Happy Holidays, lady_dragoncrow!
Title: The Vampire and His... Ghost?
Recipient: lady_dragoncrow
Author: angelus2hot
Characters/Pairings: Damon/Alaric
Spoilers: Set after the end of season 3. So if you haven't seen the ending yet...
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 5,227
Warnings: an original character(Lacy)
Summary: Damon's past finally catches up to him. He's haunted by his victims. They are out to make Damon pay for his past. Can Alaric save him in time?
Author's Notes: a huge thanks goes to cordy69 for the beta.
“For too long he has preyed on this town. There isn’t one person in this room who hasn’t lost a family member or two because of him. He has taken his fill and left the bodies of the broken to fall at his feet.”
Murmurs of assent quickly hushed as another spoke.
“But he doesn’t do that now.” The shy voice was barely audible. “Does he not take what he needs but leaves his prey alive?"
“That does not excuse the things he has done in the past!” The sound of a fist hitting a wooden table made everyone jump. “A wolf can be trained to accept food offered to him but it does not mean that he will not eventually kill again. After all it is still a wild animal.”
Nods of agreement followed the statement.
“But since...”
“Yes, yes, Lacy. We are all aware that he hasn’t killed anyone in a while. Not since... but the why really doesn’t matter. And believe me we are all painfully aware of your unexplainable fondness for him. But that doesn’t mean he should get a free pass. The things that he has done can never be looked upon as okay. If we do nothing, if we continue to let him get away with murder then we are in essence saying our family, friends and loved ones that died at his hands died for nothing. I, for one, can not sit by and let this travesty continue any longer. I refuse. He should pay!”
Whispered sounds of agreement echoed throughout the room as they all nodded their heads. It was way passed time for the vampire to pay for his sins.
Once more Lacy tried to make them see reason. “But he...”
“Hush now, child. It has been decided. The vampire will pay for what he has done. That is the way it has to be.”
“What are you going to do?”
The oldest one in the room stared down at Lacy, a huge grin on her face. “Why we are not going to do a thing to hurt him. How can we?” All heads turned in her direction eager to know how they were indeed going to punish the vampire. They watched as the grin turned dangerous. “We are just going to make sure he no longer wants to exist.”
A world without him in it? With a silent cry of anguish, Lacy ran from the room. She didn’t know how but she had to find a way to stop them.
Beads of water clung to his skin as Damon reached down turned off the faucet and stepped out of the shower. A smile played at the corners of his mouth as he reached for a towel and began to dry his body. There was nothing quite like a hot, refreshing shower to take the edge off of nightmares about things that should have been long forgotten. He might wish... He quickly shook his head, dropped the towel to the floor and began to dress. The past was the past. There was nothing he could do about it now.
“Well, aren’t you going to say, hello?”
He spun around to see a blonde-haired, blue-eyed cheerleader standing behind him. “What the hell? Who are you?”
“Oh that’s right. You never bothered to learn my name did you? But I am kind of disappointed you don’t remember me.”
“Look.” Damon slipped the last button into the hole on his shirt as he glared at the girl in front of him. “I don’t know what’s going on here but you’d better tell me what the hell you’re doing in my house and fast before I lose my patience and I...”
“And you what? Kill me? I’m sorry, honey, but you’ve already done that.”
“What?” There was just a note of panic in Damon’s voice.
The girl before him slowly unwound the scarf from around her neck before she tilted her head to the side.
The wound was deep, the flesh jagged and torn as if her neck had been ripped open by a wild animal. By him.
Damon shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
She wrapped the scarf back around her neck as she whispered, “You will.” Before she disappeared from sight.
“You’re dreaming about your past?” Stefan tried to show concern but honestly every vampire that let his control slip had to deal with this at one time or another. Although, he would have thought his brother would have come to terms with his past a long time ago.
“It’s not just my dreams being invaded by them. I had just stepped out of the shower when I saw a girl standing there, staring at me.”
Stefan’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t see anyone enter the house.”
“My point exactly.”
“Are you trying to tell me that this girl that you saw was the same one you killed years ago? As in you’re seeing ghosts? Where is Demi Moore when you need her?” Stefan couldn’t help but tease as he tried to hide the smile that threatened but in the end he couldn’t help but laugh at the affronted look on his brother’s face.
“Damn it, Stefan! This isn’t funny!” Damon paced the living room. His face taut with anger and something Stefan couldn’t quite name.
“Were you drunk?”
Damon rolled his eyes at the question. “Of course not. Didn’t you hear me? I had just gotten out of the shower. I hadn’t even had a drop to drink yet. But I’m going to rectify that now.” He quickly walked to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink. “I’m telling you, Stefan. It was her. She...”
“He doesn’t believe you.”
Damon looked up from his glass to see another woman standing right beside his brother. “What do you want?”
Stefan stared at Damon. “I want you to calm down. We can.....”
“Not you. Her.”
Stefan quickly looked around but the room was empty except for the two of them. “Her who?”
“Don’t you see her?”
“There’s no one here but you and me, Damon.” Stefan was starting to get concerned.
“He can’t see me or hear me. He wasn’t the one who killed me. You were.” She smiled as she inched closer to Damon. She wasn’t scared of him any longer. Why should she be? After all he couldn’t hurt her anymore. “I was going to be married that week. Did you know that? I would have had children, grandchildren. But you took that all away from me didn’t you?”
Damon shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t.... What do you want from me?”
A smile slowly appeared on her face. “You’ll see, Damon Salvatore. You will see.”
As soon as she disappeared, Damon poured himself another shot, quickly tossed his head back and downed the contents of the glass before he tossed the glass at the far wall. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take, brother.”
Stefan watched as his brother left the room. Damon was right this really wasn’t a laughing matter.
A week had passed by since Damon had begun to see his victims. And no matter where he went the faces and voices of those he had killed haunted him. It wasn’t just his sleeping moments that were haunted by dreams of those he had killed but every waking moment he was plagued by his past. It seemed as if nowhere was he safe from the stark reminder of what he had done.
“Hi, Damon. Did you miss me?”
“Vicki?” Oh God.
A giggle escaped her. “I’m sure He has nothing to do with this.” All laughter left her as she walked closer to him. “You did this to me, Damon. You knew I was just a messed up kid; A teenager who didn’t even have a chance to get her life together... To go on and become something. You took everything from me.”
“I didn’t...”
“Don’t say you didn’t mean to. We both know turning me into a vampire was part of your plan all along. But instead of living forever as a child of the night I became this..” She waved her hand down her body.
Damon shook his head at her child of the night comment. Someone had obviously seen one to many Dracula movies. “I hate to break it to you, Vicki. But I didn’t even think that far ahead with you. I was just... bored.”
As soon as the words left his mouth he knew they had been the wrong thing to say. He watched silently as the room filled with more victims from his past.
Vicki’s mouth hung open in shock. “You were bored? Are you trying to tell me that I died not because you were hungry but because of simple boredom?”
“I don’t know what else you want me to say. Boredom is never a good thing for a vampire and especially not for me.” He titled his head slightly and stared at the ones who stood directly behind her. “I don’t know what any of you expect me to say or do. Hell, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Oh, yes there is.” At his quizzical look she continued, “There is only one way to make up for the things you have done, Damon Salvatore.”
“And that is?”
“You know perfectly well what you should do now.”
For a moment Damon was at a loss but then it dawned on him. He knew exactly what they wanted him to do. Did they really expect him to do that? By the look on their faces he could answer that question with a resounding yes. He began to slowly shake his head. “Not going to happen.”
“Alaric! Alaric!” She yelled his name as loud as she could. He had to be here somewhere. He just had to be! She had looked for him for days and still hadn’t seen a sign of him. Lacy quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She wouldn’t cry she told herself as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She couldn’t. She had to find away to save Damon. “Alaric! You have to come quick!
Suddenly, he quickly stepped into the clearing. “What’s the matter?” His hands fell onto her shoulders to calm her as she stopped in front of him. “What has happened, little one?”
Lacy couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She wasn’t a little one. Or at least if she’d had the chance to grow up she wouldn’t have been by now. She quickly shook her head. There were more important things to worry about. “There was a meeting today about him.”
“What? What did they do?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. There was this meeting and everyone was angry and saying he had to pay. The elder one said that they couldn’t do anything to hurt him but they could make sure he didn’t want to exist any longer. I didn’t really understand what that meant. Do you?”
A cold chill went through Alaric’s body as the words swept through him. He was afraid he understood all too well. The thought of a world without Damon in it just wasn’t something he could handle. Without another word, he dropped his hands from her shoulders and grabbed her hand. “Lead the way.”
“Come on, Damon. You know we will never let you rest until you make restitution for all the things you have done. For the people you have killed the only way to wash away your sins of murder and degradation is for you to cease to exist.”
Damon stood staring at the people before him. His victims. Mostly young women on the cusp of life. A life he had saw fit to take. No that wasn’t really true. He hadn’t given much thought one way or another. The only thing that had mattered to him was the hunger and easing the staggering boredom.
“Damon. Take a look around you. This room is full of your past. And this will be your future, to always see us. We will never let you exist in peace. Why should we? You didn’t offer us that luxury.”
He slowly turned to look at each one. Hundreds of pairs of eyes glared their hatred. He couldn’t face them day in and day out. It would drive him mad. Which, of course, was obviously the point. Maybe they were right if he just..... Damon slowly began to slip off his ring. All he would have to do is step into the sun and it would all be over in a matter of seconds.
All of them nodded their encouragement. Finally, justice was about to be done.
“Oh, hell no you don’t!” Alaric yelled as he grabbed Damon’s hand and jammed the ring back up towards the knuckle. “You will not do this!” He stared up into Damon’s shocked blue eyes. There were a million things he wanted to say to the man... vampire in front of him but all of that would have to wait.
“How dare you!” The elder one screamed her frustration.
Alaric spun around to face her. “How dare I? How dare you! Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to do this?”
Derisive laughter followed his questions. “Right? I’ll tell you what right I have. What right we all have.” She swept her hand around to encompass the whole room. “There isn’t one of us who haven’t had loved ones, friends or even ourselves killed by the monster you are trying to protect. A monster that doesn’t care who lives or dies not even the very young.” She glared at Damon as if he was a piece of trash that someone had left lying around. At a slight noise she turned. “Ah, I see you have brought his youngest victim with you.”
All eyes turned to stare as Lacy entered the room.
Damon shook his head. “I’ve never hurt...”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Lacy quickly interrupted. “Damon didn’t do this to me.”
“What?” The question was asked in unison.
“We all just assumed.”
Lacy shrugged her small shoulders. “Well, you assumed wrong.”
The elder glared at Damon with malice shining in her eyes. “If not this thing. Then who?”
“It was the day of my eleventh birthday. I had just gotten a brand new bonnet. It was the prettiest thing I had ever seen and although, I knew better than to leave the house that late at night; I just couldn’t wait to show it to my best friend. But I never made it to her house. I met a man...”
Once more glares of hatred were thrown in Damon’s direction.
A sigh escaped her. “Would you all stop that? I have told you he didn’t do this.”
“Then who did?”
Little Lacy put her hands on her hips. “If you will stop shooting daggers at Damon, I’ll tell you.” She waited for their nods of agreement before she continued, “I knew not to talk to strangers but this man was so nice. He said he was hurt. But when I got closer I knew he had lied. One moment I was standing there and then the next I was lying on the ground blood pouring from my neck.” Gasps filled the room but she ignored them. “I don’t know if he felt remorse for what he had done or it was his plan all along. But he fed me his blood.” This time the gasps echoed through the room. “That’s when Damon came along. I have never seen anyone move so fast in all my life. One minute I was feeling blood dripping into my mouth and then the next...” Lacy shook her head. She still couldn’t stand to think about all the violence she had witnessed that night. “And then it was over. Damon had made sure that thing would never do this to another living soul. But for me it was too late.”
“But, I don’t understand. You would have turned.” Alaric couldn’t help but interrupt.
Lacy shook her head sadly. “No. I couldn’t. Damon carried me to an old hunter’s cabin. There, after I was clean and dry, he explained to me all about vampires and what had happened to me. What was going to happen to me if I wanted it to.” Tears began to fall down her face as her lips began to tremble.
“She was so young she would have had to have the protection of someone always. I would have showed her how to survive as a vampire. I even offered to take her with me, to protect her. But she.....” Damon’s voice trailed off as Lacy started to speak.
“But I refused. How could I let myself become the very thing that had done this to me? I wouldn’t have been able to grow, get married or have kids. I would have had to stay young forever. And who wants that?” Sad laughter filled the room. “So I.....” Her voice broke.
“She died in my arms that night. I held her body for a long time after she was gone. I cursed the thing that did this to her and wished I could kill it again. And...” Tears filled Damon’s eyes. “I cursed myself for not being able to save her.”
“Touching story but it doesn’t change anything. And....”
Alaric quickly interrupted before the elder one could get the masses worked back up again. “No. It doesn’t change anything. But neither will it change anything if Damon doesn’t exist. Let’s suppose for a minute Damon walks into the sun without his ring.” At the look from Damon, he quietly stated, “Forget it. Not going to happen.”
Once more he looked at the oldest one there. “What would it change? What good would it do if Damon didn’t walk the earth anymore? You all would still be dead. Most of you have been gone for at least a century. Shouldn’t you have..” Alaric’s brow wrinkled as a thought occurred to him. “Why now? Why all of a sudden decide to do this? If making Damon kill himself was your plan why haven’t you done it sooner?”
He watched as they all began to shift uncomfortably. “Ah, you couldn’t, could you? That only leaves one thing. Someone has been messing around with magic again and opened a doorway. And of course you all decided to slither inside didn’t you? Whatever happened to resting in peace?”
One of the others stepped forward. “Why wouldn’t you of all people want him to do this? Hasn’t he killed you over and over again?”
A sad smile pulled at Alaric’s lips as he glanced towards Damon. “Those were misunderstandings. Damon has issues.” At a sound from Damon, Alaric quickly added, ‘But we were working on them before I.....” He swallowed hard. “I count him among one of my dearest friends... no he means more than just a mere friend. He means more to me than he will ever know.” He didn’t even notice Damon’s whispered What? as he continued speaking, “And now I want you to find your way back through the door you came through and this time stay put no matter how many doorways you all see open. Or I’ll make sure you all cease to exist even in the netherworld. And remember I know witches, I can do it.”
A murmur of fright went through them all at the threat. What if he could really do it? Being a ghost wasn’t as good as living but it was a lot better than the alternative. As one they all began to leave the room. Although, they weren’t happy about leaving without extracting their revenge, it seemed as if none of them were willing to take the risk he was only bluffing.
“Don’t you have to leave too?”
Alaric shook his head. “No. I never left.”
As the last one left, he was surprised to see Lacy still standing there. “Shouldn’t you go too?”
“Ummmmm.... I kind of...” She shuffled her feet back and forth as she stared at Alaric. “I found another way in a long time ago. One that isn’t blocked if you know where to look. As long as your heart is pure and you bear no malice then you’re free to come and go.” Lacy shrugged her shoulders. “Or at least I can.”
Alaric stared at Lacy with a look of astonishment as he wondered what other secrets she held to this existence. “Lacy, will you go back and wait for me? I think we need to talk. But there’s something I need to speak with Damon about first.”
“I think I should tell you..”
He quickly held up his hand to stop her. “I want to hear everything you have to say. I really do. Just not now.”
“But, Alaric, it’s really important.” She had been holding onto this secret for a while now and if she didn’t tell him she was going to burst.
“Lacy, please.”
She nodded her head reluctantly. “Okay.” Lacy had thought he would have been a little bit more interested in finding out about what she had to say. After all it's not every day that a ghost finds out that he's not really a ghost after all. But if Alaric thought it could wait who was she to argue? Before she left she ran to Damon and threw her arms around his neck and gave him the hug she had never gotten to give him when she was alive.
Alaric watched in astonishment as she stepped away from Damon and disappeared. Oh yeah. There were definitely things he needed to ask her.
As soon as Lacy disappeared he turned to face Damon. He was surprised to see the sad smile on Damon’s face.
“You really do care for her, don’t you?”
Damon shrugged. “She was innocent in all of it. Nothing like this should have ever happened to her. She....” He let his sentence trail off at the look on Alaric’s face. “What?”
“I’m just surprised.”
“Why? I can have....” Once more Damon stopped talking in mid sentence as a thought occurred to him. “Wait a second. Did I hear you right? Did you say that you had never left?” At Alaric’s nod he continued, “How is it that you’re still here?”
A long sigh escaped Alaric. Of all the things he wanted to talk about this really wasn’t one of them. Well, why not? He wanted to come clean with Damon this was as good a place as any to start.
“I didn’t leave because I couldn’t leave you.” At the shocked look on Damon’s face he admitted, “I didn’t want to.”
Damon sank down onto the couch. “What are you saying?”
“I thought you were a lot smarter than this.” Alaric shook his head in disappointment. “I mean you have been alive a lot longer than me. Shouldn’t you be able to figure it out?”
“Ric.”
Alaric did his best to ignore the shivers that raced down his spine as Damon growled his name. “Okay. It was all part of the deal apparently. Since I didn’t technically agree to become one of the original vampire hunters, there was a way for me to be free. Well, my spirit actually. Once the spell was broken and I died I was allowed to live again. Or as much as I could being a ghost.”
“Huh?” Damon had to admit he was beyond confused.
“It only means that I wasn’t banished to the netherworld like most ghosts are. I can stay here. Most ghosts can touch each other but they can’t touch the living, well unless there’s a spell of some kind in the works. But I’m different. I can still feel, touch, hell, I can even taste not that it does me any good. I can even interact with the living although I try not to do that. I find it’s just too hard for most people to understand. Not to mention some people freak out about it. So, I generally just keep my distance and don’t allow anyone to see me.”
“Wait. Does that mean you’ve been here this whole time?” At Alaric’s nod Damon continued, “I could have seen you, spoken to you, touched you?”
“That’s the general idea, yeah.”
“And I could have touched you?” Damon couldn’t help but ask again. He wanted to make sure he had it right.
Alaric nodded his head. “As I’ve already said.”
Without warning, Damon leaned over and punched Alaric with his fist. “You son of a bitch! I’ve mourned your death for months. I sat by your grave and talked to you. I even, God help me, cried for you. Actual tears. I told you how much I missed you. And you fucking let me! You could have stopped me at any time. But you chose to let me continue talking."
Alaric rubbed his jaw as he sat up. “Calm down, Damon. I didn’t do this on purpose.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No. I didn’t.” He rolled his eyes at the look on Damon’s face. “Come on, Damon. You know me better than that.”
“I thought I did.”
Alaric inched closer to Damon. He moved slowly, carefully, almost as if he was trying to get closer to a wild animal and was wary of getting bit, which technically....
“You have to know that I didn’t do this on purpose.”
Damon turned to look at Alaric. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“What was I supposed to tell you, Damon? Hey, Damon, I know you saw me die but I’m a ghost now... Although, that’s really nothing to worry about. We can still be buddies. We can still go have a drink and do all the things we used to. Do you see why I didn’t say anything?” Alaric turned to stare into Damon’s eyes. “I thought it would be better for you if I kept this all to myself.”
“How exactly is it better?” Damon paused for Alaric to answer but then thought better of it. “Never mind. Here’s what I think.. what I know. I have missed you more than I thought it was possible to miss anyone. It felt as if I had lost a part of myself. And you let me go through that pain when you could have said something.” As Alaric tried to interrupt, Damon held up his hand to silence him and continued to speak, “Although, you didn’t have the right to make that decision for me, because I’m a nice guy, I’m going to forgive you just this once.”
Alaric’s mouth dropped open. He had almost forgotten how ballsy Damon could be. “You’re going to forgive me?”
Damon nodded his head as he held up his finger. “Just this once. And only because you said that you cared about me more than I knew and I really want to know how much you do care.”
“You heard that?” He had really hoped Damon hadn’t been paying attention when he’d said that.
Damon leaned closer until his lips were near Alaric’s. “Vampire. Remember? I hear everything.”
Alaric could feel himself giving in. He wanted this so badly. To be able to touch Damon, to love him like he had never been able to before. But before their lips could touch he jumped up off the couch. “Don’t you think this could be a little weird?”
Damon leaned his head to one side as he stared up at Alaric. “Weird. How?”
“Oh come off it, Damon. I’m a ghost. Remember?”
Damon didn’t really see the problem. He shrugged his shoulders. “That isn’t something I’m likely to forget but so what? I’m a vampire. I don’t see you bitching about that.”
“But. I’m. Dead.” Alaric spoke each word slowly as if he was speaking to someone who wasn’t all that bright.
“So. Am. I.” Damon spoke just as slowly before he shrugged his shoulders again. “Technically. So, welcome to the club. What do you want? A cookie?”
Alaric couldn’t help but smile at Damon’s tone. “Be serious, Damon.”
Damon reached out, grabbed Alaric’s wrist and pulled him back down onto the couch. “Believe me, Ric, I have never been more serious than I am right now. You’re a ghost and I’m a vampire. But it doesn’t mean a damn thing. All that matters is what we feel for one another.” Damon paused for a moment. “Tell me you don’t want this. And we can both pretend this day never happened. So tell me you don’t care about me.” Not that he would ever let Ric leave him again, his world was too bleak without him in it. Whether he was a ghost or not, Damon would do whatever he had to do to keep Alaric by his side. But Ric didn’t have to know that.
How could Damon even ask him to say that? It wasn’t the truth. He knew it and he knew that Damon knew it too. Slowly, Alaric slid his hand behind Damon’s back. “I care about you more than I should.”
With a satisfied smile on his face, Damon leaned in and bit Alaric’s bottom lip before soothing the hurt away with his tongue. “There’s no such thing.”
“Huh?” It was Alaric’s turn to be confused.
“You can never care about me more than you should.” Damon wrapped his arms around Alaric and pulled him closer. “There is always room for more.” His lips teased against Alaric’s bringing a moan to the surface. “And I care about you more than you will ever know.” He repeated Alaric’s words from earlier back at him.
“So tell me.” Alaric demanded against Damon’s lips.
Damon shook his head slightly. “Nuh uh.” He gently caressed Alaric’s cheek. “But I can show you.” He whispered just before his mouth descended on Alaric’s.
And that was the last thing either of them said for a very long time.
Although, she was supposed to have left, Lacy still lingered in the room. She was so happy for Damon. It really seemed as if the vampire really liked his ghost. She quickly muffled a giggle. Lacy thought Alaric was right. It was weird. A vampire and a ghost together. That would definitely be one for the tabloids.
If only Alaric had let her tell him.
But it was too late now to worry about it. Maybe after he and Damon finished their talk she would be able to tell Alaric everything she knew about his circumstances. Especially the fact that there was a way he could be...
Why was it taking so long?
Curiosity got the better of her and she had to peek. After she had made sure they weren't paying attention to their surroundings, she let herself get a better look at what was going on.
Suddenly, Little Lacy swiftly clamped her hands over her eyes. Even though she liked to think she was all grown up, technically she was still only eleven and there were just some things she wasn't ready to see.
Without so much as another glance, Lacy quickly thought herself back to Alaric’s. As much as she wanted to talk to Alaric and even spend some time with Damon herself she thought it best to leave the two of them alone.
At least for now.
Recipient: lady_dragoncrow
Author: angelus2hot
Characters/Pairings: Damon/Alaric
Spoilers: Set after the end of season 3. So if you haven't seen the ending yet...
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 5,227
Warnings: an original character(Lacy)
Summary: Damon's past finally catches up to him. He's haunted by his victims. They are out to make Damon pay for his past. Can Alaric save him in time?
Author's Notes: a huge thanks goes to cordy69 for the beta.
“For too long he has preyed on this town. There isn’t one person in this room who hasn’t lost a family member or two because of him. He has taken his fill and left the bodies of the broken to fall at his feet.”
Murmurs of assent quickly hushed as another spoke.
“But he doesn’t do that now.” The shy voice was barely audible. “Does he not take what he needs but leaves his prey alive?"
“That does not excuse the things he has done in the past!” The sound of a fist hitting a wooden table made everyone jump. “A wolf can be trained to accept food offered to him but it does not mean that he will not eventually kill again. After all it is still a wild animal.”
Nods of agreement followed the statement.
“But since...”
“Yes, yes, Lacy. We are all aware that he hasn’t killed anyone in a while. Not since... but the why really doesn’t matter. And believe me we are all painfully aware of your unexplainable fondness for him. But that doesn’t mean he should get a free pass. The things that he has done can never be looked upon as okay. If we do nothing, if we continue to let him get away with murder then we are in essence saying our family, friends and loved ones that died at his hands died for nothing. I, for one, can not sit by and let this travesty continue any longer. I refuse. He should pay!”
Whispered sounds of agreement echoed throughout the room as they all nodded their heads. It was way passed time for the vampire to pay for his sins.
Once more Lacy tried to make them see reason. “But he...”
“Hush now, child. It has been decided. The vampire will pay for what he has done. That is the way it has to be.”
“What are you going to do?”
The oldest one in the room stared down at Lacy, a huge grin on her face. “Why we are not going to do a thing to hurt him. How can we?” All heads turned in her direction eager to know how they were indeed going to punish the vampire. They watched as the grin turned dangerous. “We are just going to make sure he no longer wants to exist.”
A world without him in it? With a silent cry of anguish, Lacy ran from the room. She didn’t know how but she had to find a way to stop them.
Beads of water clung to his skin as Damon reached down turned off the faucet and stepped out of the shower. A smile played at the corners of his mouth as he reached for a towel and began to dry his body. There was nothing quite like a hot, refreshing shower to take the edge off of nightmares about things that should have been long forgotten. He might wish... He quickly shook his head, dropped the towel to the floor and began to dress. The past was the past. There was nothing he could do about it now.
“Well, aren’t you going to say, hello?”
He spun around to see a blonde-haired, blue-eyed cheerleader standing behind him. “What the hell? Who are you?”
“Oh that’s right. You never bothered to learn my name did you? But I am kind of disappointed you don’t remember me.”
“Look.” Damon slipped the last button into the hole on his shirt as he glared at the girl in front of him. “I don’t know what’s going on here but you’d better tell me what the hell you’re doing in my house and fast before I lose my patience and I...”
“And you what? Kill me? I’m sorry, honey, but you’ve already done that.”
“What?” There was just a note of panic in Damon’s voice.
The girl before him slowly unwound the scarf from around her neck before she tilted her head to the side.
The wound was deep, the flesh jagged and torn as if her neck had been ripped open by a wild animal. By him.
Damon shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
She wrapped the scarf back around her neck as she whispered, “You will.” Before she disappeared from sight.
“You’re dreaming about your past?” Stefan tried to show concern but honestly every vampire that let his control slip had to deal with this at one time or another. Although, he would have thought his brother would have come to terms with his past a long time ago.
“It’s not just my dreams being invaded by them. I had just stepped out of the shower when I saw a girl standing there, staring at me.”
Stefan’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t see anyone enter the house.”
“My point exactly.”
“Are you trying to tell me that this girl that you saw was the same one you killed years ago? As in you’re seeing ghosts? Where is Demi Moore when you need her?” Stefan couldn’t help but tease as he tried to hide the smile that threatened but in the end he couldn’t help but laugh at the affronted look on his brother’s face.
“Damn it, Stefan! This isn’t funny!” Damon paced the living room. His face taut with anger and something Stefan couldn’t quite name.
“Were you drunk?”
Damon rolled his eyes at the question. “Of course not. Didn’t you hear me? I had just gotten out of the shower. I hadn’t even had a drop to drink yet. But I’m going to rectify that now.” He quickly walked to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink. “I’m telling you, Stefan. It was her. She...”
“He doesn’t believe you.”
Damon looked up from his glass to see another woman standing right beside his brother. “What do you want?”
Stefan stared at Damon. “I want you to calm down. We can.....”
“Not you. Her.”
Stefan quickly looked around but the room was empty except for the two of them. “Her who?”
“Don’t you see her?”
“There’s no one here but you and me, Damon.” Stefan was starting to get concerned.
“He can’t see me or hear me. He wasn’t the one who killed me. You were.” She smiled as she inched closer to Damon. She wasn’t scared of him any longer. Why should she be? After all he couldn’t hurt her anymore. “I was going to be married that week. Did you know that? I would have had children, grandchildren. But you took that all away from me didn’t you?”
Damon shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t.... What do you want from me?”
A smile slowly appeared on her face. “You’ll see, Damon Salvatore. You will see.”
As soon as she disappeared, Damon poured himself another shot, quickly tossed his head back and downed the contents of the glass before he tossed the glass at the far wall. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take, brother.”
Stefan watched as his brother left the room. Damon was right this really wasn’t a laughing matter.
A week had passed by since Damon had begun to see his victims. And no matter where he went the faces and voices of those he had killed haunted him. It wasn’t just his sleeping moments that were haunted by dreams of those he had killed but every waking moment he was plagued by his past. It seemed as if nowhere was he safe from the stark reminder of what he had done.
“Hi, Damon. Did you miss me?”
“Vicki?” Oh God.
A giggle escaped her. “I’m sure He has nothing to do with this.” All laughter left her as she walked closer to him. “You did this to me, Damon. You knew I was just a messed up kid; A teenager who didn’t even have a chance to get her life together... To go on and become something. You took everything from me.”
“I didn’t...”
“Don’t say you didn’t mean to. We both know turning me into a vampire was part of your plan all along. But instead of living forever as a child of the night I became this..” She waved her hand down her body.
Damon shook his head at her child of the night comment. Someone had obviously seen one to many Dracula movies. “I hate to break it to you, Vicki. But I didn’t even think that far ahead with you. I was just... bored.”
As soon as the words left his mouth he knew they had been the wrong thing to say. He watched silently as the room filled with more victims from his past.
Vicki’s mouth hung open in shock. “You were bored? Are you trying to tell me that I died not because you were hungry but because of simple boredom?”
“I don’t know what else you want me to say. Boredom is never a good thing for a vampire and especially not for me.” He titled his head slightly and stared at the ones who stood directly behind her. “I don’t know what any of you expect me to say or do. Hell, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Oh, yes there is.” At his quizzical look she continued, “There is only one way to make up for the things you have done, Damon Salvatore.”
“And that is?”
“You know perfectly well what you should do now.”
For a moment Damon was at a loss but then it dawned on him. He knew exactly what they wanted him to do. Did they really expect him to do that? By the look on their faces he could answer that question with a resounding yes. He began to slowly shake his head. “Not going to happen.”
“Alaric! Alaric!” She yelled his name as loud as she could. He had to be here somewhere. He just had to be! She had looked for him for days and still hadn’t seen a sign of him. Lacy quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She wouldn’t cry she told herself as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She couldn’t. She had to find away to save Damon. “Alaric! You have to come quick!
Suddenly, he quickly stepped into the clearing. “What’s the matter?” His hands fell onto her shoulders to calm her as she stopped in front of him. “What has happened, little one?”
Lacy couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She wasn’t a little one. Or at least if she’d had the chance to grow up she wouldn’t have been by now. She quickly shook her head. There were more important things to worry about. “There was a meeting today about him.”
“What? What did they do?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. There was this meeting and everyone was angry and saying he had to pay. The elder one said that they couldn’t do anything to hurt him but they could make sure he didn’t want to exist any longer. I didn’t really understand what that meant. Do you?”
A cold chill went through Alaric’s body as the words swept through him. He was afraid he understood all too well. The thought of a world without Damon in it just wasn’t something he could handle. Without another word, he dropped his hands from her shoulders and grabbed her hand. “Lead the way.”
“Come on, Damon. You know we will never let you rest until you make restitution for all the things you have done. For the people you have killed the only way to wash away your sins of murder and degradation is for you to cease to exist.”
Damon stood staring at the people before him. His victims. Mostly young women on the cusp of life. A life he had saw fit to take. No that wasn’t really true. He hadn’t given much thought one way or another. The only thing that had mattered to him was the hunger and easing the staggering boredom.
“Damon. Take a look around you. This room is full of your past. And this will be your future, to always see us. We will never let you exist in peace. Why should we? You didn’t offer us that luxury.”
He slowly turned to look at each one. Hundreds of pairs of eyes glared their hatred. He couldn’t face them day in and day out. It would drive him mad. Which, of course, was obviously the point. Maybe they were right if he just..... Damon slowly began to slip off his ring. All he would have to do is step into the sun and it would all be over in a matter of seconds.
All of them nodded their encouragement. Finally, justice was about to be done.
“Oh, hell no you don’t!” Alaric yelled as he grabbed Damon’s hand and jammed the ring back up towards the knuckle. “You will not do this!” He stared up into Damon’s shocked blue eyes. There were a million things he wanted to say to the man... vampire in front of him but all of that would have to wait.
“How dare you!” The elder one screamed her frustration.
Alaric spun around to face her. “How dare I? How dare you! Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to do this?”
Derisive laughter followed his questions. “Right? I’ll tell you what right I have. What right we all have.” She swept her hand around to encompass the whole room. “There isn’t one of us who haven’t had loved ones, friends or even ourselves killed by the monster you are trying to protect. A monster that doesn’t care who lives or dies not even the very young.” She glared at Damon as if he was a piece of trash that someone had left lying around. At a slight noise she turned. “Ah, I see you have brought his youngest victim with you.”
All eyes turned to stare as Lacy entered the room.
Damon shook his head. “I’ve never hurt...”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Lacy quickly interrupted. “Damon didn’t do this to me.”
“What?” The question was asked in unison.
“We all just assumed.”
Lacy shrugged her small shoulders. “Well, you assumed wrong.”
The elder glared at Damon with malice shining in her eyes. “If not this thing. Then who?”
“It was the day of my eleventh birthday. I had just gotten a brand new bonnet. It was the prettiest thing I had ever seen and although, I knew better than to leave the house that late at night; I just couldn’t wait to show it to my best friend. But I never made it to her house. I met a man...”
Once more glares of hatred were thrown in Damon’s direction.
A sigh escaped her. “Would you all stop that? I have told you he didn’t do this.”
“Then who did?”
Little Lacy put her hands on her hips. “If you will stop shooting daggers at Damon, I’ll tell you.” She waited for their nods of agreement before she continued, “I knew not to talk to strangers but this man was so nice. He said he was hurt. But when I got closer I knew he had lied. One moment I was standing there and then the next I was lying on the ground blood pouring from my neck.” Gasps filled the room but she ignored them. “I don’t know if he felt remorse for what he had done or it was his plan all along. But he fed me his blood.” This time the gasps echoed through the room. “That’s when Damon came along. I have never seen anyone move so fast in all my life. One minute I was feeling blood dripping into my mouth and then the next...” Lacy shook her head. She still couldn’t stand to think about all the violence she had witnessed that night. “And then it was over. Damon had made sure that thing would never do this to another living soul. But for me it was too late.”
“But, I don’t understand. You would have turned.” Alaric couldn’t help but interrupt.
Lacy shook her head sadly. “No. I couldn’t. Damon carried me to an old hunter’s cabin. There, after I was clean and dry, he explained to me all about vampires and what had happened to me. What was going to happen to me if I wanted it to.” Tears began to fall down her face as her lips began to tremble.
“She was so young she would have had to have the protection of someone always. I would have showed her how to survive as a vampire. I even offered to take her with me, to protect her. But she.....” Damon’s voice trailed off as Lacy started to speak.
“But I refused. How could I let myself become the very thing that had done this to me? I wouldn’t have been able to grow, get married or have kids. I would have had to stay young forever. And who wants that?” Sad laughter filled the room. “So I.....” Her voice broke.
“She died in my arms that night. I held her body for a long time after she was gone. I cursed the thing that did this to her and wished I could kill it again. And...” Tears filled Damon’s eyes. “I cursed myself for not being able to save her.”
“Touching story but it doesn’t change anything. And....”
Alaric quickly interrupted before the elder one could get the masses worked back up again. “No. It doesn’t change anything. But neither will it change anything if Damon doesn’t exist. Let’s suppose for a minute Damon walks into the sun without his ring.” At the look from Damon, he quietly stated, “Forget it. Not going to happen.”
Once more he looked at the oldest one there. “What would it change? What good would it do if Damon didn’t walk the earth anymore? You all would still be dead. Most of you have been gone for at least a century. Shouldn’t you have..” Alaric’s brow wrinkled as a thought occurred to him. “Why now? Why all of a sudden decide to do this? If making Damon kill himself was your plan why haven’t you done it sooner?”
He watched as they all began to shift uncomfortably. “Ah, you couldn’t, could you? That only leaves one thing. Someone has been messing around with magic again and opened a doorway. And of course you all decided to slither inside didn’t you? Whatever happened to resting in peace?”
One of the others stepped forward. “Why wouldn’t you of all people want him to do this? Hasn’t he killed you over and over again?”
A sad smile pulled at Alaric’s lips as he glanced towards Damon. “Those were misunderstandings. Damon has issues.” At a sound from Damon, Alaric quickly added, ‘But we were working on them before I.....” He swallowed hard. “I count him among one of my dearest friends... no he means more than just a mere friend. He means more to me than he will ever know.” He didn’t even notice Damon’s whispered What? as he continued speaking, “And now I want you to find your way back through the door you came through and this time stay put no matter how many doorways you all see open. Or I’ll make sure you all cease to exist even in the netherworld. And remember I know witches, I can do it.”
A murmur of fright went through them all at the threat. What if he could really do it? Being a ghost wasn’t as good as living but it was a lot better than the alternative. As one they all began to leave the room. Although, they weren’t happy about leaving without extracting their revenge, it seemed as if none of them were willing to take the risk he was only bluffing.
“Don’t you have to leave too?”
Alaric shook his head. “No. I never left.”
As the last one left, he was surprised to see Lacy still standing there. “Shouldn’t you go too?”
“Ummmmm.... I kind of...” She shuffled her feet back and forth as she stared at Alaric. “I found another way in a long time ago. One that isn’t blocked if you know where to look. As long as your heart is pure and you bear no malice then you’re free to come and go.” Lacy shrugged her shoulders. “Or at least I can.”
Alaric stared at Lacy with a look of astonishment as he wondered what other secrets she held to this existence. “Lacy, will you go back and wait for me? I think we need to talk. But there’s something I need to speak with Damon about first.”
“I think I should tell you..”
He quickly held up his hand to stop her. “I want to hear everything you have to say. I really do. Just not now.”
“But, Alaric, it’s really important.” She had been holding onto this secret for a while now and if she didn’t tell him she was going to burst.
“Lacy, please.”
She nodded her head reluctantly. “Okay.” Lacy had thought he would have been a little bit more interested in finding out about what she had to say. After all it's not every day that a ghost finds out that he's not really a ghost after all. But if Alaric thought it could wait who was she to argue? Before she left she ran to Damon and threw her arms around his neck and gave him the hug she had never gotten to give him when she was alive.
Alaric watched in astonishment as she stepped away from Damon and disappeared. Oh yeah. There were definitely things he needed to ask her.
As soon as Lacy disappeared he turned to face Damon. He was surprised to see the sad smile on Damon’s face.
“You really do care for her, don’t you?”
Damon shrugged. “She was innocent in all of it. Nothing like this should have ever happened to her. She....” He let his sentence trail off at the look on Alaric’s face. “What?”
“I’m just surprised.”
“Why? I can have....” Once more Damon stopped talking in mid sentence as a thought occurred to him. “Wait a second. Did I hear you right? Did you say that you had never left?” At Alaric’s nod he continued, “How is it that you’re still here?”
A long sigh escaped Alaric. Of all the things he wanted to talk about this really wasn’t one of them. Well, why not? He wanted to come clean with Damon this was as good a place as any to start.
“I didn’t leave because I couldn’t leave you.” At the shocked look on Damon’s face he admitted, “I didn’t want to.”
Damon sank down onto the couch. “What are you saying?”
“I thought you were a lot smarter than this.” Alaric shook his head in disappointment. “I mean you have been alive a lot longer than me. Shouldn’t you be able to figure it out?”
“Ric.”
Alaric did his best to ignore the shivers that raced down his spine as Damon growled his name. “Okay. It was all part of the deal apparently. Since I didn’t technically agree to become one of the original vampire hunters, there was a way for me to be free. Well, my spirit actually. Once the spell was broken and I died I was allowed to live again. Or as much as I could being a ghost.”
“Huh?” Damon had to admit he was beyond confused.
“It only means that I wasn’t banished to the netherworld like most ghosts are. I can stay here. Most ghosts can touch each other but they can’t touch the living, well unless there’s a spell of some kind in the works. But I’m different. I can still feel, touch, hell, I can even taste not that it does me any good. I can even interact with the living although I try not to do that. I find it’s just too hard for most people to understand. Not to mention some people freak out about it. So, I generally just keep my distance and don’t allow anyone to see me.”
“Wait. Does that mean you’ve been here this whole time?” At Alaric’s nod Damon continued, “I could have seen you, spoken to you, touched you?”
“That’s the general idea, yeah.”
“And I could have touched you?” Damon couldn’t help but ask again. He wanted to make sure he had it right.
Alaric nodded his head. “As I’ve already said.”
Without warning, Damon leaned over and punched Alaric with his fist. “You son of a bitch! I’ve mourned your death for months. I sat by your grave and talked to you. I even, God help me, cried for you. Actual tears. I told you how much I missed you. And you fucking let me! You could have stopped me at any time. But you chose to let me continue talking."
Alaric rubbed his jaw as he sat up. “Calm down, Damon. I didn’t do this on purpose.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No. I didn’t.” He rolled his eyes at the look on Damon’s face. “Come on, Damon. You know me better than that.”
“I thought I did.”
Alaric inched closer to Damon. He moved slowly, carefully, almost as if he was trying to get closer to a wild animal and was wary of getting bit, which technically....
“You have to know that I didn’t do this on purpose.”
Damon turned to look at Alaric. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“What was I supposed to tell you, Damon? Hey, Damon, I know you saw me die but I’m a ghost now... Although, that’s really nothing to worry about. We can still be buddies. We can still go have a drink and do all the things we used to. Do you see why I didn’t say anything?” Alaric turned to stare into Damon’s eyes. “I thought it would be better for you if I kept this all to myself.”
“How exactly is it better?” Damon paused for Alaric to answer but then thought better of it. “Never mind. Here’s what I think.. what I know. I have missed you more than I thought it was possible to miss anyone. It felt as if I had lost a part of myself. And you let me go through that pain when you could have said something.” As Alaric tried to interrupt, Damon held up his hand to silence him and continued to speak, “Although, you didn’t have the right to make that decision for me, because I’m a nice guy, I’m going to forgive you just this once.”
Alaric’s mouth dropped open. He had almost forgotten how ballsy Damon could be. “You’re going to forgive me?”
Damon nodded his head as he held up his finger. “Just this once. And only because you said that you cared about me more than I knew and I really want to know how much you do care.”
“You heard that?” He had really hoped Damon hadn’t been paying attention when he’d said that.
Damon leaned closer until his lips were near Alaric’s. “Vampire. Remember? I hear everything.”
Alaric could feel himself giving in. He wanted this so badly. To be able to touch Damon, to love him like he had never been able to before. But before their lips could touch he jumped up off the couch. “Don’t you think this could be a little weird?”
Damon leaned his head to one side as he stared up at Alaric. “Weird. How?”
“Oh come off it, Damon. I’m a ghost. Remember?”
Damon didn’t really see the problem. He shrugged his shoulders. “That isn’t something I’m likely to forget but so what? I’m a vampire. I don’t see you bitching about that.”
“But. I’m. Dead.” Alaric spoke each word slowly as if he was speaking to someone who wasn’t all that bright.
“So. Am. I.” Damon spoke just as slowly before he shrugged his shoulders again. “Technically. So, welcome to the club. What do you want? A cookie?”
Alaric couldn’t help but smile at Damon’s tone. “Be serious, Damon.”
Damon reached out, grabbed Alaric’s wrist and pulled him back down onto the couch. “Believe me, Ric, I have never been more serious than I am right now. You’re a ghost and I’m a vampire. But it doesn’t mean a damn thing. All that matters is what we feel for one another.” Damon paused for a moment. “Tell me you don’t want this. And we can both pretend this day never happened. So tell me you don’t care about me.” Not that he would ever let Ric leave him again, his world was too bleak without him in it. Whether he was a ghost or not, Damon would do whatever he had to do to keep Alaric by his side. But Ric didn’t have to know that.
How could Damon even ask him to say that? It wasn’t the truth. He knew it and he knew that Damon knew it too. Slowly, Alaric slid his hand behind Damon’s back. “I care about you more than I should.”
With a satisfied smile on his face, Damon leaned in and bit Alaric’s bottom lip before soothing the hurt away with his tongue. “There’s no such thing.”
“Huh?” It was Alaric’s turn to be confused.
“You can never care about me more than you should.” Damon wrapped his arms around Alaric and pulled him closer. “There is always room for more.” His lips teased against Alaric’s bringing a moan to the surface. “And I care about you more than you will ever know.” He repeated Alaric’s words from earlier back at him.
“So tell me.” Alaric demanded against Damon’s lips.
Damon shook his head slightly. “Nuh uh.” He gently caressed Alaric’s cheek. “But I can show you.” He whispered just before his mouth descended on Alaric’s.
And that was the last thing either of them said for a very long time.
Although, she was supposed to have left, Lacy still lingered in the room. She was so happy for Damon. It really seemed as if the vampire really liked his ghost. She quickly muffled a giggle. Lacy thought Alaric was right. It was weird. A vampire and a ghost together. That would definitely be one for the tabloids.
If only Alaric had let her tell him.
But it was too late now to worry about it. Maybe after he and Damon finished their talk she would be able to tell Alaric everything she knew about his circumstances. Especially the fact that there was a way he could be...
Why was it taking so long?
Curiosity got the better of her and she had to peek. After she had made sure they weren't paying attention to their surroundings, she let herself get a better look at what was going on.
Suddenly, Little Lacy swiftly clamped her hands over her eyes. Even though she liked to think she was all grown up, technically she was still only eleven and there were just some things she wasn't ready to see.
Without so much as another glance, Lacy quickly thought herself back to Alaric’s. As much as she wanted to talk to Alaric and even spend some time with Damon herself she thought it best to leave the two of them alone.
At least for now.