Fic: A Vampire's Policy [Vampire Diaries | PG13 | Elena/Damon | 12/?]
Title A Vampire's Policy
Author: jinxed_wood
Characters/Pairings: Damon /Elena, ensemble.
Rating: PG13
Category: Drama
Spoilers: Up to 1x19
Warnings: It has vampires?
Show/Bookverse: Show
Summary:Stefan reignites his hunger for human blood, Elena tries to hold on, and Damon ensures he gets his own way...
Author's Notes: This story basically went AU from the end of 1X18, but I shall be incorporating elements of subsequent episodes, like John's machinations, Bonnie distrust and anger, Stefan's struggle with his new thirst for human blood, and general plot points that I feel wouldn't be changed by Elena's Vampirism - needless to say, Elena won't be a part of the Miss Mystic falls competition, although it will feature in this story! Anyways, on with the show!
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
Walking through the woods, with John Gilbert and Sheriff Forbes in tow, was a lesson in frustration. There was no rhyme or reason to the path Gilbert led them on, and he found himself wondering what sort of game he was playing. Was he waiting for the sun to go down, so that Isobel could jump out and attack? Damon knew he didn't have all the pieces, and finding leverage to make Gilbert talk was proving difficult. He could kill him, but he couldn't make him spill.
“It's up this way,” Gilbert said, as he twisted down yet another track, and Damon suddenly realised where they were going. “There's nothing but an old ruin down there,” he said. “There's no shelter for a Vampire to use.”
“You seem very sure of that,” Gilbert said
Damon shrugged. “It's the original Salvatore house,” he said. “Of course, I'm sure; I used to play there as a kid.”
“Ah yes, I forgot that the Salvatores used to live down this way,” he said. “Why did they move again?”
”They didn't move, this branch of the family died out,” Damon said flatly. “Where did you get your information again?” Gilbert smiled at him, and Damon fought the urge to smack the smug look off his face.
“I have a friend on the force, over at Grove Hill, who keeps his ears to ground,” he said.
Sheriff Forbes frowned. “We do seem to have gone off the beaten path, if we're looking for a Vampire that's hunting Damon,” she said.
A glimmer of something rose in Damon's mind. “Actually,” he said slowly, testing the waters. “It might be better to go back to the lodge, and let the Vampire come to us. If it is hunting me, it'll turn up there eventually.”
“Oh, I wouldn't worry about that,” Gilbert said. “It's not as if it could get into the house without an invite, after all.”
Damon's eyes narrowed. It was only for a moment, but he had seen something flash across Gilbert's face. He suddenly knew, with absolute certainty, that he needed to get back to the lodge as quickly as possible. "I'm not the only one who lives there,” he said aloud. “And Stefan doesn't know about this.”
A worried expression flickered on Sheriff Forbes face, and she came to a stop. “Damon is right, we should go back.”
“Not yet,” Gilbert said, “I think I see something through the trees.”
They stumbled into the clearance that once held his father's house, and Damon felt something inside him twist as he realised that there was someone at the ruins.
It was Stefan.
His eyes glittered as they turned on Gilbert and the Sheriff, and Damon remembered that time, when he was eight, when he'd stepped on a rattlesnake. Strangely enough, it was a kind of relief; they'd kill the Sheriff, Gilbert, and then the town council, and then they'd leave town and take Elena with them. Simple, clean and effective.
And Elena would never speak to him again.
Damon sighed, he was beginning to think Anna may have a point. Elena's opinion had somehow managed to become important to him. “Stefan,” he said aloud. “Don't tell me this is where you come to, when you cut class? Shouldn't there be girls and drugs involved?”
Sheriff Forbes, picking up his lead, stepped up. “You'd better head home, these ruins are a hazard,” she said. Gilbert stayed uncharacteristically silent, but Damon was okay with that. The less he said, the better.
Stefan looked at him, eyes hooded, expression blank. He'd been snacking since yesterday, oh joy. “Why don't you come home with me, Stefan?” he said. “We'll get you something to eat, and then we'll...talk...”
Once again, an uncomfortable expression crossed Gilbert's face, and something must have permeated Stefan's blood haze, because a part of his old self suddenly appeared in his eyes.
“Yes, that might be a good idea,” he said, getting to his feet.
“Maybe we should walk back with you,” the Sheriff suggested. “After what we've just discussed...?”
“No!” Gilbert said suddenly. “We need to track down this-”
“Nah, uh,” Damon interrupted, with a smirk. “Not in front of the kids, remember?”
The Sheriff nodded. “I think we should walk back with you, just in case you were right...earlier.”
Damon pulled a face, but didn't contradict her. Stefan rose, and his eyes, flickering between Gilbert and the Sheriff, were too dark. Damon knew he was moments away from losing it...
Actually, I think I'll continue on looking,” Gilbert said, and Damon saw Stefan relax.
“Are you sure, John?” the Sheriff asked, troubled.
“Relax, Elizabeth, I know how to take care of myself. Don't worry about me.”
Damon eyed him as he walked off, wondering what he was planning. He obviously had no qualms about letting the Sheriff wander off alone with two pissed off Vampires, so regard for human life wasn't exactly high on his list. A thing to remember, in the days to come. He had a funny feeling things were about to get very messy.
“I never really understood him,” the Sheriff said, contemplatively.
“It's what he wants to do,” Damon said.
“What's wrong?” Stefan asked, out of the blue.
The Sheriff turned to look at him. “Just another wild anima-” And then she stopped, her eyes dilating as she looked into Stefan's. “We're hunting Vampires,” she said, starkly.
Stefan tilted his head at her, before looking at Damon. “I thought she took Vervain?” he said.
“I've been diluting it,” Damon said. “But not to this degree, she looks fully under.” He glanced back at the spot Gilbert had just vacated. “And I have a funny feeling I know why.” He grabbed the Sheriff by the shoulders and turned her to look at him.
“Walk straight to your car and go home,” he said. “Remember everything as it happened, up to the point Gilbert left, and then you'll remember bringing us back to the lodge and then leaving for home, once we'd decided there were no Vampires in the vicinity - understood?"
“Understood,” she said softly, before turning on her heel, and walking towards the lodge.
Damon grabbed Stefan's arm, pulling his attention from the Sheriff's neck. “Elena's in danger,” he said, using the only words he knew would pull Stefan out of his haze.
Sure enough, Stefan's head swivelled to look at him. “How?”
“Don't know, but I think it has to do with Isobel-”
No more words were needed, Stefan was already a blur.
~~~*~~*~~*~~~
Elena waited until she could not hear the Sheriff's or Uncle John's footsteps anymore, before she crept downstairs again, her diary and her phone clutched in her hands. She'd never heard Damon's footsteps, even with her Vampire hearing, and she wondered how the Sheriff had never noticed that, as they traipsed through the woods.
She sat on the couch, in front of the dimming fire, and quickly dialled Jeremy's number. She'd let it slip out of her mind, earlier, but she needed to know if he was okay.
“Elena?” said Jeremy's voice. There was a live orchestra in the background, and people talking, but Elena ignored it, in favour of hearing the one thing she'd hoped for.
“Jeremy, you're alright!” she said, relief flooding though her.
“Yeah, no thanks to your boyfriend,” Jeremy snorted.
“Jer, don't be too harsh on Stefan, he's not himself at the moment. It's been so long since he's tasted human blood, that it's making him act out of character.”
“I don't owe Stefan anything, Elena,” Jeremy said. “And if he was such a loyal boyfriend, why the hell was he trawling the The Grill last night?”
Elena felt something inside her cringe, despite her knowing the truth. “He wasn't looking for a date, Jer, he was looking for a meal.”
“Oh, well, that makes all the difference.”
“Where are you?” Elena asked, hoping to change the subject. “I can hear music.”
”Oh, right,” Jeremy said, his voice suddenly embarrassed. “I'm at the Mansion. The Miss Mystic Falls competition is on later, and Jenna has apparently volunteered our services as an apology for your disappearing act.”
Elena winced. “Sorry.”
For a moment, Jeremy fell silent.“It's me that should be saying sorry, sis, not you,” he eventually said.
“Jer, don't, it's as much my fault as yours. I shouldn't have jumped in front of that stake-”
“Elena, it's nice of you to try and share the blame, but I think we both know this is all on me.”
Elena bit her lip. “But it isn't, you know,” she admitted. “I was the one who asked Damon to erase your memories, I was the one who decided that you shouldn't have the truth. It was wrong, it was stupid, and it was selfish. I couldn't stand seeing you in such pain again. The first time, after Mom and Dad died, almost killed me.”
Jeremy sighed on the other end of the phone, and then lowered his voice. “You didn't deserve to die, Elena.”
“It'll be okay, Jer,” Elena said, not knowing what else to say.
“But it'll never be the same,” Jeremy said. And that's all my fault.”
An engine purred past the parlour's window, and Elena kept an ear out as she looked at the clock. The jeweller wasn't supposed to arrive until six, but it was possible he was early. “Jer,” she said, as she blurred into the hallway. “You can't blame yourself for this. These are our lives now, we'll just have to muddle through.” There was a rap on a door, and Elena listened intently. It wasn't coming from the front door, but the garage... Shit.
“Jer, I'm going to have to hang up now,” she said. “I think I may have company.”
“Elena, wait-”
She hit the red button, and went down the hallway. A heartbeat came from the garage, and Elena may have not been a Vampire for long, but she could tell it was not human. It was too steady, too normal. The door boomed with the knock of an iron fist, and Elena found her suspicions come true when the door's frame splintered, and the door itself flew free from its hinges. The Vampire stalked inside, and Elena felt her mouth go dry when she recognised him.
It was the man who'd stepped in front of the car after delivering Isobel's message - except he wasn't human anymore. Isobel must have given him some of her blood before he died.
“I want the watch,” he said.
Elena didn't have to think about what he was talking about. He wanted the pocket watch the original John Gilbert had made.
“I don't know where it is,” she lied.
“I don't believe you,” he said.
“I don't care,” Elena stated. “Now get out of my home before I make you.”
He smirked. “I'd like to see youtry,” he said, menacingly.
Elena ran, streaking across the house as fast as she could. He chased after her, and she could taste his adrenaline in the air as he, no doubt, tasted her fear - but that was no bad thing, because it masked the fact that she was running towards something, rather than away.
She reached the desk moments before him, and grasped the object taped under its roll cover. He grabbed her by the shoulders, and ripped her around.
“Give it to me!” he said, and then his eyes widened, as Elena slammed the Vervain dart into his side.
“You didn't really think I'd lead you to the watch, did you?” Elena asked softly, as he fell to the ground.
The front doors burst open, and Elena looked up to see both of the Salvatore brothers standing there, taking in the scene.
Damon smirked. “Our cell is going to get rather cramped, don't you think?”
Stefan gave them both a rather confused look. “What the hell has been happening here?” he asked.
PART THIRTEEN
Author: jinxed_wood
Characters/Pairings: Damon /Elena, ensemble.
Rating: PG13
Category: Drama
Spoilers: Up to 1x19
Warnings: It has vampires?
Show/Bookverse: Show
Summary:Stefan reignites his hunger for human blood, Elena tries to hold on, and Damon ensures he gets his own way...
Author's Notes: This story basically went AU from the end of 1X18, but I shall be incorporating elements of subsequent episodes, like John's machinations, Bonnie distrust and anger, Stefan's struggle with his new thirst for human blood, and general plot points that I feel wouldn't be changed by Elena's Vampirism - needless to say, Elena won't be a part of the Miss Mystic falls competition, although it will feature in this story! Anyways, on with the show!
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
Walking through the woods, with John Gilbert and Sheriff Forbes in tow, was a lesson in frustration. There was no rhyme or reason to the path Gilbert led them on, and he found himself wondering what sort of game he was playing. Was he waiting for the sun to go down, so that Isobel could jump out and attack? Damon knew he didn't have all the pieces, and finding leverage to make Gilbert talk was proving difficult. He could kill him, but he couldn't make him spill.
“It's up this way,” Gilbert said, as he twisted down yet another track, and Damon suddenly realised where they were going. “There's nothing but an old ruin down there,” he said. “There's no shelter for a Vampire to use.”
“You seem very sure of that,” Gilbert said
Damon shrugged. “It's the original Salvatore house,” he said. “Of course, I'm sure; I used to play there as a kid.”
“Ah yes, I forgot that the Salvatores used to live down this way,” he said. “Why did they move again?”
”They didn't move, this branch of the family died out,” Damon said flatly. “Where did you get your information again?” Gilbert smiled at him, and Damon fought the urge to smack the smug look off his face.
“I have a friend on the force, over at Grove Hill, who keeps his ears to ground,” he said.
Sheriff Forbes frowned. “We do seem to have gone off the beaten path, if we're looking for a Vampire that's hunting Damon,” she said.
A glimmer of something rose in Damon's mind. “Actually,” he said slowly, testing the waters. “It might be better to go back to the lodge, and let the Vampire come to us. If it is hunting me, it'll turn up there eventually.”
“Oh, I wouldn't worry about that,” Gilbert said. “It's not as if it could get into the house without an invite, after all.”
Damon's eyes narrowed. It was only for a moment, but he had seen something flash across Gilbert's face. He suddenly knew, with absolute certainty, that he needed to get back to the lodge as quickly as possible. "I'm not the only one who lives there,” he said aloud. “And Stefan doesn't know about this.”
A worried expression flickered on Sheriff Forbes face, and she came to a stop. “Damon is right, we should go back.”
“Not yet,” Gilbert said, “I think I see something through the trees.”
They stumbled into the clearance that once held his father's house, and Damon felt something inside him twist as he realised that there was someone at the ruins.
It was Stefan.
His eyes glittered as they turned on Gilbert and the Sheriff, and Damon remembered that time, when he was eight, when he'd stepped on a rattlesnake. Strangely enough, it was a kind of relief; they'd kill the Sheriff, Gilbert, and then the town council, and then they'd leave town and take Elena with them. Simple, clean and effective.
And Elena would never speak to him again.
Damon sighed, he was beginning to think Anna may have a point. Elena's opinion had somehow managed to become important to him. “Stefan,” he said aloud. “Don't tell me this is where you come to, when you cut class? Shouldn't there be girls and drugs involved?”
Sheriff Forbes, picking up his lead, stepped up. “You'd better head home, these ruins are a hazard,” she said. Gilbert stayed uncharacteristically silent, but Damon was okay with that. The less he said, the better.
Stefan looked at him, eyes hooded, expression blank. He'd been snacking since yesterday, oh joy. “Why don't you come home with me, Stefan?” he said. “We'll get you something to eat, and then we'll...talk...”
Once again, an uncomfortable expression crossed Gilbert's face, and something must have permeated Stefan's blood haze, because a part of his old self suddenly appeared in his eyes.
“Yes, that might be a good idea,” he said, getting to his feet.
“Maybe we should walk back with you,” the Sheriff suggested. “After what we've just discussed...?”
“No!” Gilbert said suddenly. “We need to track down this-”
“Nah, uh,” Damon interrupted, with a smirk. “Not in front of the kids, remember?”
The Sheriff nodded. “I think we should walk back with you, just in case you were right...earlier.”
Damon pulled a face, but didn't contradict her. Stefan rose, and his eyes, flickering between Gilbert and the Sheriff, were too dark. Damon knew he was moments away from losing it...
Actually, I think I'll continue on looking,” Gilbert said, and Damon saw Stefan relax.
“Are you sure, John?” the Sheriff asked, troubled.
“Relax, Elizabeth, I know how to take care of myself. Don't worry about me.”
Damon eyed him as he walked off, wondering what he was planning. He obviously had no qualms about letting the Sheriff wander off alone with two pissed off Vampires, so regard for human life wasn't exactly high on his list. A thing to remember, in the days to come. He had a funny feeling things were about to get very messy.
“I never really understood him,” the Sheriff said, contemplatively.
“It's what he wants to do,” Damon said.
“What's wrong?” Stefan asked, out of the blue.
The Sheriff turned to look at him. “Just another wild anima-” And then she stopped, her eyes dilating as she looked into Stefan's. “We're hunting Vampires,” she said, starkly.
Stefan tilted his head at her, before looking at Damon. “I thought she took Vervain?” he said.
“I've been diluting it,” Damon said. “But not to this degree, she looks fully under.” He glanced back at the spot Gilbert had just vacated. “And I have a funny feeling I know why.” He grabbed the Sheriff by the shoulders and turned her to look at him.
“Walk straight to your car and go home,” he said. “Remember everything as it happened, up to the point Gilbert left, and then you'll remember bringing us back to the lodge and then leaving for home, once we'd decided there were no Vampires in the vicinity - understood?"
“Understood,” she said softly, before turning on her heel, and walking towards the lodge.
Damon grabbed Stefan's arm, pulling his attention from the Sheriff's neck. “Elena's in danger,” he said, using the only words he knew would pull Stefan out of his haze.
Sure enough, Stefan's head swivelled to look at him. “How?”
“Don't know, but I think it has to do with Isobel-”
No more words were needed, Stefan was already a blur.
~~~*~~*~~*~~~
Elena waited until she could not hear the Sheriff's or Uncle John's footsteps anymore, before she crept downstairs again, her diary and her phone clutched in her hands. She'd never heard Damon's footsteps, even with her Vampire hearing, and she wondered how the Sheriff had never noticed that, as they traipsed through the woods.
She sat on the couch, in front of the dimming fire, and quickly dialled Jeremy's number. She'd let it slip out of her mind, earlier, but she needed to know if he was okay.
“Elena?” said Jeremy's voice. There was a live orchestra in the background, and people talking, but Elena ignored it, in favour of hearing the one thing she'd hoped for.
“Jeremy, you're alright!” she said, relief flooding though her.
“Yeah, no thanks to your boyfriend,” Jeremy snorted.
“Jer, don't be too harsh on Stefan, he's not himself at the moment. It's been so long since he's tasted human blood, that it's making him act out of character.”
“I don't owe Stefan anything, Elena,” Jeremy said. “And if he was such a loyal boyfriend, why the hell was he trawling the The Grill last night?”
Elena felt something inside her cringe, despite her knowing the truth. “He wasn't looking for a date, Jer, he was looking for a meal.”
“Oh, well, that makes all the difference.”
“Where are you?” Elena asked, hoping to change the subject. “I can hear music.”
”Oh, right,” Jeremy said, his voice suddenly embarrassed. “I'm at the Mansion. The Miss Mystic Falls competition is on later, and Jenna has apparently volunteered our services as an apology for your disappearing act.”
Elena winced. “Sorry.”
For a moment, Jeremy fell silent.“It's me that should be saying sorry, sis, not you,” he eventually said.
“Jer, don't, it's as much my fault as yours. I shouldn't have jumped in front of that stake-”
“Elena, it's nice of you to try and share the blame, but I think we both know this is all on me.”
Elena bit her lip. “But it isn't, you know,” she admitted. “I was the one who asked Damon to erase your memories, I was the one who decided that you shouldn't have the truth. It was wrong, it was stupid, and it was selfish. I couldn't stand seeing you in such pain again. The first time, after Mom and Dad died, almost killed me.”
Jeremy sighed on the other end of the phone, and then lowered his voice. “You didn't deserve to die, Elena.”
“It'll be okay, Jer,” Elena said, not knowing what else to say.
“But it'll never be the same,” Jeremy said. And that's all my fault.”
An engine purred past the parlour's window, and Elena kept an ear out as she looked at the clock. The jeweller wasn't supposed to arrive until six, but it was possible he was early. “Jer,” she said, as she blurred into the hallway. “You can't blame yourself for this. These are our lives now, we'll just have to muddle through.” There was a rap on a door, and Elena listened intently. It wasn't coming from the front door, but the garage... Shit.
“Jer, I'm going to have to hang up now,” she said. “I think I may have company.”
“Elena, wait-”
She hit the red button, and went down the hallway. A heartbeat came from the garage, and Elena may have not been a Vampire for long, but she could tell it was not human. It was too steady, too normal. The door boomed with the knock of an iron fist, and Elena found her suspicions come true when the door's frame splintered, and the door itself flew free from its hinges. The Vampire stalked inside, and Elena felt her mouth go dry when she recognised him.
It was the man who'd stepped in front of the car after delivering Isobel's message - except he wasn't human anymore. Isobel must have given him some of her blood before he died.
“I want the watch,” he said.
Elena didn't have to think about what he was talking about. He wanted the pocket watch the original John Gilbert had made.
“I don't know where it is,” she lied.
“I don't believe you,” he said.
“I don't care,” Elena stated. “Now get out of my home before I make you.”
He smirked. “I'd like to see youtry,” he said, menacingly.
Elena ran, streaking across the house as fast as she could. He chased after her, and she could taste his adrenaline in the air as he, no doubt, tasted her fear - but that was no bad thing, because it masked the fact that she was running towards something, rather than away.
She reached the desk moments before him, and grasped the object taped under its roll cover. He grabbed her by the shoulders, and ripped her around.
“Give it to me!” he said, and then his eyes widened, as Elena slammed the Vervain dart into his side.
“You didn't really think I'd lead you to the watch, did you?” Elena asked softly, as he fell to the ground.
The front doors burst open, and Elena looked up to see both of the Salvatore brothers standing there, taking in the scene.
Damon smirked. “Our cell is going to get rather cramped, don't you think?”
Stefan gave them both a rather confused look. “What the hell has been happening here?” he asked.
PART THIRTEEN