WEEEE! An Update! And only after about a month? Guys, that has to be some kind of record.

Anyways, truth be told I wanted to get this out on Christmas. Like on Christmas day but damn it, I was exhausted. After two days of nothing but baking cookies and then almost a full night of wrapping presents the night before Christmas eve, I got about 45 minutes of sleep because I had to wake up at 5 on Christmas eve to finish Christmas shopping and then I was up until almost 4 in the morning wrapping more presents for Christmas day, I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to check the few emails I had that night and I was too busy on Christmas day to even look at my computer.

So I'm sorry I couldn't get this chapter up then but it's here now. This is my late Christmas and early New Year's present to you guys.

I know it's shorter than normal but there wasn't much I could do about it, nothing really happened in this episode and I'm afraid the next chapter may be another short one but after that things should heat up. A lot.

Don't worry though, there is a few cute Dele moments.

Anyways,

Shout outs:

Revenger's Sister: Ah, Thank you. (: It's amazing to know that I built this story up good enough that I have some loyal fans out there.

ThePhantomismylove: Of course I'll write more. xD

Azera-v and NicoleR85: Thank you. I love that you love it. (:

SomebodyWhoCares: I know right? ;p

HermioneandMarcus: Thank you and you're welcome. xD

fnf2life: Hm. I wouldn't say it's going to be a triangle. Adele's heart lies completely with Damon but that doesn't mean Klaus is going to care and it doesn't mean that Adele isn't going to show any interest in him what so ever. It just means not to expect anything to drastic, like Adele suddenly not being able to choose who she wants to be with.

Earwen85: No, it wasn't his fault but you know Damon. Lolz. Hopefully he'll get over it soon enough. As for the one shot, like I mentioned I'm working on getting that fixed. It'll be up as soon as I can get it up. Hopefully that won't take too long.

Charmedbycharmed: Adele had a bit of an anger issue when she was human but she had learned to control it, now she kind of has to go through the whole process of learning again, killing for her is out of the question as most would guess but that's not to say she wouldn't kill to protect the people she loves and everyone knows the one person besides Damon that she'd kill and be killed for is Elena. There will be some sisterly bonding, at first I wasn't sure when but I can confidently say you should expect to see some, very, very soon. Not this chapter but…soon.

LeoValdezPlease: I'm updating right now. Lolz. I'm so glad you love it, thank you.

klandgraf2007: That she does, that she does. xD

bboop14: I intend to. (:

KlarolineCinderella: Of course. And don't worry, I will. ;p

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.

Chapter 12: The Ties That Bind

"I'm telling you we should just hold onto this file. Maybe just for a little while longer? I mean come on. I'm sure Elena will find the one there looking for sooner or later." Adele says for the fourth time since getting into the Camaro back at the police station. In her lap she holds a manila folder containing the information Elena and Bonnie are do desperately seeking.

"Now Kitten, we have no reason to keep information that is so important to Bonnie from her." Damon says pulling up to the house in record time and turning to smirk over at her. "You are in a feisty mood today."

"Is that you're way of saying I'm being a bitch?" She raises an eyebrow and he doesn't deny it as he removes himself from the car and crosses over to her side to open the door before she has a chance to get out herself.

"You're welcome." He calls after her as she walks by him but she snorts in response and he grins. He doesn't know what has gotten into her, but she's been in a mood all day and he would be lying if he said he didn't love it.

"You know, you don't have to, right?" Adele can hear Elena saying from in the house, her voice reaching her over sensitive hearing easily enough. "Let Stefan obsess over opening up the coffin. It doesn't have to fall on you."

"The coffin is spell shut." Bonnie responds to her as they reach the porch. "That makes it a witch problem. So it does fall on me. I was bound to see my mother again sooner or later."

Adele quickly enters the house with Damon right behind her as he calls out, "Sooner." Which gains their attention so Adele holds the manila folder up for them to see. "Abby Bennett Wilson. Monroe, North Carolina. Born in Mystic Falls, graduated at Mystic Falls High... blah blah blah." He continues on as they reach the table and Adele hands the folder over to the witch. "A little compulsion helped speed up the research process."

"You compelled someone?" Elena asks, not at all surprised.

"Nope." Damon grins, his gaze falling onto his blonde girlfriend. "She did." And by this Elena is surprised, though she realizes she shouldn't be as she glances up at Adele. It was just going to take some getting used to her new status.

"This is her." Bonnie interrupts, her voice mystified as her eyes scan the papers in the folder.

"Yep." Damon says. "Road Trip anyone?" He asks looking around but pouts upon catching Adele's not so enthusiastic look.

"You're not coming Damon. Neither of you are coming." Elena says standing from the table.

"Why not?" He asks. "We're the ones who found her."

"Bonnie hasn't seen her mom in over fifteen years. We don't need your guy's snarky commentary narrating the whole experience." Elena explains.

"She's right Damon." Adele agrees much to Elena's shock.

"You don't want to go on a road trip?" He doesn't understand. Since when did she start turning down road trips?

"With them?" Adele glancing between Bonnie and Elena. "No. Besides, I've had my fair share of dead beat moms to last me the rest of eternity." She seems to realize what she's said only after she's said it and even when she turns to Bonnie, she doesn't look in the least bit sorry. "No offence." She mutters.

*VD*

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Adele asks voice wiry as they enter the dimly lit grill. Her hand clenches tighter to his as she glances around at the amount of people and she's relived to see that it wasn't crowded.

"Of course I'm sure. You said it yourself yesterday; sitting around at the house isn't going to help you learn to control yourself. You need to continue living your life and grabbing lunch with your boyfriend is something you do when you have a life." Damon is saying as they watch a woman stand up from the table Alaric is sitting at. She bids Alaric a goodbye before making to leave passing the two as she does. "Who's that?" Damon asks his curiosity peaked.

Alaric either ignores him or doesn't hear him as his eyes fall on Adele who he hasn't seen since she rose from the dead. He wants to hug her and to never let her go but he holds himself back not keen to the idea of testing her self-control just yet. "How are you?" He opts out to question instead.

"Better." She answers with a small smile. "I'm getting the hang of everything slowly but it's going to take some time. It's not easy."

"Hello." Damon says. "Don't ignore me. Who was that?" He takes the seat where the woman was previously sitting and pulls Adele down into his lap and she makes herself comfortable against his side.

"My doctor." Alaric finally answers.

"She's a doctor?" Damon question's eyebrows raised.

"Mhm." Alaric hums and Adele laughs softly as Damon's calling over a waitress.

"What's the damage?" She asks and Alaric frowns.

"There's no damage." He defends but Damon scoffs giving his order of bourbon and cheese fries to the waitress causing Adele to smirk down at him. She finds it amazing at how well he knows her.

"Come on, Ric," Damon says after the waitress is gone. "A girl that hot and that smart…damage." He tells him causing Alaric to glance towards Adele and Damon catches it quickly. "Exactly my point." Damon smirks. "Extremely hot, extremely smart and extremely damaged." Adele glares down at him and his smirk widens to a grin. "Please Kitten, you know it's true."

"You're such an ass." She mutters with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm looking for red flags." Alaric admits with a deep sigh. "Her ex called her a psycho case the other day."

"But it came from her ex…" Adele pipes in. "That doesn't count."

"Yeah, that's true." Alaric agrees.

A waitress brings over a bill that Damon picks up and opens before handing it off to Alaric. "That's yours."

"I wonder what my ex's would call me." Alaric wonders aloud as he takes the bill.

"Nothing." Damon says as their waitress comes back with their order and he takes a sip from his glass. "There all dead."

"Hm." Alaric grunts. "Well, her ex is the medical examiner so he is dead adjacent."

"She dated the medical examiner?" Damon asks sounding merely curious and Alaric nods. "Well, I don't think he's dead adjacent, I think he's just dead."

"What?" Adele asks shifting in his lap to look at him.

"Murdered." Damon informs. "Sheriff is trying to keep a lid on it because he was staked in the chest like a vampire."

Adele's mouth falls open in shock. Is that what he had been doing yesterday morning? "Seriously?" And he hums in response. "Wow." She mutters.

"Meredith didn't say anything about that." Alaric mummers more to himself then too them but they hear it anyways.

Adele leans forward to rest her elbows on the table. "Well I'd call that red flag number two." She says before popping a fry into her mouth.

"Who do you think killed him?" Questions Alaric.

"I don't know." Damon answers. "But if I was a cop, your sexy doctor lady friend would definitely be a suspect."

"Okay, well I'm going to head out. I have papers to grade." He tells them as he's standing up.

"Oh, that reminds me." Adele says quickly. "Would you mind bringing me my school work? I'm not sure how long it's going to be before I can go back and I don't fancy the idea of having to repeat senior year because I died."

"What am I supposed to tell your teachers?" He asks after accepting. "I can't exactly tell them you've become a vampire and need a few days or weeks to control yourself so you don't kill everyone."

"I don't know but you'll come up with something." He rolls his eyes before leaving and Adele returns to her fries. "Is that what you we're off doing yesterday morning? Checking out a murder scene?"

"Mhm." He hums. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry about it."

"Well I don't know about you but I'm a bit worried about Ric. We don't know this doctor lady and now we find out that the medical examiner who was just murdered is her ex?" Adele sticks another fry into her mouth as she shrugs. "Not to mention he called her a psycho."

"Kitten…are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Damon sings. "Are you thinking we should go and talk to the doctor lady?"

"You said it not me." Adele mutters before jumping as something crashes next to them and the two turn to look at the waitress who has dropped her tray full of glasses.

"Ow. Crap." The waitress is muttering and Damon's eyebrows raise when Adele suddenly stiffens as she sits up turning her head away from the scene and Damon finally understands when he smells it. Blood. Coming from the waitress's hand. She must've cut it on a piece of glass. He looks up at her, watching as she fights to keep her face from changing but she's having a hard time and he glances to the other tables around them. The commotion has drawn the attention of a few people and if they so much as glanced over at the two, Adele's face was in clear view.

He does the only thing he can possibly think of to stop her from losing control. He tangles his fingers into her blonde locks and pulls her lips down to his. At first she doesn't respond but slowly she melts against him and her fingers move up to run across his jaw. When he pulls away he's relived to see her back to normal. "You okay?"

"Yes." She breaths. "I think so." He nods before holding out his glass to her, still half full and she takes it downing it in one shot.

*VD*

She's texting Jasmine or at least Justin on Jasmine's phone seeing as he'd gotten rid of his own and has now opted to burners. It was better for him, he didn't want James to be able to track him and Adele hadn't disagreed when he'd told her.

Damon is leaning against the wall as they wait for Alaric's doctor friend to appear. After almost losing her self-control back at the grill, they'd left shortly after Adele having not wanted to be there much longer then needed but she realizes now that a hospital wasn't much better and was trying to distract herself with her phone. Damon was making sure to keep an eye on her despite looking completely interest in the floor as they waited.

When Meredith finally rounds the corner, Adele moves in closer to Damon's side as the doctor jumps back slightly upon noticing him. "You know we never got the chance to officially meet…" He pauses briefly to glance down at her white coat. "Doctor Fell."

Meredith glances between the two before replying. "You're Alaric's friend right? Damon Salvatore. I saw you at the council meeting." Damon nods in conformation before Meredith is turning towards Adele. "But you I don't know."

"Oh." Damon straightens up a bit. "This is my girlfriend." He introduces as Adele smiles brightly at the doctor. "Adele Gilbert."

"Oh." Meredith nods slowly as if trying to place the name. "Oh. Yeah. Alaric mentioned you. What are you guys doing here?"

Adele opens her mouth to respond before Damon cuts her off. "Strolling the halls. I like to wave at the newborns through the window." Meredith sends them a strange look before quickly walking past and Adele slaps Damon on the chest.

"That's not why we're here. Don't let him creep you out." She calls and Meredith slowly turns back. "I was just looking for Doctor Collin. He's an old friend of my dad's but as it would turn out he's relocated."

"I'm sorry about your boyfriend." Damon states. "Animal attack. Brutal."

"Your boyfriend died?" Adele lets an expression of surprise flash across her face. "I'm so sorry. That's awful."

"He was my ex-boyfriend." Meredith corrects voice tight. "And thanks. I'm still kind of processing."

"Yeah. I'm sure." Damon's nice guy act quickly drops and Adele lets the smile slide from her face. "I thought I'd tag along with my girlfriend here to let you know that it wasn't an animal attack…" Damon shuffles the piece of paper in his hand, bringing it up so he can look at it. "But then I realized…you signed the death certificate." Meredith glances around them before mentioning the two into a room next to them and they follow her, Damon glancing back to make sure no one was paying attention.

"Would you rather I say he was staked like a vampire?" Meredith snaps once the door is firmly shut.

"Wasn't he the guy who coined the phrase 'animal attack'?" Damon asks.

"Why do you even care?"

"Because…" Adele pipes up. "Ric likes you and if you're a psychopath that would really suck for him." She tells her to which the young doctor looks shocked.

"You two think I killed my ex-boyfriend?" She whispers.

"I think psychopath's are extremely high-maintenance." Damon says.

"He would know." Adele says to which Damon looks over at her with.

"I do not appreciate that comment." He tells her to which she shrugs.

Meredith shakes her head, not finding the two even the least bit amusing. "If you're so worried about your friend…"

"He's not exactly my friend…" Adele cuts in. "He's more like…my…step-father."

Meredith ignores her. "Go figure out how Alaric came into the ICU on his deathbed and walked out an hour later without a scratch."

Damon stares down at her for a minute before nodding and reaching over to Adele to push her towards the door. "Fair enough." He mutters as he makes his way past the doctor.

Adele is just reaching the door when Damon suddenly grunts in pain behind her, his hand tightening around hers before he lets go and she whirls around watching the doctor pull a needle from his neck. "Hey!" She exclaims to surprised to do much of anything else. Adele can feel her features beginning to change as she looks up from Damon to the doctor but she doesn't have much time to react before Meredith is shoving a needle into her arm injecting her with a clear liquid she quickly figures out is vervain as it spreads through her, leaving a painful burning sensation before she passes out, landing with a thud next to Damon.

*VD*

When Damon finally comes to, he has to blink a few times to let his vision clear before he can register his surroundings and slowly everything comes back to him and he jerks up. "Adele?" He calls out as he looks over to find her sprawled across the floor, still unconscious.

She's just close enough for him to be able to reach forward and wrap his fingers around her wrist and pull sliding her unconscious body across the tile floor. He pulls her into his arms with a groan, the vervain still passing through his system and affecting his strength.

"Shit," He mutters watching her head loll to the side. His mind takes him back to homecoming night and he can feel his blood pressure spike. "Adele…" He whimpers and through the blood roaring in his ears he can still hear how pathetic he sounds. He fights to escape his minds own personal hell. He can't relive that night, not again. That night was already haunting his dreams.

Out of instinct he presses his ear down against her chest and breaths out a shaky breath of relief upon hearing the sound of her heart. It's faint from the amount of vervain but it's there and that's all he could possibly ask for at this point. He knows there isn't a chance of her waking any time soon. She's a new vampire not to mention he's been taking the stuff for months now.

"I have to get you out of here." He finally says with no hope of a response. He pulls himself up from the floor sluggishly, wobbling just slightly until he's able to stop the room from spinning. When he can stand without the threat of collapsing he gathers her up into his arms and then swings her up onto his shoulder.

He cracks the door open just enough to peer out into the lobby thanking the heavens that it was clear and the doors were just a good thirty steps at the least. He couldn't compel a whole room of people and he was sure that had there been anyone, they'd try and stop him from carrying what is obviously an unconscious woman from the hospital.

He practically sprints across the lobby and is almost to the doors when a short nurse with a pixie cut steps into his path and he mentally curses, repressing the urge to snap her neck for the inconvenience she now poses to him.

"Excuse me…" She rasps in such a high pitched tone that he has to stop himself from visibly flinching at the sound. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I think…" Damon starts meeting the nurse's sharp eyes and he watches them slowly become blank as his begin to dilate. "I'm leaving, alone. You don't see her."

"Have a good day." She calls, voice unsure as he steps around her and resumes his rushed pace to his Camaro in the parking lot.

*VD*

He's driving towards Alaric's apartment intending to rant and rave to his friend about the doctor and what she had done to them but mostly Adele. She could have vervain him, she didn't have to vervain Adele too. He realizes he may need to conceal his anger a bit before he reaches the apartment. Part of him wanted to turn around and find the doctor so he could snap her neck.

But there was a voice inside his head that sounded an awful lot like Adele and it was telling him to let Alaric handle it from here on, like the ex-hunter had asked them to do in the first place. It wasn't their fault they wanted to look out for him. How was he supposed to know the way things we're going to turn out?

He huffs with that thought, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. His knuckles are just beginning to turn white when he hears her groan and he snaps his head over watching as Adele rolls her head over and her clouded over eyes blink at him slowly.

"Doctor Collin?" Damon questions with a grin as he feels the anger melt away at her stare, however unfocused it is. "Really?"

And she laughs her voice scratchy and dry sounding. "Waving at newborns…" She mummers slowly her words slurring with the threat of sleep. "Wasn't much better."

*VD*

He knocks on the apartment door instead of just walking in because he had to remind himself that Adele now needed to be invited in. The vampire in question was in and out of consciousness her body trying it's damn hardest to fight off the vervain and he was impressed she woke up as quick as she did.

When Alaric finally opens the door looking to have just got finished working out, Adele is for the most part conscious and she eyes Alaric, her head resting against the crook of Damon's neck.

Alaric's expression upon seeing her is one of alarm. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you once you invite her inside." Counters Damon.

"Oh right," Alaric moves aside. "Come in."

"I've come looking for a bunny." Damon says once he lays her down on the couch and she slips back into sleep. "But I'm sure you're good for now."

Alaric briefly forgets about Adele as he watches Damon move into his kitchen. "Still obsessed with Meredith? Don't you have an original vampire to worry about?"

Damon grabs a coffee mug and fills it up with the bourbon residing on the counter. "Ah, Ah, Ah. If I was you I'd go back to working out." Damon says. "You're going to want to buff up you start dating this one. Self-defense and all."

"What is your problem?" Alaric questions with a hint of anger and a hint of annoyance. He didn't feel in the mood for Damon at the moment.

"Your doctor vervained me and Adele and then she blood jacked me." Damon informs him as he moves back over to the couch where he sits with Adele's feet in his lap, running a hand across her calf in a way to calm himself.

"Wh-What?" Alaric goes from shocked to confused real quick. "When did you see her?"

"When we went to the hospital to accuse her of killing her ex-boyfriend." And Damon actually has the decency to sound at least slightly ashamed by his confession. "Which by the way, very sensitive subject."

"Damon, what the hell are you doing?" Alaric is well aware that he's yelling, now completely frustrated with his friend.

"Why are you mad at me?" Damon snaps back at him. "It was her idea." He mentions to the blonde.

"I told you I'd handle it." Says Alaric.

"We proved your theory." Damon counters. "Diagnosed psychopath…you're welcome." And Alaric is silent as if thinking over everything Damon has just said.

"Stop yelling." They both turn in the direction of Adele as she shifts on the couch. "M'head" She groans before she's lost again and Damon sighs before turning back toward Alaric.

"We're just going to hang here for a while." He says. "Until she comes back to herself at least."

*VD*

Her eyes flutter open slowly before she squeezes them shut tightly at the sunlight streaming in through the window. "Ah, ah, ah," She hears from across the room. "I saw that. It's time to get up."

She groans rolling onto her stomach. "What time is it?" She asks voice heavy with sleep.

"8 o'clock sharp." The cheerful voice answers swiftly and Adele groans again reaching a hand out to the other side of the bed and when her hand feels nothing but cold sheets, she frowns picking her head up and scanning the room quickly.

"Where's Damon?" She questions.

"Gone." Caroline sings. "He's with Stefan at his apartment."

"Caroline." Adele whines causing her blonde friend to tisk.

"No." She says. "You can live without seeing him until it's time. You'll be able to see him every day for the rest of your life after today is over. You can deal with it."

"Mhm…" Adele mutters curling back up into the blankets and willing Caroline to go away.

"Oh no you don't." Caroline snaps ripping the blankets from the bed. "Get up! We have a lot to do."

"Fine." Adele sighs out. "I'm up."

"Good." Caroline smirks and Adele glances towards her watching as she's hanging up the suit carrier and she stares at it, blinking slowly as the reality of what today is finally begins to set in.

Caroline rushes her out of bed and down the stairs where she finds Elena, Jasmine and Bonnie in the kitchen setting out breakfast clearly ordered in from The Grill. She picks at her food silently while the others talk about the day's events, what needed to be done and how to accomplish it all in the easiest and fasted way. When the doorbell rings Adele rushes away to answer it, feeling it a little bit easier to breathe when she's alone.

"Mom?" Adele breathes out after opening the door.

Miranda Gilbert sends her eldest twin daughter a soft and warm smile. "Hey Sweetheart."

"What are you doing here?" She asks confusion setting down upon her. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but I thought you said you were going to see us at the wedding?"

"I was." Her mother answers with a rueful smile. "But I couldn't stay away. I know you don't need me to help you get ready but I thought you might need me to help you keep a straight head." Miranda places a delicate hand against her flushed cheek. "I know you. I know how you can get."

"I'm glad you're here mom." Adele says in a whisper leaning into her mother's warm and comforting touch.

"I knew you would be." The brunette woman smiles even if Adele wasn't as close to her mother then Elena appeared to be she still knew when she needed her and right about now she knew she needed her more than ever before.

As the hours drag by Adele can feel herself slowly losing grip of her nerves and sanity. She didn't like feeling this out of control of her emotions and the one person who was capable of settling her wasn't there. "Maybe if I could just call him?" She questions quickly watching as Elena and Bonnie glance between each other and Caroline is shaking her head.

"Adele, no." Caroline sighs and Adele finally huffs in annoyance.

"He's my fiancé." She says, voice taking on more of a snippy tone. "If I want to talk to him, I'll talk to him."

"No. You won't." Caroline corrects. "I took your phone back at breakfast."

Adele stares at her long and hard before abruptly turning on her heel and marching from the room, slamming the door behind her. Elena stands ready to go after her but Miranda waves her off and leaves to go and search for her and she finds her alone in the study with her head held in her hands.

"Adele." Miranda calls softly watching her daughter pick up her head. "Sweetheart."

"I'm sorry." Adele whispers. "I'm just nervous."

"Mm. I think it's more than that." She says taking a seat on the coffee table across from her. She reaches for her hand giving it a gentle squeeze. "I've seen you nervous and this isn't that. What's going on Sweetheart? You love Damon."

"I do." Adele whispers. "I love him more than anything."

"Then what is going on?" Adele takes the chance to meet her mother's warm gaze.

"I haven't had my period in two months." She says in a rush watching her mother's expression as she lets her words sink in. "I haven't told Damon. Every time I tried I always clammed up and now…" She groans falling back against the couch. "We haven't even talked about children. I mean I figured maybe one day but…"

"Adele calm down." Miranda cuts her off. "There is a store just up the road, I will be right back. You just sit tight." She pats her daughter's knee before getting up and Adele watches her leave.

Miranda is gone for 15 minutes at most and when she returns she pushes her daughter into the bathroom with the small plastic bag from the store before turning to explain things to her other daughter and their most loyal friends. She knew her blonde twin wouldn't mind her telling them.

When the clock indicates it's been 20 minutes Caroline is the first one to step up to the bathroom. "Adele?" She calls quietly with no response. She enters slowly finding her sitting on the tile floor with her back against the tub and her knees drawn to her chest. "Are you okay?" She whispers.

"I have to talk to Damon." She mutters and Caroline spots the test on the counter near the sink. She walks over after one last glance at Adele and peers down at it her breath hitching at the tiny pink plus. "I have to tell him. He may not want this so I have to tell him."

And despite her earlier resistance about letting her see or talk to him, she digs the IPhone from her pocket and hands it down to her. "He's not going to leave you." Caroline says slowly. "He's crazy about you."

Adele only turns her phone on, not acknowledging Caroline's comment, not giving any indication that she'd even heard her as she scrolls through her contacts to his well-known number.

He answers on the third ring. "Kitten," He sings. "Caroline is going to kill us if she find out."

"Damon…" She says, voice soft stopping all snarky comments he was prepared to throw her way. "I need to talk to you."

*VD*

She stirs almost kicking him in the chest before he catches her ankle watching as her eyes flutter open. When she looks over to him she frowns in confusion. "What are you doing?" She eyes her ankle caught in his grip.

"You almost kicked me." He tells her before dropping her ankle and holding up a blood bag. "Thirsty?"

She swallows her throat burning with a sudden and unbearable hunger. "Yes." She snaps ripping the bag away from him.

"You're welcome." He grins as he's watching her tear into the bag, gulping it down.

"Thank you." She says after finishing. "What happened?"

"You my dear Kitten we're formally introduced to vervain today." Damon tells her watching her nose scrunch in disgust.

"God, it was horrible." She says. "Like my insides were on fire."

"Yep." Damon takes a sip of the bourbon in the coffee mug he's holding. "Vervain, its tricky stuff." He narrows his frosty eyes at her.

"What?" She frowns up over at him.

"I was hoping we could hold off but I now realize how stupid that was." He says holding out his cup to her and despite her confusion she takes it, taking a rather large sip from it. Damon snatches the mug before she has a chance to drop it as she chokes curling in on herself.

"You asshole." She whines falling back onto the couch wrapping her arms around her midsection. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I can't lose you and vervain is a weakness and weaknesses can lead to death." He quickly explains downing the rest of the bourbon with a grimace. "So you'll start taking it, every day."

"I don't want to." She whines and he rolls his blue eyes down at her. Like he had a choice when she force fed it to him.

"To bad." He states as his phone rings. "Hello?" He answers.

"Damon!" It's Bonnie and despite the burning of her stomach Adele sits up. She can hear the obvious distress is Bonnie's lowered voice. "You need to get to the coffins. Klaus knows where they are. Hurry!" She hangs up leaving the two to glance at each other alarm echoing in each other's eyes.

*VD*

When they reach the old witch house from running all the way from Alaric's apartment because Adele realizes she's now faster than a car, she's glad the witches don't try and stop them from racing down the stairs to the basement.

All four coffins are still there and clearly visibly meaning they we're able to beat Klaus there which lets them breathe a little easier but Adele knew they didn't have much time before he shows up.

"We don't have time to move them all." Adele says watching as Damon is glancing around.

"I know." He says gaze stopping on the coffin they still haven't been able to get open. "But we can at least get one. The only question is where do we take it?"

Adele is silent before an idea hits her and she grins at him. "The tunnels. Klaus can't get in that cave."

"Yeah," Damon agrees. "But neither can we." He reminds her.

"I can call Matt." She counters already having thought of it. "He's human, he can get in and we can compel a view Lockwood gardeners to help him there are sure to be some roaming around."

"Okay." Damon claps his hands together agreeing because they didn't have time to come up with anything better not that he could really think of anything. The cave was a good idea; keep it somewhere Klaus couldn't get to it. "You call him and tell to meet us there. I'll grab the coffin."

Adele pulls out her phone as Damon host the coffin up onto his shoulder and Adele has to stop and stare for a moment. It was still a little unreal to see a grown man being able to lift something as heavy as a casket over his head. She shakes it off and moves to follow him up the stairs as she begins looking for Matt's number in her contacts.

She stops at the first step and glances back at the remaining four coffins.

"Adele!" Damon calls from the top.

"Keep going!" She yells back. "I'm right behind you."

*VD*

When they make it back to the house and descend to the basement, the coffins aren't there or at least not visible to them which of course could only mean one thing. Klaus is quick to move out of the shadows. "What took you so long?" He asks with a self-satisfied smirk, he receives no response from them as he's moving closer to them and Damon pushes Adele making her shuffle somewhat behind him. "Hiding behind your witchy friends and in this squalor no less."

Adele jumps slightly when the candles around them light up in roaring flames and she flinches as she can feel Damon's fingers pressing into her hip as she presses closer to his back to escape them as Klaus lets out a scream falling down to one knee as he grips at his head. She can feel silent laughter rumbling through his back as Damon watches. "Insulting a bunch of dead witches, not smart." He remarks. "I made the exact same mistake the first time I came in here."

"Well the funny thing about witches is they care for their own. "Klaus is saying as he fights through the pain. "A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descends…" He breaks off in a scream. "And I have no problem killing every last one of them if I don't get my coffins back!" He's yelling as he's making his way to his feet slowly and not without a struggle. "As we speak my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line."

All at once everything stops and Damon looks on disappointed as Adele peaks around him at Klaus slowly walking up. "Now," He says. "Please show me the coffins." And they appear, all expect one. "Here we are…" Klaus mutters before he notices the missing coffin. "Where is the fourth?" He asks them but they simply stare at him. "Show me!" He yells to the ceiling.

"They can't." Adele speaks up drawing his attention back to them as Damon is moving them around to where the coffin used to reside, without ever turning their backs on the hybrid.

"It's not here." Damon continues on.

"What did you do?" Klaus asks circling towards them and they make sure to keep a good distance between them and him.

"Well you see Bonnie gave me the heads up and I didn't have enough time to get all four but I did have time to get one." Damon explains now the one wearing the self-satisfied smirk.

"I will tear you limb from limb and only then when you're a riving mass of blood and flesh will I rip your heart from your chest." Klaus says always quick with the threats and Adele is just as quick to step forward.

"That sounds extremely unpleasant and all…" She begins and his blue eyes meet hers. "But sorry. Same rules apply. Leverage and all. I know you want your family but something tells us you want what's in that coffin a lot more."

*VD*

After getting back to the boarding house a good hour later, Adele leaves Damon to deal with his little brother by himself as she heads to the room to change and she changes into a pair of sleeping shorts and a white wife beater tank top before moving into the bathroom to rid herself of her makeup and to her throw her hair up.

She replies to the few missed text messages she had before leaving the room to face the brothers and she finds them in the study locked in a heated stare down that she is more than happy to interrupt.

"Still fighting with each other I see." She remarks and they turn away from each other. She leans against the banister looking down at the two. "I would suggest getting over whatever you two are fighting about now. We are all going to need to be on the same page here," Damon's brows furrow as he's watching her, lips pulling down into a frown. "Because I may have done something."

"What?" Damon asks turning to share a concerned look with Stefan. They both knew well enough that almost nothing good could ever come from something one of the two Gilbert twins was able to think up.

Adele reaches behind her pulling something from the waistband of her shorts and when she shows it to them Damon's eyes widen as Stefan sucks in a harsh breath through his teeth.

"Keep going!" She yells back. "I'm right behind you." But she turns back to the three remaining coffins. She moves towards the second one, the one in the middle.

The one she knows is Elijah's.

She opens it before glancing up towards the staircase making sure she was completely alone before turning her gaze back to the dead original's face with a small grin. "Long time no see." She purrs as she brushes her fingertips against the handle of the dagger stuck in his chest. She wraps her fingers around it slowly. "Wouldn't you say it's about time we changed that?"

"Adele," Stefan practically squeaks as his heart pounds with a shocking amount of alarm. "What have you done?" His gaze is locked on the silver dagger dangling from her slim manicured fingers.

Oh Adele. Always the little trouble maker. ;p

I told you it was short, oh god don't hate me! D: But it was good…right? I mean not much happened but it was okay and like I said, we have one more of these more boring ones to get through and then shit is going to get real because the whole Original family is COMING! Finn, Elijah, Klaus, Kol, Rebekah and their Mother.

I mean we already saw what happened with their father, what more could go wrong? O.o

Mmm…

I guess we'll just have to wait and find out, now won't we?

And about the little dreams Adele seems to have whenever she is rendered unconscious…they will be explained. I mean they're not…like super important or anything so don't get to worked up over them or anything, they're just a small thing I throw in their mostly because I like writing them and it gives me something extra to add in while Adele is out for the count so to speak. ^^ but I will give you an explanation. I promise.

How about some reviews?

I like reviews.

Next time on Lose Myself:

Adele and Damon meet with an old friend,

Caroline has a family crisis,

And

Damon and Stefan attend a dinner party with everyone's favorite Hybrid.

Happy Holidays Everyone!