Title A Vampire's Policy
Author:
jinxed_woodCharacters/Pairings: Damon /Elena, ensemble.
Rating: R
Category: Drama
Spoilers: All of season one.
Warnings: There be smut, blood and vampires, in no particular order...
Show/Bookverse: Show
Summary:Stefan reignites his hunger for human blood, Elena tries to hold on as she deals with being turned, and Damon ensures he gets his own way...
Previous parts:
PART ONE |
PART TWO |
PART THREE |
PART FOUR |
PART FIVE |
PART SIX |
PART SEVEN |
PART EIGHT |
PART NINE |
PART TEN |
PART ELEVEN |
PART TWELVE |
PART THIRTEEN |
PART FOURTEEN |
PART FIFTEEN |
PART SIXTEEN |
PART SEVENTEEN |
PART EIGHTEEN |
PART NINETEEN --------------------
PART TWENTY
Damon frowned as he watched Elena walk away and descend the steps. He could guess what Stefan had said to her and, if he was honest with himself, he had steeled himself for the inevitable...but the inevitable hadn't happened.
At least, not yet.
He had been so sure that she had come to her senses, and realised that this little thing they had going on was just something she needed to get out of her system as she transitioned. It wasn't the first time a newly turned Vampire had latched onto their maker. In fact, it was pretty much the normal state of affairs, which was why Stefan had tried his best not to let his jealousy show. He knew that if he hung in there, it would pass.
But something had changed, and it slowly dawned on Damon that this new Elena wasn't like the old one; that he suddenly was in with a chance. He had been so sure that these few weeks was all that there was - chaotic and brief - that he hadn't really entertained the idea that there could be more.
His phone rang in his pocket, and he pulled it out distractedly and looked at the screen. It was the Sheriff. “Damon,” she said, sounding worried as he answered. “Sorry to ring you in the middle of the night, but we have a problem. I've got word that a new group of Vampires have hit town.”
Damn it. It looked like Gilbert had beat him to the punch.
“I think you may be right,” he said, as his mind reached for an angle he could use. “After John made the connection between the blood bank thefts, and the possibility of Vampires, I did some checking.” A brainwave hit him. “Remember when I asked you to do some checking into Alaric Saltzman, and you discovered all that stuff about his wife?”
“Yes, the unsolved disappearance.”
“Yeah, well, don't kill me, but the reason I had you check him out was because he let something slip that made me think he may know something about Vampires. After we talked, I had another chat with him and it turns out that Isobel hasn't so much disappeared, as acquired a new lifestyle. One that requires a liquid diet.”
“Are you saying...?”
“Yeah, poor bastard,” Damon said, trying to keep his smirk out of his voice. “He's actually here right now. Apparently, she's just paid him a midnight visit, looking to reconnect. She wasn't pleased to find he'd moved on.”
“Oh God.”
“Exactly. Needless to say, the guy is freaked. He's afraid she'll try to go after Jenna Sommers or one of his students.”
There was a pause. “My daughter takes his class.”
“Yeah, so does Stefan,” Damon said. “Which is why I'm going to email you a photo of her that Alaric has given me. Her name is Isobel. We need to make the town aware she is dangerous.”
“I'll come up with something,” the Sheriff said. “I'll connect her to a series of home invasions, and tell people that under no circumstances they should let her into their homes.”
Damon smirked. “That's one way of making sure she won't get an invite.”
“I've been giving this sort of situation a lot of thought over the last few weeks,” she admitted.
“Which brings us back to your original reason for calling. What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
There was a hesitation on the other side the phone. “I'm not sure if I should ask this. You seem to have enough on your plate.”
“Liz, just tell me,” Damon said.
She sighed. “Gilbert thinks he may have tracked down the source of yesterday's Vampire attack,” she said. “He says it's the same one who was prowling behind your house. He needs back up. I offered to go as well, but he said it might work better as just a two man job.”
Yeah, Damon just bet he did. “It's probably for the best,” he said. “Looks like you'll have your hands full keeping an eye out for this Isobel character. Give me the address,” he said.
“It's a house that's just gone into receivership, up by Bloom Way.,” she said, before giving him the exact address
Bingo. He now knew where Isobel was. “Tell him I'll meet him there in half an hour,” he said, as he made for the stairs. “I need to take care of some family stuff first.”
“How is Stefan, by the way? I was talking to Jenna, earlier, and she was very concerned. I think she was under the impression that Stefan and Elena were off together?”
Oops. “Ah, yeah, actually I think they might have had a bit of a dust-up,” Damon said. “Elena wanted to go visit a friend in Georgia, and Stefan wasn't into it. Words got exchanged, Elena left, Stefan got drunk....sorry, I should have called Jenna once I realised Stefan wasn't with her.”
“Does Stefan know where she is? She's not answering her phone.”
“I'll ask him when I see him,” Damon said, as he eyed Elena, who was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.
“He's out?”
“Staying with a school friend...Bonnie?”
“I see. Well, call me when...well, you know, whatever happens.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Oh, you're a real comedian,” she said ruefully, and then hung up.
“Jenna is starting to get worried,” Elena said softly.
“I could have told you that,” Alaric sighed. “She's worried sick. She's just trying not to show it.”
“You should phone her,” Damon said.
“If I phone her, I'll have to lie to her, and I don't want to do that,” Elena said.
“You're going to have to, sooner or later,” Damon said. “Might as well get in the practice.” he glanced across the room, at Anna and Jeremy. “Any chance there's a house on that list on Bloom Way?”
Anna looked up. “Funny you should say that...”
“You have an address - how did that happen?” Alaric asked, giving Damon a suspicious look.
“About a minute ago, courtesy of Uncle John, via the Sheriff. It's probably a trap...scratch that, it's definitely a trap,” Damon said.
Alaric gave him a long look. “You think the Sheriff is in on it?”
“If by 'in on it', you mean in league with John, then no,” Damon said. “Mind you, she might surprise me. It's been known to happen.”
Elena snorted. “Tell me about it.”
“My, my, aren't we in a mood ,” he said flatly. “Go feed.”
“I only fed about fifteen minutes ago,” she protested.
“Well, you need to feed again,” he said. “If you were feeding from the vein, you'd be going through at least a body a night. That's eight pints of blood, Elena, do the math.”
“You don't drink that much,” she protested.
“I'm dieting,” he bit back.
Elena gave him a dark look, before stalking in the direction of the kitchen.
“Looks to me like she isn't the only one in a mood,” Alaric said.
“And it's not a mood for witty banter, either,” Damon said tersely. “We need to make our move quickly, before Isobel decides on a plan B.” He glanced over at Anna, who eyed him back.
“You've got something to say?” she asked archly.
“I need you to stay here to keep an eye on Elena. Sun's coming up soon, and she doesn't have a ring yet.” His eyes rested on Jeremy, who was slouched on the couch, a wry expression on his face that reminded him strongly of his sister. He pulled Johnathan Gilbert's ring out of his pocket, and held it up to get a better look at the design. He had taken it off Gilbret's finger to remind him of his vulnerability, but now he had a better idea. He threw it across the room and it landed on Jeremy's lap.
“What is this?” Jeremy asked, as he picked it up and looked at it doubtfully.
“It belonged to your father,” Damon said. “As far as I can make out, it'll protect you from injury and death. It's a regular get out of jail free card...well, more like a get out alive card. Same difference”
Jeremy looked at him warily. “And you're just giving this to me, no questions asked?”
Damon shrugged. “You want me to take it back?” he asked dryly.
Jeremy stared at the ring again, frowning slightly. “This ring looks familiar,” he said softly, before looking up, his eyes resting on Alaric. “It looks like yours.”
“Yeah,” Alaric said hoarsely. “I got mine from Isobel.”
“So she cared at some point,” Jeremy said.
“At some point,” Alaric agreed.
“Are you going to have a problem with this?” Damon asked Alaric sharply.
“Of course I'm going to have a problem with it,” Alaric snapped back. “She's my wife!” He winced. “Was my wife...was.”
“You really should try to remember that last part,” Damon told him flatly.
“Or what?” Alaric demanded. “You''ll kill me? You already tried that, remember?”
“Hey, you were the one who went all Jack Bauer on me. I was just defending myself.”
“You've already tried that line too,” Alaric snorted. “It's just as believable the second time around.”
“Okay, how about this for believable,” Damon ground out. “She came here looking for two things - the invention and Elena. Notice someone who's conspicuously absent from that list?”
“I only have your word for that, though, don't I?”
“You think I'm lying?”
“Wouldn't be the first time.”
“Christ, you're like a couple of two year olds,” Anna muttered.
“Seriously,” Jeremy agreed, with a half smirk.
“No comments from the peanut gallery,” Damon snapped. “Unless it's a plan to get rid of our little Vampire infestation.”
“Okay, I've eaten,” Elena said briskly, as she stalked back into the room. “Lets go and...” she paused, and eyed the room. “Okay, what did I miss?”
Anna rolled her eyes. “Hello? You do realise you have super hearing now, right? Try tuning in.”
Elena looked embarrassed. “All the noise gives me a headache,” she admitted.
“It becomes easier once you learn to focus,” Damon told her. “You can practice while I'm gone - Anna will help you, won't you, Anna?”
“Wait”
What?
Damon smirked at the two spoke simultaneously, and then glared at each other. “You two will make cute in-laws. I can just imagine your thanksgiving dinners.”
“Looks to me like you'll be in-lawing it yourself,” Alaric muttered.
“Don't even,” Damon said, feeling momentarily disconcerted at the thought.
“Hey, I thought you liked family night,” Jeremy teased.
“Oh, sure I do - especially when the youngest is served as the entree,” Damon shot back. “Their blood is so tender and sweet.”
Elena rolled her eyes. “Damon, you're not eating my brother,” she said.
“What, you want first dibs?” Damon said, before he could stop himself. Elena's eyes snapped up, pain starkly showing, before she blurred out of the room.
“Oh, way to go,” Jeremy said tiredly. “Real smooth.”
Damon closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, reminding himself that Elena would be even more pissed with him if he ripped her brother's head off his shoulders. “Wait here,” he ground out, to Alaric. He blurred after her, streaking through the kitchen and into the garden. He paused, frowning as he scented the air. She wouldn't have been so stupid as to leave the vicinity of the house, would she?
Dumb question. Sure she would, if she was upset enough. He darted over to the edge of the trees, and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a fleck of fresh blood on leaf. He leaned in and caught another scent in the air. For a moment, he though Elena had doubled back on herself, and he was catching her scent twice, but that wasn't it...
He knew what it was, he just wasn't quite sure he believed it. His mouth went dry.
Katherine was back.
And she had taken Elena.
PART TWENTY ONE