Do Not Go Gentle

        It was a beautiful night in Mystic Falls, Virginia as Katherine Pierce sat at the bar next to Alaric.

        "Hello, Alaric," she greeted.

        "Katherine."

        "Do you know where I might find Elijah?" she questioned.

        "Go away."

        "Why? I thought we left on good terms."

        "I don't want you here. Take a hint, will you?"

        Then the familiar scent hit her. Vampire.

        "What happened to you?" she asked him.

        "Esther turned me. Now, I'm going to kill every vampire, starting with Klaus."

        She clenched her teeth and gasped in pain, as he stabbed her with a dagger. And then she felt the familiar sensation of having a hard time breathing. And that's when she knew the dagger had vervain on it. Now, she couldn't go anywhere without help, and she was too shaky to move on her own, much less get her phone out to call for help. All she could do was clutch the bar with both hands to keep from falling.

        "We should help her," she heard Caroline Forbes say, a moment after she smelled Tyler and Caroline when they walked in.

        "Why?" she heard Tyler ask.

        "She had to have come back for a reason. And that reason wasn't to get vervained by Alaric. She needs help. We have to help her."

        "Fine. You stay here. I'll get away from him. He can't hurt me like he can you."

        A few minutes later, she smelled his scent. He was behind her. She felt a gentle hand on her right upper arm and knew it was Tyler's.

        I'm saved, she thought to herself.

        "Let's get out of here," she heard Tyler say.

        She slowly got off the stool and onto her feet, as he held a hand on her arm to help her keep her balance.

        Before she knew it, they were outside the Mystic Grille. Tyler still had his hand on her arm and Caroling had a hand on her other arm.

        "What happened?" Caroline asked her as gently as she could. All she knew was that she smelled vervain with something else she couldn't place.

        “I asked him where Elijah was, and he told me what happened to him. Then he stabbed me," Kat summarized.

        "And before that?" Tyler asked.

        "I killed the hybrids Klaus sent after me. They attacked, though. That's why I was looking for Elijah. He's the only one I can trust to get me the cure without having to sacrifice anything. And Elijah still cares about me. We had something when I was human and before I came to live in America."

        Tyler and Caroline looked at one another. They knew they had to do something, but they didn't know where they would find Elijah.

        As she started to feel weak, Kat saw Damon.



        Damon had been walking up to the Mystic Grille, when he had seen Tyler and Caroline outside holding Katherine up. Then he was instantly in front of them.

        "What happened to her?" Damon asked them, though he looked at Katherine.

        "She was vervained by Alaric. Before that, she was attacked by his hybrids. She killed them," Tyler answered.

        "I'll take care of her."

        "She said she wanted to ask Elijah to get the cure for her."

        "Then I'll find him and take care of her."

        She felt the vampiress and hybrid leave to go inside. Then she was alone with Damon.

        He kept his eyes on her, as he assessed her condition.

        "Katherine."

        "Damon?" was all she got out, as everything went black.

        The elder Salvatore brother caught her from hitting the ground. Then he picked her up in his arms and walked the route to Elena's. He couldn't use his super speed. There were too many people around.



        She groaned as she came to and realized that she was in Damon's arms. Then she felt an urge. It was a side effect of the vervain.

        Damon set her on her feet and watched her, as she knelt down by a bush by Elena's walkway and coughed up blood. He knew it would come. This wasn't the first time he had seen her in a vervained state. As she coughed up blood, he knelt by her. Before he could pull the dagger out of her lower stomach, he smelled Elena's scent. That's what made him look up.

        Elena was heading out the door, when she saw Damon and Katherine. She knew from the scene that something was wrong. She left the house and didn't stop until she stood by them.

        "Damon, what's going on?"

        He looked up at her.

        "Elena, you should go back inside, but if you must know, Ric vervained her. To top it off, she was bitten by hybrids before she killed them."

        He pulled the dagger out and handed it to the doppelganger.

        "Take it."



        Kat finished and used the sleeve of her jacket to clean her face, before she looked up at Elena.

        "Elena," she greeted.

        Damon got to his feet, as he helped his Sire to her feet. He could tell she was weak, as he did so.

        "She can stay in my room and I'll watch her," Elena announced.

        "Thanks," Kat told her descendant.

        "We should get her inside," Damon said.

        Before she knew it, everything went dark again.



        When she woke up for the second time tonight, she was on her back on Elena's bed. Her jacket was off, and her wounds had been tended to. Her journal was on top of the end table and Elena was seated on her bedside with a wash cloth in hand. She stared at the wall as she saw her pa' pa and ma' ma, too weak to cry. And then they disappeared, and she saw Rose. She thought it odd to see her sire that hadn't liked her in the beginning. But she didn't care. She just wanted to know if she would live or die. Then she finally looked at Elena, as Elena continued to damp the cloth on her face to cool her down.

        "I'm sorry, Elena. I'm sorry for what I did. Forgive me. Tell Damon that I have always cared and loved them both. I never chose either of them. I love you too, Elena. You are the last of my Petrova family. I hope you will all forgive me," she whispered.

        "I forgave you a long time ago. And I think Damon will forgive you after a while. Just hand on," Elena replied.

        "I don't know how much longer I can, Elena."

        "Try, Katherine."



        Damon stood by the stairs, as he spoke to Rebekah.

        "Please, Rebekah. Do this for me, at least."

        "Fine."

        "Good. Meet me at Elena's."

        He hung up.

        "I'm going to find Elijah!" he yelled up the stairs at Elena and Kat. Then he left.





        When Katherine woke up, she felt better. She saw that Elijah and Elena were both at her side.

        "You should go help Damon. My sister has stepped out of line," he told Elena.

        She obeyed.

        Katherine sat up in bed.

        He gave her a shot glass of blood and she drank it, before she gave it back to him. He then set it back on the end table and she got to her feet. She put her jacket back on and he bit his wrist.

        "It'll heal you faster," he said, as he held it out to her.

        She drank from him for a few minutes, before she let go.

        She watched him vanish, and then she headed down the stairs.





        Once down the stairs, she saw the scene. There was a dagger in Damon's chest. He was slumped against the threshold. Elena was knelt in front of him with fear. Elijah and Rebekah were gone.

        Kat knelt by them.

        "He'll be okay," she assured her.

        Katherine gently drug him into the hallway and Elena closed the door. The vampiress then knelt down with his back against her and bit her wrist. She put it to his lips and made her blood go down his throat, as she used her free hand to pull the dagger out. She tossed it to the floor and Elena knelt at his right side.

        A few minutes later, he came to. Then, once he felt better, he stopped drinking and she took her wrist away. It obviously healed.

        He looked up at her.

        "Katherine."

        "Welcome back, Damon."

        "I could say the same thing," he answered.

        The three of them smiled at one another.