the boarding house.
After a few minutes, he stopped, telling her, "Brief pause."
She pushed him off and let him talk.
"I have a question. Answer it and it's back to fireworks and rockets and red glare. Answer it right and I'll forget the last 145 years I've spent missing you. I'll forget how much I loved you. I'll forget everything and we can start over. This can be our defining moment. See we have the time. That's the beauty of eternity. I just need the truth just once."
"Stop," she said. "I already know the question and its answer. The truth is…I've never loved you. It was always Stefan," she lied to him. She couldn't let Klaus whom was on his way to town, know that she and Damon were in love. She was afraid Klaus would kill him to hurt her more if he knew that she loved someone that wasn't his brother. Then she slowly left the house, hating that she'd had to hurt him just to protect him. As she left, she could hear the sound of glass shattering, signifying that he'd thrown his shot glass, making it fall to pieces.
*Present Day- I Know What You Did Last Summer*
I'm down on my knees
I'm so tired of being lonely
Don't I give you what you need
When she calls you to go
There is one thing you should know
We don't have to live this way
Baby, why don't you stay
Damon and a human Katherine stood in front of each other, Katherine's hair a mess after going through hell the entire summer. She'd been smart enough not to come to him until after the summer had ended. Now though, she was begging for his help.
"You want me to turn you," he said. He bit his wrist and held it out to her. "Here." When she took his arm, but hesitated, he said, "Well, come on. Drink up. I'll kill you, you'll bite the mailman, you'll be a vampire again."
She let go and looked at him.
"I can't, okay? No one's ever taken the cure before. There's a good chance I might never wake up."
"And that would be tragic," he quipped to her.
She rested a hand on his shoulder and the other on his chest.
"And deep down, in that Elena-loving heart, there's a part of you that doesn't want me to die."
He was silent, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of her being right. Then he finally spoke.
"What are you doing here, Katherine?"
"There's someone chasing me," she informed him.
"Then run. Run far away."
"You don't understand. I have enemies everywhere. What happens when word gets out that I'm a human? I can't protect myself. I'm weak and slow. Do you have any idea what it's like to run in heels? I have blisters, Damon."
He realized that she'd come to him for protection, putting her life in his hands, whether he killed her or not. She was taking a leap of faith in coming here, when she knew that he wasn't her biggest fan.
*Crash*
I can't take it any longer
But my will is getting stronger
And I think I know just what I have to do
I can't waste another minute
After all that I've put in it
I've given you my best
Why does she get the best of you
So next time you find you wanna leave her bed for mine
Why don't you stay
After Damon had given her his keys after Silas had tried to drown her in his bathtub, which she'd survived, she'd driven off. Then, about twenty minutes later, Damon had called, trying to get her to turn back around to the house. She knew that Silas wouldn't have left yet, so she knew it was a trap, which was why she hung up. Then, a few minutes later, she suddenly crashed the car into a streetlight pole with a lot of force.
I'm up off my knees
I'm so tired of being lonely
You can't give me what I need
When she begs you not to go
There is one thing you should know
I don't have to live this way
Baby, why don't you stay, yeah
After Damon realized that something was wrong, Silas read that in his mind and left the house. A few minutes after that, Damon left to go find Katherine. She was a survivor as a vampire, but not so much as a human. He was afraid since she wasn't answering, that something had happened. If something happened to her because he'd tried handing her over to Silas, because Silas had gotten inside his head, he didn't know if he could forgive himself. She was still his sire, human or not, and he still cared about her. He just always kept his walls up around her, not wanting to get hurt by her again.
About forty minutes later, he finally found his nearly totaled car, which had Katherine still in it. It worried him and he could smell blood.
He blurred to her side of the car and forced the dented and jammed door open. Then he scanned her injuries. He saw blood on either side of her head and her lower stomach was heavily bleeding from a shard of glass. There was also an opened thigh artery. He could tell that she'd lost a lot of blood and was still losing a lot of blood. She was pale too, and he knew from all of this that she was in bad condition.
He rested a hand on the side of her face.
"Katherine, can you hear me? Open your eyes," he called to her.
He took the shard of glass out of her lower stomach and tossed it aside. Then he slid an arm under her and another under her legs, pulling her gently into his arms.
He stepped away from the wreck with her in his arms, which was when she finally woke up.
"Damon?" she said softly from blood loss and her wounds.
"It's okay. You're going to be okay. I've got you."
She rested her head on his shoulder, thankful that he was there to save her.
"Stay with me," he said. Then he blurred her to the hospital to save her life.
A few hours later, he was seated on her bedside, waiting for her to wake up. Surgery had gone great and she'd survived. Now he knew that she'd be okay.
He rested a hand on the side of her face and his other on her hand, as he looked at her in silence, hoping she'd wake up soon. He didn't know what he'd do if she'd died.