Trigger Warning: mature language

Memory Lane - Part 2

"Thank you, my dear," MacKenzie Vanacore cooed, nodding her head gently towards Jenna Sommers, taking the proffered cup of hot tea from Jenna's hands. MacKenzie cradled the cup in her palms tenderly, pursing her glossy lips and breathing out cool air onto her drink.

Jenna nodded her head, moving towards Victoria. She gave out Victoria's drink as well, and Victoria whispered a tentative 'thank you' as she grabbed the drink from Jenna.

Seeing her mother, her biological mother, in this world, was like a kick in the pants. Victoria hadn't anticipated this, she hadn't planned on this. It was so startling that when Victoria and MacKenzie had first realized what was happening, neither of them could move. It took Damon getting Jenna before the two of them realized that they probably should take their conversation inside. Jenna had offered up her bedroom as a conversational room, so currently, Victoria was seated on the edge of Jenna's bed and MacKenzie was in the armchair that had been wrangled out of the corner so MacKenzie could sit across from her.

Jenna caught Victoria's eye as she moved past her, a look of sorrow and apology. She stepped out of the room, and a moment later, Kelly LeBlanc filled the doorway.

Victoria knew, reasonably, why she was there. A random woman approaching a teen girl, implying that she was her mother? It did warrant a guardian or parental figure in the room with them.

It still didn't mean that Victoria was comfortable with it.

It was better, though, when Kelly entered the room and Liz Forbes appeared right behind her. She was out of her uniform, wearing a straight-laced button up pink shirt with khakis and loafers.

Liz still marched straight up to MacKenzie, though, and held her hand out to her, professional to the core. "Elizabeth Forbes. I'm the Sheriff here in Mystic Falls."

MacKenzie, who had been mid-sip of her tea, hurriedly swallowed her drink as she transferred the cup to one hand so she could shake the Sheriff's hand. "Yes, yes, of course. I'm MacKenzie Vanacore. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Good to meet you too," Liz agreed, nodding her head.

Liz moved towards the bed and gestured for Kelly to take a seat next to Victoria. The two LeBlancs didn't make eye contact at all as Kelly sat down rigidly beside Victoria, and Liz didn't seem to notice as she took a seat on Victoria's other side. "I do hope you understand why I am present for this conversation."

"Yes, of course," MacKenzie stated, nodding her head. "I understand it is a bit of a shock to see me. I-I..." She trailed off for a moment, seemingly lost in her head as she tried to find the right words before she confessed, "I-I didn't think I was going to find her so soon, let alone find her at all."

"For security purposes, since we are dealing with a minor, I would like everyone's permission to record this conversation," Liz explained, pulling out a simple rectangular recorder from her pocket ("Does she just always have that on her?" Vicki wondered aloud from the mirror above Jenna's dresser). "Do you all consent?"

All three women in the room with Liz nodded and she flicked the recorder on, setting it down in between her and Victoria on the bed. She cleared her throat and directed her first question towards the group. "Can everyone in the room please state their full name for the record?"

"MacKenzie Colette Vanacore."

"Kelly Augustine LeBlanc."

"Victoria Khalida LeBlanc."

When Victoria murmured her full name for the record, she didn't miss the way that MacKenzie's eyes sparkled at her name, like it brought her a great sense of pride. Was it pride that they had kept the name she had given her?

"Elizabeth Dawn Forbes," Liz stated for the record. She nodded, satisfied at all of their willing compliance, before she turned to MacKenzie. "Mrs. Vanacore -"

"- Please, you can just call me MacKenzie -"

"- MacKenzie, then. Why were you trying to find Victoria?"

MacKenzie shifted in the armchair, her excellently polished fingernails tapping against the mug in her hands as she thought the answer over in her head. After a moment, she swallowed heavily and sat up straight. "When I was twenty years old, on August 14th, 1992, I gave birth to the most beautiful and healthy baby girl. My husband and I named her Victoria, after my grandmother. Sweet Victoria Khalida Vanacore."

Victoria's hands tightened into fists as she listened to her doppelgänger mother say that. So far, everything that MacKenzie was saying was the truth. Victoria remembered being seven years old and asking her mother over the dinner table (their very large and elegant dinner table that was way too big for only three people, which was then usually two as her father was off on some business trip) where her name came from, and MacKenzie had always stated in a clipped tone that it came from her grandmother, who was also named Victoria.

"My husband was in the military, so we moved around often."

Ooooookay, that was not the same from her world. Unless, of course, MacKenzie wasn't married to Rocco, which wouldn't make sense, as Rocco's last name was Vanacore. MacKenzie's maiden name was something different, though for the life of her, Victoria couldn't remember what it was, but she knew for sure it wasn't Vanacore. Victoria's father had also been an only child, so it couldn't be that either.

"We landed in Norfolk, Virginia," MacKenzie continued, not noticing the internal back and forth that Victoria was giving herself. "It was a nice area; I liked it, and so did my husband. I gave birth to my daughter Victoria here, and for a while, everything seemed good." She sucked in a sharp breath, and instant tears popped to her eyes. "And then..." MacKenzie cut herself off, lifting a hand to cover her mouth as a small cry escaped her lips. A tear dripped from her eye and she stuttered, "I-I'm sorry."

"Take your time," Liz reassured her, with a firmness and gentility that worked well together.

MacKenzie nodded and took a moment, closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths. After about a minute, she felt confident enough to continue. "When Victoria was about a month old, my husband and I went to sleep, like every other night. It was supposed to be a normal night. The next day, I was supposed to take Victoria to see her grandmother for the first time and it was...it was going to be a fun day. We were going to go to the zoo for the first time." Another tear fell down her cheek and MacKenzie hurriedly wiped it away. "In the middle of the night, I-I heard her crib alarm start going crazy. I-I thought it was just a glitch, but Rocco - that's my husband, Rocco Vanacore - he always was just more in tune with Victoria. He just knew that something had happened. He was up on his feet in a flash and was gone and into her room. From his cry, I could tell that something terrible had happened. I went in, and -" A sob escaped her lips and she just cried "- and Victoria was gone. The window open."

A gasp came from Victoria's lips and she felt a tear perched on the edges of her eyes.

She hadn't been given up.

She had been stolen, and then dumped on the side of the road.

"Rocco and I were devastated," MacKenzie continued, frantically wiping away the tears from her cheeks. "We searched for weeks, months, and nothing. This was all before Amber Alerts were a thing, so it was just the police around our town that went looking. Our marriage took a heavy toll because of it. Rocco couldn't handle Victoria being gone, in the hands of some monster. He took another tour and then just left. I haven't seen him since Victoria went missing. He just straight up left. He never sent divorce papers, but it might as well be that."

"So, your husband stopped looking, but did you?" Liz asked, tilting her head curiously.

"I did, for a handful of years," MacKenzie confirmed, though she looked ashamed for saying that. "I...If I wanted to live, at all, I had to accept and move on. That took me probably a whole decade to do that."

Kelly spoke up, the first time that Victoria had heard her speak in over a week. Her voice seemed rusty with disuse, more gravelly than it usually was, but Kelly asked two simple words, "Why now?" Victoria found herself agreeing with Kelly. Why now would MacKenzie decide to restart her search for Victoria?

"Um, well, believe it or not, I'm a nurse," MacKenzie laughed, her laugh very watery. Out of the corner of her eye, Victoria noticed the edges of Kelly's mouth tightened in displeasure. Nurse versus doctor showdown, huh? "There's a convention-workshop thing happening at the Mystic Falls hospital that I was invited to. Chatter and gossip was flowing around about a girl who's been in and out of the hospital recently. I heard the name Victoria brought up and it brought back old memories. I thought there wouldn't be any harm in checking. I walked around the area for the first few days, got no results out of it. Today, I was just taking a walk when I saw you -" She pointed at Victoria now, "- outside, upset. The long dormant motherly instincts, I guess, just kicked into overdrive and I went and comforted you. Then you looked up and it was like seeing a perfect combination of Rocco and my face. Absolutely stunning."

"If you wouldn't mind, Mrs. Vanacore -"

"- Oh, like I told the Sheriff, you can call me MacKenzie -"

"- I'll stick to Mrs. Vanacore, thanks," Kelly deadpanned, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "If you wouldn't mind, Mrs. Vanacore, stop complimenting my daughter. It's starting to come across as very creepy and insinuating things that I don't want insinuated here."

MacKenzie seemed taken aback by the sudden request, but she nodded. "You're right. I can understand how...odd this must be for you, Mrs. LeBlanc -"

"- Just Ms. LeBlanc, thank you -"

"- Ms. LeBlanc, of course," MacKenzie agreed. "I can understand how odd this must be for you, Ms. LeBlanc, but I am not here to try and steal Victoria from you. I just want to know that she's okay, she's safe, and she's in good hands, maybe experience her as a person. I can already tell that she's in good hands with you because you are so ready to defend her. For that, I thank you."

Liz cleared her throat and she grabbed the recorder, clicking it off. "Well, MacKenzie, Kelly, Victoria. I don't see any trouble with your presence here in town. Just follow the rules and keep your word. I don't want to have to kick you out, but I will."

"I would never do anything to harm my daughter," MacKenzie swore, a look of determination in her eyes.

Victoria flinched as Kelly suddenly jumped to her feet, leaning forward on one foot as she growled, "Do not call her that. She is not your daughter, she is mine! I taught her how to speak, I taught her how to walk. I was there for every bruise, every broken heart. I am her mother, not you!"

"Enough!" Liz shouted, jumping to her feet as well. In a blink of an eye, Liz was planted firmly between Kelly and MacKenzie, her back to MacKenzie as she stared down Kelly. "Kelly, I need to talk to you outside. Right. Now."

She jerked her head out towards the door, and Kelly didn't move at first, but Liz's glare leveled on her some more and then she stomped out, Liz following her out. Liz gave Victoria an apologetic look before she stepped out too, leaving MacKenzie and Victoria all alone in Jenna's room.

Victoria swallowed heavily and croaked out, "I-I'm...I'm sorry a-about that."

MacKenzie moved her tea so it was sitting more on her lap and she leaned forward, giving Victoria a concerned look. "That isn't normal for her, is it? She's usually not that angry?"

Victoria, more concerned about Kelly at that moment than MacKenzie, wasn't taken aback by the sudden jump of motherly concern from MacKenzie, and just explained slowly, "No. No, this isn't...usual. We've just had a really bad week."

"If you want, you can talk to me about it, or I can just distract you," MacKenzie offered, taking another sip of her drink.

"Distraction, please," Victoria sniffed. "I have enough people to talk to about it and nothing has really helped it."

"What's your story?" MacKenzie asked, adjusting herself on the chair enough that she could bring her legs up and tuck them underneath her body. "How has...How has my absence changed your life? In fact, how did you end up here?"

Victoria took a deep breath to center herself and explained, "My mom -" She cut herself off and gave MacKenzie an awkward look, but MacKenzie waved her on with an encouraging look. Victoria amended it with, "- Kelly was driving home from a college visit at Whitmore and something just told her to stop. She got out on the side of the highway and found a baby in a basket."

MacKenzie gasped and just asked, "You?"

Victoria nodded. "According to her, it had all my allergies listed, my blood-type, my birth certificate."

MacKenzie's brow furrowed and she leaned backwards in her seat, a contemplative look settling on her face. "I-I...I don't think I ever noticed it then, but n-now, looking back, all of your information had gotten taken from our safe, but I-I thought I had just misplaced it and then I-I never looked at it after Rocco left..."

Victoria nodded and just awkwardly continued on, not knowing how to smoothly transition from that back to the story, "Kelly brought me to the hospital, but I guess no one reached out because a month later, I was adopted as a LeBlanc."

"Rocco always used to say that the police force weren't doing all that they could to find you," MacKenzie mused, snorting a little. "I guess he was right." She tilted her head and asked with a teasing tone, "Who was that handsome man who came to check in on you? The one who called you 'Mama Bear'?"

Victoria couldn't stop the blush she got on her cheeks as she embarrassedly explained, "That's Damon Salvatore. He came into town at the start of the school year and we've gotten close."

"Oh, have you?" MacKenzie teased. "He's not in high school, is he? He seemed a little old for it."

"He's twenty-four," Victoria told MacKenzie. "I think he's turning twenty-five this next June."

"Seven years," MacKenzie sniffed. "A bit of an age gap between the two of you."

Don't I know it. "It's not that bad, and we aren't dating, so it's not an issue."

"Really?" MacKenzie cooed, raising an eyebrow. "Huh; it didn't seem like you two weren't dating. You seemed really...close."

"For the thirty seconds you've seen me and Damon together, now you're an expert?" Victoria snickered, matching MacKenzie's raised eyebrow expression.

"I'm just stating the obvious, sweetheart," MacKenzie chuckled.

There was a knock on the door to the room and Victoria turned her head away from her biological mother. The door creaked out and Damon poked his head in, ignoring MacKenzie's presence altogether and just focusing on Victoria. He fully walked in, leaving the door open, and he knelt down beside Victoria. When he spoke, he spoke softly enough that MacKenzie couldn't hear the two of them. "Hey, you good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Victoria answered, resisting the urge to blush. Please tell me he didn't hear that last bit of conversation. Please tell me he didn't hear that last bit of conversation. "What's up?"

"Liz sent me up to tell you that she sent Kelly home," Damon explained, resting a hand on her knee. His thumb started to glide back and forth subconsciously, as if he didn't realize he was doing it. "Was causing a bit of a scene and Jenna didn't want her setting anybody else off."

"That makes sense," Victoria hummed, nodding her head in agreement. "She didn't go electric eel, did she?"

Damon perked a brow up, silently teasing her for her nickname, but he shook his head. "No, everyone's good."

"Okay, good," Victoria stated dumbly.

And then she just stared at Damon.

And he just stared back.

"Tori, you're staring. He's gonna know something's up," Vicki hissed.

Victoria swallowed heavily, mentally noting Vicki's words of wisdom, and then she whispered, "Hey, Damon?"

"Yeah, Baby?"

"Could you meet me in the front yard in a few minutes?" Victoria asked. She met his gaze and did her best not to shiver at the intensity in his gaze. "There's...There's something that we need to talk about, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Mama Bear," Damon agreed. "Okay. I'll leave you to your..." His lips twisted into a frown as he tried to think of the proper name to list MacKenzie.

"Yeah," Victoria finished lamely.

Damon nodded his head before he stood up. Automatically, he bent down and kissed Victoria's head, and Victoria found herself sitting up straighter so he wouldn't have to bend down as far. Damon gave her a warm smile before he dipped out, and when Victoria looked at MacKenzie once more, MacKenzie had a self-satisfied smirk on her lips.

Victoria couldn't stop the blush when MacKenzie chortled, "Not dating, huh?"

"Shut up."

When Victoria stepped out of the house, she found Damon reclined on the front steps, leaning back with his eyes closed and his head facing up towards the sun. Victoria wandered over slowly, her heart beating rapidly as she took a seat down next to Damon. Victoria folded her hands together and rested her elbows onto her knees.

"Your step-dad is kind of a dick," Damon grunted, not opening his eyes.

Victoria snorted. Always knows how to calm me down, Victoria mused to herself as Damon's humor helped to soothe her anxiety. "Is that what we're calling him now?"

"You're the one with three dads and two moms, so we gotta give them nicknames or we'll never know who we're talking about. So yeah, wolfie-boy is now the step-dad. Congrats if that's a promotion and hooray if that's a demotion."

Victoria just snickered and then said in reply to his previous comment, "Yeah, well, I could've told you that when he tried to take my head off as a wolf."

"By the way, still pissed that you just ding-dong-ditched and left me with my brother lookalike and my former flame's lookalike," Damon huffed. "I will take your apologies in the form of bourbon and hot chocolate -"

"- Or cuddles and romcom time," Victoria giggled, reaching over to nudge Damon's shoulder. "You forgot that I was there when you watched the Princess Bride for the first time. You cried like a baby; you love love. It's hidden away deep inside of you, but I know you're a real softie."

"Yeah, yeah, don't go ruining my rep," Damon chuckled, rolling his eyes, but his smile poked up. He leaned over, knocking his shoulder against Victoria's knee. "What did you want to talk about?"

Victoria bit her lower lip and breathed in and out. She looked out, mentally counting the sidewalk squares so as to not fall into her anxiety again. "I was talking with Katherine today -"

"- A terrible decision, really -"

"- and something we talked about has really been on my mind lately," Victoria explained, ignoring Damon's jab at Katherine. She tried to ask what she really wanted to ask, but it didn't come out. Her anxiety bounced around in her stomach too much, and so different words erupted from her mouth, "Why do you care so much?"

The intensity in Damon's eyes softened a little as he replied, twisting so his upper body was facing Victoria in confusion, "What?"

You're a monster!

It should have been her.

He's dead.

HE'S DEAD.

"Why do you care so much?" Victoria whispered, her voice quieting. Happiness, happiness, happiness. Think positive thoughts. "I don't...I don't feel worth it."

"Don't say that," Damon hissed, looking downright offended that Victoria would say that.

"You know it's the truth," Victoria retorted, rolling her eyes and giving him a look. She wasn't trying to start a fight, she just wanted to have a conversation with him. "I'm not trying to play some stupid main character shit or whatever, but I'm not the same person who I was when I came here. Being the Immortalis changed that. Being Victoria LeBlanc changed that. Because I'm not her. I will never be her. I'm just some stupid...imitation."

"I don't give a shit of whether you're Victoria Vanacore or Victoria LeBlanc," Damon snapped. When Victoria didn't turn to look at him, he physically stepped up and moved to kneel in front of her. He reached out, his hand cupping her chin and forcing her gaze to meet his. "Hey, listen to me." His voice softened and his sweet eyes roamed her face for a moment before he locked stares with her. "You are my Mama Bear. You can change your identity, you can change the way you look. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop me from thinking that you are worth it. Because you are, Baby. You are worth every second of damned existence."

Victoria blinked back tears at his kind and soft words, and she sucked in a shaky breath. "Damn, Damon. Really know how to melt a girl's heart, huh?"

"Only yours, Baby," Damon teased, pinching her chin teasingly.

Victoria nodded her head. Come on, Tori, you can do it. "I-I'm starting to understand how much of a true statement that is."

Damon seemed confused at her words for a moment. However, a few seconds later, a look of recognition passed over Damon's gaze. He swallowed heavily and his cheeks seemed to darken in color just a little, as if he was embarrassed at being caught. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well then...you figured it out."

"I'm a bit of an idiot, Damon, but I will get to the point eventually," Victoria chuckled lightheartedly, giving him a small smile. "It just took a lot of people stating the obvious for me to realize it." Her smile dimmed a little and she noticed that when hers did, so did Damon's. "I'm going to be frank, Damon, because if I don't, then we're going to just have more miscommunication. I'm not better from Noble. It's been only literal days since he died, and then with Zach..." She sucked in a watery breath and mentally cursed when she felt a tear slip down her cheek. Damon brought a thumb up and wiped the tear away before it could get much farther down her cheek. "What I'm trying to say is that I...I don't know if I can do a romantic relationship right now."

Damon's jaw tightened at her words and he dropped his hands away from her face. He went to move away, but with Vicki's words of "Now or never, Tori.", Victoria realized something in a split second.

She would never be over Noble.

Never.

He meant so much to her, both as a mentor, a protector, and a person who she loved.

Because yes, Victoria did love him.

Love, as in still present tense.

Noble was her first love.

Noble still was her first love.

"I will treasure the time that we've spent together."

Me too, Noble. Me too.

But he was dead.

Dead, dead, dead.

And he was going to stay that way.

So, Victoria needed to take steps.

This was step one.

Victoria's hands shot out and grabbed the back of Damon's neck. He was taken aback by her sudden movement, so he didn't and couldn't resist Victoria pulling him down so she could meet his lips with hers.

Damon was frozen against her as Victoria kissed him, her eyes closed and just focused on the feeling.

It felt good.

It felt really good.

But he wasn't moving against her.

At all.

Well, that didn't make her feel good.

Victoria pulled back, not looking at Damon's eyes as she stammered, "I-I can't guarantee a romantic relationship right now, but I-I am open to starting one with you. I-I don't know how long or how well I can do one, and I'm sorry about that, but I -"

She let out a meep as Damon yanked her to her feet and just grunted, "Baby, I say this with the utmost respect, shut the fuck up."

In that moment, she could feel Damon speeding the two of them somewhere. She figured out quickly where he was pushing them when she felt her back come into contact (very gently) with a tree that was in the woods, just outside of the Gilbert house.

He moved his arms, one going to the back of her neck and the other planting itself firmly on the small of her back. He yanked her forward and dipped his head down just enough for his and Victoria's lips to connect in a messy kiss.

Victoria's eyes automatically slammed shut as a torrent of emotions ran through her.

Damon was kissing her.

Damon Salvatore was kissing her.

Damon fucking Salvatore was kissing her, Victoria LeBlanc.

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

Damon's hand dropped down to her ass and he gave it a squeeze, causing Victoria to let out a gasp of shock. He artfully used that moment to slip his tongue into her mouth and whoa. It was like an explosion of flavors hit her synapses.

Victoria had never been one to imagine what it would be like kissing fictional characters (she wasn't that crazy about these characters). That was just a little too weird for her. But, on the off-chance that she ever came across another Wanderer who wondered just how Damon Salvatore tasted like, she could finally give an answer.

He tasted like bourbon and smoke. The smoke Victoria attributed to the burger he had just eaten, because she could also taste faintly American cheese (Victoria had seen him go off to get one when she, MacKenzie, Kelly, and Liz went upstairs). The new sensations jumped immediately down her throat and into the bottom of her stomach, curling it in a delicious way that she hadn't been expecting.

Damon's other hand dropped on her, holding her tightly. Victoria's hand shot out and grabbed the back of his neck, her fingers threading into his hair as she tried to keep her balance.

It was...

It was nice.

That was an understatement.

It was amazing.

Damon pulled himself away and said very breathily, his face still so close to Victoria's that his lips brushed against hers when he spoke, "Is this okay? Please...fucking please...say that this is okay."

"Y-Yeah," Victoria stammered. "Yeah, this is o-okay. Nothing more than just t-this, yeah? Maybe keep the m-making out to a minimum. Baby steps, yeah?"

"Well then," Damon smirked, his eyes darkening with a look that made Victoria's toes curl. "Let's hit that minimum right now, shall we?"

Elena stepped into her bedroom, her gentle goodnights to Jeremy and Jenna echoing throughout the little house. Once she was fully inside her room, she gently shut the door, letting a breath out. She twisted around and smiled at Stefan when he rose up from her bed, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

Elena rushed forward and wrapped Stefan up in her arms, squeezing him as tightly as she could. "I hated that fight."

"I know," Stefan cooed, nodding his head. He gently petted the back of her head. "Me too. It felt too real."

Elena pulled back from Stefan just enough to stand up on her tiptoes and kiss him. When they broke apart, Elena asked, "Did you see Caroline?"

"Yeah," Stefan replied with a sigh.

"We were right," Elena whispered, keeping her voice low so she didn't alert Jeremy or Jenna to the conversation she was having. "Katherine got to her. She was hanging onto her every single word."

"It won't be long before Katherine gets a play-by-play," Stefan mused, nodding his head in agreement.

Elena frowned worryingly. "I wish I was wrong but I know Caroline too well. It was so obvious that something was up today."

"You're not wrong," Stefan agreed. "It's pure Katherine. She's always finding somebody to do her dirty work."

"All this," Elena breathed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Just to get you back."

Stefan stepped forward, moving to cradle Elena's face with his hands. "It's not why she's here, okay? No matter what she says. I know her. Katherine doesn't care about anybody but herself; she never has. She's incapable of love. She's here for another reason."

Elena reached up and grabbed Stefan's wrists with her hands, her thumbs rubbing against the underside of his wrists. "Which is why we have to go forward with our plan, yeah?"

Stefan sighed, and stepped forward, resting his forehead against Elena's. She could feel his breath hot onto her face as he murmured, "I don't feel comfortable doing this, Elena. We shouldn't be keeping secrets from everyone."

"Katherine has a soft spot for Victoria," Elena insisted. "Damon has a soft spot for Victoria and vice versa. If we want to get Katherine off of our backs, then using Damon and Victoria is the way to do it. Lexi, Lee, Amber, Caroline, Harper, Ms. Gibbons, and Tom are all on their side too. If we want to take Katherine down, and get her to get out of our town, then we need to do this. Just us two, okay?"

Stefan did not seem pleased at having to do this at all, but after a moment (and some very well-done puppy dogs eyes too, if Elena might say so), he relented. "Okay. Just us two."

"Just us."

Oh, Elena.

If only you realized that we aren't all as oblivious as you think we are.

Jeremy pulled his ear away from the bathroom door, the same bathroom door that led into Elena's room. It also led out into the hallway. Jeremy flushed the toilet, then turned the sink water on, trying to trick Stefan into the illusion that he had just been going to the bathroom and not listening in on their conversation. Jeremy then stepped out, keeping his footsteps as light as he could. He faked a yawn, stretching his arms out sleepily as he trotted his way downstairs. He skipped his way down the stairs and then moved into the kitchen, coming up to Jenna slicing up some bananas for a late night smoothie. Jeremy caught her eye as he came into the kitchen, moving to one of the cabinets to grab a cup.

Jenna caught his look and nodded, scooping up her half chopped up banana and placing it into the blender. He snatched his phone out from his pajama pants' pocket, and then gave Jenna the signal nod. She clicked the blender on and Jeremy dialed the number he had been forced to memorize.

A sweet, purring voice filled his phone a moment later as the voice on the other side of the line cooed, "Was I right?"

"I'm guessing that you're hardly wrong," Jeremy answered in lieu of an actual response.

"They can't hear you, I'm assuming? Jenna's playing that blender pretty loud."

"Listen, we did what you wanted," Jeremy snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "It was all a farce. Now, hold up your end of the bargain."

"I got it, Jerebear," snickered the voice. "But, I'm still going to need a man on the inside. You want Amber Bradley not touched at all, then this is the price. I'll see you in a few days, yeah?"

"You know, all of this could just be avoided if you gave up on whatever stupid crush you have on Stefan," Jeremy argued, never one to back down from a challenge. His stupid high school years had taught him to never let sleeping dogs lie. "Seriously. Sure, he's prettier than Damon, but is he honestly worth any of this? How will Tori feel?"

"Jerebear, you don't have high ground to stand on when it comes to this, so keep your mouth shut about things you don't understand. And don't worry about Baby Bear. Leave her all to me."

A/N: Another little baby chapter cuz this episode does not seem that big. Had total plans for this and then it just...didn't happen. Lol. Damon and Victoria kissed! All your Datoria fans should be partying it up now. More angst and trauma to come. I'm so excited for Kill or Be Killed. Some major plot twists coming up that I can guarantee, none of you will see coming. Eeek!

Two quick things before I forget:

1. Facecast for MacKenzie Vanacore is Emily Blunt, because she and Jaime Ray Newman are scarily similar.

2. Elyse1821 made an offhanded comment on this, but I just want to reiterate: None of the Mikaelsons are Victoria's father. NONE OF THEM. THEY ARE NOT RELATED. Just need to put that out there. No hate, no shade, but yeah. They are not related (although, that would make for an interesting plot twist, but nah).

New Followers!: Serena Salvatore, lenoravampire1, MarshWolffe, Brandon Bryan, josephvernon00

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Onto reviews!:

Child of Dreams: Honestly? Accurate depiction of the last chapter.

DBZFAN45: I went back the other day with some friends and reread some of your headliners from previous reviews and I got to say, "VICTORIA IS JESUS?" is probably one of my favorites, back from Bloodlines Part 2 XD. I'm glad someone noticed that I reused the old logging mills again, so thanks for that. Oh yeah, here's the sparks between the two moms like you predicted. I really like the Onyx Dragon Knight too. It was always like Power Rangers, but not, so I enjoyed it because of that.

Elyse1821: Really? Hate to burst your bubble, but Elijah is not the father. Rocco is an actual character. Mom is an OC, facecasted as Emily Blunt. She was the bitch from the first chapter who told Victoria to move back home. No reaction from Mason here, but there is one in the next episode, so just wait for that. I know. I feel like a lot of people are going to riot if Datoria isn't endgame. Just trust that I have a plan and I hope y'all will enjoy said plan. We will hear more background with Katherine and Lady Victory, but it'll come out more when the Mikaelsons show up.

Amlone: If you get this far in the story, that's a very fair point. I think, in the terms of this story, Victoria already knows that the bird is fine (if I remember correctly, she even glares at it when they drive past again) and so she's not too worried about it. I mean, I do the same as you and it's a good thing to point out.

kafo521: Thank you! I'm glad I'm still able to keep you on your toes even though we are sticking to the canon (with a few notable exceptions, such as Lexi, Lee, Pearl, Ms. Gibbons, Harper, Zach, Amber, etc.).

Y'all are not even ready for the next chapter. Not sure if we'll get this chapter out before the New Year, but I'll try.

Have a Merry Christmas everybody, or Happy Holidays to you. If I don't see you guys next week, then I'll see you in 2023!

Stay healthy and stay safe this Christmas break,

BecomingFearless1F