Chapter 14

The sound of rain pounding against the roof echoed throughout the house. Alone again, Gwen glared out of the front window as the rain fell in sheets. It looked like she was going to spend another day trapped in the house. Ric had gone up the school to catch up on some of his missed work from yesterday. Obviously, he'd needed to car to get there. Gwen's lack of a car wouldn't have been such a big deal normally. They weren't far from the main part of town, and she could manage the walk. But there was no way she was walking in this. She would be soaked in seconds if she attempted to venture out, and the storm had shown no signs of letting up either.

An old blue muscle car drove down the street and pulled into her driveway. Gwen watched, brows drawn in confusion as Elena climbed out of the car and ran to the front steps. She met the other girl at the door, wondering why she'd come back and hoping she hadn't done something stupid regarding Isobel. Elena stumbled slightly as she crossed the threshold, sending Gwen a grateful smile. Water dripped steadily from the hem of her raincoat, which had protected her from the worst of the storm, onto the floor. Realizing she'd have to clean it up, Gwen frowned slightly. But that was a problem for later.

"What's going on?"

"Is Mr. Saltzman, Ric, home? We need his help."

Gwen was about to ask who 'we' was when she noticed Damon leaning against the doorframe. Unlike Elena, he seemed to have decided the elements didn't affect him as he only wore his usual leather jacket. Though his hair was damp and light shone off of the water droplets on his jacket, he had somehow managed to stay fairly dry on his way from the car to her front porch. He glanced pointedly toward the doorframe, annoyed.

"We means mostly me and Stefan. Elena will not be going," Damon explained drily. "Can you, uh, you know, let me in?"

Gwen folded her arms and shot him a disbelieving look. "Absolutely not," she said before turning her away from him. "What exactly is going on, Elena?"

"Stefan was taken by the vampires from the tomb. They're torturing him. We need Ric's help to get him out. Damon can't do it alone."

Her words, filtered through strain and desperation, came quickly. Gwen felt for her, but she still hesitated before answering. There was no way Ric would agree to help them. This kind of thing required trust, and she couldn't see Ric ever trusting Damon — not after everything Damon had done. Still, she didn't feel right refusing them help and leaving Stefan to the tomb vampires.

"But why do you need Ric's help?" she asked, walking into Ric's office.

"Damon can't get in the house," Elena answered, watching as Gwen twisted her wrist in a jerky, circular motion. "We need someone who can get inside. Ric's really the only person we can ask."

"Maybe not," Gwen muttered as she pulled open the drawer she'd just unlocked. She wasn't sure why Ric kept it locked. They weren't keeping secrets anymore ,after all. Upon finding it empty, she swore and slammed the drawer shut.

"Damn it!"

"What? What's wrong?"

Gwen sighed, knowing she couldn't stall them any longer. She stood up from the floor and walked back to the entryway, shivering from the cold that poured in through the open door. "Ric's not here, and he took his vampire weapons with him."

"Why does that matter?" Elena asked growing more confused.

"If all you need is someone to get in the house and distract them, then I can go. I'd just have felt better about it with a little extra help."

"You?" Damon scoffed, shaking his head. "What can you do against a house full of vampires?"

"I'm a witch," she said defensively.

"A baby witch."

She glared at him. "Maybe so, but I know enough to cause a distraction. Plus, I know kickboxing. I could defend myself, which is where Ric's weapons come in."

Damon, who had been smirking in amusement at the idea of Gwen fighting vampires, frowned suddenly. With a seriousness she hadn't heard before, he said, "You are not doing this. As I told Elena, there is no way I can look at for you and handle the others and get Stefan out."

If it was possible, her eyes narrowed even more. Gwen wanted to scream at him. Did he really think she was that helpless? Why was he so insistent on putting someone she loved at risk to save his brother?

"First," she snapped, rounding on him, "I don't need you to look out for me. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. Second, if you can't look out for me, then you can't look for Ric, which puts him danger. And I don't think you get to do that again."

She paused, appreciating his brief avoidance of her gaze which she interrupted as shame.

"Third, Ric's never going to help you," she continued. "So it's me or no one. Make your choice."

Maybe it was the fact that Damon couldn't get in the house, but Gwen felt more smug than scared as she met his glare with a facade of calmness. She watched as his internal struggle played across his features, causing his lips to transform into a narrow line as he features expression hardened. Judging by how tightly he was gripping the doorframe, he may have been thinking about strangling her. Their staring contest was beginning to feel like it would never end, but Gwen refused to back down. It was only when Elena cleared her throat that Damon caved.

"Fine," he spat. "You can go."

Gwen smiled, feeling victorious. Though the feeling faded quickly when she realized she was only a foot away from Damon. She had no idea when she'd gotten so close to him. It must have been during her rant. Covering her discomfort, she turned around to get ready.

"Great," she said, sliding on her jacket before grabbing her house keys and the spare car key off of their respective hooks. "We need to stop by the school first. We're definitely going to want Ric's weapons."


The drive to the school was mercifully short. To save time and get out of the rain as fast as possible, they'd all crammed into the front seat of Damon's car. The pounding rain filled what had become an awkward and tense silence, though it didn't do much to dampen Damon's fury. Gwen could practically feel it radiating off of him from her side of the bench seat. She did her best to ignore him though, refusing to be intimidated into backing out.

"Head to the back of the school," she instructed as he turned into the main entrance. "There's covered parking for teachers. He probably parked there today."

Jaw clenched, he drove around the main lot to the back. There were a few cars compared to the empty front lot, but Gwen was able to spot Ric's car right away. She directed Damon to park in the empty spot next to Ric's SUV, and was clicking the key fob to unlock her uncle's car before Damon had fully parked. The covered parking didn't provide much in the way of protection from the weather. Gwen slid out of the one car and climbed into the other as fast as could, hoping to avoid becoming soaked during her short exposure to the rain.

Ric's car was so immaculate and devoid of personality that it could have been a rental. However, this made it really easy to search. She started in the front, checking the glovebox and storage console between the two seats. Coming up empty, Gwen slid over the console and into the backseat, where she quickly found there were no weapons hidden under any of the seats. She checked the trunk but, as expected at this point, found nothing yet again. Sighing, she turned around and, hunched over slightly, made her way to the left passenger door. She had just reached when Damon yanked it open.

"What's taking so long?"

"They're not here," she said, raising her voice to be heard over the rain. "I'll need to go inside and check his office."

"Lead the way."

He stood aside to let her out. She pulled up the hood of her raincoat before so doing so. Reluctantly, she followed him and Elena into the school through the unlocked backdoors. Gwen would have preferred to go in alone, or maybe with just Elena. One of them could have distracted Ric while the other searched his office. She supposed she and Elena could both distract him, but she really didn't like that there was now a chance of Ric seeing her with Damon.

Except for the last school dance, Gwen had never been in the school after hours. As could be expected, the classrooms were all dark and the hallways only partially lit, creating an eerie ambiance. Occasionally, one of the fluorescent lights flickered as if they were in a horror movie, which Gwen supposed they were, in a way. The only sounds as they walked were the clicking of Elena's boots and slight squeaking of Gwen's sneakers. She wished they would've been more quiet, but it was difficult to control the volume of their steps when they were having to half-run to keep up with Damon.

He rounded the corner seconds before Gwen and Elena did, which was just enough time for him to make the situation worse.

"You look … alive," Damon quipped

Gwen sped up, the squeaking of her sneakers drowning out her uncle's reply. She was moving too fast in her wet shoes on the slippery tile and slid when she tried to stop in between them. Her balance was only compromised for a second, but it was enough to send falling backwards. She braced herself for impact just as she was caught mid-fall. Gwen didn't have to look around to know it was Damon who'd helped her. Elena's boots were still clicking on the floor behind her, and Ric was a few feet in front of her, scowling. She took a step toward him, putting distance between herself and Damon.

"Gwen, what are you doing?" Ric asked with gritted teeth.

She held hand up and said, "Just listen, ok? We need your help."

Ric paused, clenching his jaw as his eyes traveled over the three of them. Finally, he caved and indicated that they follow him back to his classroom. As they waled, Gwen shot Damon a warning glare and whispered 'knock it off' at him. His only response was a nonchalant shrug.

"So, what's the problem?" he asked, taking a seat at his desk.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Elena started hesitantly. "You see — "

"The short version is," Gwen said, interrupting the other girl. They didn't have time for the whole story. She was also growing more anxious the longer Damon and Ric were in the same room. "Stefan's being held hostage by a household of really bad vampires for, well, revenge. Damon can't get in the house because of the whole has-to-be-invited-in thing. But I can. Once I'm in, I can get Damon inside. But despite my proficiency in kickboxing and magical powers, we'd all feel a little better if I had a little extra protection. So can I borrow your vampire-killing weapons?"

Sighing, Ric leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. "There was a time when that fast talking would have been too much for me to follow, but those days are gone. No, you may not have my weapons to go into a literal den of bloodthirsty vampires. Who's brilliant plan was this?" he asked, his tone suggesting this was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard and glaring accusatorially at Damon.

"Don't look at me" Damon said quickly, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "She came up with this on her own. Actually, she practically blackmailed me into agreeing to it."

Gwen glared at him over her shoulder before returning her attention to Ric. She was about to try a different approach with him, but Elena spoke first.

"We'd originally hoped you would be the one to help since your ring, the one from Isobel, offers you some protection," she explained. She spoke quickly, but it was more from trying to keep her emotions under control than to overwhelm Ric with information as Gwen had. "Gwen offered to go instead because didn't think you would help."

"She was right. I'm sorry about Stefan, but this isn't my fight and it's not my niece's." He stood up, grabbing his gym bag from the ground. "Gwen, let's go."

"Wait," Elena said, quickly blocking his path. "Would you at least let me borrow a few of your weapons? I can do it."

Ric closed his eyes again, letting out a slow breath while Damon let out a frustrated groan. Before Ric could raise his objections to Elena's new suggestion, Damon had crossed the room and spun Elena around to face him.

"I have already told you, and Gwen," he added, "I can't protect you. I don't know how many vampires are in the house. Things could go sideways in less than a second. I can't guarantee anyone's safety."

"But —" Elena started.

"No," Damon said firmly. "I get it, I do. He's your life. You can't breath without him. But I need to get in and out as fast as possible to have even a chance of this working. If you get hurt or I can't get to him, then all of this will be for nothing. Can you just let me do this my way?"

Damon seemed to struggle to keep himself from yelling throughout his speech, showing more consideration for Elena's life than Gwen had seen him show about almost anyone. The two stared at each other, Elena looking just as taken aback by Damon's words as Gwen was. Something about their prolonged eye contact made Gwen uncomfortable. Trying to ignore the sudden cold weight in her stomach, she turned her gaze from them to Ric.

"Ric, please," she asked, "Stefan doesn't deserve this."

Clearing his throat, Damon interjected, "The woman in charge of all these vampires can you help find your wife."

It was Gwen's turn to be annoyed. Her whole body tensed. Isobel was obviously a trigger for Ric. Damon had no right to manipulate him this way. Elena's surprise only confirmed that Damon was likely lying. Thankfully, Ric didn't seem to believe it.

"You're lying," he accused.

Damon shrugged, his usual arrogant demeanor firmly in place. "Am I?" he challenged.

Ric didn't answer. Instead, Gwen saw him clench his jaw as he tried to decide if he could believe Damon or not. She wanted to tell him to not be an idiot, but realized Damon's manipulation and goading would get them what they wanted. Reluctantly, she stayed silent.

"Fine," he finally said with an exasperated sigh. "I'll go, but Gwen and Elena stay here."

Damon's agreement was lost under Gwen's and Elena's protests. Ric, not anticipating how they'd react, actually took a step back from them. It was Damon who finally yelled over them and regained control of the situation.

"You both can sit in the car," he compromised, glaring at them, "but neither of you will set foot in that house."

Both girls nodded to show they accepted his terms, though Gwen had no intention of sticking to it. Damon ran his hand through his hair; his face a mix of relief and irritation.

Clearing his throat, Ric said, "If we're going to do this, we should go."

Damon nodded, taking off for the door. "Follow me."


The drive to the tomb vampires' hideout was an uncomfortable one. Damon and Ric discussed the plan to get Damon inside in as few words as possible, grunting when they could get away with it. She and Elena remained silent in the backseat, each lost in their own worries. As they turned off the main road, Elena was violently jiggling her legs from her anxiety. Gwen thought Elena was going to explode by the time Damon parked the car between a cluster of trees.

"What's the rule?" Ric asked, turning in his seat to look at the girls.

Glaring, Gwen said, "Stay in the car. Under no circumstances are we permitted to leave it."

"And if either of you do leave this car, I'll make sure you're both grounded until graduation. Got it?"

Elena nodded slowly while Gwen rolled her eyes. Honestly, she'd loved to see him try to come up with a story for Jenna that would result in a grounding for Elena. It's not like he was going to tell her about vampires, or that her niece was dating one, or that her niece had put herself in danger to save her vampire boyfriend. Ric turned back around in his chair, dug something out of his bag, and turned back to them.

"Take these, just in case," he said, passing two of the vervain tranquilizers back to them. Carefully, Gwen took them and handed one to Elena.

"All right, let's go," Damon said.

He sounded bored, but Gwen could see the stiffnesses in movements. He was worried about what they were about to do, which only made Gwen more concerned for Ric. Gwen and Elena remained in the backseat as the two men got of the car. Damon had taken his first step away, and then paused. Turning back, he tapped on Elena's window. When she'd rolled it down far enough he tossed his keys into her lap.

"If we're not back in ten minutes, leave," he instructed and walked away before Elena could utter the start of a protest.

With a huff, she rolled up the window and then fell against the seat. "Now what?"

"We wait the ten minutes," Gwen said, watching Ric and Damon disappear into the trees. "Then we go after them."

Elena took out her phone to check the time. Relieved that Gwen wasn't going just sit in the car, she smiled and asked, "What about what your uncle said? About grounding you for life?"

Gwen shrugged. "Empty threat."

Well, she hoped it was.

They passed the next ten minutes in near silence. The only sounds were Elena's fingers nervously tapping her fingers against her phone and the occasional dull thud of water hitting the top of the car. The rain appeared to have stopped, at least momentarily. Gwen was torn over this development: Sure they wouldn't be soaked on the walk to house, but rain would have covered the sound of their footsteps. They would simply have to be mindful of the movements, she supposed. Unable to sit still herself, Gwen tied her long hair into a single braid. If she was going to fight, it was best to have it out of the way.

"How long has it been?" Gwen asked, her impatience getting the best of her.

"Only eight minutes," Elena said with a sigh.

"That's good enough for me. C'mon."

Gwen swung the door open and pushed herself out of the car, taking a look around as she stood up. They appeared to be completely alone. She didn't hear any sounds of someone walking towards them. A car door shut from behind her, telling her that Elena had followed her lead. Gwen closed her own door, readying herself.

"The house is this way," Elena said, pointing vaguely toward their right.

"Lead the way then."

Their walk to the vampire den was faster than Gwen thought it would be. The house came into view a few minutes later as they left the tree line. Both girls hesitated, nervous to leave the shelter of the woods. But they had to if they wanted to save Stefan. Cautiously, they stepped out into the open field, each keeping an eye on the house as they did. When they saw the curtains were drawn in every window, they took a risk and sprinted the rest of the way to the house, hiding near the cellar door.

"What do we do now?" Elena asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Gwen bit her lip, quickly reviewing their options. If Damon had incapacitated all of the vampires, they would have been back to the car already. Going in through the front door was probably a bad idea. Breaking a window wasn't a better one. It looked like their only option was to try the cellar.

"Down here," Gwen said, motioning for Elena to follow her down the stairs.

Gwen wasn't worried about the door being locked. She'd mastered that spell quickly enough. She was more concerned about what might be on the other side of the door. Despite the confidence she'd shown earlier, Gwen wasn't really sure how effective her magic would be against the vampires. It was too late to back out now, though.

They passed by an iron gate, which had been carelessly left open, and reached the bottom of the stairwell. The next door was old and caked in a layer of dirt. The amount of debris collected around the door made her think no one had been down here in a very long time. Even if they got it unlocked, she wasn't sure they'd be able to open it. Her hand closed around cold metal handle, pushed down and pulled. To her surprise, the door opened with relative ease.

Gwen stepped inside first, barely daring to breathe as she walked across the smooth concrete floor. The air inside the cinderblock-walled hall was almost as damp as the air outside. The nearest fluorescent tube light flickered as Elena followed behind her less than a second later. Both girls eyed the top of the stairs as Elena closed the door as quietly as she could. They shared a look of relief when the music and laughter from above them continued without pause. The moment was short-lived though. Now, they had to figure out where Stefan was.

Well, they were vampires after all, and a basement was sort of like a small dungeon, she thought. It wasn't impossible that the tomb vampires would have stashed Stefan down here. Gwen motioned for Elena to follow her around the corner and away from the stairs. They were met with another empty hall, causing Gwen to hesitate. It shouldn't be so easy to get to Stefan. Even if the vampires were sure Damon couldn't get in, there was no way they though he would give up without so much as trying to get past them. Surely, if Stefan were down here, they would have someone watching him. Her inner debate was interrupted by the simultaneous sounds of the basement door opening and closing from behind them and a moan from a room in front of them.

Gwen had just registered Elena whispering "Stefan" before the girl barreled past her and toward the door. She tried to grab the back of her jacket, but wasn't fast enough. The stairs creaked and echoed as someone descended them.

"Elena, hide," she hissed before ducking into the alcove to her left. She wedged herself between the wall and the storage shelf as best she could, trying to use the shadows to her advantage. With the vervain tranquilizer at the ready, she peaked around the corner of shelf just enough to see Elena scramble and hide in the doorway of a room diagonally from her. It wasn't enough cover.

The creaking stairs were silent now, and Gwen strained to hear the light tread of the vampire coming toward them. As the sound of feet scuffled across the floor, Gwen heard the crackling static of someone playing music through headphones. She hoped it was loud enough to cover the sound of their breathing — or her own racing heart. When he passed Gwen a few moments later, she forced herself to be as still as possible, slowing her breathing as much as she could. She thought they were in the clear. He seemed to be too distracted by the glowing screen of his iPod. But then she and the vampire saw the swing of Elena's hair as she jerked back into the shadows. The vampire froze and shut off the music as he took a half-step toward Elena. Knowing she only had seconds, Gwen slid out from her own hiding spot and jammed the syringe of vervain into the back of the vampire's neck, quickly pressing down the plunger. He collapsed in a heap at her feet before he could even react to the attack.

"Thanks," Elena said, standing up.

"Let's go. I don't know how long he'll be out."

Elena nodded, and they finally made it to the room at the end of the hall. The second they hit door, Elena gasped and ran to Stefan's side. To be fair, it was rather disturbing to see him hanging from the ceiling with bloody wounds all over his upper body. What might have been worse, however, was the other vampire who seemed to have been staked to a chair.

"Help me get him down," Elena instructed.

Gwen stepped into the room to untie the other end of the rope so they could lower Stefan while Elena positioned herself to support him. Stefan was heavier than Gwen had anticipated, and she struggled to maintain a consistent speed as she helped him down, likely aggravating his injuries and causing him even more pain.

"You shouldn't be here, neither of you," he said, as he settled against Elena for support.

"That's what I was about to say."

Startled, Gwen spun around with her arm raised to strike. She'd barely come to a stop when her forearm was caught in a vice grip and she was staring into Damon's furious blue eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, fighting to keep his voice low. "You're both supposed to be in the car where your uncle is."

Gwen cursed under her breath. She was so grounded. However, to Damon, she quipped, "You were taking too long."

Glaring, he released her arm and moved past her to help Elena with Stefan. "I saw your handiwork in the hall. Any plans for how you'd get past him without another tranq?"

"Elena has one," Gwen responded. Her tone implying that he should have known that.

With Stefan steadily situated with one arm around Elena's shoulders and the other around his brother's, allowing him to limp forward with assistance, Gwen turned her attention to the still-restrained vampire in the chair. His face was screwed up in pain and his breathing labored. She had no doubt that having a stake through each thigh and wrist was painful, but didn't understand why he hadn't use his vampire strength to get out of the chair.

"What about him?" Gwen asked as the others neared the door.

"Kill him."

"Help him," Stefan said, his words sounding like little more than a gasp. At Damon's eye roll, he added, "He tried to help me."

"Fine," Damon snapped, dropping his brother's arm. "You two keep moving."

He crossed the room again, becoming a semi-blur as he did. Gwen had to blink to make sure it wasn't her vision. Without even a word of warning, Damon ripped out the four stakes from the vampire's limbs and cut the ropes that Gwen hadn't noticed. Through the blood she noticed burn marks like the one's on Stefan's wrists from the rope. It had all been laced with vervain, she realized. That's why he hadn't used his strength to break free.

Damon moved out of way just in time for the vampire to fall to ground, a weak 'thanks' mixed in between gasps and coughs as his system worked to fight off the vervain. Leaving the vampire on the ground, Damon grabbed her bicep and dragged her out of the room, muttering something under his breath that she didn't hear. She struggled against his grip, which was sure to leave bruises, but he ignored her. She struggled to match his pace to avoid tripping over her feet as her pulled her.

"Get to the car and stay there," he instructed as they entered the hallway.

Elena and Stefan had made it about three-quarters of the way to the door. Gwen was impressed. Stefan must not have been hurt as badly as she had thought. Damon finally let go of her arm when they caught up to the couple. But she barely had a moment to regain her balance before he was shoving one of the bloody stakes in her hands.

"Take this," Damon whispered.

She did so reluctantly, unable to stop herself from making a face of disgust as her hand closed around the sticky stake. Damon didn't notice her reaction, though. His eyes were on the stop of the stairwell. She wondered if he was worried about their luck running out. She was. If they made it back to the car without a confrontation, it would be a miracle.

"Wait, are you not coming with us?" she asked, realizing he was arming her to defend the group. Quite the turn from earlier, she thought.

"I have a few loose ends to take care of — and I have to make sure no one spots you all."

"Damon, no," Stefan protested, or tried to. He doubled over a moment later, coughing.

"I knew you cared," Damon said sarcastically, though his smirk was clearly forced. Gwen felt a chill run through her that had nothing to do with the damp air of the basement. Ignoring the feeling of unease, she eased her way around Elena and Stefan to open the exterior door for them.

"Let's go," she whispered, waving them on.

Elena only hesitated a second, torn over leaving Damon behind and saving Stefan. In the end, Stefan won. She steered Stefan forward, turning sideways so they could get through the door. It was a tight squeeze with the three of them in one space, but they made it through with minimal awkwardness. It took both Elena and Gwen to get Stefan up the stairs. Turns out, Gwen's first assessment was correct: he was in bad shape. Plus, he was a lot heavier than she had thought. All three were gasping by the time they reached the top.

There was an impatient "go" from behind them, which was followed by the soft click off the door. Gwen could've have killed Damon. He could have at least helped them get Stefan up the stairs if he was going to stand there the whole time. Groaning, she forced herself to take another step forward. She could be mad at Damon later.

Their trip back to the car was much slower than her and Elena's cautious walk to the house. They'd already been struggling to support Stefan, but now they were fighting to keep their balance as they walked across the slippery, muddy field. It became even more of an ordeal when it started raining again. Though it wasn't pouring like it had that morning, they were all half-soaked by the time they reached the safety of the trees.

"Wait," Stefan said, coughing as he pulled away from Gwen. "I need a minute."

Gwen let his arm slide from her shoulders, grateful for the break from his weight. While Elena and Stefan rested, Gwen squinted through the trees, trying to orient herself. Thanks to the storm and time of day, it was almost too dark to see under the cover of the trees. Gwen was pretty sure they were going in the right direction, though. Looking back at the house, she saw they were just a little to the left of where she and Elena had originally exited the forest. If they kept walking to the right, they should reach the car soon.

"C'mon, we're almost there," Gwen said. She was still slightly winded, but not nearly as bad as the other two, who were still gasping for air. Stefan pushed himself off of the tree he'd been leaning against, looking determined despite his the growing shadows under his eyes. Elena, however, remained doubled over.

"Lean on me, Stefan," Gwen instructed, returning to his side.

Stefan wrapped around an arm around her shoulder once again, though he didn't put his full weight on her this time. If she hadn't caught him holding his side, she would hav thought he had recovered slightly. Whatever the other vampires had done to him, however, had really taken his toll. She spotted the blood seeping through the jacket Elena had wrapped around them, and knew they needed to get him to the boarding house as fast as they could. She didn't think he had long.

With her free hand, she pointed in front of them and said, "Elena, head that way, we'll follow. And let us of know of any holes or roots."

They resumed walking, Stefan making more of an effort to do so on his own. Gwen worried he was trying to do too much. He was heavy, but she'd rather deal with it than have him exert more energy than he had and pass out.

Her worries didn't matter a moment later, though. Something rammed into them with a such a force that Gwen was sent flying through the air and felt as if she'd been punched when she slammed into the ground. As she tried to see what had happened, Stefan landed next to her with a stifled grunt. Elena screamed and suddenly Stefan was gone, rushing to defend her. Coughing slightly, Gwen rolled over onto her stomach to see Stefan fighting with another vampire. Elena stood frozen behind them.

Pushing herself off of the ground, Gwen ran over to her. With a slight shove, she said, "Run!"

"But Stefan—"

"Just go!" Gwen yelled, shoving Elena again.

With Elena running toward the car, Gwen turned her attention back to Stefan and the other vampire. Focusing on the attacker, she muttered a spell, hoping it would work — and not accidentally get Stefan. It took her a couple of tries, but a flame erupted from the vampire's shoulder, distracting him.

Stefan backed away as the other vampire struggled with the flame. It wasn't as powerful as she would have liked, but Gwen hoped it would give them enough time to get away. She tugged the back of Stefan's jacket, reminding him to move. She couldn't support him and run; he would have to get to Damon's car on his own. They were in sight of the car, Elena standing next to it, when he collapsed. Elena screamed and started to run toward them, but was intercepted by another vampire at the same time the vampire Gwen had set on fire grabbed her.

In half a blink, she was on the ground with the vampire's hands wrapped around her throat. She tried to kick him, but he had her legs pinned tightly, and all her clawing and scratching had no effect on him. As her vision blurred, she made one last try to call for help, though she had no idea if Stefan or Elena were alive to help her. She couldn't hear anything. Just as her vision began to to turn black, the grip from her neck disappeared.

Coughing as air rushed back into her lungs, Gwen remained on the ground and waited for her senses to return completely. She could hear the sounds of a fight around her, but wasn't able to see who it involved. Eventually, the fight ended with a loud snap that was followed by the thud of something falling to the ground. Gwen suspected someone had had their neck snapped. Finally able to breath and see properly, she was able to focus on something else — like panicking over who had actually won that fight.

"Gwen?"

She turned her head and let out a cry of pain. Having been distracted by a lack of oxygen, she hadn't noticed the soreness of her neck. There was a light but hurried sound of footsteps and then Damon was hovering over her, brow creased and eyes searching her for a visible sign of injury. Gwen attempted to push herself up, but he knelt down and pushed gently against her shoulders to keep her from doing so.

"Wait a second," he said. "How's your neck? Can you feel your feet?"

"Sore," she answered, the hoarseness of her voice surprising her. "And yes. Can I get up now? I'm getting all wet and muddy down here."

She wasn't being dramatic either. Gwen could feel the water from the ground seeping through her jeans and jacket. She wasn't looking forward to the ride home in wet clothes and a sore body.

He hesitated. His eyes searching her once more as if he had x-ray vision and could detect any invisible injury. After a moment, he nodded and extended a hand to slowly help her stand, watching her for any signs of discomfort or dizziness as he did. Usually, Gwen would have been unnerved by the intensity of his stare, but she was too tired to really notice it now.

"Where are Elena and Stefan?" she asked, her mind finally calm enough to process things besides almost dying.

"They're fine. Our Buffy wannabee saved them," he said, failing to come off as flippant. Gwen was just relieved to hear to everyone else had made it, especially her uncle. Damon placed a hand on her damp back and directed her toward the car. "Let's go before someone else decides they need revenge. I'm all hero-ed out."


The drive back into Mystic Falls was about as silent as the one out of it, though noticeably less tense. Stefan had passed out against Elena's shoulder, who was stroking his hair. Ric sat in the passenger's seat, stoically looking straight ahead though his jaw clenched every time he noticed Damon glance at Gwen, who was in the backseat next to Stefan. Gwen was staring out of the side window, absently rubbing her slowly bruising neck. She was going to have a hard time covering the marks, Damon thought as he turned off of the main road and onto the drive for the boarding house. He was dropping off Elena and Stefan before taking Ric and Gwen back to the school.

Their stop at the house took longer than Damon had thought it would. He'd had to help get Stefan out of the car and up to the house. He instructed Elena on where to find the blood for Stefan and returned to his idling car. As he drove back toward the road, Damon noticed Gwen had fallen asleep while he'd been inside. She was so still that he considered stopping the car for a moment to check her vitals. But he heard her steady, strong pulse and kept driving.

As they drove, Ric opened his mouth several times to say something before closing it and gritting his teeth together. Damon smirked, wondering what speech the high school teacher was working up to, but kept his mouth closed. He owed it to Gwen to try to behave.

They pulled into the school parking lot twenty minutes later. Ric reached into the backseat and gently shook Gwen awake while Damon parked a spot over from the SUV.

"Here," Ric said, handing his keys to Gwen, "go get in the car."

Her fingers slowly closed around the fob as she looked from Damon to Ric, uneasy about leaving them alone together.

"Go," Ric said firmly, making it clear there was no room for discussion. With an annoyed sigh, Gwen climbed out of the car, shooting a warning look at Damon in the rearview mirror. Ric waited until she walked around to the other side of the car before he started his speech.

"I don't know what you are doing with my niece," he began, his voice strained, "but you're going to leave her alone. She's not going to be involved in any more of your plans to find Katherine. You are done putting her in danger."

"Is that all?" Damon asked, rolling his eyes.

"There's one more thing."

"And what's — "

Damon's words were cut off as Ric fist slammed into his nose. The pain was fleeting, more surprising than anything. He heard the words "that was for my wife" spat at him before the car door was opened and slammed shut. Damon shook it off, not letting his rage get the best of him. He had turned the man's wife into a vampire and killed him, after all. He was entitled to one punch.


AN: Um, sorry this story went on an unexpected hiatus. School and all. I hope the length makes up for it.