"Look, I already told you that I don't have a cousin named Terry. No, not familiar and look, I'm not buying what you're selling." He responded, exasperated by the tenth phone call from someone claiming relations. He was not paying attention to where he was going. "Goodbye." And hung up, bumping into someone, dropping his new phone into a drainage system. "Fuck. Uh -- shit, sorry. Didn't mean to uh -- do the thing."
He dropped the phone, then turned his head to look at her, investigating her face quietly, he nodded then moved and sat down next to her. “I won’t let you die.” HE murmured. He looked down at his wrist, then dug his finger nail into it and held it out to her. “Drink.” He commanded. “So you can be safe, so you can come back, if need be.” He watched her for a moment, then turned her head and kissed her on the lips, if only briefly.
His head pulled back, and while he’d learned to grab onto what he wanted most while down here - that didn’t stop him from hesitating though. “I will not allow you to leave this Earth again.”
Damon looked over at Elijah when he sat down next to her and laughed some, shaking his head. "You're going to take on your mother to keep me alive?" and she wasn't even sure if this female development was permanent or temporary. She watched him cut his wrist and the blood start to well. She reached for it and drank from him, not wanting to die in any sort of way. She licked her lips just before he kissed her, sighing some and shrugged.
"Then just kill me now and turn me before your mother finds out I won't do her bidding," she responded and looked at him, wanting to touch him but knowing better.
Elijah watched her. He walked over, then extended his hand out and slid the backs of his fingers against her cheek. His eyes searched her face frantically, then he recoiled, pulling his hand away and dropping it down to his side. Elijah stepped away and stripped out of his leather jacket and t-shirt, as well as his jeans. He quietly went about putting on a pair of loose fitting sweat pants, then turned his head to look back at her slightly, an eyebrow raised.
“I’ll call Mystic Falls, tell them all you are back.” He walked over and reached out to grab his cellphone, which was on his bedside table.
Damon waited for it, craved it and when it came, she leaned into it. She sighed heavily and looked down at her feet when he started to change in front of her. At his words, she shook her head. "I am sure they know already and I'm not going back there," she responded and looked out the window, trying to get the vision of his body out of her mind. That was not the point of this whole thing.
"They are happy okay, let's leave it at that," she responded and looked over at him. "If I have to wait this out and die again, so be it, but I can't kill your brother. Killing him means killing everyone I love and none of this would matter."
Elijah watched her go up stairs, he pursed his lips then went to a room that was downstairs and went about shaving and cropping his hair as short as he could possibly get it, without it looking ridiculous. He slid his hands through it then rested his head down on the sink in front of him and started to count backwards in his head. “I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming.” He muttered under his breath. Why would Esther bring back the one man he’d love above everyone else? He lifted his head and stared into the mirror quietly.
Isn’t it obvious? Who better to destroy you from the inside out? He thought. He turned his head towards the door and thought about Damon for a moment. Who better to destroy him? He walked away from the bathroom and headed up to his room, pushed the door open. He stepped inside, then closed the door again. “Why you of all people?” He turned to look at her. “Why did she bring you back?”
She heard movement and looked over toward the door when it opened. "Convenience," she responded. She sighed some. "Alaric is alive, that's who she had do it for her before, but I was the only one left. And Bonnie's grandmother made some bogus deal with her -- I suppose this is revenge for me turning her daughter into a vampire." Damon sighed and rubbed her face before leaning back on her hands.
Damon looked at him, all cleaned up and just the way she remembered him. "Truth is, I don't know why me." She considered him and wanted to touch him, hug him, something, but she didn't.
Elijah furrowed his brows. He stepped away again and cleared his throat. “Then technically you should be fixing all of her mistakes.” He was referring to himself, of course. “Niklaus isn’t the only one she messed up with.” He cocked his head to the side. “Damon,” he said the name so calmly. “Perhaps you should return to the family compound with me.” It wasn’t a request.
He walked over and took her by the arm, then led her out of the bar and back down the street towards the compound. He dragged her by the arm, then let go when they were inside. He turned his head to oook into her eyes. “You will not harm Niklaus.” He told her, holding her jaw. “You will go to my room and stay there until I tell you otherwise.” He added, his tone even.
Damon considered what he said and frowned at that, holding up her hands. "You are angry with me over something I have no control over, Elijah," she implored him. "This is what she brought me back for, I don't have a choice." And there wasn't anything Elijah could do about it. When he requested her company at the compound, she knew it wasn't a request and her choice in it was nil.
So she allowed him to lead her back to the compound, practically dragging her down the street. He looked at her and tried to compel her, but the magic Esther used on her made it impossible. She gave a nod at his request and moved toward the stairs, wanting to do anything else but start a war with an Original family.
She sat down on the bed and looked over at the door, waiting for him to come upstairs.
His hands dropped. He took a step back and narrowed his eyes for a moment. Elijah slid his hands against himself, lips pursed to one side. “Esther.” He muttered under his breath. He turned his head towards her for a moment, eyes narrowing. “Still as charming as ever.” He muttered, it was sarcastic, of course. He rolled his eyes and looked away.
“The stress of having to deal with Niklaus.” He said simply. He turned his head to look at her. “New Orleans hasn’t been a cake walk, I believe is what people say.” He said simply. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair. “So then you came here to kill me?”
Damon crossed her arms over her chest again and sighed heavily, turning her eyes toward the window. She was curious about Stefan -- how he was making out; how things were going. She looked over at him when he said his appearance was the result of Niklaus and she laughed. "Right," she responded and looked at him and looked down at her feet. "No, just Klaus, as it were. She was very clear," she responded. "She wanted me to fix her mistake."
She looked up at him. "And you know that I could never hurt you." And that was the truth -- not intentionally anyway.
The only person to truly capture his heart in any way was in front of him… with breasts. His head cocked to one side. He shook it just slightly. “I said explain. When I make demands, I expect answers, or have you forgotten that, Damon?” He twirled the white oak stake in his hand absently. “And where did you get this?” He looked down at it, before proceeding to pocket it in his leather jacket. He strolled upwards and pushed her back against the wall.
“Answer, or you’ll return to the grave which you so annoyingly came back from.” He snarled. He was trying to put off his own emotions, and how he felt about Damon, the fact that he was actually elated to see him - er - her. Elijah could at least play the passive part.
Damon rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, let me give you some clues. Who is related to you, has an annoying habit of not staying dead and is one of the most powerful witches of her age?" she asked with sarcasm. "Your mother and feel free. If you can." And she was banking on sentimentality that he couldn't. She sighed some. "She still wants your brother dead."
She waved a hand. "Bonnie's grandmother made a deal with her and here I am. And of course I had no say in the terms, but if you want to kill me, go ahead." Pause. "Although, let me play with the breasts first," she teased and sighed some. "You look like hell."
Elijah released his grip on the Bourbon bottle. He turned his head when the door was kicked in, then stood up and slid a hand through his messy long hair. “What kind of shit are y’pullin?” He slid a hand over his face and exhaled, his drunken fog made him entirely un-Elijah-like. He looked around the bar, all the other vampires had gotten up. He cocked his head to the side, then looked down at the white oak stake. His eyes narrowed.
He sniffed. Elijah cocked his head to the side, then took a step forward, then two. He blurred forward and threw her back against the wall, stake flying across the room. He held her by the throat, his eyes narrowed and he sniffed again. He released her, then blurred to the other side of the room and picked up the white oak stake. “Leave us.” He called, and all the vampires, as well as the human bartenders walked out of the place.
A split second and his demeanor changed, and he was back to standing tall, elegant twirling of the white oak stake in his hand, he turned his head, brown eyes on her. “Explain.”
The man who came at her was not the man she knew all those ages ago. Her favorite Original wasn't acting so moral now. He didn't even look recognizable. She stood there and waited for him to stand up, canting her head a bit. Before she knew it, her body was against the wall and sliding to the floor, the white oak stake being flung across the room. She grunted and was held by her throat for a moment before Elijah's entire demeanor changed from drunken bar patron to moral and straight in a second.
Once she righted herself, she adjusted her leather jacket. "Seems you've already worked it out, Elijah." She said. "My favorite Original."
He’d been sitting around for months. Damon’s death was raw in his mind, getting the news from his baby sister that Damon Salvatore was never going to be around to harass, irritate, or jar Niklaus in any way had caused him… pain. Immense pain, he couldn’t shake it. Nor did he bother trying. He buried his face against the pillows of his bed - Hayley could not reconcile him, Niklaus could not - no one could.
That night, he found himself in a drunken stupor. He sat in a bar, half a bottle of Bourbon in one hand, the other rested on the table before him. He was entirely disheveled, his hair was unkempt, having grown out quite a bit, he didn’t bother shaking, causing there to be quite a bit of scruff, and he was in a white t-shirt and a leather jacket.
He let his head fall forward onto the bar. An angry sigh escaped him.
“Y’fuckin’ asshole.” He muttered, drunkenly.
Damon's death had been everything out of a trope -- the redeemed villain found happiness, love and sacrificed it all to save those he loved. It was overdone and it was a trope that Damon had laughed about many times in life. Who would have ever thought that he would become something straight out of a fiction novel? Oh -- but stranger things had happened. Not only did Damon wake up in a place he wasn't familiar with, he knew that Bonnie had also.
But what he didn't know was that her Gram made a deal with the devil.
The Devil in question being the blonde, psycho mother witch of the Originals. Damon knew he was in for a world of trouble before he could even open his mouth. And the next time he opened his eyes, he wasn't a he at all.
But a she.
"Oh, c'mon," Damon groaned as he -- er, she -- stood outside a bar with a weapon in her hand. How that had gotten there, she couldn't recall. But she had a strange compulsion to kill Niklaus -- which wasn't new, but it was stronger than your average urge. And before she could stop herself, she walked into the bar, kicking the door open.
No better way to make an entrance.
Elijah looked over at Damon quietly for a moment. “They tried to kill her.” He whispered. “The werewolves and the witches of New Orleans, Niklaus has decided to stay there and defend Marcel, one of his… closest, and asked me to take the child away. Hayley’s dead. The witches killed her. My mother, wants an innocent baby dead.” He rubbed his face in frustration. “No, we’ll take her to Salem, and the witches there will help us.” He insisted. He looked at Damon again. “I love you, and I want you by my side to protect her and raise her.”
"Yeah, I draw the line at children," he responded and looked over at Elijah. "This is a woman who wants her own children dead. And you're surprised at how low she'll sink?" he sighed heavily and looked over at the sleeping child before looking at him. "Right. For a cloaking spell. Got it. Well, I'll do my damnedest."
Elijah raised an eyebrow at Damon. He opened the door to the car and slid in the driver’s seat. He leaned over and kissed Damon on the lips, briefly. “That is Hope, my niece, And, if you would like to help me, we have to keep her safe and raise her.” He looked over towards Damon. “As in, we, become the acting fathers of her.” He reached out to take Damon’s hand and rubbed the back of it with his thumb.
Damon idly wondered why Klaus allowed Elijah to take the baby away -- and wondered how bad it was in New Orleans for that to happen. He didn't question it and looked back at the sleeping child before attending to him. "Well -- where are we going to protect her? I assume she needs to be as far away from the witches as absolutely possible."
Elijah eyed Alaric when he came out of the mausoleum. He tilted his head to the side, and the other man smiled at him, so he smiled back. He proceeded over to Stefan and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Stefan, then leaned forward and whispered into his ear. He walked around him and over to Damon, taking the younger man’s hand with his own. He lifted it and kissed the back of it.
”If you’re willing, I have a mission for you to help me with.” He opened the door to his car to let Damon get in the passenger seat - and in the back was a baby, sleeping soundly.
Damon was still not used to this. He raised a brow at Elijah and walked to the car, moving to get inside but first saw the baby. "Okay, whose is that?" he questioned and looked at him before sliding into the seat. He had heard rumors of Klaus becoming a father, but -- nothing more of it. He settled in and waited for Elijah to get in before he spoke again. "What kind of mission is this?"
Elijah held Damon close. He watched Enzo, Elena, Tyler, Stefan and Alaric break through, then he turned his head and watched Tyler, eyes narrowing. He turned his head and pulled Damon closer to him. “Welcome back, Stefan.” He looked over at Bonnie, then blurred into the mausoleum, where he caught Liv and her brother. He grabbed them both and shoved them down, then held out a piece of paper - a spell which would bring back Bonnie, one from his mother’s grimoire.
Damon watched him as he disappeared, giving Stefan a smile and nothing more. He didn't want to hug him but on the other hand he did. Stefan knew that this would be the last time he'd see Damon for awhile. He moved toward the mausoleum and watched as they performed the spell to save Bonnie. He smirked a little and left, telling Alaric to babysit the children as he waited for Elijah.
He pressed his forehead to Damon’s. “Then we’ll make certain Stefan comes back.” He murmured. He took his hand with his own. “I’m not saying you have to leave him behind, or any of that.” He tilted his head, then leaned forward and kissed Damon, as if his life depended on it. He then took a step back and took the man’s hand. He quietly led him back to the cemetery where everyone was.
"I don't -- I just need to know he's alive before I take off is all," he responded and looked at him, opening his mouth to speak but it was cut off by the kiss. He kissed him back and then let him lead him to the cemetery where he waited for the spell to start taking effect. The witches brother, Enzo, Elena, Stefan and Alaric -- and the spell broke. And Damon could release the metaphorical breath he had been holding.
"You should have been faster.
I’m not bein’ fair. I don’t care.”
"You were standing right beside me. If I was any faster, I'd have been the flash. Let it go, Ric. Take care of them."
Elijah wrapped his arms around Damon after he tossed the keys to Elena. He pressed his nose against Damon’s temple. His fingers slid through the Salvatore’s hair. “I always do.” He murmured. He pressed his forehead to Damon’s, then turned his head and watched Elena get the car and go. “I’d never live with myself if you died.” He whispered against Damon’s ear.
Damon sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "And I'm having a hard time living with myself knowing Stefan is dead. I want this to work and for him to come back in one piece," he looked at Elijah. "Then we can go," he responded and exhaled slowly. "The meeting place is in the cemetery. So -- lets go there."
"And you grabbed her the next fucking second, right? Don’t lie, you’re not good at it."
"She grabbed me. And the spell wore off. What do you want me to say?"
