Haunt Us Still 2/2
Title: Haunt Us Still 2/2
Author: not_from_stars // Cover Art By weaselett // Fan Mix by enochiansigils // Art by faeriesfolly // Header on not_from_stars by lastfirewllrise
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries
Pairing(s): Damon/Elena; mentions of Stefan/Elena
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Written For tvd_bigbang
Warning: Spoilers for S1.
Word Count: 19,584
Summary: In the aftermath of Founders Day, everyone was expecting to be able to heal their wounds, get cleaned up and go on with their lives. For Jeremy Gilbert, this was going to be hard to do as his girlfriend had been one of the vampires killed by the hunters. Making the decision to swallow the vial of blood that Anna had given him and then swallow a bottle of pain pills should have made everything go away. Instead, he was disturbed by the sounds of fighting downstairs from his room. When he tried to help in the fight, Jeremy was knocked out, and when he came to, Elena was missing. Now Jeremy has only one choice to get his sister back alive. He needs to go and get the help of a Salvatore. Not Stefan. He goes to get help from Damon because only Damon will be ruthless enough to do what it takes to get Elena back alive. After all, Damon wanted Elena to be his and he loved her, and you don't mess with what belongs to Damon Salvatore.
Author's Notes: I want to thank my artist and mixers for stepping in and creating art and a fan mix for this story. I appreciate it so much. enochiansigils volunteered to make a fan mix for the story, and then weaselett, lastfirewllrise, and faeriesfolly all made pieces of art for me. I adore you guys so much and thank you for all of your last minute work for me!
He turned towards the sound and he heard the cry again.
"Help me," the voice said. "Please help me."
"Elena?" He whispered, stepping towards the shadows. "Elena, is that you?"
As soon as he had said Elena's name, both Stefan and Damon were at his back.
The girl that limped out of the woods certainly looked like he had last seen his sister. Her face was bruised from being hit, and her shirt was stuck to her neck and shoulder from where she was bleeding. The shirt and jeans were torn and dirty from fighting and whatever might have happened to her since then. To anyone watching Jeremy, even though she didn't look right, he was obviously relieved to see her.
"Jeremy? Why are you here? You're supposed to be safe at home." Her voice increased in tone, from either worry or from displeasure.
"I couldn't just stay at home when you're out here hurt and missing. We've all been worried about you." He tilted his head and stepped towards her. "We should get you to a hospital. You don't look so good." Jeremy was completely focused on his sister as they spoke to each other.
"No, no hospitals. I'm okay. I'm just tired and am in a lot of pain. Jeremy, can you just take me home?" She winced as she pushed her hair back from her face. "I just want to go home."
"Of course." Before Jeremy could put his arm around Elena and pull her close to him, Damon yanked her away and Stefan got in front of Jeremy.
"Nice try, Katherine," Damon said shaking his head. "Trying to use compulsion on Jeremy. Shame about the vervain."
"Hmm, he he's better than I thought he would be. He really seemed to believe that I was his sister."
Jeremy made a rude noise and shook his head. "You may look like my sister, but I knew immediately that you weren't her. Your eyes weren't right."
"Why try with Jeremy," Alaric asked.
She gave him a feral smile. "I needed to get blood for Elena somehow. Her brother seemed a very good choice since she feels so guilty about everything that's happened to him." She gave Jeremy a smile. "Poor Elena, alone and dying and all she could think of was who was going to protect her baby brother after she was gone."
"You haven't killed her," Jeremy snarled at her, his fists clenching at his sides.
"Oh, little child, have my boys been giving you false hope about the fate of your sister? That wasn't very nice of them. They know better than anyone that I don't keep my toys alive very long. You all get so boring." She bared her teeth at him. "Although, I'm thinking that I might have to keep her around for a little while."
"Where is Elena?" Bonnie demanded. "What have you done with her?"
"Aw, the little witch." Katherine's eyes flashed with distaste. "I should have killed your line a long time ago. All you have does is cause trouble."
"Then give me back my friend and get the hell out of our town before I show you what trouble really looks like." Bonnie challenged her.
Katherine leaped at Bonnie, but Bonnie raised her hand and a crack sounded in the air. Katherine went flying backwards, right into Damon who caught her and then slammed her down on the ground. He knelt down over her, holding a stake in his hand.
"Now, Katherine," Damon said evenly. "You are going to tell me where Elena is and that she is alive, or I'm going to kill you."
"You won't kill me," Katherine said with a purr in her voice. "You'd never be able to hurt me as long as I wear her face."
"She wears it better than you do." He showed her his teeth. "I will kill you if you don't tell me where she is."
"No."
"No?" Alaric was surprised. "Damon is ready to kill you if you don't tell him where Elena is."
"Why should I tell him where his girlfriend is?" Katherine demanded petulantly. "I think she and I could have so much fun together. You don't see many vampire twins. We'd be quite a team." She grinned. "It's every man's fantasy to be with twins, Damon. I know that you're no different. You're my favorite hedonist."
"I'm not your anything. Where is she, Katherine," Damon pressed the tip of the stake against her chest. "I'm not bluffing. I will kill you." His eyes bored into hers. "I have nothing to lose by doing so."
"You'll lose your precious Elena," she mocked. "You kill me and you will never find her or her body."
Damon had to fight to banish the image Katherine was putting in his head of a lifeless Elena. It wasn't true and he wasn't going to let it become true. He could feel a new rage causing tension in him and as he looked down at Katherine, he bared his fangs. "Where is she?"
She glared at him and her mouth dropped into a less attractive pout. "Go to hell, Damon."
"I'm already in hell, Katherine. You made sure of that." He raised his arm to slam the stake down into Katherine, but he suddenly found himself flying through the air. He hit a tree and when he righted himself with a growl, he saw that it was Stefan that had thrown him off of Katherine. Katherine, the little bitch, was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell was that about, Stefan?" His voice was low and dangerous as he approached him.
To the other three watching, Damon really did look like he was about to commit violence on his brother. At that moment, the three watching couldn't find it in them to blame him. They could have killed Katherine and rescued Elena and Stefan had ruined that. At least one of them was convinced that if Elena wasn't already close to death, then Stefan's actions had just guaranteed that it was more likely that something would happen before they could rescue her.
"I couldn't let you kill her, Damon. We need to get Elena back and not get immersed in taking revenge over past slights." Stefan tried to reason with him. "We need her alive."
"Is that what you think I was doing, you idiot? I was going to kill her to keep everyone safe and then we could get to Elena." Damon reached for Stefan and threw him into another tree, then stood over him. "For every wound that bitch gives Elena now, you'll get double from me. If she kills Elena, I will kill you and Katherine both, Stefan."
"You can't kill her," Stefan said, sitting up. "You love her. She made you."
"No, I don't, and I've been paying for that for the last hundred or so years." Damon said coldly, his hands curling into fists. "I stopped loving Katherine a long time ago." He stared at Stefan. "You told me before that Elena is not Katherine, Stefan. It looks like I'm not the one who has been confused about that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that if you get in my way of finding Elena again, I will kill you both. That's a promise you can count on, brother." There was no doubt that Damon meant every word that he was saying.
Stefan got up from the ground, shaking his head slowly. "Elena doesn't belong to you, Damon. You can't go around acting like she is."
"She sure as hell doesn't belong to you!" Damon roared back. "You're too afraid of getting your hands dirty and tarnishing your suffering saint image to do anything to get her back! If you really loved her, nothing would be keeping you from rescuing her!" He waved his hand. "Elena is out there somewhere, hurt, bleeding, possibly even dying and you don't care enough about her to tear apart this town to find her!" His voice turned into a growl. "Well, I do, Stefan. I care about her enough that I will kill anyone that I need to that gets between me and getting Elena back alive -- even you."
"Damon, Elena is my girlfriend. I love her and I will --"
"Oh shut up, Stefan. You've never belonged to Elena and you love some fragile image of her that you have on a pedestal in your mind. That Elena doesn't exist. You don't even know the real Elena and she doesn't belong to you."
"My daughter belongs to herself, and maybe one day, when she feels safe again, she'll decide to share herself with the one she feels worthy of her -- like the one that is willing to kill for her."
Damon's shoulders tensed, but he didn't turn around, his eyes were still fixed on his brother. Finally, it was Alaric's shocked voice that broke the silence.
"Isobel? What are you doing here?"
Isobel turned to look at Alaric, deciding to stay out of the fight between the Salvatore brothers for time being. "My daughter is missing and probably being tortured, Alaric. I came to get her back."
This time, Damon did turn around and look at her. "You forget that I know your loyalties, Isobel. They damn sure don't include Elena."
"Oh don't be so stupid, it's not a good look on you," Isobel snapped. "Who do you think gave John the device to destroy the tomb vampires?"
Jeremy started to step forward, but Alaric and Bonnie stopped him. "You're the reason Anna is dead!"
"Katherine was going to have it done no matter what. John just stepped up the timetable." She looked at Jeremy. "I can only assume that he killed your girlfriend for the same reason the Salvatore brothers were supposed to die that night with the others."
"And what reason was that?" Bonnie finally found the question she wanted to ask the woman who had first abandoned Elena, and then tormented her by striking out at her friends in order to force Elena to get her what she wanted.
"To protect Elena from them. I never wanted this life for her, and I assume John felt the same way about his nephew. He had the ability to make sure that his daughter and nephew were safe all at once." She looked at Bonnie. "And then you had to get involved. You should have stayed out of it and let these two die. Elena wouldn't be in this mess in the first place if it weren't for them."
"Are you forgetting that you came to me and asked me to make you one of us?" Damon's voice was still cold.
"That doesn't mean I want my daughter to become one, too. And I definitely never wanted to see her repeating Katherine's mistakes." She shook her head. "However, she's no Katherine, and I'm very glad of that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Stefan asked. "You were pretty blunt in telling her that she wasn't as good or as smart as Katherine the last time you saw her."
She gave Stefan a dismissive glance and then looked back at Damon. "It means that we have a damn good chance at getting her back alive." She turned to walk away and then stopped. "Oh, and by the way, Damon?"
"What?"
"You're wrong."
"About?"
She looked over her shoulder. "If Elena dies, you can kill your brother, but Katherine is mine. Elena is my daughter and I'm the one who'll kill the bitch that harms her. I'll meet all of you back at the Gilbert house."
Isobel had disappeared into the shadows by the time Jeremy found his voice again.
"Uncle John is Elena's dad?" Then he looked at Alaric. "Jenna is not going to be happy to see your wife here."
"Ex-wife," Alaric and Damon both said at the same time.
Surprisingly, after a bit of initial bristling around each other, Jenna and Isobel found that they were able to handle being around each other. Jeremy commented that it was probably more due to their shared love for Elena and less for their ties to Alaric.
For his part, Alaric told Jeremy to mind his own business.
Now, however, the group of seven were sitting in the living room of the Gilbert home while new plans were made. While they were discussing what to do, Bonnie's cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she excused herself and went into the kitchen. Damon watched her go, then he turned back to listen to the discussion in the living room.
"How can we be sure that she's still alive," Stefan finally asked, putting into words what no one else had been willing to.
"She is," Jeremy insisted angrily.
"Jeremy, we don't know that."
"I know that," Jeremy said, glaring at Stefan. "I would know if she was dead or whatever you vampires are. She's my sister."
"Technically, she's your cousin," Isobel said from where she was looking out the window. "She's John's daughter and he was your father's brother."
"Sister," Jeremy said again. "She's more my sister than she is your daughter."
"Jeremy," Jenna warned him quietly. "Don't."
"No, Aunt Jenna, I won't be quiet because I'm right. I read all about how Elena found out that she was still alive and that Isobel was doing her best to keep her from finding her. I know that she's the one who hurt Matt -- and she's also the one that kidnapped me to force Elena to get that stupid device from Damon. I know that she's the one that gave it Uncle John so that he could try to kill all of the vampires that were in Mystic Falls. She's as much to blame for Elena getting hurt as Damon and Stefan are."
Isobel turned from the window, her eyes angry. "And you've been such a stellar brother to her since your parents died, haven't you? She covered for you with the drugs, tried to protect you from everything that was going on and even tried to remake the world for you so that you wouldn't suffer the pain of any more loss in your life. And how did you repay her? You shunned her and treated her like shit, even when she still continued to risk everything to keep you safe. I may be a shitty mother, Jeremy, but you're an even shittier brother."
"Oh both of you shut up," Damon finally said. "You can play Family Feud later. Right now, we have to figure out where Elena is being held and get her back. I don't care what you two do after that, but she is our first priority!"
Before anyone could respond to that, Bonnie came back into the room. When everyone looked at her, she sighed. "Matt knows."
Alaric shook his head. "Bonnie, you didn't." Everyone had different looks of surprise or disapproval on their faces.
"I didn't tell him there were vampires, no," she said defiantly. "But he was pissed because Elena and I haven't come to the hospital to be with Caroline -- as we would have under any other circumstances. I couldn't lie to him because he knows that there was no way that we wouldn't have been spending the night there until she wakes up. She's our best friend and we wouldn't let anything keep us from her side."
"What did you tell him?" Jenna asked curiously, reaching across the table in order to squeeze her hand. Jenna at least understood why she had done it.
Bonnie sighed. "I told him most of the truth. I told him that Elena had been kidnapped that same night and that you hadn't reported it to the police of Mystic Falls because Elena's life was threatened if you do. I also told him that you had been contacted by the FBI and there was special agent here working the case." She nodded her head at Isobel.
"That was quick thinking, Bonnie," Stefan murmured. "It also makes sure that he stays safe at the hospital with Caroline instead of being out looking for Elena and making himself a big target."
"That's good since it wouldn't be the first time that someone has hurt Elena's friends to hurt Elena," Damon said caustically as he looked at Isobel.
Alaric looked between the Damon and Isobel. "What is he talking about?"
"It doesn't matter right now," Isobel said, brushing his question off. "What matters is retrieving Elena."
"We just have to find her," Jenna said quietly. "Bonnie, do you think you're up for doing the tracking spell again?"
"She won't need to," Damon said, getting up from he had been sitting. "We already know where Elena is." When everyone looked at him he gave them an impatient look. "Oh come on, guys. Elena is still trapped in the tomb."
"But Katherine knows we tracked her there," Alaric argued. "She would have moved her."
Damon shrugged, shaking his head. "No, because she knows that is what you guys will think. She thinks since we tracked her there once that we won't think to do it again."
"He's right," Stefan admitted quietly. "Katherine wouldn't make more work for herself. Easier to just keep Elena there and watch us all scramble trying to find her."
"Well let's go get her then!" Jeremy said heading towards the door.
Isobel got to the door before him. "You, are not going."
"The hell I'm not. I'm going and you can't stop me."
"I can and I will," Isobel said glaring at him as she reached for him. "You're breakable and are staying here. We don't have the time to look after you."
Before Isobel could lay a hand on him, she felt a hand on the back of her neck and she was jerked back. "You touch him, Isobel and I will kill you myself." Damon's voice left no room for doubt.
In the end, it was decided that Jenna, Alaric and Bonnie would stay back at the Gilbert house. Alaric would be the muscle and Bonnie the magic in order to make sure the house stayed a safe refuge. Jeremy was going with the vampires because nothing Stefan said would convince him otherwise and Damon kept siding with him against them. Finally Stefan threw his hands up in the air.
"Fine. If he gets hurt, you can explain it to Elena, Damon!"
Damon didn't even look at him. "He won't get hurt."
Damon was quickly losing patience with Stefan, but he was determined that he wasn't going to pick a fight with him until all of this was over. His primary focus was rescuing Elena, but after that, he was going to have a long talk with his damn brother.
When they arrived, it seemed to Jeremy that it was just too easy to get into the tomb. Damon explained that it wasn't hard for them to open the tomb now because it was no longer sealed with a witch's spell. Once they were inside, the smell of blood hit Damon first and he turned, following the scent until he found a corner that had a bed against the wall. He didn't have to look to know who was bleeding on that bed.
He would have reached for her, but Stefan was there at the same time as he was, and it was Stefan that reached down picked up Elena, cradling her against him. Damon had to tamp down the jealousy he felt, but he let the rage move freely through him when he realized just how battered Elena was for her to be smelling that much of blood. She hadn't shed that much blood even when she wrecked her car.
And then, all four of them heard the words that would forever change everything.
As Stefan held Elena, she relaxed into his hold, seeming to let go of whatever she had been holding onto to keep herself holding on to consciousness while a prisoner of a sadistic vampire.
"Damon, I knew you'd come for me." She murmured, sighing as she lost consciousness completely.
To give Damon credit, he didn't relish in either the pain or the resignation that passed through Stefan's eyes. Even when Stefan gestured that he would hand Elena over to Damon, he didn't say anything to mock his brother or anything that would make him feel worse. He would have taken her, but then he stiffened, his eyes going black.
"Get her out of here," he growled, turning to face Katherine who had arrived and been waiting to blindside one of them.
Damon and Katherine just stared at each other for a long moment. Damon could hear other movement going on around him in the tomb, but he blocked the voices out.
"Well, haven't you become the sweetest little knight in well worn leather," Katherine finally broke the silent stand-off with her mocking comment. "It sounds like you managed to steal Stefan's girl -- again -- and led two more people to their deaths. You have had a busy day, my little soldier."
Damon didn't change his expression. "No one else is dying here, today, Katherine," he said flatly. "There's been enough bloodshed and terror in this town and it ends now."
"What are you going to do," she asked with a laugh. "Kill me? We both know that Stefan will never let you do that. After all, you've stolen two girls from him now. How does it feel, Damon, to always get your little brother's seconds? First me and now Elena? You'll always know that he came first and you'll always wonder if she's comparing you to him."
"Shut up, Katherine," Isobel said, stepping to Damon's side.
The only surprise Katherine showed to seeing Isobel there was a slight widening of her eyes. "Isobel. Is there a reason you're here with the boys instead of doing something useful?"
"My daughter was supposed to be off limits, Katherine." The other female vampire said coldly. "Any issues you had with Stefan and Damon were not supposed to involve Elena. When you changed the rules and kidnapped her, I changed the rules, as well."
Katherine was reacting a little too calmly about this whole situation for Stefan's liking. Something was really wrong with this scene and he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. He carried Elena towards the opening of the tomb, making sure that Jeremy followed. Once outside and next to the car, Stefan carefully placed Elena in the back seat, and then grabbed Jeremy, shoving him towards the front of the car.
"Get in the car and drive, Jeremy."
"What?"
"Do as I say," Stefan said firmly as he pushed Jeremy into the driver's seat. "Drive as fast as you can and get Elena out of here. Whatever you do and whatever you hear do not look back and do not stop until you get home."
"Stefan, what's going on?"
"Don't argue with me, just get yourselves out of here. Now Jeremy!"
Jeremy wanted to argue with Stefan because he could tell that whatever was about to happen was going to be really bad. He didn't want to leave any of them behind, but the sight of his sister in the rear view mirror stopped him from arguing. Elena was bleeding badly and he needed to help her first. As much as he might owe Damon or want to help him, his responsibility was to his sister. If he had to choose, it would always be Elena over any of the vampires. If something went bad for them, well, he would feel badly about it, but not as badly as he would if his sister died.
"Take care of yourself, Stefan," Jeremy murmured as he started up the car and started driving away.
He was only halfway home when he heard the explosion. It was later said that the whole town saw the fireball that went up from the location of the old tomb.
The funeral for John Gilbert was a simple one. The story making the rounds of Mystic Falls was that he had been killed when trying to prevent the kidnapping of his niece. Jenna and Alaric had agreed that it was for the best if he was remembered as doing something good in his last moments. After all, no one outside their small group needed to know exactly what kind of man John was.
"Besides," Jenna had said softly when they were making arrangements. "We don't know that given the choice at the last minute that he wouldn't have chosen to try to protect her. He was willing to kill to protect her before."
As for Jeremy, he had a few unresolved issues towards John, but even he had decided that there was no reason for them to come to light. They were things that he would find a way to deal with in his own time.
Luckily for them, they hadn't needed to come up with an explanation for the authorities about why the old tomb had blown up. When the fire and smoke had finally cleared enough for the fire department to go into it, there was no evidence of anything having been there. There were traces of wires and things, so they theorized that the serial killer had planned to blow up the tomb with Elena in it and claim another victim. When Jenna, playing the concerned guardian had asked why Elena had been targetted, the police had explained that it was all random chance.
"Maybe he saw your niece somewhere and decided that he wanted her for some reason. He blew up the tomb to send her off in a memorable fashion so that no one would ever forget what he had done." Because, after all, the serial killer had to have been a male.
"How is Elena?" Matt asked Jeremy, falling into step with him as they left the cemetary.
"We think she's going to be okay," Jeremy assured him. "Her wounds are slowly healing and Bonnie keeps making sure she sleeps." That was Jeremy speak for the fact that Elena hadn't regained consciousness yet.
"You guys should have told me the truth, you know," he said. "We've been best friends since we were kids."
"Maybe, but you had Caroline to pay attention to. Besides, would you have believed us?"
"With everything that I've seen, probably. It sure answers a lot of questions about some things."
"And leaves even more questions on others." Jeremy sighed. "How's Caroline?""
"She's doing much better. She's anxious to get out of the hospital and be with Elena." He shrugged. "She thinks that Elena should be in the hospital, but she says she understands why the FBI insisted on private care for her. It's not every day she learns that her best friend helped in the apprehension of a serial killer and almost became a victim herself."
That part of the story had been Jeremy's idea when he realized that people would find it strange that Elena wasn't in a hospital with the condition she was in. He had argued that there was no way they could explain away some of the wounds she had and a hospital would be too much of a risk.
Jeremy nodded. "Tell her to take care of herself first, because that's what Elena would want her to do."
"Has there been any news about Damon or Stefan?"
Jeremy shook his head. "No. It's been over a week. If they survived whatever happened at the tomb, they would have been in contact with us by now -- if only to check on Elena."
"You think that Katherine killed them?"
"I don't know what to think, Matt. I think that Stefan knew there was a chance of that happening when he put Elena and I in that car."
"What about Damon?"
Jeremy shrugged. "I think that he would rather have died than allow Katherine to live after what she did to Elena. If it meant that he would die, too..."
"Damon never struck me as the martyr type."
"You didn't see him, Matt. You didn't see what kind of state he was in when he realized Elena was missing. Stefan was all calm and collected, but Damon..." He shook his head. "Man, he was inches from going off the deep end. When we found Elena..." He swallowed. "I hope no one ever looks at me the way he looked at Katherine."
"You really think he cared that much about Elena?"
"He loved her, Matt. He loved Elena every bit as much as I loved Vickie, or Anna." He sighed. "He may not be the type of guy any of us would want for my sister, but I no longer have any doubt about how much she meant to him."
"Well, at least you know it wasn't just Elena that cared, then." Jeremy had told him about what Elena had said in the tomb when they found her.
"No, not just Elena," Jeremy agreed quietly.
They walked in silence for a long moment. "Are you all right, Jeremy? You seem different?"
Jeremy stopped and looked at Matt. "I have to be, Matt. What happened to Elena happened because she was too worried about looking out for me and not for herself. I'm not going to let anything like this happen to my family ever again."
"It wasn't your fault, Jeremy. Elena wouldn't want you to blame yourself."
"It was partially my fault, Matt. I know that and I accept it. I'm just not going to let it happen again."
Matt was quiet as he watched Jeremy go to be with Jenna and Alaric.
"No," he finally said. "I don't think you will."
It was the end of the second week since everything had happened and Elena's family -- including Alaric and Bonnie -- were sitting in the downstairs living room. The room was mostly quiet except for the usual sounds that were heard from people in a room when the news wasn't good. There was a great deal of quiet breathing and shifting around in their seat.
"Nothing has changed and it's been two weeks," Jeremy finally burst out. "She's not getting better. We need to take Elena to a hospital so they can help her."
"And tell them what, Jeremy?" Bonnie asked him. "She lost so much blood and was hurt so badly. They'll want to know why we didn't take her in sooner."
"And they won't buy the idea of private care when we have no physician to back it up," Alaric pointed out quietly. "They could arrest us all and then who knows what would happen to Elena."
"We have to do something," Jenna stressed. "Bonnie's magic isn't helping and neither is anything else that we've managed to come up with. Her condition hasn't changed and I'm scared for her."
"If we don't do something, she's going to die and then everything that happened was all for nothing." Jeremy said, getting up and pacing the living room. "Stefan and Isobel dying, Damon sacrificing himself to save her, it will all have been for nothing!" And then she'll never know how much I love her and regret what I did to her.
"What do you suggest we do, you guys?" Bonnie asked tiredly. "I don't know why she's not waking up and I don't know why nothing I try is working." She sighed. "I wish Grams were here, or hell, another visit from Emily would really help. Then maybe we would know what Elena needs."
"She needs blood," a quiet voice that no one expected to hear again said suddenly, causing all four of them to jump. "She needs our blood."
Jenna found her voice first. "Isobel! Where the hell have you been? We thought you were dead."
Isobel gave her a snarky smile. "Wishful thinking, I'm sure." She shook her head, looking from Alaric and then back to Jenna. "There were some things that needed to be taken care of -- loose ends to be tied up." It takes some time even for a vampire to heal from wounds cause by fire, after all.
"Where's Damon?" Jeremy demanded.
"He's outside making sure everything is safe." She looked back at Jenna and Bonnie. "I don't think we was sure if he would be welcome or not."
"Of course he is," Jeremy jumped up to head outside. "He saved my sister."
Jenna watched him go and then shrugged at Isobel. "I can't argue with Jeremy on that, can you Bonnie?"
As much as Bonnie wanted to argue for keeping Damon Salvatore away from Elena, she really couldn't say anything. He had risked everything to rescue her best friend and he had done his best to make sure that the person causing them so much pain would never hurt anyone again. "I guess not," she finally said. "He seems to lover her, and she loves him." She shook her head and then looked at Isobel. "But if he kills any innocent people here ever again, all bets are off and I will destroy him."
"I'm sure you'll try," Isobel said sweetly as she headed for the stairs. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my daughter needs me and it's past time that she woke up."
When Isobel let herself into Elena's room, Damon was already there. He was sitting on the bed next to her head and stroking her hair.
"I didn't realize how much she did mean to me until I lost her," he murmured, not looking up. "I knew I loved her, but I didn't realize how much she's a part of me."
"And now you know," Isobel said as she sat on the other side of Elena. "You realize that as her mother, I am obligated to tell you that if you break her heart after all of this, I will gut you and laugh as you turn to ash, right?"
Damon was quiet as Isobel bit into her wrist and then started forcing the blood into Elena's mouth, massaging her throat so that the girl would swallow it.
"I don't know how to do this, Isobel," he admitted.
"Do what?" She was paying attention to her daughter and the fact that even though it was weak, she was starting to swallow on her own.
"Be a boyfriend," he said. "I don't know how to do all of that romantic gesture junk. I'm not Stefan."
"No, you're not Stefan," Isobel agreed. "You're Damon and that's who she loves. For god's sake, Damon. Don't turn into a simpering idiot on her, just be yourself. After all, that's who she fell in love with." She cocked her head, relief in her eyes as Elena started to lose some of the deathly pallor in her skin. "Stefan was puppies and kittens and Hallmark cards. Nice, but so very boring after awhile. Elena was a fragile doll, someone he put on a pedestal to be protected. She doesn't want to be protected like that. She wants to be equal in the relationship, and I think you can handle that. You're fire and passion and cockiness all wrapped up in a tight leather jacket. You live and experience the world around us. That's what she needs. That's what I want for her in a man."
"She always has seen something in me worth saving and worth keeping around."
"Then respect the faith she has in you and don't let her down." Isobel was quiet for a long moment as she watched Elena. "Have you found anything?"
Damon shook his head. "No. There's been no sign of either one of them. Everything that was in the tomb is ash and I wasn't able to tell if Stefan and Katherine were among them."
"Jewelery?"
"None. It may have been hot enough to melt even those."
"You couldn't have saved him, Damon. He made the choice to go back in there. He knew that there was no other way out, and he chose to go back in to try to save Katherine. He made that choice, not you."
Bonnie was sitting outside on the porch swing, allowing herself to relax for the first time in weeks. Elena was back and she was safe. They had managed to rescue her and now she was upstairs sleeping. Sleeping, not comatose. Damon and Isobel both said that now that she'd been given blood, she was healing at an accelerated rate. Now, they just needed to let her sleep as she had been through a lot.
Matt had called her earlier and Caroline was also doing fine and had finally been sent home from the hospital. When Elena was up for visitors, she was to call them. Jeremy was doing better emotionally after losing Anna, and now that he knew his sister was going to be all right, Bonnie thought he'd eventually be okay. Alaric and Jenna were closer than ever after this and Bonnie knew that Elena would be glad to her aunt happy with someone that valued her like Alaric did.
"I need a favor."
Bonnie jumped. "Damn it, Stefan. I'm going to make you people start wearing bells."
"Sorry," he shrugged. "I figured that since you still had the protective spell up you wouldn't be startled."
"Guess again." She sighed. "What do you need, Stefan?"
He held out his fist and when she held out hers, he opened his hand to drop two rings and a pendant into Bonnie's hand. All three had Lapis Lazuli stones in them and Bonnie recognized them as being similar to the rings that he and Damon always wore.
"What's this," she asked him suspiciously.
"I want you to give them to Elena and her family," he said quietly. "They'll protect them."
"Protect them from what, Stefan?" She looked at him and her eyes narrowed. "Katherine."
"Until I see a body, I'm not going to believe that Elena is safe, Bonnie. I'm going to keep looking and stay vigilant." He sighed. "The necklace was Anna's and I think it should go to Jenna. The small ring was Pearl's and the men's ring was John's."
"You think she'll come after Elena again?"
"If she's alive? Yes, she will. Katherine was never one to bow out gracefully. With both Damon and I declaring our love for Elena, she'll want to make us all suffer." He sighed. "The stones won't protect them if the deaths are from natural causes, but they will keep them alive if anything supernatural tries to kill them."
Bonnie closed her hand over the jewelery, already deciding that she was going to add fresh spells to the ones that Emily had created so long ago. She wasn't going to go through almost losing her best friend again.
"I couldn't find another witch yet to make you one," he explained. "But then I realized that you probably already have something from Emily that works the same way. I know it would kill Elena if anything happened to you or Caroline."
"There's not one here for Caroline."
"No, but I was going to ask you to make something for her."
She nodded, looking at him. "Have you talked to Damon about any of this?"
Stefan shook his head. "No. Damon thinks I died in the explosion and I think I'll be good to him and let him think that for awhile."
"How is letting him believe you're dead helping him in any way?"
"It will let him get used to the fact that someone actually picked him over me for once," he said truthfully. "I was going to leave anyway, when I realized how much he did love her. When she called for him in the tomb..." He shrugged. "Death is a much better at providing closure, don't you think? Besides, if I told him there was a chance that Katherine was still alive, he'd want to go out seeking vengeance. That would hurt Elena and leave her alone and I can't have that."
"You're an idiot," she said quietly.
"Maybe, but Elena has been through enough pain and I'm not going to stick around and add to it. You know her best, Bonnie. She wouldn't want to hurt me and she would stay with me even though she loves Damon."
"She loves you, too."
"I know she does," he nodded. "But I'm not Damon."
"Take care of yourself, Stefan."
"I will," he promised. "I still love Elena, and I'll be watching over her... just this time from afar for a little while."
"Try not to be too much of a stalker," Bonnie warned with a smile in her eyes.
He shrugged.
"Stefan," Bonnie asked him as he was turning away. "What happened at the tomb? Why did it explode?"
He sighed. "Apparently Katherine decided to wire the tomb with enough explosives to outfit a small army. I'm assuming that her plan was to blow up Elena with the tomb -- and anyone who happened to be there to rescue her. I smelled the dynamite before I picked Elena up, but I didn't realize what I was smelling. It wasn't until I realized how calmly she was taking Damon turning against her that I recognized what I was smelling and understood what she had done."
"She was going to kill herself?"
"I don't think that was part of the plan. I think she had a safe escape somewhere in the tomb. Seeing all three of us there to protect Elena threw her off-balanced a little bit."
"Katherine Pierce was never exactly balanced," Bonnie said dryly.
Stefan smiled slightly. "In any case, when I dragged Damon out of there, I had to go back in to find her and make sure what happened to her. A side tunnel protected me when the explosion caused it to cave in," he said, anticipating her next question.
"I still say you're an idiot."
"Maybe," he acknowledged. "And if anything happens where you need my help, or Elena is in trouble... well, I'm sure you know or can find ways to contact me. If you need it, I'll be there."
"And if Damon destroys Elena?" Bonnie demanded.
Stefan shook his head. "He won't, Bonnie. You didn't see his face when we found Elena. I realized then that something would die in him if we lost her. He won't do anything to cause her pain. Not now."
"I don't trust him."
"You don't completely trust me, either," he pointed out. "Besides, do you honestly think that Isobel is just going to disappear from Elena's life again? Keeping the girl happy has a more serious meaning when your in-law is immortal, too. She'll make Damon suffer more than anyone else possibly can if he doesn't treat Elena right."
She smiled slightly. "Don't stay away too long."
Stefan shrugged. "I'll be gone as long as it takes."
Bonnie watched him walk into the woods and shook her head. "You're still an idiot."
Damon Salvatore didn't like feeling helpless.
It wasn't something he had felt much since becoming a vampire, but over the last few days, that was very much how he had felt.
Helpless.
Logically, he knew that Elena had been through a lot and her body was repairing itself as she slept, but that didn't help the worry he felt for her. It was a concern that wasn't going to ease up until he saw her open her eyes and look at him.
He wasn't sure what all Katherine had done to her, but it had taken a lot of Isobel's blood for her to start healing. He was just glad that she had still been alive to heal. He had been almost positive that they were going to find Elena dead -- or worse.
Of course, hearing Elena call to him in the tomb had been a pleasant surprise, and it had fueled his determination to kill Katherine for everything she had done. Now more than ever, Elena was his and you just didn't mess with what belonged to him.
He had been willing to kill for her, and then Stefan had disappeared with her and Jeremy. When he came back into the tomb, Damon and Isobel had already been fighting with Katherine and he wasn't aware of the fire that had started. The next thing he knew, everything hurt and Stefan was putting him on the ground next to Isobel. He watched Stefan run back to the tomb and that had been when the world exploded around all of them. Seeing what was left of the tomb after it had cooled down, Damon had to admit that Isobel was right when she said that no one could have survived...
"Damon?"
Hearing Elena's voice, he turned from the window to see that her eyes were open and watching him. He moved quickly to sit on the bed next to her.
"Hey," he said quietly, brushing her hair back. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she said, leaning her head against him. "You found me."
"Of course I did," he said, letting his voice fill with a playful arrogance. "I will always find you."
"Jeremy?"
"He's safe and not as annoying as he was." Damon smiled down at her. "He helped me rescue you."
"He did?"
"Yes. He couldn't be kept from it. Your brother is an idiot sometimes, but he loves you."
"John is dead, isn't he?"
Damon nodded. "He was dead before she even attacked you," he assured her. "You protected Jeremy and Jenna, but there was nothing you could have done to save him." He was quiet for a second. "We told Jenna everything, by the way. She took it pretty well, but she may still yell at you for keeping secrets and risking yourself like you have been."
"It was for good reasons," she protested.
"Some how, I don't think she would agree with you. She was really scared for you."
Elena was quiet for so long that Damon thought she had fallen asleep again. He moved to get up so she could rest, but her whisper stopped him.
"I should be dead."
"No." His voice was firm as he tightened his hold on her. "No, never Elena. I wasn't going to let someone take you from me."
Two tears slid down her cheeks. "She kept telling me how she was going to kill me and leave my body for you guys to find," she whispered. "Then she would change her mind and tell me it would hurt you more if she made me like you and we could be killer twins for all eternity." She shuddered, and Damon pulled her close to him so that he could rest his head on hers.
"Sssh. It's okay. You're safe now, Elena. I won't let anything happen to you ever again."
She buried her face in his chest as the tears started coming faster. "She was more angry at you than at Stefan. You were supposed to always be loyal to her and I got so angry at her for talking about you like that. I wanted to kill her, Damon, and when she realized how I felt, she wanted to hurt you."
"It's over," he murmured into her hair. "It's over. She can't hurt you -- or me -- ever again, Elena. She's gone. You're safe."
He held her tightly as she cried. He hated seeing her in pain and every tear she shed seemed to cut him. All he could so to help her was hold her and rock her gently. He wanted the chance to kill Katherine all over again for the pain she had caused Elena. While she cried, Damon changed their position on the bed so that he could lay down and hold Elena in his arms. He knew she would be more comfortable laying down and that was at least one thing he could give her right now.
"Stefan's gone, isn't he?" She whispered in the midst of her tears.
He nodded. "He saved my life, Elena. He knew how much we loved each other and he pulled me out before the tomb exploded." He tightened his hold again at her fresh round of tears and he wished he could cry with her. He and Stefan hadn't always gotten along, but they had still been brothers. He would never have wished him to die that way.
"He went back in for Katherine," Elena said quietly some time later. "He died trying to save Katherine."
"What?" He listed his head slightly so he could look down into her face. "What makes you say that?"
"Because I know... knew Stefan. He would have wanted to save her because he couldn't just her to die, not when she created you and him. He would have wanted to try to redeem her or make her face justice or something." She sighed tiredly. "Katherine... she couldn't have been redeemed, Damon. I know you love her but, what she was... what I saw..."
"No," he corrected her. "I don't love her, Elena. It's you. It's always been you for a very long time now. It took almost losing you to realize just how important you are to me." He laughed sarcastically. "I came here wanting to destroy this place." He was aware that he was repeating what he had originally said to Katherine, but he didn't care. The words had been meant for Elena and he was damn sure going to make sure she knew. "Somehow, I found myself wanting to protect this town and the people in it. It's all because of you. Because you saw something in me worth saving."
She smiled faintly. "Are you trying to seduce me, Damon?"
Damon laughed. "No, my dear. If I was trying to seduce you, it wouldn't be with some stupid speech about you saving me." He leaned down to kiss her. "I do have an image to keep up, you know." His lips were a breath from hers when he added. "When you're better and allowed to be up and about, I'll show you all about seduction."
"Is that a promise?"
"Elena, it's a solemn vow."
Their kiss was soft and gentle, both of them a little bit unsure about how everything was going to work out. However, after a few moments, it deepened and neither one of them could decide who changed the flavor of the kiss first.
However, it was Damon who reluctantly broke the kiss and pulled his head away from her. "Rest, Elena. You need to rest and to heal. I'll still be here when you wake up. Go to sleep and heal."
It was the last time he would use compulsion on her, he promised them both as she started to fall asleep. Tomorrow, while she was sleeping, he would fine her vervain necklace, or he'd get another one for her. He wanted her to know for sure that what was between them was real and not anything near a compulsion. For once, he was glad that it was Isobel who had used blood to heal Elena. There would be no assumptions from anyone that they loved each other just because of the blood they had shared.
Damon sighed as he held Elena against him and looked out the window. He'd ask someone to search the tomb again, because until they found a body, he knew that the memory of Katherine would haunt Elena -- and perhaps him as well. He wanted Elena to be able to rest easy and not have fears or worries about anything like what she endured happening again.
"I'll take care of her, Stefan," Damon said, turning to look out the window at the moon that was rising. "I promise you. I'll take care of Elena and I'll keep her safe for as long as I exist."
He turned back to lean his head against Elena's and closed his eyes, content to listen to her breathe as she slept.
Author: not_from_stars // Cover Art By weaselett // Fan Mix by enochiansigils // Art by faeriesfolly // Header on not_from_stars by lastfirewllrise
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries
Pairing(s): Damon/Elena; mentions of Stefan/Elena
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Written For tvd_bigbang
Warning: Spoilers for S1.
Word Count: 19,584
Summary: In the aftermath of Founders Day, everyone was expecting to be able to heal their wounds, get cleaned up and go on with their lives. For Jeremy Gilbert, this was going to be hard to do as his girlfriend had been one of the vampires killed by the hunters. Making the decision to swallow the vial of blood that Anna had given him and then swallow a bottle of pain pills should have made everything go away. Instead, he was disturbed by the sounds of fighting downstairs from his room. When he tried to help in the fight, Jeremy was knocked out, and when he came to, Elena was missing. Now Jeremy has only one choice to get his sister back alive. He needs to go and get the help of a Salvatore. Not Stefan. He goes to get help from Damon because only Damon will be ruthless enough to do what it takes to get Elena back alive. After all, Damon wanted Elena to be his and he loved her, and you don't mess with what belongs to Damon Salvatore.
Author's Notes: I want to thank my artist and mixers for stepping in and creating art and a fan mix for this story. I appreciate it so much. enochiansigils volunteered to make a fan mix for the story, and then weaselett, lastfirewllrise, and faeriesfolly all made pieces of art for me. I adore you guys so much and thank you for all of your last minute work for me!
He turned towards the sound and he heard the cry again.
"Help me," the voice said. "Please help me."
"Elena?" He whispered, stepping towards the shadows. "Elena, is that you?"
As soon as he had said Elena's name, both Stefan and Damon were at his back.
The girl that limped out of the woods certainly looked like he had last seen his sister. Her face was bruised from being hit, and her shirt was stuck to her neck and shoulder from where she was bleeding. The shirt and jeans were torn and dirty from fighting and whatever might have happened to her since then. To anyone watching Jeremy, even though she didn't look right, he was obviously relieved to see her.
"Jeremy? Why are you here? You're supposed to be safe at home." Her voice increased in tone, from either worry or from displeasure.
"I couldn't just stay at home when you're out here hurt and missing. We've all been worried about you." He tilted his head and stepped towards her. "We should get you to a hospital. You don't look so good." Jeremy was completely focused on his sister as they spoke to each other.
"No, no hospitals. I'm okay. I'm just tired and am in a lot of pain. Jeremy, can you just take me home?" She winced as she pushed her hair back from her face. "I just want to go home."
"Of course." Before Jeremy could put his arm around Elena and pull her close to him, Damon yanked her away and Stefan got in front of Jeremy.
"Nice try, Katherine," Damon said shaking his head. "Trying to use compulsion on Jeremy. Shame about the vervain."
"Hmm, he he's better than I thought he would be. He really seemed to believe that I was his sister."
Jeremy made a rude noise and shook his head. "You may look like my sister, but I knew immediately that you weren't her. Your eyes weren't right."
"Why try with Jeremy," Alaric asked.
She gave him a feral smile. "I needed to get blood for Elena somehow. Her brother seemed a very good choice since she feels so guilty about everything that's happened to him." She gave Jeremy a smile. "Poor Elena, alone and dying and all she could think of was who was going to protect her baby brother after she was gone."
"You haven't killed her," Jeremy snarled at her, his fists clenching at his sides.
"Oh, little child, have my boys been giving you false hope about the fate of your sister? That wasn't very nice of them. They know better than anyone that I don't keep my toys alive very long. You all get so boring." She bared her teeth at him. "Although, I'm thinking that I might have to keep her around for a little while."
"Where is Elena?" Bonnie demanded. "What have you done with her?"
"Aw, the little witch." Katherine's eyes flashed with distaste. "I should have killed your line a long time ago. All you have does is cause trouble."
"Then give me back my friend and get the hell out of our town before I show you what trouble really looks like." Bonnie challenged her.
Katherine leaped at Bonnie, but Bonnie raised her hand and a crack sounded in the air. Katherine went flying backwards, right into Damon who caught her and then slammed her down on the ground. He knelt down over her, holding a stake in his hand.
"Now, Katherine," Damon said evenly. "You are going to tell me where Elena is and that she is alive, or I'm going to kill you."
"You won't kill me," Katherine said with a purr in her voice. "You'd never be able to hurt me as long as I wear her face."
"She wears it better than you do." He showed her his teeth. "I will kill you if you don't tell me where she is."
"No."
"No?" Alaric was surprised. "Damon is ready to kill you if you don't tell him where Elena is."
"Why should I tell him where his girlfriend is?" Katherine demanded petulantly. "I think she and I could have so much fun together. You don't see many vampire twins. We'd be quite a team." She grinned. "It's every man's fantasy to be with twins, Damon. I know that you're no different. You're my favorite hedonist."
"I'm not your anything. Where is she, Katherine," Damon pressed the tip of the stake against her chest. "I'm not bluffing. I will kill you." His eyes bored into hers. "I have nothing to lose by doing so."
"You'll lose your precious Elena," she mocked. "You kill me and you will never find her or her body."
Damon had to fight to banish the image Katherine was putting in his head of a lifeless Elena. It wasn't true and he wasn't going to let it become true. He could feel a new rage causing tension in him and as he looked down at Katherine, he bared his fangs. "Where is she?"
She glared at him and her mouth dropped into a less attractive pout. "Go to hell, Damon."
"I'm already in hell, Katherine. You made sure of that." He raised his arm to slam the stake down into Katherine, but he suddenly found himself flying through the air. He hit a tree and when he righted himself with a growl, he saw that it was Stefan that had thrown him off of Katherine. Katherine, the little bitch, was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell was that about, Stefan?" His voice was low and dangerous as he approached him.
To the other three watching, Damon really did look like he was about to commit violence on his brother. At that moment, the three watching couldn't find it in them to blame him. They could have killed Katherine and rescued Elena and Stefan had ruined that. At least one of them was convinced that if Elena wasn't already close to death, then Stefan's actions had just guaranteed that it was more likely that something would happen before they could rescue her.
"I couldn't let you kill her, Damon. We need to get Elena back and not get immersed in taking revenge over past slights." Stefan tried to reason with him. "We need her alive."
"Is that what you think I was doing, you idiot? I was going to kill her to keep everyone safe and then we could get to Elena." Damon reached for Stefan and threw him into another tree, then stood over him. "For every wound that bitch gives Elena now, you'll get double from me. If she kills Elena, I will kill you and Katherine both, Stefan."
"You can't kill her," Stefan said, sitting up. "You love her. She made you."
"No, I don't, and I've been paying for that for the last hundred or so years." Damon said coldly, his hands curling into fists. "I stopped loving Katherine a long time ago." He stared at Stefan. "You told me before that Elena is not Katherine, Stefan. It looks like I'm not the one who has been confused about that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that if you get in my way of finding Elena again, I will kill you both. That's a promise you can count on, brother." There was no doubt that Damon meant every word that he was saying.
Stefan got up from the ground, shaking his head slowly. "Elena doesn't belong to you, Damon. You can't go around acting like she is."
"She sure as hell doesn't belong to you!" Damon roared back. "You're too afraid of getting your hands dirty and tarnishing your suffering saint image to do anything to get her back! If you really loved her, nothing would be keeping you from rescuing her!" He waved his hand. "Elena is out there somewhere, hurt, bleeding, possibly even dying and you don't care enough about her to tear apart this town to find her!" His voice turned into a growl. "Well, I do, Stefan. I care about her enough that I will kill anyone that I need to that gets between me and getting Elena back alive -- even you."
"Damon, Elena is my girlfriend. I love her and I will --"
"Oh shut up, Stefan. You've never belonged to Elena and you love some fragile image of her that you have on a pedestal in your mind. That Elena doesn't exist. You don't even know the real Elena and she doesn't belong to you."
"My daughter belongs to herself, and maybe one day, when she feels safe again, she'll decide to share herself with the one she feels worthy of her -- like the one that is willing to kill for her."
Damon's shoulders tensed, but he didn't turn around, his eyes were still fixed on his brother. Finally, it was Alaric's shocked voice that broke the silence.
"Isobel? What are you doing here?"
Isobel turned to look at Alaric, deciding to stay out of the fight between the Salvatore brothers for time being. "My daughter is missing and probably being tortured, Alaric. I came to get her back."
This time, Damon did turn around and look at her. "You forget that I know your loyalties, Isobel. They damn sure don't include Elena."
"Oh don't be so stupid, it's not a good look on you," Isobel snapped. "Who do you think gave John the device to destroy the tomb vampires?"
Jeremy started to step forward, but Alaric and Bonnie stopped him. "You're the reason Anna is dead!"
"Katherine was going to have it done no matter what. John just stepped up the timetable." She looked at Jeremy. "I can only assume that he killed your girlfriend for the same reason the Salvatore brothers were supposed to die that night with the others."
"And what reason was that?" Bonnie finally found the question she wanted to ask the woman who had first abandoned Elena, and then tormented her by striking out at her friends in order to force Elena to get her what she wanted.
"To protect Elena from them. I never wanted this life for her, and I assume John felt the same way about his nephew. He had the ability to make sure that his daughter and nephew were safe all at once." She looked at Bonnie. "And then you had to get involved. You should have stayed out of it and let these two die. Elena wouldn't be in this mess in the first place if it weren't for them."
"Are you forgetting that you came to me and asked me to make you one of us?" Damon's voice was still cold.
"That doesn't mean I want my daughter to become one, too. And I definitely never wanted to see her repeating Katherine's mistakes." She shook her head. "However, she's no Katherine, and I'm very glad of that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Stefan asked. "You were pretty blunt in telling her that she wasn't as good or as smart as Katherine the last time you saw her."
She gave Stefan a dismissive glance and then looked back at Damon. "It means that we have a damn good chance at getting her back alive." She turned to walk away and then stopped. "Oh, and by the way, Damon?"
"What?"
"You're wrong."
"About?"
She looked over her shoulder. "If Elena dies, you can kill your brother, but Katherine is mine. Elena is my daughter and I'm the one who'll kill the bitch that harms her. I'll meet all of you back at the Gilbert house."
Isobel had disappeared into the shadows by the time Jeremy found his voice again.
"Uncle John is Elena's dad?" Then he looked at Alaric. "Jenna is not going to be happy to see your wife here."
"Ex-wife," Alaric and Damon both said at the same time.
Surprisingly, after a bit of initial bristling around each other, Jenna and Isobel found that they were able to handle being around each other. Jeremy commented that it was probably more due to their shared love for Elena and less for their ties to Alaric.
For his part, Alaric told Jeremy to mind his own business.
Now, however, the group of seven were sitting in the living room of the Gilbert home while new plans were made. While they were discussing what to do, Bonnie's cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she excused herself and went into the kitchen. Damon watched her go, then he turned back to listen to the discussion in the living room.
"How can we be sure that she's still alive," Stefan finally asked, putting into words what no one else had been willing to.
"She is," Jeremy insisted angrily.
"Jeremy, we don't know that."
"I know that," Jeremy said, glaring at Stefan. "I would know if she was dead or whatever you vampires are. She's my sister."
"Technically, she's your cousin," Isobel said from where she was looking out the window. "She's John's daughter and he was your father's brother."
"Sister," Jeremy said again. "She's more my sister than she is your daughter."
"Jeremy," Jenna warned him quietly. "Don't."
"No, Aunt Jenna, I won't be quiet because I'm right. I read all about how Elena found out that she was still alive and that Isobel was doing her best to keep her from finding her. I know that she's the one who hurt Matt -- and she's also the one that kidnapped me to force Elena to get that stupid device from Damon. I know that she's the one that gave it Uncle John so that he could try to kill all of the vampires that were in Mystic Falls. She's as much to blame for Elena getting hurt as Damon and Stefan are."
Isobel turned from the window, her eyes angry. "And you've been such a stellar brother to her since your parents died, haven't you? She covered for you with the drugs, tried to protect you from everything that was going on and even tried to remake the world for you so that you wouldn't suffer the pain of any more loss in your life. And how did you repay her? You shunned her and treated her like shit, even when she still continued to risk everything to keep you safe. I may be a shitty mother, Jeremy, but you're an even shittier brother."
"Oh both of you shut up," Damon finally said. "You can play Family Feud later. Right now, we have to figure out where Elena is being held and get her back. I don't care what you two do after that, but she is our first priority!"
Before anyone could respond to that, Bonnie came back into the room. When everyone looked at her, she sighed. "Matt knows."
Alaric shook his head. "Bonnie, you didn't." Everyone had different looks of surprise or disapproval on their faces.
"I didn't tell him there were vampires, no," she said defiantly. "But he was pissed because Elena and I haven't come to the hospital to be with Caroline -- as we would have under any other circumstances. I couldn't lie to him because he knows that there was no way that we wouldn't have been spending the night there until she wakes up. She's our best friend and we wouldn't let anything keep us from her side."
"What did you tell him?" Jenna asked curiously, reaching across the table in order to squeeze her hand. Jenna at least understood why she had done it.
Bonnie sighed. "I told him most of the truth. I told him that Elena had been kidnapped that same night and that you hadn't reported it to the police of Mystic Falls because Elena's life was threatened if you do. I also told him that you had been contacted by the FBI and there was special agent here working the case." She nodded her head at Isobel.
"That was quick thinking, Bonnie," Stefan murmured. "It also makes sure that he stays safe at the hospital with Caroline instead of being out looking for Elena and making himself a big target."
"That's good since it wouldn't be the first time that someone has hurt Elena's friends to hurt Elena," Damon said caustically as he looked at Isobel.
Alaric looked between the Damon and Isobel. "What is he talking about?"
"It doesn't matter right now," Isobel said, brushing his question off. "What matters is retrieving Elena."
"We just have to find her," Jenna said quietly. "Bonnie, do you think you're up for doing the tracking spell again?"
"She won't need to," Damon said, getting up from he had been sitting. "We already know where Elena is." When everyone looked at him he gave them an impatient look. "Oh come on, guys. Elena is still trapped in the tomb."
"But Katherine knows we tracked her there," Alaric argued. "She would have moved her."
Damon shrugged, shaking his head. "No, because she knows that is what you guys will think. She thinks since we tracked her there once that we won't think to do it again."
"He's right," Stefan admitted quietly. "Katherine wouldn't make more work for herself. Easier to just keep Elena there and watch us all scramble trying to find her."
"Well let's go get her then!" Jeremy said heading towards the door.
Isobel got to the door before him. "You, are not going."
"The hell I'm not. I'm going and you can't stop me."
"I can and I will," Isobel said glaring at him as she reached for him. "You're breakable and are staying here. We don't have the time to look after you."
Before Isobel could lay a hand on him, she felt a hand on the back of her neck and she was jerked back. "You touch him, Isobel and I will kill you myself." Damon's voice left no room for doubt.
In the end, it was decided that Jenna, Alaric and Bonnie would stay back at the Gilbert house. Alaric would be the muscle and Bonnie the magic in order to make sure the house stayed a safe refuge. Jeremy was going with the vampires because nothing Stefan said would convince him otherwise and Damon kept siding with him against them. Finally Stefan threw his hands up in the air.
"Fine. If he gets hurt, you can explain it to Elena, Damon!"
Damon didn't even look at him. "He won't get hurt."
Damon was quickly losing patience with Stefan, but he was determined that he wasn't going to pick a fight with him until all of this was over. His primary focus was rescuing Elena, but after that, he was going to have a long talk with his damn brother.
When they arrived, it seemed to Jeremy that it was just too easy to get into the tomb. Damon explained that it wasn't hard for them to open the tomb now because it was no longer sealed with a witch's spell. Once they were inside, the smell of blood hit Damon first and he turned, following the scent until he found a corner that had a bed against the wall. He didn't have to look to know who was bleeding on that bed.
He would have reached for her, but Stefan was there at the same time as he was, and it was Stefan that reached down picked up Elena, cradling her against him. Damon had to tamp down the jealousy he felt, but he let the rage move freely through him when he realized just how battered Elena was for her to be smelling that much of blood. She hadn't shed that much blood even when she wrecked her car.
And then, all four of them heard the words that would forever change everything.
As Stefan held Elena, she relaxed into his hold, seeming to let go of whatever she had been holding onto to keep herself holding on to consciousness while a prisoner of a sadistic vampire.
"Damon, I knew you'd come for me." She murmured, sighing as she lost consciousness completely.
To give Damon credit, he didn't relish in either the pain or the resignation that passed through Stefan's eyes. Even when Stefan gestured that he would hand Elena over to Damon, he didn't say anything to mock his brother or anything that would make him feel worse. He would have taken her, but then he stiffened, his eyes going black.
"Get her out of here," he growled, turning to face Katherine who had arrived and been waiting to blindside one of them.
Damon and Katherine just stared at each other for a long moment. Damon could hear other movement going on around him in the tomb, but he blocked the voices out.
"Well, haven't you become the sweetest little knight in well worn leather," Katherine finally broke the silent stand-off with her mocking comment. "It sounds like you managed to steal Stefan's girl -- again -- and led two more people to their deaths. You have had a busy day, my little soldier."
Damon didn't change his expression. "No one else is dying here, today, Katherine," he said flatly. "There's been enough bloodshed and terror in this town and it ends now."
"What are you going to do," she asked with a laugh. "Kill me? We both know that Stefan will never let you do that. After all, you've stolen two girls from him now. How does it feel, Damon, to always get your little brother's seconds? First me and now Elena? You'll always know that he came first and you'll always wonder if she's comparing you to him."
"Shut up, Katherine," Isobel said, stepping to Damon's side.
The only surprise Katherine showed to seeing Isobel there was a slight widening of her eyes. "Isobel. Is there a reason you're here with the boys instead of doing something useful?"
"My daughter was supposed to be off limits, Katherine." The other female vampire said coldly. "Any issues you had with Stefan and Damon were not supposed to involve Elena. When you changed the rules and kidnapped her, I changed the rules, as well."
Katherine was reacting a little too calmly about this whole situation for Stefan's liking. Something was really wrong with this scene and he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. He carried Elena towards the opening of the tomb, making sure that Jeremy followed. Once outside and next to the car, Stefan carefully placed Elena in the back seat, and then grabbed Jeremy, shoving him towards the front of the car.
"Get in the car and drive, Jeremy."
"What?"
"Do as I say," Stefan said firmly as he pushed Jeremy into the driver's seat. "Drive as fast as you can and get Elena out of here. Whatever you do and whatever you hear do not look back and do not stop until you get home."
"Stefan, what's going on?"
"Don't argue with me, just get yourselves out of here. Now Jeremy!"
Jeremy wanted to argue with Stefan because he could tell that whatever was about to happen was going to be really bad. He didn't want to leave any of them behind, but the sight of his sister in the rear view mirror stopped him from arguing. Elena was bleeding badly and he needed to help her first. As much as he might owe Damon or want to help him, his responsibility was to his sister. If he had to choose, it would always be Elena over any of the vampires. If something went bad for them, well, he would feel badly about it, but not as badly as he would if his sister died.
"Take care of yourself, Stefan," Jeremy murmured as he started up the car and started driving away.
He was only halfway home when he heard the explosion. It was later said that the whole town saw the fireball that went up from the location of the old tomb.
The funeral for John Gilbert was a simple one. The story making the rounds of Mystic Falls was that he had been killed when trying to prevent the kidnapping of his niece. Jenna and Alaric had agreed that it was for the best if he was remembered as doing something good in his last moments. After all, no one outside their small group needed to know exactly what kind of man John was.
"Besides," Jenna had said softly when they were making arrangements. "We don't know that given the choice at the last minute that he wouldn't have chosen to try to protect her. He was willing to kill to protect her before."
As for Jeremy, he had a few unresolved issues towards John, but even he had decided that there was no reason for them to come to light. They were things that he would find a way to deal with in his own time.
Luckily for them, they hadn't needed to come up with an explanation for the authorities about why the old tomb had blown up. When the fire and smoke had finally cleared enough for the fire department to go into it, there was no evidence of anything having been there. There were traces of wires and things, so they theorized that the serial killer had planned to blow up the tomb with Elena in it and claim another victim. When Jenna, playing the concerned guardian had asked why Elena had been targetted, the police had explained that it was all random chance.
"Maybe he saw your niece somewhere and decided that he wanted her for some reason. He blew up the tomb to send her off in a memorable fashion so that no one would ever forget what he had done." Because, after all, the serial killer had to have been a male.
"How is Elena?" Matt asked Jeremy, falling into step with him as they left the cemetary.
"We think she's going to be okay," Jeremy assured him. "Her wounds are slowly healing and Bonnie keeps making sure she sleeps." That was Jeremy speak for the fact that Elena hadn't regained consciousness yet.
"You guys should have told me the truth, you know," he said. "We've been best friends since we were kids."
"Maybe, but you had Caroline to pay attention to. Besides, would you have believed us?"
"With everything that I've seen, probably. It sure answers a lot of questions about some things."
"And leaves even more questions on others." Jeremy sighed. "How's Caroline?""
"She's doing much better. She's anxious to get out of the hospital and be with Elena." He shrugged. "She thinks that Elena should be in the hospital, but she says she understands why the FBI insisted on private care for her. It's not every day she learns that her best friend helped in the apprehension of a serial killer and almost became a victim herself."
That part of the story had been Jeremy's idea when he realized that people would find it strange that Elena wasn't in a hospital with the condition she was in. He had argued that there was no way they could explain away some of the wounds she had and a hospital would be too much of a risk.
Jeremy nodded. "Tell her to take care of herself first, because that's what Elena would want her to do."
"Has there been any news about Damon or Stefan?"
Jeremy shook his head. "No. It's been over a week. If they survived whatever happened at the tomb, they would have been in contact with us by now -- if only to check on Elena."
"You think that Katherine killed them?"
"I don't know what to think, Matt. I think that Stefan knew there was a chance of that happening when he put Elena and I in that car."
"What about Damon?"
Jeremy shrugged. "I think that he would rather have died than allow Katherine to live after what she did to Elena. If it meant that he would die, too..."
"Damon never struck me as the martyr type."
"You didn't see him, Matt. You didn't see what kind of state he was in when he realized Elena was missing. Stefan was all calm and collected, but Damon..." He shook his head. "Man, he was inches from going off the deep end. When we found Elena..." He swallowed. "I hope no one ever looks at me the way he looked at Katherine."
"You really think he cared that much about Elena?"
"He loved her, Matt. He loved Elena every bit as much as I loved Vickie, or Anna." He sighed. "He may not be the type of guy any of us would want for my sister, but I no longer have any doubt about how much she meant to him."
"Well, at least you know it wasn't just Elena that cared, then." Jeremy had told him about what Elena had said in the tomb when they found her.
"No, not just Elena," Jeremy agreed quietly.
They walked in silence for a long moment. "Are you all right, Jeremy? You seem different?"
Jeremy stopped and looked at Matt. "I have to be, Matt. What happened to Elena happened because she was too worried about looking out for me and not for herself. I'm not going to let anything like this happen to my family ever again."
"It wasn't your fault, Jeremy. Elena wouldn't want you to blame yourself."
"It was partially my fault, Matt. I know that and I accept it. I'm just not going to let it happen again."
Matt was quiet as he watched Jeremy go to be with Jenna and Alaric.
"No," he finally said. "I don't think you will."
It was the end of the second week since everything had happened and Elena's family -- including Alaric and Bonnie -- were sitting in the downstairs living room. The room was mostly quiet except for the usual sounds that were heard from people in a room when the news wasn't good. There was a great deal of quiet breathing and shifting around in their seat.
"Nothing has changed and it's been two weeks," Jeremy finally burst out. "She's not getting better. We need to take Elena to a hospital so they can help her."
"And tell them what, Jeremy?" Bonnie asked him. "She lost so much blood and was hurt so badly. They'll want to know why we didn't take her in sooner."
"And they won't buy the idea of private care when we have no physician to back it up," Alaric pointed out quietly. "They could arrest us all and then who knows what would happen to Elena."
"We have to do something," Jenna stressed. "Bonnie's magic isn't helping and neither is anything else that we've managed to come up with. Her condition hasn't changed and I'm scared for her."
"If we don't do something, she's going to die and then everything that happened was all for nothing." Jeremy said, getting up and pacing the living room. "Stefan and Isobel dying, Damon sacrificing himself to save her, it will all have been for nothing!" And then she'll never know how much I love her and regret what I did to her.
"What do you suggest we do, you guys?" Bonnie asked tiredly. "I don't know why she's not waking up and I don't know why nothing I try is working." She sighed. "I wish Grams were here, or hell, another visit from Emily would really help. Then maybe we would know what Elena needs."
"She needs blood," a quiet voice that no one expected to hear again said suddenly, causing all four of them to jump. "She needs our blood."
Jenna found her voice first. "Isobel! Where the hell have you been? We thought you were dead."
Isobel gave her a snarky smile. "Wishful thinking, I'm sure." She shook her head, looking from Alaric and then back to Jenna. "There were some things that needed to be taken care of -- loose ends to be tied up." It takes some time even for a vampire to heal from wounds cause by fire, after all.
"Where's Damon?" Jeremy demanded.
"He's outside making sure everything is safe." She looked back at Jenna and Bonnie. "I don't think we was sure if he would be welcome or not."
"Of course he is," Jeremy jumped up to head outside. "He saved my sister."
Jenna watched him go and then shrugged at Isobel. "I can't argue with Jeremy on that, can you Bonnie?"
As much as Bonnie wanted to argue for keeping Damon Salvatore away from Elena, she really couldn't say anything. He had risked everything to rescue her best friend and he had done his best to make sure that the person causing them so much pain would never hurt anyone again. "I guess not," she finally said. "He seems to lover her, and she loves him." She shook her head and then looked at Isobel. "But if he kills any innocent people here ever again, all bets are off and I will destroy him."
"I'm sure you'll try," Isobel said sweetly as she headed for the stairs. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my daughter needs me and it's past time that she woke up."
When Isobel let herself into Elena's room, Damon was already there. He was sitting on the bed next to her head and stroking her hair.
"I didn't realize how much she did mean to me until I lost her," he murmured, not looking up. "I knew I loved her, but I didn't realize how much she's a part of me."
"And now you know," Isobel said as she sat on the other side of Elena. "You realize that as her mother, I am obligated to tell you that if you break her heart after all of this, I will gut you and laugh as you turn to ash, right?"
Damon was quiet as Isobel bit into her wrist and then started forcing the blood into Elena's mouth, massaging her throat so that the girl would swallow it.
"I don't know how to do this, Isobel," he admitted.
"Do what?" She was paying attention to her daughter and the fact that even though it was weak, she was starting to swallow on her own.
"Be a boyfriend," he said. "I don't know how to do all of that romantic gesture junk. I'm not Stefan."
"No, you're not Stefan," Isobel agreed. "You're Damon and that's who she loves. For god's sake, Damon. Don't turn into a simpering idiot on her, just be yourself. After all, that's who she fell in love with." She cocked her head, relief in her eyes as Elena started to lose some of the deathly pallor in her skin. "Stefan was puppies and kittens and Hallmark cards. Nice, but so very boring after awhile. Elena was a fragile doll, someone he put on a pedestal to be protected. She doesn't want to be protected like that. She wants to be equal in the relationship, and I think you can handle that. You're fire and passion and cockiness all wrapped up in a tight leather jacket. You live and experience the world around us. That's what she needs. That's what I want for her in a man."
"She always has seen something in me worth saving and worth keeping around."
"Then respect the faith she has in you and don't let her down." Isobel was quiet for a long moment as she watched Elena. "Have you found anything?"
Damon shook his head. "No. There's been no sign of either one of them. Everything that was in the tomb is ash and I wasn't able to tell if Stefan and Katherine were among them."
"Jewelery?"
"None. It may have been hot enough to melt even those."
"You couldn't have saved him, Damon. He made the choice to go back in there. He knew that there was no other way out, and he chose to go back in to try to save Katherine. He made that choice, not you."
Bonnie was sitting outside on the porch swing, allowing herself to relax for the first time in weeks. Elena was back and she was safe. They had managed to rescue her and now she was upstairs sleeping. Sleeping, not comatose. Damon and Isobel both said that now that she'd been given blood, she was healing at an accelerated rate. Now, they just needed to let her sleep as she had been through a lot.
Matt had called her earlier and Caroline was also doing fine and had finally been sent home from the hospital. When Elena was up for visitors, she was to call them. Jeremy was doing better emotionally after losing Anna, and now that he knew his sister was going to be all right, Bonnie thought he'd eventually be okay. Alaric and Jenna were closer than ever after this and Bonnie knew that Elena would be glad to her aunt happy with someone that valued her like Alaric did.
"I need a favor."
Bonnie jumped. "Damn it, Stefan. I'm going to make you people start wearing bells."
"Sorry," he shrugged. "I figured that since you still had the protective spell up you wouldn't be startled."
"Guess again." She sighed. "What do you need, Stefan?"
He held out his fist and when she held out hers, he opened his hand to drop two rings and a pendant into Bonnie's hand. All three had Lapis Lazuli stones in them and Bonnie recognized them as being similar to the rings that he and Damon always wore.
"What's this," she asked him suspiciously.
"I want you to give them to Elena and her family," he said quietly. "They'll protect them."
"Protect them from what, Stefan?" She looked at him and her eyes narrowed. "Katherine."
"Until I see a body, I'm not going to believe that Elena is safe, Bonnie. I'm going to keep looking and stay vigilant." He sighed. "The necklace was Anna's and I think it should go to Jenna. The small ring was Pearl's and the men's ring was John's."
"You think she'll come after Elena again?"
"If she's alive? Yes, she will. Katherine was never one to bow out gracefully. With both Damon and I declaring our love for Elena, she'll want to make us all suffer." He sighed. "The stones won't protect them if the deaths are from natural causes, but they will keep them alive if anything supernatural tries to kill them."
Bonnie closed her hand over the jewelery, already deciding that she was going to add fresh spells to the ones that Emily had created so long ago. She wasn't going to go through almost losing her best friend again.
"I couldn't find another witch yet to make you one," he explained. "But then I realized that you probably already have something from Emily that works the same way. I know it would kill Elena if anything happened to you or Caroline."
"There's not one here for Caroline."
"No, but I was going to ask you to make something for her."
She nodded, looking at him. "Have you talked to Damon about any of this?"
Stefan shook his head. "No. Damon thinks I died in the explosion and I think I'll be good to him and let him think that for awhile."
"How is letting him believe you're dead helping him in any way?"
"It will let him get used to the fact that someone actually picked him over me for once," he said truthfully. "I was going to leave anyway, when I realized how much he did love her. When she called for him in the tomb..." He shrugged. "Death is a much better at providing closure, don't you think? Besides, if I told him there was a chance that Katherine was still alive, he'd want to go out seeking vengeance. That would hurt Elena and leave her alone and I can't have that."
"You're an idiot," she said quietly.
"Maybe, but Elena has been through enough pain and I'm not going to stick around and add to it. You know her best, Bonnie. She wouldn't want to hurt me and she would stay with me even though she loves Damon."
"She loves you, too."
"I know she does," he nodded. "But I'm not Damon."
"Take care of yourself, Stefan."
"I will," he promised. "I still love Elena, and I'll be watching over her... just this time from afar for a little while."
"Try not to be too much of a stalker," Bonnie warned with a smile in her eyes.
He shrugged.
"Stefan," Bonnie asked him as he was turning away. "What happened at the tomb? Why did it explode?"
He sighed. "Apparently Katherine decided to wire the tomb with enough explosives to outfit a small army. I'm assuming that her plan was to blow up Elena with the tomb -- and anyone who happened to be there to rescue her. I smelled the dynamite before I picked Elena up, but I didn't realize what I was smelling. It wasn't until I realized how calmly she was taking Damon turning against her that I recognized what I was smelling and understood what she had done."
"She was going to kill herself?"
"I don't think that was part of the plan. I think she had a safe escape somewhere in the tomb. Seeing all three of us there to protect Elena threw her off-balanced a little bit."
"Katherine Pierce was never exactly balanced," Bonnie said dryly.
Stefan smiled slightly. "In any case, when I dragged Damon out of there, I had to go back in to find her and make sure what happened to her. A side tunnel protected me when the explosion caused it to cave in," he said, anticipating her next question.
"I still say you're an idiot."
"Maybe," he acknowledged. "And if anything happens where you need my help, or Elena is in trouble... well, I'm sure you know or can find ways to contact me. If you need it, I'll be there."
"And if Damon destroys Elena?" Bonnie demanded.
Stefan shook his head. "He won't, Bonnie. You didn't see his face when we found Elena. I realized then that something would die in him if we lost her. He won't do anything to cause her pain. Not now."
"I don't trust him."
"You don't completely trust me, either," he pointed out. "Besides, do you honestly think that Isobel is just going to disappear from Elena's life again? Keeping the girl happy has a more serious meaning when your in-law is immortal, too. She'll make Damon suffer more than anyone else possibly can if he doesn't treat Elena right."
She smiled slightly. "Don't stay away too long."
Stefan shrugged. "I'll be gone as long as it takes."
Bonnie watched him walk into the woods and shook her head. "You're still an idiot."
Damon Salvatore didn't like feeling helpless.
It wasn't something he had felt much since becoming a vampire, but over the last few days, that was very much how he had felt.
Helpless.
Logically, he knew that Elena had been through a lot and her body was repairing itself as she slept, but that didn't help the worry he felt for her. It was a concern that wasn't going to ease up until he saw her open her eyes and look at him.
He wasn't sure what all Katherine had done to her, but it had taken a lot of Isobel's blood for her to start healing. He was just glad that she had still been alive to heal. He had been almost positive that they were going to find Elena dead -- or worse.
Of course, hearing Elena call to him in the tomb had been a pleasant surprise, and it had fueled his determination to kill Katherine for everything she had done. Now more than ever, Elena was his and you just didn't mess with what belonged to him.
He had been willing to kill for her, and then Stefan had disappeared with her and Jeremy. When he came back into the tomb, Damon and Isobel had already been fighting with Katherine and he wasn't aware of the fire that had started. The next thing he knew, everything hurt and Stefan was putting him on the ground next to Isobel. He watched Stefan run back to the tomb and that had been when the world exploded around all of them. Seeing what was left of the tomb after it had cooled down, Damon had to admit that Isobel was right when she said that no one could have survived...
"Damon?"
Hearing Elena's voice, he turned from the window to see that her eyes were open and watching him. He moved quickly to sit on the bed next to her.
"Hey," he said quietly, brushing her hair back. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she said, leaning her head against him. "You found me."
"Of course I did," he said, letting his voice fill with a playful arrogance. "I will always find you."
"Jeremy?"
"He's safe and not as annoying as he was." Damon smiled down at her. "He helped me rescue you."
"He did?"
"Yes. He couldn't be kept from it. Your brother is an idiot sometimes, but he loves you."
"John is dead, isn't he?"
Damon nodded. "He was dead before she even attacked you," he assured her. "You protected Jeremy and Jenna, but there was nothing you could have done to save him." He was quiet for a second. "We told Jenna everything, by the way. She took it pretty well, but she may still yell at you for keeping secrets and risking yourself like you have been."
"It was for good reasons," she protested.
"Some how, I don't think she would agree with you. She was really scared for you."
Elena was quiet for so long that Damon thought she had fallen asleep again. He moved to get up so she could rest, but her whisper stopped him.
"I should be dead."
"No." His voice was firm as he tightened his hold on her. "No, never Elena. I wasn't going to let someone take you from me."
Two tears slid down her cheeks. "She kept telling me how she was going to kill me and leave my body for you guys to find," she whispered. "Then she would change her mind and tell me it would hurt you more if she made me like you and we could be killer twins for all eternity." She shuddered, and Damon pulled her close to him so that he could rest his head on hers.
"Sssh. It's okay. You're safe now, Elena. I won't let anything happen to you ever again."
She buried her face in his chest as the tears started coming faster. "She was more angry at you than at Stefan. You were supposed to always be loyal to her and I got so angry at her for talking about you like that. I wanted to kill her, Damon, and when she realized how I felt, she wanted to hurt you."
"It's over," he murmured into her hair. "It's over. She can't hurt you -- or me -- ever again, Elena. She's gone. You're safe."
He held her tightly as she cried. He hated seeing her in pain and every tear she shed seemed to cut him. All he could so to help her was hold her and rock her gently. He wanted the chance to kill Katherine all over again for the pain she had caused Elena. While she cried, Damon changed their position on the bed so that he could lay down and hold Elena in his arms. He knew she would be more comfortable laying down and that was at least one thing he could give her right now.
"Stefan's gone, isn't he?" She whispered in the midst of her tears.
He nodded. "He saved my life, Elena. He knew how much we loved each other and he pulled me out before the tomb exploded." He tightened his hold again at her fresh round of tears and he wished he could cry with her. He and Stefan hadn't always gotten along, but they had still been brothers. He would never have wished him to die that way.
"He went back in for Katherine," Elena said quietly some time later. "He died trying to save Katherine."
"What?" He listed his head slightly so he could look down into her face. "What makes you say that?"
"Because I know... knew Stefan. He would have wanted to save her because he couldn't just her to die, not when she created you and him. He would have wanted to try to redeem her or make her face justice or something." She sighed tiredly. "Katherine... she couldn't have been redeemed, Damon. I know you love her but, what she was... what I saw..."
"No," he corrected her. "I don't love her, Elena. It's you. It's always been you for a very long time now. It took almost losing you to realize just how important you are to me." He laughed sarcastically. "I came here wanting to destroy this place." He was aware that he was repeating what he had originally said to Katherine, but he didn't care. The words had been meant for Elena and he was damn sure going to make sure she knew. "Somehow, I found myself wanting to protect this town and the people in it. It's all because of you. Because you saw something in me worth saving."
She smiled faintly. "Are you trying to seduce me, Damon?"
Damon laughed. "No, my dear. If I was trying to seduce you, it wouldn't be with some stupid speech about you saving me." He leaned down to kiss her. "I do have an image to keep up, you know." His lips were a breath from hers when he added. "When you're better and allowed to be up and about, I'll show you all about seduction."
"Is that a promise?"
"Elena, it's a solemn vow."
Their kiss was soft and gentle, both of them a little bit unsure about how everything was going to work out. However, after a few moments, it deepened and neither one of them could decide who changed the flavor of the kiss first.
However, it was Damon who reluctantly broke the kiss and pulled his head away from her. "Rest, Elena. You need to rest and to heal. I'll still be here when you wake up. Go to sleep and heal."
It was the last time he would use compulsion on her, he promised them both as she started to fall asleep. Tomorrow, while she was sleeping, he would fine her vervain necklace, or he'd get another one for her. He wanted her to know for sure that what was between them was real and not anything near a compulsion. For once, he was glad that it was Isobel who had used blood to heal Elena. There would be no assumptions from anyone that they loved each other just because of the blood they had shared.
Damon sighed as he held Elena against him and looked out the window. He'd ask someone to search the tomb again, because until they found a body, he knew that the memory of Katherine would haunt Elena -- and perhaps him as well. He wanted Elena to be able to rest easy and not have fears or worries about anything like what she endured happening again.
"I'll take care of her, Stefan," Damon said, turning to look out the window at the moon that was rising. "I promise you. I'll take care of Elena and I'll keep her safe for as long as I exist."
He turned back to lean his head against Elena's and closed his eyes, content to listen to her breathe as she slept.