Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: I loved writing this chapter, it takes a different turn to the episode and we get to see some badass Alexa, kind of haha. She tries. But it was a great one to watch and there was some lovely Dalexa moments that I just couldn't resist putting in ;) We're properly getting into the endgame now and it is uber exciting!

XXX

I woke up to the smell of coffee.

I rolled over in and groaned as the sunlight hit my face. For a moment, I cursed myself for forgetting to close my curtains before I went to bed. But then I remembered the night before. How Bonnie died and then she wasn't really dead. How I admitted to my sister that I would choose her life over Bonnie's. After my sister leave the room after my confession, I had quickly retreated back to Damon's.

I knew that he had heard my confession, I could tell by the sympathetic look in his eye. My Damon had been there for each of my breakdowns, he knew how much my twin's life mattered to me. And he knew how hard it was to admit that I would choose her life over one of our friends. Especially since it was the exact opposite of what Elena wanted. She would give her life for her loved ones, so to hear me say that I wouldn't probably hurt.

I sighed as I felt the beginning of a headache forming. It was beginning to feel as though I always had a headache. Whether it was from stress or crying too much or from vampire blood. I had to admit that it was getting annoying. But at least I wasn't injured. It was the small wins. I had escaped last night without injury, which was a miracle considering Klaus had been on the rampage. Inside Alaric's body. Yes, our dear Ric had been possessed by the asshole Original vampire. Now that Bonnie was safe, that would be our next thing to sort out. Although I had absolutely no idea where to start.

I let out a loud groan at that realization and rubbed my eyes. Luckily, I had remembered to take my makeup off last night, well, what was left of my makeup. Rubbing smeared makeup all over your face first thing in the morning was not fun.

"Morning."

I jumped slightly at the sudden noise before glancing to the side. Damon was stood in the doorway, two mugs in his hands and a soft look on his face.

"Morning," I returned with a weak smile as he walked into the room. The vampire handed over the coffee and I took it with a grateful look. Coffee was probably one of the best ways to start the day. Especially when you had a shitty night the night before. I hadn't cried myself to sleep but that was only because Damon was with me. But even then, it wasn't a good night's sleep. I jolted awake at every noise and it took me a while to get back to sleep afterwards. But after the past few months that I had had, exhaustion was just natural.

It took just a sip to realise that he had given me the good coffee and I just melted. The good coffee was some good shit. Much better than the other stuff.

"Thank you," I smiled at my vampire before I let my eyes flutter shut in satisfaction. It was the little things like that that made me love him. I just wished that I could tell him. But I was too scared to. I couldn't face the rejection. And even worse, I couldn't lose his friendship. Damon was one of the few things that kept me going during the whole sacrifice bullshit. Losing him would probably break me, especially if it was my own fault.

"You looked like you needed it," Damon gave me that special smirk of his as he sat down next to me on the bed.

"I'm almost tempted to take offence to that," I rolled my eyes at him but I hide my smile behind my mug.

"Oh you should definitely take offence to it," his smirk turned cheeky and I nudged him gently with my elbow.

"If you're not careful, I'll tell Stefan on you," I mock-threatened, enjoying the dramatic groan that Damon let out.

"Oh no, anything but that," the vampire rolled his eyes as I giggled, but I could see the pleased look on his face. The little shit had managed to get me to laugh. He was unfairly good at it. But I probably shouldn't complain. When I was sober, mustering up the energy to laugh was hard. Yet somehow, Damon always managed to get me laughing. The man had skillz.

"You're such a dick," I snorted, shaking my head.

"A dick with good coffee," Damon countered, doing that eye thing of his.

I paused for a moment in thought before shrugging my shoulders, "Yeah, okay, good point. You do have good coffee."

"I know," he wiggled his eyebrows at me, making me giggle again, before he took my empty mug and stood up. "If you're extra nice to me, I'll make you another mug while you shower."

"Well, you have always been my favourite Salvatore," I fluttered my eyelashes at him, putting on my sweetest smile. "And you are clearly the most superior vampire in town."

Damon laughed and I felt my body tingle at the warmth contained within it, "That works for me. I'll go make you another coffee, don't take too long."

"I can't make any promises," I shook my head as I reluctantly left the warmth of the bed. "Your shower is too good."

"I only pick the best," the vampire shrugged in a matter-of-fact sort of way. "I'll give you a ten-minute head start."

"Deal," I agreed with a nod before shooing him out of the room. "Go annoy Stefan and Elena while I make myself presentable."

"Yes ma'am," Damon rolled his eyes but left the room as requested.

I watched him leave before sighing. I did feel better than I did when I woke up. Damon had that magical effect on me. But now that he was gone, the bad thoughts started entering my mind again. Like how would we keep Bonnie save until we were ready to take out Klaus. How would I stop her from dying while also keeping my sister alive. Would my sister be mad at me for what I said last night. I knew she wasn't happy with the way she just left the room. But now she has had time to think about it, I knew that it was likely to be worse.

Shit was so fucked up.

XXX

Since I didn't want my coffee to go cold, I didn't take as long in the shower as I normally would have. The promise of good coffee was enough to make me sacrifice the extra time in the good shower. Not to say that I didn't make the most of it, as I definitely did.

Once I had reluctantly left the shower, I made myself presentable, although I did skip the makeup for the day. I was just thankful that I had gotten into the habit of leaving clothes here. With all the time that my sister and I spent at the Boarding House, we had both gotten into the habit of making sure that we had emergency clothes here. I threw on some jeans and a stripy t-shirt before sorting out my hair. Now that it had gotten longer, I actually had to start brushing it more often. Which sucked as I enjoyed just being to run a comb through it every now and then. But now I needed to make sure that it was brushed and neat.

Once I was happy with how I looked, I left the room and made my way downstairs. The siren call of the good coffee called to me. And how could I possibly resist that?

I met Stefan at the top of the stairs. He had his usual frown on his face as he looked around the parlor. He looked like he had just woken up, which was weird as he normally got dressed before he left his room. And yes, the fact that I knew that showed just how many nights I had spent at the Boarding House.

"Hey Stef, how's it hangin'?" I greeted him, drawing his attention. Now that he was looking at me, I noticed the worried hint to his frown. I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach at the sight of it but I pushed it away. It was first thing in the morning, what could have possibly gone wrong already?

"Morning Alexa," Stefan replied in a distracted tone as he returned his gaze to the empty parlor. I had absolutely no idea as to what he was looking for.

"You know, it would be a lot easier to look around the room if you were actually in it," I suggested before I walked past him and started to make my way down the stairs.

"Hey, have you seen Elena?" Stefan asked, completely ignoring my words as he followed me down the stairs.

I sighed regretfully and shook my head, "Not since last night. Why?"

"She wasn't in bed when I woke up," the vampire's frown deepened at my answer.

"Ugh, too much information, Stef," I wrinkled my nose in disgust as I reached out and prodded his shoulder. "Maybe she was thirsty and went to get a drink. She does that a lot, it's very annoying."

"Hmm, maybe," Stefan agreed slowly, looking like he didn't believe my words. We reached the bottom of the stairs and started towards the kitchen. But before we could get more than a couple of steps, Damon appeared in the doorway.

"I hope you didn't drink my coffee," I immediately said when I noticed his empty hands. The logical part of me realised that he had just left it in the kitchen. But it was always a worry that he would try and wind me up by drinking my coffee.

"Relax," Damon rolled his eyes at me. "Not even I'm that evil."

"I dunno," I eyed him wearily, crossing my arms. "I've seen you do some pretty evil things to protect your good coffee."

"Only when I'm not voluntarily giving it out," the older vampire pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

I paused to consider that point before sighing, "Fine, I'll concede for now. But if I see even a small bit of coffee gone, then there will be trouble."

"Of course, Alexa," Damon rolled his eyes again before gesturing me forward. "Stefan, you seem frownier than normal. Did Elena not put out last night?"

"Ew," I wrinkled my nose in disgust and wacked him on the arm. "Dude, that's gross."

Stefan ignored his brother's words and instead asked, "Have you see Elena this morning?"

"Nope," Damon shrugged uncaringly before turning to me. "Did you want me to cook breakfast this morning or are you going to critique everything again?"

"That happened once," I rolled my eyes at him. "So don't be dramatic. And yes, you can cook this morning. Don't suppose you can do eggy bread?"

"What is it with you and your eggy bread?" Damon sighed but he agreed to do it for me.

"It's some good shit, especially when you add some chili powder to it," I defended my breakfast choice as I heard Stefan on his phone behind me.

"Hey, it's me," he said with a frown, making me wonder if he had actually gotten through to her. "Where are you? Call me."

Ah, nope, he had gotten her voicemail. But hearing Stefan's worry had made me begin to worry. Where was my sister? It wasn't like her to just disappear like this. And as much as I didn't want it to, I could feel the panic being to settle in.

"You not able to get through to her?" I asked, drawing Damon's attention back to his brother. I knew that both of them could hear the worry in my voice as Damon rested a hand on my back while exchanging a look with the younger vampire.

"It went straight to voicemail," he confirmed, his frown deepening as he glanced at something behind me. Panic flashed in his eyes as he shot past me.

I spun around just in time to see him disappear through the door to the basement. It took me a moment to realise where he had gone, it was Damon vanishing from my side that jolted me into action.

"Hey, wait up!" I called after them as I followed. Neither vampire had bothered to turn on the lights for the stairs, so I had to stumble down them using only the railing and the light at the bottom. "Guys, where are you?"

I jogged down the corridor, glancing down the many passages that branched off. I always hated going down into the basement. Not only was it a maze, it was dark and dirty and you never knew what you would find. I guess my first time down here kind of poisoned my experience. After all, finding Zach Salvatore's dead body was not something that you could easily forget.

I found them standing outside of the cell door.

The door was open and the brother's both had a grim look on their faces. I knew that that was where we were keeping Elijah's body. And the fact that they were standing there had my worrying sky-rocketing.

"Oh no, no, no," I breathed out as I pushed my way past them only to freeze in place. The cell was empty. No Elijah. No Elena. No dagger. There was a whole lot of nothing and I had feeling as to what had happened. "I'm going to fucking kill her."

XXX

While Damon agreed with my plan to tie my dumbass sister up and lock her in the cell, Stefan quickly ushered me back up the stairs. It was safe to say that I was fuming. Yes, there was a shitload of panic and worry within me. Elena was alone with Elijah. She had removed the dagger and we had no idea as to where she had gone.

But my fury was overtaking the worry.

Elena had put as all in danger with her decision to remove the dagger. We had no guarantee that Elijah wouldn't just whisk her away and kill all of us. The fact that we were still alive meant that he hadn't been invited in. So that was one thing my idiot sister did right. But what was to stop him from stealing her away for the sacrifice? He had made it quite clear last time that my sister wouldn't be saved from this. And I highly doubted that his time being dead had changed his mind.

Stefan ushered me into the parlor while Damon got me my coffee in an attempt to calm me down. Apparently, I was the one taking the news the hardest. Although that might have been why the other two were calmer. Nothing would get done if we were all panicking and plotting different ways to lock up my sister.

"What was she thinking?" Stefan groaned in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair.

"She wasn't thinking," I snapped in frustration as I paced back and forth across the room, sipping at my coffee as I did so. "And it's my fault. I shouldn't have told her that I would choose her over Bonnie. It clearly sent her over the deep-end."

"There's no way that you could have guessed that she would do something stupid like this," Damon was quick to reassure me. I could feel his worried eyes on me as I paced. But he knew better than to try and stop me. The movement was helping me get some of my frustration out.

"No, I never expected her to take the dagger out of fucking Elijah," I reluctantly agreed, aiming a dirty look towards the basement door as I did so. "Her levels of stupidity have clearly reached new heights."

"We just need to know where she is," Stefan sighed as he tried to interject some sanity into the conversation. "Do you still have that tracker app on her phone?"

"Ugh, I wish," I wrinkled my nose in annoyance as I put my empty mug down on a side table and got out my phone. "The little shit disabled it as soon as she found out. But maybe her phone is back on and I can get through to her."

"Can't hurt to try," the younger vampire agreed as Damon finally eased me over to the sofa he was on. I slumped down next to him as I dialed my sister's number. As it started ringing, I put it on speakerphone while Stefan sat down on the other side of me.

"Well, her phone is on now, so that's a good sign," I muttered as I stared down at my twin's name on the screen. The tension in the room grew as the dialing tone rang out. Until it didn't.

"Alexa," my dumb sister greeted me calmly and I lost control of my anger.

"What the fuck did you do?" I hissed at her down the phone.

"What I had to," at least Elena had the decency to sound regretful for her actions.

"Where are you?" Stefan quickly asked before I could continue my little tirade. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Ellie answered, relieving that worry of mine, which only made me angrier.

"Where's Elijah?" Stefan had taken over the conversation while I vibrated in place. Now that I knew my sister was fine, I could be angry at her for what she did. Damon must have sensed my thoughts as he grabbed my hand and gave it a calming squeeze. That had me taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out.

"He's right here," my twin confirmed and I exchanged a look with Damon.

"Tell the fucker that if he lays a hand on you, then I'll shove that dagger right up his ass before it goes in his heart," I snapped out before Stefan could stop me. I could hear a rich chuckle on the other end of the phone and knew that Elijah had heard my words. Good. Hopefully he paid attention. Because I had daggered him once, I would do it again if it meant protecting my twin.

"Where?" Stefan sighed and took my phone out of my hands. "I'm on my way."

The younger vampire went to stand up but was stopped by my sister's next words, "No, Stefan, Elijah and I need some time alone."

"The hell you do," I exchanged a wide-eyed look with Stefan in panic. It was bad enough that she had been alone with him for this long. We needed to get her away from him before even more damage was done.

"Look, Elena, you need to listen to us," Stefan backed me up with a pleading tone. "He can't be trusted; he'll use you to get to Klaus."

"And that means you dying," I added as I squeezed Damon's hand. "Which is not a good thing, dumb-dumb."

"Elijah is a noble man," Ellie said down the phone, her tone sounding weird. "He lives by a code of honour. I can trust him. He knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I have proven myself."

"She sounds like she's been compelled," I muttered before raising my voice. "Has he compelled you?"

"No, Alexa, he hasn't compelled me," my twin sighed down the phone. "That would be a betrayal of his code of honour."

I didn't believe her words but before I could say anything, Stefan interrupted with a lost look on his face, "You can't do this alone."

I knew that he felt betrayed by the fact that my sister had gone behind his back. I had felt the same way all those weeks ago in Slater's apartment. I knew that my sister had good intentions, but she wasn't communicating them with us. And then she went and did stupid things like this,

"It's my decision, Stefan," my idiot twin said firmly and I narrowed my eyes at the phone. "Please respect it. You too, Alexa. So don't do anything stupid and make sure that Damon doesn't either. I'll be in touch."

With that said, she hung up the phone.

"Did she just hang up on you?" Damon finally spoke up as we all stared at my phone in Stefan's hands.

"She did," Stefan confirmed as he gave my phone back to me.

"She's lost it," the older vampire nodded as if he expected it to happen. I mean, considering everything that had happened over the past, like, year, it was only a matter of time before someone went crazy. I knew that everyone expected it to be me, but nope, apparently, it was my idiot twin.

I slide my phone onto the coffee table in front of us before groaning and rubbing my face, "I'm definitely going to kill her when I see her next."

Damon hummed in sympathy and rubbed my back. I could feel how tense I was and cursed. After yesterday, this was the last thing I needed. But nope, my twin decided to be an idiot and awoke an Original vampire who was probably pissed off with me. And now I couldn't relax.

"If anyone can get him to help us kill Klaus, it's her," Stefan sighed as he looked over at us. I stared at him with a WTF look while I processed his words. Was he really suggesting that we just let her do this? Without trying to stop her? Was he drinking the same crazy juice that she was?

"Bonnie's the way to kill Klaus, Stefan," Damon snapped at his brother when it became clear that I was speechless. "He thinks she's dead. We have a chance with her."

"She'll kill herself in the process," Stefan argued, sounding exactly like my sister. "Elena's looking for another way."

"There's no guarantee that Bonnie will die," I spoke up while a dirty look at Stefan. "It was just a warning from the witches and they don't know how strong Bonnie is. Elena's just being stupid and she will get herself killed like she wanted to do so before. So I'm going to go find her and stop her and shake some sense into her."

"Alexa, you can't do that," the younger vampire gave me a pleading look, which made me scoff and get up. "This is her choice and we need to respect that."

"Oh do fuck off," I snorted, shaking my head. "I'm not going to let her die. Not after everything that I've done to keep her alive."

"Look, I don't like this anymore than you do," Stefan looked at his brother for support, only to receive none. "But we need to trust her. We gotta let her do her thing."

"That might work for you, but it doesn't for me," I said before leaving the room, shaking my head in disgust.

XXX

"What are you thinking?"

Warm hands settled on my waist as I felt Damon's body settle behind me. I sighed and stared out across the Salvatore's back garden. My hands rested against the stone wall by the stairs down into the garden. I had retreated out here as I struggled to comprehend Stefan's words.

"That my sister and Stefan are idiots who deserve each other," I snorted as I let myself rest back against Damon's body.

"Well, I do have to agree with you there," my vampire hummed into my ear as his fingers stroked my waist.

"I just wished that I knew where she was," I sighed into the wind. While I was still angry at her, I was worried for my sister. There was no guarantee that she would be safe with Elijah, especially after what happened last time we saw him. And that scared me. I had worked so hard to keep my sister safe and alive, and now she was alone with an Original vampire. And it was all my fault. It was my words that drove her to this. If it wasn't for what I said, Elena might not have undaggered him.

"We'll find her," Damon's voice was soft in a way that he wouldn't let it be around others. And I appreciated his kindness. I knew that Damon would do anything to help me find my sister. "But until then, you need to stay calm. You can't lock her up if you're having a panic attack."

"Ugh, you're right," I hated agreeing to that but I knew that he was right. I would be useless to everyone if I let my panic take over.

"So nice to hear you say it," the vampire whispered in my ear. My skin tingled at the feel of his breath and I felt myself get all warm. It was getting harder and harder to resist him. My love for him just kept growing and it was killing me that I couldn't tell him. But with everything happening, it would be unwise to even think about starting a relationship. Not only were my emotions all over the place, there was too much drama and danger for a new relationship for survive. Which sucked big time.

"Oh shut up," I rolled my eyes but I couldn't resist the smile that formed. "So what is your plan while we wait for Elena to stop being stupid?"

"Well, it had occurred to me that Klaus had blended in far too well," Damon revealed and I couldn't help but agree. "To do that, he must have had an inside source."

"What? Like someone telling him how to act as Alaric?" I frowned in thought as I turned around to face the vampire behind me.

"And what was happening and how we thought," Damon confirmed as his hands moved to my hips.

"But who could have done that?"

"Well, who is the one person who has mastered fitting into our little gang without being noticed? And who is currently missing and was last known to be with Klaus…?"

It hit me immediately, "Katherine."

"Yep," Damon agreed, popping the p and drawing my attention to his mouth. "If you think about it, Klaus wouldn't want to kill her quickly after he spent 500 years chasing her. And she knew all the dirty details when she was taken."

"Well, it would make sense and Klaus does strike me as the type of person to go for a slow death, because he's an asshole. So how are you going to find out for certain?"

"If Klaus is possessing Alaric then it would be easy to assume that he is using Ric's apartment as his base of operations. So I figured I would pop over and have a look."

"But what if Klaus is there?" I could hide the worry from my voice as I realised how big a risk that Damon was taking.

"Then I'll run away really fast," Damon smirked as he brushed my hair from my face. "He's possessing a human, so I have him beaten when it comes to speed. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Good, because I can't lose you," I whispered those last words as I unwittingly revealed just how important the vampire was to me.

"Hey, you won't lose me," the look in Damon's eyes was intense and I realised just how close we were to each other. With each breath I took, I could feel his body against mine. It would be so easy to just lean forward and kiss him. To do what I had been wanting to do for so long. All of my sensible reasons for holding back were still buzzing around my brain. But I didn't want to listen to them. Not this time. "I promise."

My breath hitched as he moved just a tiny bit closer. His body was pressed against mine and I just couldn't resist my feelings anymore. Because why should I? Why should I be sensible and deny myself everything that I want? It wasn't fair. And I deserved to be selfish. I rested my hand on his shoulder and convinced myself that I was doing the right thing.

Just as I was about to lean forward, my phone rang loudly in the silence, jolting me out of the moment. I cleared my throat as Damon stepped back. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and glanced down at the screen. It was Caroline. And I internally cursed her. As much as I loved my friend, I hated her for interrupting what could have been.

"I'll call her back in a moment," I muttered as I hung up the call and glanced back up at my vampire. "Be careful, okay? And please call for backup if you need it."

Damon had an unreadable look on his face as he nodded, "I will do."

With that said, he rested his hand on my cheek for just a moment before turning and walking away. I watched him leave with a heavy heart. One day, I would tell him how I felt. But apparently it wouldn't be today.

XXX

When I got fed up of being alone outside, I went to go find Stefan to tell him that as much as I admired him respecting his girlfriend's wishes, he was being an idiot and I needed him to help me. I mean, it was sweet that he was respecting Elena's choices but right now, it was very frustrating. My idiot sister was likely to get herself killed and he was just standing back and letting it happen. Okay, that's mean. But still, I needed his help and I wasn't going to take no for an answer.

But before I could find him, my cell phone rang again. This time it was Jenna. It had occurred to me that I hadn't seen her since the dance last night and we had left in a hurry after Bonnie's apparent death. I had texted her to let her know that Ellie and I would be staying at the Boarding House. But I had never received an answer. Which, now that I think about it, was weird.

I answered the phone, "Jenna, hey, is everything okay?"

But it wasn't Jenna's voice that answered, "Hello Alexa. It's so lovely to hear your voice."

I froze where I stood and gasped out, "Klaus."

Ric's voice chuckled down the phone, an unrecognizable tone in his voice, "Surprise."

A sick feeling formed in my stomach as my legs shook. I had to stumble over to the side of the passage and collapsed in one of the chairs. Klaus was calling from Jenna's phone. Why was he calling from her phone?

"Why do you have Jenna's phone?" I asked, my voice shaking as the sick feeling grew. I knew what the answer was. I just didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe it. Because it meant that another family member was in danger and it would be all my fault. I had been so focused on Elena that I hadn't made sure that Jenna had left the dance safely.

"Oh Alexa," I could hear the smirk in his voice. "I think you know the reason why."

My breath caught in my throat and I was suddenly so glad that I was already sitting down. I hadn't wanted to believe it. But the truth was out there now and there was nothing that I could do to deny it. Klaus had my aunt.

"Please don't hurt her," I whispered, fear stopping me from speaking louder. I had absolutely no idea if she was okay. If she was even alive. Oh god, Alexa, don't think like that. She's fine. She had to be fine.

"Now why would I want to hurt the lovely Jenna," Klaus chuckled down the phone and I heard a faint moaning in the silence the followed. My heart leapt into my throat at the sound. It had to have been Jenna. I refused to think otherwise. Jenna was alive, I could hear her and that meant that I could save her.

"What do you want?" I asked shakily as I pushed myself to my feet. I had to find Stefan. He would be able to help me save Jenna. On my own, the chances would be slim but with vampire backup, I had a chance.

Klaus was silent for a moment. I could hear him breathing down the phone and my heart pounded in anticipation of his words. This was A Moment. And a significant one. Whatever Klaus said, I knew that it would have a major impact on things to come.

"I think it's time that we had a chat," he eventually said, but I could hear the grin in his voice. "After all, you don't remember the previous one."

I immediately zeroed in on that, "The previous one?"

The possessing Original asshole chuckled down the phone, "Ah, you definitely don't remember. How delightful. Well, you will. But in the meantime, I would recommend that come home. Your aunt is worried about you."

With that said, Klaus hung up the phone.

I had wandered through the bottom floor of the Boarding House but there was no sign of Stefan. Or of anyone. But now that Klaus was no longer speaking in my ear, I found myself unable to keep moving. His words reverberated around my head. We had met before. I had met Klaus and I didn't remember. Had he compelled me? That had to be why I didn't remember. But when did we meet? Was he possessing Ric at the time? So many questions but no time to think about them.

I had to go and save Jenna. And it looked like I had to do it by myself. There was no vampire backup around and Jenna didn't have the time for me to hang around for them. I had to go and save her from Klaus.

But first, I needed a little bit of courage…

Luckily, I was back in the parlor and had easy access to the booze table. As much as I knew the booze could weaken me, I needed the courage it gave me. It would give me strength and I didn't know if I would be able to face Klaus without it. The man scared the shit out of me and the last thing I needed was to freeze while I was supposed to be saving Jenna.

I grabbed the closest decanter and poured some out. It didn't matter to me which one I drank from; I just needed the strength it would give me. I relished the burn in my throat as I gulped it down. I could feel the warmth spread around my body as I held the cool glass against my forehead. It was only the thought of Jenna that kept me going. I refused to let my beloved aunt die because I was too much of a coward to go and save her. She was depending on me and I wouldn't let her down.

With a sharp nod, I replaced the glass on the table and turned to the doorway. I couldn't put this off any longer. I had to go and save my Jenna.

XXX

The fact that I couldn't drive would always be an issue. One that I would have to do something about. Because it slowed me down, especially in situations like this. So instead of me getting home in a matter of minutes, it took me a lot longer. I jogged some of way, as much as I could without needing to stop to gasp for breath. Even though my stamina had increased with all of my early morning jogs with Jeremy, I wasn't able to cover the distance home without stopping. Especially since I wasn't pacing myself properly.

But I couldn't let myself be sensible.

Klaus had had Jenna for god knows how long. Was it since last night? After the dance? Was it this morning? Had he arrived there while we were distracted by Elena's shenanigans with Elijah? It was impossible to tell. But the fact of the matter was that he had been with Jenna for a lot longer than I was comfortable with.

I had tried calling Stefan before I left, but it rang through to voicemail. I still had no idea where the younger vampire had disappeared off to, but I wished that he had left me a note or something. It was just typical, when I needed the vampire, he was nowhere to be found.

I knew that Damon was at Ric's place but I didn't risk calling him. Just because I knew that Klaric was at my house, didn't mean that he didn't have minions chilling back at Ric's. And I refused to put Damon in danger like that. So I had to go it alone.

Once I made it back to my home, I went to go bursting through the door. But something stopped me before I could. I don't know exactly what it was, just some instinct that froze me in place before I grabbed the door handle.

I couldn't risk barging in and putting Jenna in danger. What if he killed her before I got close to her? I couldn't take that chance. So I had to do a bit of recon.

I snuck along the porch, peeking into the windows for any sign of Jenna or Klaus. But I couldn't see either of them. Which was worrying. The only room that I couldn't see from the front of the house was the kitchen. So they had to be there. Which was exactly what I didn't want. There were knives and shit in the kitchen. Which meant that Klaus had easy access to weapons. Oh fuck, this was not good.

So I made my way around the house, keeping crouched low. I couldn't risk Klaus finding out that I was here before I was ready to. I needed that element of surprise on my side. It was my only hope of getting Jenna out of there unharmed. And that was the priority. Klaus could hurt me if he wanted to, I didn't care about that. But he couldn't hurt Jenna. That was not an option.

I crept round to the back doors and peered through the glass.

Shit, there was Jenna. She was tied to one of the dining chairs, her back to me. I couldn't see if she was hurt but her head was held high, so I took it as a good sign. But she was alive, that was the main thing. I peered around further and cursed.

And there was Klaus.

He was in the kitchen, behind the island, facing Jenna. He was speaking to her but I couldn't hear what he was saying. But I could see the knives spread out in front of him. My blood ran cold at the sight of them. While I couldn't see any wounds on Jenna, there was no guarantee that he hadn't hurt her.

I needed to get her out of there, and fast. But how could I do that? I had no way of drawing him away from her and I didn't have the speed to zoom her out of the building. I cursed under my breath and leant back against the wall. What could I do?

Well, first off, I could send off some SOS texts. I probably should have done it earlier and I knew that I would get told off for it. But now, I had no choice. I had to let the Salvatore's know what was happening. So I opened a group message and requested backup, 'Klaus has Jenna. At my house. Come quick. Need help'. I sent that off and tucked my phone back into my pocket. Right, time to think, Alexa.

Luckily, I didn't need to think for long.

Klaus made a dramatic gesture and left the room. It took me a moment to register what just happened. But he was gone. I didn't know where but the fact that he wasn't with my aunt was an opportunity that I couldn't afford to miss.

I took a deep breath to steady myself before sneaking forward. I did one last check to make sure that the Original ass hadn't snuck back in. So I carefully wrapped my hand around the door handle and slowly opened it. Every sound had my heartbeat skyrocketing and freezing in place. Every noise sounded like a gunshot. It felt like I was a squeak away from being discovered.

The door opened with a click and Jenna's head spun around. Other than tear tracks, her face was unmarred. That had my racing heart relaxing just a smidge. But only a smidge. My aunt's eyes widened dramatically and she started shaking her head. I pushed open the door and slowly stepped inside. There was still no sign of Klaus and I was shitting it.

"Alexa, go away," she mouthed fiercely, looking desperate as I carefully made my way over to her. Each creak of the floor had my heart squeezing in my chest painfully. But luckily, I made it to her side without being caught.

"Alexa, you've got to leave," Jenna hissed as I crouched down in front of her.

"Not without you," I whispered back as I checked her over. She didn't look like she was injured and I couldn't see any marks on her. It seemed as though Klaus had just stolen her away to be used as bait. And I had just been lured and caught.

"Ah, Alexa."

The voice to the side of me had me freezing in place. I looked eyes with Jenna and saw the fear buried in those beautiful depths. My heart clenched painfully in my chest as I turned my head, almost wishing that I didn't.

Klaus leant against front door, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. My hands shook from where they rested on Jenna's knees. I had been caught before I could save Jenna. And now we were both in danger.

"You're finally here."

XXX

I stood in front of Jenna, blocking her with my body as Klaus made his way into the kitchen. He walked in with a cocky swagger in his step and a malicious grin on his face. It was so jarring seeing that look on Ric's face and I hoped that I would never have to see it again. I knew that we needed to save him but doing so seemed impossible. How could we force Klaus out of his body? How did he get in his body in the first place?

"Klaus," my voice started off shaky but I took a deep breath to steady it. "I want you to let Jenna go."

"Let her go?" Klaus leant back against the island, crossing his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Now why would I let such a lovely creature go?"

"She doesn't need to be here," I knew that I was close to begging, which I couldn't allow myself to do. I refused to beg this monster for anything. Not after what he had done to my family and loved ones. I wouldn't give him that power over me.

"Oh, I think she does," Klaus countered, leaning forward. In a moment of weakness, I stumbled back a step, moving closer to Jenna. I felt her knees against mine and used that touch to gather my strength. I needed to be strong. If Klaus sensed weakness, then I doubted that we would get out of here alive.

"Why?" I snapped without meaning to as the hungry look on Klaus' face got under my skin. "What do you want? And why does Jenna have to be here for it?"

"Well, she's a part of your family, isn't she?" Klaus' eyes flickered down to Jenna. Well, what he could see of Jenna, who was safely hidden behind me. Even though there wasn't anything that I could do to free her from the chair, I could keep Klaus' attention off of her. "She's involved in the situation."

"You mean your sacrifice bullshit," I countered, using my anger to fight off my fear. Anger I could deal with. I knew how to control it and channel it to try and survive. Fear was a weakness and one that I wasn't good at dealing with. It overpowered me and I became a coward. I couldn't fight if I let my fear take over. And I needed to fight. Because as much as I lover Alaric, there was something that I could do to save both my sister and my aunt. And Bonnie too. Klaus was weak right now. He had to use a witch to protect his body against Bonnie. That meant that he could be hurt, could be killed. And while losing Ric would be heartbreaking, I knew that he would want me to do it. I just had to get the opportunity. I just had to grab one of the knives on the island and get close enough.

"I've heard about your feelings about the sacrifice," the Original smirked as I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. "It is all a bit overcomplicated and tedious, but it is going to happen."

"Over my dead body," I hissed, taking a step forward despite my aunt's protests. I could hear her muttering my name behind me.

"Well, that can be arranged," Klaric mused, glancing me up and down.

"Just try it," I snorted, crossing my arms as I prayed that my opportunity to strike would come soon. I didn't know how much longer I could keep my mask up. Every move he made put me on edge and I knew that it was only a matter of time before my fear took over. "You'll lose your doppelganger if anything happens to me."

"You really think that she'll risk everyone else for you?" the man in front of me looked intrigued and I tried to keep him distracted using that.

"Clearly you don't know the bond between siblings," I taunted him, realizing that I had hint a sore point when his eyes flashed.

"Don't talk about thing that you know nothing about," Klaus hissed, taking a step forward. This time, I held my ground, even though it meant getting closer to the asshole. My heart thudded in my chest as the distance between us shrunk.

"Or what?" I shot back. "What could you possibly do to me that is worse than killing my sister?"

"I'll kill you," Klaus' words had Jenna gasping. She had been silent during the conversation, allowing me to take control while she was tied up. But Klaus' threat had broken that.

"Get away from her," my darling aunt snapped as she tried to lean around me to glare at the Original.

"Try it," I ignored my aunt as I pressed my advantage. "Death doesn't scare me."

"Ah yes, Katerina had mentioned your brushes with death," Klaus' eyes flickered down to my Gilbert ring. "She also mentioned the little deal that you made with her."

I froze, my eyes wide, as Klaus revealed one of my darker secrets. I had fought so hard for no one to find out. And now Klaus had told Jenna. I knew that it would only spiral from there. It was only a matter of time before the others found out. And I would be royally fucked.

"Alexa, what deal is he talking about?" Jenna asked from behind me. I just kept staring at Klaus, who had a smug look in his eyes, and waved my hand at her.

"Probably not the time to be talking about that," I said to her as Klaus' smirk grew.

"You mean she doesn't know?" he taunted me as he stepped forward. I had to look up at him now, as he stood so close. My heart pounded at his proximity and I felt sick. Even though he was in human form, I knew that he was still dangerous.

"Is that why you wanted me here?" I tried to change the subject, hoping that it would fade from Jenna's memory. "To taunt me, like the little bitch you are?"

That struck a nerve.

Klaus closed the distance between us in a flash and grabbed my neck. I was forced up onto tip-toes as the Original started to squeeze.

"You dare to speak to me like that?" he hissed in my face, teeth bared and eyes furious. "Do you have any idea as to who I am?"

"A pathetic little asshole?" I wheezed, barely able to get the words out. I knew that I was being stupid. Klaus' grip on my neck was painful and I was struggling to breathe. But he had pissed me off and I wanted this conversation over with.

Klaus snarled something in a different language before throwing me to the floor. I coughed violently as I was suddenly able to breathe again. The air burned my throat as it rushed in but it felt so good. And even better, Klaus had given me the opportunity that I needed.

He had thrown me towards the island. Where the knives sat. And he now had his back to me.

It was time to end this.

XXX

Klaus was spitting out unrecognizable words behind me and I could hear Jenna pleading with him. It sounded like she was begging him not to kill me. Honestly, the thought hadn't occurred to me. I was too focused on trying to kill him.

I tried to even out my breathing as I pushed myself to my feet. I knew that it was now or never. I had to use the opportunity that I had been given. Even though my throat hurt like hell and breathing was painful, it was nothing compared to what Klaus would do to my sister.

So I gritted my teeth and got to my feet. The island was right in front of me with the knives all laid out. I had no idea which one to go for. Should I pick serrated? Or just go for the biggest one and hope? In the end, the decision was taken out of my hands. I could hear Klaus turning around as my aunt shouted a warning at me.

I threw myself forward in desperation and everything turned to chaos. The knives scattered across the island, some of them clattering to the floor. I knew that the noise would make Klaus move quicker as it would be obvious as to what I was up to. I grabbed the first one my hand came into contact with a swung around.

My palm was sweaty as I gripped the handle of the knife. It wasn't the biggest, or the longest, or even serrated. But it was sharp and that was all I needed.

Klaus stepped forward and I slashed the knife in front of me. I had absolutely no idea as to what I was doing. But it couldn't be that hard, right? Just slash and stab. I knew what my target was, I just needed to hit it.

Klaus dodged back, a viciously amused look on his face, "You're a lot tougher than I expected."

"Why don't you come over here and then you'll see just how tough I am," I bared my teeth at the Original, daring him to come within range. I knew that Klaus would be too clever to fall for something like that. But I could hope.

He chuckled darkly, "If you play with knives then you're going to get hurt."

"Maybe," I shrugged as I studied his movements. I knew that I had to be ready for when he made his move. I couldn't lose this opportunity. So much rested on it. "But as long as you get hurt too, I don't care what happens to me."

"So much fire, I think I might let you live after all," the Original smirked before darting forward. I swiped the knife forward again, hoping that I would be able to hit something as he moved. But I was woefully outmatched.

Before I could pull my arm back, Klaus had grabbed my wrist and used it to force me backwards. My back slammed against the island, the hard edges digging into me painfully as I was bent over the island. I had to go up onto tip-toes as Klaus pushed me further back. I didn't have the strength to get back up as Klaus held me down with one hand on my shoulder. The other still gripped my wrist. I tried to slash at him again but he wasn't close enough for me to get him.

I let out a low groan of pain as the Original started slamming my wrist against the side of the counter, trying to get me to drop the knife. I tried to keep a hold of it because I knew that if I dropped it, then I would have no hope of winning this fight. But the pain was too great. It only took a couple of hits for the knife to go clattering to the ground.

"There, isn't that better," Klaus smirked down at me where I struggled in his grip. I could feel my panic starting to take over and I couldn't let that happen. If I started to panic now then it was all over. So I made the only move I could. I kneed Klaus in the crotch.

He immediately let go and hunched over with a groan. I used the brief moment of his weakness to lunge for the knife again. But before I could grab it, a strong hand caught my other hand. Klaus used his grip on me to throw me backwards, into the doorframe. My back exploded in pain as it collided with the hard wood. I let out a whimper of pain before gritting my teeth. I couldn't stop now. I had to do this.

So I lunged forward again, this time just aiming for the Original. I tried to remember everything that Ric and Damon and Tyler had taught me to form a fist and throw a punch. Klaus ducked out of the way of my hit and punched me in the stomach instead. All of the air left my body in a gush and I could feel the pain blossoming there. But I ignored it. I used my position to drive the heel of my hand up under his nose. I could feel something break under my hand and felt a brief flash of guilt. Sorry Ric.

Klaus backhanded me and I fell to the floor. The force of his hit hand my vision blacking out for a moment and I knew that I had to finish this quickly. So I aimed a kick for his knee, causing him to hunch over. I went to kick him in the face but I didn't get the chance. I didn't see the knife until it was too late.

I screamed as the knife cut through the flesh of my thigh. The white-hot pain drove all thoughts of fighting back from my brain. I cowered on the floor, my body twisting in pain as I sobbed into the wood. With a satisfied look, Klaus yanked the knife back out, the serrated edge causing more damage as it left my body.

"You fucker," I hissed through my tears as I glared up at him. He looked down at me without care as blood dripped from his nose. I felt a flash of satisfaction at the sight of it even as mine dripped onto the kitchen floor. I became aware of Jenna yelling the background and glanced over at her. There was a horrified look on my aunt's face as she stared at the wound on my leg. Klaus must have seen the new focus of my attention as he followed my gaze back to my aunt.

"Ah Jenna," he purred as he stepped forward. "I almost forgot that you were here." He lifted up the blade that was stained with my blood and examined it, "Now why should Alexa have all the fun? Let's get you involved too."

But before he could say anything, he was thrown back against the island.

There was a blur of movement and two angry vampires stood in the room. Damon glared down at Klaus as he helped me to my feet. The moment my leg touched the floor, I almost passed out from the pain. I let out a whimper as I rested my weight against Damon.

My vampire glanced down at my leg before looking over his shoulder, "Jenna, help Alexa outside." He looked at me, his blue eyes shining with a mixture of fury and worry, "I'll be with you in just a moment."

I nodded as Jenna eased my arm over her shoulder. As curious as I was to what the Salvatore brothers would do to the Original, I knew that I didn't want to spend any more time around him. My back ached as my leg throbbed. The pain in my cheek and stomach threw their names into the ring as every moment caused a new pain to take over.

My aunt muttered soothing words into my ear as she led me out of the house. Damon's Camaro was haphazardly parked outside our house, the engine still running. Jenna eased me into the backseat before running around the other side.

She yanked off her cardigan before gingerly wrapped it around my leg. I hissed in pain as the pressure on my injury increased the agony that I felt, but I knew that she had to contain the bleeding. As I laid on the backseat of Damon's car, Jenna fretting over me, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. This was my one chance to kill Klaus and I had failed. Now there was nothing to stop him from going through with the sacrifice.

XXX

Damon had insisted on carrying me inside when we got back to the Boarding House. Not that I was in any position to argue. My entire body hurt. Everything ached and throbbed and I regretted every movement that I made.

"Oh Alexa," Damon murmured into my hair as he carried me into the library. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Never letting me go seems like a good idea," I mumbled around the pain as he gently placed me down on the couch. Stefan had adjusted my makeshift bandage in the car before checking on my other injuries. He had declared that nothing was broken but I was majorly bruised. Not that it mattered as I would need some vampire blood to fix the damage the knife had caused. Klaus was a sadistic bastard for choosing the serrated blade. The skin around my wound was torn to hell and I absolutely dreaded to think what the inside of it looked like.

"Hmm, I'll think about it," my vampire glanced up at me, those beautiful depths shining with worry as he crouched down in front of me.

"I'll take that," I said slowly, wincing as Damon pulled off the bandage. It stuck to the blood that was drying around the wound.

"I should have killed him," the vampire's voice was low as he looked down at the stab wound. He examined it carefully, making sure that there was no fabric caught inside it. Stefan had tried to look earlier but the overpowering scent of blood had his face vamping out.

"That would have killed Ric too," I pointed out with a sigh, even as I realised that I was being hypocritical.

"Didn't seem to stop you," Damon countered as he replaced the bandage and eased himself up onto the sofa behind me. I rested back against his chest and Damon gently wrapped his free arm around my waist.

"I wasn't exactly thinking clearly," I winced as that odd crunching noise signified that Damon had bitten into his wrist. He held it to my lips and I started drinking from it. I would never get over the weirdness of it. I was drinking his blood. And it was kinda gross. It tasted all coppery and irony and just not nice. But I needed to. The damage done to my leg was too great for me not to drink it. But underneath it all, there was an erotic edge to this. I didn't know why or even how to explain it. But drinking his blood made me feel good in an incredibly weird way and I knew that it made Damon aroused. Thank you, Caroline, for spilling that little secret.

Once Damon had decided that I had drank enough to fully heal everything, he pulled his wrist away. I wiped the excess blood away from my mouth with the back of my hand before wrinkling my nose at the blood stain. So I just wiped it on my jeans. They were just gonna be binned away, so what was one more stain? Even though he could now move, Damon chose to stay where he was. And I was incredibly grateful for it.

Damon's presence was helping to keep the breakdown away. The reality of what just happened was setting in and it sucked. Jenna had been abducted by Klaus. I had fought Klaus and had gotten my ass kicked. And not only that, I had failed to kill him. Now he was able to go through with the sacrifice. It would be all my fault when it happened.

"I've called Elena," Stefan announced as he walked into the room, Jenna close behind him. I half expected Damon to move now that there were others around. But he just rested his chin on my head and hummed in response. I was relieved that I still had him wrapped around me. He was the only thing keeping me sane and I didn't want to lose his touch. Not now, not ever.

"How's your leg?" Jenna asked as she settled down in the closest chair. "Stefan told me that Damon gave you blood to heal it."

"It doesn't hurt anymore," I replied with a small smile as I sought to relieve her worries. "It just itches slightly."

"What you did was stupid," Jenna's tone became stern but I could hear the worry underneath it still.

"I'm not disagreeing with you," I sighed as Stefan settled down in the other chair. "But I couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt."

"I know," Jenna's face was sympathetic when I glanced over at her. "But it was still stupid."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Elena will probably tear me a new one when she gets here," I pointed out with a wince. I knew that Elena would blow up at me as soon as she finds out what happened. And that was gonna suck even worse as she will definitely pull the guilt card. Ugh.

"Where is Elena?" Jenna frowned as she glanced between me and the vampires. "I half expected her to turn up with Alexa."

"Elena took the dagger out of Elijah," Stefan told my aunt with a sigh. Jenna's eyes tripled in shock as she swung round to look at me.

"Yup, what he said," I rolled my eyes as my anger at my sister returned. Although I was glad that she didn't go with me to confront Klaus, I was still mad at what she did. It was stupid and reckless. And stupid.

"I don't know which one of you to yell at more," Jenna muttered in shock as she slumped back against the chair.

"I vote Elena," I pointed out hopefully.

"You would say that," Damon whispered in my ear as he wrapped his other arm around me.

"I've just been through a traumatic experience, I don't want to be yelled at in anger," I pouted at my vampire before aiming that pout at my aunt.

"I can't believe Jeremy is my only good child," my aunt was muttering to herself as she ignored my pitiful look.

Well, that was rude.

XXX

Elena announced her arrival by barging into the library. I had absolutely no idea what Stefan had said to her but she rushed in with wide eyes and short breaths. Her abrupt arrival interrupted the whispered conversation between the two vampires in front of the fireplace. Jenna had joined me on the sofa and she rose to her feet the moment she saw Jenna.

"Oh Jenna, Alexa, thank god you're okay," Ellie gasped as she rushed towards us. She pulled Jenna into a quick hug before collapsing next to me on the sofa and pulling me towards her. Despite my anger towards her, I gratefully accepted her hug. It helped to ease the tension in my heart. I knew now that she was safe and alive. She was okay and in my arms. I didn't have to worry about her anymore. Elena was with me now and not with Elijah.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," I muttered into my twin's shoulder as she gave me a squeeze before pulling back. "Not even Klaus could take me down."

The look on my sister's face immediately turned stern as she put a hand on her hip, "What you did was stupid and reckless. I can't believe you went there without speaking to anyone first. Why didn't you call me and tell me?"

"Told you so," I muttered to Jenna before rolling my eyes at my sister. "You've got some nerve calling me stupid and reckless after what you did. Undaggering Elijah was a dumb move and you know it. Besides, how could I call you and tell you that Klaus had Jenna when you were god knows where with Elijah, the other Original asshole."

"Alexa, that was different," Elena sighed, looking as though she had expected me to bring up the Elijah situation. "He can kill Klaus, which means that Bonnie doesn't have to die."

"But how can you trust him?" I countered, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. "He hasn't exactly proven himself trustworthy."

"He's a man of honour, Lexa, he won't break his word unless I break mine first," Ellie's voice was patient.

"I still don't trust him," I argued petulantly, refusing to listen to her reasoning. Ever since I found out that he had no intention of saving my sister, I refused to trust him. I mean, yeah, he had saved my life, but he wasn't going to save my twin's. There was no going back from that.

"I'm not asking you to trust him," Ellie's eyes were wide and pleading, in a way that I could never resist. "I'm asking you to trust."

"Ugh, don't you dare pull that card," I pointed a finger at her as I tried to fight the feeling to immediately give in. Because I did trust her. Even though I thought she was being stupid, I trusted her.

Silence followed my words. It was an uncomfortable silence and I was glad when Jenna broke it.

"Speaking of deals," Jenna spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "Klaus mentioned that you had made a deal with Katherine, Alexa. What did he mean by that?"

I suddenly wished that the uncomfortable silence was back. I could feel everyone's eyes on me and all I could think to say was, "Fuck."

I was itching to push myself to my feet and start pacing. But my leg was still healing and I knew that it would hurt if I put any weight on it. It was the same when I was staked in the stomach. The pain didn't immediately fade and it bothered me for a little bit after.

"Alexa, what is Jenna talking about?" it was Damon that asked me, his eyes intense at they stared at me. I knew that I couldn't lie to him, not about this. Even as I felt ashamed of what I did all those weeks ago. I couldn't believe that it had finally come to light. And because of fucking Klaus of all people.

"I'm not proud of what I did," I sighed and slumped forward, resting my forearms on my knees. I couldn't bare to look anyone in the eye as I revealed my dark secret. "But I was desperate. It was just after Katherine told us about the sacrifice. I knew that Elena wouldn't fight it, especially after Katherine's lovely little story about Klaus slaughtering her entire family. And I needed all the information that I could get my hands on. Unfortunately, Katherine was the one who had that information."

"So you made a deal with her," Stefan encouraged me to keep going.

"Yeah, she was stuck in the tomb," I nodded and ran my hands through my hair and over my face. "She wanted two things from me in return of the information that she held. She wanted out of the tomb and she wanted me to kill Klaus. So of course, I made her promise to protect Ellie and keep her alive."

"Was that why you daggered Elijah?" Ellie asked from behind me and I nodded.

"It wasn't the only reason, of course. He was going to let you die in the sacrifice. But fulfilling that part of the deal was motivating factor," I sighed. "To be fair to Katherine, she did stick around town after. Even if she did stab everyone in the back while doing so."

I stopped talking and let the silence take over. No one spoke and I didn't know if I wanted them to or not. But the silence was unnerving. To the point where I had to break it myself, "Well come on then. Condemn me for what I did. Yell at me. Berate me."

"Desperate times make us do desperate things," it was Damon that spoke, his voice soft. I looked up, my eyes meeting his. There was a quiet sympathy in that gaze, which I wasn't expecting. With the hatred that he felt for Katherine, I expected him to be angry. But I was grateful that he understood.

"You made a deal with someone who killed you?" Ellie spoke next, I glanced back to see her staring at me with wide eyes.

I shrugged, already knowing what she was thinking, "You're worth it, Ellie-Bear. I would do anything to save you."

"And I would do the same," Elena returned with a nod before sighing and climbing to her feet. "Which is why I need to get back to Elijah."

Her words evoked a strong reaction. I let out a loud noise of protest while Stefan verbalized his, "Wait, what? No, no!"

"I promised him that I would return," Elena said firmly as she looked around us. "I can't break that promise."

"The hell you can't!" I snapped sharply as I pushed myself to my feet. My leg ached as it suddenly had to hold my weight but I didn't care. "You can't go back to him."

"Alexa, I made a promise," Ellie looked like she wanted to argue, but we both knew that it wouldn't help. Not that anything would. But arguing would only make the situation worse.

"I don't care if you made a promise," I protested as I wobbled forward slightly, grabbing my twin's arm. "You're not going back to him."

"Alexa, you have to let her go," Stefan said calmly, drawing my angry gaze.

"Oh do fuck off, you too?" I glared at him as Damon made his way towards me. "Why are you helping her continue her stupidity?"

"Because it's her choice," the younger vampire shrugged as Elena managed to tug her arm from my grasp. I wobbled forward again, trying to grab her but she dodged out of the way before I could. It was only Damon's sudden arrival by my side that kept me on my feet. He wrapped a supportive arm around my waist as I glared at my sister.

"I'm sorry, Lexa, but I have to do this," she sighed with a regretful look before leaving the room. I watched her leave with angry eyes. I just couldn't believe that she was going back to him. Or that we were letting her.

XXX

"We shouldn't have let her go."

Jenna glanced at me from where we both sat on the sofa. The vampires had vacated the room, probably to have a little disagreement about what just happened. I knew that Damon wasn't happy that Stefan had let Elena go. But he was too focused on making sure that I didn't do something stupid to stop her.

Jenna nodded at my words, "There was no stopping her."

I snorted and shook my head, "I could have done a lot of things. I could have tied her up or locked her in a room. Or have her compelled to keep her stupid butt in the safe house that was made for her. There were so many things that I could have done but I just didn't."

"You wouldn't have done that to Elena," my aunt said softly, a knowing look in her eye. "You couldn't take her choice away like that. Just like you didn't do that to me or Jeremy."

"I just don't want her to get hurt," I groaned in frustration as I could feel myself begin to get emotional. I knew that it was coming. After everything that had happened today, I was just surprised that it hadn't happened sooner.

"She won't get hurt," Jenna wrapped her arm around my shoulders and pulled me against her. I rested my head against her shoulder and fiddled with the frilly edge of her top.

"I just feel so powerless, Jenna," I admitted with a whisper. "I can't do anything to help her. I couldn't even take out Klaus to save her. It's like, no matter what I do, she's always in danger."

My aunt was silent for a moment before she said slowly, "The day that the lawyers called to tell me that I had been given custody of you all, do you know what my first thought was?" I glanced up at her. "Is there someone else that can do this? But you know what, despite it being the hardest thing that I have ever done, I would never regret taking you three in. Even with all the danger that has surrounded our lives recently." Jenna sighed before resting her head against mine, "Sometimes it feels like if I can't see you, then I could lose you. With all of the danger that has been around, especially with this sacrifice, I'm just so worried about you. Especially when you kids pull stupid stunts like you have today."

I winced guiltily at her pointed words, "I'm sorry for that, Jenna. I know that I should have been more sensible about it. But I just panicked. We should have made sure that you got home okay. But because we didn't, Klaus was able to take you. And I couldn't let someone I love get hurt because of me. Not again."

"You aren't responsible for everything that happens to us," my aunt jostled me gently.

"I get that, I really do," I sighed, before shaking my head, uncaring that I was messing up my hair. "But it's hard. I have the power to look after you all. I know how to protect you. So surely if I fail in that, it would be my fault?"

"You can't account for all possibilities," Jenna reminded me as Damon entered the room.

"You don't need to tell me that," I snorted as my vampire walked over to the fireplace. "I never would have guessed that my sister would do something as stupid as undaggering Elijah. Even though I probably should have guessed that she would do something drastic after what I said."

"What did you say to her?" my aunt prompted me softly and my eyes flickered up to meet Damon's. I didn't want to tell my aunt what she said, as I didn't want to risk her disapproval. But if it did contribute to Elena's actions, then I had to tell her. Jenna deserved to know. Damon must have been reading the thoughts on my face as he gave a tiny nod.

"Well, you know that Bonnie has all this crazy new power?" I started slowly, making sure that Jenna knew the entire situation.

Jenna nodded, "Klaus mentioned that using that power would kill her. It's why he thinks that she's dead, right?"

"Yeah, Damon helped her fake her death, but Klaus is right, using all that power could kill Bonnie," I sighed and just blurted out the rest of the words, like ripping off a Band-Aid. "And I told Elena that I would choose her life over Bonnie's."

Jenna was silent for a moment and I twisted my ring around my finger while I waited for her to speak. I felt a nervous twisting in my stomach as several emotions flickered across my aunt's face. But eventually she sighed and shook her head, "I know why you feel that way. Elena is important to you and from the sound of it, you believe that there is a chance that Bonnie might not die from using her new powers. But I can also understand why Elena reacted the way that she did. Your sister has never wanted anyone to give their life for hers, especially her best friend."

"I know, it's what started this in the first place, she wanted to give up her life for ours," I groaned as I pushed myself to my feet, away from my aunt's warmth. I wobbled for a moment as my newly healed leg adjusted under my weight but when I was steady, I walked forward to the fireplace. I stood next to Damon and looked down into the flames. "As mad as I am at her for what she did, I also understand it. I drove her to it."

Damon's hand settled over mine on the mantle and his eyes were soft when I glanced over at him, "Elena could have spoken to you about how she felt. She could have spoken to Stefan. There were other things that she could have done."

"Damon's right," Jenna spoke up in the background but I kept my gaze on Damon's. I wanted so bad to believe them, but I just couldn't. I knew the part I played in this and I just couldn't forget that.

XXX

"Have you heard from Elena?" Stefan asked as he walked into the library a couple of hours later. I glanced up from the chair I was curled up in and snorted.

"Fuck off, Stefan," I knew that I was taking my anger at myself out on him. But in my eyes, he was enabling my sister to do her stupid stuff. He could have agreed to stop her from going back to Elijah, but instead, he took her side. As far as I was concerned, he was as bad as her.

"Alexa," the younger vampire sighed, walking down the stairs and over to the sofa. "I know that you're unhappy with me, but I didn't have the right to stop her. It was Elena's decision and we need to respect that."

"Even though it meant allowing her to return to an Original vampire who had already stabbed us in the back before hand?" I raised an eyebrow as I place my empty glass on the table next to me. Ever since Jenna had excused herself from the room, I had taken advantage of the stocked booze table to the side of me. I had made my way through a couple of glasses of whiskey while I waited for my sister to return. And the booze only fueled my anger.

"Elena's right, Elijah won't betray her until she gives him a reason to," Stefan pointed out and I narrowed my eyes at him as I stood up.

"Unless he is still holding a grudge against her for daggering him," I crossed my arms as I started to pace. "Just face it, Stefan, there is absolutely nothing that you could say that would make me agree with what Elena did or your decision to let her go. Okay?"

"This anger isn't healthy, Alexa," the vampire said softly and I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"I'm way past the point of having healthy emotions, Stefan," I waved my hand at the words. "Just like I'm past the point of having rational emotions. Everything is so fucked up, Stefan, and I don't know how to cope with it anymore."

"Everything okay in here?" a new voice drew both of our attention to the other entrance to the room.

Damon leant against the entrance near the fireplace, a concerned look on his face as he glanced between me and his brother. I felt myself relax at his presence. I knew that Stefan wouldn't push me too hard with the older vampire in the room. Especially since Damon had made it explicitly clear that he supported me in how I felt. He didn't agree with the decision to let Elena go back to Elijah, but he was too focused on how I was reacting to speak up. Which I did appreciate. Damon always put my feelings first and as selfish as I sounded, I liked that. All too often, especially recently, Elena's feelings were put first. For someone to do that for mine, it was a bit of a novelty.

"I was just telling Stefan that he was a fucking idiot for supporting Elena and that I didn't care if my anger towards them was healthy," I shrugged as the older vampire pushed away from the doorframe and walked further into the room.

"That right, Stef?" Damon's eyes simmered as they stared at his brother.

Stefan rose to his feet wearily, "Elena is the one who is directly affected by the sacrifice, so she deserves to have her decisions respected."

"Is that right?" I could hear the anger in Damon's voice and made my way over to him, resting my hand on his arm. "You're a fool, Stefan. Elena might be the one who dies in the sacrifice but she isn't the only one affected by the situation. As her twin sister, and the one with the most to lose, Alexa has a right to speak her mind. Even if it contradicts what Elena wants."

"Are you really looking to take her choices away from her, after everything that happened to us with Katherine?" Stefan snapped and I could see him clenching his fist.

"No, we're looking to make sure that her stupid choices don't get her killed," I snapped back before Damon had a chance.

"I won't come to that," a new voice spoke up, drawing our attention to the stairs. Elena stood on them, a worried look on her face as she glanced between the three of us. But it was the person stood next to her that had my heart freezing in my chest. Elijah had an amused look on his face as he rested his hand on the banister.

"Oh do fuck off," I glared at my sister as I waved my hand at the Original vampire. "You've invited him in? Are you insane?"

"Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal," Elena replied to my angry outburst with a nod at the vampire next to her.

"Really?" Damon snorted as he rested a calming hand on my shoulder. I was still seething at the fact that my idiot twin had invited the Original into our safe house, but I tried to keep my anger under control.

"The three of you will come to no harm at my hands," Elijah spoke up, confirming my sister's words. "I only ask for one thing in return."

"What?" my vampire asked wearily as he used his grip on my shoulder to pull me closer to him.

"An apology," Elijah said simply and I snorted loudly.

"Say what?" I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. Elijah could fuck off if he thought that I would apologise for what I did. I didn't regret it. He wasn't going to save my sister, so he had to be taken out. I would do anything to save my twin and I wouldn't apologise for it.

"I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death," Stefan said as he walked forward, his tone genuinely apologetic. "I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena."

Elijah paused to consider his words before nodding, "I understand."

Everyone's gazes turned to me. They knew that Damon would take my lead on this. And as I was the one who originally drove the dagger into Elijah's heart, I had more to apologise for.

"Alexa," Ellie's voice was soft and it had my anger burning bright. "The sacrifice is going to happen. Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I said I would find another way. And I did."

The proud look on her face had me narrowing my eyes. She did find another way, I had to give her that. But the way she did it was infuriating.

"Is that true?" Damon asked when it became clear that I wasn't going to speak.

"It is," the Original confirmed as he looked at me expectantly. But I could see the amusement in his brown depths.

"And you're trusting him?" my vampire asked my sister as I started to tremble from the anger building up inside me.

"I am," Elena nodded and I lost my cool.

"Then you can fuck yourself and go to hell," I snapped out as I shook my head and threw my arms in the air. "I don't care anymore. If you want to get yourself killed, then go ahead. If you want to trust Elijah, then go ahead. I don't give a shit anymore. It's too hard."

With that said, I turned and stormed down the passage out of the room.

XXX

Even though my vision was blurred by tears, I managed to make my way outside, back to where I was before. I leant against the wall, uncaring that the stone bit uncomfortably into my bare forearms. There was cold wind weaving through the air and I shivered as I sobbed.

Despite my anger words, I did care what happened. I didn't want my twin to die but my words were having no affect on her. No matter what I did, Elena decided to do something different, contradicting my own actions. I understood why, she didn't want her best friend to die. But she had to understand that I didn't want my twin to die. Caring was getting too hard. It was getting painful. And it was stealing away the strength that I had left.

It wasn't until a warm arm wrapped around my waist that I realised that I had been followed. Damon gently eased me away from the wall and into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and clutched on tight. I couldn't stop the sobs from pouring out, even with Damon's comforting presence surrounding me. But my vampire just let me cry it out.

He rested his chin on my head as he rubbed a soothing hand on my back. I pulled him closer as my breath hitched. I was struggling to breathe through the crying as the whole situation was driving me past my limits.

"Deep breaths, Ally," he murmured into my hair before he gently eased me away. His hands quickly cupped my face and he encouraged me to meet his gaze. "You can do this."

He mimicked how I should be breathing and I tried to copy. He was patient as it took a bit of time for my breathing to settle. His expression remained soft and comforting and I drew as much comfort as I could from it.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take, Damon," I whispered as I silently begged him to help me.

"Right now, you don't need to deal with any of it," my vampire's voice was just as quiet as mine as he wiped away my tears. "All you need to focus on is yourself. I made Stefan promise to keep Elena in the house until tomorrow at the earliest. So you've got time."

"Thank you," I smiled shakily at him before stepping forward into my previous position. Damon let me move and wrapped his arms around me in return. "I don't know if I could have gotten through this without you."

"You're strong, Alexa," Damon said into my hair as his thumb stroked the back of my neck. "Stronger than you realise. You would have made it through this without me."

I might not have wanted to, though. Damon had given me a reason to fight through everything I had experienced over the past couple of months. If it wasn't for him, then I might have actually given my life for my sister. But I couldn't do that to him. Damon didn't deserve to lose anyone else; he had lost enough already.

"I'm gonna have to take your word on that," I said instead of speaking my thoughts. I knew that I couldn't say what I wanted to. It was too much of an admission of weakness and I had been weak enough already.

Damon hummed in his throat before he started to direct us back towards the house. He led us around to the side door by the kitchen, away from where we had left. It didn't take a genius to realise that he was using his vampire hearing to help me avoid my sister. I knew that I would have apologise for what I said to her earlier, but I didn't have the strength to do that right now. I needed some time before I faced her again. And Damon was giving me that time.

I hid a yawn in the crook of my elbow but his sharp hearing picked it up.

"I'm not surprised that you're tired," he sighed as we walked inside, thankfully avoiding everyone in the house, even Jenna. "You've been through a lot today."

"Feels like the same as every other day," I sighed in return as we retreated to the safety of Damon's bedroom. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Klaus earlier." Damon sat me down on his bed before crouching down in front of me. "I guess I just panicked. And I knew that you were at Ric's apartment and I didn't want you to get caught there because of me."

"I'm not mad about that," my vampire's eyes were intense as they stared into mine. "I know how much Jenna means to you and I wouldn't have expected you to react in any other way. But if it happens again, please don't worry about me, just ask for help."

I knew that Damon was serious in his request from his expression and I nodded. I indulged my buried feelings for him and rested my hand on his cheek, "I can't promise that I won't worry about you. But I will ask for help."

Damon's hand covered mine, "That's all I ask."

I could feel that same feeling from earlier building up. And I didn't know if I had the energy to fight it. I wanted to admit it all to Damon. But after what just happened, I knew that I couldn't. So I compromised.

"Thank you for being there for me," I whispered into the silent room. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I said those words. It wasn't exactly the confession I was itching to make, but it was still saying something important.

"I always will be, Alexa," Damon's expression was serious as he looked up at me, his warm hand gripping mine as his other rested on my knee. "All you have to do is ask and I'll be there."

And I knew that he would be.

XXX

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, my darlings, they made me feel really happy :) I started writing season 3 and OMG, it is uber fun to write already haha Please keep the reviews coming :) until next time, hope you enjoyed xoxo