Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Twilight or the Vampire Diaries. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and LJ Smith. I do own the original characters created for the storyline. Please support the official release.
Writer's Notes: A double update! Enjoy!
Damon watched Klaus talk to Bella from afar. He lifted his bourbon to his lips and took a drink before Renee approached.
"You are staring really hard at Klaus Mikaelson." Renee said as she slipped in beside Damon.
Damon's arm went around Renee's shoulders instinctively. "Hmmm."
Renee raised a brow. "Not going to talk about it?" She asked and when Damon shook his head she sighed. Damon was always being secretive. It's why she didn't want to stay in Mystic Falls all those years ago after their hookup. As a vampire, Damon was extremely unreliable at times, but he had surprised her with how well he handled Bella and how much he cared about their daughter. "Well, I'm taking Caroline home. Her and Tyler had a fight and he drove off without her."
Damon glanced to Renee now, breaking his stare at Klaus. "Wait what?"
Renee sighed. "I'm taking Caroline home. Bella said she was staying at the boarding house tonight if that's okay."
"Of course, it's okay. "Damon said and set down his drink. "You seem tired though and you were drinking some earlier. Do you want me to have Stefan bring Caroline home?"
Renee smiled. "I drank one beer and I'm fine. Tired or not, I can drive myself."
Damon nodded, looking down into Renee's spring green eyes. "Okay. Just, be careful." He said and then he kissed her lightly. He didn't know why he did it, but he did and it made Renee smile at him happily, so he kissed her again. "I'll talk to you later." He said and watched Renee go over to Caroline and smile and tell her she was ready to go.
Mason walked over. Richard and Carol had left earlier, but he stayed behind. "So, what are your intentions with my sister?" Mason teased.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Mason, I've already knocked her up once and we have a child together. We're also adults." He pointed out.
"Mhm. But she seemed happy. You know how hard it's been for her with Charlie." Mason took on a more serious tone now.
"I know. I'm not… I don't have any intentions with her. She… we share Bella. I can care about her and not want to fuck her Mason. This is the 21st century." Damon said and lifted his drink and took a longer drink.
"Werewolves and vampires." Mason shook his head. "She still doesn't know about the Lockwood curse." He said and that made Damon looked at him dumbfounded. "What?"
"You're serious?"
Mason shrugged. "Richard doesn't think it's necessary. She might have skipped the gene."
"It doesn't just skip genes. Jesus, Mason." Damon said and then shook his head and looked back around. He frowned. "Wait. Where'd Bella go?"
"Uh, outside with Klaus I think? He seems like a chill dude."
Damon groaned. "He's an original vampire." He said, his voice low.
Mason arched a brow. "Wait, what? Usually I can sniff these things out. How did I miss that?" He said, looking towards the exit.
"Because he's an original. They are different from me and Stefan." Damon said and finished his drink. "I'm going to-"
"Just wait." Mason put a hand on Damon's shoulder. "What if this isn't a bad thing? Bella doesn't seem like she's uncomfortable with the guy."
"Yeah, but Mikaelson's are bad news. Especially Klaus." Damon said.
"How so?"
Damon sighed. "In 1864 there was a woman… Katherine Pierce. She told me about Klaus Mikaelson. That he was dangerous and that she became a vampire because of him."
"Wait. The Katherine. The one that turned you?" Mason whispered and Damon nodded. "Dude, didn't she like fake her death or some shit?"
"Well, yeah, but it doesn't make what she said about Klaus any less true."
Mason shrugged. "I don't know man. He doesn't seem so bad."
Damon shook his head. "Still. Vampires right now… aren't a good idea for her."
"Dude."
"Just hush." Damon said and finished his drink.
Outside Bella walked beside Klaus. It was starting to get chilly outside as October seemed to bring a taste of what winter would be like in Virginia. She shivered a little and Klaus shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
"Thank you." Bella said and was enveloped in Klaus's scent. It was different, she thought, how gentle Klaus was with her and they had just met. She hated that she was so timid and she still didn't like to be touched, but she was working on herself. She knew that time would heal her wounds, but it felt like things were still so fresh for her. Her memories of Edward, but she was doing better, at least she thought she was.
"You're from Washington State?" Klaus asked as they walked.
"Oh, yeah. Washington State. Um. Forks to be exact."
"What made you move all the way to Virginia?" Klaus asked just keeping light conversation.
Bella's smile faltered a little. She thought about Edward and him leaving. She thought about her mom, the last time she heard her and Charlie argue. It seemed violent, but she was just a shell of a person then. "My mom wanted to move back here. My uncles, Richard and Mason. They're family, so she wanted to be back home." She gave the short version.
"The Lockwoods. Hmm." Klaus was thinking about that lineage. There was a werewolf lineage there that he was curious about. Did that mean Bella had the gene? "Your father, Damon-"
"Oh yeah. He, um. He's my biological dad. I grew up with Charlie Swan as my dad. He's part of the reason my mom needed to move." Bella said and pulled Klaus's jacket closer.
Klaus frowned. "Is your mother okay now?"
Bella laughed a little. "Oddly. Yes. Being back home with her family really does seem to help her. Me on the other hand. I'm weird. I know. I'm sorry if I'm…"
"You're perfect."
"I'm far from it." Bella shook her head and came to a stop. She thought about everything she went through over two years. What Edward did to her. She sometimes could still feel him pressing against her, his hard body bruising her. Him penetrating her deep, making her bleed. She was traumatized and she was certain that sex would never be normal for her ever again. Her heart started to race, anxiety creeping back in and trying to settle in.
Klaus heard her heart race and he sensed that she was anxious. "I make you anxious. I'm sorry." He apologized. Klaus Mikaelson never apologized before. Why was he now?
Bella shook her head and then she shrugged Klaus's jacket off and handed it to him. "Um. Thank you for the walk. I… I'm going to get back to my car. Go home."
"Wait…"Klaus murmured and reached for her hand and she pulled back quickly. It shocked him that she pulled away so sharply and he heard her heard beating wildly now.
Bella felt like everything was closing in on her now. Memories of Edward starting tearing down the walls she was carefully trying to build. Her head started hurting from the thoughts.
[Trigger warning]
Edward slammed Bella against the wall. She felt the wall cave a little under the pressure and she felt the pain radiate through her body. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out, drawing blood. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Bleed. It sent him into a frenzy sometimes and she hated that she bled. Why did she have to be a fragile human?
"Edward, I love you. I promise you I didn't do anything."
"Why were you in La Push? Hmm? To see that mangy dog of yours? Fucking him? You're mine." Edward hissed at her and tore at her clothes. Bella closed her eyes and she felt Edward's teeth sink in, the venom burning through her veins over her breast. Blood ran down her body and he pulled his teeth away to suck the venom out and her blood. She felt the sharp invasion of his cock and she lay there and tried not to tense. She would be better. She wouldn't go to La Push anymore. Edward was right, it would look bad with her hanging out with someone else. She should just stay inside and be there only for him, no one else. She deserved this. She took her punishment. She felt light now as he drank from her, the feeling of blood loss.
[End Trigger]
Klaus saw the frightened look on Bella's face and it alarmed him. Damon was there now, putting himself between Klaus and Bella and Mason was close behind. "I-"
"Bella, honey. Look at me." Damon said softly, calling at her. "Hey, it's not real. It's not real sweetie."
Bella felt herself crumble inside, tears pouring down her face. She shook her head, hearing Damon's voice, but it was hard to fight back to the surface.
Klaus put a hand on Damon's shoulder. "Hold on. Let me."
"No. You need to leave her alone. You shouldn't even be here. You are making things worse. I don't know why the fuck you showed up and why you picked her to fuck with, but she's not a toy." Damon yelled at Klaus.
Klaus glared at Damon. "I am not playing with her like she a toy. I geniuely care about her. Mind your tongue or I will end you."
"Both of you stop." Mason said. "She's falling apart. Arguing and yelling isn't helping."
Klaus focused back on Bella, he pushed past Damon anyways. He grabbed Bella's hands and pulled her to him, hugging her.
Bella's eyes widened at being hugged suddenly, strong, warmth is what it felt like and she broke out of her memory and she was staring up at ocean eyes. Ocean eyes, not topaz. "K… Klaus." She stuttered, her lip quivering.
"There she is." Klaus murmured. "Are you okay love?"
"No. I'm not okay. I can't… I can't… I can't breathe."
Klaus frowned a little. He wasn't holding her tight, but he loosened his grip.
Bella shook her head. "No, no. Pressure. Hug me tighter."
"You're not making sense love." Klaus said and hugged her a little firmer now.
Bella closed her eyes and took some breaths. "I… it's my anxiety. Um. It makes it hard to breathe. I'm sorry."
Damon and Mason stood, watching. Elijah was standing off too, watching everything unravel. He didn't realize how connected Bella and Klaus were, but oddly, Elijah felt the connection too. Klaus hadn't broken his curse yet, so how was it he had imprinted on Bella?
Klaus nodded. He wasn't typically an anxious person, so he didn't know how she felt, but he could be understanding. "It's quite alright love. Anxiety isn't something that can be helped. I apologize for being a trigger. It's clear I said something…"
Bella swallowed. "Sort of." She felt herself calming down. Klaus calmed her down. It was odd. It was hard sometimes, being touched, but right now, him hugging her like this, the pressure of the hug made her feel calmer. "I'm okay now." She said and Klaus released her. She looked over at Damon. "Oh. I'm sorry. I worried you..." she murmured.
Damon didn't know how Klaus did what he did, he just knew that he did. "It's okay. Your mom said you're staying at my house tonight."
Bella nodded. "If… that's okay."
"Always." Damon said. "Um. I'm going to have another drink inside. You let me know when… when you're ready. I rode with Mason so."
"Oh, okay. Thank you… dad."
Damon smiled. He liked hearing her call him dad. "Not a problem sweetheart." He said and then he left Bella there with Klaus. Against his better judgement. Mason followed him inside, patting him on the back like he was proud of him.
Klaus looked to Bella. "He's really your father?"
"I know it seems odd. He's young and stuff, but-"
"He's a vampire." Klaus said with a nod.
Bella frowned, confused how Klaus knew that. "What? How did you know?"
Klaus smiled a little. "Because I'm a vampire love."
Bella felt like she was in shock right now. How did she not see it?
"Bella?" Klaus was frowning now. "I'm sorry. I figured since your dad is a vampire that you wouldn't be so… surprised."
"I… I don't know how I didn't know this. I… um…"Bella wasn't sure what to say or do now.
"I'm not going to harm you." Klaus said, trying to reassure you. "You've had a bad experience with vampires."
Bella nodded. "I uh… dated a vampire back in Forks. I'm just coming to terms with what all happened but I need time to heal. I'm going to go back inside. I'm feeling sort of tired now."
Klaus didn't know what happened to her but it was clear there was trauma there. "Okay. I'll walk you back." He said and he started back towards the Grill. He was curious what happened to make her like this. He also was curious about this vampire ex-boyfriend of hers. Damon was certainly protective of her. He was silent as he walked with her, not wanting to cause her anymore anxiety.
