DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything that you recognise. All rights go to the CW, and the amazing L. J. Smith, and all others who contributed to the creation of this brilliant saga. Please, oh please, do not sue me.

xXxXx

"Parties aren't anything like they used to be."

Katherine's voice held the tiniest hint of regret as the surveyed the beating party scene. Her eyes were narrowed as she stood on the balcony, above the dance floor. The floor of the balcony was grated, and she smirked slightly as a less refined human girl stumbled through the grate on her heels.

"I thought you liked the modern idea of a night out?"

Her company for the night was a young blonde, who Katherine had thought interesting when she met him four months earlier. He was less interesting now, she had decided, and soon she would be gone from his life, or he would be gone altogether.

"You have no idea the passion of a formal dance," she told him. "I was the centre of the ball. With every eye on me. It was…" she glanced at the gyrating humans below her, smiling to herself. "…Exhilarating."

Her blonde friend grinned. "I'm sure it was," he agreed with her, even though she knew that he wasn't paying attention. He was simply trying to make her happy—no matter what he thought.

And honestly, she thought, why wouldn't he want her happy?

But as her blonde toy leant in, closing his eyes while his lips puckered and his hand pressing her hand closer to him, she frowned in distaste. Walking gracefully away from him, so that he grasped at thin air stupidly for a moment, she walked to the top of the stairs, and began to descend the stairs. Blonde hurried after her.

At the bottom of the stairs, Katherine met the third member of her recent company. This one was more dark—a surly eyebrow line and an even darker mop of hair on his head.

"We have a problem." He declared quietly, leaning forward and whispering in his ear. Katherine caught the cold look that her blonde friend—Chad—sent her darker haired friend—Brett, and smirked.

"What problem?" Chad barked, leaning forward and pulling Katherine rather obviously from Brett.

"Outside. I was grabbing myself a snack, and something went wrong…"

Chad snorted.

And as much as Katherine enjoyed watching boys vie for her, Brett was correct. This was a problem.

Her eyes narrowed at Brett. "Take me there." She ordered him. "Now."

Chad snickered again.

She pushed her way through the large, and extremely full club. Everyone around her was caught up in his or her own little world. But her presence upset the balance, and boy's (and girl's) wondering eyes quickly found their way to her—widening at her uncontested beauty. If they had been less self-involved they would have noticed more than just her face and body.

They would have noticed the way she walked.

Or how the retro looking couple in the corner, who Katherine had spotted upon entering, were not just kissing their dance partner's necks.

But they didn't notice. They simply stared.

Of course they stared.

Katherine strutted through the crowd, revelling in the turning heads and the obvious stares, and basking in the intoxicating smell of the innocent blood that pumped through the veins of all the excited, distracted party go-ers.

"Oh, I miss the old days." She sighed, dramatically, as she pushed her way out the front door. "I am so sick of the nineties."

Chad quickly directed them to the alleyway, where Katherine was greeted with a sight that anyone else would have seen as horrific.

She grinned.

The couple—married, as indicated by their golden wedding bands—lay on a heap in the middle of the alley. Their necks practically ripped off because of the clumsy bites from her latest creations.

"I don't get it. So you didn't save us some. What's the issue?" Chad frowned, confused.

"Be quiet." Katherine ordered him.

Because Katherine had seen the problem. The small sobbing girl sitting, curled up and crying in the corner, hugging her knees and ignoring the tears that were streaming down her face. On her neck, a bleeding bite mark.

The problem would seem to be the fact that this little girl was very distinctly alive.

"You told me, if I tasted anything off, to stop drinking." Brett was stammering. "And I'm not sure what it was—but I—"

Katherine had heard enough. She made her way quickly to the child, bending over and pushing the girls head out of the way. She inhaled sharply, and the recoiled.

"Vervain." She concluded. "There is vervain in her blood."

"Vervain?"

Katherine didn't pay attention to who had muttered the confused remark, and simply rolled her eyes. "The herb," she expanded tiredly. "That acts as a poison to us."

They seemed to notice the simply pissed off tone to Katherine's voice, and kept quiet for the rest of her examination.

"What's your name?"

Katherine stared into the young girl's eyes, keeping in mind that the presence of the vervain meant that she had to use her human charm to get the young girl to open up to her.

"The bad man's gone away now." She said. "My friend's taken care of him."

The small blonde girl glanced up to fearfully look at Brett and Chad. A simple hand gesture from Katherine had Chad slamming his fist into Brett's stomach—which seemed to satisfy the young girl.

"So what's your name?" Katherine repeated.

The little girl looked up at Katherine, with a small trusting smile, her big eyes wide and glistening with tears. "Emma." She whispered.

Katherine stored that in her vast memory.

"Why couldn't he hurt you?"

The girl just shook her head. "I taste bad." She simpered.

"And why is that?" Katherine asked, leaning forward.

"Because Daddy says I'm special." She told her. "And that no one can hurt me."

xXxXx

"She'll stay here." Katherine looked around the small third story flat that had once belonged to Brett. "You'll watch her."

Brett scoffed.

Katherine was at his neck in seconds. Pressing the insolent boy against the wall she snarled.

"This girl had vervain pumping through her veins," she hissed with narrowed eyes. "She's lost enough blood to kill anyone her age, and she's still alive. Do you understand what that means?"

She turned to look at the young girl, before looking back at Brett.

"It means that she is special. Something is different about her. And I intend to find out what."

"Well then," Brett said—with the confidence that inspired Katherine to change him in the first place. "I'm not watching her. I didn't like kids before—and I definitely don't like this one."

She needed the girl to grow. And she clearly had the time to wait for the girl to grow—but she wasn't going to wait around and watch the child grow at such a slow pace.

And as angry as it made her to listen to him disobeying her, Katherine saw the point. Within hours Brett would take another go at the girl, and probably incapacitate himself. And it wasn't as though Brett and Chad kept to themselves—they had enough enemies to take advantage of them being in a bad state.

But she certainly wasn't going to stay and watch the girl grow. She needed someone who was capable of looking after a child without needing to know of the girl's uniqueness. Someone who would do anything for Katherine. Someone who had passion, but enough power to protect who might become one of Katherine's greatest assets.

And she had just the someone in mind.

Of course, contacting Damon Salvatore to do the job would be difficult—seeing as he was of the mind that she was trapped beneath the ground in that ruined town in Virginia. But she would manage—she always knew how to manoeuvre herself in a favourable fashion.

xXxXx

So, I wasn't quite sure about starting a Vampire Diaries fic—specifically a Damon/OC fic—but it's defiantly not a self-insert—if I get anywhere near Mary-Sue-dom, feel free to let me know and tell me to get my head out of my ass.

I had a bit of an issue trying to catch Katherine's personality. I'm sure after we see more of her in Series 2, I'll catch her personality some more. But she won't feature again for a while, so hopefully I'll improve.

From now on, by the way, it will be first person from Emma's POV. I hope you guys like it, and please review and give me your thoughts.

Cheers. G.