Written by: Peter
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries are the property of L.J. Smith and the CW Network. I’m just writing about them for the fun of it.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up to The Last Day, but takes place after the Klaus battle.
Pairing: Stefan/Elena & Matt/Caroline/Tyler
Notes: Wanted to write this just in case we get thrown a curveball next week. Enjoy
“How is she?”
“She’s alive!” Stefan spat at his brother. “That’s all you care about, isn’t it?”
Damon looked as if he’d just been punched. He looked downwards, the picture of regret.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I screwed up, I know that. Is that want you want to hear, Stefan?”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” Stefan sighed. “Just—please, go somewhere else. This will be easier if you’re not around.”
Damon nods, and starts to leave.
“I’m done,” Damon spoke, his back turned. “No more games, Stefan. No more tricks. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”
“I believe you,” Stefan acknowledged.
With that, Damon vanished.
Quietly, Stefan walked into his room where a sole figure sat on the bed. Elena stared out into nothingness, her eyes red from tears.
“Elena?” Stefan choked out. “I’m so--”
“Don’t!” she said, her voice lacking all emotion. “Don’t apologize for him, Stefan. I heard the two of you in the hall—and I don’t forgive him. I can’t! No one else was supposed to get hurt. No one but me, and I just--”
Elena winced with pain, holding her stomach.
“Elena!” Stefan exclaimed, sitting next to her on the bed and wrapping his arms around her protectively.
“How long?” she whispered. “How long do I have before…?”
“I don’t know,” Stefan whispered back. “I’ve never met someone who made the choice—not to--”
Stefan couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“I don’t want to die,” Elena confessed. “But I’m scared that—that this might be worse than dying.”
Still behind her, Stefan clasped Elena’s hand with his own. In one hand he held a bag of blood, which he passes to her.
“The choice is yours,” he promises her. “Whatever you decide, I’ll stay with you until the end.”
*****
“You did WHAT?!?”
To say that the look on Matt Donovan’s face was pure rage was nothing short of an understatement. He looked about ready tackle Damon Salvatore and beat him to death with his bare hands—supernatural powers or no.
“I made a mistake, ok?” Damon tried to argue.
“First my sister?” Matt spat. “Then my girlfriend? Now Elena? When is it going to stop? Once every person in this town is like you, or are you just sticking with the people I know? Who’s next on the list, huh? Me?”
Damon took a step towards Matt, a dangerous look in his eyes. He may have been feeling remorse towards Elena and Stefan at the moment, but that didn’t mean he was going to stand there and take it from a nobody.
“Don’t tempt me, Boy Wonder!” he said.
“Go ahead!” Matt challenged him. “First thing I’d do is kick your butt!”
Suddenly, Damon went flying across the room. Standing in the doorway was Bonnie Bennett, her eyes glowing with power.
“Get in line,” Bonnie said, calmly. “Is it true?”
Damon nodded.
“Yeah,” Damon confessed.
“Where is Elena right now?” Bonnie said, her eyes returning to normal—her anger changing to concern.
“She’s at the boarding house with Stefan,” he explained. “I got the feeling neither of them wanted me there.”
Bonnie looks back towards the others: Matt, Caroline, and Tyler. Her eyes go wide when she sees Matt.
“Welcome to the club,” Bonnie sighs. “Our screwed up, dysfunctional club.”
“Thanks—I think,” Matt replies. “Listen, I know this is probably the worst possible time to bring this up, but you have bigger problems. Much bigger problems, and it’s kind of my fault.”
“Bigger problems than Elena being a vampire?” she asks.
“When I first found out about—all of this, I told the Sheriff,” he confesses. “That’s why I still remember, because she gave me this plant-thing to put in my drink…”
“Vervain,” Bonnie concluded. “So she knows about Caroline?”
Caroline gasps, covering her mouth in shock.
“And you, and Tyler…” he says. “I am so sorry.”
“I’ll bet you are!” Damon scoffed.
However, as Damon approaches him, both Bonnie and Tyler take a step in front of Matt, blocking him. Damon takes a step back upon seeing Tyler.
“Look, my mom’s the mayor,” Tyler offered. “I can tell her you’re the good guys—maybe she can smooth things over with Caroline’s mom?”
“You’re dreaming, Fido!” Damon groaned. “The only thing we can do is get to them before they get to us. This time I’ll do the compelling—put in a little something extra in case this happens again. Come on, Blondie!”
“No!” Caroline said, crossing her arms in defiance.
“Excuse me?!?” Damon asked, flabbergasted.
“I’m going to go see Elena,” she explains. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was going through the exact same thing she’s going through right now. I want to help her.”
“Yeah,” Matt agrees. “She doesn’t want to do anything just yet, anyway. Said something about needing more information. We can wait—let’s go help Elena.”
Caroline faced Matt, shaking her head.
“I have to go alone,” she tells him.
Matt’s face falls.
“She’s my friend too, Care,” Matt argues.
“I know,” she acknowledges. “But it’s too dangerous for you.”
“What, so you’re still the same person you were, but Elena isn’t?” Matt challenged. “Isn’t that a double-standard?”
“Elena’s in transition, genius!” Damon interjected. “You confront her now, the only way you’ll be ‘helping’ her is by being her first meal.”
Damon grins, causing Matt to shudder slightly.
“Besides, I need you with me, Matt,” Bonnie tells him. “Alaric and Jeremy are too upset right now, so you’re the only pure human we have at the moment. Caroline’s mom trusts you, and if we have any chance of reasoning with her, you’re it.”
Matt sighs, nodding in agreement.
“Yeah, ok—just be careful, ok?”
Caroline nods, as she turns to leave.
“Wait!” Matt calls out. “One more thing.”
She turns back to him.
“Yeah?”
Matt walks over and kisses her—much to Caroline’s surprise.
“I just wanted you to know why I’m doing this,” he says with a smile. “Because I still love you—fangs and all.”
A large smile appears on Caroline’s face.
Behind them, a pained expression crosses Tyler’s features. He quickly hides it, but it doesn’t escape Damon’s notice.
*****
The boarding house…
“Do you ever wonder what it would have been like?” Elena spoke all of a sudden. “If you had been human when we met?”
“Well, I would have been a hundred and sixty years old,” Stefan answered. “I know appearance isn’t a big issue with you, but I’d think you would have had some standards.”
Elena laughs, much to her surprise.
“You know what I mean?” she asked. “If you had been the boy I thought you were on that first day of school. If I had been that orphan your father brought into your home…?”
“I would have loved that,” Stefan remarks, kissing the top of her head. “Having a family with you, growing old with you…”
“Now you’ll just have to settle with not growing old with me,” Elena muttered.
“I’m not settling for anything, Elena,” Stefan promises her. “I want to be with you, no matter what form that takes.”
“Even if I’m just like Katherine?” she argues.
“You’re not!”
“I’m looking for a reason, Stefan!” Elena tells him, holding up the blood bag for him to say. “A reason to drink this! Any reason to want to live, and the only thing I can come up with is revenge! To use that power to go after Klaus, and Damon, and Katherine, and anyone else that let Jenna die! What kind of person does that make me?”
“Shh—shhh,” Stefan says, rocking her back and forth. “You’re angry, and you’re hurting—there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“It just hurts so much,” Elena cries. “If I drink this, I don’t have to hurt anymore, right? I can just shut it off?”
“Do you want to?” Stefan asks. “Because that means shutting off everything, Elena—including how you felt about Jenna.”
“And how I feel about you?”
Stefan nodded.
“Then no,” she admits. “Because, even if I live a thousand years, I never want to stop loving you.”
The two of them close their eyes, taking in the moment—as if it will be their last.
Suddenly, they hear a crash from downstairs.
“I’ll be right back!” Stefan tells her. “Don’t do anything until then.”
Elena nods, and Stefan races out of the room.
*****
Downstairs, Stefan finds someone standing over a shattered table.
“I thought that might get your attention,” the figure says. “I honestly hope it wasn’t an antique.”
“Elijah?” Stefan asks. “What are you doing here?”
“Keeping you occupied,” Elijah explains. “We wanted to make sure Elena made the right choice.”
Stefan’s eyes go wide, as he realizes who Elijah means by ‘we’. He turns to run back up the stairs, only to have Elijah block his path.
“I like you, Stefan,” he says. “So please, don’t do anything foolish.”
*****
Back upstairs…
Elena looks down at the bag of dark red liquid in her hands, feeling the urge start to take hold. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could fight it.
A part of her didn’t want to. Another part simply wanted to die.
“Look at you,” a mocking voice sighed. “Pretty pathetic, Elena. Hard to believe Stefan would ever want such a little whiner.”
Elena gasped, as she noticed another presence in the room. There, standing in the corner, was her literal reflection.
Katherine.
Maybe she would end up dying after all?
*****
Matt enters the Mystic Grill, looking quite agitated. He walks over to one of his co-workers.
“Hey, do you know if Sheriff Forbes is around?” he asks, his voice shaking slightly. “I know she usually shows up during her coffee break…”
The girl shakes her head. However, Liz is watching the scene from a nearby booth. Concerned, she gets up and approaches Matt.
“Matt?” she asks. “Are you all right? Is something wrong?”
Matt looks over his shoulder, then back at Liz.
“Not here,” he says quietly. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
Liz nods, as the two of them exit the Grill through the side entrance.
“Did something happen last night, Matt?” Liz asks him once she’s sure the coast is clear. “I heard reports of disturbances in the woods—fire and screaming.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” he admitted. “Someone died last night, Sheriff. I can’t sit by and let it happen again.”
Liz nods in agreement.
“You made the right choice, Matt,” she assures him.
“I know,” he says. “And I really hope you make it, too.”
Liz stares at him a moment, confused.
“Hello, Mrs. Forbes.”
Liz turns to see Bonnie approaching her from the alleyway. Panicking, she reaches for her gun—only for it to fly out of her hand and into Bonnie’s.
“Pulling a gun on a teenager?” she asks. “So much for ‘serve and protect’, huh?”
Liz took a step backwards, in total shock. She had seen vampires using their powers before, but that was all physical. She slowly began to realize that, whatever Bonnie Bennett was, it was something much more dangerous.
“Matt?” she gasped. “How could you?”
“They’re my friends,” Matt told her. “What happened last night could have been worse—much worse—but they stopped it.”
“They got to you!” Liz exclaimed. “I don’t know how, but they’re controlling you somehow.”
“You gave him vervain, remember?” Bonnie pointed out. “He can’t be compelled.”
Liz tried to run, but Matt blocked her path.
“Damon’s waiting in the car right outside the grill,” he warns her. “You don’t want to deal with him right now, do you?”
Liz froze. If Matt had told that vampire she knew the truth about him, then she was as good as dead.
“What do you want?” she asked Bonnie.
“I want to try and settle this without anybody being hurt,” Bonnie swore to her. “I know you’ll have trouble believing this, Sheriff, but we’re on the same side.”
“Are we?” Liz spat. “You work with vampires!”
“Because we have a common goal,” Bonnie clarified. “They want to protect this town from other vampires as much as you do.”
“They’re not even human!” Liz argued.
“So that’s it then?” Bonnie asked, shaking her head in disbelief. “You’re really willing to murder your own daughter over something she had no control over?”
Liz flinched at that.
“She’s not Caroline,” she muttered. “Not anymore.”
Bonnie sighed.
“I thought the same thing at first,” she confessed. “I was so—blinded by my hatred for them that I couldn’t see past it. But I was wrong, Sheriff—and so are you.”
Liz didn’t respond.
“They could have killed me,” Matt added. “And you. But they didn’t—we at least owe them the chance to explain.”
Liz looked towards Bonnie, mustering as much courage as she could.
“You have one hour!” she says.
*****
Meanwhile, down the street…
“You were going to kill me, weren’t you?”
Damon turned towards Tyler from the driver’s seat.
“That was your plan, wasn’t it?” he asked. “Kill the werewolf so they couldn’t break the curse.”
“Who told you?” Damon asked. “Jules?”
“No one,” Tyler sighed. “It’s just—that’s what I would have done.”
Damon chuckled.
“Are you trying to bury the hatchet?” Damon asked him. “Maybe you’re not thinking straight, but I’m the guy who killed Mason.”
“And Jules killed your girlfriend,” Tyler explained. “Right now we’re even.”
Damon stared at him, taken by surprise.
“She told you that?” he asked.
“She promised me no secrets,” he confessed. “I’m sorry about her.”
“Well, I’m sorry about Mason,” he sighed. “It was a dumb move—I was angry, jealous—I lashed out.”
“Kathy, right?” Tyler commented.
Damon rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, ‘Kathy’,” he groaned. “You know, I spent a hundred and forty-five years trying to rescue her? She didn’t even want me. Pathetic, huh?”
“That’s why you killed Mason?” Tyler asked. “Because she loved him instead of you?”
“Oh please!” Damon scoffed. “She was basically using him, just like she used me. The only person she’s ever loved is Stefan.”
“Guess she’s just like Elena in more than just looks, huh?” Tyler pointed out. “It must bug you—wanting a girl who wants someone else?”
“You’re one to talk, Fido!” Damon pointed out. “What, is sniffing after vampiresses a Lockwood trait or something?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Damon smirks.
“Ok, yeah,” Tyler confesses. “I guess we’re both pretty pathetic.”
“At least you’re still Blondie’s friend,” Damon reassured him. “You want my advice? Be satisfied with that!”
Tyler shook his head.
“Get over yourself, Salvatore!” Tyler complained. “I’m sure Elena’s going forgive you eventually. You’re immortal, right? You’ve got time.”
Damon chuckled.
“You think so?”
Then he showed Tyler his hand. The bite mark, which now had boils circling around it.
“What the hell?” Tyler exclaimed.
“When you were changing,” Damon told him. “The transformation was only part way, so it’s going slower. I’d say I’ve got a few weeks at most.”
Tyler stares at him, shocked.
“That’s going to kill you?” Tyler asked.
“I won’t let it get that far,” Damon promised. “I’m not going to end up like Rose, acting crazy and begging to be put out of my misery. Soon as I settle accounts, I’m taking off this ring and going out in a blaze of glory.”
“So you’re just going to give up?” Tyler asked him.
“There’s no cure!” Damon reminds him. “What would you do?”
*****
Meanwhile, back at the Salvatore boarding house…
“Katherine!” Elena gasped. “How did you get in here?”
“You mean your little ownership clause?” Katherine scoffed. “The second you died it was rendered null and void, Elena.”
“What did you do with Stefan?” she demanded, jumping to her feet. “Where is he?!?”
With a burst of speed, Katherine grabbed Elena by the throat and held her down on the bed.
“You’re pretty much a walking corpse right now,” Katherine teased her. “You were more of a threat when you were alive. Right now the only thing keeping you alive is Damon’s blood. Your body doesn’t know what it needs to survive—until you show it, that is.”
Katherine holds up the blood bag dangling it in front of her.
“Smells good, doesn’t it?” Katherine asks. “Go ahead—try it. At least then you might get a lucky hit in.”
She lets Elena go. Immediately, Elena snatches the bag out of her grasp.
“And Stefan’s downstairs with Elijah,” she explained. “I asked him to keep our boy occupied for a bit.”
“So you could kill me?” Elena asked.
“Oh please!” Katherine scoffed. “You’re already dead—it would be redundant. I just had something you need to hear—and you’re not going to like hearing it!”
Elena glared at her. After everything that had happened, there was absolutely nothing Katherine would say that would take her off guard.
“I’m—sorry about Jenna.”
Except that.
“Excuse me?”
“It was petty,” Katherine explained. “Turning her, killing her—Klaus could have used any human, but he chose your family. I know a little about what that’s like.”
“A little late to discover empathy, isn’t it?” Elena challenged her.
“Everything I’ve ever done has been to survive,” Katherine reminded her. “I’ve been running from Klaus for over five hundred years, Elena. Always hiding, always staying one step ahead. But you—you stood your ground, and because of that I finally have my freedom. I don’t like being indebted to anybody.”
“If you want to thank me, you can do that by leaving!” Elena spat.
“Why should I?” Katherine challenged. “After all, you’re not going to be around much longer. I’d say you have a few hours before that shamble of a body gives out. I’ve gotten pretty good at pretending to be you, so if you don’t want your life anymore, I’ll gladly take it off your hands.”
“No!” Elena exclaims, staring her down. “You won’t!”
Katherine shakes her head.
“You managed to outsmart the oldest, most dangerous vampire on the planet—and reduced him to nothing!” Katherine scoffed. “You did something no one in the history of forever could manage, and what do you do immediately afterwards? You give up? What was the point then?”
“Why are you doing this?” Elena asks after a moment. “Wouldn’t you prefer it if I wasn’t around?”
“And have Stefan see you every time he looked at me?” she replied. “Because the only person you’ll be hurting by giving up is him. So go ahead—let yourself die. Just remember that the only person benefiting from that is yourself.”
Elena paused as she processed the information.
“And if I don’t?” Elena asked.
“I haven’t been home in a long, long time,” Katherine said with a shrug. “But make no mistake, I’ll be coming back. Maybe by then you’ll be able to put up a decent fight?”
Elena continued to glare at her.
“Or maybe when Stefan sees you’re no different than me, he’ll finally come to his senses,” she added. “Either way, I’m looking forward it. A Patrova always enjoys a challenge.”
And with that, she’s gone.
Then Elena heard the crash.
“Stefan!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Elena raced downstairs.
The scene she was met with was, in a word, shocking. The den looked as if it had been torn apart. Couches her overturned, tables were smashed, and Stefan was being held aloft by Elijah.
“Elijah, no!” Elena begged. “Let him go! Please!”
Elijah shrugged.
“Of course,” he said, gently placing Stefan back on the ground. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”
“Elena!”
Stefan ran up to her, grabbing the sides of her face.
“Are you ok?” he asked. “Did she hurt you?”
Elena shook her head.
Elena turned to the side to see Caroline, carrying a very large ornamental spear—aimed right at Elijah. Immediately, it clattered to the ground.
“Your friend has spirit, I’ll give her that,” Elijah commented.
“Why were you fighting?” Elena asked.
“Katrina wanted some privacy when she spoke to you,” he explained.
“She’s gone,” Elena told him. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Elijah added with a smile. “I don’t mind giving her a head’s start, since there’s every chance she’ll let me catch her now.”
“And Klaus?” Stefan asks.
“He had better hope I find him before she does,” Elijah tells him. “I’ll be quick and merciful.”
Elijah leaves, causing Stefan to breath a sigh of relief.
“Elena?” Caroline asks, going up to her. “Damon said that he, well—is it true?”
“Yeah,” Elena said with a nod.
Instantly, Caroline pulled her into a hug.
“It’ll be ok,” she promised. “I mean, hey—if I can handle it, you’re like a shoe-in, right?”
“Caroline,” Elena sighed. “I know you’re trying to help, but I don’t—AGH!”
All of a sudden, Elena kneeled over in pain.
“ELENA!” Stefan screams, kneeling down next to her.
“What’s wrong with her?” Caroline asks.
“The transition isn’t permanent,” he explains, a sickly look on his face. “If you wait too long before feeding, your body just gives out.”
“You mean Elena’s just going to die?” Caroline shrieks. “No! Stefan, you have to make her finish it! I just used a blood bag from the hospital—no one has to die!”
“I can’t!” Stefan told her, struggling with his words. “Caroline, I can’t make that decision for her. It has to be Elena’s choice. If I force her to do this, then I’m no better than Damon!”
Elena reaches up and touches the side of Stefan’s face.
“I’ve already made my choice, Stefan,” she confesses. “My life, my choice…”
Stefan looked as though he was about the cry, fully expecting what her next words would be.
“All my talk about giving up my life to protect the people I love,” Elena says, with a sad smile. “And yet here I am—ready to give up just because I’m forced into a life I don’t want? Choosing death over life as a vampire, without considering what I’m doing to you—that’s just thinking of myself. If I do that, I’m no better than Katherine.”
“Elena…” Stefan gasps, a look of hope in his eyes.
“I won’t be like her,” Elena swore, tearing open the blood bag.
“Wait!”
Elena and Stefan turned toward Caroline. The blonde vampire kneeled down, putting her hand on Elena’s arm.
“It’s gonna hurt,” she revealed. “I mean—a lot. I just thought you should know that.”
“I know,” Elena whispered—and drank the bag’s contents.
She consumed every last drop, before flinging the empty bag across the room in disgust. Elena started to cough, shaking uncontrollably.
“STEFAN!” she screamed.
“I’m here!” he promised her. “Shh—shh, I’m right here.”
“I don’t want this,” Elena whimpered. As she looked up at Stefan, her eyes began to bleed, as black veins started to grow around them.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Stefan soothed her. “I love you, I’m sorry…”
“I love you…” she repeated.
A pair of fangs forced their way through Elena’s gums, causing her to scream in pain once again. Each time, Stefan simply held her tighter.
“No.” a horrified spoke from the doorway.
Stefan turned to see Jeremy standing there in shock.
“Jeremy, you need to leave!” Stefan ordered him.
Jeremy didn’t move a muscle. He was frozen in place.
“Not her too…”
“CAROLINE!” Elena screamed. “GET HIM OUT OF HERE!”
Caroline quickly snatched Jeremy and rushed him upstairs. Stefan, in turn, picked up Elena and brought her to the basement, shutting the two of them into the dungeon.
There, he sat on the ground with Elena in his arms, gently rocking her back and forth.
*****
The Gilbert house.
“So it was my fault,” Bonnie confessed. “I let my—my anger and mistrust get the best of me. I wanted the vampires to pay so badly that I didn’t even consider how badly things could get. If I had just listened to the Salvatores and disabled that machine, none of this would have happened. Tyler’s dad would still be alive, Caroline would never have gotten in that accident, Katherine would never have come back to town…”
“It was your idea to give her the blood?” Liz asked, almost in shock.
“The doctors didn’t think she would make it!” Bonnie explained. “I didn’t want her to die. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same, Sheriff.”
Liz closed her eyes a moment.
“I probably would have,” she confessed. “I didn’t know it could—heal. You have to understand, my entire life I’ve been told that vampires weren’t human anymore—that they were just soulless monsters. The idea of one of them actually helping someone…”
“Stefan’s a good person,” Bonnie assured her. “He’s never willingly hurt anyone as long as I’ve known him. If he hadn’t been there for Caroline, she might have become exactly what you’re so afraid of.”
Liz bit her lip.
“And him?”
Bonnie looked over her shoulder, where Damon leaned against the doorframe. Damon gave her a look, telling her to say something.
“He’s a work in progress,” Bonnie said with a smirk.
“Thank you so much for the vote of confidence, witchy!” Damon said, rolling his eyes. “Here’s how it’s going to go, Liz. You can either agree to leave us alone, or I’ll have to make you. I’m having a real bad week, so the only reason you’re not being vervain detoxed by now is the fact we’re friends.”
“Our friendship was a lie,” Liz said plainly. “If there was any truth to it, you would have told me what you were.”
“If I’d done that, you would have killed me on sight,” he pointed out. “Hell, my own father did that, and I was still human at the time.”
Liz gasped upon hearing that. Even Bonnie looked surprise.
“He was a vampire hunter, just like you,” he explains. “As soon as he found out Stefan and I were trying to help one of them, he murdered us. He had no idea we’d been given blood already, so as far as he knew…”
“Your own father turned you?”
Damon nodded, walking closer to her.
“To him, his sacred duty was more important than his own family,” he spoke. “How about you, Liz? Hmm?”
She stands up, facing Bonnie.
“Your hour is up,” she announces. “I—believe you’re sincere, Bonnie, but my main concern is the safety of this town.”
Damon sighs in frustration.
“Figures!”
“So here is what’s going to happen,” she continues. “I’m willing to offer you and your friends amnesty, but I’m going to want something in return.”
Damon’s eyes go wide.
“Excuse me?” he asks.
“Number one,” Liz continued, ignoring him. “I want you on the council, Bonnie. Along with that vampire hunting history teacher, and everyone else in your little group.”
“Including the vampires?” Bonnie asked.
“That’s my other condition,” she explains. “From now on, they work for the council.”
“You’re—not serious, right?” Damon laughs. “I’m sort of already on the council.”
“You want my trust, Damon?” Liz asked him. “You’re going to have to earn it! You are going to go up to Carol Lockwood, and tell her exactly what you are. Prove to me you’re on my side.”
“Why the change of heart, Liz?” he challenged her.
“Because the fact that you were able to infiltrate us so easily just shows me how much in the dark we’ve been,” she explains. “If I’m going to protect this town, I need an advantage. You have information and resources I don’t, and quite frankly at this point I’m ready to make a deal with the devil.”
“Fair enough,” he shrugs. “Is that all?”
“Just one more thing,” Liz warns him. “This arrangement is all dependant on the fact that you’re not acting like normal vampires. If I find out someone else has died at your hands, I will stake you myself.”
Damon nods.
“And if I find out this is a trick—well, you and your daughter are gonna have a lot more in common. That’s a promise.”
A chill ran up Liz’s spine as she realized just what he was threatening.
“Deal”
*****
Outside the hospital…
“How’s your mom?” Matt asked, as they exited.
“She’s doing good,” Tyler explained. “The doctors say she should be ready to go home tomorrow. I’m just glad Klaus didn’t do to her what he did to Elena’s aunt. He just had his warlock push her down the stairs—even helped break her fall a little. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to tear him apart!”
“I sort of shot him,” Matt confessed.
Tyler looked at him, impressed.
“Nice!” he commented. “Matt Donovan, vampire hunter—kind of has a nice ring to it.”
“I sort of have to do something at this point, don’t I?” he comments. “My girlfriend’s a vampire and my best friend’s a werewolf…”
Matt’s eyes go wide.
“Oh god,” he groaned. “I’m totally that chick from those teenybopper movies, aren’t I?”
Tyler threw his head back, laughing.
“Sucks to be you, Donovan.”
“I made a huge mistake with Caroline, and right now I just want to make it up to her,” Matt confessed. “I don’t care if that means just being the supportive boyfriend, or not going after the guy who killed my sister, or taking vampire-hunting lessons from Mr. Saltzman after class—I’ll do it.”
Tyler paused a moment, wondering if he should say something.
“We’re still friends, right?” he asked. “I mean, I know I’ve been keeping secrets from you and everything, but…”
“We’re cool,” Matt reassured him.
“Good, because I think you’re the only one I can talk to about this,” Tyler confessed. “You know the truth, but you don’t really have any loyalty to them yet.”
A serious look crosses Matt’s face.
“What’s going on?”
“What if you hurt someone, by accident?” Tyler asked. “What if you could help them afterwards, but you weren’t sure they deserved to be helped?”
“You’re talking about Damon, right?” Matt questioned him. “I won’t lie to you—part of me wants to kill him right now, but I know if I did that Caroline would never forgive me.”
“Well, you don’t have to do anything,” Tyler explains. “He’s already dying.”
Matt stares at him in surprise.
“I bit him when I was transforming,” Tyler clarifies. “For a vampire, that’s a death sentence.”
“Who else knows about this?” Matt asks.
“Just me and Damon—and now you,” he replies. “That’s why he’s been acting all passive. He doesn’t want to leave anything unfinished.”
“It’s not your fault, Ty,” Matt reassures him. “You even tried to attack me and Caroline. You couldn’t control yourself.”
“There’s more,” he says. “When I was in Florida, I asked Jules about it—about if there was any way to save a vampire who’d been bitten.”
“What did she say?” Matt asked.
Tyler hesitated.
“She told me there was,” he confessed. “I know what the cure is, Matt—I’m just not sure if Damon deserves to be saved.”
*****
“I don’t feel any different.”
In the dungeon underneath the Salvatore boarding house, Stefan lies on the floor with Elena, the back of her head pressed against his chest.
“Are you feeling better?” he asks her.
“The pain’s gone now,” Elena replies.
“That’s not what I mean,” Stefan tells her.
Elena closes her eyes.
“It is easier to just turn it off, isn’t it?” she asks. “I want to, but—but I can’t.”
She turns around so that she can look into Stefan’s eyes.
“There’s no going back now, is there?” she asks.
“Do you regret it?” Stefan asks, fearing the answer.
“I’ll never regret sparing you that kind of pain, Stefan,” she reassures him. “Not now that I know what it feels like.”
The two of them kiss.
“Stefan?” a voice calls out. “You still here?”
Stefan immediately sprung to his feet.
“Damon,” Stefan announces. “Elena, maybe you should stay…”
However, when Stefan turns back to Elena, she’s no longer there. A split-second later, the dungeon door slams shut.
“Elena!” Stefan calls out, trying to open the door. It’s too late, though—it’s been locked from the outside. “Elena, no!”
*****
Upstairs…
“Yoo-hoo, Stefan?” Damon called out. “Just wanted to give you the head’s up that the Sheriff is willing to lay off. But, uh—it’s conditional. You’re going to have to talk to her soon.”
“Hello, Damon.”
Damon spins around to see Elena standing in the shadows. Ironically, it’s the exact same spot he stood in the first time they’d met face-to-face.
“Elena,” he greets her. “You’re—looking better. Did you, you know…?”
“If that’s your way of asking if I’m a vampire now, then the answer’s yes,” Elena tells him, her voice flat. “Congratulations, Damon—you saved me. You must be so proud.”
A nervous look enters Damon’s expression. He had expected to be yelled at, threatened—but Elena was so calm. It unnerved him.
“I wasn’t just going to let you die,” he whispered. “I know you hate me, but please try to understand me.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t want to be saved?” she asked him. “Did you ever think to ask me what I wanted? Of course not—because what I wanted couldn’t possibly be more important than what you wanted, could it, Damon?”
“I screwed up!” he admitted. “When I saw how angry you were, I tried to stop it…”
“And now Jenna’s dead.”
Damon closes his eyes.
“I’m sorry…” he confessed. “I just wanted to protect you.”
Elena walks past him, circling around.
“I remember, you know?” Elena announced. “Your little confession after you ‘killed’ Elijah. The one you just erased from my mind?”
“Then you know?” he asked, hopeful. “You know why I did this—why I had to save you, no matter what.”
“What did you expect, Damon?” she asks, moving closer to him. “That I would pick you?”
Then Elena did the last thing he expected—she started to laugh.
“Why would anyone ever pick you, Damon?” she mocked him. “All you ever do is cause pain and misery! You said it yourself—you don’t deserve me!”
“You don’t mean that,” he argued. “You’re not yourself…”
“But Stefan does!” she continued. “And I will always…choose…him!”
Damon gasps with that final word. He looks down to see a large wooden stake sticking out of his stomach. He then falls to his knees clutching it.
“Everything is your fault!” Elena snarls, grabbing him by the arm and literally throwing him across the room.
She raced over at super speed, punching Damon repeatedly—her face transforming in an instant.
“No one was supposed to get hurt! It was perfect! You killed her! You killed ME!!!”
Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed Elena from behind, holding her back.
“Elena, don’t!” Stefan pleaded with her. “You’ll kill him!”
“I don’t care!!!” Elena growls.
“Yes you do!”
Elena turned to face Stefan.
“After everything he’s done to you?” she asks. “After he killed Lexi, after what he did to me?”
“This isn’t you, Elena!” Stefan told her. “Deep down, you know that. Please—don’t let this destroy you.”
“What did he promise you after you made him turn, Stefan?” she asked, glaring back at Damon. “An eternity of misery? Shouldn’t I promise him the same thing?”
“Hate to disappoint you,” Damon groaned, climbing to his feet. “But you won’t get nearly that much time.”
With that, Damon rolled up his sleeve—revealing the bite he had gotten from Tyler.
“Oh my god!” Stefan gasped.
Elena’s anger vanished, replaced by shock.
“When?”
“While I was saving your friends!” he explained. “Trying to make up for what I did. I thought if I got Tyler away from Klaus, he’d have to wait until the next full moon. I didn’t know about his backup plan. Tyler bit me before he completely changed, so it’s taking longer.”
“Damon…” Stefan spoke. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…”
“We all gotta go sometime, right?” he laughed, turning to Elena. “I just need to know you forgive me. Please Elena—I need you to forgive me. I can’t—I can’t die with you hating me.”
Elena walked up to him.
“Damon,” she says quietly. “I hope you suffer.”
With that, she runs back towards the dungeon.
“There has to be a cure!” Stefan swore. “Whatever it is, Damon, we’ll find it.”
“Who are you trying to convince?” Damon scoffed. “Just go to her.”
“Damon…”
“Elena needs you more than I do!” he pointed out. “You know it, I know it—so just go!”
“We’ll fix this!” Stefan promised, before heading back towards the dungeon.
*****
Stefan entered the dungeon, where he found Elena sitting in the shadows—crying. Slowly, he walks over to her.
“Elena?”
“Don’t look at me,” she sobs, burying her face in her hands. “I can’t shut it off—I’m trying, but I can’t. I just…”
Stefan gently moved her hands away, staring deeply into Elena’s blood-red eyes.
“Don’t hide from me,” he whispered.
At those words, Elena threw herself into Stefan’s arms.