Alexandria Gilbert

by JChavz95

Vampires, witches, werewolves and doppelgangers, oh my! All Alexa Gilbert wanted was a quiet life, a free drink and to party the night away with her friends without being nagged by her twin sister Elena, but the arrival of the mysterious Salvatore brothers may just ruin those plans... Starts Season 1, Episode 1, Slowburn Damon/OC, Now on Season 5!

104. Gone Girl

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: I decided to treat you all to an update! TBH at this point, I fear my backlog will not be built back up for quite some time, so enjoy what I have written so far! I enjoyed writing this one, as we get some Dalexa goodness in a slightly different format ;) I just missed writing them together! But we also move the plot forward and you get something that you have all been waiting for for a while!

XXX

After figuring out the truth about Katherine's little scheme, Stefan had reluctantly returned to the Boarding House cell, to let his brother know. While he had wanted to wait until the morning, he knew that Damon deserved to know the truth about Alexa's predicament, about Katherine's plan. He deserved to know that he was right. That Alexa hadn't broken his heart and left town. No, she had been taken by the woman who had tormented her so many times. God only knew what the girl had been through in the time that she had been Katherine's prisoner.

"Wasn't expecting to see you again so soon," Damon raised an eyebrow as Stefan slowly opened the door, resting against the frame. The older Salvatore was still sitting on the camp bed, legs out-stretched, Alexa's ring in his hand. Realising that he would be stuck in the cell for at least a few days, he thought it safe to remove the ring from the chain around his neck. So instead, Damon held the ring in his hand, remembering the last time that he was in this cell. He had spent so much time reassuring his girl that it wasn't her fault that Kol had compelled her. He had looked after her, making sure that she didn't overthink the situation, while also helping her cope with the lack of blood. He had held her in his arms, even when they were sacrificed by the group, forced to distract the Original Hybrid. It wasn't an enjoyable situation, but it was better than his current one, if only because he had his Alexa with him.

"I wasn't expecting to come back down here," Stefan sighed back, shaking his head, as he wondered what was the best way to reveal the truth. The younger brother knew that he had to do it carefully. Damon was volatile at the best of times, especially when it came to Alexa. But with Wes' virus in his system? He knew that his brother's mental state was even more fragile. "We, uh, we might have worked out what's wrong with Elena."

"And what makes you think that I care about Elena and her situation?" the older vampire muttered bitterly, rolling his eyes. While he was aware that the older twin was acting weird, thanks to the group texts that he hadn't ignored, as he did need to make sure the idiots didn't do something stupid and die while he was looking for Alexa, he also didn't care. Because he still blamed her for Alexa's disappearance, because how could she be so foolish to not realise that something was wrong, so he didn't care, as long as she stayed in the land of the living.

"Because Elena is being possessed by Katherine," was the response and it had Damon freezing in his seat. Everything was silent for a moment before the older brother demanded more information, questions about Alexa falling from his lips. Questions that Stefan kindly answered, giving every piece of information that he had, revealing every theory that he had put together with Caroline and Tyler. And eventually, Damon ran out of questions and instead went quiet, mind whirring. A part of him felt vindicated. He was right. Everything he said, every denial, was right. Alexa hadn't broken up with him, using her sister, and left town. No, she had been taken by Katherine and no one had known. And while he did feel that way, he also felt so very guilty. Because his girl had been here, in Mystic Falls, this entire time. And he hadn't found her, hadn't rescued her. She was so close but he never found her. And so, her suffering had endured.

"She has Alexa," were the words that broke the silence, quietly spoken by Damon, as he stared down at the ring in his hand, the gems twinkling in the glow provided by Alexa's fairy lights.

"That's what we assumed," Stefan nodded, keeping his voice soft, still unsure as to how his brother would react to the news. He was prepared for shouting and for furniture being broken. But he was not prepared for the quiet sitting. And it put him on edge.

"Katherine has been possessing Elena's body for well over a week, and none of you noticed," you could hear the rage, the pure fury, in Damon's voice, control weakened, thanks to Wes' ripper virus. When his brother sighed out an affirmative, unable to hide from the accusation, Damon continued. "You all tried to convince me that Alexa had ripped out my heart and ran away to New York, believing the lies from her 'twin's' mouth. From Katherine."

"It was her who staged the break up," the younger brother winced, the fact that he had failed both twins stung. But the fact that Damon had tried to save the younger one and had been continuously thwarted by them all, that was a hard thought to swallow. "Not Elena. She must have had Alexa with her, at that point, as she had her ring."

Both vampires looked down at the ring sitting on Damon's palm. His fingers twitched, almost as though they wanted to hide the precious piece of jewellery from his brother's view, before the infected vampire shook his head, "She must have taken her from the Boarding House, just before we were able to leave town."

"Caroline thinks that was when Katherine took over Elena's body. That was why she disappeared, instead of passing through Bonnie. She took Alexa because no one knew Elena better than her, she was a threat. One that she removed. All we can do now is, uh, hope that Katherine kept her alive."

Damon's face changed for a moment, veins pulsing, as he carefully wrapped his fingers around Alexa's ring at his brother's words. He took a deep breath before looking up at the other vampire through narrowed eyes, "I'm trying to figure out why you're telling all of this to a starving, bloodthirsty, unstable, vampire-feeding vampire. Why you are telling me that the girl I love is being held hostage by my nemesis, who is alive and well, while I'm stuck in this cell and can't do a damn thing about it!"

"I have it under control," Stefan immediately tried to reassure his brother, worried that he would try to do something foolish to go and save Alexa. Even with the starvation, he knew that the older vampire would be capable to breaking out, if it meant saving Alexa.

"I would love to hear this."

XXX

Katherine was never in the tomb.

It was a thought that spun around Damon's mind ever since he searched every room of the tomb beneath the church, ever since Alexa had persuaded him to leave with desperate eyes and a shaky voice. As he had stepped into the warmth of her arms, he had wondered what would happen next, after he had wasted 145 years of his life, waiting for a woman who never wanted him.

It was a thought that had haunted him for hours, until there was a knock on the door. Damon hadn't quite worked out what he would do with his newfound freedom, with the sudden aimlessness to his life. But he found that deep life questions could wait. He didn't need to wonder where life would take him now, while Alexa was smiling at him like that, soft and full of sympathy. It was a smile that had kept him company in the days and weeks that followed that night.

Damon had taken her clubbing with him, finding himself craving her company, and the younger Gilbert twin was eager to join him. He had compelled her way in, letting her drink and dance, while he fed on the girls on the dance floor. He would, at times, have private parties at home, ones that certain girls weren't invited to. But the vampire found that he enjoyed clubbing more, and he would never admit to himself the reason why, but he would always stop by Alexa's door whenever he felt the need to dance and drink the memories of abandonment away.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the heartbeat in the girl was feeding from stuttering. Damon carefully extracted his fangs, compelling the girl to forget that this ever happened. After watching her stumble away, content that she would never remember his face or his fangs, he turned around to find his companion. Only to see Alexa standing behind him, wobbling slightly in her heels, watching him with wide eyes as he licked the blood from his lips.

Damon's face was still vamped out, veins pulsing beneath his eyes, and the girl stepped closer, so that she was standing right in front of him. Steady hands settled on her hips, holding her still, as she wobbled slightly. But Alexa didn't notice. No, she had drunk enough that boundaries just weren't a thing anymore. All of her inhibitions were gone and so, the younger Gilbert twin did something that she had been thinking about ever since That Night, when she discovered that vampires existed.

With shaking hands and a look of intense concentration, Alexa raised her hands, delicate fingers tracing the pulsing veins beneath the vampire's eyes. Despite the bodies surrounding them, music pounding in the small room of the club, to the vampire in front of her, it was like all sound had been sucked out of the world. Damon watched as Alexa's eyebrows crinkled together slightly, biting her lip, as those soft fingers continued to trace the veins. He continued to hold her steady, able to feel her human warmth, through the thin fabric of her dress, as her scent enveloped his senses.

After what could only have been a few seconds, but felt like an eternity, Alexa glanced up at Damon, a bright smile on her lips. And the vampire cursed that smile, that bright smile, even as he smiled back. He found it to be a real smile and he couldn't remember the last time he gave someone one of those. It made him ask questions that he really didn't want to think about, so he did what he had perfected over the past 145 years, he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Alexa's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Damon's smile and she could feel her cheeks burning as they blushed. So to hide her reaction to the vampire's surprisingly sweet smile, the girl wrapped her arms around her companion's body, resting her head against his shoulder. Alexa knew that she shouldn't enjoy the sight of Damon's smile, not with her boyfriend back home, in Mystic Falls. But she had never quite managed to let go of her crush, and her friendship with the man holding her had only proved what she already suspected, that there was a good man, beneath the vampire persona.

The two continued to sway to the music, a tranquil peace settling over them and they were able to ignore the rest of the world, even if only for a moment. It was a moment that Damon appreciated, having spent 145 years with one aim, and while he had technically succeeded, as he had found a way into the tomb, it was ultimately for nothing. It was something that he didn't want to think about and he found it easy to ignore those thoughts. Especially when Alexa let out a content hum, tightening her grip on him for a moment.

Damon took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of her shampoo, before shaking his head. Katherine's betrayal had made him confront a fact that he had been avoiding for a while; that he was slowly falling out of love with his maker. It had been such a long time and the vampire had thought that the sight of his lover would help him realise his feelings again. But she wasn't there. Katherine had been free for all that time and hadn't once tracked him down, to let him know that she was alive. She had thrown his love into his face, leaving him alone. Well, not completely alone.

Alexa was there for him, that night, refusing to let him be alone, until he told her that it was okay. She had helped him escape from the tomb, before wrapping him up in a hug and refusing to let go. It had only reminded him of her kindness, even after he had revealed the ugly world of vampires to her. He had found himself seeking out her company, even when he shouldn't. Damon knew why, of course, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself. So instead, he just adjusted his grip on Alexa, tucking her into his body as they continued to sway to the music.

XXX

"Hang on a sec, Katherine's still alive? How is that possible?" Matt glanced between the rest of the Mystic Falls gang, a confused frown on his face. They had gathered in the Boarding House library, sharing the chairs and sofas. Matt sat on the chair to the left, with Tyler opposite him. Caroline sat on the arm of his chair, and exchanged a glance with Stefan. The older vampire was sat on the couch in the middle, Jenna next to him and April on his other side, while Alaric stood by the fire, a sleeping Zoe in his arms.

The moment the new day had started, Stefan had summoned everyone to the Boarding House. Now that they knew the truth about Katherine's scheme, they had to work out a way to stop her, save Elena and find Alexa. The hardest part was breaking the truth to Jenna. The woman had been busy with her own daughter, who had been under the weather, and she was regretting losing focus on her oldest girls. It had taken Damon to break the new mom out of her guilt, and that was only because he promised to return the twins to her.

"Remember that time Nadia's ex, Gregor, hitched a ride in your head?" Caroline answered Matt's question while her boyfriend placed a comforting hand on her knee. "Yeah, well, it's kind of the same thing. Katherine is a passenger in Elena, except it's worse, because none of us seemed to notice!"

"How did I not realise?" Jenna shook her head, anxiously squeezing her hands together. "She came to the house, she held my daughter, how did I not realise that it wasn't Elena?"

"You can't blame yourself, Jenna," Stefan sighed, exchanging a glance with Alaric. It was clear that the woman hadn't slept properly, even before she found out the dreadful news about her nieces. And Ric knew that his girlfriend would take the news badly, which was why he took over caring for their daughter.

"It's Katherine, she's smart and conniving and sneaky," the blonde vampire in the room muttered bitterly, crossing her arms, curls bouncing at her movement. "And… we're the worst friends ever."

"This makes no sense," Jeremy spoke up, his voice coming from the phone on the table. He and Bonnie were still at Whitmore college, as the former witch was mentoring the new one, Liv. And Jeremy refused to leave his newly returned girlfriend's side. "She saved Aaron's life, remember? She gave him CPR when Enzo tried to kill him. Katherine would never do that."

"That's what made her so believable," Bonnie sighed, curling into Jeremy's side as he wrapped his arm around her. They had chosen one of the quieter courtyards for the conversation, enjoying the gentle breeze. "She played Elena to a tee. She knew that if she let Aaron die, then her cover would be blown."

While the others made understanding noises, Caroline continued her frustrated rant, "I was sleeping three feet away from her! She picked out my Bitter Ball dress. And I let her use my toothpaste!"

"Well, did she lure you into a hotel room to make out with you?" Stefan shook his head, still unable to accept what happened. But he was relieved that he had stopped it from going further. He would never have forgiven himself if something had happened, while Elena wasn't in control of her own body.

Everyone was silent for a moment after his words, realising that Katherine truly had no boundaries, before Tyler whispered, "She took Alexa and none of us questioned it. Katherine told us that Alexa broke up with Damon and ditched town, ignoring all of us. And we believed it." The hybrid cleared his throat, fingers curling into fists, before spitting out, "So, how do we kill the bitch?"

"Well, passengers can be expelled from the host," the younger Salvatore brother was quick to offer, having seen the anger that Tyler struggled to control. "We saw it happen with Matt. Gregor died, and Matt lived. All we have to do is stab her with the Traveler knife."

"I still have the knife that Nadia gave me," Matt nodded, relieved that the vampire had never thought to take it off of him, even after her mother possessed his dear friend.

"Perfect, go get it," Stefan went to stand up but Caroline's voice stopped him.

"Wait, you guys! this is Katherine that we're talking about. She's going to see a sneak attack from a mile away. We've got to get her to come to us. Get her guard down, corner her."

"Fat chance you'll be seeing her today," Tyler winced, vague memories of the evening before returning to him, breaking through the worry for his friends. "I'm pretty sure that I bit Nadia."

"What do you mean, you bit her?" the blue-eyed human frowned, feeling oddly frustrated that the vampire was now marked for death. He would always be appreciative of the fact that she didn't kill him, even when Katherine was ordering him to.

"I mean, she was attacking Caroline and in the following chaos… I might've nipped her a little," the hybrid replied, looking away from the disappointed look in those blue depths.

"And you're just mentioning this now?" Matt retorted and Tyler winced again.

"It was all a bit of a blur," he tried to defend himself, before his girlfriend intervened.

"Hey, guys! Focus! Tyler's right. Katherine's not going to leave Nadia's side, unless not leaving compromises her identify."

"So we need to find something that Elena can't say no to," Jenna sighed, shaking her head as Ric walked over, handing over their daughter. The woman immediately held the infant close, breathing in her comforting scent.

"It's Bonnie's birthday is soon, we could say that we are throwing a surprise party?" the blonde suggested, glancing down at the phone with hopeful eyes. "Everyone knows that Elena would be there for a friend's birthday party. I mean, she would be one of the people organising it. Especially after everything that happened."

"But a surprise party? Seriously?" Bonnie pouted up at her boyfriend, looking less than impressed with the idea. "I wanted a spa day. You try feeling the death of every supernatural creature who passes through you on their way to the Other Side."

"I'm not saying that you don't deserve it," Jeremy gave his girlfriend a comforting smile, while making a mental note to get her a spa day, before directing his next point to the group on the other end of the phone. "But her birthday isn't until next week."

"That's what makes it a surprise!" Caroline shrugged, already start to plan it in her head. And while she did that, the rest of the gang started to plot how to finally, permanently take down Katherine Pierce.

XXX

Luke's grave was nothing more than a mound of dirt and a small sign with his name and date of birth, but Alexa didn't care. It didn't stop her from sitting down on the wet grass, toes nudging the dirt. She didn't need to look at the sign, not that she could, thanks to the tears dripping down her cheeks, as she had memorised that information when she was a child.

"Why?" the girl whispered, her voice a slurred rasp, as she reached out to brush the edge of the wooden sign. The gravestone couldn't be installed yet, due to reasons that she didn't care to remember. "Why did you have to die too?"

Alexa shook her head, taking a swig from the whiskey bottle that she had brought with her. It was the booze that had given her the courage to make her way to the cemetery during the night, uncaring of the potential danger. She knew about the monsters that haunted the night, but all the girl cared about was getting to the grave. She had barely looked at it during the funeral, instead staring up at the grey clouds that had filled the sky. It had rained, not long after her family took her home, soaking the grass beneath her. A fitting end to the day, she had thought at the time. Now, she barely cared about the drizzle in the air.

It didn't take long for Alexa to dissolve into a sobbing mess, burying her face in the hoodie that she wore, one that she had pinched from her boyfriend. It still smelt like him, which was a miracle, considering she had worn practically every day since she found his body. The hood was covering her head, protecting her from the drizzle in the air, as she brought her knees up to her chest, resting her cheek against them, as she stared at the wooden sign in front of her.

Her absence wasn't noticed until the next morning, when Elena carefully crept into her twin's room, expecting to find her dozing on the window seat. Instead, she found an empty room. The older Gilbert twin quickly took control over her panic, rushing back to her bedroom to grab her phone. Elena knew that the funeral that day had been difficult for her sister and she would have stayed with her, but Alexa had insisted that she needed some time alone. So, with great reluctance, Elena focused on the other hurting person in her life. Despite being healed from Frederick's torture; Stefan was still suffering from that night. She didn't know exactly what was wrong, or how to help him, but she was determined to be there for him.

Elena quickly called Damon, knowing that he was the best person to go looking for her sister. While she did have issues with the older Salvatore brother, she knew that he would do anything to help Alexa. He had proven that, ever since the Nolans' bodies were found. He had barely left Alexa's side, always there to look after her, to support her through the public funeral and memorial and all the events in-between. So the older Gilbert girl felt safe in calling in Damon to bring her sister home.

And the moment the vampire knew that Alexa was missing, Damon was leaving the Boarding House. Stefan was asleep in his room, not causing any trouble, so the older brother didn't feel any sliver of worry in dashing off. He knew exactly where to go, having spent enough time with Alexa to realise where her mind had gone. She had often spoke of her guilt, late at night, lamenting that she never got to say goodbye. Even at the funeral, she didn't feel as though she had properly said goodbye, not with everyone watching. He understood the feeling, it was one that reminded him of his mother's funeral. And so, he went directly to the only place that he would find her.

Alexa was easy to spot, even in the early morning gloom, thanks to the red hoodie that she was wearing. She was sat next to a newly dug grave and he could see a half-empty bottle on the floor next to her. It was enough to have Damon shaking his head and sighing, before slowly approaching the girl. He crouched down next to Alexa, the moment he reached her side, but got no reaction. This time, he hid his sigh as he reached out and gently gripped her chin, encouraging her to face him.

Tears stained her cheeks and it was obvious that she hadn't slept a wink last night. All Alexa had done was stare at the sign that spelled out the words that broke her heart, silently whispering all of the words that she had failed to say before. It held all of her regrets, all of those painful truths that she had no choice but to acknowledge. And all of that was written on her face. The corner of Damon's lips quirked down in sympathy as he carefully brushed away the tears on her cheeks, before exhaling, "Come on, let's get you home."

"I don't wanna go home," Alexa muttered, but she still wrapped her arms around his shoulders, doing nothing to stop him from picking her up. The vampire shook his head at her words, before shaking it again as he felt the damp fabric of her leggings. But he didn't say anything, instead focusing on getting her back home to her family.

The girl buried her cold nose against his neck as the vampire sped her home, leaving behind the half-empty bottle of whiskey. It didn't take long to arrive at the Gilbert household, but even when he was standing in her bedroom, Damon found it hard to let go of the girl in his arms. Not that Alexa was particularly keen to let go. She kept an iron grip on his shoulders, face still buried against his neck, as she whispered, "Please don't leave me alone."

"I'm not going anywhere."

XXX

Once they had a plan, the Mystic Falls Gang were quick to put it into action. Now that they were aware of the twins' predicament, they were keen to rescue them. It also gave them a way of pushing away the guilt that threatened to overwhelm them. They all knew that they should have realised that something was wrong with Elena, that Alexa's sudden disappearance and lack of communication was suspicious. But they didn't, as they were too caught up in their own lives to notice. And it was something that would haunt them for a long time yet.

Caroline was on the phone with Katherine, doing her best to push the surprise party idea, pulling out all her favourite tricks in the hope that the doppelganger would agree to come meet her. Only to be disappointed when Katherine replied with a, "Yeah, I don't think Bonnie would want a big party for her birthday."

"Of course she does!" the blonde vampire argued, making sure to keep her bubbly energy up, not showing any of her frustration, even as she shared a glance with Stefan. "So, when can you get over to Stefan's to help us set up?"

"I can't," Katherine sighed down the phone, glancing over at her dying daughter as she winced, shifting on the bench that she was laying on. The older woman knew that Nadia wouldn't survive Tyler's bite, not without the cure from Klaus. But she was unable to put her daughter above her own interests, and risk her cover from being blown. Living Elena Gilbert's life and finally getting Stefan Salvatore were more important to her.

"You can't?" Caroline repeated, frowning into the fireplace as her efforts were repeatedly shot down. She honestly thought that it would be easier to lure the doppelganger back to town. Katherine hadn't needed persuading before, she was always more than happy to spend time with Stefan. So that fact that she was being difficult now was infuriating.

"I would love to, but I just… I can't," Katherine paused for a moment, mind whirring as she desperately searched for an excuse that would stop the annoying blonde from bothering her. "Um, I'm going to go visit Alexa in New York. She's feeling a bit upset over Damon and the damage that he has done, so I'm going to go spend some time with her, try to cheer her up, you know?"

"She can always come back home," the blonde was quick to offer, hope that she would get some kind of sign that her friend was okay. That Katherine had kept her alive. It was a concern, one that she often tried not to think about, because the thought of losing her dear friend, after everything that they had been through, was enough to make her cry. And she couldn't afford to cry, not until Katherine was gone. "She doesn't need to see Damon, but maybe some girl time with us all would do her some good?"

"Maybe another day," the doppelganger was quick to decline the offer, even as her eye twitched in annoyance. No matter what she tried, everyone kept asking after Alexa, wanting her to come home. Surely days of zero communication would be enough for them to get annoyed with her, but apparently not. "She's not ready to come home, yet. But I'll talk to her, see if she feels up to calling you. It's, uh, it's been hard for her, dealing with the end of her relationship, and the thought of home doesn't make it any easier. You understand, right?"

Caroline didn't understand, she didn't understand how her plan wasn't working, but she faked a smile and nodded, "Of course! Give Alexa my love and I hope she's able to call me soon!"

The pair quickly muddled through the goodbyes, neither of them caring about them but knew that they had to fake the effort. And as soon as call was over, Katherine was rolling her eyes, strutting over to her daughter, perching down next to her. The petty drama of the fools back in Mystic Falls meant nothing to her, not when she needed to find a way to save her daughter, a way that didn't involve begging Klaus for his blood.

Caroline just glared at her phone before messaging the others in the gang, letting them know that Katherine hadn't taken her bait. It was something that they had planned for, just in case the doppelganger was smarter than they had hoped. It used to be something that they just assumed, but since she didn't immediately ditch town after stealing Elena's body, the gang had found that their respect for their old tormentor had diminished.

After April's failed attempt to call Katherine back to town, it was Bonnie's turn. The Anchor to the Other Side decided to go for a different approach, playing the friend card, hoping that Katherine would realise that it would be something that Elena would never turn down.

"'Elena', you are so popular today," Nadia slurred out as her mother's phone started buzzing again. It had happened more than she had expected it to, especially since the others had been content to leave 'Elena' alone recently. But today, of all days, they had decided that they wanted her around.

Katherine rolled her eyes before answering the phone with a, fake, cheery, "Hey, Bonnie!"

"Hey, how's it going?" Bonnie replied, not even bothering to hide her exhaustion. Normally, she tried to protect her friends from the responsibilities of being the anchor. But this time, she was going to take advantage of them.

"You sound tired," the doppelganger immediately picked up, before frowning.

"Yeah, I had to pull an all-nighter for my sociology exam, and then I woke up to a coven of dead Russian witches passing through me on the way to the Other Side," the younger girl sighed before wincing. "Sorry, self-pity. So not cute."

Katherine paused for a moment, wondering what sympathetic words her foolish doppelganger would give, before attempting to smile, "No, I… I totally get it. It's… you're the anchor now. That must be… exhausting."

Bonnie nodded, her voice soft as she asked, "Do you want to maybe meet up for a coffee or something? It's just one of those days, you know?"

Katherine's eye twitched in annoyance as she gave a fake laugh, "Yeah, well, this is gonna sound crazy, but I'm actually at the day spa right now, buying you a gift certificate for your birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise, but, well, surprise!"

It was the former witch's turn to be annoyed, but she did a magnificent job of pretending that she wasn't, "You read my mind. It's so… you."

Desperate to end the call, the doppelganger just replied with a, "Hey, look, I'll check in with you later." Once Bonnie agreed and they had hung up the call, the woman just growled out to her daughter, "Why are they being so clinyg today?"

XXX

Alexa stared out of the window, head resting against the wooden frame, enjoying the cool night breeze against her face. It was far too late for her to be awake, but the girl would much rather avoid sleep, not wanting to confront the nightmares that she knew were waiting for her. It had been a tough time for Alexa. She was still haunted by her two deaths; images of blood covered fangs and Katherine's smirk had never left her mind, but now they were mingled with Jules' fierce look when she was torturing her. It was delightful mix that led to her avoiding sleep.

Of course, the fact that she couldn't trust Elena not to do something stupid and get herself killed didn't help with her wanting to avoid sleep. Sometimes, her nightmares led her down that dark path, tormenting her with 'what ifs'. What if she didn't save Elena from the sacrifice? What if Elena actually managed to give herself up to Klaus? And in each scenario, all the girl saw was her descending into darkness, drowning herself in booze until she ceased to exist. It was a future that she didn't want to think about.

With a shake of her head, Alexa shifted slightly, reaching out to grab her book from the footstool that she had dragged over, making sure not to dislodge the 'Monster' can that was precariously balancing against her thigh. But before she could grab it, a strong hand captured her wrist. The girl jolted slightly before rolling her eyes at the new arrival.

Damon just rolled his eyes in return, switching his grip to her hand as he sat down next to her legs. Alexa cleared her throat and glanced away when the vampire looked pointedly at the clock, murmuring the time before stating, "Bit late to be reading."

"Time is a fluid concept," the girl muttered petulantly, ignoring the raised eyebrow before trying to subtly hide her energy drink. Damon had always been a bit of a mother-hen and the whole drama surrounding the sacrifice had only made it worse. If he found out that she was deliberately avoiding sleep, going as far as using energy drinks to do so, he would not be happy. And the last thing that she wanted to do was upset the man that she loved, especially since he was only trying to look out for her. Because, let's be real, it wasn't like Alexa was doing a good job of that. Unfortunately for the girl, her movements weren't as subtle as she thought they were and the vampire's sharp eyes immediately honed in the can half-hidden by her blanket. As the raised eyebrow grew severe, Alexa winced, "Oops."

The older Salvatore took pity on Alexa and just reached over to confiscate it while sighing, "Where did you even get this? Jenna has deliberately avoided buying them."

"I stole it from Jeremy," Alexa pouted as her caffeine friend was placed far away from her. She knew that she shouldn't have been drinking it. Especially since it made her jittery and didn't help her resist her dark cravings. But Jenna had taken to hiding the pot to the coffee machine when she went to bed, so there was no other way for her properly avoid sleep. Even sitting in front of the window with the cool spring air failed to keep her awake all night. Of course, the fact that the man in front of her frequently dropped in to check on her didn't help with avoiding sleep. But Alexa couldn't even be mad about that. Because the fact that he cared that much about her made the girl want to cry. It was the worried look in Damon's eyes that had Alexa wincing again and whispering, "I'm fine, Damon."

"I'm almost tempted to let you have it," the vampire's fingers drew patterns on the girl's palm, hand still gently held by his own. He could see just how much the entire situation was affecting her. Due to the late hour, Alexa was make-free and was no longer hiding the dark marks beneath her eyes. He knew that she had been avoiding sleep and he cursed every being that dared to hurt her. It burned him up inside that he wasn't able to protect her, to keep her safe, and the fact that her bright smile had been dimmed made his undead heart hurt.

Alexa paused for a moment before shaking her head, "I'm not going to break, you know."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," Damon gave her a comforting smile before gesturing to the bed. "Come on, you need to sleep."

"I…" the girl started before pausing and swallowing hard. Her voice was quiet once she finally managed to make herself speak. "I can't. I just… it's too much right now. I'll be fine staying awake. And besides, Andie gave me some useful reading and I think it might give us a clue as to how to kill that asshole…"

She would have kept on talking, almost trying to persuade herself that she was fine, but she was soon interrupted by Damon gently cupping her face. Alexa couldn't stop herself from leaning into his touch, even as she stared up at him with wide eyes. The vampire looked down at the girl who had captured his heart, before sighing, "At least come and lay in bed. It will help you relax."

Alexa couldn't find it in herself to argue with him, not when he was looking at her so softly. Damon's lips quirked up into a sweet smile and her heart clenched in her chest. She so desperately wanted to say something, to make the man in front of her hers. But she couldn't. Not now. Not when she felt so weak.

While she fought that internal dilemma, the vampire led her over to the bed, gently pushing her down. Alexa sat, watching as he moved to close the window, grabbing the book on his way back to her. It was promptly deposited on her bedside table before Damon sat down on her bed, getting comfortable against the pillows. The moment he beckoned her forward, Alexa moved, curling up against his chest, laying between his legs.

Once she was comfortable, Damon grabbed the book, propping it up on the duvet, before quietly reading it aloud. His soothing voice, even as it described various methods of killing supernatural beings, helped Alexa to relax. And before she knew what was happening, her eyes were closing, breathing evening out. Even once she was asleep, Damon continued to read, keeping his voice soft while his fingers traced patterns up and down Alexa's spine, as he, too, yearned to admit his feelings to the girl in his arms.

XXX

Damon watched with a raised eyebrow as Stefan bit into his wrist before holding it out over the glass in his hand. The moment the scent of vampire blood hit his nose, the veins beneath the older brother's eyes pulsed hungrily. It had been quite some time since he last fed and he could feel his control waning. Which was why he grounded out, tone full of frustration that his brother was happily bleeding in front of him, "What are you doing?"

The younger Salvatore was silent for a moment before reaching out to offer his brother the blood-filled glass, "Here you go. Drink."

Damon stared at the younger vampire for a moment, making sure that he was back at a safe distance, before downing the blood in one. His eyes closed for a moment in satisfaction as the hunger was momentarily satiated, before grumbling, "I need more."

"Sorry, but that's all that you can have," Stefan shrugged, leaning against the doorframe. When the older brother raised an unimpressed eyebrow, he elaborated. "That was exactly four ounces. When you were out killing vampires, you said one vampire kept you good for eight hours. So, our friend Caroline did a little bit of math."

He was interrupted by Damon's incredibly unimpressed, "Caroline?"

"Relax, she had a calculator," the younger rolled his eyes before pausing and adding. "And Alaric. So: four ounces, three times a day should be just enough to help you manage the hunger. So you don't rip anyone's head off."

"That's awfully optimistic of you," Damon rolled his eyes, eying up the empty glass in his hand, wondering if there was anything left for him to lick. "How do you know you aren't giving me too much? And that I won't just break out of here?"

"Well, for one thing, you promised to give me a week," Stefan pointed out, watching as his brother just discarded the empty glass, instead carefully taking Alexa's ring from his pocket and holding it in his hand. Even though he hadn't been down here too often, the other vampire knew that his brother had barely let go of that ring. It felt like it was the only thing keeping him sane. And he hated that Damon had been put in that position. Despite all the drama that came with living in Mystic Falls, things were getting good between them. Before Katherine exploited his brother's biggest weakness. "And it's been one day."

"That was before I found out that Katherine has been holding my girl hostage for well over a week," the older vampire retorted, clenching his fist for a moment before relaxing back against the wall behind him. "So, how is your plan to rip the bitch apart and save Alexa?"

The younger Salvatore winced at his words, the reminder of his failure to protect the twins burning him inside, before sighing and shaking his head, pulling out his cell, "Katherine has been making a lot of excuses and avoiding everyone. But I have a feeling that she won't be able to say no to me." They were just about to put that theory to the test when a different phone buzzed. The brothers glanced over to Damon's phone, sitting innocently at the edge of the camp bed. The screen was lit up with Elena's name and Stefan frowned, "It's your phone. 'Elena' is calling. Answer it."

The older brother grumbled, not wanting to talk to the bitch who had been hurting his girl. But he knew that he had to play along. If Katherine realised that her cover had been blown, then she might ditch town, taking Alexa's location with her. Or, even worse, she might do what she had been threatening all these years, and permanently kill Alexa. It was a thought that had Damon immediately reaching for the phone and answering the call, "Elena. Hey."

"Hey, um, how are you?" Katherine did a truly impressive job of sounding like she cared. It was just a shame that it was a wasted effort, considering everyone knew that she wasn't Elena. Well, not that she knew that yet. But there was a suspicious voice in the back of her mind, warning her that everything wasn't as rosy as she hoped.

"Oh, you know," Damon shrugged, desperately looking for something normal to say. He knew that he had to play along, no matter how difficult it was. "Hungry, bored. Same old, same old."

Katherine's eye twitched in annoyance at the conversation but she managed to hide it as she said, "Now that the dust has settled, I was hoping that, I don't know, maybe… maybe we could talk about what happened at the farm house? Can I see you? I, uh, I didn't tell Alexa what happened, I wanted to speak to you first."

"Okay, sure," the older vampire glanced over at his brother, a helpless look on his face. Because how did he play this? How did he make sure that Alexa stayed safe, that Katherine didn't realise that something was wrong? "Why don't you come to the house and we'll just talk about it here?"

"Perfect, I'll see you soon," Katherine forced a smile as they exchanged goodbyes. The moment the call was ended, she turned to face her daughter, a frown on her face. "Damon knows that he tried to kill me less than 24 hours ago. His precious Alexa's twin sister. His anger last night was real and there is no way that he has gotten over it. Not yet."

"And yet, he is desperate to see her," Nadia wheezed out, her skin pale and shiny with sweat. "Just like her other friends."

Katherine sighed, glancing down at her phone, "They know."

While the annoyingly not-dead doppelganger plotted, the Salvatore brothers exchanged glances. They were silent for a moment before Stefan frowned deeply, forehead crinkling, "That doesn't make any sense. She's dodged anyone's attempts to try to get her over here, and now, she voluntarily wants to cover over?"

"Unless," Damon breathed out, a look of sick realisation forming on his face. "She was testing me." Everything was silent for a moment before he spat out. "She knows."

XXX

Alexa glanced between the keys being held out in front of her and the car in the driveway before shaking her head, "You've gotta be shitting me."

Damon rolled his eyes at her words before grabbing her hand and dropping the keys onto her palm, his fingers dragging against her skin for a moment, "You need to learn how to drive."

"Yeah, I know that," the girl winced as she failed to sound convincing. It wasn't that she didn't want to learn how to drive. She knew that it was a weakness, that she was letting her loved ones down. She couldn't go save them if they needed her. It was most obvious when Klaus took Jenna that time. Anything could have happened to her beloved aunt before she got there, because she couldn't drive there. But she was scared. It was something that she didn't want to admit to anyone. It was something that she had actually managed to hide from everyone she knew. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide it from Damon. She couldn't hide anything from him. Even if it was dreadfully embarrassing. "But, uh," her mind frantically scrambled for an excuse that hid her fear. Because it was a foolish fear, one that she didn't want to admit. Especially to the man in front of her. "No one has ever wanted to teach me. There has to be a reason for that."

"The reason is because they are idiots," the vampire shook his head before resting his hands on her shoulders. Alexa's body immediately relaxed at his touch and she cursed herself for that, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

"Well, what if there is something else," she pushed, shaking her head as that ugly fear grew. She knew that it was irrational. But ever since she reached the age to get her drivers permit, her family had joked that she couldn't be trusted behind the wheel of a car. And it was something that she eventually internalised. "What if I'm dangerous? What if I hurt someone?"

"That isn't going to happen, Alexa," Damon's voice was soft as he gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I'll be with you. I'll make sure that no one gets hurt."

"What if I damage your car?" her whisper had the vampire pausing for a moment before he gave her a wink.

"Then we'll be having words."

Alexa cursed herself as she blushed brightly before clearing her throat and rolling her eyes, "Fine. I can see that you're going to be stubborn. But if anything bad happens, then I'm going to tell Jenna that it was all your fault."

Damon went to snark back a response before pausing. He knew that the girl's aunt could be quite wrathful when it came to her wards and he did actually respect the woman. The way that she had adapted to the supernatural world, the way she fiercely protected her kids; he couldn't help but admire her. And he would always be grateful to John Gilbert for giving up his life to save Jenna's.

Alexa strode over the car before pausing as she reached the drivers door. Her hand shook for a moment as it hovered over the handle. She knew that she should be able to do this, that she had to do this. But she just couldn't shake away her fear and it was driving her insane. Her hand hovered in the air for a second longer before a larger one covered it. Damon's fingers tangled with hers as he stood behind her, chest pressing against her back. His voice was soft as he spoke into her ear, "You can do this, Alexa. Ignore everything that the idiots have said. I know you can do this. All I need you to do is trust me."

The girl immediately nodded, hoping that he couldn't see the redness of her cheeks, "I trust you, Damon."

"Good," he gave her hand a final squeeze before opening the door for her. Alexa glanced up at him, drawing strength from the comforting gaze before climbing into the car. One hand clenched the keys while the other carefully rested on the wheel, still shaking. Something else that she cursed herself for. She shook her head as Damon sat in the passenger seat.

Alexa listened carefully as he went through all of the safety instructions under the sun. If there was a safety rule, then Damon explained it. If there was something that the girl needed to do, to make sure that she stayed safe, then he explained it. Of course, he constantly caveated it that it was because he cared about her safety, not anyone else's. And he always silently added to himself that he had to keep her safe. So many bad things had happened to her in such a short amount of time. He refused to let anything else bad happen to her, including a car accident.

Damon could see her body slowly relaxing as he talked, asking sensible questions, her eyebrows furrowing as she absorbed everything that she heard. It helped to ease the tension inside of her, hearing all of the safety rules. She didn't want to hurt anyone and she definitely didn't want to damage Damon's car. He had been so good to her; it would be a shitty way of thanking him if she damaged his precious Camaro.

It wasn't until the mirrors were adjusted and the key was in the ignition that the shaking started again. She knew what she had to do, but the thought of putting her foot down on the pedal just made her feel sick. All those previous worries came back to her, flooding her mind like a horrific tsunami.

Alexa didn't realise that her eyes were closed until a gentle hand was cupping her cheek, encouraging her to look at those lovely blue eyes. Damon's voice was soft as he gave her an encouraging smile, "Hey, I'm here."

The girl breathed in deep, holding it for a moment, before sharply exhaling and nodding, "I can do this."

XXX

It was Tyler's turn to look after Damon. The male members of the Mystic Falls Gang had taken turns to keep the infected vampire company, making sure that nothing bad happened to him and that he was fed on time. It was an easy job, for the most part, as the older Salvatore brother just muttered about saving Alexa while messaging Jenna. He had been doing his part in reassuring the woman, while also encouraging her revenge fantasies. It was something that he had learnt from his girl, as it was an unusual, but effective, calming method for the new mother.

When Jenna took a break to take her daughter to see Meredith, making sure that everything was back to normal with her youngest child, Damon sighed, "I don't suppose I can persuade you to let me go."

"Ric said you would try this," the hybrid rolled his eyes as he sat down in the corridor, leaning against the wall opposite the door. It was something that the older vampire had frequently tried. Despite promising to give his brother a week, Damon was eager to start searching for his girl now. Well, after paying a certain doctor a visit. He wanted to get the cure to the damn virus before he found Alexa. He couldn't put her in danger. It would destroy him, if he hurt her.

"Ric doesn't understand, not like you do," the vampire shook his head as his fist clenched and unclenched, Alexa's ring safely trapped inside. "He cares about the collateral damage. He won't let innocents get hurt, even if it means Alexa remaining in Katherine's clutches."

The sound of his dear friend's name had the younger immortal tensing, sitting up slightly as he narrowed his eyes, "She won't want anyone to get hurt, especially not to save her."

"Oh relax," Damon rolled his eyes as he, too, sat up. "The only person that will get hurt is Wes. And I can guarantee you that if I presented Alexa with his head on a plate, she would be thanking me."

Tyler went to argue that point before pausing. His friend had always been a bit revenge focused, even more so after she turned. And he had seen the after-effects, he had seen what the trauma had done to her. It had never been that bad, no matter how many times she died. So yes, he could believe that Alexa would be delighted to have Dr Maxfield's head on a plate. Instead, the hybrid sighed, "I still can't take that risk."

The vampire's eye twitched in annoyance as he switched tactics, "You owe her this, Tyler. You all do. Every single one of you believed Katherine's lies. You believed that she would dump me via her sister before running away. That she would ignore everyone's messages and calls. And now you have a chance to save her from the torment that she had been enduring for over a week."

The boy winced at the words thrown at him. They prodded at a guilt that he tried to ignore. He knew that he shouldn't have believed those words. But he was distracted by Matt's disappearance, not really thinking about Alexa's actions. He just assumed that she was reacting badly to what she went through. And before he could think more of it, his oldest friend went missing. Tyler knew that he would feel guilty for it for years, maybe even decades to come. He almost didn't want to find out what Katherine had done to his friend.

"I still can't let you out," Tyler shook his head, but even he could tell that his resolve was waning. He knew that the plan, as of right now, was to trap Katherine and get her out of Elena's body. No one was taking advantage of the woman's distraction to find Alexa, to make sure that she was okay. To save her sooner. But Damon would do that. He would let everyone else deal with Katherine and Elena, his only focus would be the younger Gilbert twin. And as bad as he felt going against the gang's plan, the hybrid almost wanted that to happen. His friend deserved for someone to put her first, even if that someone was a dangerous vampire ripper. Everything was silent for a moment before the younger immortal asked, "Do you even know that Wes has a cure?"

"Wesley Maxfield has a cure for each of his creepy little experiments," Damon rolled his eyes at thought of the man who had tormented his girl. "So he will have one for this. And if he doesn't, then I'll rip off pieces of him until he's made one."

"I still don't think I should be letting you out," the hybrid frowned as he stood up, reaching over to the grab a plastic cup from the table Caroline had set up. He bit into his wrist before allowing the thick liquid to drip into the cup. The moment he scented blood, the veins on Damon's face pulsed hungrily. Despite eating not that long ago, the hunger was easily awoken. He hadn't been drinking enough, not really, just enough to satisfy the dark feeling.

"But you will," the vampire shrugged, unable to take his eyes off of the blood. "For Alexa."

"For Alexa," Tyler sighed, before passing over the cup. He immediately bit back into his wrist, filling up a second as the other man downed the blood in one gulp. Damon tested the chains around his wrists for a moment before reaching out for the second cup. He quickly downed that one before testing the chains again.

It took a couple more cups before they gave way and when they did, Damon immediately grabbed the key from the wall near the door, unlocking them from his wrists. The moment they did, the vampire raised an eyebrow, "How do you want to do this?"

"Just snap my neck," the hybrid took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I'll work out a story when I wake up."

Damon shrugged, uncaring of whatever story the kid came up with, before doing as requested. He carefully let the body fall onto camp bed, glancing down at Tyler for a moment before walking out of the cell, eager to save his girl.

XXX

"Do you make reservations or just compel your way into restaurants?" Alexa's question had Damon glancing over at her. They were on their way to dinner, having finished shopping. He had to admit that he had spoilt his girl quite a bit while exploring the mall in Richmond. But he didn't care. Even if she wouldn't admit it, Alexa had been struggling recently. Not only had she been dealing with yet another death, his brother's recent attitude shift had made it worse. Repeatedly being called a babymaker was something that Alexa struggled with. And it sometimes made him itch to stick a stake somewhere incredibly painful for the younger vampire.

"What makes you think that I don't make reservations?" the vampire asked, an amused edge to his voice as he raised an eyebrow. His girl shrugged from her position under his arm, her own wrapped around his waist. There was a chill to the air and Alexa hadn't wasted any time in clinging on to him, pretending that he was good at keeping her warm. Of course, the fact that she had wrapped herself around him when she wasn't distracted while shopping didn't help her case.

"Cos you're an impulsive little shit," the girl snorted, giggling at his exaggerated sigh. "I dunno, Day, the thought of it just feels weird. Although, if I'm being honest, everything feels weird right now."

"You don't need to think about Stefan right now," her boyfriend's voice was soft as he squeezed her close, having guessed where her mind had gone. "He's locked up and miserable. Just like you wanted."

"Unfortunately my annoying sister keeps posting updates in our group chat," Alexa rolled her eyes as her phone once again buzzed in her bag. She was incredibly tempted to put it on silent. But she also knew that far too much shit happened in her home town and she knew her luck, that if she muted her phone, shit would happen and she wouldn't be able to go help her idiots.

"Well, that's just rude of her," Damon shook his head, wondering if he should be having words with the older Gilbert twin. Or, better yet, if he should be talking to Jenna. He knew that the woman didn't approve of her niece spending so much time in the town cell with the humanityless vampire. And he was willing to bet that if he knew how much Elena's incessant commentary was affecting Alexa, she would be tempted to put a stop to it.

"You know what's even worse?" his girl groaned dramatically. "I can't even joke about his torment. Because she will just get upset and blame herself. It is so frustrating. He fucking bullied me and now I can't even return the favour."

"If you want, I can always go visit him and put you on speakerphone," the vampire offered, smirking as her eyes lit up. They both knew that he wouldn't let her go down there, even if he was with her. Damon wasn't going to take any risks with his girl's safety, especially not right now. But he would also do anything to make her happy. So this sounded like a fair compromise.

"I can cuss him out as much as I want that way and Elena will never know," Alexa snickered, already planning on what she was going to say the younger Salvatore brother. The girl already had a list, but she wanted to do it right. After everything that he had done to her loved ones since his humanity went on vacation, she was determined to make him hurt in return, even if it was just with her words.

Damon shook his head in amusement as his girl plotted and planned, while he directed them to the restaurant. He had actually made a reservation, not that he would admit it now. He knew that Alexa had been wanting to go to this particular place since it had opened a couple of months back. And he wasn't going to let her miss out.

Alexa was excited to tell him all about the insults that she had prepared while they ate, laughing as he encouraged her creativity. He knew that he couldn't insult Stefan, not to his face, since he was supposed to be helping him. But he could get revenge for his brother's behaviour through Alexa. She would be more than happy to take a pound of flesh on his behalf.

After dinner, Damon was in no rush to head back to Mystic Falls and the drama that awaited them. He had seen how relaxed Alexa had become, during their time away. She didn't need to worry about protecting her loved ones, her sister doing something foolish, Klaus or any other pesky Originals. And the vampire was determined to let her relax a little while longer. So, he stopped off on the way back, following the roads until there were no signs of civilisation. Alexa raised a puzzled eyebrow as he drove but didn't say anything, trusting her boyfriend to keep her out of trouble and keep her safe.

When the vampire pulled over at the side of the road, she just glanced around, admiring the peace and quiet. They were surrounded by silence, the stars visible in the night sky. The only disturbances around there came from nature and the girl couldn't stop herself from smiling. It was a smile that her boyfriend returned as he beckoned her out of the car.

Alexa followed before being pulled into Damon's arms as he got settled on the hood of the car. He kept his arms wrapped around his girl, keeping her pressed against him, as he, too relaxed. He had always found it comforting, when he just sat under the night sky. And sharing that moment with Alexa only added to the comfort.

He dragged his nose along her neck as he breathed in her scent, feeling his body relax against hers. Alexa's breath hitched before she grabbed his hand, tilting her head to the side as she sighed contentedly. Damon's lips quirked up into a smile as he kissed her skin before resting his head against hers. They sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company, relaxing under the night sky.

XXX

Wes was still in his little warehouse base, working on his latest evil creation. It wasn't an ideal lab, and he definitely missed his previous ones. But Wes was nothing if not creative and he was able to easily adapt. Thanks to the Travellers, he had all the equipment that he needed. And that was all that mattered until he managed to track down Aaron and persuade him to resume funding his cause.

He held up the syringe in his hand, smiling at the orange liquid within, making sure that everything was fine, before he safely shut it away in one of the available cases. He had to keep this safe. Afterall, it wasn't often that one got their hands on hybrid venom. He placed it to the side, already making plans for the deadly liquid, before pausing.

Wes wasn't alone.

There were noises at the back of the warehouse. And they weren't the usual noises. The doctor hadn't survived this long without learning what his surroundings should sound like. He knew that there were a lot of people who wanted him dead. He cautiously reached out to grab his phone, scrolling through his contacts as he called out a quiet, "Hello?"

He was hoping that it was one of his weird allies, coming back to give him an update on their search for his missing ward. Despite his dangerous situation, Wes found that he couldn't quite assume that it was someone who wanted him dead. He needed some hope, even if it were a fool's hope. It was one of the few things that kept him going, when he failed to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The man had just found his main Traveller contact, Sloane, on his phone when there was a whoosh behind him. Before Wes had the chance to turn around, his phone was ripped from his hand and thrown to the floor. It immediately smashed into pieces from the force of the throw, destroying Wes' hope with it.

He slowly turned around, briefly closing his eyes at the sight of the evil smirk in front of him. It was a sight that delighted Damon as he practically purred, "What's up, doc?"

"How did you find me?" Wes flinched back as the vampire approached, only to knock into the metal table that had doubled as his gurney. He could feel the cold metal against his back but before he could move away, Damon was standing right in front of him.

"I called my friend Enzo," the infected vampire shrugged, but his sharp eyes were fixed upon his prey. He wasn't going to give the man the chance to escape. Not now. He needed him to cure the virus that had infected his mind. But he also wanted the revenge that he had promised Alexa. Maybe, if he presented her with Wes' head once he had rescued her, it would help ease one aspect of her nightmares. "And asked him about the little adventure that he had with you." Damon glanced around the old warehouse with a raised eyebrow. "Gotta say, long way off the tenure track, huh? I take it the Augustine Society hit a bit of a rough streak?"

"There is no Augustine Society, Damon," the doctor sighed wearily, shaking his head. "It's just me."

"Well, then, I guess you're my guy!" Damon's smirk was far too sharp as he clapped the man on the shoulders, but he didn't care. In fact, feeling his flinch helped soothe the burning rage that he could feel building in his heart. This man had caused him, his girl, his friend, so much pain. It was only fair that he felt some in return. "Because you see, I need to go save my girl from this evil bitch who is possessing her twin sister. But I can't look after her if I'm lusting over her blood, you follow?"

"Even if I did cure you of this virus, what difference does it make?" Wes grunted as the vampire's grip on his shoulders grew tight. He knew, deep down, that he wouldn't survive this encounter. That his former test subject was too unstable. But that didn't stop him from speaking his mind. "So, you stop feeding off your friends and you go back to feeding on innocent people? Do you really think that it matters? I've revealed you to be the monster that you always knew you were and there is no going back from that."

Damon narrowed his eyes as he felt the veins beneath his eyes ripple, "You dare to call me a monster? After what you did to Alexa and Enzo? At least I just kill people, you lock them up and torture them while claiming that it is for science. Now, are you going to cure me or do I need to get creative?"

The doctor paused for a moment, wondering if he could still survive this, if he could lie convincingly enough to fool the vampire in front of him. But then reality settled in and he took a deep breath before shaking his head, "I'm not going to cure you, Damon."

"You know what?" the vampire sighed mockingly in disappointment, patting the man on the cheek before shoving it deep into his chest, gripping onto his spine. Wes let out a choked gasp as he was lifted from the floor, pain clouding his mind. His body was slammed down onto the metal table. His eyes rolled back in agony as Damon loomed over him. "I was kinda hoping that you would say that." The infected vampire reached out to the side, grabbing the scalpel that sat on the tray. It was the same one that the doctor had used on Alexa and all Damon could see in his mind were the bloodstains that were left behind on his girl's skin. "Now it's my turn to play doctor."

Before Wes could even begin to plead for his life, Damon was slicing into his eye. The man screamed so loud that it tore at his throat, as he finally experienced the agony that he put his subjects through.

XXX

Damon glanced down at Alexa as he led her through the streets of Old Town Alexandria. Even after he had taken her feeding last night, he could tell that his girl was still hungry. It was the way that she stared at the people as they walked past, licking her lips at times. Of course, he knew that it was just her body adjusting to the change. It was natural for a baby vampire to be hungry and her appetite would settle with time. But he also knew it worried her.

Alexa had never been good at hiding her feelings from him and it didn't take a genius to realise what was wrong. While he hadn't been there for any of the conversations, he knew how the others back in Mystic Falls felt about her transitioning. If it wasn't for the fact that it was the only way for her to survive, he knew that the others would have tried to stop her from ever becoming a vampire. Luckily for them, it was a fight that they would never have to lose. But that didn't mean that their words hadn't gotten into his girl's mind. He knew about her fears, that she would end up hurting someone. That she would 'fail' at being a vampire and controlling the hunger. And he was determined to get her through this as painlessly as possible.

"I'm assuming that my senses won't always be so sensitive," Alexa murmured from beside him, wrinkling her nose as they walked past a fishmonger. Damon had to hide a smirk in her hair, his fingers stroking her side, before answering.

"You will learn to tune them out," the fingers of his other hand tapped her nose before gripping her chin, encouraging his girl to look up at him. And despite her new situation, despite the fact that she nearly permanently died just a couple of days ago, her eyes were bright and free from shadows. "It will always be there, all of that noise and smell, but your mind will learn to push it all away until you need it."

"That makes sense," the girl nodded, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Cos otherwise you'd be able to hear everything, all of the time. And I know for a fact that you vampires don't do that." She paused for a moment to mutter, "us vampires?" before shaking her head, "cos I've cussed Klaus out enough times to know that he isn't always listening to me."

The older vampire rolled his eyes at that. Because of course that was one of her tests to work out if vampires were always using their sensitive hearing. But he let her have it, moving on without comment, to instead say, "It won't take you long to tune it all out. Back when I turned, I found it helpful to focus on one thing in particular. It helped to focus me and then it just took practice."

Alexa stared up at him with wide eyes, listening intently to each word. It wasn't often that her boyfriend spoke of that time. She knew that it had been difficult for him, thinking that his brother had doomed him to an eternity without the love of his life before becoming a bloodthirsty ripper dick. So each time Damon mentioned those early vampire days, she paid attention, doing her best to make it as pain-free as possible to talk about them.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that I've got you to focus on," her smile was soft as she gave Damon a squeeze, before wrinkling her nose again. "Although, I do have to admit that I think dealing with my sensitive nose will be harder than the listening thing."

Damon couldn't help but laugh at that, shaking his head, "I can't do much to help with that, I'm afraid, Ally. It will ease with time."

"Oh joy," Alexa sighed dramatically, giggling at the amused look that she got, before looking around. "This feels so weird. Like, I'm different, I know I'm different now, I feel different. And yet… it feels the same. Like we're just spending the day away from home, shopping and chilling. I…" she paused for a moment, before continuing, her voice quieter, "is it bad that I like it?"

"You are still you, Alexa," her boyfriend gave her a squeeze before glancing around, spotting a nearby alley. He slowly directed her through the crowd, aiming for the alley and the privacy that it would grant them. "Yes, you have some upgrades, but deep down, who you are hasn't changed."

"I guess I do remember Stefan telling Caroline the same thing," the girl frowned, content to let the other vampire direct her into the alley. "That her personality might be heightened but she was still the same person at her core. Guess it's nice to know that he wasn't just bullshitting."

"Not in that instance," Damon muttered and Alexa couldn't stop herself from snorting at his words. "But he was right. You are still the same girl that I fell in love with, Alexa. You're just a bit more durable."

He gave her a wink and Alexa cleared her throat, glancing away as she felt her body respond to his words. Not that the horniness had ever really left. It was always there, buzzing under her skin, competing only her with hunger. Of course, the girl would much rather the horniness be in control, especially when she felt the warmth of Damon's hands through the thin fabric of her dress as he leant her back against the alley wall.

His body pressed against hers and she couldn't stop herself from shifting her legs wider, pulling him in closer. Her boyfriend smirked at her movement, his nose dragging against the soft skin of her neck as she gasped, "Alley sex is so scandalous. Especially during the day."

Of course, all thoughts of scandal soon vacated her mind when his fangs scraped against her skin. Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt her own fangs poking against her lip. They both knew that this little encounter wouldn't go further than this bit of teasing but it was enough to get her mind off of everything. And if there was one thing that Damon was good at, it was keeping his girl's mind occupied.

XXX

Matt sat next to Nadia, holding her hands in his, while they waited for Katherine to make her grand entrance. It had been surprisingly easy to transport the sick vampire to the Boarding House once they knew where she was. The hardest part, for Matt, was dealing with the hallucinations. While he knew what she had done, he couldn't help but remember the sweet smile that she gave him when they first met. So he volunteered to look after her while the others lurked around, trying to work out where Alexa was hidden and whether Katherine would actually come.

"Your hands are like ice," the human muttered, giving the cold hands a squeeze, rubbing the back of them with his thumbs. He hadn't personally seen how a hybrid bite affected a vampire before, but it had been described to him. And he could tell that Nadia didn't have much time left before the inevitable happened. Matt just hoped that her mother did the decent thing for once and came to see her daughter one last time.

Nadia slowly moved her head, eyes glassy and unfocused, as she frowned, "Gregor?"

"No, it's Matt," he corrected her softly, eyebrows creasing in concern. "I'm not…"

"Gregor, I'm sorry I betrayed you," the sick vampire continued as though she hadn't heard his voice, regret causing her voice to crack. "I did it for my mother. I did everything for her."

Matt felt his heart constrict in his chest at her words. He knew the pain of an absent mother. He hadn't heard from his own since his 18th birthday. He knew, all too well, that need to please them, to make them want to stay. And he found, despite the situation, he couldn't condemn her for what she did. So he softened his voice and gave her hands another squeeze, "I know you did."

"Forgive me?"

And Mattie did what he could, mimicking the accent that sometimes haunted his dreams, and said, "Yes, I forgive you." Nadia whimpered at his words, closing her eyes, and the boy frowned, shifting slightly closer, "Hey, shh, it's okay. It's okay, shh."

"I don't wanna die," the sick vampire whispered, tears falling down her cheeks, as lucidity returned to her. Matt tried to hush her, to keep her mind away from her impending doom. But she just repeated her words, "I don't wanna die." The human glanced over his shoulder as the others entered the room. Bonnie and Jeremy, Caroline and Tyler, Stefan and Alaric and April. They must have sensed that her end was near. Ric had a hand on Tyler's shoulder while his girlfriend held his hand, doing their best to ease the guilt that was obvious on his face. Bonnie glanced between them before slowly approaching the dying vampire. She gave Matt a soft smile before taking his place next to Nadia, gently holding her hand. The Petrova daughter stared at the Anchor, all signs of madness gone from her eyes, "What's gonna happen when I die?"

"I'll take your hand, and you'll go to the Other Side," Bonnie replied softly, doing her best to ease the vampire's fear. "Just like that."

"Will it hurt?" Nadia asked, even as her muscles tensed in pain, feeling it claw at her mind.

The Anchor hesitated for a moment, thinking about the agony that she experienced every time someone passed over, before forcing a smile, "You won't feel any pain."

Before anyone could say anything else, the front door to the Boarding House opened. Those still standing spun around, ready to confront the intruder, while Bonnie kept her attention on Nadia. It was clear that she didn't have long left and despite everything that she had done, Bonnie was loathed to leave her alone.

Katherine strode in, head held high, jaw tense, as she announced, "I'm here to see my daughter." The others were silent but parted ranks, allowing the woman to walk forward. Jeremy urged Bonnie away, not wanting his girlfriend anywhere near the monster that had harmed both of his sisters. Katherine's eye twitched at the gesture but she kept silent, instead sitting next to her daughter. She whispered her name and the dying vampire's eyes blinked opened as she felt her mother take her hand.

"You came back for me," Nadia breathed out, almost sounding like she didn't believe it. She always knew that selfishness was one of Katherine Pierce's defining traits. But she always hoped, like she did when she was a child, that she mother would overcome that selfishness to be at her side. And now, after too many centuries, that hope was proving to be a reality.

"I won't leave you again," the doppelganger promised, giving her daughter's hand a squeeze. She looked over her pale skin, the sweat beading on her forehead, and she realised just how much she had lost. Her mistakes had led to this, her greed, her selfishness. And now, she was going to once again lose that little girl that had been ripped from her arms when she was seventeen years old.

"Did you find a way to save me?" the dying vampire whispered, daring to hope that she wouldn't die in the Salvatore Boarding House parlour. That she would get to spend more time with her mother, now that she had finally found her.

Katherine drew in a sharp breath, briefly closing her eyes for a moment in regret, before admitting in a soft, pained voice, "Klaus' blood would have saved you… if I had asked for it."

"You would have outed yourself," Nadia immediately shook her head, her breath catching in her throat as she used energy that her body didn't have.

"But you would have been alive," the woman sighed heavily, trying not to focus on all of her regrets and instead on her dying daughter. "And now it's too late." She reached out to brush the hair from her child's face, searching desperately for the right words to soothe her mind. But the hallucinations began before she could find them.

"My mother's name is Katherine," the dying vampire muttered, her eyes closing, frowning deeply as her words slurred. "I'm looking for her."

There was a helpless look on Katherine's face as she gave her daughter's hand a squeeze, trying to get her attention, "You found me. Nadia, I'm right here."

But Nadia was too caught up in her hallucinations to hear her words, instead continuing to repeat the words that had kept her company for five centuries, "She's a liar and a murderer. She manipulates, she betrays… she'll do anything to survive."

In-between the mutterings, her mother desperately tried to get her attention, "Nadia, no. I'm right here. Nadia, look at me. Look at me. I'm here, I'm right here."

"I'm looking for my mother."

Realising how hopeless it was, Katherine slumped back, a desperate look of heartbreak and loss on her face, "This is not what your life should have been. 500 years searching for a mother who ended up being me." She reached out with her free hand to gently stroke her daughter's cheek as she sighed. "Your life was stolen from you and I failed you, by not searching for you and making sure that you got the childhood that you deserved. We… we would have had a little cottage in the woods, close enough to town that we had everything that we needed but also had some privacy. And every day, you would play outside until you were tired and I had to call you in for bed. I know you would have been an adventurous child, making forts down by the river and playing with the local wildlife. And every night, I would have tucked you in and given you a kiss goodnight." Tears dripped down her cheeks as Nadia's skin began to grey, death claiming her. "Your mother loves you."

In the space between life and death, Nadia cried as she heard the words that she had been waiting her entire life to hear. She glanced to the side as Bonnie approached her, a comforting smile on her face as she held out her hand. The younger Petrova took one final look at her mother before gripping the offered hand and crossing over to the Other Side.

Bonnie tried to muffle her pained shout behind her hand but everyone knew that Nadia had passed over. Katherine winced at the noise before slowing closing her daughter's eyes and covering her face with the blanket. She knew that the tedious children behind her had witnessed everything and were now waiting for their opportunity to take her down. And even though she had no way of escaping, it didn't stop her from glancing around the room as she stood up to face them.

"So, this is it," she nodded, ignoring the hard looks that she got. In a desperate move, hoping that they wouldn't expect her to move so quick, she tried to run to the side, aiming for the balcony doors. But before she could even take a couple of steps, someone new was in front of her.

The smirk on Damon's face was sharp as he forced her back into the middle of the room, "Hello, Katherine. You didn't think that I'd miss this, did you?"

XXX

Alexa stood by the sea, shoes and dress discarded in the sand behind her, as she wiped the blood from her lips, body relaxing as the cool nighttime breeze gently wafted around her. It had been another night of exploring the Miami clubs, feeding and fucking. The two vampires had been in town for around a week and a half, just enjoying themselves and forgetting about the drama of their lives. It was an unexpected pause to their Mystic Falls sojourn, but not an unwelcome one. Miami had the right number of people and places to explore, without feeling too enclosed. And after the confines of home, it was a welcome change.

And every night, the humanityless vampire waited for the sunrise by the sea. It helped to soothe the itching under her skin, the frustration from failing to complete her plans before leaving town, and remaining anger towards those that remained behind. But there was also something peaceful about watching a new day start. Even though it should remind of everything that she was running from, everything that she should be doing, it was a like a new start for her. The opportunity to take a deep breath and start again. It was why she made the effort to spend that time on the beach, where no one went at the early hours of the night. Sometimes, she watched the sunrise from the ocean, feeling the warm water enveloping her body but today, she was content to just dip her feet in the water and enjoy the empty beach.

Of course, she didn't remain alone for long. It took barely any time for Damon to wrap his arms around his girlfriend, holding her close to his body. It had been a tedious day for the older vampire. He had, once again, had to order his brother and his pious friends to leave them alone and not come after them. He knew that it would happen, as soon as it looked like they were temporarily settling in Miami, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a frustrating task. Stefan had tried it a couple of times, threatening to come and force them back to Mystic Falls. But luckily Damon's threats were still working. Of course, it helped that the others still needed time away from them. Alexa turning April Young into a vampire was a raw wound for many of them and not all of them were ready to face his girl again. Not that he was going to complain. It got tiring, defending his girlfriend from the others, making sure that they didn't try to hurt her, to torture or compel her into turning her humanity back on.

"Why did you take your dress off?" Damon murmured, glancing down and enjoying the view of her cleavage. His fingers stroked her hip as the other hand moved to rest just below her boobs. It took all of his self-control to keep his hands off of them. Normally, he would have just thought fuck it and gone for it. But he wanted to make sure that there was nothing on Alexa's mind that he had to worry about before he did so.

"I was debating whether I wanted to go for a swim," she replied softly, relaxing back against her boyfriend as she gazed across the water. "It's been a couple of nights since I last did so."

"So why didn't you?" the other vampire gave in to his urges and slowly dragged his thumb across her covered nipple. Alexa's sharp intake of breath had him smirking into her hair as he repeated the motion.

"I just can't be bothered to shower when we get back to the room," Alexa closed her eyes, head slumping back as her boyfriend lavished her boobs with attention. Her body grew tight as her pleasure grew, Damon putting his knowledge of her body to good use. "There are other things that I would rather do more."

Her tiny gasp had the older vampire growling, his voice deep, "How much do you care about your dress and shoes?"

"Not at all," his girl was quick to reply, already turning in his arms, ready for him to carry her back to their room. Damon didn't need any more encouragement, already scooping her up in his arms before speeding them back. Despite the fact that they had fucked numerous times in the clubs, outside of the clubs, high on blood and the hunt, he found that his hunger for his girl was insatiable. It hadn't even been an hour since he last had his hands on her, but he couldn't resist the temptation of her half-naked body.

As was common, they sped into the room without being seen and Damon carefully let go of Alexa, resting her back against the door. He wasted no time in dropping to his knees, ripping off his girl's panties, lips curling up into a smirk as she immediately clung onto his hair, head thumping back, knocking against the door.

It didn't take long for Alexa to be reduced to a whimpering mess, tugging on her boyfriend's hair as her mind was consumed with pleasure. It was almost a nightly ritual of theirs, returning to the room and fucking away their troubles. And Damon never got tired of exploring his girl's body, looking for new ways to pleasure her. He did love it when she whimpered his name just so.

But eventually, he took pity on her and gave her just what she needed to fall over that edge. Her boyfriend extended out her orgasm until her grip on his hair grew tight, before resting his head against her stomach. As Alexa's breathing slowly returned to normal, she curled hand around the back of Damon's neck, holding him close to her. She had never forgotten Stefan's attempts to get into her boyfriend's head and make him doubt their relationship. And even with her humanity off, it was a thought that burned. It was part of the reason why she kept Damon so close, always reassuring him, and secretly herself, that they were together.

XXX

"Where is Alexa, Katherine?" Damon's voice was a sharp growl as he followed the woman into the centre of the room, matching her step by step. He only paused when Alaric placed his hand on his shoulder, but he didn't soften his glare.

"Why should I tell you?" the doppelganger narrowed her eyes, squaring her shoulders as she faced down the furious vampire. Even the sight of his face changing, a sign that he was losing control of his rage, didn't phase her. Katherine knew that she faced her end, had made her peace with that the moment she decided to walk through the Boarding House door.

"Because I will rip you apart until you tell me," the older Salvatore spat out, ignoring the worried look that his brother and friend exchanged. "Just like I did to Wes."

"You won't hurt Elena," Katherine scoffed, shaking her head, almost believing her words. But she remembered how he nearly strangled her at that farm house, when he thought that she was the older Gilbert twin. And she knew that he wasn't exactly thinking rationally right now.

"What makes you think I care?" Damon's response had everyone wincing and Stefan stepped forward. The doppelganger knew that it was obvious how she relaxed slightly. It was common knowledge that Stefan wouldn't let Elena get hurt, even if it meant temporarily protecting Katherine Pierce.

"Where is Alexa?" the younger Salvatore asked, his voice softer but there was a stern edge there. He wouldn't accept any deflections, any excuses. His friend had been missing for long enough and the guilt that he had basically helped her to be tormented for so long meant that he wouldn't let Katherine mess him around.

The oldest in the room stared hard at the man she claimed to love before sighing and rolling her eyes, "I left her in the place that no one would ever think to look." When she received blank looks, the woman groaned and elaborated, "The tomb."

Damon muttered a vicious curse that had April wincing before declaring, "I'm going to go get her."

"I wouldn't if I were you," his maker shrugged before smirking. "There is a lot of blood down there."

It was only the strong grip that Ric had on his shoulder that stopped Damon from doing something that he might, one day, regret. It was something that Katherine noticed but she was sensible enough to not comment on it. While the woman knew that she was going to die, she did want it to be as pain-free as possible.

The older Salvatore wanted so desperately to go and save his girl himself. To rescue her from her torment. But he also didn't want to put her in more danger. He would never forgive himself if he hurt her. But he didn't trust those around him to save her either. They had believed Katherine's lies for days, prolong his girl's pain. His thoughts spun in a vicious circle before he cursed again and looked at Tyler, the one that he somehow trusted the most with Alexa's wellbeing in the moment in time, "Wolf-Boy, bring her home."

The hybrid stood up straight at his words, immediately nodding without even thinking twice. A part of him was surprised that Damon had asked him to go. But he wasn't going to complain. He, too, was itching to go save his dear friend. So he sped from the Boarding House, heading immediately to the tomb beneath the old Fell's Church. He moved faster than he ever had before, needing to get to his friend's side, to save her.

Tyler stopped at the top of the stairs, glancing around, just in case Katherine had laid a trap. But all thoughts of danger immediately left his mind as he breathed in deep, the smell of blood overwhelming his sensitive nose. He raced down the stairs, following the scent of blood into the room at the far end. The sight that greeted him just about broke his heart. Even his darkest suspicions didn't prepare him for that.

Alexa's body was chained to the back wall, her head slumped to the side, eyes closed. Pools of blood soaked into the mud beneath her wrists and he could see blood staining her skin. But it was the grey tinge to her skin that worried him the most. He sped over to her side, dropping to his knees before shaking hands reached out, carefully tilting her head back. Tears stained her cheeks, but her face remained still. There were no signs of life, no movements. But he had seen enough dead supernaturals to know that she still clung to life. Tyler tried to convince himself of that fact. That it was just the blood loss and lack of food that led to the grey skin and stillness.

The hybrid took a deep breath before slowly reaching out to remove the chains. Only to gasp when he realised that Katherine hadn't chained his friend up normally. No, she had used bear traps, the spikes cruelly digging into Alexa's soft wrists. She had done everything that she could to torture his beloved friend, to make sure that she was in agony, even when Katherine wasn't around.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, wincing as he used his strength to open the bear traps. But there were still no signs of life. Alexa's face remained still as her hand just flopped to the floor, landing in the pool of blood. Tyler quickly moved to steady her body, keeping her upright before leaning over to carefully free her other wrist. That one he caught, carefully placing it on her lap, before doing the same with the other one. He gazed down at his adopted sister, hand resting carefully on her shoulder, avoiding the old blood stains, before closing his eyes, fighting to keep a lid on his fury. On his guilt. He had failed her, they had all failed her. And all that he could do now was hope that she forgave them.

The hybrid carefully scooped Alexa up into his arms, making sure that she was comfortable, even as she remained still and silent. He didn't want her to be in any more pain, even if she was unconscious. With a weary sigh and one last glance at the blood that stained the floor, he left the tomb behind, carrying Alexa to freedom.

XXX

Alexa downed her shot before glancing around the bar. While she waited for her boyfriend to return from his errand, she tried to remember if they had visited this particular drinking hole during her humanityless tour. She didn't think that she had but she hadn't always taken the time to remember the details. Something that she did, sometimes, regret.

In the time it took for Damon to return, the bottle in front of the girl slowly emptied down to halfway, almost matching the empty one next to it. And while she certainly wasn't drunk, Alexa did enjoy the resulting fuzziness. After everything that had happened in the past few months, she felt as though she was owed a bit of fuzziness. Her hand shook as she refilled her glass, the bottle hitting the bar with a thud when she was done. It almost tipped to the side, but a strong hand grabbed it, covering hers, keeping it upright. Alexa glanced to the side before smiling a bit too widely, "Hey handsome, I was wondering when you would return."

Damon rolled his eyes as he pressed a quick kiss to her lips, smelling the booze that she had consumed, "I see you've managed to keep yourself entertained."

He glanced down at her phone, which was unlocked and open on the bar. Her message history was full of memes that were sent to the boys back home, but it was the messages sent to Bonnie and Stefan that had him holding back a sigh. He knew that his girl was struggling with what happened during her humanityless period. And the fact that she wasn't able to make it up to his brother and the witch was definitely prodding at those open wounds that remained.

Which was why he gently grasped her chin, tilting her head back so that he could kiss her. Alexa melted into his body; inhibitions lowered to the point where she couldn't quite hold in her gasp when he licked into her mouth. It had the older vampire smirking against her lips before pulling away, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and grabbing the bottle.

Damon led the way over to a booth in the corner, giving them a bit of privacy. Alexa was content to follow, curling into his side when they settled on the old leather seat. Her boyfriend kept his arm wrapped around her, clutching her close, his grip on the wrong side of tight, as he took a long swig from the bottle. Even in her fuzzy state, it had Alexa frowning. She didn't know what 'errand' her boyfriend had disappeared off to sort out and she wasn't going to ask any questions. The girl knew that he would tell her, when he was ready, so she just vowed to remind him that he wasn't alone. That she was by his side and always would be. It was something that the older vampire appreciated, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud. Instead, he just held in a sigh and kissed the top of her head, taking a moment to breathe in her scent. The couple had barely been spent any time apart from each other since Alexa's humanity returned and Damon wouldn't have it any other way. That time period had been difficult for both of them, for different reasons. Deep down, despite knowing that his girl loved him, the man still feared that she would leave him. And with her humanity turned off, it would have been the perfect time for her to do so. But instead, the opposite happened. Alexa had clung closer to him than before, getting vicious in her defence of their relationship. And while he knew that he shouldn't, he couldn't stop himself from enjoying that fact. It was only the thought of her fierce loyalty that got him through his 'errand'. Each time he tracked down a member of the Whitmore family, it reopened old wounds. But he couldn't stop. It was the only way that he could make it up to Enzo. He failed to save him from the flames but he could carry out his revenge for him.

The two vampires quickly finished the open bottle before making their way through a new one. Alexa found herself slowing down, watching her boyfriend with worried eyes. It was so obvious that something was bothering him, but he wouldn't admit as to what it was. So she just continued to sit close to him, reassuring him that she was there.

She shifted so that she was sitting on her knees, uncaring of the fact that her shoes were on the leather seat, leaning forward to kiss his nose. Damon indulged her for a moment before reaching out to cup her face, those piercing blue eyes scanning her face before murmuring, "You are the most important person in my life."

It was as though he didn't intend to voice that thought out loud, judging from the following blink, but he didn't take it back and Alexa didn't question it. The girl just fought back a blush before quickly wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. She held him close, tucking his head under her chin, returning to a position that they often ended up in while on their little road trip. The older vampire wrapped his arms around her in return, holding her body close to his before closing his eyes, focusing only on her warmth and scent, and not the memories that tried to fight their way past the booze.

"Day, are you okay?" the girl whispered into his hair, her grip tight. A part of her regretted not asking earlier, making sure that whatever was bothering him had gone. But she had drank a tad too much booze and she knew that there were painful memories in his past that required a delicate touch.

Damon took in a deep breath, his fingers dipping beneath his girl's top, savouring the feel of her skin against his, before nodding, "I am now."

XXX

The atmosphere in the Boarding House parlour was tense as they waited for Tyler to return. No one knew what state Alexa would be in when she was returned home, and it was a thought that they all shared. But at least they knew that she was still alive. They could get her through her trauma, she just had to be alive.

Eventually, Katherine got fed up with the silence, wanting to go out on her terms. She didn't want her last minutes on this planet to be focused around Alexandria Bloody Gilbert. No, she deserved her own moment. Which was why she rolled her eyes, drawing everyone's attention as she scoffed, "Okay, so, who's got the knife? Which one of you is gonna get to kill the elusive Katherine Pierce once and for all?" She glanced around the group, waiting for someone to speak up. But only received silence. The doppelganger narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "What? Suddenly everyone's speechless? When I was on my deathbed, you all had plenty of say." When they remained silent, the woman rolled her eyes, "Well, I know it isn't Tyler. So, who could it be?" She glanced over at April Young before immediately dismissing her, "I don't even who you are." Next was Alaric, who had placed a protective hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Ah Alaric, it isn't you. I know you wouldn't hurt Elena's body, even if it meant getting rid of me."

"You have Jenna to thank for that," the Enhanced Original narrowed his eyes, body tense. But he had promised Stefan that he wouldn't interfere with what happened.

"The lovely Jenna," Katherine sneered, shaking her head before turning to the blonde in the room. "And you. I'm not worried about you offing me. Because we both know that I made you better by making you a vampire."

Caroline gave the other woman the fakest smile in her repertoire, "Goodbye, Katherine."

"Bye, bye, Caroline," she smiled back, matching the fakeness, before sauntering over to Matt. "The one girl here who actually appreciates how beautiful you are. You wouldn't stab me in the heart, would you, Matty Blue? No, I don't think so." She sighed and shook her head. "You will definitely go down as the best night that I never had. Oh well…"

"Oh well," the boy repeated, doing his best to ignore her other words. Despite it all, he was still hurting at Nadia's death. And he wasn't in the mood to play her games. Especially since Alexa still wasn't home with them.

As Katherine approached Jeremy, Bonnie grabbed his hand, giving the woman a warning look. It had the doppelganger rolling her eyes, but she did stop a respectful distance away before shrugging, "Well, Little Gilbert, it was nice to have a brother for a second there… when you weren't being so damn annoying." Before he could say anything, she looked over at the Anchor, "Bon Bon, no need for goodbyes. I'll see you on the flip side."

A wicked gleam entered the woman's eyes as she approached Damon. But before either one of them could say anything, the front door opened. Before anyone could even blink, the older Salvatore had sped over, anxious to be reunited with his girl. But the moment he laid eyes on her, seeing her grey skin and the blood stains, he had to take a deep breath to stop himself from giving in to his rage. But that rage was the only thing stopping his heart from breaking. Despite seeing through Katherine's lies, despite his threats and desperate search, he had failed to save Alexa from this. And now, her suffering was obvious to everyone.

Without saying a word, Damon carefully took his girl from Tyler's arms. The hybrid went to protest, worried for her safety, before carefully closing his mouth. There were enough vampires in the room to stop the infected one from hurting Alexa. But deep down, he knew that his friend had nothing to fear from Damon. He wouldn't hurt her.

Everyone watched as he walked over to the second sofa, carefully sitting down, holding Alexa's body close. Damon never said a word, keeping his eyes on his girl before tucking her head under his chin, closing his eyes as he breathed in deep. And beneath the blood and the dirt, he was able to pick up her scent. Despite the situation, he was able to relax. After more than a week, he had his girl back in his arms. Yes, she was bloody and broken and starved beyond belief, but she was back with him. And that was all that mattered.

Katherine tried to speak to him, to get one last dig in before she died. But the older Salvatore brother ignored her words, instead resting his cheek against the top of Alexa's head, thumb stroking her cheek. It had the older woman narrowing her eyes, seething as she was denied that closure. For a moment, she truly regretted not finishing off the younger Gilbert twin. But then she pushed all thoughts of them aside. She wasn't going to let her last moments be consumed by those two. So, she fixed her smile back on her face before turning to face the last person in the room, "Stefan. You know, I've always wondered how it would be like to be loved by you. You've gotta admit, for that one fleeting moment, your feelings were real." It took all of the vampire's self-control to not react to her words, especially as she reached out to stroke his cheek, getting far too close. "It truly has been the role of a lifetime. Stefan, I love you. And I've always loved you." Without a word, Stefan pulled the Traveller's knife from his back pocket and stabbed the woman in front of him. Katherine let out a gasp, holding a hand against the wound before stumbling back, "Then I guess this is how our love story ends."

Matt went to catch her as she fell to the ground, not wanting Elena's body to be damaged any further, but the doppelganger pushed herself away. She staggered back, landing against the sofa that held her daughter's body, tugging down the blanket. Almost everyone watched as she panted, desperately trying to hold on to life. But it was futile. The Traveller's knife did what it was supposed to do and the last thing that Katherine Pierce saw in life was Damon cradling Alexa's body, staring down at her with an expression of love that she had never once experienced.

When her eyes next opened, they were black, as Elena finally took back control of her body. She glanced around the room with a dazed expression before her eyes rolled back and her body slumped to the side.

XXX

It didn't take long for the Salvatore Brothers to get the twins cleaned up, placing them on Damon's bed. While Stefan gave Elena some of his blood, healing her stab wound, Damon took charge of Alexa. He carefully fed her some blood, waiting until her skin regained a healthy glow, before slowly wiping down her body. He cleaned her arms, remembering Tyler's recollection of how he found her. Those wounds took longer to heal, and the older vampire watched them until they were gone. Once they were, he wiped away the tears and blood from her face before just sitting by her side, holding her hands in his, content to wait until she woke up. He prayed that it wouldn't be long, as he looked down at the ring that he had returned to its rightful place.

That was how Stefan found them, having returned from collecting more blood bags. He knew that Alexa would be ravenous when she did wake up, and he wanted to make sure that she had something to eat close by when that happened. The younger Salvatore paused in the doorway for a moment, carefully examining his brother's expression, before sighing and shaking his head. He knew that Damon still wasn't stable, even with Alexa back with them. And until they found a way to cure him of Wes' Ripper virus, they had to keep him contained. Of course, that conversation was not going to go well, which was why he had Ric on standby downstairs.

"Alexa still not awake?" Stefan asked softly as he approached the bed, sitting down next to Elena. He suspected that it would be a while until the older twin woke up. When they banished Gregor from Matt's body, it took some time for the boy to wake up. So he wasn't worried when she continued to sleep, breathing deeply, a peaceful look on her face.

"Not yet," Damon shook his head, not taking his eyes off of Alexa's face. Her eyebrows were scrunched together slightly and he reached out to stroke her cheek, desperate to soothe away the nightmares that continued to plague her mind. "I expect her body is still trying to determine if she is safe now. And considering how much Katherine starved her, it is probably still healing too."

The younger vampire nodded, looking over at his friend. She looked better than she did before, with a healthy glow to her skin and the blood and tears wiped away. But even he could see that her mind was suffering. It had him sighing before he glanced over at his brother, "Damon, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. That I didn't listen to you when you insisted that Alexa wouldn't break up with you before running away. If I had…" his voice trailed off, his guilt preventing him from finishing that thought.

"If you had listened to me," Damon's voice was soft and it had the other vampire wincing. He knew that his brother was holding onto to his control by a thread. And if Alexa wasn't in the room with him, he knew that he would have embraced his rage. Damon had warned them all, he had told them that Alexa was in trouble. But none of them had listened. And it had prolonged his girl's suffering. She had starved for longer, bled for longer. And he didn't know if he had it in him to forgive them for it. Not yet, at least. Not until Alexa was awake and he could reassure himself that she was, finally, okay. "Then Alexa wouldn't have suffered as much as she did. We would have saved her and probably saved Elena a lot sooner too. But no, none of you believed me. All of you thought that you knew my girl better than I did. And so, you believed Katherine's lies."

"I don't know if I will ever be able to make it up to you, to either of you," Stefan shook his head, looking away from the cold look in the other vampire's eyes. "But please let me try."

"I'm going to play nice, but only because I know that Alexa won't blame you for what she went through. She will find excuses for you all, even if it is just so doesn't have to truly accept what happened to her," the older vampire paused and shook his head, carefully tightening his grip on Alexa's hands, reminding himself that she was really there, that he had her back. "But Stefan, I swear, if you try and push her into forgiving you all, then all bets are off the table. I will rip you apart and make you bleed in the same way that she has been bleeding."

"Damon, you know I won't try to do that," the younger Salvatore protested softly, wanting to say more but he also didn't want to push his brother. It was clear that he was holding on by a thread and if he thought that there were any threats to Alexa nearby, that control would snap. If he was being honest, Stefan was surprised that Damon had allowed him to remain in the room with her. He had seen just how tightly he had clutched his girl close downstairs, refusing to allow anyone to go near her.

"Right now, I don't know what you are capable of, Stefan," Damon shook his head, sharp eyes examining Alexa's face, looking for any signs of her awakening. "I thought I could trust you to look out for my girl, to keep her safe when I couldn't. But instead, you let her be tortured by Katherine Pierce for days, not even bothering to search for her until you could no longer hide from the truth. It isn't a mistake that I will be making again."

Stefan went to protest, wanting to deny his words, but he held his tongue. Right now, until the younger Gilbert twin woke up, he knew that there would be fighting against the irrational thoughts in his brother's brain. Maybe, once Alexa was able to prove that she was okay, he would be able to convince his brother that he didn't mean for this to happen, that his guilt was punishment enough.

XXX

Bonnie sighed as she stood in the church, the same one that they found Nadia in. She hadn't planned on wandering so far away from the rest of their little gang, but the Anchor found that she needed some peace, some silence. After everything that had happened with the twins, she needed some space. Jeremy had tried to follow her, always so eager to be by her side, but she reassured him that she was okay. That she just needed some time to clear her head, because she knew that her guilt would soon consume her mind. The fact that she never noticed that Katherine hadn't passed over continued to haunt her. If she was being honest, Bonnie had just assumed that she had passed on a different way. A little voice in the back of her head had initially whispered that the devious doppelganger had decided to possess her daughter after all, but she never considered the fact that her friend would be in trouble. And now that she was forced to confront that fact, Bonnie found that she couldn't hide from her guilt any more. All the girl could do now was add it to the existing pile.

With a shake of her head, she approached the candles in front of her, picking up the stick and holding it to the candle at the side. Her voice soft, she light one of the candles at the front, "This is for you, Dad. I want you to know how much I miss you."

Bonnie put out the lit stick just as she heard a laugh behind her. The girl spun around, body relaxing as she saw that it was just Katherine. She had nothing to fear from the dead, not even the thought of the pain that awaited her bothered her.

"You gotta be kidding me, right?" the doppelganger sneered, looking around the church. "Something tells me that I'm five centuries too late on the whole 'believing in a higher power' thing."

"Well, you're here," Bonnie sighed, shaking her head as she prepared herself for the pain. "That means that it worked. You're dead."

"True," Katherine nodded, unable to deny that fact. "But then again, your friends didn't give me much of a choice in the matter. Using my own daughter against me? Harsh. I suppose I could have turned myself into a vampire and spent the next five hundred years running, but what was the point? My daughter was dying. Stefan would never love me. I was back to having nothing. And Elena wins again."

The Anchor just rolled her eyes, "Let's get this over with."

But as she took a step towards the deceased doppelganger, the other woman stepped back, avoiding her hand as she spat, "I am really starting to get sick of Elena getting everything that I want."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, suspicion and worry clear in her gaze, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Wes had no intention of helping Nadia," Katherine shrugged, enjoying the worry in the girl's eyes. "He was just using her as a case study in his project to wipe out vampires off of the face of the earth."

"Why are you telling me this?" the Anchor asked, hands clenching into fists at her sides as the worry turned into fear. She knew that it was never a good thing when the doppelganger looked this smug.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," there was a vicious edge to the woman's voice. "Elena had the life that I always wanted. She had the family, the love, that I always wanted. Well, until now."

"Katherine, what did you do?" Bonnie demanded, her voice desperate as her mind spun with all the different possibilities.

"Stefan thought that her gave me a choice. Run or die. But that's not really much of a choice, is it? After all, Nadia was the only person in this world who really loved me. and I wasn't going to let my daughter die alone. But Katherine Pierce wasn't about to go gentle either. I left Elena with a bit of a parting gift. The most important person in my life was stolen from me, so I returned the favour," Katherine paused for a moment before smirking. "Okay, now I'm ready." She placed her hands on Bonnie's shoulders, expecting to pass over to the Other Side. But nothing happened. The doppelganger frowned, removing her hands before clapping them down onto the Anchor's shoulders again. But she failed to pass over. Both women stared at each other in confusion. "Nothing's happening. What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Bonnie spoke slowly, glancing down at her body. "This has never happened before."

Katherine attempted to pass over again, grabbing the girl's shoulders and shaking her, "Bonnie, what are you doing? Let me pass through! Why won't you let me pass through?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, a frown forming on her face as she tried to work out what was happening. "I don't control it."

"What?" the doppelganger snapped, pushing the girl away in frustration as she failed to get what she wanted.

"It's not up to me."

"Then who is it up to?"

But before Bonnie could respond, a wind started to blow out of nowhere. The two glanced around, searching for the source. Katherine opened her mouth to demand an answer but before she could, she was thrown backwards. The woman hit the floor with a thud, before groaning out the Anchor's name. Katherine glanced around, unable to hide the fear forming on her face.

Bonnie glanced down at her, body relaxing as she felt that magic inside of her soothe that initial unease that she had felt, "I can't help you, Katherine."

"What?" the deceased doppelganger breathed out, her fear quickly turning into terror as she looked around. Katherine felt a dark feeling looming over her as the wind around her grew more ferocious. "No, no, no, no, no." Her fingers dug into the ground as she felt something trying to pull her backwards. But despite her best attempts, she felt herself being dragged across the floor. Her screams were ignored as the doors blew open behind her.

Bonnie watched as Katherine Pierce was dragged into the darkness, screaming out her protests. The wind stopped the moment she was out of sight, as suddenly as it started, slamming the doors shut behind the Petrova doppelganger. And the girl was left alone in the church, wondering what had just happened.

XXX

It was Elena that woke up first, slowly blinking open her eyes, a confused frown on her face. She glanced between the Salvatore brothers, her vision taking a moment to clear. It was Stefan who first noticed that she was awake, sitting up straight, a relieved look on his face, "Hey!"

"Hi," she murmured back, glancing to the side, her body relaxing as she saw her twin. Elena continued to stare at Alexa, examining her sleeping face, until the older Salvatore brother spoke up.

"Elena? Are you… you?"

The girl nodded slowly, still getting used to being back in her body, but the relief in her voice was obvious, "Yeah, yeah, it's me. I'm here."

She went to push herself up into a seating position, only to feel something sharp in her inner jacket pocket. She paused, ignoring Stefan's waiting hands, before slowly pulling the object out of her pocket. Elena frowned as she looked down at the syringe, wondering what Katherine had been doing in her body, before reading the writing on the label.

'Give Alexa my love'

The three exchanged a glanced, worry and suspicion in their expressions, before they all turned to look at the sleeping Alexa.

XXX

A/N: And our girl has been saved! But it won't be easy for her going forward... I've barely started on the next chapter, although it is planned, so I only have one left in my backlog. I'm going to give myself a couple of weeks to see how much I can work on it, it helps that I start mat leave next week! I promise to give you the last chapter in my backlog before my due date and then we can close off this little arc completely :) Even if I don't get too much time to write, I am hoping to at least use the time to finish off planning the last few seasons (yay for sleep deprivation!) Thank you for the reviews! My lovely Cami and VampireDiariesFan24, I love hearing what you think and they help when I am too tired to write! Please keep them coming :) I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, until next time xoxo