Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: Surprise! I haven't actually finished my most recent chapter, as me and the hubs have been playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (amazing game, 10 out of 10, would recommend), as a side note, for the Teen Wolf fans out there, several of the actors actually voice characters. Including the one who plays our beloved Derek! For this chapter, it gets Dark. Like properly dark, so please be warned. Alexa goes through a lot of shit that Elena didn't, but she has a different relationship with Wes. Personally, and really weirdly, I actually enjoyed writing this chapter, as I got to write a lot of interactions and do some plot/character fixing.

XXX

"This isn't going to be good, is it?" I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut to avoid looking at all of the medical equipment surrounding us. Enzo was humming next to me, a jaunty tune, occasionally adding a whistle to the tune. I clenched my fists, feeling my chest grow tight. "Oh fuck, this is definitely not going to be good. Oh my god. I can't breathe."

All I could picture was the look on doctor creepy's face before he shot me. He was fucking furious and I knew that he would make me pay for threatening sad boy. Whether he believed that I would or not, he didn't appreciate my cruel words towards his ward. And I was going to suffer the consequences.

"A vampire having a panic attack, now that is a new one," the other vampire mused, turning his head towards me. "The good doctor will certainly find that interesting."

"The good doctor can fuck off," I wheezed, opening my eyes to look at Enzo. I could feel the wetness around my eyes but I didn't care. I knew that the next few hours, until someone finally rescued me, would be absolutely horrendous. And all I could do, was pray that I would be rescued. That my loved ones were able to track me down. Fuck, that Damon would be able to heroically break out of his cell and rip Wes apart before whisking me away to safety. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Erm, Enzo, I know you don't know me but can you keep talking? I don't care what about but just give me something to focus on that isn't these fucking machines around us."

The other vampire was silent for a moment, long enough that I wanted to cry as I failed to get the distraction that I needed to get my panic under control, before speaking, "I've always liked music. Before I ended up as an Augustine guest, I used to dream of playing the piano. That a mysterious grandfather, one who came to save me from the workhouse, taught me. It was a dream that used to keep me going on those cold winter nights of my childhood. Even after I was locked up by the Augustines, I continued dreaming of learning how to play the piano. Some of the doctors were kind enough to let me request the music during my sessions. Liszt and Chopin were ones that I requested frequently. I focused on the music, blocking out as much of the pain as possible. It worked, most of the time."

"When we get out of here," my voice rasped, but I was no longer on the edge of a panic attack. For now, anyway. I knew that the longer I was here, the more likely it was that I would actually have a panic attack. "I'm going to buy you a piano and compel you a piano teacher. And you will achieve your dream of playing the piano."

"That's very kind of you to say," Enzo continued to stare at me, those warm brown eyes tracing the tear tracks on my face, the blood still staining my skin, my messy hair. I really hoped that I wasn't the first girl that the poor guy had seen in decades, because I was a fucking mess.

"You helped talk me out of a panic attack," I sighed, closing my eyes again. "You deserve nice things for that."

"The nicest thing that Enzo is going to get right now is a day off," Wes' voice had me jolting in shock, my eyes flying open as my breath caught in my throat. I could feel my chest growing tight again as I watched the doctor walk down the stairs. He no longer looked furious, but there was a tenseness to his body as he stared down at me. Oh fuck.

While doctor creepy wheeled Enzo out of the room, I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to take deep breaths. But they failed to get past the tightness in my chest. I knew that I had to find a way to stop this panic attack, before Wes came back. If I was to survive long enough to be rescued, I had to have my wits about me. And that wouldn't happen if I was having a panic attack.

The sound of a door closing alerted me to the fact that Wes had returned. I didn't know where he had left Enzo, but it couldn't be too far away. A part of me hoped that the other vampire would suddenly find a way to break free and rescue the both of us. I knew that it was a futile hope. But it was all that I had.

There was a click before the doctor started talking, "Today we have a new subject, 83182. Before we can begin prepping the subject for haemodialysis, a baseline needs to be established for 83182's healing factor. Initial examinations indicate that 83182 is able to heal quicker than 12144. This could be related to the unusual element in their blood or due to 12144's history in the programme. Questions for a later date."

Unusual element? What the fuck? What was wrong with my blood? Why was it different to Enzo's? Unless… was it because Klaus' blood turned me? He was a hybrid; would that make his blood different? I had always wondered if being turned by Klaus would make me different to other vampires. Apparently, I healed quicker, but that was the only perk that I had noticed. Ah fuck, god, I hoped that Wes wasn't too interested in working out why my blood was different. Because that really wouldn't be fun for me.

I felt Wes approach me, standing at the side of my gurney, and I squeezed my eyes together even tighter. I didn't want to look at him, to see that cold expression on his face. I knew that this was going to majorly fucking suck. But I was going to do my best to hide from it.

"Incisions will be made at the location of all the major arteries. Speed of the blood flow and the time it takes to heal will be noted down."

"What?!" my eyes flew open as I felt the doctor's hand on the bare skin of my thigh. There was scalpel in his hand, the blade hovering over the delicate skin of my inner thigh. "No, no, no. You don't need to do this. Please don't do this. Please. Please. Please."

Wes didn't listen to my begging. The scalpel sliced through my skin, cutting deep. I bit my lip to hold back my scream, but I knew that he had heard it. I could hear the man talking into his little Dictaphone, timing how long it took for my skin to knit back together, how quickly the blood poured from my leg, staining the pads that he had put there.

I knew that the vervain was slowly down my healing. And the fact that I hadn't fed in well over a day didn't help either. But eventually, my thigh was healed, with only the blood staining my skin showing what had happened. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, only for my entire body to tense when I felt his hand on my other thigh.

This time, I couldn't hold back the scream.

XXX

Damon's POV

Elena followed me into the Boarding House, on the phone with Jenna. I had found the doppelganger lurking outside Whitmore House after I had escaped. She was looking for another way in after the Head of Campus Security had kicked her out. She had managed to search most of the first floor before that happened. But she had failed to find the secret door down to the Augustine lab. I admired her determination, even if it had been useless when it came to saving Alexa.

After I had broken out of the cell, I searched the entire basement, looking in all of the rooms. But there was no sign of my girl. The only sign of her was the pool of blood still in her cell. It had tormented me, reminding me of my failure to protect her. But it also gave me strength. Alexa was hurt, she needed me, and I wasn't going to let her down again.

Elena had confirmed the same, having searched all over campus, with the help of Jeremy and Bonnie. Apparently, Tyler and Ric were helping Jenna research Dr Maxfield back in Mystic Falls. But their combined efforts had been for nothing. No one had discovered the cells beneath Whitmore House and now they were failing to find Wes' other little hiding place, where he was keeping my Alexa. Where he was hurting her, subjecting her to the pain of my past.

I paused a couple of steps inside the building, frowning at the woman in my hallway. Elena walked into my back, grumbling my name, before she, too, paused. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her glaring at her doppelganger, body tense.

Katherine's quick eyes examined the blood that was still on my neck, while she tucked her hair beneath the ridiculous hat on her head, "What the hell happened to you?"

I glanced her up and down, noting the discolouration in the curls that poked out from under the hat, the pale edge to her skin, and shot back, "Ditto." While the annoying woman rolled her eyes, I looked around the parlour, hoping that my girl had escaped and retreated back to the safety of the Boarding House. But it was a foolish hope, and in my desperation, I looked back at the older doppelganger, "Alexa's not here by any chance, is she?"

"I haven't seen the annoying brat," Katherine shrugged, before her lips curled up into a smirk as she looked at the girl beside me. "Not that I've been looking."

I ignored the challenge on her face to shout up the stairs, "Stef, you awake?"

"Oh, you know, he hasn't seen her either," the annoying pest shrugged before I could push past her. "I would know, because we were together all night."

Beside me, Elena breathed in sharply, her eye twitching as I let out a disgusted groan, "Look, I've had a really crappy couple of days, okay? So if you're implying what I think you're implying…"

"Why? What were you thinking?" Katherine purred, keeping her gaze on her doppelganger. I could feel Elena practically shaking with anger. But I didn't care. If my brother decided that he wanted to play games with the woman who turned us, then that was his problem. My only concern was finding Alexa. And nothing else mattered until she was in my arms again. "That our hot, naked bodies collided in one unforgettable night of passion?"

"Stefan must still be suffering from the safe if he willingly went near you," Elena spat, narrowing her eyes as her hands clenched into fists at her side. I just rolled my eyes at the two before walking down the corridor to the library. Logically, I knew that Alexa wasn't here, that she was still in Wes' clutches. But I had to look, I had to do something. It was my fault that she was taken. I should have killed the doctor before he had the chance to take her. I should have snatched the gun from the kid in the cells before he had the chance to shoot me. If I was awake, then maybe Wes wouldn't have had the opportunity to take her from me.

"Come on, Ally, where are you?" I murmured, looking into the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace. Wes wouldn't have taken her far. As far as he was concerned, I was still locked up. So he wouldn't fear retaliation, he wouldn't have gone into hiding with her. I just had to work out where the secondary lab was. It wouldn't be far from Whitmore; the man wouldn't want to travel far when doing his experiments.

"I really hate that woman," the older twin snapped as she stormed into the library behind me. I heard Katherine laugh before closing the front door behind her. While I couldn't believe that Stefan had hooked up with the woman again, I wasn't going to focus on it. Not yet.

"Forget about Katherine," I shook my head, moving across the room, towards the back entrance. Elena followed me, tapping away on her phone, updating the others. There was an entire search party looking for my girl, but she was still missing. She had been missing for hours, and no one had managed to find her. "She's not important right now."

"You're right," the girl immediately sighed, surprising me with her easy agreement. "Katherine can wait until Alexa is safe. Then I can ask Stefan what the hell he was thinking."

"Stefan probably wasn't thinking," I muttered, leading us up the back staircase, checking every floor on the way to my brother's room. I had spied the safe in the parlour and I knew that he had been trying to get on top of his PTSD. Since Katherine was here, I was willing to bet that she had been involved in his little plan. The bitch was probably in the right place, at the right time. She was there in Stefan's moment of weakness and there was nothing else to it.

XXX

Alexa's POV

It was Enzo's humming that had me releasing the breath that I had been holding. Dr Maxfield had left the room not long after he finished taking his baseline measurements bullshit. I didn't know what he was going to do and while that probably should have worried me, I was just relieved that he was no longer slicing into me. Blood stained the skin of my inner thighs, my wrists, my neck. I could still feel the pain from the cuts, even though they had been healed for a while.

"I would say that it gets easier," the older vampire spoke, his voice quiet, and it was only my enhanced hearing that allowed me to pick up his words. "But I get the feeling that you wouldn't appreciate false hope."

"I dunno," I cleared my throat, wincing as every moment pulled against the painfully sensitive, newly healed skin on my neck. "False hope sounds quite nice right now."

"I will say this, Dr Maxfield isn't like the other Augustine doctors," Enzo said and I frowned, concentrating on his words and not the lingering pain. "He's focused on something in particular, his crowning achievement, he called it once."

"Well, isn't that just fantastic," I sighed, ignoring the rough sound of my voice. "Hopefully the rescue party will arrive soon and ruin all of his dreams."

"Well, they haven't arrived in the past seventy odd years, but who knows, today could be the day."

I was silent for a moment, biting my lip as I debated whether I should open this particular can of worms. But I had to know if I was right, if this was who I thought it was. If my boyfriend could let go of the guilt that he had been carrying with him for the past fifty odd years.

"Enzo," my voice was soft and I had to close my eyes as I asked the question that a part of me still didn't want to ask. "You're, uh, you're Damon's Enzo, aren't you?"

"Damon Salvatore," the older vampire mused, but I could hear the anger in his voice. I couldn't blame him for being mad. He thought that he was going to die in that cell. The fact that he had survived was a miracle. "That's a name that I haven't heard in a while."

"He's going to be so relieved when he finds out that you're still alive," I sighed before opening my eyes, looked at the burnt-up ceiling above me.

"I'm surprised that you even know who I am," Enzo scoffed and I was itching to look at him, to actually talk about this properly. And not through the walls of Wes' mystery lab. "Damon wasn't exactly the most talkative person back then."

"He's probably still like that," I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "But he talks to me, tells me things that he doesn't tell other people. Including his history with Whitmore college. Of course, it took a bit of prodding and, uh, some of that prodding included being locked up by the asshole doctor. But he told me about you, how you were the one good thing in his life during the fifties."

"Before he left me for dead."

"He never stopped feeling guilty for that. He had to turn his humanity off to let you go and save himself. And he kept it off for just over fifty years. Leaving you behind? It killed him. It's been haunting him for the past fifty years. He mourned you," my mind flashed back to piano in the sun room, never touched. I had always assumed that it belonged to one of the deceased Salvatore relatives. But maybe it was bought in memory of someone else. A reminder of a lost friend. I didn't mean to murmur my next words aloud, "He bought a piano for you."

Enzo's voice was full of emotion, full of anger and longing and weariness, "Why are you trying to get me to forgive him?"

"Because for five years, all you had was each other," I clenched my hands into fists, ignoring the painful tug from the sensitive skin of my wrists. "And that isn't something that you can throw away. I get that your anger at him has probably kept you going over the past few decades and it won't be easy to let that go. But please, give him a chance to apologise. He missed you."

The older vampire was silent and I knew better than to push him. Because I understood his anger and it was justified. But I also understood Damon's point of view. There was no need for both of them to die in that fire. And now, there was a chance for Enzo to be rescued. Granted, it was fifty years too late. But we could save him now and give him the life that he deserved.

"Okay," Enzo's voice made me jump for a moment, distracting me from the machines around me. "When Damon comes to rescue you, I will give him a chance to explain his reasoning for abandoning me to the fire."

"Thank you," I breathed out, relaxing the best that I could, considering the shitty situation that I was in. "I appreciate that. And I know that he will too. And, uh, if its any consolation, he has spent the past few decades carrying out the revenge plan that the two of you created."

"Has he now?" I could hear the amusement in the other vampire's voice. "I suppose he was doing it in my memory."

"Probably," I snorted before wincing. "Fuck, I really shouldn't joke about it. I am so going to get into trouble because of this."

"I won't tell anyone," Enzo promised and I could feel myself smiling again.

"When we get out of here, I'm going to compel the bartender at the Grill to give you as many drinks as you want. And then we're going to play that damn piano and enjoy life."

As I heard the door at the top of the stairs open again, Enzo murmured, "Hold onto that image, sweetheart. You'll need it to get through the next few hours."

And as I glanced to the side, watching the men who walked down the stairs, I knew that he was right.

XXX

Damon's POV

I leant against the doorframe to Stefan's room, watching as he puttered around, putting away clothes and tidying up the bed. Elena stood next to me, by the chest of drawers, eyes narrowed as she was confronted with the reality of Katherine's words. I ignored the signs of my brother's dalliance with the woman who turned us. It wasn't important, not until I had saved my girl, then I could confront the idiot about his actions with Katherine.

"So, where the hell have you been?" Stefan asked, finally turning around to look at us. I could see his gaze focusing on the blood that I hadn't yet wiped away. "You didn't check in yesterday, if I wasn't busy then I would have been worried."

"I saw how busy you were," Elena muttered, crossing her arms, practically glaring at her ex. I just rolled my eyes at her. She was focusing on the wrong thing, but if it helped her deal with her worry, then I would let her bitch about Stefan's most recent hookup.

"Oh, you know, being held against my will, thinking of a way to save my girl, being shot in the head, and now, I can't find Alexa," I pushed away from the doorframe, walking further into the room, unable to hold in the sarcasm. "But how was your evening? Anything out of the ordinary happen?"

Stefan grabbed my arm, his forehead crinkling with worry, "Wait a minute, what do you mean you can't find Alexa?" He pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking at his call log. "She didn't call me this morning. Or yesterday. We missed our morning catchup. How did I not notice?"

"Maybe because you were too busy hooking up with Katherine," the annoying twin snapped, stepping forward. "How could you do that?"

"She was helping me get over my trauma from the safe," my brother muttered, refusing to look at the girl, instead, keeping his gaze on his phone. There were a number of missed calls from Elena, but whether he had declined them, I didn't know. Nor did I care. It was a petty drama for a different time. "But that isn't important right now."

"You're right," I raised my voice before Elena could say something. And judging from the look on her face, she was ready to carry on this unneeded discussion. "What's important is finding Alexa. She isn't picking up her phone, she isn't back at the dorm and she's nowhere in this house. Which leads me to believe that Dr Creepy Ken-Doll has her somewhere and she needs rescuing."

"Are you talking about the Whitmore bio teacher?" Stefan frowned, tucking his phone away as he got ready to join the rescue party. "Alexa mentioned him during one of our calls. She wanted to create a creepy Wes bingo, like she did for Shane."

"Oh, he is a lot worse than Shane," I scoffed, shaking my head as I led the group from the room. "This doctor operates on vampires during business hours."

"Like the vampire in our spare room on the third floor?"

I paused in the doorway, "We have a vampire in one of our spare rooms?"

"Oh, that's Jesse," Elena spoke up, drawing our gazes to her. "Alexa's witch friend Carmen spelled him into one of the rooms until we found a way to cure him."

"That sounds about right," I rolled my eyes. I knew that Alexa was fond of the kid and it didn't surprise me that she would find a way to keep him safe and comfortable until she could fix him. But I wasn't expecting her to get Carmen to spell him into a room here, and not in the cell down below. It made sense, as we would inevitably need the basement cell and we didn't know how long it would take to find a cure. At least now I knew. And I would help my girl look after her friend.

"Caroline was supposed to tell you," the older twin glanced over at Stefan, letting go of her anger for a moment.

"She did mention something before dragging the safe out," Stefan shook his head. "He was given something to make him feed on vampires, right?"

"Yep, to the point where he ripped their heads off," I forced a smirk as a horrible thought hit me. The doctor seemed very proud of what he had done to that Jesse kid. Would he be doing the same to Alexa? Damn, I had to find my girl and get her away from him before he could hurt her. Before he could turn her into a ripper. "So put your hero hair on, Stefan, and let's go find Alexa."

I walked down the stairs, determined not to waste any more time. Alexa needed me and I wasn't going to let her down. Not again. I would save her from the Augustine Society, rip it apart and then take her far away from the dangers of Mystic Falls.

"You just said that you don't know where she is."

I rolled my eyes at Stefan's words, "I don't, which means that we're gonna have to find us some leverage. So come on."

"What? Damon, no, leave Aaron alone!" Elena growled, pushing past Stefan to dodge in front of me as she realised what I was planning. The girl tried to point her finger at me, but I just rolled my eyes and walked past her. "He doesn't need to be involved in this."

"He got himself involved when he pointed a gun at Alexa," I shot back, ignoring the anger on her face. "Before shooting me in the head, preventing me from protecting my girl from Wes. If it makes you feel better, I don't plan on hurting him until doctor creepy forces my hand."

"Fine, but I'll handle Aaron."

"Nope," I paused at the bottom of the stairs, rolling my eyes at the frustrated look on the girl's face. "You are going back to Jenna's, to help her search the online records. I am not going to get in trouble with your aunt if you do something stupid."

"Damon! Alexa's missing, I need to help find her!"

"Then go help Jenna, she's searching online for Wes' mysterious second lab. You'll be more helpful there. Now go, before I ask Ric to come and get you."

The look that Elena gave me was practically venomous, but I didn't care. Finding Alexa was more important than the older twin's feelings.

XXX

Alexa's POV

I swallowed hard as I looked into the cold grey eyes of Harry Nolan. I didn't know what he was doing here, but I knew that it wouldn't be good for me. I had tried so hard to hide my vampirism from the hunter, but now he knew the truth. And that absolutely terrified me.

"Wes, thank you for letting me have some time with her," the man nodded at the doctor. Fuck me, was Wes the friend that he had referred to that time? Oh god, please tell me that he wasn't. The thought of Harry Nolan and Dr Wes Maxfield teaming up made me feel sick. Of course, it was then that another thought hit me, one that made me feel even worse. Was Harry Nolan a member of the Augustine Society? Were the other Nolans members? Nope, don't think about that. Bury that thought somewhere deep and dark, Alexa. At least until you escaped.

"Just don't hurt her too much," the creepy asshole shrugged, moving to one of the others doors. "I do actually need her in good condition."

"You've done such a good job with that so far," Harry rolled his eyes, looking at the blood that still covered my skin. It would have been on the gurney too, but Wes had planned ahead, using cotton pads to soak up the blood that was spilt, making it easy to clean the leather.

Wes shook his head, looking far too friendly for my liking, before disappearing through the door. In the brief seconds that it was open, I caught a glimpse of Enzo's warm, brown eyes. They were full of sympathy and that made me feel even worse. Because he knew what was coming for me, and he knew that it wouldn't be good.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I heard the hunter walk around the gurney. I could feel his cold eyes examining me, looking for any sign of weakness. My breath hitched as he placed his hand by my head, looming over me.

"How long have you been a vampire?" the man asked, his breath wafting over my face. I didn't know what answers he was looking for, what information he wanted from me. But I wasn't going to give him anything. So, I just kept my eyes closed and shook my head. I heard Harry sigh, before his coat rustled and while a part of me wondered what he was doing, the other just wanted him to leave.

Of course, he didn't leave. Nope. Instead, he stabbed me in the stomach with a wooden stake. The pain took me by surprise, and I couldn't hold in my pained cry. My entire body tensed, trying to escape the pain, but the leather straps kept me held down. I choked out a, "motherfucker," as I dug my head back into the leather padding of the gurney, my eyes still closed. I refused to look at him, to give him the satisfaction of seeing the pain and fear in my eyes.

I heard the hunter sigh before he gently rotated his wrist. I couldn't hold in my groan as the stake moved inside me, the sharp tip scraping against my insides. My fists clenched and unclenched, nails digging into my palms, as my mind was consumed by the fire inside of me. I almost didn't hear Harry repeating his question, "How long have you been a vampire?"

"Go fuck yourself," I spat, trying and failing to stop the tears falling. But I couldn't fight them. The pain was overwhelming and the fucking asshole just kept twisting his wrist, increasing the pressure, forcing the stake further inside of me, as he kept twisting it. I knew that my body wasn't healing itself like it needed to, and I knew that these new wounds would take a lot longer to heal than they should.

"Who turned you?" the man tried instead, as I opened my eyes, blinking away the tears. Despite the voice in my head screaming at me not to, I couldn't stop myself from meeting that cold gaze again. He searched my eyes, looking for something, before he slowly removed the stake. I couldn't hold in the groan at the movement, but it was a relief when it was gone. Even if the wound continued to leak blood, staining my dress even more.

"I'm not going to answer your questions," I panted, trying to ignore the pain as my body slowly, far too slowly, started to stich itself back together. "So you might as well give up and fuck off."

Harry Nolan didn't give up, instead, he dragged the stake down my body. The thin fabric of my dress failed to protect me from the sharp tip of the stake. I breathed in deep, unable to look away from those unnerving grey eyes. He shook his head, "I will get the answers that I want."

"You can't kill me," I breathed out, looking in the direction that Wes had gone in. The fucker still wasn't back, and I prayed that he wasn't doing anything dodgy to Enzo. He had said that he was giving him the day off. And I was hoping that he would stick to that promise. Plus, on a more selfish note, I really wanted him to come back and save me from the hunter. Which was something that I really couldn't believe that I was thinking. But I would much rather deal with Wes than Harry. "Your buddy needs me alive."

"I can't kill you," Harry agreed with a nod, before driving the stake into my lower stomach, just above my panty line. The pain caught me by surprise, and I couldn't hold in my shout. He kept one hand on the top of the stake, pressing it down into me, as the other gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him. "But I'm a creative man, I can think of plenty of ways to get what I want out of you."

XXX

I would never quite understand just how I managed to avoid answering Harry Nolan's questions. He had kept up the pressure, stabbing me in different places, proving his creativity, as he sought the answers that he wanted. But I stayed strong, spitting out curses as I refused to betray my loved ones by giving their names to a vampire hunter. He would have kept going, if it wasn't for Wes' reappearance.

It took far too long for him to re-enter the lab, but the moment the doctor did, the motherfucking, torturing asshole stopped sticking holes in me. The two men spoke quietly by the stairs. What they discussed; I wasn't sure and I was too distracted to listen in. Instead, I laid on the gurney, eyes closed, breathing hard as I willed my body to heal itself quicker. I knew that I had lost far too much blood in the past couple of hours. And it was seriously affecting my healing. But I needed my body to get strong again. I didn't know when my rescue party would charge in, if they even did, so I had to be prepared to rescue myself, if I got the opportunity. Of course, that traitorous little voice in the back of my head whispered that that opportunity probably wouldn't present itself. It had never arrived for Enzo, so why would it arrive for me?

I didn't open my eyes until I felt someone standing at my side. Even if I did want to hide from my situation, from my nightmare, I knew that I had to be prepared to break free. So I blinked my eyes open, ignoring the lingering wetness from my tears, and looked up at Wes. He was looking at my newest injuries with a frustrated expression on his face.

"Your buddy didn't leave me in good condition," I rasped, unable to help myself. I wanted the man above me to suffer like I was. And while I couldn't make him physically suffer, I could mentally torture him. Even if it was by spitting out unhelpful and rude words. "I hope it ruins all of your plans."

"It will make my assessments less accurate," the creepy asshole sighed, moving over to the dialysis machine. He rolled it closer, before fiddling with it. I watched as he checked the tubes and the settings. "But it doesn't change the ultimate result."

I glared at him, before turning my head. I could hear Wes returning to his dialysis machine, muttering numbers under his breath. But I tried to tune him out. I stared at the staircase, praying for the door to open and a familiar face to rush down. I prayed for a rescue, before it was too late. I didn't know what Wes was going to do to me, but I couldn't stop my mind from flashing back to Jesse. Enzo had said that the creepy doctor was looking to achieve something. Was it the same thing that he did to Jesse? Was he going to turn me into a ripper that fed on other vampires? Or was this something worse? I knew that I wouldn't get answers from the asshole and I wouldn't find out what his little plan was until it was actually happening to me.

I didn't look back at the doctor until he was back at my side, a needle in his hand. It was one of those with a tube attached, ready for something to be added to it. I wanted to say cannula, but I also wanted to say fuck off. Because I did not like needles. And I didn't want this needle in me. And I definitely didn't want Wes to have easy access to my veins.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing with that?" I knew that the panic in my voice was obvious, but I didn't really care in that moment in time. I didn't want him to stick that needle in me.

"Are you seriously scared of needles?" Wes rolled his eyes, grabbing my arm, twisting it so that he had access to the soft skin of my inner wrist.

"What's wrong with being scared of needles?" I snapped back, squeezing my eyes shut as I felt the asshole insert the needle into my arm. I had to bite down on my lip to stop myself from letting the fuzziness take over. Needles were the fucking worst, always making me want to pass out. They were completely unnecessary. And I really didn't want to know why he was stabbing me with one. "They are painful and pointless and only lead to bad things."

"You really are an interesting person, Alexa," the doctor mused, turning his back to me for a moment. "And I do regret that I won't get to spend as much time as I would like with you, to get into your head."

I squinted up at him, "I can't tell if you mean that literally or figuratively. I mean, both options are shitty. But if you want to be cutting into my head, then I want as much warning as possible so I can increase my efforts to escape."

"I'm not going to be cutting into your brain," he shook his head before turning around. I eyed the mask in his hand wearily.

"Erm, I hope you aren't going to use that on me. Cos I really don't want to fall asleep right now. I even promise not to interfere with whatever you are doing. Just please don't knock me out."

But Wes' face was hard as he held the mask to my face. I tried not to breathe in, even as I felt the gas hissing into the mask. It wasn't until the asshole stabbed his scalpel into the skin between my neck and shoulder that he got his way. I inhaled sharply from the unexpected pain, before cursing myself as I breathed in the knockout gas.

There was an annoyingly smug tone in Wes' voice as he said, "Count down from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…"

And despite my best efforts, I could feel the gas taking over and my eyes slipped shut. And even though I knew that I needed to stay awake, so that I could escape, I could feel the darkness taking over. And I passed out.

XXX

Damon's POV

It was surprisingly easy to find Aaron Whitmore. After his little stunt in the cells beneath Whitmore House, I had assumed that Wes had locked the boy away, keeping him safe somewhere secret. But no, the annoying child was just sat in the social area of his dorm, studying. But I wasn't going to complain. It made saving my girl a lot easier if I could get my hands on the 'sad boy', as she called him so often, without worry.

I slumped down onto the couch next to him, pulling out one of his earbuds. The kid glanced over at me and froze, fear and panic taking over his expression.

"Pop quiz," I knew my smirk was too sharp, but I couldn't get the image of the punk pointing his gun at Alexa out of my head, I couldn't stop myself from remembering the fear in her voice. "So, your girlfriend's taken by a mad scientist. Now, do you: a, get a new girlfriend; b, call the police; or c, kill someone close to the mad scientist?"

I stayed seated as Aaron stood up, looking to run away. It was obvious that the kid was scared shitless, and it was very satisfying. He thought that he was ready to play in the grownup world of vampires and monsters. But he was wrong. And if Wes didn't play his cards right, then the kid would realise just how dangerous the world could be.

Aaron only made it a couple of steps before Stefan was in front of him. There was a hard look on my brother's face as he gestured to the seat next to me as I patted it, "Sit." When the kid hesitated, clearly aware that he was in deep shit, Stefan's eyes narrowed, "I won't ask again."

After glancing between us for a moment, the kid did the right thing and slowly moved to sit next to me. My brother gave a satisfied nod before sitting on the chair opposite us. I was pleased that Stefan wasn't pulling any punches when it came to saving my girl. He sometimes worried too much about the collateral damage. But I guess his time as an amnesiac had only increased his fondness for Alexa. And he was almost as determined as me to protect her from further pain and misery.

It took barely a minute of silence for Aaron to blurt out, "I have no idea where Wes took her."

"Well, they're not at his lab, so where else could he hide a vampire?" Stefan asked, body tense as he hunched forward, looking hard at the kid.

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to know who you are?" the kid frowned, sounding far too brave for my liking.

"That's my brother, Stefan," I wrapped an arm around Aaron's shoulders, enjoying the way his body tensed in fear. "But I'd watch your tone with him because he's kind of in the midst of a psychotic break."

"I'm sorry, I'm what?" my brother rolled his eyes at me, sounding less than amused with my words.

"Oh, come on, you and Katherine?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "I thought that it would be the safe that drove you over the edge, but apparently our maker wanted that crowning glory for herself."

"Katherine was a moment of weakness after a long day of being locked in the safe and drowning in my trauma," Stefan sighed, leaning back in his seat before switching his gaze to the human between us.

"See? He's off his rocker, he's losing his mind, teetering on the brink of insanity," I followed his gaze back the kid, who was looking between us with wide eyes. "And it won't take much for to snap. Like, ooh, I don't know, his dear friend being experimented on by an insane doctor."

"How are you not dead?" Aaron ignored my words, frowning at my forehead. "I shot you."

I glanced around, making sure that no one was listening before leaning in closer, "Well, because you went for the head. You got to go for the heart." I smacked the kid round the back of the head. "Go for the heart, next time. Now, where's Alexa?"

"I, uh, I have no idea," the kid stuttered, looking away from the serious look in my eyes. "All that Wes told me was to go about my life as usual."

"Did you shoot her?" my voice was hard and the boy flinched back, but I gripped his shoulder, stopping him from getting far. "I know that she was shot, at least twice. Did you hurt my girl?"

"No," Aaron immediately shook his head, looking like he was about to piss himself. "Wes took the gun from me when he arrived. He shot her once before I left, in the shoulder. I don't know what happened after that and I didn't ask either."

"Well, how about this?" I smirked, squeezing his shoulder with more force. "We're gonna call Wes, and you're gonna tell him that if he doesn't give Alexa back to me, then the next experiment that he conducts is going to be sewing your arms back on."

When the kid looked back at Stefan, eyes wide and desperate, my brother just shook his head, denying his hopes for a rescue. I was relieved, as for a moment, I thought that he would interfere. That he would stop me from doing whatever it took to save my girl. But apparently my brother was willing to get his hands dirty these days. And it was about time. He needed to learn that sometimes things had to get ugly. And this situation was as ugly as it got. I knew what was at stake, what Alexa was likely to be going through. And I didn't care if the little Whitmore punk had to lose a few limbs if it meant saving my girl. I would rip the world apart to protect her and I didn't care if that made me a monster.

XXX

Alexa's POV

It was Wes' voice that summoned me from the darkness. And even though I knew that I had to find a way to escape, I enjoyed the peace of unconsciousness. I couldn't be hurt, I couldn't feel pain, when I was out. But now I had to leave that peace.

"Approximately 4.1 pints of blood have been drained," the annoying doctor droned into his little Dictaphone. I was content to listen to him with my eyes closed, but the shithead ruined that when he pried one open, pointing a flashlight directly into it. I let out a groan before moving my head. Moving felt like a challenge. Even after the fucker had take his baseline assessment bullshit, I hadn't felt this weak. He had taken a dangerous amount of blood from me, and even keeping my eyes open was an effort. "83182 still shows signs of consciousness. Note that 15 years ago, subject 12144 faded into unconsciousness after losing 2.9 pints. Evolution or luck? Mystery for another day."

"What the actual fuck?" I muttered, staring down at the tube attached to the needle that was still in my wrist. "What is happening? Why are you taking my blood?" I followed the tube to the dialysis machine next to me. I stared at it through narrowed eyes, trying to read the numbers on the machine, but quickly gave up when everything refused to get into focus. "Seriously, bro, what is wrong with you? If you wanted my blood, I could have given you a donation. You didn't need to hold me hostage."

"There is a lot more to this than just taking your blood, Alexa," Wes shook his head and I rolled my eyes, my head lolling to the side as I tried to watch what he was doing.

"Like what?" I spat, that ugly panic clawing its way into my mind as I struggled against my restraints. It was pointless, as my body was far too weak, and I was just wasting my energy. But I just couldn't help myself. His words had reminded me that my situation was going to get a lot worse. And I wanted to run away from that. But I couldn't. I had lost far too much blood and my body just wasn't responding to my orders like it should. "Actually, no, I don't want to know. Just let me go! Please, let me go. You don't have to do this to me."

"Relax, I plan to once I'm through with you," the doctor rolled his eyes, moving over to his creepy little notebook. I gave it a dirty look, remembering its appearance while he was noting down my baseline measurements.

"I want you to let me go now," I shook my head, slumping back onto the gurney. My body had given up on me and I knew that I had to build my strength back up. "Please let me go."

"You might as well relax, Alexa, you aren't leaving before I'm ready."

My eyes burned with tears that I refused to let fall, "Fuck you. I hope my boyfriend rips you apart when he comes to save me."

"Ah yes, your heroic vampire boyfriend," Wes looked at me and that cold look was back in his eyes, the look from last night, before he fucking shot me. "Did you know that Aaron Whitmore spent his entire life thinking that his family was haunted by some death curse? Turns out that that curse was your boyfriend systematically killing every member on his family tree." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm curious. How does one justify that in their mind?"

"Considering he shot my boyfriend in the fucking head, he fucking deserves it," I spat out, just knowing that my words would get me into trouble but I just didn't care. Damon's revenge against the Whitmore family was a sensitive subject. And until I properly discussed it with my boyfriend, it would remain one. I guess I knew, on one hand, how I felt about it. I once promised Damon that I would always accept him for who he was, ugly side included, and this was as ugly as it got. But could I accept this? Fuck, I knew that I would. Because I had sampled but a taste of what Damon had gone through for five years, and I understood why he would want revenge for that. And for losing his best friend. I would want revenge too. And while I probably wouldn't have gone down the route of continuously murdering an entire family line, I wouldn't reject my boyfriend for it. I was rewarded for my words with a stab from Wes' scalpel. I spat out a curse before hissing, "His family locked up vampires and tortured them, just like you are doing. And for what? Why are you doing this?"

"For science," the doctor narrowed his eyes at me, before picking up a different creepy little notebook. "'June 25, 1999. Incredible findings today. After enduring three thousand volts of electricity, the subject continues to have a heartbeat. June 26. More success. Subject was exposed to four thousand volts today. Seizing continues after electrocution. Flesh remains hot to the touch.'"

"What the fuck is that?" I didn't even bother hiding my disgust, especially since it did a such a good job at hiding my fear. "'Dr Maxfield's creepy little diary?' Like what the fuck is wrong with you? I don't want to hear that shit."

"This isn't my journal, Alexa," Wes stepped closer, turning the book so that I could look at it. "These are the handwritten medical findings of Dr Grayson Gilbert, your father."

I stared hard at the words on the page, my stomach turning as I recognised that writing. That familiar scribble on the page. I had grown up trying to decipher that fucking chicken scratch, playing games with my siblings when we were younger, trying to work out what notes he left for us. I swallowed hard, looking away from the words, describing how he had tortured vampires, before whispering, "You're lying."

"Everything that I'm doing to you, I learned from him."

XXX

It was quiet after that.

Wes continued to read through that journal of lies. I refused to believe that my father had done those things. That he had electrocuted vampires, that he had tortured them. I had to run away from that truth, because I knew that it meant for me. If my father was still alive, then I would have been on his medical table, undergoing the same pain that he had inflicted on others.

I was under no illusions now. My dad would have thought of me as a monster. He wouldn't have accepted me as his daughter after I turned. He would have locked me up and electrocuted me too. Fuck, I was supposed to be ignoring that, trying to pretend that it was a lie. But I didn't know if I was strong enough to do that anymore. If I could preserve his memory in my mind. I couldn't think back and remember the man who used to tuck me into bed, the one who read stories in funny voices. All I could think about, when my dad came to mind, was how he was filled with hatred, how he hurt vampires.

"I know where we are now," I murmured out loud, having looked around the room again. Now that my mind was consumed with thoughts of my dad, it was obvious. I had spent so much time in this fucking building, either helping my dad voluntarily, or because I was forced to when grounded. Fuck. I was born in this building. It was the practice that Isobel went to, when she was in labour. And now I was being tortured by an insane doctor, following my dead dad's teachings. "We're in the basement of his clinic. Of my dad's medical practice."

"It was your dad's clinic," Wes spoke, abandoning the journals to come stand beside me. He looked down at me, looking a lot calmer than he did earlier. "Then your Town Council burned a whole bunch of vampires down here. Now it's just a condemned building in Mystic Falls where no one will find us."

Ah yes, another event that I didn't want to remember. I had nearly lost Damon down here, before I could even admit that I loved him. He was sent to burn by John. I never quite forgave him for that. But I had moved past it. Of course, it probably helped that I had labelled the incident as one never to be thought about again, and had locked it deep in the back of my mind. And now I was stuck in the same room that Damon had been, waiting for something awful to happen. My beloved was waiting for the fire, I was waiting for Wes to achieve his creepy fucking dream. Whatever that was.

"My family technically stills owns the fucking place," I muttered, looking away from the doctor. "I should have you arrested for trespassing."

"You'll have more important things to think about when I let you go," Wes shook his head at me, before examining the tube in my arm. I flinched each time that he moved it. It wasn't that it hurt, but each movement just reminded me that it was there, sticking out of me. And I fucking hated it. But I knew that if I asked for it to be removed, I would just be scolded by the fucking asshole.

"I don't know if your reassurances that you'll let me go make me feel better or not," I rolled my eyes, looking back at the burnt-up stairs. Now that I knew where we were, I recognised those stairs. I had been up and done them far too many times. And that didn't include the times that I had snuck down them, dared by my siblings to investigate the creepy basement.

"You won't die in this basement, Alexa," the doctor moved away and I only just caught his next, whispered words. "Although you might wish that you did."

Oh, fuck me. Yeah, I was screwed. I was officially fucking screwed. Ah fuck. And I didn't know what I could do to save myself. I knew that none of my loved ones, who were supposed to be rescuing me, would expect to find me on their doorstep. They would be looking in Whitmore, in the surrounding areas. They wouldn't look for me in Mystic Falls. And they sure as fuck wouldn't be looking for me in my dad's old medical practice.

I wanted to cry. But I refused to show the creepy fucker holding me hostage any weakness. Yeah, I knew that I had already cried in front of him. But since I was being stabbed at the time, I was allowed a few tears. And I refused to cry again. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing that he was getting to me. All I could do, was visualise in my mind how I would get my revenge on him. How I would rip him apart, slice into his skin, make him bleed. Or I would watch as Damon hurt him for me, how he would make him pay for every injury that he inflicted upon me.

Fuck, I suddenly understood Damon's revenge. Why he carried out his revenge fantasy, how he continued to do so, even when his humanity was back on. Because when you were locked up, tied down, suffering and knowing that it would continue, you lived for your revenge. You imagined it with such clarity that you needed to carry it out. And I got the feeling that when you did escape, you needed that revenge to stop the memories from consuming you. I didn't care what Elena thought of me after this, I sympathised completely with Damon. I wouldn't reject him for continuing his revenge plan, even if it was my sister's friend who suffered the consequences. Because I got it. In a way that the others wouldn't. I had seen the marks that Whitmore had left on my boyfriend. And I knew that I would be the same when I escaped. I would never be able to come back to this building. I was even tempted to finish the job that the Council started and burn it down to ashes.

XXX

Damon's POV

Aaron quickly agreed to call Wes when I flashed him some fang. The kid had tried to avoid doing so, not wanting to lose another family member. But as I so helpfully pointed out to him, he could either lose Wes or lose his own life. Of course, I failed to tell the boy that even if he died, I would still be killing Wes. Either way, the doctor would suffer for what he did to my girl. And I didn't care if it hurt the Whitmore kid. He was just lucky that I wasn't ripping his throat out. But I would pause my revenge, for Alexa. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise my chance to get her back, to save her.

"Aaron, hey," it didn't take the good doctor to pick up the phone. I couldn't hear anything on his end of the call that might have told me where he was. Where he was keeping Alexa. I could feel my eyes narrowing as I realised that we had to wait for Wes to give us her location, thus prolonging her torment. It was something that I would make the man pay for.

My expression must have unnerved the kid as he quickly asked, "Do you have Alexa?"

"Aaron, what's wrong?" Wes frowned down the phone, clearly sensing that something was wrong. The man had enviable senses in that department. But it wouldn't save him, nor would it keep his ward safe if he didn't give me back my girl.

"Uh, Stefan and Damon Salvatore are going to kill me unless you give them Alexa," Aaron glanced between us, very much aware of the danger that he was in. Not even my brother's presence could comfort him. The boy must have sensed Stefan's own anger. Most of it was directed at himself, but it was there. My brother was frustrated with himself that he hadn't realised that my girl hadn't called him for their usual morning catchup. If he had spoken to her yesterday, then he could have helped her with her search, thus preventing her capture. Or if he had noticed today that she hadn't called him, then he could have joined the search party a lot earlier. I wasn't mad at him, yet, as I knew that he was doing what he needed to get over his PTSD. But that would change if he tried to interfere with my plan to get my girl back.

The kid's words had the doctor scoffing, shaking his head, "Damon Salvatore is locked in an impenetrable and inescapable fortified cell."

"Or he's in front of me, imagining what my kidney would taste like," the boy countered, looking at me with wide blue eyes. He had probably used that look to get out of trouble countless times. But it wouldn't work today and it wouldn't work with me. Maybe if he hadn't pointed a gun at Alexa, threatening to shoot her for something that she didn't do. But I couldn't forgive that. Nor could I forgive him for shooting me in the head. His actions had led to my girl being tortured by Dr Maxfield. She was in pain and suffering. It wasn't something that I took lightly. And this kid would be lucky to escape with his life for causing her pain.

"Fine," Wes definitely sounded upset. And it was a satisfying sound. He had upset me, by taking Alexa from me. And if he didn't rectify that situation, then he would be feeling a lot more than upset. "I'll meet you in my classroom. Once I've seen that you are safe, tell them that I'll give Alexa back to them."

The doctor hung up the call after Aaron gave a confirming noise. It wasn't how I wanted this to go, as it left Alexa in Wes' clutches for longer than I was comfortable with. But it was a start. And if it got the doctor away from Alexa, it meant that she would escape the pain for a while. Plus, it meant that if Jenna and Elena were successful in their search, the rescue party could swoop in and save her without any issues.

"Now," I tightened my grip on the kid's shoulder, watching as he winced and looked over at me. "Are you going to behave? Or do I need to get nasty?"

I could see the boy debating for a moment if he was brave enough to sass back. But he must have seen something in my expression, realising that I would get nasty if needed, as he slumped back in his seat, "I'll behave. Do you know where Wes' classroom is?" When we both shook our heads, he sighed, "I'll lead the way. Just… don't hurt me."

"Don't do anything to stop me from getting Alexa back then," my smirk was too sharp but I didn't care. In the back of my head, there was a ticking clock, telling me just how long it had been since I last saw my girl. And I knew that the hours had been longer for her. I swore, once I got her back, that I wouldn't let her out of my sight until the next century. Alexa got into far too much trouble for my liking and I was determined to stop anything else from happening to her. She had been through far too much in her life already. I didn't want her to suffer more than she already had.

"Not even the kid is that stupid," Stefan rolled his eyes, tugging Aaron away from me, before giving him a stern look. "Because Damon isn't the only one capable of getting nasty."

Aaron glanced between us with wide eyes, looking terrified in an incredibly satisfying way. He seemed to realise just how serious the situation was and how much danger he was in. The brat was so cocky down in the cells, when he had that little gun and his wooden bullets. But now he was truly learning just how dangerous this world was.

XXX

Alexa stared down the stairs before glancing back over her shoulder. Her siblings, Jeremy and Elena, watched her with wide, expectant eyes. Their ball had fallen down the stairs, and into the creepy basement. It was somewhere that none of the siblings had venture into. But they also wanted their ball back.

The basement door shouldn't have been open, as it was a forbidden place for the young ones but Grayson was distracted when he walked down the stairs earlier that day, leaving his children under the care of his receptionist, Jade. The Augustine Society had leant him their vampire for the day, letting him test his theories, looking for ways to advance science and help people. But he knew that he had to give him back in a few hours. The doctor knew that he would get more time with the Augustine Vampire if he relocated to Whitmore House. But he also knew that he had responsibilities in Mystic Falls. As much as he would love to continue his research, he couldn't abandon his family to do so. So he accepted the deal that he had made with the society, use of their vampire for a few hours each day. And in return, he was one of their most generous donors, sharing his money and his knowledge with the group.

"I don't want to go down there," Alexa scrunched up her nose as she looked away from her siblings and back down into the dim lighting of the basement. "Elena, you're the oldest, you go."

"I need to look after Jeremy," the older twin immediately shook her head, giving the door a distasteful look. It was common knowledge amongst the Gilbert siblings that the basement was a Bad Place. Their parents had frequently told them that they weren't allowed to go down there and the children had never argued that order. When the kids grew up slightly, it would be a place for dares and courage, as a Gilbert child never backed down from a dare. But at the sweet young ages of six and four, that wouldn't happen for quite some time.

"I can look after Jeremy," the green-eyed girl shot back, going to shuffle away from the door. But it was the words of her younger brother, spoken with that adorable lisp that he was yet to grow out of, that stopped her.

"I want my ball back."

Alexa stared at Jeremy, a pout forming on her face, as she realised that she couldn't disappoint the little one. So with a dramatic groan, the six year old turned and slouched down the stairs. She moved quietly, not wanting to disturb the monsters that she was convinced lived beneath her dad's office. Her vivid imagination was only encouraged by her friends and her babysitters. Sometimes her nightmares led her down there, where monsters with sharp teeth and cold eyes lingered, waiting to grab her and take her away from her family.

"There's no such thing as monsters," Alexa whispered to herself, repeating the words as she carefully walked down the stairs. It wasn't easy to see the pink ball in the dim lighting and it had the girl pausing at the bottom of the stairs. She looked around, quick eyes scanning the filing shelves that were pressed up against the wall, before she turned around, looking at the door at the end of the corridor.

Her brother's ball was sat innocently in front of that door and Alexa narrowed her eyes at it. She didn't want to walk close to the door, especially with the noises that she could hear coming from behind it. But she also couldn't disappoint her baby brother. So she took a deep breath and inched forward, trying to remain as silent as possible.

The dim lights failed to illuminate the space under the stairs and the darkness unnerved the girl. She stared at it with wide eyes, pausing on her way to the ball. Alexa would never admit that she was scared of the dark, especially to her siblings. But the sight of it had her freezing where she stood.

It wasn't until she heard her sister call her name that the girl shook her head, looking away from the dark space and at her brother's ball. With a determined nod, Alexa strode forward, picking up the pink ball with her small hands. She stared down at it with a triumphant look before looking back up at the door.

Those weird noises were still there, a strange crackling sound, reminding her of the old movies that her parents watched. The ones that she used to secretly watch from the stairs, without the adults knowing. A part of Alexa was intrigued, but the rest wanted to get away from the creepy door and whatever it hid. So the girl turned around, moving towards the stairs with quite some speed.

Alexa paused one final time on the bottom step, looking back at the door with wary eyes, before bolting back upstairs. She closed the door behind her with a snap, determined not to let the ball fall down there again, before approaching her siblings. The younger twin presented her brother with the ball, a wide smile on her face at the delighted look he gave her. Jeremy beamed up at his middle sister before turning to the oldest, "Your turn in the middle."

Elena grumbled, completely aware that it was Jeremy's turn in the middle, but she didn't want to be the one to remove the adorable smile from his face. So she dutifully trudged into the middle, ready to let her brother secretly win, completely unaware of the look on Alexa's face as she stared at the door down into the basement. The younger Gilbert twin secretly promised herself that she wouldn't go back down there, even when she was older. If the ball went down there again, if anything happened down there, Alexa made a promise to herself that she would send Elena down instead.

It was safe to say that the young Alexandria Gilbert was determined to never go down into the basement beneath her father's practice again. It was a promise that she remembered thirteen years later. A silent thought of a six-year-old that came back to haunt her.

XXX

Damon's POV

"You want to give me a little bit of a back story as to how you know one another?" Stefan asked as Aaron led us across the campus to Dr Maxfield's classroom. I glanced over at him, as I kept a firm hand on the kid's shoulder. He knew better than to run, but I also wasn't going to take any chances. I needed Aaron to get Alexa back, and I was going to get my girl back. I would break both the brat's legs, I would even paralyse him, if it ensured Alexa's return to me.

"Aaron is Aaron Whitmore," I answered my brother, tightening my grip on the boy's shoulder as I spat out his name. "And he comes from a very long line of vampire-probing, blood-testing, organ-removing freaks called Augustine."

I could feel Stefan's eyes on me, picking up the bitterness in my voice, before he frowned, "Why do you know this?"

I debated, for a moment, if I should share my past with my brother. I had spent so long keeping it from him, protecting him from his failure to save me. But I also knew that this would all come out now. Once Alexa was safe, everyone would want to know more about the Augustine Society. So I owed it to my brother to be honest with him now. Even if he didn't like what I had to say. And I knew that he wouldn't like what I had to say, especially at the end of the story.

"Because I was their test subject in the 50s," I eventually answered with a casual shrug. While I never thought that I would be discussing this part of my past with Stefan, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It probably helped that I had talked about it with Alexa. It wasn't as raw as it could have been. And I knew that no matter what, I would have my girl's support. She would get me through this and then I would help her recover from whatever Wes did to her. Before presenting her with his head on a plate.

"What do you mean 'test subject'?" the frown increased, forehead crinkling in that oh so dramatic way that my brother had perfected many years ago.

"Meaning, I donated my body to science except that I was alive and it was against my will."

"Wait, hold on a minute," Stefan held up a hand, dodging in front of us. I pulled Aaron to a stop, keeping my hand on his shoulder, just in case he got some funny ideas. "How do I not know about this?"

"Don't get all guilt-ridden on me, Stefan," I rolled my eyes, tightening my grip on the kid as he started fidgeting. "We were on the outs back then, and by the time it was over, you know, it was over."

"Damon, you were held prisoner and experimented on, you should have told me," my hero-haired brother shook his head, frustration and disappointment written all over his face. "Even if we were on the outs."

"What would the point have been, Stef?" I sighed dramatically, wondering if there was a way for me to delay this conversation until Alexa was safe. But I knew that it was pointless. Stefan had a bee in his bonnet over the fact that he never knew about my past with Whitmore and Augustine. And there would be no escaping that. "I was free, off to get revenge for years of pain. Telling you wouldn't have removed those memories; it wouldn't have made me forget about everything that I had experienced. And I didn't want to burden you with that knowledge. So I kept it to myself, not telling anyone until my hand was forced."

"You still should have told me."

I rolled my eyes, "The next time it happens, I'll make sure that you are the first person that I tell."

Something in our conversation must have gotten under Aaron's skin, as he quickly spat out, "Why don't you tell him the rest of the story, Damon?"

"I don't recall saying that you could talk," Stefan quickly shot back, giving the kid a shake, before glancing over at me. "Did I say that he could talk?"

"I don't remember anything," I shrugged, encouraging the brat to start moving again. We had wasted enough time here. The quicker I got the boy to Wes, the quicker he would give my girl back to me.

"I didn't think so," my brother gave him one last look before moving to my side. "I want you to tell me everything that you went through when you were here."

"That is a long story, Stefan," I shook my head. "One we don't have time for."

"Then give me the footnotes version," he pushed, his favourite pious look on his face as he refused to be left out again. "And then we have Alexa back, which I know is your main concern, you can fill in the details that you missed out."

"The details like murdering my entire family?" Aaron refused to stay silent, glaring at me. Apparently, the kid had found his courage again. It was very inconvenient, for him. Because if his bravado got my girl hurt, then I wouldn't hesitate in ripping his limbs off.

"You're skipping ahead in the story," I slapped him round the back of the head before gripping his shoulder again. I could feel Stefan's gaze on the side of my face and I rolled my eyes. "Do you really want to know how I got my revenge, brother? It isn't a pretty story and you'll only disapprove of what I did. Ooh, what I have continued to do."

"Damon, how many people have you killed since you escaped?" Stefan's voice was hard, full of disapproval.

"Apparently not enough, if the Augustine Society is still around, experimenting on unwilling volunteers. But you don't need to worry, Stef, because as soon as I have Alexa back in my arms, I'll burn Augustine to the ground and encourage young Aaron into realising that getting revenge is not in his best interest."

XXX

Alexa's POV

"I never did like coming down here," I didn't realise that I had spoken aloud until I saw Wes turn around to look at me. I winced before sighing. I didn't really want his attention back on me. I was much happier when he was looking at his little vials of blood. But now that I was talking, I couldn't stop myself. "My siblings and I used to dare each other to come down here, when our dad wasn't around. There was always something unnerving about it. I guess I know what it was now. He used to torture vampires down here. Right below the room where I used to spend a lot of my summer. Fuck. Wait. Was that how you met him? Through Augustine?"

The doctor looked away from the vials in his hand, "Grayson was working with Augustine to turn vampire blood into a magical cure-all to fight disease, cure cancer, save the world."

"All the good buzz words," I muttered bitterly, glancing over at my dad's journal. Wes had continued to examine its pages while examining his little vials. He had been serious, when he said that he had used it to learn everything that he was doing today. And that thought made me feel sick. Because it was like my dad was the one doing this to me. He was torturing me from beyond the grave. "How wonderful."

I looked around the room, staring at the tray of vials that the doctor had brought out earlier. He had taken to looking at the labels, comparing them to his notebook and my dad's journal. He did the same with the bags above me. A part of me wanted to ask what he was doing, but then I realised that I really didn't want to know. Because the knowledge of what was coming would only panic me. And I needed to have a clear head if I was going to escape. Because it was becoming painfully clear that rescue party were not going to charge in any time soon. So if I was going to escape this nightmare, I had to free myself. And then go save my boyfriend from those fucking cells. Before ripping Wes into little pieces and feeding him to the squirrels.

As I watched Wes walk around the room, I glanced over at the door to the room where he had taken Enzo earlier. He had disappeared in there a couple of times since Harry Nolan had left. I hadn't heard anything from the room in a while, and it scared me. Enzo was like a lifeline to me right now. He had survived down here for decades. He knew what to expect. And he had talked me out of one panic attack, he had shown me kindness, had even agreed to go easy on Damon. I needed him to be okay. I had promised him that we would escape together. And it was a promise that I was determined to keep.

"Enzo?" I whispered, trying to avoid Wes hearing my words. I knew that I was taking a risk, but the silence from the other room was unnerving me. I had to make sure that the doctor hadn't hurt the other vampire. He had promised him a day off from this bullshit. And I prayed that he had stuck to his word.

Unfortunately, the man was close enough to hear my whisper and shook his head, "Enzo isn't here, Alexa."

"What?" I frowned, clenching my wrists, only just hiding my wince as I felt the needle in my wrist dig into me. "Where the fuck is he? What did you do?"

"I sent him off on a little day trip," Wes shrugged, looking completely unbothered by my glare. Apparently, the fucker still wasn't threatened by me. Well, I would make sure that he regretted that later. "It seems as though he has some unresolved business with your boyfriend."

"That's what you think," I snapped, trying to hide my panic behind my anger. "I talked to Enzo about that, he's totally cool about what happened. So just you wait, both he and Damon are going to come back and rescue me."

I didn't believe my words. The older vampire had only agreed to hear Damon out. He didn't agree to forgive him. And I couldn't guarantee that my boyfriend would handle the situation sensibly. Especially since he was probably panicking over me. At least I got one bit of good news, if Wes had sent Enzo after Damon, it meant that he was free and causing trouble. He would be able to come and save me, as soon as he knew where I was.

"Unfortunately for you, I've taken steps to ensure that Enzo doesn't betray me. You won't get the rescue that you are praying for, Alexa. So, I recommend that you calm down. Panicking will only make this worse."

"Fuck you, asshole," I narrowed my eyes, even as I felt my chest grow tight. But I pushed the panic away, focusing only on my anger. Because Wes was right when he said that panicking would make this worse. But I couldn't help it. My mind kept spinning, repeating the doctor's words. What had he done to Enzo, that he would come back to him? Would that lead to Enzo hurting Damon? Fuck. I hated not knowing. I needed to know. But I knew that Wes wouldn't give me any more information. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

But I remembered Enzo's words from earlier. I couldn't let the doctor see me having a panic attack. He might really cut into my brain if he saw that. The fucker would probably want to examine my reactions to his creepy shit if I fell headfirst into a panic attack. So I took a deep breath, unclenched my fists, before glaring at Wes' back. Focus on the anger, Alexa. Don't think about anything else, just be angry at the asshole who was doing his weird, creepy, experimental shit to me.

XXX

Damon's POV

We followed Aaron into the building. It took one glance to see that it was full of lecture halls. And while we could search for Wes' classroom, it would waste time that Alexa didn't have. So I glanced at the kid and asked, "Which one is it?"

"It's right here," he answered, pointing at a door ahead of us. I exchanged a glance with Stefan, before he grabbed the boy, letting me go first. While he hadn't spoken to the doctor without us listening in, nor had he had access to his phone, I didn't trust the brat not to have set up an ambush. And that would waste time. So I paused for a moment, listening for any sound, before pushing open the door. There was someone in the room. But they weren't human and they weren't Wes Maxfield. I frowned at the man sitting in the gloomy darkness at the back of the room. As I stepped forward, my brother pushed the Whitmore kid into the room, keeping a firm hand on his shoulder. I held up my hand, stopping them from walking further into the room, as I tried to work out who Wes had sent to stall us.

"21051," a painfully familiar voice spoke from the back. It had me freezing for a moment, staring up into the gloominess. I refused to believe it. To believe that Enzo was still alive. That he had survived the fire, all those years ago. But the evidence was right in front of me. And I cursed Wes in my head, because he had found the perfect distraction. And this distraction would stop me from finding my girl, especially if it meant getting his revenge for leaving him behind.

"Enzo?" I watched as my old friend, one who I thought I would never see again, stood up. Those brown eyes, still the same as fifty years ago, stared deep into my own. They were full of anger and pain and frustration, with a hint of regret.

"It's been a while, mate," the other vampire spoke, walking towards the front of the room. I couldn't quite believe that he was still alive, that he had survived the fire. And I knew that this wouldn't be good. Because if he was here, it meant that he had been sent here. Enzo had spent the past fifty years as an Augustine prisoner. And he would not be happy about that.

"Who the hell are you?" Stefan frowned, glancing between Enzo and I, keeping a firm grip on the human in the room.

"Lorenzo," my old friend answered, gaze flicking over to my brother, before returning to me. "But my friends call me Enzo. Ah. Kidding. I don't have any friends." He approached us, giving me a challenging look, before holding his hand out to Stefan. But my brother just looked at him, gaze full of distrust, before tugging Aaron closer to him, causing Enzo to scoff.

"Enzo's another Augustine vampire, our cells were next to each other," I told the two with me, keeping my voice low. I still couldn't believe that he was in front of me. That the subject of my guilt for the past fifty years was stood in front of me, full of snark and sass. But that didn't matter, couldn't matter. Until I had my girl back in my arms, nothing mattered. Which why I looked at him and asked, "So, we're here to meet somebody: Wes Maxfield. You know him?"

"That's your first question for me?" Enzo narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists. "Not 'how are you? How'd you survive in that fire that I left you to die in?'"

"I'll ask those questions after I get Alexa back," I rolled my eyes, pushing away that guilt that had reared its ugly head. Even though he was still alive, I knew that the events of that night would continue to haunt me. That fire might not have claimed Enzo's life, but it had claimed our friendship.

A conflicted look flashed across Enzo's face at the sound of my girl's name, but before I could ask why, how he knew Alexa, the annoying brat spoke up, "Uh, does somebody want to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"I'd love to," the other vampire immediately leapt on the distraction. "Have a seat. Been waiting seventy years to tell my story." He gestured towards the chairs while he moved to sit on the desk.

Stefan pushed Aaron into the chair in front of us, before turning to face me. He gave Enzo a wary look, before muttering, "Wes isn't here."

"And he isn't going arrive any time soon," I sighed, keeping an eye on my old friend as he started muttering to himself, trying to work out the best way to start his story. I knew that it would take him a while, so I felt safe in taking a moment to work out our next steps. "He sent Enzo here to keep us busy, and maybe even take me out. So I need you to call Wes and find out what he is up to. Threaten the kid if you need to."

"And what are you going to do?" my brother asked, grabbing my arm as I went to walk over the chairs.

I glanced over at Enzo before lowering my voice to answer his question, "Enzo recognised Alexa's name. He must have seen her at Wes' second lab. If he's spoken to her, then I can try and use that to get a location out of him. Alexa is capable of charming anyone, even if she doesn't realise it, so I'm hoping that she's charmed him and that he'll want to help rescue her."

"You're putting a lot of hope into maybes," Stefan muttered, looking at the other vampire in the room. "And a lot of faith in someone who probably hates you right now."

"And that, brother, is why I'm putting you on the Wes angle. Because I don't care how I do it, I will save Alexa. So let's put all of our plans into motion and get my girl back."

XXX

Alexa's POV

I glanced over at Wes as he stopped the dialysis machine, the constant humming finally ending. I had stayed silent until then, focusing only on controlling my growing panic. Because I knew that I was dangerously close to spiralling into a panic attack. And that would make me dangerously vulnerable. I couldn't defend myself, look for an escape, if I couldn't breathe.

"How many people did Enzo kill for you?" I murmured, staring at the door of the room that formerly housed the older vampire. In the silence that had followed Wes' declaration that he had ensured Enzo's loyalty, I couldn't stop thinking about the danger that my boyfriend was in. And that led me to thinking what else Enzo had done for Augustine. "He's your vampire, right? The Augustine Vampire. So, who else has he killed for you? How many death certificates have you signed, knowing who the true killer was?" I paused before adding, "Did he kill Megan?"

The doctor shook his head, carefully removing the needle from my arm, "Conserve your energy, Alexa. I've drained enough blood to start phase two."

"Fantastic," I groaned, closing my eyes to avoid looking at the needle in his hand. "You know what, I'm not even going to ask what it is. Ignorance is bliss, as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, if it works, you'll be the first to know," Wes smirked before walking over to one of the tables at the side of the room. I cracked open an eye to see him opening a small box. I didn't know what was inside it, but I was positive that it was related to this phase two bullshit that I didn't want to know about.

"If I ask more questions, are you going to ignore them?" I wanted a distraction from what was about to happen. And I didn't care what that distraction was. I just didn't want to think about this phase two mystery.

"It depends on what those questions are," the doctor replied, still looking into his little box.

"Elena found a photo on Megan's phone, it was of her and my dad, smiling together. How did she know him?" I knew that the mystery of Megan's death was not something that I had cared about before. But my sister did. And maybe, I could get the answers that she was looking for, while also distracting my brain.

"Her parents helped fund your father's projects after he saved her life," Wes replied, carrying the box to a closer table. I turned my head to the side, refusing to look at it. I went down the childish route of if I couldn't see it, then it couldn't hurt me. I knew that it wouldn't work, but I had to try something to help me push down the panic.

"Were they members of Augustine?" I forced out the question before taking a deep breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the box smoking. I didn't know what the fuck he had in there, but it was definitely something valuable. And that meant dangerous.

"No, they didn't know anything about the Augustine Society," the doctor was very kindly answering my questions. And it put me on edge, because why was he being so nice to me? "They were from the outside, only knowing about your father and his research. As far as they were aware, he had an unregulated compound that could cure most injuries."

"Gee, I wonder what that was," I rolled my eyes, hating the amused look that I got from the man next to me. As he approached that mysterious little box again, I looked back up at the ceiling. Even though the burned surface reminded me of the fire that nearly took Damon from me, I couldn't help but draw comfort from it. Because the blackened material wasn't a medical machine ready to ruin my life. It was a blank surface, one that I could concentrate on to push away the panic curling around my brain.

"Your father cured Megan using vampire blood," Wes' words had me frowning. Did he have that shit of a social life that he was actually willing to talk to me and answer my questions? Or was he tricking me into lowering my defences before swooping in to make me bleed again? "But, as Megan grew up, she got suspicious, enrolled at Whitmore. She managed to rig the system so that she was placed with Dr Gilbert's daughter, getting two for the price of one when you lingered on campus to keep an eye on your sister. And then she went to a party at Whitmore House and put her nose where it didn't belong."

"She found the cells, didn't she?" I closed my eyes as I remembered the fear in Megan's voice as she screamed, begging us to save her. "She found Enzo and she tried to help him."

"Unfortunately for her, she was clueless as to what a starving vampire will do around fresh human blood. I'm impressed that she managed to get to the upper floors before he killed her."

I shook my head, "An innocent girl died and that's all you can think about? How she managed to run away like she did? I bet you watched it all on your security cameras, you creepy fucker."

"Megan stuck her nose where it didn't belong," the doctor shook his head, focusing only on whatever it was that he took from his box. I knew that he was doing something with the dialysis machine, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I just hoped that he didn't try sticking any more needles into me. Because that would fucking suck and I couldn't cope with that.

"She was Aaron's friend," I whispered, looking away from the cold blue eyes that glanced over at me. "He mourned her. And you're glad that she died. Maybe I should tell him that when I get out of here. That vampires aren't the only monsters in his life."

XXX

Wes couldn't look me in the eye after my words. I think a part of him had convinced himself that it didn't hurt Aaron. That he hadn't taken someone else away from his ward. Because I just knew that Wes was connected more to her death. There was no way that Megan could sneak down there without help. No, he must have let her into that basement, to get rid of a lose end. And while I knew that I would never be able to prove my theory, I knew that I would still put the idea in Aaron's head. If he survived my boyfriend. And if I survived Wes.

It was the ringing of a phone that broke through the silence. I glanced back over at the doctor as he pulled the phone out of his pocket. He didn't look as put out by the interruption as I thought he would be. Which meant that he had been expecting this call.

"Aaron."

But it wasn't the sad boy who answered. Instead, it was a voice that had my body relaxing. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, as Stefan asked, "Where's Alexa?"

Thank god, people actually knew that the creepy fucker had me. I knew that Stefan would help save me. The Salvatore brothers hadn't let me down before. And I knew that they wouldn't this time. Now, it was only a matter of time before I was rescued. All I had to do was hope that Wes didn't do too much damage before that happened.

I watched with satisfaction as Wes frowned, "Who's this?"

As I opened my mouth to answer, either with a bitchy remark or just to scream for help, the man covered my mouth with a gloved hand. I frowned, less than impressed with the movement. But as I went to do something to get rid of it, and I was considering using my fangs, Wes rested the phone between his ear and his shoulder, before picking up his scalpel. I quickly froze, not wanting to get stabbed again.

"We have Aaron, and we're trying to decide how we kill him," I could hear the frown in the other vampire's voice and I wondered how much Damon had told him about Whitmore and Augustine. He definitely knew some details, because he did not sound impressed and I kinda hoped that he helped my boyfriend fuck up the man in front of me.

"Funny," Wes' cold eyes looked down at me and my breath hitched as my panic grew stronger. "I have Alexa, and I'm wondering how she'll function without her cerebral cortex."

Not good. Not good. Not good.

I tried to breathe in, but my panic was firmly taking hold. While logically, I knew that Wes didn't want to cut into my brain, as he had other plans for me, I also knew that if Aaron was hurt because of me, he would make me pay. And I had seen his capacity for revenge. He would make it hurt and I highly doubted that I would survive it. And it didn't help that I couldn't get enough air in through just my nose. It prevented me from properly fighting off this panic attack. And I had to fight if off. I had to be strong to survive. And fuck me, I would survive this. I had survived so much; I wouldn't let a human like Wes fucking Maxfield be the one to take me out.

"You know what will happen if you hurt her."

"I do," the doctor confirmed, removing his hand from my mouth, instead pressing his scalpel to my neck. While I could now breathe in, each breath had the blade of the scalpel scratching my neck. I had to close my eyes, curling my hands into fists, to fight to stay in control. "And you should know that if you touch Aaron, if you hurt him, then you will never see Alexa again."

"That threat goes both ways," Stefan shot back, sounding less than impressed with Wes' bullshit. "Is she still alive?"

Wes didn't answer verbally. No. The fucker instead moved his hand, stabbing me in the chest with his scalpel. The blade pierced the skin above my heart, going in deep, and I couldn't hold in my scream. I had been through too much to try and fight it. The pain was too sharp, the wound surprisingly deep. But in the good news department, it broke through the panic that was close to taking over. I gasped in a breath, ignoring the ragged edge to it, before cursing out the man next to me.

I could hear Stefan calling my name, sounding like he was freaking the fuck out at the sound of my scream. But before I could even think about saying something to reassure him, Wes was covering my mouth again. This time, I didn't even think about trying to bite him. I just continued trying to breathe, ignoring the wound leaking blood on my chest.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Don't you dare hurt her again," the younger Salvatore growled down the phone and as I blinked back the tears, I was so grateful that my friend was back. That he was Stefan again and that he was back with us.

"Don't give me a reason to," Wes snapped before hanging up the call. He removed his hand from my mouth as my gasps turned slightly desperate. The doctor looked down at me before rolling his eyes. "Deep breaths, Alexa. I don't really want you passing out from a panic attack. I need you awake for phase two."

"That isn't exactly helping," I wheezed, closing my eyes and concentrating on ignoring my current situation. I tried to imagine that I was somewhere else, that I wasn't in Wes' lab, in my dad's old practice. I tried to pretend that I wasn't being used as a guinea pig for some creepy experiment. It didn't work. But it didn't make things worse either.

XXX

Damon's POV

I stood the side while Enzo started story time. It was a tale mostly for Aaron's benefit, since I knew what had happened. I had lived the story. But Enzo had always been dramatic and if it kept him distracted while Stefan spoke to the creepy doctor, then I wouldn't complain.

"Damon and I had been locked in those cells for years, tortured, beaten, humiliated. But we weren't gonna let them break us, no. We decided that if we were going to escape, we needed to work together." He emphasised the final word, giving me a narrow-eyed look as he did so. "We needed each other."

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics before glancing to the side as my brother walked back in. There was a tense edge to his shoulders that wasn't there before he left, and his phone creaked in his grip. It was enough to set my worry on fire, my own body tensing as I wondered what he had heard.

"He's not sending her," Stefan shook his head, before hesitating. I didn't know what he was going to say, but he must have decided against it as he quickly closed his mouth again.

I ignored Enzo's muttered, "Tragic. Can I continue my story now?"

Instead, I narrowed my eyes, wondering if I could start ripping bits off of the Whitmore kid, "Doesn't he know that we have Aaron?"

"He doesn't care. He's willing to risk it."

When my brother winced, I snapped, "What happened on that call?"

"He, uh, he hurt Alexa, he wanted to prove a point, that if we hurt Aaron, then he would hurt her in return," Stefan sighed, but I could hear the anger in his voice. Wes was playing dirty and he had to know that we would get dirty in return. The man was just lucky that Stefan was the one who spoke to him, because if I had heard him hurt my girl, I would be making his ward scream down the phone in return.

"Well," my gaze was fixed on Aaron, who was frozen in his seat, panic written all over his face. "An eye for an eye, right?"

"Wait!" the kid held up his hands, trying to look as unthreatening as possible. "Let me talk to him! He'll listen to me; I'll make sure that he doesn't hurt her again."

"What part of 'he doesn't care' are you not registering?" I snapped, stepping forward. But before I could do anything, like ripping out his tongue, Enzo snapped. He must have been frustrated at being ignored. He stormed over to the bank of chairs, ripping one from the ground. The noise had all of us turning to face him as he threw it through the window. I shook my head, that wouldn't help us remain inconspicuous. Someone outside would notice the chair on the ground and the hole in the window.

"Where were we?" my former cellmate glared at us before smirking. "Uh, ah, right. I was telling my story, and you were all politely listening, huh?" I rolled my eyes as the other vampire walked back over to the desk at the front. "So I'd given Damon all of my blood rations so that he'd have the strength to escape and save me in the process. Our plan began perfectly, didn't it?" I had to hide my wince as Enzo looked over at me. "I was waiting in the cage for him to release me, waiting for my friend, my cellmate, the only soul with whom I'd connected with in all those years of captivity to save me. Then a fire starts, burns out of control, but Damon just can't get the damn cage open. He looks me in the eye as if he doesn't even recognise me, turns around, saves himself, leaving me to die."

"Well, you didn't die, obviously," Stefan pointed out, sounding as fed up as I felt.

"No, unfortunately, I lived," Enzo rolled his eyes. "I was spared by one of the scientists that hid from Damon's massacre, so that I could spend another fifty years on a table being opened and closed. Now that we've all been acquainted, I'm gonna find something to wet my whistle."

We watched as he left the room, before my brother turned to frown at me, "You didn't tell me about him."

"You asked for the footnotes and I gave them to you," I shrugged, switching my gaze from the door to the kid panicking in his seat.

"Enzo feels important enough to be included in the footnotes," Stefan's frown deepened and I sighed.

"Enzo is a touchy subject, one that I didn't want to think about while my girl was in danger. And guess what, Stef, she is still in danger and I still don't want to talk about Enzo. Even if he is apparently still alive. Talk about shock of the decade. Now, do you want to kill Aaron, or should I?"

"This guy was your cellmate for five years, you left him to die, he comes back, and you're completely unfazed?" my brother pushed the subject and I couldn't stop myself from snapping.

"No, Stefan, I am not completely unfazed. I found out that I don't need to feel guilty for leaving my friend to die, instead, I get to feel guilty for leaving him behind to be tortured for an additional fifty years. But I can't think about that until I get Alexa back. Once she is safe, I will let myself think about Enzo. Now, if you won't do it, then I'll kill the brat."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the kid stood up, stumbling back on his shaking legs. "Hold on, hold on, hold on. Wes gave me a bunch of files on my family history. They're in my dorm, okay? Maybe there's something in there that you need, a name, I mean, another lab."

"That's a timely revelation," I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as I continued to approach the kid.

"Yeah, well, you know, he's not gonna help me, why should I help him?" there was a frustrated edge to his voice as he shook his head. "Besides, if I help you get Alexa back then you might show me mercy."

"I don't like you," I grabbed Aaron's shirt, holding him in place. "I don't like your family; I don't like the fact that you pointed a gun at my girl. If you're lying, then I'm gonna take my thumbs and I'm gonna gouge your sad little eyes out of your sad little head!"

While Stefan placed a calming hand on my shoulder, the door opened behind us. Enzo walked in, holding two bottles of booze in his hands, "Ah, it's frightening what you can find on campus these days."

"Knock yourself out," my brother shook his head. "We're going with plan B."

"Damon's not," the other vampire snorted, pouring himself a drink. "Damon's staying right here. He knows all my secrets, so he knows how ornery I can get when I don't get my way."

I stared at Enzo, wondering what his angle was. It was more than wanting to catch up after fifty years. No, there was something suspicious happening and I knew that Wes was behind it. It pissed me off but I knew that I had to play along. The only good thing about Enzo stopping me from going after my girl myself was that the other vampire had recognised her name. It was enough to get a reaction from him. And I wanted to know why.

So I turned to my brother, gripping his wrist, "Call me if you find anything, kill him if you don't." Stefan nodded and went to move, but I gave his wrist a squeeze before he could. "I'm trusting you with her, brother, don't let me down."

Stefan nodded, a soft look in his eyes, before grabbing the kid, "Let's go."

I watched them leave before turning my attention back to Enzo.

XXX

Alexa's POV

I somehow didn't pass out from my panic attack. Although a part of me did feel as though passing out would have been better because it meant that I could escape this room for at least a little while. And I needed to escape, even if it was just by passing out. I didn't know how much longer I could take it. How Damon coped for five years, I would never know.

My body ached, pain still haunting the edges of my mind, my newly healed skin still sensitive to the touch. My chest was still tight with panic, although I was no longer on the edge of an attack. But it was the waiting that really got to me. I knew that something bad was coming, but I didn't know what it was and I didn't know when it was coming. The thought made me feel sick, not that I had anything to throw up. It had been hours, maybe even a day, since I last fed. But my hunger was buried beneath my panic, even with all of the blood that I had lost.

Wes was content ignore me, while I panicked on his gurney. He was busy fiddling around with his little experiment. Oh, he checked on me every now and then, just to make sure that I was still conscious. But considering how raspy my breaths were, it was easy to tell.

I was doing a good job of controlling my panic, pushing it to the back of my mind, when the door at the top of the stairs opened again. My head shot around, as my heart squeezed in my chest, hope filling me. It was my rescue, it had to be. But I failed to notice Wes just glancing up, an interested look on his face. He was clearly expecting someone and that should have killed my hope.

Instead, it was Harry Nolan who got that pleasure. I wheezed loudly as I saw him, muttering curses under my breath as I struggled to breathe again. The man's cold gaze glanced me over, noting the new bloodstains on my skin, before looked at the doctor, "You're still playing with this one then."

"You can't kill her yet, Harry," Wes shook his head, glancing over at me as I struggled to breathe. "Not until I've got Enzo back and I've discovered if my experiment is successful."

"He isn't killing me full stop," I rasped, wondering I should keep my mouth shut. But I needed to find a distraction and while I knew that I would regret this, I also couldn't keep my mouth shut. "Does Justin know about Augustine?"

"Keep my son's name out of your filthy, vampire mouth," Harry hissed, moving to loom over me. His hand gripped my hair, pulling my head back so that I was forced to look him in the eye. I couldn't hide my wince at the pain, even as I bared my teeth.

"Fuck you, did Luke and Jazz know?" I spat back, trying to ignore the anger in those grey eyes. "What the fuck do you even do here, anyway?"

"None of the kids knew, but their parents sure did," the hunter's grip on my hair tightened, pulling my head back for him to sneer into my ear. "Heather and Eric also helped to deliver vampires to the Augustine Society, when we weren't killing them."

Fuck me. They were delivering vampires to the Augustines? People that I had known my entire life were delivering vampires to a life of pain and torture and misery? I couldn't think about that, it would not be good for me to think about that. At least Luke and Jazz didn't know about it.

"You're all fucking monsters," I breathed out, closing my eyes as Harry yanked on my hair before letting go. I had a moment to breathe in relief before he was pressing a stake to the skin above my heart. I froze, wondering if I was going to die in the basement beneath my dad's old medical practice, in Dr Maxfield's lab.

"Harry," Wes' voice came from the side, a warning clear in his voice, as he reached out to grab the stake. I inhaled sharply as the tip dug into my skin, but that was as far as it got. "I need her alive."

The hunter nodded, moving the stake from my heart, and Wes backed off. But before I could let out the relieved sigh building up, the man stabbed me in the chest. The stake pierced my lung and I couldn't breathe. My scream came out a gasp as I couldn't breathe. I was vaguely aware of Harry hissing in my ear, promising me a painful death once the doctor was done with me. But I couldn't concentrate on it. Instead, all I could think about was the fact that I couldn't breathe.

I tugged on the straps around my wrists, desperately trying to free my hands so that I could pull the stake out. But they were too tight and I was too weak. I could feel the tears dripping down the sides of my face as I struggled to breathe. I hadn't realised that my eyes had closed until they flew open when the stake was pulled out.

I gasped in breath after breath, vaguely aware of Wes berating Harry in the background. But I ignored it. I just focused on my healing body and getting as much air into my lungs as possible. Everything else I could ignore. I knew that the doctor wouldn't let the hunter kill me. He still needed me and even though that thought freaked the fuck out of me, it also gave me some hope. Because it gave my loved ones time to rescue me. And I needed that time. Because I was legitimately scared that I would die down here. That I would die as a test subject for the Augustine Society. I couldn't let that happen and so I prayed to every deity that I could think of that someone would burst through that door and save me, before it was too late.

XXX

Damon's POV

While I waited for news from my brother, I watched as Enzo stared out the window, sipping at his stolen whiskey. He had been surprisingly quiet since the other two left, but it gave me time to examine him. My former cellmate looked exactly like he did in the fifties, his hair curled around his face and those warm brown eyes were still filled with mischief.

"What about cricket?" Enzo eventually asked, glancing over at me before continuing to look out the window. Students, enjoying their weekend, were milling around the campus, relaxing on the lawn and laughing with their friends. It was a sound that distracted me from the tapping of Enzo's ring on his glass. "That ever become a thing here?" I shook my head and Enzo sighed, "Oh, shame. Fun sport. Not that I can play. Took up drawing for a while. Of course, I had no pencil," I watched as he walked back over to the desk at the front of pour himself another drink, "so I'd just prick my finger and paint the cell wall with my blood. It was tedious when the cleaners wiped away my artwork while I was busy getting my eyes cut out."

"What do you want, Enzo?" I shook my head, walking over to the other vampire. "You want me to feel guilty? I spent fifty years with my humanity off, so that I could run away from the fact that I failed you. I didn't tell anyone your name, so no one could remind me of you."

"That's funny, because a certain someone told me that you bought a piano to remind yourself of me," Enzo's eyes were dark as he stared at me. I froze for a moment, because it was the first sign that he had given that he knew Alexa since I mentioned her name earlier. He had avoided my questions so far and I had expected it to stay that way. I knew how stubborn Enzo could be. And it was possible that Alexa hadn't had the chance to charm him like I had hoped. Maybe Wes had kept them separated. But no, they had talked enough that she had told him about the piano.

"Where's Alexa?" I grabbed his arm, stopping him from walking away. "Where's my girl, Enzo? I need to save her." The other vampire went to answer before groaning and hunching over. I frowned as he let out little choking noises, the glass shattering in his hand, "What's wrong with you?"

"Wes injected me with a poison that will stop my heart," Enzo grunted, resting his bloody hand on the desk next to us. "I'll desiccate if I don't return for the antidote."

"All the more reason for you to tell me where he is," I urged, unable to hide the desperation in my voice. Stefan still hadn't called and if Enzo succumbed to poison before he could tell me where my girl was, then I was back to square one. "Look, you'll get the antidote, I'll save my girl, and we'll kill Wes together."

"Did you even think about it after you left? The experiments, the cell, the pain? Or did you just go out and live your merry life to its fullest?" my former friend spat; his body still curled forward as the poison worked its way through his body.

"I thought about it so much that I've spent the past five decades massacring the Whitmore family," I forced him back into the seat behind him. "I didn't even step foot on this campus until Alexa needed me to." I crouched down, forcing Enzo to meet my gaze. "Look at me. If you go back, then we go back together. We finish this for good. Come on."

"You should know that Wes told me not to come back until you were dead," Enzo grunted, shaking his head. "He doesn't want you to save Alexa and the only way that I get my antidote is if I stop you from seeing her again."

"Then why aren't you killing me?"

"Because your girl begged me to give you a chance," Enzo shook his head. "She told me how much you missed me, about your guilt."

I paused at his words. My amazing girl, my amazing Alexa, even when she was locked up with nothing to protect her from being experimented on by Wes, she was trying to help me. She took her time to get my old friend to forgive me, for something that couldn't be forgiven.

"I love her, Enzo, and I need to save her," I shook my head. "She's been Wes' prisoner for far too long, and I know he's hurt her. Help me save her and I'll give you back the life you should have had fifty years ago."

"Wes' lab, it's in," Enzo started, but before he could finish his sentence, he started choking again. I only just caught the other vampire as he fell forward. He gripped my arms tight, as I watched his hands turn grey. "Bloody poison."

"Enzo, look at me, where's his lab? Where's Alexa? You need to tell me so I can get the antidote," I held his head up, trying to force him to meet my gaze. "Come on, Enzo!"

But it was too late. The doctor's poison had taken hold and Enzo was desiccating in my arms. The chokes that he let out, trying to force out the words, were unintelligible. I couldn't understand what he was saying and it was only a few seconds later that his face turned grey, eyes closing.

And as his body gave up, it stole away the knowledge of my girl's location. Now, my only hope was Aaron fucking Whitmore and the files that Wes had supposedly given him. If the kid was lying, then I would rip him apart. And I didn't care what the consequences were. I would throw his severed head at Wes before cutting into him, making him feel the pain that he had inflicted on Alexa. He would pay for what he had done to my girl, it was only a matter of time.

XXX

Alexa followed her twin down the stairs, hissing her protests. The younger girl hadn't wanted to go down into the basement, having been quite happy to avoid the place since she was sent to collect her brother's ball. She had never forgotten the weird noises and unnerving darkness. It had haunted her dreams, leading to her sharing her sister's bed for several nights. Alexa hadn't told anyone what had scared her, not wanting to get into trouble for going down the stairs. But her silence hadn't helped the girl with her fear of the basement.

Elena paused at the bottom of the stairs; her wide brown eyes fixed on the door at the end of the corridor. Alexa stopped right behind her sister, small hands gripping onto the older girl's arm. She was irked that her twin had ignored her pleas to go back up the stairs and she showed her annoyance by glaring at the back of her head.

Not that Elena noticed. She was too busy staring at the door. This time, instead of the crackling that Alexa heard, there were screams. Pain filled screams. The girls had heard them from upstairs, as they walked past the basement door to find their father. Alexa had wanted to continue looking for their dad, confident that he would investigate the screaming. But Elena was determined to do that herself. So she opened the door and made her way down the stairs

"Ellie, I want to go," the younger twin whispered even as she followed her sister. Elena walked slowly towards the door, her heart beating wildly in her chest, as the screams got louder. But she found that she couldn't abandon the poor person being hurt behind the door. And so, even though she didn't want to lead her twin into danger, the older girl continued to edge slowly towards the door.

She continued to walk until a hand landed on her shoulder, another one appearing on Alexa's, causing the younger girl to scream. The gentle hands turned the girls around and Grayson crouched down in front of his daughters. He looked between them, noting Alexa's wide eyes and Elena's shaking hands, before his gaze flickered to the door behind them. He knew that he was taking a risk by continuing his Augustine experiments in the basement, but he needed all of the time that he could get. Normally it was fine, his kids weren't left alone in the practice and the door to the basement was locked. But Grayson had grown sloppy in his complacency and because of that, his girls had nearly discovered his secret.

"Hey," he kept his voice soft, realising that the twins were easily startled, thanks to the screaming that had just stopped. "You're not supposed to be down here. Basement's a kid-free zone, remember?"

"We heard someone screaming," Elena spoke up, while Alexa shuffled closer to their father. Grayson sighed, drawing his youngest daughter into his arms while he kept a comforting hand on Elena's shoulder. Alexa immediately curled into him, small hands clinging onto his white coat. He kept a strong hand on her back, relaxing at the feel of her heart beating strongly.

"I wanted to come find you," the younger twin mumbled into her dad's shoulder. "I didn't want to come down here again."

"Oh, it's okay," Grayson smiled at his oldest, giving her shoulder a squeeze, making a mental note to check that the basement door was locked going forward. It worried him that one of his kid's had been down here and he wasn't aware. "Everything's fine. In fact, today's a good day, girls."

"Why?" the older twin asked, her eyes wide as she shuffled closer to her father.

"Daddy's gonna save a little girl's life," the man smiled, holding Alexa closer to him. "She's just about the same age as you two. Pretty cool, huh?" Elena smiled as she nodded, showing the gaps in her teeth, while his younger daughter just grumbled sleepily into his shoulder. "Alright. Come on girls, get out of here. Doctor's orders."

"Okay, dad," Elena beamed up at her father as he pulled her in for a hug. Grayson squeezed his girls close, pressing a kiss to their foreheads before letting them go. He watched as the twins made their way back up the stairs, closing the door behind them. The man sighed, shaking his head, as he glanced back at the door that hid his lab. He knew that he was taking far too big a risk, but today, he would be able to help a young girl, just like he helped his daughter. He would be able to save Megan's life, like he saved Alexa's a few years ago.

The twins would never really remember the biggest panic of their parents' lives. They wouldn't remember the sickness that took Alexa, an infection that took over her body. He was just grateful that Jenna and John had put aside their animosity to look after Elena and Jeremy, while he and Miranda rushed their youngest daughter to the hospital when she wouldn't wake up. It was only his research for the Augustine Society that saved Alexa. It had eradicated the infection, leaving the whole experience as nothing more than a hazy memory.

But it was why he was so loyal to the Augustines. They had allowed him to carry out his research, to experiment and work through his theories, while also letting him save his daughter. So he worked with Heather and Eric Nolan, delivering vampires to the Society, borrowing them to conduct his work. He had already made a note for his journals to be donated to the Society members working in Whitmore college if anything happened to him. So that his work would be put to good use, so that vampires would be eradicated and, until that happened, they would be used to benefit humanity. As a father and as a husband, it was the least that he could do.

Of course, what Grayson Gilbert didn't realise, was that his daughter would be the on the wrong side of his work. The work that had saved her as a child, would hurt her as an adult.

XXX

"Good news," the smile on Wes' face was fucking terrifying and it did not help with my attempts to keep calm. I had only just healed after Harry fucking Nolan decided to stab me in the lung. It had taken far too long, my body needed blood, it needed something to make it stronger, so that I could heal. Even after my lung fixed itself, I struggled to breathe. The panic attack that had been lurking for hours was so close to taking over. And I didn't know if I could fight it off anymore. "The sample cells mutated. My compound worked."

"Whoopdy fucking doo," I rasped, weakly rolling my eyes as I forced myself to look away from the creepy fucking smile. "I don't even want to know what that means. So don't tell me."

"You mean you aren't interested to find out what I'm about to do to you?" the doctor was teasing me, that little fucker was actually teasing me. His success had made him giddy. It was fucking terrifying and it had my undead heart racing, my chest growing tighter. Because Wes in a good mood was not a good thing. It was bad news, bad fucking news.

"Nope," I knew that my panic was obvious, but after all this time, I just didn't care. Wes had seen me nearly fall head first into several panic attacks during the hours that I had been his test subject. What did it matter if he saw me panic now? "Don't want to know. Don't care. Just leave me alone."

"Well, it would be rude if I just injected you with my compound without explaining what it did," the asshole shook his head, ignoring my muttered protests. Instead, he held up a syringe, looking at his creepy fucking compound. I forced myself to look away before I actually passed out from the panic. I wasn't lying when I said that I didn't want to know what was in the compound. Ignorance was more than bliss; it was essential to fighting the panic. "You've heard of Pavlov, I assume? Conditioned his dog to salivate at the sound of a bell. This compound is like that bell, except instead of a ding, your body will salivate at the smell of vampire blood."

I breathed in deep before my panic took over. Yeah, there was no fighting this. This was beyond fighting. Oh god. I could feel my breaths coming out as rasps, even as I shook my head, "Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. I know what you're doing. You did the same thing to Jesse. He wanted to eat other vampires and now you're going to make me want to eat other vampires. Oh god, I can't breathe. Oh god, it hurts. It fucking hurts. Oh my god."

"Jesse was a fantastic case study," the doctor nodded, looking pleased that I remembered his previous creepy fucking experiment. The one that fed on my boyfriend. "But he took too long to condition, and considering the size of the vampire population, a single-dose injection is much more efficient."

"Nooo, who needs efficiency," I snorted, digging my nails into my palms. I tried to use the tiny pinpricks of pain to break through my panic. But I had been through too much and I had fallen too far into my panic. It was too late. Pain wouldn't break me out of this, nothing would. It had been bubbling for hours and it wasn't going to let me beat it now. "Efficiency sucks. I suggest you go back to your old method." Wes gave me a look and I rolled my eyes. "Your compound is shit, by the way. Jesse nearly ate my boyfriend; he couldn't resist the blood and he couldn't stop. So your shit is defective and you're an asshole and holy fuck, I can't breathe."

Wes ignored my words, but I could see his shoulders tensing. Honestly, if he wasn't so happy that his shit worked, then he probably would have stabbed me with his scalpel again. Fuck me, thank god for the happiness. I couldn't afford to lose any more blood. And the thought of being stabbed again made me feel sick. I had been stabbed enough for one day. I had lost too much blood; I had been through far too fucking much and I wasn't surprised that I wasn't coping with it. That my panic was firmly in control.

"Exactly. Vampires are now one shot away from craving their own kind," I heard as he filled up his syringe and I squeezed my eyes shut as I prayed for someone to burst through that door. "And you're about to be patient zero."

"Oh god," I was definitely in the middle of a panic attack now. My chest felt like it was being squeezed by iron bands, it felt like thousands of tiny needles were stabbing into my skin, making it hot and tight, my heart was racing and if there was anything in my stomach, I would be throwing it back up. It hurt. It so fucking much. I could feel tears dripping down my face but I couldn't bring myself to care that I was showing such a weakness. "Please don't. Please. Please. Don't turn me into a monster. Into something that will feed without control. Oh god, Jesse was going to rip Damon's head off. He was a ripper. Oh fuck, please don't turn me into a ripper."

"You should be happy, Alexa, you're going to become my greatest achievement."

The only response that I could give was a vicious wheeze. I struggled against the straps holding me down as I tried to escape. I knew that it was futile, that the straps were too strong and my body was too weak. But I had to try. I had to get out of here. It was obvious that no one else was coming to save me, so I had to save myself. I couldn't let Wes inject me with that compound. I couldn't let him turn me into a monster, into a ripper, into a vampire that fed on other vampires until they killed them.

XXX

"Subject 83182 prepped for compound injection," Dr Maxfield spoke into his Dictaphone, holding up the syringe and squeezing out the air. I continued to wheeze on the gurney, my body shaking, as I fought to free myself. Logically I knew that it wouldn't work, but the panic needed me to try. I had to try. I had to avoid being injected with the freaking vampire ripper compound.

"Please, please, please, don't do this, please, please, please. I don't want this, please don't do this to me," my voice grew higher with panic as Wes stood above me. I stared at the syringe with wide eyes, even as I begged for mercy. Mercy that wouldn't come, but I couldn't stop the words pouring from my mouth.

"You'll be doing the world a favour, Alexa," Wes shook his head at me, placing his hand on my chest, holding my body down. "I might not be able to kill vampires, but you will."

I screamed for help, for someone to save me. I screamed so loud that I could feel it hurting my throat. I didn't know if the basement was sound proofed, if anyone would be able to hear me. But I had to try. It was my last chance to escape my fate.

Of course, I soon screamed for an entirely different reason. The doctor stabbed the needle into my heart, the pain causing my body to arch, even with his hand holding me down. Tears soaked into my hair at the sharp pain, as I realised that I was about to become the monster that I had already thought I was.

I saw Wes' thumb hover over the syringe, ready to inject me with his compound, but before he could, I heard voices yelling my name. I frowned, staring up at the doctor, wondering if I was imagining it. If my panic had made me go insane. But there was displeased frown on his face too. And I realised that my rescue party had arrived, so I breathed in as deep as I could, before screaming, "Help me!"

The next thing I knew, the door was being kicked open and Wes was on the floor. I couldn't take my eyes off of the syringe still sticking out of my chest, even as worried voices called out my name. A gentle hand landed on my cheek, and I couldn't hide my flinch, even as it encouraged me to look to the side.

Stefan stared at me, those green eyes full of worry, even as he asked, "Alexa, are you okay?"

I shook my head, the tears falling again, before I whispered, "Please get me out of here."

"Don't worry, we're taking you home," a different voice said and I glanced over to see Ric standing over Wes' body. There was a hard look on his face as he looked down at the doctor before he walked over to me. While Stefan carefully pulled the syringe out of my chest, throwing it to the side, Ric quickly undid the leather straps.

When the younger Salvatore brother disappeared from my side, I couldn't hold in my whimper. But my aunt's boyfriend quickly replaced him, shrugging off his jacket. He helped me sit up, unable to look away from the blood staining my skin, staining my dress, from the tears on my face, before he wrapped his jacket around me. I immediately curled my fingers into the heavy fabric, before looking up at him.

"You're going to be okay, Lexa," Ric muttered, sounding like he was talking more to himself than me. But I didn't care. I just breathed in his scent, trying to convince myself that this was real, as he eased his arms around me.

"I'm all healed," I mumbled, closing my eyes as I sensed his hesitance. I got the feeling that the older man didn't believe me, but he still picked me up. I curled into him, resting my head against his shoulder as I let out a slow breath. My chest still felt tight, but the familiar faces and scents of my loved ones helped me fight off the panic. "I wanna go."

"We're going now," Stefan reappeared at my side, my dad's journal in his hand, as he patted my hand, a reassuring look on his face. I tried to give him a smile, but judging from the wince that he tried to hide, it didn't look good at all.

But I didn't care, not as Ric carried me out of the basement. I clung onto his jacket, tugging it further around me, as I tried not to look back. I knew that it was a fucking miracle that I hadn't died in that room, that I hadn't become the monster that I feared that I was. And I also knew that I would never step back into that room again. Hell, I was never going to step back into that building. It was dead to me now.

My breath hitched as we stepped outside, a cooling breeze blowing my hair away from my face. I heard a sharp intake of breath before Stefan's hand settled on my cheek, tilting my face towards him. I guess my hair was hiding the blood on my face. I knew that I looked like a mess, but I didn't care, I was just relieved that I was no longer in that basement.

"I'm fine, Stefan," I grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. He didn't look convinced, but he gently squeezed my hand back before sighing.

"Let's get you home."

"I can't go home," I shook my head as my panic parted and another feeling took over. One that was just as dangerous.

"Why not?" Ric frowned as he exchanged a wary glance with the other vampire.

"Because I'm hungry," I looked up at him with wide eyes while my gums ached. I wasn't sure if my face had changed, but Stefan muttered a curse before taking over.

"Ric, go back to Jenna and Elena, tell them that Alexa's okay," the younger Salvatore gave his orders while I just glanced between the two. "I'm going to take her back to the Boarding House but don't let them come over, not until she's fed."

Ric nodded while Stefan placed my dad's journal on my stomach before carefully taking me from Ric. I gave the Enhanced Original a small smile before curling into Stefan instead. I closed my eyes as I rested my head against his shoulder, trusting him to look after me. A part of me still didn't believe that this rescue was real, that I would wake up in Wes' lab, but I would enjoy my dream while it lasted. Before I returned to the nightmare of reality.

Ric sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head, before promising to pass on the news of my rescue to the others. The other two vampires exchanged one final look, full of worry, before Stefan sped me back to the Boarding House. I just clung on to him, eyes closed, fingers gripping my dad's journal.

XXX

Damon's POV

I was looking at the vials that I had taken from Wes' naughty little fridge in his lab when Enzo woke up. I glanced over at him as he stared at me with wide eyes, "Well, I guess I don't need to keep guessing anymore."

"What did you do?" Enzo frowned, sitting up on the gurney. He glanced around the lab as I turned to face him. For a moment, I honestly thought that I had lost my friend again, that Wes didn't keep the antidote here. But I got lucky. The doctor was one to keep backups scattered around and it was the only good thing that the pest had done.

"Well," I gestured to the tray beside me. "I injected you with a bunch of these that say 'antidote' and apparently, one of them worked."

There was silence for a moment before my old friend asked, "Did you manage to save your girl?"

I nodded, my body relaxing. For a moment, I had thought that he would try to attack me, to get revenge for abandoning him all those years ago. But apparently Alexa's words had worked and he was trying to move past it, "In a shocking turn of events, Aaron gave my brother some useful information. He immediately sped off to Mystic Falls to rescue her."

It was a relief when I got Stefan's call. I had ordered him to take Ric to rescue Alexa, not willing to take any chances. Now that we knew where my girl was, I refused to let her suffer any longer. So even though I wouldn't be able to help rescue her, I knew that she had a damn good rescue party.

My brother had called me again, once she was safe and back at the Boarding House. There was a hard edge to his voice, even as he refused to tell me how bad it was. He just insisted that I hurry back home, before the inevitable breakdown. And despite every instinct inside of me screaming to go to my girl's side, I knew that I owed it to Enzo to help him. So I told Stefan to pass on a message to Alexa, telling her that I would be home soon. He promised to pass it on, after getting her a couple of blood bags.

"I'm surprised you didn't just abandon me again to go see her," there was a bitter edge to Enzo's voice and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, for one thing, I could actually save you this time," I pointed out before walking over to the other vampire, dragging the chair along with me. I sat down in front of him, forcing the other vampire to meet my gaze. "And since Alexa spent so much effort trying to get you to forgive me, I refuse to let her waste her efforts and piss you off again by rushing off. Besides, she wouldn't be pleased if I left you to desiccate to go save her when there were two other vampires capable of doing the job. If she promised you a new life, one where you got to finally learn the piano, then she must like you. And I refuse to let Alexa lose anyone else."

"Anything to please your girl, eh, Damon," my old friend shook his head but there was a wistful edge to his voice. I knew that he longed for a relationship like the one that I had with Alexa. It was something that he talked about often, back when we were cellmates.

"Well, considering her words worked, I know that she managed to charm you too," I smirked. I knew that I was right when I said that she could charm anyone. And my amazing girl had managed to charm Enzo, while being held prisoner by Wes.

Enzo stared at me for a moment before sighing and shaking his head, "You should go back to her. Wes put her through a lot and that was just while I was there. And if his naughty little hunter friend returned, then it would definitely have gotten bloody for your girl. She needs you."

I tried not to let his words affect me. I could tell from Stefan's voice that it was bad. But if Enzo, who had been held with her, said that it was bad, then I knew that my girl needed me. That I should be rushing back to her. But I also knew that I couldn't abandon Enzo again, not so soon after getting him back. Alexa would understand if I kept her waiting for a little while longer. I trusted my brother to look after her, to help her fight the breakdown, until I got there.

"Come back with me," I reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. "You have a home in Mystic Falls with us. Alexa will want to see you again, to make sure that you got free. We can help you adjust to your freedom."

"I can't, not right now," Enzo looked across the lab, unable to hide the pain in his eyes. "Maybe in a little while, I will come see your home and your girl, be a part of your life. But first, I need to accept that this is real."

I nodded, "Make sure you do. Because if you upset my girl, I will come back and kick your ass."

That had Enzo smiling slightly, shaking his head, "Tell her that I say thank you. It was nice to have hope for a while."

I watched as Enzo walked out of the room, his body relaxing with each step that he took. I remembered that feeling. Even with my humanity off, I couldn't quite believe that I was free. It felt like a dream that would be snatched away from me. But the further away that I got from Whitmore College, the more I believed that it was real. I just hoped that he stayed true to his word and that he came back to Mystic Falls.

After a moment, I shook my head and stood up, pulling my phone from my pocket. I dialled Ric's number as I left the lab, immediately demanding when he picked up, "Tell me everything."

XXX

Alexa's POV

After taking me home to the Boarding House, Stefan dropped me off in Damon's bedroom before disappearing to get me some blood bags. I looked around, still unable to actually believe that I was free, but I was beginning to hope that this was real. That I wasn't Wes' prisoner anymore. I shivered in the cool air before moving to walk over the fire that crackled merrily in the fireplace. But as I went to move, I caught sight of myself in the mirror and froze. Blood covered my skin, staining my dress, tears lingering on my cheeks. I shrugged off Ric's jacket, placing it on the chair to the side as I properly looked at the damage. Fuck me, I looked like I came from a horror movie. I breathed in deep before forcing my gaze away and shuffling over to the fire.

I dropped to the floor, sitting cross legged as I held my hands up the fire. For the first time in ages, I was cold. I knew that it was because I had lost so much blood. But it was a feeling that I hadn't missed. The warmth from the fire helped a little, but I knew that the shower that I was planning on taking once I had fed would properly warm my body. And it would erase the evidence of the day.

I glanced up when Stefan crouched down next to me. Those green eyes were full of sympathy and worry as he held out a blood bag. I spied a couple more in his other hand as I accepted the one he offered. I closed my eyes as I drank, feeling my hunger ease with each gulp that I took. Now that I was actually feeding, I was able to feel just how intense it had become. It was gnawing at my stomach, itching at the back of my mind. And I knew that it would take more than a couple of blood bags to satiate it.

"How are you doing?" Stefan asked softly as I finished one blood bag and he passed me a second. I glanced over at him to see the other vampire staring at the blood staining my dress. It hinted at the horrors that I had suffered and I knew that my breathing still had a hint of a rasp. I opened my mouth to bullshit an answer only to sigh when he gave me a stern look.

"I'll be fine, Stefan," I mumbled, glancing away to look into the fire. "I know the drill. I just want to wash this blood off once I've eaten something."

"Alexa," I looked back over at the younger Salvatore when he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, avoiding the small patch of blood, left over from Wes' scalpel. He didn't even consider trying to touch the other one, where Wes had shot me down in the cells. "This is, what, the fourth or fifth time that you've been tortured in the past two years? You need to talk about it, you can't bury this one away."

"You know what?" I snorted softly, shaking my head as I finished another blood bag. "I've actually lost how many times I've been tortured. How depressing." It took Stefan repeating my name to get me to focus again. "I'll be fine, Stefan, I promise. Once I've washed off all this blood and burnt this dress in the fire, Damon will be home and he'll make me deal with it. I feel like I should be asking how you are, cos you kinda look like shit, babes."

The other vampire gave me a look, "I look a lot better than you do right now."

I scrunched up my nose as Stefan refused to let me deflect away from my traumatic day, "Rude. My adorable amnesiac Stefan was never this mean to me."

"That's because he didn't know well enough to call you out on your bullshit," the younger Salvatore brother gently gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him. It was the concern in his eyes that had my own tearing up again.

"I miss that," I gave a shaky smile, trying to pretend that I wasn't so close to crying again. "It was nice when I had less people to call out my bullshit."

Stefan sighed as I lost my battle with my tears. He gently wiped away a few that fell before pulling me in for a hug. I gripped onto the back of his t-shirt, taking a deep breath to try and stay in control. I refused to break until Damon was back. On the way home, Stefan had said that he was with Enzo. And I prayed that my words to the other vampire earlier had gotten through to him, that he wasn't hurting my boyfriend. Stefan didn't seem worried and I tried to get as much reassurance as that as I could.

"Stefan," I whispered as he gently stroked my back. "Please tell me that this is real. That I won't wake up back in that lab, on that table, with him."

"This is real, Lexa," the other vampire pulled me closer, tucking my head under his chin as I squeezed my eyes shut. "I promise you that this is real."

"I didn't think anyone would come," I breathed in deep, trying to stop the tears from falling. But it was a hopeless task. I was reaching the end of my limit and I knew that it wouldn't take much to tip me over the edge. "I thought that he would turn me into a monster. And there was nothing that I could do to stop him."

"We were looking for you all day," Stefan sighed, rubbing my back as my breath hitched again. "Using every method that we could think of."

"How did you find me?" I mumbled, trying to fight off the impending breakdown.

"It was Aaron who gave us your location," the younger Salvatore kindly answered, letting me distract my mind. "Wes had given him some folders and the address of your dad's old practice was in there. After that, it was just a matter of getting back to Mystic Falls to save you."

"He was using my dad's research," I waved a hand in the direction of the bed, where I had dumped the journal. "He said that everything that he was doing to me, he had learnt from my dad. He worked for Augustine and I know that if he was still alive, he would have tortured me too."

"Don't think like that, Alexa," Stefan gave me a squeeze. "He wouldn't have hurt you. You dad loved you and he would have continued loving you, even after you turned."

But I wasn't sure that I believed his words.

XXX

Stefan continued to hold me, letting me try and control my tears, before helping me to my feet when I mumbled something about a shower. My legs shook beneath me and I knew that I needed more blood. But I wanted to wash the blood off more. I wanted to wash away the memories of the day and bury them away until I was forced to confront my trauma. I knew that it would be difficult, coming to terms with what happened, but it would be a lot easier if I wasn't covered in my own dried blood.

The younger Salvatore held me for a moment, his hands a comforting weight on my upper arms, before he glanced behind me. I frowned as he let go of my arms, but before I could open my mouth to ask where he was going, someone new was standing in front of me.

"Damon," I breathed out as my boyfriend looked at me, his eyes full of guilt and pain as he stared down at me. His gaze darted between the blood on my skin, the blood on my dress, the tears on my cheeks. I knew that I looked like a mess and I knew that he blamed himself for what I had been through today. But I didn't care. I was back with him; I wasn't in Wes' clutches. I was safe.

At the sound of my voice, Damon opened his arms and I immediately stepped forward. He closed his arms around me, holding me tight as I gripped onto the back of his top. I closed my eyes as one strong hand came up to grip the back of my neck, keeping my head pressed against his chest. I felt him nod before the bedroom door opened and closed. Damon adjusted me against his chest, resting his chin on the top of my head as he murmured, "Easy, Ally, I've got you."

I shook my head, repeating his name and there was definitely a rasp to my voice this time. I could feel the tears falling again and I knew that there was no pushing back this breakdown. So I whispered, "Help me get this blood off."

My boyfriend immediately nodded before carefully easing me backwards. I could tell that he was reluctant to let me go. But he probably wanted to get rid of the blood as much as I did. Damon cupped my face, thumbs stroking my cheekbones, wiping away my tears, eyes full of worry. He looked down at me, eyes once again tracing the bloodstains littering my body, before nodding, "Come on, baby, let's get this dress off."

Damon carefully helped me pull off the dress, easing it away from my skin when it stuck to the dried blood. Once it was off, and I was clad only in my bra and panties, he went to throw it to the side, but I shook my head, reaching out for it. My boyfriend frowned but handed it over, before sighing as I threw it into the fire.

I watched it burn, wobbling as I stood, wiping away the tears that continued to fall. Damon must have noticed how unsteady I was as his hands quickly landed on my hips. He murmured my name, encouraging my gaze away from the fire and back to him. I stared up at him with wide eyes as one hand moved to grip my chin, tilting my head back. My boyfriend's gaze flicked up to the blood on my forehead for a moment, before he pulled me in for a kiss. I gripped onto his top as his lips gently pressed against mine, like I was made of glass. I closed my eyes and focused only on the feel of Damon's lips against mine, and not the pain that still lingered in the back of my mind.

After he pulled back, my boyfriend helped me take off my bra and panties before carefully picking me up. He carried me over to the counter, sitting me down while he stripped too. I watched through tired eyes, wrapping my arms around myself as I shivered. I hadn't drunk enough blood by far and I knew that it would take a lot more to stop me from feeling so cold.

Once he was ready, Damon picked me up again, carrying me into the shower. Even though I was more than capable of walking, I let him carry me around. Because being looked after like this, it helped me push away the trauma of the day. So I would indulge his overprotective mother-henning. Actually, I would embrace it, I needed it. And I wasn't going to stop it from happening.

So I let my boyfriend wash the blood from my skin, his touch gentle, even as he muttered curses under his breath as he saw just how much damage Wes had caused. I clung onto his shoulders as he washed my hair, carefully easing out the tangles caused by the dried blood. I just tried not to look down at the blood-stained water as it disappeared down the drain.

Once I was clean and there were no more signs of blood, Damon just held me against his chest. I was content to just wrap my arms around him, squeezing tight, as the slightly too hot water rained down upon us. My boyfriend's chin rested on the top of my head, as his fingers gently stroked my back. I closed my eyes as I murmured, "Damon?" I waited until he hummed, before continuing, "Please don't let me go."

"I'm not letting you out of my arms for the next decade, Ally," Damon sighed into my hair, clutching me closer. And for the first time in hours, I felt my body relax.

XXX

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I really did enjoy writing it so I hope you enjoyed reading it! And our poor Alexa, she goes through so much! And it doesn't get any easier... Thank you for the reviews, my darlings! They have been helping with the very tricky chapters that I've been writing! And they help stop me from getting distracted by the FF7 game! Please do keep them coming :) And a huge thanks and shoutout to Charlie0925 for giving me the inspiration and idea that Klaus' blood did something special to Alexa, since she was turned by him after he broke the curse. I'm hoping that I will be able to update again soon, once I've finished the chapter, but no promises, especially since I am on holiday for a couple of weeks towards the end of the month and I definitely won't have time to write while I am away lol Until next time, I hope you enjoyed xoxo