The Things I Do For You

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Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of the Vampire Diaries. This is just for fun.

Summary: Damon enlists the help of Elena and Stefan to release Katherine from the tomb, but when a series of unexpected events and feelings develop between himself and Elena, the future of his plans hang in the air.

Rated: M for lemons.

Chapter Thirteen

Flashback:

Stefan paced the great room of the Salvatore boarding house. He didn't think he'd ever see the day when he'd want to see Katherine again. He needed to get her out of the tomb, and fast. Damon had to leave. Not only was he making meals of the townspeople but it had now gotten personal. Elena. He knew better than to think the issue that had festered between him and Elena was solely between the two of them. It was Damon who caused the rift. What had transpired between her and his brother, he didn't know, and nor did he want to. He loved her, and was willing to do whatever it took to get her back, even if that meant bringing Katherine back. That was the deal, get Katherine back, and he would leave, taking her with him. Now was the time Damon would have to make good on that deal. He loved Katherine. Hell, he was obsessed with her. Get Katherine back, and he'd be gone. Elena and Stefan could start over again and get back to where they were before, before Damon came back to Mystic Falls.

It had been almost a month now since Elena and Stefan had spoken. Though she wouldn't know it, he watched her from a distance. She wouldn't approve, but he wanted to protect her. After exposing her to all of this, it was the least he could do. Watching from a distance was easier anyways. He didn't know what he'd say to her if they were face to face. While he'd like to tell her how much he loved her, he knew she wouldn't want to hear it. Not right now. Not with Damon here and the situation the three of them found themselves in. So that was it, he had to get Katherine out of that tomb. He had to do it for not only them, but for the town's sake.

Stefan had the journal. He had for a couple weeks now. He'd thought about getting rid of it, disposing it so Katherine and any other vampires that remained wouldn't have a chance of running havoc on the town he had now come to love. He didn't know what to do with it, but he does now. He was willing to take the chance of releasing them if it meant he got to be with Elena. If that happened, they'd deal with it later. For now, he just had to be with her. Damon and Katherine would be gone, and Elena would be there, with him, where she should be. He hated the fact that he was lying to her about having the journal, but it was in her best interest. She didn't need to be involved in all this. She shouldn't have been from the very beginning. He was going to get rid of this mess altogether. No more Damon, no more threat.

He had to plan it out carefully. He didn't want anyone knowing he did it, not even Katherine. Making others miserable was her specialty, and she would without a doubt make it her mission to tear Elena and him apart if she found out Stefan had done it, and his reasons why. Katherine would find joy in that.

Hours had passed until he formed a flawless plan. He figured the longer he waited to do this though, the longer Damon had to drive them apart. Stefan wasn't going to waste any more time. He got up, grabbed all his scribbled-on papers, and headed over to Bonnie's. He'd need a witch.

It took a little convincing, but the mention of Damon leaving Mystic Falls for good, was enough of a reason to get Bonnie on board. He'd sworn her to secrecy, and she was happy to oblige.

It took hours to reverse the spell and open the tomb, but now there she was in his house, standing in front of him. Katherine.

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It was quiet in Mystic Falls. It had been a few weeks since Katherine and Damon left. Surprisingly, getting Katherine to leave didn't prove to be much of a challenge. She had "errands" to do she said, things to "take care of." Stefan wasn't going to question what her plans were. He just wanted her gone.

Since they'd left, the reports of animal attacks had stopped completely. Not much was going on in Mystic Falls. It was as quiet as it was before the Salvatore brothers had returned. Elena noticed the change, and nothing but questions filled her mind for days. She hadn't seen either of the Salvatore brothers around town, and the way those two boys looked, it was hard to miss them. She didn't think she'd miss the drama, but she did.

She was back on her strict school schedule. It was a good distraction. Get up, get dressed, go to school, come home, do homework, and write in her journal. There wasn't much to write these days, but it was a ritual she'd stuck to. To her dismay, she often found herself reading previous entries. Entries about her discovery of vampires, her love for Stefan, and the night she'd slept with Damon, his brother. The thought made her sick - two brothers at the same time. It sounded like 1864 all over again. At least unlike Katherine though, it was never her intention. It was always supposed to be Stefan, wasn't it?

Saturday morning she woke up with a sudden desire to face the problems that had been following her around. The past little while Elena's weekends consisted of her lounging around and reliving the moments she spent with both Stefan and Damon, but not this weekend. This weekend, she was going to do something about it. She hopped in the shower and contemplated what it was she'd say. While she'd spent hours thinking about her time with the Salvatore brothers, she never did come to a conclusion. She threw on a pair of jeans, a blue tank top, and her grey cardigan and headed for the door. She hoped the answers would just come to her.

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Before Elena had even gone to knock on the large door in front of her, a somber looking Stefan greeted her.

"Oh," she said surprised, "hi. I forgot how you guys… Anyways, what have you been up to? It's been a while," she paused. "How's Damon?" She leaned her head inside to see if she could catch a glimpse.

Stefan looked down. He was hoping time would just erase him from her memory. He was wrong. "I just thought it'd be a good idea to let things settle down. Get back to where we were before, you know?"

Elena knew this was going to come up. How could it not? She just thought maybe they'd get through pleasantries before jumping right on in. "Stefan, I don't know if that's what I want."

He quickly replied, "He's not here."

"What?"

"Damon. They left. Didn't he tell you?"

"We aren't talking about Damon. This is about us." She paused, "Wait, who's 'they'?"

"I really thought he would've told you himself."

She was getting impatient. "Who's 'they' Stefan?"

"Damon and Katherine."

"Katherine?" She froze. "How did… I mean when… what happened?"

"I don't know. She just showed up a couple weeks ago. I don't know how she got out."

"A couple weeks ago? How could you not tell me about this?" He ignored her question. "And you're telling me Damon is with her?"

"He loves her Elena. That's the only reason he was here, remember? And now that he has her, I don't think they'll be coming back anytime soon."

Her heart sunk. He'd left without even telling her? She knew things weren't left on the best of terms, but to not even say goodbye? She really thought things had changed between them. Maybe she'd just hoped they had. Either way, she hated him for it. But hate is a strong word…

"Come inside, Elena. We should talk."

Stefan pushed open the door for her to make her way inside. She looked around the room admiring it as she did the first time she'd seen it. It was huge, extravagant, and held so much history. She thought of all the people that had come and gone in this house throughout the years. She made her way over to the couch, Stefan sat in the chair opposite her.

"What can I do to make this… us, better?"

Her mind was stuck on Damon. Elena stammered. "N-nothing Stefan. There isn't any one thing that made us the way we are." How could he just leave?

"Of course there is. It's Damon." Her head shot up. Just the mention of his name drove her crazy. "He manipulated you to feel for him, to drive us apart. Don't you see that?"

Elena felt herself getting defensive, "He cared for me. Whether he would admit it or not, I know he did. And there was no manipulation needed for me to feel the same. I do care for him, Stefan. And while I know that's not what you want to hear, and I know it's not fair, I want to be honest with you. We grew close while you were looking for the journal, we were around each other a lot."

"Then why has he left you? Why isn't he here right now, fighting to be with you? He's gone Elena. To be with another woman, might I add."

She had no response.

"He may not want to be with you, but I do Elena. I'm standing right here. I love you and I would do anything to make you happy."

"Damon and I had sex." She blurted out, interrupting his profession of love for her.

The look on his face brought tears to her eyes. It was as though she could physically see his heart breaking. "I'm so sorry Stefan. I didn't mean for it to happen. I never meant to hurt you."

His face suddenly changed. Anger replaced sadness. "What did he do to you? Did he force himself on you? Elena, you need to tell me right now." He moved to kneel in front of her, his hand cupping her cheek.

"No, no! He didn't Stefan. I… I wanted it too." She hung her head.

He was quick to distance himself, disbelief setting in. "You said you loved me. You said it was always going to be me."

"I didn't exactly plan it, nor expect it. I still love you Stefan."

A glint of hope shined in his eyes.

"But I love Damon too." Up until this moment she didn't know if she felt it, and certainly didn't want to admit it if she did. But right then, amidst her confession of the night they'd spent together, it came to her. She couldn't deny it anymore and after everything that had happened, she owed Stefan the truth.

There was a long pause before he spoke. "You can't have both of us Elena."

"And that's why I can't be with either of you. I don't want to be her Stefan. I don't want to be Katherine."

"Damon isn't here! You didn't mean enough to him for him to stay, yet you're going to allow him to interfere with what we have?"

"But that's the thing, whether or not Damon is physically here, I still feel for him, for both of you. And while that love still remains for the two of you, I can't be with you Stefan."

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Six months had since passed, and still no sign of Damon. Elena and Stefan had learned to become friends again. Things were awkward, sure. Trying to be friends with a vampire whom you'd been in love with, slept with, shared blood with, and also slept with his brother, makes things a bit difficult. They hadn't recovered the friendship they had before, but they were on the road to getting there. It wasn't meant to be. The longer they acted as friends, the more Elena realized that. The time they'd spent together as a couple, she wouldn't have changed a thing. Stefan was everything she wanted, and at the time, needed. He showed her how to live again. He woke her up from a depression she couldn't pull herself out of. He cared for her, protected her, wanted the best for her, and the bond they shared was unbreakable. They may not be in a relationship, but none of that ever changed. He knew it never would. Whether she was with him or Damon or someone else entirely, it didn't matter. Elena Gilbert was the love of his life and if a day came when she didn't want him around at all, he knew he would be, even if that meant watching from a distance. He would spend every day of her existence in the shadows making sure she was ok.

Elena was happy Stefan and her had managed to get to rock bottom and survive it. She liked spending time at the Salvatore boarding house. Most days they would go there after school and just hang out, do things normal friends would do. They watched movies, listened to music, and Stefan would tell his stories of the past. The mention of Damon would send her heart fluttering, and she knew Stefan could tell. They may be friends, but there was still tension. How could there not be? One thing she did know, the longer Damon had been gone, the more Elena wanted him. She often wondered if he ever thought about her. Even just a moments thought.

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She most certainly thought of him. It sent chills down her spine. Lying in bed she found herself envisioning him being there with her; the smirk of his lips, his bright blue eyes, that striking jaw line, the V of his hips. He was perfection. She closed her eyes and her hands began to wander her exposed skin. Elena ran her fingertips along her thighs, savoring in the tingling sensations. Her nipples were hard, straining against the cotton fabric of the bra that was containing them. A soft moan escaped her lips. She pushed her tank top up around her breasts and explored the tan, soft skin of her stomach. A pool of wetness was soaking her purple panties. Her clit was throbbing, anxiously awaiting her fingers to make contact with the small bundle of nerves. She slid her plaid shorts down her legs and rested her hand on top of her fabric-covered sex. She lightly ran her fingertips up and down the cotton that rested against her wet slit. She sat up on her bed to pull off her tank top and lightly dragged her nails over her hard pink nipples eliciting a deep moan. Pinching her breast with her left hand, she used the right to wander back down. She took her time exploring the skin on her way down but instead of teasing herself over the fabric, she needed direct contact. She needed to cum. She did to herself what she hoped Damon would one day do again. Elena slid her hand down and dipped one digit just slightly inside herself, coating the tip of finger with her wet need. She moved her finger up to her clit and at achingly slow pace ran her fingers in circles over the hard bud. Her imagination took over. Damon continued his assault on her clit, flicking at it and rubbing in a sporadic fashion. Her hips bucked off the bed. He inserted one of his fingers into her wet slit and began slowly working it in and out. She took a sharp breath in, "Damon, please" and he soon added a second. He slowly worked her, exploring the walls that surrounded his fingers. He pulled out and she sighed at the loss of contact. Soon after he dipped his thumb in, then returned back to his two fingers. With his thumb he returned his attention back to her clit. A smile spread across her face as he continued to work her both inside and out. His left hand never stopped pinching her nipple and the sharp pain mixed with the smooth satisfaction she was getting below would be her undoing. She could feel herself building up to what she wanted, what she craved. He sped up his work and applied more pressure to her clit. Her breathing became heavy and frantic and her moans, louder. And soon, her walls were clamping down around his fingers. He continued pumping his fingers, refusing to stop until she fully rode out her orgasm. She cried out his name in her release. Elena pulled out her now cum-covered fingers and brought them to her nipples. Spreading the liquid around the sensitive tips, before bringing her fingers to her mouth, tasting what Damon had once tasted. What she hoped he'd one day taste again.