Summary: Set in S2 “The Return” and “Masquerade” as flashbacks and S5 “Dead Man On Campus” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” “Dead Man On Campus” is the present and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” is sort of like a flashback. This is purely Datherine. After saving her life in “I Know What You Did Last Summer” revision and “Dead Man On Campus,” he realizes that he doesn’t want her to die and decides to give her hope that there may be a loophole so she doesn’t have to die.
*The Return*
I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing
Just prayin’ to a God that I don’t believe in
‘Cause I got time while she got freedom
‘Cause when a heart breaks no it don’t break even
Her best days will be some of my worst
She finally met a man that’s gonna put her first
It was a dismal night, as Damon and Katherine made out at the Salvatore boarding house in the living room. It was filled with lust and passion until he finally got a grip of himself and told her, “Time out.”
A moment later, they stood a distance away from each other, as Damon began.
“I have one question. Answer it right and it’s back to fire rockets and red glare. I’ll forget the last 145 years I’ve spent missing you. I’ll forget how much I loved you. I’ll forget everything and we can start over. This can be our defining moment. See, we have time. That’s the beauty of eternity. I just need the truth just this once.”
She now stood in front of him.
“Stop. I already know the question and its answer. The truth is…I’ve never loved you. It was always Stefan.”
As her words sunk in, she slowly turned around and walked out, not liking that she’d lied to him about her feelings for him. She knew though that Klaus would be coming to town. This was her way of protecting him. If Klaus knew that she and Damon were in love, she feared that Klaus would rip his heart out in front of her, just in spite. She’d lost her human family to Klaus. She wouldn’t let him take her vampire family away from her. Not if she could help it.
As she left the house, Damon grabbed an empty shot glass and threw it at the fireplace. It landed on the floor there and shattered into pieces, just like Damon now felt. He was shattered into pieces, thinking that she had told the truth about her feelings for him.
*Masquerade*
While I’m wide awake
She’s no trouble sleeping
‘Cause when a heart breaks no it don’t break even…even…no
What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you
And what am I supposed to say when I’m all choked up and you’re ok
I’m falling to pieces, yeah, I’m falling to pieces
Katherine woke up after being vervained, still dressed the way she had been when he and his brother had tried to kill her. She didn’t quite recognize where she was.
“Where am I?” she questioned, seeing Damon right outside of wherever she was at.
“Where you should’ve been all along,” he informed her, and began to close the tomb.
“No. Damon, don’t do this,” she pleaded with him. Then she sprouted out the truth, saying, “Elena’s in danger. She’s a doppelganger. She needs to be protected.”
He stopped closing it when she said that, obviously debating, before saying, “Goodbye, Katherine.” Then he closed it completely.
As he walked away from the closed tomb, she yelled at him, saying, “You need me!”
*Dead Man On Campus*
They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
‘Cause she’s moved on while I’m still grieving
And when a heart breaks no it don’t break even even…no
What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you
And what am I supposed to say when I’m all choked up and you’re ok
I’m falling to pieces, yeah
I’m falling to pieces, yeah
I’m falling to pieces (one still in love while other one's leaving)
I’m falling to pieces (‘Cause when a heart breaks no it don’t break even)
Oh you got his heart and my heart and none of the pain
You took your suitcase, I took the blame
Now I’m try’na make sense of what little remains ooh
‘Cause you left me with no love and no love to my name
It was a dismal night, as Katherine stood on the clock tower, overlooking the town square of Mystic Falls. She’d found out that she was dying of old age now that Silas had drank the cure out of her and she’d come back to life afterward. Sure, she had her daughter, but Nadia was a vampire and she was a human. Maxfield had given her about three weeks to six months give or take to live. She wouldn’t have enough time to spend with Nadia, before Nadia would have to watch her die and she’d end up with nothing but tears and heartache. She couldn’t be the mother Nadia wanted anyway and everyone apart from Nadia, hated her and wanted her dead and despised her. No one would miss her except for Nadia if she died. Besides, after getting the news that she was dying rapidly of old age, she felt like she had nothing to lose and no hope to live. And after the life she’d led as a vampire, she felt that it was time, but she refused to die of old age. She’d rather opt herself right now than to have the pain of dying of old age.
She turned around so she faced the clock and her back faced the town square. Then she closed her eyes and stepped off the clock tower. As she fell to the ground, she felt the wind, and was ready to die instantly instead of painfully.
After finding and reading the short letter at the boarding house that had been left on the table, Damon knew what she was going to do, so he set it down and went in search of her. Then, when he found her falling from the clock tower, though he hated her, he blurred over and caught her before she could hit the ground. Even though he hated her, she had been right that a part of him didn’t want her to die. Besides, he felt that she was just being stubborn and an idiot to do or try to do this. He felt that he was saving her from her own stupidity.
When she didn’t see any darkness come or see the Other Side, she opened her eyes to see what had gone wrong. When she did, she realized that Damon of all people had saved her from killing herself. When she did, he set her on her feet.
“What the hell are you doing?” he questioned her.
“What does it look like?” she questioned back. “I’m dying rapidly of old age, okay? I’d rather not die of old age, so I’d rather it be quick and painless. It can’t be stopped.”
Damon knew now why she’d tried to kill herself, but that still didn’t give her the right to do that. She had a daughter now, vampire or not.
“What about your daughter?” he inquired. “She cares for you, unlike most people. How could you do that to her?”
“I know she cares, but I can’t be the mother she wants. Not anymore. And I don’t want her to have to watch me die. Besides, what am I going to give her? A few weeks to six months and then she’ll end up with tears and heartbreak? I’m not going to do that to her. She deserves better,” she replied. “I’ve got nothing left to live for. Nadia doesn’t need me and no one else cares whether I live or die.”
“We’ll find a way to stop this rapid aging if it’s possible. There’s always a loophole. There has to be a way to stop it,” he encouraged her, trying to at least give her some kind of hope. He hated seeing her hopeless. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this. The Katherine he knew didn’t go around trying to kill herself. The Katherine he knew didn’t give up either, so this was a new thing to him.
*I Know What You Did Last Summer*
I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing
Just prayin’ to a God that I don’t believe in
‘Cause I got time while she got freedom
‘Cause when a heart breaks no it don’t break even
Her best days will be some of my worst
She finally met a man that’s gonna put her first
While I’m wide awake
She’s no trouble sleeping
‘Cause when a heart breaks no it don’t break even…even…no
It was a dismal night, as Damon searched the streets of Mystic Falls, searching for Katherine. He’d tried handing her over to Silas in exchange for information of where Stefan was at. Silas had said that if he gave her to him, he’d tell him where Stefan was. That hadn’t panned out, because Katherine hadn’t heeded when he told her to turn around and go back to the house. She’d ran instead or, in this case, just continued driving in his car.
He stopped in his tracks, when he saw the condition of his car that had crashed into a streetlight pole. It was almost totaled and, though he was mad at what she’d done, he understood why. He didn’t care though right now that his car was nearly totaled. What he cared about was whether Katherine was alive or not. He could replace the car easily, but there was only one Katherine and no one could ever replace her, even if they tried.
He blurred to the driver’s side, which he found to be jammed shut, when he tried to open it. He could see that she was still inside and smell the blood. From the smell, she’d lost quite a lot of blood. He used some of his vampire strength to force the door open and then slid an arm under her and another under her legs, gently pulling her into his arms and out of the wreckage.
Once he was a ways away from the crashed car, he gently layed her down on the ground to scan for what wounds she had and to make sure she was still alive. He could see that there was blood on either side of her head, her lower stomach was heavily bleeding from a shard of glass that was protruding from it, and she had a bleeding side as well as a shard of glass that had stabbed into her thigh. He pulled the shard of glass out of her lower stomach and her thigh. When he did, he realized that her thigh artery had been opened up by the shard of glass. He also saw that she was pale from her injuries and massive blood loss.
He rested a gentle hand on the side of her face.
“Katherine, can you hear me? I need you to wake up,” he said, hoping to get her awake. When that didn’t work, he realized that she was in worst shape than he had originally thought she was in. “Stay with me, Katherine. Stay with me.”
He gently picked her up in his arms and blurred to the hospital, hoping she’d live through this.
What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you
And what am I supposed to say when I’m all choked up and you’re ok
(Oh glad you’re okay now)
I’m falling to pieces yeah
(Oh I’m glad you’re okay)
I’m falling to pieces yeah
(One still in love while the other one’s leaving)
I’m falling to pieces
Half an hour later, Damon stood there and watched as the doctors rushed her down the hall. She’d lost a massive amount of blood and was bleeding out from her opened artery. She also had a collapsing lung and was even more pale than she had been when he’d found her in the crashed car. It was amazing that she was still alive.
(‘Cause when a heart breaks no it don’t break even)
Oh it don’t break even no
Oh it don't break even no
Oh it don’t break even no
A few hours later, Damon was seated at her bedside after she’d gotten out of surgery and was in the recovery room. He knew this was his fault that she’d nearly died tonight. If he hadn’t tried handing her over, she wouldn’t have had a near death experience tonight. He just hoped that she’d forgive him and that she’d recover quickly. He didn’t like hospitals much, but at the same time, he wasn’t going to leave her here alone, when Silas could walk in at any time and finish what he’d started earlier tonight, before Damon had come home.
He rested a hand on the left side of her face and his other on her right hand. She hadn’t woken up and probably wouldn’t for a while, but he still spoke, even though he didn’t know if she could hear him or not.
“I am so sorry, Katherine. I don’t know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have done what I did. All that matters right now is that you’re alive.”
She later recovered and was sent home with Damon, whom then told her why he’d done what he did and she completely understood, so all was well between them.
ns 15.158.11.143da2
