Fic: A Vampire's Policy [Vampire Diaries | PG13 | Elena/Damon | 13/?]
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
---------------------
PART THIRTEEN
Stefan was back, Stefan was here.
And Elena didn't know how she felt about that.
“We'll get him downstairs, before we move onto Chuckles.” Damon said crisply, ignoring the tense silence as he crossed the room. “I have a funny feeling we're running out of time.”
“His name is Duke, not Chuckles” Elena said, breaking out of her reverie.
Damon gave her a look, and Elena relented. “Well, okay, his name is not Duke, but it's what everyone calls him.” She bent down to grab the Vampire's shoulders, frowning as she realised its weight. “Why is he so heavy, the other body wasn't.”
“Vampires give a whole new meaning to the phrase dead weight,” Damon said.
“Ha, ha,” Elena said.
“The other body,” Stefan questioned suddenly. “What have you been up to, Damon?”
“Wait, what is that?” Damon asked, cupping his ear. “Elena, I think Stefan is about to say something profoundly ironic.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, Elena looked away from Stefan. “Leave him alone, Damon,” she said quietly.
Damon rolled his eyes, but grabbed the Vampire and threw him over his shoulder. “If he twitches, stake him,” he said.
“Do we have a stake?” Elena asked.
“You know what I mean.”
Stefan's eyes glittered as they followed her across the room. She felt as if she were being stalked, and she didn't like the feeling. She quickened her step, to catch up with Damon.
“Isn't that the man Isobel sent, the one who stepped in front of the car, a few weeks back?” Stefan asked suddenly, his breath on her ear.
Elena stopped herself from jumping. “Yes,” she said, “He came looking for John Gilbert's pocket watch.”
“And that can't be good,” Damon called back. “In fact, that might be very bad.”
Elena studied Stefan from the corner of her eye and wondered what he was thinking, as he stepped up beside her. Something inside her didn't recognise him any more; it was if he were now a stranger. Of course, maybe the stranger was really her. She was no longer the same accepting Elena.
Stefan sudenly stiffened and came to a halt, staring down the last flight of stairs. “There's a half turned vampire down here,” he said.
“Yeah, that would have been our first present from Isobel,” Damon said. “She's thoughtful like that, although I've always been rather partial to those fruit baskets with the cherries-”
“Damon,” Elena said.
Stefan closed in on Elena, and took her hand. “You've been feeding,” he said softly.
“Oh, don't you start,” Damon snarled. “I spent the best part of yesterday covering your snacking, so you don't get to say that. Just open the damned cell door for us.”
Elena looked from one brother to the other, and didn't know what to say. A week ago, she woul have known where she stood - right by Stefan's side. Now, however, the lines were blurred. “Now is not the time for this, Stefan,” she said quietly. “We'll talk later.”
She stepped forward and opened the cell for Damon. Propped up on the camp bed was Duke, his eyes drooping, but still awake. Damon dumped the Vampire at his feet, and Elena caught the flicker of recognition flash in Duke's eyes.
“He knows the Vampire,” she said aloud.
“There was any doubt?” Damon asked, as he grabbed Duke and pulled him from the cell.
“He's reaching the end of the transitional stage,” Stefan said quietly. “If he doesn't feed soon, he'll die.”
“Hear that, Duke?” Damon asked the gagged Duke amiably. “Definitely an incentive to talk, don't you think?”
Elena followed Damon and Duke into the supply room that housed the freezer, and watched as Damon swung up the lid. “See that?” he said. “That's your ticket to immortality. Tell me everything, and you get to live.” Damon grabbed a stool from the corner and sat Duke on it, before removing the gag.
“I can't say anything,” Duke said immediately, his voice cracking. “Isobel...Isobel...” his voice petered off as his head slumped. Elena could sense he was nearing the end.
Damon grabbed a bag of blood, and dragged up a chair and sat in front of him. “Yeah, I know, I get it; Isobel hears all and sees all. You fear her and, hey, maybe you even love her a little,” Damon leaned forward and looked into his eyes. “But here's something you might not know, Duke. As far as Vampires go, Isobel isn't even a blip on the radar screen. She's barely two years turned and she's still living on that high, but while she may think she's Queen of the frigging Damned, compared to me or Stefan, she's small time and, may I point out, she's also not here.” He waggled the bagged blood in front of him. “So fess up and I'll let you feed, and then you can have all eternity to regret spilling your guts... or you can just stay here and die.”
Duke licked his parched lips, his eyes fixated on the bagged blood. “You promise me you'll let me go, afterwards?”
“Why wouldn't I?” Damon drawled. “You're nothing to me.”
Damon was lying, Elena knew that with absolute certainty, but she couldn't bring herself to call him on it. Isobel had left Duke in her home. Jenna and Jeremy wouldn't have stood a chance if he'd awoken before Alaric found him, and there was no guarantee Isobel wouldn't try this again.
She would do anything it took to keep her family safe.
Stefan prowled behind her silently, and Elena prayed he wouldn't say anything as the silence dragged on. The smell of blood in the air was already beginning to stir her hunger, and she could feel her control slipping again. She wondered if she'd ever learn to control it enough to not be afraid of it. Afraid of what she might do.
Duke coughed and looked up at her, his eyes suddenly unblinking. “She told me that all I had to do was wake up and let nature takes its course,” he said. “She said that you deserved it, and it was her right to take your life because she was the one who gave it to you in the first place, but...you're not human anymore, are you?”
“And you still haven't given me something we don't already know,” Damon said. “What else did Isobel say? What did she say about me?”
“The world doesn't revolve around you, Damon, it may have nothing to do with you,” Stefan said.
“There was a note pinned to his body when Alaric found him,” Elena said. “It said, hello, Damon.”
“Of course, how silly of me. What was I thinking?” Stefan muttered. “If there's a dead body involved, chances are Damon's name is involved in some way.”
“My brother is such a kidder,” Damon said, his voice deceptively light. “Always with the witty banter.”
“Can we please not do this now?” Elena pleaded. “I need to know why Isobel wanted to kill my family. Why does she hate me so much?” She turned to Duke. “Did she tell you anything? What did she say? ”
“She said that you'd already know that; that you had something she wanted, and she was going to take it, one way or the other,” Duke said. His voice sounded parched, as if he'd not had a glass of water in days.
“This is not getting us anywhere,” Damon decided, flinging the bagged blood over his shoulder, and back into the deep freezer.
He got to his feet, and Duke's eyes widened in protest. “But you promised-”
Damon pulled Duke's gag back into place, and then slammed the freezer closed. “We need to finish this conversation upstairs,” he said coolly.
Stefan glared at him, but Elena nodded. “The jeweller will be here soon,” she offered as Damon locked the door behind them.
Damon nodded. “And something tells me he isn't the only visitor we're going to get,” he said.
Stefan waited until they were upstairs before he burst out, "That was bullshit, down there. You're not going to let him live. You don't even know if bagged blood is sufficient to turn someone.”
Damon looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. “Of course I'm not going to let him live,” he said. “He's seen Elena. He knows she's been turned. We can't risk Isobel finding out before we know what she's up to.”
“And what does Elena think about this?” Stefan said. “Have you thought to ask her?”
“She's right there, ask her yourself,” Damon barked.
“I think Damon is right,” Elena said quietly, and Stefan looked at her as if he'd never seen her before.
“You've changed,” he said flatly. “The Elena I know would never have gone along with this.”
Damon laughed mirthlessly. “Wow, then those were some dinky rose coloured glasses you were wearing, brother,” he mocked. “What did you think you were dating - a saint?
Elena glowered at Damon, who just smirked back, before turning to Stefan. “She dumped him in my home, Stefan, my home. If Jeremy or Jenna had found him before Alaric, they'd be dead...and I've lost too many people, Stefan, I can't lose any more. I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”
“And that would be case closed,” Damon said. “So, are you in, or are you just going to run off again?”
Stefan frowned, but eventually nodded. “I'm in,” he said. “But don't think I won't try and stop you if I think you've gone too far.”
“Speaking of going too far,” Damon drawled. “You and I need to talk about your feeding habits.”
Stefan stiffened. “I admit I went off the rails a bit, for a couple of days, but I have it under control, again,” he said.
“Sure you do,” Damon said, “And I raise bunnies for a living.” Stefan just stared at him silently, and Damon shrugged. “Whatever you say, brother,” he said. “But just so you know, the Sheriff has an eye out for a Vampire, and we're going to have to provide her with one - luckily, we seem to have a spare in the basement.”
Elena felt suddenly queasy; it was Lexi all over again.
Stefan must have been thinking the same thing because he abruptly made his way to the liquor cabinet, and poured himself a drink.
Damon just folded his arms. “Well, don't I feel judged,” he said. He turned to look at Elena. “You need to feed,” he observed.
Elena nodded wearily. When did she not?
PART FOURTEEN
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
---------------------
PART THIRTEEN
Stefan was back, Stefan was here.
And Elena didn't know how she felt about that.
“We'll get him downstairs, before we move onto Chuckles.” Damon said crisply, ignoring the tense silence as he crossed the room. “I have a funny feeling we're running out of time.”
“His name is Duke, not Chuckles” Elena said, breaking out of her reverie.
Damon gave her a look, and Elena relented. “Well, okay, his name is not Duke, but it's what everyone calls him.” She bent down to grab the Vampire's shoulders, frowning as she realised its weight. “Why is he so heavy, the other body wasn't.”
“Vampires give a whole new meaning to the phrase dead weight,” Damon said.
“Ha, ha,” Elena said.
“The other body,” Stefan questioned suddenly. “What have you been up to, Damon?”
“Wait, what is that?” Damon asked, cupping his ear. “Elena, I think Stefan is about to say something profoundly ironic.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, Elena looked away from Stefan. “Leave him alone, Damon,” she said quietly.
Damon rolled his eyes, but grabbed the Vampire and threw him over his shoulder. “If he twitches, stake him,” he said.
“Do we have a stake?” Elena asked.
“You know what I mean.”
Stefan's eyes glittered as they followed her across the room. She felt as if she were being stalked, and she didn't like the feeling. She quickened her step, to catch up with Damon.
“Isn't that the man Isobel sent, the one who stepped in front of the car, a few weeks back?” Stefan asked suddenly, his breath on her ear.
Elena stopped herself from jumping. “Yes,” she said, “He came looking for John Gilbert's pocket watch.”
“And that can't be good,” Damon called back. “In fact, that might be very bad.”
Elena studied Stefan from the corner of her eye and wondered what he was thinking, as he stepped up beside her. Something inside her didn't recognise him any more; it was if he were now a stranger. Of course, maybe the stranger was really her. She was no longer the same accepting Elena.
Stefan sudenly stiffened and came to a halt, staring down the last flight of stairs. “There's a half turned vampire down here,” he said.
“Yeah, that would have been our first present from Isobel,” Damon said. “She's thoughtful like that, although I've always been rather partial to those fruit baskets with the cherries-”
“Damon,” Elena said.
Stefan closed in on Elena, and took her hand. “You've been feeding,” he said softly.
“Oh, don't you start,” Damon snarled. “I spent the best part of yesterday covering your snacking, so you don't get to say that. Just open the damned cell door for us.”
Elena looked from one brother to the other, and didn't know what to say. A week ago, she woul have known where she stood - right by Stefan's side. Now, however, the lines were blurred. “Now is not the time for this, Stefan,” she said quietly. “We'll talk later.”
She stepped forward and opened the cell for Damon. Propped up on the camp bed was Duke, his eyes drooping, but still awake. Damon dumped the Vampire at his feet, and Elena caught the flicker of recognition flash in Duke's eyes.
“He knows the Vampire,” she said aloud.
“There was any doubt?” Damon asked, as he grabbed Duke and pulled him from the cell.
“He's reaching the end of the transitional stage,” Stefan said quietly. “If he doesn't feed soon, he'll die.”
“Hear that, Duke?” Damon asked the gagged Duke amiably. “Definitely an incentive to talk, don't you think?”
Elena followed Damon and Duke into the supply room that housed the freezer, and watched as Damon swung up the lid. “See that?” he said. “That's your ticket to immortality. Tell me everything, and you get to live.” Damon grabbed a stool from the corner and sat Duke on it, before removing the gag.
“I can't say anything,” Duke said immediately, his voice cracking. “Isobel...Isobel...” his voice petered off as his head slumped. Elena could sense he was nearing the end.
Damon grabbed a bag of blood, and dragged up a chair and sat in front of him. “Yeah, I know, I get it; Isobel hears all and sees all. You fear her and, hey, maybe you even love her a little,” Damon leaned forward and looked into his eyes. “But here's something you might not know, Duke. As far as Vampires go, Isobel isn't even a blip on the radar screen. She's barely two years turned and she's still living on that high, but while she may think she's Queen of the frigging Damned, compared to me or Stefan, she's small time and, may I point out, she's also not here.” He waggled the bagged blood in front of him. “So fess up and I'll let you feed, and then you can have all eternity to regret spilling your guts... or you can just stay here and die.”
Duke licked his parched lips, his eyes fixated on the bagged blood. “You promise me you'll let me go, afterwards?”
“Why wouldn't I?” Damon drawled. “You're nothing to me.”
Damon was lying, Elena knew that with absolute certainty, but she couldn't bring herself to call him on it. Isobel had left Duke in her home. Jenna and Jeremy wouldn't have stood a chance if he'd awoken before Alaric found him, and there was no guarantee Isobel wouldn't try this again.
She would do anything it took to keep her family safe.
Stefan prowled behind her silently, and Elena prayed he wouldn't say anything as the silence dragged on. The smell of blood in the air was already beginning to stir her hunger, and she could feel her control slipping again. She wondered if she'd ever learn to control it enough to not be afraid of it. Afraid of what she might do.
Duke coughed and looked up at her, his eyes suddenly unblinking. “She told me that all I had to do was wake up and let nature takes its course,” he said. “She said that you deserved it, and it was her right to take your life because she was the one who gave it to you in the first place, but...you're not human anymore, are you?”
“And you still haven't given me something we don't already know,” Damon said. “What else did Isobel say? What did she say about me?”
“The world doesn't revolve around you, Damon, it may have nothing to do with you,” Stefan said.
“There was a note pinned to his body when Alaric found him,” Elena said. “It said, hello, Damon.”
“Of course, how silly of me. What was I thinking?” Stefan muttered. “If there's a dead body involved, chances are Damon's name is involved in some way.”
“My brother is such a kidder,” Damon said, his voice deceptively light. “Always with the witty banter.”
“Can we please not do this now?” Elena pleaded. “I need to know why Isobel wanted to kill my family. Why does she hate me so much?” She turned to Duke. “Did she tell you anything? What did she say? ”
“She said that you'd already know that; that you had something she wanted, and she was going to take it, one way or the other,” Duke said. His voice sounded parched, as if he'd not had a glass of water in days.
“This is not getting us anywhere,” Damon decided, flinging the bagged blood over his shoulder, and back into the deep freezer.
He got to his feet, and Duke's eyes widened in protest. “But you promised-”
Damon pulled Duke's gag back into place, and then slammed the freezer closed. “We need to finish this conversation upstairs,” he said coolly.
Stefan glared at him, but Elena nodded. “The jeweller will be here soon,” she offered as Damon locked the door behind them.
Damon nodded. “And something tells me he isn't the only visitor we're going to get,” he said.
Stefan waited until they were upstairs before he burst out, "That was bullshit, down there. You're not going to let him live. You don't even know if bagged blood is sufficient to turn someone.”
Damon looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. “Of course I'm not going to let him live,” he said. “He's seen Elena. He knows she's been turned. We can't risk Isobel finding out before we know what she's up to.”
“And what does Elena think about this?” Stefan said. “Have you thought to ask her?”
“She's right there, ask her yourself,” Damon barked.
“I think Damon is right,” Elena said quietly, and Stefan looked at her as if he'd never seen her before.
“You've changed,” he said flatly. “The Elena I know would never have gone along with this.”
Damon laughed mirthlessly. “Wow, then those were some dinky rose coloured glasses you were wearing, brother,” he mocked. “What did you think you were dating - a saint?
Elena glowered at Damon, who just smirked back, before turning to Stefan. “She dumped him in my home, Stefan, my home. If Jeremy or Jenna had found him before Alaric, they'd be dead...and I've lost too many people, Stefan, I can't lose any more. I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”
“And that would be case closed,” Damon said. “So, are you in, or are you just going to run off again?”
Stefan frowned, but eventually nodded. “I'm in,” he said. “But don't think I won't try and stop you if I think you've gone too far.”
“Speaking of going too far,” Damon drawled. “You and I need to talk about your feeding habits.”
Stefan stiffened. “I admit I went off the rails a bit, for a couple of days, but I have it under control, again,” he said.
“Sure you do,” Damon said, “And I raise bunnies for a living.” Stefan just stared at him silently, and Damon shrugged. “Whatever you say, brother,” he said. “But just so you know, the Sheriff has an eye out for a Vampire, and we're going to have to provide her with one - luckily, we seem to have a spare in the basement.”
Elena felt suddenly queasy; it was Lexi all over again.
Stefan must have been thinking the same thing because he abruptly made his way to the liquor cabinet, and poured himself a drink.
Damon just folded his arms. “Well, don't I feel judged,” he said. He turned to look at Elena. “You need to feed,” he observed.
Elena nodded wearily. When did she not?
PART FOURTEEN